The SoapBoxers

First basemen Albert Pujols of the Cardinals and Prince Fielder of the Brewers will hit the free agent market this off-season, unless they are re-signed by their current teams.  The Yankees (Mark Teixeira) and Red Sox (Adrian Gonzalez) already have significant money tied up in their first basemen, and are not likely to chase after them, which could limit the payout slightly.  However, each player is likely going to get somewhere upwards of $20 million per year.

Who is worth more? Let’s break it down and allow you to reach your own conclusion.
 

 
There’s one really interesting scenario that I haven’t heard discussed much. The Cardinals and Brewers could each end up with a high quality first baseman and a free draft pick if the Cardinals were to sign Fielder and the Brewers nabbed Pujols. A team that signs a type-a free agent surrenders its first round pick to the team losing the player, but the team losing the player ALSO gets a “sandwich” pick between the first and second round of the draft. Let’s say the Cardinals had the 10th pick in next year’s draft and the Brewers had the 11th. If the Cardinals signed Fielder and the Brewers signed Pujols, the Cardinals would lose pick 10, but gain pick 11 and a sandwich pick, while the Brewers would lose pick 11 but gain pick 10 plus a sandwich pick. (More about free agent compensation here).
 

If you’ve been reading The Soap Boxers very long, then you know that I’m a big baseball fan.  Major league baseball has been around since 1876, and teams play a game almost every day, so there’s an almost bottomless well of trivia to tap into. 

So without further ado, let’s jump in. All question refer solely to stats achieved in the Major Leagues – but these questions aren’t for rookies! Answers are at at the bottom (below the wonderful selection of baseball-related items).
 
 

1)  From the moment Hank Aaron homered off Al Downing on April 8, 1974 until Barry Bonds broke hit his 756th home run on August 7, 2007, Aaron was the career home run king, with 755 home runs. How many times did Aaron hit more than 50 homers in a season?

2) This pitcher won an MVP and Cy Young and also tossed a no-hitter. He won 197 games in his Hall of Fame career, recording his final career start in 1987.

3) Who has the longest hitting streak of any living Hall of Famer?

4) Hall of Famers are often selected to a great many All Star games during their career. Of the Hall of Famers who played their entire careers in the All Star Game era, which two players have the distinction of being selected to the FEWEST All-Star games?

5) On April 25, 1935, the Pittsburgh Pirates allowed a member of the Boston Braves to hit three home runs against them. Why was this significant?

6) On September 7, 1974, Graig Nettles of the Yankees broke his bat during a game. What happened next?

7) This Hall of Famer homered in his first career at bat … and never hit another home run.

8 ) On July 15, 1994, pitcher Jason Grimsley stole something from a locked room in a major league stadium. What did he steal?

9) On July 6, 1983, Fred Lynn homered off Atlee Hammaker. What is significant about Lynn’s homer?

Answers:

1) Aaron never hit more than 50 homers in a season – but he did hit at least 40 in eight seasons.

2) Dennis Eckersley threw a no-hitter for the Indians in 1977. His final career START was in 1987 … after which he became a full time closer. He notched 390 career saves. His 51 saves and 1.91 ERA in 1992 earned him the Cy Young and MVP Awards. Yep, I threw some red herrings into this one 🙂

3) Joe Dimaggio hit in 56 straight games, but he is dead. Hit King Pete Rose had a 44 game hitting streak and is still alive – but isn’t a Hall of Famer. This makes Paul Molitor’s 39 game streak in 1987 the longest of any living Hall of Famer.

4) Ferguson Jenkins and Robin Yount were each chosen for three All Star Games. Interestingly, Yount was snubbed in his 1989 MVP season. When Bert Blyleven is inducted next month, he’ll set the bar even lower – he made only two All-Star teams.

5) Those home runs were the final three homers of Babe Ruth’s career. After playing for the Red Sox and most famously the Yankees, he was lured to the Boston Braves with the possibility of eventually becoming the team’s manager.

6) Six super balls flew out of the bat. Nettles said the bat was a gift from a Yankees fan in Chicago. Whether Nettles or the fan doctored the bat, you have to give them bonus points for creativity.

7) Hoyt Wilhelm didn’t start his career until he was just shy of his 30th birthday. When he retired 20 years later, he had appeared in 1070 games (most as a reliever) and racked up 227 saves. The home run he hit on April 23, 1952, was the only dinger of his career.

8 ) Grimsley, then playing for the Cleveland Indians, climbed through the air ducts to retrieve a bat from the umpires’ room. The bat was seized from Indians slugger Albert Belle under suspicion of being corked.

9) Lynn’s homer in the 1983 All Star Game was the first – and only – grand slam in All Star Game history.

OK – how well did you do?

St. Louis is still in mourning after the Cardinals lost Albert Pujols for 4-6 weeks with a non-displaced fracture of his radius (a bone in the forearm). After being pulled off first base by a throw, Pujols reached out his left arm in an attempt to tag out the baserunner. It was a bang-bang play, with runner Wilson Betemit having no opportunity to avoid the collision (nor was he under the obligation to do so). Although there hasn’t been the furor that followed the Buster Posey injury (should baseball ban home plate collisions?), the NY York Times has suggested a double bag at first base.  This seems like a rather silly idea to me, as all it would really do is force the first baseball to slide over another step before reaching out for a tag.  It’s worth noting that Betemit didn’t run into the body of Pujols, but into his arm.

The Cardinals have remained in the hunt in the NL Central this year despite being snake bitten by some injury.  Co-ace Adam Wainwright went down for the season during spring training, and Matt Holliday has lost time due to an injury and an appendectomy.  I do think the Cardinals can at least stay within striking distance until Pujols returns.

The big question is how this will affect Pujols’ status as the top free agent in the class.  Already, we had been hearing some murmurs that Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder – 4 years younger – might actually be a better option for a team needing an elite first baseman.  (I’m not sold on Fielder – his ability to keep his weight under control long term concerns me).  Pujols is going to have about 50 games at the end of the season (plus possible post-season games) to prove that he’s still the Pujols of old.  It seemed unlikely that his demands of a 10 year deal worth $30 million per year were going to be met in any case … but could this create a situation where Pujols signs a one year “prove it” deal rather than signing a longer deal at a lower rate?

In LA, the divorce case of Frank and Jamie McCourt (no, not the Angela’s Ashes guy) lingers on.  The two parties had finally reached an agreement, but it was contingent upon commissioner Bud Selig giving his OK to a new TV rights deal with the LA Fox affiliate.  Under the 17 year deal, Fox would have paid nearly $3 billion.  The deal would have featured $385 million in up front money.  $170 million would have been earmarked (by the divorce settlement) for personal debt and the divorce settlement.  Selig believes that baseball revenue should be used to pay baseball debts, rather than personal debts.

The United States Open Championship is being contested at Congressional this week. Congressional is not one of my more favorite venues for an open. It has your usual long rough, fast greens, super long golf holes, and lots of trees, but it is a fairly boring golf course in Johnny’s opinion.

There are some nice historic moments here over the years. Ken Venturi staving off heat stroke to play 36 holes in 110+ degree heat and win an Open here. Tom Lehman playing his normal right to left draw but drawing it into the water to lose an Open.

This year it appears early on to be a boat race.

Rory McIlroy, aka Spaulding from Caddyshack (Judge Smailes Grandson) is playing like a man possessed. The kid has probably more overall golf talent than anyone on the tour other than a healthy Tiger Woods or a Phil Mickelson. Problem is Tiger is wearing a leg brace right now and Phil is over thinking his way to not keeping a ball in play on the planet.

At the time end of his second round, McIlroy has taken it to 11 under, which is rare air in a US Open Championship. Even par normally wins. Shooting under par is unheard of. Rory is making it look easy. He shoots a routine 6 under in day one to lead by three and has added another 5 under today to get to 11 under par.

Granted the course is a little soft, they have had some rain, the greens are not as fast as the USGA demons would like them to be. But…no one else is within 8 shots of him early on. Spaulding is doing what he has done before. He smoked out of the gate at The Open Championship last year at St Andrews with a 63 – the lowest ever first round score in the 150 year history of the Open Championship, and tying the course record in the process….Then the wind nailed him on day two and he ballooned to an 80, effectively shooting himself out of it. He rebounded nicely to still finish 3rd.

Until Next week…

Stay Classy Northern Ireland!

Bubba Starling recently graduated from high school and has committed to play quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Starling is also one of the top baseball prospects and was selected 5th overall in this year’s baseball draft.  The kicker?  He was picked by his hometown Kansas City Royals.

Starling has a decision looming.  He can choose to sign with the Royals and spurn the Huskers.  He can spurn the Royals and stay with the Huskers. 

Or he can do both.  The NCAA allows an athlete to participate as a professional in one sport while retaining amateur status in a different sport.  The football/baseball combination is by far the most common due to relatively small season overlaps.  While it’s not exactly common, it’s also not particularly rare.  For example, Clemson starting quarterback Kyle Parker was a first round pick of the Rockies in 2010 and continues to play both sports.

However, either the Huskers or the Royals could give Starling an ultimatum and force him to pick one sport or the other.  The football injury to Bo Jackson may be fresh in the minds of many in the Royals organization, so they may not be eager to see Starling lining up at quarterback.  The Huskers, too, would prefer to have Starling focus on just one sport – but as an outfielder, his injury risk is relatively low.  (Conversely, if he were a pitcher, he’d be more prone to arm injuries, which would hinder his ability to player quarterback).

Of course, the one thing that the Royals can offer that the Huskers can’t is money.  (Hey, this isn’t Ohio State!).  How much?  I wouldn’t be surprised to see an offer in excess of $5 million, considering the leverage that Starling has as a two sport athlete.

My advice?  Take the money.  If you can balance both sports, great.  But there is no guarantee that Starling will ever make a dime from football.  There are a lot of highly touted high school quarterbacks who never make it to the NFL.  If Starling choose to forgo college at this point, he can negotiate inclusion in Major League Baseball’s College Scholarship Program and pursue his degree at a later date.

If Starling doesn’t sign with the Royals, he wouldn’t be eligible for the draft again until 2014, unless he transfers to a junior college (JUCO players are eligible after their freshman and sophomore seasons).

The Royals wouldn’t be left completely high and dry if Starling doesn’t sign.  They would receive a compensatory pick in 2012 immediately following the pick of the team with the 5th worst record.  This most likely would be pick #6, but could be lower (if players picked in the top 4 spots don’t sign with their teams and thus yield compensatory picks for those teams).

In other draft news … teams really seemed to be shying away from injured players.  TCU pitcher Matt Purke was picked #14 overall out of high school in 2009.  He actually agreed to a $6 million bonus with the Rangers, but Major League Baseball had veto power because of the Rangers’ troubled finances, and they nixed the deal.  Purke eventually opted to go to college.  He was 16-0 as a freshman for the Horned Frogs.  This year, he has been fighting bursitis in his shoulder.  He was a draft-eligible sophomore (due to the fact that he was 21 before the draft) and slipped all the way to #96, where he was snapped up by the Nationals.

I understand the concern about the injury, but this is clearly a guy with elite talent.  Sure, he might not make it to the majors because of injuries, but it’s quite likely a lot of the guys ahead of him won’t make it simply because their talent level isn’t high enough.  Why are teams willing to take a gamble on a guy with a lower talent ceiling and no injury history than guys with higher ceilings but some injury history?  To compound the situation, a lot of the “healthy” guys will encounter career-ending injuries.

And, off the diamond, former Major Leaguer Lenny Dykstra is in the news again.  This time for his arrest on grand theft auto and a variety of drug charges.  Dykstra was always a guy who colored outside the lines, but his life has been in a tail spin for several years.

After 19 glorious seasons, the Diesel has hung it up. Riding off into the Big Sunset, the Shaq Daddy has an impressive resume’. An MVP award, numerous rings with a couple of different teams, and one of the most likable guys to ever play in the NBA. The Big Aristotle might also hold the record for most different nicknames ever attributed to an NBA player. This Original Superman started with the Orlando Magic as a young player fresh out of LSU. In his younger days Shaq FU was a physical and dexterous specimen on the basketball court. Many teams underwent the “Hack a Shaq” mentality as the one weakness – the total inability to make free throws on a consistent basis – became more apparent as he moved on to the Phoenix Suns where he played under the moniker of the Shaqtus. He ended his career, fairly unceremoniously as the Big Leprechaun in Boston playing in limited action due mainly to injuries.

Bye Bye Big 401K….your presence in the league will be sorely missed by fans everywhere.

Speaking of NBA….

The finals are in full swing and if not for a complete meltdown and letdown in Game 2, the Heat would have a commanding 3-0 lead. Instead the totally collapsed in Game 2, and nearly repeated the feat trying hard to lose Game 3. Johnny’s notes from the finals thus far…..Dirk is REALLY good, no I mean Really good! Dwayne Wade has been the MVP so far of the Playoffs, and lastly players are flopping everywhere getting ghost calls from the officials. I guess whoever loses will have the officials to blame.

The Baseball draft is being held as we speak. For those of you who are baseball aficionados I am sure you are excited to watch this, but me…nah…not so much. There is a big difference between watching the ESPN full court press crew along with Kiper and McShay and countless highlights and interviews with coaches, players, team owners , the graphics etc. Then Major League Baseball rolls out the White Pages personality of Bud Selig coupled with some high school highlights of players none of you outside of their geography have ever heard of and then a couple of genius comments by the MLB Network Stiffs. Boo MLB for trying to be something you are not to the casual fan….exciting.

Until Next Week, Stay Classy Milwaukee!

After Giants star catcher Buster Posey was saw his season come to an end as a result of a collision with Scott Cousins, many in the baseball world are calling for a rule change that would protect catchers.

Devastating home plate collisions have long been a part of the game. Those who say that “this is the way it’s always been” is a bad reason to maintain the status quo are correct. However, the mere fact that this incident involved a rising star rather than a journeyman is no reason to treat it differently than past incidents. If past incidents weren’t cause for a rule change, then why is Posey’s case special?

I’d also point at that there IS a rule on the books that should have prevented this collision. The rule states that a catcher cannot block home plate unless he has control of the ball. Posey was blocking home plate and did not have control of the ball. (The verbiage I’m referring to is at the end of rule 7.06. “NOTE: The catcher, without the ball in his possession, has no right to block the pathway of the runner attempting to score. The base line belongs to the runner and the catcher should be there only when he is fielding a ball or when he already has the ball in his hand.“)  As it turns out, Cousins could have avoided Posey and still scored. But I don’t think it’s fair for him to determine if the catcher had the ball or not in the split second he has to decide – his goal is to touch home plate before being tagged, by whatever means necessary. If catchers are concerned about collisions, they could stand to the side of the plate and use a sweep tag. Would the fans (and perhaps their teammates and manager) ridicule them for this. Probably – but that’s not the fault of the base runner.

In my opinion, the base runner should have the right of way in the baseline. It’s already illegal for them to hinder a fielder in the act of making a play – but why put them at a disadvantage on a play where the ball is being throw from one member of the opposing team to another? It’s the responsibility of the other team to execute the play safely.

Some have suggested a “slide rule.” I’m sure that would be popular … until the moment a catcher takes spikes to the knee and blows out an ACL.

And, of course, there are some nut jobs lobbing death threats at Cousins … for what was a perfectly legal play. Apparently, some Giants fans have very short memories. One of your own fans was savagely beaten at a game 2 months ago when trash talking went too far, and now you’re the ones making death threats?

Harold Camping may have been wrong, but that’s no reason to give up on numerology as a way to predict the end of the world.  The spirit of Joe Jackson appeared before me in a dream and gave me the all the details.

• There are 30 teams in Major League Baseball
• The teams are split into 2 leagues
• A team is allowed 3 outs per inning
• There are 3 strikes in a strikeout
• There are 4 balls in a walk

30 X 2 X 3 X 3 X 4 = 2160

Then, we have our deductions, which we subtract from this number

• There are 19 letters in “Major League Baseball”
• There are 14 letters in “National League”
• There are 14 letters in “American League”
• There are 54 outs in a game
• There are 6 divisions
• 8 teams make the playoffs
• The World Series has a maximum length of 7 games
• Playoff roster size is 25

2160 – 19 – 14 – 14 – 54 – 6- 8 – 7 – 25 = 2013

The world win end at the conclusion of the World Series in the year 2013.  Enjoy the time you have left.  Good day.

We’re nearly to Memorial Day, and the baseball races have begun to take shape.  What’s up?

AL East:

The Red Sox were annointed the favorites by many.  Then they stumbled out of the gate, losing their first six games and ten of their first twelve.  They were toast, right?  Nope, they have rallied and stand at 25-22, just a half game out of first place.

The Yankees are in first place, but I suspect that they are going to fall out of the race before the All-Star break.  There’s a lot of age on this team, and you can see it in the stats of some of the players (Jeter and Posada).  Father time can be cruel.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays lost Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena to free agency.  Surely they would feel the losses, right?  Well, the Devils are getting a lot from their pitchers, including a 5-2 record and 2.00 ERA from James Shields.  And before we applaud the Tampa management for the way they built a winner with a reasonable payroll, bear in mind that the foundation of the franchise would built upon a losing history (bad records = good draft picks).  They’ve done a nice job with the picks, but would not have had the chance to draft many of their players if they hadn’t sucked so bad in the past.

Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays is having an incredible year on the heels of his 54 homer performance last year.  He has 19 homers despite being walked frequently.  His 41 walks and .356 batting average give him a lofty .503 on base percentage and absurd 1.330 OPS.

Advantage: Boston’s experience will push them to the title.  They are 23-12 in their last 35 games.

AL Central:

The surprising Indians have opened up a 7 game lead in the Central.  Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera bounced back from injuries in 2010 and is hitting .312 with 10 homers and 34 RBI.  Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin are a combined 11-3 with a sub 2.50 ERA.

The Tigers are seven games back, and Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Rick Porcello all have ERAs of 3.08 or lower.  The Tigers are a solid team, and it’s possible they could cut into the Cleveland lead a bit – but if the Indians push this lead to 11 or 12 games by mid-June, this division race could be over.

Kansas City is going to be promoting some really talented guys very soon – they built a great farm system the Tampa Bay way, through many losing seasons.  Eric Hosmer is already up, and we should see Mike Moustakas at some point.  Alex Gordon seems to be figuring things out, as well (remember, he’s just 27 – not a lost cause).  The Royals will contend in future years, but this isn’t the year.

Advantage: Cleveland.  If they can manage one more hot streak and get the lead to double digits, I think they can turn out the lights on the rest of the division.  Looking up and seeing that the team you’re chasing has a lead of 10+ games is demoralizing.  One thing to watch is Cleveland’s home record.  So far this year, they are 11-11 on the road and 19-4 at home.  Obviously, they won’t win 83% of their home games this year – so watch to see how far this number falls.

AL West

The AL West is the only 4 team division in baseball (The NL Central has 6 teams, all other divisions have 5)  and all 4 teams are within 3 games of first place.

Texas has been without Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz and have still managed to stay in first place.  With the two sluggers back, they may be able to create some distance between themselves and the rest of the division.  Alexi Ogando has burst onto the scene with a 5-0 record and 1.81 ERA.  His success shouldn’t be a complete shock, as he was very effective out of the bullpen last year (1.30 ERA in 41 2/3 innings).

The Angels have lost 1B Kendrys Morales for the year, but are still within a half game of Texas.  Jered Weaver stole the spotlight early on, but Dan Haren is having a very good year, 4-2 with a 1.84 ERA.  Howie Kendrick is hitting .322 and tied with Mike Trumbo (the replacement for Morales) for the team lead with 7 homers.

In Seattle, not surprisingly, it’s all about the pitching.  While Felix Hernandez is off to a good start (3.01 ERA while leading the staff with 77 2/3 innings pitched), 22 year old Michael Pineda has been dominant – 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .194 batting average.  The kid hasn’t had a bad game yet, and does a good job of limiting his walks.  The the Mariners were to somehow make the playoffs (they are just 1 1/2 games back) King Felix and Pineda would create a fearsome 1-2 matchup for other teams.

Finally, three games back, we find Oakland.  Their hitting is so mediocre (and their park is so pitcher friendly) that only Josh Willingham and Coco Crisp having a .400+ slugging percentage.  Their pitching, on the other hand, has been quite good.  Trevor Cahill (6-1, 1.79 ERA) leads the group, and the worst ERA in the rotation is 3.39 (Brandon McCarthy).

Advantage: Texas.  They’ve been able to hold serve with their big guys on the bench.  I think they are the most complete team.  I’d love to see Seattle and Oakland make a run, but they need more hitting.

That’s it for the American League.  We’ll cover the NL next week.

We’re nearly at the quarter pole of the baseball season. What has happened so far?

The Phillies should be scaring the hell out of everyone.  They have the best record in baseball despite not having star second baseman Chase Utley in the lineup.  I hesitate to call a division race this early, but the other NL East teams really needed the Phillies to struggle out of the gate to have a chance.

The Cardinals lost co-ace Adam Wainwright for the season, Matt Holliday had an appendectomy early in the season, and Albert Pujols has been less than Pujolsian so far.  While Pujols has an OK, albeit low for him, homerun total (7), the rest of his numbers are well below his career numbers.  His .273 batting average is well below his career mark of .330 and he has just 3 doubles on the year.  He’s not walking very much, and he’s hitting into double plays at an alarming rate.  Whether it’s the pressure of his looming free agency, or something else, this is a very bad time for him to have the worst season of his career.  On the other hand, Holliday is batting .398 for the season and  free agent acquisition Lance Berkman is hitting .351 with 10 homers – and the Cardinals are in first place.

The Cleveland Indians have shocked everyone by recording the best record in the American League, and have a 4 game lead over the Tigers.  Bringing up the rear in the division are the White Sox and Twins.  Who could have predicted that?  The division also features the two hurlers to record no-hitters this year – Justin Verlander of the Tigers and Francisco Liriano of the Twins.

The Pirates and Red Sox have the same record.  If you predicted that at the beginning of the season, raise your hand, Mr. Liar.  The Pirates haven’t had a winning season since 1992 (sadly, that is NOT a typo).  Can Clint Hurdle push the team to 82 wins?  I really hope so.  In spite of the fact that the Rockies pushed out Hurdle in 2009, I still wish the guy the best.

My Rockies bolted out to an 11-2 record, but have faded lately and enter play on Saturday with a record of 20-16.  Still, that’s good enough for first place, in spite of the fact that we haven’t had many contributions from ace Ubaldo Jimenez, 2010 MVP runner-up Carlos Gonzalez, or third base.  Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has alternated between red hot and ice cold.  Hopefully his 3 for 5 with homer on Friday is the sign of good things to come.  Catcher Chris Iannetta has been deceptively productive.  His batting average is just .224, but his on base percentage has been near .400 recently, and his OPS has been near .900.  Ten of his 19 hits have gone for extra bases, and he has 21 walks on the year.  Overall, I’m happy to see the Rockies in first place – but I thin they’ll need more hands on deck to hold off the hated Giants.

And speaking of hated players … I’m not at all surprised to see Derek Jeter struggling this year.  He was hitting .268 after Friday’s game, but it’s a very soft .268.  He has only two homers on the year (in the same game) and only five total extra base hits.  Jeter put up the worst numbers of his career last year, and his slow start this year has many wondering if his stats are indicative of a decline rather than a mere slump.  Jeter is a shortstop who will soon turn 37, and Father Time is generally not kind to middle infielders.  Jeter, on the other hand, can laugh all the way to the bank after signing a new contract in the off-season what is paying him roughly double what he was likely to have made as a free agent (remember, he would have been a type A free agent, meaning that the signing team would have had to sacrifice a draft pick).