Ian, before we get to our hare-brained second half predictions, let's assess last night's All Star game- particularly the end. Let's pretend that you're Tony La Russa. Let's say yesterday morning you woke up in your hotel (rising from the hyperbolic chamber in which you sleep) ordered a coffee and a croissant from room service, turned the television to the weather channel and stepped out on your balcony to breath in the fresh San Franciscan air. And then you said to yourself, "Tony, you handsome sexagenarian, if by some stroke of serendipity your National League squad finds itself down by one run with the bases loaded, two outs in the ninth inning, and career league-average hitter Aaron Rowand at the plate, by gum, you will let that Rowand boy hit. Sure you could pinch hit the best righthanded hitter in the game, Albert Pujols, and, yes, Pujols is to Rowand as Optimus Prime is to a Chevy Silverado, but why give the National League the best chance to win the game when you can lose the game AND piss off your best player at the same time?" I'm assuming that question is no longer rhetorical because that's exactly what Tony La Russa did. Why, Tony? Why?
I was watching the game with buddies Greg and Pete, and the lot of us were befuddled. We assumed that Pujols was injured and LaRussa didn't want to play his own player in an quasi-exhibition game. However, from what I've read after the game, Pujols was ready to go. Therefore, LaRussa not only robbed the NL from breaking a 9-now-10-year losing streak, not only did he rob the NL from a chance at homefield advantage in the World Series, but he also robbed us, Major League Baseball fans, from perhaps the most exciting All-Star at bat of this generation! And for that, he should not be forgiven.
If you want the answer as to why he did this, I'm sure you already read LaRussa's cockamamie excuse as to Pujols' versatility in extra innings... but since when has a manager managed for extra innings when he was DOWN ONE RUN in the ninth. A tie game is one thing, but down a run in the ninth or the bottom of an extra inning? Does Terry Francona let David Ortiz run if they're down one in the 10th? Not a chance. He gets a pinch runner. You need that run to win. I mean, managers often pinch run their second catcher in an extra innings without another catcher on the roster because they need that run to keep playing. You figure out who's playing where AFTER you extend the game.
And if the answer to all these criticisms are, "It's just an exhibition," than that is precisely the reason as to why the move should have been made. It would have been fun to see a couple guys out of position in an All-Star Game. And if the answer to that is, "The game counts, no fooling around," than Albert Pujols must see an at bat there. End of story.
I rest my case.
Saj, get us started on second half predictions.
You know, I was all set to do this: internet research, lots of reading and statistics, but I really don't want to. In lieu of any of that, here are some arbitrary statements about the next three months of baseball.
1. The Philadelphia Phillies will make the playoffs. Chase Utley will hit 45 more homeruns, the last 15 or so he'll will out of the park using only his mind and his crystal clear blue eyes. Girls you can have Cole Hamels and Grady Sizemore, the Chaser is all mine. Oh, and Brett Myers will remember that he's f****** Brett Myers. Not the beating his wife part but the good at pitching part.
2. Everyone will jump off the "Detroit Tigers are the best team in baseball" bandwagon when Curtis Granderson (of blogging fame) breaks his wrist in August and the damn thing crashes into a telephone pole. Lucky for them, the Los Angeles Angels bandwagon will pick them up when the Angels make an ill-advised trade for a hitter they don't need. None of this will prevent both these teams from being obliterated in the postseason by Boston. Angels Note: Reggie Willits will end the season hitting below .280.
3. Unless it has already happened, Ichiro will not sign an extension with Seattle. Please be aware that the rules of time do not apply to this statement. So, technically, I can't be wrong.
4. Barry Bonds will hit homeruns 755 and 756 in the same day and as he crosses homeplate the second time he will remove a mask to reveal that he is actually Mark McGwire and the real Barry Bonds has been locked in a basement since 1999. McGwire will go on to tell the media that he got the idea from the 1986 comedy "Soul Man" where a white student masquerades as an African American so that he may receive a scholarship to Harvard. McGwire will also say that he "would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids and their damn dog."
5. The Cleveland Indians will issue an "Indian of the month" 2008 calendar as a giveaway on the last day of the season. While Grady Sizemore will be Mr. April and Travis Hafner will be Mr. May, C.C. Sabathia will be Mr. August, Mr. September, and Mr. October. The joke here is that C.C. Sabathia is fat.
6. The San Diego Padres will win the NL Pennant by sweeping the Phillies prompting Fox to go into panic mode when the Mariners take a 3-1 lead on the Red Sox in the ALCS. Before Game 5, a ski-mask clad Chris Myers will take a lead pipe to Ichiro's knee destroying Seattle's morale and saving postseason ratings from West Coast irrelevance. Ichiro will silently lament not signing that ridiculous contract the Mariners offered him back in July but then he will smile wryly because he appreciates the irony. Unless, of course, it has already happened.
Ian?
How in Mike Greenwell's name am I supposed to counter those rock solid, take-it-to-the- bank predictions? I mean, the don't even have to play the rest of the regular season anymore. Saj has figured it out for us.
Anyway, instead of building to my World Series prediction, I will start there (kind of) and work my way back. I'll start with this:
The two most important players in determining the World Series participants are the same two most important players of the 2004 season and playoffs - Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling. Simply put, those two players determine how far their respective teams advance in the playoffs.
In the case of Pedro and the New York Mets, if he looks as good as he and everyone else who has seen him says he is, the Mets will be playing in the 2007 World Series. If he's not, and especially if the Metropolitans cannot pick up another starter better than Tom Glavine, than it's the San Diego Padres in the Series. The Mets lineup is the best in the National League. All they need is two quality starters which they currently don't have. It's as simple as that.
Verdict for NL Champion
A good or better Pedro = New York
An average or worse Pedro = San Diego
Prediction - San Diego Padres, behind Jake Peavy's 2 wins and a win from David Wells and someone else, and thanks to lackluster performances from the Mets pitching staff, are in the World Series.
In the case of Schilling and the Boston Red Sox, if Schilling returns to at least 80% of the typical playoff Curt Schilling, the Red Sox are going to win the World Series. If not, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka are not enough to topple the Detroit Tigers.
Verdict for AL Champion
A good or better Schilling = Boston
An average or worse Schilling = Detroit
Prediction - Schilling, at forty years of age and decidedly out of shape, does not bounce back like he once could. Detroit matches up very well with the BoSox and takes the series in a classic seven games.
Rounding out the playoffs - Milwaukee falls apart, and a sizzling second half from Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and the Chicago Cubs' lineup gives the Cubs the NL Central. The Brew Crew and the Dodgers battle it out for the wild card, but the Dodgers' experience is victorious and earn the honor of once again traveling to New York in the first round... where they will again lose.
Over in the AL, the Yankees do make an August and September push, taking advantage of many games with Tampa, Baltimore, and Toronto. However, this postseason will give way to many "Out like the Yankees in October" jokes, as the Cleveland Indians return to the playoffs as the AL wildcard. The Tigers start their World Series run with a drubbing over the AL West Champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
That's it. Predictions locked in. I'll be sure to post this link again in October.
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Monday, July 09, 2007
MLB: First Half Awards
(we're playing with the colors, bear with us)
All right, Saj, the All-Star Break has arrived. Time for some first half awards.
MVP
NL
National League MVP to date: Prince Fielder
Reasoning: The Milwaukee Brewers are in first place. The Milwaukee Brewers. Are in first place. Formerly consistent losers, the Milwaukee Brewers are in first place. Not only are they in first place, but at 4.5 games, they have the largest division lead in in the National League, and second largest division lead in the majors after the Red Sox domination of the AL East. Therefore, the Brewers' surprising success combined with their relative comfort on their perch makes me want to search their squad for the to-date NL MVP. Their best hitter, Prince Fielder, is headed to his first All-Star Game. He leads the NL in homeruns and slugging, he's second in RBI, and he's fifth in runs.
National League MVP at the end of the year: Carlos Beltran
Reasoning: The Brewers are going to lose their division lead. The Mets are going to pull away with the best record in the National League, and they're going to do it because their stud center-fielder will heat up like an oven.
Saj? NL MVP?
Completely in agreement. At this point in the season, Prince Fielder gets the award. By the end of the season watch out for the following two guys: Chipper Jones and Chase Utley. Jones is quietly putting together one of his best seasons and Utley is on pace to set new career highs in RBIs and Total Bases. While I can't see Beltran winning the award (if it's a Met, I think it'll be Wright or Reyes) I do think the NL MVP will come out of the East.
AL ROY to date: As valuable as Okajima has been to the Red Sox, I can't see giving the ROY award to someone who has thrown just 43 innings. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Okajima. In fact, I think I'm going to get 1,000 "Okajima is my Oka-jigga" t-shirts printed so I can sell them out of a box on Yawkey Way. That being said, and apologies to Reggie Willits and Dustin Pedroia, I have to give the midseason ROY to Daisuke. Before getting touched up by the Tigers in his last start, he went six starts giving up a total of six earned runs and striking out 51, lowering his ERA a whole run in the process.
AL ROY at the end of the year: I really want to give this award to Pedroia, but he's not on pace to collect the raw numbers (runs, RBIs, HRs) that people salivate over. If this last month and a half is any indicator of the future, it's going to be Daisuke, who looks like he could also make a serious run at the Cy Young.
Pence-Braun Note: Not to blow up your spot, Ian, but while Pence is leading the league with a .342 average, Matt Holliday is right behind him at .341, and Pence's OBP is a low (for his batting his average) .367. He's walked ten times in 64 games. As I've said before: Hell, even Bill Mueller's won a batting title.
One more knock on Bill Mueller and I'll have your balls in my Red Sox 2004 World Series Champion coffee mug. Mueller drove in Roberts, Saj. MUELLER DROVE IN ROBERTS!!
All right, Saj, the All-Star Break has arrived. Time for some first half awards.
MVP
NL
National League MVP to date: Prince Fielder
Reasoning: The Milwaukee Brewers are in first place. The Milwaukee Brewers. Are in first place. Formerly consistent losers, the Milwaukee Brewers are in first place. Not only are they in first place, but at 4.5 games, they have the largest division lead in in the National League, and second largest division lead in the majors after the Red Sox domination of the AL East. Therefore, the Brewers' surprising success combined with their relative comfort on their perch makes me want to search their squad for the to-date NL MVP. Their best hitter, Prince Fielder, is headed to his first All-Star Game. He leads the NL in homeruns and slugging, he's second in RBI, and he's fifth in runs.
National League MVP at the end of the year: Carlos Beltran
Reasoning: The Brewers are going to lose their division lead. The Mets are going to pull away with the best record in the National League, and they're going to do it because their stud center-fielder will heat up like an oven.
Saj? NL MVP?
Completely in agreement. At this point in the season, Prince Fielder gets the award. By the end of the season watch out for the following two guys: Chipper Jones and Chase Utley. Jones is quietly putting together one of his best seasons and Utley is on pace to set new career highs in RBIs and Total Bases. While I can't see Beltran winning the award (if it's a Met, I think it'll be Wright or Reyes) I do think the NL MVP will come out of the East.
AL
American League MVP to date: Alex Rodriguez. I know the whole "the MVP has to play for a winning team" argument, but what Alex Rodriguez is doing this year is ridiculous. And once he's got his filthy hands around another MVP award it will be that much sweeter when he opts out and leaves New York for Chicago or LA. Go ahead, Ian. Make the argument for Magglio Ordonez.
American League MVP at the end of the year: Rodriguez. Ordonez's average will drop like a French hooker's panties on Bastille Day. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was my "Dennis Miller would make that joke" joke of the day.
American League MVP to date: Vladimir Guerrero
Reasoning: In 2003, Alex Rodriguez won the AL MVP while playing for the last place Texas Rangers. Tell me, Saj. How valuable is a guy whose team finished in last place? I mean, if he wasn't on their team, what place might they have come in? LasteR? Besides, aren't teams always better when he leaves?
The American League MVP to date is not Arod, nor is it Magglio Ordonez (and if it were Maggs, I'd have to pick someone else after your snide comment). The AL MVP to date is Vladimir Guerrero. The reason? The Tigers and Yankees have a MUCH better supporting cast to surround their best hitters. On the Tigers, Gary Sheffield, Placido Polanco, Carlos Guillen, and Pudge Rodriguez are all having very good seasons; even Curtis Granderson and Sean Casey bring something to the table. The Yankees simply aren't performing well, and I can't help but think of Arod was released today, the Yanks would go on a huge tear without him. The Angels after Vlad Guerrero do not have the supporting casts of the other division leaders in the AL, and yet they are within a half game of both the Tigers and the Red Sox for the league's best record. Thank Vlad.
American League MVP at the end of the year: Magglio Ordonez.
Reasoning: I suspect that Detroit Tigers will end up with the best record in baseball, and Magglio's great season will be why. Best player on the best team is usually a safe bet.
Cy Young Award
AL
American League Cy Young to date: Dan Haren
Reasoning: Just last week, Saj and I predicted that Josh Beckett would be names AL All-Star Game starter. A reader emailed us and begged to differ, stating it'd be Dan Haren. He was right. We were wrong. But he doesn't have his own blog, so here's my chance to rectify it. Dan Haren's ERA (2.30) leads the league. I've always been a fan of the lowest ERA winning the Cy Young, unless there's a reeeeeal good case made in other categories by one other pitcher (usually K's, Wins, WHIP). Since Haren is second in the AL in WHIP (1.00!), and fourth in wins, I can ignore his paltry ninth place ranking in K's.
American League Cy Young at the end of the year: Josh Beckett
Reasoning: Because he's going to get to the magic number: 20+ wins.
Ian, you ignorant slut. There's no way you can ignore a season like ARod's. No way. At least you're right about Haren being the Cy Young Award winner thus far. As for Haren's second half, he will fade and fade spectacularly. In his place will rise the most usual of suspects: Johan Santana. As I said in the previous post: "...I think Haren ends the season with an ERA above 3.50. And I think Santana drops his ERA another half run and wins the Cy Young Award..." It's pretty much fact that when I quote myself I'm right.
NL
National League Cy Young to date: Jake Peavy. Brad Penny has more wins, Chris Young has a lower ERA, but Peavy ranks second in both and leads the league in K, K/9, and awesomeness.
National League Cy Young at the end of the year: Jake Peavy. He's very good at what he does. Honorable Mention: Cole Hamels.
National League Cy Young to date: Peavy
Reasoning: Because he's the best pitcher in the National League to date.
National League Cy Young at the end of the year: Pedro Martinez
Reasoning: Just kidding. Jake Peavy
Good, sensible answer.
Rookie of the Year
NL
NL ROY to date: Much has been said about Hunter Pence of the Houston Astros and for good reason. The guy is leading the NL in batting (.342) and he runs kinda funny (evidence here). A great case can be made for Ryan Braun of the Brewers who is batting .350 in 40 games with 11 homers, but I'm giving the midseason nod to Pence because he's played 24 more games and Sportscenter anchors are wont to crack up during his awkward fielding highlights.
NL ROY at the end of the year: Braun. What he's done so far, extrapolated over a whole season is a 45 homer, 130 RBI season with an OPS+ of 173. And there's no reason why he won't continue to beat the crap out of major league pitching. Braun slugged .726 in the 113 at-bats he took in AAA this season (his only at-bats ever in AAA) and when he was drafted in 2005 he was considered to be the consensus best athlete available. Others drafted that year: Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, Ryan Zimmerman, Troy Tulowitzki, Jacoby Ellsbury, Craig Hansen, and Mike Pelfrey. Okay, the last two were jokes but those first five include a former National High School player of the year and the second-coming of George Brett. An infield of Ryan Braun, J.J. Hardy, Rickie Weeks, and Prince Fielder; this is like God rewarding Brewers fans for their patience. Imagine if Yi Jianlian and his agents relent, we're talking a duel sport revival in the "Cream City" (yes, that's an actual nickname for Milwaukee). Side Yi Note: Ian, if ten years ago you told me an NBA team would have a starting front court featuring a Chinese player and a big white guy from Australia I probably would have lost a lot of respect for you.
Saj, the thing about our relationship is, you never respect me until ten years after I say something. And since we've known each other since Fall 1998, we're just over a year from me earning your respect. I can't wait.
NL ROY to date: It's Pence. No rookie has any business leading the National League in hitting. Hitting takes too much trial and error to do well, especially at the major league level. A rookie beating out the likes of Matt Holliday, Chipper Jones, Chase Utley, Miguel Cabrera, and Todd Helton is out of this world impressive.
NL ROY at the end of the year: If he ends up winning the batting title, it HAS to be Pence. If he doesn't, The Next Big Thing Ryan Braun will take it home.
AL
AL ROY to date: Can I have a three way tie between three Red Sox? If yes, I award the ROY to Hideki Okajima, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Dustin Pedroia. If not, I'll single out Okajima. In my estimation, he's the MVP of the Red Sox this year. Think about that. A middle reliever is the MVP on a team with the best record in the American League. He deserves it though, a 0.83 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, he's holding opponents to a .191 Slugging Percentage (!!), and the only homerun he's given up all year was to the first batter he faced in his major league career.
AL ROY at the end of the year: Daisuke Matsuzaka has had a phenomenal second half to the first half of the season. He's pitching like an experienced veteran and has the potential to be the best starter in the AL in the second half of the season. That probably makes him the AL Rookie of the Year.AL ROY to date: As valuable as Okajima has been to the Red Sox, I can't see giving the ROY award to someone who has thrown just 43 innings. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Okajima. In fact, I think I'm going to get 1,000 "Okajima is my Oka-jigga" t-shirts printed so I can sell them out of a box on Yawkey Way. That being said, and apologies to Reggie Willits and Dustin Pedroia, I have to give the midseason ROY to Daisuke. Before getting touched up by the Tigers in his last start, he went six starts giving up a total of six earned runs and striking out 51, lowering his ERA a whole run in the process.
AL ROY at the end of the year: I really want to give this award to Pedroia, but he's not on pace to collect the raw numbers (runs, RBIs, HRs) that people salivate over. If this last month and a half is any indicator of the future, it's going to be Daisuke, who looks like he could also make a serious run at the Cy Young.
Pence-Braun Note: Not to blow up your spot, Ian, but while Pence is leading the league with a .342 average, Matt Holliday is right behind him at .341, and Pence's OBP is a low (for his batting his average) .367. He's walked ten times in 64 games. As I've said before: Hell, even Bill Mueller's won a batting title.
One more knock on Bill Mueller and I'll have your balls in my Red Sox 2004 World Series Champion coffee mug. Mueller drove in Roberts, Saj. MUELLER DROVE IN ROBERTS!!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Reader email - July 3
Reader Keith from Connecticut asks:
You guys don't think Dan Haren should be starting for the A.L.? Before Sunday, 1.91 ERA in the ever so powerful American League.
Great point, Keith. I like Danny Haren, and for more reasons than simply his resemblence to me. His record (10-2) is comparable to Beckett's (11-2), and his ERA is just over a run lower. All that being said, I feel it's been Beckett's start to lose ever since he was 9-0 and 11-1. Those are simply eye-popping records. Haren was 0-2 and has played catch up ever since. Ten straights wins is great for any resume, but Beckett was in the driver's seat and hasn't done anything to lose the honor. And let's not forget Haren's 1.58 ERA has fallen to 2.20 in the last four starts. His lights out streak is definitely over.
And honestly, I don't believe everything I'm saying right now, but there is one more point to be made. The 2003 World Series MVP is the bigger name and this is the All-Star Game. I expect Beckett to get the nod. I also don't think it's out of the question that those two gentlemen's start this week may determine who's on the mound in the first inning. One of them gets shelled and one of them pitches well... that could decide it.
You know what's funny about this debate? There's a real possibility Leyland will choose his own player - Justin "no-no" Verlander.
What do you think, Saj?
Excellent question, Keith, excellent question. Ignoring my fanboy-ism (which is the only reason I chose Beckett anyway) and Ian's crafty exercise in rationalization there is no reason why Dan Haren should not start the All-Star Game. Bay area starter, having a fantastic season, Ian thinks he looks like him. No reason, except for C.C. Sabathia. While Haren leads the AL in ERA, ERA+, WHIP, and OPS against, Sabathia holds the edge in wins, innings pitched, K's, K/BB, and donuts consumed in a single sitting. I'm not saying that makes him more deserving, but 116 strike outs and only 17 walks is pretty ridiculous. As is the two dozen Krispy Kremes he demolished in twelve minutes.
Of course this is all subject to the caprice of Jim Leyland. He could go with his boy (Verlander), his old boy (Beckett), or the best pitcher on the planet (Johan Santana) in lieu of either Haren or Sabathia. I think Leyland goes with Haren. And I think Haren ends the season with an ERA above 3.50. And I think Santana drops his ERA another half run and wins the Cy Young Award. And I think I'll have ice cream for lunch today. Those are my thoughts.
Thanks for the emails, readers.
You guys don't think Dan Haren should be starting for the A.L.? Before Sunday, 1.91 ERA in the ever so powerful American League.
Great point, Keith. I like Danny Haren, and for more reasons than simply his resemblence to me. His record (10-2) is comparable to Beckett's (11-2), and his ERA is just over a run lower. All that being said, I feel it's been Beckett's start to lose ever since he was 9-0 and 11-1. Those are simply eye-popping records. Haren was 0-2 and has played catch up ever since. Ten straights wins is great for any resume, but Beckett was in the driver's seat and hasn't done anything to lose the honor. And let's not forget Haren's 1.58 ERA has fallen to 2.20 in the last four starts. His lights out streak is definitely over.
And honestly, I don't believe everything I'm saying right now, but there is one more point to be made. The 2003 World Series MVP is the bigger name and this is the All-Star Game. I expect Beckett to get the nod. I also don't think it's out of the question that those two gentlemen's start this week may determine who's on the mound in the first inning. One of them gets shelled and one of them pitches well... that could decide it.
You know what's funny about this debate? There's a real possibility Leyland will choose his own player - Justin "no-no" Verlander.
What do you think, Saj?
Excellent question, Keith, excellent question. Ignoring my fanboy-ism (which is the only reason I chose Beckett anyway) and Ian's crafty exercise in rationalization there is no reason why Dan Haren should not start the All-Star Game. Bay area starter, having a fantastic season, Ian thinks he looks like him. No reason, except for C.C. Sabathia. While Haren leads the AL in ERA, ERA+, WHIP, and OPS against, Sabathia holds the edge in wins, innings pitched, K's, K/BB, and donuts consumed in a single sitting. I'm not saying that makes him more deserving, but 116 strike outs and only 17 walks is pretty ridiculous. As is the two dozen Krispy Kremes he demolished in twelve minutes.
Of course this is all subject to the caprice of Jim Leyland. He could go with his boy (Verlander), his old boy (Beckett), or the best pitcher on the planet (Johan Santana) in lieu of either Haren or Sabathia. I think Leyland goes with Haren. And I think Haren ends the season with an ERA above 3.50. And I think Santana drops his ERA another half run and wins the Cy Young Award. And I think I'll have ice cream for lunch today. Those are my thoughts.
Thanks for the emails, readers.
Monday, July 02, 2007
All Star Ruminations
Well, Saj and I decided to take the month of June off to recharge the old batteries. Saj will probably try to convince you that he left me in the States to go oil up Swedish supermodels, but that would be a lie. They were Norwegian and I was there, too.
We return now on the first Monday of July with a promise. Throughout the summer, we will have two posts a week for you. Please check back regularly. It'll be mostly baseball for a while, with tennis, golf, and offseason NBA and NFL mixed in. Around September, things will heat up with the NFL kicking off and baseball getting into its stretch run, with our beloved BoSox making a run at another World Series.
Later this week, Saj and I will give our thoughts on recent NBA developments around the league. Today, however, we will concentrate on yesterday's announced MLB All-Star rosters.
I'll start with what I think was the biggest snub of the year, an interesting choice for me as many are saying Kevin Youkilis, my favorite player in the league, was the biggest AL snub. However, easily the biggest snub of the year is one of my least favorite players in the league: Gary Sheffield.
Check it: Gary Sheffield is 2nd in in the American League in runs, 3rd in homeruns, 10th in RBI but has more stolen bases than anyone with more RBI than him, he's 4th in walks, and 7th in OPS. Most importantly, he's carried my fantasy team while the likes of David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Miguel Tejada were underperforming. That, Saj, is an All-Star. What do you think? Who's the biggest snub?
I will agree that Gary Sheffield is having a very good season, his LL Cool J/pedophile moustache notwithstanding. But while deserving, it's hard to find a place for him. For one, the AL already holds five reserve outfielders on it's roster. Crawford and Rios are picks of necessity (baseball's inane "every team" rule) and Hunter and Sizemore legitimately deserve their selections. The only spot I could see being vacated for the good Mr. Sheffield would be Ramirez's. And, yes, Sheffield is having a better season that Manny, but the All-Star Game is as much a popularity contest as it is a celebration of performance. And Manny, I'm willing to wager, is somewhere near infinitely more popular than Gary Sheffield. Why? Because Sheffield is the kind of guy who would steal walkers from old people and punch them in the face.
I'd say the biggest collective snub of this year's All Star rosters belongs to the alienated trio of the NL shortstop quintet that is taking the league by storm this season. While Jose Reyes and J.J. Hardy are definitely deserving, Hanley Ramirez (on pace for 20 HR, 50 SB and 130 R), Edgar Renteria (hitting .324, OPS .879), and Jimmy Rollins (on pace for 30 HR, 30 SB, 100 RBI, 130 R!) are having great seasons as well. In fact, I would like to see Orlando Hudson removed from the roster in favor of one of these guys. No offense, Orlando.
Not a bad observation. The talented NL shortstops brings me back to the turn of the millenium when the American League had four dynamo short stops (Arod, Nomar, Jeets, Tejada) battling for the crown of best shortstop in the game. Now two of them play other positions and one was probably on roids. Still, even though Jeter seemingly survived the battle, Arod is still the best shortstop ever... he just plays third base.
Let's project some lineups, shall we? Here's what I got for the American League:
1. Ichiro Suzuki CF
2. Derek Jeter SS
3. Alex Rodriguez 3B
4. David Ortiz 1B
5. Vlad Guerrero RF
6. Magglio Ordonez LF
7. Ivan Rodriguez C
8. Placido Polanco 2B
9. Josh Beckett P
Saj?
I agree for the most part. The only thing I'd add is that maybe Leyland throws his guy Magglio a bone at 3 and moves the others down. And flip flop Polanco and Pudge. Also, I like Beckett starting.
National League:
1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Chase Utley 2B
3. Carlos Beltran CF
4. Barry Bonds LF
5. Ken Griffey Jr. RF
6. Prince Fielder 1B
7. David Wright 3B
8. Russell Martin C
9. Jake Peavy P
I barely agree with this, but I think La Russa likes Beltran at three. And as per convention Griffey gets the nod at 5 over young guy Fielder, the catcher hits before the pitcher, and there's a bigheaded asshole in the clean up spot.
Bonds in his home park is up in the first inning, so he hits 3rd, thus defying the general rule of the big-head hitting fourth (see Ortiz). So I swap your three and four, and the rest are the same.
1. Reyes SS
2. Utley 2B
3. Bonds LF
4. Beltran CF
5. Griffey RF
6. Fielder 1B
7. Wright 3B
8. Martin C
9. Peavy P
It appears our lineups are quite similar. At least that makes it easy to see who's more right, which is usually me. We'll keep an eye on the 3-4 in the NL and where Magglio hits in the AL.
NBA Draft fallout later in the week.
Conceding your Bonds point. It makes too much sense. But in that case I see Griffey hitting clean up.
We return now on the first Monday of July with a promise. Throughout the summer, we will have two posts a week for you. Please check back regularly. It'll be mostly baseball for a while, with tennis, golf, and offseason NBA and NFL mixed in. Around September, things will heat up with the NFL kicking off and baseball getting into its stretch run, with our beloved BoSox making a run at another World Series.
Later this week, Saj and I will give our thoughts on recent NBA developments around the league. Today, however, we will concentrate on yesterday's announced MLB All-Star rosters.
I'll start with what I think was the biggest snub of the year, an interesting choice for me as many are saying Kevin Youkilis, my favorite player in the league, was the biggest AL snub. However, easily the biggest snub of the year is one of my least favorite players in the league: Gary Sheffield.
Check it: Gary Sheffield is 2nd in in the American League in runs, 3rd in homeruns, 10th in RBI but has more stolen bases than anyone with more RBI than him, he's 4th in walks, and 7th in OPS. Most importantly, he's carried my fantasy team while the likes of David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Miguel Tejada were underperforming. That, Saj, is an All-Star. What do you think? Who's the biggest snub?
I will agree that Gary Sheffield is having a very good season, his LL Cool J/pedophile moustache notwithstanding. But while deserving, it's hard to find a place for him. For one, the AL already holds five reserve outfielders on it's roster. Crawford and Rios are picks of necessity (baseball's inane "every team" rule) and Hunter and Sizemore legitimately deserve their selections. The only spot I could see being vacated for the good Mr. Sheffield would be Ramirez's. And, yes, Sheffield is having a better season that Manny, but the All-Star Game is as much a popularity contest as it is a celebration of performance. And Manny, I'm willing to wager, is somewhere near infinitely more popular than Gary Sheffield. Why? Because Sheffield is the kind of guy who would steal walkers from old people and punch them in the face.
I'd say the biggest collective snub of this year's All Star rosters belongs to the alienated trio of the NL shortstop quintet that is taking the league by storm this season. While Jose Reyes and J.J. Hardy are definitely deserving, Hanley Ramirez (on pace for 20 HR, 50 SB and 130 R), Edgar Renteria (hitting .324, OPS .879), and Jimmy Rollins (on pace for 30 HR, 30 SB, 100 RBI, 130 R!) are having great seasons as well. In fact, I would like to see Orlando Hudson removed from the roster in favor of one of these guys. No offense, Orlando.
Not a bad observation. The talented NL shortstops brings me back to the turn of the millenium when the American League had four dynamo short stops (Arod, Nomar, Jeets, Tejada) battling for the crown of best shortstop in the game. Now two of them play other positions and one was probably on roids. Still, even though Jeter seemingly survived the battle, Arod is still the best shortstop ever... he just plays third base.
Let's project some lineups, shall we? Here's what I got for the American League:
1. Ichiro Suzuki CF
2. Derek Jeter SS
3. Alex Rodriguez 3B
4. David Ortiz 1B
5. Vlad Guerrero RF
6. Magglio Ordonez LF
7. Ivan Rodriguez C
8. Placido Polanco 2B
9. Josh Beckett P
Saj?
I agree for the most part. The only thing I'd add is that maybe Leyland throws his guy Magglio a bone at 3 and moves the others down. And flip flop Polanco and Pudge. Also, I like Beckett starting.
National League:
1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Chase Utley 2B
3. Carlos Beltran CF
4. Barry Bonds LF
5. Ken Griffey Jr. RF
6. Prince Fielder 1B
7. David Wright 3B
8. Russell Martin C
9. Jake Peavy P
I barely agree with this, but I think La Russa likes Beltran at three. And as per convention Griffey gets the nod at 5 over young guy Fielder, the catcher hits before the pitcher, and there's a bigheaded asshole in the clean up spot.
Bonds in his home park is up in the first inning, so he hits 3rd, thus defying the general rule of the big-head hitting fourth (see Ortiz). So I swap your three and four, and the rest are the same.
1. Reyes SS
2. Utley 2B
3. Bonds LF
4. Beltran CF
5. Griffey RF
6. Fielder 1B
7. Wright 3B
8. Martin C
9. Peavy P
It appears our lineups are quite similar. At least that makes it easy to see who's more right, which is usually me. We'll keep an eye on the 3-4 in the NL and where Magglio hits in the AL.
NBA Draft fallout later in the week.
Conceding your Bonds point. It makes too much sense. But in that case I see Griffey hitting clean up.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Red Sox and Mets: On a Collision Course?
Admittedly, the Yankees aren't officially done just yet, but all signs point to them finally falling off their pedestal as Champions of the American League East. Their vanquishers, the Boston Red Sox, look to be the team to beat in the American League. Over on the Senior Circuit, it's the other New York team that is dominating their under-resourced competition. It seems inevitable to me, even as early as May 29th, that these two teams are on a collision course to meet in the World Series.
This has many implications, though I weigh two more than any other. First, Pedro against the Red Sox in the World Series, which frankly would have meant a lot more if the Sox hadn't won in 2004 with Pedro. Second, and much more appealing, Yankees fans, if baseball fans at all, will have to choose one of these two teams to root for. Of course they'd take the Mets, but that doesn't mean they'll like it.
Saj, any thoughts on a possible Red Sox-Mets World Series? Pedro? Which teams in either league are most likely to stop this scenario from playing out?
It's funny, I was talking to Roommate Rob (a Mets fan and Jets apologist) this weekend, and we agreed that 1) it's pretty clear than the Red Sox and Mets are the class of their respective leagues and 2) if a Red Sox - Mets World Series were to occur one of us would have to move out for a week and a half. Not that we're combative fans, just that baseball-related anxiety tends to be exacerbated by someone on the other side of the series from you.
As for which teams are most likely to stop this scenario, I can come up with a few. First and foremost, I just can't yet count out the Yankees. Yes, they're tied for last in the AL East. Yes, a 13.5 game hole to this Red Sox team may be insurmountable. But they're Expected Win-Loss record (based on runs scored vs. runs allowed) is a full five games better. So they're playing worse than their record AND they're picking up a pretty decent arm AND they're the f****** Yankees. So don't count them out, even if the loser of the Detroit/Cleveland AL Central sweepstakes looks like the best bet to take the wild card.
Other teams:
With the Mets probably finishing the season with the best record in the NL and the NL wild card team probably coming out of the West, they might have to face San Diego, LA or Arizona is a short series. Jake Peavy or Brandon Webb in a five game series? Yikes. Of course it's silly to speculate this far into the future. Like John-Kruk-on-Baseball-Tonight-silly.
As for AL teams: I'd worry about the Angels or the Indians if they somehow merged Cleveland's hitting with Los Angeles' bullpen and maybe also spliced Travis Hafner and Vladimir Guerrero into some sort of super baseball player like how the Constructicons created Devastator. The Tigers? They don't scare me. Not nearly as much as Magglio Ordonez's Jheri-curl. And I do realize that picture is not an accurate representation of Ordonez's tresses.
Switching gears: I was watching the Spurs-Jazz series last night and I found myself pulling for the Jazz even though I was convinced that they were evil incarnate a few weeks ago when they beat the Warriors. A few questions for you, Ian: Why do I hate the Spurs enough to cheer for a team from Utah? How is Deron Williams making Bruce Bowen look like a fool? When will Eva Longoria dump Tony Parker for me? What other questions do you want to answer?
I'm so sick of people hating on the Spurs. I guess that means I'm sick of you.
The Spurs are winners. As the NBA representative from the three major sports, they're part of the triumvirate of Winners of the last decade. They're not as likeable as the Patriots but they're not nearly as hateable as the Yankees. It's astonishing how much the average fan ends up hating winners, especially if their style of play is lacking in the aesthetics department. This was a constant criticism of New England's play during the first Superbowl run and leading up to the second: They won by 3 points, they had a system quarterback, they were lucky, they played physical and weren't pretty (except for their quarterback who's astoundingly pretty).
The Spurs don't win pretty, either. Bowen is dirtier than Paris Hilton, Ginobili flops more than a beached trout, and after a ref calls a foul on him, Tim Duncan looks like Reche Caldwell. Moreover, the Spurs, as a whole, are not your fun run and gun Phoenix Suns. They should not ever apologize for this. All of that is irrelevant to me. They play the slow it down brand of basketball that has won every NBA Championship since Riley's Lakers. Phoenix, Dallas, and Sacramento did not win in the last ten years because they play exactly the type of basketball you like to watch. But guess what. A team isn't winning until they learn to slow it down and play some f'n defense.
So quit hatin' on greatness. Four titles in a decade.
Ian, you ignorant slut.
This has many implications, though I weigh two more than any other. First, Pedro against the Red Sox in the World Series, which frankly would have meant a lot more if the Sox hadn't won in 2004 with Pedro. Second, and much more appealing, Yankees fans, if baseball fans at all, will have to choose one of these two teams to root for. Of course they'd take the Mets, but that doesn't mean they'll like it.
Saj, any thoughts on a possible Red Sox-Mets World Series? Pedro? Which teams in either league are most likely to stop this scenario from playing out?
It's funny, I was talking to Roommate Rob (a Mets fan and Jets apologist) this weekend, and we agreed that 1) it's pretty clear than the Red Sox and Mets are the class of their respective leagues and 2) if a Red Sox - Mets World Series were to occur one of us would have to move out for a week and a half. Not that we're combative fans, just that baseball-related anxiety tends to be exacerbated by someone on the other side of the series from you.
As for which teams are most likely to stop this scenario, I can come up with a few. First and foremost, I just can't yet count out the Yankees. Yes, they're tied for last in the AL East. Yes, a 13.5 game hole to this Red Sox team may be insurmountable. But they're Expected Win-Loss record (based on runs scored vs. runs allowed) is a full five games better. So they're playing worse than their record AND they're picking up a pretty decent arm AND they're the f****** Yankees. So don't count them out, even if the loser of the Detroit/Cleveland AL Central sweepstakes looks like the best bet to take the wild card.
Other teams:
With the Mets probably finishing the season with the best record in the NL and the NL wild card team probably coming out of the West, they might have to face San Diego, LA or Arizona is a short series. Jake Peavy or Brandon Webb in a five game series? Yikes. Of course it's silly to speculate this far into the future. Like John-Kruk-on-Baseball-Tonight-silly.
As for AL teams: I'd worry about the Angels or the Indians if they somehow merged Cleveland's hitting with Los Angeles' bullpen and maybe also spliced Travis Hafner and Vladimir Guerrero into some sort of super baseball player like how the Constructicons created Devastator. The Tigers? They don't scare me. Not nearly as much as Magglio Ordonez's Jheri-curl. And I do realize that picture is not an accurate representation of Ordonez's tresses.
Switching gears: I was watching the Spurs-Jazz series last night and I found myself pulling for the Jazz even though I was convinced that they were evil incarnate a few weeks ago when they beat the Warriors. A few questions for you, Ian: Why do I hate the Spurs enough to cheer for a team from Utah? How is Deron Williams making Bruce Bowen look like a fool? When will Eva Longoria dump Tony Parker for me? What other questions do you want to answer?
I'm so sick of people hating on the Spurs. I guess that means I'm sick of you.
The Spurs are winners. As the NBA representative from the three major sports, they're part of the triumvirate of Winners of the last decade. They're not as likeable as the Patriots but they're not nearly as hateable as the Yankees. It's astonishing how much the average fan ends up hating winners, especially if their style of play is lacking in the aesthetics department. This was a constant criticism of New England's play during the first Superbowl run and leading up to the second: They won by 3 points, they had a system quarterback, they were lucky, they played physical and weren't pretty (except for their quarterback who's astoundingly pretty).
The Spurs don't win pretty, either. Bowen is dirtier than Paris Hilton, Ginobili flops more than a beached trout, and after a ref calls a foul on him, Tim Duncan looks like Reche Caldwell. Moreover, the Spurs, as a whole, are not your fun run and gun Phoenix Suns. They should not ever apologize for this. All of that is irrelevant to me. They play the slow it down brand of basketball that has won every NBA Championship since Riley's Lakers. Phoenix, Dallas, and Sacramento did not win in the last ten years because they play exactly the type of basketball you like to watch. But guess what. A team isn't winning until they learn to slow it down and play some f'n defense.
So quit hatin' on greatness. Four titles in a decade.
Ian, you ignorant slut.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Impossible Probabilities
Saj, rank the following six in probability of occurence, from most to least possible, and preferably with a short explanation.
1. Beckett (7-0 in seven starts) wins 30 games.
2. Derrick Lee (.394) or anyone hits .400.
3. Alex Rodriguez (15) or anyone finishes with 62 HR.
4. Francisco Cordero (15) or anyone saves 58 games.
5. The Milwaukee Brewers win the division.
6. The New York Yankees miss the playoffs.
1. The Milwaukee Brewers win the NL Central. Not a very strong division, they've shown great starting pitching and good hitting from their youngsters, and not even Bud Selig (Snidely Whiplash himself) can keep the Chorizo off the Miller Park race track this year.
2. The New York Yankees miss the playoffs. I had a tough time picking between this one and the next two. In the end this seemed like a safer bet. There are just too many good teams in the AL. The wild card could again take at least 90 wins and the Yankees might not have it.
3. Alex Rodriguez (15) or anyone finishes with 62 homers. I could flip-flop this and number two and be fine with it, but I won't. As long as people keep pitching to ARod he has a good shot at 62, not to mention the possibility of guys like Pujols, Howard, Ortiz, or Hafner catching fire and jacking homers like Bonds pops greenies. Plus the possibility of ARod hitting 60 homeruns and the Yankees missing the playoffs is too enticing to not root for.
4. Francisco Cordero (15) or anyone saves 58 games. This is a matter of luck more than anything. Lots of guys can close out 58 games they just need the opportunities. Unfortunately I do not think any one closer will see 60 save opportunities this year.
5. Derrek Lee (.394) or anyone hits .400. I'm beginning to think that hitting .400 is becoming the most impossible single-season hitting milestone to achieve in baseball. More than Dimaggio's 56 games or Wilson's RBI record. The guy who breaks it is going to be a Jose Reyes type (infield singles, walks some) or a Barry Bonds type (only swings at pitches he can drive, walks a lot). Either way it'll take a guy who doesn't strike out a lot and the guiding hand of lady luck to let ten to twenty more hits fall.
6. Josh Beckett (7-0) wins 30 games. Simply impossible. Best case scenario, Beckett gets 35 starts this season. That means he only has five starts in which he can lose or get the no decision and there are too many variables that contribute to a W: run support, opposing pitcher, how many players were paid off by the bookies, etc.
We agree too often. The only difference in our list is that I had Yankees missing the playoffs at 3, and Arod hitting 62 at 2. If you were offered even money on the Yanks making the playoffs, which side would you bet on?
Hands down that they miss the playoffs. I'm never unbiased in bets like these, you know that.
I disagree. I still expect them to make the playoffs, even after getting humiliated by the Rangers today. Saj, you know what's going to happen. They're going to rip off 8 in a row by scoring 65-70 runs, go on a 17 out of 20 streak, and be a few games within the playoff race and with all the momentum in the world. Then everyone will take the Yanks to make the playoffs, the only question will be if they overtake Boston. It's going to happen, it's just a matter of when.
1. Beckett (7-0 in seven starts) wins 30 games.
2. Derrick Lee (.394) or anyone hits .400.
3. Alex Rodriguez (15) or anyone finishes with 62 HR.
4. Francisco Cordero (15) or anyone saves 58 games.
5. The Milwaukee Brewers win the division.
6. The New York Yankees miss the playoffs.
1. The Milwaukee Brewers win the NL Central. Not a very strong division, they've shown great starting pitching and good hitting from their youngsters, and not even Bud Selig (Snidely Whiplash himself) can keep the Chorizo off the Miller Park race track this year.
2. The New York Yankees miss the playoffs. I had a tough time picking between this one and the next two. In the end this seemed like a safer bet. There are just too many good teams in the AL. The wild card could again take at least 90 wins and the Yankees might not have it.
3. Alex Rodriguez (15) or anyone finishes with 62 homers. I could flip-flop this and number two and be fine with it, but I won't. As long as people keep pitching to ARod he has a good shot at 62, not to mention the possibility of guys like Pujols, Howard, Ortiz, or Hafner catching fire and jacking homers like Bonds pops greenies. Plus the possibility of ARod hitting 60 homeruns and the Yankees missing the playoffs is too enticing to not root for.
4. Francisco Cordero (15) or anyone saves 58 games. This is a matter of luck more than anything. Lots of guys can close out 58 games they just need the opportunities. Unfortunately I do not think any one closer will see 60 save opportunities this year.
5. Derrek Lee (.394) or anyone hits .400. I'm beginning to think that hitting .400 is becoming the most impossible single-season hitting milestone to achieve in baseball. More than Dimaggio's 56 games or Wilson's RBI record. The guy who breaks it is going to be a Jose Reyes type (infield singles, walks some) or a Barry Bonds type (only swings at pitches he can drive, walks a lot). Either way it'll take a guy who doesn't strike out a lot and the guiding hand of lady luck to let ten to twenty more hits fall.
6. Josh Beckett (7-0) wins 30 games. Simply impossible. Best case scenario, Beckett gets 35 starts this season. That means he only has five starts in which he can lose or get the no decision and there are too many variables that contribute to a W: run support, opposing pitcher, how many players were paid off by the bookies, etc.
We agree too often. The only difference in our list is that I had Yankees missing the playoffs at 3, and Arod hitting 62 at 2. If you were offered even money on the Yanks making the playoffs, which side would you bet on?
Hands down that they miss the playoffs. I'm never unbiased in bets like these, you know that.
I disagree. I still expect them to make the playoffs, even after getting humiliated by the Rangers today. Saj, you know what's going to happen. They're going to rip off 8 in a row by scoring 65-70 runs, go on a 17 out of 20 streak, and be a few games within the playoff race and with all the momentum in the world. Then everyone will take the Yanks to make the playoffs, the only question will be if they overtake Boston. It's going to happen, it's just a matter of when.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
MLB: Two weeks in
Quick little plug for my Presidential Politics blog...Much like Saj and I posting everyday in the month of March with our baseball preview, I am making nine straight days of posts during my April vacation.
Anyway, random thoughts on random teams in baseball.
Arizona - They should be pretty happy with baseball's fourth best record and Randy Johnson not yet with the big club. Brandon Webb is a nice anchor, but to get a quality #2 starter will go a long way into maintaining a solid record. Now we just have to see if Johnson can return to quality.
Atlanta - Funny how much easier things are when your bullpen is three-deep.
Baltimore - I really feel bad for these fans. At 7-6 and a game out, they must be optimistic. But how much longer can Eric Bedard and Daniel Cabrera pitch well?
Cleveland & Seattle - They've played nine and eight games, respectively, which is 50% less than many teams. Not only does this throw them off their rhythm now, but they'll be playing double headers in the dog days.
Kansas City - At 3-10, the worst record in baseball. The more things change...
LA Dodgers - Best record in baseball... and Grady Little in charge come postseason time.
Milwaukee - Awww, these guys are so cute on top of their division.
NY Mets - This lineup is scary and it will come around when the weather warms up. The starting pitching is as eclectic as it gets...we'll see if it can hold together for six months.
NY Yankees - This pitching staff is in shambles. SHAMBLES I TELL YOU! Still, it looks as if there's a chance they can line up both Pettitte and Wang for the weekend's showdown at Fenway.
Boston - Starting pitching looks great. Bullpen has been solid and has yet to be involved in a decision. The offense is consistent. The manager is experienced. This is the best team in baseball.
Anyway, random thoughts on random teams in baseball.
Arizona - They should be pretty happy with baseball's fourth best record and Randy Johnson not yet with the big club. Brandon Webb is a nice anchor, but to get a quality #2 starter will go a long way into maintaining a solid record. Now we just have to see if Johnson can return to quality.
Atlanta - Funny how much easier things are when your bullpen is three-deep.
Baltimore - I really feel bad for these fans. At 7-6 and a game out, they must be optimistic. But how much longer can Eric Bedard and Daniel Cabrera pitch well?
Cleveland & Seattle - They've played nine and eight games, respectively, which is 50% less than many teams. Not only does this throw them off their rhythm now, but they'll be playing double headers in the dog days.
Kansas City - At 3-10, the worst record in baseball. The more things change...
LA Dodgers - Best record in baseball... and Grady Little in charge come postseason time.
Milwaukee - Awww, these guys are so cute on top of their division.
NY Mets - This lineup is scary and it will come around when the weather warms up. The starting pitching is as eclectic as it gets...we'll see if it can hold together for six months.
NY Yankees - This pitching staff is in shambles. SHAMBLES I TELL YOU! Still, it looks as if there's a chance they can line up both Pettitte and Wang for the weekend's showdown at Fenway.
Boston - Starting pitching looks great. Bullpen has been solid and has yet to be involved in a decision. The offense is consistent. The manager is experienced. This is the best team in baseball.
Friday, April 06, 2007
MLB: First Week Ramblings
- I watched the Dice-K start yesterday at work and between hooting and hollering at every pitch I noticed that the Royals broadcast team once refered to him as "Daisuke Matsui" and once as "Matmatzaka." As always the lesson is that if you're going to let white people announce sports contests, make sure they're younger than 50. White people and Walt Frazier.
- My koworker Karl sent me this article about an ambidextrous college pitcher today. For a long time Ian has been clamoring about the benefits of an switch-pitcher and I have been saying that it's almost impossible for someone to develop pitching-level arm strength in both arms. Well, Pat Venditte has proven me wrong and Ian right- a first in the history of our friendship. I think Venditte should take this whole two-handed thing further and develop an nasty two-handed breaking pitch that he delivers over his head as if he were a soccer player tossing a ball in from the sideline. Then he could give it a cool name like "The Annihilator" and mug for the crowd when he's about to pull it out with two strikes on a guy. Sorry, I've been reading too many wikipedia professional wrestling articles today.
- The fantasy season is only three games deep and already I've decided that my drafting of A.J. Burnett over Rich Harden was the stupidest thing I will do this year. On the team in question (I have three) my pitching is anchored by Dave Bush and Rich Hill with Brad Lidge in my bullpen. Yikes. And it was all a panicky brainfart during the 12th round when I saw I hadn't drafted a starter other than Kazmir yet. And I also drafted him before Papelbon. I'm going to propose that the league commissioner just dissolve my team. Not literally though, I'm just being dramatic.
- I know it's still early in the season, but I love that a Yankees starter has not lasted further than four and a third innings in the first two games this year. And I love that A-Rod popped out with the bases-loaded last night in the eighth when the Yankees lost by only one run. I love that too. And I love that for every Jeter error, A-Rod chokejob, or loss to the Devil Rays more and more New York fans jump on the Mets' bandwagon. That's what I love most of all.
- My koworker Karl sent me this article about an ambidextrous college pitcher today. For a long time Ian has been clamoring about the benefits of an switch-pitcher and I have been saying that it's almost impossible for someone to develop pitching-level arm strength in both arms. Well, Pat Venditte has proven me wrong and Ian right- a first in the history of our friendship. I think Venditte should take this whole two-handed thing further and develop an nasty two-handed breaking pitch that he delivers over his head as if he were a soccer player tossing a ball in from the sideline. Then he could give it a cool name like "The Annihilator" and mug for the crowd when he's about to pull it out with two strikes on a guy. Sorry, I've been reading too many wikipedia professional wrestling articles today.
- The fantasy season is only three games deep and already I've decided that my drafting of A.J. Burnett over Rich Harden was the stupidest thing I will do this year. On the team in question (I have three) my pitching is anchored by Dave Bush and Rich Hill with Brad Lidge in my bullpen. Yikes. And it was all a panicky brainfart during the 12th round when I saw I hadn't drafted a starter other than Kazmir yet. And I also drafted him before Papelbon. I'm going to propose that the league commissioner just dissolve my team. Not literally though, I'm just being dramatic.
- I know it's still early in the season, but I love that a Yankees starter has not lasted further than four and a third innings in the first two games this year. And I love that A-Rod popped out with the bases-loaded last night in the eighth when the Yankees lost by only one run. I love that too. And I love that for every Jeter error, A-Rod chokejob, or loss to the Devil Rays more and more New York fans jump on the Mets' bandwagon. That's what I love most of all.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The Greatest Baseball Preview in America: Toronto Blue Jays
Orioles: Bedard will be at least a top 10 pitcher in the AL this year. Ditto Cabrera, if he ever finds the strike zone. I might be exaggerating just a little, but they're good those two.
THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Pitching: Roy Halladay is very good. B.J. Ryan is very good. A.J. Burnett could be very good (my fantasy team depends on it). The rest is crap. The reason I zoomed through that is because I wanted to spend more time talking about the newest addition to the Blue Jays' family: the inimitable Mr. Victor Zambrano.
Way back in 2004, Mr. Zambrano spent every fifth day of the first half of his season pitching for a team by the name of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Life was simple for Victor. He lived near the beach, drove a brand new Range Rover, and, for the most part, was not asked to win baseball games. In fact, all his organization asked of him was that he pitch well enough to improve his trade value which would enable him to escape baseball purgatory and enable the Devil Rays to reap a bounty for his services. Victor didn't perform at an overwhelming level in Tampa as evidenced by his exactly league average ERA. If you consider his 1.5+ WHIP and 1.2 K/BB ratio he was probably a below average pitcher. But Victor was also a 28-year-old making only $325,000 who threw in the mid-90s and that made him an appealing target for the front office of any team still in the playoff hunt. One such front office was that of the New York Mets.
The General Manager of the Mets at the time, Jim Duquette, was a formidable, but simple, man. Raised on a turnip farm in French Canada, Duquette learned from an early age the value of hard work and discipline when it came to turnip horticulture. As a youth he won several 4-H medals in the study and was a legitimate superstar in his field. Duquette, and the Mets, hoped that success in turnips would translate to success in operating a baseball franchise.
As the trade deadline loomed ever closer, Duquette found himself enamored by Victor Zambrano. But he didn't want to tip his hand. So he sent the Devil Rays a preliminary offer of a little known left-handed pitching prospect by the name of Scott Kazmir. Kazmir was slight of build, he looked more like a golfer than a pitcher, and was widely regarded as one of those high-risk, low-ceiling prospects. Duquette was unsure of his chances of landing Zambrano with such dubious bait, but he proposed it anyway and much to his delight, the Devil Rays accepted.
That was fun, wasn't it? NOW FOR REALITY. In reality, Scott Kazmir was a 20-year-old who was the Mets best pitching prospect since Dwight Gooden nearly two decades earlier. In reality, Kazmir held the Texas state high school single-season record for strikeouts, eclipsing by three the record then held by Josh Beckett (to put that in perspective both Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, one and two in all-time strikeouts, played high school baseball in Texas). In reality, Scott Kazmir was Baseball America's 2002 player of year and he was drafted 13th overall and given a Mets-team record $2.15 million signing bonus. In reality, Scott Kazmir struck out 34 batters in his first 18 innings of professional baseball at the age of 18-years-old. In reality, the Mets lost five straight after the trade and missed the playoffs by 25 games. In reality, Kazmir is now the Devil Rays franchise leader in strikeouts despite being only 22 and having pitched only 364 innings at the major league level. In reality, Jim Duquette is a f**king doofus (maybe it's in the genes???). Take that Mets-fans, you Bill Buckner-chanting, Mookie Wilson-loving a*******.
Hitting: That Kazmir thing took a lot out of me so this might be short. The "big bat" in the lineup presumably belongs to Vernon Wells, the man the Blue Jays overpaid to stay in Toronto. Don't get me wrong, there are more egregiously overpaid outfielders than Vernon Wells but that doesn't mean it's okay to give him $126 million dollars. I guess baseball finances are trending in that direction and I'm behind the times on what exactly $126 million dollars will get you nowadays. As for the rest: 39-year-old Frank Thomas was a nice addition to the lineup provided he can stay healthy and produce at the level he produced last year for Oakland. Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay are solid corner infield bats at their prime and Alex Rios in the sole quality representative of Toronto's youth movement. The negative: for some reason Royce Clayton is their starting shortstop. And I can't get behind that.
Miscellaneous: The Kazmir rant probably falls under this category. But as a bonus, I think the Blue Jays should take a cue from Tampa Bay and shorten their name to just the Jays. The Toronto Jays. Sure it sounds stupid, but their uniforms and their stadium look stupid. In fact, they should call themselves the Toronto Stupid Jays. Canadian schmucks.
Stupid Jays related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Over/under on number of Scott Kazmir pitching performances I will try to get roommate and Mets' fan Rob to watch on mlb.tv this season: all of them. I know it's impossible, but I'd take the over.
Previous Previews
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Al East
Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
AL Central
Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals
AL West
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Pitching: Roy Halladay is very good. B.J. Ryan is very good. A.J. Burnett could be very good (my fantasy team depends on it). The rest is crap. The reason I zoomed through that is because I wanted to spend more time talking about the newest addition to the Blue Jays' family: the inimitable Mr. Victor Zambrano.
Way back in 2004, Mr. Zambrano spent every fifth day of the first half of his season pitching for a team by the name of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Life was simple for Victor. He lived near the beach, drove a brand new Range Rover, and, for the most part, was not asked to win baseball games. In fact, all his organization asked of him was that he pitch well enough to improve his trade value which would enable him to escape baseball purgatory and enable the Devil Rays to reap a bounty for his services. Victor didn't perform at an overwhelming level in Tampa as evidenced by his exactly league average ERA. If you consider his 1.5+ WHIP and 1.2 K/BB ratio he was probably a below average pitcher. But Victor was also a 28-year-old making only $325,000 who threw in the mid-90s and that made him an appealing target for the front office of any team still in the playoff hunt. One such front office was that of the New York Mets.
The General Manager of the Mets at the time, Jim Duquette, was a formidable, but simple, man. Raised on a turnip farm in French Canada, Duquette learned from an early age the value of hard work and discipline when it came to turnip horticulture. As a youth he won several 4-H medals in the study and was a legitimate superstar in his field. Duquette, and the Mets, hoped that success in turnips would translate to success in operating a baseball franchise.
As the trade deadline loomed ever closer, Duquette found himself enamored by Victor Zambrano. But he didn't want to tip his hand. So he sent the Devil Rays a preliminary offer of a little known left-handed pitching prospect by the name of Scott Kazmir. Kazmir was slight of build, he looked more like a golfer than a pitcher, and was widely regarded as one of those high-risk, low-ceiling prospects. Duquette was unsure of his chances of landing Zambrano with such dubious bait, but he proposed it anyway and much to his delight, the Devil Rays accepted.
That was fun, wasn't it? NOW FOR REALITY. In reality, Scott Kazmir was a 20-year-old who was the Mets best pitching prospect since Dwight Gooden nearly two decades earlier. In reality, Kazmir held the Texas state high school single-season record for strikeouts, eclipsing by three the record then held by Josh Beckett (to put that in perspective both Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, one and two in all-time strikeouts, played high school baseball in Texas). In reality, Scott Kazmir was Baseball America's 2002 player of year and he was drafted 13th overall and given a Mets-team record $2.15 million signing bonus. In reality, Scott Kazmir struck out 34 batters in his first 18 innings of professional baseball at the age of 18-years-old. In reality, the Mets lost five straight after the trade and missed the playoffs by 25 games. In reality, Kazmir is now the Devil Rays franchise leader in strikeouts despite being only 22 and having pitched only 364 innings at the major league level. In reality, Jim Duquette is a f**king doofus (maybe it's in the genes???). Take that Mets-fans, you Bill Buckner-chanting, Mookie Wilson-loving a*******.
Hitting: That Kazmir thing took a lot out of me so this might be short. The "big bat" in the lineup presumably belongs to Vernon Wells, the man the Blue Jays overpaid to stay in Toronto. Don't get me wrong, there are more egregiously overpaid outfielders than Vernon Wells but that doesn't mean it's okay to give him $126 million dollars. I guess baseball finances are trending in that direction and I'm behind the times on what exactly $126 million dollars will get you nowadays. As for the rest: 39-year-old Frank Thomas was a nice addition to the lineup provided he can stay healthy and produce at the level he produced last year for Oakland. Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay are solid corner infield bats at their prime and Alex Rios in the sole quality representative of Toronto's youth movement. The negative: for some reason Royce Clayton is their starting shortstop. And I can't get behind that.
Miscellaneous: The Kazmir rant probably falls under this category. But as a bonus, I think the Blue Jays should take a cue from Tampa Bay and shorten their name to just the Jays. The Toronto Jays. Sure it sounds stupid, but their uniforms and their stadium look stupid. In fact, they should call themselves the Toronto Stupid Jays. Canadian schmucks.
Stupid Jays related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Over/under on number of Scott Kazmir pitching performances I will try to get roommate and Mets' fan Rob to watch on mlb.tv this season: all of them. I know it's impossible, but I'd take the over.
Previous Previews
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Al East
Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
AL Central
Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals
AL West
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
The Greatest Baseball Preview in America: Tampa Bay Devil Rays
So here we are at the final division of this exhaustive exercise in futility. But before we get to the actual AL East (READ: Red Sox and Yankees) we have three teams to schlep through, most likely half-assedly. And before you give me the "the Blue Jays finished second last year" argument, go f**k yourself. It's a stupid argument and it holds no water.
THE TAMPA BAY (DEVIL) RAYS
Pitching: Remember when Edwin Jackson was a stud prospect for the Dodgers? I do. Sure he's still only 23 but you don't trade a 21-year-old pitching prospect unless you think he'll get hurt (Francisco Liriano) or you think he's not worth what everyone thinks he's worth (Brandon McCarthy). Ergo the trade of Edwin Jackson for the ultimately forgettable Lance Carter and Danys Baez. Of course if the trade bounty is Victor Zambrano, by all means trade the best young arm to come through your system since Dwight Gooden. That's right, I'm talking about the Mets trade of the super-awesome Scott Kazmir. Just something for Mets fans to think about... Anyway, the rest of the staff is incredibly forgettable.
Hitting: Great young outfield with three guys under 25: Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, and Delmon Young, with Baldelli the most probable to be traded to make space for top prospect Elijah Dukes. Then there's Japanese import Akinori Iwamura, the least touted of the three Japanese players that posted this offseason. Iwamura might have 20 to 30 homerun power this season but he's little more than a placeholder for yet another Devil Rays top prospect, Evan Longoria. This is all without mentioning 22-year-old B.J. Upton whose poor defense is the only thing that's keeping him in his current super-utility role. The theme seems to be youth and potential. Bringing young players up early is a Catch-22 for this star-crossed franchise. The more major league service time these players have the better they will be but also the sooner they can leave for free agency. Oh, to be a professional baseball team in a market that probably shouldn't have a professional baseball team. How soon before we transfer the franchise to Puerto Rico and move a Triple-A team into that grotesque ballpark in St. Petersburg?
Miscellaneous: A two-parter. First, the Devil Rays are slated to change their team name from the "Devil Rays" to the "Rays" at some vague point at the very end of this season. I thought I'd have something funny to say about this, but I really don't. Second, Evan Longoria? No relation, I checked. And it's also not one of those Victor/Victoria, Juwanna Mann, Brandis in Ladybugs sort of things (I checked that too). Just an odd coincidence. Permit me, however, to imagine the pettite and incomparable Eva Longoria suiting up at third for the Devil Rays. Obviously her range factor would be non-existent in those heels and that short little tennis skirt she'd wear in the field, but the complete neutralization of left-handed batters is probably worth it. And for the right-handed batters maybe suit up some sexy young guy in board shorts at first. Righties are notorious bummers as proven by scientific fact (insert bisexual-switch hitter joke HERE). I'm completely convinced this is a good idea. Give Eva a low cut jersey with a pushup bra (she's not just pettite in height, unfortunately) and put a dolled-up Tony Parker in the front row behind the plate and you've got some Devil Rays games that I would watch. Additional gratuitous Eva pictures (from Maxim so I'm assuming SFW unless you work in a school and/or nunnery or you just don't want to be the pervert looking up Maxim pictures at work. Trust me, after the first few weeks it's old news and they stop talking about it behind your back.)
Devil Rays Related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Sorry can't come up with something. I'm still thinking about Eva Longoria.
Previous Previews
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL Central
Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals
AL West
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
THE TAMPA BAY (DEVIL) RAYS
Pitching: Remember when Edwin Jackson was a stud prospect for the Dodgers? I do. Sure he's still only 23 but you don't trade a 21-year-old pitching prospect unless you think he'll get hurt (Francisco Liriano) or you think he's not worth what everyone thinks he's worth (Brandon McCarthy). Ergo the trade of Edwin Jackson for the ultimately forgettable Lance Carter and Danys Baez. Of course if the trade bounty is Victor Zambrano, by all means trade the best young arm to come through your system since Dwight Gooden. That's right, I'm talking about the Mets trade of the super-awesome Scott Kazmir. Just something for Mets fans to think about... Anyway, the rest of the staff is incredibly forgettable.
Hitting: Great young outfield with three guys under 25: Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, and Delmon Young, with Baldelli the most probable to be traded to make space for top prospect Elijah Dukes. Then there's Japanese import Akinori Iwamura, the least touted of the three Japanese players that posted this offseason. Iwamura might have 20 to 30 homerun power this season but he's little more than a placeholder for yet another Devil Rays top prospect, Evan Longoria. This is all without mentioning 22-year-old B.J. Upton whose poor defense is the only thing that's keeping him in his current super-utility role. The theme seems to be youth and potential. Bringing young players up early is a Catch-22 for this star-crossed franchise. The more major league service time these players have the better they will be but also the sooner they can leave for free agency. Oh, to be a professional baseball team in a market that probably shouldn't have a professional baseball team. How soon before we transfer the franchise to Puerto Rico and move a Triple-A team into that grotesque ballpark in St. Petersburg?
Miscellaneous: A two-parter. First, the Devil Rays are slated to change their team name from the "Devil Rays" to the "Rays" at some vague point at the very end of this season. I thought I'd have something funny to say about this, but I really don't. Second, Evan Longoria? No relation, I checked. And it's also not one of those Victor/Victoria, Juwanna Mann, Brandis in Ladybugs sort of things (I checked that too). Just an odd coincidence. Permit me, however, to imagine the pettite and incomparable Eva Longoria suiting up at third for the Devil Rays. Obviously her range factor would be non-existent in those heels and that short little tennis skirt she'd wear in the field, but the complete neutralization of left-handed batters is probably worth it. And for the right-handed batters maybe suit up some sexy young guy in board shorts at first. Righties are notorious bummers as proven by scientific fact (insert bisexual-switch hitter joke HERE). I'm completely convinced this is a good idea. Give Eva a low cut jersey with a pushup bra (she's not just pettite in height, unfortunately) and put a dolled-up Tony Parker in the front row behind the plate and you've got some Devil Rays games that I would watch. Additional gratuitous Eva pictures (from Maxim so I'm assuming SFW unless you work in a school and/or nunnery or you just don't want to be the pervert looking up Maxim pictures at work. Trust me, after the first few weeks it's old news and they stop talking about it behind your back.)
Devil Rays Related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Sorry can't come up with something. I'm still thinking about Eva Longoria.
Previous Previews
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL Central
Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals
AL West
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The Greatest Baseball Preview in America: Detroit Tigers
From a young age I was taught to not let my personal life affect my professional life. But I've gone and done it. Illness and time constraints have forced my hand. Here's an abridged preview of the Detroit Tigers, or as I like to call them, the team that lost to the worst World Series Champion in history.
THE DETROIT TIGERS
Pitching: Their pitching was, hands down, the strength of their team last year and it will be again this year. There are some questions however. Can Kenny Rogers continue to be effective at the age of 42? Also, can he be effective without smearing the ball with pine tar and peanut butter? Will Justin Verlander suffer a sophomore slump after throwing the most innings of his young career last year? Is Jeremy Bonderman ready to accept his place as one of the best pitchers in the American League? Speaking of Bonderman there's a great passage in Michael Lewis' book Moneyball where Billy Beane throws a chair against a wall when he finds out the Athletics took Bonderman with the 26th overall pick in 2001. Beane hated drafting high school pitchers. Later that year they sent him to Detroit in a deal that eventually netted them Ted Lilly. YEESH. Bullpen: As long as Joel Zumaya is kept away from guitar-themed video games and Todd Jones isn't too preoccupied as the vice-president of Associated Bio-Engineers & Consultants they'll be golden.
Hitting: The Good: Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield, The Bad: Sean Casey, The Ugly: America Ferrera. Note on Sheffield: I say we put him in a room with Brian Cashman and tell him that we'll be back in a few hours and he can do whatever he wants without reprecussions. Does he just beat him mercilessly or does he murder him? That's a tough question. Everytime I talk myself into one answer I start second-guessing myself.
Miscellaneous: Mike Maroth is set to start the season as the number five starter. Maroth lost 21 games in 2003 for the historically bad, 119-loss team. Simply amazing. Ignominious stats like losses and strikeouts (for batters) are funny things. A player with a lot of either has performed poorly, but to his credit he was allowed to perform long enough to amass such a quantity. Either way Maroth is a pretty good option for a number five.
Tigers-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Number of times Sheffield gets approached by NAMBLA to be their celebrity sponsor simply by virtue of his shady quasi-moustache: three.
Previous Previews
American League
AL Central
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals
AL West
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners
National League
NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
THE DETROIT TIGERS
Pitching: Their pitching was, hands down, the strength of their team last year and it will be again this year. There are some questions however. Can Kenny Rogers continue to be effective at the age of 42? Also, can he be effective without smearing the ball with pine tar and peanut butter? Will Justin Verlander suffer a sophomore slump after throwing the most innings of his young career last year? Is Jeremy Bonderman ready to accept his place as one of the best pitchers in the American League? Speaking of Bonderman there's a great passage in Michael Lewis' book Moneyball where Billy Beane throws a chair against a wall when he finds out the Athletics took Bonderman with the 26th overall pick in 2001. Beane hated drafting high school pitchers. Later that year they sent him to Detroit in a deal that eventually netted them Ted Lilly. YEESH. Bullpen: As long as Joel Zumaya is kept away from guitar-themed video games and Todd Jones isn't too preoccupied as the vice-president of Associated Bio-Engineers & Consultants they'll be golden.
Hitting: The Good: Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield, The Bad: Sean Casey, The Ugly: America Ferrera. Note on Sheffield: I say we put him in a room with Brian Cashman and tell him that we'll be back in a few hours and he can do whatever he wants without reprecussions. Does he just beat him mercilessly or does he murder him? That's a tough question. Everytime I talk myself into one answer I start second-guessing myself.
Miscellaneous: Mike Maroth is set to start the season as the number five starter. Maroth lost 21 games in 2003 for the historically bad, 119-loss team. Simply amazing. Ignominious stats like losses and strikeouts (for batters) are funny things. A player with a lot of either has performed poorly, but to his credit he was allowed to perform long enough to amass such a quantity. Either way Maroth is a pretty good option for a number five.
Tigers-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Number of times Sheffield gets approached by NAMBLA to be their celebrity sponsor simply by virtue of his shady quasi-moustache: three.
Previous Previews
American League
AL Central
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals
AL West
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners
National League
NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The Greatest Baseball Preview in America: Cleveland Indians
THE CLEVELAND INDIANS
Pitching: At the age of 25, C.C. Sabathia enjoyed his finest season as a professional last year, striking out 172 and posted a 139 ERA+. It's too bad he's an oblique strain waiting to happen. Just watch, when his fat ass rolls off the mound to field a bunt he'll do something to land himself on the DL. Somehow, Sabathia is listed at 6'5", 250 lbs. If he's only 250 then I'm the idiot that paid $500,000 for Anna Nicole Smith's diaries. The remainder of the rotation is pretty solid with 24-year-old Jeremy Sowers holding down the fifth spot in the rotation. Sowers pitched well in 88 innings last year starting 14 games with 2 complete game shutouts but only striking out 35. Bullpen: It will cost them more wins than the average bullpen this season, I guarantee it.
Hitting: Very, very good - Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, and Victor Martinez. Pound for pound, Hafner is the most dangerous hitter in the AL right now and Sizemore is a lock for 30-30 and the Derek Jeter of the Midwest. Potential superstar third baseman Andy Marte will be just 23-years-old this season and was the reason they could trade Kevin Kouzmanoff, a guy that hit .389 in Double A last year, to San Diego for Josh Barfield. AND they have Trot Nixon. What's not to like? Quick note on Josh Barfield: his father, Jesse, was in the original RBI baseball which begs the question how many players featured in RBI baseball have offspring who now play in the majors? I came up with Cecil Fielder then got distracted when I google imaged him. Baseball has never seen a bigger ass. One year, Alam Trammell got caught in it's orbit and had to spend 60 days on the DL.
Miscellaneous: I'm tired of the Big Papi-Shrek comparisons. He looks nothing like Shrek and frankly I think it's a bit of a subconsciously racist association. Who really does look like Shrek is Travis Hafner. Look at the facial similarities, they're remarkable. Plus he has the ogrish nickname of "Pronk."
Indians-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Over/under on number of all-you-can-eat enchilada places C.C. Sabathia eats out of business: seven and a half.
Previous Previews
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL Central
Kansas City Royals
AL West
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington
Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
Pitching: At the age of 25, C.C. Sabathia enjoyed his finest season as a professional last year, striking out 172 and posted a 139 ERA+. It's too bad he's an oblique strain waiting to happen. Just watch, when his fat ass rolls off the mound to field a bunt he'll do something to land himself on the DL. Somehow, Sabathia is listed at 6'5", 250 lbs. If he's only 250 then I'm the idiot that paid $500,000 for Anna Nicole Smith's diaries. The remainder of the rotation is pretty solid with 24-year-old Jeremy Sowers holding down the fifth spot in the rotation. Sowers pitched well in 88 innings last year starting 14 games with 2 complete game shutouts but only striking out 35. Bullpen: It will cost them more wins than the average bullpen this season, I guarantee it.
Hitting: Very, very good - Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, and Victor Martinez. Pound for pound, Hafner is the most dangerous hitter in the AL right now and Sizemore is a lock for 30-30 and the Derek Jeter of the Midwest. Potential superstar third baseman Andy Marte will be just 23-years-old this season and was the reason they could trade Kevin Kouzmanoff, a guy that hit .389 in Double A last year, to San Diego for Josh Barfield. AND they have Trot Nixon. What's not to like? Quick note on Josh Barfield: his father, Jesse, was in the original RBI baseball which begs the question how many players featured in RBI baseball have offspring who now play in the majors? I came up with Cecil Fielder then got distracted when I google imaged him. Baseball has never seen a bigger ass. One year, Alam Trammell got caught in it's orbit and had to spend 60 days on the DL.
Miscellaneous: I'm tired of the Big Papi-Shrek comparisons. He looks nothing like Shrek and frankly I think it's a bit of a subconsciously racist association. Who really does look like Shrek is Travis Hafner. Look at the facial similarities, they're remarkable. Plus he has the ogrish nickname of "Pronk."
Indians-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Over/under on number of all-you-can-eat enchilada places C.C. Sabathia eats out of business: seven and a half.
Previous Previews
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL Central
Kansas City Royals
AL West
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington
Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Greatest Baseball Preview in America: Oakland Athletics
THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Pitching: I was going to make a "If Rich Harden's arm doesn't hold up he could always go by Dick Harden and start directing pornography" joke but I feel like I've read it in print before. It's like Bill Simmons has invaded my subconscious and planted an irreverence tree. But speaking of Harden, he's very good (at baseball, not directing pornography). Technically speaking, he can throw the ball very, very fast. Faster than even me (I'm more of a finesse guy anyway). Playing in the cavernous ballpark that made Barry Zito a hundred-millionaire, Rich Harden could win the Cy Young this year (provided Johan Santana has kidney failure in May). I must emphasize the word "COULD" because Rich Harden is coming off two straight injury-plagued seasons and that is worrisome for a guy of his average-size frame (6'1", 180) who throws 98 mph with consistency. Last year he had a ligament strain in his throwing elbow which limited him to only 46 innings. Harden has said that his changeup was the pitch that lead to the injury and he'll be more careful with it this year, but I'm skeptical he'll stay healthy all season. But his K/9 this spring is 16.5 and he's been lights out so what the hell do I know. As for the rest: Dan Haren, Huston Street, and Justin Duchscherer are good but for the Athletics to overcome their anemic offense they must have a full, healthy, productive season out of Harden.
Hitting: Remember when Eric Chavez went in the first three rounds of a fantasy draft? It was a simpler time back then. Before "24" was a smash hit and before the kids starting using the myspace and watching the youtube. Now he's the 14th ranked third baseman in Yahoo. Whether it's a function of the wealth of quality third basemen or the perception of Chavez's decline, I don't know. Chavez will be only 29 this season and while he still has trouble hitting lefties, his walk totals are trending upwards and he should slug between .450 and .500. For those of you who are reading this, it is for you to decide if this is sound baseball analysis or a clever ruse to up his trade value so I can pawn him off on somebody. Listen to me, Eric, I need a big April from you. As for the rest, Mike Piazza finally gets to be what he's always truly been, a designated hitter. It's like a middle-aged divorced man finally taking that vacation to Fire Island he fantasized about. No need to fantasize any longer, Mike. I just wish you would have stopped lying to yourself years ago. I mean, with that moustache? It practically screams DH. And I'm not a DH-phobe. Big Papi is a DH and he's one of my favorite players. I love DHs (but not in that way). I'm just saying that you fit the stereotypical profile of a designated hitter. Not that there's anything wrong with that or anything.
Miscellaneous: Oakland fans, if you want fans of other teams to take you seriously 1) get a haircut. When I was at Game 3 of the Sox-A's ALDS in 2003 there was a long-haired A's fan sitting near my section. He looked like a half-as-tall Barry Zito. You're an Athletics fan in Fenway Park. You already appear soft. Nothing makes you look like more of a douchebag than your hippy haircut and your "I'm about to cry" eyes as you're escorted out of your section by policemen in the fourth inning because the home fans were relentlessly hounding you. Go listen to Radiohead, asshole. 2) Petition your team to trash the white shoes. They're hideous, almost like orthopedic shoes that special kids wear. You have two options: get some black spikes and wear them like men or trade in your luxury team bus for the short bus with the padded windows.
Athletics-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Over/under on number of times I vomit at the unsightliness of McAfee Coliseum: every time I see it's disgusting, empty green seats on the Sportscenter highlights.
Previous Previews
AL West
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners
NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
Pitching: I was going to make a "If Rich Harden's arm doesn't hold up he could always go by Dick Harden and start directing pornography" joke but I feel like I've read it in print before. It's like Bill Simmons has invaded my subconscious and planted an irreverence tree. But speaking of Harden, he's very good (at baseball, not directing pornography). Technically speaking, he can throw the ball very, very fast. Faster than even me (I'm more of a finesse guy anyway). Playing in the cavernous ballpark that made Barry Zito a hundred-millionaire, Rich Harden could win the Cy Young this year (provided Johan Santana has kidney failure in May). I must emphasize the word "COULD" because Rich Harden is coming off two straight injury-plagued seasons and that is worrisome for a guy of his average-size frame (6'1", 180) who throws 98 mph with consistency. Last year he had a ligament strain in his throwing elbow which limited him to only 46 innings. Harden has said that his changeup was the pitch that lead to the injury and he'll be more careful with it this year, but I'm skeptical he'll stay healthy all season. But his K/9 this spring is 16.5 and he's been lights out so what the hell do I know. As for the rest: Dan Haren, Huston Street, and Justin Duchscherer are good but for the Athletics to overcome their anemic offense they must have a full, healthy, productive season out of Harden.
Hitting: Remember when Eric Chavez went in the first three rounds of a fantasy draft? It was a simpler time back then. Before "24" was a smash hit and before the kids starting using the myspace and watching the youtube. Now he's the 14th ranked third baseman in Yahoo. Whether it's a function of the wealth of quality third basemen or the perception of Chavez's decline, I don't know. Chavez will be only 29 this season and while he still has trouble hitting lefties, his walk totals are trending upwards and he should slug between .450 and .500. For those of you who are reading this, it is for you to decide if this is sound baseball analysis or a clever ruse to up his trade value so I can pawn him off on somebody. Listen to me, Eric, I need a big April from you. As for the rest, Mike Piazza finally gets to be what he's always truly been, a designated hitter. It's like a middle-aged divorced man finally taking that vacation to Fire Island he fantasized about. No need to fantasize any longer, Mike. I just wish you would have stopped lying to yourself years ago. I mean, with that moustache? It practically screams DH. And I'm not a DH-phobe. Big Papi is a DH and he's one of my favorite players. I love DHs (but not in that way). I'm just saying that you fit the stereotypical profile of a designated hitter. Not that there's anything wrong with that or anything.
Miscellaneous: Oakland fans, if you want fans of other teams to take you seriously 1) get a haircut. When I was at Game 3 of the Sox-A's ALDS in 2003 there was a long-haired A's fan sitting near my section. He looked like a half-as-tall Barry Zito. You're an Athletics fan in Fenway Park. You already appear soft. Nothing makes you look like more of a douchebag than your hippy haircut and your "I'm about to cry" eyes as you're escorted out of your section by policemen in the fourth inning because the home fans were relentlessly hounding you. Go listen to Radiohead, asshole. 2) Petition your team to trash the white shoes. They're hideous, almost like orthopedic shoes that special kids wear. You have two options: get some black spikes and wear them like men or trade in your luxury team bus for the short bus with the padded windows.
Athletics-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Over/under on number of times I vomit at the unsightliness of McAfee Coliseum: every time I see it's disgusting, empty green seats on the Sportscenter highlights.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Greatest Baseball Preview in America: Texas Rangers
Well, it's the Rangers preview and I'm feeling cheeky. Here goes...
THE TEXAS RANGERS
Pitching: How Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla won 31 combined games last year is beyond me. Neither are terrible pitchers but neither are great ones. And this is the bedrock of pitching staff that plays in a bandbox ballpark. No thank you. They're followed by Brandom McCarthy, a 23-year-old with one and a half years of major league experience who was quizzically traded to them this offseason from the Chicago White Sox, and the Robinson Tejeda/Bruce Chen/Kameron Loe/Jamey Wright four-headed monster at the back end of the rotation. Somewhere it's written that if Bruce Chen is logging innings for you it's time to pack it in for the season. I should know. Yes, I know the Red Sox made the ALCS that year, but sometimes jokes are allowed to supercede actual fact. Bullpen: The Eric Gagne experiment is underway and as fascinating as ever. Why a team like Texas would spend $6 million on a risky closer when they had a perfectly capable guy already and a rotation desperately in need of help at the back end is frankly none of my business so I'm going to stay out of it. Oh, and woman-beating, chair-throwing, Zen master Frank Francisco is still hanging around waiting for a female fan to enrage him sufficiently. An exercise in logic: Let's take as given that only professional wrestlers hit people with folding chairs and that all professional wrestlers are on steroids. If Frank Francisco threw a folding chair then it follows logically that Frank Francisco is a professional wrestler who is on steroids and should be suspended. You're welcome, Mr. Selig (note that THIS came up under a google image search for Bud Selig. Does that make Gene Orza Dudley Do-Right?)
Hitting: Instead of even pretending to properly address their hitting, I'm just going to rail on Texas for trading Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez for Adam Eaton some more. What a horrible deal. The Rangers could have Young as their number 2 right now with Gonzalez DH'ing instead of overpaying Vicente Padilla and playing Russian roulette with Frank Catalanotto and Sammy Sosa. And speaking of Sosa, at some point this season two third of the Rangers outfield could be Kenny Lofton and Slammin' Sammy. Get Jon Daniels on the phone, I want to tell him it's not 1998. Oh, and the third third is Brad Wilkerson. This could be the least potent outfield in the American League even with Sammy's elephantine supply of HGH. Bright spots: Michael Young and Mark Teixeira are still Studly Studlersons. Semi-bright spots: 26-year-old Nelson Cruz will probably start the season in right field and 25-year-old Ian Kinsler is starting his second full season as the Rangers second baseman. Not-bright-at-all spot: Hank Blalock continues to descend into fantasy baseball irrelevance.
Miscellaneous: I don't think I would call the Rangers front office stupid, persay. They do a great job of player development, their entire infield is homegrown and they've churned out some pretty solid pitching prospects. But when it comes to making trades or decisions on the free agent market they're pretty f**king stupid. It's like Rain Man. He can count cards like a champion but ask him to talk to a waitress and he stares at his shoes and fidgets. Only Rain Man would pay the richest franchise in baseball, the Yankees, to take A-Rod off their hands and manage to only get a few seasons of Alfonso Soriano and Brad Wilkerson out of it. Think about it: Tom Hicks is responsible for $21 million of A-Rod's salary over the next three years. He could have bought a whole bunch of cowboy hats with that money.
Rangers-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: N/A, they suck too much.
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THE TEXAS RANGERS
Pitching: How Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla won 31 combined games last year is beyond me. Neither are terrible pitchers but neither are great ones. And this is the bedrock of pitching staff that plays in a bandbox ballpark. No thank you. They're followed by Brandom McCarthy, a 23-year-old with one and a half years of major league experience who was quizzically traded to them this offseason from the Chicago White Sox, and the Robinson Tejeda/Bruce Chen/Kameron Loe/Jamey Wright four-headed monster at the back end of the rotation. Somewhere it's written that if Bruce Chen is logging innings for you it's time to pack it in for the season. I should know. Yes, I know the Red Sox made the ALCS that year, but sometimes jokes are allowed to supercede actual fact. Bullpen: The Eric Gagne experiment is underway and as fascinating as ever. Why a team like Texas would spend $6 million on a risky closer when they had a perfectly capable guy already and a rotation desperately in need of help at the back end is frankly none of my business so I'm going to stay out of it. Oh, and woman-beating, chair-throwing, Zen master Frank Francisco is still hanging around waiting for a female fan to enrage him sufficiently. An exercise in logic: Let's take as given that only professional wrestlers hit people with folding chairs and that all professional wrestlers are on steroids. If Frank Francisco threw a folding chair then it follows logically that Frank Francisco is a professional wrestler who is on steroids and should be suspended. You're welcome, Mr. Selig (note that THIS came up under a google image search for Bud Selig. Does that make Gene Orza Dudley Do-Right?)
Hitting: Instead of even pretending to properly address their hitting, I'm just going to rail on Texas for trading Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez for Adam Eaton some more. What a horrible deal. The Rangers could have Young as their number 2 right now with Gonzalez DH'ing instead of overpaying Vicente Padilla and playing Russian roulette with Frank Catalanotto and Sammy Sosa. And speaking of Sosa, at some point this season two third of the Rangers outfield could be Kenny Lofton and Slammin' Sammy. Get Jon Daniels on the phone, I want to tell him it's not 1998. Oh, and the third third is Brad Wilkerson. This could be the least potent outfield in the American League even with Sammy's elephantine supply of HGH. Bright spots: Michael Young and Mark Teixeira are still Studly Studlersons. Semi-bright spots: 26-year-old Nelson Cruz will probably start the season in right field and 25-year-old Ian Kinsler is starting his second full season as the Rangers second baseman. Not-bright-at-all spot: Hank Blalock continues to descend into fantasy baseball irrelevance.
Miscellaneous: I don't think I would call the Rangers front office stupid, persay. They do a great job of player development, their entire infield is homegrown and they've churned out some pretty solid pitching prospects. But when it comes to making trades or decisions on the free agent market they're pretty f**king stupid. It's like Rain Man. He can count cards like a champion but ask him to talk to a waitress and he stares at his shoes and fidgets. Only Rain Man would pay the richest franchise in baseball, the Yankees, to take A-Rod off their hands and manage to only get a few seasons of Alfonso Soriano and Brad Wilkerson out of it. Think about it: Tom Hicks is responsible for $21 million of A-Rod's salary over the next three years. He could have bought a whole bunch of cowboy hats with that money.
Rangers-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: N/A, they suck too much.
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