Big Schill returning to Beantown?

It looks more and more likely that the Old Blowhard Himself will return for one last season with the Red Sox next year. I have to say, "Good for him."

Schilling and Sox close to 1-year deal.

I'm not the world's biggest Curt Schilling fan, but I admire his grit, experience, and swagger. I'd like to see him finish his career in Boston, in a town that embraced him and his family heartily after he inked a deal over Thanksgiving dinner in 2003 to leave Arizona and come clear across the country to pitch for the Sox.

Schilling obviously played a huge role in the Sox winning their first World Series title in generations, and he also has done significant good work for ALS, a.k.a. "Lou Gehrig's Disease," through his charitable organization.

I also can't imagine Schilling uprooting his family of his wife and four kids to go play for one year elsewhere. It just sounds like there are too many solid reasons for him to stay, and for the Sox to keep him, for one more year.

***

A while back, the one or two of you who even know of this blog's existence may recall that I wrote a quiz column that featured Schilling as an answer. Here is the original post:

Quiz.

In the post, I argued that Schilling basically doesn't belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In spite of his 2001, 2004, and 2007 postseason performances, and a smattering of great to pretty good years, I still feel that way. However, I think the majority of baseball writers who have a vote will, in about 2014, elect Schilling to the Hall of Fame, precisely on the strength of his playoff heroics--2001 World Series co-MVP, the Game 6 "bloody sock" game in 2004 against the Yankees, and the strong work he showed in this year's postseason.

Schilling's career is much like that of Jack Morris. Their W-L record and career ERAs match up pretty well, and both men won big in dominating pitching performances in the World Series. Both men won a World Series MVP. Both men threw 21 wins in a season at least once. But Morris is no closer to Cooperstown now than when he was 5 years after he retired in 1994. In 2007, Morris received only 37% of the votes in Hall of Fame balloting, and was roughly only halfway to the necessary 409 votes for enshrinement.

Schilling though, unlike Morris, pitched a good chunk of his career in the steroids era, his lifetime ERA (3.46) is respectable enough, and he has what once was considered a "lock" for the Hall of Fame: over 3,000 career strikeouts. Add those tallies to his postseason glories, and Schilling one day will be in Cooperstown.

Given his propensity for talking about himself, it will be only the second most egocentric Hall of Fame election speech after Roger Clemens goes in, sometime around the same year as Schilling.

Mike Lowell: much sought after World Series MVP

I have to admit that I didn't follow Mike Lowell's Red Sox career all that closely. A beautiful baby girl entered our lives, and my wife probably wouldn't be cool with me spending hours of free time watching the Sox-Devil Rays or Sox-Twins heart-stopping series.

Still, he clearly put up some impressive stats over the last two years with the BoSox, and in doing so, he has helped himself to a nice fat contract with whomever wins the "Mike Lowell Derby" this postseason:

Mike Lowell's stats.

I would be a fool for posting a link to his stats and not acknowledging my previous post about A-Rod, wherein I posted links to articles decrying the use of stats and A-Rod's lack of character. Stats are not everything, and Lowell has more than just stats. He has a rock solid clubhouse reputation, a World Series MVP, the publicly endorsed encouragement of current teammates, and an entire New England region behind him.

The Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont on Friday chimed in about Lowell's chances of re-signing with the Red Sox, and his comments are interesting for the comparison he makes to the Sox's approach toward former Red Sox players and icons Pedro Martinez (still loved around these parts) and Johnny Damon (he'll be chased out of town if he ever comes back without a security detail).

Should the Sox keep Lowell?

Interestingly, and smartly, Dupont's observation differs from so much of the commentary of last week in Boston. Many people said it was up to Lowell whether he returns. Dupont begs to differ.

"Lowell's re-signing ultimately will come down to how many years the Sox are comfortable extending him as he enters what are considered baseball's AARP years...The dilemma here, though, is similar to what the Sox faced when the likes of Johnny Damon and Pedro Martinez reached free agency in their later years. Damon and Martinez were both allowed to walk, and thus far, the Sox have seen the better of the return in turning them free."

The problem is, if the Sox let Lowell walk, their third baseman options become:

1. A bidding war for dollars and years for A-Rod, with many teams, including the Yankees, in the hunt.

2. Moving first baseman Kevin Youkilis to third. All I have to say about that is the fact that Youk has turned in a .995 fielding percentage in 2006 and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage at first in 2007. Or, in other words: 1,586 straight games (excluding the '07 postseason) of not committing one single error.

3. Miguel Cabrera of the Florida Marlins. This article covers the pros and cons of going after this commodity: Cabrera's suitors.


Lowell clearly has earned his way towards a new, fat multi-year contract. Does he join Petty and the Chief Idiot as the ones that thankfully got away after the Sox got their best out of them? Or does he buck that trend? Does he end up in pinstripes? Do the Sox and Marlins resume their non-sexual swapping congress (Cliff Floyd in '02, Beckett and Lowell in '05)?

Lots of questions, soon to be answered.

A-Rod: The View from Boston

Kevin Cullen, who I first came to appreciate for his insightful coverage of the Northern Ireland violence and peace process over the last 15 years, chimes in with this analysis of how classless Alex Rodriguez is.

Winning with Class.

Some take-aways:

1. "Winning with class is more important than winning at all costs." A-Rod and his agent, Scott Boras, apparently were absent from class the day that lesson was taught.

2. "Statistically, A-Rod is the best baseball player in the world...But statistics don't win big games. Character does. And Mike Lowell has more character, if less money, than A-Rod ever will."

The stats argument also was highlighted in The New York Times' "Bats" blog last Thursday, under the attention-grabbing title of:

The Most Amazing Stat You'll Ever See.

One comment that should be highlighted: "The point is, you can spin stats against A-Rod, or you can spin stats that make him look better. The only question that matters is what someone is willing to believe."

***

You've got to think that A-Rod has provided the Sox with ample evidence that while his stats are great, he has no class. So, how is that for tying in two different articles?!

The Onion article on A-Rod's odious October exploit

Always an accurate barometer of world events, The Onion comes through once again, with a sarcastic take on Alex Rodriguez showing up the World Series (which the Red Sox were about 6 outs away from sweeping) by having his agent, the equally odious Scott Boras, announce that A-Rod was opting out of the final 3 years of his contract with the Yankees to become a free agent.

A-Rod's bad timing.

***

This article is sarcastic, but there is a lot of truth to it, too. It highlights some of the excruciating b.s. the Red Sox would have to deal with if he signed with the club, because it truly is all about A-Rod.

***

The Boston clubhouse is routinely and roundly described as a positive, team-centered group. Gone, for now, are the bad old days of the "25 players, 25 cabs" teams of the 1940s and even the 1980s. A-Rod has allegedly put a spot of poison into the proverbial team-centered clubhouse drinks of the Mariners, Rangers, and now the Yankees.

***

I refer to Curt Schilling, who, in talking about Roger Clemens signing with the Yankees instead of the Red Sox this past May, "We don't need him. It would've been nice to have him, but we don't need him."

Joe Torre bound for Los Angeles

Ending a 12-year managerial tenure with the Evil Empire, Joe Torre inked a 3-year, $13M deal yesterday to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers. This comes two weeks after he left the Bronx. He succeeds Grady Little as manager, with many observers questioning the mechanics of how Little was fired, if Torre was offered the job before Little "resigned," and when did L.A. go after Torre after their first choice, new New York manager Joe Girardi took a pass on the Dodgers.

L.A., which is allegedly losing traction in regional popularity to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, had to make a big move. This is big. It sure beats returning to the broadcast booth, where Torre has been before and where he was recently offered a chance to add his voice to Fox's World Series coverage.

There are also two speculative arguments going on around the game about Torre going to L.A. Here they are, briefly:

1. If Torre's Dodgers underperform during his tenure, will it cast a pall over his many accomplishments while with the Yankees? Some argue that, should Torre's team stumble early, late (like this past season), and/or often, it should cause people to re-evaluate the success he had in New York, with the supposition that anyone could have achieved such great results (3 World Series titles in 4 years, appearances in the Fall Classic in '96, '98-'01, and '03) if given the lineup of superstars and their mega-contracts that came calling to the Bronx, especially after 1998.

I don't agree with this argument. Given the rabid New York press and all of the super-egos who have trod through that clubhouse over the years, I would argue that few managers could have kept an even keel and managed teams to impressive overall results year after year. Torre did that, every year.

2. With Torre in L.A., and with the club needing a big name to compete against the Angels for attention, this provides an opening for Alex Rodriguez. CNNSI's Jon Heyman covers this debate pretty well, so here it is:

Where Will A-Rod go?

Frankly, I'm tired of all of the A-Rod talk. I admire his stats and his skills. I'm glad he'll one day break Barry B*nds' all-time home run record. But I have become increasingly skeptical and unimpressed with who A-Rod is as a person. There was the trash-talking of his former best friend, Derek Jeter, in 2001. There are the adultery scandals. The inconsistent statements he's made about New York. The melodrama in the club house and the attention-craving little girl he oftentimes appears to be.

My message is simple: A-Rod can go anywhere he wants, so long as it is not Boston. I may even cheer for him, as long as he's not wearing Yankee pinstripes.

Boston: Home of the World Champions

The local liberal rag, The Boston Globe, is home to many notable sports writers such as the often supreme Gordon Edes and the atrocious Dan Shaughnessy (a.k.a. "the Curly-Haired Boyfriend"--that is a post for another time). But the recent work of metro columnist Adrian Walker, not known for his sports writing, stuck out from all of the Red Sox hoopla and celebration of the last week.

He describes what it is like, now, to live in Beantown.

I think Walker makes some smart commentary about the mental and attitude changes that have crept across this small, historic American city over the last half-decade. Especially sound observations include the dichotomy of a city so steeped in history that it appears around every corner, but its baseball citizens now not caring a lick about the dastardly heartaches of the past.

The 2004 World Series win helped all of us Sox fans finally, once and for all, toss off the insufferable cloak of perpetual moaning.

True, some fans still relish the "woe-is-us" attitude and perhaps pine for a simpler, maybe less savory time when the Sox truly were underdogs. I argue that the "underdog" label died with the Sox's postseason results in 1999, when they were frankly outmatched by the Yankees, who got assistance from some abysmal umpiring calls. There will always be some people who, to quote a saying, "complain that the 'Golden Age' was too yellow."

Regardless of the city's mindset shift, it is a great time to be a Bostonian.

The old New York Yankees

The 2008 New York Yankees certainly will be one of the hottest topics of discussion from now through, well, all of 2008. As a Red Sox fan, I have loved seeing how the Bronx Bombers have struggled this past season, then worried as they put on a dazzling second-half charge against the Red Sox's once nearly-insurmountable division lead, and now I relish seeing the team and its owners self-destruct and embarrass themselves on a nearly constant, daily basis.

As someone who also loves the history of the game, I have to admit to a certain twinge of nostalgia for the New York Yankees of old. And when I say "old," I mean the late 1990s dynasty. Not that I ever did or ever would have rooted for them, because as a Sox fan you simply cannot do that.

But I did stand in amazement at some of their accomplishments, and at the guys who oftentimes came up the biggest for the team: Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams. But not Aaron Boone. That one in 2003 hurt too much. It definitely was a changing of the guard when O'Neill retired after the 2001 World Series to become a broadcaster, and Brosius retired in 2001 to go back to his native Oregon.

And Bernie Williams. I remember being so disappointed when he opted, obviously, to return to the Yankees after the '98 season, taking a 7-year, $85M deal over whatever the Sox were salivating to give him. Of all the Yankees players of that era, Williams was the only one I liked. He was the only one that Sox fans probably could be given a pass to like. He always seemed to have clutch hits, but he also seemed to never fully live up to his potential.

This year, Bernie Williams was not on the Yankees' roster, ending a 15-year tenure with the club. That felt strange. Instead, the Yankees basically had to roll Johnny Damon and his $52M, 4-year deal out to center field on a wheelchair and put in Melky Cabrera when Damon couldn't do the job.

One more link to the Yankees' last dynasty was gone.

And this postseason saw the Yankees dismiss with another link to their most recent glory days:
manager Joe Torre left the club, rejecting a one-year, incentives-laden deal, which he deemed "insulting." He took the club to 12 consecutive postseasons, winning the World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000, narrowly losing it in 2001 (the subject of ESPN's Buster Olney's fantastic book, "The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty"), and getting outplayed in 2003. Another Yankee era gets closer to its end.

The only everyday players on the club from their recent dynasty are Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and closer Mariano Rivera. Interestingly, the last three guys are all free agents this year. Catcher Posada will likely return, as there is such a small market for catchers. He'll probably get a 2- or 3-year deal for about $14M a year, because there are few alternatives.

Yes, Mo is old, but he is still a tough closer. Plus, keeping Rivera for another year allows the Yankees to develop a late-innings strategy for 2008 and beyond, figuring out whether to keep high-heat throwing Joba Chamberlain in late-innings relief and edge him to succeed Rivera, or put Chamberlain in the starting rotation, which they really don't need to do.

Pettitte has said he'll either play only for the Yankees or retire. Simply put, the Yankees need him. He's a lefty pitcher in a rotation that desperately needs a southpaw with his experience.

I well remember this intimidating gaze from under Pettitte's low bill from the postseasons of 1998 through 2000. It was a staple image for whatever network was broadcasting the playoffs, a hallmark of the Yankees' dominance and swagger of that time.

As for Jeter, he'll be collecting $20M each year from 2008 through 2010. Jeter, one of the most, if not the most, overrated shortstops of all time, inked a whopping 10-year, $189M deal just two months after his former best friend, Alex Rodriguez, signed a 10-year, $252M deal with the Texas Rangers. Jeter isn't going anywhere, ever. He'll be a Yankee for life, and he'll be the last link to the times when October lights shined brightest in Yankee Stadium...

...which, in line with O'Neill, Brosius, Williams, Martinez, Clemens, Torre, A-Rod, and others, will soon bid adieu to what once was--a team that simply dominated and held court over the Majors for almost 6 straight years.

2008 marks the last season in the old/re-outfitted Yankee Stadium.

It's been such a long time...

To the one or two readers on the entire planet who even know about this blog, let alone read it:

We're back on the air, kind of. Work caught up with us. The zaniness of the postseason distracted us, diverting our attention to TV screens and Web sites for updates and preventing us from properly cataloguing the goings-on right here on this site.

Then, our beloved Boston Red Sox won the World Series! Click on the link in the last sentence for a great article by ESPN's Gene Wojcie-something about Red Sox Nation and the team's 180-degree attitude/perspective change since 2004.

ESPN has devoted an entire cottage industry, of course, to chronicling the Sox's charge through the 2007 postseason. You can find oodles of tidbits, trivia, boasts, highlights, projections, and stats here.

There is a whole lot that I could say about the Boston Red Sox right now, but in the interest of time and to prevent repetition that you've undoubtedly heard everywhere else, I'll leave you with just a few thoughts:

1. 2007 feels much different than 2004. While the '07 team was much better overall, the '04 squad obviously had to battle the franchise's ugly history, region-wide World Series draught-induced psychosis, and a Yankees lineup that in games 1-3 simply beat them seven ways to Sunday. I was thrilled and fortunate to see the Sox win a World Series once in my lifetime, and now that they've done it twice, it seems all the more enjoyable.

2. What a performance by Jon Lester in Game 4 of the World Series. He was battling cancer one year ago at this time. One year later, he was on the hill hurling shutout ball for more than 5 innings in Game 4 of the World Series.

3. Re-sign Mike Lowell! How could the Sox let the World Series MVP leave? I imagine the Yankees are going to go after Lowell, who came up through the minor leagues with the team, very hard: possibly upping in years, and definitely in dollars, whatever the Sox offer him. I think Lowell, who turns 34 in 3 months, will look for a 4-, 5-, or perhaps a 5-year with an option for a 6th year deal, to finish out his career.

4. Time for more updates and links to other great columns covering all the goings-on in the postseason.

Another Onion article: Tom Glavine

Last month, I reported on all of the misplaced hoopla and airheads loudly proclaiming that New York Mets pitcher Tom Glavine would be the last pitcher to ever win 300 games in a career.

Here is the original post:

Tom Glavine at 300.

Well, The Onion ran a fantastic short piece just after Glavine notched #300. Read below for a good quick laugh:

Glavine's warning.

The Onion article on "What might have been?"

I found this article about two months ago, and I loved it. Today, I'm finally posting it, considering the disappointing news about my favorite player, Griffey.

What might have been.

Off the top of my head, I cannot think of another superstar ballplayer in recent memory who has suffered through so many injuries across so many seasons. Sure, guys like Jimmie Foxx had their share of injuries, but those were of the career-ending kind in their prime. Griffey, you have labored through 'em all.

Mend well, Junior!

Griffey Injured

This is terrible news.

For the past month, I have been like an addict, counting how many games Ken Griffey, Jr. plays for the Cincinnati Reds. Each night, I'd check ESPN to see if the Reds game was over and if Griffey played. He had a long stretch of games in early and mid-September, and he made it in all of those games. The closer he got to big numbers, the more I anticipated each game for him.

Why has this been a source of interest for me? Look at the following chart, since he joined the Reds in 2000:

Year Games Played

2000 145

2001 111

2002 70

2003 53

2004 83

2005 128

2006 109

2007 144

I have been eagerly anticipating him playing the most games this year for the Reds since joining the club. Games played is not in itself a crucial stat. But where Griffey is concerned, considering his history of injuries, the more games he racked up this year, the more it would signify, to me and others, that he has found a pace that suits him in his 37th year of life--and that he has remained injury-free all season, no simple task where he is concerned.

He was so close to breaking 145 games. He had already passed his 127 games of his rookie year (1989), 128 (2005, when he seemed on the mend), 142 (1992), and 140 (1996, when he hit 49 homers--his third-best year).

The switch to the less-demanding right field position (a move he detested) and pacing himself better have helped Griffey remain healthy all season long. Also, his pursuit of 600 home runs was a chase that people followed until the end of August, when it was clear he didn't have much of a chance of breaking that milestone.

Well, wait until next year.

Not only will Griffey not join the 600 club this season, but he is likely done for 2007. At 144 games. One shy of the most he has played since joining his hometown Reds 8 seasons ago.

He had little chance of getting close to the next series of most-games played--154 in 1991, 155 in 1990, and 156 in 1993. Given the number of games left in the season (about 10) before he was injured, coupled with the Reds' schedule against terrible teams (Houston and San Francisco), the Reds said they'd sit Griffey for several games starting today to give him rest and also see some of the young talent in the club. So, he would have likely ended 2007 with about 150 games played, which would have been the most he'd have played since 160 in 1999.

He also has not had an injury-free September since about 2000.

He has his day of rest today, but it's not the way anyone envisioned it coming about. It's just sad and disappointing for several reasons. Griffey should be a fixture of late-season baseball. He has been a marquee player before. But he'll never be a late summer/early fall phenom while with the Reds. We're entering the hottest stretch of the baseball calendar, and it's too bad that Griffey won't be making his mark along with the pennant races, single-season record chases, etc.
At least his injury wasn't to his groin or hamstring. Godspeed, Junior! I can't wait to see you in 2008. I plan on a road trip to Cincy to see you play in person.

Answers to Quiz #1

The only two current starting pitchers who have won a World Series title with at least two different teams?

How about Boomer and the Old Blowhard Himself.

David Wells won a World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 (the first Canadian club to win the title, and their first of two straight championships) and the 1998 New York Yankees, one of the greatest teams ever fielded.

Curt Schilling, meanwhile, after toiling through some terrible Philadelphia Phillies teams (how many Phillies teams are good?), jetted out to the Southwest, where he helped lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to become the modern-era team to win a World Series title in the fewest years since its founding. Of course, Schill also took a starring role with the "Idiots" of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who erased 86 years of New England psychosis with a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

***
Now, if I had a vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame, neither Wells nor Schilling would have their slot darkened on my sheet. Yes, Schilling has over 3,000 strikeouts, which in the past was automatic. But he didn't catch fire until the late 1990s, when he finally figured out that he needed to take better care of his body. He gets props for his considerable charity work. He was the main attraction for the pivotal Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees (the "bloody sock" game).

But he can't keep his trap shut, has openly spared with at least two nationally known baseball writers (SI's Jon Leyman and the admittedly insufferable Mike Celizic of MSNBC), and racked up 5 seasons of double-digit losses, among other blots. Was Schilling dominating for a long stretch of his career? In my mind, the answer is no. He has 2001, 2002, and 2004 on his record as phenomenal years, but he also has hoe-hum years in '03, '05, and '07.


Wells, to me, is even less of a vote-earner. He did not hit anything close to a stride until he was about 35. He was dominant in '98, when he hurled a perfect game (and later admitted, much to Commissioner Bud Selig's delight, no doubt, that he was terrificly hung over during the milestone), and with Toronto in 2000, going 20-8. Wells certainly shined in New York (68-28 in 123 starts), reveling in being on the biggest stage in the game. He is a tough-as-nails pitcher when his back isn't bothering him, and while he isn't dominating, he is intimidating.

It is the rest of his career that is so uninspiring and, to me, doesn't warrant highlighting in Cooperstown. Instead, we'll be left with his entertaining personality and some key moments from his career. "Key" moments include getting fined by Bud Selig for inappropriate comments, posting a letter in his locker, in full view of reporters, from Selig warning Wells, and getting into altercations with fans. Let's not forget that Wells alleged that he was misquoted in his autobiography, either.

Friday Quiz

What two current starting pitchers who have won a World Series title with at least two teams?

Here's a hint: Though both have been around for a bit and racked up some impressive stats, neither are shoo-in's for getting elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and certainly not on the first ballot.

If I had a vote, I would not vote for either of them.

Answer coming on Monday.

***

In other news, on this day in 1990, my childhood baseball hero, Dwight Evans, hit what would become his last home run with the Boston Red Sox. "Dewey," who had played with the Sox since 1972, hit 379 with the Sox and a paltry 6 with the Baltimore Orioles in 1991, the season he finally hung up the cleats.

The man with the rifle right arm, one of the most famous and interesting batting stances in baseball history, and a man who should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame: Dwight Evans! He led the American League in homers in the 1980s, and perhaps all of the negative attention on homers hit during the Steroid Era will create more appreciation for homers manufactured the right, hard way, as "Dewey" hit them.

Almost 400 homers and about 2,500 hits, a right arm that made runners on third think twice about going home, and a 5-tool player (hit for average, hit for power, smart baserunning, fielding skills, and throwing ability).

All-Steroids Team's B-Squad

Excellent last post from Teddy! I nearly lost my lunch looking at the picture of Canseco. Add to his rap sheet the fact that he bedded Madonna, volunteered to pitch an inning of baseball and ended up needing season-ending surgery, and also once gave up a home run--off his head--and you have all the trimmings you need for his first-ballot, second-to-none induction into the "All-Steroids Hall of Shame."


Now, in case any or all of the starting 9 in Ted's post tear a hamstring, can't find a jock strap small enough to encompass their manhood--due to 'roid-induced shrinkage--or just go berserk, here are some guys the All-Steroids Team can call upon in a pinch:


1. Juan Gonzalez, OF. An RBI machine while with the Rangers in the late 1990s, he effectively dropped off the face of the earth after the Yankees passed on taking him mid-season in 2000. Here is a hilarious update, courtesy of Bill Simmons, on "Juan Gone" since then:

"In 2000, the Tigers offered Juan Gonzalez a $150 million contract that would have destroyed them for the rest of the decade if he wasn’t dumb enough to turn it down. It’s almost like the entire franchise had a near-death experience … Meanwhile, Juan Gone is playing in the Independent League along with my buddy JackO’s pal from home, and after JackO drove to Jersey to catch one of his friend’s games, they stopped at a Subway for dinner afterwards, and who walked in but Juan Gonzalez? That’s right, the two-time MVP Juan proceeded to sit down at a table and eat a Subway sandwich by himself. These are the things that happen when you turn down a $150 million contract. I feel like you need to know these things.)”

2. Jason Varitek, C. Come on, Sox fans...Is it coincidence that 'Tek's lumberjack legs withered to their current state at the same time that the game started testing for 'roids?!

3. Johnny Damon, OF. Simply put, no other reason, to me, would explain why he takes every opportunity to jab the Red Sox and go on ad nauseum about how happy he is to be with the Yankees.

4. Manny Alexander, IF. While with the Red Sox, he had an envelope with his name on it in his car when it was pulled over in 2000. Manny wasn't in the car, but what was inside the envelope were syringes and steroids. Basta!

5. Brady Anderson, OF. Exhibit A: 50 homers in 1996, a staggering 26 more than he hit in his next best season, 1999. His slugging % that year is also about 150 points above his next best year.

6. Andy Pettitte, P. Too many things line up in Pettitte's life/career with Clemens: teammates with the Yankees in the late 1990s/early 2000's, then teammates in Houston, and finally reunited (and it feels so good) with the Yankees. Rumored to be hard-core workout buddies.

7. Miguel Tejada, IF. I'm not sure about any guy on this list, and I'm the least sure about Miggie. Still, he did go off on an obnoxious tirade against Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe after D-Lowe pitched the Sox past the A's in the 2004 post-season, screaming about how Lowe's victory celebration was not "family-friendly" and that his son was in the stands. Maybe it was juice-induced?!

***
One problem with using stats when pointing to someone (like Brady Anderson) as having a potentially very abnormal season and extrapolating the data to attribute it to performance-enhancing drugs is that baseball history is likely scattered with non-steroid era guys who also (like Anderson) had startling single-season run production, wins, homers, etc., when the rest of their careers were less sensational or jaw-dropping.

Don't believe me? Try Roger Maris on for size.

He hit 61 homers in 1961, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, one of the game's most hallowed stats (until McGwire and, later, Bonds squashed it). The year before, he hit 39 homers, the second-most he ever hit in a single season. His 61 in 1961 were 22 homers more than his runner-up best.

Again, there is no hard evidence that any of these guys juiced. But there is much speculation. Some names I threw on here for that reason. Some names I threw on here for fun. And this is perhaps the saddest commentary on the steroid era: Many guys got away with using; many guys are suspected users; and others, clean guys, have been caught up in the whirlpool of allegations and hysteria.

All Steroids Team

I’m sorry, but Tim’s last post brought up the fantastic idea of an “all juiced team.” That’s just too good to pass up. Without further ado:

C: Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez

1B: Mark McGuire

2B: Brett Boone

3B: Mike Lowell (Sorry Boston Fans: have you ever seen a picture of him when he played with the Marlins?)

SS: Nomar Garciaparra

OF: Samuel Sosa. No speaka da English.

OF: Jose Canseco (Almost too easy)

OF: Barry Bonds (Ditto)

SP: Roger “The 28 Million-Dollar Man” Clemens

On the Bench: Jason Giambi, (tough ommission from the starting line-up) Gary Sheffield, Rafa Palmero, Steve Finley, Paxton Crawford, Jason Grimsley.

Canseco serves as Captain of the squad (Bonds is co-captain) and is in charge of getting the team out of bed every morning and to the gym for the morning bench-press and vitamin-drink session.

Obviously that’s a pretty good team. You’ve got home run leaders and batting champions there. The pitching is a little weak after the VERY obvious starter, but that’s because pitchers tended to not blow up their bodies to comic book superhero-level proportions. Until then I will settle for the decidedly mediocre Grimsley and former Sox farmhand Crawford out of the ‘pen.

Article on Mitchell investigation in ster*ids

And how appropriate that this is the unlucky 13th post in Rollie Fingers' Mustache! Here is an SI article about a possible major break for the Major League's George Mitchell-led investigation into ster*ids in the game.

Mitchell inquiry.

Man oh man, wouldn't it be fantastic to actually see the names that former New York Mets clubhouse help, Kirk Radomski, turned over to the investigators? That would undoubtedly be a sad time for the game, but would also corroborate people's suspicions about many certain ballplayers. I imagine something like those movie scenes of spinning, twirling newspapers, halting just in time to blare guilty parties' names across the banner.

You could easily compile a starting 9 of all the players Ted and I think have used steroids. I'll leave that lineup for another post.

Still, it's only a matter of time before someone starts besmirching Radomski's name and credibility in an attempt to discredit his tips. I really wonder how insightful Senator Mitchell's final report will be.

All-Time Gold Glove Team

Yet another "all-time" list, the kind of thing that I devour like Vienna Fingers.

All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team.

1. An unabashed Ken Griffey, Jr. fan, I am a little puzzled that Griff barely beat out the third outfield spot over Jim Edmonds. To be sure, Edmonds will long be remembered for a series of incredible plays in center. He has 8 Gold Gloves, and if he had won in '99, he would have had a run of Gold Glove awards from 1997 until 2005.

2. I never got a chance to see Joe Morgan in his prime. Still, his inclusion elicited some strong debate. I loved the line from one commenter that "How Joe Morgan even made the cut from 250 to 50 finalists, unless he was heading the panel, is beyond me." I'd vote for Roberto Alomar over Morgan: a record 10 Gold Gloves, and he played in an era of power hitting, not all of which was hallmarked by balls driven out of the park.

3. Derek Jeter continues to benefit from the New York/national media attention and several admittedly phenomenal, jaw-dropping plays. Here's a smart article and brief analysis of Jeter as an infielder:

Jeter's fielding. And the attention continues even on this blog, as I devoted as much type to Jeter as he warrants in the original article linked at the top.

Overall, there are no glaring, credibility-shattering omissions from this list. Keep in mind, though, the Gold Glove is a post-WWII era annual acknowledgement, so we are missing everyone who played the game from the first half of the modern era and before it, too.

Friday Night's Sox Game

Well, with less than 24 hours between the end of my bachelorhood and my wife and daughter's return on Saturday, I took a friend up on an invite to Friday night's Red Sox-Angels game at the old ballpark. Josh Beckett against Ervin Santana. The Sox, behind rookie pitcher Clay Buchholz's Major League debut, had won the afternoon make-up game, 8-4. It was a beautiful night for a game.

Our seats were in the right field grandstand, which, in World War I-era Fenway Park design "ingenuity," means that the seats face directly toward center field--not toward home plate or, dare one hope, even the infield. It's a gas to pay $27 for the privilege of craning your upper half of the body 45 degrees to the left while your lower half is squished into a crevice of 1-inch-by-2-inches between your knees and the back of the seat in front of you.

Still, right field grandy's aren't the worst seats in the joint.

This is.

Anyhow, it was a decent pitching match-up. So good, in fact, that the game moved incredibly fast. It was 8:30 p.m. and we were through the first 5 innings, after only 90 minutes. That is a rare treat these days.

And then the bullpens came in. It was 4-1 Anaheim (oops, I mean California...no, wait..Los Angeles) going into the bottom of the 8th. The Angels brought in wunderkind closer Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez.

K-Rod's wind-up is fascinating to watch. Clutching the ball in his glove, he brings his legs together and squats almost like a batter' stance, then spaces them apart a bit, tilts his body back toward second base (away from home plate), lifts his left leg, then slams his left, front leg forward before delivering the ball. All of this motion is so violent and driven that, once the ball is heading toward the catcher, K-Rod's momentum carries him toward first base, his right side exposed to the batter and catcher.

Well, all of this force and momentum meant nothing, as the Sox rallied to score 4 runs off him in the 8th. David Ortiz, "Big Papi," drove in 2 runs and the place went nuts! I've been to Fenway probably 50 times in my life, and I fail to recall a time that I've ever heard it as loud as it was that moment. On K-Rod's very next pitch to Manny, he drove in Ortiz and the park went bonkers again.

Wait 10 minutes, and in comes the Sox's most questionable move of the season, Eric Gagne. He stank up the joint, thanks in part to being gassed after hurling 13 pitches to the first batter he faced, who fouled off a slew of his offerings. He was booed terribly. What a disaster he was. The Sox ended up losing, 7-5. Still, it was an exciting few moments when they rallied to go ahead, 5-4.

I'm hoping to get to one more game in September, when the Minnesota Twins come to town. Oddly, they are the only American League team I've never seen in-person.

This Day in Baseball History

August 16, 1957: 50 Years Ago Today

The Philadelphia Phillies' Richie Ashburn, battling in an at-bat against the New York Giants--who were playing their last year in New York before relocating to San Francisco--hit spectator Alice Roth twice on foul pitches--once as she was watching the game, and a second time, on the very next pitch after play resumed, while she was being removed from her seat on a stretcher.

All-time home run chart

The New York Times today has a neat feature that allows one to track the trajectory of home runs by each of the 22 players in the history of the game who have hit 500 home runs:

500 Home Run Hitters' Chart.

There are several quick take-aways from this cool chart:

1. It corroborates Teddy's comment in his Pedro post about Rafael "I take a base-on-balls. I take Viagra" Palmeiro's career: consistent player, but nothing dramatic or dominant, like Bonds (2000-present), or Foxx.

2. Griffey's home run pace between 25 and 30 years of age is sick! And none of it was done with the help of steroids or human-growth hormone (HGH). Critics have long alleged that Griffey showed, unfortunately, less (rather than more) interest in maintaining his physique, which is partly why he was "walking wounded" over long stretches of each season from 2001 through 2004. Now at 590 at age 38, Griffey would have been closer to 670 or so, had he been healthy in the prime of his career.

3. Predictions about the next "home run king," whether made today or at any time since Ruth, are destined/were destined to not come to fruition. Injuries (Foxx, Mantle, Griffey, even Thomas), war-time service (Williams, Mays), or other factors (Mays didn't make the big show until 20, after toiling in the Negro Leagues in his late teens, while guys like A-Rod and Foxx were in the Majors--even if not full-time--in their late teens) creep up at any point in a player's career and derail one's chances.


I really want to do posts profiling, separately, each of the guys in the 500 Home Run Club. That might wait until after the World Series, when things are quieter.

The Great Man on the Mend

One of the most pleasurable aspects of being a sports fan are the debates one can have about the sport itself and the men and women who play it. As a soccer fan, for instance, I have engaged in the long-time argument over who was the greatest player ever: Pele vs. Diego Maradona. There are endless examples of these debates in other sports, and certainly in baseball, which has generated a small industry detailing who is great in the sport’s history, and why that greatness should be acknowledged. In baseball, perhaps, the debate can carry more intellectual weight than in other sports, as baseball by its nature generates mounds of statistics, enough, perhaps, to support any argument imaginable excluding one that suggests J.D. Drew was a good signing by the Red Sox.

Still, before one can marshal statistics one must decide on what parameters one is to use to discuss greatness. I would like particularly to argue about the idea of greatness being personified in the dominance of a sport over a specific, and perhaps short, period of time. This is only one of many ways to measure greatness in baseball. Some measure by career achievements (awards won, lifetime homers hit, etc.) This idea has merit but has the weakness of allowing longevity to influence statistics. Rafael Palmero, for instance, has fairly impressive career numbers, but that is at least partially due to the large number of years he played. (It is also due to the chemicals he injected into his ass.) No one who watched Palmero play, however, would suggest he was the dominant player of his age.

Instead, I would argue that true greatness for baseball players lies in the sheer dominance of a specific time period, even if that period is much shorter than the average career. For instance, I think Jim Rice should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame specifically for the way he dominated the American League from 1976 to 1983. It is true that his production declined dramatically after those years, and that his career numbers are not up to the mark of a player like Palmero. But Rice dominated his age and terrified pitchers. Thus I think he should be in the Hall.

I think this theory of understanding greatness is particularly useful for discussing pitchers, since their shelf-life is often-times (although not always) shorter than hitters. In fact, it is this very argument that has led some to crown Sandy Koufax as the greatest pitcher of all time. (Although the webmaster of this site, my friend Timmy Wilson, would surely vote for Christy Matthewson.) Regardless, I have largely accepted the Koufax argument. Although he did not have a long career and, in fact, only had six years of dominance, those six years were so great that they have inspired legend since then. Take a quick look:

Sandy Koufax

1961 LAD NL 18-13, 255.7ip, 269ks, 3.52e.r.a.

1962 LAD NL 14-7, 184.3, 216, 2.54

1963 LAD NL 25-5, 311.0, 306, 1.88

1964 LAD NL 19-5, 223.0, 223, 1.74

1965 LAD NL 26-8, 335.7, 382, 2.04

1966 LAD NL 27-9, 323.0, 317, 1.73

As you will see in the stats I selected, Sandy played for the LA Dodger in the National League from 1961 to 1966. This, of course, is just the part of his career when he was dominant. The statistics represented are won-loss record, innings pitched, strikeouts, and earned run average for the season. As you will see, the selection is stunning, with 1963, 1965, and 1966 being almost comically dominant. 1966 may be, perhaps, the greatest season ever by a pitcher in major league baseball. Look at those numbers! 27-9 with 317 strikeouts and a 1.73era. That is ungodly.

I would argue, however, that there is one player who had an even greater run of dominance than Koufax, and thus is an even greater player. He was once an LA dodger as well, but his period of dominance came at the tail end of his time with the Montreal Expos before he was traded to the mighty Boston Red Sox. His name was Pedro Martinez, and these are his numbers:

Pedro Martinez

1997 Mon NL 17-8, 241.1, 305, 1.90

1998 Bos AL 19-7, 233.2, 251, 2.89

1999 Bos AL 23-4, 213.1, 313, 2.07

2000 Bos AL 18-6, 217.0, 284, 1.74

2001 Bos AL 7-3, 116.2, 163, 2.39

2002 Bos, AL 20-4, 199.1, 239, 2.26

2003 Bos, AL 14-4, 186.2, 206, 2.22

Like Koufax, Pedro’s numbers are stunning. His 1997, 1999 and 2000 seasons in particular were seasons that stand next to Koufax’s in terms of absolute dominance.

While anyone can and should acknowledge the greatness of Pedro’s statistics, one might argue that Koufax’s were still greater. He certainly won more games, and at his greatest his e.r.a. was a few points lower than Pedro’s. But here it is useful to delve a little deeper into the statistics of the game. For Koufax played in one of the weakest offensive eras in the history of the game; Pedro played in, perhaps, the strongest. Observe the average runs scored per game in the two eras:

NL (Sandy played in the National League for the entire period)

1961: 4.52

1962: 4.48

1963: 3.81

1964: 4.01

1965: 4.03

1966: 4.09

NL/AL (Pedro played the first season listed here in the National League, the remainder in the American League)

1997: 4.60

1998: 5.01

1999: 5.18

2000: 5.30

2001: 4.86

2002: 4.81

2003: 4.86

As you will see, Pedro played in a league that, on average, scored more than half a run per game more than the players of Koufax’s league. Even though people were scoring way more runs, in other words, Pedro kept his statistics close to Sandy’s, who pitched in the era of the 1-0 ballgame.

This only scratches the surface of the statistical evidence. It does not take into account, for instance, that Pedro had the additional stress of facing the designated hitter, and thus could never take a “batter off,” and that he played during the high era of steroids. It must be said that no one has ever remotely suggested Pedro did the junk, and his “little guy” frame at least suggests he was clean.

To me, this evidence suggests that one can make a reasonably strong argument that Pedro was the greatest pitcher of all time. This is not an out-there statement. Many of the number-crunchers at the brilliant Baseball Prospectus seem to think so (see their excellent book Mind Games for more on this) but many general fans would not name Pedro as the greatest. This may be partly due to the tendency to glorify the past in baseball, but it may also be due to the fact that Pedro is no longer dominant: he is now a very good, but probably not great, pitcher. This contrasts sharply with Koufax, who retired after the 1966 season, leaving baseball’s lyricists to wax eloquently about his greatness for the remainder of their days. But greatness still stands among us. Pedro Martinez, the Great Man, the finest pitcher in the history of baseball, is currently rehabbing with the Port St. Lucie Mets in class-A ball. May you get back to New York soon, Pedro, and I do hope you can dominate again.

Article on players' ballpark preferences

A quick survey on SI that asked players to rate their preferred ballparks to hit in (and, conversely, places that they'd rather not visit, as they find it hard to hit in):

Ballpark survey.

Not surprisingly, players voted overwhelmingly for newer parks for places where they love to hit, as they are all designed for hitters. In fact, Fenway Park (1912) is the only ballpark on this list that is more than 50 years old.

Interesting to see Petco Park on the list of difficult places to get a hit. I went to one game there in 2005, when the Padres were in first place in the NL West despite teetering near .500 (number of games won versus number of games lost; the higher above .500 your club is, the better the team is doing). That ballpark sucks! It is ugly. But it is in a nice neighborhood and who can argue with San Diego weather?!

Article on Barry B*nds' future

Good read this morning from SI's John Donovan, analyzing the Giants' current woes (getting swept by the Pirates is atrocious, and a shame that the worst team in baseball has the game's best ballpark).

Barry B*nds' future.

I don't want to spend much time on B*nds. He wants to play in '08, for his last season. What team would want him? There has been talk about the Dodgers or San Diego, or him going to an AL team as a full-time DH to pad his career home run record. Some team will pursue him, I'm sure, but the list will be limited and Barry might have to accept a much lower salary and loads of clauses from such a small field.

Anyhow, enough said. I'll probably devote a post this fall about his Hall of Fame chances. But I agree with Donovan that the first thing the Giants need to do (and, behind the scenes, want to do) is let Barry walk.

Article on all-time "Dream Team"

Wow. These are the types of articles I as a baseball fan devour. That it comes from SI's Tom Verducci is icing on the cake, as I am most fond of his expertise and writing style among sports writers.

Tom Verducci's All-Time Dream Team.

My very quick takes:

1. What a freakin' phenomenal list by Verducci. It is hard to argue with most of his selections or his rationale.

2. Glad to see my all-time favorite player, Christy Mathewson, in Verducci's starting rotation on the all-time "Dream Team."

3. Obviously, with a list limited to 1 starter and some reserves, many great ballplayers will be left out. And, someone who I think is undeserving is on the list: Alex Rodriguez. He is the best ballplayer of this generation, no doubt. I hope he breaks the all-time home run record, in which case Verducci, in 2020, will resurrect this list. But I think it is too soon to place A-Rod in such company.

4. I nearly spat up my breakfast upon reading one SI reader bemoaning the fact that Nolan Ryan wasn't on the all-time list. He was a good pitcher who was blessed with incredible longevity. More strikeouts (5,714) than anyone. A game-best 7 no-hitters. And, of course, he put Robin Ventura in a headlock and punched his lights out in 1993. But he is not an "all-time" great when compared to Walter Johnson, Mathewson, Lefty Grove, etc.

Still, I have some objections:
A. Bill Dickey or Yogi Berra (perhaps) over Pudge Rodriguez as the reserve catcher. Many reasons for this, among them the fact that Pudge, to quote my friend Hugh, used to "look like the Incredible Hulk" due to alleged/probable steroid use.

B. Brooks Robinson should be a reserve infielder. 16 consecutive Gold Gloves and the moniker of "The Human Vacuum Cleaner" at the hot corner warrant inclusion here. He came close to 3,000 career hits and had a lot of homers for a third baseman.

Article on Johan Santana

Jayson Stark, one of my favorite baseball writers (even if his rep is slightly tarnished due to copious predictions he made in 2000-01 that the Phillies would be annual contenders over the next several [now last several] years), chimes in with a spot-on analysis of the Minnesota Twins' biggest decision of the moment: what to do with ace Johan Santana?

Johan Santana.

Santana is signed through next season, but his asking price will skyrocket beyond his '07 salary of $13M. He'll probably look for 7-8 years, taking him to 36 years old. And he'll most likely use Barry Zito and his gargantuan $126M, most-ever-for-a-pitcher deal with the Giants last winter as a measuring stick. Can the Twinkies afford that?

Their current dilemma with Santana, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer, pitcher Joe Nathan, and Justin Morneau reminds me a bit of Seattle in the late 1990s. They had established stars in pitcher Randy Johnson, shortstop Alex Rodriguez, and All-Star center fielder Ken Griffey, Jr., at the time on a pretty good clip at passing Hank Aaron someday for the all-time home run record. Johnson bolted after the '98 season, Griffey after '99, and A-Rod took from $252M from the Rangers after the 2000 season.

My quick prediction:

The Twins, knowing the commodity of ace pitching, sign Santana for the stars. He's just too valuable. Hunter walks this year, while the Twins bank on their new ballpark in 2010 and sign Morneau and perhaps either of the Joes, like the Mets have done with David Wright and Jose Reyes.

Article on 300 career wins

Here's a decent article from Fungoes on CNNSI about the debate over whether the New York Mets' pitcher (and Massachusetts native) Tom Glavine will be the last hurler to win 300 games in a career. Click the link below:

300 wins.

It is awfully presumptious and naive to project that NO pitcher will ever again win 300 games. I've heard and read comments on this debate, and shook my head at fans who think this will NEVER happen again.

Yes, the 5-man rotation and starting pitchers going no more than 5 or 6 innings in games regularly--thus risking the win to their bullpen for 3 or more innings--limits the pool of potentials.

But pitchers today also have access to training regimens, team-imposed pitch counts, and other (yes, legal and illegal) means to ensure that their careers oftentimes will last into their 40s, even if they seldom rack up 20-win seasons.

My money is on the Astros' Roy Oswalt (110 wins at age 29) and Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia (95 wins at age 26) as the best shots at 300 wins. The Indians must be careful to monitor Sabathia's physique as time goes on. He's built like a pitcher's version of former slugger Mo Vaughn, and any weight gain will adversely affect his performance; i.e., the more weight, the less wins, as injuries might crop up more frequently.

Last August Oswalt inked a 5-year, $73M deal to stay with Houston, which took Oswalt to the postseason in 2004 and 2005 (including that year's World Series). He needs to keep getting 30+ starts a season and 17-20 wins over the next 7-9 years to solidify his chances. He is entering his prime and needs to take advantage of that factor. If the Astros become more like the first part of their name, he'll bolt for more money and a better shot at immortality.

***Finally, in the second paragraph, there is mention of 19th-century records.

Here is a little "This Day in Baseball History" anecdote about a turn-of-the-century streak. On this day in 1906, the Brooklyn Dodgers ended Chicago Cubs pitcher Jack Taylor’s 187 complete-games and 15 relief-games record; Taylor had pitched 1,727 consecutive innings during the streak, dating back to June 1901.

Taylor pitched every inning of 187 straight games. As legendary Yankees announcer Mel Allen might've said, "How about that?!"

Why a baseball blog?

Good question. Don't I have enough of an electronic outlet through my family blog? Apparently, I don't. Recently, several posts on our family blog have focused on baseball. That isn't the purpose of our family blog, and, frankly, our baby was getting increasingly annoyed that stuff about "America's Pastime" was taking focus away from her exploits. So, daddy started this blog as a space where he can devote time and writing to one of his favorite hobbies...baseball.

From the time I was a pre-schooler, baseball has been one of my favorite things in life. I wasn't always as interested in "America's Pastime" as I am now. Friends who devote their blogs to sports have given me further encouragement to launch a site that will allow me to bloviate on and on about the game, the players, and everything else related to it.

Here are 9 things (one for each inning) that I hope Rollie Fingers' Mustache will provide:

1. Profiles on my favorite current players.

2. Profiles on my favorite players of all time.

3. Debates (who doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame? Which current players will one day be enshrined in Cooperstown? Should we consider hits Japanese ballplayers like Ichiro had in Japan when it comes time to consider their spot in Cooperstown?)

4. Links to important/fun/interesting articles from ESPN, CNNSI, MLB.com, and elsewhere (no, I will not link to the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy, not even if you offered me seats on the Green Monster at Fenway for each home game).

5. Reviews of baseball books.

6. Pre- and post-season predictions for teams and ballplayers.

7. Commentary on games attended and ballparks visited.

8. "This Day in Baseball History," a literary step back in time to important and amusing events that occurred in the game on particular days.

9. The Wild Card--posts about anything that I think to write about that might not fit into one of the other 8 categories above.

***Well, those are my objectives, and I hope they're entertaining enough for people to hop on over from our family blog. I can't promise that I'll be as devoted to Rollie Fingers' Mustache as I am to our family site, but there is enough ballgame banter for me to do some quick hits and keep you all in the game!

Play ball!

Hi fans, welcome to Rollie Fingers' Mustache, Timo's blog about baseball. Obviously for many of you, the first question is: Who is Rollie Fingers? This query will be followed, undoubtedly, by the next question: What's with his mustache?
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Rollie Fingers is a retired ballplayer who played his way to the Hall of Fame closing games for the Oakland A's, San Diego Padres, and Milwaukee Brewers in the 1970's through the mid-1980s. Due to his role in defining the modern-day closer (a pitcher who comes in specifically at the end of a game to "close" the game and ensure his team's win) and, of course, his fantastic waxed handlebar mustache, I have named this baseball blog after his signature facial hair and magnificent arm.
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In the next post, I'll detail the purposes for this blog, and I'll link to it from my original blog about my family. Thanks, and play ball!