The Sommer Frieze

With Aceves and Hughes leading the pack for the 5th starter position, Joba Chamberlain looks at today and sees his stats in last place, behind those two as well as Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre.

It’s put up or shut up time. Andy Pettitte starts against the Phils today, Damaso Marte gets an inning, but eyes will be on Joba. His first two outings were terrible, and you can excuse one because of a bout with the flu (of which I am fighting now, so I clearly empathize).

But Joba has to show something… and now. Back with the results later.  

In the first, Gardner singled, stole 2nd but was left stranded. Rollins doubled off Pettitte, stole third and scored on a Howard single. Andy K’d two. 1-0 Phils.  Cervelli had a two out single in the second but was stranded. Andy gave up singles to Ransom and Castro and a SF to Ruiz in the 2nd. 2-0 Phils after 2. Nick Johnson had a two-out hit in the third but was stranded. Andy has a scoreless 3rd, one hit.  

RBI double for Cervelli in the 4th. 2-1 Phils after 3 1/2.  

Pettitte’s day is done. A shaky beginning, then he settled in. 4 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 1 walk, 4 K.

Encouraging day for Gardner, who has his detractors. He triples (reminding us of that great speed, he just needs to hit enough to take advantage of it) and scores on a game-tying SF by Johnson.  

Thank goodness this wasn’t the Marte we saw in the WS. Both Pettitte and Marte are facing live batters for the first time. Pettitte? Decent. Marte, not so. 3-run HR by Werth. Marte gave up 4 hits and retired no one. According to Chad Jennings at LoHud, Marte was removed from the game after taking a Ryan Howard liner off his back. Amaury Sanit finished the inning. In the 6th, the Yanks got two hits off Contreras (including Cervelli’s third of the game) but no runs. Time for Joba to show something.

Joba gets two outs, gives up a bloop double then an RBI single. Good day for Cervelli who throws out a runner trying to steal. We’ll see how Joba bounces back.

He winds up going three, 1 R, 2 H, 1 walk, 3 K. A good outing, considering the run basically came on a bloop double. Is it enough to get him even with Hughes and Aceves? Probably not, but it puts him back in the picture.

The team was 0 for 9 with RISP today.    

Update: Chad Jennings at LoHud reports that Marte is fine. He also adds that (and I was just looking at the boxscore) Chamberlain pitched a “bottom of the 9th” even though the home team won. A 1-2-3 with 2 ks. So 4 IP in all, 1 R, 2 H, 1 walk and 5 Ks. The Joba we’d like to see….whether as a starter or a reliever. Nice bounceback.

Speaking of bouncebacks, time for yours truly to do so, after he has spent most of the past three days trying to get over the flu.   

So far: Not a good outing for AJ. You wanted him to go four to stretch out, and he goes 2 1/3, walks 4.  1 R, 2 H, 2 K. Zack Segovia comes in for him.

Swisher had an RBI double in the 2nd. 1-1 in the 3rd.

Make that 2-1. Teixeira HRs.  3-1 as Cano doubles, Posada singles him in. Scoreless 4th for Segovia. We should see Mo next inning.

Well, not a 1-2-3. But a scoreless inning. Mo gives up a hit and a walk, gets a K. From Chad Jennings over at the LoHud blog:

Mariano Rivera said his arm felt “day and night” better tonight compared to how it felt at this time last year. “I walked a guy,” he said. “I got too excited.”

End 5; Yanks 3 Astros 1.

In Hughes’ first inning, he gave up a hit but got a K and a DP. Hughes gave up a hit in inning #2 and also made an error, but scoreless.

Gardner and Jeter single, both leave for PR, and Austin Romine brings in a run with a groundout. 4-1 Yanks after 7.

In his 3rd inning of work, Hughes gives up a hit and a walk (and a SB) but gets a DP. 3 scoreless, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 K. In and out of trouble. Hughes has a scoreless 9th, gets a K. Ends his night with 4 scoreless innings, 3 H, 1 Walk, 2 Ks.

The question as of now for #5 is Aceves or Hughes? 

It remains to be seen how he will do, especially at a major and after a long layoff, but Tiger Woods will be making his return to golf at the Masters—an event he has won four times.

You kind of knew that the first event would be one in which the media would be “controlled,” whether it be the Masters or the one near Tiger’s house where he can boat in and out of to avoid the press as much as necessary. The Masters is very much controlled (remember when one lady tried to protest the lack of women golfers in the Masters? Do you remember how that was handled?) and it will probably be to Tiger’s benefit. The last thing the people running the Masters have ever wanted…or do want…is a circus. It’s about the golf there.

Speaking of comebacks, although not as extreme, Mariano Rivera will make his first spring training tuneup tonight in the Yanks’ S.T. game. AJ will start, then Mo, then Hughes as Hughes continues his fight for the 5th starter job. Tomorrow Damaso Marte makes his first S.T. appearance in a game as he follows Andy Pettitte (first appearance, but only because of rainouts). Joba will follow Marte. Joba needs a good showing—badly.

Knowing Mo, he’ll probably have a 1-2-3 on only 8 pitches and then have to go to the bullpen to get in more work.

Interesting in that tonight’s lineup looks like the Opening Day lineup, only with Gardner in CF and Granderson in LF. I wouldn’t make too much of it yet. 

Jeter/Johnson/Teix/Alex/Cano/Jorge/Granderson/Swisher and Gardner.

I see where Eric Gagne was sent to minor league camp. He’s trying to comeback with the Dodgers but results weren’t encouraging.

Ben Sheets, who missed all of 2009 and then signed with the A’s, got lit up yesterday.

They aren’t the only ones taking a beating…also taking a bit of a beating are the ones reporting on a Howard for Pujols rumor. Let’s just say I’d believe that one when I see it.      

Yanks’ game tonight. If I remember correctly, Hughes gets in some work tonight, Joba tomorrow. 

Received the following:

Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame
Announces Nominations for 2010 Induction Class

 

Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant Recognizes Players, Executives, Journalists and
Entertainers of Irish Descent

 

New York, NY (March 15, 2010) –  Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant (18 W. 33^rd St.) today announced the nominations for 2010 induction into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame (IABHOF).  Voters include past inductees into the IABHOF and a panel of baseball historians.  Results will be announced in April 2010.

 

HALL OF FAMERS and LEGENDS

Big Ed Walsh – Baseball’s All-Time ERA Leader

Michael “King” Kelly – Baseball’s First Superstar

“Mighty Casey” of the Mudville Nine by Ernest Thayer

 

CURRENT LIVING EX-PLAYERS

Dale Murphy, Long-time Atlanta Brave, two-time NL MVP

Joe McEwing – “Super Joe,” now a manager in the White Sox minor league system

 

MANAGERS

John McGraw – Legendary manager of the NY Giants

Tom Kelly – Minnesota Twins two-time World Series winning manager

 

BROADCASTERS

Tim McCarver – Network TV analyst

Bob Murphy – Longtime Mets Broadcaster

 

EXECUTIVES

Brian Cashman – GM, NY Yankees

Bill James – Stastician, Red Sox Consultant

 

ENTERTAINERS

John Fogerty – Writer/Singer of “Centerfield”

Bill Murray – Cubs Fan, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” singer at Wrigley Field

John Cusack – Star of “Eight Men Out”

Rosie O’Donnell – Co-star of “A League of Their Own”

 

“It’s a strong and deserving class of nominees for the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame this year.  All of these men — and one woman — have made significant contributions to the game,” said Shaun Clancy, owner of Foley’s, which features one of the country’s most extensive public displays of baseball memorabilia outside of Cooperstown. 

 

With the blessing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Foley’s, a popular destination among baseball players, executives, umpires and fans, created the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame to recognize players, managers, executives, journalists, and entertainers of Irish descent.  Inductees are chosen based on a combination of factors, including impact on the game, popularity on and off the field, contributions to society, connections to the Irish community, and, of course, ancestry. 

 

 

The game of baseball has long welcomed immigrants from its earliest days, when an estimated 30 percent of players claimed Irish heritage.  Many of the game’s biggest stars at the turn of the 20^th century were Irish immigrants or their descendants, including Michael “King” Kelly, Roger Connor (the home run king before Babe Ruth), Eddie Collins, and NY Giants manager John McGraw.  Today, major league teams regularly sign players born in Latin America, Japan, Canada, and elsewhere.

 

Shaun Clancy, an amateur baseball historian, created the Hall after learning about the rich heritage of Irish Americans in the sport dating from its infancy – a legacy that has been overshadowed in recent years by other ethnicities.  He decided to celebrate his roots and those who helped make the game great by creating a shrine to Irish Americans in baseball in 2008.

 

“Starting Nine”

 

The “Starting Nine” inductees were: the late Mets and Phillies reliever Tug McGraw, Yankee announcer John Flaherty, sportswriter Jeff Horrigan, NY Mets groundskeeper Pete Flynn, retired sluggers Mark McGwire and Sean “The Mayor” Casey, Kevin Costner, star of Field of Dreams and Bull Durham, legendary owner-manager Connie Mack, and longtime official scorer and sports columnist Red Foley. 

 

The 2009 inductees were: longtime Brooklyn and LA Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, sluggers Steve Garvey and Paul O’Neill, longtime umpire Jim Joyce, veteran sportscaster Vin Scully, and Ed Lucas, a blind reporter who has covered the Yankees and Mets for more than 40 years.

 

About Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant

 

A popular destination among baseball players, executives, umpires and fans, Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant is located at 18 W. 33rd St., across from the  Empire  State  Building .  The “Irish Bar with a Baseball Attitude” features walls adorned with 2,000 autographed baseballs, hundreds of bobbleheads, game-worn jerseys, stadium seats and other artifacts that make Foley’s the best baseball bar in New York and one of the best sports bars in America. Foley’s is home of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame and features one of the country’s most extensive public displays of baseball memorabilia outside of Cooperstown.  For more information, call (212) 290-0080 or visit www.foleysny.com or www.facebook.com/FoleysNYPub.

For his career, Robbie Cano is a .256 hitter with RISP. With 2 outs and RISP, it’s .243. These are stats from a guy who has a .306 career batting average.

The numbers. 1st number RISP, 2nd number RISP with 2 out.

2005 .207/.210
2006 .306/.259
2007 .290/.250
2008 .263/.295
2009 .207/.204

Hmm… let’s see what Matsui did last year. .303/.269.

Robbie at 5 gives the Yanks a look of R/L/S/R/L/S/L/S/L or R (Gardner or Winn). Girardi wants to split the lefties Cano and Granderson. Cano has a .306 career BA, K’s 74x a year but only walks around 28x a year. The person at 5 has to be solid enough to protect A-Rod. Otherwise, the bat just gets taken out of A-Rod’s hands. Not good.

If Cano falters, what would switching him and Granderson mean? Well if Cano goes back to his accustomed #7 slot and Granderson is #5, you get…

a .272 hitter as opposed to .306. 149 K per year as opposed to Cano’s 74. More walks, 66 as opposed to Cano’s 28.

Granderson at 7 keeps the speed at the bottom. You have Jeter 1, Alex 4 (probably 15-20 SB), Granderson 7 and Gardner/Winn 9. The lineup is more speed balanced with 1-4-7-9 than having 1-4-5-9. It would seem that the speed would be wasted at 4-5, two traditionally power positions.

Cano isn’t a good basestealer. 17 SB in his career, 21 times CS. So he does seem the better fit for 5 than Granderson.

So what is Granderson’s stats? Career RISP/RISP with 2 out  .263/.239. Full-time years only… 

2006   .258/.182
2007  .256/.329
2008  .299/.300
2009  .242/.187

Hmm…Great in 2008, pretty bad (esp. with 2 out) in 2009. Seems a wash with him and Robbie. The Granderson strikeout tendency gives #5 to Robbie.

But what if you wanted Granderson’s speed at 2. The lineup could stay the same with Cano at 7, Granderson at 2 (hopefully the whiffs would go down as he gets the Teixeira/A-Rod protection) and Nick Johnson at #5. How do Nick’s RISP/RISP with 2 out rate? The speed now is 1-2-4-9. Not “balanced,” but when the lineup turns over you have them stacked…except for Teixeira.

Nick career: .273 BA/ 110 K year. Strikes out more than Robbie, less than Granderson. Average about the same as Granderson, and Nick walks more (102 per 162 g.) than just about anyone.

RISP .279/.263 with 2 out.  Because of his injuries, I’ll just list the years where Johnson played in 100 or more games:

2002 .296/.313
2005 .311/.254
2006 .248/.217
2009 .313/.362

Hmm…the 2006 wasn’t hot, but those other numbers were pretty good. When I suggested Johnson at 5, some mocked because of the lack of power. It is something Kevin Long, the Yankees hitting coach, is working on with Johnson, and Nick has 3 spring training HRs to date. A more friendly ballpark could help Nick also. But it seems like he is the one with the better RISP numbers of him, Cano and Granderson. Johnson’s OBP numbers are superb, hence the desire by Girardi to put Johnson 2nd. I just hope I don’t see Johnson held at 3rd on doubles by Teixeira/A-Rod that a faster runner (Granderson) would have scored on.

We’ll see how Robbie does. As for me, I think I’d have left well enough alone, kept Cano at his #7 slot (a comfortability factor), protected the newcomer Granderson with Teix and Alex (and had the speed up top in Jeter and Granderson) and put Johnson’s professional at bats (Matsui-like; but maybe without Godzilla’s power) at #5.

It depends on Robbie. For if he falters, Girardi will be sure to mix things up.       

In the late 1920’s there was a slugger from NYC who the Yanks were interested in. They couldn’t sign him, even at the “hometown discount.”

The slugger was a first baseman, and even though he would wind up in LF for some of his career, at that stage, the slugger didn’t want to be stuck behind Lou Gehrig on the Yankees’ depth chart.

In 1930, that slugger made his MLB debut at the age of 19. He got one at bat. He didn’t make it back to the majors until 1933, when he hit a respectable .301-12-87, OPS+ 118. In 1935 he was the league MVP, an award he would win again in 1940. In 1938 he finished 3rd in the MVP voting despite hitting 58 HR. Believe it or not, he didn’t get a first-place vote (19 went to the winner, Jimmie Foxx and the other three went to runnerup Bill Dickey).

That youngster missed most of the 1936 season, and entered the military early…BEFORE the U.S. officially entered WWII. He missed most of 1941, and all of 1942-1944. Released after V-E day, he returned home to play in about half a season, and helped his team, the Tigers, win the 1945 WS.

That youngster made the HOF. Hank Greenberg hit .313 with 331 HR in his career. He had just 9 seasons with 100 or more games played.

The NY Post is reporting that Cuban refugee shortstop Adeinis Hechavarria is heading to Toronto on a $10M deal. It’s not that the Yanks weren’t interested. They were. But according to the Post, the 21-year-old Hechevarria was worried about being stuck behind Jeter for a number of years.

We know about the Jeter/Gehrig connection. Jeter, after all, broke Gehrig’s record for the most hits by a Yankee, and is a no-doubt Hall-of-Famer….like Gehrig.

Time will tell whether Hechevarria can follow Greenberg into the HOF.    

Yanks lose to the Pirates in S.T. action today, 10-5. CC went 4 2/3, 3 R, 3 H,  2 walks, 2 K but he and Girardi were happy with his progress. You look for things other than stats in S.T., especially from trusted veterans.

However Albaladejo was awful again. Girardi took Alby north at the end of camp both in 2008 and 2009, but I can’t see it happening this year. Girardi says the sink isn’t there. Joe apparently likes Albaladejo, but his spring has been brutal. For example, CC’s numbers, although not great, are inflated because Albaladejo couldn’t seal the deal. Come in with 2 out, get that last out. Instead, the inherited runners scored, adding 2 runs to CC’s stats. Then Alby gave up 3 more. So instead of 1 run charged to CC, it was 3. Alby gave up 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning. 3 hits. One walk. ERA for S.T. of 45.00 so far. Stats don’t matter too much, but 45.00?

When the Yanks signed Chan Ho Park, room had to be made on the 40 man roster. Edwar Ramirez was DFA’d and eventually dealt to Texas. I know that Bronx Baseball Daily had a poll, Edwar or Albaladejo. Did the Yanks keep the wrong guy?

Melancon pitched a scoreless inning. 1 hit, 2 K. Surely a midseason callup if there is an injury in the bullpen. Dustin Moseley gave up 3 in 1 inning, Ivan Nova 1 in 1 IP.   

Nick Johnson HR’d in that 10-5 loss. Good stick so far. Will he turn on some power? He seems to have won the #2 slot. It appears that the lineup will look like this:

Jeter SS, Nick Johnson DH, Teixeira 1B, Alex 3B, Cano 2B, Posada C, Granderson CF or LF, Swisher RF and Gardner LF. Winn could be in the mix for LF, as could be Thames. If Thames plays, you could have a guy hitting 9th capable of 20 HR a year if he gets regular playing time.

The key is Cano in the 5 spot. He hit .320-25-85 last year, but imagine what those stats could have been like if he hit with RISP. With 2 outs and RISP, he only hit .204. It was .207 overall with RISP.

So it would be R/L/S/R/L/S/L/S/then L (Gardner) or R (Winn or Thames). Of course if Granderson continues to struggle vs. Lefties, Thames and his power could hit 7th and Granderson could be dropped to 9th, which wouldn’t be so bad…his speed in front of Jeter.

The Yanks sent Zach McAllister down. Expected. He’ll start at AAA and could be a callup if he does well and someone is injured.  

Check Bronx Baseball Daily for a nice piece by regular reader Jason who writes about Jesus Montero.

Looks like Boston has trouble with Dice-K. A stiff neck means he probably isn’t good to go north with the club. Meanwhile Baltimore as 2B trouble as Brian Roberts’ back is acting up.

NBA News: More trouble for Boston. Beat by Cleveland. 17-18 in the last 35. They seem to have gotten old and mediocre overnight.   

NFL news: NY gets a new LT. The Giants had Lawrence Taylor. Today, LaDainian Tomlinson signs a deal with the Jets.

Meanwhile, days after signing Jake Delhomme to a deal, the Browns deal Brady Quinn to Denver. 

March Madness begins as Kansas, Ky, Syracuse and Duke are the #1 seeds. Lehigh, not far from where I live, has the unenviable task of taking on the Jayhawks. Temple has Cornell, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cornell pull off an upset. Villanova is seeded #2 in the South (Duke #1) with ND #6. Let the “Madness” begin.                   

Recently I ran a post listing players I remembered and the numbers they wore. I received an e-mail about a new book coming out:

It’s not easy to find a new way to tell the story of the New York Yankees, baseball’s most successful franchise, but Bill Gutman has done it. Yankees by the Numbers tells the story of the Yankees through their uniform numbers. The Yankees were actually the first team in any sport to wear numbers, so that fans high up in cavernous Yankee Staduium could tell one player from another down on the field.

 

Here are the stories of each and every uniform number, beginning in 1929—from Earle Combs (the original #1) to Charlie Keller (the only Yankee to wear #99). Gutman provides history, insight, and humorous commentary about players that will be remembered forever and those that have been mostly forgotten. Each chapter features a fascinating sidebar that reveals which player  was the most obscure to wear each number, and which numbers produced the most wins, home runs, and stolen bases in club history. 

I believe that the book and blurb were written before Brian Bruney, for I seem to recall that he took up #99 last year.

Anyway, a suggested read for Yankees fans.

Yankees by the Numbers

A Complete Team History of the Bronx Bombers by Uniform Number

By Bill Gutman

Skyhorse Publishing Paperback Original

ISBN: 978-1-60239-763-7

On Sale: March 16, 2010

Price: $17.95  

The link at right takes you to the Amazon.com page, where you may get a discount off the retail price.

A couple very important players haven’t even played in a spring training game….yet. That should change this week.

Mariano Rivera is scheduled to go on Tuesday. Mo usually needs about 7-9 innings to get ready for the season. No alarm yet. At 40 and with so much success in his background, he knows what he needs to do. You just leave him alone and trust him.

But someone else also hasn’t thrown in a game yet, and his success from here to opening day could have a domino effect on the whole Yankees staff, from #5 starter through the bullpen.

That guy is Chan Ho Park.

A good point was brought up to me yesterday by my friend, Josh “the Yankee Truth,” and that was in reminding me about Chan Ho.

For you see, if Chan Ho (guaranteed to be on the 25 man roster unless there is an injury) proves that he is fully capable of handling the long man spot, it also means that there is less trepidation about possibly moving Aceves into the #5 starter spot.

…and it is Aceves who has done the best so far among the five candidates for the #5 starter spot. So if Park proves long-man worthy, will he share that job with Gaudin or Mitre (one would be left out)…and if Aceves is given that #5 slot (Jeter and Alex have been praising his work), then what of Joba and Hughes. Will both be bullpen-bound? Could the Yanks look like this?

CC, AJ, Andy, Javy and Ace starters
Park, Gaudin/Mitre, Joba, Hughes, Robertson, Marte, Rivera

Note that there is room for Mitre OR Gaudin. Not both. Also room for only one lefty, no Logan or Ring. Melancon starts in AAA.

Unless….what was thought unthinkable could happen? Could the so-far poor-performing Joba get a wakeup call and be bound for AAA to right himself?

Could Chan Ho and Aceves start a
domino-type effect?

CC goes today. Yanks off tomorrow.