Further Random Baseball Musings

I know a big part of the reason that the Twins wanted to trade Santana was that they weren’t going to re-sign him and didn’t want to lose him with nothing in return. That wasn’t going away. And I know Santana’s having something of a down year—for him, anyway.

However, if the Twins knew that a playoff spot would be there for the taking, and if the Mets knew their season was going to be a complete bust, would both of these teams still have made that deal?

Is anyone happy with the outcome of this one?

***

The Cubs’ dominance at home reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Homer finally chases away Ned Flanders with one to many instances of asshattery (though Ned, of course, returns by episode’s end). In this episode, the Simpsons briefly acquire a new neighbor who is a boorish jock and replaces the Flanders’ overly solicitous welcome mat with one that says, Ring bell for free ass-kicking. Not that I want the Cubs to turn into boorish jocks, but would it be wholly inaccurate to suggest that a similar welcome mat might be in order for the visitors’ clubhouse?

***

You know who I’m loving right now? Micah Hoffpauir, and not just because he has the same first name as my brother. It’s always nice to see a guy play his way into a shot at the major league roster, and then go ahead and maximize that opportunity, Felix Pie.

Random Baseball Musings

Is it too early to talk wildcard? Yes? It is? Well, it’s also too late for you to stop me.

The are-they-for-real Rays (for the record, my answer: yes) seem in control of their own playoff destiny, given that no one in the other divisions is asserting themselves. It appears that the Yankees, Orioles and Blue Jays are in for a long season. Boston will be there at the end, though the injuries to their starting pitching are troublesome. If the Rays continue to play at a pace even remotely close to what they’re doing now, then it looks like the AL East will send two teams to the playoffs, for the 10th time in 14 years.

Think about it. Boston and Anaheim both look like playoff teams. And the two others will come from the following: Rays, White Sox, Twins and Athletics. If you saw that coming, please send me lottery numbers immediately.

No Yankees. No Tigers. And, probably, no Cleveland–though I do think Cleveland can right the ship in time. The other two are cooked.

In the NL, I forsee the Cubs, D’Backs and Phillies winning their divisions. After that, the wildcard is wide open. Based on records, you have to accept the Marlins, Braves, Cardinals, Astros and Dodgers as serious contenders, even if some of them don’t have enough pitching (*cough* Astros *cough* Cardinals *cough*) to go the distance. Plus, you only throw the Dodgers in there because they play in a weak division, and they are something like 10-5 against all non-Arizona division foes. There’s plenty o’ opportunity for record-padding there. But in the end, I think the Braves and Marlins will fight it out.

***

I almost hate Alfonso Soriano more when he does things like smacking game-winning hits. It’s such a tease. I know that, before long, he’ll be back to his usual boneheaded self, gimping around the field while insisting he’s “fine.” Soriano is like that boyfriend who keeps calling after you already broken up with him because he’s a complete douche. You could say, “Aw. That’s sweet. He still cares.” But in the end, all he’s doing is making it hard for you to move on with your life. Soriano can briefly make me think he still cares, but in the end I know that all he’s doing is making it harder for us to accept the inevitable. Breaking up is like pulling a band-aid: do it faster and it hurts less. When he keeps sending you flowers or chocolates or game-winning hits, it just makes it worse.

***

Is there something wrong with Mark Buehrle? I’d guess he’s injured, but he really hasn’t been himself since early last season. Perhaps he’s following the Jose Contreras Career Trajectory: a period of dominance, followed by a period of suck, followed by a turnaround just when all hope seemed lost. Come on, Mark. Hope is almost lost! Now’s the time to play the turnaround card.

Has anyone else noticed…

…that on one side of town we have a team particularly skilled at winning at home, and on the other side we have a team particularly skilled at winning on the road? Would that we could combine these two into one.

But now that we are verging on June with both teams still in first place, my brothers and I have begun to play our favorite game that we like to play when summer is in full swing and our teams are still doing well. It doesn’t actually have a name but I suppose we could call it “Let’s Make a Deal.” Basically, we do exactly what I hate when other people do it, which is propose pie-in-the-sky trades that involve us getting a key player for relatively little in return. But we do it with complete awareness of this fact, so it’s all good. The problem with most people who propose joke trades is that they themselves are not in on the joke.

Sample trade: The Texas Rangers are going nowhere fast, but they do have a left-handed hitter outfielder with some pop in his bat. We are in desperate need of this, especially once the plug is mercifully pulled on the Jim Edmonds Experiment. Texas needs pitching in the worst way. So we’ll throw them some young arms, perhaps with Gallagher as the centerpiece. And they can have Felix Pie, because they’ll need another outfielder once they trade Josh Hamilton to us. We’ll even throw in Jason Marquis, free of charge.

I’ve so talked myself into this that I have decided I will accept nothing less than Josh Hamilton on my team, and even if we win the World Series, this season should be deemed a failure if we do not acquire Josh Hamilton.

[See how humorous it can be when you're in on the joke?]

The White Sox need a second baseman. Juan Uribe is not The Answer, nor is Alexi Ramirez, who was hitting a buck-something until very recently. They also need a leadoff hitter, as Nick Swisher is not The Answer there, nor are any of the other stop-gaps they’ve tried since Swisher left that spot. I think Brian Roberts could still be had, probably for almost nothing. The Orioles are in the habit of giving away their players. Tell me Roberts-Cabrera wouldn’t be quite possibly the best 1-2 in the entire MLB.

This game also gives my brother the opportunity to propose his annual Rocco Baldelli trade, even though Baldelli’s on the DL and may never play again for all it matters. But for old times’ sake…

Hit It!

Hitting.  That’s a big part of baseball.  But then, so is pitching.  The NL does not participate in the MLB retirement program known as the DH, and that means many NL pitchers count on the opposing pitcher’s spot in the line-up as an almost-guaranteed out.

But the Cubs starting rotation, which has been respectable on the mound, has started out the year with relatively impressive numbers at the plate.  Zambrano (.267), Lilly (.313), Dempster (.158 ) and Marquis (.222) have a combined batting average of .240.  Not bad for the bottom of the order.  And their strong hitting is combined with an average 3.81 ERA.  Is this the best hitting pitching staff in the league?  I don’t follow other clubs closely enough to know, but I think this topic, raised by TheWittyOne, is worth considering as part of the reason the Cubs are hovering around 100 games over .500. 

And while I’m on the topic of pitching, I feel quite privileged to have watched some quality pitching in person so far this season.  Of course, Gavin Floyd’s 1-hit game is the highlight, but Ryan Dempster, who was in the bullpen just last season, did pitch a third of the way into the 9th inning on just 4 hits in May.  Good stuff. 

Take This Job and Shove It

That’s what both Jason Isringhausen and Eric Gagne told their respective managers over the weekend. Apparently, being the closer is now too rough for their delicate constitutions to handle.

I guess, in a sense, you’ve got to respect a guy with enough self-awareness to stand up and tell the whole world that he’s been a complete failure at his job. And you’ve got to wonder just how bass-ackwards those clubhouses have gotten when the players are making observations about strategery and performance that normally fall under the manager’s job description.

Milwaukee is being bitten by exactly what bit them last year: lack of pitching depth. And the Cardinals are regressing to a standard of play more in line with their actual talent level. Meanwhile, the Cubs appear to have somewhat righted the ship, flummoxing Arizona over the weekend and victimizing a tailspinning Padres team last night. With the Padres and then the Pirates in town, the Cubs should be looking to pad their lead. I’m greedy. I want 6-1, though I’d settle for 5-2. Even with the rotation still in a state of semi-disarray, there is no excuse for the Cubs muddling along to a 4-3 week.

And speaking of jobs that can be taken and shoved, that’s apparently how Mike D’Antoni felt about the Bulls head coaching job, preferring instead to insert himself into the trainwreck that is the New York Knicks, though D’Antoni prefers the term “great challenge” to “trainwreck.” Lots of luck with that, Mike.

I may be the only Bulls fan not broken up about this. I realize it would be a splashy hire. And I realize that it is now just another in a long line of deals that didn’t get done. And I realize that D’Antoni has an offensive scheme that is alleged genius. However, I don’t know that the Bulls have the personnel to run D’Antoni’s offensive scheme, or any offensive scheme, for that matter. This team was always built to win on team play and defense, and when both deserted them, the season went down the tubes. Try not to act too surprised, now.

Bulls fans have lusted for involved offensive schemes ever since the days when the triangle offense decimated opponents far and wide. But again: personnel. I defy you to find me any halfway decent offensive scheme that wouldn’t succeed with Michael Fricking Jordan as the centerpiece.

With a team that had quit playing defense and an utter lack of accountability, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to hire a coach who is noted for his disdain of defense and his lack of accountability—all for the sake of installing an offensive gameplan that won’t offset those deficiencies if you don’t have the offensive talent to make it work. The D’Antoni hire would work if it was accompanied by a serious personnel adjustment, and those take years and by then the natives are getting kind of restless.

The Bulls do need to get better offensively. This is true. Whatever coach they hire, there will be no getting around that fact. And I’m not saying that they need to go in the absolute opposite direction, and hire a defense-minded task master in the vein of Scott Skiles. Been there; done that. By all means, let’s try something a little different. But let’s not hire someone who’s here to play to the strengths we don’t actually have.

I can’t blame John Paxson for being pissed that D’Antoni carried on these negotiations while talking out of both sides of his mouth. But in the long run, I think Paxson might want to send D’Antoni a fruit basket and a thank you note for preventing him from making what might’ve been the biggest mistake of his GM career.

Yes, even bigger than the Ben Wallace signing.

On the South Side

As I’ve mentioned once or twice, I love Wrigley Field.  It’s a great place to watch baseball. 

But there is another ballpark in town, and, as I learned last night, it’s another great place to watch baseball.  (Especially when the pitcher gets within 2 outs of a no-hitter.  But I’ll get to Gavin in a moment.)

Comiskey U.S. Cellular Field is big, sleek and modern – almost the antithesis of park on the north side, which is why I think I enjoy them both.  But it, too, is beautiful: lovely green field, great big screen, easy access to lots of stats (once I figured out where to look),  and fireworks.  I doubt there’s a bad seat in the house.  Plus, the view of the downtown skyline from the top of the ramp just outside the park is breathtaking.  Not to mention the enthusiasm of the fans in black and white — though Ozzie may have an inferiority complex, the fans around me knew their team well (even if there were fewer than 24,000 in attendence).  Great food, great game, great friends.  All things considered, I couldn’t have asked for much more for my first visit to the South Side.

Except, of course, a bit better of a jump from center fielder Nick Swisher as Joe Mauer hit the ball into the gap in left center.  Or I would have been happy if Carlos Quentin had gotten to it.  It was catchable, if the outfielders had been in the right place.  It was heartbreaking to see Gavin Floyd come so close to a no-hitter, only to lose it in the 9th.  And, for those believe that Sox fans believe Ozzie can do no wrong, please note that the crowd booed when he took Floyd out for the last two outs of the game. 

Floyd was impressive, despite 3 walks and only 4 strike-outs.  And, except the error that allowed a run to score and the 9th-inning base hit, the defense backed him up well, with 10 ground-outs and 11 fly outs.  And, after losing 6 straight, the White Sox figured out how to hit the ball (11 hits) as they scored 7 times.  Errors by the Twins helped the Sox cause quite a bit, as well.

I do feel compelled to point out one glaring difference between the North Side and South Side teams (besides the fact that the White Sox participate in the MLB retirement program, otherwise known as the DH) and their fans.  The team song.  I didn’t think it was possible to have a cheesier song that “Go, Cubs, Go!” but I was wrong.  “Let’s Go, Go-Go White Sox” could be considered worse — and the fans don’t even know the words.  Now, I realize this is mostly due to the fact that the song, circa 1959, made a strong comeback in 2005 for obvious reasons.  But that doesn’t explain it’s adoption in the first place.  Judge for yourself:

White Sox!
White Sox! White Sox! (lest you forget who you are singing for)
Go-Go White Sox! (does hypenating make go-go a compound describing White Sox?)
Let’s go, Go-Go White Sox (or is it Go-Go as in boots?)
We’re with you all the way!
You’re always in there fighting,
And you do your best.
We’re glad to have you out here in the Middle West.  (Extra points for “Middle” instead of just “Mid”)
We’re gonna root-root-root-root White Sox. (3 hyphens?  Really?)
And cheer you on to victory.
When we’re in the stands,
We’ll make those rafters ring; (Um, to the best of my knowlegde, the park on the south side has always been outdoors, but I guess there are a few rafters above the stands)
All through the season,
You will hear us sing.
Let’s go, Go-Go White Sox,
Chicago’s proud of you! (of course, this is up for debate, depending on who you talk to, but we’ll let it slide…)
White Sox! White Sox!
Go-Go White Sox! (again, don’t forget who you are supporting)
Root-Root-Root for the White Sox. (only 3 roots this time…)
We’ll cheer you on to victory.
When we’re in the stands,
We’ll make those rafters ring;
All through the season, (as long as you are in the running for the playoffs by August…)
You will hear us sing. (once we learn the words — I understand some fans struggle even with the help of the bouncing ball over the words on the screen)
Let’s go, Go-Go White Sox,
Chicago’s proud of you!
White Sox! White Sox!
Go-Go White Sox!
Let’s go, Go-Go White Sox!
Chicago is proud of you!

Honestly, after hearing this, I don’t blame White Sox fans for their half-hearted embrace of the song.  It really doesn’t fit their new park or the team identity as modeled by Ozzie.  It may have worked in the ’60s, but now it’s a stretch.  I recommend you stick with rock and attitude.  Cheesy and nostalgic works better on the other side of town.

But again, I sincerely enjoyed visiting the Sox and their park.  And while I still am a Cubs fan, I may have to keep an eye on Gavin this year…

Rethinking Things

Perhaps, after all, the answer to my question was (B): Discouraged. We’ve certainly found every which way to lose: from the lack of clutch hitting to the 5-unearned-run-allowing defense to the occasionally implosion-prone pen to the walkariffic starting pitching.

The best thing right now is the fact that Piniella doesn’t seem too eager to stick with the rotation as it stands. Hill is down. Marquis is getting skipped. Lieber is starting at least one game. With Eyre returning and taking the lefty spot in the pen, Marshall is freed up to work on stretching his arm out so he can take a crack at cracking the rotation. Hart, who had generally pitched fairly well, was sent down to stretch out his arm in preparation for a possible starting gig.

But all this moving and switching has caused Piniella to contemplate carrying 13 pitchers at least for the time being. That, one would presume, makes Felix Pie the odd man out. And Cedeno, he of the hot bat, has been taking practice from centerfield.

Much like last year, Piniella shows his flexibility and his refusal to let the players skate by with subpar performances. And over on the other side of town, Ozzie’s doing the same thing. The difference is that Piniella’s movable parts are of significantly higher quality than Ozzie’s. For example, with DeRosa scuffling, the Cubs can put either Cedeno or Fontenot in that slot to give him a day or two off. And both players have been hot recently. For Ozzie, the 2B black hole comes down to Uribe vs. Ozuna. Such inspiring choices.

Now, if we could just get someone to hold Soriano accountable, then we’d be all set.

Dear Cedric,

How does it feel to have committed an unforgivable crime? No, I’m not talking about the BWI/resisting arrest issue back in Texas.

I’m talking about failing to live up to expectations.

While your personal record has a few black marks, Chicagoans don’t get too worked up about little things like arrests and car accidents and guns and stuff. They do get worked up about underperformance. Especially from guys that whine, insist on more carries and generally annoy and fail to deliver.

I don’t know what happened on the boat. I don’t know if you were polite and respectful or belligerant and rude. I don’t know if you passed or failed your sobriety test. But, although you may see that as the issue, Chicagoans are more concerned about your TDs, yards rushing, leg strength, etc.

After all, Bears fans were relieved that Tank was allowed to leave the state for “work” in Florida, despite his record. But Tank had the numbers and a vital role on a Super Bowl team. But now, those same fans are calling for your head over some pepper spray on a lake. If you had played the whole ‘07 season, averaged closer to 100 yards a game, and scored at least a TD every game, you might find hearts a bit softer in Chicago. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a relaxing day on a boat with friends?

A double standard? Of course. Is it fair? Nope. But that’s what you get for making millions of dollars on the job and having a QB that made you look good in college. Obviously the QB position here is Chicago is a bit different than having Vince under center. Puts more pressure on guys like you. But, again, I point to your salary and shrug.

It’s not fair, but it’s reality.
Sincerely,
TheCleverOne

Attn: Brewers

After Tuesday’s 10-7 loss, TheCleverOne and I were discussing whether we should be discouraged by yet another loss, or actually be encouraged in a strange way.

Encouraged: After dropping 4-2, 5-3 and 2-0 decisions to Washington and Colorado, 10-7 would seem to indicate that the bats have reawakened. Most of the time, 7 runs will do it. Since Jason Marquis doesn’t pitch every game, it would stand to reason that the winning ways will soon return.

Discouraged: It wasn’t enough that we lost due to poor offense over the last week. Now we’re losing due to poor pitching. We’re consistently finding all sorts of ways to lose games.

Now, we certainly can’t make any proclamations based on one game, but last night really seems to bear out the first theory. We’ve lost four out of the last six and still have the second best record in the majors. But it’s only May 1. Being a Cubs fan is a constant battle to maintain equilibrium. We only know two emotions: extreme euphoria and extreme panic. So far, the situations merits neither. Just qualified optimism and enjoyment.

Also, was it just me or did they maybe run up the score just a tad bit last night? Six runs in the eighth inning? I’m not saying they should have just given up and packed it in. The good lord, and loyal readers, know that I hate teams who expect the other team to lie down in front of the train. But I felt like there was a little message sent to the allegedly upstart Brewers, who might be feeling good about not being that far out despite the Cubs historical hot start.

I think the message might have gone a little something like this. Dear Brewers: This is our division. You’re just playing in it.