Yankees Fans Are Animals; Sky Still Blue

Not that this is a shocker but Yankee fans tried to douse Cal Ripken, Jr. with beer last night. This video was on Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports:



The kind of fans who would dump beer on Ripken, who is classy to a fault, are the kind of fans who belong in a cage. Somebody tell me I'm wrong.

Top Ten Yankee Killers - Oriole Hitters

Things look bleak as the O's head north to The Bronx. But I decided to look at some of the top Oriole "Yankee Killers" as a diversion from the present. We need some Yankee killers for this series.

10. Eddie Murray

          OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Murray   .800 .269  .346  .454   25

I almost didn't include Steady Eddie since his .800 OPS vs. the Yanks is less than his career levels but he OPSed 1.363 vs Catfish Hunter so I guess he's legit.

9. Boog Powell

          OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Powell   .833 .273  .364  .468   34

Boooooog! Boog hit more home runs against the Yankees than any other team during his fantastic career. Powell got to beat up on a bunch of lousy Yankee teams from the 60's and 70's but he still destroyed the likes of Mel Sottlemyre.

8. Miguel Tejada

          OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Tejada   .841 .327  .378  .463    8

Miggy comes up large against the men in the pinstripes. Tejada hit especially well against David Wells and let's hope he continues against Javier Vasquez and company.



7. Gene Woodling

          OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Woodling .846 .301  .415  .431    7

Who is Gene Woodling? Woodling was a key player on 5 Yankee world championships but came to Baltimore in the twilight of his career at age 35. From 1958-1960, Woodling had a revival of sorts for the Orioles and wore out his former club.



6. Chris Hoiles

          OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Hoiles   .848 .267  .378  .471   13

Hoiles destroyed Yankee pitching with 13 homers in just 78 career games and against Andy Pettite, David Cone and Sterling Hitchcock put up OPS's of .949, 1.008 and 1.083 respectively.



5. Nick Markakis

          OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Markakis .863 .311  .373  .490   11

If only Nick slugged this well against the rest of the league.





4. Bob Nieman

          OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Nieman   .879 .309  .395  .484    9

Another late-1950's veteran outfielder. Nieman put up these numbers against some of the greatest Yankee teams of all time.




3. Frank Robinson

          OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Robinson .937 .333  .414  .523   13

Robinson crushed everybody so this is of little surprise to see that he poured it on against the bad New York teams of the late 60's.



2. Rafael Palmeiro

            OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Palmeiro   .970 .310  .402  .567   20

The greatest free agent signing in Oriole history? Could be. Before his steroid troubles, Palmeiro was a fan favorite for good reason; he hit well and did it against the O's biggest rival of the 90's.




1. Curt Blefary

          OPS  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
Blefary  .979 .300  .407  .571   12

A guy who only hit .239 and slugged .417 over the 4 years of his Oriole career hit .300 and sluigged .571 against the Yankees. He truly deserves the title of Top Yankee Killer.


Honorable Mentions: John Lowenstein, Kevin Millar, Ramon Hernandez, Harold Baines, Roberto Alomar, Randy Milligan, Leo Gomez, Brian Roberts, Andy Etchebarren, Benny Ayala

O's vs Yanks...It Could Be Worse?

And it has been...kind of.

The Orioles have to play New York for one more three-game set this season. If they get swept again, it will be their worst beating at the hands of the Yankees since the unbalanced schedule started..a .166 winning percentage against the Bronx Bombers.

But it has been worse.

In 1955, the Orioles won only 3 games out of 22 against New York for a .136 winning percentage. And in 1985, Baltimore won but a lone game out of 13 against the Yankees for a sad .077 winning percentage.

This is not supposed to make anyone feel any better as the Orioles are on the verge of a historic season drubbing at the hand of the New York Yankees...just saying that it could and has been worse.

The best year? 1982 when the O's went 11-2 for a .846 winning percentage.

Booing the Yankees? It's an Oriole Tradition

This post comes a bit late as the Yankees just left town but I discovered an interesting tidbit for juxtaposition.

The Baltimore reaction to Mark Teixeira when he made his Yankee debut on Opening Day:

Judging from the way the fans treated Teixeira, you'd think he had just issued a personal manifesto against crab cakes -- or Francis Scott Key. When he came out for a pregame media session in the visiting dugout, a fan in the front row waved a sign that read, "Severna Park Hates U Tex.''

The crowd booed him during pregame introductions, booed him when he left the on-deck circle and booed him again when he jogged back to the dugout after outs.

Now and account from Baseball Digest of Baltimore fans behavior during the 1958 All-Star game that was held at Memorial Stadium:

Everybody hates the New York Yankees, but no one hates them more than the Baltimore fans...Baltimore's fans never forgave the Yankees for doing them out of Pitchers Don Larsen and Bob Turley in a 1954 trade.

The Baltimore venom exploded at the All-Star game in 1958, which was played in the Orioles' park. The fans booed the Yankee's Yogi Berra when he batted for Baltimore's own Gus Triandos and cheered when he popped up. They booed the Yankee's Gil McDougald when he batter for Chicago's Early Wynn and greeted his game-winning single in behalf of their club, the American League team, with only scattered applause. And they booed Manager Casey Stengal of the Yankees every time he stuck his shaggy head out of the American League dugout.

In Baltimore, the fans have some of the characteristics of both the Milwaukee and the Philadelphia fans. They have the same wild-eyed devotion for their Orioles as Milwaukee people have for the Braves. And they can be as vicious in their abuse of visiting ball players as the good burghers of Philadelphia...*

See Colin Cowherd? WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY!



*excerpt from "Where Are The Last Angry Fans?" by Al Hirshberg, Baseball Digest, July 1959

How Baltimore Can Win The East '09: The Case Against The Yankees

Oh, this will be fun...

1. A-Rod!

A-Rod's hip surgery made this post so much easier to write...

Alex Rodriguez is out until at least the end of May (edit: maybe not) and is the best bat offensive player on the team. Even if A-Rod guts it out, you can't mask a hip injury. He will probably be a diminished player when he returns. This hurts the Yanks more than they would want to admit; only Mark Teixeira could reasonable hit at A-Rod levels during any given season. And as I've said before (and I saw him up close here in Atlanta for a season), Teixeira is not the kind of player who can carry a team alone.

Right now, the Yankees third baseman would be Cody Ransom, a 33 year old journeyman with 183 career major league at bats and a .242 career minor league batting average. Just a bit of a dropoff there.

2. Posada!

Jorge Posada can't catch anymore. Who are they kidding? He's 37 with a bum elbow. He can't throw runners out anymore. If I were Dave Trembley, I'd be stealing second with every player faster than Gregg Zaun during that opening series.

He's a hitter is steep decline. He'll be lucky to hit at league average. And behind him is Jose Molina. Molina has a decent glove but not a great arm and no bat at all.

Posada will will contribute to...

3. The Bad Defense Up The Middle

Posada has been covered. Robinson Cano is a butcher at second. Derek Jeter lives off a reputation but hasn't been a great defensive shortstop in over 10 years. I don't care if you dive for the ball or not Derek; the net result is usually a single to left anyway. Melky Cabrera's defensive prowess is grossly overstated; he is a below-average centerfielder by any reputable defensive metric. Brett Gardner is a great fielder but the fans will never allow his bat (a .250-ish batting average by CHONE and MARCEL projections) is the lineup. These are not patient people. They'll boo him off the field.

In addition, Xavier Nady is just average in right and A-Rod is just average at third. Only Johnny Damon in left and Teixeira at first will be plus defenders.

4. The Elderly...

...swinging the bats. Robinson Cano will be 26 (we think), Melky Cabrera will be 24 (Brett Gardner is 25) and Mark Teixeira will be 29 in 2009. Those are the only position players who will be under 30.

Xavier Nady is 30, A-Rod is 33 (when he actually plays), Jose Molina is 34, Jeter, Damon and Matsui will be 35 and Jorge Posada will be 37.

Excessive age is not good for a club. Player's begin to decline or physically breakdown (see A-Rod now or Posada last season). Don't expect this offense to be some juggernaut. It'll be good but probably not great.

5. Robinson Cano...Hurt or Declining?

Cano's production has always been closely tied to his average (he has never walked more than 39 times in a season) and last year that production fell off a cliff.

What is interesting about this is what pitchers were doing to him in 2009. Were they throwing him a bunch of breaking stuff, getting him to chase outside of the zone? No, they were throwing him more fastballs and cutters than ever before.

The percentage of fastballs thrown to Cano went up from 55.9% to 63.2%. Cutters increased from 2.8% to 3.7% (and the amount of cutters thrown to Cano has increased every season...). They treated him like a rookie. He seems unable to catch up to any pitch approaching 90 mph.

Something's wrong there and and it can't be good...

Conclusion

The Yankees have some glaring problems (I didn't even get into the rotation that, despite all the money spent, could be very average after C.C. Sabathia) , mostly revolving around age and injury of their position players. But the Yankee's deep pockets and willingness to trade their prospects at the drop of a hat allow them to address these issues mid-season. Still, if a few bad breaks happen during the same season, the Yanks may have to blow up the team, save for the recently signed core, and start reloading for 2010 instead.

Mark Teixeira Says Some Very Irritating Things

If you are still upset that Mark Teixeira spurned his hometown team to sign with New York, take solace in the fact that no other team really had a shot at him. You see, Teix has always been a Yankee fan and playing in New York was a lifelong dream.

"There was something about Don Mattingly," Teixeira said. "I would go to Orioles games wearing a Yankee cap. The first time I went to Yankee Stadium I was about eight or nine years old and saw Mattingly play. Donnie Baseball was my guy."

Allow that to sink in a bit. Yankee cap. Donnie Baseball.

"I would wear a Yankees hat. Back in the '80s and early '90s, that wasn't a safe thing to do in Baltimore," Teixeira joked.

It's not safe now. Not for you. Get ready to be something you have never been before. You will be hated. In Baltimore. Probably in Boston. And if you don't live up to expectations, in New York too.

Mark, I was fine with you signing elsewhere. I wasn't shocked it was the Yankees. And frankly, I didn't think tying up so much money in your salary was a good idea for the long term prospects of the Orioles' success. I was indifferent to you before. No longer.

Not only do you coyly hint that you'd love to return "home" to the Baltimore Orioles, not only do you double speak your way from Texas to Atlanta to Anaheim and New York, you actually have the gall to tell stories to the New York media about shunning Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray for Don Mattingly and proudly wearing your Yankees cap to Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards. You didn't have to go there. It's a slap in the face to all true Oriole fans.

When you think about baseball you think about the Yankees, at least I did when I was growing up.
- Mark Teixeira

And I don't believe his story for a second. I want to see one photo of a young Mark Teixeira wearing a Yankee cap. It's a damned lie. I dare someone to find one. But you won't. Because Teix is a pathological liar.

True or not, the story is insulting to the tradition of this franchise.

Bob Lorenz is my new favorite Yankee reporter.

BL: OK, Mark. Quick pop quiz for you then. Within 50 miles, how far is it from your folks home to the Bronx?

MT: Oh...I would say...probably 290 miles.

BL: It's 220. But close enough. You'll get a parting gift at the end of the interview.

It was worth it to watch Teix squirm, if only for a second.

So boo him on Opening Day. Longly, loudly and lustily. Mark Teixeira is public enemy #1 for fans of the Black and Orange.

Just drink this in. Here's the full quote form Teix regarding his idol worship of Don Mattingly during his press conference. Enjoy.

Yeah, I think it says a lot about the Yankees organization that a kid that grew up in Baltimore, had season tickets to Baltimore Orioles games, and would cheer for every other player in the world except for Don Mattingly. Don Mattingly was my guy and people say, why not Cal? Why not Eddie? And I say I love Cal, I love Eddie, but there’s something about Don Mattingly. I would go to Orioles games, my dad would take me to O’s games and I would wear a Yankees hat. Back in the 80’s and early 90’s that wasn’t a safe thing to do in Baltimore, but it was worth it. That’s just a part of being a Yankee that there’s something above everything else, no matter where you are, no matter what stadium you’re in, there’s Yankees fans everywhere and being a Yankee there’s nothing better.

Then go look at some of these quotes from Mark over the years about the Orioles:

http://dempseysarmy.blogspot.com/2008/12/mark-teixeira-hometown-boy.html

Our Enormous Bullpen

You know, there's nothing like beating up on the Yankees in New York to lift your spirits. you even get cool headlines on ESPN.com:

O's drill Yanks

I'm going to leave double entendre out of this one...

Mussina get's rocked, Guthrie pitches great and The Truth delivers his message of hope for the Orange and Black.

But that's not what I have come here to talk about today. It's our pitching staff.

We have only two starters in my estimation. Well, one and a half.

The one is Jeremy Guthrie. He is without a doubt our best starting pitcher. The half is Garrett Olson. He may be a good starter in time but he is far from a guarantee at this point.

The rest?

Daniel Cabrera - Only his ability to eat a few innings keeps him in the rotation. I have been fooled for the last time. He should be tried out in relief to salvage him but he is now through as a starter - Potential Setup Man

Brian Burres - I have harped on this before but Burres' future in the majors is in the bullpen. As a starter, he's been a failure. Only injuries to others has kept him in the rotation. - Swingman

Radhames Liz - He is young and was a bit rushed to the majors but even before he got here there were whispers among scouts that he may be better suited for relief. Now those whispers have grown to open conversation. Liz would be a crazy setup guy or maybe a closer but starter may not be where he projects. - Future Closer

You've got to love our bullpen this year and the prospects for next year. Randor Bierd, Jim Johnson, Chad Bradford, Jamie Walker, Dennis Sarfate, a healthy Chris Ray, Brian Burres, Rocky Cherry, Jim Miller, Bob McCrory...there's lots of options. It's deep and dynamic.

But who's going to start in 2009?

Matt Albers - I was really hoping Albers would get his shot but his season ending injury ended that thought. Look for him to compete for a spot in 2009.

Chris Tillman - Tillman is doing very well as a 20 year old in AA Bowie, much more than holding his own. He may not start the season in the rotation but he will be a quick callup in 2009.

Brad Bergesen - The 22 year-old Bergesen has been under the radar but has improved every year he has pitched in the organization. An extreme groundball pitcher, Bergesen is having a better season than Tillman in Bowie and demonstrates fabulous control. He is the type of pitcher who could make a leap to Baltimore next season but they may take it easy on him. ETA mid-2009.

Unfortunately, that's about all I could come up with. Anybody else with any ideas?

(edit: I guess the Orioles see Dennis Sarfate as an option..at least in the short term.)

Pre-Season Thoughts in Review: New York Yankees

Revisiting (and revising) some of my preseason looks at AL East teams. Now, another look at this February post about the Yankees.

1. Like Last Year, the Pitching Staff Will Be a Problem

And it has been.

Andy Pettite has been league average, as I expected. Wang was good but now is injured. Phillip Hughes and Ian Kennedy have already flamed out.

The wild cards here have been Joba Chamberlain and Mike Mussina. I thought Chamberlain would be a good starter but I didn't expect him in the rotation this soon. Mussina has recaptured some skills and is having a hell of a last hurrah in pinstripes. If not for these two, the staff would be tryuly abysmal.

The question will be if these two can continue their good performances. Chamberlain looks strong and I expect him to pitch well in the second half. Mussina has tired late in the season the last couple of years. Moose looks more likely to suffer a setback.

2. Jorge Posada Falls to Earth

Well, he has but who really thought he would hit .338 again?

Since his injury, Posada has hit at rates that you would expect Posada to hit at but time will tell if his 36 year old body continues to betray him this season (Look at Jason Varitek for a cautionary tale...)

3. Derek Jeter is the Worst Fielding Shortstop in Baseball

As much as it pains me to say this, Jeter is having one of the best fielding seasons by an AL shortstop in 2008.

By nearly every measure, he is one of the top fielders in the league. His errors are up but they're not at crazy levels. The only thing I could say is that the competition among AL shortstops is light. Outside of Michael Young and Orlando Cabrera, there are no regular AL shortstops with stellar defensive reps.

Of course, he's hitting more like David Eckstein than his normal self...so it balances out I suppose.

4. Who's On First?

I ripped the Yanks for their personnel at firstbase but Jason Giambi has been better and played more games there than I thought. They're going to be fine at first for now.

5. Melky's the Man?

Before the season, I compared Melky to Corey Patterson and found him only slightly better at the plate. So far, Corey Patterson is looking like a better option.

Melky's OPS number for the last three seasons, including his partial 2008, are .751, .718 and .690. He's regressing. He's an easy out.

Conclusion

I was somewhat correct on the rotation. Only Chamberlain has panned out among the youngsters and outside of the surprising Mussina, it has been decimated by injury and ineptitude. However, the bullpen, outside of LaTroy Hawkins, has been stellar and bailed the Yanks out a lot.

The offense has seen unexpected very good performances from Giambi and Johnny Damon (when healthy) and great numbers from A-Rod (as expected). But the rest of the offense has been lackluster at best. The Orioles are scoring more runs!

Without some continued luck with their pitching staff, the O's could still catch these guys and the Blue Jays before year's end...

Nestor Is At It Again...

The Orioles had a five game losing streak! Leap from the bandwagon, Nestor!


Orioles go from penthouse to outhouse



How original. How droll. The wit is simply amazing here. Who but a professional sportswriter would think to juxtapose "penthouse" with "outhouse"? That's where that journalism degree comes in folks. Pure genius.


Don’t look now, but the Orioles have gone from an “interesting” spring team with some exciting evenings to quickly becoming a team on a fast course to nowhere.

Let's assume that the Orioles were "falling back to Earth" as Nestor imagines. Is that a path to nowhere? Didn't we assume that rebuilding is good and that it would come with its share of growing pains? Should a few losses change that outlook?

That is, if they can't find a way to start hitting the baseball.This morning, they wake up on a 80-degree Memorial Day again mired in last place of the AL East in the midst of a five-game losing streak....And here come New York and Boston to attempt to kick them while they’re down…



Mired. An interesting choice of language there.



Mired - entangled, entrapped or hindered as if in mire



On the morning this post appeared the Orioles were "mired" in last place...in a division where being one game under .500 will land you in last place. They were a full 5.5 games out of first! How will the Orioles ever get above .500 again?!?! Oh yeah, win a couple of games. We are de-mired.



Before the inevitable (and foolish) "Nestor hates the Orioles" comments start flooding this blog,



Gee, why would anyone think that?



Right now, with seven games coming against the Red Sox and Yankees at home – where their talent will be overwhelmed every day – it’s not looking so good...



Look, outside of the fact that we don't have a true "ace" on this staff, I'll put our pitching staff up against anybody in the AL East save for Toronto. And pitching has been the great equalizer this season. Unless the pitching fails us, we will never be overmatched for a series.



The real problem is very clear to anyone who watches the team on a daily basis: the offense is atrocious and there are very few signs of it improving dramatically any time soon.

Yes, the offense is not good. But no signs of improving? Anyone who watches the game would see signs that the team is hitting the ball hard and catching some bad breaks. Or you could look here. Or here.

This is and will probably remain a poor offensive team, and any hopes that both Luke Scott and Adam Jones would be the next coming of last year’s Nick Markakis are starting to dissipate.



Nick Markakis hit .300 with 23 home runs last year. Nobody thought Scott or Jones were going to do that this year. Nobody Nestor. N-O-B-O-D-Y.



And just so we're clear here, on May 31st, 2006, (Markakis' first year in the majors) his batting line was .219/.301/.314. The Truth is batting .253/.303/.368 with almost triple the number of extra base hits (14) than Nick had (5). And Jones still has 3 games to go this month!



Sure, you’d like to think that Brian Roberts isn’t going to hit .263 this season.



He's not.



Or that Nick Markakis is better than his current .247.



He is.



But the rest of the roster – including a rapidly aging Melvin Mora and a “just glad to be here” Kevin Millar – are what they are: mediocre major league players. And don’t get me started on Aubrey Huff, who’ll make his $8 million this year while hitting his usual .250 with 20 homers.The situational (and specifically late-inning) hitting was superb during the early-season stretches where they won cardiac ballgames in the late innings. And those were on the nights when the starting pitching was outstanding and the bullpen was even better than that.



No argument with the bats in this lineup, although I would quibble about Millar being mediocre. he is better than league average. And Mora can pick 'em over at third.



Daniel Cabrera is 5-1. I have no reason to believe he’ll be 10-2 and 15-3 before it’s all over with. I’m not convinced that we’ll see the same guy every five days once this team inevitably drops well below .500 and goes through the summer doldrums that teams that hit .240 will struggle with.



Two things here: win totals are a poor evaluation of a pitcher's performance (see Guthrie and Bedard last year, far better than their win totals) and batting average is a poor indicator (by itself) of offensive prowess.



First, the offense. The team OPS is .712, 7th among the 14 AL teams. And they are swinging the bats better than the results...but if you've read this blog you know where I'm going with this and I don't feel like proving it again. Trust me, the bats will improve.



And no, Daniel Cabrera would be hard pressed to win 15. I love the guy but he's giving up too many homers to win consistently.



But note that it is "inevitable" that the team sinks far beneath .500. Only a .240 batting average as proof.



It was fun while it lasted – and maybe they’ll go 7-0 this week against the big boys and resurrect their flailing season– but it’s hard watching this team get four and five hits a game and struggle to manufacture runs, especially when Steve Trachsel takes the ball every five days and puts them in a major hole.

That's all folks! Take down the tents, the party is officially over - unless of course it's not over then feel free to stick around. Way to hedge your bets Nestor.

Steve Trachsel. One way or another, a temporary problem.

Maybe they can escape last place before the end of Memorial Day?
Or maybe I'll just want to vomit at the sea of Yankees fans I'll inevitably be forced to endure in my own ballpark for the tenth year running...



Confusing parting shot. A hint of optimism after all the downer talk. Then a reference to the Yankee fans taking over the stadium, 10 years of losing and bodily fluids being expelled. I guess some habits die harder than others for Nestor...

Circles of Losing, Trends, Three True Outcomes, Melmosity and More

Last night will go down as a Circle 2 loss in Ben's 9 Concentric Circles of Losing: Not Enough To Win.

They had their opportunities. The Orioles had plenty of chances last night to win the game but couldn't get that extra hit, that long sac fly to score the man at third or that timely extra base hit to take the series from the Yankees.

On to Tampa. Tampa has greatly improved this season but not for the reasons people were predicting during the preseason. It was supposed to be the young offensive talent that was to carry this team to playoff contention. Instead, it's been the young pitching while the offense has still been trying to find itself. The good news for the Orioles is that the Rays pitching has slipped a bit after a stellar April. This is hardly an unbeatable team.

*****

Three True Outcomes - the Three True Outcomes in baseball are the strikeout, the walk, and the homerun. These are the outcomes that don't involve the defense or footspeed. It's just batter vs. pitcher to determine the outcome.

Some batters have embraced this method more than others to become legends of TTO. For the Orioles, Mickey Tettleton comes to mind. Elsewhere, Adam Dunn, Rob Deer and Jack Cust have embraced this "all-or-nothing" approach while still maintaining a good batting eye. So I decided to grab what I believe to be the highest TTO average seasons in Oriole history. The only two Orioles I knew that I would see on this list were Mickey Tettleton and perhaps Sam Horn. Some of the names were surprising.

                   Year   AB   HR   BB   SO   TTO%
Mickey Tettleton   1990  444   15  106  106   51.1%
Sam Horn           1991  317   23   41   99   45.5%
Mickey Tettleton   1989  411   26   73  117   44.6%
Jim Gentile        1961  486   46   96  106   42.6%
Cal Abrams         1955  309    6   89   69   41.2%
Boog Powell        1964  424   39   76   91   41.2%
Boog Powell        1966  491   34   67  125   40.5%
Jeff Manto         1995  254   17   24   69   39.5%
Chris Hoiles       1993  419   29   69   94   39.3%
Randy Milligan     1990  362   20   88   68   39.1%

 

As expected, Mickey Tettleton is the TTO king and Sam Horn comes in with the second highest TTO% for a season in Orioles history. Tettleton was so much fun to watch and would routinely walk and strikeout over 100 times each during a season, a rare talent. He was sent to Detroit straight up for P Jeff Robinson, one of the worst trades in the history of the franchise. Tettleton was a productive hitter for several years after the trade and Robinson...well, you probably know about Robinson.

Sam Horn had the potential to be a Tettleton-type slugger, albeit with more power. He never developed that batting eye to let the really bad pitches go.

Jim Gentile. A classic example of a TTO season was 1961. Should have remembered that. Also should not be surprised that Boog Powell show up on this list a couple of times.

Who is Cal Abrams? Abrams was a backup OF who played all three defensive positions for a terrible 97 loss team. He seemed to realize that while he was still a good fielder, his ability to hit was really slipping. So he seems to have decided not to make outs and walked a remarkable 86 times in only 407 plate appearances. It wasn't enough. 1955 would be Cal's last full season in the majors.

It seems that a 30-year old Jeff Manto arrived in Baltimore with the idea that he had better start swinging for the fences if he wanted to stick in the majors. In a way, he was right. 1995 was his best offensive year (108 OPS+) but he paid the price by striking out 69 times in 89 games. He was off to Boston the next year and went back to a more contact-making approach.

Chris Hoiles had a real breakout season in 1993 (the fact that he was not considered for the MVP that year is criminal...). When he made contact, good things happened but he struck out 94 times.

Randy Milligan was a mild surprise. I never remember Milligan as a guy with the skill set to draw 88 walks.

*****

I watched Miami play Georgia Tech last night and saw top prospect Miami 1B Yonder Alonso. He hit two homers but looked terribly mismatched against the lefty relievers they deployed against him. Miami can flat out hit throughout the lineup.

*****

The Wayward Oriole has made a significant scientific breakthrough. He can now measure Melmosity.

*****

Song of the Week: The Replacements - "Bastards of Young" Enjoy!

Stomping The Yankees

The top of the first last night was just about as close to baseball heaven as you can get.

7 runs against Mike Mussina to knock him from the game having retired only two batters. 3 RBI for The Truth. Derek Jeter commits an error. Jeter pouts. What a start!

But honestly, the whole game was like baseball heaven. 12-2. Beats 30-3 any day.

When is Derek Jeter going to man up and admit he can't play short anymore? It's getting embarrassing.

And I loved when Cabrera hit Jeter on the wrist and sent him to the lockers. Hit him right on his stupid little Michael Jordan wristband. Fantastic.

Luke Scott's bat put bad juju on the ball. It kept missing Yankee gloves. When he laid wood on the ball it could not be caught. Hits one to Jeter that he threw high. Hit one to Damon that fell from his glove. Hit one over the fence. They couldn't even throw at him properly.

By the way, retaliation is one thing but even the Yankee announcers thought it was bush league to throw at Scott's head. Especially Ken Singleton.

What slump? Ramon Hernandez is hitting above .300 for the last two weeks.

Round two is tonight. Enjoy watching the hottest team in baseball!

How The Orioles Can Win The East 2008: The Case Against the Yankees Revisited

We all know that for the Orioles to do well this season that other teams in this division will have to slip up along the way. I figured I'd revisit some of these pre-season predictions (wishful thinkings) along the way to see how the rest of the division is stacking up.

First up, the Yankees

Like Last Year, the Pitching Staff Will Be a Problem

Chien-Ming Wang is pitching like the ace the Yankees need. I thought Pettite would be just average this year but he has pitched very well. Mussina has been inconsistent but has been able to keep his ERA below 5.00. The kids, Phillip Hughes and Ian Kennedy, have struggled mightily.

I'll stick by my pre-season prediction that Wang will be good, Mussina will finish with an ERA closer to 5.00 than 4.50 and that the kids will continue to struggle, at least until the All0Star break. The only wild card here is Andy Pettite as he is fully capable of continuing his current production.

On the whole though, the Yankee pitching staff has been a problem thus far.


Jorge Posada Falls to Earth


Posada has only played in 18 games and has hit rather well (.302/.333/.476) for a catcher. The problem is that he can't actually play catcher right now. Posada just went on the DL for the first time in his career and has made it clear that he will not return to action until he is ready to field his position:


"I’m not playing first base," Posada said. "I’m a catcher. We’ve got seven first basemen."


Posada's shoulder injury is not considered season ending but just the fact that it is being discussed in those terms means the Yankees catcher will be missing a significant chunk of the season.


The old catcher is breaking down, just as I predicted.


Derek Jeter is the Worst Fielding Shortstop in Baseball


Depending on which defensive metric you choose to believe, Jeter is either in the middle of the pack or completely dreadful with the glove. I'll give this one another month to allow the number to draw a better conclusion.


Who's On First?


The batting line for all Yankee first basemen this season: .194/.309/.419


That's an OPS of .728 for what is a premier offensive position. That production puts them in the bottom third of the league...right down with the Orioles (ugh).


Nobody's on first.


Melky's the Man?


So far, yes. Melky is OPSing .852, already has 5 homers and is playing a pretty good centerfield.


Well, they can't all go your way.


Conclusion

Before the season I said:

If things are dicey early in the year, this team could literally implode. Youngsters manning crucial positions in the lineup and the pitching staff, surrounded by fragile old veterans who may not deliver the results their reputations promise.

Yeah, that's pretty much what's happening.

Base Hits: 4/21/2008

Nothing wrong with taking two out of three from the Yankees. Good stuff.
The bad news is that the Baltimore Orioles have played horrific baseball on the road this year and are getting ready to embark on a long road trip.

For anybody waiting for the O's to fall back to Earth, the next couple of weeks could be the time...

*****

The Jays released Frank Thomas. Various reasons given for this but even with Thomas' slow start this year, the Jays offense is suddenly less imposing.

Just to cover this angle, I think Thomas will still have a decent season for somebody but I don't think the Orioles need him...

******

A-Rod injured his quad which has to be troubling on a team that's already had its share of nagging injuries.

And if the Orioles do nothing else this year, they have brought the Joba Chamberlain situation to a head in the Bronx by taking the series with the Yankees. Hank Steinbrenner wants him to start while Brian Cashman wants him to remain in the bullpen...for now. Hank also had this to say about Mike Mussina:

"[Mussina] just needs to learn how to pitch like [45-year-old Phillies pitcher] Jamie Moyer," Steinbrenner said, according to The New York Times.

Oh sure, Hank. It's just that easy! And Daniel Cabrera should "just learn" to pitch like Nolan Ryan!

*****

Keeping it in the Al East, the Rays' AL Reyes is on the DL. Matt Garza got shelled during a rehab start. SS Jason Bartlett was out of the lineup with a "tired throwing arm". Really? On a shortstop? That sounds fishy to me...

*****

The Red Sox have scored 6.7 runs per game over the last 11 games. That doesn't include today's Patriot's Day game where they have already scored 8. Not looking forward to that matchup...

Feel The Thrill...Orioles!

Hey LaTroy Hawkins! How do you like the Orioles organization now!

I wasn't going to post this weekend but...how great is this?

Markakis hustling to second on a Giambi error and then gunning down Bobby Abreu at the plate later in the game on Friday. When are these opposing baserunners going to learn? Our rightfielder is deadly with his arm. And from the looks of it, maybe out leftfielder is too.

Give up some love for Daniel Cabrera! Nice game! Just keep the ball in the yard as all these homers you are giving up are making me nervous.

Brian Burres proving me wrong, shutting down the Yankees lineup for 5.7 innings. They shut out the Yankees!

Raise your hand if you still think this team is going to lose 100 games.

I keep saying I'm going to enjoy this as long as it lasts but it just keeps going...I'm beginning to take this team seriously.

How Baltimore Can Win The East '08: The Case Against the Yankees

The Yankees are no longer invincible. As far as I can tell, it gets worse in the Bronx before it gets better.

1. Like Last Year, the Pitching Staff Will Be a Problem

OK, Chien-Ming Wang appears to be a legitimate major league starter. But your ace? Outside of win totals (which vary greatly on run support) there is little difference between his 2007 performance and the performance of Baltimore's de facto ace Jeremy Guthrie. OK, that's a bit of a stretch but not a crazy comparison. Go look.

Andy Pettitte will be 36 this season and was a slightly better than average pitcher last season. He'll be average again (at best) and the Yankees will be thankful for it.

Mike Mussina is old and decrepit. He'll be lucky to post an ERA under 5.00 this season but the Yankees are leaning on him heavily and praying for a comeback season. Why?

Part of this is because of the kids projected to hold up the back end of the rotation. And they will be on strict innings limits according to Bob Klapisch of The Record (NorthJersey.com):

Consider the math. The Yankees have three rookie starters, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, all on a strict innings limit this season. Chamberlain will be capped at 140 innings, Hughes at 160, Kennedy at 180-190. Assuming 45 or so of Chamberlain's innings are in the bullpen -- he'll start the season as the eighth-inning guardian -- that leaves a glaring hole in the equation.

That means they're counting on Mussina to pitch close to 200 innings this season, something he hasn't done since 2003. If he can't do it, that means someone like Kei Igawa's going to have to pick up the slack. Ouch.

The back of the rotation will be some combination of the kids listed above who may be great pitchers someday. But Yankee fans will no be forgiving if they struggle early and the Yankee fans and press have ruined the confidence of even veteran pitchers.

Lots of questions even if the rotation is healthy.

2. Jorge Posada Falls to Earth

After A-Rod, Jorge Posada was the best Yankee batter and by a huge margin. Do you think he's going to hit .338 again? He had never even hit .290 before last season! A great season but that season is over. The best you are going to see from him is .275 with 20 homeruns. And for a 36 year old catcher, that's a stretch. Unless your name is Carlton Fisk, offensive prowess for catchers does not last past 35.

3. Derek Jeter is the Worst Fielding Shortstop in Baseball

I love this one. In the short time this little blog has been in existence, I have beaten the drum about the Emporor's New Clothes that is Derek Jeter's defensive prowess. Finally, a study was done at Penn that named the three-time Gold Glove winner (Arrrgh! And Cal only got two? Arrrghh!) the worst defensive shortstop in the majors. Which is true and has been for 8 or 9 years now. Poor Jeter got his feelings hurt:

"Every [shortstop] doesn't stay in the same spot, everyone doesn't have the same pitching. Everyone doesn't have the same hitters running, it's impossible to do that."

Well Derek, the good ones choose the right spots to stand in. And everyone does have the same hitters running, over the course of a season. All the teams face essentially the same lineups over 162 games.

Pitching? I suppose if you had the same guys on staff for the last decade, that would be a valid argument. In 1999, roughly when you started to suck as a shortstop, the staff was Orlando Hernandez, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, David Cone and Hideki Irabu. I know Clemens and Pettitte came back last year but come on. The Yankee staff has always had pretty high turnover.

Yankee Senior Advisor Gene Michael had this to say:

"Each team has a different staff. Derek doesn't really have a sinkerball pitching staff whereas other shortstops, you sit behind certain pitchers, you're going to get a lot of ground balls."

Gene have you met Mr. Wang? Gene meet Mr. Wang. He works for you. He does nothing but induce grounders about 60% of the time. Oh, and here's Mr. Pettitte. He works for you too. He induces grounders at a 50% rate over the last 4 years.

Ditto for Clemens.

Look the stats reflect what the eye reveals. Jeter can't go left. I don't care how hard you hustle. Diving for a ball that dribbles into left center doesn't make you a better fielder. It just means you fail with style.

Anyway, I should just write a long involved post about this some other time. But don't expect a 34 year old Jeter to be any kind of effective fielder in 2008.

4. Who's On First?

Would you want this guy manning first base for your team?









What a goober.

Easily the most annoying Yankee of the 21st century. And I can't talk about him without thinking of Peter Pan. (OK, Peter Pan was Sandy Duncan but my point still stands. Right?)

This is the leading candidate. Giambi can't play the field anymore. He's just a roided out shell of his former self.

Shelley Duncan. He had a nice year for a bench player but don't expect that to translate into success as a starter. There is nothing is his past to suggest he'll repeat the slugging clinic he put on last year.

And he has a girl's name...


5. Melky's the Man?

For all the fawning the New York press does over this guy, you would expect him to be better.

            OPS
Cabrera    .718
Patterson  .690
 

Considering Corey Patterson's 2007 was viewed as a disappointment it's hard to see how Cabrera's marginally better bat was seen as a breakthrough. Equalizing for Patterson's defense and baserunning, I'd say they're pretty much even. You might even give the edge to Patterson. Maybe.

This wouldn't be a huge deal for the Yankees until you look at Johnny Damon's struggles, the offensive hole at first, a declining Posada and a decaying DH in Giambi. This outfield is not going to be very formidable at the plate in 2008.

Conclusion

If things are dicey early in the year, this team could literally implode. Youngsters manning crucial positions in the lineup and the pitching staff, surrounded by fragile old veterans who may not deliver the results their reputations promise.

The Bronx is burning indeed.

Next up: The Boston Red Sox

The Excellent Weekend/Trading Deadline

Really, what could make for a better weekend. Cal gets inducted to the HOF, the Orioles take the series from the Yankees and I got to watch a replay of Cal breaking Lou Gehrig's record in 1995. OK, we could've swept the Yankees but really that's about it.

The trading deadline is upon us and I'm waiting for the O's to announce if anything has happened. Outside of signing one of the Flying Molinas and sending him to Bowie, not a peep out of the warehouse. (Actually, this isn't one of the "good" Molina catchers; Gustavo is from Venezuela, Bengie and friends are from Puerto Rico.)

I don't care who you root for, the Josh Beckett/Erik Bedard matchup should be a classic. If you don't like this matchup, you just don't like baseball, you communist!

4:45...silence from the warehouse...

"The Clemens Era Ends Tonight..."

My son is staying with my parents this week and my father, much to my chagrin, is an enormous Yankees fan. I was talking to my son last night at at the end of our phone call I said, "Tell Grandpa that the Clemens era ends tonight." And he did.

Yankees fans learned last night that having an ace under the age of 30 is much better than having an ace upwards of 40.

Erik Bedard out-Clemensed Roger Clemens by striking out 8 over 7 IP while Clemens struck out 0 for the first time in over 7 years. Bedard was masterful, giving up only two hits and a walk.

And tonight, Daniel Cabrera goes for the sweep against the overated Chien-Ming Wang.

Mike Boehm over at Oriole Magic has a great rant against Yankee fans. It's funny because it's true.

Happy Easter Victory

It's really time to start pitching around A-Rod. When he's hot, he's in Pujols/Bonds category. Just walk him.

Good to see the much maligned Jay Gibbons setting the table for the even more maligned Kevin Millar today. Millar jacked one out to leftfield to get Baltimore back into the game after A-Rod's two run shot in the 1st inning.

Do O's fans think the team is snakebitten? Here's the surest sign our luck is changing. Paul Bako hit a three run shot in the Bronx today. That matches his total for the last four years! You know what the odds were against that homer? Incredible.

It's a good thing Johnny Damon didn't start the game. He was on fire from the moment he got into the game.

Kevin Millar looked rejuvenated today. His bat looked so old and slow in Spring Training but I guess Yankee Stadium got the juices flowing again.

And how about Nick Markakis. He does it with the bat, the leather and the legs today. Outstanding.

Outside of the first inning, Erik Bedard pitched like an ace today. He only gave up two hits, struck out four and walked none.

Chris Ray recovered nicely to save the game in the 9th, 6-4.

But the real hero was Paul Bako with a three run shot off of Darrell Rasner. I have beaten up on Bako quite a bit but today, he's aces in my book. That doesn't change my overall opinion of him as a ballplayer though...yet.

Nothin' wrong with taking a series in the Bronx.

Big Game

Happy Easter people...

No Johnny Damon, no Hideki Matsui for the Yanks today.

Gotta win this one while we've got them down. The good news is that no one in the AL East is playing that well. With a win today we'll be 1.5 games out of first at worst...behind Tampa or Toronto.

Our lefty ace is on the mound and they're throwing a guy who should be at Scranton.

Cross your fingers...

It Was Truly a Good Friday

A question for Sam Perlozzo; Sam, why are you having Melvin Mora try to sac bunt Brian Roberts to third base in the first inning with nobody out? Fortunately for you Sam, Mora laid down a great bunt and legged it out for a single because Markakis came up next and laced a double down the rightfield line, plating both baserunners. If you had your way Sam, you would've cost us a run.

Everyone flashing the glove in the first inning. Right after Michael Kay describes the O's defense as "less than airtight", Brian Roberts snagged a line drive and doubled Melky Cabrera off of 1st and then Mora made a diving stop on a Bobby Abreu liner.

Good things about Jeter: Fouled one off his toe, hit into a double play, failed to cover second on a Corey Patterson bunt, failed to cover second on a steal by Melvin Mora. I love watching Jeter limp.

Adam Loewen wasn't as sharp as we've seen him before but the result is the same. He's a Yankee killer. The bullpen holds the lead once again and O's win 6-4. More on this game later.

Igawa awaits at 1:05. Let's go O's!