BRONX BANTER INTERVIEW: ALLEN BARRA

WHA HAPPEN TO THE YANKS?

Allen Barra, the wonderful baseball writer/book-reviewer/social critic, recently joined the sports department over at The New York Times. Over the Holiday weekend, Barra wrote stellar columns about Roger Clemens and the 300 win club. I had a chance to speak with Mr. Barra on Sunday afternoon. Here is our exchange regarding the state of the Yankees.

Bombs away.

Bronx Banter: Are you planning to be at the Stadium on Monday for the Clemens game?

Allen Barra: I may be. I may have to finish a piece. I would love to be out there for it. I will staunchly maintain, as I said in my book–which I used as background information for the piece I wrote today—that Clemens is the greatest starting pitcher in baseball history. Or certainly one of the top three or four. There is no reason for not considering him in that group. If he had pitched from 1910 through 1925, he would have won 400 games. He would have been Walter Johnson. Or better than Walter Johnson.

BB: Well maybe the Yankees can score a couple of runs for him, God forbid.

Barra: I don’t know. This is a bad team. Of course, they are injury-riddled and I can’t understand that.

BB: You mean why they are getting hit with the bad breaks?

Barra: Why in the world did they wait to take Bernie Williams out of the line up? It was so obvious that Bernie Williams was hurting. Why would you not take Bernie out and get that knee fixed? Now, it’s going to cost them dearly. That was just a terrible, terrible decision by the team. How many double plays do you have to hit into? Their two most consistent hitters were Bernie and Nick Johnson, and now, they’re out. I don’t understand Mussina’s lapses. Nor do I understand what is wrong with Andy Pettitte.

BB: Maybe he lost the Lord somewhere along the way.

Barra: Jason Giambi, we know had an eye infection. I don’t know. Does he still have it? Jason Giambi was the American League’s best hitter for three years, arguably for four years. All of sudden, you don’t want him up there with a runner on third base? Cause he can’t lift the ball out of the infield? I don’t know what the problem is. I don’t know what has happened to this team mentally. This is the same malaise that gripped the Yankees with something like thirty games left last year. They played shitty ball against shitty teams, and they were just terrible. And going into the playoffs, I had no confidence whatsoever that they were going to be able to win. Even if Clemens pitches a good game, you figure he’s going to be down 2-1 in the seventh inning. All of a sudden, in the past year and a half, Derek Jeter can’t hit for any power. Soriano

BB: The freak.

Barra: Yeah, but he’s beginning to be a like a super version of Juan Samuel.

BB: Or Dave Kingman.

Barra: He’s more talented. Especially when you talk about his power and speed, but he can’t backhand a ground ball? He can’t make contact in key situations. Plus, this is just a team that is way out of whack. The guy who ought to be batting third, fourth or fifth, is batting first. Your lead off hitter is leading the team in runs batted in, doesn’t that tell you something a little screwy there? [Torre’s ears must have been burning, because Soriano hit third on Sunday and Monday.]

BB: Could it be that this is the end of their run? Is this just the natural cycle of things catching up to them?

Barra: I don’t know. I do know that it is really puzzling that there hasn’t been one guy who has stepped forward on that team and taken charge. They are rudderless, and they don’t seem to have any direction. They don’t have any take-charge guy. The closest thing to that is Roger Clemens. And he can go only once every six days.

BB: You don’t see Jeter as that guy?

Barra: Have you seen Jeter out in the field? Do you see any sparks coming out of him? I’ve got to say that this is one of the worst defensive infields I’ve ever seen. Ventura can still catch balls hit at him, but he can’t move to either side. It’s just a terrible defensive infield. The whole thing was summarized by that game they played—who was it against? Texas. Batting in the last of the 8th, with the bases loaded and one out.

BB: The Yanks left a zillion guys on base in that game.

Barra: I think they left 8 runners on base in extra innings, but all they had to do is get one home in the eighth, and they got Mariano Rivera pitching [the 9th]. A hit would have scored two runs. Soriano is up there with a 3-1 count. Show some discipline, you know. If it’s ball four, the go ahead run scores, and you go to the ninth inning with at least a one-run lead. So he swings at two curveballs out of the strike zone, trying to pull them both. Jeter comes up. You take a pitch in that situation, don’t you? To get the run home; try to work the count. Hacks at the first pitch, and hits a routine grounder to second base. So here is Soriano and Jeter playing like rookies in a key situation. And sure enough, they found a way to lose the game. And they don’t only lose it; they lose it by several runs.

BB: Those were the games they used to win regularly.

Barra: I’m just appalled at the lack of team discipline. Posada

BB: He’s a mental case.

Barra: I know that catchers are scarce, and that power-hitting catchers are scare, but god, this guy just goes into the tank sometimes. When he’s not hitting a home run, he’s doesn’t make any contribution to the team at all. And then there is his defense. Matsui makes that wonderful relay to Jeter against the Angels, and Jeter turns around and relays the ball home. And where is Posada? He didn’t know it was coming; he was on the wrong side of the plate. He’s in back of the plate. It’s little things like that. Everything they’ve done like this has come back to bite them in the ass.

BB: Is this something you think they can turn around?

Barra: No I don’t. There is something about this team that is just paralyzed. I mean it’s entirely possible that when they get all their players back in there, through sheer, overwhelming talent, they could win again. Sure. What could happen is that everybody could just revert to form. But I don’t understand why there isn’t one player on that team playing up to form. Mariano Rivera and Roger Clemens are the closest ones.

BB: Mondesi has played well.

Barra: The way they’ve been the last couple of weeks, the other team scores early in the game, and the game is over. Mussina can’t be a stopper, Wells can’t be a stopper. Weaver, I don’t what’s his problem. He’s not pitching anywhere near the level he pitched with Detroit. Matsui? I’m not going to complain about him. He’s dedicated, and he’s trying. They ask him to play center field, he does it. I’d like to see some more of that on the team, even if they guy isn’t hitting what they expected. Especially if he keeps hitting to the opposite field, I don’t care if he hits home runs.

BB: He could be more like a poor man’s Wade Boggs.

Barra: And you know, Jeter is not a good short stop. When are the fans going to realize this? When is the team going to realize it? Don’t go looking for an expensive, aging third baseman. Move Derek Jeter to his natural position. We hear all this fuss about moving Piazza [from behind the plate to first base], why don’t we hear that Jeter ought to playing third base, or second. He doesn’t have the range of a shortstop. He’s a terrible defensive shortstop. And Soriano is a terrible defensive second baseman. You’ve got two black holes up the middle, just sucking up runs.

BB: Meanwhile the Red Sox will be down five runs in the eighth and they come back and win the game.

Barra: Well, the Yankees used to be like that. I don’t know. I don’t understand how everybody tanks at the same time. But that’s what is happening. The Yankees have also gotten some terrible calls. On the relay home—the play I was talking about with Posada—the umpire didn’t judge his call on whether or not the guy was out—it looked like he was—he judged it on whether Posada was were he should have been. Mondesi hits a home run in extra innings and it bounces off the fucking foul pole—

BB: And nobody in the Yankees dugout said Dick.

Barra: Nobody on the Yankees jumps up and protests? It’s about time for Joe Torre or someone, to show a little old fashioned This team needs, god forbid—I’m sorry to say this—but they really could used Billy Martin right now. I know he’d burn himself out there after two years, but still I want to see somebody starting hitting somebody at second base.

BB: Posada tried to do that the other night, and got kicked out of the game.

Barra: I know. They could use a little more of that. They could also use somebody trying to work the count a little more. That’s the reason they were hitting so well in the first place. I’m so tired of these guys going up a just hacking. Or the other extreme of taking. How many times have you seen somebody go down with runners on base on a called third strike?

BB: Matsui takes a lot of strikes.

Barra: At least he’s got an excuse. He’s learning the pitchers. What’s everybody else’s excuse? This team cannot win without Jason Giambi hitting a ton. And I don’t understand what’s happening, do you?

BB: Not really. I keep looking for signs for him to snap out of it. The guy looks like he’s starting to put some good at bats together over the past couple of games and then yesterday (Saturday) in the ninth inning, against the Jays closer, he gets a first pitch fastball, dead over the plate and Giambi swings right through it. When he’s on, he murdalizes that pitch. I hear people bitch about, ‘Why doesn’t he just lay one down the third base line?’ [Giambi tried to do that in the ninth on Sunday afternoon] But I don’t think that is the answer.

Barra: Ted Williams wouldn’t do that either. If Giambi was hitting .290, with about 15 home runs, would we be complaining? You might say, ‘Jeez, he should hit one to the opposite field every now and then.’ But that’s not what is happening. A weak pop-up to left field with a runner on third base? With no outs? That’s where you need Giambi to get on base and bring the tying runner to the plate.

BB: The fans have been sitting on their hands waiting for something to cheer about, and with the Sox coming into the Stadium tomorrow it doesn’t get any easier.

Barra: On the other hand, the Sox may be the only team the Yankees can beat.

BB: Why? Just because—

Barra: Because they are the Red Sox. I would not be surprised to see the Yankees beat them two out of three, or even sweep the Sox. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, I’m saying it wouldn’t surprise me. The Red Sox are the only team right now, who are capable of turning themselves into a worse team than the Yankees.

RIGHT ON TIME

I shot an e-mail to Rob Neyer before the game yesterday, expressing my concern about the Yanks. Here is his reply:

What’s interesting about this game is that EVERYBODY is focusing on 300, which is understandable but a little silly, considering that Clemens IS going to win 300. It’s just a question of when.

What is in doubt is another division title for the Yankees. And if the Yanks lose today, they’re 2 1/2 games back.

Jeez Rob, don’t you know that George is making promises again?

Unlike the his team, George Steinbrenner didn’t go down without a fight after yesterday’s loss at the Stadium. It wasn’t a full-on explosion, but the fuse has been lit. According to Murray Chass in The New York Times:

One club official and one baseball official have said in the past few days that Steinbrenner is “worse than ever.” People in and out of the organization made similar observations last year, which apparently means worse has turned to worst. “He’s off the wall,” the club official said before the game.

Steinbrenner did speak with reporters after the game. Joel Sherman reports in the Post:

“We are still going to win this,” Steinbrenner told The Post when asked about the Yankees falling behind Boston. “I’m confident. Don’t bet against us. I believe our manager, Joe Torre, will get these things right. Mark down this date and remember I told you this. We are going to win. I believe in this team.”

…”I’m not happy with them,” Steinbrenner said. “We have to get straightened out. I think Joe will get us straightened out. It better happen.”

When asked if there was an “or what” to that, Steinbrenner replied, “We’ll have to wait and see.” However, when asked directly if Torre should feel in peril from that statement, The Boss responded, “I will not criticize him at all. He knows what has to be done. But he also has been given everything he has asked for. What he has wanted, we have provided.”

Make no mistake about it, George is putting all the pressure on Torre. If the Yanks fail this year, George will feel justified in hammering Uncle Joe. But don’t be surprised if Rick Down or Mel Stottlemyre go first.

According to The Daily News:

When asked if Jeff Weaver should be out of the rotation and Contreras in, Steinbrenner lowered his voice to almost a whisper and made a suggestion certain to raise Torre’s eyebrows.

“Yes I do. Right now,” he said, nodding. “Because I think that Weaver has gone to too much of a thrower right now. He was great in the bullpen for us before. Contreras is not that type of a pitcher. He’s a starting pitcher. All of a sudden you put him (Contreras) in there (the bullpen) – he showed me he can still throw the ball 95, 96. I kinda like (Contreras), but I’m not going to be the one to say it.”

Godzilla Matsui got the business too:

“All I know,” Steinbrenner said, “is that this is not the guy we signed in terms of power. This falls to my hitting coach figuring out a way to straighten this guy out.”

…Of the slumbering Yankee bats, Steinbrenner said, “I’d like to see more timely hitting. Giambi’s a mystery to me right now. We’ll have to see what happens there, but don’t bet against us. Don’t bet against this team,” The Boss added, jabbing a finger into a reporter’s chest for emphasis.

While the Boss was blustering, Joe Torre was as calm as usual. I caught his post-game press conference on ESPN, and Torre talked about how nobody was going to feel sorry for the Yankees. He said that the only thing that will snap his team out of this slump is for them to continue to show up and work hard. THere are no magic cures. He said that somebody is going to take a beating some day, suggesting his offense will finally wake up and revert to form. But Torre sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. He wasn’t defeated, or exasperated, he just seemed at a loss. Derek Jeter commented that this Yankee team hasn’t won anything yet:

“It was a perfect atmosphere and we didn’t show up,” Jeter said. “That’s the bottom line.”

…”Maybe that’s too strong, but we didn’t get him enough runs,” he said. “We didn’t show up with the results. The effort was there, just not the results.”

…”It’s happening a lot lately,” Jeter said of the losing. “Anyone who says it doesn’t happen to us a lot, this is a new team. That’s the bottom line.

“Everyone wants to compare years past to this year, but it’s not the same team as years ago. … We have different players.”

Where have you gone, Luis Sojo?

GETTING LATE EARLY…

The Red Sox mauled Rocket Clemens and he just left after five and two-thirds, down 5-3. Antonio Osuna comes in and before you know it, the score is 8-3. Clemens threw more than 125 pitches, and was ahead of a lot of batters, but the Sox, like the Angels last fall, spoiled a lot of good pitches, and demonstrated why they are scoring more than five runs per game. They had dinky hits, and then had some solid hits too.

Down 5-1, the Yanks put a couple of runs on the board to close it to 5-3. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Raul Mondesi was up with one out. He hit into a double play.

In the sixth, Johnny Damon poked a two-out knock through the left side. Jeter put himself out of position by bluffing towards second—with two men out, why I don’t know—and Damon’s ground ball became an RBI single. Nomar Garciaparra later bounced a single up the middle, right in between Jeter and Soriano. Sori knocked it down, after Jeter waved at it, and held the ball as Matsui ran in from center and yelled for him to throw home. Too late. Another runner scored.

I could practically hear George steaming from my place over on the west side of the Bronx. How would you like to be Brian Cashman right about now?

You can hear “Lets Go Red Sox” chants loud and clear on TV. Think there is any drinking going on at the Stadium right about now?

It’s ugly and it’s gunna get f-ugly before it’s all over.

(Too bad the Yankees don’t have some red-ass clown ignorant enough to start a brawl.)

FLIP FLOP

Roger Clemens just retired the first three batters in the top of the first, and I’m going to do an about face in my approach to the game. Now, I think the Bombers will win today. If any team can help the Yankees when they are down, it’s the Red Sox, who are facing more emotional strudel and evil demons than the Yankees are. What’s a lousy little losing streak compared with Clemens gunning for 300 and 80 years of history?

So now I think the Yankees will pull one out. I’m flip flopping like a madman here in the Bronx. I’ll probably change my mind two or three more times during the course of the game. I’ve got more nervous energy than I know what to do with. Watching Wakefield float his knuckler passed the over-anxious Yankee hitters should calm me down, right?

LOST WEEKEND

The Yanks made like Ray Milland this past weekend and got bombed—swept by the Toronto Blue Jays. Spanked, really. This after the Texas Rangers swept them last weekend in the Bronx. The Bombers have now lost 11 of their last 12 at home, and now trail the first place Red Sox by a game and half. They Jays aren’t an arrogant team, but they were smiling broadly by the end of Sunday.

Who stunk up the place? Who didn’t (Okay, Contreras and Hitchcock were good in relief)? This isn’t just a couple of guys under-achieving, it’s team-wide malaise. The pitching has been weak (Andy Pettitte, Jeff Weaver), the defense stinks (Soriano, Derek Jeter), and the offense is completely M.I.A. (the Yankees have not scored more than 1 run in an inning for 49 straight innings). The Yanks haven’t played this badly since the end of the 2000 season, and you wonder what has to happen to light a fire under their ass.

Joe Torre talked with the team on Saturday, but what these guys need is Paulie O to take batting practice on a water cooler (Zim would work just fine as a fill-in).

It was rainy and cold in New York over the weekend and about the only baseball fans in town who felt halfway decent are Mets fans. Hey, we aren’t the only one’s that suck. Hey, misery loves company.

For their part, Yankee fans have not been dealing with their team’s struggles well. They’ve become so pampered and so spoiled, they don’t know how to handle losing again. Many fans I spoke with are so pissed at the Yanks, they aren’t even watching them. Now, that the Bombers are struggling a bit, some of their faithful fans are treating them like step-children.

I’m not so discouraged by the losing—I realize what goes up must come down, and that eventually the Yankees will go through a period of losing again—but it’s how they are losing. For years if they Yanks were down 3, 4, or even 5 runs in the late innings, you always felt they had a chance of winning. And even if they didn’t win, they’d make it close, put up a fight.

For the past few weeks, when the Yanks are down 5-2 in the 7th, stick a fork in em. They are done.

You know who charges back when they are down late? The Red Sox.

It’s almost 1:00 on Memorial Day, and I was hopeful that today’s game would be called on the count of rain. After asking the fans to sit on their hands through the rain all weekend, you’d think George would give us all a break and play the game tomorrow. Don’t make the fans sit in this slop, man.

But they are holding out. The game has now put pushed back to a 3:00 start. George will be in the house; Clemens has invited everybody under the sun to the Stadium, it’s a national TV game, it’s 300. They are going to try to get the game in. But I think it’s going to back fire on the Yanks. I don’t care if it is the Red Sox—the only team with bad enough Karma to kick the Yankees back to life. They are pushing it. George wants the glory of the big win. It’s a set up.

I bet Rocket pitches good enough to lose—let’s say 7 innings, giving up 2 or 3 runs, and the Yankee O snoozes again, and the Yanks lose.

That’ll give George a chance to make his money, and get good and humiliated enough to finally blow his stack. I mean, that’s what is coming, right? A classic George shit fit. Mt. Saint Steinbrenner is going to erupt any minute now, right? I don’t know if he’ll just pop off, diss his players, his manager, and issue a lot of threats, or if Rick Down or Mel Stott get fired, or what.

I think the Yankees can recover—the season is not over by a long stretch—but the fat man is about ready to sing.

Duck and cover, folks. This season may be just getting started.

The Fan Who Wasn’t There

I worked for Joel and Ethan Coen from the late summer of 1996 through the fall of 1997. I had been working as an apprentice film editor in New York when I went to work for them, first as their personal assistant and later as an editing room assistant on their movie, The Big Lebowski.  We were in Manhattan, at their office for the first six weeks; in November we went out to Los Angeles, where Lebowski was shot on location. After the film was in the can, Joel and Ethan returned to New York to cut the film.

In October of 1996, when the Yankees won their first title since 1978, we were still in New York, so the Coen brothers are tied up in my baseball memories. Joel had no interest in the game at all, but Ethan seemed vaguely aware of what was happening. His wife Tricia, who was the co-editor of Lebowski, as well as the script supervisor, was the sports nut. We stood on line outside of the Yankee clubhouse on 5th avenue to try and get World Serious tickets to no avail.

Ethan Coen’s favorite player on the Yankees was Kenny Rogers. “The Gambler” was like some half-wit out of one of their movies: well meaning, but hapless. The worse Rogers performed for the Yankees, the more shit he got from the fans and the media, the more Ethan liked him. We used to call him “Kenny Everyman” cause Kenny kinda looked like he could be just about anybody. A schmuck.

Nowadays, Tricia is in a fantasy league and Ethan likes to play the guitar. (He yodels too; in fact, one of the best parts of hanging out with Eth and Trish was that they turned me onto Jimmie Rogers, Hank Williams, Webb Pierce and George Jones.) I’ve spoken with Trish several times recently about her league, and she’s taken to it like a bee to honey. Ethan and Joel were been busy mixing the sound to their latest movie this spring, a big-budget studio comedy—a romantic comedy—fittingly titled Intolerable Cruelty. (George Clooney and Catherine Zeta Jones star, and the film will be released in October.)

I finally caught up with Ethan on the phone last week. But first, Tricia and talked some baseball. She was indignant that Torre had been starting Jason Giambi at the DH when he hits better when he plays in the field. Ethan was picking a guitar in the background, noodling around.

“It’s bullshit, man. He’s messing up my fantasy league team,” Tricia told me.

I tried to reason with her but she wasn’t having it, so she passed the phone to her husband, who momentarily stopped playing his axe. Ethan can be a man of few words. It’s not that he doesn’t like talking; it’s just that sometimes he’d rather not be bothered (especially when he’s dicking around on the guitar). Although both Joel and Ethan are definitely Jewish, and definitely New Yorkers, they are definitely not Jewish New Yorkers. There are a lot of meaningful silences; a lot of pregnant pauses that I assume has something to do with growing up in the middle of the country.

Here is an excerpt of our conversation:

Eth: Al?

BB: Eth.

Eth: How are ya?

BB: I’m good. Nu?

Eth: I’m good. You know, I don’t have any thoughts on baseball, though. I quit following it.

(Starts playing the guitar again.)

BB: You quit?

Eth: Ya.

BB: Completely?

Eth: Ya.

(Guitar playing stops.)

BB: Wow. That’s no good. Where did it all go wrong? I mean didn’t you play as a kid?

Eth: No.

(More guitar.)

BB: Did you want to play as a kid?

Eth: I went to games as a kid.

BB: Zolio Versalles.

Eth: Yeah, Zolio. You know. Harmon Killebrew. Rod Carew was with the Twins then. Tony Oliva.

BB: Oliva was good.

Eth: Yeah.

BB: Did you like baseball movies as a kid?

Eth: No.

BB: Do you like them now?

Eth: No.

BB: Has there ever been a good baseball movie?

(Long pause.)

Eth: No.

BB: Really?

Eth: Is there? I don’t think so.

BB: Bad News Bears?

Eth: Bad News Bears: Excellent picture! Yeah, yeah. You’re right. But just that one.

(More guitar.)

BB: Most of them bite. Field of Dreams was painful. The Natural was wack.

Eth: Yeah.

BB: You guys would make a good baseball movie.

Eth: I don’t think so. No, you know, Bad News Bears: you’re right. It’s a really good movie.

BB: Well, that was a great interview man.

Eth: You know what you can put down? You can say that I quit being a baseball fan when the Yankees traded Mickey Rivers.

BB: What the hell kind of thing is that to say? What about your boy, Kenny Rogers?

Eth: Is he still playing?

BB: Yeah, he’s still playing. He plays on your hometown godamn team for crying out loud. He’s on the Twins.

Eth: Shit. (Laughs) “Kenny Everyman.”

BB: Mr. Square Jaw himself. Kenny Everyman is as good as he ever was, and he’s even funnier now cause he’s older, and more mulish than ever.

Eth: Yeah, I should see the Twins the days that he pitches.

BB: The best thing that guy ever did on the Yankees was when they had the World Series parade, and after stinking up the joint all year long, he was up on top of the float hooping and hollering louder than anyone.

Eth: Yeah, he was waving a flag. Pleased as punch. with pride. (Laughs) That’s really funny. That’s good.

BB: Mick the Quick, huh?

Eth: Yeah, I quit being a fan when the Yankees traded him.

Well, there you have it: Ethan Coen is not a baseball fan. But that doesn’t prevent him from making good movies, or giving one hell of an interview.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Holiday.

P.S. Joel and Ethan left for Los Angeles last week to begin their next show–a remake of the old Alec Guiness comedy The Lady Killers. It’ll star Tom Hanks, and according to Joel, “you know, well, a whole lot of other people.”

I CAN’T CALL IT

Ed Cossette’s piece yesterday about Curt Gowdy reminds you why good announcers are hard to find:

Gosh, even at 83 years old he ran circles last night around [Chris] Berman. Well, I take that back. It’s not necessarily that he came across as more knowledgeable of the game, just more natural, easy, more reflective of what it feels like (or the way I want it to feel like) watching a game. This is the total opposite of listening to guys like Berman who don’t really sound like they are enjoying the game so much as enjoying hearing themselves talk. I always feel like Berman is in a constant mental brain cramp trying to come up with the perfect expression or great turn of phrase. He gives me the sense that the game exists merely as a stage for his performance. And I shouldn’t single out Berman, as this is the feeling I get from most the “modern” broadcasters, though Berman is the best example.

While Berman et al make me feel anxious and uptight, Gowdy puts me into a deep trance. My very breaths become the ebb and flow of the game.

Aaron Gleeman added an excellent critique of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight crew, espcially his comments regarding Karl Ravech:

Now, all of a sudden, Karl Ravech (the main host) thinks he should be the one dispensing opinions, instead of just hosting the damn show. Karl Ravech!

The other night, when [Doug] Mientkiewicz hurt his ankle, Karl Ravech started talking about how the injury was going to “seriously hurt the Twins because they don’t have any depth.” I wanted to punch him through my TV set. The Twins don’t have any depth?! I don’t think it is hyperbole to suggest that the Minnesota Twins have more hitting depth than any team in baseball right now.

…Please, just host the show Karl! If we wanted to hear all of your brilliant comments and opinions, why would ESPN bother with journalists like Gammons and Stark or ex-players like Reynolds and Dibble? Why not just make it “Baseball Tonight with Karl Ravech,” since I’m sure everyone is dying to hear what some talking head that is really good at reading a teleprompter thinks.

What both writers point out so convincingly is how many modern announcers (or in-studio hosts) feel as if they are more important than the stories they are covering. I have the same beef with Michael Kay over at the YES network. He thinks he has something to do with the Yankees success, and he forces the issue, trying to make every moment melodramatic and important. The results are as campy as they are infuriating.

This is about the cult of personality. Announcers aren’t content letting the action unfold, they want to manufacture the action. Worse, they want to be the action.
Kay came up through the ranks as a beat writer, so he has a knack for stirring the pot. Primarily through his work as John ‘Silver Throat’ Sterling’s straight man on the radio during the Yankees great run, Kay is now a minor celebrity himself. He now calls the games on TV, has his own radio show on ESPN, and his own version of “Inside the Actor’s Studio” on the YES network. Like Ravech, his opinion of himself is completely out of whack.

Fortunately for us, Ken Singleton and Jim Kaat (and especially Paul O’Neill) love to rib Kay. As Kaat said the other day when Kay had the day off, “You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.”

WWJD?

Carlos Delgado, and Vernon Wells led the League’s best offense past Andy Pettitte and the Yankees last night at the Stadium, 8-3. To be honest, they spanked the Yanks, but good. Pettitte has now lost four games in a row—the first time that has happened in his career, prompting me to ask rhetorically: “Hey Andy, what would Jesus do, big fella?”

After learning that they will be without Bernie Williams for a while, it was a somber and soggy night in Yankeeville. Jorge Posada was hit by a pitch twice, the second time in the right foot. He was removed from the game, but appears to be okay.

On a positive note, Roger Clemens appears to be okay, and weather providing, he should start against the Sox on Monday.

Both Jason Giambi and Godzilla Matsui looked better at the plate last night. They each had two hits, and drove the ball well. The Yankees are going to rely on these guys more heavily now that Sweet Pea is gone.

Not for nothing, but I’m happy to see Carlos Delgado playing so well. He’s always been such an appealing player, and though his numbers dipped a bit over the past two seasons, he’s remained one of the scariest hitters in the league.

BUM BERNIE BUM

You can add Bernie Williams to the list of the Yankees walking wounded. After struggling mightily for the past few weeks with a balky knee, Williams had an MRI yesterday that revealed that he has torn cartilage in his left knee. Surgery is likely, and it would put the Yankees center fielder on the DL for 4-6 weeks.

Ouch.

“It was just not letting me play the way I want to play,” Williams said. “That’s the most important thing. I’m trying to make a contribution to the team, and I wasn’t. I was hurting them – not hitting and not playing the way I’m capable. That doesn’t do anybody any good.”

I spoke with Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus last night and he said that Williams’ injury is not unlike the one suffered by Randy Johnson. He said that Bernie should return, good as new after the All-Star break.

Juan Rivera will be called up from Columbus and most likely platoon in left field with Bubba Trammell as Godzilla Matsui moves into center.

BEST IN THE BUSINESS

Buster Olney has a nice appreciation of the best closer in baseball in today’s New York Times. And no, his name isn’t Mariano Rivera. It’s John Smoltz. Atlanta’s erstwhile starter admits that he doesn’t want to be a closer for the rest of his career. Smoltz has been compared with Dennis Eckersley, who will most likely make the Hall of Fame in the next few years for his body of work as both a terrific starting pitching as well as a dominating closer, but Smoltz doesn’t see himself walking in Eck’s footsteps:

”It’s a totally different situation, although I’m honored to be mentioned with him,” Smoltz said. ”There’s no doubt that what he did as a closer, he set a pretty high bar. But I don’t think it’s the same circumstances. I don’t think it’s the same trend.

”I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but from what everyone told me was that, basically, he was relegated to that role. He was struggling as a starter, and in that role, he flat-out flourished. I don’t think I was forced into this role. I felt like I had a lot more to give as a starter, but it is what it is.”

While Smoltz would eventually like to return to the starting rotation, what makes him stand-out from his peers is that he doesn’t simply rely on one pitch:

Smoltz has three extraordinary pitches: a fastball that was clocked at 99 miles an hour in San Diego last weekend, a slider that dives away from right-handed batters and a splitter that veers under the swings of left-handed batters, at a staggering 90 to 92 m.p.h.

…”I can’t really think of another closer who can throw three pitches and make you look stupid,” said Austin Kearns, the Cincinnati outfielder ranked among the league leaders in runs batted in.

Olney notes that Smoltz, like Rivera is an exceptional athlete. Both of them look beautiful shagging fly balls. I wonder how many years Smoltzie would have to put in as a great closer for him to be considered for the Hall. Perhaps Eck’s fate will determine how we consider Smoltz’s place in history. Or, maybe Smoltz will write his own ticket, if he goes back and has some success as a starting pitcher again, after being a stud closer.

Mmmm.

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO

Roger Clemens muscled his way through six innings against the Red Sox last night and earned his 299th career victory. Tim Wakefield offered a nice counter-point as he fluttered knuckleballs passed the Yanks, while Clemens—who didn’t have his best stuff—pounded the Sox with the hard stuff. Jason Giambi and Nomar Garciaparra hit first inning dingers, and the score was tied at 2, with two outs in the sixth, when Clemens was hit in the hand with a line drive off the bat of Bill Mueller. Rocket stayed in the game and went right at Doug Mirabelli.

According to the Times:

With an 89-mile-an-hour splitter, Clemens struck out Doug Mirabelli to end the inning. He spun his arm around and pumped his fist twice. He returned to the dugout hollering. “You’ve got to hit me in the head to get me out,” Posada heard him say.

“He was fired up, trying to get us fired up,” Posada said. “Someone hit him, and he was still standing.”

Clemens was done for the night, but he didn’t go queitly. There was a heated exchange in the Yankee clubhouse after the sixth inning.

Gordon Edes reports:

”I saw him fighting Joe and Mel,” Cashman said. ”He said, `You are not taking me out.’ I said to myself, `I’m getting out of this room right now.’ This was Mel and Joe’s decision.

”Roger was saying, `Don’t even think about it.’ He’s a guy, you’ve got to drag him out of a situation.”

Raul Mondesi drove in Jorge Posada in the top of the seventh, and Robin Ventura added an RBI two-bagger in the 8th. (Ventura also made a nifty play to rob Manny Ramierz of a double in the 8th.) Chris Hammond worked the seventh and Antonio Osuna got the first two men out in the eigth before walking Trot Nixon. Mariano Rivera came on and immediately picked off Damian Jackson, who was pinch-running for Nixon, to end the inning.

Shea Hillenbrand led off the ninth with a fly ball to center field. Bernie Williams, who along with Hideki Matsui is in the midst of a terrible hitting slump, waved off Raul Mondesi with his glove hand and then dropped the ball. It was his first error of the season and Hillenbrand was on second base.

This was about the time that I started pounding my stickball bat into my couch and cursing wildly. (I’m sure Ed Cossette did the same when Jackson was picked off first.)

One out later, Hideki Matsui made a fantastic shoe string catch in left to rob pinch hitter, Jeremy Giambi of a double, the Yankees went on to the victory, and Rocket Clemens had his big win in Boston.

The Yanks remain in first place, now one game up on the Sox. They return home to the Bronx for a four-game set against the increasingly tough Toronto Blue Jays.

CRITICAL BEATDOWN

While Joe Torre offered words of encouragement for Jose Contreras after the Cuban got knocked around on Tuesday night in Boston, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre wasn’t as charitable. Jeff Weaver got an earful too:

Torre and Stottlemyre were both critical of the starter, Jeff Weaver, who has a 6.90 earned run average in his last five starts and was shelled on Tuesday. Weaver acknowledged that he was having major mechanical problems, but Stottlemyre said the issue was deeper. “We also have to change his thinking a little bit, whether he wants to be a power guy or a low-ball pitcher, which we think he’s suited for,” Stottlemyre said. “I think he’s a little bit in between. When he pitches high, he’s just another pitcher, another guy who frustrates himself making mistakes.”

FIELD OF STRINGS

My good friend, mega-mix legend Steinski , forwarded me the following press release this morning:

New York Yankees centerfielder Bernie Williams has inked a deal with GRP for the release of “The Journey Within,” his recording debut. The CD is expected in stores on July 15. Williams, who plays guitar, composed seven of the album’s tracks, which are said to be in a contemporary and Latin jazz vein. Along with his own compositions are Williams’ interpretations of Billy Joel’s “And So It Goes” and Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind.”

Pianist David Benoit is featured on the first single “Just Because.” Other guests include Bela Fleck and Ruben Blades. A limited edition of the CD will feature original cover art of Williams depicted by famed artist LeRoy Neiman.

Williams will perform at Chicago’s House of Blues on July 13, coinciding with Major League Baseball’s All-Star Weekend.

Kansas? LeRoy Neiman? There is no accounting for taste I suppose. Still, I’m mildly curious to hear Sweet Pea’s debut recording when it drops this summer.

A REAL RIVALRY

While the passion of fans in Boston and New York keep the Sox-Yankess rivalry alive and well, two teams that actually don’t like each other a whole lot are the Twins and the A’s. In their first meeting since the playoffs, Tim Hudson and the A’s beat the Twins 4-1, and the benches cleared twice. What’s the beef? Well, it all starts with the Twinkies catcher, AJ Pierzynski, baseball’s answer to Bill Laimbeer.

According to Oakland outfielder Terrence Long:

“Pierzynski talks all the time. I don’t understand it. I know those guys. Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones and Cristian Guzman – I’m close to those guys, and I don’t understand how they can let that guy talk so much. Just go out and play the game. If talk can win a series, they would have won the next series. The Yankees don’t do it. If anybody can talk, it’d be them.”

..And by the end of Game 5, when Pierzynski hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off closer Billy Koch, Koch and others criticized him for his brashness and comments on the play, apparently believing they were shown up.

“All I know is when he touched home plate last year, he looked (catcher) Greg Myers in the eye and said, ‘Boo-yah!’ ” A’s outfielder Eric Byrnes said. “It’s not right to do that to a 17-year major league veteran.”

True to form, AJ doesn’t know what the A’s are talking about. It’s refreshing to have a cocky wisenhiemer like Pierzynski around. Boy does he ever look the part. After losing last night, he has another chance to prove himself tonight, this time against Barry Zito. Bon chance, my brother.

TOP OF THE HEAP?

Although the Yankees are still a powerhouse in the American League, it’s safe to say that the 2003 version of the Bronx Bombers are not the same team that won World Championships 4 out of 5 years in the late 1990s. As Ed Cossette remarked yesterday:

Yeah, these are the Yankees, but, you know what? I’m not scared of them like I have been in the past.

In Peter Gammons’ latest notebook column, Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro said:

“When it’s time for us to win again,” said Shapiro, “I hope our club is patterned after the Angels and the Mariners. They are good, but most of all, they play the game right all the time.”

The Mariners and the Angels clearly patterned their teams after those great Yankee squads. What’s interesting is that the 2002-03 Yanks look more like the Indians of the ’90s or the original Gashouse Gorillas themselves, the Texas Rangers, than they do like their old selves or the Angels or M’s for that matter.

ON THE MANNY

There was another interesting bit in the Gammons column. This time about Washington Heights’ favorite son (who isn’t named Rod Carew), Manny Ramirez:

When the Rangers played in Boston, Herbert Perry told some of his young teammates this story about Manny Ramirez. “We signed together (Perry as the No. 2 pick, Manny No. 1 of then-Indians scouting director Mickey White),” Perry said. “And if you guys think Manny is a smart hitter now — and he may be the smartest in the game in terms of setting up pitchers — then you should know he was brilliant at 18. Sure, Manny comes across as carefree, but he is all business when it comes to the mental part of the game. We signed, and went to Cleveland. All the signed players are trying to jerk balls out. Not Manny. Head down. Swung through the ball. Line drives. We played a game. First at-bat, Manny set up the pitcher, got the slider he wanted and hit it out.”

Ramirez’s Boston teammates marvel at his ability to set up pitchers and recall situations against them. And if you want an example of how happy he is this season and how dedicated, go to the Sports Club/LA some morning when the Sox are in town and check out Manny and his wife in the yoga class. No kidding. Manny does yoga, has lunch, goes to Fenway, wanders out to the cage in center field and hits.

ON THE SHELF

Pedro Martinez isn’t the only player hurting these days. It looks as if Mike Piazza could possibly miss the remainder of the season. He will be out for at least a few months.

The Times reports:

Though Piazza looked better yesterday, the diagnosis of his injury was fairly grim. An examination by the Mets’ team doctor, Andrew Rokito, established that Piazza had severely strained his right groin and that a muscle there had partly torn away from the bone. The Mets said they could not specify how much time Piazza would miss. General Manager Steve Phillips said six weeks would be “the low end of it.” He and Piazza did not dismiss the possibility that the injury could keep Piazza out for the season.

Yankee reliever Steve Karsay had season-ending surgery yesterday. According to the Daily News:

Dr. James Andrews discovered a tear in his rotator cuff.

“We’re not expecting him back this year,” Cashman said. “My understanding is we’ll have him next spring.”

After the horrible outing from Contreras last night, the Yankees should pull the trigger on a deal for a relief pitcher by the time the Sox reach the Stadium next week. Kelvim Escobar anybody?

Speaking of the world’s most famous sports doctor, Allen Barra had a good piece on Dr. Andrews in last Sunday’s Times that is worth checking out:

Slowly but surely, Andrews and his colleagues have changed the public’s perception of the value of sports medicine. Only a few years back, it was common for callers on radio talk shows to complain about spoiled, pampered athletes who were given expensive medical treatment not available to the fans who pay their salaries. Not true, Andrews said.

“What we’ve learned from treating Bo Jackson and Jack Nicklaus has already been applied to thousands of student-athletes and weekend athletes, and even secretaries and computer operators and others whose injuries aren’t sports related,” he said. “If not for the money available from big-time sports, we could be years behind where we are now in terms of progress.”

Neither Andrews nor any other sports physician will say it this way, but in a very real sense professional athletes have served as guinea pigs. So the next time Jeter makes a headfirst slide, think of it this way: He’s doing it for all of us.

As always, don’t forget to peep Ed Cossette’s take on the last night’s game over at Bambino’s Curse.

NO PEDRO? NO PROBLEM: SOX POUND YANKS

I received several e-mails just before last night’s game from giddy Yankee fans, when it was learned that Pedro Martinez would not start. (Martinez has a mild muscle strain in his lower back, and should be back next week.) Well, those who laugh first, laugh least not last, as the Sox rallied and smashed the Yanks 10-7. I kept expecting to hear Fred Willard show up and say, “Wha happen?”

It didn’t look good early on for the Home Nine, as emergency starter Bruce Chen served up a bomb to Alfonso Soriano on the first pitch of the game; fortunately, for Boston, Jeff Weaver couldn’t get his act together either. Even better for Boston, they blew the game open against Jose Contreras, the pitcher George snatched away from them last winter. Contreras got out of a jam in the sixth, only to get smacked around in the seventh. (Boston fans know better than to laugh too much at anything, especially this early in the year, and especially with their ace hurting again. That said, it was a sweet night for Sox fans.)

Weaver and Contreras walked seven batters, and they paid the price for it.

According to the Times:

After the game, Torre was still stressing the positive, praising Contreras for throwing confidently after seeming so tentative in April. It is a worthwhile strategy for a sensitive pitcher like Contreras, who admitted before the game that he put too much pressure on himself early on, partly because of his contract.

“I was very pleased,” Torre said. “I thought this was more of a plus than a minus, in the long run. I thought his command was much better than when he left. I thought his stuff was better, and he seemed to be more confident in letting the ball go.”

…”I faced Contreras once in spring training, and all he was throwing was off-speed pitches,” Ortiz said. “I saw him tonight throwing a lot of fastballs. I guess they’ve been working on that. I guess somebody told him that the big league club is different from whatever he played before. He’s got a good fastball; he’s got to use it.”

That was Contreras’s plan, and catcher Jorge Posada was pleased to see him execute it. “I thought he was more aggressive,” Posada said. “His stuff was better, and he came after hitters. It’s just a matter of time to put it all together.”

Ramiro Mendoza didn’t fair much better in his first appearence against his former team, allowing 4 consecutive singles to start the fifth inning, and giving up 3 runs. Jason Giambi came up with the bases loaded and just missed hitting a grand slam, skying out to right field instead. So it goes when you are slumping.

There was some minor drama in the first when big Manny was hit in the elbow with a Jeff Weaver pitch. Manny, who leans out over the plate as much as Jeter, Soriano, or any other modern slugger, glared at Weaver and had some challenging words for the Yankees string bean starter as well. God forbid his fat ass could be expected to duck out of the way of an inside pitch. Instead of putting his head down and jogging to first, it becomes a school yard stare-off. The funny part is by the time Manny reached second, he was calmly chatting it up with Soriano.

Jorge Posada lead off the next inning and Bruce Chen pulled a Shawn Estes and threw behind him, missing him all together (which considering the size of Jorgie’s rump is no small feat). The ump immediately warned both teams, and the inside pitch was effectively erased for the rest of the game. Joe Torre shook his head disapprovingly. Torre talked earlier this year about how modern players have no conception of game awareness when it comes to getting hit. Every time a slugger is plunked it is a personal affront, a diss. Jim Kaat, announcer for the YES network, could feel Torre’s pain.

While the Sox-Yankee rivalry is as heated as ever for us fans, these are not the Carlton Fisk-Bill Lee Sox vs. the Bronx Zoo Yanks. The ballplayers are all friends. Win or lose, they all belong to the same club. Does this make for a watered-down game? I don’t know. It just makes for a different game. Sometimes you just want to yell at these batters, ‘Get over yourself, and jog down to first tough guy.’ Either that, or go nuts and start a fight. But the posturing is tiresome and unbecoming, especially for a great player like Manny.

MO MONEY, MO PROBLEMS

In his latest column, Rob Neyer answers e-mails regarding Michael Lewis’ book “Moneyball.”
Neyer also comments on the reception “Moneyball” is getting from the mainstream press (this means you Tracy Ringolsby):

The media coverage of Moneyball has, to this point at least, focused on 1) the reactions of a few baseball men who are portrayed in the book as something less than brilliant (they’re not all brilliant? alert the authorities!), 2) a few possible errors (errors in a book? say it ain’t so!), and 3) Billy Beane’s ego (ego in a baseball executive? stop the presses!).

Don’t pay any attention to all that stuff. Instead, remember two things. One, that Michael Lewis — and not Billy Beane — wrote Moneyball. And two, that Michael Lewis writes crackling good stories, and this might be his best story yet.

You can add Aaron Gleeman and Larry Mahnken to the growing list of baseball enthusiasts who have devoured “Moneyball.” Check out their glowing reviews pronto.

As good as “Moneyball” is, it is not the only baseball book of the season that is worth reading. Jay Jaffe has a good post today about baseball books, with some essential links for those who are interested.

Jon Weisman, over at Dodger Thoughts, has a thoughtful, and compelling write-up of Michael Shapiro’s new book, “The Last Good Season: Brooklyn, the Dodgers, and Their Final Pennant Race Together.” (There is no perma-link for the article, so just scroll down.)

Finally, Michiko Kakutani reviews “Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville,” a collection of baseball writings by the late Stephen Jay Gould. The Times usually devotes one issue of their Sunday Book Review to the latest in Baseball literature. Perhaps this Sunday will be the day.

WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK

There is a reason why Red Sox fan Ed Cossette and I get along so well: we are wired the same way. We just happen to root for different teams. Here is an e-mail I received from Ed yesterday afternoon:

Hate to sound doom and gloom (though it’s the nature of Sox fans) but do you really think the Yankees will lose 4 in a row? I look at the Yankees getting swept by Texas and think…they are going to come into Fenway pissed off and needing a win badly.

Man, I can’t stand the tension. By this afternoon I’m going to be a wreck.

Although I’m a lifelong Yankee fan, I’ve got a good dose of gloom and doom in my blood as well (maybe that’s because I root for the Knicks and Jets). I’m cautiously optimistic at best, and never over confident. That is why I have rucchmones with Ed. You can bet that no matter the outcome of these games, we will both be nervous wrecks. Ah, to be young and a baseball fan.

The Yankees had Lady Luck on their side last night in Boston, and before you know it, they put a five spot on the board against Casey Fossum, and went on to win 7-3. Fossum didn’t pitch poorly, but in the first, after seeing-eye base hits from Soriano, Giambi, and Matsui—not to mention an impossibly fortunate bloop double by Derek Jeter, Raul Mondesi rocked a 2-2 fastball off the green monster for a bases clearing triple. Fossum settled down after that, but the damage had been done:

”It was really disappointing,” Fossum said. ”A lot of crazy stuff seemed like it happened in that first inning. But I got out of that and I told myself that inning is over and I am just going to try to give us a chance to win the rest of the ballgame. I felt like I did that. I came back strong and still put us in somewhat of a position to win the game.

”I was making really good, quality pitches, but the balls were finding holes. We had the shift on for [Jason] Giambi and he hit it to shortstop. Even the first hit of the game was just a little ground ball that found a hole.”

Boomer Wells, who turns 40 today, pitched efficiently for the win, and the Yankee bullpen avoided any major drama. (Think Boomer went out drinking last night?) This was a much-needed victory for the Bombers, especially considering that they have to face Prince Pedro tonight.

FATHER KNOWS BEST

With the slumping Giambi brothers reunited in Boston this week, Jason called in his first hitting coach for some tips. Enter John Giambi, stage left:

“He’s come in and we’ve talked,” Jason said. “I’ve brought him into some of the cities. He’s the one who built my swing as I kid. I wanted to see if he’d see anything. He watches all the games, so I wanted to see if he sees anything or if he could see me through it.”

…Manager Joe Torre called Giambi’s troubles a drought, no matter how long it has lasted.

“He certainly feels like a major disappointment to everyone, which is what he should feel like when we count on him as much as we do,” said Torre. “But as long as you’re busting your tail, you have the respect of your teammates and that’s what matters.”

GEARING UP

With the Yanks and Sox slated to play the first of 19 games against each other tonight in Boston, there has been plenty of ink spilled on the two teams. Here are a couple of articles of note…

1. Jay Jaffe , the futility infielder, has a terrific analysis of the Yankee offense thus far (pitching and—yikes—defense will come later this week).

2. Joel Sherman wrote a thorough and convincing case for Rocket Clemens not only being the best pitcher of his generation, but the best pitcher of all-time in Sunday’s Post. Sherman is one of the few tabliod writers who is open to Sabermetrics and he builds his case on the writings of Bill James and others. Surprisingly in-depth stuff from the Post (not Sherman, who is excellent on TV and on the radio):

Look, I know – as sterile as you make it – this is a subjective choice and folks who loved Koufax or Gibson or Grove are never going to take Clemens to their bosom. I have never particularly warmed to Clemens the person, but the more and more I have examined the record and considered the conditions that record was forged in, the more I have come to recognize the conversation about the greatest ever now must include Clemens.

It has taken me a while to warm up to Clemens too, but I promised myself during the winter that I would try and enjoy watching him get his 300th victory, no matter how obnoxious the YES coverage becomes. It hasn’t been a struggle either. Clemens isn’t the nasty, head-hunter he has been in the past—sometimes I miss that—but he has been fun to watch this year. Even in the games he’s lost, he hasn’t been awful. What I get out of watching Clemens, is just how much work pitching is for him. Forget about his legendary workouts, just watching him on the mound is a testament to the hard work it takes to be a great pitcher, let alone a great 40-year old pitcher. He can seem artless, pounding the ball in, time and time again, but he is impressive.
3. Gordon Edes details the emergence of Lil’ Sori. Looks like we aren’t alone in labeling him as a freak:

Teammate Jason Giambi has called Soriano a ”freak, a cartoon character.”

…Todd Zeile, new to the Yankees this season, is playing for his ninth big-league team.

”He can be as good as he wants to be,” Zeile said. ”He’s phenomenal. He can do all the things you can do in this game — hit, hit with power, run, field.

”The thing I enjoy about him as much as anything is that he seems to have fun doing it. He plays with a smile on his face, like he’s on a sandlot field. People think it’s easy for him, but he works hard.

”He’s quick and strong and swings a heavy bat, a long bat [35-inch, 33-ounce model]. He’s not a guy who looks like the Hulk-type player we see in the big leagues, but he’s quick — he gets his power from the elbows down.

”Watch his swing — he seems to start from nothing, but you slow it down and watch him, he lifts his foot but it doesn’t go forward, he just puts his foot back down and gives you that short swing. He eliminates all that movement.”

Who will be the heroes and who will be the goats of the series? Of course, it’s too early to tell, but my random picks for unsung heroes go to Bill James’ boy, Todd Walker for the Sox, and the seldom-seen Bubba Trammell for the Bombers. It could be a long couple of days for both bullpens.

I will be linking to Ed Cossette’s wonderful blog, Bambino’s Curse each time the Yanks and Sox match-up this year, but you should go there even when the two rivals aren’t playing each other.

C.R.E.A.M. GET THE “MONEY” (DOLLA, DOLLA BILL Y’ALL)

I received the following e-mail from Bronx Banter correspondent Christopher DeRosa over the weekend. Dig his considered and astute take on “MoneyBall:”

It is probably going to be by far the baseball book of the year. Puts the A’s sabermetric experiment in the context of the information age economy. There’s lots here that’s intriguing and fun: “Put a Milo on him.” Ron Washington proves as quotable as Oscar Gamble in “Balls”. And Lewis gets Bill James better than anyone. Some thoughts on the book:
You get the sense that Alderson and Beane imposed sabermetrics on the A’s not just though force of personality, but through physical intimidation.

The A’s have some studies they’re obviously not sharing. But some of the results appear to be that they value reaching base far more highly than slugging, and that they don’t believe, as the outside sabermetricians do, that hitters’ strikeouts are no big deal.

We learn that Beane toyed with going over entirely to virtual scouting. I’ve thought you could do that successfully, but you still need someone to go talk to the kid before you know to put a Milo on him.

A large part of the book concerns the A’s taking seven sabermetric specials in the first round of the 2002 draft. Is it really that great to use first round draft picks on guys nobody else wants? The Oakland scouts rate Beane’s guys as like 30th round picks or no prospects. Lewis implies that the rest of the teams would draft in agreement with the scouts. If that’s the case, why not take some chances in the first round and pick up your secret weapons later? Then you wouldn’t have to strike clandestine deals with guys to persuade them not cash in on their surprising status as first round picks. You could just pay them whatever you pay the 7th round picks. What I think is that the revolution is further along than Lewis suggests, and that if Beane tried to let these guys slide, one of the other sabr-GMs would snap them up. ‘Cause otherwise it is stupid to draft these guys in the first round.

Alderson circulated a pamphlet internally in which a researcher claimed “defense is at best 5% of baseball.” Today, researchers would say it is more, like 18%. But even if it was 5%, that wouldn’t be that useful a piece of information. It would be about 5% under prevailing conditions, within the parameters of everybody trying to field a real defense. A team that just says, “Deploy Ken Phelpses!” can ensure that fielding is a lot more than 5%, because there is no limit on how many runs you can give up, and therefore no limit on how badly you can field. Each walk-drawing hitter might be individually more valuable than the conventional fielder he replaces, but as a group, you can lose your ability to cover the field. That pamphlet may have helped screw up the A’s of the mid-90s.

“Moneyball” fails to take up the question of starting Hudson over Zito in the 2002 ALDS. Howe took the blame, but is it realistic that Beane tells him when to steal and who to play out of position, but let’s him decide the playoff rotation? I actually sympathize with the decision to go with Hudson. My point in raising the issue is that it really doesn’t work for the activist GM to say, I wash my hands of the whole postseason thing, it’s a crapshoot. Too bad, but baseball has championships. If they’re crapshoots, then you’d better learn to play craps as well as you can.

Overall, “Moneyball” whetted my appetite but I could have scarfed another 300 pages easily. He told a lean story well, but there is no end of my fascination with this subject and I’d have liked a whole lot more.

DeRosa makes a great point about the starting rotation in the playoffs. I also agree that Lewis’ portrait of Bill James is the best I’ve read to date. And of course, I wish the book was longer too. I don’t know that it would be good for the book, but it would be good for us geeks.

There are several great bits with Washington. My favorite is how Oakland’s infield coach reacts to the defensively-challenged players he is given to work with:

There were times that Wash thought the players Billy sent him shouldn’t even bother to bring their gloves; they should jut take their bats with them into the field, and hit the ball back into the pitcher.

REALITY CHECK

I wasn’t steamed about the Yankees yesterday, honest. More than anything, I just felt resigned. Sometimes your team is going to suck, and you have to suck it up. I called my girlfriend Emily late in the day and we commiserated briefly about the game. Emily is a relatively new baseball fan, and she is still getting acclimated to how dramatically the game can influence her boyfriend’s mental state. But she had a great observation yesterday that I thought I would share with y’all:

Even though the Yankees lost, it was great to see how many people were at the game. It was a beautiful day, and there were all those people out there watching it, not to mention thousands more watching it on TV, or listening to it on the radio. People made phone calls and caught up with each other. I guess what I mean to say is that sports are really great because they really bring people together. That’s important. Espcially these days when everyone seems so estranged from each other.

True.

Oh yeah, I did get an e-mail from my old pal Shawn Nuzzo, regarding the Nick Johnson injury. I hate to say I told you so, but he told me so:

You’re right. I told you so. This bum Johnson isn’t fit to be mentioned in the same paragraph as Oscar Azocar. Before his 4-6 week injury, Nick Johnson had the potential (if he trained 20 hours a day and ate well) of becoming the Next Kevin Maas. But now, I’d just as well trade him for a bag of used baseballs and 3 batting helmets.

Consider me tweeked. Ah, what can you expect from the lead singer of a band called “The Clap?”