Yardbarker: Andy Pettitte

Sunday MLB on TBS: Comments from A's/Yankees Game

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:42:25 -0500

The following is commentary and interviews from yesterday's (7/20) Sunday MLB on TBS broadcast between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees with announcers Chip Caray and Ron Darling, and interviews with Bob Geren of the A's and Joe Girardi of the Yankees. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** Oakland A’s @ New York Yankees Game announcers: Chip Caray and Ron Darling Darling on the frequent adjustments of the Yankees' line-up due to injuries: “Joe Girardi was saying he’s had the opening day line-up only four or five times, but there won’t be a lot of teams weeping for the Yankees’ injury problems.” Darling on whether the Yankees can make a run to get into the MLB Posteason: “(The Yankees) have everything right in front of them. Can they make a run? Of course they can, they’ve done it in the past. More importantly, they’ve got to get good starting pitching every single day, they’ve got it from (Mike) Mussina, they’ve got it from (Andy) Pettitte… Joba (Chamberlain), of course everyone knows about him out there. Most importantly, they’ve got to get a good start every fifth day; if they can do that than once their offense starts clicking they can win 10 or 11 straight, that’s how good they can be.” TBS’ Chip Caray and Ron Darling spoke to Oakland A’s manager Bob Geren during the game. Geren on the solid pitching of A’s pitcher Justin Duchscherer: “You have a guy that goes out there and leads the league in ERA, every time (Justin Duchscherer) goes on the mound you feel like you have a real good chance to win. He does a great job of giving our bullpen a break and pitching deep in the game and just feel like we don’t need to get too many runs when he’s out there.” TBS’ Chip Caray and Ron Darling spoke to New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi during the game. Girardi on the offense of Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano: “(Robinson Cano) has been outstanding hitting .340 the last month. He’s been really hot since the break and had four hits yesterday (Saturday), he’s really hitting the ball hard. Even his outs are line-drive outs so we’re excited about the way he’s swinging the bat.” Darling on the complexity of managing a baseball team today: “The coaches and managers today show up at the ballpark at 11 or 12 in the morning for a night game, they are on those computers looking at data to see how they can catch an edge. It’s a much different job than when I played 25 years ago. You have to really have big shoulders and thick skin and be able to get very insular, just be with your ball club and block out all that outside stuff that happens in this town.” Darling on Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte tagging A’s center fielder Carlos Gonzalez when he slid head first into first base: “That is an ill-advised play, you should never slide head first into first base. Luckily Andy (Pettitte) didn’t step on his finger, but nice job by the veteran left hander to get over there and get to Speedy Gonzalez.” Darling on Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte throwing to both sides of the plate: “A lot of you youngsters in the summertime go to a lot of clinics to learn how to play this game. Well, this man (Andy Pettitte) right here is putting on a clinic if you want to learn how to pitch to both sides of the plate. The thing about Andy that you like is he has such command of the outside corner, he’s thrown more change-ups than I’ve seen him throw in a long time. On the left handed hitters he’s really been going with fastballs and sliders away and occasionally that standard beautiful cutter that he throws down and in to the right handed hitter that is just impossible for them to lay off.” Darling on Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek being up for a new contract: “Jason Varitek adds a lot to that Boston mystique. He’s been their biggest team leader, he’s their captain. But if you start thinking as a general manager that ‘I should give contracts based on past service’ than you’re in harm’s way. You should give it based on what Jason can bring to your team and if that means that the captain that’s hitting .214 deserves a two-year contract with options that kick in if he plays a certain amount of games, than I think that’s a good thing.” Darling on comments made by Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon that he wanted to close the MLB All-Star Game: “I think that (Jonathan) Papelbon got ‘New Yorked’ because some of the comments that he made. I think that he was saying as an athlete he (would have been) proud to close the All-Star Game, but of course it belonged to Mariano Rivera who pitched excellently in that All-Star Game. Rivera, what do you say about him, just the greatest postseason closer, greatest reliever of all time.”Source:TBSMaury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/), The Biz of Football (http://www.bizoffootball.com/), The Biz of Basketball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/) and The Biz of Hockey (http://bizofhockey.com/). He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus (http://baseballprospectus.com/news/?author=124), and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=47 Itemid=18) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_contact view=contact id=2 Itemid=29).

Baseball Musings at the Break

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:11:08 -0500

A few New York baseball thoughts while cursing the mythical "sick passenger" on the F train… It was great of Billy Wagner to let us know (via an article by ESPN.com writer Jason Stark) what the root of the New York Mets' problems were earlier this season: "I don't want to bash Willie, because I liked him, Billy Wagner said. "But before, it was more of The Yankee Way. It wasn't The Mets Way. There was no facial hair. You could never have music in the clubhouse. You couldn't have kids around. Believe it or not, some of us in here actually like kids." So it was the lack of facial hair and children in the clubhouse. Of course!! And I thought the problem was lack of production from the middle of the line-up. Silly me. Speaking of Wagner, I still don't trust him late in the game against good teams. Call him a baby, say he pouts, doesn't foucs, whatever…At the break, Jose Reyes is second in the National League in hits, fourth in runs scored and eighth in total bases. Throw in 32 steals and 42 RBI and Mets fans should really stop complaining about the guy. At this pace, he could make 30 errors this season and it wouldn't bother me. Ramon Castro should be catching 65-70% of the games for the Mets. Offensively he is light years ahead of Brian Schneider. I still don't see all the fuss about Schneider's defense. Give me Howie Rose on WFAN over Gary, Keith and Ron on SNY any day of the week. Radical idea that's not that radical: While Johnny Damon is injured; Joe Girardi should consider moving Bobby Abreu into the lead off spot. Abreu's lifetime OBP of .405 makes him much more of a table setter than the inexperienced Brett Gardner or the light-hitting Melky Cabera. Plus, while Abreu physically has the look of a middle-of- the-order masher, he has hit over 20 homeruns only once in the past 4 seasons. Not exactly Reggie Jackson numbers, especially for a lefty in Yankee Stadium. When Damon is back, Girardi could also consider Abreu in the #2 hole and drop Derek Jeter down to 3rd in the order. Idealy you want more power in the from your number 3 hitter, but with Damon and Abreu on base, Jeter could drive in 100 runs without using the long ball, the same way Tommy Herr did in 1985. In the first half of the season, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte have shown why 9 times out of 10, it's better togo with veteran starting pitchers than inexperienced throwers. Count me as one of the many who thought both of these guys were done. However they've kept the Yankees in contention, keeping the team in ball games almost every time they take the mound. If the Bombers can get anything out of back of the rotation, whether through a trade or from players already on the roster, they should be in the hunt for the Wildcard. Bashing Alex Rodriguez for not participating in the Home Run Derby is absurd. For guys who aren't hackers like Ryan Howard, the Derby affects a hitter's swing. Just ask David Wright. Has Major League Baseball checked Jason Giambi's mustache yet for HGH yet? How about his thong? How else can you explain his comeback? I've always thought Robinson Cano was a tad overrated, but he's a better hitter than he's shown so far. He should give the Yanks a boost in the second half of the season. Evaluating him like a normal second year player and not Superman, Joba Chamberlain has pitched pretty well. While long term he has more value as a starter than a reliever/closer, for this season, I still think the Yankees will get burned in the 7th and 8th inning. R.I.P. Bobby Murcer.

Actual AL Cy Young Odds

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:03:39 -0500

From Bodog.

Andy Pettitte, 50:1
Pettitte is actually one of the better longshots here. With 10 wins, he is only two behind Lee and Saunders. The problem is that he also has seven losses, and his ERA are over 4 (with his peripherals supporting about that level). 50:1 seems about right for him.

Cliff Lee, 9:2
I actually put Lee at exactly this price a few weeks ago. For him, not all that much had changed. Your AL All-Star starter has a good shot of being the best pitcher in the league, but the other factors that help you win a Cy Young--a good team record, a good bullpen, and a good offense--aren't exactly in his favor.

Ervin Santana, 13:2
It's interesting to see that Santana, with a higher ERA and fewer wins, has lower odds than Saunders. This makes sense, of course, since Santana has the peripherals to support his current stats, while Saunders does not. Santana is probably the third favorite at this point, and is priced accordingly.

Joe Saunders, 10:1
I would have him a little higher--probably somewhere between 12:1 and 15:1--but after factoring in juice, this makes sense. No value here.

John Danks, 20:1
Danks is actually fourth among AL pitchers in VORP, but only has seven wins. He would have to have a ridiculous second half to accumulate enough Ws to be considered.

John Lackey, 25:1
Lackey has gotten wins in six of his 11 starts, and has a 2.47 ERA. If he hadn't missed six weeks, he might be the favorite. As it stands, he has a lot of catching up to do. He's not completely out of it, but he obviously has a lot of catching up to do. Probably not a lot of value at 25:1.

Jon Lester, 20:1
Lester didn't make the All-Star team because he's only 7-3, and he's not a real Cy Young contender for the same reason. He had a nice first half, with a 3.38 ERA, but is due for some regression, as his strikeout, walk, and GB ratios are only average.

Josh Beckett, 12:1
He could stand to get some more ground balls, but Beckett has actually had a really good year, with a 107:24 K:BB ratio in 112 innings. He is probably the fifth most likely to win the award, so 12:1 makes sense.

Justin Duchscherer, 9:2
He really got screwed yesterday. He has been getting lucky all year though, with a .213 BABIP and a 4.8% HR/FB ratio. His QERA is 4.40, which is right around his PECOTA projection. He's got a shot, but he certainly doesn't deserve to be priced right with Lee and Halladay.

Mariano Rivera, 6:1
I don't really understand this at all. Why is he here and not K-Rod? I get that Mariano has a low ERA, and hasn't blown a save, but this is ridiculous. He only has 23 saves, and he has three losses. And I don't care how good his K:BB ratio is (50:4), if the Yankees don't make the playoffs, he's got no chance.

Mike Mussina, 20:1
This is about right. 11 wins and a decent ERA. Not exactly a thrilling candidacy, but he's in the mix. Mussina also might get some points for the 250 wins he recorded prior to this year. His best Cy Young finish was second, in 1999 (although it wasn't exactly close).

Roy Halladay, 5:1
I think this is too high. What's not to like? 11-6 so far, with a 2.71 ERA. Best QERA in the league, at 3.07. Best FIP, at 2.86. Most innings, with 146.1. An outrageous amount of ground balls (56%). 121:21 K:BB ratio. And a very good track record prior to this season. All that, and he's priced below Justin Duchscherer? The only problem is Toronto's offense, which isn't exactly a juggernaut. Even so, if there's value in any of these, I think it's with Halladay.

Field, 9:2
This includes Matsuzaka, Kazmir, King Felix, Gavin Floyd, and of course K-Rod. I'm not sure why some of those guys aren't listed while Lester and Danks are, but I also don't think 9:2 is particularly high for that group.

Bodog also has odds on the NL Cy Young, and the MVP in both leagues.

MLB Buy 'n Sell (7/13)

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:33:10 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith break out MLB Buy 'n Sell and runs down a short list of players you should be buying or selling. Dan Haren? Believe it or not, it's time to sell. Andy Pettitte? Grab him while he's hot!

MLB Weekly Sleepers (7/13)

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:28:21 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith breaks out a special All-Star edition of MLB Sleepers and runs down a quick list of potential needles (in a haystack - get it?) for baseball's second half. So, who could surprise some unsuspecting opponents the rest of the way? Only one way to find out ... click it.

Is Johan Santana a bust?

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:59:30 -0500

Prior to last night's win, Johan Santana had lost four straight games (the New York Mets had lost six straight when Santana started). But the Mets' ace was able to last five innings before departing due to a rain delay against the San Francisco Giants. Certainly, no one though Santana would lose four straight game, much less seven games before the All-Star break. So - it leads to the question, is Santana a bust this season?

Have Yankees turned a corner?

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:18:49 -0500

Bobby Abreu's 10th-inning double sent the Yankees to a 2-1 win over the first-place Rays on Wednesday to cap a two-game series sweep. It's hard to call a game before the All-Star break a must-win, but at this time of year this is as close as it gets. It's critical for the Yanks to stay within striking distance of the upstart Rays, who would be well served to build as big a lead as possible in the East, running away and hiding from the more experienced teams that are chasing them. Teams made up of young players, and young pitchers in particular, often hit a wall come the Dog Days of August and into September. Only time will tell if that happens to the Rays, but it won't matter for the Yankees if they're staring at a double-digit deficit. That's why the Bronx Bombers couldn't have picked a better time to string together a couple of the best performances of the season. And after Wednesday's win, they're only 6 ½ games back; obviously much better than trailing by 10 ½ games. But this isn't only about the East. Other than the BoSox, no team in the wild-card chase is more talented than N.Y. The overachieving A's (and that hurts to say, because I'm an Oakland fan) have thrown in the towel with the Rich Harden trade, and other than a great bullpen and the M&M boys, the Twins don't have a whole lot that scares you. And of the teams behind New York (Tigers, Rangers, Orioles, Blue Jays), only Detroit has the ability to make a legit postseason push. Personally, I think the Red Sox and Yankees will both eventually overtake the Rays, with Boston comfortably winning the division and either New York or Detroit grabbing the wild card. I probably wouldn't have said that a week ago, but maybe the Yankees have turned a corner heading into the All-Star break. If they have, you can thank the pitching for that. Mike Mussina has been a rock most of the season, and outside of last week's start against Boston, Andy Pettitte has been terrific in five of his last six outings – none more impressive than his win against Tampa Bay ace Scott Kazmir on Tuesday. Joba Chamberlain has been solid since coming into the rotation, and even Sidney Ponson has a sub-4.00 ERA after allowing one run in six innings on Wednesday – though I hardly think you can rely on him down the stretch. As for the bullpen, Kyle Farnsworth hasn't allowed a run in his last seven appearances and Jose Veras has allowed just one earned run in his last 16 outings. The Yankees may need to find another starter if they're going to keep their playoff streak alive, but Wednesday's sweep was a big step in the right direction.

Fantasy Baseball Players of the Day - 7/8/08

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:34:39 -0500

Tuesday, July 8th Miguel Cabrera went 4 for 4 with 2 Runs, 2 HRs, and 3 RBI. Carlos Beltran went 3 for 4 with a HR and 4 RBI. Jim Thome went 4 for 5 with 3 Runs, 2 Doubles, and a Walk. Esteban German went 4 for 6 with 3 Runs, a Double, an RBI, and a SB. Alexei Ramirez and Mike Aviles also had 4 Hits. Chase Headley went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI. Scott Hairston went 3 for 5 with 2 Runs, 2 Doubles, an HR, and 3 RBI. Brian McCann hit a pair of solo shots. Kevin Youkilis, Adam LaRoche, Richie Weeks (3 Runs), and Mark Kotsay each had 3 Hits. Marcus Thames, Alex Rios, Ryan Braun, Geovany Soto, Yunel Escobar, and Nate McLouth each had 3 RBI. Kelly Johnson scored 3 Runs. Justin Duchscherer pitched a Complete Game two-hit Shutout to improve to 10-5 with a 1.78 ERA. He's got to be the early AL Cy Young favorite. Andy Pettitte gave up 4 Hits with 5 Ks in 8 scoreless Innings to improve to 10-6 with a 3.93 ERA. Justin Verlander gave up 2 Runs on 2 Hits with 7 Ks to improve to 6-9. Nick Blackburn gave up 2 Runs in a 6-2/3 Inning no-decision. Scott Kazmir gave up 2 Runs in 5 Innings with 9 Ks, but took a Loss. Joel Pineiro tossed 6-1/3 scoreless Innings to improve to 3-4. Cole Hamels gave up 2 Runs on 3 Hits with 8 Ks, but took the Loss. Brandon Webb delivered a Devil's line with 6 scoreless Innings, 6 Hits, and 6 Ks to improve to 13-4 with a 3.27 ERA. Mike Pelfrey threw 7 scoreless Innings allowing 3 Hits with 5 Ks to improve to 7-6 with a 3.93 ERA. C.C. Sabathia gave up 2 Earned Runs in 6 Innings to win his Milwaukee debut. Matt Harrison dominated his Big Leauge debut going 7 Innings and allowing 2 Runs on 5 Hits. Ryan Dempster gave up 1 Run on 2 Hits in 7 Innings with 5 Ks to improve to 10-3 with a 3.13 ERA. Carlos "Hi Ho" Silva gave up 2 Runs in a Complete Game loss. Randy Wolf gave up 1 Run on 5 Hits in 7 Innings with 7 Ks to improve to 6-8. Jair Jurrjens gave up 1 Run on 5 Hits with 6 Ks in 6 Innings to improve to 9-4 with a 3.00 ERA.

Subway Series: The Next Generation

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:29:09 -0500

The Mets and Yankees embarked on a four-game series (one in the Bronx, three in Queens) to see who would be crowned king of New York. The younger generation of owners, Hank Steinbrenner and Jeff Wilpon, doesn't seem to hold any animosity toward each other though. In fact they confer with each other all the time, and often look to their mentor, James Dolan, for advice. "The three of us have all earned our positions of power the old-fashioned way. It's our allowance from our fathers," said Wilpon. "We're always running things by each other. When James was looking to hire a new coach, he told me he saw some film of a high school coach named Ken Reeves. He was impressed by how he took control of his team by making his star player, Coolidge, run extra laps after practice for being a wisenheimer. I had to tell him that was just an episode of 'The White Shadow.' He wanted to hire him anyway. I recommended Isiah Thomas. And he's the one who suggested I unload that Kazmir kid. After watching another rerun of that show recently, he confessed he didn't know that David Lee went to Carver High. I didn't have the heart to tell him that was Salami. And Hank was just reminiscing to me about the old great interleague battles between the Yankees and the George Scott/Robin Yount Brewers back in the 1970s." Here are some random notes about the series: Carlos Delgado hit two home runs and drove in nine runs in game one of the series. Yes, Carlos Delgado. The nine RBIs set a new single-game Mets record. Dave Kingman held the previous mark when he drove in eight (and hit three home runs) on June 4, 1976, at Dodger Stadium. Next up for Delgado: Kingman's team record for most consecutive innings played while not giving a crap about fielding the ball. The pitching matchup of Dan Giese vs. Mike Pelfrey wasn't exactly Ron Guidry vs. Dwight Gooden. It wasn't even Jim Beattie vs. Pat Zachry. Pelfrey "out-dueled" Giese by only giving up four runs in five innings to Giese's six runs in four innings. Hey, somebody had to win. In game two, John Daly, er, Sidney Ponson twirled a gem for the Yanks. He threw six scoreless innings, striking out four and walking four. Here are some other highlights from his career: released by Baltimore on 9/1/05, released by St. Louis on 7/7/06, released by the Yankees on 8/23/06, released by Minnesota on 5/18/07 and released by Texas on 6/16/08. Pedro Martinez, on the other hand, just looks old and droopy. Though he discovered he was tipping his changeup, and some Yankee players confirmed that. There was a real pitcher's duel in game three, with Andy Pettitte winning his sixth straight decision. Johan Santana is 0-4 in his last five starts, but has an ERA of 2.53. Why do umpires let Pettitte balk every time he throws to first? In the great NY shortstop debate, Jose Reyes may be more exciting, athletic and a better fielder than Derek Jeter, but Jeter always does the right thing on the field. Would he ever get picked off second with two outs? I listened to part of the game on the radio and the rest on TV. Going from Howie Rose to Joe Buck is like going from Robert De Niro to Ashton Kutcher. Like going from the Beatles to Right Said Fred. Like going from John Belushi to Carrot Top. Like going from "Seinfeld" to "Small Wonder." Like going from Curly to Curly Joe. Oliver Perez was the show in game four. He threw seven innings, giving up one run, striking out eight and he didn't walk anybody. Maybe he should only pitch against the Yankees. He's now 5-1 against them in his career, with a 2.61 ERA. Ryan Church is back. He went two for four. To make room for him, Trot Nixon was placed on the DL with a strained groin. The Mets won the season series, four games to two. The Yankees hold the overall edge with a 37-28 record. But over the last five years the Mets have gotten the better of the Yanks, going 17-13 against them. Final observation: Why are the Mets bat boys all bigger than Kevin James?

Yanks split Subway Series

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:29:30 -0500

The Yankees finished this year's Subway Series with 3-1 loss on Sunday. The Mets won this year's series 4 games to 2. The Yankees won Game 2 of the Doubleheader and Saturday's game on great pitching performances of Sidney Ponson and Andy Pettitte. Yankee killer Oliver Perez beat them on Sunday and won his 6th game against the Bombers in his career. The Yankees will now face their biggest stretch of their season, against the Rangers, Red Sox and Rays.

Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, And David Carr: Take Meat Out To The Ball Game

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:29:01 -0500

The execs at H.E.B. probably felt pretty good about getting David Carr, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens together to sing about taking their meat to a ball game. Fast-forward a couple of years and the commercial features a NY Giants backup quarterback, an admitted HGH user, and a probable performance enhancing drug user. That roster [...]

MLB Status Check (6/19)

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:54:46 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith checks in on some of the mega-hyped offseason stars, as well as the not-so-hyped offseason stars. Who is living up to it? Who isn't? And who is coming out of left field? Billy has all of those answers for you.

Oakland, Chicago Bring the Lumber

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:12:21 -0500

The A's and White Sox have been two of the biggest surprises in the American League this season. The two played long ball, and combined for 31 runs on Tuesday. Mike Gonzalez returns just in time to save the Atlanta bullpen, Seattle continues to flounder, Milton Bradley gets injured, and Chase Headley makes his debut.

Godzilla and the Crushing Blow

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:31:13 -0500

Rough night for A's fans with the Yankees in town. Just as quickly as the A's turned the offense on against Rasner, they shut it off against Pettite. A cool night in Oakland brought a few things that most A's fans have come to see regularly from their squad; Blanton breaking down in the sixth (albeit on a very poor series of plate calling by Helen Keller in an Umpire mask), and bats being left in the dugout. Give credit where credit is due. Godzilla came up with the bases loaded and proceded to send the knock-out punch over the wall in right-center. He came up and got the job done. This coming an inning after the A's had runners on second and third with one out and failed to score. Sometimes a game is decided in one inning, for the A's it was the fifth, for the Yankees it was the sixth. Pettite looked like he could pitch into his eighties if he wanted to. Same with Rivera. Serioulsy, how old is Rivera? I mean, I know he has been around awhile, but he is tossing mid-nineties with ease. Their is no K-Rod type, I'm throwing everything at the plate, delivery. Rivera looks effortless. For all I could tell he was tossing BP in shorts and flip-flops, but the 94 kept coming up on the boards. Never to be one in awe of a Yankee, I sure do respect his stuff and will remember seeing him pitch. Word around the Mac, and worth the discussion, could baseball games be as easily fixed as NBA games certainly are? A ball call here, a strike call there? All you need is the guy behind the plate.

Will Pettitte open the new Yankee Stadium?

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:00:09 -0500

New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte likes to play guessing games about his career, much like his former best friend Roger Clemens. Andy almost retired after last season, but decided to come back to the Yankees for a whopping $16 million deal for one season. Not a bad deal for someone who had an era over 4.00. There's no doubt he's enjoying the chance to close out the current Yankee Stadium. He thinks it would be an honor to open the new one as well. The real question isn't will he return, but as a Yankees fan I hate to say, should the Yankees bring him back?