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Monthly archives: November 2006

 

Double Your Pleasure—Double Your Doubleplay Combo
2006-11-29 11:58
by Mike Carminati

The St. Louis Cardinals signed second baseman Adam Kennedy to a three-year, $10M contract yesterday and will, thereby, re-team Kennedy with his former doubleplay partner from the 2002 champion Angels, David Eckstein.

Barring injury Eckstein-Kennedy will become just the 17th keystone combination to start for two separate franchises. The last doubleplay combo to double up with a second team were Neifi Perez and Todd Walker who started for the Rockies in 2001 and then the Cubs in 2005. There have been just seven replanted doubleplay combos in the majors since World War I.

Here's the full list in chronological order:

Tm1StartEndWS?Player1POSPlayer2POSStartEndTm2WS?Player1 POSPlayer2 POS
Chicago White Stockings18781878 Bob FergusonSSBill McClellan2B18831883Philadelphia Quakers 2BSS
Cleveland Blues18801883 Fred Dunlap2BJack GlasscockSS18851886St. Louis Maroons 2BSS
Buffalo Bisons18851885 Hardy Richardson2BJack RoweSS18881888Detroit Wolverines 2BSS
Detroit Wolverines188618871887Fred Dunlap2BJack RoweSS18891889Pittsburgh Alleghenys 2BSS
Indianapolis Hoosiers18871889 Charley Bassett2BJack GlasscockSS18901890New York Giants 2BSS
Brooklyn Grooms/Bridegrooms18931896 Tommy CorcoranSSTom Daly2B19031903Cincinnati Reds SS2B
St. Louis Browns18971897 Monte CrossSSBill Hallman2B19011901Philadelphia Phillies SS2B
St. Louis Cardinals19011901 Dick Padden2BBobby WallaceSS19021904St. Louis Browns 2BSS
Philadelphia Phillies19071913 Mickey DoolanSSOtto Knabe2B19141915Baltimore Terrapins SS2B
Boston Braves19171917 Rabbit MaranvilleSSJohnny Rawlings2B19231923Pittsburgh Pirates SS2B
Boston Braves19481949 Alvin DarkSSEddie Stanky2B19501951New York Giants SS2B
St. Louis Cardinals19581958 Don Blasingame2BEddie KaskoSS19611961Cincinnati Reds 2BSS
Chicago Cubs19771978 Ivan DeJesusSSManny Trillo2B19821982Philadelphia Phillies SS2B
New York Mets19941995 Jeff Kent2BJose VizcainoSS19971997San Francisco Giants 2BSS
St. Louis Cardinals19961996 Luis Alicea2BRoyce ClaytonSS20002000Texas Rangers 2BSS
Colorado Rockies20012001 Neifi PerezSSTodd Walker2B20052005Chicago Cubs SS2B
Anaheim Angels200120042002David EcksteinSSAdam Kennedy2B2007?St. Louis Cardinals?SS2B

There are a few things worth noting here.

The only World Champion keystone combo to repeat with another team prior to Eckstein-Kennedy were Fred Dunlap and Jack Rowe with the 1887 Detroit Wolverines.

Dunlap, Rowe, and Jack Glassock were the only men to appear on the list more than once. Dang, those nineteenth-century doubleplay combinations were incestuous.

Bob Ferguson and Bill McClellan are the only men on the list to appear in two doubleplay combos but to also switch positions. McClellan went from second with the White Stockings (now Cubs) in 1878 to shortstop for the Philly Quakers (cum Phillies) in their inaugural year, 1883 while Ferguson went from short to second.

Finally, my favorite: the Phils recreated the Cubs' late-Seventies doubleplay tandem for one season, that was bookended by two extremely memorial trades involving the two players. First, the Phils traded Larry Bowa for Ivan DeJesus to reunite him with Trillo. That would have been an OK deal. That is until the Chicago GM, Dallas Green, until recently the Phillie personnel director, asked them to toss in a prospect. Of course, his name was Ryne Sandberg, thereby making it among not only the worst Phils trades ever but among the worst trades of all time. At the end of 1982, the Phils traded Trillo along with four other players for Von "Five-for-One" Hayes, who the Phils tabbed as their next franchise player. Hayes was actually pretty good for the Phils but the balance sheet for this one is slanted against the Phils and continues to get worse as the octogenarian Julio Franco continues to play 24 years later.

The three-year gap between Eckstein-Kennedy 6-4-3 double plays is nothing compared to the seven-year wait between Tommy Corcoran-to-Tom Daly flips:

Player1Player2Tm1Last YrTm2First YrYrs Diff
Tommy CorcoranTom DalyBrooklyn Grooms/Bridegrooms1896Cincinnati Reds19037
Rabbit MaranvilleJohnny RawlingsBoston Braves1917Pittsburgh Pirates19236
Bob FergusonBill McClellanChicago White Stockings1878Philadelphia Quakers18835
Monte CrossBill HallmanSt. Louis Browns1897Philadelphia Phillies19014
Ivan DeJesusManny TrilloChicago Cubs1978Philadelphia Phillies19824
Luis AliceaRoyce ClaytonSt. Louis Cardinals1996Texas Rangers20004
Neifi PerezTodd WalkerColorado Rockies2001Chicago Cubs20054
Hardy RichardsonJack RoweBuffalo Bisons1885Detroit Wolverines18883
Don BlasingameEddie KaskoSt. Louis Cardinals1958Cincinnati Reds19613
David EcksteinAdam KennedyAnaheim Angels2004St. Louis Cardinals20073

If the Cardinals repeat with a World Series crown next year—OK, stop laughing—Kennedy-Eckstein will be the first doubleplay combo to start and win a ring for two separate franchises. They also may hold the record for the most times being referred to as "pesky" for a two-team doubleplay combination.

Plan X?
2006-11-27 22:34
by Mike Carminati

The Phils appear to be spinning their wheels this offseason.

Plan A was to get Alfonzo Soriano to supplant fan pariah Pat Burrell to "protect MVP Ryan Howard". Soriano signed an eight-year, $136M contract with the Cubs.

Enter stage right, Plan B: Sign Carlos Lee to (again) replace Burrell. Lee gets six years and $100M from the Astros.

Next, insert foot in mouth.

The best remaining free agent left fielder is Barry Bonds, who is, of course, the greatest player of his era, but is also 42, is oft-inured, and comes with a ton of baggage.

Frank Catalanotto? Already signed with Texas.

There's always David Dellucci but he played for the team last year and couldn't displace Burrell in either left field or in the lineup. If he re-signs, it will probably be to play right with Shane Victorino is center (and Aaron Rowand reportedly traded back to the White Sox).

Meanwhile, the catcher the Phils reportedly were interested in, and who expressed interest in playing in Philly, Johnny Estrada got traded to the Brewers. The only desirable catcher on the free agent market is aging future Hall-of-Famer Mike Piazza. But why worry about a catcher when we are trying to get a marginal improvement in left field?

At third, the Phils have plugged in career backup Wes Helms coming off a career year. He'll platoon with Abraham O'Nunez. Lovely, and you thought they couldn't do worse than David Bell. Never mind that Aramis Ramirez was a free agent for a short time until he re-signed with the Cubs.

So what's next?

The Red Sox are reportedly shopping Manny Ramirez in anticipation of signing Phillie favorite J.D. Drew and potential woe fellow Scott Boras client Daisuke Matsuzaka. There are a number of teams interested in Ramirez but apparently the Phils are not among them.

I just don't get it. If the highest priority is to replace Burrell with a bigger bat, Ramirez is the ideal choice. And the Red Sox are motivated to move him.

So it appears that the Phils master plan to get a negligible improvement in left is going to fall through. They have already consigned the starting rotation to mediocrity by signing another tail-end starter in Adam Eaton (reportedly at three years and $24M). Unless Cole Hammels because a staff savior in 2007, their rotation may continue to be an immense problem.

Then there's the starting catcher. The Phils have only career minor-leaguer and 34-year-old rookie sensation Chris Coste or 27-year-old untried rookie Carlos Ruiz to depend on.

There's another hole in right. A lineup with both Rowand and Victorino in it will be problematic.

Then there's the depleted bullpen.

That's what happens when you put your eggs in one, or in this case two, baskets. The Phils would have been better served foregoing the fan sop of replacing Burrell and instead could have fixed the actual problems on the team.

But now it appears to late even though it really isn't. That's what a bad plan does to a team.

I thought Pat Gillick was an improvement over Ed Wade because he had a) a plan and b) some competency. But maybe a bad plan is worse than no plan at all. The Phils seem like a lock for another win total in the mid-80s next year. The older pitchers and lack of talent at key positions might cause an implosion, but then again how badly can a team collapse with two stars of Howard and Utley's caliber in the lineup?

I can't wait for Plan Y.

Justin-Sane
2006-11-21 22:19
by Mike Carminati

Well, the votes are in and the results are that the voters are friggin' nuts.

Justin Morneau won the AL MVP and I defy you to come up with a valid argument for him being the MVP, or even MVP stand-in, on his own team, let alone for the entire league. Derek Jeter was the obvious choice, and that's why the voters ignored him enough to let Morneau win. One voter from Chicago even had Jeter sixth!?!

So the question isn't whether Morneau deserved the award—he didn't. It's whether he is the worst candidate ever to win the award. Unfortunately, he isn't but he's up there.

Here are the only MVP winners who, by Win Shares, were worse choices than Morneau:

NameYrWin SharesPOS
Roger Peckinpaugh192515SS
Jake Daubert1913171B
Rollie Fingers198117P
Dennis Eckersley199218P
Willie Stargell1979181B
Andre Dawson198720OF
Marty Marion194420SS
Frankie Frisch1931212B
Juan Gonzalez199621RF
Mickey Cochrane192822C
Bob O'Farrell192623C
Jim Konstanty195023P
Mickey Cochrane193423C
Ernie Lombardi193824C
George Burns1926241B
Mo Vaughn1995241B
Thurman Munson197624C
Willie Hernandez198424P
Yogi Berra195524C
Dick Groat196025SS
Frank Thomas1994251B
Johnny Evers1914252B
Juan Gonzalez199825RF
Gabby Hartnett193526C
George Bell198726OF

Morneau's candidacy doesn't bear close scrutiny. He came in fifth in Win Shares for the league, eighth in OPS, and 13th in Baseball Prospectus's VORP. Here are the top twelve finishers in the AL MVP voting (plus Manny Ramirez who got completely hosed) with their ranks per Win Shares, OPS, and VORP along with their overall rank:

Player, ClubPointsPos Total WS RankOPSRank VORP RankAvg RkOverall Rank
Justin Morneau, MIN3201B275.9347 52.0 11 7.67 9
Derek Jeter, NYY306SS331.90012 80.5 1 4.67 5
David Ortiz, BOS193DH2931.0493 76.8 3 3.00 1
Frank Thomas, OAK174DH2213.9269 41.3 12 11.33 19
Jermaine Dye, CWS156OF2661.0065 64.6 8 6.33 6
Joe Mauer, MIN116C312.9366 66.9 5 4.33 3
Johan Santana, MIN114SP259 9.00 12
Travis Hafner, CLE64DH2591.0971 79.7 2 4.00 3
Vladimir Guerrero, LAA46OF259.9347 63.9 9 8.33 10
Carlos Guillen, DET34SS266.92010 66.3 6 7.33 8
Grady Sizemore, CLE24OF259.90711 69.1 4 8.00 10
Jim Thome, CWS17DH2661.0144 62.6 10 6.67 7
Manny Ramirez, BOS6OF2931.0582 66.1 7 4.00 2

Morneau ranked ninth overall by this method. That seems about right. I do, however, have a problem with David Ortiz coming in at number one, but overall these rankings seem closer to reality than the real thing.

Ramirez is a great example. He came in 19th in the voting, but had tremendously better stats than the fourth place finisher, Frank Thomas, and he plays a defensive position.

The results of the voting actually have very little correlation to either Win Share (the best at .538 coefficient), OPS (.405), VORP (.498) or overall rank (-.531).

But look on the bright side. Howard and Morneau become the lest experienced MVP duo of all time (based on avg Win Shares). Their collective 31 Win Shares at the start of the season knocked the 1974 duo (Jeff Burroughs and Steve Garvey) from the top spot:

YrWin Shares Avg
200615.5
197427.5
192738
198438.5
198541
194346
194453
195258
198358
196063.5
194269.5

So if history is any indication, Howard and Morneau just have to decide which one will be the subject of a paternity suit and which one will have a son who will tank in the majors.

Happy Turkey Day one and all! Let's root the Cowboys on to defeat.

The State of Philly Sports
2006-11-20 21:45
by Mike Carminati

The talk around town is about Ryan Howard's MVP award. Howard had a tremendous season, but as most of the statheads on the Web will tell you, there is probably a better argument against him than for him.

But, much like Bud Abbott, I don't give a darn. It helps offset the monumental loss of Donovan McNabb in an already diminished Eagle season. The Flyers already cleaned house. If the Sixers top .500, it will be a tremendous season—never mind that the team may or may not be on the block along with its mercurial star, Allen Iverson. And the Daily News has already run its annual "Why hasn't a Philadelphia team won a championship since 1983?" article.

Actually, the USFL Stars are the last with a crown in 1984, so they, not the '83 Fo', Fo', and Fo' Sixers, are the last Philly champs. That in itself is a major indictment of the town as a sports mecca. I remember when a Chicago soccer team pre-Ditka Bears won the first national professional sports championship for that city in something like thirty or forty years. I remember thinking how sad that was, but they have had champions in three of the four major sports since then.

So I'll take the Howard MVP. But the bigger baseball story, in my opinion, is the Phils losing in the Alfonso Soriano derby. Soriano signed for eight years and $136 M with the Cubs in what may be the worst free agent signing since Darren Dreifort. OK, that's an exaggeration, but you get the point.

The press is playing this as if it is a loss for the team, but in reality, Soriano was at best a marginal improvement in left. He is coming off a career year while Pat Burrell is coming off a disappointing one. However, Soriano's speed, his biggest asset over Burrell, would be marginalized batting behind Howard. His on-base percentage (.325 career and career-high .351 in 2006) is not high enough to bat him any higher, and his strikeout numbers (160 in 2006) are worse than Burrell's and the called third strike is a major bugbear for Burrell's critics. When you add in the fact that Soriano has one year under his belt in left field and has no chance to play second in Philly because of the presence of Chase Utley and that he will turn 31 in the new year, Soriano is a bad gamble when the money approaches Amigo Money levels.

The Phils can now save the money they had earmarked for Soriano to sign major-league players to start behind the plate and in right field or maybe they can pick up a decent pitcher or two. I would have included third base, but the Phils have locked themselves into mediocrity, at best, there by signing Wes Helms to platoon with offensive liability Abraham O. Nunez. They still can make major improvements to the team with money that would have brought them very little in return next year.

Then again, given that Howard made $335K last year, they might have to channel the Soriano to the Ryan Howard account to hold onto him. And there's Utley and his measly $500K salary this past season.

If nothing else, having Jimy Williams call the shots instead of the troglodytic Charlie Manuel, who retains the title of manager until the team needs a scapegoat, will be a major improvement. Though that may not matter if two-thirds of the Phils starting outfield consists of Shane Victorino and Aaron Rowand, and the starting catcher is Chris Coste.

It's all par for the course in the Russian novel that is Philadelphia sports.

The Youngest Bi-Cy Young Winners
2006-11-16 21:27
by Mike Carminati

Johan Santana, at the ripe age of 27, won his second Cy Young award today in the biggest fait accompli of an awards race this postseason. He becomes one of the youngest repeat Cy Young winners of all time.

The youngest is, of course, Roger Clemens, probably the best pitcher since the inception of the award. Clemens won his second award at 24 and is holding at seven.

However, the two tied for second youngest might be a surprise. Here are all the repeat winners:

NameYrAge#
Roger Clemens1987242
Bret Saberhagen1989252
Denny McLain1969252
Greg Maddux1993272
Pedro Martinez1999272
Johan Santana2006272
Greg Maddux1994283
Pedro Martinez2000283
Roger Clemens1991283
Tom Seaver1973282
Greg Maddux1995294
Jim Palmer1975292
Sandy Koufax1965292
Jim Palmer1976303
Sandy Koufax1966303
Tom Seaver1975303
Steve Carlton1977322
Tom Glavine1998322
Bob Gibson1970342
Roger Clemens1997344
Randy Johnson1999352
Roger Clemens1998355
Steve Carlton1980353
Randy Johnson2000363
Randy Johnson2001374
Steve Carlton1982374
Randy Johnson2002385
Roger Clemens2001386
Gaylord Perry1978392
Roger Clemens2004417

Over in the National League, Brandon Webb won the Cy Young yesterday. He was probably the most deserving pitcher, but his 16 wins and 3.10 ERA will not inspire many fans in the future. I wonder if baseball would ever consider taking a Mulligan and just not give out the award if there is no overwhelming choice. Maybe they can go back to one award for both leagues combined. Or maybe the voters can just vote for Pat Paulson (now that's a blast from the past) instead.

What the A's?
2006-11-14 22:01
by Mike Carminati

Fremont. The name recalls, at least to me, Dennis the Menace's persnickety neighbor Mr. Wilson's dog. Or was that Tremont? Maybe it was the last name of the lady who was the butt of all the old Marx Brothers' gags. No, that was Margaret Dumont. Or was that the old television network that predated acronyms? I know Lisa Fremont was the name of Grace Kelly's character in the Hitchcock classic "Rear Window".

Anyway, that's me. I'm sure that for everyone else it calls to mind that California town that was the first in the state to embrace the film industry in 1912. The site of the legendary Chaplain film, "The Tramp". It's the city named after "The Great Pathfinder", John Charles Frémont. It's the US city with the largest Afghan population. It's the sister city of both Elizabeth, South Australia and Fukaya, Saitama in Japan. The fourth largest city in the bay area. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

That's right! You guessed it, Fremont, California.

Fremont, California, that city by the…something or other. I frankly know nothing about Fremont other than it's, evidently, near both Oakland and San Jose, which means that the A's can move there without technically leaving their territory. And, of course, now it's the future home of the Oakland Athletics.

That's all fine and well but now the A's are anticipating changing their designation to Fremont. That would match one of the oldest nicknames in the sport, the Athletics, to one of the newest fairly large cities in the country—Fremont is celebrating its fiftieth birthday (again thanks, Wikipedia).

The Fremont A's! Hurrah!

The majors have shunned towns like Buffalo, Charlotte, and Las Vegas. It took DC decades to get back in the majors. But now we are moving into Fremont without so much as a "By your leave"?

Well, I guess if they can stomach the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, they can put up with anything.

In reality, the team will be attempting to expand its base by wooing the very desirable fanbase in San Jose, as well as retaining as many fans in Oakland that can at least drive to the game. Fremont, a city of some two-hundred thousand souls and apparently tons of under utilized real estate, is no more than a marriage of convenience.

Yes, baseball has, or has had in recent memory, teams in towns like Arlington, Texas, and Bloomington, Minnesota. And they too were a marriage of convenience given that these rather modest-sized cities are located near two other larger cities. However, you'll note that baseball never ceded the team naming rights to these palukavilles in the past.

So should Major League Baseball step in and impose a more all-embracing name like the California A's, the Bay Area A's, the Golden State A's, or the California Golden A's? I think the Angels sort of staked their claim to any monikers too generically Californian.

Truthfully, I'd prefer San Jose A's since tapping into the larger, more affluent population in their Californian neighbor appears to be the goal. Maybe that would tick off the San Francisco Giants a bit too much. (It certainly won't please the San Jose Giants.)

Anyway, Fremont is first city since the 1870s that has no baseball history and such a small population relative to the average major-league city. The last team that comes to mind is the Middletown (CT) Mansfields.

To put it in perspective, here are all the US cities with at least a share of a major-league team as compared to Fremont and San Jose:

RankCityState2000 PopTm Shares
1New YorkNY8,008,278 2.0
2Los AngelesCA3,694,820 1.5
3ChicagoIL2,896,016 2.0
4HoustonTX1,953,631 1.0
5PhiladelphiaPA1,517,550 1.0
6PhoenixAZ1,321,045 1.0
7San DiegoCA1,223,400 1.0
8DallasTX1,188,580 0.3
10DetroitMI951,270 1.0
13San FranciscoCA776,733 1.0
17BaltimoreMD651,154 1.0
19MilwaukeeWI596,974 1.0
20BostonMA589,141 1.0
21WashingtonDC572,059 1.0
24SeattleWA563,374 1.0
25DenverCO554,636 1.0
27Fort WorthTX534,694 0.3
33ClevelandOH478,403 1.0
36KansasMO441,545 1.0
40AtlantaGA416,474 1.0
42OaklandCA399,484 1.0
46MinneapolisMN382,618 0.5
48MiamiFL362,470 1.0
50St. LouisMO348,189 1.0
53PittsburghPA334,563 1.0
54ArlingtonTX332,969 0.3
55CincinnatiOH331,285 1.0
56AnaheimCA328,014 0.5
58TampaFL303,4470.5
60St. PaulMN287,1510.5
69St. PetersburgFL248,2320.5
11San JoseCA894,943
87FremontCA203,413

So let's all say, "Hail Hail Fremont, land of the brave and free", and soon to be home of the A's.

The Return of Son of the Pitcher-Manager
2006-11-09 21:50
by Mike Carminati

After years as a pitching coach, Bud Black today got a well-deserved chance to manage, winning the Padres job that Bruce Bochy just vacated. He becomes the fiftieth pitcher cum manager in baseball history and the first in six seasons. Black also becomes just the 28th pitcher with at least 100 wins to manage.

Oddly, the ex-pitcher/manager died a quick death in 2001 when three managers, Larry Dierker, Larry Rothschild, and Joe Kerrigan all lost their jobs. There have only been 15 pitcher-managers since 1964:

ManagerGWLPCT#YrsFirstLast
Larry Dierker810448362.553519972001
Larry Rothschild499205294.411419982001
Joe Kerrigan431726.395120012001
Mel Queen541.800119971997
Tommy Lasorda304115991439.5262119761996
Dallas Green932454478.487819791996
Marcel Lachemann331161170.486319941996
Phil Regan1447173.493119951995
Roger Craig1475738737.5001019781992
George Bamberger936458478.489719781986
Bob Lemon833430403.516919701982
Clyde King464234229.505519691982
Lum Harris956466488.488819611972
Fred Hutchinson1666830827.5011319521964
Ed Lopat21490124.421219631964

Tommy Lasorda leads all pitcher-managers in managerial wins. Only 18 such managers won at least 161 games in their managerial careers:

ManagerGWLPCT#YrsFirstLast
Tommy Lasorda304115991439.5262119761996
Clark Griffith291814911367.5222019011920
Fred Hutchinson1666830827.5011319521964
Roger Craig1475738737.5001019781992
Walter Johnson966529432.550719291935
Fred Mitchell1044494543.476719171923
Lum Harris956466488.488819611972
George Bamberger936458478.489719781986
Dallas Green932454478.487819791996
Larry Dierker810448362.553519972001
Eddie Dyer777446325.578519461950
Bob Lemon833430403.516919701982
Bill Donovan552245301.449419151921
Clyde King464234229.505519691982
Larry Rothschild499205294.411419982001
Ted Lyons434185245.430319461948
Christy Mathewson346164176.482319161918
Marcel Lachemann331161170.486319941996
Dick McBride25216185.654518711875

only 17 managers won at least 200 games in their pitching careers:

ManagerGWLPCT#YrsFirstLastP WP L
Cy Young633.500119071907511316
Walter Johnson966529432.550719291935417279
Christy Mathewson346164176.482319161918373188
Pud Galvin24717.292118851885364310
Kid Nichols1698088.476219041905361208
Burleigh Grimes306131171.434219371938270212
Jim McCormick1717496.435318791882265214
Ted Lyons434185245.430319461948260230
Al Spalding1267847.62421876187725365
Mordecai Brown1145063.442119141914239130
Clark Griffith291814911367.5222019011920237146
Tommy Bond624.333118821882234163
Charlie Buffinton1166154.530118901890233152
Will White724427.620118841884229166
Mel Harder3301.000219611962223186
Freddie Fitzsimmons288105181.367319431945217146
Bob Lemon833430403.516919701982207128

Black hopes to become the 11th man in baseball history to 100 games as a pitcher and as a manager:

ManagerGWLPCT#YrsFirstLastP WP L
Bill Donovan552245301.449419151921186139
Bob Lemon833430403.516919701982207128
Burleigh Grimes306131171.434219371938270212
Christy Mathewson346164176.482319161918373188
Clark Griffith291814911367.5222019011920237146
Dick McBride25216185.65451871187514978
Freddie Fitzsimmons288105181.367319431945217146
Larry Dierker810448362.553519972001139123
Ted Lyons434185245.430319461948260230
Walter Johnson966529432.550719291935417279

Black probably has a low chance of joining the exclusive list of managers that won at least 500 wins as a pitcher and a manager combined:

ManagerGWL#YrsFirstLastP WP LTot WTot LPCT
Clark Griffith291814911367201901192023714617281513.533
Tommy Lasorda30411599143921197619960415991443.526
Walter Johnson966529432719291935417279946711.571
Fred Hutchinson166683082713195219649571925898.507
Roger Craig147573873710197819927498812835.493
Bob Lemon833430403919701982207128637531.545
Larry Dierker810448362519972001139123587485.548
Christy Mathewson346164176319161918373188537364.596
Fred Mitchell10444945437191719233149525592.470
Cy Young633119071907511316514319.617
Lum Harris9564664888196119723563501551.476
Dallas Green9324544788197919962022474500.487
Eddie Dyer7774463255194619501515461340.576
George Bamberger93645847871978198600458478.489
Why Soriano?
2006-11-08 22:42
by Mike Carminati

The Phils are convinced that they must rid themselves of Pat Burrell. And why not? He has two years and twenty-seven million dollars left on his elephantine, misguided contract. As Jerry Crasnick points out, Burrell batted .222 with runners in scoring position. That's fine if you're Karen Valentine (get it? Room 222?), bit not if you're a corner outfielder in the middle of the lineup. Too many Burrell at-bats ended with his expressionless form watching a called third strike go by.

They are equally convinced that they need to sign free agent left fielder Alfonso Soriano to replace Burrell not only in left but in the five spot in the lineup to protect Ryan Howard, another thing the team feels Burrell failed to do this past season. The Phils haven't been this convinced that they had to sign a left fielder since they signed a young Pat Burrell to the contract they now feel the need to divest themselves of.

"Situations change," Phils GM Pat Gillick said. "Your club might be constituted differently from one year to the next, and anything that restricts your flexibility is a problem. If you have a player under contract and you're paying the sums we're paying now, I think clubs ought to have the freedom to trade that player."

Hmmm…cagey. It's good not to play one's cards so close to the vest.

Soriano, like Burrell right before he signed his big contract, is coming off of a career year. He set career highs in home runs (46), OBP (.351), slugging (.560), and OPS (.911) and was a 40-40 player. He is seeking big money, amigo money and plenty of years. He'll be 31 next season and will most probably start to decline early on in any long-term contract. As far as the dreaded Burrell backwards K, Soriano outpaced him in strikeouts by almost thirty last year.

Also, keep in mind that Soriano has just one year in left field under his belt, last year, and he balked at playing left when the Nats started the experiment. There is no chance that the Phils will shift him back to his natural position, second base, because of Chase Utley.

As far as Burrell's .222 batting average with runners in scoring position (RISP), of the 27 left fielders with at least 100 plate appearances with RISP, that puts Burrell way down at number 24. But guess who's right ahead of him at #23, you guessed it, Soriano (.231). Also consider that Burrell batted .313 with RISP in 2005 and had a 1.026 OPS, top five among qualifying left fielders. So what, did he forget how to bat with runners on this year? Soriano's .235 batting average with RISP in 2005 would have been the third worst among left fielders.

Not to run Soriano down, but one would have to think that the move to left, and not pending free agency, was the reason for his career year this past season. I had long been theorized that moving him away from his defensive shortcomings and distractions at second base would help him at the plate. Maybe it did.

But to sign Soriano for big bucks to a long-term contract, one would have to believe that a) he will want to play left for the length of that contract (or third maybe though he hasn't played there since 2000), b) the move to left caused his mini renaissance in 2006, and c) he won't be negatively impacted as he gets farther away from thirty. Those are too many question marks for my liking. Not to mention the difficulty they will have in trading Burrell and his no-trade contract to replace him with Soriano.

Besides I wouldn't rate a change in left fielder any higher than fifth among the Phils' offseason problems. In order they would be third base and catcher, where they have no viable starters on the roster (Sorry, Abraham O. Nunez), starting pitching, and relief pitching. I would also throw in lead-off hitter before replacing Burrell.

But the Phils have decided that Burrell must go so go he must. Whether the reason is that Gillick actually thinks it will improve the team or it's a sop to the disgruntled fans, I cannot say. I can't understand half of Gillick's moves, but that's still head and shoulders above Ed Wade. The fans will salivate all over Soriano and cheer Burrell's departure, but these are the same fans who believe that the Phils improvement down the stretch was due to Bobby Abreu's departure.

I do understand why Soriano is a high priority for Phils brass, however. He fulfills two of the Phils main goals. He'll put fannies in seats, and he helps assure that they will again come close to nabbing a playoff spot but would help them actually do it—a goal because of all of the messy contract bumps caused by a largely unprofitable postseason run.

Washington to Rest In Arlington
2006-11-06 21:53
by Mike Carminati

Long-time A's coach Ron Washington has finally gotten the call to manage. He takes over the Rangers for 2007. I can't help but think that Willie Randolph's success with the Mets had something to do with it. Both Washington and Randolph were veteran African-American coaches and both were middle infielders as players. And Ozzie Guillen probably didn't hurt.

It's also a reverse of decade-long hold that backup catchers had on the cherce managerial spots. Here's a quick tally by position of managerial record (data through 2005):

POSGWLPCT#yrs
C 737233587737366.490594
OF 674393359333322.502557
2B 506462528725136.501407
3B 394011979719371.505324
SS 387771913319426.496307
1B 314641592315287.510257
P 227011126911286.500191
DH 267512671407.47418
Total326826162146162601.4992655
Avg408532026820325.499332

So shortstops like Washington are a bit below the average for all positions, but they're miles ahead of pitchers. I guess Bob Lemon could do only so much, especially when he was getting fired on a semi-annual basis in New York.

Given that Washington had to wait so long for a managing job, he will be a 55-year-old rookie manager next year. He is one of a handful of managers to debut that late (or later) in life:

Age#WLPCT
6614650.479
6416795.414
6215272.419
60273121.376
5817173.493
574180177.504
565211192.524
5510308381.447

The bad news is that the winning percentage for this group is .465 on average in their debut year.

Finally, Washington becomes just the 15th manager with a presidential last name. That is, they have a last name that matches that of a U.S. president. Here they are with their career totals:

LastFirstYrsWLPCT
BushDonie7497539.480
ClintonJim1011.000
JohnsonDarrell8472590.444
JohnsonDavey141148888.564
JohnsonRoy101.000
JohnsonTim18874.543
JohnsonWalter7529432.550
KennedyBob4264278.487
KennedyJim12673.263
KennedyKevin4309273.531
NixonRuss5231347.400
TaylorGeorge14064.385
TaylorZack5235410.364
WilsonJimmie9493735.401

Yeah, it was a slow news day.

Near Miss
2006-11-05 21:29
by Mike Carminati

The justification for the kings of mediocrity, the Cardinals, winning the World Series is that they had so many players that missed substantial stretches of the season. They got healthy to start the players and the end result was that they slid into the postseason by the skin of their teeth but given the actual talent they had on the team, they easily won in it all. And what kind of jerk am I anyway for not seeing it all along?

Well, that sure sound great, but did the Cardinals really miss more games than the average playoff team? Does getting players back for the postseason guarantee success?

The Cardinals starters missed a total of 206 during the regular season:

NAMEGMissed G
David Eckstein12338
Yadier Molina12932
Jim Edmonds11051
Albert Pujols14318
Scott Rolen14219
Ronnie Belliard*14714
Juan Encarnacion1538
Preston Wilson*13526
Tot Missed206

* Belliard played just 54 G w/ St. Louis;Wilson 33

206 sounds like a lot, but how does it compare with past postseason team? The answer is not all that well. It's about average.

Of course, this kind of study is rife with assumptions. I am assuming that the starting position players used in the postseason are the team's ideal lineup, which is of course not always the case. A team could have a starting player who played all 162 games but gets hurt in the final game and misses the playoffs entirely. He gets replaced by a backup who may have played just a handful of games. By my assumption, it looks like the backup missed was the preferred player but he missed most of the regular season. But it's impossible to state in all situations who was the player the teams preferred.

Anyway, here are the playoff teams that lost the most regular season games to their starters:

YrTmG MissedWLDivWinWCWinLgWinWSWin
1940Cincinnati Reds46310053 YY
1998New York Yankees39711448YNYY
2004Anaheim Angels3929270YNNN
1957New York Yankees3899856 YN
1975Boston Red Sox3859565Y YN
2001Atlanta Braves3848874YNNN
1978New York Yankees38310063Y YY
2002Arizona Diamondbacks3769864YNNN
1955New York Yankees3709658 YN
1980Houston Astros3669370Y NN
1948Boston Braves3659162 YN
1999Cleveland Indians3529765YNNN
1988New York Mets35210060Y NN
1984Kansas City Royals3518478Y NN
2004Minnesota Twins3499270YNNN

You might notice by the way that only three of those teams won a World Series. Overall, there is the very slightest correlation against the missed game theory (-0.024).

The real reasons that the Cardinals' offense went wild in the postseason was that they upgraded two of their sore spots (second base and left field) and their other liability, "It's Yadier!" Molina had the postseason of his life.

By the way, here are the teams that lost the least time during the regular season:

YrTmG MissedWLDivWinWCWinLgWinWSWin
1909Pittsburgh Pirates4911042 YY
1950Philadelphia Phillies689163 YN
1933Washington Senators789953 YN
1919Chicago White Sox798852 YN
1921New York Giants799459 YY
1986Boston Red Sox929566Y YN
1934Detroit Tigers9410153 YN
1996Baltimore Orioles968874NYNN
2003Florida Marlins989171NYYY
1995Colorado Rockies997767NYNN
1999New York Mets1069766NYNN
1911New York Giants1079954 YN
1923New York Yankees1089854 YY
1993Atlanta Braves10910458Y NN
1954New York Giants1159757 YY
Grudzy Gold
2006-11-02 22:43
by Mike Carminati

Mark Grudzielanek earned his first Gold Glove today after twelve seasons in the majors. I think they just took pity on him for playing for the Royals.

At 36, Grudzielanek becomes the oldest second baseman—by four years yet—to claim his first Gold Glove. He's also among the oldest first timers ever:

PlayerYrLgAgePOS
Phil Niekro1978NL39P
Mark Grudzielanek 2006AL362B
Wade Boggs1994AL363B
Rick Reuschel1985NL36P
Steve Carlton1981NL36P
Kenny Rogers2000AL35P
Elston Howard1963AL34C
Minnie Minoso1957MLB34LF
Jason Varitek2005AL33C
Davey Lopes1978NL332B
Gil Hodges1957MLB331B
Fernando Vina2001NL322B
Harvey Haddix1958NL32P
Graig Nettles1977AL323B
George Brett1985AL323B
Ken Caminiti1995NL323B
Rafael Palmeiro1997AL321B
Mike Boddicker1990AL32P
Sherm Lollar1957MLB32C
Jackie Jensen1959AL32RF
Dusty Baker1981NL32OF
Brad Ausmus2001NL32C
Clete Boyer1969NL323B
Scott Brosius1999AL323B

At the other end of the spectrum, Pudge Rodriguez won his twelfth Gold Glove, adding to record-setting total for catchers. Twelve Gold Gloves puts him in pretty elite company. The only position players with more are Ozzie Smith and Brooks Robinson (though Schmidt was better). Here are the most all time:

PlayerPOSYrs
Brooks Robinson3B16
Jim KaatP16
Greg MadduxP15
Ozzie SmithSS13
Ivan RodriguezC12
Roberto ClementeOF12
Willie MaysOF12
Keith Hernandez1B11
Roberto Alomar2B10
Mike Schmidt3B10
Johnny BenchC10
Omar VizquelSS10
Al KalineOF10
Ken GriffeyOF10

Finally, here are the top five per position in Auric Mitts. Eric Chavez just made that club even with his horrific fielding in the postseason. Maybe they confused him for Endy (And I know the postseason doesn't count in the awards voting):

PlayerPOSYrs
Keith Hernandez1B11
Don Mattingly1B9
George Scott1B8
Vic Power1B7
Bill White1B7
Roberto Alomar2B10
Ryne Sandberg2B9
Frank White2B8
Bill Mazeroski2B8
Bobby Richardson2B5
Joe Morgan2B5
Brooks Robinson3B16
Mike Schmidt3B10
Buddy Bell3B6
Scott Rolen3B6
Robin Ventura3B6
Eric Chavez3B6
Ivan RodriguezC12
Johnny BenchC10
Bob BooneC7
Jim SundbergC6
Bill FreehanC5
Jim KaatP16
Greg MadduxP15
Bob GibsonP9
Bobby ShantzP8
Mark LangstonP7
Mike MussinaP6
Ozzie SmithSS13
Omar VizquelSS10
Luis AparicioSS9
Mark BelangerSS8
Dave ConcepcionSS5
Roberto ClementeOF12
Willie MaysOF12
Al KalineOF10
Ken GriffeyOF10
Andre DawsonOF8
Andruw JonesOF8
Barry BondsOF8
Dwight EvansOF8
Garry MaddoxOF8
Jim EdmondsOF8
Paul BlairOF8
The Best of Five, The Worst of Series
2006-11-02 17:29
by Mike Carminati

I have a piece running at the Baseball Proscpectus site on the playoff series, specifically the best-of-five division series. Guess what, I'm agin' it.

This is my site with my opinions, but I hope that, like Irish Spring, you like it, too.
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