Eric Gagne ran away with the National League Cy Young award yesterday. Gagne who had one of the best, if not the best single season a reliever has ever recorded, blew away the competition. I wish I could have seen him more often, but what little I did see of him was absolutely terrifying. Congrats to the Frenchman.
In other Dodger news, GM Dan Evans had an interesting chat with Oakland’s general manager Billy Beane last week. Got any questions? Make like Will Carroll, and go ask Jon Weisman.
Newsday is reporting that Mike Piazza would like to be traded to an American League team. If the Mets had been smart they would have moved Piazza in 2002 or 2003. As it is, if they choose to trade him, they might have to eat some of his salary, as Piazza is due to earn $30 million over the final two years of his contract. That is a steep price for a DH. Personally, I love the guy and as much as I have enjoyed him on the Mets, I think he would be a great fit for an American League squad.
MLB announced yesterday that more than five percent of baseball players have tested positive for steriods. Random testing will continue in 2004. The mainstream media is sounding the alarm of course. I picked up the papers early this morning and both the Daily News and New York Post have a photograph of a needle sticking out of a baseball on their back covers. A guy standing next to me was already reading the story and I asked him what he made of it. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “Look at these guys.”
Dave Anderson offers a stern lecture in the Times and Filip Bondy is positively shrill in the News. You’ve got to love it when sportswriters become moralists.
Am I surprised by the finding? Not a bit. Does it bother me? Not especially. Unlike Mr. Bondy, and perhaps many casual sports fans like the one I encountered this morning, I’m not a romantic. I assume there is cheating and drug use in sports just like in other parts of our culture. (Thankfully for Pete Rose and the players of a previous generation, baseball didn’t test for greenies.) You are naive and foolish if you think this is a new problem. I don’t think a majority of the players cheat, and my enjoyment of the game isn’t ruined because there are some that do.
A fellow named Avkash Patel has devised a simple yet meaninful new statistic that measures offensive patience at his Mets-related web page, Raindrops. I’m sorry that I didn’t link the article earlier, but it has received rave reviews in the blogging community. Jay Jaffe does a great job of sorting out Patel’s theory. I’m afraid that writing about performance analysis is not my strength–though I still enjoy reading about it–so I prefer to pass you along to someone who can.
Jay is just about to go on the DL himself. He has a torn labrum in his shoulder and is going under the knife next week. Stop by and wish one of the best baseball bloggers well.
Tony Pena and Jack McKeon took home manager of the year honors in their respective leagues yesterday. No surprises there. They were both deserving. I have one minor complaint though. Why didn’t Frank Robinson recieve a little more support? It seems as if he had one of the most arduous tasks in the majors, trying to keep his team focused as they shuttled back and forth from Canada to P.R. I know he had some talent to work with, and I’m not saying he should have won the award, but I thought he would have recieved a little more love from the writers.
Here are a few more pieces on the AL Rookie of the Year voting controversy–from Rob Neyer, Aaron Gleeman and Ben Jacobs. I have to say I was mildly amused that Jacobs allowed himself to get so steamed over comments made by Boss George Steinbrenner. It’s not that I don’t agree with Jacobs here, but I have developed such a thick skin when it comes to the Boss that I hardly ever get worked up by anything that comes out of his big, fat mouth.
Tabloid gossip is as New York as handball, hip hop and the screwface stare. Today, the rumor mill is in full effect, and it is as dizzying as watching Chinese Chess in Chinatown. Here is the lowdown according to New York’s finest…
The Curt Schilling talk is still hot, although the two teams are predictably miles apart. The Diamondbacks want both Nick Johnson and Alfonso Soriano in exchange for their $12 million ace headache and second baseman Junior Spivey. Kevin Kernan thinks the Yankees would be making a major mistake letting Nick Johnson go for Schilling, while John Harper thinks it is a sacrifice worth making. One thing is for sure, there are those in the Yankee organization (led by Stick Michael) who do not want to lose Johnson, but George Steinbrenner is not one of them:
“Stick hasn’t changed his opinion of Nick,” one Yankee insider said yesterday. “He still thinks the kid can win a batting title in the next few years. But George is frustrated because he keeps hearing he doesn’t have the kind of prospects in the (farm) system to make a deal like this.
“He’s 70-something years old and he doesn’t want to hear about the future. If Nick is his ticket, he’ll use him.”
That is a point worth noting. George has always constructed his team to win now, but at his age, why should he think about the future if he won’t be around to enjoy it? We are talking about a world-class, instant-gratification egotist after all.
But the Yankee brass isn’t alone in their appreciation of Johnson. According to Kernan:
“You know who Nick Johnson is?” one GM told me yesterday in the lost-in-time lobby of the Arizona Biltmore. “He’s the kind of player the Yankees of 1996 used to build around. He’s a Paul O’Neill type. The type who will work you deep into the count and drive the pitcher crazy.”
It is unlikely that any trade will be made soon. Hopefully for the Yankees, Cashman and Stick Michael can keep their raging bull of an owner from doing anything rash.
Meanwhile, Cashman met with Bartolo Colon’s agent, and also huddled with Expos GM Omar Minaya regarding Javier Vasquez. Roberto Alomar’s agent has approached Cashman about his clients’ desire to play for the Yankees, and the Bombers are also interested in Vlad Guerrero too. (With the White Sox willing to move Magglio Ordonez, right field has some interesting options.)
MEL TO RETURN
The New York Post is reporting that Mel Stottlemyre will in fact return as pitching coach next season. Joe Torre said that he hasn’t spoken with Stot since the end of the season but expects to hear from him in the next week. Looks like he’ll have his old friend back by his side. You think Andy Pettitte will notice?
HAVEN’T GOT TIME FOR THE PAIN
Derek Jeter apparently played through the ALCS and World Series in serious pain. Jeter strained ligaments in his left thumb in Game One of the ALCS against the Red Sox. Last night, at a fund-raiser, Joe Torre told reporters:
“After the first game against Boston I got a phone call the next morning and we weren’t sure he was going to play anymore,” Torre said last night at his Safe At Home Foundation dinner in Battery Park.
“It’s one of those things you test yourself as a manager and say, ‘Well, it’s out of our control now.’ But this kid was something. He got some pain shots the first couple of days and he said, ‘I can’t feel my thumb, I can’t take these shots anymore.’ “
Jeter, who was in attendence too, played coy:
“Mr. T blew a secret, huh?”
There are no plans for Jeter to have surgery this winter.
If you are interested in keeping up with the latest Hot Stove Rumors you should be subscribing to Lee Sinins’ daily Around the Majors e-mail. Why? Because Lee compiles information from papers around the country and because the e-mail is absolutely free.
Here are a few Yankee-related tidbits from today’s edition:
1. According to the Newark Star Ledger, Curt Schilling has told the Diamondbacks he’s changed his mind and would approve a trade to the Yankees.
There is a 3 team rumor that would send Schilling to the Yankees, Nick
Johnson to the Brewers.2. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, if the Yankees decide they are
interested in Jim Edmonds, there is already a 3 team rumor that would send
Edmonds and Schilling to the Yankees, Nick Johnson and Danny Bautista to
the Cardinals and Alfonso Soriano and Jeff Weaver to the Diamondbacks.
How do you think Yankee fans would like to lose Sori and Nick Johnson and receive Curt Schilling and Jim Edmonds in return?
The gossip is fast and furious right now. Edward Cossette has a good piece today about how instability of the the free agency era reflects modern life.
My father used to work in Televison Production for years, and I know he was a big fan of Art Carney’s. I wanted to share an e-mail I received from Pop this morning:
Iíll try to give you some more in a day or two, but I put the death of Art Carney in the same category as the death of Zero Mostel; an important person has left my life.
Although thereís no arguing that for an extended period, Jackie Gleason was akin to a force of nature, he was never, in my mind, the kind of talent or funny man or actor that was Art Carney. Carney wasnít just schtick although his schtick was about as godd as it gets; Carney was a commentator, and a damned funny one at that. My first memory of him (I knew his work in radio but didnít know who he was) was playing a waiter in the nightclub that was Jackie Gleasonís stage in Cavalcade of Stars for DuMont Televisionís Channel 5 in New York. He was intrusive, clumsy and hysterically funny. Itís to Gleasonís credit that he saw in Carney a second banana of remarkable skill. And he was a second banana; for reasons of his shyness, I guess, he was clearly not at home in the starring role, certainly not as a working comic, and why he didnít get more leading roles considering his successes in The Odd Couple and Harry & Tonto is beyond me. Why he did a couple of films with Gleason when the latter was well past his heyday, again playing the second role when it was no longer fittiní and proper, is also beyond me.
One quick story.
Before Channel 13 became a PBS channel, it was owned by a fella named Ely Landau, a genuine entrepreneurial type who will always have a place in my heart because he kept trying things with Henry Morgan. Now Morgan was a radio man and like Fred Allen, never really figured out how to sell his successful brand of cerebral radio humor on television except as a game show panelist. But, for a brief while, he did some things on Channel 13 and on one show in particular, he had Carney visit. At one point, while they were both sitting behind a desk, they played a three or four minute recording from an old radio broadcast with Art in the role of “Sailor Carney”, a not-so-hot prize fighter. If Iíd ever heard the routine, I didnít remember it. They obviously had. Nevertheless, all three of us were is stitches
Art Carney, one of America’s greatest—and most under-appreciated—actors, passed away on Sunday. Carney is most famous for playing second banana to Jackie Gleason on “The Honeymooners,” but he was an accomplished actor on the stage and radio as well as the silver screen.
Young actors should all watch Carney’s work on “The Honeymooners” (which has just been boxed in a nifty DVD set). Carney brought a sense of naturalism, or everyday authenticity to his role as Ed Norton. He never chewed the scenery like his famous co-star, but his understated professionalism was always fascinating to watch. He was also a graceful and talented physical comedian. Has any actor ever done more with the simple act of eating food than Carney did? If so, let me know, because I’ve never seen it.
One of my all-time fantasies is that I wish Art Carney had been allowed to recreate his stage performance as Felix Unger in the filmed version of “The Odd Couple.” Whenever I watch Jack Lemmon in the movie, I close my eyes and imagine what Carney would have done with the role. Especially playing against Walter Matheau. Ahhh…
Carney did win an Oscar for his role in Paul Mazursky’s tender comedy “Harry and Tonto.” If you have not seen that movie, I would highly suggest that you do. If not, make sure to check out “The Honeymooners” next time they are on late-night TV, and watch for the subtle genius in the background.
The Curt Schilling-to-New York rumors are all over the papers this morning. Yankee GM Brian Cashman arrived at the GM meetings in Arizona yesterday and was engaged in talks with several teams. Any deal for Schilling, or any other stud pitcher would most likely involve Nick Johnson or Alfonso Soriano. Aw, nertz. Excuse me while I moan, but I don’t want to see Nick Johnson go.
Congrats go out to Roy “Doc” Halladay who ran away with the Cy Young award in the American League yesterday. He was deserving of the award and was a fun pitcher to watch—even when he was killing the Yankees.
George Steinbrenner issued a statement yesterday expressing his displeasure over two writers’ decision to leave Hideki Matsui off their Rookie of the Year ballots (two writers also inexplicably left winner Angel Berroa off their list as well). According to the Times:
The writers, Steinbrenner said, “clearly made up their own rules to determine who was and was not eligible for the award and disqualified an eligible candidate who could have won.” Steinbrenner continued: “One of the writers in question, Mr. Ballou, actually said, `while he is technically a rookie by the rules of Major League Baseball, he is not a rookie in the spirit of the award.’ Spirit of the award? The award was renamed by the Baseball Writers’ Association to honor Jackie Robinson, its first recipient.
“Jackie Robinson came to the major leagues after playing in the Negro Leagues, a league whose high level of play is unquestioned. This year’s voting farce, where the appropriate qualifications for the award were blatantly ignored…
John Harper puts it well in the Daily News this morning:
Before I swallow hard and at least sort of agree with George Steinbrenner, a notion that has all the appeal of a colonoscopy, let’s get to the bottom line: The right guy won the AL Rookie of the Year award.
The two writers in question—Bill Ballou from the Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & Gazette and Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune–defended themselves, but ESPN’s Mike Greenberg thinks that their arrogance is inexcusable.
Roy White came to the Yankees during their CBS days, when the great dynasty in the Bronx had finally crumbled. In the mid 1960s, the Yankees farm system was all but depleted, but White was one of the few bright spots, along with Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer and Stan Bahnsen to come up through the system. White lasted into the Bronx Zoo days of George, Billy and Reggie before he finished his career in Japan.
Here is White talking about how Billy Martin’s aggresive managerial style shook up the Yankees in the mid-’70s (from Dick Lally’s book, “Bombers”:)
When Billy came on board, everything was put on the table. There was nothing laid-back about him. He was on the attack all the time. You could just feel it. He was always probing, trying to find the other team’s weakness, and he wanted us to do the same. And he was so unorthodox, you never knew what to expect. He wanted everyone to run, not just steal bases but challenge the other team’s outfielders by taking the extra base. He put the opposing team on edge and kept them there.
One game, I was on second and Pinella was hitting. Billy gave Lou the bunt sign, and Lou fouled the ball off as I broke for third. I went back to second and somehow missed the next sign. Now, in that siutation, you would expect Lou to bunt again. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred that is the logical play, and I assumed Lou would put down another bunt. But this is Billy in the dugout, so forget what the book says. Billy calls for the hit-and-run. Nobody does that! Lou singled, but because I had missed the sign, I didn’t score.
After the inning, Billy asked if I had missed the sign and I admitted that I had. He told me to stay awake out there or it would cost me money the next time. I knew from that day on that we had to keep on our toes because we had a manager who was capable of the unexpected. Having a manager like that drives a team. You don’t want to miss a sign and embarass yourself by messing up an inning. You also don’t want to get fined. Billy was fiery and samrt. He made us fiery and smart.
White coached for Billy Martin in 1983, and served as hitting coach for Yogi Berra in 1984 and Lou Pinella in ’86. White, has been the hitting coach for the A’s triple A team for the past five seasons. Originally an infielder who made the transition to the outfield, White may help young Soriano learn the ropes in the outfield too:
“The kind of athlete he is, I don’t think he’d have too much of a problem, with his speed, his natural instincts,” White said. “It’s just a matter of going out there, getting the experience, seeing balls off the bat.
“It wouldn’t be any tough feat to turn him into an outfielder.”
That is if Soriano is still around come spring…
Well, it looks as if Roy White will be joining the Yankees coachign staff after all. Except he’ll coach first, and Uncle Luis Sojo will move to third. (Thanks to Cliff C for the update). That’s very cool. Like I mentioned earlier, White was a sound player, and an under-appreciated Yankee. He was a good outfielder and fast too (he isn’t as strong as Matsui, but they share some similarities). White is certainly a good addition to Joe Torre’s staff. I will be shocked if Mel Stottlemyre doesn’t return.
A friend of mine just called me at work and told me that he heard on the radio that the Yankees will hire fomer outfielder Roy White as their new third base coach. Could that be possible? If so, then that is more good news for Yankee fans. White was a quiet and solid player on the Yankees for years and it would be great to have him back.
If anyone knows anything about this story, let me know. The AL Cy Young will be announced at 2:00 pm, and I would be surprised if Roy Halladay doesn’t get it.
Angel Berroa narrowly defeated Hideki Matsui to win Rookie of the Year honors in the American League, while Dontrelle Willis ran away with the award in the National League. According to the New York Times, Matsui’s age played a part in Berroa getting the nod:
“It had everything to do with that,” said Bill Ballou of The Worcester (Mass.) Telegram and Gazette, who listed Tampa Bay outfielder Rocco Baldelli first, Cleveland outfielder Jody Gerut second and Berroa third. “Matsui’s numbers are comparable to any of the other strong candidates. But I really think that while he is technically a rookie by the rules of Major League Baseball, he is not a rookie in the spirit of the award.”
Age didn’t bother the voters enough to deny Matsui’s countrymen, Ichiro and Kaz from winning the Rookie of the Year title. Why the change of heart? Do you think this might just have something to do with the fact that Matsui plays for the New York Yankees? I don’t doubt it, but sportswriters have traditionally been stingy with giving awards to the Bronx Bombers. Boo-hoo.
Having said that, I don’t think that Matsui deserved to win in the first place. It’s not as if he has been “robbed.” But if the writers voted correctly in the American League, then how can they explain what happened in the National League? Dontrelle Willis is a great story and a charasmatic kid, but he wasn’t even the best rookie pitcher in the league.
Fortunately, I don’t get too worked up over awards one way or another (although I like a good controversy as much as the next guy, and if Barry Bonds is somehow denied another MVP, that would get me going). I’m reminded of Woody Allen complaining in “Annie Hall” when his character visted L.A. to present an award. “All they do is give out awards. Greatest Fascist Dictator: Adolph Hitler.”
How about “Most Spiteful Sportswriter Snub: George King.”
Rich Lederer has kicked off his off-season interview series with Lee Sinins, the man who brings us the sabermetric baseball encyclopedia, as well as the indispensable daily Around the Majors e-mails. Lee gives a terse, opinionated and informative interview. This is worth taking a look at it. Funny, but Lee and I share favorites: (team) the Yankees, (childhood player) Reggie Jackson, (current player) and Bernie Williams.
The free agent season officially begins today. Boston GM, Theo Epstein anticipates his second go around in the Hot Stove League:
“I think it will be a pretty active offseason in general,” he said in a conference call last week. “There was a record number of one-year contracts signed last year, so a lot of players are available. Obviously, with a changing market, it creates an interesting dynamic for the clubs, and I think action is a good way to solve those issues. I think it will be an active offseason.
J.P. Ricciardi adds that teams will continue to non-tender players in order to avoid arbitration cases:
“It seems like there are going to be a record number of nontenders,” Ricciardi said. “More and more clubs are going that route. When teams look at the value of players based on the system as opposed to what their actual talent is, sometimes 2 and 2 isn’t 4. Some teams look at players and say, `I don’t want to pay this guy $4 million because of the system.’ “
Peter Gammons has the skinny, as usual, over at ESPN.
Meanwhile, the Awards season begins in earnest today, when the American League Rookie of the Year will be announced. The competition is between Rocco Baldelli, Hideki Matsui, Angel Berroa, and Jody Gerut. I liked what little I saw of Gerut, but think the award will go to either Berroa or Godzilla.
It doesn’t appear as if Curt Schilling will be a New York Yankee. Boo-hoo. Schilling apparently doesn’t think much of playing in New York, or the Yankees chances to compete for another World Serious for that matter. According to Lee Sinins:
“People talk about the Yankees and the spending and the money and all this other stuff. I feel like if I wanted to go to the Yankees and they were interested in me, I’d call and be done and I’d get a deal that was very lucrative.
“But the dollars, I can honestly, with my hand to God tell you, are absolutely meaningless for this last contract. … So I’m going to spend my final years pitching in a place I enjoy being and that every year I’m going to have a chance to put a World Series ring on my hand.”
I’d love to know where that place will be. Hey, Schilling: good luck and good riddance, you unbelievbable putz you.
The Baltimore Orioles will hire Lee Mazzilli as their next manager according to the Associated Press. A press conference is scheduled for later this afternoon. This is not a surprising move. I’m happy for Maz, and hope he does well…but not too well, of course. Meanwhile, the Yankees will now need to find a new third base coach. Who do you think they’ll consider for the job?
