Silly Sox Logic (What's New?)

Silly, silly Sox fans. When will you learn? I was catching up on posts yesterday over at Sox And Pinstripes and I came across a little blurb about Mike Mussina that made no sense whatsoever. It started out of the 2007 predictions. Sox fan Jeff went as far to predict that the Yankees wouldn't make the playoffs. No shock there. But here are the comments as to why:
"That's right, I do not think the Yankees will reach the playoffs. That dismal starting rotation is the reason why. Chien-Ming Wang has a hamstring injury, and that is an injury that lingers for months. Andy Pettitte already has an achy back. Mike Mussina is a dependable starter, but he was very hittable last season. Kei Igawa will be a decent middle reliever. And Carl Pavano is, well, Carl Pavano."
Mike Mussina was very hittable last season?? Oh really now? One of the greatest things about baseball is that it's so deep rooted in statistics. Everything can be tied to a number, and usually the numbers don't lie. Sure, you can twist the numbers, but when you use them as a basis for comparison, you can pretty much use them to settle any debate. So let's look at some stats, shall we? Mussina held opposing batters to a .241 batting average last year (43 points lower than he did in 2005). If you rank all AL starters that met the league standard for IP, Mussina was tied for 2nd in BAA (batting average against). He was tied with Ervin Santana and was behind Johan Santana. Mussina had a WHIP (Walks and Hits per innings pitched) of 1.11 (26 points lower than the year before). That was good enough to rank 3rd in the AL. He was again behind Santana, and was .01 behind Roy Halladay. Moose's ERA was 3.51 (90 points lower than in 2005). That was 4th best in the AL. He came in behind CC Sabathia and the aforementioned Santana and Halladay. I think it's pretty evident that Mussina was one of the top starting pitchers in the AL last year. I'd even argue in the top 5, maybe as high as top 3? To call Moose very hittable is one of the silliest things I've ever heard.
If he's considered very hittable, what does that say for every other starter in the AL? The numbers don't lie. Opponents hit .244 against him. Again, 3rd best in the AL. Very hittable? Please. I can't even fathom anyone with a logical mind making that statement, assuming of course that they looked up his numbers or paid attention in any game he started. But we're talking about Red Sox fans here, so I shouldn't be surprised. So of course, I presented the facts, which is what they are, and asked how that makes him very hittable. In typical Sox fan fashion, this was the response:
"J, Mussina had eight outings where he allowed four or more runs and several where he allowed 3. That isn't exactly untouchable. He was helped by the Yankees offense. He is definitely hittable, and he will be hit this season."
For starters, it was 9 games, and the Yankees went 3-6 in those games so he didn't exactly benefit from the offense that much in those outings. And what he failed to mention that Moose only had 5 starts where he gave up 4 or more earned runs. Now I think its safe to say that everyone that pays attention to baseball knows the name Johan Santana. He's highly regarded as the best starting pitcher in the game. Johan had 8 starts in 2006 in which he gave up 4 runs or more, 6 in which there were more than 4 earned runs. Again, Moose only had 5. For further comparison, Roy Halladay had 10 outings where her gave up 4 runs or more. And for fun, Curt Schilling had 11 and Josh Beckett had 14. So if Mike Mussina was very hittable last season, what does that say for the rest of the league? Again, silly Sox logic. You gotta love it. Always thinking they can justify something when they can't. Again, numbers don't lie. If Mussina is very hittable, everybody is very hittable. And if he's definitely hittable, what does that say for Schilling and Beckett?
It's so much fun to debunk Sox logic.
J-Boogie

Off To A Good Start

Nothing beats Opening Day. The Yankees won. The Red Sox lost (Schilling looked horrible-nice). All is right with the world. I took the day off from work to watch the opener. Unfortunately if you work where I work and do what I do, you never really have the day off from work. You end up doing something, which of course I did, which is sad b/c I don't have what I would call an important job. But there isn't a TV in front of me at work so I can't complain too much. I was psyched to see that my cable provider launched the YES Network in HD yesterday. Games are so much better in HD.
It was touching to see Cory Lidle's wife and son throw out the first pitch. I thought it was a class move by the Yankees. And was I the only one getting goosebumps when they were doing player introductions? I love this time of year.
I think Pavano pitched OK. It wasn't by any means a bad start and I don't think it was anywhere near as bad as his line would indicate. He was the victim of a few errors that might have changed his fortunes but that's how the game goes. Like I said a few days ago, if CP can pitch like he did in 2005, he'll easily win 15 games. If Randy Johnson can win 17 games with a 5 ERA, CP can win just as many if he can keep the ERA down. The runs came late today so he had a no-decision. I'll take it. This is one of the most prolific offenses ever assembled. It can make up for sub-par pitching.
The bats were out today. Two hits a-piece for Giambi, Abreu, A-Rod and Posada. A-Rod's dinger in the 8th was nice to see. I thought it was a well-deserved curtain call considering all he's endured. He's primed to have a monster year. This offense is going to put up some crazy numbers. 1000 runs easy if everyone stays healthy. As we saw today, even if the pitching is less than stellar, the offense can pick up the slack. I know they say that pitching and defense wins championships, but with a lineup like the Bombers, you can get by with giving up 5 runs and making 3 errors.
The Yankee bullpen looked awesome. 3 hits in 4 and 2/3. The bullpen gets my game ball. They shut the Rays down the second half of the game and that allowed the offense to take over. This bullpen excites me. How awesome was it to see Mo K the side to close it out. I can't wait to get me one of these. Every Yankee fan will want one.
Elijah Dukes is a monster. I've seen him a few times when Durham came through down. He's a big boy. I picked him up in a fantasy league before the game started when I saw he was slated to start in CF. I needed a back-up. Nice pick-up.
Gil Meche was worth every penny. That game was awesome.
Pettitte gets the ball Wednesday. That should be an awesome game. Unfortunately, I can't take that day off. I'd like to see his return to the Bronx. Thank God for XM.
I love Opening Day. Peace, love and Pinstripes
J-Boogie

Stat Line Of The Day

This is for the Sox fans who laughed when Carl Pavano was named Opening Day starter:
Carl Pavano: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Curt Schilling: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
CP is probably the Yankees 5th best starter. Schilling is widely thought of as the Sox best starter. How'd ya like dem apples?
Welcome to the bigs Okajima. 1st pitch in MLB hammered for a dinger. Impressive.
J-Boogie

Mission 27 Starts Now

Enjoy the opener!

2007 Predictions

I thought I'd post my 2007 predictions. Here they are:
AL East
Yankees
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Orioles
Devil Rays
AL Central
Tigers
Indians
White Sox
Twins
Royals
AL West
Angels
Mariners
Rangers
A's
NL East
Phillies
Mets
Braves
Nationals
Marlins
NL Central
Brewers
Astros
Cubs
Cardinals
Reds
Pirates
NL West
Dodgers
Padres
Diamondback
Giants
Rockies
ALDS: Yankees over Tigers, Angels over Indians
NLDS: Dodgers over Mets, Phillies over Brewers
ALCS: Angels over Yankees
NLCS: Dodgers over Phillies
World Series: Angels over Dodgers
Now I obviously want to see the Yankees take home #27, and I think they can, but I'm realistic, and I think they'll struggle in a short series. I hope I'm wrong. We'll find out. It all starts tonight.
J

Back To Baseball

T-minus 2 days. Aw yeah. Can you feel it? I can. With each passing second, my excitement level for Opening Day rises. Finally, baseball is back!
So, Yankee fan-favorite Carl Pavano is going to start the opener. I'm not sure why everyone is making such a big bruhaha over this. Sure not many of us are CP fans. Sure, he doesn't exactly have the best track record as a Yankee. But sometimes, circumstances change and you gotta do what you gotta do. Any the Yankees pretty much have no choice but to give the Pavano the ball. The setup for the rotation was setup long before Wang suffered his injury. I don't see the need to move Mussina or Pettitte into the role as it's senseless to take someone off their schedule just so they can wear the moniker "opening day starter." So CP, basically by default or for lack of a better option, will take the mound come Monday when the Yanks take on the D-Rays. As much as I don't like CP, he's not what I would classify as a horrible pitcher. Flashback to 2005 when he last pitched. In 17 games, CP posted a win-loss record of 4-6 with an ERA of 4.77. I know what you're thinking, 4-6 is a pretty crappy record, and you know what, I agree. What encourages me is the 4.77 ERA. Let's not forget that last year, Randy Johnson went 17-11 as a Yankee. His ERA was 5 on the money. Hey, Josh Beckett went 16-11 for the Red Sox and his ERA was 5.01. CP's record in 2005 was largely affected by the Yankees poor performance in the first half of the season. If CP had the 2007 Yankee lineup behind him in 2005, his record would have seen a dramatic improvement. Pitchers with high ERAs love run support. Just ask Johnson and Beckett. Again, Johnson won 17 games in 2006 with an ERA of 5. If you ask me, the 2007 Yankee lineup is much more potent than the 2006 lineup. If CP can keep his ERA in the 4-5 range, which I think he can, he will no doubt post a record similar to that of Johnson and Beckett. He'll have one of the best lineups ever assembled there to bail him out. What Yankee fan wouldn't love 15-17 wins from CP?
I'm extremely glad that the Yankee brass had the good sense to give Josh Phelps a much-deserved roster spot. Boy, he earned it. I've liked Phelps ever since he was in the Jays organization. Cashman made a nice move when he plucked Phelps away from the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft. If anyone out there can make for keeping Andy Phillips, I'd love to hear it. Just look at the spring numbers. At last look, Phelps was hitting .389 with an OPS of 1.056. Phillips hit .192 with an OPS of .384. I was never much of a Phillips fan. I only saw him as an inexpensive, low-quality back-up. Guys like that are a dime a dozen. Phelps has a much higher upside. It was the right move. No question. Lucky for the Yanks, Phillips passed through waivers, so technically, he's still a Yankee and can report to AAA Scranton. I'd honestly like to see Phelps become the regular starter over Dougie M. I know defense wins championships, and Doug is arguably one of, if not the best defensive first baseman in the game, but there is so much more to gain with Phelps bat in the lineup. My suggestions? For starters I'd play Mientkiewicz whenever Wang pitches and I'd play Phelps whenever Pavano pitches. Wang will benefit from the glove. Pavano will likely need the run support. Torre is no dummy, so I'm sure he'll manage it the right way. And would you look at that? Phelps just went yard against the Tigers. He's raised his average to .405. Can you dig it? Yes you can.
The Yankee bullpen is looking freaking phenomenal. Bruney, Henn, Vizcaino, Proctor, Myers, Farnsworth, and of course the anchor, the great-one, Mariano Rivera. This spring they've yielded 15 earned runs in 63 innings pitched. For the math-challenged out there, that's an ERA of 2.14. What makes that even more impressive is that Brian Bruney gave up 6 of the earned runs. Remove him from the equation and you've got a collective ERA of 1.47. Say it with my folks, and don't be shy, it's awesome. And Mariano has yet to give up a run this spring. The addition of a new change-up makes Mo so much more dangerous. He's shown so signs of slowing down. The greatest ever? I say so.
Despite Wang's injury, the Yankee rotation is looking sharp also. I've already talked about CP. Pettitte's spring ERA was 0.00. Moose has looked like typical Moose. And Igawa is looking better and better with each start. As I write this, he's shutting down the Tigers in the spring finale. It's going to be interesting to see how he does this season. I'm going on record right now, and stating that come season's end, Igawa will have had the better season than fellow Japanese import, the over-hyped Daisuke Matsuzaka. He'll definitely win more games than Matsuzaka. You can take that to the bank. And to those that think the Red Sox starting rotation is superior to the Yankees, I implore you to go check out Judas Priest's album "Screaming For Vengeance" and listen to track 8. It's the jam y'all.
As I stated up above, the 2007 Yankee lineup is much better than it was in 2006. I'll take Abreu over Sheffield any day of the week. I'm looking forward to a full year of Bobby Abreu in RF. He's having a monster spring, hitting over .400 and his bat seems to have a little of its pop back. Giambi will benefit from being a full-time DH. Melky can fill-in at any OF position if anyone needs a day off. And despite all the negativity surrounding A-Rod, I think this is the year he officially earns his stripes. He came into camp a lot leaner than he was in years past and that will no doubt help his defense as he'll be more agile and more flexible. He has a lot to prove, and if he really wants to stay in New York, he's going to put up some monster numbers. Hopefully, the boo-birds are absent from the Bronx.
The only thing that bums me out about this season is that as of right now, there is no Bernie Williams. Bernie has been a Yankee staple for pretty much my entire adult life. It's sad that after 16 seasons, Bernie's tenure with the Yankees has come to an end. I'm still holding out hope that we might see Bernie back in Pinstripes at some point this season, but I don't really see it happening. I am glad that he isn't suiting up in another uniform. That would be just weird. All the best Bernie.
The worst is over. The dark clouds have passed and what I like to refer to as "the void" (November through March) has been filled. Baseball is back, and if you're reading this blog I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say "LET'S PLAY BALL!!!"
Peace, love and Pinstripes.
J

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

As mentioned here in the Boogie Down 1 short month ago, the Red Sox have announced that Jonathan Papelbon will again assume the role of their closer. Here's what I said back in February:
"And what would my blog be without a little Red Sox talk. I'm not sure if there is any truth to this rumor, but a guy at work was telling me that the Sox have decided on their closer, they're just not announcing it yet. He said it was mentioned on ESPN, but I didn't see it. Apparently, it'll be Jonathan Papelbon. Let him start, let him close. I don't care. I personally see him getting lit up this year, especially if he starts. As a closer, he'll be alright, but an ERA of 2.5-3.5 is in the cards for him. If you think he's going to dominate and have another sub 1.00 ERA, come talk to me in October, so I can say I told you so. The league will figure him out."
Like I said back then, let him start, let him close, it won't matter. I don't think he has any chance of duplicating the success he had last season. And I wouldn't be surprised if like last year, his arm/shoulder burns out sometime late in the season, regardless of the precautions that the Sox take with the hurler. It should be interesting to see how Julian Tavarez performs as the Sox 5th starter. So much for the Sox rotation being far superior to the Yankees. As I said a few weeks back, at best the Sox rotation was on par with the Yankees. I think the Sox took a step back here pitching wise. In 10 short days, we'll begin to find out if I'm right.
And hair or not, Papelbon will always be Private Pyle to me.
J-Boogie

Kick Me In The Grill

Oh Manny. ManRam must be strapped for cash. He's selling his grill on EBay. The grill comes with an autographed ball signed by Manny. The current high bid is $99,999,999.00. Something tells me that's not a legit bid. Any why the 2nd highest bidder hasn't come in and bumped it up 99 cents is beyond me. Anyway, message to Manny: Do the right thing and give this, or the proceeds, to charity. You make $20 million plus.
By all accounts, this sounds legit. The best part of the listing are the pictures with Manny and the grill. Hysterical.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Manny-Ramirez-JENN-AIR-Grill_W0QQitemZ120099426399QQcategoryZ204QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
J
ps- sign up for the all-MLBlogger Yahoo fantasy baseball league. See the previous post

A-Rod Rumor

According to HalosHeaven.com, the Yanks and Angels have a deal worked out that would send A-Rod to the Angels for Jared Weaver, Dustin Moseley, and Jose Molina. I really hope Cashman is smarter than that b/c in my eyes, that deal blows like my cousin Brianne when she appeared in Nip/Tuck (sorry, I love the reference).
For starters, what need could their possibly be for Jose Molina. A soon-to-be 32 year old catcher that would no doubt serve as the backup to Posada. A career OPS of .626. There's a turn on. And Moseley. Admittedly, I don't know much about the cat, but do the Yankees really need another mid-20s starting pitcher when they already have so many? Jared Weaver had a solid debut and all, but he is a Weaver, and we Yankee fans remember his brother Jeff's go-around in Pinstripes. Don't get me wrong, Jared by most accounts has the stuff to be a top-level starter. But again, do the Yankees really need another young starter?
This deal sounds so preposterous that I can't buy it. I don't fault the Yankees for trying to shop A-Rod around. If they honestly feel he's bouncing after 2K7, why not try to get something in return? But there's a lot more to be had than Weaver, Moseley, and Molina. I hope this is idle chatter, b/c this deal, if it happened as stated, would be horrible for the bombers in my opinion. That would be a huge loss in offensive production for a marginal gain in the rotation. There are young enough arms stockpiled on the farm.
We'll have to wait and see.
Peace, love, and Pinstripes.
J

Thank God For Tax Returns

With the start of the season rapidly approaching, today was a good day to drop some coin on the necessities for the upcoming season. I picked up 36 official MLB baseballs for autographs. If anyone is ever looking for baseballs, the place to go is Anaconda Sports. 3 dozen balls plus tax and shipping and it comes out to less than $10 a ball. You can't really beat that price. Sure you don't get the pre-packaged ball-cube, but you can buy a much higher quality cube for far less than the difference. I highly recommend them for anyone looking to buy official balls in quantity.
I also picked up one of the new Yankee BP jerseys. I really like it with the white on the jersey. Much better than the all blue BP jerseys. I'd pick up one of the official game jerseys, but something about wearing a $200 shirt that will get beer spilled all over it doesn't sound like a good idea. And I'm not a replica jersey kind-of-guy, especially a Yankee one with the name on it. Like the new BP hats, they're not for me.
Peace, love and Pinstripes.
J-Boog