In 1884, Hall of Fame pitcher Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn won an astonishing 59 games, started 73 games and completed them all, and pitched more than 678 innings. Then he went out and won all three games of baseball's first World Series. This is the book about how he did it, day by day, the agony he
endured, the courage he showed, and about how wild and intense major-league baseball was in his day.

For more details, please see www.oldhoss.com

Related posts:

1. Book Review: Burying the Curse, By Terry Pluto
2. A Collection of Baseball Reflections Book Reviews
3. Pinch Hitter: A Book Review

Image via Wikipedia

The New York Yankees may be coming off their 27th World Championship, but Brian Cashman didn’t spend much time this offseason basking in the afterglow of the title. Instead, he made significant changes to reshape the team. But not everybody in Yankeeland is happy with those changes.

Most fans figured that either World Series MVP Hideki Matsui or double-steal hero Johnny Damon would be gone from the team, given that the team needed to get younger and more athletic. But it was still surprising to see both players gone. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were able to sign Matsui for just a one-year, $6 million deal. The Bombers ended up paying former Yankee Nick Johnson – an inferior hitter – nearly that much to replace Matsui at DH.

And Damon, the left fielder whose swing seemed perfect for the new Yankee Stadium, is now a Detroit Tiger after trying – and failing – to get the Yankees to re-sign him. True, agent Scott Boras overreached in suggesting that Damon still deserved to make $13 million a year. And
Cashman insulted Damon by suggesting at one point he was worth only $2 million. But there should have been a way for the Yankees to keep Damon on the team. Randy Winn, the outfielder Cashman ended up paying that $2 million to, is hardly anything for fans to get excited over. Neither is Brett Gardner, who will share playing time with Winn.

Many Yankee fans groaned when it was announced that the Yankees traded cult hero Melky Cabrera for former Yankee pitcher Javier Vazquez. Home Run Javy, as some Yankee fans derisively called him, is best (or is that worst?) remembered as a Bomber for giving up the decisive grand slam to then-Red Sox Johnny Damon in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. Even
though Vazquez is not expected to be the ace he was supposed to be when first becoming a Yankee, some fans are not exactly thrilled to see him in pinstripes again.

On the other hand, the Bombers’ deal for center fielder Curtis Granderson was widely applauded in Yankeeland. The most the Yankees could hope for out of Austin Jackson, the prospect they traded him for, is that he could become Granderson one day. Although Granderson only hit .183 against lefties last year, his overall track record shows that he is still a strong hitter, fielder, and all around good guy.

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1. Yankees’ Ten Most Pivotal Postseason Performers
2. New York Yankees Are Sailing, But Not Coasting
3. Yankees Heat Up in July – but Still Freeze Up Against Angels

To many,

Pluto has also written more books about Cleveland sports than anyone, ever. One of them, Burying the Curse: How the Indians became the best team in baseball, is the subject of today’s review.

Published in 1995, at the height of the Indians dominance in the American League’s Central Division, Pluto chronicles how a historically putrid franchise rose to the top of MLB. The Indians had been cursed for years, Pluto reports, with bad drafting and ownership that wasn’t willing to put up the money for talent that could actually win on the field.

In the book, Pluto picks apart the important parts of a season that Tribe fans will remember for the rest of their lives. Games are highlighted in which former Indian teams would have certainly thrown in the towel, but that this version kept fighting for a victory, even if it took extra innings to do so.

One of those games was the game in which the Indians clinched their first division title in more than 40 years. They were leading the division by almost 25 games and had a ton of baseball left to play, even in the strike shortened season, but it was a joyous day for those on the shores of Lake Erie. For the first time in nearly half a century, their team was being heralded as the team to beat.

As most know, that season did not end the way most dream stories do, as the Indians lost to the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. This book does a good job of depicting the actions and feelings of the Indians faithful during and after that season. Even though many wanted the World Series win, the Indians were still thrown a large parade when they returned home, and to outsiders, it would have seemed like they won it all.

Perhaps fans and writers alike were so confident because they knew the nucleus of the team was there to stay for a few more years, so bringing the real championship home seemed like little more than a formality.

Overall, Pluto does a great job painting the picture, an accurate picture of that memorable season in 1995, and he does it from somewhere between a fan and a journalist’s perspective. Cleveland had never seen anything like it and neither had Pluto, which shows in the writing of the book. This book illustrates that no one in Northeast Ohio, no matter their stature in the sporting world could have expected, or dreamed, what transpired on the diamond that year.

Book Grade: 3.75/5

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1. Book Review: Fair Ball by Bob Costas
2. Book Review: More Tales from the Tribe Dugout
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The committee met for the first time on Thursday, January 14th. Prior to the initial meeting, this is what the commissioner had to say about the committee,

“I’ve encouraged this group to be very blunt. I want these people to discuss anything they want,” Selig said after meeting with the general managers and his executive council on Wednesday. “To synthesize these things I’ve had [Cardinals manager] Tony La Russa and [Braves president] John Schuerholz put together an agenda that has a wide variety of things on it. So we’ll find out how extensive this is tomorrow.”

It is also manned by three other managers, three other people in team management, four former and present GM’s and MLB consultant and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, plus renowned columnist George Will (per the MLB.com article by Barry M. Bloom last Wednesday).

Here’s another snipet from that article with quotes from Mr. Selig and the listing of the other committee members:

“There will be no sacred cows,” Selig told MLB.com last week.

The four managers on the committee are La Russa, Jim Leyland of the Tigers, Joe Torre of the Dodgers, and Mike Scioscia of the Angels.

From the GM ranks is Schuerholz of the Braves, Andy MacPhail of the Orioles, Mark Shapiro of the Indians, and Terry Ryan, the former GM of the Twins.

Among the owner representatives is Chuck Armstrong, president of the Mariners; Paul Beeston, president of the Blue Jays; Bill DeWitt, chairman of the Cardinals; and Dave Montgomery, president of the Phillies.

“This is an extraordinary committee,” Selig said.

It’s an extraordinary assembly of baseball people, but I’m not sure I’d say it’s an extraordinary committee just yet. I have heard that on the agenda is instant replay and scheduling of the World Series moving forward. Instant replay is on the agenda due to the frequent amount of blown calls this past post-season. Rescheduling the post season is, I believe, an attempt to get the fall classic out of November. There are too many off days and it has been claimed to have broken many a team’s momentum over the past few years since the last change in scheduling.

Personally, I like the idea of both of these topics as both could use some tweaking or expanding. I also think that they should revise the regular season schedule to a less division heavy leaning. Baseball currently has inter-division teams playing 18/19 times against each other, but I’d be all in favor of knocking that down to 14/15 and adding more games from other divisions that teams don’t currently see as often.

What do you all think should also be on the agenda? Also, if you have heard or read anything about the first meeting please add the link to it in the comments section below.

Thanks…

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I listen to local sports talk radio when I’m driving around town, and recently the host interviewed a writer (I missed his name) for mlb.com discussing the post-season format – number of games, how many games each series should be, that sort of thing.  He talked about why the World Series starts on a Wednesday, and how MLB is tied to that start based on the way the scheduling is done.

Which, of course, got me thinking.  Is Baseball really tied to the playoff schedule as currently constructed, with no way to modify?  Could they change the scheduling to get a World Series Game 1 on a Saturday, and a Game 7 on a Sunday?

Current scheduling looks something like this.  The LDS start on a Wednesday/Thursday, and run for a week max (2 games, day off, 3 games).  There’s one scheduled off-day between rounds.  The LCS starts on a Thursday/Friday, and runs for a max of 10 days (2 games, day off, 2 games, day off, game, day off, 2 games). Again, there’s one scheduled off-day before the World Series starts.  The Fall Classic, then, starts on a Wednesday and uses the same 10 day schedule as the LCS.

To modify this schedule and get World Series Game 1 moved to a Sunday, we must shorten the LDS/LCS time frames by 4 days.   Here’s one way to do it:

1. Make each LDS play on the same schedule. Baseball is all about revenue these days, so they try very hard to have a game in prime time every night during the post season.  However, if baseball wants the biggest audiences for their marquee event, they need to make sure Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played on the weekend.  By shortening the LDS round from 7 days to 6, they start moving to that format.  Besides, the odd off-day aside, there are 15 games played per day from 1 April to 5 October. Teams get used to playing on consecutive days, why does MLB insist on changing this aspect for the playoffs? Having 4 games a day during the LDS round will bring the playoffs back in line with the regular season.

2. Get rid of the off-days between Games 4 and 5. This is a recent, as in the last few years, development. I think, at this point, even the players and the Commissioner’s office are in favor of losing this off-day.  It disrupts the flow of the series and takes away from the action.  Say a series is tied 2-2.  There’s already enough tension in the series, and everyone knows the winner of Game 5 will be the heavy favorite to win the series (given they have two chances to clinch). Why make the players and the fans wait an extra day to play this crucial game?  Just play.

With these modifications, the LDS starts on a Wednesday and ends on a Monday.  The LCS starts on a Wednesday and ends on a Thursday.  The World Series would then start on a Saturday and end on a Sunday.

MLB isn’t stuck with the schedule as is.  MLB could change the post-season schedule any time they wanted to get the World Series over two weekends.  They just choose not to.

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2. Yankees’ Ten Most Pivotal Postseason Performers
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Since Moneyball was released for publication in 2003 I thought it would be fun to see where some of the players mentioned in the book were in their careers six years later.

Jeremy Brown

Brown only played in five games back in 2006 for the A’s between September 1st and the end of that season. He went 3 for 10 with a walk, but has not seen action since. His last season in the minors was in 2007 when he played in 55 games for AAA Sacramento.

Scott Hatteberg

Hatteberg retired after playing in only 34 games for the Reds in 2008 when he hit .173 with an OBP of .262 after a 2007 season where he played in 116 games for the Reds while hitting .310 with 10 HR an OBP of .394

Joe Blanton

saw action in 3 games for the A’s back in 2004, but has been a starter ever since 2005. At the trading deadline in 2008 he was traded to the Phillies where he won a World Series and has been with the since.

Nick Swisher

made it to the A’s in 2004 and played in 20 games that year hitting .250 with an OBP of .352 and 2 HR. He has been a starter ever since with average BA of .245, OBP of .357 with 133 HR (21+) over the 6 seasons since. He was traded by Oakland in the after the 2007 season to the White Sox who then traded him to the Yankees a year later (again in the off season) where he won a World Series this past year.

Kevin Youkilis

Youkilis, “the Greek god of walks” as Beane liked to call him, has been a starter for the Red Sox since 2006, mostly at 1B, but also at 3B when needed. He played in 72 games in 2004, but only games in 2005 (I forget why). His OBP has been .281 or better (averaging .391) and he has shown better power numbers the past two years and has hit over .300 in those seasons.

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So far, the Cardinals’ hot stove season can basically be summed up into two words.

Matt Holliday.

Everything the Cardinals have or haven’t done since the end of the World Series has been directly or indirectly tied to their pursuit of the outfielder. Their talks with Scott Boras were the focus of their winter meetings in Indianapolis.  The organization did not make an official offer while in Indy, preferring to return home and digest the information before making their first bid.  However, that’s all anyone wanted to talk about, at least in relation to St. Louis.

John Mozeliak has made a point of saying they aren’t going to let the negotiations drag out.  When it was made known on Friday that they had made their offer to Holliday and his agent, Mozeliak indicated he thought he’d hear back from that camp over the weekend and might know by the middle of this week whether they needed to move on.

As of this writing late Monday night, however, no word has been released on the response of Holliday and Boras to the offer of the Cardinals.  Rumor has it that it was an eight-year contract worth between $14 million and $16 million per year.  While Boras was said to be unimpressed, this is also the agent that apparently was floating a 10 year, $220 million idea for Holliday’s services.  If Boras can get that for Holliday in any market, much less an economically depressed one as this, I’m going to see what he can get me for full-time blogging services.  Because obviously he’s a miracle worker.

Up-to-the-minute, though, St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Joe Strauss is indicating on his Twitter feed that there is movement on the Holliday front, and likely positive movement at that.  It will be interesting to see how things pan out in the next few days, but I think there is a strong possibility Holliday remains in St. Louis and for less money than some had thought, mainly because the market for his services never seems to have panned out.  The Dodgers and the Mets both seemed to be more focused on Jason Bay, leaving Holliday with few places to go.

If Holliday does resign, it gives the Cardinals a potent lineup, with him and Albert Pujols in the middle, followed by Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina.  Skip Schumaker will lead off most nights, Colby Rasmus should continue to develop as a power bat, and most every spot in the diamond will be filled, with the notable exception of third base.

At the moment, the Cardinals are looking to have rookie (though he got a cup of coffee last year) David Freese man the hot corner. Freese has demonstrated solid power in the minors and would have had a better shot last year if he hadn’t been coming off an ankle injury sustained in a car crash.  However, Freese was picked up for DWI Sunday night, leaving his position in the grand scheme of things a little unclear, though if Holliday does sign, Freese likely stays the front runner for monetary reasons.

St. Louis did make a notable move while in Indy, signing free agent pitcher Brad Penny to a one-year, incentive-laden deal.  Dave Duncan is very excited to work with Penny, whom he doesn’t believe has ever really hit his full potential.  If he is able to get Penny to be better than before, he’ll be a dominant #3 starter, with Kyle Lohse likely moving to the #4 spot and becoming the best #4 man in the league.

If these reports are true and Holliday is on his way back to St. Louis, the Cardinals will likely be considered one of the favorites for the NL pennant next year.  We’ll just have to wait and see if this Holliday will be the most wonderful time of the year, or if the Cardinals will instead be having a blue Christmas.

Related posts:

1. Cardinals Are Not Dormant During Winter
2. Top 10 Free Agent Outfielders
3. A Starry July in St. Louis

The market for starting pitchers is perhaps the most interesting, and arguably the most important market heading into any offseason. While casual baseball fans were given a crash course on Type A and B free agents last year, as there were some very high-profile free agents leaving mid-budget teams, they received the most in-depth lesson from the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers entered the 2008 offseason with CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets both entering free agency.

But in both circumstances, the Brewers were forced to accept lesser compensation, none in the case of Sheets, as he didn’t sign a contract last year. Sabathia signed with the Yankees, who took a wholesale approach in an uncertain economy, locking up Sabathia, and fellow Type A free agents Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett. Teixeira ranked highest among Type A free agents, and rather than receiving the Yankees’ top pick, the Brewers had to settle for their second-rounder. Not many teams have the financial wherewithal to absorb three large, long-term contracts, receiving effectively a compensation discount, albeit one that came with a half-billion dollar price tag.

That wasn’t the only story last offseason. Reclamation projects like John Smoltz, Randy Wolf, Pedro Martinez, and Brady Penny littered the rumor mills, and each pitched to a varying degree of success in their attempt to reclaim past glory. All while a left-handed fire-baller, Oliver Perez, was paraded around the country with super-agent Scott Boras’ hyperbole leading to one of the largest contracts of the offseason.

That stated, as most of the reclamation projects of last year signed on year deals, and with a few additions to that list, starting pitchers will receive two categories: Low Risk and High Risk, in reference to their arms.

Low Risk

1. John Lackey, 31 years old

No surprise, almost every credible media outlet has Lackey atop their list of starting pitcher free agents. Lackey became famous for his World Series Game seven start in his rookie season. He’s since turned into a really good pitcher.

Lackey will come with a price tag likely higher than $100 million, and while he’s the best pitcher available, there are some signs of decline in his production. He hasn’t reached 200 innings in each of the past two seasons, and is on the wrong side of 30 years old.

2. Randy Wolf, 33 years old

One pitcher is 31 years old, one is 33 years old. One pitcher pitched 176.1 innings last season at a 3.83 ERA, the other pitched 214.1 innings at a 3.23 ERA last season. To avoid undue suspense, the better of the two was Wolf.

The two biggest things Wolf has going against him, apart from he and Lackey’s injury concerns, are that he’s pitched his whole career in the National League, which will cause concern for some American League GMs, and that he had his best season in some time, as he’s struggled in recent seasons. However, Wolf will likely sign a far shorter contract than Lackey, at a much lower annual salary.

3. Joel Pineiro, 31 years old

Pineiro comes from a long line of pitchers who owe their career-threatening injuries to former Mariners pitching coach Brian Price. Price coached several Mariners pitchers—now injury-prone pitchers—to throw sliders at higher frequency, and different, more detrimental sliders.

In Pineiro’s last season with the Mariners he threw his slider more than 20 percent of the time. He blew out his elbow, but has since revived his career. Last season he threw his fastball a career-high 71 percent of the time, and his slider 12.4 percent of the time, the lowest since 2003, when he pitched 211 innings at a 3.83 ERA. Pineiro learned a two-seam fastball that has allowed him to throw his fastball more often, and more effectively (Groundball percentage: a career-high 60.5 percent).

4. Vicente Padilla, 32 years old

The biggest concern with Padilla is his alleged poor clubhouse presence. However, he set the NL West on fire when he was picked up by the Dodgers, and has had a lot of success in the National League throughout a career that became productive in Philadelphia.

Padilla struggled before exiting the National League, and continued to struggle in Texas. Arlington has done-in better pitchers than Padilla, as it’s a hitter’s haven. As a Dodger though, he went 4-0 in 39.1 innings,  with a 3.20 ERA spread over eight appearances (seven starts), struck out 39 and had a 1.220 WHIP.

5. Jarrod Washburn, 35 years old

Washburn, with the help of perhaps the best defensive outfield in baseball, had an excellent first half. The same guy who the Mariners had tried to give away as the 2008 trade deadline approached suddenly had some value, and the team was able to acquire his essential clone in Luke French.

However, things went south for Washburn away from the pitcher-friendly confines of Safeco Field, and an outfield that included Ichiro Suzuki, Franklin Gutierrez and a combination of rangy left fielders. Buyers should beware of Washburn, but teams with large outfields and rangy outfielders may be able to recreate his first half success.

High Risk

1. Rich Harden, 28 years old

Apart from Aroldis Chapman, Harden is the youngest pitcher on this list. He’s a flame-thrower with a career K/9 ratio of 9.35. In the past two seasons, Harden has posted 11.01 and 10.91 K/9, respectively, in a combined 289 innings pitched and 51 starts.

The risk with Harden, however, is his propensity for injury. From 2006 to 2007, Harden pitched only 16 games at the major league level, starting 12. He averages less than six innings per start for his career, but has really struggled to reach the sixth inning the past two seasons. He pitches too cautiously in almost every outing, but his stuff makes him the free agent with by far the highest ceiling.

2. Brad Penny, 32 years old

Penny’s alleged “injury history” is far overblown. While he pitched only 19 games in 2008, he did so as a result of shoulder tendonitis, not structural damage. Furthermore, in 2009 Penny actually set a career-high for average fastball velocity (94.0 miles-per-hour).

Penny struggled at the start of 2009, then a member of the Boston Red Sox, but after his release he found success in San Francisco. The two home ballparks are fundamental opposites, and Penny’s skill set is much better in San Francisco or a ballpark similar to AT&T Park, than it is in Fenway.

3. Ben Sheets, 31 years old

Early in Sheets career, it appeared he was ready to be one of the league’s top workhorses. He pitched 200 or more innings in each of the three seasons after his rookie season, including a 2004 season when, were it not for the poor Brewers team he played on, Sheets could have made a strong argument for Cy Young Award candidacy (he finished eighth in the voting).

Injuries derailed his workhorse status. His most recent injury, a flexor tendon tear at the end of 2008, kept him out of the entire 2009 season. However, with almost a year-and-a-half off from pitching, Sheets figures to be at full capacity at some point in the 2010 season, as elbow injuries usually require a year of rehab for a return to the game, and another year to return to form.

4. Justin Duchscherer, 32 years old

At one point in 2008, Duchscherer and Cliff Lee were in a close race for the American League Cy Young Award. Duchscherer would suffer an injury, though remain effective, but Lee would go on to post one of the best seasons in history (only to be topped by Zach Greinke in 2009).

Duchscherer has become the “Oh Yeah, I remember him” guy, as several other injured pitchers litter the free agent market. However, Duchscherer was supposed to pitch in 2009, and would have were it not for his diagnosis of clinical depression. Duchscherer’s physical health is presumably adequate, but his mental health will play a large factor in his signing or lack thereof.

5. Aroldis Chapman, 22 years old

Chapman is arguably the most revered Cuban free agent to defect, and come to America since the Cuban Trade Embargo of 1962. He has an electric arm, reportedly reaching triple-digits with his fastball, and is developing off-speed pitches from the left-hand side.

However, Chapman’s contract may be too large for many teams, and many scouts question the impressive lefty’s mechanics. The real question regarding Chapman is this: When it comes to mechanically unsound lefties, is he Randy Johnson or Oliver Perez, and on the injury spectrum, is he Johan Santana or Francisco Liriano ?

Related posts:

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A Publication For Your Reading Enjoyment

by Charles Farrell

Acto Dignificado (Class Act) – Albert Pujols may have had a better year, and Alex Rodriguez capped off his season with a World Series Championship, but the face – as well as the heart and soul – of Dominican baseball belongs to Pedro Martinez.

He may have fallen short in his World Series appearance that ended with a title for Rodriguez & Company, but Pedro – no need for last names here – is a hero in the minds of most Dominicans who sank or swam on every pitch the 38-year-old legend tossed this year.  He started the season here in the Dominican Republic, tending garden with his mother and hoping to latch on with a team for one more shot at another ring.  That opportunity finally came late in the season when the Phillies offered him a roster spot and Pedro delivered five wins while displaying flashes of the brilliance that made him an eight-time All Star and three-time Cy Young winner.

His return to baseball was either endorsed or rejected in the Dominican Republic.  Many wanted to see him add to his status; others were fearful he would subtract from it.  The night he made his season debut I happened to glance out from my rooftop onto what is usually one of the busiest streets in Santo Domingo and it was virtually empty.  No need to guess why; everybody was on lock down to watch Pedro.

Pedro’s stats over his 13-year-career support that he is a fantastic pitcher, but what seems to truly set him apart is personality.  I met him once and he is one of those rare people in sports who has the charisma to go with his talent.  He was among a group of people, many of them baseball stars in their own right, but you could watch the crowd gravitate towards him, and the more attention paid, the more charming Pedro became.

Teammates talk about his ability to sing and joke in the clubhouse before a game, then take the mound with the seriousness of a surgeon about to undertake a delicate operation.  Perhaps it was fitting for him to be a central character once again on one of sports’ grandest stages – the World Series.

I am pretty sure Pedro is in the Dominican Republic right now, under a mango tree somewhere, reflecting on his amazing career, which may or may not be over.  He has always been someone who has remembered his humble beginnings and the fact that baseball liberated him, but did not erase the connection.  He has been generous with his time, energy and money in providing for the educational needs of many of the children in the Santo Domingo neighborhood where he grew up.

Whether or not he returns to baseball next year remains to be seen, but from my vantage point Pedro has not only had a Hall of Fame career, he has had a Hall of Fame life, at least to the people of the Dominican Republic.

At one point during the World Series, Pedro chastised a fan sitting in the front row with his daughter who was saying “all kinds of nasty things,” about the pitcher.  “I had to stop and tell him because I’m a father myself,” Martinez said. “God, how can you be so dumb to do those kinds of things in front of your child. What kind of example are you setting?”

The father need only look to Pedro for that example.

Acta Dignificado –  When Manny Acta was fired last July as the manager of the Washington Nationals, I lamented that it was sad to see him go, in particular because people of color are scarce in management positions in sports, and it is even rarer that they get a second chance to assume such positions.  But Acta has surfaced again, this time as manager of the Cleveland Indians.

New Indians Manager Manny Acta

I like to tell the story of how I met Acta in the Dominican Republic a year ago at a reception.  Not recognizing him, I asked if he was in baseball.  “Yes,” he said, “I am the manager of the Washington Nationals.”  He showed a wonderful sense of humor when I tried to cover myself by saying I didn’t recognize him because I usually saw him on TV in the dugout with his hat on.  He said, “Not likely; we don’t get on TV that much.  You only get on TV if you are real good, and we are not there yet.”

Now Acta gets a second shot at taking a bad team to glory and I am hoping he will fare better than he did with the Nationals.   It was reported that his communication skills are what impressed the Indians, who see the Dominican Republic native’s ability to relate with the team’s Latino players as a huge plus.

Related posts:

1. DRSEA INFORMER: Volume III, Issue 4, Section 1
2. MLB STUDIES DRSEA SUGGESTION TO FINGERPRINT DOMINICAN REPUBLIC BASEBALL PROSPECTS
3. DRSEA INFORMER: Home Court Advantage