Category: baseball
Hall Lives Diamondbacks Mantra
When you’re a public figure, the spotlight is always on.
It’s easy to volunteer, donate to charity and put on a good face when the cameras are rolling and the PR team is directing every action, but when people exhibit good deeds without recognition – that’s a true sign of their character.
That’s what separates people.
A lot of teams have catchy sayings to unify fans and build support, but it is always special to see those sayings played out. The Arizona Diamondbacks like to refer to themselves as “The Most Fan Friendly Team In Sports” and in the midst of Tuesday’s 12-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals, Dbacks President and CEO, Derrick Hall, beautifully exhibited that manta.
In the bottom of the third, Wade Miley lined a foul ball just over the first base dugout and into the stands.
In an instant, Hall – who was sitting a section over – got out of his seat and walked over to the area where the ball went into the stands.
It appeared the ball had glanced of some fans, so Hall wanted to make sure they were okay. He spent about five minutes talking with the fans, shook some hands and walked back to his seat.
Although it was an incredibly small and simply gesture, Hall’s initial reaction was to go check on the fans and make sure no one was hurt.
Plenty of people would have inquired and made sure there were no injuries, but Hall’s desire to do it himself showed he doesn’t just say the Diamondbacks are fan friendly, but rather he lives it.
Not a lot has gone right for the Diamondbacks on the field this season, but on Tuesday, Hall showed some things off the field are going just fine.
The Cubs Are Exciting
I’m excited to watch the Cubs.
There I said it. It’s August 4th, the Cubs are 16 games under .500 and 13 games out of first place, but the last two months of the Cubs season are sure to be worth watching.
The Cubs will promote infielder Javier Baez, ranked as the Cubs No. 2 prospect on MLB.com’s list of the Top 20 Cubs prospects, and he is expected to make his Major League Debut on Tuesday.
Baez, the ninth overall pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, is batting .260 with 23 homers and 80 RBIs in 104 games at Triple-A Iowa this season. He’s also hitting .283 with runners in scoring position.
However, in the 20 games since the Triple-A All-Star break, the 21-year old has hit .342 with nine homers.
Baez got off to a slow start this season, but his average has increased each month – .172 in April, .250 in May, .275 in June, .300 in July and .300 in three games in August – showing not only his talent, but his ability to adjust, learn the league.
Although the numbers are impressive, Baez’s call-up is about more than statistics.
It’s about hope. It’s about the future.
Yes, Cubs fans have been waiting for future for a long, long time and other prospects such as Arismendy Alcantara (the No. 4 prospect) and Kyle Hendricks (No. 19) have already debuted this season.
But this feels different.
Baez – along with Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Jorge Soler – is one of the most hyped Cubs prospects in awhile.
Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein have long had a plan to rebuild the Cubs and although it may have been too lengthy for some – as baseball rebuilds often are – the prospects are starting to come up and that is always an exciting time.
Baez’s promotion doesn’t guarantee wins, it doesn’t guarantee the Cubs will win the World Series in 2015 or even in 2016, but it does make the future a lot brighter.
It is always exciting to watch a new player come into the league especially one with the hype and talent of Baez.
With a line-up that consists of Alcantara, Baez, Rizzo and Castro the Cubs have become a team that die-hard fans and those interested in the building blocks of franchises should watch over the next couple of months.
I’ll be watching as well.
Farewell To Eric Chavez
Eric Chavez, a six-time Gold Glove winning third baseman announced his retirement Wednesday in the same way he spent the bulk of his career – with very little limelight and a bit under the radar.
Chavez won six straight Gold Glove Awards while excelling defensively for the Oakland A’s, where he played for 13 seasons. Chavez then went to New York as a role player for two seasons and finished up his 17-year career with the Diamondbacks.
While Chavez was most known for his glove, he old had nine 20 or more home run seasons before he turned 30 and was on pace for a really good MLB career before injuries derailed his later years.
The 36-year old played in 100 or more games once just past eight seasons after having done so for eight straight years.
Chavez’s retirement likely flew under the radar and was missed by plenty, but all baseball players, reports and fans fall in love with the sport at some time grow up watching either a team or a few favorite players.
For me, Chavez was one of those players.
My mom used to take my brother and I to Oakland A’s games in the late 90s and early 2000s (Chavez debuted late in the 1998 season) and those fun, youthful “Moneyball” teams were my introduction to the sport.
While Tim Hudson, Jason Giambi and perhaps a few others from those teams are still playing, every time someone for that era retires it is a little reminder that those teams from your childhood don’t always last and not every player that you admire will have a long, accolade-filled career.
Chavez had a really good career. Sure, he would have loved to be healthier toward the end, but a 17-year career with a .268 batting average and six Gold Gloves is certainly nothing to scoff at.
As excited as I am about the new wave of stars entering the sport, it’s a bit strange every time a player I grew up watching fades off into the sunset.
2014 Trade Deadline Recap
Roughly a month ago the A’s and Cubs jumpstarted the trade season with a blockbuster deal that sent Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the A’s. About a week ago, the Red Sox traded Jake Peavy to the Giants.
The wheels were rolling and could tell it was going to be an exciting trade season, but nothing could have prepared everyone for all the excitement the July 31st deadline provided.
Here’s a quick recap on the days action:
The Athletics acquired Jon Lester, Jonny Gomes and cash from the Red Sox for Yoenis Cespedes. Then, the A’s traded Tommy Milone to the Twins in exchange for Sam Fuld.
The Cardinals acquired John Lackey from the Red Sox for Joey Kelly and Allen Craig.
The Brewers traded a pair of minor leaguers (outfielder Mitch Haniger and pitcher Anthony Banda) to the Diamondbacks for Gerardo Parra.
The Padres continued selling and traded Chris Denorfia to the Mariners for Abraham Almonte and minor league pitcher Stephen Kohlscheen.
A day after trading Justin Masterson to the Cardinals, the Indians traded Asdrubal Cabrera to the Nationals for Zach Walters.
The Red Sox traded Andrew Miller to the Orioles for minor league pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez.
Boston was very active at the deadline and concluded its day after trading Stephen Drew to the Yankees for Kelly Johnson.
In addition to Drew, the Yankees acquired Martin Prado. In order to get Prado, the Yankees sent Peter O’Brien and either cash or a player to be named later to the Diamondbacks.
The Braves acquired Emilio Bonifacio, James Russell and cash from the Cubs in exchange for minor league catcher Victor Caratini.
The Marlins sent outfielder Jake Marisnick to the Astros in return for Jarred Cosart and Kike Hernandez.
In perhaps the biggest blockbuster trade of the day, the Tigers acquired David Price, the Mariners picked up Austin Jackson and the Rays received Drew Smyly and Nick Franklin.
Today’s Trade Deadline was one of the most exciting in recent memory as there was not only a plethora of moves, but moves with very significant pieces.
At first glance, the Red Sox, A’s, Cardinals and Tigers appear to be the “Trade Deadline winners.” However, a lot will be determined by how teams fare in October.
When all is said and done and one team is hoisting the World Series Trophy in October, today will be a fun one to look back at.
Side note:
It is not a total shock, but it is a bit surprising that the Dodgers didn’t trade Matt Kemp or any of their outfielders.
Stalling On Replay Reviews Needs To Change
Overall, instant replay has been good for baseball.
Replay filled a void that was needed in baseball and the fact that entering play Saturday 51.97 percent of challenges have been overturned, according to data compiled from baseballreference.com, illustrates that.
However, whenever a manager comes out to challenge a call there is one glaring flaw to the system and Saturday night Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was ejected from his team’s 4-0 loss to the Angels for arguing it.
Once the umpire makes his initial call it often takes managers far too long to initiate the challenge.
In the third inning of Saturday night’s game, Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker picked Tigers baserunner Eugenio Suarez off of first base. First base umpire Jim Joyce initially called Suarez safe and about 20-25 seconds passed before Angels manager Mike Scioscia came out of the dugout to talk with Joyce.
Another 15 or so seconds passed while Scioscia discussed the play with Joyce. And approximately 40 seconds after Joyce’s initial call, the replay process officially began.
Ausmus tried to argue the play shouldn’t be reviewable because the next play was ready to begin and Scioscia had taken too long.
According to Section D, Rule 1 of the replay review rules:
“The next ‘play’ shall commence when the pitcher is on the rubber preparing to start his delivery and the batter has entered the batter’s box (unless the defensive team initiates an appeal play, in which case any call made during the play prior to the appeal still may be subject to Replay Review).”
The rules also state it is up to the umpire’s discretion whether to grant the request for review.
So under the rules Scioscia and Joyce were fine.
However, for the speed and fluidity of the game, Ausmus is 100 percent correct.
The call was ultimately overturned meaning the umpires got it right and the system worked, but there is no reason to process should take 40ish seconds to start.
Saturday night’s controversy was a bit unique because Scioscia took so long to come out of the dugout, but when all is said and done it is no different than every other replay scenario.
The typical scenario starts when the manager comes out of the dugout and talks to the umpire about who knows what while awaiting a signal from the dugout. From there the manager either gets a thumbs-up and challenges the call or gets a thumbs down and trots back to the dugout.
If a manager is going to come out of the dugout he should be forced to either make a mound visit or challenge the call. Having the opportunity to discuss gardening, attractive blondes in section 108 or make dinner plans while waiting on a signal from the dugout just wastes time.
Managers may say sometimes they just go out to get clarification – and occasionally that is true – but how many times have you seen a manager go talk to an umpire only to look back into the dugout, get a thumbs down from one of his coaches and then retreat back to the dugout?
If the manager really wanted clarification on something he wouldn’t be staring into the dugout while getting the “clarification” from the umpire.
This stalling practice has quickly become common ground on a lot close plays and seems to be a part of the replay culture in MLB, but it needs to be changed.
Replay has been really good for baseball and as the system evolves and everyone gets more comfortable with the process it should only get better.
It’s important to remember this is baseball’s first season with expanded instant replay so there are kinks that need to be – and will be – ironed out in the offseason.
Hopefully stalling is just one of those kinks.
Quick Roster Breakdown of the A’s And Angels
With the Trade Deadline looming and a lot of talk about roster construction, I though it’d be interesting to take a look at the rosters of the top two teams in baseball – the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Using info obtained from baseballreference.com I looked at the current 25-man rosters of each team and put the numbers – in a variety of categories – side by side.
| Category | A’s | Angels |
| Average Age | 28.96 | 28.88 |
| Players 30+ | 9 | 11 |
| Players Acquired Via… | ||
| Trade | 12 | 9 |
| Free Agency | 6 | 6 |
| Draft | 2 | 10 |
| Waivers | 3 | 0 |
| Purchased | 1 (Jesse Chavez) | 0 |
| Conditional Deal | 1 (Stephen Vogt) | 0 |
| Making $3 million + | 7 | 10 |
| Highest Paid | Yoenis Cespedes ($10 Million) | Albert Pujols ($23 Million) |
| Average Experience | 5.96 | 6.48 |
| Average Attendance | 24626 | 38121 |
What do all these numbers mean? I guess we will find out at the end of the season when one team has won the American League West and the other is likely playing in a Wild Card game.
While this data may not necessarily mean all that much I thought it was interesting to look at and a few things jumped out at me:
- I was not surprised that the Angels had more players over 30 than the A’s, but I was surprised to find the Angels average age slightly below Oakland’s.
- It was also surprising to see how much of the A’s roster is the result of trades. Of course a lot of these trades take place in the lower levels when Billy Beane is wheeling and dealing prospects, but nearly half the roster has been acquired via trade which I found interesting.
- Everyone knows the A’s don’t have a big payroll and the Angels certainly haven’t been shy about throwing money around to coveted free agents. Albert Pujols is the Angels highest paid player, but CJ Wilson ($16 million), Jered Weaver ($16 million) and Josh Hamilton ($17 million) are all making more than the A’s highest paid player – Yoenis Cespedes.
Is Darvish On To Something?
I am not a doctor and neither is Yu Darvish. I wouldn’t pretend to be one and I doubt Darvish would either meaning we can’t take his recent comments as fact or the absolute answer to the Tommy John epidemic sweeping the Major Leagues.
However, at the All-Star break there were 35 pitchers on the Disabled List because of Tommy John surgery which means that whatever teams are trying right now isn’t working. So maybe we should give Darvish’s thoughts some credence.
The Rangers ace opened up to the Japanese media at the All-Star and shared his thoughts on why so many pitchers have been getting hurt.
Sam Onoda of NHK Television shared the transcript with T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers beat writer for MLB.com, and here are some of the more interesting aspects of the conversation:
Q.What is your take on the increase in TJ surgery?
I think there are a lot reasons that are being said and I don’t know the exact reason either but I think it could be the way that we train. The way that we train nowadays is so that we can increase the velocity of our pitches. This is how I tell my training coach, lower body, back, lower back if we concentrate on that area we are able to throw the ball faster, but we are not able to protect the arm and elbow. Since we are throwing the ball faster there is more tension on the ligament, we need to protect that, so (the training) it’s not good. So I think that is the main reason. But people are saying throwing the splitter is not good but I don’t think that puts stress on the elbow. I think the change up has more to do with it as it catches the ring finger. The forkball is different and I think that definitely puts strain on the elbow, the grip of a split finger is shallow and doesn’t differ much than the two seamer.
Q.So you should work on the whole body?
If you’re not going to do it it’s best you don’t do anything. The Japanese aren’t getting injured, in 10 years I only know three or four people that had TJ. There are very few in Japan, over here there is about 10 guys that do TJ in a year, I think that’s due to the way they train. It difficult to train the lower body, you need to balance the training well, and also it’s the number of days between each start I think that’s number one.
Q. Four days rest?
It’s way too short, that’s why they have pitch count limitations but pitch count doesn’t have much to do with it. You could throw 120 pitches 140 pitches and have six days rest and the inflammation on the ligament will all be healed so I think that’ it.
Q.So do you need to adopt to the environment, Strasburg was young but had TJ?
It’s not about adjusting period, I think pitching on 4 days rest is fine, there are a lot more banned substances compared to 10,20 years ago, I’m not saying they were using substances but now a days you can’t even take cold medicine I think that may be a reason too. I don’t think that Matsuzaka,Tanaka, Wada, Fujikawa had damage to their ligaments in Japan, when they came over here they had medical checks so I don’t think they had any issues, so it developed after they came here. So why? I think it’s the time between starts and heavier ball those kind of things.
Q.Do you think a six man rotation will help?
I think that’s the way to go. But if you do that the salary of each player will go down, but if you wanted to protect the player they should add one more spot to the roster. 5 days, 6 days between each start, if you have a minimum of five days I think it would be a lot more easier.
Q.But four days rest is a norm here so don’t you think it’s hard to change?
There are this many TJs, the top brass should talk about why it is so.
Q.Especially young ones?
It’s such a waste (of talent) The top brass of organizations should protect them, I think by doing so it would profitable so they should talk about it.
Teams have certainly tried plenty of things to prevent injuries to pitchers such as limiting innings and installing pitch counts, but extra rest has not really been considered.
Yes, teams have skipped a guy once through the rotation or pushed him back a day, but no team – as least not that I can recall – has ever continuously given a guy extra rest throughout the bulk of a Major League season.
Although the six-man rotation may work to keep pitchers healthy and may have some merit, there is no way teams will implement it anytime soon.
The name of the game is winning and adding a sixth starter means less starts for a teams ace.
It is hard enough for teams to put together five quality starters to trot out to the mound each day and adding a sixth would likely have a big impact of a lot of teams.
Since adding a sixth man to the rotation seems to be out of the question, maybe it is worth looking at Darvish’s thoughts on the way pitchers train.
Training is one thing that can be tweaked fairly easily – pitchers and teams can simply institute a new offseason program – and it may have a positive impact.
Is there one concrete solution that will prevent any pitcher from needing Tommy John Surgery ever again? No. Of course not.
However, if the surgeries can be limited it is undoubtedly good for the sport and at this point all options are worth considering.
Is This California’s Year?
“Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild West. A state that’s untouchable like Eliot Ness”
Odds are Dr. Dre and Tupac weren’t thinking of baseball when they came out with “California Love,” but the song – which came out in 1996 – could also serve baseball fans as an introduction to the 2014 playoff races.
There will be great drama and meaningful games across the country throughout the remainder of the season, but it’s time for people to start staying up late and watching the great baseball taking place on the West Coast.
The 2014 season is shaping up to be the first ever in which four teams from California are simultaneously in the playoffs – sorry San Diego.
Twice (A’s, Angels, Giants in 2002 and A’s, Dodgers, Padres in 2006) California has had three teams in the playoffs, but that’s it.
Not only would four teams be historic, but it could also heighten the tension in the playoffs as intrastate series always produce a unique form of drama.
There is plenty of baseball left to be played and injuries or any number of unforeseen variables could alter the postseason picture, but as of now four California teams have tremendous odds of making the postseason.
According to Baseball Prospectus, Oakland has a 99.5 percent chance of making the postseason, Anaheim’s at 99.1 percent, Los Angeles at 84.0 and San Francisco at 78.2.
The A’s are a game and a half up on the Angels in the AL West while the Giants lead the Dodgers by a game in the NL West.
Undoubtedly expanded playoffs have provided this opportunity, but don’t let that discredit what is happening out West as there is some tremendous baseball being played out there. Three of the top four win percentages in baseball come from the state of California and four of the top 10.
The NL West race will be fun to watch for a multitude of reasons, but the simplest is because it’s the Giants and Dodgers.
Whenever those teams square off, tensions are high. Throw in a potential division crown and the nine remaining games between the team that has won two of the last four World Series and the team that has a league-high $242,128,402 payroll are sure to provide compelling story lines.
The A’s and Angels don’t have quite the same rivalry, but the AL West race – a race between teams with the two best records in baseball – isn’t hurting for reasons to watch.
Not only are the Angels and A’s going to go head-to-head six more times on the field this season, but they have also been duking it out in the front offices.
The A’s made the biggest splash of the trading season when they acquired Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs, but the Angels weren’t going to be outdone. The Angels have bolstered their bullpen through trades and have added Joe Thatcher, Jason Grilli and Huston Street.
The AL West race is also intriguing because the teams – despite a lot of similarities – are opposite when it comes to perception. The A’s, despite having won the division each of the past two season, are a team devoid of superstars and often lacked recognition. The Angels finished third in the division in 2012 and 2013, but because their roster features Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton they still had no troubles finding their way into the headlines.
West Coast teams are likely to play a big role in the second half of the season and as the calendar turns to Fall, California is not a bad place to be.
California knows how to party.
And this year, one of four baseball teams may prove it.
Boor on Baseball 