Results tagged ‘ Alex Rodriguez ’

14 Million Dollar Platoon?

Think about this.  The highest paid player on your team doesn’t play versus left-handed pitchers.  Could you imagine Albert Pujols sitting or Manny Ramirez sitting (well, yes I can imagine him sitting, that’s not a good example) or A-Rod sitting?  Or, how about Ryan Howard, Carl Crawford, or Ichiro Suzuki?  However, when you are this guy:

drew.JPGYou don’t start versus left-handed pitchers anymore.  Against the first two LHP opposing starters the Red Sox have faced, Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders, manager Terry Francona has opted to start Rocco Baldelli instead of J.D. Drew.  The 14 Million Dollar question is why?

I can see once in a while, to get Rocco some at bats, that he’d replace Drew, Ellsbury, or even Ortiz against some LHP.  But 2 LHPs in a row Drew sits for Baldelli?

J.D. Drew is a career .260 hitter versus LHP.  Last year, he hit .284 versus lefties but in 2007 he hit .224 against southpaws.  In his career versus Kazmir, he was 1-7 with a triple a walk and 3 strikeouts.  I can see sitting him versus Kazmir, who is notoriously tough (career .212 BA against vs LH batters) on lefties.  In his career versus Saunders, he is 1-5 with a double and a walk.  Not a large sample against either pitcher, but Saunders is not tougher on lefties like Kazmir is.

If you compare Drew to Ortiz, Big Papi is a career .268 hitter versus LHP.  Last year, though, he hit a paltry .221 against lefties, obviously his injured wrist played a factor in this.  In 2007, Ortiz hit .308 versus LHP.  In the years 2003 through 2006, Ortiz hit .216, .250, .302, and .278 against LHP.

Now, I’m not saying that Ortiz should sit instead of Drew against lefties, not at all.  I’m just using Ortiz as a comparison, as their numbers versus lefties aren’t far apart.  However, I would have to think that it is very rare that a team’s highest paid player becomes a platoon player.  In Drew’s defense, I do not think he should be sitting versus lefties, however, if his at bat versus Brian Fuentes to end Sunday’s game is any indication, maybe Francona knows what he is doing. 

It was nice to see the Red Sox and Angels come together in fellowship on this Easter Day:



Should make for an interesting series when the Sox return back to Anaheim in May.  Hopefully, they won’t let as many opportunities to score slip away then, like they did this week.  And, hopefully they’ll be able to slow down the Angels on the basepaths. It was nice to see Varitek throw out Figgins trying to steal second, though.

Now it is onto Oakland, before returning back to Fenway for the RED HOT Orioles.  I think the Sox will take 2 of 3 from Oakland in this series, but I am not looking forward to those 10 PM start times.  Oh well.

Go SOX!!!!

You know the saying about a bad apple…

Here is the bad apple (thanks to Victor Perez and ESPN.com for the photo)

aroid trainer 2.jpg

His name is Angel Presinal.  According to the NY Times, he is a “trainer” and has been travelling with A-Rod and his cousin.  He has been banned from MLB Clubhouses and any other areas in a ballpark that aren’t accessible to the public because of a drug/steroid possession incident back in the early 2000s.  At the time, he was travelling with the Cleveland Indians and specifically Juan Gonzalez, but when crossing the Canadaian border a bag was found with all sorts of steroids.  Presinal claimed the bag was Juan Gon’s, but no charges were ever filed against either person.  However, that is what led to his banning.

Anyway, it is being reported that he has been a trainer for various other Dominican ballplayers besides Juan Gone and A-Rod.  Some of his other clients have been Miguel Tejada, the Dominican WBC Team, and many other Domincan players including……….

pedro.jpg

and

papi.JPGLet’s hope this is where any stories end and there was no wrong doing that will put a tarnish on the 2004 and 2007 accomplishments.  However, it seems like this is something that could cast a bad light over all Dominican players.  It’s a shame, that it has come to everybody being guilty until proven innocent because of how the Owners, Players Association Leaders, and Players had handled this whole issue.

Ironic, Hypocritical, Despicable?

aroid.jpgOf course, I am talking (better late than never) about the current steroid scandal being talked about from dawn to dawn on the radio, in the newspapers, and on the web.  However, I am not even referring to Alex Rodriguez, but to the “reporter” who broke this story, Selena Roberts. 

selenaroberts.JPGWe’ll get to her in a moment, though.

First off, this will be the first and last time I discuss this black mark on baseball.  It is disgraceful that Alex Rodriguez took steroids for AT LEAST three years, although he is only admitting the three years.  If he has been clean since 2003, like he says, then it is obvious he never need to take the stuff.  Why he ever would want to take this stuff with all of the risks, physically and otherwise, associated with this stuff is mind-boggling.  I can understand why somebody who is on the verge of being cut or struggling to make a roster would want to take that risk, but I can’t fathom why A-Rod would want to, despite his reasons given to Peter Gammons the other day.  

Anyway, this is news that SHOULD NOT have even been reported.  These tests results were supposed to be anonymous and confidential.  Whoever, released this information to Selena Roberts should be fired and prosecuted.  

However, the Ironic and Hypocritical part of this story I am talking about is Selena Roberts.  She has no qualms about accepting this information knowing that these results were ANONYMOUS AND CONFIDENTIAL, yet when asked about her source for this story on MLB Network she cites that she can’t compromise the confidentiality of her source.  See the irony there? 

Here is the link to her interview with Bob Costas:  http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200902073807806

At 1:18 into the video, Costas asks about her sources and she replies:

“I think out of respect to them and respect for the process they spoke to us on the condition of anonymity.  So I don’t think it is fair to me to say what agency or there players or anything else going on.”

Seems pretty hypocritical to me.  I’m sure when the players that season took the drug tests, that those players were told the tests were confidential.  I know when I just interviewed for a job with a company, they require random drug tests, and you sign a form that lets you know all results are confidential and other legal jargon there.  I would be willing to guess something similar happened here with the players.  I guess when you have an unauthorized biography of A-Rod being published and released soon, that makes it okay.  Obviously, personal gain supersedes any ethical standards.

Hey, I’m no reporter or anything.  Who knows, would I do the same thing?  It’s possible, because MLB fans “need” and “deserve” to know about this, right?  I don’t know.  I just know I don’t agree with this from my current vantage.

Finally, our esteemed commissioner Bud Selig is contemplating a suspension for A-Rod?  I am no fan of A-Rod or the Yankees, but if Selig does go ahead with this, it is just lunacy.  I haven’t been very critical of Selig as commissioner.  Overall, I think he has done a fairly good job with what he stepped into and think a lot of the criticism he has taken during his tenure has been a bit steep.  However, going through with a suspension of anybody who tested positive back in 2003 is absolutely ABSURD.

Now, let us turn away from this black hole of baseball that is steroids and rejoice in the fact that spring training has arrived.

http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1519799050

GO SOX!

And the winner is….

This next week or so is one of my favorite times of the baseball off-season. Although there is no red carpet like at the Oscars or the Emmys, to me the MLB Award season is a lot more fun. Over the course of the next 9 days we will find out the winners of: AL & NL Rookie of the Year, NL Cy Young, AL & NL Manager of the Year, AL Cy Young, NL MVP, and AL MVP.

For the most part, however, this award season is probably a little too predictable. There is a clear cut choice in 6 of the 8 categories, with only the NL Manager and AL MVP still unclear. Here is how I think it is going to go in other categories:

AL Rookie: Evan Longoria
NL Rookie: Geovany Soto
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum
AL Manager: Joe Maddon
AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee
NL MVP: Albert Puljos
 
The only one of the above that may not be a sure thing to win is Puljos, since the new fad in MVP voting is your team needs to make the post season. I will stand my ground there, but it will be interesting to see how many votes C.C. Sabathia and Manny Ramirez get in this category.
 
However, up for grabs are the NL Manager and AL MVP.
Now, let’s take a look at the nominees for NL Manager of the Year:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia Phillies
Led the Phillies to their 2nd consecutive NL East title. (Won the World Series, but that result has no bearing on the voters since ballots are due by the end of the regular season.)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fredi Gonzalez, Florida Marlins
Took a young team with the lowest payroll in baseball and had them in the NL East / Wildcard mix for most of the summer. The team finished with a respectable 84-77 record, which would have forced at least a tie if they played in the NL West.

 
Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers
Led the Dodgers back to the post-season, pulling the team (along with the acquisitions of Casey Blake and Manny Ramirez) through a rough stretch to overtake the Diamondbacks and pull away in the NL West.

 
Lou Pinella, Chicago Cubs
Led the Cubs to the best record in the NL and 2nd consecutive NL Central title.

My Choice: Lou Pinella

Now, here are the nominees for the AL MVP award:

 
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
302-35-103 OPS: .965. Stellar number once again, but with the Yankees out of the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons, he is not in the talk for this award. Additionally, since this year is an even year (2008), recent history says A-Rod will not even place better than 10th in the race. However, he will probably finishing somewhere between 4-8 in the voting.

 
Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox
.288-30-100 OPS: .965. Led the White Sox offensively, until missing the final month of the season with an injury. He may have been the leader of the pack at one time, but that injury may be what keeps him from winning, as he was limited to only 130 games.

 
Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
.326-17-83 OPS: .869. Pretty much was lifted into MVP contention with a stellar August with clutch hit after clutch hit, picking up for Manny Ramirez. He even hit in the clean-up hole for a couple games with big results. Boston fans will light up the WEEI phone lines if he doesn’t win it, but I’m not sure he is the favorite, it is that close in this race.

 
Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
.328-9-85 OPS: .864. Winning a batting title as a catcher is a TOUGH thing to do. This was his 2nd batting title in 4 seasons. He plays the most demanding position in baseball, and I’ve heard some talk that he is more valuable to the Twins than Morneau is. However, he probably is the darkest horse in this race.


 
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
.304-32-130 OPS: .901. He got off to a monster start, and was the story of baseball by the All-Star break. However, he faded a bit during the hot Texas summer, and not too mention he plays on the Rangers. If he was on the Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, or White Sox he’d be the winner hands down.


 
Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
.300-23-129 OPS: .873. May be the front runner with Pedroia for this award, he was the offensive power for the Twins again AND played in all 163 games. However, could his and Mauer’s 0 for in the playoff game with the White Sox affect his chances in a race this close?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox
.312-29-115 OPS: .959. Filled the void in the clean-up hole that was left when Manny decided he didn’t want to play in Boston anymore. This was definately a career year for Youkilis, and I think he is the Red Sox MVP over Pedroia, but Pedroia has all of the sentiment on his side, especially nationally, that he probably finishes 3rd behind Pedoria and Morneau for this award.

My Choice: Dustin Pedroia

The announcements begin today with the Rookies. I look forward to this, and the drama will build for the AL MVP which, like the Best Picture, will be announced Tuesday, 11/18 to close this show.
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