I’ll start by just asking you to watch this video, of Staten Island Yankee pitcher Pat Venditte as he faces off against Astros prospect Ralph Henriquez. As a brief preface, I will leave you with this: Henriquez is a switch-hitter and Venditte is a switch-pitcher! Yes, you read that correctly. Take a look at this epic matchup:
The crowd absolutely ate this up, the announcers seemed utterly befuddled, and Henriquez/Venditte literally looked like they wanted to fight each other after a bit. Equally interesting is whether or not the umpire made the correct call or not. Initial discussions at Baseball Think Factory discussed how the NAPBL—National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues—rulebook calls for the pitcher to first make a decision as to his handedness; afterwards, the batter can switch sides until he has two strikes.
Another take on the situation, apparently from a different NAPBL rulebook, says that the batter and pitcher can each switch places one time during the plate appearance.
Pete Abraham, at the Lohud Yankees Blog, asked veteran umpire Charlie Reliford about the situation to which Reliford replied the only rule is that, once the pitcher is on the mound, the batter cannot switch sides.
So, in summation, assuming Charlie Reliford is not senile or incompetent, major league baseball will literally have to change its rulebook should Pat Venditte ever make it to the show.
Anybody who has seen the Adam Sandler film Happy Gilmore will remember that his character generated power and distance on his drives thanks to a running start. Well, in watching the replay of last night’s Phillies-Braves game I saw rookie outfielder Gregor Blanco do something similar in an at-bat of his. Check it out:
Whatever he did worked as he singled on that pitch but Chris Wheeler said it best, “..that is different!” The Braves, in the Schuerholz era, have been known for their propensity to develop young players and Blanco is no different. He has not posted superstar-caliber numbers but has filled in nicely. In 49 games he has a .269/.379/.343 slash line. His hits have mostly been singles but he does have 5 2B, 1 3B, and 1 HR.
His .354 BABIP looks quite high but actually comes in a bit low when stacked up next to his gaudy 27.2% LD rate. He has been in a slump lately, going just 5 for his last 34, but he has hit a ton of line drives this year. His K% suggests he might not be able to sustain his current performance level but his LD rate argues it should be a bit better. Only time will tell what lies in store for “Blankman” (his nickname, not the Damon Wayans film) but at least he won’t have to deal with the evil Shooter McGavin, no matter how ridiculous that swing looked.
In his excellent Ten Things I didn’t Know Last Week column, Dave Studeman speculates on the odds of two fans sitting next to each other catching a foul ball. I was asked about the LA Times article (where two fans sitting next to each other caught back-to-back foul balls) in an e-mail last week and the math to solve this problem became a huge topic of conversation over my weekend.
So let’s say that each foul ball hit into the stands is an independent event and they’re randomly distributed. And let’s say that where you’re sitting you have the ability to catch a foul ball. And let’s say there are 10,000 fans sitting in an area where you can catch a foul ball.
Your odds of catching any one foul ball hit into the stands is 1/10000. Now if there are 30 balls hit into the stands each game, your odds of catching a foul ball have increased to 1-((9999/10000)^30). Which is about 1 in 333.
Now your odds of catching 2 consecutive foul balls in a game is considerably worse and we’re going to assume that both these foul balls are catchable. (Dave Studeman in his evaulation does not assume that and that’s a major difference). Catching two consecutive foul balls would be (1/10000)^2, which is 1 in 100,000,000. But you have 30 chances, so the odds are 1-((99999999/100000000)^30), which is about 1 in 3,333,333.
Those are your odds of catching two foul balls in a row at any one particular game if all things were completely random.
Update: The Numbers Guy over at the Wall Street Journal did a piece on this earlier in the week and Carl Bialik (The Numbers Guy) is who sent me the initial e-mail.
Jon Lieber did something today that not a whole lot of pitchers can claim to have done. He gave up 4 home runs in a single inning. He started off the fateful second inning with back-to-back home runs by Adam Dunn and Joey Votto, but eventually settled in and got Edwin Encarnacion to pop-out.
Lieber surely breathed a sigh of relief, only to have Paul Bako hit a home run on the very next pitch. Three batters later Jerry Hairston Jr. hit the final home run of the inning, tying what I believe is a record for most home runs allowed by one pitcher in a single inning.
The last pitcher to do it was Chase Wright of the Yankees, who gave up four home runs in a row on April 22nd last season. Luckily for Wright, it was a nationally televised game against the Red Sox.
The New York Daily News recaps Kerry Wood’s incredible 20 strikeout performance all the way back on May 6th, 1998. The SportsCenter highlights are a must watch: (hat tip: Baseball Think Factory)
I was watching ESPN Classic the other day and got caught into back to back episodes of Stump the Schwab. Loving sports trivia as much as I do it became an impossible feat to change the channel, no matter how corny Stuart Scott’s jokes can get. In between the episodes, though, an interesting thought crept into my head: Who exactly is this Schwab-guy and what possible job would require him to know that much about sports?
Though relatively little information on the Schwab can be found online, a simple combination of his ESPN and Wikipedia biographies provides enough information to answer the above question. Howie Schwab, a graduate of St. Johns, began his career as the editor-in-chief of College and Pro Football Weekly; he also frequently contributed information to The Jodie Mac Show on WFAN. In 1987, ESPN hired him as a freelance researched and, by 1995, he had skyrocketed the employment ladder to become the coordinating producer for ESPN.com.
He does everything from working for Dan Patrick’s radio broadcasts to informing anchors and analysts of certain statistics and facts. In fact, he is the one responsible for the “Did You Know” facts that, unless I’m going a bit senile at 22 yrs old, have not been on the air recently.
When it comes to baseball knowledge, I really became impressed with him when he displayed knowledge of the past. Naming players like Pud Galvin and Kid Nichols in his answers as well as recalling Darren Lewis’s errorless streak shows a breadth of knowledge about somewhat obscure particulars. Granted I’m a big Kid Nichols fan but not many know about his efforts and contributions to the early days of baseball. One question relating to baseball I messed up on, despite swearing I was right, was with this question: “Who scored the winning run when the Dbacks beat the Yankees in the 2001 World Series?”
I said Craig Counsell, in my head, and the contestant even commented, “I know this unfortunately because I’m a Yankees fan and that image has been embedded in my head… Craig Counsell.” Stuart Scott then proceeded to, with an odd look, say that it was Tony Womack. I’m not sure if this was correct as the Schwab also had a look of “this is wrong” on his face. Looking at the box score/play by play shows that Jay Bell scored the winning run, with Womack advancing to third and Counsell advancing to second. Odd.
I read not too long ago that he is given the categories in “The Schwab Showdown,” the final round of his contest, in advance; not the questions but the categories in which questions are derived. Despite how annoying his television persona can be, does him being given the categories lessen his “ability” for anyone? Or do you still feel, regardless of that, his freakish knowledge is unsurpassed? Unlike one of my favorite shows from the past, Beat the Geeks, the questions the Schwab gets are on the same level as those posed to the competitors; on the former the Geeks would be given much harder questions than the contestants. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this. It isn’t like the movie Quiz Show where questions and answers are given in advance but, still, knowing the categories in advance and not being asked tougher questions than the contestants seems a bit easier. Despite this, it isn’t as if he does not know anything, but do you feel his ability is lessened by these assertions?
This past Tuesday former all-star pitcher Jose Lima was released by the Kia Tigers of the Korean League following a few starts reminiscent of his 2005 and 2006 major league seasons. Lima, always known more for his personality than his on-field performance, suggested this would signal the end of his baseball career. The idea of a baseball world without Jose Lima, as evident in the video below, almost brought Jim Rome to tears—at least relative to what tears for Jim Rome equates to.
Being a fan of Lima’s while growing up I decided to take a look at his career, which got off to a rocky start with the Tigers in 1994. From 1994-96 he pitched in 153 innings, giving up 183 hits and 25 home runs. He had an ERA of 6.24 in that span and a WHIP of 1.48. He joined the Astros in 1997 in a blockbuster trade (Lima, Brad Ausmus, CJ Nitkowski, Trever Miller, and Daryle Ward for Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Todd Jones, and Orlando Miller) and, on the surface, had a below average year out of the bullpen. In 75 innings of work he gave up 44 runs; however, based on his FIP of 3.92 this was a pretty solid year. With a very impressive K:BB of 3.94 and just nine home runs allowed, Lima pitched himself into the Astros rotation the following year.
Making 33 starts in 1998 Lima went for 233.1 innings and a 16-8 record. He cut down on his hits per inning and allowed under one walk per game en route to a 1.12 WHIP and 5.28 K:BB. His 3.70 ERA translated to a 4.15 FIP—still very respectable. The major blemish on his season came in the form of home runs: He allowed 34 in what would begin a four-year span accompanied by a total of 147 surrendered dingers.
1999 proved to be his best season as he made the all-star team and garnered serious Cy Young Award consideration. In 35 starts and a career high 246.1 innings, Lima went 21-10 with a 3.58 ERA, 3.83 FIP, even cutting his home run count down; in two more starts he allowed four less home runs. His K:BB, however, dropped by over a full point, dipping from 5.28 to 4.25. Though 4.25 is still a darned good ratio it would soon prove to be the beginning of the end to Lima’s previously solid control rates. He went from one of the top seasons in 1999 to, without a doubt, one of the worst in 2000.
In 33 starts he surrendered a ridiculous 48 home runs, just two off Bert Blyleven’s record of 50. His K:BB plummeted from 4.25 to 1.82 as his WHIP ballooned to 1.62. He went from an ERA and FIP of 3.58 and 3.83 to 6.65 and 6.18. 2001 became all too similar as his numbers slightly improved but still fell into the category of very poor. Luckily, the Astros found a taker prior to the end of the season and shipped him back to Detroit in exchange for Dave Mlicki.
2002 brought with it some controversy as a frustrated Lima blamed manager Luis Pujols for some of his struggles. After not being used for 27 days Lima came into face the red-hot heart of the Royals batting order. Lima claimed Pujols put him in these situations to embarrass him, which did not make sense to him because, as only Lima could say, “..it’s not like I hit on his wife or anything!”
The Tigers soon released Lima, prompting this quote for the ages: “If I can’t pitch on this team—the worst or second-worst team in baseball—where am I going to pitch? If I can’t start on this ballclup I must be the worst pitcher on Earth.” According to his numbers, maybe not Earth, but definitely America.
2003 and 2004 saw Lima appear to improve though the numbers were a bit deceiving. Though he went 8-3 for the Royals in ’03 he had just a 1.23 K:BB and a 1.45 WHIP. In 2004 he went 13-5 with the Dodgers, but his ERA of 4.07 translated to a 5.24 FIP. While his 1998-99 seasons were of high quality, 2003 and 2004 were more likely closer to his bad seasons regardless of his 21-8 combined record. In 2005 he posted a 6.99 ERA, the highest of all-time for any pitcher with 30+ starts. Ironically, his FIP was over one point lower, at 5.89.
After separate stints with the 2006 Mets, Lima’s major league baseball career was over. He had been given more chances due to succes in the past and a bulldog personality but had not been particularly effective since 1999. His career was fun to watch as you could tell he really loved to play and always took time to interact with fans. He is the kind of player that many fans, myself included, wish had more talent because of the personality.
Without trying to get too sentimental as the career of someone I grew up with ends, I will always remember Lima for his 2004 playoffs shutout against the Cardinals. The Dodger crowd went crazy and as he kneeled to thank the heavens it was clear he meant every bit of the thankfulness. Many other heavenly salutes come off as going through the motions, like the high-five following a free-throw in basketball. While I generally dislike this godly praise, Lima’s reaction will forever be entrenched in my mind.
Unfortunately for baseball fans, especially those who root for the teams he stunk on, Lima’s talent came nowhere near the level of his personality. While “Lima Time” is now officially over it more likely ended six to eight years ago. Still, though, it was never a dull ride. Bbbbbelieve it!
I posed this in the comments thread of the Appreciating Pat Burrell article but feel it is an important enough question to merit its own post. In an NPR interview, author Dan Gordon discusses the psychology of die-hard fans in an effort to promote his new book, Your Brain on Cubs. Towards the 31-minute mark of that interview Gordon says something interesting: He essentially says that Cubs fans are able to stay dedicated because they have come close many times to the World Series and so the fans know how sweet it will be when the team eventually wins a championship.
I want to combine this thought with something I heard last year on the radio and bring forth a question. Quite simply, would you rather be a fan of a team like the Marlins or the Giants? Not necessarily the specific teams or how they look in 2007 and 2008, but would you rather be a fan of a perennial contender for eight years or a team that would win two world series in that span and be below average the other six years?
The Giants had a winning record every season between 1997 and 2004, finishing in either first or second place; their average record in that span was 92-70. They made the playoffs four times and were within two games of either the division or the wild card in three of the other four seasons. The Giants made the playoffs or fell just short in seven of the eight years in that span. The Marlins, on the other hand, had winning records in just three of those eight years. In 1997 and 2003, when they won the world series, they won 92 and 91 games respectively; in 2004, a year removed from their second championship, they went 83-79, just barely breaking .500. Their average W-L in that span is 77-85.
Now let’s revisit the question posed at the start of the post. Strip away what we currently know about the Giants and Marlins: The actual teams are irrelevant and we need to focus on the type of team each is to answer properly. Would you rather be a fan of a team that would go 92-70 each year and give you a shot at the playoffs and/or world series, but not necessarily win a championship? Or would you rather be a fan of a team that would go 77-85 every year, but would step it up to 90+ wins just twice and win the world series in both of those seasons?
On the one hand you have the idea of winning two championships which, I’ll admit, I’ve never felt as a Phillies fan. Then again, on the other hand, you have the idea of whether or not you would even watch your team if they went 77-85 or worse in several consecutive seasons. For instance, I know that last year, I cared less about what the Phillies did in the playoffs than I did that they simply got into the playoffs. I’m curious to hear thoughts on which team would have a bigger Web-fandom.
In dealing with a vast amount of injuries over the course of the 2007 season the Phillies were forced to get creative in the transactions department. They took flyers on pitchers like Jose Mesa, Kane Davis and Kyle Lohse and reverted to their farm system to call up the likes of Kyle Kendrick and Mike Zagurski. Their most productive move involved claiming JC Romero off of waivers from the Red Sox on June 22nd.
The former Twins and Angels reliever kicked off his 2007 campaign with Boston, appearing in 23 games and stranding 13 of his 15 inherited runners. Unhappy with his penchant for giving up walks the Red Sox put him on the waiver wire. Desperately seeking bullpen help the Phillies quickly snatched him up.
Romero was in uniform on June 29th, a day consisting of a day/night doubleheader between the Phillies and Mets. Due to a depleted starting rotation–Freddy Garcia hurt, Jon Lieber hurt, Brett Myers now the closer–the Phillies called on waiver claim JD Durbin to pitch in game one. Durbin struck out the side in the first inning but gave up six runs over 4.2 innings en route to a loss. He definitely did not live up to his nickname – “The Real Deal.”
The nightcap, also resulting in a Phillies loss, saw Romero make his debut: a one inning performance equipped with a hit, two walks, and two strikeouts.
The next day, June 30th, saw the Phillies end their four-game set with the Mets; again they lost. The starting pitcher in this game was the recently called up prospect JA Happ. Being in attendance of this game I witnessed Happ struggle, giving up five runs in just 4+ innings. Following 2.2 solid innings from Ryan Madson, Romero made his second Phillies appearance by striking out Carlos Delgado to end the seventh inning.
If you have not noticed, the Phillies debuted three pitchers in a 27-hour span named JA, JC, and JD. Regardless of how tremendous Romero proved to be down the stretch–36.1 IP, 15 H, 5 ER, 20/26 inherited runners stranded, and the 6th best Clutch score for relievers with 40+ games–have you ever heard of a name coincidence as insane as this? Three new pitchers all debuting within two days of games, for the same team, with name abbreviations of JA, JC, and JD.