Reform the Draft. Slightly.

Many, many people are writing that the Yankees bought another championship.  Yes, they had the highest payroll in baseball.  In fact they have had the highest payroll for a number of years, even when they didn’t win but I will deal with that in another post. As a result of the most expensive team being the best team, people have been calling for some sort of salary cap system in baseball.  I don’t feel like getting into my issues with how that should work and whether or not it would actually help.  However, there is one thing that needs to be changed and that is the MLB Draft.  And remember, the draft isn’t 100 years old.  Its 44 years old.  That is middle age.  It isn’t even a baby boomer.  And most 44 year olds are on medications. So by default the MLB Draft should need some medication to keep it running smoothly.

Steven Strasburg was drafted Number 1 by arguably the worst team in baseball, the Washington Nationals.  That is the good part.  The bad part is that he didn’t throw a single pitch for them the year he was signed and he wasn’t officially signed until August of 2009.  He was represented of course by infamous douchebag, Scott Boras.  Strasburg finally inked a 15.1 Million dollar, four-year deal.  He of course, hasn’t thrown a single pitch in the major leagues yet he is being paid as much as some teams bullpens are perhaps the majority of their starting rotation.  The Nationals average 22,716 people per game in attendance which makes them 24th in the league.  Putting a guy like Strasburg in the rotation would have seriously helped that number at least every 5 days.  The point being. Strasburg could have been an immediate impact to his team, but he wasn’t.  Instead he was an immediate distraction and was almost a huge missed opportunity for the Nationals.  So how do we fix this?

I propose something simple.  I would keep the general layout of the draft but I would recommend that the league mandate a signing price for every number of the draft.  Why should anyone signed make more than league minimum.  Mike Piazza was drafted extremely low, 62nd Round, as a favor to Tommy Lasorda and he outperformed almost every one in his draft class including #1 Andy Benes.  My point is, being drafted #1 does not mean that you are going to be an injury free superstar.  Everyone in the draft should make league minimum.  A signing bonus should be modest and should be mandated according to your slot.  This would allow the teams that need talent to acquire talent without breaking the bank for one player, when one player is clearly not enough to give them a winning season.

I say reform the draft and it will reform baseball.

Number 27! Next stop, Canyon of Heroes.

The Yankees Celebrate #27

The Yankees won their 27th World Series.  They christened the new stadium, the house that Jeter (and Mo) built.  They silenced the demons from the 2004 collapse.  They ended a great season in the greatest way possible proving that the Yankees are the best team in baseball.  The Yanks tallied up 103 regular season wins and put together a sparkling postseason performance against two very, very good teams.  Matsui forever emblazoned his name in Yankee lore by tying the record for most RBI in a World Series with 6 RBI.  He had two brilliant games (Game 2 and Game 6, both pitched by Pedro) and as a result deservedly won the World Series MVP trophy.  In two weeks we won’t be thinking about who won the MVP so I am not going to argue that it was given to the wrong player.  Matsui absolutely deserved it.

#1. Johnny Damon:  Damon hit an astounding .364 going 8 for 22 in the World Series.  He had 4 RBI and 3 BB.  Johnny had a postseason to remember, seemingly never making outs after an abysmal ALDS.  He nearly threw someone out at the plate, had the at bat (against Brad Lidge game 4 in Philadelphia) that turned the series from a probable win to a definite win.  That at bat knocked Lidge out of the series and won a pivotal game 4 to put the Yankees up 3-1.  Following the at bat he had the improbable steal of 2nd and then 3rd on the same pitch giving him 3 SB for the series.

#2. Alex Rodriguez: He silenced the demons and the critics with a few swings of the bat.  After he “hit rock bottom” (his words) A-rod decided it was time to climb to the top.  He hit .455 in the ALDS, .429 in the ALCS and .250 in the WS (with an OBP of .423).  A-rod didn’t just get hits, he got HUGE hits.  6 home runs, 18 RBI and most of them super-duper clutch.  He won games, he tied games and most importantly for Alex, he didn’t lose games.  He became the type of Yankee that the fans desperately wanted up in a big spot.  A-Rod became the Yankees version of Ryan Howard’s, “get me to the plate” quote.

#3. Damaso Marte:  He has to be mentioned in any discussion about the Yankees 2009 postseason.  If there was an unsung hero award, it would go to Marte.  Think about this: with the Yankees bullpen falling apart at the seams, Marte stepped up throwing 2.2 innings (8 batters), 0 hits, 0 walks and 5 strikeouts.  These were BIG outs.  For example, in the clinching game he struck out Utley and Howard back to back to complete the “bridge to Mo.”  Marte seemingly came out of nowhere after a poor season plagued by injuries.  When the season ended, Yankees fans and Joe Girardi probably had the least amount of faith in Marte getting outs.  However, when the lights were shining the brightest Marte put it all together, just in the nick of time.

I am already counting down to pitchers and catchers…

Phillies on the Brink

This just about sums up the feelings of the Phillies fans

Well, it’s Monday morning and Ryan Howard still hasn’t touched home plate. AJ Burnett demanded the ball on short rest and Cliff Lee is preparing as usual for a must-win game 5. Chase Utley is greasing his hair and CC Sabathia is trimming up Nick Swisher’s new hairdo.  Brad Lidge is still shaking in a corner and calling for his mommy and Damaso Marte is sacrificing a chicken to some cult that allows him to pitch like a genius.  It’s business as usual as we look forward to a possible World Series clinching game 5.

The matchup clearly favors the Phillies with Jose Molina batting 7th, Gardner most likely filling in at 8th and Burnett batting 9th.  The Yankees have a severely depleted lineup.  Girardi might want to switch Cano and Swisher as Cano looks completely lost this postseason. The Phillies have the advantage of Cliff Lee. His Postseason has historic numbers, an ERA of 0.54, 33.1 innings pitched and 30 strikeouts.  He was brilliant in Game 1.  If you saw his numbers combined with Utley’s absurd batting, you would think the Phillies were on the brink of clinching the world series.  But they aren’t.  Instead they are in a 3 – 1 whole, needing 3 straight wins to lock up another World Series title.   I picked the Yankees in 6 games and I am still sticking to it.  I do think the Yankees will get Cliff Lee out of the game by the 8th inning and from that point on the matchups favor the Yankee bats, but I think the Phillies pull this one out and the Yankees close it out Wednesday night in the Bronx, christening the new stadium.

However, if I am wrong, and the Yankees clinch tonight it will be because AJ Burnett was as brilliant as he was in game 2.  If that is so, AJ Burnett, the Yankees biggest question mark going into the postseason, could walk out a World Series MVP.

Are you Shi*%ing me!? This is Mine!

This is mine! Are you shi*%ing me? This is mine!

Ah, the ALCS Game 6.   The New York Yankees  can’t close out a team named the Angels again, no matter what town they are currently residing in linguistically.  There were a number of managing gaffs on both sides last night.  Of course, there was the inexplicable, awful call by first base umpire, Dale Scott.  But in the end it was the Angels who battled back against a confused Yankees bullpen that couldn’t find the strike zone when it needed to and almost never threw the right pitch to the right batter.

Something interesting occurred in the game: both starting pitchers had personal catchers behind the plate.  John Lackey was throwing to Jeff Mathis and AJ Burnett was throwing to his catcher, Jose Molina.  For one team it worked out and for one team, it didn’t. “John John Lackey and the Accucast” threw brilliantly until he lost his mind when home plate umpire, and renowned hick, Fieldin Culbreth called a pitch inside against Hip-Hip-Jorge Posada.  Also, Jeff Mathis went crazy at the dish going 3-for-4.  Mathis is now hitting a solid .600 in this series and killing the Yankees, including his game 3 heroics.  As for the Yankees battery mates, Burnett gave up 4 runs before recording an out in the bottom of the 1st inning.  After Jose Molina was pinch hit for, Burnett pitched quite well to Posada until Freakin’ Girardi, for no plausible reason, let AJ go back out there  in the 7th.

So, enough already.  Enough with the personal catcher for AJ Burnett.  Let’s get Posada in the lineup to protect ARod.  Furthermore, could Brett Gardner really be any worse than Nick Swisher, who went 0-for-5 last night and is now hitting a less-than-solid .118 (2-for-17 with 3 BB’s) in the ALCS?  Swisher went 1-for-12 in the ALDS which computes to, hold your breath, .083.  Also, someone call Joe Freakin’ Girardi and let him know that David Robertson is still on the roster and has been far and away the best pitcher in the Yankees bullpen (2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in the 2009 postseason).  He should get at least 1 chance to throw the 7th or 8th inning after the performances of Joba Chamberlain and Phil “4:13″  Hughes.  Can someone please get Joba a new hat?

A Modest Proposal

Some people are rather angry at umpires.

I understand that this list of umpire ratings is from the 2007 season but I think that it is sufficient to help me make my point.

The umpiring this year has been downright awful and the postseason has unfortunately been no exception.  Even with the league’s “best” umpires at the helm, the amount of blown calls each game has been pitiful.  Not only has the amount been unacceptable, we have seen misinterpretations of rules and calls that are wrong by inches let alone feet.  Because I fear replay in Baseball, I have a suggested solution.

As the umpire ratings show, an umpire will see maybe 36 games a year behind the plate.  To me, that is not enough.  Umpires are constantly compared to baseball players as of late so I think they should be treated like baseball players.

You don’t see a 2nd baseman asked to play 1st, the outfield or any other position.  They play the position they are best at.  So here is what I suggest: create a pay scale and pay umpires by the position they umpire.  Home plate would be reserved for the best umps are and therefore they would make the most, and be the crew chief.  Second would be the third base and first base umpire.  Lastly, the second base umpire.  This would encourage umpires to become better at what they do and compete for the best job on the field through their performance and accuracy.

The current system of seniority is not going to work.  This is especially true since it seems that umpires almost never get fired.  They are like supreme court justices in that their terms are for life.  Let’s find out what each ump is best at and have him do that one job only.  Tim McClelland has proven this postseason that there is no correlation between seniority and accuracy (in fact the relationship may be inverse).

Update / Addendum

A number of people have mentioned that the main problem with my suggestion is that an Umpire takes more wear behind home plate than he would at any other position.  I don’t contest that.  A catcher can last 15 years behind the plate, sometimes more.  So I will assume an ump can last about that long.  So I suggest this: what is the problem with umps working for more than 15 years behind the plate? Why should they? We have seen that age directly relates, in most cases, maybe not Mr. Froemming, to a lack of judgment.  Basically, the older an ump gets the worse he gets.  When an ump has taken enough abuse he can either (a) retire or (b) get some cushy semi-retirement where he platoons at one of the bases until his retirement.  Umps don’t need to be in the game longer than the average player.  They aren’t bank executives.  They have to run and move quickly to be in position.  Most importantly, their confidence and eyesight has to be top notch, just like players.  The game moves fast when the plays are occurring and we need sharp umps – not computers.  I just want to hold umps to the same standard that everyone else in this wonderful sport is held.

Farewell….

The Man, The Legend

Francisco Cervelli has been sent back to the minors.  He did a great job while he was up in the big leagues.  Just want to wish him the best and can’t wait to see him in September. You can check out his more than impressive stats here.

Time for Yankee Changes

There has been a ton of speculation as to  when Joe  Girardi will be replaced and who will replace him.  Here is my two cents:

If you ask me, Tony Pena should have been made manager years ago.  I think he has a unique connection with the players and seems to really rile them up.  I think the younger guys on this team, those who can’t manage themselves, would benefit from a
“player’s manager” kind of guy. I always liked Pena and I think he is the best choice to head up the regime change as he is next in line.

My drastic, outside the box thinking comes when we talk about who should replace Pena.  I think that the one and only John Flaherty should replace him.  Flaherty is the only Yankee voice that I have heard tell anything like it is.  I think his honesty, calmness and knowledge of the  game would make him an excellent bench coach and I believe he will one day be an important member of someones staff.

Just sayin…

Flaherty demonstrating that he is the "Best Man"

Just a Little Yard Work

Cervelli!

Congratulations to Francisco Cervelli who just hit his first Major League homerun.  Let’s hope that this is the hit that awakens the Yankee bats.

The Mets are the cause of Swine Flu

Swinfe Flu

It know it’s bad to joke but apparently the Mets have a possible outbreak of Swine Flu in their clubhouse.  John Maine is rather ill.  Beltran has a “stomach bug.”  Most importantly:

“A member of the Mets’ traveling party has been hospitalized in Pittsburgh with a possible case of swine flu, according to a New York Post report.

The person is part of the SNY broadcast crew that travels with the club, the report said. The crew member is apparently in isolation at the hospital.” – My Fox NY

I hope everyone recovers and that they don’t have the Swine Flu.  Best of luck to those living in and around Citifield.

Lies, Lies and Walk-Offs

 

Alexander the Great

NEW YORK — With 45,455 fans on their feet, a smiling Alex Rodriguez stood on the field at new Yankee Stadium, taking in every second, as he did a 360-degree turn before finally uttering just one syllable.

“Wow.”

That is how Yankees.com opens up their summary of yesterday’s walk-off win for the Yanks.  I have one word for them, “lies.”  

I was lucky enough to be at the game and I can attest that there is no chance that more than 10,000 fans were left at the game.  The place was never full.  Giving away tickets to season ticket holders doesn’t mean the park is sold-out.  It was kind of depressing.  The lower level seats really are empty, like 30% full.  It’s a very odd feeling.  

My gripe is this: The Yankees have to stop selling an image.  It would be much easier to sell a winning team.  The Hard Rock Cafe and all that garbage around the stadium is certainly nice.  A great place to retreat during rain or unbearably hot days but it serves as little more than a distraction for me.  The Yankees front office has to admit that the plan they had for the new stadium just isn’t working.  Lower the damn ticket prices and let fans attend the games please.

Lies aside, the game was a great one.  Two walk-off wins in a row not to count Texeira going 4-4 with a walk that allowed A-Rod the chance to win it in the eleventh.