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4/10/2008
Billy-Ball Daily
Bill Chuck (Billy-Ball his own self)
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The only spin here is on my screwball
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Top of the 1st
ALL-STARS ILLUSTRATED
In June, there is going to be new version of the movie, “The Incredible Hulk,” whether we need it or not. As I gazed upon a picture of this 9-foot bulked up character, I realized that the only difference between him and some of the steroidal creatures who played in the majors this past decade is that this guy is green. My second thought is that this guy would be one terrific catcher.
Think about this, you think Jason Varitek can block the plate? Forget it! Who’s going to slide in, or heaven forbid, crash into the Hulk. Here’s another thing, the Hulk gets huge when he gets angry. Tell me that umpire calls aren’t going to go his way when he thinks it’s a strike. And pity the pitcher who crosses him when he throws a curve in the dirt when Bruce Banner (Hulk’s alter ego) is expecting a fastball.
So, I got a catcher, I figured I better fill out the rest of the starters:
My first baseman is Iron Man, just out of respect to Lou Gehrig who was the Iron Horse.
At second base I’m putting the Wolverine. Wolverine has those long finger nail things that pop out which I figure would be really good getting balls between first and second and getting errant throws from short when attempting a double play.
My shortstop is Spiderman, shooting out that spider fluid will insure his web gems.
At third is Batman. He’s there for two reasons; first, the obvious one – the guy can hit. C’mon you don’t call someone Batman unless you can hit. Next, he was once played by George Clooney, who reminds me of Mike Lowell, the Sox third baseman.
In left field, is Green Lantern. Now here is a guy who uses his ring to create anything and he could make a huge glove and catch even balls going over the Green Monster.
In center is the Flash. I want a speed demon covering the ground in centerfield and I bet he would be a great lead-off batter.
My rightfielder is Captain America, the greatest righty superhero in comic book history.
My DH is the Mighty Thor, the man would wield the greatest hammer since Hank Aaron.
On the mound, is Johnny Thunder, more commonly known as the Human Torch. He is truly a flame thrower.
Coming out of the bullpen, is Namor, the Submariner, one of the great sinkerball pitchers, known for his submarine delivery.
My entire bench is Superman. He can do it all unless we’re playing with a Kryptonite ball.
Finally, my manager – Wonder Woman. Only a powerful woman could control the egos on this ballclub.
Drop me a line at bill@billy-ball.com and let me know who else should make the team.
Top of the 2nd
ALBERT THE GREAT
If you get a chance, try to see Albert Pujols, because you are going to want to tell your grandchildren you saw him play. With his two homers yesterday, he’s now hitting .379 with two homers and four RBI and he merely has 13 hits and nine walks in nine games.
The surprising Cardinals continued their winning ways, defeating the Astros, 6-4. They’ve won three straight series and that’s how you win championships.
Top of the 3rd
OFF THE SCHNEID
Congrats to the Detroit Tigers who finally won yesterday, defeating the Red Sox, 6-2. I don’t care so much that it took them eight games to pick up a win as much as I love using the phrase, “off the schnied.”
“Off the schneid” is a term frequently referred to the ending of a slump. As in a batter going 0-18, a team going 0-7, or George W. Bush going 0-his presidency.
According to Pete McEntegart of SI.com, “The term comes from gin rummy. In that game, a "schneider" or "schneid" is when one prevents an opponent from scoring a point in a game or match. In sports, the "schneid" has become a general term for being scoreless, winless, hitless or other unsavory "-less" states. Thus when one achieves that first run, point, win, hit, etc., one is said to have "gotten off the schneid." The actual word originates from the German and Yiddish term schneider, for one who cuts cloth, i.e. a tailor. Sadly, we could find no proven link to the handyman from One Day at a Time.”
Top of the 4th
JOHN SHIFFERT’S 19 TO 21
19 to 21
No, that’s not the number of times Mike Hampton has been on the DL, it’s,
Baseball...Then and Now
News Item: April 2, 2000 – The Braves’ John Smoltz goes on the Disabled List…for the entire 2000 season.
Mike Hampton’s and Pedro Martinez’ annual trips to the Disabled List last week have a deeper meaning than the conclusion that these two China Dolls shouldn’t be counted on to pitch large numbers of meaningful innings. Although it is interesting to note that Hampton has never had chest problems before (the oblique is probably the only part of his anatomy he hasn’t injured previously) and Martinez’ troubles have typically been with his arm and not his legs, there’s a bigger issue here than the unrealistic expectations of their respective employers. Mainly that contending teams would be better off not to rely too heavily on old and/or fragile pitchers.
Despite what would seem to be an obvious caution, all three of the contenders in the National League East opened the 2008 season by relying on at least two starters who are either old or fragile. Maybe this is a statement as to the scarcity of starting pitching, but then how do we explain Kyle Lohse, who is neither especially old nor especially fragile, going so very deep into Spring Training without a job, before being picked up by the non-contending Cardinals, seemingly out of desperation. Meanwhile, the NL East favorites, the Mets, started off counting on the aforementioned Pedro and Orlando Hernandez, who is officially 42 years old, or three years older than Jack Benny was for a half a century. Number Two in the East, the Phillies, have the oldest player in baseball, 45 year-old starter Jamie Moyer, while their immensely-talented (think, Cy Young potential) 24 year-old ace, Cole Hamels, has never pitched a full professional season. Then there’s Number Three in the East, the Braves. In addition to, for some reason, thinking Hampton could provide any high-quality major league innings at the age of 35 after two entire years on the DL, the Braves have also outfitted their rotation with not one, but two, forty-somethings, a flight of fantasy that has largely gone uncommented upon. Maybe that’s because they are a sure-thing future Hall of Famer (Tom Glavine) and a strong Hall of Fame candidate (John Smoltz), but that doesn’t change the fact that Glavine is 42 and Smoltz will be 41 in mid-May. Or that Smoltz has had four arm surgeries and has already made one 2008 trip to the Disabled List prior to the start of the current season.
(In fairness to the NL East, it should be noted that the two best teams in the NL West, the Padres and the Diamondbacks, are counting on soon-to-be 42 year-old Greg Maddux and currently disabled 44 year-old Randy Johnson.)
While it is true that the Braves’ less-than-questioning media have been drooling over Glavine and Smoltz having given up just one earned run to date in 16 innings, it is also true that he who ignores history is doomed to repeat it. While the Mets and the Braves chose to ignore Martinez’ and Hampton’s injury history while building their starting rotations, the Braves are also guilty of overlooking the age factor, maybe because good pitchers are lasting into their forties far more often than in the past, or maybe due to the pitching shortage, or maybe due to an attack of nostalgia on behalf of Glavine. The Braves apparently chose to ignore the indisputable truth that, prior to the 2003 season, no team that played in the postseason had ever, repeat ever, relied on two 40+ starters as regulars in a rotation. In fact, over the course of the entire 20th Century, only 30 individuals aged 40 or over ever started a single game for a pennant winner or a wild card team. And those that did averaged just 12 starts per season per man. Want to take it a step farther? In the 100 years of 20th Century baseball, only six starting pitchers in their 40s were one of the four top starters for a post season team.
Year Pitcher Age Team Starts Rotation Slot
1928 Grover C. Alexander 41 Cardinals 31 1
1929 John P. Quinn 45 Athletics 18 4
1982 Phil Niekro 43 Braves 35 1
1986 Don Sutton 41 Angels 34 1
1989 Rick Reuschel 40 Giants 32 1
1995 Dennis Martinez 40 Indians 28 2
Only three postseason teams from the 20th Century; the 1934 Cardinals, the 1958 Yankees, and the 1987 Twins; had two 40+ starters of any description or usage. Knuckleballer Jesse Haines (40) and Dazzy Vance (43) combined for 10 starts for the Gas House Gang. Sal Maglie (41) and Murray Dickson (41) totaled five starts for the eastern branch of the Kansas City A’s in 1958. And knuckleballer Joe Niekro (42 – he was the fifth starter) and hanging on Steve Carlton (42) made a total of 25 starts for the Cinderella Twins. Prior to 2003, you just didn’t see the best teams with a lot of old pitchers.
It is true that times have changed a little in the 21st Century. Outside of a single start by 41 year-old Mike Morgan for the 2001 Diamondbacks, the trend toward successful team using 40+ starters didn’t get rolling until 2003, when the Yankees had Roger Clemens (their number one starter) and David Wells (number four) as regulars in their rotation – the first time a first place team had ever used two quadranarians as rotation regulars. Two years later, the Yankees again had two oldtimers in the rotation… two different ones. The previously-mentioned Mr. Johnson was their 41 year-old number two starter, and the fading Kevin Brown made 13 starts as the erstwhile number five starter. The next year the Mets, with Glavine (32 starts) and Hernandez (20 starts) did it, followed by last year’s Red Sox, whose second and fourth starters were a soon-to-be-injured Curt Schilling and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.
So, yes, there have been four teams in the past five years who have made the postseason with two 40+ starters in their rotation. But there were also 103 years prior to that when zero post season teams had two regular starters over 40. Maybe the Braves know something almost everyone else doesn’t. But, in this particular measure, given the weight of history, to say nothing of the weight of statistics, it sure looks like they’re doomed to repeat third place again, even though old pitchers never seem to die anymore, they just throw fadeaways.
-- John Shiffert
Top of the 5th
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT
The Pirates last night introduced their latest promotion: all-you-can-eat seats. For $35 in advance -- $40 on game day -- fans can purchase seats in Section 147, up in the right-field corner of PNC Park, where they can enjoy unlimited amounts of hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos, popcorn, peanuts and soda pop.
Section 149 will be known as the All-You-Can-Throw-Up section, the cost? Priceless.
Top of the 6th
GAG ME
In case you’ve missed it, after coming into this season with just 10 blown saves in his career, Eric G*gne has converted only one of three chances with Milwaukee.
Top of the 7th
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Seattle Mariners at Tampa Bay Rays, 12:40 pm
(R) Miguel Batista (0-1) vs. (R) Edwin Jackson (1-0)
Baltimore Orioles at Texas Rangers, 5:05 pm
(R) Steve Trachsel (1-0) vs. (R) Kevin Millwood (0-2)
Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 pm
(L) Nate Robertson (0-0) vs. (R) Tim Wakefield (0-0)
Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 pm
(L) Dana Eveland (1-0) vs. (R) Shaun Marcum (1-0)
Baltimore Orioles at Texas Rangers, 8:05 pm
(L) Adam Loewen (0-0) vs. (L) Kason Gabbard (1-0)
New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 pm
(L) Andy Pettitte (0-1) vs. (L) John Bale (0-1)
Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 pm
(R) Livan Hernandez (2-0) vs. (R) Jose Contreras (0-0)
NL
Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers, 1:05 pm
(R) Aaron Harang (0-1) vs. (R) Carlos Villanueva (1-0)
Atlanta Braves at Colorado Rockies, 3:05 pm
(R) Tim Hudson (1-0) vs. (L) Jeff Francis (0-1)
Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 pm
(L) Rich Hill (0-0) vs. (R) Matt Morris (0-0)
Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets, 7:10 pm
(R) Adam Eaton (0-0) vs. (R) John Maine (0-1)
Florida Marlins at Washington Nationals, 7:10 pm
(L) Mark Hendrickson (1-1) vs. (L) Odalis Perez (0-1)
St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants, 10:15 pm
(R) Adam Wainwright (1-0) vs. (R) Kevin Correia (0-1)
Top of the 8th
DID YOU KNOW?
Top of the 9th
W.
Starting filming on April 21st in Shreveport, is Oliver Stone's upcoming feature "W." In an early script, President George W. Bush is portrayed as a foul-mouthed, reformed drunk obsessed with baseball, Saddam Hussein and a conflicted relationship with his dad.
Well at least he likes baseball.
Bottom of the 9th
BUY THE BOOK
Bill Chuck is the creator of Billy-Ball.com and, with Jim Kaplan, is the author of the book, “Walk-Offs, Last Licks, and Final Outs – Baseball’s Grand (and not so Grand) Finales,” with a Foreword by Jon Miller available now from ACTA Sports.
Autographed first editions are available by contacting, Bill@billy-ball.com or order directly from Acta Sports, http://www.actasports.com/detail.html?&id=3427 or from your favorite bookstore worldwide.
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Information provided in Billy-Ball has been gathered from A.P. reports, espn.com, sportsline.com, mlb.com and numerous other e-sources. Opinions expressed in Billy-Ball are obviously solely the opinions of the author of Billy-Ball and do not reflect those of source material no matter how off the wall they may be.
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