 Monday, August 27, 2007
The Power of Cheers
Last year I got on the Mets fans who booed Carlos Beltran on Opening Day and A-Rod all year. On Thursday night, the Mets gave a game away to San Diego. In the bottom of the 9th Carlos Delgado was up with two outs and the bases loaded and did not produce. I was at the game on Friday and by then he went 0-17 and was starting to get booed. I believe in the power of cheer when a talented player is struggling. NY fans are usually all about the boos. But something happened on Saturday. Carlos Delgado came up with two outs in the bottom of the 5th with runners in scoring position, a chance to break open the game. He was in an 0-19 slump. A fan of NY sports for 35 years, I expected to hear the boos. Something different happened. Something so special, it made me question if I was as really in New York. Maybe it was the power of the Tank at the game, I don't know. But instead of boos, there was a standing ovation. A show of support! NY fans NEVER do that!!! When asked later on Carlos said: "I wasn't sure if it was for me." The show of support worked, Carlos got the key hit on the first pitch and the Mets won. I hope the NY fans learned a lesson on Saturday, the power of Cheers over the power of Boos. Save the boos for Jeff Kent and the members of each team that we hate. Posted by Steve in New York (really?)
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Meeting Torrie Wilson and El Duque Decks the Dodgers
Medford Bob joins me for the sweltering summer day at Shea. They don't
call them the dog days of summer for nothing.
I was running late since I had to do a favor for my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew to get tickets for their first ever Yankees game. My sister is almost as last minute as Rochester Mike. Moreover, I was late after meeting WWE superstars Torrie Wilson and Chris Matthews in Midtown. We are pictured below.
El Duque is on the mound for los Mets versus Stokes who walked three in the first. Delgado is up with two outs. The Mets are the only team in MLB without a grand slam this season according to Fox TV which I am listening to on my uber geeky FM/AM/TV/Weather with MP3 player. That trend continues as Delgado grounds out to a chorus of boos to end the first.
Alomar throws out two runners in two innings. Martin draws a walk.
Reyes singles to start the third. Milledge grounds out but Reyes advances to third. DW singles and Reyes scores. Beltran singles to short. Conine strikes out. Delgado pops up to second to another chorus of boos. Mets 1 - Dodgers 0.
DW singles with two outs in the fifth. Beltran singles and DW advances to third. Adam Sandler leads the "Let's Go Mets" chant as Conine approaches the plate. (Like the Tank, Sandler is a Yankees fan who also roots for the Mets.) Beltran advances to second on no throw. Stults then intentionally walks Conine. DW motions towards home to try to get Stults to balk. Delgado breaks his 0-19 stretch with the bases loaded single pictured below.
He singles home DW and Beltran. "Mister Delgado" plays to the tune of Styx's classic "Mr. Roboto". I betcha Steve's girlfriend Kathleen likes Styx more than she admits to. She busted my chops for going to a Styx, Reo Speedwagon, and Journey concert four years ago. The Dodgers bring in Seanez to face Alomar who strikes out to end the inning. Mets 3 - Dodgers 0 at the end of the fifth.
Alomar makes a great catch on Sweeney's pop-up behind home plate and lands in the netting. Furcal singles to end eleven consecutive outs for El Duque and only the second hit of the game. Pierre strikes out to end the sixth.
Rudy Seanez is the new Dodgers pitcher and gets Gotay, El Duque, and Jose out in order.
Gonzalez hit what looked like a fly out to right center for the Dodgers third hit and first run. Martin hits a home run to left. Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson talks to El Duque and gets Kemp to strikeout on his 103rd pitch. Get up and stretch, Mets 3 - Dodgers 2.
DW singles with one out. Beltran strikes out. Conine doubles to left center and DW scores as he was running on the pitch. Beimel relieves Hernandez as "Mister Delgado" flies out to the warning track in right. Mets 4 - Dodgers 2.
Hillebrand hits a ball to right which Milledge tries to catch but misses. Hillebrand advances to third. Hillebrand scores on a ground out to first. Furcal singles with one out. Pierre grounds out into an inning ending double play. Mets 4 - Dodgers 3.
You know what time it is. Time for Neil Diamond's classic "Sweet Caroline" before the bottom of the eighth.
Jonathan Broxton gets Feliciano to ground out. Gotay grounds out. Anderson pinch hits for Feliciano and also grounds out to end the eighth.
No "Enter Sandman". What? No, Billy Wanger. Heilman is introduced to boos and a few cheers. Ethier flies out to center. The ever dangerous Jeff Kent singles to center. The even more dangerous Luis Gonzalez comes to the plate and works a 3-0 count. I am nervous and about to throw up. He hits a game ending double double play. Whew, because the Mets had relievers warming up in the bullpen and I was about to hurl.
The Mets are "Takin' care of business" and beat the Dodgers 4-3.
As I exit Shea, I criticize the vendors for selling "Brooklyn Dodgers" t-shirts. And you think I have issues. OK, I do but let it go people. The Dodgers stabbed you in the back 50 years ago and went west. Hasta la vista, good riddance, and don't let the door hit you know where.
Posted by the Tank reporting live from Shea Stadium in Flushing,
Queens.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Los Mets 5- Dodgers 2
Steve's favorite pitcher, Oliver Perez, was on the mound and Steve was running late to the game (not his fault) for Fiesta de Latino night at Shea. Steve is wearing his Vamos Mets shirt. Professor Reyes Spanish phrase of the day is: Hablo como un loro parico (I talk like a parrot.) Ollie gets out of a 1st inning jam and Reyes leads off with a walk, steals second and Gotay doubles him home. That was all that was really needed as Oliver Perez tossed a three hit, 7 inning shutout . But in-between the first and when Ollie was pulled in the 8th, the Mets connected for two more runs, a Reyes double and coming around to score and a David Wright solo opposite field shot (which Steve predicted and Kathleen and Sally mocked.) Vamos Mets! Sosa comes in for the 8th with a 3-0 lead. He faces four batters and gets one out before Pedro Feliciano comes in to bail him out (with the help of some fancy glove work of David Wright.) The Mets connect for 2 more runs in the of the 8th to give Steve some sanity. Then for the third time in a week Wagner gives up runs in the 9th, loading the bases for Jeff Kent out-putting the tying run at-bat with one out. Steve's biggest nightmare, Kent, did not come through. Wagner gives up a run, but blows the lead. Cy Young favorite Brad Penney improves :) to 1-9 at Shea Stadium. I know the Tank thinks the Mets playoff chances are good, but the bullpen situation is making Steve nervous. Fellow fans talking to Steve felt the same way, the Mets will make the playoffs but advancement is a question mark. The only way for the Mets playoff chances to improve is for Pedro to come back and have a playoff rotation of Pedro, Glavine, Maine, and el Duque and move Ollie to the bullpen for middle relief. We'll see. Posted Live! by Steve from Fiesta de Latino night at Shea.
Friday, August 24, 2007
The Mets and Yankees Stretch Run
There are five weeks left in the season. It's do or die. I like the Mets and Yankees chances, God Willing, touch wood, lucky rabbit's foot, etc.
The Mets have the advantage because Pedro and Lo Duca are on the way back from injury. Hammel is on the DL for the Phillies and the Braves keep sputtering even though Texeira has hit ten home runs after the trade from Texas. The NL Central is almost laughable. Its parity makes the NFL look unbalanced. The Cardinals are only 3.0 games back and two games below .500. As I wrote a while back, the Padres concern me and I don't know what the deal with the Dbacks are. Webb's scoreless inning streak finally ended. Anyway, October is a whole different season.
As for the Yankees, they are control their destiny but have no margin for error. Two games behind the Mariners for the Wild Card who are coming to town in early September for a three game set. Five games behind the Red Sox for the AL East and have six head to head games.
Steve recently pointed out that the Yankees beat teams with bad records which you are supposed to do. They also have success against good teams like sweeping the Indians at home and winning three out of four against the Tigers last weekend. Granted, losing two out of three to the Angels, especially Monday night was bad. Mussina's loss on Tuesday was his worst since 1995. If Pettitte wasn't scheduled to pitch next Tuesday against the Red Sox, I would sit Mussina possibly for the rest of the season.
I like the Yankees chances, especially against the Mariners have 20 against .500 teams (as do the Yankees) but 10 of those 20 games are against the Angels. If the Angels and Mariners split those ten games, all the Yankees have to do is go 6-4 or better. Furthermore, eight of the Mariners last 11 games are against the Angels and Indians in the last 11 days of the season. Those games will mean lots.
Posted by a cautiously optimistic in NY.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Where will A-Rod Play in 2008?
A-Rod is at the peak of his career and may opt out of his contract at the end of the year.
Steve thinks he'll be in Boston but I think he'll remain a Yankee because the Yankees would be on the hook for $30 million that Rangers owner Tom Hicks is still on the hook for. A-Rod's super agent, Scott Boras, is an expert at getting maximum value. Forget $27-8 million that Steve has him getting with the Red Sox, think closer to $32 million and possibly as high as $35-36 million per year. If you flipped burgers for a living and wanted to jump from MacDonald's to Burger King, Boras is so good that he would get you six figures instead of minimum wage. Granted, a slight exaggeration but not much.
If A-Rod doesn't stay in pinstripes, he'll end up in the following places in decreasing order of probability:
(a) Chicago Cubs: Lou Pinella is like a father to him.
(b) Anaheim Angels: A-Rod's mom lives in SoCal so he could move there to be closer to her. If A-Rod's marital issues continue, this option may increase in probability.
(c) Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox may get involved but only to drive up the price on the Yankees. The Red Sox already pay the highest ticket prices in the league and owner John W. Henry would be hard pressed to jack them up again for baseball and possibly personal reasons. You think Yankee tickets were expensive. In May 2002, a face value bleacher's ticket at Fenway was $20 while only $8 at the Stadium. This was before the Red Sox did the unthinkable and unwriteable in 2004 and increased prices again.
Furthermore, Mr. Henry is a hedge fund billionaire but is taking it on the chin like many of contemporaries if you have been following the recent financial news. According to a review of his funds recent statements, his Financial and Metals Portfolio is down 11.18% Est 2007 or Year To Date (YTD), Strategic Allocation Program is down 8.64% YTD, International Foreign Exchange Program is down 15% YTD, Global Diversified is down 18.53% YTD, JWH GlobalAnalytics is down 6.41% YTD, respectively. (Source: JWH Investment Programs and Performance, please click on "View Program Details" and "Performance Data". Though Mr. Henry is a hero of mine for being a Missouri farm boy made good, I am not an investor in any of Mr. Henry's funds.)
Bottom Line: Billionaires stay billionaires by using Other Peoples Money (OPM). In this case, it's ticket and other baseball revenue, NOT their own money. Mr. Henry would not be the first hedge fund baseball owner to run into difficulties in the A-Rod sweepstakes. This all started when Rangers owner Tom Hicks who took a bath in Latin America a few years ago and he had to unload A-Rod to cut expenses. The Red Sox already spent $52+ million to negotiate the Matsuzaka's contract before this season. Instead of going after A-Rod, expect the Red Sox to go after Miguel Tejada if the Orioles have a fire sale and/or if Tejada really wants out. Tejada is 14 months younger and millions cheaper. That's music to any billionaire's ears.
Posted by the Tank in NY.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Rocket is Worth Every Penny
Steve recently made some compelling points about A-Rod and the Rocket. I'll deal with the Rocket today.
Is the Rocket worth it? Mike and I say yes while Steve disagrees.
Yes, I agree with Steve that you can find a AAA pitcher to get you five victories. However, a AAA pitcher can not bring the Yankees the gravitas that Roger Clemens and his seven Cy Youngs contain. It's hard to quantify the exact return of Clemens return but I think it is safe to say Mr. Steinbrenner have already made the money back in increased ticket sales, advertising, and merchandise revenue. Furthermore, Clemens has and will be teaching young pitchers like Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain, etc. about working hard and preparing in the years to come. No AAA pitcher can do that.
Since I am 20 game Yankee ticket holder, I don't have much choice about how my ticket revenue money is spent but was escastic when I heard the news of Rocket's return. It gave the Yankees hope to salvage an otherwise "lost" season which I never conceded unlike other pundits. Clemens was and is a very expensive but necessary band-aid.
Posted by the Tank in NY.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Pedro throws 72 pitches
With Rick Peterson there for moral support, Pedro Martinez allowed two unearned runs in five innings yesterday in a very impressive rehab outing for single A St. Lucie. In another piece of good news, in the same game, Endy Chavez also went 3-for-4 and scored a run in St. Lucie's 4-3 win. Pedro may need another rehab start before coming back to Shea. Maybe he and Endy can start on the single A Brooklyn Cyclones so all of New York can come out to cheer them on! Hopefully Endy and Pedro will be back in Flushing soon. Posted by Steve in New York
Monday, August 20, 2007
Carlos Zambrano signs 91.5 Million Extension-The Problem with Mets' Starting Pitching
Carlos Zambrano has signed a 5 year extension with the Cubs, removing another starting pitcher from the market. Zambrano is young (26) and is good for 200+ innings and 15+ wins. The Mets are in trouble moving forward with starting pitching. With Glavine likely to retire at the end of this year (and definitely after next), Pedro a question mark, and Pelfrey still developing, the Mets all of a desperately need some young reliable starting pitching-and there is none to be found.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Is The Rocket Worth It?
This weekend Roger Clemens won his 5th game this year as a Yankee and is now 5-5 in 2007 as a Yankee with a respectable 3.92 ERA. The questions is, is he worth it? The Yankees are closing in Seattle for the wild card, .5 behind. Over the last month, the Yankees made up a lot of ground. But is this really because as the Tank said after the all star break, the Yankees had a month of playing teams below .500. So the last month is not really the Yankees improving, but just playing bad teams. Despite a one game suspension for tossing a bean ball, Clemens has put up 5 wins, against 5 losses. Are those five wins, at $2,000,000 a win, worth it? Are those five wins that the team could not have gotten with a AAA pitcher for a fraction of the salary? Steve doesn't think so, his office mate Mike does, as does the Tank. We'll find out in the next month what happens. Posted By The Tank in New York.
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