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Good-bye Jorge Posada
The Mighty South Africans
For the last couple of years, a joke has been muttered by those begrudging the England team’s success that the only reason it wins is because of all the South Africans in the side. Captain Andrew Strauss, batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, and keeper Matt Prior were all born in South Africa and at various stages of life (from infancy to their early twenties) came to England. The South African side is exceptionally strong at the moment, so it’s worth asking ourselves: Would these guys get in to the side if they’d have stayed in their native lands—leaving aside all the hypotheticals regarding whether they would have turned into the players they are today?
Although he’s an exceptional captain and a strong run-scorer, Strauss isn’t quantifiably better than Graeme Smith at either captaincy or run-getting. Pietersen, however, in spite of his run of poor scores, is a man for the big occasion and difficult to leave out, while Prior is the best keeper-batsman in the world (assuming that Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara isn’t wearing the gloves). Trott is immoveable. So, here is my ideal South African side:
1. Graeme Smith / 2. Hashim Amla / 3. Jonathan Trott / 4. Jacques Kallis / 5. Kevin Pietersen / 6. A. B. de Villiers / 7. Matt Prior / 8. Vernon Philander / 9. Dale Steyn / 10. Imran Tahir / 11. Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
The batting line-up is formidable. Matt Prior averages over 45 with the bat and Philander and Steyn are more than handy with the willow. The bowling line-up is also deep, with Kallis supplementing the three seamers (Philander, Steyn, and Tsotsobe). The weak spot is spin: Tahir hasn’t proven as effective as the South Africans would like. But Pietersen could help out here with his underused spinning abilities. One could leave out Prior, give de Villiers the gloves, and bring in Morne Morkel or Ashwell Prince (depending whether you wanted to strengthen the bowling or batting), but I’d replace Tsotsobe with Morkel if necessary. What do you think?
The Fight to Be Number One
It is a truth universally acknowledged (or at least it is in the world of international cricket) that teams visiting the Indian subcontinent are as unable to cope with the mysteries of spin generated by pitch and weather conditions in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh as the teams from those countries are unable to cope with the pace and bounce of pitches in Australia and South Africa and the swing-friendly conditions of England. This iron rule appears to be holding fast.
Having scaled the heights to be the 2011 World Cup champions and number-one Test team in the world, India visited England and Australia where they have contrived to lose an astonishing seven Test matches in a row (and by embarrassingly large margins)—unable it seems to deal with the cool moistness of England or dry heat of Australia. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka performed dismally in South Africa, while England (currently the best Test team in the world) were just thrashed by a resurgent Pakistan side on the sub-continental style dry and dusty pitches of the United Arab Emirates.
Yet beneath the familiar narrative is another set of stories. The Indian team, much to the despair of their supporters, seems disengaged and uninterested. Their stars of yesteryear are showing their age: it looks as though V. V. S. Laxman will retire at the end of the series with Australia and Virender Sehwag may concentrate on the one-day game. Rahul Dravid, who had such a banner year in 2011, will surely be under great pressure to quit after a string of poor performances, as will Sachin Tendulkar, once he reaches the magic milestone of his century of international centuries. It’s clear that it’s time for a change: even, perhaps, of leadership. The totemic captain, M. S. Dhoni, looks as though he doesn’t really care anymore.
The South Africa team is shaping up as serious contenders for the top position in Test cricket, with exciting new prospects such as Vernon Philander joining the best fast bowler (Dale Steyn) and greatest all-rounder (Jacques Kallis) in the world. Sri Lanka might not have fared as badly as India in Australia, but South Africa look as if they might shake off their label as perpetual also-rans. England simply looked rusty. The team hasn’t played Test cricket since last summer and it showed. Pakistan, after a disastrous 2010, spent 2011 regrouping and becoming a formidable unit.
These five teams—India, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and England—are now within reasonable striking distance of each other in their battle to take the top spot in Test cricket. To maintain that position at number one for any length of time, one team is going to have to learn how to play in all conditions. Who will it be?
They’d Name a Candy Bar after Me
When Reggie Jackson of the Baltimore Orioles boasted ca. 1976 that “They’d name a candy bar after me if I played in New York” he wasn’t kidding. I (Evander) remember a 1977 Yankee Stadium opening-day field littered with thousands of Reggie Bars after one of the slugger’s patented home runs or other feats of amazement. For years, I had saved the wrapper. But who knew how far baseball-candy fanaticism might go? Fast forward to 1993, when an impressionable twelve-year-old fan of the Kansas City Royals, one Ryan Wood, dropped his undying allegiance to his team to follow the Seattle Mariners career of Ken Griffey Jr. The Griffey people, in turn, had followed the Reggie example: by naming a candy bar after their star slugger. Buying the chocolate at a baseball-card convention, young Wood announced the candy ought to be refrigerated by his family…forever. Little did he know how much attention he was getting at home. When, now aged thirty, married and with a family of his own, not-so-young Wood checked out his mom’s fridge (which even had been replaced at some stage), there, untouched, lay his Ken Griffey, Jr. Bar! Read all about it here.
Any Second Thoughts on Dealing Jesus Montero?
The earl of Essex, complete with head: Is Joe Girardi sticking his neck too far out?
Yankees Trade Young Bat and Catching Prospect for Young Pitching, and Ink Innings’ Eater
Pending an official announcement, the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners, franchises with a history (A-Rod, Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Jay Buhner, plus probably the greatest five-game Division Series ever [October 1995]), have completed a swap that will benefit both clubs. Suddenly, the Yankees have one of the deepest pitching staffs in Major League Baseball. Although reported by one of my (Evander’s) least-favorite (for his lengthy pronouncements) columnists, click here for the full (and I mean full) scoop, including the Yankees separate signing of L.A. Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda.
The Overhaul of Fame
A modest propopsal....
Since I (Evander) am always babbling (even occasionally in a coherent manner) about this subject, Martin has egged me on to comment further on The National Baseball Hall of Fame selection process: how to ensure only the greatest players are inducted. Thus, Right Off the Bat has not only come up with this Overhaul of Fame, but with the related concepts of Hall executives commissioning an Anabolic Annex and an “Anti-Chamber.”
Bill James has written far more eloquently on the subject of “immortality-inclusion” in Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame? He makes passionate but statistical cases against certain “immortals” like Don Drysdale.
The subject of to induct or not to induct (as Shakespeare might have said) is filled with all sorts of subjective criteria. Did the player cultivate the right writers during his career? After it was over, does he go deep-sea or fly fishing with key members of the Veterans’ Committee? (To The Hall’s credit, this committee has been re-thought; though it still smacks of a popularity contest to me.)
Aside from the obvious issue of talent, and the more slippery-slope issue of character, today we have the added wrinkle (in or out of time) of anabolic-steroid or “protein-shake” ingestion when such were not quite banned. Mark McGwire has already been muscled out, perhaps permanently. What will be the fate of home-run king Barry Bonds, when he appears on the ballot? Of Roger Clemens?
As recently blogged, what do we do with figures implicated in gambling? Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson? Rose has the most hits of any big-leaguer. Jackson’s lifetime batting average is right up there with Rogers Hornsby’s (try saying that three times fast) and Ty Cobb’s: Cobb being the number-one inductee…and, by the way, a psychopath.
Separate from these issues is the recent run of non-superstar inductions: to wit, Paul Molitor; Bert Blyleven; and recent inductee, Barry Larkin. My own subjectivity comes into play in naming these fine players. But I can hardly wait to see the July induction ceremonies when Mike Piazza, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux become eligible. (I don’t count on seeing Bonds or Clemens.) Rickey Henderson is the last real-star induction I can recall.
For the rest, as the chantey asks, “What do we do with the drunken sailor?” Here go The Big Concepts from ROTB: The Anabolic Annex would include Bonds, McGwire, Palmiero. “The Anti-Chamber” is for Rose, Joe Jackson, and maybe even my own favorite piano-man and Las Vegas bad boy, Denny McLain.
We wonder what Jonathan Swft would make of our Modest Proposal.
Posted in Baseball, Right Off the Bat Website
Tagged "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, Bert Blyleven, Bill James, Denny McLain, Don Drysdale, Gerg Maddux, Literature, Mark McGwire, Mike Piazza, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Paul Molitor, Pedro Martinez, Pete Rose, Rafael Palmiero, Roger Clemens, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb
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Field Notes
Ron Kaplan, one of our most insightful and inquisitive baseball correspondents, has wondered how a cricket captain decides where to place his eleven players when there’s no foul territory and a batsman can hit the ball anywhere. Is there a strategy involved? he asks. Do Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson belong in the Hall of Fame? (The answer to that question, by the way, is “yes.”) Seeing a captain trying to winkle out a batsman is one of the singular pleasures of the game.
The captain will have to take into account a number of things in placing his field: (1) What kind of bowling the batsman finds discomforting; (2) What kind of shots the batsman is good or bad at; (3) What kind of pitch (playing surface) it is—does the ball bounce high and come on fast, or low and slow (which makes it harder to get the ball out of the infield? (4) Is the opposing team losing wickets fast—in which case it’s time to put pressure on the batsmen by putting lots of fielders around the wicket—or are they scoring lots of runs—in which case you need a defensive field?
So, lots of questions. Although the permutations are unlimited, as in baseball, the fielders tend to stand in positions that through trial and error over the decades have proven to be useful. These can be seen on our schematics page. (Remember: there’s always a bowler and always a wicketkeeper. This means that the captain has only nine players that he can place.) On the other hand, there are some shots so outrageous that it doesn’t matter where you place the fielder. Witness, the “Dilscoop,” named after Sri Lankan captain, Tillakaratne Dilshan:
The Catch
In recent years, cricketers have had to become much quicker and more adaptable in the field. Gone are the days where a team could safely carry players with a few extra pounds and no speed by placing them in the cricket equivalent of left field and hoping that a ball didn’t speed their way. Creative batsmen are hitting balls everywhere and no matter your brilliance in batting or bowling, you’re expected to field excellently as well. A case in point is below. Just watch this!
Baseball fans should note that once the ball crosses that rope then even if the fielder caught it on the fly, the ball would be considered a home run—or in cricketing terms “a six,” six runs. The only option for the fielder is to parry the ball back into play, without any part of his body touching the rope or the ground beyond it. This is what the fielder does. That there’s somebody nearby to catch the rebound is in itself a remarkable piece of thinking from both fielders.
The two on-field umpires, who’ve probably never seen anything like this before, rely on the replays being shown to a third umpire to make sure that the fielder doesn’t touch the ground—even though he’s physically beyond the boundary’s edge.
Posted in Baseball, Cricket
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Singing Like Caruso (or Torre)
Will Joe Torre be wearing Dodger Blue in the owners' box?
Joe Torre is either going to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, not buy the Los Angeles Dodgers; act as a front man for a Caruso (not Enrico), or yield to an hidalgo named Cuba. The names are merely a sidelight. Not only has the McCourt family lost the team—it wasn’t long ago that the Dodgers, not the Red Sox and the Yankees, was the premier franchise in Major League Baseball—but there are all sorts of other big questions in Dodgerland: whether Dodger Stadium, the crown jewels of baseball stadiums, will remain in Chavez Ravine for example. (The pooh-bahs of professional football likewise cast an eye on L.A.) Artists’ renditions, viewed by Right Off the Bat (and we have little doubt several-million others), of new stadiums (or “fields”) in Tinsel Town, lead one to wonder what 2012 and (especially) beyond hold.
Posted in Baseball, Yankees
Tagged Boston Red Sox, Dodger Stadium, Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees
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