Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[killeverything]

So apparently Hanley Ramirez threw a bit of a tantrum over the Marlins new dress code. They are instituting a short hair, no jewelry policy and Hanley isn't a fan.

Hanley Ramirez, the lone Marlin with five stars to his resume, walked through Thursday morning's clubhouse with a message written across his chest in Sharpie.

"I'm sick of this s---," it read.

He was serious. "I'm angry," he said.

A quiet day of spring was turning loud.

"I want to be traded," Ramirez soon said.

For a while, Hanley vs. Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! sounded like The Mane Event of spring. Ramirez, see, used to wear his hair in cornrows.

"I had to cut it," he said.

He also had to take off the jewelry dangling from his neck while playing.

"It's incredible," he said an hour later in the dugout, still angry. "We're big-leaguers."

"We want to look professional," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Nice and neat."

Word got out Ramirez was angry. And after he left the game in the sixth inning, he was met in the clubhouse by the Marlins brain trust of President David Samson, General Manager Larry Beinfest and assistant GM Mike Hill.

Ten minutes later, Ramirez left the locker room. So?

"Everything's great, I'm fine," Ramirez said.

What about the Sharpie message, the angry trade demand?

"My mind calmed down," he said.


I remember in Boston when he was a top prospect, that the Front Office had concerns about his immaturity. If I was Hanley and told to cut my hair, I woulda said "no. If you don't like it trade me." It's not like he could get to a worse situation. Kind of went about it like a child though.

[Facedown]

Interesting, Baseball Prospectus picks the A.L. East to look like this:

Boston - 99
N.Y. - 98
Tampa - 93
Balt. - 77
Jays - 77

8 days, 8 days.

[TawnyVonJagger]

Sigh. Hanley is young, dumb, and loaded. Get over it, it's just fucking hair! When GI Joe was here, he didn't allow any facial hair, and even Hawk shaved. Everyone survived.

In other news, I am saddened to hear that Dontrelle Willis has been put on the 15 day DL for an "anxiety disorder". I've always been a fan of his, and it hurts to see him struggle on, and now off the field. Hope he can get his shit together. Aaaaaaaaaaand Joel Zumaya is on the DL...again.

[JakeYonkel]

I dunno man, if I was making millions of dollars I'd do whatever my employer wanted me to do. Least of all worrying about cutting my hair and taking off chains.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

I've had my facial hair for almost 20 years and hated working at places that I had to get rid of it. I can see where he's coming from to a certain extent. The whole "clean and wholesome" thing is a bunch of bullshit in Baseball circa 2009. I guess the thousands of people who wear Manny wigs in LA would agree. That said, he should suck it up and deal with it for now, if the boss tells you to do something you do it. Tell your agent that you don't want a hair/dress code at your next stop.

[tin00can]

Interesting, Baseball Prospectus picks the A.L. East to look like this:

Boston - 99
N.Y. - 98
Tampa - 93
Balt. - 77
Jays - 77

8 days, 8 days.

How many wins did BP pick for Tampa last year?

God, I'd love to see a repeat of last year - Tampa takes the division. OK, let me correct that. Tampa takes the division and anybody besides the Red Sox or Yankees get the wild card, perhaps somebody from the Central - it would be great to see Kansas City get it.

[killeverything]

Interesting, Baseball Prospectus picks the A.L. East to look like this:

Boston - 99
N.Y. - 98
Tampa - 93
Balt. - 77
Jays - 77

8 days, 8 days.

How many wins did BP pick for Tampa last year?

God, I'd love to see a repeat of last year - Tampa takes the division. OK, let me correct that. Tampa takes the division and anybody besides the Red Sox or Yankees get the wild card, perhaps somebody from the Central - it would be great to see Kansas City get it.

Pythag had Tampa at 92 - 70. Their record was 97 - 65. BP predicted the team turnaround two years ago, stemmming from the 2005 draft. They had Tampa third, one game behind NY on the site last year.

I'm not putting too much into the predictions. On paper ( not unlike last season ) Boston is the team to beat......on paper. I think the AL East's 1 through 3 will have a differential of one game between the teams. With how the Central is shaping up, I expect the same there.

We are in store for a historic season IMO. Tampa is the Division Champs. Until someone knocks them out of the AL East Championship, they finish first IMO.

[tin00can]

Wow, there's mud in my eye! I was thinking they'd have given them in the low-to-mid 80s for wins.

And yeah, Boston IS indeed the team to beat...especially for the Angels. They've become a huge monkey on their backs.

[killeverything]

I don't see Boston winning 99. But if Burnett pitches well, I think the Yanks will win over 100. I think Tampa is the odd team out.

I don't care about Toronto and I think Baltimore should be sponsored by Vaseline.

Burnett is the question mark certainly. Here's some tidbits from Abraham about him, his spring, and pinstripes.

AJ said that he picked up from Doc Halladay not to overthrow with every pitch. So now instead of sitting 96 like he probably could he pitches at 93 and dials it up when he needs to. And there are reports that AJ has shared that nugget with Joba ( as evidenced by the NY Post's recent article of Joba's diminished FB velocity....remember it's still spring ).

Although that's funny because I also saw an interview with the Jays' pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, in which he said that their problem with AJ was exactly the oppposite, that AJ coasted too much, especially against the lesser teams. Was Arnsberg telling him one thing and Halladay something diametrically opposed to it? I'm not saying it couldn't be the case, but that's a weird atmosphere. Leiter told AJ the same thing, so take with it what you will.

ERA+ of 103 is very good. AJ had an ERA+ of 105 last season. If he can stay healthy that's a great starter, even though he's pitching for the team he "owned" last year. 5GS 3-0 38.1IP 1.64ERA 43SO. A five year deal just so NY doesn't have to face him again? Makes sense to me.

[killeverything]

The Burnett deal scares me because those types of situations, where you bring in a guy that was killing you, never works. I wish the Mets signed Pat Burrell just so he could kill them all over again.

From what I read, Burnett has some of the best stuff in the majors, like top five stuff. He's obviously a head case and injury prone. But if he wins 15, the Yankees are going to win over a 100.

I think the Yankees have the highest potential, and the lowest risk, regular season wise. I'll give Boston the edge over Tampa, just because repeating is so hard.

BTW, talking about head cases, what the fuck is up with Dontrelle Willis? First of all he wears that hat like the guy who wore the lampshade on Fat Albert and now he's talking like he's on angel dust or some shit. He's going Steve Blass on The Tiger's asses.

I put all 3 in the East even. I don't think any team has a definite edge right now. There are too many question marks. Health permiting Boston could have the best rotation, and best bullpen. Could. Blah, blah, blah anyways.

As for AJ, he kicked the Mighty Red Sox's ass last season too.....just not like the MFY. 4GS 2-0 27.2IP 27SO 2.62ERA

So there's that.

[killeverything]

Sheffield cut by Tigers at 499 home runs.

I remember when he was on the Yankees, it was like having Mike Tyson on your team.

Wow. No shit?

Well obviously the Tigers are a racist organization.

[Machado]

Gardner has won the opening day CF job for the Yankees
Melky stays on the team as a reserve.

Albaladejo earned a spot on the team as a reliever for the 2nd consecutive year. He beat out Tomko for this role out of the pen. Tomko pitched great this spring. I'm a bit surprised by this move.

Last roster spot up for grabs is utility infielder.
Berroa or Pena are the options.
Berroa can hit, Pena can field. Neither can do both
Do they want a glove to fill in late in games or do they prefer another hitter off the bench with expierience?

[killeverything]

Gardner has won the opening day CF job for the Yankees
Melky stays on the team as a reserve.

Albaladejo earned a spot on the team as a reliever for the 2nd consecutive year. He beat out Tomko for this role out of the pen. Tomko pitched great this spring. I'm a bit surprised by this move.

Last roster spot up for grabs is utility infielder.
Berroa or Pena are the options.
Berroa can hit, Pena can field. Neither can do both
Do they want a glove to fill in late in games or do they prefer another hitter off the bench with expierience?

These moves surprise me. I've been saying that I think the begining of the season will matter more than it has in the past, for a bit now. With Arod out until May 15, why make the line-up that weak with such good competition in the East?

Ransom, Gardner, and Molina ( sometimes with Posada's shoulder issues )? That's pretty impotent. Gardner just has speed, he hits singles and only singles. 13 SB with one CS, an EQA of .232 ( season adjusted ). Color me unimpressed. Especially with the recent 'Gardner Could Grow Into The Yankees Version Of Pedroia' article, written by NY mongoloid Mike Lupia.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseb ... es_ve.html

Now this is the problem I see with Garner. There is absolutely no SLG. no power. Against AAA or AAAA pitchers, that's not necessarily a problem per say. In the big leagues though? The Halladays, Becketts, Lesters, Lirianos will eat him alive. All he can hope for is a BB, but since he's a burner on the basepaths. I highly doubt they will do everything in their power to keep him off base via walk. He struck out 76 times in 341 AAA at-bats. With no power that's not sustainable at a major league level.

For comparison level with AAA stats:

Gardner: .290 .389 .385 151 SBs/31 CS
Ellsbury: .313 .389 .425 105 SBs/27 CS
Pedroia: .308 .392 .454 11SBs/9 CS

There is no way Gardner gets on base at a .390 level. 393 OBP in the AA in 2004, .331 OBP in the majors. Last year his OBP was an abysmal .308. Does his 68 potential SB compensate for that? Doubtful. I don't understand the certified starting CF position.

[killeverything]

Steve Phillips was on ESPN yesterday preparing everyone for Gardner to be a disaster. I wouldn't be suprised.

I think the Yankees will have a Cameron or someone else by the All-Star break. I think economics are going to impact teams and they're going to be willing to part with guys earlier than usual this year.

The yankees are still paying for not taking Beltran. And the Mets for not taking guerrero.

On MLBN they were saying the MFY are open to trading Melky. I see some sort of move happening but who?

[Machado]

Steve Phillips was on ESPN yesterday preparing everyone for Gardner to be a disaster. I wouldn't be suprised.

I think the Yankees will have a Cameron or someone else by the All-Star break. I think economics are going to impact teams and they're going to be willing to part with guys earlier than usual this year.

The yankees are still paying for not taking Beltran. And the Mets for not taking guerrero.

On MLBN they were saying the MFY are open to trading Melky. I see some sort of move happening but who?

Phillips is paid to make comments that will stir up any situation. Who really cares what he says!!

Let's stop the madness for a minute.
The Yankees were very close to trading Melky in the off-season for Cameron, yes? For whatever reason that deal did not work out at the time.
So in ST the Yankees have an open competition. Someone had to win.
Gardner gets the 1st crack to see what he can do.
Girardi has said this is NOT a platoon situation. Which means Gardner will get more than his share of at bats to prove he can start, play everyday and help the team win.
If he struggles or is overmatched, then insert Melky or Melky can be traded possibly for Cameron or maybe another CF.
I don't see nothing wrong with the approach to begin the season.

Keep in mind, Austin Jackson impressed the team a lot in ST.
Is he ready to play in the majors? Not sure. He is another name that could be called up to play CF if Gardner does not work out.

[JakeYonkel]

I'm interested to see Gardner in CF. Truth be told, after the one solid season Melky had in '06, they probably should have looked to move him when his value was at its max. He's got limited power, doesn't run well, and is really a lousy hitter from the right side. He's got a plus arm - that's it. Plus he's got that Bobby Abreu/JD Drew "I look like I don't give two fucks what happens" look about him pretty often. No fire.

So let's see what Gardner can do. He's batting 9th. There aren't really high expectations. With the improvements to the pitching staff, there SHOULDN'T be high expectations on the #9 hitter. Let him get on base a little bit, steal some bags, whatever. He can be their Juan Pierre, at a fraction of the cost and complaining.


Gonna start the annual Predictions thread soon, maybe later today.

[Machado]

What the fuck Machado. How is saying Gardner sucking is stirring up the pot. Its completely plausible, unlike your ability to have any objectivity towards the Yankees.

He won a job in spring training when guys are at the WBC and pitchers are working on their mechanics.

i could see the Yankees trying to re-open talks with Cameron. Christ, Andruw Jones could at least field. Give him a shot.

a. jones? are you for real? at this moment in time, he is not better of a hitter or fielder than both Gardner and Melky.
jones was once great, but that ship has sailed.

c'mon, phillips on ESPN is making noise for the sake of making noise. what else is he going to say? of course he'll make a case against Gardner, upsetting Yankees fans and getting some press. BIG FUCKING DEAL!!!

i am fully aware that Gardner could be a bust. he might not play well enough to hold Bubba Crosby's jock.
he still won the job over Melky this spring, no matter who was playing on the field.

a. jones-now that is easily the funniest thing i have heard today.
no chance jones ever plays great again.

[Machado]

Yankees Pitching Staff-(unofficial)

C.C.(L)
Wang
Burnett
Pettitte(L)
Joba


Mo**closer**
Bruney
Marte(L)
Edwar Ramirez
Phil Coke(L)
Jose Veras
Albaladejo

[killeverything]

I think that the potential problem with relying on Gardner is the amount of pressure put on the pitchers early in the season.

So far Arod won't be back until 5-15. That's a lot of power lost. You don't need another singles hitter, you have that in Jeter. I think Gardner's going to be overmatched mightily by major league pitchers. Especially a .390 OBP I expect to fall heavily. It doesn't matter how fast you are if you can't get on base.

The reason why I don't think any team can afford to "wait and hit their stride", is the upgrades in the competition across the board. AL East be damned, the Wild Card competition is gonna be fierce too. Especially with the Central, and Gardenhire's "holy shit here they come again" Twins.

Aside from Anaheim, with a possible surge by Oakland at some point to keep things interesting. I don't think anyone will run away with the Division this year. Team's are so evenly matched it's unreal.

Fuck were in for a good one.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Sheffield cut by Tigers at 499 home runs.

I remember when he was on the Yankees, it was like having Mike Tyson on your team.

Wow. No shit?

Well obviously the Tigers are a racist organization.

I just read that Sheffield getting the boot means that Marcus Thames will be an everday player, either at DH or spelling one of the corner OF spots. That guy either strikes out or hits home runs, with a little more discipline he'd be formidable.

[killeverything]

Sheffield cut by Tigers at 499 home runs.

I remember when he was on the Yankees, it was like having Mike Tyson on your team.

Wow. No shit?

Well obviously the Tigers are a racist organization.

I just read that Sheffield getting the boot means that Marcus Thames will be an everday player, either at DH or spelling one of the corner OF spots. That guy either strikes out or hits home runs, with a little more discipline he'd be formidable.

Interesting.

He seems to be inpatient. "Nomah-esque", with problems being behind in the count he goes to Mendoza levels.

0-2 BAA .211
1-2 BAA .105
2 strikes .156

He's .252 with RiSP. He has a OPS+ of 105 and he's above the League average with all his SLG. He's put up a .257ISO so I do see potential there.

Sheffroid is a prick, we all know that. Aside from his struggles in Detroit that bat is pretty big. I think it's funny he was "Canseco-ed."

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

The rumor was that Thames was on the trading block because of the OF logjam. I find it interesting that they picked up that kid from Atlanta to further muddy things.

Another interesting thing I read was that the White Sox released OF Jerry Owens. Another blazer with no bat. Wonder who picks him up looking for some cheap speed?

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Sheffield must have pissed someone off. I mean to cut someone owing him $14 million dollars without letting the fucker hit one more home run? Leyland liked him. had him in Florida.

I bet Al Davis signs him.

I bet they trade Ordonez and maybe Guillen and hold on to Cabrera. Granderson is going to be great.

ESPN is reporting that the Phillies are interested and cut 4th OF Geoff Jenkins. I guess Sheff wants to go to the Rays, but I'd love to have him in Philly.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Who am I?

Hint: I pitched for 12 years in the big leagues, and threw a perfect game in 1988. I'm now sitting in the can in Florida where I'm charged with not paying 99K of child support:




Hint 2: I'm NOT Rush Limbaugh

[Machado]

Derek Jeter could be the first New York Yankees player to bat at their new stadium.

Manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday that his spring training switch of Jeter and Johnny Damon atop the lineup has worked so well that as of right now, the Yankees captain will bat first and Damon second for the season opener at Baltimore on Monday.

"I've liked what I've seen," Girardi said.

Girardi flip-flopped Damon and Jeter for the first time on March 26. The manager was impressed with what he saw earlier in spring training when Damon batted second so catcher Jorge Posada, coming back from right shoulder surgery, could hit first and get extra at-bats.

Jeter is a career .315 hitter batting first. The last time Damon hit second with more than 50 at-bats came in 2002.

New York will complete spring training at the new Yankee Stadium starting with a workout on Thursday. The Yankees will play their final two exhibition games there Friday and Saturday against the Chicago Cubs. Their home opener is April 16.

[killeverything]

Jeter seems more comfortable batting second.

The reason for the switch, aside from Jeter being a singles hitter is so he has the first AB in new MFY Stadium.

[Machado]

Jeter seems more comfortable batting second.

The reason for the switch, aside from Jeter being a singles hitter is so he has the first AB in new MFY Stadium.

The change could be due to how many DP's Jeter hit into last season.
Was the number at 24???

Does anybody know if the exhibition games this weekend at Yankee Stadium will be televised???
MLB NETWORK
ESPN
ESPN 2
???

[killeverything]

Jeter seems more comfortable batting second.

The reason for the switch, aside from Jeter being a singles hitter is so he has the first AB in new MFY Stadium.

The change could be due to how many DP's Jeter hit into last season.
Was the number at 24???

Does anybody know if the exhibition games this weekend at Yankee Stadium will be televised???
MLB NETWORK
ESPN
ESPN 2
???

Analyzing a player hitting into DPs is like judging a pitcher on wins/losses, or a batter with RBIs.

Jeter almost had a 200 hit season last year ( 178 ). Remember after he was hit on the hand in May? He went .203/.297/.298 over the next 20 games. He's still getting hits. 24 GiDPs with Traitor's .303OBP. I gotta wonder if that was attributed to his hand injury or age. In 2007 hit into 21 double plays. You didn't even think of switching he and Traitor going into '08.

I'm to lazy to look up his hit charts at those 20 games right now. In 2007 he had 208 hits and a BAA .022 points higher.....that's without the injury. He does hit more groundballs now. 56% in 2007, 58% in 2008. He's still getting hits.

If you bat him leadoff to eliminate the GiDP, what about the next time through the lineup with your number 8 or 9 hitter on. It's kinda hard to eliminate the possibility of someone on base altogether. I think this is a publicity move to have him be the first batter in new MFY Stadium.

As for the exhibition games, I'm sure they're going to be televised. It's the new stadium and all that. If they're not on any of the Networks. It's certain to be on YES. I'd be surprised if it wasn't on MLBN, or ESPN though.

[tin00can]

If I can bump the AL East for a bit...

Looks like the Angels are in for a rocky first month. Lackey and Santana will be on the DL for the first month, giving them a rotation of...Saunders, Weaver, Adenhart, Moseley and probably Loux. Who? Yeah, I know. Escobar may be back by the end of the month. He has a lot of question marks but he could be huge. By the end of may the Angels could have Lackey, Escobar, Santana, Saunders and Weaver, which could be the best rotation in baseball. Seriously.

The Angels are pounding the ball in spring training, for what that is worth. Some of the kids - Morales, Aybar and Wood (who unfortunately just went down to AAA) are looking really good and I think they have a decent chance to keep it up in the regular season.

The Padres...well, never mind. They'll have a spot ready in the NL West cellar. They could surprise, but the pitching staff (outside of Peavy and Young) is probably gonna be scary. Not the good scary, either.

[killeverything]

If I can bump the AL East for a bit...

Looks like the Angels are in for a rocky first month. Lackey and Santana will be on the DL for the first month, giving them a rotation of...Saunders, Weaver, Adenhart, Moseley and probably Loux. Who? Yeah, I know. Escobar may be back by the end of the month. He has a lot of question marks but he could be huge. By the end of may the Angels could have Lackey, Escobar, Santana, Saunders and Weaver, which could be the best rotation in baseball. Seriously.

The Angels are pounding the ball in spring training, for what that is worth. Some of the kids - Morales, Aybar and Wood (who unfortunately just went down to AAA) are looking really good and I think they have a decent chance to keep it up in the regular season.

The Padres...well, never mind. They'll have a spot ready in the NL West cellar. They could surprise, but the pitching staff (outside of Peavy and Young) is probably gonna be scary. Not the good scary, either.

This is why I expect Oakland to make things interesting a little. Anaheim didn't do anything to make their team better this offseason, with their competition.....or lack there of. They didn't need to.

I just think if someone in the West revamps, there will be a race. Last season ( which is why Pythag matters ), they overplayed their projections. There was no competition within the Division. They are fucking tough, but come a hell of a lot tougher with wins and losses with where the majority of their games are played.

As for San Diego. I see their Minor League team ALL THE TIME. Everytime they have someone who could make a difference, their gone. Cust, Barfield, Macanulty, etc. Regardless of how much they've talked about what they learned when Lucchino and Epstein were there. They have to give it time to blossom, it's not overnight ( Cashman that goes to you too ).