It appears as though a subtle paradigm shift has occurred. Teams are starting to become more defensive oriented-the balance of power in the league has shifted back over to the pitchers. The generation of this league full of pitchers, some already star and some knocking on the door to stardom.
Here is a look at the top 10 pitchers and the ballparks they may be most comfortable pitching in.
As always, the Yankees have a chance to be really good this year.
Except for the minor problem that their No. 2 starter has only one year of starting experience in the majors, their No. 3 starter is probably the single most maddening starter in baseball, their No. 4 starter has seven major league starts to his credit and their No. 5 starter is either a guy who has never pitched in the majors or a guy who couldn’t hold the starting spot when it was handed to him last summer.
Suffice it to say that if the Yankees win the World Series, it will defeat the adage that pitching wins championships.
CC Sabathia is where it all starts, and thankfully for the Yanks, this guy is awesome. One of baseball’s most consistent pitchers, he hasn’t won fewer than 17 games since 2006 (and even then he had 3.22 ERA and 1.17 WHIP), strikes out a ton of guys, keeps his WHIP super low and he never gets hurt. For my money, he’s in the top 3 or starters in baseball.
I don’t believe in picking pitchers in the first round, but he’s a guy to target very high.
Phil Hughes is the aforementioned No. 2 starter with a year’s worth of full-time starting under his belt.
He’s got filthy stuff and throws as hard as anyone around, but I am definitely concerned about his 2010 trajectory.
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With 2010 being “The Year of the Pitcher” it seemed high time someone threw together a list of the nastiest pitches from the season.
This list isn’t based on any statistical evidence, merely on my opinion and observations.
Credit for my inspiration for this list goes to Joel Reuter who compiled a similar list in 2009.
It’s hard to believe, with all the snow we’ve gotten here in the Northeast, that spring training is just a few weeks away. As a fan of the New York Yankees, this hasn’t been the best of offseasons, so I would like nothing more than to fast forward to mid-February to see how the team is going to answer all of the questions that haunt them right now.
Before we get to February though, here is the first segment of posts regarding the direction of the Yankees, both on and off the field. I will pose questions that need to be answered before the season begins, starting with what I believe to be the most important question that still needs to be addressed.
1. What is going on with the rotation?
Almost all offseason, many have wondered what the Yankees are planning on doing with the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the starting rotation, in the wake of Cliff Lee signing with Philadelphia, and Andy Pettitte acting like he’s not playing in 2011. What people really ought to be wondering about is the status of the Yankees rotation as a whole, because it’s not pretty.
To me, the Yankees starting rotation is an obvious weakness. CC Sabathia is the only pitcher in the rotation who can be counted on for 200 injury free innings. He is the clear ace of the staff, and should contend for the AL Cy Young award, yet again.
2010 AL All-Star Phil Hughes provided the Yankees with hope. He won 18 games last season and he threw a career-high 176.1 innings last year. However, he threw just 86 innings in 2009 and before last year he hadn’t topped 120 innings since throwing 146 way back in 2006, when he split time between Single A and Double A. A big jump in innings pitched from one year to the next can sometimes lead to injuries, or ineffectiveness, and Hughes has a bit of an injury history already.
Speaking of injuries, one of the knocks on A.J. Burnett when he signed with the Yankees prior to the 2009 season was that he was injury-prone. He’s now had three straight seasons with at least 33 starts.
So, a glass-half-full kind of person would believe that Burnett has turned a corner and is a healthy, durable pitcher as he enters his mid-30s. A glass-half-empty person would believe that Burnett, following a career-worst 2010 season (10-15, 5.26 ERA), will be on the disabled list a few times in 2011. I fall in the durable veteran pitcher camp when it comes to Burnett, but his lack of consistency is a huge problem for the Yankees.
Healthy or not, they don’t know what to expect from Burnett.
So, the Yankees rotation, as of right now, consists of one pitcher they can truly count on (Sabathia), two spots that are completely up for grabs (No. 4 and No. 5 spots), and two pitchers with question marks (Hughes and Burnett).
This is not a World Series caliber starting rotation, to say the least.
Coming soon: Question two in the series.
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After seeing the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays make their own offseason splashes this week, proceeded by the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles offseason marks happening earlier on, there isn’t a more accurate statement than “the AL East is the most dominant division in baseball.”
Sure, maybe the topic has been beaten to death, but it never ceases to amaze me on how competitive this division really is. For the past five years, the competitiveness in the division has really heated up. All five teams part of the ultra-tough division have competed against one another and never stop either and it’s entertaining.
For proof, look no further than this year’s offseason:
Boston Red Sox – The Sox acquire two of the games most prominent hitters in Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez.
Baltimore Orioles – The Orioles complete a roster overhaul, adding veterans Mark Reynolds, J.J. Hardy, Kevin Gregg and Jeremy Accardo.
Tampa Bay Rays – The Rays decimated their roster, trading away many of their key pieces for the future, but also made an effort to fill the seats in South Florida by recently signing Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez to one-year pacts.
Toronto Blue Jays – After being quiet all offseason, resigning many within the organization and stock-piling draft picks and prospects, they finally made their move – acquiring power-hitters Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Vernon Wells.
New York Yankees – Brian Cashman was snubbed on numerous occasions this offseason, from big names like Crawford or Cliff Lee to smaller names like Kevin Gregg. They finally made their mark late, signing closer/setup-man Rafael Soriano to a massive contract.
This is just one offseason, but it’s clear that when one team makes a move in the AL East, it has a very big ripple effect on the rest of the division. The first move was made on Dec. 4 by Boston, and it continued from there. And this isn’t the only offseason that this has happened, the competitiveness during the offseason has picked up in recent years especially:
2006 – The Jays sign Frank Thomas and give Wells his big contract, the Yanks bring back Andy Pettite, the Sox sign Japanese phenomenon Daisuke Matsuzaka, where the Rays bring in their own Japanese star in Akinori Iwamura, and the Orioles vastly improve their bullpen while also signing Aubrey Huff in his heyday.
2008 – The Jays add all-star infielders David Eckstein and Scott Rolen, the Yankees name Joe Girardi their new skipper while adding Alex Rodriguez back to the MLB‘s largest contract ever. The Red Sox bring in a heavy bat in Mike Lowell. The Rays bank their prospect system, while the Orioles complete a pair of blockbusters, acquiring future key pieces in Adam Jones, Luke Scott and Matt Albers.
These are just three recent off-seasons, but it proves my point well. Whenever one of the teams in the AL East make a move, it has a very big ripple effect on the rest of the division and sooner or later all the teams react in some way.
Perhaps it’s due to the amount of money the division produces. The Yankees and Red Sox have a payroll that succeeds the $200 million mark, while the Jays and Orioles have support from their owners as well. The Rays have the least of the five, but still remain competitive.
Either way, if it’s something in the air in the Eastern part of North America or the world’s best baseball mind just happen to all run teams in the same division – the AL East is baseball’s most competitive division and until the entire league shuts down, it always will be.
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Oakland Athletics center fielder Coco Crisp is one of the key players in the team’s pursuit of the American League West division title in 2011. The veteran is entering his 10th season in the big leagues and brings a lot of wisdom and experience to a rather young group.
Crisp started his career with the Cleveland Indians in 2002, before joining the Boston Red Sox in 2006. In Boston, he helped the team win the 2007 World Series. Crisp spent the 2009 season with the Kansas City Royals, before joining the A’s as a free agent in 2010.
During his big league career, Crisp has 941 hits in 3,396 at-bats (.277 average). He’s had some success against the game’s best pitchers. He holds a career .366 average against Mark Buehrle, a .400 average against Justin Verlander and a .289 average against Roy Halladay.
Some notable pitchers that Crisp has struggled against are Jered Weaver (.059 average), Matt Garza (.077) and A.J. Burnett (.105).
I asked Crisp if he could name the toughest pitchers he’s ever faced in his career.
“There are a lot of guys that are really good,” Crisp responded. “The pitching is unbelievable nowadays. You’ve got to be on point when you step in that box.”
Here is Coco Crisp’s list of the toughest pitchers he’s ever faced.
Andy Pettitte will not be ready by Opening Day, but will he be ready by mid-season?
Months of rest, vacation, and time seem to not be enough for Andy Pettitte. He continues to leave fans and the Yankees anticipating his decision to return for the 2011 season.
After Brian Cashman told reporters that Pettitte is “choosing at this stage to not start 2011,” Pettitte’s decision seems to be made up. But why hasn’t he announced his retirement yet?
Or at least stated to his team and fans his decision?
His uncertainty is something the Yankees and fans can be optimistic of. Although there has been no talk about Andy Pettitte starting mid-season, this is something that can benefit both the Yankees and Pettitte.
The door is open for a mid-season comeback, and if awaiting a final decision by Pettitte means he needs more time to decide whether he will return mid-season, then I am prepared to wait. His Clemens-like comeback is a decision that will be beneficial to everyone.
Here are 10 ways Andy Pettitte and the Yankees are better off if he decides to sign mid-season.
The Red Sox are my sleeper pick.
This prediction comes in spite of their heavy losses in sluggers Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre.
The Red Sox, though, offset those losses by adding power hitting 1B Adrian Gonzalez, filling their gaping hole at the position, as Kevin Youkilis was not getting the job done. Now Youkilis has been kicked over to the other side of the diamond where he will have a difficult time adjusting to a position he’s played at for only 1,606 innings his career.
In addition, Boston lured Carl Crawford over with the promise that he can play in a place without the fear of being overshadowed. He will fit in nicely in left field.
Never has an underdog had such an established roster.
A big issue with the 2010 team was their amount of injuries, spread nicely over the course of the season so as not to look suspicious.
Furthermore, the Red Sox starting rotation, looking for a boost, will get one when John Lackey is encouraged by the organization to wear Curt Schilling’s bloody sock, but not the famous one.
Thanks to David Ortiz’s terrific second half of the season (after hitting .054 through June), the Red Sox will overcome their demons and end the curse, reaching the playoffs for the first time in two years.
Finally, sensing their similarities to their rivals in New York, the Red Sox will decide to find a new rival, and it will be BP oil. Now aren’t you back on their side?
The Toronto Blue Jays will finally reach their potential and finish second.
With their mighty sluggers, the Jays will fight for the wild card. They will be led by Jose Bautista, who was consistent in 2010 and consistently mediocre every year before that.
Based on Bautista’s incredible performance last season, the Jays will bank on the same happening in 2011 to one of their other mediocre hitters with at least moderate power, or all of them. My pick is Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind, and Travis Snider. And Jose Bautista, who will prove that last season was the true baseline of his stardom. He will hit 73.1 home runs next season, breaking Barry Bonds’ single season mark by 0.1 after the league simply decides to give it to him because “it’s the right thing to do.”
Behind the budding strength of their starting rotation, the Blue Jays will thrive, breaking the .500 barrier for the first time since—wait, they’ve been over .500 four of the last five years.
Correction, behind their young starting pitchers, the Blue Jays will develop higher expectations, sure to come back to bite them in the long run.
Also, their bullpen will learn to be more apathetic. Blown saves will follow.
The outlook for the 2010 Toronto Blue Jays is a bright one, for the first time since whenever they will become relevant (or whatever).
Behind a new youth movement and a commitment to not spending money they don’t have, the Tampa Bay Rays will ride a wave of success to third place
Their imminent third place finish will be a drop from last year’s second place finish, but it will be seen as a vast improvement to their predicted sixth place finish.
The departure of Carlos Pena, who will be considered by many to be the “missing piece,” will open up a spot for Dan Johnson, who will wow fans with his .198 batting average.
He will depart the next season with a $10 million deal with the Cubs.
During the home opener, the Rays’ organization will retire number 13. Nothing will ever be the same.
With the other departures of, hold on let me get ready: Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, Joaquin Benoit, Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler, and most likely the increasingly desperate Rafael Soriano, spots will be opened up for future Jason Bartlett, future Matt Garza, Lance Cormier, Mike Ekstrom, Chad Qualls, and Kyle Farnsworth.
Lastly, you may remember 3B Evan Longoria’s claim that the fans did not show up to Tampa Bay home games. What you may not have heard is when the fans responded, “Sure we don’t attend” as they put their masks back on.
The 2011 slogan for the Baltimore Orioles is “Success In Imports.”
“Nick Markakis and the Mercenaries” will take the field next season unfamiliar with each other’s playing styles. They may not even know each other’s names.
Mark Reynolds will be known as “one two three,” Derrek Lee as “that one guy who fought Chris Young,” and Brian Roberts, an Oriole veteran, will become “that guy who’s just sort of been here.”
Younger players like Matt Wieters and Nolan Reimold will sit cross-legged in front of Roberts as he tells tales of what the roster used to look like in his “hay day.”
“We had a man by the name of Rafael Palmeiro and a guy named Surhoff.” “Woooooowww,” the youngsters will say in awe, “Did you have cleats back then?”
Manager Buck Showalter, most well known for guiding the Texas Rangers to three consecutive third place finishes in ’04-’06, will channel his inner “True Grit.” In the process, he will take advantage of the Coen Brothers’ new film and model himself more after Jeff Bridges’, Rooster Cogburn.
The players, not knowing how to respond to this, simply will ignore him.
After a few weeks and becoming tired of the Rooster Cogburn character, Showalter will go onto compare himself to Jeff Bridges’ character in Seabiscuit. Because of this, he will compare his pitchers to workhorses…then race horses. Then he’ll treat them like true race horses.
The young Oriole staff must hope they don’t wear down.
The New York Yankees will hire a new GM who looks eerily like the Sith Lord.
Along the way, they will finish in last place after their makeshift rotation fails down the stretch, and by stretch, I mean June onward.
CC Sabathia will dominate opponents for the first few innings of the year. Then he will get tired.
AJ Burnett will become the new staff ace after all the pressure of New York baseball is lifted off his shoulders. After a few quality starts, the pressure will return tenfold. He will never recover.
Phil Hughes will become the Phil Hughes of 2010. He will continually be overlooked by everyone who cannot take their eyes off of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez’s receding hair-line.
Andy Pettitte will come back for 2011, retiring from baseball only between his starts. For this reason, he will not be in great shape. The Yankees, used to Clemens antics, will not mind as long as Pettitte makes more than he’s worth.
As far as the lineup goes, Derek Jeter will act as though nothing weird happened this offseason and it will be totally awkward. Alex Rodriguez will gossip around the clubhouse to make sure the attention is not on his own declining average and OBP.
Brett Gardner, seeing Jeter’s success, will dive into the crowd, make unwarranted jump throws (from the outfield), make a flip play, win multiple undeserved gold gloves, and demand an outrageous contract for his worth. He will be loved in the city of New York.
Robinson Cano will hit the cover off the ball like the stud that he is, then receive a cover article on Sports Illustrated, and then promptly be overlooked again.
Nick Swisher is awesome.
Welcome to 2011, the A-Rod and Jeter show. Is Mariano Rivera even still around?
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There has been some significant movement in our starting pitcher rankings since we originally checked in on them.
The most glaring change was due to Zack Greinke’s trade to the Brewers, but that’s certainly not all. Let’s take a look at how things currently look:
Thoughts:
What are your thoughts on the rankings? Whose too high? Whose too low?
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Make sure to check out our 2011 rankings:
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With Boston’s offseason spending spree and Tampa Bay’s everything-must-go jumble sale, one can make a pretty good stab at how the AL East will play out in 2011.
The Yankees and Red Sox will fight it out for the top spot, the Blue Jays and Rays will compete for third and fourth and the Orioles will still languish at the bottom.
Obviously, any of the bottom three could make a run to the postseason as the Rays did in 2008, but it would be a staggering turnaround.
At first glance, this article may appear overloaded with players from Boston and New York but bear in mind, there is a simple reason they will be the favorites for the AL pennant: they have the best players.
If the O’s had more players on this list, they would not have had 13 consecutive losing seasons.