Kuzul

For the first time in several seasons, The New York Yankees spring training campaign is not being dominated by scandal or distraction.

The Bombers’ third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, has consistently been at the forefront of many of these distractions. Whether it’s steroids, divorce, or Madonna, A-Rod and scandal have had a very intimate relationship in the last few years.

But this year things are different; Rodriguez has not had to handle off-the-field issues or being mauled by the media. This is not to say that Alex has stayed completely out of the headlines. During the Super Bowl, Rodriguez was caught being fed popcorn by girlfriend/actress Cameron Diaz. (Is this really news worthy? Well, define news.) In A-Rod’s first meeting with the media during spring training, instead of having to face tough questions Rodriguez sat down, and with a smile on his face, quipped, “Did anybody see the Super Bowl?”

Rodriguez got the whole matter of “Super Bowl-popcorn-gate” out of the way, and since, has not had to focus on anything besides baseball. A-Rod is pleased to have avoided anything extracurricular to confront this spring, as he was not happy with his last three seasons, stating that his production was “unacceptable”. Mind you, in each of those three seasons Rodriguez posted more-than-acceptable numbers with 30+ homeruns and 100+ RBIs.  Alex Rodriguez came into spring training in better shape than last year and certainly in a better state of mind.

The Yankees were by all means not the biggest winners in offseason roster moves. What that means to the team is, besides Rafael Soriano and Russell Martin, there are no new players that are supposed to take on big roles for the Yankees. There aren’t any new playing styles to adjust to and no new egos to handle. What this also means is that, compared to the Boston Redsox who have brought in two all-stars, the Yankees have not really been a focus of other teams and the media alike. Other than the retirement of pitcher Andy Pettitte, the Yankees have lost very little of their team, and if A.J. Burnett can pick it up this season, the Yanks’ rotation could come up with similar production to last year’s.

According to Mariano Rivera, the Yankees are happy to be somewhat under-the-radar this spring, hoping that the team can sneak up on some teams in the upcoming season.  No matter what the media has said, the Yanks are still confident that they can win it all in 2011.

With the A-Rod situation seemingly in order and the team still largely intact, in combination with the recent lack of media attention on the Yankees, it has been a very positive spring for the team. For the firs time in a while they have been allowed to focus on baseball and baseball alone. Hopefully they can use this to their advantage and reclaim the retooled AL East.

This article has also been featured on All Sports New York

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The Philadelphia Phillies’ prospect Domonic Brown recorded his first hit of spring training today against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The at-bat was bittersweet, however, because Brown fractured his wrist, an injury that will most likely require surgery.

Brown saw some action up in the Majors in the second half of the 2010 season, batting .210 and recording three doubles and two home runs in only 62 at-bats.  Brown was in a fight for the right field spot in the Phillies’ outfield this season, and it looked as though Brown would platoon with Ben Francisco, but with the injury Francisco should win the position outright.

With this recent injury, the Phillies and their fans are all disappointed, since Brown is the No. 4 prospect in the MLB according to ESPN.

Although many people believe it a tragedy, Brown’s injury is actually a good thing for the Phillies.

Brown is an underdeveloped player at this point, and he is not ready to come into the MLB.  Brown struggles mightily against left-handed pitchers, hitting a pathetic .077 against them.  Brown was absolutely terrible against lefties, and he did not have enough time to work against them last season.

If Brown and Francisco were to platoon as planned, Brown would have only batted against right-handed pitching.  While he may have done better against those righties, he would not have had any time to develop against lefties, and there would be no way that he could develop further like that. 

If that situation were to occur, Brown would not be able to become a better player.  Brown would have been talent wasted.

Because Brown broke his wrist, he will have to recover, and then rehab in the minor leagues.

The Phillies will not rush Brown back, and he will learn to hit those pesky lefties while in the minors again.  When Brown can hit both types of pitchers, he will have the potential to become a great player…the type of player everyone expects him to be.

In the meantime, Ben Francisco will take over the position.

Francisco has the potential to bat .275 and hit 20 home runs if he plays every game of a season, and he is a good right-handed bat…something that the Phillies are missing since Jayson Werth left.

Overall, from Domonic Brown’s injury, Brown will get more time to develop, Francisco will get the chance to be an everyday starter, and the Phillies will gain a powerful right-handed hitter.

While Brown’s injury seemed devastating, it helps the Phillies more than it hurts them.

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After Adam Wainwright went down for the season, Kyle McClellan looked like the leading candidate to take the open spot in the starting rotation. After his first outing of the spring, that spot is now McClellan’s to lose.

He looked strong in three shutout innings, needing only 38 pitches against the Astros today. He threw 25 of those for strikes, and only two balls even made it out of the infield off the bats of a Houston lineup that only started two of its regulars. McClellan only faced one batter over the minimum.

St. Louis also got strong returns from its relief corps, getting a scoreless fourth from lefty Trevor Miller. Prospect Bryan Augenstein sat down six batters in a row, and John Gast gave up a single but erased the runner with a pickoff in the seventh.

Southpaw Raul Valdes allowed two hits in the eighth but got a double play to get out of the jam, and Fernando Salas earned his second save as the Redbirds came away with a 1-0 victory.

Matt Holliday knocked in the only run.

McClellan had a 4.04 ERA in 68 games during as a rookie in 2007 and improved to a 3.38 ERA in 66 the next season. His best season came last year, when he posted a 2.27 ERA (3.92 xFIP) in 68 games.

For the last three years, McClellan has been an integral part of the St. Louis bullpen, but he was a starter in the minor leagues before undergoing Tommy John surgery, and he believes he can return to that role in his fourth full season with the Cardinals.

“It really doesn’t change a whole lot for me,” McClellan said. “This is what I want to do. The whole time I have been here, this is kind of where I want to be and the situation I want to be in. Obviously it’s extremely unfortunate with Adam but it’s somewhere where I feel like I could succeed and I have the stuff to do it.”

The biggest question for McClellan going forward is his durability. He’s never pitched at least 74 innings in a season, and only has 217-2/3 innings under his belt in the big leagues. McClellan doesn’t see this as a problem.

“I think it’s a legit question but you can’t really compare relievers to starters because as a reliever, you’re mentally and physically prepared to pitch every day,” McClellan said. “Yeah physically you may only throw 70 innings, but you’re throwing consecutive days, with no rest, with only a day rest, and as a starter, you can prepare yourself for that one day. You can go out and drain yourself for that one day and have four days to recover.

“I don’t think you can just look at it and say, ‘He’s only thrown 70, how’s he expected to throw 150?’  As long as I’m prepared physically, we’ll just go as far as I can go. You just go out and keep pitching until you can’t pitch anymore.”

McClellan also has the backing of pitching coach Dave Duncan, who recently transformed Adam Wainwright from rookie closer to a Cy Young candidate and ace starter.

“Right now he’s the guy that I think is best suited for the role, provided he can show us this spring what we need to see,” said Duncan. “He’s done that before but like I said, I’m one vote and not the final vote. In my opinion, it’s more important to get him slotted than it is anybody else.”

Duncan also dismissed any claims that McClellan will suffer from the drop in velocity that pitchers usually experience after moving from the bullpen to the rotation.

He relies mostly on deception and movement in his pitches, and he has possesses a fastball that tops out at about 93 mph, a strong curveball, and a complementary breaking ball.

This isn’t the first time that McClellan has entered camp with a shot at a starting job. Last year, he entered spring as the favorite for the fifth starter’s job, but lost the spot to lefty Jaime Garcia. It’s poetic justice, however cruel, that he could make his first start after entering spring with a solid spot in the bullpen.

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Chicago is spinning with excitement for next off-season, and they haven’t even been eliminated yet. Albert Pujols will become a free agent after the conclusion of this season, and some clubs have the rival right in their cross hairs. The Cardinals were unable to strike a deal with their current face of the organization and will now have to compete for his work. Pujols was reportedly seeking a 10-year, 300-million dollar contract and the Cardinals were unwilling to match it. Should the Cubs do what the Cardinals didn’t?

Think back a few years, Cub fans. Does this ring a bell? Middle-aged superstar searching for a lot of cash along with many years? Reminds me a little bit of a speedy, second baseman (now outfielder) named Alfonso Soriano. That deal hasn’t exactly panned out for the Friendly Confines. Should the Cubs take the risk again?

Obviously Soriano isn’t Pujols; they are extraordinarily different players and talents. Almost nothing between them is similar except that they both have the capability to hit for power. Currently, Pujols is regarded as the best player in baseball by many analysts, managers, fans, and fellow players. He is also 31. Assuming the Cubs, or any team, gives Pujols his desired contract, he would be 41 by the time it runs up. What are the odds that Pujols is still on the upturn at 31? His talents should, unless he actually is a machine like his nickname suggests, be dwindling.

If the Cubs can find a way to pay Pujols enough money per year for him to drop his contract to four or five years, then it would be an excellent deal. Get a veteran who can lead your team to long lost glory? Perfect. On top of that, you take away your in-division rival’s best player and soul of the team.  How much better could the Cubs have it?

It seems the Cubs are noticing their opportunity after they signed first basemen Carlos Pena to a one year, ten million dollar contract. There will be salary available and a gap at first base, Pujols’ position.

However, Chicago probably shouldn’t get too far ahead of itself. There are still 162 games left to be played before this is even an issue. The wait has begun and it’s going to be a long stretch before it’s over, and that’s exactly what all baseball fans will be doing; waiting.

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Shhh…do you hear that?

If you’re a baseball fan, a sports enthusiast, or if you simply happen to hail from the Greater St. Louis area, I’m sure you are hearing the same thing I am.

Silence.

That’s right, for the first time in recent memory, the day’s sporting headlines have not been dominated by Albert Pujols chatter and, I must say, the silence is deafening.

I was truly surprised to visit the ESPN website today and not see ONE update on the Pujols contract saga. Soon after, I was downright SHOCKED to see that Pujols’ name was absent from the home page of MLB.com as well. It looks like, at least for the time, Pujols is staying true to his word and ceasing contract negotiations after his self-imposed Wednesday afternoon deadline.

To say the Pujols’ story has been well-documented would be like saying 12 year-old girls like Justin Bieber; both are vast, vast understatements. Yet, while the obligatory “what if Pujols were traded to my team” articles and blogs have surfaced, most of the Pujols coverage has been dedicated to dissecting the extension he is demanding from the Cardinals, or the kind of deal he could get if he were to enter free agency in 2012.

The media’s focus on Pujols agreeing to an extension with St. Louis is not unfounded, however. Pujols has made it clear that he wants to retire a Cardinal, and that he will block any trade on the strength of his 10-5 no-trade clause (10 years in the Majors, five with one team).

However, one has to believe that, especially in a situation that has gotten as sticky as Pujols’ (Pujols and the Cards are way off on their numbers), nothing is outside of the realm of possibility.

Straight out of the “stranger things have happened” file, here are the ten things that must go down in order for Albert the Great to be traded.

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Curtis Granderson’s debut season with the New York Yankees can best be described as one filled with many peaks and valleys.  Judging by his strong second half and impressive postseason numbers, it wouldn’t be surprising if Granderson has a 2011 similar to his breakout 2007 season with the Detroit Tigers.

His Yankee career couldn’t have gotten off to a finer start.  In his first at bat of the season, he crushed a Josh Beckett pitch into the right-center field bleachers at Fenway Park. 

Just three days later, Granderson led off against the Red Sox in the 10th inning and delivered an early moment of ecstasy to Yankee fans by blasting a game-winning home run to right field stands off of Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Granderson quickly endeared himself to his teammates and the “Bleacher Creatures” by immediately performing against their hated rivals, but his numbers would soon take a tailspin. 

He finished April with a batting average of just .211 and only two home runs.  Some Yankee fans began to question whether their center fielder would be able to produce under the bright lights in the Bronx.

Granderson’s struggles at the plate continued into July.  His sub-par first half totals consisted of a .240 batting average, seven home runs and 24 RBI and wasn’t impressing the hard-to-please crowds at Yankee Stadium. 

He soon found his power stroke and went on a torrid run, hitting 17 home runs in the second of half of the season including nine in September/October.  Granderson complied a slugging percentage of .523 after the All-Star break, which was 114 points higher than his first half mark.

In the 2010 playoffs, he took his game to new heights by leading the Yankees with a .357 batting average and tied Robinson Cano with a team-best six RBI.  In the ALDS against the Twins, Granderson dominated the Minnesota pitching logging a .455 batting average and a monstrous slugging percentage of .727.

Granderson will be looking to turn the page in 2011 and find the consistency that allowed him compile some fantastic seasons in Detroit. 

He told the New York Daily News, “All those ‘firsts’ are done with.  I know the guys more, I know the facility more, the coaching staff more.  This year will be very similar in mentality to every other Spring Training except for last year.  I’m excited about that.  Everything is just normal again.”

A player that possesses tremendous tools, Granderson played very well defensively last year and has the all-around ability to mold himself into a complete ballplayer.  Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long will work with Granderson during Spring Training to perfect his swing. 

Long was able to turn a struggling Cano into a fearsome MVP candidate and has been known to expertly retool the approach of Yankee batters over the years like Alex Rodriguez.

If Granderson can continue his bright performances throughout the 2011 season, he could come close to raising his average to above the .280 mark that he was accustomed to with the Tigers.  In a down year in 2010, Granderson still was able to hit 24 home runs and drive in 67 RBI.

Once he figures out Yankee Stadium’s short porch in right field, he might have a shot at surpassing his career-best total of 30 home runs.  I’d like to see manager Joe Girardi take the training wheels off and allow Granderson to be aggressive on the basepaths. 

In 2007, Granderson stole 26 bases and only was thrown out once all season.  Last year, he converted 12 of 14 stolen base attempts and should come closer to being a “20-20” man in the upcoming season.

Granderson will turn 30 before the Yankees’ March 31 season opener against the Tigers.  He is in what most would consider his prime years and very well could go on to produce a career-best season in 2011.

Join in the discussion below and follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/HartyLFC.

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Adrian Gonzalez? Gone. David Eckstein? History. The Hairstons? Adios.

Miguel Tejada? Auf Weidersehen. Yorvit Torrealba? Movin on..

You get the picture. The Padres will be a different team in 2011.

The question becomes “Is different better?” I know that what I see on paper right now looks much better than the last two seasons teams did at this same point. Lets take a look at what should be the Padres starting line up for opening day.

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For the upcoming 2011 fantasy baseball season, four catchers are head-and-shoulders above the rest: Joe Mauer, Victor Martinez, Buster Posey and Brian McCann. Each player was ranked in the top 5 in at least three out of the five offensive categories, with Mauer leading the way with a .327 batting average. 

It should be noted that Buster Posey compiled his impressive numbers in only 103 games on his way to earning rookie of the year honors in 2010.

Rookie J.P Arencibia will most likely start for the Blue Jays this season after the departure of John Buck. Arencibia is a highly touted prospect who can hit for both average and power.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is an interesting sleeper candidate in 2011, as he is finally healthy and will be the starting catcher for perhaps the most potent offense in the league. The question that has always surrounded Salty is his heath, so be sure to have a back-up option just in case.

Visit www.kramericasports.com for complete player rankings, news and advice.

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We are still a little over a year away from the Florida Marlins entering their new stadium; however, noteworthy is their recent trip which involved members of the Marlins brass (Jeffrey Loria and David Samson) and players Hanley Ramirez, John Buck, Gaby Sanchez, Logan Morrison, Chris Coghlan and Mike Stanton who took the unofficial first batting practice at the new stadium while being on hand for the first seat installation. 

Now it was just batting practice, but a few home runs throughout the process may have forecasted a potential flaw with the plans of the stadium. Of note: a few baseballs came close to leaving the stadium, specifically one hit by Mike Stanton which cleared the stadium by essentially shooting through the invisible glass panels in left field and exiting the building. 

Even Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria felt worried his “Pitcher Park” would end up being something else, perhaps being a repeat of what happened to the Yankees in their first season at Yankee Stadium.

“Some of those fly balls—I’m not sure this is a pitcher’s ballpark anymore,” Loria said. “The building is gorgeous.”

Let’s examine the future home of the Marlins and current one for a second, shall we? Sun Life Stadium, while mostly considered a pitcher’s park is really a neutral park. 

According to ESPN’s Park Factor, which measures a stadium’s ability to be a hitters paradise or a pitcher’s park, the Marlins’ Sun Life Stadium ranked 10th in runs scored but 24th in home runs per game with 0.822. 

In terms of dimensions, the Marlins new stadium will be 10 feet further in left field (340 feet), 23 feet further in left center (384), 12 feet further in center (416 feet), 17 feet further in right center (392 feet), and 10 feet less in right field (335 feet). 

Nevertheless, dimensions aren’t the full cause of a stadium’s ability to be hitter-friendly or pitcher-friendly. The Marlins haven’t truly played baseball in South Florida indoors, so only time will tell how playing indoors and outdoors in the stadium will effect playing conditions come 2012.

Last season the Minnesota Twins opened their new stadium, Target Field, and ranked last of all 30 Major league ballparks in home runs per game, with 0.641 per game. Target Field’s dimensions are a bit closer to home plate than the Marlins’ new ballpark, but again, only time will tell whether the Marlins’ new stadium is truly a hitter’s or pitchers paradise in South Beach. 

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“Dear fellow Yankee fan,

Man up.

It’s Andy Pettitte after a loss. He’s going to be completely out of gas, and find a way to hold them to two runs anyway.”

Now let me provide some context for the following quote. It’s the Fourth of November, 2009. Having had a chance to win the World Series for the first time since 2000, the New York Yankees dropped the fifth game in their duel with the Philadelphia Phillies. AJ Burnett had decided that one good World Series performance was enough for him and he decided to take his talents on a vacation. We haven’t seen much of the good AJ since.

That said, enough with the cheap shots. I published a Yankees article in the wee hours of the morning that day. Game Six was that night. Thanks to the Yankees, I was reeling and finding myself unable to sleep. What I wrote was very much a rant, criticizing any player that I felt warranted it.

I began to conclude the article like so:

“How confident am I about Andy Pettitte in Game Six? Not in the slightest for the 37-year-old lefty going on three days rest, especially considering his last start against the Phillies was probably his worst of the postseason.

I talked myself out of him closing it out within three hours of the completion of Game Five.

I haven’t talked myself out of CC against Cole Hamel’s damaged psyche or whoever the Phillies would throw out on the mound in Game Seven. I will though. Don’t worry about that, it’s coming.”

Pettitte had suggested some possible skepticism in interviews about him pitching on three days rest before the series started. He said that he couldn’t remember the last time he pitched on such short rest.

He didn’t seem nervous. He was clearly well past the stage of ever feeling nervous about pitching in a baseball game. But you wondered how his body would do. As stated, he wasn’t even that great in Game Three. 

But he had been good enough.

Which brings back to the opening quote. That quote is actually the first comment I received on that article. The man who posted it goes by the name of Tom Schecter. And how did our friend, Tom, fare in the predicting business?

He just about nailed it. Pettitte actually gave up three runs. But he pitched precisely as Tom expected. Andy Pettitte was out of gas and he kept coming at the Phillies’ batsmen with a handful of nothin’.

“Yeah, well, sometimes nothin’ can be a real cool hand.”

The Yankees won that game, 7-3. Pettitte got the win in a World Series clinching game (we’d heard that sentence before). He’s had more impressive stat lines than the five and two-thirds of an inning and three strikeouts that came with those three earned runs. But he did what he had to do. And he probably pitched as well as he could have. What one can accomplish with mental toughness, with a strong heart.

And that was the epitome of Andy Pettitte, the pitcher. He won’t be remembered, first and foremost (by me at least) for having a sensational pick off move to first base, for his cutter or change-up, or for how revered he appeared to be by fellow baseball players. It’ll be for the heart that he displayed on the mound, time and time again. It’ll be for all the times he wandered into trouble on the mound, only to battle through it and leave base runners stranded. It’ll be for the way he never backed down in big games.

I don’t want to be seen as a blind follower or as misrepresenting what he was. He wasn’t automatic every single time he took the mound, not even in the postseason. 

The first time he ever took the mound in the World Series (1996), Pettitte was pelted by the Atlanta Braves for seven runs in less than three innings of work. In the ’97 and ’98 postseasons, Pettitte lost three times to the Cleveland Indians, only reaching the sixth inning in one of those games and gave up a combined total of 17 runs (four home runs in the third game alone). And in Game Six of the 2001 World Series (when his team could clinch another title), Pettitte couldn’t even make it through the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks, en route to a 15-2 loss.

But more often than not, Pettitte came through. And he seemed to get better with age in the big spots. He seemed to become a more mature pitcher and smarter pitcher by the inning. 

If this really is the end of Andy Pettitte forever, the pitcher, he will walk away holding the all-time records for most starts and innings pitched in the postseason. He is also second all-time in World Series starts.

He will finish 19-10 in the playoffs with an ERA of 3.83 and 173 strikeouts. And since 2003, Andy went 9-3 in the playoffs with an ERA of 2.93, 86 strikeouts, and 13 quality starts.

In 2003, Andy Pettitte won Game Two in all three of his team’s postseason series, each time his team was down 1-0 in the series! In 2009, Pettitte became the first pitcher to start and win the clinching game of all three postseason series. Aside from the Phillies series, he pitched in two other World Series clinching victories for the Yankees (he got a no decision for one of those but he did not give up an earned run in either game) The man, quite simply, is clutch personified.

He pitched pretty well the other months of the baseball season as well, leading the league in regular season wins for the new decade (and in wins from ’95-’09 as well). He won 20 games in a season two different times and earned three all-star appearances, along the way to tallying up 240 regular season wins and 2,251 strikeouts.

But if not for the month of October, Andy would be ‘just another really good pitcher.’ That’s where legends are made. He was fortunate enough to play along with some terrific players on a great organization. But Andy, made the most of it. One would not able to convince me that many others would have had the same postseason success if given so many opportunities. Andy Pettitte, along with Curt Schilling, is the best big game pitcher of the last 20 years.

So what Andy did on the Fourth of November, 2009, should not have been a surprise to anyone. Tom Schecter was merely reacting, rationally, to what he had seen from Andy Pettitte for (at that time) 15 big league seasons. I just was a little too emotional at the time to see it.

And maybe I’m being too emotional right now. Pardon the sense of defeat, especially since the season hasn’t even started yet, but there is just no replacing Andy Pettitte. I will watch 150+ games this season and root fervently for the Yankees, just like I did the season prior and the season before that. However, the announcement that Andy Pettitte will retire tomorrow hurts (even if not a surprise).

One last thing, remember that article I wrote on November 4, 2009? That, up to this point, had been my last sports article. It was for reasons not having to do with sports.

But this tribute felt very much warranted. I feel like I can safely speak on behalf of other Yankees fans in saying this: We love you, Andy.

Best of luck in future endeavors.

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