1) The Washington Nationals unveiled their new home Sunday evening, welcoming Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Braves to Nationals Park. This was a day to be remembered as the opening of the ballpark really stamps today as the day that the franchise begins to write its history. The last couple of seasons were as if the organization was getting settled in the city, and now they have a foundation to build on.
What was interesting was that the club itself was completely overhauled from last season, making the ballpark change that much more fitting. The Washington outfield will be led by Lastings Milledge in centerfield who comes over from the Mets. Milledge is an exciting young player with all of the tools, and he finally has a place to play every day and a manager that does not have the press down his throat, allowing him to support the youngster. It is not as if there are not expectations to win in Washington, but the change in scenery will finally give this kid a chance to blossom.
Milledge was 0-4 on Opening Night, but the most telling sign came in his last at-bat with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Milledge hit a groundball to short and busted down the firstbase line, going into a headfirst slide in an attempt to beat the throw. This type of hustle and energy is exactly what needs to come out of a kid who has been labeled with possible makeup problems in the past. If Milledge accepts his role as a young kid in this game with the understanding that he can be great if he works hard, the Nationals will have another cornerstone to go along with Ryan Zimmerman at thirdbase.
Moving into left will be Elijah Dukes, the trouble slugger from Tampa Bay. Dukes has found himself in a bevy of off-field problems in recent years, but his talents are enormous and he is overflowing with ability and potential. Dukes has the power to hit 30 plus homeruns in the big leagues, and if he can become a threat in the middle of that lineup, it will only take an average pitching staff to make the Nationals relevant.
2) Odalis Perez got the nod as the Opening Day starter for the Nationals, and I am not going to lie, he surprised me to an undeniable degree. I though Odalis was all but finished, and would not have been surprised if he did not find a job this spring. But to his credit, the southpaw took the ball and threw strikes, making Atlanta adjust to his changeup for five innings.
This club is starving for reliable pitching in the starting rotation, and that is the only part of the game that is holding this franchise back from having something to say about the divisional race in the National League East. The problem is that starting pitching may be the most important element in the entire game. But if Perez can stay healthy and give them 6-7 quality innings on a regular basis-- meaning 3-4 runs for 7 frames -- the Nationals have a guy to lean on and help develop the rest of the rotation.
A lot will be determined by the performances of Jason Bergmann and Tim Redding, but Matt Chico is an interesting young pitcher who has a chance to be pretty good. If that rotation can put up an ERA in the low 4's, I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility for them to win 80-83 games because I think they are going to hit.
3) There is a very distinct difference between the new Nationals Park and the old RFK Stadium, one that will directly impact the club's performance. And that is the dimensions of the ballpark and how the baseball travels. Tiger Woods couldn't hit a driver out of RFK Stadium, but now looking at the new ballpark, the Nationals are going to have some chances to score some runs.
This park will wind up being a good hitters park, especially in the hot and humid summers that Washington, D.C. is accustomed to. It was cold tonight and look how the ball traveled; not bad at all. Brian McCann hit a line drive that slammed off of the wall in right early in the ballgame. The ball was hit extremely hard, but something tells me if this game was played in RFK, the right fielder catchers that ball running back towards the track. I don't know, just a gut feeling.
But we should really look at the homeruns of Ryan Zimmerman and Chipper Jones. Both balls were hit in almost the identical spot-- left center field. I believe it is 388 feet to the power aller in left center, and those balls absolutely jumped off of their bat. Now we are talking about two of the brightest hitters in the game who absolutely crushed the ball, so I am not completely convinced that is was the ballparks help that produced the homers, but it couldn't have hurt.
I sat there wondering what those balls are going to look like when the air is warmer and there is sunshine at the time of first pitch, and I just saw some sort of explosion. The Nationals are really going to be happy coming into this ballpark after playing in RFK, and I think they will be jubilant when this park really does nestle in as one of the better hitting parks in the league.
4) Tim Hudson survived a cumbersome, 30 pitch first inning and was stellar in his first start of the season. Hudson retired 18 straight batters after the first inning and went on to pitch 7 innings, leaving the ball game trailing 2-1. I was very impressed with what Hudson showed, as he really is the ace of this staff despite the star power that goes along with guys by the name of Smoltz and Glavine.
Smoltz and Glavine are crucial to the Braves success, but they are no longer capable of leading a rotation. Hudson absolutely needs to be healthy this season and be the workhorse. What was very encouraging to see from Hudson was the fact that he trusted his fastball. He runs a hard sinker up there around 88-92 and pounds the strike zone with it, inducing tons of ground balls and broken bats. He can throw that pitch over and over and over and if he keeps it diving down in the zone, there is nothing that hitters can do with it even if they know it is coming.
Before it is all said and done, I think Hudson will have his velocity up to 94 mph and he will be throwing a bowling ball to plate, in terms of how heavy his sinker is. The righty mixed in a good looking changeup at 82-84 mph that kept hitters off balance, and threw in a slider for good measure.
It is a challenge to pitch every fifth day for an entire season. We know that. But boy, if Hudson does what he did tonight on a consistent basis, 20 wins could be on the low side given the fact that Atlanta has a chance to be an exceptional ballclub. It will be interesting to see how Hudson progresses, but there is no reason for him to change his game plan or try to be cute. He has a great sinker and he needs to let the hitter know it is coming and see what they can do with it. Hudson can win with his fastball and changeup, but he can dominate if that slider remains true.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Ryan on time
One swing was all it took to send 39,389 fans into a euphoric outburst Sunday night in Washington, D.C. This was Major League Baseball's Opening Night, true, but this was the Washington Nationals day. And it just happened to turn out to be Ryan Zimmerman's game. The 23-year-old slugger sent a Peter Moylan fastball into the brand new seats in left-center field in the bottom of the ninth to send the Nationals on to a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
This was a perfect ending to one of the most exciting days in Washington Nationals history. Nationals Park made its debut among the Major League circuit, on the grandest of stages on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. This is a city of culture, of history, of enshrinement. Given the White House, Lincoln Memorial, and the Capital, Nationals Park was the place to be on this evening.
The Nationals rolled out the red carpet for the first game in their new park by having President Bush throw out the ceremonial first pitch, as the fans showered him with plenty of cheers and an abundance of other things. It was this night that manager Manny Acta caught President Bush's pitch and Ryan Zimmerman was selected to welcome the President onto the field as the face of the Nationals.
The pregame ceremonies itself sybolized a new era of Nationals baseball, and it was only fitting for Zimmerman to send the game out in style. The all too familiar roar of the crowd resonated throughout the ballpark in an effort to break in the new seats and accompanying facade. The electricity was present from the first pitch because this was the night where baseball would start all over again, where the people of Washington, D.C. would put last year's team behind them and build up hope for a new squad with a fresh pad.
It wasn't only a treat for those who were there, though, as the ballgame jumpstarted the atmosphere that will fill the rest of the ballparks tomorrow on Opening Day. The winter is over and the ballpark has opened its arms once again, like we knew it would. Times change, faces change, and the standings change. But the game never does. It will always be there on that Sunday night before Opening Day to give us a taste of the treat that is to come over the next six months.
Baseball does not discriminate; losers are only losers for one season. No more and no less. Each spring is the opportunity to begin anew, and Washington finally has something to be exciting about. The park in all its glory does not even seem like the newest member of the club. The Nationals themselves broke out a new team, one which hopefully will be able to continue the camaraderie that was initiated last season.
No, this certainly isn't RFK Stadium. But don't be fooled, this isn't the 2007 Washington Nationals, either. This club rolled out a new face in Odalis Perez, and watched him deliver five outstanding innings. Perez made one mistake, and Chipper Jones made him pay for it. It was not the first time that Chipper has made a pitcher pay, and it won't be the last time the Hall Of Fame-bound thirdbaseman circles the bases with that unmistakable trot.
The Nationals showed a new style of play. A brand of baseball that does not give in but hands the ball over to a formidable bullpen and allows them to go to work. Nationals Park is not the graveyard that was RFK Stadium, but it is not NASA's headquarters either. The park will settle comfortably somewhere in between, allowing the hitters to swing the bat like they belong in the Major Leagues, not like they are punch-and-judy college hitters trying to live the dream.
So here we were, feasting our eyes on a park that we will be visiting for the next forty years or so. We instantly fell in love with its mystical placement among the city's sacred grounds, and we were intrigued by the originality that showed up in the outfield with all its nooks and crannies.
But luckily, Zimmerman brought the eyes of the nation back onto the field, just in time to make sure we didn't miss what we were suppossed to take from this ballgame. There will be many years to see this masterpiece, but Zimmerman took the opportunity to make it clear that the team on the field has been reborn again. The face of the franchise set the bar high in Game 1 of 162, and he expects his troops to follow. For the Grand Opening of all ballpark openings, how sweet it was to do it that way. Baseball is back, and the people of D.C. have kick-started the celebration.
This was a perfect ending to one of the most exciting days in Washington Nationals history. Nationals Park made its debut among the Major League circuit, on the grandest of stages on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. This is a city of culture, of history, of enshrinement. Given the White House, Lincoln Memorial, and the Capital, Nationals Park was the place to be on this evening.
The Nationals rolled out the red carpet for the first game in their new park by having President Bush throw out the ceremonial first pitch, as the fans showered him with plenty of cheers and an abundance of other things. It was this night that manager Manny Acta caught President Bush's pitch and Ryan Zimmerman was selected to welcome the President onto the field as the face of the Nationals.
The pregame ceremonies itself sybolized a new era of Nationals baseball, and it was only fitting for Zimmerman to send the game out in style. The all too familiar roar of the crowd resonated throughout the ballpark in an effort to break in the new seats and accompanying facade. The electricity was present from the first pitch because this was the night where baseball would start all over again, where the people of Washington, D.C. would put last year's team behind them and build up hope for a new squad with a fresh pad.
It wasn't only a treat for those who were there, though, as the ballgame jumpstarted the atmosphere that will fill the rest of the ballparks tomorrow on Opening Day. The winter is over and the ballpark has opened its arms once again, like we knew it would. Times change, faces change, and the standings change. But the game never does. It will always be there on that Sunday night before Opening Day to give us a taste of the treat that is to come over the next six months.
Baseball does not discriminate; losers are only losers for one season. No more and no less. Each spring is the opportunity to begin anew, and Washington finally has something to be exciting about. The park in all its glory does not even seem like the newest member of the club. The Nationals themselves broke out a new team, one which hopefully will be able to continue the camaraderie that was initiated last season.
No, this certainly isn't RFK Stadium. But don't be fooled, this isn't the 2007 Washington Nationals, either. This club rolled out a new face in Odalis Perez, and watched him deliver five outstanding innings. Perez made one mistake, and Chipper Jones made him pay for it. It was not the first time that Chipper has made a pitcher pay, and it won't be the last time the Hall Of Fame-bound thirdbaseman circles the bases with that unmistakable trot.
The Nationals showed a new style of play. A brand of baseball that does not give in but hands the ball over to a formidable bullpen and allows them to go to work. Nationals Park is not the graveyard that was RFK Stadium, but it is not NASA's headquarters either. The park will settle comfortably somewhere in between, allowing the hitters to swing the bat like they belong in the Major Leagues, not like they are punch-and-judy college hitters trying to live the dream.
So here we were, feasting our eyes on a park that we will be visiting for the next forty years or so. We instantly fell in love with its mystical placement among the city's sacred grounds, and we were intrigued by the originality that showed up in the outfield with all its nooks and crannies.
But luckily, Zimmerman brought the eyes of the nation back onto the field, just in time to make sure we didn't miss what we were suppossed to take from this ballgame. There will be many years to see this masterpiece, but Zimmerman took the opportunity to make it clear that the team on the field has been reborn again. The face of the franchise set the bar high in Game 1 of 162, and he expects his troops to follow. For the Grand Opening of all ballpark openings, how sweet it was to do it that way. Baseball is back, and the people of D.C. have kick-started the celebration.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Scattered thoughts on Red Sox-A's series in Japan, pt.2
1) The Oakland A's are one of those teams that usually finds a way to hang around even when it is inconceivably difficult of putting a contender on the field. But that is where we are again with the 2008 Athletics. Lets get the two keys to the A's season out of the way first. There are numerous factors that will play a substantial role on Oakland's season, but none two are bigger than Rich Harden and Bobby Crosby.
Rich Harden's career thus far has been one long, cruel game of Operation. The kid with otherworldly stuff hasn't been able to showcase it because he has spent his share learning the names of different parts of the anatomy during his weekly doctor visits. That is the way the ball bounces sometimes, unfortunately, but that is the way it absolutely cannot bounce this season if the A's wish to have any chance.
Without Harden, you got Joe Blanton and question marks. Now that's assuring. Blanton is solid, and may be the biggest fish in the trading deadline pond this year, but I am not exactly sold on him anchoring a rotation. I just don't see it. Above-average starter? Certainly. But if we are putting him in the "ace" discussion, we need to be forced to run crash plays with Gary Sheffield line drives barreling down our necks. With Blanton as the number one, the A's may finish 20 games back of the AL West winner.
But Harden? He has ace-like stuff, no question, and has the moxie to put a rotation on his back. I enjoy watching Rich pitch because of the type of competitor he is and how he attacks hitters. Harden was absolutely filthy in his 2008 debut, striking out 9 over six innings and earning the win. The A's could not have been more astounded from his performance.
The question will be, can he do that for 35 times this season? Among all of the great story lines I want to see happen this season, this one is high up on the list, definitely. Nobody wants to see a kid with so much talent and promise fail and be labeled as the guy who just couldn't cut it and is labeled a bust because his body disagreed. Could you imagine the feeling? But thankfully there is a God, and that wasn't the Rich Harden I saw on Wednesday, no sir.
The ever-present fastball was popping, the slider was great, and the change up tumbled more than I ever remembered it tumbled. This was some great baseball. Better yet, Harden only threw 95 pitches over his six innings. That isn't the definition of efficiency, but it is a step in the right direction, nonetheless. I hope Billy Beane doesn't get three months of health from him and then trade him at his peak value, because I honestly believe this club could resemble the 2007 Rockies if everything falls right. Who knows? This is baseball; crazier things have happened.
Equally important is Crosby on the other side of the ball. Crosby has spent the bulk of his career on the DL after continuing the tradition of great draft picks from Long Beach State. Crosby is a joy to watch when he is on the field, albeit that hasn't been very often. He is so fluid at shortstop that he could easily win a Gold Glove. And there may be no other park where defense is stressed more so than Oakland's Coliseum.
Crosby will never be a threatening stick, but nobody is asking him to be that. Expectations may routinely be harsh, but rarely are they unrealistic. This is a marriage of sorts, so Crosby isn't alone. Relax, Bobby, you aren't being asked to carry the offense entirely. But what you need to do is be a catalyst.
It is vital to the A's success that Crosby get on base and keeps the offense flowing. How does one guy keep the offense flowing? By being sharp with execution. The A's are going to have to bunt and hit-and-run, and even steal once in a while. That's right, the A's and stolen base must be commonly used in discussions this year. Sorry Mr. Beane, but station to station baseball ain't going to cut it this time around.
Crosby was hitting in the 6-hole in Japan, and if that is where he settles, well he will have to find some gaps. This isn't the Yankees, therefore Crosby is going to have to be the team chameleon to keep the boat afloat in the Bay.
2) I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw from the A's during these two games against the Red Sox. Really, I have no idea what to expect out of Oakland this year. I am not going to make any predictions because I can see this team falling flat due to the obvious lack of talent, or I can see a team building around a great attitude and grinding out wins against superior teams. Nobody knows for sure, so we will have to wait and see.
But I was excited after the club I saw take the field. Honestly, Boston was lucky to scratch out one win in Japan; Oakland had the first game in their hands. Oakland could not have asked for a better situation in the first game of the season than handing the ball over to Huston Street in the ninth inning with a lead. That was the best case scenario, if we are being honest.
But a Brandon Moss homer and an episode of Manny being Manny later, and the tables were turned on the A's. It happens. This was not the first time and it surely will not be the last time this season that the A's squander a late inning lead. So, I could be the naive idiot, but I actually feel hopefully optimistic for the A's.
Overall, the A's had better pitching. Matsuzaka and Lester could not compare to the Harden-Blanton duo that the A's ran out there, and if it wasn't for Street throwing like it was still spring training (which it should have been... thanks MLB), Oakland would of enjoyed a nice little sweep to ruin the homecoming party of Matsuzaka and the defending World Series champions.
At the plate, I have no idea how the A's hung with the Red Sox. I mean, in the name of Jack Hannahan and Emil Brown, where the hell is the star power? I guess aging veterans are not the only overrated thing in this game. Hannahan and Brown provided some of the sock over the two games, both hitting their first homeruns of the season. This is the type of thing that I am not even going to begin to expound. It is laughable, and I love it. Only the A's would start two players that you have never heard before, ad have them hit homeruns in an effort to beat the Red Sox, and almost sweep the Red Sox. This is baseball at its finest.
Runs will come, even if they are few. Nobody knows how and when is the thing, but do not be surprised because there is talent in this lineup. Two guys I am real excited about are Travis Buck and Daric Barton. Buck is the prototypical grinder type of player who fits the A's mold perfectly. The thing about him is that he has more sock that your average leadoff hitter, so if they can get away with keeping his great plate discipline at the top of the order, that will be a steal. Loved the way this kid played in the short amount of time I saw him.
As for Barton, how about a young kid hitting third in his first Opening Day on a big league club? This guy, by all accounts, is going to be a star for many years to come. He hits for average, has plus raw power, and, of course, can work a count or two. These guys will be staples of the A' offense in 2008, without a doubt. But again, this is the team where I don't put much stock into any of my gut feelings. I could be spot on, or I could be way off. The Oakland A's will be a wild ride.
3) Overall, I enjoyed the experience that these games provided. It was a great atmosphere to play in, like I said in part 1 of these notes, and the baseball was great. The games were close, entertaining affairs, and I loved watching the biggest underdog compete with arguably baseball's biggest powerhouse. This is everything that the game is about.
Unfortunately, I cannot call this "Opening Day" by any means. Naturally, it had a completely foreign feel. I don't know what Major League Baseball expected from these two games other than the fact that two fan bases, let alone the rest of baseball fans across America, would feel completely out of place and almost offended that their teams' first official game would not be played at home or in the States.
This is a perfect scenario for an international tournament like the WBC. Everybody understands that. But when it comes to playing games that are official and affect season standings, they must be domestic contests. This is where MLB utterly failed. Baseball is probably more loved in Japan than it is in America in the first place, so the whole spreading the game thing has no validity. We should be taking notes from the Japanese on how to embrace the game of baseball.
I loved the twist and the change in culture and the Japanese flavor, but this was, simply put, the wrong stage for it. Opening Day means too much to too many people in this country to spend it somewhere else. Because of this series, Monday's (Real Opening Day) games will not have quite the same feel, in my mind. Japanese costumes and cultural dances are a great change. But I will take a warm afternoon ballgame amidst a bright sunshine coupled with a goosebumps-inducing National Anthem and military flyover any Opening Day of my lifetime.
Rich Harden's career thus far has been one long, cruel game of Operation. The kid with otherworldly stuff hasn't been able to showcase it because he has spent his share learning the names of different parts of the anatomy during his weekly doctor visits. That is the way the ball bounces sometimes, unfortunately, but that is the way it absolutely cannot bounce this season if the A's wish to have any chance.
Without Harden, you got Joe Blanton and question marks. Now that's assuring. Blanton is solid, and may be the biggest fish in the trading deadline pond this year, but I am not exactly sold on him anchoring a rotation. I just don't see it. Above-average starter? Certainly. But if we are putting him in the "ace" discussion, we need to be forced to run crash plays with Gary Sheffield line drives barreling down our necks. With Blanton as the number one, the A's may finish 20 games back of the AL West winner.
But Harden? He has ace-like stuff, no question, and has the moxie to put a rotation on his back. I enjoy watching Rich pitch because of the type of competitor he is and how he attacks hitters. Harden was absolutely filthy in his 2008 debut, striking out 9 over six innings and earning the win. The A's could not have been more astounded from his performance.
The question will be, can he do that for 35 times this season? Among all of the great story lines I want to see happen this season, this one is high up on the list, definitely. Nobody wants to see a kid with so much talent and promise fail and be labeled as the guy who just couldn't cut it and is labeled a bust because his body disagreed. Could you imagine the feeling? But thankfully there is a God, and that wasn't the Rich Harden I saw on Wednesday, no sir.
The ever-present fastball was popping, the slider was great, and the change up tumbled more than I ever remembered it tumbled. This was some great baseball. Better yet, Harden only threw 95 pitches over his six innings. That isn't the definition of efficiency, but it is a step in the right direction, nonetheless. I hope Billy Beane doesn't get three months of health from him and then trade him at his peak value, because I honestly believe this club could resemble the 2007 Rockies if everything falls right. Who knows? This is baseball; crazier things have happened.
Equally important is Crosby on the other side of the ball. Crosby has spent the bulk of his career on the DL after continuing the tradition of great draft picks from Long Beach State. Crosby is a joy to watch when he is on the field, albeit that hasn't been very often. He is so fluid at shortstop that he could easily win a Gold Glove. And there may be no other park where defense is stressed more so than Oakland's Coliseum.
Crosby will never be a threatening stick, but nobody is asking him to be that. Expectations may routinely be harsh, but rarely are they unrealistic. This is a marriage of sorts, so Crosby isn't alone. Relax, Bobby, you aren't being asked to carry the offense entirely. But what you need to do is be a catalyst.
It is vital to the A's success that Crosby get on base and keeps the offense flowing. How does one guy keep the offense flowing? By being sharp with execution. The A's are going to have to bunt and hit-and-run, and even steal once in a while. That's right, the A's and stolen base must be commonly used in discussions this year. Sorry Mr. Beane, but station to station baseball ain't going to cut it this time around.
Crosby was hitting in the 6-hole in Japan, and if that is where he settles, well he will have to find some gaps. This isn't the Yankees, therefore Crosby is going to have to be the team chameleon to keep the boat afloat in the Bay.
2) I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw from the A's during these two games against the Red Sox. Really, I have no idea what to expect out of Oakland this year. I am not going to make any predictions because I can see this team falling flat due to the obvious lack of talent, or I can see a team building around a great attitude and grinding out wins against superior teams. Nobody knows for sure, so we will have to wait and see.
But I was excited after the club I saw take the field. Honestly, Boston was lucky to scratch out one win in Japan; Oakland had the first game in their hands. Oakland could not have asked for a better situation in the first game of the season than handing the ball over to Huston Street in the ninth inning with a lead. That was the best case scenario, if we are being honest.
But a Brandon Moss homer and an episode of Manny being Manny later, and the tables were turned on the A's. It happens. This was not the first time and it surely will not be the last time this season that the A's squander a late inning lead. So, I could be the naive idiot, but I actually feel hopefully optimistic for the A's.
Overall, the A's had better pitching. Matsuzaka and Lester could not compare to the Harden-Blanton duo that the A's ran out there, and if it wasn't for Street throwing like it was still spring training (which it should have been... thanks MLB), Oakland would of enjoyed a nice little sweep to ruin the homecoming party of Matsuzaka and the defending World Series champions.
At the plate, I have no idea how the A's hung with the Red Sox. I mean, in the name of Jack Hannahan and Emil Brown, where the hell is the star power? I guess aging veterans are not the only overrated thing in this game. Hannahan and Brown provided some of the sock over the two games, both hitting their first homeruns of the season. This is the type of thing that I am not even going to begin to expound. It is laughable, and I love it. Only the A's would start two players that you have never heard before, ad have them hit homeruns in an effort to beat the Red Sox, and almost sweep the Red Sox. This is baseball at its finest.
Runs will come, even if they are few. Nobody knows how and when is the thing, but do not be surprised because there is talent in this lineup. Two guys I am real excited about are Travis Buck and Daric Barton. Buck is the prototypical grinder type of player who fits the A's mold perfectly. The thing about him is that he has more sock that your average leadoff hitter, so if they can get away with keeping his great plate discipline at the top of the order, that will be a steal. Loved the way this kid played in the short amount of time I saw him.
As for Barton, how about a young kid hitting third in his first Opening Day on a big league club? This guy, by all accounts, is going to be a star for many years to come. He hits for average, has plus raw power, and, of course, can work a count or two. These guys will be staples of the A' offense in 2008, without a doubt. But again, this is the team where I don't put much stock into any of my gut feelings. I could be spot on, or I could be way off. The Oakland A's will be a wild ride.
3) Overall, I enjoyed the experience that these games provided. It was a great atmosphere to play in, like I said in part 1 of these notes, and the baseball was great. The games were close, entertaining affairs, and I loved watching the biggest underdog compete with arguably baseball's biggest powerhouse. This is everything that the game is about.
Unfortunately, I cannot call this "Opening Day" by any means. Naturally, it had a completely foreign feel. I don't know what Major League Baseball expected from these two games other than the fact that two fan bases, let alone the rest of baseball fans across America, would feel completely out of place and almost offended that their teams' first official game would not be played at home or in the States.
This is a perfect scenario for an international tournament like the WBC. Everybody understands that. But when it comes to playing games that are official and affect season standings, they must be domestic contests. This is where MLB utterly failed. Baseball is probably more loved in Japan than it is in America in the first place, so the whole spreading the game thing has no validity. We should be taking notes from the Japanese on how to embrace the game of baseball.
I loved the twist and the change in culture and the Japanese flavor, but this was, simply put, the wrong stage for it. Opening Day means too much to too many people in this country to spend it somewhere else. Because of this series, Monday's (Real Opening Day) games will not have quite the same feel, in my mind. Japanese costumes and cultural dances are a great change. But I will take a warm afternoon ballgame amidst a bright sunshine coupled with a goosebumps-inducing National Anthem and military flyover any Opening Day of my lifetime.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Scattered thoughts on Red Sox-A's series in Japan, pt.1
1) A packed house full of enthusiastic fans is about all that can be asked for an "Opening Day", correct? Well, not exactly. For all of the reasons to not agree with these games being played on Japanese soil, there are some things we can give the Japanese people credit for, and one is passion. There certainly was no lack of appreciation for baseball and excitement for seeing some of the best players in the world play baseball the last couple of days. We had dancing dragons and marvelous pregame ceremonies rich with Japanese culture. That is some great stuff, especially when this is an international event.
We had thousands of fans banging thunder sticks-- say what you want about them -- and that was a little bit reminiscent of the postseason in America. It was loud and there was an electricity floating throughout the stadium that is usually reserved for Yankees-Red Sox, or something along those lines.
But the key element here lies in the fundamental principle Major League Baseball had in mind: spreading the game internationally. On that "international" level, it was a great event. But that is exactly the problem. It was an event, not Opening Day for two of the Major League clubs. Yes, it was an awesome atmosphere, but it all too reminded me of the World Baseball Classic. That is the single biggest issue that comes with playing games that count overseas.
This is a perfect scenario for an international tournament, like the one we will have again next spring, but this is not the appropriate form of displaying American sports. I'm sorry, it just isn't. If this was the WBC, baseball could capture the magnitude of the Japanese people and their pregame rituals and it would add more to the game because there would be another country brining their own flavor to the diamond as well. Wouldn't that be great? It would be like two rival bands playing at halftime in the biggest college football game of the year. Now that is a big stage, but the appropriate stage as well. That is where this idea failed. But for what it was worth, the arena wasn't boring.
2) This was perfectly set up for Daisuke Matsuzaka to come back to his native Japan and put on a show for the beloved fans that he so quickly left a year ago. The entire nation stood still to watch their man, the best pitcher currently from Japan, compete on baseball's largest stage. This was set up to have one of those fairytale endings; I was thinking along the lines of a shutout or 12 strikeouts or even-- gasp -- a no-hitter.
All for not, as they say. Daisuke struggled the entire outing, and his return home had absolutely nothing to do with him in the end. There was no magical "thank you" of sorts or any paying respects to the people who urged him to represent Japan in the Major Leagues. All there was was five walks over five cumbersome innings. Nothing special about that as it looked like Daisuke left his heart in Florida.
I honestly thought Matsuzaka was going to come out of the gates firing, at least for this start if nothing else. Sure, I realized that the guy didn't have a great spring. I knew all of that going in, of course. But when I was asked if I was going to start him on my fantasy team or just wait for his next turn in the rotation, I responded, "Hell Yeah, I have to right?"
And that was the honest consensus regarding Daisuke. This story was too good to be true! I was close to betting anything in my name on this outing, regardless of whether it was March 25. To me, Dice-K was in midseason form, baby! Sure showed me.
But on a more meaningful note, the ramifications that be were on the Red Sox, nothing else. This was the first start of the year so the small sample size does not hold much water. But lets just say I was a bit surprised, let alone disappointed, to see Matsuzaka come out like that, on a field where he has grown up dominating the opponent. Lets just move on.
3) If I was going to make the statement I'm about to make a few years ago, I would have said it being a tad bit reserved, if only for the fear of ruining a guys season. But throw that out the window, I've got conviction in my voice: Manny Ramirez is the most electric hitter in all of baseball. Yep, those words came from my mouth, and you do not have to slap me and recite to me in no specific order: A-Rod, Pujols, Ortiz, Guerrero, Howard, et al. I know who those guys are, and I am standing by my statement.
Ramirez was hitting at an unconscious level in the postseason last year, after being one of the best hitters in the game. He and Big Papi pulverized anything close to the plate. Remeber Webb's scoreless inning streak last season? Well this is about the equivalent for a hitter. I stood back in awe and watched those playoff games, and thought to myself, well nothing actually, because I was too dumbfounded for words. I mean, that is how amazing this guy is. I tried scouring my brain for comparables, but to no avail. Nothing.
Now fast forward to 2008 when Ramirez arives to spring training. We find out two monumental things. First off, the guy took a whole new dedication to working out and fine tuning his physique that he spent the winter at the Athlete's Performance Institute in Pheonix, Arizona. Now Ramirez resembles some Greek god. So that's worth mentioning.
On top of that, Manny decides to pick reading as his new favorite hobby and begins with The Secret, a book about the mind and how positive thinking can impact one's actions. Wow. Talk about extreme measures for one of the league's premier hitters. After finding out that Ramirez is not only in the best shape of his career, but has also found a new peace of mind, I am officially afraid for every American League pitcher. I truly am.
A friend would be afraid for a friend who was traveling to a dangerous country. A hiker would be afraid if he crossed paths with a bear. A mother would be afraid if their child, well on second thought, anything regarding their child outside of the home worries a mother. But all of those now become elementary when we bring Manny into the discussion. We will soon be calling him Mad Manny after his trips to the plate. Mark my words.
What amazed me about these first two games was that Manny put that new inner peace on display, in a way I didn't think was possible. When the Red Sox arrived to Japan, Ramirez was told he could not use his regular red bat, for a reason that is bogus. This is the game bat of a baseball player we are talking about; it is up there with the cross in terms of sacredness. This may have affected some other guy, but not Ramirez. He simply went out and bought a Japanese bat that had the same qualifications as his one, and went 5-9 with 5 RBI and a homerun in two games.
Are you kidding me? That is what I am saying. For me, what separates Manny from the aforementioned group of elite hitters is the fact that he can do anything, anywherem on any stage. Not that those guys can't, but Manny has proven that. And if that is not a big part of being great, just ask Alex Rodriguez. (But we will leave A-Rod's postseason struggles alone since he is too great to end his career on that note.) We don't even need to mention when Ramirez looked foolish against Rich Harden on Wednesday, striking out twice before coming up in his third at-bat, all but completely relaxed, and launched a 1-0 change up into the seats beyond left center. As far as I'm concerned, Manny has reached the Cannot-Get-Enough-Of-This-Guy-Until-He-Retires stage.
4) Two things that the Red Sox are going to have to do: play great defense and hope they hit like they should.
Both of these tie in together because the pitching staff is caught in a state of fickleness. Josh Beckett is now on the DL because of his back, although he will be coming off in early April. This should not be a big deal, but "what if it is?" is the question that should be scaring the Bucky F'ing Dent out of Red Sox Nation. If Beckett is not fully healthy for a good portion of the season, or if this back thing lingers, oh boy, the Toronto Blue Jays may just have their playoff opening.
Furthermore, you just never know what you are going to get from Matsuzaka, Lester, and Wakefield. That frightens me a bit. And if that frightens me, Red Sox fans better hope the Celtics make a good run at the NBA Finals because there may not be much good to talk about at Fenway until June. But these are merely premature concerns, not my twisted reality. All I'm saying is this *could* happen.
Great defense would certainly take some of the strain off of the pitching staff, and I happen to love the Red Sox' gloves. Mike Lowell is back at third and is nothing short of a magician at the hot corner. Pedroia, Lugo, Varitek, and Ellsbury up the middle could wind up being the best middle on any ballclub on the planet. If that is not enough, Kevin Youkilis is three games away from tying the consecutive games without an error streak for first baseman. How is that for defense?
Just add health and some seeing eye singles to a little Manny Ramirez, bake for half an hour at 450 degrees and-- presto -- you got yourself a productive offense.
We had thousands of fans banging thunder sticks-- say what you want about them -- and that was a little bit reminiscent of the postseason in America. It was loud and there was an electricity floating throughout the stadium that is usually reserved for Yankees-Red Sox, or something along those lines.
But the key element here lies in the fundamental principle Major League Baseball had in mind: spreading the game internationally. On that "international" level, it was a great event. But that is exactly the problem. It was an event, not Opening Day for two of the Major League clubs. Yes, it was an awesome atmosphere, but it all too reminded me of the World Baseball Classic. That is the single biggest issue that comes with playing games that count overseas.
This is a perfect scenario for an international tournament, like the one we will have again next spring, but this is not the appropriate form of displaying American sports. I'm sorry, it just isn't. If this was the WBC, baseball could capture the magnitude of the Japanese people and their pregame rituals and it would add more to the game because there would be another country brining their own flavor to the diamond as well. Wouldn't that be great? It would be like two rival bands playing at halftime in the biggest college football game of the year. Now that is a big stage, but the appropriate stage as well. That is where this idea failed. But for what it was worth, the arena wasn't boring.
2) This was perfectly set up for Daisuke Matsuzaka to come back to his native Japan and put on a show for the beloved fans that he so quickly left a year ago. The entire nation stood still to watch their man, the best pitcher currently from Japan, compete on baseball's largest stage. This was set up to have one of those fairytale endings; I was thinking along the lines of a shutout or 12 strikeouts or even-- gasp -- a no-hitter.
All for not, as they say. Daisuke struggled the entire outing, and his return home had absolutely nothing to do with him in the end. There was no magical "thank you" of sorts or any paying respects to the people who urged him to represent Japan in the Major Leagues. All there was was five walks over five cumbersome innings. Nothing special about that as it looked like Daisuke left his heart in Florida.
I honestly thought Matsuzaka was going to come out of the gates firing, at least for this start if nothing else. Sure, I realized that the guy didn't have a great spring. I knew all of that going in, of course. But when I was asked if I was going to start him on my fantasy team or just wait for his next turn in the rotation, I responded, "Hell Yeah, I have to right?"
And that was the honest consensus regarding Daisuke. This story was too good to be true! I was close to betting anything in my name on this outing, regardless of whether it was March 25. To me, Dice-K was in midseason form, baby! Sure showed me.
But on a more meaningful note, the ramifications that be were on the Red Sox, nothing else. This was the first start of the year so the small sample size does not hold much water. But lets just say I was a bit surprised, let alone disappointed, to see Matsuzaka come out like that, on a field where he has grown up dominating the opponent. Lets just move on.
3) If I was going to make the statement I'm about to make a few years ago, I would have said it being a tad bit reserved, if only for the fear of ruining a guys season. But throw that out the window, I've got conviction in my voice: Manny Ramirez is the most electric hitter in all of baseball. Yep, those words came from my mouth, and you do not have to slap me and recite to me in no specific order: A-Rod, Pujols, Ortiz, Guerrero, Howard, et al. I know who those guys are, and I am standing by my statement.
Ramirez was hitting at an unconscious level in the postseason last year, after being one of the best hitters in the game. He and Big Papi pulverized anything close to the plate. Remeber Webb's scoreless inning streak last season? Well this is about the equivalent for a hitter. I stood back in awe and watched those playoff games, and thought to myself, well nothing actually, because I was too dumbfounded for words. I mean, that is how amazing this guy is. I tried scouring my brain for comparables, but to no avail. Nothing.
Now fast forward to 2008 when Ramirez arives to spring training. We find out two monumental things. First off, the guy took a whole new dedication to working out and fine tuning his physique that he spent the winter at the Athlete's Performance Institute in Pheonix, Arizona. Now Ramirez resembles some Greek god. So that's worth mentioning.
On top of that, Manny decides to pick reading as his new favorite hobby and begins with The Secret, a book about the mind and how positive thinking can impact one's actions. Wow. Talk about extreme measures for one of the league's premier hitters. After finding out that Ramirez is not only in the best shape of his career, but has also found a new peace of mind, I am officially afraid for every American League pitcher. I truly am.
A friend would be afraid for a friend who was traveling to a dangerous country. A hiker would be afraid if he crossed paths with a bear. A mother would be afraid if their child, well on second thought, anything regarding their child outside of the home worries a mother. But all of those now become elementary when we bring Manny into the discussion. We will soon be calling him Mad Manny after his trips to the plate. Mark my words.
What amazed me about these first two games was that Manny put that new inner peace on display, in a way I didn't think was possible. When the Red Sox arrived to Japan, Ramirez was told he could not use his regular red bat, for a reason that is bogus. This is the game bat of a baseball player we are talking about; it is up there with the cross in terms of sacredness. This may have affected some other guy, but not Ramirez. He simply went out and bought a Japanese bat that had the same qualifications as his one, and went 5-9 with 5 RBI and a homerun in two games.
Are you kidding me? That is what I am saying. For me, what separates Manny from the aforementioned group of elite hitters is the fact that he can do anything, anywherem on any stage. Not that those guys can't, but Manny has proven that. And if that is not a big part of being great, just ask Alex Rodriguez. (But we will leave A-Rod's postseason struggles alone since he is too great to end his career on that note.) We don't even need to mention when Ramirez looked foolish against Rich Harden on Wednesday, striking out twice before coming up in his third at-bat, all but completely relaxed, and launched a 1-0 change up into the seats beyond left center. As far as I'm concerned, Manny has reached the Cannot-Get-Enough-Of-This-Guy-Until-He-Retires stage.
4) Two things that the Red Sox are going to have to do: play great defense and hope they hit like they should.
Both of these tie in together because the pitching staff is caught in a state of fickleness. Josh Beckett is now on the DL because of his back, although he will be coming off in early April. This should not be a big deal, but "what if it is?" is the question that should be scaring the Bucky F'ing Dent out of Red Sox Nation. If Beckett is not fully healthy for a good portion of the season, or if this back thing lingers, oh boy, the Toronto Blue Jays may just have their playoff opening.
Furthermore, you just never know what you are going to get from Matsuzaka, Lester, and Wakefield. That frightens me a bit. And if that frightens me, Red Sox fans better hope the Celtics make a good run at the NBA Finals because there may not be much good to talk about at Fenway until June. But these are merely premature concerns, not my twisted reality. All I'm saying is this *could* happen.
Great defense would certainly take some of the strain off of the pitching staff, and I happen to love the Red Sox' gloves. Mike Lowell is back at third and is nothing short of a magician at the hot corner. Pedroia, Lugo, Varitek, and Ellsbury up the middle could wind up being the best middle on any ballclub on the planet. If that is not enough, Kevin Youkilis is three games away from tying the consecutive games without an error streak for first baseman. How is that for defense?
Just add health and some seeing eye singles to a little Manny Ramirez, bake for half an hour at 450 degrees and-- presto -- you got yourself a productive offense.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Baseball should be a game first, business second
Baseball players swing bats, make pitches, and dive for balls in the dirt. They do not push pencils, fax memos, and mess with spread sheets. Baseball fans rely on the sun, not indoor lighting, and a cool ballpark breeze, not the office air conditioning. Baseball players spit in their workplace; they do not tidy up that white collar. Baseball fans do go to games to get away from the blaring of phones and the screeching of printers. This is baseball, not Trump Tower.
Baseball has always been a business, at least since the day where it begun drawing in large sums of money because of the great game that it was, and still is, and the players who were on the field. But lets not forget what is really important, only for "big picture" purposes if nothing else.
There seems to be a line, that was inevitably crossed, where baseball was no longer a game for fans to see or for players to compete. Baseball has become too much like a golf course; the appropriate place to take a client to seal a business sale. Baseball players are not as righteous in the eyes of baseball fans as they used to be; they are merely money makers.
How does this relate to the game today and why is it important? That is the simple part of the question.
Baseball has been put on the backburner once again and the business side of the industry has taken the attention. This has been the case for years, and will continue to be, and that is unfortuanate, if only because making money will be more important to those with power than the games that are played on the field.
Fans across the country are routinely snubbed from watching great competition among the game's brightest players, because of the dollar sign. This is not a fallacy, but actuality at its finest. It is no more apparent than this spring if one would take a look down to see what is happening right now in Tampa Bay.
The Rays possess the top prospect in baseball in third baseman Evan Longoria. Longoria is a remarkable prospect on all levels, and has been deemed ready for the big leagues by numerous scouts and talent evaluators. Multiple front office people have gone on record saying that Longoria's tools are not even the most impressive thing about him. The kid's demeanor when he steps onto a baseball field with today's best players is what sets him apart. He is not fazed like the average rookie should be, nor is he in awe of the greats that are staring him down from sixty feet, six inches away.
"He just looks liek a big leaguer" are the words that commonly float from spring training site to the next. Great, so the people of Tampa Bay should be in for a superb show once Opening Day arrives, right? Baseball has another great, young player who is going to help put the focus back on the talent on the field and off of Congressional hearings, correct? Not so fast.
It has not been made official, but it is all but certain that the Rays will send Longoria to Triple-A to start the season because of its financial implications, not the fact that the prospect could use some more seasoning. The facts are like this: If Longoria spends even three weeks in the minor leagues this season, he will be short of the required big league service time to start his clock. Organizations control players for six big league seasons before they can become free agents; three seasons before they are arbitration eligible. By making this move, Longoria will have to wait until next season to begin his three year trek to becoming arbitration-eligible, all the while giving Tampa Bay practically a full season worth of production for pennies.
The Players Union must be up in arms with situations exactly like this, although there isn't much that can be done since that is just the way the system is structured. But the atrociousness of it all does not lie in the fact that the player is being cheated of a higher salary, because if a player is deserving of the big dollar deals, then he will eventually have the leverage in his favor.
The big deal is that fans are slighted when it comes to seeing the best players and the best product, and the player himself is being kept from fulfilling his dream of playing Major League Baseball due to factors that have no correlation with his talent. Most players at a young age would happily forfeit the three weeks of service time, and allow their clock to begin the following year instead, if they could only have that extra month of experience in the big leagues.
It is always said that as a kid in the minor leagues, the natural mindset is to get to the big leagues tomorrow. That is the problem that the corporate side of baseball has created. Business is taking precedence over the game, and more importantly, the players who make the game what it is for fans and employers in the first place. Is there any way to fix this? No, I don't think so. Baseball as an industry is booming, and that is great because it keeps the game at the forefront of American sports, and that couldn't possibly be a bad thing. But it is noteworthy to mention the downfalls of creating such an economic empire, to the point that the innate love for the game and its players is being sacrificed to some degree.
Baseball has always been a business, at least since the day where it begun drawing in large sums of money because of the great game that it was, and still is, and the players who were on the field. But lets not forget what is really important, only for "big picture" purposes if nothing else.
There seems to be a line, that was inevitably crossed, where baseball was no longer a game for fans to see or for players to compete. Baseball has become too much like a golf course; the appropriate place to take a client to seal a business sale. Baseball players are not as righteous in the eyes of baseball fans as they used to be; they are merely money makers.
How does this relate to the game today and why is it important? That is the simple part of the question.
Baseball has been put on the backburner once again and the business side of the industry has taken the attention. This has been the case for years, and will continue to be, and that is unfortuanate, if only because making money will be more important to those with power than the games that are played on the field.
Fans across the country are routinely snubbed from watching great competition among the game's brightest players, because of the dollar sign. This is not a fallacy, but actuality at its finest. It is no more apparent than this spring if one would take a look down to see what is happening right now in Tampa Bay.
The Rays possess the top prospect in baseball in third baseman Evan Longoria. Longoria is a remarkable prospect on all levels, and has been deemed ready for the big leagues by numerous scouts and talent evaluators. Multiple front office people have gone on record saying that Longoria's tools are not even the most impressive thing about him. The kid's demeanor when he steps onto a baseball field with today's best players is what sets him apart. He is not fazed like the average rookie should be, nor is he in awe of the greats that are staring him down from sixty feet, six inches away.
"He just looks liek a big leaguer" are the words that commonly float from spring training site to the next. Great, so the people of Tampa Bay should be in for a superb show once Opening Day arrives, right? Baseball has another great, young player who is going to help put the focus back on the talent on the field and off of Congressional hearings, correct? Not so fast.
It has not been made official, but it is all but certain that the Rays will send Longoria to Triple-A to start the season because of its financial implications, not the fact that the prospect could use some more seasoning. The facts are like this: If Longoria spends even three weeks in the minor leagues this season, he will be short of the required big league service time to start his clock. Organizations control players for six big league seasons before they can become free agents; three seasons before they are arbitration eligible. By making this move, Longoria will have to wait until next season to begin his three year trek to becoming arbitration-eligible, all the while giving Tampa Bay practically a full season worth of production for pennies.
The Players Union must be up in arms with situations exactly like this, although there isn't much that can be done since that is just the way the system is structured. But the atrociousness of it all does not lie in the fact that the player is being cheated of a higher salary, because if a player is deserving of the big dollar deals, then he will eventually have the leverage in his favor.
The big deal is that fans are slighted when it comes to seeing the best players and the best product, and the player himself is being kept from fulfilling his dream of playing Major League Baseball due to factors that have no correlation with his talent. Most players at a young age would happily forfeit the three weeks of service time, and allow their clock to begin the following year instead, if they could only have that extra month of experience in the big leagues.
It is always said that as a kid in the minor leagues, the natural mindset is to get to the big leagues tomorrow. That is the problem that the corporate side of baseball has created. Business is taking precedence over the game, and more importantly, the players who make the game what it is for fans and employers in the first place. Is there any way to fix this? No, I don't think so. Baseball as an industry is booming, and that is great because it keeps the game at the forefront of American sports, and that couldn't possibly be a bad thing. But it is noteworthy to mention the downfalls of creating such an economic empire, to the point that the innate love for the game and its players is being sacrificed to some degree.
Bonderman's change of heart
When a club adds arguably the best hitter in Major League Baseball to its lineup that already includes the 2007 American League Batting Champion, a slugger who is closing in on 500 career homeruns, and multiple catalysts, it is no wonder that the majority of spring training banter will entertain the possibilities of the offense. Yes, the Detroit Tigers could have the scariest lineup baseball has seen in recent memory. Sure, this team could outscore the Yankees and Red Sox with ease in 2008.
But the most important part of the game has always been, and will always be, pitching. Detroit is no slouch when it comes to performing on the bump, but the jury is still out on the rotation. Will the staff be great, or merely good? Time will tell, but there is one guy who will be an integral part to the answer of that question; that guy is Jeremy Bonderman.
Bonderman is only 25 years old, but 2008 will be his sixth season in the big leagues. Yes, his sixth. That is because Bonderman was brought to Detroit at the tender age of 20 and was asked to take the ball every fifth day for an organization that annually flirted with 100 losses. There is no question that he was rushed and was not even close to ready for the competition that a pitcher faces in the major leagues.
The problem was that Detroit simply had nobody better to throw out there. So here you go, Jeremy, here's the ball and good luck.
Now that Bonderman has had some seasons under his belt and is really at the age where a young, budding superstar will begin to emerge, we can expect to see Bonderman make that leap this season. He has always had the stuff that could, eventually, put him into elite status, but it was unfair to expect such things from a kid his age.
Make no mistake about it, the time is now for Bonderman to start elevating his game if he intends on being a premier starting pitcher. Easier said than done, and Bonderman is well aware of those expectations this spring.
Power has been his protocol and his signature stamp has been the heater. There is nothing soft about this guy; not his frame or his repertoire. At 6'2'' and 220 pounds, Bonderman has the body to go along with his mid-90s fastball and power slider. He has used those pitches at will to dominate hitters in the past. The problem is that one cannot be a starting pitcher with only two pitches in the major leagues. Especially when both pitches are hard. Big league hitters are better than that.
Instead of being the young, stubborn stud that many players are before they realize that they need to adjust, Bonderman is showing great strides in maturity this spring by making his priority known.
His number one goal for spring training: develop his changeup.
Bonderman has worked with pitching coach Chuck Hernandez tirelessly in Lakeland, Florida this spring trying to bring along his third offering. Catcher Pudge Rodriguez has been forcing Bonderman to throw the change in a variety of counts during his exhibition starts, making progress inevitable.
And the results? They have been nothing short of stellar. Bonderman has been throwing his change in the 82-86 mph range and has been inducing plenty of weak swings and feeble groundballs. Without intending to do so, working on the changeup has only made the fastball and slider that much better. Now Bonderman can use his best pitches to put hitters away and get ahead in the count, while using his newfound change to keep his pitch count down and to keep hitters honest.
If Bonderman sticks with the plan, and by all accounts he will, then he is not too far from complementing Justin Verlander in the Detroit rotation as a second ace. There are still a handful of innings to be thrown before the club heads north to begin the long haul, therefore giving this Tiger another chance to tune up before the expectations of the 2008 season are bestowed upon the Mo-Town clubhouse.
The talk will continue to be about the hitters come Opening Day, but that is perfectly fine with Bonderman. Whether he knows it or not, his development is the real determining factor of whether Detroit is just going to be in the hunt or hunting down playoff opponents. Change is good; this is Bonderman's time.
But the most important part of the game has always been, and will always be, pitching. Detroit is no slouch when it comes to performing on the bump, but the jury is still out on the rotation. Will the staff be great, or merely good? Time will tell, but there is one guy who will be an integral part to the answer of that question; that guy is Jeremy Bonderman.
Bonderman is only 25 years old, but 2008 will be his sixth season in the big leagues. Yes, his sixth. That is because Bonderman was brought to Detroit at the tender age of 20 and was asked to take the ball every fifth day for an organization that annually flirted with 100 losses. There is no question that he was rushed and was not even close to ready for the competition that a pitcher faces in the major leagues.
The problem was that Detroit simply had nobody better to throw out there. So here you go, Jeremy, here's the ball and good luck.
Now that Bonderman has had some seasons under his belt and is really at the age where a young, budding superstar will begin to emerge, we can expect to see Bonderman make that leap this season. He has always had the stuff that could, eventually, put him into elite status, but it was unfair to expect such things from a kid his age.
Make no mistake about it, the time is now for Bonderman to start elevating his game if he intends on being a premier starting pitcher. Easier said than done, and Bonderman is well aware of those expectations this spring.
Power has been his protocol and his signature stamp has been the heater. There is nothing soft about this guy; not his frame or his repertoire. At 6'2'' and 220 pounds, Bonderman has the body to go along with his mid-90s fastball and power slider. He has used those pitches at will to dominate hitters in the past. The problem is that one cannot be a starting pitcher with only two pitches in the major leagues. Especially when both pitches are hard. Big league hitters are better than that.
Instead of being the young, stubborn stud that many players are before they realize that they need to adjust, Bonderman is showing great strides in maturity this spring by making his priority known.
His number one goal for spring training: develop his changeup.
Bonderman has worked with pitching coach Chuck Hernandez tirelessly in Lakeland, Florida this spring trying to bring along his third offering. Catcher Pudge Rodriguez has been forcing Bonderman to throw the change in a variety of counts during his exhibition starts, making progress inevitable.
And the results? They have been nothing short of stellar. Bonderman has been throwing his change in the 82-86 mph range and has been inducing plenty of weak swings and feeble groundballs. Without intending to do so, working on the changeup has only made the fastball and slider that much better. Now Bonderman can use his best pitches to put hitters away and get ahead in the count, while using his newfound change to keep his pitch count down and to keep hitters honest.
If Bonderman sticks with the plan, and by all accounts he will, then he is not too far from complementing Justin Verlander in the Detroit rotation as a second ace. There are still a handful of innings to be thrown before the club heads north to begin the long haul, therefore giving this Tiger another chance to tune up before the expectations of the 2008 season are bestowed upon the Mo-Town clubhouse.
The talk will continue to be about the hitters come Opening Day, but that is perfectly fine with Bonderman. Whether he knows it or not, his development is the real determining factor of whether Detroit is just going to be in the hunt or hunting down playoff opponents. Change is good; this is Bonderman's time.
Monday, March 17, 2008
St. Patty's weekend baseball notes
A lot going on in baseball over the weekend when many were off to various St. Patrick's day celebrations, since the real holiday falls on a Monday. Some things shaping up and some stories progressing, so lets get right to it.
There may not be a happier man in the world on Sunday than Daisuke Matsuzaka. The righthander flew back home to Boston for the weekend to witness the birth of his baby boy, and then learned that he will be the Opening Day starter for the Boston Red Sox in his native Japan, when the team flys over in a week to play two games against the Oakland Athletics. For all of the cons involving playing regular season games over seas, the one thing to be excited about is the atmosphere that will follow.
There may not be any Opening Day ballgame more electric than the contest in Japan. I have a feeling this will be somewhat like the energy we saw during the World Baseball Classic a couple of springs ago, with fans coming out in droves to support those from their respective countries. Matsuzaka is the starter by default since Boston ace Josh Beckett went down with back spasms last week. Regardless of the scenario, Terry Francona could of just as easily opted for veteran Tim Wakefield to take the ball.
That brings us to the latest with Beckett. Arguably the game's most dominant pitcher, Beckett threw on flat ground from about 120 feet on Monday and reported that felt free and easy, marking another positive step in his rehabilitation process. Beckett could be back on the mound by the end of the week and will most likely get a few outings against some minor leaguers in Florida by the time the team comes back from Japan.
It is apparent that there is a great sense of urgency coming out of the White Sox camp this spring, after what was a dreadful 2007. Manager Ozzie Guillen admitted that he was so embarrassed "I wished I had a private jet to go home after the season because I did'nt want to go to O'Hare airport".
Guillen has stated that the team was a disgrace to the fans and have vastly underachieved since they won the World Series in 2005. Due to that, Guillen has been adamant about forcing the issue this spring and taking a more intense approach to spring workouts. The White Sox are an improved ballclub from last year and have made some strides. Their bullpen is a little bit better with the acquisition of Linebrink, and their lineup can be very good if they can stay healthy.
I still have major concerns about Chicago's starting pitching, though, and I think that will ultimately be the Achilles' heel when it is all said and done. Buehrle will be good, but what Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras, and John Danks can bring to the rotation on a consistent basis remains to be seen.
There has been plenty of talk recently about the future of C.C. Sabathia and what that means in terms of the future of the Cleveland Indians. Not sure why media members love to continue to pound the same nail when it comes to issues like this one but, as Sabathia reiterated over the weekend, there really is nothing he has to say at this point.
There is speculation that he will be gone as soon as the last pitch of the 2008 season is thrown because he will enter the free agent market and the Indians simply do not have the dollars that will be required to command arguably the best lefthander in baseball not named Johan Santana. So where does this leave us?
Naturally, this story is making a beeline for the Bronx. Many presume that there will be an intense bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees next winter. This will add up very nicely for both clubs since they both have the money to afford a contract upwards of $100 million. What is best about this, unlike the Johan Santana situation, is that the club who acquires Sabathia will not be forced to break open their farm system and part with four or five of their best prospects.
It is not an automatic that Sabathia will leave the Tribe, as he certainly has some ties in Cleveland, given that he has been with the organization since he was 17 years old. But hometown discounts only go so far, and this is Sabathia's opportunity to make his huge payday and have his family set for life for generations to come. There is a chance he would shop off $10 million from Cleveland, but anything more than that seems like a stretch. If the Yankees or Red Sox guarantee $120 million over six years and Cleveland offers $90 million over five, the reigning Cy Young award winner is all but gone.
A huge part of the baseball population has all but marked their calendars for an ALCS matchup between the Red Sox and Tigers. Not so fast.
Manager Jim Leyland has made it known this spring that the Tigers are good, but they must certainly do more than just show up to the ballpark in order to reach the goals that they have set for themselves. Leyland is determined to fight complacency, and sometimes that requires setting a little fire under his team full of All-Stars.
The fire was up a couple of nothces this weekend as Leyland was less than impressed with his pitchers after being wacked around in Saturday's exhibition. The day begun with ace Justin Verlander being hung with seven runs over the course of his outing. Verlander was not concerned about it since he admitted to working on his delivery rather than making his pitchers the most important thing out on the mound.
Leyland was awkwardly pleased with the fact that his pitchers took a bit of a beating on Saturday.
"Obviously, this shows you that there is more to pitching than just a great arm", Detroit's skipper stated after the game.
"96--wack! 97-- wack!", he repeated.
Leyland used the outing to prove a point that nobody in the league can rely on throwing their fastball right over the heart of the plate, leaving it on a platter belt high. That isn't going to get it done. The Tigers have too many good arms and, pardon the cliche, it is only spring training. Their rotation will make the needed adjustments and should be nothing less than good this season. If I am a Tigers fan, I love that Leyland is setting the bar high early and is challenging his players to perform up to their highest level, not down to the level of their competition.
There may not be a happier man in the world on Sunday than Daisuke Matsuzaka. The righthander flew back home to Boston for the weekend to witness the birth of his baby boy, and then learned that he will be the Opening Day starter for the Boston Red Sox in his native Japan, when the team flys over in a week to play two games against the Oakland Athletics. For all of the cons involving playing regular season games over seas, the one thing to be excited about is the atmosphere that will follow.
There may not be any Opening Day ballgame more electric than the contest in Japan. I have a feeling this will be somewhat like the energy we saw during the World Baseball Classic a couple of springs ago, with fans coming out in droves to support those from their respective countries. Matsuzaka is the starter by default since Boston ace Josh Beckett went down with back spasms last week. Regardless of the scenario, Terry Francona could of just as easily opted for veteran Tim Wakefield to take the ball.
That brings us to the latest with Beckett. Arguably the game's most dominant pitcher, Beckett threw on flat ground from about 120 feet on Monday and reported that felt free and easy, marking another positive step in his rehabilitation process. Beckett could be back on the mound by the end of the week and will most likely get a few outings against some minor leaguers in Florida by the time the team comes back from Japan.
It is apparent that there is a great sense of urgency coming out of the White Sox camp this spring, after what was a dreadful 2007. Manager Ozzie Guillen admitted that he was so embarrassed "I wished I had a private jet to go home after the season because I did'nt want to go to O'Hare airport".
Guillen has stated that the team was a disgrace to the fans and have vastly underachieved since they won the World Series in 2005. Due to that, Guillen has been adamant about forcing the issue this spring and taking a more intense approach to spring workouts. The White Sox are an improved ballclub from last year and have made some strides. Their bullpen is a little bit better with the acquisition of Linebrink, and their lineup can be very good if they can stay healthy.
I still have major concerns about Chicago's starting pitching, though, and I think that will ultimately be the Achilles' heel when it is all said and done. Buehrle will be good, but what Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras, and John Danks can bring to the rotation on a consistent basis remains to be seen.
There has been plenty of talk recently about the future of C.C. Sabathia and what that means in terms of the future of the Cleveland Indians. Not sure why media members love to continue to pound the same nail when it comes to issues like this one but, as Sabathia reiterated over the weekend, there really is nothing he has to say at this point.
There is speculation that he will be gone as soon as the last pitch of the 2008 season is thrown because he will enter the free agent market and the Indians simply do not have the dollars that will be required to command arguably the best lefthander in baseball not named Johan Santana. So where does this leave us?
Naturally, this story is making a beeline for the Bronx. Many presume that there will be an intense bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees next winter. This will add up very nicely for both clubs since they both have the money to afford a contract upwards of $100 million. What is best about this, unlike the Johan Santana situation, is that the club who acquires Sabathia will not be forced to break open their farm system and part with four or five of their best prospects.
It is not an automatic that Sabathia will leave the Tribe, as he certainly has some ties in Cleveland, given that he has been with the organization since he was 17 years old. But hometown discounts only go so far, and this is Sabathia's opportunity to make his huge payday and have his family set for life for generations to come. There is a chance he would shop off $10 million from Cleveland, but anything more than that seems like a stretch. If the Yankees or Red Sox guarantee $120 million over six years and Cleveland offers $90 million over five, the reigning Cy Young award winner is all but gone.
A huge part of the baseball population has all but marked their calendars for an ALCS matchup between the Red Sox and Tigers. Not so fast.
Manager Jim Leyland has made it known this spring that the Tigers are good, but they must certainly do more than just show up to the ballpark in order to reach the goals that they have set for themselves. Leyland is determined to fight complacency, and sometimes that requires setting a little fire under his team full of All-Stars.
The fire was up a couple of nothces this weekend as Leyland was less than impressed with his pitchers after being wacked around in Saturday's exhibition. The day begun with ace Justin Verlander being hung with seven runs over the course of his outing. Verlander was not concerned about it since he admitted to working on his delivery rather than making his pitchers the most important thing out on the mound.
Leyland was awkwardly pleased with the fact that his pitchers took a bit of a beating on Saturday.
"Obviously, this shows you that there is more to pitching than just a great arm", Detroit's skipper stated after the game.
"96--wack! 97-- wack!", he repeated.
Leyland used the outing to prove a point that nobody in the league can rely on throwing their fastball right over the heart of the plate, leaving it on a platter belt high. That isn't going to get it done. The Tigers have too many good arms and, pardon the cliche, it is only spring training. Their rotation will make the needed adjustments and should be nothing less than good this season. If I am a Tigers fan, I love that Leyland is setting the bar high early and is challenging his players to perform up to their highest level, not down to the level of their competition.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Ace-less Angels
There was a time only about a month ago where the American League West was all but owned by the Angels. There seemingly was no team that was going to compete with Los Angeles, not rebuilding Oakland, idling Seattle, or pitching-craved Texas. The Bedard deal did close the gap for Seattle, but even with arguably the best one-two punch in baseball in Bedard and Felix Hernandez, the Mariners were still a bunch of baseball's wacky breaks away from contending for the division title.
Fast forward into the middle of March, about a month into spring training, and we now have an interesting race shaping up out West, due to some recent injuries. The Angels already knew they were going to open the season with Kelvim Escobar on the DL, probably out for all of April in order to error on the cautious side. So that was a given.
Now the Angels learned last week that their ace, righthander John Lackey, will be out until sometime around May due to a strained right triceps. Lackey will not miss a significant amount of time, so there really isn't a desperate desire to panic. But I'm not too sure if the Angels aren't worried about the developing situation.
Pitching is the Angels strong point, and they always find ways to make good use out of the depth on their staff. All of the sudden, a rotation that was suppossed to be among the best in baseball and carry the mediocre Angel offense this year, has fallen back to the pack and appears only as average. Of course, there is a potential for it to be very solid even without Escobar and Lackey, but those question marks are large.
What does this mean for Los Angeles? Well, the burden of leading the staff now falls on Jered Weaver, who really should be slotted into a number three spot in a big league rotation this season. The only other somewhat-sure arm in the rotation is Joe Saunders who has been shuffled back and forth between the big leagues and AAA in the last two seasons. Saunders has proved time and again that he is a ready for his full shot in the big leagues, and I believe that even if he is slated behind Weaver in the rotation, he will have the biggest impact coming out of the gate.
After those two guys, it is anybody's guess on who will show up. Dustin Moseley will indefinitely be called upon to hold down the third spot in the rotation, a job he is capable of doing, but to what extent is unsure. Moseley has filled some spot starts in recent seasons for the Angels and has done an adequate job. In 2007, Moseley made 46 appearances, including 8 starts, and posted a 4.40 ERA over 92 innings. The righty was slotted for long relief in 2008 until the injury bug started popping up.
If Mike Scoscia is a magician, he just may reach into his hat and see what he finds for his fourth starter. On a good day, he will pull out an electric Ervin Santana who can dominate any team because of his ace-like arsenal. But if 2007 was any indication of what is to come, and I don't believe it necessarily was, then the skipper will be pulling out a rabbit more times than not. Santana is one of those kids that most people struggle to figure out.
He was lights out at home last season, yet unbearable on the road. He struggled so much with his command last season that he was sent down to the minors to figure it out. His mission continued as he pitched well in winter ball. Hopefully for the Angels, Santan can find his 2006 form when he was on the verge of a monster breakout season with contending for Cy Young awards in his future. If they get anything like that guy in 2008, then this staff automatically will go back up to above-average, without Lackey and Escobar.
Top pitching prospect Nick Adenhart has been the talk of the camp for the Angels this spring, and could possibly be called upon to fill that fifth slot in the early going. Adenhart has great stuff, but Scoscia went on record this week saying they will not rush the 21-year-old if they don't feel his is ready. I get the whole don't like to rush prospects thing, but if you are trying to win ballgames, isn't it your job to put the best possible product on the field for the fans that spend money to purchase millions of tickets each year?
Experience is over-rated a little bit, I believe, especially in scenarios like this. I would much rather take a talented kid who hasn't had his opportunity on the big stage yet, rather than paying an average veteran like a Freddy Garcia $8 million to give you a 5.00 ERA.
The Angels may be able to get by the first month or two of the season if they score runs like they are doing in spring training. But it has never been the Angels' MO to out-slug teams on their way to victories, and I don't think that is going to change this season, even with Torri Hunter hitting out of his mind in Tempe right now. Are the Angels capable of putting up runs? Definitely. But on paper, I don't see them being any better offensively than the Mariners or the Rangers, simply because both teams have a couple of good players and more than enough unknown quantities.
It will be interesting to see what will transpire over the course of the first 30 games or so of the season. With Seattle throwing a legitimate ace out on the mound 2 out of every 5 games, a below-average April could turn 2008 into an early season nightmare for the Halos. Of course, April or May, or even June, is too early to being pressing, but I would not be that surprised if the Angels find themselves 4-6 games back of the Mariners by the time Lackey gets back. The overall questions that their rotation now faces forces that scenario to seem all too realistic.
Fast forward into the middle of March, about a month into spring training, and we now have an interesting race shaping up out West, due to some recent injuries. The Angels already knew they were going to open the season with Kelvim Escobar on the DL, probably out for all of April in order to error on the cautious side. So that was a given.
Now the Angels learned last week that their ace, righthander John Lackey, will be out until sometime around May due to a strained right triceps. Lackey will not miss a significant amount of time, so there really isn't a desperate desire to panic. But I'm not too sure if the Angels aren't worried about the developing situation.
Pitching is the Angels strong point, and they always find ways to make good use out of the depth on their staff. All of the sudden, a rotation that was suppossed to be among the best in baseball and carry the mediocre Angel offense this year, has fallen back to the pack and appears only as average. Of course, there is a potential for it to be very solid even without Escobar and Lackey, but those question marks are large.
What does this mean for Los Angeles? Well, the burden of leading the staff now falls on Jered Weaver, who really should be slotted into a number three spot in a big league rotation this season. The only other somewhat-sure arm in the rotation is Joe Saunders who has been shuffled back and forth between the big leagues and AAA in the last two seasons. Saunders has proved time and again that he is a ready for his full shot in the big leagues, and I believe that even if he is slated behind Weaver in the rotation, he will have the biggest impact coming out of the gate.
After those two guys, it is anybody's guess on who will show up. Dustin Moseley will indefinitely be called upon to hold down the third spot in the rotation, a job he is capable of doing, but to what extent is unsure. Moseley has filled some spot starts in recent seasons for the Angels and has done an adequate job. In 2007, Moseley made 46 appearances, including 8 starts, and posted a 4.40 ERA over 92 innings. The righty was slotted for long relief in 2008 until the injury bug started popping up.
If Mike Scoscia is a magician, he just may reach into his hat and see what he finds for his fourth starter. On a good day, he will pull out an electric Ervin Santana who can dominate any team because of his ace-like arsenal. But if 2007 was any indication of what is to come, and I don't believe it necessarily was, then the skipper will be pulling out a rabbit more times than not. Santana is one of those kids that most people struggle to figure out.
He was lights out at home last season, yet unbearable on the road. He struggled so much with his command last season that he was sent down to the minors to figure it out. His mission continued as he pitched well in winter ball. Hopefully for the Angels, Santan can find his 2006 form when he was on the verge of a monster breakout season with contending for Cy Young awards in his future. If they get anything like that guy in 2008, then this staff automatically will go back up to above-average, without Lackey and Escobar.
Top pitching prospect Nick Adenhart has been the talk of the camp for the Angels this spring, and could possibly be called upon to fill that fifth slot in the early going. Adenhart has great stuff, but Scoscia went on record this week saying they will not rush the 21-year-old if they don't feel his is ready. I get the whole don't like to rush prospects thing, but if you are trying to win ballgames, isn't it your job to put the best possible product on the field for the fans that spend money to purchase millions of tickets each year?
Experience is over-rated a little bit, I believe, especially in scenarios like this. I would much rather take a talented kid who hasn't had his opportunity on the big stage yet, rather than paying an average veteran like a Freddy Garcia $8 million to give you a 5.00 ERA.
The Angels may be able to get by the first month or two of the season if they score runs like they are doing in spring training. But it has never been the Angels' MO to out-slug teams on their way to victories, and I don't think that is going to change this season, even with Torri Hunter hitting out of his mind in Tempe right now. Are the Angels capable of putting up runs? Definitely. But on paper, I don't see them being any better offensively than the Mariners or the Rangers, simply because both teams have a couple of good players and more than enough unknown quantities.
It will be interesting to see what will transpire over the course of the first 30 games or so of the season. With Seattle throwing a legitimate ace out on the mound 2 out of every 5 games, a below-average April could turn 2008 into an early season nightmare for the Halos. Of course, April or May, or even June, is too early to being pressing, but I would not be that surprised if the Angels find themselves 4-6 games back of the Mariners by the time Lackey gets back. The overall questions that their rotation now faces forces that scenario to seem all too realistic.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Bad blood brewing in the East
March isn't only useful for hitters getting their hacks in and pichers getting in tune with their deliveries, right? Of course not. Baseball players are known for retaliating and holding ugly incidents inside, waiting for the perfect opportunity to return the favor. It is part of the game that has been around forever, and will be around as long as baseball is played. Brawls are more likely to occur in the midst of a strong rivalry, and those strong feelings are rekindled during the spring. But when new rivalries are commenced, baseball fans get a whole 'nother reason to pay close attention to the proceedings.
This is exactly what we have on our hands now with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. The two clubs brawled in a spring training game on Wednesday after a retaliation take out slide by New York's Shelley Duncan. Duncan tried to pull the all too familiar interview after the game saying that his only intent was to jar the ball loose from Tampa Bay second baseman Akinori Iwamura's glove.
If Duncan really believes that, then we can just leave him be with his opinion, but the video showed otherwise. It was clear what the intentions were, and therefore Johnny Gomes was not out of line to come in from right field and take action, in defense of his teammate.
The thing with Duncan is that he shouldn't feel the need to cover up his actions. Duncan is trying to make his painting look like a Picasso piece, when it really is basic childproof finger paints. After a homeplate collision four days earlier that injured a Yankee prospect, the Yankees had every reason to use the same aggressiveness on the basepaths. So lets not kid ourselves and just call it like it is.
This situation between these two clubs has now taken on a life of its own. The Yankees and Rays already play in the same divison, so they are bound to clash at certain times, especially as Tampa Bay graduates some of its talent to the major league level and finally becomes relevant in the division standings.
The Rays are maybe a season or two away from being a very good ballclub, which in itself is plenty to start up a great rivalry. Add in the fact that these two teams now do not like each other, and we have some great, high-intensity baseball coming our way for this year and seasons to come.
This will never reached the full-fledged war that is the New York/Boston rivalry, but bad blood is bad blood. The Yankees do nothing but make the playoffs, so it is not as if they need something to fuel their fire, like Tampa Bay may need. From that standpoint, this newfound rivalry will not do that much for the Yankees, outside of kicking up the intensity when the two teams play.
But for Tampa Bay? That is a completely different story, as this may be the turning point in their franchise. The Rays, formerly known as the Devil Rays, have been the small kid on the block in the AL East since they came into the league. They are punked year in and year out by the Yankees and Red Sox, and even the Blue Jays at times. They have taken their licks while the front office has made an effort to stack their farm system through the amateur draft.
The Rays are starting to see some of that talent come to the big leagues, as we should be seeing all-around stud Evan Longoria early in the year, and the impact pitching prospects the Rays have are numerous. But what I like more about this is that the Rays are finally making a stand against one of the game's most feared teams.
The only way for Tampa Bay to dig out of the divisional hole they are in is to combine talent with a hard-nosed, team-wide approach that plays aggressive and punches the opponent in the mouth. They cannot afford to back down and be pushed around. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon has been adamant about the aggressive style of play he wants his club to get used to, and if that means angering other players and managers by plowing over their catchers in spring training, then so be it.
This is far from over and there will probably be more incidents to come this summer as these two teams face each other 19 times during the regular season. The Rays may find themselves in more scuffles than they would like, but I think it is absolutely necessary. They are at a point where they must fight for their reputation and fight to make a name for themselves. If they have to endure some suspensions along the way, then that is just how it has to be.
This kind of toughness will benefit them greatly in the long term, when they are finally capable of putting a formidable major league club on the field. This all goes without even mentioning the problem the Rays are currently facing with attendance figures in Tampa Bay.
The bottom line is fans will pay their dollars to come see an organization that puts a winning team on the field. But don't be fooled; this type of brewing rivalry will certainly draw more fans back to Tropicana this summer. Tampa Bay could be the type of fanbase to bond around a tough team like this, pushing the Rays towards competing for the division title in coming seasons. If all of this boiled-over emotion tends to be more hyperbole than reality, at least there will be some great baseball theater coming your way soon.
This is exactly what we have on our hands now with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. The two clubs brawled in a spring training game on Wednesday after a retaliation take out slide by New York's Shelley Duncan. Duncan tried to pull the all too familiar interview after the game saying that his only intent was to jar the ball loose from Tampa Bay second baseman Akinori Iwamura's glove.
If Duncan really believes that, then we can just leave him be with his opinion, but the video showed otherwise. It was clear what the intentions were, and therefore Johnny Gomes was not out of line to come in from right field and take action, in defense of his teammate.
The thing with Duncan is that he shouldn't feel the need to cover up his actions. Duncan is trying to make his painting look like a Picasso piece, when it really is basic childproof finger paints. After a homeplate collision four days earlier that injured a Yankee prospect, the Yankees had every reason to use the same aggressiveness on the basepaths. So lets not kid ourselves and just call it like it is.
This situation between these two clubs has now taken on a life of its own. The Yankees and Rays already play in the same divison, so they are bound to clash at certain times, especially as Tampa Bay graduates some of its talent to the major league level and finally becomes relevant in the division standings.
The Rays are maybe a season or two away from being a very good ballclub, which in itself is plenty to start up a great rivalry. Add in the fact that these two teams now do not like each other, and we have some great, high-intensity baseball coming our way for this year and seasons to come.
This will never reached the full-fledged war that is the New York/Boston rivalry, but bad blood is bad blood. The Yankees do nothing but make the playoffs, so it is not as if they need something to fuel their fire, like Tampa Bay may need. From that standpoint, this newfound rivalry will not do that much for the Yankees, outside of kicking up the intensity when the two teams play.
But for Tampa Bay? That is a completely different story, as this may be the turning point in their franchise. The Rays, formerly known as the Devil Rays, have been the small kid on the block in the AL East since they came into the league. They are punked year in and year out by the Yankees and Red Sox, and even the Blue Jays at times. They have taken their licks while the front office has made an effort to stack their farm system through the amateur draft.
The Rays are starting to see some of that talent come to the big leagues, as we should be seeing all-around stud Evan Longoria early in the year, and the impact pitching prospects the Rays have are numerous. But what I like more about this is that the Rays are finally making a stand against one of the game's most feared teams.
The only way for Tampa Bay to dig out of the divisional hole they are in is to combine talent with a hard-nosed, team-wide approach that plays aggressive and punches the opponent in the mouth. They cannot afford to back down and be pushed around. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon has been adamant about the aggressive style of play he wants his club to get used to, and if that means angering other players and managers by plowing over their catchers in spring training, then so be it.
This is far from over and there will probably be more incidents to come this summer as these two teams face each other 19 times during the regular season. The Rays may find themselves in more scuffles than they would like, but I think it is absolutely necessary. They are at a point where they must fight for their reputation and fight to make a name for themselves. If they have to endure some suspensions along the way, then that is just how it has to be.
This kind of toughness will benefit them greatly in the long term, when they are finally capable of putting a formidable major league club on the field. This all goes without even mentioning the problem the Rays are currently facing with attendance figures in Tampa Bay.
The bottom line is fans will pay their dollars to come see an organization that puts a winning team on the field. But don't be fooled; this type of brewing rivalry will certainly draw more fans back to Tropicana this summer. Tampa Bay could be the type of fanbase to bond around a tough team like this, pushing the Rays towards competing for the division title in coming seasons. If all of this boiled-over emotion tends to be more hyperbole than reality, at least there will be some great baseball theater coming your way soon.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Young-armed bandits
Wednesday afternoon was a beautiful day at Legends Field in Tampa for some spring training action as the nation got its first look at the 2008 Yankees with their game against the Twins appearing on ESPN. Joe Girardi's ballclub has been off to a hot start so far this spring as new faces are working their way through the lineups.
I caught some of Wednesday's action and was excited for the pitching matchup. Both clubs threw one of their top prospects, each of whom garnered the 2007 Minor League Pitcher of the Year award for their respective organizations. Nope, for once we are not talking about Joba Chamberlain. Ian Kennedy took the mound for New York and Minnesota sent Kevin Slowey to the hill.
I was fairly impressed with what I saw saw from Kennedy over his two innings of work. His fastball was from 87-89 with some movement, and he threw a great changeup at 78-80 that had great fade to it. Kennedy is the ultimate control artist as he relies on putting the baseball anywhere he wants it. Kennedy's calling card is his fastball command, which was only average on Wednesday.
Kennedy left a fastball up over the plate to Delmon Young who took him deep to dead center, but that would be all the offense the Twins mustered against the young righty. Kennedy showed his curveball, which came in at 72-75, but he struggled to command it and could not get it over for strikes.
It is plenty early in the spring and there is lots of time to harness one's arsenal before Opening Day roles around, and Kennedy will look to take this time to improve. Kennedy will have to add a couple of more miles per hour to his fastball, or else he will be asking himself to be almost perfect with his command. There is no way that the kid is going to be able to keep the ball at the knees and paint for an entire season, so the Yankees would like to see him get into the 91 mph range.
The thing that impressed most about Kennedy was his poise and his feel for pitching. The most impressive pitches came when he was behind in the count to the Twins best two hitters. Kennedy threw a 2-1 changeup to get Joe Mauer to roll into a 4-6-3 inning ending double play in the first. With Justin Morneau leading off the second, Kennedy came in with a 1-0 changeup and got the slugger to roll over to the right side.
These are little things that appear rather routine, but these are exactly the signs that you look for during the spring. As pitchers throw more and more, they will add to their velocity and get the sharpness and feel for the offspeed pitches. The great thing to see is which pitchers are able to make their pitches when they do not have their best stuff yet.
The Yankees are counting on Kennedy to fill a spot in the back of their rotation this season, and I am anxious to see how the kid responds. Nothing about him screams great big league pitcher, but the rookie carries himself with a sense of self-confidence that is unique, and is ultimately the reason why he is not afraid of challenging good big league hitters with his rather mediocre stuff.
On the bump for the Twins was righthander Kevin Slowey who brought a little more stuff, but a lot less command with him. Slowey pounded the zone with his 89-92 mph fastball and was relentless in his pursuit of challengin the Yankee hitters. Slowey threw an average changeup around 84 mph, which will be an asset against lefthanded hitters.
I was impressed with two of Slowey's secondary offerings in particular. First off was his cut fastball which came in around 86-87. He threw it to Abreu, and the sucker absolutely ate up his bat and got in on his hands. This is not a dominant pitch like Mariano Rivera's cutter, but this can be quite a weapon if used properly in the right counts.
Not only can the cutter get Slowey some quick, cheap outs, but it will also make hitters respect his four-seam fastball and it will go a long way towards setting up his other stuff. Slowey also showed the Yankees a curveball at 74-75 which he threw against Jason Giambi. The hammer was sharp and has some late, biting action to it, and I can see it being quite an out pitch if he can learn to bury it.
The thing with Slowey is command, just like Kennedy. Although Slowey will be able to get away with a little more than Kennedy will, he cannot continue to pour his fastball in at the belt and leave his offspeed stuff up in the zone. One plus for Slowey was the fact that he was aggressive in the strike zone and came right at the hitters. If the kid can be aggressive down in the zone, he will win a lot of games for the Twins this year, who are relying on his arm after the offseason departures of Matt Garza and Carlos Silva.
I caught some of Wednesday's action and was excited for the pitching matchup. Both clubs threw one of their top prospects, each of whom garnered the 2007 Minor League Pitcher of the Year award for their respective organizations. Nope, for once we are not talking about Joba Chamberlain. Ian Kennedy took the mound for New York and Minnesota sent Kevin Slowey to the hill.
I was fairly impressed with what I saw saw from Kennedy over his two innings of work. His fastball was from 87-89 with some movement, and he threw a great changeup at 78-80 that had great fade to it. Kennedy is the ultimate control artist as he relies on putting the baseball anywhere he wants it. Kennedy's calling card is his fastball command, which was only average on Wednesday.
Kennedy left a fastball up over the plate to Delmon Young who took him deep to dead center, but that would be all the offense the Twins mustered against the young righty. Kennedy showed his curveball, which came in at 72-75, but he struggled to command it and could not get it over for strikes.
It is plenty early in the spring and there is lots of time to harness one's arsenal before Opening Day roles around, and Kennedy will look to take this time to improve. Kennedy will have to add a couple of more miles per hour to his fastball, or else he will be asking himself to be almost perfect with his command. There is no way that the kid is going to be able to keep the ball at the knees and paint for an entire season, so the Yankees would like to see him get into the 91 mph range.
The thing that impressed most about Kennedy was his poise and his feel for pitching. The most impressive pitches came when he was behind in the count to the Twins best two hitters. Kennedy threw a 2-1 changeup to get Joe Mauer to roll into a 4-6-3 inning ending double play in the first. With Justin Morneau leading off the second, Kennedy came in with a 1-0 changeup and got the slugger to roll over to the right side.
These are little things that appear rather routine, but these are exactly the signs that you look for during the spring. As pitchers throw more and more, they will add to their velocity and get the sharpness and feel for the offspeed pitches. The great thing to see is which pitchers are able to make their pitches when they do not have their best stuff yet.
The Yankees are counting on Kennedy to fill a spot in the back of their rotation this season, and I am anxious to see how the kid responds. Nothing about him screams great big league pitcher, but the rookie carries himself with a sense of self-confidence that is unique, and is ultimately the reason why he is not afraid of challenging good big league hitters with his rather mediocre stuff.
On the bump for the Twins was righthander Kevin Slowey who brought a little more stuff, but a lot less command with him. Slowey pounded the zone with his 89-92 mph fastball and was relentless in his pursuit of challengin the Yankee hitters. Slowey threw an average changeup around 84 mph, which will be an asset against lefthanded hitters.
I was impressed with two of Slowey's secondary offerings in particular. First off was his cut fastball which came in around 86-87. He threw it to Abreu, and the sucker absolutely ate up his bat and got in on his hands. This is not a dominant pitch like Mariano Rivera's cutter, but this can be quite a weapon if used properly in the right counts.
Not only can the cutter get Slowey some quick, cheap outs, but it will also make hitters respect his four-seam fastball and it will go a long way towards setting up his other stuff. Slowey also showed the Yankees a curveball at 74-75 which he threw against Jason Giambi. The hammer was sharp and has some late, biting action to it, and I can see it being quite an out pitch if he can learn to bury it.
The thing with Slowey is command, just like Kennedy. Although Slowey will be able to get away with a little more than Kennedy will, he cannot continue to pour his fastball in at the belt and leave his offspeed stuff up in the zone. One plus for Slowey was the fact that he was aggressive in the strike zone and came right at the hitters. If the kid can be aggressive down in the zone, he will win a lot of games for the Twins this year, who are relying on his arm after the offseason departures of Matt Garza and Carlos Silva.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Looking for feel, not numbers
It is always said that the hittes are behind the pitchers coming into spring training, mainly because hitters don't get to see real live pitching until they matchup against their teammates in February. For pitchers, the game doesn't really change from their winter bullpen sessions to the game action with hitters in the box.
Hitters gripe that they need to get an X amount of at-bats in order for their timing to be right, and therefore they do not expect to perform up to their capabilities until they reach that set plateau. Fine, that is fair enough, we will cut the hitters some slack.
But it is not like the spring is some walk in the park for pitchers, either. No sir, they sure have their complaints about getting their arm in shape, getting a feel for all of their pitches, and refining their command so they can go into games and throw quality strikes. All of these things are little steps in the middle of the big process that is called Sprng Training. This is where the season really begins and, as a fan, you have to love all of the preparation that goes into a long, grueling season.
With spring games underway, you could make the case that is actually a pretty level playing field this time of year. Pitchers are not going out and dominating like they are in mid-season form, and they shouldn't be. After all, this is baseball and it takes a little time to get back in the swing of things.
The important aspect of playing these games, is the ability to take something positive away from each game, regardless of whether you make your living in the batters box or on the mound. In that sense, the stat lines are simply irrelevant until the calendar hits Opening Day, and real numbers are put in the win-loss columns.
Barry Zito made his first start of the spring and it was nothing short of a disaster. The southpaw surrendered 8 earned runs and couldn't even get out of the first inning.
Asked if Zito would of preferred to finish the inning, the quick-wit lefty replied candidly, "No, not really".
That is the type of attitude that is necessary right now because pitchers are going to endure outings like this. If you cannot take the good with the bad, especially in the spring, boy, you got no shot making it through the summer. That wasn't all Zito had to say about his outing, though. In all seriousness, he was actually pleased with the way his arm felt and he was happy about facing hitters for the first time and getting it out of the way. It's a good thing somebody can make light of that outing, and I guess it is best if Barry himself is the one to do it.
There wasn't a hotter story line this winter that Johan Santana, and we happened to follow his yellow brick road all the way to Queens, New York. After signing the richest deal ever for a pitcher, Santana's live debut was bound to be hyped. No, Santana did not strike out all six hitters he faced. Nope, didn't even touch 107 on the radar gun.
What Santana did do was go out, battle his way through two, arduous innings, and come out happy with the way his first outing went. Did that home run to comeback hopeful Juan Gonzalez do anything to damper his mood? Not a chance. Santana was happy with the way his arm felt and how his offspeed pitchers came out of his hand. He came out throwing strikes, and that is the most important thing for pitchers early on.
If those two guys aren't enough evidence of the process that everyone goes through, there is Cy Young winner Jake Peavy. Peavy surrendered two runs in two innings and almost got drilled with a line drive. Luckily he got his glove up just in time to deflect it. Of course, there is no worrying about Peavy because this is to be expected.
"I felt really good, to be honest. And I didn't cut it loose by any means", Peavy said after taking the mound on Sunday.
There was no mention of the guys that crossed the plate. Peavy knows those lucky ones will be few and far between this season, so there is no good reason to get worked up over it today. Instead, Peavy stays the course like the rest of the guys, and keeps along the path that will get him ready to take the ball for the San Diego Padres on the first day of the 2008 season.
And for those who actually pitch well early on in spring, it means just about as much as those aforementioned poor outings. Nothing at all. Andy Pettitte, who was the most speculate person not named Clemens this offseason, pitched two outstanding innings in his debut for the Yankees, surrendering a lonely infield single in the process.
Were there any high fives or congratulations afterwards? Not really, and that is exactly how it needs to be. Let alone the fact that these are big leaguers we are talking about and pitching well is par for the course; nobody expects or anticipates poor performances. Pettitte admitted that the biggest thing about his outing was coming out and throwing strikes with all of his pitches, early and often.
And so it goes, the path that is preparation amid the journey that is spring training. It is only the first week of spring, and that is what means the most to players when they evaluate their innings or at-bats. Fans will get excited about Torri Hunter coming out of the gate and crushing the ball, even though he will admit that he just feels good about where his swing is and he is happy with how his timing is coming along. This is the innate mindset of baseballl; not too high, not too low. It is a long summer, fellas, so don't forget that even when your team's ace is suffering some tough breaks in March.
Hitters gripe that they need to get an X amount of at-bats in order for their timing to be right, and therefore they do not expect to perform up to their capabilities until they reach that set plateau. Fine, that is fair enough, we will cut the hitters some slack.
But it is not like the spring is some walk in the park for pitchers, either. No sir, they sure have their complaints about getting their arm in shape, getting a feel for all of their pitches, and refining their command so they can go into games and throw quality strikes. All of these things are little steps in the middle of the big process that is called Sprng Training. This is where the season really begins and, as a fan, you have to love all of the preparation that goes into a long, grueling season.
With spring games underway, you could make the case that is actually a pretty level playing field this time of year. Pitchers are not going out and dominating like they are in mid-season form, and they shouldn't be. After all, this is baseball and it takes a little time to get back in the swing of things.
The important aspect of playing these games, is the ability to take something positive away from each game, regardless of whether you make your living in the batters box or on the mound. In that sense, the stat lines are simply irrelevant until the calendar hits Opening Day, and real numbers are put in the win-loss columns.
Barry Zito made his first start of the spring and it was nothing short of a disaster. The southpaw surrendered 8 earned runs and couldn't even get out of the first inning.
Asked if Zito would of preferred to finish the inning, the quick-wit lefty replied candidly, "No, not really".
That is the type of attitude that is necessary right now because pitchers are going to endure outings like this. If you cannot take the good with the bad, especially in the spring, boy, you got no shot making it through the summer. That wasn't all Zito had to say about his outing, though. In all seriousness, he was actually pleased with the way his arm felt and he was happy about facing hitters for the first time and getting it out of the way. It's a good thing somebody can make light of that outing, and I guess it is best if Barry himself is the one to do it.
There wasn't a hotter story line this winter that Johan Santana, and we happened to follow his yellow brick road all the way to Queens, New York. After signing the richest deal ever for a pitcher, Santana's live debut was bound to be hyped. No, Santana did not strike out all six hitters he faced. Nope, didn't even touch 107 on the radar gun.
What Santana did do was go out, battle his way through two, arduous innings, and come out happy with the way his first outing went. Did that home run to comeback hopeful Juan Gonzalez do anything to damper his mood? Not a chance. Santana was happy with the way his arm felt and how his offspeed pitchers came out of his hand. He came out throwing strikes, and that is the most important thing for pitchers early on.
If those two guys aren't enough evidence of the process that everyone goes through, there is Cy Young winner Jake Peavy. Peavy surrendered two runs in two innings and almost got drilled with a line drive. Luckily he got his glove up just in time to deflect it. Of course, there is no worrying about Peavy because this is to be expected.
"I felt really good, to be honest. And I didn't cut it loose by any means", Peavy said after taking the mound on Sunday.
There was no mention of the guys that crossed the plate. Peavy knows those lucky ones will be few and far between this season, so there is no good reason to get worked up over it today. Instead, Peavy stays the course like the rest of the guys, and keeps along the path that will get him ready to take the ball for the San Diego Padres on the first day of the 2008 season.
And for those who actually pitch well early on in spring, it means just about as much as those aforementioned poor outings. Nothing at all. Andy Pettitte, who was the most speculate person not named Clemens this offseason, pitched two outstanding innings in his debut for the Yankees, surrendering a lonely infield single in the process.
Were there any high fives or congratulations afterwards? Not really, and that is exactly how it needs to be. Let alone the fact that these are big leaguers we are talking about and pitching well is par for the course; nobody expects or anticipates poor performances. Pettitte admitted that the biggest thing about his outing was coming out and throwing strikes with all of his pitches, early and often.
And so it goes, the path that is preparation amid the journey that is spring training. It is only the first week of spring, and that is what means the most to players when they evaluate their innings or at-bats. Fans will get excited about Torri Hunter coming out of the gate and crushing the ball, even though he will admit that he just feels good about where his swing is and he is happy with how his timing is coming along. This is the innate mindset of baseballl; not too high, not too low. It is a long summer, fellas, so don't forget that even when your team's ace is suffering some tough breaks in March.
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