Aug 15
AndrewSports baseball, Fan Interference
When a 16-year-old Waltham fan reached over to catch a ball hit by Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz in the game against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday, the umpiring call was fan interference. Ortiz was awarded second base and eventually scored in the same inning. The fan, Steve Falzone, was ejected by Fenway Park security. But according to his family, he wasn’t the one who knocked the ball off of its home run trajectory.
Sox management says the replay clearly shows Falzone at fault, but witnesses nearby claim a 14-year-old fan with a glove was the one who reached out for the ball while it was still in play. Falzone’s family is crying foul over the ejection, not only because it was unfair, but because it was uncalled for.
The game, if you saw it, was a monster. The final score was 17-19 in favor of the Sox. The first inning ended with a 10-0 lead for the Sox. The fifth inning scored 8 runs for Texas and 2 more for the Sox. The outcome went down to the ninth inning, and you could hardly argue that Ortiz’s potential home run could have made a difference. Big Papi scored anyway from second on a home run by Kevin Youkilis.
While no doubt security was following the park’s policies, is fan interference really cause for ejection? And for that matter, isn’t there a time when management should have discretion to modify its own rules, like when the fan being ejected is 16-years-old? And when there was no malicious intent involved (unlike throwing objects on to the field)?
The Boston Herald reported that management’s response was that any other action than the action taken would have undermined the authority of the umpires. That includes, apparently, offering Falzone tickets to another game.
And of course, there’s the nagging issue of whether Falzone was even the culprit in the fan interference call. The upside to the situation is Falzone ended up with the ball as a souvenir, but dare I ask, does ejection come with a lifetime park ban?
Sep 05
JonathanSports baseball, Rookie
It has been since 1975, when Fred Lynn and Jim Rice arrived on the scene, that a Red Sox team has gotten the kind of contributions from rookies that they have in 2007. And anyone who knows any Red Sox history knows that 1975 was a very special season, with the team (thanks to the legendary Fisk homer) coming within inches of a World Championship. Among recent contending major league teams, only the Atlanta Braves of 2006 stand out as having more impact from rookies than this year’s Red Sox, using 18 in a single season while managing to stay contention into the fall.
Towards the end, even their streak of consecutive division titles, dating back to 1991, couldn’t save them from a 3rd place finish in the NL East. Here in Boston, with 5 playoff appearances since 1998 (all as a Wild Card entry, finishing behind New York in the AL East, which is about to change in 2007,) none of those five teams were marked by significant rookie contributions. Trades and free-agent signings were key, most notably Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz. But, other than some late season bullpen help from Jonathan Papelbon in 2005, it has been a veteran-led decade. That has begun to change here in 2007.
It’s stretching the terminology a little to consider both Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima as “rookies” this year, both having played many years professionally in Japan (Okajima is over 30 years old.) But, in terms of MLB definitions, they both count. And for rookies, they have both produced astoundingly well. Granted that Dice-K is being compensated like no rookie in baseball history, but he has been a solid starter for the team with the best record in baseball. And Okajima’s dominance has garnered him quite a bit of attention this summer, carrying an ERA of less than 1.00 for most of the year. He quickly became the primary setup man for closer Papelbon, and with his “no look” pitching motion (he looks down at the ground when he releases the pitch instead of looking at the plate, where he’s throwing), my wife isn’t the only member of Red Sox Nation to fall in love with Okajima.
But, the real and true rookies, the 23 year-old cocky kids, have really added the spark, much of it coming here towards the end of the season, when it’s needed the most. Leading the charge has been Dustin Pedroia. After many of us thought Alex Cora should assume the starting second base job when Pedroia struggled in April (are we all willing to admit how stupid that sounds now?) the brash and scrappy rookie has hit over .350 since May 1st and is hovering around .330 for the season, an average that places him in the top 10 in the American League. He’s the odds on favorite for Rookie of the Year. He’s been great in the clutch, solid on the bases, and has impressed with his defense, which included a miraculous play to preserve last week’s no-hitter.
And that brings us to Clay Buchholz. After a meteoric rise through the minor leagues, including a glamorous match-up against Roger Clemens while the Rog-father slogged his way through the minors on his way back to the Yankees (where he is amassing a mediocre record and getting injured,) Clay has appeared for two spot starts in key situations and has won them both. Most recently, he won last Saturday night against the Orioles to end a four game losing streak. Oh, and that game was a no-hitter, making him the first Red Sox rookie ever to throw one.
Jon Lester has also provided an emotional lift after returning from cancer. Despite some inconsistent performances, he’s taken over the 5th starter role and has yet to lose, at 3-0. And let’s not forget the gigantic boost that Kason Gabbard provided before being traded to the Texas Rangers at the July 31st trading deadline. In 7 starts, he was 4-0 with an ERA under 4.00. In this age, that’s remarkable for any pitcher, let alone a rookie who came to the team with much less fanfare than the other two. Combined, the three rookie starters are 9-0 for the Red Sox in 2007.
This past week, we have also been treated to our second helping of Jacoby Ellsbury, the lightning fast outfield prospect. In his return, he has hit .500, stolen bases, hit two homers and a triple, and made two incredible diving catches. He has simply lit a fire under the entire team. Every time he’s played, he’s had an impact. Terry Francona’s compliment was that Jacoby “shrinks the field,” meaning the base paths seem smaller and the outfield seems smaller with the amount of ground he can cover in so little time.
With all this success from young players, it’s become fashionable to look at the 2007 Red Sox as a prime example of how a big market team can intersperse inexpensive talent up from the minors in with more costly veteran free-agent acquisitions. If Theo Epstein hadn’t very recently made over $100 million in commitments to free-agents who have struggled mightily, in Julio Lugo and J.D. Drew, it might ring true. As it looks now, the team may end up getting better and younger at the same time in 2008, but only if the rookies continue to thrive and a few of the veterans either get sold out of town or live up to their salaries better than they have this season. But, there’s no doubting that the Red Sox are drafting and developing players who can impact the major league team much better than any other time in the recent past.
More Notes from the Cheap Seats
Though he was traded to Texas along with Kason Gabbard on July 31st, you can’t help but continue to root for David Murphy. He was clearly below both Ellsbury and Brandon Moss on the Red Sox minor league outfielder depth chart, and there was never going to be room for him to play. Everyone liked him and believed he would be a solid big leaguer, but not in Boston. Since being traded, he spent 10 days in Oklahoma (Texas AAA team) and was then called up on August 11th. He’s played in just over 20 games and hit .400 for the Rangers.
One new name that ardent fans have gotten to know this summer is Justin Masterson. Though not quite ready for the big leagues, the Sox unwillingness to trade Masterson is reportedly the reason why they couldn’t acquire Jermaine Dye from the White Sox at the trading deadline. The 22 year-old pitcher, who stands 6’6″ tall, has shown flashes of brilliance, but has been inconsistent. He went on an undefeated stretch mid-summer (in time to catch fans’ attention before the trading deadline,) but has fallen back since then. He’s had an ERA of about 4.30 at both Lancaster (Single A) and Portland (Double A), where he is now. Expect him to start next year at Portland and continue to improve.
Another rising star is 23 year-old Jed Lowrie. After a .260 season in 2006, he’s hit .300 at stops in both Portland and Pawtucket (Triple A), and has shown reasonable power, hitting 13 homers in 500 at bats. The scouting report is that his defense still needs work. Right now, there is no place for a shortstop on the roster. But, considering Julio Lugo’s struggles after signing a 4 year, $36 million contract, and the recent merry-go-round at that position in the past few years (Garciaparra, Cabrera, Renteria, Gonzalez, Lugo…), you never know what will happen next.
Aug 15
JonathanSports baseball, Red Sox
I’ve been quite glad not to hear the legendary arrogance and pomposity, but equally sad not to see Pedro Martinez pitch so far in the 2007 season. Occasionally popping up in a news story mentioning how great he was doing as he rehabilitated his surgically repaired right shoulder, Pedro has been missing from a New York Mets team that greatly needs a dominant starting pitcher. The five starters most often deployed by the Mets this year (Tom Glavine, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Orlando Hernandez, and Jorge Sosa) have all done fine, but none has stepped up and claimed a firm position at the top of the rotation. That role has slipped to Glavine, the league’s newest and possibly last 300 game-winner, by default. The Mets need someone to step forward and anchor a team that, while it holds a small lead in the NL East, has floundered and stagnated for months, allowing both the Braves and the Phillies to remain in the hunt for the division title. They’re in need of a boost, an emotional lift, a catalyst. If they’re looking to Pedro Martinez to be that man in September, they’re going to be disappointed.
On the increasingly controversial resume of Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, the non-re-signing of Martinez falls squarely and loudly in the positive column. When Red Sox fans screamed and hollered after Theo let the temperamental pitcher sign with the Mets, who offered an additional guaranteed year, and replaced him in the rotation with Matt Clement (who slams down equally hard on the other side of the see-saw as a negative for Theo,) Theo knew what most weren’t ready to accept: Pedro isn’t Pedro anymore. Injury and mileage have irrevocably changed him as a pitcher. Now, in the third year of a 4 year, $53 million contract, he’s won only 9 games since the end of 2005. After putting up solid numbers in the junior varsity world of the NL that season, the wheels came off last year and he required surgery that has cost him the rest of that year as well as his entire 2007 campaign to date.
Truthfully, Pedro wasn’t even really himself throughout most of 2004, logging a career high (before his 4.48 in 2006) 3.90 ERA, but he came up big when the playoffs arrived. In Boston, we got so spoiled from his glory days that we remember him beginning to deteriorate back in 2003 with his velocity and consistency. On paper, though, he was 14-4 with a 2.22 ERA and over 200 strikeouts. If that’s a drop-off, it only shows how far up he had been. From 1998 through 2002, he was the best the AL has seen since the late 1980s version of Roger Clemens and no one has been better since. Johan Santana puts in a good challenge, but Pedro was an astounding 87-24 during those five years, logging a high ERA of 2.89 in 1998. His 1.74 ERA in 2000 sounds mythical against the backdrop of 2007, where any ERA below 4.00 is seen as all-star caliber. Pedro limped over the 200 win plateau in late 2006 and now sits 2 strikeouts shy of the elite 3,000 mark. If he never wins another game, he is worthy of the Hall of Fame. His dominance from 1997 through 2003 rivals that of any pitcher in history over a similar stretch except for Sandy Koufax’s legendary run from 1962-1966, during which he was 111-34 with an ERA just over 2.00.
But as Martinez attempts to return, at age 35, from surgery, having already gone from a flamethrower with a 97 mile per hour fastball to a deceptive veteran topping out at 91, the early returns are not promising. On Tuesday, Pedro pitched in his second rehab start, giving up 3 runs in 5 innings for the Mets’ rookie ball team. His previous start was similarly discouraging. As a matter of perspective, many of the hitters in rookie ball were playing on high-school diamonds and finishing their U.S. History classes 90 days ago. And this Tuesday, they beat up on a three-time Cy Young award winner. It’s already mid-August and there appears to be a longer road ahead of Pedro than he had hoped in his quest to return to the big stage and playoff baseball. The Mets would be well-served to look elsewhere for their emotional lift.
Pedro Martinez may be back in the big leagues in 2008 and he may very well put together a solid season, but chances are that he will never look like the pitcher we knew five or ten years ago. As is often the case with power pitchers, the “twilight” is never very bright (Roger Clemens being the blinding exception,) though they fight against it fastball after fastball. So while I rooted hard against “Pedro the Punk” in ’05 and ’06, I’m sorry to see him struggle to return this year. I pop in my 2004 Red Sox World Series DVD and I can’t help feeling the nostalgia and a little bit of love for Pedro. As he fights his own body to return, I admit that I’m rooting for the old man, albeit with the sound turned way down, just in case he talks.
More Notes from the Cheap Seats
The other loudmouth returning from injury is Boston’s own Curt Schilling. After a month and a half of resting and strengthening his shoulder, Curt dominated minor league hitters in his 3 rehab starts, shutting out the opposition in 15 strong innings, reaching 94 mph on the radar guns. Someone must have been trying to help his confidence with those radar readings because Schilling was regularly around 89-91 in his first start back with the Red Sox, a 6 plus inning performance against the Angels. He pitched well and had surrendered only 2 runs after six innings. Terry Francona, going through a managerial slump of late, sent him back out for the 7th where he surrendered two more runs and took the loss. In his second start back, he gave up only a single unearned run in another 6 innings. He looks solid so far, but his velocity still leaves room for concern.
One loudmouth who won’t be returning from injury this year is Arizona Diamondbacks lefty Randy Johnson. After struggling with his back injury and inconsistent performances (that included several disabled list visits,) Johnson had season-ending back surgery last month. He finished 4-3 for the 2007 season and is unsure if he will be able to return in 2008. This one ends up as a brilliant move by the Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman in unloading Johnson before the season. At 284 career wins, he stands as the only plausible candidate among current pitchers to reach the 300 win mark. The current consensus among sports reporters is that he won’t be able to return to health long enough to win those final 16 games. Which means that he probably will.
The permanently injured loudmouth who won’t go away has finally broken Hank Aaron’s home run record. Barry Bonds limped over the finish line last week and currently stands at 758 homers, playing mostly every other day. Most of us are glad we can finally go back to ignoring him, but it’s impossible to ignore the sadness at the loss of 755 as the magical record. Now, he’ll start blaming the media for not paying enough attention to him after years of the opposite. How can you not fall in love with a guy who’s always angry and not happy unless he’s unhappy?
Jul 25
JonathanSports baseball
A few nights ago, I had a dream that the Red Sox made a trading deadline deal to bring Nomar Garciaparra back to Boston to be a fourth outfielder and role player. In the dream, I was pretty excited by the news and really intrigued by the drama of that compelling storyline, especially after we missed out on the “Roger Clemens returns to Boston to finish where he started” earlier this season. Instead, we got the “Roger Clemens goes back to New York for $1 million per start where he already won two rings and pitched for five whole years” story, which was rather anticlimactic.
But, the Nomar deal probably isn’t going to happen. And neither will a hundred exciting viable trades I can imagine where superstars switch teams midseason blockbuster exchanges. When I was younger, I remember the excitement of the days leading up to July 31st, wondering which stars would move, always knowing there would be something shocking as we closed in on the 4:00pm deadline. But, these days, the biggest question I have is whether the Red Sox will get a better hitter for their bench or maybe another middle reliever, or if the Yankees will bring in a first baseman. The biggest name on the market is Texas Rangers Mark Texeira, a pretty good power hitter who hasn’t quite reached his potential. But, in this era, he’s the cream of the crop. It’s not exactly the stuff of a Hollywood movie plot anymore, is it?
In the 1980′s, some of the excitement was the thrill of seeing a star player in a new uniform, which was something of a novelty before players leapt from city to city every couple of years. While became more commonplace over time, the flurry of trades surrounding the end of July still packed drama and almost never disappointed. That is, until the advent of the Wild Card in Major League Baseball. Since the mid-1990′s, the playoff races have gotten a boost from the inclusion of two additional playoff spots. There has been an amazing amount of enthusiasm about how many teams remain in the playoff mix until the final days of the season and it truly has exponentially increased the number of meaningful games played around the country in September. But, with more teams contending, fewer teams are prepared to give up on their playoff hopes by the end of July. So, here we are, less than a week from the deadline and there are only about half a dozen teams out of thirty who consider their season lost and are prepared to sell off veteran or valuable parts. To filter out more genuine buyers and definite sellers and diminish the pile of indecisive .500 teams, they ought to push the non-waiver deadline back into mid-August, when perhaps more teams will be willing to admit where they stand with only 45 games to play.
The other major contributor to the decline in blockbuster deadline trades, though less publicized in this respect, is the dramatic rise in salaries and increase in long-term contracts, which has made a huge comeback in the past couple of years. In terms of July trades, huge salaries act twofold against the likelihood of interesting deals. Salaries for underperforming or otherwise available stars are so large and many payrolls are already bursting that fewer teams are willing to part with hot prospects and take on large financial burdens. And in the age of bloated paychecks, prized prospects themselves become ever more valuable for their first three years of major league service during which they can be paid at or near the league minimum (which, at nearly $400,000, is still a salary I would consider playing for.) We end up with general managers who would genuinely like to upgrade their rosters, but few stars or impact players are available and those that are available are expensive and often have vastly underperformed (otherwise, why would they be available in the first place?) And with such limited supply, the teams who are selling off parts get greedy and expect too much in return. So, the game often ends as a washout. Everyone gives up on significant trades and they settle for making underwhelming exchanges of AAA pitchers and backup infielders. That’s just how the trading deadline tends to be in this era. The cost of veterans is higher, the value of inexpensive production is higher, and in the end, I guess I have to accept that there’s little chance the Red Sox will pull off that Joel Piniero and Wily Mo Pena for Ken Griffey Jr. deal I’ve been hoping for all year.
More Notes from the Cheap Seats
Trades I hope will happen but definitely won’t
With the Houston Astros more than a dozen games out of first place (and without Roger Clemens to the rescue this year!) I would love to see them accept reality that the team’s long-term prospects are in doubt and they need to retool the entire roster. I live in hope that they will put Roy Oswalt up for bids. If that ever happened, every GM in the league would line up to hand over the very best their minor league systems have produced. In my dreams, the Red Sox could get him for a combination of Jon Lester, Coco Crisp, one of our solid minor league outfielders, and maybe Manny Delcarmen. It’s wishful thinking. To have any chance, we’d have to part with our best-known prospects. More likely? The Yankees would get him for Phil Hughes and a couple of Steinbrenner’s bags of money.
Maybe it’s my dream that sparked it, or maybe it’s just pointless nostalgia for the 2004 team, but part of me thinks that it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world for the Red Sox to make a swap with the Orioles to bring back Kevin Millar for the rest of the 2007 season. For as much as I didn’t mind it when he left, right now he looks like he could be a viable bat off the bench for a team that has struggled to score runs far more than they expected (due in part to a lingering David Ortiz injury.) Millar’s stats aren’t overwhelming but he has a little power and could be a better outfield sub than Wily Mo Strikeout, I mean Pena, who seems so awkward it’s like he’s Tom Hanks’ character in Big, a 10 year old boy who suddenly finds himself in a big body.
The absolute top fantasy is that the Minnesota Twins suddenly decide they can’t afford to resign Johan Santana and they think they’ll get more for him this year in July than next (he’s eligible for free agency after next season.) I’d line up my top five best prospects and offer them on bended knee to Minnesota in the hopes of landing the best lefthander in the league. He is having an off year by his standards, but Santana would instantly be the ace of any pitching staff. I picture a 2008 rotation with Santana, Josh Beckett, Dice-K, Jon Lester, and a healthy Curt Schilling. Now we’re talking!
Jul 11
JonathanSports All Star Break, baseball
The way I see it, we really ought to choose between interleague play and the All-Star game. It doesn’t make any sense to have both. For decades, the baseball All-Star game was essential viewing for any sports fan. From Babe Ruth to Ted Williams even to Roger Clemens in 1986, the game was compelling, filled with exciting and somehow meaningful moments. For an exhibition game, it was intensely competitive (see Pete Rose screaming to pump up his teammates before games in the 1970′s.) Part of that is because there was fierce league pride and part because there was novelty.
Before free agency, most players remained on one team for the bulk of their careers, and even more remained within the same league even when traded. There was a real separation between leagues and a desire to prove that yours was the best. Today, players bounce from team to team. Even future hall of famers can play for five or six teams (or if you’re a malcontent like Gary Sheffield, seven or eight,) bouncing back and forth between leagues. While some players have a preference for leagues (DH David Ortiz is likely to stay in the AL, while Greg Maddux frequently expresses his love of NL baseball,) there’s no overarching league pride any longer.
Starting in 1997, the advent of interleague play also removed all of the novelty (which came into being courtesy of George Costanza and his drinking buddies from the Houston Astros.) I remember games through the 1980′s and even the early 1990′s when it was a big thrill to see some of the National League stars who I never got to see any other time of the year. Now, I see these players all the time. Between the 20 games each year against NL teams, the endless highlights on television, and the accessibility of every game online, I can watch all my NL favorites, from Maddux to Albert Pujols to John Smoltz whenever I like. The excitement is completely gone from the All-Star game. I mean, what potential All-Star game matchup excited you? Jake Peavy pitching to Ichiro (in which Ichiro singled)? Justin Verlander versus Pujols (impossible since Pujols was inexplicably left on the bench for the whole game)? Both have already happened several times before during interleague. And the matchups that actually might be exciting to see, like Francisco Rodriguez facing Ken Griffey Jr. with the game on the line, you’d never see because Griffey is long out of the game by then. Now, I’ll grant you that Alfonso Soriano’s 9th inning homer to make it a 5-4 game, followed by an error and walks to load the bases with two outs, provided some manufactured drama. But, in a game like this with a little league, “(nearly) everyone should get to play” managerial mandate, when few players really give 100% effort, how can you really care what happens?
Interleague play was the result of the strike of 1994 and has helped renew interest in baseball in some smaller cities across the country. With attendance at interleague games significantly higher than other contests, it’s not going anywhere soon, no matter how incongruous and illogical I find it to be. Then, a couple years ago, the baseball powers realized that interest in the All-Star game was fading, so they trotted out the lame idea to make the game “count” by awarding home field advantage in the World Series to the winning league. So, now you have a meaningless pseudo-competition where a few players on the field who play for contenders have an incentive to win and the rest have incentive simply not to pull a muscle.
If it were up to me, I’d be much happier if all the Red Sox players just claimed “intestinal distress” or a “sick great-grandmother’s cousin’s niece’s husband,” or whatever Manny Ramirez’s excuse was last year. I’d rather they all just take three days off and forget the charade in the middle. I’m really just glad none of them got hurt (though David Ortiz announced his likely off-season surgery.) I was disappointed that Barry Bonds, the San Francisco treat, didn’t pull a shoulder muscle waving to the crowd. The rest is sadly meaningless.
More Notes from the Cheap Seats
For the life of me, I can’t figure out why ESPN puts Chris Berman on the air. For some reason, he thinks he’s funny. And unlike most other sports announcers, he believes that he’s as much a part of the show as the event he’s broadcasting. It’s among the most irritating acts on TV. From his OCD-style need to give players sickeningly-cutesy nicknames to his bizarre belief that “back, back, back, back” counts as a trademark home run call, it’s gotten to the point that I have to mute the television whenever he is on it. I dread when the Red Sox are on the Sunday night game. For Monday’s home run derby, he was pared with great player/awful analyst Joe Morgan. Even on mute, I was a quick draw with the Tivo fast-forward button all night.
Speaking of which, is there a bigger waste of time than the home run derby? It’s not new to say so, but here are a few of my lowlights and reasons why we don’t need it: Many of the most appealing power hitters don’t want to participate because it will mess up their swings; The big names that do participate often disappoint because of all the pressure; They use juiced-up baseballs, which seems to me to defeat the purpose (while sending all the wrong messages about moving past the steroid era); It takes as long as an actual game; By the time they reach the finals (usually close to 3 hours later,) the hitters are so tired they can barely move their arms. It’s awful. Get rid of it.
To end on a positive note, the best part of the multi-day extravaganza is the All-Star Futures game, which most people don’t even know is happening. This year, it was relegated to a Sunday afternoon showing, which isn’t even part of the actual All-Star break (it started while several big league games were still being played.) Often juxtaposed with the unbearably stupid celebrity softball game (“celebrity” is a term of art now, I gather, based on the lineup for this year’s version), the Future’s game showcases many of the hottest prospects in the minor leagues. These are players who serious fans may have heard of but serious and casual fans alike have probably never seen play a game. It’s an exciting opportunity for those players to have a national stage and for all of us to see the next generation before they reach the big-time. I had the thrill of watching the 1999 game live at Fenway Park. I bought a ticket on the street for a mere $40. I got to enjoy the All-Star atmosphere live and see Alfonso Soriano hit two home runs back when he was a Yankees prospect. The game is tons of fun to watch. So, I say, give the big-leaguers a three day rest and just show the Future’s game on Tuesday night instead!
Jun 27
JonathanSports baseball
Over the past several years, baseball fans everywhere, myself included, have constantly bemoaned the lack of quality pitching the major leagues. While steroids played a role, expansion and the dilution of pitching was almost certainly a contributing factor in the home run explosion of the late 1990′s and earlier this decade. Among the old-timers, it’s common knowledge that pitching is terrible these days and teams simply can’t find enough quality arms to fill out a roster. And I’ve assumed that to be true.
But, something has happened this year. And I’ve started to question the established wisdom of the ages. How come every single team I watch has at least one young flamethrower who mows down hitters with a fastball up over 96 miles per hour? Why is it that there’s a young ace pitching nearly every single night? How can we simultaneously be in an age of awful pitching and at the same time be in a golden age of young power arms?
Statistics-obsessed devotees of sabermetrics (the absurdly complicated baseball evaluation methodology pioneered by Bill James) have long held that you don’t learn nearly as much about baseball by watching it as you do from analyzing the resulting data. And again, the old-timers spit chewing tobacco on your feet if you even suggest that. Now I don’t really know which point of view is more accurate, but I still think I’d prefer to watch the game than break down a spreadsheet. But, our eyes may be lying to us. Just because we think that pitching is spread thin, and ripping big league pitching is always a good scapegoat for increasing offense (plus, there are a million great baseball phrases to do it. My favorite is, “guys fight each other at the bat rack to get up against this guy,”) it doesn’t mean that it’s true. If you look around the league, you’ll see dozens of dominating and potentially dominating pitchers with cannons for arms who were all born in the 1980′s (does this mean my pro career really isn’t going to happen?)
In Boston, Jonathan Papelbon is a legend in the making of Riverian proportions in the closer role. He’s 26 and throws 96. Also on the Red Sox, Josh Beckett, the likely American League All-Star starting pitcher is only now 27 years old, leads the majors with 11 wins, and throws 97. Behind them are Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Manny Delcarmen, all of whom throw 95.
The Detroit Tigers have four fire-armed twenty-somethings: Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya, and Andrew Miller. The oldest one is 24! Each day, they vie to see which one will hit 100 on the radar gun first.
Even the San Francisco Giants boast Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. Vinnie Chulk even throws in the upper 90′s, but at 28, he’s too old to mention here (seriously, 28 is too old?)
Francisco Rodriguez in Anaheim (I hate to point out the obvious, but Anaheim is not L.A.) has been shutting the door at the end of games since 2002 and he’s still only 25.
In San Diego, Jake Peavy is a true ace at 26 and Chris Young is becoming one, though he’s also over the hill at 28.
In Cleveland, C.C. Sabathia has already been in the league for years and is only 26. He’s already up to 11 wins this year. Fausto Carmona throws 97 and is developing into a dominating pitcher in 2007.
Cole Hamels of the Phillies is only 23, but already has 9 wins this season and 256 career strikeouts in 239 innings.
Seattle’s Felix Hernandez, sometimes known as “King Felix,” is only 21 and is already among the most feared arms in the game.
I could keep going, but you get the idea. The point is that, every pitching staff is going to have bad days and look pathetic, even occasionally against a bad lineup (and then it’s fine to make fun of them.) And it’s true that many teams will have at least one guy filling out that last bullpen spot who really shouldn’t have a big league job. But, it might be time to rethink the old-timer’s stance. It’s true, pitchers don’t throw 150 pitches per game anymore, or pitch 20 days in a row and then start both ends of a double-header on the 21st. But, just like those Don Zimmer types didn’t actually walk uphill to school both ways, the message about the old days is louder than the reality. And the reality of today is that there are dozens of exciting, hard-throwing pitchers in their low and mid-20′s who are more than worth the price of a ticket. And if we start throwing in some of the guys who are a few years older, like Tim Hudson, Brad Penny, Dan Haren, John Lackey, Roy Halladay, Johan Santana, and others, we might start to have a different perspective. For all our complaining, any time any of these guys take the hill, we know we just might see something really special. And that alone proves pitching is making a very powerful comeback.
More Notes From the Cheap Seats
One of the great pitching matchups of the year was this past Sunday in San Diego. Josh Beckett got the better of a worn-down Jake Peavy and won his 11th game of the season, costing Peavy his 2nd loss. The Red Sox dragged more than 110 pitches out of Peavy in just five innings. But, the crowd was as electric as you’ll see out in mellow Southern California. From the vault of oddly specific statistics, it was the first time two pitchers with at least 9 wins and no more than 1 loss pitched against each other in many years.
A heavy contender for the American League All Star starting pitching assignment is Justin Verlander of Detroit. It doesn’t hurt that his manager, Jim Leyland, will be managing the AL team and might be inclined to go with one of his own guys. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that Verlander, 24, is 9-2 going into Wednesday, with a 2.78 ERA and threw a no-hitter a couple weeks ago. Oh, is that all?
Dan Haren of the Oakland A’s has developed into an ace in 2007. Appearing on the scene as part of the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals, notably swept in the World Series by the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox (boy, it was really easy to slip that reference in there…,) he was traded to Oakland the following year. After two seasons of 14 wins each, with about a .500 winning percentage and a 4.00 ERA, Haren has taken his 93-95 mph fastball and nasty splitter to new levels, leading the American League in ERA to this point in the season, at 1.78, logging a 9-2 record.
Older Entries Newer Entries
RSS
