6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

Truer Words Were Never Spoken

"We've always been lucky but this is the luckiest we've ever been -- to be involved with this thing at this time,' Bobby Farrelly told the Track.

"Actually, our only discernable talent is luck."

Arrive In The Third... also has something on this.

Tradition Has Ben Franklin's Face On It

I really couldn't care less about the names on the back of the jerseys -- but stop making the "tradition argument." You can't say you need to modernize the ballpark experience by cutting back the organ and modernize the broadcast experience by dumping Ross Porter, then turn around and expect us to buy that you are so enamored with tradition you wanted the names off the jerseys.

Playing GM, Minus The Borasian Headaches

More On Sosa's Outburst

• He's all about his home run counts. Er, maybe.
• The Cubs should have run him out after 1998. That probably bears more scrutiny, but it's not indefensible in that the Cubs have a bucket of dough ($16M in 2004, $17M in 2005) tied up in him; for that kind of money, you could get a decent hitting shortstop and plug several holes in the bullpen.
• The Cubs now almost have to trade him. I don't buy that, but it's much more probable than it was even as of Friday.
• "He didn't mention being part of a winning team." To me, this is the real damning thing: he's lost interest in winning, which is strange considering a few years ago he was floating a trial balloon about being traded if the Cubs didn't get serious about winning. The Barry Bonds of the NL Central, eh Sammy?

// posted by Rob @ 9:46 PM link  //  0 comments

OT: Sparks

A's Fans Can Dream, Can't They?

Who Was That Masked Man?

"Plus, when a guy's ready for the Major Leagues, you give him the opportunity," Stoneman said of McPherson, who hit 40 homers in the minors in 2004, then hit .225 with three homers in 40 at-bats and struck out 17 times after he was called up late in the season. On Tuesday, McPherson was named the winner of the 45th annual J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps/Minor League Player of the Year.

"That's what's held the Angels in good stead," Stoneman added. "Six years ago, somebody made room for Troy Glaus. Same with Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon and Troy Percival. The healthy way to handle it is that you give good players room to play when they're ready for the Major Leagues."

// posted by Rob @ 10:58 PM link  //  0 comments

Sosa's injury-plagued 2004 contributed heavily to the team's ultimate failure to capture a postseason berth, hitting .253/.332/.517 with 35 HR on the year, but .230/.292/.414 and 5 HR in September. The Mets are reportedly interested, but thanks to an onerous contract extension, are unlikely to consummate a deal.

Update: Raul's bud Enrique Rojas at the AP summarized an interview Sammy did with the Dominican newspaper Hoy. Get this:

Sammy Sosa was humiliated by being dropped to sixth in the Chicago Cubs lineup, and claims he was mistreated by the club.

When he struggled down the stretch of the season, Cubs manager Dusty Baker lowered the slugger in the batting order -- much to Sosa's dismay.

"I'm not a sixth batter," Sosa told Hoy newspaper in Santo Domingo on Saturday upon returning to his native Dominican Republic. "I'm a cleanup hitter or third because I've earned that right with almost 600 career home runs."

(The original Hoy story is here, in untranslated Spanish, or for the wonder of Babelfish, check this.)

// posted by Rob @ 2:48 PM link  //  3 comments

The Angels plan to cut ties with third baseman Troy Glaus, handing the position to rookie Dallas McPherson and positioning the team for a possible run at center fielder Carlos Beltran [emphasis mine], the crown jewel of free agency.

"From a financial standpoint, McPherson fits better than Glaus and we've got other needs," Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman said Friday. "We'll probably make use of our resources in other areas."

Aside: One note of interest for those (myself included) who hope to see Adrian Beltre back in Blue next year: this adds another high/mid-tier third-baseman to the free agency mix.

The Angels plan to move center fielder Garret Anderson to left and keep former center fielder Darin Erstad at first base, leaving starting pitching and center field as the top two winter priorities.

With the contracts of Glaus and pitchers Troy Percival, Kevin Appier, Ramon Ortiz and Aaron Sele expiring, the Angels could drop $41.5 million from their 2004 payroll, more than enough to join the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros as top bidders for Beltran. The Angels also might bid on pitcher Pedro Martinez.

Stoneman does not comment on potential acquisitions. Scott Boras, the agent for Beltran, did not return a call for comment. Boras, whose office is in Orange County, has developed a cordial working relationship with Angel owner Arte Moreno.

Boras: Hey, Arte, got cash?
Moreno: crickets chirping

Regarding both Troys:

"We're not through having conversations," Stoneman said. "I'll talk about it after we've hashed it out with Paul and Troy."

// posted by Rob @ 1:16 PM link  //  1 comments

National League Player of the Year

1. Barry Bonds -- I'll agree with Rich Lederer, Barry needs his own award so we can find out who the second-place contestant is.
2. Adrian Beltre -- The argument against is essentially that the Dodgers minus Belly are a third-place team; the MVP shouldn't get bonus points simply because he's carrying the team, he should also be a standout wherever you put him. However, if you accept that argument, you also forget what the voters did when they handed A-Rod his award last year.
3. Albert Pujols

American League Player of the Year

1. Vladimir Guerrero -- Richard was right: his performance during the last week of the season was nothing short of miraculous. And we have some reason to think next year will be even better now that he's had a full year to adjust to the AL.
2. Johan Santana -- who deserves the Cy Young. The Twins are too pitching-heavy, if that's possible, and their rotation too heavily weighted toward two guys -- Santana and Radke -- for them to be a force anywhere except in their own division.
3. Manny Ramirez.

National League Pitcher of the Year

1. Randy Johnson
2. Roger Clemens
3. Ben Sheets

American League Pitcher of the Year

1. Johan Santana
2. Curt Schilling -- I'm tempted, after the postseason, to put him in first place, but Santana was a better pitcher.
3. Tim Hudson -- up until September.

National League Debut of the Year

1. Khalil Greene
2. Jason Bay
3. Akinori Otsuka

American League Debut of the Year

1. Bobby Crosby
2. Justin Morneau -- without whom the Twins aren't able to unload Doug Mankiewicz.
3. Justin Duchsherer

National League Manager of the Year

1. Bobby Cox -- sure, I'm inclined to think he's done a great job given the junk he's accumulated. Leo Mazzone turned the leftovers in the rotation into a main course, and somehow they got offensive miracles again. If pitchers get awards based on W-L records, managers do the same, and I wonder whether it's just.
2. Jim Tracy -- A homer decision all the way. Whatevs.
3. Phil Garner -- considering he was just an interim manager, he deserves at least some of the credit for righting a sinking ship in Houston. Still, he's something of a nitwit and doesn't make good in-game decisions.

American League Manager of the Year

1. Buck Showalter -- Is the Rangers' record his doing? Or should we credit John Hart for finding a team dumb enough to take A-Rod?
2. Mike Scioscia -- again, a homer pull. No explaination necessary.
3. Ron Gardenhire -- mainly for his W-L record, but the credit perhaps belongs more to Terry Ryan.

National League Executive of the Year

1. Walt Jocketty -- for the one kick-ass trade for Larry Walker.
2. Paul DePodesta -- given the lack of time he had, DePo has paid attention to the details, made smart trades, and done a spectacular job.
3. John Schuerholz -- another year, another division title. Ho hum. And on spare parts!

American League Executive of the Year

1. Theo Epstein -- sure, he had the luxury of the second-highest payroll in the majors. Sure, he stumbled away from making the worst trade in the offseason.
2. Bill Stoneman -- partly a homer choice, partly because he clearly had the dumb luck to back into Vlad, you have to give some credit for assembling the team that won the division.
3. John Hart -- if you're going to give Epstein credit for accidentally avoiding A-Rod, you have to give Hart credit for admitting his contract was an enormous mistake -- and doing the only thing about it he could.

// posted by Rob @ 11:37 PM link  //  2 comments

The Usual Suspects File For Free Agency

Arte Moreno wants to cut the player payroll, and the Angels can build the back end of their bullpen with Francisco Rodriguez and Brendan Donnelly, who will make a total of about $700,000 next year. Percival earned $7.5 million last season.

... Of the 224 players eligible to file [for free agency], 65 did so Thursday. In addition to Beltre, four Dodgers filed: center fielder Steve Finley, infielder Jose Hernandez and pitchers Jose Lima and Paul Shuey.

Word is that the Mets are interested in Sammy Sosa ($$$ required), and Cubs' management might move him. A vesting option guaranteeing him $18M and $19M respectively in 2006 and 2007 kicks in if he is traded, so he's almost certainly not going anywhere.

Here are complete lists of major league and minor league free agents.

Schilling Shells A-Rod

He's a Hall of Famer, sure. But after getting to know people who, A, play with him and, B, have played with him, I don't think it would have worked here. I think this clubhouse would have been a much different place, and I don't think it would have been better, given the personalities involved.

Dancin' In The Rain

// posted by Rob @ 10:38 PM link  //  0 comments

And here I go ignoring my hiatus already.

Update: duh, it was first reported here, for reals, in the Times as a story by Bill Shaikin.

Garvey, Cey, and Lopes all had their names on their backs. So did Fernando Valenzuela, Kirk Gibson, and Orel Hersheiser. (Yeah, yeah, so did Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, and Raul Mondesi. Cry me a river.) This is just. So. Wrong.

Or maybe they're just hoping we won't notice when 29 and 38 don't return.

// posted by Rob @ 11:52 AM link  //  3 comments

Word Around The Blogosphere

• Redbird Nation is cool and classy in their exhausted congratulation to the Sox. "My brother-in-law Alec said it was like the Cards were throwing the World Series, but they were really bad actors and forgot to make it look like they were trying."
• Ditto for Alex Belth at Bronx Banter.
• Bambino's Curse has responded: the blog will close, but

  I will resurface somewhere, somehow, and in some form in the future (like Dr. Who after a regeneration). Indeed, I just this morning bought a couple of domains that I may use for the new endeavor. Plus for the past couple of months me and a couple other folks (whom I won't name but let's just say they make the best fan t-shirts in the world) have been planning a joint project that we hope to launch by Opening Day 2005. (You'll love it! Trust me.)

LaRussa

King Epstein

Hiatus

// posted by Rob @ 9:13 AM link  //  0 comments

Update: A few thoughts:

• The Curse is really, truly over, and Sox Suck will have to find something else to do with themselves. Bambino's Curse will have to get a new name.
• Is Curt Schilling now a bigger name than Ted Williams at the Hub? How symbolic is that bloody sock? How important was it to sweep and prevent the Sox from having to make a tough decision about Curt's bloody ankle for a possible game 6?
• Despite the tussles in the first two games, the last two seemed like anticlimax. None of the Cards' mighty hitters could find their swings; they seemed more like a midseason interleague series than the World Series. With their team so obviously lost at the plate, St. Louis crowd was never a factor. It almost felt like the baseball gods were cursing the Sox again, not by making them lose -- but by making their victory completely forgettable. This was even duller than last year's Yankees/Marlins Series.
• Lady Luck: all, and I do mean all, the breaks seemingly went the Sox' way this time. Whether it was yesterday's boneheaded baserunning mistakes by the Cards or today's miscalled strike three against John Mabry (it was actually a foul, as only the umpire thought it a strike), the Sox' good fortune came in bushel baskets.
• Which team will take a chance on Lowe in the offseason? Will it be the Sox? What about Pedro? How much and for how long?
• I wish I could find the reference -- something I read today, but can't find it now -- but no team with Kenny Lofton has ever won the World Series. Now, with the Curse of A-Rod that's two, count 'em, two, curses on the Yankees -- and none on the Red Sox. Man, this curse stuff could get interesting. With the Yankees approaching another 80's-style meltdown, the Sox could become -- shudder -- the dominant team in the AL East for a couple years, at least.

  Update: thanks to the miracle of Mozilla's history sidebar, the author of the Curse of Kenny Lofton can be identified as Tom Verducci at Sports Illustrated.

• Speaking of curses, could the Cubs maybe, possibly, breathe a little sigh of relief that another team with a curse on them got theirs lifted the year after it looked like they were just the same old Charlie Browns in Boston uniforms?

// posted by Rob @ 8:43 PM link  //  0 comments

Recap

// posted by Rob @ 9:11 PM link  //  6 comments

A word on the fan behavior at Game 6. I was there…those balls were being thrown by Red Sox fans. It was like Red Sox Nation had a meeting before the game and decided to bring balls with them. We noticed this after Bernie hit the home run, as all the Red Sox fans around us started to throw balls onto the field. Yankee fans were upset in the eighth inning. They behaved horribly. But those balls were coming from the Red Sox contingent…I was at the Giants-Chargers game in December of '95 with all the snowballs. That was the worst display of sportsmanship I've ever seen.

// posted by Rob @ 9:20 AM link  //  0 comments

I'll believe it after the Sox win the Series. In the meantime, 2-0 is good, but it isn't a Series victory.

// posted by Rob @ 5:21 AM link  //  3 comments

• Rich's Weekend Baseball BEAT passes on this Baseball America story indicating the Tigers have made the mistake of signing Justin Verlander to a five-year major league contract with a $3.12M signing bonus on a contract worth a maximum of $5.16M, this eight days after the Tigers said they were no longer interested in the righthander. Rich asks:

  Question to Boras and Angels’ General Manager Bill Stoneman: Why can’t you agree on a five-year deal for $7.5 million? When you finally get together, don’t forget to send me a check for 3% of the transaction value. That’s “L-e-d-e-r-e-r.”

  Because, Rich, that's spelled r-i-p-o-f-f. The Indians made hay signing their good young players to long-term contracts only after they had proven themselves at the major league level. Giving out guaranteed contracts to unproven amateurs is bad for baseball. You may recall that Darren "Ouch, That Hurts" Dreifort was a first-round pick, too... Guys become ineffective. They become injury magnets. They don't even make it out of the minors.
• Pedro Martinez may well end up in Anaheim "where he is close to Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon, and owner Arte Moreno is serious about winning", but the "winning" part won't happen with an imploding Pedro on the mound for the Angels.
• Future Angels has put up three articles from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporting that the executive committee of Ray Winder Field will be moving the Arkansas Travelers (AA) to North Little Rock. According to my mother-in-law, if that ever happened, GM Bill Valentine would retire. I wish him well, in that event...

// posted by Rob @ 8:39 AM link  //  5 comments

Gibson hobbled to the plate
Won the game in '88
But Schilling and his bloody feet
Cheered the frigid Boston street

I somehow do not think that the original authors of baseball's postseason meant for it to become nearly a month's worth of games. Looking at the historical Boston weather, the average low drops almost ten degrees between October 1st to Halloween. Unsurprisingly, field conditions at Fenway were simply awful today, cold (48F), not to mention drizzling. By the end of the game, the field was clearly turning into mud. I had to wonder how much that goo was contributing to the three errors made at third by Bill Mueller -- amazingly, against the meat of the Cardinals' lineup -- which the Cards somehow failed to cash in. Curt Schilling is that good, even busted up as he is. At least the Sox kept him in the rotation such that he won't have to hit at Busch. Imagine running on that ankle -- ouch. Well, the docs have decided for him: he's likely to miss a game six start if it comes to that, and we have to believe that it will; the Cards are a better team than to lose in five.

Schill came up big, but that isn't to say he was brilliant; a lot of Cards got on base, but he kept them from scoring, for the most part. In fact, he had no earned runs, but thanks to another night of random fielding, the Cards managed to put up a couple runs, but it wasn't anywhere near enough. Pujols went 3-4, but he was the only Cardinals hitter to do anything of consequence.

Going to Busch with a 2-0 lead is huge. What to do with Ortiz, though, once the DH goes away? Do they have him play first? Who knows. But you know things have turned upside down in the world when New York restaurant Mickey Mantle's jokingly changes the name to Ted Williams' -- and the owner gets death threats. The Red Sox are here. And they're no longer second fiddle.

Recap

// posted by Rob @ 9:25 PM link  //  0 comments

Beltre, 25, led the majors with 48 home runs this season. Boras has declined to state an asking price but has indicated a six-year contract might be required. The most recent third basemen to sign big contracts at relatively young ages include Oakland's Eric Chavez (six years, $66 million) and St. Louis' Scott Rolen (eight years, $90 million).

Boras said Beltre would not return to the Dodgers without a commitment from new owner Frank McCourt to finance a perennial championship contender.

"There's a lot of information Adrian wants to know about where the Dodgers are headed," Boras said. "Adrian wants to play for a winner. He wants to know what their plans are for retaining players and acquiring players.

// posted by Rob @ 6:38 AM link  //  2 comments

Well -- let the chattering classes have their column space. When a bitter fellow like T.J. Simers can get paid for his spleen stylings, surely some of the other towns across America have their albatrosses in print. All this is to forget the main event, the Show's big October show.

By the time they showed the flag over the stands fluttering directly from centerfield to home plate, you knew Tim Wakefield would have trouble getting his knuckleball past the Cardinals. Knuckleballs work best against the wind, and worst with the wind, as last night, and sure enough, he got chased early, leaving the game after only 3.2 innings. The Sox' middle relief didn't fare much better, with Arroyo, Timlin, and Embree getting tagged for a collective four runs, Embree's unearned on a long, ugly chain of fielding errors (a staggering four in all) that gave the night's proceedings the feel of a Keystone Kops movie. Manny Ramirez, in that case, flubbed a routine flyball snag when his cleats stuck on the muddy turf in the outfield, causing the ball to bounce off his glove and drop well behind him.

From the other side of the mound, it was apparent from the start that the Cardinals' Woody Williams had very little to give. He had a ruddy complexion, the 49-degree weather taking an obvious toll on him as he labored on the mound. The Sox exploded for seven runs against him, and he only lasted 2.1 innings before Larussa pulled him in favor of Danny Haren. Haren escaped rough treatment at the hands of the Sox, but the same wouldn't be true for Kiko Calero and eventual loser Julian Tavarez, both giving up a pair of runs. Tavarez would surrender the game winner to Mark Bellhorn, a home run off the Pesky Pole in right. In all, a fine contest and the kind of game I think will define this series: a lot of power and scoring, with the Cards at an obvious disadvantage in the AL games because of a lack of a decent-hitting reserve to play DH.

Recap

// posted by Rob @ 6:25 AM link  //  0 comments

Game One	Umpire	Previous WS Worked
HP	Ed Montague*	4 (1986, '91, '97, 2000)
1B	Dale Scott	2 (1998, 2001)
2B	Brian Gorman	None
3B	Chuck Meriwether	None
LF	Gerry Davis	2 (1996, '99)
RF	Charlie Reliford	1 (2000)

I stumbled across this information, of course, while trying to find out something about the double-secret Rule 6.1, which doesn't appear in section 6 of the Official Rules. Apparently, it's in the MLB Umpire Manual, which contains supplemental explanatory material for the umpires. The devil, as they say, is in the details, and only the umpires know those.

For controversial plays, here are the ground rules for both stadiums:

Boston Red Sox - Fenway Park

• Foul poles, screen poles and screen on top of left field fence are outside playing field.
• A ball going through scoreboard, either on the bound or fly, is two bases.
• A fly ball striking left-center field wall to right of line behind flag pole is a home run.
• A fly ball striking wall or flag pole and bounding into bleachers is a home run.
• A fly ball striking line or right of same on wall in center is a home run.
• A fly ball striking wall left of line and bounding into bullpen is a home run.
• A ball sticking in the bullpen screen or bouncing into the bullpen is two bases.
• A batted or thrown ball remaining behind or under canvas or in tarp cylinder is two bases.
• A ball striking the top of the scoreboard in left field in the ladder below top of wall and bounding out of the park is two bases.

St. Louis Cardinals - Busch Stadium
OUTFIELD AREA

• Fair ball hitting above yellow line in left and right fields - HOME RUN.
• Ball hitting on or below yellow line is IN PLAY.
• Fair ball bounding into field boxes, bleachers, bullpens or going through or under fences - TWO BASES.

• Ball rolling onto top step of dugouts (which are at ground level) is IN PLAY.
• Photographers' areas on outfield sides of each dugout shall be considered part of the dugout.
• Ball thrown by pitcher from the rubber to catch base runner off first or third base that goes into stands or dugouts - ONE BASE.
• A pitch, thrown or batted ball that hits anyone on the playing field, except as otherwise provided for in the Official Rules, is IN PLAY.
• Ball going through wire screen behind plate or lodging in it - ONE BASE; on throw by pitcher - TWO BASES

Dimensions
From Home Plate:

• Left-field line - 330 feet
• Left-center field - 372 feet
• Center field - 402 feet
• Right-center field - 372 feet
• Right-field line - 330 feet
• Outfield walls are 8 feet high

Well then: play ball!

// posted by Rob @ 1:01 PM link  //  1 comments

Only One Key In The Stein-Way Offseason

... Tom Gordon ... according to Yankee insiders, was so anxiety-ridden that he was throwing up in the bullpen during Game 6.

... Not even Joe Torre is immune to the scrutiny. For all his maturity and professionalism, Torre nevertheless took several wrong turns in the final three games, including his decision to replace Brown with Vazquez with the bases loaded in the second inning. Apparently, Torre forgot that Damon had hit two homers off Vazquez on June 29, or that Vazquez allowed 33 homers this year, more than any other Yankee pitcher.

... Here's a bet: Steinbrenner will trade for Alfonso Soriano to play second base, put Beltran in center, dump Brown - even if it means asking the Salvation Army to cart him away - and throw himself at Pedro Martinez's feet, too. That would cost the Yankees about $210 million, but if we've learned anything, it's that Steinbrenner has no limit or shame when it comes to spending.

But that's the problem, too: the Yankees have drifted so far from the 1996-2000 golden era core, they're turning the clock back to the 1988-91 era, when they had big-name players who had no soul.

The usual list of suspects comes out, the formula being star times free agent. Could Randy Johnson really be available? I doubt it, but the world is full of stranger things -- and four years without a World Series victory has made Steiny very, very angry.

Curse This, A-Rod

Dayn Perry, Curse-Away!

"Budget Constraints" And Seattle?

// posted by Rob @ 8:30 PM link  //  0 comments

Most notable among the changes is the introduction of the first English-language two-person broadcast booth in franchise history. The two-person booth will be comprised of a play-by-play announcer and a baseball analyst. Talent for those positions will be announced at a later date.

... "It has been an honor for me to broadcast games for the Dodgers for the past 28 years," Porter said. "Now the organization has decided to go in another direction and it was their decision. I wish to thank the fans and listeners for their loyalty and their support of my work. There are no plans to retire. I love what I do."

// posted by Rob @ 6:37 PM link  //  0 comments

1. Steinbrenner has so much money. How much? Business of Baseball has a spreadsheet with numbers from Forbes estimating $238M in revenues and an annual $26.3M operating loss in 2003. (The original article can be found here.) Whether that includes the estimated $68M over those stated revenues Steiny gets from operating the YES network I don't know. Even if it isn't, Steinbrenner's plan to have the other owners (and/or the city) pay for a new hotel complex near Yankee Stadium begins to make $300M Yankee payrolls look not only achievable, but inevitable.
2. ¿Habla Español? Seattle isn't exactly known as a great place to hang for Latin players. In fact, Seattle is the whitest city in the US, with 70% of the population white. It made a difference when landing Vlad. Beltran was a cipher in Kansas City; in Houston, everyone knows him. Question: does he like that?
3. Speaking of the 'Stros, I agree with the Baseball Crank in that Houston has a lot invested in Beltran's return. I see them as the first and most likely team to re-sign him, though far from a certainty; and with Steinbrenner in the market, it seems most likely that Beltran will be a Yankee long before he becomes a Mariner. For Beltran's part, it's kind of a crapshoot staying with the Astros; Clemens might retire, again, and for the last time. The team's offensive core is aging badly (as evidenced by the sudden hitting slumps they encountered in this postseason). Because of those two things, the 'Stros teeter toward rebuilding mode. Of course, looking at the Yankees, they aren't the roaring success they were in the late 90's, either. Their core is certainly getting older and less effective, and thanks to George's set-the-market valuations, nearly impossible to trade.

// posted by Rob @ 9:06 AM link  //  0 comments

Tonight makes up for that.

Clemens didn't have much tonight, though he tried. Mostly he threw fastballs, and while he's got a great one, the Cards' lineup ultimately feasted.

The Cards, of course, should be congratulated, and I do congratulate them, even though they ran through the Dodgers on the way to their pennant; somebody has to lose, and the Blue just wasn't good enough this year. I'm rooting for the Red Sox in this one, rooting for the Curse to be finally, at long last, over.

Cards in six.

// posted by Rob @ 9:15 PM link  //  0 comments

Fenway Nike Ad

Arizona Fall League

The Dodgers' James Loney continues to have an amazing eye (.385/.457/.410) without much power. Jason Repko looks a bit like Rob Deer with his .225/.298/.525 line. On the pitching side, Ryan Ketchner continues to fan batters, but also has an 8.31 ERA. Tom Farmer's 11.57 ERA in 7.0 IP is even worse, but Steve Schmoll's 0.00 in 6.0 IP looks mighty good. Remember, these are all in a small number of innings in relatively high elevation parks.

More On Dis-Mantle-ling

Was Mike DiGiovanna at the stadium when he wrote that the Yankees played Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York"? I thought they played Liza Minelli when they lost...

Most beautiful phrase in this New York Times story: the "Yankees owe [first baseman Jason] Giambi a staggering $82 million through 2008."

Jay Jaffe wrote a guest column at all-baseball.com about game 6. About the howling over A-Rod's chop-socky action:

Though a few fans tuned into radio and TV broadcasts, most of us had no way of knowing how blatant Rodriguez's knocking of the ball out of Arroyo's hand had been; looking at it a few hours later, I muttered at the replay, "That's the lamest sissy slap I've ever seen. Give him some elbow, A-Rod!" It pains me to admit it, but [clearly], the umps made the right call.

// posted by Rob @ 9:33 AM link  //  1 comments

Here’s a quickie poll: Who will be the first Yankee casualty after a disappointing season:

• Brian Cashman?
• Mel Stottlemyre?
• Javier Vazquez?
• The travel staff?

But I'd bet against lackey/handmaiden Cashman being that guy.

My money's on Mel Stottlemyer. As we saw earlier, Stottlemyer started attracting slings and arrows well before the season was over, garnering credit in some quarters for Vazquez's bad showing in pinstripes, as well as Jeff Weaver and Ted Lilly. When a guy's VORP drops to almost one-half its prior value (23.1 vs. 52.9 in 2003), something's horribly, terribly wrong. While you could argue about the DH and pitching in the AL's roughest division, there's more to this story than just that, and the bad smell of the starting pitching will attract attention to the nearest neighbor -- Stottlemyer. Never mind that yesterday's loss came at the hands of one of the club's veteran pitchers. (Or that the cold weather was probably not helping Kevin Brown's back; Brown had pitched mainly for warm-weather teams in the past, and did well against the Twins in the climate-controlled Metrodome.)

As to Vazquez himself: I wouldn't want to bet against him. If the Yankees decide to trade him in the offseason -- highly unlikely, considering his considerable success in Montreal -- it's liable to become yet another kaboom in a highly volatile year, not unlike the Jeff Weaver trade.

Now then. Who should Steinbrenner fire? Considering his offseason moves, I would say he needs to look in the mirror to answer that question.

// posted by Rob @ 5:43 AM link  //  0 comments

Google gets the craziest searches...

Update: Thanks to Anonymous below for finding some page describing Johnny Damon's ethnic heritage. (His father is white (European), and his mother is Thai.) Knowing Googlebot and the wacky searches I've gotten over the last few, 6-4-2 will get a huge number of these searches... hoo boy.

// posted by Rob @ 11:26 PM link  //  3 comments

Yankee fans chanting, "Who's your daddy?" one last time.

$45.65 million worth of pitching choking up 10 earned runs.

Joe Torre giving a concession speech.

Frank doing a little dance in his ultrapalazzo in Holmby Hills.

Peter Gammons looking like a kid interviewing Kevin Millar.

Scenes of natural beauty don't require much in the way of narration. To Red Sox Nation, I simply say: congratulations, and good luck in the coming contest.

ALCS Game 7 hub

// posted by Rob @ 9:53 PM link  //  0 comments

Senior scouting advisor Don Welke, special assistant to the general manager Jeff Schugel and senior advisor of baseball operations John Boles will not be retained. Director of professional scouting Matt Slater has been offered another position within the organization. Several other executives, most notably scouting director Logan White, are expected back.

The changes are not surprising; DePodesta was expected to streamline the Dodgers' operation, and apparently wants to hire people he is more comfortable with. DePodesta also takes a less traditional view of scouting than the Dodgers' previous regimes, preferring to rely more on objective than subjective analysis. When he declined to consult several of his top scouts before making a series of major trades at the July 31 non-waiver deadline, the shift in direction was evident.

// posted by Rob @ 4:08 PM link  //  0 comments

There were a lot of bodies in front of me, so I can't give you first-hand what I saw. I was upset that it turned out the way it did for a couple of reasons. First off, they said that Arroyo was in motion, too. It's not like he was standing there. And there was also a player on the Red Sox who was in the line that didn't have the ball, which can be an obstruction play.

-- Joe "Quick, Call My Lawyer" Torre

I don't want those umpires meeting any more. Every time they have a meeting, they make a call against the Yankees. No more meetings.

-- Alex "Show Me Wax On" Rodriguez

New York's third baseman was part of a contact play at first base in the eighth inning, and the umpires correctly interpreted it as part of Section 6.1 of the official rule book. That page deals with offensive interference, and the wording of the rule is iron-clad.

-- Spencer Fordin, MLB.com

A preceding runner shall, in the umpire's judgment, intentionally interfere with a fielder who is attempting to catch a thrown ball or to throw a ball in an attempt to complete any play: The objective of this rule is to penalize the offensive team for deliberate, unwarranted, unsportsmanlike action by the runner in leaving the baseline for the obvious purpose of crashing the pivot man on a double play, rather than trying to reach the base. Obviously this is an umpire's judgment play.

-- Official Rules, 6.05 (m) (not 6.1)

Offensive interference is an act by the team at bat which interferes with, obstructs, impedes, hinders or confuses any fielder attempting to make a play. If the umpire declares the batter, batter runner, or a runner out for interference, all other runners shall return to the last base that was in the judgment of the umpire, legally touched at the time of the interference, unless otherwise provided by these rules. In the event the batter runner has not reached first base, all runners shall return to the base last occupied at the time of the pitch.

-- Official Rules, 2.00, Definition of Terms (also not 6.1)

Just use your hip next time.

-- Reggie "The Hip" Jackson

// posted by Rob @ 8:07 AM link  //  1 comments

Alex Belth notwithstanding, the Yankees' fans are among the worst in baseball, and tonight showed that as well, when the police finally had to take the field to prevent Yankee fans from chucking balls and other debris at the players. One of the most shameful postseason games I've ever had the privilege of witnessing.

Oh: Schilling was brilliant. The camera, in early innings, kept focusing on his blood-stained socks, as though they were sciatica from Game 1. His velocity was noticeably down (most of his pitches were in the high 80's), but he had a little gas in the tank when he needed it. Likewise Arroyo was, if not brilliant, very, very good. Foulke started to show a bit of wear as he walked two but escaped the two-on jam in the 9th.

The top of the order going 2-20 isn't a good sign for tomorrow's game 7. Pitching staffs held together by duct tape on both sides, I have to think the Sox will bring up an amalgam of whoever can give them a couple innings. Fortunately, they didn't need much in the way of relief in this game.

I still say: Yankees in seven.

ALCS Game 6 hub

Update: "Hope is the thing with hair for Red Sox Nation tonight". Heh. And after attending ALCS Game 5, Batgirl anoints David Ortiz Boyfriend of the Day, and Curt Schilling today's BotD.

U.S.S. Mariner:

You know, all it would take is – just once – for an umpiring crew to have the balls to award the visiting team a win when the pathetic fans at pathetic Yankee Stadium decide to make themselves part of the game by throwing crap on the field. I mean, if there aren’t ever going to be consequences, why shouldn’t they throw baseballs, batteries and trash on the playing field?

// posted by Rob @ 9:34 PM link  //  0 comments

Which Game Is He Watching?

I think Schilling will be impressive tonight. Maybe not dominant, but 6 innings, less than 3 runs good. That’s why it’s crucial that Lieber match him. Since both are compulsive strike-throwers, perhaps the first two-thirds of the game will move at a more manageable pace. Of course the last couple of innings will drag on and on.

Pundit Says, "Pundits Will Say, 'Moneyball Doesn't Work'"

You'll hear a lot about the Moneyball philosophy failing the A's, but organizational philosophy had nothing to do with the pitching staff doing a nosedive worthy of the Day the Music Died. Starters in September:

Hudson: 6 GS, 6.23 ERA
Redman: 6 GS, 5.29 ERA
Zito: 6 GS, 4.54 ERA

Mulder: 5 GS, 8.10 ERA
Harden: 5 GS, 5.52 ERA
Aggregate: 5.83

Even then, the A's came within one game of winning it. The root cause, the thing that made the biggest difference, wasn't the weakness of the outfield, which was only sporadically productive, or the absence of Eric Chavez with a broken bone, although that certainly hurt. You have to go back before opening day, when Mark Ellis was lost for the season. PECOTA's 60th-percentile projection for Ellis showed a VORP of 17.4, or 1.7 wins added. Given their weaknesses at other positions, the A's needed Ellis to have a chance to reach this projection or exceed it, as he did in 2002. Instead, they got Marco Scutaro, VORP 12.6. Now add the huge defensive difference between the two players, and you easily surpass the slim margin by which the Angels won the West.

I've been firmly in the camp that says Moneyball is vastly overrated; extract Zito, Mulder, and Hudson from their lineup and the A's are in deep trouble. Which, in September, is exactly what happened. I'm not against statistical measures of player performance, not by a long shot, but Moneyball brought a kind of arrogance to the table -- hubris, I would call it -- that richly deserves to be slapped down. Whether that's just Michael Lewis casting shadows over the A's front office with the same klieg lights he used in Liar's Poker or the A's believing their own press releases, 2004 brought one thing to the surface in a big hurry: a smart GM with a big budget will outperform a smart GM with a small budget nearly every time. Brian Cashman vs. J. P. Ricciardi? No contest. The playing field is a lot more even with Bill "Is Rafael Palmiero Still Available?" Stoneman running the Angels and Bill "I can make bad moves on my own" Bavasi atop the Mariners, but the shrill cries that "Moneyball does work" are beginning to sound a trifle desperate as the Blue Jays -- the forgotten children of the sabermetric revolution -- and the A's sink into the quicksand that only money can extract them from.

A Rich Field Of Thought

Does anyone else have the feeling that the Astros are this year’s Angels or Marlins? All three teams were wild card entries and came into the postseason as the hottest team in baseball. The Marlins and Astros also changed managers during the season. The Angels and Astros were expansion teams in 1961 and 1962, respectively. Just as it took Anaheim 42 years to make an appearance in the World Series, it will have been 43 years in the making should Houston get there.

// posted by Rob @ 1:15 PM link  //  3 comments

St. Louis was everyone's pick
To get to the World Series, quick
But with Beltran and Backe
And Jeff Kent's attack
The Astros made Cards fans feel sick

Meantime: Backe pitched the game of his brief career. (Prediction: he will be the Astros' 2005 answer to John Lackey.) Lidge was brilliant, again. (Prediction: he will be brilliant again next year.) Between the two, they kept the Astros wretched middle relief out of the game. (Prediction: Phil Garner will make the same mistake he made in games 1 and 2 with middle relievers in the next two games in St. Louis.) Woody Williams was every bit as good. (Prediction: Tony Larussa will chew out Julian Tavarez for his Kevin Brown imitation, breaking two bones in his non-pitching hand. The Cards, too, will need middle relief, and there goes one option.) Carlos Beltran made a spectacular catch in center to hold off the Cards. (Prediction: Beltran in pinstripes in 2005.) He didn't hit a home run, but he did get a key single to start the Astros' key rally... which Jeff Kent completed by hitting a three-run dinger. (Prediction: Jeff Kent will return to the Astros in 2005.)

Prediction: Cards in seven. The team batting last has won every game in this series. Update: Yes, and thanks, AHB, for reminding me that it's no longer possible for the Cards to take the series in six.

Recap

// posted by Rob @ 1:07 AM link  //  2 comments

Fox managed to garner a 7.9 rating and a 14 share for its coverage of the Yankees-Red Sox postseason contest, peaking at 9:00 p.m. with an 8.5/15. All of the other networks produced typically low Saturday numbers. On Sunday, Fox continued to lead with the baseball playoffs, averaging a 10.4/15, but the winner of the 9:00 p.m. hour remained Desperate Housewives, which scored a 15.5/21.

A new process to colorize black-and-white movies for television and DVD release has produced such realistic results that Martin Scorsese employed it to colorize vintage footage for his upcoming Howard Hughes biography The Aviator, the Toronto Star reported today (Monday). Barry Sandrew, president and CEO of Legend Films, which developed the colorization system, told the newspaper: "In one case, Technicolor engineers could not believe their eyes when they saw our colorization." Sandrew said that the process allows the use of a much larger palette of colors than those employed in the 1980s, when a cruder form of colorization was largely condemned by cinephiles. Examples of the new technique are posted on the company's website: www.legendfilms.net.

// posted by Rob @ 9:23 PM link  //  0 comments

Tonight, Wakefield got a win. Pedro, another no-decision, though he could easily have earned a loss. You start to see Rivera's end, now. A run here, a run there, pretty soon you're talking game winners. And then Dave Roberts, again scoring the tying run, against Rivera.

The Sox will lose -- I have foreseen it. But what a glorious, brilliant battle it will be! I hope Schilling is well tomorrow. May he get to finally shut up those Yankee fans in the seats tomorrow.

ALCS Game 5 hub

// posted by Rob @ 9:20 PM link  //  2 comments

• Pedro Martinez, Angels, 3 years, $15M. God, it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? If you were on the outside looking in, observing the way the Angels acquire free agent pitchers, you'd be really tempted to go this direction, for two reasons: first, the Angels have a reputation -- earned or not -- of pursuing hispanic players; and second, the club has gone after "name" pitchers, regardless of warning bells about their abilities. This latter is the part that scares the pants off me (and if you've ever seen me without pants, that's frightening indeed). Arte's just wack enough to pull something like this, i.e., he learned nothing from Colon's falling K/9 rates before acquiring him in the offseason.
• Carl Pavano, Red Sox, 3 years, $8M. With the Yankees in the market for starting pitching? Heh. I think the Fish will re-sign him for similar money and years, else they lose all credibility with their fans. That's especially true if Mike Lowell turns into a pumpkin. The only caveat is the Sox did manage to land Curt Schilling via a trade.
• Troy Percival, Angels, 1 year, $5M. Both Troys had strong finishes to their seasons, and you could certainly argue Percy's was even stronger than Glaus's. He doesn't have the mid-high-90's fastball he used to, but he's gotten good mileage out of a curveball he's brought out of retirement, plus his changeup seems to have recovered its effectiveness. His command can be maddening, but to me this is a good deal. Too many other pieces have to get shuffled if Percy leaves the club. The Angels' pen, while good, is awfully top-heavy between K-Rod, Shields, and the less-effective pair of Donnelly and Gregg to be shifting Frankie into the closer spot.
• Richie Sexson, D-Backs, 3 years, $10M. Of course. The Snakes now have to overpay for his services, else they look like total fools for the trade that brought him there. However... this is a matter between the fans and ownership, but if the new GM can reframe the question as a mistake the former GM made, he may not be the lock to return Carroll thinks.
• Jeff Kent, Cubs, 2 years, $6M. I don't see it. Combine this with his predicted move of Carlos Beltran to the Cubs (which would be brilliant if Jim Hendry could pull it off), and you've got a riot in Houston.
• Nomar Garciaparra, Giants, 3 years, $10M. There was always something wrong with Nomar in a Cubs uniform to my mind; call it some weird psychic vibe, but he just never looked right in it. His .297/.362/.455 line just isn't all that impressive considering the dollars he and Scott Boras are asking for. Extrapolate the 13.4 VORP he earned with the Cubs out to an entire season, and it's 20.4, which is more like the rebuilt Royce Clayton than Derek Jeter or Miguel Tejada. The Giants are desperate for offense at short; any team with memories of Neifi Perez at that position would have to be, and they'll be the unlucky ones to overpay Boras for the memory of a great player.
• Jason Varitek, Brewers, 4 years, $10M. Huh? When did the new ownership of this club get enough money to make a dumb mistake like this one? Or is there some rule that the NL Central has to attract overpaid free-agent catchers? At 32 years old, Varitek is just a bad move regardless of who you get; catchers wear down fast. Piazza's 36, the age Varitek will be at the end of Carroll's projected contract; is he hitting as well as he did four years ago?
• Damien Miller, Dodgers, 1 year, $4M. I guess the thinking is DePo will get the leavings after the A's are done with him, but this leaves the question of who will receive in Oakland. It doesn't make sense to me, but it may be a question forced by the market rather than the desires of Billy Beane.
• Troy Glaus, Angels, 1 year, $5M. I would say more likely 2 years, $12m. His bat has shown spark toward the end of the season, he's a proven postseason guy, and God knows how many at-bats it'll take before Dallas McPherson and/or Casey Kotchman are major-league competent. Also, Shawn Green's labrum repair shows that it's entirely possible to come back from that kind of surgery successfully.
• Adrian Beltre, Mariners, 5 years, $10M. There is no way the Dodgers let Beltre walk. No. Way. My prediction: 4 years, $10M, backloaded, starting at $7M.
• Carlos Beltran, Cubs, 7 years, $20M, backloaded. The Cubs might be able to afford this, but IMO for this to happen they'd have to clear Sammy Sosa's salary first, and I just don't see him moving without the Cubbies eating most of his contract. For a time, there was a rumor that the Rangers might get Sammy back in exchange for Chan Ho Park. Flyball pitcher Park, translated to Wrigley, would be as big a disaster as he is in Arlington, maybe worse thanks to the jet stream above the field on windy days. Plus, you have to factor in the Yanks, and Steinbrenner famously covets the 27-year-old centerfielder.
• Steve Finley, Dodgers, 2 years, $6M. Well, of course, and the motivation is the same as it was when we picked him up last year: keep him out of the Padres' lineup.
• Moises Alou, Giants, 1 year, $5M. Gets to play with Dad managing, and the Giants still fondly remember the pickup of Marquis Grissom, whom the Dodgers released as a free agent -- and still had plenty of oomph in his bat.

// posted by Rob @ 12:54 PM link  //  2 comments

Astros 6, Cards 5

Pitcher    IP   R
==================
Oswalt     6.0  5
Wheeler    1.0  0
Lidge      2.0  0

Phil Garner made no game-losing mistakes, but only because he had no other choice but to trust Wheeler.

Recap

Dave Steals A Win: Red Sox 6, Yankees 4

So the Sox aren't swept, thanks, in the end, to a David Ortiz home run off another ex-Dodger, reliever Paul Quantrill, who surely was hoping for an end to the game one way or another. The temperatures were just ungodly out there, probably dipping to the middle-to-low 40's.

Recap

// posted by Rob @ 7:31 AM link  //  1 comments