The Bronx is Burning! Trade deadline! and More!

The Bronx Bombers have been coming up short the last two weeks and it is not good.  Yes, they still hold a 6.5 game lead over Baltimore but that can quickly vanish if they continue to play as they are.  Going into today's game they are 3-8 in their last 11 games. 6 of those 8 loses have been by 1 run.  1 run...for the Yankees should not be that hard of a feat considering they are leading the MLB in Slugging Pct, 5th in Runs, and 10th in Batting Average.

Don't worry about the Yankees, every team goes on a cold streak throughout the season.  If you put the injuries into perspective (Mo, Andy, Brett, A-Rod, and now Tex) they are holding their own and their bench/bullpen deserves a lot of the credit.

                                                                            Image source: New York DailyNews


Today is the MLB trade deadline and I spoke with some guys around the water cooler and these are my views on the questions asked.

Will the Phillies be sellers?
Yes, but not with Cliff Lee.  They won't get a return on investment and will explore trading him in the off season.  Look for Shane Victorino or Hunter Pence be trade bait.
Will the Pirates be buyers?
Yes, but will not trade away studs for rentals.  They have a great young team and Pirates GM Neal Huntington is taking baby steps to success: start with .500+ record first 

What will the Yankees do with their aging lineup that has been plagued with injuries?  
They will find value you players and not big arms/bats of past years. They are committed to trimming payroll for 2014. You never know what Cashman will do.
Will the new management in LA work 'magic' and make a Hollywood-esque Trade?
No, They need to get their financial books in order before they go out spending like drunk sailors.  Expect them to be crafty to make one last push for NL West title.  Do NOT be surprised if they own this off season.

What will the Mets do?
Honestly,  I would not be surprised if they trade for Reyes....they have done plenty worst in past seasons. (this is a joke)

London 2012

 Missy Franklin: America's daughter This girl is awesome.  Not only did she win Gold, she did it as an amateur! She is only 17 and has one more year of high school followed by 4 years of college.  She would like to continue to compete against her peers and win for her school so that is why she chose not to take any sponsorship money.   Takes guts to leave that money on the table but no matter how much money she makes in her career...she won't be able to buy back her youth and experiences from college.  Well done and best of luck!

                                                                                 Image credit: NBC

Medal Counter:  We are tied with the Chinese with 17 overall medals.  They have 4 more Golds than us.  I live my life like Ricky Bobby, "If you're not first, you're last!"  Let's get it going USA!

"In your dreams" team plays Tunisia at 5:45pm today:  Vegas sports has the USA as 55pt favorites.  I am sure the USA won't win by that much.  Watch for my boy Kevin Love to get some serious Playing time.


Tuesday is always better than Monday because it's closer to Friday.

The Wednesday Whip

Seeing how it's the middle of the week, I'm going to go through and highlight some tweets that may or may not have to do with sports. Regardless of topic, they're all pretty good. Following the Marlins dump of Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers, Chris Jones brings up a point that makes nothing but sense and is, in his words, "a fucking disgrace":

Miami could have had 50 new schools; it'll have an empty ballpark instead. And it was easy to see. A fucking disgrace.

— Chris Jones (@MySecondEmpire) July 25, 2012

I guess the Olympics are underway, not quite sure, but I know the US Women just beat France, 4-2:

FINAL from Glasgow: USA 4, FRANCE 2. Alex Morgan led the way with 2 goals for the #USWNT. #USAvsFRA

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 25, 2012

Absolutely the classy thing to do:

Ichiro hitting leadoff in perhaps his final game at Safeco.Classy move by Girardi.

— David Cameron (@DCameronFG) July 25, 2012

Finishing it off with some humor:

A friend of mine has a trophy wife... apparently it wasn't first place.

— Men's Humor (@MensHumor) July 25, 2012

Enjoy the day. Tomorrow is calling for some nasty weather here in Connecticut. Tornadoes possible? Really?

The Kuroda Factor

You can look up and down the Yankees lineup and you'd recognize many of the names - Jeter, Granderson Rodriguez, Teixeira, Cano, Sabathia, Pettitte - but there is one name you rarely hear anything about.

Hiroki Kuroda.

Dude just gets it done.  Sure, his record is a mediocre 6-6.  No, he doesn't have the eye-popping strikeout numbers of Sabathia.  He's not dialing it up there at 93-94 like Nova, Hughes, or Sabathia.

But he take the ball every fifth day and gets after it.

Shit, in four of his six losses, they "vaunted" Yankees offense has scored one or no runs.  In his six wins, they've scored 5, 2, 6, 2, 9, and 3.  Not exactly the best run support.  Actually, they score just 4.54 runs a game for this him, worst among their starters, by far. Pettitte gets almost 6 runs a game, Hughes gets almost seven per game, Nova almost 7.5, and CC just over 7.

Do the Yankees like this guy like I do?

And his name is just fun to say - Hiroki Kuroda.

He's only had one season (out of four complete MLB seasons) where he's finished over .500 - 2009 with the Dodgers, when he was 8-7.  His worst season ERA?  3.76.  He's five games under .500 for his career with a 3.45 career ERA.  Tough luck, I guess.

You never hear anything bad about this guy.  His contract - a whopping $10 million a year - is a little outrageous.  He's 37 years old, so he's not exactly a young buck.  He's in his 16th season as a professional.

I thought it was a great sign when they got him and I am sticking by that.  The guy is no-nonsense, gives you a chance to win (the vast majority of the time), and is tough.

Hiroki Kuroda deserves another season over .500. 

If he continues to pitch like he is in June, he makes the Yankees even tougher.  In June, by far his best month, he's 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings (3 starts).

Of course tonight he's struggling a little bit as the game with the Braves is currently 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

Superhero Pitchers (Super Powers)

This year, like many in recent memory, seems to be the year of the pitcher.  Here are five of the toughest to hit against in the majors this season.

I have included record (which isn't always a good indicator of super power-dom), innings pitched (which helps any team), hits (against, of course), extra base hits allowed (none are Mets and none are Rockies, so fence depth and altitude don't factor in), strikeouts (measures their ability to put away hitters), batting average against (which is what this chart is based on), ERA (duh!), and finally their super power.

The super powers are equipped with links that clearly indicate what their powers are.

Behold, the Fearsome Fivesome!

Pitcher	Team	W-L	IP	H	XBH	K	BAA	ERA	Super Power
Gio Gonzalez	WAS	7-1*	61.2	33*	13	79	.156*	2.04	Slings 93.2 (mph)
Brandon Beachy	ATL	5-3	66.0	43	11	51	.182	1.77*	Fabulous Forearms
CJ Wilson	LAA	6-4	65.0	43	9*	59	.185	2.77	Locks(ing) Up Hitters; Tattoo
Justin Verlander	DET	5-3	81.1*	56	18	82*	.190	2.55	Inning Eating Machine; Electric Arm (94.5 mph)
Chris Capuano	LAD	7-1*	63.0	42	15	58	.190	2.14	High Socks

Back to basics

   I am going to come back to my bread-and-butter - baseball.  I just turned off the Yankees-Dodgers game in favor of Discovery: Health (Hoarding:  Buried Alive, Ch. 279 on DirecTV).  Disturbing watching this guy walk around his house knee deep in clothes, garbage, books, and magazines.

   What is even more disturbing is the way Andy Pettitte is fielding his position (or should I say not fielding it).  He has only one error tonight, but should have two (they gave one to Robinson Cano).

   The inning started with a double to right field by Reed Johnson and Kershaw coming up.  Sac bunt.  Pettitte threw it down the left field line, allowing Johnson to score.  The announcers were saying it's the catchers call and A-Rod gestured to go to first base as well, but the ball wound up in left field.  Man on 1st, 1 run in.  Furcal bunt single.  1st and 2nd, 0 out.  Belliard sac bunt to Pettitte, who threw wide of Cano covering first.  Kershaw scored, Furcal to third, Belliard to second.  Sac fly from Ethier scored Furcal, allowed Belliard to go to third.  IBB to Manny-wood, Casey Blake struck out, Loney walked, Martin grounded out to third. 

   3 Runs.  2 Hits.  2 Errors.

   What Pettitte didn't execute is what we like to call in the baseball world PFP's.  Pitcher's Fielding Practice.  Something that is done day after day after day in spring training, in college baseball, and in high school baseball.  The reaction of pitchers after day three or four in a row is usually to roll their eyes, their necks, or just put their heads down.  Truth is, it is something that can win and lose games and add or shave points off the ERA.  So far tonight, it's biting the Yankees in the ass.

   Pettitte had only 29 errors in 15+ year career.  Pretty solid.  Six errors is his season high, in 2003 with the Yankees, when he won 21 games.  Might have been 22 or 23 if he made a few less errors.  Regardless, 29 errors in 15 years is excellent (.954 FLD%).  Greg Maddux, perhaps the best fielding pitcher there ever was, had a .970 FLD% (53 errors) in his 23-year career.

   When it boils down to it, a successful pitcher can repeat his delivery, throw to spots, and can field his position.  Throwing 96-99 MPH helps, but those guys are rare.  PFP's, everyone is on the same level as far as they go.  It's what you do once you get the ball that seperates the winners from the losers.

   Pettitte (.954 FLD%) has a career 238-137 record.  Maddux (.971 FLD%) was 355-227.  Both can field their position.  Both are successful (Maddux was).  Whitey Ford (.961 FLD%) was 236-106.  Bob Gibson (.949) was 251-174. 

   Chuck Finley (.907 FLD%) could have had more wins (200) and a lower ERA (3.85) if he could only field his position.  Randy Johnson (.904 FLD%) would have been less of a pitcher if he hadn't thrown 100 MPH in his prime - he made 5+ errors in a season in 11 of his 22 years on the mound.  Maybe that was his problem, leaving the mound.  When he was bringing the funk, he was nasty.  When he tried to field his position, he was awful.

   Anyway, non-baseball people can probably give two shits about this post, but it resonates with me.  I considered myself an excellent fielding pitcher when I played.  It's something you need to take pride in.  It saves your team, your pitch count, and your ERA.

   Here's a link to a great article on PFP's published on MLB.com earlier this year:  PFP.  Give it a glance, and if you happen to know someone who knows someone who's kid pitches, tell him to take a look.

   Help a young pitcher out, hit him some ground balls.  Trust me.

Shut out and Shutouts

I sincerely apologize to my loyal legion of followers (the three of you) for my lack of posting recently.  I have been busy with work and trying to find a new look for my blog spot.  I hope you can bear with me, I will be sure to make it up to you.

Heading over to the diamond, there has been an awful lot of shutouts lately in the MLB.  Thursday featured three (CWS 2 ATL 0 // MIL 5 MIN 0 // TOR 5 STL 0).  Wednesday night there were four (CIN 3 OAK 0 // KC 1 WSH 0 // STL 1 TOR 0 // NYM 5 DET 0).  Tuesday saw only one shutout (SEA 2 CHC 0).  That's eight shutouts in three days.  There have been 127 shutouts in the big leagues this year already, and we still have just over two weeks before the 2010 Midsummer Classic in Anaheim.

It is shaping up to be the "Year of the Pitcher".  More specifically, it's the year the NL West's pitching staffs are dominating baseball.  Four teams rank in the top 6 in shutouts - Padres and Rockies (9) lead the majors, and the Dodgers and Giants (6) are both tied for 3th. 

Breaking it down, 2009 and 2010, 1st Half statistics:
--2009 - 14 SP's with 80+ IP with ERA < 3.00
--2010 - 23 SP's with 80+ IP with ERA < 3.00

--2009 - 12 pitchers with 10+ wins pre-All-Star break.
--2010 - 23 with 8+ wins (2+ weeks before All-Star break)

--2009 - 24 pitchers with 80+ IP with WHIP < 1.20
--2010 - 30 pitchers with 80+ IP with WHIP < 1.20

--2009 - 32 hitters with 17+ HR (Albert Pujols, 32)
--2010 - 8 hitters with 17+ HR (Jose Bautista, 20)

--2009 - 16 hitters with 60+ RBI (Albert Pujols, 87)
--2010 - 1 hitter with 60+ RBI (Miguel Cabrera, 61)

Call 2010 the "Year of the Pitcher", I know it's still early, but I see no end to this dominance in sight.  The proof is in the numbers.  And with Stephen Strasburg on the scene tearing up opposing lineups like Nathan tears apart napkins, look out.

You think there's a coincidence that HR numbers are down since the Steroid Squad (McGwire, Canseco, Bonds, Sosa) stopped playing?  I think not.  Those guys are dirtbags - and not in a good way.  They ruined the way casual fans look at the game - me, I'm a professional fan.  (If there's such a thing)  These guys should get shut out of the Hall of Fame.  They're losers.  Scumbags.

Time for some dinner, gonna whip something up for LMD, Julia, and myself.  LMD is cleaning, I'm banned because all I do is get in the way.  Gonna go get some prosecco to mix with elder flower for the women, and some beers for myself.  The ladies can pretend they're high class.

Later!

José Lima...

...Rest In Peace.  This post is dedicated to the passing of former-MLB pitcher José Lima, 37, who died last night in his home in Pasadena, CA of an apparent heart attack.  "Lima Time" will no longer be observed during a game, but will never be forgotten.

From what I remembered of José Lima, he was a wacky, fun, and very average pitcher for most of his 13-year MLB career.  His 1998 and 1999 seasons with the Houston Astros were two of his best.  In '98, he went 16-8 with a 3.70 ERA and in '99 he won 21 games, posting a 3.58 ERA.  He was also a singer, and sang the National Anthem at his own Dodgers game once.

I always recall seeing a game on TV or watching highlights on SportsCenter and noticing José Lima's hair being different colors and his facial hair changing almost daily.  He was eccentric and unscripted, unlike these guys now, with their antics after a big out or save.  His teammates loved him and the fans loved him - and one manager in particular had a great line, "He was an animated guy and a fierce competitor and he got people excited," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.  When people remember you for those aforementioned traits, you left your mark.

Lima played for the Tigers, Astros, Royals, Dodgers, and Mets during his 13 seasons, as well as spending the beginning of the 2003 season with the Atlantic League's Newark Bears.  His career ERA of 5.26 is nothing special, but he brought something to the park that stats did not  indicate - a love for the game and a man who had a great time playing the game.  He respected baseball - and you don't often see that today (see: Hanley Ramirez).

José Lima will be missed.  RIP and it'll always be "Lima Time".

Here's a little photo gallery of images I've scoured the internet for of José Lima: