Rick Ankiel is still hitting the ball
Remember when Rick Ankiel broke down and admitted that he didn’t have pitcher stuff? Instead, he had outfield stuff, and he was going to do that instead. It must be nice to have so much talent that you can switch positions.
We checked back with him last year, and he was doing pretty well for himself. And now, the guy who struck out 19.7 batters/9IP in his senior year of High School is looking like he is a right fielder for good. On June 16th, he had 3 homers in one game. He now has 19 on the year, along with 52 RBI. (I began writing this piece on June 20th. Since then, Ankiel has gone 0-13.) Not bad, Rick. And he turns 28 in a month. How insane would it be if, having led the Cardinals to the NL Central title in 2000, he comes back in 2007 to replace the old and decrepit Jim Edmonds? As I mentioned before, I like Jim, but it might be time for him to launch a preemptive strike of the "you can’t fire me, I quit" variety. The Cardinals probably have the most lopsided drama-to-wins ratio of any team besides the Astros. And maybe the Orioles. Anyway. Rick’s problem is that he can only play right field, apparently. This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Sure, the ball comes off the bat differently to left or right. But have you ever looked in a mirror? It’s the same effect. They’re basically the same position. Center, you can’t learn – you just have to be an athletic guy. But left and right are dopplegangers. It takes time to adjust, but the Cardinals have the entire 2007 season to play with. This whole year is already one big training exercise, except all the ‘trainees’ are really old. I submit that Juan Encarnacion’s "success" in right shouldn’t keep Ankiel out of the bigs, as La Russa says. The only real problem is that he has no options remaining. And the Cardinals can’t afford to give up any more outfielders for no reason. So they want him to develop, and they don’t think he can get good playing time in the Majors yet. So he’s still down in the minors.
In fairness to the Cards, this is probably the right decision. Ankiel is only batting .270 in the AAA PCL league. So he isn’t setting the world on fire, by any means. So one argument is to give the guy some limited MLB experience while the stakes are low, and risk losing him to another team if he has to get sent down again. Or you leave him in the minors to develop at a 4AB a day pace. Basically a wash.
Also, thanks go out to geoff for the comment the other day. I forgot about that, because I forgot that you guys posted comments. Because you stopped posting comments. Anyway, it looks like we have found a new home at http://ballhouse.blogspot.com. Nothing concrete yet. Right now, we’re calling ourselves the Ballhouse. Not sure I like that name, in fact I’m pretty sure I don’t. Best suggestion for a new name gets a prize. Send it to me at reidksmith at hotmail. Include your business in the subject line, or I might delete it along with the payment due notices from Discover.
Statistical proof that Andruw Jones has stopped hitting
A while back, we made note of Andruw Jones’ decreasing effectiveness at the plate after he struck out 5 times against the Red Sox. Well, at that point, Andruw’s average was a comparatively stellar .212. He is now batting .199. Now, I know we have all moved on from using batting average as the sole statistical judge of a player’s ability, but in this case it’s really all we need. He isn’t hitting the ball, he isn’t getting on base, and when he does make contact, it’s not very good – his slugging percentage is .383. To show just how bad this is, consider this. Since his last multi-hit game on June 9th – just his tenth this whole year, all but one of which have been 2-hitters – Jones has gone a depressing 2-39. So that’s a .051 average. However, his season average has dropped only 26 points, from .225 to .199. And, as I will always point out, A. Jones has not exactly dropped in
the batting order. Inexcusably, he has been batting 4th or 5th in
almost every game. Cox dropped him to sixth on the
18th and 19th, only to
throw him back in the 4-hole on the 22nd. Is it
that he just can’t help himself? Is Cox going senile? It’s one thing to stick with
your player when he slumps, but this guy has no business within sight
of the 5-hole, as we will demonstrate.
Take a larger sample size; consider the entire month of June. Jones has exactly 10 hits in 79 AB’s, for a .127 average. I’m sure many of you are thinking, ‘but the walks count too – he’s getting on base.’ Ok. Fine. He has just four walks. Lets give him four more singles in four more at bats. He is now batting .169. He has not reached base on error or a fielders’ choice once, and therefore his OBP is also .169. Meanwhile, he has 18 strikeouts. In other words, his strikeout average for June is .217. Jones is more likely to strike out than he is to reach base by any means. Let’s go further. He has 3 homers, and has scored 5 runs and has 6 RBI. He has 21 total bases. So his basic runs created (TB x OBP), is at 3.549, for you sabermetricians out there. 20 games in June; that gives him .177 runs created per game. Fellow outfielder Jeff Francoeur, who is also struggling – a .262 OBP through June – has 6.288 runs created this month in just one more AB. Catcher Brian McCann, playing hurt (.238 OBP) and with just 3/4 as many AB’s, has produced 4.522 runs. Therefore, even by his struggling teammates’ standards, Andruw Jones is a curse at the dish this month. Edgar Renteria, who is not struggling, and making $4 million less, has created 15.17 runs.
So now we know – not only is Andruw struggling at the plate, but he is hurting his team as well. We’re not just blindly throwing his average out there and saying he’s a crummy player. The truth is, the guy is really hurting the team. And he either doesn’t realize it, or he doesn’t care. I don’t think he’s pouring over his splits with a calculator, but he has to have some self-awareness. But Jones just brushes aside these criticisms. "I’ve never been an average hitter. Average isn’t a big deal to me." Alright. But is scoring a big deal to you? Is getting "market value" next year a big deal to you? "I just go out and play the game. Everybody struggles. I’m just getting pitched good." Andruw, you’re not just getting pitched good. I don’t think we should be looking for a tell in Jones’ stance anytime soon. You’ve been in the bigs for 11 years. People aren’t just now figuring you out. But let’s be real. You can’t take anything this guy says to mean anything. He knows he’s hitting .199. He doesn’t need guys from the papers asking him why. He doesn’t know why, and they know it. So he gives them something to print, they print it, etc.
And another interesting note. Chipper Jones is playing hurt. And he’s peeved. He’s the short story.
Reporter: Chipper, do you feel you are rushing to return from your most recent injury, which was to your… groin?
Chipper: "Probably. But I feel backed into a corner. Let’s just say there are people who don’t believe me. Let’s just say that and leave it at that."
You know what? I understand that these guys have to be in peak shape to go to work every day. I get that if they aren’t at least 90%, they’re not effective at work. But can you imagine this conversation happening?
Reporter: Weekend Athlete, do you feel you are rushing to return from your most recent injury?
WA: You know, I didn’t want to come out today. But the boys said I had to. I told them I was hurt, they didn’t believe me.
Most of us get paid to do things with our heads, not our bodies. If your brain is at 90%, do you call in sick? No. So Chipper, maybe you don’t want to play. Maybe you feel hurt. But you’re getting paid to play baseball. So when Bobby Cox tells you to play baseball, you play. Once you take that paycheck, it’s up to Bobby. If you’re really hurt, he won’t play you. If he decides that he wants you to play, he know that he’s risking a re-injury. He’s judged that risk to be less substantial than the risk of playing without you. So go out there and do your job.
"Andruw Jones tells us about the bad days" – May 21, 2007.
Sorry about the downtime. I lost a friend of mine this week in a skateboarding accident. Parents, kids, please – wear your helmets. Just because it hasn’t happened to anyone you know doesn’t mean it can’t.
A.J. Burnett will beat you in a foot race
A little while back, we wrote A.J. Burnett a letter of apology. Basically for calling him a waste of $55 million. In the letter was a well-hidden clause, stating that "a reversion back to your early-season form will result in immediate rescindment of this letter." A.J. left his very next start with a sore shoulder. And now he’s on the DL. In all fairness to A.J., this DL stint might not be 100% his fault. Itmight be the guy that threw him out for 118, 103, 103, 125, 117, and
130 pitches in his previous 6 starts. Way to go, Gibbons. But the dude is still looking to compete, and we can’t knock him for that. First place finish too, clearly.
More Steve Phillips fun with numbers
It’s no secret that, even as far as baseball analysts are concerned, Steve Phillips is not the brightest of the bunch. I’m not exactly sure how he ended up with ESPN. He served as the Met’s GM from 1997 to 2003. He is ‘credited’ with bringing in David Wright and Jose Reyes. But it’s not like he went out and scouted the guys. After he was fired in 2003, it doesn’t seem like he was gainfully employed until ESPN came knocking. And yes, I’m going to assume that ESPN came to Phillips and offered him a job before the 2005 season, not the other way around. What do you think Phillips’ response was to that inquiry? "Why in the world do they want me working for them?" Back to the issue. We know have something to add to Phillips’ crazy predictions:
- 2006: Jose Reyes will have a coming out year, hitting 30 triples, and steal 35 bases.
- 2006: Corey Patterson will hit 40 HR and get 140 RBIs. From the leadoff spot.
- June 19th, 2007: Alex Rodriguez will have the greatest season of any Yankee right-hander, and will negotiate a new 10-year contract for about $35 million a year.
Alright… where to start… so Reyes would be fast enough to bust Chief Wilson’s 1912 record of 28 triples, but not fast enough to get anything more than a mediocre number of steals. Actually, Reyes had 17 triples and 60 steals. Both league-leading numbers. And Corey Patterson got sent to AAA-ball. Whoops.
But this morning was something totally different. It’s interesting that Phillips’ actually tried to stay within his field of ‘expertise’ with this Alex prediction. But Alex is about to turn 32 in July. What kind of idiot is going to give this guy $35 million to play as a 42-year old? Ignore, for a second, the fact that a 10-year contract to anyone over 30 is a bad decision. You’re going to take the most well-paid athlete in the world and give him a 40% raise, just as he reaches his pinnacle of performance? The fact is, no team is going to give Alex that kind of money, except, maybe, the Yankees. This is how that negotiation will go.
Scott Boras: Alex wants $35 million a year. 10 years. He’s that good.
Cashman: Um, no. We’ll give him $20 million. 4 years. Club option for x.
Boras: That’s not good enough. He deserves more.
Cashman: Dude, only one other guy in MLB is making more than $20 million a year.
Boras: I have no leverage. No other team can afford to give me more than $15 million a year.
Stop it, Steve. Do you even listen to yourself?
"Are Steve Phillips and John Kruk stupid?" – April 11th, 2006
Someone needs to give Phil Garner the hint
Not a lot of time tonight guys. But here’s the deal. Watching the Angels v. Astros on CBSsportsline online, and Lackey is in a heck of a jam. Craig Biggio singled for just his 10th hit of the year – really! – a Pence strikeout, followed by a Berkman single, and it’s two men on, two outs. Lackey does the sensible thing and pitches around Lee to bring up the #5 spot, Loretta. Sensible because Loretta isn’t Lee, but still a tough spot, as Loretta is batting .317. And he ground rule doubles, bringing in two. Mark your calenders, boys. Because this is one of the only times that Phil Garner has constructed his lineup in an attempt to accomplish a goal – i.e., score runs – and his plan has actually come to fruition.
The Astros are 12th of 16 NL teams in runs scored. I have said before that managers do not hit, they do not pitch, and they never score runs. But this is partially Phil’s fault. This guy is just about sabotaging his players, and we’ve gone over this before as well. But it still blows my mind. Why in the world is Craig Biggio still leading off? There is absolutely no reasonable circumstance – NONE – where you put your worst hitter in the leadoff hole, every single game. And Biggio is their worst hitter. It’s nothing against Craig, it’s just, he’s 41 years old. He needs to be worrying about IRAs and 401Ks, not batting averages. Right now, the dude needs 10 more hits. I’m hoping that the second he reaches that number, Garner yanks the guy and sends him either packing to the 9-hole, or to the end of the bench. The guy has an OBP of .279. If you’re a leadoff hitter, you want your batting average to be, hopefully, above that number. But at least around there. I just don’t understand where Garner is coming from here, unless he is just trying to give Biggio enough AB’s to ensure that he really does make it to 3,000 before the end of the season. I hope that’s it.
But really, does it matter? The Astros aren’t going anywhere this year. They’re not acquiring a Carlos Beltran, or a Roger Clemens, or anything like that. This team is dead in the water. So who cares? Frankly, it’s just really entertaining to see so much drama – the Brad Lidge situation, the Dan Wheeler/Chris Sampson issue, this Biggio deal – all this for a team that, after their July Firesale, (who are they going to sell, by the way? Adam Everett?) will probably finish the year with 95 loses.
And to continue where we left off – in the next AB Lackey allowed a 3-run shot to Mike Lamb. At this point, Lamb is 12 for 18 in his last 5 games, including tonight. He has 13 RBI. Of his 20 RBI total so far this season. Wow. So maybe the Astros’ starship rides Mike Lamb to a 90 loss season instead. Who can tell?
The Battle for Missouri Supremacy
There is one thing you have to love about interleague play. You can beat it up for screwing with the team’s records. You can knock it for forcing AL pitchers to hit. Heck, you can even take issue with the over-commercialized, we’re-going-to-stuff-it-down-your-throat advertising. But you can’t say a bad word about some of the great Interstate match ups that take place every year. And I’m not talking about the Subway series, or the freeway series, or any of that garbage. I’m talking about Florida v. Tampa Bay. And, new to this year, St. Louis v. Kansas City. What used to be serious three-day slaughterhouse is now a send-in-the-clowns matchup. We’re talking about two of the worst teams in the game right now. And tonight, they’re pitting off for the decisive game 3.
It’s been a real rubber band series so far. Mark Teahen had a single, double, and a triple to lead the Royals to a Game 1 victory over the Cardinals, 8-1. 
But the Cardinals came surging back to take Game 2, 7-3. And now Kip Wells faces Scott Elarton for the tie-breaker. Hows this for a series-deciding matchup? I don’t even know what to say. I mean, is Kip Wells the better pitcher because his ERA is a full point less than Elarton’s, at 6.33? Or is Elarton the better pitcher because he only has 2 loses, and not 10? Seriously guys, this game could go either way. You can just see these two clubs battling it out on the diamond. Beating the heck out of one another. After all, winner is the best baseball team in Missouri, right? And who doesn’t wake up every morning wanting exactly that? Are they even playing this game at a major league ballpark? Is anyone even going to show up? Does anyone even care?
And after this, the Royals play the Marlins. There’s another interleague matchup we have all been dying to see. Two teams that, quite frankly, could pack up their tents tomorrow and go home, (or move to Las Vegas, I guess,) and no one would notice. Who was the scheduling genius at MLB who decided, "hey, we’ve got this great marketing tool here with interleague play. It really gets the fans involved. Shows them something they’ve never seen before. And you know what the Missourians need to see? Another 100-loss team." Exactly. Maybe it will keep Royals fans from selling their loyalty on eBay when they realize, ‘man, my fellow Marlins fan has got it even worse than I do. I think I’ll hold on for one more year.’ Don’t hold your breath, brother. And by the way, once Dan Uggla comes crashing down from his turbo-orbit, that team is going to fall apart. Again. And it won’t be Lou Piniella’s fault this time, Curt.
BHGM on the move!
Let’s not get too excited guys… but yes, it’s come to the point where the wild dog has to leave home, and venture out into the wilderness. Just to see what its like. That wilderness, at least in the sports arena, has become the world of blogging. In the last couple years I’ve gotten more and more involved in this world. And now, it appears, it may just be time for a change. BHGM is going to be leaving MLBlogs. But, we’ll find a home. The blog is growing, but I think its grown as much as it can at this site. Right now we’ve got a few different ideas in the works. We may be hosting the blog through blogspot, or possibly at our own domain. We’re also looking for a new name. BHGM is cool, but it just doesn’t have the right tone. We’ll take suggestions, of course. Also, I’ve just now checked my MLB email. It’s so loaded with spam all the time that I hardly ever check it. Anyway – I think I sorted out most of the email directed towards the site. So I’ll be emailing you guys back soon.
Anyway, MLBlogs gave us a great start. And for 99% of the people here, it may be the right choice. I disagree with having to pay for what is typically a free service, but the free market obviously supports it, so I can’t argue with that. But that’s only a small reason we’re leaving. The traffic from MLBlogs gave us a great fan base, and one we may not have developed without it. But, with that base intact, it’s time to move to a site where we have, basically, more publishing freedom. I’m working to try and relaunch the www.bihgm.com domain but I’m having some trouble. Normally, that will always point you towards BHGM, or whatever we’re called.
This is by no means a goodbye. Obviously we don’t have any firm plans. But the decision has been made to move the site, we just don’t know when. We’re letting you know so you can, hopefully, give us your thoughts and suggestions. But we’ve had a great run. Heck, in the last 15.5 months, we’ve had about 80,000 hits. When I first started here, I was lucky to get 30 hits a day. Now, an ok day is about 450. According to Alexa.com, we’re the 16th-most reached blog on MLBlogs. Most of the sites above us are players, execs, etc… So I know we can survive out there.
Another takeaway point here, for you guys, is to try and get out in the blogging world. There are a ton of great sites out there. Take Ballhype, for example. Play around on it for a bit. Like it.
See you guys in a few.
UPDATE: Looks like we’ve found ourselves a spot at http://ballhouse.blogspot.com. We’ll see if it sticks.
Welcome to the Houston Circus
Events have been interesting in Houston this year. We all know these guys aren’t winning a ton of games. And I bet if you ask anyone off the street about them, they’ll tell you, "Hunter Pence." Great. I’m glad Houston is continuing to make such a great contribution to the game. Oh yeah, and that Biggio dude is closing in on 3,000 hits… like a Peruvian mountain sloth. Maybe you should’ve sprung for that Clemens guy after all. Or that Beltran kid. Hmm.
We talked about Brad Lidge making it back to the closer role. Last night Lidge blew his first save opportunity. He gave up a solo, game-tying HR. I’m
inclined to chalk that up to bad luck. It’s not like the guy melted
down on the mound, giving up hit after hit after hit. He just gave up
one hit, on an 0-2 count no less. Just keep throwing him out there,
Phil. After Lidge battled back from his struggles last season, and earlier this season, you have to give him another try. I’m sure people are going to be saying that it must be the 9th-inning pressure that is doing Lidge in. That is false. Think about it – the guy has been pitching for a job all season. There’s no greater pressure than that.
Besides, it’s not like the Astros are serious contenders anyway.
If they were, they wouldn’t keep trotting out Craig Biggio and his .227
average. And, as if it could get any worse, he always leads off. Did Phil Garner take "setting up your batting order 101" from Dusty Baker or
something? Furthermore, what brilliant principle leads Garner to
put Biggio’s .273 OBP in the 1-spot, and Adam Everett’s .278 OBP in the
7-hole? Besides the fact that Everett has 20 FEWER strikeouts, they’re
practically the same player. This is absolute insanity. But he must be doing something right. After all, Houston is 27-37, a whole game and a half out of last place. But honestly… can anyone explain this obvious incompetence to me? Heck, it’s not like Biggio’s been hot at any point in the season. The last time his average was above .270 was after the 5th game.
By the way, want more proof that the fans that cast all-star votes are indeed from the bottom of the baseball intelligence barrel? Houston LF Carlos Lee is leading the NL with 54 RBIs. He’s batting .293. By all accounts, an All-Star worthy selection. However, he must pass Andruw Jones in order to get the nod. Jones has a .217 average with 42 RBI – 10th in the NL. How can he be one of the best eight players in the league if he isn’t even one of the best eight at his position? And trust me, 10th on the RBI list is the highest that Jones appears on any list. Unless you count strikeouts. He’s #4 on that list. He’s #57 in OBP. Right above the great Brian Schneider. Seriously, how many of you guys even know who Brian Schneider is? Whatever. The All-Star game is stupid. And so is letting a bunch of knuckleheads vote for it as often as they want. But I accept it as a necessary evil.
Weird.
Way to go Justin!
Well, it happened again. A no hitter than I had absolutely nothing to do with. It wasn’t until I checked the current matchup against my brother Dave last night that I saw Verlander’s line. First I saw 41 points, then, CG, 4 BB, 12 K’s (wow), and no hits. So, of course, I went off to MLB.com to see than, once again, I had missed an entire no-hitter. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – never, ever, will I witness any part of a no-hitter. My most recent breakup was when I tuned in UM – Oregon State game this weekend. Michigan’s Zach Putnam had gone 8 innings with a no hitter. After two outs,he was one strike away from a no-hitter when he gave up an RBI, game losing single. I’m a no-hitter curse.
Anyway, Justin. I was wrong about you. I saw him pitch in person in 2005, and when he was called up to the rotation for 2006 I said, "He’s better than former #5 starter Wil Ledezma… I guess." But I was pretty sure this was a case of premature call up, and I didn’t want to see the guy lose his confidence because he wasn’t ready and we had no one else to throw out there. Oops. Way to go, man. And 12 K’s with only 112 pitches? Considering he faced 30 batters, that’s impressive. Thats less than 4 pitches a man. That’s the only way to do it – you have to be economical with your pitches. And a lot of time, strike out pitchers use up so many pitches they have trouble with that.
"The Hit Streak v. the Perfect Game: Superstitions" – April 3rd, 2006
"Tigers dump Pena and re-tool for 2006" – March 26th, 2006
“It makes my head explode”
We’re going to continue to be on a light workload here until Thursday. I’ve got a philosophy paper and calculus exam then. Summer classes are a bummer. Anyway, a lot of interesting things have been happening lately, and sadly, I haven’t had time to comment on most. So here is the condensed version. Our feature story is an interesting piece on the struggles of Bob Melvin, Manager, Arizona Diamondbacks.
Simple roster changes can, in fact, be very confusing
Chad Tracy, Arizona 3B, had been on the DL with a sore ribcage since May 15th. He hadn’t actually been ‘right’ since May 1st. He finally returned on Sunday, June 10th… which causes some strange shakeups in the Arizona infield, at least if you’re manager Bob Melvin. 23-year-old 3B Mark Reynolds was brought up from AA to replace Tracy when he was injured, and was playing out of his skull, finishing May with a .426 average. However, he only has 4 hits in June, and has seen his average decline to .318. For some reason, this has Melvin throwing mental fits. But Tracy can also play 1B. Why not put him there, if you’re intent at keeping Reynolds’ sinking ship running? Because Connor Jackson (.280)is currently starting at 1B, with Tony Clark (.226, mostly as a situational hitter,) filling in at times. This somehow matters to Melvin. Never, I don’t think, as anybody agonized this much over such a simple decision. "Every time I think about it, my head explodes… [Clark] is an important guy, and I don’t want to leave him out… you want to keep everybody involved… if someone gets their feelings hurt, that can be the bad side of it." GROW UP, BOB. This isn’t Little League. Your job is to win baseball games. Are you afraid Tony’s dad is going to confront you, and ask you why his son isn’t playing? Besides, the two guys you’re worried about "leaving out" are too young, too old, and not good. Send Reynolds back down to the minors, and start Tracy at 3B, end of story. Are you seriously struggling with that decision? By the way, Clark might have 7 HR, but that is all he is good for. He has 19 hits. Stop starting him and leaving him in for crucial spots in the game. This guy is batting .167 in late-inning pressure situations. He’s hitting .267 as a pinch-hitter. Use him there, don’t start him. He turns 35 on Friday, dude.
Francisco Cordero blows another one
Francisco Cordero finally blew a save on Saturday night. I just
published something I wrote on Sunday about this, during which I said,
"He’s got a fragile mindset… he was hotter than the sun… now he’s
probably going to fall faster than a ship from heaven." On Sunday
night, Francisco did, indeed, blow another save – just as I predicted,
giving up one run to tie the game back up.
Remember Brad Lidge?
He’s back, it seems. Brad’s ship capsized last year, when he had a 5.28 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. As my brother Dave, the author of, "BETTER TRADE THAT GUY [Teixeira]. I’ve give you Nick Markakis and Adrian Gonzalez," put it, "when did this guy become so bad? What happened to him?" Anyway, current Houston closer Dan Wheeler has been an arsonist lately, allowing 9 runs in his last 6 games, resulting in 3 blown saves. His ERA is at 5.22. But manager Phil Garner is playing it off differently. He says it’s always been the plan that, if Lidge pulled it together, he’d get the closer role back. Lidge, meanwhile, now has a 2.35 ERA. He hasn’t allowed a run since May 17th. Welcome back, Brad. Don’t screw it up this time.
Remember Dan Kolb?
Couldn’t help including this behind Lidge. Kolb was recently called up from the Pirates AAA affiliate, where he had a 3.15 ERA. You may recall Kolb saving 39 games for Milwaukee in 2004 with a 3.00 ERA. He then moved on to Atlanta in 2005, where he lost 8 games to 11 saves and had a 5.97 ERA. Last year he returned to Milwaukee to try to restore the magic, but had only one save and a 4.87 ERA in 48.1 IP. Now he’s getting called up to the Pirates. Things aren’t going the way they used to, huh Dan?
"Mark Teixeira and the Rangers" – April 26th, 2007.
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