"I am willing to be a hero in the dark." -Hideki Okajima
Profound words from the soft-spoken Japanese set-up man. As anyone who saw last weekend's sox-yanks series can attest to this kid has "it". He flat out can pitch. Some might say, who gives a shit about a middle reliever? Well when this middle reliever holds the keys to winning the division and eventually a 2nd world series in 4 years, I give a shit.
The emergence of Okajima coupled with the seemingly ageless Mike Timlin and the re-emergence (god I hope) of '02 Brendan Donnelly gives the Red Sox three high quality set-up men to bridge the gap to Papelbon. How many teams around the league can claim to have ONE quality set-up man, let alone three? Watching the sox come back in each of three games last weekend certainly set the tone for who had the edge in the bullpen. Seeing Joe Torre squirm and panic IN APRIL by going to Mo (god rest his career) in the 8th and then throwing Andy Pettite in relief was ultra-gratifying in a sense that we can finally lay to rest the past ghosts of the stantons, nelsons, wettelands, and riveras of yesteryear that made those yankee teams so incredibly successful. Coming from someone who suffered through the debacle of the '03 red sox "Committee", Id be terribly worried if i was a yankee fan.
Right now, the Red Sox bullpen shuts the door and the yanks pen opens a new one. Its the end of April and already the Yankees pen is overworked. Scott Proctor might need a robotic arm by the time August rolls around.
A quick word on Phil Hughes: I hope we see him in October so the Red Sox can make him pull a Brad Lidge and completely demoralize him to point where he never pitches again. Throw him out there in game 3 of the ALCS and watch Papi and Manny crush his dreams to point where he doubts himself deep in his soul. Hello Rick Ankiel part 2?
Seriously though, he looked alrite last night. You can tell hes got talent (most top rated prospects do) but im not overly wow'ed. Then again my tears from the Mark Prior surgery news might have blinded me.
-Hideki Okajima-san The Lefty Specialist
Friday, April 27, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Strong to... quite strong?
Okayyyy... the Yankees submitted a thoroughly shitty performance, highlighted by Torre batting DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ in the TWO SLOT. Nope, no typo there. But let's look at Phil Hughes' line:
4.1IP 7H 4ER 1BB 5K (90 Pitches)
Showing signs of adrenaline and nerves in the first, he allowed two runs on a Rios single and stolen base, a MAMMOTH double by Wells (probably the worst pitch he threw all night) and a single by Thomas. In between those scoring plays, however, he struck out Adam Lind HANDILY on an elevated fastball. He also retired Overbay and Hill on groundouts to end the inning.
He opened the second with two straight strikeouts, Smith on an elevated fastball and Jason Phillips on a narsty-looking curve. I think this is where we started to see how he is capable of overpowering hitters.
My thoughts are that (1) even though he was hamstrung by his pitchcount, he went after each hitter very aggressively, only walking one batter (Overbay in the top of the 4th). (2) His preference is to get two strikes with low fastballs at 90-92 on the corners and curveballs, then elevate and dial up his fastball to 95-96 for the K. (3) His mechanics out of the stretch are strikingly similar to maybe the best pitcher of all time, Roger Clemens. (As YES pointed out, but I SWEAR I thought of it first)... EXCEPT for one crucial point.
The Rocket has been able to have a career that will most likely go into his 23rd major league season primarily due to his remarkable training regimen AND perfect mechanics. Due to his early career shoulder injury, Clemens altered his mechanics to take much of the stress of pitching off of his arm by strengthening his trunk and generating his arm speed with his tremendous legs. Every pitcher does this to varying degrees, except Mark Redman (who has the worst mechanics in major league baseball), but Clemens turned it into an art form. Hughes, while resembling the Rocket's mechanics, does not fully extend his back leg and get the full "push" off the rubber that Clemens does. What does this mean for his future development? I have no idea. There doesn't appear to be much injury history, but then again the Yankees have brought him along so slowly, he hasn't had the opportunity to get hurt. His velocity is consistent, except when he needs extra, so perhaps that is when the maximum effort will be obtained from his legs.
Overall? This was impressive just to see a Yankee rookie not walk the goddamned ballpark. I truly think Hughes' K numbers will be maintained in the bigs, since his stuff and feel for it was demonstrated clearly, even without the clear cut results you'd like.
HAIL HUGHES!
-RJ
4.1IP 7H 4ER 1BB 5K (90 Pitches)
Showing signs of adrenaline and nerves in the first, he allowed two runs on a Rios single and stolen base, a MAMMOTH double by Wells (probably the worst pitch he threw all night) and a single by Thomas. In between those scoring plays, however, he struck out Adam Lind HANDILY on an elevated fastball. He also retired Overbay and Hill on groundouts to end the inning.
He opened the second with two straight strikeouts, Smith on an elevated fastball and Jason Phillips on a narsty-looking curve. I think this is where we started to see how he is capable of overpowering hitters.
My thoughts are that (1) even though he was hamstrung by his pitchcount, he went after each hitter very aggressively, only walking one batter (Overbay in the top of the 4th). (2) His preference is to get two strikes with low fastballs at 90-92 on the corners and curveballs, then elevate and dial up his fastball to 95-96 for the K. (3) His mechanics out of the stretch are strikingly similar to maybe the best pitcher of all time, Roger Clemens. (As YES pointed out, but I SWEAR I thought of it first)... EXCEPT for one crucial point.
The Rocket has been able to have a career that will most likely go into his 23rd major league season primarily due to his remarkable training regimen AND perfect mechanics. Due to his early career shoulder injury, Clemens altered his mechanics to take much of the stress of pitching off of his arm by strengthening his trunk and generating his arm speed with his tremendous legs. Every pitcher does this to varying degrees, except Mark Redman (who has the worst mechanics in major league baseball), but Clemens turned it into an art form. Hughes, while resembling the Rocket's mechanics, does not fully extend his back leg and get the full "push" off the rubber that Clemens does. What does this mean for his future development? I have no idea. There doesn't appear to be much injury history, but then again the Yankees have brought him along so slowly, he hasn't had the opportunity to get hurt. His velocity is consistent, except when he needs extra, so perhaps that is when the maximum effort will be obtained from his legs.
Overall? This was impressive just to see a Yankee rookie not walk the goddamned ballpark. I truly think Hughes' K numbers will be maintained in the bigs, since his stuff and feel for it was demonstrated clearly, even without the clear cut results you'd like.
HAIL HUGHES!
-RJ
Coming to a stadium near you!
One man has the hopes of an entire generation of fans on his shoulders.
One man can cure the ills of a season unfulfilled.
One man... can change the AL East.
PHILIP HUGHES as PHIL HUGHES in:
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Opening tonite, 4/26/07.
Post-game reaction to follow.
-RJ
One man can cure the ills of a season unfulfilled.
One man... can change the AL East.
PHILIP HUGHES as PHIL HUGHES in:
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Opening tonite, 4/26/07.
Post-game reaction to follow.
-RJ
Friday, April 20, 2007
Curt Schilling is Fat, Part II
Well we're back, freshly armed with delicious 7-11 taquitos. On with the blog:
9:07: Top of the seventh at Fenway, and as pink-hatted Boston sluts wipe their cheaply adorned faces clean of semen, Schilling deals to Johnny Damon. JC Romero warms in the bullpen, as Schilling wonders what snappy comeback he'll have for the press after the game. Damon down on strikes with Schilling's 98th pitch of the night.
9:09: Nice play by Lugo to his glove side, Bill James immediately inflates his range factor by 10. Jeter out at first, Abreu down swinging, taquito down chewing. Bottom of the 7th.
9:14: I don't know how they do it, I don't care how they do it, but those taquitos are sex in pseudo-ethnic food form. Varitek singles against Pettitte, who threw 7 pitches in the 6th. I hate Jason Varitek. In a related story, this game is most likely not over with the score as it is now. Would like to see another 6-10 runs from the Yanks. Noone warming for the Yanks, as Count Chocula starts his long career of annoying me by fouling off pitches. Michael Kay missed a popup to the booth, and John Flaherty is giving him shit about it... endless fun with overweight, overblown TV announcers.
9:17: Crisp beats out a high throw from ARod. Fuck it, give him the error. Didn't set himself, should've thrown to second. Gator Guidry out to talk to Pettitte. Two men on for powerhouse Wily Mo Pena, pinch hitting for Eckstein Pedroia. I smell a comeback. FUCK.
9:20: Wily Mo whiffs on a high change, 0-2. Pettitte toying with outside cutters... should be thinking about high fastball here, although he wants double play. Andy JUUUUST missed with a backdoor cutter... Randy Marsh strikes again. A rare non-seated Joe Torre shot in the dugout... Andy's gone if he doesn't get Pena here. Happy birthday to Don Mattingly, btw. WHIIIIIFFAH for Wily Mo and Andy collects the K. Big time players make big time plays, that's all I have to say about that. Torre out to collect his veteran lefty, the Proctologist coming in to face Lugo.
9:25: Tenth game for Proctor, Yanks have played 15. Something tells me he'll be hitting 100 innings again. I like him though, he's got a mistress in my hometown of SI. He induces Lugo to pop up to right. Kevin "the only Jewish Greek Major Leaguer" Youklis at the dish. He pops out to the fourth person in the holy trinity (or would it be quadrangle?), and ARod puts it away. 5-2 Janks, top eight.
9:35: JC Romero out as official sacrificial lamb of the Sawx 'pen. ARod continues his ungodliness by rapping a double down the line and the Giambino knocks him in with a flare to right. Few would take the extra base on JD Drew, but ARod caught him calculating exactly how much he fucked the Dodgers last year and took home. Nice baserunning there, as Kevin "Black Bubba Crosby" Thompson comes in to run for Giambi. A fielder's choice from Nieves drops Thompson at second, Cano facing the funky lefty now, cracking a line single off of the wall in left. Pink-hatted whores leave the game to turn a quick trick on Landsdowne street before heading back to Southie.
9:39: Kyle Snyder, doing his best Bronson Arroyo impersonation, right down to the unwashed hair, comes in. Melky up with men on first and third, he looks a liiiiiittle lost out there. Two terrible swings later, it's 0-2. Brim-high fastball strikes him out, 2 down with 2 on.
9:45: Mintkayvitz up, as Kay pimps his interview with Quentin Tarantino on "Awkward Conversations with People More Famous Than Me aka: Centerstage." George must've been high on oxygen when he approved that nonsense. Minty walks, Damon up with the bases juiced. As I recall, I was more afraid of Damon with the bases loaded when he was on the Sawx than anyone else besides Papi or ManRam. Something about putting the ball in play consistently... anyway, he bats .407 with the bases loaded. Jus showed a clip of a game in 2004 when he hit a grand slam off of Javier Vazquez. Kay said it was from the ALCS of that year, but that can't be right, because they cancelled it after Game 6. Damon grounds out and we are through seven and a half.
9:49: Taquitos make their presence known to my stomach. My stomach is having none of their Mexican antics. Tomfoolery ensues.
9:51: Mike "But I'm Left-Handed, Coach!" Myers in to face Ortiz, who greets him with a smash into left center. Papi then hilariously tumbles into second base in a good imitation of a drunk father of four at the company softball game. Myers hits the showers, having failed at doing the one thing the Yankees have him on the roster for. Thanks, Mike! Luis Vizcaino coming in, and I would be stupid not to mention that the odds of a two-run ManRam blast just went up 300%.
9:55: Strikes one and two sail by the comatose Ramirez, who looks like he would like to be anywhere but on a baseball field right now. Mariano warming in the 'pen. Interesting.
9:57: Vizcaino has now gone 3-2 on Manny. I, for one, don't trust this guy. He has Jay Witasick written all over him. Aaaand he walked him. Gator adjusts his 'stache and heads out to talk. JD Drew stops counting his money in the dugout and comes out for an AB. Cano throws him out on a grounder and there's one away.
10:00: Lowell out there now, Flaherty actually being very insightful, talking about how he only has pull power, and that they should keep the ball away from him. He grounds one past a suddenly immobile, diving Rodriguez and Ortiz scores. 6-3 Janks and my ass puckers just a little bit. They are going to Rivera. WOW. This game clearly very important, probably with upcoming pitching matchups being what they are.
10:03: Showing clips of Marco Scutaro hitting his first homerun in two years off Mariano not the right segue into this inning. Varitek stands in against the best reliever in the history of baseball. In a related story, the Yankees don't have any saves, which is killing my fantasy team. I need to focus here.
10:05: Mo showing that two-seamer he's been tinkering with for three years now, seems to have it working. Tek down 1-2. Rips a single into right and I'm swearing out loud. Completely predictably, Coco Crisp rips a two RBI triple into right, tying the game. Mariano is now 0-2 on save opportunities. Cora hit, 7-6 Red Sox. This is officially ridiculous. Cora caught stealing and Mariano is completely out of it, just threw one to the backstop. Papelbon not warming in the 'pen as Mariano strikes out Lugo. Okajima to pitch the 9th.
10:12: Due up? Jeter, Abreu, ARod. Nah, it'll never happen. No way will the Yankees come back. Not against a Japanese lefthanded reliever.
10:15: Here we go, Hideki Okajima (not a typo) pitching the 9th. 8Ks in 6.1 IP, I am not optimistic. Joel Pineiro warming in case there's any trouble. Which is like saying they'll bring in Mengele for a surgical consult. This Okajima fellow looks ABOUT thirteen years old. Bounces one to Jeter, replay shows that he DOESN'T LOOK AT HOME PLATE when he releases the ball. Scary.
10:18: 2-0 to the Cap'n. Terry Francona smiling in the dugout... he's a real smug prick. Jeter grounds out to second. Abreu coming up.
10:19: No way Abreu gets on and ARod hits a home run... no way. 1-0 to El Commanduce (actual John Sterling nickname, btw). Nasty slider has Abreu down 1-2. Abreu has balls of steel, watching a fastball brush by the outside corner, 3-2.
10:22: He walked him!! (!!) ARod up against whoever Francona decides to let face him. Gonna let the lefty handle him... 0-1. 1-1 on a not-so-close outside fastball. 2-1 on a nickel curve out past the outside corner. 3-1 on a curveball, gonna walk him for Kevin Thomson, Torre will counter with Josh Phelps. 3-2 on a nasty looking curveball over the inside corner. Very odd pitch selection. Line drive at Alex Cora, 2 outs. ::Sigh:: Kevin Thompson will bat, so Torre waves the white flag apparently. What a oddly managed fucking game out of Torre, and now I'm pissed. In retrospect, having a moment while Kevin Thompson prolongs my agony, Torre doesn't have anyone else to catch, so he needs Phelps to pinch hit for Nieves, can't use DH if you make him a catcher. Fuck you, Red Sox.
9:07: Top of the seventh at Fenway, and as pink-hatted Boston sluts wipe their cheaply adorned faces clean of semen, Schilling deals to Johnny Damon. JC Romero warms in the bullpen, as Schilling wonders what snappy comeback he'll have for the press after the game. Damon down on strikes with Schilling's 98th pitch of the night.
9:09: Nice play by Lugo to his glove side, Bill James immediately inflates his range factor by 10. Jeter out at first, Abreu down swinging, taquito down chewing. Bottom of the 7th.
9:14: I don't know how they do it, I don't care how they do it, but those taquitos are sex in pseudo-ethnic food form. Varitek singles against Pettitte, who threw 7 pitches in the 6th. I hate Jason Varitek. In a related story, this game is most likely not over with the score as it is now. Would like to see another 6-10 runs from the Yanks. Noone warming for the Yanks, as Count Chocula starts his long career of annoying me by fouling off pitches. Michael Kay missed a popup to the booth, and John Flaherty is giving him shit about it... endless fun with overweight, overblown TV announcers.
9:17: Crisp beats out a high throw from ARod. Fuck it, give him the error. Didn't set himself, should've thrown to second. Gator Guidry out to talk to Pettitte. Two men on for powerhouse Wily Mo Pena, pinch hitting for Eckstein Pedroia. I smell a comeback. FUCK.
9:20: Wily Mo whiffs on a high change, 0-2. Pettitte toying with outside cutters... should be thinking about high fastball here, although he wants double play. Andy JUUUUST missed with a backdoor cutter... Randy Marsh strikes again. A rare non-seated Joe Torre shot in the dugout... Andy's gone if he doesn't get Pena here. Happy birthday to Don Mattingly, btw. WHIIIIIFFAH for Wily Mo and Andy collects the K. Big time players make big time plays, that's all I have to say about that. Torre out to collect his veteran lefty, the Proctologist coming in to face Lugo.
9:25: Tenth game for Proctor, Yanks have played 15. Something tells me he'll be hitting 100 innings again. I like him though, he's got a mistress in my hometown of SI. He induces Lugo to pop up to right. Kevin "the only Jewish Greek Major Leaguer" Youklis at the dish. He pops out to the fourth person in the holy trinity (or would it be quadrangle?), and ARod puts it away. 5-2 Janks, top eight.
9:35: JC Romero out as official sacrificial lamb of the Sawx 'pen. ARod continues his ungodliness by rapping a double down the line and the Giambino knocks him in with a flare to right. Few would take the extra base on JD Drew, but ARod caught him calculating exactly how much he fucked the Dodgers last year and took home. Nice baserunning there, as Kevin "Black Bubba Crosby" Thompson comes in to run for Giambi. A fielder's choice from Nieves drops Thompson at second, Cano facing the funky lefty now, cracking a line single off of the wall in left. Pink-hatted whores leave the game to turn a quick trick on Landsdowne street before heading back to Southie.
9:39: Kyle Snyder, doing his best Bronson Arroyo impersonation, right down to the unwashed hair, comes in. Melky up with men on first and third, he looks a liiiiiittle lost out there. Two terrible swings later, it's 0-2. Brim-high fastball strikes him out, 2 down with 2 on.
9:45: Mintkayvitz up, as Kay pimps his interview with Quentin Tarantino on "Awkward Conversations with People More Famous Than Me aka: Centerstage." George must've been high on oxygen when he approved that nonsense. Minty walks, Damon up with the bases juiced. As I recall, I was more afraid of Damon with the bases loaded when he was on the Sawx than anyone else besides Papi or ManRam. Something about putting the ball in play consistently... anyway, he bats .407 with the bases loaded. Jus showed a clip of a game in 2004 when he hit a grand slam off of Javier Vazquez. Kay said it was from the ALCS of that year, but that can't be right, because they cancelled it after Game 6. Damon grounds out and we are through seven and a half.
9:49: Taquitos make their presence known to my stomach. My stomach is having none of their Mexican antics. Tomfoolery ensues.
9:51: Mike "But I'm Left-Handed, Coach!" Myers in to face Ortiz, who greets him with a smash into left center. Papi then hilariously tumbles into second base in a good imitation of a drunk father of four at the company softball game. Myers hits the showers, having failed at doing the one thing the Yankees have him on the roster for. Thanks, Mike! Luis Vizcaino coming in, and I would be stupid not to mention that the odds of a two-run ManRam blast just went up 300%.
9:55: Strikes one and two sail by the comatose Ramirez, who looks like he would like to be anywhere but on a baseball field right now. Mariano warming in the 'pen. Interesting.
9:57: Vizcaino has now gone 3-2 on Manny. I, for one, don't trust this guy. He has Jay Witasick written all over him. Aaaand he walked him. Gator adjusts his 'stache and heads out to talk. JD Drew stops counting his money in the dugout and comes out for an AB. Cano throws him out on a grounder and there's one away.
10:00: Lowell out there now, Flaherty actually being very insightful, talking about how he only has pull power, and that they should keep the ball away from him. He grounds one past a suddenly immobile, diving Rodriguez and Ortiz scores. 6-3 Janks and my ass puckers just a little bit. They are going to Rivera. WOW. This game clearly very important, probably with upcoming pitching matchups being what they are.
10:03: Showing clips of Marco Scutaro hitting his first homerun in two years off Mariano not the right segue into this inning. Varitek stands in against the best reliever in the history of baseball. In a related story, the Yankees don't have any saves, which is killing my fantasy team. I need to focus here.
10:05: Mo showing that two-seamer he's been tinkering with for three years now, seems to have it working. Tek down 1-2. Rips a single into right and I'm swearing out loud. Completely predictably, Coco Crisp rips a two RBI triple into right, tying the game. Mariano is now 0-2 on save opportunities. Cora hit, 7-6 Red Sox. This is officially ridiculous. Cora caught stealing and Mariano is completely out of it, just threw one to the backstop. Papelbon not warming in the 'pen as Mariano strikes out Lugo. Okajima to pitch the 9th.
10:12: Due up? Jeter, Abreu, ARod. Nah, it'll never happen. No way will the Yankees come back. Not against a Japanese lefthanded reliever.
10:15: Here we go, Hideki Okajima (not a typo) pitching the 9th. 8Ks in 6.1 IP, I am not optimistic. Joel Pineiro warming in case there's any trouble. Which is like saying they'll bring in Mengele for a surgical consult. This Okajima fellow looks ABOUT thirteen years old. Bounces one to Jeter, replay shows that he DOESN'T LOOK AT HOME PLATE when he releases the ball. Scary.
10:18: 2-0 to the Cap'n. Terry Francona smiling in the dugout... he's a real smug prick. Jeter grounds out to second. Abreu coming up.
10:19: No way Abreu gets on and ARod hits a home run... no way. 1-0 to El Commanduce (actual John Sterling nickname, btw). Nasty slider has Abreu down 1-2. Abreu has balls of steel, watching a fastball brush by the outside corner, 3-2.
10:22: He walked him!! (!!) ARod up against whoever Francona decides to let face him. Gonna let the lefty handle him... 0-1. 1-1 on a not-so-close outside fastball. 2-1 on a nickel curve out past the outside corner. 3-1 on a curveball, gonna walk him for Kevin Thomson, Torre will counter with Josh Phelps. 3-2 on a nasty looking curveball over the inside corner. Very odd pitch selection. Line drive at Alex Cora, 2 outs. ::Sigh:: Kevin Thompson will bat, so Torre waves the white flag apparently. What a oddly managed fucking game out of Torre, and now I'm pissed. In retrospect, having a moment while Kevin Thompson prolongs my agony, Torre doesn't have anyone else to catch, so he needs Phelps to pinch hit for Nieves, can't use DH if you make him a catcher. Fuck you, Red Sox.
Curt Schilling is Fat, and Other Observations
Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Coming to you live from Queens, NY... I give you Rough Justice's game log.
6:57: I am perched anxiously at my laptop watching ESPN's pre-game coverage. Boy, noone scares me quite so much as Manny and Papi batting a combined .900 against Andy Pettitte. Very comforting, considering Schilling, while fat, is dominating against the Yankees.
7:00: Aaaand, thank god I realized the game is actually on YES. At least that saved me from hearing Steve Phillips blow himself about what an awesome evaluator of talent he is. Mo Vaughn? Robbie Alomar? I give you a hearty "go fuck yourself" from my Mets brethren, sir.
7:01: Michael Kay, while pompous and probably kind of a dick, is decent when backed up by a decent color guy. Too bad John Flaherty is co-announcing. Where have you gone Jim Kaat?
7:02: I can't possibly keep this up... but I'll be damned if I won't try.
7:05: Schilling is now showing off his bright green Red Sox Jersey in the 'pen. Boy is that hideous. Say what you want about the Yanks, their uniforms are the very definition of class.
7:07: Is Fenway the best stadium in the major leagues? Maybe, but I've never been. Thoughts?
7:09: And the green-clad Red Sox take the field, gay fans everywhere sob in unison. They are apparently honoring the Celtics. Whoopdy doo. Would you see the Yanks honoring the Knicks with orange and blue? Didn't think so. Truly atrocious.
7:10: Chubs takes his warmups, and we are ready for baseball. Flaherty tells us that Schilling works the umps. He looks like he ate a few.
7:12: Tito gives Torre a nod that is more suited to a prison greeting. Sure, there are no hard feelings from that 5 game sweep last August. Damon grounds out to Dustin Eckstein, who I can already tell has three dink RBI hits in him this series. Jeter pops out on one pitch. Terrific. An overweight, huffing-puffing Schilling will finish the inning with eight pitches.
7:13: Bobby Abreu has never swung at a first pitch. Read more about this in my new book, "Hyperbole - How I Make Shit Up and Make It Sound Believeable." He flies out to Milton Crisp in center on the third pitch of the at-bat.
7:16: Good to see Julio Lugo back in the saddle, a weaker man would just beat his wife all day... too soon? Pettitte looking like he's gonna keep the ball down early.
7:19: After a Lugo groundout to Captain Clutch, Kevin "I'm Not A Hitter I Jus Walk Alot" Youkilis takes one in the hands, almost in the face. Awesome, a beanball war with Schilling. Thanks Andy. Ten bucks says ARod eats some dirt leading off the second. Now Ortiz, with a man on, will no doubt punish Pettitte for being less ethnic than him.
7:20: Shot of Manny's dreadlocks made me throw up in my mouth. Will he even show up to the Hall of Fame when he's inducted? Or will he be too busy posing for EBay pics with his neighbor's grill? Ortiz walks on four pitches and the Sox are set up with Manny, a righty, against Pettitte, a lefty. Poor decisions are being made, and I can't stop it.
7:21: DOUBLE PLAY! Yay. Cano stops and has a Fenway frank while he waits for Ortiz to get to second.
7:24: Arod up. Apparently, he only had 5 RBIs in the 9th inning ALL OF LAST YEAR. This year? Seven through 14 games. Interesting to note. Schilling drops a 2-1 curveball under his bat for the second strike. Ends in a deep flyout to center, hit one-handed. Ball is REALLY carrying off his bat.
7:26: Phone call from Neil (his real name) as Giambi steps in. Popout to Manny, 2 gone. Hiphip Jorge drives one to deep left center, but Coco Chanel puts it away for the third out. Looking forward to seeing this bottom third of the Sawx order in action, or rather, inaction. Also, wondering if that decision not to eat yet today will come back and haunt me. My guess? Massive 7-11 run in the near future. Mmm, taquitos.
7:30: JD Drew was nice enough to show up for the game, Kay comments on his lack of "fire." Maybe it's the millions of dollars he's being paid to play a game. Of course, as I write that, he lines a single to right. I fucking hate the Red Sox.
7:32: Mike Lowell sucks, but bats .700 against the Yankees. That's fair. Double play it is. Two down, the Artist Formerly Known as Jason Varitek up. I am reminded less than fondly of the time he punched ARod in the face when he was still wearing his mask. Real tough, douchebag. Thank being said, if Posada ever ages 10 years like 'Tek did, I'm going to kill myself. Groundout to ARod and this game is moving pretty damned fast.
7:37: Kei Igawa's teeth need fixing. We don't tolerate that shit here in the States, Iggie. Robbie Cano (inaugural Staten Island Yankee) at the plate. Japanese Dunkin' Donuts sign is getting too much attention, show me the goddamned game already. 3-0 on Cano, one of the hardest people to walk on the entire team. Manny woke up in time to bungle a diving catch, single for Robbie.
7:40: Melky looks like he put on a little bulk... not necessarily a good thing. Kay refers to Schilling as "chatty." I call Stalin "aloof." Melky rips a single to center and Big Schill wipes some cannoli cream off his face with his glove. Least he's not using it on the ball, Kenny.
7:42: Doogie Mintkayvitch (phonetic) drops down a bunt (USEFUL!) and there's men on second and third for Damon. Schilling complains to the ump about a pitch (might be right), sandwich falls out of his back pocket, Damon grounds to short, RBI. Nice little sequence there. With Jeter up, Schilling keeps moaning about the outside corner, gets a pitch called a strike that was a foot outside. God I hate him.
7:46: Aaaand he walks him anyway. Abreu up, men on first and third. First pitch, 82 mph on the YES gun... but it looked like a fastball. Hmm. Kay comments by saying, "Schilling came into camp a little heavy..." I comment on David Ortiz being a person of color. I can play the state the obvious game, too. Abreu gets punched out as Schilling catches his breath from walking off the mound. 1-0 Janks, middle third.
7:50: Cigarette break.
7:55: Ahhhh. Much better. Pettitte gets the first two outs easily. 2 strikes on Lugo, shots of Red Sox bullpen, swear I see Lefty out there warming up, dodging Mike Timlin's tobacco spittle. Fuckface behind the plate isn't giving Andy the inside corner. Try crying like Fatso, Andy. Lugo walks.
7:59: A small child falls out of Youklis's goatee. Andy shows off his move to first. First crowd shots of front-running female Red Sox fans in their pink hats. My hatred grows. I'm begging Pettitte, after three hard hit foul balls on inside cutters, to drop a deuce in there. Infield single, as Jeter fails to make his signature play on a throw to second. Sigh. Now I have to hear about range factor and other bullshit defensive stats for the next week.
8:04: Ortiz shwwwwwingin at a slow curveball, 0-1. Grounds out to Cano in short right as I wipe drool from my face thinking of taquitos. What's the deal with these fucking Crunchers commercials? If it's a show, I'm not watching, so stop already.
8:06: Arod up again. Boos aren't as loud as I remember, maybe they are thinking he'll opt out and play for them. I cry on the inside. Michael Kay blows the call as Arod goes deep to left. AN A-BOMB, FROM A-ROD, and the Yankees take a 2-0 lead. Girls in pink Boston hats leave their seats to go give tug jobs in the Fenway mensrooms.
8:10: The Giambino goes down on strikes as Schilling stops the game to go blog about how bad he feels that he gave up a homerun to Arod. Topical huuuuuuumor. Splitter in the dirt and Posada has a 2-2 count. Manny loses his hat chasing a pop double into the corner, legions of rastafarians ask him to put it back on to save their image.
8:13: Cano grounds out to first, moving Posada to third (which is good, because he is a notoriously terrible baserunner and would not have scored on a base hit from second). Melkman gets HOSED on an inside strike call and I am getting legitimately angry at the blind bastard in the umpire costume. Melky flies out to center, Schilling retrieves the powdered doughnut he uses as a rosin bag. Middle of the fourth, 2-0 Janks.
8:18: Posada's out of the game, no word on the injury. Alarms sound in the empty Yankee catching prospect office. Manny up, 2 strikes... then down looking. Nieves DOES present a better target, but has zero hits on the season. Anyone have my cousin Sal Fasano's number?
8:20: Carl Pavano and JD Drew, both lacking fire? Interesting little conversation between Flaherty and Kay here. Anytime a 30 million dollar pitcher is likened to JD Drew, it's time to cut ties. Drew singles into right, trapped by Abreu on the dive.
8:22: Lowell listed as former Yankee prospect. Who gives a shit? Is there a more non-descript player? JD Drew caught stealing even thought Pettitte threw that pitch into the ground, nice arm, Nieves.
8:24: Fucking Mike Lowell singles off the wall, I will refrain from insulting any Boston player while they are at bat from now on. Crash Varitek steps in. Gets beaten BADLY on an 88mph fastball, large plastic fork lodges itself in his back. Of course, as per the agreement with God and Satan, he immediately goes opposite field to tie the game. I hate the Red Sox.
8:25: Pettitte loses the strike zone, Coco Puffs does him a favor by tapping to short. 2-2 top of the fifth. I am now officially starving to death, although you wouldn't know it from looking at me. There will be a taquitos break after the top of the 5th, and the second half of the blog will begin when I return from 711.
8:31: We are reminded of Doogie's role on the 2004 World Series. Since that series wasn't played, I don't know what they are talking about. Suddenly, I've developed a tic.
8:32: Schilling WON'T STOP WHINING... 3-2 to Mintkayvitch, who flies out to Cereal Boy in deep center. Kay criticizing the non-signing of Damon by the Sawx, while excoriating (pah) Bobo McAwfulname, Boston's current centerfielder. Of course, Damon goes down looking, as Randy Marsh wipes Schilling's semen off the inside of his umpire's mask. Posada's out with a bruised thumb, victim of a Pettitte cutter.
8:36: Cap'n Jeter at the dish, 2-2 count. Rips a base hit to left to give Abreu a chance to stop watching strikes go by. Schilling stalking around the mound looking for his World of Warcraft emote list so he can bitch on the Internets about Marsh's strike zone. Kay says that Schilling "doesn't want to feed him a 2-0 cookie..." I refuse to make the easy joke. Abreu singles to right, first and second for ARod, who can go a looong way with a little poke here. That is what she said, in case you're wondering.
8:41: Curt's velocity up to 93 all of a sudden, check him for performance enhancing condiments. He's thrown 81 pitches through 4.2 innings... Yanks can smell that terrible middle relief and are salivating. 94mph on an inside fastball, ARod swings through it. Schilling hangs a slider aaaaaaand SEE YA!!! ANOTHER HOMERUN FOR ALEX RODRIGUEZ!!! Terrible O'Fieldpants ends up over the low wall into the Boston bullpen. ARod has 30 RBIs in 15 games. In a related story, I am now fully erect.
8:46: Giambi singles, Nieves grounds out. 5-2 Jankees, taquito time. Back after the break with the second half of the game.
6:57: I am perched anxiously at my laptop watching ESPN's pre-game coverage. Boy, noone scares me quite so much as Manny and Papi batting a combined .900 against Andy Pettitte. Very comforting, considering Schilling, while fat, is dominating against the Yankees.
7:00: Aaaand, thank god I realized the game is actually on YES. At least that saved me from hearing Steve Phillips blow himself about what an awesome evaluator of talent he is. Mo Vaughn? Robbie Alomar? I give you a hearty "go fuck yourself" from my Mets brethren, sir.
7:01: Michael Kay, while pompous and probably kind of a dick, is decent when backed up by a decent color guy. Too bad John Flaherty is co-announcing. Where have you gone Jim Kaat?
7:02: I can't possibly keep this up... but I'll be damned if I won't try.
7:05: Schilling is now showing off his bright green Red Sox Jersey in the 'pen. Boy is that hideous. Say what you want about the Yanks, their uniforms are the very definition of class.
7:07: Is Fenway the best stadium in the major leagues? Maybe, but I've never been. Thoughts?
7:09: And the green-clad Red Sox take the field, gay fans everywhere sob in unison. They are apparently honoring the Celtics. Whoopdy doo. Would you see the Yanks honoring the Knicks with orange and blue? Didn't think so. Truly atrocious.
7:10: Chubs takes his warmups, and we are ready for baseball. Flaherty tells us that Schilling works the umps. He looks like he ate a few.
7:12: Tito gives Torre a nod that is more suited to a prison greeting. Sure, there are no hard feelings from that 5 game sweep last August. Damon grounds out to Dustin Eckstein, who I can already tell has three dink RBI hits in him this series. Jeter pops out on one pitch. Terrific. An overweight, huffing-puffing Schilling will finish the inning with eight pitches.
7:13: Bobby Abreu has never swung at a first pitch. Read more about this in my new book, "Hyperbole - How I Make Shit Up and Make It Sound Believeable." He flies out to Milton Crisp in center on the third pitch of the at-bat.
7:16: Good to see Julio Lugo back in the saddle, a weaker man would just beat his wife all day... too soon? Pettitte looking like he's gonna keep the ball down early.
7:19: After a Lugo groundout to Captain Clutch, Kevin "I'm Not A Hitter I Jus Walk Alot" Youkilis takes one in the hands, almost in the face. Awesome, a beanball war with Schilling. Thanks Andy. Ten bucks says ARod eats some dirt leading off the second. Now Ortiz, with a man on, will no doubt punish Pettitte for being less ethnic than him.
7:20: Shot of Manny's dreadlocks made me throw up in my mouth. Will he even show up to the Hall of Fame when he's inducted? Or will he be too busy posing for EBay pics with his neighbor's grill? Ortiz walks on four pitches and the Sox are set up with Manny, a righty, against Pettitte, a lefty. Poor decisions are being made, and I can't stop it.
7:21: DOUBLE PLAY! Yay. Cano stops and has a Fenway frank while he waits for Ortiz to get to second.
7:24: Arod up. Apparently, he only had 5 RBIs in the 9th inning ALL OF LAST YEAR. This year? Seven through 14 games. Interesting to note. Schilling drops a 2-1 curveball under his bat for the second strike. Ends in a deep flyout to center, hit one-handed. Ball is REALLY carrying off his bat.
7:26: Phone call from Neil (his real name) as Giambi steps in. Popout to Manny, 2 gone. Hiphip Jorge drives one to deep left center, but Coco Chanel puts it away for the third out. Looking forward to seeing this bottom third of the Sawx order in action, or rather, inaction. Also, wondering if that decision not to eat yet today will come back and haunt me. My guess? Massive 7-11 run in the near future. Mmm, taquitos.
7:30: JD Drew was nice enough to show up for the game, Kay comments on his lack of "fire." Maybe it's the millions of dollars he's being paid to play a game. Of course, as I write that, he lines a single to right. I fucking hate the Red Sox.
7:32: Mike Lowell sucks, but bats .700 against the Yankees. That's fair. Double play it is. Two down, the Artist Formerly Known as Jason Varitek up. I am reminded less than fondly of the time he punched ARod in the face when he was still wearing his mask. Real tough, douchebag. Thank being said, if Posada ever ages 10 years like 'Tek did, I'm going to kill myself. Groundout to ARod and this game is moving pretty damned fast.
7:37: Kei Igawa's teeth need fixing. We don't tolerate that shit here in the States, Iggie. Robbie Cano (inaugural Staten Island Yankee) at the plate. Japanese Dunkin' Donuts sign is getting too much attention, show me the goddamned game already. 3-0 on Cano, one of the hardest people to walk on the entire team. Manny woke up in time to bungle a diving catch, single for Robbie.
7:40: Melky looks like he put on a little bulk... not necessarily a good thing. Kay refers to Schilling as "chatty." I call Stalin "aloof." Melky rips a single to center and Big Schill wipes some cannoli cream off his face with his glove. Least he's not using it on the ball, Kenny.
7:42: Doogie Mintkayvitch (phonetic) drops down a bunt (USEFUL!) and there's men on second and third for Damon. Schilling complains to the ump about a pitch (might be right), sandwich falls out of his back pocket, Damon grounds to short, RBI. Nice little sequence there. With Jeter up, Schilling keeps moaning about the outside corner, gets a pitch called a strike that was a foot outside. God I hate him.
7:46: Aaaand he walks him anyway. Abreu up, men on first and third. First pitch, 82 mph on the YES gun... but it looked like a fastball. Hmm. Kay comments by saying, "Schilling came into camp a little heavy..." I comment on David Ortiz being a person of color. I can play the state the obvious game, too. Abreu gets punched out as Schilling catches his breath from walking off the mound. 1-0 Janks, middle third.
7:50: Cigarette break.
7:55: Ahhhh. Much better. Pettitte gets the first two outs easily. 2 strikes on Lugo, shots of Red Sox bullpen, swear I see Lefty out there warming up, dodging Mike Timlin's tobacco spittle. Fuckface behind the plate isn't giving Andy the inside corner. Try crying like Fatso, Andy. Lugo walks.
7:59: A small child falls out of Youklis's goatee. Andy shows off his move to first. First crowd shots of front-running female Red Sox fans in their pink hats. My hatred grows. I'm begging Pettitte, after three hard hit foul balls on inside cutters, to drop a deuce in there. Infield single, as Jeter fails to make his signature play on a throw to second. Sigh. Now I have to hear about range factor and other bullshit defensive stats for the next week.
8:04: Ortiz shwwwwwingin at a slow curveball, 0-1. Grounds out to Cano in short right as I wipe drool from my face thinking of taquitos. What's the deal with these fucking Crunchers commercials? If it's a show, I'm not watching, so stop already.
8:06: Arod up again. Boos aren't as loud as I remember, maybe they are thinking he'll opt out and play for them. I cry on the inside. Michael Kay blows the call as Arod goes deep to left. AN A-BOMB, FROM A-ROD, and the Yankees take a 2-0 lead. Girls in pink Boston hats leave their seats to go give tug jobs in the Fenway mensrooms.
8:10: The Giambino goes down on strikes as Schilling stops the game to go blog about how bad he feels that he gave up a homerun to Arod. Topical huuuuuuumor. Splitter in the dirt and Posada has a 2-2 count. Manny loses his hat chasing a pop double into the corner, legions of rastafarians ask him to put it back on to save their image.
8:13: Cano grounds out to first, moving Posada to third (which is good, because he is a notoriously terrible baserunner and would not have scored on a base hit from second). Melkman gets HOSED on an inside strike call and I am getting legitimately angry at the blind bastard in the umpire costume. Melky flies out to center, Schilling retrieves the powdered doughnut he uses as a rosin bag. Middle of the fourth, 2-0 Janks.
8:18: Posada's out of the game, no word on the injury. Alarms sound in the empty Yankee catching prospect office. Manny up, 2 strikes... then down looking. Nieves DOES present a better target, but has zero hits on the season. Anyone have my cousin Sal Fasano's number?
8:20: Carl Pavano and JD Drew, both lacking fire? Interesting little conversation between Flaherty and Kay here. Anytime a 30 million dollar pitcher is likened to JD Drew, it's time to cut ties. Drew singles into right, trapped by Abreu on the dive.
8:22: Lowell listed as former Yankee prospect. Who gives a shit? Is there a more non-descript player? JD Drew caught stealing even thought Pettitte threw that pitch into the ground, nice arm, Nieves.
8:24: Fucking Mike Lowell singles off the wall, I will refrain from insulting any Boston player while they are at bat from now on. Crash Varitek steps in. Gets beaten BADLY on an 88mph fastball, large plastic fork lodges itself in his back. Of course, as per the agreement with God and Satan, he immediately goes opposite field to tie the game. I hate the Red Sox.
8:25: Pettitte loses the strike zone, Coco Puffs does him a favor by tapping to short. 2-2 top of the fifth. I am now officially starving to death, although you wouldn't know it from looking at me. There will be a taquitos break after the top of the 5th, and the second half of the blog will begin when I return from 711.
8:31: We are reminded of Doogie's role on the 2004 World Series. Since that series wasn't played, I don't know what they are talking about. Suddenly, I've developed a tic.
8:32: Schilling WON'T STOP WHINING... 3-2 to Mintkayvitch, who flies out to Cereal Boy in deep center. Kay criticizing the non-signing of Damon by the Sawx, while excoriating (pah) Bobo McAwfulname, Boston's current centerfielder. Of course, Damon goes down looking, as Randy Marsh wipes Schilling's semen off the inside of his umpire's mask. Posada's out with a bruised thumb, victim of a Pettitte cutter.
8:36: Cap'n Jeter at the dish, 2-2 count. Rips a base hit to left to give Abreu a chance to stop watching strikes go by. Schilling stalking around the mound looking for his World of Warcraft emote list so he can bitch on the Internets about Marsh's strike zone. Kay says that Schilling "doesn't want to feed him a 2-0 cookie..." I refuse to make the easy joke. Abreu singles to right, first and second for ARod, who can go a looong way with a little poke here. That is what she said, in case you're wondering.
8:41: Curt's velocity up to 93 all of a sudden, check him for performance enhancing condiments. He's thrown 81 pitches through 4.2 innings... Yanks can smell that terrible middle relief and are salivating. 94mph on an inside fastball, ARod swings through it. Schilling hangs a slider aaaaaaand SEE YA!!! ANOTHER HOMERUN FOR ALEX RODRIGUEZ!!! Terrible O'Fieldpants ends up over the low wall into the Boston bullpen. ARod has 30 RBIs in 15 games. In a related story, I am now fully erect.
8:46: Giambi singles, Nieves grounds out. 5-2 Jankees, taquito time. Back after the break with the second half of the game.
Game Log
The next post will cover my emotional outbursts as tonight's Red Sox-Yankees game unfolds. Enjoy, because finals are coming up and I will be even more scarce.
-RJ
-RJ
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
I'm a Douche
Yeah yeah, law school and all that, but my attentions have been waning of late. Tomorrow, I promise a massive post with my thoughts on, in no particular order:
1. Dice-K.
2. Andy Pettitte's new mechanics.
3. Kei Igawa.
4. Yankees and Sawx.
5. Brian Bruney for Cy Young.
Yours in exhaustion and frustration,
RJ
1. Dice-K.
2. Andy Pettitte's new mechanics.
3. Kei Igawa.
4. Yankees and Sawx.
5. Brian Bruney for Cy Young.
Yours in exhaustion and frustration,
RJ
Friday, April 6, 2007
2 Words: DICE-K
Wow. Just wow. That's about all I can muster up when trying to convey how I feel about Dice-k.
The line: 7innings 1 ER 10k's 1 walk and a small scattering of hits. No real trouble.
Every single one of his pitches move. They aren't big looping pitches, but rather sharp, late breaks. Every pitch he throws has this late break to it by the way. Oh yea, He throws 7 pitches effectively. 7 pitches? Are you serious? Yes. I am very serious.
This guy is a flat out stud in every sense of the word. His delivery, his demeanor, his control, his movement all are just so fluid and precise, he just LOOKS unflappable. This man is going to be a force in this league. Things are looking up in beantown today.
One other note, he did not throw his gyroball. If and when I see this on something other than youtube I will be incapacitated due to excessive arousal so don't expect a post for a few days after that. I think Im in love.
-Dice-k's Lefty Specialist
The line: 7innings 1 ER 10k's 1 walk and a small scattering of hits. No real trouble.
Every single one of his pitches move. They aren't big looping pitches, but rather sharp, late breaks. Every pitch he throws has this late break to it by the way. Oh yea, He throws 7 pitches effectively. 7 pitches? Are you serious? Yes. I am very serious.
This guy is a flat out stud in every sense of the word. His delivery, his demeanor, his control, his movement all are just so fluid and precise, he just LOOKS unflappable. This man is going to be a force in this league. Things are looking up in beantown today.
One other note, he did not throw his gyroball. If and when I see this on something other than youtube I will be incapacitated due to excessive arousal so don't expect a post for a few days after that. I think Im in love.
-Dice-k's Lefty Specialist
Monday, April 2, 2007
In-Game Update
Okay. Terrible defensive game for the Yankees thus far (we are mid-7th right now). However, thanks to the heroics of Captain Clutch, we sit tied at 5, with only a bunch of previously released relievers standing between us and victory. When Pavano was removed in the 5th, there was a camera/sound error, leading the television broadcast to be just his face in the dugout for approximately 8-10 seconds. All I could think of was:
WHO WANTS TO SEX PAVANO?!
In-depth analysis this evening.
-RJ
WHO WANTS TO SEX PAVANO?!
In-depth analysis this evening.
-RJ
Friday, March 30, 2007
I can picture it now...
The sun is shining; a slight breeze going from right to left. Its cool, but comfortable. 2 men on 1 out here in the 4th...And here's the pitch....ITS A HIGH FLY BALL DEEEEEP TO LEFT AND THAT BALL IS OUTTA HERE!
And the devil rays take an 8-2 lead.
"Boy Pavano is really strugglin today Jim"
"No question about it, and here comes Joe out of the dugout, looks like that will be it for Pavano"
"Listen to this crowd really give it to Carl Pavano here." BOOOOOOOOOOOO.
"He just didn't have it today"
"The final line on Pavano today 3 1/3 IP, 8 runs 6 of them earned, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks and 9 hits given up today"
"I tell ya the home crowd hasn't looked this upset since they saw A-rod strikeout 4 times in a game"
Ah, its going to be a marvelous opening day at Yankee Stadium. Nothing like a little Devil Ray magic in April to boost this red sox fans spirits.
-Sean Henn, The Lefty Specialist coming out of the pen for Carl Pavano in the 4th inning on opening day.
And the devil rays take an 8-2 lead.
"Boy Pavano is really strugglin today Jim"
"No question about it, and here comes Joe out of the dugout, looks like that will be it for Pavano"
"Listen to this crowd really give it to Carl Pavano here." BOOOOOOOOOOOO.
"He just didn't have it today"
"The final line on Pavano today 3 1/3 IP, 8 runs 6 of them earned, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks and 9 hits given up today"
"I tell ya the home crowd hasn't looked this upset since they saw A-rod strikeout 4 times in a game"
Ah, its going to be a marvelous opening day at Yankee Stadium. Nothing like a little Devil Ray magic in April to boost this red sox fans spirits.
-Sean Henn, The Lefty Specialist coming out of the pen for Carl Pavano in the 4th inning on opening day.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Oh Kei...
Faithful reader(s), I have finally had the ::cringe:: pleasure of watching the Yankees newest Japanese import, Kei Igawa, pitch in a game against the Phillies yesterday.
First impressions? Eh.
His line, 5IP 3H 1ER 2BB 4K, looks excellent, and his spring ERA, 2.65, is also stellar. What scares the shit out of me is how he is going about compiling this ERA. I will only speak of yesterday, since not much data is available on spring training games for me to research. This needs to be changed, btw.
Anyway, yesterday, Igawa was 2-0 and 3-1 on more people than I care to think about. At one point, he got Chase Utley 0-2 only to throw a ball almost to the backstop in the process of getting the count to 3-2. The GOOD news is that Utley struck out in that at-bat. Further BAD news, though, is that the K was rang up on a defensive swing at a slider about shoulder-high.
Height appears to be Igawa's problem. Possessing an above average array of offspeed stuff, including a plus slider and change, Igawa had trouble yesterday (and in starts before that, if other blogs and game summaries are to be believed) getting the ball DOWN. For someone that only throws 88-90 mph at his hardest, anyone will tell you that it will be a problem.
On the plus side, he really has not been beaten up too badly at all this spring. In fact, yesterday, he was extraordinarily clutch, getting several key strikeouts when he needed them, including the aforementioned Utley and big Ryan Howard, on a similarly high slider. I don't know if there is a sabermetric stat for blind luck, but Igawa seems to be the league leader thus far.
In other news, how is Joe Torre going to justify keeping Brian Bruney, the official "Husky Yankee" (and subsequent Rough Justice favorite) off the team? While giving up no hits and no walks in his inning of work yesterday, Bruney struck out the side with an interesting combination of his power fastball, slider and something that looked like a change, or maybe a two-seam fastball. ERA stands at 1.50 on the spring. Come on, Joe, on those days where Farnsworth can't go, you're telling me you don't want to see the bald-headed beast that is Brian Bruney (hello, alliteration) trot in and blow some people away?
I have a theory on the whole Farnsworth last minute back problems. I believe, and I freely admit I have nothing but my own experience watching Yankee games to back this up, but it would SEEM that he comes down with these mysterious back problems when he is due to face the opposing lineup's big bats. Personally, I think he's gunshy.
Editor's Note: Igawa has walked 12 men in 17 innings this spring. Not fucking good. -RJ
-RJ
First impressions? Eh.
His line, 5IP 3H 1ER 2BB 4K, looks excellent, and his spring ERA, 2.65, is also stellar. What scares the shit out of me is how he is going about compiling this ERA. I will only speak of yesterday, since not much data is available on spring training games for me to research. This needs to be changed, btw.
Anyway, yesterday, Igawa was 2-0 and 3-1 on more people than I care to think about. At one point, he got Chase Utley 0-2 only to throw a ball almost to the backstop in the process of getting the count to 3-2. The GOOD news is that Utley struck out in that at-bat. Further BAD news, though, is that the K was rang up on a defensive swing at a slider about shoulder-high.
Height appears to be Igawa's problem. Possessing an above average array of offspeed stuff, including a plus slider and change, Igawa had trouble yesterday (and in starts before that, if other blogs and game summaries are to be believed) getting the ball DOWN. For someone that only throws 88-90 mph at his hardest, anyone will tell you that it will be a problem.
On the plus side, he really has not been beaten up too badly at all this spring. In fact, yesterday, he was extraordinarily clutch, getting several key strikeouts when he needed them, including the aforementioned Utley and big Ryan Howard, on a similarly high slider. I don't know if there is a sabermetric stat for blind luck, but Igawa seems to be the league leader thus far.
In other news, how is Joe Torre going to justify keeping Brian Bruney, the official "Husky Yankee" (and subsequent Rough Justice favorite) off the team? While giving up no hits and no walks in his inning of work yesterday, Bruney struck out the side with an interesting combination of his power fastball, slider and something that looked like a change, or maybe a two-seam fastball. ERA stands at 1.50 on the spring. Come on, Joe, on those days where Farnsworth can't go, you're telling me you don't want to see the bald-headed beast that is Brian Bruney (hello, alliteration) trot in and blow some people away?
I have a theory on the whole Farnsworth last minute back problems. I believe, and I freely admit I have nothing but my own experience watching Yankee games to back this up, but it would SEEM that he comes down with these mysterious back problems when he is due to face the opposing lineup's big bats. Personally, I think he's gunshy.
Editor's Note: Igawa has walked 12 men in 17 innings this spring. Not fucking good. -RJ
-RJ
Friday, March 23, 2007
Impressed, 'nuff said.
Well, Lefty, a more tremendous fantasy team has not been assembled. Except mine. But still, yours isn't too shabby either. I admit, with my somewhat pathological... interest... in pitching, I scrolled immediately down to your staff and was blown away. Just a bit of a comparison between our two teams:
SP 1
Santana v. Zambrano
In a matchup of the cool, collected Santana and the fiery Zambrano, Santana clearly is in a class of his own, particularly with his astounding control. You do yourself no disservice, sir, with Zambrano as your starter, specially since Johotness went for $8 (almost a third of a team's budget) in the auction portion of your draft.
SP2
Oswalt v. Webb
I wanted Oswalt instead of Webb, but both are durable. Oswalt gets the nod in favor of his K rate and winning percentage. If Webb was on a better team, this could almost be a wash. But it isn't, so I'll stop whining.
SP3
Hernandez the Younger v. Sabathia
King Felix or not, the hype surrounding these two big fat guys could not be further apart. I cannot GIVE Sabathia away in my league for bullpen help, whereas I could dictate terms for Mariano Rivera or Joe Nathan with Hernandez, Jr. It's stunning to me how many people undervalue Sabathia. Both his WHIP and K rate were astounding last year, and, with a bit of conditioning, we could be looking at a solid #1 here. Meanwhile, Hernandez eats himself into a coma last offseason and they are still blowing him in Seattle. He's still a year away, and Seattle is about five from being a contender.
SP4-5
Cain and Santana Lite v. Porn Star Chuck James, and the Maine, Padilla, and Blanton Trio
Ugh. Here is where I truly envy you. In my 12 team league, starters were simply flying off the shelves, and it was all I could do to establish my top three as the best in the league. Matt Cain is going to be a STUD, and I am annoyed he went before I could grab him. Ervin Santana is a strong five, but I hate the Angels and would never draft one of their players. It would be funnier if I wasn't serious. Chuck James has been lights out this spring, and pitched very well last year. I could do worse than a poor man's young Tom Glavine. John Maine is the very personification of uevos, but I would like to see him do it over the course of an entire season... btw how terrible is Baltimore for giving him away? Vicente Padilla may be the ugliest major leaguer in the history of Major League Baseball, with competition only from 19th century players Tim "Coffee Cake Face" O'Malley and Red "Half-Aborted" Hendrickson. Finally, Joe Blanton is an Oakland pitcher, so expect flashes of brilliance with a maddening inability to put it all together.
As for your lineup, I enjoy seeing Freddy Sanchez there at 2B, great minds do, in fact, think alike. Fantastic balance of power and speed up and down, with that outfield platoon being a positively inspired bit of managing. I think I will attempt the same with Bonds/Duncan/Byrnes.
All in all, I expect the two of us to be positively dominant as the season begins.
-RJ
SP 1
Santana v. Zambrano
In a matchup of the cool, collected Santana and the fiery Zambrano, Santana clearly is in a class of his own, particularly with his astounding control. You do yourself no disservice, sir, with Zambrano as your starter, specially since Johotness went for $8 (almost a third of a team's budget) in the auction portion of your draft.
SP2
Oswalt v. Webb
I wanted Oswalt instead of Webb, but both are durable. Oswalt gets the nod in favor of his K rate and winning percentage. If Webb was on a better team, this could almost be a wash. But it isn't, so I'll stop whining.
SP3
Hernandez the Younger v. Sabathia
King Felix or not, the hype surrounding these two big fat guys could not be further apart. I cannot GIVE Sabathia away in my league for bullpen help, whereas I could dictate terms for Mariano Rivera or Joe Nathan with Hernandez, Jr. It's stunning to me how many people undervalue Sabathia. Both his WHIP and K rate were astounding last year, and, with a bit of conditioning, we could be looking at a solid #1 here. Meanwhile, Hernandez eats himself into a coma last offseason and they are still blowing him in Seattle. He's still a year away, and Seattle is about five from being a contender.
SP4-5
Cain and Santana Lite v. Porn Star Chuck James, and the Maine, Padilla, and Blanton Trio
Ugh. Here is where I truly envy you. In my 12 team league, starters were simply flying off the shelves, and it was all I could do to establish my top three as the best in the league. Matt Cain is going to be a STUD, and I am annoyed he went before I could grab him. Ervin Santana is a strong five, but I hate the Angels and would never draft one of their players. It would be funnier if I wasn't serious. Chuck James has been lights out this spring, and pitched very well last year. I could do worse than a poor man's young Tom Glavine. John Maine is the very personification of uevos, but I would like to see him do it over the course of an entire season... btw how terrible is Baltimore for giving him away? Vicente Padilla may be the ugliest major leaguer in the history of Major League Baseball, with competition only from 19th century players Tim "Coffee Cake Face" O'Malley and Red "Half-Aborted" Hendrickson. Finally, Joe Blanton is an Oakland pitcher, so expect flashes of brilliance with a maddening inability to put it all together.
As for your lineup, I enjoy seeing Freddy Sanchez there at 2B, great minds do, in fact, think alike. Fantastic balance of power and speed up and down, with that outfield platoon being a positively inspired bit of managing. I think I will attempt the same with Bonds/Duncan/Byrnes.
All in all, I expect the two of us to be positively dominant as the season begins.
-RJ
Unstoppable?
Well The No-Phun League's draft has came and went. If I could describe this draft in one word it would be : unexpectivity. Yes I know thats not a word but whatever. People seemed to take the keeper aspect of this league to a high level, going so far as to draft kids with dreams of being in the bigs ahead of proven guys with track records, who likely wont be going anywhere for the next five years. A prime example of this was me landing Carlos Delgado somewhere around the 12th-15th round as people were more worried about his age and price tag rather than his production.
Anyway this is how my team shapes up post-draft:
C- Victor Martinez
1b: Carlos Delgado
2b-Freddy Sanchez
3b-Miguel Cabrera
SS-Jose Reyes
IF-Troy Glaus
I have a ton of flexibility in my infield with guys like glaus and sanchez qualifying at 2-3 positions.
RF-Magglio Ordonez
CF-Craig Monroe
LF-Carl Crawford
OF- Jeremy Hermida, Andre Ethier, Ken Griffey Jr. platoon
SP-Carlos Zambrano
SP-Roy Oswalt
SP-"King" Felix Hernandez
SP-Matt Cain
SP-Ervin Santana
RP-Tom Gordon
RP-Jason Isringhausen
RP-Jose Valverde
Bench/AAA (note i havent designated which players will be in my farm system): Cla Meredith, Kerry Wood, Mark Buerhle, James Loney, Macier Izturis, Rick Ankiel, and Ladainian Tomlinson if he ever decides to play baseball, just in case. Note: two of my outfield platooners will be on the bench as well.
Im gonna go ahead and put it in writing here that I think I assembled the best all-around team hands down.
-Lefty
Anyway this is how my team shapes up post-draft:
C- Victor Martinez
1b: Carlos Delgado
2b-Freddy Sanchez
3b-Miguel Cabrera
SS-Jose Reyes
IF-Troy Glaus
I have a ton of flexibility in my infield with guys like glaus and sanchez qualifying at 2-3 positions.
RF-Magglio Ordonez
CF-Craig Monroe
LF-Carl Crawford
OF- Jeremy Hermida, Andre Ethier, Ken Griffey Jr. platoon
SP-Carlos Zambrano
SP-Roy Oswalt
SP-"King" Felix Hernandez
SP-Matt Cain
SP-Ervin Santana
RP-Tom Gordon
RP-Jason Isringhausen
RP-Jose Valverde
Bench/AAA (note i havent designated which players will be in my farm system): Cla Meredith, Kerry Wood, Mark Buerhle, James Loney, Macier Izturis, Rick Ankiel, and Ladainian Tomlinson if he ever decides to play baseball, just in case. Note: two of my outfield platooners will be on the bench as well.
Im gonna go ahead and put it in writing here that I think I assembled the best all-around team hands down.
-Lefty
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Draft Part Deux
Part 2 of my draft gets underway tonite. I have the 8th pick in the standard snake style draft. Due to my constant aggressive bidding alot of teams (including myself) will have to budget their picks which could lead to many higher priced, productive players falling to later rounds in the draft. My main focus with my first few picks in pitching. Only 2 pitchers were chosen in the auction portion of the draft (liriano, santana) so the market is wide open.
A complete wrap-up to come tommorrow.
-Lefty version of Luis Tiant.
A complete wrap-up to come tommorrow.
-Lefty version of Luis Tiant.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Drafting in the Ultimate League
Ok let me first off state that this league is not your ordinary run of the mill fantasy league. Basically it is a salary cap, keeper league where every 5 year span is judged and rewarded. There is also a 5 player Triple A farm system. Now this can be used as extra roster spots to help you during year or you can stock youth here. You are only allowed 10 moves per season from your triple A system so you have to use them wisely. You are allowed 30$ as a salary cap.
Here are the league scoring settings:
Roster Positions:
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, IF, LF, CF, RF, OF, Util, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, RP, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL
Stat Categories:
R, 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, SH, SF, SB, CS, BB, K, GIDP, IP, W, L, CG, SV, H, ER, BB, HBP, K, SVOP, HLD
Stat Modifiers:
R (.75), 1B (.33), 2B (.6), 3B (.9), HR (1.2), RBI (.75), SH (.25), SF (.25), SB (.33), CS (-.3), BB (.3), K (-.03), GIDP (-.3), IP (2.1), W (1.2), L (-.6), CG (3), SV (4.2), H (-.5), ER (-1.2), BB (-.3), HBP (-.3), K (.12), SVOP (-1.2), HLD (1.5)
In short this is a league that values quality innings pitched as well as quality at-bats and all around 5-tool players.
The draft has another interesting twist to your normal draft. This draft is neither a snake nor an auction draft, but rather a combination of both. The first part of the draft is an auction draft and continues until each team has bought at least 1 player at which point we continue to a standard snake. In theory this could have gone on until all rosters were filled if 1 player still had no one, but in his interest it would be unwise to do that. Also, your snake posisiton is determined by the amount of players you pick and when you pick them (ie the manager who has the most players is the last pick and if everyone else has the same amount of players whoever took their first player first would be second to last pick).
Ok theres the background. Now this whole drafting process takes a long time so we decided to only do the auction part first last night and we will do the snake portion next week.
Here's how the players and prices broke down and I let RJ make all the comments he wants:
Team: The Asskickin Friars- Joe Mauer $4.25, Grady Sizemore $7, Vernon Wells $2.95 for a total of $14.20
Team: Gathering The Eggs- Albert Pujols for a whopping $9.60, Dice-k $3.15, A-rod $7.09 for a total of $19.84
Team: Killa Beez- Vlad Guerrero $4.50, Chase Utley $6.30, Ryan Howard $5.75 for a total of $16.55
Team: The Lawn Wranglers: David Ortiz $3.75, Lance Berkman $3.20, Jason Bay $2.05 for a total of $9. (Of note: All 3 of these picks were made late in the auction which proved to be very smart as most owners were gunshy about getting stuck with another salary.)
Team: The Pain Train- Johan Santana $8, Carlos Beltran $5 for a total of $13
Team: Stunna Squad- Francisco Liriano $1.30 for a total of $1.30. (Of note, he will have 3 of the first 4 picks in the snake)
Team: Team A.A.R.P- Travis Hafner $5.50, Justin Morneau $3.80, David Wright $4.80, Derek Jeter $1.50 for a total of 16$
Team: Uconn- Alfonso Soriano $6.15, Mark Texiera $4.30, Manny Ramirez $4.30 for a total of $14.75
And Last but Not Least:
Team: Team Death (Me)- Jose Reyes $5, Miguel Cabrera $6.35, Carl Crawford $3.90 for a total of $15.25.
Enjoy my wall of text.
-LS
Here are the league scoring settings:
Roster Positions:
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, IF, LF, CF, RF, OF, Util, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, RP, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL
Stat Categories:
R, 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, SH, SF, SB, CS, BB, K, GIDP, IP, W, L, CG, SV, H, ER, BB, HBP, K, SVOP, HLD
Stat Modifiers:
R (.75), 1B (.33), 2B (.6), 3B (.9), HR (1.2), RBI (.75), SH (.25), SF (.25), SB (.33), CS (-.3), BB (.3), K (-.03), GIDP (-.3), IP (2.1), W (1.2), L (-.6), CG (3), SV (4.2), H (-.5), ER (-1.2), BB (-.3), HBP (-.3), K (.12), SVOP (-1.2), HLD (1.5)
In short this is a league that values quality innings pitched as well as quality at-bats and all around 5-tool players.
The draft has another interesting twist to your normal draft. This draft is neither a snake nor an auction draft, but rather a combination of both. The first part of the draft is an auction draft and continues until each team has bought at least 1 player at which point we continue to a standard snake. In theory this could have gone on until all rosters were filled if 1 player still had no one, but in his interest it would be unwise to do that. Also, your snake posisiton is determined by the amount of players you pick and when you pick them (ie the manager who has the most players is the last pick and if everyone else has the same amount of players whoever took their first player first would be second to last pick).
Ok theres the background. Now this whole drafting process takes a long time so we decided to only do the auction part first last night and we will do the snake portion next week.
Here's how the players and prices broke down and I let RJ make all the comments he wants:
Team: The Asskickin Friars- Joe Mauer $4.25, Grady Sizemore $7, Vernon Wells $2.95 for a total of $14.20
Team: Gathering The Eggs- Albert Pujols for a whopping $9.60, Dice-k $3.15, A-rod $7.09 for a total of $19.84
Team: Killa Beez- Vlad Guerrero $4.50, Chase Utley $6.30, Ryan Howard $5.75 for a total of $16.55
Team: The Lawn Wranglers: David Ortiz $3.75, Lance Berkman $3.20, Jason Bay $2.05 for a total of $9. (Of note: All 3 of these picks were made late in the auction which proved to be very smart as most owners were gunshy about getting stuck with another salary.)
Team: The Pain Train- Johan Santana $8, Carlos Beltran $5 for a total of $13
Team: Stunna Squad- Francisco Liriano $1.30 for a total of $1.30. (Of note, he will have 3 of the first 4 picks in the snake)
Team: Team A.A.R.P- Travis Hafner $5.50, Justin Morneau $3.80, David Wright $4.80, Derek Jeter $1.50 for a total of 16$
Team: Uconn- Alfonso Soriano $6.15, Mark Texiera $4.30, Manny Ramirez $4.30 for a total of $14.75
And Last but Not Least:
Team: Team Death (Me)- Jose Reyes $5, Miguel Cabrera $6.35, Carl Crawford $3.90 for a total of $15.25.
Enjoy my wall of text.
-LS
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Lefty's Fantasy Draft
Southington, Connecticut (RJ NEWSWIRE) - Exciting news out of the sleepy town of Southington, CT today, as Lefty Specialist's 2007 foray into fantasy baseball began in earnest, with his league holding its annual draft today. I know all (four) of you are as excited as I am. We await with baited breath the release of Lefty's new crop of superstars, prospects, has-beens and never-wases. In return for his glowing review of Rough Justice's squad, I shall review his draft in accordance with the rules of man. The floor is yours, sir.
Sean Connery is not impressed.
-RJ
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Doogie Howdoeshehaveajob-ser
Ladies and gentlemen,
I believe Brian Cashman is an above-average General Manager. I think even without the Yankees John Goodman-sized payroll, he would have a winning team on the field. That being said, the handling of the Yankees first base situation this offseason spring has been nothing short of sickening.
The plan is to have Jason Giambi manning the pine for the defensive innings, where he is definitively not comfortable (check his career splits between DH and 1B, and yes yes, I know that generally, he DH'ed alot early when his legs were shot, so that skews the stats, but fuck you, I'm writing here), and have Doug Mientkiewicz (I swear I didn't have to look the spelling up) and either Andy "Happy to Be Here" Phillips and Josh "Rule 5" Phelps platoon at first. Please let me explain, from the perspective of a rational Yankee fan, why this is a terrible idea. Alot of this has been said, but my therapist says it helps.
Doug Mientkiewicz has never hit like a first baseman should. Career line: .270 .359 .405. Not bad for a middle infielder or catcher, but for a first-bagger he is well below the average. OOH OOH, you might say, ROUGH JUSTICE, HE'LL SAVE AS MANY RUNS A GAME WITH HIS GLOVE AS HE MIGHT NOT SCORE! I'd say, your drinking the fucking Kool-Aid on that. One of the reasons why Doogie hasn't really hit well, or even to his career average, the past few years, is because of major back problems which, as a fellow, albeit non-athletic sufferer, I sympathize with. I don't care if you are George Sisler over there, as a first baseman, unless you drop the routine throws from second, third and short, your fielding does not significantly alter the game. I mean, fuck, Frank Thomas played there in PLAYOFF games. And don't give me the bullshit that he can be somehow "hidden" in the deep Yankee lineup. He'll knock into double play after double play and ruin rallies until Cashman/Torre do something about it. Oh, and his spring training average is sub-.062. One hit. ONE HIT.
Andy Phillips sucks. Next question.
Josh Phelps is a very interesting name. Well not an interesting name, but an interesting player. He hits the shit out of lefties, and as one of those righties (there are alot of them) that does so, he deserves a double and triple look at a platoon position. He's also having a torrid (good word, brah) spring. Here's what the Yanks should do. Platoon Phelps and Giambi at first, playing Phelps or Giambi there based on who is feeling fresh (they are both atrocious enough with the glove to make this a wash, fielding-wise) but sitting Phelps against most righties and DH'ing Matsui or Abreu (both getting creaky) and playing my personal boy, Melky Cabrera, at LEAST four times a week. This way, against lefties, we get to see the Giambino rest his legs and Phelps swing for the moon. The majority of the time, however, give Melky his 350-400 ABs. I submit that this is ultimately what is going to happen. If it doesn't, expect Sexson in pinstripes by July.
-RJ
I believe Brian Cashman is an above-average General Manager. I think even without the Yankees John Goodman-sized payroll, he would have a winning team on the field. That being said, the handling of the Yankees first base situation this offseason spring has been nothing short of sickening.
The plan is to have Jason Giambi manning the pine for the defensive innings, where he is definitively not comfortable (check his career splits between DH and 1B, and yes yes, I know that generally, he DH'ed alot early when his legs were shot, so that skews the stats, but fuck you, I'm writing here), and have Doug Mientkiewicz (I swear I didn't have to look the spelling up) and either Andy "Happy to Be Here" Phillips and Josh "Rule 5" Phelps platoon at first. Please let me explain, from the perspective of a rational Yankee fan, why this is a terrible idea. Alot of this has been said, but my therapist says it helps.
Doug Mientkiewicz has never hit like a first baseman should. Career line: .270 .359 .405. Not bad for a middle infielder or catcher, but for a first-bagger he is well below the average. OOH OOH, you might say, ROUGH JUSTICE, HE'LL SAVE AS MANY RUNS A GAME WITH HIS GLOVE AS HE MIGHT NOT SCORE! I'd say, your drinking the fucking Kool-Aid on that. One of the reasons why Doogie hasn't really hit well, or even to his career average, the past few years, is because of major back problems which, as a fellow, albeit non-athletic sufferer, I sympathize with. I don't care if you are George Sisler over there, as a first baseman, unless you drop the routine throws from second, third and short, your fielding does not significantly alter the game. I mean, fuck, Frank Thomas played there in PLAYOFF games. And don't give me the bullshit that he can be somehow "hidden" in the deep Yankee lineup. He'll knock into double play after double play and ruin rallies until Cashman/Torre do something about it. Oh, and his spring training average is sub-.062. One hit. ONE HIT.
Andy Phillips sucks. Next question.
Josh Phelps is a very interesting name. Well not an interesting name, but an interesting player. He hits the shit out of lefties, and as one of those righties (there are alot of them) that does so, he deserves a double and triple look at a platoon position. He's also having a torrid (good word, brah) spring. Here's what the Yanks should do. Platoon Phelps and Giambi at first, playing Phelps or Giambi there based on who is feeling fresh (they are both atrocious enough with the glove to make this a wash, fielding-wise) but sitting Phelps against most righties and DH'ing Matsui or Abreu (both getting creaky) and playing my personal boy, Melky Cabrera, at LEAST four times a week. This way, against lefties, we get to see the Giambino rest his legs and Phelps swing for the moon. The majority of the time, however, give Melky his 350-400 ABs. I submit that this is ultimately what is going to happen. If it doesn't, expect Sexson in pinstripes by July.
-RJ
Friday, March 9, 2007
Hi Mets Fans!
So the other day Im coming home from work listening to Mike and the Mad Dog and they start talking about the Mets-Red Sox spring training game. Turns out the sawx won on a walk off grand slam off Ambiorix Burgos aka Omar Minaya's love child. Mind you this a 20 something reliever who THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS DIDNT WANT, and yet Mr. Minaya sees something he likes. Anyway Doggy was going on and on and basically confirming what I thought all last year when he was pitching saying he's a bum and what not. Then Doggy delivers this gem "The guy is like a lower case Armando Benitez. He looks like another Mel Rojas". Brilliant. Gonna be a long summer at Shea with this guy mopping up after Olivercito, Chan Ho, and John Mayniac.
Meet the Mets! Meet the Mets! Head to the Park and greet the Mets!
-Old Man John Franco, The Lefty Specialist
Meet the Mets! Meet the Mets! Head to the Park and greet the Mets!
-Old Man John Franco, The Lefty Specialist
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
First Impressions
Well Im not going to lie to you, when you told me that you had drafted barry bonds in the 10th round, I thought to myself: "Dear God."
Now looking at your team I think you have yourself a formidable squad. I played one of these head-to-head points leagues for the first time last year and from what I saw you need a solid-to-great pitching staff (unless you are putting the league's best lineup out every week). Im a big advocate of pitching (like yourself) because I feel like I can squeeze alot of sleepers and make the right value picks in the middle rounds for hitters. This strategy doesn't work for everyone, but Ive become comfortable with this over the years.
On to your roster. I actually love the Johan Santana pick right there. The only 2 guys Im taking over Johan are Pujols and Soriano, but after pujols at 1 I can make a case for about 8 guys going in any order for the next picks. Hafner in round 2 was completely necessary to balance your squad, I think he wins the MVP this year if he plays 150 games. The man is a freak of nature.
It's hard to judge a draft without being there as it unfolds but for the next picks Ill give you some benefit of the doubt in that there was a run on infielders and you had to grab some value. The pick I most disagree with is pick 3 and Brandon Webb. To me he's just not that clear cut guy way above the rest of the starters you could pick up a few rounds later. Starting pitching is so deep and once you are past Johan its all the same really. That being said you definitely have a nice 1-2 punch there.
I think McCann, Hall, and Sanchez are solid and the Prince Fielder pick in the 11th round I love. Im pretty high on this guy and if this isnt the breakout year I think '08 will be. As for your relief pitchers, whatever. Just like every other year there will be people who start getting saves who weren't projected to in spring training, just get those guys and you will be fine. Screw relief pitchers.
The best pick of your draft, HANDS DOWN, is your 16th round nabbing of Alex Rios. The guy is a stud in the making and had it not been for some freak leg injury last year this guy was priming himself for a much earlier pick.
As far as your bench goes, I can't knock anything there, you probably won't play alot of your bench pitchers unless their matchups for the week are favorable anyway. If a hitter gets hot for a month you can easily ride that with alot of positional options on your bench.
Overall I like your team. If Bonds stays healthy, he's a mortal lock for 30+ homers and that pick will look genius.
-LS
Now looking at your team I think you have yourself a formidable squad. I played one of these head-to-head points leagues for the first time last year and from what I saw you need a solid-to-great pitching staff (unless you are putting the league's best lineup out every week). Im a big advocate of pitching (like yourself) because I feel like I can squeeze alot of sleepers and make the right value picks in the middle rounds for hitters. This strategy doesn't work for everyone, but Ive become comfortable with this over the years.
On to your roster. I actually love the Johan Santana pick right there. The only 2 guys Im taking over Johan are Pujols and Soriano, but after pujols at 1 I can make a case for about 8 guys going in any order for the next picks. Hafner in round 2 was completely necessary to balance your squad, I think he wins the MVP this year if he plays 150 games. The man is a freak of nature.
It's hard to judge a draft without being there as it unfolds but for the next picks Ill give you some benefit of the doubt in that there was a run on infielders and you had to grab some value. The pick I most disagree with is pick 3 and Brandon Webb. To me he's just not that clear cut guy way above the rest of the starters you could pick up a few rounds later. Starting pitching is so deep and once you are past Johan its all the same really. That being said you definitely have a nice 1-2 punch there.
I think McCann, Hall, and Sanchez are solid and the Prince Fielder pick in the 11th round I love. Im pretty high on this guy and if this isnt the breakout year I think '08 will be. As for your relief pitchers, whatever. Just like every other year there will be people who start getting saves who weren't projected to in spring training, just get those guys and you will be fine. Screw relief pitchers.
The best pick of your draft, HANDS DOWN, is your 16th round nabbing of Alex Rios. The guy is a stud in the making and had it not been for some freak leg injury last year this guy was priming himself for a much earlier pick.
As far as your bench goes, I can't knock anything there, you probably won't play alot of your bench pitchers unless their matchups for the week are favorable anyway. If a hitter gets hot for a month you can easily ride that with alot of positional options on your bench.
Overall I like your team. If Bonds stays healthy, he's a mortal lock for 30+ homers and that pick will look genius.
-LS
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
SBC Fantasy Baseball Update
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... my first fantasy post of the icy spring.
While the rest of my law school class wastes their time on Contracts and Legal Writing, eleven fellow baseball fanatics and I have banded together to form the best fantasy baseball league in St. John's University history, SBC Baseball. "SBC" of course, is a not-so-inside joke, standing for Space Bar C*&t, the new girl who whacks her keyboard with the all the frustration of a sex-starved law student... which, judging by her general appearance and over-laughter at professor's jokes (I'm talking about you, Parella - she's gunning for ya) she most definitely is.
I will begin by posting the rules of this league:
SBC Baseball
12 Team Head-To-Head, Overall Points System
MLB - All Players available.
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OFx3, U, SPx5 and RPx2.
Unlocked Rosters... BUT:
Once a starting pitcher has started a game in a given week, he is locked in to his SP slot (allegedly to cut down on the abuse of innings pitched... but with enough negative stat categories, starting Jered Fernandez and Tim Wakefield just for IP would result in negative points... but I digress).
Scoring:
Scoring for Batting Categories
1B - Singles 1 point
2B - Doubles 2 points
3B - Triples 3 points
BB - Walks (Batters) 1 point
CS - Caught Stealing -1 point
HR - Home Runs 4 points
KO - Strikeouts (Batter) -1 point
R - Runs 1 point
RBI - Runs Batted In 1 point
SB - Stolen Bases 2 points
Scoring for Pitching Categories
BBI - Walks Issued (Pitchers) -.5 points
BS - Blown Saves -4 points
ER - Earned Runs -1 point
HA - Hits Allowed -.5 points
INN - Innings 2 points
K - Strikeouts (Pitcher) 1 point
L - Losses -5 points
S - Saves 8 points
SO - Shutouts 10 points
W - Wins 10 points
My team (conveniently named Rough Justice) had the third overall pick. Here's my roster and draft order (gets a little hazy in the late rounds due to the hot polish bartender and Bud Heavies going down like water, feel free to correct):
First Round
3. Johan Santana, SP
(ed. note: Some might disagree with taking a pitcher this early. This is not a pitcher, this is Johan.)
Second Round
22. Travis Hafner, U
Third Round
27. Brandon Webb, SP
Fourth Round
46. Brian McCann, C
Fifth Round
51. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
Sixth Round
70. C.C. Sabathia, SP
Seventh Round
75. Bill Hall, SS
Eighth Round
94. Freddy Sanchez, 2B
Ninth Round
99. Barry Bonds (GROAN...), OF
Tenth Round
118. Prince Fielder, 1B
Eleventh Round
123. Rocco Baldelli, OF
Twelfth Round
142. Bob Wickman, RP
Thirteenth Round
147. Joe Borowski, RP
Fourteenth Round
166. Alex(is) Rios, OF
(ed. note: suck it, Trevor)
Fifteenth Round
171. Chris Duncan, OF
Sixteenth Round
190. Joel Zumaya, RP
Seventeenth Round
195. Akinori Otsuka, RP
Eighteenth Round
214. Eric Byrnes, OF
Nineteenth Round
219. Marcus Giles, 2B
Twentieth Round
238. Vincente Padilla, SP
Twenty-First Round
243. Chuck James, SP
Twenty-Second Round
262. Philip "Great White Hope" Hughes, God's Own SP
My strategy, if you can call it that, was to grab three of the best pitchers I could get my hands on, then worry about my outfield and bullpen later by throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. Comments and critiques are not only appreciated, but encouraged... including trade offers from fellow SBC'ers.
-RJ
While the rest of my law school class wastes their time on Contracts and Legal Writing, eleven fellow baseball fanatics and I have banded together to form the best fantasy baseball league in St. John's University history, SBC Baseball. "SBC" of course, is a not-so-inside joke, standing for Space Bar C*&t, the new girl who whacks her keyboard with the all the frustration of a sex-starved law student... which, judging by her general appearance and over-laughter at professor's jokes (I'm talking about you, Parella - she's gunning for ya) she most definitely is.
I will begin by posting the rules of this league:
SBC Baseball
12 Team Head-To-Head, Overall Points System
MLB - All Players available.
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OFx3, U, SPx5 and RPx2.
Unlocked Rosters... BUT:
Once a starting pitcher has started a game in a given week, he is locked in to his SP slot (allegedly to cut down on the abuse of innings pitched... but with enough negative stat categories, starting Jered Fernandez and Tim Wakefield just for IP would result in negative points... but I digress).
Scoring:
Scoring for Batting Categories
1B - Singles 1 point
2B - Doubles 2 points
3B - Triples 3 points
BB - Walks (Batters) 1 point
CS - Caught Stealing -1 point
HR - Home Runs 4 points
KO - Strikeouts (Batter) -1 point
R - Runs 1 point
RBI - Runs Batted In 1 point
SB - Stolen Bases 2 points
Scoring for Pitching Categories
BBI - Walks Issued (Pitchers) -.5 points
BS - Blown Saves -4 points
ER - Earned Runs -1 point
HA - Hits Allowed -.5 points
INN - Innings 2 points
K - Strikeouts (Pitcher) 1 point
L - Losses -5 points
S - Saves 8 points
SO - Shutouts 10 points
W - Wins 10 points
My team (conveniently named Rough Justice) had the third overall pick. Here's my roster and draft order (gets a little hazy in the late rounds due to the hot polish bartender and Bud Heavies going down like water, feel free to correct):
First Round
3. Johan Santana, SP
(ed. note: Some might disagree with taking a pitcher this early. This is not a pitcher, this is Johan.)
Second Round
22. Travis Hafner, U
Third Round
27. Brandon Webb, SP
Fourth Round
46. Brian McCann, C
Fifth Round
51. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
Sixth Round
70. C.C. Sabathia, SP
Seventh Round
75. Bill Hall, SS
Eighth Round
94. Freddy Sanchez, 2B
Ninth Round
99. Barry Bonds (GROAN...), OF
Tenth Round
118. Prince Fielder, 1B
Eleventh Round
123. Rocco Baldelli, OF
Twelfth Round
142. Bob Wickman, RP
Thirteenth Round
147. Joe Borowski, RP
Fourteenth Round
166. Alex(is) Rios, OF
(ed. note: suck it, Trevor)
Fifteenth Round
171. Chris Duncan, OF
Sixteenth Round
190. Joel Zumaya, RP
Seventeenth Round
195. Akinori Otsuka, RP
Eighteenth Round
214. Eric Byrnes, OF
Nineteenth Round
219. Marcus Giles, 2B
Twentieth Round
238. Vincente Padilla, SP
Twenty-First Round
243. Chuck James, SP
Twenty-Second Round
262. Philip "Great White Hope" Hughes, God's Own SP
My strategy, if you can call it that, was to grab three of the best pitchers I could get my hands on, then worry about my outfield and bullpen later by throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. Comments and critiques are not only appreciated, but encouraged... including trade offers from fellow SBC'ers.
-RJ
Gyroball this!
Alrite well I just got back from vacation (a carribbean cruise in which I might have gained 20-30 pounds), and I figured Id touch on some things I read recently (in this blog and not).
1) I didn't see it first hand, but from what I hear (my sources are secret) Dice-K looked impressive against boston college in his first time out. Like I said I didn't see it, but if the clips on youtube about his gyroball are any indication then Im already in love. For those who haven't seen the clips of his supposed gyroball, it essentially moves from left to right (looks like its going to bean the batter) then takes a sharp drop like the bottom fell out. I dont know if he's still throwing this pitch but I wet myself everytime I watch those youtube clips, and I watch them every 5 minutes for hours at a time.
2) I've made no secret about my infatuation with The Artist Formerly Known As Oliver Perez as upside in fantasy baseball is either my success or my downfall from year to year. Ive been known to draft this maddening "pitcher" in the late rounds every year. Ill get sucked in again this year and drop him after 2 weeks. Im that guy. Damnit.
3) I recently read an article aboout how Curt Schilling has been experimenting with a changeup for the last two years and finally feels confident enough to use it regularly. Don't think Pedro Martinez type changeup with this one, Curt's version is more designed to shorten swings and get weak grounders than strikeouts. Either way, I'm intrigued.
4) Recently heard someone talking about Kei Igawa. Now I had heard nothing about the guy but apparently he has zero velocity on his fastball and is just a junkball throwing lefty. Wouldn't that make him Randy Myers for 6 innings? Wouldn't it make sense that by the 3rd trip through the order teams would have him figured out? More importantly, in the second half of the season isn't there a distinct possibility he could have his ass kicked every game since the league would have him surely figured out by then. Great pickup for the yankees I say.
And with that Im off to practice my gyroball.
-Pedro Feliciano The Lefty Specialist.
1) I didn't see it first hand, but from what I hear (my sources are secret) Dice-K looked impressive against boston college in his first time out. Like I said I didn't see it, but if the clips on youtube about his gyroball are any indication then Im already in love. For those who haven't seen the clips of his supposed gyroball, it essentially moves from left to right (looks like its going to bean the batter) then takes a sharp drop like the bottom fell out. I dont know if he's still throwing this pitch but I wet myself everytime I watch those youtube clips, and I watch them every 5 minutes for hours at a time.
2) I've made no secret about my infatuation with The Artist Formerly Known As Oliver Perez as upside in fantasy baseball is either my success or my downfall from year to year. Ive been known to draft this maddening "pitcher" in the late rounds every year. Ill get sucked in again this year and drop him after 2 weeks. Im that guy. Damnit.
3) I recently read an article aboout how Curt Schilling has been experimenting with a changeup for the last two years and finally feels confident enough to use it regularly. Don't think Pedro Martinez type changeup with this one, Curt's version is more designed to shorten swings and get weak grounders than strikeouts. Either way, I'm intrigued.
4) Recently heard someone talking about Kei Igawa. Now I had heard nothing about the guy but apparently he has zero velocity on his fastball and is just a junkball throwing lefty. Wouldn't that make him Randy Myers for 6 innings? Wouldn't it make sense that by the 3rd trip through the order teams would have him figured out? More importantly, in the second half of the season isn't there a distinct possibility he could have his ass kicked every game since the league would have him surely figured out by then. Great pickup for the yankees I say.
And with that Im off to practice my gyroball.
-Pedro Feliciano The Lefty Specialist.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Oliver Perez: Pity Fu- uhm, Draft
I am sitting here at 1:30 on a lazy Wednesday, watching some Spring Training baseball, when who should be pitching for the New York Metropolitans but Oliver "Really? You want me to pitch Game 7? Really?!" Perez.
Now, there will be a host of Mets fans who happen to be fantasy managers who will somehow talk themselves into drafting him by pointing to his gritty, bulldog-like, UNLIKELY AND HIGHLY IMPROBABLE (emphasis added) start in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. Granted, this is his first start against live competition since last fall, but my observations have more to them than simple "rust."
Quite simply, Perez's mechanics are atrocious in every sense of the word. While I do not hold myself out as some expert scout of pitchers (being falsely modest, of course I'm an expert, I have a blog), I have done some pitching in my day and studied mechanics.
The problem that jumps out at me is that of his landing foot. From what I've seen when he was on Pittsburgh, he's always thrown crosswise, over his body, but somehow (at least when he was effective) he was able to get his weight and arm in the proper position (on top of the ball, throwing down) at the release of the ball. THAT is the magic he is missing nowadays. His body simply swings around his plant foot, dropping his arm, flattening EVERYTHING, including his once-hellacious slider.
For imagery, imagine this. You have a gate or door with an old school latch on it. Imagine the latch is the pitcher's arm. When you open the door, the latch (if it is in the upright position) will swing down. If you open the door quickly enough and with enough force, the latch will hang at a 90 degree angle to the door before pivoting downwards and hanging there.
This is what's happening to Perez's arm. He is unable to completely clear his hips, so instead of a diagonal right turn pulling his right arm and right hip down, he is just swinging around the doorpost that is his plant foot, which prevents his arm from throwing the ball DOWN into the hitter, instead slinging it on a level plane. Rick Peterson can kiss my ass.
-RJ
Now, there will be a host of Mets fans who happen to be fantasy managers who will somehow talk themselves into drafting him by pointing to his gritty, bulldog-like, UNLIKELY AND HIGHLY IMPROBABLE (emphasis added) start in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. Granted, this is his first start against live competition since last fall, but my observations have more to them than simple "rust."
Quite simply, Perez's mechanics are atrocious in every sense of the word. While I do not hold myself out as some expert scout of pitchers (being falsely modest, of course I'm an expert, I have a blog), I have done some pitching in my day and studied mechanics.
The problem that jumps out at me is that of his landing foot. From what I've seen when he was on Pittsburgh, he's always thrown crosswise, over his body, but somehow (at least when he was effective) he was able to get his weight and arm in the proper position (on top of the ball, throwing down) at the release of the ball. THAT is the magic he is missing nowadays. His body simply swings around his plant foot, dropping his arm, flattening EVERYTHING, including his once-hellacious slider.
For imagery, imagine this. You have a gate or door with an old school latch on it. Imagine the latch is the pitcher's arm. When you open the door, the latch (if it is in the upright position) will swing down. If you open the door quickly enough and with enough force, the latch will hang at a 90 degree angle to the door before pivoting downwards and hanging there.
This is what's happening to Perez's arm. He is unable to completely clear his hips, so instead of a diagonal right turn pulling his right arm and right hip down, he is just swinging around the doorpost that is his plant foot, which prevents his arm from throwing the ball DOWN into the hitter, instead slinging it on a level plane. Rick Peterson can kiss my ass.
-RJ
Monday, February 26, 2007
Supersized-zaka Mania!
Quick hit for today, just to get Lefty's blood up. Reports out of Red Sox camp have coaches and certain managerial personnel (Read: Epstein, Theo) juuuuuust a little upset that Dice-K (or Deuce-five if we are counting pounds) showed up looking alot more like Rough Justice than he did the taut Yankee-killer they were all hoping for.
Legend has it that players, upon receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed contract and endorsement money, tend to, uhm, let themselves go. Check this shit out:
Maybe pinstripes are slimming (ask David Wells) but here he is now:
That's alot of tempura, folks. Enjoy the derailment of the Red Sox AL Express.-RJ
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Papelboner 101
Alrite Ive sat and stewed about this long enough. It seems my silent protest and general malaise regarding these winter months has proved futile in hopes of quelling my fury regarding the red sox. Im sitting here trying to come up with rational thoughts or even words that arent complete gibberish regarding the red sox but I can't do it so instead of talking about the Red Sox, Im going to... talk about the red sox?Huh? Bear with me.
Keith Foulke's retirement. God bless you Keith you gave up your career for a Red Sox World Series win. (Yes RJ it DID happen.) Pitching absurd amounts of lights out innings for that peice of Red Sox lore will forever make you great in the Nation's eyes. Coincidentally, the sox now face a dilemma at the closer position. Theo and the brass (not his band, the sox management) have decided Papelbon's career is more important than winning a World Series. How? Well lets face it, Joel Piniero aint a top notch closer in Little League, much less the Major Leagues, however in order to maintain the length of papelbon's career it's been decreed he become a starter instead of a God of a closer and the next Mo Rivera. Note: This worked for the Braves and John Smoltz, and Im not a doctor so Ill just assume pitching every fifth day is healthier than closing.
Now the question I pose is this: Would Papelbon give his career to win a world series? I say a resounding yes. He's said he'd embrace the role of closer if Tito wants him there next year, and I believe him. I believe in my heart of hearts (probably a bit naive) that most professional athletes would sacrifice their careers for a world championship victory. See: Brett Favre's deal with El Diablo that has run out. Am I saying Papelbon would rather close than start? Heck no. He knows he's better off starting and with him in the rotation the sox have arguably the best staff in baseball (this assumes Dice-K isnt Hideki Irabu part deux) and have to be considered among the favorites to win a World Series.
Keith Foulke's retirement. God bless you Keith you gave up your career for a Red Sox World Series win. (Yes RJ it DID happen.) Pitching absurd amounts of lights out innings for that peice of Red Sox lore will forever make you great in the Nation's eyes. Coincidentally, the sox now face a dilemma at the closer position. Theo and the brass (not his band, the sox management) have decided Papelbon's career is more important than winning a World Series. How? Well lets face it, Joel Piniero aint a top notch closer in Little League, much less the Major Leagues, however in order to maintain the length of papelbon's career it's been decreed he become a starter instead of a God of a closer and the next Mo Rivera. Note: This worked for the Braves and John Smoltz, and Im not a doctor so Ill just assume pitching every fifth day is healthier than closing.
Now the question I pose is this: Would Papelbon give his career to win a world series? I say a resounding yes. He's said he'd embrace the role of closer if Tito wants him there next year, and I believe him. I believe in my heart of hearts (probably a bit naive) that most professional athletes would sacrifice their careers for a world championship victory. See: Brett Favre's deal with El Diablo that has run out. Am I saying Papelbon would rather close than start? Heck no. He knows he's better off starting and with him in the rotation the sox have arguably the best staff in baseball (this assumes Dice-K isnt Hideki Irabu part deux) and have to be considered among the favorites to win a World Series.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Giving Lefty his Papelboner
Interesting bit of historical revisionism going on from Red Sox camp. It seems that Tim Kurkistan (ijihad? Whatever.) is reporting on the ESPN.com site for spring training that:
Woe unto those who falsify or downplay injury reports. My ass gets tired from sitting here all day, but it doesn't "slip slightly forward."
Yours in the hopes the rotation falls apart around his shoulders,
-RJ
Now, as I remember it, Papelbon's shoulder was not simply TIRED, but IN MORE PIECES THAN A SHOULDER SHOULD BE IN. Here's the injury report from Rototimes.com:It was a sound decision to move Jonathan Papelbon to the rotation to prevent him from getting another tired shoulder, which ended his season a month early last year.
September 6, 2006: Sox medical director Thomas Gill said the ball of the shoulder joint had slipped slightly forward, but not completely out of the joint to the point where it would be considered a dislocation.
Woe unto those who falsify or downplay injury reports. My ass gets tired from sitting here all day, but it doesn't "slip slightly forward."
Yours in the hopes the rotation falls apart around his shoulders,
-RJ
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Moron Alert...
...and it's not me for being lax in my blog duties.
I would imagine that working in San Francisco is good for many things. Chief among them, of course, is the FAAAAAABULOUS interior design. I would also imagine that covering the Giants all season long would lead you to become inundated with cliches and other tomfoolery, what with Barry Booster Shot and the rest of the antique Village People.
John Shea, however, in his report on the best lineups in the league on today's ESPN.com MLB section, has reached new heights of stupidity simply quoting dogma without common sense.
My prediction? Soriano hits .280 30+HR 90RBI and an OBP right around his career mark of .325. Even with his newfound patience, Cubs fans will quickly sour of how many one-out, men-on-second-and-third rallies are killed by his complete and utter disregard for the strike zone.
-RJ
I would imagine that working in San Francisco is good for many things. Chief among them, of course, is the FAAAAAABULOUS interior design. I would also imagine that covering the Giants all season long would lead you to become inundated with cliches and other tomfoolery, what with Barry Booster Shot and the rest of the antique Village People.
John Shea, however, in his report on the best lineups in the league on today's ESPN.com MLB section, has reached new heights of stupidity simply quoting dogma without common sense.
1. Cubs: The Cubs were last in the National League in on-base percentage (.319) and needed an overhaul after Dusty Baker's club lost 96 games. They had an active offseason (committing to $300 million in contracts), including replacing Baker with Lou Piniella. The biggest spending was for Alfonso Soriano, who will cost 136 million over seven years and should help improve their on-base percentage. He'll be joining Aramis Ramirez, who was re-signed for $75 million, and Derrek Lee, who's eyeing a season of good health. (Emphasis added)Now, I'm not asking for a quote of Soriano's OBP (.351) or any kind of analysis considering how an OBP of under .400, coming from a player who, at age 31, suddenly doubled his walk rate from previous years (overall .325 OBP for his career) will help improve the entire Cubs organization's take concerning on-base percentage. Fuck you, John Shea.
My prediction? Soriano hits .280 30+HR 90RBI and an OBP right around his career mark of .325. Even with his newfound patience, Cubs fans will quickly sour of how many one-out, men-on-second-and-third rallies are killed by his complete and utter disregard for the strike zone.
-RJ
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
It's Like a Taste Explosion
I could come here with a long post about being abducted by amazonian nataives, or how I was held against my will in a chinese prison, or even about how I saved a puppy from a burning building, but, alas, that would just be lying. The boring truth of my absence is that my computer at work blew, so I had to get a new one. Good news: Im back and better than ever. Look for some upcoming posts that are fantasy baseball related, as well as my eagerly awaited Red Sox preview. The latter post will come once Ive gathered enough coherent thoughts about these morons to come up with something decent to say about them, rather than just a long string of obsceneties.
Anyway, Im back and ready to roll.
- Ray King The lefty specialist
PS: Tell me the fruit George was eating and the basic plot of that Seinfeld episode and win a dollar.
Anyway, Im back and ready to roll.
- Ray King The lefty specialist
PS: Tell me the fruit George was eating and the basic plot of that Seinfeld episode and win a dollar.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
It's German for Sucking from the South Side
So the Mets have signed Scott Schoeneweis.
...
Perfect piece of news to come back to after a law-school induced layoff. Analysis, including congratulations for Minaya's first signing of a caucasian player, to follow later today. Until then, try emailing Lefty to see if he's alive.
-RJ
...
Perfect piece of news to come back to after a law-school induced layoff. Analysis, including congratulations for Minaya's first signing of a caucasian player, to follow later today. Until then, try emailing Lefty to see if he's alive.
-RJ
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Bad Moves Over None?
Steve Goldman brings up an excellent point in today's Pinstriped Bible on YESnetwork.com, and believe me, I am not above scrounging for post ideas in other people's blogs. Intellectual property, my ass.
Anyway, Mr. Goldman (who despite writing for one of the supposed "Al-Yankzeera" media outlets, is suprisingly evenhanded and takes Steinbrenner & Co. to task often) criticizes the Pittsburgh Pirates not for making bad moves, as Lefty and I so often criticize clubs for doing, but for doing, quite simply, nothing at all this offseason. Apparently they are waiting on Adam LaRoche's asking price to come down so they can unload Mike "Ouch, my elbow" Gonzalez on Atlanta. LaRoche is not going to make them a contender (shit, Gehrig on first might not make them a contender) but it would be a step in the right direction. Atlanta, however, is playing footsy with any number of teams for LaRoche and are perfectly content to go to Spring Training with him at first base. Why, then, hasn't Dave Littlefield moved the fuck on with his young, cheap pitching and gotten some young, cheap hitting? He's a retard, that's why.
Let's look at their top three starters first (in alphabetical order):
Zack Duke
2006: 10-15, 215IP 255H 17HR 68BB 117K (4.47 ERA, 1.50 WHIP)
Duke's first year as a full season starter in the majors was an important step forward for him. A classic finesse lefty (take notice oh mighty getter-outer of lefthanders), Duke's innings pitched placed him 12th in the NL, and his 4.47 ERA led the starting staff. 17 HR in 215IP means Herr Duke's sinking action keeps that ball down and in the park. Tremendous potential as his control improves. Oh, and btw, his 2006 salary? $335,000. Pretty sweet.
Ian Snell
2006: 14-11, 186IP 198H 29HR 74BB 169K (4.74 ERA, 1.46 WHIP)
Numbers do not do him justice. I had the pleasure of seeing him pitch against the New York Mets this past season in early May. INSERT CLICHE ABOUT HIS PITCHES HERE. Seriously though, his stuff is electric/filthy/disgusting/unfair. At 25, he has plenty of time to settle in and learn pitch selection better, from what I read throughout the season, and this conforms to what I saw in the game against the Mets, Snell gets obsessed with strike three, tries to be too fine and ends up in a hitter's count. "Points" his slider a bit under duress and it flattens out. Explosive fastball with action that makes righthanded batters' thumbs hurt. Big time future barring injury (no whammies, no whammies, fantasy sleeper, no whammies). $330,000 buys alot of KFC snackers, but not many pitchers of his talent.
Paul Maholm
2006: 8-10, 176IP 202H 19HR 81BB 117K (4.76 ERA, 1.61 WHIP)
Another lefty, but with more velocity than Mssr. Duke, Maholm has seen his learning curve take off with his rude introduction to major league hitters. His ERA and peripherals are skewed by 2 bad months (April and June) and otherwise would have looked much more respectable had he not had three awful starts in those months. Strikeout numbers will improve with his control and pitch selection ala Snell. Guess what? He's another minimum wage youngster at age 24 with a $328,000 salary.
The point I am trying to make is that any GM worth a damn (not so many) would be actively salivating at the thought of these young, cheap and talented starters occupying the back end of their rotation. I am not arguing that Pittsburgh should be rid of all three starters, because that would be on the Derek Bell level of stupidity, but that outside of Freddy Sanchez, the offensive talent on this team is atrocious. With prospects like the oft-injured Brian Bullington and others that could give similar numbers to any of these three, it would be aggressive indeed for Littlefield to be offering one of his top three for a multitude of everyday-player talent. Putting asses in the seats may be overrated for purposes of running a franchise, but the leverage Littlefield has with these three in the market for pitching that there is today, he could remake his team twice over with the prospects and everyday players he could get for any one of these guys. Instead, he quibbles with John Schuerholz over Adam LaRoche. Sigh.
Me and lefty would have the Pirates at .500 next year and a contender in that division within 3 years. Waiting on your call, Pittsburgh fans.
-RJ
Anyway, Mr. Goldman (who despite writing for one of the supposed "Al-Yankzeera" media outlets, is suprisingly evenhanded and takes Steinbrenner & Co. to task often) criticizes the Pittsburgh Pirates not for making bad moves, as Lefty and I so often criticize clubs for doing, but for doing, quite simply, nothing at all this offseason. Apparently they are waiting on Adam LaRoche's asking price to come down so they can unload Mike "Ouch, my elbow" Gonzalez on Atlanta. LaRoche is not going to make them a contender (shit, Gehrig on first might not make them a contender) but it would be a step in the right direction. Atlanta, however, is playing footsy with any number of teams for LaRoche and are perfectly content to go to Spring Training with him at first base. Why, then, hasn't Dave Littlefield moved the fuck on with his young, cheap pitching and gotten some young, cheap hitting? He's a retard, that's why.
Let's look at their top three starters first (in alphabetical order):
Zack Duke
2006: 10-15, 215IP 255H 17HR 68BB 117K (4.47 ERA, 1.50 WHIP)
Duke's first year as a full season starter in the majors was an important step forward for him. A classic finesse lefty (take notice oh mighty getter-outer of lefthanders), Duke's innings pitched placed him 12th in the NL, and his 4.47 ERA led the starting staff. 17 HR in 215IP means Herr Duke's sinking action keeps that ball down and in the park. Tremendous potential as his control improves. Oh, and btw, his 2006 salary? $335,000. Pretty sweet.
Ian Snell
2006: 14-11, 186IP 198H 29HR 74BB 169K (4.74 ERA, 1.46 WHIP)
Numbers do not do him justice. I had the pleasure of seeing him pitch against the New York Mets this past season in early May. INSERT CLICHE ABOUT HIS PITCHES HERE. Seriously though, his stuff is electric/filthy/disgusting/unfair. At 25, he has plenty of time to settle in and learn pitch selection better, from what I read throughout the season, and this conforms to what I saw in the game against the Mets, Snell gets obsessed with strike three, tries to be too fine and ends up in a hitter's count. "Points" his slider a bit under duress and it flattens out. Explosive fastball with action that makes righthanded batters' thumbs hurt. Big time future barring injury (no whammies, no whammies, fantasy sleeper, no whammies). $330,000 buys alot of KFC snackers, but not many pitchers of his talent.
Paul Maholm
2006: 8-10, 176IP 202H 19HR 81BB 117K (4.76 ERA, 1.61 WHIP)
Another lefty, but with more velocity than Mssr. Duke, Maholm has seen his learning curve take off with his rude introduction to major league hitters. His ERA and peripherals are skewed by 2 bad months (April and June) and otherwise would have looked much more respectable had he not had three awful starts in those months. Strikeout numbers will improve with his control and pitch selection ala Snell. Guess what? He's another minimum wage youngster at age 24 with a $328,000 salary.
The point I am trying to make is that any GM worth a damn (not so many) would be actively salivating at the thought of these young, cheap and talented starters occupying the back end of their rotation. I am not arguing that Pittsburgh should be rid of all three starters, because that would be on the Derek Bell level of stupidity, but that outside of Freddy Sanchez, the offensive talent on this team is atrocious. With prospects like the oft-injured Brian Bullington and others that could give similar numbers to any of these three, it would be aggressive indeed for Littlefield to be offering one of his top three for a multitude of everyday-player talent. Putting asses in the seats may be overrated for purposes of running a franchise, but the leverage Littlefield has with these three in the market for pitching that there is today, he could remake his team twice over with the prospects and everyday players he could get for any one of these guys. Instead, he quibbles with John Schuerholz over Adam LaRoche. Sigh.
Me and lefty would have the Pirates at .500 next year and a contender in that division within 3 years. Waiting on your call, Pittsburgh fans.
-RJ
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Back Through the Box
Perhaps I will start saving up longer posts for a once-a-week bonanza of statistics. For now, I've created this segment, titled "Back Through the Box" for some bullet-point style questions and statements that I would like Lefty (and all four readers we have) to answer and contemplate. On to the detritus:
1. As I sit here in legal research and writing class, even my misery at being back to school is buoyed by the fact that I won't have to look at Randy Johnson's face in HD anymore on a regular basis. Whether his spot is taken by Pavano's creaky asscheeks, Humberto Sanchez Rodriguez Martinez, or ::gasp:: Philip Hughes, they still couldn't be as frustrating as watching the Decrepit Unit give up 2 out RBI hits to the backup Devil Rays DH.
2. What kind of pitcher is Philip Hughes? By type, I mean strikeout, flyball, changeup artist, sinkerballer, control-dependent? I know nothing about his pitch selection, velocity, mechanics or makeup. I do know he has strong K numbers in AA, but what the hell does that mean when there are 2 outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh and he's at 98 pitches?
3. Good thing the Red Sox have traded Manny, I mean, whew. Glad to see he is safely out of the division where he has murdered the Yankees almost as much as Papi. What's that? He demanded a trade and they didn't give it to him? Fuck.
4. How does Theo Epstein get away with that? Does he just give him a different colored warm-up jersey and tell him his first game is at Fenway or what?
5. Seriously. Fuck.
6. Jonathan Papelbon? Really, Theo? That's your ace in the hole? So a guy who couldn't keep his shoulder intact (literally, it was in two seperate pieces in September) over eighty innings is supposed to give the Sawx 200+ innings? Really? Meanwhile, Curt Schilling hasn't met a Boston Creme doughnut he couldn't swallow whole and I'm supposed to be scared of Josh Beckett's labia-like fingers? Every year it's "the balance of power in the AL East is shifting!" Every year Cashman keeps my boys right there. Go fuck yourself, greater Boston metropolitan area!
-RJ
1. As I sit here in legal research and writing class, even my misery at being back to school is buoyed by the fact that I won't have to look at Randy Johnson's face in HD anymore on a regular basis. Whether his spot is taken by Pavano's creaky asscheeks, Humberto Sanchez Rodriguez Martinez, or ::gasp:: Philip Hughes, they still couldn't be as frustrating as watching the Decrepit Unit give up 2 out RBI hits to the backup Devil Rays DH.
2. What kind of pitcher is Philip Hughes? By type, I mean strikeout, flyball, changeup artist, sinkerballer, control-dependent? I know nothing about his pitch selection, velocity, mechanics or makeup. I do know he has strong K numbers in AA, but what the hell does that mean when there are 2 outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh and he's at 98 pitches?
3. Good thing the Red Sox have traded Manny, I mean, whew. Glad to see he is safely out of the division where he has murdered the Yankees almost as much as Papi. What's that? He demanded a trade and they didn't give it to him? Fuck.
4. How does Theo Epstein get away with that? Does he just give him a different colored warm-up jersey and tell him his first game is at Fenway or what?
5. Seriously. Fuck.
6. Jonathan Papelbon? Really, Theo? That's your ace in the hole? So a guy who couldn't keep his shoulder intact (literally, it was in two seperate pieces in September) over eighty innings is supposed to give the Sawx 200+ innings? Really? Meanwhile, Curt Schilling hasn't met a Boston Creme doughnut he couldn't swallow whole and I'm supposed to be scared of Josh Beckett's labia-like fingers? Every year it's "the balance of power in the AL East is shifting!" Every year Cashman keeps my boys right there. Go fuck yourself, greater Boston metropolitan area!
-RJ
Monday, January 8, 2007
I Hate You...
Regarding your little math equation there: Replace Philip Hughes with the Oft-Injured, newly revived, pride of Southington, Carl Pavano, and suddenly Im a little happier about the trade. Spring training will have an interesting twist to it to see which scenario plays out.
WHEN (notice I didn't use "IF", but instead chose "WHEN") the Yankees acquire Santana, I will in fact be done with the game of baseball. Ive threatened it many times before, but as things have played out with the "Arod Affair", Sheffield, Giambi, and their myriad of other failed acquistions (note: failed=no championships), Im still here with my head attached to my body. Although, you know, with this recent non-sensical, splurge by the Red Sox this offseason, I can't even scold the Yankees and baseball for their spending/possible spending. Life is a many fickle thing indeed.
-Rheal Cormier, The Lefty Specialist
WHEN (notice I didn't use "IF", but instead chose "WHEN") the Yankees acquire Santana, I will in fact be done with the game of baseball. Ive threatened it many times before, but as things have played out with the "Arod Affair", Sheffield, Giambi, and their myriad of other failed acquistions (note: failed=no championships), Im still here with my head attached to my body. Although, you know, with this recent non-sensical, splurge by the Red Sox this offseason, I can't even scold the Yankees and baseball for their spending/possible spending. Life is a many fickle thing indeed.
-Rheal Cormier, The Lefty Specialist
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Oh baby...
Bob Klapisch is reporting on ESPN.com that the Yankees are stockpiling young pitching talent for an earth-shattering, life altering trade with the Twins for Johan Santana... who know they can't afford him in 2 years since BZit is making 18 million a year. They want to sell him while his value is high, and the trade may include Carl Pavano and most, if not all, of the Triple-A pitching talent the Yankees have received thus far.
I will now proceed to walk around with an erection for the remainder of the offseason. And if Bob Klapisch knows what's good for him, he'll continue to drop hints about this until it happens, so that I can continue to torture Mr. Specialist about this.
-RJ
I will now proceed to walk around with an erection for the remainder of the offseason. And if Bob Klapisch knows what's good for him, he'll continue to drop hints about this until it happens, so that I can continue to torture Mr. Specialist about this.
-RJ
Friday, January 5, 2007
And, btw.
Yankee Pitching Staff - Randy Johnson =
Yankee Pitching Staff + Philip Hughes
Cashman for Exec of the Year. 43 year old pitcher for 3 young talents and a throw-in shortstop.
-RJ
Yankee Pitching Staff + Philip Hughes
Cashman for Exec of the Year. 43 year old pitcher for 3 young talents and a throw-in shortstop.
-RJ
A Short One
How do you like this one, oh wise one-out reliever:
(Flake = Zito)
(Zito + Fat Contract = Great Expectations)
(Great Expectations + Zito = Flake-out)
Flake-out + San Fransisco Giants = Billy Beane's Resignation (long overdue).
-RJ
P.S. CMiWang is a rare pitcher indeed that can have such terrible peripherals and yet be successful because he has one-of-a-kind stuff. Beckett, even with his vagina-soft fingers, is a fastball/curveball pitcher. Wang simply has the best sinker I've ever seen, and I've seen 'em all over the world.
(Flake = Zito)
(Zito + Fat Contract = Great Expectations)
(Great Expectations + Zito = Flake-out)
Flake-out + San Fransisco Giants = Billy Beane's Resignation (long overdue).
-RJ
P.S. CMiWang is a rare pitcher indeed that can have such terrible peripherals and yet be successful because he has one-of-a-kind stuff. Beckett, even with his vagina-soft fingers, is a fastball/curveball pitcher. Wang simply has the best sinker I've ever seen, and I've seen 'em all over the world.
CM WANG. No. Just no. I will not sit here and let you DEFILE this space with your Wang Chung talk here. I did not throw out Josh Beckett at you did I??? CM WANG had one good year for the best regular season team on the planet, all the while DEFYING all logic with his non-existent strikeout totals and ludicrous .277 BAA. Here's a list of names who ranked higher than Mr. Chung in said BAA category: The immortal Claudio Vargas, Mark Hendrickson, Jarrod Washburn, Jeff Francis, and oh just for kicks lets throw Vicente Padilla in there. Coincidentally, who was #1 in this category you might ask? -My boy Chris Young with an absurd .206 BAA.
I am however willing to compromise on "Everybody Wang Chung Tonight" though; if somehow his deal with Lucifer hasn't expired and he continues to post anomalistic numbers while keeping his wins high and ERA low, then Ok we might have something here and crow will be eaten. Until then, keep him on the pine with Blister Boy Beckett.
1 last thing: Remember the New Years Resolutions of keeping the posts shorter. I know you can do it.
-Mike Stanton, the Lefty Specialist
I am however willing to compromise on "Everybody Wang Chung Tonight" though; if somehow his deal with Lucifer hasn't expired and he continues to post anomalistic numbers while keeping his wins high and ERA low, then Ok we might have something here and crow will be eaten. Until then, keep him on the pine with Blister Boy Beckett.
1 last thing: Remember the New Years Resolutions of keeping the posts shorter. I know you can do it.
-Mike Stanton, the Lefty Specialist
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Overtly Overrating Overratedness
Confusing enough title? As promised, I return to tapdance over my colleague's arguments for the 11 pitchers he would take over Barry "The Flake" Zito. It should be said that I don't like Barry Zito, and I never have.... little too Cali for my tastes. I do remember fondly the 2001 ALCS Game 3 when Mikey Moose outdueled him for 7 for the Yanks 1-0 series-changing victory. Ahhh, those truly were the days.
In any event, I am going to pick apart each of the 11 pitchers to make them seem less likely to be chosen by any RATIONAL person over Monsieur Zito. Since Lefty IS a Red Sawx fan, this likely doesn't apply to him. (Badump bump) Anyway, here's Zito's line from last season:
221 IP 211H 27HR 99BB 151K; to the tune of a 3.83 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Not too shabby at all, although the walk total is making me gag on that sentence. So not GREAT, but certainly above average, particularly in the IP department. Let's look for a second at the walk total.
Zito's out pitch, the pitch that makes GMs cream and batters scream (alliteration FTW!) is an 11:53-5:47 curve ball that moves (and I've measured via a highly scientific method AKA comparing it to height of the batter) a good five plus feet. When all is well, it breaks from the shoulder level of the batter, where there is no way on God's green earth he could consider swinging at it all the way to the bottom of the kneecaps, nicking the strike zone and most likely resulting in a called strike or punchout. Think about this for a second. Zito (who has a below-average fastball and average changeup) is gonna use his magic pitch alot (I was looking for a curveball thrown percentage, but couldn't find it... paging Rob Neyer). He is standing the prescribed 60'6" away from a plate that is 17" wide and throwing what can only be described as a massive breaking ball. His walk total has always been high, along the lines of 80, 78, 88, 81, 89 in his five full seasons not including '06. His K/BB (covered in previous posts) has been in and around the low 2's until this season, however, where he posted a 1.53 K/BB. That, more than anything else, is troubling, as Jason Marquis is gonna find out (see Marquis post). Still, his numbers have been decently consistent prior to this season, so it could simply be a deviation.
Let's compare what we know about Zito to Lefty's top four pitchers.
Johan Santana:
'06: 19-6, 2.77 ERA 1.00 WHIP 233IP 186H 24HR 47BB 245K
Okay, let me preface everything that I'm about to say with this. Santana is the best pitcher on the planet right now, in the stronger of the two leagues. I am researching stats between the NL and AL as we speak, but let's just say for now that the World Series notwithstanding, the AL is vastly superior in offensive talent to the NL (DH, more superstars in prime, etc.). Santana put up these numbers pitching for a team that was offensively a joke, receiving 9 no-decisions, at least 6 of which he pitched well enough to win.
Aright, so there is no argument against picking Santana over Zito. If I had a NL team under my GMship, I could count on 20 wins for Santana barring injury. See above posts for possible contract offers (20 years, 300 million not out of question).
Roy Oswalt:
'06: 15-8, 2.98 ERA 1.17 WHIP 220.2IP 220H 18HR 38BB 166K
The argument against Oswalt is one of durability. In 2004 (admittedly two seasons ago) he was hampered by all kinds of leg and arm injuries. He has gone well over 200IP in 2005 and 2006, however, so my argument kind of falls flat. BUT he is only 5'10" (a fine height, one that I aspired to on my driver's license) and his violent delivery could lead to further arm troubles, but his age (turns just 30 this season), exceptional walk rate and past success would make him a fine choice over Barry Z.
Chris Carpenter:
'06: 15-8, 3.09 ERA 1.07 WHIP 221.2IP 194H 21HR 43BB 184K
Let me join Lefty in saying I do not think he is as good as the past two seasons would indicate, but holy hell, the numbers speak for themselves. He could've won twenty on any reasonably offensively competent team, but for the World Champions, he did yeoman's work. Age (32) and past injury history (i.e. arm aneurysm, shoulder reconstruction, etc.) makes him an iffy choice over the younger and more durable Zitolicious, but not nearly enough to disregard his reputation as a big-game pitcher that will throw regardless of nagging injuries.
Roy Halladay:
'06: 16-5, 3.19 ERA 1.10 WHIP 220IP 208H 19HR 34BB 132K
Doc had himself a fine season, even with his strained forearm and SIX winless starts at the end of the season. Doesn't strike out as many as Santana, but I concur with Mr. Specialist about his continuing ability to challenge JSant for the AL Cy Young. Add in the George Michael beard and Rough Justice is sold on his awesomeness. A true gamer, which is more than BZit, as lead flake in the flake sweepstakes, can claim.
When, you might start to ask yourself at this point, is Rough Justice gonna justify this obscenely (already) large post and FUCKING DISAGREE with Lefty? In short bullet points, I will do just that for the next seven.
Zambrano:
Big boy for a pitcher, pitches and acts like a middle linebacker. Uevos grandes, but his control is actually WORSE than Zito's, and he's been doing it in the NL. Granted, peripherals are delicious, but pitching under Dusty for the past two seasons has probably made him overdue for Tommy John and a career as the lesser Roy Halladay from this point on.
Peavy:
Funky 3/4 delivery and struggles in the playoffs tells me that he is not used to any kind of workload I would be prepared to drop on him. His injuries include blisters, mysterious shoulder fatigue and soreness, a sure sign of a pitcher who struggles mechanically and hence, velocity-wise. Not nearly consistent enough for me to pick him over Zito, and again, he posted an ERA over 4 in the NL in one of the weakest divisions in the history of the sport.
Webb:
Sinkerballer with good control. Kind of like Bret Saberhagen without the vagina. That being said, I am gonna need to see more from him before I anoint him ahead of Zito. Doesn't have Halladay's breaking ball, so no real out pitch besides his sinker. Does keep the ball in the park, but gives up hits aplenty. Age and injuries not really a factor yet.
D-Train:
Nope. Funky delivery only gets you so far. Needs to sharpen his breaking ball and get back the velocity he lost in the past season.
Chris Young:
Who?
CC Sabathia:
Big burly lefty, similar stuff to Dontrelle without the funky motion. Decent breaking stuff, but he, too has lost velocity and probably wears pants with a bigger waistline than mine... not a good sign.
Verlander:
THROW YOUR CURVEBALL FOR STRIKES AND BECOME NOLAN RYAN. Need to see him do it again.
What I am so upset about, and what caused me to begin this travesty of a post was that Lefty seems to have left out another young pitcher with fantastic potential that I would take over Barry Zito in a heartbeat. Than man is none other than Taiwanese legend and fellow pack-a-dayer Chien-Ming Wang, or as I call him in the privacy of my own home, CMiWang (pronounced SeeMyWang). Fun for the whole family. He has good control, throws a sinker in the MID NINETIES, and yet strikes out noone. Needs a better slider and he's approaching Halladay territory. Dan Quisenberry struck out more batters, but I bet he doesn't smoke filterless Taiwanese cigarettes. Domino, muthafucka.
In short, then, Barry Zito has been posting above-average ERAs in a superior league, and moving him to the NL and its weakest division can only help him. Look for him to hit it big this year.
-RJ
In any event, I am going to pick apart each of the 11 pitchers to make them seem less likely to be chosen by any RATIONAL person over Monsieur Zito. Since Lefty IS a Red Sawx fan, this likely doesn't apply to him. (Badump bump) Anyway, here's Zito's line from last season:
221 IP 211H 27HR 99BB 151K; to the tune of a 3.83 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Not too shabby at all, although the walk total is making me gag on that sentence. So not GREAT, but certainly above average, particularly in the IP department. Let's look for a second at the walk total.
Zito's out pitch, the pitch that makes GMs cream and batters scream (alliteration FTW!) is an 11:53-5:47 curve ball that moves (and I've measured via a highly scientific method AKA comparing it to height of the batter) a good five plus feet. When all is well, it breaks from the shoulder level of the batter, where there is no way on God's green earth he could consider swinging at it all the way to the bottom of the kneecaps, nicking the strike zone and most likely resulting in a called strike or punchout. Think about this for a second. Zito (who has a below-average fastball and average changeup) is gonna use his magic pitch alot (I was looking for a curveball thrown percentage, but couldn't find it... paging Rob Neyer). He is standing the prescribed 60'6" away from a plate that is 17" wide and throwing what can only be described as a massive breaking ball. His walk total has always been high, along the lines of 80, 78, 88, 81, 89 in his five full seasons not including '06. His K/BB (covered in previous posts) has been in and around the low 2's until this season, however, where he posted a 1.53 K/BB. That, more than anything else, is troubling, as Jason Marquis is gonna find out (see Marquis post). Still, his numbers have been decently consistent prior to this season, so it could simply be a deviation.
Let's compare what we know about Zito to Lefty's top four pitchers.
Johan Santana:
'06: 19-6, 2.77 ERA 1.00 WHIP 233IP 186H 24HR 47BB 245K
Okay, let me preface everything that I'm about to say with this. Santana is the best pitcher on the planet right now, in the stronger of the two leagues. I am researching stats between the NL and AL as we speak, but let's just say for now that the World Series notwithstanding, the AL is vastly superior in offensive talent to the NL (DH, more superstars in prime, etc.). Santana put up these numbers pitching for a team that was offensively a joke, receiving 9 no-decisions, at least 6 of which he pitched well enough to win.
Aright, so there is no argument against picking Santana over Zito. If I had a NL team under my GMship, I could count on 20 wins for Santana barring injury. See above posts for possible contract offers (20 years, 300 million not out of question).
Roy Oswalt:
'06: 15-8, 2.98 ERA 1.17 WHIP 220.2IP 220H 18HR 38BB 166K
The argument against Oswalt is one of durability. In 2004 (admittedly two seasons ago) he was hampered by all kinds of leg and arm injuries. He has gone well over 200IP in 2005 and 2006, however, so my argument kind of falls flat. BUT he is only 5'10" (a fine height, one that I aspired to on my driver's license) and his violent delivery could lead to further arm troubles, but his age (turns just 30 this season), exceptional walk rate and past success would make him a fine choice over Barry Z.
Chris Carpenter:
'06: 15-8, 3.09 ERA 1.07 WHIP 221.2IP 194H 21HR 43BB 184K
Let me join Lefty in saying I do not think he is as good as the past two seasons would indicate, but holy hell, the numbers speak for themselves. He could've won twenty on any reasonably offensively competent team, but for the World Champions, he did yeoman's work. Age (32) and past injury history (i.e. arm aneurysm, shoulder reconstruction, etc.) makes him an iffy choice over the younger and more durable Zitolicious, but not nearly enough to disregard his reputation as a big-game pitcher that will throw regardless of nagging injuries.
Roy Halladay:
'06: 16-5, 3.19 ERA 1.10 WHIP 220IP 208H 19HR 34BB 132K
Doc had himself a fine season, even with his strained forearm and SIX winless starts at the end of the season. Doesn't strike out as many as Santana, but I concur with Mr. Specialist about his continuing ability to challenge JSant for the AL Cy Young. Add in the George Michael beard and Rough Justice is sold on his awesomeness. A true gamer, which is more than BZit, as lead flake in the flake sweepstakes, can claim.
When, you might start to ask yourself at this point, is Rough Justice gonna justify this obscenely (already) large post and FUCKING DISAGREE with Lefty? In short bullet points, I will do just that for the next seven.
Zambrano:
Big boy for a pitcher, pitches and acts like a middle linebacker. Uevos grandes, but his control is actually WORSE than Zito's, and he's been doing it in the NL. Granted, peripherals are delicious, but pitching under Dusty for the past two seasons has probably made him overdue for Tommy John and a career as the lesser Roy Halladay from this point on.
Peavy:
Funky 3/4 delivery and struggles in the playoffs tells me that he is not used to any kind of workload I would be prepared to drop on him. His injuries include blisters, mysterious shoulder fatigue and soreness, a sure sign of a pitcher who struggles mechanically and hence, velocity-wise. Not nearly consistent enough for me to pick him over Zito, and again, he posted an ERA over 4 in the NL in one of the weakest divisions in the history of the sport.
Webb:
Sinkerballer with good control. Kind of like Bret Saberhagen without the vagina. That being said, I am gonna need to see more from him before I anoint him ahead of Zito. Doesn't have Halladay's breaking ball, so no real out pitch besides his sinker. Does keep the ball in the park, but gives up hits aplenty. Age and injuries not really a factor yet.
D-Train:
Nope. Funky delivery only gets you so far. Needs to sharpen his breaking ball and get back the velocity he lost in the past season.
Chris Young:
Who?
CC Sabathia:
Big burly lefty, similar stuff to Dontrelle without the funky motion. Decent breaking stuff, but he, too has lost velocity and probably wears pants with a bigger waistline than mine... not a good sign.
Verlander:
THROW YOUR CURVEBALL FOR STRIKES AND BECOME NOLAN RYAN. Need to see him do it again.
What I am so upset about, and what caused me to begin this travesty of a post was that Lefty seems to have left out another young pitcher with fantastic potential that I would take over Barry Zito in a heartbeat. Than man is none other than Taiwanese legend and fellow pack-a-dayer Chien-Ming Wang, or as I call him in the privacy of my own home, CMiWang (pronounced SeeMyWang). Fun for the whole family. He has good control, throws a sinker in the MID NINETIES, and yet strikes out noone. Needs a better slider and he's approaching Halladay territory. Dan Quisenberry struck out more batters, but I bet he doesn't smoke filterless Taiwanese cigarettes. Domino, muthafucka.
In short, then, Barry Zito has been posting above-average ERAs in a superior league, and moving him to the NL and its weakest division can only help him. Look for him to hit it big this year.
-RJ
ELEVEN GUYS OVER ZITO?! Well... shit.
Rest assured, my viewing public, I had a massive article written (WITH STATISTICS, YAAY!) before Blogger ate it and the fucker won't give it back. I promise I will rewrite it for this afternoon. Until then, suffice to say that I am going to kick the crap out of Lefty's argument pitcher by pitcher, even though I secretly agree with him, because Zito is overrated. However, is overratedness is, in and of itself, overrated. More to come, I promise.
- Rough Justice
- Rough Justice
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Guys Id Prefer over Barry Zito (Not Gay I swear)
I had an interesting conversation with some friends this past weekend. With Barry Zito signing for a small island, a discussion brewed about what pitchers we would rather have over Barry Zito. It can be argued that Zito is remarkably consistent, durable and always gives you a chance to win. Sure, this may be the case, but look further and you will see a steady decline in his stats over the years. I for one am far too lazy to look them up, so Ill give you the short and sweet version: Strikeouts are down ERA is up . Call me old fashioned but to me those are pretty important. Anyway, to the point let me give you the guys I would take over Barry Zito.
The No-Brainers: When I was posed with the question of naming 3 guys Id rather have over Zito I thought oh jeez this is easy, but the days of good pitching is gone and it was surprising harder than I thought to make a good solid case for taking someone over Zito. These guys however are guys I would take without thinking twice.
1)Johan Santana-Duh
2)Roy Oswalt- Ridiculous numbers, and with any run support this guy would be an annual 25 game winner.
3) Chris Carpenter- Now Ive always been a Carp hater but damn he just keeps putting up the numbers.
4)Roy Halladay- This guy rounds out my list. The only guy who can even challenge Santana for the AL Cy Young crown.
Here's where some debate comes in. This next list are guys right around that grey area where it's tough to decide who the better choice is.
The High-End Potentials:
1) Carlos Zambrano- Scarily close to making into the no-brainer section and he hasnt had his career year yet.
2)Jake Peavy- Forget about the record, his stats are unbelievable the past coulpe of years.
3) Brandon Webb- Last year was not a fluke, take a look at his ERA since entering the league. With a decent team around him he wins 20 games easily.
This is where it really gets tough for me to pick.
The Lower-End Potentials:
1) Dontrelle Willis- From here forward you can make a case for Willis over Zito
2)Chris Young- Got out of Texas and in only his 2nd full season as a starter put up some very nice numbers in SD. Product of the park? Maybe.
3)CC Sabathia- I know the numbers are great but I have a hard time putting him above Zito. Others might be higher on him which is why I put him here.
4) Justin Verlander- Man he looked impressive last year didn't he? Show me again and he will only move up.
There's 11 guys I would take over Zito and there's plenty more who are debateable. The Matt Cain's, Dan Haren's, and John Lackey's of the world, for example, but, I simply don't think they are there yet.
-Larry Anderson, The Lefty Specialist.
The No-Brainers: When I was posed with the question of naming 3 guys Id rather have over Zito I thought oh jeez this is easy, but the days of good pitching is gone and it was surprising harder than I thought to make a good solid case for taking someone over Zito. These guys however are guys I would take without thinking twice.
1)Johan Santana-Duh
2)Roy Oswalt- Ridiculous numbers, and with any run support this guy would be an annual 25 game winner.
3) Chris Carpenter- Now Ive always been a Carp hater but damn he just keeps putting up the numbers.
4)Roy Halladay- This guy rounds out my list. The only guy who can even challenge Santana for the AL Cy Young crown.
Here's where some debate comes in. This next list are guys right around that grey area where it's tough to decide who the better choice is.
The High-End Potentials:
1) Carlos Zambrano- Scarily close to making into the no-brainer section and he hasnt had his career year yet.
2)Jake Peavy- Forget about the record, his stats are unbelievable the past coulpe of years.
3) Brandon Webb- Last year was not a fluke, take a look at his ERA since entering the league. With a decent team around him he wins 20 games easily.
This is where it really gets tough for me to pick.
The Lower-End Potentials:
1) Dontrelle Willis- From here forward you can make a case for Willis over Zito
2)Chris Young- Got out of Texas and in only his 2nd full season as a starter put up some very nice numbers in SD. Product of the park? Maybe.
3)CC Sabathia- I know the numbers are great but I have a hard time putting him above Zito. Others might be higher on him which is why I put him here.
4) Justin Verlander- Man he looked impressive last year didn't he? Show me again and he will only move up.
There's 11 guys I would take over Zito and there's plenty more who are debateable. The Matt Cain's, Dan Haren's, and John Lackey's of the world, for example, but, I simply don't think they are there yet.
-Larry Anderson, The Lefty Specialist.
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