Random thoughts at the end of a long trip
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Jun 06, 2011 
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As far as three-city road trips go, a swing through Seattle, Southern California and the Bay Area is better than most. If you evaluate road trips the way I do — familiar restaurants, nice hotels, the chance to see a friend or two — those three stops rank pretty high on the list.
If you evaluate road trips the way a baseball players, the results matter more than the food and the accommodations.
I guess this trip was a win for everyone.
“I think it’s important to go home playing well,” Joe Girardi said. “Guys feeling good about themselves, feeling good about the way they’re throwing the baseball, the way they’re hitting the baseball. I think that’s important.”
Here are a few things that might or might not be true on this off day following the Yankees successful trip to the West Coast.
• I remember thinking, after the first few games of the season, that Mark Teixeira might be working his way back to an MVP-caliber season. He looked that way again during the road trip. Facing so many front-line starters made it very hard to hit for average on this trip — and Teixeira certainly didn’t — but he hammered mistakes, and he’s been doing that for a few weeks now. It was a reminder that this guy has the ability to carry the team for a while if he gets hot.
• Someone asked the other day when I thought Derek Jeter would reach 3,000 hits. My answer was this: I don’t know how or why, but I really wouldn’t be surprised to see him do it during this upcoming home stand. He’s not on pace to do it, and it’s not like he hit the ball especially hard out West, but I really believe he could string together a few two-hit, three-hit games and make a run at the milestone before Chicago.
• Robinson Cano made some really nice plays during this road trip. He finally looked like the defensive standout he was last season. Until now, he’d been oddly inconsistent in the field.
• Dave Robertson really is very good at what he does. He walks guys, and I realize it’s a short-coming, but every pitcher has those. Robertson has the ability to make up for his short-coming with strikeout stuff. Raw velocity doesn’t tell you nearly enough about how good his fastball is. You have to watch the swings. There were guys in that Angels lineup who were completely overmatched.
• The whole concept seems annoying, but I love the Rally Monkey. Cracks me up every time. And the crowd always responds.
• There are other No. 1 starters who, on their best days, are better than CC Sabathia on his best days. But best days don’t happen very often, and on a start-to-start basis, Sabathia has to be considered one of the very best. He’s as reliable as they come.
• Brett Gardner used to drive people crazy with his reluctance to steal unless he was absolutely certain — or as close to certain as he could be — that he was going to take the bag without being caught. Now he’s being thrown out at a surprising rate. I have no idea what’s going on there, but I don’t think he’s any slower than he used to be. I can only guess that he’s not getting the same jumps that he has in the past.
• There were signs of life in Anaheim, but a couple of doubles and some hard-hit fly balls don’t necessarily mean Jorge Posada has found his swing. I really thought he would have begun climbing out of the hole by now.
• Eddie Vedder and Death Cab For Cutie came out with new albums during this trip, but both albums were released after the team left Seattle. The music nerd in me would have enjoyed buying those albums in their natural habitat.
• Bartolo Colon has really overshadowed a great first two months from Freddy Garcia. This is why teams are always interested in taking a look at veteran pitchers who have clearly lost their elite stuff. Some of them figure out how to work with less. That’s why it was worth giving Kevin Millwood a look even if it didn’t work out.
• It seems like we’re never talking about A.J. Burnett, and that’s a good thing.
• Based on nothing but wild speculation, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Randy Flores show up in New York this week. The Yankees could get away with carrying just one long reliever — if that guy gets burned out, just send him down and replace him with someone else from Triple-A — and use that second long-relief spot for a second lefty. Hector Noesi and Lance Pendleton each deserve to stay, but game-by-game, there’s really not a role for both of them.
Associated Press photos
It seems like we?re never talking about A.J. Burnett, and that?s a good thing.
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LOL
Randy Flores ……………………
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.....pid=420864
Chad,
I agree on Robertson….his stuff is so good. He threw the ball by people at 90/91…..now he’s touching 94/94 and when you add in the way he hides the ball and the extension he gets then its a truly elite level heater…..its even got a little cut to it. He also has that hammer curveball……his such a weapon for Girardi.
I think Robertson’s FB velocity has increased each of the last 3 seasons.
“• It seems like we’re never talking about A.J. Burnett, and that’s a good thing.”
Ain’t that the truth.
Great post Chad. Sums things up perfectly.
Repost-
Erin-
Looks like trouble brewing in Cubsland. After being swept by the Cardinals and now on a 6 game losing streak, Carlos Zambrano called the Cubs ”embarrassing” and a ”Triple-A team” and criticized closer Carlos Marmol’s pitch selection on the tying hit in the ninth.
Also it looks like the White Sox might be putting Peavy back on the DL for a groin pull, which would probably end any chances in the near future of trading for one of their other 5 starters.
zambrano was right,whats the problem?
Chad-
Righty Kevin Whelan, has terrific numbers against lefties. Why not give him a shot instead of Flores who gave up 2 runs in his last appearance? Then promote Tim Norton, who one scout said was better than Chamberlain, from Trenton to SWB to close.
Does Flores have an opt-out clause?
YT-I think there’s always trouble in Cubsland.
I heard Zambrano’s comments on the news this AM. My poor mom (Cubs fan, but closet Yankee fan) hasn’t even watched a game this year. She says there’s no point. LOL
The Cubs need to bite the bullet and rebuild instead of trying to compete every year…..they are delaying their team by holding on to.something that isn’t working……same thing the Mets did for so long.
YT-
I hope you’re wrong about the WS.
Don’t forget that they have Chris Sale (a lefty starter) working out of the pen. He could always be stretched out if they wish.
I’d like to get Thornton and Danks in a package deal. Two good lefties. One for the rotation. One for the pen.
That would be a coup.
They need to trade Zambrano, Dempster, and anybody else they can get anything for…….
Cleveland is sinking like the titanic…..whether Chicago becomes sellers or not will probably have more to do with the tigers than the indians.
How come we dont hear Gardy is working w raines or henderson or someone? i guess its only done during ST? id love to hear hes studying tape or getting advice. has Girardi ever said anything?
MTU,
Yes that would be….that would be awesome. Would probably cost something that we wouldn’t want to give though.
MTU-
From Chicago Sun Times:
Less than a month after his return from shoulder surgery, Peavy left the game Sunday against the Detroit Tigers with a strained right groin. His exit after four innings was potentially the more serious consequence of the 7-3 loss.
”I’ll probably miss more time now,” a glum Peavy said. ”We’ll evaluate it and see some doctors, but it’d be hard for this thing to just go away. We have a lot of equipment [for treatment], but the way I feel when I walk, [the disabled list] is a pretty safe bet.”
Wouldn’t mind Gavin Floyd. What has happened to Thornton, who was probably the best set-up man in AL the last few years?
I still want Zambrano. We’d have the only starting rotation in the league that could double as WWE wrestlers.
Just read about Chelsea Baker from the last thread. Wow thats something. What I wouldn’t give to watch a lady stand out there on the mound and make all these gentlemen look bad…
Jeter had a .409 OBP over the road trip….the offense runs so much better if he’s getting on base. I hope he continues it on the home stand, gets hot, and gets 3000 at the stadium.
MTU June 6th, 2011 at 9:13 am
I?d like to get Thornton and Danks in a package deal. Two good lefties. One for the rotation. One for the pen.
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MTU, if this is going to cause White Sox Guy to scream at me all day, then forget it.
Blake-
If the Cubs look to trade pitching, I wouldn’t mind the Yankees looking to get Matt Garza, Sean Marshall and/or Carlos Marmol.
Peavy is a gamer….all the years of max effort with his delivery is taking its toll though.
Selig should have let Cuban buy the Cubs. he would have them as serious contenders in 5 years
Shame-
The Yankees have Carlos Silva who is bigger than Zambrano, and is “eating” his way through the minors, waiting for a callup. LOL
the cubs are terrible. thier corner infielders are pena (.210) and ramirez (21 rbi), thier corner OF’s are fu kudome (2hr 6 rbi)and a combination of ty colvin (.091) and some guys named campana and montanez (0 hr/2rbi combined).
zambrano should apologize TO THE TRIPLE A TEAM!
Trader,
Yea….I would think they will be sellers soon. They aren’t any good and there are 3 teams in the division better than them.
Trader – Oh I forgot about Silva!! I wonder if the guys have sumo wrestling competitions on off days..
YS-
The Cubs do have some good pitchers, however.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/st.....p?c_id=chc
I really don’t get why they wont let Cuban in as an owner. He’s not that bad…..he’s outspoken sometimes but he’s not like a terrible guy or anything…..he’s a super smart dude and would be good for the game I think.
Blake-
Could it be that Mark Cuban is not ‘country club’ enough for them?
They don’t want another cowboy like George who would spend 200 plus million on payroll
Trader,
Im sure that’s what it is…..thats a dumb reason though. Baseball needs its traditions …..but it also needs to evolve and have fresh ideas as well…..just like everything else.
Cuban is a businessman though…..I don’t think he’d spend a significant amount over what the revenues warranted. He could turn the cubs into a money making machine win Wrigley though.
If you want to make money you don’t buy a baseball team.
im sure david stern had some things to tell bud about cuban when he was trying to get the cubs. but that is a very short sighted approach. how good would it be for baseball if the cubs had a revival similar to the red sock’s? it is still the 2nd or 3rd largest market in the country. baseball needs the cubs, dodgers and mets to be premier teams. unfortunately for the national league, it looks like all 3 will be shedding stars and reducing payrolls over the next couple of years.
My impression when Gardner got thrown out stealing second yesterday was that he had a pathetic lead. I’m not sure if that is what is killing him this season, but he seems to be truing to outrun the throw to second rather than extending his lead and getting a running start when he guesses right. Maybe he is too afraid of getting picked off, but a good base stealer can afford a few pickoffs in a season that translate into many fewer caught stealings…
My relatives in Pittsburgh dream of having Mark Cuban own the Pirates.
YT-
I think Thornton is just having an off year. Same as Danks.
Change of scenery will do them good.
Blake-
You might be right. Could cost more than we’re willing to give.
2 lefties is just very appealing.
Dog walk time. BIAW.
every baseball team makes huge money. especially the pirates, rays and marlins. it’s a cant-lose proposition.
re Mark Cuban:Are there any big 4 dual sport owners? the mlb doesnt want nba money conflict?
superficially cuban would seem like agreat owner for sure,i can see him increasing interest in the mlb, which is good. His brash outspoken nature probably scares the close to the vest traditionalists though…. he wouldve been a helluva a lot better for pgh than the bozos there now who hurt the mlb…
gardner has blinding speed but poor stealing skills. he should be much more of a threat than he is. (bernie williams was the same way).
Paco, if the gardy lead is the case, dont you think someone on the club would be reviewing EVERY steal and let him know that? why do we hear nothing regarding what he is doing to analyze/improve?
of course on the yankees, where you have home run hitters all over the lineup, you never want to lose baserunners and the advantage of stealing a base is much less than on a power-deprived team like the mets.
Marshall from the Cubs looks to be the left handed reliever the Yankees could use. Check out his stats from last year and this. Pretty impressive.
If Garza is healthy, I always liked his stuff.
I do think Peavey’s injury delays any chance for an White Sox trade in the near future.
Gardner has other issues besides base stealing. He needs to get his teamates standing on 3rd with less than two out-home, instead of popping up. He doesn’t have enough power for the sacrifice fly.
YsGuy,
I am not too sure all clubs make money as nine are in some debt structure problem. I agree the teams with the least payroll probably have the largest profit.
Sean Marshall would be a great addition. Earlier in his career he was a starter. Making 1.6M this year and 3.1M next- so the Cubs might not want to trade him, unless they get good value in return.
austin, dont believe that crap they throw out about losing money. the biggest two who have debt problems are the dodgers and mets, both of whom make boatloads of money. teams dont count most of thier tv revenue when they try to make the case that they are losing money. team’s values go up and up and up unrelentingly, just because some teams borrowed excessively against this equity doesnt mean they are losing money. i dont believe any team has ever sold for less than it was purchased for and most have increased five or tenfold over their time of ownership.
anybody who has lost money owning a baseball team in the last 40 years is just inept.
Yea Marshall interests me more than anyone on the cubbies.
i.e. fred wilpon paid $135M to buy doubleday’s 50% interest in the mets in 2002. the current valuation of the team is $1B. that means he has seen almost a fourfold increase in the teams value over 9 years. and that doesnt count sny which might make more money than the mets themselves. his crying that the team might lose $70M this year is a joke. it probably increases in value by more than that in one year alone, then add in the tv money.
this is one of the teams that mlb would tell you is in financial trouble. it is in financial trouble but not because it doenst turn a profit, its in trouble because the owner invested in a ponzi scheme (for the second time).
Ys Guy,
You make way more money in other types of then owning a baseball team. It is more of a ststus thing since there are only 30 that exist.
alot of people out there making a fourfold increase in their money in 9 years? i think not. and that doesnt count the sny money. steinbrenner bought the yankees for about $10M of his money. its probably worth close to $2B now.
You are talking about the biggest media market in the world. The Mets are worth what they are because of being in NY and also because of SNY. If owning a team is such a great investment why doesn’t Gates,Jobs,Buffett or Trump own any?
i.e. drayton mcclain bought the astros for $117M in 1992 and is negotiating a sale now for $680M. and they are the maybe the worst team in baseball.
“If owning a team is such a great investment why doesn’t Gates,Jobs,Buffett or Trump own any?”
Not sure this proves your point at all.
btw, the met’s valuation of $1B, (based on the new owner’s purchase price) is almost 25% more than forbes estimated valuation of the team. so is mc clain’s sale price. these guys arent paying a 25% premium because they want status, they are paying it because they know the revenues are going to continue to go up as baseball (and all sports) begin to reap huge new revenue streams from all sorts of new media platforms.
Jeter needs 14 hits in the next 10 games at home. He had 11 hits in his last 10 games (9 games on the road). His home numbers are much worse than his away numbers so far. He has also started walking more recently. I think I’d be in favor of Jeter hacking on this homestand. The next 6 games are on the road. It would suck for him to get 3000 at Chicago or Cincinnati… yuck.
It would have been sweet for him to get 3000 vs the Red Sox, and have all the Red Sox players having to applaud. But he’s not getting 14 hits in 3 games, especially against Lester and Beckett (although Jeter has hit them both pretty well).
Triple Short of a Cycle June 6th, 2011 at 10:15 am
You are talking about the biggest media market in the world. The Mets are worth what they are because of being in NY and also because of SNY. If owning a team is such a great investment why doesn’t Gates,Jobs,Buffett or Trump own any?
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Probably because Gates, Jobs and Buffet don’t need another investment; and it’s not their world. Trump is a psychopath.
jacksquat June 6th, 2011 at 10:27 am
It would suck for him to get 3000 at Chicago
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While I want him to get it on the 16th (my birthday, and I want him to get it at home), I would not object to him getting it on the 18th, as I will be at the game.
Noesi should have Ayala’s role if winning now is the priority.
Buffett doesn’t need another investment? That’s like saying someone has already breathed enough air and doesn’t need anymore, no?
Buffett has said you buy an MLB franchise because you love baseball not because you want to make money because there are tens of thousands of better investments out there than a MLB franchise.
pat,
exactly my point
If Jeter didn’t do it at home then Wrigley would be kinda cool……much better than some other places.
# Triple Short of a Cycle June 6th, 2011 at 10:39 am
pat,
exactly my point
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I still don’t know that you’ve proved your point unless your only point is that there are better monetary investments than a MLB team. ….which certainly doesn’t prove that MLB teams are bad investments…which seemed like your initial point.
for one thing, baseball wants to poke around in your personal finances before allowing you into the club and maybe buffett & co dont want that scrutiny. for another thing, buffett is a baseball fan and might not want to mix his buisness with his pleasure. another factor might be that these huge increases in price take several years to reap and they don’t want to give up that much liquidity over that amount of time in just one investment.
in any case, people who do buy clubs make huge amounts of money and its a joke when they cry about losing money or being in ‘financial trouble’. as SI showed last year, even the worst run, lowest revenue teams make lots of money in baseball.
Some of the teams cry poor because they want something……like a new stadium or more revenue sharing money.
As any baseball owner lost money when you factor in accrual of equity?
Abe Peteraham June 6th, 2011 at 9:50 am
Paco, if the gardy lead is the case, dont you think someone on the club would be reviewing EVERY steal and let him know that? why do we hear nothing regarding what he is doing to analyze/improve?
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It must be the case that the coaching staff reviews all of these plays and feeds back to the players. If there is a replay of that steal take a look and see what you think about his lead. He looked really really short to me when they showed the replays. Like he is either a little gun shy or assuming that his speed can overcome a short lead. They don’t make them like Rickey Henderson – he was unique, but you would think that you could train someone like Gardner to at least get a little closer to the Rickey approach.
It would probably be worth the investment if they could get someone like Raines or Henderson to provide training (like you suggest above), and I don’t see why this has to be only a ST thing. See if you can book some time with someone over the AS break or during some day sessions when they are playing night games.
Morning to MTU, Erin, UpState Kate, GB7 and all the other Lohud regulars.
Erin pretty warm in your part of the country today!
C
You need to be filthy rich to buy a club in order to make yourself more filthily rich – sound about right to everyone here? (also – filthily is a funny word.)
My point was while of course you can and do make money owning a team that is not your main motivation for buying one
Shame Spencer,
Wilpon wasn’t filthy rich when he bought into the Mets
Morning Comet!
It is very humid here today. And for some reason the air conditioning in my office has yet to come on. Not very pleasant. lol
when gardner gets on base granderson, tex and arod are coming up, so there is not that much benefit to him stealing. i’d like to see him do a better job at it, but in the yankees scheme of things, its really not something you want him doing very much. i’d like to see him be a more effective base stealer, but its really not a big thing. im a big fan of small-ball, but this is not a team that wants to risk losing baserunners with the bangers they have all over the lineup. like is said, if he was a met, it would be a big thing,but on the yankees, im not sure you want him running much.
btw, This is Soriano Memorial Draft Day.
Gossip Break: More confirmation that Alex and Cameron are still together.
http://www.people.com/people/a.....pheadlines
These two are the a real life Ross and Rachel
“As any baseball owner lost money when you factor in accrual of equity?”
Probably not but Hicks would be an interesting balance sheet reconciliation to look at.
Good morning Comet, eh!
Triple – Our ideas of filthy rich are all relative. Personally, I don’t think the Wilpons were your typical middle class family, but that’s neither here nor there..
It seemed your previous statements were implying MLB teams are not all profitable. As long as their owners do not stupidly invest their profits or neglect to sign an ironclad prenup, they are.
BryanHoch Yankees.com: Feds still probing A-Rod’s dealings with doctor http://atmlb.com/jUrHhR
pat
That’s a good point, and it does raise the issue of creative accounting (e.g., write-offs, depreciation, etc.).
Hicks is hard to evaluate because he tied up his real estate development with the team and the real estate portion tanked horribly.
Erin, I though I made it clear June 15th was the day for 3,000!
Jeter need about 6 hits vs the Sawx to have a realistic shot at getting it done on the homestand.
If he has to do it @ Wrigley Field hopefully it would be a game winning 2-run 2B to ruin another potential win for Zambrano!
Rich,
Yea today is a rough day.
BryanHoch Yankees.com: Feds still probing A-Rod’s dealings with doctor http://atmlb.com/jUrHhR
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Of course they are. God forbid they go after the other people who are still lying to this day…
Or hell, in this case, how bout Beltran, Tiger Woods, Reyes, etc…
Kate me lassie have ye been nort of the border with all that “Canadian” talk, eh?
“Probably not but Hicks would be an interesting balance sheet reconciliation to look at.”
http://deadspin.com/5619951/ml.....as-rangers
86w183 June 6th, 2011 at 11:11 am
Hicks is hard to evaluate because he tied up his real estate development with the team and the real estate portion tanked horribly.
Erin, I though I made it clear June 15th was the day for 3,000!
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LOL No, no, no….it’s the 16th!!
one of the things I value about Yankees pitchers…lately I am thinking about CC and Colon…is how they show appreciation to the defense and don’t get visibly upset over errors.
Big Z should think twice before throwing teammates under the bus…especially another pitcher.
not lately Comet, but we will cross the border at some point during the summer
I make it to “Shawfest” at Niagara on the Lake once a year.
Speaking of the Cubs, Carlos Pena is someone to look at as part of a platoon DH.
I’m going to Toronto with the family in July — Yes, the Yanks will be in town
Would love any/all suggestions and recommendations
My impression when Gardner got thrown out stealing second yesterday was that he had a pathetic lead
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Gardner’s leads have been bigger this year than last season.
Since he hurt his wrist he’s started his slide earlier and thus is slowing himself down
New Post: Teixeira being honored by Harlem RBI
i watched about 15 minutes of that god-awful mtv awards show. i’d have been embarrased to be seen at the after-party.
Trump has either been involved in sports ownership or attempted to be involved for many years. Primarily football related ventures.
Carlos Pena as a DH? Yes, just what we need a .210 hitting DH, we don’t have enough of those types do we.
To be fair LGY said as part of a platoon.
And he may have a point:
.268/.401/.463/.865-Pena v. RHP
# ac1 June 6th, 2011 at 11:14 am
BryanHoch Yankees.com: Feds still probing A-Rod’s dealings with doctor http://atmlb.com/jUrHhR
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Of course they are. God forbid they go after the other people who are still lying to this day…
Or hell, in this case, how bout Beltran, Tiger Woods, Reyes, etc…
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Lance Arm-not-so-strong-after-all?
86w183 June 6th, 2011 at 11:23 am
I’m going to Toronto with the family in July — Yes, the Yanks will be in town
Would love any/all suggestions and recommendations
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Do you mean in regards to sight seeing spots, restaurants, etc.?