Archive for September, 2009
A little bit about Freddy Guzman
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There’s a new member of the New York Yankees, so let’s introduce him. Before yesterday’s game, the Yankees added OF Freddy Guzman to the 40-man roster and summoned him to the majors. The 28-year-old switch-hitter hadn’t appeared in a major league game since September 30, 2007, before he pinch ran for Jorge Posada in the eighth inning last night. Now, according to the Yankees, he’s in consideration for a postseason roster spot.
It’s been a long journey for Guzman, not just throughout his nine-year pro career, but also this season alone. The Bronx is his fifth stop in 2009 after stints with AAA teams in four organizations. He’s stayed employed through the years because of his speed, which, to paraphrase Mike, can be rated as “really fast” on the 20-80 scale. He got on base at a decent clip in the minors for a guy with no pop, but he’s not expected to maintain that in the majors. If he was, another team would have given him a longer look.
(I also found out, just after publishing this, that Guzman had at one point falsified his identification. He was previously known as Pedro De Los Santos, and had listed his birth date as August 8, 1983. His actual birthday is January 20, 1981 — the day Reagan was inaugurated.)
The Padres signed Guzman as an undrafted free agent in 2000, but apparently held him back from playing that year. The first recorded stats I see for him are with short-season Idaho Falls, San Diego’s rookie-level team, in 2001. He performed quite well in a small sample at that level, putting up a .866 OPS while playing against guys mostly younger than him. It’s tough to project under those circumstances, but success is success. For him to fail at that level might have derailed his career early.
Guzman hit three levels in 2002, starting at low-A ball and moving up to short-season and advanced-A. He posted a .341 OBP with low-A, but markedly dropped off as he faced tougher competition. Still, it was enough to earn him the No. 3 spot on San Diego’s prospect list, according to Baseball America. He started 2004 off with a bang, posting a .375 OBP at advanced-A and earning himself a promotion to AA. There he tallied a .368 OBP in 205 plate appearances. It was enough for the Padres to give him a shot, and he made his major league debut on August 17.
Things didn’t go so well for Guzman, who saw less and less playing time in September, though he did get two hits in each of the Padres final two games. Unfortunately, it would be more than a year until Guzman would play in a game that counted, at any level. He suffered an elbow injury which kept him out for the entire 2005 season.
After success in his brief return, to the tune of a .348 OBP, the Padres traded him to the Rangers in what amounted to a nothing deal. Cesar Rojas went with him, and the Padres received John Hudgins and Vince Sinisi in return. None of those players have been of any consequence. Guzman took to his new environment, hitting .282/.375/.345 Oklahoma, Texas’s AAA affiliate in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He was rewarded with eight plate appearances at the end of the season for the Rangers.
Another decent season followed in Oklahoma, .269/.358/.363. The Rangers again rewarded him with a call-up, this time involving six plate appearances. At this point it was clear what kind of production you could expect from Guzman: not much. He had only 98 major league plate appearances, but Guzman’s type has floated around pro baseball for ages. He has seductive speed, but not enough power. Without power he has trouble drawing walks at the major league level, which depress his OBP. Guys with speed don’t do much good unless they’re getting on base.
In December of 2007, the Rangers dished Guzman to the Tigers for 1B Chris Shelton, who is most famous for hitting 10 home runs in April 2005 and doing nothing much since. After deciding he’d not make the Opening Day roster, the Tigers placed him on outright waivers, but no one claimed him. The Tigers put him in AA. After tearing up Erie of the Eastern League (.281/.362/.446), Detroit moved him up to AAA Toldeo, where he fell back into line with expectations, .270/.329/.378.
After the season Guzman became a minor league free agent and signed with the Mariners. His 2009 journey began with Tacoma of the PCL, but after disastrous results — .214/.244/.310 in 45 PA — the Mariners released him in early May. The Red Sox snapped him up later that month, but the results were similar with AAA Pawtucket. From there was onto Norfolk, Baltimore’s AAA team, where he experienced even worse results. The Orioles, obviously having no use for the outfielder, dished him to the Yanks on August 31 for cash and a player to be named later.
Strangely, after releasing Guzman, the Red Sox acquired Joey Gathright. The latter might have more major league experience than Guzman, but it’s difficult to discern a difference between the two speedsters. Yet it’s their speed, and their speed alone, which might earn them postseason roster spots. That’s what Joe Girardi said yesterday. The Yankees, needing only 11 pitchers on the postseason roster (probably using 10 tops), could add a second speed threat to the bench with their extra spot.
A speed threat on the bench is a luxury in October, and one the Yankees can certainly afford. But can they spare two spots to speedsters? It seems as though Melky Cabrera is the starting center fielder, with Gardner coming in every once in a while, rather than any kind of set platoon. He’s one guy who can pinch run in close and late situations. Do the Yankees need another?
Right now, the odds are against Guzman making the roster, but things can change between now and October 7. If Melky starts to falter and Gardner starts more in center, perhaps the Yankees will think it worthy to have a speeders for whom they can pick spots. If Gardner’s starting, the Yanks obviously can’t use him to pinch run for Posada or Matsui in a difficult spot. The presence of Guzman would afford them that luxury. I guess it will come down to how the team plays down the stretch, and how the Yankees think they can best use their extra position player.
Photo 1 credit: Lauren Long / The Post-Standard
Photo 2 credit: Robin Buckson / The Detroit News
Staten Island bullpen comes up big in series opener
Posted by: | CommentsMake sure you scroll down for tonight’s game thread.
Triple-A Scranton will take on Durham, in the International League Championship Series (best-of-five) starting tomorrow. It’s a rematch of last year’s title series, and SWB is looking to win their second straight Governor’s Cup in a rematch. Chad Jennings has the pitching matchups and a position-by-position breakdown.
Double-A Trenton’s season is over. Connecticut will face Akron in the Eastern League Championship Series (best-of-five) starting tomorrow.
High-A Tampa (3-1 win over Charlotte) Tampa leads the best-of-five title series 2-1
Dan Brewer, David Adams, Brandon Laird & Jack Rye: all 1 for 4 – Brewer K’ed three times, Adams & Laird once each … Rye got caught stealing
Damon Sublett: 1 for 3, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SB
Austin Romine: 2 for 3, 1 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB – money performance right there
Kevin Smith & Luis Nunez: both 0 for 4 – Smith K’ed once, Nunez twice
Jose Gil: 0 for 3, 1 K
DJ Mitchell: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 13-1 GB/FB – one of the walks was intentional … you gotta love the groundballs
Noel Castillo: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1-2 GB/FB
Pat Venditte: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1-2 GB/FB
Jon Hovis: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2-0 GB/FB
Low-A Charleston’s season is over. Lakewood defeated Greenville tonight to take a 1-0 lead in the South Atlantic League Championship Series (best-of-five).
Short Season Staten Island (3-0 win over Mahoning Valley) SI leads the best-of-three series 1-0 … a win tomorrow and they’ll be league champs for the fifth time in the last ten years
Jimmy Paredes, Luke Murton & Kyle Higashioka: all 1 for 3 – Paredes drew a walk & scored a run … Murton drove in a run … Higashioka walked, scored a run & K’ed twice
DeAngelo Mack & Zoilo Almonte: both 2 for 4 – Mack K’ed twice & got picked off first … Almonte hit a solo jack & doubled
Neil Medchill: 0 for 4, 2 K
Mike Lyon: 2 for 3, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
Kelvin Castro: 0 for 2, 1 RBI
Carmen Angelini: 0 for 3
Adam Warren: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 7-4 GB/FB – well done sir
Griffin Bailey: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1-0 GB/FB
Gavin Brooks: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K
Ryan Flannery: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 2-1 GB/FB – gotta love the relief work
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.
Game 145: With home-field implications
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees have the AL East pretty well at hand. With 18 games to go and their magic number at 13, it would take quite a run by the Sox and a collapse by the Yanks to cough up the division. While the Yanks can’t look too far ahead, they’re certainly jockeying for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They’ll lock horns with their main competition tonight, the Anaheim Angels.
It won’t be an easy battle this evening, as the Yanks draw Jered Weaver, ace of the Angels staff. He is 15-5 with a 3.76 ERA over 186.2 innings this season. His peripherals match up almost perfectly with last year’s and with his career, but young Weaver is pitching deeper into games this season. After averaging under six innings per start in the first three years of his career, he’s up around six and a half innings this season.
Tonight marks Weaver’s third start against the Yankees this season. His first game at Yankee Stadium, wherein he surrendered four runs over six innings, striking out two and walking three. The Angels beat the crap out of Yankees pitching that night, but the Yanks staged a late-inning rally and Jorge Posada delivered the walk-off hit. The second came out in Anaheim, and while Weaver again allowed four runs (three earned) over six innings, he struck out nine in that game.
Weaver is prone to the clunker. He’s allowed five or more runs four times this season, including twice in August in games against the Orioles and Tigers. Since the last one he’s been quite excellent, allowing just three runs over 19.1 innings, striking out 17 to three walks. Those starts were against Oakland, Kansas city, and Seattle, though, which are no comparison to the Yankees’ powerhouse offense.
Up for the Yanks is Joba Chamberlain. After a poor start to his last start, Derek Jeter seemingly woke up the struggling Chamberlain. He was perfect from there on out, though his run ended after the third inning because of his pitch count. That’s currently a low number, and will be rising as we near season’s end. The idea is to build him back up in time for the playoffs, where he can give the Yankees an advantage in the fourth starter spot. Look for him to go about 50 pitches this evening.
In his only career start against the Angels, Joba lasted just 4.1 innings after giving up five runs, four earned. That was the series before the All-Star Break. He rebounded nicely from that one, allowing one run through 6.2 innings in his next start. Hopefully whatever Jeter said sticks with him and we see a full four innings of good Joba tonight.
In a strange roster move that you’ve surely read about already, the Yanks added Freddy Guzman to the 40-man roster and recalled him, designating Anthony Claggett for assignment. I’m not sure why they’re doing this — Girardi said that Guzman is a late-inning pinch-hit and defensive option for now, and possibly for the postseason. I don’t know why they wouldn’t just have Jackson do the job after the AAA season ends. Perhaps that’s the plan, as Guzman is expendable, but if it is the Yanks aren’t saying a word.
For the second straight day, we’ll see the A lineup. These are certainly games to take seriously.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Nick Swisher, RF
9. Melky Cabrera, CF
And on the mound, number sixty-two, Joba Chamberlain.
Callis on the Yanks’ catching prospects
Posted by: | CommentsI get a lot of questions about the Yankees’ stockpile of young catchers in the minors. Why do they keep bringing these guys in, where are they all going to play, how would you rank them, yadda yadda yadda. As I always say, there’s no such thing as too much of anything in the minors, except for non-prospects. In his weekly AskBA column, Jim Callis fielded a question about this very subject, so allow me to excerpt:
The Yankees have spent heavily to amass the best catching depth in the minors. Only Cervelli, who signed for $65,000 out of Venezuela in 2003, came cheaply. Montero got $1.65 million when he turned pro out of Venezuela three years later. Romine (second round, 2007) and Higashioka (seventh round, 2008) both received $500,000 bonuses. New York invested even more heavily this summer, giving Murphy $1.25 million as a second-rounder (the second-highest bonus in that round this year) and Sanchez $3 million (the second-highest bonus on the international market in 2009). The Yankees also spent $450,000 on 2007 seventh-rounder Chase Weems, whom they traded to the Reds this summer for Jerry Hairston Jr.
Montero is clearly the best prospect of that group and might have won our Minor League Player of the Year award if he hadn’t broken his left middle finger. He’s the best power-hitting prospect in the minors, but he lacks agility and quickness behind the plate, which may dictate a move to another position. In 59 games as a catcher this year, he committed 11 passed balls and threw out just 20 percent of basestealers. He does have some arm strength but it takes him too long to get rid of the ball.
Romine has the best all-around tools of the Yankees catching prospects. He should hit for a decent average with some power, and he has the strong arm and athleticism to take care of business behind the plate. Cervelli is the top defender in the group, though his below-average hitting ability and power make him more of a future backup.
Murphy could wind up as the second-best hitter of the bunch behind Montero, and he has made a nice transition to catching after playing outfield and third base for much of his amateur career. Higashioka is still a raw 19-year-old, but he’s similar to Romine, albeit with less athleticism. Sanchez is even less refined, but his bat speed, power potential and arm strength are all plus tools. He’s athletic for a catcher and could develop similarly to Romine, but his receiving and footwork are iffy enough (and his bat tantalizing enough) that he could go down the Montero path.
As overall prospects, I’d stack them up in this order: Montero, Romine, Murphy, Sanchez, Cervelli, Higashioka.
As you all probably already know, I’m not very keen on international signees until they get to the states and do something, so I’d rank them in the same order except with Sanchez last. That’s just my opinion though.
Cervelli has the inside track on the backup catcher job for the big league club next year, and JR Murphy is a candidate for Extended Spring Training since he’s relatively new to catching. That would put Montero with Triple-A Scranton, Romine with Double-A Trenton, Higashioka with Low-A Charleston, and Sanchez with the Rookie GCL Yanks. The Yanks could also opt to send Montero back to Trenton to at least start the year, meaning he and Romine would do the C/DH thing again. That would also work if the Yanks retain Jose Molina or bring in another veteran catcher, sending Cervelli back to Triple-A.
I guess the point of this post is that you can never have too much of a good thing. Not all of these guys will make it. Heck, if two make it, the Yankees will be very lucky. Enjoy the depth, stop worrying about who’s going where.
Assessing Brackman’s Season, Part I
Posted by: | CommentsTwo years ago, the Yankees selected righthander Andrew Brackman with their first round pick, knowing full well that he might need elbow surgery at some point, perhaps as soon as that summer. Brackman showed tremendous raw stuff and considerable potential as an amateur, the reasons why he was ranked so high in pre-draft rankings (Keith Law had him as the third best prospect in the draft class). The Yankees were willing to gamble and wait on his talent, especially with a pick so late in first round.
As expected, Brackman underwent Tommy John surgery soon after signing a Major League deal worth $3.35 million guaranteed with incentives that could push the total value of the contract to $13 million. At the time, it was potentially the richest contract in draft history. Brackman spent all of 2008 rehabbing but returned to action in the now defunct Hawaii Winter Baseball League last fall where he was ranked the number two prospect by Baseball America (subs. req’d).
Brackman’s long awaited full season debut didn’t go as smoothly as planned this year. It featured a few ups but considerably more downs. His overall season line — 106.2 IP, 106 H, 79 R, 76 BB, 103 K — isn’t pretty, and his 26 wild pitches were second most in all of minor league baseball. The way I see it Brackman’s season can be broken down into three distinct periods, which I’ll arbitrarily call Good Brackman, Bad Brackman, and Reliever Brackman.
Over the next three days, we’ll take a look at each version of Brackman in depth, starting today with Good Brackman.
* * *
Coming into the season, expectations for Brackman were high, but cautiously high, if that makes sense. As always, the most important thing was staying healthy and gaining experience. After that, we wanted to see his stuff return to what it was in college and for him to make progress with his command and mechanics. As ugly as the stat line ended up at the end of the season, Brackman actually started out pretty well, believe it or not.
The usually aggressive Yankees took the conservative approach with Brackman, sending him to Low-A Charleston instead of High-A Tampa. In his first nine starts, he threw 50.2 innings, pitching to a 3.55 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. His peripherals were strong as well:
8.17 K/9
3.20 BB/9
2.56 K/BB
8.35 H/9
0.53 HR/9
.297 BABIP
3.22 FIP
By no means was it a blow-you-away type of performance, but it was encouraging to see Brackman take the ball every five days coming off Tommy John Surgery and miss so many bats. Even though he was older than the competition, his lack of pitching experience somewhat leveled the playing field.
He allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his first nine starts and walked no more than three batters in any of those nine starts. According to minorleaguesplits.com, Brackman was generating close to 60 percent groundballs during these starts. This was a promising figured because tall pitchers tend to be extreme flyball guys since they have trouble getting the ball down in the zone. Sure, he was a bit homer-prone in the early going, but it was too small of a sample size to consider it a trend just yet.
While the performance was solid, Brackman’s stuff wasn’t quite up to snuff in the early going. According to this BA report (subs. req’d again, sorry), Brackman’s once powerful fastball was topping out in low-90′s.
“I’m not back to being myself yet,” said Brackman, who had the surgery in September 2007 and spent all last summer rehabbing his arm. “They say Tommy John takes a while for you to come back from and your velocity is the last thing to come back. I’m waiting on that. I try every day to do what I can to build arm strength. It’s a whole lot easier to pitch when you have your velocity, and I’m so used to pitching with that.”
Brackman admitted to being impatient and frustrated but did note that without his usual blow-you-away fastball he was forced to work on his secondary pitches, particularly his changeup. Of course the real concern isn’t that Brackman’s stuff wasn’t fully back post-TJ; it’s that his stuff showed signs of decline even before the 2007 draft. Here’s part of a KLaw report from two months before he was drafted:
Brackman pitched Saturday at Boston College, and wasn’t quite the same guy. He was throwing across his body, almost as if someone told him he had to work on getting the ball to his glove side (or as if he decided it himself), resulting in erratic command in addition to the long-term injury concerns that come with those mechanics. His breaking ball was also worse than it was last summer, with a softer, early break. His command of both pitches was way off.
He’s still a superb athlete with a plus fastball (88-95 this week), and it’s too easy to let the one look this weekend erase what he showed he could do last summer.
So the question goes from “Will his stuff come back after TJ?” to “Is TJ why his stuff is down in the first place?” While the results were encouraging, the reports on his stuff were not. After adjusting his delivery in Hawaii under the guidance of pitching coach Jeff Ware (also his pitching coach with Charleston) and struggling with it, Brackman went back to his original mechanics. How much that factors into his declining stuff, we may never know.
The numbers were pretty good in the early going, not quite what you’d expect out of such a highly touted draft pick, but certainly nothing that would trigger any red flags from someone on the outside looking in. That goes double for a guy coming off major arm surgery. However, the first nine starts of Brackman’s season show exactly why stats, especially those in the low minors, are just a tiny piece of the equation. The scouting report had changed in a bad way, and the worst was yet to come.
Tomorrow we’ll take a look at Bad Brackman — a ten-start stretch in the middle of the season when not just the wheels but the axles and drive train came completely off the bus.
Setting up the playoff rotation
Posted by: | CommentsWith the Rangers’ loss to the Mariners last night, the Yanks’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot dropped to nine and their Magic Percentage hit 23.7. No longer are we worried that the Yanks won’t make the playoffs.
To that end, the Yankees can begin to set their postseason rotation. While their top three pitchers all have the ability to throw gems, the Yankees have to ensure that their pitchers are both ready for the postseason and well-rested for the postseason. We’ve seen A.J. Burnett struggle lately, and while Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia are rolling, keeping these two horses fresh and feeling good are of utmost importance right now.
If we take a look at the Yanks’ final 18 games and the way the pitching rotation shapes down, it appears as though the Yanks won’t have to juggle the starts. Take a look:
| Date | Game | Pitcher |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 11 | vs. Bal | Pettitte |
| Sept. 12 | vs. Bal | Burnett |
| Sept. 13 | vs. Bal | Sabathia |
| Sept. 14 | vs. LAA | Chamberlain |
| Sept. 15 | vs. Tor | Gaudin |
| Sept. 16 | vs. Tor | Pettitte |
| Sept. 17 | Off Day | |
| Sept. 18 | @Sea | Burnett |
| Sept. 19 | @Sea | Sabathia |
| Sept. 20 | @Sea | Chamberlain |
| Sept. 21 | @LAA | Gaudin |
| Sept. 22 | @LAA | Pettitte |
| Sept. 23 | @LAA | Burnett |
| Sept. 24 | Off Day | |
| Sept. 25 | vs. Bos | Sabathia |
| Sept. 26 | vs. Bos | Chamberlain |
| Sept. 27 | vs. Bos | Gaudin |
| Sept. 28 | vs. KC | Pettitte |
| Sept. 29 | vs. KC | Burnett |
| Sept. 30 | vs. KC | Sabathia |
| Oct. 1 | Off Day | |
| Oct. 2 | vs. TB | Chamberlain |
| Oct. 3 | vs. TB | Gaudin |
| Oct. 4 | vs. TB | Pettitte |
| Oct. 5 | Off Day | |
| Oct. 6 | Off Day | |
| Oct. 7 | ALDS (A) 1 | Sabathia |
| Oct. 8 | ALDS (B) 1 | Sabathia |
| Oct. 9 | LDS 2 | Pettitte/Burnett |
| Oct. 10 | Off Day | |
| Oct. 11 | ALDS 3 | Burnett/Pettitte |
What jumps out at me is the number of off-days the Yanks have until the playoffs begin. This is, in reality, one of their hidden advantages right now. While the Yankees have 18 games left until the ALDS, the Red Sox, Angels and Tigers all have 20 each to play. A well-rested pitching staff can be a big weapon in the postseason, and by taking advantage of the days off and a comfortable lead, the Yanks stand to have just that.
So if the Yankees keep their pitchers on the current rotation, the team doesn’t have to change a thing to line everyone up for the postseason. Should we be worried, though, about pitchers getting too much rest? While last year, CC Sabathia threw three straight starts, including his NLDS Game 1 start, on three days of rest, this year, CC could be starting game 1 on six or even seven day’s rest. If Pettitte gets the Game 2 ball, he’ll have a full four days and Burnett will have 11 days off. If Burnett gets the Game 2 ball, he’ll have eight days off and Pettitte six.
The Yankees will probably want to go with Pettitte in Game 2 if the game is at Yankee Stadium because lefties enjoy a bit of advantage at the new park as they did the old. With that in mind, the team could juggle the rotation later in the season. Sergio Mitre or even Alfredo Aceves could take a spot start to make sure Burnett and Sabathia aren’t throwing in the playoffs after an extended layoff.
I, though, would rather see the team gives these guys some rest. With three starts left, Sabathia won’t approach his 250 innings he threw last year, but he should reach 230 IP. Burnett will probably top 200 innings for the second year in a row, and it will be the first time in his career he has reached the double century mark in back-to-back season. Rest at the end of the year can only help them.
Of course, if these are the Yanks’ most pressing concerns, they’re in good shape for the stretch drive. They will live and die by their pitching in October, and keeping everyone feeling good now will pay off next month.
Yanks have legit complaints against Marty Foster
Posted by: | CommentsDuring the 2009 season, the Yankees have had three separate incidents with veteran umpire Marty Foster. One incident can be written off in the normal course of baseball. Two incidents (especially when they come on back to back days) raises some eyebrows. But three incidents? That might suggest there’s something to this. After watching the Yankees for years, and trying diligently to keep up with as many other teams as possible, I can’t say I remember anything quite like this between team and umpire. Except with Angel Hernandez, of course. It seems like that guys tries to get on peoples nerves.
The most infamous incident came in early July, in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Derek Jeter walked to lead off the bottom of the firs, and then took second on a Ricky Romero balk. He tried to take third, but Rod Barajas’s throw had him by a good margin. Sliding head first, Jeter did a little swim move to avoid Scott Rolen’s glove. His hand hit the bag before the glove touched him, but Marty Foster punched him out anyway.
When Jeter complained, noting that Rolen did not tag him, Foster allegedly replied, “He didn’t have to. The ball beat you.” That incensed both Jeter and Joe Girardi, but to no avail. After the game, crew chief John Hirschbeck backed his umpire. Foster’s side is that he added “and I had him tagging you.” Such ended the incident. It was an easy out for Foster, who could have made up anything to tell Hirschbeck.
There was an incident the day before, though, one I think that many people forget. In the first inning, the Yankees were set up against Brett Cecil. A Jorge Posada single had loaded the bases, and Hideki Matsui strode to the plate. He didn’t do much, grounding one between first and second, but Lyle Overbay misplayed it. Mark Teixeira barreled around third and tried to score. Technically he did. The throw beat him, but catcher Raul Chavez tagged Tex with his glove while the ball was in his hand.
This couldn’t be more clear. I saw it when the play happened, and it was even clearer on replay. Yet Foster, calling balls and strikes that game, punched out Teixeira. How that happens I just don’t know. How the Yankees didn’t stampede onto the field to argue the call I understand even less. Teixeira was very clearly safe. This would fit completely with Foster’s statement the next day, that the throw only needs to beat a runner, tag or no tag.
Photo: William Perlman – The Star-Ledger
Yesterday’s incident is still fresh in our minds, so I need not repeat it. The pitch was outside. The replay showed it, and pitch f/x showed it. One can argue that it’s okay as long as Foster was calling that spot consistently, but it didn’t appear that any part of the zone was consistent yesterday. Even so, count me against the “as long as it’s consistent” crowd. The umpire is right on top of the plate. At least on inside-outside calls, he should be able to get it right. Not by some definition of his own. But by the definition that the strike zone is the width of home plate. If we’re not going to have a standard strike zone for every umpire, why even define it in the rule book?
This isn’t to say that Marty Foster is biased against the Yankees. It’s to say that perhaps MLB should look into these incidents before assigning him any postseason games. They need the very best out there, and after three run-ins with just the Yankees this season, it’s pretty clear that Foster shouldn’t meet the criteria. He was 100 percent, objectively wrong on the Teixeira call. Replay showed he was wrong on the Jeter play, though we can chalk that up to a poor eye for detail (hence, no playoffs, Marty).
On the A-Rod play he was wrong, but umpires get away with that kind of stuff all the time. No one will question Foster any further. He’ll file his report, and he’ll look like the good guy to the umpire’s union. But MLB should certainly step in and not allow Foster to umpire the most important games. If we’ve noticed three bad calls in only the Yankees games he’s umpired, imagine how many others he’s made throughout the season.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
