Saturday, August 8, 2009

Beaning in Baseball

Baseball has a long history, dating back into the 1800’s. The basic rules of the game were created then, and simply changed as the players and the game itself has changed. One of the older rules in the game is the Hit by Pitch or in statistical terms HBP. In 1887, it was decided that if a player gets hit, then they are awarded first base. Seems fair enough, as long as the player was not hit in the head. At that point, seems like someone is going to the hospital.

It does not hurt a batter, from a statistics standing, to get hit by a pitch. In fact, it helps their On Base Percentage. Most of you know about the HBP and probably have seen some guys get hit and cringe after seeing it. But I’m not here to talk about the history of the rule. I’m here to talk about current major league players and how they are dealing with getting hit.

Craig Biggio got hit a modern era record, 285 times and never once complained. In fact, here’s a video of him taking one off the noggin, getting up and trotting to first base.



Prince Fielder got hit the other night during a game in which his team lost 17 – 4.


He got pretty upset about it too. He charged towards the Dodgers clubhouse only to be stopped by security, Ryan Braun and the rest of the Brewers roster.




He is just one of a growing number of baseball players upset about getting hit.

David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis have gone through the media to tell Joba Chamberlain not to throw at them. The Rays and Red Sox have a history of bad blood through beanings, but Ortiz and Youkilis don’t seem to care if the Rays hit them. Search on Youtube “Rays vs Red Sox Brawl” if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Dustin Pedroia was pretty irate on Thursday night when a 96 MPH fastball from Mark Melanchon of the Yankees hit him on the shoulder.

Mark Teixeira got upset when Vicente Padilla hit him this year when the Rangers faced the Yankees. Of course this stemmed from Teixeira taking him deep twice the first time he faced him in his career. Padilla plunked him after he got taken deep twice by Teixeira. Then when they were teammates in Texas, Padilla would plunk the other teams best player so Teixeira would get plunked.

Current players are getting increasingly upset about being hit by pitches. The HBP has been part of the game since it started. Either intentionally or accidentally, players have been getting hit since the inception of the game. It has been used a tactic for pitchers since the hitter was no longer allowed to call where the ball was pitched.

Bob Gibson made a reputation for himself for throwing up and in on guys who would dig in when they faced him. He hit over 100 batters in his career. No one ever complained then.

Even Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens had reputations as “headhunters” and as pitchers willing to hit batters to send a message. No one complained about them.

Hitters today only think about themselves and how they can make a buck. They do not want to get hit because it could hurt them and diminish their stats. That is a valid point. But they have to understand that pitchers are just doing their job and don’t want to keep giving up extra base hits or mammoth home runs. The pitchers are trying to “get theirs” as well. Even if that means plunking a guy in the back, leg or shoulder. The hitters need to just deal with it. As long as pitchers don’t throw at a guys head then intentionally hitting a guy is ok in my book. It’s part of the games history. Only 1 person has ever died from being hit by a baseball, and that was in 1920 when they didn’t have hard baseball helmets. So Prince Fielder, David Ortiz, Kevin Youkils, Dustin Pedroia, and Mark Teixeira suck it up. You don’t want to get hit, get out of baseball.

Baseball is a chess match, and whoever can win the psychological game has more of a chance to win the physical game. Ozzie Guillen knows this. Which is why he does send out pitchers from his bullpen to plunk guys. Don’t expect it to be DJ Carrasco, though, he doesn’t throw hard enough.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

That Feeling of Loss

It's that time of year again, yes I am talking about Fantasy Football season. When grown men pour countless hours into mock drafting and projecting stats for men they do not know. All in the hope that they can be champion of their FF league.

I myself am in a couple leagues, but I am not a man who puts in a lot of time thinking about this stuff. Even for fantasy baseball, I do not mock draft or project a lot. I know who the good players are and try to get them. It is that simple.

Fantasy football is another beast however. I do read a magazine and a few articles to prepare for the upcoming season. I mainly use one fantasy sports website for all of my fantasy football needs. I get their magazine in the mail and subscribe to their website, which is updated daily and almost by the second. The name of this website? Well I hate giving out my fantasy sports secrets, but it is www.rotowire.com.

The guys and gals over at rotowire are going to help me make a big decision this offseason. It is about keeping one player over another for one of my fantasy football leagues. A little background on the league first.

I joined this league, run by a former co-worker, back in 2006 when one owner backed out. It is a keeper league where you get to keep 1 player a year without losing a draft pick. The team I inherited was atrocious. The only player I could consider keeping was Antonio Gates. By the luck of the draw, I was to have the number 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft. So I was set with my keeper, Gates, and was waiting on the decision of another owner in the league to determine his keeper. He was lucky enough to have drafted LaDainian Tomlinson and waiver claim Larry Johnson. He went to the playoffs, but did not win the league. He chose to keep Larry Johnson, meaning that I could take LT with the first pick. I did so. I made the playoffs in my first year in fantasy sports, thanks to LT's record setting season. I did not win the league as my team fell apart in the playoffs.

The next season I kept LT, which I should have done considering how well he had just played. His numbers tailed off, as they should have, but he still had a good season. I did not make the playoffs, as I drafted poorly. I kept LT for the 2008 season and made the playoffs. I ended up winning the league too! All the while, dealing with an underperforming LT and inconsistent Marion Barber as my running backs. I did however end up with solid receivers, which I had not had in any of my years playing. Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Smith and Roddy White all played a part in my success last year.

I have just started to prepare for the upcoming season and I now have a dilemma. LT has been my obvious keeper these past couple seasons. Well all the preseason rankings, on rotowire.com, are placing Larry Fitzgerald as the 4th best player in fantasy football. Not 4th best wide receiver, 4th best player. LT is barely in the top 20, at number 18.

I have the 7th overall pick in the draft, and should be able to get a good running back if I choose to keep Fitzgerald over LT. However, I know if I do not keep Fitzgerald, he will be gone in the top 6 picks. I highly doubt that I would be able to snag him at the 7 spot. LT, on the other hand, should be available at the 7th pick.

But if he is not available, it will be like a gut shot from Mike Tyson if he goes and has a great season. I will lament my keeping of Fitzgerald, even if I do make the playoffs and win the league again. It is that feeling of loss and doubting of my drafting abilities that will gnaw at me all year long. I can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like to have LT blow up in a playoff game and be the reason why I do not advance in the playoffs.

Well, I am off to determine which player to keep. Or maybe I will just give myself a frontal lobotomy and forego this fantasy football season.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

A's should keep Holliday

Last week I wrote that the Blue Jays should trade Roy Halladay to the highest bidder. He deserves it after all he has done for that team and city.

This week, I am taking a look at another big name player and soon to be free agent. Matt Holliday.

Billy Beane made one of the biggest splashes of the off-season by trading closer Huston Street, starter Greg Smith and hot shot outfield prospect Carlos Gonzalez to Colorado for the slugging outfielder. That deal has not played out so well for either team. Gonzalez is not hitting and has posted almost a 3 to 1 K:BB ratio. Smith has not thrown a pitch in the majors at all this season, and Street has had a rocky road all season. Although the path seems to be less bumpy at the moment.

Then there is Holliday who is hitting .276 with just 8 home runs, and none since June 5th. Of course it does not help to have .192 hitting Jason Giambi as your lineup protection. Nomar Garciaparra, Jack Cust, Eric Chavez, Mark Ellis, Kurt Suzuki, and Orlando Cabrera have not provided much more protection than Giambi.

The lineup could be part of the problem for Holliday or it could be that he played half of his home games in Colorado. Either way his trade value is pretty low, and there is no way Oakland gets what it wants in return for him, which is essentially 2 first round picks. That is exactly what they could get for him by offering him arbitration and letting him leave via free agency.

Had he simply had a bad April and then gone on a tear starting in May, this situation would be different. Teams would be clamoring for him to come to their team. He could be this years CC Sabathia. Going to a team in the race and carrying them on his broad shoulders into the playoffs and possibly further. But for the A's to take 50 cents, or less, on the dollar for a guy which they gave up a good amount for, does not seem like a Billy Beane move. Accordingly, any team interested in Holliday cannot risk their future on the chance that playing in meaningful games gets Holliday's bat back on track.

The A's are not going anywhere this year, so why not take the extra draft pick along with their fairly high draft pick, based on this years standings, and get some good prospects.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Jays trading Halladay right thing to do.

This week, Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi, announced that he will listen to deals for the 2003 Cy Young Award winner. Which, if you are a player on the Blue Jays right now, is a bit of a slap in the face. After leading the AL East in the month of April, the Blue Jays have gone 27-35 since, and are now in 4th place.

The team is only 1 game under .500 and has been hit by a rash of injuries to their pitching staff. Ricky Romero, a young, promising lefty went on the DL in April and missed just over month. Jesse Litsch is out until 2010, Shaun Marcum is hoping to be back in August, Dustin McGowan is likely done for the year, and Scott Richmond has just been placed on the DL and cannot throw until July 11th at the earliest. Closer B.J. Ryan went on the DL and subsequently has been released, and replacement closer Scott Downs just returned from the DL with a broken toe.

To go along with all the injuries to their rotation and bullpen, Vernon Wells and Alex Rios have underperformed at the plate.

However, there are some bright spots to their season. Marco Scutaro has turned himself into a solid leadoff man. Aaron Hill is having a Comeback Player of the Year type of season at second base, and Adam Lind has developed into the type of player that they thought he would. Scott Rolen, currently playing with a 25 game hit streak, has returned to the hitter he was before. Not as much power anymore, but he is consistent as ever. Driving in runs and getting on base. Scott Downs stepped in as closer in and pitched well enough to keep the job when B.J. Ryan came off the DL.

Amidst all the injuries, has been consistent as ever Roy Halladay. Who also went on the DL with a strained right groin, but before and since then has been the best pitcher in the AL. He most likely will win his second Cy Young Award this year, unless he is traded to the NL. I personally don't think Tim Wakefield has the staying power, and Zach Greinke hasn't been pitching all that well of late. Josh Beckett is most likely the only person who can contend with Halladay at this point of the season.

Halladay has never pitched in the playoffs and the teams he has been on have only finished higher than 3rd in the AL East: once. He does have a lot of miles on his pitching arm from his 43 career complete games and a couple seasons close to or over 250 innings pitched.

But what team would not want this guy? He probably would be a stud in the playoffs and any team that gets him will automatically slot him in to pitch the first game of the ALDS or NLDS. Even as a rabid Yankee fan, I would start him over CC Sabathia.

He also has been a class act in the organization, having been nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award by his team for his work with underpriviledged children. He has pitched for the Blue Jays for so long and has not received enough credit from them or the league for all that he has done. It is time the Jays pay him back by getting him to a playoff contending team, so he can finally have a taste of the playoffs.

The only problem is, is the Jays will be asking for a lot in return for "Doc" Halladay, as they should be. He is arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball. He would go to any team and instantly become their ace. Are there any teams out there with enough prospects and players already in the majors to make deal with the Blue Jays? Probably, but what team is going to fleece their team in the middle of the season for 1 guy? I cannot see anyone do it. I can see a Johan Santana situation happening where Halladay is traded in the offseason and then gets a long term extension. Potentially making him the highest paid pitcher in major league history.

Halladay deserves a shot at the playoffs. The only way that will happen is if the Jays do the right thing and trade him. Either this season or in the offseason.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Sosa and the Hall of Fame

Just as everyone else is the sports world is talking about it already, I feel I must too.

Ryne Sandberg, Hall of Fame Class of 2005, said that he does not believe that Sammy Sosa should not be voted in to the Hall of Fame.

I am going to have to disagree with him for numerous reasons.  

First, Sammy Sosa was using a performance enhancing drug, that during most of career, that was not tested for.  The owners and GM's of baseball pretty much allowed players to use them as long as they kept putting butts in the seats and ticket prices on the rise.  It became more evident after the 1994 player's strike.  The owners needed to bring fans back to the stadiums and "letting" the players use was a way to accomplish that.  The home run chase between McGwire and Sosa in 1998 was the pinnacle of the steroid era.  Plus, it allowed some marginal players to become good players and fatten their wallets.  All around it was a win-win situation.

Secondly, the Baseball Writers Association of America has a voting standard for the Hall of Fame:

"Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played."

I find this statement funny as most of the early part of baseball was played by only white men.  Where's the integrity in that?  What about sportsmanship?  It has come out, mainly through word of mouth, that there were some much better players in the Negro Leagues than in the Major Leagues of that era.  Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Buck O'Neil, and Rube Foster just to name a few.  So how can the BBWAA, in good conscience, vote in players such as Ty Cobb who were known to be racists?  Granted he was the greatest hitter of his time, but based on the criteria they set up for themselves shouldn't Cobb NOT be in the Hall?

So what's the difference between Cobb and Sosa?  A lot really.  But what it comes down to is a different form of cheating.  Cobb cheated by playing against only white men, when it was obvious there was some superior talent not allowed in the Majors.  He never challenged himself to see if he was as good as them.  

Sosa cheated by using a drug to help himself to gain money and fame.  Which is of course, I do not condone at all.  Especially in an age where kids idolize and mimic most things they see on TV.  

Finally, why is it up to the BBWAA to determine if a known steroid user should get elected?  Why not have the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown determine what should be done?  It is after all their museum.  They should be the ones making the final determination.  It has come to light that there was a dead ball era and live ball era.  Both of which are accepted by Major League Baseball.  Why not add another era called the Steroid Era?  Or if that's to harsh the PED Era.  Everyone knows that it has gone past just Steroids at this point.  

The writers need to take a look at themselves first before saying that McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Bonds and in about 15 years Alex Rodriguez & Manny Ramirez should not be elected into the Hall of Fame.  They have elected racists, bigots and cheaters already.  So what is a few more?  All it takes is a little note saying they played in an era when performance enhancing drugs were widely used by players.  

The Steroid Era is part of baseball just as the Live & Dead ball Era's were.  Elect Sosa and others to the Hall of Fame and move on with it.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Jonathan Papelbon, one trick pony?

Thanks to the MLB At Bat '09 application for my iPhone I was able to witness something pretty remarkable last night.

Boston Red Sox closer, Jonathan Papelbon, was brought in a non-save situation against the Detroit Tigers.  Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson and Brandon Inge all singled to load the bases.  Next up was left fielder Josh Anderson,  who proceeded to have an eleven pitch at-bat seeing nothing but fastballs.

Now, an entire at-bat with all fast balls is not that rare, but eleven pitch at-bats are.  So as the ninth pitch of the at-bat posted to the boxscore it got me thinking.  How many fastballs had Papelbon thrown the previous three hitters?  Anderson, by all accounts, is not a scary hitter.  Had he gotten a hit it would have been a single, maybe an extra base hit.  He is not Miguel Cabrera.

So, I check out what he had thrown to Cabrera, Granderson and Inge.  

Cabrera: 2 Sliders and 3 fastballs
Granderson: 4 fastballs
Inge: 2 Sliders and 3 fastballs

4 sliders to the previous three hitters.  So maybe Papelbon and Varitek  had a scouting report that Anderson could not hit a good fastball, which Papelbon does have.  But then on the next batter, Jeff Larish, he threw him 5 fastballs.  (Note: MLB Gameday pitch tracker listed 1 pitch as a change up, but it had the same speed and break as a pitch throw previously to Larish listed as a fastball.  So I am saying that it was a fastball.)  Larish, like Anderson, struck out swinging.

The final batter was Ramon Santiago who also faced, you guessed it, nothing but fastballs.  5 in fact.  He too, struck out swinging.  

Papelbon's final pitch count was 35.  31 of them were fastballs.  As I said before, Papelbon does have a good fastball.  It is regularly clocked at 95 MPH, but there is one fatal flaw with it.  It is straight as an arrow.  Very few times does the ball actually move up, down, run or tail.  Friends of mine, who are die hard Sox fans, are concerned about his straight fastball.  They are also concerned by the fact that he seems to throw nothing but fastballs.

Me, being the stat geek that I am, decided to find out for myself what percentage of the time is Papelbon throwing his fastball?  I found stats at Fangraphs.com.  I'm not saying the stats are perfect, but I could not find the numbers anywhere else.  If anyone finds the stats from another source I will gladly take a look at them.

Take a look at the stats:

You will see that this season he is throwing his fastball 79.4% of the time.  Which is actually down from the 2008 season, 81.2%.  However, he is throwing his slider more, more than any other time in his short career, 10.7%.  The one pitch that he is throwing less of is his splitter.  9.7%, the lowest percentage of any point in his career.  

I remember when Papelbon first started as the Red Sox closer.  He would throw fastballs, high and on the corners, then throw a nasty splitter that hitters would never touch.  He would bounce it a lot too.  Which is fine because for the most part Varitek or Mirabelli would block it and tag the runner or throw to first for the out.  He was dominant this way.  He still is dominant, but if he continues to rely on his fastball he will start to get hit.  It does not matter if it is 105 MPH or 85 MPH, if it is straight it will get hit.  

I know that Papelbon looks up to Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all time, but is he trying to become Mo?  It is an interesting thought, but I highly doubt it.  Maybe if he threw a slider or split finger pitch all the time I could see it, but not a straight fastball.  Mariano throws a cutter, when thrown correctly, will move or cut away from a righty and in to a lefty.  The only place a straight fastball is moving is over the outfield wall when it gets jacked for a home run.  

Just a reminder, I am on Twitter!  Follow me at twitter.com/Edelen26

Thanks!

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Lebron...Man up!

Don't know if any of you saw, but LeBron James decided that he did not want to talk to reporters last night after the Cavaliers Game 6 loss to the Orlando Magic.  Granted, it was his last game of the season, and he does want to win a championship.  But, be a man.  Sit there at the table in your checkered Urban Outfitters shirt, and answer questions.  Even if you repeatedly say "I don't know", it's better than not saying anything at all.  That would be better than anything your Coach Mike Brown can say!  I doubt he has an explanation for the bad defense and lack of offense.

LeBron, you're the reigning MVP, so act accordingly.

Now I'd like to talk about the man, or Superman, who should have been the MVP or at least in the top 3 in voting.  He led the league in rebounds, blocks and averaged 20 points a game.  How is this not a MVP finalist?  How is he not in the discussion for the award?  You know what, it doesn't matter because now the whole country will get to see how good Dwight Howard really is.  Not only for his dunking prowess, but his all-around game.  I think they match up really well with the Lakers and could give them a tough series.  In fact, I think they will win it in 7 games.  That's right, they will win game 7 at the Staples Center!  Which of course, will lead to rioting by Lakers fans.  

Let's just hope it does not come anywhere near the Hollywood area.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Welcome!

Just wanted to introduce myself to all of you out there who might stumble across this.  

My name is Bernie, I live in Los Angeles, and I'm a huge sports fan.  I follow baseball, football, hockey and English Premiership soccer.  I am going to use this space to talk about whatever sports related topics I want.  Maybe from time to time, I will post a review of a movie or a TV show that I have started or been watching for a while.  

I appreciate any and all comments, opinions or re-checking of my facts.  

I am Twitter if you want to follow me.  twitter.com/Edelen26

Thanks for reading!