Well, what can you say? The Phillies were just too much for the Dodgers. Too much pitching and especially too much hitting, too much confidence, too much ability, too much faith, in one another and spiritually too for some.
That lineup is pretty awesome. In fact, it was awesome last year before they added Ibanez and then Werth got that much better with more opportunities to play. But adding SP Cliff Lee was probably the clincher.
If any team matches up with the Yankees, who will probably clinch tonight against the Angels, who looked thoroughly beaten in Game 4 of their series, it’s these Phillies.
So far, two position players have dominated. Arod and Ryan Howard. Two pitchers have dominated as well. That would be Sabathia and Lee. You could say the Yanks have the better relievers, I suppose, but the Phils’ Lidge has looked much better lately while the middle relief Yankees pitchers have let down somewhat. Neither Joba nor Phil Hughes have been very good lately.
If there’s an edge, it’s in the home Stadium. Because the American League won the All-Star game, the Yankees will have the home field edge. But with two cities just about 90 miles apart, I’d be surprised if every player didn’t just sleep in their own beds for the entire Series. (Whether that would help whatsoever is another question, but it’d be pretty impossible to answer).
All we’ve heard lately from the Yankee media is Arod, Arod ad nauseum, of course, but at least he finally deserves it. What is it now, 5 homers and 11 or 12 rbi’s? Sabathia’s been unhittable. Rest? He don’t need no STINKING rest.
The Phillies don’t get as much press but Ryan Howard is a beast. He’s one of those rare animals who actually love getting up in those pressure situations, confident that he can end the proceedings with one swing of the bat. Arod has been Howard-like in this post-season but there is only one Howard.
Anyway, an outstanding Series it promises to be. Can ANYBODY hit Sabathia? Can ANYBODY hit Lee? The most likely scenario will be that the two or three games between those two aces will be decided in the late innings by relievers, another impossible situation to really predict. I’m assuming they’ll face each other but that may not be the case, given Girardi’s strangeness. Or is it Cashman’s nonsense? It’s hard to tell with the Yankees.
Then there’s Burnett and Hamels, Blanton and Pettite, and maybe even Joba and Pedro. How great would that be? All I know for sure is that it’ll be a World Series I’ll enjoy thoroughly, and probably a seven-game affair. (If it ends in four, I’ll be inconsolable).
This is all premature, right? The Angels can still come back? I don’t think so.
Showing posts with label Arod. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arod. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Yanks Are the Story
So to what do Mets fans look forward in these last months of a lost season? Well, there is next year of course. Santana and K-Rod are keepers. I know that much. Wright too I suppose. Who else can we feel is indispensable?
Let’s talk disappointments. How about Sean Green? No offense but he’s been awful and I’m sure some other team would love to have him. Goodbye Sean. It’s been real. That catcher of ours, the arguable number one catcher, Brian Schneider, he can hit the dusty trail too. Other than those two, there really aren’t that many players you can point to who have had to live up to grand expectations. Well, if you don’t count the pitching side, and other than the core guys who’ve been out.
Most of the players on the field now for the Mets are reserves in the real world. Even a Pagan, who seems as if he could be a regular, doesn’t have enough of a track record in the bigs yet to inspire any kind of expectation. Cora’s a nice reserve, there’s just not enough bat there. Berroa seems like a retread. From Kansas City, hmm.
Any good performances have been surprising, from players nobody expected much from. Omir Santos, the catcher, is a nice example. Jeremy Reed, this new kid Sullivan, certainly David Murphy, these fellas just play the game hard and a fan hopes for the best, but there are really no expectations.
We need to get back to reality, a time when there were expectations of performance at every position, especially shortstop, first base and centerfield. It’s high time we looked at contract situations for Beltran, Delgado and Reyes.
Beltran got a seven-year contract for 119 million back in 2005. That takes Mr Beltran all the way out to 2011, only two years from now. I for one would love to see Carlos in centerfield for the next five years or so, but only if he could be a happy, healthy Carlos. We don’t need a guy who’s unhappy.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Delgado back at first base either but he’s 38, he’s hurt and he’s expendable if his demands become unbelievable. Reason would dictate a new first baseman though, one of the young guns that we can find in Kansas City’s Brett Butler or Pittsburgh’s kid, Garrett Jones.
Reyes should be moved if possible. He signed a 4-year back in 2006 for 23.25 million, a bargain if he plays but a bust if he sits. I’d start looking for a suitor. I’m tired of hearing about potential. He’d have great trade value. It’s almost a lock that some other team would be interested.
But this team needs big-time performance at these slots. The only other position player capable of big performance at the plate is Wright. Francoeur will be a question mark, Sheffield is too old, that centerfielder from the minors is always hurt. Murphy hasn’t shown any real consistency and, well, we need hitters badly. First base and centerfield would be good places to shop.
And then there’s the pitching. Santana is in a class by himself which he proved again yesterday, a real competitor and leader. Pelfrey, Maine and Perez have been very disappointing, for one reason or another, inconsistency or physical well-being always cropping up. But at this point, hanging on to them might make the most sense.
On the relief front, Billy Wagner can probably be traded. Putz should be better as should Green. We could maybe get a big-time position player for Wagner. Everybody needs a good closer, everybody but the Mets. K-Rod’s been a revelation when he’s not been bored to death.
“Boring” is watching this Mets team facing San Diego in San Diego. Could anything be worse? The mind boggles. Thank God for Santana.
As boring as the Mets were, the Yankees were unbelievable. As much as I dislike the whole Yankee organization, you have to give them credit for their demolition of the Red Sox head to head Thursday through Sunday. They hit when they had to hit and they pitched all the time, whether they had to or not.
What a disaster for the Red Sox! They pretty much kissed the AL East title goodbye and their quest must now be for the wildcard. Sabathia, Burnet and Pettite buried them after Joba just got by. When Joba faltered, the Yankees bats came to the fore. It was either Arod or Teixeira or Damon or Posada, it seemed but they got production from just about everybody in a striped shirt.
Teixeira went 6 for 17 with 2 homers, Arod went 4 for 18 with 2 homers, Damon had his 2 homers too, and he scored 4 times, Posada and Cano both went 8 for 18 and Posada had a homer of his own. The new Hinske and Swisher platoon seems pretty formidable too, and their infield defense, with the addition of Teixeira and the improvement in Cano, is almost scary.
Yes, I hate to say it, but the Yanks are loaded. They’re serious, very serious. While I was thinking that they might try to go forward with Mitre as a fifth starter, they picked up Chad Gaudin, a legitimate starter, who has kicked around the majors for several years with mixed success but had really shown marked improvement recently.
So while the Mets have nothing, the Yankees have everything, starters, relievers, hitters, fielders, you name it, they’ve got it. While they can and probably will look bad in certain games going forward, particularly if they get a bad start out of a starter, since their middle relievers can be somewhat compromised.
That alone should make for a livable August and September. I’d hate to have to just live and die with the Cubs or the Rangers for the rest of the season. And it’s still too early to get into football.
The Yanks are the story. The Mets are the footnote. I’ll try to wear a smile.
Let’s talk disappointments. How about Sean Green? No offense but he’s been awful and I’m sure some other team would love to have him. Goodbye Sean. It’s been real. That catcher of ours, the arguable number one catcher, Brian Schneider, he can hit the dusty trail too. Other than those two, there really aren’t that many players you can point to who have had to live up to grand expectations. Well, if you don’t count the pitching side, and other than the core guys who’ve been out.
Most of the players on the field now for the Mets are reserves in the real world. Even a Pagan, who seems as if he could be a regular, doesn’t have enough of a track record in the bigs yet to inspire any kind of expectation. Cora’s a nice reserve, there’s just not enough bat there. Berroa seems like a retread. From Kansas City, hmm.
Any good performances have been surprising, from players nobody expected much from. Omir Santos, the catcher, is a nice example. Jeremy Reed, this new kid Sullivan, certainly David Murphy, these fellas just play the game hard and a fan hopes for the best, but there are really no expectations.
We need to get back to reality, a time when there were expectations of performance at every position, especially shortstop, first base and centerfield. It’s high time we looked at contract situations for Beltran, Delgado and Reyes.
Beltran got a seven-year contract for 119 million back in 2005. That takes Mr Beltran all the way out to 2011, only two years from now. I for one would love to see Carlos in centerfield for the next five years or so, but only if he could be a happy, healthy Carlos. We don’t need a guy who’s unhappy.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Delgado back at first base either but he’s 38, he’s hurt and he’s expendable if his demands become unbelievable. Reason would dictate a new first baseman though, one of the young guns that we can find in Kansas City’s Brett Butler or Pittsburgh’s kid, Garrett Jones.
Reyes should be moved if possible. He signed a 4-year back in 2006 for 23.25 million, a bargain if he plays but a bust if he sits. I’d start looking for a suitor. I’m tired of hearing about potential. He’d have great trade value. It’s almost a lock that some other team would be interested.
But this team needs big-time performance at these slots. The only other position player capable of big performance at the plate is Wright. Francoeur will be a question mark, Sheffield is too old, that centerfielder from the minors is always hurt. Murphy hasn’t shown any real consistency and, well, we need hitters badly. First base and centerfield would be good places to shop.
And then there’s the pitching. Santana is in a class by himself which he proved again yesterday, a real competitor and leader. Pelfrey, Maine and Perez have been very disappointing, for one reason or another, inconsistency or physical well-being always cropping up. But at this point, hanging on to them might make the most sense.
On the relief front, Billy Wagner can probably be traded. Putz should be better as should Green. We could maybe get a big-time position player for Wagner. Everybody needs a good closer, everybody but the Mets. K-Rod’s been a revelation when he’s not been bored to death.
“Boring” is watching this Mets team facing San Diego in San Diego. Could anything be worse? The mind boggles. Thank God for Santana.
As boring as the Mets were, the Yankees were unbelievable. As much as I dislike the whole Yankee organization, you have to give them credit for their demolition of the Red Sox head to head Thursday through Sunday. They hit when they had to hit and they pitched all the time, whether they had to or not.
What a disaster for the Red Sox! They pretty much kissed the AL East title goodbye and their quest must now be for the wildcard. Sabathia, Burnet and Pettite buried them after Joba just got by. When Joba faltered, the Yankees bats came to the fore. It was either Arod or Teixeira or Damon or Posada, it seemed but they got production from just about everybody in a striped shirt.
Teixeira went 6 for 17 with 2 homers, Arod went 4 for 18 with 2 homers, Damon had his 2 homers too, and he scored 4 times, Posada and Cano both went 8 for 18 and Posada had a homer of his own. The new Hinske and Swisher platoon seems pretty formidable too, and their infield defense, with the addition of Teixeira and the improvement in Cano, is almost scary.
Yes, I hate to say it, but the Yanks are loaded. They’re serious, very serious. While I was thinking that they might try to go forward with Mitre as a fifth starter, they picked up Chad Gaudin, a legitimate starter, who has kicked around the majors for several years with mixed success but had really shown marked improvement recently.
So while the Mets have nothing, the Yankees have everything, starters, relievers, hitters, fielders, you name it, they’ve got it. While they can and probably will look bad in certain games going forward, particularly if they get a bad start out of a starter, since their middle relievers can be somewhat compromised.
That alone should make for a livable August and September. I’d hate to have to just live and die with the Cubs or the Rangers for the rest of the season. And it’s still too early to get into football.
The Yanks are the story. The Mets are the footnote. I’ll try to wear a smile.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Turn the Page !
What’s next? So Arod was doing stuff way before he said he was. So Sean Green isn’t Superman as a reliever. So JJ Putz isn’t Batman. So the Yanks will keep Joba in his starting role. So Jerry Manuel won’t bunt when he’s supposed to, so Wright can strike out at the worst possible times.
I don’t think I can overreact anymore. You just have to tell yourself there’s a lot of stupidity out there, and real heroes are as rare as hair on a cueball, especially in New York.
Jerry Manuel is really getting me down these days. Too much thinking. Way too much thinking. Especially when everything he does turns out wrong. As many things as he did right last year, he’s almost made up for it this year.
Whether he plays his feelings or the percentages, it just comes out wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Snakebit had no meaning until Jerry. Here’s a guy who just has too many options. He’s always playing the wrong card.
But here’s the good news. Things have got to get better. A person can’t be wrong all the time, although Willy came close last year. At least Manuel has a sense of humor and reasons for his actions. He’s open and honest and all those things one likes in a person, if not necessarily in a manager.
So I’m just going to wait all this bad stuff out. After all, Beltran’s starting to slide again, Tatis just hit a dinger, Delgado should get well again, Wright can’t look like a buffoon for months at a time, can he?
Things will settle down. Murphy looked great the other day on that sliding, whirling, hurling double play. And yes, he slipped again but geez, that could happen to anybody every other day.
I can’t really complain. Everything the Mets have done over the last year had been ok by me. Getting rid of Randolph, getting relief pitching, not dumping Castillo, not getting the big bat, keeping Oliver Perez. I was happy with all of that.
Be careful what you wish for, I guess. That’s all you can say. Eventually things will right themselves. Eventually they’ll stop leaving all those men on base. That’s been the real killer so far. That, and some very bad starting pitching. Oh, and then the relief pitching went south too. But who’s worried?
Maybe I should just stop paying attention for a while. It’s not as if baseball is the only sport around. Heck, the Kentucky Derby is Saturday, the NBA playoffs are going strong, the NHL playoffs are as exciting as ever, even if we have to watch with no New York/New Jersey representation.
The Jets took the football world by storm, moving up to grab Sanchez. The Giants picked themselves up a nice receiver to replace Burress, and then when they realized they still hadn’t really done that, they picked another guy who actually looks and plays a lot like Plaxico. And, just for consistency, they got themselves another pass-rusher.
Surely, with all this other stuff going on, I could afford to give the Mets a break. You’d have to agree that they’re an entertaining team to watch. And it’s beginning to look like this new CitiField should suit them just fine. I could live with lots of triples and fewer home runs. The Mets have the speed for it, and a bunch of flyball pitchers too.
And, as this is written, it’s still April. Everybody and everything in baseball gets a break in April, the slumping batters, the lousy pitchers, dumb managers, sloppy fielders, runners who don’t hit the dirt when they’re supposed to….excepting only steroids users and ticket pricers, especially if they work for the Evil Empire, now more than ever showing their true colors, mostly the colors of money.
There are still about 140 games to play, a whole heckuva lot of games. I’m literally going to turn the page, the April page on my Mets calendar that features an 8 by 11 photo of David Wright. I can’t stand to look at it anymore, thank goodness for May. May features Jose, and I can imagine him banging out another triple.
The Mets just need to turn the page too. Forget April. Forget all those lost opportunities. Forget Shea. Forget the bad pitching. Forget the record and the standings. Just look ahead. It should be easy.
There have been so many good things. Santana’s phenomenal pitching, the bats banging out lots of base hits, the good relief pitching, the seasoned manager who’s seen a little bit of everything. It’ll turn around.
The law of averages demands it.
I don’t think I can overreact anymore. You just have to tell yourself there’s a lot of stupidity out there, and real heroes are as rare as hair on a cueball, especially in New York.
Jerry Manuel is really getting me down these days. Too much thinking. Way too much thinking. Especially when everything he does turns out wrong. As many things as he did right last year, he’s almost made up for it this year.
Whether he plays his feelings or the percentages, it just comes out wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Snakebit had no meaning until Jerry. Here’s a guy who just has too many options. He’s always playing the wrong card.
But here’s the good news. Things have got to get better. A person can’t be wrong all the time, although Willy came close last year. At least Manuel has a sense of humor and reasons for his actions. He’s open and honest and all those things one likes in a person, if not necessarily in a manager.
So I’m just going to wait all this bad stuff out. After all, Beltran’s starting to slide again, Tatis just hit a dinger, Delgado should get well again, Wright can’t look like a buffoon for months at a time, can he?
Things will settle down. Murphy looked great the other day on that sliding, whirling, hurling double play. And yes, he slipped again but geez, that could happen to anybody every other day.
I can’t really complain. Everything the Mets have done over the last year had been ok by me. Getting rid of Randolph, getting relief pitching, not dumping Castillo, not getting the big bat, keeping Oliver Perez. I was happy with all of that.
Be careful what you wish for, I guess. That’s all you can say. Eventually things will right themselves. Eventually they’ll stop leaving all those men on base. That’s been the real killer so far. That, and some very bad starting pitching. Oh, and then the relief pitching went south too. But who’s worried?
Maybe I should just stop paying attention for a while. It’s not as if baseball is the only sport around. Heck, the Kentucky Derby is Saturday, the NBA playoffs are going strong, the NHL playoffs are as exciting as ever, even if we have to watch with no New York/New Jersey representation.
The Jets took the football world by storm, moving up to grab Sanchez. The Giants picked themselves up a nice receiver to replace Burress, and then when they realized they still hadn’t really done that, they picked another guy who actually looks and plays a lot like Plaxico. And, just for consistency, they got themselves another pass-rusher.
Surely, with all this other stuff going on, I could afford to give the Mets a break. You’d have to agree that they’re an entertaining team to watch. And it’s beginning to look like this new CitiField should suit them just fine. I could live with lots of triples and fewer home runs. The Mets have the speed for it, and a bunch of flyball pitchers too.
And, as this is written, it’s still April. Everybody and everything in baseball gets a break in April, the slumping batters, the lousy pitchers, dumb managers, sloppy fielders, runners who don’t hit the dirt when they’re supposed to….excepting only steroids users and ticket pricers, especially if they work for the Evil Empire, now more than ever showing their true colors, mostly the colors of money.
There are still about 140 games to play, a whole heckuva lot of games. I’m literally going to turn the page, the April page on my Mets calendar that features an 8 by 11 photo of David Wright. I can’t stand to look at it anymore, thank goodness for May. May features Jose, and I can imagine him banging out another triple.
The Mets just need to turn the page too. Forget April. Forget all those lost opportunities. Forget Shea. Forget the bad pitching. Forget the record and the standings. Just look ahead. It should be easy.
There have been so many good things. Santana’s phenomenal pitching, the bats banging out lots of base hits, the good relief pitching, the seasoned manager who’s seen a little bit of everything. It’ll turn around.
The law of averages demands it.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Whatta Relief!!
For a Mets fan, nothing could be better than this opening to the season. The first game could have been straight from the desk of Omar Minaya. Santana gets his 6 or thereabouts, Green gets it to Putz and Rodriguez. All was right in the world of blue.
After a day for us Mets fans to contemplate our good fortune,we got to witness a game that was probably indicative of many games to come. The starter was good but not great, or not careful, and Pedro Feliciano was his old self; that is to say he gave up two more runs before handing it over to any competent reliever. And then the competent guys, Putz and K-Rod again, were either tired or just unlucky and ran into lots of adventures before the game mercifully ended.
Luckily for the Metsies, they got some tremendous production on the other side of things, especially from the two Carloses. Nine runs is awfully hard for any team to overcome and certainly the Reds were not equal to the task last night. But they put a real scare into K-Rod. In fact, I thought he was giving us his best Aaron Heilmann impression. He looked as if he was afraid to put the ball anywhere near the plate.
Yeah, all you have to be is a little off, and a little unlucky, and you can easily lose. The first base umpire made a bad call, or a homey call I tend to think, ruling that Delgado had left the bag too early, before he had the ball, before pegging a throw over to third to try to nail Cinci’s new star Brandon Phillips. Replays showed the umpire was dead wrong and my letter to the Commissioner is on its way.
So, in lieu (does anybody say instead anymore) of two outs and a man on third with the score 9-7, it became one out and a man on first and third. Big difference! Especially for a K-Rod who was struggling to say the least. He went 2-0 on half the Cinci lineup, seemingly following the John Franco school of avoiding the plate at all costs, hoping the batter either swings or the umpire gives him the ol’ 6-inches off the plate strike.
K-Rod got neither the wild swings from the batters nor the corner calls.. Soon the bases were loaded. But K-Rod showed his toughness and smarts by striking out Gonzalez on a high hard one and then getting a little lucky when Nix blasted a pitch to the deepest part of centerfield.
So the Mets can win even when their starter doesn’t pitch well. And even when their relievers don’t knock anyone’s socks off, and that was definitely the case last night. And even when the horrible umpires in MLB do their best thing, which is to miss obvious calls.
And that will be important because the Mets starters just aren’t that good, despite some things I’ve heard to the contrary. For example, I’ve heard that Pelfrey could be a number 2 starter anywhere. That’s baloney. A number 3 or 4 starter maybe but not a legitimate 2. He may be the best of the rest though.
Just how bad are the rest? Given a choice of pitchers on a particular day, of the three, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Livan Hernandez, I’d pitch Livan. I have very little confidence in Maine, he’s with his head in the clouds all the time and Perez is just crazy, especially after the fourth or fifth inning. I’d gladly select Ollie to pitch a playoff game but not those regular season yawners, yawners to him anyway.
The bats won’t always be as prolific and the pitchers won’t always be good, but given last night’s game as an example, opponents will still have to either score a lot of runs or get by those last two stalwarts, Putz and K-Rod. And that won’t be too easy.
Yankee fans are dying right now, of course, what with CC’s inauspicious opener and Wang’s bashing last night. You can almost bet that A.J. Burnet will have trouble too, if not for the season, at least for Game 3. There’s a lot of pressure pitching for New York and none of these fellows will find it terribly easy to finally get comfortable.
As I’ve said before, Sabathia starts slowly and if the papers (I hate media, don’t you) beat him up in April, there may not be much of CC left for May through September, even as big as he is. And if he should have an extended bad period, which he has had before, it’s all over but the shoutin’.
Texeira’s done nothing yet either, and Colby Rasmus is not the stuff that dreams are made of. And I don’t like their batting order either.
Jeter is not a leadoff hitter. He’s not fast enough. He’s no real threat on the bases. Damon isn’t The Flash reincarnated either but he can lead off. Jeter should bat 2nd. He’s got that good bat control and he’s smart and unselfish. The 3-4-5 of Teixeira, Matsui and Posada is the best the Yankees can send up there right now, but it certainly isn’t an awe-inspiring middle. For example, I’d prefer any combination of Wright, Beltran and Delgado.
Then there’s the 6 spot though the 9 spot. Cano’s at 6 but he should probably move up in the order, Nady’s been at the 7 spot but he’s a bigger threat to me than Posada at 5, in the long run anyway. Then there’s Ransom and Gardner at 8 and 9 and I’d certainly have to agree with that for now.
But, until Arod returns, I’d like to see Gardner, Jeter, Damon, Teixeira, Matsui, Nady, Posada, and either Cano and Ransom or the other way around depending on who has less speed. Arod’s return will not only solidify the center of the lineup but tend to extend the strength through the order.
And how ‘bout some relief?
After a day for us Mets fans to contemplate our good fortune,we got to witness a game that was probably indicative of many games to come. The starter was good but not great, or not careful, and Pedro Feliciano was his old self; that is to say he gave up two more runs before handing it over to any competent reliever. And then the competent guys, Putz and K-Rod again, were either tired or just unlucky and ran into lots of adventures before the game mercifully ended.
Luckily for the Metsies, they got some tremendous production on the other side of things, especially from the two Carloses. Nine runs is awfully hard for any team to overcome and certainly the Reds were not equal to the task last night. But they put a real scare into K-Rod. In fact, I thought he was giving us his best Aaron Heilmann impression. He looked as if he was afraid to put the ball anywhere near the plate.
Yeah, all you have to be is a little off, and a little unlucky, and you can easily lose. The first base umpire made a bad call, or a homey call I tend to think, ruling that Delgado had left the bag too early, before he had the ball, before pegging a throw over to third to try to nail Cinci’s new star Brandon Phillips. Replays showed the umpire was dead wrong and my letter to the Commissioner is on its way.
So, in lieu (does anybody say instead anymore) of two outs and a man on third with the score 9-7, it became one out and a man on first and third. Big difference! Especially for a K-Rod who was struggling to say the least. He went 2-0 on half the Cinci lineup, seemingly following the John Franco school of avoiding the plate at all costs, hoping the batter either swings or the umpire gives him the ol’ 6-inches off the plate strike.
K-Rod got neither the wild swings from the batters nor the corner calls.. Soon the bases were loaded. But K-Rod showed his toughness and smarts by striking out Gonzalez on a high hard one and then getting a little lucky when Nix blasted a pitch to the deepest part of centerfield.
So the Mets can win even when their starter doesn’t pitch well. And even when their relievers don’t knock anyone’s socks off, and that was definitely the case last night. And even when the horrible umpires in MLB do their best thing, which is to miss obvious calls.
And that will be important because the Mets starters just aren’t that good, despite some things I’ve heard to the contrary. For example, I’ve heard that Pelfrey could be a number 2 starter anywhere. That’s baloney. A number 3 or 4 starter maybe but not a legitimate 2. He may be the best of the rest though.
Just how bad are the rest? Given a choice of pitchers on a particular day, of the three, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Livan Hernandez, I’d pitch Livan. I have very little confidence in Maine, he’s with his head in the clouds all the time and Perez is just crazy, especially after the fourth or fifth inning. I’d gladly select Ollie to pitch a playoff game but not those regular season yawners, yawners to him anyway.
The bats won’t always be as prolific and the pitchers won’t always be good, but given last night’s game as an example, opponents will still have to either score a lot of runs or get by those last two stalwarts, Putz and K-Rod. And that won’t be too easy.
Yankee fans are dying right now, of course, what with CC’s inauspicious opener and Wang’s bashing last night. You can almost bet that A.J. Burnet will have trouble too, if not for the season, at least for Game 3. There’s a lot of pressure pitching for New York and none of these fellows will find it terribly easy to finally get comfortable.
As I’ve said before, Sabathia starts slowly and if the papers (I hate media, don’t you) beat him up in April, there may not be much of CC left for May through September, even as big as he is. And if he should have an extended bad period, which he has had before, it’s all over but the shoutin’.
Texeira’s done nothing yet either, and Colby Rasmus is not the stuff that dreams are made of. And I don’t like their batting order either.
Jeter is not a leadoff hitter. He’s not fast enough. He’s no real threat on the bases. Damon isn’t The Flash reincarnated either but he can lead off. Jeter should bat 2nd. He’s got that good bat control and he’s smart and unselfish. The 3-4-5 of Teixeira, Matsui and Posada is the best the Yankees can send up there right now, but it certainly isn’t an awe-inspiring middle. For example, I’d prefer any combination of Wright, Beltran and Delgado.
Then there’s the 6 spot though the 9 spot. Cano’s at 6 but he should probably move up in the order, Nady’s been at the 7 spot but he’s a bigger threat to me than Posada at 5, in the long run anyway. Then there’s Ransom and Gardner at 8 and 9 and I’d certainly have to agree with that for now.
But, until Arod returns, I’d like to see Gardner, Jeter, Damon, Teixeira, Matsui, Nady, Posada, and either Cano and Ransom or the other way around depending on who has less speed. Arod’s return will not only solidify the center of the lineup but tend to extend the strength through the order.
And how ‘bout some relief?
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
On Fantasy and Arod
It’s a slow news week for just about everything in sports this Tuesday. Except for Pitt knocking off U Conn, there really wasn’t anything happening, that is, unless you’re really into Alex Rodriguez. Or the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. As Conan might have said, “It’s a good day to die”. Of course, he had a much more exciting context at the time.
It’s at times such as these when a young man’s thoughts turn to, well, what would I know about that? But I have been taking a look at this year’s fantasy baseball mock drafts, and I must admit there are some strange things shaping up there.
For example, Hanley Ramirez, the Marlins shortstop and Albert Pujols, the Cards perennially great first baseman, are ranked one and two in most mock drafts. While Pujols isn’t really such a surprise, you have to turn your head a little at Hanley’s ascension.
Not that his numbers are bad. Hanley batted .301 with 33 homers and 67 ribbies. Even better, he scored 125 runs and stole 35 bases. But Pujols batted .357 with 116 ribbies and 100 runs scored. Of course, Albert doesn’t steal bases unless the sky is falling, and in these 5 by 5 leagues (stats categories in hitting and batting), speed is an over-rated thing.
It’s also been reported that Hanley came to camp about 25 pounds heavier than last year, and it’s reported to be all muscle, developed through weight training and swimming. While he doesn’t expect to start the season at 225, he’ll probably play at about 210, a ten-pound jump over last year’s weight. Still, I’m wary as to how that muscle will translate to the game of baseball. After all, it never did much for Arod.
Speaking of Arod, and isn’t everybody, Arod is arguably in the top three fantasy picks again this year. Not that there’s any chance I’ll select him, but I know I’ll hate facing any team that does. Alex hit .302 with 35 homers and 103 ribbies in a down year for him. He also stole 18 bases and will be following newly-acquired Mark Teixeira in the batting order. It should be interesting to see how that will affect his ribbies as Teixeira may have already cleared the bases.
As a Mets fan, I always try to draft some Mets but not at the expense of competitive advantage. I’ll be very curious to see my draft position this year as I might be able to select Beltran, my favorite Met, if things work out just right.
Jose Reyes, by the way, was selected 4th in one mock draft while Wright was 5th. I would never select either that high, however, despite all the steals from Reyes and the five-category contributions from Wright. I’m still quite sure they both contributed big-time to the Mets demise last year. I do hold grudges.
Beltran, though, was selected in the second round with the fifth pick. He’s definitely on my list as is Johan Santana, who made it deep into the second round. I’ll be looking to add closer Francisco Rodriguez too, who lasted until the seventh round, and Delgado, who lasted until the ninth round.
If you’re curious, some other Mets went very late, which hopefully won’t be a bad omen. Crazy Ollie Perez and Mike Pelfrey were both selections in the 19th round and John Maine almost wasn’t picked at all, before someone took a chance on him in the 23rd round.
Ah, the importance of good fortune! Nobody appreciates luck more than this fantasy nut as evidenced by my luck in football this year, when my running back-depleted team beat my brother’s perfectly-situated team in the playoffs, or when my nephew’s fantasy acumen took a hit as he went winless!
I believe it was Julius Caesar who said “In all of life, but especially in war, the greatest power belongs to fortune”. And if it’s good enough for Caesar, it’s good enough for me.
I’ll continue using a rather curious fantasy strategy this year as it’s been working. I simply make a list of players I’d like on my team along with the round they’re likely to be selected. Then, as the actual draft proceeds, I simply plug them in if they’re still on the board later than I thought they’d be.
The great thing about this method is that it yields a team that, if nothing else, you can root for. At the worst, the team may lose but you enjoy the play. If you’re lucky at the same time, you get the best of all possible worlds, the money and the fun.
Just as an example, I’ve selected four outfielders I’d love to have – Curtis Granderson, Alexei Ramirez (with second base eligibility as well), Nate McLouth and Jay Bruce. Granderson was picked in the mock draft in the fourth round, 5th pick, while Alexei Ramirez was also picked in the fourth round with the 9th pick.
If either player is still there in the fifth round, I’m taking him, or, if an even higher-rated player on my board is still there, say, a Brandon Webb or Jonathan Papelbon who were both third round mock selections, I’ll take one of them.
There’s nothing worse than owning a team that has been very methodically selected by someone else’s druthers. For example, I won’t ordinarily have a Yankee on my team. If I’m picking 8th and Arod is still there, I’m not taking him. Yes, I could trade him but then you’re really leaving your fates up in the air.
Today’s New York Times sports headline screamed “Welcome to Camp Alex” in a font large enough to be unforgettable, not just to me but likely also to Jeter, Teixeira, Damon and Sabathia. Why should they perform? It’ll be Arod who gets the headline. I’d guess the Arod legacy or curse, if it pleases you, will continue. He’ll never play on a winner.
My guess is that all the Yankees will have down years.
It’s at times such as these when a young man’s thoughts turn to, well, what would I know about that? But I have been taking a look at this year’s fantasy baseball mock drafts, and I must admit there are some strange things shaping up there.
For example, Hanley Ramirez, the Marlins shortstop and Albert Pujols, the Cards perennially great first baseman, are ranked one and two in most mock drafts. While Pujols isn’t really such a surprise, you have to turn your head a little at Hanley’s ascension.
Not that his numbers are bad. Hanley batted .301 with 33 homers and 67 ribbies. Even better, he scored 125 runs and stole 35 bases. But Pujols batted .357 with 116 ribbies and 100 runs scored. Of course, Albert doesn’t steal bases unless the sky is falling, and in these 5 by 5 leagues (stats categories in hitting and batting), speed is an over-rated thing.
It’s also been reported that Hanley came to camp about 25 pounds heavier than last year, and it’s reported to be all muscle, developed through weight training and swimming. While he doesn’t expect to start the season at 225, he’ll probably play at about 210, a ten-pound jump over last year’s weight. Still, I’m wary as to how that muscle will translate to the game of baseball. After all, it never did much for Arod.
Speaking of Arod, and isn’t everybody, Arod is arguably in the top three fantasy picks again this year. Not that there’s any chance I’ll select him, but I know I’ll hate facing any team that does. Alex hit .302 with 35 homers and 103 ribbies in a down year for him. He also stole 18 bases and will be following newly-acquired Mark Teixeira in the batting order. It should be interesting to see how that will affect his ribbies as Teixeira may have already cleared the bases.
As a Mets fan, I always try to draft some Mets but not at the expense of competitive advantage. I’ll be very curious to see my draft position this year as I might be able to select Beltran, my favorite Met, if things work out just right.
Jose Reyes, by the way, was selected 4th in one mock draft while Wright was 5th. I would never select either that high, however, despite all the steals from Reyes and the five-category contributions from Wright. I’m still quite sure they both contributed big-time to the Mets demise last year. I do hold grudges.
Beltran, though, was selected in the second round with the fifth pick. He’s definitely on my list as is Johan Santana, who made it deep into the second round. I’ll be looking to add closer Francisco Rodriguez too, who lasted until the seventh round, and Delgado, who lasted until the ninth round.
If you’re curious, some other Mets went very late, which hopefully won’t be a bad omen. Crazy Ollie Perez and Mike Pelfrey were both selections in the 19th round and John Maine almost wasn’t picked at all, before someone took a chance on him in the 23rd round.
Ah, the importance of good fortune! Nobody appreciates luck more than this fantasy nut as evidenced by my luck in football this year, when my running back-depleted team beat my brother’s perfectly-situated team in the playoffs, or when my nephew’s fantasy acumen took a hit as he went winless!
I believe it was Julius Caesar who said “In all of life, but especially in war, the greatest power belongs to fortune”. And if it’s good enough for Caesar, it’s good enough for me.
I’ll continue using a rather curious fantasy strategy this year as it’s been working. I simply make a list of players I’d like on my team along with the round they’re likely to be selected. Then, as the actual draft proceeds, I simply plug them in if they’re still on the board later than I thought they’d be.
The great thing about this method is that it yields a team that, if nothing else, you can root for. At the worst, the team may lose but you enjoy the play. If you’re lucky at the same time, you get the best of all possible worlds, the money and the fun.
Just as an example, I’ve selected four outfielders I’d love to have – Curtis Granderson, Alexei Ramirez (with second base eligibility as well), Nate McLouth and Jay Bruce. Granderson was picked in the mock draft in the fourth round, 5th pick, while Alexei Ramirez was also picked in the fourth round with the 9th pick.
If either player is still there in the fifth round, I’m taking him, or, if an even higher-rated player on my board is still there, say, a Brandon Webb or Jonathan Papelbon who were both third round mock selections, I’ll take one of them.
There’s nothing worse than owning a team that has been very methodically selected by someone else’s druthers. For example, I won’t ordinarily have a Yankee on my team. If I’m picking 8th and Arod is still there, I’m not taking him. Yes, I could trade him but then you’re really leaving your fates up in the air.
Today’s New York Times sports headline screamed “Welcome to Camp Alex” in a font large enough to be unforgettable, not just to me but likely also to Jeter, Teixeira, Damon and Sabathia. Why should they perform? It’ll be Arod who gets the headline. I’d guess the Arod legacy or curse, if it pleases you, will continue. He’ll never play on a winner.
My guess is that all the Yankees will have down years.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Is Nothing Sacred?
Everyone wants to weigh in on the Arod situation and I’m no different, I guess, but why do I feel as if I broke into his bedroom? It just really stinks that anybody gets smeared as Arod has been for taking a drug test that was supposed to be anonymous. That really bothers me. And I’m a Yankee-hater most of the time.
Major League Baseball botched the steroids situation from the very start. If anybody pays for their mistakes, it should be MLB. If any individual needs to be vilified, look to Bud Selig. Look to the Players Union too and its leadership. Their strategies, if they could be called that in their inanity, have failed. And now everybody will pay.
The Yankees will pay the most. As a Mets fan, and often-times Yankee-hater, life is sweet. But I wish I knew for sure my favorite Mets were clean. I don’t.
A couple of things make Arod’s situation unique. For one, it seems as if steroids didn’t really help him that much, as opposed to Bonds and Clemens and Sosa, for example. His performance may have improved as he weaned himself off them. You could say Arod botched steroids use.
A quick look at his career stats would seem to bear this out, that is, unless he also took steroids throughout the entire period from about 2003 and on. (THIS JUST IN_AROD HAS ADMITTED USE FROM 2001-2003) Just taking a look at OPS, the best measure of hitting and slugging, his numbers were as follows from 2003 through 2008: .995, .888, 1.031, .914, 1.067, and .965.
His wondrous 2007 season, in which he batted .314, with 54 homers and 156 rbi’s is suspect, of course, because we don’t really know when he stopped taking steroids. But I do know that he slimmed down a lot from 2006 to 2007. I can recall thinking Arod looked like a blown-up softball player in 2006. And his performance suffered in that year, batting only .290 with 35 homers (but he still had 121 rbi’s).
Interestingly enough, from his first full season with Seattle in 1996 through and including the year 2000, his OPS numbers were: 1.045, .846, .920, .943 and 1.026. He’s really been pretty consistent throughout his career, and it’s really difficult to isolate any drastically improved performance in a steroids year.
So what does all this mean? Baseball has been incredibly naïve AT BEST about the entire steroids question. You’d think that they’d have a greater sense of social responsibility than they have shown. (Talk about naïve, right)?
If there is a crisis for baseball, it’s one of credibility. A sport that absolutely obsesses about statistics suddenly finds itself without any meaningful ones. But, if there is a crisis for the rest of us, it’s the answer to the question “is nothing sacred”?
For it would appear that nothing is. The records aren’t sacred and our freedoms aren’t either. Confidentiality? Privacy? Forget about it. The only good advice you can impart to your children is “don’t do anything wrong, and if you do, admit nothing and don’t submit your sacred body to tests of any kind, drugs, DNA, or whatever comes next.
The U.S. Government has proven its heavy-handedness in its prosecution of Barry Bonds. Greg Anderson, Bonds’s trainer, went to jail for a year or so because he wouldn’t testify against his friend. The U.S. threatened his wife and even his mother. I still can’t believe I’m now rooting for Barry Bonds. But only to a certain extent.
I don’t think Bonds should go to jail, or even the hateful Clemens. But, for as long as they refuse to admit their cheating, for all these guys were cheaters, they should get no Hall of Fame consideration. Their records shouldn’t stand for their steroids years. Throw them out.
For those who have amitted their wrongdoing, I’d say they should go on as before, and if their non-steroid years stats should prove Hall-worthy, so be it. Translation: guys like McGuire, Bonds, Sosa and Clemens should just forget the Hall. But if Arod should just come clean about his involvement, let’s just subtract the wonder years and consider the remaining statistics.
I don’t think that’s so difficult. Hall voters can figure that out. They’ll vote their consciences. And it’s hard to have a clear conscience about someone who just continues to deny when all indications are otherwise.
Giambi and Pettite admitted their usage and life goes on for them. It’s somewhat disturbing that none of the true superstars have tried to come clean. But, if they did, they should get a break.
As a Mets fan, I must admit nothing makes me happier than to think the Yankees made a very stupid 300 million dollar investment. And they can listen to the jeering Arod will take for a decade. Cool.
But, then again, what if some of the other hundred or so names are some of my beloved Mets? It makes you think.
But what I think more than anything is that this country is beginning to stink out loud. Bush did a lot to kill our reputation. The Bonds perjury hearing is in a way quite like the Abu Ghraib torturing of prisoners. It’s heavy-handed and absolutely unnecessary.
Call off the Bonds hearings. He’s finished anyway. He was always a mean guy and that’s the way he’ll be remembered.
Hall of Fame? I don’t think it matters much to most people, except as a curiosity, another interesting factoid in sports, that, let’s face it, is in itself just a curiosity. Who are the best players in the land and what’s the best team of players in the land?
Which player called safe says, “but no, I was really out.” Every competitor, at least the rabid ones, will seek out every advantage. If steroid usage weren’t dangerous, I’d say to just forget about it. But it is dangerous.
But not as dangerous as are invasions of privacy and violations of ethics. Clean up baseball but clean up our government as well.
Major League Baseball botched the steroids situation from the very start. If anybody pays for their mistakes, it should be MLB. If any individual needs to be vilified, look to Bud Selig. Look to the Players Union too and its leadership. Their strategies, if they could be called that in their inanity, have failed. And now everybody will pay.
The Yankees will pay the most. As a Mets fan, and often-times Yankee-hater, life is sweet. But I wish I knew for sure my favorite Mets were clean. I don’t.
A couple of things make Arod’s situation unique. For one, it seems as if steroids didn’t really help him that much, as opposed to Bonds and Clemens and Sosa, for example. His performance may have improved as he weaned himself off them. You could say Arod botched steroids use.
A quick look at his career stats would seem to bear this out, that is, unless he also took steroids throughout the entire period from about 2003 and on. (THIS JUST IN_AROD HAS ADMITTED USE FROM 2001-2003) Just taking a look at OPS, the best measure of hitting and slugging, his numbers were as follows from 2003 through 2008: .995, .888, 1.031, .914, 1.067, and .965.
His wondrous 2007 season, in which he batted .314, with 54 homers and 156 rbi’s is suspect, of course, because we don’t really know when he stopped taking steroids. But I do know that he slimmed down a lot from 2006 to 2007. I can recall thinking Arod looked like a blown-up softball player in 2006. And his performance suffered in that year, batting only .290 with 35 homers (but he still had 121 rbi’s).
Interestingly enough, from his first full season with Seattle in 1996 through and including the year 2000, his OPS numbers were: 1.045, .846, .920, .943 and 1.026. He’s really been pretty consistent throughout his career, and it’s really difficult to isolate any drastically improved performance in a steroids year.
So what does all this mean? Baseball has been incredibly naïve AT BEST about the entire steroids question. You’d think that they’d have a greater sense of social responsibility than they have shown. (Talk about naïve, right)?
If there is a crisis for baseball, it’s one of credibility. A sport that absolutely obsesses about statistics suddenly finds itself without any meaningful ones. But, if there is a crisis for the rest of us, it’s the answer to the question “is nothing sacred”?
For it would appear that nothing is. The records aren’t sacred and our freedoms aren’t either. Confidentiality? Privacy? Forget about it. The only good advice you can impart to your children is “don’t do anything wrong, and if you do, admit nothing and don’t submit your sacred body to tests of any kind, drugs, DNA, or whatever comes next.
The U.S. Government has proven its heavy-handedness in its prosecution of Barry Bonds. Greg Anderson, Bonds’s trainer, went to jail for a year or so because he wouldn’t testify against his friend. The U.S. threatened his wife and even his mother. I still can’t believe I’m now rooting for Barry Bonds. But only to a certain extent.
I don’t think Bonds should go to jail, or even the hateful Clemens. But, for as long as they refuse to admit their cheating, for all these guys were cheaters, they should get no Hall of Fame consideration. Their records shouldn’t stand for their steroids years. Throw them out.
For those who have amitted their wrongdoing, I’d say they should go on as before, and if their non-steroid years stats should prove Hall-worthy, so be it. Translation: guys like McGuire, Bonds, Sosa and Clemens should just forget the Hall. But if Arod should just come clean about his involvement, let’s just subtract the wonder years and consider the remaining statistics.
I don’t think that’s so difficult. Hall voters can figure that out. They’ll vote their consciences. And it’s hard to have a clear conscience about someone who just continues to deny when all indications are otherwise.
Giambi and Pettite admitted their usage and life goes on for them. It’s somewhat disturbing that none of the true superstars have tried to come clean. But, if they did, they should get a break.
As a Mets fan, I must admit nothing makes me happier than to think the Yankees made a very stupid 300 million dollar investment. And they can listen to the jeering Arod will take for a decade. Cool.
But, then again, what if some of the other hundred or so names are some of my beloved Mets? It makes you think.
But what I think more than anything is that this country is beginning to stink out loud. Bush did a lot to kill our reputation. The Bonds perjury hearing is in a way quite like the Abu Ghraib torturing of prisoners. It’s heavy-handed and absolutely unnecessary.
Call off the Bonds hearings. He’s finished anyway. He was always a mean guy and that’s the way he’ll be remembered.
Hall of Fame? I don’t think it matters much to most people, except as a curiosity, another interesting factoid in sports, that, let’s face it, is in itself just a curiosity. Who are the best players in the land and what’s the best team of players in the land?
Which player called safe says, “but no, I was really out.” Every competitor, at least the rabid ones, will seek out every advantage. If steroid usage weren’t dangerous, I’d say to just forget about it. But it is dangerous.
But not as dangerous as are invasions of privacy and violations of ethics. Clean up baseball but clean up our government as well.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Ten Four ...Joba... Over?
Although I’m a Mets fan through and through, and would love to wax poetic today about Jerry Manuel’s relief-pitcher shuffling, or Jose Reyes’s diving stop on that hard line drive today to end the game, or even Beltran’s newly regained power at the plate, let me today turn my thoughts to those other locals, those Yankees, who, after all, have been written off by even their most loyal followers. But there is still hope.
Playing 2-4 baseball at home in their last six, losing all kinds of different ways over that stretch, and facing ten games in four different and distant cities in the next ten days, one might think the Yankees were done. I'm sure we've all heard it these last few days, "Stick a fork in 'em, they're done". Well, I'm here to tell you, it ain't necessarily so.
The Yanks are now 72-64; the Red Sox are at 79-57. Over in
If the Yanks can take the Tigers tomorrow in a makeup game in Detroit, then fly to Tampa and take two of three, then fly to Seattle and sweep, and then fly to LA, drive over to Anaheim and take 2 of 3 from their old nemeses Angels, they'll be at 80-66 in ten days.
The Red Sox seemingly have an easier time over the same ten days, traveling to only one city over this same time period to face the Texas Rangers. Sandwiching that series will be six at Fenway - three against the lowly Orioles but then three versus those
The Red Sox will then play 14, featuring
The Yanks would have just 13 games versus the Rays, White Sox, Orioles and Blue Jays. If the Yanks can go 10-3 over that stretch, they’ll be at 90-69 too. And they’d still have to take 2 out of 3 at
I won't bore you with the details of the schedules for the Twins and White Sox over the same time period but, after only a cursory inspection, it looks pretty easy for them But my point is that this game is baseball, and just go ask the Colorado Rockies what can happen in this strangest of national pastimes. Or the Mets for that matter.
The Twins and White Sox are, after all, just, well, the Twins and White Sox. It’s entirely possible for them to falter too. In fact, for the Twins, who have been doing rather well as of late, it’s almost a sure thing. So, for the purposes of this exercise, I’m assuming the Twins will fold and the White Sox will take the Central. The Twins, now at 77-60, would just have to lose 11 of their remaining 25 to finish at 91-71.
That may be a little too complicated for most people not totally obsessed by numbers and the vagaries of baseball. Let me simplify it for those folks. Remember me saying the Twins are the Twins? Well, the Yanks are the Yanks. But they have not really been the Yanks for most of this year. And they soon will be.
You can see that Hideki Matsui has rejoined the team after his knee problems. And, while he hasn’t been hitting for average yet, he’s already been knocking in some runs and you can see his affect on the team.
And Joba Chamberlain will be coming back too. But not as a starter, where he did not seem as formidable over five to seven innings as he did for just one. I must say that seeing Joba almost every day for just one inning beats seeing him for six or seven innings every five days. Just think of it, five amazing Joba sightings every single week. WOOHOO!
Arod showed some life yesterday and Giambi continued his little hot streak too. With Matsui back, the boys are all in line, so to speak, with the whole team back except for Posada. And the pitching hasn’t been that bad. Incredible as it may have seemed, Pavano was great in his two appearances, Ponson could have been a lot worse and Rasner is credible too. Mussina has been great. Pettite hasn’t been but there’s no reason he can’t come back to form either.
If the Red Sox were not showing signs of weakness, it would be a lot more difficult to predict a close finish. But really, they’re getting very little from Big Papi and they let Manny go. How long can they really expect Pedroia to go 10 for 10? How long before Youkilis reverts to the late-season Youkilis of old?
Beckett’s a little banged up too. The Red Sox are really not the Red Sox who won the World Series. And the Yankees could soon be the team that made the playoffs those thirteen years in a row.
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