Tuesday, June 30, 2009
First and Last
As a reward for notching his 500th career save against the Mets last night, the Yankees gave him the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in today's game. Needless to say he was also needed to throw the last pitch. Chamberlain sailed through five long innings and left with a 3-3 tie before the bullpen made things interesting and the game wound up in a 5-5 tie by the eighth inning.
Yankees smacked in three more runs and Mariano Rivera entered the ninth and shut down Seattle for his 501st career save.
Red Sox pen gave the Orioles a win by allowing five runs in the seventh and eighth innings for a 11-10 loss.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Labels: 2009, 500, AL East, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Red Sox, save, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:42 PM
It's a Phoney! A Big Fat Phoney!
The list that was "leaked" yesterday containing the 103 names linked to the steroid survey was a fake. Of course smarter baseball fans knew that.
First off, the survey found 104 positive users, the list contains 103. Actually 102...Jeremy Burnitz was listed twice.
The list was listed by team order first, then by league. Days before the Mitchell Report was released, a similar list was "leaked", but in alphabetical order by player name.
Thirdly, Jason Grimsley is not on this list as he should be.
And the final bit of proof that his list was a fake, RotoInfo is not a reliable source of anything. Wikipedia is more reliable. You want roto info? Go to RotoWorld.
So for those who were crying because some of your favorite players were outed, stop. The list is not real.
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Labels: 104 names, fake, list, steroids
Posted by Steve Kenul at 6:21 PM
Monday, June 29, 2009
Unconfirmed list of the 2003 steroid survey
The supposed list of the 104 names that tested positive for steroids has been leaked...or so we think. This is NOT confirmed, so until it is, no names should be taken under consideration...except for the few on the Mitchell Report and the Grimsley Affidavit.
1.Nomar Garciaparra
2.Manny Ramirez
3.Johnny Damon
4.Trot Nixon
5.David Ortiz
6.Shea Hillenbrand
7.Derek Lowe
8.Pedro Martinez
9.Brian Roberts
10.Jay Gibbons
11.Melvin Mora
12.Jerry Hairston
13.Jason Giambi
14.Alfonso Soriano
15.Raul Mondesi
16.Aaron Boone
17.Andy Pettitte
18.Jose Contreras
19.Roger Clemens
20.Carlos Delgado
21.Vernon Wells
22.Frank Catalanotto
23.Kenny Rogers
24.Magglio Ordonez
25.Sandy Alomar
26.Bartolo Colon
27.Brent Abernathy
28.Jose Lima
29.Milton Bradley
30.Casey Blake
31.Danys Baez
32.Craig Monroe
33.Dmitri Young
34.Alex Sanchez
35.Eric Chavez
36.Miguel Tejada
37.Eric Byrnes
38.Jose Guillen
39.Keith Foulke
40.Ricardo Rincon
41.Bret Boone
42.Mike Cameron
43.Randy Winn
44.Ryan Franklin
45.Freddy Garcia
46.Rafael Soriano
47.Scott Spiezio
48.Troy Glaus
49.Francisco Rodriguez
50.Ben Weber
51.Alex Rodriguez
52.Juan Gonzalez
53.Rafael Palmeiro
54.Carl Everett
55.Javy Lopez
56.Gary Sheffield
57.Mike Hampton
58.Ivan Rodriguez
59.Derrek Lee
60.Bobby Abreu
61.Terry Adams
62.Fernando Tatis
63.Livan Hernandez
64.Hector Almonte
65.Tony Armas
66.Dan Smith
67.Roberto Alomar
68.Cliff Floyd
69.Roger Cedeno
70.Jeromy Burnitz
71.Moises Alou
72.Sammy Sosa
73.Corey Patterson
74.Carlos Zambrano
75.Mark Prior
76.Kerry Wood
77.Matt Clement
78.Antonio Alfonseca
79.Juan Cruz
80.Aramis Ramirez
81.Craig Wilson
82.Kris Benson
83.Richie Sexson
84.Geoff Jenkins
85.Valerio de los Santos
86.Benito Santiago
87.Rich Aurilia
88.Barry Bonds
89.Andres Galarraga
90.Jason Schmidt
91.Felix Rodriguez
92.Jason Christiansen
93.Matt Herges
94.Paul Lo Duca
95.Shawn Green
96.Oliver Perez
97.Adrian Beltre
98.Eric Gagne
99.Guillermo Mota
100.Luis Gonzalez
101.Todd Helton
102.Ryan Klesko
103.Gary Matthews
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Labels: 104 names, steroids
Posted by Steve Kenul at 9:48 PM
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Nada for Nady
Xavier Nady is out for the rest of the season. Initially place don the 15 day DL back in April...or so it seems, Nady will undergo a second Tommy John surgical procedure.
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Labels: 2009, disabled list, surgery, Tommy John, Tommy John surgery, Xavier Nady, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 2:59 AM
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A-Rod ties Reggie
Alex Rodriguez just tied Reggie Jackson with 563 career home runs tonight in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves giving the Yankees an early 2-0 lead. His home run was a solo shot to center field off pitcher Derek Lowe.
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Labels: Alex Rodriguez, Atlanta Braves, home run, Reggie Jackson, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 6:36 PM
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wang vs Hughes
I mentioned this before, and now I am going to detail why Phil Hughes should be starting over Chein-Ming Wang.
Both pitchers have made starts and both have seen bullpen duties with Hughes currently in the relief role.
There has been a lot of speculation on why manager Joe Girardi is keeping Wang in the rotation as opposed to having Hughes, a starter his entire pro career. Is it because Wang dropped nearly 24 points off his ERA since being placed on the DL? Or is it because the pen is weak and Hughes is this years Joba? Hughes Rules. Doesn't sound intriguing. There are a lot of questions, and each question has a reasonable answer whether we agree with it or not. After all, Girardi is making the big bucks, not us.
So here to help is a chart and graph filled post on the comparisons of Wang and Hughes.
* * * * * * * * * *
Wang this season suffered from embarrassing losses to the Orioles (Apr 8), Tampa (Apr 13), and Cleveland (Apr 18). His ERA sky rocketed to a disgustingly 34.50 before being placed on the disabled list. After a AAA stint (13 IP, 0 ER), Wang made his return in the bullpen. His first outing gave the Yankees nothing to be excited about giving up two runs in three innings. He then went on to pitch 5 scoreless innings over two game droppng his ERA to 16.07 before becoming pre-DL Wang again.
As you can tell by the graph above, Wang's ERA dropped considerably after his DL vacation and then has a downward trend tailing off. The reason why the downward drop is not consistent is the fact that he returned to the starting rotation. After allowing only two runs in eight relief innings, he went on to give up 5, 3, 3, 3 runs in his next four starts. Neither one of the three run games qualified for a quality start as he was taken out by the fifth inning.
June 4: Gave up five runs against Texas in 4 2/3 innings for the no-decision.
June 10: Gave up three runs against Boston in 2 2/3 innings for the loss. He left with a runner on base.
June 17: Gave up three runs against Washington in five innings for the loss. This loss was mostly in fault by the offense since they could only squeeze out four measly hits.
June 23: Gave up three runs against Atlanta in five innings. Yankees offense again was slacking as they were shut out in another four-hit slugfest.
To talk about extremes, opponents are batting a perfect 1.000 against Wang in a 3-0 count. In comparison, they are .200 in a 3-1 count, which is Wang's most favored count.
* * * * * * * * * *
I used two different lines in this graph for the simple fact that Hughes was moved from a starter to reliever. Clearly in his second start against the Orioles, Hughes was at his worst. He gave up eight runs and was out before the second inning came to a close. Since that start Hughes has been consistently lowering his ERA. That was also his last start as Wang made his return from Tampa to the rotation.
Hughes was then bumped to the pen where he continued to improve his stats.
NOTE: If it wasn't for his Oriole bashing, Hughes would have an ERA of 3.09. Something to take note on especially for you fantasy team owners.
* * * * * * * * * *
If we were to compare the two using their season stats it shows that Hughes tops Wang in some of the more important offensive stats. The one that stands out the most is Hughes BAbip is nearly half of Wangs.
The team win-loss percentage is the winning percentage of the Yankees during each pitchers outing, whether they get the decision or not. Wang's .143 percentage is equivalent to the Yankees winning 1.5 out of ten games. As for Hughes, the Yankees win close to six games out of ten. Again, it is also noted that in past games that Wang has started, the Yankees run support has been relatively weak.
Even though both pitchers have extra-base hit percentages (XBH%) above the league average, it is shown that Wang gives up 3% more XBH that Hughes. This stat could be easily thrown out since both pitchers have had that one bad bad game.
* * * * * * * * * *
In this next segment, you will see that both pitcher have excelled in their relief roles. These next charts makes it tough to clearly decide who should be in the bullpen.
It is quite evident that Wang has fared quite well in the pen as his batting average against and BAbip are a significantly lower and his strikeout to walk ratio has nearly tripled. Readers must keep in mind that Wang's stats have been tapering off in his favor and that I have only compiled season stats up to today.
* * * * * * * * * *
This is where the argument for Hughes to be a starter is questionable. Granted he has the stuff and ability to start games, but his reliever duties are pretty damn enticing. His strikeout to walk ratio explodes and is complemented by a WHIP under 1.000. Batters are hopeless against him as charted by his BAA and BAbip. Clearly he is the best candidate for the bullpen...or is he?
The charts below are side-by-side comparisons of both pitchers in a starter and reliever role.
STARTER:
| Stat | Wang | Hughes |
|---|
| K/BB | 1.38 | 2.07 |
| BAA | .416 | .276 |
| WHIP | 2.571 | 1.500 |
| BAbip | .462 | .307 |
| ERA | 14.27 | 5.45 |
RELIEVER
| Stat | Wang | Hughes |
|---|
| K/BB | 3.50 | 7.00 |
| BAA | .300 | .135 |
| WHIP | 1.375 | 0.656 |
| BAbip | .364 | .182 |
| ERA | 2.25 | 1.69 |
* * * * * * * * * *
If I were to run the team, I would swap Hughes and Wang. Granted they are performing effectively in their current positions. The bullpen would still benefit with Wang according to his stats. Hughes would also benefit and could very well serve as the 7-8 inning guy before handing it off to Mariano Rivera. Wang is very capable of doing the same exact thing. Both has shown that they can prove worthy of pen duties and keep the Yankees in the game with minimal to no damage.
As for the starting role, it's a different story. Before Wang was on the DL, he was absolute garbage with an ERA higher that most airline altitude heights. Hughes had a bad game against Baltimore throwing his pitching stats out of order and has since done nothing but improve himself.
The rotation could use consistency in Hughes as the 5th man and Wang in the pen as the #1 guy to go to before Rivera closes it out. Either way, it will not hurt the bullpen and it will more likely improve the starting five
These are my opinions and I have used stats to back up my claims, but like I said in the beginning, Girardi is making the big bucks to make decisions.
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Labels: Chein-Ming Wang, Joe Girardi, Mariano Rivera, Phil Hughes, reliever, starter
Posted by Steve Kenul at 6:34 PM
Sunday, June 21, 2009
.500, Here we Come!
After losing two of three to the worst team in baseball, two of three to the Marlins, and the entire season series to the Red Sox, I think it's safe to say the Yankees are close to play .500 ball.
Now if they were a garbage team, this would be good news. However, they are not a garbage team so this is bad news.
I guess it does help to be garbage if your pitching staff with the names of Sabathia and Burnett are one of the worst in baseball. Although I do have to give Burnett some credit. He had a very good game yesterday, but the offense was still sitting somewhere in CitiField when they scored nine runs off Santana.
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Posted by Steve Kenul at 7:41 PM
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
2009 MLB Draft Results
1 (29):
Zachary Slade Heathcott, OF
Texas HS
2 (76):
John Murphy, C
The Pendleton School
3 (135):
Adam Warren, RHP
UNC Chapel Hill
4 (165):
Caleb Cotham, RHP
Vanderbilt
5 (195):
Robert Lyerly, 3B
UNC Charlotte
6 (225):
Sean Black, RHP
Seton Hall
7 (255):
Samuel Elam, LHP
Notre Dame
8 (285):
Gavin Brooks, LHP
UC Los Angeles
9 (315):
Tyler Lyons, LHP
Oklahoma State
10 (345):
Neil Medchill, OF
Oklahoma State
12 (375):
Brett Gerritse, RHP
Pacifica HS
13 (405):
Deangelo Mack, OF
U South Carolina @ Columbia
14 (435):
Graham Stoneburner, RHP
Clemson
15 (465):
Shane Greene, RHP
Daytona Beach CC
16 (495):
Bryan Mitchell, RHP
Rockinghan County HS
17 (525):
Chad Thompson, RHP
El Toro HS
18 (555):
Hector Rabago, C
USC
19 (585):
Luke Murton, 1B
Georgia Tech
20 (615):
Thomas Keling, LHP
Oklahoma State
21 (645):
Joseph Talerico, OF
Brookdale CC
22 (675):
Richard Soignier, SS
U. Lousiana @ Monroe
23 (705):
Kevin Mahoney, 3B
Canisius Clorado
24 (735):
Isaac Harrow, 2B
Appalachain State
25 (765):
Shaeffer Hall, LHP
Kansas
26 (795):
Stephen Bruno, SS
Gloucester Catholic HS
27 (825):
Jeffrey Farnham, C
New Mexico State
28 (855):
Aaron Meade, LHP
Missouri State
29 (885):
Scott Matyas, RHP
Minnesota
30 (915):
Kyle McKenzie, RHP
Thayer Academy
31 (945):
Judd Golson, OF
Mountain Brook HS
32 (975):
John Ebert, 1B
U. South Carolina Columbia
33 (1005):
Andrew Aplin, OF
Vanden HS
34 (1035):
Jacob Petricka, RHP
Indiana State
35 (1065):
Brett Bruening, RHP
Grayson County College
36 (1095):
Kyle Ottoson, LHP
South Mountain CC
37 (1125):
Justin, Milo, OF
Vermont
38 (1155):
Adam Bailey, OF
U. Nebraska Lincoln
39 (1185):
Cody Stiles, RHP
Taravella HS
40 (1215):
Ben Watkins, RHP
U. Pittsburgh Johnstown
41 (1245):
Mariel Checo, RHP
Norman Thomas HS
42 (1275):
Daniel Black, SS
Feather River College
43 (1305):
Isaiah Brown, OF
Paradise Valley CC
44 (1335):
Evan DeLuca, LHP
Immaculata HS
45 (1365):
Jeremy Baltz, OF
Vestal HS
46 (1395):
Anthony Plagman, 1B
Georgia Tech
47 (1425):
Shane Brown, C
Central Florida
48 (1455):
Patrick White, OF
West Virginia
49 (1485):
Xavier Esquivel, RHP
Loyola Marymount
50 (1515):
Stephen Kaupang, 1B
Cypress College
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Labels: 2009, Adam Warren, amateur draft, Caleb Cotham, college, draft, high school, John Murphy, results, Robert Lyerly, Slade Heathcott, university, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:52 PM
Wang Decision
I still don't know why Wang is in the starting rotation. He is now 0-5 with an ERA higher than an obese person's blood pressure. Hughes on the other hand was a nice exception when he was in the rotation. So why is he demoted to bullpen duties?
So far from what I have seen this season, Hughes should be a starter and Wang should be long relief...especially since Jose Veras was DFA'd. I'd throw up some stats backing up my reasoning, but it's late and I have US Open traffic to deal with in the morning.
Nationals win their 17th game of the season, Sox over fish, Yankees three back.
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Labels: Chein-Ming Wang, Jose Veras, Nationals, Phil Hughes, Red Sox, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:46 PM
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Yanks Pop Off to Mets
You gotta love back and forth games.
Joba was sloppy tonight getting into too many jams and reaching the 100 pitch count a bit early, very early actually. It seemed that either the Mets were stealing signs or he just never seemed to see eye-to-eye with Posada on what to throw. He would up walking the bases loaded, walked in the tying run, then hit the next batter for the go-ahead run in the third inning.
Yankees did respond back with another Teixeira home run giving him 19 for the season. Matsui also went deep to put the Yankees in the lead again in the 8th inning only to see the Mets take the lead back in the ninth.
The ninth inning. Very interesting ninth inning.
Francisco Rodriguez came in on relief getting a quick out to Gardner. Jeter then got a base hit. Damon pinch hit for Swisher only to strike out. Jetert steals second opening up first for an intentional walk to Tex.
A-Rod is up.
Uh-oh.
Pop up.
Uh-oh.
Ball hits the fielders glove and drops in. Jeter socres, here comes Tex, the throw to the plate...is late!
The expressions on A-Rod were priceless.
At bat: concentrating.
Pop-up: frusturated, slams bat down, spits out gum, jogs to first.
Ball drops in: A-Rod does a double take, starts to go for second, heads back to first.
Tex scores: A-Rod puts hands on head in disbelief.
No pie. Sorry.
Although the final ruling was an E5 (error on the second baseman), I liked my title and stuck with it.
Boston won, Toronto lost. Yankees still two game back.
And what's with Rivera?
3.38 ERA so far this season, his highest since his
rookie season in 1995.
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Labels: Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, error, Francisco Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, Joba Chamberlain, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixiera, New York Mets, Nick Swisher, walk off, win, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 12:16 AM
Thursday, June 11, 2009
This Sucks
Possible key chain giveaway coming soon.
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Labels: no tags can express my disappointment
Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:11 PM
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
With the Number One Pick...
...of the 2009 draft, the New York Yankees select...from Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas...Slade Heathcott.
Heathcott is the first position player to be taken by the Yankees in the first round since Carl Henry back in 2005. He is a five-tool outfielder who brings plenty of promise to the future of the organization.
His accomplishments include:
* 2007 1st Team All-District
* 2007 WSSSA World Series MVP
* 2008 1st Team All-District
* Texas Rangers Area Code Team
Speaking of Carl Henry, where is he now? Batting a weak career .222 in A ball. Might as well go back to school, get a degree, and try a different profession.
Link to his bio:
Slade Heathcott-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Labels: 2009, Carl Henry, draft, first round, high school, pick, Slade Heathcott, Texarkana, Texas, Texas High School
Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:34 PM
Well This Sucks
The Yankees can beat the Blue Jays. They can beat the Rays. They can beat the Orioles. But dammit, they have no shot at beating the Red Sox. None, zippo, nada. Yankees might as well lost the rest of the season for a shot at the #1 pick in the draft.
Oh wait.
This isn't football.
The draft started today.
Damn.
0-6 against the team they need to beat and it does not look like they will win at all against their rivals. They had a chance before Mariano Rivera blew it and now nothing can happen. Burnett lasted less than three innings before giving up five runs (Almost glad I traded him away in my keeper league).
Anyway, now both teams are tied for first place in the AL East with two more games coming up. Yankees will look to go 0-8 and concede the season series.
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Labels: AJ Burnett, AL East, Mariano Rivera, Red Sox, rivalry, we suck, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:28 PM
Matt vs Mike
This video has been circulating the interwebs recently as a live FOX game between the Phillies and Dodgers made somewhat second page headlines.
Home plate umpire Mike Winters calls out Dodgers OFer Matt Kemp only to exchange a few words not usually suitable for a Saturday afternoon game.
Kokoyaku
