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April 16, 2012

Enough with the blowhard managers

Bobby Valentine, being Bobby Valentine, spouted off about Kevin Youkilis' game prep to the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham:

I don't think he's as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason.

Anyone expecting him not to say things like this doesn't understand Valentine's M.O. He's bombastic, confrontational and publicity-seeking. In other words, he's Boston's version of Ozzie Guillen. You know Guillen, the guy who recently said he loves and respects Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

I get that these two managers enjoy stirring the pot. They love to be the center of attention. They prefer to call our their players in the media instead of addressing their issues face-to-face in the privacy of the clubhouse. What I don't get is why, at least regarding that last point.

Sure, generating controversy boosts their notoriety and helps land them broadcast gigs when they're not in the dugout. That's smart (if annoying) business, helping set them up professionally and financially when their managerial schticks finally wear out their welcome.

But embarrassing their players in public, as Valentine just did and Guillen often did in Chicago, serves only to create a divide between themselves and their players. Who wants to listen to a manager who questions your integrity in public? Who wants to play for a manager who doesn't have your back?

I know these antics bring attention to a team, and as the old saying goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity. And plenty of people seem to revel in these controversies. But it seems the negative impact of this behavior in the clubhouse—and by extension, the playing field— would outweigh the positive impact of a few more ears and eyeballs focused on the team.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I wish Valentine and Guillen would just shut up.
Posted by: Greg Simons

February 19, 2012

Tim Wakefield career highlights

A few days ago, longtime Red Sox knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield announced his retirement after a lengthy big-league career that stretches back to the George H. W. Bush presidency.

When a player retires, it’s time to look back on his career, and that’s exactly what I’d like to do here. Below is a list of Tim Wakefield’s career highlights. Included are some of the greatest and memorable games he appeared in, his personal bests and worsts, and maybe an oddity or two he happened to be on hand for. Here they are, in chronological order:


Wakefield and his knuckleball.
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Posted by: Chris Jaffe

February 14, 2012

Ortiz and the Red Sox settle

After a lot of back and forth and debating over money, the Red Sox and David Ortiz have finally settled on a one-year deal worth $14.575 million to avoid arbitration. This was a midpoint between what the two sides had submitted into the arbitration hearing. There had been a struggle all offseason on finding a middle ground between the two sides, but on the morning of the hearing, an agreement was reached.

Ortiz, 36, had a great year as the Red Sox designated hitter in 2011, posting a .405 wOBA and a 153 wRC+, his best in each of those categories since 2007. For a guy who is supposed to be aging, he is still hitting for average and getting on base, and was one of the few Red Sox guys to stay healthy for most of last season.

Maybe eight figures is a lot to give to just a DH, but Big Papi has proven to be an elite one, even at his age. Even though the Sox collapsed last September and failed to make the playoffs, it wasn’t their hitting that failed them, but their starting pitching’s inability to stay healthy and put together quality starts. Boston scored the most runs in the majors in 2011 and Ortiz was a big part of that.

Even though he’ll be 37 in November, I still expect him to have a nice year. I don’t think there’s much of a chance that he’ll repeat the above numbers, but he’ll still be a force in the middle of that lineup. Bill James has him hitting .277/.378/.517 with 30 homers and a .381 wOBA. If he puts up those kind of numbers, he’ll be well worth the money.

Despite not making the postseason last year, the Sox are still a very dangerous club. They have arguably the best lineup in the bigs, a great front end of the rotation, and a revamped bullpe,n so they can easily make another run at the American League East title.
Posted by: Matt Filippi

January 23, 2012

Career highlights: Orlando Cabrera

A fewdays ago, longtime shortstop Orlando Cabrera announced he’s retiring from baseball after 15 seasons.

When news like this happens, it’s natural to look back on a player’s career, and for me that means putting together a list of career highlights. This list includes the greatest and most memorable games Cabrera played in, his personal bests (and some worsts), as well as some oddities he was on hand for and great moments by other players that occurred in games in which he participated.


Cabrera in his element - fielding the ball.

Basically, it’s a list of Orlando Cabrera’s best “I was there for that game.” Here they are, in order:

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Posted by: Chris Jaffe

October 27, 2011

How good has Mike Napoli’s World Series been?

With the World Series having shifted to St. Louis for good, we won't be able to hear the catchy "Na-Po-Li!" chant echo throughout Arlington anymore. However, Texas' catcher will still be heard and felt in a big way for the rest of the series and will likely be named series MVP if the Rangers close out their first world championship.

Mike Napoli has been so strong offensively in the eighth spot in the Rangers lineup that he's outperformed every player in this series except, perhaps, Cardinals hitter Albert Pujols. Even Pujols' batting average, RBI and slugging percentage don't match up to Napoli's production over the first five World Series games. In fact, if we look back at the cleanup hitters in the past five Fall Classics, it seems like Napoli has out-produced them all.

	             Slash Line	HR	RBI	R	XBH
Napoli 2011	.308/.389/.846	2	9	2	3
C. Ross  2010	.235/.381/.471	1	2	5	2
Guerrero 2010	.071/.125/.071	0	2	0	0
A-Rod 2009	.250/.423/.550	1	6	5	4
Howard 2009	.174/.240/.391	1	3	3	3
Howard 2008	.286/.375/.762	3	6	3	4
C. Pena 2008	.118/.250/.176	0	2	1	1
M. Ramirez 2007	.250/.333/.313	0	2	3	1
M. Holliday 2007.294/.294/.471	1	3	1	1

Posted by: Shlomo Sprung


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