Daily Archives: August 12, 2003

Last Sunday morning, I found myself walking from east to west on 125th street in Harlem. Just a few blocks away from the Apollo theater I spotted a Japanese kid with an Ichiro/Godzilla t-shirt. He was with two friends (also Japanese I presumed), so I stopped them to chat about baseball and Matsui. I asked if they were going to The Stadium that afternoon, and they said they were. They had also been to the first two games of the series and were pulling for the Mariners. The kid with the Godzilla shirt was named Hidi (I hope I got that right), and one of his friends’ name was Hideki (the third guy’s name escapes me, but he didn’t talk much anyhow). They were very amused with how much I like Hurricaine Hideki Irabu, and they assured me that he was pitching quite well in Japan this season.

The guys told me that Ichiro was slightly more popular in Japan than Godzilla, but that they are really two very different types of personalities and players. They were eager to know who I thought Kaz Matsui would sign with next year. I told them that I didn’t think the Yanks would get him, but that stranger things have happened. The guys really enjoyed the passion and excitement of Yankee Stadium, which made me feel proud to be a New Yorker. We enjoyed a nice conversation for about ten minutes when I discovered that these guys are students who live in St. Louis. So I asked them what Cardinals fans were like since I’ve never visited the midwest.

It just goes to show, you never know where you’ll meet great baseball fans.

Speaking of Godzilla, Allen Barra is clearly a fan of the stocky Japanese import, who is enjoying a fine, if not sensational rookie campaign in the majors. Barra makes a case for Godzilla as the hands-down cherce for Rookie of the Year.

Hall of Fame historian Bruce Markusen catches up with the ’73 A’s and the ’78 Yanks in his two latest Cooperstown Confidential columns. Both are well worth checking out. Here is a bit that is unrelated to the main features that caught my eye:

I have to confess that Iíve never seen his television show, but Bernie Mac has nonetheless become one of my favorite comedians. Thatís because he recently told Sports Illustrated that his idol was Roberto Clemente. Mac, by the way, is currently filming a baseball movie called Mr. 3000. Itís not about Clemente, but about a fictional character who decides to make a belated comeback when he realizes that he actually fell short of reaching the 3,000-hit club.

I have seen the Bernie Mac show and I think it’s pretty good. I don’t know how much longer than can keep it fresh, but thus far it has been able to be clever and hip, without compromising Mac’s persona. I’ve also read and seen several interviews with Bernie and I think he’s a stand-up guy. There is no pretense or B.S. with Mac, and he’s very thoughtful. The fact that he’s making a baseball flick makes me like him all the more. I’m hopeful that this movie—which co-stars the talented Angela Bassett—could in fact be decent. I’m rooting for it all the way.

Bob DuPuy, the President and Chief Operating Officer of MLB has issued a statement regarding Baseball Prospectus’ Pete Rose story:

“The story that appeared on the Baseball Prospectus website today regarding the return of Pete Rose to baseball in 2004 and the alleged written agreement that had been reached by Rose and Commissioner Selig is unsubstantiated and totally unfounded. The report is wholly inaccurate.

“As has been reported many times by the Commissioner and as recently as one week ago, Commissioner Selig and Mr. Rose have met regarding his pending application for reinstatement, which originally was filed in 1997. The Commissioner has not made a decision and no agreement with Mr. Rose has been reached or signed. When a decision is made, it will be reported through the appropriate channels. Any unnamed source to the contrary or any report suggesting otherwise is both unfortunate and journalistically irresponsible.”

As you can well imagine, this story has caused a veritable shit storm in the on-line baseball community. Check out the thread running at Baseball Primer for the gory details.

Pat Jordan was a bonus baby for the Braves in the late ’50s and early ’60s. He threw gas, but never made it to the majors; eventually, he became an accomplished journalist. His first memoir, “A False Spring” is considered a baseball classic. I think that the sequel, “A Nice Tuesday,” is a better book, even if it is more about Jordan’s personal life than it is about baseball.

Jordan still writes for The New York Times magazine, and it is always a treat to read his work, especially if it is about a pitcher. Before “A False Spring” was released in 1974, Jordan published a collection of stories he had written for Sports Illustrated called, “The Suitors of Spring.” All of the articles in this collection are about pitchers, including the likes of Tom Seaver, Bo Belinksky, Bruce Kison, Steve Dalkowski and Sudden Sam McDowell.

I buried myelf in the book last night after suffering through the Yankees game, hoping to take my mind off the pain of the here-and-now. Jordan describes McDowell and Dalkowski as young men who were possessed by their talented; Seaver, on the other hand, was a late-bloomer with less natural talent. Of course, Seaver became on the great pitchers of all time. Dalkowski never made it passed triple A and McDowell never became the great pitcher he was expected to become.

Here is a healthy excerpt from the article on Sudden Sam, “A Talent for Refusing Greatness:”

Like many extremely talented people, Sam McDowell does not judge his accomplishments by conventional standards. His challenges, and their eventual resolution, are very private affairs independent of either the approval or disapproval of anyone else.

…”The only thing I get satisfaction from,” he says, “is accomplishing something I’m not supposed to be able to do. I live for challenges, and once I overcome them I have to go on to something new.”

…It is obvious that McDowell takes great delight in watching his pitches behave even when he’s only warming up. And he admits to often concentrating so much on his individual pitches and their perfection that he loses sight of everything else. His individual pitches then become his goal rather than simply the means of attaining some larger goal–a victory, for instance.

“I try and break things down to their simplest element,” he says, “and sometimes I guess I do it to an extreme. For instance, a game to me is just a series of individual challenges–Me against Reggie Jackson or Me againt Don Mincher. If I find I can get a guy out with a fastball it takes all the challenge away, so next time I throw him all curveballs. If I don’t have a challenge I create one. It makes the game interesting.”

…”No, I wouldn’t say Sudden is the toughest pitcher I ever faced,” says Reggie Jackson. “Now, don’t get me wrong. I like Sudden and I think he’s got the greatest fastball, curveball, slider and change-up of any pitcher I ever saw. I call him ‘Instant Heat.’ But still, I don’t mind facing him. That’s not because I hit him so easy, either, because I don’t. It’s just that Sudden simplifies things out there. He makes it like it used to be when we were kids. You know he’s going to challenge you, his strength against yours, and either you beat him or he beats you. And if you do beat him with a home run or something, hell, it don’t bother him that much. He’s not greedy. He lets you have a little, too. And he won’t throw at you, either, because he’s too nice a guy. He knows that with his fastball he could kill you if he ever hit you. You see, baseball’s still a game to Sudden, the way it should be to all of us. Hell, I’d pay to see him pitch because I know he enjoys himself so much. Do you know he’s got 12 differenet moves to first base? That’s a fact! When he was going for his 1500th strikeout he was trying so hard he fell down on a pitch to me. I took it for a third strike. I loved that, though. That’s why I look forward to facing him even if I don’t hit him a helluva lot. But someday I will. Me and Sudden will be around for a long time, and one of these days I’m going to connect with one of his sudden pitches and watch out! But still, I have to say that Sam McDowell isn’t the toughest pitcher I ever faced. As a matter of fact, I think he’d be tougher if he had less ability. Sounds crazy, huh? But it’s true. Sudden’s just go too much stuff.”

I don’t think that Jeff Weaver is nearly as gifted as McDowell was, and perhaps he isn’t even as interesting a person. But I thought about Weaver after reading this article last night, because he’s a pitcher with great stuff who hasn’t been able to put it together. Of course, you can replace Jeff Weaver with your favorite talent who hasn’t lived up to expectations. The point is, all the talent in the world doesn’t mean spit if you don’t thrive as a competitor.

Anyhow, there isn’t a baseball writer I enjoy more than Pat Jordan. Next time you happen upon one of his books, pick it up and give him a try.

Will Carroll and Derek Zumsteg of Baseball Prospectus are reporting that Pete Rose will be allowed to return to baseball next year:

Pete Rose and Major League Baseball have reached an agreement that would allow him to return to baseball in 2004, and includes no admission of wrongdoing by Rose, Baseball Prospectus has learned. According to several sources, Rose signed the agreement after a series of pre-season meetings between Rose, Hall of Fame member Mike Schmidt, and at different times, high-level representatives of Major League Baseball, including Bob DuPuy, Major League Baseball’s Chief Operating Officer, and Allan H. “Bud” Selig, Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

The agreement includes removal of Rose from baseball’s permanently ineligible list. This would allow Rose to appear on ballots for baseball’s Hall of Fame, which bars such banned players from consideration. The agreement allows Rose to be employed by a team in the 2004 season, as long as that position does not involve the day to day operations. That employment restriction would be removed after a year, allowing Rose to return to managing a team as early as the 2005 season if a position is offered to him.

Wow. Nice scoop, fellas. Think this will generate a stir? Duck and cover.

As expected, things went from bad to worse for the Yanks last night, as the spirited Royals pounded the Bombers’ bullpen into submission in front of their largest crowd of the season. (Remember, Bill James told Mark McGrath that they hate New York even more in Kansas City than they do in Boston.) The Royals hit 11 doubles, and the Yanks added 8 to set a major league single-game record.

It was another infuriating loss for Yankee fans. (If you want to feel worse, read Mike Lupica’s “I-told-you-so” rant in today’s Daily News.) This was definitely one of those games that cost me some sleep, I won’t lie. Even though the Yanks cranked out nine runs, it wasn’t enough (the final score: Royals 12, Yanks 9). Looks like those baserunning blunders were costly after all. As bad as the Yanks were, I’d be remiss if I didn’t credit the Royals, who lived up to their scrappy reputation. They are not unlike the Angels were last year: aggresive, opportunistic, and essentially likable.

Hey, at least Buck O’Neil and Bill James and Rob Neyer had a good night.

Brett Prinz made his Yankee debut in the 8th and was touched up pretty good. Antonio Osuna left the team to be with his ailing mother. There is no word yet as to whether David Wells will miss any time with his creaky back.

Again, the silver lining was that the Red Sox lost. Tim Hudson, the A’s hard luck ace, pitched a two-hitter, and Oakland beat Boston, 4-0. (Both hits didn’t leave the infield.) Pedro Martinez threw 101 pitches in just five innings, allowing two runs. Boston still trails New York by three games.

Boomer Wells tried pitching through back pain tonight, but couldn’t hold the 5-1 lead his offense staked him to, and didn’t make it into the fourth inning. A trip to the DL could be looming for Boomer. Sterling Hitchcock is coming on to pitch, and that never spells good things for New York. Paul Abbott, recently acquired in a trade with Arizona, is either throwing the ball in the dirt or six feet over the Yankees heads, for KC.

The Yankees baserunning has been awful thus far, and further demonstrates how shaky this team is fundamentally. They are a good team, but not the scary air-tight team of 97-2000. (This may be unfair, as that Yankee team will go down as a great team.) In the first, Jorge Posada was thrown out at second, trying to stretch a single into a double for no good reason, to end the inning. In the third, with runners on second and third and just one out, Bernie Williams didn’t score from third on a slow ground ball to first base.

Sure, the Yanks were up 5-1 at the time, but by the bottom of the inning the score was tied. Posada and Bernie have always been lousy on the bases: Posada thinks like Raul Mondesi and runs like John Riggins; Bernie is just a flat-out ditz. Alfonso Soriano had a one-out double in the fourth and then was thrown out trying to steal third. The score was tied. Why steal?

Oy veh. This should promise to be a long, drawn-out affair. I expect the lead to change hands several more times. After a long fly out from Giambi in the fifth (he already hit a two-run blast), Matsui cranked a solo shot to straight-away center to give the Yanks the lead, 6-5. Aaron Boone hasn’t had a base hit since Christ was a Cowboy.

Going to be a long night. Tim Hudson squares off against Pedro later tonight in Oakland. What a gem that promises to be. Aesthetically speaking, it doesn’t get much better than Pedro vs. Hudson, man.