The Fan has long thought the "sanctity" of the game of baseball was a bunch of hooey. And "hooey" is exactly the euphemism that leads to Jim Bouton. Being a lifelong and passionate Fan of the major leagues has never led to some kind of deification of its players. Bouton, who entertained millions of us with his book, "Ball Four," added to that level of pragmatism.
"Hooey" after all is the polite form of the expression: "Horse Sh__." Bouton made a huge impression on this young mind when he introduced that curse combination in his book (it was Ralph Houk's favorite expression apparently). The Fan was so excited about the word combination at the time that he couldn't wait to use it. The opportunity came at a local basketball game in Bergenfield, New Jersey. A ref made a bad call and out it came in full-throated flower. Everything stopped in the auditorium and all eyes turned to the Fan in horror.
Despite that unique and somewhat embarrassing memory, the Fan has never believed Bouton violated his fellow players, and in particular, Mickey Mantle. Mantle has maintained his heroic status through the years despite Bouton painting the obvious that the Mick wasn't a perfect human being. Since none of us are, that's the point.
That is why, despite all the drivel being written about Joe Torre's new book, Bouton is correct...perfectly correct in his analysis of the outcry. If ball players wanted "sanctity," they should have been grocery clerks.
Part of the deal of being one of the highest paid, luckiest individuals on the planet who get to make a living doing something they love for work, is knowing that every part of that baseball career will be scrutinized, analyzed and written about. Joe Torre did not violate anything. He wrote (along with his co-author) what he saw and what he felt. Good for him. If it wasn't him making a little coin with this information, it would have been somebody else. That's life in the public eye.
The Yankees 1996-2007 run was high drama and the biggest story in sports. Torre will not be alone in painting the times the way it was seen by those who lived through it. Get over it sportswriters and fans. The Fan sees nothing amiss here.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Punning Through the Transaction Wire
Uh oh. More groans and smiles are on the way as we pun our way through the transaction wire for another week:
- The Cubs couldn't find a bulldozer to get rid of the goat curse, so they will try again with a Bako.
- The Mets will confuse us for another year as they once again bring Maine to New York.
- Pirates pitcher, Paul, will consider Pittsburgh Maholm for another three years.
- Texas gave the Byrd to arbitration and signed Marlon for another year. Too bad the player wasn't Sal Bando's kid. Then he would be Marlon Bando.
- Is there enough water in Arizona to keep a Garland from wilting too soon? Garland signed after seeing the lei of the land of this year's free agency.
- Joe Camel has been banned from baseball, so the Brewers brought in Mat Gamel instead.
- In other Brewers transaction news, isn't the name Angel Salome an oxymoron?
- Oakland pitcher, Russ, has more Springer in his step after signing a one year contract.
- The Bloom is off the rose as Detroit signed Kyle to a one year contract.
- In other Detroit transaction news, Alfredo thought arbitration was a Figaro speech, so he signed a one year contract.
- Astros' fans got all Geary eyed when Houston waved its magic Wandy and signed two important team members to one year contracts.
- In a good move for the Hair Club for Men, the Rockies signed Ubaldo Jiminez to a four year contract.
- When Mike Scioscia was asked if signing Maicer to a contract was a good deal for the Angels, he exclaimed: "Izturis!"
- The Reds apparently didn't have stormy Weathers in negotiations with David as the pitcher signed his new contract.
And that, fair friends, is a pun-through of transactions for the week.
- The Cubs couldn't find a bulldozer to get rid of the goat curse, so they will try again with a Bako.
- The Mets will confuse us for another year as they once again bring Maine to New York.
- Pirates pitcher, Paul, will consider Pittsburgh Maholm for another three years.
- Texas gave the Byrd to arbitration and signed Marlon for another year. Too bad the player wasn't Sal Bando's kid. Then he would be Marlon Bando.
- Is there enough water in Arizona to keep a Garland from wilting too soon? Garland signed after seeing the lei of the land of this year's free agency.
- Joe Camel has been banned from baseball, so the Brewers brought in Mat Gamel instead.
- In other Brewers transaction news, isn't the name Angel Salome an oxymoron?
- Oakland pitcher, Russ, has more Springer in his step after signing a one year contract.
- The Bloom is off the rose as Detroit signed Kyle to a one year contract.
- In other Detroit transaction news, Alfredo thought arbitration was a Figaro speech, so he signed a one year contract.
- Astros' fans got all Geary eyed when Houston waved its magic Wandy and signed two important team members to one year contracts.
- In a good move for the Hair Club for Men, the Rockies signed Ubaldo Jiminez to a four year contract.
- When Mike Scioscia was asked if signing Maicer to a contract was a good deal for the Angels, he exclaimed: "Izturis!"
- The Reds apparently didn't have stormy Weathers in negotiations with David as the pitcher signed his new contract.
And that, fair friends, is a pun-through of transactions for the week.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Cubs/Cards/Brewers/Astros Starting Pitching
Josh had a good comment taking exception to the pitching conclusions. They were a good call as the post took a long time to compile and the Fan got lazy and hazy toward the end when pitching came up. Taking a bit more of a scientific look, the ratings change, especially when looking at the top four in each team's rotation. One more look:
Cubs: Zambrano, Lilly, Harden, Dempster - Projected total Win Shares based on their averages: 50. They came in at 55 in 2009. Dempster repeating 2008 is a long shot. Lilly and Zambrano look to remain constant. Harden can do more and if he does, will keep the total at 50 or more.
Cards: Wellemeyer, Lohse, Wainwright, Pineiro - Projected Win Shares = 45. They came in at 41 last year. Pineiro could be better as could Wellemeyer. Carpenter is the wild card if he can come back.
Brewers: Parra, Bush, Suppon, Gallardo - 40 Win Shares among this staff would be a reach. They lost 32 Win Shares just in Sabathia and Sheets. The remaining top four came in at 35 last year. Capuano is the wild card. Gallardo and Parra have a lot of upside and could have dramatic upticks in their careers.
Astros: Moehler, Rodriguez, Backe, Oswalt - Came in at 38 Win Shares. Rodriguez is on the upswing, Backe was awful last year. Oswalt is as consistent as they come. Moehler will be league average at best. Hampton is the wild card and if he is right, can add 6 to 8 Win Shares to their total.
So, after further analysis (based on thought and not emotions this time), the Cubs are clearly Number 1 here followed by the Cardinals, then a dead heat with the Brewers and Astros.
Cubs: Zambrano, Lilly, Harden, Dempster - Projected total Win Shares based on their averages: 50. They came in at 55 in 2009. Dempster repeating 2008 is a long shot. Lilly and Zambrano look to remain constant. Harden can do more and if he does, will keep the total at 50 or more.
Cards: Wellemeyer, Lohse, Wainwright, Pineiro - Projected Win Shares = 45. They came in at 41 last year. Pineiro could be better as could Wellemeyer. Carpenter is the wild card if he can come back.
Brewers: Parra, Bush, Suppon, Gallardo - 40 Win Shares among this staff would be a reach. They lost 32 Win Shares just in Sabathia and Sheets. The remaining top four came in at 35 last year. Capuano is the wild card. Gallardo and Parra have a lot of upside and could have dramatic upticks in their careers.
Astros: Moehler, Rodriguez, Backe, Oswalt - Came in at 38 Win Shares. Rodriguez is on the upswing, Backe was awful last year. Oswalt is as consistent as they come. Moehler will be league average at best. Hampton is the wild card and if he is right, can add 6 to 8 Win Shares to their total.
So, after further analysis (based on thought and not emotions this time), the Cubs are clearly Number 1 here followed by the Cardinals, then a dead heat with the Brewers and Astros.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Cubs/Cards/Brewers/Astros NL Central Comparison
The Cubs are considered the frontrunners of the NL Central for 2009. The Cards always seem to be in the mix. The Astros seem better than last year and the Brewers took a hit with their pitching, but still seem formidable. The Reds are left out of this discussion, though they could be a year away from being in this discussion. Let's do a position by position comparison. Stats are from THT and MLB.com:
First Base
Cubs: Derrek Lee - Age 34: .282 Batting Average (career), .864 OPS (career), 9 Range Factor (or there about for an average), 25 Win Shares (average).
Cards: Albert Pujols - Age 28: .334 Batting Average (career), 1.049 OPS (career), 10.5 Range Factor, 36.9 Win Shares (average).
Brewers: Prince Fielder - Age 24: .278 Batting Average (career), .903 OPS (career), 9 Range Factor, 23.3 Win Shares (average).
Astros: Lance Berkman - Age 32: .302 Batting Average (career), .973 OPS (career), 9.5 Range Factor, 29.8 Win Shares (average).
Ratings: 1. Cards (duh), 2. Astros, 3. Cubs, 4. Brewers
Second Base
Cubs: Mike Fontenot (we think) - Age 28: 290 Batting Average (small career sample size), .826 OPS, 4.4 Range Factor, Win Shares (not enough data).
Cards: Adam Kennedy? - Age 32: .276 Batting Average (career), .717 OPS (career), 5.2 Range Factor, 15 Win Shares (when he was a starter previously, last two years not counted).
Brewers: Rickie Weeks - Age 26: .245 Batting Average (career), .758 OPS (career), 4.77 Range Factor (career, but was significantly better last year), 12.75 Win Shares (average, but 15 last two years).
Astros: Kazuo Matsui (we assume) - Age 33: .277 Batting Average (career), .781 OPS, 5 Range Factor, Win Shares (not enough data - never has played more than 114 games in a season).
Rating: Slim pickings here: 1. Cubs, 2. Brewers, 3. Cards, 4. Astros.
Shortstop
Cubs: Ryan Theriot - Age 29: .290 Batting Average (career), .731 OPS (career, high OBP, low SP), 3.95 Range Factor, 13 Win Shares (the last two years as a starter).
Cards: Khalil Greene (we presume) - Age 29: .248 Batting Average (career), .731 OPS (terrible OBP), 4.2 Range Factor, 14.8 Win Shares (career but way down last year).
Brewers: J. J. Hardy - Age 26: .270 Batting Average (career), .775 OPS (all offensive numbers have improved in last four years), 4.2 Range Factor, 19.5 Win Shares (two years as a starter).
Astros: Miguel Tejada - Age 34: .286 Batting Average, .812 OPS (career, .729 last year), 4.2 Range Factor, 21 Win Shares (average, 14 last two years).
Rating: 1. Brewers, 2. Astros, 3. Cubs, 4. Cards.
Third Base
Cubs: Aramis Ramirez - Age 30: .284 Batting Average (career), .843 OPS (career, .920 last five years), 2.4 Range Factor (last five years), 22 Win Shares.
Cards: Troy Glaus - Age 32: .256 Batting Average (career), .858 OPS (career), 2.7 Range Factor, 16.8 Win Shares. Injured, will miss three months.
Brewers: Bill Hall - Age 29: .258 Batting Average (career), .771 OPS (career), 2.6 Range Factor, 13.4 Win Shares.
Astros: Unknown. Either Geoff Blum or Aaron Boone.
Rank: 1. Cubs, 2. Brewers, 3. Cards (because of Glaus injury), 3. Astros.
Left Field
Cubs: Alfonso Soriano - Age 32: .282 Batting Average (career), .847 OPS (.894 last three years), 2 Range Factor, 20.2 Win Shares.
Cards: Brian Barton/Chris Duncan - Hard to evaluate a platoon. Though neither player is much to get excited about.
Brewers: Ryan Braun - Age 25: .301 Batting Average (lifetime), .938 OPS, 1. 95 Range Factor, 23.5 Win Shares.
Astros: Carlos Lee - Age 32: .290 Batting Average (lifetime), .849 OPS, 1.88 Range Factor, 23.8 Win Shares.
Rank: 1. Brewers, 2. Astros, 3. Cubs, 4. Cards.
Center Field
Cubs: Milton Bradley? - Age 30: .280 Batting Average (lifetime), .827 OPS (lifetime), 2.54 Range Factor (though he hasn't played in the field since 2007), 14.6 Win Shares (affected by injuries).
Cards: Rick Ankiel - Age 28: .264 Batting Average (lifetime, but skewed), .853 OPS (last two years), 2.4 Range Factor, 14 Win Shares (last year, only year as starter).
Brewers: Mike Cameron - Age 35: .250 Batting Average (career), .808 OPS, 2.52 Range Factor, 20 Win Shares (average).
Astros: Michael Bourn? - Age 26: .237 Batting Average (career), .612 OPS, 2.68 Range Factor, 7 Win Shares
Rank: Tough one because Bradley is an unknown as to what to expect. Let's go with: 1. Brewers, 2. Cards, 3. Cubs, 4 Astros.
Right Field
Cubs: Kosuke Fukodome - Age 32: .257 Batting Average (only one year to go by), .738 OPS, 2 Range Factor, Not enough data.
Cards: Ryan Ludwick - Age 30: .273 Batting Average (career, .299 last year), .857 OPS (career, .966 last year), 2.3 Range Factor, 26 Win Shares (last year is all that can be counted).
Brewers: Corey Hart - Age 25: .277 Batting Average (career), .808 OPS (career), 2.2 Range Factor, 20.5 Win Shares (two years as a starter).
Astros: Hunter Pence - Age 25: .292 Batting Average (career), .834 OPS (career), 2.5 Range Factor, 20 Win Shares (two years as a starter).
Rank: 1. Cards, 2. Astros, 3, Brewers, 4. Cubs.
Catcher
Cubs: Geovany Soto - Age 25: .291 Batting Average (career), .872 OPS (career), 8.5 Range Factor, 24 Win Shares (only one year counted as starter).
Cards: Yadier Molina - Age 26: . 262 Batting Average (career, .300 last year), .676 OPS (career, .741 last year), 6.9 Range Factor, 13 Win Shares.
Brewers: Jason Kendall - Age 35: .292 Batting Average (career, significantly lower last three years), .759 OPS (career, much lower last three years), 7.8 Range Factor, 19 Win Shares.
Astros: Up for grabs. Who knows.
Rank: 1. Cubs, 2. Cards (because of age and Kendall slipping), 3. Brewers, 4. Astros.
Starting Pitching:
Cubs: Rotation: Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, ? Heilman?
Cards: Rotation: Kyle Lohse, Todd Wellemeyer, Adam Wainwright, Joel Pineiro, ? Mitchell Boggs?
Brewers: Jeff Suppon, Dave Bush, Manny Parra, Yovani Gallardo, ? Capuano?
Astros: Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Brandon Backe, Mike Hampton, Brian Moehler.
Rank: (subjective): 1. Astros, 2. Cards, 3. Cubs, 4. Brewers.
Closers:
Cubs: Kevin Gregg - Age 30: 62 Save in 74 opportunities last two years. 10 Win Shares. Or Carlos Marmol - Age 26: 8 saves in 11 career opportunities. 10 Win Shares. 269 strikeouts in 232+ career innings.
Cards: Will try out five different pitchers in Spring Training including Ryan Franklin who had 16 saves last year and 7 Win Shares.
Brewers: Trevor Hoffman - Age 41: All time Save Leader, 30 saves last year in 34 opportunities, ERA rose to 3.77 last year.
Astros: Jose Valverde - Age 29: 91 saves in 105 opportunities last two years, 414 career strikeouts in 332 innings. 11.5 Win Shares.
Rank: 1. Astros, 2. Cubs, 3. Brewers, 4. Cards.
Total bullpen
Cubs: 38 Win Shares last year.
Cards: 29 Win Shares last year.
Brewers: 35 Win Shares last year.
Astros: 42 Win Shares last year.
Rank: 1. Astros, 2. Cubs, 3. Brewers, 4. Cards.
If you assign four points for each first place ranking, three for second, two for third and one for fourth, the final tally is:
All of which seems to conclude that the Cubs are indeed the favorite in the division, but perhaps by not as much as is suspected. All these teams are close in overall talent and are only a few injuries and a few career years away from changing the standings.
First Base
Cubs: Derrek Lee - Age 34: .282 Batting Average (career), .864 OPS (career), 9 Range Factor (or there about for an average), 25 Win Shares (average).
Cards: Albert Pujols - Age 28: .334 Batting Average (career), 1.049 OPS (career), 10.5 Range Factor, 36.9 Win Shares (average).
Brewers: Prince Fielder - Age 24: .278 Batting Average (career), .903 OPS (career), 9 Range Factor, 23.3 Win Shares (average).
Astros: Lance Berkman - Age 32: .302 Batting Average (career), .973 OPS (career), 9.5 Range Factor, 29.8 Win Shares (average).
Ratings: 1. Cards (duh), 2. Astros, 3. Cubs, 4. Brewers
Second Base
Cubs: Mike Fontenot (we think) - Age 28: 290 Batting Average (small career sample size), .826 OPS, 4.4 Range Factor, Win Shares (not enough data).
Cards: Adam Kennedy? - Age 32: .276 Batting Average (career), .717 OPS (career), 5.2 Range Factor, 15 Win Shares (when he was a starter previously, last two years not counted).
Brewers: Rickie Weeks - Age 26: .245 Batting Average (career), .758 OPS (career), 4.77 Range Factor (career, but was significantly better last year), 12.75 Win Shares (average, but 15 last two years).
Astros: Kazuo Matsui (we assume) - Age 33: .277 Batting Average (career), .781 OPS, 5 Range Factor, Win Shares (not enough data - never has played more than 114 games in a season).
Rating: Slim pickings here: 1. Cubs, 2. Brewers, 3. Cards, 4. Astros.
Shortstop
Cubs: Ryan Theriot - Age 29: .290 Batting Average (career), .731 OPS (career, high OBP, low SP), 3.95 Range Factor, 13 Win Shares (the last two years as a starter).
Cards: Khalil Greene (we presume) - Age 29: .248 Batting Average (career), .731 OPS (terrible OBP), 4.2 Range Factor, 14.8 Win Shares (career but way down last year).
Brewers: J. J. Hardy - Age 26: .270 Batting Average (career), .775 OPS (all offensive numbers have improved in last four years), 4.2 Range Factor, 19.5 Win Shares (two years as a starter).
Astros: Miguel Tejada - Age 34: .286 Batting Average, .812 OPS (career, .729 last year), 4.2 Range Factor, 21 Win Shares (average, 14 last two years).
Rating: 1. Brewers, 2. Astros, 3. Cubs, 4. Cards.
Third Base
Cubs: Aramis Ramirez - Age 30: .284 Batting Average (career), .843 OPS (career, .920 last five years), 2.4 Range Factor (last five years), 22 Win Shares.
Cards: Troy Glaus - Age 32: .256 Batting Average (career), .858 OPS (career), 2.7 Range Factor, 16.8 Win Shares. Injured, will miss three months.
Brewers: Bill Hall - Age 29: .258 Batting Average (career), .771 OPS (career), 2.6 Range Factor, 13.4 Win Shares.
Astros: Unknown. Either Geoff Blum or Aaron Boone.
Rank: 1. Cubs, 2. Brewers, 3. Cards (because of Glaus injury), 3. Astros.
Left Field
Cubs: Alfonso Soriano - Age 32: .282 Batting Average (career), .847 OPS (.894 last three years), 2 Range Factor, 20.2 Win Shares.
Cards: Brian Barton/Chris Duncan - Hard to evaluate a platoon. Though neither player is much to get excited about.
Brewers: Ryan Braun - Age 25: .301 Batting Average (lifetime), .938 OPS, 1. 95 Range Factor, 23.5 Win Shares.
Astros: Carlos Lee - Age 32: .290 Batting Average (lifetime), .849 OPS, 1.88 Range Factor, 23.8 Win Shares.
Rank: 1. Brewers, 2. Astros, 3. Cubs, 4. Cards.
Center Field
Cubs: Milton Bradley? - Age 30: .280 Batting Average (lifetime), .827 OPS (lifetime), 2.54 Range Factor (though he hasn't played in the field since 2007), 14.6 Win Shares (affected by injuries).
Cards: Rick Ankiel - Age 28: .264 Batting Average (lifetime, but skewed), .853 OPS (last two years), 2.4 Range Factor, 14 Win Shares (last year, only year as starter).
Brewers: Mike Cameron - Age 35: .250 Batting Average (career), .808 OPS, 2.52 Range Factor, 20 Win Shares (average).
Astros: Michael Bourn? - Age 26: .237 Batting Average (career), .612 OPS, 2.68 Range Factor, 7 Win Shares
Rank: Tough one because Bradley is an unknown as to what to expect. Let's go with: 1. Brewers, 2. Cards, 3. Cubs, 4 Astros.
Right Field
Cubs: Kosuke Fukodome - Age 32: .257 Batting Average (only one year to go by), .738 OPS, 2 Range Factor, Not enough data.
Cards: Ryan Ludwick - Age 30: .273 Batting Average (career, .299 last year), .857 OPS (career, .966 last year), 2.3 Range Factor, 26 Win Shares (last year is all that can be counted).
Brewers: Corey Hart - Age 25: .277 Batting Average (career), .808 OPS (career), 2.2 Range Factor, 20.5 Win Shares (two years as a starter).
Astros: Hunter Pence - Age 25: .292 Batting Average (career), .834 OPS (career), 2.5 Range Factor, 20 Win Shares (two years as a starter).
Rank: 1. Cards, 2. Astros, 3, Brewers, 4. Cubs.
Catcher
Cubs: Geovany Soto - Age 25: .291 Batting Average (career), .872 OPS (career), 8.5 Range Factor, 24 Win Shares (only one year counted as starter).
Cards: Yadier Molina - Age 26: . 262 Batting Average (career, .300 last year), .676 OPS (career, .741 last year), 6.9 Range Factor, 13 Win Shares.
Brewers: Jason Kendall - Age 35: .292 Batting Average (career, significantly lower last three years), .759 OPS (career, much lower last three years), 7.8 Range Factor, 19 Win Shares.
Astros: Up for grabs. Who knows.
Rank: 1. Cubs, 2. Cards (because of age and Kendall slipping), 3. Brewers, 4. Astros.
Starting Pitching:
Cubs: Rotation: Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, ? Heilman?
Cards: Rotation: Kyle Lohse, Todd Wellemeyer, Adam Wainwright, Joel Pineiro, ? Mitchell Boggs?
Brewers: Jeff Suppon, Dave Bush, Manny Parra, Yovani Gallardo, ? Capuano?
Astros: Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Brandon Backe, Mike Hampton, Brian Moehler.
Rank: (subjective): 1. Astros, 2. Cards, 3. Cubs, 4. Brewers.
Closers:
Cubs: Kevin Gregg - Age 30: 62 Save in 74 opportunities last two years. 10 Win Shares. Or Carlos Marmol - Age 26: 8 saves in 11 career opportunities. 10 Win Shares. 269 strikeouts in 232+ career innings.
Cards: Will try out five different pitchers in Spring Training including Ryan Franklin who had 16 saves last year and 7 Win Shares.
Brewers: Trevor Hoffman - Age 41: All time Save Leader, 30 saves last year in 34 opportunities, ERA rose to 3.77 last year.
Astros: Jose Valverde - Age 29: 91 saves in 105 opportunities last two years, 414 career strikeouts in 332 innings. 11.5 Win Shares.
Rank: 1. Astros, 2. Cubs, 3. Brewers, 4. Cards.
Total bullpen
Cubs: 38 Win Shares last year.
Cards: 29 Win Shares last year.
Brewers: 35 Win Shares last year.
Astros: 42 Win Shares last year.
Rank: 1. Astros, 2. Cubs, 3. Brewers, 4. Cards.
If you assign four points for each first place ranking, three for second, two for third and one for fourth, the final tally is:
- 1. Cubs - 29 points
- 2. Brewers - 27 points
- 3. Astros - 26 points
- 4. Cards - 25 points
All of which seems to conclude that the Cubs are indeed the favorite in the division, but perhaps by not as much as is suspected. All these teams are close in overall talent and are only a few injuries and a few career years away from changing the standings.
Cool Post by Josh
The Fan's new buddy, Josh, has a cool post about all time walk leaders among Jewish ball players. Maybe the Fan should do a post or two about Italian ball players over the years. Could be interesting. Whoops! A quick search shows it's already been done. Hmm...the list is kind of obvious. The Fan will have to dig deeper.
Big Brothers Are Watching
One never knows who is going to ping a blog. Looking at sitemeter (the counter that the Fan uses) shows quite a few quick hits from various organizations. For example, some Connecticut media think tank pings every time the Fan mentions ESPN.com. Or some company like Broadwing will ping if something is mentioned out in California.
There is a company right up here in northern Maine called Burrelles that watches the media for several companies. Supposedly, these types of activities are to give the paying companies an idea of how their brands are being perceived in the marketplace.
It all seems kind of nefarious to know that all this energy and resources are being expended to watch the likes of some small blog like this one. Orwell would be smiling...
There is a company right up here in northern Maine called Burrelles that watches the media for several companies. Supposedly, these types of activities are to give the paying companies an idea of how their brands are being perceived in the marketplace.
It all seems kind of nefarious to know that all this energy and resources are being expended to watch the likes of some small blog like this one. Orwell would be smiling...
Random Thoughts After Shoveling a Foot of Snow
The Fan is completely incoherent after shoveling a long driveway after a foot of snow. Since it would seem to be impossible to put two lucid thoughts together, the Fan might as well free-style it and simply write what comes to mind.
First, the Fan is reminded how far he has fallen from his athletic days. Once a young man, full of vigor, the Fan used to laugh at the old men with their giddyup steps when they attempted to quickly cross the road. Now the Fan has the giddyup step and it's not a pretty thing. If ballplayers want to get in shape, come up to northern Maine and shovel. That will do it.
It must be tiring to be a Yankee and to get the inevitable questions all the time. Jeter said it himself in an interview reported by ESPN.com: "I knew you were going to ask that question." And: "Every year it's the same questions about the same things." You have to know the "same question" has to be A-Rod right? The Fan wonders what Torre had to say about Gary Sheffield.
The Mariners should bring Junior Griffey back for one last season. How is it going to hurt them? Let him play fifty games and have one last hurrah in his old home. It's not like they are going to contend this year and it would be a nice gift for their fans. Bring the guy home, Seattle.
Similarly, the Mets should bring back Pedro Martinez. Let him make ten starts and see what happens. He'll never be what he used to be, but he's a better pitcher on guile than a lot of others with great stuff.
The Braves should also do the same for Glavine. Why not? The Braves simply aren't good enough to compete this year so what would it hurt to let the fans see the old guy for one more season?
As the Fan's back throbs from the unexpected activity, there must by some sympathy going on for old guys after scatting the last three paragraphs.
Supposedly the Feds have a positive urine test from Barry Bonds. Great. How would you like to be the lowly Fed on the totem pole that gets to carry that little prize around. March. Maybe it will all be over in March. Oh the bliss it will be to have that pass by us.
The Cubs got Aaron Heilman from the Mariners. What is it about contending teams that want to buy gasoline to put out fires? Heilman was atrocious for the Mets last year and almost single-handedly cost them a pennant. The pitcher must lead a charmed life. He racks up a 5.21 ERA last year, his salary goes up and everyone wants him, including a contender.o
Every year the Fan wonders if it's the year the great Mariano Rivera loses his mojo and falls to age. A year ago today, the Fan wondered the same thing and Rivera goes out and posts the best year of all relievers in baseball! Wonder what this year will bring. At least if he falters, the Yanks can push Chamberlain out there and he'll get the job done.
Dear Lord, will January ever end?
There's been no news on the Manny Ramirez front for quite a while. Is the guy going to get signed? Does the quiet mean the posturing is done and some serious negotiations are taking place? The Dodgers really need the guy and fans need to see this guy hit for a few more years.
The Red Sox seems to have a lot of "ifs" this year. If Lowell can come back. If Smoltz has anything left. If Big Papi's wrist is better. If Pedroia is really this good. If J. D. Drew can put together a full season. Seems to be a lot of question marks down there. And two of their best pitchers are playing in the Fan-hated WBC for Japan, which has to be a concern too.
If the Texas Rangers can ever get some pitching, will the team finally break out of their .500 mold? They sure can smash the baseball, but can never seem to get over the pitching bump. With their fans' luck, they will some day lead the league in pitching and the lineup will falter. And so it goes.
Why has the story about the soaking of prospects from the Dominican Republic disappeared? It was a guy from Cleveland that got caught and fired last year right? Was he the only guilty party? Was it an isolated incident? Why are so many of the supposed steroid users from that country? Is it part of a sinister way those players were treated and led to believe it would help them? Why has this story disappeared?
Jim Leyland is a fans kind of guy. He is a no nonsense kind of person that seems to go someplace and turn a team around. But his teams do not seem to stay turned around. Does his magic only work for one or two years? Does he get tired after that? Or is it just circumstances that make it appear that way?
Jon Garland has found a home in Arizona. Now what about Randy Wolf and Ben Sheets? Will Dunn and Abreu ever get a job? This crazy off season continues to astound.
The Fan's well has run dry and the coffee cup is drained. Guess it's time to take a shower and let the old back feel the spray of some much needed warm water. Hope your day is bright and keep your chin up folks. We still live in a wonderful country and it can't be winter...or a recession forever.
First, the Fan is reminded how far he has fallen from his athletic days. Once a young man, full of vigor, the Fan used to laugh at the old men with their giddyup steps when they attempted to quickly cross the road. Now the Fan has the giddyup step and it's not a pretty thing. If ballplayers want to get in shape, come up to northern Maine and shovel. That will do it.
It must be tiring to be a Yankee and to get the inevitable questions all the time. Jeter said it himself in an interview reported by ESPN.com: "I knew you were going to ask that question." And: "Every year it's the same questions about the same things." You have to know the "same question" has to be A-Rod right? The Fan wonders what Torre had to say about Gary Sheffield.
The Mariners should bring Junior Griffey back for one last season. How is it going to hurt them? Let him play fifty games and have one last hurrah in his old home. It's not like they are going to contend this year and it would be a nice gift for their fans. Bring the guy home, Seattle.
Similarly, the Mets should bring back Pedro Martinez. Let him make ten starts and see what happens. He'll never be what he used to be, but he's a better pitcher on guile than a lot of others with great stuff.
The Braves should also do the same for Glavine. Why not? The Braves simply aren't good enough to compete this year so what would it hurt to let the fans see the old guy for one more season?
As the Fan's back throbs from the unexpected activity, there must by some sympathy going on for old guys after scatting the last three paragraphs.
Supposedly the Feds have a positive urine test from Barry Bonds. Great. How would you like to be the lowly Fed on the totem pole that gets to carry that little prize around. March. Maybe it will all be over in March. Oh the bliss it will be to have that pass by us.
The Cubs got Aaron Heilman from the Mariners. What is it about contending teams that want to buy gasoline to put out fires? Heilman was atrocious for the Mets last year and almost single-handedly cost them a pennant. The pitcher must lead a charmed life. He racks up a 5.21 ERA last year, his salary goes up and everyone wants him, including a contender.o
Every year the Fan wonders if it's the year the great Mariano Rivera loses his mojo and falls to age. A year ago today, the Fan wondered the same thing and Rivera goes out and posts the best year of all relievers in baseball! Wonder what this year will bring. At least if he falters, the Yanks can push Chamberlain out there and he'll get the job done.
Dear Lord, will January ever end?
There's been no news on the Manny Ramirez front for quite a while. Is the guy going to get signed? Does the quiet mean the posturing is done and some serious negotiations are taking place? The Dodgers really need the guy and fans need to see this guy hit for a few more years.
The Red Sox seems to have a lot of "ifs" this year. If Lowell can come back. If Smoltz has anything left. If Big Papi's wrist is better. If Pedroia is really this good. If J. D. Drew can put together a full season. Seems to be a lot of question marks down there. And two of their best pitchers are playing in the Fan-hated WBC for Japan, which has to be a concern too.
If the Texas Rangers can ever get some pitching, will the team finally break out of their .500 mold? They sure can smash the baseball, but can never seem to get over the pitching bump. With their fans' luck, they will some day lead the league in pitching and the lineup will falter. And so it goes.
Why has the story about the soaking of prospects from the Dominican Republic disappeared? It was a guy from Cleveland that got caught and fired last year right? Was he the only guilty party? Was it an isolated incident? Why are so many of the supposed steroid users from that country? Is it part of a sinister way those players were treated and led to believe it would help them? Why has this story disappeared?
Jim Leyland is a fans kind of guy. He is a no nonsense kind of person that seems to go someplace and turn a team around. But his teams do not seem to stay turned around. Does his magic only work for one or two years? Does he get tired after that? Or is it just circumstances that make it appear that way?
Jon Garland has found a home in Arizona. Now what about Randy Wolf and Ben Sheets? Will Dunn and Abreu ever get a job? This crazy off season continues to astound.
The Fan's well has run dry and the coffee cup is drained. Guess it's time to take a shower and let the old back feel the spray of some much needed warm water. Hope your day is bright and keep your chin up folks. We still live in a wonderful country and it can't be winter...or a recession forever.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Comeback (they used to be) Kids?
Spring Training diamonds will have their usual amount of young players trying to win jobs at the Major League level. Along with the youngsters will be a bunch of players trying to do what Troy Percival did last year: Come back from the, "Oh yeah, I remember him," list.
First, there is Mike Hampton at the Astros camp, trying to reclaim a little piece of the magic of ten years ago when he was 22-4 for the 1999 Astros. Hampton has won 141 games in his career, but only 8 in the last four.
Next, we have a two-fer in Toronto where Mike Maroth and Matt Clement attempt to reclaim their careers after being lost for most of the last two years. Matt Clement in particular, was once a pretty good pitcher. He kind of cracked with Boston as he did not seem to handle the pressure there. That problem combined with a sickening line drive to the face and extensive shoulder surgery bring a lot of stuff to overcome.
Then we have Carl Pavano, whose well chronicled fiasco with the Yankees counted to nine wins in four years after a career year in Florida for their 2004 team. The Indians took a flier on him and hope he can make it all the way back.
In Detroit, there is Dontrelle Willis, who couldn't find home plate last year and didn't win any games at all for the Tigers in 2008. There has been little news on the former fun player from the Marlins, which can't be a good sign.
At the Rockies camp, Danny Graves will try to come back to the majors after missing all of the last two seasons. Graves has 182 saves in his career, but was lost in the mists for a couple of years. He wants to be a closer again.
In the long shot category, Jay Gibbons, he of former Orioles fame (and infamy), is hoping to revive his career in Florida after missing all of 2008. He once drove in 100 runs for the Orioles, which seems like a long, long time ago.
This blog has already mentioned Mark Prior, who will give it another go for the Padres this year.
The Brewers went into their own time machine and brought back Chris Capuano, only four years removed from winning 18 games. But he missed all of last year after a disastrous year in 2007.
And finally, we'll go back to Cleveland where Tomo Ohka, who did not pitch in the majors last year, will try to come back and pitch at the top level. Ohka had one excellent year for the Expos back in 2002 and then a whole lot of moving around and mediocrity ever since.
To all of these players, a tip of the Fan's cap and here's hoping at least one of them has some success and becomes an interesting story in 2009.
First, there is Mike Hampton at the Astros camp, trying to reclaim a little piece of the magic of ten years ago when he was 22-4 for the 1999 Astros. Hampton has won 141 games in his career, but only 8 in the last four.
Next, we have a two-fer in Toronto where Mike Maroth and Matt Clement attempt to reclaim their careers after being lost for most of the last two years. Matt Clement in particular, was once a pretty good pitcher. He kind of cracked with Boston as he did not seem to handle the pressure there. That problem combined with a sickening line drive to the face and extensive shoulder surgery bring a lot of stuff to overcome.
Then we have Carl Pavano, whose well chronicled fiasco with the Yankees counted to nine wins in four years after a career year in Florida for their 2004 team. The Indians took a flier on him and hope he can make it all the way back.
In Detroit, there is Dontrelle Willis, who couldn't find home plate last year and didn't win any games at all for the Tigers in 2008. There has been little news on the former fun player from the Marlins, which can't be a good sign.
At the Rockies camp, Danny Graves will try to come back to the majors after missing all of the last two seasons. Graves has 182 saves in his career, but was lost in the mists for a couple of years. He wants to be a closer again.
In the long shot category, Jay Gibbons, he of former Orioles fame (and infamy), is hoping to revive his career in Florida after missing all of 2008. He once drove in 100 runs for the Orioles, which seems like a long, long time ago.
This blog has already mentioned Mark Prior, who will give it another go for the Padres this year.
The Brewers went into their own time machine and brought back Chris Capuano, only four years removed from winning 18 games. But he missed all of last year after a disastrous year in 2007.
And finally, we'll go back to Cleveland where Tomo Ohka, who did not pitch in the majors last year, will try to come back and pitch at the top level. Ohka had one excellent year for the Expos back in 2002 and then a whole lot of moving around and mediocrity ever since.
To all of these players, a tip of the Fan's cap and here's hoping at least one of them has some success and becomes an interesting story in 2009.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Rays/Yanks/Red Sox Position by Position
Rob Neyer called the Yankees the World Series favorites with the signing of Andy Pettitte. While the New York ball club had the most successful off season, it would be fun to look at all three teams by position:
Catcher
Red Sox: Let's be charitable and assume that Varitek will be back - Age 37: .263 Batting Average (lifetime), .775 OPS (lifetime), 8.17 Range Factor (last year), 22% base stealers caught per attempt, 14 Win Shares (Average year). Last year's numbers all well below lifetime marks. Trend? Done?
Yankees: Jorge Posada - Age 37: .277 Batting Average (lifetime), .867 OPS (lifetime), 7.83 Range Factor (about his averages over the years, early figures not kept), 22% base stealers caught per attempt, 22 Win Shares (average year). Injured last year. Can he come back? Anything left?
Bay Rays: Dioner Navarro - Age 25: .295 Batting Average, .756 OPS, 7.81 Range Factor (career), 38% base stealers caught per attempt. 30 Win Shares. Doesn't strike out much, but doesn't walk much either. Little power.
Edge: Rays. Younger catcher. Yankees and Red Sox could be in trouble at this position.
First Base:
Red Sox: Kevin Youkilis - Age 30: .312 Batting Average (.289 career), .959 OPS (.857 career), 9.23 Range Factor over his career at 1B, 23 Win Shares (career average as starter).
Yankees: Mark Teixeira - Age 29: .283 Batting Average (.290 career), .902 OPS (.919 career), 9.56 Range Factor (career), 26.4 Win Shares (career average).
Bay Rays: Carlos Pena - Age 31: .247 Batting Average (.251 career), .871 OPS (.851 career), 9.31 Range Factor (career), 26 Win Shares on average last two years.
Edge: Yankees by a nose. Really a wash here.
Second Base:
Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia - Age 25: .313 Batting Average (career), .828 OPS (career), 4.81 Range Factor, 22.5 Win Shares (two full years of data).
Yankees: Robinson Cano - Age 27: .303 Batting Average (career), .803 OPS (career), 5.13 Range Factor, 15.75 Win Shares (career average).
Bay Ray: Akinori Iwamura - Age 28: .279 (career), .747 OPS (career), 4.58 Range Factor, 16.5 Win Shares (average for two years in America).
Edge: Red Sox
Shortstop:
Red Sox: Jed Lowrie - Age 25: Not enough data to rate. 3.61 Range Factor in 49 games at short and did not make an error there.
Yankees: Derek Jeter - Age 34: .316 Batting Average (career), .845 OPS (career), 4.05 Range Factor, 18 Win Shares. Batting statistics down sharply in 2008.
Bay Rays: Jason Bartlett - Age 28: .276 Batting Average (career), .699 OPS (career), 4.53 Range Factor, 14 Win Shares (average last three years).
Edge: Yankees
Third Base:
Red Sox: Mike Lowell - Age 35: .279 Batting Average (career), .810 OPS (career), 2.60 Range Factor (on average), 20 Win Shares (average healthy years).
Yankees: Alex Rodriguez - Age 33: .306 Batting Average (career), .987 OPS (career), 2.59 Range Factor, 31.2 Win Shares (average last five years)
Bay Rays: Evan Longoria - Age 24: Only one year of stats: .272 Batting Average, .874 OPS, 2.72 Range Factor, 20 Win Shares (in three quarters of a season.
Edge: Yankees for this season
Left Field:
Red Sox: Jason Bay - Age 30: .282 Batting Average (career), .894 OPS (career), 1.77 Range Factor, 22.8 Win Shares (average season).
Yankees: Johnny Damon - Age 35: .289 (career), .789 OPS (career), 2.24 (at this point in his career), 23 Win Shares (average season, 25 last year).
Bay Rays: Carl Crawford - Age 27: .293 (career), .765 OPS (career), 2.42 Range Factor, 22 Win Shares (on average).
Edge: Even at this point. Crawford doesn't walk enough but is the better fielder. Bay is a lousy fielder and Damon seems to get by with what he does. Win Shares all but a draw.
Center Field:
Red Sox: Jacoby Ellsbury - Age 25: Only one year of experience: .280 Batting Average, .730 OPS, 2.58 Range Factor, 15 Win Shares.
Yankees: Melky Cabrera - Age 24: .268 Batting Average (career), .704 OPS (career, much less last year), 2.53 Range Factor, 10 Win Shares (average year).
Bay Rays: B. J. Upton - Age 24: .277 Batting Average (career), .793 OPS (career), 2.84 Range Factor, 23 Win Shares (average last two years).
Edge: Rays unless Ellsbury can improve in his second year.
Right Field:
Red Sox: J. D. Drew - Age 33: .280 Batting Average (career), .894 OPS (career), 1.92 Range Factor, 17.2 Win Shares (average).
Yankees: Xavier Nady - Age 30: .280 Batting Average (career), .792 OPS (career), 2.5 Range Factor (average), 11 Win Shares (average).
Bay Rays: Matt Joyce ? - Age 25: Not enough data to quantify. Had an .831 OPS with some action in 2008 with a 2.18 Range Factor.
Edge: Red Sox
Designated Hitter:
Red Sox: David Ortiz - .287 Batting Average (career), .936 OPS (career), 26 Win Shares (on average. All stats were down last year.
Yankees: Hideki Matsui - Age 35: .295 Batting Average (career), .849 OPS (career), 18.75 Win Shares (Batting only counted).
Bay Rays: Pat Burrell - Age 32: .257 Batting Average (career), .852 OPS (career), 17.3 Win Shares (average batting only).
Edge: Red Sox if Ortiz has a career average year.
Starting Rotation:
Red Sox: Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Dice K, Brad Penny, Tim Wakefield, Jon Smoltz
Yankees: C. C. Sabathia, A. J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain
Bay Rays: Shields, Garza, Sonnastin, Kazmir, Niemann?
Edge: Looks like a Yankees/Red Sox draw
Closer:
Red Sox: Jonathan Papelbon: 13 Win Shares last year.
Yankees: Mariano Rivera: 17 Win Shares last year.
Bay Rays: Dan Wheeler 13 Saves last year.
Edge: Looks like a Yankees/Red Sox draw
Rest of the relief:
Red Sox: Very good if all play to experience.
Yankees: Decent if all play to experience.
Bay Rays: Depends on role Price plays. Were very good last year.
Edge: Looks like a Red Sox/Bay Rays draw.
Final Tally: Bay Rays have the edge in two categories and tie in two others. Red Sox have the edge in three categories and tie in three others. Yankees have the edge in three categories and tie in three others.
Final Call: Too close to call. It's still up for grabs. But the Rays look like a third place club after analysis.
Blogger, the Fan Loves Ya, but...
For a non-geek, Blogger is the best thing for a writer wannabe than anything out there. It's easy, it's fast and it's reliable. Plus, you get Google's searchability. But there is a weird problem perhaps some of you readers who are fellow bloggers can help the Fan out with.
The Fan figures he might as well make a few cents from this thing and tried to add AdSense to the blog. Well, when you go to set that up, there is a choice if you already have an account or if you don't have an account. Since the Fan has an account and uses other Google products for business, there is no sense in having two accounts.
But if you select that you have an account and then type in your username and password, the screen tells you that someone with that e-mail address already has an account and does not let you continue. Well, duh!
So now the Fan is stuck with this big, honking message on his dashboard that says Adsense has not been verified and the blog will continue without AdSense. Probably a win for readers who get annoyed with sites that have AdSense, but also annoying for this blogger. Oh. And the Fan's picture suddenly doesn't work for no good reason.
This rant is now complete and we can continue with our regularly scheduled sports activities.
The Fan figures he might as well make a few cents from this thing and tried to add AdSense to the blog. Well, when you go to set that up, there is a choice if you already have an account or if you don't have an account. Since the Fan has an account and uses other Google products for business, there is no sense in having two accounts.
But if you select that you have an account and then type in your username and password, the screen tells you that someone with that e-mail address already has an account and does not let you continue. Well, duh!
So now the Fan is stuck with this big, honking message on his dashboard that says Adsense has not been verified and the blog will continue without AdSense. Probably a win for readers who get annoyed with sites that have AdSense, but also annoying for this blogger. Oh. And the Fan's picture suddenly doesn't work for no good reason.
This rant is now complete and we can continue with our regularly scheduled sports activities.
Yankees Sign Pettitte on Their Terms
The Yankees signed Andy Pettitte for one more season at a much more realistic contract than last year's $16 million. That was a lot of money for a league average pitcher who might be past his prime. The new contract gives him a base of $5 million with a chance to achieve $11 million by meeting incentives. This is a win/win for the Yankees who keep their fans happy by bringing back a popular player but at a cost that is more in line with what Pettitte is worth.
The Pettitte signing is not a win/win for either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes. Rather than there being two rotations slots open, there is only one. Chamberlain will probably be given every opportunity to win the last slot making Hughes the odd man out. Hughes had made big strides in off-season pitching leagues and seemed poised to reaffirm his potential. For Chamberlain, the signing also gives the Yankees one more knee-jerk opportunity to shove Chamberlain back into the bullpen if the Yankees' relief core struggles.
The Pettitte signing is a loss/loss for Ian Kennedy and Alfredo Aceves. Both have no shot now, barring major injuries, for any starts for the Yankees and it wouldn't be surprising to see either pitcher traded for a centerfielder or catcher if both of those positions falter this year. Aceves showed some pitching savvy for his few starts last year and could be a serviceable big league pitcher. Kennedy, on the other hand, hurt his chances with not only his performances, but also with how he handled them in the eyes of management and his teammates. It is doubtful he will ever pitch for them again unless he rebuilds his career in the minors.
Pettitte is reliable and does give the Yankees a known quantity. He is a good fourth starter for any team. As for Hughes and Chamberlain, the Yankees have probably figured that like the Red Sox, you can never have too many starters available to you.
The Pettitte signing is not a win/win for either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes. Rather than there being two rotations slots open, there is only one. Chamberlain will probably be given every opportunity to win the last slot making Hughes the odd man out. Hughes had made big strides in off-season pitching leagues and seemed poised to reaffirm his potential. For Chamberlain, the signing also gives the Yankees one more knee-jerk opportunity to shove Chamberlain back into the bullpen if the Yankees' relief core struggles.
The Pettitte signing is a loss/loss for Ian Kennedy and Alfredo Aceves. Both have no shot now, barring major injuries, for any starts for the Yankees and it wouldn't be surprising to see either pitcher traded for a centerfielder or catcher if both of those positions falter this year. Aceves showed some pitching savvy for his few starts last year and could be a serviceable big league pitcher. Kennedy, on the other hand, hurt his chances with not only his performances, but also with how he handled them in the eyes of management and his teammates. It is doubtful he will ever pitch for them again unless he rebuilds his career in the minors.
Pettitte is reliable and does give the Yankees a known quantity. He is a good fourth starter for any team. As for Hughes and Chamberlain, the Yankees have probably figured that like the Red Sox, you can never have too many starters available to you.
A Nice Story for Kansas City
Yesterday was a good day for Kansas City fans as Zack Greinke signed a four year contract. Long suffering Royals fans have to note that in a reversal of previous years, the Royals are serious about keeping their best young players and aren't afraid of paying them to stay. It's also a nice story for the loyalty of the Royals to Greinke and Greinke to the Royals.
First of all, most teams would not have stuck with Greinke through the dark years when he wanted to walk away from baseball. Most teams would have considered a man with emotional problems as a "head case" and would have given up on him. But the Royals did everything right by getting Greinke the help he needed to overcome his mental instability and bring what was a troubled mind into a situation where he could succeed.
The cynics among us would say that the team was just protecting its assets. Well, there is little wrong with that, but when you read what Greinke says about management's efforts on his behalf, it shows too much of a personal side for it to be just business. They cared about the guy and he knows it and is grateful. Greinke's gratitude is also refreshing.
For most Royal fans, little of that matters except that they have themselves a pitcher to root for for four more years that held teams to a .303 On Base Percentage and a .406 Slugging Percentage. Greinke averaged a little over six innings a start. His stats are very good, but he is not the shut down kind of starter. His WHIP of 1.27 is a little high and he gives up a lot of hits. Even so, he is reliable and a known quantity for the Royals and a good player who should continue to improve.
For Royal fans, who are used to good young players like Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran playing their best years for other teams, the move has to seem like fresh air and gives them hope for moving into contention in what is a wide open division. Good for them and good for the Royals.
First of all, most teams would not have stuck with Greinke through the dark years when he wanted to walk away from baseball. Most teams would have considered a man with emotional problems as a "head case" and would have given up on him. But the Royals did everything right by getting Greinke the help he needed to overcome his mental instability and bring what was a troubled mind into a situation where he could succeed.
The cynics among us would say that the team was just protecting its assets. Well, there is little wrong with that, but when you read what Greinke says about management's efforts on his behalf, it shows too much of a personal side for it to be just business. They cared about the guy and he knows it and is grateful. Greinke's gratitude is also refreshing.
For most Royal fans, little of that matters except that they have themselves a pitcher to root for for four more years that held teams to a .303 On Base Percentage and a .406 Slugging Percentage. Greinke averaged a little over six innings a start. His stats are very good, but he is not the shut down kind of starter. His WHIP of 1.27 is a little high and he gives up a lot of hits. Even so, he is reliable and a known quantity for the Royals and a good player who should continue to improve.
For Royal fans, who are used to good young players like Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran playing their best years for other teams, the move has to seem like fresh air and gives them hope for moving into contention in what is a wide open division. Good for them and good for the Royals.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Can't Wait to Read Joe Torre's New Book
The Fan is foaming at the mouth waiting for Joe Torre's new book to hit the shelves. For one, Torre is a hero for the Fan and that alone would be enough reason for anticipation. But recent leaks concerning the book state that the saintly manager has some unflattering things to say about former boss, Brian Cashman and about Alex Rodriguez.
Juicy inside tidbits about the inner workings of a major league club are worthy alone of interest. If those tidbits include juicy information about well-known players, then interest goes into overdrive.
Joe Torre is a class act and got a bum steer by the Yankees. It was good that he got as far as he did with the Dodgers last year. This Fan can't imagine his book being salacious in bitter rebukes concerning people Torre has dealt with. Rather, the comments will probably be told in a matter of fact tone that is fitting for who Torre is.
The book comes out February 3. The Fan will be standing in line at the local book store.
Juicy inside tidbits about the inner workings of a major league club are worthy alone of interest. If those tidbits include juicy information about well-known players, then interest goes into overdrive.
Joe Torre is a class act and got a bum steer by the Yankees. It was good that he got as far as he did with the Dodgers last year. This Fan can't imagine his book being salacious in bitter rebukes concerning people Torre has dealt with. Rather, the comments will probably be told in a matter of fact tone that is fitting for who Torre is.
The book comes out February 3. The Fan will be standing in line at the local book store.
Twins Should Stick With Delmon Young
This space contained a post concerning Robinson Cano yesterday as a young player who has seemingly figured out some things about baseball life. A nice article on MLB.com concerning Delmon Young of the Twins seems to paint the same picture about Delmon Young. The Twins should stick with this guy.
It's hard to remember just how young Delmon Young is. Entering his third full major league season at the age of 23 is amazing in these days of college players. Most information about Young seemed to indicate that he was immature. Well, duh! The player was just a kid! And yet, even at such a young age, Young has put up some pretty good years in the majors.
The three flaws one can see from Young's statistics are his plate discipline, his slugging percentage and his range in left field. All three can be rectified as Young matures into a player. Most players are still in the minors at his age and work on such things, but Young has been learning on the big stage. As his body matures and he adds muscle, the extra base hits will increase. He did walk nine more times last year than the year before (in less at bats due to some injuries). And his Jason Bay-like range factor can at least be explained in part by a bum ankle for most of last season.
The Twins got Young as the centerpiece of the major trade last year when Matt Garza, among others, went to Tampa Bay. The six player trade would not have taken place without Delmon Young going to the Twins. So why give up on that guy so soon? Tom Gardenshire caused quite a flap when the manager of the Twins mentioned three guys in the outfield and did not include Young in his crystal ball. The article linked to this post indicates that Gardenshire has backed off of those comments and smoothed things over with Young.
If anything, the competition for the three starting spots in the Twins outfield is a good problem for the Twins and just the sort of challenge Delmon Young needs to advance to the next level in his career. The Fan says: Put in in left field on opening day and leave him there as this could be the year Young becomes a superstar.
It's hard to remember just how young Delmon Young is. Entering his third full major league season at the age of 23 is amazing in these days of college players. Most information about Young seemed to indicate that he was immature. Well, duh! The player was just a kid! And yet, even at such a young age, Young has put up some pretty good years in the majors.
The three flaws one can see from Young's statistics are his plate discipline, his slugging percentage and his range in left field. All three can be rectified as Young matures into a player. Most players are still in the minors at his age and work on such things, but Young has been learning on the big stage. As his body matures and he adds muscle, the extra base hits will increase. He did walk nine more times last year than the year before (in less at bats due to some injuries). And his Jason Bay-like range factor can at least be explained in part by a bum ankle for most of last season.
The Twins got Young as the centerpiece of the major trade last year when Matt Garza, among others, went to Tampa Bay. The six player trade would not have taken place without Delmon Young going to the Twins. So why give up on that guy so soon? Tom Gardenshire caused quite a flap when the manager of the Twins mentioned three guys in the outfield and did not include Young in his crystal ball. The article linked to this post indicates that Gardenshire has backed off of those comments and smoothed things over with Young.
If anything, the competition for the three starting spots in the Twins outfield is a good problem for the Twins and just the sort of challenge Delmon Young needs to advance to the next level in his career. The Fan says: Put in in left field on opening day and leave him there as this could be the year Young becomes a superstar.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
A Kent Rant But Really a Dilbeck Mourn
In an outstanding article for the L.A. Times, T. J. Simers paints a contrast between Jeff Kent, who Simers has little use for apparently, and Steve Dilbeck, the outstanding sports columnist, formerly of the Los Angeles Daily News. While this writer never knew or has much experience with players like Kent, Dilbeck's story is one the Fan can relate to.
The Fan knows what it's like to have the world turn upside down after fifteen years of hard work at the company store. Being downsized is a humbling and difficult thing. We're never really prepared for it. The Fan has been tough on sports writers over the years, but this is a frightening time for them, especially in the world of newspapers. The Fan's mom works for a newspaper in Florida that recently laid off half of its staff, most of its writers and is now being written and delivered by a previous competitor.
The glory days of newspapers are dead and if many are still in business, they are see the writing on the wall. The world of news has moved on-line on thousands of sites, blogs and RSS feeds. People who do not go on-line, watch endless hours of cable news, broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What are newspapers supposed to do?
Many have a web presence themselves, but they haven't figured out how to replace the revenue from newspaper sales to getting paid by the click. A newspaper sports writer for 30 years has little idea how this all works and how to get paid for it. A few have been favored and work for giants like ESPN.com or Yahoo Sports, but where will the rest of them go? Their employers relied on the local population to buy the papers to read their writers. Young people don't buy newspapers any more. They go on-line.
Clearly, the giants of the Web have to figure out how to save the talent that they helped put out of business. There are far too many very talented writers who will be muted if there isn't some thought into how to get them heard and pay them a living wage. As silly as it seems, all these professionals will be competing with a lot of amateurs who write for free and have a jump step on them all.
Dilbeck's story is agonizing. He is one of many in such a fate. Life is cruel at times and the old story we read as kids about the ant and the grasshopper didn't stay with us. 2009 has a lot of grasshoppers rubbing their legs nervously and wishing things were different. Just ask the grasshopper on the other side of this keyboard. Good luck to you Mr. Dilbeck. The Fan is feeling ya.
The Fan knows what it's like to have the world turn upside down after fifteen years of hard work at the company store. Being downsized is a humbling and difficult thing. We're never really prepared for it. The Fan has been tough on sports writers over the years, but this is a frightening time for them, especially in the world of newspapers. The Fan's mom works for a newspaper in Florida that recently laid off half of its staff, most of its writers and is now being written and delivered by a previous competitor.
The glory days of newspapers are dead and if many are still in business, they are see the writing on the wall. The world of news has moved on-line on thousands of sites, blogs and RSS feeds. People who do not go on-line, watch endless hours of cable news, broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What are newspapers supposed to do?
Many have a web presence themselves, but they haven't figured out how to replace the revenue from newspaper sales to getting paid by the click. A newspaper sports writer for 30 years has little idea how this all works and how to get paid for it. A few have been favored and work for giants like ESPN.com or Yahoo Sports, but where will the rest of them go? Their employers relied on the local population to buy the papers to read their writers. Young people don't buy newspapers any more. They go on-line.
Clearly, the giants of the Web have to figure out how to save the talent that they helped put out of business. There are far too many very talented writers who will be muted if there isn't some thought into how to get them heard and pay them a living wage. As silly as it seems, all these professionals will be competing with a lot of amateurs who write for free and have a jump step on them all.
Dilbeck's story is agonizing. He is one of many in such a fate. Life is cruel at times and the old story we read as kids about the ant and the grasshopper didn't stay with us. 2009 has a lot of grasshoppers rubbing their legs nervously and wishing things were different. Just ask the grasshopper on the other side of this keyboard. Good luck to you Mr. Dilbeck. The Fan is feeling ya.
Robinson Cano Is Saying All the Right Things
Sometimes it takes a young person a little while to get it. It must be hard for a natural talent to suddenly realize that success at the highest level means hard work, perhaps work that never had to be done before. Robinson Cano seems to fall into that category and according to this story, seems to finally get that to be his best, he has to work hard.
To be sure, every drafted player must face the same dilemma. They were the best players on their high school teams. Perhaps had great college careers based on talent alone. Suddenly, they are in a minor league camp and all the players are just as good. Those that work hard and catch the right break, just may make it.
But there are a selected few who stand out, even among minor league peers. These players have so much talent that they breeze through the levels on superior talent alone. The sudden realization doesn't strike this type of ballplayer until the major leagues come calling. Even then, for the first month, or first season, things go pretty well. Cano, for example, hit .297 his first year and was over .300 the two years after that.
The world caught up to Cano last year. His underbelly was exposed and major league pitchers shot all the arrows they could into it. He was awful the first half, came back a little and then tailed off again. He failed to run out ground balls. He looked lazy in the field. Trade rumors surfaced and many wrote him off.
It seems, though, that the young man has figured it out. He hired a personal trainer in the off-season, asked for permission to play winter ball and is playing in the Fan-hated WBC. All this is good news for the Yankees who could regain the star player they thought they had.
Now we'll see if his good buddy, Melky Cabrera got the same message. At times in 2007, it looked like Cabrera was going to be a really good player in the bigs. But he regressed badly last year and looked so lost at the plate that he was shipped out to the minors. Then in December, it looked like he was headed to Milwaukee for Mike Cameran. But that deal died and Cabrera just signed a new contract to avoid arbitration.
So it looks good that Cabrera will get a chance to win his center field job back as he competes with Brett Gardner for that job. It seems likely that the Yankees will tab one of those two to patrol center. Both players have upside potential and it may be fun for Yankee fans to see one of them develop into a good player. The Yankees would probably be happy if one of them hits .270 and plays good defense.
As for Cano, if he can give them a year at .320 with 20 to 25 homers, the team will be ecstatic.
To be sure, every drafted player must face the same dilemma. They were the best players on their high school teams. Perhaps had great college careers based on talent alone. Suddenly, they are in a minor league camp and all the players are just as good. Those that work hard and catch the right break, just may make it.
But there are a selected few who stand out, even among minor league peers. These players have so much talent that they breeze through the levels on superior talent alone. The sudden realization doesn't strike this type of ballplayer until the major leagues come calling. Even then, for the first month, or first season, things go pretty well. Cano, for example, hit .297 his first year and was over .300 the two years after that.
The world caught up to Cano last year. His underbelly was exposed and major league pitchers shot all the arrows they could into it. He was awful the first half, came back a little and then tailed off again. He failed to run out ground balls. He looked lazy in the field. Trade rumors surfaced and many wrote him off.
It seems, though, that the young man has figured it out. He hired a personal trainer in the off-season, asked for permission to play winter ball and is playing in the Fan-hated WBC. All this is good news for the Yankees who could regain the star player they thought they had.
Now we'll see if his good buddy, Melky Cabrera got the same message. At times in 2007, it looked like Cabrera was going to be a really good player in the bigs. But he regressed badly last year and looked so lost at the plate that he was shipped out to the minors. Then in December, it looked like he was headed to Milwaukee for Mike Cameran. But that deal died and Cabrera just signed a new contract to avoid arbitration.
So it looks good that Cabrera will get a chance to win his center field job back as he competes with Brett Gardner for that job. It seems likely that the Yankees will tab one of those two to patrol center. Both players have upside potential and it may be fun for Yankee fans to see one of them develop into a good player. The Yankees would probably be happy if one of them hits .270 and plays good defense.
As for Cano, if he can give them a year at .320 with 20 to 25 homers, the team will be ecstatic.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Obscure Signings of the Week
Lots of well known names signed this week. Most were to avoid arbitration. A weekly feature, the Obscure Signings of the Week celebrate those lesser known names who signed contracts in hope of keeping their fringe major league careers going. Among them:
Tim Byrdak - LHP - Houston Astros: One year contract
Timothy Christopher Byrdak is a 35 year old pitcher born in Oak Lawn, Illinois. After a career at Rice, he was drafted way back in 1994 by the Royals in the fifth round. He had brief stints for the club that drafted him in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and was pretty awful. In those three years, he was 0-4, giving up 30 runs in just 32+ innings. And then a funny thing happened. He disappeared for five years.
After not pitching in the majors at all in the 2001 to 2004 seasons, he shows up in Baltimore in 2005 and pitched in 41 games, all in relief. There are few more obscure players than lefty specialists out of the bullpen. Called upon to get one or two outs, Byrdak logged only 26+ innings in those 41 appearances. But he had more strikeouts than innings and finished respectably with an ERA of 4.09. Unfortunately, he crashed and burned the following year and posted an ERA over 12.00 and had injury problems. The Orioles released him.
He then hooks on with the Tigers in 2007 and by then had developed a forkball to go along with his fastball and curve. He was very good for the Tigers, posting a 3.20 ERA in 45 innings in relief. He even won three games. His most memorable moment that season was striking out five of six Red Sox batters, including the heart of their order.
Houston signed him last year and he finished with a 3.90 ERA in 59 appearances. Byrdak misses quite a few bats, but also walks a lot of people. He has 106 walks given in 166+ big league innings. Though 35 with a zigzag of a career, lefty relievers always seem to be able to find a job somewhere.
Casey Fossum - LHP - New York Mets: Minor League Contract
How come "Casey" names usually end with an "Umm" sound? Casey Kasem, Casey Fossum...oh nevermind. Fossum is a former Red Sox prospect that they had hoped would pitch in their rotation for years. Well, he did for a few years, but always without much success.
He was a star in college at Texas A & M, where he led that team to the College World Series and was an second team All American. The Red Sox selected him with the 48th overall pick in the June, 1999 draft and put him on the fast track for the majors.
He arrived in the bigs in 2001 and started seven games out of his total appearances. He won 3 of his 5 decisions, but walked a lot of batters and had a high ERA. 2002 was his best year. He appeared in 43 games and started 12 and finished with an ERA of 3.46 to go along with a 5-4 record and one save. He struck out more batters than innings pitched for the only time in his career.
It's been all downhill from there. He pitched one more year for Boston and had an ERA over five (in 2003). After that season and after shoulder surgery, he was part of the Curt Schilling trade and went to the Diamondbacks who made him a starter. It wasn't pretty. He finished with a 4-15 record with a 6.65 ERA. He then pitched three years in Tampa Bay and had season ERAs of 4.92, 5.33 and 7.07. Ugh.
Last year, he went to the Tigers and pitched 41 innings for them and finished with a 5.66 ERA. In his big league career, he has given up 1184 base runners in 782 innings. Yowza.
Jason Taschner - LHP - San Francisco Giants: Signed one year contract
Taschner, who finishes our triumvirate of lefty hurlers, proves as much as Fossum and Byrdak that if you are left handed, you don't have to be good to have an obscure MLB career on the fringes of rosters.
The lefty was drafted by the Giants in the second round in the 1999 draft after a college career at the University of Wisconsin-Oskosh. Starting in 2005, Taschner has appeared in MLB games each year for the last four years, the past two seeing over 60 appearances per year. A typical lefty situational pitcher, Taschner has only logged 98 total innings in 130 appearances in those two years.
Like many of these lefty specialists, he tries to get sweeping breaking balls over to left handed batters. In the process, many walk. 53 walks occurred during his 98 innings. The result is a 5.01 lifetime ERA. One has to wonder why managers stick with this strategy that only seems to work half the time.
But they do, and as a result, Taschner gets another year in the big leagues.
Tim Byrdak - LHP - Houston Astros: One year contract
Timothy Christopher Byrdak is a 35 year old pitcher born in Oak Lawn, Illinois. After a career at Rice, he was drafted way back in 1994 by the Royals in the fifth round. He had brief stints for the club that drafted him in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and was pretty awful. In those three years, he was 0-4, giving up 30 runs in just 32+ innings. And then a funny thing happened. He disappeared for five years.
After not pitching in the majors at all in the 2001 to 2004 seasons, he shows up in Baltimore in 2005 and pitched in 41 games, all in relief. There are few more obscure players than lefty specialists out of the bullpen. Called upon to get one or two outs, Byrdak logged only 26+ innings in those 41 appearances. But he had more strikeouts than innings and finished respectably with an ERA of 4.09. Unfortunately, he crashed and burned the following year and posted an ERA over 12.00 and had injury problems. The Orioles released him.
He then hooks on with the Tigers in 2007 and by then had developed a forkball to go along with his fastball and curve. He was very good for the Tigers, posting a 3.20 ERA in 45 innings in relief. He even won three games. His most memorable moment that season was striking out five of six Red Sox batters, including the heart of their order.
Houston signed him last year and he finished with a 3.90 ERA in 59 appearances. Byrdak misses quite a few bats, but also walks a lot of people. He has 106 walks given in 166+ big league innings. Though 35 with a zigzag of a career, lefty relievers always seem to be able to find a job somewhere.
Casey Fossum - LHP - New York Mets: Minor League Contract
How come "Casey" names usually end with an "Umm" sound? Casey Kasem, Casey Fossum...oh nevermind. Fossum is a former Red Sox prospect that they had hoped would pitch in their rotation for years. Well, he did for a few years, but always without much success.
He was a star in college at Texas A & M, where he led that team to the College World Series and was an second team All American. The Red Sox selected him with the 48th overall pick in the June, 1999 draft and put him on the fast track for the majors.
He arrived in the bigs in 2001 and started seven games out of his total appearances. He won 3 of his 5 decisions, but walked a lot of batters and had a high ERA. 2002 was his best year. He appeared in 43 games and started 12 and finished with an ERA of 3.46 to go along with a 5-4 record and one save. He struck out more batters than innings pitched for the only time in his career.
It's been all downhill from there. He pitched one more year for Boston and had an ERA over five (in 2003). After that season and after shoulder surgery, he was part of the Curt Schilling trade and went to the Diamondbacks who made him a starter. It wasn't pretty. He finished with a 4-15 record with a 6.65 ERA. He then pitched three years in Tampa Bay and had season ERAs of 4.92, 5.33 and 7.07. Ugh.
Last year, he went to the Tigers and pitched 41 innings for them and finished with a 5.66 ERA. In his big league career, he has given up 1184 base runners in 782 innings. Yowza.
Jason Taschner - LHP - San Francisco Giants: Signed one year contract
Taschner, who finishes our triumvirate of lefty hurlers, proves as much as Fossum and Byrdak that if you are left handed, you don't have to be good to have an obscure MLB career on the fringes of rosters.
The lefty was drafted by the Giants in the second round in the 1999 draft after a college career at the University of Wisconsin-Oskosh. Starting in 2005, Taschner has appeared in MLB games each year for the last four years, the past two seeing over 60 appearances per year. A typical lefty situational pitcher, Taschner has only logged 98 total innings in 130 appearances in those two years.
Like many of these lefty specialists, he tries to get sweeping breaking balls over to left handed batters. In the process, many walk. 53 walks occurred during his 98 innings. The result is a 5.01 lifetime ERA. One has to wonder why managers stick with this strategy that only seems to work half the time.
But they do, and as a result, Taschner gets another year in the big leagues.
Fan Ramblings While Drinking Coffee on a Saturday Morning
Some things in baseball still continue to baffle a Fan, even after decades of watching and reading about the sport. Some are wrapped up in the rule book and others seem to make logical sense but don't. Here are some of them.
Why isn't there a rule about how many pitching changes you can make in an inning? Some of the Left/Right/Left parades are terrible for the game and add tens of minutes to the game's length. Why not limit a team to two pitching changes an inning and keep it at that. Two are still too many, but at least it's a start. Just in case you have the second pitching change leading to a ten run rally, the umpires could be given an out clause to not punish a team to protect the poor pitcher who just seems to have one of those bad days.
Why are pitchers allowed to make those fake moves to second or that fake throw to third and then whirl around to see if the guy at first is asleep? Don't balk rules state that you cannot try to deceive the runner? Aren't those fake moves...umm...attempted deceptions. Plus, they are time wasting and downright boring.
Why do pitchers continue to throw fifteen times to first? All of us have experienced watching a game when suddenly, the pitcher gets obsessed and it starts to feel like Groundhog Day. It's boring to watch. The fans start booing, even when the pitcher is from the home team. Is there any statistical evidence that after five throws over there, the runner is less successful stealing? Doubtful. Cut it out already or create a rule against it.
Speaking of Groundhog Day, another instance of such an incident is when the pitcher is peering in for the sign, shakes a few off and then the batter steps out and asks for time. Then the catcher trots out to the pitcher, they talk, and the catcher still has to give a sign. Why? First of all, don't let the batter step out. That's ridiculous. Secondly, when a catcher goes to the mound, agree on a pitch and let's get to it. Why go back to giving a sign?
Why don't baseball teams have a cleanup guy that sweeps the dugout after every inning? Do fans really want to see 28 crumpled up paper cups and 42 pounds of spit out seed shells on the ground? Yuck. Clean it up, for crying out loud.
Why don't more teams take advantage of lazy outfielders who lolly pop throws to the infield after singles? When the Fan was playing as a kid (ancient history), as soon as the outfielder let one of those lazy lobs go, the Fan was on the way to second and never failed to get there. Punish the lazy guys and they won't be so lazy.
Why don't major league batters move closer in the batting box against slower pitchers and knuckleballers? I can see the back of the batting box being a good idea against a hard fastball, but not against a junkballer. Move up! Hit the ball before the late break.
Why aren't strikes called when a batter gets hit but his hands are actually over the plate? If a guy dives into the plate (Like Jeter does) and gets hit, first see if it's a strike or not before awarding the player first base.
It's tradition, but why should a foul bunt after two strikes be a strikeout? It doesn't make sense. It never made sense. It's been a rule forever, but why? A batter can foul back 14 pitches in a row, but he can't fail to bunt the ball fair more than three times?
Why isn't there a rule about how many pitching changes you can make in an inning? Some of the Left/Right/Left parades are terrible for the game and add tens of minutes to the game's length. Why not limit a team to two pitching changes an inning and keep it at that. Two are still too many, but at least it's a start. Just in case you have the second pitching change leading to a ten run rally, the umpires could be given an out clause to not punish a team to protect the poor pitcher who just seems to have one of those bad days.
Why are pitchers allowed to make those fake moves to second or that fake throw to third and then whirl around to see if the guy at first is asleep? Don't balk rules state that you cannot try to deceive the runner? Aren't those fake moves...umm...attempted deceptions. Plus, they are time wasting and downright boring.
Why do pitchers continue to throw fifteen times to first? All of us have experienced watching a game when suddenly, the pitcher gets obsessed and it starts to feel like Groundhog Day. It's boring to watch. The fans start booing, even when the pitcher is from the home team. Is there any statistical evidence that after five throws over there, the runner is less successful stealing? Doubtful. Cut it out already or create a rule against it.
Speaking of Groundhog Day, another instance of such an incident is when the pitcher is peering in for the sign, shakes a few off and then the batter steps out and asks for time. Then the catcher trots out to the pitcher, they talk, and the catcher still has to give a sign. Why? First of all, don't let the batter step out. That's ridiculous. Secondly, when a catcher goes to the mound, agree on a pitch and let's get to it. Why go back to giving a sign?
Why don't baseball teams have a cleanup guy that sweeps the dugout after every inning? Do fans really want to see 28 crumpled up paper cups and 42 pounds of spit out seed shells on the ground? Yuck. Clean it up, for crying out loud.
Why don't more teams take advantage of lazy outfielders who lolly pop throws to the infield after singles? When the Fan was playing as a kid (ancient history), as soon as the outfielder let one of those lazy lobs go, the Fan was on the way to second and never failed to get there. Punish the lazy guys and they won't be so lazy.
Why don't major league batters move closer in the batting box against slower pitchers and knuckleballers? I can see the back of the batting box being a good idea against a hard fastball, but not against a junkballer. Move up! Hit the ball before the late break.
Why aren't strikes called when a batter gets hit but his hands are actually over the plate? If a guy dives into the plate (Like Jeter does) and gets hit, first see if it's a strike or not before awarding the player first base.
It's tradition, but why should a foul bunt after two strikes be a strikeout? It doesn't make sense. It never made sense. It's been a rule forever, but why? A batter can foul back 14 pitches in a row, but he can't fail to bunt the ball fair more than three times?
The Fan's 400th Post
Woohoo! Let the world know. 400 blog entries! Where are the fireworks? Why didn't the President call to congratulate? Where is the AP story on the news wire? Come on! The Fan reaches 400 posts! That's a lot of words, people!
It's been fun. When this blog started, Clemens hadn't reached 300 wins yet. The Fan was still lauding Barry Bonds's career. Rickey Henderson was looking for a job. Oh yeah...he still is. The Fan was writing in the first person. Who WAS that guy?
Apparently, the Fan wrote 231 posts that first year. Life sorta got in the way after that and there were some lean years. Maybe those sports writers that the Fan envies should get more respect for doing it for so long and so consistently. Well, yeah, they get paid for it and us lowly bloggers have day jobs and type these things with bleary eyes when we should be sleeping. Maybe that's what happened during those lost years, the Fan just decided to sleep more.
But the itch came back regularly and a furtive startup would happen. The Fan would announce that he was back! He would let sportsblogs.org know he was back in business. But it would fizzle after a few posts. Well, this time the Fan is back for good, doggonit. There have been 33 posts this year in just 23 days. What? Is he nuts!? And that was after 24 posts in December. So these two months beat all of 2007's post count. Pitiful.
But it looks like the Fan has gone off the deep end. He checks his sitemeter everyday to see how many people showed up. He is giddy after someone leaves a comment, even if it is only his buddy, Josh, again. After all, the Fan didn't know Josh before this blog, so he counts, right? But it's true. The Fan has gone over the top. His single goal in life is to get to the first page on Sportsblogs.org (there, they've been mentioned twice! Kickbacks are expected). Right now the Fan is consistently on the nine or tenth page of the list of blogs on that site (which is based on click throughs). Grrrr....I'll bury you, Sox Blog and Bleed Cubbie Blue. Enjoy your stay at the top, man, because the Fan is coming. Of course, the Fan could cheat. If you go to the list on Sports Blogs and continue to click the "View Blog" link on your own blog, it will open up from that link and your count will go up by one. The Fan is just Sicilian enough to not do that because surely, somebody is watching for that.
The dream has overtaken reality. The dream is to be mentioned in Neyer's "Wednesday Wangdoodles" or to be like Big League Stew and go from obscure blog to a Yahoo regular. That's the dream, Baby! For now, it's at least good that Josh likes to show up often and some gal named Goooood girl thinks this blog is very good. Small steps, my friend, small steps.
The thing is, the Fan loves to write. It's what Josh and the Fan share. And writers (or would be writers) are always encouraged to write about what they are passionate about. Baseball fits. So baseball it is. Of course, the Fan is also passionate about gas-guzzling SUVs and the terrible commercials that show them creaming the environment for the heck of it. But that blog only lasted five posts.
Baseball is different. It's in the blood. It's deep, man...really deep. Okay, you're getting scared and will never come back. Apologies. We'll try a little more tranquility. For those of you who have read more than one of the 400 posts, thanks. Hope you stick around. It will be fun. For those of you who are reading this post as your first time ever at the Fandome, please don't be scared away by this giddy little trifle. Read a few posts and see what you think.
And hey, to celebrate 400 posts, if someone comments on this very post (except for you, Josh, because you've already been mentioned), the Fan promises that your name will somehow be incorporated 400 times in the text of the 401st post.
Let's enjoy this ride together, shall we? And to see how this blog has evolved from the beginning, this post will end with a copy/paste job of one of the very first posts. Enjoy:
In one of the great headlines of all time that would make Mickey Spillane proud, ESPN.com crows: "Billionaire Broad confirms interest in buying Dodgers." Broad, of course, is referring to Eli Broad, the Los Angeles dynamo last heard from when he tried to bring an NFL franchise back to LA. I'm not sure that letting a Broad run things is going to restore this franchise to its former glory days of Alston and then Lasorda and the proud Dodger blue. The last great Dodger headline was a while back when a small article indicated that "Monday will be out Tuesday." Monday was Rick Monday, the centerfielder that played for the Dodgers in the late 70's and early to mid 80's. Another great thing about ESPN.com is that you can look at the statistics of former MLB players. A lot of sites offer that, but ESPN has a really cool feature where under each stat, the player is ranked in that stat all time. For example, you can find out that Rick Monday ranks 160th all time in home runs but only 407th in career RBI. Isn't that cool information? Okay, let's try a few of my personal favorites: Bobby Murcer hit 252 homers to place him 141st on the list or 19 in front of Rich Monday. But Murcer ended up with 1043 RBI which places him 188th all time and dozens ahead of Monday. The day Murcer was traded to the Giants for Bobby Bonds was one of the most shocking and sad days of my life. To this day, I can still do Murcer's stance at the plate. I remember going to Yankee Stadium for opening day in 1969--Murcer's first full year. Murcer wore number 2 and a player named Jerry Kenney wore number 1. Since the Yanks were so bad, they needed a gimmick and Kenney (#1) batted first and Murcer (#2) batted second. In this memorable opening game, the visiting team didn't score and Kenney and Murcer hit back to back solo homers. Murcer went on to hit 25 more home runs that year but Kenney hit only one more. A year later, Kenney hit below the Mendoza line (.194) in 404 at bats and was out of baseball a few years later. Anyway...the day Murcer was traded was terrible. He was a victim of those horrible years when the Yanks had to play at Shea while Yankee Stadium was being rebuilt. At Yankee Stadium, Murcer averaged 27 homers a year. The first year at Shea, his numbers tumbled to 22 and the following year 11. He was then traded to the Giants and hit 34 homers in two years in the cold and wind of Candlestick Park. Murcer played two years for the Cubbies before coming back to the Yankees as a sentimental favorite in their glory years with Munson and Reggie Jackson. Murcer did have a decent career and in one nine year stretch averaged 90 RBI a year. Hmm...Bobby Bonds...72nd all time in homers with 332 and eighth all time in strikeouts with 1757 (in 14 years!). I bet you didn't know that! His son Barry Bonds has more runs scored in his sixteen years than his dad had strikeouts. In two more seasons, Barry has five hundred less strikeouts than his dad did. Okay, one more stat peek and I'll stop: Fritz Peterson. Fritz was a pretty good pitcher for the Yankees through their truly awful years of 1966 (two years after their last pennant of the 60's) and 1976 (two years before their first pennant since 1964!). They came in last or next to last for most of those years. Despite that, Fritz ended his career 133 - 131 with a 3.30 ERA. Not bad! Of course, he'll forever be known as one half of the famous Yankee scandal of wife swapping. He and a fellow pitcher named Mike Kekich (39-51 lifetime) decided to switch wives in mid-season. It must have been natural for Peterson's ex-wife to state that Kekich came in out of the bullpen. It was quite the fiasco at the time. I don't believe there was a happily-ever-after. I think the Kedich-Peterson duo worked out but the Peterson-Kekich pairing fizzled out faster than Fernando Valenzuela's fastball. Well, this column meandered all over the place. That's okay, if you discover ESPN.com's stat collection with the lifetime rankings, it will have been worth it.
Hey, the Fan was pretty good, even back then. A little rambly, but not bad. See you tomorrow.
It's been fun. When this blog started, Clemens hadn't reached 300 wins yet. The Fan was still lauding Barry Bonds's career. Rickey Henderson was looking for a job. Oh yeah...he still is. The Fan was writing in the first person. Who WAS that guy?
Apparently, the Fan wrote 231 posts that first year. Life sorta got in the way after that and there were some lean years. Maybe those sports writers that the Fan envies should get more respect for doing it for so long and so consistently. Well, yeah, they get paid for it and us lowly bloggers have day jobs and type these things with bleary eyes when we should be sleeping. Maybe that's what happened during those lost years, the Fan just decided to sleep more.
But the itch came back regularly and a furtive startup would happen. The Fan would announce that he was back! He would let sportsblogs.org know he was back in business. But it would fizzle after a few posts. Well, this time the Fan is back for good, doggonit. There have been 33 posts this year in just 23 days. What? Is he nuts!? And that was after 24 posts in December. So these two months beat all of 2007's post count. Pitiful.
But it looks like the Fan has gone off the deep end. He checks his sitemeter everyday to see how many people showed up. He is giddy after someone leaves a comment, even if it is only his buddy, Josh, again. After all, the Fan didn't know Josh before this blog, so he counts, right? But it's true. The Fan has gone over the top. His single goal in life is to get to the first page on Sportsblogs.org (there, they've been mentioned twice! Kickbacks are expected). Right now the Fan is consistently on the nine or tenth page of the list of blogs on that site (which is based on click throughs). Grrrr....I'll bury you, Sox Blog and Bleed Cubbie Blue. Enjoy your stay at the top, man, because the Fan is coming. Of course, the Fan could cheat. If you go to the list on Sports Blogs and continue to click the "View Blog" link on your own blog, it will open up from that link and your count will go up by one. The Fan is just Sicilian enough to not do that because surely, somebody is watching for that.
The dream has overtaken reality. The dream is to be mentioned in Neyer's "Wednesday Wangdoodles" or to be like Big League Stew and go from obscure blog to a Yahoo regular. That's the dream, Baby! For now, it's at least good that Josh likes to show up often and some gal named Goooood girl thinks this blog is very good. Small steps, my friend, small steps.
The thing is, the Fan loves to write. It's what Josh and the Fan share. And writers (or would be writers) are always encouraged to write about what they are passionate about. Baseball fits. So baseball it is. Of course, the Fan is also passionate about gas-guzzling SUVs and the terrible commercials that show them creaming the environment for the heck of it. But that blog only lasted five posts.
Baseball is different. It's in the blood. It's deep, man...really deep. Okay, you're getting scared and will never come back. Apologies. We'll try a little more tranquility. For those of you who have read more than one of the 400 posts, thanks. Hope you stick around. It will be fun. For those of you who are reading this post as your first time ever at the Fandome, please don't be scared away by this giddy little trifle. Read a few posts and see what you think.
And hey, to celebrate 400 posts, if someone comments on this very post (except for you, Josh, because you've already been mentioned), the Fan promises that your name will somehow be incorporated 400 times in the text of the 401st post.
Let's enjoy this ride together, shall we? And to see how this blog has evolved from the beginning, this post will end with a copy/paste job of one of the very first posts. Enjoy:
In one of the great headlines of all time that would make Mickey Spillane proud, ESPN.com crows: "Billionaire Broad confirms interest in buying Dodgers." Broad, of course, is referring to Eli Broad, the Los Angeles dynamo last heard from when he tried to bring an NFL franchise back to LA. I'm not sure that letting a Broad run things is going to restore this franchise to its former glory days of Alston and then Lasorda and the proud Dodger blue. The last great Dodger headline was a while back when a small article indicated that "Monday will be out Tuesday." Monday was Rick Monday, the centerfielder that played for the Dodgers in the late 70's and early to mid 80's. Another great thing about ESPN.com is that you can look at the statistics of former MLB players. A lot of sites offer that, but ESPN has a really cool feature where under each stat, the player is ranked in that stat all time. For example, you can find out that Rick Monday ranks 160th all time in home runs but only 407th in career RBI. Isn't that cool information? Okay, let's try a few of my personal favorites: Bobby Murcer hit 252 homers to place him 141st on the list or 19 in front of Rich Monday. But Murcer ended up with 1043 RBI which places him 188th all time and dozens ahead of Monday. The day Murcer was traded to the Giants for Bobby Bonds was one of the most shocking and sad days of my life. To this day, I can still do Murcer's stance at the plate. I remember going to Yankee Stadium for opening day in 1969--Murcer's first full year. Murcer wore number 2 and a player named Jerry Kenney wore number 1. Since the Yanks were so bad, they needed a gimmick and Kenney (#1) batted first and Murcer (#2) batted second. In this memorable opening game, the visiting team didn't score and Kenney and Murcer hit back to back solo homers. Murcer went on to hit 25 more home runs that year but Kenney hit only one more. A year later, Kenney hit below the Mendoza line (.194) in 404 at bats and was out of baseball a few years later. Anyway...the day Murcer was traded was terrible. He was a victim of those horrible years when the Yanks had to play at Shea while Yankee Stadium was being rebuilt. At Yankee Stadium, Murcer averaged 27 homers a year. The first year at Shea, his numbers tumbled to 22 and the following year 11. He was then traded to the Giants and hit 34 homers in two years in the cold and wind of Candlestick Park. Murcer played two years for the Cubbies before coming back to the Yankees as a sentimental favorite in their glory years with Munson and Reggie Jackson. Murcer did have a decent career and in one nine year stretch averaged 90 RBI a year. Hmm...Bobby Bonds...72nd all time in homers with 332 and eighth all time in strikeouts with 1757 (in 14 years!). I bet you didn't know that! His son Barry Bonds has more runs scored in his sixteen years than his dad had strikeouts. In two more seasons, Barry has five hundred less strikeouts than his dad did. Okay, one more stat peek and I'll stop: Fritz Peterson. Fritz was a pretty good pitcher for the Yankees through their truly awful years of 1966 (two years after their last pennant of the 60's) and 1976 (two years before their first pennant since 1964!). They came in last or next to last for most of those years. Despite that, Fritz ended his career 133 - 131 with a 3.30 ERA. Not bad! Of course, he'll forever be known as one half of the famous Yankee scandal of wife swapping. He and a fellow pitcher named Mike Kekich (39-51 lifetime) decided to switch wives in mid-season. It must have been natural for Peterson's ex-wife to state that Kekich came in out of the bullpen. It was quite the fiasco at the time. I don't believe there was a happily-ever-after. I think the Kedich-Peterson duo worked out but the Peterson-Kekich pairing fizzled out faster than Fernando Valenzuela's fastball. Well, this column meandered all over the place. That's okay, if you discover ESPN.com's stat collection with the lifetime rankings, it will have been worth it.
Hey, the Fan was pretty good, even back then. A little rambly, but not bad. See you tomorrow.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Oldest Living Ballplayer Dies
Or is that headline an oxymoron? In any case, Bill Werber, a one-time teammate of Babe Ruth, has died at the age of 100. See the story here in a fascinating article by the Associated Press. For some reason, none of the articles about him included his birth (6/20/1908).
Isn't it amazing that we can go on-line at any time and see the lifetime statistics for a player such as Werber? What a cool time we live in! Here are some of Werber's career highlights:
Isn't it amazing that we can go on-line at any time and see the lifetime statistics for a player such as Werber? What a cool time we live in! Here are some of Werber's career highlights:
- Werber played for 12 years after his All American collegiate career at Duke. His career began in 1930 and concluded in 1942.
- Werber played for the Yankees, Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants.
- Werber had a lifetime Batting Average of .271 and an On Base Percentage of .359 (not bad!).
- Werber stole 215 bases and led the league in that category three times.
- Werber scored over 100 runs three times in his career and more than 80, seven times (in a 154 game schedule).
- His best year came in 1934 for the Red Sox when he batted .321, with 200 hits and 129 runs scored. He hit 41 doubles, 10 triples and 11 homers that year and added 77 walks for a .388 On Base Average.
- He didn't appear to be a very good fielder (primarily a third baseman) with a lifetime .940 fielding percentage.
Werber lived a long and wonderful life. He became a millionaire after his stint in baseball by selling insurance. We salute you, Mr. Werber.
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