Archive for September, 2009
Cashman: No Robertson for Red Sox weekend
Posted by: | CommentsWhile Yankee fans would love to have David Robertson ready to go for the 7th inning against the Red Sox this weekend, the Yankees, with their eyes on an October prize, say their key middle reliever will not be back until next week. Mike Puma of The Post spoke with Brian Cashman after Robertson threw off the mound yesterday, and the Yanks’ GM said that the plan is to have Robertson throw another mound session on Saturday and get him into games against Kansas City and Tampa. According to Puma, barring a “physical setback,” Robertson will be ready to go for the ALDS. “If he’s healthy, he is one of our better guys,” Cashman said. Indeed.
Would the Yanks dare start Molina in the playoffs?
Posted by: | CommentsJose Molina has caught A.J. Burnett‘s last four starts. Granted, each of those starts was either a day game after a night game or half of a doubleheader. Still, after a rough August throwing to Posada, the pair hasn’t worked together all month. The off days in the playoffs allow teams to use their starting catchers exclusively, so Posada would have to catch A.J. Given the recent trend, would the Yankees dare start Molina in a playoff game?
I don’t think so, and if they lose Game 1 it’s out of the question. But if they win Game 1, would Girardi write Molina’s name in the No. 9 lineup spot? Again, I’d have to think he wouldn’t, but you never know. I’m interested to see if anyone else thinks this is a possibility.
Joba Joba Joba
Posted by: | CommentsThree months ago, I would have been excited about a mid-season match-up between Jon Lester and Joba Chamberlain. After all, these two young pitchers – one a lefty, one a righty – could be the faces of the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry for years to come. While most Yankee fans are down on Joba right now and many of us see a match-up with Lester as, well, a mismatch, we can still look to tonight’s game as a sign of things to come.
The Red Sox and Lester know what their plan is. Supplanting Josh Beckett as the team’s ace, Lester will start Game 1 of Boston’s ALDS series, and he deserves it. He’s 14-7 on the year with a 3.33 ERA. In 30 starts spanning 194.2 innings, he has allowed 176 hits and 60 walks while striking out 215 or 9.9 per 9 innings pitched. For the Sox, Lester has been better and more consistent than Beckett. Still, those two are a fearsome duo atop Boston’s rotation.
Against the Sox tonight, the Yanks are countering with their fourth or perhaps fifth starter. We know how bad Joba has been; we don’t need to rehash the numbers. But Joba knows that he is pitching tonight with something – pride, a postseason roster spot – on the line. In a conversation with Mark Feinsand, Joba stressed his desire to “
“It’s great for everybody to get that feeling, to play in that atmosphere,” Chamberlain said. “October is a little different, so it helps being able to play teams like Boston in this kind of series. Coming down the stretch, trying to finish strong and set the tone will be good. People are going to be getting excited for October, so it’s going to be crazy.”
It will be crazy, but that’s besides the point. Joba Chamberlain is pitching for more than just a crazed crowed of 49,000 fans tonight. Fair or not, he’s pitching for his reputation. The truth is that if he doesn’t throw 5 innings of two-run ball, Yankee fans will not be happy to see Joba Chamberlain enter this game or exit the game. Even though Joba will reach 150 innings tonight, even though he’s never thrown this many innings in one season, it’s still do-or-die for him in the eyes of he fans.
We won’t write off Joba. He turned 24 this week, and despite his bad end to the season, he acquitted himself nicely during this year against the American League. He will make 31 starts, and he will have stayed healthy throughout the season. As he grows up and matures, he’ll only get better. As the game starts tonight, though, look at Jon Lester and think about what another year can do. If Joba can improve as Lester has each year in the Majors, this disappointing end to 2009 will in time be forgotten.
Is Joe Girardi right for the Yankees?
Posted by: | CommentsWhen the Yankees and Joe Torre parted ways after the 2007 season, the team lined up only three interviews for a replacement. The Yankees said they had only those men — Don Mattingly, Tony Pena, and Joe Girardi — in mind for the job, but even if they wanted to look outside the organization they might have found few takers. Who wants to follow Joe Torre, he of the dynastic late 90s Yankees? When the Yankees named Girardi, they handed him the universal task: win now.
It wasn’t an easy first season in pinstripes for Girardi. Not only was his team falling apart on the field, but he had troubles dealing with the media to explain it all. Fans and media, used to the stoic Torre, didn’t take to Girardi’s rigid ways. Add in a few gaffes, such as lying about injuries, and it’s an instant bad reputation. By season’s end, when the Yankees were headed home for the first time in 14 years, many fans wondered if this would have happened to a Joe Torre team.
Girardi still gets plenty of crap from fans, but it’s mostly in the form of second-guessed bullpen and bunting decisions. His handling of the media has improved, and I haven’t heard many, if any, complaints about him this season. He takes the blame and deflects it like his predecessor. Oh, and he allows ice cream in the dugout.
Tyler Kepner wrote an excellent profile of Girardi that dives a bit deeper into the changes he’s implemented this season. There haven’t been many, but the ones he’s made have made a difference. While Kepner spends a lot of time on the family-like atmosphere Girardi has built in the clubhouse, there’s one bit at the end which strikes me as pretty important:
Girardi has worked on other faults, improving his relationship with the news media by being more honest about injuries. He solved that problem by telling players what he planned to tell reporters, and finding that most understood.
Emphasis mine. This seems like it should be standard operating procedure. Why say something to the media that hasn’t already been said to the player? The player is the more important part of that scenario (sorry, beat writers), and should know what’s going on beforehand.
While it feels like Girardi just got here, the subject of his next contract will loom this off-season. As Tim Smith of the Daily News says, any extension talks will depend on how the Yanks do in the playoffs. A first-round exit will probably preclude extension talks, meaning Girardi will head into the 2010 season as a lame duck. While football teams tend to avoid the lame duck coach, it doesn’t seem to be as big an issue in baseball. It would probably take a World Series appearance to earn Girardi another two or three years.
iYankees wants to see the Yankees let Girardi’s deal expire and let him walk. I’m not too sure. Then again, I wanted to bring back Torre for 2008 and beyond. Regardless of what we want, the Yankees will probably consider an extension if they make the Series. If not, it’ll be a lame duck 2010. I wouldn’t really mind that. It’s fun to say. Lame duck.
Yanks’ affiliates finish with second best record in the minors
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees’ six stateside minor league affiliates combined for a 381-309 record this season, the 18th consecutive season in which they posted an over-.500 record. It might be longer for all I know, but B-Ref’s minor league data only goes back so far. According to Baseball America, that 381-309 record was the second best record among all 30 organizations in the minors, trailing only the absurdly successful Giants’ system, who finished 411-286. Hard to believe the Yanks’ had the second best combined record in all of minor league baseball, but were still 23 games back in the loss column of the top team. Crazy.
Congrats goes out to everyone for the great year in the minors, not just the players but all the coaches and instructors as well.
Open Thread: Old Stadium demolition photos
Posted by: | Comments
The appropriately named Demolition of Yankee Stadium blog has a few new photos of the ongoing demolition at 161st Street and River Ave. The facade is gone, which is pretty sad. In related news, the demolition of old Tiger Stadium was completed Tuesday, surely a sad day for Detroit natives.
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In other Yankee news, Jerry Hairston underwent an MRI scan today on his wrist. The scan showed tendinitis in his left wrist, and he received another cortisone shot. He is day-to-day and remains on the bubble for the Yankee playoff roster. Meanwhile, the Pirates, home to the Yankee pitching retreads, claimed Anthony Claggett off of waivers. He will join Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, Steve Jackson, Eric Hacker and Casey Erickson in Pittsburgh. That’s quite a motley crew.
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Use this puppy as your open thread for the night. The Mets are off just like the Yanks, but the Tigers and Indians square off on the MLB Network. Alex Ovechkin comes to the Garden to take on the Rangers in preseason action as well. The Devils are also playing. Talk about whatever you want, just follow the guidelines and be cool.
Who needs facts when you have John Kruk
Posted by: | CommentsSurely you caught this latest piece of crap from ESPN’s John Kruk this morning, in which he discusses the weaknesses of each postseason team. Except the Red Sox of course, because they don’t have any. Except their middle relief. Wait, but I thought they didn’t have any? Anyway, I planned on doing a little vintage FJM work on this earlier today, but Brian Burkhart at Bronx Baseball Daily already beat me too it. Make sure you check it out, Kruk deserves it.
Joe tries to write about another team
Posted by: | CommentsThis little paragraph is the 1,320th post I’ve done on this site. That’s 1,320 posts, mostly about the Yankees, sometimes about league-wide issues. This time, it’s completely about another team. Over at Full Count Pitch, I take a look at the Blue Jays and see where they stand for next season and beyond. Spoiler: It involves trading Halladay
How much is that playoff berth in the window?
Posted by: | CommentsSince the Yankees last won the World Series in 2000, baseball has enjoyed a period of nearly unparalleled parity. Thirteen different teams have made it to the World Series over the last eight Fall Classics, and only the Yankees, Red Sox and Cardinals have made more than one appearance this decade.
This year, though, baseball will see a reversal of this drive toward playoff equality. In all likelihood, the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, Phillies, Cardinals, Rockies and Dodgers will be in the hunt for a World Series trophy, and seven of those teams have made it to the Fall Classic already this decade. The only exception is Joe Torre’s team in Los Angeles, World Series-less since winning the trophy in 1988.
By itself, these repeat visits to October aren’t a problem for baseball’s drive toward equality. Some teams will just be better than others, and this year seems to be the culmination of a very good decade. Yet, look at what happens when we take a look at the MLB salary list. Below is a shortened version of CBS Sports’ MLB payroll information. I’ve included the top ten teams and the two playoff teams who miss that cut.
| Team | Payroll |
|---|---|
| Yankees | $201,449,289 |
| Mets | $135,773,988 |
| Cubs | $135,050,000 |
| Red Sox | $122,696,000 |
| Tigers | $115,085,145 |
| Angels | $113,709,000 |
| Phillies | $113,004,048 |
| Astros | $102,996,415 |
| Dodgers | $100,458,101 |
| Mariners | $98,904,167 |
| Cardinals (13) | $88,528,411 |
| Rockies (18) | $75,201,000 |
Outside of the Rockies, every team in the playoffs this year is among the top 12 most expensive teams in baseball. Six of them are in the top ten, and the three of the four teams that aren’t making the playoffs — Mets, Cubs, Astros — were plagued by either terrible management or terribly costly injuries (or both, in the case of the Mets). Once again, the rich will get richer in baseball, and the poor will continue to play out their 162-game seasons facing an uphill climb to October.
With this data in hand, two questions come to mind: Does it matter? Will MLB try to do anything about it? As a Yankee fan, it’s tough for me to complain about this state of affairs. While baseball has tried to rein in the Yanks’ free-spending ways, the revenue sharing/luxury tax model has been largely unsuccessful. The Yankees are happy to dole out the money because they can afford to, and putting a winning team on the field is profitable for the Yanks and their various marketing and broadcast ventures. Until and unless baseball institutes a salary cap, the Yankees will spend their way into October, and I won’t care one whit.
The second question is more troubling. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire on Dec. 11, 2011, and already, rumors of a tougher negotiation have surfaced. Neither side is too happy with the state of drug testing in baseball, and the owners are well aware that, in a post-Moneyball era, the parity of the early 2000s is starting to slip away.
I don’t know where baseball goes from there. Labor unrest would be terrible for the game but so would seasons where the same eight or ten teams are competitive. While some franchises — the Pirates and the Royals come to mind — are simply mismanaged, others do not have the resources to compete. Problem or not, it’s certainly baseball’s 800-pound gorilla in the room, and it’s not going away any time soon.
No additions to the playoffs, please
Posted by: | CommentsOn any given day, any one baseball team can beat any other. Over the course of the season we often see a basement dwelling team beat a first place powerhouse. Just this season the Washington Nationals took two of three from the Yankees. This is why the season is 162 games long. It helps weed out those anomalies. After such a large sample, double that of the next-closest major American sport, it’s fairly clear which team is the best.
In the past, this large sample was enough. The team with the best record in the AL would play the team with the best record in the NL. That was it — 154 or 162 games was deemed enough to determine the best of the leagues, and then the leagues, which didn’t face each other during the regular season, would face off in the World Series. It made perfect sense. Why throw out the results of so many games with a drawn-out playoff system?
Every September, as season’s end approaches, we hear baseball writers bemoan the current playoff structure. Baseball needs more playoff teams, they write. Recently, both Peter Gammons and Joel Sherman shared this opinion. One more Wild Card team, they argue, would really spice things up. That would not only add another team to the October mix, but would penalize teams for winning the Wild Card and not the division, since the WC teams would face off before the other teams start postseason play. While this would certainly create an incentive to win the division, it is far from the optimal solution.
Adding more playoff teams brings two consequences. First is that it makes the season longer. Even with Gammons’s suggestion, that they start the season early and then play the best of three series through what would have been the season’s final weekend, it would be a scheduling problem. It would also put the WC at such a disadvantage — having to play straight through a playoff round and then straight to the LDS — that even having a Wild Card would become questionable. I don’t like it, but it’s manageable, and is certainly the lesser of the consequences.
Teams get hot, teams get cold. Over the course of a162-game season, luck tends to even out. Adding another non-division-winning team would just add to the crapshoot nature of the playoffs. If the season ended today, Boston and Texas would be the AL Wild Cards. If Texas gets hot at the right time, they can upset Boston and then possibly their first round opponent (the Yankees in this scenario). Then they either continue their hot streak, or fall back to earth and become easy prey for the other LDS winner in the LCS.
This scheme works for fans who like the unpredictable nature of the playoffs. But it doesn’t work at all for those of us who like to see the best teams square off in the World Series. The only way to accomplish that is to abolish divisions and interleague play. It’s the AL vs. the NL, winner take all in each league in anticipation of a final showdown in the World Series. The teams that proved themselves best able to handle the baseball season would be rewarded for their hard work.
No one is going to adopt this, and I can imagine most people reading this would be opposed to such a scheme. For starters, it would probably mean mass contraction. Having fifteen teams in a league with no divisions would mete out the poor teams a bit quicker, and fans of those teams would probably lose interest early in the season. To this end, even going back to the two-division scheme would be an improvement. Then you have a manageable seven teams per division, maybe eight, and can still keep the playoffs short.
As currently constructed, the playoffs favor luck. More teams means a bigger chance of a lesser team getting hot and beating a better team. While I understand the thrill in that for some, it certainly doesn’t lend itself to a World Series pitting the best in the AL against the best in the NL. It’s the luckiest in the AL vs. the luckiest in the NL. Or, rather, the team best built for the playoffs, rather than the team best built for the regular season. If baseball isn’t going to reward the team that played the best over 162 games, then why even play that many?
Doubtless many of you will disagree, and I’d like to hear arguments other than the one I laid out — i.e., that the playoffs as currently constructed are unpredictable. I just think that if you’re playing 162 games, you should reward the teams that played the best in that span, not the teams that played third and fourth best in that span.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
