Shifting Gears

Despite popular belief, we are all still alive. I don't know about the rest of you, but I needed a break after that Miami-Dallas series. I took a few days off. Not three, not four, not five, not six...not seven. Throwing the NHL Stanley Cup Finals into the mix was almost more than I could handle, but I pushed through. I think in a daze I might have even scored a goal on Roberto Luongo, but I don't have time to look back on all the goals he allowed while everyone insisted he is the best goaltender in the Western Conference.

That's all beside the point. Realignment. In baseball. I dare say there are few people more excited about this that I am. Maybe Bud Selig reads my stuff (and is trying to steal my idea), but I doubt it. As a matter of fact, I'm still trying to figure out how he plans on having five teams from each league make the playoffs. Unless the team with the best record automatically advances to the LCS, I don't see how that would work, but hey, who am I to ask questions? I'm just a fan.

Of course, that is not going to stop me from putting my opinions out there in the unlikely event that Mr. Selig comes across our lowly corner of the blogosphere. Now, anyone who has read back far enough, knows that I hate the fact that the Brewers are in the National League, but that isn't the main issue here today. That just stems from my general dislike of Bud Selig (who chose to move the team that he owns to a different league in order to boost revenue) and the fact that the leagues are uneven. I like symmetry. Sue me.

The word on the street is that if Major League Baseball does eventually realign, the Astros will jump to the AL West in an effort to foster an in-state rivalry with the Rangers. It certainly is not the stupidest idea I have ever heard. I also read that the Marlins could be in the mix to switch leagues (more on that later). I'm all for rivalries and making the game better for the fans, I'm just not sure Dallas-Houston is the way to go. But who else could it really be? Marlins-Rays? Royals-Cardinals? Dodgers-Angels? None of those really get me excited either. Of course, the Twins and the Brewers could be a nice rivalry, but I think we all know that isn't going to happen. However it works out, I'm just glad Major League Baseball is finally going to do this. I just wish they would do it according to my plan.

It seems the new MLB plan is to break up the divisions entirely and just have two leagues. I wouldn't go that far. I'd say to keep the three divisions in each league, five teams per division. Three division winners still make the playoffs, plus one wild-card (start the debate). However, if MLB wants to place less emphasis on divisions, why not cut down on the number of games played against one's division. Realistically, each team would have to play more divisional games to justify keeping the divisions and crowning champions, but why so many? Four series, two home, two away, for a total of twelve games. So far, that's 48. Every team should also play every other team in two series. Quick math would give you a total of 198 games, but I'm shooting for less. Here's how I would do it.

As we all know, I hate interleague play because it's meaningless. And as Brewers' manager Ron Roenicke pointed out the other day, it tends to be unfair. This is starting to sound an awful lot like something I've read before. So here's what I propose: every AL team plays every NL team twice, one series at home, once on the road. The catch, however, is that each series can only be two games. If anyone is adventurous enough to attempt to make up a mock schedule for a season, more power to you, and you might even discover that what I am suggesting is impossible, though I don't think it is. So 60 more games gets us to 108. The other 60 (yes, I am adding 6 games to the current schedule) come from playing the other ten teams in your league, but outside your division, six games each.

With this schedule, teams would be playing a totally balanced schedule. No one would complain that interleague isn't fair. Roenicke can go back to being a nobody. Selig can keep his Brewers right where he wants them. We are GUARANTEED a World Series rematch, and preview, every season. Rivalries stay intact. New rivalries can actually form. And if it is the Marlins (who are changing their name to the Miami Marlins next season) switch to the American League, the hologram from Back to the Future Part II could actually be right, and we could see the Cubs defeat Miami in the 2015 World Series.

What do to with rejected home run balls

While at Wrigley, I inquired with one of my neighbors about what gets done with balls thrown back from the bleachers. To my disgust (but not my suprise), it seems many of the bleacher bums bring a ball with them into the stadium to throw back instead of the one they caught. I suppose that is true some of the time, but how are we to assume this is always the case? NOTHING angers me more at a baseball game than to see a loyal fan in the outfield toss a tainted home run ball back on to the field, only to have some ball ball or umpire give it to someone sitting in the box seats. GRRRRRR. Are you kidding? First off, that thing is tainted. If you are a fan of the Cubs, why would you want it? Second of all, that ball has been rejected by a fan. It should be destroyed. Personally, I'd like to see it burned shortly thereafter, perhaps during the break between innings. Could you see the annonuncement: "To ensure that this ball will never hurt the Cubs again, we are burning it, and you all are witnesses." I can tell you that if I knew the ball I threw back would be burned in effigy, I would throw it back in a heartbeat (not a home team home run, obviously). I did get an opportuinity to witness firsthand what happens to balls thrown back. Lyle Overbay hit one into the right field stands (not sure those are bleachers - they were not packed like the other bleachers were), and the ball was soon thrown back (assuming it was the same ball). It landed near the Pirates' bullpen, where the ump picked it up and handed it to a Pirate pitcher, who gave it to someone in the stands (who could have been a Pirates fan). The fact that this is not policed is disturbing to me. Why should I care about this? Because I have never gotten near a ball in my life of going to games. I KNOW how rare it is to get an opportunity to get one. For a fan to throw one back, he is giving up a LOT. Letting someone else have the ball, even some kid, is just WRONG. A burning ceremony is the only solution. Now, about those pesky people who bring balls into the game: just don't allow them to. Of course, the fascinating thing about Wrigley is, they didn't search me. I could have had all the whiskey in the world with me. Ah well, next time.

Pre Opening Day Predictions & A Challenge

I know what you all want. You want another set of predictions for the way the MLB season will play out this year. Well let me save you the time of watching all of the games. The Yankees win it in the end. However, to make it fun and see if I'm right, I challenge the newly married Starving Waiter and the same old Grau Geist to a stand off. Post your own predictions! We can do a points system to see who’s the best. Let's use a system I’m going to make up on the spot (literally). For every place you’re off (you say the Mariners will finish 4th and they finish first) – its minus 5 points. For every game you’re off, it is minus a point (you think the sox will win 100 games, and they win 99 or 101, its minus 1 for you). Then for playoffs, we’ll simply do if you pick a correct winner of a series, it’s +10. A correct AL/NL winner equals +20 and correct WS winner, +30. The man with the most points (or least negative points most likely), like in golf, will win.

Wait, you think you can do better? Challenge accepted. If anyone else not a writer for this blog wants to get in on this, you’re more than welcome to copy the following template into a really long message below (or drop me an e-mail before opening day tomorrow at MLAZanoni@gmail.com). If anyone out there beats me, I will take you to dinner. I will pick the place, but you get a free dinner on me at the end of the regular season (no fast food, real dinner). So come on! It is worth a shot!

AL East
Red Sox: 94-68
Yankees: 93-69
Rays: 88-74
Jays: 80-82
O’s: 74-88

AL Central
Twins: 85-77
Chi Sox: 83-79
Tigers: 83-79
Royals: 70-92
Indians: 67-95

AL West
A’s: 88-74
Rangers: 85-77
Angels: 82-80
M’s: 72-90

NL East
Phillies: 95-67
Braves: 90-72
Mets: 82-80
Marlins: 80-82
Nats: 69-93

NL Central
Brewers: 90-72
Reds: 86-76
Cards: 84-78
Cubs: 78-84
‘Stros: 71-91
Pirates: 62-100

NL West
Rockies: 88-74
Giants: 86-76
Padres: 82-80
Dodgers: 73-89
D-backs: 70-92

ALDS: Rex Sox over Twins, Yanks over A’s
NLDS: Phils over Rockies, Brewers over Braves

ALCS: Yanks over Sox
NLCS: Brewers over Phils

WS: Yanks over Brewers

Seriously – MLAZanoni@gmail.com with your picks. I will honor them and buy you dinner if you (while adhering to my made up points system above) beat me by the end of the season. You too writers – I would gladly eat dinner with you guys as long as you return the favor if I win. Oh and click the like button so your friends can do it too.

Early Yankees Preview & Mailing List

I know the last thing on any avid sports fan around this time of year is probably baseball. However, to avoid repeating every conversation you’ve had with every Jets fan this week so far (ah man I think we’ll give the Pats a helluva game! Wouldn’t that be something to be Manning AND Brady to go win the Super Bowl?), I have written a small article to be different from the mass herds and talk about the upcoming baseball season so far. Wait! Die hard football fans, before you leave me to go find a football article, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and sign up for the new Sterling Shakers mailing list. This way when we update, you don’t need to participate in my blast facebooking campaigns to know we have done so.

Okay, so like I said, baseball. A complete aside, I got in the mood reading a book by Michael Lewis called Moneyball. I have said I was going to read it for years, and it was recently mentioned to me again by my cousin at his wedding in Mexico, and I just got a cool new smart phone with a kindle app (yes I hate book apps but it’s easier than carrying a book on the crowded subway sometimes) – so I made it my first read. I am not here to talk about the book, other than an average fan or better will enjoy it - so go read it (or wait for the movie with Brad Pitt – not joking). Actually waiting 7 years after its release to read it has almost put more of it into a cooler perspective. Anyways, I just keep thinking on what the hell the Yankees are doing this offseason? Russell Martin, an ex all star to fall from the top 5 catcher discussion the past two seasons or so, and 34 y/o lefty specialist Pedro Feliciano signing away from the Mets seem to be all I have to talk about.
Ok so really quick, you will see an opening day lineup of (and minus the bench which will be taken care of much later - we're solid):

1) Jeter, SS, 2) Swisher, RF, 3) Teixeira, 1B, 4) Rodriguez, 3B, 5) Cano, 2B, 6) Posada, DH, 7) Granderson, CF, 8) Martin, C, 9) Gardner, LF

Bench: Your pick of Pena, Nunez, Curtis, Golson, Russo, and any other kid called up last year I missed or someone who makes it out of camp.

AND you will have a rotation of something like:

1) Sabathia, 2) Hughes, 3) Burnett, 4) Nova, 5) Grau Geist – er, I mean Mitre.
With a bullpen like:

Robertson, Logan, Chamberlain, Feliciano, Rivera & another reliever to be named later – perhaps named Prior or Brackman.

Okay so two things here: Why are we talking about trading prospects for relievers in NY papers? And secondly, why are we all of a sudden “in danger of making the playoffs” among baseball circles? I would like to point out the Yankees bullpen is interchangeable with the exception of Rivera. This is a strength. No one blows your mind, but there is no real gaping hole in it. Adding someone for the price of a closer like Soriano would simply be retarded before the season starts. For once, I am satisfied with the pen going into the season.

Now for the next sentence which will lead into answering number two: WE NEED A STARTING PITCHER – this isn’t a secret. But, we don’t need it just yet. I applaud Cashman for taking his sweet time in figuring this out. Lets compare to the 2008 Yankees that missed the playoffs. Those Yankees had a staff ace that went 20-9 in Mike Mussina, and a second best in Andy Pettite that went 14-14. They started 34 and 33 games respectively. Darrell Rasner, finished 5-10, started the third most on the team with 20 games. Ian Kennedy started 9 and went 0 and 4. Joba was a mess trying to make the transition and would be great one start and awful another. Wang was 8 and 2 in 15 starts and then hurt himself running home. And Finally, our savior Sidney Ponson was 4 and 4 in 15 starts. There were a few other guys who started and made no positive impact, but do you see the quality we were dealing with? And we still won 89 games playing a great number of games against the stacked AL East.

The East isn’t what it was in 2008 anymore. The Rays are a shadow of their team from ‘08, the Sox you can make an argument are back on track, but the O’s and J’s lack any kind of talent to compete still. This Yankee team making the postseason will be very possible with 1 ace, a solid 2/3 guy in the 2 spot, and a wildcard in Burnett. It isn’t like Nova and Mitre are Rasner either. If Burnett turns out to be a 5+ ERA guy again or someone gets hurt, we can be in trouble. However, until the season plays out, don’t give up the future of an aging team to plug holes that will be much cheaper to plug in a few months.

Now go sign up for my mailing list, or at least tell me how much you disagree with this entire premise of not needed a starter yet… I’d love to hear your regurgitated responses.

How to add teams to the MLB Playoffs

Baseball is going to do it. A new collective bargaining agreement is coming. The Wild Card adds interest. We need more teams. But how to do so without upsetting the whole balance of the playoffs?

It really is so simple, I wonder why baseball did not think of it before:

Add one Wild Card per league, and make a one game playoff to determine the team that gets to play in the first series. One game playoffs are AWESOME. The whole baseball world watches with interest, as on the Monday or Tuesday after baseball season (when nothing but some crappy early season MNF game is on), two teams duke it out for the right to play in the postseason. It's happened a few times in the last few years. We all remember the Twins and the Tigers playing it out, or, dare I say, the Yanks/Sawx in 78? Imagine a one game playoff between the Yankees and Red Sox? How about the Cubs/Cards?

What happens if three teams are tied, with two of them tied for the division lead? Use tiebreakers for the division crown, as they do in the NFL, and let the non division winner and the other team play a playoff. This validates the regular season, and avoids all the extra games that might arise if four or more teams are tied from different divisions. Only two teams get to play for the right to move on in the playoffs. One game playoff for everything. Two game sevens in two days. Guaranteed. Every year.

What this also does is weaken the Wild Card team every year. Now, teams such as the Yankees this year will not be so willing to accept the Wild Card if their season is going to come down to one game. Imagine how much more exciting and different September would have been had the Yankees had more to play for? How do the Twins do against a different starter than CC? Do the Yanks even get there? The possibilities are tantalizing.

As for the first round of the playoffs, leave it at five games. The first round sucks anyway (and I don;t like the idea of giving a Wild Card team an extra two games. Let them have the hardest hill to climb. And enough of this crap about not being able to play a team from your own division.) If they really want to do something cool, make the World Series 9 games. 5 game divisional, 7 game league, 9 game Championship.

The Rules - "The Official Scorer"

Happy November everyone and welcome to another segment of "The Rules." I figured with the end of the baseball season and the crowning of the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, I would make this the last post of my “The Rules” to be about baseball. So soak it up baseball fans, this will be the last one for awhile and I will have to find some unusual explanations in the other major sports.

Baseball is an odd sport overall. I feel as if the “official scorer” in each game plays a more prominent role than the ones that take stats down for other sports. It probably has a lot to do with the fact it is a very opinionated position. For example, if a player dunks a basketball, and the ref signals two points, the scorer gives that player two points. Nowadays, the basketball scorer (or perhaps it is just ESPN analysts) will say where the 2 point shot came from to later call up on a grid of hit shots, but that is pretty much it. No grey area around it. Everyone saw it was a 2 point play from where it happened, under the rim. In baseball, if a batter hits the ball and the shortstop bobbles it and the batter makes it to first just ahead of the throw, you’d think it could be just as easy. No such luck. A called error gives the batter credit for the at bat, an increase in his on base percentage, but no hit. If the play by the SS was a bit trying, it is up to the official scorer to say “The degree of difficulty on this play was not one you can make routinely, I will score it a hit for the player.” The runner’s speed, how hard the ball was hit, the conditions of the field, and the distance the fielder had to go (was there a dive/slide?) in the amount of time is all considered. Ten official scorers may score the same play 50/50 hit or error. Baseball has tons of grey area. I found the section about the official scorer (all 33 pages of it, Rule 10.00 – 10.23) in the official MLB rulebook to be fascinating about calls like this, and just some other calls and rules tied in with this responsibility.

The Shutout

Rule 10.18 dictates what a shutout is to be awarded by the official scorer. A shutout is when a pitcher that pitches all the innings of a game and simply doesn’t give up a run. ALSO, a shutout can be recorded if a pitcher enters the game in the first inning with no one out, doesn’t allow a run in that inning or for the rest of the game and finishes it. This makes it possible for a pitcher to get credit for a shutout, but not a complete game. Did you know that was possible? You’re welcome.

Not too WILD but it still PASSES people by… (horrible pun)

Rule 10.13 simply states: A wild pitch is the pitcher’s fault (or as deemed by the official scorer). A passed ball is the catcher’s fault. They’re effectively the same thing – the ball getting by the catcher. It is a matter of who to blame. I was once told in grammar school by someone who thought they knew everything that a passed ball is when it goes all the way to the backstop, and a wild pitch is when it simply gets away from the catcher and doesn’t go as far. I knew it sounded suspect then, and I’m glad I no longer associate myself with this person.

In every game there is a Winner and a Loser

Rule 10.17 is about a page long on who gets named the winning pitcher and who gets named the losing pitcher. I will not give you the entire thing, but just snippets to prevent myself from becoming too long winded. If a game ever becomes tied after starting pitchers have been removed, the last pitchers on record to get the win and loss are wiped out – this I knew. What I find fascinating is that there is a judgment call that can come from the scorer on this matter as well. Even who gets a win and loss isn’t always set in stone! It says that the official scorer should “not credit as the winning pitcher a relief pitcher who is ineffective in a brief appearance, when at least one succeeding relief pitcher pitches effectively in helping his team maintain its lead.” And you guys think I’m long winded!? Basically, the scorer can say “No man, you stunk, this guy was better, give him the win.”

Who gets charged the run?

ERA (earned run average) is an important stat when evaluating a pitcher. It tells you how many runs the pitcher gives up per 9 innings pitched. This is why allocating runs that score to the proper pitcher that allowed it is important. Rule 10.16 covers this in great detail. I just thought it was interesting to learn that a pitcher that is removed for relief is commonly assigned from the broadcaster that they are responsible for “so and so on first and second” or “whathisname” on first. This is not entirely the case. A pitcher is responsible for the NUMBER of runners he left on base, not specific runners, unless the runner makes out by a non-batted ball. The rulebook uses names like Peter, Abel, and Baker. I’m going to make this a bit more fun. Schmucko walks Ding-Dong. Schmucko is removed by reliever Assgoblin. The next hitter Dingbat (close cousin of Ding-Dong) hits into a fielder’s choice that got Ding-Dong out at second. Dingbat scores on a triple by the next hitter off of Assgoblin. Dingbat’s run is charged to Schmucko, not Assgoblin. However if Ding-Dong (the one to walk off Schmucko – stay with me people) gets caught stealing after Assgoblin came in to pitch, and Dingbat still scores in the inning – it will be Assgoblin’s charged run. So the next time Joe Buck (a combination of Schmucko, Assgoblin, Ding-Dong, and Dingbat – or just plain incest filled family trees) announces that “the pitcher is responsible for that guy on second,” feel free to write Fox a letter to have him read a rulebook. Or e-mail him the link to this article. Hey Joe – RETIRE (or choke on something).

The official scorer has no impact on the outcome of the game itself, this is true. He can’t tell a team that the other just batted out of order – that is their own job to keep track of. Also, a judgment call on whether a play is an error or not didn’t change the fact a run may have just scored. It can impact a whole bunch of other things though. It is actually fascinating how much this matters to diehard fans. Baseball seems to be wacky in its obsession with its own records and stats. There seems to be a stat for EVERYTHING nowadays. Players are also paid lots of extra bucks in incentives negotiated in their contracts for hitting certain milestones. For example, it is the last day of the regular season. A player who is on a significant hit streak, let’s call it 55 to make it interesting, one away from tying Joe DiMaggio’s all time record of consecutive games with a hit – a record said to be unbreakable. This player also has 99 RBI in the season and 199 hits. In his contract, he gets an incentive bonus of $100 grand for 200 hits on the season, and $100 grand for 100 RBI. Being hitless today, the batter hits a ball on the infield that scores a run and beats the throw to first. The run wins the game in walk off fashion. It is a questionable play all around – the scorer can clearly go either way with it. If he calls the play a hit – this man just tied a seemingly impossible record, and made an extra 300K in performance bonuses on top of it. If he reaches on an error, it costs the player a tie with one of the greatest players ever in the record books and an opportunity to beat it next season on opening day, and the $300K in bonuses. I’m not asking you to feel bad for the guy who just lost the money as he’s probably making more than you and I make collectively anyway. I just wanted to show you how the scorer has the ability to make someone look like a hero in the box score the next day, or just another person to fall short of a milestone. I’m sure I’ll re-visit the official scorer in the future as I have an unhealthy obsession with statistics and how they come up with this stuff. Stay tuned for next season!

The Rules - “A ‘Grounds’ Rule Double”

The things I love talking about most are the technicalities of a sport – especially baseball. Why? Well for one, it is interesting to me. Call me what you will, it will not change me. I was at a Yankee/Rays game at the beginning of the season with The Starving Waiter and the Grau Geist, and Evan Longoria hit the ball straight up off the roof (or what appeared to be, I never saw the replays from the game but heard about 30 different versions of it). Now while our seats didn’t allow us to actually see if the ball hit the roof or not because Tropicana Field sucks ass, I began discussing the park’s ground rules with Waiter. I know what you’re saying now – BOLOGNA! Well it goes to show you’d be wrong and I have a dated Facebook post to prove that I had knowledge of these rules prior to the game assuming I read things I post on others pages. During the offseason, an article was published on Yahoo! Sports (comment on the post and I’ll send you the link as I don’t want to exactly link to my rivals, they have much more interesting to say than I do) that highlighted the strange catwalk/roof rules of the stadium, many of which were just recently changed for the 2010 postseason. I posted this very story a few weeks before making the trip to Tampa and had a few laughs about it – like how we used to play stickball and have “cheaps” and “do overs” and “automatics.” Then poof, it came running out of our mouths as soon as Eva hit that ball, and native Tampans (hah I guess that’s what you call someone from Tampa?) were probably like “How do these people in the Yankee clothes know this about our home park!? We had no friggin’ clue!” (or: “SHUT UP! I’M TRYING TO IGNORE A PERFECTALLY GOOD GAME BETWEEN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE’S ELITE! THERE IS NO FUN ALLOWED IN TAMPA!”)

This finally brings me full circle to why I like the little technicalities of the game as well – you can talk about them and odds are the casual fan (read as: non-douchebag, non-sociopath, generally friendly) that is really there to catch a ball game actually will look impressed. After that, you can tell him you’re the CEO of GOOGLE and he’ll believe you because you’re so knowledgeable. Average fans are dumb while you, reader, are not because you care enough to read what some other die hard has to say (let me welcome you to our blog again, feel right at home).

So here is a nuance of the game that I have learned recently that I would like to pass along to you. Ok, raise your hand if you know what they call it when (and I’m trying to be as specific as possible) a batted ball bounces on the field, in fair territory, and goes straight into the stands, also in fair territory? I’ll give you a hint – it isn’t the title of this article. Oh man you feel stupid. That’s okay, I’m sure at least one of the other two current writers of this blog didn’t even know this one. Let me console you. It is not a “Ground Rule Double” (or as John Sterling calls it I believe, a Grounds Rule Double, hence the title). The fact is that it is neither. It is simply referred to in the rule book as a two base award. A ground rule double is exactly that of what the individual park’s set of rules designates as a rule that applies to their park. It doesn’t have to be specific to their park (other fields can have the same rule based on a similar layout, roof, etc.), but it can’t be in the general rules of baseball to be considered a “ground rule.” For example, a ball caught up in Wrigley’s beautiful ivy wall is considered a ground rule double.

Other examples would be the “ground rule home run” you could hit in Minnesota last year at the Metrodome. If a ball hit the right field wall (known as the “baggy”) and went out of play in foul territory (since the foul fence down the line was much lower than the wall out there) it was a “ground rule double.” However, to have that rule, they had to say the opposite in their park’s rules that if a ball hits the wall and goes over in fair territory (I assume the top of it and sneaks over) it was in fact a home run – by definition of their ground rules. I conclude that this is a ground rule home run because of the distinction made in the rulebook that it must go over, not to the side.

How about a ground rule triple? Does it exist? Well if a player throws his hat or glove at a ball and it makes contact in fair play, the batter is awarded third. However, this is called a three base award since it is universal at any stadium. There are no official ground rule triples yet in the game, even though one was rumored to once be at Fenway Park when something crazy happened with a big ladder out by the monster. But this is all just internet folklore. The two balls that ever hit said ladder turned into inside the park homers. Idiots from Boston… figures.