THE PRESTIGEOUS WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2015 World Series consisted of the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets.  I had hoped we’d see the Rangers versus the Cubs, but that was my wishful thinking, as opposed to my baseball instinct.  (I really want the Cubs to win one of these years!)

 

The Royals made it into the World Series for the second consecutive time, as they barely lost to the San Francisco Giants in 7 games last year.  Since then, the Royals’ team hasn’t changed too many players; so, it’s not a surprise that they were able to make it back to the World Series.  Their manager, Ned Yost, has publicly stated that each of the retained players have targeted winning this year from the minute they lost last year.  Additionally, the Royals learned a lesson that the Yankees and their fans have known for a very long time:  Don’t over-celebrate on the path to the World Series, hold in your main outbursts until you (hopefully) win the World Series because that’s the ultimate prize.  It’s similar to a boxer being told to avoid sex until after the fight so that he gains even more drive to accomplish the championship.  Sorry, but the rest of this article is “not” about sex.

The Mets, unlike the Royals, were a surprise team to have made it to this year’s World Series.  There are many reasons for that, but the main reason that most (including me) would rationalize from is based on the Nationals who were, without question, this year’s most disappointing team.  As for the Mets, there’s no disputing their starting pitchers are amongst the best, especially when it comes down to velocity and age; but, as anyone who knows baseball very well can tell you, great pitching is reliant upon great (or at least good) defense!  The Mets not only lacked that, but they have also lacked quality in their collective bullpen and in their collective offense; yet, they were somehow able to defeat the Dodgers and then sweep the Cubs in the playoffs.

I do feel that this year’s AL (American League) was overly stronger than the NL (National League).  Of course, I’m not just basing that on the fact that the AL defeated the NL in this year’s All-Star game 6-3.  That would be silly because as recent as last year, the AL also defeated the NL; yet, it was the NL’s San Francisco Giants who won the World Series.  Still, statistical results do support the AL’s dominance this year over the NL.  In 2015, the AL defeated the NL in head-to-head outings with its third highest winning percentage (.557) during the 13 years since the interleague games were incorporated.  As for the Mets, they lost 11 games and only won 9 in interleague play, while the Royals won 13 and only lost 7.  Also, I watch a lot of baseball (not just the Yankees) and I witnessed the AL’s dominance in most of the games I had watched.  It just seemed inevitable that this year’s World Series championship team was going to come from the AL.

Even with the aforementioned stats, I believe that the Mets could have defeated the Blue Jays.  That’s because, overall, the Blue Jays were a lot like the Cubs - they depended on the homerun and didn’t have a strong bullpen.  The Royals, on the other hand, had the best bullpen in the Majors and typically don’t swing for the fences - they swing for singles and doubles.

In the end, most of the stats did indeed support the game results.  The Royals hit, especially in the latter innings, as they always had this year.  The Mets’ starters did fairly well, but none of them were dominant enough to avoid at least a few runs for each of their outings (although Matt Harvey’s effort in Game 5 was great through his first 8 innings) in the World Series.  Besides Yoenis Cespedes lacking base-running skills, the Mets’ defensive flaws were magnified during the Series.  These highlights each led to a Mets loss:

- David Wright bobbled a ball in the 14^th inning in Game 1 (now I know why the Mets made a bobble head of him).

- Daniel Murphy, in Game 4, reminded the Mets’ fans of Bill Buckner as Murphy similarly failed to get in front of a ground ball.

- David Wright cut off Wilmer Flores in the 9^th inning of Game 5 with Eric Hosmer threatening to charge for home plate and Wright then made a sidearm throw to first which led to…

- Lucas Duda threw wildly to home plate to allow the Royals to tie the game in the 9^th inning of the same (last) Game 5 play!

- Daniel Murphy failed again in Game 5’s final inning (12^th) when Paulo Orlando grounded a simple 1-hopper to him!  I guess they tried really hard in Game 5 to avoid traveling back to Kansas City!

- Travis d’Arnaud in Games 1 through 5 not only failed to throw “any” runner out in 7 attempts, his throws were downright awful.  Furthermore, his throw-out record during all of the playoff games totaled to ZERO on 11 attempts!  That's enough to make the Mets’ fans “throw up”.

The Royals didn’t exactly look great defensively either, but they didn’t as many untimely mistakes.  The Mets’ bullpen, as anticipated failed them.  In fact, their best bullpen pitcher during the World Series was not their closer Jeurys Familia (who had 3 blown saves and gave up 2 runs) but, ended up being Bartolo Colon who was a “starter” for them during the season!  On the other hand, the Royals’ bullpen lived up to their high expectations.  In all, the Royals’ starters and bullpen collectively kept the Mets to a .193 batting average.

As a Yankees’ fan, I am overly disappointed that the Yankees failed to go deeper into the playoffs, but I also know that a failed World Series to most of us Yankees’ fans equates to a failed season.  Perhaps, this year, the current Mets learned that bottom-line point.  Their team and their fans were way overconfident, especially after sweeping the Cubs.  It’s understandable that celebrations were in order for the Mets, after not being in the playoffs for 9 years and not winning a World Series for 29 years; but, they celebrated way too much and became overly cocky.  For instance, after their wins in each step towards the World Series, they publicly enjoyed spraying and drinking champagne, which is not uncommon, but they seemed to do it to no end - I’m not sure if it helped the TV ratings or hurt them.  Then, after sweeping the Cubs, they extended their celebratory ways by appearing on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show - led by the captain, David Wright.  We all know (because we witnessed it) that Derek Jeter would have done everything he could to avoid such premature celebrations.  Even Sports Illustrated jumped on the Mets’ band wagon before the World Series began, as they promoted Daniel Murphy’s photo on their cover.

Hopefully, the Mets learned that a hero, such as Murphy, during one round of playoffs is not necessarily a hero in the next round.  Likewise, a hero in the regular season, Cespedes, will not necessarily be hero in a World Series.  Perhaps the Mets and Noah Syndergaard learned that purposely throwing a 98 MPH “weapon” towards an opponent’s head (Alcides Escobar) was not the smartest thing to do, especially just for the ridiculous, senseless reason that Escobar swung at first pitches during the Series - wow, that’s a sin!  That act may have been the final stamp of team unification the Royals needed to win the final two games.  Lastly, perhaps the Mets’ fans learned that evaluating their team’s starters is not enough of an evaluation; that they should analyze the whole team and they should also analyze and give kudos to their opponents.

Winning a World Series, especially with all of the layers of playoffs in front, is something that should be recognized as the hardest and highest sport achievement.  It should be honored with so much prestige that the “championships” that lead up to it should be treated with noticeably less hurrah.  This was the Mets’ 5^th time to the World Series, but they’ve still only won twice.  By the way, does anyone remember who they lost to during the 2000 World Series?  Sorry, I just couldn’t resist…again!!!

2015 PLAYOFFS

Well, the Yankees followed exactly what I had predicted in the beginning of the season, as per my following quotes which I had posted in two of my spring articles, “I predict the Yankees to win 87 games” and “this year’s team will at least make the playoffs”.  With that, I am still disappointed that they only made it to the Wildcard playoff and lost to the Houston Astros in an all-or-nothing game!  I recently hoped they would have at least gone a little further, but I still knew this team was not strong enough to make it to this year’s World Series.

We all know that the so-called experts predicted the Yankees to only win 81 or even less games without making the playoffs.  Most of them also picked the Red Sox to win the division!  Could anybody be more wrong?  The Red Sox only won 78 as they finished dead last!!  It looks like the Yankees aren’t the only American League team that needs to enhance themselves next season!

Speaking of my predictions, the one that I failed to correctly make was relating to the other New York team - the Mets.  I had predicted that they would only win 83, but they won 90!  Most of that surprising success came from their late July acquisitions and the failure of trading away their shortstop, Wilmer Flores - as I detailed two articles ago.

Now that the final 8 teams have all been set for the non-wildcard playoffs, it’s time for another set of predictions as I pick 1 team from each league:

American League:

Houston Astros in Kansas City versus the Royals

Texas Rangers in Toronto versus the Blue Jays

None of these teams have been on fire lately, but the Blue Jays were collectively on fire the most; the Royals look a lot like they did last year, which is a positive thing for them; the Astros beat the Yanks, but offer a lot of inexperience; and the Rangers offer a good overall team with a good 1-2 punch in their starting pitching.  Personally, I least want the Blue Jays or Royals to win.  I think the Blue Jays’ lack of a number 2 pitcher offers a disadvantage to them, but their hitting easily makes up for that.  My bold American League prediction:  Rangers

National League:

Chicago Cubs in St. Louis versus the Cardinals

New York Mets in Los Angeles versus the Dodgers

Just as I stated that the Yankees weren’t going to go too far, I don’t expect much more from the Mets.  Their starting pitchers have been very good most of the year, but they don’t typically pitch 9 full innings and that, together with their weak 7^th & 8^th inning bullpen pitchers, along with their shaky defense makes them vulnerable.  The Dodgers have not been great this year and have lost to the Mets more than they won; the Cardinals have the best record in the Major Leagues with 100 wins and offer the best overall team; and the Cubs won their Wildcard game against the tough Pirates giving them a slight momentum with the second best record amongst the 8 teams.  Personally, there’s no way I can truly root for the Mets and, I’ve stated for the longest time, I have rooted for the Cubs ever since I visited their great city years ago.  It was 1908 since the Cubs won a World Series.   My love for their truest fans and that over 100 years’ sentiment forces me to root for and select my National League prediction:  Cubs

I know the experts are picking the Cardinals and the Blue Jays, but why should I ever agree with them?

YOGI - AS CLOSE TO “PERFECT” AS A MAN COULD BE

Yesterday, the Yankees and the world lost Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra, as he died at the age of 90.  He died on the same exact date that he first wore a Yankees’ uniform in 1946, playing his first game for them shortly after serving in the United States’ Navy during World War II (where he was a heroic gunner's mate on the USS Bayfield, Dwight Eisenhower’s nautical headquarters during the D-Day invasion of France).

As much as I love the Yankees, there are only a few that I place on top of a pedestal and Yogi was certainly one of them; that’s because he was not only one of the greatest catchers of all time, but he was one of the greatest human beings.  I have personally heard many positive words supporting that from a friend of a close family member of Yogi's.  Plus, whenever you listen to interviews with his former teammates, coaches, or even any of his opponents, you hear the passion in their supporting words.  He was so famously loved that  many felt that Hanna-Barbera capitalized on his popularity by naming one of their most successful cartoons, "The Yogi Bear Show", after him - something they later declared to be a coincidence.

From a pure baseball standpoint, here are just 10 of his accomplishments and keep in mind that, for most of them, he is still the only player to have accomplished such feats:

- won 10 World Series Championships (all as a NY Yankee)

- won 3 World Series Championships as a coach (Yankees 1977 & 1978 / Mets 1969)

- achieved the first pinch-hit homerun in a World Series (1947)

- fielded without an error for a full season (only 3 other catchers have achieved that)

- caught & called Don Larsen’s perfect game during the 1956 World Series (no other perfect game has been thrown in a World Series)

- caught & called 2 other no-hitter games - which were thrown by one pitcher, Allie Reynolds (1951)

- played 18 times as an All-Star, doing so for 15 consecutive years

- won an MVP award 3 times (1951, 1954, & 1955) during years Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams played

- had more home runs than strikeouts in a season 5 times (including striking out just 12 times in 597 at-bats during 1950)

- led the Yankees in RBIs for 7 consecutive seasons (1949-1955) during years Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle were on the team

As a man, he was a long-lasting husband for 65 years until his wife (Carmen) died last year. He was also successful as a loving brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather; earned a Purple-Heart as a war veteran; and, as noted, was clearly one of the greatest ballplayers in the history of the game.  Yogi’s accomplishments epitomized an American symbol, perhaps more than any other ballplayer has ever done.  Those accomplishments came after his immigrating parents came from Italy to America and struggled for many years, even asking Yogi to quit school in 8^th grade in order to help them survive financially.  I’m sure that upbringing helped develop Yogi’s humbleness throughout his triumphant life.  He opened the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, Montclair, NJ with the goal of it helping to teach children important values such as sportsmanship and dedication on and off the baseball diamond.  (I’ve been to that museum and it’s creditable to Yogi’s intentions.)

Yankees’ fans will never forget his second Yogi Berra Day in 1999 (he was also honored 40 years earlier) when he caught the ceremonial first pitch from none other than Don Larsen.  Yogi then returned and handed Joe Girardi his glove back.  It was eerie because Girardi’s glove went on to symbolically catch yet another perfect game - this time by another Yankees’ pitcher, David Cone.  The Cardinals’ organization should never forget how their general manager (Branch Rickey) chose to sign Joe Garagiola, not Yogi Berra.

Today, I mourn the loss of Yogi, with the constant vision of his leap into the arms of Don Larsen to celebrate a perfect game; but, I can now envision his present leap into the arms of an eternal life even more perfect.  Thanks Yogi.

Of course, I have to end this article with some of the infamous Yogi-isms attributed to Yogi’s clever quotes; enjoy:

“It ain’t over till it’s over.”

“No one goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.”

“It's déjà vu all over again.”

“Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours.”

“If you see a fork in the road, take it.”

“The future ain’t what it used to be.”

“You can observe a lot by watching.”

“We made too many wrong mistakes.”

“You can observe a lot by watching.”

“I really didn’t say everything I said.”

“90 percent of the game is half mental.”

NEARING THE FINISH LINE

With approximately 20 games left for the MLB teams, it’s time for a last review of what is anticipated in the final weeks of regular-season baseball.  Of course, we’ll start with the Yankees:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Eastern Division:  The Yankees not only lost Mark Teixeira for the season, (so much for the Atlanta & NY doctors determining the bone wasn’t broken), but they’ve just finished losing 3 out of 4 to their only American League East competitors, the Toronto Blue Jays.  Tonight, after avoiding Toronto’s 4-game sweep, the NYY are 3 games behind the Blue Jays in the all-important loss column.  The NYY are looking way too lethargic.  They are lucky that they still have 3 games left to face the Blue Jays, but it may be too late if they don’t find a way to physically energize themselves!  Plus, the Blue Jays look unstoppable as they have been defeating everyone in sight ever since their major acquisitions (especially David Price) right before the trading deadline.  Ironically, as of now, the Yanks are just as far ahead in the wildcard race as they are behind in the division race.  So, their chances of making the playoffs are still above fair as long as they go back to winning more games than they lose!

Western Division:  The Houston Astros are barely leading this division over the Texas Rangers, while the Los Angeles Angels are hovering under a few games below the top.  It’s still anybody’s lead to be had and this division offers the only true 3-team race.

Central Division:  The only team with a comfortable first-place lead within the American League is the Kansas City Royals.  They currently lead their division by a whopping 11 games! 

The other contenders in the American League besides the Yankees, Blue Jays, Astros, Rangers, Angels, and Royals include the Indians and Twins - that’s because MLB has 2 wildcard opportunities.  Of course I’m rooting for the Yankees to win but, based on today’s records, the Royals have the advantage and if no one calms down the Blue Jays’ massive offense, they will homer their way into the pennant.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Eastern Division:  Of course, I have to start with New York’s other team, the Mets.  They have completely turned their season around thanks to the moves they made prior to the trading deadline and the “move” they chose not to make for the wrong reason.  The main players they acquired were Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson, and Tyler Clippard and each have contributed (especially Cespedes); but, what really woke them up was the last-minute decision by their GM, Sandy Alderson, to pull back their attempted trade of their second baseman/shortstop, Wilmer Flores, for centerfielder Carlos Gomez.  Most believe, including me, that they finally realized the prospective acquisition of Gomez was going to cost them too much money (a noun that affects the Wilpons like kryptonite affects Superman).   After Flores found out from the fans that he had been traded, he cried and eventually (during that game) his manager/uninformed Terry Collins had to take the emotional Flores out of the game.  Once the Mets changed their mind and pulled back the pending deal (claiming health concerns with Gomez), the Mets united as a “team” and the fans began to go nuts every time Flores came to bat thereafter.  Collectively, with the Flores issue and the acquisitions, the Mets have become one of the most winning teams.  While they have successfully beaten up on such weak teams as the Braves and the Phillies, they have also annihilated the Nationals (the most disappointing team in all of baseball).  As of today, the Mets have practically won their division with a dominating 9-game lead in the loss column.

Western Division:  The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently leading the defending champions, the San Francisco Giants, by 8 games in the loss column.  That gives them a most-probable position of victory.

Central Division:  The National League’s Central competition is between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates.  While the Cardinals have been maintaining the best record in baseball for long time, they have not been playing too well lately.  On the other hand, the Pirates have been playing very well.  The Cardinals’ 2-game lead (again, based on the loss column) over the Pittsburgh Pirates makes the NL Central a very tight race.

The only other contender in the National League besides the Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals, and Pirates is the Chicago Cubs.  The Mets have been the hottest team as of late, but they haven’t proven that they can dominate strong teams as they’ve had their way with the Braves, Phillies, and Nationals.  I personally like the Pirates as a whole team, but no one can discount the fact that the Cardinals have the best record in baseball, or the fact that Giants have excelled in the last few years during playoff contention time.  

ENABLE THE DISABLED LIST

As most MLB fans know, if a Major League player incurs an injury, his team has the option to place him on one of the designated disabled lists.  The activating date/term would standardly qualify the day after the injured player last played.  If the player continues to be inactive (essentially becoming a spectator) since he last played, his team would then have the option to begin the disabled list’s timeframe in a retroactive manner, but the retroactivity cannot exceed 5 days prior to the date they place the player on the list. 

For instance, if a player last played on August 15th, but the team contemplated their decision until August 23rd, then the team can’t choose to begin the player’s disabled time from August 15th because more than 5 days have passed.  The team would have to instead begin the activation date within the current 5 days.  In the aforementioned example, the team could either choose August 23rd as the activation date or they can choose any of the 5 days prior to August 23rd (in other words, no earlier than August 18th).

MLB has 3 disabled lists for teams to choose from:

7-day disabled list:

This option offers a 7-day period which can only be used for players diagnosed with concussions or concussion-like conditions.

15-day disabled list:

This option is most commonly used by teams. It is typically utilized for what is believed to be a minor injury.

60-day disabled list:

This option is obviously used for major injuries or conditions.  Common examples include broken bones, surgeries, or severe bruises or sprains.

Placing a player onto any of the above lists correlates to one or both of the team's rosters, where the player would be transferred from the roster(s) to the disabled list.  Then, upon the vacated spot, the team would gain an opening/inclusion spot for an uncounted player.

To expound more about the rosters, here are basic definitions of the two types:

25-man roster:

This roster comprises of the 25 players officially listed to the umpires before the start of each MLB game.  Most teams will typically designate 12 pitchers and 13 hitters to form the total, but teams are not confined to any specific integers to form the sum.  They can interchange the breakdown of players named before each game.  Since I am writing this in September, it's worth noting that the 25-man roster can actually have more than 25 players only from September 1st through the last day of the 162-game season.  That allows teams to include some minor league players to help rest their regulars and also offers teams and their fans to see some of their potential stars in a Major League game.

40-man roster:

This is basically the 25-player team as described above with an additional 15 players.  This roster is crucial for the present and future of a team as it designates the 40 players a team considers their best.  Players that aren't included on this roster are vulnerable to other teams' acquisitions, in certain conditions.

Now that you've (hopefully) read and (with aspirin) understood the above, I can begin my gripe.  Why do teams constantly avoid placing players onto the 15-day disabled list?  If a player's injury is questionable and he can't physically play for more than a few days, the team becomes somewhat crippled.  Of course, teams that aren't competing don't overly care; but, to competitive teams it's a huge disadvantage in close-scoring or extra-inning type of games.  They are essentially playing with only 24 players.  Additionally, if the injured player is a pitcher, being a player short could consequentially strain the pitching staff in a domino effect for their team’s forthcoming games.

Now, at last, I get to write about my disabled list gripe:  Today, the Yankees finally placed Mark Teixeira on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to August 27th).  His injury occurred all the way back on August 17th, when he fouled off a pitch into his right leg/shin.  That day, the doctors took x-rays and declared that Teixeira did not have a broken bone.  As days/games passed, the Yankees continued to analyze Teixeira’s condition on a daily basis, while playing games without the 25th player, so to speak.  Then, on August 25th (over a week after the incurred injury) Teixeira convinced the Yankees that he was able to play.  The Yankees foolishly obliged, later finding out that Teixeira’s judgment was wrong as he couldn’t bear the pain that day.  Listening to Teixeira, was the Yankees second mistake!

Their first mistake was much worse!!  They failed to place Teixeira on the disabled list initially.  8 days is way too long to compete with essentially 24 players while their opponents had 25.  Then, as a third mistake, they continued to play even more games without Teixeira able to play.  Again, the 25-man roster did expand a few days ago, but one can argue that the Yankees disabled themselves for the 17 days Teixeira was unavailable as a player!

While the Yankees are usually overprotective when it comes to reinstating or enabling their potentially recovered players, this was an instance where they uncharacteristically and clearly misjudged Mark Teixeira’s condition…twice.  As a Yankees’ fan, their failed actions clearly disappointed me.  Even if the doctors’ diagnoses are at fault regarding Teixeira’s condition, the final playing decision ultimately falls under the Yankees’ responsibility.  I expected them to act with over-precaution, as they usually do, especially for a player like Teixeira who has a medical history of taking longer than most to heal.

The Yankees and almost all of the MLB teams constantly fail to utilize the 15-day disabled list and, instead, contemplate too long.  We all make mistakes and so do our favorite teams; but, repeating the same mistake is unfathomable to me.  As a fan of a competing team (and especially as a fan of the Yankees), every win/loss can factor into making the regular or wildcard playoffs and can sometimes determine home-field advantage.  I'd rather take a chance on the negative repercussions of placing a player on the 15-day disabled list too early than the much greater repercussions of not!!!  Enable the disabled list!

LUIS SEVERINO’S DEBUT

The Yankees’ youth movement continues.  Tomorrow, all Yankees’ fans will finally see their second-highest rated prospect, Luis Severino, debut as their starting pitcher.  So, as we still await the inevitable commencement of their number one prospect, Aaron Judge, we can potentially enjoy watching this 21 year-old righty throw on the mound at Yankees Stadium against our most-hated opponent, the Red Sox!

Luis Severino (MLB’s #23 prospect) began this year on the Yankees’ AA team (the Trenton Thunder), which he dominated and was then promoted to the Yankees’ AAA team (the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders) where he annihilated the opponents!  Here is the pitching line he successfully accomplished:

AA Team 
3.32 ERA
38 innings/32 hits + 10 walks = 1.105 WHIP
48 strikeouts

AAA Team
1.91 ERA
61.1 innings/40 hits + 17 walks = 0.929 WHIP
50 strikeouts

From a pitching standpoint, my favorite measurable category has been the WHIP (walks plus innings pitched).  I used to calculate it in my head many years ago whenever I saw all 3 categories shown on a pitcher.  Anything close to 1.1 is very, very good.  Anything lower is considered phenomenal!  

Of course, I don’t expect Severino to automatically carry such overwhelming stats into the majors, but it’s obviously an advantage for a pitcher to begin a career with them!  I really want to see Luis succeed.  It’s been a while since we’ve seen a dominating starter developed by the Yankees.  Of course, they’ve recently produced starters Ivan Nova and Adam Warren (now in the bullpen), but neither one was as highly appraised as Severino.  His fastball averages between 94 to 97 mph (which will typically increase as he gets a little older) and he also throws an above-average change-up with an effective slider that is still developing.  

The Yankees’ main pitching production over the last few decades has clearly been dominated by their bullpen guys such as Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, and Dellin Betances; but, not since Andy Pettitte have they had such a highly-touted potential starter.  Even their not-too-long-ago former starters Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain didn’t gain as much acknowledged acclaim from the scouts and the press.  The only knock on Severino is his “short” height - he’s exactly 6’ tall.  Some feel that he’s at least a few inches too short for a strategic enough plane; but, “short” pitchers such as Pedro Martinez, Fernando Valenzuela, and former Yankees’ great, Ron Guidry were all dominating pitchers without the height advantage.

It’s unquestionably too early to know how successful Severino will be, but it sure is exciting to have the opportunity to watch him while we continue on our first place path to the playoffs.

COM"ROD"ERY

Before the 2015 season began, no one knew what to expect from A-Rod, not even he knew for sure what his own physicalities could endure.  After all, his last full season of daily grind was back in 2012 – before his 2014 suspension from baseball and prior to his second and more extensive hip surgery.  The lack of play, the doubt of his post-hip surgery endurance, and his age (he will be 40 next Monday) were enough obstacles for everyone's doubt, including mine.

Now, as we close into the final two months or so of baseball, A-Rod has done the impossible:  He's not only produced a decent batting average of.275, reached 20 homers, and driven in 54 runs, but he's also carried himself very well behind the microphones!  He's been verbally preaching team, team, and more team all year long and steered away from stories involving any of his personal accomplishments.  Now, I might typically critique that as possible phoniness, but since he has clearly brought that exact team attitude into the clubhouse, who can rightfully criticize him?

Who would have thought that Derek Jeter's replacement in the clubhouse as the team leader would be A-Rod?  Now, I'm not saying that A-Rod deserves to be a captain or that he's even in the same class as Jeter, but it is clear to anyone who has watched many of this year's games that besides Teixeira's comeback numbers and Gardner's best MLB year, it is A-Rod's own great hitting AND his continuous acts of comradery (a.k.a., COM"ROD"ERY) that has distinguished him as the main team leader.  Whether you watch the players in the dugout or listen to them in their interviews, they are acting as one unit and I believe A-Rod is the main reason, followed by Gardner and Teixeira.

ALMOST HALFWAY THERE

With the 2015 baseball season almost at the halfway point (with 79 games played), the Yankees’ forecasted winnings (they have currently won 42) still project to be in the mid 80s.  The problem is that 4 of the 5 teams in the American League (AL) East have won the same exact amount of games!  The only AL East team with a record under the .500 mark is the Red Sox (thankfully).  In fact, the AL East is currently the tightest race in all of baseball, though none of the teams are overly dominant.

Just as I wrote back in May, the Yankees have been overachieving.  They’ve done it without Andrew Miller and Jacoby Ellsbury for a while - both have proven to be their best bullpen pitcher and hitter respectively.  The good news is that both are due back very soon (in about a week).

Another key positive for the Yankees is the fact that we’re in July, when half the teams typically make trades before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.  The Yankees' farm system is finally getting recognized by the experts!  That said, the general managers and scouts should not only be influenced by the critics, but hopefully feel the same way in their own assessments.  In all, this means that the Yankees have the necessary assets to attain quality returns.  Of course, if money is an obstacle for the unloading teams, it won’t be an obstacle for the Yankees’ acquisition - unless the players’ contracts are too lengthy!

Looking at the NYY’s performance, they definitively need hitting.  While CC is struggling and Tanaka is still sporadically performing, Adam Warren has proven he can be a very decent starter and Ivan Nova has (in a short span since his return from Tommy John surgery) shown he is still a viable starter.  The offense of hitters like Didi Gregorius and Stephen Drew has proven to be the biggest disappointment thus far, while A-Rod has shocked the baseball world with his above-average hitting.  Carlos Beltran has had some decent offense, but his right field defense has been pitiful.  Additionally, he’s currently had some rib issues.  Technically, Beltran should be a DH; but A-Rod is the “designated” designated hitter.

I would love for the Yankees to trade Beltran to another AL team that is looking for a DH.  I don’t expect much in return for him, but I do expect his subtraction to be the biggest opportunity for an addition.  Then, they could either make another transaction to acquire a true right fielder or they could utilize the speed of their own Mason Williams or Slade Heathcott (if he can ever stay healthy) and make one of them the right fielder.  Perhaps they can even add one of their phenom studs, Aaron Judge, to the 25-man roster and make him their new right fielder!   He’s still smacking the ball like it’s twice its size.  The other Major League player they could trade would be Stephen Drew.  Again, I wouldn’t expect much in return, but any team needing a shortstop (instead of the 2^nd base position he mostly provides us) would be very satisfied with Drew’s shortstop prowess. 

If the Yankees are looking for an above-average hitter, which I feel they definitely need, then they would have to offer one of their farm system’s quality players.  I don’t think they will need to include any of their top prospects (Luis Severino, Greg Bird, Rob Refsnyder, Jorge Mateos or the aforementioned Judge) unless they try to attain an All-Star player who has a reasonable contract.  For me, a reasonable contract is defined as a contract that:  doesn’t have too much salary owed on it, has a costing balance that is mostly paid by the trading team, or is long-termed for a player under the age of 29.

Of course, the Orioles, Rays, and Blue Jays will each have the same opportunity to improve their teams.  All 3 of them also have quality assets in their farm systems; however, the Orioles and Rays don’t like to spend money, while the Blue Jays have more spending restrictions than the Yankees (as most teams do).  I can’t wait until August 1^st to find out!

ZIP-LIP JORGE, ZIP-LIP JORGE

As the Yankees have currently slid down the win column and have been hovering around .500 as a team, I thought I'd "slide" into alternate topic for this article.  A few recent occurrences have brought my mind into my latest thoughts.  Last Sunday, Bernie Williams was inducted into the Yankees' Monument Park, including the retirement of his number.  As I've written in the past, I have not and still am not in support of the Yankees retiring number 51 in his honor.  Similarly, Jorge Posada will also have his number 20 retired (this August 22).  For Jorge, though, I have expressed my borderline point of view on him, while slightly supporting his qualification - mostly based on his Core-4 contributions, his offensive numbers while playing the hardest defensive position, and his battery efforts during David Wells' perfect game.

My mind’s wheels really started turning this month when Jorge released a memoir/book, "The Journey Home: My Life in Pinstripes".  Within that book, like a lot of "authors" are told to do, he included some controversial comments which always seem to help sales – remember Joe Torre's book?  The most unfortunate victim ended up being Joe Girardi, with Cashman also somewhat a backup victim.  Posada basically complained about losing catcher and playing time from 2008-2010 with his main focus on the unfairness to him.  Here's an excerpt the Daily News had issued:

"I’ll put this as plainly as I can.  When you take me out from behind the plate, you’re taking away my heart and my passion . . . I knew that my role with the club was changing, but I don’t think that anyone making those decisions knew how much the things being done hurt me . . . To have even that taken away from me without adequate explanation, hurt me and confused me . . . I felt like I wasn’t being treated right, that people weren’t always being as straightforward with me as I wanted them to be or treating me as I deserved to be treated, and I exploded.”

While we all can admire Jorge's "passion", it's upsetting to see that he's publicly insinuating complaints, mainly against Girardi.  Joe Girardi has never publicly complained or said anything derogatory about Jorge; and there were plenty of times he could have complained about some very awful defense, game calling, and even about some of Jorge’s insubordination!  As far as Cashman is concerned, he was involved in issuing every single one of Jorge's very wealthy contracts (numerous times).  Of course, the Steinbrenners had to ultimately sign the checks, but they typically listen to Cashman’s opinion.  In fact, only on A-Rod’s contract can I ever remember them (actually, Hank Steinbrenner) going against Cashman’s contract opinion.

Jorge and every other professional baseball player, for that matter, have all been given vocal chords.  Those same vocal chords not only function during retirement years, but they have always functioned during all MLB players’ baseball careers!  So, if Joe didn't tell him this and Brian didn't tell him that, then what happened to his own voicing of displeasure or supposed confusion?  Even back in the 2008 season when Jorge was 36 & 37 years old – he qualified as an adult, not a child!!  Communication is a two-way street.

Additionally, one can argue that the manager Jorge fully supports, Joe Torre, was lucky in a way, because he didn't have to manage the Yankees' Core-4 (including Jorge) during their age-dwindling years.  Instead, it was Joe Girardi who had that strenuous distinction.  Jorge proved to have both declining numbers and increasing injuries during his final years.  So, any objective and fair-to-the-team manager would also have rightfully reduced Jorge's catching days and playing time.  We Yankees' fans demand winning year-after-year and, unfortunately, that can sometimes mean seeing less of our so-called heroes.  Some players, such as Mariano, recognize their decreasing contributions to the ultimate goal before it becomes an issue to the team and to themselves.  Perhaps Jeter played one year too many, but at least he recognized it before it got out of hand.  In fact, it can be argued that Jorge was the only Core-4 member that overstayed his abilities.

Again, as I've stated in the past, I believe Jorge's upcoming induction qualifications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame selection are debatable, but I would personally vote for him (if ever I had such an honor) based on the same aforementioned reasons I gave for his retiring-number qualification into Yankee Stadium's Monument Park.  I liked Jorge, but was never overly crazy about him, mostly because of his iffy catcher defense.  There's no question that he always played hard, offered very good offense for most of his career years, and was rightfully a member of the infamous Core-4.  To me, that Core-4 group also carried a distinctive class in leadership during their playing years.  I believe they should take that same approach during their non-playing years.  It would be great if Jorge swallowed some of his selfish pride and acted classy; then, we could traditionally recite his famous "Hip-Hip Jorge" chant that "we" Yankees' fans created instead of the "Zip-Lip Jorge" chant that I created!

20% UPDATE

This season is flying by so fast!  This season has just surpassed the 20% mark.  Let’s take a look at some interesting results:

The Yankees in First Place:

At a 21-13 record, the Yankees are not only in first place, but their record is currently amongst the best in MLB.  With most critics originally ranking them to be under .500, the early results support my 87 wins prediction more than theirs - and, I hope it continues at that pace.  I still think they need more consistent hitting and/or hitters in their lineup.  We’ll find out soon enough.

A-Rod’s Hitting:

Last week, A-Rod surpassed Willie Mays’ 660 in homeruns (currently A-Rod has 662 and is statistically in 4^th place behind Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and an even bigger steroid user than A-Rod…Barry Bonds.  He’s also been hitting the ball pretty well with his 8 homeruns and 20 RBIs, which project to be 100 RBIs at this point!

The Top:

John Ellsbury as the lead-off hitter with Brett Gardner right behind him has been considered the best one-two offensive punch in baseball.  Ellsbury’s .346 batting average/11 stolen bases/.418 on-base percentage and Gardner’s .318 batting average/10 stolen bases/.397 on-base percentage are just some of the offensive numbers that clearly support their dominance at this stage.

The Bottom:

Even better, at the end of games, no team in all of the Majors has been as successful as Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller.  Currently, neither one of them has given up an earned run!  Standardly, Girardi has been utilizing Betances in the 8^th inning and Miller as the closer in the 9^th.  Miller currently has 13 saves, which projects to 65 saves!  Of course, I don’t expect him to reach that number, but it would be great if he exceeds 50!!

New York:

A few weeks ago, the Yankees played the Mets at Yankee Stadium.  As usual, their announcers cried about the stadium dimensions, the Mets’ fans bragged (having a better record at that time), and the Yankees did what they have dominantly done against the Mets in their opposing games…the Yankees won the majority of them (2 of 3 during that series).  I must state that the Mets did, indeed, begin their season on a tear, but have since begun to realize who they are supposed to be - a mediocre team.  As of today, they have still maintained their 1^st place position, but haven’t faced any of the National League’s excellent teams (such as the Cardinals) yet - that will happen next week.  The Mets’ losses to the Yankees not only ended their 11-game winning streak, but also began their under .500 play since that series ended on 4/26.  Also, the Yankees may have unveiled a key weakness in one of their pitching prospects (Jason deGrom) - as other opposing teams have learned to be aggressive against deGrom instead of allowing him to constantly throw too many pitches in the strike zone early in the count.

Summary:

The Yankees may be slightly overachieving at this point, but I don’t expect them to laboriously fall apart.  The bullpen and starters (except Sabathia) have demonstrated the youth movement I’ve been preaching for 2 years.  I remain optimistic that this year’s team will at least make the playoffs.

2015 PREDICTIONS - YANKEES & METS

Of course, I will begin with the Yankees!  This year’s team is the hardest to project, without question; that’s because there are way too many “questions”.  Health is the most important factor for all teams; but, with the Yankees having former superstar-caliber players such as Mark Teixeira, A-Rod, CC Sabathia, Carlos Beltran, Michael Pineda, and Masahiro Tanaka who all have carried-over health issues, it’s a HUGE factor.  Each of these players can contribute dynamically enough to add or subtract considerable wins that can make or break the end results in October.

The best thing that the Yankees offer this year is diversity.  Their farm system, as I’ve mentioned in prior articles, is the best they’ve had in almost 20 years!  Put that together with their willingness to spend money if they need to acquire other quality player/players during the course of the season and they can offer more than a quick-fix band-aid if needed.

Additionally, the American League’s Eastern Division is weak.  Many critics are picking either the Orioles or the Red Sox to win; but I believe they’re wrong.  The Orioles lost 2 key players (Nelson Cruz & Andrew Miller) and even with some of their formerly injured players now able to contribute, the Orioles are still significantly weaker than they were as last year’s division champs.  The Red Sox have definitely improved their offense, but they are lacking an ace or even a pitcher that qualifies above a number 3 starter’s proven competence.  Both teams also have a very good farm system, but if either needs to spend money to acquire an outside player, the Orioles would probably back down, while the Red Sox would certainly spend.  Again, though, the Red Sox already need something now, while the Yankees don’t.

My biggest specific concern regarding the Yankees' health surrounds Tanaka and Sabathia.  Tanaka has already shown he can still be effective throughout spring training, but Sabathia hasn’t shown enough positives.  His knee has no cartilage and his velocity has diminished.  If Tanaka can continue showing enough to puzzle the hitters without completely tearing his already slightly torn ACL, then he should win 18 games.  If Sabathia keeps throwing as ineffective as he has thus far, the Yankees and he may have to make some very hard decisions.

This year, I am most excited about the 2015 signings of Chase Headley, Didi Gregorius, Andrew Miller, Justin Wilson, and Nathan Eovaldi.  With that group added for a full season, the anticipated continuance of the NYY youth movement, the potential of being able to acquire decent players, and a weakened division in the American League East, I predict the Yankees to win 87 games this season.

As for the Mets, I’m not going to break them down to any extent because they haven’t radically changed too much from last year, other than adding Michael Cuddyer and 2 lefty relievers that they attained at the last minute (a few days ago).  Besides, I’m the NYY writer, not the NYM writer, so I have the option!

The Mets’ biggest difference/hope is the return of Matt Harvey.  If he is as effective as he’s demonstrated over the last 6 weeks (and as he did prior to his Tommy John surgery), then he will contribute immensely; however, their bullpen seems to be too weak to help tag-team with Matt in trying to achieve 9 full innings of effectiveness.  Furthermore, Matt can only contribute every 5^th game!  The Nationals have improved too much (except for their defense) for the Mets to overtake them as a divisional winner and other National League teams have strengthened more than the Mets did, which lessens their chances of qualifying for either of the two wild card options.

The Mets have some starting pitchers in their farm system who are now within reach of this year’s 25-man roster.  They almost never spend for needed acquisitions, so their only improvement will have to come from within their farm system (strong, but not strong beyond starting pitching).  In all, I predict the Mets to win 83 games this season.

Play ball!!!

BIG PAPI = BIG BABY

Poor David Ortiz…poor David Ortiz…

While most in baseball associate David Ortiz with the nickname “Big Papi”, I feel “Big Baby” is much more appropriate and will, thus, refer to him as such for the rest of this article.  In my opinion, big babies never take blame and always cry when others are “picking” on them.  They act as if they are 100% innocent and defensively point fingers at others whenever their perfect innocence is challenged.  Big babies intake “formulas” or other “things” to help them grow stronger.

Big Baby was on a list of 104 players that included A-Rod that failed a drug test that was given back in 2003.  Back then, MLB determined that they were not going to suspend anyone; that they were simply gathering an idea of the amount of drug usage within their organization.  Since that time and since suspensions were implemented, Big Baby has never been found guilty like other players from the George J. “Mitchell Report”: Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Manny Ramirez, and Rafael Palmeiro.  Nor was he found guilty in recent years from sporadic tests or from evidence involving the anti-aging clinic/Biogenesis lab findings that exposed players including A-Rod, Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Everth Cabrera, Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli, Antonio Bastardo, and Jordany Valdespin.  So, Big Baby was never suspended like the others were (for at least 50 games).

Still, there are members of the press and some baseball players that feel skeptical about Big Baby’s innocence throughout the years.  Big Baby doesn’t understand that and points out that his name was not supposed to be divulged from that sealed/confidential list of players from the 2003 test.  He has stated that the drug was an over-the-counter drug that anyone could buy and use.  He doesn’t understand why anyone would question the fact that his offensive numbers (>30 homers/>100 RBIs) are very uncharacteristic for any player in their late 30s.  Big Baby, instead, implies that such great numbers should be praised beyond that of any average baseball player.  

This week (on Thursday, March 26), Big Baby decided that he wanted to try and rectify the misunderstandings of others and save face for himself before the 2015 season begins.  Apparently, he is not only concerned about his current reputation amongst the media, but also of his future standing with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum committee.  Ironically, 2 former players from the Yankees who played during most of Big Baby’s years (Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera), never showed self-acclaim or any expectations towards being elected into the Hall of Fame.  They have instead lowered their tones humbly whenever the subject is mentioned.

Big Baby stomped his feet in a tantrum this past Thursday and decided to generate his own article on “The Players’ Tribune” which is a journalism outlet that Derek Jeter created for players.  Before I provide Thursday’s quotes from that, let me first provide some past quotes that Big Baby stated:

From “Boston.com” - “I will find out what I tested positive for…based on whatever I learn.  I will share this information with my club and the public. You know me - I will not hide and I will not make excuses.”  From ESPN - “The information regarding Ortiz and Ramirez became known through Times interviews with multiple lawyers and others connected to pending litigation regarding the test results between the baseball players union and the government. The lawyers spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by a court order, the newspaper reported, and the lawyers did not indicate which drugs were detected.”

Here are some of the things Big Baby vocalized for his article in The Players’ Tribune on March 26: 

Okay, sure, I’ll take that. I’m buying an over-the-f***ing-counter supplement in the United States of America. I’m buying this stuff in line next to doctors and lawyers. Now all of a sudden MLB comes out and says there’s some ingredient in GNC pills that have a form of steroid in them. I don’t know anything about it.

If you think I’m full of it, go to your kitchen cabinet right now and read the back of a supplement bottle and honestly tell me you know what all of that stuff is. I’m not driving across the border to Mexico buying some shady pills from a drug dealer. I’m in a strip mall across from the Dunkin’ Donuts, bro.

Hell yes I deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. I’ve won three World Series since MLB introduced comprehensive drug testing. I’ve performed year after year after year. But if a bunch of writers who have never swung a bat want to tell me it’s all for nothing, OK. Why do they write my legacy?

Gee, what a sweetheart of a guy and a “teddy bear” (a nickname his followers sometimes call him); such charismatic language to choose in his first self-written, publicized words; but remember, he is a Big Baby.  He said, "I'm not driving across the border to Mexico", so how could we fathom that he could have obtained drugs?  Wow, how ignorant does he think average baseball fans are?  Are we to believe that drugs are only attainable across the border, and only in Mexico?  He “will not make excuses”?  That’s all he’s been doing for 10 years!  Maybe there’s something in his Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee that has either jumbled his brain or, on the other hand, made him stronger than most players in their late 30s - including the majority of players who are actually in better toned condition!!

Big Baby blames either the whole state of New York or presumably the Yankees as the culprits that have provided embellished stories aimed at him just to distort their own players.  Has he ever read the New York newspapers?  Has he ever listened to the New Yorkers or even just the segmented Yankees’ fans over the airwaves?  Wow!

Besides the aforementioned quotes and stories from “Boston.com” or “ESPN” who, along with MLB, typically wear Red Sox cheerleading outfits when they write or talk about the Red Sox, even the “Boston Globe” has offered some unsupportive rhetoric about the Big Baby:  http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/03/27/dear-david-ortiz-since-you-brought/soyNO1ICkfvv5THbW98O0K/story.html.

Additionally, NBC Sports pointed out a very good point via their http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/27/did-david-ortiz-admit-to-more-than-he-realized-with-his-players-tribune-editorial/ link, which basically emphasizes that while Big Baby cried about being tested more than any other player in baseball, MLB typically only executes extra tests to players that were previously found with positive tests - including players that were never suspended, but were found to be cheaters before the suspensions were implemented.  Hmm!

MLB and especially Boston fans:  It’s time for you to finally widen your eyes and realize you have a cheater that you idolize.  Most New York baseball fans and press have expressed their grave disappointment in A-Rod, even before he was suspended!  Please take the blindfolds off and focus!

As far as the Hall of Fame is concerned, it’s a good thing that there’s at least 6 years before the votes will be casted for Big Baby because that will allow more time for the truth to make its way to the forefront.  Additionally, Big Baby has mostly been a Designate Hitter during his “legacy” career.  As a result, he certainly hasn’t contributed much defense to help his team (only about 15%) - something that the voters have considered ever since the DH was implemented.  So, since that is already disregarded by Big Baby, based on his “Vote for Me” attitude, he should also review his own team’s greatest Hall of Famers, such as Ted Williams or Carl Yastrzemski.  They certainly provided the other half of the game a typical hitter contributes…defense!  What a self-proclaimed “legacy” he is!