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Former MLB Pitcher Bruce Dal Canton dead at 66

He was mostly a relief pitcher in the 60′s and 70′s who then had a long career as a pitching coach. Dal Canton was the a rarity on a couple of fronts,- He was discovered at a tryout camp by the Pirates and Bruce was a Knuckleball pitcher. I certainly saw Dal Canton pitch during his career but remember little except his throwing the knuckler. RIP

 

Milwaukee Brewers want call overturned and no-hitter given to CC Sabathia

This after a controversial official scorer’s call in Sunday’s game between Milwaukee and Pittsburgh. From AP-

The Milwaukee Brewers want CC Sabathia to be awarded the first retroactive no-hitter in major league history. After Sabathia tossed a 1-hitter on Sunday in which the only hit was an infield single that could have been called an error, the Brewers vowed to send a DVD of the play to Major League Baseball, asking that the call be overturned.

“He accomplished a no-hitter and wasn’t given what he deserved. That should have been a no-hitter,” manager Ned Yost said after the Brewers’ 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. “That’s a stinking no-hitter we all got cheated from. I feel horrible for CC.”

There’s nothing the league can do about it officially. According to baseball’s rulebook, only the official scorer may change a judgment scoring call.

If official scorer Bob Webb were to decide to change the call, it would be the first time in major league history a no-hitter was awarded retroactively.

There have been no-hitters taken away retroactively years afterwards. This when MLB redefined what qualifies as a no-hitter. Rain shortened games, and combination no-hit games shouldn’t really count. That’s just my opinion.

What does CC think of what happened

Sabathia accepted the scoring call calmly, blaming himself for LaRoche getting on.

“The ball was still rolling and I probably should have picked it up with my glove. We probably wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Sabathia said. “I think if I pick it up with my glove, I get him.”

I saw the play in question on ESPN. My personal opinion- The call is marginal either way. I don’t think Sabathia would have thrown out the runner if he had gloved the ball.

 

Yanks trade for Marte and Nady, then beat Boston

The full deal is Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, George Kontos and Phil Coke. Damaso Marte is an excellent lefty specialist, while Nady is a decent rightfielder. At first glance, I’m not happy.

Nady is having an extraordinarily good season, well out of line with his career averages. His 2008 looks like this: .330/.383/.535 (142 OPS+). Certainly a great season, but Pittsburgh is trading high; his career line is a slightly above average: .281/.337/.456 (108 OPS+). Range Factor shows him to be an above-average rightfielder. He’s 29, so is at the peak of his career; it will probably all be downhill after this season. Nady is fairly versatile, having played 3b, 1b, and all three outfield positions in his career. However, with Abreu entrenched in RF, where does Nady play? Left-field, where he hasn’t played since 2007 (when he played just 10 games there)?

Marte is an excellent lefty reliever, owning a career 141 ERA+, with 484 strikeouts in 454.1 innings. He absolutely owns lefties: .578 career OPS against them. What about 2008? Not quite as dominant: a .669 OPS against left-handed batters. Is that an aberration? It might be, because in 2007 he destroyed lefties – they had a .352 OPS against him. Ironically, Marte was with the Yanks for half a season before being traded for Enrique Wilson in 2001.

According to Cot’s, Marte has a team option for $6 million next year, which will likely be exercised. Nady (as far as I can tell) is arbitration eligible.

Frankly, I don’t understand the move because the bullpen is the strongest area of the team right now. Marte might be great, but he also might block guys like Cox, Melancon and Horne who deserve chances once they show they’re ready (which should be soon). Both players are at or past their prime, and Nady is having a career year. The Yanks are buying high on Nady and selling low on Tabata and Ohlendorf (who are both having poor years).

Nady won’t play his natural position of right-field because of Abreu, so where is he going to play? He hasn’t played LF in over a year, so will he be expected to jump right into Yankee Stadium’s spacious leftfield? Now that I think about it, he might be the 1b replacement for Richie Sexson, and occasional leftfielder.

- That was the Yanks best start of the year… after Wang’s complete game shutout in Fenway of course. Just an incredible game by Joba. THAT’S why he became a starter: 7 ip, 3 h, 0 r, 1 bb, 9 k.

- Back from the dead, Carl Pavano is making a minor league start on Tuesday for the GCL Yankees. Monday will see Phil Hughes also make his first rehab start.

Sources:
MLB.com
MLB.com (again)
Baseball Reference
Cot’s Contracts

 

Kansas City Royals Sign Jose Guillen

If published reports are to be believed, the Kansas City Royals have decided to continue the fine pharmaceutical heritage that began with Ewing Kauffman by signing outfielder Jose Guillen to a 3-year, $36 million deal on Tuesday.

The potential steroid suspension aside, are the Royals spending David Glass’s new found money wisely? How about some charts!

Below are two charts showing Guillen’s On-Base Percentage (OBP) and Slugging Average (SLG) by age. The difference between the top chart and the bottom chart is that Guillen’s partial years have been removed (in ’99, ’01, ’02 and ’06, Jose appeared in fewer than 100 games for the season).

By removing the partial seasons, we can see that the Dominican fellow has followed a pretty standard career path, peaking at age 27-28 in the power department while maintaining some positive growth in the ability to get on base.

Walks as a percentage of plate appearances:

Again, Guillen has shown an improved eye at the plate over the course of his career.

Extra base hits as a percentage of hits and plate appearances:

Here is where it gets sketchy for the Royals. At first glance, Guillen appears to have a somewhat erratic ability to hit the ball hard when he makes contact, but overall looks like he is trending upward.

However, when you remove the years most likely to be affected by small sample size blips, he begins to look like any typical player. In terms of full-season ability, Guillen’s power potential seems to have peaked when he was 27.

The Royals have just “fixed” their middle order power problem with a guy who looks to be on the decline in terms of hurting the baseball over the next three years.

The good news is that while Guillen now becomes the highest-paid player in team history, his contract is not exorbitant in the current market. Three years is a short enough time frame that Kansas City can cut their losses if Guillen fails to find rejuvenation in the fountains at Kauffman stadium.

That said, I’d still rather see them go after Miguel Cabrera.

 

Pittsburgh Pirates fire Manager Jim Tracy

He’s the first manager to get the axe since MLB’s regular season ended.

PITTSBURGH – Jim Tracy was fired as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday after two seasons filled with long losing streaks and little discernible progress.

The team scheduled an afternoon news conference to announce the dismissal.

Tracy’s patience and back-patting weren’t enough to turn around the Pirates. He produced records of 67-95 in 2006 and 68-94 this season, the shortest run of any non-interim Pirates manager since Bill Virdon was fired late into his second season in 1973.

Tracy’s departure means the Pirates will have new front office and on-field leadership in 2008, headed by new team president Frank Coonelly, general manager Neal Huntington and a still-to-be-hired manager. Coonelly and Huntington took over last month, and spent the five days since the season ended weighing a decision on Tracy.

Tracy’s departure has appeared imminent since former general manager Dave Littlefield, who chose Tracy two years ago, was fired Sept. 7. Tracy was due to make $1 million in the final year of his contract.

*****

This season, they dropped 14 of 16 after the All-Stark break and nine more in a row during a stretch of 13 losses in 15 games to end the season. That poor finish came as the Pirates were weighing whether to bring Tracy back for the final season of his contract.

Tracy, a 51-year-old former outfielder for the Cubs, becomes the fourth manager to be fired or to leave the Pirates during their ongoing 15-year run of losing seasons, one short of the 1933-48 Phillies’ major league record.

Gene Lamont, Lloyd McClendon and Tracy were let go and Jim Leyland was allowed out of his contract following the 1996 season to manage the Marlins.

Tracy’s hiring by Littlefield in October 2005 generated minimal enthusiasm among Pirates fans after he and the Dodgers mutually parted ways following a 71-91 season in Los Angeles. Many fans were excited about the possible return of Leyland, who still lived in Pittsburgh and wanted to manage again following a six-year layoff.

The present state of the Pirates is harldly encouraging with little sign of team improving anytime soon. Only a masochist would be interested in replacing Tracy. No I am not volunteering, for I’d have to change the name of my blog.(and other reasons)

 

Umpires vs. technology

As I’ve said before, umpires need help. And I refer you to a piece I wrote over a year ago on this very same subject. Baseball (and sports in general) is far behind the times in utilizing modern technology where it can, specifically to improve officiating.

I’ve thought about this topic for a long time. I think Questec is a good thing. (For those who dont know, it’s a computerized system that measures ball & strikes, and compares it to what the umpire actually called.)

One of the biggest and most frustrating problems in pro sports are bad calls by umps/refs. What I’d like to see is the steady removal of the so-called ‘human error’ from sports; I’ll talk specifically about baseball:

When umps are unsure when a ball is fair or foul down the line, why can’t a system be installed like they use in tennis? They could use technology to determine whether balls are just that, fair or foul.

Also, on disputed HRs, they must use instant replay. There’s no other fair way. An ump should be stationed in the park somewhere near a TV, like in the NHL. He should have the final word, since he’ll have access to the replay.

On balls and strikes, why not use Questec or ESPN’s ‘K-Zone’ (for example) to actually call the strikes? The only problem is that strike zone height is different for every hitter, but width is exactly the same, 17 inches (the width of homeplate). Rickey Henderson had a smaller up/down zone because he was short and crouched, and Richie Sexson’s up/down zone is bigger because he’s 6’8″. But their side-to-side zone is exactly the same. Therefore, computers/technology should be used to tell an umpire when a ball hits the plate or just misses. For the time being, umps will still need to call the up/down pitches (because every hitter is different), but will know for sure when a pitch crosses the corner or not. Or an ump could be assigned to determine the upper limit of each hitter’s strike zone dependent on his stance.

It also sucks when a pitcher throws a strike, but it’s not where he meant to throw it, the catcher has to reach for it, so the ump automatically calls it a ball. It doesn’t matter where the pitcher MEANT to throw the ball, it only matters whether it’s a strike or a ball.

For out/safe calls, when the closest ump feels the play is too close to call, he could send it to the ‘booth ump.’ TV technology is such today that it could be done in 30-60 seconds. Or (ala the NFL) managers should have two replays to use per game.

These steps would help legitimize the officiating and would make for fewer arguments from players and managers. You can’t argue with Questec strikes – it’s 100% consistent and 0% prejudiced (for veterans, or against rookies). Instant replay would also ensure the right call, and isn’t that worth waiting (at most) 60 seconds for – especially in close and/or playoff games?

 

Former MLB pitcher Bill Henry dead at 83 alive at 79

From Sports Illustrated-

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Bill Henry, who pitched in the majors for more than 15 seasons, has died. He was 83.

Henry died Aug. 27 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, two days after he suffered a heart attack, his stepdaughter Debbie Lee said.

Born William Rodman Henry in Alice, Texas, the left-hander made his major-league debut in 1952 with the Boston Red Sox. Henry later pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants before ending his career in 1969 with the Houston Astros.

Henry had a career record of 46-50 and pitched in two 1961 World Series games with the Reds.

Since I was born in 1961, my memories of Henry come from playing past seasons with the baseball games made by Strat-O-Matic. Bill Henry, a left-handed relief pitcher, wasn’t really one of those one out lefty relief specialists we see today. In Henry’s most productive years, from 59-62 he averaged over an inning per relief appearance. Even two innings per game in 1959. For 1961, he was the Reds number two man coming out of the bullpen when they went to the World Series. Henry and Jim Brosnan saving the same amount of games(16), but with Brosnan having the heavier inning work load of the two.

What did Mark Twain once say, the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. That applies to Bill Henry. From today’s Miami Herald.

They lived 961 miles apart and never met.

One was a retired salesman living in Central Florida. The other, a big-league ballplayer who pitched in the 1961 World Series before settling down outside Houston.

All they shared was a common name, a square jawline and an affection for baseball.

But for 20 years, Bill C. Henry the salesman purported to be Bill R. Henry the baseball player. His wife and friends believed him — they had no reason not to — and the guy he pretended to be was none the wiser.

Until last week, when the 83-year-old former salesman died of a heart attack in Lakeland. Newspapers across the country ran obituaries announcing the death of the left-handed pitcher, recounting highlights of his 16-season career.

But that Bill Henry is still very much alive.

”I’ve been right here this whole time,” Henry, 79, said Thursday night from his home in Deer Park, Texas. “It was kind of a shock to hear people say they thought I was dead.”

A baseball historian read an obituary for the Lakeland man and noticed the birth dates and hometowns listed were different than what was on his Bill Henry memorabilia. The historian called Henry in Texas, who confirmed he was still living.

I’m glad you’re still alive Bill. People impersonating former major league relief pitchers. Welcome to Florida! The rules are certainly different here.

 

The cycle

Last week Aubrey Huff hit for the cycle in a losing cause for he Orioles. He became the third player this year, after Mark Ellis of the Athletics and Fred Lewis of the Giants to hit for the cycle.

The Giants have had players hit for the cycle 24 times. (Lewis’s cycle put them ahead of the Pirates.) Luke Scott of the Astros became the first rookie to hit for the cycle, when he accomplished the feat last year. Gary Matthews Jr. was the most recent player to hit for the cycle in order when he was with the Rangers last year.

The Twins had eight players hit for the cycle between 1970 and 1986 but none since.

Does the name Tyrone Horne mean anything to you? Well he’s the only professional baseball player ever to hit for the home run cycle. Baseball Guru adds

Horne’s four homers and 10 RBI helped the Travelers rout the Missions, 13-4. Horne went on to win the Texas League home run crown with 37 that year, also driving in 139.

But get this: Horne never made it to the majors in the U.S. (He did play in the Korean Major Leagues, though.) I’d add that this isn’t necessarily surprising. For someone to lead a minor league level in HR (or any counting stat) for a season, he’d have to play nearly a whole season, at least, in that league. That would mean that his team never saw that he had progressed enough to go to the next level.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

 

Pirates Fans to GM Dave Littlefield: Drop Dead

The keepers of Bucco Blog have a gem from the Dave Littlefield radio program. Click over to listen. They kindly post a paraphrased transcript.

Dave Littlefield was asked by a Pirate fan when he plans to resign and Littlefield answered him by saying the current offense is not up to par, the players are in the 26 – 30 year old range and should be performing better, and the Pirates will score more runs when they do.

The second caller asked Littlefield what advice he has for suffering fans and Littlefield responded by saying there are better days ahead, the Pirates won three of four series before they went on the last road trip, the players must perform better, the players are young and in a funk right now, and he feels strongly it will be better.

The third caller was Dave Littlefield’s agent (just kidding – it was a fan) who called to say he was tired of people ripping on Littlefield, he thinks Littlefield is doing a really good job, and to hang in there. Littlefield’s response was that winning games was the most important thing and that’s what they are going to try and do.

Remarkably, the Bucco Bloggers merely glanced sideways at that third caller, without suggesting what to my ears – trained as a call screener for sports talk radio back in my college days – was clearly a planted call. Intrigues and conspiracies and aspersions, oh my!

The rational is simple. As I wrote to Brian Wilmer (whose mention of this story tipped me to it) of the Writer’s Radio (an excellent sports podcast (and live Internet Radio program):

When I was a humble call screener for the ACC Hotline call-in show, we had a guest and no callers, and sure enough one of the network employees called up, and asked an reporter like question, and primed the pump, so to speak.

But with the caller for Littlefield, he didn’t have anything else to say but positive, glowing stuff for the GM. A caller holding might want to voice support, but he’s still going to want to make his point. Calling a radio show is an act of narcissism that your opinion is worth disseminating. So is blogging! A caller would say his bit of support, then get on with why he called. A planted call though is there to stop the bleeding.

The call was one that successfully stemmed the tide of anti-Littlefield venom, and allowed the Littlefield to take command of the show back from the callers. Mission Accomplished! Still you have to admire the forthrightness of the two disgruntled callers basically asking the leader of their team, “why is it that after fifteen years, we still stink.” Hopefully, Littlefield, or the next General Manager of the Pirates will soon re-establish the winning tradition to a proud and dejected baseball town.

 

A’s Designate Milton Bradley for Assignment

According to ESPN, the A’s have designated OF Milton Bradley for assignment, which all but ends his career with Oakland.

The Oakland Athletics designated outfielder Milton Bradley for assignment Thursday, cutting ties with a player who was expected to play an important role on the team this season.

Bradley had been on the disabled list three times this year and was frustrated that the team waited two extra days to activate him this week because of uncertainty about third baseman Eric Chavez’s health.

Asked Tuesday how he was feeling, Bradley curtly responded, “I’m healthy and on the bench.” Bradley was activated from the DL the following day and went 0-for-3 with a walk.

The A’s have 10 days to trade or release Bradley. Because he has more than three years of major league service time, Bradley can refuse an assignment to the minor leagues.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” said Bradley’s agent, Sam Levinson. “Milton is healthy and looking forward to helping some club win many games this season.”

I am sure Milton will land with another team as he is a quality ball player. A team like the Twins who need a real bat in LF would be great, although I am not sure many teams would want to put up with his poor clubhouse presence. Another suitor if he made it to the waiver wire could be the Pirates. Bradley would be a huge upgrade in CF over the current platoon of Duffy/Nady/Bautista.

It is a contract year for Bradley, and he would be playing to earn a great contract if he can catch on with a team (and behave himself) for the rest of this season.

 
 


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