Archive for September, 2009
Yanks recall Miranda
Posted by: | CommentsChad Jennings has the news. Triple-A Scranton’s season ended tonight, so the Yanks are going to raid their roster for at least one more player, recalling Juan Miranda. I assume he’ll meet the team in Seattle. Jennings mentions that Austin Jackson and Zach Kroenke – the two other serious callup candidates – weren’t told anything definitive, and are just going home for the time being. Neither player is on the 40-man roster, making it a little tricky to bring them up. For now though, the Yanks have an extra lefty bat off the bench, and won’t have to play Jose Molina at first base anymore.
Scranton falls short in bid to repeat
Posted by: | CommentsMarc Hulet of FanGraphs broke down Andrew Brackman‘s season in 600 words. It took me three posts.
Triple-A Scranton (3-2 loss to Durham in 12 innings) Durham swept the best-of-five series and won the Governor’s Cup … congrats to them
Kevin Russo & Colin Curtis: both 0 for 6 – Russo K’ed twice, Curtis once … tough to score when your 1-2 hitters do that
Austin Jackson: 2 for 4, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Juan Miranda & Chris Stewart: both 1 for 4, 1 K – Miranda tripled, walked twice & scored a run … Stewart walked & doubled
Cody Ransom: 1 for 5, 2 RBI, 2 K – was at the plate with the winning run on third and two outs in the 9th, but he struck out
John Rodriguez: 0 for 5, 1 BB, 1 K
Reegie Corona: 1 for 3, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
Doug Bernier: 0 for 3, 3 BB, 2 K – made the last out of the season
Ivan Nova: 7 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 9-7 GB/FB – 57 of 93 pitches were strikes (61.3%) … two outings in the playoffs, two brilliant starts
Zack Kroenke: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2-3 GB/FB – 20 of 29 pitches were strikes (69%) … allowed a pair of inherited runners to score, hence the runs on Nova’s docket
Kevin Whelan: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1-1 GB/FB – 23 of 45 pitches were strikes (51.1%) … he was cruising along, but then he started walking guys and left a bases loaded mess for
Eric Wordekemper: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 2-0 GB/FB – 18 of 25 pitches were strikes (72%)
Double-A Trenton’s season is over. Akron leads Connecticut 2-1 in the best-of-five Eastern League Championship Series. Game Three is tomorrow night.
High-A Tampa won the Florida State League championship.
Low-A Charleston’s season is over. Greenville beat Lakewood tonight, but they still trail 2-1 in the South Atlantic League Championship Series (best-of-five). Game Three is tomorrow.
Short Season Staten Island won the NY-Penn League championship.
The Rookie GCL Yanks season is over after they lost to the GCL Marlins in Round One of the playoffs. The GCL Nats won the league championship.
Open Thead Overflow
Posted by: | CommentsI don’t think we’ve ever had to do this, but that 500+ comment open thread sure is taking a while to load. Keep the party going here.
Open Thread: Heyman’s free agent predictions
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees are off today and are traveling out to the west coast for the third time this year, so we’ve got some time to kill. While we wait patiently for tomorrow’s game, let’s take a look at Jon Heyman’s latest column, in which he guesses how much money various free agents will get this winter. Here’s what’s up with the Yanks’ impending free agents:
17. Johnny Damon, Yankees outfielder. Big year. But “better in Yankee Stadium,” the GM said.
Agent: $18 million, 2 years.
GM: Whatever the Yankees want to pay.
Me: $16 million, 2 years.
Did you know Damon’s hitting .154-.267-.154 since Sept. 3rd? Yikes. Anyway, I can’t see Damon getting two guaranteed years, at least not from the Yankees. Given his age, lack of defense, and considerable home-road splits, there will probably be a limited market for his services. My guess is one year, $5M with incentives and an option for 2011.
19. Andy Pettitte, Yankees starter. He says he’s undecided about a return. But everyone thinks he’s going back to the Yankees.
Agent: $10 million, 1 year.
GM: $11-12 million, 1 year.
Me: $12 million, 1 year.
Common sense says it’s Yankees or retirement. Pettitte’s base salary was $5.5M this year, but he’s already earned close to $3.5M in incentives with $2.5M or so not far off. Assuming the shoulder fatigue is nothing major, Pettitte should get more guaranteed money next year. I’m thinking one year, $9M with more incentives.
20. Hideki Matsui, Yankees DH. Big field of DHs may hurt him. Could replace Ken Griffey Jr. in Seattle, the GM predicted.
Agent: $20 million, 2 years.
GM: $5-6 million, 1 year.
Me: $8 million, 1 year.
Matsui is a tough one. Everyone loves him, but designated hitters aren’t exactly in high demand. The anonymous GM Heyman quotes managed to make the Seattle-Japanese connection, but I think the M’s would turn to Russ Branyan to be their DH before dropping semi-big bucks on a free agent. I’m thinking one year, $5M tops, whether he stays in NY or goes elsewhere.
What do you guys think?
* * *
Here’s your open thread for the evening. The Mets are in the Atlanta playing out the rest of their schedule, while the Angels will wuss out against the Red Sox again, this time on MLB Network. Me? I’m finally going to tear in NHL 10. Talk about whatever you want, just be cool.
Update: For those who don’t check his blog (which is what, two of you?), Pete Abraham is headed up the East Coast to work for the Boston Globe. Make sure to go congratulate him.
Is Joe Mauer really the MVP, and are saberists really arrogant turds?
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s true: near everyone who pays close attention to the numbers believes Joe Mauer should be the AL MVP. He not only leads the AL in OPS, but he’s doing it as a catcher, the most difficult defensive position. He’s outperforming first basemen and outfielders, players expected to put up big numbers. Where other teams have catchers with OPSs in the mid-.700s, Mauer is at 1.051. It’s an enormous advantage at a position where defense reigns.
This is, simplified, why those who pay attention to the numbers think Mauer is the MVP. It’s not just that he leads the league in OPS, but that he’s doing it from a position where no one else even comes close — of catchers with over 350 at bats, Jorge Posada is closes with a .881 OPS. Yes, Kevin Youkilis and Miguel Cabrera have pretty numbers, but they come from first base (and a little third for Youk), positions where big production is more expected. Derek Jeter plays a tough defensive position, and is playing it sell this year, and has a case. But his numbers all fall well short of Mauer’s.
Ken Rosenthal recognizes all this, and he does agree that Mauer should be MVP. He’s just sick of sabermetricians shouting down dissenters. This is baseball after all, and what is baseball without a good debate? It’s a good point, but Rosenthal goes astray at many points. Most notably:
Here’s the problem: Sabermetricians were ignored for so long, they had to shout to be heard. Now they are getting heard — properly heard in the highest levels of baseball media and front offices. But some continue to shout, dismissing those who disagree as ignorant dolts.
I’m sorry, but the last part of that sentence will not stand. Since the inception of blogs through even today, mainstream media writers have dismissed bloggers as idiots who live in their mothers’ basements. This isn’t just a narrative: see for yourself. Bloggers have been and still are dismissed by elitist writers who think that because some editor gave them a job that their word is more definitive. Clearly, this does not apply to all mainstream writers. It doesn’t even apply to the majority of them. But if Rosenthal is going to charge that bloggers dismiss those who agree as ignorant dolts, he should acknowledge the other side of the coin.
(Need I even go further than Rosenthal’s colleague Dayn Perry shouting down the Teixeira acolytes?)
To take care of the shouting part, we turn to Tom Tango, who is a sabermetrician.
I don’t dismiss those who disagree. I dismiss those who don’t provide evidence for their claims, or refuse to be educated. Refusing to be educated does make you, by definition, ignorant. It’s one thing to have a conversation with someone who is ignorant, it’s another to have a conversation with someone who continues to remain ignorant. One gives me hope, the other is hopeless.
If I shout, it’s to be heard over the gasbaggery of ignoramuses, so that those who want to learn, or want to have a reasonable conversation, can do so. The problem is not those who shout; the problem is those who are on the dance floor who refuse to dance with any rhythm, and don’t even try to. Worse still, they think they have rhythm.
What’s even better, Tango went ahead and made a decent case against Mauer for MVP. “Mauer is not a million miles ahead. Depending what kind of glasses you wear, he’s somewhere between two laps ahead of all the nonpitchers in this marathon to barely ahead, and either tied with Greinke or at least a lap behind Greinke.” There is a sabermetrician, not shouting, not dismissing. In fact, he’s making a case against the very issue about which Rosenthal complains.
I get Kenny’s point. He wants to keep debate alive and robust. Good. So do we. Otherwise, we wouldn’t write this site. He could have made his case a bit better, though. The way he puts it, saberists like Tom Tango are just a bunch of immutable gasbags. Clearly, that is not the case, as the man himself demonstrated. So let’s put aside the name calling and pettiness and talk about what happens on the field. That’s the only thing that matters, anyway.
Gate 2 group disputes high preservation costs
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Proponents say Gate 2 could be saved for $1 million. (Image via Save the Yankee Gate 2 Committee)
When we last checked in with the committee working to save the old Gate 2 and incorporate it into the design of Heritage Park, the movement had seemingly hit a cost problem. A few anonymous critics of the plan had leveled the charge that the effort would cost $10 million. While a nice idea, saving old Yankee Stadium’s Gate 2 would be cost prohibitive. Plus, they said, the gate was “significantly changed” during the 1970s renovations.
Today, the group hit back. In a press release, Mark Costello and John Trush, the two men spearheading the preservation effort, claim that it would cost just $1 million to save Gate 2 and that most of the gate is original. “Assessments we have received from several architects and structural engineering firms have determined preserving Gate 2 to be a simple/straightforward project,” the release reads. “They have estimated that the expense of its restoration would be approximately $1 million, a small fraction (less than 2%) of the overall cost to build Heritage Field.”
To those decrying the originality of the gate, Costello and Trush have done their homework. “Today Gate 2 is 80 percent original, even after the 1973-76 renovations,” they say. “Historical photographs, blueprints, historians, and baseball experts confirm this originality. The small modifications made to the upper portion of the Gate are compatible with the original 1920’s design and if retained in the preserved Gate, would allow it to include elements of the 1923 construction, the 1928 expansion and the 1976 modernization.”
More vital to the effort to earn support though is the revelation that the group could defray even these relatively minimal costs through volunteer work. “Discussions with several contractors indicate their willingness to volunteer services for this effort,” they announced. “Similar to the current Polo Grounds Staircase Project, fundraising through pledges can produce additional financial options. The sale of commemorative paving bricks also has the potential to defray much of this cost.” I would buy a commemorative brick in front of the old Yankee Stadium Gate 2.
The group also commented on the need to preserve something from the Gate, a theme I touched upon last time. If the city destroys all of Yankee Stadium in their efforts to build the park, we can’t get it back once we look around and realize our baseball history is gone. The City’s Design Commission has asked the Parks Department to reevaluate their plans for Heritage Field in an effort to “capture the historical significance of the original Yankee Stadium.” Gate 2, with its minimal upkeep costs, would be the perfect vehicle for that request.
In the end, this may be a movement without a big enough sponsor. While a Daily News poll in August found 78 percent of readers would support this plan even with a $10 million price tag, no one has stepped forward from the Yankees to embrace it. Craig Calcaterra today urged A-Rod to throw his weight behind it in the form of a public commitment of support and money. The Yankees could easily make the same gesture, and if $1 million is the true cost of this plan, neither A-Rod nor the Yanks would notice the money is missing.
On Monday, the group is going to meet with the Bronx Borough President, and leaders have been trying to drum up support from other local politicians. Meanwhile, with Gate 2 currently shrouded by construction netting, time is of the essence. Will the city destroy history or will cooler heads prevail before it is too late?
Too early to determine Hughes’s ultimate role
Posted by: | CommentsAfter two years of waiting, we’ve finally seen the emergence of Phil Hughes. The 23-year-old former No. 1 Yanks prospect struggled through injury and ineffectiveness in his first two major league seasons, and even had a slow start in 2009. A move to the bullpen changed that, and Hughes has been lights out ever since. It’s like the new role was an on switch for Hughes, whose stuff markedly improved as his appearances became shorter.
Hughes has thrown 44.2 innings since moving to the bullpen in early June, striking out 44 to just 12 walks and posting a 1.41 ERA. His fastball has life unlike we’ve seen from him, which helps set up his curveball, still his best secondary pitch. In a matter of a few weeks he went from promising but underperforming starter to lights out reliever. The Yankees now control the back end of close games, and have certainly won a game or two they might have lost with a lesser guy holding down the lead.
This is the Phil Hughes that made the cover of the Baseball America Prospect Handbook 2007. The guy who has life on his fastball and a nasty hook to go with it. yet it does seem curious that he only rediscovered himself after a move to the bullpen. Could it be that he’s better suited to more frequent, shorter appearances, rather than longer ones every five days?
Billy Campione of Full Count Pitch thinks so. He builds a case that the bullpen has brought out the best in Hughes, and that he simply cannot replicate those numbers in the rotation. That’s not such an outlandish case if based only on Hughes’s performance so far in the majors. But considering the other information available about Hughes, it seems likely that he’ll be able to make a successful transition back to the rotation.
Campione thinks that, “Hughes’ achievements in relief have come due to a drastically different approach that he will find impossible to replicate as a starter.” He goes on to note Hughes’s average major league fastball speeds, around 91 mph in 2007 and 2008, but up to 95 mph this season while in relief. Hughes’s fastball velocity was one area of concern in the past, especially last year as he faltered in the early going. That’s because his scouting report hyped it as a bit faster. (Sorry, sub required.)
Hughes sits at 91-95 mph with his four-seam fastball and touches 96.
If he was hitting these speeds as a starter in the minors three years ago, and he’s averaging at the top-end of that range as a reliever now, chances are he can again throw that hard as a starter. No, he won’t be averaging 95 mph with his fastball as a starter, but he could easily sit 92-93, dialing it up when he needs it. It’s quite possible that the transition to the bullpen allowed Hughes the chance to find that lost velocity.
Another Campione concern: “Looking at one of Hughes’ most recent appearances out of the pen, his pitches consistently appear in the middle of the strike zone.” This has anecdotal merit — I think we can all agree that Hughes throws balls in the middle because he can blow it by guys. It also has some statistical merit, as Campione displays a strike zone plot from a recent start that shows some fastballs near the middle of the zone. Again, from the BA scouting report: “As he gains experience, his excellent control (his career K-BB ratio is 269-54) should evolve into above-average command.” Hughes is definitely throwing it by guys right now, but as he dials it down slightly in the rotation, we could see his command evolve, meaning he’d leave fewer pitches over the middle of the plate.
There’s also the argument that the bullpen allows Hughes to scrap his weakest weapon, the changeup, a pitch he might need as a starter. It’s true that Hughes’s changeup is miles behind his fastball and curve, but there’s still plenty of time for him to develop one. In the meantime, he can employ a cutter to help keep hitters off balance. In addition, it appears Hughes uses two types of curveballs: one with a tighter spin, almost a power-curve type pitch, the other a knuckle curve a la Mike Mussina. These pitches can help him get by as he develops his changeup.
Maybe Phil Hughes is best suited to a role in the bullpen, as a setup man and eventually a closer. There’s certainly no ruling that out at this point. In the same way, there’s no ruling out his ability to be a top of the rotation starter. He wasn’t the Yankees No. 1 prospect because of his perceived ability to succeed in the bullpen. Scouts at Baseball American and elsewhere raved over him because he had, and still has, the potential to be a top starter.
No matter where he ultimately ends up, the Yankees would serve themselves best by moving Hughes back to the rotation in 2010. If he succeeds there, he’ll be a boon to the franchise for years to come. If he fails, we know he can succeed in the bullpen. It’s the same deal as Joba. When you have a pitcher with frontline starter potential, you best serve your team’s interests by seeing if he can succeed as a starter. If it’s clear that he won’t reach his potential in that role, it’s back to the bullpen. But until we find out what Hughes can do as a starter, we can’t pigeonhole him in the bullpen. That decision shouldn’t come for another few years, after the Yankees have a good long look at Phil Hughes the starter.
The Hideki Matsui Appreciation Thread
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It’s hard to believe that Hideki Matsui is just about to wrap up his 7th season in pinstripes. The three-time MVP of the Japanese Central League came over to the states as a free agent prior to the 2003 season, signing for just $21M over three years. He introduced himself to New Yorkers by slugging a grand slam in the 2003 home opener, his very first game in front of the Yankee faithful. Although he lost out to Angel Berroa for the 2003 Rookie of the Year Award, the team can’t complain about the return on the investment at all, as Godzilla played in every single game over those three seasons and compiled a .297-.370-.484 batting line in that time.
After proving to be supremely durable and so dependable at the plate, the Yanks couldn’t afford to let Matsui walk as a free agent after the 2005. They brought him back on a four year, $52M deal, but Hideki battled injuries in years one and three of that deal. He broke his wrist on a fluke play in 2006, landing the wrong way as he slid for a ball in the outfield. Matsui’s string of 1,768 consecutive games played came to a sudden halt, as did his Major League record of 518 consecutive games played to start his big league career. All those years of playing every day on the turf in Japan started to take it’s toll on Matsui’s knees, and he missed considerable time in 2008. Despite all that, Matsui still hit .291-.372-.469 in the first three years of that four year deal.
For the first time in his career, Matsui entered the 2009 season as a bit of a question mark. No one was sure how his knees would hold up or if he’d even be able to play the field at all. While he hasn’t been able to roam the outfield, and while his knees have acted up from time to time, Matsui has been nothing short of tremendous as the Yanks’ every day designated hitter. Among DH’s with at least 200 plate appearances, Matsui ranks second in OBP (.365), second in SLG (.521), first in OPS (.886), first in homers (25), first in RBI (82), first in total bases (207), and first in BB/K (0.87). His overall line of .277-.369-.509 gives him his best OPS over a full season since 2004, and of course, there’s the big hits.
If he’s not busy ripping walk-off homers like he did against the Orioles on July 20th, then he’s probably preoccupied with launching two homers and driving in seven runs against the Red Sox like he did on August 21st. Matsui’s a pretty quite and unassuming guy, so maybe he’ll just hit a two-run homer to the tie the game while someone else gets the walk-off glory, like last night. And amazingly enough, Matsui has continued to pound lefthanders again this year (.958 OPS vs LHP, .855 vs RHP), something he’s done consistently throughout his career. The guy is just a hitting mahcine.
We don’t know what the future holds for the marriage between Matsui and the Yankees, as the team wants to get younger and more athletic while Godzilla gets older and couldn’t be any more immobile. Whether or not you want to see him back next year (see the poll below), let’s take this chance to thank Matsui for all he has done for the Yanks. All the big hits, the consistency, the quiet professionalism, the whole nine. Thanks, Hideki.
Photo Credit: Robert Beck, SI
The Say Hey Kid, the Yanks and race in baseball
Posted by: | CommentsOver the weekend, The Times ran a piece on Willie Mays and the Yankees by John Klima, an author. Klima’s most recent book is entitled Willie’s Boys: The 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, The Last Negro League World Series, and the Making of a Baseball Legend, and Klima is a member of both the BBWAA and the Society for American Baseball Research.
Klima’s piece on Sunday explored how the Yankees passed on Willie Mays:
Black Barons visited the Brooklyn Bushwicks, a white semiprofessional team whose general manager, Joe Press, was a part-time scout for the Yankees. Press booked Negro leagues teams like the Black Barons to play the Bushwicks and had a feel for the talent available. He liked Piper Davis, Birmingham’s second baseman, but he loved center fielder Willie Mays.
Press pleaded with Paul Krichell, the Yankees’ head scout, to see Mays. In a letter to Krichell, Press raved about players but expressed dismay that the Yankees had chosen to ignore black prospects. “You could have had practically all of them, just for the asking,” Press wrote, naming several players, including Davis and Mays.
When the Black Barons returned to play the Cubans at the Polo Grounds on June 11, 1950, the Yankees sent a scout, Bill McCorry, but again decided to not pursue Mays, who signed with the Giants nine days later.
The Yankees, as Klima writes, weren’t too serious about integration. They were signing old players from the Negro Leagues who would never see the light of the Bronx. It was not until the team saw the impact of Willie Mays on the Giants that they went out and snatched up Elston Howard.
Bruce Markusen at the Banter riffed on the Mays revelation. What, Markusen, pondered could the Yankees have accomplished with Willie Mays on the team? Markusen speculates that a few more World Series would have been forthcoming during Casey Stengel’s amazing run, and he marvels over a potential outfield of Mays, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.
For me, Klima’s story about Willie Mays and integration led me to the current roster makeup of Major League Baseball teams across the country. Take a look at the Yankees. Only Derek Jeter, Jerry Hairston and CC Sabathia are black. The Red Sox, playing in a city not known for racial tolerance, have one black player: Joey Gathright. The Mets have Gary Sheffield. While rosters are replete with players from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, African Americans are wildly unrepresented in Major League Baseball.
Baseball has come along way since its days of segregation. Teams are now more integrated than every before with more countries represented on the baseball diamond than the players, manages and owners in the 1920s and 1930s would ever imagine. Yet, some obvious questions flow from an observation that been supported by annual studies about diversity in baseball: Is the relatively small number of African American players a problem for the game? Is it a problem for the game as America’s Pastime? As a popular sport with a huge economic component? I’m not in a position to answer these with any certainty, but it — along with the grand Willie Mays “What If a Yankee?” — is certainly something to ponder on a day without Yankee baseball.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
