The Captain's Blog

Mariano Rivera may not be as invincible as Chuck Norris, but he is pretty darn close. Last night, however, was one of those rare exceptions that was made even more shocking by how it came about: with a Vladimir Guerrero lead-off walk and Jeff Francoeur walk-off hit by pitch. In between, head scratching strategy by Joe Girardi conspired to send the Yankees to their second straight walk-off defeat and fifth loss in six games.

Jeff Francoeur puts his best shoulder forward with a walk-off hit by pitch (Photo: AP).

Entering the ninth, Guerrero had enjoyed some success (4-11) against the Yankees’ closer, so with only a one run lead, Rivera seemed to approach the at bat with more caution than normal. Instead of attacking the free swinging Vlad, Rivera eschewed the cutter over the outside corner and instead tried to bust fastballs in on his hands. That approach resulted in a lead-off walk (an unlikely scenario considering Guerrero’s aggressiveness and Rivera’s pinpoint control) that set the wheels in motion for an eventual rare blown save. Following the walk, Nelson Cruz battled Rivera in a nine pitch at bat that ended with a soft single to right that sent pinch runner Esteban German to third. With the tying run at third and the go ahead run at first, Girardi then inexplicably decided to bring the infield in. With Arod playing up and off the line, Ian Kinsler rolled a ground ball down the third baseline to tie the game and put the winning run 90 feet from home. Following up on the misguided decision to cutoff the tying run, Girardi then opted to walk Chris Davis, who has struck out in an astounding 32% of his career at bats. With the bases now loaded, Rivera induced a weak pop to first by Andres Blanco, but then brushed the shoulder of Franoeur with the very next pitch, forcing in the winning run and ending a second straight night in which the Yankees played and managed so poorly.

The reason Rivera had such a small margin for error in the ninth was due in part to another curious decision in the top of the inning. After Eduardo Nunez singled and stole second, Girardi then had Francisco Cervelli, who was in the midst of reaching base in eight straight plate appearances, bunt with a 3-0 count. Like yesterday, the bunt backfired when pinch hitter Marcus Thames flew out to shallow left and Nick Swisher grounded out to end the inning.

Joe Girardi wasn’t the only manager making curious decisions. Ron Washington’s decision to allow lefty Matt Harrison to face Alex Rodriguez with the bases loaded was probably the worst of the game. When Arod lined a bases clearing double into the left corner, it seemed as if Washington’s folly would cost his team the game, but his team took him off the hook for a second straight night.

Like Friday’s game, the theme was a litany of relief pitchers and a boat load of wasted scoring opportunities. This time, however, an hour rain delay was also thrown into the mix to ensure the game surpassed the five hour mark. Before the rains came, AJ Burnett was solid, but, predictably, inconsistent. Burnett struck out six Rangers over only four innings, but also walked three batters, two of which scored. Because of the length of the delay, Burnett’s night was once again cut short, leading to another game of bullpen roulette.

The Yankees bullpen has perhaps been its greatest strength in the second half, but for the second straight night squandered a late lead. Before coming to Texas, the Yankees had only lost three games when leading as late as the eighth inning, but suffered that fate both times. Unlike Friday, when the bullpen actually pitched well in the defeat, only Kerry Wood distinguished himself last night.

With the starting pitching still in disarray, the Yankees will need their bullpen to get back on track. Just as important, Girardi needs to resist his recent urge to overuse it. A bullpen always walks a fine line between being underused and overworked, and over the last week, Girardi has seemed to lose his balance. Rivera would never admit it, but his two inning stint on Friday may very well have contributed to his relative lack of control last night. Similarly, one wonders what future effects David Robertson’s 36-pitch outing, his second appearance in as many games, will have on him

Before the team’s recent eight game winning streak, the Yankees had struggled in the month of August. Those struggles have now returned. By squandering two games to the Rangers, the Yankees have made it even more likely that they will be returning to Texas in October as the American League wild card. Is that necessarily a bad thing? If the two teams play as poorly and excruciatingly ugly, it will be for baseball. From the Yankees standpoint, however, that question could be answered by how Cliff Lee pitches this afternoon.

Games in Which Mariano Rivera Has Allowed At Least One Walk, Hit and HBP as a Reliever

Source: Baseball-reference.com

Baseball has long been the sport most known for unstable labor relations, but that perception has changed.

Since the 1994 strike that canceled that year’s World Series, both the NBA and NHL have suffered work stoppages as well as declines in relative popularity. In fact, the NHL suffered two lockouts over that span, the most recent of which canceled the entire 2004/2005 season, and early indications are there could be another work stoppage on the horizon.

For over 30 years, Donald Fehr’s tireless efforts helped strengthen the MLBPA. Now, hockey players seem hopefully he'll be able to do the same as leader of their union.

After the most recent lockout, NHL owners absolutely obliterated a weak players union, forcing upon them a system that is one-sided in favor of ownership. However, it now seems as if the NHL players union is intent on rebuilding its stature. With the league’s CBA set to expire in September 2012, the NHLPA has taken the first step toward electing Donald Fehr as executive director. That’s great news for the players and bad news for the sport’s owners.

Fehr, who has been serving as an unpaid advisor to the NHLPA since November 2009, may be a newcomer on the hockey scene, but his reputation as an expert union director was long established in the game of baseball. Fehr joined the MLBPA in 1977 when it was under the direction of Marvin Miller and eventually became the union’s head in 1983. During his 26 year tenure as the MLBPA leader, Fehr beat the baseball owners in just about every negotiation and legal battle. For the sake of hockey fans, the league’s owners would be wise to not underestimate Fehr if he is elected to lead the union.

The knee jerk reaction from fans who are not educated on the issues is to decry the contribution of the MLBPA, but the reality is the players union has been a driving force for betterment in the game. Aside from the inherent unfairness in the reserve clause, baseball was plagued by an indifferent and inefficient ownership group that viewed their overlord status as a birthright. Not only did that mean players were treated unfairly, but it also meant the game itself was allowed to stagnate.

By forcing the owners to properly value the players, the efforts of Marvin Miller and Donald Fehr also effectively forced them to properly value the game. Instead of having innovation left in the laps of an old guard that seemed content to take in a modest profit, the era of free agency allowed more innovative owners to expand the game beyond its limited means. It is not surprising that baseball’s revenue has grown exponentially since the strike of 1994. Instead of holding out hope that somehow they could break the union, that last and most costly defeat finally convinced baseball owners that they would be better off growing the game instead of trying to cannibalize the player’s portion of the pie. As a result, not only has baseball’s revenues grown at rates better than even the NFL’s, but for most of the last decade owners were raking in a larger percentage of income than any other sport.

For almost two decades, NFL owners have been able to convince a gullible media and fan base that a salary cap is in the best interest of competitive balance, when in reality it is merely a cost control device. Not surprisingly, the same owners now seem determined to push the envelope further by seeking to lower the pool of revenue allotted to the players. Judging by initial reaction, the league’s thrust seems to have full fan support. Normally, that would be bad news for a sadly weak union, but this time around, the NFLPA doesn’t seem as likely to roll over.

NLFPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith does not strike the pose of a pushover, which may mean the NFL owners are in a for a rude awakening.

In Thursday’s NFL opener, players on both the Saints and Vikings lifted a finger in the sky to represent union solidarity. The move was derided by many as selfish, considering the recent economic downturn in the country, and inappropriate. Under new executive director DeMaurice Smith, however, the NFLPA doesn’t seem as if it concerned with misguided public perception. Again, that’s good news for the players and bad news for the owners.

So far, the NFLPA has been about more than just symbolism. According to ESPN.com, the New Orleans Saints recently voted 59-0 to decertify the union in the event a impasse is reached during future CBA negotiations. Every other NFL team is also expected to do the same before the end of the year. Although decertification would not come into play until after the current season, the preemptive decision clearly shows that this time around the NFLPA is prepared for a lengthy battle. Overcoming the historically weak tendency of the football union will still be a challenge, but with so much money at stake for the owners, it may be the latter who now have more to lose.

Often derided by fans and media members for being the only sport without a salary cap, it now appears as if players in other sports are finally realizing that baseball is the game to emulate. It may take a strike or a lengthy lockout, but using the MLBPA as a roadmap would be the best way for each sports’ respective unions to not only achieve economic fairness, but ensure the future betterment of the games they play.

The Yankees 6-5 loss to the Rangers was both a parade of pitchers and a comedy of errors, and often both at the same time.

Rangers celebrate walk-off win after Nelson Cruz’ 13th inning home run put an end to the relief pitching marathon (Photo: Getty Images).

Ron Washington got an early start on his record setting chess match with Joe Girardi when he was forced to pull CJ Wilson after three difficult innings in which the lefty threw 76 pitches. Determined to make up for his delayed start, Girardi prematurely lifted his starter when he inexplicably called to the bullpen after Javier Vazquez surrendered an infield single to lead off the sixth inning. Vazquez, who had only thrown 88 pitches to that point, was visibly upset in the dugout after the quick hook, and expressed those feelings during his post game interview.

Considering how strong the Yankees bullpen has been, you can’t blame Girardi for being quick with his hook, but in this case, Vazquez didn’t warrant removal from the game. Making matters worse, Girardi then proceeded to rip through his bullpen, burning one pitcher after another until eventually a tie game was placed in the hands of Chad Gaudin. Only Joba Chamberlain, who was a curious choice to pitch the eighth inning, needed more 13 pitches to get through an inning, but for some reason, Girardi felt the need to shuffle through the entire pitching staff. Ironically, the only pitcher that Girardi decided to extend was Mariano Rivera, a decision that directly contradicted his stated desire to avoid using his 40-year old closer for more than one inning.

The most curious pitching decision was the use of Phil Hughes for only one inning. On what was essentially the fifth day after and before his last and next start, respectively, Hughes was set up perfectly to give the Yankees two or three innings. Had Girardi leveraged this opportunity, it could have both limited the strain on Rivera and avoided the need to use Gaudin. Furthermore, the longer stint could have helped ensure that Hughes would not be rusty in his next start against the Rays.

Of course, the bullpen’s over exposure was made possible by the hanging slider that Chamberlain threw to Nelson Cruz. Despite pitching better of late, Chamberlain has still struggled in the “eighth inning”, posting a 5.50 ERA in the all important frame.

Then again, maybe it is unfair to look for a scapegoat from amid a bullpen that surrendered only two runs over seven innings. After all, had the Yankees been able to score just one more of the 18 runners left on base, there wouldn’t have been such a small margin for error.

Sometimes a team leaves a lot of men on base by misfortune, and sometimes they do so for good reason. Last night, leaned more toward the latter, and once again, Girardi’s maneuvering played a role. In particular, replacing Nick Swisher and Marcus Thames for pinch runners, both of whom remained anchored at the base they came on to occupy, were short sighted moves that resulted in a depleted lineup. Then, when the team did get an unexpected contribution, like Chad Moeller’s leadoff double in the 12th, Girardi had Gardner give away an out with a bunt. Even though Gardner left eight men on base in the game, he had been hitting well over the last week, so setting the inning up for the epically struggling Derek Jeter and rookie Colin Curtis was head scratching to say the least.

The final snapshot from the game was a Chad Gaudin fastball that lit up the eyes of Cruz before lighting up the scoreboard, but the game was lost in so many ways beforehand. Another awful night of umpiring also played a role, but it almost seems like whining to bring that up on a night in which the Yankees, players and manager alike, performed so poorly.

After watching a game like last night’s, it doesn’t seem likely that the Yankees will be able to hold on to the division, especially considering the relative strength of their schedule compared to the Rays’ . As a result, the Yankees could find themselves back in Texas opening up the ALDS, the tone for which could very well be established by the final two games of this series.

Most Runners Left On Base by Yankees in a Loss, Since 1920

Source: Baseball-reference.com

When a baseball player who seems to be nearing the end of his career is able to reinvent himself in someway and thereby maintain, or even improve, his performance, it is often referred to as a reincarnation. I am sure many Yankees fans are hoping Derek Jeter will be in line for one next season, especially considering the lengthy contract he is likely going to sign in the off season. However, after taking a look at Baseball-Reference.com’s snapshot of former Yankees outfielder Birdie Cree, one wonders if Jeter hasn’t already been reincarnated in pinstripes.

Birdie Cree (left) and Derek Jeter (right) share a striking resemblance that links over 100 years of team history.

William Franklin “Birdie” Cree was a small town boy who alternated playing sports with teaching eighth grade before eventually getting a scholarship to play football at Penn State. An injury to his collarbone, however, put an end to his career on the gridiron, so Cree turned his attention to baseball. While attending Penn State, Cree not only played for the university, but also joined a series of semi-pro teams in an attempt to earn a little extra cash. Before long, he started drawing the attention of scouts, and in 1907 was signed by Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics.

Cree made his way to the Highlanders by way of the Detroit Tigers in what amounted to a three team deal that also included the Athletics. Although Cree made his major league debut at the end of the 1908 season, it wasn’t until 1909 that he began to fill more of a role with the floundering American League team in New York.

Despite being a shortstop during his college and semi-pro days, Cree broke in with the Highlanders as an outfielder. After having a cup of coffee with the team at the end of the 1908 season, a campaign in which the team lost a record 103 games (a low water mark that still stands today), Cree established himself in the lineup the following year and became a key contributor to the Highlander’s momentary resurgence to the first division.

After a solid 1909 campaign as a part-time player, Cree had a breakout season in 1910 that helped catapult the Highlanders to second place in the American League. During that season, Cree not only showed great skill, but also toughness. In a game against the Senators on April 22, Cree was beaned in the back of the head by a fastball from Walter Johnson, who wasn’t known as the Big Train because of his lack of velocity.  According to published reports, it took Cree several weeks after the beaning to regain his batting form, and once he did, American League pitchers resumed throwing at him in attempt to scare him back into a slump. As the numbers attest, this strategy was unsuccessful.

For six weeks Cree wouldn’t stand close enough to the plate to reach the ball with a telephone pole. Now he is hitting harder than ever. He has all is confidence back. But the pitchers of other clubs are evidently trying to scare him back or hit him again. They figure that if Cree gets another crack on the head he will be of little batting value for the rest of the season”. – “Baseball Gossip” column of The Spartanburg Herald, August 28, 1910

In 1911, Cree not only had the best season of his career, but also posted the best offensive numbers by any Yankees player to that point. Cree’s OPS+ of 152 as well as his batting average (.348), on base percentage (.415) and slugging percentage (.513) were all the highest totals by any Yankees’ player to date. In fact, until the arrival of Babe Ruth in 1920, it wasn’t a stretch to say that Cree was the best player the team had ever had.

Cree’s success, as well as the team’s, was short lived. After a severe cold and a broken wrist conspired to put an end to what was shaping up as another outstanding season in 1912, the now 30-year old outfielder began to break down. Lingering effects from his broken wrist hampered him throughout the 1913 season, and then, after he reported to spring training in 1914 out of shape, the Yankees released his contract to Baltimore of the International League. While in Baltimore, Cree was able to revive his career playing for an Orioles team that dominated the International League, thanks in large part to Cree’s hitting prowess as well as the lights out pitching of a 19-year old lefty. By July, however, the Orioles encountered significant financial difficulties and were forced to sell off their players. The Yankees, as they were now known, were first in line to re-purchase the contract of Cree, but it was the Red Sox who got the best deal when two days later they purchased the young lefty, a man the world would soon come to know as Babe Ruth.

Cree finished out 1914 in style, but the combination of further injuries and again being out of shape forced him into retirement after 1915. After his playing career, Cree returned to his native rural Pennsylvania and settled in the town of Sunbury, where he first started to make a name for himself in baseball. In addition to working various jobs at the First National Bank in Sunbury, Cree remained active in sports and became a decorated golfer and billiards player in local clubs. He died on November 8, 1942 at the age of 60.

Besides their uncanny resemblance and status as lifelong Yankees, Jeter and Cree really do not have much in common. One was a self-made prospect, while the other was a high school phenom. One had a few flashes of brilliance, while the other is a sure-fire Hall of Famer. One went to work for a bank after his career, while the other is more likely to buy one when his playing days are over. Still, there is that one remarkable link that always seems to exist in baseball. Although Jeter will go down as an immortal icon in Yankees lore, while Cree has become more of a footnote, at least in terms of appearance, they are linked across a century of history by one distant gaze.

Career Statistics of Birdie Cree

Source: Baseball-reference.com

The New York media can be tough for sure. When a team in the city doesn’t play well, several interesting theories often emerge as to the root cause of the problem, and scapegoats are quickly indentified. However, nothing in recent times compares to the article that New York Daily News sports editor Jimmy Powers wrote to explain the Yankees’ drop in the standings during the 1940 season.

Lou Gehrig wipes away a tear during his famous speech on July 4, 1939. One year later, sports columnist Jimmy Powers would imply that Gehrig infected his former teammates with a disease he didn’t even have.

On August 18, 1940, the four-time defending champion Yankees entered action with a pedestrian 56-52 record, which put them in fourth place, 10 games behind the Cleveland Indians. It had been 10 years since the Yankees finished lower than second, so naturally the media spent most of the season trying to figure out the cause of the team’s fall from grace. From an aging pitching staff to a potential injury to Joe DiMaggio, a variety of explanations were advanced, but nothing compared to what screamed from the headlines of the Daily News that morning.

“Has ‘Polio’ Hit the Yankees?,” asked the banner of the city’s mostly widely read tabloid. In the accompanying article, Powers, who was as famous for making news as reporting it, suggested the reason the Yankees were languishing in the standings was because they had contracted polio from Lou Gehrig.

Has the mysterious ‘polio’ germ which felled Lou Gehrig also struck his former teammates, turning a once great team into a floundering non-contender? According to overwhelming opinion of the medical profession, poliomyelitis, similar to infantile paralysis, is communicable. The Yanks were exposed to it at its most acute stage. They played ball with the afflicted Gehrig, dressed and undressed in the locker room with him, traveled, played cards and ate with him. Isn’t it possible some of them also became infected?” – Jimmy Powers, New York Daily News, August 18, 1940.

Powell’s outrageous accusation (Gehrig wasn’t suffering from polio, but amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a non-communicable disease) was quickly denounced by the Yankees, but a retraction was not forthcoming. As a result, on September 9, 1940, Gehrig decided to seek a legal resolution by filing a $1 million libel law suit against Powers and the Daily News. In seeking restitution, Gehrig’s lawsuit sadly stated that the legendary first baseman had become “a pariah whom many people shun”. Shortly thereafter, 10 other Yankees also decided to file a collective libel suit of their own, asking for $2.5 million in damages.

The Daily News finally admitted its mistake over one month latter when its September 26 edition ran a retraction under the headline “Our Apologies To Lou Gehrig And The Yankees.” In the article, Powers admitted that “Gehrig has no communicable disease and was not suffering from the mysterious polio germ that supposedly played havoc with the Yankee ball club,” and apologized for “hurting his feelings”. Gehrig’s suit was subsequently dropped, but media reports as late as October 25, 1940 suggested that the collective libel suit was still being advanced by Gehrig’s teammates. However, no further mention of that suit’s outcome could be found.

Incredibly, Powers not only didn’t lose his job for making such a scandalous suggestion, but went on to continue a controversial career that would include other accusations of libel. Meanwhile, the Yankees went on to post the best record (32-14) in baseball from the date of the original article, dispelling any lingering doubt that Powers story may have caused. Sadly, the only loser was Gehrig, who had to see his name dragged through the mud in what turned out to be his last time in the spotlight.  On June 2, 1941, Lou Gehrig passed away from ALS.