Tigers Not in Rajasthan but in Detroit

Posted on March 30, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

Fireballer Justin Verlander: a little chin music!

Like the big cat I am, I’m going way out on a limb and picking the Detroit Tigers as the American League Wild Card team of 2011. (Cricket fans: The Wild Card is the team with the second-best record in the league after the three respective division winners. Sometimes, the Wild Card team can have a better record than two of the three division-winners. We have already looked at these predicted winners: the Indians, the Athletics, the Red Sox.)

By going with the Indians and Tigers in the super-competitive Central Division, I am passing on the favored Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox.

In 2009, the Tigers lost out to the Twins and I believe Detroit, still under the veteran Jim Leyland, will return to form. I start with their pitching in unusual Comerica Park, with the greatest outfield expanse in Major League Baseball. Justin Verlander fans almost a batter an inning and has the nastiest fastball in the league. Max Scherzer had a nifty ERA (earned-run average) of 3.50. (Cricket buffs: This means he gives up an average of three-and-a-half runs per nine innings; by today’s standards quite good enough to be credited with more than last year’s total of 12 wins.) The pen is anchored by newly acquired Joaquin Benoit and set-up man Joel Zumaya (on the DL but it is hoped not for long), who can throw the ball 103 miles-per-hour; in other words, through a wall.

The Yankees made a so-far bad trade by dealing rookie sensation Austin Jackson. He is joined in the outfield by Magglio Ordonez, who may or may not be healthy at age 37. Offensive machine Miguel Cabrera is at first base, and if he can stay out of trouble is a legitimate MVP (cricket fans: Most Valuable Player, going to only two players each season) candidate, while Victor Martinez formerly of the Red Sox is behind the dish and Jhonny (two points for spelling) Peralta patrols third. And you gotta love any team with a second baseman named Will Rhymes.

Overall, the Tigers are far from certain, and I wouldn’t bet the rent money on them. They had a horrible road record last season. This year? I just like ’em, that’s all.

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Red Sox Rule

Posted on March 29, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

Dusty Dustin Pedroia: Heart of the Boston Red Sox.

Mark Twain more or less said while history may not repeat, it rhymes. Will the 2011 Boston Red Sox season rhyme with 1918, 2004, and 2007? I think so. The 2011 club is not perfect. But let’s take a look at how few blemishes there are. We start with Theo Epstein, Mister Sabermetrics, in the front office, and move on to Terry Francona in the dugout. Given his postseason success (most friends get to call him), TC may be the most underrated manager in baseball.

All the Sox did this harsh winter was scoop up base-stealing terror Carl Crawford from the Tampa Bay Rays (Eat your heart out, Yankees fans!) and Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres.

Is The Greek God of Walks, Kevin Youkilis, Greek? Irish? Jewish? (James Joyce would love it.) None of the above? Who cares? With Gonzalez aboard, Youkilis returns to third base. Marco Scutaro is more than adequate at shortstop. Dustin Pedroia, a dirt-on-the-uniform-choking-up-on-the-bat throwback, is All-World at second base.

Joining Crawford in the outfield are Jacoby Ellsbury and the surprising J. D. Drew.

Mister DH, David Ortiz, is set to pick up where he left off most of 2010 following his dismal April (and May I think).

The rotation is second only to the Phillies, and thus number one in the American League: Jon Lester, Josh Beckett (in his walk year, so look for maximum effort), Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, and Daisuke. I do not know what these Sox are doing for left-handed relief, but the pen is several notches above most. (Why worry with such starting pitching?)

This is your prototypical, scrappy, lunch-bucket brigade, un-flashy, fiendish (for the rest of the American League) balance of veteran experience, youth, speed, and power: young, fast, and scientific. Red Sox Nation’s back, baby!

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It’s the Athletics in the American League West

Posted on March 28, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

Unusual dimensions of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum make baseball more like a cricket experience.

I (Evander) have gone on the record regarding the Cleveland Indians. The Oakland Athletics are my second “surprise pick” for 2011. Why? The Athletics play in the most unusual stadium in Major League Baseball. It has tremendous foul territory (almost resembling a cricket field), which is a big advantage to pitching. Why? Foul balls that often wind up in the seats are caught for outs at first, third, and home in Oakland.

More importantly, they have sturdy young pitching: Dallas Braden hurled an ultra-unusual perfect game (no runner reaches base) in 2010. He’s 27. Three others of the starting rotation are 25 or younger: Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez. (Of the starting rotation, I believe three are left-handed to provide excellent balance.) The pen is decent. Hideki Matsui, 2009 World Series hero for the Bronx Yankees, is the DH, and will provide veteran leadership. The ubiquitous Coco Crisp will do his thing.

It’s a long, exhausting trip to Oakland for most of the A.L. The teams closer by, the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim), are offensively challenged. The A.L. West is wide open. The Texas Rangers, even without future Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, will score a lot of runs but, as almost always, give up a lot (particularly with Cliff Lee moving to Philadelphia), even under the watchful eye of the great Nolan Ryan.

As few as 83 wins should be enough to take the division, and I think Oakland, which improved to 81-81 last year, is in a position to make the postseason for the first time since 2006. General Manager Billy Beane, of Moneyball, I hasten to add, is one of the most innovative executives in Major League Baseball, the perfect person for today’s belt-tightening, Great Recession world.

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Let’s Talk about the Indians (or the Guardians Beginning in 2022)

Posted on March 27, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

Asdrubal Cabrera makes it look easy.

I do not mean the Indian cricket team. I’m talking Cleveland Indians. How come I am so high on them? They have basically flat-lined over the past two seasons (65 wins in 2009, 69 last season), descending from 96 wins in 2007. Well, I like the fact that they are the youngest team in Major League Baseball. I like manager Manny Acta. If Grady Sizemore stays healthy, he’s as good a center fielder as any. Asdrubal Cabrera has plenty of range at shortstop, and Shin-Soo Choo gets a “Buy” rating in the Fantasy Baseball universe. Fausto Carmona has Cy Young Award potential as a starter, and you gotta love Chris Perez and the laconically named Tony Sipp in the pen. I like Austin Kearns as a backup outfielder. He didn’t really get to strut his stuff with the Yankees last season. The Indians are not exactly in a weak-sister division. The Minnesota Twins, with the always-great manager (the best in baseball) Ron Gardenhire, and the talk-about-combustible-but-entertaining Ozzie Guillen heading the Chisox, make for stiff competition. Hey, I think Cleveland is due for a break!

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India versus Pakistan

Posted on March 27, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

Yuvraj Singh: He Has a Following

They’ve fought three wars between them; they both have nuclear weapons; they possess the greatest cricket rivalry outside of England versus Australia; and they’re going head-to-head in the semi-final of the World Cup on Wednesday.

On the one side, the superstars of India—the batting behemoths of Sachin Tendulkar and Virinder Sehwag, and the destroyers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. On the other, the maverick and wholly unpredictable Pakistan, with their talismanic spinner, Shahid Afridi, and the ever-resourceful, Umar Gul.

As if it couldn’t be more combustible, the match is being played in Chandigarh in Indian Punjab, which is only about 120 miles from Lahore. It’s going to be hot (temperatures in the upper 90s), and you can expect tempers to flare and fireworks—both literal and metaphorical. There’ll be wild shots, accusations and counteraccusations, and a level of noise in the stadium that will approximate standing next to a space rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral.

You won’t want to miss it.

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England Crash Out

Posted on March 27, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

Andrew Strauss and His Not-So-Merry-Men

Until this morning, the England cricket team had provided the crowds at the World Cup cricket tournament with heart-stopping, nail-chewing, fingers-in-front-of-the-eyes entertainment for six matches in the row. All well and good, except the team lost almost as many games as they won, clawing their way to the semi-finals thanks only to massive incompetence by South Africa and the West Indies. The English finally ran out of gas playing Sri Lanka, a side that, quite simply, outplayed them. No one, least of all the England players it seems, was surprised by the result; frankly, they all looked a little relieved at finally getting to go home for an extended period of time. Some of the players have been on tour since late October, and it looked it.

Questions will no doubt be asked again as to why England are still so mediocre at the 50-over form of the game (they are currently World T20 champions and are on the rise as a Test playing nation). One answer must be that the English team were too conservative and didn’t adapt enough. Another, surely, must be that (despite all the protests to the contrary) they’re exhausted: numerous players had to return home injured, and one even flew to England early this week because of depression.

I can see how they might be tired. There are only three games left in this tournament, which has been going on for seven weeks, and I for one am looking forward to a little cricketing hiatus.

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Three Baseball Geniuses

Posted on March 26, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey.

It has been my belief that there are three geniuses that transformed baseball. Two are discussed in Right Off the Bat, whereas the third is simply alluded to: his contributions being a little too complicated for what we are trying to accomplish in our book.

 

My genius list consists of Casey Stengel, Babe Ruth, and Branch Rickey. (It is Stengel that is under-represented in the book for the reason stated.)

Two new books are reviewed in the New York Times: Branch Rickey, by sui generis New York journalist Jimmy Breslin, and Campy, by Neil Lanctot.

The notice gives an excellent overview of Ebbets Field and the Dodgers of Brooklyn, a most colorful bunch of players and fans within the ultimate working-class ballpark. What it also does is explain a little of what a visionary Branch Rickey was. He devised what is called “the farm system” of minor-league affiliates from which the major league clubs primarily draw talent. Above all, he is one of the largely unsung figures of the civil-rights movement in his signing of Jackie Robinson.

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Late Spring-training Trade

Posted on March 26, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

I’m not sure if the cricket world is filled with “trades.” In the Major League Baseball world, teams regularly trade one player for another. As reported, Curtis Granderson has an oblique-muscle injury. He thinks he is 50-50 for opening day, which is Friday. To me, this says he may wind up on the disabled list.

(Cricket fans: the DL is a special roster of players ineligible to play for a period of time such as 15-day, 30-day, 60-day depending on the severity of the injury and other factors. Such players are protected by their respective clubs and rejoin as soon as they are healed. It’s slightly more complicated than this, but you get the basics. Also, trades can involve more than two players and more than two teams. As the season “happens,” we’ll see examples of these scenarios.)

The Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers have traded one player for another, with the Brewers acquiring right-handed pitcher Sergio Mitre for their former outfielder, Chris Dickerson. With Granderson’s injury, the Yankees almost certainly needed another outfielder. The Brewers new top pitcher, Zack Greinke, is currently on their DL. Theoretically, each team benefits. How happy the players are is another story.

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Favorites Trounced in World Cup

Posted on March 25, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

A day after the much-fancied India beat the current world champions Australia, comes the shocking defeat of the equally fancied South Africans by New Zealand, perennial underdogs but smart one-day outfit. Defending a very modest total of 221, the Black Caps (as the Kiwis are known) starved the South African batsmen of opportunities. Still, the fact that South Africa were at one stage 108 for 2, before losing their remaining 8 wickets for a paltry 64, is only going to reinforce the reputation of South Africa as chokers when it matters. South Africa have never won a World Cup, and nor have New Zealand. The Kiwis, however, seem to know no fear when it comes to performing on the big stage. Will they go all the way this time?

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Home-run King on Trial

Posted on March 24, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

It may not be The Trial Of The Century, but here comes Barry Bonds (reporting to court in San Francisco), depending on what the trial reveals, probably about to cast a klieg light on the nastiness of achieving immortality at the expense of his body, of some 16,500 big-league players that have shot for the record (not having taken a shot except to deaden pain) before him without the benefit of chemical enhancement, and at the expense of gullible fans (or the don’t-ask-don’t-tell crowd).

Such a nice way to start a season….

Of course, there are two schools of thought on anabolic-steroid (ab)use as it relates to enhanced athletic strength and performance.

Is it really so bad we’ve seen this (and other) world-class athletes in ultra-fine shape day in and day out, playing largely at the peak of human perfection? Would we rather see one less-tuned, perhaps loaded with uppers or following a barroom binge not long enough before game time? There are cases of pitchers (not to single out this most demanding position) boasting of no-hitters and perfect games while on LSD, or half-loaded and hungover from the night before. Also, isn’t this all one big privacy issue? Do the rule-makers, including the Federal Government, have any right to intervene in the private matter of ingestion? Who am I really hurting besides, dimly, myself? And what’s next on the no-no list? Caffeinated coffee? Cheerios?

That’s one school. The other frets over the subliminal message such enhancement and turning-heads-the-other-way sends to our young people. Like chain-smoking, like whiplash, like exposure to dangerous levels of radiation, steroid abuse does not necessarily reveal its ugly side until many years later. What percentage of young athletes, legitimately looking for an edge, realistically now, will succeed as professional players? The potentially lethal damage to these young people is done in a silent way. To a high-school or college star receiving the wrong advice, being fed a delusion, influenced by juiced-up multi-millionaire stars, the idea of any hideous side-effects developing later on quality of life is a non-issue. “I’m going to live forever” as the movie-song says.

Sure.

The real shame of this trial is that Bonds, in his early baseball career, was not only the best player of his era, but one of the greatest natural athletes anyone would ever see.

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