ALCS Preview

The Yankees have been the odds on favorite to win the World Series since before the playoffs began, and to solidify their status as favorites, they made quick and easy work of the Minnesota Twins during the first round. While the Angels were historically unable to handle the Red Sox in the playoffs, this year they exercised their demons by sweeping the Bosox with a dramatic come from behind victory at Fenway Park. There are good reasons to believe that the Yankees are still the odds on favorite to win. Their lineup is one of the most prolific lineups in recent memory and by far the most dangerous lineup in the playoffs. On top of this, much is being made of Alex Rodriguez’s recent post season awakening. There is no letting up with the Yankees offence – they had at least 8 players hit over 20 home runs this year in the regular season. On the mound, this years edition of the Yankees is also the best that it has been in the last few years – CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett are a formidable one two punch at the top of the rotation, and the bullpen is significantly deeper than it has been in the past with Joba Chamberlin and Phil Hughes bridging the gap to Rivera in the ninth. While this Yankee team is good, the Angels are a far better team than Minnesota and a potential upset is not out of the question. While Sabathia and Burnett (depending on which Burnett shows up to pitch) are possibly the two best starters in the series, I believe the Angels starters one through four are better than the Yankees starters. The Angels number 3 and 4 starters (Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders) possess a decided advantage over the Yankees Andy Pettite and Chad Gaudin. While this lack of depth wasn’t a problem for New York in a short five game series, in a best of seven LCS format, this may play a significant factor. Accompanying the Angels starting pitching depth is an offence that more potent and well rounded than Angels teams of the past. In the past the Angels offence relied to heavily on Vladimir Gurrero, but with the additions of Bobby Abreau and Tori Hunter, combined with the emergence of Kendry Morales, all Vlad has to worry about now is trying not to swing at pitches that are going to hit him in the face. The Angels also have excellent team speed thanks to Chone Figgins, Reggie Wilits and Erick Aybar. With George Posada behind the plate, the Yankees inability to contain the running game has been a problem all year long. Another bad sign for the Yankees is that in their first round match up with Boston, the Angels hitters looked very comfortable against the power arms of the Red Sox bullpen, tagging Jonathan Paplebon for four runs in the final game. The Angels offence may not be as good as the Yankees, but they are much more dangerous than the Twins team that New York contained for three games. One area where the Yankees do possess a particularly clear advantage over the Angels is in the bullpen – Brian Fuentes has not been the dominant closer Los Angeles had hoped for when they signed him and with Chamberlin, Hughes and Rivera in the Yankee pen, they can shorten a game to seven innings when they are leading. Here is my prediction for the series: Kate Hudson dumps A-Rod, AJ Burnett and George Posada get in a fight, Scott Boras demands that Mark Tiexeria be traded mid series, Joba Chamberlin gets another DUI, Andy Pettite starts doing steroids again, no matter who is winning Erick Aybar smiles the whole time and the Angels win in seven.

The End of the Riccardi Era

Over the weekend, Paul Beeston did what many Blue Jays fans wanted done a long time ago. J.P Riccardi’s record as an executive was a spotty one at best. Many have noted his lackluster draft record, his knack for signing players to bloated contracts that ended up biting the Jays in the ass and his inability to build a team that got passed the Yankees and Red Sox (even though the Rays did). But lets not give him shit because he passed on Troy Tulowtizski, traded away Michael Young, or gave long term contracts to Frank Thomas, Cory Koskie, BJ Ryan and Alex Rios. Let’s give him shit because he never knew how to handle being the front office voice for a major league team. It started when he traded Shannon Stewart to the Minnesota Twins the year Riccardi arrived in Toronto. Stewart complained that Riccardi handled the situation with little class, and since that day it seems that the most captivating stories around the Blue Jays (coincidentally because Riccardi hasn’t been able to build a team that can captivate us with their performance) have been J.P.’s blunders and mishaps. Remember when he sent Orlando Hudson to the minors for calling him a smooth pimp? Or when he publicly criticized Adam Dunn (and then lied about apologizing)? When Carlos Tosca was fired, many players were apparently forbidden from saying goodbye to him. What the hell J.P.? This summers handling of the Roy Halladay trade solidified the fact that J.P just couldn’t get it right when it came to handling the media pressures associated with being a general manager. But the one thing that chapped my ass most of all through the Riccardi years was J.P’s constant complaining about how hard it was to compete in the AL East with the Yankees and Red Sox. For eight years, he told Jays fans that they didn’t have a chance, always pointing to next year (and that was if things fell the right way). He essentially told us not to bother watching the team he put together. As badly as I want to be a major league general manager, sadly I am not. This means that I can look past Riccardi’s failings in terms of player development, free agent singings and the lack of on field results – I would probably do a worse job than him. But what I can’t look past is all the times he made Jays fans feel shitty about being Jays fans, by saying things that made the franchise look bad and by telling us we didn’t have a chance in hell. Here’s to hoping he handles his words with more care at his next job.

The MLB(ehave) Team

Watching baseball on its own merits is great, but sometimes we get to enjoy a little extra entertainment, showmanship and drama as some players just can’t help but lose it. Here are my selections for the all-bad behavior team.

C – AJ Pierzynski: The only player who could get punched in the face by Michael Barrett and still not garner very much sympathy.
1B – Prince Fielder: Not only has he fought with members of his own team (Manny Parra) in the dugout, he waited outside the Dodgers clubhouse after getting beaned. Prince means business.
2B – Roberto Alomar: Class act on the Jays, not so much on the Orioles; needs to keep spit on the ground where it belongs.
SS – Alex Rodriguez: When he is not spending time in Toronto gentleman’s clubs, he is busy yelling at Blue Jays infielders and trying to knock the ball out of first baseman’s hands.
3B – Scott Rolen: Seemed like a good guy in Toronto, but you would have to pretty much punch a baby in the face to piss off Terry Francona.
OF – Milton Bradley: This board game enthusiast is the only player I have ever heard of tearing a his ACL while yelling at an umpire.
OF – Paul O’Neil: My first experience of a professional athlete throwing temper tantrum was seeing the right fielder lose it back in the early 90s.
OF – Carl Everett, responsible for more ruined baseball equipment than any other major league player in the 90s. His interviews are also entertaining, as he claims that dinosaurs never existed; the bones were placed there by God.
P – Roger Clements: This professional baseball player mistook a broken bat for a baseball and THAT is why he threw it at Mike Piazza. Luckily more baseball players don’t mistake shattered bats for balls.
P – Pedro Martinez: Remember when he threw Don Zimmer to the ground in that Yankees/Red Sox brawl? If you’re 45 years older than Pedro, don’t mess with him.
Manager – Lou Pinella: oh yeah.

Why I Want Boston to Win The Wild Card

With only a few weeks left in the regular season, the playoff picture has been all but set minus two key races. In the NL, the G-men and the Rockies are battling it to see who gets to lose to the Cardinals in the NLDS and in AL, the Wildcard is also still up for grabs. The good news for Jays fans is that we are only 13 or 14 games back. But if you choose not to suspend rational belief and suggest the Jays will make the playoffs, the AL race has come down to the big bad Red Sox and the fresh faced Texas Rangers. And while many people are rooting for underdog Texas to keep this years playoffs interesting, I am rooting for Goliath. This is because in baseball I root for two things - for the Blue Jays and against the Yankees. Texas may be new and interesting, but when it comes down to a playoff series, I want the Red Sox in because the have the best chance at taking down the juggernaut Yankees. This year despite many injuries (Dice-k, JD "I Don't Even Like Baseball" Drew) and subpar preformances (from David Ortiz, John Smoltz, Jason Varitek and even Josh Beckett to some extent) the Red Sox are still in a better position to beat New York. Their pitching is still far better than the Rangers: In the playoffs no one dials it up like Beckett, Jon Lester is emerging as a second ace, and Dice-K is slated to return soon. The bullpen is also much improved with the addition of set up man Billy Wagner as when he is on, can effectively shorten a game to seven innings Offensively, they have enough veterans to steady the ship in high pressure playoff situations and enough younger players (Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youk) to prevent an October fade. While wanting the Yankees out may seem like a selfish personal reason for wanting the BoSox in the playoffs, we will all win because it will lead to better better playoff baseball. As much as I hate them, New York is looking like the best team in the AL right so I want the team with the best chance at taking them down. So until the Yankees are golfing its Go Red Sox and root for the underdog later.

Payroll Disparities and the Death of Moneyball

Recently Joe Posnanski wrote an article for Sports Illustrated proclaiming that Moneyball has died - not by virtue of its ineffectiveness, but rather because its principles have been absorbed by larger market teams, which once again leaves small market teams at a disadvantage. He points to how larger market teams started valuing OBP and walks just as much as Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s and that these small market teams are once again left out in the cold looking for a way to compete against the Wal-marts of professional baseball. While this once again sounds like discouraging news for any team not based in New York or Los Angeles, the news isn’t all bad. Spending money does not guarantee you anything in baseball and teams that invest reasonably (in both payroll or organizational development) still do have a chance at making it to the big dance. For all the success of the major market teams, there have also been many failures. The New York Yankees continually spend at least double to that of most teams in the way of payroll yet have not won a World Series since 2000. While many would suggest that the Yanks are still able to field competitive teams and make the playoffs, when you are spending 70 million dollars more than the next closest team (and 188 million more than the Florida Marlins), is that really any excuse or consolation? If it was my 209 million dollars (Yankees ‘09 payroll) I would have fielded three different MLB teams with 70 million dollar payrolls and taken my chances that way. Of 2009’s top 10 spenders the Mets, Cubs, Mariners, Astros and (potentially) Tigers are all at risk of not making the playoffs. Many smaller and mid market teams have been able to build winners despite not being able to spend like the big boys: the Cardinals, Rays, Rockies, Twins, Brewers and Indians have continually made playoff runs in the last few years despite limited payrolls. While Posnanski might suggest that these teams have the advantage of time – being able to tolerate losing at certain points while their young players develop or the roster is rebuilt; big spending teams lose at almost the same clip. The Yankees, Tigers and Mets all missed the playoffs last year despite all ranking in the top 5 in spending. The Giants, Astros and Mariners are all big spenders that have continually failed to make the playoffs over the last 5 years. Since we inked BJ Ryan and AJ Burnett, the Jays have continued to spend significant amounts of money without making the playoffs. J.P. might want to complain about how much the Yankees and Boston spend but you know who doesn’t? 2008 American League Champion Tampa Bay. It would be wrong to suggest that there is no correlation between spending money and being competitive, spending does increase your chances of winning, but all is not lost. Teams with strong scouting/drafting and player development programs (the Cardinals turn seemingly every castoff pitcher into gold; or, productive outfielders in the case of Rick Ankiel) still have a chance at making the playoffs. What is the fun in rooting for Wal-mart anyway?

Top 5 Ballparks

Every year at this time my buddy Max and several other friends go on an annual vacation where they spend a week driving around the US taking in baseball games at several different major and minor league ballparks. This has inspired me to write this weeks blog on my own favorite ballparks. Feel free to weigh in

1) Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) - Aside from Albert Pujlos, The Friendly Confines might be the only thing that makes the National League worth watching. It is the only ballpark I know planted right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, and the ivy brick outfield wall gives Alfonso Soriano and the rest of the Cubs outfielders an excuse for dogging it.

2) Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees) - I absolutely can't stand the Yankees but hey, it is Yankee Stadium. There is more history in that ballpark than the rest of the American league parks combined.

3) PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates) - I got to go to PNC field last year and the park really is amazing. Great sight lines for watching the games, a great view of downtown Pittsburgh and the Allageny (sp.?) River and awesome food. Once they get a major league team to play there it will be even better.

4) Skydome/Rogers Centre (Jays Baby) - I know its ugly and it has a stupid name, but it is the home of the Toronto Blue Jays and when you grow up watching a team, getting to go and see the place where your favorite players come and play everyday has a charm that can't be replaced. Its where John Olerud very politely made a run at .400, where Robbie Alomar made No Fear t-shirts the best selling clothing item in the world for boys between the ages of 7 and 12 and where Joe Carter touched em all'.

5) Labatt Park (London, ON) - I figured I should put one non-MLB park on the list. While some might suggest that I am biased because I grew up in London, I would challenge anyone to find a nicer minor league ballpark park. It used to be the home of the London Tigers, the AA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, but currently only houses local and intercounty games. The field is kept in amazing condition, there is a great view of the downtown London skyline and if you are doing enough steroids you can probably hit a ding dong into the Thames River.

Adios Alex

On Monday night we saw the Jays trade away the most stylish member of the 2009 team. Alex Rios - http://blogs.suntimes.com/whitesox/AlexisRios2008Season.jpg (honourable mention to Rod Barajas). While the move makes financial sense for the Blue Jays, it is still tough to swallow. The trade is so tough to swallow because of how talented we always hear that Rios is. We saw glimpses of it, and we thought he was starting to put it together after his 2007 season. Whatever is preventing him from producing, it isn't a lack of physical skill or baseball attributes (in MLB 09 the Show for Playstation, he is rated at 90 something overall and that definitely tells you something). For whatever reason he didn't seem to be able to put it together in Toronto (it wasn't because he spent too much time singing autographs). I think that a change of scenery to Chicago will help him produce. Hitting in the same lineup as Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Carlos Quinten and Paul Konerko will take a lot of the pressure of him, as he won't be asked to be a main run producer. And despite his yelling match with that fan in Toronto, playing with AJ Pierzinski will make Rios look like Mother Theresa. Now maybe the Jays can use that payroll flexibility to sign Raul Chavez and Jose Bautista longterm.