Today begins the Big Ten Tournament for baseball. All games will be shown on Big Ten Network and the action has already started with the Illinois-Michigan State game (6-4 Illinois, bottom of the 4th), and continues later when rivals Purdue and Indiana square off at 2:30 CT. It is one of the weirdest brackets of a tournament you can have, as it is six teams and double elimination, but it can be found here. While the Big Ten is by no means a baseball conference and will likely only get a couple teams at most to the NCAA tournament, the tournament is still deserving of a preview.
#1 Ohio State (39-15, 18-6)
The de facto hosts of the tournament, as it is being played at a minor league park in Columbus. The Buckeyes are ranked #23 in the country and come into the tournament off of a three-game sweep of lowly Iowa. Ohio State is led by starting pitcher Alex Wimmers, who is 9-1 with a 2.58 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 94.1 IP. Wimmers threw a no-hitter against Michigan on May 2, helping dash Michigan's hopes at making the BTT this season. They have Jake Hale coming out of the bullpen, with an astounding 1.19 ERA in 45.1 IP, and hitters have a .175 average against him. As a team, Ohio State hits .329/.397/.505, led by Ryan Dew, who has a .395 average with an OBP of .441. These three players along with catcher Dan Burkhart (.362/.435/.611 with 9 HR and 57 RBI) were all chosen to be on the All-Big Ten first team. Burkhart was picked to be the Player of the Year and Alex Wimmers was co-Pitcher of the Year.
#2 Minnesota (35-15, 17-6)
Something of a surprise this year, as Minnesota finished 20-35 last year while finishing 9th in the 10-team baseball conference. Minnesota has a solid rotation of Tom Buske (8-3, 3.40 ERA), Chauncy Handran (7-2, 3.81), and Seth Rosen (6-1, 4.02). They are also a solid team at the plate, where they hit .316 as a team, led by All-Big Ten first team selection Derek McCallum, who hit .401 with 15 HR and 72 RBI in 50 games this year. Minnesota also has a star receiver from their football team, Eric Decker, roaming center field.
#3 Indiana (28-25, 16-7)
Indiana hit their stride in the Big Ten season, after early losses to teams such as Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Indiana State, Jacksonville State, Northern Iowa, Stetson (you get the idea). Indiana is led by star pitcher Eric Arnett (who you can read about here, who was a unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection after going 11-1 with a 2.78 ERA in 12 starts this season. Their other first team selections were outfielder Kipp Schutz, who hit .368/.429/.516, and catcher Josh Phegley, who hit .354/.470/.672 with 17 HR and 62 RBI. Indiana is very much a hitting-oriented team after Eric Arnett, as they have a .322 team average with 59 HR and a 5.32 team ERA, with teams hitting .289 against them.
#4 Illinois (33-18, 16-8)
Illinois had a chance to get the number one seed in this tournament up until the final weekend, when they lost two of three at Purdue. Illinois is led at the plate by two All-Big Ten first team selections, shortstop Brandon Wikoff and third baseman Dominic Altobelli. Wikoff hit .375/.432/.551 with 10 SB, and Altobelli hit .379/.450/.597 with 8 HR and 52 RBI. Like most Big Ten teams, they have weak pitching, with a team ERA of 5.16. However they do have a strong freshman pitcher, Will Strack, who was selected to the All Big Ten freshman team with a record of 6-0 and a 3.48 ERA in 8 starts.
#5 Michigan State (23-29, 13-11)
Michigan State had zero first, second, or third team All Big Ten selections, a testament to the even play of the entire team. They really have nobody who is very good or very bad, and they are much like Indiana in that up until the Big Ten season, they were not playing so well, with a 10-19 pre-Big Ten record. Catcher Eric Roof leads the way at the plate with his .339 average, and he hit a grand slam early in the first game of the tournament against Illinois. Freshman pitcher Tony Bucciferro had an impressive season, going 5-2 with a 3.15 ERA in 11 starts. The pitching staff as a whole has a 4.97 ERA, not bad for a Big Ten team, but they only have a .284 team average.
#6 Purdue (24-24, 11-12)
Purdue barely made the Big Ten Tournament, winning two of three against Illinois in the final weekend to squeak by Michigan, who had an extremely disappointing year. Still, they made the show, and they are able to be a dark horse in the tournament. Purdue has three regulars who hit over .390, led by unanimous all Big Ten selection Brandon Haveman, who hit .412/.457/.600 with 16 doubles, while maintaining a .984 fielding percentage in the outfield. First baseman John Cummins hit .404 this season and freshman second baseman Eric Charles hit .390 this year as both were selected to the third team All-Big Ten. Purdue also has catcher/first baseman/third baseman Dan Black, who was walked an astounding 59 times this year, making for a .510 OBP when his average was only .303, and he hit 14 HR. He should be drafted in the sixth to eighth round in the upcoming MLB draft. While Purdue has terrible pitching overall, it improved late in the season, led by senior Matt Bischoff, who went 3-3 with a 4.83 ERA in conference play.
The Verdict
This Big Ten Tournament is effectively wide-open. Four teams were in contention for the top spot going into the final weekend of the season, and the other two teams have the ability to make an impact. I predict an Ohio State-Indiana final, and if we are lucky we will see an Alex Wimmers-Eric Arnett matchup to decide everything. I pick Ohio State to come out on top. I don't think Minnesota will do all that well as they have somewhat over-achieved this year, and I see Purdue continuing their strong play as of late to reach the semifinals. Last year they made it to the finals, bowing out to a strong Michigan team, and this year, the Boilermakers took two of three from Indiana and hit Arnett fairly well, and while they got swept by Ohio State, every game was close. Don't count out those Boilermakers!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Early Season Projections
We are a little over a month through this baseball season, and it is a good time to look at some interesting statistics and see what would happen if players kept up these paces.
Home Run Leaders: Albert Pujols and Carlos Pena both have 13 homers to lead their respective leagues. If they keep up this pace, Pujols will end with 65 HR and Pena with 63 (by virtue having played one more game than Pujols). These would easily be career highs for both, as neither has hit over 50 HR in a season. Pujols would finish with 171 RBI, the most since 1938.
Evan Longoria: Longoria, who is hitting .362/.417/.748 with 11 HR, 16 2B, and 45 RBI, would finish with 55 HR, 80 2B, and an absolutely incredible 225 RBI. This would shatter the current RBI record of 191 by Hack Wilson. The most RBI in one season since 1938 is 165 by Manny Ramirez in 1999. The 160 barrier has only been broken twice since WWII. The 80 2B would shatter the record of most doubles in a season, which is now 67, set by Earl Webb in 1931.
Batting Averages: Kevin Youkilis is currently hitting .393, which would be the second highest batting average since Ted Williams last eclipsed .400 in 1941. Tony Gwynn hit .394 in 1994.
Starting Pitching: Zack Greinke, the biggest surprise of the year on the mound, is on pace to go 29-5, 0.51 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 253 IP, 281 K, 38 BB. Roy Halladay is on pace to go 32-5 with a 2.95 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 282 IP, 227 K, 32 BB. Needless to say, Greinke's ERA would be the lowest of all time, and the WHIP would be the third highest since 1900, after Pedro Martinez had a 0.74 WHIP in 2000 and Walter Johnson's 0.78 WHIP in 1913. His strikeout total would be the highest non-Randy Johnson total since 2001. Halladay's win total of 32 would be the most since Pete Alexander won 32 games in 1916.
The Stolen Base: In the AL, there are 1.45 stolen bases per game, up from 1.16 in 2008, good for a 25% increase. In the NL, the number is 1.17 stolen bases per game, only a 0.025 stolen bases per game increase from 2008. Still, it is said that this is the year of the stolen base. Carl Crawford has 22 SB in 34 games, putting him on pace for 105 SB, and he has still not been caught at all. This would be the highest total since Vince Coleman's 109 in 1987, which was also the last time a player stole over 100 bases. The highest stolen base total since 1990 was Marquis Grissom's 78 steals in 1992, which was matched by Jose Reyes in 2007.
Striking out at the plate: Chris Davis has an astounding 50 strikeouts in only 108 at bats this season. This puts him on pace to strike out 260 times this season, which is by far the most all time. Currently, Mark Reynolds is the leader in this category with 204 K last year, the only player to ever get over 200 K in one season. Incidentally, Ryan Howard has struck out 199 times in a season twice, in 2007 and 2008. Davis has struck out in 46.3% of his at bats this season. To break the record, he would have to strike out in about 34% of his remaining at bats. Still, a 34% strikeout rate still comes out to 190 K in a season, so Davis has some work to do.
Interesting Fact of the Day: Since 1954, only two players have ever gone 5-5 in a game, with all 5 of those hits being extra-base hits. Those are Steve Garvey on August 28, 1977 (3 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and Joe Adcock on July 31, 1954 (1 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI).
Home Run Leaders: Albert Pujols and Carlos Pena both have 13 homers to lead their respective leagues. If they keep up this pace, Pujols will end with 65 HR and Pena with 63 (by virtue having played one more game than Pujols). These would easily be career highs for both, as neither has hit over 50 HR in a season. Pujols would finish with 171 RBI, the most since 1938.
Evan Longoria: Longoria, who is hitting .362/.417/.748 with 11 HR, 16 2B, and 45 RBI, would finish with 55 HR, 80 2B, and an absolutely incredible 225 RBI. This would shatter the current RBI record of 191 by Hack Wilson. The most RBI in one season since 1938 is 165 by Manny Ramirez in 1999. The 160 barrier has only been broken twice since WWII. The 80 2B would shatter the record of most doubles in a season, which is now 67, set by Earl Webb in 1931.
Batting Averages: Kevin Youkilis is currently hitting .393, which would be the second highest batting average since Ted Williams last eclipsed .400 in 1941. Tony Gwynn hit .394 in 1994.
Starting Pitching: Zack Greinke, the biggest surprise of the year on the mound, is on pace to go 29-5, 0.51 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 253 IP, 281 K, 38 BB. Roy Halladay is on pace to go 32-5 with a 2.95 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 282 IP, 227 K, 32 BB. Needless to say, Greinke's ERA would be the lowest of all time, and the WHIP would be the third highest since 1900, after Pedro Martinez had a 0.74 WHIP in 2000 and Walter Johnson's 0.78 WHIP in 1913. His strikeout total would be the highest non-Randy Johnson total since 2001. Halladay's win total of 32 would be the most since Pete Alexander won 32 games in 1916.
The Stolen Base: In the AL, there are 1.45 stolen bases per game, up from 1.16 in 2008, good for a 25% increase. In the NL, the number is 1.17 stolen bases per game, only a 0.025 stolen bases per game increase from 2008. Still, it is said that this is the year of the stolen base. Carl Crawford has 22 SB in 34 games, putting him on pace for 105 SB, and he has still not been caught at all. This would be the highest total since Vince Coleman's 109 in 1987, which was also the last time a player stole over 100 bases. The highest stolen base total since 1990 was Marquis Grissom's 78 steals in 1992, which was matched by Jose Reyes in 2007.
Striking out at the plate: Chris Davis has an astounding 50 strikeouts in only 108 at bats this season. This puts him on pace to strike out 260 times this season, which is by far the most all time. Currently, Mark Reynolds is the leader in this category with 204 K last year, the only player to ever get over 200 K in one season. Incidentally, Ryan Howard has struck out 199 times in a season twice, in 2007 and 2008. Davis has struck out in 46.3% of his at bats this season. To break the record, he would have to strike out in about 34% of his remaining at bats. Still, a 34% strikeout rate still comes out to 190 K in a season, so Davis has some work to do.
Interesting Fact of the Day: Since 1954, only two players have ever gone 5-5 in a game, with all 5 of those hits being extra-base hits. Those are Steve Garvey on August 28, 1977 (3 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and Joe Adcock on July 31, 1954 (1 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI).
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
MLB Mishandled the Bobby Jenks "Purpose Pitch"
By now you have probably heard that Bobby Jenks was fined $750 for throwing behind Ian Kinsler last Saturday when the White Sox played the Rangers. I personally think it is a ridiculous penalty and that Major League Baseball needs to settle themselves down. I saw the incident first hand and thought it was asinine that the home plate umpire warned both benches for that pitch. At the time I didn't think Jenks would be throwing behind someone in a 1-run game in the ninth inning (and if you heard Hawk Harrelson's reaction to it, you would know that he was very passionate in disagreeing with the call). This is my first problem with the way umpire's are handling bean balls and purpose pitches.
By warning someone because they threw too far inside it is taking away the inside part of the plate for the pitchers and they cannot have command of the game from that point. It forces them to throw the ball away from the hitters and allows hitters to just pay attention to the outer half of the plate and send the ball flying. As long as no one is being hit, no warnings should be given out, it ruins baseball by giving pitchers only a certain part of the plate to work with. And if a pitcher does hit a batter the other pitcher should have the chance to retaliate and then go ahead and warn both benches but don't let one team get away with beaning one player and then not allowing the other team to retaliate. You have to let the players referee themselves when it comes to these types of situations.
New Baseball Tonight analyst, Dave Winfield, shared a story while on the show about how he watched a Padres-Dodgers game last year where Manny Ramirez went deep and then his next at-bat the Padres pitcher threw inside (did not hit Ramirez) but then both benches were warned by the umpire. Winfield went on to say (I'm paraphrasing) that it wasn't like that when he played, if you hit a home run then, you could almost gurantee you would get brushed back your next at-bat. I agree with him, if you continue to let power hitters just sit right on the plate they're just going to continue to hit the ball over the fence. Pitchers need to be allowed to throw inside, especially when the big hitters are allowed to wear the massive arm protection and sit right on the plate to try to force pitchers to throw outside.
Major League Baseball needs to talk to their umpires and not be so protective of hitters, bring baseball to the way it used to be where if you hit a home run, you better watch yourself when you step up again. Bring baseball back to the 1-0 game rather than the 9-5 games that fans have become accustomed to.
Interesting Hit-By-Pitch Stat
Carlos Quentin has been hit by the most pitches since last season in the American League with 28. More interesting is that he refuses to wear protective gear even though he gets hit so much. He claims it hinders his ability if he wears an elbow guard.
By warning someone because they threw too far inside it is taking away the inside part of the plate for the pitchers and they cannot have command of the game from that point. It forces them to throw the ball away from the hitters and allows hitters to just pay attention to the outer half of the plate and send the ball flying. As long as no one is being hit, no warnings should be given out, it ruins baseball by giving pitchers only a certain part of the plate to work with. And if a pitcher does hit a batter the other pitcher should have the chance to retaliate and then go ahead and warn both benches but don't let one team get away with beaning one player and then not allowing the other team to retaliate. You have to let the players referee themselves when it comes to these types of situations.
New Baseball Tonight analyst, Dave Winfield, shared a story while on the show about how he watched a Padres-Dodgers game last year where Manny Ramirez went deep and then his next at-bat the Padres pitcher threw inside (did not hit Ramirez) but then both benches were warned by the umpire. Winfield went on to say (I'm paraphrasing) that it wasn't like that when he played, if you hit a home run then, you could almost gurantee you would get brushed back your next at-bat. I agree with him, if you continue to let power hitters just sit right on the plate they're just going to continue to hit the ball over the fence. Pitchers need to be allowed to throw inside, especially when the big hitters are allowed to wear the massive arm protection and sit right on the plate to try to force pitchers to throw outside.
Major League Baseball needs to talk to their umpires and not be so protective of hitters, bring baseball to the way it used to be where if you hit a home run, you better watch yourself when you step up again. Bring baseball back to the 1-0 game rather than the 9-5 games that fans have become accustomed to.
Interesting Hit-By-Pitch Stat
Carlos Quentin has been hit by the most pitches since last season in the American League with 28. More interesting is that he refuses to wear protective gear even though he gets hit so much. He claims it hinders his ability if he wears an elbow guard.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Meet the Prospects: Kentrail Davis (OF – University of Tennessee)
Kentrail Davis is an outfielder for the Volunteers of the University of Tennessee, he is a sophomore standing at 5 foot 9 inches and weighing 195 pounds. He achieved a lot in high school but has suffered injuries as of late. In his junior year of high school, Davis hit .444 with 12 home runs in 99 at-bats while stealing 34 bases. His senior year was cut short due to a serious car accident. When he arrived at Tennessee he hit .330 in 206 at-bats while hitting 13 home runs and driving in 44 runs. He stole 7 bases and had a .435 on-base percentage. He is a force on the bath paths and even made the USA Collegiate National Team, he did not play much with that team and was injured while playing. He was fully healthy heading into this season.
This season, Davis is hitting .309 with 9 home runs and 30 RBI in 196 at-bats. He has an on-base percentage of .430 and has stolen 4 bases in 5 attempts. With the 9 home runs he also has 4 triples and 12 doubles leading him to a .552 slugging percentage.
The two mock drafts I look at have him going at either #11 to the Rockies or #18 to the Marlins. He is a fast outfielder who has shown he can get on-base which for a base stealer you want to see as much as possible.
I don’t have a good video for Davis but he looks to be the real deal so watch for him in the draft.
This season, Davis is hitting .309 with 9 home runs and 30 RBI in 196 at-bats. He has an on-base percentage of .430 and has stolen 4 bases in 5 attempts. With the 9 home runs he also has 4 triples and 12 doubles leading him to a .552 slugging percentage.
The two mock drafts I look at have him going at either #11 to the Rockies or #18 to the Marlins. He is a fast outfielder who has shown he can get on-base which for a base stealer you want to see as much as possible.
I don’t have a good video for Davis but he looks to be the real deal so watch for him in the draft.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Useful Information
So I was watching the Cubs game today and Len Kasper and Bob Brenly were talking about Dave Kingman's 3-HR game on June 4, 1976 and the Tommy Lasorda tirade that ensued ("What is my opinion of his performance?"). That prompted me to look up all of Kingman's 3+ HR performances. Turns out he has 5, which is in a four-way tie for 2nd since 1954. Sammy Sosa is in first with 6, and Mark McGwire, Carlos Delgado, and Joe Carter all have 5 with Kingman.
Incidentally, Kingman had 8 RBI in 3 of those games, and that puts him in 1st for most 8+ RBI games since 1954. Ron Santo is in an 82-way tie for 6th on that list with his one 8-RBI game, which came on July 6 1970 when he hit a grand slam, a three run homer, and got a bases-loaded walk in a 14-2 win over the Montreal Expos.
I'd like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to mom (Hi Mom!!) and all mothers out there. I'll probably add a bit more after work tonight but this will be all for now.
Interesting Baseball Fact of the Day: Hank Aaron hit a home run in more games than anyone in history. Aaron hit a home run in 692 games, while Barry Bonds hit a home run in only 687 games in his career. So Hank Aaron is the home run king by some counts right?
Incidentally, Kingman had 8 RBI in 3 of those games, and that puts him in 1st for most 8+ RBI games since 1954. Ron Santo is in an 82-way tie for 6th on that list with his one 8-RBI game, which came on July 6 1970 when he hit a grand slam, a three run homer, and got a bases-loaded walk in a 14-2 win over the Montreal Expos.
I'd like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to mom (Hi Mom!!) and all mothers out there. I'll probably add a bit more after work tonight but this will be all for now.
Interesting Baseball Fact of the Day: Hank Aaron hit a home run in more games than anyone in history. Aaron hit a home run in 692 games, while Barry Bonds hit a home run in only 687 games in his career. So Hank Aaron is the home run king by some counts right?
Friday, May 8, 2009
Manny Reactions
So the Manny news broke yesterday just as I was on my way back from Purdue. Then we got a flat tire so I was not able to post my reactions yesterday. Initially, I got the text from Dave and I was just surprised. As I was in the process of loading up the car, it just kind of went in ear and out the other. Then, after sitting down and listening to ESPN Radio on the way home, I started to just feel angry. I'm sick and tired of the cheating in baseball. There's no way of knowing who was legit in the past and who was not. As a numbers man, I like to look at numbers and be able to use them as a gauge of skill. However, it just is not possible in this new Steroid Era.
With all of the discussion of whether or not a player's numbers are legit and whether or not they deserve to make the Hall of Fame, one thing is sometimes forgotten: the impact a player has on a team. Manny has been one of the best (though not the best, as I wrote in this post) postseason players of all time. I know we're supposed to be unbiased, but as a Cubs fan I look straight at the 2008 NLDS. Now, anyone who watched any part of that series knows the Cubs played bad enough that they would have been beaten whether or not the Dodgers had Manny, who hit .500/.643/1.100 in the series with 2 HR. Still, the fact remains that the Dodgers were playing with at least one cheater on their team. I'd be naive to think that there is zero chance that there is a cheater on the Cubs, but even in this era of distrust, no Cubs players really fit the profile of a steroid user and there is little suspicion surrounding the team. I'm just upset because the Dodgers would not have been the team that they were with Manny, and that casts a black cloud over their entire season and postseason. Not only does it do so for last year, but for the unforgettable World Series wins for the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. Bill Simmons wrote a great piece about the cloud that is cast over those victories and you can read that here.
Essentially, I just don't know what to believe anymore. It'll be hard to watch games for a while without thinking "So who in this game is cheating?" I'm with Dave and Buster Olney, there needs to be a zero-tolerance policy. One strike, you're out. Really, I'd just be happy to never again hear the words "steroids" and "baseball" in the same sentence. I just hope this all goes away fast. On the bright side, when I go to Wrigley Field on May 28 to watch the Cubs-Dodgers game, I won't have to see Manny and be reminded about everything that is wrong about baseball.
Interesting Baseball Fact of the Day: Manny hit .299 with the Red Sox and .396 with the Dodgers in 2008. While there were other factors such as Manny not wanting to play in Boston, that is an EXTREMELY statistically significant difference. Let's just say you don't improve your average 97 points overnight just by trying harder...
With all of the discussion of whether or not a player's numbers are legit and whether or not they deserve to make the Hall of Fame, one thing is sometimes forgotten: the impact a player has on a team. Manny has been one of the best (though not the best, as I wrote in this post) postseason players of all time. I know we're supposed to be unbiased, but as a Cubs fan I look straight at the 2008 NLDS. Now, anyone who watched any part of that series knows the Cubs played bad enough that they would have been beaten whether or not the Dodgers had Manny, who hit .500/.643/1.100 in the series with 2 HR. Still, the fact remains that the Dodgers were playing with at least one cheater on their team. I'd be naive to think that there is zero chance that there is a cheater on the Cubs, but even in this era of distrust, no Cubs players really fit the profile of a steroid user and there is little suspicion surrounding the team. I'm just upset because the Dodgers would not have been the team that they were with Manny, and that casts a black cloud over their entire season and postseason. Not only does it do so for last year, but for the unforgettable World Series wins for the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. Bill Simmons wrote a great piece about the cloud that is cast over those victories and you can read that here.
Essentially, I just don't know what to believe anymore. It'll be hard to watch games for a while without thinking "So who in this game is cheating?" I'm with Dave and Buster Olney, there needs to be a zero-tolerance policy. One strike, you're out. Really, I'd just be happy to never again hear the words "steroids" and "baseball" in the same sentence. I just hope this all goes away fast. On the bright side, when I go to Wrigley Field on May 28 to watch the Cubs-Dodgers game, I won't have to see Manny and be reminded about everything that is wrong about baseball.
Interesting Baseball Fact of the Day: Manny hit .299 with the Red Sox and .396 with the Dodgers in 2008. While there were other factors such as Manny not wanting to play in Boston, that is an EXTREMELY statistically significant difference. Let's just say you don't improve your average 97 points overnight just by trying harder...
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Manny is Trying to Ruin Baseball for Me
I never wanted it to come to this, I’m as big of a baseball fan as anyone, but Manny Ramirez’ suspension has forced me to make this conclusion: I cannot trust another player in MLB. Manny was a player who I thought was 100% clean, I wanted to believe that he was naturally one of the greatest raw hitters this wonderful game has ever seen. But after this suspension I no longer appreciate the home run or absurd power numbers some players put up without some sort of skepticism. I just can’t because I don’t want to believe in something that is fake. Now I know that he didn’t test positive for steroids but he tested positive for a drug that restarts a person’s normal testosterone production, which to me means he at one point took steroids. So when players go on camera and say they don’t take steroids; that doesn’t mean they haven’t taken steroids at one point or aren’t taking a supplement now that is enhancing their production.
I feel betrayed, tricked and fooled after this news, almost to the point where I don’t know if I want to watch baseball for a while. Manny was a character to me, a guy who genuinely enjoys playing the game, he seemed like a fan who had his greatest wish come true where he got to play the game he loves and get paid for it. Manny was one of my favorite players not on the White Sox, but now I don’t think I can forgive him for this ever.
He seemed like a normal guy like so many other baseball players, which makes it a sport I really enjoy to watch because it gives me the idea that I could go out there tomorrow and do what they do, only to know that I most likely would not hit a 92 mph fastball. But to learn that he cheated, why should I believe that any other player hasn’t used a drug to improve their performance. I want to believe guys like Jim Thome and Ken Griffey Jr, and retired players like Frank Thomas but Manny has me now at a point where I have to be skeptical when I watch the performances of any player from this era. Because of Ramirez, I will not be surprised when the next big name player is suspended; he has proven to me that this steroid epidemic was and is wide spread and there are people trying to ruin the game that I love so much.
Buster Olney of ESPN is going with the suggestion for revamping the penalty for drug use to use a zero tolerance policy and I agree with him. Players are flat out cheating when they resort to PEDs and they shouldn’t get to continue to earn a living from playing a game if they are caught cheating. Will this happen? I don’t think it will for a long time because the players union will not be for it but if a player is truly clean, they should stand up and demand this policy be put into place because they are the ones getting cheated the most. They are losing not only playing time to the guys passing them by cheating but they are also losing millions of dollars from being out performed by the cheaters. Something needs to be done and unfortunately I don’t think anything will get done for a long time. This is a sad day for me as a baseball fan and I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I feel betrayed.
I feel betrayed, tricked and fooled after this news, almost to the point where I don’t know if I want to watch baseball for a while. Manny was a character to me, a guy who genuinely enjoys playing the game, he seemed like a fan who had his greatest wish come true where he got to play the game he loves and get paid for it. Manny was one of my favorite players not on the White Sox, but now I don’t think I can forgive him for this ever.
He seemed like a normal guy like so many other baseball players, which makes it a sport I really enjoy to watch because it gives me the idea that I could go out there tomorrow and do what they do, only to know that I most likely would not hit a 92 mph fastball. But to learn that he cheated, why should I believe that any other player hasn’t used a drug to improve their performance. I want to believe guys like Jim Thome and Ken Griffey Jr, and retired players like Frank Thomas but Manny has me now at a point where I have to be skeptical when I watch the performances of any player from this era. Because of Ramirez, I will not be surprised when the next big name player is suspended; he has proven to me that this steroid epidemic was and is wide spread and there are people trying to ruin the game that I love so much.
Buster Olney of ESPN is going with the suggestion for revamping the penalty for drug use to use a zero tolerance policy and I agree with him. Players are flat out cheating when they resort to PEDs and they shouldn’t get to continue to earn a living from playing a game if they are caught cheating. Will this happen? I don’t think it will for a long time because the players union will not be for it but if a player is truly clean, they should stand up and demand this policy be put into place because they are the ones getting cheated the most. They are losing not only playing time to the guys passing them by cheating but they are also losing millions of dollars from being out performed by the cheaters. Something needs to be done and unfortunately I don’t think anything will get done for a long time. This is a sad day for me as a baseball fan and I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I feel betrayed.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Farewell For Now Blog
This will be my last blog for awhile, as I'm leaving for a month in Europe tomorrow afternoon. If possible, I'll write a couple while I'm over there, as I'm planning on going to a Galatasaray match whilst in Istanbul and either an AC Milan or AS Roma match while I'm in either of those cities, so if I get consistent internet expect something from there. Considering that I had 2 finals today and am in the process of moving out, this post will be brief and lack direction, in that its going to be another update on the world of sports blog...
Manchester United and Barcelona UEFA CL Final
For those of you who don't really pay attention to European football, Manchester United and FC Barcelona both punched their tickets to the UEFA Champions League Final in Rome. Man Utd. beat Arsenal 3-1 yesterday, to win 4-1 on aggregate. It was a rather boring match from the start, as Utd. jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, effectively ending the match right there, as Arsenal would have needed to win 4-2 at that point, considering 3-2 would have led Utd. to win by virtue of away goals. Today's match, however, was much more exciting. Sadly, I was in a History final for most of it, however from what I heard and from the brief bits that I saw, it was insane. Chelsea jumped ahead 1-0 in the 9th minute on a magnificent, once in a lifetime shot by Michael Essien. For the next 82 minutes Barcelona seiged Chelsea's goal, aggressively attempting to score over and over again while keeping 71% possession. Just when it looked as though Chelsea had won the match, in the 93rd minute Barcelona scored. The goal was by Andres Iniesta, and it was made all the more impressive by the fact that, at the time, Barcelona was down a man to Chelsea after Eric Abidal was shown a red in the 66th minute. The goal will no doubt give Barca huge momentum going into the final, and they will need it, as their opponent, Man Utd., has a 25 match champions league unbeaten streak that they're bringing in to Stadio Olimpico. Should be a great final, as these are undoubtedly 2 of the top club teams in the world. I predict a 3-2 Utd. win
Edinson Volquez
Volquez pitched a beast of a game yesterday against the rapidly failing Marlins. The Marlins have gone 4-11 since starting the season 11-1, and got absolutely dominated last night by Volquez. His line was 8 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 7 K, 0 ER, which lowered his ERA to 3.47. Look for Volquez to get on a hot streak in the next few starts, he's looked really good as of late.
Bobby Scales
Bobby Scales, for those of you that may not have heard, is the 11 year minor leaguer who finally got called up to the Cubs the other day after Zambrano got put on the DL. There has been a media frenzy around him and frankly, I have no idea why. Its a fine story, yeah, but he's not going to make an impact at the major league level, and frankly, no one should care this much. I have no idea how he's getting so much media attention, and I think its pretty asinine. But nonetheless, good for him, his perseverance has finally led him to get a major league hit (off Tim Lincecum no less) and play a couple games. I tip my hat to him, he now has more ML hits than me, although not by much.
That's all for this week, sorry for the shortness but again, I'm moving out of my dorm and I'm leaving for Europe in 21 hours. See you all in a month, maybe sooner
Manchester United and Barcelona UEFA CL Final
For those of you who don't really pay attention to European football, Manchester United and FC Barcelona both punched their tickets to the UEFA Champions League Final in Rome. Man Utd. beat Arsenal 3-1 yesterday, to win 4-1 on aggregate. It was a rather boring match from the start, as Utd. jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, effectively ending the match right there, as Arsenal would have needed to win 4-2 at that point, considering 3-2 would have led Utd. to win by virtue of away goals. Today's match, however, was much more exciting. Sadly, I was in a History final for most of it, however from what I heard and from the brief bits that I saw, it was insane. Chelsea jumped ahead 1-0 in the 9th minute on a magnificent, once in a lifetime shot by Michael Essien. For the next 82 minutes Barcelona seiged Chelsea's goal, aggressively attempting to score over and over again while keeping 71% possession. Just when it looked as though Chelsea had won the match, in the 93rd minute Barcelona scored. The goal was by Andres Iniesta, and it was made all the more impressive by the fact that, at the time, Barcelona was down a man to Chelsea after Eric Abidal was shown a red in the 66th minute. The goal will no doubt give Barca huge momentum going into the final, and they will need it, as their opponent, Man Utd., has a 25 match champions league unbeaten streak that they're bringing in to Stadio Olimpico. Should be a great final, as these are undoubtedly 2 of the top club teams in the world. I predict a 3-2 Utd. win
Edinson Volquez
Volquez pitched a beast of a game yesterday against the rapidly failing Marlins. The Marlins have gone 4-11 since starting the season 11-1, and got absolutely dominated last night by Volquez. His line was 8 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 7 K, 0 ER, which lowered his ERA to 3.47. Look for Volquez to get on a hot streak in the next few starts, he's looked really good as of late.
Bobby Scales
Bobby Scales, for those of you that may not have heard, is the 11 year minor leaguer who finally got called up to the Cubs the other day after Zambrano got put on the DL. There has been a media frenzy around him and frankly, I have no idea why. Its a fine story, yeah, but he's not going to make an impact at the major league level, and frankly, no one should care this much. I have no idea how he's getting so much media attention, and I think its pretty asinine. But nonetheless, good for him, his perseverance has finally led him to get a major league hit (off Tim Lincecum no less) and play a couple games. I tip my hat to him, he now has more ML hits than me, although not by much.
That's all for this week, sorry for the shortness but again, I'm moving out of my dorm and I'm leaving for Europe in 21 hours. See you all in a month, maybe sooner
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Meet the Prospects: Alex White (Pitcher – UNC-Chapel Hill)
I apologize for my absence from writing, as I’m sure all 10 of our readers were waiting anxiously to read about Alex White. Well I’m back so let’s get to work.
Alex White is a pitcher for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, he is a 6-3 200 pound junior for the Tar Heels and has compiled a 19-10 record in 33 starts in his first two years at North Carolina. In those years he has struck out 196 batters while walking 90 in 200 innings pitched. White did more damage as a sophomore for UNC when he became their number one starter; he earned 13 of his 19 victories that year while striking out 113 of his 196 punch-outs. The most alarming stat from White so far has been the number of walks he has allowed; he walked 90 men in his first two seasons in Chapel Hill. His sophomore year, White was named First-Team All-ACC team and he was a third-team All-American
This season for the Tar Heels, White is 7-1 in 10 starts with a 3.36 ERA; he has struck out 77 batters and walked 26 in 69.2 innings pitched, so he has improved on his walk rate a little from his first 2 years. His control is something that still needs work but he has great stuff with the great ability to strike hitters out which is why scouts and mock drafts have him going anywhere from the seventh overall pick to the Braves up to the third overall pick to the Padres.
Here’s a video of White from when he was in High School:
Next Up: Kentrail Davis, Outfielder from Tennessee
Alex White is a pitcher for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, he is a 6-3 200 pound junior for the Tar Heels and has compiled a 19-10 record in 33 starts in his first two years at North Carolina. In those years he has struck out 196 batters while walking 90 in 200 innings pitched. White did more damage as a sophomore for UNC when he became their number one starter; he earned 13 of his 19 victories that year while striking out 113 of his 196 punch-outs. The most alarming stat from White so far has been the number of walks he has allowed; he walked 90 men in his first two seasons in Chapel Hill. His sophomore year, White was named First-Team All-ACC team and he was a third-team All-American
This season for the Tar Heels, White is 7-1 in 10 starts with a 3.36 ERA; he has struck out 77 batters and walked 26 in 69.2 innings pitched, so he has improved on his walk rate a little from his first 2 years. His control is something that still needs work but he has great stuff with the great ability to strike hitters out which is why scouts and mock drafts have him going anywhere from the seventh overall pick to the Braves up to the third overall pick to the Padres.
Here’s a video of White from when he was in High School:
Next Up: Kentrail Davis, Outfielder from Tennessee
Monday, May 4, 2009
Is Mark Teixeira REALLY worse than last year?
So yesterday Blaine made some claims that I led him down the wrong path by encouraging him to draft Mark Teixeira. He cited many valid stats showing how Teixeira's production has dropped thus far this year. I will now examine those stats to see if differences between this year and last year are statistically significant.
Batting Average
Batting Average can be treated as a Bernoulli Distribution. This means that every at bat will be given a value of 0 (out) or 1 (hit). The true probability of him getting a 1, or a hit, is his true batting average. If you then take the sum of each trial and add them up (total number of hits) and divide by number of trials (total number of at bats), you are left with the hitter's batting average. We will do a t-test (with level 0.05) to determine if the difference between batting average this year and batting average last year is statistically significant. Our null hypothesis will be that his true batting average this year is .308, which it was last year. Our alternative hypothesis is that his true mean batting average is less than .308.
Data values:
Sample Proportion = X/n = 14/77 = 0.182
Sample Variance = p(1-p) = 14/77(1-14/77) = 0.14876
n = 77
t-critical value with 76 df at 0.05 level = -1.9917
t = (0.182 - 0.308)/sqrt(0.14876/77) = -2.87
Because our t of -2.87 is less than our t-critical value of -1.9917, we reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative, concluding that Mark Teixeira's true batting average for 2009 is less than last year's average of .308.
On Base Percentage
On-Base percentage can be treated the same as Batting Average in that they are both proportions, but now 0 means not getting on base, while 1 means getting on base. We will perform the same t-test as before with significance level 0.05. Our null hypothesis is that Teixeira's true on base percentage is .410 as it was last year, and our alternative hypothesis is that Teixeira's true on base percentage is less than .410.
Data Values:
Sample Proportion = X/n = 35/99 = 0.354
Sample Variance = p(1-p) = 35/99(1 - 35/99) = 0.228548
n = 99
t-critical value with 98 df at 0.05 level = -1.9845
t = (0.354 - 0.410)/sqrt(0.228548/99) = -1.166
Because our t value is greater than our t-critical value of -1.9845, we fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that Teixeira's on base percentage is not statistically significantly different than last year.
Slugging Percentage
Slugging Percentage must be treated slightly differently than OBP or AVG, as it is not a proportion. Rather, Slugging Percentage is essentially an average of total bases obtained in each at bat, 0 for not getting on base, 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple, 4 for a home run. So, we will do the same t-test (level 0.05) but our sample variance will be calculated differently. Note that I am violating the assumption of normally distributed data (which come to think of it, I think I also violated in the previous two problems), but the test is still somewhat valid and useful. Our null hypothesis is that Teixeira's true slugging percentage is .552, as it was last year, and our alternative hypothesis is that his true slugging percentage is less than .552.
Data Values:
Sample Mean = 26/77 = 0.338
Sample Variance = 0.88273
n = 77
t-critical value with 76 df at 0.05 level = -1.9917
t = (0.338-0.552)/(0.88273/sqrt(77)) = -2.13
Our t of -2.13 is less than our t-critical value of -1.9917, so we (barely) reject our null hypothesis in favor of the alternative that Mark Teixeira's true slugging percentage is less than last year's.
Conclusion
So, it appears that Teixeira's AVG and SLG are significantly worse than last year. However, OBP does not appear to have suffered as much, and as that is the statistic that matters in our fantasy league, all is not lost for Blaine. Still, Teixeira's numbers really are noticeably worse than last year, and statistically significant or not, Blaine should be slightly worried. Even I can't always be right I suppose (but I am in first place nonetheless).
Interesting Baseball Fact of the Day: Today is former Major Leaguer Ben Grieve's birthday. Lifetime on his birthday, Grieve was 5-17 (.294) with 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 5 K, and 2 BB.
Batting Average
Batting Average can be treated as a Bernoulli Distribution. This means that every at bat will be given a value of 0 (out) or 1 (hit). The true probability of him getting a 1, or a hit, is his true batting average. If you then take the sum of each trial and add them up (total number of hits) and divide by number of trials (total number of at bats), you are left with the hitter's batting average. We will do a t-test (with level 0.05) to determine if the difference between batting average this year and batting average last year is statistically significant. Our null hypothesis will be that his true batting average this year is .308, which it was last year. Our alternative hypothesis is that his true mean batting average is less than .308.
Data values:
Sample Proportion = X/n = 14/77 = 0.182
Sample Variance = p(1-p) = 14/77(1-14/77) = 0.14876
n = 77
t-critical value with 76 df at 0.05 level = -1.9917
t = (0.182 - 0.308)/sqrt(0.14876/77) = -2.87
Because our t of -2.87 is less than our t-critical value of -1.9917, we reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative, concluding that Mark Teixeira's true batting average for 2009 is less than last year's average of .308.
On Base Percentage
On-Base percentage can be treated the same as Batting Average in that they are both proportions, but now 0 means not getting on base, while 1 means getting on base. We will perform the same t-test as before with significance level 0.05. Our null hypothesis is that Teixeira's true on base percentage is .410 as it was last year, and our alternative hypothesis is that Teixeira's true on base percentage is less than .410.
Data Values:
Sample Proportion = X/n = 35/99 = 0.354
Sample Variance = p(1-p) = 35/99(1 - 35/99) = 0.228548
n = 99
t-critical value with 98 df at 0.05 level = -1.9845
t = (0.354 - 0.410)/sqrt(0.228548/99) = -1.166
Because our t value is greater than our t-critical value of -1.9845, we fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that Teixeira's on base percentage is not statistically significantly different than last year.
Slugging Percentage
Slugging Percentage must be treated slightly differently than OBP or AVG, as it is not a proportion. Rather, Slugging Percentage is essentially an average of total bases obtained in each at bat, 0 for not getting on base, 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple, 4 for a home run. So, we will do the same t-test (level 0.05) but our sample variance will be calculated differently. Note that I am violating the assumption of normally distributed data (which come to think of it, I think I also violated in the previous two problems), but the test is still somewhat valid and useful. Our null hypothesis is that Teixeira's true slugging percentage is .552, as it was last year, and our alternative hypothesis is that his true slugging percentage is less than .552.
Data Values:
Sample Mean = 26/77 = 0.338
Sample Variance = 0.88273
n = 77
t-critical value with 76 df at 0.05 level = -1.9917
t = (0.338-0.552)/(0.88273/sqrt(77)) = -2.13
Our t of -2.13 is less than our t-critical value of -1.9917, so we (barely) reject our null hypothesis in favor of the alternative that Mark Teixeira's true slugging percentage is less than last year's.
Conclusion
So, it appears that Teixeira's AVG and SLG are significantly worse than last year. However, OBP does not appear to have suffered as much, and as that is the statistic that matters in our fantasy league, all is not lost for Blaine. Still, Teixeira's numbers really are noticeably worse than last year, and statistically significant or not, Blaine should be slightly worried. Even I can't always be right I suppose (but I am in first place nonetheless).
Interesting Baseball Fact of the Day: Today is former Major Leaguer Ben Grieve's birthday. Lifetime on his birthday, Grieve was 5-17 (.294) with 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 5 K, and 2 BB.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Can Money Buy Happiness? Update on the 2009 New York Yankees, and Their Free Agent Acquisitions
As ESPN continues to tell us, money cannot buy the front row seats at Yankee Stadium. Or at least any reasonable amount of money. As the Yankees have proven thus far, even an absurd amount of money can't buy wins either. The Yankees spent nearly a half a billion dollars over the offseason on free agents, and so far these free agents have been far from their expectations. Lets have a look
Mark Teixeira-Signed a contract January 6th worth $180 million over 8 years
Teixeira was brought into NY with enormous expectations. He has the short right field to work with, and people were expecting a .375 BA, 75 HR, and 200 RBI every season. Maybe not that high, but his expectations were certainly quite hefty, given his contract and reputation as arguably the best switch hitter in baseball. All of these factors, as well as the persuasion of Tom Nielsen, got me to pick Teixeira in the 1st round, 12th overall pick, in my fantasy draft this year. Thus far, that's been a pretty terrible choice. Mark Teixeira is batting a whopping .182. He has 3 HR, 10 RBI, and the same amount of triples and SBs that I do this season. Historically, Teixeira is a relatively slow-starter, with a .272 average over the last 3 Aprils, and only 9 HR and 36 RBI, so maybe this isn't as bad as it seems, but he certainly has been terribly disappointing so far, both for my fantasy team and for the Yankees.
CC Sabathia-Signed a contract December 18th worth $161 million over 7 years
The Yankees brought in CC Sabathia to be the #1 starter, the horse, the stopper, whatever else you want to call him. He has been one of the most consistently horse-like pitchers in the majors his entire career, having pitched 180+ innings every year of his major league career. As many of you probably remember, CC pitched terribly last April, with an ERA of 7.76 and a 1-4 record. This did not stop CC from coming back and having another terrific season, and quite the contrary, he was in serious discussion for the NL Cy Young/MVP Award despite only playing there for half the season. This season, CC has started slowly yet again, with a 1-3 record and a 4.85 ERA. He has shown signs of brilliance, including his 2nd start of the year, when he pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, but he's been below average overall. Last year, CC's early problems were generally contributed to his workload the previous season, where he threw 241 innings, including quite a few in October. If that really was the case, then the Yankees have little cause for concern, as he threw 253 innings last season, including some in October, so its very possible that he'll come around and dominate again this season.
A.J. Burnett-signed a contract December 18th worth $82.5 million over 5 years
Considering Burnett's contract, its just incredible to think that he was by a pretty wide margin the Yankees' 3rd biggest signing, in both money and publicity. At the time of this signing, I had a lot of problems with it, the foremost being that they'd signed a 32 year old who's been very inconsistent and has had some elbow problems to a 5 year deal. Throw in the $80 million+ and you've got all the makings of a bad signing. Burnett has had Tommy John surgery, and was a relatively inconsistent pitcher during his time in Toronto. So far this season, Burnett is 2-0, although his ERA is 5.40 and his WHIP is 1.33. His strikeout rate is about where it should be, at nearly 1 per inning, but he's walking nearly 4.5 batters per 9 IP, and has been pretty unimpressive overall. Frankly, the Yankees can't expect very much out of Burnett, considering he's just not that good to begin with. The Yankees went out and paid far too much for a pitcher that had a few very good seasons and strikes out a lot of hitters. Another thing to consider with Burnett's injury history is the workload he carried last season. He threw 221 innings, the most in his career, and his first 200+ inning season since 2005. Overall, I wasn't a big fan of this signing at the time, and Burnett has failed to change my opinion on that at all. The Yankees paid ace money to a #3 starter.
Other Various Signings
Chien Ming Wang-1 year, $5 million-Wang is currently on the DL after starting the year with a 34.50 ERA. That is not a typo. 34.50. WHIP of 4.83.
Andy Pettitte-1 year, $5.5 million-Pettitte has been about as good as someone can be when 1/2 of the letters in their last name are "t". His ERA is 3.82, and his 2-1 record in 5 starts is nothing to be ashamed of. He's also already thrown 33 innings, and has overall been consistently decent. I also like that they only signed him to 1 year, as he's 34 years old. They should have done the same for Burnett.
Currently spending all this money has not been able to buy the Yankees their desired results, as they're a mediocre 13-11, and 3.5 games back of 1st place Toronto. If Mark Teixeira continues to produce at this rate, I'll probably just drop him by June, but until then, it should be interesting to see how these signings continue to go.
Mark Teixeira-Signed a contract January 6th worth $180 million over 8 years
Teixeira was brought into NY with enormous expectations. He has the short right field to work with, and people were expecting a .375 BA, 75 HR, and 200 RBI every season. Maybe not that high, but his expectations were certainly quite hefty, given his contract and reputation as arguably the best switch hitter in baseball. All of these factors, as well as the persuasion of Tom Nielsen, got me to pick Teixeira in the 1st round, 12th overall pick, in my fantasy draft this year. Thus far, that's been a pretty terrible choice. Mark Teixeira is batting a whopping .182. He has 3 HR, 10 RBI, and the same amount of triples and SBs that I do this season. Historically, Teixeira is a relatively slow-starter, with a .272 average over the last 3 Aprils, and only 9 HR and 36 RBI, so maybe this isn't as bad as it seems, but he certainly has been terribly disappointing so far, both for my fantasy team and for the Yankees.
CC Sabathia-Signed a contract December 18th worth $161 million over 7 years
The Yankees brought in CC Sabathia to be the #1 starter, the horse, the stopper, whatever else you want to call him. He has been one of the most consistently horse-like pitchers in the majors his entire career, having pitched 180+ innings every year of his major league career. As many of you probably remember, CC pitched terribly last April, with an ERA of 7.76 and a 1-4 record. This did not stop CC from coming back and having another terrific season, and quite the contrary, he was in serious discussion for the NL Cy Young/MVP Award despite only playing there for half the season. This season, CC has started slowly yet again, with a 1-3 record and a 4.85 ERA. He has shown signs of brilliance, including his 2nd start of the year, when he pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, but he's been below average overall. Last year, CC's early problems were generally contributed to his workload the previous season, where he threw 241 innings, including quite a few in October. If that really was the case, then the Yankees have little cause for concern, as he threw 253 innings last season, including some in October, so its very possible that he'll come around and dominate again this season.
A.J. Burnett-signed a contract December 18th worth $82.5 million over 5 years
Considering Burnett's contract, its just incredible to think that he was by a pretty wide margin the Yankees' 3rd biggest signing, in both money and publicity. At the time of this signing, I had a lot of problems with it, the foremost being that they'd signed a 32 year old who's been very inconsistent and has had some elbow problems to a 5 year deal. Throw in the $80 million+ and you've got all the makings of a bad signing. Burnett has had Tommy John surgery, and was a relatively inconsistent pitcher during his time in Toronto. So far this season, Burnett is 2-0, although his ERA is 5.40 and his WHIP is 1.33. His strikeout rate is about where it should be, at nearly 1 per inning, but he's walking nearly 4.5 batters per 9 IP, and has been pretty unimpressive overall. Frankly, the Yankees can't expect very much out of Burnett, considering he's just not that good to begin with. The Yankees went out and paid far too much for a pitcher that had a few very good seasons and strikes out a lot of hitters. Another thing to consider with Burnett's injury history is the workload he carried last season. He threw 221 innings, the most in his career, and his first 200+ inning season since 2005. Overall, I wasn't a big fan of this signing at the time, and Burnett has failed to change my opinion on that at all. The Yankees paid ace money to a #3 starter.
Other Various Signings
Chien Ming Wang-1 year, $5 million-Wang is currently on the DL after starting the year with a 34.50 ERA. That is not a typo. 34.50. WHIP of 4.83.
Andy Pettitte-1 year, $5.5 million-Pettitte has been about as good as someone can be when 1/2 of the letters in their last name are "t". His ERA is 3.82, and his 2-1 record in 5 starts is nothing to be ashamed of. He's also already thrown 33 innings, and has overall been consistently decent. I also like that they only signed him to 1 year, as he's 34 years old. They should have done the same for Burnett.
Currently spending all this money has not been able to buy the Yankees their desired results, as they're a mediocre 13-11, and 3.5 games back of 1st place Toronto. If Mark Teixeira continues to produce at this rate, I'll probably just drop him by June, but until then, it should be interesting to see how these signings continue to go.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Meet the Prospects: Eric Arnett (Pitcher, IU)
Today, Dave had some business to take care of, so I will sub in with a small "Meet the Prospects" edition post. Luckily Indiana University was in town to take on my Purdue Boilermakers. This meant that the one of the biggest prospects in the Big Ten, Eric Arnett would be pitching for the Hoosiers. Coming into the game, Arnett was 9-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 10 games, with 58 hits and 24 walks in 76 IP for a 1.08 WHIP in 10 games started. Last year Arnett was 4-5 with a 5.45 ERA, so this has been something of a breakout season for him. His velocity has jumped up a couple mph to around 93-96, instantly making him draftable. He is projected to go anywhere from late first round to middle second round. This was made obvious today by the fifteen or so scouts with radar guns trained on his every pitch early in the game.
He has a great fastball that was able to blow away most Purdue hitters early, but there is little to no movement on it. He mainly relied on the fastball the entire game, and when it was kept low he was able to induce ground out after ground out. Still there was no noticeable backup pitch that he could go to for the strikeout. He started off well, allowing only 1 run through six on a solid double followed by a somewhat dinky run-scoring single. However, the more hitters saw of Arnett, the better they hit off of him. He gave up five runs in the seventh due to a loss of control and five singles by the Boilers. The first time around the order, hitters were 1-11 with 3 K. The second time, hitters were 3-9 with 2 2B, 2 K, 2 BB. After that, hitters were 6-17, 2 BB, 4 K. Hitters seem to be blown away by the speed somewhat the first time around, but after an at bat or two, they are able to catch up to the speed. If that happens on the Big Ten baseball level, he will be no better in the professional ranks. On the day, Arnett went 9 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 8 K. He could be solid in a relief role in the pros, and if he can pick up a reliable go-to pitch after the fastball he could be a good pitcher in the future.
YouTube video link because I can't figure out how to make the video itself show up
He has a great fastball that was able to blow away most Purdue hitters early, but there is little to no movement on it. He mainly relied on the fastball the entire game, and when it was kept low he was able to induce ground out after ground out. Still there was no noticeable backup pitch that he could go to for the strikeout. He started off well, allowing only 1 run through six on a solid double followed by a somewhat dinky run-scoring single. However, the more hitters saw of Arnett, the better they hit off of him. He gave up five runs in the seventh due to a loss of control and five singles by the Boilers. The first time around the order, hitters were 1-11 with 3 K. The second time, hitters were 3-9 with 2 2B, 2 K, 2 BB. After that, hitters were 6-17, 2 BB, 4 K. Hitters seem to be blown away by the speed somewhat the first time around, but after an at bat or two, they are able to catch up to the speed. If that happens on the Big Ten baseball level, he will be no better in the professional ranks. On the day, Arnett went 9 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 8 K. He could be solid in a relief role in the pros, and if he can pick up a reliable go-to pitch after the fastball he could be a good pitcher in the future.
YouTube video link because I can't figure out how to make the video itself show up
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