Baseball notes post-May
2 months of the season is over. A lot has happened since I wrote last.
Let’s talk a little Red Sox. It was a pretty good month for them.
- First, congratulations to my favorite Red Sox player of all time, Manny Ramirez, who joined the 500-homer club on May 31 (and he didn’t quit there, hitting homers the next 2 days too). Manny Ramirez is the only player to sign a monster contract that has actually worked out beautifully. He has helped the Red Sox win 2 World Series titles (something ARod, Giambi, Bonds, and Beltran have not done). He has hit at least .292 for 14 straight seasons, and at least 100 RBI in 10 of the last 13 seasons. I dare you to find me someone else who has those 3 credentials.
- Congrats to Jon Lester for throwing the year’s first no-hitter. The Red Sox young pitchers take advantage of crappy opponents in slumps, as he did it against the Royals who then started a 12-game losing streak, and last year Clay Buchholz threw a no-no against the Orioles, a week after they lost 30-3. I liked what Charles Barkley said about it: “If it was against the Royals, it should only count as half a no-hitter.”
- And perhaps the best news of the month: the Red Sox finally cut Julian Tavarez, the worst pitcher ever. How he stayed with the Red Sox for so long, while his ERA rose 4 straight seasons, while the rest of the Red Sox pitching performed great, blows my mind. Maybe they just forgot that he was still on the roster.
Enough of the red. Let’s talk some pinstripes.
- Not the greatest month for the Yankees. They continue to wander around .500, unable to get more than a game up before losing a few in a row. When I arrived in Taiwan, home of Chien-Ming Wang, he was 6-0 in 7 starts. While I was there, he had four lousy games going 0-2, and he’s had 2 more bad games since. He’s been all over the place, walking at least 3 batters in his last 6 games, and giving up at least 5 runs in 4 straight games.
- Joba Chamberlain, my other favorite pitcher, made his long-anticipated starting debut on Tuesday. He only went 2.1 innings, but I don’t have a problem with that. He didn’t have the greatest control, walking 4 and throwing 60+ pitches, but that is somewhat to be expected. That was his pitch limit. He only gave up one run and left with a 2-1 lead. What bothers me is where is Joe Girardi’s mind? He gave Joba a pitch-limit and made no plans after that! His counterpart was Roy Halladay, the best pitcher in the American League, and he relieved Joba with a rookie in his first appearance of the year, Dan Giese, and followed him with Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, and LaTroy Hawkins. IF YOU KNOW YOUR STARTING PITCHER AIN’T GONNA LAST MORE THAN 3 INNINGS AND YOU ARE FACING A TOUGH PITCHER, WOULDN’T IT MAKE SENSE TO HAVE SOMEONE READY WHO IS CAPABLE TO GO 4 INNINGS? That was terrible managing by Girardi. He has yet to impress me.
- Speaking of Joe Girardi, I watched his impressive tirade a couple weeks ago when I was in Taiwan that got him tossed and suspended. Let me share what happened before that:
So the Yankees and Orioles were tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th with one on, one out. Baltimore’s Johnson threw an inside pitch that the ump said hit Giambi’s bat (foul tip) and the catcher held on for the strikeout, for the second out of the inning, and Girardi went bonkers. Here’s what really happened: the count was 1-2 to Giambi. The ball clearly did not touch the bat; it wasn’t even close! Consider that the pitch clearly was wild, way out of the strike zone and Giambi did not even think about swinging his bat. If the umpire calls it a ball, the count is 2-2 and we never talk about it again. Yet he calls it a foul tip, a strike! I could understand if the count was 3-1 or 1-0, but can you call the 2nd out of the bottom of the 9th with the winning run on base with that kind of play? You can’t make that call! It was one of the most rediculous calls I’ve seen all season. (But with Girardi out of the way, the Yankees scored two batters later and went on to win the next 3, too).
- The Yankees’ middle relief without Joba is dismal. They were the best in the league in April, but now they feature Kyle Farnsworth (a.k.a. Homerun Derby), LaTroy Hawkins (getting $3.75M even though he has been a bad reliever for 4 years in a row), Ross Ohlendorf (who? oh, the guy with the 5.67 ERA who pitches every other day), Jose Veras (4.50 ERA), and Edwar Ramirez (who actually was doing pretty good for the first two months). Then they keep calling up and sending down guys like Scott Patterson, Dan Giese, and Chris Britton…
- Around the rest of the league:
- Staying in the AL East, the Blue Jays went an impressive 20-10 in May, best in the American League.
- The worst team in the AL East is 1 game under .500. Best division in baseball.
- Surprises in the league: Cardinals (11 games over .500), Rays (10 over), Athletics (6 over), White Sox (6 over), Marlins (5 over), Mariners (18 games under .500), Rockies (16 under), Padres (13 under), Tigers (11 under).
- MVPs of first 1/3 of the season: Chase Utley (Phillies) and Josh Hamilton (Rockies).
