2010 MLB Season

[Dave James]

An amusing video of Pat Venditte, the Staten Island Yankee farmhand who throws both left and right handed, facing a switch hitter in a game with the Brooklyn Cyclones. Venditte uses a custom made six finger glove that he can wear on either hand.

[Chalupa]

Poor Jonathan Broxton. You have to wonder what goes through his head whenever he pitches vs. the Phillies. Everyone remembers(well in Philly anyway) the BOMB Matt Stairs hit off of him during the 9th inning of game 4 of the 2008 NLCS. Then there was the Jimmy Rollins walk off double off of Broxton with two outs in the bottom of the 9th of game 4 of the 2009 NLCS. This season just over 3 weeks ago Carlos Ruiz capped an EPIC comeback(after being down 9-2 to the Dodgers in 8th) when he hit a walk off 2 run double off him. He lost his closer's spot the next day. So last night the Phillies face Broxton again in the 6th with the bases loaded and well what happened??? Carlos Ruiz smacked a two run single to extend the Phillies lead to 8-4.

Ouch.

[BERIGAN]

First the Braves lost Kris Medlin for the year to TJ, now Derek Lowe will miss the first start of his career because of elbow issues...but, unlike the last several years, the braves actually have some spare starting arms, so should be ok if he is done for the year....

And in more Braves news (Yankees and Red Sox fans, just skip this post, there will be several posts about your team(s) very soon I am sure! )

the Other Braves 20 year old phenom Freddie Freeman, makes his debut today, starting against the Mets. Nice story about him here...

I am confused, Braves fans are acting like he can be on the playoff roster(there was no link but someone was saying GM Frank Wren was saying this) but how can he, unless someone new goes on the DL that was on the team before Sept. 1???

Edited September 1, 2010 by BERIGAN

[Chalupa]

On another note regarding thwarted Yankee acquisitions, what is going on with Cliff Lee? Another bad start tonight for Texas; he went into the game 2-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 10 outings for the Rangers, and proceeded to give up 10 hits and 4 ER in 4 2/3 IP. He'll probably regain his form just in time for the playoffs and NY, but man, quite a rough stretch he's had since coming to Arlington.

I seem to remember him doing something similar last season with the Phillies. I think he won his first 3 or 4 games then lost 4 in a row. He won the last 2 or 3 regular season games and was un-hittable in the post season. Not time to hit the panic button yet.

Okay, NOW it's time to hit the panic button.

[Chalupa]

So I think it's safe to say that while the Mets have not been mathematically eliminated they're done. September 1st and they are 3 games under .500, 10 games out of the WC, and 13 games back of the NL East leading Braves. Cheer up Mets' fans. Hopefully this year's finish will finally be the impetus to get rid of the M & M show at long last.

[ghost of miles]

The Nats' Nyjer Morgan charges the mound.

Edited September 2, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Chalupa]

The Nats' Nyjer Morgan charges the mound.

He's MLB's next Milton Bradley. Two weeks ago here in Philly some fans were heckling him and he got so pissed off he turned around and fired a ball right into the stands. It hit a fan, who by all accounts had not been one of the hecklers, in the head. Lucky for Morgan the fan declined to press charges. What an ass.

[papsrus]

That's a donnybrook all right.

[papsrus]

Anyone who had the Pirates and Orioles in the WS, you're officially out.

Me, I'm liking the Reds. Votto is the Canadian Club. And now they've got that Chapman dude throwing 103?

I like the Reds.

[ghost of miles]

Jayson Stark tweeting that Chapman's 103.9 MPH pitch tonight was the fastest regular-season pitch ever recorded:

Jayson Stark: The only pitch we know was thrown harder than Chapman's 103.9: A 104.8-smokeball by Joel Zumaya vs Oakland in '06 postseason.

I'd love to see the Reds make it to the WS on the NL side--a number of my friends are Cincy fans. (In south-central Indiana regional loyalties tend to split among the Reds, Cards, and Cubs, with the occasional diehard Indian follower as well.)

Papsrus and J.H., agreed re: Morgan--the guy's rapidly making himself a pariah. I gather tonight's fallout was over his collision with the Marlins' catcher Brett Hayes last night, resulting in a separated shoulder for Hayes. (On the clip I watched the Marlins announcers noted--accurately, I think--that Morgan would have actually been safe if he had slid into home plate. Instead he chose to collide hard with Hayes.) Haven't seen an earlier incident from tonight's game yet, but evidently the Marlins plunked Morgan while they were up 14-3, and he proceeded to steal second and third base... when he came up later Volstadt threw behind him and he charged the mound, setting off the melee shown above.

[Dan Gould]

What a clothesline from the 1B! Mr. McMahon, pick up the white courtesy phone. Paging Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

[BERIGAN]

The Nats' Nyjer Morgan charges the mound.

He's MLB's next Milton Bradley. Two weeks ago here in Philly some fans were heckling him and he got so pissed off he turned around and fired a ball right into the stands. It hit a fan, who by all accounts had not been one of the hecklers, in the head. Lucky for Morgan the fan declined to press charges. What an ass.

it's too bad, he seems like a very likable guy, at least from what I saw during a spring training story. But this is beyond bush league. I didn't even hear about the ball into the stands thing til a few days ago(never saw the footage) then last week (I think) he bumped hard into the Cards back-up catcher (Who was standing up two feet away from home plate) and was called out since Pudge was pushing him to go back to the plate he missed touching(Teammate can't touch you for some reason, learn new rules every day)

He needs to be suspended for 2 weeks at least....And good for Gabby clothes-lining him!

[Chalupa]

Serious pitchers duel tonight in Colorado. The Phillies won 12-11. The two teams combined for 35 hits.

[Chalupa]

The Nats' Nyjer Morgan charges the mound.

He's MLB's next Milton Bradley. Two weeks ago here in Philly some fans were heckling him and he got so pissed off he turned around and fired a ball right into the stands. It hit a fan, who by all accounts had not been one of the hecklers, in the head. Lucky for Morgan the fan declined to press charges. What an ass.

it's too bad, he seems like a very likable guy, at least from what I saw during a spring training story. But this is beyond bush league. I didn't even hear about the ball into the stands thing til a few days ago(never saw the footage) then last week (I think) he bumped hard into the Cards back-up catcher (Who was standing up two feet away from home plate) and was called out since Pudge was pushing him to go back to the plate he missed touching(Teammate can't touch you for some reason, learn new rules every day)

He needs to be suspended for 2 weeks at least....And good for Gabby clothes-lining him!

Morgan suspended for 8 more games

[Neal Pomea]

Good for him! Maybe Morgan can use that time off to practice his routes to outfield fly balls, where he's weak for a centerfielder! He still doesn't get it that he did something wrong.

[Dave James]

With regard to the future of Cliff Lee, most of what I'm seeing says that, in spite of Texas believing that they have a chance to re-sign him, the odds he'll wind up a Yankee next year are pretty high. Apparently Lee is all about the money and, Lord knows, when if comes to baseball, we all know where that's printed. One source I read said he'd pitch in Siberia for the right contract.

[ghost of miles]

Here's a good analysis of what's happened to Derek Jeter's swing this year. If Frankie Piliere's speculation is correct, it puts NY in even more of a bind when it comes to contract negotiations with Jeter this winter. I love the guy--he's one of the true baseball heroes of our time--but if he's going to be a .260 to .270 hitter in his late 30s with little power and declining fielding skills tying up $20 million annually for four or five years... not a good situation.

Matthew, what's going on with the Padres? Incredible that they could lose 8 straight and still be 3 games in first.

[Dave James]

Here's a good analysis of what's happened to Derek Jeter's swing this year. If Frankie Piliere's speculation is correct, it puts NY in even more of a bind when it comes to contract negotiations with Jeter this winter. I love the guy--he's one of the true baseball heroes of our time--but if he's going to be a .260 to .270 hitter in his late 30s with little power and declining fielding skills tying up $20 million annually for four or five years... not a good situation.

I read this a few days ago. The guy who wrote it is a scout, so I have to assume he knows of what he speaks. What we're talking about here is bat speed. Jeter's great strength as a hitter was his ability to wait that additional nano-second before initiating his swing. In a sport where reaction time is everything, even the slightest deterioration is magnified a hundred fold in results. Jeter is 36 years old so it's no surprise that he's slowed down just enough to make about a 30 point difference in his batting average. The chances of his being able to successfully compensate for this are fairly slim. That means, as David says, that he's never again going to be what he was and that he probably will get worse. How the Yankees can afford to pay him what he's going to want is beyond me. I just can't see justifying that kind of money just because of who he is and what he's meant to this team and this city. If there's even a shred of fiscal sanity in the house of pinstripes, they absolutely have to pay for what they're going to get going forward not for what they got in the past. Perhaps the solution is to give him a small ownership percentage in lieu of salary. If that's not good enough and he leaves (IMO, a highly unlikely scenario) so be it.

[Dan Gould]

If he signs for less than 4 years/80 million dollars, I'll eat my hat.

[Dave James]

If he signs for less than 4 years/80 million dollars, I'll eat my hat.

How do you like your hats? Medium rare?

[ghost of miles]

Yankees win their 8th straight today, and once again I'm amazed at the bullpen's turnaround over the past few weeks. Kerry Wood is proving to be one of the best pitching pickups we've made in some time--as this NY Daily News article notes, since coming to the Yanks he's has pitched 15 innings, struck out 18, and garnered an 0.60 ERA. (And he added another scoreless inning and K today against the Jays.) With Boone Logan also coming on strong, David Robertson pitching very well for the most part, and even Joba getting his act together somewhat, the News points out that

Since July 26, Yankees relievers have combined for a 1.63 ERA and a .183 opponents' batting average. Over that span, the Yanks are 23-15 while dealing with injury problems such as the absences of Pettitte and, since Aug. 21, Alex Rodriguez.

So they've been able to play .600 ball without Pettitte, with a weakening Phil Hughes, and with two utterly unreliable starters (Javy and A.J.) and a journeyman (Moseley). NY's relievers are keeping us in the ballgame, even when the starters get knocked out after 3-5 IP, and are giving the offense a chance to catch up. Some PA posters today mentioned that the YES broadcasters said NY's bullpen since the beginning of August has the best ERA in MLB--a full run better than the next team, which is the Braves. Certainly not something I would've predicted back before the All-Star break.

[Dave James]

A-Rod returns and the Yankees are losing 4-1 to Toronto in the 5th. Hmmmm. Phil Hughes has given up four hits in five innings, two of which were home runs. Hmmmm. Here's a thought. Bench A-Rod and start the bullpen any time Sabbathia is not scheduled to pitch.

[ghost of miles]

A-Rod returns and the Yankees are losing 4-1 to Toronto in the 5th. Hmmmm. Phil Hughes has given up four hits in five innings, two of which were home runs. Hmmmm. Here's a thought. Bench A-Rod and start the bullpen any time Sabbathia is not scheduled to pitch.

It is rather ironic--NY's record this year without A-Rod in the lineup is in the neighborhood of 20-3, or something like that. As for Hughes, all I can say is that I feel anxiety whenever it's his turn in the rotation...he doesn't get blown off the mound quite as bad as Bad A.J., but the guy has turned in mediocre starts far more often than not for the past three months, and at Yankee Stadium he's an absolute menace when it comes to giving up HRs. Somebody over at PA suggested that they start Hughes on the road as much as possible in the postseason, and AJ at home as much as possible. Might be something for Girardi to consider. I just hope Pettitte can get back to form quickly when he returns, because right now it looks like we'll have at least two mediocre-to-unreliable starters throughout the postseason.

I think Hughes is destined to be an excellent starting pitcher over the long haul for NY, btw, but this year he's lapsed into a groove that belies his 16-7 record (achieved in part with excellent run support). For the 2010 playoffs, I think he's a real point of concern for the Yankees.

[paul secor]

Hughes has gotten better run support than any other AL pitcher so far this season. Actually, three of the top five pitchers for run support are Yankees - Pettitte and Sabathia are the others. OTOH, when the season began, I doubt that the Yankees expected that Hughes would win 16 games by the beginning of September. He is a question mark if the Yanks make the post season, but I prefer to see him as one of the potential cornerstones of the Yankees future.

[Dave James]

The two two-run home runs Hughes surrendered to the Blue Jays today were both on 0-2 counts. How does that happen? Since June 19th, his record is 6-6. Much cause for concern.