The two closing legends will have the relief award of their respective, career-long leagues named after them.
Major League Baseball already had relief awards annually, but they never caught on in the same way that the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, or even Rookie of the Year honors did. That could change with the simple change of a name in the near future, however, as CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports that MLB is going to announce new relief awards named after closing legends Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman.
They aren't two separate awards, exactly, but the same award with two different names, one for the American League and one for the National League. Rivera, who spent his entire 19-year career with the Yankees in the AL, and Hoffman, who similarly never left the Senior Circuit, rank first and second all-time in saves, at 652 and 601, respectively.
It's intelligent branding, as they're both well-known league-wide, are currently record holders for saves in the league they spent their entire, (likely) Hall of Fame careers in, and are sure to generate more recognition and interest than the "Rolaids Relief" award, which was always more not-so-subtle corporate joke -- get it, closing can cause heartburn because of stress! -- than it was something fans could actually feel some connection to.
In addition, Rivera and Hoffman will have a say in who receives the awards each season, so it won't just be going to whoever leads their league in saves, or anything else as simple-minded and basic. According to Heyman, "there will be an added interesting twist to the award, as a small panel of all-time great relievers, including Rivera and Hoffman themselves, will do the voting for the annual honor." MLB announced that the voting panel will also include Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, John Franco and Billy Wagner.
Over 19 years, Rivera finished in the top-five for the AL Cy Young five times while compiling 1,173 strikeouts and a 205 ERA+, the best ever for a pitcher with at least 1,200 career innings. He led the AL in saves on three separate occasions, and was a driving force behind the five Yankees' World Series championships that occurred during his storied career.
Hoffman might not have the postseason credentials of Rivera, but his career merits attention as well. He twice led the NL in saves, finished in the top-five of the Cy Young three times, made seven All-Star teams, and helped lead the Padres to the 1998 World Series, where, coincidentally, they were defeated by Rivera's Yankees. Of Hoffman's 19 years, 16 of them came with the Padres, but he began his career with the then-Florida Marlins all the way back in 1993, and finished with the Brewers in 2009 and 2010.
Masahiro Tanaka will pitch his first game in the Bronx tonight and the Yankees will try for the series win.
I don't think it's too far of a stretch to say that yesterday's game can go eat a you know what. I didn't even want to look at the Box Score for the answers to the Daily Predictions. Well, let's just get this out of the way.
4/8/14 Daily Predictions Answers
1.
How many innings does the opposing team starter pitch?
5
2.
Total number of strikeouts by the Yankee starter only?
3
3.
Total number of earned runs allowed by the Yankees' bullpen?
7
4.
Total number of walks given up by Yankee pitchers?
3
5.
Total number of Yankee extra base hits?
5
6.
Name one Yankee you think will hit a home run tonight
Soriano/Johnson
7.
Name a Yankee you think will have the best defensive play of the game
No one
8.
Best overall Yankee of the night?
Ellsbury/Solarte
These numbers and yesterday's game made the Aardvark's cry. What's sad is that even with two Yankees hitting dingers and both Ellsbury and Solarte tying for best overall Yankee of the night, there was still no clear winner. All it would've taken was someone to get two questions right. So yeah, let's never speak of yesterday again and move on to today's Predictions.
4/9/14 Daily Predictions & Fun Questions
1.
How many innings does the opposing team starter pitch?
2.
Total number of strikeouts by the Yankee starter only?
3.
Total number of earned runs allowed by the Yankees' bullpen?
4.
Total number of walks given up by Yankee pitchers?
5.
Total number of Yankee extra base hits?
6.
Name one Yankee you think will hit a home run tonight
7.
Name a Yankee you think will have the best defensive play of the game
8.
Best overall Yankee of the night?
Bigger personal concern: the Yankees potential lack of infield depth/range/experience or being attacked by a swarm of vicious, angry, honey-lusting bees?
You're hungry but you have no idea what you want to eat. What is your #1 go to meal in this situation?
Least favorite social media outlet?
Favorite breed of dog?
Not much else to touch on in this thread. Tanaka pitches tonight, and I will be attending the game. When I attend games, I expect nothing but victory! The Yankees should understand this and take the series from the Orioles. It's the least they can do after yesterday!
After a less than impressive showing Tuesday afternoon, I didn't have much interest in writing a piece that dwelled on the negative in the Yankees' 4-4 start to the 2014 season. Thoughts of Ivan Nova and Vidal Nuno dancing around in my head just didn't have much appeal. With Matthew having covered the luminescent Yangervis Solarte Tuesday afternoon, the other Yankees starter mashing the tar out of the ball left to cover was Jacoby Ellsbury. The jewel of the Yankees' off-season signing spree has done his best to ingratiate himself with Yankee fans wary of the long-time Red Sox standout with his play at the plate, in the field and on the bases.
Now it would be absurd to judge a seven-year deal (possibly eight) on what amounts to a miniscule sample size, but we have certainly been shown a glimpse of why the Yankees thought 150+ million dollars was not a completely insane investment for Ellsbury. He's triple-slashed .414/.469/.517 in his 32 plate appearances thus far resulting in a 172 wRC+. It only took a handful of games for Joe Girardi to be impressed enough to move him into the three-spot in the batting order in an effort to get him some more high-leverage at bats. He's also stolen four out of five bases and played his normal fine center field. It's hard not to get excited watching the guy, he just exudes talent when he's out there. He looks like the best player on the team, which is probably as it should be.
Aside from David Robertson, there was no other player I was rooting for to get off to a good start more than Ellsbury. The size and length of the contract was very much an issue of contention around these parts, and being the de facto replacement (at least yearly salary-wise) for Robinson Cano and a former Red Sox player to boot was not going to do him any favors with fans or the media. You get about two games to find success before Yankees fans say you're overpaid or not trying, so good on Jacoby for avoiding that contrived annoyance. It would be nice for Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran to follow suit relatively soon, or the pitchforks and torches will soon be at their doorstep.
Obviously, Ellsbury is not going to hit .400 the rest of the way (his .444 BABIP is more than 100 points better than last year), but even at his career average 110 wRC+ his defensive acumen would be enough to make him one of the better players in the league. The power has yet to surface, and it's hard to say if it will do so, even at Yankee Stadium, but singles and doubles should be plenty sufficient with Ellsbury's blazing speed. If he has the potential to crack double-digit home runs for a second time in his career, he's certainly in the right place to do it and would add even more to his value.
All in all, a very nice beginning to the Yankees career of Jacoby Ellsbury, if you don't include the team managing to spell his name wrong on the Stadium's big screen.
Keith Law gives his scouting report on the Yankees' Double-A affiliate
Keith Law recently went to go see the Trenton Thunder play the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays Double-A affiliate), where both teams sent out their best pitchers, Bryan Mitchell for the Thunder and Aaron Sanchez for the Fisher Cats. Law released some of his notes on the two teams:
Bryan Mitchell
He currently ranks as the system's 14th best prospect, up from 18 in 2013, however the hype has never matched the results. In four full seasons and one start into his fifth, the 22-year-old has a 4.52 ERA, a 4.4 BB/9 and a 8.2 K/9. It's easy to see that control has been an issue throughout his career. Last week was no different; he reached 95 mph, but he was wild and hitters were on his pitches all night. He racked up a high pitch count early on and could only reach four innings before he gave up four runs.
Mitchell's fastball is a four-seamer with no movement, just a little downhill plane from his 3/4 arm slot, so he tries to offset it with a cutter at 91-93 that I think will probably end up his best pitch, especially if he shifts to a relief role. His curveball is short with mostly downward break, 81-83, occasionally getting slurvier up to 85, but he didn't command it well and put a number of pitches of all varieties in the dirt.
It didn't seem like Law was very impressed with Mitchell overall, seeing him as a potential reliever at the highest level. He believes that if Mitchell can't throw his curveball for strikes, he should scrap it and then he could go fastball/cutter out of the bullpen. Now that Jose Ramirez has been made a reliever,the idea of moving Mitchell to the pen sounds even more disappointing. I have never been very impressed by Mitchell, so I think this would be the best thing for him.
Williams has been the No.2 prospect in the organization since 2012, but scouts are starting to give up on the toolsy outfielder. Law took issue with Williams last year; when he saw him it was right after his DUI, he was overweight, and he appeared to put in little effort during the game. In 2014, Law still seems unimpressed with the 22-year-old.
Mason Williams hit a pair of pitches hard, including a line drive single the other way on a 95 mph fastball, but as usual was too aggressive for his own good, seeing a total of seven pitches in his four at bats; he keeps jumping on the first fastball near the zone he sees rather than trying to work the count to get a more favorable pitch or location.
After watching him this spring, I completely agree with this assessment. It seemed that Mason would simply swing at anything and everything, whether it was in the zone or not. The problem with his overly aggressive approach is that he's good at making contact, but it isn't necessarily quality contact. He gets the bat on the ball, somehow, and ends up hitting an infield grounder that doesn't do anything for him. Law still likes his tools, since he still has bat speed, can run, and play great defense, but "it's been two-plus years now where the aggressiveness has been a known issue, and he's getting to the age where we need to see him make an adjustment."
Gary Sanchez
A lot has been made of Gary Sanchez's defensive abilities. He's the Yankees' top prospect and one of the best catching prospects in the game, based on his bat, but what about his glove? There has been a mix of reports about how good or bad he is behind the plate, but it didn't sound like Law could definitively rule one way or the other since Mitchell was so wild. He felt Sanchez had some trouble, but he wasn't that bad overall.
Can the Orioles pull off the first series win of 2014? Doing so against the Yanks will make it sweeter.
Boy, the Orioles offense needed that one from yesterday. The offense exploded with 14 runs, which is only 1 less than previous 4 games combined. It was encouraging to see the first Adam Jones homer, a Delmon Young explosion (!) and some of the "other guys" (Lombardozzi, Schoop, Flaherty) chipping in for combined 8 hits. Tonight, in the Bronx, the Orioles lineup will face the new Yankees $155 million import ($175 million if you count the posting fee), Masahiro Tanaka as Miguel Gonzalez will try to hold down the Yankees lineup.
A solid #3~4 type since 2012, Gonzalez was shelled by the Tigers in his first start of the year (3.1 IP, 9H, 7ER) and looks to rebound in the Yankee Stadium. Remember the O's playoff run in 2012 when Gonzalez was just dominating against the Yankee lineup? Your memory is accurate - that year, he held the Bombers to the line of .208/.222/.396, which is downright Mendoza-ian. However, the current Yankee position players have hit him for .290/.364/.580 line in their lifetime, which, is quite a difference. Well, if the numbers I gave you seem worrisome, keep in mind that Gonzalez is a solid pitcher who has shown that he's much better than how he did in Detroit so let's hope for a redemption. He was quite decent in ST (3.54 ERA, 20.1 IP) so I don't think we are looking at a falloff in his career or anything like that.
RHP Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees
If you were alive during offseason, you know who he is. Yankees spent a whopping $175 million for posting fee and contract to have a 25-year old Japanese star to pitch for them. On his first ML start versus the Blue Jays, he was quite solid - 7.0 IP, 6H, 2ER and 8K's with no walks. Pitch f/x says that he mixed 7 pitches while aiming his pitches below the strikezone to get whiffs - he threw 16 pitches out of 97 thrown on the left side right below the strikezone in his first start. It will be his first start at the Yankee Stadium and the first time the O's will face him - there are no previous data on their matchup (obviously) but if Tanaka's command and stuff are on, the O's hitters have something finicky to work on.
Nothing too special in the lineups besides that for the Yankees, Ellsbury will be the DH instead of Beltran or Soriano - I guess it would not be a bad idea for them to rest Ellsbury's speedy legs a break. Can I also talk about how pesky Yangervis Solarte is? He was virtually minor league fodder stuck in the Rangers minor league system and now he ranks top 10 in MLB's OPS rank with 1.227 and leads everyone in doubles (6). Of course you should not expect him to continue that stretch (thank God) but a hot hitter is a hot hitter - he reminds me of 2005 Aaron Small, who was also virtually unknown by many until having a flukey 10-0 season with the Yankees in 2005.
As for the Orioles, it is encouraging to see a 14-run game from yesterday and guys like Matt Wieters (.987 OPS), Nelson Cruz (.965 OPS) and Adam Jones (.879) have been hitting well as well as Chris Davis could see some more power surge (.414 SLG is not bad in general but dismal in Chris Davis world). The winning formula seems to be quite straightforward here - Gonzalez needs to allow less runs (or no runs at all) than the offense scores (or the offense needs to score more than Gonzalez allows). It's the first nightcap in... what... awhile?! Enjoy the much-longed evening baseball, compadres. Hardy is still not in the lineup (ugh back spasms ugh) and Lough, apparently injured (but not badly enough for DL apparently?), will be on the bench. Will Delmon Young show another display of former phenom's potential? Just for a fun thought.
The Tanaka debut part deux gets spoiled as the Orioles take the three game set.
It was a tough start for Masahiro Tanaka in his Yankee Stadium debut, but he certainly impressed the crowd with his ten strikeouts. The Yankees offense put in another unremarkable effort against another unremarkable pitcher while Shawn Kelley did not make anyone forget that closer David Robertson is on the 15-day DL.
Tanaka's opposition would be Orioles veteran righty Miguel Gonzalez. The first inning was scoreless, but the second inning saw both pitchers get touched up for homers. With Matt Wieters and Ryan Flaherty aboard, Tanaka hung a slider right down the middle of the plate to Jonathan Schoop that just hooked fair around the left-field fair pole for Schoop's first career homer. The Yankees got two back in the bottom of the inning, as Carlos Beltran hit a second-deck solo blast for his first home run in pinstripes. Kelly Johnson followed two batters later with a solo home run of his own, setting the score at 3-2 Orioles.
Things remained that way until Beltran snagged his second extra base hit in the fourth, lining a Gonzalez offering into the right field corner. A well placed flyout from Brian McCann and groundout by Alfonso Soriano knotted up the game. That was it from either team for a while as both starters settled into grooves. Tanaka began fanning batters with regularity while not making any more mistakes as he made his way through seven impressive innings.
The Yankees next had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the eighth, when Brett Gardner led off the inning with a double. After Derek Jeter bunted him to third, Jacoby Ellsbury popped out and McCann stranded him with a flyout to center. Vice-closer Shawn Kelley came into the game and allowed four consecutive hits to start the inning which led to two Orioles runs. It didn't take long for the Yankees to miss the services of David Robertson. The Yankees almost rallied in the bottom of the ninth against O's closer Tommy Hunter but couldn't turn first and third with none out into more than one run as Yangervis Solarte ended the game with a routine double play.
It was far from easy sailing for Tanaka early on similarly to his first game in Toronto, but as the game went on the batters he faced continually flailed at his splitter and other offerings en route to a ten strikeout, 1 walk effort (18/1 ratio thus far). If it were not for a few hanging mistakes early on in the game his statline would look that much better. But his scouting report did say that he will occasionally hang his slider so it could be something to keep an eye on as his career develops. His stuff overall, however, has proven nothing short of electric. Offensively, it was a good sign to see Carlos Beltran finally break out of the doldrums while Brian McCann remains firmly entrenched in them.
Another tough loss against an AL East foe, but the Yankees get no opportunities to lick their wounds. Tomorrow they welcome the despised Boston Red Sox to the Stadium for the first of a four game series at 7:05 PM. Clay Buchholz and Michael Pineda are the probables.
In a hard-fought battle that was more tense than an early April game has any right to be, the Orioles prevailed with a two-run rally in the ninth inning.
What a game. The Orioles outlasted a good outing by new Yankee Masahiro Tanaka and a rocky start from their own Miguel Gonzalez to beat the Yankees by one run and get out of New York with their first series win of the season. They took a tie into the ninth inning before roughing up relief pitcher Shawn Kelley, then survived a near meltdown by Tommy Hunter to hang on to the win.
The Orioles got on the board first tonight courtesy of rookie Jonathan Schoop, who has looked much better at the plate over the past few games. I have to admit that I thought Tanaka had impressive stuff, but he had more than a few imperfect pitches in the game. With two outs in the second inning and Matt Wieters and Ryan Flaherty on base, Tanaka left a ball up in the zone and Schoop absolutely crushed it to left field. It landed just inside the foul pole, landing in the second section of seats in left field.
The 3-0 lead didn't last long as Miguel Gonzalez gave up solo homers to Carlos Beltran and Kelly Johnson in the bottom of the second, and also walked Brian Roberts. Even the outs he got were loud, and it looked like MiGo just didn't have his stuff tonight. The Yankees tied the game in the fourth when Alfonso Soriano knocked in McCann, who had doubled earlier in the inning.
After that both teams put up zeroes every inning until the ninth. If that makes it sound like both pitchers settled down and we had a pitchers' duel on our hands. That's not entirely true. Gonzalez gave up two hits in the fifth inning but escaped without allowing a run, and though he gave up one more hit in the sixth, it may have been his best inning since the first. Despite having thrown just 85 pitches, Buck Showalter pulled MiGo from the game after the sixth inning. That was fine with me as he seemed like a ticking time bomb.
As for Tanaka, like I said, he was far from perfect, but he always got out of it after the home run. He worked around baserunners and struck out 10 batters in seven innings. That splitter that he throws that just dies when it gets over the plate was filthy and I saw more Orioles flailing at it tonight than I care to remember. For a free-swinging team like the Orioles, I fear it's going to be a long seven years of watching him carve up their lineup.
Still tied 3-3 in the eighth inning, the Orioles had a prime chance to score. Adam Jones singled and moved to second on an errant pick off throw, followed by a walk from Matt Wieters (who is winning me over with his bat so far this year, I have to say). But neither Nelson Cruz nor Steve Lombardozzi could get them in, and it felt like the Orioles were running out of time. Fortunately the Yankees blew a chance of their own in the bottom of the inning, stranding Brett Gardner after he hit a leadoff double and moved to third base with just one out. Brian Matusz came on to get Jacoby Ellsbury on a pop out and, after an intentional walk to Carlos Beltran, a routine fly ball out to center field by Brian McCann.
Then came the ninth inning. Oh, the ninth inning. It was action packed. With Shawn Kelley on for the Yankees, Ryan Flaherty doubled to right-center, then went to third on a single to nearly the same location by Jonathan Schoop. Schoop had initially tried to bunt but botched it. I liked the single much better. A single by Nick Markakis gave the Orioles the lead, and then after a single to load the bases by Delmon Young, Chris Davis hit a sacrifice fly to left field. The Orioles missed a golden chance to score more runs, though. Both runners moved up on a passed ball meaning that even another ball hit to the outfield could score a run. But Jones struck out and Wieters grounded out to end the inning.
With a two-run lead, the Orioles turned to their closer Tommy Hunter. I am telling you people now that Hunter is going to give me a heart attack at some point this season. When that happens, please send me flowers. Thank you. So Hunter just had to get three outs before allowing two runs. No problem. He started off by giving up a double to Soriano. But that's OK, it's just one run even if it scores, right? Just focus on the batter. He did get Kelly Johnson to hit a hard ground ball to first base, but Chris Davis made a terrible play and they couldn't record an out. With runners on first and third and no outs, the winning run came to the plate in the form of...Brian Roberts? Noooo! Well, yes in the sense that he's not very good, but nooooo because it would be somewhat poetic of him to be the one to hit a walk off.
BRob worked the count the way he always has, seeing seven pitches before hitting a fly ball to right field? Could it be? Is it? No. Just a long fly out to Nick Markakis. The Yankees did score their fourth run of the game on the sac fly. Super hot Yangervis Solarte was up next, and he did us all the favor of grounding into a game ending double play, securing the win for the Orioles, and saving me from a heart attack for at least one more day. Well, two, since they're off tomorrow.
O's win! They have an off day tomorrow before starting a six-game homestand on Friday against the Blue Jays and Rays.
Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from April 9th.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L 6-7 vs. Rochester Red Wings
2B Jose Pirela 2-5, double 3B Scott Sizemore 2-3, double, 2 RBI, K, HBP - batting .444 this season C John Ryan Murphy 2-5, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, K 1B Russ Canzler 1-4, double, RBI LF Zoilo Almonte 0-4, BB, 4 K DH Adonis Garcia 2-4, RBI, put out RF Ramon Flores 1-5, double, K SS Zelous Wheeler 2-4, double, BB, K - batting .421 this season CF Antoan Richardson 1-3, RBI, BB, 2 K, SB
Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 2-9 vs. Portland Sea Dogs
CF Mason Williams 0-4, 2 K LF Ben Gamel 1-4, double, K 3B Rob Segedin 2-4, K, E5 - throwing error C Gary Sanchez 2-4, double, 2 RBI, K, E2 - throwing error, batting .364 this season RF Tyler Austin 1-4 2B Rob Refsnyder 1-4, double, 2 K 1B Zach Wilson 0-4, 2 K, E3 - pickoff error DH Yeral Sanchez 0-3, 2 K, HBP SS Ali Castillo 1-3, BB
Bryan Mitchell 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, WP - 50 of 84 pitches for strikes Aaron Dott 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 pickoffs Taylor Garrison 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R/2 ER, BB, K, E1 - missed catch error Charley Short 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB Pat Venditte 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
High-A Tampa Yankees:W 5-3 vs. Clearwater Threshers
CF Jake Cave 0-4, BB, K, SB SS Cito Culver 1-5, double, RBI, 2 K 3B Eric Jagielo 3-5, double, HR, 3 RBI - third consecutive game with a homer C Peter O'Brien 2-4. 2 doubles, HBP - batting .391 this season DH Dante Bichette Jr. 0-2, 2 BB, K 2B Angelo Gumbs 0-4, K RF Yeicok Calderon 1-4, double, K 1B Jose Toussen 2-4, 2 K LF Claudio Custodio 1-3, RBI, SB
Dietrich Enns 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Evan Rutckyj 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 3 K James Pazos 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K
Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 3-6 vs. Greenville Drive
SS Abiatal Avelino 1-4, BB, 2 SB CF Brandon Thomas 0-4, BB, K, SB, OF assist RF Aaron Judge 2-5, 2 K 1B Mike Ford 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, K - second homer of the year, batting .409 this season DH Miguel Andujar 1-4, K LF Michael O'Neill 2-4, K, SB 2B Gosuke Katoh 1-4, double, 2 K C Eduardo de Oleo 0-4, RBI, K 3B John Murphy 2-4, double, K, SB
Rookie Davis 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 2 K - 51 of 78 pitches for strikes Andrew Benak 3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, pickoff Philip Walby 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
The Orioles' Adam Jones had some choice words for two Yankee fans who ran on the field during Tuesday's game. Does he have a point or is he overreacting?
If you've been to more than a few baseball games, you've probably seen it. Things are moseying along, usually in the later parts of a blowout, when some fan, emboldened by seven or eight beers in six innings is suddenly on the field, getting chased around by security like the chicken in Rocky. The crowd laughs and cheers until the guy or girl is finally tackled and dragged off, kicking and screaming, into the nether regions of the ballpark.
It's a part of the game the way overpriced concessions are. There was Morganna the Kissing Bandit who sneaked onto countless diamonds and smooched 37 major league players between 1970 and 1990, including Pete Rose and Nolan Ryan. Or that girl who rushed out to give Derek Jeter her phone number at the Yankees' home opener that time (he never called, as far as we know). There was the guy who charged center field at Yankee Stadium to get Ken Griffey Jr.'s autograph (on a football, for some reason), and the two fans who are etched in our collective memories for being the first to congratulate Hank Aaron on number 715. And what about the hundreds who stormed the field after Chris Chambliss' epic walk-off in '76? There were so many of them that he couldn't even find home plate. Sure, it's criminal trespassing - a class "B" misdemeanor in New York - but it's harmless, right? A little unexpected surprise in a game that can sometimes drag.
The Orioles' Adam Jones doesn't see it that way. After two fans made their way into the action during the bottom of the eighth in the Yankees' 14-5 defeat Tuesday afternoon - one of them crouching behind shortstop Ryan Flaherty to evade security - Jones had some interesting words.
"I think it's idiotic for people to run on the field, and I think the punishment needs to be a lot harsher, and they should let us have a shot to kick them with our metal spikes on because it's stupid. You look like an [idiot] when you run on the field.
"We don't go to other sporting events and do that to their jobs, but they come to ours and do that. I get it, you're drunk and you want to be on Sports Center. Your ass is going to jail with a fine, and you might not be allowed to come back to the ballpark.
"I remember a couple of years ago, one dude broke his ankle in Baltimore. I was laughing at him. I wish he shattered his femur because it's stupid. It's just plain old stupid. Anybody who does it, I wish the cops tase the [hell] out of them. I wish that."
Jones' solution of spiking a femur smashing might be a little over-the-top, and it's hard to take the term "idiot" too seriously coming from someone who spent the hours after this particular game eating giant donuts off a baseball bat. Odds are none of the people running on the field are pro athletes from other sports as his words seems to suggest. But if you can get past all that, Jones is right that the whole thing puts players in an unenviable spot. These aren't the days of Morganna in the 1970's. We live in a world now where random shootings and terrorist attacks are commonplace. It's not safe to assume, for an athlete or for anyone, that the guy racing toward you is just fooling around. In 2002 a couple of shirtless spectators attacked Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa at a White Sox game, one of them carrying a folded up pocket knife. What if it's a gun next time?
Even with every reason to be afraid, athletes can't really do much to aggressive fans. In 2003 Dodgers outfielder Jason Romando knocked a guy on his back with a hard elbow, but that's not a wise choice. If a player who makes millions every year hits you, kicks you with his spikes as Jones suggests, or hurts you in any way your first stop after you're released from your few hours in jail might be your local attorney's office to try and cash in. Yes, what happened would be your own fault, but that hasn't always stopped courts and lawyers.
MLB is also in a tricky position when it comes to trespassing fans. Teams need to balance the need to protect their players - and everyone at the game - with the proximity to the action fans enjoy, a closeness that helps sell the sport. A Plexiglas partition surrounding the field, or a moat filled with hungry crocodiles and anacondas might prevent fan incursions, but it would also change the way the game is viewed, especially for the people who pay the most for their tickets.
Baseball's made a concerted effort in recent years, at least, to discourage bad fan behavior by not showing it on TV. Instead of seeing the drunk dude stumbling around the outfield, you'll be treated to a shot of the batter or the pitcher looking awkward and uncomfortable and a little bit amused while the announcers try and come up with something else to talk about. But modern technology has made that effort a fairly futile pursuit. Maybe YES won't show you the wacky fan high jinks, but they won't be hard to find on YouTube later. A Google video search for "fans running on the field at baseball games" gets you plenty of results including some that I'm not ashamed to admit, are pretty damn funny.
For the past well...forever, MLB's modus operandi has been to react to bad things that happen instead of proactively preventing them. It took years of scandal and several Congressional hearings before PED testing became a thing, and by the time we finally got instant replay, multiple playoff games had been decided wrongly, and Armando Galarraga had been robbed of a perfect game. On this topic though, we're not talking about an incorrect call being made or someone getting away with maybe sort-of cheating. The potential is there for someone to get hurt or killed.
The first team that actually installs some kind of notable barrier between the stands and the field will get hit hard with criticism. They'll get hammered by the media for destroying tradition and for punishing the many for the insane actions of a few. They'll get bitter complaints from their most important season ticket holders...they might even lose some. But that team will be doing the right thing. It's too easy to imagine where one of these incidents might someday lead. This time baseball should act before, not after.
The Yankees actually won some games! They also lost some players... and other games. Time for some #analysis.
Regaling the world of the legend of Yangervis Solarte, one day at a time.
In the podcast, we discuss the unfortunate effects of David Robertson and Mark Teixeira's injuries on the bullpen and first base, and how the offense has been mostly quiet other than a few players, namely Solarte and Jacoby Ellsbury. We also touch on Masahiro Tanaka's encouraging first few starts, Brett Gardner's baserunning, the upcoming series against the Red Sox, defensive shifts, how Solarte's minor league numbers might portend his future at the plate, compose haikus at Greg's request regarding first base, and do another round of 1890s baseball player or British nobleman.
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To the mats with reader mail and Nunez-inspired hostility.
On Monday I wrote what I expected to be an innocuous post regarding two New York Yankees transactions: They placed closer David Robertson, one of the most effective relievers in baseball but for all that not irreplaceable, and they traded erratic utilityman Eduardo Nunez, recently designated for assignment, to the Minnesota Twins, a team known for the fine, discerning taste in ballplayers that has seen them finish an average of 27 games out of first place in the American League Central since 2010. In return, the Yankees acquired a 20-year-old left-handed pitcher named Miguel Sulbaran, a prospect so promising that Baseball America has seen fit to never, ever mention him subsequent to his March, 2012 signing with the Dodgers.
Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men." Can you handle the truth? (Getty Images)
Oddly -- at least to me -- my comments on the Nunez deal met with all kinds of hostility, some in flavors that I have not seen since the Stats vs. Scouting skirmishes of the early 2000s. Even before those days and for many years after, I did a regular feature called "To the Mats with Reader Mail." It was a chance to have a dialogue with the readers before chats became a regular part of my life and the exchange paradigm moved from mail to comments and the world turned into YouTube. Nevertheless, this one occasion seems to call for a return to the mats. Most of the following is taken from the comments section of the column itself, one from email.
I'm withholding names, because the intention is education, not mockery. At least, that's my intention. I'm not perfect, and neither , as we will see, is Yogi Berra, master of time, space, dimension, and seven secret spices. Finally, all typos are from the originals.
1. "Nunuez: 270-game conspiracy pretending that he was a major league player" Nunez hit .267 over that time. Only a completely ignorant person would say that is pretending to be a major league player. That's the problem with the internet, people who were not even good enough to play little ball well can pretend to be some sort of expert on the game. Yogi Berra had great praise for Nunez. So, who knows more about the game, Yogi Berra or some nerdy douche bag who probably doesn't know how to hold a baseball? I'll stick with Yogi's opinion as that of an expert. Go play some video games, that's the extent of your baseball knowledge. -- Cy
Thanks for writing, Cy. I'll take your points one by one:
"Nunez hit .267 over that time." So, there's this thing called on-base percentage that... No, that's not the right attitude to start with. Batting average, it's pretty well accepted these days, is not the best way to express a player's offensive production. Players have two functions when hitting: getting on base and moving runners around the bases. The former is expressed as on-base percentage and the latter as slugging percentage. Batting average is just the percentage of times a player makes a hit when he has an at-bat. Higher is better, obviously, but it's not the end-all be-all of production. Harmon Killebrew hit only .256, but he had a .376 OBP and slugged .509, so we can safely overlook his daily 1-for-4.
Nunez's OBP is .313. The AL average during his career was .322. His slugging percentage is .379. The AL average was .408. I assume you see where I'm going with this. Just to finish the triangle, during Nunez's Yankees career, the league hit .257. Nunez hit .267. Rounding up, that's 26 percent versus 27 percent. You know, in monetary terms, a quarter plus one penny or a quarter plus two pennies. This is not something to brag about outside of numismatic circles.
"Only a completely ignorant person would say that is pretending to be a major league player." Let's say, just for argument's sake, that hitting .267 is a really big deal. Let's also say, just to keep our "Yellow Submarine" psychedelic fantasy vibe going, that Nunez's slugging and on-base percentage shortfalls aren't a problem. That still leaves the problem of an infielder who has made 30 errors in just 1150 innings at shortstop and 11 errors in 539.1 innings at third. The Yankees used to talk up Nunez as the heir to Derek Jeter, even though his minor league numbers are even more depressing, particularly at the plate. If a player doesn't hit and he doesn't field, he's not really helping. Nunez steals bases reasonably well, but absent other skills we call that a pinch-runner.
Due to advances in defensive metrics, we now have a very good idea of the value of defense. Andrelton Simmons hit only .248/.296/.396 last year but was still worth about seven wins above replacement because he was so spectacular in the field. Nunez's subpar fielding, combined with his weak bat, put the Yankees in a worse position than a hypothetical player who hit, say, .220 but had an average or above-average glove. Last year, Brendan Ryan hit .197 in 349 plate appearances for the Mariners and Yankees but fielded well. Baseball-Reference pegs him at 0.4 wins. Nunez hit .260 in 336 PAs and fielded poorly. The same site says he was worth -1.7 wins.
I leave the "completely ignorant" part to you. I'm not particularly good-looking either, and I could stand to lose a few pounds. Well, a few hundred pounds. None of those things really change the nature of Eduardo Nunez, though.
Your host? (Getty Images)
That's the problem with the internet, people who were not even good enough to play little ball well can pretend to be some sort of expert on the game. While others feel they have the expertise to comment on their opinions. I feel there is an irony you are missing here, Cy. Also, did you know that Dr. Robert Oppenheimer did not personally pilot the Enola Gay? He knew zip about how to pilot a plane or how to operate the Norden bombsight. He sure as heck knew how to build an atomic bomb, though. Similarly, I regret to say that Peter Gammons did not bat cleanup for the '75 Red Sox, "Bill James" is not Frank White's penname, and Edward Gibbon never met Nero, Diocletian, or Alaric the Visigoth.
Yogi Berra always said he observed a lot by watching. (Getty Images)
Yogi Berra had great praise for Nunez. "Appeal to authority" is a fallacious form of argument that says "Yogi Bear says that blueberry pies are the best pies. Yogi Bear knows a lot about pies. As such, blueberry pies are definitely the best pies, the pies you like be damned." Sometimes, Yogi Bear's opinion is not definitive, even in his field, or in truth he's speaking outside of his area of expertise, in this case the undefinable area of personal taste. Like all of us, Yogi Bear has days when he's just wrong.
Yogi Berra played, coached, or managed in roughly 3,240 professional games and obviously has a great deal of expertise about the game, or at least experience, which isn't always the same thing. Either way, citing his opinion rather than actual evidence proves nothing. Further, when you are going on 89 years old and your job is to make the odd goodwill appearance at Yankee Stadium, no one is really asking you to render an honest critical judgment of any player, and it's not remotely in one's interest to do so given that if you show up and say, "Good Lord, Al Douglas is terrible," then they stop asking you to come around and cut back your honorarium.
Phil Rizzuto, Hank Bauer, Yogi Berra, 1951. (Getty Images)
So, who knows more about the game, Yogi Berra or some nerdy douche bag who probably doesn't know how to hold a baseball?One of the great thrills of my career was getting to talk with Yogi a bit at old Yankee Stadium. Yogi was listed at 5'7" when he played, but he's not that tall anymore, and I'm 6'1", so it was disconcerting to tower over him given that metaphorically he is the much larger figure. I spoke with Phil Rizzuto briefly a couple of times -- him I expected to be taller than. Hank Bauer was funny and cantankerous in a way only a combat veteran can be, and I will always be happy I got to ask him about the time the Orioles vetoed a trade he had arranged of Mike Epstein for Billy Williams -- his swearing by itself made the trip worthwhile. I'm pretty sure I was the last person ever to interview Hall of Famer Country Slaughter. I spent a morning talking ‘40s and ‘50s baseball over coffee with Jerry Coleman, who was just as charming in person as he was on the air. I chatted with Bob Feller for about 15 minutes years ago, and he was a gruff, no-nonsense guy who spoke grudgingly but I cherish the time.
Not everyone I've talked to has since passed on, of course -- I'm not the Robert Todd Lincoln of baseball, I hope. Some of the best conversations I've had were with players like Kevin Maas and Steve Balboni, who weren't Hall of Famers, but were just very friendly guys, happy to talk baseball for a little while. I loved watching Jesse Barfield and Dave Winfield play and I've gotten to speak to both of them. Rickey Henderson and Don Mattingly, too. I got to do long radio interviews with Jimmy Wynn, Billy Pierce, and Alice Cooper (big D-backs fan, very cordial). I interviewed Randy Newman and asked about the score to "The Natural."
What I'm trying to say is, if that's what being a nerdy douche gets you, I'm happy and grateful to answer to that description -- and that too changes nothing about Eduardo Nunez or whether Yogi's opinion of him matters even slightly.
"Bones" Balboni blasts one. (Getty Images)
I'll stick with Yogi's opinion as that of an expert. He knows a lot about Yoo-Hoo too. You should definitely check him out on that. Good stuff, Yoo-Hoo. I wonder if there's a Mexican version made with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
Go play some video games, that's the extent of your baseball knowledge. Just one game, actually. Fortunately, it was the 1983 Infocom game Zork IV: No Exit from Sportsman's Park, co-written by Roger Angell and Simone de Beauvoir. You could pick up a lot from that sucker, especially about Chris von der Ahe and the very early Cardinals. Also, the video game thing -- that's a very original line of attack.
Lonny Frey and Billy Werber. Playing primarily shortstop for the Dodgers from 1933 to 1936, Frey made as many as 62 errors in a season. Later, when teams stopped asked him to do things he wasn't capable of, he became a highly-regarded defensive second baseman.(Getty Images)
2: "Classic Bullying" This is the part of reporting that is completely ignorant. If writers are allowed to post this form of bullying by adults to one another then they are teaching our young to do the same. Imagine if this were a post on Facebook from rival high school sports towns. And one baseball player reporting on anothers fielding skills. Its disgusting and unnecessary.-Edgar A. Poe
You mean I'm supposed to tell you that Eduardo Nunez was traded without explaining why? No player has had a lower fielding percentage in as many games at shortstop since Alan Bannister (.933, played from 1974 to 1985) and Derrel Thomas (.937, played from 1971 to 1985). That's not an attack, it's the key fact in the story; if Nunez were a decent fielder, it would have been Eduard-yes instead of Eduard-no. As for what we teach our young, I like the idea of telling them the truth and helping them learn that quite often in life you have to face unpleasant facts with your head held high.
3: Wonder Dog the Mighty? First you say that Rivera was Wonder Dog the Mighty, then you say that, basically, closers are irrelevant. -- General Lew Wallace
I said "Rivera was an all-time great closer, but now that's over, and Robertson will or won't pitch well and eventually the Yankees will find someone to fill that role." Rivera was indeed great, but let's not get confused as to what that greatness was about. Putting his personality and his postseason work aside (we're concerned with the regular season right now), Rivera was extraordinarily consistent at a very high level for a very long time. Most relief pitchers, even closers, are far more variable, fading in and out of focus rather quickly. That doesn't mean, however, that Rivera was or is irreplaceable; the Yankees demonstrated that themselves in 2012, when Rivera was hurt and Rafael Soriano saved 42 games.
Soriano was a veteran, but closers are made, not born; teams mint new ones every season based on necessity. Sometimes they don't work out. Sometimes a team will go through an entire season without finding one and they blow a lot of leads another team would have converted. If you look closely, though, these are the outliers; the gap between the best closers and the worst in terms of actually finishing games is fairly small, and most of the time teams may not get a Rivera out of the deal, but they find someone at least transiently functional.
As the Clash sang, "That's Montgomery Clift, honey!" No, wait -- that's Rin Tin Tin, wonder dog, honey. (Getty Images)
That leads to a great deal of turnover. Last year, Jim Johnson was the first pitcher to lead the AL in saves for two years in a row since Francisco Rodriguez in 2005-2006, and K-Rod tied with Bob Wickman in the former year. Before that, you have to go all the way back to Dan Quisenberry in 1984-1985. There has been a bit more stability in the NL, with Craig Kimbrel leading in each of the last three seasons, but he shared the title with John Axford in 2011 and Jason Motte in 2012, pitchers who, whether through injury or inconsistency, have already been replaced by the teams they were with. The way the job is structured, a team should, under normal conditions, be able to find someone to close. Thus there is no contradiction in saying Rivera was great but Rivera is also replaceable.
Same point, different way: Rivera's career save conversion rate was 89 percent. Joe Nathan's is currently 90. It wasn't Rivera's invulnerability that was unique, but his longevity and consistency.
4: "Worst article I've read in a long time" (Avenging Sulbaran) You're a writer who's probably never played a baseball game past tee ball. Keep up. You say that Sulbaran hasn't impressed as a prospect probably because you haven't heard of him and none of your non athletic writer buddies have ever written about him, so you end your research there and say he's not impressive. Well last year Sulbaran went and started 16 games and had an era of 3.00. He was very good, that's impressive. Who are you?-Isaac Asimov
I'm Margaret Bloody Mitchell, award-winning author of Gone With the Wind. Who are you?
THAT is Montgomery Clift, honey, in Red River with Joanne Dru. John Wayne is in the picture as well, and it's really good, too -- right up until the unresolvable ending.(Getty Images)
Let's talk about Sulbaran for a moment. He's a 5'10" lefty, and if you have followed baseball for any length of time, aside from the odd Billy Wagner, an identically-sized left-hander who threw approximately hard enough to break the sound barrier, baseball men are about as interested in undersized lefties as they are in contracting herpes. P.S.: No one is saying Sulbaran throws as hard as Billy Wagner. Last year he was traded to the Twins for Drew Butera, a career .180/.228/.260 hitter. Whereas many observers enjoy disparaging the work of Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, it should be understood that not even he would knowingly trade the next Clayton Kershaw for the Bill Bergen of the 21st century.
Despite Baseball America never listing Sulbaran anywhere and Baseball Prospectus's prospect guys treating him like the invisible man, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo did rank him as the Twins' 14th-best prospect at the end of last season. Somewhere between then and now he dropped him -- he's on neither the Twins' nor the Yankees' 2014 list. Here's what he said about him last year:
Sulbaran has a good feel for his low-90s fastball and can add and subtract velocity from it as needed. His curveball is his best offspeed pitch and both his slider and changeup show promise. Sulbaran, who gets a Wandy Rodriguez comp, has been developed as a starter, but his stuff could also make him a dominant left-handed reliever.
Before continuing, a couple of small corrections to Isaac's comment above: Last year, Sulbaran didn't start 16 games with an ERA of 3.00, he started 20 and relieved in seven others, totaling 112.2 innings and an ERA of 2.96. I wrote, "Sulbaran hasn't impressed as a prospect" in part because no one has seen fit to rank him despite decent stats, but more importantly he's twice been traded for players who are 25th men at best despite decent numbers. That suggests the valuation that scouts are putting on him. It could his height, combined with the "low-90s fastball" cited above being more like a high-80s, or that none of those offspeed pitches have developed. It could be something that has nothing to do with on-field results at all.
Another movie where the ending really doesn't work?Meet John Doe. At least it's a fun trip getting there, you have Barbara Stanwyck along with you, and Coop plays an ex-pitcher. (Getty Images)
Sulbaran maintains a strong strikeout-walk ratio. He is also very young and has never pitched above A-ball. He offers the hope of something for a fungible player, and that's a victory for the Yankees just as it was for the Twins. If he becomes a lefty spot reliever or even fringe starter, great, but there are a lot of lefty spot relievers and fringe starters.
And you know what there are even more of? Reserve shortstops who can pick up a grounder without throwing it away.
With Brian McCann in the fold, its not clear if catching prospect Gary Sanchez has much of a future in the Bronx. What kind of return have prospects of Sanchez's caliber brought back via trade?
As the Yankees' clear-cut top prospect, Gary Sanchez's name was at the top of virtually every organizational prospect list out there last winter, and assuming nothing goes awry, Sanchez should be ready to take on big league catching duties within the next year or two. The obvious issue is that the Yankees already have their catcher of the present and future on their roster in Brian McCann, who's under contract through 2018. McCann may not be the Yankees' catcher for all five of those years, but he almost certainly will be for at least the next three -- well past Sanchez's 2015 ETA. Throw in fellow catching prospect John Ryan Murphy, who is all but ready for the show, and Sanchez's future with the Bombers is hazy at best. Sooner or later, the Yankees will dangle Sanchez. It may not happen this season, or even this winter, but it's only a matter of time.
So what kind of return could the Yankees expect? Probably a pretty solid one. Sanchez is a unanimous top-100 prospect who still has all 6+ years of big league service time remaining. Baseball America was particularly high on the 20-year-old, pegging him as the #35 prospect in the game.
To get some idea of what he might bring back, I compiled a list of prospects who were traded within the last five years while ranking between 20th-50th in Baseball America's annual list and tried to imagine what a similar deal might look like in 2014. I left out prospects who were dealt with other big-name players in blockbuster trades -- like when Anthony Rizzo, Casey Kelly, and Reymond Fuentes were packaged for Adrian Gonzalez a couple years back. There are just too many moving parts to analyze in those types of deals, and frankly, I'm not sure the Yankees have the prospects to complement Sanchez in a major package deal anyway.
This deal wasn't exactly a one-for-one. Technically, Turner was packaged with catcher Rob Brantly and pitcher Brian Flynn in exchange for Sanchez and Omar Infante, but Turner and Sanchez were definitely the headliners of the deal, and the other pieces more or less cancel each other out. Although the Tigers ultimately ended up re-signing Sanchez, he did test the open market the following off-season, making this a straight-up three month rental.
At this point, the Yankees look to be in good shape in terms of rotation depth. David Phelps would be a starter on most teams and Adam Warren and Vidal Nuno could also pass as back-end starters. Still, pitching depth has a habit of disappearing in a hurry, and if two or three of the Yankees' starters were to go down this year, they'd almost certainly try to add an arm for the stretch run.
In 2011, the year before the trade, Anibal Sanchez was worth 3.6 fWAR. Some similar pitchers who are slated to hit free agency next winter include Justin Masterson (3.4 fWAR), and James Shields (4.5 fWAR) -- both arms could become available if their respective teams fall out of the playoff hunt.
January 6, 2012: Anthony Rizzo (#47 prospect) for Andrew Cashner
After a disappointing cup of coffee with San Diego, the Padres dealt first base prospect Anthony Rizzo for the hard-throwing Andrew Cashner, who was on his way back from rotator cuff surgery.
For obvious reasons, a trade like this would be super risky, but if they were to go this route, Patrick Corbin and Jarrod Parker might fit the mold. Both are recovering from Tommy John surgery and are expected to return to the field in the spring of 2015.
December 6, 2010: Brett Lawrie (#40 prospect) for Shaun Marcum
Shaun Marcum's career has been derailed by injuries the last couple of seasons, but three years ago, he was one of the better pitchers in the game. After pitching to a 3.64 ERA over 31 starts in 2010, the 29-year-old was dealt for infield prospect Brett Lawrie. Marcum was in the midst of his arbitration years at the time and still had two years of team control remaining.
The Yankees aren't necessarily in the market for a pitcher, but they also don't have much in terms of starting pitching prospects on the immediate horizon. They might look for another arm to fill out their rotation once Hiroki Kuroda calls it quits -- especially if Michael Pineda winds up flopping this year.
Marcum posted 3.5 fWAR in 2010. Some comparable pitchers with similar contract situations include: Rick Porcello (3.2 fWAR, two years of team control), Jeff Samardzija (2.8 fWAR, two years of control), Travis Wood (2.8 fWAR, three years of control), and Jordan Zimmermann (3.6 fWAR, two years of control). All of these guys are starting to get expensive as they enter into their final arbitration years, so they could find themselves on the block at some point this year.
After selecting Wallace in the first round just one year earlier, the Cardinals flipped him for star outfielder Matt Holliday at the 2009 deadline. Clayton Mortensen and Shane Peterson were also part of the package for Holliday, but Wallace was far and away the best prospect of the trio. Holliday ended up signing with St. Louis long-term, but not before testing the free agent waters the following winter.
There may not be a three or four month rental like Holliday to be had this year. Hanley Ramirez and Max Scherzer are this year's big ticket free agents-to-be, but they play for very good teams, meaning they probably won't be made available this summer.
Its crazy to think two prospects ranked so closely together and traded at the same time could net such disparate returns. Just four days after the Cardinals turned Wallace into Holliday, the Giants flipped Alderson for blasé second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Although he was in the midst of a decent 2009 season, Sanchez was pretty poor in 2008, hitting just .271/.298/.371. Alderson never amounted to much -- he's still toiling away in the minors at age 25 -- so maybe teams knew something that outside evaluators didn't. Still, a half season of Freddy Sanchez seems like an awfully light return for a top 100 prospect.
At the time of the trade, Freddy Sanchez was a decent player who was coming off of a down year in 2008. Asdrubal Cabrera and Rickie Weeks fit that mold this year. Cabrera's bat took a step back last season, hitting only a meager .242/.299/.402 after very strong 2011 and 2012 campaigns. Similarly, Weeks was was one of the best second basemen in baseball in 2010 and 2011, but tailed off in 2012 and was roughly replacement level last season before tearing his hamstring in August. Neither the Indians nor the Brewers figure to be all that competitive this year, and both have viable in-house replacements in Francisco Lindor and Scooter Gennett respectively, so Cabrera and Weeks are likely to be on the block this summer. But again, I'd hope for a little more in exchange for a blue chip prospect like Sanchez.
Given the lack of talent and durability around the Yankees' infield, there's a good chance they'll be in the market for some infield help this summer. Hopefully they won't need to give up someone of Gary Sanchez's caliber if such a trade did come to pass.
The Yankees take on the defending champion Boston Red Sox in the first game of a four-game series. Michael Pineda will take the ball for the Yankees in his first game at Yankee Stadium. That's two home debuts in a row!
It looks like Gardner, Jeter, and Ellsbury will be the top three going forward, at least until Mark Teixeira comes back. In my opinion maybe Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann should be flipped so that teams aren't able to pitch around Beltran to go after the struggling McCann, like we saw last night.
Yangervis Solarte continues to start at third and bat at the back of the lineup. He's had a hot bat, but it wouldn't surprise me if last night was the beginning of the end for the Legend of Yangervis. We've seen rookies like David Adams and Zoilo Almonte thrive in their first week only to hit the floor from there on after. Hopefully this won't be the case here, but I've been waiting for reality to hit. Dean Anna will make the start in replacement of Brian Roberts, who gets a day off after coming so close to a walk-off home run against his former team. That would have been something.
It has been reported that Jacoby Ellsbury, and don't forget Matt Thornton, though he wasn't on the Postseason roster, will receive their World Series rings tomorrow. This would probably excite me a lot more if it wasn't the Red Sox handing them out. Oh well, Ellsbury's been great so far, so good for him! And yay Thornton too.
R.A. Dickey has a power-knuckleball that will allow him to pitch as long as he wants. The question has arisen if his knuckleball works indoors.- he has posted a 4.84 ERA in 22 starts at the Rogers Centre. He was excellent in his first start against the Yankees, allowing zero runs over 6.2 innings.
Dickey has held Jose Altuve hitless in seven at-bats. While Dexter Fowler (3-for-6), Jesus Guzman (2-for-6), and Marc Krauss (2-for-3) appear to be able to pick up the knuckler. Krauss two hits have both gone for extra baseses.
Dallas Keuchel looks to improve on his first outing that saw him up around 50+ pitches in the third inning against the Angels. Dallas fought through it and keep the game in check, allowing four runs in five innings.
The power bats of the Blue Jays have all hit the Astros' left-hander well, Bautista, Cabrera, and Encarnacion all have multiple hits in two games against Keuchel.
Dickey faced the Astros on July 26, 2013 - he pitched six innings and gave up five runs. Those five runs came off seven hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts. Marc Krauss touched up the knuckleballer for a two-run homer in tha game. Villar and Krauss also added a double in the game. Krauss snapped his 0-for-15 streak last night and appears to have a good eye for the knuckler in a small sample.
Maicer Izturis continues to be hot, batting .455 (10-for-22) this season. This includes 2-for-3 with a one run batted in his last game.
Dexter Fowler was welcomed back to the lineup, going 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Controversy! Michael Pineda made his Yankee Stadium debut and was phenomenal for six innings. Unfortunately, that was all drowned out by the fact that he also had the most obvious pine tar hand in the history of pine tar hands.
Someone was using a banned substance and YES, NESN, and Twitter were ON IT. By all means, let's ignore the fact that it's a widely accepted practice among players behind the scenes.
For me, the big deal was that Pineda struck out seven while only walking two, giving up four hits, and one run in six innings. It's good to see that his shoulder seems healthy and he's not just decent, but actually thriving. Whatever's on his hand, glove or butt is of little concern to me. This was his first win since 2011 and he absolutely earned.
The Yankees offense did their job, collecting seven hits and scoring four runs (only two earned) in six innings off Clay Buchholz. It all started in the fourth inning when Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on a Jonathan Herrera error at third base. Carlos Beltran singled and Brian McCann FINALLY broke through the shift on a single to right field to score a run. With Beltran now on third, Alfonso Soriano hit into a double play that made it 2–0. In the next inning, Dean Anna hit the first home run of his career to right field. Then Derek Jeter hit a ground-rule double and Ellsbury knocked him in with a single.
Brett Gardner also had a hit and Jeter added a total of two to his massive collection of hits. In the seventh inning it looked like Yangerivs Solarte was about to hit his first major league home run, but it ended up dying right up against the wall instead and everyone was disappointed. This is the first time Solarte has gone hitless since April 2, though, to be fair, he was cheated out of a hit when Daniel Nava made a fantastic diving catch to rob the rookie of a bloop single. Can the Legend of Solarte continue tomorrow?
The biggest issue going into the game was the severe lack of bullpen. With David Robertson on the DL, Adam Warren and Shawn Kelley were also deemed unavailable, so it could have been a very bad night if the Yankees needed to rely too heavily on the relievers they had left. Thankfully, they seemed to have no problems. Cesar Cabral came into the game in the seventh and struck out two batters before turning the ball over to the struggling David Phelps. Even more thankfully, Phelps wasn't hot garbage. He went 2.1 innings with three strikeouts and didn't allow anyone on base to finish off the game and get the save.
Today's links look at the future plans for John Lackey, the dominance performance of David Ortiz in high-leverage situations and a Red Sox legend's memorabilia auction.
Sox general manager Ben Cherington sees John Lackey "in all likelihood" pitching past 2015 following his comeback from Tommy John surgery in the offseason of 2011. (Meredith Perri; WEEI)
Your yearly column about how great David Ortiz is when it matters most. These may end up being what we miss most of all when he (eventually) retires. (Ben Shapiro; Masslive.com)
A considerable amount of memorabilia from Johnny Pesky's time with the Red Sox will be a part of an auction this Saturday. Among the pieces of the Pesky estate to be bid upon are his 2004 and 2007 World Series rings, featured along other non-Pesky items like a bat signed by Ted Williams. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the items will be going to the Jimmy Fund. (Sam Galanis; NESN)
For reasons that became clear last night, the Red Sox were extremely worried about former outfielder Jaboby Ellsbury heading into their first series of the season with the Yankees. (Scott Lauber; Boston Herald)
While the opinions may be split in the media and among fans, a sizable portion of the Red Sox players had no issue with the pine tar on Michael Pineda's hand. Included among the players that dismissed the issue directly were Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and the losing pitcher, Clay Buchholz. (Brian MacPherson; Providence Journal)
According to Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal, a trio of Red Sox players played a major role in the recent changes to the league's Joint Drug Agreement and the so-called "Peralta rule". The players were motivated to take action after playing the Tigers' Jhonny Peralta in the ALCS, and brought their umbrage directly to the union after the season ended. (Ken Rosenthal; Fox Sports)
Anyone interested in a deep dive through the Red Sox farm system would do well to check out this detailed break down of the potential future of the Red Sox pitching staff. (Sox Prospects)
Sports Business Daily | John Ourand: The YES Network shut down their in-market streaming service, further underlining the lack of development in such streaming services.
Hardball Talk | Craig Calcaterra: Dr. James Andrews believes that the rash of Tommy John surgeries is a rising trend based on how pitchers are throwing harder at younger ages.
Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from April 10th.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W 7-2 vs. Syracuse Chiefs
2B Jose Pirela 1-4, SB 3B Scott Sizemore 1-3, BB, K - batting .429 this season LF Zoilo Almonte 0-3, RBI, BB, CS DH Russ Canzler 0-3, BB, K RF Ramon Flores 0-3, BB, 2 K C John Ryan Murphy 2-4, RBI, K CF Adonis Garcia 1-4, HR, 2 RBI - first homer of the season 1B Corban Joseph 1-4, double, 2 RBI, K SS Zelous Wheeler 0-0, E6 - pulled for injury and replaced by Carmen Angelini (1-3)
DH Mason Williams 2-5, triple - batting .276 this season CF Ben Gamel 0-4, BB 3B Rob Segedin 0-3, RBI, BB RF Tyler Austin 1-4, K 2B Rob Refsnyder 0-4, 3 K LF Taylor Dugas 1-3, BB 1B Dan Fiorito 1-4, RBI, 2 K C Francisco Arcia 2-3, double, 3 RBI, BB, CS, E2 - fielding error SS Ali Castillo 2-4, double, 2 K
Jeremy Bleich 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, BB, 5 K, 2 WP - 53 of 86 pitches for strikes Manny Barreda 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Diego Moreno 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 K
High-A Tampa Yankees:W 7-3 vs. Clearwater Threshers
CF Jake Cave 1-4, double, RBI, K SS Cito Culver 0-3, RBI 3B Eric Jagielo 1-4, 2 RBI C Peter O'Brien 1-4, HR, RBI - third homer of the season DH Dante Bichette Jr. 2-4, double - batting .286 this season 2B Angelo Gumbs 1-4 RF Jose Toussen 1-3, BB 1B Reymond Nunez 1-4, RBI, 2 E3 - two fielding errors LF Claudio Custodio 0-2, RBI, HBP
Eric Wooten 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Eric Ruth 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R/2 ER, BB, 2 K Zach Woods 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 1-5 vs. Augusta GreenJackets
SS Abiatal Avelino 0-4, 2 K, E6 - fielding error DH Brandon Thomas 1-4, 2 K RF Aaron Judge 0-2, 2 BB 1B Mike Ford 0-3, HBP - batting .360 this season 3B Miguel Andujar 1-4, double, E5 - fielding error LF Michael O'Neill 0-3, BB, 2 K, SB 2B Gosuke Katoh 0-3, 2 K, HBP, SB, CS - batting .167 this season C Luis Torrens 0-3, BB, passed ball CF Mikeson Oliberto 1-2, double, BB, K
Luis Severino 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, WP, E1 - 41 of 51 pitches for strikes Jaron Long 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R/2 ER, 0 BB, K, pickoff Cesar Vargas 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, WP Nick Rumbelow 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Michael Pineda was certainly not the first or last to have a "mysterious" substance on his pitching hand.
Because it seems a single Yankees-Red Sox game can't go by without some sort of controversy at least part of all the broadcasts of yesterday's game was devoted to the brown substance that was on Michael Pineda's wrist. Initially thought to be delicious maple syrup left over from Pineda's hearty brunch, it was surmised to be pine tar (although Pineda has denied this). It's not unusual for pitchers to try to add to their grip on the baseball with what is technically considered an illegal substance, but the rule is only lightly enforced as long as the ball isn't coated with the stuff. But pine tar is only one of many foreign substances and doctoring techniques that pitchers have used throughout history to give themselves that extra edge. And as Pinstripe Alley's resident Grand Maester, I was able to compile a list of them for you.
Gobs of spit: Gaylord Perry so famously doctored his pitches that he titled his autobiography after the spitter. Legend has it that Perry had his own personal camel drench his hands with saliva before taking the mound each inning. Upon being found out, Perry simply started putting the entire ball in his mouth.
Dynamite: Likely influenced by the golden age of Looney Tunes, pitchers in the 1930's would place a stick of dynamite in the baseball before throwing them. Opposing batters responded by dropping grand pianos on the pitchers that resorted to this tactic. Many careers were tragically cut short.
Steroids: While in Toronto, Roger Clemens administered the steroid known as"the clear" to the baseballs he used in a misguided effort to assist with his pitching. Only upon noticing that they stayed the same size and had no increased stamina he realized it was meant to be used on the player themselves.
Grease: With the proliferation of absurdly unhealthy ballpark food such as bacon-wrapped corn dogs and burgers between grilled cheese or donuts, pitchers in the modern era need to only shake the hands of fans before the game to have enough grease on their hands to throw a slick, disgusting baseball. Hand acne has become quite a problem.
Tools: Back in the days when players held more than one job, pitchers would take the tools of their trade out to the mound and scuff up the ball. Cobblers, riveters, farriers, you name it. It was only when the carpenters started sawing the ball in half that the league stepped in.
Poo: I remain unconvinced that Kenny Rogers didn't have waste of an unknown origin on his hand during the 2006 Playoffs. Sorry, just calling it like I see it.
See, it's as traditional for players to mess with the baseball as it is to eat crackerjack and pretend it's not terrible. Just as Michael Pineda had a brown substance on his hand, Clay Buchholz was rubbing his hands through his hair and getting filth and insects all over the ball. But I'm sure this is the last we'll ever have to hear about any of this. Right.
