This is good.

Steak au Poivre from The Dog’s Breakfast.

Paperboy, the movie opened last Friday. Our man Dexter does not approve.

Read the book. It’s a good one.

Late last night The Wife says, “I should get the purple heart for dealing with your ass.”

I say, “You’d get a purple heart if you’d married a Mets fan.”

Touche, she says.

When the Yanks finally won it was after midnight. I was typing away on my computer as she talked to me. She laughed because I wasn’t listening. I heard her laughing but didn’t hear what she was saying because I wasn’t listening.

She announced she was going to bed.

“The wife is exhausted,’ she said. Then, to herself: “Purple heart. And if you don’t give it to me, I’ll give it to myself. I don’t need you to give it to me.  That shit is mine, man.”

Oh, what the heck?  (We Got) another Gummy Soul Pharcyde-Tribe blend.

One time.

[Photo Via: She is Glorious]

“Either Way” By Michael Carson (via Germinate)

Today, let’s take a moment to appreciate the rock n roll critic Lester Bangs. For a sense of who Bangs was and what his work meant, read this by Maria Bustillos.

Then, check out this 1980 Bangs Q&A by Sue Mathews:

Sue Mathews: How much relevance do you think Rock’n’Roll can have to an ageing population?

Lester: Well, It’s like a friend of mine said when I asked him “ Do you think The Rolling Stones should break up now that they’ve put out ‘Some Girls’ and quit while they’re ahead or should they keep going? ”. And he said “Oh no, absolutely, they should keep going until they’re totally senile, and a little bit more creepy and pathetic and creaky each time playing the same old Chuck Berry riffs until they’re 60 years old”. And I agree that’s exactly what they should do, and I think Rock’n’Roll as it goes along gets more creaky. The whole culture will get more creaky and why not. I mean I’d rather listen to the Stones than Tony Bennett or something like that. I guess what you’re asking is if the youth is a minority, and then Rock’n’Roll as being. . . . . well. . . Lets look at it this way, lets compare it to say Jazz or to Blues, music where some of the greatest work was done. When the artist Charlie Parker or Mingus or who ever, who were in their 30’s and 40’s. I mean I thinks it’s a total myth that only someone who is an adolescence can create good Rock’n’Roll. Patti Smith didn’t start till she was in her 30’s and she’s created some excellent Rock’n’Roll, some of it even great. Lenny Hayes is in his 30’s, in fact to tell the truth this whole punk rock thing, half of the people in it are in their 30’s. When you get right down to it, nobody admits their age, very few of them are 21 years old I guarantee you. I mean the people that make it are like Bob Seger, Ted Nugent what ever you may think of them, they’ve been slogging around for 10 years. Most of the people that make it have been slogging around for ten years. Debbie Harry, that whole group, it’s just simple arithmetic that these people could not be teenagers if they’ve been trying for that long. It usually takes about that long in fact or it quite often does. So it stands to reason that you know it’s not this myth that this person drops out of high school and grabs a guitar and the next week is the biggest thing in the country, I mean yes this happens, but in general it’s not that way at all.

Here’s an on-line archive of Bangs’s work.

[Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times]

They waited two-and-a-half hours to play tonight and when they began Derek Jeter singled up the middle. He took off for second base just before Ichiro lined one into the gap in left center field. Jeter scored easily. Then Ichiro took off for third on the first pitch to Alex Rodriguez and was thrown out. It wasn’t a bright play and killed the inning.

Couple of innings later another mistake on the bases cost them, too. Rodriguez worked an impressive walk to start the third, laying off a couple of nasty breaking balls. He took off for second just before Robinson Cano hit a sharp line drive down the first base line. It was speared by Mark Reynolds who tagged first. Nick Swisher walked and then Mark Teixeira hit a long fly ball to right. More of a line drive, really, and it missed being a home run by a couple of feet, maybe less. Rodriguez scored to tie the game but Teixeira was thrown out at second on a nice throw by Chris Davis. Difficult play to judge for Teixeira but considering he can’t run probably not a wise gamble.

The RBI hit was enough to tie the game though. The Orioles got a couple in the third when CC Sabathia hung a slider to Nate McClouth with runners on second and third. McClouth slapped it into right field. Otherwise, Sabathia looked crisp, 76 pitches through six innings. He gave up a few bleeders, some dunkers but was in control. Sabathia got into a jam in the fifth and was saved by some nifty defensive work from his catcher Russell Martin, who blocked several pitches in the dirt and made an athletic play on a bunt, as well.

Real time, now. Martin leads off the seven inning by drawing a walk on a full count pitch against lefty reliever Troy Patton. The raucous crowd in Baltimore turns pensive when Raul Ibanez gets ahead 3-1. They stir when Ibanez checks his swing for strike two and groans when Patton misses outside to walk him. Buck Showalter sprints to the mound to summon the sidearming Darren O’Day to face Jeter.

Jeter squares, the pitch sails outside for a ball.  Again, he squares, pulls the bat back, and takes a strike. Then, he stabs at another pitch tailing away, good for a strike. Don’t see that often. You also don’t see a guy bunt with two strikes but that’s precisely what Jeter did, laying down a fastball, right down the middle for a successful sacrifice, 5-3.

They don’t walk Ichiro and he takes a called strike and backs off at a ball inside. Crushes the next pitch foul, way ahead of it–Nertz. Now, the crowd is up, waving their orange towels again. Ground ball right at Andino at second. Throw comes home and is low, but Weiters picks it and tags Martin out.

Rodriguez got a pitch, first pitch, he got a pitch, and he fouls it off. Tries to check his swing on the next pitch and couldn’t. Down 0-2, any Yankee fan with confidence? Hardly. Towels waving. Another side-arming floater, outside corner, Alex holds up. Gets the nod. No strike. Next pitch, even further outside, lays off again. Waves at the next pitch.

Fail.

Bottom of the inning, Spark Iron Lew Ford leads off against Sabathia and grounds out on a 3-2 off-speed pitch. He hit a slow, steady roller to second. Cano raced for it, fielded and scooped it over to Teixeira to nick Ford by a half step. Robert Andino is next, works the count even at 2-2, fouls off a fastball, then a breaking ball, looks at a heater outside for ball three, and takes Sabathia’s 90th pitch of the night. He starts to walk to first when he hears that he’s been called out on strikes. Andino hops, twirls and walks back to the dugout. Nate McClouth takes a few borderline pitches then grounds out to Cano.

Past tense. Here’s out it panned out.

Brian Matusz was effective in the eighth working around a two-out walk to Teixeira and striking out Curtis Granderson to end the inning.

Sabathia returned for the eighth and promptly fell behind J.J. Hardy, 2-0 and then gave up a double. The pitch was outside and Hardy went with it, a nifty piece of hitting. First pitch to Adam Jones was right over the plate, and Jones almost came out of his shoes swinging at it. Sabathia and the Yanks were lucky he fouled it back–straight back–and didn’t deposit it over the wall in center. The next two pitches were inside for balls but then Sabathia came back and got him swinging–nice breaking ball.

One hundred and four pitches for CC and the next one was a fastball in Matt Weiters’ kitchen, good for a foul out to Teixeira.

Mark Reynolds, that late season Yankee Killer: changed up (84 mph) for a called strike; fastball (92), just misses inside for a ball; change up (86), low but good enough for called strike two. Sabathia walks off the mound, meets Martin half way to home, puts the glove over his mouth, and then returns to the hill. Another change up, inside (84), and Reynolds hangs in to foul it off down the right field line. He can’t do much with the next change up but ground it softly to Jeter.

Phew. And some game from the Poppa Large.

So the ninth gave the O’s closer, Jim Johnson. Ball one, and ball two and then Russell Martin skied one to left. A High Fly. About five rows deep and the Yanks had the lead.

Ibanez singled to right and after a botched bunt attempt Ibanez took off for second, Jeter got jammed but fisted one into right for a cheap shit base hit.  Eduardo Nunez replaced Ibanez at third. So Ichiro has a swinging bunt, little dribbler not fifteen feet up the first base line. Johnson fielded it but had no play. Nunez slid home head first and the Yanks had a two run lead and Rodriguez at the dish.

Rodriguez missed one pitch to hit and then K’d for the third time on the night. But Cano, who hacked at almost every pitch he saw tonight, nailed a double to left, scoring Jeter and Ichiro. A poor throw allowed Cano to move to third and Johnson was done, the score now 6-2. He came home when Swisher hit a deep fly ball against Tommy Hunter.

Many of the home town fans left by the time Sabathia returned and got the first two outs in the ninth. Lew Ford doubled and Joe Girardi replaced Sabathia with David Robertson. Camden Yards has been a haven for Yankee fans for a long time now but they were drowned out by the home faithful. Which was appropriate. But when Robertson got the last out the only cheers heard were those of the Bronx variety.

Final Score:  Yanks 7, O’s 2.

[Photo Credit: John Munson/N.J.com]

Game One. It’s cold and rainy in Baltimore.

Chad Jennings has the Yankees ALDS roster. And here are the lineups:

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C
Raul Ibanez DH

LHP CC Sabathia

ORIOLES
Nate McLouth LF
J.J. Hardy SS
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Mark Reynolds 1B
Manny Machado 3B
Chris Davis DH
Lew Ford RF
Robert Andino 2B

RHP Jason Hammel

Never mind the previews and prognostications: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: mOrtality]

Here’s an Sunday open thread. Nats, Cards and then A’s, Tigers this afternoon before the Yanks play against the Orioles down in Baltimore this evening. We’ll have a Yankee post up before game time.

Meanwhile, playoffs and football and all that other good shit.

[Photo Credit: mOrtality]

“Jammin’ In Four”–Edmond Hall

[Photo Credit: Harry Gruyaert, Terrace of a local hotel, Gao, Mali, 1988 via Mythology of Blue]

Over at Sports on Earth I recapped last night’s game between the Tigers and A’s. After that, the Reds outlasted the Giants, 5-2.

[Photo Credit:  Damian Strohmeyer, SI]

First up gives the Tigers hosting the A’s then out to San Francisco for the Reds and Giants.

Have at it.

Let’s Go Base-ball.

[Photo Credit: Nina Zivkovic via Je Suis Perdu]

Over at ESPN, here’s Jeff MacGregor on Derek Jeter:

Jeter is our sphinx, as fixed and inscrutable as those marble lions in front of the New York Public Library.

Eighteen seasons, 3,304 hits. Who knows how many starlets. Captain Intangibles in the City of the Damned. To reasonable people from anywhere else, New York is crazy, a bughouse — an asylum, a hive, a slice of 99-cent pizza falling on a pair of $1,600 shoes. It’s bike messengers and violinists, grime and Champagne. It’s a Babel, a bad dream, a siren, a grinding of the teeth. It’s that smell. It’s horse carts and nightclubs and town cars and bridges. It’s Trump and Jay-Z, The Times and the Post, three-card monte and the stock exchange. It’s a Korean bodega in a Greek neighborhood run by 4 guys from Yemen. It’s what America used to be before focus groups got hold of it.

But New York makes sense to New Yorkers. Our cops and firefighters all look and sound like cops and firefighters, and the daily parade up and down the avenue of our actors and junkies and account executives is straight out of central casting. The ballplayers all look like ballplayers and first among them is Derek Jeter. As much a part of the mind’s skyline as the Flatiron or the Waldorf; as much a part of the tri-state subconscious as every car commercial they’ve ever bounced off your skull. Even if you hate baseball, he’s as permanent an impermanence as most New Yorkers can imagine.

The only question is for how long?

[Photo Credit: Bags]

How you expect to get your corn meal made?

[Photo Credit: Jeremy Egry via Zero]

Let Dem Playoffs Begin.

Braves-Cards are the early game. Rangers-O’s are the late one.

We’ll be watching.

Let’s Go Base-ball!

[Photo Credit: TS Flynn via It’s a Long Season]

Mike Trout should win the American League Most Valuable Player Award. His bat, glove and legs produced more runs for the Angels than any other player did for their team in 2012. And it wasn’t particularly close.

However, the decision to award Mike Trout the MVP over Miguel Cabrera is not as cut and dry as WAR-touters would have you believe. A three win bulge for Trout makes this an open and shut case to them. There are several factors that bring Cabrera back into the discussion. Unfortunately for us, many of them suck.

The Tigers made the playoffs! Fine, but the Angels won more games against much tougher competition.

Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown! Awesome, but ask the ghost of Ted Williams if the Triple Crown guarantees the MVP Award.

Miguel Cabrera has been so good for so long, he deserves an award! Players who are “so good for so long” get into the Hall of Fame. There’s no need to manufacture an MVP award they don’t deserve.

Give Trout the Rookie of the Year Award. If he’s not a fluke he can do it again next year! Yes, they will give him the ROY and no, that has nothing to do with the MVP award.

These invalid arguments may be the loudest on Cabrera’s side, and that’s a shame because there are some valid ones that we haven’t heard much of yet. I will state in advance that I don’t think these arguments cover the gap, but I do think they make it close enough that a Cabrera MVP Award would not be the miscarriage of justice that Fangraphs and other such sites will claim it is.

Games Played

Trout’s massive production came in only 139 games. Cabrera compiled his Triple Crown over 161 games. Some would argue that this is an argument for Trout, since greater than or equal to production over a shorter time necessarily implies a greater rate of impact per game. However, showing up counts. It’s not Trout’s fault that he was left in the Minors to start the season, but he wasn’t there to help the Angels as they stumbled through April.

A player in the lineup can change the result in many ways. Most commonly, by the statistics we measure and discuss all the time. But what about a game where Cabrera goes 0-4 but works the pitcher over for 20 high stress pitches? Perhaps Prince Fielder could be the benificiary of a fat pitch in one of his plate appearances as a result. How many pitching changes were made in games this year just because Miguel Cabrera loomed in the on deck circle? How many fastballs were called because Mike Trout was leading off first base? A player of this quality influences the course of the game whether he is padding his WAR total or not.

The point being that a player can generate negative WAR in a game and still impact that same game in a very positive manner by doing things that WAR does not measure. A player who is not on the roster cannot.

Or imagine the Tigers play the Angels in a four game series. Cabrera hits four home runs in the series, one in each game. Trout stays in AAA for the first three games of the series and then comes up and hits two home runs and steals two bases in the final game. Trout’s overall value may be equal to or greater than Cabrera’s especially per game, but Cabrera’s ability to impact four results is superior to Trout’s ability to impact one result.  Since each result is a discrete event, production tomorrow does nothing to address today’s game.

Cabrera was able to impact 161 games on Detroit’s schedule. That’s the most important point in his favor.

Roster Creation

Mike Trout is an excellent defensive out fielder and Miguel Cabrera is a terrible defensive third baseman. This difference goes a long way to creating the WAR gap in Trout’s favor. And it should. Trout’s superior defensive ability can and should be used to differentiate these two players. However, once we dig into the reason Miguel Cabrera is playing third base, I think we can cut him a little bit more slack than raw comparison would dictate.

I am reminded of the excellent Red Sox teams of 2003-2008. The Red Sox won two World Series and a lot of games during this period; you might have seen the pink hats. As they did this, Manny Ramirez hit a ton in the middle of their lineup and was a putrid defensive player. Manny Ramirez may have been better served as a DH. But the Red Sox certainly would not have been better served, because they already had David Ortiz there. The Red Sox paired two of the best hitters of the generation and rode them to glory. Manny Ramirez’s ability to put a glove on his hand and stand in front of the Green Monster was essential to this plan. Yes, his poor play out there cost the Red Sox some runs and should count against him in our analysis of him as a player. But looking at the team overall, and what they accomplished and why, mitigates some of those negatives.

The Tigers, as the A’s are no doubt shaking about right now, have a similar pair of hitters. The only reason Prince Fielder is on the team is because Miguel Cabrera can put a glove on his hand and stand next to third base. When we look at all the runs that Miguel Cabrera’s poor defense cost the Tigers this year, we should also ask if the Tigers would have done it any other way. When a player would have been better off individually playing one position, but made a move which enabled the team as a whole to be better (or to pursue the course of action which the team envisioned would give them the best chance to win, regardless of outcome) we should not hold the totality of his negative defensive value against him.

Trout’s a better defensive player than Cabrera. That should go into the discussion. But if we just say Trout is+X and Cabrera is -Y, that’s not fair either.

September

As the races tightened in September, Miguel Cabrera had an insane month and Mike Trout had a good one. From September 1st to the day the Angels were eliminated from the playoffs, Trout hit .283/.397/.500. From September 1st until the day they clinched the Central, Cabrera hit .330/.395/.688 (and Fielder, on the team because of Cabrera’s flexibility, hit .308/.410/.567).

If we think of a baseball game, the late innings are more important than the early innings because there is less time to make up for any changes in the score. Leverage of the late innings is higher than leverage of the early innings, and this is why Mariano Rivera should pitch the late innings of the closest games. The same goes for a season. The games in September have higher leverage attached to them than those games in April because there is less time to make up any changes in the standings. So we do have to give Cabrera a little bump for his late season heroics. Not because of the result (see above) but because of the timing of his individual contribution.

I have read a lot arguments saying that production in April counts as much as production in September and that giving Cabrera credit for his strong finish isn’t warranted. To that I say bringing up April hurts Trout much more than September. I’ll give Cabrera some credit for producing so much in September, but in my mind that’s a much smaller bump than the other factors above.

We started out talking about a 10.4 WAR player versus a 7.2 WAR player. To keep the discussion in the same units of measure, I’d say this more like a debate bewteen a 10 WAR player and an 8 WAR player.  I ding Trout a little bit for missing too much of the Angels schedule and I give Cabrera a little bit of a break for playing third base so poorly because it enables Prince Fielder to be a Tiger. I’d still vote for Trout, but it’s close enough to bring up the topic to the guy on the barstool  next to yours.

Another one bites the dust. Had some good memories in that place.

Smitten Kitchen gives us spaghetti with broccoli cream pesto. Sure, why the hell not?

I got to have it.

[Photo Via: Eye of the Beholder]