High and Tight.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Bruce Jenkins and the Sour Grapes of CC

I know we've been through this before - Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle is a homer and a douche. We know this.

What we didn't know before today was that he'd be the first HaT Douchebag of 2009.

Between taking potshots at the Yankees, he moans and whines about how much happier CC Sabathia would have been with the Giants. The frickin' Giants. Bruce, just enjoy your lovely

Sabathia saddled with an aging zoo

Bruce Jenkins
Wednesday, February 11, 2009

You can't help but wonder what CC Sabathia thinks of all this. He knew he was signing with a corporate bully, tossing money into the air like confetti, but he had no idea the Yankees' so-called Bronx Zoo would escalate into full-scale chaos so quickly.

Obviously, Giants owner Peter Magowan was showing fiscal restraint when he signed a completely overrated pitcher (Barry Zito) to the richest pitching contract ever (7 years/$126M). The money was not tossed into the air, it was placed gently on Zito's pillow, next to his guitar and stuffed animals. (Zito has been kind enough to repay Giants fans with ERA+ of 98 and 85 in his first two seasons).

For one thing, the Yankees' so-called powerhouse is hardly that. This is an old and terribly vulnerable team, starting with Derek Jeter, who turns 35 this summer and continues a gradual decline so evident, the stat guys are calling him the worst defensive shortstop in the American League.

I am not about to defend Jeter's defense here, and he had a down season with the stick in 2008. However, the three years prior his OPS+ were 125, 132, and 121 and he's still getting on base at an excellent rate. The Giants, on the other hand, have the youthful (34 year old) Edgar Renteria, who they just signed to a multi-year contract and who sported an OPS+ of 84 last season.

The aging catcher, Jorge Posada, is trying to recover from shoulder surgery. So is Mariano Rivera, the storied but 39-year-old closer. Hideki Matsui is coming off his second major knee surgery in two years. Center field, the position with all that Yankees history, has become a grim struggle between Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner.

Posada is aging and is recoving, this is true. The Giants counter with the spry young Bengie Molina (34) who has had one (1) offensive season with an above average OPS+ (2005) and 8 seasons with a below average one.

Mariano Rivera is older and also recovering from injury. Compare this to the fantastic Brian Wilson closing for San Francisco, whose 4.62 ERA in 2008 surely inspired hope in Giants fans. I will personally guarantee that Rivera will outpitch Wilson in every statistical category in 2009. And, hell, for every year from now on until Mo retires or Wilson gets waived.

Yep, Matsui had knee surgery. However the offense doesn't revolve around Hideki flippin' Matsui. Besides, would you rather have Randy Winn or Fred Lewis? I'm not high on Matsui but he's a hell of a lot better than those schlubs.

Centerfield is the only place I might give SF the edge, but it's not like it's a good one. Aaron Rowand and his sub-100 OPS+ in three of the last 4 years may win awards for "grit and hustle" but those would be the only awards for which he'd be considered.

Nobody knows what to expect from Johnny Damon, Nick Swisher or Robinson Cano - or, for that matter, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte in the rotation.

Nobody knows what to expect from any player, as no one can see the future. I know I would expect every single one of them to outperform their Giants counterparts.

There's no help coming from a farm system that hasn't produced an impact position player since Jeter - 14 years ago.

I could probably come up with much better examples of this, but just off the top of my head, how about Jorge Posada? Alfonso Soriano? Hell, Robinson Cano almost won a batting title. Does an "imapact" player have to be someone who's a lock for the Hall of Fame or what?

Alex Rodriguez, who has a rather fragile psyche anyway, will find that curiosity and skepticism accompany his every at-bat, now that 156 of his career home runs are officially tarnished.

Yes, this is as opposed to everyone embracing him wherever he went and treating him with kid gloves.

It's a good thing the Yanks picked up Sabathia and Mark Teixeira for $28.2 billion, or whatever it was, because this is one flawed outfit. And that's just on the field. The A-Rod circus and the residue of Joe Torre's book should make for some really fun times around the clubhouse, and that's a situation Joe Girardi, a manager who likes things nice and simple, won't be able to handle.

Any regular reader of this space knows one of my favorite things is when sportswriters make definitive statements of future events, like "Joe Girardi won't be able to handle these things" because they always wind up looking like idiots later.

Also, as we compared above, the Giants are terrible and won 72 games last year but Jenkins is still mad he didn't sign with a terrible franchise.

And to think, Sabathia's life would have been so much simpler if he'd signed with the Giants.

Yes it would, because he wouldn't have had to worry about playing in the post season or competing in a pennant race.

Don't give me this nonsense about "he had to do it" because of the money. He was either going to be an insanely rich Yankee or a ridiculously rich Giant. There are athletes who know the difference, who have settled for less in the name of lifestyle and common sense. CC just might wish he'd joined them.

Seventy-two wins.

E-mail Bruce Jenkins at bjenkins@sfchronicle.com.

Please do!

Labels: bruce jenkins, cc sabathia, douchebag, giants

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 9:22 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

New Yankee Wives Are Easy on Eyes

Mets blog The 'Ropolitans details the newest Yankees' wives and breaks down their... hotness. Here's my take:

Karen Burnett is gorgeous, but sort of in that Hooters girl kind of way. John Hughes movie role: the rich stuck up girl who dates the guy Molly Ringwald is secretly in love with.

CC's wife is... intimidating. I'd be more frightened of her than him in a dark alley. I'm sure she's sweet but she looks like you wouldn't want to cross her. John Hughes movie role: the best friend and shoulder to cry on for Molly Ringwald's character who gets together with someone who seems an odd match for her (small and skinny and bookish Anthony Michael Hall) unexpectedly at the climax of the movie.

Given a choice, I'll take Leigh Teixeira in a heartbeat over the others. John Hughes movie role: Molly flippin' Ringwald.

Très adorable.

Also get this, from Gammo himself:

"[Teixeira] wanted to go to the Yankees, his wife doesn't like Boston -- apparently she doesn't like the stores on Newbury Street or something -- and in the end that's the way it goes."

Classy, Gammo. Taking shots at players' wives because the player didn't sign with your favorite club.

Here's hoping Leigh's got a single sister out there for me.

Labels: a.j. burnett, blatant mysoginism, cc sabathia, gammo, mark teixeira, yankee wives

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:11 AM 2 comments

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Shopping Checklist

Labels: adam dunn, ben sheets, brian cashman, cc sabathia, free agents

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 4:33 PM 1 comments

Friday, December 05, 2008

Shopping list: CC, Sheets, Dunn

Sabathia is an obvious target, and the ball's in his court.

I don't understand why there isn't a lot more talk about two obvious bargain buys - Ben Sheets and Adam Dunn.

I'll hold off on the Dunn talk for this post, since it's been covered on this space numerous times, except to say that speculation is now that he'd cost less than $10M per year and is now an absolute steal.

Sheets, on the other hand, is also a bargain as people wonder about his durability. I'd have no problem with a 2 year contract with a vesting option for a third based on number of starts. I'm not as worried if he needs a bit of rehab time at the beginning of 2008 as adding him into the rotation at a later time would allow for Chamberlain to take some starts off as is the plan to keep his innings under control. Sheets has made 34, 22, 17, 24 and 31 starts over the last five years, respecively, with ERA+ of 162, 128, 119, 117 and 139. It would not be a stretch to expect 25 starts and a 120 ERA+ in 2008.

I'll take that as a bargain.

Sign all three and your lineup and rotation look as such:
SP Sabathia
SP Wang
SP Chamberlain
SP Sheets
SP Pettitte/Hughes

LF/CF Damon
SS Jeter
3B Rodriguez
1B/LF Dunn
RF Nady
DH Matsui
C Posada
2B Cano
CF/LF/1B Swisher

I'd go to war with that team, and there's no loss of financial flexibility or prospects.

Labels: adam dunn, ben sheets, cc sabathia, free agents, trade proposals

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 3:40 PM 1 comments

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Thanks For Nothing, Andy

While the crowd was busy booing one player on the offense last night, they seem to have forgotten that Pettitte's pitching was the real reason that game was lost yesterday.

People still want to resign Andy for next year?

He's got a 4.24 ERA and an ERA+ of 97. Not awful, but below league average. Wouldn't that money be better spent (because you know he'd want at least $11M or so) to throw into a free agent like, say, CC Sabathia?

Mussina's been more effective, and he'd most likely be cheaper. I think he'd take less because he's hungry to win a ring before he retires.

Wang, Chamberlain, Mussina, Sabathia and Hughes? Could be the best five in the AL.

Labels: andy pettitte, cc sabathia, dumbass fans, moose, pitching rotation, pitching woes

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:57 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Commence New "Curse/Loveable Losers/Underdogs" Mantra in Beantown

Josh Beckett did not win the Cy Young Award, no matter how much lip service FOX, ESPN, and the Boston Media tried to give to this "inevitible conclusion" from about September 1st until after the last out of Game 4 of the World Series.

I will be interested to read all about how Beckett got "jobbed" and that voters are "anti-Red Sox" because when it all comes down to it, isn't complaining and blaming things that aren't remotely responsible for outcomes pretty much a Boston tradition?

Incidentally, it was pretty much a pick 'em:
Beckett: 30 GS, 20-7, 200.7 IP, 194 K, 40 BB, 3.27 ERA, 145 ERA+, 1.141 WHIP
Sabathia: 34 GS, 19-7, 241 IP, 209 K, 37 BB, 3.21 ERA, 143 ERA+, 1.141 WHIP

Beckett leads slightly in ERA+ and has an extra win.
Sabathia leads slightly in ERA and K/BB, but pitched 40 extra innings.

My best guess is that if Beckett didn't have his.. avulsion and had been healthy enough to throw the other 40 innings, Beckett wins in a landslide.

Labels: awards, cc sabathia, josh beckett, kind of about respecting the game

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 2:49 PM 0 comments