"Slow News Day": the Batting Stance Guy riffs on MLB reporters and broadcasters

With many thanks to this tip from The Big Lead, we bring you "Slow News Day," which is a brilliant and hilarious riff by the "Batting Stance Guy" on various MLB broadcasters and reporters:



My favorite is definitely Tim Kurkjian, but I also really enjoyed his impressions of Buster Olney, Ken Rosenthal, Craig Sager, and Pedro Gomez.  Peter Gammons and Jon Heyman are okay too, but not his best efforts.  And I'm not sure Rex Hudler belongs in this group, although that sentiment might be due to my geographical bias and to be fair, he is ripe for mocking.

In general, though, the most impressive aspect of this clip is his ability to pick up on the little things (Olney's constant references to two dozen media sources, the camera view on Rosenthal, Sager's habit of looking at everything but the interviewee and the audience, etc.) that will make every baseball fan nod their head and laugh.  Good stuff.

Derek Jeter Showed His Captain Skills Early On

As the Tampa Bay Rays were struggling to win games this past week, sparks flew in their dugout following a lollygagging-esque play from B.J. Upton. 24-year-old Evan Longoria wasn't happy about Upton's hustle and confronted him in the dugout. Tempers flared and the two teammates had to be separated. One comment I heard was that this type of confrontation (and that of Derrek Lee and Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs) was very un-Yankee-like. But ESPN's Buster Olney shared a story in his blog today that proved that wasn't exactly the truth:

The [Upton-Longoria] incident brought to mind another confrontation between a rising star who, like Longoria, was 24 years old. Late in the 1998 season, the Yankees were playing at Baltimore, with New York having already wrapped up the division title, Joe Torre had taken to resting his regulars in the late innings, in preparation for the playoffs. David Wells was pitching against the Orioles, and in the sixth inning, Torre replaced left fielder Tim Raines and center fielder Bernie Williams with Ricky Ledee and Chad Curtis, respectively.

A pop-up was hit into short left-center field, and when the ball fell between shortstop Derek Jeter, Ledee and Curtis, Wells -- who had moved to back up bases, held his arms far out to his sides, his body language screaming, "Are we really trying?"

That was a team with many veteran players, from David Cone to Paul O'Neill to Joe Girardi to Tino Martinez, but it was Jeter who got in Wells' face about the gesture. And what he said, in so many words, was, "We don't do that kind of thing on this team." Wells was contrite, and apologized to the others involved.

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Which team will have the best record in MLB in 2010?

Pitchers & catchers are past us, spring training is almost upon us, and the season is just around the corner! While Andrew will surely post a new poll (or three) when he gets back...not to mention a series of previews and predictions for the upcoming season...I figured I would get the ball rolling with this interesting tidbit from Buster Olney.

Best record in baseball...

From Simon: With spring training opening this week, who's going to have the best record in baseball this season? Well, these are the most seasons with the best record in baseball since the two-league format began in 1901:

Yankees: 30
Athletics: 9
Cardinals: 7
Reds: 6
Cubs: 6
Giants: 6
Braves: 6
Indians: 6

If you're a believer that the Red Sox or Phillies are legit challengers to beat out the Yankees for the best record, consider this: The Red Sox have had or shared the best record in baseball only five times. The Phillies have NEVER had the best record in baseball.

There are so many variables that go into my forthcoming conclusion -- the least of which is how very good (yet still flawed) the Red Sox and Phillies are -- but I will be the first Yankees fan on NYaT to ride the wave of confidence and enthusiasm that our team earned by winning the World Series last year. The Yanks are going to repeat with the best record in baseball, and if their rotation proves just a little deeper this year than last, I think a second straight title could be in the cards.

Hopefully the Pies Combat Karma

Buster Olney has a very interesting stat on his blog about "walk-off karma" from Mark Simon of ESPN Stats & Information:

It took until Game 3 of the ALCS, but there's finally a stat that some might call a bad omen for the Yankees. In the past eight postseason series during which the Yankees suffered a walk-off loss, they lost the series.

A quick review:

2007 ALDS: Travis Hafner's walk-off hit in Game 2 (the game when the midges attacked Joba Chamberlain) gave the Indians a 2-0 lead in a series they went on to win 3-1.

2004 ALCS: David Ortiz beat the Yankees with a walk-off home run in Game 4 and a walk-off single in Game 5 as the Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to beat the Yankees in seven games.

2003 World Series: Marlins shortstop Alex Gonzalez evened the series at 2 with a walk-off home run off Jeff Weaver in the 12th inning, a series the Marlins later won in six games.

2001 World Series: A season-ender: Luis Gonzalez beat Mariano Rivera with a bases-loaded hit in Game 7, as the Diamondbacks rallied in the ninth to win both the game and the World Series.

1997 ALDS: In Game 4, Sandy Alomar Jr. hit a tying home run against Rivera, and Omar Vizquel got a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth as the Indians tied their series with the Yankees at 2. They later beat Andy Pettitte to clinch the series in Game 5.

1995 ALDS: Another season-ender: Edgar Martinez's two-run double in the 11th inning of Game 5 gave the Mariners a 6-5 win and series win. Martinez is one of three players to hit a walk-off double against the Yankees. Jeff Mathis and Cookie Lavagetto are the other two.

1976 World Series: "Baseball Tonight" analyst Eduardo Perez's father, Tony, beat Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter with a walk-off hit in Game 2 on the way to a sweep for the Big Red Machine, the last NL team to win consecutive World Series titles.

1960 World Series: A history maker: Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski found his way into baseball immortality with a walk-off home run in Game 7 of the World Series. It was the first series-ending home run in postseason history.

The last time the Yankees won a postseason series in which they lost a game via walk-off was the 1958 World Series, when they beat the Milwaukee Braves in seven games despite losing Game 1 via walk-off.

Wow, that was a painful list! Let's hope the Yankees strike gold every 51 years and the pies are anti-karma.

You Heard It Here First: Mets Will Play Until The Last Day Of The Season

I've been saying it to my friends and now I need to say it in public so I can be on record: despite how bad the Mets are playing, they will start mounting a comeback this season, springboarding a huge showing against the Rockies this week and push towards a playoff berth. They will play on the last day of the season with a chance to make the playoffs.

And they will lose again.

How is that for torture for Mets fans?

Some more fun links for Metropolitan fans:

• Deadspin looks into that unbelievably bizarre press conference. Amazin' Avenue has the transcript of the press conference. ShysterBall is amazed that Mets can even make the firing of Bernazard a crazy affair.
  
• Adam Rubin responds!
• Buster Olney says that Omar Minaya has shifted the glare to himself now and his own clock is ticking. Rob Neyer notes that Minaya is losing control.
• Deadspin on a sort-of-maybe apology from Minaya
• The New York Times looks at Bernazard's career before this debacle
• Deadspin takes a few more rips at the Mets (picture courtesy of Deadspin, too)
  

And, lastly, I don't know if SNY showing the whole press conference, the interviews afterwards, talking about it on the network and running clips of the meltdown on their website is one of two things: transparency from a team not trying to hide from its mistakes or complete and utter disdain for the fanbase which it seems to want to torture at every turn. It absolutely amazes me that a team that once employed drugged out Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, (allegedly) women-crazy David Cone, firecracker-wielding Vince Coleman, poker-playing Rickey Henderson, reporter-threatening Bobby Bonilla, bleach-spraying Bret Saberhagen, sexually-harassing Steve Phillips and Mo Vaughn could only now be deemed a total mess.

Either way, it keeps A-Rod off the backpages so as a Yankees fan, I can't complain

Hal Steinbrenner, Phil Hughes, Jack-O and Other Yankees Links

• Peter Abraham on Hal Steinbrenner: "The Yankees once had the most outspoken owner in sports. Now they have one of the quietest. Widely respected within the organization, Steinbrenner emerged as his family’s leader and the caretaker of an empire."
• Joel Sherman on Hal Steinbrenner: "Obviously, winning is the strongest inducement for fans. But part of that four million going through the turnstiles annually was about George Steinbrenner's penchant for making his organization must watch."
• Rob Neyer and Marc Craig both agree that Phil Hughes has been brilliant as a reliever but should ultimately be a starter. And Neyer says something I've been harping: "With all due respect to all the fine and wondrous relievers out there in Baseball Land, isn't Hughes yet another nail in their coffin, value-wise? Good relief pitchers are merely failed starters"
• According to Buster Olney the Yankees have the fourth hardest road to the playoffs in the American League. The good part? The Red Sox have a harder schedule. The bad part? The Rays have an easier schedule. The hardest part: "The Yankees actually have two West Coast trips remaining, including one more visit to their own private hell in Anaheim."
• Chop-n-Change has an interview with Jack-O of Bill Simmon's B.S. Report fame. Heeeerrrrre's Johnny! "The attention I've received from appearing on the BS Report has been kind of surreal, but very, very fun. As Bill and I have commented to each other, the conversations that we have are ones that we would have anyway (although there would probably be more swearing and political incorrectness) so it's funny that people seem to enjoy listening in."
• Erik Boland of Newsday says that despite injuries and inconsistencies, the Yankees are actually in good shape. "For a team that has suffered significant injuries to the lineup (Alex Rodriguez), the rotation (Chien-Ming Wang) and the bullpen (Brian Bruney) and a horrendous early-season slump of one of its three prize free agents (Mark Teixeira), the Yankees enter the second half with the second-best record (51-37) in the American League and lead the wild-card race. Really, that's the bottom line."
• Jon Heyman doesn't think that the Yankees are going to get Roy Halladay because the Blue Jays won't trade within the division. Even if they did, Heyman doesn't think the Yankees want to clear out their farm system of the best prospects: " and/or The Yankees are reluctant to "gut their system,'' according to one rival executive. The Yankees could easily form a nice trade package by including one of two young talented right-handers -- Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes -- plus catching prospect Jesus Montero and outfield prospect Austin Jackson."

Some Thoughts Before The Final Subway Series Game Tonight

Again, why is Robinson Cano batting 5th?

• 0 for his last 9 ABs in RISP. Last hit with RISP was June 16th against the Nationals.
  
• Men on: .263/.299/.431
  
• With RISP: .222/.258/.356
• Runner on 3rd, less than 2 outs: .200/.222/.333
  
• Runner on 3rd, 2 outs: .200/.231/.200
  

Chien-Ming Wang against the Mets (sorted by OPS):

                   PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Ryan Church         4   3   1  0  0  1   2   1   0  .333  .500 1.333   1.833     0   0   1   0   0
Alex Cora          18  18   5  0  0  1   4   0   0  .278  .278  .444    .722     0   0   0   0   0
David Wright        8   8   2  1  0  0   0   0   1  .250  .250  .375    .625     0   0   0   0   1
Jeremy Reed         7   6   1  1  0  0   1   1   1  .167  .286  .333    .619     0   0   0   0   0
Luis Castillo       6   5   1  0  0  0   0   1   0  .200  .333  .200    .533     0   0   0   0   0
Gary Sheffield      3   2   0  0  0  0   0   1   0  .000  .333  .000    .333     0   0   0   0   0
Brian Schneider     4   4   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Total              50  46  10  2  0  2   7   4   3  .217  .280  .391    .671     0   0   1   0   1

Livan Hernandez against the Yankees (sorted by OPS):

                   PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Mark Teixeira       6   6   3  0  0  2   3   0   1  .500  .500 1.500   2.000     0   0   0   0   0
Alex Rodriguez     22  19  11  5  0  3  10   3   3  .579  .636 1.316   1.952     0   0   0   0   0
Hideki Matsui       8   7   3  0  0  1   3   1   0  .429  .500  .857   1.357     0   0   0   0   0
Robinson Cano       9   9   4  0  0  1   1   0   0  .444  .444  .778   1.222     0   0   0   0   0
Jorge Posada       16  12   4  1  0  1   2   4   4  .333  .500  .667   1.167     0   0   0   0   0
Derek Jeter        21  19   8  3  0  1   2   1   0  .421  .429  .737   1.166     0   1   0   0   0
Brett Tomko         5   4   2  0  0  0   0   0   2  .500  .500  .500   1.000     1   0   0   0   0
Brett Gardner       2   2   1  0  0  0   0   0   0  .500  .500  .500   1.000     0   0   0   0   0
Melky Cabrera       5   5   2  0  0  0   1   0   0  .400  .400  .400    .800     0   0   0   0   0
Nick Swisher       14  14   5  1  0  0   0   0   3  .357  .357  .429    .786     0   0   0   0   0
Johnny Damon       15  13   2  0  0  0   1   2   3  .154  .267  .154    .421     0   0   0   0   1
Cody Ransom         1   1   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Total             124 111  45 10  0  9  23  11  16  .405  .455  .739   1.194     1   1   0   0   1

The Yankees have had much more success against Hernandez, but how Chien-Ming Wang has pitched so far this season, that's not much of a predictor of future success. ESPN Insider says that Wang continues to get less ground balls per start, which is usually bad news but may be OK in this cavernous ballpark, Citi Field.

Yankees lineup with have Derek Jeter back in it according to the New York Daily News' Mark Feinsand via Twitter: @bloggingbombers: June 28 vs Mets: Jeter SS, Swisher RF, Teixeira 1B, A-Rod 3B, Cano 2B, Posada C, Cabrera LF, Gardner CF, Wang RHP. With Damon having struggled in the past against Hernandez and coming back from injury, this makes sense.

Meanwhile, Buster Olney on why A.J. Burnett dominated yesterday:

Why Yankees starter A.J. Burnett won, from ESPN Stats & Information:

• Dominant curveball: 48 percent chase percentage, 63 percent miss percentage, 19 percent in-play percentage

• Finished the job: 21 of 26 pitches with two strikes in the count were strikes, and he earned a season-high 10 strikeouts

• No-fly zone: Season-low five fly ball outs in seven innings of work

Yankees go for the sweep and I head out to Flushing tonight to see if they can accomplish it. More updates later.

President's Day Links

A mother of all links post on a day where no President's were born, but we celebrate them anyways...with a day off

-Well I've ready a Michael Lewis book about football and baseball...and now it seems like he's getting ready to write one about basketball as well.

-I still think that the Yankees should use their "Type A advantage" (having signed three Type A's already, all they would have to give up to sign a Type A would be a fourth round draft pick) and do a sign-and-trade with another team. This article seems to think that a sign-and-trade directly with the team who owns the Type A rights directly would be the best course of action, but those people would want to be compensated close to a 1st round pick while the Yankees would be looking to be compensated close to a 4th round pick...just throwing that out there.

-Before I had said that John Smoltz was a lock for the Hall of Fame. I still believe that. Jack Curry of the New York Times agrees with me. Smoltz may actually get hurt by Maddux and Glavine getting in. But he should be a no-doubt first-ballot Hall of Famer.

-I don't know why they're doing this while he's still alive (it looks way too much like a dead man's tribute), but this is a really cool look back at the life of Senator Edward Kennedy. Definitely worth looking through some of the awesome pictures and videos from the Kennedy boys' youth throughout the article. Looks like quite a book.

-Also, they have the front page from the day Kathleen Kennedy was killed in a plane crash. It's also the day Israel declared it's independence. Pretty crazy.

-Speaking of Jews, in the end, Joe Lieberman stepped up for the Dems. It almost seems like a movie where the guy does something wrong, but in the end, comes back and redeems himself.

-Speaking some more about Jews, we have some all-stars going to our Hall of Fame it seems...and some athletes who are still discriminated against

-So that's how baseball players get in shape! (H/T Rob Neyer)

-A list of the worst contracts in the American League and National League. Amazingly the Yankees don't make one of those lists for once. I guess Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano, Kyle Farnsworth and the like coming off the books would do that...

-A look at the New York Football Giants' Free Agents. No potential big losses besides Derrick Ward now that they've slapped the franchise tag on Brandon Jacobs...and they seem quite content to go with Ahmad Bradshaw as the #2 and Danny Ware as the #3. Sad that Amani Toomer's tenure has to end like this...Another bit in that article linked to this Daily News piece which says (buried within the article): "Amani Toomer is right: The Giants don't want him. His recent whining only solidified the organization's stance. Truth is, the Giants grew tired of him a couple of years ago, when they started questioning his dedication and attitude, according to a person familiar with the team's thinking."

-Freakonomics pointed me to this interesting article about not subsidizing shareholders for insolvent banks. He does make a lot of interesting and thought-provoking points. The article ends with this: "The present practice of subsidizing shareholders and debt holders of large insolvent bank holding companies is unprecedented, improper, and unwise. It is time to take strong capitalist action — and that requires wiping out the existing owners of the insolvent banks and giving the system much needed new equity capital, which, at this time, can come only from the government."

-Deadspin is pretty funny sometimes.

-So is this link about Pokey (H/T Jay)

-So maybe Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind will actually come true...scary. I'll start with 8th grade, thank you.

-I have a turtle quite like this. We call her Pam. I would recommend that Tyler Kepner and Pete Abraham wash their hands because they are quite full of salmonella.

-Let her fight!

-I don't even want to talk about the Rangers. When you allow a 3 on 5 shorthanded goal, you don't deserve to win a Stanley Cup.

-Peter Gammons on A-Ro[i]d

-I don't think I've seen a story that can get any more ridiculous than this one in England. When do we find out it's all made up?

-Good thing the Yankees didn't make this trade

-One guy I'm counting on for the Yanks 'pen this year: Mark Melancon (H/T Pete Abraham)

-CC looks [relatively] thin

-Wow...way to ruin your public image, Jim Leyritz

-From journalist to strip club owner.

-In Buster Olney's latest blog entry, he brings up an interesting part of the Torre book that I've heard from a few other people is one of his more objectionable parts:

• Carl Pavano doesn't want to address Joe Torre's book, but many others in the game are appalled by the manager's seeming willingness to cast blame or disparagement in the pages while taking very little responsibility for what went wrong when the Yankees lost.

In the book, Mariano Rivera is blamed, in part, for the postseason defeats in 2001 and 2004. But there is nothing about Torre's handling of the Yankees' bullpen from 2001 to 2007, which consistently resulted in late-season burnout for a parade of set-up men: Steve Karsay, Paul Quantrill, Tom Gordon, Tanyon Sturtze, Ron Villone, Scott Proctor, etc.

Part of the reason Rivera pitched less than his best at the end of the 2004 season was that Quantrill and Gordon were flat-out gassed by mid-September, and Rivera was asked to shoulder a heavier burden than usual. For Torre to write a book about his tenure as Yankee manager and not address the bullpen problems after the departure of Jeff Nelson would be like if George Bush were to write a book about his presidency and not mention the economy.

And remember Torre's version of Dave Roberts' pivotal steal in the 2004 playoffs against Rivera, how he thought Rivera aided Roberts' stolen-base attempt by throwing to first base repeatedly before making his first pitch? Well, in response to this, numerous coaches and executives have asked this question: If Torre was sure Roberts would steal, why didn't he call for a pitch-out?

-Bipartisanship isn't so easy. Wall Street gets some new bonus limits

-The Japanese Madoff and his "Yen From Heaven"

-I liked when Shaq and Kobe were fighting. It's just not fun anymore. This from Shaqtus' (how did you get all those Q's?) Twitter: THE_REAL_SHAQ Kobe is the best, he told me to take the trophy hm for my sons, class act, thanks bro. Though I do love this commercial:

-Lastly, this is amazing:

Baseball Links Galore

-I'll just let Deadpsin explain the fact that Sunday Night Baseball will now have Steve Phillips added to the crew: "Steve Phillips added to Sunday Night Baseball broadcasting team of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. So it turns out America does support torture."

-I joined ESPN Insider mostly for Buster Olney's blog which is great every day, but inside his dissecting the ridiculousness that this claim by McGwire's brother has brought on, he has this very insightful statement:

"Anybody still think it was a good idea for the Mariners to hang on to Jarrod Washburn and his $10.35 million contract last summer, rather than dumping him on the Yankees? If you were to draw up a list of the 10 worst decisions of 2008, that would be very high in the running. "

I'm so, so glad the Yankees didn't end up completing that deal...

-Rob Neyer and the Houston Chronicle put big words into plain English for us slow folk

-A list of the best OF arms. As a Yankee fan, I'm very glad to see the X-man (Nady) ranked as one of the better right fielders...and amazed to see Alfonso Soriano on there. Remember when he didn't want to move from second?

Can we please not trade Xavier Nady. I don't think I've been more excited by a batter's introduction song as I am when Nady steps up there to "X Gonna Give It To Ya"

-This man is still a complete idiot (and I promise I'll explain why in a future post)

-And, lastly, the biggest hitter the Mets have signed this offseason (after a season in which they couldn't hit down the stretch in clutch situations--again) hit .132 last season and got released by the Washington Nationals. I'm having a sale on guns. Mets fans, just shoot yourself now and save the pain of going through a whole season--again. (I'll also write about the Mets at a future date...since they seem incapable of changing their team, it shouldn't be too bad to wait).

One Saturday Morning

Links galore..

-Well this is one way to get rid of the problem of geese flying into planes...

-I, for one, am glad that the World Cup of Hockey is coming back

-GREAT question posed by Buster Olney: Could Still-President Bush offer Roger Clemens a pardon?

-The Freakin' Pope (at least according to Family Guy) is going to have his own Google channel...with video, according to Business Week

-Not sure if I linked here before, but if not, this New York Times article on risk management and the financial crisis is a bit robust, but very, very good

-THANK GOD: The Lingerie Bowl is baaacccckkkkk. The Joba Chamberlain impersonator wants leniency (H/T on both goes to Deadspin).

-Yankees and Mets rumors

-Forgot to mention this yesterday. Due to questionable officiating, the Blackhawks had FIVE 5 on 3s against the Rangers. FIVE!

-Is Eli Manning worth $120 million?

-I understand Barack's pain, it's hard to give up your blackberry...

-The NFL states the obvious....fails to make me feel any better.