NYaT's Yankee Wishlist for the Trade Deadline

It's hard to "fix" a team that's on pace to win 104 regular season games, has the best record and run differential in baseball, and has won more games at home than Baltimore has in their entire season--but we're going to try. With the trade deadline fast approaching and Tampa Bay right on the Yankees' heels, I asked my fellow NYaT'ers what they think the Yankees need to do to put this group over the top. A compiled list of results below: 

Brett the Jet hitting #1 could help Yanks (Star-Ledger)

1. Move Brett Gardner to the leadoff spot. I'm not sure why this hasn't been done already, but I'm going to throw this out there as my personal "big fix" for the Yankees. The Yankees have argued that hitting him 9th gives them a "second leadoff hitter". Explain to me that logic? Why not just have him as your first leadoff hitter? Gardner is hitting .300/.397/.403 with a .372 wOBA and is on pace for almost 50 steals. Derek Jeter is having a down year, hitting .274/.338/.388 with a .324 wOBA which is just a tick under Juan Miranda's. And yet Jeter is unmovable from the leadoff spot while Gardner is left for the bottom 3rd of the lineup? The Yankees have been at a loss to find their #2 hitter since Nick Johnson went down with an injury early in the season, but I'm pretty sure their solution has just been hitting first. Imagine how much better the Yankees lineup would be with Gardner-Jeter-Tex-ARod-Cano-Posada-Swisher. Moving Swisher down creates more of a fluid lineup and will stretch their lineup even deeper. Gardner also gets on base vs. lefties (remember when the Yankees were worried about his right-handed caddy for Gardner instead of for Granderson) with a .391 OBP.

And here's another factor: Gardner leads the Major Leagues in pitchers per plate appearance at 4.61 (and by a lot). The last guy to even approach that number was Rickey Henderson's 4.55 in 1997. That many pitches makes the starter work harder and helps to tire him out faster. And, by the way, the last Yankee to have an OBP of at least .397 and steal 45 bases? Rickey Henderson in 1985. I'm not saying that Gardner is Rickey--but wouldn't you want to give him more plate appearances to find out?

Joba hasn't stepped up as the "Bridge to Mariano" (NYDN)

2. An upgrade in the bullpen. This is where my compadres and I differ in our opinions. I've seen the Yankees waste decent prospects on mediocre relievers just to theoretically get a small advantage before the trade deadline. I saw the Red Sox go out and get Eric Gagne in 2007. I'm just not a fan of the big fix reliever. I don't think they exist. You need a closer, and some solid guys in front and that's it, in my opinion. The Yankees could tweak that bullpen by calling back up Jonathan Albaladejo and Ivan Nova (and getting rid of dead weight guys like CHoP and Chad Gaudin). But others differed.

Paul said: "They don’t need to do much but the one issue is the bullpen. They need help, I just don’t know who. I would love Scott Downs but the Jays are asking too much. I don’t want them to trade any good prospects for middle relief so they should be careful. I also hope they don’t trade Joba."

Read more>>

The Undeniable Appeal of "Blue Chips"

Photo Credit: actors.pick2web.com

Once Andrew blogged yesterday about Rookie of the Year and other kids sports movies of our youth, I wanted to write a little something Blue Chips.  I know what you're thinking -- right era, but it ain't about kids.  And you're absolutely right, it's not a kids movie at all.  But tons of kids went to see it, including me at age 10.  And I loved it.  Still do.

Why is Blue Chips a great movie?  More than anything else, it’s great because no other sports flick provides such an authentic depiction of the game.  It’s great because it broaches real college basketball issues.  Father-son relationship between coach and player (Nick Nolte & Shaq)?  Check.  Academic struggles (Tony)?  Check.  Recruiting violations?  Point shaving?  Pressure from alumni boosters?  Check, check, and check.  Best of all, the movie used real basketball players as actors.  This really made the film feel authentic.  Bob Cousy as the wise AD?  Perfect.  Penny Hardaway as the slashing 2-guard?  Swish.  Shaq playing himself?  Money.  Bobby Knight, Jim Boeheim, and Rick Pitino as opposing coaches?  It just doesn’t get better than that.

The cameos don’t end.  Larry Bird as Pete’s unofficial scout and Dick Vitale as the ESPN color guy added to the “insider” feel to the film.  And if you look carefully, the movie is packed with real-life college stars.  Bobby Hurley, Calbert Cheaney, Chris Mills, and Rick Fox all appear as Western opponents.  The effect is profound: when game footage is shown, it looks like real-life game footage.  How many other sports movies can make that claim?

Read more>>

Fox and Friends, Please Stop Talking About Baseball

Fox and Friends is a show that has been reduced to nothing more than a clip producer for The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, but at least they've dabbled in areas that I have a passing interest in but don't care a ton about like politics and Hooters. They shove vacuum cleaners in babies faces and once in a while compare Jimmy Buffett to Hugo Chavez. They even compared themselves to being the President once (and got an awesome reaction from Mr. Stewart). Hardy har har. Now, though, they've inserted themselves into the role of baseball experts. Screw you, Fox and Friends (if the video doesn't work on the blog, click here to watch it):



Yuck, yuck, yuck. I mean the assumption is not one that most of America hasn't made already, but them doing it makes it even more annoying in my book. It, of course, has nothing to do with teams focusing more on defensive efficiency and sacrificing offense or teams focusing on developing young pitching or better advanced scouting or any one of the myriad of choices out there (Baseball Prospectus' Jay Jaffe had some ideas, too). Call of the search, though: it's steroids. Thank you, Fox and Friends, for solving that mystery and making us all dumber in the process. What can I truly expect, though, from the same parent company that still employs Tim McCarver?

H/T Gawker

View from the Seats: Citi Field 4th Row

Ari posts a picture from 4th row at Citi Field tonight as the Mets look for 2006 revenge against Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals.

"Rookie of the Year" and the Rest of the Sports Movies of My Youth

I have to admit I was shocked today when CNBC's Darren Rovell tweeted and then HarballTalk's Aaron Gleeman wrote that this is the 17th anniversary of Rookie of the Year. Although the movie is about as ridiculous as it gets, it was always, as Gleeman mentioned, my goal to have Henry Rowengartner's arm after breaking my arm--but it never happened. I was still shy of my 10th birthday when the movie came out and this movie, plus a bunch of other sports movies from the era, helped to shape me in some strange way. Here's a quick look at 5 sports movies (1990-1995) with a tidbit about each--and a few others worth mentioning:

Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery

Rookie of the Year

• My Tagline: "Boy breaks arm and befriends Gary Busey who throws the high cheese".
• Real Tagline: "The Chicago Cubs needed a miracle... They got Henry Rowengartner" 
• IDMB plot summary: "When an accident miraculously gives a boy an incredibly powerful pitching arm, he becomes a major league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs."
• My quick thoughts: Just a great movie and "pitcher's got a big butt" must have been said on the baseball field at least once a game after this. Can still go back and watch Daniel Stern as the pitching coach and laugh.
• The adult/child stars of the movie: Thomas Ian Nicholas as Henry Rowengartner and Gary Busey as Chet "Rocket" Steadman".
• Where the stars are now: I can't believe Nicholas is 30, but after his American Pie days, he's sort of fizzled out a bit. Gary Busey is still insane.
• "Wait, they were in this movie<": This honor goes to the future Scrubs Janitor, Neil Flynn, who played Okie, the Cubs first baseman in the movie
• Lasting effect on my childhood: After I broke my arm, I was sure I was going to be a pitcher. Damn, you Hollywood!
• Jay's Take: "Loved this movie. Loved that the villains were the Mets and specifically a goon named Heddo. Loved Gary Busey and his grunts."

Pics Digger

The Mighty Ducks

• My Tagline: "Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack. The flying V! Watch out for the knucklepunk, cake-eater!"
  
• Real Tagline: "He's never coached. They've never won. Together they'll learn everything about winning!" 
• IDMB plot summary: "Gordon Bombay, a hotshot lawyer, is haunted by memories of his childhood, when, as the star player in his champion hockey team, he lost the winning goal in a shootout, thereby losing the game, and the approval of his coach. After being charged for drunk driving, the court orders him to coach a peewee hockey team, the worst in the league, Gordon is at first very reluctant. However, he eventually gains the respect of the kids and teaches them how to win, gaining a sponsor on the way and giving the team the name of The Ducks. In the finals, they face Gordon's old team, coached by Gordon's old coach, giving Gordon a chance to face old ghosts."
• My quick thoughts: There were two others after it but the original still stands out. I think that it brought other kids to love hockey as much I did--at least for a little while. And what kid didn't try a triple deke at some point while playing hockey after seeing this movie? 
• The adult/child stars of the movie: Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay and Joshua Jackson as Charlie Conway
• Where the stars are now: I have no clue where Estevez is since Bobby (which he wrote, directer and acted in). Jackson is in Fringe but was recently pushing Pacey-Con.
• "Wait, they were in this movie?": My Cousin Vinny's Jim Trotter III (Lane Smith) as Coach Jack Reilly. LOST's Tom Friendly (M.C. Gainey) as Lewis. Wet Hot American Summer's Katie (Marguerite Moreau) as Connie Moreau (they were real original with that last name). Law & Order: Criminal Intent's Detective Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe) as Michelle MacKay in the sequel. 24's Larry Moss (Jeffrey Nordling) as Coach Ted Orion in the third. Great cameos from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Cam Neely, Chris Chelios, Luc Robitaille, Greg Louganis, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Wayne Gretzky. And, of course, Kenan Thompson as the knucklepucking Russ Tyler.
• Lasting effect on my childhood: I was involved in a P.E. class shootout and triple deked the goalie for the win and gym class glory.
• Jay's Take: "The girl who plays Henry's crush in Rookie of the Year is the same girl who played Julie "The Cat" Gaffney in Mighty Ducks 2"

Read more>>

Trivia Tuesday: Javy Vazquez Edition

With his next win, Javier Vazquez will have reached double digit wins for the 11th straight season. Who are the last three pitchers to have 11-season streaks of 10 wins or more?

Bonus question: 3 players all-time have 20 or more seasons of double digit wins. Can you name them?

Put your answers in the comments below and I'll reveal the correct answers later. Good luck!

Summer TV Review: The Second Level of Mad Men

Sometimes we mix our pleasure with pain and it seems like Don Draper takes the same approach with a prostitute in the season premiere of Mad Men. With a cadre of flawed characters, Mad Men has always let us live with an uneasy relationship where we like unlikable characters and dislike those we would normally become sympathetic to in the real world. Take Don or Roger Sterling--lovable womanizers--and I'll take them any day over Betty Draper or Peggy Olson--beat down women not worthy of sympathy. It made me queasy even writing that last sentence but that foreign place that Mad Men makes us sit (even more foreign to many of us than 1964). But while most of the show has been a back-and-forth struggle between Don Draper and his work-home life, "Public Relations", the season premiere of Mad Men, seems to be pushing the show onto another level. Bert Cooper may "refuse to be any part of that charade" (one of the best lines from the first episode), but I'm ready an excited for what's in store for Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (or SCDP as they are now known) this season on Mad Men.

Don debates who he really is during the Season 4 premiere (AMC)

We've spent the better part of three seasons trying to answer our opening question: "who is Don Draper?" The answer that we have received so far has been pretty consistent, a self-assured man hell-bent on keeping his personal life under wraps and surviving in a fast-changing world--while trying to keep up the airs that his personal life is A-O-K. Is it any wonder that Don felt somewhat uneasy by the questioning of the one-legged man from Ad Age (like Jack Hammond, Draper was also in Korea--and he too came back with something false) as it delved into Don's personal life and his marriage? It's no wonder that Don seemed to be more at ease by the end of the episode in his interview with the Wall Street Journal talking about the "scrappy upstart" as SCDP instead of Don Draper.

The problem may be that Don Draper is in full-on identity crisis. His wife is with another man tending to his own kids in the house he technically owns. His dating life is different now that he's a divorcee and bachelor instead of a married philanderer (and now that it's 1964). His office* and job responsibilities are new and different. While last season he was dealing with Hilton, this season he's dealing with a "two-piece" bathing suit company that doesn't want to be raunchy. Don's still a brilliant ad man, but he's also a hypercritical boss (and more about this later) who doesn't really know how to relate to people. While everyone (including the aforementioned prostitute) has plans on Thanksgiving, Don is left by himself in his bachelor pad in the Village (reminding me a lot of the 30 Rock Valentine's Day episode). He's a lonely soul who doesn't want to eat what the housekeeper makes for him and seems to only sleep at the office.

Read more>>

View From The Seats

The view from my Friday plan seats: Grandstand 432A, row 13. The picture was right before A-Rod's first AB as he goes for homerun #600. He didn't succeed but Robinson Cano cleared the bases with a double and Jorge Posada knocked a double to right for his 1000th career RBI.

Right now, despite allowing a hit each inning, it doesn't look like Bad AJ...at least right now. It's amazing to think that the Yankees wanted to acquire Brian Bannister at one point considering how bad he's become. 4-0 Yankees after 1 and a half innings.

-Andrew

What Would You Ask For If You Caught An Important Home Run Ball?

On Wednesday, Colin Curtis hit a memorable home run into the rightfield stands. It was memorable because he came on with an 0-2 count in a big spot, battled back to make the count 3-2 and then hit the home run. It was also memorable because it was his first Major League home run. It was "must see TV", as Curtis, a baby-faced cancer survivor hit it out of the park and rounded the bases with a huge, thrill-of-a-lifetime smile on his face. It is hard not to root for Curtis--who never was a great hitter even in the minors--and his dad was doing so back home. Curtis got a curtain call form the Yankees crowd and amazingly got the ball back from the fan who caught it.

There was a condition to getting it back, though. The fan who caught it exchanged the ball for a signed Derek Jeter and a signed A-Rod ball. So that brings me to my question: what would you ask for in exchange for a ball like this? Would you ask for anything different? Try to sell it? Just give it to the kid?

Personally, I would ask for a baseball signed by each of the "Core Four". I think that would be a reasonable trade for the first home run ball. But if whoever is in charge of making these trades (I'm guessing a Yankee representative) said that it was too much, I'd settle for a signed ball from Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. I already have a signed ball from Mark Teixeira and I'm not sure there's another player I would want as badly as those two. A-Rod is not a bad choice, however.

But there's another important ball that's about to head into the seats and it will probably land there this weekend: and that's A-Rod's 600th home run ball. The people at SeatGeek have done an awesome job at tracking where that ball will land and the expected profit from sitting in that seat from catching the ball. The best place to sit seems to be Section 136 so I'm sure there will be quite a few people heading there this weekend against the Royals (my vote is for tomorrow against Kyle Davies who A-Rod also hit #500). So let's say that the ball doesn't land in the bullpen or hit something (like the foul pole) and head back into play and you're the one who catches it--what do you do?

Read more>>

News flash: the NHL has balls but no legs to stand on

The NHL announced last night that it rejected the Ilya Kovalchuk's agreed-upon 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.  Its reason?  The record-setting deal "circumvented the Collective Bargaining Agreement."

Deadspin wrote a tongue-in-cheek blog post congratulating the NHL for "growing a pair" by putting the kabosh on the deal.  And truth be told, as Barry Petchesky wrote, the league's effort is admirable.  Clearly, the Devils purposely structured the contract to circumvent the CBA and minimize its annual salary cap hit.  Clever.  Let's take a look at what the Devils did, courtesy of Petchesky's handy math:

Read more>>

It's official (sort of) -- cheerleading is NOT a sport

BRING IT ON, said Quinnipiac University and its proposed cheerleading squad, without a hint of irony.  Well, it has been brought, and it's now official: cheerleading is not a sport.  Not for Title IX purposes, anyway, said U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill in a 95-page opinion (!) released today in Bridgeport, Conn.

This development has generated a lot of news coverage, including local pubs such as the Hartford Courant and the Connecticut Post, as well as national outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, The Big Lead, and Jezebel.  And rightfully so.  The case deals with an important junction of law, sports, and women's rights.  (For those who don't know, Title IX is part of a 1973 federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in public educational programs.  Sports-wise, it is most often used to balance school spending on men's and women's sports.)

Here's the gist of the case.  In March 2009, Quinnipiac University decided to cut three sports teams: men's golf, men's outdoor track, and women's volleyball.  To remain in compliance with Title IX, Quinnipiac tried to replace women's volleyball with competitive cheerleading.  The ACLU (you were expecting someone else?) sued the school on behalf of 5 female volleyball players, arguing that Quinnipiac failed to provide equal opportunities for male and female athletes.  Judge Underhill determined that competitive cheerleading is not a collegiate sport for Title IX purposes.  Quinnipiac, therefore, is in violation of Title IX and now has 60 days to announce how it will comply with that law.  This amounts to a victory for the volleyball-playing plaintiffs (Underhill ordered the reinstatement of the women's volleyball team for the 2010-11 season) but a tears-inducing loss for cheerleaders.  As you can see, Kirsten Dunst is pissed.

Check out the two money quotes from Judge Underhill after the jump.

Read more>>

The Yankee Clipper: Relief Pitching

I feel like "relief" should be in quotes to emphasize the fact that the Yankees bullpen crew hasn't exactly been "lights out". So maybe the Yankees outfield, infield and catcher/DH posts seemed easy in comparison to the starters, but the relievers--oh boy. It's praying for 6-7 innings from the starters, hold your breath for an inning or two and then TGFMR (which of course stands for Thank God For Mariano Rivera). The trade deadline is fast approaching but the the relievers available look ugly at best. Let's take a look at the guys the Yankees currently have:

1. Mariano Rivera. Where would the Yankees be without The Great Mariano? Worse, where will they be eventually without Rivera? Since Mo became the Yankees full-time closer in 1997, the Yankees have had 30 different relievers save games--Mo has 541 and there are only three guys who have more than 7 (Ramiro Mendoza at 16, Mike Stanton at 15, and Steve Karsay at 12). But while he's still here, let's appreciate the man. So far into 2010, Rivera is 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA, and 20 saves (in 22 chances). Since May 24th when Rivera gave up a run against the Mets, Mo has pitched in 21 games, gone 3-0 with 12 saves, has an ERA of 0.40 and the line against him is .122/.167/.135. Oh, and he's supposedly doing this all with multiple injuries and at age 40. His WHIP is 0.645, his H/9 is 4.3 and his ERA + is 405 which are all career bests. Alas, some correction is probably in order. He's held opposing batters to a .194 BABIP which is pretty hard to keep up even for Mariano (his career mark is .274). He's allowed 3.1% of his flyballs to leave the park which is well-below his mark of 6.4% since 2002 or his 15.2% of 2009. And so while his ERA is sitting at 1.01 , his FIP is 2.25 and his xFIP is 3.11. The correction may  not be that large, however; Rivera has outperformed his FIP every season since he's been closer except 2001 and 2007. Rivera's strikeouts are a tick down (first time he hasn't struck out a batter per inning since 2006), but everything else is right on par. One interesting development for Rivera: while everyone thinks that sending a righty up is better than a lefty, lefties are actually hitting Rivera slightly better in 2010 (it's all relative) with a .471 OPS compared to a .336 OPS vs righties. And get this: Rivera's SO:BB ratio vs. righties is 23 to 1 and he's allowed zero runs vs. righties in 2010. Let's hope Rivera--the 1999 World Series MVP and 2003 ALCS MVP--continues to play at this level for a very long time. Best Month: June 2-0, 7 saves, zero runs allowed in 11 games, 4 hits, 11.1 K/9, 0.462 WHIP, 8.00 SO/BB.
2. Joba Chamberlain. My "Joba Rules" t-shirt is slowly becoming obsolete. ESPN's Rob Neyer wrote today about Chamberlain's luck and you hope that those numbers turn around. I agree with Neyer that we won't ever see the Joba we saw in 2007. But I'll take (and most Yankees fans would agree) the Joba who pitched in 2008. The Yankees jerked around Joba for so long and wonder now why he's struggling--is it really any surprise to anyone. Some have suggested trading him (horrible idea considering his low trade value), moving him to the rotation (fine idea but he's not stretched out right now), or sending him down to the minors (a kick in the ass, sure, but what else would this accomplish except put another hole the Yankees bullpen?). This bit from Bloomberg Sports is why Yankees fans are frustrated with Joba: " The big right-hander's ERA stands at 5.77, his WHIP's at 1.51, with opponents now hitting a robust .290 against him. He has not had more than three consecutive scoreless appearances since the middle of May. Of the 11 appearances in which he has allowed a run this year, he has allowed either 3 or 4 runs in five of them, a trend that makes it all but impossible for him to consistently lower his ERA." Despite all that the article (and Neyer's as well) suggests what I suggest with the Yankees and Yankee fans when it comes to Joba: patience. He's struck out almost 10 batters per 9 and walked less than the previous two years. He's not been victim to the longball, but he's just gotten hit all around the park. Eventually, some of those balls are going to get caught. And when it does, I really think that Joba's numbers will fit perfectly in line with 2008 where all his peripherals looked exactly the same but instead of a 5.77 ERA, he had a 2.60 ERA. The road right now has been quite bumpy, but hopefully the Yankees don't panic and acquire an 8th inning guy (or trade Joba), when he may possess exactly what they need to bridge to Mo. The big thing for Joba (in my opinion): stop making the first pitch so hittable. It's important to get first pitch strikes (and hitters hit only .170 against Joba when he gets ahead of them) but batters are hitting .611 against Joba on the first pitch, a sure sign that they're just waiting on fastballs to drive. It's tough right now (as as the New York Daily News wrote, Girardi has put Joba on notice) but I have some faith Joba (2nd in the league in holds) will yet turn it around. Best Month: April 3.48 ERA in 11 games, 1.258 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 3.33 SO/BB.

Read more>>

Summer TV Review: Entourage Lacking Its Ammo

When Ari Gold's son showed up at breakfast with a water pistol, Ari said to his son, "Jews don't carry guns buddy, you know that." That was the closest that Entourage has come to show any bullets this season. I wanted to go through and do reviews for my summer shows (Entourage, Dexter, Mad Men, Weeds, Californication, Eastbound and Down, etc.), but Entourage is slowly inching towards moving off my summer watching list all together. The show has gone from being a fun (and funny) look at a boy's club in Los Angeles to being unimportant. Like an upper-middle class teenage girl moaning about her life problems because boys don't like her and her mom grounded her for her C- on her report card, the problems of the entourage are not as bad as they seem and they are the same issues that they dealt with a week ago--and it all comes off as whiny and,  mostly, unfunny. That's the worst part about the show right now: in an effort to "mature" as a show and as characters, the show has lost it's sprinkling of humor to the point where watching the show has become more of a routine than an enjoyable Sunday experience.

Maybe the issue is that I'm expecting too much from Entourage. As Steven Kurutz from the Wall Street Journal wrote yesterday after the episode named "Dramedy":

We’ve been forced to confront something unpleasant since we began recapping “Entourage:” it’s not a very smart show. Perhaps on some level we always knew this but were sufficiently distracted by the male fantasy aspects: the beautiful, willing women; the free-wheeling lifestyle celebrated by Vince and his buddies; the fact that male friends can hang out together without requiring three weeks of advance scheduling.

Kurutz points out quite correctly that by making the characters grow apart and mature, "we’re left with slight plots that illuminate shallow lives." Not only do the characters seem bored by this (Vince doesn't seem all that excited to be having an awesome party at his place and Johnny finally seems to be getting his career off the ground but seems ambivalent towards it), but the writers and casting seem bored as well.

The celebrity cameos which were fun and cool in the first few seasons are now ingrained into the plot and too self-referential at times to be enjoyable. The celebrities they get dryly recite lines that are sometimes not even comprehensible (sorry A.P., you're a great running back, but that was you this past week). The only person who ever seems to make it work is Bob Saget*--but even his "dirty old man" bit has been overplayed (and I can watch him do his The Aristocrats bit multiple times so that says a lot). Entourage must have ran out of celebrities for walk on rolls so now their auctioning them off for us regular folk. They bring on new talent who can't act (Dania Ramirez as Turtle's former employee Alex is an awful actress). The stars on the show even seem so bored that they're investing in Albany restaurants to keep their lives occupied. 

Read more>>

The Yankee Clipper: Starting Pitching

I was all ready to write today's Yankee Clipper on the Yankees starting rotation but then this weekend happened. A.J. Burnett punched something and had to leave the game with cuts on his hand Saturday and then Sunday and Andy Pettitte left early yesterday with a groin strain that will keep him out at least the rest of the month. So maybe the Yankees outfield, infield and catcher/DH posts seemed easy in comparison to the status update I'll now do for their starters. But here we go into the starting rotation:

1. Andy Pettitte. Yesterday's game marked the first time that Pettitte didn't go 5 innings in a start this season and in those 18 starts, he's only given up more than 4 earned runs once (6 against the Rays in May). Pettitte came into yesterday 11-2 (league-leading .846 winning percentage) with a 2.70 ERA and I don't think it is much of a stretch to say that he's been the Yankees' most consistent starter so far this season. So then the starter that the Yankees have counted on so much this season (the team is 15-3 in games he starts) left early with a groin injury. Yankees' General Manager Brian Cashman estimates that Pettitte will be out 4-5 weeks, but the injury expert, Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus, thinks that may be overly cautious and thinks that Pettitte will be back the second of August. Before the injury, Pettitte was on pace for 20 wins and had his lowest American League ERA since 1997--but he was also on pace to throw 205 innings for the first time since 2007. Yankees fans remember that in 2008 Pettitte had arm troubles so if there is one silver lining for the Yankees, it is that Pettitte will be well-rested down the stretch. But that is of little consolation to the Yankees who are without the AL All-Star Pettitte for a while now. Pettitte has been exceptionally good in 2010 at limiting the amount of hits against him and decreasing the amount of walks he issues, though the former may be somewhat due to luck--Pettitte's .274 BABIP is well-below his career .314 and his 3.97 FIP and 4.06 xFIP reflects that fact. But Pettitte has produced results so far for the Yankees. According to FanGraphs, some of it is due to his cut fastball and curveball being more effective than they've been in years and ditching the slider (which was a bad pitch for him in 2009). The Yankees must be pretty upset right now they didn't get Cliff Lee and they hope that Andy is Dandy for them again soon. If the Yankees can get Pettitte back by the second week in August and have him for the stretch drive, I think they'd take that. Pettitte is usually his best in the second half and the Yankees need the 2001 ALCS MVP to defend their World Series title. Best Month: April 3-0, 2.12 ERA, 25 K, .602 OPS against.
2. A.J. Burnett. If the Yankees hadn't been winning the past two years, you have to imagine that people would be getting a bit more upset with Burnett's performance in Pinstripes. Last year he had an up-and-down season where he dominated at times but led the league in walks and wild pitches showing that other times he was all over the place. The only thing that Burnett is consistent in is his inconsistency. 2010 started out well for Burnett but has seen him dip to a losing record, an ERA pushing 5, and a Major League worst 12 hit batters. He's allowed no earned runs in 5 starts but he's also allowed 6 or more earned runs 6 times. Through the end of May, Burnett was 6-2 with a 3.28 ERA. Since, the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde act has gone to the dark side as he's 1-6 with a 8.15 ERA and .965 OPS against in his past 8 starts. His last start ended early after his punching incident which he blamed on "falling" originally before being caught. I love the pies he brings and his swagger at times on the mound, but Burnett's lack of maturity at times is disheartening and his inability to compose himself is frustrating. Carroll writes about Burnett: "Burnett is certainly not the first pitcher to do something stupid. The meme of a pitcher hitting something with his pitching hand is so strong that it's a full scene in Bull Durham. Burnett cut his hands on a plexiglass lineup holder. Burnett is expected to be back for his next start, though there are some whispers that there could be a push-back if he doesn't make his throw day and show that the cuts won't be an issue." Not exactly what the Yankees were looking for from their #2 starter coming into the season. Burnett's problem is that when he's bad, he's really bad. In his wins, Burnett holds opposing hitters to a .191/.251/.231 line and in his losses it jumps to .363/.453/.701--meaning that in his losses, Burnett isn't even giving his team a good chance to win. Most disturbing for me about Burnett though is about in his results on the field where we've seen his K/9 drop from 9.56 in 2007 to 9.39 in 2006 to 8.48 in 2009 to only 6.71 this season. That's a big concern for the Yankees as Burnett's true value comes from his ability to finish guys off after he gets himself into jams. There is still some debate about whether this inability to gets misses with the bats are due to lost velocity or just not being able to locate the curveball as R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs suggested a month ago. But whatever is the culprit, this is not good news for the Yankees who are still on the hook for 3 more expensive years of Burnett after 2010. Best Month: April 3-0, 2.43 ERA, 20 K, 1.200 WHIP, .660 OPS against.

Read more>>

View From the Seats: DMB at Citi Field

Wanted to post a picture from the Dave Matthews Band concert tonight at Citi Field. Dave played an awesome concert and it was really cool to be standing on the actual outfield at Citi. Very nice job turning Citi into a great music venue.

-Andrew

The Yankee Clipper: Catcher and Designated Hitter

So far in our post-All-Star Break Yankee Clipper series we've covered the Yankees' infield and outfield so far in 2010. Now let's take a moment and look at their catchers and DHs. I felt like this went together since Jorge Posada has spent so much time at DH this season. Let's take a look at how these two groups have performed and see if the Yankees may need to make some changes before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline:

1. Jorge Posada. If you were to give Posada's year an overall grade, what would it be? I think it would have to be someplace in the B- range. Since Posada's 6th place MVP finish in 2007 (and subsequent contract extension), the Yankees backstop has missed quite a lot of time with injuries. He played in only 51 games in 2008, 111 games in 2009, but is on pace to play in 134 this season. Posada's value is almost solely in his bat behind the plate (his catching has regressed with age) so when he has to spend a lot of time at DH, it hurts his value somewhat. So far in 2010, Posada has played 36 games at catcher, 20 at DH and 1 at 1B. Those 20 games at DH blow past his previous high of 15 in 2008. Posada's .265/.373/.464 slash line is down from last year or 2007, but some of that could be attributed to trying to play through injuries. His power numbers have suffered as well as his pace of 27 doubles, 20 HR, and 65 RBI would be one of the poorest outputs of a full season in his entire career. According to FanGraphs, Posada is crushing fastballs and hitting sliders well, but any other pitch has been getting him. Posada's home-road splits have been quite pronounced this year as he's hitting exactly 300 OPS points higher in New Yankee Stadium (which reflects last year's numbers as well when he hit 253 points higher). He's also hitting lefties at a .914 OPS while hitting righties at only .784. Still, there is tremendous value in Posada's bat being in the lineup regardless of who is pitching or the location of the game and the bet here is that the Yankees will try to keep Posada in the lineup but well-rested through DH stints. The biggest problem with this is Posada is not a good career hitter as a DH. As a catcher, he's hit .280/.381/.489 for his career--and as a DH, he's at .220/.341/.352. Some players can't adjust to just playing half the game and a catcher such as Posada who is involved in every pitch thrown would seem to be the most affected by that. And 2010 has been no different as his OPS is 116 points lower when he DHs (which he's done 20 times, the most on the Yankees). If Posada can't find a way to make himself into an effective DH, the Yankees may have some troubles in 2010 and 2011. Best Month: April .310/.394/.638 with 5 HR and 12 RBI.
2. Francisco Cervelli. "The Cisco Kid" had a tremendous start to the season but has since fallen off. He's been pretty good behind the plate and looks like he has a good rapport with the pitchers, but his bat hasn't quite been keeping up. His .266/.338/.333 line and .305 wOBA looks pretty rough after a fast start. His 30 RBIs, however, is quite impressive. His caught stealing rate has also dipped a lot. Last year he threw out an unbelievable 43% of the runners who tried to steal. This year he's at 14%--which is worse than Posada's 19%. I'm not surprised to see Cervelli struggle with the bat, however. He never showed a great bat in the minors (except a brief stint in 2008 at AA) and there was little reason to think that he suddenly would have become a great hitter in the majors. But when Cervelli woke up on May 15th, he had a .415/.483/.528 line and 14 RBI. Since May 15th, he's hit .202/.277/.250 with 16 RBI. And the last month he's been dismal with a .167/.167/.250 line and 1 RBI. The problem really becomes with Cervelli how much Posada can catch. If Jorge can squat more in the second half, then Frankie's issues at catcher don't get shown as much because of the limited amount of PAs. But if Posada were to suffer another injury or will be spending more time at DH, the Yankees may be in trouble having Cervelli playing every day. Though, when you factor in that Jose Molina was a worse hitter, the Yankees are actually improved in 2010 at the backup backstop. Best Month: April .360/.448/.400.

Read more>>

The Yankee Clipper: The Infield

Yesterday we looked at the Yankees' outfield at the All-Star Break. Today we'll check out the Yankees infield and see how they've been fairing so far in 2010. We'll leave out the catchers for now, but we'll make sure to get back to them later. We'll also examine any places of weaknesses to see where the Yankees could make some strikes before July 31st:

1. Alex Rodriguez. We'll work our way around the diamond but start first with A-Rod. In what's been his least controversial year (so far), A-Rod's bat hasn't been producing either. His .269/.345/.481 line would all be his worst mark since 1995 and his 27 home run pace would his worst since 1997 (and his first time not hitting 30 since then). The one thing that A-Rod is still doing offensively is driving in runs and his 70 RBI are 3rd in the American League--and puts him on pace for 133 which would be the 4th highest mark of his career. He's also hitting doubles and triples at a high pace and his projected total of 42 non-HR XBH would be his highest since 1997. Now that could mean that he's just had bad luck and some of his flyballs haven't left the park this year--and the numbers support that. Only 11.2% of A-Rod's flyballs have left the park which would be his lowest mark since 1995 and way under his 18.5% career mark and his BABIP of .281 is way under his career mark of .320. So what does this mean for the man who is about to hit 600 home runs? There's probably some sort of correction coming (especially since he's also been battling a bad hip). I would assume he ends the season with higher slash lines and his regular 30+ HR and 100+ RBI power numbers (though his steals have gone down from 24 in 2007 to 18 in 2008 to 14 in 2009 to only 2 so far in 2010). The weirdest part of A-Rod's stats: he hits righties at a much better clip (175 points higher in OPS) than he hits lefties. This mostly seems to be because his inability to hit lefties cutters and it is a small sample size--but it is strange (as was his All-Star Game exclusion). His UZR number is actually his best since 2005 so despite his bad hip, he's still about average defensively. The key for A-Rod is finding a good backup so the Yankees feel comfortable sitting or DH'ing him once every week to 10 days. Right now, I don't think they have confidence in any one of the backups (and we'll get to that later) and need to hope for more A-Bombs from A-Rod. Best Month: May .330/.408/.534 with 5 HR and 27 RBI.
2. Derek Jeter. "El Capitan" had one of the best years of his career last season. This year has been a little rougher on the aging shortstop. A free agent in the off-season, he's at least made the Yankees think twice about giving him too many years. .274/.340/.392 would amazing all be the lowest marks of his entire career. He's on pace for 112 runs, 32 2B, 15 HR, 80 RBI and 17 SB so the production is still there, but he's certainly fallen off of his 2009 mark (and this is all with his HR/FB % the highest of his career). There is still hope for Jeter, though. He's typically a better second half player with his three best months of July, August and September (in ascending order). In many ways this season looks a lot like 2008 when Jeter had a horrible first half but raised his OPS 75 points in the second half. The Yankees need to keep their fingers crossed that Jeter can do the same in 2010 (or they need to move Brett Gardner to the leadoff spot to get a high OBP player in front of Jetes. You also hope that maybe playing for the memory of George Steinbrenner will propel Jeter to greatness in the second half of the season. Here's one big issue: Jeter can't hit righties. He's hitting .323/.372/.504 vs. lefties and an atrocious .248/.323/.332 vs. righties. If Jeter can turn that around, it will go a long way in helping his overall numbers. If not (and RotoGraphs thinks his days of being a .300 hitter may be behind him), the Yankees need to think long and hard about how many years to give an aging shortstop this off-season. Best Month: April .330/.354/.521 with 4 HR, 18 RBI and 3 SB.

Read more>>

The Yankee Clipper: The Outfield

As the All-Star break comes to a close, it feels like a good time to review the season so far. We'll try to roll a different one of these out for the next week reviewing the Yankees different positional groups to see how they've performed so far this season. We'll also be reviewing this to see where weaknesses are before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. Let's start out with the outfield:

1. Brett Gardner. One of my favorite players coming into this season has rewarded the Yankees' faith in making him an everyday player. He's hitting a robust .309/.396/.415 and at his current pace would finish the season with 10 HR and almost 50 SB. He's 10th in the AL in runs (56), 5th in OBP (.396), and 4th in SB (25). Baseball-Reference has his defense in left rated as tops in the American League. In my opinion, the best thing about his game is the amount of pitches he sees. He averages 4.58 P/PA which would be the highest average since Rickey Henderson had 4.55 in 1997 (and if you want to read up on the correlation of P/PA and production, I found this Hardball Times piece from 2005). Better yet, FanGraphs says that only 5 players in the Majors swing at less balls outside the strike zone than Gardner--then again, he's also swung at the least amount of pitches inside the strike zone in the Majors and overall meaning he only swings 31.3% of the time (but he makes contact at balls inside the strike zone a league-leading 98.1% of the time when he does swing). FanGraphs tracks Gardner's Wins Above Replacement number at 2.3 which already surpasses his 2009 value and puts him in the top 15 among American League outfielders and Baseball-Reference has Gardner's WAR at 3.4 with would be tied for 6th among all AL positional players (with Carl Crawford and Kevin Youkilis). Whether it's "Gardner Planted One" (for his Inside-the-Park home run), "Gardy Goes Yardy" (his regular home run call), or "Brett The Jet" (his stolen base call), Gardner has not only turned into an important Yankee regular, but he may be a reason the Yankees second-guess giving big money to Carl Crawford in the off-season. Best Month: June .383/.472/.533.
2. Nick Swisher. I will repeat: the Yankees acquired Nick Swisher for Wilson Betemit. Wow. Swisher came into camp this year in even better shape than last year and it has showed. The Yankees starting rightfielder is having his best Major League season with career highs at every slash (.298/.377/.524) as well as his Weighted On Base Average (wOBA) of .391 (only Robinson Cano has a better mark. He's projected to have 28 HR, 93 RBI and 72 XBH. And although UZR rates him as a negative defender, he's shown definite improvement in right with both his arm and his glove. His 2.7 WAR in both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference means that he's on pace to greatly surpass last year's output. And as shown by his recent All-Star Final Ballot selection, he's having a lot of fun doing it, bringing a loose atmosphere to the clubhouse that the Yankees needed after guys like Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi left. Swisher has moved around in the lineup a lot, hitting 2nd some games and anywhere from 4th to 8th in others--but wherever he's hit in the lineup, he's produced. Although he hasn't walked as much in 2010 (mostly due to who he's had hitting behind him), Swisher has still taken over 18% of his at bats to a full count and done damage when he's gotten there (.554 OBP). Swish has been extra Swishalicous in 2010 and the Yankees can control him for cheap through 2012 (according to Cot's Contracts, signed for bargains of  $6.75 M this year, $9 M in 2011 and a $10.25 M club option in 2012 with a $1 M buyout). Best Month: May .374/.441/.670 with 7 HR. Picture from the New York Daily News

Read more>>

George Steinbrenner Passed Away Today at 80

The news has come down from the New York Daily News that George M. Steinbrenner III has passed away at 80 years old after suffering a massive heart attack. The Boss recently celebrated his 80th birthday on July 4th and despite word of failing health, he seemed to always fight through. But the warrior's battle came to an end this morning. What this means for the Yankees, baseball, or sports in general is tough to put into words. After the death of Bob Sheppard and now Steinbrenner, this has been a really tough week for the Yankees. Let's hope Yankees deaths don't come in threes.

I'll leave the post open for comments. Please feel free to share your thoughts on The Boss. I'll go first and say that as a Yankee fan, I loved him. No owner cared more about winning and was willing to put all of his money behind it. The Big Stein could have pocketed so much of the money but he chose to reinvest more of it on the team than any owner in the history of sports. He put winners on the field and for that I am extremely grateful. Without him, the Yankees would also probably never have gotten a new ballpark.

Share your feelings below on the man who hopefully will be Cooperstown bound at some point.

Update 2:45 PM: I figured I'd update this post with thoughts by writers and other people as well:

Read more>>

Trivia Tuesday: Home Run Futility

A day after the Home Run Derby, I figured it was a good time to look at those that haven't quite left the park.

Since 2000, only 5 guys have finished an entire season with no homeruns while qualifying for the batting title. One of those guys, Juan Pierre in 2007, also has none in a league-leading 384 plate appearances in 2010. There are 6 other players who qualify for the batting title but are yet to knock one out of the park. Can you name them?

Bonus Question: Besides Juan Pierre, there is one other player who has zero home runs this year as well as in another full season they qualified for the batting title. Who is this person?

Put your answers in the comments below and I'll reveal the correct answers later on

Picture from LAist

A Quick Story About The Late, Great Bob Sheppard

Like many Yankees fans, I was saddened to hear that Bob Sheppard had passed away this weekend. I never met the man and knew little of him outside of the stories that I've heard from baseball writers and people in baseball. But I will always remember his voice and no matter how many times my friends and I tried to imitate him, none of us could come close. I will also remember one story in particular involving Sheppard.

It was about 10 years ago when my distant Israeli cousin, Yitzhak (who was in his mid-50's), came to stay with my family and I for a few weeks during the summer. One of the things we decided to do with him is take him to a Yankee game. Although he had no interest in baseball, I convinced him that it would be a fun experience (or at least convinced him that if he was going to be in New York, it was one of the more memorable places to visit).

My family  headed down to the Old Stadium with Yizthak and we took our seats just before game time in the Tier Box. As I was trying to explain the rules of the game to Yitzhak (which was pretty much a failure with a cultural and language gap separating us), suddenly Bob Sheppard's voice came on and said "Good evening, ladies and Gentlemen... and welcome to Yankee Stadium"

My cousins eyes turned wide at the voice, he looked around at the speakers and then he looked at me and he said "WOW!" I smiled back at him and all I could say was "yup!" My cousin wasn't excited by much at the game that night, but that voice got to him like it did to so many others.

Most of the time I would take Sheppard's PA announcing for granted, but that was one night I listened extra carefully to it. I'm happy Sheppard's voice will always live on in Yankee Stadium and will follow Derek Jeter whenever he comes to bat as a home player (though I'm sad that Sheppard never got to work the last game of the Old Stadium or any game of the New Stadium). Yitzhak didn't care much about the game that night but he couldn't get over Sheppard's voice (nor the fact that they played Hava Nagila on the organ) for the rest of the trip. I will certainly remember that voice as well.

Read more>>

Doc Halladay at Citizens Bank Park

Yesterday I got to spend a lovely afternoon at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park (thanks to $4 Stubhub tickets). I got there early for batting practice and watched Roy Halladay (pictured) and fellow Brandeis alum, Nelson Figueroa spend quite a bit of time signing autographs for all the kids lined up against the outfield wall.

Although it was a 1-0 snoozefest in The City of Brotherly Love, the awesome Citizens Bank Park made it a lovely afternoon. I'm still convinced that the Philly Phanatic is the best mascot in sports--though I'm still trying to figure out their hot dog giveaway where he launches hot dogs into the stands from the same gun that shoots out T-shirts in many other ballparks. It was a fun afternoon of baseball, though.

-Andrew

Putting Together An All Star Lineup

Putting together a lineup is one of skills that a manager must demonstrate throughout the course of a season. He must balance all of his hitters while ensuring that the players hitting both in front of a player and behind a player each serve a role in doing so. The task is traditionally made easier by the fact that most teams have at least a few weaker hitters who will naturally hit towards the bottom of the lineup. So how does a manager put together a lineup for an all star game in which there are no "token" hitters for any spot in the lineup? With that said, I will attempt to put together the starting lineups for tomorrow night's All Star Game, taking into account both skill and managerial preference/loyalty. (Note - I'm trying to keep up to date on all of the injury updates).

NL:
SS Ramirez - No longer Florida's leadoff hitter but on a team of All Stars he best serves this role.
3B Wright - High OBP and SB potential make him ideal for this spot
1B Pujols - No explanation needed.
DH Votto - He won the final vote, but should have made the team on account of his peers.
RF Holliday - Should be Charlie Manuel's pick to fill in for Jason Heyward.
CF Ethier -
LF Braun - Not a great year for Braun but certainly still productive.
2B Prado - No Chase Utley, but a surprise performer this year.
C Molina - By far the weakest hitter. The Molina brothers' father apparently only gave hitting lessons to Bengie and I have a feeling those lessons were not as thorough as they could have been.

AL:
CF Ichiro - As if there was anyone else who would hit lead off. I could be wrong but he has probably lead off every single All Star Game that he has started (which means every All Star Game dating back to 2001).
SS Jeter - Not statistically deserving of this spot this year but he's the Yankee captain, a former All Star Game MVP, and his manager is writing out the lineup.
RF Hamilton - He's back to his 2008 form, as he is among league leaders in average, homers, and rbis. A strong second half could push him into triple crown contention.
DH Guerrero - In a left-handed heavy lineup he breaks up the left-handed hitters.
1B Cabrera - He's filling in for the injured Justin Morneau but could easily have been voted in as the starter. Phenomenal hitter and rbi machine.
2B Cano - Breaks up the string of righty hitters.
3B Longoria -Really wouldn't hit him any lower.
C Mauer - Crazy, I know, but he's not hitting for power this year.
LF Crawford - Should probably be hitting second but as I said, with Jeter on the team and Girardi managing, not a chance Jeter is hitting down in the lineup.

So that's my lineup. What's yours?

View from the Seats: Mets vs. Braves 7/10/10

It has emptied out a little bit here at Citi Field, what with the
Braves holding a 4-0 lead over the Mets in the 9th inning. Tim Hudson
was spectacular, giving up just 4 hits and 0 runs in 7 innings. Mike
Pelfrey was unspectacular, getting rocked for 12 hits, 3 walks, and 4
earned runs in just 4 innings. Tough (soon to be) loss for the Mets,
as they will fall 5 GB of Atlanta in the NL East.

(HT to Broadway Ben Wolinsky for the ticket connection)

Cliff Lee traded to the Yankees? Deal is "almost done"

ESPN New York, citing one of its ubiquitous "unnamed sources," has announced that a trade sending Cliff Lee to the Yankees is "just about done."  The Mariners look to acquire the Yankees' best catching prospect, 20-year-old Jesus Montero, whom the Yankees consider an excellent hitter but a subpar defensive catcher.  Montero, of course, could always bring his big bat to first base or third base on the Mariners, options that don't exist on a Yankees team that features Mark Teixeira at 1B and Alex Rodriguez at 3B.

The Yankees could absorb this loss with catching prospect Austin Romine, who they believe could become a .275 hitter with 20 HR power.  (Sound familiar?)

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this.  For the most part, I feel that the Yankees should not pull the trigger on this for two reasons.  First, they'll almost certainly have to give up Montero, who will almost certainly be a very successful major league hitter at whatever position he plays.  Ouch.  Why give up such a blue chip prospect when the Yankees are clearly the front runner to sign Lee when he becomes a free agent this offseason?  This is exactly why the Yankees resisted trading for Johan Santana and CC Sabathia at the trading deadline in previous seasons.

Second, the Yankees already have a deep starting pitching rotation.  I mean, they are sending three of their starters to the All-Star Game!  So common sense tells you that this team can win without adding Lee.  (Photo Credit: AP)

But after the jump, I'll tell you why 40% of my gut is telling me that the Yankees should trade for Lee.

Read more>>

How to Become a Hated Athlete: From LeBron to A-Rod

Before "The Announcement" comes tonight, the animosity towards LeBron James is thicker than the humid air in Greenwich, Connecticut where "The King" will make "The Announcement". So why has LeBron entered this level of hatred unseen by many in sports? Well let's look at the levels of sports hatred and see how LeBron (of the recently launched blog--with the picture on the right--and Twitter account) has become the A-Rod of basketball, because for as much hatred as LeBron has had come his way, no professional athlete has seemed to endure as much hatred as Alex Rodriguez.

The Carl Pavanos: No Yankee player has drawn as much animosity between fans, the media and the team in the past few decades as "The American Idle", Carl Pavano. Huge contract, huge expectations, and no production. Not bad production. No production. An unwillingness to pitch hurt and to put himself out there for the Yankees has made Pavano a hated man in New York. The worst part? He's left the Yankees and found a way to stay healthy and pitch well in the American League for the Minnesota Twins, even facing the Yankees in the playoffs last season. Players like David Beckham, JaMarcus Russell, Bryant "Big Country" Reeves, Darren Dreifort, and Manny Ramirez at the end of his Boston days, fit into this category, but for all of LeBron and A-Rod's faults, they don't fit here.

The Barry Bondses: America hates cheaters who either get caught or at least get accused of being cheaters. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire fit the bill in baseball but there are a handful of athletes in other sports especially cycling and the Olympics who fit this bill as well. I wrote before that we all hate Carl Pavano for not trying, but if he would have cheated, had success and been caught later, would he have been more or less hated? I think less, sadly. I'm not apologizing for Pavano, but I think that sometimes cheaters get a second look depending on how many other times they show up on the "hate scale". A-Rod qualifies for this after his steroids revelation, but LeBron--so far--has been clean.

The Art Modells: Teams switch cities all the time but few names have as much animosity associated with them as Art Modell who moved the Browns out of Cleveland and to Baltimore. When they won a Super Bowl in Baltimore, he was hated even more. This also applies to players who leave a team bare to chase the money and surrounds A-Rod when he visits Cleveland. This would also apply to Robert Irsay (who moved the Colts from Baltimore to Indianapolis) and could apply to LeBron James as well if he leaves Cleveland.

Read more>>

Robinson Cano's troubling decision to participate in the 2010 Home Run Derby

MLB recently announced that the Yankees' All-Star second baseman, Robinson Cano, will be participating in the 2010 Home Run Derby.  He will be joined by Miguel Cabrera (20 HRs), Corey Hart (19 HRs), Vernon Wells (19 HRs), David Ortiz (17 HRs), and Matt Holliday (11 HRs).  In case you're wondering, Cano is currently 10th in the AL with 16 homers.

I am concerned about Cano's decision to participate, and I'm not the only one who feels this way.  Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News agrees with me, and so does Yankees' hitting coach Kevin Long.

Honestly, who could blame them?  Baseball history is rife with players whose power numbers dropped off dramatically after trying their best to purposely crush homer after homer in this exhibition contest.  Two of the best known examples of this phenomenon are players we know quite well.  Bobby Abreu launched a record-setting 41 home runs in 2005.  Before the Derby he had hit 18 HRs.  Afterwards, he hit only 6 homers the rest of the way.  In 2006, David Wright hit 20 homers before launching 22 in the Derby.  Then, like Abreu, he hit only 6 more in the second half.  (Photo Credit: NY Daily News)

Sure, there are players who kept their swing intact after the Derby.  Ryan Howard won the 2006 Derby with 23 dingers, but still managed to revert back to his old plate approach once the regular season resumed.  In fact, Howard hit more homers in the second half (30) than he did in the first half (28).  But there is a real risk that Cano might not be so fortunate.  His own teammate, A-Rod, participated in 3 Derbys (1998, 2001, 2002) and says he has declined invitations since then, believing that his participation took a toll.  "The effect in the second half might be more mechanics and potentially developing bad habits," A-Rod stated.

I just don't see what Cano has to win.  A trophy and some national attention?  Come on.  The guy is already an All-Star, he's 4th in the AL with a .337 BA, 5th in the AL with a .948 OPS, and 2nd in the AL with 110 hits.  People know he's a stud having a career year.  So clearly, he has a lot to lose.  His average has already dropped from .371 to .342 in his last 15 games.  Does he really want to take the (real, tangible) risk of declining further?

My All-Star Team: The Best of the Rest

We tried to fill out the rosters for the All-Star Game. I picked the hitters from the American League, the hitters from the National League, and the American League pitchers, and the National League pitchers, but still we had 5 teams without a representative. And since Major League Baseball has a silly rule that every team has to have a representative, we'll comply as well by listing the best of the rest from the 5 teams without a clear All-Star:

Baltimore Orioles: Ty Wigginton got an honorable mention at 2nd base for us and in a year of infield injuries (especially with Dustin Pedroia down), he may be a good a pick as any from the struggling Os. His .262/.347/.473 line with a .356 wOBA doesn't scream out "All Star", but 14 HR and 42 RBIs may put him over the hump. This is not a good team and it shows that a guy with a WAR of 0.7 is their best candidate for the All-Star Game. ESPN also goes with Wigginton. Counting Stats: .262 avg, 30 runs, 14 HR, 42 RBI. Photo from SNY

Honorable Mentions: Luke Scott (.274/.348/.520, .376 wOBA, 12 HR, 30 RBI) could certainly slot in as an OF/DH type on the team as well, though there are plenty of good candidates for the role and Scott just hit the DL. Brian Matusz is about as close as the Os come to having a pitching candidate but although it's a good start for the rookie, 2-9 with a 4.90 ERA isn't enough to play in the Mid-Summer Classic. Nick Markakis leads the team with a WAR of 1.7 and his slash line looks great at .303/.399/.425, but with only 3 HR and 24 RBI, he's going to have a hard time beating out a lot of good candidates in the OF.

Cleveland Indians: With Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez and CC Sabathia traded away and Grady Sizemore hurt, the Tribe is without most of their most reliable all- candidates but that doesn't mean that Shin-Soo Choo doesn't deserve to play in the All-Star Game. Choo's .289/.391/.480 line, 13 HR, 12 SB, and good defense add up to a 3.1 WAR so far which is certainly All-Star material (the only OFs in baseball with a higher WAR are Carl Crawford, Josh Hamilton, Matt Holliday, and Alex Rios). ESPN and The Cleveland Plain Dealer agree with my Choo suggestion. Counting Stats: .281 avg, 47 runs, 13 HR, 43 RBI, 12 SB. Picture from The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Read more>>