Sunday, October 01, 2006
Running the Bases
On this last day of the regular season, there is much to talk about.
• The A.L. and the N.L. still have two teams tied for first: The Tigers and Twins in the A. L. Central Divison are both 95-66. Loser faces the Yankees in the ALDS as the wild card. The Dodgers and Padres in the N.L. West are both 87-74. Winner plays the Cardinals, loser takes the wild card to New York to play the Mets. This whole wild card thing seems to be working out.
• The A.L. batting championship will be determined today. This is how it currently stands:
Joe Mauer MIN .346
Derek Jeter NYY .345
Robinson Cano NYY .341
Mauer will face righthander Javier Vázquez on Sunday, Cano and Jeter face righthander Dustin McGowan.
• On a day that the focus should be on an exciting finish to the season, the ugly steroids monster has resurfaced. The continuing investigation of cheater Jason Grimsley has yielded more suspects. Grimsley has fingered some name players and former teammates, including Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts, and Jay Gibbons. Are his accusations true? We'll see. It should be an interesting off season. Jose Canseco's book Juiced doesn't seem so far-fetched any more, does it? (I never thought it was.)
• Frank Robinson got the boot as manager of the Washington Nationals. The announcement came before the season ended so he'd have a chance to say goodbye to his players and coaches and fans.
• Pedro Martinez has bigger problems than a torn calf muscle. Turns out he will have right rotator cuff surgery next week, and is not expected back until after next year's All-Star break.
• Randy Johnson, the Yankees 17-game winner and expected starter for Game 3 of the ALDS has a herniated disk in his lower back. He was given an epidural, and the Yanks hold out hope that he can still make his scheduled start in first round of the playoffs.
This is a gamble for NY, and I hope it works out. Would it be wiser to not include him on the ALDS roster, and give his slot outright to Jaret Wright or Corey Lidle? If Johnson starts, lasts one inning and has to be replaced, his roster spot is wasted. It reminds me of David Wells start in Game 5 of the 2003 World Series. He left after the first inning due to back spasms (that he hadn't bothered to tell anyone about beforehand) and was replaced by Jose Contreras, who took the loss.
I'm a Randy fan. But we Yankees fans need to have faith in guys like Wright and Lidle. Without Johnson, the staff still looks good: Wang, Mussina, Wright, and Lidle (depending on which Lidle shows up that day, of course). The Yanks have a lot of firepower, and bats on the bench that would be starting on any other team. If it comes down to it, we'll have to out-slug the other teams. The Yanks bullpen is deep (Proctor, Farnsworth, Mariano, Bruney, Villone, Myers), and that might be the deciding factor.
• The New York Yankees are assured of finishing with the best record in MLB.
• Carl Pavano, still injured.
• The A.L. and the N.L. still have two teams tied for first: The Tigers and Twins in the A. L. Central Divison are both 95-66. Loser faces the Yankees in the ALDS as the wild card. The Dodgers and Padres in the N.L. West are both 87-74. Winner plays the Cardinals, loser takes the wild card to New York to play the Mets. This whole wild card thing seems to be working out.
• The A.L. batting championship will be determined today. This is how it currently stands:
Joe Mauer MIN .346
Derek Jeter NYY .345
Robinson Cano NYY .341
Mauer will face righthander Javier Vázquez on Sunday, Cano and Jeter face righthander Dustin McGowan.
• On a day that the focus should be on an exciting finish to the season, the ugly steroids monster has resurfaced. The continuing investigation of cheater Jason Grimsley has yielded more suspects. Grimsley has fingered some name players and former teammates, including Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts, and Jay Gibbons. Are his accusations true? We'll see. It should be an interesting off season. Jose Canseco's book Juiced doesn't seem so far-fetched any more, does it? (I never thought it was.)
• Frank Robinson got the boot as manager of the Washington Nationals. The announcement came before the season ended so he'd have a chance to say goodbye to his players and coaches and fans.
• Pedro Martinez has bigger problems than a torn calf muscle. Turns out he will have right rotator cuff surgery next week, and is not expected back until after next year's All-Star break.
• Randy Johnson, the Yankees 17-game winner and expected starter for Game 3 of the ALDS has a herniated disk in his lower back. He was given an epidural, and the Yanks hold out hope that he can still make his scheduled start in first round of the playoffs.
This is a gamble for NY, and I hope it works out. Would it be wiser to not include him on the ALDS roster, and give his slot outright to Jaret Wright or Corey Lidle? If Johnson starts, lasts one inning and has to be replaced, his roster spot is wasted. It reminds me of David Wells start in Game 5 of the 2003 World Series. He left after the first inning due to back spasms (that he hadn't bothered to tell anyone about beforehand) and was replaced by Jose Contreras, who took the loss.
I'm a Randy fan. But we Yankees fans need to have faith in guys like Wright and Lidle. Without Johnson, the staff still looks good: Wang, Mussina, Wright, and Lidle (depending on which Lidle shows up that day, of course). The Yanks have a lot of firepower, and bats on the bench that would be starting on any other team. If it comes down to it, we'll have to out-slug the other teams. The Yanks bullpen is deep (Proctor, Farnsworth, Mariano, Bruney, Villone, Myers), and that might be the deciding factor.
• The New York Yankees are assured of finishing with the best record in MLB.
• Carl Pavano, still injured.
