Just a general wrap-up of some baseball related items and opinions on such.
The Yankees envision Joba Chamberlain as a starter and they are eager to see what his blazing fastball and electric slider can do as part of their rotation. But the Bombers also are concerned about how many innings the 22-year-old will throw next season, so Chamberlain may start the year in the bullpen.I’m am still trying to figure out what it is exactly that the Yankees are thinking. Great closers aren’t born, they’re made!
I was a Yankee fan throughout the 80’s and into the mid-90’s. Throughout that time I can remember biting my nails on an almost daily basis. See for a lot of that time I suffered through Dave Righetti. Dave Righetti while a fine pitcher had the kind of nail biting consistency as a closer that left you on the edge of your seat because you never knew just what you were going to get when he trotted in from the bullpen.
I think today’s Yankee fans are a bit spoiled having had Mariano Rivera around for the last decade and while he just signed for another three years, the sad thing about closers is that when they lose it, it isn’t a gradual thing as much as something that happens overnight. One day a pitcher can be a dominant closer and the next he could have lost just enough off his stuff to make him hittable.
In between Righette and Mariano, the Yankees had Steve Farr (who was an improvement over Righetti) and John Wetteland. Wetteland took a then rookie Mariano Rivera under his wing and showed him the ins and outs of what it was to be a dominant closer.
One of the good things about the Yankees last season was watching Joba Chamberlain come into his own and true students of the game could see something special in his makeup. Why then wouldn’t you have Joba be schooled in the ways of closing by one of the most successful closers in the game? By the time Mariano makes it to the third year of his contract he will be, well for all intents and purposes, three years older? Why wouldn’t you take advantage of that and have him train his successor?
If you think I’m being a bit ridiculous, let me trot out some names for the Yankee fan to rollover in their minds. Names of guys who tried but couldn’t ever really achieve what the Yankees were looking for: Jay Howell, Brian Fisher, Rich Bordi, Cecilio Guante, Tim Stoddard, Pat Clements, Lance McCullers, Dale Mohorcic, Lee Gutterman, Jeff Robinson, Greg Cadaret, Steve Howe, John Habyan, Xavier Hernandez.
If the litany of names doesn’t send chills down your spine, just remember what problems the Yankees have had just over the last five years or so filling out their bullpen. Jobe is your heir-apparent, bite the bullet and start the learning process now.
A really sad, sad story about a guy who is going to jail:
The mystique of the once high-flying Yankee was finally shattered during an alleged drunken-driving accident in Fort Lauderdale. He now appears destined to be remembered for a much more sinister act: blowing a red light and slamming into another SUV - killing a young mother.As much as you can love Leyritz for his hard nosed style of play, he was known for rubbing his teammates the wrong way (he was traded rumor had it because of being a disruptive force in the clubhouse). It’s sad to see he threw it all away. In the tradition of many beloved New York ballplayers (Backman? Gooden? Strawberry? Dykstra? Martin?).
Never going to be the player we hoped?
Mets fans (myself included) had to groan a bit when hearing this tidbit. In what has proved to be a lackluster off-season this just added to the misery:
“He tweaked his hamstring, a slight pull, and he banged up his ankle,” said a baseball official familiar with the injury who requested anonymity. “But he’s fine. It should not impact him being ready at all.”Makes me think holding back one of those young outfielders from any potential deal with the Twins becomes even more important (especially if you are counting on Moises Alou to be an everyday left fielder).
A study in contrasts?
“There has been absolutely no change in Roger’s willingness and indeed desire to testify under oath before Congress in a public hearing at a date of the Oversight Committee's choosing,” Hardin said in a statement. “Any suggestion that he or we are having any second thoughts about that is absolutely false. All other pre-appearance issues and scheduling we will discuss privately with the committee and do not think it is appropriate to discuss those matters publicly.”What‘s amazing in all of this is the louder Roger Clemens protests his innocence, the more people disbelieve him. In the meantime, Andy Pettite came out and admitted what he did, apologized and has moved on. Well, maybe I should qualify that, it’s probably not a dead issue for Pettite but, at the very least he isn’t in the paper everyday and I think if you asked most fans they are ready to forgive Pettite and move on.
Omar, are you listening?
Seattle continues to be the front-runner for Erik Bedard, though it’s baffling to this reporter why the Orioles would want to deal him. The Mariners are willing to give up center field prospect Adam Jones and possibly young shortstop Carlos Triunfel or pitcher Chris Tillman. They have other chips, including catcher Jeff Clement, and would love to make the deal without including Brandon Morrow. Don’t count the Reds out, either.The trade Omar Minaya should be exploring, is one for Baltimore’s Bedard. Aside from the fact Bedard is an additional year away from free agency over Minnesota’s Santana, everyone in baseball knows Minaya has to pull the trigger on some kind of deal. At the very least he should play the Orioles off against the Twins (or vice a versa). The only thing I buyer has as leverage is to shop at the store down the street, if Minaya doesn’t show he is actively pursuing other avenues to get a top of the line starting pitcher, he allows the other club a superior position in negotiations. Wake up Omar!
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