Joel Sherman's Hardball

Joel Sherman's Hardball

3UP: Jeter, Hughes and Francoeur

September 01, 2010 , ι By Joel Sherman

1. In today’s Post I wrote this column in which Alex Rodriguez said he does not believe his calf injury was about age and that he expects to be his regular self the rest of this season and for... Read on

1. In today’s Post I wrote this
	 columnin which Alex Rodriguez said he does not believe his calf injury was about age and that he expects to be his regular self the rest of this season and for seasons to come despite turning 35 in July.

The truth is that as much as A-Rod has seemed to diminish this year, it does not come near how much Derek Jeter has plummeted this season at age 36. If his name were not Derek Jeter, the Yanks would have definitely moved him to eighth or ninth in the lineup and possibly considered playing Eduardo Nunez at shortstop more.

But he is Derek Jeter, so his spot in the lineup is assured and there are still people talking about the oodles of money the Yanks should throw at him as a free agent after the season. Why? For services rendered? Just to make sure he gets his 3,000th hit as a Yankee? So nostalgia and milestones are now reasons to overpay?

Again it is all in the name. No other shortstop in baseball could turn 37 next year, have the kind of season Jeter is having this year and expect much more than a one-year, $7 million contract – if even that much. Of course the Yanks will give much more to Jeter and hope for a bounce back and hope that they can somehow keep winning with their shortstop and third basemen in their upper 30s.

In the short term, the Yanks will hope that the smell of October regenerates Jeter this season and also that Rodriguez is right – that he expects to play like his prime after he returns from the DL and a calf injury on Sunday.

If he does, the Yanks’ lineup will have a pretty fierce look again in the middle. Robinson Cano has played like an MVP and – amazingly considering his first few months – Mark Teixeira has worked his way into at least the discussion to finish in the MVP top 10. If Rodriguez is a force hitting between Teixeira and Cano, the Yanks are going to be even harder to handle offensively the rest of the way.

2. There has been a lot of talk about Javier Vazquez bouncing either A.J. Burnett or Dustin Moseley from the rotation. But I think it is more likely that he will make a start or two in place of Phil Hughes somewhere soon.

Hughes insisted last night that fatigue is not a factor in his sudden inability to have any precision with his fastball. However, in his last two starts Hughes has needed 200 pitches to record 26 outs as he consistently runs deep counts.

When I asked Hughes last night if he would even know what fatigue felt like as he pitches more in a major league season then he ever has, he insisted he would. But I am not sure. He is at 149 1-3 innings and it is possible that he could use at least a turn or two to rest for the last kick of the season.

What I do know for sure – and Hughes agrees – is that he must further develop his changeup. Hughes has a John Maine problem right now. He throws a four-seam fastball that is pretty true and he gets a ton of foul balls and that runs up his pitch count. When he is right, he will cut that fastball to keep hitters off balance and mix in his curve.

But he needs something softer to truly make hitters awkward and provide an extra weapon on a day when other parts of his arsenal are not there. Hughes worked on his changeup in spring, but he threw only, by his count, four yesterday. “I need it, but it is not like I can go to the bullpen between starts now and just get it down,” Hughes said. “I am still just 24. I want to keep getting better and better, and that is one way for me to do that (by adding the changeup).”

3. The Mets did a good job to trade Jeff Francoeur to save a bit of money and obtain a player in Joaquin Arias who could serve as a utility infielder for a while.

The scouting report on Arias is that he can run, make contact at the plate and that he is a good guy. He will show some skills that will make a team believe he can be more than a utilityman, but his inconsistency is persistent and is likely to keep him a career backup. He probably falls into a mode of Anderson Hernandez or perhaps even what Ruben Tejada will be if Tejada does not develop a stronger offensive game.

Francoeur was not going to be a Met next season and now I wonder if he can get regular work anywhere, considering his hack-at-anything offensive game. He could help his rep and future employment by playing well for the Rangers the rest of the way.

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(1) Comments

3UP: Vazquez, Burnett and Teixeira

August 31, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

1. In today’s Post I wrote this column about the how there is almost a horse race going on involving the Yankees rotation behind CC Sabathia. Who is up? Who is down? You really shouldn’t make... Read on

1. In today’s Post I wrote this
	 column about the how there is almost a horse race going on involving the Yankees rotation behind CC Sabathia. Who is up? Who is down? You really shouldn’t make decisions start to start. It is the kind of narrow window that causes an over-inflation of the value of any particular start. It is the ultimate in letting small sample size dictate thought process.
	 
However, the reality is that there is not much season left and there is plenty of intrigue – and concern – about how this Yankees rotation is going to set up for the remainder of this season and, they hope, the playoffs.
	 
In the last 15 Yankees games started by someone other than Sabathia, the Yankees have received fewer than five innings from their starter seven times. That has made it a blessing for the Yankees to be carrying three long relievers recently with Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre and rotation exile Javier Vazquez. And the Yankees will get further reinforcements when rosters can expand on Wednesday. I would think that Jonathan Albaladejo and Romulu Sanchez will both get summoned relatively quickly to deepen the pen.
	 
Still the short starts underscore the troubles within the rotation and why there is such volatility with every positive or negative showing.
	 
Clearly last night was a positive for Javier Vazquez, who in relief had good life and precision on his fastball over 4 2-3 innings. That enabled him to win for the 10th time this season. That gave Vazquez double-digit victories for the 11th straight year. That is the longest current streak. The next longest is 10 by Sabathia and the White Sox’s Mark Buehrle.
	 
2. The biggest culprit of the blow-up start by a Yankee – or anyone in the majors this year – is A.J. Burnett. As I also detailed in the column, Burnett has permitted six earned runs or more in nine starts this year, which is three more than the rest of the Yankees staff combined and three more than anyone else in the majors. Boston’s Josh Beckett and Cleveland’s Justin Masterson have each done it six times.
	 
Burnett has had this occur 14 times over the past two seasons, which also is three more times than anyone else. Scott Kazmir’s 11 are the second most.
	 
Think about it: In Burnett’s 59 Yankees starts, he has permitted six or more earned runs 14 times (The Yankees are 1-13 in those games). That means Burnett is blown out in nearly one out of every four starts: Fourteen times in 59 starts represents 23.7 percent of Burnett’s starts in which Burnett has all but given the Yankees no chance to win.
	 
And to think the Yankees have three more years – declining years at that – to live with Burnett.
	 
The Yankees want to convince themselves that they can still figure out a way to harness the Burnett who can overpower with high-end stuff. But that is not going to happen. He is a heartbreaker. With that great stuff, he is just 21-20 with a 4.52 ERA in two seasons with the Yankees. So Burnett is one game over .500 with the team that has by far the majors’ best record over the past two years.
	 
The more he pitches, the more Burnett reminds me of Hideki Irabu. It is easy to place Irabu in a joke bin and forget that his stuff was good enough to win AL Pitcher of the Month twice in his three Yankees seasons. But from 1997-99, another period when the Yankees had the best record in the majors, Irabu went 29-20 with a 4.80 ERA. He was never able to bring consistency to above-average stuff. Remind you of anyone?
	 
3. Mark Teixeira did not hit well over the first five weeks last year while Alex Rodriguez was recuperating from hip surgery. Did that keep him from winning the MVP? Probably not. That was probably more about Joe Mauer’s greatness. Teixeira finished second in the MVP vote. But if you were looking for blemishes on a tremendous first year as a Yankee, it was those first few weeks as he failed to have big shoulders at a point in the schedule when the Yankees needed him to have just that. He did not take off last season until A-Rod returned to the lineup to bat right behind Teixeira.
	 
In the 25 games Teixeira played last year before A-Rod’s return, he hit .198 with five homers and 15 RBIs. This season, however, he has excelled without Rodriguez, making it a little easier for the Yankees to survive without their cleanup hitter. Of course, he is benefitting from having a strong MVP candidate, Robinson Cano, hitting behind him when Rodriguez is absent. Still, Teixeira’s value is particularly accentuated when A-Rod has been gone.
	 
In the 20 games this year in which Teixeira has played and A-Rod has not, Teixeira is hitting .358 (24-for-67) with four homers, six doubles,10 RBIs, 10 walks and 22 runs. Teixeira endured another slow start even with Rodriguez around. But he again has been a gigantic asset for the Yankees.

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(0) Comments

3UP: Francoeur, Vazquez and Wood

August 25, 2010 , ι By Joel Sherman

1. In today’s Post I wrote this column suggesting the Mets need to turn fully toward 2011, which means a prospect in an outfield corner (Fernando Martinez, Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis or Sean... Read on

1. In today’s Post I wrote this
	 columnsuggesting the Mets need to turn fully toward 2011, which means a prospect in an outfield corner (Fernando Martinez, Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis or Sean Ratliff) and not Jeff Francoeur and Bobby Parnell as the primary closer.

I understand that the Mets are not mathematically eliminated. But they are one game over .500 with 37 to play. They are seven games back in the wild card. And, sure, it was not too long ago that the Phillies made up 7 1-2 games with 17 to play on the Mets. But those were the Phillies; does anyone believe these Mets are as talented or as mentally tough?

Also, the Mets might have passed the Marlins in the wild-card standings last night, but they are still fifth in those standings. So over the next five-plus weeks, they not only have to play seven games better than Philadelphia just to create a tie, but also five better than the Cardinals, two better than the Rockies and a half game better than the Dodgers.

It is not mission impossible, but it is mission incredibly, incredibly, incredibly improbable. They would probably have to go something like 27-10 to have a chance, and has anyone seen a reason to believe that this team could win 27 of its final 37?

That is why the Mets need to be realistic, mature and forward looking. And really we are talking about not playing Jeff Francoeur, who is on pace (at .284) to have the worst on-base percentage by a Met (400 plate appearances minimum) since Rey Ordonez in 1998. It is possible the Mets would win more in 2010 with an outfield in the outfield than someone with a .284 on-base percentage.

In addition, can anyone say that Bobby Parnell would not do a better job in the ninth inning than Hisanori Takahashi right now?

Conversely, the Mets could gather some valuable information in building toward the future.

Remember that they almost certainly will non-tender Francoeur after this season. So he is not going to be part of the 2011 team. Also, the way the Mets structured Takahashi’s contract so he can be a free agent after this season though he will have just one year of major league service time. Thus, he might not be back either.

As I point out in the column, Jerry Manuel will almost certainly not be back and Omar Minaya’s job security is also tenuous. Thus, the decision how to play these final five-plus weeks might have to come from people not fighting for their jobs. That would be the Wilpons. But are they mature enough to make a long-term decision rather than to chase a pipedream and a few extra fannies in the Citi Field seats?

2. The Yankees had to bump Javier Vazquez from the rotation. As I wrote in the blog yesterday, Ivan Nova’s positive debut start was going to put pressure on Vazquez to hold his rotation spot. I figured they would give Vazquez one more opportunity to make a case for himself. But the Yanks acted quickly and pulled Vazquez from the rotation now.

It is about lack of competitiveness. Vazquez’ fastball has fallen into mostly the mid-80 mph range and that has made him scared of his own stuff. He is pitching frightened, and you just cannot pitch frightened in the majors, especially not in the AL and in New York.
	 
However, the Yankee rotation is clearly compromised now. No Yankee fan likes 2004 ALCS comparisons. But ultimately the Yanks blew that three games to none lead against Boston for many reasons, but perhaps none bigger than that their rotation ran out of health, quality and/or gas. And one reason for that was that the Yanks lost faith in Javier Vazquez and had to put him into the bullpen (good news, Javy, Johnny Damon is not going to Boston to make this horror show déjà vu for you in even more real).

Now the Yanks are going to try to outdo Tampa for the AL East crown and preserve a six-game lead on the Red Sox for, at the least, a wild card with a rotation that is CC Sabathia and his heavy workload followed by all kinds of caution flags: Nova’s lack of experience, Dustin Moseley’s journeyman abilities, Phil Hughes’ approaching innings cap and homer tendencies, and A.J. Burnett’s untrustworthy nature.

Obviously, Boston is trying to catch up with its own set of problems, including a dubious Josh Beckett and a completely absent Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis.

But the Yanks are vulnerable now as they were in 2004 and it starts with the rotation, and it starts with Javy Vazquez.

3. When you get a reliever late in a season, it really does feel like a dice roll. Is he about to have his best or worst run of the season? The Yanks obtained Kerry Wood at a time in which he had a 6.30 ERA and was just coming off the DL.

But Wood now has a 0.77 ERA in 10 appearances for the Yanks. And he is scoreless in his last eight. That matches the third-longest streak of his career. He had a streak of 11 scoreless appearances in 2009 and 10 in 2008.

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(1) Comments

3UP: Mets manager, Nova, Bautista

August 24, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

1. In today’s Post I wrote about the Mets’ imminent managerial search. In the piece I noted that managers are generally over-valued. As I said in the column, a team’s amateur scouting director – the... Read on

1. In today’s Post I
	 wrote about the Mets’ imminent managerial search. In the piece I noted that managers are generally over-valued. As I said in the column, a team’s amateur scouting director – the person in charge of the draft – is way more valuable than a manager.
	 
Of course, there are a few managers who make a real difference over 162 games. But I am not positive that they impact every team equally and/or that their value is the same year to year. I have no doubt that Jim Leyland, for example, is a terrific manager. But he has had a ton of losing seasons and an overall losing record. Joe Torre failed in three previous stops before assuring himself the Hall of Fame with his tenure as the Yankee skipper.
	 
As I stated in the piece, it is more important to create a strong organization that has logical processes for every issue, including hiring a manager. That does not assure that every decision will work, merely that you will cover every angle and have a well-reasoned decision.
	 
For example, the Red Sox are viewed as a well-run organization. When they decided to replace Grady Little after the 2003 season, the Red Sox’s two finalists were Terry Francona and Joe Maddon, and the other candidate they were trying to get more interested in the job was Bud Black. Today all three are viewed as strong managers.
	 
In fact, Francona might be the best in the game. And who in 2003 would have seen a guy who mostly failed with the Phillies as the right candidate?
	 
So while the Mets will be motivated to get a name to replace Jerry Manuel, it is more important that they create a strong process and put themselves in position to find their Francona, if that person is out there. Can the Mets do this? I have my doubts. I don’t know if this ownership group has a good feel how to do a search, what questions to ask or even the ability to prioritize what they want in a manager. I do think, for example, that the next Mets manager needs many attributes, but that two that are very important are gravitas and shrewdness.
	 
The gravitas is needed to get the attention of a clubhouse that does need a higher level of purpose and professionalism. This does not mean the Mets need a yeller, just someone whose stature is understood when he walks into the room for the first time.
	 
The shrewdness is needed to handle ownership. Jeff Wilpon runs this team and the manager has to find a way over the course of the year to win on the 5-10 issues that are vital to him without losing the backing of ownership. It is a tightrope and only a person with a nimble mind can manage it.
	 
Who is that guy? I am not positive. But I will say this: There are an awful lot of folks out there that think Eric Wedge, who managed Cleveland from 2003-09, is good at getting the attention of players and has a nimble thought process.
	 
Ivan Nova was not overwhelming in his starting debut for the Yanks last night. But he was something that Javier Vazquez has not been for a while: Competitive.
	 
He did not appear awed facing the No. 1 homer hitting team in the majors on the road in the midst of a pennant race.
	 
For now Nova is allowing Joe Girardi to provide extra rest for the rotation and split up the untrustworthy duo of Vazquez and A.J. Burnett. But the Yanks have no commitment to Vazquez beyond this year and a powerful commitment to try to make the playoffs and do something once they get there.
	 
With that being the case, Vazquez is clearly on notice. I don’t think the Yanks will go with a six-man rotation until the end of the season. So if Nova pitches well in his next start and Vazquez again does not, then it is going to be hard to make a case that Vazquez should stay in the rotation.
	 
Vazquez has lost his fastball and his nerve, and the Yankees clearly bring out the worst in him. He has a 4.97 ERA as a Yankee. The only pitchers who have started 50 games for the Yanks with a worse mark are Andy Hawkins (5.21), Sterling Hitchcock (5.15), Tim Leary (5.12) and Kenny Rogers (5.11).
	 
Here is a bit of advice to the Yankees: Avoid the big power hitter on the other team, especially in the first games of series. The Yanks have lost three series openers in a row as Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera, Seattle’s Russell Branyan and now Toronto’s Jose Bautista have combined for five homers in those games.
	 
Cabrera wound up hitting four homers in the four-game series. Branyan hit three in a three-game series. Now Bautista has two to account for all three runs yesterday in a 3-2 Toronto triumph.
	 
Bautista’s game-deciding homer in the eighth ended a 19-appearance scoreless streak by David Robertson and also was the first homer he had allowed since giving up two on May 5. He had gone 166 batters without yielding a homer.

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(2) Comments

Red Sox claim Damon on waivers

August 23, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

The Red Sox have claimed Johnny Damon on waivers, but the Tigers outfielder must waive a no-trade clause to return to Boston.Damon, who helped the Red Sox to their history-making 2004 World... Read on

The Red Sox have claimed Johnny Damon on waivers, but the Tigers outfielder must waive a no-trade clause to return to Boston.
	 
Damon, who helped the Red Sox to their history-making 2004 World Championship, would help the Boston outfield, which is without injured Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury.
	 
Damon said before Monday night’s game against Kansas City that it’s one of the toughest decisions of his career.
	 
“Johnny is a good player. I am not sure what Johnny will do,’’ Joe Girardi said. “Johnny was part of a World Championship there and he seemed to be really appreciated by the fans.’’
	 
The Rays, who due to their place in the standings choose after the Red Sox, likely also would have had interest in the former Yankees outfielder.
	 
If Damon waives the no-trade clause, the Red Sox and Tigers have 48 hours to complete a deal. The Tigers also have the option of pulling him back or letting him go to the Red Sox on the waiver claim and get nothing back.
	 
Damon, who is hitting .270 with seven homers, is owed about $1.8 million of the $8 million he is being paid this season on a one-year deal he signed with the Tigers after he and the Yankees couldn’t agree on a deal last winter when he was a free agent.
	 
Damon's pennant-race experience is attractive to the Red Sox, who trail the Rays by 5 1/2 games for the AL Wild Card.
	 
Last offseason, Damon said he wouldn't consider playing again for the Red Sox because of how bad it was to leave Boston for the Yankees in 2006.
	 
With George A. King III; AP

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(13) Comments

3UP: Cano, Montero, Wood/Kearns

August 23, 2010 , ι By Joel Sherman

1. In today’s Post, I wrote this column about Robinson Cano’s MVP push. Cano is clearly in the conversation for the award with just more than a month to go, yet there is little spirited response for... Read on

1. In today’s Post, I wrote this
	 columnabout Robinson Cano’s MVP push. Cano is clearly in the conversation for the award with just more than a month to go, yet there is little spirited response for him from the home crowd. At this point, you would expect the call from the stands at Yankee Stadium to be filled with “MVP, MVP” when Cano shines. But throughout Cano’s tour de force on Sunday, there was no such fervor. Maybe it was the rain. Or maybe it is the continuing diminishment of passion in the Stadium crowd since the move to the new building last year.

In the game, Cano had two hits with the bases loaded and both provided snapshots of Cano’s growth as a hitter.

In the fifth inning, the Yankees led just 1-0. The clouds were threatening and the potential for a rain-shortened game was very real. So the Yanks felt pressure to open the lead and avoid the possibility of Seattle sneaking across a few runs, the rain coming hard and the Mariners winning a rain-shortened game.

But the Yanks had mostly been swinging early in the count against Luke French, which did not make much sense since French is not much of a strikeout pitcher. In his first two-bats, Derek Jeter had swung on the first pitch, delivering a single in the opening inning and a flyout in the second. In the fifth, he never moved the bat, walking on four pitches with one out.

Nick Swisher followed with a fly toward the wall in right. Ichiro Suzuki had enough time to camp near the wall and catch the ball. Instead, he decided to apply style over substance, and attempt a graceful leaping catch as he contacted the wall. However, Ichiro dropped the ball. This is the downside of Suzuki, which is too often on display, especially when the Mariners are not contending: He is playing the game to please and entertain himself.

That misplay left runners on second and third. Mark Teixeira was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up the potential for an inning-ending double play.

Teixeira had been intentionally walked three times this year. On two of those occasions, Alex Rodriguez responded with a grand slam. But A-Rod was on the DL now, and so this was Cano’s at-bat. To that point he had produced two poor at-bats. In the first, he struck out – French’s only whiff. And in the third, he grounded into a double play.

But Cano did not let those two poor efforts rob his confidence or aggressiveness. French’s first offering was up and Cano did not let it pass, hammering it to right. This time Ichiro took one step, recognized the futility of a chase and watched the ball sail into the right-field seats. That gave Cano not only a career-high-tying 25 homers, but also 13 against lefties. Only Albert Pujols, a righty hitter, has more in the majors with 14.

In the sixth, Cano came up with the sacks full, two outs and the Yanks up 6-0. Chris Seddon got ahead 0-2. There were times in the not-too-distant pass that Cano would have expanded his zone in such a spot. But Seddon nibbled and Cano stayed discipline, running the count full. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, he unloaded a line single to right that drove home two runs, giving a career-best six RBIs on the game.

It was an MVP day, even if the crowd never really acknowledged it.

2. The Yanks are planning to bring up pitchers Jonathan Albaladejo and Romulu Sanchez plus Juan Miranda when rosters expand on Sept. 1 or soon after. Colin Curtis also will probably get a return engagement.

You could see in Sunday’s game why the Yanks would like to expand the number of pitchers on their roster. They led huge late. But because they had used Chad Gaudin on both Friday and Saturday and because Sergio Mitre had been used for three innings on Thursday and the Yanks wanted him to be available in long relief tonight behind Ivan Nova in Toronto, they didn’t really have a long reliever. That moved the Yanks to have to use Kerry Wood and Joba Chamberlain to tag-team the final nine outs of a blow out.

But beyond the pitching depth, the most intriguing expanded roster question remains: Whether to summon Jesus Montero or not. At present, the Yanks do not appear likely to do that. There are several reasons, but among the most prominent is that Montero will not be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this coming offseason, which means he does not yet need to be moved to the 40-man roster. So the Yanks would prefer to leave that 40-man roster spot open to protect someone else.

However, there is a faction in the organization that feels one spot on the 40-man roster is a worthwhile sacrifice to make to get Montero on the team down the stretch. That group thinks Montero’s bat could help the team win and that the organization’s top prospect would get valuable experience being around a team fighting for the playoffs.

After a slow start, Montero has gone on a tear that has his average up to .285 with 16 homers and 60 RBIs.

Keep in mind that the Yankees have just two catchers – Jorge Posada and Francisco Cervelli – on the 40-man roster. So the team would have to make a spot for someone such as Chad Moeller anyway to carry a third catcher for September. Of course, they would just release Moeller at the end of the year and still have the 40-man roster spot.

3. So far the two trades the Yankees made before the July 31 deadline with Cleveland for Kerry Wood and Austin Kearns are working out very well. So, well, in fact that you could imagine the Yanks considering trying to sign both back as free agents after the season.

Wood has run off seven straight scoreless appearances and has deepened Joe Girardi’s pen. The Yanks have also been impressed with what a baseball gym rat Wood is; early to arrive, among the last to leave, clearly loving being in a pennant race.

His injury history is always a worry. But if he is willing to accept not being a closer, not receiving more than a one-year contract and getting just good, but not great money (think $3 million), then I can imagine the Yanks wanting the veteran righty back next year. It gives the team an option to close if anything were to happen to Mariano Rivera while also lessening the dependence on Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson. And the fact that Chamberlain and Robertson are around means the Yanks have the depth when the inevitable DL stint were to come for Wood. However, their bad experience this year with the injury-prone Nick Johnson could keep the Yanks from again dabbling with anyone who is hurt often.

Kearns has given the Yanks a righty hitter whom they trust to put in the outfield – something they lost faith with on Marcus Thames. Kearns also has been a tough out.

The Yankee outfield next year – barring trade – again projects to lean left with Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. So if Kearns were willing to return for, say, $1 million, there would be a job and about 200-250 plate appearances available in 2011.

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(4) Comments

3UP: Clemens, Mets Strategy, O'Day

August 20, 2010 , ι By Joel Sherman

1. I am not a moralist when it comes to steroid use in sports. I don’t condone it. I just think I understand it. Players are always looking for an edge, even if it means a short-cut, and steroids promised an edge. Once a few players began taking the other players had a devilish decision: They could stand on principle, but that meant they might be standing outside the sport, bounced because they no longer could keep up. Or maybe great players decided they did not want to be ordinary and felt compelled to take just to keep their natural advantage. Or there was money to be made and the shortest distance to a huge paycheck involved a needle. Or players were from impoverished countries where the laws were/are loose on such substances and the promise of a better life for a family was too strong.

Again, I don’t condone any of it. But I think I see the paths that led athletes into usage. I think a significant majority of players for a large chunk of years, at the least, experimented or dabbled. This was not limited to Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Roger Clemens.

So the crime was never going to get anybody in real trouble. Only the coverup. And that is where Clemens is right now. He was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday for allegedly lying to Congress. I don’t know enough about the legal process to offer insight if Clemens will go to jail or really even if he should. If the prisons really are overcrowded then sending a baseball player to prison for lying about his steroid use seems excessive.

Anyway, I think this latest negative turn in Clemens’ life is a pretty strong punishment. Clemens had created imagery in his mind, late in his career, of himself as an American hero. He imagined being an icon and a dignitary in his post-career life, moving from one standing ovation to the next. He envisioned a life of freebies and honors and continuing to get beyond the velvet ropes that blocked out the rest of the world. Few players I have been around hungered for the adoration more. Few players I have ever been around craved the social aspects of the game.

So this may not be enough to some, but know that Clemens already is in a prison, cordoned off from the life that he had worked so hard to craft. These indictments promise more of the isolation, drive him further away from acceptance of a welcome mat back into the game. Bonds was anti-social, so his distance from the game might be painful, but nowhere near what Clemens is enduring.

Obviously, going to actual prison would be a far worse punishment than Clemens is suffering now. But if seeing him suffer is what people want, then they should know: He is suffering. He is already in a version of solitary confinement.

2. The Mets make very few decisions that I understand. Two weeks ago, they committed to seeing what they had for the future by promoting Fernando Martinez and moving in a stronger way toward having Josh Thole be the primary catcher down the stretch.

Two weeks later they are even further removed from some pipedream chance to reach the playoffs. And yet they activated Rod Barajas, which means the club now has three catchers active and, thus, potentially less playing time for Thole. And to make room for Barajas they sent down Martinez.

Does this mean they already have given up on Thole and Martinez holding prominent roles in 2011 and beyond? Even if they have, the Mets have to know that Barajas and Jeff Francoeur will not be part of the team next year. So why give them more playing time? Are they showcasing them for a trade before Aug. 31? That would seem doubtful since it is hard to imagine that other clubs are clamoring for their free-swinging services.

Yes, Sept. 1 is less than two weeks away so the Mets could bring Martinez back then. But they have signaled to the rest of the sport, yet again, that they think less of Martinez than their public proclamations. Remember actions carry a stronger message than words; and the latest Mets action is to clear playing time for Francoeur.

I can understand Jerry Manuel wanting to put the veterans on the field. He is desperately trying to save a job that probably cannot be saved. But a manager does not option players back to the minors. That is an order from above. So what exactly are the Mets’ priorities, right now? Or are the Mets showing they have no priorities, only ideas that come to their mind day by day?

3. You know, right about now, with Francisco Rodriguez out for the season and the Mets potentially looking for his replacement if they could get his contract voided, it sure would be nice if they had a reliever with the second-lowest ERA in the majors since the beginning of last season. What?

They began last year with just that guy. And, come on, they lost him by having to take him off the roster in April 2009 to get, who, Nelson Figueroa on the roster? That can be true, right?

Yep, all true. Mariano Rivera has the majors’ best ERA since the beginning of last season (minimum 100 appearances) with at 1.46. The second-best total belongs to Darren O’Day of the Rangers at 1.67. Not to torture Mets fans further, but the fifth-best total belongs to Heath Bell (2.34), another pitcher the Mets essentially got no return on. Pitching in the AL in a small ballpark, O’Day has yielded just four homers in 107 2-3 innings – and just one in 173 at-bats this season.

O’Day has allowed a .201 average in that time frame (K-Rod’s is .208). It might be that O’Day is really just a side-arming righty specialist (.174 vs. righties, .259 vs. lefties this year), but even if he is just a latter-day version of Jeff Nelson that would be something helpful to any pen – including that of the Mets.

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(19) Comments

3UP: K-Rod, Pedroia and Sabathia

August 18, 2010 , ι By Joel Sherman

1. Consider the Mets’ current action against Francisco Rodriguez as one part theater and one part pipedream as detailed in this story. The organization – as it so often does – had a tin ear for how... Read on

1. Consider the Mets’ current action against Francisco Rodriguez as one part theater and one part pipedream as detailed in this
	 story.

The organization – as it so often does – had a tin ear for how to act in real time after Rodriguez was arrested for allegedly beating up the grandfather of his children on Aug. 11 at Citi Field. The initial reaction was essentially leniency. Jerry Manuel wanted to pitch him in the immediate aftermath of the incident, Omar Minaya expressed no regrets about signing the out-of-control closer and – despite the spin now – ownership did nothing of substance initially to fight for a penalty greater than what Rodriguez received: A non-paid suspension of two days.

But, as always, hostages to public/media reaction, the Mets saw that the prevailing sense was that they were not stern enough. So once it was learned that K-Rod – according to the Mets – tore ligaments in his thumb during the altercation, the organization saw the opening to retrospectively get tough. And they did yesterday announcing that they were putting Rodriguez on the Disqualified List and converting his contract from guaranteed to non-guaranteed, both of which are done to signal that they want to void the remainder of his contract, a total that could reach $33 million if an easily attainable vesting option for $17.5 million were to kick in for the 2012 season.

This is where the pipedream comes into play. The move is rather unprecedented and – if experts in the field are correct – unlikely to succeed on the harshest terms. It is more probable that the Mets’ best shot to recoup some money would come from going after K-Rod’s salary while he cannot render services due to the injury. That could still be negotiated with K-Rod and the union before this reaches an arbitrator.

Even yesterday on a conference call with Jeff Wilpon, Minaya and general counsel David Cohen, the Mets had a bit of a mixed message. Wilpon was rather cold in discussing the Mets’ decision while Minaya sounded more forgiving, more willing to let K-Rod back next spring if healthy. Minaya is just not good at playing the heavy.

My suspicion is that an arbitrator would see this more as the Mets wanting to rescind a now-ugly contract rather than being truly morally outraged. Yet what do the Mets have to lose by going for it now. Yes, they were late – as usual – to finding a path. Yes – as usual – they were too sensitive to what was being demanded by the media and fans.

But, in the end, it probably is fine that they are showing this belated toughness. At some point, Mets ownership needs to deflate the sense of leniency it has toward its players. It is one thing to be convivial or to provide all that is possible so that players are mentally and physically prepared to play. But Mets players – for way too long – have felt an outsized sense of entitlement. It comes up, for example, with non-entities such as Luis Castillo and Jeff Francoeur feel privileged enough to demand trades without the leadership of the organization reading them the riot act.

That is why the Mets should not worry about K-Rod’s feelings now, even with the strong likelihood that he will be their closer again next season. At this point the embarrassment has run one way, with Rodriguez humiliating the Mets with his bad acts. Late as it may be, it is time for the Mets ownership to re-establish who is in charge of the organization.

2. Three vital second basemen returned to major league action last night: Boston’s Dustin Pedroia, Philadelphia’s Chase Utley and Atlanta’s Martin Prado. In the case of Prado, he was switched to third base to cover for Chipper Jones, who is now out for the year.

Specifically in the cases of Pedroia and Utley, the returns have an importance beyond the obvious production. Their every-pitch passion and seriousness often serves as the engine and conscience of the teams.

At the moment Pedroia and Utley returned, the Red Sox and Phillies were not playoff teams. But they had both done a lot to hang around during the key injuries and are both now positioned for strong runs.

There is a quarter of a season left and Boston sure looks like a team that is going to win 95 games. That means the Yanks better figure out a way to win that much, at the least, if they are going to reach the playoffs.

3. CC Sabathia carried an incredible burden last postseason. The Yanks went with just three starters and leaned, in particular, on their No. 1 starter. Sabathia aced that test.

Now the Yanks are leaning more than ever on Sabathia. It essentially feels like they must win every one of his starts because of the uncertainty around him in the rotation. Andy Pettitte has regressed with his injured groin and now the Yanks will be fortunate to get him back this season.

A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez are frustrating and untrustworthy, Phil Hughes is incurring the growing pains of a first full season as a major league starter and Dustin Moseley is a journeyman in the audition of a lifetime.

Since the beginning of June, Sabathia is 12-2 with a 2.45 ERA and the Yankees have won 13 of his 15 starts. Sabathia’s price for the Yankees was the most expensive pitcher ever. You would have to say to this point that he has been worth every penny.

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(4) Comments

3UP: K-Rod, Cano and Niese

August 17, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

1. The Mets are making noise about possibly trying to void Francisco Rodriguez’s contract after it was learned he had a torn thumb ligament that, the team claimed, he injured in his altercation with... Read on

I would be surprised if the Mets were successful in getting the contract voided. First, teams have not had much success in penalizing players involved in domestic issues. Second, though, was the Mets own behavior in the immediate aftermath of Rodriguez’s attack on the grandfather of his children last week.

That occurred on Wednesday. On Thursday, Jerry Manuel hardly sounded like a man who no longer wanted to associate with Rodriguez. Quite the contrary. With his closer still in police custody and his initial suspension not yet announced, Manuel said he would use K-Rod that day.

On Friday, GM Omar Minaya not only showed no indications he wanted to disassociate with Rodriguez, he insisted he was happy that he had signed the closer. He also called Rodriguez’s transgression a “mistake” and likened it to what occurs with all players on a team over time.

And despite what hard stance it might be trying to portray now, ownership did not initially seek through the proper channels a harsh penalty and/or seek to file a grievance to try to void Rodriguez’s contract.

If an arbitrator ever gets to look at this case, my suspicion is that he will realize that the Mets would want to get rid of K-Rod specifically because they want to get out of his contract, particularly the poison pill of a very attainable vesting option for $17.5 million in 2012. There is nothing in their initial reactions to suggest the organization was appalled by Rodriguez’s behavior and wanted to get out of the contract.

What is more likely to occur is the Mets will go after Rodriguez’s salary for the period that he cannot play due to an injury that they claim was caused during his altercation. That would seem to be a much more winnable case.

2. The Yankees are reeling right now. They are a tired marathoner at mile 21, looking for a finish line that is close, but not yet in sight. They are vulnerable, right now. They are not playing well, coping with injury, dealing with the age-related decline of key components. The Rays have tied them for first place and the Red Sox get Dustin Pedroia back tonight to see if they can make a late run into a playoff spot.

It is moments like these that accentuate an MVP candidacy. And the Yanks truly need for Robinson Cano to go on the kind of kick right now that moves him from a strong contender to the frontrunner, something that bumps him ahead of the current leading man, Texas’ Josh Hamilton.

Cano already is having his best season, already is in the conversation for MVP. But August has not been kind to him so far. He is hitting .231 this month with no homers and two RBIs. His average is down to .322, the lowest it has been on any date this year.

Why do we pick Cano to play the role of hero for the Yanks? Because he is a special player in his prime, something that is hard to find with other Yankee position players. Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez and Lance Berkman have their best seasons disappearing in the rearview mirror. Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner are supplementary pieces.

Cano, still two months shy of his 28th birthday, is in his prime. A-Rod is hurting, and so are Swisher and Berkman. Jeter and Posada are fumes of their former selves.

Only Cano and Mark Teixeira fit the criteria of special Yankees in their prime. And this has looked like Cano’s year. The Yankees sure need it to be that.

3. Jonathon Niese has put together three straight starts of seven innings and one run. Amazingly, he does not have a win (or a loss) in any of those games. And the Mets have only won one of those games, last night’s tilt in Houston.

But in the bigger picture this run by Niese is encouraging because of when it is occurring, late in the season. Yes, Niese missed a month earlier in the season. Still, he is at 133 innings and pitching wonderfully. That bodes well for his future.

The Mets have a lot of issues to address if they want to become a permanent contender. But Niese is not one of them.

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(2) Comments

3UP: Beltran, Yankees 'pen and Age

August 16, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

1. In Sunday’s Post I wrote this Hardball column on how difficult the puzzle already is to turn the 2011 Mets into strong contenders. Much of that has to do with spending money poorly at a time when... Read on

1. In Sunday’s Post I wrote this Hardball
	 column on how difficult the puzzle already is to turn the 2011 Mets into strong contenders. Much of that has to do with spending money poorly at a time when the edict will probably come down from the Wilpons to further cut payroll.

I noted that in Jason Bay, Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez and Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets have five of the hardest-to-move contracts in the majors, and they are worth about $69 million next season alone. The truth is that the three years at $77.5 million owed to Johan Santana is just about unmovable, as well – unless the Mets take back a bad contract and/or eat substantial dollars. But, at least, Santana is performing like an ace for the Mets.

When it comes to Castillo and Perez, the Mets are going to almost certainly face what the Phillies did in recent years with Adam Eaton and Geoff Jenkins: They are going to have players that performed terribly on multi-year contracts and need to be released to better use the roster spot. The Phillies did that once Eaton and Jenkins reached the final year of their contracts. Mets ownership hates to ever swallow money, but it must realize these are a) sunk costs now and b) hurting the spirit and the structure of the team by keeping Castillo and Perez around. Once the Mets learn again in the offseason that they cannot trade these players, then they simply need to release Castillo/Perez before spring training.

The real killer, at this moment, comes with Beltran. He has one year at $18.5 million left in 2011. The Mets badly needed him to play well over the last portion of this season. They never would have been able to trade the whole contract without taking a contract back and/or eating some dollars. But any money saved and/or prospects returned would have provided a favorable outcome. In Angel Pagan, the Mets have a superior defender with offensive upside ready to take over at reasonable dollars. Plus, Beltran clearly does not want to be a Met any more. He came because the Mets offered the most money, but the relationship completely dissolved last offseason with the public fight over his knee surgery. So I am reasonably certain that Beltran would have waived his no-trade rights to get away from the Mets.

But in his first 111 plate appearances back, Beltran is hitting .219 with one homer. Maybe he could still turn it on in the final 45 games. But even then, there has to be concern about what he has left after serious knee problems and with his 34th birthday coming in April. Is he still an outfielder? Just a DH? It would be very hard for an NL team to risk obtaining him. And if he is viewed as just as DH, well, that market has crashed with players such as Vlad Guerrero, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui all having to sign contracts last offseason for one year at well under $10 million.

So are the Mets going to be willing to eat $10 million of Beltran’s contract to facilitate a trade? And is Beltran ever going to play well enough to warrant someone even going through the trouble of trying to obtain him?

2. A.J. Burnett’s second complete game as a Yankee gave the Yankee bullpen the day off yesterday. But in the nine games before that, the pen had pitched a total of 28 innings, permitted 14 hits and yielded just one run – amazingly against Mariano Rivera.

David Robertson has shaken off early season difficulties. Kerry Wood has been a useful addition. Joba Chamberlain has smoothed out some mechanics to sustain a strong run. And Boone Logan has become a very useful lefty component. The Yanks also hope to get back Alfredo Aceves and Damaso Marte.

Do you believe in this group? Or do you think this is a blip?

Because you can see how vital this group could be not only the rest of the season, but in the playoffs if the Yankees make it. Aside from CC Sabathia, the Yanks cannot feel strongly about any starter they have come October, especially if Andy Pettitte’s injury setback keeps him from being part of a postseason rotation.

It could be that the Yanks will have to go the bullpen early and often to win. This model was somewhat in effect in 1996. The team did not have a powerhouse rotation with David Cone coming back from aneurysm surgery, Pettitte just in his second season, Jimmy Key in the aging role then that Pettitte is now and Kenny Rogers being some combination of Javier Vazquez and Burnett.

The Yanks won because their pen – particularly a set-up man named Mo Rivera – was so special that October.

It may have to be again this year if the Yanks are going to survive a postseason.

3. The Yanks lead the Rays by one game in the AL East. They obviously want to win the division and get home-field advantage in the first round. In fact, the team that wins the division is likely to have the best record in the AL and home-field for both rounds of the AL playoffs if it survives.

At 35-25, the Yanks have the best road record in the AL. So they will not be horrified to try to win away from home. But they have many older, key players and it is easier to keep bodies fresh staying more often at home.

Maybe the playoffs will energize bodies with adrenaline or maybe older bodies will be even more tired after so many games. I did take a look at the last game of road trips as a way of seeing what happens when bodies are at the most exhausted. The Yanks are 4-5 on the final game of a road trip. But as the season has gone on the results have been worse. They are just 2-5 at the end of their last seven trips and they were shutout in three of the five losses.

PRINT
EMAIL
SHARE
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Digg
- Reddit
- Fark It
- Newsvine
- StumbleUpon
- Twitter
- Facebook
RSS

Post Your Comments ⁄

(6) Comments

↑ Back to Top

Viewing Page: 1 of 50

Next >

Subscribe to this Blog

About the Author

JOEL SHERMAN Joel Sherman has been at the Post since 1989, serving as Yankees beat writer from 1989-95 and baseball columnist since 1996. His Hardball blog won a 2008 Best Sports Blog honor from the Associated Press Managing Editors Association. Joel’s books include "Birth of a Dynasty, Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees." He served as a weekly baseball analyst on New York 1 from 2000-05, was a regular contributor on the MSG Network from 2000-08, and was part of the My 9 Yankees postgame show for the past two seasons. He graduated from NYU in 1985. Columnist Archives