I'm surprised Collins shows this much candor:
"This afternoon in Miami, Terry Collins said he regrets allowing Johan Santana to throw 134 pitches during his no-hitter last June.
'It turned out not to be a very good idea,' Collins explained to reporters. 'A lot of people are happy they saw the no-hitter, but I wish he was starting today.' "
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
See, what had happened was ...
It's the dry air.
It's the slick baseballs.
It's the routine fly balls that keep carrying over the fence.
It's the slick baseballs.
It's the routine fly balls that keep carrying over the fence.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Math.
"All along, the New York Yankees have stated the effort to cut their 2014 payroll to $189 million is merely a goal. More and more, it's one major league sources don't believe they'll reach.
In recent months, the Yankees have become far less bullish on their publicly stated austerity plan, admitting to other executives and agents that staying beneath the $189 million threshold is unlikely and impractical."
"Major league sources" being a calculator.
In recent months, the Yankees have become far less bullish on their publicly stated austerity plan, admitting to other executives and agents that staying beneath the $189 million threshold is unlikely and impractical."
"Major league sources" being a calculator.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
A lot of praise for a guy with 2 whole RBIs.
"Carl Crawford admits he began to have doubts — about ever hitting .300 again, ever smiling again, maybe even playing baseball much longer.
'I don't think I smiled in two years,' the Dodgers outfielder tells USA TODAY Sports of his time on a troubled team in Boston.
'I was just frowning, I started growing grey hairs on my face from the stress and everything for two years straight.' "
Tough life.
Also, a good time to rip on Boston, Mr. Informed Newsreader.
"Given all that, former teammate Clay Buchholz is not surprised Crawford has revived his career.
'Look what he's doing. It's unbelievable. I called it,' the Red Sox pitcher said. 'He's going to be in a better atmosphere. He's hitting .300 his whole career. He's going to hit .300. He's going to steal his bags. It's just the way it is.'
Yet somehow, it was just the opposite in Boston."
He won't hit .300 this year. He just had a decent couple of weeks. Still, it's kind of lame to admit you can't handle the pressure of Boston.
" 'If I had been hitting .210 the first two weeks, they'd be saying, "I told you he sucked," ' Crawford says. 'But since, it's a hot start, it's more like, "It's only two weeks of the season." We know who's saying that. It's definitely not L.A. fans.' "
It would be Felz saying that.
"But there's one thing he says he's been hearing often that helps:
'Everybody who comes to see me says, "It's nice to see you smiling again." '
It's more crucial to the Dodgers that he's producing again."
Two RBIs.
'I don't think I smiled in two years,' the Dodgers outfielder tells USA TODAY Sports of his time on a troubled team in Boston.
'I was just frowning, I started growing grey hairs on my face from the stress and everything for two years straight.' "
Tough life.
Also, a good time to rip on Boston, Mr. Informed Newsreader.
"Given all that, former teammate Clay Buchholz is not surprised Crawford has revived his career.
'Look what he's doing. It's unbelievable. I called it,' the Red Sox pitcher said. 'He's going to be in a better atmosphere. He's hitting .300 his whole career. He's going to hit .300. He's going to steal his bags. It's just the way it is.'
Yet somehow, it was just the opposite in Boston."
He won't hit .300 this year. He just had a decent couple of weeks. Still, it's kind of lame to admit you can't handle the pressure of Boston.
" 'If I had been hitting .210 the first two weeks, they'd be saying, "I told you he sucked," ' Crawford says. 'But since, it's a hot start, it's more like, "It's only two weeks of the season." We know who's saying that. It's definitely not L.A. fans.' "
It would be Felz saying that.
"But there's one thing he says he's been hearing often that helps:
'Everybody who comes to see me says, "It's nice to see you smiling again." '
It's more crucial to the Dodgers that he's producing again."
Two RBIs.
Surprising setback for the Iron Horse.
"When Teixeira went down with a wrist injury on March 5, he was given a recovery timetable of 8 to 10 weeks. Eight weeks will be April 30. Ten weeks will be May 14.
'There's no setbacks, it just hasn't loosened up yet,' Teixeira said. 'So I'm hoping that that's still the timetable.' "
'There's no setbacks, it just hasn't loosened up yet,' Teixeira said. 'So I'm hoping that that's still the timetable.' "
Monday, April 22, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
No offense to Harvey ... he lived up to the hype.
"Even the most ardent Mets fan would have to admit there have been precious few must-see games involving the Mets in recent years. But Friday night at Citi Field was different. It was electric, the way it was when Doc and Straw and Keith and The Kid played before raucous packed houses night in and night out at Shea."
Weird.
I briefly tuned in and the crowd seemed surprisingly sparse.
"Gooden had to like what he and the rest of the 26,675 on hand saw from Harvey as the he outdueled Strasburg as the Mets defeated him for the first time with a 7-1 victory."
26,675 is not a packed house.
Weird.
I briefly tuned in and the crowd seemed surprisingly sparse.
"Gooden had to like what he and the rest of the 26,675 on hand saw from Harvey as the he outdueled Strasburg as the Mets defeated him for the first time with a 7-1 victory."
26,675 is not a packed house.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Get well soon, ARod.
Francisco Cervelli is on the Biogenesis list.
Cervelli had one major-league at-bat last season. He batted .000 with 0 HRs and 0 RBIs.
In 2013, Cervelli is batting .348 with 1 HR and 6 RBIs in 23 at-bats.
The HR traveled about 450 feet in 40-degree weather. He really Mickey Mantled it and nobody even raised an eyebrow. Sterling said "the Cisco Kid rides again!" and Waldman probably reviewed the replay and said the pitch was in a bad location, up and over the plate.
ARod and Braun may be the arch-villains.
But all the people who pretend they'd never root for a team of cheaters?
You already do.
Cervelli had one major-league at-bat last season. He batted .000 with 0 HRs and 0 RBIs.
In 2013, Cervelli is batting .348 with 1 HR and 6 RBIs in 23 at-bats.
The HR traveled about 450 feet in 40-degree weather. He really Mickey Mantled it and nobody even raised an eyebrow. Sterling said "the Cisco Kid rides again!" and Waldman probably reviewed the replay and said the pitch was in a bad location, up and over the plate.
ARod and Braun may be the arch-villains.
But all the people who pretend they'd never root for a team of cheaters?
You already do.
"Masterisk" is a combination of "Masters" and "asterisk." Get it?
Don't worry. Lupica doesn't totally ignore baseball for the sake of awesomely incredible golf portmanteaus:
"I had a feeling that all it was going to take was a good week or two for Vernon Wells to have him halfway to Monument Park."
Nobody is really paying attention to Vernon Wells. But it's nice to see Cashman's much-criticized veteran pickups performing well.
"I don’t know how long this lasts, but the main event right now in New York baseball has become a Matt Harvey start."
I had a feeling all it was going to take was a good week or two for Matt Harvey before hack columnists would put him in the HOF.
"When was the last time a veteran player hit town the way John Buck has for the Mets?"
I had a feeling all it was going to take was a good week or two for John Buck before hack columnists would put him in the HOF.
"How would Yankee fans feel about Carlos Quentin charging the mound if the guy he had injured was Andy Pettitte?
Or Mo Rivera?"
Yankes fans would be upset at Carlos Quentin if he charged the mount and injured Andy Pettitte.
Or Mo Rivera.
Kind of like how Dodger fans are angry at Carlos Quentin for charging the mound and injuring Zack Grienke.
So ... what's your point?
That fans root for specific teams and the players who play for those specific teams?
"I had a feeling that all it was going to take was a good week or two for Vernon Wells to have him halfway to Monument Park."
Nobody is really paying attention to Vernon Wells. But it's nice to see Cashman's much-criticized veteran pickups performing well.
"I don’t know how long this lasts, but the main event right now in New York baseball has become a Matt Harvey start."
I had a feeling all it was going to take was a good week or two for Matt Harvey before hack columnists would put him in the HOF.
"When was the last time a veteran player hit town the way John Buck has for the Mets?"
I had a feeling all it was going to take was a good week or two for John Buck before hack columnists would put him in the HOF.
"How would Yankee fans feel about Carlos Quentin charging the mound if the guy he had injured was Andy Pettitte?
Or Mo Rivera?"
Yankes fans would be upset at Carlos Quentin if he charged the mount and injured Andy Pettitte.
Or Mo Rivera.
Kind of like how Dodger fans are angry at Carlos Quentin for charging the mound and injuring Zack Grienke.
So ... what's your point?
That fans root for specific teams and the players who play for those specific teams?
Friday, April 12, 2013
It's not so much that I believe ARod ...
... it's just that I don't understand what he was paying for.
What does it even mean to destroy a document? Hasn't anybody heard of a Xerox?
What does it even mean to destroy a document? Hasn't anybody heard of a Xerox?
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Chemistry!
"Jason Giambi has been paid more than $20 million a season to hit baseballs and help teams win championships."
I can't think of one professional baseball championship that Jason Giambi was a part of.
"Now, he's making $750,000 as a 42-year-old part-time player and full-time mentor for a team trying to figure out how to win."
I tell all my proteges to take lots of steroids.
"If the Cleveland Indians are right — in fact, if a growing number of teams have calculated correctly something impossible to measure — this could be the most cost-effective use of Giambi in his 19-year career."
Well, he won a steroid-fueled MVP for the A's. So while it may have been fraudulent, it was quite cost-effective.
"In an era when advanced metrics ostensibly can determine a player's exact value, many teams — to the chagrin of statistical analysts — still seek the elusive and nebulous intangibles that go beyond measurable on-field contributions."
No person who has ever designed a metric has claimed the metric could determine a player's exact value.
"The code words for this quality can vary by clubhouse.
Indians manager Terry Francona uses 'atmosphere' to describe what he wants Giambi to help establish. The Arizona Diamondbacks re-made their roster this offseason and the buzzword around the team is 'grit.'
It also goes by 'chemistry' and 'culture.' "
If consuming tons of performance-enhancing chemicals can make one an expert in chemistry, then Giambi is your man.
Other than that, for $750k the Indians can expect a pinch-hitter who takes a lot of pitches. Probably not bad for $750k.
"So, it was a jolt to the numbers community when McCarthy chose an appearance at this spring's Society for American Baseball Research Analytics Conference to say that if you took Jonny Gomes and Brandon Inge away from the 2012 Athletics, they would have gone from 94 wins to 70-something wins on the basis of 'what happens behind closed doors.'
Gomes played in 99 games for the A's and hit .262. Inge batted just .226 in 74 games.
'I know it sounds really stupid, but it's kind of like being an artist where the more comfortable you feel, usually your better work comes out,' McCarthy says."
Actually, you are 100% correct: It sounds really stupid.
I can't think of one professional baseball championship that Jason Giambi was a part of.
"Now, he's making $750,000 as a 42-year-old part-time player and full-time mentor for a team trying to figure out how to win."
I tell all my proteges to take lots of steroids.
"If the Cleveland Indians are right — in fact, if a growing number of teams have calculated correctly something impossible to measure — this could be the most cost-effective use of Giambi in his 19-year career."
Well, he won a steroid-fueled MVP for the A's. So while it may have been fraudulent, it was quite cost-effective.
"In an era when advanced metrics ostensibly can determine a player's exact value, many teams — to the chagrin of statistical analysts — still seek the elusive and nebulous intangibles that go beyond measurable on-field contributions."
No person who has ever designed a metric has claimed the metric could determine a player's exact value.
"The code words for this quality can vary by clubhouse.
Indians manager Terry Francona uses 'atmosphere' to describe what he wants Giambi to help establish. The Arizona Diamondbacks re-made their roster this offseason and the buzzword around the team is 'grit.'
It also goes by 'chemistry' and 'culture.' "
If consuming tons of performance-enhancing chemicals can make one an expert in chemistry, then Giambi is your man.
Other than that, for $750k the Indians can expect a pinch-hitter who takes a lot of pitches. Probably not bad for $750k.
"So, it was a jolt to the numbers community when McCarthy chose an appearance at this spring's Society for American Baseball Research Analytics Conference to say that if you took Jonny Gomes and Brandon Inge away from the 2012 Athletics, they would have gone from 94 wins to 70-something wins on the basis of 'what happens behind closed doors.'
Gomes played in 99 games for the A's and hit .262. Inge batted just .226 in 74 games.
'I know it sounds really stupid, but it's kind of like being an artist where the more comfortable you feel, usually your better work comes out,' McCarthy says."
Actually, you are 100% correct: It sounds really stupid.
Sunday, April 07, 2013
Small Sample Size Stat of the Day
In 2012, $20 million man Mark Teixeira had 56 at-bats with two outs and runners in scoring position. He hit .125 with 12 RBIs.
In 2013, much-maligned man Lyle Overbay has had 3 at-bats with two outs and runners in scoring position. He has hit .667 with 4 RBIs.
In 2013, much-maligned man Lyle Overbay has had 3 at-bats with two outs and runners in scoring position. He has hit .667 with 4 RBIs.
Thursday, April 04, 2013
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Mets win, Mike Lupica hobnobs with Chris Christie.
Opening Day isn't about baseball.
Opening Day isn't about politics.
Opening Day isn't about the intersection of baseball and politics.
What's really important about Opening Day baseball in New York is ... well, it's that Mike Lupica knows a lot of famous people and you don't.
Opening Day isn't about politics.
Opening Day isn't about the intersection of baseball and politics.
What's really important about Opening Day baseball in New York is ... well, it's that Mike Lupica knows a lot of famous people and you don't.
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