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August 7, 2008
Big Apple baseball bits .....
The Mets once had three young pitchers – Generation K - that were expected to carry the franchise into the 21st century. All three of them – Jason Isringhausen, Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson – were can’t miss prospects that ended up on the disabled list within a year of their major-league debuts.
Only one of them, Isringhausen, ever amounted too much in the major leagues and still holds a job in the St. Louis Cardinals’ bullpen – sometimes even serving as their closer. However, after being called up in July 1995 and going 9-2 with a 2.81 ERA down the stretch for the Mets, injuries prevented “Izzy” from ever duplicating that success as a starter. He has turned in a solid career as a closer – with 293 saves over 13 years.
Pulsipher, at age 21, threw 218 innings with a 3.98 ERA between the majors and minors in 1995, but a torn elbow ligament shut him down in 1996 and 97, and he was never the same pitcher. He kicked around the majors, minors and independent leagues for the next decade trying to regain the magic that never returned.
Wilson lasted one season with the Mets in the majors (5-12 with a 5.38 ERA in 1996) before injuries derailed his career. He resurfaced in 2000 with Tampa Bay and spent parts of the next five seasons as a journeyman starter with the Rays and Cincinnati Reds, winning in double figures only once (11-6 with the Reds in 2004).
With the recent shoulder injury to Joba Chamberlain, you have to wonder if the New York Yankees’ Big 3 are headed for a similar fate as Generation K and if they will ever live up to their billing.
Since joining the Yankees last season, Phil Hughes is already on his second DL stint (rib injury, needs glasses) with the Bronx Bombers, but could be back soon.
Ian Kennedy, who had a cup of coffee in New York last season, has also been on the DL (strained lat muscle) in his short career in pinstripes. Kennedy is expected to return to the majors Saturday and start for Chamberlain, who went on the DL Wednesday with rotator cuff tendonitis.
Outside of Joba’s injury, the one thing the other two young Yankees have going for them over Generation K is their injuries have not been to their arms. However, the jury is still out on whether they can pitch in the big leagues. We shall soon find out.
PROBLEMS WITH PUDGE – Maybe bringing in Pudge Rodriguez to catch for the Yankees was not such a good idea. Since the future Hall of Famer arrived from the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees pitching staff has not been very good.
Andy Pettitte (nine earned runs and 11 hits in 51/3 innings) got blasted by the Angels working with Rodriguez in his Yankee debut last week, and Chamberlain (five earned runs and eight hits in 42/3 innings) also had a rough go-round with I-Rod before leaving with a sore shoulder. Pudge almost took out Joba, who dove out of the way of the ball, with a throw to second base trying to turn a double play.
If the Red Sox or Rays don’t finish off the Yankees, maybe Pudge will.
CLOSING TIME – Johan Santana must be clicking his cleats and saying “there’s no place like Minnesota” these days.
The Mets’ ace has to yearn for the days of Twins’ closer Joe Nathan coming in and slamming the door on opponents in the ninth inning. So far in New York, no lead seems to be safe when Santana turns things over to his bullpen.
Scott Schoeneweis became the latest bullpen member to squander a win for Santana on Thursday and David Wright had to bail the team out with a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth in a 5-3 win.
It was the sixth time in 24 starts this year for Santana that the bullpen has failed to come through - five of those mishaps have come in the ninth inning. Santana is 9-7 on the season for the Mets, but could easily be a 12- or 13-game winner by now.
Wonder if Santana has inquired about this Brett Favre fellow coming in to finish games for the final two months for him. Favre can’t do any worse, can he?
Posted by Bill on 10:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 1, 2008
The Good, The Bad and The Pirates
Angels-Cubs in the World Series?
Better start booking your flights to Anaheim for Game 1 now Cubbies fans (I know Post columnist and Cubbies fan Chris Elsberry will be soon)
Based on the two teams’ moves leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline – along with the thrashings they gave this week to the Red Sox and Brewers, respectively - it just might be a done deal. (At the very least it looks better than my spring training picks of the Tigers and the Mets)
In fact, with Mark Teixeira on board, can anyone even stop the Halos?
Boston couldn’t – even with Manny – and the Yankees had no luck Thursday night in a 12-6 thrashing at the Stadium.
While I hand the World Series title to the Angels on August 1, here’s a look at how things shakedown in baseball after Thursday’s trade deadline:
WINNERS
Angels – Huge lead in the American league West. Great starting pitching. Great bullpen. And now the Angels have another big bopper in the lineup with Mr. Teixeira. Mike Scioscia might as well start figuring out his postseason rotation right now.
Cubs – NL Central rival Milwaukee went out and grabbed an ace, so the Cubbies matched the move a few weeks back by landing one of their own in Rich Harden – one of the best in the game when he can stay healthy. Plus they already had the Big Z, Carlos Zambrano, and a reinvigorated Ryan Dempster.
Dodgers – It’s hardly to be a loser when Manny Ramirez falls into your lap while you sit a game back of first-place Arizona. Imagine being Joe Torre enjoying a Bigelow green tea upon arriving at the ballpark Thursday afternoon and then find out “Manny Goes Hollywood” without having to lose a player from your big-league roster to land him. The Dodgers also picked up veteran Casey Blake from the Indians and now have more than an enough offense to fight for a postseason spot.
White Sox – Ken Griffey Jr. might be a superstar in name only now, but he still has some juice left in that bat – especially hitting in the middle of this lineup. These Sox did not break the bank to get him either.
Yankees – Still haven’t found another starter for the rotation, but the Bronx Bombers have filled in a few holes quite nicely over the past month without pilfering the future. Never been a fan of catcher Ivan Rodriguez, but he fell into the Yankees’ lap much like Manny did in L.A. The team absolutely stole outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte from the Pirates and adding Richie Sexson to the bench for free was a no-brainer.
JURY’S OUT
Brewers – After starting July with a bang by landing another ace in CC Sabathia, the Brew Crew exited the month with a wimper by being swept by the Cubs – and in their own home no less. While Sabathia has been a great pickup, the addition of second baseman Ray Durham has been nothing special and Milwaukee finds itself the third best team in the division still going into the final two months.
Phillies – A team loaded with offense and talented minor-league prospects failed to fill a glaring weakness – starting pitching – before the deadline. Joe Blanton is a “nice” addition, but what the Phillies real needed was a Harden or Sabathia to add to the front of the rotation. Now they have to out slug teams every night.
Red Sox – The Sox could no longer handle Manny being Manny, but might have cost themselves too much in their quest to get rid of him.
In addition to dealing Ramirez, Boston had to throw erratic flame-thrower Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss into the mix in order to land outfielder Jason Bay. Moss could have brought back some bullpen help – something the Sox badly need – and Boston was near a deal with the Royals for Ron Mahay before having to change gears.
Bay has comparable numbers to Manny with a .282 average, 22 homers and 64 RBIs, but can he handle the heat of a pennant race and playing in Boston?
Rockies – Colorado had big pieces to dangle in outfielder Matt Holliday and lefty Brian Fuentes, but opted to keep both and make a run in the open NL West. Going into Thursday night, the Rockies were seven games out of first place in baseball’s weakest division – plus who can forget the run they made into the playoff last season down the stretch?
Tigers – Detroit dug itself a huge hole to start the season and has been playing catch up ever since. They shipped I-Rod to New York for some much-needed bullpen help in Kyle Farnsworth, but still need to find an in-house replace for injured closer Todd Jones.
LOSERS
Diamondbacks – Arizona might have two of the best pitchers in baseball with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, but it failed to land something just as important – a big bat. Teixeira went to Anaheim and the D’Backs seem to fade into the background in trade talks down the stretch. Plus now they have to contend with Manny in their division.
Mariners – A team going nowhere had plenty of pieces to ship out to contenders, but ended up making only a minor deal with the Marlins. Jarrod Washburn and Raul Ibanez – who both had value on the open market – remain on a team desperately in need of some new blood. Third baseman Adrian Beltre and reliever J.J. Putz surfaced in talks, but also stayed.
Marlins – Came into Thursday chasing after Manny, but ended up with only 39-year-old reliever Arthur Rhodes from Seattle. Rhodes could barely get anyone out in the AL - maybe he will have better luck in the NL.
Mets – Apparently leading the NL in middle infielders is how the Mets hope to win the East. With glaring holes at both outfield corners and Ryan Church’s return a great unknown, Omar Minaya developed stage fright before the non-waiver trade deadline. Hard to believe a GM who has mastered plucking players off the scrap heap could not find a decent corner outfielder out there for a reasonable price.
Pirates – Do people in Pittsburgh even acknowledge baseball season in their town anymore once the Steelers finish for the winter? After trading away two starting outfielders and one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball, what exactly do the Pirates have now besides two guys named LaRoche? Oh yeah, the title of worst franchise in baseball.
Rays – Were rumored to be hot on the trail of Bay – which would have added a much needed right-handed bat to the lineup – but came up empty. Maybe Rocco Baldelli can help when he returns, but TB could have used a pick-me-up from outside the organization.
*******
Reconfigured postseason predictions:
AL East – Yankees
AL Central – White Sox
AL West – Angels
Wild card – Red Sox
NL East – Phillies
NL Central – Cubs
NL West – Dodgers
Wild card - Brewers
Posted by Bill on 1:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
