Category: MLB (Page 237 of 448)

      Citifield and the new Yankee Stadium are expensive. Plus, a ballpark is a place for baseball

      April 19, 2009 /

      http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/images/2009/04/16/FapduTOb.jpg

      Sports Illustrated’s Norman Chad has a new column up about New York’s new ballparks:

      New York, the most sophisticated sports town in Sports Nation, brings us two spectacularly expensive new stadiums this month — rent-free and property tax-free for the Mets and the Yankees — largely subsidized by public money on city-owned land.

      The Mets’ new Citi Field, a.k.a. Belly-Up Ballpark, cost $850 million.

      The new Yankee Stadium — boy, that old Yankee Stadium was a real stinker, eh? — cost $1.5 billion.

      Amazingly, in a city faced with myriad budget problems, the Mets and the Yankees not only successfully solicited public financing, both clubs came back with their hand out a second time — and got more money.

      Schools? No money.

      Subway? No money.

      Stadiums? How much do you need? Thank you sir, may I have another.

      Sports fans have been faced with a lot of stadium changes in recent years. I for one never got a chance to see a game in Tigers Stadium, but rather enjoyed the spacious Comerica Park (I even rode the carousel once!). It’s great to be able to go into some of the nation’s new sports arenas and let yourself be distracted by all the glitzy new opportunities to forget that the reason you came there was to watch sports.

      The onus of blame too, is not even on the owners of teams like the Yankees, Mets, and anybody else looking to cash in on public money. They’re greedy. Surprise, surprise. Why wouldn’t they be? They’re running a business. The politicians with the power to stop or confound their attempts to exploit the public are the people that it is necessary to get angry at.

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      General Sports, MLB, News

      Randy Johnson pitches no-hitter through seven

      April 19, 2009 /

      Today we got more proof of the beauty behind an athlete’s battle against time. Last week, I wrote about Tom Glavine and a shoulder injury which may end his 22 year career. On the other side of the coin, there’s news today about an even older pitcher still getting the job done. As reported on Yahoo! Sports:

      Johnson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against his former team, and the San Francisco Giants held on to beat the Diamondbacks 2-0 on Sunday.

      “Sometimes you have to put blinders on when it comes to certain teams,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to pitch well. It’s nice to go out there and feel like I’m contributing after the last two starts.”

      Johnson, who allowed one hit in seven innings, was perfect through four. He faced the minimum through six and stranded Augie Ojeda at third base after the shortstop doubled to open the seventh.

      A no-hitter through seven is nothing to scoff at, even if it did happen against a team not especially known for their hitting. It’ll be interesting to see how the now 1-2 record of Johnson grows, and how soon it’ll be before he reaches his 300th win (his win today puts him at 296). Again, from Yahoo! Sports and Brian Wilson, one of Johnson’s Giants teammates:

      “It was beautiful,” Wilson said. “It was a nice day and Randy was out there dominating. He proved he can still do it.

      “You watch him working the hitters, working the count and you realize not all of us can go out there and do that.”

      I’ve never been much of a Randy Johnson fan, but regardless of what team he’s on now I think it’s worth our while to keep an eye on a future hall-of-famer before he’s finished actively playing ball.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB, News

      Does the 500 home run club still mean anything?

      April 19, 2009 /

      Jeff Passan from Yahoo! Sports thinks that, with Gary Sheffield’s recent admittance, the 500 home run club has lost the reverence it used to command.

      And yet here Sheffield is, the club’s 10th member in the last 11 years after the game’s first 120 years produced 15. Of the 10 to reach the milestone since 1999, six bathe in steroid suspicion: Sheffield (admitted but said it was inadvertent), Rafael Palmeiro (tested positive), Alex Rodriguez (tested positive), Barry Bonds (duh), Mark McGwire (visual and documented evidence) and Sammy Sosa (visual evidence).

      Which either makes the accomplishments of the other four – Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Frank Thomas – all the more impressive or makes the inner cynic mistrust the veracity of anyone’s statistics.

      “If anybody questions 500,” Sheffield said, “tell ‘em to go try it.”

      It’s not questioning the accomplishment, per se. To hit 500 home runs takes innate aptitude and cultured longevity. Some home run hitters bomb away for a few years and flame out. Others are very good for a very long time, and that’s still not enough for 500. Sustained greatness is the ultimate testament in baseball, and prior to 1999, the 500-home run club embodied it.

      Carlos Delgado makes a good point in a quote from the article, saying that players these days are bigger, have better equipment, better training, and play in smaller ballparks. He’s dead on, but Passan is stressing that the 500 club has been tainted by its steroid users.

      Personally, I accepted the fact a long time ago that the 500 home run milestone was a dubious achievement given the bloated statistics from guys like Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire. True, the home run does carry a lot of weight in baseball. Not only does it have the power to win games, but it can bring a stadium alive as well as silence thousands. While ballplayers like Ryan Howard and Adam Dunn deserve praise for their ability to countlessly knock the guts out of a baseball, I’ve always admired guys like Ken Griffey Jr. who could do the same while also winning gold gloves at their position. That’s why Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Griffey will be remembered as some of the greatest all-around players the game has ever seen, instead of just average athletes with a killer swing.

      MLB

      Tribe sets record in dismantling of Yankees

      April 19, 2009 /

      Thanks to a record breaking 14-run second inning, the Indians absolutely smoked the Yankees 22-4 in New York on Saturday.

      The Indians merely tied their franchise record for runs in an inning; they also scored 14 in the first inning against the Philadelphia A’s on June 18, 1950. It’s also the most runs in an inning by any team since Boston lit up Florida for 14 runs in the first on June 28, 2003. (A certain right-hander named Carl Pavano gave up six of those runs.)

      Now, an inning like the Indians’ second does not happen without some horrific pitching, and you have to figure now that something is wrong with Chien-Ming Wang. His earned run average actually rose, from 28.93 to 34.50. He has allowed 23 earned runs in six innings over three starts. That is staggering.

      One other point: it is an absolute jet stream to right center field at the new Yankee Stadium. The dimensions are the same as the old place, and the weather is unseasonably warm (75 degrees at game time). But in the last 11 innings, there have been nine homers to right. Wow.

      ‘You have to figure now that something is wrong with Chien-Ming Wang.’ You think? In just three starts, the guy has been hit more times than a freaking piñata and it would take a football team scoring five touchdowns to match his ERA. He’s throwing gopher balls and batters are knocking them out of the park – it’s as simple as that.

      And if there is a jet stream in right center field, then Mark Teixeira should lead the majors in home runs by the end of the year. There’s no excuse to give up 14 runs in one inning – jet stream or not.

      MLB

      Top 10 active ERA leaders

      April 18, 2009 /

      As far as pitchers’ statistics in baseball, earned run average (ERA) is the batting average of those stats. ERA is how many earned runs a pitcher gives up per nine innings, and anything under 4.00 is pretty good while anything under 3.00 is very good and anything under 2.00 is bordering on sick. So here is a list of your Top 10 active pitchers in ERA:

      1. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (2.28)—You want to know why this guy comes in and shuts the door every time he’s brought in for a save? Look no further than this statistic. Mo has been the most dominant closer in the game for over a decade and shows no signs of slowing down.

      2. Pedro Martinez, free agent (2.91)—Sure, he’s not the same guy he was in Boston or even Montreal, but Pedro’s a gamer and it’s hard to believe he still isn’t on a major league roster right now.

      3. Johan Santana, New York Mets (3.10)—You have to watch this guy work to fully appreciate his art of pitching. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, but he locates all his pitches beautifully and his change-up sometimes makes batters swing out of their shoes. He’s like a lefty Greg Maddux.

      4. Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros (3.14)—At 31, Oswalt has a lot of career left, and he has one of the game’s best fastballs.

      5. Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres (3.26)—Peavy was rumored to be traded to the Cubs about 12 times in this past off-season. If you close your eyes, you can someday picture him in Yankee pinstripes.

      5. John Smoltz, Boston Red Sox (3.26)—One of the game’s good guys, and as a Mets’ fan, that is not easy for me to say. I’m just glad he’s now in the American League.

      7. Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks (3.27)—At 30, Webb is another of the game’s bright young stars and he’ll be in contention for many more Cy Young Awards.

      7. Randy Johnson, San Francisco Giants (3.27)—The Big Unit is 45 years old and creeping up on 300 wins. And yeah, he’s racked up an incredible 4801 strikeouts. But his 3.27 ERA over 22 seasons is just awesome.

      9. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs (3.50)—Is it possible that Carlos Zambrano is only 28 years old? Yes, and he’s going to be dominant for quite some time.

      10. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (3.48)—He’s battled injuries, but when he’s on top of his game, Hudson is one of the best in the game. And he turned out to be the best among that awesome young trio in Oakland that included Mark Mulder and Barry Zito.

      Source: Baseball Reference

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, MLB

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