Variety: A-Rod Bats for Oseary’s Team

Guy Oseary, the former record company executive whose personal management stable includes Madonna, has signed his first athlete, Alex Rodriguez.

Seems to be a formality, but apparently he’s dropped Boras and signed on with this guy who’s more of a “celebrity” manager.

Not reading the other thread, eh?

Anyway, as long as we’re already OT, here’s a tidbit from today’s Neyer chat:

Rob (Andover, CT): Say you want to limit two young starting pitchers to roughly 150 innings next season. Do you: 1) limit their starts (skipping their turns occasionally and plugging in other guys); or 2) limit their innings/start (pull ‘em after 5) Is there a third option I’m not thinking of? “Forget the innings caps” isn’t what I’m looking for.

SportsNation Rob Neyer: (1:14 PM ET ) I don’t like the pull-’em-after-5 option because it may create some bullpen issues. UNLESS you have a long man in the bullpen, which is something I’ve espoused for a while now. What about making your two guys co-fifth starters, at least for the first couple of months? One guy goes four innings, the other guy goes three or four, and five days later they flip-flop? Maybe the game’s do highly evolved that there’s no longer any room for experimentation, but I’d like to see a little more creativity, especially with the kids.

I seem to recall some brilliantly insightful poster making the same suggestion on this very site not too long ago. 

Regarding Melky playing Winter Ball, he in fact did play last year.  The Yanks just stopped him from participating in the Dominican League playoffs - which I believe encompass the season’s final week.

As far as Cano’s defense, I agree with Keith Law: good range, questionable hands.  He’s above-average overall, but sometimes it seems like he’s half-asleep picking up the ball.

i have also heard that Cano and Abreu eat empenandas in the dugout between innings, which contributes to their lazy fielding.

but sometimes it seems like he’s half-asleep picking up the ball.

I think certainly in 2005 he had a number of concentration-lapses, which is what got him labeled as a “lazy” fielder.  I can think of reading any number of articles or baseball chats last year were people ignored the numbers and just talked about how Cano was a lazy fielder and therefore not good.

I think in 2006 and certainly 2007 he’s done a good job of focusing better in the field.  Sure, he may still have some work to do, but hopefully that part of his career is behind him.

Perhaps Derek Jeter should indulge in some empanadas between innings if the result would be Cano-like fielding.

MC in VA:

That was me in the Neyer chat.  By the way, I originally wrote the question with option #3 being “tandem starter"… let’s call him JobaPhil.  But for some odd reason I pulled it before I hit submit.

I like the idea.  I’d also be ok with “pull ‘em after five and put in Moose” but that presumes Moose would do that.  The JobaPhil concept requires Moose (or someone further down the depth chart) take a regular turn in the rotation.

SG,

I’d think Pedroia is probably in that mix as well (best overall 2B in the AL).

yup and IE: excellent.

Cano does happen to have long eyelashes, which I’m sure contribute to this perception that he’s lazy or sleepy or whatever--even more than most Latins are!

I’d think Pedroia is probably in that mix as well (best overall 2B in the AL).

Who’s that?

There’s actually quite a few good second baseman in the AL.  Here’s CAIRO’s top 10, offense plus defense pro-rated to 162 games.

PBRaR/650 = position-adjusted runs above replacement using linear weights over 650 plate appearances.
RS/162 - runs saved by Zone Rating per 1440 defensive innings
Total: PBRaR/650 + RS/162

Now Ellis never really plays a full season, although he was pretty durable in 2007.  Cano projects to be the best offensive 2B, and he’s young enough to exceed his projection without surprising anyone.  Defensively, Hill, Ellis and Polanco project better.  I’m really hoping Cano can avoid his customary month long slump this season.

What’s with the singularity at t=t_0?

What’s with the singularity at t=t_0?

I set the Y-axis to cut off at .750 but both Cano and the AL average were below that in the first week. I chose to ignore that as a sample size issue to let the graph show the gap between Cano and average a little more starkly without making the graph unnecessarily tall.

i have also heard that Cano and Abreu eat empenandas in the dugout between innings

I somehow missed this in the Mitchell Report.

To be fair, while there are records of Abreu purchasing empanadas in Venezuela (where they are legal) and ordering them over the internet, the reports on Cano state merely that Abreu asked him if he’d ever eaten empanadas in Puerto Rico, with Cano replying that he hadn’t but he’d like to try them sometime.

On the other hand, I recall reading that Cano refused to answer questions about his mofongo intake.

Why would any respectable Dominican like Cano eat empanadas in Puerto Rico?

As for Abreu, he most likely prefers reinas pepiadas.

hahahaha

"Why would any respectable Dominican like Cano eat empanadas in Puerto Rico?”

Umm . . .  he was vacationing somewhere warm one winter?

"As for Abreu, he most likely prefers reinas pepiadas.”

I’d say his sex life is none of your business.

What’s a reina pepiada?  Sounds good.

Why isn’t there a place to get yummy Dominican in the Stadium?  Too scary for the folks in from Joisey?

Any of you boys ever eaten at US Fried Chicken on Gerard and 161st?  Good stuff.

"What’s a reina pepiada?”

It used to mean a kind of arepa but it has become slang for a kind of drag queen.

My favorite eatery near the stadium is the Feeding Tree, also on Gerard.  Succulent jerk goat.

"It used to mean a kind of arepa but it has become slang for a kind of drag queen.”

Don’t know about the arepa, but the drag queen sounds tasty!

As to the young pitchers and innings limits, I’m kind of fond of the idea someone came up with a few threads back of using Joba as Johan Santana was used back in 2003 for the Twins.  Use him out of the bullpen for the first half of the season, giving him the occasional spot start or long relief outing, then shift him into the rotation for the second half.  Santana pitched a little over 150 innings with this usage in ‘03.  Early on, Joba would bolster the bullpen, giving the Yanks more time to evaluate the other relievers on hand, in the minors, and in the trade market, and then he slots into the rotation when you need him in the second half.  And I suppose Joba could “shadow” Hughes during his time in the bullpen, if that’s how Girardi chose to do it.

Strategically, this would make a lot of sense.  The concerns are whether the team would be able to move Joba from the bullpen at midseason if he’s perceived to be too valuable in that role, or if another half-season in the bullpen would harm the development of Joba’s change-up, curve, stamina, etc.

Rob’s idea is interesting too.  I know some teams do the 4 and 4 in the minors, especially at lower levels.  I’m sure if you tried it in the majors the commentariat would scream bloody murder, and I guess I can see a case that it might retard the buildup of stamina...but if it’s only done early in the season to keep innings down, you can work both pitchers into a heavier workload (and conventional starting roles) later in the year.

You know, everybody loved Jim Kaat, but he was Offender #1 when it came to “In my day, guys threw 213 pitches in a fourteen-inning complete game and then came back on no days rest.”

That was me in the Neyer chat.  By the way, I originally wrote the question with option #3 being “tandem starter"… let’s call him JobaPhil.  But for some odd reason I pulled it before I hit submit.

I’ve been pondering the exact same question, albeit for Buchholz and Lester (until the inevitable Wakefield back problem). In our case, with two 40-somethings, they’d probably only need this routine for about six weeks total; then taking regular starts the rest of the year. And I LOVE the shared-starts concept… regularity, low-stress, low innings. What’s holding anyone (who has six starters) back?

Perhaps all it takes is a young manager (like Girardi perhaps) who is not afraid to try new ideas to implement the shared rotation spot.  On the other hand, having either Joba or Hughes as a reliever/long man for half a season would not only greatly upgrade the pen, it would also deny a roster spot to a more marginal long man candidate like Jeff Karstens - which would also be a plus.

--but if it’s only done early in the season to keep innings down, you can work both pitchers into a heavier workload (and conventional starting roles) later in the year.
--

The only downside to this is that you’re going to want Joba and Hughes fresh for the playoffs.  By cutting down on the innings at the beginning of the season, you lessen the advantage.  Finding a way to cut back on innings in the dog days of August might be better.

my chat with Neyer didn’t go so well today......

Any of you boys ever eaten at US Fried Chicken on Gerard and 161st?

Every freakin time I get off the B/D train. I can often be found polishing off the Best Biscuits In The City, standing on the corner, just before heading across the street to the Yankee Tavern to wet my whistle.

F gas.. re Kaat.. He had some good points about the upper echelon pitchers of his era. Check out some Lolich , Hunter ,Carlton stats from those days.
Seaver too.
A lot of those lads would eat 300+ innings 3,4 years inna row, have a shitty year and come back with a stellar season or three.
Palmer was also a good example. Yo Yo seasons.
Denny McLains 68,69 Seasons are not to be believed. I think he had 56 wins.
Thats 3 great years today.
Carltons 1972 season was the first year I embraced the stats. 27 wins on a team that won 59 games. I actually saw him pitch twice that year at the brand new Vet. Whadda Palace.
Fuck Clemens.
Sorry.

Hard Ball TImes had a nice piece on pitchers becoming more fragile:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/have-pitchers-become-more-fragile/

Good read for those interested.

I would be willing to wager that Cano will win the AL batting title next season.

I’ll check it out Da Puj.
Remember when A Phil asked you if you were Punjabi? That cracked me up.
I kinda miss that wee muttface.

me too thruman. A Phil was one of my first friends in these here parts. i thought when i sent him my pirated copy Aaron Boone 2003 we’d be BFFFFFF. but where’s the sucker been????? oh to be in hikezkool again.

when i sent him that game we had a <3 to <3. now he just pops in and sayshe’s blooggin on his own but won’t tel lus where he is.

Too scary for the folks in from Joisey?

yeah, cause we obviously have no brown people or their wacky food here.

Schedule is out (See MLB.com).  Plus about the chicken (posts 22&32), I LOVE that place.  I went there WAY too much last season, the guy would see me coming in (I had the weeknight game plan) and take my order before anyone else standing around.  One night I even got bonus pieces of chicken.

To sum up:  I am excited about the schedule being released, in large part becuase I can start planning when I am getting chicken again.

Carry on.

Schedule is out

So they open at home on 3/31 vs Toronto.  They’re off the next day, and then play 19 days straight.  So much for not needing a fifth starter in April.

A little suprised to see Chase Wright on the list, tied with Horne nonetheless.

This fellow Chad Jennings is reporting that J.B. Cox and Mark Melancon will be ready for spring training and opening day:

http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.com/Blogs/SWBYankees/tabid/552/Default.aspx

This seems like great news.  Of course, given that both are recovering from injury, we should apply caution to any optimism, but the news does provide hope that Cox and/or Melancon can be factors in 2008, which could be a big boost for the bullpen.

4/11… the rivalry begins anew. By my calculation there’s a chance Beckett gets that start.

I agree SAS. SG did post Cox’s would be projection for 2007, which needs to be taken with a grain of salt of the flavor that he’s coming off a year of not playing due to injury, but at least it shows us what kind of pitcher Cox can be expected to be at the MLB level at some point, which IIRC, is definitely useful to the 2008 Yankees.

There is just about no chance Melancon arrives in the Bronx in 2008.  Not only is he recovering from TJ surgery, but he has never pitched in pro ball above short season A level.  He could very well move quickly and end up at AAA, but even that would be an unqualified success.  Joba and IPK shot through the system last year but neither was recovering from any significant injuries and both had pitched in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League to get their feet wet. 

By the way gents, I will be leaving shortly for Cuba, one of the least internet friendly places on this good earth - so I shall be away from this fine site until the beginning of February.  Good luck and a happy new year to all.

Seattle Sox Fan- Is it cool getting to watch the games at 4 pm?

J - If I could actually watch them then, it would be. Kid duty ends at roughly 8pm, DVR hits play around 8:01 (depending on spousal negotiations). I will say, not staying up til midnight to watch an annoying loss is nice.

looks like mahay’s careful deliberation between the yankees and the royals is over. apparently ronnie thinks this is 1980.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3162199

"sometimes it seems like he’s half-asleep picking up the ball.” I think that we can attribute that to him having good range and being deceiving quick.  I would compare it to Vince Young like speed.  He doesn’t seem to be working hard to move, he just glides.  Also he seems to be in the proper position before the pitch most of the time.  His strong arm also allows him to not expend as much effort with his legs when throwing and throw with more shoulder than lower body.