Yankee Stadium + Toronto @ New York, June 5th, 2008

I originally intended to post this earlier in June, but I suddenly got swamped and extracurricular activity dwindled to zero. But I was so struck with Yankee Stadium and the aura that surrounds it that I knew eventually I had to get my thoughts down on paper... er, computer monitor. So, as my June 5th, 2008, visit to Yankee Stadium still freshly lingers in my mind, here is the account and impressions of my visit.

My wife and I went to New York City for a couple of days during the first week of June. There was Times Square and Greenwich Village and all that, but we were mostly there for Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium, the one Ruth built, will be demolished following the '08 season. Initially I was saddened to hear this, but the more I thought about it and the more I considered the make-up of the new stadium the more I felt that this wasn't such a bad thing after all. A lot of the original old timeyness was chucked out the door during the renovations of the 1970s, and the most historical part of Yankee Stadium, Memorial Park, will be transplanted to the new stadium. They're bringing back the frilly frieze and field dimensions will remain unchanged. Also, and there's no way I could have known this without visiting the stadium itself, the inside of Yankee Stadium (all that area between the gates and the field) is cramped and dank. New Yankee Stadium will feature a "Great Hall" and ample walking room. When you're mashed up against thousands of sweaty New Yorkers you'll take all the breathing room you can get.

And honestly, when it comes down to it, it's just concrete, right? The house isn't as important as those who live within it, and the game itself isn't going to change.

My biggest gripe against the new stadium is that its seating capacity will be 6,000 fewer than the current one. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Obviously with fewer seats there will be higher demand for tickets, thus tickets prices will be high. But with a new stadium (especially a new Yankee Stadium) every seat will sell regardless of the price, be there 50,000 or 70,000. Additionally the rise of ticket costs will likely prevent a lot of Joe Sportsfans from snagging what were once cheap seats. Rich people are allowed to be baseball fans too, but they're a lot less fun to hang around, and they're intolerable when they fill a stadium.

Anyway, even though Yankee Stadium may be "just concrete," there's still enough history and mystique there to lure me hundreds of miles just to be a part of its final year of existance.


New York subways, for all the crap they get (figuratively and literally), are actually efficient and easy modes of transportation. After seeing what goes on above ground I couldn't imagine going borough-to-borough in a car. And if you drove you'd miss out on being in a tube full of baseball fans going to the same game. It gets crowded down there, especially on the stadium stops, but if you can't deal with a crowd then you shouldn't be going to baseball games in the first place.

As we climbed the stairs to ground-level we could see the facade of the new stadium. It's large and impressive, like the outer shell to a mighty coliseum. I knew the insides still looked like churned up dirt and rocks, but it was a good start.

The current of bodies lead us to our gate. There were two discernable mobs; there was the initial mob which got filtered through friskers (I was clean, but that was the quickest unthoroughest frisk ever) to the second mob, which was supposedly a lineup to the ticket-takers. People tried to secure some sort of spot for themselves, but all they ended up doing was blocking the freshly frisked from entering. There was a little bit of confusion until a big-voiced usher kindly demanded that everybody "move to the left... you WILL get in." And you know what, he was right. And even though there were gobs of people all trying to mash themselves into the same space, this whole process only took a few minutes.

The insides, as mentioned before, were slim, but the crowds eased up as people went through tunnels to find their respective tiers, rows, and seats. Eventually, upon the upper deck and behind home plate, we found ours. All of those classic pictures of the field were likely taken near our seats, and we had a great panoramic view of everything.

Unfortunately Bob Sheppard wasn't in attendance, at least not in the PA booth. He's been out all season with a bronchial infection and was once again unable to announce the players. There was one exception, though. Derek Jeter, in lieu of Bob Sheppard actually announcing his plate appearances, has requested that Sheppard's recorded voice make the announcement.

Like in most stadiums I've been to, many of the ticket holders were fashionably late. It initially didn't appear as though the stadium would fill out, but a few innings later the place was packed. What was disappointing, at least to me, was the number of patrons who filed out early. The game was a close one, but people started leaving soon after the seventh inning stretch. I understand wanting to beat the rush, especially to the subway, but I felt as though people were taking their team for granted. Too bad for them though because they missed a tremendous finale, which I'll get to later.

Speaking of the seventh inning stretch, I knew beforehand that they (meaning those in charge of stadium operations) play "God Bless America" before ye olde "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." I read somewhere that while "GBA" blares over the PA ushers actually block the aisles so people can't wander around during the duration of the song. This is half true. From the upper deck I peeked over the rails and saw that the ushers below did indeed block the aisles. People love to be forced into reverence. Up in our half of the stadium though the aisles and tunnels were free and clear. God bless America and God bless being allowed to go to the bathroom.

The game itself was fantastic. Chien-Ming Wang and his sinker started for New York, and Dustin McGowan and his mutton chops started for Toronto. The Yanks scored two quick runs in the first, then the Jays tied it up in the fourth when Matt Stairs hit a 2-run homer. The Blue Jays went on to score five more runs in the fifth, knocking Wang out of the game. The Yankees responded with two runs themselves in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth. It remained 7-6, Blue Jay lead, until the ninth inning. Matt Stairs knocked another one, a ground-rule double, to score Alex Rios. Scott Rolen ended up on third with no outs, but he was unable to score.

Eight to six Toronto lead, bottom of the ninth.
Derek Jeter grounded out to third. One out.
Bobby Abreu lined out to center. Two outs.
Alex Rodriguez... Rodriguez singled to left, then advanced during Hideki Matsui's plate appearance due to "fielder indifference."
Then Matsui singled to center and Rodriguez came around to score.
Eight to seven Toronto lead, two outs, Matsui on first, Jason Giambi pinch hitting.
Swing and a miss. Strike one.
Foul ball. Strike two. The Yankees down to their last strike.
Then Giambi crushed the ball down the right field line. It was obviously far enough to clear the wall, but would it stay fair? After I lost sight of the ball I looked for the umpire. He was waving his finger in a circle. Yankees won on a walk-off home run by Giambi. The team swarmed Giambi at the plate and the crowd stood for several minutes applauding. People were cheering as we finally exited the stadium. People cheered all the way into the subway. What a great way to end a day at Yankee Stadium.

2008 Opening Day Live Blog

Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers. Channel 43.
I missed the first batter because I was taking out garbage. Stinky kitchens are no good, and I'll miss a first pitch to fix a stinky kitchen situation every time.

Justin Verlander on the mound for the Tigers. He's looking pretty solid, but it is only the first inning.

Mark Grudzielanek reached first when the first baseman bobbled the catch. Actually, Grudzy's name is so long his uniform reached base thirty seconds before he did. Not really? Okay.

Blue Jays vs New York Yankees. Channel 22.
...Rain delay?! What the fork? Oh well. This'll make my channel flipping a much easier thing to deal with.

Channel 43.
Gil Meche on the mound for the Royals. The Royals are full of questions marks, each of which will be answered by the end of the season. Meche himself is a question mark. Will he have a good season? A poor one? He had a surprisingly good season last year, but he was only so-so with Seattle prior to that. Of course, much of his performance will rely on how well the rest of the team hits and fields, and much of that is as questionable as Meche is. It's a big confusing circle.

Meche unquestionably walked Gary Sheffield (who I hear is a pleasant and agreeable person) and gives up a single to the Big Tilde.
I'm also paying close attention to Meche because he's on my fantasy baseball team. But none of you would care about that so I won't mention it again.

Channel 22.
Rain delay.

Channel 43.
The first and third base coaches look dumb in helmets. It's one thing to voluntarily wear the helmet. Colorado first base coach Glenallen Hill was the first to don a helmet following the death of a minor league coach, and I applaud him for it. But an isolated incident shouldn't be the basis for a rule that requires coaches to wear a helmet. Silly. And probably uncomfortable. A few agree.

ANYWAY
Bottom of the second, Carlos Guillen on second, and Meche striking the crap out of Ivan Rodriguez.

Detroit's going to be good this year. I'm already awarding them the AL Central title. The Royals... like I mentioned before, I just don't know. And since I don't know I think it's okay to be optimistic about the team. Not TOO optimistic, but they'll certainly be better than the last couple seasons. Right now they're battling with the Orioles for the status of "American League Punchline". If the Royals are solid enough this season then maybe they'll be omitted from that contention.

Meche walked another. Two walks, two innings.
Edgar Rentaria + single up the middle = first Tiger run of the 2008 season.

Channel 22.
Rain Delay.

Channel 43.
Commercials.
Why is the TV flickering? I don't know if the signal is bad, if the TV crew in Detroit doesn't know how to properly use an outlet, or if somebody on my floor is running a vaccum. How annoying.

I'm eating a bowl of noodles. The spicy chinese kind you make with boiling water. It's pretty good.

That half-inning came and went. It was unremarkable. Verlander struck somebody out. Three for him. Three strikeouts in three innings.

Meche back on the mound, striking out an overly upset Gary Sheffield. Magglio enacts Sheff's revenge by doubling to right. His hair might be disgusting, but his swing is a very pretty thing.

Miguel Cabrera, fresh from Florida. I'll be keeping an eye on him this season. I'll also be keeping an eye on Dontrelle Willis who came to Detroit from Florida as part of that same deal. I don't even remember who the other players involved were.

Groundout, by the way.
Two down, bottom of the third.

Carlos Guillen... another hit! A single to right. Magglio chugging around third. Chugging... chugging... still chugging... good grief he's slow. Thrown out at the plate by ten feet.
New inning.

Channel 22.
Spicy Baconater commercial. Those things are pretty good. It's the jalapenos that make them noticeably spicy, but unfortunately I don't like the taste of jalapenos. The rest of the burger is great, but if I brush off the jalapenos, what's the point?

Rain delay continues.

Channel 43.
Grudz on first base again. How did that happen? He looks a bit shaken up. What happened??

In Grudzy's first at bat, the one where the first baseman dropped the ball, they bumped into each other. If there's going to be an incident every time Grudzielanek reaches first base then he's in for a long season.

Oh. Hit by pitch. Grimace explained.

The Royals, by the way, have yet to get a hit. Top of the fourth. One down thanks to Alex Gordon hitting into a fielder's choice. Grudzy's free to nurse his boo-boos in the dugout.

The Royals have a Jose Guillen. The Tigers have a Carlos Guillen. Jose strikes out. Carlos points and laughs.

Bob Dylan has a great song called "Catfish". It's about Catfish Hunter and is probably the only song ever to mention Charles O. Finley. Check it out.

Bottom of the fourth time.

Channel 22.
Large white tarp covering Yankee Stadium's infield. How depressing.

Channel 43.
Since 1901 which team has played the Tigers the most times in Detroit on opening day? The Afflac duck tells me it's the Indians.

Ivan Rodriguez (or Pudge-Rod) singles to center.

Jacque Jones at bat. Cubbie last year. Tiger this year. It's like he's a fully grown animal now. Strikes out like a big freaking baby, though.

Bottom of the fourth, one out. Tigers up 1 to 0.
It looks really gray in Detroit. Gray and cold. That makes since because Detroit is two hours west of here, and here it's gray and cold.

Brandon Inge up, whose name sounds and looks like a suffix. Doubles like a suffix.

Doesn't look good for the Mecher. He's given up seven hits in under four pitched innings. So far he's been fortunate to have only allowed one run, but I'm not sure he'll get out of this one cleanly. Especially after WALKING A MAN TO LOAD THE BASES. Still one out.

Placido Polanco looking to blast things open. That man has a huge head. Look at it next time he has his hat off.

Wow. PP flied (flew?) out to Jose Guillen in right field. Pudge couldn't tag up and score from third because Guillen fired that thing right back to home plate. Good show. Two down.

Gary and his Field of Sheff at the plate.
FULL COUNT. BASES LOADED.
...the pitch...
...it's...
...
...low. Ball four. Add one run.

Tigers 2.
Royals 0.

The Royals got a hit last half-inning. I forgot to mention that. Billy Butler with KC's first hit of the season.

Anyway, Magglio Ordonez, who is a terrifically awesome hitter, will probably hit a grand slam here.

...Pop fly to left. But he was thinking about it.

And how in the world did Gil Meche get out of that crap with only one earned run?! Meche: the luckiest man in baseball.

Channel 22.
Game officially postponed. I'm sure the Yankee fans would riot, but the rain probably wouldn't do much for the mob fires.

Channel... oh, wait. They're just showing the KC/Detroit game on this channel now. This is great because this channel doesn't flicker. I win.

John Buck at bat for the Royals.
John Buck struck out for the Royals.
Verlander really is averaging a strikeout an inning.

The ump just gave the Royal bench a warning. Probably arguing balls and strikes. Probably unnecessary whining.

Strikeout number six. So much for the one-strikeout-one-inning ratio.

I'm obviously not calling every play and every out and every pitch. Check a box for that stuff.

Bottom of the fifth.

Miguel Cabrera... with Detroit's first homer of the season.
...with his first homer as a Tiger.
...with his first American League homer.

Tigers 3
Royals 0

Good grief. Pudge hit it all the way to the track. Had it been down the line it might've gone out. Perhaps this is why Brett Tomko is warming up in the bullpen.

Quick inning otherwise.
Top of the sixth.

I've got the TV volume turned low and the media player volume turned high (hence the random mentioning of the Bob Dylan tune a while ago). Just thought you should know, and I'll mention any other interesting songs that randomly come up.

The best and worst thing about these noodle bowls are the completely bizarre things you'll find in them. Like this... it looks like Lisa Simpson's head with a red spiral in it. I have no idea.

Grudzielanek at bat for KC. Probably about to hurt himself somehow.
Non! A base hit. Just the second for the Royals.

There's only been one opening day no-hitter. Bob Feller for the Indians against the White Sox. 1940. Those things don't happen very often.

WOWIE. Alex Gordon just beat the cheese out of the ball. Homer deep to right. Suddenly the Royals are back in this.

Tigers 3
Royals 2

Royals with only three hits but with two runs. Compare that to the Tigers EIGHT hits, but three runs.

Bottom of the... where are we? Fifth? Sixth.

Meche is still in there (as he gives up a deep popfly out to Inge), but I suspect that if he gets into the trouble he saw last inning they'll probably pull him.

Another quick popfly out. Two down.

Have I been spelling "popfly" consistently? "Pop fly" vs "popfly". From now on it's one word.

Pop... I mean, GROUNDball out. That was quick.

Top seventh.

Neat. There's a sweet statue of a sliding Ty Cobb outside ComericA (no typo) Stadium. I don't doubt that statue will find some way to spike a second baseman somewhere.

Verlander's getting close to the 100-pitch mark. I don't know if he'll be back next inning or not, especially now that there are runners on first and third. Yeah, I don't know how it happened either.

...And now there'll be a pitching change. Let's all welcome Jason Grilli.

John Buck with a basehit. Tie ballgame. He took some hefty empty cuts, but finally he connected roundly enough to poke a single to left.

Tigers 3
Royals 3

Top seventh (still), NO OUTS, KC runners on first and second.

Tony Pena, Jr., at bat trying hard to bunt the ball. Foul. Foul X2. He'll have to swing now. He might as well have kept bunting. All he did was get the runner at first out in a rundown. We call that a fielder's choice. We call that a big waste of time.

Still a man on first, still a man on third. One out.

Pitching change. Good work, Grilli. I guess.

Now on the mound, Bobby Seay. A lefty to face lefty Joey Gathright. Gentle fly to short.

Pitching change. Good work, Seay. I guess.

Now on the mound, Aquilino Lopez. Who? He pitched 17 innings last year, none of which I saw. Grudz must have been watching the video, though, 'cause he just single to center like it was nothing. Go-ahead run.

Tigers 3
Royals 4

Alex Gordon pops to end the inning.
This game is turning out to be a little bit exciting.

Bottom seventh.

Brett Tomko now pitching for the Royals. I thought maybe Meche might come back, but that long Royal rally probably didn't help things. Also I have no idea how many pitches Meche threw.

Full count on Sheff. Ball four. Walk. Three walks for Gary. Give the man a pitch to hit.

Magglio up again. Grounds into a double play.

Miguel Cabrera at bat. Homered last time just because he wanted to. Stikes out this time. Just because he wanted to.

Top of the eighth.

Aquilino still pitching for Detroit.
One pop out.
Two pop outs.

Teahen slaps one to the gap and has the Royals' first triple of 2008.

...All for naught, though, as Ross Gload grounds out.

Bottom of the eighth.

Tomko, still in.
Carlos Guillen... way out. WAAAY out. To deep right.

Detroit 4
Royals 4

If I poked my head out the window I could probably hear the crowd cheering from Detroit. Not really.

Two outs.
I wasn't paying attention. WW, as it were.

Beach balls in center field. Stop that.

Strike three, Inge out.

Top nine.

Todd "Handlebar moustache man" Jones now pitching. I guess the Tigers are expecting to close this one out in the bottom of the ninth or something. Ninth or tenth. Either way Jones usually makes things interesting.

John Buck is just hackin' and hackin'. Like, with his bat. If he was coughing that'd be pretty gross. Let's see if he can keep one fair, though.

He does, and it's a dinky little ground out.

TP, Jr., just strike threed on a pitch near his face. Gotta learn to lay off the ones in your teeth.

Gathright popout. Three outs.

Bottom nine.

Royals manager Trey Hillman looks angry and scary. If as the KC manager he's this hosed at the beginning of the year, just wait until... well, anyway.

Leo Nunez pitching for the Royals. Striking out Renteria.

Polanco... lining out to a diving Grudzielanek. I wish Grudzy would stop doing so much this game because his name is very hard to spell.

Sheffield at bat. Full count already. The pitch...
Ball four. Gary Sheffield has walked four times this game.

But why? Magglio Ordonez bats behind him. Would you rather face the Big Tilde?? (As he harmlessly pops out to the first baseman. I won't talk anymore.)

Top ten.

Trey Hillman, it's worth noting, managed in Japan from 2003 to 2007. He was a Nippon-Ham Fighter. I only wish I could play for a team called the Ham Fighters. Fighters of Nippon-Ham, I suppose. But still...

Denny Bautista taking Todd Jones' place. I understand.

Mark Grudzielanek at bat. Grudzielanek at first. Single to left.

Now's Alex Gorden. Remember he homered earlier. He could totally do it again.

They snuck in a pinch runner. No longer will I have to spell out Grudzielanek. Now running, Esteban German. Esteban and German rhyme.

You know what else rhymes? Esteban German stealing a BASE, right out from under your FACE.

Go-ahead run on second, one out (Alex Gordon was useless), Jose Guillen at bat.
Score tied.
Extra innings.

Guillen struck right out. Two down.

Billy Butler hit the ball pretty hard, but lined it to the left fielder (Clete Thomas?), who made some sort of sissy jump to catch the ball.

Bottom ten.

Extra innings on opening day. How exciting.

Leo Nunez, who's a flailer, is still on the mound for KC. Miguel Cabrera at bat. But not anymore. One out.

Carlos Guillen, popout to center. It was deep enough for people to think, at least for a split second, that the game was over. Two down.

The Tigers have played in the longest opening day game against the Indians (Afflac duck!) when they went 15 innings in 1960. Detroit won, 4-2.

Nunez has a hot fastball. 97 mph. Striking Pudge out.

Top eleven.

Royals have a couple guys warming up in their bullpen. I don't know if Nunez can deal three innings or not. Regardless, Bautista is still pitching for Detroit. They haven't shown the Tiger bullpen yet. If it's empty it might soon see some action as Teahen just walked.

Gload, sac bunt. Teahen to second. One out.

Trey Hillman looking angry.

John Buck single to center... Teahen rounding third? No. NOO. Pegged at home. Good throw by Inge. Trey Hillman is angry because he can see the immediate future.

Buck's at second if that's any consolation.

Pena, Jr., swinging for the fences. Missing, of course.
No home run, but he does golf a pitch to shallow center. It falls for a hit, Buck scores from second, and the Royals take an extra-inning lead.

Tigers 4
Royals 5

Two down, and they're really paranoid about Jr. at first. Pickoffs, pitchouts... he's in somebody's head.

My back hurts.

Passed ball. Pena to second. How weird. All this time they thought he'd run, but he advances on a passed ball. Irony.

Gathright walks anyway, so now there's a man on first and second with two down. Esteban at bat. Esteban swinging and missing. Esteban striking out.

Bottom eleven.

Joakim Soria will try and hold Detroit to zero runs this inning. But he's got Clete Thomas to deal with. CLETE!

CLETE!! with a double.

Brandon Inge is trying out the whole bunting thing and bounced the ball right back into himself. Try again. He does. Successfully. One out, man on third.

It's a wonder that Inge isn't a man of excess. In the boxes he's labelled as B.Inge.

(pause for laughter)

Renteria is taking cuts like he's trying to win a ballgame. A deep fly ball will tie the game back up. A deeper one will win it.

A strikeout will get him nothing. And it is so.

Two down. Fathead Polanco up. Tying run 90 feet from home.

Sharp grounder to that weird area between third and short. Diving stop by Alex Gordon. Throw to first for the out. Game over. ROYALS WIN BASEBALL!

Nice stop by Gordon. Totally saved the game. And ended it.


And this ended up being the longest post ever.

Happy opening day!
Enjoy the rest of the season.

Carl Cares About Baseball's Integrity

Forget everything I've ever said regarding the Mitchell Report.

This here is the definitive analysis. Pay special attention to why more Red Sox names weren't mentioned in the report.

I need those pants.

Alex Rodriguez: Coloring By Numbers

I get the impression that people think Alex Rodriguez is something of a liability. Critics, many of them in the New England region, many of them Yankee "supporters", consider him a choker, or a selfish goon disinterested in team cohesion.

He's currently making his free agent rounds and will end up with whoever is willing to pay the most cash for him. Thus far there aren't many takers, and it's not due to post-season unproductivity or big fat jerkiness. The only reason Major League ballclubs aren't clamoring for Rodriguez is because he's the highest payed player. He's simply unaffordable.

Let's say I'm a big league team. Probably the Royals. I'm poor but I want to -- I don't know -- street race. I can't afford the high-performance sports cars, so I'm left with my dumb (and ageing) Ford Escort. If I want to seriously compete I can't simply go out and purchase the best models. I'll need to build up my own cars myself and work with what my budget allows.

Alex Rodriguez, therefore, is a gold-plated time-traveling DeLorean with a rocket engine. His salary this season (part of that gargantuan 10-year, $252 million deal) was $22.7 million. Tampa Bay's 2007 TEAM payroll totaled $24.1 million.

(Completely amusing, by the way, is the thought of Alex Rodriguez in a Rays uniform... and, for financial reasons, the only player on the field.)

(You'll notice, too, that I'll never call him A-Rod. He's not some sort of load-bearing I-Beam, and I'm not so lazy that I can't say and spell his dang name.)

As far as Rodriguez's talent is concerned, FireJoeMorgon.com has already beaten this topic to death. I like to play with the numbers myself, though, so here's my argument that Alex Rodriguez is not as crappy as you think. And not crappy at all. And actually quite good.

Postseason Meltdown
Some time ago Alex Rodriguez got the reputation of being a clutch choker. I don't remember when the scapegoating began, but it probably started during the 2004 ALCS. In the twelfth innings of Game 5 against the Red Sox, the Yanks up three games to one, Rodriguez had a chance to knock in the go-ahead run standing on second base. A win here would take the Yankees to the World Series. With two outs, instead of hitting a Hobbs-like home run, he flied out to centerfield. In fact, for the rest of the series he could do absolutely nothing with runners on base. It was hard to watch, and since so much expectation had been heaped upon him, and since it absolutely mortified Yankee fans to watch New York botch a three-game series lead, he was the natural boo-ee.

Fast-forward a year to the 2005 ALDS against the Angels. Two-for-fifteen, five strikeouts, no home runs. Yankees did not advance.

The 2006 ALDS against the Tigers. One-for-fourteen, four strikeouts, no home runs. Yankees did not advance.

Naturally the Yankees' failure as a team is due to Alex Rodriguez's inability to play the game of baseball, ain't it? Right? Aren't they awful because Choke-Rod is awful?
Well, first of all I don't consider four playoff appearances in four years awful.
Secondly AREN'T THERE, LIKE, THIRTY OTHER PEOPLE ON THE TEAM?

2007 ALDS Breakdown
So the Yankees fall to the Indians in the first round of playoffs and it's all Rodriguez's fault again.
Yes and no.
Yes -- because Rodriguez amassed zero hits in his first eight plate appearances.
No -- because A) he then went four-for-nine with a homer, and B) he wasn't getting much help from his teammates.

In this series the only Yankees who got more hits than Rodriguez were Robinson Cano and Johnny Damon with five. The Yankees as a team batted .228 (.223 without Rodriguez). Derek Jeter, the Captain, Clipper, Savior, Etc., went three-for-seventeen with four strikeouts. No walks, no extra-base hits. Grounded into three double plays. And Chokey Rodriguez is the bad guy?

Hideki Matsui, two-for-eleven.
Jorge Posada, two-for-fifteen.
Melky Cabrera, three-for-sixteen.
Chien-Ming Wang, fourteen hits, twelve(!) earned runs in five-and-two-thirds innings.
Roger Clemens, three earned runs in two-and-two-thirds.
Some guy named Ohlendorf, three runs in one inning.

Again, Alex Rodriguez, .267 series batting average, a home run, a couple walks, a couple runs, grounded into ZERO double plays. Not great, but not deserving of his wretched public perception.

And if you go back and check the numbers for the 2004, 2005, and 2006 playoffs series you'll find that, shockingly, Alex Rodriguez was NOT the only player on the New York Yankees who performed poorly. Egads! In fact, you'll find that he was one of the better ones on the 2004 team where in that postseason he hit .320 with three home runs, eight RBIs, two stolen bases, and five doubles.

And if you go back even further, as a member of the Seattle Mariners his postseason totals are fairly impressive. In fifteen postseason games spanning from 1995 to 2000 he hit .340, had three homers, three doubles, six runs, eight RBIs. These are not choking numbers.

Rodriguez and Jeter, Head-to-Head
It's the natural tendancy of Yankee fans to like Derek Jeter and dislike Alex Rodriguez. Jeter is a born-and-bred Yankee, a first-round draft pick who rose up through the organization to become the first Yankee captain since Don Mattingly. For many years Rodriguez was seen as something of a rival; both played shortstop, both excelled at baseball, and they would meet each other in the playoffs. So when Rodriguez came to the Yankees and gave up his shortstop position it was immediately apparent that he was to be second-banana. And when, heaven forbid, they weren't chummy with each other... well, every good guy needs a bad guy.

But I would much MUCH rather have Alex Rodriguez on my team than Derek Jeter. I mean, it's great to have them both together, but if I had to choose it'd be Rodriguez all the way. That's not to say that I don't like Derek Jeter. I love the guy. He's got a great bat and seems to be a pretty good team leader. But athletically he's no Alex Rodriguez.

Although they are different types of hitters (Jeter with his inside-out good-for-gaps swing, Rodriguez with his big good-for-home runs swing) they both have remarkably similar offensive stats. Per 162 games they average about two-hundred hits, thirty-four doubles, seventy-ish walks, and a .388 on-base percentage. (Interestingly they're both also hit by pitches about eleven times every season.) So it's clear that they're both equally adept at reaching base, but it's how they reach base that's so very important.

Per 162 games:
Derek Jeter's slugging% = .462
Alex Rodriguez's SLG% = .578
This means that for each at bat, Rodriguez is going to average more bases. More bases equals more opportunities to knock in runs and be in scoring position himself. Speaking of runs batted in...

Per 162 games:
Derek Jeter's RBIs = 82
Alex Rodriguez's RBIs = 128
It's quite an accomplishment to attain 100 RBIs in a season, even extrapolated to 162 games. Rodriguez averages 128.

There's also Bill James' Runs Created stat, which is a calculation of how many runs a team of Derek Jeters or a team of Alex Rodriguezes would score.

In 13 seasons Derek Jeter's Runs Created per game is 6.8, meaning a team of Jeters would score 6.8 runs per game in Major League baseball.
In 14 seasons Alex Rodriguez's RC/G is 8.4, meaning a team of Rodriguezes would score more runs than a team of Jeters.
In 2007 Jeter's RC/G was 6.3. Rodriguez's was 10.4.

So clearly, and I don't even know why I'm arguing this, Alex Rodriguez is a much better offensive weapon than Derek Jeter. But what about DEfensively? Both are Gold Glove shortstops, but which one is better at his position?

By the numbers Rodriguez is only an average third baseman, but I don't think it's fair to compare stats from his secondary position. So any numbers I pull up for Rodriguez will strictly be for games played at shortstop.

Their fielding percentage is about the same (Jeter's .975 to Rodriguez's .977), but we need to be able to figure out who has the better range. The point of being a fielder is to make outs, and naturally you'll be able to make more outs if you're able to get to more balls. Fortunately there's a range statistic, and in this instance the results are very telling.

The Range Factor is calculated by adding assists and put-outs and then, for the sake of averaging, dividing by games played. Somebody who is able to get to more balls will have a higher RFg.

Derek Jeter's career RFg is 4.05, which is actually below the league average of 4.12 for that span of time he's played.
Alex Rodriguez's career RFg at shortstop is 4.42, well above the league average of 4.15 for his span of time.

And as for double plays turned, Jeter averages a double play every 1.8 games played, or 90 every 162 games.
Rodriguez at short averaged a double play every 1.5 games played, or 108 every 162 games.

Alex Rodriguez is a better shortstop than Derek Jeter.
Alex Rodriguez. Is a better. Shortstop. Than Derek Jeter.
So why did Rodriguez have to move to third base? Because Jeter wouldn't have even been able to play the hot corner. He's a subpar shortstop who wins Gold Glove awards because of that neat jumpy throw he does.

But Alex Rodriguez is the bad guy. And the boos of finnicky fans and finger-pointing media probably aided in his decision to persue free agency. And now the Yankees will lose their best player.


[By the way, I didn't pull any of these numbers out of my hindquarters. Baseball-Reference.com is the source for all of these stats and more.]

Chillin' like a Machiavellian

Another reason to despise the R. Sox: They fouled up my anniversary plans by forcing a game seven. Done on purpose, I can tell.
Westbrook vs. Matsuzaka. When these two met last week 'Zaka allowed four runs, Westbrook just two, and Cleveland won. Will there be Indians in the World Series, or will it be a Rox and Sox matchup? We'll find out (I will, at least) in a few hours.


The Yankees must make October headlines, even when they're out of World Series contention. I didn't really think that they'd fire Joe Torre, but Joey pulled the ol' switch-a-roo. Did anybody consider the fact that maybe he didn't want to come back? And now that he's made that much known, can anybody blame him? Bickering players, manic corporate management, finnicky media... I'm surprised Torre's lasted this long.

But the Yankees refusal to negotiate on a one-year contract seems to indicate that they didn't really want him back after all. The organization is going through changes (new ownership, new ventures, new stadium), and a new skipper may have been part of the plan. The fans love Torre, and an outright firing wouldn't sit well (which was George Steinbrenner's plan/knee-jerk reaction, and an offered contract is demonstrated proof that he's not really in charge any more). Scheme: Make Joe look like a bad guy for wanting to leave Yankee Nation... offer a crappy contract, DON'T BUDGE ON IT, and naturally he won't take. Intentions are all speculation, but subterfuge doesn't appear to be beyond those who treat their baseball teams like empires.

As far as replacements go, I think I'd like to see Mattingly at the helm. I'm worried about how he'd do, though, seeing as how he's got no management experience at all. But I suppose he's been in the dugout long enough to know what's what. And as mellow as he is, I would pay solid dollars to watch him explode in front of an umpire.
I was initially hopeful that LaRussa might head to New York, but it looks like he's probably going to stay in St. Louis, and that's fine with me too.

(Source and source, because citation is important.)

Days of our Steinbrenner

The media has been making a big thing of this recent "threat" by George Steinbrenner to axe Joe Torre if the Yankees failed to advance. I think this had been blown WAY out of preportion, and everybody is making it sound as if Torre is as good as dead.

Here's the thing -- George Steinbrenner isn't in a very good condition right now. Senility, alzheimers, lobotomy, whatever... he is unsound and not able to make the major Yankee decisions he's been known to make. For goodness sakes, he's rarely at Yankee Stadium anymore, and when he is he looks vacant and unawares up in that kingly box of his. The Yankee organization, much too valuable to be placed in such brittle hands, is now run by businessmen and is no longer subject to the knee-jerk whims of Steinbrenner. George is merely the symbol of Yankeedom and has no more power over the roster than the Queen.

And now there's this quote floating around that Steinbrenner is going to fire Torre if the Yankees don't advance. I don't know if George said what he said in a moment of clarity or while in a dementious haze, but regardless of whether or not he meant it he has no authority to act upon it.

But here's the funny thing: now that the media has latched on to this errant quote, now that they've repeated it in papers and television enough times to convince themselves it's fact, the Yankees organization might just dismiss Torre to save face. The Yankees have taken great care to retain the kingly image of Steinbrenner, and Torre may have to go just to prove that Steinbrenner still pulls some weight around.

A soap opera, for sure, but it's the New York Yankees. All you can do is shrug your shoulders and tune in next week.

Field Box $10.00

The wife was digging through my wallet yesterday (I'm still not sure what she expected to find in there... Pepsi coupons?) and pulled out a ticket stub from my very first Major League game. I had been to tons of OKC 89ers (now called the Red Hawks) minor league games in the 80s, but Weatherford, OK, is offensively far from any big-league ballparks, and I had to wait until 1991 to catch my first Biggie in Kansas City.

Aisle 140
Box J
Seat 2
APR. 12, 1991
FRI., 7:35 PM

Royals Vs. Yankees

I have the worst memory ever, and there are only three things I distinctly recall:

1) Don Mattingly at first base. He was my favorite player then and I made it a point to find him. Unfortunately we were so far down the right-field line that I needed binoculars to see him manning first base.
2) Lee Guetterman on the mound. I knew he was tall (his stupid 1990 Topps baseball card appeared in every other pack I opened, and due to overexposure or osmosis or whatever I eventually memorized all of his statistics), but his height was even more appreciable when he stood on the mound towering above all of his teammates.
3) So many people ran on the field that night. For a long time afterwards I thought this was what fans normally did at Major League baseball games. Security took care of most of the drunken fools, but one guy who was sitting immediately in front of me hopped the fence, ran across the entire outfield, and lept back into the left-field line seats. Although I'm sure he was apprehended on the other side, I had never seen anybody before or since clear the entire field without getting caught.

Thanks to baseball-reference.com, the greatest website in the history of time, I've now got the long-forgotten details of that particular game.

Things to note:
- This was back when the Royals were better than the Yankees. New York finished 1991 with a record of 71-91, while Kansas City topped the .500 mark with a 82-80 record. It's amazing what can happen in sixteen years.
- Starting pitchers were Storm Davis for KC and Chuck Cary for NY. I have absolutely no recollection of Chuck Cary whatsoever, either in baseball card form or in SEEING HIM WITH MY EYEBALLS form. He allowed 8 runs in 3 1/3 innings, which probably explains how he's so forgettable.
- Batting first and second for the Yankees... Steve Sax and Don Mattingly. Next year both would appear on the best Simpsons episode ever.
- Batting clean-up for the Yankees... Kevin Maas! He hit the only triple of his big-league career in this game.
- Batting fifth for the Yankees... Hensley "Bam-Bam" Meulens! This line-up is absolutely amazing in an over-hyped sort of way.

As for the Royals:
- George Brett. I don't know how I managed to forget about George Brett, but he was playing first base this game.
- Danny Tartabull dang near hit for the cycle. He went 3 for 5 with a single, double, and a triple.
- "Now pinch hitting for Kevin Seitzer-- Bill Pecota"
- Kirk Gibson, in his 17 years of baseball, played one season for KC. Guess who the DH was?

Royals won, 9 to 5. Not a terribly remarkable game, and I bet 90% of the people there couldn't recall the game today (and even I am just barely able to), but it was a special one for me and I'll hang on to this stub for as long as I can. At least until somebody steals my wallet.