Archive for November, 2009
The case for CC Sabathia as SI’s Sportsman of the Year
Posted by: | CommentsEvery December, Sports Illustrated announces its Sportsman of the Year. Among the nominees this year is New York’s own Carsten Charles Sabathia, a good choice for the award for many reasons. Ben Reiter takes up CC’s case, writing about why our favorite big man should be the choice. It’s a great read on a great guy, both on and off the field. Takeaway quote on Reiter’s advocacy of Sabathia: “But Sabathia is also my Sportsman of the Year because he showed us, in this money-fueled era of pro sports, that cash doesn’t always change athletes, or corrupt them, and that the idea of a ‘contract year’ can sometimes represent nothing more than a matter of timing.” We’ll find out soon that Sabathia didn’t win the Cy Young, but I think he’d be happy to take home SI’s Sportsman of the Year.
What Went Wrong: The Joba Rules
Posted by: | CommentsOver the next week or so, we’ll again break down what went wrong and what went right for the 2009 Yankees. The series this year will be much more enjoyable than the last.
The Yankees added two new and exciting members to their rotation in the offseason, but many fans (myself certainly included) were most excited to see what the young Joba Chamberlain could do in his first full year as a starter. Things started out well, as the young Nebraskan posted a pretty 3.71 ERA with a tolerable 4.51 FIP in his first ten starts, striking out 51 batters in 53.1 IP. For a 23-year-old starter in the unforgiving AL East, Joba’s performance was more than acceptable up to that point. Unfortunately, things soon went downhill after that.
In Joba’s next seven starts, opponents tagged him for a .311-.385-.477 batting line (basically what Victor Martinez hit this year) that resulted in a 5.05 ERA and 62 baserunners in just 35.2 IP. Even worse were the high pitch counts Joba was running up, forcing him from games early and taxing the bullpen. Joba went into the All Star break with a solid 4.25 ERA, though he was averaging barely five innings per start.
After an eight day breather, Joba returned from the break like a man possessed. He completely shut down the Tigers, A’s, and Rays in his first three starts back, allowing just two runs and 16 baserunners in 21.2 IP. He won all three starts and held opponents to a .422 OPS against. Alas, the success did not last long, as Joba started to head into uncharted territory in terms of innings pitched.
Already at 110.2 IP on the season (his previous career high was the 118.2 IP he threw as a sophomore in college), Joba surrendered 19 runs in his next 20 IP (four starts). At this point, the Yanks applied the breaks, as Joba was limited to short, 3-4 inning starts for the next month or so to control those innings. He had a 6.75 ERA with a 5.45 FIP the rest of the way, finishing the season with 157.1 IP, the most he’d ever thrown in his life.
In one sense, The Joba Rules were wildly successful in that they kept the righthander healthy all year. However, at the end of the season Joba looked as if he didn’t know if he was coming or going, basically like a deer in the headlights. His performance suffered, resulting in many high stress situations that won’t show up in an innings total. Joba’s 2,730 pitches thrown were the 29th most in the AL, more than fellow youngster Rick Porcello even though he had thrown 12.2 fewer innings than the Tigers’ rookie.
The fact of the matter is that the Yankees made their bed when it comes to Joba and his innings limitations, and now they have to sleep in it. He was rushed to the big leagues in 2007 because he was admittedly fantastic in the minors, but mostly because the team needed help in the bullpen. Joba never had a chance to properly stretch out in games that don’t matter, and instead he was forced to learn on the job more than pitchers should have to. Give the Yankees credit for trying to be creative, but it’s painfully obvious at this point that the idea of cutting starts short and whatnot are not the best way to control innings.
The good news that Joba won’t have a significant innings limit in 2010, and hopefully the braintrust has learned from this experience and will develop a better plan to bring it’s young pitchers along, especially with Phil Hughes ready to join the rotation next year. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just keep it simple. Bite the bullet and have the kid sit and rest for two or three weeks mid-season. The less change to a pitcher’s routine, the better.
Photo Credit: Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images
Drilling down on Roy Halladay
Posted by: | CommentsWhen it comes to pitchers on the block, the Yankees are always a likely destination simply because, for the last 15 years, landing pitchers has been the team’s modus operandi. They acquired David Cone in 1995, David Wells after the 1996 season and Roger Clemens prior to 1999 campaign. In the 2000s, the names — Javier Vazquez, Randy Johnson — kept coming but with less success, and just a year ago, the Yankees nabbed CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett out of the clutches of free agency.
So we arrive in the winter of 2009-2010 with Roy Halladay seemingly filling the role Johan Santana played in 2007-2008. Already, the Yankees have been rumored to be interested in Roy Halladay, and the new Blue Jays’ GM Alex Anthopoulos seems both willing to ship off Halladay and willing to send him to an AL East competitor.
The parallels to Santana are obvious. Halladay is one of the American League’s top five pitchers, and as he has aged, he’s become a smarter and better pitcher. Over the last two years, he’s 37-21 with a 2.78 ERA and 414 strike outs in 485 innings. He has thrown a whopping 18 complete games over the last two years. As a comparison, the Yankees’ entire pitching staffs have thrown just four complete games in that same span.
Similar to Santana, Halladay is playing out the last year of his contract, and the Blue Jays are unlikely to resign him after 2010. Furthermore, as the Twins were in 2007, the Blue Jays are living through their first off-season under a new General Manager. While Bill Smith inherited a healthy organization, Anthopoulos has his work cut out for him as he tries to compete with the big guns of the East while uncoupled Toronto from a few bad contracts.
So what, then, would a potential trade partner expect the Blue Jays to want, at least initially? For Anthopoulus, trading Halladay will be a defining moment of this off-season. He’ll be trading one of the best pitchers to throw in Toronto and big crowd favorite at a time when the team is hurting for attendance. He’ll need to recoup that investment while stocking up for the future. In that sense, I don’t see him settling for a package as weak as the one Minnesota received for Santana.
If I were a betting man, I’d guess that Anthopoulus would initially ask for Jesus Montero. At that point, Brian Cashman would hang up the phone. But the point remains: Toronto will need an impact, near-can’t miss prospect to give up Halladay right now. Since the Doc has but one year left on his contract, a team acquiring him may have to give up just one prospect, but it will be a costly one. Would Austin Jackson get the job done? Would the Yankees feel comfortable trading him? Does Toronto, as many others do, feel Jackson’s stock is low right now?
In writing about John Lackey last week, Joe mentioned how Halladay is a desired piece potentially available next winter. That, of course, is where the Yanks found themselves with Santana, but Johan never hit free agency. Brian Cashman will have to ask himself if he wants Halladay enough to pay in prospects and later in cash or if the team is willing to chance it and wait. Josh Beckett and Cliff Lee loom large in 2011 as well.
Right now, this is sheer speculation and the framework for a discussion on Halladay. The rumor mill is quiet in advance of the Winter Meetings, and teams are waiting to see how the market shakes down. When the Hot Stove warms up, Halladay will be front and center. Let’s see how the Yanks approach a big-name pitcher this time around.
Yankees off-season behavior will change with the year
Posted by: | CommentsA year ago Saturday, the Yankees opened the free agent signing period by offering CC Sabathia six years and $140 million. It was an aggressive offer from a team that promised to be active in the free agent market. The Yankees had many holes, and as luck had it the free agent class featured a number of players who could fill them. Sabathia was the center piece, but it was known that the Yankees wouldn’t end with just one acquisition. Brian Cashman himself said he was bringing home two pitchers.
It was the perfect time for the Yankees. The free agent class was strong, with a few elite and otherwise high quality players. Because a few contracts had just expired, the team had money to spend. Other teams helped too, but restricting spending at a time when the Yankees freed up resources. It all came together, and the Yankees struck. That doesn’t happen all the time, and given the Yankees current situation and the strength of the market, it doesn’t appear that the Yankees will make a similar play this year.
Cashman recently commented on the free agent situation, saying that, “You won’t see offers right out of the gate.” It signals that the Yankees will be a bit more patient with this class, knowing that adding any of the top players means yet another long-term, high-salary commitment. Over the last two off-seasons the team has added four contracts of five years or longer. I’m not sure the team is ready to add another.
This means that the Yankees probably won’t sign Matt Holliday. On his newly minted Twitter account, ESPN’s Buster Olney says that the Yankees “are not interested in signing Holliday.” In a different year, maybe the Yankees make a play for Holliday. But the Yankees already have $92.912 million committed to their 2013 roster. That does not include Derek Jeter, whose contract is up after next season and who will presumably sign a new, lucrative deal that will cover 2013. Adding Holliday (and Jeter) would put the 2013 figure close to $130 million.
Last year the Yankees took advantage of a robust free agent market. They had the money, and the players were right. Neither is true this year. The Yankees have some money coming off the books, but they also have holes to fill. While it’s nice to think of Holliday roaming left field in 2010, it means he’d also play there in 2013 and beyond. That doesn’t appear to interest the Yankees this off-season.
Dunn strikes out four … in one inning
Posted by: | CommentsAzFL Surprise (6-4 win over Peoria Javelinas)
Brandon Laird: 3 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 CS
Colin Curtis: 0 for 2, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K – no contact kind of day
Mike Dunn: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – 19 of 30 pitches were strikes (63.3%) … you gotta love the four strikeout inning … PitchFX had him at 93.04-94.6 with the fastball
Zach Kroenke: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1-0 GB/FB – 20 of 28 pitches were strikes (71.4%) … PFX had him at 91.6-93.1
Open Thread: It’s all about the Fukuzawa Yukichis
Posted by: | CommentsPlayer contracts are only one source of income for the biggest sports stars on the planet, in fact most of them rake in more cash via endorsements than they do from their teams. Nike gave LeBron James a $90M deal before he even graduated high school. Buick put more money into Tiger Woods’ pockets than he could ever possibly spend. Heck, even Derek Jeter is out pimping panoramic vista sunroofs.
Hideki Matsui, International Superstar, surely has a few endorsement deals back in Japan, but it turns out his marketability increased tremendously after winning World Series MVP. Here’s a bit from the crew at NPB Tracker:
According to reports, since the MVP performance in the World Series he has had eight offers to appear in commercials (three from existing sponsors and five additional prospective sponsors). Matsui’s price tag for each commercial appearance is estimated in the same range as Ichiro Suzuki, and his MVP performance could bring in up $10 million in earnings this off-season.
Media demand has also rocketed for Matsui, as he has received an estimated 100 requests for television and event appearances in his home country. Even though his home for next season has yet to be determined, it’s not an understatement to say his new team (if the Yankees does not re-sign him) will have an opportunity to develop a big presence in the Land of the Rising Sun.
You’d have to think that playing in New York only increases a player’s exposure, leading to more endorsements and more dollars. Obviously Matsui’s cashing in on it, but what about Chien-Ming Wang?
The guy’s literally a national hero in Taiwan, so you know he’s making some pretty sweet coin on the side. There’s a chance the Yanks will non-tender the righthander, and it’s hard to imagine him landing a large guaranteed contract coming off his shoulder injury. Assuming that, maybe Wanger would be willing to come back to the Yanks on a (relatively) cheap deal in order to keep those big endorsement bucks coming in. I mean, really, how marketable is a Kansas City Royal internationally? Or a San Diego Padre? Not very, or at least not as much as a New York Yankee.
Anywho, here’s your open thread for the night. The friggin’ Browns and Ravens are you MNF game (yippee), plus the Isles and Devils are also in action. Talk about whatever you want, just make sure you follow the guidelines.
An overview of the offseason
Posted by: | CommentsThe offseason is technically underway, but the fun really won’t start until free agents are actually able to sign with new teams, which will happen later this week. Tyler Hissey at Around The Majors looked over the Yanks’ situation heading into winter, noting that they really don’t have many holes to fill. I’m quoted in there as a “Yankees’ prospect expert” by Tyler, which is great for my ego.
Anyway, it’s a lengthy 2,400+ word piece, but it’s worth your time. Check it out.
Mayweather, Yankee Stadium loom for Pacquiao
Posted by: | CommentsAfter his Saturday night victory over Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao basked in the glow of his seventh title in seven weight classes. Behind the scenes, the wheels began to turn for a Pacquiao fight against Floyd Mayweather, and if all goes according to plan, the venue for the fight could be none other than Yankee Stadium, reports Greg Bishop. According to The Times, the Yankees are “interested in hosting a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight next spring.” Nothing can be formalized until the two boxers agree to fight each other, and even then, the Yankees would have to make a compelling case for hosting the fight in the new house.
In September, the team first expressed interest in hosting a bout in the Bronx. When Pacquiao and Cotto gathered there for a press conference, we used the opportunity to explore the history of boxing in Yankee Stadium. A Pacquiao/Mayweather headliner would pack the new joint, and Fack Youk would love to see the fight in the stadium as well.
In the shadow of the new house, local business suffers
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Stan the Man’s Baseball Land sits across from the old Yankee Stadium. (Photo by flickr user DustonThomasJohnston)
During the build-up to the opening of the new Yankee Stadium, team officials touted the economic benefits it would bring to the South Bronx, and many of Yankee-centric merchants lining River Ave. supported the stadium. Even with its smaller capacity, the new stadium would attract more people to the area and thus, they reasoned, business would boom.
As the World Series drew to a close nearly two weeks ago, that economic reality was far from the truth, and in Year One, the new stadium had a negative impact on local businesses. As The Times, the Associated Press and WNYC all explored during the playoffs, sports stores and other businesses lining River Ave. have seen sales drop by nearly 20-40 percent this year.
“Many people who thought that their business would be greatly increased have not experienced that,” Ramón J. Jimenez, a South Bronx lawyer and community activist, said to The Times. “I think a lot of people are disappointed.”
The reasons for this downturn in sales are numerous. First, the bad economy has led consumers to curtail spending. Second, the Yankees averaged nearly 8000 fewer fans per game this year than last. Even with eight additional home games in the playoffs, attendance totals for 2009 were still lower than they were for 2008.
More important though are the amenities in the new stadium. The old Yankee Stadium was not a shopper’s paradise. It featured a few cramped souvenir stands, few dining options and concourses that made heading straight to the seats an attractive option for all fans. The new stadium features 125 concession stands, 56 souvenir shops and multiple dining options. It was designed, as all new stadiums are, to be a self-contained economy. Get your hat, get your t-shirt, get your beer and your fries and even your Porterhouse steak all right here.
Many aren’t — and shouldn’t be — surprised by this turn of events. Neil deMause culled reactions from those who had foreseen this unfortunate impact. “When you look at this new generation of stadiums, they’re little walled cities,” Robert Baade, sports economist said. “They’re trying to capture as much spending as possible inside the stadium, and that really works against spillover to the neighborhoods. Why go out into the neighborhood if you can get everything you want right there?”
Others — such as Joyce Hogi — noted that, earlier in the year, the police had barricaded the streets so that people could not cross to the businesses. A few weeks into the season, though, the barriers were gone, and by the end of the year, businesses weren’t suffering as much.
As Yankee Stadium heads into Year Two, merchants will nervously await the economic reality of it for Year Two will be the true indication of impact. One River Ave. vendor during the World Series noted that the Yanks sold the on-field World Series patch hat in the Stadium for $50 while merchants outside were willing to accept $40. (Editor’s Note: The same cap was available at the Yankees Clubhouse store and online for $35.) If the economics of merchandise continue in this vein, equilibrium will soon be restored, and the losses would represent a one-year dip as fans recover from the novelty of a new stadium.
Maybe we Yankee fans should make more of an effort to visit those River Ave. merchants and give them some business. They are, after all, a colorful part of the Yankee experience in the Bronx, and we should be mindful of them as the Yankees fortify themselves with a new stadium and the monetary benefits of it.
Bailey, Coghlan named Rookies of the Year
Posted by: | CommentsNew Jersey product and Oakland Athletic Andrew Bailey was named the AL Rookie of the Year this afternoon, while Chris Coghlan of the Marlins took home NL honors. Bailey took over the closer’s job after Huston Street was dealt and posted a ridiculous 238 ERA+ with a 0.88 WHIP. Coghlan hit .321 and led the majors with 113 hits in the second half.
Elvis Andrus and Rick Porcello came in second and third, respectively, in the Junior Circuit while J.A. Happ trailed behind Coghlan in the NL voting. None of the Yanks’ rooks – Brett Gardner, Al Aceves, etc – took home any votes.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
