With the phenomenal debut of Stephen Strasburg tonight in Washington, it seems appropriate to point out all of the rookie talent making major contributions to their ball clubs so far this year.
Jason Heyward is the rookie sensation in Atlanta. Atlanta currently leads the close NL East thanks in large part to their pitching. But Heyward has kept the offense going, providing multiple walk offs this season to propel the Braves into first place. Heyward is on pace to hit 30 HR's and over 100 RBI's. Heyward has cooled off of late, but if he can keep the pace he is on, he can keep the Braves in the race down the stretch.
Stephen Stasburg made his major league debut tonight in front of the first of many more sellouts at National Park in the nations capital. Strasburg was everything he was made out to be, and more. In 6 innings he gave up 4 hits, 3 runs, and struck out 14 with 0 walks to earn his first win in the bigs. He had unbelievable command of all 4 of his pitches, and even hit triple digits on the radar gun several times. The Nationals have not had this much excitement around their team since the relocation. The Nats are only 5.5 games behind first place in the tight NL East. If they can keep pace and Strasburg keeps pitching like this, its going to be a wild couple of months for the D.C. area.
Austin Jackson was part of a trade this offseason to bring Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees, and he is tearing the cover off the ball so far in Detriot. Jackson has a .325 average and is on pace to steal over 25 bases. He is also getting the job done in center field, thanks to his range. He is not a power hitter, and his job as a lead off man will be to get on base. His on base percentage could be higher, but experience will lead to more patience at the plate. Jackson will be the Tigers center fielder for a long time.
Ike Davis was called up by the New York Mets in late April to provide some support for the Mets offense. The rookie has made some significant contributions so far, including 2 home runs tonight, the second a walk off in the 11th inning against the Padres. Ike came out of the gate very strong, and even though he has cooled off of late, his on base percentage has stayed strong. In the Mets lineup, especially when Carlos Beltran comes back, getting on base more and more will be all the Mets can hope for. Jason Bay, David Wright, and Beltran have to be the major contributors to the offense if the Mets look to contend this year in the NL East. But so far, Ike has done everything the Mets have asked of him, and has played great defense at 1st base.
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Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Perfect Game that Wasn't...What it means for Major League Baseball
Yesterday, an unfortunate circumstance took place as Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was denied a perfect game after umpire Jim Joyce blew a call on what would have been the 27th out of a perfect game.
What should be acknowledged first is the conduct of both Joyce and Galarraga during and after this highly disputed incident. Jim Joyce stood his ground on the field and made a call he believed in his mind was true, and stood there and took abuse from several Tigers including the manager as he walked off the field after the next out. Joyce, after viewing the replay after the game, admitted his mistake, said he blew it, and apologized to all parties involved, including a personal apology to Galarraga. He handled the situation better than anybody could have ever imagined.
Other pitchers would scream and yell and kick dirt after being denied a perfect game after a call like that, but not Galarraga. He did not utter one word to Joyce after the call was made. He calmly walked back to the mound and finished his job and got the next hitter out. He didn't walk around the mound, pout, yell, or look over. He conducted himself better than anyone could have imaged.
Now the debate begins. As MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has stated today, the call will not be overturned and a perfect game will not be rewarded to Galarraga, as it should be. If you overturn a call from the past, you open it up to review every other questionable call that has ever been made. However, the commissioner did say he will examine the current system that is in place. Human error has been and always will be apart of baseball. Bad calls are made in almost every game played. What MLB should be, and is committed to is limiting those calls as much as possible. In order to do that, some sort of instant replay should be implemented. That is what instant replay is for, it is to right a wrong caused by a inadvertent human mistake. Jim Joyce did not blow this call on purpose. Nobody makes bad calls on purpose. Instant replay is there to right a wrong, it is not there to be a detriment to the game or to take the human element out of the game.
The other question is if we have instant replay, what do we limit it to and how do we conduct it? Do we replay balls, strikes, and checked swings? No. Do we replay home runs, fair/foul, and base plays? We should. Home run replay was implemented last year after the All-Star break. The umpires huddle together and decide whether or not to look at a replay. Whether or not they review a play or not is solely the umpires discretion. The current replay system should be expanded to include fair/foul plays, and plays on the bases. Umpires will continue to make the calls, and if there is a questionable call and a manager comes out to argue, it will solely be the umpires discretion as to whether or not to use instant replay to review the play. If the umpire feels there is no need go to replay, there will be no replay. No matter how much the manager or coach or player kicks and screams about a play, the decision on whether or not to use instant replay will be at the discretion of the umpire.
Will this slow down the game? No it will not. Managers will continue to argue questionable calls and umpires will continue to give them their explanations. If an umpire is not sure, the argument will be much shorter, the umpires will review the play, and the right call will be made. This is the only way we can get the game to be as correct as possible. All any fan, team, or player can ever want is for the umpires to get the calls right, and this is the best way to get it right.
Comments
What should be acknowledged first is the conduct of both Joyce and Galarraga during and after this highly disputed incident. Jim Joyce stood his ground on the field and made a call he believed in his mind was true, and stood there and took abuse from several Tigers including the manager as he walked off the field after the next out. Joyce, after viewing the replay after the game, admitted his mistake, said he blew it, and apologized to all parties involved, including a personal apology to Galarraga. He handled the situation better than anybody could have ever imagined.
Other pitchers would scream and yell and kick dirt after being denied a perfect game after a call like that, but not Galarraga. He did not utter one word to Joyce after the call was made. He calmly walked back to the mound and finished his job and got the next hitter out. He didn't walk around the mound, pout, yell, or look over. He conducted himself better than anyone could have imaged.
Now the debate begins. As MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has stated today, the call will not be overturned and a perfect game will not be rewarded to Galarraga, as it should be. If you overturn a call from the past, you open it up to review every other questionable call that has ever been made. However, the commissioner did say he will examine the current system that is in place. Human error has been and always will be apart of baseball. Bad calls are made in almost every game played. What MLB should be, and is committed to is limiting those calls as much as possible. In order to do that, some sort of instant replay should be implemented. That is what instant replay is for, it is to right a wrong caused by a inadvertent human mistake. Jim Joyce did not blow this call on purpose. Nobody makes bad calls on purpose. Instant replay is there to right a wrong, it is not there to be a detriment to the game or to take the human element out of the game.
The other question is if we have instant replay, what do we limit it to and how do we conduct it? Do we replay balls, strikes, and checked swings? No. Do we replay home runs, fair/foul, and base plays? We should. Home run replay was implemented last year after the All-Star break. The umpires huddle together and decide whether or not to look at a replay. Whether or not they review a play or not is solely the umpires discretion. The current replay system should be expanded to include fair/foul plays, and plays on the bases. Umpires will continue to make the calls, and if there is a questionable call and a manager comes out to argue, it will solely be the umpires discretion as to whether or not to use instant replay to review the play. If the umpire feels there is no need go to replay, there will be no replay. No matter how much the manager or coach or player kicks and screams about a play, the decision on whether or not to use instant replay will be at the discretion of the umpire.
Will this slow down the game? No it will not. Managers will continue to argue questionable calls and umpires will continue to give them their explanations. If an umpire is not sure, the argument will be much shorter, the umpires will review the play, and the right call will be made. This is the only way we can get the game to be as correct as possible. All any fan, team, or player can ever want is for the umpires to get the calls right, and this is the best way to get it right.
Comments
Sunday, May 23, 2010
2010 MLB Quarter Season Report
Its a little more than a quarter of the way through the 2010 baseball season and there are some interesting stories brewing in baseball so lets hit a few.
Stephen Stasburg has absolutely destroyed hitters so far in AA and AAA minor leagues for the Washington Nationals. He is 6-1 with a 0.89 ERA in minor league starts this season. The Nats are expected to call him up to make his Major League Debut in the early part of June. Can't wait to see the kid in the majors.
A lot is being made about David Wright having the day off last Tuesday. Please do not make a big deal about this. Every player needs a day off every now and then. You need them to be sharp physically and mentally for the course of 162 games. Wright has hit well since taking the day off, he will be fine the rest of the season. The Mets on the other hand are not fine. After a 9-0 home stand in late April, the Mets have cooled off considerably thanks to horrible starting pitching. John Maine was pulled after 5 pitches on Thursday, and Oliver Perez has been moved to the bullpen. Mike Pelfrey has been the only solid starter of the 5. Jason Bay has only 1 HR, Jeff Francoeur and Jose Reyes are batting .215. Basically, the Mets are not hitting, and they need to find a bat and find it quickly. The call-up of Ike Davis has gone well, but you can not put the weight of the team too much on the kid. Wright and Bay must start hitting if Jerry Manuel wants to keep his job.
The Toronto Blue Jays are 6 games over .500 and 15-9 on the road this season. With the loss of Roy Halladay, I expected the Blue Jays to lose around 90+ games this season, however I give manager Cito Gaston a lot off credit, but lets see if they continue this streak through 162 games.
The Baltimore Orioles are struggling and I believe manager Dave Trembley will lose his job by the end of the year. Nick Markakis is the only regular player hitting above .300 and their best pitched Kevin Milwood has yet to win a game, he is 0-4.
The Yankees have gotten unexpected production out of Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner. Mark Tiexiera had his usual April and did not wake up until May. He is still only hitting .204 and must pick up his production. The Yankees can not expect the bottom of the order to carry them all year. The Yankees are winning because of their starting pitching. Phil Hughes is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA and has totally electric stuff. The ageless Andy Pettite is also 5-1, with Sabathia and Burnett having 4 wins. The only bad spot is Javier Vazquez, who looks a lot better since being skipped last week. He pitched well against the Tigers in a no decision, and picked up a mop-up win against the Red Sox in relief, and then pitched a gem against the Mets. The Yankee bullpen, aside from Mariono and Joba, is a mess. Alfredo Aceves is hurt, causing Nate Robertson to be overworked. Chan Ho Park and Boom Logan have been ineffective. The Yankees need to get healthy, Granderson will be off the DL by next weekend, and Posada will be back next month. Nick Johnson is probably done for the year, so look for the Yankees to go out and get a bat. They just need to not fall too far behind the Rays by the trade deadline.
The Rays are the best team in baseball so far at the quarter point. They have the number 1 team ERA among starting pitchers with David Price leading the way with a 7-1 record with a 2.41 ERA. Shields and Garza each have 5 wins. The Rays are unstoppable. They are getting big time production out of Evan Longoria who has 38 RBI. Zobrist and Crawford are also producing and producing well. If the Yankees struggle with injuries and the Red Sox keep struggling, the Rays could run away early with the division.
The Red Sox are a struggling ball club to this point. Josh Beckett has an ERA over 7 and has been put on the disabled list. Their starting pitching must be better because they offense is not going to carry them. Ortiz is showing his age, and the numbers are not coming or him. Youkilis and Victor Martinez can not carry this team by themselves. I picked he Red Sox to miss the postseason this year. They have to pick it up if they want to keep pace with the Rays and Yankees.
Jason Heyward has been a rookie sensation for the Atlanta Braves and looks to be the front runner for rookie of the year. The Braves are keeping pace with the Phillies. Tim Hudson and Derick Lowe are pitching well, but the rest of the rotation has been shaky. Melkey Cabrera has not been producing so far, but Erik Hinske has. Its going to be an interesting race in the NL East this year.
Roy Halladay has been leading the Phillies starting pitchers, going 6-3 with a 2.22 ERA. Every time he steps on the mounds, you would expect the Phillies to win, and that will bode well later in the year and the playoffs. The offense is still their with Utley, Howard, and Werth. Whether the Phillies win or lose will come down to the rest of their starting rotation, if Cole Hammels and Jamie Moyer keep pitching the way they are pitching, they will be the NL East champs at the end of the year.
Comments
Stephen Stasburg has absolutely destroyed hitters so far in AA and AAA minor leagues for the Washington Nationals. He is 6-1 with a 0.89 ERA in minor league starts this season. The Nats are expected to call him up to make his Major League Debut in the early part of June. Can't wait to see the kid in the majors.
A lot is being made about David Wright having the day off last Tuesday. Please do not make a big deal about this. Every player needs a day off every now and then. You need them to be sharp physically and mentally for the course of 162 games. Wright has hit well since taking the day off, he will be fine the rest of the season. The Mets on the other hand are not fine. After a 9-0 home stand in late April, the Mets have cooled off considerably thanks to horrible starting pitching. John Maine was pulled after 5 pitches on Thursday, and Oliver Perez has been moved to the bullpen. Mike Pelfrey has been the only solid starter of the 5. Jason Bay has only 1 HR, Jeff Francoeur and Jose Reyes are batting .215. Basically, the Mets are not hitting, and they need to find a bat and find it quickly. The call-up of Ike Davis has gone well, but you can not put the weight of the team too much on the kid. Wright and Bay must start hitting if Jerry Manuel wants to keep his job.
The Toronto Blue Jays are 6 games over .500 and 15-9 on the road this season. With the loss of Roy Halladay, I expected the Blue Jays to lose around 90+ games this season, however I give manager Cito Gaston a lot off credit, but lets see if they continue this streak through 162 games.
The Baltimore Orioles are struggling and I believe manager Dave Trembley will lose his job by the end of the year. Nick Markakis is the only regular player hitting above .300 and their best pitched Kevin Milwood has yet to win a game, he is 0-4.
The Yankees have gotten unexpected production out of Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner. Mark Tiexiera had his usual April and did not wake up until May. He is still only hitting .204 and must pick up his production. The Yankees can not expect the bottom of the order to carry them all year. The Yankees are winning because of their starting pitching. Phil Hughes is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA and has totally electric stuff. The ageless Andy Pettite is also 5-1, with Sabathia and Burnett having 4 wins. The only bad spot is Javier Vazquez, who looks a lot better since being skipped last week. He pitched well against the Tigers in a no decision, and picked up a mop-up win against the Red Sox in relief, and then pitched a gem against the Mets. The Yankee bullpen, aside from Mariono and Joba, is a mess. Alfredo Aceves is hurt, causing Nate Robertson to be overworked. Chan Ho Park and Boom Logan have been ineffective. The Yankees need to get healthy, Granderson will be off the DL by next weekend, and Posada will be back next month. Nick Johnson is probably done for the year, so look for the Yankees to go out and get a bat. They just need to not fall too far behind the Rays by the trade deadline.
The Rays are the best team in baseball so far at the quarter point. They have the number 1 team ERA among starting pitchers with David Price leading the way with a 7-1 record with a 2.41 ERA. Shields and Garza each have 5 wins. The Rays are unstoppable. They are getting big time production out of Evan Longoria who has 38 RBI. Zobrist and Crawford are also producing and producing well. If the Yankees struggle with injuries and the Red Sox keep struggling, the Rays could run away early with the division.
The Red Sox are a struggling ball club to this point. Josh Beckett has an ERA over 7 and has been put on the disabled list. Their starting pitching must be better because they offense is not going to carry them. Ortiz is showing his age, and the numbers are not coming or him. Youkilis and Victor Martinez can not carry this team by themselves. I picked he Red Sox to miss the postseason this year. They have to pick it up if they want to keep pace with the Rays and Yankees.
Jason Heyward has been a rookie sensation for the Atlanta Braves and looks to be the front runner for rookie of the year. The Braves are keeping pace with the Phillies. Tim Hudson and Derick Lowe are pitching well, but the rest of the rotation has been shaky. Melkey Cabrera has not been producing so far, but Erik Hinske has. Its going to be an interesting race in the NL East this year.
Roy Halladay has been leading the Phillies starting pitchers, going 6-3 with a 2.22 ERA. Every time he steps on the mounds, you would expect the Phillies to win, and that will bode well later in the year and the playoffs. The offense is still their with Utley, Howard, and Werth. Whether the Phillies win or lose will come down to the rest of their starting rotation, if Cole Hammels and Jamie Moyer keep pitching the way they are pitching, they will be the NL East champs at the end of the year.
Comments
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
MLB Needs to Pick up the Pace
Three days into the Major League Baseball season and already the games are going much longer than any of us want. Four hours is just way too long for any fan to endure, even a die hard like me.
The National Hockey League, National Basketball Association, and National Football League all have time constraints on each and every game. They all put limitations to certain aspects to keep the game flowing. The NHL allows five seconds for the road team to decide to change lines after a whistle, and the home team has five seconds after that to decide on their change, then the puck is dropped. The NBA has the shot clock, and the NFL has a play clock. There is no such instance of this in MLB. Pitchers can take as long as they want in between pitches with no harm or foul. According to this report in 2005, the average time in between pitches was 26.3 seconds, an eternity in my opinion.
So the question is, what can be done? What rules could MLB put in place to speed up the game? One possibility would be to call a balk on the pitcher if he exceeds a certain time between pitches when runners are on base. But that would mean an umpire on the field would have to keep a stopwatch and keep track of the time. Another scenario would be to limit the trips to the mound by catchers and coaches. This would certainly help matters, but do we want a rule like that effecting the outcome of a game? We all know catchers and pitchers get crossed up a lot of the time even with these trips to the mound.
I am not an expert in this situation and these suggestions are two of many that are out there. Time between innings isn't a problem, we know bills need to be paid and revenue needs to be collected. In game alterations need too take place so that the games go faster. MLB should be experimenting, and quickly, the use of some method to help speed up these games so we can all get a decent night sleep after they end.
Comments
The National Hockey League, National Basketball Association, and National Football League all have time constraints on each and every game. They all put limitations to certain aspects to keep the game flowing. The NHL allows five seconds for the road team to decide to change lines after a whistle, and the home team has five seconds after that to decide on their change, then the puck is dropped. The NBA has the shot clock, and the NFL has a play clock. There is no such instance of this in MLB. Pitchers can take as long as they want in between pitches with no harm or foul. According to this report in 2005, the average time in between pitches was 26.3 seconds, an eternity in my opinion.
So the question is, what can be done? What rules could MLB put in place to speed up the game? One possibility would be to call a balk on the pitcher if he exceeds a certain time between pitches when runners are on base. But that would mean an umpire on the field would have to keep a stopwatch and keep track of the time. Another scenario would be to limit the trips to the mound by catchers and coaches. This would certainly help matters, but do we want a rule like that effecting the outcome of a game? We all know catchers and pitchers get crossed up a lot of the time even with these trips to the mound.
I am not an expert in this situation and these suggestions are two of many that are out there. Time between innings isn't a problem, we know bills need to be paid and revenue needs to be collected. In game alterations need too take place so that the games go faster. MLB should be experimenting, and quickly, the use of some method to help speed up these games so we can all get a decent night sleep after they end.
Comments
Thursday, April 1, 2010
2010 MLB Over/Unders
Here are my predictions for the 2010 MLB Over/Unders for each team according to these opening numbers.
Arizona- 82 UNDER
Atlanta- 86.5 OVER
Baltimore- 72.5 OVER
Boston- 94 UNDER
Chicago C- 83 OVER
Chicago W- 82 UNDER
Cincinnati- 78 OVER
Cleveland- 73 UNDER
Colorado- 83 OVER
Detroit- 81 OVER
Florida- 81 UNDER
Houston- 77 UNDER
Kansas City- 71 UNDER
LA Angels- 84 OVER
LA Dodgers- 84 OVER
Milwaukee- 80.5 OVER
Minnesota- 82 OVER
NY Mets- 81 OVER
NY Yankees- 94.5 OVER
Oakland- 78 UNDER
Philadelphia- 92 OVER
Pittsburgh- 71 UNDER
St. Louis- 88 OVER
San Diego- 71 OVER
San Francisco- 83 OVER
Seattle- 83 OVER
Tampa Bay- 89.5 OVER
Texas- 83 OVER
Toronto- 71 UNDER
Washington- 72 UNDER
Arizona- 82 UNDER
Atlanta- 86.5 OVER
Baltimore- 72.5 OVER
Boston- 94 UNDER
Chicago C- 83 OVER
Chicago W- 82 UNDER
Cincinnati- 78 OVER
Cleveland- 73 UNDER
Colorado- 83 OVER
Detroit- 81 OVER
Florida- 81 UNDER
Houston- 77 UNDER
Kansas City- 71 UNDER
LA Angels- 84 OVER
LA Dodgers- 84 OVER
Milwaukee- 80.5 OVER
Minnesota- 82 OVER
NY Mets- 81 OVER
NY Yankees- 94.5 OVER
Oakland- 78 UNDER
Philadelphia- 92 OVER
Pittsburgh- 71 UNDER
St. Louis- 88 OVER
San Diego- 71 OVER
San Francisco- 83 OVER
Seattle- 83 OVER
Tampa Bay- 89.5 OVER
Texas- 83 OVER
Toronto- 71 UNDER
Washington- 72 UNDER
Monday, January 11, 2010
Mark McGwire
It is being reported today that Mark McGwire has finally come clean about his steroid use during his playing days. McGwire has admitted he did use steroids during the 1998 season when he broke Roger Maris' single season home run record.
McGwire is someone I did admire growing up. I was 10 years old when he and Sammy Sosa were in that great home run race. I was always fascinated by home runs and my favorite players were power hitters like Griffey, Tino Martinez, and Jason Giambi,
I believe McGwire needs to take a note from Arod. He needs to sit down at a press conference right when the Cardinals begin spring training, make his statements, apologize, and answer questions leaving nothing to suspect. I believe if he does this the Arod way, he will be forgiven for his mistakes. We are a forgiving society, and I believe if he does this the right way, he too will be forgiven. But he can not stop with just this statement to the AP. He must man up and answer questions at a press conference or do an interview as Pete Rose did.
As far as the consequences that should happen to players who have taken steroids, I wish that they would have some type of asterisk or something similar, but I don't think the records will be taken out of the books. There is no way that MLB will do that, but I do believe that Mark McGwire will not make the Hall of Fame.
UPDATED 5:30 P.M.: Mark McGwire will be on MLB Network at 7:00 tonight doing his first interview since coming clean
UPDATED 7:45 P.M.: In his interview with Bob Costas on MLB Network, Mark McGwire told the world that he never took steroids with the intent to enhance his performance. He also told us that he thought he hit more home runs because his "swing got better" and that he "got more underpin on the ball".......UTTER NONSENSE! It would be rediculous for anyone to believe either of those two statements. For him to say that taking performance enhancing drugs DID NOT in any way help his baseball performance is nonsense. He took one step forward and two steps back with this interview.
Mark McGwire is doing this all for himself, not for his family, his former teammates, or his fans. He is doing all this as a plea for the Hall of Fame.
McGwire is someone I did admire growing up. I was 10 years old when he and Sammy Sosa were in that great home run race. I was always fascinated by home runs and my favorite players were power hitters like Griffey, Tino Martinez, and Jason Giambi,
I believe McGwire needs to take a note from Arod. He needs to sit down at a press conference right when the Cardinals begin spring training, make his statements, apologize, and answer questions leaving nothing to suspect. I believe if he does this the Arod way, he will be forgiven for his mistakes. We are a forgiving society, and I believe if he does this the right way, he too will be forgiven. But he can not stop with just this statement to the AP. He must man up and answer questions at a press conference or do an interview as Pete Rose did.
As far as the consequences that should happen to players who have taken steroids, I wish that they would have some type of asterisk or something similar, but I don't think the records will be taken out of the books. There is no way that MLB will do that, but I do believe that Mark McGwire will not make the Hall of Fame.
UPDATED 5:30 P.M.: Mark McGwire will be on MLB Network at 7:00 tonight doing his first interview since coming clean
UPDATED 7:45 P.M.: In his interview with Bob Costas on MLB Network, Mark McGwire told the world that he never took steroids with the intent to enhance his performance. He also told us that he thought he hit more home runs because his "swing got better" and that he "got more underpin on the ball".......UTTER NONSENSE! It would be rediculous for anyone to believe either of those two statements. For him to say that taking performance enhancing drugs DID NOT in any way help his baseball performance is nonsense. He took one step forward and two steps back with this interview.
Mark McGwire is doing this all for himself, not for his family, his former teammates, or his fans. He is doing all this as a plea for the Hall of Fame.
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