Archive for September, 2009
More Derek Jeter love
Posted by: | CommentsThe Week of Jeter continues today with a few interesting articles. In one corner, we have a Richard Sandomir piece about a profile in The New Yorker from the 1930s about Lou Gehrig. Apparently, the weekly magazine mocked Gehrig. In Sandomir’s write up, though, he drops a gem from octogenarian sportswriter Roger Angell: “I’ve never heard him say an interesting word. He’s not a guy who likes to talk. But he’s very well liked.”
While Angell is simply expressing what many of us have long about the quotable Derek Jeter, he did pen a post praising Jeter’s hitting. Angell looks far into the future but does not yearn for “the wrenching autumn moment” when Jeter knocks out his last hit. That final hit could make Jeter the all-time hits leader, but Will Weiss at the Banter highly doubts that reality will come to pass.
And from Joe: Gary Armida of Full Count Pitch looks at Jeter’s consistency throughout the years. Highlights: looking at his powerful shortstop peers — Nomar Garciaparra, Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada — and showing where they are now. And then, looking at Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, George Brett, Rickey Henderson, Cal Ripken, and Paul Molitor, it’s tough to pick out Jeter.
The past and future of boxing in baseball stadiums
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Jess Willard and Floyd Johnson square off at Yankee Stadium in 1923.
On September 28, 1976, Yankee Stadium hosted its final boxing match. Muhammad Ali took on Ken Norton in an event that marked the end of an era. Under the backdrop of a New York City police protest, the streets ran wild with gangs and hoodlums. Most fans stayed away from the park, and those that came out created near-anarchy. The event was a financial disaster for all involved.
That night marked the end of an era of boxing in baseball stadiums. As Don Stradley wrote in a fantastic piece earlier this year, boxing and baseball stadiums once went hand in hand. He wrote of Yankee Stadium:
When Yankee owners Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston and Jacob Ruppert splurged for the $2.5 million stadium in 1922, they had boxing in mind. With second base the logical spot for a ring, a 15-foot vault was installed directly under the ground; it was wired so members of press row could telegraph stories to their editors. During the next 38 summers, the stadium hosted 48 nights of boxing, including 30 championship fights, the first of which was the 1923 lightweight bout between champion Benny Leonard and challenger Lew Tendler.
Yankee Stadium wasn’t alone in its love of boxing. The Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field, Griffith Stadium and Fenway Park, among others, hosted epic fights, but it’s been over 30 years since a baseball venue served as a stage for a fight. Now, the Yankees may bring boxing back to the Bronx.
Earlier today, Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao stood with promoter Bob Arum to announce a November fight in Las Vegas. During the press conference, Arum spoke of his desire to bring a fight to Yankee Stadium, and the Steinbrenners seem to be on board. “We have a history of bringing big fights to the Yankee Stadium,” said Arum. “It’s something we’d like to do again…Yankee Stadium had a great tradition of boxing, and hopefully with the new Yankee Stadium, we’ll start a new tradition.”
Both Arum and Lonn Trost, the Yanks’ COO, spoke of their desire to see a boxing ring at second base. “I think one of the reasons we had the press conference here is a precursor for a big, big event,” Arum said. “Certainly a big fight is going to happen next year, and it’s going to happen at Yankee Stadium.”
As the Yankees look to maximize the revenue streams from their new stadium, an off-season boxing match would be the perfect attraction. “There’ll be a winner of this fight and a winner of the Mayweather fight,” Trost said. “Where better to hold that fight than Yankee Stadium?”
RAB Live Chat
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Made from the best Stuff on Earth
Posted by: | CommentsStuff. We hear about it all the time. This pitcher has great stuff. But does anyone really know what that means? In an effort to quantify stuff, Jeremy Greenhouse at The Baseball Analysts used pitch f/x data to generate a discussion on Stuff. He employed velocity, horizontal pitch movement and vertical movement to figure out which pitchers are nasty, and our man with the pie A.J. Burnett emerged as the pitcher with the best stuff in the Majors.
There is, of course, a second part to this equation. Do the pitchers with the best stuff make the most of it? As we’ve seen from Burnett this year, the answer is obviously no. Burnett doesn’t crack the list of pitchers with the best stuff who have been tops at run prevention over the last three years. Not surprisingly, that honor belongs to Roy Halladay in the AL and Brandon Webb in the NL.
The Yankees are good at offense
Posted by: | CommentsI’m going to give you the offensive stats of two players over the last three months, dating back to June 11th:
Player A: .269-.361-.480, .211 IsoP, .291 BABIP, 11.6 BB%, 17.0 K%
Player B: .253-.363-.479, .226 IsoP, .279 BABIP, 14.7 BB%, 19.6 K%
Both players play every day for the Yanks, yet one is universally beloved and has been touted as not just an MVP candidate, but the favorite by some. The second player is either loved or hated by fans, there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground. You’re all smart, so I’m not going to string you along any more. Player A is Mark Teixeira, Player B is Nick Swisher.
Now, by no means am I saying Swish is as good as Tex. Tex provides far more defensive value than Swish ever will, but offensively, the two have provided nearly identical output over the last 80 games. For fun, let’s take a look at the rest of the infield over the last 80 games.
Alex Rodriguez: .304-.416-.520, .216 IsoP, .354 BABIP, 14.4 BB%, 20.8 K%
Derek Jeter: .355-.418-.486, .131 IsoP, .392 BABIP, 9.3 BB%, 12.3 K%
Robbie Cano: .329-.359-.553, .224 IsoP, .339 BABIP, 4.1 BB%, 10.9 K%
We’re talking about an 80 game sample here, for all intents and purposes half of the season, not 80 at-bats. You can make a case that in that time, Mark Teixeira has been the least productive hitter on his own infield. This isn’t meant to slight Tex at all; he’s been tremendous and frankly better than I think anyone really expected in his first year in pinstripes. What I’m trying to point out is that the Yanks offense is absurdly good.
On days when Melky Cabrera starts in center, every regular in the lineup has at least a 100 OPS+, and just one of the nine hitters (Melk) is below 123. 123! As a team, the Yanks have an .841 OPS on the season, far and away the best in baseball. The second place team, Boston, has an .804 OPS. And if you want to try any sort of Yankee Stadium bandbox funny business, consider they have an .829 OPS on the road, still the best in baseball by a considerable amount.
It’s time to have a Kevin Long appreciation thread, isn’t it?
Mixing up the chat reminder
Posted by: | CommentsMike has work to catch up on, and he can’t chat this week. But this is just the worst kind of day — dark, rainy. Combined with the chance of no game (though this late in the season you have to figure they’ll try), it could be a dreary evening. So I’ll fill in, if you guys don’t mind. We’ll be chatting baseball and all other topics — NYC Craft Beer Week encouraged. See you at 2:00.
Jeter still a long way from catching Gehrig
Posted by: | CommentsThe hardest thing to do in sports, the saying goes, is to hit a pitched baseball. Round ball, cylindrical bat, pitcher with an intent to deceive, all that jazz. Yes, there are tougher things to accomplish in sports, but as far as a fundamental act of a sport, there’s nothing more difficult than to hit a baseball. That’s why we’ve celebrated Derek Jeter. He’s hit so many baseballs that only on other Yankee in history has as many. Since that man no longer plays, Jeter will soon be atop the Yankees hit leader board.
Over the past two decades, we’ve seen focus shift from batting average, hits divided by at bats, to On Base Percentage, times on base divided by plate appearances, and other advanced metrics. That’s because hits are only one part of the game. A big part, no doubt. Hits not only put the batter on base, but can advance runners, possibly more than one base. Even then, all hits are not created equal. A double is worth more than a single, and a homer is the best thing you can do. In other words, there’s more to baseball than just hits.
We do celebrate hits, though, and hold in rarified air those who can accumulate them. There isn’t a single eligible member of the 3,000 hits club who still awaits Hall Of Fame induction (though the first will come and go with Rafael Palmeiro). Hits matter, and if hitting a pitched baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports, they matter a lot. But they’re still not everything. As Tom Tango says:
Please, shove all the hits-only talk out the window. Walks also count. Getting hit by a pitch counts. Hits count. It’s about getting on base. Yes, hits matter. But, getting on base matters more.
Sorry, but we’re not going to shove the hits-only talk out the window. How can you disregard an aspect of the game which is considered harder to do than anything in sports? It doesn’t mean that hits are more important (though you could make the argument). It means that, as I said a paragraph above, there are other aspects to consider.
That’s what we get from Beyond the Boxscore, where one user posted a few all-time on base leader boards. While Jeter still sits with some lofty company on the all-time Yanks list, it doesn’t look like he’ll ever crack the top 10 all time.
My favorite part about this post, which I suggest you read, is that each list gets progressively crazier. First is the all-time Yankees on base leader board. Babe Ruth sits comfortably atop with 4,405 times on base. Lou Gehrig follows with 4,274, and Mickey Mantle sits between Gehrig and Jeter, Mantle with 4,161 and Jeter with 3,736. It will take Jeter at least two more years just to catch Mantle. He has a long way to go in catching Gehrig, and I’m not sure he’ll ever catch Ruth.
The Captain sits even further down the all-time Yankees OBP board. It’s readily available on B-R, but it never ceases to blow my mind that Babe Ruth had a .484 career OBP. Like in the previous list he’s followed by Gehrig, .447, and Mantle, .421. Jeter is in seventh at .387. Maybe he’ll become even more selective as he ages and will push that up over .397, which is where Earle Combs sits at sixth all-time for Yankees. Even that would be a tough accomplishment.
Finally, the all-time leader board for times on base. Babe Ruth, first on the Yankees list, is ninth on this list. First: who else but Pete Rose, who was on base 5,929 times. That’s an unfathomable number. Five thousand, nine hundred and twenty-nine times on base. Of course, that’s partly a testament to his longevity — Rose has also recorded more outs than anyone in MLB history. Not only is he the leader there, but he has 1,192 more outs than the player who recorded the second most outs.
This isn’t at all to take away from Jeter’s accomplishment. We’ll celebrate again once he sits alone atop the Yankees hit list, and we’ll celebrate when he gets that 3,000th hit. Hits matter — a lot, even. But they’re not everything. Even so, Jeter is quite adept at getting on base by any means necessary. He might never crack the all-time list, but then again it’s doubtful any active player will. But let’s not forget this when Jeter passes Mantle for the all-time Yankees on-base list.
Love me non-tender
Posted by: | CommentsAs the Yankees gear up for a run that will hopefully take them deep into October, a former key cog of the pitching staff will be watching from the sidelines. One-time staff ace Chien-Ming Wang has been a non-factor much of the last two seasons. In a freak accident in Houston last summer, he injured his foot and never really recovered. This year, he suffered through a bad spring and underwent shoulder surgery that will sideline him until mid-2010.
For many pitchers, a stretch such as Wang’s would signal the end of a career. After winning 19 games in back-to-back seasons, Wang was historically bad this year. He went 1-6 in 12 games before surgery and allowed over two baserunners per inning. Now, his Yankee future is in doubt.
Wang is arbitration-eligible this year, and he turns 30 at the end of March. This confluence of factors along with his injury and ineffectiveness has led many to question whether the Yankees will offer Wang a contract. In a Yankee Notebook piece, Peter Abraham broached that very topic. The LoHud scribe writes:
In his first public comments since the surgery, Wang said he hopes to start playing catch again in January and believes he will pitch in the major leagues at some point in 2010. But he realizes that may not be with the Yankees.
Wang had a $5 million contract this season and is eligible for arbitration. There is virtually no chance the Yankees will offer him arbitration before the December deadline. That would leave Wang a free agent. “I would like to stay in New York,” he said. “But I don’t know what will happen.”
One possibility is that the Yankees could offer Wang a minor-league contract. Or another team could sign him to a major-league deal and hope that he returns to form. “That’s something we won’t even think about until November,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “Those are issues for another day.”
In a piece on MLB Trade Rumors, RAB’s own Mike Axisa pondered the Wang question as well. Mike too believes the Yankees will look to offer Wang a minor league contract, but the threat of another team offering him a Major League deal looms. After all, Wang will be on the 60-day disabled list until he’s ready to pitch next year. He won’t take up a 40-man spot and won’t require a major guaranteed investment.
While Cashman won’t tackle this question until November, I can’t see the Yankees letting Wang walk. The team has been loathe to commit to paying Wang, and as his recent injury history has shown, that decision has paid off. Now, though, the Yankees understand the need for pitching depth.
They also know what Wang can do if he’s healthy. While that’s a rather big “if” at this point in his career, it’s a chance the Yanks should take. I doubt Wang is expecting the same $5 million deal he received this year, and as long as the two sides can come to terms, there is no reason to for the Yankees to cut Chien-Ming Wang loose.
Nova leads Scranton to 2-0 series lead
Posted by: | CommentsTriple-A Scranton (4-1 win over Gwinnett) SWB leads the best-of-five series 2-0 … The Ghost of Kei Igawa gets the ball in Game Three tomorrow
Freddy Guzman: 0 for 3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB
Reegie Corona & Juan Miranda: both 2 for 4 – Corona doubled & scored a run … Miranda drove in a run
Austin Jackson & Kevin Russo: both 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K – Russo got moved down to fifth in the order, and it paid off
John Rodriguez & Doug Bernier: both 1 for 4 – J-Rod K’ed … Bernier committed a throwing error
Colin Curtis & Chris Stewart: both 0 for 4 - Curtis drove in a run & K’ed … Stewart allowed a passed ball
Ivan Nova: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 15-1 GB/FB – 65 of 92 pitches were strikes (70.7%) … what more you can say? that’s as good as it gets right there
Zach Kroenke: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 1-1 GB/FB – 9 of 12 pitches were strikes
Kevin Whelan: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K - just 13 of 24 pitches were strikes (54.2%) … allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base, but rebounded in a big way
Double-A Trenton’s season is over. Connecticut leads New Britain 2-0 in their best-of-five series while Akron leads Reading 1-0 in the series and 6-2 in tonight’s game.
High-A Tampa swept Brevard County in Round One of the playoffs (best-of-three) and will take on the winner of tonight’s Fort Myers-Charlotte game in the Florida State League Championship. The best-of-five series starts tomorrow.
Low-A Charleston‘s season is over. Lakewood leads Kannapolis 1-0 their best-of-three series, and Greeneville has a 3-2 lead on Asheville in the first game of their series tonight.
Short Season Staten Island‘s game with Lowell was rained out. The best-of-three series is tied at one, and the finale will be made up Saturday night at 7pm. Robert Pimpsner says Caleb Cotham – who was scheduled to start Game Three when the series started – was put on the disabled list and replaced with Jose Ramirez, who tore up the GCL this year. Mahoning Valley has already swept Brooklyn, so they’ll face the winner of Saturday’s game in the championship series (best-of-three).
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 Thread: The roster, restored
Posted by: | CommentsIt always makes for a dull night when the Yankees are off, but having a day off with a nine game lead sure beats the alternative. Anyway, Matthew Pouliet at NBC Sports is running a series where he takes a look at what roster a team could field if you could only use players the club originally signed. Sorry that it’s from last weekend, we kind of pulled a LaRussa and fell asleep at the wheel on this one. Here’s the team the Yanks could field:
Rotation: Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Chien-Ming Wang, Jose Contreras
Bullpen: Mariano Rivera, Russ Springer, Phil Coke, Tyler Clippard, Manny Acosta, David Robertson, Jeff Karstens
Lineup: SS Derek Jeter, 1B Nick Johnson, C Jorge Posada, DH Hideki Matsui, LF Alfonso Soriano, 2B Robinson Cano, RF Juan Rivera, 3B Mike Lowell, CF Melky Cabrera
Bench: INF Cristian Guzman, OF Brett Gardner, OF Marcus Thames, C Dioner Navarro
Obviously the lineup is pretty damn good, and if nothing else the pitching staff has some promise. I guess there’s no room for Brad Ausmus, though. It’s pretty amazing that most of the pitching staff is made up of guys who came through the system pretty recently. It just goes to show that you can spend all the money in the world on pitching, but you still need to develop some of your own to contend.
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Here’s your open thread for the off night. The Mets play the Fish at 7pm, but more importantly, my domination of the RAB Fantasy Football League starts tonight. The Steelers and Titans kick off the 2009 NFL Season tonight in Steeltown, so your days are numbered, tsjc. Anything goes here, just be cool.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
