Thrilled that the Yankees listened to people such as myself (and much more influential folks), even if it was months after the fact.
No, he's not Alex Rodriguez's replacement. But that just makes it more of a no-brainer. Less pressure, less money, less risk. For a guy, as NoMaas points out, with a 116 OPS+. You don't get those guys for nothing very often.
That's a higher mark than Miguel Tejada, to name one, and right there with Carlos Beltran. Compare contracts.
Even if in May, we're screaming, get Ensberg the hell out of here, it was still worth it.
The steroids business affects a lot of records, among the most notable being Barry Bonds' season and career home-run makers and Roger Clemens' seven Cy Youngs. It should also bring into question Cal Ripken's streak, but no one has the temerity (nor proof, but that hasn't stopped anyone before).
ESPN.com did something similar a few years back, but let's have at it. At first glance, it's tempting to give all the records back to Babe Ruth. The guy whored around, ate and drank to excess, smoked and didn't work out for a lot of his career. And he also hit relative to his peers like no one ever has (or likely ever will).
But he played before integration. So let's throw out everything before 1947, when Jackie Robinson came into the game. Let's toss out everything after 1985, as Jose Canseco became a full-time player in 1986.
Greenies, or amphetamines, are considered bad now. So let's toss out all the years players admitted using them, going back at least to the early 1970s and Willie Mays and what was then called "red juice." Let's say 1970.
We're left with 1947-1969. Except, wait. Players brought them back after World War II.
That's 1946. So, eliminate every year since then.
That's every year.
So, we need to make choices. Are "greenies" OK because they keep a guy in the lineup, not boosting his muscle? Or isn't that cheating, since it eliminates weeding out of the weak and unconditioned?
If steroids and greenies are both bad (MLB considers them so, since you can get hefty suspensions, though of different levels, for use of either), then there's never been an era of the game in which there's been no cheating AND no racial exclusion.
There is no saintly era of baseball, no "clean" era. Hell, even Bobby Thompson's cheat-earned "Shot Heard Round The World" has been exposed -- though that's more gamesmanship than cheating. So we'd better decide in a hurry what the degrees of wrongness are -- if everything is equally wrong, nothing's wrong. Then, Bonds and the rest are simply the guys who saw through the mirage best, and the clean players, whoever they are, are simply holier-than-thou, fools or masochists.
This'll break the hearts of the fans, I know. It's not a pleasant thought, and it actually can be avoided. We can watch the game without these issues coming up. But baseball's always been -- partly in fact, wholly in theory -- a game that transcends time. With cheating or prejudice always present, if we truly acknowledge that, it destroys much of the debate, the banter that makes baseball a conversation, not just an activity. The "who's best" debates lose much of their relevancy, because there was never an even playing field. The technology of drugs and substances tilts in favor of the most recent players.
Baseball becomes then like the NFL, or NBA or NHL. Yes, you can debate the great players of different eras, but only to a point. Then, technology, conditions, size differences and rule changes leave any true definition of the greatest to speculation. In baseball, we at least hold the hope that any player from any era would be as great somewhere else in time.
Maybe that's what we'll lose from the steroids era. Comparisons will be simply from the time the latest drug was introduced, or the latest scandal, and what happened to the numbers vis a vis those events. Yes, it'll be interesting in its own perverse way, but it'll be a sport for the cynic. No longer the dreamer.
Labels: Baseball
And they know how to squeeze every area -- like by doubling the price of parking near Yankee Stadium.
I come in from the north, park at a Metro-North and take the train to the subway to the game, but it's time-consuming and not practical for many. Plus, with the reduction in seats, fewer upper-deck seats and the likely price increase (though maybe not as much as other teams with new digs), the "common" fan is going to be squeezed.
This may be a bad thing. It probably is, in certain ways. But look at the attendance. For decades, those diehards weren't filling up the seats by themselves. For most of the 1990s, that was the case. It was the case, to cherry-pick, when Roger Maris hit his 61st home run. The Yankees were a draw, but not like Broadway, for instance. There, tickets are going to sell and people are going to be disappointed. Therefore, you'll be charged more (and you'll pay more) because you're in a fight for tickets.
The Yankees, until the last several years, were most times a draw, but one in which a ticket was always available. Other activities could take precedence because, hey, I can go to a game anytime. That's no longer the case. San Francisco proved this when they cut capacity on Pac Bell (or whatever it's called now). Sure, the team was good, but it suddenly became much more difficult to get a ticket. The prestige value went up, and so did interest. Yeah, there were undoubtedly many status-seekers who weren't real fans, but it's better than perennial contenders such as Oakland and Minnesota regularly playing important games in half-filled caverns. While those stadiums surely have the diehards (in part because the facilities are terrible), all the empty seats actually imply the fanbase doesn't care, and isn't as worthy of a team as others.
So, let's say there's a loss of fan camaraderie from losing some diehards (an effect that has already happened, from many anecdotal accounts). The net increase in bodies, whether they be bandwagoners or true fans, may be enough to offset any change in demographics.
It's certainly good enough financially for the Yankees, and they are, for better or worse, a team of celebrities. Maybe having an audience of them is the next logical step.
Are interesting. He issues most of these denials through statements, but says he'll go talk to Mike Wallace on "60 Minutes." His case is well-documented, but if one domino falls (the one real witness), the whole theory does.
Yet, who's been proven innocent from among the Mitchell Report dossier? Most of the suspect cases have actually turned out to be correct. What would the odds be that the case that seems most open-and-shut (outside of Barry Bonds) turned out to be false?
Yeah, I'm not holding my breath. But man, the fuel that would give to the Red Sox conspiracy theories.
Many of these names were not surprises, nor were they new. Sen. George Mitchell's investigation truly uncovered many fewer than the dozens claimed.
Further, in coercing only two trainers (one each from the two New York clubs) to flip, it creates a one-sided view that makes it seem as if but a few places were hotbeds of corruption and cheating. Boston, of course, is not one of these.
Not one current Red Sox player. Few recent ex-Sox. Yet, a plethora of Yankees, Orioles, Blue Jays (or, at least, Glaus) and Angels. The biggest rivals of said Red Sox. As NoMaas says:
Any player who cheated in an effort to improve his performance should own up to his actions. However, this report suffers from a lack of credibility in its "sources" and clearly displays a major conflict of interest.
Look, I don't think there's a conspiracy. But Mitchell as the centerpiece creates the perception of one. And, quite frankly, the report would be different if ANY other team had had its clubhouse guys rat on players. The Yanks and Mets, and a few others, are catching heat all 30 teams deserve.
Further, Deadspin is shocked at the flimsy results of two years (flimsy in that no grand jury would ever give the go-ahead to try these "cases"):
We can say with 100 percent certainty that we are no closer to the truth about steroids in Major League Baseball over the last 20 years than we were this morning.
Are there lessons to draw? Certainly. Testing needs to become independent, if only to prevent these conflicts of interest (Mitchell) and complicity (as Mitchell pointed out, every group possible falling over themselves to bury the controversy for decades).
If this embarrasses enough people, perhaps it will dissuade a few. Perhaps it will make a push for more testing, bigger penalties, etc.
These would be good things. Let's not forget: the Mitchell Report had to happen. If not, baseball would just be hiding from the truth, covering up crimes yet again.
This report, though, does carry the danger of destroying the reputations of many based on some of the least-trustworthy people ever: clubhouse lackeys. Disgruntled ones, at that.
It's like the Duke lacrosse case. Who do you trust: Criminal, spoiled, arrogant frat-boy lacrosse players, strippers or a foreign cab driver? It was like a who's who of disreputable sources. Well, a similar lot is what the Mitchell Report had to draw upon.
Maybe the best thing that can come from the Mitchell Report is that there never needs to be one like it again.
As for Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, there's no post-2002 evidence, making much of it pointless. And the "evidence" is, again, flimsy. Not that they're innocent; I don't think they are. And while they certainly should be penalized in popularity, a blanket "No Hall of Fame" for this bunch is unwise. It makes no distinction between hearsay and a positive test, an admission and a he-said-he-said. Lastly, it makes no consideration for baseball's complete willingness to, by turning a blind eye in its rules and enforcement, silently endorse such practices.
Labels: Baseball
EDIT: Mike mentions in the comments that he believes the report little to no value. A valid point, though I'm not fully on board. However, as I've just recently read the report does not address amphetamine use, I'm far less convinced of the report's effectiveness. "Greenies" are just as unsportsmanlike, probably a bigger problem and seem to be considered morally OK by a large segment of players who would disdain steroids. To not address that is to miss half the picture.
It's inconclusive, hampered by lack of cooperation and tainted by its author being a member of the Red Sox board of directors.
Yet, it will shed some light upon the dark era of baseball of rampant steroid use without ramifications.
60-80 names is no joke. Although if there's several Yankees and no Red Sox on the list, be prepared for a lot of (possibly legitimate) conspiracy talk. On the other hand, if, say, a David Ortiz (or a player of his caliber and/or popularity) ends up on the list, it'll be devastating and illuminating.
Here's the thing: Jason Giambi is no hero. But, outside of the one anonymous player who did talk, he's the only one who was willing to talk with Mitchell. He was threatened, yes, but he could have called Selig's bluff and had the full support of the union in an appeal, one that likely would have been at least partly successful.
Giambi will still be a deceitful cheater, but he'll be better than every other name on that report.
Labels: Baseball
Alan Trammell, SS, Detroit (1977-1996).
This year: No.
Deserving: Well, he's definitely underrated.
Will writers think he's deserving?: He had big numbers for pre-Cal Ripken shortstops. But even Derek Jeter is a slugger by comparison.
Stay on ballot: Yes.
Veteran's Committee: Unlikely.
Alan Trammell spent 20 years with one club. He was the shortstop, the most glamorous fielding position, but also was a solid hitter. He should have won the 1987 MVP, hit .300 seven times, had 185 home runs, 236 stolen bases, walked as much as he struck out and had 1,200+ runs and 1,000 RBIs. In the awards department, he did garner three Silver Sluggers and four Gold Gloves before Ripken entered his prime, was a six-time All-Star and won 1984 WS MVP.
Here's the thing: His .285/.352/.415 line is good, but not incredible. And while he's a shortstop, and some accommodation should be made for that, letting things slide solely because of position is how Bill Mazeroski got induction (and Phil Rizzuto, though it's the Hall's fault for not including overall contributions). But, on second look, he's fairly similar to shortstop inductees Joe Sewell, Lou Bordreau, Robin Yount and Cal Ripken (112 OPS+ to Trammell's 110) and far above Ozzie Smith, Rizzuto, Pee Wee Reese and Luis Aparicio.
His fielding versus the league, from a couple basic (if outdated) stats, are excellent: .977 to .967 fielding pct., 4.47 to 4.09 range factor. He remained league average or better until late in his career.
Trammell came up in an American League that was relatively starved for shortstops. Before Ripken (and at the end of Trammell's career, the wave of excellence that now exists), you had no-hit, all-field Mark Belanger winding down, Rick Burleson and a few others. Trammell was above that group for several years and at a young age.
Let's put it this way: Is Barry Larkin a Hall of Famer? Larkin was a better hitter, though not by a landslide, and in my opinion, a slightly lesser fielder. If Larkin's a Hall of Famer, so should be Trammell, who is, with Ozzie Smith and Larkin, the definition of how a shortstop of average size should play the game.
And so, a little bit with sentiment rather than data, say yes to Alan Trammell.
All my talk of re-signing Luis Vizcaino looks to be dead, from a number of places.
He was overworked in April, was terrible until the team hit bottom, and then he, Melky Cabrera and Mariano Rivera helped rescue the season. But he wasn't so great after that, either, and again looked worn out.
Basically, he was a league-average pitcher (104 ERA+) after three very good years with three teams. But that league average came in these bizarre splits:
First 54 games: 2-1, 27 G, 28.2 IP, 27 H, 24 BB, 16 K, 6.91 ERA, .255/.388/.453
Next 54 games: 6-1, 28 G, 26.2 IP, 16 H, 9 BB, 25 K, 1.01 ERA, .168/.238/.232
Last 54 games: 0-0, 22 G, 20 IP, 23 H, 11 BB, 21 K, 4.95 ERA, .288/.372/.475
It's even worse if you count Viz's true good stretch:
Games 55-133: 6-1, 41 G, 38.2 IP, 24 H, 15 BB, 36 K, 1.16 ERA
Games 1-54, 134-162: 2-1, 36 G, 36.2 IP, 42 H, 28 BB, 26 K, 7.61 ERA
When he got wild, he also gave up hits and didn't strike out batters. Basically, he was either really good in all three departments or he was awful in all three. While that one half of the season was glittery and spectacular, the differences are disturbing.
He wasn't particularly overworked in the long run, either, with roughly the same number of appearances and innings as he's logged throughout the decade. So what's the problem? Who knows. While I still think he's someone worth keeping, I can see why, along with any potential arm problems, the Yankees are wary.
What's scary, though, is that people inside the organization still like Sean Henn.
Andy Pettitte taking arbitration is no light step, even as the wire report plays it up as a formality.
As this blog has mentioned at least once, the Yankees were foolish to trust Roger Clemens to retire after 2003, and they did not offer arbitration. Of course, Clemens never filed retirement papers, signed with Houston, and quite possibly cost the Yankees a championship by stealing Pettitte away as well.
So kudos to the Yankees for being respectful, giving Andy and his family time to decide, but also covering their asses.
$16 million may be a little much for even a 15-9, 4.05 ERA guy, but he and his innings are probably worth it. He's for sure more valuable at a one-year deal than are all these journeymen at $10-12 million.
Is a dicey proposition. I have to say I'm not opposed to an Ian Kennedy-Melky Cabrera deal (with other parts, I imagine), espoused by a co-worker and NoMaas.
But as that site shows in an interview with a Minneapolis newspaper columnist, the Twins would love to pit teams against each other for the only good and relatively young pitcher on the market.
His size bothers me, with all the nasty breaking stuff he throws. Could we be repeating the Mike Mussina deal (one or two great years, but mostly #2-3 starter stuff for a top-5 pitcher salary)? That's not the worst thing, but it might not end the championship drought.
The positives? Lots of innings, lots of strikeouts, few baserunners. A solid second-half pitcher, utterly dominant in that stretch from 2004-06.
The negatives? Won't ever complete a game for you (although, who does, really), gives up a decent amount of home runs, had a 4.04 second-half ERA this year, and had a 3.69 ERA on four days' rest (18 starts).
2007 was still a hell of a bad year, and Santana's second-half ERA (1.21, 1.59, 2.54) and four days' rest ERAs (2.89, 3.02, 2.41) from 2004-06 suggest '07 may be an aberration.
But, without Andy Pettitte, I just don't know if there's enough there, even with Santana, for 2008. Maybe I'm overvaluing Pettitte's fan value, but I don't know if I'm overstating the importance of the workhorse he represents.
Labels: Baseball
Despite an actually interesting NFL season, with the Patriots, a bunch of resurgent teams and the Dolphins' race for 0-16, people are still talking baseball a day before Thanksgiving.
Despite the NBA in full swing, the NHL pretending to be relevant, and snow closer to a regular occurrence for many, baseball's still on people's minds, such as Torii Hunter's and Melky Cabrera's status.
That's not a bad thing at all.
You just hope, if you're a Yankees fan, that baseball is also on Andy Pettitte's mind. Actually, even if you're not a Yankee fan, it's hard to see why you'd want a guy like him out of the game.
And they're right.
Maybe Boras didn't have a grand conspiracy planned with everything that's happened with Alex Rodriguez this off-season, but he's not damaged beyond repair.
And, you can argue the Yankees caved in.
I'll acknowledge, as Jerry Crasnick seems to say and Mike said in conversation yesterday, there are no losers.
The Yankees win because A-Rod signed a deal they wanted to offer, and Boras gets egg on his face, even if he'll have $14 million of napkins to wipe it off with (his expected commission).
A-Rod wins in again getting a record-setting contract, one that'll take him beyond his most-productive-if-substance-free years.
Boras still gets a huge contract and can spin that the Yankees, not him or his client, blinked.
And nobody should be bitching about the Yankees' contracts. Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera have been at the top of their respective pay scales for years. Posada was the best offensive catcher in baseball last year (and one of the top six or seven AL hitters), and probably for the decade. Rivera, in a down year, was still a top-tier closer with more endurance than the young guys (outside of maybe the overworked Huston Street).
A-Rod? He deserves the money, if one guy's to get it. Fairly young, far and away the best offensive player. Forget the counting stats -- you can have big numbers aided by a big offensive era. A truly dominant player leads his league in categories regardless of numbers. A-Rod has done that as well as anyone in the post-1992 home-run/steroid era: HR (five times), RBI (2), AVG (1), R (5), SLG (3), OPS (2).
OK. Enough negativity.
His mouth is getting pretty tiring, too, but he's never been a free agent, so he's obviously enjoying it a bit too much.
As for giving Mo a fourth year, besides the obvious concern -- he'll be 41 in that fourth year -- he showed dangerous decline (or temporary slippage) this year in the areas that were once signs of his unique dominance.
In 2007, Rivera posted a 3.15 ERA. Now, that's not so bad, and it's almost unfair to compare with his 2003-06 run of sub-1.90 ERAs.
But look at the splits. Rivera struggled (relatively) in 2007 without off-days
No rest: 12 games, 13.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 18 baserunners
1 day rest: 21 games, 23.1 IP, 3.47 ERA, 34 baserunners (including 4 HBP!)
2 days rest: 11 games, 11.2 IP, 0.77 ERA, 11 baserunners
Maybe it's how Torre used him. He was pitching more innings per appearance on short rest versus a comfortable two days. And Rivera struggled most with three days rest (14 games, 13.2 IP, 5.27 ERA, 16 baserunners), which didn't help the bottom line.
Has Mo always been more reliable on two days rest?
Let's look.
2006:
0 days: 16 games, 16.2 IP, 1.62 ERA, 17 baserunners
1 day: 20 games, 26 IP(!), 0.69 ERA, 24 baserunners
2 days: 14 games, 18 IP, 2.00 ERA, 17 baserunners
3 days: 6 games, 6.1 IP, 4.26 ERA, 8 baserunners
2005:
0 days: 23 games, 24.1 IP, 1.11 ERA, 29 baserunners
1 day: 18 games, 20.2 IP, 1.74 ERA, 19 baserunners
2 days: 10 games, 10.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 baserunners
3 days: 13 games, 16 IP, 2.25 ERA, 16 baserunners
In both years, Rivera was at his worst on three days rest, but there wasn't a tremendous difference between other common situations. He was dominant always. If he's lost that dominance on short rest, then he can still be a good closer, but it's tough to bet against further decline over four years.
But 2005 and 2006 were some of the best years ever by a closer! He nearly won the '05 Cy Young!
OK, fair enough. We'll look at Trevor Hoffman, his relative peer in age and saves, and Mo's worst season before 2007, which was 2000.
Hoffman in 2007 (age 39)
0 days: 21 G, 20.1 IP, 2.66 ERA, 22 MoB
1 day: 14 G, 12 IP, 8.25 ERA, 25 MoB
2 days: 7 G, 6.2 IP, 1.35 ERA, 5 MoB
3+ days: 19 G, 18.1 IP, 0.49 ERA, 10 MoB
Hoffman in 2006 (age 38)
0 days: 20 G, 20 IP, 2.25 ERA, 21 MoB
1 day: 15 G, 14 IP, 1.29 ERA, 13 MoB
2 days: 7 G, 7 IP, 3.86 ERA, 8 MoB
3 days: 13 G, 12.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 9 MoB
4+days: 10 G, 9.2 IP, 4.66 ERA, 11 MoB
Rivera in 2000 (2.85 ERA)
0 days: 20 games, 21.1 IP, 2.53 ERA, 22 baserunners
1 day: 17 games, 20.2 IP, 2.61 ERA, 19 baserunners
2 days: 10 games, 10.1 IP, 3.48 ERA, 18 baserunners
3 days: 8 games, 9.2 IP, 2.79 ERA, 9 baserunners
6+ days: 6 games, 7 IP, 6.43 ERA, 10 baserunners
Rivera just doesn't have a track record of struggles on no rest or one day of rest. That's why 2007 is so troubling. And while Hoffman doesn't have a real pattern from the past two years, he pitches fewer innings and gets preferential rest compared with Rivera.
That's not going to be possible with the Yankees, unless they slip to a mid-80s win level a la the Padres. That may be good enough out there, but it won't work in the American League.
Records for the last year Alex Rodriguez played for a team and the following season:
2000 Seattle: 91-71, wild card, lost ALCS
2001 Seattle: 116-46, division title, lost ALCS
2003 Texas: 71-91
2004 Texas: 89-73
2007 Yankees: 94-68
2008 Yankees: ?
And, the team's records the year before getting A-Rod and the first year with him:
1994 Seattle: 49-63
1995 Seattle (142 A-Rod at-bats): 79-66, wild card, lost ALCS
1996 Seattle (first full year): 85-76
2000 Texas: 71-91
2001 Texas: 73-89
2003 Yankees: 101-61
2004 Yankees: 101-61
I think this trend of improvement post-A-Rod and little change by adding him will not be altered by much. Right now, the Yankees are a mess, but unless they re-sign nobody, they'll find a way to 90+ wins. The leading contenders for A-Rod, as rumored, already had a lot of wins (Mets, Angels, Cubs) or have lots of other potential problems (Dodgers, Giants). What does it mean? I have no idea, but it's fodder for the "to hell with A-Rod" crowd.
On June 21, I was pessimistic about Andy Pettitte's chances of getting 200 wins this season. Yes, it was possible, but his four wins in 15 starts to that point made it a challenge.
Well, here we are. Win #200, 12+ years after the first.
1. Who has more wins than Pettitte (200-112, 391 GS, 3.81 ERA) since the start of 1995?
Greg Maddux (212-122, 436 GS, 3.16 ERA) and Randy Johnson (203-88, 370 GS, 3.00 ERA). Mike Mussina is right behind him at 197. Roger Clemens is seventh with 182.
2. Where does Pettitte stack up among Yankees?
Out of pitchers who predominantly (or only) played for the Yankees, Whitey Ford and Red Ruffing are the tops. Ford won 236 games, all with the Yanks, and Ruffing won 231 for the Yanks and 42 for other teams. Pettitte, with 163 Yankee wins, is seventh, one behind Mel Stottlemyre.
3. How about with 20-win seasons?
Pettitte has two (1996 and 2003). Since Ron Guidry ('78, '83, '85) retired, no other Yankee has won 20 games more than once (David Cone in 1998, Clemens in 2001). And the last three (Andy, Guidry and Tommy John in 1979-80) were all lefties.
4. So how's he do among lefties?
He's the 27th to get to 200. Of those, only six have made the trek to 300, Tom Glavine being the last. Pettitte is 35 years, 3 months and 4 days. Glavine was 34 years, 4 months and 5 days when he hit 200 in a season in which he won 21. So the odds aren't great. What does Baseball-Reference say? His two most-similar pitchers through age 34 are Mike Mussina (not bad) and Dwight Gooden (disastrous). We'll see.
4. But he doesn't complete any games, right?
Nope, but who does anymore? Still, Pettitte has the fewest complete games of any 200-game winner in history, with six fewer than Jamie Moyer.
5. So where does he rank best among 200-game winners?
Well, postseason wins, where he and John Smoltz stand tall. Unfortunately, he does have the sixth-worst regular season ERA of any 200-game winner since 1957 (and probably ever), though guys below him include active pitchers David Wells, Kenny Rogers and Moyer.
Where Pettitte ranks best, and is something for which he'd acknowledge he is lucky, is in winning percentage. His .641 mark is behind only Clemens, Johnson and Martinez since 1957 (Ford, of course, posted a .690 mark).
We all know Pettitte's a very good pitcher who may be a borderline Hall of Fame case because of his affiliation with a Yankee dynasty and a great Houston Astros run. But somebody's gotta be on the mound to get all those wins, and Pettitte is still doing that, all these years later. It's a great day.
Remember all this talk I've had about Phil Hughes and maybe even Ian Kennedy joining the playoff rotation? Apparently, Mike Mussina was upset about it, and decided to post his best performance of the year (by 10 Game Score points, no less).
And while, hey, Joe Torre's going to go with the vets unless he absolutely can't, Mussina still needed to reinstill confidence.
And he has, although he needs multiple quality starts to truly dispel doubt.
However you look at it, the rotation is rounding into shape at just the right time, and it's becoming a, if not feared, then formidable bunch lacking since 2003.
As for closing the gap with Boston and pulling away from Detroit, I've called both races long ago, so while a pleasant development, I'm not going crazy over it. However, as I said months ago, I'd love to be proven wrong about the A.L. East. Thing is, if they are to overtake the Sox, it'll have been because they focused on the wild card and let the rest of life control itself. And that's the difference between this team and say, Boston last year and so many years before.
Last night's game reminded me of my one time in Fenway Park. Neither game changed the outcome of the season (both teams were leading the playoff race each year), but both were wins the Yankees perhaps needed more than the Sox.
There were some familiar faces last night. Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Mike Timlin, Johnny Damon (in the home dugout), David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui all played July 25, 2003 and last night.
But David Wells and Pedro Martinez were the starters, Jesse Orosco and Armando Benitez came in briefly in relief for the Yanks, and Byung-Hyun Kim took the loss for Boston. Wells had six walks on the season entering the game; he walked five. Pedro walked four, too, and it was obvious no one was happy with the umpiring. Manny Ramirez forgot how many outs there were on a fly ball and was doubled up, and though Rivera blew the save (coming in mid-inning and giving up his traditional broken-bat blooper), he closed the door in the ninth when given a second chance.
Fenway's an amazing ballpark, if so tiny that it's easy to forget it houses a major-league team. But still, it was nice to see this when we got up to leave at game's end.
Labels: Baseball, classic-review, Yankees
That's what tonight's game was, besides a chance to gain ground in the faint hopes of an A.L. East title and distance the Yankees from the resurgent Tigers.
Phil Hughes is on the bubble, I'd think. Ian Kennedy could throw three no-hitters and I still don't think Joe Torre would bench a combination of two of Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina and Hughes to give the rook a playoff start. I may be wrong, but that's my theory going forward.
Clemens, barring injury, will get a start. There's no way you pay him $1 million or more a start, and he's had his moments. Oddly enough, Clemens is fine on regular rest (4-2, 3.23 ERA in 53 innings) and on super-long rest of six days or more (2-0, 2.50 ERA, 18 IP, 19 K), but atrocious in a six-man rotation setup (0-3, 7.29 ERA in four starts).
So it comes down to Moose and Hughes. Phil protected his turf tonight with his typical two runs early, nothing late, but 5.2 innings against the Orioles isn't exactly awe-inspiring. And in a playoff situation, do you want to almost guarantee an early deficit? And even though he settles down, usually, as far as runs scored are, his inning-by-inning OPS splits coming into tonight (.857, .505, .866, .494, .973, .211) suggest he simply is overpowering the weak hitters in a lineup and failing against the better ones.
I'd take Hughes right now, but this may have to be a last-minute decision. Given, of course, the team wins the wild card.
I did my best to try and ignore the Yanks-Red Sox series. Why, despite my earlier love for the rivalry?
Well, the division title was not at stake, as it hasn't been for months. It's always overly hyped, especially at the 19 or so games they play annually, as if each game will make or break a player's psyche, career and reputation in the community.
But what the hell, it's Sunday night baseball, with the affable Jon Miller and the gloriously off-base Joe Morgan. So let's take on this task.
Read more...
Pre-game: NFL highlights still going on. What a busy as hell weekend. Tiger Woods dominating as even he has rarely done; Notre Dame proving it must have really hated Ty Willingham because it would rather be 0-3 than have him; the Giants already quitting on the 2007 season, among a million other NFL subplots; and of course, O.J.
My God, the cojones this man has. He admits he went into the room, with guys he met at a wedding party (loyal friends, I'm sure), as part of sting operation. A sting operation? Who does he think he is, Chris Hansen?
Well, Jon Miller just told us this is Clemens' 200th start at Fenway. I don't know why, but it's not a good sign. I'm seeing headlines like "200th Fenway start should be his last." Joe Morgan told us Clemens is a competitor. So am I, Joe. But I'm not pitching tonight.
1st inning: Talking with my friend Mike, who's noting a huge amount of strikeouts for hitters, but not many for the league leaders. As in, not many guys with 200. I think most of that is the lack of innings pitched. When few guys throw 200 innings, they have to be lights-out every start.
Derek Jeter gets another hit, continuing his stretch of hitting the Red Sox and not hitting anyone else. But nothing comes of it.
Looking at catchers similar to Jorge Posada's career track, and I picked on Carlton Fisk's age 35 year. But I forgot to mention his age 37 season (37 HR, 107 RBI, 17 steals). Damn good.
Now, Johnny Damon loses a ball in the lights. Understandable, but less so because Damon played for a few years in that ballpark.
By the way, Roger Clemens shows his age most when he lets guys steal on him. Old men don't have pickoff moves or fast deliveries. Still, he's a competitor. A competitor who just walked David Ortiz, which is not a bad move considering he's the only truly lethal bat in the lineup.
This inning is not as bad as it could have been, thanks to Dougie M.'s amazing dive to snare the ball and tap the bag. That's not an old man. Notice Clemens wasn't even in the picture frame -- he's not covering that bag.
Epilogue: Well, I did a terrible job of liveblogging past this point because I was talking on the phone and watching instead of typing and watching.
Things that came up, though, some Yankee-related:
1. Fastest-moving Yanks-Red Sox game in a while. Roger Clemens is still a great pitcher, but one who needs more rest than usual. Tonight, against an equally failing, though gifted, ace in Curt Schilling, it's easy to see how he's the game's greatest post-WWII pitcher. And don't bitter Boston fans fool you: Clemens has dominated the Sox in his two starts this year, and the 1999 ALCS disaster against Pedro was a lifetime ago.
Schilling has the Phil Hughes problem in reverse: He doesn't have an out pitch when guys are on base, but he tries to strike everyone out. Except his pitches are getting worse, his velocity is less-debated but terrible, and he's old and in dubious physical condition. He's a smart pitcher, though, and just ran out of luck in the eighth.
2. Derek Jeter since Aug. 12 coming into tonight: .239/.317/.319 5 XBH in 113 at-bats.
Jeter against the Red Sox since Aug. 12: .480/.500/.880 4 XBH in 25 at-bats.
3. Lou Pinella -- Hall of Fame manager? I'd say yes, considering he took a Cincinnati team that did nothing else to a World Series sweep over a good Oakland team defending its title, is the only Mariners manager to lead that team to the playoffs, and has made an imploding Cubs team the most dangerous team in the National League (although that Michael Barrett trade didn't hurt).
4. If Mike Mussina or Roger Clemens don't start an ALDS game, do you want either on the roster? Can Joe Torre drop one of them, though? No, and no. However, Roger looks like he'll be starting somewhere, and it's a tough call to bump Hughes for the Moose. Both are six-inning pitchers, but Moose might not even be that, and he finishes his starts poorly, whereas Hughes finishes strong.
5. Hypothetical: Mariano Rivera continues to struggle, for him, the rest of the year. Maybe even blows a save in the off-season. Then, he and his agent, Fernando Cuza, ask for a three-year contract.
Do you consider saying, it's been great, Mo, but we've got a guy named Joba Chamberlain who's all ready to be a closer, a potentially six-out closer you are no longer? You can't, but should you?
6. The Tigers are worth worrying about, but the Yankees need to worry about their problems with potential playoff opponents. Though Mike insists, and not incorrectly, that the Yankees match up with the Angels better than ever, there's that awful track record.
The Indians, despite their pathetic play versus the Yankees, are a damn good, exciting team. Their ace, C.C. Sabathia, has dominated Johan Santana to the point that there's whispers of A-Rod-like big-spot disappointment. And the Yanks? They haven't faced Sabathia since September of 2004. Ruben Sierra was in that lineup. That's not a good sign. Neither is the potential of facing Sabathia and Carmona four times in five games.
Pick your poison. But first, hold off the Tigers.
7. How bad-ass does Jodie Foster look in that otherwise silly-looking movie where she goes around killing people? Sure, there may (or may not) be a morality lesson there, but really, we just want to see an Oscar-winning chick shooting people.
Anyways, a somewhat failed effort, but some good baseball tonight.
Labels: Baseball, Liveblogging, Yankees
Ian Kennedy is not quite Mel Stottlemyre, but could he be the Yankees' No. 4 starter in a playoff series?
I don't think so, only because Joe Torre would be signing his dismissal sheet (if one exists) by benching 600+ worth of wins in Mike Mussina and Roger Clemens. And there's huge, legitimate worries of starting a rookie who's thrown 60+ innings more than any year post-HS.
But it might be a gamble worth taking.
In other news, Melky, you're killing me in the last month (.263/.307/.316). So are you, Captain Punchless (.256/.351/.329 in the last four weeks).
The most-successful pitcher and the best hitter in baseball played prominent roles for the Yankees today, and it's those two who are going to make the difference in October (that's right, the wild card is locked up).
Alex Rodriguez's postseason struggles are well-documented over the last two years. Chien-Ming Wang has been bitten by the bad-luck bug -- in 2005, he gave up one earned run in 6.2 innings, but he took the loss because the Yanks had three errors. In 2006, he earned a Game 1 win, but never got to pitch again.
He should have been started on three days' rest instead of the disaster that was Jaret Wright and Corey Lidle. But, as we all know, Joe Torre was secretly betting millions against the Yankees in the 2006 ALDS, so he had to draw up inane lineups, bat A-Rod eighth and not pitch Wang.
Regardless, Wang is going to be even more vital to the Yanks this year. But today was an impressive audition for what might be.
As for A-Rod's home-run chase, he remains three behind Maris through game #143, though Maris started to struggle (understandably) at this point.
Alex Rodriguez has jumped his projections quite a bit in the last few games. He's at 51 home runs now, the same amount Cecil Fielder had in his entire 1990 season and the amount Ralph Kiner and Johnny Mize had to share the 1947 home run title.
Alex is at team game #142. Roger Maris' game #142 was also Sept. 8. He went 0-for-3 after belting a homer on consecutive days. But he already had 55 home runs, and would add another Sept. 9 before going into a mini-slump, belting only four the rest of the way.
So, Alex has his work cut out for him. But there's a chance for the A.L. record, and what some may consider the true, untainted record.
Mike Puma, formerly of the Connecticut Post and now of the New York version, makes the case that A-Rod is on the same plane as Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle and Joe D.
One thing he's off on, however, is saying how Ruth's 1927 season (.356, 60 HR, 164 RBI, 158 R) is the gold standard. In popular practice, yes. But really, and this is something no one is expected to touch, it's Ruth's 1921 season, where he put up a .378/.512/.846 line, 59 HR, 171 RBI, 177 R, and 119 extra-base hits.
Tonight, we get a test for Ian Kennedy, who's pitching on the road and against a bad team, but bad teams have caused Yankee letdowns all year. I'm thinking five to six innings, three runs in a slight regression from the hype and excitement of his debut. He's probably better than Chase Wright, Tyler Clippard and Matt DeSalvo, but still. They went 2-0 in their debut starts, pitching 18 innings, giving up but five runs on 11 hits. Their second starts? Only DeSalvo won, and the three pitched 13.2 innings, with nine runs on 18 hits. DeSalvo cratered after that, going 0-3 in five games (four starts) with 24 hits and 16 earned runs in 14 innings.
So not to knock Kennedy at all (especially because he's not a 4A guy like those above), but don't worry if he's not lights-out tonight.
Top Yankees performances in the last 45 years (1962-2007):
HR: 48 -- Alex Rodriguez, 2005, 2007 (and counting)
44 -- Tino Martinez, 1997
41 -- Reggie Jackson, 1980; Jason Giambi, 2002, 2003
RBI: 145 -- Don Mattingly, 1985
141 -- Tino Martinez, 1997
134 (and counting) -- Alex Rodriguez, 2007
130 -- Alex Rodriguez, 2005
123 -- Tino Martinez, 1998; Gary Sheffield, 2005
SLG%: .651 -- Alex Rodriguez, 2007
.610 -- Alex Rodriguez, 2005
.605 -- Mickey Mantle, 1962
.603 -- Paul O'Neill, 1994
OPS: 1.091 -- Mickey Mantle, 1962
1.069 -- Alex Rodriguez, 2007
1.063 -- Paul O'Neill, 1994
1.033 -- Jason Giambi, 2002
1.031 -- Alex Rodriguez, 2005
Adjusted OPS: 181 -- Bobby Murcer, 1971
179 -- Alex Rodriguez, 2007
177 -- Paul O'Neill, 1994
174 -- Jason Giambi, 2002
172 -- Reggie Jackson, 1980
At bats per HR: 10.6 -- Alex Rodriguez, 2007
12.1 -- Jason Giambi, 2006
12.3 -- Darryl Strawberry, 1998
12.5 -- Reggie Jackson, 1980
12.6 -- Mickey Mantle, 1962; Alex Rodriguez, 2005
Did I cherry-pick these stats a bit. Absolutely. But A-Rod is having the greatest Yankee season since the Maris-Mantle home run chase. He's chasing the ghosts of Yankee history, no one else. And look at the comparisons in these lists: Mantle's 1962 MVP season, Reggie's best year in pinstripes, Jason Giambi's best two years in New York, Paul O'Neill's batting title year, and his own 2005 MVP campaign. He's passed all of those, and there's still 20+ games to go.
By the way, how good was Bobby Murcer? OPS+ of 181 in 1971 led the league, and his 169 the next year was second. Career-wise, he's a 124, right there with Jeff Kent, Jorge Posada, Derrek Lee and Derek Jeter.
Wouldn't it be nice? Just as in 2003, the two most-important players to their teams might be Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. Except this year, they play on the same team (with apologies to fine candidate Magglio Ordonez and the ever-relaxed, amazing Vladimir Guerrerro).
If there's been one constant this year with the Yanks, it's that Posada and A-Rod (and Jeter until August) were going to produce or put up a hell of a battle in defeat. Chien-Ming Wang can be added to that, and he, again, is tied for the league lead in wins. He has 36 since the start of 2006. Johan Santana has 33, as does Josh Beckett. Brad Penny has 31. Brandon Webb, Roy Halladay and Carlos Zambrano have 30.
Wang wins. That's it.
Anyway, it was a much better game to watch and write about than the day before, where 601 career wins brought nothing but crap pitching and pathetic hitting.
The Yanks still need to win this rubber match game with the Mariners. A three-game lead will allow for more wild inconsistency; a one-game lead probably won't. Depending on Seattle to struggle isn't such a fun option, either: As I stated July 30, the Red Sox and Indians did not continue to struggle, and though the Yanks' torrid play made up ground on both, it wasn't enough. Fortunately, Detroit fell apart, Minnesota and Oakland never made a run, and Seattle didn't run away with anything.
But the Yankees must continue to win. A lot. And act as if every loss is a dagger. As appealing as backing into the playoffs is, it's not something you can do without a ton of luck. And the Yanks, judging by their Pythagorean stats, are in short supply of luck this year.
I went to one of those old-school baseball tourneys today, where they play underhanded according to 1864 rules (where one-bounce catches are outs, you can't run through first base and a walk moves baserunners up). There was also 1898 rules, much the same as today, except for no full windups, no big gloves and foul balls not being strikes. Then, there's a whole bunch of years in-between based on frequent rules changes.
It's fascinating baseball, and the teams get into it, with vintage-looking uniforms, umpires dressed in old-time garb (including a cane in the 1864 version) and address each other, most of the times, as "sir" or "gentlemen."
The only drawbacks? The games are interminably long, as it's difficult to catch barehanded, and even a 2-hour (or nine-inning) limit doesn't keep games from getting into the 20s. It's still exciting, and each version requires slightly different strategy. Most of the clubs there seemed to have a specialty. The underhanded game seems to benefit the older player a bit, as the 1890s rules are too allowing of power (pitching and hitting) for a team without some under-30 stars to do well.
Best of all, it allowed me to see in person what Conan O'Brien did. Much recommended for a day of surprisingly quality ball and nostalgia without the hassles.
There's been a lot of complaints about the series the last few years. About how it distracts from any other event in baseball, no matter how exciting; about how it is simply the collaboration of two overpriced teams with spoiled, jerk fans; about how the rivalry is simply overrated; and about the way MLB schedules them, with too many games in April and not enough in September.
Well, ignore that for now, as the Yanks hold a 2-0 lead in the fifth, again walking everyone but not surrendering hits. Here's what's good:
1. The ambient noise. The opposing team's fans fill the other team's ballpark more and more, and the chatter is never-ending. The fans want to be there, they want to one-up the enemy and they want to pay attention. Not quite the corporate crowd that can emerge at playoff time, for instance.
2. Aces and sluggers humbled. The aces (Pettitte, Schilling, Clemens, Beckett, Wakefield, formerly Mussina and Pedro) have to bring their A-game or they will be absolutely embarrassed. There's little or no room for error. Same goes for the best hitters. They may crank a couple home runs or they may be struck out three times. Again, not much different from the mean, but everyone notices it more.
3. The psychological game plays. For decades, it was the Red Sox fan panicking innings, days, or months before it was necessary, which would look silly if the Sox didn't always justify that worry with a collapse in play. The Yanks balanced the superiority complex with a hint of "what if?" doubt.
Now, both teams and their fans try to hold on to their previous personas without a great deal of success. Yes, the track record is still of Red Sox failure and Yankee dominance. But the here-and-now is much more muddled. Since 2003, it's truly been a rivalry, which is scarier for Yankees fans but makes for more-dramatic baseball.
Labels: Baseball
And though I hadn't thought of it much, it seems that he doesn't have much of a game plan -- or at least one that's different from when he could throw 93 mph.
Al Leiter was talking about this on the air a few weeks ago, saying how, as he lost velocity in his last couple years, he couldn't make the adjustment. Not all pitchers can. Either they never had the greatest of breaking stuff, or they can't quite reduce speed on the off-speeders to match the decline in the fastball. Leiter is rough on himself: In his next-to-last season, he was 10-8, 3.21, 1.353 WHIP and 5th in H/9, though he dipped below six innings per start.
On the other hand, it only takes one year to make a collapse, and Moose has certainly done that, just as David Cone did from 1999 to 2000.
Ian Kennedy has a tall order ahead. But it's just as much an audition for next year (and for Mike Mussina's future) as it is to aid a playoff run.
His velocity is down, according to GM Brian Cashman here and here.
What does that mean? Mechanics, not enough uninterrupted throwing after his injury, fatigue, or something else. At least the Yankees are noticing it and looking to see what can be done. But it's probably another step in getting a realistic assessment of Hughes.
As Yankees Tonight says, if Hughes complains about it, then it's a real problem. Until then, it's just something to keep tabs on.
As for tonight's game, I refer you to Andy Pettitte, losing-streak stopper.
Other than, please take Mike Mussina out of the rotation? I don't know. Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter had another game of hitlessness, and Sean Henn failed in the only suitable role he has -- mop-up man.
Playoffs, you seem over. But this team is unpredictable with its winning streaks when all hope seems lost and its ability to tank when it has a real chance to change things. The Yanks, either way, have sealed themselves as the most-expensive tease on record.
Michael Kay seems to think so, from what he said on yesterday's broadcast (and Al Leiter didn't exactly put up a fight). Hughes' supporters, some of whom are here, point out he's the youngest starter in the league (except Felix Rodriguez?) and he's essentially gone from Double A to the majors.
Here's what I see: He can't blow anyone away with his fastball. The Yanks, or him, or Posada/Molina, have him not throwing much besides fastballs and curveballs, which means he is getting a lot of strikeouts on the curve. Well, when there are guys in scoring position and two or three balls in the count, you can't throw that in-the-dirt curve. The fastball then becomes closer to a batting-practice pitch than an out pitch, and you depend upon a batter's mistake or superb defensive placement and ability to save you.
But that's not overrated. If anything, it's misplaced expectations, in part created by the six no-hit innings against the Texas Rangers. Even with a B+ fastball, he's still got about a strikeout an inning, something no other Yankee starter has close to matching.
Plus, he's held up under the pressure and not felt compelled to rush or hide his head in shame because he gives up some runs.
What are the solutions to the wall, of sorts, that he's hit?
1. Start throwing changeups and give the fastball the illusion of a 95-mph heater.
2. Become more of a Maddux/Glavine location pitcher. Neither is a strikeout king, but both can get big outs when they need them.
3. Have a natural learning curve and become better through repetition.
The only issue? Time. Doing any of those takes time, as it should, and it probably won't bring magical results this year.
As it is, this Phil Hughes that only has displayed a couple of weapons and a mislocated, misused fastball is a decent pitcher. He's good enough to keep in the rotation and good enough to hope that he and the team find that better path of pitching.
As for him being an ace, Andy Pettitte has never truly been an ace, yet he's had two 20-win seasons, eight seasons of 200+ innings and a career 119 ERA+. I'll take something similar.
After a terrible loss last night, it was good to see the team bounce back, and especially good to see Chein-Ming Wang revert to 2006 form (eight innings, two runs).
The most-surprising thing tonight was not a fully productive outfield (Johnny Damon homer and triple, Melky Cabrera triple, Bobby Abreu multi-hit game) but that the team knocked Jeremy Bonderman around the diamond without a hit from Derek Jeter or Jorge Posada. They went 0-for-10, the worst combined performance the two have had this season.
From the beginning of the season until June 24 (72 games), in no game did Jeter and Posada both go hitless. Through Aug. 5, they had done so only four times in 111 games. Since then, however, they have combined in futility six times in 18 games, including three times in four days (Aug. 14,15 and 17).
What does this mean? Maybe nothing other than a natural, slight cooling off for two players who have hit extremely well all year. Jeter has hit .284/.363/.358 this month, continuing a trend toward being a great singles hitter, though he's getting on base more in recent years. Posada, however, has hit .311/.425/.607 this month, meaning he's making up for these 0-fers.
If you need yet another reason that Posada is having a blessed year, look at his BA with balls hit in play splits: by month, .351/.443/.343/.431/.357. That's some luck, but I have to think it's also because every time I see him bat, he smokes the ball.
You're terrible. I stayed up to watch you give up a three-run home run to Carlos Guillen. I stayed up to listen to Michael Kay ramble on and call that home run like it was Derek Jeter in the World Series.
I stayed up to watch a disastrous step backward for the Yankees.
I stayed up, worst of all, to watch a titantic blast off what was actually one hell of a good pitch.
You can't win them all, but right now it feels as if they can't win the right ones. Let's see how it feels in the daylight.
Oh, if only the Yankees played in the American League Central, you might say. They'd be beating up on the Indians and the Tigers. The team's entire winning record and then some is based on its 26-8 mark against the division. Imagine if the Yanks played 76 games there.
Further, imagine if the American League was still in its old two-division setup. You'd have the Yanks, Red Sox, Indians and Tigers (and the Brewers) in a mad dash for two spots, with the Angels and Mariners fighting for the West and the wild card. It's still dramatic now, but even more so in a two-division scenario.
Anyways, the Yanks have many things going for them. The hitting is generally consistent. They have an ace in Andy Pettitte, a generally solid, if not spectactular, Roger Clemens, Phil Hughes and Chien-Ming Wang, and a hit-or-miss fifth starter who just so happens to have 240+ career wins. The bullpen hasn't been this good since the 1996 playoffs, and the momentum is with the team.
Still, the Mariners and Red Sox need to lose games.
I don't have a prediction, quite frankly. It's too hard to judge. I made the early call to concede the division, but I do so partly because the mindset of chasing the wild card is important. Being eight games under .500 on May 29 is not good if there's a wild card; it's back up the truck if there isn't.
From now on, let's just enjoy the Joba show while it lasts. Let's enjoy the cagey vets Pettitte and Clemens when they are on; let's enjoy the greatest over-30 catcher EVER and two men who will get at least 3,000 hits (A-Rod and Jeter, don't ya know), and all the mystique that comes with the team. Let's enjoy the game as Phil Rizzuto would have, good or bad.
Because, if we do, I think the game will reward us back. Maybe even with a 27th ring.
Pettitte is 68-33, 3.90 ERA in his career after a Yankee loss. He's 128-78 in other situations, though, with a career 3.81 ERA, so it's not like he's THAT much of a stopper. Still, he's not one to often continue losing skids.
The Yanks really couldn't have hoped for much more than one out of three in Anaheim, unfortunately, especially with their 30-32 road record and the Angels' 42-18 home mark. Still, it may be the way that they lost those first two games that stings the most.
Jorge Posada, no surprise, was a catalyst today, and young Joba Chamberlain worked around a baserunner to whiff -- with utter domination -- the last two batters, including an overmatched Vladimir Guerrero. That's right, overmatched.
Screw the rules with him. I'm not saying go Luis Vizcaino in April with him (13 games, nine appearances). But let's not not use him just because the calendar says not to.
After all, the season grows shorter and the team is by no means in the driver's seat for any postseason berth.
The future of the Yankees was seen today in the three pitchers that toed the mound. Whether it be in focus (Chien-Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain and Edwar Ramierez) or fuzzy (three other under-30 hurlers), this is what the Yankees will -- or, if you prefer -- must look like for the next few years.
Sure, there'll always be a place for Andy Pettitte (35) and one of Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina (45, 39), and the bullpen will always have a couple above-30 guys to anchor it. But with an aging, yet still potent offense buoyed by a few youngsters, the pitching staff must match that.
As for today, one of the most enjoyable games for which Yankees fan could hope. Even though Wang is still struggling, he appears to be deliberately making a transition away from being solely a sinkerball pitcher, and fighting through the growing pains well. As for the combination of Joba's 99 mph heat and Edwar's slow, slower and slowest changeups, it was like watching them pitch at Double-A. Except the outs were bigger and the hitters were no chumps.
EDIT (09/08/07): A few photos from the game at Flickr.
I've never heard anyone, in about 25 in-person viewings, be booed as loud as Gary Sheffield today. Not Carlos Delgado when he refused to acknowledge the national anthem (or "God Bless America," I forget which) because of his opposition to the war. Not when the Red Sox have been in town. Nor have I heard such boos in another ballpark for anyone.
Obviously, the fans who attend Orioles games (who must not be the real fans) never boo (or cheer) anyone much. But even at a Pedro-Wells game in July 2003 at Fenway, the boos weren't of that magnitude. Sheff is Public Enemy No. 1.
Unfortunately, such antagonism generally incited Sheffield to greatness. He swung a mean bat the first three times up, reaching safely each time. The Rocket, Roger Clemens, was a strike machine -- 8Ks, no walks. Unfortunately, he missed in the zone, giving up 10 hits and getting lucky and key outs to keep the damage to two runs. He looked sharp, in great shape and was hitting 94 several times on the Stadium gun.
Who knew Kyle Farnsworth would save the day? Getting Sheff to swing wildly and then punching out Magglio Ordonez (who, bless him and his .355 BA, looked awful today) was a huge boost in so many ways. Derek Jeter made it a point to run over and give Farns a smack with the glove before the reliever reached a dugout -- a display of supportive emotion the Captain is often, fairly, accused of not doing.
Mariano Rivera had a nice ninth, retiring Sheff as the final out, and all was well in Yankeeland.
Notes: Clemens looked good -- six innings, two runs, eight Ks is acceptable at this point. It was the first time I'd seen him live since his 39th birthday in 2001...he looked better today, I think, and he didn't pitch badly back then.
The wind was really kicking up, but the Army parachuters managed to land in the outfield before the game. A bunch of fly balls gave the outfielders fits, but it didn't seem to be anything that a major leaguer shouldn't cope with.
Jorge Posada is awesome. Every time he goes up, in person or on TV, you expect a hit, or at least a hard-hit ball. In the latter category, he was four-for-four today.
Barry Bonds' home run tonight should have only tied the record. Hank Aaron lost a home run in the 1960s for being outside of the batter's box, believe it or not.
But such is life, and the major league home run record is gone from Aaron's grasp. Bonds already took the National League home run mark from Aaron and the left-handed record from Ruth, who still holds the American League mark of 708 until Alex Rodriguez gets to it.
Some thoughts on what could have been.
Labels: Baseball
I'm jumping ahead to Aug. 16-19, hosting the Detroit Tigers for four games. For one, I'm going to the Aug. 18 game, and I'm hoping something memorable happens after I missed out on Alex Rodriguez's 500th home run.
How will Gary Sheffield be received after his comments blasting Joe Torre? Will he use any boos to motivate him? If he does hit a home run, but it's not meaningful, we he get cheers?
Will the Yankees show their mettle in playing the Tigers, Angels and Tigers back-to-back-to-back?
Will the AL East come back to them, and if that happens, will the media and fans lose focus on making the playoffs in favor of beating the hated rival?
Will Bill Simmons lose his mind if the Red Sox blow the division and miss the playoffs?
To be wildly optimistic, will, by Aug. 16, all the pressure be on the Tigers as they sit 3 or 4 games back of the Yankees (and Mariners) in the wild card hunt, with the AL Central even further away?
These are happy things to wonder about. I'm sticking with them for now, and hoping that 20-7 run keeps going in the right direction tonight.
Labels: Baseball
They aren't Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez, penalized only for their consistency. They aren't Roger Clemens, for sure, and Bobby Abreu, for all his alarmingly eerie win/loss splits, is there either.
It's these three:
Melky Cabrera
Through May 29 (Yanks' record: 21-29): 40 games, 147 PA, .215/.278/.300
Since May 29 (Yanks' record: 41-21): 61 games, 258 PA, .336/.383/.498
Mariano Rivera
Through May 29: 1-3, 5.94 ERA 16 G, 3 Sv, 16.2 IP, 18 H, 4 BB, 18 K, .273/.314/.455
Since May 29: 1-0, 1.20 ERA 24 G, 14 Sv, 30 IP, 25 H, 1 BB, 29 K, .227/.252/.255
Luis Vizcaino
Through May 29: 2-1, 7.27 ERA 25 G, 26 IP, 24 H, 21 BB, 13 K, .247/.380/.443
Since May 29: 6-1, 1.16 ERA 32 G, 31 IP, 20 H, 13 BB, 31 K, .182/.264/.264
There are other contributors, for sure -- oddly enough, Jason Giambi's injury being either a huge coincidence or somehow a factor. But these three have been essential to the Yankees ripping off the absolutely necessary 20-7 run that the team is currently on.
Tom Glavine very well may be the last 300-game winner that anyone his age will ever witness. Here's a few offbeat stats to mark the occasion. Mike Greenberg of "Mike and Mike" openly wondered how Glavine ranked among the best-hitting pitchers. He's posted a .188/.245/.213.
Off the top of my head, I know Walter Johnson takes the cake.
In 2324 at-bats, Johnson posted 24 home runs and a .235/.274/.342 line. He also had 41 triples, a total that only 33 active players at any position have surpassed.
Other great slugging pitchers include Warren Spahn (35 home runs, .194/.234/.287), Catfish Hunter (.226/.234/.287). Greg Maddux (.173/.193/.207) and John Smoltz (.164/.232/.214) have been the best of a weaker, modern era.
But anyways, congratulations to Glavine. The 1990s Braves teams, for all the failure of only one world championship, will be known as a team with two 300-game winners and a 200+-game winner (Smoltz) that may have been the most talented.
I was in a bar Saturday night when I saw the replay of Barry Bonds' 755th home run. The accomplishment, for whatever you think, is tremendous. He's played many years, through tribulations and injuries, and endured much (although much of it brought on by himself) to reach this point. He should be best known, just as Hank Aaron should, as one of the most complete players to ever step on the field.
However, unlike the witch hunt on many great sluggers, we've evidence, if not the most conclusive. The doubts surrounding Bonds have backing in the leaked grand jury testimony of his "accidental" use of steroids, and the leaked report of his failed amphetamines test last season.
Unlike Mark McGwire, who did take andro but at least chose substance unregulated by the FDA (at the time). Granted, andro is no vitamin. But maybe you can get him for that. Rafael Palmiero, obviously, is a cheater.
But what of Sammy Sosa, of which there is no (direct) proof? Baseball, and all of us, have a lot to ponder over the next several years (or decades).
If you want to feel better about one Hall of Famer who clearly has taken everything but performance-enhancing stuff, check of this workout report.
Finally, Alex Rodriguez's is not the only Yankee hitting the ball (apologies to Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada) and that's why the Yankees are improbably 1/2 games back of the wild card. Even the division is theoretically in play at seven back. But as I've said too many times to link more than once, the wild card is what matters. And with the killer schedule upcoming, we'll see if the Yankees can prove to be anything more than opportunists for a weak schedule. I have more confidence than all year, but I'm not banking on anything.
Mike suggested this topic, which is particularly interesting: When the three veterans start (Mussina, Clemens and Pettitte), the Yankees are only 24-29. Even taking out the terrible Moose, the team is but 16-19.
However, with the younger starters (including Wang), the team is 36-21. Sure, there's been some good starts, but there's also been a tremendous amount of emergency starters (and Kei Igawa). Take away Wang, and yet it's still 22-15.
Why?
Beyond coincidence, one answer may be in quality of opponent. Andy Pettitte has started 12 games against teams with records below .500, 11 against teams .500 or better. The team, however, is only 6 and 6 against the poorer teams. For Clemens, he's started seven of 11 times against poor teams. Mussina has started 12 of 18 times against losing teams.
So that's not the answer. Maybe the other starters are facing the AL Central more often, where the Yanks are 19-7 (and on their way to 20-7 today). Pettitte, Clemens and Mussina have started 10 times against the Central, with a team record of 6-4.
Take out the AL Central, and the Yanks are 18-25 in the Old Guys' starts. They are 23-18 with everyone else starting, including Wang. Take out Wang, and team is 18-18 with the Young and Inexperienced starting against non-AL Central opponents. For the record, the team is 9-6 when Wang starts against anyone outside the AL Central.
So, it's the AL Central that's buoying the Yankees and all their starters, although the team is still significantly worse with the Old Men starting, although part of that is absorbing the 0-6 the three pulled against the Mets, Rockies and Giants in that ill-fated interleague trip.
A big part, too, is Chien-Ming Wang in all his starts; he's covering for everyone.
While the team has a full slate against Detroit upcoming, their 2007 is going to be determined against teams whom they have yet to beat consistently. And it's going to be absolutely necessary for Clemens and Mussina to be better than they have been, and consistently.
The Yankees have come out strong in the second half, despite a very shaky weekend. The 1995 team was nine games under .500 in late June but took advantage of a 38-23 finish (but more importantly, a 25-6 finish) to finish 14 games over .500.
After the All-Star break, that team, despite struggles into the last week of August, went 49-29.
The differences? That was a strike-shortened year (144 games) and the Yankees of 2007 will likely not make the playoffs with a .549 winning percentage (equivalent to about 89 wins).
However, the team, which bottomed out at eight games under .500 on May 29, is 13-6 since the break and 35-20 since May 29. Boston is 28-26 (although, they were a ridiculous 36-15 on May 29) since then, and Cleveland is 29-26. Seattle is still in the hunt despite few believers, and the team is 32-23 since May 29. No one is falling apart, and Boston and Cleveland are likely to play better for the rest of the season. So it puts emphasis on the Yankees' continuing play along the lines of 13-6.
And the focus must still be the wild card. Four games back isn't much. Eight in the division is a lot, though. And until a playoff spot is secure (i.e., a lead in the wild card), one can't get greedy. Especially with the maddening inconsistency this club shows.
Though literature has illustrated the beauty, elegance and difficulty of baseball more often and more successfully than it has with any other sport, baseball figures themselves are not known for their words.
Yet, the 2007 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony brought heartfelt appreciation, humorous and touching stories, a love of family and fans, and eloquence that reminds us how orators once commanded such crowds without the power of microphones.
As many as 70,000 filled the field back to the trees and over to the other side of the road. Most were orange -- Oriole orange, but San Diego brought a strong contingent for its greatest athlete, most wearing the brown hats and unis of the 80s-era club. Even Kansas City and St. Louis were represented in hats and jerseys for the Royals' broadcaster and Cardinals' writer (the game's most underrated player, 86-year-old Stan Musial, was not there, however, he, Hank Aaron, Carl Yastremski and Nolan Ryan being the most noticeable absences).
There were clouds on the horizon -- all 360 degrees of it -- and a few were gray, but none threatened and it was rare for one to be directly overhead.
So after much worry and advance planning, rain threatened the ceremony, but it could not deliver. Clear skies, relatively mild weather and tens of thousands of fans greeted Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn.
What the rain did do, however, was move Ripken and Gwynn to the beginning of the ceremony, switching with the Ford and Spink winners, who are usually put first because fans don't know or care about reporters and broadcasters. While, sadly, any group of American fans would have ditched the event after the big names, many thousands streamed out after Ripken, and they mostly were O's fans. It was disrespect to Denny Matthews and Rick Hummel, who have done much for the game and were far from boring. The disturbing thing, however, is that many of those fans may have left during Gwynn's speech should he had gone after Ripken.
As it was, Gwynn was the best performer of the afternoon. Ripken gave a polished speech, but did so in a tone that made it clear he was reading verbatim from a prepared text. Gwynn also had notes, but his was a conversational, jovial tone that felt more like a one-on-one talk rather than a luncheon keynote speaker. He detailed the life-changing moments of his professional and personal life -- watching videotape, for the former, and meeting his wife, for the latter.
Ripken was excellent, too, and his breaking down at the mention of his wife and children was extremely touching for someone who admittedly was a fanatic for baseball -- the type you might think would sacrifice family for the game.
Both men are students of the game, appreciative of those who came before them and wanting to learn about and from them. Both work to pass on what they know to those who play now. It is men such as them who preserve and extend what the national pastime is all about.
The crowds left having gotten quite a day, and lots of memories to ponder as they endured long waits to get to their cars and just-as-long waits to get those cars moving beyond a crawl. And a little village in upstate New York waits another year before it is again the center of sport.
Doubleday Field is purposefully designed to be out of a different era. It doesn't have lights. It has the dirt path leading up to the mound, but it looks as if the grass died, not that it was marked.
There's a traditional grandstand with open seating the rest of the way around, and the only sign of electronics is the small, bare-bones scoreboard near the left-field foul pole.
It's a ceremonial place for ceremonial baseball, timeless yet not existing in any time. But for today's minor-league matchup between the local Oneonta Tigers and the Aberdeen IronBirds of Cal Ripken Jr., it was a showcase for the players.
Sadly, it was not a showcase for the fans. Twelve errors, about that many passed balls and wild pitches, several allowing runners home from third, and few hard-hit balls. The outfield grass slowed down every ball to an unreasonable degree, yet outfielders seemed unable to pick up the ball. Shortstops the size of David Eckstein repeatedly tried to heave flat-footed throws from deep in the hole, resulting in tosses nine feet high that couldn't break glass. Relievers threw high, low, hit batsmen, missed the catcher and generally underperformed.
Outside, there were a few ex-players signing (Denny McClain and Pete Rose have continued their convicts tour, you could call it), thousands of Orioles caps and but a few fans who seemed to be excited about the great Tony Gwynn.
Prices all along the food joints were jacked up to twice the price, or more, of what they are during the year. The locals have cleared out -- one told me he's in town for the induction for the first time in 35 years -- and price gouging is in full swing. On a trip to an ice-cream shop, the erasure marks on the chalk board were seen clearly on the prices and nowhere else. The menu remains the same, but inflation has done in three days what 30 years might take.
The big show tonight was the arrival of many Hall of Famers and the like, in a red-carpet ceremony of sorts. The crowds were gathered by 6, 6:30, though the guests of honor weren't to be there until as late as 9 p.m. One in the crowd freed up some spots by yelling, "Go this way!" and sending a few hundred folks in the opposite direction.
Parking is scarce -- the village is 1/20th to 1/30th the size of the expected crowd. In Cooperstown, people are selling their driveways for $15, $20, $25, $50 dollars -- one place had "one spot left!" for $1,000. Three zeros. Expect those prices to experience inflation tomorrow even more severe than that of the food joints. It's all business, and for those in the right place at the right time, business is good.
But baseball is king here, and for a weekend, at least, the national pastime is all there is to see. Other sports don't have the history, don't bring the pilgrimages, and rarely have the American heroes that many see in Gwynn and, especially, the Ironman. Nostalgia journeys near present tense with the induction of two men that even many children were able to see perform.
Tomorrow, a formality will take place. But it's likely to have echoing effects and memories. We can only hope the game itself feels those reverberations.
Yes, and with that the Yankees are two games over .500. It's a start. And Alex Rodriguez is one home run closer to 500.
The Yanks have also won two straight starts with Kei Igawa on the mound, the first time they've bucked the trend of alternating wins and losses. He's not doing much more than surviving, but it's better than nothing. You just hope that the other four starters do their jobs and Phil Hughes gets here soon.
I missed the whole game, and to add insult, I missed TCM showing a whole night of Barbara Stanwyck movies, as Monday would have been her 100th birthday. Not sure I would have loved all the films, but at least I would have been able to decide. Alas.
After nearly two decades of giving the media what they want (juicy controversy) and having them throw it back in his face, albeit misquoted and misrepresented, Gary Sheffield has finally decided to control his own image. He granted this HBO interview and he answered the questions, which is something to be lauded.
In this day and age where no one talks unless anonymity is granted (regardless of cause), Sheffield is somehow shocking because he agrees to answer questions and actually does so.
But back to the topic at hand -- Sheffield is making a play to control his own history.
Why do I say this? Sheffield obviously feels he was wronged in a number of ways during his tenure with the New York Yankees. Whether he's correct is always a major question mark, although he generally shouldn't be dismissed offhand. However, he's gaining control, a common topic of his. The Yankees won't respond, not because they're "classy" but because they are afraid of conflict (something seen on-field whenever Derek Jeter is plunked and no retaliation occurs). Sheffield gets the last word in on Joe Torre, Yankees management (especially Cashman, who never wanted him there) and the clubhouse atmosphere.
Furthermore, he's on a very good team that nonetheless remains in a dogfight, and even the Yankees are a worry for them. The Tigers, despite having Kenny Rogers, Magglio Ordonez and Ivan Rodriguez, are a faceless team without personality. The focus will be on their play, if they can take the pressure, unless it's somewhere else. Now, all Tigers talk is related to Sheffield, who is Reggie Jackson-esque in his ability to thrive with controversy and grudges. The grand slam Friday night is just a prominent example.
Sheffield has put the pressure on himself, freeing up his teammates such as Jeremy Bonderman, who threw a fine game Friday. He gets pitchers' attention, allowing them to possibly forget Ordonez, the American League's best hitter not named Alex Rodriguez.
But Sheffield has not fully retained control. An incorrect and misleading question by Andrea Kremer tripped up Sheff. When she said the most-prominent player on the Yankees was black, she meant Jeter. But it's an incomplete sentence. He's black and white (one parent each). Imagine the uproar if she or Sheffield (or any reporter) described Jeter solely as white.
Now, does the race question for him mean anything? Probably not. But she brought it up, so one cannot criticize Sheffield for mentioning the biracial Jeter without criticizing Kremer for playing a (incorrect) race label in the first place.
Sadly, Buster Olney, in an otherwise insightful column, confuses the point in two sentences that look as if they are from competing arguments.
(It must come as a great surprise to the esteemed Charles Jeter, by the way, to hear from Sheffield that his son is not African-American. Derek Jeter "just ain't all the way black," Sheffield said.)
First of all, the "just ain't all the way black" comment was a later Sheffield response. In versions of the Associated Press article, Kremer says the aforementioned statement, Sheffield asks "Who (is the black prominent Yankee)?" and Kremer says Jeter. Sheffield simply replies, correctly, "Derek Jeter is black and white."
Olney compounds this error by insinuating that Charles Jeter was indirectly told his son wasn't black. In fact, the only one to make that was Olney in that sentence, albeit mistakenly.
What Olney should have written, to be fair to all sides, was "It must come as a great surprise to Derek Jeter's mother that Andrea Kremer doesn't think her son is white." Jeter's identity likely transcends race, but it is certainly not at the expense of either. If he must be described in terms of race, judging from his long record of praise for his parents, it would seem he would want to be described as black and white. Gary Sheffield's one of the few who is fulfilling that desire, even if it's in an odd way.
Again, is that the most-important part of the interview (or at all)? No -- in fact, there's much more legitimate criticism to be had in the substance of his comments vis a vis Torre. But the fake, misinterpreted race card is the most-controversial for reasons generally beyond Sheffield's control, showing that in the end, it's the media, particularly the parts that hate people like Sheffield, that are still in control.
It's scary how Abreu's success or failure coincides with that of the team. Friday night, he didn't start against Tampa Bay because of the Kazmir Swoon-Inducer. Tonight, he gets five RBIs, singlehandedly providing the necessary offense as Mariano Rivera passed John Franco on the all-time save list.
The Yanks really need to take the Sunday day game, as losing any series, much less those to a team such as the D-Rays, cannot happen right now.
Other good things to see: Hideki Matsui has 13 home runs, and maybe the Yankees will actually get a second player to 20 homers by season's end.
Derek Jeter had two sharp hits to hopefully break out of this mini-slump he's in.
For all the naysaying about Ron Villone, he's better at his role in the bullpen than anyone else right now.
Ken Singleton do a fine job handling play by play and keeping John Flaherty involved. Flaherty, by the way, is much improved and sounds more confident without being a know-it-all.
What was not surprising: Kyle Farnsworth not pitching well. I never saw him much in his good years, so I can't tell what the difference is. I would think, though, that at some point, he actually gave a damn about location and changing speeds.
He's 20 for 56, with three doubles, one home run, 11 RBI, six runs, seven walks and eight strikeouts.
As long as the team keeps doing well with this set-up, I'm all for it, as he hits, gets on base and doesn't K much with it. He doesn't deliver much pop with those hits, though, and he scores fewer runs, but it's a small sample size.
And worse comes to worse and there's two outs when he bats (like say, in the first inning), he's .398/.505/.545 for the season in that situation.
The Yankees have already crumbled in offering to negotiate with Alex Rodriguez during the season, despite not doing so with longtime greats Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada (and Posada's wife).
Right now, with Texas paying part of A-Rod's salary, the Yanks have a great deal, but $30M, the possible ceiling, may be too much to pay.
I think with the way things are right now, the Yanks are forced to overpay. They'd just better hope everyone else is forced by finances to bid low enough to not have to spend some outrageous amount.
By the way, how weird was it to see Posada catching Frankie Rodriguez to close out the All-Star Game? One wishes J.J. Putz was left in to blow the save just for the newspaper headlines the next day. To address Bum's other comment recently, sorry, no first-half awards. It's as clear cut as ever, both on the Yanks and across baseball, actually, making my picks redundant. A-Rod and Magglio dominate at the plate, and Haren, Peavy and Penny rule the mound (with Sabbathia and others near). The second half will bring some back-to-earth feelings with a bunch of them, though.
If we're trying to handicap Roger Clemens for his post-All-Star break start, keep in mind that he hasn't had back-to-back eight-inning outings since 2001. And in Houston, he was shut out the last three times he threw eight innings.
But for the hell of it, let's travel back to 2001. That was his Cy Young year earned on the strength of a 20-1 start (finishing 20-3). On June 7 and 13, Clemens won both starts, giving up zero and three runs in eight innings each with 16 strikeouts combined. His next start was also a win, as he scattered seven hits in seven innings with no earned runs (one unearned) and seven strikeouts.
He then did not complete the seventh inning for eight consecutive starts, although he didn't pitch terribly in that stretch.
In 2005, he pitched eight innings four times. In the four starts just before those outings, he pitched 25.1 innings. In the four starts after throwing eight, that dropped to 23.1. Not a huge difference. However, in three of the four "before" starts (the fourth was sandwiched between two eight-inning games), he gave up zero earned runs. In the four "after" starts, he gave up 11 earned runs.
The longer break, thanks to All-Star Weekend, may help Clemens avoid this pitfall, but don't look for him to get past six for a while, no matter how effective he is in those frames.
The Yankees, as a team, get an F. Sorry, but when you're so far back that you'd practically be making baseball history by making the playoffs, yet you've got the biggest payroll and the most stars, that's all you get.
Now, individually, there's been some excellent work done: Alex Rodriguez, having possibly his best year (and that's saying something), Jorge Posada in a career year, Derek Jeter in a scarily normal year, Chien-Ming Wang, Scott Proctor's burnt-to-a-crisp arm, Andy Pettitte in April and May, Roger Clemens in July, and the Bombers squad on Old-Timers Day.
Unfortunately, that's been offset by Bobby Abreu, Robinson Cano, Johnny Damon, Wil Nieves, Kei Igawa, Mike Myers, Joe Torre and Brian Cashman, among others.
There's still lots of good baseball to watch (the quality of play around the majors has been exceptional, from my untrained observation), and I think, for a while at least, there'll be a lot of quality baseball involving the New York Yankees.
As for the All-Star Game, enjoy Ken Griffey Jr. He'll probably never be back, and certainly won't be this good. And enjoy Posada. You never know when he'll lose it. Hell, it could be September. And if you haven't seen the Giants' stadium, pay attention. It's the envy of the sporting world for good reason.
If you hop on over to NYBaseballtalk.com, you'll notice they've got an advance on the first three episodes of "The Bronx Is Burning."
ESPN cut them in, along with others, I'm sure, on a sneak peek.
Take a look, comment, and see what else there is to offer there. I haven't been terribly into the series so far, although it is hilarious to see the guy from "Rescue Me" with the Reggie Jackson afro, but only a terrible production job could ruin one of the great sports soap operas of all time.
That's what the Yankees are trying to do right now in the bottom of the second. Robinson Cano hit a home run, then Andy Phillips doubled the opposite way. And now, Miggy Cairo just tied the game.
Igawa is a tough choice to back for today's game because: 1. He's inexperienced and terrible in day games, going 4-5 with a 7.09 in Japan. 2. He has little respect (none earned) from Yankees fans. 3. He's just not that good. He walks everyone, and worse, misses high, leading to a ton of home runs.
Michael Kay, who once in a while pops in with something insightful, did it again in the first inning when he mentioned how a scout said Igawa's throwing just as well as in Japan. Same approach, too. Yet, he led the league in strikeouts three times over there. As Kay says, it's an indictment of the hitting over there.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Japan is a glorified Triple-A league (though that shows how much the quality has improved in recent decades). Yes, there's very good major leaguers there, but there are lots of those in our Triple-A as well. With that approach in mind, instead of the prevailing attitude that it's a league of equals, unfortunate, overpaid signings such as Igawa could be avoided.
The only thing in Igawa's favor today is that the team has alternated wins and losses in his appearances. Last time out, they lost.
The Yankees are two games under .500 and eight games back of the wild card.
In my mind, the team has until the All-Star break to get above .500 and reduce the wild-card deficit to six games, preferably five. If not, the season won't truly be over, but all but the most-improbable comeback will be an impossibility.
Andy Pettitte continues his run of not winning when he gives up more than one run. He was not extraordinary and was lucky to give up but two runs with 13 baserunners in seven innings, but c'mon. And Bobby Abreu hit eighth. If he's your eighth hitter, there'd better be four or five 100-RBI men ahead of him or else he's not worth having on the team.
The Orioles deserve some credit for keeping their nerve at the plate and pitching very well, but they shouldn't be stealing games from anyone.
And in case you've noticed the pattern, again the Yankees lost a game without Mariano Rivera ever entering. He's just a museum exhibit at this point.
There's fewer than you think. There's no real statistical standard I used, along with my friend Mike, in determining this list a month or two ago, but the A-list seemed to come to us quickly -- we separately had identical players. I'd say the qualification is obviously being a #1 starter and having a track record of it while still being at the top of one's game.
True Aces: Roy Halladay, C.C. Sabathia, Johan Santana, John Smoltz, Carlos Zambrano and Roy Oswalt.
Why? Halladay owns a Cy Young, was third last year, and in the last five years has recorded 77 victories despite two injuries (one a fluky batted ball). He sports a lifetime 3.62 ERA against a 4.68 league average and is an innings machine. He doesn't strike out many people, but remains efficient (nearly 3-to-1 K/BB career ratio and 21 complete games in the last five years). Plus, he's got two 10-inning shutouts, Jack Morris-style. And he's only 30. The problem is, of course, that he keeps landing on the DL.
Sabathia does his work despite being bigger than any NFL lineman who played outside the last 20 years. He may be a bit of a weak case considering he's surpassed 200 innings but once, but at age 26, he owns 86 wins in six seasons and one month. He consistently in the AL top 10 for H/9 and K/9, and last year led the league in complete games while finishing third in ERA. Plus, he tossed a complete game last night to get to 11 wins.
Santana is a no-brainer. Two Cy Youngs, a legitimate case for a third (despite not dominating until the Twins were cooked). He has three straight 225+-inning campaigns with ERAs under 3 and more than a strikeout per frame. He's had three straight years of leading in H/9, K/9, WHIP, K and adjusted ERA. The only knock I personally have is that at time, the Twins and he cost himself wins by using him like a closer -- full speed until he's tired, say, at six innings, and leaving too much up to the bullpen. But that's one hell of a nitpick.
John Smoltz is 40, yet he's probably the best he's ever been. He still brings the heat and wicked breaking stuff, yet is so much smarter. If his body holds up, tell me you want to face him. A Hall of Famer, that's what he is.
Zambrano and Oswalt are opposites in every way but one -- they are the rocks of their staffs. Sure, Z has struggled in several ways this year, but he's a guy you always want out there. Oswalt is underappreciated, perhaps, even in Houston, though he earned two 20-win seasons before age 30. For my money, the best starter in the game.
That's an awfully short list. Jake Peavy is awfully close, as is Dan Haren, Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman. Chris Carpenter was until this year's injuries. Notice the Yankees don't have any of these guys. Of course, not many teams do, and only the Tigers have two, even counting the B-listers. There's plenty of good, solid pitching (dozens of names), and this is no knock on them (Jake Westbrook, Brad Penny, Mark Buehrle) but the aces list, as it should be, is very short.
Make a case for someone else. This list isn't brand-new, so I could be leaving someone off.
Labels: Baseball
I didn't see a lot of last night's game, but I did catch the last three innings at a bar. No sound, but I don't think I really needed it.
Scott Proctor threw nothing but fastballs, but he located all of them very well until the last pitch. He was spotting Bonds just a bit too far inside -- not over enough to be consistently called a strike, but close enough that 2007 Bonds might get impatient. Let's face it: although Barry smoked that ball last night, 2000-2004 Bonds would have earned a four- of five-pitch walk.
I was most impressed with the penultimate pitch, the heat tailing away from Bonds. He somehow looked surprised to see another fastball and was way late. The problem? I think that was it for Proctor's strategy. So that next pitch, though slotted outside, was really just an attempt to throw as hard as possible (95 mph).
Proctor didn't do a bad job, but he might want to get the courage to try another pitch.
Outside of that, I really think Kei Igawa is a woman. He's got such a pretty face. At the least, it's laughable to watch him try to have a tough-guy look.
But I loved Derek Jeter's triple in the eighth. And Bonds' homer aside, A-Rod showed his skills with an all-around 4-for-4 night. He's the heir to the pre-homer-happy Bonds who truly was the game's best all-around player.
I also liked Melky Cabrera hitting lead-off. In his career, he's a .299/.379/.409 hitter there, and he's awful batting eighth, so it can't hurt.
Where you have a franchise that has nary a clue what direction they're going, no drive to spend what's needed and no one who would know how to spend if they had it. Hiring Andy McPhail was a good step -- if he's allowed to do his job.
But while the Yankees have frustrations -- big-time ones -- at least they have a plan. Right?
Well, right now that plan has had them gain no ground in the AL East in the last month, pronounce Kei Igawa healed because he has "a new delivery," and Red Sox blogs opining on the philosophical problems (near the bottom) of the Yankees franchise.
So maybe the Yankees are more frustrating, because they give hope? Nah. I'll take vanquished hope over the why bother fate that bestows the Orioles post-1998.
Speaking of hope, thank goodness for the wild card, right? Or this season would have been a lost cause weeks ago.
EDIT (06/19/07): A much-better statistical analysis, I think, confirms some of what I say below.
Even as Jorge starts to slip a bit with the batting average (the low-.340s, what a bum), he's still producing, hitting a home run as I type this sentence.
He's a multiple All-Star, a near-MVP in 2003 and a much-improved defender. Where does he rank among catchers?
Well, the first comparison would be among the Yankees, who boast Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, and Thurman Munson (not to mention Elston Howard and Mike Stanley, and really not mentioning Bob Geren). With a nod to Munson as the obvious choice for best defensive catcher, we can at least look at the offense.
Yogi had three MVPs, was a 15-time All-Star, led the Yankees in RBIs seven straight years (five of those for the world champs that year), and his final numbers are intimidating: .285/.348/.482, 358 HR, 1430 RBI, only 414 K in 7555 at-bats. There's really no downside with him.
Bill Dickey bridges Yogi and Babe Ruth, playing from 1928-46. He was an All-Star 11 times, and his final line is none too shabby: .313/.382/.486, with 289 K in 6300 at-bats, 202 HR and 1209 RBI. He also had 72 triples, surely a product of a different era.
Thurman Munson is probably underrated today considering all the attention focused on his untimely death. He lacked a bit in the power, but still had a fine .292/.346/.410 with 113 HR and 701 RBI in 5344 at-bats. He struck out more than the former two, but still, only 571 K. He also was the captain, the 1976 MVP and a seven-time All-Star. With his early death, we never saw what a decline might look like for him, but Dickey and Berra were productive into their mid- to late-30s, albeit in more-limited action.
That brings us to Posada. He's had but 4527 at-bats, and has struck out a ton (1,082), but has gotten on base more than most: .274/.377/.476, with 206 homers and 812 RBIs before tonight. He's been an All-Star only four times, but has four Silver Sluggers.
It's a tough battle for Jorge. He's up against two Hall of Famers, Berra being one of the best players at any position in his era, and one of the best non-HOF members in Munson. But the way his career is going, it's tough to argue that he's not been a more-productive hitter than Munson, if not as clutch or bearing any resemblance in the field. His career OPS+ of 123 is comparable to Dickey (127) and Berra (125) and better than Munson (116).
Posada is likely to play more than 140 games and catch more than 130 for the third straight year after age 32. Munson, of course, was not alive, but Dickey and Berra never accomplished that, although both started much younger in the bigs.
What we're seeing, in essence, is the third-best catcher of his era (behind Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Piazza) and someone who belongs in conversations with, if clearly a step below, three Yankees who are among the best the position has ever seen.
At age 35, almost 36, we're watching a special player's best year. How great is that?
Is Alex Rodriguez chasing the least-suspicious mark of them all -- the American League home-run record of 61, set by Roger Maris in 1961.
A-Rod hit his 26th home run today in his 66th game of the season. He's on pace to break the 46-year-old club and league mark, but remains slightly behind Maris' pace -- Roger hit his 26th in his 64th game off Joe Nuxhall and had #27 in game 66.
As a note, when Alex had his career-high 57 home runs, he didn't hit #26 until more than halfway through the year.
Rodriguez, however, can catch up in the next week or so, as Maris then went until game #74 without a blast. It'll be interesting to see how, if at all, this is followed.
There's no pressure, really. The only chance for some of that is if the media, as they did with Ryan Howard, last year, takes it upon themselves to anoint a "real" record holder without authority or facts. Even then, the badgering should be nothing new to A-Rod.
Not bad at all, but hopefully not the best he has to offer. The splitter looked great, and that's the key, because if he can control that, his other pitches are more likely to be effective.
Notice nobody was really talking about special treatment today. Those things don't matter as much when you're winning. Speaking of special treatment, this is my favorite Paris Hilton anecdote. From a "pal":
“It’s so cruel what has happened to her. She wasn’t allowed to wax or use a moisturiser. Her skin is so dry right now.”
Life's tough for the unmoisturized.
Other notes:
Bobby Abreu got around on that inside pitch in the sixth inning, something he really hasn't done all year. He hadn't lost that opposite-field approach, but he was useless on anything high or in. Good to see.
Melky Cabrera should be the full-time center fielder as long as he can hit for a decent average/OBP. Going into today, he was .250/.308/.360, with negligible difference from Damon save the 48 points in on-base percentage. Not quite good enough, in my mind. But his defense can be spectacular, although someone really needs to show him how to turn those inside-the-parkers into outs.
I don't know if the more-animated attitude of the team is a result of Clemens or the winning streak. I lean toward the ballgame-winning with a slight boost today by the weekend crowd and Clemens. Also, a small part could be the fun of playing a pathetic team such as Pittsburgh. My God, when the Yankees pull off not one, but two double steals without breaking a sweat, something's wrong with your club.
You know, one of the few good things about this 2007 campaign has been that when Alex Rodriguez hits a grand slam in a situation such as tonight, up a couple runs late, the immediate reaction isn't something idiotic like, oh he's padding his stats, or he's hitting because there's no pressure.
Besides, his numbers this year are very respectable for runners on, close and late, RISP and RISP w/2 out. And by very respectable, I'm understating.
Also...
Welcome back (for now), Bobby Abreu. June's given the man a boost, it seems.
Welcome back, again, the 1-2-3 Mariano Rivera. He still looks (to me, at least) like he's lost a little something, but he's got a lot to lose.
Now, to nitpick. Mike Mussina pitched great, but as he's admitted, it's one start up, another down. Let's get a string together, at least some quality-start streak resembling the machine you were most of last year.
So much for Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada getting a day off, although I absolutely think they were brought in at the proper times.
Kyle Farnsworth's mind doesn't connect well with his arm, apparently. He's terrible.
Both commissioners liked to live in their own reality, where the facts didn't matter in suspending players (the found-not-guilty Black Sox, barnstorming players who merely brought the game to rural America) and consolidating power was all that did (protecting Charles Comiskey's complicity in 1919's World Series throw, working till his dying day to keep blacks out, a follow-up to destroying the career of Jack Johnson).
Selig, while not on the same level as Landis, is close to fulfilling the first trait with his quid pro quo threat to Jason Giambi, which is essentially, to quote Dwight from "The Office" -- "If you tell me, you’ll be punished less."
Selig, of course, has already obtained the second by destroying the previous umpires union (although that was much of their own doing), by eliminating league offices and by spending a good decade ignoring anything that didn't have to do with increasing home runs and overall offense. Such as substance abuse.
Now, as the curtains threaten to be lifted, he's doing his best to whitewash history in favor of his executive branch.
You can be assured the union will fight any suspension, especially if it's handed out outside of the fiercely negotiated, well-documented steroid rules and punishments already in place. But it should not even get to that point.
Is Giambi a saint? Did he deserve a suspension? Would I have loved to see his contract voided a couple of years ago? No, yes, and yes.
But this is not the way to go about it. Punish him, if you must, whether Giambi talks or not, or get a governing body with real legal authority to subpoena his answers. Don't add false power to George Mitchell's toothless questionnaire by placing players in a Catch-22 situation.
Worse yet, it's going to tell the players and their union that good-faith negotiations aren't worth it, and hiding drug use and who's doing it IS in their best interests -- and that finding scapegoats is in the interest of Major League Baseball.
Labels: Baseball
EDIT: Nice comment with a good point on the complexity of this issue, among other things.
The argument that Gary Sheffield, and not incoming Hispanic ballplayers who don't speak English, is being controlled is an interesting one.
Sheff never quite leaves teams on his own terms. With the media, as seen in this case, they love when he speaks but turn around and hit him with his own words. If he's a dangerous moron, as Jeff Pearlman believes, he's one of the media's own creation. (To be fair, Pearlman acknowledges that).
However, he emerges from all of this, his tirades, his complaints about management, contracts and The Man, as someone who says what he feels, doesn't apologize for it and walks away, head held high. That's controlling things as much as one can.
It also doesn't hurt that his manager backs him. How's that feel, Alex Rodriguez? Oh wait, your biggest defender on the Yankees was probably Sheffield.
Even those who criticize Sheff have to acknowledge there's a dearth of black players, and somebody should be looking for culprits instead of the typical shrug of "Wow, look what's going on? Weird." And setting up baseball academies and employing teams of scouts in every country but not in inner cities should strike us as odd. The answer's not closing those avenues, but including neighborhoods right here at home.
Ozzie Guillen, a man who knows a thing or two about statements, says it simply a matter of Latin Americans playing more ball than anyone else. I'll go with that. He also proves Sheff's basic point, though, saying:
"It's not that they can control us; maybe when we come to this country, we're hungry," Guillen told the newspaper. "We're trying to survive. Those guys sign for $500,000 or $1 million and they're made. We have a couple of dollars. You can sign one African-American player for the price of 30 Latin players.
That's all he meant by controlling. That and the hidden, unspoken fact that teams don't want to sign guys they think are "troublemakers," which can often mean people that simply speak their minds. It's small consolation, but it happens in every line of work.
While Jemele Hill tries to split the difference, saying it's money, not control, she's only half right, and it's too bad Sheffield couldn't say this off the bat: Money is control. Just look at Ozzie's statement. He's more honest than he thinks.
And, also, this whole affair was borne from comments in a GQ magazine interview. They needed a hook. Sheff supplied it. They sell magazines, pundits sell their time and words, and everyone profits. Money, control, it's the very soul of this story. And it may well be that nobody's in control.
Labels: Baseball
That's the 2007 season for the New York Yankees. That, of course, and pitcher injuries, with this week bringing hiccups to Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens, whatever injury in the brain of Joe Torre that causes him to continue to pitch Luis Vizcaino.
Matt DeSalvo was awful, but it was tough to expect much. Derek Jeter has been awful ever since I documented his 81-game run of Ty Cobb-like greatness. His numbers? 7-44, 1 HR, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 5 K, .159/.196/.273.
Sorry, Jeets.
In other baseball news:
Yankees fans will regret their, the team's and baseball's treatment of A-Rod when he's gone.
I also jinxed Derek Lowe's no-hit bid tonight. As soon as I announced it to co-workers, he gave up a walk, hit, two fielders' choices and a home run. Or something like that. It was three runs.
Roberto Clemente is a legend, but let's not retire his number.
Ken Griffey Jr. is the people's choice to break Hank Aaron's record.
The blog, not the author. One of my favorite blogs of any kind has shut down, citing lack of time due to family.
Batgirl covered the Twins in a unique, imaginative way, including Legovision, and the Minneapolis area has recognized what a loss this is.
Not an easy thing to keep up any blog, especially one that good. Let's hope Twins fans can fill the void.
Labels: Baseball
The last successful Yankee team to be so terrible at this point was the 1995 Yankees. While they pulled out of their hole, as we've discussed, it seemed prudent to take a look-see at how that team stacks up to this one.
Read more...
Better yet, even though Derek Jeter had made his major league debut by then, there are no regulars on both teams. The 1995 squad was also brittle, with Bernie Williams the only player to top 130 games (albeit in a 144-game season). With that came a deeper use of the bench, although it's a stretch to say either club has a great corps of backups.
Here's the thing: It's tough to say hitting is the major problem for this club. It's a problem, but the pitching instability and inconsistency needs to be affected. But still, let's take a look.
The major flaw is that I won't have the pro-rated OPS+ for the 1995 team. I'm using Baseball Musings' Day-by-Day database for this, by the way.
Through 51 games (May 31, 2007 and June 23, 1995*), each team being 22-29:
Catcher: 1995: Mike Stanley -- 39-122, 6 HR, 8 2B, 25 RBI, 22 R, 19 BB, 38 K, .275/.367/.458
2007: Jorge Posada -- 60-168, 6 HR, 16 2B, 30 RBI, 31 R, 17 BB, 30 K, .357/.414/.560
Obviously, not even close. Stanley had a nice year, but Posada is doing absurd things like being on pace to play 150 games and hit almost 50 doubles, as well as hitting .357. A bright spot.
First base: 1995: Don Mattingly -- 35-137, 1 HR, 12 2B, 14 RBI, 15 R, 14 BB, 7 K, .255/.320/.365
2007: Doug Mientkiewicz -- 26-120, 4 HR, 7 2B, 15 RBI, 17 R, 10 BB, 15 K, .217/.286/.375
Josh Phelps -- 16-57, 2 HR, 2 2B, 9 RBI, 7 R, 4 BB, 12 K, .281/.339/.421
As bad as the Yankees have been in first base lately, or at least in backups, Mattingly's numbers outside of his 2:1 BB/K ratio are sad. He cleaned it up a bit for a .288/.341/.413 final line, but you can see why he called it quits. A pathetic push.
Second base: 1995: Pat Kelly -- 23-73, 3 HR, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 12 R, 12 BB, 24 K, .315/.414/.466
Randy Velarde -- 33-135, 3 HR, 6 2B, 14 RBI, 18 R, 10 BB, 23 K, .244/.295/.356
2007: Robinson Cano -- 51-193, 2 HR, 15 2B, 23 RBI, 21 R, 8 BB, 38 K, .264/.298/.394
Kelly, one of the most-hated Yankees I remember, somehow pulled this off before injury. He finished the year at .237/.307/.333, with one home run in his last 197 at-bats. Between the two, they have 15 more at-bats, four more home runs and 14 more walks. Cano gets the edge just because Velarde assuredly got some at-bats at other positions and Kelly was just awful. Again, a sad category.
Shortstop: 1995: Tony Fernandez -- 29-130, 1 HR, 6 2B, 11 RBI, 18 R, 15 BB, 13 K, .223/.306/.292
Derek Jeter -- 11-47, 0 HR, 3 2B, 6 RBI, 5 R, 6 BB, 11 K, .234/.280/.340
2007: Derek Jeter -- 70-204, 3 HR, 11 2B, 28 RBI, 32 R, 23 BB, 22 K, .343/.421/.461
With his mini-slump, Jeter's actually the tiniest bit behind last year, but hell, I'd take 1995 Jeter over Fernandez. Several other players got brief shots at shortstop in 1995, by the way, including Velarde and Kevin Elster.
Third base: 1995: Wade Boggs -- 45-161, 2 HR, 4 2B, 21 RBI, 20 R, 28 BB, 14 K, .280/.378/.354
2007: Alex Rodriguez -- 57-195, 19 HR, 11 2B, 45 RBI, 45 R, 25 BB, 42 K, .292/.386/.641
OK, this one isn't fair to the 1995 team, either. We'll see how A-Rod finishes the season, though. Boggs went .348/.433/.457.
Left field: 1995: Gerald Willams -- 15-57, 3 HR, 4 2B, 14 RBI, 12 R, 5 BB, 10 K, .263/.328/.561
Luis Polonia -- 35-142, 1 HR, 7 2B, 11 RBI, 25 R, 13 BB, 19 K, .246/.306/.345
2007: Hideki Matsui -- 40-142, 5 HR, 12 2B, 25 RBI, 23 R, 18 BB, 18 K, .282/.364/.472
Melky Cabrera -- 30-134, 2 HR, 3 2B, 15 RBI, 11 R, 11 BB, 15 K, .224/.284/.306
The 2007 Yankees gain another edge, although a slight one. Matsui is having a terribly quiet season, but he's little competition in the long run. Williams and Polonia didn't get any better collectively as the year went on. Cabrera, though, wouldn't even be on this team (or that one) were he not the only one with fresh legs.
Dion James and Velarde played 43 combined games out there in 1995. Melky has played 134 innings in left and 151 in center, plus 26 in right. I put him in left to have a two-player position for both years.
Center field: 1995: Bernie Williams -- 50-194, 8 HR, 10 2B, 31 RBI, 29 R, 20 BB, 34 K, .258/.330/.464
2007: Johnny Damon -- 42-159, 3 HR, 6 2B, 17 RBI, 27 R, 24 BB, 28 K, .264/.362/.371
Not as close as it looks. Bernie Williams was just becoming one of the American League's best all-around players, and Damon is just entering the decline phase of his career.
Right field: 1995: Paul O'Neill -- 42-127, 9 HR, 11 2B, 28 RBI, 24 R, 21 BB, 22 K, .331/.421/.630.
2007: Bobby Abreu -- 45-197, 2 HR, 6 2B, 22 RBI, 32 R, 24 BB, 42 K, .228/.313/.289
Abreu will be remembered, talent-wise, as a better all-around player. But no one could ever call O'Neill passive or defeated. Abreu has personified those descriptions this year. O'Neill was the team's best player in 1995 (and 1993 and 1994) and is worth two players compared with Abreu.
Desig-hated hitter: 1995: Dion James -- 19-62, 1 HR, 2 2B, 9 RBI, 5 R, 8 BB, 4 K, .306/.386/.387
Jim Leyritz -- 39-132, 4 HR, 8 2B, 21 RBI, 17 R, 20 BB, 46 K, .295/.400/.447
Danny Tartabull -- 35-145, 4 HR, 10 2B, 20 RBI, 20 R, 25 BB, 39 K, .241/.353/.393
2007: Jason Giambi -- 39-149, 7 HR, 5 2B, 23 RBI, 19 R, 25 BB, 35 K, .262/.380/.436
I say desig-hated because first it was a typo but also because it symbolizes the dreck thrown at this spot. Ruben Sierra was not with the team yet, too busy hitting a .284/.338/.517 that Yankee fans would never see. The 1995 Yanks get the edge, if only because Giambi is now hurt and the earlier team would soon be rid of Tartabull. Plus, Leyritz was actually an effective wild card that season.
What's the verdict? The current Yankees enjoy massive advantages at catcher, shortstop and third base with lopsided opposite outcomes in center field, right field and DH/extra. First and second base are relatively even in mediocrity, whereas left field is a crapshoot depending on who's playing. Both teams have a problem of highly concentrated strength. The 1995 Yankees, even before acquisitions such as Sierra and Darryl Strawberry, had many more options.
The 2007 Yankees have more firepower, but what you see is what we're going to get. What we see better start swinging a hot bat.
* the strike shortened the 1995 campaign, theoretically giving this year's team more time
I was lucky to witness any baseball this weekend. My car barely made my weekend trip (the bad) and I was visiting with relatives (the good).
What I did see was failure in the late innings, Saturday and Sunday, to deliver with runners on base. Granted, today, they did score one off of K-Rod, and you can't ask for a lot more than that. And Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, two of the failing hitters, have done more than their share of good this year. Also, Bobby Abreu got screwed worse on that strike three call Saturday than the Braves did every time Livan Hernandez pitched in the 1997 NLCS.
But...it comes down to that there's no margin for "but's" anymore. It's not a fun time right now. And the Yankees did not prove they are a good team in this stretch (Mets, Red Sox, Angels), going 3-6, and 4-8 if you include the White Sox. When you add that to the mediocre 8-5 against the blah Rangers and Mariners, the supposed "get it together" stretch -- i.e. the post-A-Rod homers every day stretch -- has displayed a 12-13 record.
At least Jake Peavy has a 1.47 ERA and 7 wins for my fantasy team.
Fatguy24 raises this valid point to this post:
I don't see why the Yankees can't void his contract based on his testimony in the Balco case. Court cases are a matter of public record and the testimony he submitted before the committee should be used against him.I'm not a legal expert, but even though there supposedly is some steroid-ish clause in Giambi's contract, there was technically no steroid element in the collective bargaining agreement. To prosecute, even within the baseball world, would be a bit of an ex post facto move.
I would also lean toward the conclusion that the grand-jury hearing is not necessarily public record in the true sense because his testimony was sealed, then leaked. Without the original documents in hand, the Yankees would have a tough case, and before an arbitrator, it's unlikely he (or she) would rule for them based on a leak. Also, perhaps Giambi has federal immunity. While that wouldn't protect him from baseball, per se, (see: Shoeless Joe Jackson), it couldn't hurt his argument against those who would suspend or void him.
Now, could the commissioner suspend him for conduct detrimental to the game? Probably, and if it wasn't too severe, he could do so without a big fight from the union. If it were a couple of years ago, Giambi may have even negotiated his own punishment. But now seems late in the game for that, as well.
As far as I can tell, though, the using-his-testimony has its loopholes, and by the time any legal avenues were worked out, he'd probably be through his contract, and it's unlikely the Yankees could recoup any salary paid during the legal struggle without going to a civil court. And I don't like the chances of them winning there.
If someone has a better handle on this and knows I'm way off-base, let me know. I'll be glad to correct the record.
82 games, 80 with official at-bats.
335 AB, 123 H, 7 HR, 2 3B, 21 2B, 50 RBI, 62 R, 35 BB, 42 K, 12 SB, .367/.440/.504.
Outside of the having hits in 77 of 80 games and the obvious batting average and hits increases, there's increases in his RBI pace, doubles and a reduced strikeout rate.
Jeter's 162-game averages:
655 AB 208 H, 17 HR, 5 3B, 34 2B, 83 RBI, 123 R, 68 BB, 114 K, 24 SB .318/.390/.464
Not necessarily a huge leap we have seen from Jeter, but that's because he was already so good.
To keep a historical perspective, however, as good as his half-season .367/.440/.504 is, it's essentially what Ty Cobb settled for after 24 seasons: .366/.433/.512
UPDATE: Comment and the reply
I talked about voiding Jason Giambi's contract in December 2004, and outside of the ill-fated hope that Tino Martinez had life left in his bat, I stand by it. It's part of my old adage that if not caught, there is no crime, and kudos to getting away with it, but if caught, there's no escaping responsibility and consequences. Giambi admitted his usage. It's as simple as that. The Yankees missed a chance to at least attempt the voiding process, and no amount of home runs is going to redeem that.
However, the report of Giambi, assuming it's true, using amphetamines is unfair and vindictive, and here's why: A first positive test has no penalty other than increased testing. Furthermore, it's confidential. The Yankees might not have known about it -- honestly.
To leak it shows that somebody, even if not an MLB clout-wielder, was sticking it to Giambi for his recent comments that included calling on baseball to apologize for the steroid era. Now, I may have been happy when a similar leak occurred regarding Barry Bonds, but if I was, it's hypocritical.
These leaks don't deserve to be protected by anonymity. The silence was negotiated, and is not a punitive action against the user, but rather one to give the warning and second chance it's intended to do. The leaker has no obligation to provide proof and nothing to answer to if the rumor has holes in it. By providing anonymity, the only one being protected is the leaker against penalty for possibly false information and/or a vendetta. This isn't the Pentagon Papers or Deep Throat, folks.
Back to the point. I'd love to void Giambi's deal. He's almost literally a deadweight. But with this testing agreement, it would seem a void would fall outside punishment already agreed upon by the union and owners. Furthermore, if the Yankees couldn't or wouldn't void for the blatant use years earlier, they're unlikely to get sympathy for a violation that carries no loss of playing time.
It seems the checks have been cashed, as it were. Just another missed opportunity, I'm afraid.
The Yankees should not be doing worse than two out of three when it comes to Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina. The rookies are another story. But even if the Yankees were in first place, you would expect roughly that performance from those three pitchers, the offense and the bullpen. But being a country mile back, of course, it becomes mandatory.
Tonight delivered the first part of that set. It was good to see the Yankees take a page out of the Mets book and run on a tandem that deserved it. Tim Wakefield/Doug Mirabelli threw but one of five out. Derek Jeter is at 16 games with his hitting streak, too. I have to mention it every game, I'm sorry.
And who knew Alex Rodriguez hit best against the Mets and Red Sox? Nice game for him tonight, even with the caught stealing. If he's not quicker than last year, he's acting it.
As far as losing goes, I'm not taking too much of what Bob Klapisch seems to think is a rift between Jorge Posada and Jeter vis a vis their reactions to the "losing mentality" cited by recent legends Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez. Jeter seemed simply to think there was no point in judging the season until the team's fate was more certain, and he did acknowledge frustration. Posada said roughly the same thing, just in different words. Avoiding a losing mentality, or shaking any signs of it, is not the same as succumbing to such a mentality.
I don't know that any current or former Yankee has said that.
Andy Pettitte is 2-3 with an ERA below 3. But at least he's healthy. Darrell Rasner has a broken finger and all of us have brain damage from having to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver today.
There's only so more days I can be happy about Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada hitting the tar out of the ball. At least Alex Rodriguez hit a home run today, although as I watch, Kyle Farnsworth is doing his best to extinguish all hope with the help of Robinson Cano's pursuit of the single-game error record.
As for Joe Torre, I'm becoming more inclined to go with the thoughts of Jeff Pearlman, whose SI background is a welcome addition to ESPN's disposition toward getting illiterates to write for them.
This raises two points -- Roger Clemens should have no leverage regarding a decision on Torre's fate. If he really won't come back because Torre is fired, then the Yankees save many millions. And at that point, it might not matter if he's back.
Secondly, shouldn't the Yankees have just made this move last year. Maybe getting a Lou Pinella (or even a Bobby Valentine) was what they should have grasped onto in November. Torre is a very Casey Stengel-like manager. No success till he hit the greatest jackpot of his generation, but when it was gone, it disappeared quickly and never came back.
As it is, we've seen a lifeless team outside of the shrinking old guard (Pettitte, Jeter, Posada) and Damon, who's too hurt to matter. Moose is giving a good effort, but he's too old to matter. Rivera isn't much help to a team that never leads. And the rest...well, no one follows A-Rod's example whether he hits or not, Matsui has aged five years in the last two, Cano and Cabrera have greatly regressed, Bobby Abreu looks fat and slow as much as he looked sleek and muscular last year, and the bench is useless.
We're not watching a team in a slump. We're watching a team that's no good. And every day that goes by lessens the chance of that fact changing.
Sure, they didn't need the run, but it was nice to see the American League's best-hitting catcher (apologies to batting champ Joe Mauer) crank one out of there late tonight. He's at a .375/.433/.583 pace, 10.21 RC/27 and 180 OPS+. Enjoy it, Jorge, and fans, too.
Plus, the catalyst Derek Jeter. Sure, he got lucky, reaching on an error earlier. But he also hit a huge triple later on, showing that he can hit with any runners on base (not just that absurd .400+ RISP showing).
Jose Contreras didn't pitch terribly, but got little help, a problem that's sinking the Sox right now. Chien-Ming Wang, on the other hand, was great. He's pitched badly, but he's also almost thrown a perfect game, too. Little bit of inconsistency, but at least he's out on the mound.
Nice to see Melky Cabrera make some contributions, including a shocking home run. I still have trouble at first glance picking out if it's him or Miguel Cairo. They look very similar, and at a distance, neither has a neck, so it gets more difficult.
Matt DeSalvo, the scholar, starts tonight. Excited, but not too much so, as this'll be a test for him.
Perhaps I was a bit harsh when I declared the 2007 AL East campaign over. It was one of the few times I was glad not to have traffic of the sort that WasWatching gets, as he got a lot of feedback on his similar posts.
There is a lot of hope for the wild card, and that's what I was trying to get at. Red Sox Nation, even in 2004, lives and dies too heavily with the division title. Granted, in years when Oakland or the second-place Central team are winning a ton of games, it feels easier to battle your division rival (whom you actually play frequently). But the Sox have fallen apart more years than not after the division starts slipping from their grasp. For the Yankees to do that would be tragic, and a foolish sentiment considering how often they've been losing to a wild-card team in recent years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006).
While panic won't help, the team does legitimately need urgency (and health, of course). With the wild card in closer sights, keeping that within reach is a worthy morale booster while waiting for the Red Sox to endure a slump.
EDIT: Well, that work won't start until tomorrow.
The Yankees start a series with the Chicago White Sox tonight, and both teams are looking to be better than their records.
Mark Buehrle's no-hitter has been the highlight for the Sox, who have scored but 131 runs in 34 games, leaving them hovering around .500 despite giving up only 142. They are also only 7-8 at home, although they are coming off back-to-back series wins -- taking two of three at home against the Royals and two of three at Minnesota.
The loss of Jim Thome, of course, has clocked this team, with its leading average and OPS man of the moment being Juan Uribe (.255/.768). Paul Konerko has had an atrocious stretch, even for a man of his streakiness (as my fantasy team has learned). Thome begins his rehab assignment today, but for now, the Yankees won't have to worry about him.
What does this say? If the Yankees can score runs, they can take this series. They need to do so, of course, after losing more ground to the Red Sox last night. That means Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui need to step it up, and one hopes Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon stay/get healthy soon.
And oh yeah, Alex Rodriguez, April's over. Get on with some May production.
However, we can all enjoy these few days when Jorge Posada is one of the top five AL batting leaders. I don't think it's a stretch to say he won't stay above .350 all year.
On the other hand, Derek Jeter has been a model of consistency, which bodes well for his average.
That's right. Despite the fact that Boston (25-11) playing over its head (+73 run differential) and is bound to have a 2-10 or so stretch, they're 14 games over .500 right now and the Yankees (17-19) are two below. Hell, the Yankees are 1.5 games worse than the Seattle Mariners.
I do this despite the fact that the Sox have had many mid-to-late-season swoons, and that the Yanks have outscored their opponents, 200-175, so there's gotta be more wins coming up. Also, I make this call while disregarding that it's very possible the Yanks have played their worst ball and Boston has played its best, and things will reverse (thus evening out the teams by September).
But I can't shake the feeling, and though I think the team is still a wild-card favorite, I have to step out onto a limb. I'd love to be wrong. Here's a compelling opposing argument.
WasWatching did some of this math a couple days ago, but look at the numbers. If Boston, say, wins 95 games, the Yankees would have to go 79-48. Not impossible, right? It would be easier if that's all they had to do. Instead, they also need the Red Sox to play just 70-56 the rest of the way. In other words, be as much above .500 in almost four times the number of games as they have been thus far.
Here's the good news -- the American League is shakier than last year, and the Yanks figure to battle someone from the AL Central (Cleveland/Detroit, most likely, but Chicago or Minny could make a run) or Oakland/Anaheim out west. Even with their awful start, the Yanks are but 4.5 games back of the wild card.
Bronx Banter writer Bruce Markusen takes a look at what other moves the Yanks will undoubtedly be making. What, you thought Clemens was it? Think again, he says.
Bill Madden says the old outfield, not the old arms, is the most-immediate worry right now.
From the Obvious Dept. comes George King saying Roger Clemens' won-lost record will determine how fans feel about his preferential treatment. Please, give me more gems, like how Barry Bonds is chasing a home-run mark, or that the Yanks are building some sort of structure next to the Stadium.
The Stadium is offering more Latin-style food this year, and Can't Stop The Bleeding spotted a NY Times article on it.
Good news for season-ticket holders, for now. As someone who tags onto a couple Saturday games a year with a package holder, this caught my attention.
Yankees Chick is trying out video. Don't be shallow, readers. She's got a real quality site.
This post takes a political angle on it, but since he's a presidential candidate, Rudy Giuliani's buying of World Series rings is getting a little notice.
If you're looking for some insight into this weekend's series from the Seattle Mariners point of view, check out Lookout Landing, U.S.S. Mariner, or the blogs of the city's two newspapers, the Pilot-Intelligencer and the Times.
Earlier today, I asked if Mike Mussina could provide the innings, with some doubt cast because of a decline in innings pitches and pitches per start combined with injuries and a slight uptick in pitches per inning.
Tonight, the Moose was very effective, giving up two runs in six innings. Most importantly, though, he offset a lack of strikeouts (two) by only allowing three hits and a walk. He threw only 85 pitches, although this was up from 64 last time out, for a per-inning average of 14.2. Obviously, if he can keep those numbers up, he'll turn into a seven-inning pitcher and propel the Yankees pretty far. Keep in mind he's but the #3 starter (and possibly #4 when Roger Clemens returns).
As for the rest, what more can you say about Derek Jeter? Four multi-hit games since his 0-for-6 outing, and he was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk in the #3 spot tonight. Last year, with the myriad injuries, he got some time at third in the order and hit .402/.495/.524 in 81 at-bats. He doesn't have the power for that spot, but he's sure not a bad substitute.
Bobby Abreu in the two spot worked well tonight, and finding a home for him should be a focus for the Yanks. The rest of the guys seem to be able to hit anywhere (within reason).
As we all know, the oft-injured Mike Mussina pitched but 64 pitches last time out. He hasn't pitched 200 innings since 2003. In those three seasons, he's also failed to throw 100 pitches per start, something he attained every year of his career before that. His pitches per inning since 2003 has been 15.8, 16.6 and 15.4.
His career mark is 15.4, so his falling short of 200 innings (he had 197+) last year is more of Joe Torre pulling him early (94.9 pitches per start) and not falling off late, as he was exceptional from pitches 76-105.
So all signs point to Mussina not being more than a six-inning pitcher, and sometimes slightly less. Understandable. However, given that in his three appearances this year, he's averaged 17.5 pitches per inning, look for five-to-six frames. Is that enough for a #3 starter? We'll have to wait and see. What I do think, however, and I don't think this is earth-shattering knowledge, is that he's much more likely to post his 2004 and 2005 numbers (25-17 with ERAs of 4.59 and 4.41) than his 15-7, 3.51 marks in 2006.
Andy Pettitte had but one win before tonight, a fate secured by the bullpen blowing three games for him.
When Sean Henn ended it tonight, that was also in the past, and the dandy one moved to 188 wins lifetime in his quest for 200 while on his second Yankee term.
Pettitte passes 1927 Yankee Urban Shocker, who pitched but one game after that year, dying at age 38. Shocker was one of several young pinstriped deaths from that team.
Anyway, Pettitte ties Rick Wise and Lee Meadows. Wise was exceptionally mediocre, going 188-181 with a 3.69 ERA against a league 3.71 in his career. He won 15 games seven times but never won 20 (not a shot at Mike Mussina, in case you're wondering). Meadows, who won 19 games for those 1927 Yankee World Series opponents, the Pirates, went 188-180 with a 106 ERA+. Meadows pitched but 10 2/3 innings after 1927, a year in which he led in complete games and a year off a league-leading win total.
It's safe to say Pettitte, with two 21-win tallies and a 119 ERA+, will be remembered longer.
Next up, for more Yankee connections, at 189 is a group that includes Lefty Gomez, perhaps the best Yankee postseason hurler ever. The Hall of Famer (189-102 record) had four 20-win seasons and won the pitching Triple Crown twice in a relatively brief career and was 6-0 in seven World Series starts with four complete games and a 2.86 ERA. Granted, the Yanks swept most of his WS, but he was as good as a win.
Now that everyone has gotten a chance to catch his or her breath, especially Suzyn Waldman (who seemingly left even the ESPN "Sportscenter" crew uncomfortable with the fawning she displayed), it's time to reassess where we stand on the Roger Clemens return to New York.
Laura Gleason at NYBaseballtalk says it's all about male ego. She makes a very interesting argument. Eventually, that link will be here, btw.
Curt Schilling has reconsidered his bluster.
Bronx Banter isn't buying it, and they've got tremendous insight on newspaper, TV, radio, Houston, New York, and Boston reactions.
As for Bill Simmons, who continuously shines light on the NBA (check out his pieces on Dirk Nowitski lately) but has disintegrated into the type of knee-jerk Yankee hatred that shouldn't be seen from either side, I mentioned him briefly.
However, River Ave. Blues chose to dissect the entire article, and even with a few slides into the same behavior (starting with the title and well-documented in the comments), it's a powerful indictment.
I'm fine with the signing, and the more starts he's around for the better. I would have been much less happy with a later signing that didn't have him on the mound until late June or sometime in July. At that point, it's just as good to try to find a team willing to dump a starter before the trade deadline. Or, by then, one or more of the rookies may have developed into a quality starter not worth benching.
The Yankees actually had cut their payroll slightly at the beginning of the year, which enables them to sign Clemens for a pro-rated $28 million now without blinking.
Of course, the Yanks still owe him money from the last contract, albeit not much. Thanks to Dave for that link, which has a fascinating and rather full salary roundup.
Worst number in that list: owing Javier Vazquez $3 million.
But now, A-Rod might have legitimate reason to want another contract worth $25 million or more per year. It's all speculation, as all of this is, but depending on how you look at it, Clemens is the highest-paid player in baseball. At almost 45 years old.
If the Yankees want to keep A-Rod, though, they will. The price tag won't matter much, except on Alex Rodriguez's psyche. The hidden benefit, I think, is that signings such as Clemens' outrageous sum will drive the bidding out of reach for anyone else, even the desperate Angels.
But at this point, is Kyle Farnsworth's allowing the tie the surprise? Mariano Rivera's slump is extensive at this point, his ERA still an ungodly 8.44.
Every year, at some point, someone likes to point out the Rivera decline, usually based on one or two outings. At this point, we're up to four or five, however.
In his defense, he's been used bizarrely this year, with long periods of inaction, which actually might not be good for him. At his age, he needs to get out and pitch. It's surely not likely that the Yanks are having him throw on the side or anything.
Disappointing ninth inning for the hitters, too, save for Johnny Damon. Bobby Abreu looked awful. I'm trying not to make too much of this, just as Saturday and Sunday weren't the answer to the whole season.
On the other hand, most Yankee fans are more worried about their own team, unlike the increasingly unhinged Sports Guy.
EDIT 1: Just to point out one error, Clemens didn't burn the Yankees. He never submitted his name to the retired players list (and never has, as numerous reports has wrongly said he retired after 2004 and 2005). In fact, every year, Clemens has filed for free agency. The Yankees burned themselves for not offering arbitration and calling Clemens' bluff, as I said often at the time.
EDIT 2: River Ave. Blues has more on Rivera and Abreu, as well as discussing the terrible blown call that I didn't get to see live.
Hell of a cool announcement. Just showing up, greeting the fans quickly, and out.
The Yanks looked very boosted by this, and while the back-to-back strong games helped, the presence of the greatest pitcher ever certainly helps.
Now, Clemens, with his relatively high pitch-per-inning count, will be a 5-6 inning pitcher in the American League. And he won't have sub-2.50 ERAs like in Houston. But he can be a tremendous asset, an intimidating presence and a bit unfamiliar to teams with young players.
As for the game, Bobby Abreu showed some stick skills in consistently staying back on the ball, Derek Jeter continued the peak phase of his career with solid hitting to all fields, and Darrell Rasner was better than expected, although 5 2/3 innings being a great start is a sign of how far the American development of pitching has fallen.
As for the beanball war, the warning issued after Phelps was hit was one of the few times I agreed with an issued warning. Phelps clearly was out of line in aiming himself (and his forearms) at Seattle's catcher. He missed the plate, to boot, which shows that he wasn't trying just to score. Hitting him was just evening the score.
At the same time, I can't blame Proctor. Taking an ejection is something the Yanks need to do once a while, or even once a season. Today, with a late lead against a deflated, punchless opponent, was the best-case scenario.
Chien-Ming Wang was so smooth today, I didn't realize from my upper-deck seat behind home plate that he was perfect until five innings went by. All hard stuff, from 91 to 95 mph mostly, and getting a lot more swings and misses than usual.
Seattle isn't a great-hitting team (Richie Sexon is sub-.150), but Wang would have shut down about any team today. The outfield for the Yanks backed him up when needed, too, and Melky Cabrera, for all his boneheaded mistakes, is a man with fabulous range.
Jeff Weaver, on the other hand, pulled some magic for five innings before relapsing into the guy with an 18+ ERA entering the game. He was heartily booed, and since he won a World Series last year as, inexplicably, a key part, I've lost any sympathy that might have lingered.
The team looked good today, for whatever that's worth. And some old college friends were present, so it was nice being able to bounce around the stadium and talk over the magic on the mound.
As for stadium experiences, Bob Shepard (spelling?) sounded fantastic, best in years, the work on the new Stadium is flying along (construction workers were clearly working very hard, even late on a Saturday). Alex Rodriguez got the biggest pre-game cheer -- yes, louder than Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, if not by much.
Bobby Abreu looks OK at the plate, although his power stroke really did disappear last year. Robinson Cano, though, continues to mix powerful swings with disasters caused by either getting fooled or guessing wrong.
A great day at the ballpark, with great weather. Too much travel, but still worth it.
Kei Igawa was pegged as a No. 4 or 5 starter. Despite all the injuries, with a presumably healthy and effective Wang, Pettitte and Mussina, he's back to No. 4.
This would be more comforting were he not in the bullpen 10 days ago.
The Yankees need him to not be a stopgap, but the best No. 4 he can be. Think a less surly Jason Marquis, or a less funky Orlando Hernandez.
Igawa's numbers aren't that terrible -- 39 BB+H in 26.2 innings, 19 strikeouts. But he needs to improve that a bit, and it's questionable whether he has the stuff to decrease the 26 hits or up the whiffs. So it's a matter of control. His last, successful outing is not something to go on, I think, as he's unlikely to often give up 2 hits in 6 innings to offset his four walks.
The hopeful outcome might be something like his April 18 outing against Cleveland: 6 innings, 5 hits, 1 walk, 2 runs, 5 strikeouts. That's a solid No. 4 pitcher.
This is, after all, the club that was rocked in Game 1 of the 1996 ALDS, then won nine straight playoff games over that series and two more in the decade.
It's been little better for the Rangers in the regular season since the start of 1997. New York has gone 67-34 including today's doubleheader sweep, including six wins a row.
Today's starters, Andy Petttitte and Mike Mussina, have gone 5-3 and 6-4, respectively, as Yankees in that stretch. The Moose hasn't taken a loss since August 2003 against the Rangers.
By the way, how is it that Pettitte can't have a bullpen hold a lead for him. He'll never get to 200 wins this way.
Anyway, big points from today:
1. Derek Jeter garnered hits in both contests, going to 59 of 61 games with a base hit, if my math is correct.
2. Jason Giambi might be the worst baserunner ever. So slow he looked like he was being lazy at full speed, and tries to score from first when the ball is thrown to third, ending the inning. (Game 1 action, for those who missed it). Luckily, Jeter had already scored the eventual winning run, and Mariano Rivera closed it down, but a terrible mistake.
3. Mike Mussina looked OK. Would have liked to see more than five innings, but you take what you can get. Not sure what the velocity was, but from the glimpse I took on MLB's GameDay, nothing hit 90. That's still a problem.
I'll be at Saturday's game, so I'm hoping for a little more of this Yankees team and less of the April version.
Thankfully, the Yankees did the right thing and fired a nice-enough guy who has no business being the head trainer on a major-league team, much less one of the oldest and highest-profile clubs.
It's a PR move, of course, and some of the injuries (Wang, Pavano, Karstens twice, Matsui, Mussina, etc.) weren't muscle-related or were fluky. However, the guy never had the confidence of the team, and that counts for a lot. And the Yankees who seemed to never warm to Miller were some of the hardest workers -- such as Andy Pettitte.
As for the withering flower Pavano, he may -- emphasis: may -- have to get Tommy John surgery. And while that won't erase the legitimate criticism of his less-than-steel reserve before, it will excuse him for the rest of his terrible contract.
MVN has more on other Yankee developments, and Yankees Chick reports on the prizes that AL Player of the Month Alex Rodriguez gets.
Tomorrow's doubleheader would be a nice place for a sweep, but two in one day is never an easy task. Andy Pettitte will have the heat on for the rest of the year to be the 1996-97 or 2003 version of himself, and Mike Mussina will also have to turn back the clock. Lots of pressure, and the odds are not great. But if you're bored with Yankee dominance and want to see some sweating, this is the season for you.
So, I'm at work and get excited when I realize that Phil Hughes, the 20-year-old in his second start, has a no-hitter through six. Then, about 90 seconds later, I see he's out of the game. And of any games for four-to-six weeks, according to Yankees.com. On the other hand, it may be a more legitimate baseball injury than Carl Pavano has ever had.
Hughes has been with the team only a short time since the call-up, and the injury seemed a bit fluky, but it really brings up again the competency of the Yankees' trainer. Too many injuries related to muscles.
But it was good to see Jorge Posada continue his strong play, and Robinson Cano getting four hits was not a bad sign, either.
As for the Yankees' long-term chances, the bad start in April may well doom them, although the recent trend has been the opposite. It's a great Jayson Stark column all the way through, and mentions a streak Derek Jeter continued tonight: hitting safely in 57 of 59 games. The only two similar streaks are "Joe DiMaggio in 1941. The other was Ed Delahanty, who got a hit in 61 of 63 games from June 5 through Aug. 18, 1899."
The wonderful Baseball Musings day-by-day database shows that Jeter is hitting .359 since last Aug. 20, and that span actually encompasses 61 games -- two games he played in but did not have an official at-bat. His slugging percentage in that span is "only" .488, but his OPS is a health .911.
Overall, I'd be way more excited about this win and performance if it weren't for the injury. The one-day-at-a-time approach is probably best for those not wanting too much heart trouble.
If A.J. Burnett is on, he's not often to be beaten.
Phil Hughes was up against it, and there can't be much to go on. He was more interesting as a trivia concern: Youngest previous Yankees starter and last first-round pick to make the majors for the Yanks. The second answer is discouraging, and reminds me of how the Orioles developed Cal Ripken Jr., won a World Series, and basically never developed anyone until he retired.
The team is 8-12. What's the answer? Oh, for A-Rod's mindset or hitting approach to be the biggest problem.
Are we in must-win territory? I won't say that, but I think another Red Sox sweep, one at home no less, could push this season into wild-card mode.
Pitching is the biggest concern, and the Yankees may have to make a deal. For whom or how, I don't know. Of course, if Joe Torre wants to keep managing them out of games with weird handling of pitchers, it won't matter.
To be fair, as some of those links show, the poor starting pitching hasn't made Torre's job easier. But still.
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And as for the Curt Schilling bloody sock controversy, WasWatching says, understandably, "Why would he lie?" But Baseball Musings, whose author is an ex-ESPN employee who (openly) dislikes Gary Thorne's work, says he's simply sloppy.
Thorne's been a great hockey broadcaster, although not everyone agrees, and he's covered, well, some big baseball moments.
I don't know why he's bringing this up now, but I don't know if either blogger is right. Thorne doesn't have to lie to be incorrect, and Thorne not being a stat geek way back in the day, or rather, being the right type of stat geek, seems to not matter here. That being said, a reputation for sloppiness should be kept in mind should Thorne keep saying things of this sort.
As I commented on the Baseball Musings post, this whole issue just shows how great Curt Schilling is at public relations.
So pessimistic, I know. But the rainout is never a bad thing when there's injuries abounding.
In this case, Andy Pettitte facing the Red Sox on Friday is a good thing, and keeping Phillip Hughes on track is also good.
Alex Rodriguez, of course, needs but one home run in the last week of the month to break Albert Pujols' April record. The record is diminished slightly by the many decades of teams not playing the full month, but it's still impressive. Considering other top marks, such as Rudy York's 17-homer barrage of August 1938 (stealing signs) and Sammy Sosa's 20 HR June (steroids, something else?) are suspicious at best, 14 HR is quite the total.
It's not the best Yankee month, however. I'm doing this off the top of my head, but Babe Ruth had 17 HR in September 1927, rocketing from 43 to 60 (and for decades throwing off projections of would-be record-breakers).
Sorry for no links. I'm technically on holiday, but keeping up best I can.
On a sad note, a girl with a brain tumor who was featured on ESPN's "My Wish" has died. Her episode was one of the few I saw, and one where you knew she probably wouldn't make it, but if anyone was, it would be a person such as her.
Alex Rodriguez is having perhaps the best month of his extraordinary career, and the Yankees are squandering the whole thing. Only my fantasy team has responded well to his heroics, but that, sadly, is a secondary concern.
There's some hope, I hope, in the return of Hideki Matsui, who had an RBI, the 14-game hitting streak of Derek Jeter, and the major-league debut of Phillip Hughes on Thursday. If Hughes bombs, he'll still be the team's second-best healthy starter (pending Chien-Ming Wang's return tomorrow).
Igawa is looking to be anything but a major-league starter. He, along with past flameouts such as Masato Yoshii, etc., should give pause to those who truly think the Japanese leagues are on even footing, through and through. They'll get there, but not yet. But that's not the real issue, of course. The real issue is that the Yankees have no dependable starters for whom Mariano Rivera can lock down a save.
NoMass.org wants Melky Cabrera to be sent down to AAA, and Was Watching says it's time to consider it. This blog loves Melky, but doesn't think that's a terrible idea. The idea of replacing him, say, with Kevin Thompson, however, seems like a lateral move.
April isn't a make-or-break month, as the Oakland A's prove almost every year. But it can show very quickly the flaws that will plague a team all season long, the fatal flaws. It's a good thing I'm on vacation, so I don't have the time to ponder the likelihood of that pessimistic latter possibility.
Sure, the Yankees lost a game Friday that they should have won. And even in the next game, with beating up on Beckett, they had Jeff Karstens, a pitcher who hasn't really proven his major league worth and who was in his first start since injury.
They may be swept, even. But it's not quite a big deal. The 8-9 possible record is more of a big deal, and even that isn't a panic situation yet.
We may be thinking that last year's five-game sweep at Fenway is normal. In fact, the matchups favored the Red Sox, and while that sweep did sink the Sox, it didn't really boost the Yankees' standing against Detroit, for instance.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, should be feeling pretty good while not forgetting that they, too, are a deeply flawed team. And both should worry that B.J. Ryan or no, the Blue Jays (or Orioles) are going to put it all together one of these years.
Disclaimer: I spent a decent amount of today in Boston. Didn't know what happened with the game, but guessed the correct outcome judging on the relative pleasantness of the populace.
That's all I can say. To make Kei Igawa, and especially Chase Wright, look like solid No. 4s is sad. And for a team known more for its hitting, it's a dangerous road to go down. To be fair, Jake Westbrook was clearly caught on a bad day Tuesday.
Alex Rodriguez is hitting so many home runs that he's boring people. Peter Abraham points out his contemporaries in fast starts and takes a positive wait-and-see approach on Igawa and the season as a whole.
Either way, it's a fun time to watch him, and it's taking pressure of the majority of the lineup not producing well at all.
Over on Bronx Banter, one guest is positively down on this year's Yankees. He makes some good points, and some scary ones (i.e. Jeter's woes).
With the Yankees-Red Sox circus upcoming, I have to say that I don't mind them playing a series at this point. I just don't like when, as MLB occasionally does with rivalries, they play three or four series before the All-Star break. Even with a 19-game head-to-head slate, it leaves precious drama for September.
The worst recent case I can think of is 2004, when St. Louis and Chicago played 19 times between April 30 and July 20. Granted, the World Series-bound Cardinals ran away with the division, but coming off of Bartman and the Curse living on, MLB clearly knew that a September fight was possible. Punctuating that with head-to-head matchups would have helped. As it was, the Cubbies were wild-card contenders, even if they were 16 games out of first.
This year's Yanks-Red Sox schedule is only somewhat spread out -- 12 games by June 3 with a late August and mid-September series. Maybe people like the buildup by a slew of these games in a span of two weeks or so. I'm not such a fan.
Oh yeah, Mark Buehrle threw a no-hitter. ESPN.com said it was the 16th(!) in White Sox history. Here's the list of the others (scroll down), most thrown before WWII.
It's the first American League no-hitter since 2002 by Derek Lowe. Ricky Henderson played not left but center in his 44th year and led off for the Sox. That'll take you back.
Yes, a terrible headline.
But Chase Wright proved to be just as mediocre as Jaret Wright, minus several million dollars and exceeding expectations rather than provoking fear. Also, this Wright doesn't constantly get batted balls smacked off of him.
This is how the Yankees have to win for now: Hit enough, hope the pitching is a shade better than terrible and overcome the defense. It's also, unfortunately, the game plan of the 1996-2007 Texas Rangers and the 2004-2006 Yankees. It'll get you only so far.
But enough doom and gloom. The happy-haps tonight? Alex Rodriguez hit another home run, and as a Yankee fan and first-place fantasy team owner, I couldn't be prouder. Now, of course, it's still early, and he's had "redemption" before, but he's playing as if he realizes all he can control is on the field. And fans, for now, are realizing that they have to accept what he is, and if they can't, it's on them. (I'm heavily backlinking myself, I know. Sorry.)
The other happy news is the most-underrated catcher of the young century, Jorge Posada, and his flying-high start (.364/.408/.568, 2 HR, 11 RBI in 12 games). Last year, he started off at .288/.395/.452 and had an excellent year. In 2005, when he had somewhat of a down year, he started .244/.330/.333, although both years saw a powerful May. In '04, April was .300/.434/.683 with a strong-average, low-power May. Not a lot to go on, but I've a hunch that this is going to be a good year for Posada.
It's the very rare occasion of liveblogging some of the game. We'll see how it goes.
Picking up in the 5th...
5th inning: I'm holding back on deciding whether Carl Pavano has a real injury or a fake one. Darrell Rasner can only do so much, so he hasn't been terrible through four.
Alex Rodriguez looks like he's the old A-Rod, the 2005 A-Rod or the one he was any year before joining the Yanks. On the other hand, some will always be unhappy.
Johnny Damon is taking a lot of pitches, which is his style, but Blanton snuck a couple by. Good to see from a starter even when he's struggling (2 runs already), even if he's pitching against the Yanks. Looks like Blanton won that battle. Maybe Damon thought he could wile out a walk, or maybe he just guessed wrong throughout. The two runs help make that easier to stomach. Damon's been a good pickup, but I think he'll be remembered more for how he helps or doesn't help Jeter's numbers than his own play.
Bottom of the 5th: I forgot Shannon Stewart is with the A's. He can hit, but doesn't steal anymore (20 for 35 since the start of 2003) and doesn't walk. He wasn't a bad fit for the Twins, but was overrated, I think.
Kenny Singleton just talked about the Yankees pitchers who are coming back soon from injury. He referred to them "returning to health." I know, it's a broadcast without much time for self-editing, but that phrase doesn't make sense. It's "good health" or "poor health." Not having health means, I guess, that you're dead. And only Lazarus and Jesus have pulled that one off (and Superman, maybe?.
Sean Henn is up in the bullpen. Best-case scenario, he becomes Ramiro Mendoza. Worst-case, he becomes Tanyon Sturtze. Not much insight, I know, but that's about all we know for now.
Rasner's out of it. Not bad, considering his start.
Top 6th: Derek Jeter is up, and so are the mics. Lots of crowd noise. The A's finally realized that no one wants to sit in the next county with its football-style seating, so they've lowered the capacity and actually seem like a team with a wide fan base.
Jeter went around trying to avoid a high tight one. He did the same on a pitch he was hit with in the A-Rod grand slam game. Seems like he's done that a lot before, but they are calling it right now.
Flaherty and Singleton are talking about the vagaries of the umpire's strike zone, and Wade Boggs comes up as the man who always got calls. I may have linked to this already, but at least one ump disagreed, saying Boggs just knew the zone.
Both announcers call an A-Rod steal attempt possible, but doesn't immediately happen. Unless A-Rod sees a tipoff, I can't see him thinking running with Giambi up is a good idea, even with the big guy in a slump.
Well, slump continues, no steal attempt. I just wasted a couple paragraphs, didn't I?
Bottom 6th: I didn't even get to talk about Mike Piazza, and now I've lost Darrell Rasner as he leaves. Good job, Rasner. Spot start, terrible 1st inning, and yet turned in a better performance than you might have expected. Lowered expectations, I know, but still.
Really boring inning. Singleton makes the "aw, shucks" pun of Robinson Cano tying the major-league record of three assists in one inning. Not nearly as annoying as if Michael Kay said it.
Top 7th: Speaking of Michael Kay, I don't miss him here. It's a quieter game, allowed to breathe. Now, he's not a terrible hometown announcer, as they go. But it's his competency that breeds his arrogance, which is probably worse on the radio, of course. OK, I'll stop on him, since there's no point in kicking an announcer when he's not there.
ROBINSON CANO WALKED!!!! Oh wow. That's career walk #37 against more than 1,000 at-bats. We've witnessed history, folks. Speaking of history, how about a second-year second baseman who slugged .525?
Josh Phelps is up, and I've shared my thoughts already on him. Three pitches later, he hasn't exactly changed my mind. Flaherty says by missing the chance on the first-pitch hanger, he essentially ended his at-bat. A crappy hitter himself, he should know.
Speaking of Flaherty, who's been great (and Singleton doesn't pressure him), he notes that pinch-hitter Jorge Posada getting a full day off means the team's had a great day. Now, the Yanks haven't been awful today. But they need a hit from the bottom half of the lineup, and nobody else seems like they could do better.
What a hit!! Jorge takes the big hanging curve or something, rips it, and Cano runs all the way from first (he moved on the pitch, granted). The boos are ripping through and Blanton is out of there. Tie ballgame.
Bottom 7th:
Derek Jeter makes a nice stop, but Phelps screws up the scoop. Singleton initially thought the error-prone shortstop should get it, but the throw wasn't that terrible. Giambi could have gotten it. However, you wonder, if Jeter could go to his left better, would he have had to dive? I'm not sure of the answer. Don't know why the team defense seems worse than ever. Perhaps it's just an early-season anomaly.
Henn's out, which isn't great (makes the true bullpen pitch three innings) but not insurmountable as long as Scott Proctor's arm hasn't fallen off.
I'm really typing this as it happens, honest -- it seems Proctor's legs still work. That would have been one hell of a violent collision between the big man and A-Rod, also a big man, obviously.
Next man advances Bobby Crosby (not our pal Bubba) to third. Kind of a win-win for both teams -- Yanks get an out, A's get a guaranteed run if there's a hit.
Wicked pitch in the dirt from Proctor to Stewart. Too hard to have time to react, too much movement to guess correctly on. Of course, he then throws a ball to set up 3-2. Don't give him too much to hit. Risk the walk by trying to get a chase.
The result....Proctor gets exactly that. Stewart hits a soft grounder on a low pitch, A-Rod guns him out. Phelps holds onto this one. Good work, Scottie Proctor!.
Top 8th: As Jeter flies out, they announce that they changed the error to him, giving him two on the day and continuing his Jose Offerman-like quality there. Don't like the decision. If a first baseman can't make a scoop, it's his fault, especially when the throw isn't wide.
Can't believe Alan Embree is pitching. Partly because he was so awful in 2005, but also because he's got a 4.53 career ERA. I guess, like Jesse Orosco, a past-his-prime lefty can always find a home. I did get the fortune of seeing Orosco strike out Damon with runners on in his first Yankee appearance. At age 46 or 47 or whatever, he summoned one last bit of magic.
Embree, by the way, is determined to give A-Rod a home-run pitch. Lots of strikes, but can't quite get a hold of one. Ahhh....a relapse for A-Rod, swinging and missing on a dead-red fastball. Chalk one to luck for Embree.
And Abreu caught stealing. The math would have said great inning for the Yanks, but the results didn't work out. Let's hope Proctor or whomever can keep shutting down this surprisingly punchless A's offense.
Bottom 8th: Nick Swisher swings so hard he undoes his button. Maybe he left it loose a la Willie Mays wearing oversized caps in the field. Swisher reminds me briefly of The Hold Steady song "The Swish." Great song, fun party-time lyrics. They've also got a song about unbuttoned attraction ("Cattle and the Creeping Things") -- "She likes the way it looks on her chest with one, two, three open buttons."
Wow...huge aside. But Mike Piazza was being boring in his at-bat, and then Torre did his interminable walk to the mound to bring in a new guy.
OK, Mike Myers in after Proctor's usual five outs. Singleton praising Eric Chavez for his defense and power despite a subpar year last year. The loved-by-Peter-Gammons third baseman promptly walks. C'mon, Myers! I know you have no regular pitching schedule, but walking lefties won't help that improve.
CLICHE ALERT! Singleton: "Lefty veteran pitcher against lefty veteran hitter." Deep.
Myers has him in the hole, so there's really no excuse for anything but a bloop hit.
At 2-2, he proves that he's got Todd Walker the batter off-balance with a sweeping breaking ball that gets weakly fouled off. Might as well challenge him rather than risk a walk being cute. Posada out to talk, hopefully conveying that message. Flaherty's talking about an inside pitch being needed.
Gets the right result. Believe me, I'm not usually this in tune with the game.
On to the 9th, deadlocked.
Top 9th: It's not exactly a sense of urgency, but the Yankees pitching is bound to crack sooner than later, and who knows if Mariano Rivera will come in with the score tied. You'd like to see a score this inning, because the bottom of the lineup is less likely to deliver in a possible 10th inning. Of course, with Giambi already out, it's up to the always-patient Cano to start things up. Even if you concede a Phelps out, Cabrera is swinging a better bat, and Posada is on fire, so having a man on could mean bringing in Mo in a few minutes and ending this debate.
2-2 on Cano. The crowd seems like it wants to get excited, but isn't sure if Embree is just fooling them. Foul ball. Good pitch on the hands, especially for a guy who doesn't seem to have his old velocity (91 mph to A-Rod on that strikeout, for instance), although it's not bad. Of course, he just threw 93 mph on that last foul ball, so I stand corrected.
Singleton sounds fairly at ease in this lead role. He's had the practice, but it does say that no announcer is entirely indispensable. The Yanks have a deep crop of them.
He is filling up more dead space than earlier, but Flaherty hasn't said anything in five minutes. Maybe he's in the bathroom.
Robinson Cano walks again!!!! Four in two games!!! Huston Street in, Embree out. Makes sense. If Embree can walk the better-hitting Oscar Azocar, he can walk anyone.
Annnnnd we're back... John Flaherty is back from the can to dissect Cano's at bat and also see it himself for the first time. Predictably, Phelps quickly gets out, and now Melky, my favorite .370-slugging outfielder ever, is taking his hacks.
I'm not even going to comment on this latest caught stealing.
Bottom 9th: Luis Vizcaino is in against the .207 hitting Bobby Crosby. I like Crosby, and he seems to hugely impact the A's, but I don't quite know why. He also can't pull his glove out of the way on tags, as Singleton and Flaherty have noted all game, even flashing back to a tag on Cano last April. He's also lost his pop, without an extra-base hit this year, and gets hurt a lot, with almost half the games missed the last two years. He pops out.
Vizcaino sails a pitch way high. He'd better not sail it into the zone, because that ship will be departing with the message of an A's win. Haha, haha. Nautical puns aside, I'm not sold on this guy's command just yet, although he's not a bad guy to have at all.
The fantastically named Travis Buck is battling here. They speculate on his power potential. He looks a bit too small right now to become a true slugger, but he could, optimistically, develop into a Steve Finley/Luis Gonzalez type who later gets power (enhanced or not) despite a more-slender frame. He draws a walk, in true A's fashion.
Score one for not having command, Vizcaino.
This liveblogging is not as fun when your team can't convert. Abreu boots the ball, everybody's safe, and now you almost have to bring Mariano Rivera in. Although, he might not be ready, and he's the king of bloop hits with runners in scoring position. One out, though, with the double play in effect, so all's not lost. Right?
Whew. Two outs. And now Shannon Stewart is up, and his weak bat aside, it seems like he might just deliver to spite me right now.
Reverse psychology works! Extra innings. Wow. I picked a good game.
Top 10th: My lack of faith in Vizcaino unfounded, I look forward to the Yanks actually scoring some runs. Because if they can have four errors, they can score four runs. Now, my boy Melky is ready to deliver, yes? Swing and a miss! Damn.
Huston Street is good, even though the last time I saw him, Magglio Ordonez sent the Tiggers to the World Series. Wouldn't mind a reverse of that, and now Damon comes up with a runner on, nursing an 0-9 in the series.
Speaking of Huston Street, remember that ill-fated Lori Loughlin-Tony Danza comedy "Hudson Street"? Everyone was sure it would be a hit -- I guess they forgot that two terrible actors as leads doesn't usually mean success.
Speaking of failure, Damon strikes out again. Rough day.
Jeter's at .333 with a .417 OBP. We'd take that for a full year, wouldn't we? Minus the 20 hit-by-pitches that will be required.
Finally! Bad defense strikes the A's, and the two stalwarts, Posada and Jeter, are in scoring position. There's still two outs, though, but this is a huge break.
Abreu should take the bat off of his shoulder in this spot. Don't let them pitch around you just to get to A-Rod, although that's not a bad position to be in, as the Yankees go.
Chance to be a hero, Bobby. Great matchup.
And a walk.
A-Rod. Bases loaded. Game sort of on the line. Against a top-tier closer up against a high pitch count. Like the odds.
And I'm an idiot. Pop up. Huston Street, you lucky SOB.
Bottom 10th/Top 11th: Again, the Yanks play from behind, as Jeter can't outthrow the runner.
Piazza up, but he's never been a Yankee killer against anyone but Clemens.
I missed part of this half-inning, but Farnsworth looked good for an expensive one-inning man. Clearly frustrated Piazza.
The Yanks bullpen continues to impress. As long as by September, they aren't cooked, that'd be great.
Doug M. (don't wanna spell it out) is awful. Man, Andy Phillips was better. But, the failure to produce the last couple innings means bringing in Mo. Not a bad thing, but you'd like to have it be a save situation.
Bottom 11th: Mo's going only one, Singleton thinks. Brian Bruney is all that's left as the Yanks work on 10 scoreless innings.
Gets one out. Mo still moves well at age 37, and he's in incredible physical shape. Thankfully, most of us have realized long ago that we're watching a legend in action.
94 mph to Buck, who's never faced the Sandman before. That's a deceptive 94 mph, that's for sure. Of course, the ump just shrunk the zone or something, because it's a four-pitch walk.
They just showed Torre on the bench. God, he looks old. He is, of course, one of the five oldest coaches in the four major sports, I believe. He's so old that Charles Schultz wrote a comic strip poking fun at his managerial posture (search for Peanuts).
Aside-happy as I am, Jeter goes to his left to snare a liner. Granted he moved about two steps, but the athleticism on the leap was impressive.
Two outs, one man on. Not a situation to worry. It's more to worry about the next inning -- if the Yanks score, Mo has to pitch two, realistically. If they don't, it's Brian Bruney indefinitely, and the guy pitched last night. He seems tough, but still.
It's good Posada is in the game at this point, I think. He can baby the inexperienced guys and just put up a target for someone like Rivera. Although, his day off is turning into almost a full game.
Gets out of it, with Douggie M. putting the ball away. Man, first base is just a void for outs when Giambi is DH-ing. At least Doug can field a bit, or so goes his rep.
On to what promises to be a very interesting 12th inning.
Top 12th: Mo's wearing a sweet hoodie as the 12th starts, although that just says how cold it is around the Bay area.
Posada rips a ball that makes you wish Phil Rizzuto was announcing. Yes, I know, being the 12th inning means Scooter would be long gone, but still. The ball looked gone for a second but then settled lazily into the glove around the warning track. Posada is doing a good job of defying occupational-related age so far, but remains stuck on 199 career homers.
3-1 to Damon. Get on base, please. Takes yet another strike. One day after being bitch-slapped by the A's for his arm, he's being equally unagressive at the plate, though as I type this, he gets hit. Take vengeance on the basepaths, swinger.
Lenny DiNardo, an accomplice to Bronson Arroyo's Northeastern escapades, is pitching well, especially considering his recent arrival.
Abreu is up with Jeter at first. I'd like to see Jeter run, despite the lefty pitching and the two caught stealings for the team. They need to shake something up here, and an Abreu single needs to drive in a run. Alas, he weakly grounds out.
It's the Brian Bruney show now.
Bottom 12th: I hate to keep repeating this, but the Yanks are testing luck. However, the pitching has been skillful and has not really relied on luck. The A's, of course, help by not having any good hitters.
Bruney, whose name apparently is "Bru-NAY," according to the PA (I've been calling him "BRU-nee") can bring the heat, the announcers say. On the other hand, he is like 250 pounds or something. David Wells is the exception as the big guy who throws small.
Swashbuckling Swisher is at the plate. He's a dangerous guy, I think, or at least the closest to one the Athletics have. Speaking of dangerous, the Yanks and A's share three of the most-dangerous home-run hitters ever, all from different eras and different cities: Home Run Baker (Philadelphia A's), Roger Maris (KC A's) and Reggie Jackson (KC/Oakland A's). The first and last did their best work arguably with the A's, and we all know Maris' story.
Swisher does not emulate their successes.
Bruney gives Piazza a FAT pitch, but "I'm not gay" Mike pops it up. Being Oakland with its vast foul territory, Doug M. runs a half-mile and catches it.
So yeah, the 12th inning was not quite so eventful. What a duel.
Top 13th: Normally, at this stage, you get the talk of all the hitters tensing up, trying to be the hero and end the game in one swing. This is to explain the lack of success against a typically burned-out bullpen. However, the teams have hit like hell for the whole game, so I think it's just a continuation of a pattern -- that and some fine situational and long-term pitching by both teams.
A-Rod and DiNardo are doing some real battling. DiNardo is doing the brunt of it, since he throws 85 or so. But he wins the battle of the minds, as A-Rod seems to have been guessing and gets gunned down on the inside corner. Little bit of a relapse tonight, with the swinging-through-air strikeout and taking garbage K here, despite the monstrous blast.
Speaking of taking, Giambi looks at a strike, but I think in a good way. It was 1-0, the ball was tailing away, and the big man isn't looking to go opposite field. As I type that, he crushes one to right-center.
The dam cracks on this run-scoring drought, to terribly mix metaphors.
Not wasting any time, walk-machine Robbie Cano is on the plate, and it's 2-0. Can we see 5 walks in two days? No, but a 3rd hit is just as welcome. "A hit is as good a walk," as they say.
Now, the Yanks can't get complacent, as the A's, visiting the mound, as clearly not. Bruney can use all the cushion he can get. With only one out, advancing the runner would help and put the pressure back on the A's to consider a pitching change.
But getting Cano thrown out by 20 feet won't do that. Wow, I can't remember worse baserunning from a Yankee team than tonight. Even if that was a hit-and-run.
It's this lack of fundamentals that should worry fans come playoff time.
They get the baserunner back as Douggie M. gets plunked. Melky facing off against DiNardo, a matchup that's not bad at all. But tough to expect much here.
He grounds out, and Bruney gets to show Torre his two-inning potential for future use to burn him out. Kidding.
Bottom 13th: Chavez, Walker, Crosby. A hell of a 2004 lineup. Not so imposing now.
As the last chance for the A's arrives, you've gotta look ahead, win or lose, to tomorrow's game. Andy Pettitte will need to deliver seven innings, which is not unheard of, as this bullpen will be tired, though not depleted. Proctor, you would hope, would be unavailable, as would Bruney, but most of the others would be around, plus Mo, since he's only pitched four times.
Of course, Bruney is at 3-0, so that discussion fades into background for the moment. Leadoff walk. Onward with the cliches of how bad that is, although in reality it's certainly not good.
Up is Todd Walker. Another ball. Can't be afraid to challenge a .222 BA and OBP guy. Especially one who's a hit-first guy past his prime. Ron Guidry is chatting with Bruney, which is good. This is not his ideal spot, so relaxing him isn't a bad idea. No pressure on him, in some ways.
There's a good strike. Walker cutting, missing badly on an 89 mph. Reminds me of ol'Rey Ordonez swinging up at fastballs he had no prayer of hitting. Strike two. Bruney back in control. Posada's gotta guide him to a smart pitch here. He does, getting the popup, but somehow loses the ball. Was he afraid of not knowing where the dugout steps were? Flaherty thinks so. Tentative, for sure. Not good, but again, make sure Bruney knows he's still got the edge.
Cranks a 1-2 pitch to 93 mph. Walker's way behind, fouls it into the seats. Lots of mind games inevitable here. Unless Bruney's really confident in a breaking ball to get Walker to chase, I think you've gotta stay with the high fastball. He can't pull it, so make him go opposite field. Walker's not a guy who likes to surrender that way, although he can foul them off to the end of time. Advantage shifting toward the A's for this at-bat and next.
Long fly to right. Finally pulled one, but had to lift it too much to do so. Battle to Bruney, but the A's gave themselves a chance in the war. Lots of pitches there, and Crosby should know what to expect now. The .194 hitter will need any help he can get.
That ball put a scare into me. Bobby Crosby smacks one that dies in the air. Wow. Flaherty tells us the obvious: The A's are going for a home run.
Travis Buck, the rookie, is the last hope. Probably the best guy you want up there. Quick bat, no fear, success tonight. Quickly down 0-2, as opposed to slowly down 0-2. Giambi and Mattingly talking something over on the bench. Probably not PEDs. 1-2 count. Nice patience from Buck tonight and grit from Bruney.
CAUGHT LOOKING! Goat to hero overnight, as Singleton points out. What a marathon, but well worth it. I may never liveblog again, though, after this.
Buck's gotta look fastball there; can't be caught frozen. On the other hand, Bruney suddenly turned into Greg Maddux, painting the corner, so it's tough to blame the rook.
Kim Jones flirts with Giambi in the postgame, and the stat line shows Jason ties the real Moose, Skowron, in Yankee history on the home-run list. Two very good first basemen right there.
Surely an unmanageable game, as Kay used to say, but a showcase of what baseball captivates, I think. See ya'll later.
Labels: Baseball, Liveblogging, Yankees
On the heels of Carl Pavano's ace-like performance, Andy Pettitte earns his 150th Yankee win and Alex Rodriguez hits his 37th home run of the season. Maybe it's only six, but you've got a feeling that 37 is going to be just a short stop on the way to higher numbers.
Pettitte was sharper tonight, A-Rod just did what he does, and the team continued to prove that offense is not a problem. And Minnesota -- they should just be glad they don't play in the American League East. Since 2002, they are 25-8 against the Twins, including 12-6 in the Metrodome.
Granted, they've played .614 ball over all, but winning more than 75% of your games against a team that's been above .500 every year since 2001 is impressive. Minny has managed a 6-6 split over 2005 and 2006, with Scott Baker and Johan Santana winning two each.
The Twins do fall prey a bit to the old Red Sox mentality pre-Schilling -- that an ace is enough. The 1999 Red Sox are the perfect example. Their fans love to talk about Pedro Martinez destroying Roger Clemens, but that was the one win the team earned in that ALCS. The Twins, through no fault of their own (i.e. low payroll), have Santana and a bunch of guys the Yankees can hit. And starting Sidney Ponson is almost inexcusable.
On a completely unrelated note, TCM is showing a ton of Rita Hayworth movies. Man, can she look good (and not dated) and dance. Man, can she not act her way out of a paper bag.
Well, every Yankee starter has pitched, and none has pitched more than five innings. Andy Pettitte needed two appearances to get to that point.
It's not the end of the world. After all, the 1998 Yankees did start 0-3, to use a wildly optimistic example. On a more realistic note, it's been chilly because Major League Baseball thought it a grand idea to have all the cold-weather teams host many warm-weather or dome teams in early April.
But when Carl Pavano is your de facto ace, things aren't so bright. The bigger worry, I think, is the injury situation. Outfielders and middle infielders in their 30s getting nagging injuries is the stuff of legends -- or rather, teams with legends that go nowhere.
Three notes from yesterday's loss: Alex Rodriguez hit another home run off physical reaction. Muscle, and not much else, gets that ball over the wall. Keep not thinking, A-Rod!
When they showed Giambi's walk-off grand slam from 2002 -- the famous 14-inning rain game (link coming) -- did anyone else notice how thin, yet ripped his torso was? Not natural at all, in hindsight.
Josh Phelps is the gawky kid who's really tall in middle school but is the worst basketball player. Maybe I'm wrong on him, but he doesn't look like a major leaguer. Hensley Meulens tore up AAA, too, and we know how well he did. Amazingly, Meulens is not yet 40.
And yet Alex Rodriguez did not say this as if it were a bad thing. What an effortless, beautiful swing. Like David Justice but with a huge man delivering.
Let's not forget, if last year was A-Rod's "bad" year, how good will a good year be?
Rest assured, someone will find fault in the next couple days, but who cares? A-Rod shouldn't.
