The Captain's Blog

Breakfast Links: A Quick Wind Sprint Around Spring Training

February 18, 2011 by William Juliano

Mariano Rivera finally arrived in camp after missing two days to tend to his sick children. Although the immortal Yankees’ closer spoke about how difficult it was to leave his family, he also stated that he still has the desire to compete. There will come a day when the Yankees will have to face the ninth inning without Rivera, but that time isn’t now (thankfully).
Rivera reported to Tampa looking as cool and calm as ever (Photo: Daily News).
The Yankees have no questions about the backend of the bullpen, but the final two slots in the rotation remain up for grabs. As many as eight pitchers will compete to fill out the team’s starting staff, but a narrower field of four seems to be on the inside track.
Russell Martin is expected to do most of the catching for whomever makes the rotation, and the early indications suggest he is recovering nicely from offseason surgery.
In Phoenix, Don Mattingly opened his first spring training camp as a manager. The former Yankees’ captain talked about the need to focus on preparation and dispelled any concerns about the ongoing divorce ligation between the team’s former owners. Another topic of discussion was a new biography about Mattingly that is due out in March.
The Tigers’ spring training took a dramatic turn for the worse when star first baseman Miguel Cabrera was arrested for DUI and resisting an officer.
The rest of the American League also got some bad news. In his first interview at Rays’ camp in Port Charlotte, Manny Ramirez proclaimed that he’s “got a chip on [his] shoulder”.

Posted in Baseball, Link Roundup, MLB, Yankees | Tagged Mariano Rivera, Spring Training | Leave a Comment »

“We’re Not the Yankees”: Cardinals Have Only Themselves to Blame for Economic Situation; Like Stan the Man Before Him, Pujols Deserves To Be Paid

February 17, 2011 by William Juliano

After agreeing to table contract extension talks with Albert Pujols until after the 2011 season, St. Louis Cardinals’ owner Bill DeWitt Jr. lamented, “We’re not the Yankees”.

Like Musial, will Pujols end his career as a life-long Cardinal?

Although that statement is literally true (unless the Steinbrenners secretly sold the team over the winter), the Cardinals have historically been thought of as the “Yankees of the National League”. Other than the Bronx Bombers, no team has been able to match the Cardinals’ success, which includes 10 World Series championships and 21 National League pennants. Based on that resume, the red birds have built both a rabid local and regional following that has helped make the team one of the most popular in all of baseball.

Considering his team’s success and popularity, is DeWitt right to sell his storied franchise short by crying relative poverty? According to Forbes’ most recent MLB franchise calculations, the Cardinals rank eighth in both overall value ($488 million) and revenue ($195 million), but check in toward the bottom in terms of operating profit ($12.5 million). Based on those figures, it certainly does seem as if St. Louis is not in a position to make Pujols the highest paid player in the sport by giving him a 10-year deal worth approximately $300 million. However, they should be.

2009 MLB Franchise Valuations

Source: Forbes.com

A closer look at the Forbes’ study reveals that the Cardinals have had relatively stagnant revenue over the last few years, with the only significant bump occurring after the team opened up its new ballpark in 2006. Most recently, the team enjoyed no revenue growth between 2007 and 2009 (the entire sport grew 7.5% during this period), according to Forbes. Instead of leading the sport’s expansion, as you would expect a brand like the Cardinals to do, the organization’s revenue growth has fallen more toward the middle of the pack.

Posted in Baseball, Business and Finance, MLB, Yankees | Tagged Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals, Stan Musial | 2 Comments »

Breakfast Links: A Quick Wind Sprint Around Spring Training

February 17, 2011 by William Juliano

There have been a lot of weighty issues at Yankees’ camp in just the first few days. The latest revolves around Joba Chamberlain’s expanded waist line, which has many wondering if it could lead to him having a diminished role. Meanwhile, Chamberlain believes he is in good shape and, more importantly, seems to be benefiting from a mechanical adjustment made by new pitching coach Larry Rothschild.
Chamberlain’s condition has been a weighty issue in Yankees camp (Photo: Reuters).
One place Chamberlain won’t be is the starting rotation, and apparently neither will highly touted prospects Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos. While the Yankees hold auditions for the final two slots in the rotation, the team’s three established starters will be throwing early morning bullpen sessions under the watchful eye of Rothschild.
Andruw Jones reported to camp with some swelling in his knee, but the Yankees don’t expect that to slow his training. According to Girardi, Jones’ chief role on the team will be as a backup corner outfielder. According to Jones, Girardi makes him “feel old”.
River Avenue Blues provides a look at Albert Pujols in pinstripes, a story that gained traction when the future Hall of Famer and the Cardinals decided to table contract extension talks until after the regular season.
Other teams were not as shy handing out new contracts. The Blue Jays were reportedly close to rewarding Jose Bautista’s 50 homerun season with a new five-year deal worth $65 million, while the Brewers and Rickie Weeks agreed to a new four-year extension worth $38.5 million.
The Mets continue to be a team that is looking to raise money, not spend it. However, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon insisted that his family will not relinquish a majority stake in the ballclub.

Posted in Baseball, Link Roundup, Mets, MLB, Yankees | Tagged Spring Training | Leave a Comment »

It Happens Every Spring: A 110-Year Retrospective of Yankees Spring Training

February 16, 2011 by William Juliano

(In addition to appearing at The Captain’s Blog, this post is also being syndicated at TheYankeeAnalysts).

For 16 years, Tampa has been the Yankees’ spring training home, but it still seems like just yesterday when the team’s camp was located down the coast in Ft. Lauderdale. I am sure most fans who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s still reflexively hearken back to those days of yore, while the real old timers’ memories probably take them all the way back to St. Petersburg, where Yankees’ legends from Ruth to Mantle toiled under the Florida sun.

Over the years, spring training has evolved significantly. Once upon a time, it was a pre-season retreat designed to help out-of-shape ballplayers shed the pounds added over the winter. In the early part of the last century, before even reporting to camp, players would often attend spas in places like Hot Springs, where they would purge their bodies of the inequities from the offseason. Then, games would either be played among split squads (in the old days, the camps would be split into teams of veterans and hopeful rookies, the latter often called Yannigans) or against local minor league and college ballclubs. Finally, the teams would barnstorm their way back up north before finally kicking off the regular season.

Today, spring training is more big business than quaint tradition. Thanks to the growing competition between cities in Arizona and Florida (each state now hosts 15 major league clubs), teams have been able to extract sweetheart stadium deals, allowing them to turn the exhibition season into a significant profit center. Still, at the heart of spring training is hope and renewal, as teams begin the long journey that is the baseball season.

The Yankees’ spring history has been a journey all its own. Below is an outline of some significant mileposts along the way.

Yankees’ Spring Training Homes Since 1901

1901-1902: The Orioles of the brand new American League began preparations for their inaugural season in Baltimore, the same city in which they would play their regular season games. Unfortunately, the rainy weather in Baltimore would make for a less than efficient camp and lead to excessive “loafing” by the ball players. In 1902, manager John McGraw took his ball club down to Savannah, GA, where the franchise trained while a member of the National League (before folding at the end of the 1899 season). In the Baltimore Sun, McGraw vowed to have a more productive preseason and proclaimed that there would be “no loafing” this time around.

Posted in Baseball, Baseball History, MLB, Yankee History, Yankees | Tagged Spring Training | 8 Comments »

Happy Birthday Pecota (And Take That Baseball Prospectus)!

February 16, 2011 by William Juliano

I am sure many readers, upon seeing the headline above, expected another post about Baseball Prospectus’ mindless Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm projection system, also known as PECOTA. In particular, many Yankees’ fans have become addicted to this new fan dangled mathematical formula that seeks to predict the future performance of teams and players alike. I guess I can’t blame them. Any calculation that can get AJ Burnett back down to a 4.50 ERA can’t really be all bad.

Bill Pecota played for three organizations, but was best known as a Royal.

Still, the sabermetric geeks have spent way too much time sucking the life out of baseball…putting statistics ahead of stories in a vain attempt to gain knowledge. After all, what purpose does knowledge serve when watching baseball?

No sir. February 16 will not be sullied with talk of WARP and UZR and all the other fancy statistics that no one can pronounce. You see, today is Bill Pecota’s birthday, and even though the projection system that co-opted his name doesn’t think much of this former Royal, Met and Brave, he still has an interesting story to tell.

Most people will tell you that Bill Pecota’s only two meaningful seasons in the majors were 1990 and 1991, when he had a WAR of 2.2 and 2.8, respectively, while playing for the Kansas City Royals. That’s nonsense, however. What everyone seems to ignore is that Pecota could play everywhere, literally. Over his underappreciated nine-year career, the utility man played at least one game at all nine positions. People make such a big fuss over Babe Ruth because he could pitch and play outfield, but did you ever see the Babe play 2B or SS? Pecota did!, making him one of only 17 players to accomplish this amazing feat of versatility.

Still not impressed? Well, while most other players were padding their stats in the regular season, Pecota was preparing for the month when it really counts: October. Although Reggie Jackson is more commonly known as Mr. October, his .278 batting average and .358 on-base percentage during the postseason pale in comparison to Pecota’s rates of .333 and .500. In fact, in the entire history of the game, only Bobby Brown was able to match Pecota’s outstanding ability to reach base in the clutch. The skeptics will undoubtedly mention that our hero only came to the plate four times in October, but what difference does that make? Small sample sizes are for sissies.

Despite all of the overwhelming evidence, Pecota has still been relegated to a footnote all because he shares the name of a computer program. It’s too bad more people don’t value him like the Mets did in 1991, when they traded two former All Stars, Gregg Jefferies and Kevin McReynolds, for Pecota and a throw-in named Brett Saberhagen.

So, the next time you feel the urge to confer with a projection system, do yourself a favor and read a good story instead. Who needs PECOTA when you have Pecota? Besides, if you are really desperate for predictions, just keep reading The Captain’s Blog. It has a much better track record divining the future (a dart board beats math any day).

Super Utility Men: Players Spending at Least One Game at Every Position, Since 1901

Player	From	To	G	PA	BA	OBP	SLG
Bert Campaneris	1964	1983	2328	9625	0.259	0.311	0.342
Cookie Rojas	1962	1977	1822	6871	0.263	0.306	0.337
Cesar Tovar	1965	1976	1488	6177	0.278	0.335	0.368
Roger Bresnahan	1901	1915	1438	5355	0.279	0.386	0.377
Bernie Friberg	1919	1933	1299	4795	0.281	0.356	0.373
Jose Oquendo	1983	1995	1190	3737	0.256	0.346	0.317
Frank Isbell	1901	1909	1074	4483	0.251	0.291	0.329
Jack Rothrock	1925	1937	1014	3719	0.276	0.336	0.370
Steve Lyons	1985	1993	853	2388	0.252	0.301	0.340
Sam Mertes	1901	1906	826	3504	0.273	0.343	0.391
Bill Pecota	1986	1994	698	1729	0.249	0.323	0.354
Shane Halter	1997	2004	690	2109	0.246	0.303	0.385
Jimmy Walsh	1910	1915	502	1736	0.285	0.332	0.404
Art Hoelskoetter	1905	1908	299	1024	0.236	0.271	0.282
Bill Friel	1901	1903	283	1088	0.245	0.292	0.331
Bobby Reis	1931	1938	175	330	0.233	0.291	0.279
Scott Sheldon	1997	2001	141	310	0.235	0.275	0.375

Source: Baseball-reference.com

Posted in Baseball, Humor, MLB, Yankees | Tagged Pecota | 4 Comments »

Breakfast Links: A Quick Wind Sprint Around Spring Training

February 16, 2011 by William Juliano

Jorge Posada reported to camp along with the rest of the catchers, although this season he is ticketed as the DH. Although Posada has not yet given up on getting back behind the plate, he seems to be slowly embracing his new role. Now, the question is how much longer does Posada have left in pinstripes?
Jorge Posada reported to camp with the rest of the catchers, but was noticeably without his gear (Photo: Daily News).
Mariano Rivera, who is even older than Posada, shows no signs of slowing down, but his arrival in camp was delayed by sickness in his family. With the organization’s permission, the great closer postponed his departure in order to tend to his ailing children, who have been suffering from the flu.
For the second day in a row, A.J. Burnett held court. The enigmatic pitcher, who after a year of getting tattooed added a new one to his right forearm, insisted that he would “be a factor” in 2011. Burnett also discussed the prospect of C.C. Sabathia opting out his current seven-year deal, offering insights from his experience being in the same situation back in 2008.
In other notes, prospect Hector Noesi’s arrival was delayed by Visa issues, and Brett Gardner, who has been in camp rehabbing his surgically repaired wrist, reported full health.
Down the coast in Fort Myers, the Red Sox are extremely optimistic following their offseason overhaul.
The news isn’t as positive for the Yankees’ cross-town rival, however. Although Bernie Madoff exonerated the Mets of any complicity in his multi-billion dollar fraud, the team still faces a tough financial road ahead. Could Donald Trump soon enter the picture?
Finally, the clock keeps ticking on Albert Pujols’ self-imposed contract extension deadline, and Tony LaRussa is blaming the MLBPA for the current impasse.

Posted in Baseball, Link Roundup, Mets, MLB, Red Sox, Yankees | Tagged Spring Training | Leave a Comment »

Breakfast Links: A Quick Wind Sprint Around Spring Training

February 15, 2011 by William Juliano

Entering camp, the big story surrounding C.C. Sabathia was how much weight he lost over the offseason (and how he did it). On the first day of spring training, however, the story quickly changed to the likelihood that he would exercise the opt clause in his contract.
Today's breakfast links are sponsored by Cap'n Crunch. Just don't let C.C. Sabathia have any!
If not for the Sabathia overload, the big news of the day would have been Joe Girardi’s announcement that Derek Jeter will remain in the leadoff slot.
Another hot topic was what should be a very lively competition for the final two slots in the starting rotation. Of course, the Yankees also need AJ Burnett to rebound from his poor 2010 campaign. Otherwise, the bottom of the rotation will be the least of the Yankees’ concerns. This season, both problems, and their potential solutions, will fall in the lap of new pitching coach Larry Rothschild.
Although the bullpen is mostly set for the upcoming season, all eyes remain on Joba Chamberlain, who looks to finally establish himself in some kind of role . According to Brian Cashman, however, the enigmatic righty first needs to worry about making the team.
Keeping tracking of names and faces can be challenging during the early days of Spring, so The Star-Ledger’s Marc Carig has provided a list of uniform numbers for all Yankees expected in camp. Number 33 still belongs to Nick Swisher, but don’t be alarmed if the uniform hosting that digit seems a tad on the large side. David Wells is also in camp as a guest instructor.
Off the field, Alex Rodriguez made news, but this time the attention was welcomed. Chad Jennings at the LoHud blog has some great pictures from a recent ceremony honoring Arod that was hosted by the Latin Baseball Hall of Fame.
Away from the friendly confines of Tampa, the Phillies unveiled a rotation that is flush with aces. During the press conference, some interpreted Lee’s comments as rubbing salt in the Yankees wounds. However, the biggest news was made in Jupiter, where it was reported that Albert Pujols and the Cardinals mutually agreed to establish Wednesday as the deadline for reaching an agreement on a contract extension. Who knows, if the two sides can’t come to terms, maybe the Yankees can use the money saved from not signing Lee and offer it to Albert?