Baseball Between Us

Stephen Strasburg is 15% stronger now than before he injured his multi-million dollar right arm. That’s the word from Super Agent Scott Boras, who signed Strasburg to a $15.1 million contract with the Washington Nationals in 2009.

Scott Boras, Keynote Speaker at SABR Convention

I met Scott Boras at the Society for American Baseball Research convention in Long Beach, where he was the keynote speaker for more than 400 baseball enthusiasts who love crunching the numbers as a measure of performance.

And Strasburg’s numbers are very impressive. In his Major League debut in 2010,  he struck out 14 Pirates – including the last 7 he faced. Blessed with a blazing 2-seam fastball, Strasburg threw 34 pitches that were clocked at at least 98 miles per hour, including two that reached 100 mph. In his 94 pitch performance, Strasburg became the first player ever to record at least 11 strikeouts with no walks in a Major League debut.

In his next start, Strasburg struck out 8 batters – and then fanned 10 more in his 3rd start. In so doing, he established a Major League record of 32 strikeouts in his first 3 starts. Before injuring his arm, Strasburg was 5-3 with a 2.97 ERA with 92 strikeouts and only 17 walks. His WHIP is a microscopic 1.12.

Strasburg required surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament –  and has been forced to forgo the entire 2011 season. So what’s the latest on Stephen Strasburg? In a one-on-one interview, Scott Boras told me, “Stephen’s doing really well. Actually he’s throwing off the mound now. He threw to hitters just as recently as last week.”

Strasburg will turn 23 on July 20th and Boras describes him as “a very driven athlete.” Boras added, “the unfortunate thing was he hurt his arm. He had to have Tommy John surgery. The fortunate thing was he got a chance to spend nine months working on his strength, conditioning his body and he’s at a point now where he’s 15% stronger than he was before he was hurt.”

Strasburg is one of the game’s most exciting players and one day – perhaps even next year – he could be on the same field with MLB’s #1 prospect Bryce Harper, who was just promoted to AA in the Nationals’ farm system. But the time off has been an opportunity for Strasburg to heal and get stronger.

“He’s really used that time well to help build a foundation to be durable as his career goes forward, ” Boras told me.

Next Up: An interview with Wes Parker, a Gold Glover with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Parker helped the Dodgers win a championship in 1965 and was one of the most popular speakers at SABR, entertaining the fans with war stories from the diamond.  I’m transcribing his interview now and will post it later this week.

18-year old baseball phenom Bryce Harper, who is ranked as the #3 prospect in MLB, has been promoted. The hot-hitting outfielder jumps from single A ball in Hagerstown, MD to AA Harrisburg, both farm teams for the Washington Nationals. Harper, originally a catcher, has been moved to left field where he can work on his defense. His hitting is solid. He’s batting .318 with 14 HR and 46 RBI but needs to improve his base running and stealing skills. Check out his hitting highlights here:
Harper Highlights

Harper will also be playing next Sunday in the 2011 XM All-Star Future Game in Phoenix – a showcase for budding MLB talent. Imagine what the Nationals will be like in a year or two with Harper in the outfield and Stephen Strasburg on the mound!

In what could be a World Series preview, the Philadelphia Phillies shut out the Boston Red Sox 5-0 in a marquee matchup between two of the best pitchers in baseball. Boston’s Josh Beckett was the ERA leader (1.86) going into tonight’s game, but he couldn’t match the masterpiece thrown by Cliff Lee. See it here:

Cliff Lee Masterpiece

Lee shut down the Red Sox 5-0 for his 3rd consecutive shutout in June. In fact he’s now tossed 32 consecutive scoreless innings and needs another three shutouts to match Orel Hershiser who set the record in 1988 with 59 innings in a row without giving up a run. Actually, Hershiser’s record is 59.1 shutout innings, before he was scored upon in the first inning of the first game of the 1989 season – but no one has ever done better.

Cliff Lee now has given up just 1 earned run in his last 42 innings. Do you think he will surpass Herschiser, the Dodger great? History tells us that probably won’t happen. Will the Phillies play the Red Sox in the World Series? I believe they are the two best teams in baseball and they will face off in the fall, with the Phillies winning it all.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the most stories franchises in all of baseball, have declared bankruptcy:
Dodger Blue

Dodger owner Frank McCourt must now borrow money to make payroll after diverting millions of dollars from the team for McMansions in Malibu. Instead of running wild on the basepaths like Maury Wills in the 60’s, the Dodgers are now running on empty in 2011.

A quick look at the list of creditors shows you why McCourt is striking out. Number 1 on the list is Manny Ramirez, who is owed $21 million to sit on the beach. I’m guessing he can buy a lot of dreadlocks with that. Next in line is Andruw Jones, who plays in Pinstripes now but he’s due $11 million from the Dodgers. The Yankees are laughing all the way to the bank.

Even Vin Scully got stiffed. The fabled Dodger broadcaster, who has never said a bad word about the McCourts in public, must be biting his tongue about the $152,000 he’s owed by the McCourts. Vin’s been eloquently spinning Dodger tales for half a century only to get spun by an evil spider who created a wicked web of greed. Vin deserves better. We all do – even if you are not a Dodger fan – keeping this team competitive is in the best interests of baseball.

The best the Dodgers can hope for is for McCourt to leave the team. Quickly. And hopefully a new suitor with buckets of cash will ride in the save the day. Mark Cuban, where are you when we need you most? Purchase the team and save this historic franchise from further shame.

Josh Hamilton isn’t seeing clearly on this one. The Texas Rangers slugger believes his mini-slump this year is a direct result of too much sunshine. Yes, Hamilton believes his bright blue eyes make it tougher for him to hit during the daytime, due to “light sensitivity.”
You’ve got to be joking, right Josh?

Hamilton may be trying to divert attention from his anemic .112 daytime batting average. Compare that to his .376 nighttime average and you wonder if he’s on to something. Hamilton insists the daytime glare makes it harder for him to see – and indeed last year Hamilton hit .286 in the daytime, but .384 at night. Read all about it here:

Are Blue Eyes Bad for Baseball?

I don’t put much stock in this cross-eyed logic. “Light sensitivity” didn’t seem to bother Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Both had blue eyes and played most of their games before the sun went down. And in 1961, the M&M Boys hit 54 and 61 home runs respectively.

But Hamilton says it’s hard on guys with blue eyes to see a white ball while the sun is shining. C’mon Josh, really? I just don’t see it that way.

Was it foul play for a fan to interfere with a foul ball that could have cost the Giants big time in a game at AT& T Park?

In the 6th inning of Wednesday’s Giants game vs. the Minnesota Twins, SF outfielder Cody Ross tried to snag a foul ball off the bat of Alexi Casilla. The ball was drifting towards the stands, but it was clearly playable and Cody Ross moved in to make the catch – until a Giants fan reached out and snagged the ball with his glove – leaving Cody Ross with empty leather on that play.

Luckily for the Giants, Casilla later grounded out. So no harm, no foul right? No way!

Home field advantage is lost when fans interfere with home team players and prevent them from making a catch. The Giants fan should have moved back to let Cody Ross catch the ball. That’s what smart fans would do. Conversely, if the roles were reversed and a Twins player was moving in to make the catch – a Giants fan should try to catch the ball if it’s coming into the stands – so as to give his player an extra swing of the bat.

Think it doesn’t make a difference? Just ask Steve Bartman, the clueless Cubs fan who cost his team a trip to the World Series in 2003. The Chicago meltdown against the Marlins can be seen here, along with the foul play in San Francisco:

Fan Interference

Don’t get me wrong. I bring my glove to every game and always hope to bring home a souvenir – but if it’s a choice between me snagging a foul ball versus my hometown player – I’m going to let him make the catch every time. It’s called taking one for the team.

What’s the most impressive record in all of sports? Most fans would say it’s Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. After all, no one has broken that record since the Yankee Clipper did it in 1941, although some have come close, as Pete Rose did in 1978, when he hit in 44 consecutive games.

But one sportswriter says Nolan Ryan accomplished something no one will ever match. The Wall Street Journal’s Dave Cameron says Ryan’s 7 No-Hitters are unapproachable. Here’s why:

Why Nolan Ryan Tops Joe DiMaggio

Koufax is next in line with 4 No-No’s, but that’s only 57% of the way there, while 5 hitters have achieved at least 70% of Joe DiMaggio’s feat. Does that make Ryan the most dominant pitcher ever? Are 7 No-Hitters harder to achieve than hitting in 56 straight games? What do you think?

Six Yankees lead the voting for All-Star slots, but even the most passionate Pin Stripe fan must admit there’s some ballot stuffing going on. Russell Martin, Mark Teixera, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and A-Rod are the top vote getters at their positions so far, but careful scrutiny of their stats – compared to other players – will reveal why only 3 of them deserve to be there.

Let’s start with catcher, where Russell Martin is hitting an anemic .232, with 24 Runs, 9 Homers, 27 RBI and 6 Stolen Bases (the latter stat is excellent for a catcher). By contrast, the Tigers backstop is hitting .297 with 24 Runs, 9 Homers, 35 RBI and 3 Stolen Bases. But no one has ever heard of Alex Avila – and as a result, Martin will undeservedly go to the All-Star game in Phoenix – even though the Detroit catcher is hitting 60 points higher.

Mark Teixeira is the leading vote getter at first base. His stats are impressive: 38 Runs, 19 HR, 47 RBI on top of a .252 batting average. But that pales in comparison to Adrian Gonzalez of the Red Sox who is hitting .341 with 45 Runs scores, 13 HR, 45 RBI and 1 Stolen Base. Gonzalez is clearly having a better year and should be the fans choice, but the marketing power of the New York Yankees will win out.

Derek Jeter is your American League All-Star shortstop, but he’s hitting only .259 with 2 Home Runs, 20 RBI, 39 Runs scored and 7 Stolen Bases. Yet the best Shortstop in the AL is Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians, who is hitting .302, with 41 Runs scores, 12 HR and 42 Runs Batted In, along with 9 Stolen Bases. In other words, Cabrera tops Jeter in every single statistical category. Yet Cabrera trails Jeter by 300,000 votes. You can correct that injustice by voting here: All-Star Ballot

The other three Yanks on the list, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano all deserve to be there. A-Rod is hitting .288 with 40 Runs, 13 HR, 45 RBI and 4 Stolen Bases. Granderson has 20 Home Runs and Cano has 12 HR on top of a .281 average.

In the National League, the biggest injustice is at shortstop, where Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies is the runaway leader. Yes he has 13 HR and 45 RBI, but he’s hitting only .274 with 34 Runs scored and just 4 Stolen Bases. By contrast, Jose Reyes of the New York Mets is leading the Major Leagues in hitting at .346 (62 points higher than the Colorado shortstop) and he has 43 Runs scored along with 20 Stolen Bases. Yes his 3 HR and 25 RBI are much weaker than Tulowitzski’s numbers, but overall who would you rather have playing shortstop for your time? I’ll take the guy who can get on base more often, steal second and then score over the power hitter any day. The vote is  surprising perhaps because the New York media advantage hasn’t helped Reyes – but it just shows which team (the Yanks) dominate the Big Apple when it comes to fan allegiance.