» Pitching

*Cough cough* no. Joba is good, but he isn’t All-Star good. Yet. And the Yankees rotation isn’t very dominating. CC Sabathia was grossly overpaid and pitched well in the inferior NL. He will be lit up by every AL East team other than Baltimore, not to mention other teams in the AL. And does anybody remember how the Red Sox lit him up in 2007? I sure do.

Heh heh heh...

Wang is also good but he isn’t as good as the media has portrayed him as.Wang is also very hittable. Burnett had one good year—2008, a contract year. He was also well overpaid and he has never pitched under pressure. Chamberlain has great stuff but he has never pitched out of the rotation in the big leagues. 5+ innings is much different from the 1-2 innings he pitched before. And he will get thrown out many times if he continues to act the way he likes to—throwing two straight pitches at a batter’s head, like with Kevin Youkilis. And Pettite is old. He will be average at best this year.

But the Red Sox rotation is a different story. This rotation has the perfect balance of youth and veterans. Josh Beckett is both young and a veteran and he should have won the Cy Young in 2007. Daisuke Matsuzaka has been incredible in his two years in the Majors and he can only get better in his third year. Jon Lester is only the best lefty in baseball, and therefore must be better than Sabathia. Brad Penny should put together a solid year or better and John Smoltz is proven to be a terrific pitcher and a big game pitcher. Tim Wakefield is statistically the best pitcher on the Red Sox and the only problem he could have would be his catcher, who thinks he’s up to the challenge of the knuckleball. And Wake even said he has been comfortable throwing to him during Spring games.

Basically, no matter who’s out there for the Yankees WE are poised for a sweep every series. The Yankees have the offense, but the Red Sox have the pitching, defense, and consistency that never seems to come out of the Bronx anymore. All the Red Sox have to do is win the Spring game tonight and they will prove my point that the Red Sox CAN sweep the Yankees multiple times this year.

It’s no secret that a good rotation is the key to a championship, and it pains me to say that the Astros just don’t have a good one this year.

Roy Oswalt is a legitimate ace, but his ERA has been going up and his innings pitched have been going down since 2005. Roy-O will lead the team in wins and ERA, and put up good strike out numbers, but his supporting cast does not look all that impressive.

Wandy Rodriguez is currently listed as the no. 2 starter. He pitches very well at home, posting an ERA under 3 in home games last year, but just can’t seem to put it together on the road. Last year was the young pitcher’s best year in the majors so far, and if he can build and improve upon his results he can complement Roy O nicely. He was also injured for a bit last year, but there seems to be no lingering effects.

Third in the rotation is Brandon Backe. Backe put up horrid numbers last year: a 9-14 recrod with an ERA over 6. You just can’t win games with pitching like that. However, it was the first time he had pitched over 50 innings since 2005, and last year’s 166.2 innings pitched is his most innings pitched in a season to date, with 149.1 pitched in 2005. I think Backe rebounds this year but not to the tune the Astros need him to. I expect around a .500 performance from him, with an ERA in the low 4’s. I sure hope I’m wrong though.

The 4th pitcher made his career pitching in Houston, pitching very well as a young pitcher joining the team in 1996 through his all star season in 1999 where he claimed 22 wins and an impressive 2.90 ERA. I’m talking of course about Mike Hampton. The past few years he has been with Braves and  has been plagued by injuries, but if he is healthy and can regain even 80% of his former Houston self the Astros will benefit immensely. That’s a big if though, and I remain optimistic as a fan, but realistic as a blogger. Hampton will have better numbers than Backe and probably better numbers than Wandy if he pitches the whole season. His upside is immense though, but I fear he is just too old to put together the type of season the Astros need.

For now, Brian Moehler rounds out the fifth spot. He’s 37 and has a high ERA and low strike out rates. Fernando Nieve might get a his first shot at a starting rotation gig if he impressives coaches during Spring Training. I just don’t see Moehler has a good fifth starter, but the Astros don’t seem to have many options.

So, to sum up, the rotation looks extremely questionable after Roy, but an improved Wandy and a possible resurgent Hampton could give Houston a good shot to be in contention until the trade deadline, where they make a move to grab a solid starting pitcher.

Houston has historically been a second half team, so if we can make it to the break with a decent record and pick up a solid pitcher, the Astros could make a slim run at the wildcard.

The Red Sox head in to 2009 with easily the best pitching staff in baseball.

Their ace Josh Beckett is looking to improve his 2008 stats and return to his Cy Young deserving form of 2007. Daisuke Matsuzaka has had two years in the Majors and should now be able to make a full adjustment, especially considering the Red Sox could convert to a 6-man rotation when Smoltz is ready to pitch. Jon Lester is arguably the southpaw in baseball and he can only get better. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is back, and as long as he gets a little more run support than he did last year, he should statistically be the best pitcher on the Sox this year. Brad Penny, John Smoltz, and Clay Bucholz should all have a positive impact from the tail end of the rotation.

In the ‘pen the Sox got the pieces they needed to be able to hold leads and close out games. Wes Littleton, Ramon Ramirez, and Takashi Saito are the newcomers, joining Javier Lopez, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, and Justin Masterson. In the back of the ‘pen is currently the best and most dominating closer in the league, as Jonathan Papelbon returns for his 4th big league season.

In the minors the Sox have top pitching prospect Michael Bowdin, as well as knuckleballer Charlie Zink. Both appeared in Boston for short stints and putting together some impressive performances. They should be a good part-time fill-in this year.

I don’t know what it is that interests me about the AAGPBL, maybe it’s the fact that as a young boy I was shown the film A League Of Their Own, really it was my first introduction to baseball, and definitely my first introduction to the history of the game. Ever since those early days I have watched the film many times with a passing interest. As you can see by my earlier blog posts I’m a keen spectator of history, but until now I have never thought to look in more detail. Even though I have never looked at the Girls Professional league before I did learn one thing very early:

‘ There’s no crying! There’s no crying in baseball’

Lets look back to the year 1942, the world was shoulder deep in a global conflict, men were needed. The Americans had joined the war and men from the baseball diamond were being sent to the European battlefields to preserve democracy.
With the lack of male players to play the games the clubs faced crisis, major league ballparks were faced with years of abandonment and this is where the Chicago Cubs connection is established.

Phillip K. Wrigley a chewing gum merchant, the son of William Wrigley Jr and owner of our beloved Cubs. Phillip K. Wrigley was given the job of finding a solution to this developing problem. Phillip enlisted the help of Ken Sells who was assistant to the Cubs General manager, Ken Sells along with others made the suggestion of a girls baseball league to be established.

In the spring of 1943 the League was formed and trials were held at historic Wrigley field. The official name at the establishment was not the baseball league but a softball league, this was due to underhand pitching, a larger ball and shorter distances from the pitching mound to the plate (40 ft instead of 60ft). When the name of the league was changed to baseball the disgruntled media were not impressed so the owners were forced to change the name to simply the All American Girls Professional Ball league.

Mary Baker, Catcher for the South Bend Blue Sox

The Chicago Cubs not only financed and help establish the league, but they also played a prominent role in establishing the rules of the league. Jack Sheehan a scout and past player of the Cubs worked with Ken Sells and Vern Hernlund to establish the set of rules by which the ladies would play by. As the only form of the game for women at the time was softball, Jack Sheehan tried to encompass aspects of both Softball and Baseball into the game.
There were already established female softball teams in urban centres around the United States and Canada with players of a high quality. So it seemed logical to Jack Sheehan that they should keep aspects of the game, they stayed with the 12 inch softball and the underhand pitching but, they decided that they would lengthen the base paths and encompass professional baseball running game (Leading off and stealing bases). Softball had 10 players but it was decided that they would go with the conventional baseball rules of just 9 players.

Jim Hamilton, 30-year veteran player, manager, owner and Chicago Cubs’ scout was given the task of finding the players that were to make up the league, he would travel all across the United States trying to find capable women to play the game that would draw the crowds. Phillip K. Wrigley already had scouting networks placed all over the country thanks to his ownership of the Chicago Cubs.

Hundreds of women flocked to regional try outs to try to prove to scouts that they had what it took to play in the first professional girls baseball league. Of the hundreds that tried out for the teams only 280 were invited to Wrigley field for the final tryouts, and of these 280 only 60 made the cut.

Phillip K. Wrigley envisioned making money from the league, he approached other major league owners about the possibility that the women’s league would play in the major league parks while the major league team was away. ( We must remember that during these years, teams did not just disappear, but most of the big names were fighting in the war) He argues that this would maximise profit and maximise the use of ballparks that by this time were only being used 50%.
Despite what seems to me to be a logical suggestion my Mr Wrigley it was not received well by other major league owners so 4 non major league city’s were approached instead. The cities chosen were Racine and Kenosha Wisconsin, Rockford, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana, a budget was drawn up and Phillip K. Wrigley agreed to sign up to paying half the budget for each team, with the city of the teams completing the payment on the other half.

There were 4 teams consisting of 15 players to a team, a team manager, a business manager and a female chaperone. On top of this the managers were one of the most important decisions that the owners had, some thought that the league was not enough to bring the crowds, and so high profile managers were thought to be a priceless way to attract crowd attention. .Johnny Gottselig; Bert Niehoff, former Major League player and minor league manager; Josh Billings, former Major League player; and Eddie Stumpf, former Milwaukee Brewers catcher were the first managers selected.

Spring training was scheduled for May 17th 1943 at Wrigley field, and players were scrutinized much like they are today. Scouts say that a player is assessed based on speed, hitting, hitting for power and range well scouts in 1943 were assessing the girls on similar criteria, the girls were accessed on Playing there position, running, catching and sliding as well as obviously hitting.
The girls that were successful were signed to pro contracts and were obliged to not take any other employment during the season, the wages were good and some players earned more than there parents.
Like the film a league of their own it was true that every lady who played in the league had to be just that. A lady. There were moral standards and rules of conduct that every player had to adhere to.
All players after training had to attend evening etiquette classes, Helena Rubenstein’s Beauty Salon. They were taught the right etiquette for every situation and were given a beauty kit and instructions on how to use it.

Mrs Wrigley, Wrigley’s art designer and Ann Harnett combined to design uniforms for the new league. Ann Harnett would become a model of these uniforms, she would also be the first player to sign a professional contract. The costume was designed in coherence with the hockey and tennis costumes of the time.

Finally, finally….I am quite comfortable with the tail end of the Mets Bullpen. After the last two seasons, Mets fans were left with nothing more than shattered hopes and dreams. One of the core reasons for this was clearly the lack of stablity in the bullpen.

You know the numbers: the 2008 Mets had the best record in the major leagues if games ended, as they do in Little League, after six innings.

Looking at it now we pick up K-Rod and Putz. Two guys who clearly can make a serious difference when the game is on the line in the late innings.

So the Mets signed Rodriguez, a free agent, to a three-year, $36 million contract, and they traded with Seattle for Putz. Last year, Rodriguez set the major league record for saves in a season with 62.

Rodriguez has saved at least 40 games four years in a row, tied for the longest streak in history. He is the first pitcher ever to lead the American League in saves, then switch leagues the following year. A switch of leagues doesn’t appear to be an issue for him, nor is the pressure he might feel as being one of the saviors of the bullpen, if not the team. 

Again, I want to see K-Rod step up when it counts as he has in the past. In those big Mets and Phillies showdowns, I want to see the lights go out on the Phils offense in the later innings!

I can;t wait to see this revamped bullpen in action.