High and Tight.

Swish, O.A.R., and Crazy Poker Games

2011-10-28T12:47:00.001-07:00

There's More Than One Thing Wrong With This Website

2011-10-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.derekjeterherpes.com/

This is When You Know Your Media Has an Agenda

2011-10-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Look at the bottom.

That's the front page of the Post. A world leader and admitted terrorist who has killed thousands of people over decades has been overthrown and killed, and they use it to take a cheap shot at A-Rod.

Leave it to the Koreans to Sum Everything Up Nicely

2011-10-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

This One Didn't Hurt So Bad

2011-10-07T09:29:00.001-07:00

There is of course some regret in not seeing my Yankees advance, but in reality, I'm not overly upset about it.

This wasn't 2001, where Joe Torre refused to play the infield back.

This wasn't 2003, where Torre put Jeff Weaver in relief and left Rivera to rot in the 'pen for a save that never came.

This wasn't 2004, where Torre refused to bunt on Schilling because it wouldn't be "classy."

Those hurt. This one was simply disappointing.

This wasn't a Yankees team that was supposed to compete. This was supposed to be the year the Phillies beat the Red Sox in the World Series.

I didn't expect a title in 2011. The pitching staff going into the year was CC, Hughes, and Pray Not to Lose.

Jeter and A-Rod spent significant time on the disabled list. Hughes, the expected #2, spent an injury-riddled season struggling to come back. Posada's production fell off the proverbial cliff. Rafael Soriano, the expected "bridge-to-Mo," couldn't stay healthy.

This was a team with disaster written all over it. Then a funny thing happened: they kept winning.

This flawed, injured group of players wound up with the best record in the American League.

I'll break it down for you as simply as I can, Yankee fans: no other team's fans had a better time in 2011, with the exception of whichever team wins the World Series.

This year, I got to see the development of Curtis Granderson from a "nice little player" into a genuine MVP-level superstar.

I got to see Robinson Cano continue to emerge as one of the best players in baseball.

I got to see my team dismantle their chief rivals at the end and knock the favorites out of the postseason picture.

I got to see brilliant pickups by Brian Cashman, Freddie Garcia and Bartolo Colon, come out of nowhere to pitch not only effectively, but at a high level on a big stage.

I got to see David Robertson shift from a decent middle reliever into an All-Star and the heir apparent to Rivera.

I got to see a glimpse of a bright future for Jesus Montero.

I got to see Ivan Nova blossom from a guy considered such a fringe prospect he was a Rule 5 pick who was returned to New York to a bonafide Rookie of the Year candidate.

I got to see the greatest shortstop in Yankees history get his 3,000th hit.

I got to see the greatest relief pitcher in history become the all-time saves leader.

I got to see a lot. Fans of no other team can say anything close.

I enjoyed this regular season. I know most Yankee fans are of the mindset that it's only October that matters, and there is some truth in that.

Maybe it's because of the lowered expectations coming in that this loss doesn't hurt like the punches in the gut that were 2001, 2003, or 2004.

But maybe, just maybe, it's because I enjoyed getting there so much that, looking back, the final destination wasn't as important.

Yankee fans have become entitled and arrogant, expecting every year to win or else.

Sometimes, you have to enjoy the journey.

This year, I did.

Yanks Down to Last Chance

2011-10-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Still, it could be worse...

So, How Did That All Work Out For You?

2011-09-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

Unbridled optimism: what usually gets you to look like a jackass after a season is completed.

Case in point.

2011 Red Sox Will Challenge 1927 Yankees for Title of Greatest Team in Major League History

by Eric Ortiz on Sun, Jan 2, 2011 at 7:41AM 362

The Red Sox have won 100 or more games three times in their 110-year existence.
They will make it four in 2011. But this team has the potential to accomplish something even bigger than winning 100 games.
The last time the Red Sox reached the 100-win mark was 1946, when they went 104-50-2 and lost the World Series to the Cardinals in seven games.
Prior to that, the Red Sox posted 101 wins in 1915 and 105 in 1912. Both seasons ended with World Series titles.
Will the duck boats be rolling through the streets of Boston again next fall?
Bookmakers like the Red Sox’ chances. Current odds put them at 9-2 to win the 2011 World Series. Only the Phillies, at 7-2, are bigger favorites, with the Yankees not far behind at 5-1 shots.
Championships, of course, aren’t won in January. But championship teams are built during the offseason, and Theo Epstein has put together a roster that would make Branch Rickey proud.
Look at the starting lineup.
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Marco Scutaro/Jed Lowrie, SS
Speed. Power. Plate discipline. This lineup has it all. Good luck finding a hole from 1 to 7. Saltalamacchia is a bit of a wild card, but the 25-year-old could be ready for a breakout season. And whoever is the starting shortstop -- Scutaro or Lowrie -- gives the Red Sox one of the toughest No. 9 hitters in the game.
Besides a potent offensive attack, the Red Sox will boast airtight defense, perhaps the best of any team in baseball.
Turn to the bench, and manager Terry Francona has plenty of options.
Mike Cameron, OF
Darnell McDonald, OF
Marco Scutaro/Jed Lowrie, INF
Jason Varitek, C
Youth, experience and versatility will ride the pine like lions waiting to hunt. Depth won’t be a problem, especially with players like Ryan Kalish, Lars Anderson and Josh Reddick on the farm.
In 2010, the Red Sox scored 818 runs (second-most in the majors), or 5.1 per game. They hit 211 home runs (second in MLB) and posted a .790 OPS (tops in MLB). The offense, with even more weapons now, could demolish those numbers.
Yet one run is all it might take to win a game on some days with the starting staff the Red Sox have assembled.
Jon Lester, LHP
Josh Beckett, RHP
John Lackey, RHP
Clay Buchholz, RHP
Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP
Lester is a Cy Young winner waiting to happen. Beckett will notch more than six victories. Lackey should be better equipped to avoid the one-bad-inning syndrome. Buchholz has become a force. And Dice-K might be the best No. 5 starter ever. The Japanese right-hander is the only pitcher in the rotation who’s never been an All-Star, but this could be the year he ends that streak.
Every Red Sox starting pitcher has something to prove. While the Phillies might be the popular choice as the best rotation in baseball, don’t be surprised if people are singing a different tune come October.
When Red Sox starters have to hand the ball to the bullpen this season, Boston fans won’t have to have to cover their eyes and pray. The weak link in 2010 could be one of the best relief corps in the business.
Tim Wakefield, RHP
Scott Atchison/Matt Albers, RHP
Hideki Okajima, LHP
Dan Wheeler, RHP
Bobby Jenks, RHP
Daniel Bard, RHP
Jonathan Papelbon, RHP
Okajima is the only known left-handed quantity. But youngster Felix Doubront has talent and should see some action. Rich Hill, Lenny DiNardo and Andrew Miller also could contribute.
The right-handers in the mix all bring experience and different styles to the fire. Need long relief? Call on Wakefield to disrupt hitters’ timing. Need a middle-inning specialist to get key outs? Wheeler knows how to do the job, and Atchison proved serviceable last season. Albers could be a diamond in the rough. Want heat? Jenks and Bard throw seeds. Want to turn out the lights? Papelbon is pitching for a contract, so trust he will be ready to show he’s far from washed up. Reliability and consistency -- foreign concepts to Boston’s bullpen last season -- will be common words associated with this group.
Every day should feel like Christmas for Curt Young, the new Red Sox pitching coach. The former A’s pitching coach didn’t have anything close to the horses he has now, and Oakland’s staff posted a 3.56 ERA last season, the best in the American League and fourth-best in the majors. Imagine what he can do with a Grade A collection of arms.
The Red Sox were slated to win about 95 games last year. They won 89 despite injuries to Pedroia (a former MVP) and Youkilis (a possible future MVP). Add them back, along with the new players and a healthy Ellsbury, and 100 wins doesn’t just appear plausible. It seems downright inevitable.
So does a date with history.
The 2001 Mariners won 116 regular-season games to set the American League record for most wins in a single season and tie the 1906 Cubs for the major league record (though the North Siders accomplished the feat in 152 games). Both those teams failed to win the World Series. The Cubs lost to the White Sox in six games in the Fall Classic. The Mariners didn’t even make it that far, falling to the Yankees in five games in the ALCS.
The Red Sox have no intention of suffering a similar fate. The way they are constructed, they could surpass the 116-win mark, but nothing less than a World Series title will make Boston happy.
The 2011 Red Sox possess all the pieces to have a season for the ages. If everything falls into place and the breaks go their way, they could do more than set records and become champions. They could do more than take their place on Immortality Peak and end up being mentioned in the same sentence as legendary clubs of the past: the 1929 A’s, the epic Yankees teams of the ‘30s, the 1970 Orioles, the 1976 Reds.
The 2011 Red Sox could accomplish a feat that has never been done. They could unseat the 1927 Yankees as the greatest major league team of all time.
That would be something to celebrate.

To sum up:

The Red Sox have won 100 or more games three times in their 110-year existence. They will make it four in 2011.
Theo Epstein has put together a roster that would make Branch Rickey proud.
Speed. Power. Plate discipline. This lineup has it all.
Depth won’t be a problem.
One run is all it might take to win a game on some days with the starting staff the Red Sox have assembled.
Lackey should be better equipped to avoid the one-bad-inning syndrome.
Dice-K might be the best No. 5 starter ever.
Dice-K could be an All-Star
While the Phillies might be the popular choice as the best rotation in baseball, don’t be surprised if people are singing a different tune come October.
The bullpen could be one of the best relief corps in the business.
Every day should feel like Christmas for Curt Young, the new Red Sox pitching coach.
100 wins doesn’t just appear plausible. It seems downright inevitable.
The way they are constructed, they could surpass the 116-win mark
They could do more than take their place on Immortality Peak and end up being mentioned in the same sentence as legendary clubs of the past: the 1929 A’s, the epic Yankees teams of the ‘30s, the 1970 Orioles, the 1976 Reds.
They could unseat the 1927 Yankees as the greatest major league team of all time.

As my good friend June would say, you were WROOOOOOOOOOONG.

Granderson Picks His Intro Music

2011-03-22T07:31:00.001-07:00

THE PHILLIES ARE BUYING A CHAMPIONSHIP!

2010-12-14T17:08:00.000-08:00

I'm really just curious how many media outlets will spin the story that way instead of ol' folksy Cliffers taking "less" money to play where he was comfortable (although the average annual value is higher than the reported offers that the Yankees and Rangers made even if the sixth year isn't guaranteed).

Had the Yankees signed him for the same dollars you can bet there would be another outcry about disparity. But the Phillies? Nope, this is just old friends reuniting!

What Joba's Been Up To This Offseason

2010-12-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Maybe Mickey can help him with his slider.

It's amazing that they both have the same expression.

Jeter : Gold Glove :: Kim Jong Il : Nobel Peace Prize

2010-11-09T12:49:00.001-08:00

We all know that most of the award voting in baseball is a joke, but is there anything more ridiculous than the Gold Glove awards? They gave Rafael Palmiero one when he'd played less than 30 games there and was a DH.

Now they award Jeter with another one, when not only do the defensive metrics say the opposite, but even with the naked eye it's readily apparent that Jeter's future away from the shortstop position is coming quickly.

He's obviously lost more than a step and these voters can't see past the intangibles.

Cano and Teix were among the deserving, though.

If You Have Field Level Seats, Pay Attention

2010-06-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is what you get if you spend your time at the Stadium not watching the game.

... How Is This Even Possible?

2010-06-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Is he the unluckiest guy ever, or what?

Mark Prior Injured Again
Former Cub takes line drive off pitching shoulder

Former Cubs pitcher Mark Prior, out of baseball after leaving the San Diego Padres organization a year ago, recently started throwing again in hopes of one more comeback.

But we hear that he recently took a line drive off of his pitching shoulder while throwing batting practice to a local team. He was shut down for three weeks although the injury is not considered serious.

He should call Kerry Wood and they should both just drive over to Dusty Baker's house and kick the shit out of him.

Optimizing the Lineup

2010-06-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

I had a conversation last week with someone talking about lineups and who should hit where, so I thought I'd revisit the Optimum Lineup creation (sabermetrically) that one could form using the current Yankees.

There's plenty of math and discussion on the subject, from Beyond the Boxscore, Retrosheet, and Catfish Stew.
Here's the breakdown of the roles and slots:

1. The strongest OBP guy in the lineup. This could be your best overall hitter as well provided he leads the team in OBP, but essentially this spot boils down to whichever player gets on base the most.
2. Often (but not always) the team's best hitter. Usually the most balanced hitter on the team as far as OBP and SLG.
3. A balanced hitter but not traditionally the "three hole" guy. Usually the most balanced player left after the other assignments are made in regards to specific roles. Without a strong requirement, this spot is filled after most of the others (see the order below) but is usually a better hitter that doesn't have a specified role in the lineup.
4. The SLG guy. Essentially, he's the antithesis to the leadoff batter (although they could both be very good hitters). This is the fella most likely to drive the ball as far as possible, and the guy who (along with the #2 hitter) is usually the best on the team.
5. The next best hitter on the team (OPS-wise) who isn't already leading off or batting second or cleanup.
6. This position is reserved for the highest power guy who isn't an OBP machine. It may fall to this guy to drive in the guys on base should the four and five hitters not get it done, so it makes sense that his OBP isn't that important.
7. Usually a higher SLG than OBP from the remaining players. He's similar to the #4 hitter - like cleanup #2.
8. This is the hitter with the lowest OBP. If this is a National League lineup, the pitcher would hit here. Yes, Tony LaRussa was right.
9. Usually the second-worst hitter on the team. Power isn't important at all since he's hitting behind the worst hitter, but OBP is because the lineup is turning over. Kind of the opposite of the guy in the seven slot.

The lineup would be constructed by picking players for these slots in order:
1, 4, 2, 5, 6, 7, 3, 9, 8.

So if we look at the current 2010 Yankees, (judging stats by only their play so far in 2010 and only utilizing the current Yankee regulars) the ideal lineup for creating runs would be as follows (using their OPS and the formula established by Baseball Musings:
Runs/gm: 6.115
1. Gardner LF
2. Swisher RF
3. Jeter SS
4. Cano 2B
5. Posada DH
6. Granderson CF
7. Rodriguez 3B
8. Teixeira 1B
9. Cervelli C

Interesting. It's no doubt that Cano and Swisher have been the best hitters so far, and besides the "gut" feling that a speedy guy is a leadoff guy (this formula doesn't take speed into account at all) Gardner would make a fantastic leadoff hitter. It makes sense to see A-Rod as "second cleanup" and Cervelli in the 9-spot. Is anyone surprised to see Teixeira as the worst hitter so far? Didn't think so.

Assuming Johnson can come back and be healthy, this would be the Yankee lineup (again, based on 2010 stats):
Runs/gm: 6.117
1. Gardner LF
2. Swisher RF
3. Jeter SS
4. Cano 2B
5. Posada C
6. Granderson CF
7. Rodriguez 3B
8. Teixeira 1B
9. Johnson DH

It's nearly identical lineup to the one above - just slide Johnson into Cervelli's spot (and the increae is minimal). I still think Cashman is going to pick up a bat at the trading deadline, so this is probably moot.

This is the current lineup Girardi is running out there:
1. Jeter SS
2. Swisher RF
3. Teixeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Cano 2B
6. Posada DH
7. Granderson CF
8. Cervelli C
9. Gardner LF

The runs/gm for this lineup is 5.978. It's not a huge difference, but a run or so per week could equal a couple of wins at the end of the year. I can understand why Girardi wouldn't make a change like this - you've got egos to be bruised (Teixeira), idiots who would chastise the move non-stop (Franscesa), and it's easier to just go with tradition.

State of the Yanks

2010-05-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past week or so - the blog time has ben spent redesigning the template and attempting to convert to the "new" Blogger, which amazingly doesn't allow for converting from the *old* Blogger. If you see some strange looks and feels in the coming days, don't worry about it - the content isn't going to be affected.

Now, on to matters that actually matter. It's almost a third of the way through the season, and The Yankees have the second best record in the game (behind those pesky Rays). So what could possibly be wrong in Yankee-land? Not everything of course, but some things are rotten in the state of the Bronx.

The Good:

Nick Swisher: He's hitting for power AND average this year. Quitely might put together a career season.

Brett Gardner: One of the year's big question marks has become a nice addition. We knew about his speed and defense, now we're seeing his bat come to life as well.

Francisco Cervelli: Will eventually come back to earth and stop hitting like Piazza, but has been very impressive stepping in for Posada. His entire minor league career he was never regarded as a great hitter, so his hot start may just be a fluke, but the Yankees will take it and ride it as long as Posada can't go.

Joba regaining velocity: He's back in the bullpen and is back to throwing hard again. Hopefully we'll see the dominant Chamberlain we got to know a couple of years ago.

Marcus Thames vs. lefties: He's a butcher in the field (when Girardi has to use Ramiro Pena as your defensive replacement even though he's never played right field at any professional level, you are not a good defender), but as a PH or DH, he makes matchups more difficult for opposing managers who want to go to their lefty specialist.

Yoooooos: Phil Hughes is finally showing consistent flashes of why Cashman refused to trade the 23-year old for Santana or Halladay. He's currently in the Cy Young discussion.

Old Man Andy: Pettitte has been having one of his best seasons to date. He's been able to go deep into games, keep runners off base, and is among the AL ERA and Win leaders.

Mo still Mo: A week ago there was some concern about Rivera in the media, but he's got a 1.76 ERA and is 10-for-11 in save opportunities. Typical Riverian numbers.

AJ/CC: They haven't been as dominant as Hughes and Pettitte, but are a combined 9-5 with a 3.72 ERA.

Posada seems not to have lost anything at the plate or behind the dish (when he's been able to play). His injury isn't the type you worry about with old catchers wearing down, it was just a fluke bruise.

The Bad:

Alex Rodriguez: An adequate year from a third baseman, but you don't pay adequate players $30M/yr. Unless his power numbers increase (on pace for 23 HR) this year will be a huge disappointment.

David Robertson: Was expected to be a big cog in the 'pen, but has proven inconsistent and hasn't been able to nail down a real role in the bullpen yet.

The Ugly:

Chan Ho Park: Injured, then terrible, then injured again, then terrible again. I didn't understand this signing to begin with, and he's done nothing to change my mind. Also: diarrhea.

Mark Teixeira thinks its still April: For a few brief moments in the beginning of May, Big Teix was bashing the ball like the Teixeira of old. Shortly after that, he regressed to April Mark, who can't hit his way out of a paper bag. It's odd to see from a switch hitter, because usually mechanical issues don't affect you at both sides of the plate. He's got a .210 average and an OPS of .692.

Derek Jeter is killing the team from the leadoff spot. He's hitting in the .270s, but isn't getting on base at all. As bad as Teix has been, Jeter's been even worse. A .321 OBP from a leadoff hitter is downright unacceptable. Everyone's getting on Teix, but he's actually got a higher OBP than Jeter. Maybe he's not seeing the ball well, because he's not walking and he's striking out too much.

Granderson and Johnson: The Damon/Matsui replacements were both underperforming before they got hurt. Not a big surprise from Johnson, but C-Grand has been pretty healthy in his career. When they come back though, they'd better start hitting better than they had been. Johnson could lose his job to Miranda if he can continue to perform (or more likely a Miranda/Thames platoon).

Vazquez Has Best Performance of 2010

2010-05-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

0.1 IP, 0 BB, 1 K, 4 PC, W.

It's really too bad he couldn't have done that the *last* time he relieved against the Red Sox.

No Play-by-Play from Mr. Grey

2010-05-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

Girardi Has Lost His Mind

2010-05-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

Saw this quote by Girardi about Brett Gardner:

After the Yankees didn't re-sign Johnny Damon to play left, sent Cabrera to the Braves and traded for Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson, Gardner emerged out of spring training as the primary left fielder, although Marcus Thames then got some of the time against lefties.

Yet Gardner is off to a .370 start as a lefty vs. the lefties, going 10 for 27.

"I've always thought of him as an everyday player because he hits left-handers," Girardi said.

Now he is an everyday player, moving from left to center while Granderson recovers for perhaps a month from the groin strain he suffered last Saturday.

Remember last year when the beat writers jumped all over Girardi for "lying" about injuries? Why isn't anyone calling him on this?

Gardner is now playing against lefties because Granderson is hurt. Before that, Girardi moved the better centerfielder to left because he didn't want to have to make Granderson change positions due to the platoon he'd set up between Gardner and Thames. Gardner was not starting against lefties at all, as anyone who regularly reads this space has seen mentioned many times before.

Now, Girardi claims he "always thought of" Gardner was an everyday player because he "hits left-handers"? Girardi chose to instead play Granderson - who has repeatedly proven an inability to hit lefties - instead of Gardner.

Joe, just admit Gardner proved something to you and not that you "knew it all along."

It comes off as disingenuous and revisionist to anyone who has been paying attention.

True Yankee Update!

2010-04-29T11:40:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of The Onion, obviously:

True Yankees, Regular Yankees To Now Wear Different Uniforms

April 27, 2010 | ISSUE 46•16

NEW YORK—The New York Yankees unveiled a new, lesser uniform at a press conference Tuesday in an effort to distinguish ordinary, run-of-the-mill Yankees from the "true Yankee legends who walk among us." "To have Javier Vazquez don the same pinstripes as Mariano Rivera or Jorge Posada is…well, it's unthinkable," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said as Curtis Granderson modeled the sterile, black-and-white uniform with a large, boxy, non-interlocking "NY" stitched across the front of the chest. "The untrue Yankees will wear a blank, unfitted ball cap until they have their big Yankee moment. They'll wear their last names on the backs of their lesser uniforms as a badge of shame." When asked which uniform he was assigned, Alex Rodriguez cried for 10 minutes.

Girardi's "Set Roles" Costs Another Game

2010-04-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

The situation last night: Dave Robertson came into the game in the 7th inning and faced one batter and struck him out (the box score will show 0.2 IP but one of those was a failed steal attempt).

In a tie game in which you never know how many pitchers you might need, it made sense to send Robertson - who looked good and threw minimal pitches - out for the 8th. However, Robertson isn't the "8th Inning Guy™" so when the 8th started, Chamberlain was called upon. Besides the fact that it's an easy way to burn through a bullpen in a potential extra inning game, Chamberlain had terrible numbers against Kendrick who was due up in the 8th (.667 lifetime average).

When a guy is pitching well and there's no reason to yank him - don't. Girardi's set roles (using his 8th Inning Guy™ in the 8th in a tie or with a lead, regardless of how the game is going, using Rivera only for th e9th and only in save situations instead of high leverage situations) is going to cost the team more wins this year.

I wish for once a manager would grow some balls and manage intelligently and not just stick to "the book" so they don't have to be second guessed if it doesn't work.

This isn't second guessing either - I was yelling about it from the stands in Anaheim last night as soon as Joba came out from bullpen.

Another Amazing Play in the Bronx

2010-04-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen this yet, be prepared for a surprise.

The acrobatic player is Fordham University's Brian Kownacki.

This Makes the Signing Totally Worth It

2010-04-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

Well, at Least Now We Know Why C-Grand is in Center

2010-04-09T22:53:00.000-07:00

While Gardner clearly was the superior centerfielder based on all available metrics including the naked eye, Girardi chose to put Granderson in center on an everyday basis and shift Gardner to left.

It's become apparant that Girardi didn't want to move Granderson to center from left when he plays Thames against lefthanders, because for some reason, Girardi has decided to platoon Gardner and Thames in left.

Maybe Girardi isn't aware that Gardner isn't the one who needs to sit vs. lefties.

Gardner vs. righties .330/.358/.688
Gardner vs. lefties .311/.317/.628
Granderson vs. righties .367/.530/.897
Granderson vs. lefties .271/.343/.615

It's fairly obvious who the one with the problem via lefties is out of the pair. Yes, Thames destroys lefthanders, and if you're going to play him at all it would be vs. a tough lefthanded starter. However if you're going to bench someone, make it Granderson and not Gardner, unless the players prove otherwise.

This seems more like a salary-driven "proven vet" Torre-type move. Let's hope it doesn't continue.

2010 Season Predictions

2010-04-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again - let's make some educated guesses on the final standings for 2010. As usual, here are ESPN's guesses

National League:
NL East:
Phillies
Braves
Marlins
Mets
Nationals

NL Central:
Cardinals
Brewers
Cubs
Reds
Pirates
Astros

NL West:
Diamondbacks
Rockies
Giants
Dodgers
Padres

Wildcard:
Rockies

MVP: Hanley Ramirez
Cy Young: Roy Halladay
ROY: Jason Heyward

American League:

AL East:
Yankees
Rays
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Orioles

AL Central:
White Sox
Twins
Tigers
Royals
Indians

AL West:
Rangers
Mariners
Angels
A's

Wildcard:
Rays

MVP: Robinson Cano
Cy Young: Jon Lester
ROY: Neftali Feliz

World Series:
Yankees over Phillies (again)

Crazy Predictions:

Andy Pettitte will lead the AL in wins.
Kyle Blanks will lead the NL in home runs.
For the first time in years, more than one Yankee will have over five saves.
John Kruk will say something stupid.

Well THAT Didn't Take Very Long

2010-03-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Hopefully not a sign of things to come:
Nick Johnson scratched from lineup

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP)—New York Yankees designated hitter Nick Johnson(notes) was scratched from the starting lineup for Thursday’s game against Philadelphia because of a stiff lower back.

Jamie Hoffmann(notes) replaced Johnson in the game that featured new Phillies ace Roy Halladay(notes) and Yankees star CC Sabathia(notes).

Dumbest Statement of 2010 (So Far)

2010-01-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

Peter Pascarelli of ESPN:

McGwire was entirely oine-dimensional, a 260 hitter whose OBP was a negative because it made you so sick watching him trying to run

Let's think about this. Getting on base is BAD if you are slow. GETTING ON BASE IS BAD.

It boggles the fucking mind.

Worst Team Slogan Ever

2010-01-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Padres 2010 team slogan is..... "SD" STANDS FOR SAN DIEGO.

I guess too many people thought it referred to fellatio.

S my D, Padres!

Huge Move by the Padres

2010-01-07T12:51:00.001-08:00

Yep, the Padres, who up until now have not made any sort of transaction to help their ballclub since about 2008 (unless you count dumping Peavy for a bucket of baseballs a "help") are interested in acquiring superstar Jerry Hairston, Jr.

It's too bad the San Diego Padres traded Scott Hairston(notes) to the Oakland Athletics back in July, because it is looking like his older brother, Jerry Hairston Jr.(notes), will be joining the team, according to MLB.com.

The 33-year-old infielder-outfielder is a career .271 hitter in the National League and can play pretty much anywhere you put him. He had 10 homers last year and 39 RBIs in stints with the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds. That versatility is extremely attractive to GM Jed Hoyer, who has a lot of holes left to fill on his roster.

Hoyer is obviously not expecting Hairston to fill all those holes. He is hoping that the patience that he has shown this off-season is going to soon pay off with lower prices on free agents who are concerned that they won't have jobs when Spring Training rolls around.

After seeing the nightmares that the divorces of the Moores and McCourts have cause for the Padres and Dodgers, this is just a reminder that if you're going to own a baseball team, make sure you've already got a pre-nup.

Congratulations Andre Dawson

2010-01-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

You're now one of the worst outfielders in the Hall of Fame.

Was it the lifetime .279 BA or the .323 OBP that had writers swooning (Dawson is now, by the way, the outfielder with the lowest career OBP of any outfielder ever inducted into the Hall).

Dawson's 119 OPS+ for his career speaks to a good player, but not an all-time great.

Most of the defense of Dawson comes from contemporaries who say he was "scary to play against" or a "gamer" or a "hard worker."

Someone enshrine Brett Gardner immediately.

I really don't get it. Usually you can look to RBI for a reason BBWAA members overrate a guy, but Dawson only drove in 100 runs 4 times in a 20-year career.

This isn't to say he didn't deserve some All-Star appearances in his career, but Hall of Famer?

Robbie Alomar of course was one of the best second basemen, both offensively and defensively, of all time. He didn't make the cut.

Tim Raines deserves to be in, far ahead of Dawson. Besides the steals (and more importantly one of the best stolen base percentages of all-time) he has higher career BA (.294), OBP (.385), and OPS+ (123). Yet Rock didn't even come close.

The BBWAA has gotten better in recent years in letting folks like Rob Neyer and Keith Law in, but you can tell there are a lot of knuckleheads still with votes.

So How Many Interns Was Peter Gammons Sleeping With?

2009-12-08T15:11:00.000-08:00

Gammons Leaves ESPN

UPDATE: Crap. Just when you thought you were safe.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2009-11-30T11:24:00.000-08:00

I really can't believe how truly awful Yahoo!'s sports department and editing staff truly are. This kind of stuff just keeps happening.

Should Win, Will Win (2009 Edition)

2009-11-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

Just as in year's past, I'm going to guess at who will win the major awards, and who should win the major awards.

I think the writers are getting better at these awards, but there's still a long way to go.

In any event, my picks:

	Who Should Win	Who Will Win
AL ROY	Rick Porcello	Andrew Bailey
NL ROY	J.A. Happ	Chris Coghlan
AL MOY	Ron Gardenhire	Mike Scioscia
NL MOY	Jim Tracy	Jim Tracy
AL Cy Young	Zack Greinke	Zack Greinke
NL Cy Young	Adam Wainwright	Adam Wainwright
AL MVP	Joe Mauer	Joe Mauer
NL MVP	Albert Pujols	Someone silly, like Raul Ibanez

We'll see what happens - maybe I'm giving the writers too much credit.

Jeter's a Thespian

2009-11-13T10:10:00.000-08:00

From an MLB release:

A down-on-his-luck Derek Jeter was wandering the Coney Island boardwalk on Thursday afternoon, but it was all for show - the Yankees captain is playing himself in the upcoming movie, "The Other Guys."

According to a synopsis in the New York Post, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg play police officers who are taken off the streets after Wahlberg's character wrongly shoots Jeter in the leg after seeing him walk around with a bat.

The scene shot at Nathan's Famous on Thursday takes place years later, when a washed-up Jeter - wearing a ratty jacket, jeans and sporting stringy gray hair - encounters the two officers. The comedy is being directed by Adam McKay, who also provided "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights."

Jeter has had a little acting experience in the past. Aside from numerous commercials - including a memorable 2003 credit card ad with George Steinbrenner - the shortstop had a cameo in the 2003 Jack Nicholson flick 'Anger Management,' and hosted 'Saturday Night Live' in 2001.

You'd think Jeter would be an odd casting choice considering he's not really known for his range.

I dug up some photos. Enjoy.

How to Keep Your Kids off of Steroids

2009-11-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Show them these photos of Sammy Sosa, today:

Maybe Sammy accidentallly injected Trioxin, or steroids really do turn you into an ashen zombie.

Quote of the Year?

2009-11-05T13:23:00.001-08:00

The Yankees have won 26 World Series without him. Somehow.

Alex has never never played in one World Series game.

I would suggest that if the Yankees did not have Alex, they would be far more likely to win over the long term. His 24 + 1 mentality is not conducive to championship play. I realize it’s spring training, but the Yankees have looked terrific. They’re a much better team when they aren’t sitting around waiting for him to hit a home run. Of course, he’s signed for nine years and he’s a terrific hitter and they need him back. No question. But that money they spent on him in 2007 could have been used elsewhere.

Peter Abraham, March 25th, 2009

Nice to See PeteAbe Still Reads LoHud

2009-11-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

PeteAbe's article on the Yankees' victory on Boston.com.

Chad Jennings' article from Game 5 of the World Series.

Man oh man, PeteAbe should just stick to creating anonymous trolls that defend his articles on NoMaas.

If you want a good laugh, make sure to read the comments.

(hat tip to Rex Banner for the heads up)

Twenty Seven, and a Contest Coming

2009-11-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the Yankees 27th World Championship, I'll be running a contest on this blog next week with some Yankee-related prizes.

Congratulations to the Yankees and all of their fans.

Simple Math.

2009-11-03T11:02:00.001-08:00

Since When Does A Pitcher Give Up Five Runs and Win "Player of the Game"?

2009-11-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

Cliff Lee had a 6.43 ERA for the game, but the geniuses at FOX gave him the Player of the Game.

Utley? Sorry, buddy your two homers aren't good enough.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

2009-11-02T16:06:00.000-08:00

Gaudin Should Be Starting Game 5

2009-11-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

Fact: AJ Burnett is much better at home.
Fact: Cliff Lee is pitching tonight and if the Yankkees can't muster anything against him, you waste Burnett.
Fact: Burnett would be on regular rest in Game 6.
Fact: This forces Pettitte to pitch on short rest.

I think Girardi is overplaying his hand here. We'll see.

Jimmy Rollins Did Say the Series Would Be Over in Five Games, Right?

2009-11-01T21:02:00.000-08:00

An Off Day? How About a Video?

2009-10-30T16:04:00.001-07:00

Abbott and Costello's classic routine... updated.

Great Job by the Umps Last Night

2009-10-29T12:05:00.001-07:00

Not that it would have mattered in the outcome, but here's Robertson's four pitch walk to Jayson Werth

WhatIf Sports Predicts Yanks in Six

2009-10-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

As you can see here, WhatIf Sports rant 10,001 simulations of the World Series and the Yankees won over 70% of them.

The computer likes the New York Yankees to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

New York wins 72.3% of those series, with the most common occurrence being a six-game series win by the Yankees (21.3% of all series have this result - a seven-game New York victory is next at 19.0%). On average, the offensively-dominant Yankees have a 31-point higher average (.296 to .265), hit two more homeruns (9.9 to 7.8) and score 4.2 more runs (35.2 to 31.0). The Phillies only advantages appear to be in the "smallball" categories of speed and defense. Philadelphia averages 2.7 more steals (4.7 to 2.0) against the weak-armed Yankees' catchers and commits 2.1 fewer errors (2.4 to 3.1). As you can see below, the Yankees also appear to have the advantage in the starting rotation and the bullpen.

I also predict the Yankees in six, and think the MVP will be Alex Rodriguez (who got jobbed out of the ALCS MVP award).

ATTN: Mark Teixeira

2009-10-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

This is a baseball:

This is a baseball bat:

Please try using the latter to hit the former. Thanks. 2-for-18 isn't cutting it in the three hole.

Angels Fans are Whining Babies

2009-10-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

The Angels Blogosphere is rampant today with claims of Mariano Rivera using a spitball. Many seem to suggest that this is how Rivera has been so successful over the years.

This douchebag takes screenshots of the game that suggest that Rivera spit directly on the ball. He goes on to suggest that FOX is in cahoots with Rivera.

Evidence offered: a "spit halo" on top of the baseball after it's been "spit upon":

Of course that's during the fade-in to Scioscia, where you can clearly see this "spit halo" is the fucking Magestic logo on Scioscia's jacket.

Check out what this assfrog had to say:

I would say this is pretty conclusive evidence of why Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera is able to throw only one pitch that has unpredictable, yet precise movement.

He has mastered the Angels so far in the ALCS but has Major League Baseball gotten a look at how he "warms up" for his appearance on the mound? You be the judge...

With a tie game in the bottom of the 10th, the Yankees bring in Rivera.

After warming up, he has his back to home plate so the home plate ump can't see.

He looks down at the ball, then up to see if the 2nd base ump is watching.

He then looks back at the ball and appears to spit on it.

And when he tests clean for steroids they say he is not a cheater.

Total and complete nonsense. First of all, Rivera wouldn't look down at a baseball and drop spit directly from his mouth onto it. Secondly, he'd have to have been doing this for 15 years, and nobody noticed until now. Thirdly, baseballs get changed out so often, he'd have to do this 5-10 times per game.

Absolute nonsense, and even though the Angels won, total sour grapes by their fanbase.

By the way, here's a slowed-down video of the incident, which clearly shows the spit travels past Rivera's hand and the ball and travels to the ground. Funny that the Angels blogs decide to show misleading screenshots rather than the entire video:

How to Drive to the World Series

2009-10-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

Gas.

Break.

Clutch.

Q: Name the Last Twins Pitcher to Win a Game in the Bronx

2009-10-08T09:22:00.001-07:00

A: Johan Santana (2007)

Pretty crazy, huh?

Brian Duensing is Starting Game One for the Twins

2009-10-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

Brian Duensing has a 13.50 ERA and 2.25 WHIP against the Yankees.

God bless extra innings.

Jerry Manuel is Delusional

2009-10-06T10:42:00.001-07:00

The Mets were an awful mess this season. What does manager Jerry Manuel think the reason for that was? Injuries? Poorly constructed lineups? Terrible pitching rotation? Nope, folks. It was baserunning.

First base coach Luis Alicea was fired and third base coach Razor Shines will have a different role next season. Bench coach Sandy Alomar also lost his job but will be offered another position in the organization, while son Sandy Alomar Jr. is likely headed for a promotion after serving as catching instructor this year.

Injuries robbed them of stars Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran for long stretches, but Manuel and the front office decided to change the base coaches.

"The traffic that we had on the bases probably to a lot of degree was not properly managed as well as we would've liked to have seen," Manuel said. "That was probably the biggest issue with us was one of the issue of baserunning. We didn't seem to have that perform at the level that we thought we need to to be a championship club."

Holy schnikes. The biggest issue was baserunning.

Way to totally dismiss your failures, buddy.

There's a Little in Swish.

2009-10-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

There are Boston Douches in New York

2009-10-01T00:31:00.002-07:00

This story proves it.

Baldwinsville family says teacher told fourth-grader to turn Yankee shirt inside out
By Elizabeth Doran / The Post-Standard
September 25, 2009, 11:20AM

Van Buren Elementary fourth-grader Nathan Johns thought his teacher was kidding when he instructed him to go to the bathroom and turn his Yankees T-shirt inside out.NYSHIRT.JPGJim Commentucci / The Post-StandardNate Johns of Baldwinsville poses with his shirt featuring the number of Yankee pitcher CC Sabathia.
The blue shirt read “New York No. 52” on the front and “Sabathia” for the New York Yankees’ pitcher CC Sabathia, on the back.

“ I thought to myself ‘Is he serious or is he kidding,’” said Nate, 9, a student in Peter Addabbo’s fourth-grade class. “But he had this look like he wasn’t kidding at all.”

Nate complied, and said he was later told to wear it that way until dismissal. At lunch, Nate said the fifth-graders made fun of him because he wearing his shirt inside out.

“It was such a horrible day.” Nate said. “I don’t ever want anything like to happen again.”

Nate said he felt he was treated unfairly.

“Just because my teacher doesn’t like the Yankees I should still have the right to wear a Yankees shirt,” Nate said Thursday after school. The teacher has Boston Red Sox paraphernalia all over the classroom on display, he said.

Baldwinsville Schools Superintendent Jeanne Dangle said Friday morning the district is conducting an investigation into the incident, and has told the parents she will get back to them on the issue in a few days.

"We are investigating," Dangle said. "This is a personnel issue, and we will be following up and doing what's appropriate after we get all the information."

Dangle said the investigation includes asking other children who were present in the class for their observations.

"From a district perspective, we would never support something like that," Dangle said. "But we don't have all the facts yet."

Dangle said she was tied up in meetings most of Thursday and Thursday night, and that's why the district didn't respond at first to inquiries about the incident

Nate’s parents said they were shocked when their son got home from school and told them what happened.

“I was stunned — absolutely flabbergasted,” said James Garrett, Nate’s dad. “I couldn’t believe it. He was distraught. The school preaches all about not allowing bullying, and this really felt like he was being bullied.”

The Garretts contacted Van Buren Principal Terry Bick on Wednesday and met with her Thursday. “She was very professional about this, and she seemed to take it as seriously as we did,” James Garrett said.

Garrett said he believes the school handled the incident appropriately, but strongly believes his son’s First Amendment rights were violated.
How do these people even get to be teachers? It's just a kid for chrissakes.

Sergio Mitre Sucks

2009-10-01T00:31:00.001-07:00

That's all I really have to say about that. He sucks long, and he sucks hard.

Looking Back at 2009 Predictions

2009-09-28T12:13:00.001-07:00

PeteAbe took a look back at his predictions today, so I thought I'd do the same. I'll admit, this is probably my worst year for predictions, which you can read here.

Let's break it down:

NL East:
Phillies
Mets
Braves
Marlins
Nationals

I'll call this one correct. I thought the Mets would have been a lot better than they are, and undervalued the Marlins, but other than the Mets I had the order correct.

NL Central:
Cubs
Cardinals
Brewers
Astros
Reds
Pirates

Whiff. Who could have predicted the Cubs would fall apart so badly? Not I, it would seem. The "going out on a limb" prediction of last-place Pittsburgh paid off though!

NL West:
Dodgers
Giants
Diamonsbacks
Rockies
Padres

Win, except the Rockies were obviously a lot better than I thought they'd be. The Marquis turnaround had a lot to do with that, as well as contributions from guys from the farm like Fowler. The Dodgers were the class of this division however and there was no denying that.

Wildcard:
Mets

The Metropolitans killed me in two categories. Obviously a big miss.

MVP: David Wright
Cy Young: Johan Santana
ROY: Cameron Maybin

Hoo boy. Ok yeah, I didn't pick Pujols because he was the obvious choice. Big mistake. Santana isn't even in the discussion (see how badly the Mets screwed me here?) Maybin's not on the radar wither, as Coghlan and Happ and Hanson and Wells have proven. Epic fail, this one.

AL East:
Yankees
Rays
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Orioles

I expected more from Tampa and less from Boston. I saw Ortiz in heavy decline, and a team of overachievers in 2008 that didn't change much in 2009 in Boston. Well, they proved me wrong. I can't call this a complete failure as I did get the division winner right, but will take the hit later on in the wildcard outcome.

AL Central:
Indians
White Sox
Tigers
Twins
Royals

Has there ever been a more disappointing team than the 2009 Indians? Weak division, quality ballclub, MVP type player (Sizemore) and Cy Young type pitcher (Lee)... wow. Totally off here. Tigers, Twins.. congratulations for making me look foolish.

AL West:
Angels
A's
Rangers
Mariners

The West were by far the easiest divisions to pick. I underestimated the Rangers (who didn't?) and their pitching, but all in all this isn't that far off.

Wildcard:
White Sox

Buzz. Wrong color.

MVP: Grady Sizemore
Cy Young: Mariano Rivera
ROY: Travis Snider

Oh you Indians continue to confound me. Rivera has had a fantastic year, but let's face it - voters choose starters. I can't call that one a failure though, because of how good Rivera has been. Snider's not even in consideration for the ROY.

All in all, not the best year I've ever had, but maybe a Yankees-Dodgers World Series can help me save some face. At least they have the best records in their respective leagues.

Collective Sigh of Relief

2009-09-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

So it looks as if Hairston is going to be OK for the postseason.

Now I know he's not a big bat or fantastic player, but he gives Girardi a lot of flexibility in that he can play any position except catcher - very useful in creating matchups and pinch hitting and double-switching in a National League park.... where the Yankees will hopefully play in October.

Joe Girardi: PLEASE STOP BUNTING

2009-09-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

The situation: tie game, men on first and second, no outs. Johnny Damon (he of the 25 home runs and the poor bunting history) is at the plate.

Damon bunts: foul, strike one.
Damon bunts: foul, strike two.
Damon bunts!!!!!!: sacrifice

The runners move up, everyone congratulates Damon... and the Angels promptly walk Mark Texieria with first base open.

If it were Brett Gardner, Ramiro Pena, or say Jose Molina at the plate, OK, fine, sacrifice away. Damon has a shot to win the game there, and even a deep fly gets the man to third with one out.

The double-play will still be in effect because of course the Angels walk Tex.

Sometimes this year it seems Girardi has fallen in love with the bunt (especially with Jeter) but it's such a poor percentage play that he needs to knock it off.

Also it could be just me, but it seems they mostly bunt against the Angels and Rays, teams built on small/Ozzie/slap/speed-ball.

Lou Gehrig was Unknown for 60 Years

2009-09-14T23:41:00.000-07:00

At least, Curt Schilling seems to think so.
Nineteen years ago Shonda and I met a man named Dick Bergeron. Dick had been recently diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

ALS, today, is still 100 percent fatal. However, in the past 19 years Lou’s name has gained notoriety and recognition in many positive ways.

His life story has been written about many times over. This is the best book I’ve ever read on it.

Why is this relevant? For two reasons, really. The first was the nation becoming aware of Lou during the previous decade, when Cal Ripken broke Lou’s consecutive game streak. Cal did it with a blue collar work ethic unmatched in anyone I ever played with. Knowing Cal’s father, it was easy to see how and why he was who he was.
Look Curt, I know you named your kid Gehrig (and then pretended to be a big Yankee hater when the opportunity presented itself for you in Boston). But to claim that the nation "became aware" of Lou Gehrig in the late 90's is fucking asinine. It appears you think his name just appeared "19 years ago" when you met someone with ALS. Gehrig was one of the greatest player in history. Gary Cooper starred in a highly popular movie about him. They named a disease after him.

If anything, the nation became aware of Cal Ripken.

Joe Still Clueless

2009-09-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

What a gem of a post by friend-of-this-blog Rob Neyer.

Torre talking lineups, nonsense
September 8, 2009 7:41 PM
Mark Newman asks three (future) Hall of Fame managers -- along with Henry Chadwick, risen from the grave -- about lineup construction, and I couldn't help siezing upon this bit from Joe Torre:
With certain people, it's easy. You know where the leadoff guy goes. I used to have trouble and Don Zimmer gave me a great hint-start from the bottom. He was right. All of a sudden I realized when you put the names down that way, it makes the rest of it easier. With our current lineup, you know where (Matt) Kemp, (Andre) Ethier, Manny (Ramirez) and (Rafael) Furcal will be. Those guys will be in the top four or five spots. It becomes pretty simple, and occasionally it's a matter of how to attack a certain pitcher with right-handed hitters or left-handed hitters. But when you have players who play every day regardless, it's not that tough a call.
(Sorry, I can't resist ...)
Umm, Skipper? Have you forgotten already that Matt Kemp has spent more than half his time this season in the bottom third of the lineup? And have you failed to notice that Rafael Furcal, who simply must be near the top of your lineup, has a .320 on-base percentage and has stolen only six bases all season? Russell Martin, who's spent most of the season in the bottom third of the order, has a higher OBP and more steals than Furcal, who at this point is suited to just one spot: eighth.

Look, I know that batting orders are relatively unimportant, and that the difference between any two moderately reasonable lineups is just a few runs over the course of the whole season. But everybody loves to talk about lineups, and I'd love to hear from a manager, future Hall of Famer or not, who's coming close to actually putting together the best lineup possible. 'Cause Joe Torre hasn't been close this season.

Maybe he'll get it right next month.

Torre admits that even though he started managing in 1977, he was still unsure how to even fill out a lineup card in 1996 and had to rely on Zimmer. How many duties does a manager really have that are more basic than setting a lineup? It also goes to show he doesn't even remember what he's done in the past by forgetting about Kemp's placement. Maybe that explains certain things, like the fact that he forgot he used Proctor the previous 25 days so he summoned him again.

I am so glad this guy is out of the Yankee dugout. Let's not forget how "successful" Torre has been without Popeye sitting next to him.

(Hat tip to Stan for the heads up).

Onion Thursday

2009-09-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Starting Pitcher Not Allowed To Start, Pitch

Caption This - Nicholson, Michaels, McCartney Take in Ballgame

2009-08-26T18:07:00.001-07:00

Also I'm not sure who the female to Paul's left is, but she kind of looks like a robot.

Please feel free to caption away.

ATTN: Joe Girardi

2009-08-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

PLEASE STOP BUNTING WITH GUYS WHO CAN WIN THE GAME WITH ONE SWING.

Stop giving away outs with 2 men on, no one out, and a 1-run deficit in the 9th. There was no reason for Swisher to be bunting. He's a guy that can hit the ball out of the park, or at least move Hairston to third on a sac fly. Plus the dude gets on base at a great clip (4th on the team amongst regulars behind Jeter, A-Rod and Tex).

Sure, maybe Swisher strikes out or hits into a double play there, but you have to try to win the game, and giving up free outs is not a good way to do it.

Update, 6:18PM PST: Swisher just came up with runners on first and second, nobody out, and hit a double to score the lead runner and move the other to third. That would have tied the game last night, and moved the runner.

Jim Rice Hates Today's Crazy Hair

2009-08-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

Undeserving Hall of Famer Jim Rice on today's players:

"You see a Manny Ramirez, you see an A-Rod [Alex Rodriguez], you see [Derek] Jeter ... Guys that I played against and with, these guys you're talking about cannot compare," Rice said to Little Leaguers gathered in the cafeteria. We didn't have the baggy uniforms. We didn't have the dreadlocks," Rice said. "It was a clean game, and now they're setting a bad example for the young guys."

Here's an example of a normal, respectable hairdo from Rice's era:

OK, I Give.

2009-08-18T22:57:00.001-07:00

Derek Jeter has been somewhat maligned on this blog. Not so much personally, but moreso as it relates to the media perception of him.

Jeter has been easily the best player and most valuable Yankee this season. He's not the league MVP right now, but he certainly is for the team.

Way to step up, Captain.

A Player Finally Says It

2009-08-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

Thank you Jack Cust, for saying what we've all been saying for a couple of years now.

Jack Cust still wonders why his name appeared in the Mitchell report. Now, the Oakland slugger has a more pressing question: How come some prominent Red Sox were missing?

"To me it was kind of a joke, the whole thing," Cust told The Associated Press last weekend.

Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell released his report in December 2007 and of the 85 players mentioned, none of them were Boston stars. Mitchell has been a director of the Red Sox since 2002.

Last month, The New York Times reported former Boston teammates Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were among 104 players who allegedly tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, according to a list compiled by the federal government.

"With all the other stuff going on, with a lot of the guys coming out recently -- big-name guys -- to me it's kind of funny they spent all that money on the Mitchell report and a bunch of hearsay and the guy who made all the money off it happened to work for the Red Sox," Cust told the AP.

"Were there any Red Sox on the report? To me, that's kind of a joke. How does that happen? It's coming out now with guys on that team. The guy worked for the Red Sox -- they spent all kinds of millions of dollars -- and then no one there had their name brought up," he said.

Cust said he has never had a positive test that would put him on a drug list. The Mitchell report said Cust and Larry Bigbie played for Baltimore's Triple-A Ottawa team in 2003 and discussed steroids.

According to the report, "Cust eventually asked Bigbie if he had ever tried steroids. Bigbie acknowledged he had, and Cust said that he, too, had tried steroids. Cust told Bigbie that he had a source who could procure anything he wanted."

Jack Cust - becoming one of my favorite players.

(another hat tip to Stan for the heads up)

Olympic Baseball All But Dead

2009-08-17T09:17:00.001-07:00

I received this disheartening press release from Dr. Harvey Schiller, President of the International Baseball Federation. While I have never been a fan of exhibitions such as the All-Star Game or the WBC (and root for my team's players to stay home and rest rather than participate) I have always enjoyed Olympic baseball, which used college and recently drafted players instead of professionals. Oh well, it appears the days of Olympic dreams for young baseball players is over.

August 17, 2009

Dear Colleague,

As you know, last Thursday we received the disappointing news that the IOC Executive Committee had chosen not to put forward baseball as one of the two sports for a general vote for the 2016 Olympics. Although the announcement was not what we had hoped for, it certainly does not detract from the great progress the sport of baseball is making globally, nor does it minimize the great collective effort by all involved to present the best possible case for baseball’s re-instatement for the Olympics. The fact remains, now more than ever, that baseball is a vibrant, growing sport played and enjoyed by millions and is reflective of all the Olympics are supposed to stand for, whether included in the programme or not.

First, we owe a word of thanks to all those who went above and beyond to assist us in the process leading into Thursday. That includes all the Federations, who not only enlisted the help of their IOC members but who also rallied so much local support for us on our Facebook and website efforts, along with the many people who wrote letters to key IOC members, ranging from college coaches and administrators to government and sport officials from around the world. The support we received was unprecedented and we are confident in the long run that it will benefit the growth of baseball, so long as we keep the momentum going. We would also be remiss in not acknowledging and thanking those at the highest level of the sport, Major League Baseball and the NPB, for all their assistance as well. The game would be nowhere without their efforts, and the support of Commissioner Selig, President Dupuy and Players Association Executive Director Fehr, as well as all the MLB owners and staff, is greatly appreciated. Lastly, there are our staff and Executive Committee, who also did everything possible until the final minutes to rally support. Thank you all for your efforts, they did not go unnoticed.

With regard to “what went wrong” in the Olympic process, it is probably not healthy or productive to spend much time looking back. We effectively addressed all the questions the IOC had with regard to reinstatement. We had unprecedented support from Major League Baseball, the Players Association and the Japanese League with regard to scheduling concessions and player availability, and even submitted a list of statements from top players to the IOC in the last week with regard to player commitment. The one thing MLB could not do was stop the season for the 2016 Olympics, especially without knowing which city was being selected as host. It is not a concession asked of soccer or tennis or other sports, and we did everything possible to provide the best alternative plan that would include using top players for the five day tournament. It is important to note that NOT ONE professional or top amateur player, when asked, said he would not participate in 2016 if his country qualified and he was selected. Not one.

We were also disappointed to see, even with all the concessions made, that a number of members of the IOC Executive Committee who said they would support baseball chose not to support the sport when the vote was taken. Of the countries where we thought we would have had 100% support…Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico, Germany and Mexico especially…we never received more than two votes per round, meaning for some reason unknown to us, even those countries where the sport is strong, officials still didn’t think that baseball should be part of the Olympic programme, despite all that we had done. It was clear from the start of the process that several senior IOC officials were in favor of rugby and golf and many comments made on and off the record supported that fact, so perhaps that is why we did not get the votes we were anticipating and had been promised last week.

Many have also asked about re-submitting a bid for 2020. At this point we do not think that would be prudent for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is that baseball has now been rejected twice by the senior members of the IOC, which is a clear message that despite any changes we make, we are not part of their plan. Also contrary to what we were originally told, the two sports that made it to the vote in Copenhagen, golf and rugby, have been informed they will be part of the programme in 2020. This was yet another clear message that the IOC has no interest in baseball. It makes much more sense to spend all our time, money and effort in continued development of the game around the world, as opposed to making futile attempts to work with a group that has no interest in partnering with baseball.

That being said, baseball is a sport that is full of infinite possibilities and resilience. Therefore, it is best that we look forward to what can be a very bright future.

In just this coming month, we will continue to see championship play on many levels, from youth championships like Little League and Pony League to the much-anticipated World Cup, as well as the World Series and the Japanese Championship later in the fall. The announcement of professional baseball returning to Australia and Israel, along with the continued growth and promotion of baseball in Italy and the Netherlands at a top level will continue to give us a growing presence in Europe, and we are very encouraged by development in emerging nations like Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and China among many others. The plans to continue to expand the World Baseball Classic are also ongoing, and there remains strong interest from several sites to host the 2010 Women’s World Cup and continue to develop baseball for girls and young women. All of that is very positive and shows us that we are very much on the right track in growing the game with our partners.

Do we have challenges? Yes. We are aware that some Federations may lose some funding as a result of not being on the Olympic programme, and we remain concerned about the split that softball continues to push with federations in several countries. However we feel that by working together and using economies of scale, identifying new partners and showing what a great social unifier the sport can be, all these problems can be overcome. Baseball after all, is perhaps the sport that teaches teamwork and overcoming adversity better than any other. That is what helps make it such a great game.

In closing I want to personally thank you for your support of our efforts in my two years as President. I am very proud of not just the effort we made, but the way we made the effort. We did not waste money on high priced teams of consultants or advertising campaigns that were proved by other sports to be pointless and a distraction from the mission of growing the sport. Instead we concentrated on telling the stories, building consensus, aligning long term support and exposing the game to as wide an audience as possible, and those efforts, with or without the Olympics, have created a much more solid base for year round effective growth of baseball than ever existed before.

As always, any comments, questions or thoughts are welcomed. I hope to see you soon.

Best regards,

Dr. Harvey W. Schiller
President
International Baseball Federation

Girardi Gets What Torre Never Could

2009-08-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

From today's Journal News:

Girardi said he never had any intentions of using the ultra-effective Phil Hughes in the eighth inning of Sunday night's 5-2 win over Boston. He called on lefty Phil Coke instead, and watched him give up a 1-0 lead on Victor Martinez's two-run homer.

But Girardi sounded like he'd do it again to avoid overusing Hughes, or any other reliever. Hughes had pitched the three previous days.

"The bullpen is something you have to watch," Girardi said. "You don't want to fall in love with one guy because you can wear him down. You can hurt him. You don't just want him effective for two weeks, but for the whole season."

He said he's willing to bite the proverbial bullet to stay away from a pitcher.

"I knew yesterday I'm not going to use Hughes," Girardi said. "Sometimes, you've just got to say, 'Hey, know what? We don't have this guy today.' "

I'll admit, when watching the game I questioned not using Hughes myself, but I wasn't aware he'd been in three consecutive days. It worked out anyway, but I'd have preferred Bruney or Aceves to face the righties there after Coke got Ellsbury.

In any case, Girardi is makingthe right moves here. He's not falling into the Torre trap of falling in love with a reliever who then has his arm fall off.

Look at the post-Torre careers of former Torre flames Tanyon Sturtze, Steve Karsay, Ramiro Mendoza, Paul Quantrill, Ron Villone and Scott Proctor if you want to see what could have been in store for Hughes.

Fat Pussy Toad Update

2009-08-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hideki Irabu is still trying to pitch, it seems.

Former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu was introduced as the newest member of the Kochi Fighting Dogs on Monday, saying his ultimate goal is a return to Japan’s top professional league.

“As long as I’m playing, I’ll aim for Japan’s top league,” the 40-year-old right-hander said at a media conference. “I have high expectations for myself.”

Shoulda stayed in Japan's top league to begin with, guy.

What a Fantastic Weekend

2009-08-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

6 and a half.

The season's not over yet, but this is very good progress.

ATTN: David Ortiz

2009-08-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Cool Little Pregame Story

2009-08-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

There was just a little neat pre-game moment on the field, as the center field scoreboard showed Joe Girardi and Paul O'Neill talking behind the batting cage. Underneath, the video folks added text that read "317 combined homers."

Never passing up an opportunity, Reggie Jackson wandered into the shot and pointed to the screen. Mr. October's suggestion was soon acknowledged, and Girardi laughed as the screen now read, "880 combined homers."

Could this be the End for Ransom?

2009-08-05T11:25:00.001-07:00

Anthony Claggett is on his way to Toronto, suposedly because Mitre is pitching and if - no matter how unlikely this may seem - he sucks tonight, Claggett can suck up the innings and the 'pen will be saved for the Boston series. It's kind of a no brainer.

That said, the obvious move here is to DFA Cody "Holding 'Em For" Ransom (please?).

PeteAbe speculates that after the game Claggett could be replaced by Ramiro Pena. While Pena is certainly an upgrade over the useless Ransom, the team does *not* need another infielder, as we've discussed before. I'd much rather see Shelley Duncan come back as an OF/bench power guy who can start against lefties. He's been killing the ball all year. Unfortunately the Yankees have screwed with the timetable, because since they sent Duncan down to keep Ransom (!) the other day, unless they put a player on the DL he has to spend 10 days with Scranton before he's eligible for recall.

Edinson Volquez, Meet Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.

2009-08-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

Dusty Baker has done it again. He's blown out the arm of another promising young pitcher by pushing him far beyond the natural progression of innings.

When people start asking why Joba's missing a few starts here and there to keep down his innings for the year, point them in the direction of Mr. Baker's history of destroying careers.

Volquez is out for at least 12 months, probably most if not all of next season. Prior has never recovered. Wood can no longer start games.

It's just further evidence of why Dusty Baker is the worst manager is baseball.

Yes, he is worse than Ozzie Guillen.

I have no idea why the Reds brought him out of retirement.

Countdown to the Red Sox Games Video

2009-08-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

Of Whom Does Cody Ransom Own Naked Photos?

2009-08-01T23:31:00.000-07:00

Brian Cashman? Joe Girardi? One of the Steinbrenners?

Why is Cody Ransom still on this team? They sent down Ramiro Pena because they wanted him to get regular at bats, even though he's a better hitter and much better defender than Ransom.

They traded for Eric Hinske, who Cashman said could play third, and yet they kept Ransom.

Then they traded for Jerry Hairston, Jr., the ultimate utility sub. He can play all infield and outfield positions. Yet they send down Shelley Duncan on a day they want to play righties against Danks and put Ransom in the lineup at first base! Ransom then repeatedly came up in high leverage situations with men on base and the game at hand, and failed miserably. Girardi never pinch hit for him.

Sending down Duncan and playing Ransom is pure idiocy. Oh, Duncan hasn't been playing that much first base this season? No problem, throw him in right and move Swisher to first if you're going to DH Teixiera.

Look - Ransom cannot now and never could hit. He is not an outstanding defensive player. Here are - position by position - every player who can play the same positions Ransom can:

3B - Alex Rodriguez, Jerry Hairston, Eric Hinske
SS - Derek Jeter, Jerry Hairston, Alex Rodriguez
2B - Robinson Cano, Jerry Hairston
1B - Mark Teixiera, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Jerry Hairston, Eric Hinske

Why is God's name is Ransom still on the roster? The supposed answer: Duncan still has options and Ransom does not. Well, think about this - WHAT TEAM IS GOING TO CLAIM A MEDIOCRE DEFENSIVE SUB WHO HITS LESS THAN .200 WITH NO POWER?

Something is going on here.

How to Drive a Boston Fan Nuts in Three Easy Steps

2009-07-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

Step 1 - Mention to him (for the sake of argument, let's say you're talking to Sully and not some pink-hat bandwagoner) that the 2004 and 2007 championships are tainted, thanks to the lineup being anchored by two PED abusers.

Step 2 - Remind him how the Patriots championships are also tainted thanks to multiple cases of cheating involving secret taping of other teams, and how since they were caught and forced to stop that practice, they haven't won anything.

Step 3 - Now that he's beet red and spittle is dribbling down his bloated cheeks, bring up the fact that Kevin McHale giftwrapped Kevin Garnett to the Celtics and his old buddy Danny Ainge in exchange for a bowl of chowdah because he knew he was out the door in Minnesota, gifting the Celtics a championship.

L O Frickin' L

2009-07-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Also leave it to The Onion to see into the future:

MLB Adjusts Drug Policy To Allow David Ortiz To Take Steroids

NEW YORK—Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced a new policy on performance-enhancing substances Wednesday that is expected to help former slugger David Ortiz, currently batting a dismal .203, to come out of his slump and return as a league-leading batter. "We have amended the rules of the game to allow David [Ortiz] to use any performance enhancer he can find, as baseball is pretty boring when he's not hitting home runs," said Selig, who added that Ortiz could be suspended for 50 games under the new policy if drug tests show he is not taking any previously banned substances. "What David is doing right now is wrong, and this season could damage his reputation forever. The game of baseball needs him to do the responsible thing and superhumanly whack balls over the fence whenever possible." Moments after the announcement, Ortiz smashed through the conference doors with needles hanging from several different areas of his body and crushed Selig with a brutal thank-you hug, killing him instantly.

I Told You.

2009-07-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

I F-ing told you:

Manny, Ortiz tested positive for PEDs in 2003

Can't wait to see how Gammo defends Ortiz.

Will anyone finally call Red Sox VP George Mitchell on why no Boston players were featured in his "report"?

Time to break out the forks, Red Sox Nation:

How Close are we to Blernsball Now?

2009-07-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

So a Japanese scientist has invented baseball playing robots.

Of course in a few years, the Robots will win every World Series, and we'll be forced to start playing Blernsball instead.

Futurama

Weeknights, 9p/8c

Blernsball

www.comedycentral.com

Joke of the Day

Stand-Up Comedy

Free Online Games

This isn't the first time we've seen this, either. "Robots playing baseball" is quickly becoming one of my favorite tags.

Quote of the Year

2009-07-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Newly DFA Julio Lugo of the Red Sox really should be more careful what analogies he makes:

“When you see a good looking girl, you get married and sometimes things don’t work out,” Lugo said. “I gave it my best and unfortunately things didn’t work out. This is the best for both parties. I wanted it to work out but it didn’t.”

This analogy would be akin to Manny saying he "wanted to inject some fun" into the locker room or Ugie Urbina claiming the press "did a hatchet job" on him.

Lest we forget:

Houston Astros shortstop Julio Lugo was demoted Thursday, hours after he was arrested and charged with hitting his wife in the face and slamming her head on a car hood.

Lugo was arrested after Wednesday night's game at Minute Maid Park. Lugo was freed on $50,000 bond Thursday after spending the night in jail. Lugo's wife, Mabel, was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released.

She said she was attacked by her husband Wednesday afternoon before Houston's 11-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves, Houston police spokeswoman Silvia Trevino said Thursday.

The Astros designated Lugo for assignment Thursday, meaning they have 10 days to release, trade or send him to the minors.

The Batting Stance Guy on Letterman

2009-07-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

The Padres story is the best.

Just in case you missed the 2009 Yankees edition:

Keith Law is Awesome

2009-07-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

So the Royals traded for Yuniesky Betancourt. Law's take?

On Friday, the Royals [traded] for Yuniesky Betancourt, who might very well be the worst everyday player in the majors.

Betancourt does nothing well on a baseball field. He can't hit and has lost bat speed since reaching the majors. He hacks at everything he sees, and even swings at pitches thrown to other hitters. He has next to no range at short. And he never hustles on anything -- not balls hit in his direction, not ground balls he might have a chance to beat out (well, before he let himself go physically). Other than all that, he's Honus Wagner.

It is really refreshing to see a major media writer not hold punches when it comes to opinions. Law is easily one of my top 3 sportswriters.

Where is the Uproar for "Price to the 'Pen"?

2009-07-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

The constant yammering of talking heads on TV and sports talk radio about how Joba Chamberlain needs to be moved back to the bullpen brings up a question: why is everyone just focused on Joba? I have made it clear in this space a number of times that Chamberlain is best utilized as a starter. His numbers are great for a 22 year old in his second season in the rotation. He's not an ace yet, but if nobody had ever seen him pitch from the bullpen, the locals would be ecstatic about his progress. Unfortunately, idiots like Mike Francesa like to point out how "his ERA is better as a reliever." Well of course it is. When a pitcher only has to throw 20 pitches instead of 80-100, they can let it fly without fear of tiring. Look at Phil Hughes' splits between the rotation and the bullpen this year, and you'll see what I mean. Imagine Roy Halladay's numbers in the 8th inning! Bridge!

Aside from rehashing that old argument, one has to wonder why nobody seems to be making the same (flawed) rationale for David Price of the Rays.

Price was a phenom last season. He was brought up at the very end of 2008 and was used from the bullpen, eventually becoming the closer that brought the Rays to their first World Series. He had a .929 WHIP, a 1.93 ERA, and a 230 ERA+ in the regular season, lowering that to a 0.00 ERA and .857 WHIP in the post season. He was a stud, an unhittable Roy Hobbs type striking out every Whammer he saw.

Of course, the long-term plan for Price (as it should be with any good young pitcher with 3+ quality pitches) was for him to be a starter, so that's where the Rays had him slotted this season. He hasn't done well.

Price is 2-3 with a 5.21 ERA in 38 innings this year and is averaging less than 5 innings per start. Yet there is no outrage from pundits, nobody on Baseball Tonight is screaming about moving him to the bullpen. Steve Phillips, of all people, is advocating patience (Phillips, by the way, was firmly in the "Joba in the 'pen" camp).

Maybe it's just that Chamberlain plays in New York that he gets this kind of scrutiny. Maybe it's the "win now at all costs" mentality. However this is the same mentality that gutted the Yankees' farm system in the 1980s and early 90s, and again in the early 2000s.

Price needs time to develop. He's a huge talent and should be a star in the years to come. Maybe he will be sent down to the minors to work on his pitches and control, maybe not.

I'm just curious why there's no uproar to move a guy who is failing spectacularly as a starter back to the 'pen where he dominated, and there is for a guy who is doing a better than league average job in his role as a starter.

The Best Players in NY

2009-06-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

Saw this note on Yahoo! (who for once didn't post a ridiculous Jeff Passan "Yankees suck" article:

If you built one team from the guys who play in New York, Carlos Beltran(notes) would be your center fielder and Johan Santana(notes) your opening day starter. Yankees would be everywhere else. Maybe you platoon Nick Swisher(notes) and Ryan Church(notes) in right.

So.. is it accurate? Let's see.

SP: Santana edges Sabathia. Mets 1, Yankees 0.
CP: Rivera still has it over Rodriguez. Mets 1, Yankees 1.
1B: Even with a healthy Delgado, there's no doubt that Teixiera is the man here. Mets 1, Yankees 2.
2B: Cano over Castillo. No brainer. Mets 1, Yankees 3.
SS: Reyes was having a mediocre season even before his injury. Jeter edges him here. Mets 1, Yankees 4.
3B: What happened to Wright's power? The average is there but he doesn't seem to like Citi Field. A-rod hasn't been, well A-Rod yet this year, but for one season there's no doubt he's still the superior player... but this is still the closest call by far. You can't go wrong with either choice, but we'll give Alex the nod here. Mets 1, Yankees 5.
C: Posada over Schneider. Easiest choice so far. Mets 1, Yankees 6.
LF: Martinez or Sheffied? Doesn't matter. Damon's got them both beat. Mets 1, Yankees 7.
CF: Beltran is head and shoulders above Cabrera. Mets 2, Yankees 6.
RF: Swisher hasn't been as good lately as he was to start the season, but he's still got a .900+ OPS. Church is serviceable, but Swish beats him fairly easily. Mets 2, Yankees 7.

An argument could be made for Reyes I suppose and like I said, 3B is almost a coin flip, but it's really surprising that a team that shares a market with the Yankees can't even come close to competing by position.

Breaking News from Boston

2009-06-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

RED SOX FANS BOO A-ROD

Boston fans were happy to stick it to A-Rod

While there are some in Boston who believe Mark Teixeira could rival Alex Rodriguez(notes) as the most hated member of the New York Yankees, Beantown fans did not miss on their chance to needle the All-Star third baseman, according to the Boston Globe.

According to the Globe, the booing Rodriguez received in the first was not over the top, but the crowd loved it when he popped out with Teixeira aboard, and then when he bobbled the glove-to-hand exchange and was late with a throw to second base that would have forced Mark Kotsay(notes) in the second inning. Rodriguez was charged with an error, which contributed to a four-run inning against A.J. Burnett(notes).

When Rodriguez came up in the fourth inning, the crowd seemed to be more into bashing him. A few "A-Roid" chants surfaced, as did the "Steroids! Steroids" cries. When Josh Beckett(notes) struck him out on a slider away, the crowd roared, the Globe reported.

Source: Boston.com
I don't know which is more odd... that this was a story written for the Boston Globe, or the fact that Yahoo! only reposted the parts about the booing and not the other half of the article which is about A-Rod's contributions since his return. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Yahoo! Sports is the biggest joke on the 'net.

It's Totally Not The Steroids Though

2009-06-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

I guess David Ortiz's eyesight is fine and not the reason for his slump! (shock)

Slumping Ortiz’s vision is fine, gets eye drops

BOSTON (AP)—David Ortiz’s(notes) vision has checked out very well as the Boston Red Sox try to help him out of his season-long slump.

The designated hitter received drops for dry eyes Monday, team spokesperson Pam Ganley said. Ortiz has two homers and 22 RBIs with a .197 batting average in 51 games. He has been dropped from the third to the sixth spot in the lineup, but has hit better recently.

He has a six-game hitting streak with seven hits in 25 at-bats, raising his average from .185.

The Red Sox also said center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury(notes) is day-to-day after tests showed no structural damage in his right shoulder.

If They're Not Going to Axe YMCA at the Stadium...

2009-06-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

... at least mix it up a bit. How about NMKY Sundays?

It's time the Yankees realized that YMCA was only popular in the mid 90's because it was ironically funny.

When Your Headline Isn't Entirely Accurate

2009-05-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! Sports is probably the worst edited site on the internet, as has been evidenced here multiple times. Typos are one thing, but giving a headline the opposite meaning from the intended is another. Case in point:

Nats' Johnson would be opposed to returning to New York

Nick Johnson has some fond and some no-so-fond memories of New York City.

The first baseman for the Washington Nationals broke in with the New York Yankees in the Bronx. He suffered a broken leg in a horrific collision three years ago at Shea. But the ex-Yank isn't averse to returning to New York if the Mets seek to acquire him from Washington as a possible replacement for injured first baseman Carlos Delgado(notes), according to the New York Daily News.

"I can't worry about rumors or any of that stuff, I just have to go play. If it happens, it does; if I'm here, great," Johnson said before going 0-for-4 in the Mets' 6-1 victory last night. "I don't deal with anything until it happens.... But I enjoyed (New York). Fans are into it, they want to win. It's all about winning and that's what I want to play for, to get that ring on my finger. I definitely had a good time while I was here those three years."

Jose Canseco Gets the Crap Beat Out of Him

2009-05-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

No, that is not hyperbole. Canseco comes out carrying a baseball bat to "Wild Thing."

The announcers seem impressed by his "nads."

UPDATE: Looks like the URL changed - I fixed it and have a better version embedded now.

When is Willie Mays Getting Kicked Out Of the HOF?

2009-05-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

Just saw a report on ESPN that Willie Mays and Willie Stargell are being investigated for giving out and using amphetamines during their playing days.

Amphetamines are uppers, and thus performance enhancers.

So, Willie Mays is being investigated for taking PEDs.

This shouldn't be news... Jim Bouton spoke about greenies (uppers) in "Ball Four" which came out in the mid-70's.

If they'll keep guys like McGwire and Bonds out of the Hall for suspected PED use, I would assume Mays can start packing his bags out of Cooperstown as well, right?

Doubtful. Voters have a double standard.

Wonder Why George Mitchell Never Interviewed This Guy

2009-05-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

You know, George Mitchell, the objective and thorough investigator assigned by Bud Selig to investigate PEDs in baseball. Who also happens to be a VP on the board of the Boston Red Sox, and found no evidence of any Red Sox ever cheating but focused his investigation solely on New York.

Lou Merloni, former Red Sox, describes a team meeting in which the Sox arranged for a doctor to show players the proper way to take steroids.

Guess Paxton Crawford - who Mitchell didn't even investigate - wasn't totally full of shit.

Peter Gammons is Just Ridiculous

2009-05-11T11:36:00.000-07:00

Gammons: Sox Don't Believe Manny Was On Steroids

Gammons on ESPN: "I checked (with) somebody in the Red Sox front office asking if they had heard and the response was 'there's no way Manny would', that they believe that Manny would test positive for steroids. So I mean, he didn't exactly leave Boston on the greatest of terms and they thoroughly believe that he would not be doing steroids, in any way."

There goes ol' Gammo, defending the Red Sox and saying it seems Manny just decided to start juicing in LA, without a shred of evidence except "the Red Sox said so." Ridiculous.

A-Rod Sucks!

2009-05-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

What a bum!

It's well into May already and the jerk is only hitting .250 with 1 HR and 3 RBI!

Someone needs to call Scott Brosius.

Yep, Time to Asterisk Those Boston Championships

2009-05-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

It is really a shock to anyone that Manny Ramirez was juicing? Of course the press is still somewhat giving him a pass on everything (being Manny and all) but you knew he was using.

I can't wait until the full 103 player list is leaked, because you KNOW Ortiz is on there.

I can't wait for the Boston fans to eat crow knowing that the entire heart of their team was tainted during their championship run.

Sure they chanted "STEROIDS" at Giambi, but what did he ever win?

Time will prove me right.

The Ramifications of Ticket Prices Dropping

2009-05-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, amazing but true!

I Can't Believe I Agree With Jim Caple

2009-05-04T14:54:00.001-07:00

But... I do.

And enough with the "A-Rod needs to make himself the center of every discussion." The guy hasn't said anything in a long time.

Buster Olney's read the A-Rod Hatchet Job

2009-05-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Bear in mind that Olney worked with Roberts at the NY Times and considers her a "friend."

Buster really gives the impression that besides the failed test that everyone knows about, there's no evidence and there are silly leaps of logic throughout.

Listen for yourself:

One Last Post Tonight About the A-Rod Stuff

2009-05-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite bloggers, Lisa Swan over at Subway Squakers, has some good info and did some research (gasp!) over at her blog.

There's evidence of Roberts lying about what she even put in the book, stretching the truth or flat-out lying and then denying it as well as sensationalizing a story, and lying about what she even put in the book, and a nice analysis of the issues Rodriguez should face.

I admit freely I blatantly stole this from her as well:

A-Rod’s stats with the Rangers were actually, for the most part, WORSE in blowouts. If he was getting help in those games, it didn’t appear to do him much good:

Total numbers
Season AB Hits 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP K SH SF GDP CI BA OBA Slug%
2001 632 201 34 1 52 135 75 6 16 131 0 9 17 0 .318 .399 .622
2002 624 187 27 2 57 142 87 12 10 122 0 4 14 0 .300 .392 .623
2003 607 181 30 6 47 118 87 10 15 126 0 6 16 0 .298 .396 .600

Trailing by Four Runs
Season AB Hits 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP K SH SF GDP CI BA OBA Slug%
2001 34 8 2 0 1 6 3 0 1 8 0 0 1 0 .235 .316 .382
2002 28 8 1 1 4 5 0 0 1 6 0 0 1 0 .286 .310 .821
2003 37 17 6 0 6 13 3 0 0 9 0 0 2 0 .459 .500 1.108

Trailing by Five or More Runs
Season AB Hits 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP K SH SF GDP CI BA OBA Slug%
2001 48 12 3 0 4 6 10 0 2 11 0 1 4 0 .250 .393 .562
2002 45 13 0 0 2 5 6 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 .289 .373 .422
2003 61 14 1 0 2 4 7 0 3 15 0 1 0 0 .230 .333 .344

Leading by Four Runs
Season AB Hits 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP K SH SF GDP CI BA OBA Slug%
2001 21 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 .190 .227 .286
2002 23 6 1 1 0 4 2 0 0 9 0 1 0 0 .261 .308 .391
2003 21 7 1 0 4 7 5 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 .333 .462 .952

Leading by Five or More Runs
Season AB Hits 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB HBP K SH SF GDP CI BA OBA Slug%
2001 45 17 0 0 5 17 6 1 1 5 0 2 1 0 .378 .444 .711
2002 41 11 2 0 3 6 5 1 1 6 0 0 1 0 .268 .362 .537
2003 40 14 1 0 1 6 5 0 0 9 0 1 2 0 .350 .413 .450

By the way, that's an average of 147 AB per season in "blowouts." How many players was A-Rod "conspiring" with? If we put it at, let's say half of the American League (which as we all know is ridiculous), and we can assume that about a quarter of the time in blowouts the manager plays backups, we're looking at 55 AB total, per season. His teammates were "picking up" on that?

I think the biggest evidence against Roberts here is that she's fully willing to name Rodriguez... but what of the other players with whom he was conspiring? Why wouldn't Roberts name them?

Oh, they don't help sell books.

Eyechart Weighs in on the A-Rod Rumors

2009-05-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

High School teammate and major leaguer Doug Mientkiewicz says there's "no way" A-Rod used steroids in high school:
Dodgers utilityman Doug Mientkiewicz said that he, Alex Rodriguez and their teammates on the Westminster Christian High spent as much time together as possible.

They were always together in school, Mientkiewicz said. They often ate dinner together. Many players, including Rodriguez, frequently slept over at Mientkiewicz's house, which was only 10 minutes from the private school in suburban Miami.
Mientkiewicz said he never saw any signs that Rodriguez was on steroids, as is being alleged in an upcoming book by Sports Illustrated's Selena Roberts, according to a report in the New York Daily News.

"From my perspective, it would be 99.9% impossible for us not to know," said Mientkiewicz, who was a year ahead of Rodriguez in school.

Mientkiewicz lashed out at Roberts, who broke the story that Rodriguez flunked a drug test in 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers. The report forced Rodriguez to admit in February that he took banned substances from 2001 to '03.

Rodriguez put on 25 pounds of muscle between his sophomore and junior years in high school, according to the book.

"You're basically accusing every kid that's gone through puberty that they're on steroids too, huh?" Mientkiewicz said. "He gained a couple of inches height-wise too, if I remember right. . . . I knew what he looked like in ninth grade. He was skinny. Who isn't in ninth grade? He was very dedicated back then, he worked harder than anyone else."

One of Roberts' sources was a high school teammate of Rodriguez's, according to the Daily News.

"If you're going to have the [guts] to come out and say something like that, of that magnitude, whether it's a high school teammate or some of the Yankee teammates that have said something, be a man and put your name on it," Mientkiewicz said. "Don't give me the anonymous source [stuff]. Be a man. Be a man and say who you are. That way there's no questioning whether it's real or not."

Selena Roberts Doesn't Really Have a Reliable Track Record

2009-05-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Whether or not anything - or everything - Roberts writes about Alex Rodriguez in her character assassination book is true, there seems to be a certain number of people (PeteAbe, for one) who are calling anyone who questions anything Roberts presents as "blind" or "homers" or being "in the tank."

The always excellent ShysterBall has a great piece on Roberts, and her history of smearing for only A-Rod but other athletes.

I strongly recommend reading it, as it details how Roberts pulled a Nancy Grace and buried the Duke Lacrosse players who were falsely accused of rape in the press, and when it was revealed that they were innocent, essentially continued to bury them rather than admit she was wrong.

I'm sure the initial leak of the steroid test was sent to Roberts because people had read her hatchet jobs in the past, and figured she'd bury Rodriguez (come on, why else would only his name of 104 surface?). Rather than print that report in the paper, she decided to cash in - cha-ching - and write a full book about it. How best to flesh out the book? Well, you're going to need to find more things to assassinate his character with.

Does Roberts reveal any sources, or back up any of her claims? No, of course not.

She sets up targets and continues to fire, regardless of evidence to the contrary.
ShysterBall also reminds us that this isn't the first time that Roberts has gone after A-Rod either, as is evidenced by her hatchet job from 2007.

Again, I strongly suggest you read the ShysterBall article. It's a great bit of work to get you thinking that things printed in black on white aren't always so black and white. Whether or not A-Rod is a jerk or a liar or a cheater isn't so much the point as where Roberts tries to mix in her own opinions frequently in with facts to present a completely slanted picture.

****************
Update: Roberts explains the pitch tipping. If you didn't think her evidence was flimsy before....

Roberts explains that Rodriguez (then a shortstop) was tipping pitches too early. Normally a shortstop will let his teammates know what pitch is coming or the location
of said pitch so they can adjust their defense accordingly. She goes through a complete explanation for most of the "evidence" of how Rodriguez tipped pitches. Well, he's supposed to. Jeter does it. It's how you let your teammates know what to expect.

She's claiming Rodriguez tipped too early. And as evidence:

At least one teammate in a very gentle way did say, "Hey, you might be tipping a little too soon out there." But one player trying to be diplomatic told me that he said, "I think you're tipping a little too soon," and the response from Alex was, "What are you talking about?" I don't think Alex was irritated at the player; I think he felt that he had been scrutinized too closely, that someone else was trying to tell him how to do his job.

One guy says "hey, you might be tipping too soon" and Alex says "what do you mean?" BAM! There's your gotcha moment!

Also, here are some reactions from former teammates:

Both (Doug) Glanville and (R.A.) Dickey were reluctant to believe the allegations, which are a part of Selena Roberts' forthcoming book "A-Rod," until further information is made available, but neither could be sure that it didn't happen either. "I certainly didn't know or see anything like that," said Glanville. "Obviously if that's true that would be insane. I don't remember hearing anything about that when I was there. Of course it would be egregious and unforgivable."

"From personal experience, I can tell you I've seen nothing or heard nothing that would support any chapter in that book that says that," said Dickey. "Then again, it's not so far outside the realm of possibility where you could dismiss it because obviously it could happen. It's mind-boggling."

Not to (Shane) Spencer. The journeyman outfielder said that while he never saw or heard of other players doing that, he wouldn't have been surprised if Rodriguez wasn't the only one doing so. "I'm sure it does happen. There are friends of friends. I'm sure there are catchers out there that have told guys what's coming. Hopefully it didn't happen [in Texas] and hopefully it didn't happen that often."

The allegations, which were first made public in a New York Daily News story on Thursday, are in Roberts' book, which will be released on Monday. In a phone interview with SI.com, Roberts said that over the course of a couple years, some people with the Rangers began to detect a pattern whereby Rodriguez would appear to be giving away pitch type and location to hitters, always middle infielders who would then be able to repay him in kind when he was at the plate, with his body movement. According to Roberts' sources, "If it was a changeup, he would twist his glove hand. To indicate a slider, he would sweep the dirt in front of him and he would bend in the direction of where the pitch was going to be, inside or outside." Roberts' sources stressed that this only occurred in games that had long since been decided and was done for "slump insurance. You can count on your buddy to help break you out of your slump. There was no intent to throw a game or change the outcome."

That explanation wasn't sufficient for Glanville or Dickey, who said "There's no situation that would ever justify him doing that on any level. That's somebody's ERA that's somebody's livelihood, that's somebody trying to provide for their family. I'm holding on to the belief that it's not true. No one with a conscience could do that. Blows me away."

Dickey does, however, have first-hand knowledge of Rodriguez's involvement with calling pitches. "My first year there (2001) there were a couple of games where he called the pitches from shortstop or helped the catcher called pitches, in a couple of my starts I know he did that," he said. "Einar Diaz was our catcher and Alex did that on occasion on a couple of my starts. I never knew it until after the fact but he helped [our] catcher out a couple times. But as far as giving away pitches I couldn't speak with any amount of knowledge on that subject."

Damning evidence.