Another classic baseball treasure. The full broadcast of Game 7 of the '71 Series between the Pirates and Orioles in Baltimore. Featuring a young Willie Stargell. Roberto Clemente in his prime. Brooks Robinson swallowing up grounders at third base. Boog Powell being a large man. Frank Robinson taking massive cuts. And Steve Blass, the pitcher who would go on to develop a mental block on throwing accurately to the degree that they named a disease after him, here pitching a complete game against the vaunted O's.
Showing posts with label Pirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pirates. Show all posts
Sunday, March 24, 2019
(Video) 1971 World Series, Game 7
Another classic baseball treasure. The full broadcast of Game 7 of the '71 Series between the Pirates and Orioles in Baltimore. Featuring a young Willie Stargell. Roberto Clemente in his prime. Brooks Robinson swallowing up grounders at third base. Boog Powell being a large man. Frank Robinson taking massive cuts. And Steve Blass, the pitcher who would go on to develop a mental block on throwing accurately to the degree that they named a disease after him, here pitching a complete game against the vaunted O's.
Monday, April 1, 2013
2013 MLB Season Preview Part 5: NL Central
Continuing our series of predictions for each division, this time I'll keep the comments short as the season is already under way and these need to get finished.
NL Central
The Astros are no longer around to serve as a punching bag for the rest of the division, but the story here remains the same: a battle for first between the two teams who wear red.
1. Cardinals
PECOTA: 83 wins
My pick: Over
A very strong offensive team with one of the top hitting prospects in baseball (Oscar Taveras) still stuck in the minors waiting for a spot to open up. They'll score plenty, it's just a question of whether the rotation holds up without stalwart Chris Carpenter around. They've got a few young pitchers who'll end up either in key relief roles or starting, I think it'll all work out fine as one of the game's best catchers Yadier Molina will be behind the plate to guide the new blood.
NL Central
The Astros are no longer around to serve as a punching bag for the rest of the division, but the story here remains the same: a battle for first between the two teams who wear red.
1. Cardinals
PECOTA: 83 wins
My pick: Over
 |
| Yadi shall lead the way for the Cards. |
A very strong offensive team with one of the top hitting prospects in baseball (Oscar Taveras) still stuck in the minors waiting for a spot to open up. They'll score plenty, it's just a question of whether the rotation holds up without stalwart Chris Carpenter around. They've got a few young pitchers who'll end up either in key relief roles or starting, I think it'll all work out fine as one of the game's best catchers Yadier Molina will be behind the plate to guide the new blood.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
2012 MLB Season Preview Part 5: NL Central
NL Central
Coming down to the finish line here, I'd like to get this completed before the season begins later tonight. Will thus limit each team's preview to no more than two sentences...
1. Brewers
PECOTA: 86 wins
My take: Even
The top-flight pitching staff is backed up by a much-improved defense. Losing Prince Fielder certainly hurts but the lineup still has plenty of pop.
2. Reds
PECOTA: 85 wins
My take: Even
Solid all-around team in every respect, the addition of Mat Latos keeps them contending all season long. The result, thanks to some inevitable blunders from manager Dusty Baker, will be just short of the postseason.
3. Cardinals
PECOTA: 89 wins
My take: Under
Overall, the team looks surprisingly well-off despite losing one of the best players in team history. Besides Pujols, there's been far too much change here for them to keep up the championship pace, though.
4. Cubs
PECOTA: 74 wins
My take: Even
All eyes are on Theo Epstein and his gang of mighty men to see how they will go about turning this underwhelming group into contenders. If they don't immediately gut the team, the Cubs might surprise some people.
5. Pirates
PECOTA: 72 wins
My take: Even
At this point, they've had the worst 20-year stretch of any team in sports history so I'll be pulling for them to improve. Not bloody likely, though.
6. Astros
PECOTA: 62 wins
My take: Way under
How long can the DisAstros go? Certainly less than 50 wins and maybe a shot at the most losses ever.
Coming down to the finish line here, I'd like to get this completed before the season begins later tonight. Will thus limit each team's preview to no more than two sentences...
1. Brewers
PECOTA: 86 wins
My take: Even
The top-flight pitching staff is backed up by a much-improved defense. Losing Prince Fielder certainly hurts but the lineup still has plenty of pop.
2. Reds
PECOTA: 85 wins
My take: Even
Solid all-around team in every respect, the addition of Mat Latos keeps them contending all season long. The result, thanks to some inevitable blunders from manager Dusty Baker, will be just short of the postseason.
3. Cardinals
PECOTA: 89 wins
My take: Under
Overall, the team looks surprisingly well-off despite losing one of the best players in team history. Besides Pujols, there's been far too much change here for them to keep up the championship pace, though.
4. Cubs
PECOTA: 74 wins
My take: Even
All eyes are on Theo Epstein and his gang of mighty men to see how they will go about turning this underwhelming group into contenders. If they don't immediately gut the team, the Cubs might surprise some people.
5. Pirates
PECOTA: 72 wins
My take: Even
At this point, they've had the worst 20-year stretch of any team in sports history so I'll be pulling for them to improve. Not bloody likely, though.
6. Astros
PECOTA: 62 wins
My take: Way under
How long can the DisAstros go? Certainly less than 50 wins and maybe a shot at the most losses ever.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Satisfying Baseball Fix With Classic Clips
As the baseball season slowly approaches I find myself hungry for actual game footage. The Spring Training highlights are boring so I've found other resources.
The men in charge of Major League Baseball's media department have been notoriously strict about letting any game footage (whether from the past or present) appear on YouTube or anywhere else not owned by them. This is not only a major pain in the ass for devout fans of the game but it's also a huge missed opportunity to promote their product. There are nearly 100 years worth of World Series footage and an unthinkable mass of regular season video material in their vaults and yet nobody ever sees any of it.
Thankfully, YouTube does have a surprising amount of old World Series films. You can see clips of the 1937 Fall Classic between the Yankees and New York Giants; regular TV footage of the 1961 Series with at-bats by Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra; highlights from the '55 World Series when the Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the Yankees; Cardinals legend Bob Gibson defeating the Red Sox at Fenway Park in Game 7 of the 1967 World Series and plenty more similar clips.
(More after the jump...)
The men in charge of Major League Baseball's media department have been notoriously strict about letting any game footage (whether from the past or present) appear on YouTube or anywhere else not owned by them. This is not only a major pain in the ass for devout fans of the game but it's also a huge missed opportunity to promote their product. There are nearly 100 years worth of World Series footage and an unthinkable mass of regular season video material in their vaults and yet nobody ever sees any of it.
Thankfully, YouTube does have a surprising amount of old World Series films. You can see clips of the 1937 Fall Classic between the Yankees and New York Giants; regular TV footage of the 1961 Series with at-bats by Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra; highlights from the '55 World Series when the Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the Yankees; Cardinals legend Bob Gibson defeating the Red Sox at Fenway Park in Game 7 of the 1967 World Series and plenty more similar clips.
(More after the jump...)
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Wave that Washed Your Meals Away
The excitement of the 2011 major league baseball season suddenly burst into supernova recently. It all began late Tuesday night in Atlanta.
After the 3rd inning, the Pirates and Braves were locked in a 3-3 tie. Nobody managed to put across another run for the next 16 innings. They nearly played the equivalent of two full baseball games without scoring a run. I tuned into the MLB.tv feed around the 13th inning and the matchup just seemed far too boring so I skipped to a different game. Once I saw that they were headed to the 16th, I realized this could be something special. The kind of game where managers actually have to start putting their thinking caps on (both skippers confused their thinking caps with dunce caps, though, as evidenced by their long line of stupid maneuvers).
The game got to the bottom of the 19th inning when things finally got interesting. The Braves put two runners aboard with one out. Julio Lugo, who I had only recently realized was still in the majors, stood at third base. The Braves had run out of position players so they let Scott Proctor, a crappy pitcher and an even worse hitter, step to the plate. He managed to make pretty solid contact but he hit a ground ball directly at the third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Lugo took off from third towards home plate and while Alvarez hurled a perfect throw to the catcher I remember thinking that this is one of the things I love to see in baseball, a tense moment with the game on the line and a fielder executing a perfect throw to home plate to keep the game alive.
The throw home was perfect, alright. Pirates catcher Michael McHenry, a minor league scrub acquired from the Red Sox organization after a slew of Pittsburgh catchers started falling apart in succession, received the throw from Alvarez and met the oncoming Lugo a few feet in front of home plate. Lugo was out by a mile and he knew it. He didn't even try to bowl the catcher over or knock the ball out of his glove, he simply executed a feeble slide with a look on his face like he didn't want the catcher to be too rough with him. Perhaps McHenry sensed Lugo's hapnophobia because instead of firmly smacking him with the glove, he waved his arm in the vicinity of Lugo's leg.
Lugo stood up from his slide with his body slumped into disappointment when suddenly the umpire gave the signal "SAFE!" and Lugo quickly touched homeplate. The game was over. And "the umpire" was about to lose his relative anonymity. The world of baseball-watchers exploded in anger. I've never enjoyed following the stream of Twitter messages as much as I did that Tuesday night (after 1 AM, mind you). Everybody had been tuning into the game because of how unusually long it was lasting, it seemed like there was a shot at history being made. Well, it was historic alright. Many people called it the worst call they'd ever seen in a baseball game.
In retrospect, the umpire Jerry Meals apologized and admitted he messed up while some have argued that he may have actually made the correct call. Major League Baseball actually issued a statement saying that Meals screwed it up, but they can't take it back. They won't be bringing the two teams back together to re-do everything. It's in the books. Worst of all for the Pirates, who are contending for the first time in some 19 years, this could be the difference between them going to the postseason or not.
* * *
All of that stuff was going on around 2 AM eastern time and so the next day figured to be filled with all kinds of reactions once everyone got to gather their thoughts on the incident. Well, a huge wave of Wednesday baseball action suddenly splashed, overtaking and washing away all the Jerry Meals news that had begun to pile up.
With the trade deadline looming, the newswire had begun to buzz with big news: the St. Louis Cardinals were going to trade their young stud centerfielder, Colby Rasmus. The 24-year-old Rasmus, although a world class talent, had been squabbling with the team's manager last year and it spilled over into this season with Rasmus having a bad year to show for it. It certainly didn't help Rasmus' standing with the Cardinals that his father had the attitude of a big-mouthed little league dad constantly interfering with the team's handling of his son. Better yet, it was the Toronto Blue Jays' shrewd young general manager who was swooping in to grab Rasmus and bring him up to the nest in Toronto along with a bunch of other rejected fledglings.
Before that trade was completed, the news wire blew up again: the New York Mets had reached a deal to send Carlos Beltran, the most coveted trade bait in baseball, to the San Francisco Giants. The rumors about Beltran had been swirling around for a few weeks but suddenly the wind jutted violently like a cold day in the Bay Area and Beltran was gone. But the Mets managed to scoop up the Giants' best pitching prospect, Zack Wheeler, in return. (Personally, I'm sad to see Beltran go but glad he's headed to a contender defending their championship. I'll have more to say on Beltran and the Mets soon.)
While baseball peeps were still assimilating these two huge events, an afternoon baseball game in Cleveland between the Angels and Indians suddenly demanded everyone's attention. Angels righthander Ervin Santana was pitching a no-hitter. Once everybody (including me, via my iPhone) managed to tune in, Santana cruised through the last two innings and history was made. Suddenly, nobody gave a crap about Jerry Meals.
After the 3rd inning, the Pirates and Braves were locked in a 3-3 tie. Nobody managed to put across another run for the next 16 innings. They nearly played the equivalent of two full baseball games without scoring a run. I tuned into the MLB.tv feed around the 13th inning and the matchup just seemed far too boring so I skipped to a different game. Once I saw that they were headed to the 16th, I realized this could be something special. The kind of game where managers actually have to start putting their thinking caps on (both skippers confused their thinking caps with dunce caps, though, as evidenced by their long line of stupid maneuvers).
The game got to the bottom of the 19th inning when things finally got interesting. The Braves put two runners aboard with one out. Julio Lugo, who I had only recently realized was still in the majors, stood at third base. The Braves had run out of position players so they let Scott Proctor, a crappy pitcher and an even worse hitter, step to the plate. He managed to make pretty solid contact but he hit a ground ball directly at the third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Lugo took off from third towards home plate and while Alvarez hurled a perfect throw to the catcher I remember thinking that this is one of the things I love to see in baseball, a tense moment with the game on the line and a fielder executing a perfect throw to home plate to keep the game alive.
The throw home was perfect, alright. Pirates catcher Michael McHenry, a minor league scrub acquired from the Red Sox organization after a slew of Pittsburgh catchers started falling apart in succession, received the throw from Alvarez and met the oncoming Lugo a few feet in front of home plate. Lugo was out by a mile and he knew it. He didn't even try to bowl the catcher over or knock the ball out of his glove, he simply executed a feeble slide with a look on his face like he didn't want the catcher to be too rough with him. Perhaps McHenry sensed Lugo's hapnophobia because instead of firmly smacking him with the glove, he waved his arm in the vicinity of Lugo's leg.
Lugo stood up from his slide with his body slumped into disappointment when suddenly the umpire gave the signal "SAFE!" and Lugo quickly touched homeplate. The game was over. And "the umpire" was about to lose his relative anonymity. The world of baseball-watchers exploded in anger. I've never enjoyed following the stream of Twitter messages as much as I did that Tuesday night (after 1 AM, mind you). Everybody had been tuning into the game because of how unusually long it was lasting, it seemed like there was a shot at history being made. Well, it was historic alright. Many people called it the worst call they'd ever seen in a baseball game.
In retrospect, the umpire Jerry Meals apologized and admitted he messed up while some have argued that he may have actually made the correct call. Major League Baseball actually issued a statement saying that Meals screwed it up, but they can't take it back. They won't be bringing the two teams back together to re-do everything. It's in the books. Worst of all for the Pirates, who are contending for the first time in some 19 years, this could be the difference between them going to the postseason or not.
* * *
All of that stuff was going on around 2 AM eastern time and so the next day figured to be filled with all kinds of reactions once everyone got to gather their thoughts on the incident. Well, a huge wave of Wednesday baseball action suddenly splashed, overtaking and washing away all the Jerry Meals news that had begun to pile up.
With the trade deadline looming, the newswire had begun to buzz with big news: the St. Louis Cardinals were going to trade their young stud centerfielder, Colby Rasmus. The 24-year-old Rasmus, although a world class talent, had been squabbling with the team's manager last year and it spilled over into this season with Rasmus having a bad year to show for it. It certainly didn't help Rasmus' standing with the Cardinals that his father had the attitude of a big-mouthed little league dad constantly interfering with the team's handling of his son. Better yet, it was the Toronto Blue Jays' shrewd young general manager who was swooping in to grab Rasmus and bring him up to the nest in Toronto along with a bunch of other rejected fledglings.
Before that trade was completed, the news wire blew up again: the New York Mets had reached a deal to send Carlos Beltran, the most coveted trade bait in baseball, to the San Francisco Giants. The rumors about Beltran had been swirling around for a few weeks but suddenly the wind jutted violently like a cold day in the Bay Area and Beltran was gone. But the Mets managed to scoop up the Giants' best pitching prospect, Zack Wheeler, in return. (Personally, I'm sad to see Beltran go but glad he's headed to a contender defending their championship. I'll have more to say on Beltran and the Mets soon.)
While baseball peeps were still assimilating these two huge events, an afternoon baseball game in Cleveland between the Angels and Indians suddenly demanded everyone's attention. Angels righthander Ervin Santana was pitching a no-hitter. Once everybody (including me, via my iPhone) managed to tune in, Santana cruised through the last two innings and history was made. Suddenly, nobody gave a crap about Jerry Meals.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
2011 MLB Season Preview Part 2: NL Central
My predictions for each team continue...
(See Part 1 for a description of the format.)
NL Central
Always a tight division, the Cincinnati Reds finally capitalized on all their potential and outlasted the Cardinals last year. Now, the Brewers have retooled and suddenly look like the favorites especially with the Cardinals losing Adam Wainwright and everybody loves the Cubbies. Here's how I see it all playing out.
1. Brewers
PECOTA: 85-77
My take: Even
Ever since I visited Milwaukee in the summer of 2008 and had the chance to observe the city and its baseball team, I've had a personal affection for them. Later on in that '08 season the team acquired corpulent ace C.C. Sabathia who led them into the playoffs but, Sabathia would leave for the Yankees after that season and the Brewers have been a major disappointment ever since. Their failures can be blamed entirely on an inability to pitch or, rather, an inability to put adequate pitchers on the mound (aside from ace Yovani Gallardo).
This past offseason the team traded for Zack Greinke and Shawn Marcum and now, suddenly, their rotation looks terrific. The way I see it, Gallardo is still the ace. One of my favorite players in the league, Gallardo has continually been underrated by the general baseball community but the guy simply dominates as evidenced by his top-10 finish in strikeouts the last two seasons. And he's only now coming into his age-25 season. I expect him to be terrific again.
With Greinke and Marcum behind the great Yovani, this is a totally different team. The offensive firepower has always been there and this year they've got at least 5 players capable of bashing 25 homers. Prince Fielder is in the final year of his contract so he'll probably be extra motivated after finishing with "only" 32 homeruns last year and a sub-.500 slugging percentage.
The bullpen appears to be their only weakness as John Axford cannot be relied upon to close all season. He performed admirably last year in 50 appearances but throughout his career he's been prone to give up way too many walks. The addition of Takashi Saito helps and 23-year-old lefty Zach Braddock looks legitimately great but otherwise this isn't a great bullpen. It shouldn't matter nearly as much if their combination of high-powered offense and deep starting pitching creates big enough leads for the relievers to work with.
They're a trendy pick this year and I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. I don't think they'll win 90 games but a playoff appearance and possible championship run seems to be a realistic possibility.
2. Reds
PECOTA: 82-80
My take: Over
Usually, I find it hard to have confidence in any team managed by bumbling Dusty Baker but this a very talented group. For one thing, they've got last year's MVP in the middle of the lineup, Joey Votto, who might be the second-best hitter on the planet behind Albert Pujols. Votto turns just 27 years old this year and should continue to mash although I'd be shocked if he comes close to last season's .357 True Average. The other player to be excited about on this team is another "V" surname, Edinson Volquez. The young right-hander came back from a year off recovering from surgery to post career-high strikeout and ground-ball numbers last season and as he continues to recover from the surgery, he can be reasonably expected to further improve this year. He reminds me of Pedro Martinez on the mound and I'm excited to see what he'll do this year.
Along with Volquez they've got a wealth of young arms in the rotation plus veteran Bronson Arroyo who continues to get by with a funky arsenal of slop. The bullpen has been a strength of theirs for a couple years now and this year they'll have the Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman coming out of the pen. Chapman came up during the summer last year and was throwing harder than any human being in recorded history, frequently touching 103-mph. He should be ready to step in and usurp the closer job from Francisco Cordero at some point this year though Baker the decision maker has been known for disregarding logic. A perfect example of this is the very presence of Chapman in the pen where he'll pitch probably 70 innings max, instead of in the rotation where he could pitch at least twice as much.
The lineup is pretty solid from top to bottom (although, again, Baker is known for batting slappy out-machines in the leadoff spot) with young outfielders Jay Bruce and Drew Stubbs providing plenty of pop behind Votto. They've also got one of the best overall defenses in baseball. Look for them to be in the heart of the battle for the division crown but I don't think they'll reach the heights of last year's 91 wins.
3. Cardinals
PECOTA: 85-77
My take: Under
To me, this team has underachieved for a while now. They've got by far the best player in baseball and two of the best pitchers yet they didn't reach 90 wins last year and, though they won the World Series back in 2006 (thanks to the Mets faltering in the NLCS) they haven't won more than 91 games these last five years. I place some of the blame on Tony LaRussa who insists on forcing his convoluted strategies into every game to such an extent that he gets in the way of his team's performance.
At any rate, the lineup this year is the usual stars-and-scrubs variety with Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday in the heart of the order surrounded by mediocre hitters. Centerfielder Colby Rasmus looks like the real deal but LaRussa clashed with him last year so much so that Rasmus supposedly wanted to be traded. If he gets the playing time he deserves, Rasmus might blossom into a star but it seems like he has to do it on Tony LaRussa's terms.
Their best pitcher, Adam Wainwright is out for the season and suddenly the starting rotation doesn't look so great. Chris Carpenter is a great pitcher, although he displayed his disturbing douchebaggery to the whole world last season, and sophomore lefty Jaime Garcia is a good bet to post another solid season but behind the two of them there's not much to be excited about. The bullpen has some nice throwers along with a few of the whackiest beards in baseball and it's a given that LaRussa will employ every single reliever on the roster.
But there's seems to be a lot of outside drama hovering over this team. LaRussa and pitching coach Dave Duncan are getting up there in age and LaRussa especially seems to be growing grumpier. Pujols is signed through the end of this year but after that he's a free agent and so there's the lingering possibility of his imminent departure on everyone's mind. With all of the drama and LaRussa's continued descent into senility, this team will finish around .500 at best. It's sad really, because Pujols deserves better.
4. Cubs
PECOTA: 80-82
My take: Even
Everybody's favorite sleeper team this year. A couple weeks ago I was listening to Jonah Keri's podcast when he had Rob Neyer on as a guest. Neyer was asked for a sleeper pick this year and he was given about 5 minutes to ponder it. While listening, I considered each of the divisions in my mind and realized by a process of elimination that he'd say the Cubs. In my head I was saying "Cubs...Cubs...Cubs" and Neyer finally responded saying "I think the Cubs will surprise people." Jay Jaffe just wrote a piece at Baseball Prospectus analyzing his own intuitive choice of the Cubbies as a sleeper, coming away a bit disappointed after researching their roster this year.
They will definitely be better than last year's 75-87 performance that had them finish a game behind the lowly Astros. The strength of the team is an all-around solid starting rotation that doesn't really have an ace but Ryan Dempster, Crazy Carlos Zambrano, and Matt Garza are all pretty damn good. Randy Wells is a perfect #4 starter, and I mean that as a compliment. Andrew Cashner, a big 24-year-old right-hander will be the 5th starter and, if he can harness his control, he could be something special as he's got great stuff.
Everyone, including me, is excited about young shortstop Starlin Castro and he's a nice player (with a great name) but at age 21 he's still learning how to hit in the majors. I wouldn't be surprised if opposing pitchers have figured him out and he struggles this year. Then again, it also wouldn't be a big shock if he bursts forth with a .330/.380/.440 type season and keeps the Cubs playing exciting, contending baseball all year. He'll be batting in the leadoff spot so what he does will certainly go a long way towards determining the team's offensive output.
Bringing in Carlos Pena to play first after he produced a sub-.200 stinker last year was actually a good move. The 2009 homerun leader should benefit both from playing in dinger-friendly Wrigley Field and getting out of baseball's toughest division, the AL East. If Aramis Ramirez can stay healthy and if Marlon Byrd shows a little more power, this has the makings of a nice lineup but those are pretty big IFs. Byrd and Ramirez are both on the wrong side of 30, they'll be 33 this year just like the team's mildly productive left fielder Alfonso Soriano.
The team's best hitter is probably catcher Geovany Soto but they usually keep him down in the bottom of the batting order for some ridiculous reason. I guess it's because he's a catcher? I don't know. I'm stumped. New manager Mike Quade might be a distant relative of mine (years ago my grandfather briefly changed his name from Quadrino to Quade to bypass prejudice against Italians) and the team played well for him last year but keeping poor OBP hitters like Castro and Byrd at the top of the lineup is not a good way to get the most out of this offense. And, aside from closer Carlos Marmol who is a specimen unlike any in baseball history (his frisbee slider is practically uncontrollable leading to lots of walks but historically awesome strikeout rates) the group of relievers Quade has at his disposal looks a bit shaky.
I think they'll be a more exciting team to watch this year but the end result will be a bit short of .500.
5. Pirates
PECOTA: 71-91
My take: Under
They've finished at the bottom of the division five out of the last six seasons and last year was one of their worst years ever. Rock bottom has been struck. Things should really start to change this year as they've established a pretty solid core of young hitters. Andrew McCutchen (24), Pedro Alvarez (24), Jose Tabata (22), and Neil Walker (25) can all hit. Alvarez especially is someone to be excited about as the 2008 #2 overall draft pick displayed some serious power last year with 16 homeruns and 21 doubles in barely half a season. He's a good bet to knock 30 or maybe even 40 homeruns this year.
The huge problem with this team is its rotation. They've got nobody. Well, James McDonald has some potential but besides him, they've got nobody. The organization has two young prospects in Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie who are studs and could be great major league pitchers some day but that's at least a couple years from now. This current pitching staff will undoubtedly struggle.
New manager Clint Hurdle should be able to rile this group up though and I think they'll be much improved from last year's 105-loss stinker. But the ceiling for this group looks to be about 70 wins.
6. Astros
PECOTA: 68-94
My take: waaaaay Under
Along with the Mariners and Royals, this is the worst team in baseball. A college team could outscore this lineup. Their best hitter is Hunter Pence and he neither gets on base enough (.325 OBP last year) nor hits with enough power (.461 slugging) to even be a league-average hitter for his position. Carlos Lee, the team's highest-paid player, absolutely fell off a cliff last season batting .246/.291/.417 and making almost $20 million for it. Formerly known as "El Caballo" (Spanish for "The Horse") the 34-year-old tubby outfielder better fits a description made famous by one of Salvador Dali's essays: "The Rotten Donkey."
The pitching rotation does carry some major-league caliber players and might win them a few games this year. Wandy Rodriguez is a tough little lefty (listed at 5'11" though probably more like 5'9") and Brett Myers, while a terrible person, isn't a terrible pitcher. Bud Norris can rack up some strikeouts (9.3 per 9 innings last year) but he walks too many batters and is prone to giving up homeruns. J.A. Happ is hapless, Nelson Figueroa needs to figure out how to pitch. I'm just being silly now. This team literally boggles the mind. It amazes me that an organization would trot out a group like this and expect customers to pay large amounts of money to see them play baseball. I'd be surprised if the team reaches 60 wins this year.
(See Part 1 for a description of the format.)
NL Central
Always a tight division, the Cincinnati Reds finally capitalized on all their potential and outlasted the Cardinals last year. Now, the Brewers have retooled and suddenly look like the favorites especially with the Cardinals losing Adam Wainwright and everybody loves the Cubbies. Here's how I see it all playing out.
1. Brewers
PECOTA: 85-77
My take: Even
Ever since I visited Milwaukee in the summer of 2008 and had the chance to observe the city and its baseball team, I've had a personal affection for them. Later on in that '08 season the team acquired corpulent ace C.C. Sabathia who led them into the playoffs but, Sabathia would leave for the Yankees after that season and the Brewers have been a major disappointment ever since. Their failures can be blamed entirely on an inability to pitch or, rather, an inability to put adequate pitchers on the mound (aside from ace Yovani Gallardo).
This past offseason the team traded for Zack Greinke and Shawn Marcum and now, suddenly, their rotation looks terrific. The way I see it, Gallardo is still the ace. One of my favorite players in the league, Gallardo has continually been underrated by the general baseball community but the guy simply dominates as evidenced by his top-10 finish in strikeouts the last two seasons. And he's only now coming into his age-25 season. I expect him to be terrific again.
 |
| Say it with me now: "Yo-vah-nee Guy-yar-do" |
The bullpen appears to be their only weakness as John Axford cannot be relied upon to close all season. He performed admirably last year in 50 appearances but throughout his career he's been prone to give up way too many walks. The addition of Takashi Saito helps and 23-year-old lefty Zach Braddock looks legitimately great but otherwise this isn't a great bullpen. It shouldn't matter nearly as much if their combination of high-powered offense and deep starting pitching creates big enough leads for the relievers to work with.
They're a trendy pick this year and I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. I don't think they'll win 90 games but a playoff appearance and possible championship run seems to be a realistic possibility.
2. Reds
PECOTA: 82-80
My take: Over
Along with Volquez they've got a wealth of young arms in the rotation plus veteran Bronson Arroyo who continues to get by with a funky arsenal of slop. The bullpen has been a strength of theirs for a couple years now and this year they'll have the Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman coming out of the pen. Chapman came up during the summer last year and was throwing harder than any human being in recorded history, frequently touching 103-mph. He should be ready to step in and usurp the closer job from Francisco Cordero at some point this year though Baker the decision maker has been known for disregarding logic. A perfect example of this is the very presence of Chapman in the pen where he'll pitch probably 70 innings max, instead of in the rotation where he could pitch at least twice as much.
The lineup is pretty solid from top to bottom (although, again, Baker is known for batting slappy out-machines in the leadoff spot) with young outfielders Jay Bruce and Drew Stubbs providing plenty of pop behind Votto. They've also got one of the best overall defenses in baseball. Look for them to be in the heart of the battle for the division crown but I don't think they'll reach the heights of last year's 91 wins.
3. Cardinals
PECOTA: 85-77
My take: Under
To me, this team has underachieved for a while now. They've got by far the best player in baseball and two of the best pitchers yet they didn't reach 90 wins last year and, though they won the World Series back in 2006 (thanks to the Mets faltering in the NLCS) they haven't won more than 91 games these last five years. I place some of the blame on Tony LaRussa who insists on forcing his convoluted strategies into every game to such an extent that he gets in the way of his team's performance.
At any rate, the lineup this year is the usual stars-and-scrubs variety with Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday in the heart of the order surrounded by mediocre hitters. Centerfielder Colby Rasmus looks like the real deal but LaRussa clashed with him last year so much so that Rasmus supposedly wanted to be traded. If he gets the playing time he deserves, Rasmus might blossom into a star but it seems like he has to do it on Tony LaRussa's terms.
Their best pitcher, Adam Wainwright is out for the season and suddenly the starting rotation doesn't look so great. Chris Carpenter is a great pitcher, although he displayed his disturbing douchebaggery to the whole world last season, and sophomore lefty Jaime Garcia is a good bet to post another solid season but behind the two of them there's not much to be excited about. The bullpen has some nice throwers along with a few of the whackiest beards in baseball and it's a given that LaRussa will employ every single reliever on the roster.
But there's seems to be a lot of outside drama hovering over this team. LaRussa and pitching coach Dave Duncan are getting up there in age and LaRussa especially seems to be growing grumpier. Pujols is signed through the end of this year but after that he's a free agent and so there's the lingering possibility of his imminent departure on everyone's mind. With all of the drama and LaRussa's continued descent into senility, this team will finish around .500 at best. It's sad really, because Pujols deserves better.
4. Cubs
PECOTA: 80-82
My take: Even
Everybody's favorite sleeper team this year. A couple weeks ago I was listening to Jonah Keri's podcast when he had Rob Neyer on as a guest. Neyer was asked for a sleeper pick this year and he was given about 5 minutes to ponder it. While listening, I considered each of the divisions in my mind and realized by a process of elimination that he'd say the Cubs. In my head I was saying "Cubs...Cubs...Cubs" and Neyer finally responded saying "I think the Cubs will surprise people." Jay Jaffe just wrote a piece at Baseball Prospectus analyzing his own intuitive choice of the Cubbies as a sleeper, coming away a bit disappointed after researching their roster this year.
They will definitely be better than last year's 75-87 performance that had them finish a game behind the lowly Astros. The strength of the team is an all-around solid starting rotation that doesn't really have an ace but Ryan Dempster, Crazy Carlos Zambrano, and Matt Garza are all pretty damn good. Randy Wells is a perfect #4 starter, and I mean that as a compliment. Andrew Cashner, a big 24-year-old right-hander will be the 5th starter and, if he can harness his control, he could be something special as he's got great stuff.
Bringing in Carlos Pena to play first after he produced a sub-.200 stinker last year was actually a good move. The 2009 homerun leader should benefit both from playing in dinger-friendly Wrigley Field and getting out of baseball's toughest division, the AL East. If Aramis Ramirez can stay healthy and if Marlon Byrd shows a little more power, this has the makings of a nice lineup but those are pretty big IFs. Byrd and Ramirez are both on the wrong side of 30, they'll be 33 this year just like the team's mildly productive left fielder Alfonso Soriano.
The team's best hitter is probably catcher Geovany Soto but they usually keep him down in the bottom of the batting order for some ridiculous reason. I guess it's because he's a catcher? I don't know. I'm stumped. New manager Mike Quade might be a distant relative of mine (years ago my grandfather briefly changed his name from Quadrino to Quade to bypass prejudice against Italians) and the team played well for him last year but keeping poor OBP hitters like Castro and Byrd at the top of the lineup is not a good way to get the most out of this offense. And, aside from closer Carlos Marmol who is a specimen unlike any in baseball history (his frisbee slider is practically uncontrollable leading to lots of walks but historically awesome strikeout rates) the group of relievers Quade has at his disposal looks a bit shaky.
I think they'll be a more exciting team to watch this year but the end result will be a bit short of .500.
5. Pirates
PECOTA: 71-91
My take: Under
They've finished at the bottom of the division five out of the last six seasons and last year was one of their worst years ever. Rock bottom has been struck. Things should really start to change this year as they've established a pretty solid core of young hitters. Andrew McCutchen (24), Pedro Alvarez (24), Jose Tabata (22), and Neil Walker (25) can all hit. Alvarez especially is someone to be excited about as the 2008 #2 overall draft pick displayed some serious power last year with 16 homeruns and 21 doubles in barely half a season. He's a good bet to knock 30 or maybe even 40 homeruns this year.
The huge problem with this team is its rotation. They've got nobody. Well, James McDonald has some potential but besides him, they've got nobody. The organization has two young prospects in Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie who are studs and could be great major league pitchers some day but that's at least a couple years from now. This current pitching staff will undoubtedly struggle.
New manager Clint Hurdle should be able to rile this group up though and I think they'll be much improved from last year's 105-loss stinker. But the ceiling for this group looks to be about 70 wins.
6. Astros
PECOTA: 68-94
My take: waaaaay Under
Along with the Mariners and Royals, this is the worst team in baseball. A college team could outscore this lineup. Their best hitter is Hunter Pence and he neither gets on base enough (.325 OBP last year) nor hits with enough power (.461 slugging) to even be a league-average hitter for his position. Carlos Lee, the team's highest-paid player, absolutely fell off a cliff last season batting .246/.291/.417 and making almost $20 million for it. Formerly known as "El Caballo" (Spanish for "The Horse") the 34-year-old tubby outfielder better fits a description made famous by one of Salvador Dali's essays: "The Rotten Donkey."
The pitching rotation does carry some major-league caliber players and might win them a few games this year. Wandy Rodriguez is a tough little lefty (listed at 5'11" though probably more like 5'9") and Brett Myers, while a terrible person, isn't a terrible pitcher. Bud Norris can rack up some strikeouts (9.3 per 9 innings last year) but he walks too many batters and is prone to giving up homeruns. J.A. Happ is hapless, Nelson Figueroa needs to figure out how to pitch. I'm just being silly now. This team literally boggles the mind. It amazes me that an organization would trot out a group like this and expect customers to pay large amounts of money to see them play baseball. I'd be surprised if the team reaches 60 wins this year.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Warmups: Stadium Stories
Baseball season is on its way. Opening Day is a week from tomorrow and, before I start posting my previews for each division, I'd like to first get a little warmed up for baseball writing with a few posts on various things related to baseball. First up is an inventory of all the major league ballparks I've ever been to.
It was here that I attended my first baseball game ever on July 21, 1995. My brother John brought me to a game as a birthday present (it was a few days after my 10th birthday) and the annual outing to Yankee Stadium would become a birthday staple over the next few years until I defiantly renounced my Yankee fanhood right around the same time everybody started jumping on the bandwagon. My favorite player growing up was Jim Leyrtiz, the bat-spinning back-up catcher and first baseman (who was obscure in those days but went on to become a World Series hero). Each year, John would choose the perfect game to attend, somehow always knowing which games Leyritz would be starting. That first game in '95 Leyritz actually started at first base against the Texas Rangers' lefty Kenny Rogers (Leyritz was replaced by Don Mattingly later in the game). The Yanks won 8-3 and the winning pitcher was Dave Eiland who went on to become the Yankees' pitching coach for these last three years.
I saw a bunch of games here over the years with various people: John and I went to Game 1 of the World Series in 1996 when the Yanks got shellacked by the Braves (though I got to see Jim Leyritz catch the whole game); during the summer of my first job in 1999, working as a messenger for the company both my mom and John worked for in lower Manhattan, a co-worker named Lou decided one day that we should skip work and go watch an afternoon Yanks-Blue Jays game from the bleachers; Baseball Prospectus writer Jay Jaffe brought me along to an ALDS game against the Tigers in 2006; and I got to say my last goodbyes in an early season game against the Rays in 2008, right before moving to San Diego (that was the Yankees' last season in the old stadium).
2. Veterans Stadium
My Aunt Jeanie brought my brother Billy and I to a game here in '95 or '96. It was Billy's first game ever and it was the Phillies against the San Diego Padres, an interesting augur because ten years later Billy would take up residence across the country in San Diego (which led to me moving out there too). That night, Billy caught a foul ball in his hat (!) that was lined off the bat of Pads' outfielder Melvin Nieves. I remember the stadium was enormous and imposing.
3. Shea Stadium
Although I can't recall my very first visit to this lovable old dump, it was here that I would watch more games than anyplace else over the years. After the Yankees started throwing money around (and dumping players like my old fave Jim Leyritz who went on to lead the Padres to the World Series) I grew sick of them and jumped on the bandwagon of my father's team: the Mets. This was during the years of Mike Piazza and Robin Ventura so it was a fun team to follow. I've been a diehard Mets fan ever since and I get maudlin and misty-eyed thinking about this place because, even though the building was a dump, I had so many great memories here. A few that stick out in my mind are these:
When it first looked like the Montreal Expos were going to be no more (the league was seriously talking about cutting two teams, they'd eventually settle for moving the Expos to Washington), my brother John, ever ambitious to go on a baseball trip (a trait he instilled in me, thankfully) drove us up to Montreal for a weekend set against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Expos were a pretty good team in those days and we saw two entertaining games in that funky old stadium including a Sunday afternoon battle won on a walk-off smite by the 'Spos.
5. Toronto's SkyDome *
I'll use a * to indicate the stadiums I visited without getting to see a game there. My old Staten Island pal Joe and his mom brought me up to Toronto and Niagra Falls one year and we stayed in the hotel inside of the Blue Jays' home stadium. It was the offseason, though, so nothing was going on but we did sleep within the stadium and could see everything just outside our window.
6. Turner Field
Went to a game here while visiting my sister Laurie in Atlanta years back. I don't remember much about the game except that we sat in dead center, right next to the Braves bullpen (which has three mounds) and a few relievers, Paul Byrd chiefly among them, threw unopened sunflower seed packs to me and Billy after the game.
7. PNC Park
Another weekend baseball roadtrip with brother John. It was a beautiful, scenic drive through Pennsylvania and the stadium is one of the nicest I've ever seen, situated right at the intersection of Pittsburgh's three rivers. The Pirates played the Dodgers in a couple of forgettable games but the beauty of the stadium and the city sticks out in my mind the most. After the first game there was a fireworks show that was surreal---it incorporated not only the three yellow bridges beyond the outfield wall, but even the skyscrapers across the river. Best fireworks show I've ever seen.
8. Citizens Bank Park
When it first opened I took the train one day by myself (I was 18) and watched a game between the Phils and Tigers. The Tigers were atrocious in those days and the Phillies killed them. Over the years, I went to a handful of games here with my brother James and his three sons. In a homerun derby type of game against the Brewers, the guy sitting directly next to us caught a homerun on a line-drive (and we were in the second deck).
9. U.S. Cellular Field (aka new Comiskey Park)
When my brother Billy finished Navy bootcamp in June 2006, my whole family went over to Chicago for the graduation ceremony. After seeing him for a very short time, we had the whole night to ourselves in Chicago. Of course, I wanted to go see a baseball game and the Dodgers were in town for an interleague game with the Sox. Unfortunately, nobody in my family would join me but I took up my dad's offer to drop me off in the South Side and went to the game by myself. It was a lovely June evening and they were commemorating the 1959 World Series between the Sox and Dodgers. The Pale Hose won behind a great game from Mark Buehrle and I somehow ended up with a White Sox towel and then a White Sox credit card which I used for a few years.
10. Wrigley Field *
The next day after the White Sox game, my dad and I went to Wrigley and took a guided tour of the whole stadium. Great experience and, interestingly enough, the Cubbies were in New York playing the Yankees at the time. When I passed through Chicago on my way to California in the summer of '08, my brother Billy and I walked a lap or two around the outside of the stadium while the Cubbies were playing in...San Diego.
11. Petco Park
Oh Petco, how I love thee. After my first visit in 2006 (a memorably explosive game against the Braves) for my 21st birthday, I saw probably 25 games there over the next four years. I absolutely love this place and have so many good memories from there. Thankfully, many of them are preserved on this very blog but I really, really miss going to games there and hopefully will be back in San Diego one day. When I first moved there I got to live my dream: I was living in a rinky-dink studio apartment only two miles from the stadium so, on more than one occasion, I walked from my house to a baseball game. I could go on forever about this place but I'll stop now.
12. Fenway Park
First, did a stadium tour in the summer of 2007 while in Boston for my cousin Mary's wedding. Then, less than a year later, spent a weekend with Mary and her husband and they took me to a game. We sat out in the bleachers and watched the Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers trade bombs all day. The Sox won 11-7. I've been itching to get back there ever since.
13. Miller Park
During the 2008 cross-country road trip, one of the main stops was in Milwaukee so we could see a baseball game. They played the Arizona Diamondbacks with the roof closed (it was raining outside) and smoked 'em. After the game, Billy and I got to walk along the field because it was Senior Citizens Day and the elderly couple seated next to us said "come with us, you can pretend we're your parents." The people of Milwaukee are great.
14. AT&T Park
In August of 2008 I visited San Francisco to look at a grad school I planned to attend, the California Institute of Integral Studies. The school was nice although far too expensive for me but I did get to go see a game while up there. It was an absolutely frigid, cloudy night in August and the Giants played the Braves in a meaningless game when both teams were out of the race. Yet, the stadium was packed and rowdy. This was a rare instance where I didn't stay for the entire game because I was just too cold, didn't prepare for winter weather in August.
15. Citi Field *
Got to do a full tour of the stadium, including dugout and clubhouses while the teams were present. Even spoke to Howard Johnson while he was on an elliptical machine. Did it all while posing as an electrician, hard hat and everything. Amazing and memorable experience, though I won't reveal how I ended up having the opportunity. Don't want to get anyone in trouble.
16. Angel Stadium
Fun, rowdy place. Went there this past summer with my girlfriend for my 25th birthday. Fun time though it was sweltering until the sun finally went down. We sat in the absolute last row of the stadium along the first base line and yet the view of the field was actually pretty good. Our view of the mountain range beyond the stadium was even better.
An absolutely gorgeous stadium that seems like it was plopped down in the middle of a dense verdant forest. Went with bro Billy for a September matchup between the classic old New York rivals, the Giants and Dodgers. Sat very close to the field but was annoyed most of the people around us didn't seem to care that much about the game. When the game was over we got to walk right onto the outfield grass and watch a fireworks show, though.
Now that I've listed everything, I realize that during my three years living in California I went to every major league baseball stadium in the state except the Coliseum in Oakland. It's known as one of the worst facilities in professional sports but still, the A's are one of my favorite teams. All the more reason to go back there.
I'm currently situated in the middle of Texas, at least three hours from a pro baseball team but, as a diehard seamhead, I will definitely be taking the long drive to both Houston and Arlington to add those to my list.
Doubtless, there are better places to spend summer days, summer nights, than in ballparks. Doubtless.1. Yankee Stadium
Nevertheless, decades after a person has stopped collecting bubble-gum cards, he can still discover himself collecting ballparks. And not just the stadiums, but their surrounding neighborhoods, their smells, their special seasons and moods.--Thomas Boswell, How Life Imitates the World Series
It was here that I attended my first baseball game ever on July 21, 1995. My brother John brought me to a game as a birthday present (it was a few days after my 10th birthday) and the annual outing to Yankee Stadium would become a birthday staple over the next few years until I defiantly renounced my Yankee fanhood right around the same time everybody started jumping on the bandwagon. My favorite player growing up was Jim Leyrtiz, the bat-spinning back-up catcher and first baseman (who was obscure in those days but went on to become a World Series hero). Each year, John would choose the perfect game to attend, somehow always knowing which games Leyritz would be starting. That first game in '95 Leyritz actually started at first base against the Texas Rangers' lefty Kenny Rogers (Leyritz was replaced by Don Mattingly later in the game). The Yanks won 8-3 and the winning pitcher was Dave Eiland who went on to become the Yankees' pitching coach for these last three years.
I saw a bunch of games here over the years with various people: John and I went to Game 1 of the World Series in 1996 when the Yanks got shellacked by the Braves (though I got to see Jim Leyritz catch the whole game); during the summer of my first job in 1999, working as a messenger for the company both my mom and John worked for in lower Manhattan, a co-worker named Lou decided one day that we should skip work and go watch an afternoon Yanks-Blue Jays game from the bleachers; Baseball Prospectus writer Jay Jaffe brought me along to an ALDS game against the Tigers in 2006; and I got to say my last goodbyes in an early season game against the Rays in 2008, right before moving to San Diego (that was the Yankees' last season in the old stadium).
2. Veterans Stadium
My Aunt Jeanie brought my brother Billy and I to a game here in '95 or '96. It was Billy's first game ever and it was the Phillies against the San Diego Padres, an interesting augur because ten years later Billy would take up residence across the country in San Diego (which led to me moving out there too). That night, Billy caught a foul ball in his hat (!) that was lined off the bat of Pads' outfielder Melvin Nieves. I remember the stadium was enormous and imposing.
3. Shea Stadium
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| Shea Stadium in 2003 |
- A Saturday night interleague game against the Angels (John's favorite team) in which the Mets rallied twice in the late innings and won. Marlon Anderson tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with an inside-the-park homerun (!) against current Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez. After surrendering a run in the top of the 10th, the Mets put two guys on base with their best hitters, Carlos Beltran and Piazza, coming up. They both struck out. It was all up to Cliff Floyd. He worked a full count, fouled off about a hundred pitches, then struck a monster homerun to win the game. Floyd was hurt so much in his career and is retired now but he provided a bunch of great evenings for Mets fans during a two year stretch. This was probably the most exciting game I've ever witnessed in person. I was sitting with John and his wife Kristina in one of my favorite spots in Shea: near the foul pole in fair territory out in left field.
- A Friday night game against the Phillies that was rain-delayed for about 3 or 4 hours before getting under way. I was at the game with John, Kristina, and my little sister Emily. John and Kristina left early because it was late, wet, and freezing. Me and Em stayed til the bitter end and got to see Carlos Beltran launch a walk-off bomb which had us jumping up and down and screaming with our cheap ponchos on.
- Witnessed the last two games in Montreal Expos history as they played two meaningless matches against the Mets on the last weekend of the season at Shea. The Mets and Expos both stunk that year and I lucked into having tickets to both of the last two games fall into my lap. For the final game, I remember Todd Zeile started at catcher for the Mets in his own last game before retirement. I watched that last game with three of my siblings on a crisp, sunny October afternoon as the Mets won 8-1 and the Montreal squad tossed a bunch of memorabilia to a group of devoted fans gathered above their dugout.
When it first looked like the Montreal Expos were going to be no more (the league was seriously talking about cutting two teams, they'd eventually settle for moving the Expos to Washington), my brother John, ever ambitious to go on a baseball trip (a trait he instilled in me, thankfully) drove us up to Montreal for a weekend set against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Expos were a pretty good team in those days and we saw two entertaining games in that funky old stadium including a Sunday afternoon battle won on a walk-off smite by the 'Spos.
5. Toronto's SkyDome *
I'll use a * to indicate the stadiums I visited without getting to see a game there. My old Staten Island pal Joe and his mom brought me up to Toronto and Niagra Falls one year and we stayed in the hotel inside of the Blue Jays' home stadium. It was the offseason, though, so nothing was going on but we did sleep within the stadium and could see everything just outside our window.
6. Turner Field
Went to a game here while visiting my sister Laurie in Atlanta years back. I don't remember much about the game except that we sat in dead center, right next to the Braves bullpen (which has three mounds) and a few relievers, Paul Byrd chiefly among them, threw unopened sunflower seed packs to me and Billy after the game.
7. PNC Park
8. Citizens Bank Park
When it first opened I took the train one day by myself (I was 18) and watched a game between the Phils and Tigers. The Tigers were atrocious in those days and the Phillies killed them. Over the years, I went to a handful of games here with my brother James and his three sons. In a homerun derby type of game against the Brewers, the guy sitting directly next to us caught a homerun on a line-drive (and we were in the second deck).
9. U.S. Cellular Field (aka new Comiskey Park)
When my brother Billy finished Navy bootcamp in June 2006, my whole family went over to Chicago for the graduation ceremony. After seeing him for a very short time, we had the whole night to ourselves in Chicago. Of course, I wanted to go see a baseball game and the Dodgers were in town for an interleague game with the Sox. Unfortunately, nobody in my family would join me but I took up my dad's offer to drop me off in the South Side and went to the game by myself. It was a lovely June evening and they were commemorating the 1959 World Series between the Sox and Dodgers. The Pale Hose won behind a great game from Mark Buehrle and I somehow ended up with a White Sox towel and then a White Sox credit card which I used for a few years.
10. Wrigley Field *
The next day after the White Sox game, my dad and I went to Wrigley and took a guided tour of the whole stadium. Great experience and, interestingly enough, the Cubbies were in New York playing the Yankees at the time. When I passed through Chicago on my way to California in the summer of '08, my brother Billy and I walked a lap or two around the outside of the stadium while the Cubbies were playing in...San Diego.
11. Petco Park
12. Fenway Park
First, did a stadium tour in the summer of 2007 while in Boston for my cousin Mary's wedding. Then, less than a year later, spent a weekend with Mary and her husband and they took me to a game. We sat out in the bleachers and watched the Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers trade bombs all day. The Sox won 11-7. I've been itching to get back there ever since.
13. Miller Park
During the 2008 cross-country road trip, one of the main stops was in Milwaukee so we could see a baseball game. They played the Arizona Diamondbacks with the roof closed (it was raining outside) and smoked 'em. After the game, Billy and I got to walk along the field because it was Senior Citizens Day and the elderly couple seated next to us said "come with us, you can pretend we're your parents." The people of Milwaukee are great.
14. AT&T Park
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| Another blurry photo from my clunky old camera. |
15. Citi Field *
Got to do a full tour of the stadium, including dugout and clubhouses while the teams were present. Even spoke to Howard Johnson while he was on an elliptical machine. Did it all while posing as an electrician, hard hat and everything. Amazing and memorable experience, though I won't reveal how I ended up having the opportunity. Don't want to get anyone in trouble.
16. Angel Stadium
Fun, rowdy place. Went there this past summer with my girlfriend for my 25th birthday. Fun time though it was sweltering until the sun finally went down. We sat in the absolute last row of the stadium along the first base line and yet the view of the field was actually pretty good. Our view of the mountain range beyond the stadium was even better.
17. Dodger Stadium
Now that I've listed everything, I realize that during my three years living in California I went to every major league baseball stadium in the state except the Coliseum in Oakland. It's known as one of the worst facilities in professional sports but still, the A's are one of my favorite teams. All the more reason to go back there.
I'm currently situated in the middle of Texas, at least three hours from a pro baseball team but, as a diehard seamhead, I will definitely be taking the long drive to both Houston and Arlington to add those to my list.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tuesday's Full Moon Augurs Another No-Hitter
Since we've had three straight no-hitters that have all occurred on the night of the full moon (and because no-hit bids are happening often enough) I am predicting that we will see a no-hitter on Tuesday night August 24th which is a full moon. But who will throw it? I've identified some potential candidates out of the moundsmen who are scheduled to pitch that night. We can look at the batting average (since we're talking about a no-hitter, not necessarily a perfect game) of the opposing team and the batting average allowed and overall dominance of the starting pitcher. Keep in mind he'd also have to be a guy who can go the full 9 innings without getting pulled for running up a high pitch count (although that didn't stop Edwin Jackson two full moons ago when he threw 149 pitches).
We've actually got a few strong candidates pitching that night.
Most likely:
Adam Wainwright vs the Pittsburgh Pirates
By far the strongest candidate to throw a no-no on Tuesday, Wainwright is one of the most dominant pitchers in the league right now. He leads the NL in ERA and WHIP, ranks behind only Roy Halladay with his 5 complete games, and has the 4th most strikeouts in the league. He is facing a Pittsburgh Pirates lineup that has the second-worst batting average in all of baseball.
Other candidates:
Hamels had a game against St. Louis last month in which he allowed only 2 hits in 8 innings and before his most recent start (a clunker against the Giants) he had a string of 3 consecutive dominant games, striking out nearly ten per game during that span and pitching into the late innings each time. The Astros as a team are batting .246 on the year (ahead of only Pittsburgh in the NL) even though they've actually played a bit better of late. If it's not a no-hitter, it should still be a pretty dominant game for Cole Hamels.
R.A. Dickey vs Marlins, Josh Johnson vs Mets
The knuckleballing sensation known as R.A. Dickey nearly threw the first no-hitter in Mets history last week, giving up only 1 hit (to the pitcher Cole Hamels) while throwing a complete game. The Marlins rank in the bottom third in the majors with a .255 batting average and have been no-hit already this year but they've got plenty of threats in their lineup, particularly Hanley Ramirez. While Ramirez is having a subpar season by his own standards (117 OPS+ after three seasons above 140) he's still an excellent hitter and, as the leadoff man, will be granted at least 3 chances to hit Dickey's knuckler.
Opposing Dickey and the Mets will be the towering (6 foot 7) ace for the Marlins, Josh Johnson. For most of the year Johnson has been nearly untouchable but he's slowed down recently and was even knocked out of a game in the 4th inning by the Reds. The Mets are pretty bad in the batting average department (.248) and in Johnson's 12 innings against them so far this year they've batted just .182 against him. They've been pretty pathetic at the plate lately, culminating in a weak showing in Pittsburgh. They were held to 1 run on 5 hits earlier today against the Pirates' Zach Duke. Should be an interesting pitcher's duel in Queens.
Gio Gonzalez vs Cleveland Indians
He's prone to wildness so he might rack up a high pitch count but he still has the potential to dominate, especially against a flimsy Cleveland lineup (they were the victims in the famous Armando Galarraga perfect game incident). Opposing hitters are batting just .227 against Gonzalez this year.
Not likely but certainly possible:
Josh Beckett vs Seattle Mariners
Beckett hasn't had a good year at all so far. While his strikeout and walk numbers are fine (8 Ks and 2 walks per 9 IP), he's been shelled for an OPS against of .856. But on this night he'll be facing the absolute worst lineup in major league baseball. The Mariners are hitting a pathetic .238 as a team.
Gavin Floyd vs Baltimore Orioles
I see Floyd as the wild card of the group. He's been hit hard in his past two starts and these Baltimore Orioles he'll be facing are playing much better than the lowly O's I saw earlier this year at Petco. Floyd has occasionally put it all together and pitched some dominant games this year including a game at Wrigley in which he had a no-hitter going with two outs in the seventh inning. I don't think he'll get one against Showalter's boys but he belongs on this list as someone who might do it.
One-In-A-Million Shot Bonus:
Ervin Santana vs Tampa Bay Rays
Nothing against Santana, but this is just kind of a joke because the Rays have already been no-hit twice this year and once last year. In all seriousness though, it is definitely not out of the realm of possibility that the Tampa Bay Rays, who might be the best team in major league baseball (or, at worst, the second-best behind the Yankees), will go hitless in a game for the third time this season. Santana has three complete games already this year and has been pretty stingy in his two most recent starts, giving up 4 hits or less in both games. It would be a memorable and historic event if the Rays were the victims of a no-hitter again but perhaps not as strange as having four consecutive no-hitters occur on the night of a full moon.
We've actually got a few strong candidates pitching that night.
Most likely:Adam Wainwright vs the Pittsburgh Pirates
By far the strongest candidate to throw a no-no on Tuesday, Wainwright is one of the most dominant pitchers in the league right now. He leads the NL in ERA and WHIP, ranks behind only Roy Halladay with his 5 complete games, and has the 4th most strikeouts in the league. He is facing a Pittsburgh Pirates lineup that has the second-worst batting average in all of baseball.
Other candidates:
Cole Hamels vs Houston Astros
R.A. Dickey vs Marlins, Josh Johnson vs Mets
The knuckleballing sensation known as R.A. Dickey nearly threw the first no-hitter in Mets history last week, giving up only 1 hit (to the pitcher Cole Hamels) while throwing a complete game. The Marlins rank in the bottom third in the majors with a .255 batting average and have been no-hit already this year but they've got plenty of threats in their lineup, particularly Hanley Ramirez. While Ramirez is having a subpar season by his own standards (117 OPS+ after three seasons above 140) he's still an excellent hitter and, as the leadoff man, will be granted at least 3 chances to hit Dickey's knuckler.
Opposing Dickey and the Mets will be the towering (6 foot 7) ace for the Marlins, Josh Johnson. For most of the year Johnson has been nearly untouchable but he's slowed down recently and was even knocked out of a game in the 4th inning by the Reds. The Mets are pretty bad in the batting average department (.248) and in Johnson's 12 innings against them so far this year they've batted just .182 against him. They've been pretty pathetic at the plate lately, culminating in a weak showing in Pittsburgh. They were held to 1 run on 5 hits earlier today against the Pirates' Zach Duke. Should be an interesting pitcher's duel in Queens.
Gio Gonzalez vs Cleveland Indians
He's prone to wildness so he might rack up a high pitch count but he still has the potential to dominate, especially against a flimsy Cleveland lineup (they were the victims in the famous Armando Galarraga perfect game incident). Opposing hitters are batting just .227 against Gonzalez this year.
Not likely but certainly possible:
Josh Beckett vs Seattle Mariners
Beckett hasn't had a good year at all so far. While his strikeout and walk numbers are fine (8 Ks and 2 walks per 9 IP), he's been shelled for an OPS against of .856. But on this night he'll be facing the absolute worst lineup in major league baseball. The Mariners are hitting a pathetic .238 as a team.
Gavin Floyd vs Baltimore Orioles
I see Floyd as the wild card of the group. He's been hit hard in his past two starts and these Baltimore Orioles he'll be facing are playing much better than the lowly O's I saw earlier this year at Petco. Floyd has occasionally put it all together and pitched some dominant games this year including a game at Wrigley in which he had a no-hitter going with two outs in the seventh inning. I don't think he'll get one against Showalter's boys but he belongs on this list as someone who might do it.
One-In-A-Million Shot Bonus:
Ervin Santana vs Tampa Bay Rays
Nothing against Santana, but this is just kind of a joke because the Rays have already been no-hit twice this year and once last year. In all seriousness though, it is definitely not out of the realm of possibility that the Tampa Bay Rays, who might be the best team in major league baseball (or, at worst, the second-best behind the Yankees), will go hitless in a game for the third time this season. Santana has three complete games already this year and has been pretty stingy in his two most recent starts, giving up 4 hits or less in both games. It would be a memorable and historic event if the Rays were the victims of a no-hitter again but perhaps not as strange as having four consecutive no-hitters occur on the night of a full moon.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
2010 MLB Season Preview Part 2: NL Central
Continuing our look at each division and how things will stack up...
NL Central
Baseball's only six-team division is also perhaps its weakest. Many consider the Cardinals the easiest bet in baseball to the win their division and I do think they'll come out on top but the Brewers have improved their horrid run prevention from last season and should be a worthy foe.
1. Cardinals
PECOTA: 87-75
My take: Over
Their frontline talent is as good as any team in the game. Baseball Zeus aka Albert Pujols is a lock to be one of the best hitters in baseball, Matt Holliday is a worthy complement, and the Carpenter/Wainwright pitching duo is superb. But have they assembled a good enough team around those guys? I really like Colby Rasmus and believe he will become a major contributor this year both at the plate and in the field. There's also Ryan Ludwick (22 HRs last year) and Yadier Molina who has developed into a pretty damn good hitter. It'll be fun to see if pitching coach Dave Duncan's voodoo on older pitchers can work for Brad Penny and, if it does (and Carpenter/Wainwright can stay healthy--not a given), I think it will all be enough to win a pretty weak division. The Brewers ought to be biting at their heels and I fear Cards' closer Ryan Franklin might turn into a pumpkin this year but Tony LaRussa will figure out how to get this team across the finish line ahead. 89 wins sounds about right.
2. BrewersPECOTA: 78-84
My take: Over
Having Alcides Escobar and Carlos Gomez out there on defense will make a major difference for a team whose pitching staff was terrible last year. I also like the addition of Randy Wolf who should provide a stable presence in a rotation that would otherwise rely on one pitcher. That one pitcher, Yovani Gallardo is an immense talent, though. With the new defense and the wisdom of Wolf (plus Doug Davis who slots in as a worthy #3 starter), this looks like a totally different team as far as run prevention and, with their lineup of mashers, they have a shot to lead the NL in run scored. It's a nice mix and I'll be rooting for them to topple the Cards but it will be a very close race.
3. Cubs
PECOTA: 79-83
My take: Over
This is a .500 team. I'm saying Over on PECOTA's forecast but not by much. They've got a nice pitching staff but the offense has already reached its heights. They're lineup is relying on older players who can't be counted on to match their past performances...and that's IF they can even stay healthy enough to play! But, I'm sympathetic towards the Cubbies. I don't know why, maybe it's their cute ballpark, but I like to see them do well. With optimism, one can envision their offensive core which carried them to two straight division titles (leading the NL in runs in '08) giving it's one last gush of life this year to support a deep rotation but, even if that does happen, I see them falling short of the Cards and Brew Crew with a record right around their 83-win finish from last year.
4. Reds
PECOTA: 77-85
My take: Even
Always an intriguing team because of their young players, it is expected (once again) that maybe they just might put it together this season and be a contender. I'm with PECOTA which sees them as having a nice pitching staff in 2010 but not quite enough in the run-scoring department. You can see the potential for contendership, though: if Jay Bruce finally puts it all together and lives up to his former #1 prospect status, if Scott Rolen stays healthy and performs like he's expected to, if Drew Stubbs is the strong leadoff hitter many think he is, they'll score plenty of runs (assuming Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips continue to mash) and the pitching will be there to back it up. I think they'll be a fun team to watch and follow, they should stay in the mix of the things for a bit but they'll finish a few steps behind the Cubs and Brewers in the race for the division crown. Not quite the breakout team many hope for, but still it's a step in the right direction.
5. PiratesPECOTA: 70-92
My take: Over
The dark clouds above PNC Park (one of the nicest ballparks I've ever been to) are finally, ever so slowly starting to fade. The youth movement is on in full force with Andrew McCutchen leading a band of ditched ex-prospects aiming for respect. I'm interested to see what firstbaseman Jeff Clement can do now that he's finally getting a chance after being trapped in Triple-A dungeon by the Mariners for so long. McCutchen and Lastings Milledge have the makings of a special duo and there's plenty of other intrigue in their lineup but the starting rotation doesn't look very good at all. It will be interesting to see what they can do this season with so many players who should be motivated to prove they belong (Andy LaRoche, I'm looking at you) and they should have a nice bullpen, but 75 wins will be a huge year for them. I think they'll get there.
6. Astros
PECOTA: 78-84
My take: Under
Once a perennial contender, they've turned into a sideshow (with a perfect bells-and-whistles mallpark as its setting) as the men running the team have refused to let their old hopes die. Instead of blowing things up, destroying and rebuilding, they've continued to add mediocre veterans and are looking more and more like the National League's version of the Royals. Now their major league team sucks and their farm system is the worst in baseball. Their answer was to add bullpen mediocrities Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom (5.89 ERA last year) to pitch the late innings and former wife-boxer Brett Myers to fill out the rotation.
The outfield is respectable, Michael Bourn (.354 OBP and 61 steals) has turned into a nice little player, Carlos Lee will bop a few homers, and Hunter Pence can play. Lance Berkman is still a great hitter when he's healthy but everybody else in the lineup kind of sucks and in the rotation it's pretty much the same story. Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez are pretty good but the rest...not so much. They're burrowing down to the bottom of a weak division and will unseat the Pirates for 6th place this season.
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