Poor Cubs

The last time the Giants won the World Series was 1954. That was 56 years ago. When they won the World Series, the Cubs had not won for 46 years (1908).

The Texas Rangers have never won the World Series, even when they were the Senators. That team was founded in 1961. That's a 49 year span. But in 1961, the Cubs streak was 53 years.

Poor Cubs.

Rays No Hitter

If Galaraga's perfect game had counted earlier this year, would the Rays and Tigers be the first pair of teams to have a no hitter against them and for them in the same season?

Baseball

The Yankees played the Royals for a four game set, and watching the KC lineup, it is like watching an old fantasy baseball team from about ten years ago. Scott Podsednik, Jason Kendall, Jose Guillen, Rick Ankiel, Kyle Farnsworth and Bruce Chen? All aging stars. I don't think this is the way to have success. Young players who cost less could probably fill the positions just as well and have higher upside.

New Stats vs Old Stats

This past off-season, the Yankees acquired CF Curtis Granderson from Detroit and sent one of their promising prospects, Austin Jackson, to Detroit. Now Jackson is playing in the majors and had a great April, or perhaps, a lucky April.

By conventional stats, he has done very well. A summary can be found in this ESPN article, where he is hitting with a BA of .356 and has 37 hits (leads the AL).

But we look at things another way, and maybe this is nothing to get too excited about. Of all sports, baseball is one where people always warn about sample size. The Pinstriped Bible pointed this out a few weeks ago with Jackson. Jackson is striking out at a rate of 29%, which is not good, and he's on pace for roughly 200 K's over the year. His BABIP (batting average for balls in play) is .514. The BABIP is the % of balls that are hit that end up as hits and not outs. Jackson's .514 is extremely high (Ichiro has a BABIP of .357 for his career). So we're saying here that Jackson had a very lucky April but not necessarily one that will predict his future.

I like what the new statistical approach is suggesting here. We already know that BA and hits are stats with some limitations. The newer stats also have limitations but I think it will be interesting to see what happens with Jackson the rest of the year in these terms. I'm a little surprised that ESPN.com, which usually posts more in-depth insight, ran the Jackson has a BA of .356, therefore the trade is a bust story.

Sweet Caroline

Great move by the Red Sox to bring in Neil Diamond for "Sweet Caroline" except he sounds pretty horrible. I hope the Yankees try to one-up the Sox by bringing in the band who sang the "Cotton Eye Joe" dance song.

Joe Mauer

Wow. Joe Mauer just signed for 8 years, $184 million. A great extension by the Twins but I wonder if because he is a catcher, this will pay off in the long run. The good news is that it means even the "small market" Twins can keep their own players in the current baseball economy but it should be interesting to see how this plays out in the future. The payroll for the Twins in 2009 was 67 million, and now Mauer will be getting $24 M per year.

Mauer is a great player, and it's nice to see that this contract basically guarantees he'll play the majority of his career with one team. I wonder also if this will affect the Yankees when they try to re-sign Derek Jeter at the end of the year.

Best Infield Ever?

No posts in February but since spring training is starting, I have to wonder - do the Yankees of 2009 / 2010 have the best infield ever? A-Rod, Jeter, Cano, Texiera... In the past, one might have argued that Jeter or Cano was the weak link defensively but last year it seems like it's come together. It seems like there's been some discussion of this last year but I think we have to think this is a possibility.

McGwire

Mark McGwire admitted to Bob Costas on Monday that he used performance enhancing drugs back in 1998, the year he hit 70 home runs. Most in the media have commended the way that he has finally come out to admit this given the years of speculation, especially after his "let's not talk about the past" testimony in Congress.

While it's nice to hear him come clean about this, the frustrating part about his admission is how many qualifiers he used. Here are a few that I noticed:

-McGwire said he could have still broken the HR record without steroids

In general, I agree, there's no proof per se that steroids make someone a better home run hitter, but it sure seems to be true from anecdotal evidence. Baseball players also wouldn't be using steroids or HGH if they didn't think there would be a benefit. In some ways, the cheating isn't just the act, it's the intent, too.

-He denied that he injected steroids routinely

I'm surprised he went out of his way to say he didn't inject steroids, and just took them orally. By the way, as far as I know, most testosterone analogs and HGH are taken through the skin or by injection. Also is there really added stigma attached to injection vs oral steroids? It seems to me the main argument is use or not, and not the means of use.

-He could not remember the names of the drugs

I don't believe this. Especially with all the controversy he faced with the androstenedione. Also, the name "human growth hormone" wouldn't be hard to remember.

-He only used low doses

Again, this almost sounds more like he's trying to justify it to himself. Nobody cares how much or little, do they?

-He injected himself for a medical condition

He wouldn't be alone in trying to inject steroids for a supposed medical condition however as I'm sure everybody is now well aware, there aren't any medical conditions that testosterone is indicated for.

So in summary, nice to see him finally admit stuff, but maybe we can get an admission of guilt from a player not named Canseco that is less filled with excuses and justifications.

Booing Cody Ransom?

Is it really necessary to boo temporary 3B Cody Ransom in the bottom of the 7th inning of the 14th game of the year after he makes an out while the Yankees are up 5-2?

Mercy Rule

Poor Chien Ming Wang. The guy has been great the last 2-3 years for the Yankees but has been horrible this year. He seems pretty nice but I think because he doesn't speak much English and isn't a big personality in interviews or in general, the fans don't recognize him as much as some of the other players. But today, wow, he got destroyed by the Indians. Games like today's 22-4 loss where the Indians put up 14 in the 2nd inning make you wish there was a baseball mercy rule.

New Yankee Stadium

From what I've seen on tv, New Yankee Stadium looks pretty nice. So what if there are $2000 seats still available? The place looks pretty and I bet it'll be even better in person (I'm going in a few weeks, and secured a ticket for a tour in May).

But based on the two exhibition games against the Cubs, the Yankees may hit a ton of home runs (and possibly allow a lot too). The balls seem to be flying out of the stadium and it's not even warm yet. Strangely enough, the field dimensions are identical to the old stadium. Could the wind be playing that much of a difference?

Sabathia

The Yankees are expected to make an offer to CC Sabathia that will "blow him away." I hope not. Sabathia has had a career year last year but haven't we learned the lessons of Carl Pavano and Jared Wright? One career year a future cannot predict. Sabathia prior to the last two years has been decent but by no means an ace. Here's hoping the Yanks show some restraint - although they do need serious help with the starting 5.

Loving the Rays

Here's hoping the Rays go all the way and complete an amazing underdog / Cinderella story.

Syringes and "The Play"

Apparently Roger Clemens' former trainer, Brian McNamee, says he has physical evidence that Clemens used steroids - including syringes with traces of steroids and hGH and Clemens' DNA. I don't really understand a few things about this. First, who keeps syringes after using them? Second and more importantly, how can they tell how old the syringes are, and whether or not the blood and steroids were somehow associated with them at the same time? For example, what is the difference between a needle / syringe that was used to inject steroids that has some blood on it, and a needle / syringe that was used to inject someone with something else, and then had steroids put into it? For that matter, since blood should only go into the needle, why not mix and match needles and syringes? It still sounds like a lot of "He Said / He Said."

The Eli Manning to David Tyree play that seemed almost miraculous during the Super Bowl should just be nicknamed "The Play." Right now, everyone knows what that refers to, so why not just dub it so? We already have "the catch" and "the escape followed by helmet catch" is too long a name. The local papers all have contests to "name the play."

Baseball Briefly

I feel bad for Mets fans. There's not much more to say, other than one positive that has come from all their misery is the absolutely entertaining sports radio over the last three+ days.

Reviewing the potential World Series match-ups:

Colorado vs anyone is a tough World Series for the AL. I think going to Coors Field could prove very difficult for any pitching staff, especially one from the AL who might not be used to going there.

The Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908, so if they make it, it will be a huge storyline no matter the opponent. Of course, fans will likely be dreading every moment on the way there. A match-up versus Boston or NY is made more appealing due to the historic ballparks, etc. With NY, specifically, Lou Pinella, Alfonso Soriano and Ted Lilly all had ties with the Yankees at one point. With Boston, I wonder: Would Red Sox Nation have sympathy with the Cubs' predicament? Remember in 2003 when people predicted the two teams might meet in the World Series, only to have both lose? So much has changed since then, hasn't it?

I don't know anything about Arizona and don't have much of a sense of their dynamic. I suspect that's not an uncommon feeling, especially on the East Coast. If they played the Angels, the two teams would be wearing virtually the same uniforms.
The Phillies have only won one championship in their history, 1980. If the Phillies play the Yankees, who does the Met fan root for? Phillies vs Cleveland would be a chance for Charlie Manuel to return to Cleveland, the team he once managed.

The Indians haven't won a championship since 1948. This year is 10 years after they knocked out the Mariano Rivera and the Yankees. Also, the Yankees have not had much success as a wild card - and it's been heartbreaking finishes each time.

Yankees, D'backs, Angels and Red Sox have all won championships since 2000. It looks like there's a lot of parity in the NL, the AL still has a few powerhouses that the rest contend with.

KFB Flashback - 7/21/07 - Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics

During the month of July, I was in the SF Bay Area and caught both of the local teams. Here are some shots from the bleachers in Oakland, including a short 6 second video.


This hot dog was gigantic, I couldn't believe it.

KFB Flashback - 6/16/07 - New York Mets at New York Yankees

As I mentioned before, I got to see three Yankees games in one week. Three victories as well. The Mets / Yankees game was the game with the best seats as well so please enjoy this bunch of photos.

It was a long time ago, so I don't really remember the details. There was a rain delay in the game that made it really long.

At some point in the week, but not at this game, Miguel Cairo was at bat with the bases loaded. Inside the Stadium, John Sterling could be heard saying, "Miguel Cairo is having a bad year, but he is a clutch player, and the kind of hitter you want with the bases loaded." Meanwhile, on YES, there was a stat listed, "Career with bases loaded: .224 AVG." Just another day listening to the Yankees.

KFB Flashback - 6/13/07 - Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Yankees

What a strange week it was - I had planned on going to the bat day game, and then suddenly I got tickets to this Thursday evening game against Arizona and also the Saturday game against the Mets! As it turns out, the Yankees won every game I went to this summer.

First time I've been in the bleachers in a while. Johnny Damon was really close to us!

KFB Flashback - 6/10/07 Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Yankees

This is a game I went to a while back. I took a photo of Luis Vizcaino at the time because he was so horrible and I was going to complain about him. He improved significantly over the course of the season. Now I can complain about how Joe Torre has overused him this year, and had to have an MRI on his right shoulder the other day.

#19 is Tyler Clippard. Remember him? He was one of the 13 rookies that the Yankees have trotted out this year as a starter. Times were really bleak back in June - I can't believe the Yankees are now in the wild card lead!

KFB Flashback - 5/16/07 - Yankee Stadium Tour

Back on May 16, I went on a tour of Yankee Stadium. Here are some of the highlights.


Construction of the new Yankee Stadium has begun.


That's Brian Cashman, playing basketball with local kids during lunchtime. One of the tour guides told me that this is pretty common.


View from the press box.


View of the press box.


I think this is where "Cotton Eye Joe" of the 8th inning fame works.


This is the Yankee dugout.


View from center field.


Monument park.


More monument park.


Yankee bullpen.


The bat. Before the game - meet me at the bat.


This is the hallway from the Yankee clubhouse to the dugout.