Band of Misfits: Assembling the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants

For the first time in my life, a team I have rooted for has won the championship. The New York Rangers won when I was three years old so I don’t remember it, and just when the San Francisco Giants were three innings away from glory in 2002, they would find a way to blow it and cause me to wait even longer. To be honest, I did not think this day would ever come. If the Giants could not win with McCovey and Cepeda; Clark, Williams, and Mitchell; Bonds, Kent, Aurilia, Schmidt, and Nen; how on earth could they possibly win with this team of misfits?

As John Kruk said on ESPN following the win, perhaps the fact they were a group of low-caliber guys, and not stars, played into their win. They did not have a solid cleanup hitter, or a number-three hitter, or any real threat of offense whatsoever. But what they did have was pitching, and as the experts always say, pitching wins championships. That moniker echoed in my mind for the last few years as Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum came into their own. But the Giants had no offense and I figured these pitchers would wind up wasting their careers in San Francisco, always pitching great, but never accomplishing anything meaningful.

But the fact is, the Giants found a way to win this season, all while acquiring many nicknames and slogans. The team of “misfits” is what is being marketed right now, but manager Bruce Bochy initially started that theme when he called his hitters the “Dirty Dozen”. Fans also bestowed on the team their mantra for this season: “San Francisco Giants baseball. Torture.”

Well, if this is torture, it never felt so great, and I can say now that it was worth it. The Giants have waited 56 years for this World Series title, and the first since they moved from New York to the city by the bay. We will now take a look at these misfits, and they how they came to win the championship.

Andres Torres (16-58; 1 HR, 3 RBI; .276)

The player who would come to be a reliable leadoff hitter played over a thousand games in the minor leagues before getting a decent shot. He was up and down in the majors, playing some with the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers. Before he came to the Giants last season, he had 99 games of Major League experience in more than ten years of professional baseball. Last year he got some time with the Giants and was nothing spectacular, but this year, he cranked 16 homeruns, stole a team leading 26 bases, and was near the top of the league in doubles with 43. He won the Willie Mac award at the end of the year, as a reward for his hard work, but that would pale in comparison to this World Series. In the five games he bat .318 with one homerun and three RBI’s; this after struggling mightily in the NLDS.

Pat Burrell (6-14; 1 HR, 4 RBI; .143 AVG)

 

Less than thirty games into this season, the Major League career of Pat “The Bat” Burrell was teetering on the brink of non-existence. After struggling last season with the Tampa Bay Rays and being unable to correct his play and adapt to the American League this year, he was designated for assignment. The Giants, who desperately needed some punch in the lineup, took a chance and claimed Burrell, and the risk paid off. Burrell would hit 18 homeruns and drive in 55, but more importantly, he served as a mentor to the young players and was an excellent presence in the locker room. Though he struggled mightily in the playoffs this year, the Giants would not have gotten where they were without him as he was instrumental in this championship.

Cody Ross (15-51; 5 HR, 10 RBI; .294)

No player more epitomizes this Giants team than Cody Ross. After struggling on the Florida Marlins this season, he was waived in late August, destined to be picked up by a team who needed to add depth to the bench. Not even truly wanting him for what he brought to the table, the Giants grabbed Ross solely because the San Diego Padres were rumored to be interested in him. With the Giants chasing their division rival, they could not take a chance and put in a claim for him. He hit only three homeruns in 33 games with San Francisco, proving to be solid, but not a standout player. But that would all change in the playoffs: Ross would hit three homeruns in the NLCS alone, including one each in the NLDS and World Series. When they needed a clutch hit, there he was. Ross won the NLCS MVP against the Phillies and proved to be one of the Giants most valuable hitters down the stretch.

Aubrey Huff (15-56; 1 HR, 8 RBI; .268)

The Giants desperately needed a first baseman this season when they courted Nick Johnson and Adam Laroche for the job. Both of them turned down offers and the only player left who was capable of playing that position was Aubrey Huff. Forced to take a pay cut, which resulted in a  bargain-contract of $3 million, the Giants signed huff and made him their number three hitter. They also made him work on his defense, and early on, he played both first base and outfield. Well, Huff would prove to be the most intelligent signing in Brian Sabean’s career, as he hit 26 homeruns and drove in 86. Huff had also never made the playoffs before this year, and with the help of a certain “good luck thong”, he was able to put up decent playoff numbers and help the Giants win this championship.

Edgar Renteria (10-35; 2 HR, 6 RBI; .286)

When Edgar Renteria finished his first season with the Giants, he was anything but loved by the fan-base. The one time clutch player and outstanding shortstop was nothing but a washed up shadow of his former self. That all looked to change early on this season, when he started the year hot. But three trips to the DL would quiet any chance of a breakout year, and force him to play in only 72 games. After sitting out the entire NLDS, Bochy inserted him into the lineup against the Phillies, where he would stay for the remainder of the playoffs. Renteria, who had the game-winning hit in the 1997 World Series that gave Florida the victory would come up clutch again and again for the Giants. He hit two homeruns in the World Series (after hitting three all season) including the game-winning homerun in Game Five, that gave the Giants a 3-2 victory. His World Series batting average would be .412, and the man with the short-swing would win the series MVP award. The only question is whether or not the 34-year-old will retire. If he chooses to do so, how many players came into the league with a championship clinching hit, and ended it in the same way?

The Giants also got key contributions from Freddy Sanchez, who won the batting title in 2005 with the Pittsburgh Pirates before experiencing a fall from grace that saw him traded to San Francisco for Tim Alderson last season. Buster Posey continued to look like a veteran, and perhaps he will win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Not only was his hitting spectacular, but his defense and handling of the pitching staff was as well. Juan Uribe, who was awful during the playoffs, only had two hits in the World Series: one of which was a three-run homer, and the other was an RBI single. He also hit the series clinching homerun against Philadelphia, and a game-winning sacrifice fly two games before that.

Pablo Sandoval brought in his regular season struggles to the playoffs, and Barry Zito became the highest paid cheerleader in history by not being placed on the roster, but all will be forgiven now. Tim Lincecum’s performance was also spectacular. In this post-season alone he defeated Derek Lowe, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee (twice). Matt Cain’s performance will also go overlooked as he did not allow a run in the 21.1 innings he pitched this post-season. But perhaps the quiet hero was Madison Bumgarner, who won the clinching game in the NLDS, pitched two ultra-important relief innings in the clinching game in the NLCS, and finally, won game four in the World Series. He would finish this post-season with a 2-0 record and a 2.18 ERA.

Finally, this season could not have ended this way without the bullpen. Brian Wilson and his magnificent beard were key in shutting down their opponents. He ended the NLCS with a strikeout of Ryan Howard and the World Series with a strikeout of Nelson Cruz. Lefty specialist Javier Lopez also proved to be invaluable, as he handled the batters he faced with ease.

Overall, I never in a million years thought that the Giants would win it this season. I cannot express how happy I am at this, but not just for myself, but for my dad, who has waited more than fifty-six years for this championship. And also, for the many greats who never won in San Francisco, you can finally smile. The ghosts of 1962, 1989 and 2002 are dead and buried!

Offensive Explosion Catapults Giants to 2-0 World Series Lead

Renteria rounds the bases after his fifth inning homerun. (Photo: AP)

For the first seven innings of tonight’s game, the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers played in the pitcher’s duel that everyone expected in game one. Matt Cain and C.J Wilson duked it out and the Giants had only a 2-0 lead heading into the eighth inning. That’s when things would get hairy, and the Giants would put up a seven-spot in the bottom of that inning to win both home games to begin this 2010 World Series.

With the game scoreless in the fifth inning, Ian Kinsler took Matt Cain deep to center with what looked like a sure homerun. But the ball would hit the wall directly on top and carom right into the glove of Andres Torres, who kept Kinsler to a double. Cain would then retire three of the next four batters, with Mitch Moreland reaching on an intentional walk.

The Giants would then score their first run of the game in the bottom of that frame, and one that unexpectedly proved to be the game winner. On a pitch that was high and inside to Edgar Renteria, he turned on it and sent it over the wall in left field. Two innings later, some luck would play into the Giants second run.

With Cody Ross on first after walking, Aubrey Huff would hit a trickling ground ball that was about to go foul, but it was fielded by the first baseman Moreland (when he could have let it roll foul) and he could then only get Huff out at first and Ross advanced to second. The next batter up, Juan Uribe, would single to right field and give the Giants a 2-0 lead.

With Matt Cain cruising, the game headed to the bottom of the eighth—the Giants were looking for some much-needed insurance runs. Darren O’Day came in and struck out the first two batters he faced. Brian Wilson was warming up in the bullpen and it looked like it was going to be a quick inning. Then Buster Posey singled past the second baseman and the explosion was on. Derek Holland, a lefty, was brought in to face Nate Schierholtz, who once again came in for Pat Burrell. But Holland could not find the strike zone, and threw 11 straight balls that ended up in three straight walks (Schierholtz, Ross,and Huff), forcing one run home. With Holland clearly lost mentally, Mark Lowe came in and picked up right where he left off, with a walk to Uribe, forcing home a second run that inning.

With the Giants up 4-0 and thankful for two insurance runs, Renteria showed he would not be content with that and singled home two more runs. Aaron Rowand now came in as the pinch hitter and lined a triple into the alley in right-center field, and two more would score making the lead 8-0. But still it would not end, as Torres came up and doubled Rowand home to give the Giants a 9-0 lead, a score which would be the final.

Mixed in during all of this was another fantastic outing by Matt Cain, who still has not allowed a run this post-season season. He went 7.2 innings, while giving up only four hits and two walks; he struck out two. Javier Lopez also continued to be the valuable lefty specialist he has been since the Giants acquired him, when he came in to face Josh Hamilton and got him to fly out.

Finally there was no need for Wilson to come into a game, as the Giants used Guillermo Mota for the first time, and he got through the ninth hitting only allowing one walk.

After scoring 16 runs total in the six games they played in the NLCS, they have now scored 20 in two games here in the World Series. It is as if all their offensive frustrations have come out against this Texas pitching staff. They have also shown to have a different offensive hero every night. In game six against the Phillies, it was Uribe, last night it was Sanchez, and tonight it was Renteria. The “Dirty Dozen” and “Team of Misfits” is holding true to their nickname thus far.

There will now be a day off as the two teams head to Arlington, where the struggling left hander Jonathon Sanchez will face the Rangers’ Colby Lewis at a 6:30 PM EST start Saturday night.

Giants Defeat Phillies to Win N.L Pennant

The Giants celebrate their NLCS victory over the Phillies. (AP)

After another close, and yes, torturous game, the San Francisco Giants walk away with the National League Pennant, after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. This will mark the first time since 2002 that the Giants have made it to the final round, where they hope to snap a 56 year drought, and try to bring home their first championship since the franchise moved from New York to San Francisco (no blog name pun intended).

My dad, who was very young at the time of their last World Series victory, does not even remember it (much like me with the 1994 Rangers’ Stanley Cup), so I am hoping the Giants will win it more for him than me. As for myself, I have never really been through the stress of a championship—I have blocked out most of the 2002 run after a disastrous Game 6 where the Giants were up on the Angels 5-0 in the 8th inning and found a way to lose, when they were just six outs away from the championship.

No team in baseball has ever been more fitting of their slogan than the Giants this year; it is very simple: “San Francisco Giants baseball. Torture.”

Every win the Giants have in the post-season has been by one run, with the exception of their opening 3-0 win over the Phillies, and their largest margin of defeat has been five runs, when they lost 6-1 in Game 2 against Roy Oswalt. Even when the Giants have been up, they do not appear to be in control, thus adding to the tension. Even last night, the game had to go down to the wire, when in the 8th inning, Juan Uribe cranked a solo homerun off Ryan Madson to put the Giants ahead.

If it was not stressful enough waiting until the 8th inning, Bruce Bochy made a head-scratcher of a move in the bottom of the frame, when he sent Tim Lincecum to the mound on only one day rest. Lincecum would get one out and allow two hits before being yanked for closer Brian Wilson, who came in and threw three pitches, getting a double play line-out. What could have been a monumental mistake ended up not costing the Giants—Bochy was a very lucky man.

When the game moved to the ninth inning, still it could not end painlessly. Wilson would have to put the stamp on the “Torture” by putting two men on during a hectic ninth inning. But justice would prevail when Wilson caught Ryan Howard looking with an 85 MPH curveball right down the middle. Howard left this postseason without driving home a single run.

After the Giants on-field celebration, the festivities moved into the locker room where Cody Ross was awarded the much deserved NLCS MVP. He bat .350 with three homeruns and five RBI’s, along with an eye-opening .950 slugging percentage. Freddy Sanchez, meanwhile, beefed up his average to .360, with nine hits in the final five games.

The Giants pitching MVP will be a three-way split between Tim Lincecum, who threw fourteen innings in the three appearances he made, Brian Wilson, who saved three games, and Javier Lopez, the team’s lights-out lefty specialist. Without these three players, the Phillies may be celebrating now instead of them.

Now, to put an end to some of the confusion caused in last night’s post game interview with Brian Wilson, when he referred to “The Machine” coming to San Francisco. It appeared to be an inside joke, causing Joe Buck to say, “Just let that one go right over your head.” Thanks to Youtube, we have found exactly what he was talking about:

It is good to see that Wilson’s sense of humor mirrors his eccentric personality, one that includes one of the most incredible playoff beard I have ever seen.

This season has been quite a journey for the Giants, who barely squeaked into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season, and have played tight games ever since. Needless to say my blood pressure has been through the roof and my playoff beard is on its way to turning gray. But as a sign read in the stands of AT & T Park on the final day of the regular season: “Torture never felt so great!”

Giants Advance to NLCS, Bobby Cox Bids Farewell; NLCS Preview

This National League Division Series between the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves was a whirlwind of emotion—every single game was decided by one run, and every game could have gone either way. The series featured outstanding pitching, mind-boggling horrific defense, and frustrating offense. The series also featured the end of one of the most brilliant managerial careers in all of baseball, the final game of Bobby Cox.

As last night’s game ended with a ground out and a throw to first, sending the Giants into celebration, Cox looked up briefly before walking briskly into the clubhouse. The Atlanta fans chanted his name and he came out, removed his hat, and waved to the fans. The Giants stopped their celebrating and saluted Bobby Cox, who acknowledged them back with a tip of his cap. It was then that it hit me, just how emotional this series was. Each game was stressful and down to the wire, and I wanted badly to be happy, but I could not help but tear up as Cox walked into the dugout, and off of the field for the final time in his 51 year baseball career, the last 19 years of which was spent with one single team, the Atlanta Braves.

Bobby Cox said goodbye to managing after spending the last 19 seasons with the Braves.

I watched Cox’s teary eyed press conference and could not help but feel sad. I never liked the Braves, but he was managing there since before I was born. I cannot imagine baseball without Bobby Cox in the dugout. As he gave his final post-game press conference, he stopped mid-sentence and tried to hold back the tears. After pausing for a few seconds, he said, “A grown man shouldn’t do this”, before collecting his thoughts and continuing on.

In Bochy’s press conference, he referred to Cox as a “genius” and someone who he always admired. Cox returned the compliment by stating that if he had to lose to someone in the playoffs, he did not mind that it was to Bruce Bochy.

To Bobby Cox, I congratulate you on an amazing career, and hope that you will stick around in some capacity in Major League Baseball. It is suspected that he will be returning to the Braves as a consultant for the next few years.

On to the Giants, they now have to end their celebrating and look to the NLCS, a series they have not played in since they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals en route to the 2002 World Series. Deep down, I want to believe that anything is possible, and that the Giants have a chance, but after looking at the rotation and lineup of the Philadelphia Phillies, I do not think it is possible–my gut tells me the Phillies will be the 2010 World Series Champions.

The Giants will hang with them in pitching. The first three games of this series will feature incredible match-ups between Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay, Matt Cain and Roy Oswalt, and Jonathon Sanchez and Cole Hamels.

Halladay tossed a no-hitter in his only playoff appearance this year, and the first of his career, while Lincecum struck out 14 in a complete game shutout in his first playoff appearance. Matt Cain was solid but could not defeat the Braves in game two, while Oswalt was the only pitcher to allow a run (four) against the Cincinnati Reds lineup. Sanchez himself threw a no-hitter last year, while Hamels was the MVP of the Phillies when the won the World Series two years ago.

For fourth starters, the Giants have Madison Bumgarner, who won last night’s game to send the Giants to the NLCS. The Phillies, meanwhile, could use Joe Blanton. It is expected that the teams will only go with four starters, as Lincecum and Halladay will pitch on short rest late in the series if they have to.

When it comes to bullpens, both teams are very even, but I would give the edge to the Phillies as they have more experience. They also did not surrender a run in three games against the Reds. They have lefty specialist J.C Romero, long-reliever Jose Contreras, and also Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson, and closer Brad Lidge. The Giants have a lefty specialist of their own in Javier Lopez, flamethrower Santiago Casilla, and adrenaline junky closer Brian Wilson. Sergio Romo, who usually finds himself in the eight inning, had a nightmare series but ended up getting credit for the win in game three.

For the Giants to even have a chance in this series, they need to find some hitting. The Giants went 2-0 without Pablo Sandoval in the lineup, after he was replaced by Mike Fontenot. Sandoval had a horrific series at the plate with absolutely no discipline and a high susceptibility of grounding into double plays. Another Giants power hitter, Juan Uribe, found himself swinging the bat like a woodsman trying to chop down a tree. The two went a combined two for 20, and Uribe also needs to take a seat. He can be replaced by Edgar Renteria, who is a clutch hitter with a short swing, plays better defense, and is also two for two in pinch-hitting appearances in the NLDS.

Cody Ross has come up with clutch hits for the Giants, driving in game-winning runs in two NLDS games.

Giants catcher Buster Posey also had a big series, going 6 for 16, while Burrell and Huff struggled, even though Burrell did hit a three-run homer in game two. The real hero so far in the post season has been late-August waiver pickup Cody Ross. The right-fielder has gone four for 14 with a homer and three RBI’s. He drove in the only run in game one, and drove in the two go-ahead runs to win game four. He also has decent speed and a good arm in the outfield.

The Phillies, meanwhile, have no shortage of power in their lineup as any player at any given time can crank one out of the yard. Though the Giants hit more HR’s in the NLDS than the Phillies did, the threat in Philadelphia is still greater, and will have a larger effect on the pitching staff. They have multiple threats with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth, and Shane Victorino. Even if their numbers were down in the regular season, that still doesn’t mean that they can’t wake up in this series.

I’m still not going to make a prediction in this series, just like I did not make on last time. The edge is going to the Phillies, but with the Giants pitching and some timely hitting, anything is possible. All I know is, everyone will be watching Saturday afternoon for game one’s marquee pitching matchup between last year’s Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, and this year’s award favorite Roy Halladay. This has the potential to be the greatest post-season pitching matchup in at least the last ten years.

Watered Down Baseball: What Happened to My Game?

On May 1, 1920, the Major Leagues would witness the longest game in the history of the sport. The Brooklyn Robins battled the Boston Braves in a game that would eventually end in a 1-1 tie, due to the fact that it was getting dark out, and stadiums were not built with lights at the time.

The two starting pitchers are names that are not really recognizable now, and they are Leon Cadore and Joe Oeschger. The amount of innings to be played that night fell just short of the equivalent of three games, at twenty-six innings. What is even more remarkable is that both starting pitchers finished the game. That’s right! Twenty-six innings pitched by each one of them, and surely they did it proudly, trying to earn their team a win.

Nowadays in baseball, if a pitcher goes six innings we give him a medal, but back then, pitchers were actually expected to finish the game that they started.

This is a feat known as pitching a complete game, a stat that is a rarity today, except for the likes of Roy Halladay, who was probably born in the wrong time frame. People make such a big deal about him because he eats up innings and has led the majors in complete games year after year. But had he played even just thirty years ago, baseball fans and analysts would be saying, “So what?”

This is not a knock on Halladay, more like the highest of compliments. It is truly a shame that this sport does not have more of him. But the fact of the matter is, this league we all love and watch now is watered down baseball, ruined by the owners and general managers by dolling out huge sums of cash to the players, and ruined by the managers for not playing real baseball.

What do we consider a solid season by a starting pitcher in present time? Maybe two hundred innings and ten to fifteen wins. If any pitcher consistently puts up those numbers, they will earn a major contract, be on the all-star team, and be looked at as a top pitcher. But fifty years ago and beyond, those stats were nothing major.

A pitcher today is considered a freak if he goes above and beyond those numbers. So what’s wrong with this situation is that we award them for doing something that was considered normal in the early days of baseball.

Let’s take a look at Christy Mathewson, one of the first inductees into the Baseball Hall-of-Fame. In the 1908 season, he threw thirty-four complete games, while amassing 390.2 innings, all while winning thirty-seven games. Quite remarkable, don’t you think?

Want to know what is even more shocking than that? His arm did not fall of during the season. And Mathewson was not alone; in 1903 his set his career high with thirty-seven complete games and was not even the league leader.

That is what the major problem is, managers being too overly protective of their pitchers. Today if a pitcher goes six innings, we pat him on the back saying he did the best he could, and then the men in charge of baseball had to worsen the matter by awarding him a stat; that ridiculous piece of new-age garbage known as the “quality start”.

A quality start is categorized as if a player pitches six or more innings and gives up three runs or less (which makes the ERA 4.50, not a great number in itself), he is awarded that. So now already the pitcher has in his mind that once he gets to the sixth, he can come out of the game. Fifty years ago if a pitcher wanted to come out that early in the game, either he had to be dying or his wife was giving birth.

But this problem did not just evolve on its own, in fact, it all started when closers became a mainstay in baseball.

Saves had always been a stat, but they were rarely used because teams really did not have much of a bullpen back then. As a manager you had your five starters (sometimes teams opted to go with only a four man rotation) and maybe two or three pitchers to have in case of emergency. If those relievers were not available, then you just used a starter to come in and finish the game.

Take a look at pitching stats from the early days of baseball. You will see that most pitchers have saves, but none hardly ever have more than ten. That is because these pitchers were workhorses, and saves were meaningless to them. Getting back to Mathewson, in 1908, he started forty-four games as the team’s ace. But he would also make twelve relief appearances and earn five saves.

Most likely those saves were the kind earned when one pitches the final three innings of a game and the team wins, a situation hardly seen in baseball today.

The Oakland Athletics are really the team to blame, as they started the whole movement of a pitcher pitching solely to close out the game, and that is where the term closer came from. It all started with Rollie Fingers and then Dennis Eckersely, and by the time the latter replaced the former, a league wide hysteria had caught on.

All of a sudden managers realized that they did not need their starters pitching every inning. Originally it was not that bad. Closers were there to pitch two, maybe three innings. But then managers got another idea into their heads; the set-up man.

If one situational reliever was not enough, they now had one for the eighth inning, and some even had another one for the seventh. Shortly, “lefty specialists” would become a mainstay in every bullpen, in addition to the above lunacy.

Closers were not all that bad, and in fact, I was fine with them until a few years ago when I realized just how over-hyped they are. Just listen to what people say:

“Not just anyone can be a closer.”

“It takes a special pitcher to close out a game.”

“You need to have a certain mindset to work the ninth inning.”

It has gotten so bad in recent years that closers have started to believe them. They have to have a special song when they run on the field, grow crazy facial hair to be intimidating, and come up with some manipulated version of the sign of the cross to jump around and do upon getting the final out.

When people argue that it takes a special person to be a closer, what about all the “star” closers that get injured every season and some journeyman nobody comes in and pitches lights out?

Take Dustin Hermanson for example, a middle of the pack starter and a below average reliever. After he left San Francisco in 2004 to join the Chicago White Sox, this sub par pitcher became the team’s closer and was lights out, saving thirty-seven games with an ERA of 2.04. The next season? He appeared in six games before being demoted to the minors, where he has never returned from.

Then there is Ryan Franklin, who bounced from the majors to the minors for his entire career, and last season becomes the most feared closer in the game. He even had to grow a crazy goatee to try to scare people. And what happened when the playoffs rolled around? How elite was he then?

The final example of this counter argument saying that anybody can close comes with David Aardsma of the Seattle Mariners. This was a player who played on four different teams in four years, and a guy who could not hit a cow if he was standing on the milking stool. Yet last season, he saves thirty-eight games and this season he finds himself owned by 86% of all fantasy baseball managers.

All of this hype for one inning wonders, and they only pitch one inning because they want to come into the ninth with a nice fresh, clean slate to pitch on. All this build up of closers only being able to pitch one inning has made them mentally unstable to come in during the eighth inning. How many times do we see elite closers come in early with men on base, only two allow them all to score before getting the outs?

And why does a save only have to come in the ninth inning? Tell me, what is more valuable; a closer coming in with nobody on base in the ninth inning and getting three outs, or a reliever coming into the seventh inning with the bases loaded and getting the outs he needed?

Why can’t the save be awarded to the pitcher who actually “saves” the game? It could be a discretionary stat, decided by the official league scorers. But then again, that would not be fair to the closer, because he is getting paid the big bucks to pitch his one, glorious inning.

So now the middle relief pitchers got upset, and Major League Baseball had to instill the biggest travesty this sport has ever seen, with a little stat known as the “hold”.

According to this fantastic stat, if a pitcher enters the game with a lead and exits with the lead, he is awarded the stat. These are two scenarios that can lead to a hold. Please tell me what is wrong with them:

1. Pitcher A enters the game with a 10-0 lead and retires three batters. His team wins the game and he is awarded a hold.

2. Pitcher B enters the game with a 10-0 lead and gives up nine runs. His team holds on for the win and is awarded a hold.

How on earth can baseball award a pitcher for a poor performance? It is because everything has to be individualized, and everyone must have a stat. There have been instances where a pitcher has come into a game, walked a batter, and left being awarded a hold. A pitcher not even recording an out and getting a positive stat?

Managers are even losing games or putting them at risk because of over-reliance on their bullpen. Take yesterday afternoon, for example. The Athletics were leading the Giants 1-0 after eighth innings. Gio Gonzales had pitched all eighth innings, allowing only two hits and one walk. He only had ninety-five pitches, but was lifted in favor of closer Andrew Bailey, who in his one inning would throw thirty pitches and allow two baserunners.

Although the A’s still won the game, how come Gonzales could not finish it out? Was it because he was approaching 100 pitches?

This is the new thing now, pitch counts. When I first started watching baseball in the late 90′s, I don’t remember them being mentioned. Now the hysteria has even gotten so bad as the YES Network now has a pitch count display on the main scoreboard, so that every second in the game you know where your pitcher is.

I don’t see this as counting up pitches, I see it as counting down to how much longer a pitcher has left to go. At the hundred pitch mark, apparently, a pitcher’s arm will just fall off. It is taboo to allow someone to throw much more than than that. Why, I ask? Why?

Take the New York Yankees and last season’s embarrassing treatment of Joba Chamberlain.

Starter, reliever, starter, reliever.

It got so bad that it seemed like almost every month they were changing him around. Then it got worse and they created the “Joba Rules”, which monitored his pitch counts and innings totals. Eighty pitches, and he was done. Getting close to the innings limit? Skip his starts every few weeks and only allow him go four when he does. (Thank God for bullpens!)

Chamberlain is now the set-up man for Mariano Rivera, the spot he should have been in all along. But it is safe to say that the Yankees ruined what was their most promising pitching prospect since perhaps Mariano himself.

Not only that, but he was built like a brick you-know-what. At 6-2, 230 pounds, Chamberlain was not some frail little stick. Let him pitch, or will his arm just fall off? Why couldn’t they let him mirror Tim Lincecum who is big enough to be confused with the bat boy? All he has been able to do in two seasons pitching without a leash is win two Cy Young awards.

He came up from the minors gunning it at 99-101 MPH. Now he is lucky if his hardest fluctuates between 94-96. He struggled as a starter last season, and he is struggling now, with an ERA of 4.50. (But that’s okay, cause he has nine holds)

So I ask, what happened to this great game? Starters no longer pitch to help the team win, but they pitch to earn wins themselves. Closers do not pitch to seal the win for their team, they pitch to earn a save. And now relievers do not pitch to help out the team, but to get a hold.

All of this individualized, and all of it for the stats. There is no longer any winning for the team, just winning for personal stats. It will only get worse, and in years to come I wonder how many more  will be invented so we can give another mediocre pitcher his own stat.

The way this game has dipped in recent years is embarrassing. What happened to durability in players? In the 1900′s when players were overweight chunks of fat whose only off-season exercise consisted of raising a beer glass to their mouths, they never got injured. Now players have personal trainers and a staff of team doctors and there are more injuries now than ever before. This really is cause for another article, but it adds to how watered down this sport has become.

Give me back the real baseball players we once had.

Give me back my game.

Opening Day Baseball Gives All Teams a Chance to Start Anew

First off, I would just like to wish everybody a very happy, secular, non-denominational day of spring, painted egg collecting. But for most of us, the most special part of this day, is the first night of baseball in America.

Tonight at 8pm, or probably 9pm because of ESPN’s commercials, the New York Yankees will take on the Boston Red Sox in what will be the first day of baseball for the 2010 season. As die-hard a hockey fan as I am, nothing feels like opening day baseball, especially when the fate of your team is unknown.

How will your favorite team perform; will they surprise and win? Or will they disappoint and lose? Will players have career years? Or will players go on year long slumps? Those are all questions we must ask ourselves before our team’s starting pitcher delivers that first pitch.

One thing is certain, though, all teams have a chance to begin fresh, to put the problems and heartbreak of seasons’ past out of the way and focus on winning it all this year.

This year should be very interesting; the New York Yankees are my pick to win the World Series on a repeat. Meanwhile the San Francisco Giants finished with a very exciting, and league best spring training record– they will be a fun team to watch this season. The Phillies and Red Sox will continue to be as solid as they always are, the Braves will challenge for their division, and the Pirates and Royals will continue to swelter in mediocrity.

And how about those New York Mets? Half the team is on the disabled list before the season has even begun. What should they do first? Concede the season and open up a hospital wing at Bellevue, or sign the Mexican national team to an entry level contract and change the team to Los Mets?

Everywhere you look, there are teams that will challenge for their respective divisions. The morally acceptable, and downright futile absurdity known as “baseball parity” is finally rearing it’s ugly head.

The Rays will compete for the AL East. The Twins, Tigers, and White Six will go down to the wire, as always, in the AL Central. And Texas should be some trouble for the perennial winning Los Angeles of the State of California at Anaheim Angels in the AL West.

Meanwhile, in the NL West, it should come down to the Dodgers and Giants, both of whom will be in the playoffs. But the Padres will make things interesting if Adrian Gonzales can hit 60 homeruns, and the Rockies, who will start the season 20-72, will win the final 70 games of the season. In the NL Central, the Cardinals will power past everyone in their way, and the Phillies should take the NL East, because Braves are not strong enough, the Mets will be in full body casts by June, and the Nationals…well, they’re the Nationals.

Where does your team stand? What are your predictions for this season? Only have a few hours to go before the season is officially underway. I’m looking forward to tonight’s game, although I do not care who wins, because it’s baseball. And who can beat Joe Morgan and Jon Miller, the two best voices in the game?

Good luck to everyone out there, that your favorite team will remain competitive, and that this season will be exciting for us all!

This article is also be be featured on Phillies Phever, a new blog I will be writing for, with fellow sports fanatic Chris DiFrancesco.

Fantasy Baseball Secret Unveiled: Closers Schmosers!

As a fantasy baseball manager since 2003, I have experienced moderate success; in 15 teams I have managed, I have won the championship twice, while finishing in the top-three five other times. Both championship victories I have both came last season, because it was after I realized what the secret was.

It’s nothing groundbreaking, nothing that would make you go, “Oh, why didn’t I think of that!”, but it’s there, and it’s right in front of your face. Some managers even do it by accident, and I guarantee they have experienced some form of success.

The secret is this: forget about closers. Wait a minute…what? You mean to tell me that you don’t draft Francisco Cordero in the fifth round when there are so many superstars available? That’s right my fellow fantasy managers, I just ditch the closers.

Think about it; we waste an early round pick for a player who is going to get our team one stat– the save. When he gets one, terrific, we increase one stat column. But blow a save, and your ERA for the week can be messed up so much you end up losing that category.

The closer is a position that was made up in baseball, and now the fan following of them has led to an almost cult stature.

“Only a certain pitcher can be a closer!”

“It takes a certain mindset to close out a game!”

Those are the things I hear when I discuss the importance of closers to the game. Now we even have to play certain music when they come out, and oh, almost forgot, they have to grow some kind of intimidating facial hair style.

There is only one closer in baseball– Mariano Rivera, and I’m not a Yankee fan.

They may very well be important, but they are blown out of proportion. Let’s face it, anyone can be a closer. How many times a season do we see a “star” get injured, and some journeyman schmuck comes in and saves 30 games? Oh, and it just so happens they’re a free agent that off-season and they end up getting a huge contract with a new team. David Aardma saved 38 games last year…enough said.

Sorry for that, the rant is now over. Back to fantasy baseball stats and how to win your league.

If you wanted to be totally bad-ass, like yours truly, then create a league and do not instill a closer/relief position. Or, if you want to really piss people off and prove a point, keep relief pitchers available and get rid of the save stat. How many closers will we see picked up then? Probably close to none.

This would all be just babble if I didn’t win the championship in 2 out of the 3 leagues I have played in since dropping the closers off my team. I must also add that both of these victories came in league where closers were an available position and saves were a stat. The glory of the Yahoo fantasy setup are those starting pitchers that count as relievers as well. So that’s exactly what I did. Found two starters who count as both an “SP” and “RP” and plugged them in the relief position.

Obviously I lost the saves category every week, but when most teams were rolling two and three closers at once, I was winning the Innings Pitched, Strikeouts, and Wins categories pretty severely. Most often ERA too, because one bad performance wouldn’t necessarily end my week.

This season I have three suggestions for that fantastic SP/RP versatility: J.A Happ on the Phillies, Joba Chamberlain on the Yankees, and Todd Wellemeyer on the Giants.

Happ pitched extremely well last season and is a lock for a spot in the rotation. Why Yahoo even has him listed as an RP is beyond me, but take advantage of their mistake as once a player is listed in a certain position, they can not be removed, only new positions can be added to them.

Chamberlain is tricky because of the weird pitch and innings count he will be on, but with the Yankee’s offense, I would be willing to take the chance.

Todd Wellemeyer looks like he will win the Giants fifth spot in the rotation due to his superb spring. Should he continue this, figure him for 8-10 wins on the season.

This idea may seem a bit wacky, and I understand not all leagues have the same setup. I think the majority of fans use Yahoo, meaning this is the correct configuration. I highly recommend you try it; you’ll lose the saves category every week, but you will never lose innings pitched and strikeouts.

If you don’t trust me, try an experiment on just one of your teams. Even if you have already drafted, now is the time to offer in a trade, your superstar closer, and have a chance to get a decent starting pitcher or hitter back. It may seem crazy, but I guarantee that once you go this way, you’ll never go back.