Florida Marlins

Movin' on up

admin — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:22:00 +0000

Check me out over at my new pad, Pinstripe Alley, where I've begun and will be doing most of my future writing.

Cheers!

Farnsy for Pudge

admin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:47:00 +0000

This trade might not seem like a win at first glance. Kyle Farnsworth is having his best season since 2005 (ironically when he spent half the year with Detroit), while Pudge is having a pretty average season (for him). But Cashman, unlike the Marte/Nady deal, is selling high on Farnsy. Does anyone really trust Farnsworth despite a good season? It's quite possible (probable in my opinion) that Farnsworth was on a hot streak until his last two outings, when he gave up four hits in 1.1 innings. Cashman sold at the right time.

The Yanks are far more in need of a catcher than a reliever. The backup before today was Chad Moeller; now it's Jose Molina, one of the best defensive catchers in baseball this year.

Pudge will be a free agent after the season, and he'll likely be a Type A, netting the Yanks extra first and compensation round draft picks (if he declines arbitration (which Pete Abe says the Yanks won't even offer)). On the other hand, Farnsworth looks to be a Type B, which would only net us a compensation round pick. Would Pudge accept a one-year deal for $10-11 million? Or does he want to try to get one last multi-year deal?

There's more: the relief core is the strongest part of our team, so we're trading from an area of strength for an area of need. And the relief core will only get stronger: Brian Bruney is on his way back, Mark Melancon made a stellar debut for Scranton, Scott Strickland is having a phenomenal year there and Chris Britton is having another typically great season.

Pudge's game at the plate is much the same as Molina's, only he's far more successful. In other words, he's a hacker who can hit. He takes just 3.4 pitches per plate appearance, which is slightly below Jose Molina. Behind the plate, he's one of the best there's ever been, gunning down 36% of basestealers this year and 47% for his career.

- The trade takes some of the attention away from Joba (again). He was the starter the night the Nady/Marte deal was announced. Anyway, over his last four starts, the dude has completely dominated the opposition: 25.2 ip, 21 h, 5 er, 2 bb, 32 k.

They look aggressive to me

admin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:41:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but it's sure as hell seemed to me that Yankee hitters have been far more aggressive at the plate this year. Do the facts back that up? To BRef we go!

There are a few factors that can tell us whether they're being more aggressive. One is how often they're putting the first pitch into play.

- This season, Yankee hitters have put the first pitch into play 459 times in 4045 PAs. That's 11.3 percent. The AL, on average, is putting the first pitch into play 11.7 percent. So the Yankees have actually been slightly more patient in that regard.

Compared to last year, when the Yanks were the best offensive team in baseball, they put the first pitch into play 10.6 percent in 2007. So there has been an increase from last year.

- How often are they having two strike counts?

They're getting to two strikes in 46.7 percent of their plate appearances. The AL is at 47.4 %, so in this respect, the Yanks have been slightly less patient than the AL.

But compared to 2007, there's essentially no difference.

- How often are they getting to full counts? And are they taking more walks on a full count?

In 12.9 percent of their plate apperances, they're going to a full count. The AL is at 12.6 percent; so in this case, the Yanks are slightly more patient than the AL.

Last year, the Yanks were at 14.6 percent, so there has been a relatively significant decrease in full counts.

They're drawing more walks on full counts compared to the AL, but less than they did in 2007.

- What about putting 2-0 pitches into play? Because it seems like DJ swings at more 2-0 pitches than at any point in his career.

They've put 2.84 percent of 2-0 pitches into play this year, compared to 2.82 percent last year. Essentially negligible. While the AL is at 2.73 percent. So the Yanks are still less aggressive than the rest of the AL.

- How many pitches are the hitters seeing per plate appearance?

Some hitters are slightly below their career norms (Jeter, Arod, Abreu), while others are above (Cano, Giambi, Damon), so it pretty much balances out.

So I guess the conclusion is that the lack of offense this year (7th in the AL) is not due to the hitters being either too passive or too aggressive. Is it the aging factor? The injuries?

- Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano made their first rehab starts tonight for the A-ball Charleston Riverdogs. Neither allowed a run in five innings.

Posada officially done

admin — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:10:00 +0000

He'll have shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and will need about six months to rehab. He should be ready for Spring Training in 2009.

- Damaso Marte is pretty good. In fact, he's the second best left-handed reliever in baseball history!

- Tonight's game was bad. What else can you say? Moose just wasn't fooling anybody. This was a game where Moose needed to scare someone. The hacks the O's were taking, even with two strikes, were indicative of the fact they knew they weren't in any danger. It also didn't help that not one close call (or so it seemed) went Mussina's way.

- Just one phone call away:
Mark Melancon took one more step toward the Bronx when he was promoted to Triple-A Scranton. Chase Wright joined him.
(RAB with the tip.)

a lil' hot stove

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:08:00 +0000

The Yankees are considering trying to acquire Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn, who's been a solid back-of-the-rotation starter during his 11 year career. Apparently, Seattle would be willing to take Igawa, a mid-level prospect and cash. If that's true, the trigger has to be pulled. End the OKei experiment. Washburn has been a Yankee-killer, so this falls under the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" category. At worst, Washburn will be a good lefty reliever.

- It's translating! Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson have sick minor league stats, and it seems that with regular work now, it's translating to the Bigs. Nice work by Cash and Girardi. (thanks to Pete Abe for alerting us.) In his last five innings, Robertson has allowed just one hit, two walks and nine strikeouts. Edwar has been even better: over his last 11.1 innings, he's allowed just one hit (including nine straight innings of no-hit ball), two walks and 16 strikeouts.

- Posada's throwing problems could continue "well into 2009".

Bad news on a good day

admin — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:19:00 +0000

The Yanks won their fourth in a row (12-4 behind another lucky Sir Sidney start), but news came down that Jorge Posada could miss the rest of the season with a labrum injury. Jose Molina will fill in more than adequately behind the plate, but it's at the plate where Posada's loss will be felt most.

- Watched the Trenton Thunder game from July 17 (against Portland) and I just had to expound the virtues of Austin Jackson, who went 4-4 (including two doubles) with a walk. Three of the hits were to right-centerfield and the fourth was a lined shot to center, all on outside pitches. I was extremely impressed with his approach and ability to not only hit the other way, but for power. He looked like a major leaguer. What I didn't see though was his ability to hit inside pitches, which Portland stayed away from entirely. He can clearly handle outside pitches, and if he can handle the inside ones as well, he's a stud in the making.

- If you haven't seen The Dark Knight yet, you're missing out. A great movie, much better than the first, and the critics nailed it: Heath Ledger truly is remarkable as the Joker. I never thought I'd say this, but his Joker is at least on par with Nicholson's.

MATCH REPORT-ST HELENS V HULL KR

admin — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 19:37:00 +0000

Over 10,000 spectators where at Knowsley Road on a crisp Friday night, to witness the toughness of Rugby League, and the final score certainly didn’t reflect the enthusiasm and heart that the Robins demonstrated.

Who Can't Live On $81 Million?

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 01:44:00 +0000

Brian Cashman came out today in the NY Post as well as well as many other media outlets and said point blank that there will be no extension for Alex Rodriguez. I mean, how much is too much? After this season Alex can opt out of the remaining three years on his contract, which is for $81 Million over the period. Will he get more from someone else? I don't see how. Worse case we find someone else to choke in the post season. This has Scott Boras stinking all over it. This comes just days after A-Rod said to the press that he want to remain in NY. I guess he means the Mets. This can only add to the boo-birds for Pay-Rod. Mark Finesand of the Daily Snooze had his own takes on the situation.

The Yankees are asking Melanie Lidle, the widow of late pitcher Cory Lidle, to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day.... Andy Pettitte may throw a bullpen session today, though it could be pushed back based on how his back feels. Pettitte, who was scheduled to make a minor-league start Friday, has been battling back spasms for a few days. Chances are he will miss at least his next start. ... Bobby Abreu, who had his first game since injuring his oblique muscle on Tuesday, is scheduled to play right field in today's game against the Reds in Sarasota. Carl Pavano starts for the Yankees, Kyle Lohse is on the hill for Cincinnati's . ... Andy Phillips is playing with sore hands as he has blisters all over them. Normally they are calluses by now and tough enough to play.

Lastly take a trip over to Sports Illustrated and vote for Behindthebombers.com as your favorite website/Blog. There is some tough competition up there as LoHud is one of my favorite blogs as well.

Clem Labine

admin — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:30:00 +0000

Labine, a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, died today at 80. I generally don't report obituaries but this is different. I met Clem Labine in 2005 in Cooperstown. My fiance (at the time) and I thought of having our wedding there. Her parents are friends with an event coordinator who lives there, so we went up one day to check it out for our wedding. Not coincidentally, it was Hall of Fame induction weekend, and and she was throwing a large party with several HOF members. We normally never could have gotten in, but having the connection made it possible. My wife is also a Yankee and baseball fan, so we were both excited to meet and get autographs from some of the ex-players: Straw, Feller, Cepeda, Killebrew, Marichal, Niekro, Gaylord Perry, and Winfield (I'm forgetting a few others). After the food portion of the party (which was in an outdoor tent), we went into the large house on the estate to see how it could be used for a wedding. It was beautiful, and had some truly amazing baseball memorabilia (almost as good as the HOF itself). When we finished, we sat down in a screened-in patio, and who came in next but Clem Labine. I didn't know who he was, but my father-in-law told me his name (which I recognized but couldn't place). He was a member of the 1955 Dodgers he said. He was a very nice man - we shook hands, talked for a minute, and I sheepishly asked for his autograph. He gave it to me and I thanked him. That's the story. None of the other ball players that day were as friendly or sociable as him (Straw came close though). I'll always remember that about him. Anyway, the place was too expensive for our wedding so we went to Florida.

Labine was a good reliever for the Dodgers who twice led the league in saves and was a two-time All-Star.

Other tidbits.

- Phil Hughes' under-whelming Spring debut.

- And perhaps his future?

- A great discussion of Yankee prospects.

ST Game 1 vs. MIN

admin — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 06:54:00 +0000

Ah, baseball is back. We get to see our friends again - Jeets, Melky, Robbie, Jorgie, Johnny, Wanger, Arod and the Giambino. It's cold up here in New York, but in Tampa it was 80 degrees and sunny today.

As for the game, I actually watched most of it while I was sitting in the dentist's office
having my teeth worked on. It was fantastic to walk in and find a flat-screen TV hanging on the wall. The assistant told me the YES was channel 26, which I turned to. She then said she had no idea there was a channel called 'YES.' I thought everyone knew what YES was. Anyway, I watched the middle innings while that excruciating metal pick was being used, but the game made it pass SO much faster than in previous dental visits.

Fortunately, I also DVR'ed the game -
Wang started off shaky despite 2 perfect innings. His sinker looked flat, and his command was a bit off, leaving several sinkers too high in the zone, but he still completed 2 innings on about 16 pitches, with 5 outs on grounders. His FB was in the low 90s, touching 94. No Ks and no BBs - a typical Wang outing.

Next up was phenom Phil Hughes, the Yanks #1 prospect. He was the shakiest pitcher the Yanks used today. His control was uncharacteristically off (he walked two hitters, although he got hosed on a 3-2 call on the second walk), and he could barely command his curveball (throwing the only wild pitch of the game). If it wasn't for a nice, sliding catch by Matsui with two runners on, Hughes would have allowed 3 earned runs instead of 1. His FB was occasionally perfect, topping out at 94 MPH on the corner. His changeup has improved since the Futures Game last summer, throwing it 4 times for 3 strikes. He did manage to strike out MVP Justin Morneau on a beautifully spotted inside FB, but since his pitch count was already 33, he was pulled for T.J. Beam. Hughes definitely looked the most raw of today's Yankee pitchers, and pitching a few months in AAA will refine his game a lot.

Ross Ohlendorf pitched two scoreless and impressive innings. His sinker was also in the low 90s with good command. He looked like a slightly bigger version of Wang.

But perhaps I was most impressed with Jose Vizcaino's outing. He threw a nice two-seamer, a solid slider, and what looked like a forkball/splitter. He had solid command of all his pitches.

As for the hitters, Damon led off with a HR. Nice way to start his season. Giambi had 2 walks and a HR for a decent OPS of 2.000. Posada, Matsui and Cano also looked good at the plate. Despite Arod's new stance which is supposed to quicken his swing, it was still way too long - like last year, he was fouling or missing mediocre fastballs (I'm talking 87-91 MPH belt high). At least he made a nick pick at 3b in the 1st inning.

I'm excited as hell for game 2, I can't wait to see more of the young guys (Gonzalez, Tabata, Hughes, Sanchez, Ohlendorf, Jackson, Clippard, etc.), and pissed that only half the Spring games are televised.

2007 Preview - Storyline

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 01:33:00 +0000

First off, Yankees: Five Things to Know.

This is the first part of a preview of the coming season. An overall season projection/prediction is first, followed by player projections and AL East team projections. I'll hold off on playoff predictions so not to jinx them (yes, I believe in that).

Opening Day Roster
OF: 4
Damon, Matsui, Abreu, Melky

IF: 9
Arod, Jeter, Cano, Giambi, Minky, Cairo, Phelps, Posada, Davis

SP: 5
Wang, Mussina, Pettitte, Igawa, Pavano

RP: 7
Mo, Farnsworth, Proctor, Myers, Vizcaino, Rasner, Villone (unfortunately)

Post-season Roster
OF: 5
Damon, Matsui, Abreu, Melky, K. Thompson

IF: 8
Arod, Jeter, Cano, Giambi, Minky, A. Gonzalez, Phelps, Posada

SP: 4
Wang, Mussina, Pettitte, Hughes

RP: 8
Mo, Farnsworth, Proctor, Myers, Vizcaino, Igawa, Britton, Sanchez

April
With the Yankees starting the season healthy (Pavano and Abreu coming back before opening day), they get off to a hot start, winning 18 games in April. Wang pitches decent enough, Mussina is great, and Pettitte struggles coming back to the AL, but is saved by an above-average month from Igawa and Pavano. Cano starts off hot, hitting .400, while Arod and Matsui each rack up 10 HR.

May
Mussina tweaks a muscle and goes on the 15-day DL. Jeff Karstens is called up and makes 3 starts with a 4.40 era. Giambi heats up, with a 1.000 OPS, while Abreu also gets hot, smacking about 10 HR.

June
Pavano's luck runs out and he tweaks his arm - 15-day DL. Karstens gets the call again. He pitches well, to a 4.30 era. Rivera pulls his groin, Farnsworth moves into the closer spot, and T.J. Beam gets the call over Britton or Bruney because of his advanced age and Britton's not-quite-ready secondary pitches and Bruney's continued control problems, but performs poorly. Jeter and Damon carry the offense, scoring 45 runs in the month.

July
Pettitte has arm issues, causing him to miss the whole month. Humberto Sanchez is the most ML-ready of the Scranton pitchers (with Karstens now the LR bullpen guy), so he gets the call, and pitches well, despite control problems, going 3-1 with a 4.30 era. But he also pulls a muscle, and goes down. Not wanting to bring Hughes up unless it's for good, Rasner gets 2 starts, going 1-1 with a 4.50 era.

August
The team is hit with a rash of injuries as Damon hurts his foot, Farnsworth tweaks a forearm, Wang experiences 'tightness' in his back, and Pavano gets his finger caught in a door. Melky plays a lot more in Damon's absence, with Kevin Thompson getting called up as the 4th OF. Bruney gets the call this time and overcomes his control problems to post an admirable era of 2.90. With 2 SPs down, Sanchez and Hughes are called up. Sanchez' control is improved, and Hughes pitches well, garnering a 3.90 era. Unfortunately, the trading deadline has passed, so Pavano is stuck with the team.

September
The Yanks enter with a comfortable 5 game lead over Boston. Matsuzaka is pitching well, and has a 3.40 era, but not too much better than Kei Igawa, who has a 4.25 era. Sanchez and Britton take over Villone and Rasner's bullpen spots, and Hughes takes over Pavano's rotation spot. Arod is the offensive hero of the month, hitting .380 with 10+ HRs. They cruise to another division title with 99 wins, 7 games ahead of Boston, and the best record in the A.L.

They take on Minnesota in the ALDS.

First Game of the Season

admin — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 04:51:00 +0000

An intrasquad matchup between the Yogis (the A team, the major leaguers) and the Reggies (the B team, the minor league prospects). Kei Igawa started and pitched 2 scoreless innings, giving up one infield hit. Jeff Karstens started for the Reggies and also pitched 2 scoreless innings.
By the way, I love Iggy's pitch-face.

From MLB.com -

Torre said Jackson's starting pitcher, Jeff Karstens, stood out to him, as well as Berra's second hurler, Steven Jackson.

"I just like his arm," Torre said of Jackson, who was acquired in January's Randy Johnson trade. "It looks like he's really loose and the ball comes out of his hand fairly easily."

Guys flying under the ST media radar:
Wang
Pettitte
Posada
Matsui
Farnsworth
Proctor

Hilarious article tearing the NY Times' Murray Chass a new asshole.

What can you get for $2.35 million?

admin — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:40:00 +0000

You can get a baseball card. The 'Holy Grail' of baseball cards in fact, which was sold yesterday for that price.

Blackburn re-signed

admin — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 23:29:00 +0000

Giants LB Chase Blackburn was re-signed on Friday to a $3.3 million, 4-year deal. I like this move a lot. Blackburn has been a very nice surprise since coming to the Jints as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He's very strong, plays smart and aggressively, and is the best tackling LB on the team. If speculation holds, and Antonio Pierce moves to OLB, Blackburn could be the starting MLB this year. The deal could be a bargain for the Giants.

Pavano has a 'bone bruise'

admin — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:12:00 +0000

Pete Abraham reports. And it's unclear how long he'll be out. It could be a few days or a few weeks.

Pavano has started 17 games in 2 years with the Yanks. That works out to $1.7 million per start. The worst contract in Yankee history? You decide.

UPDATE: Bobby Abreu will miss 2 weeks with a muscle strain. It's better to happen now than in July.