The Red Sox May Offer Varitek Arbitration

The Red Sox are possibly still interested in bringing back All-Star catcher Jason Varitek. Varitek filed for free agency for the first time in 11 years at the end of the 2008 season.

According to MLBTradeRumors.com and other news sources, the Red Sox are expected to offer Jason Varitek arbitration.

In return, the ‘Sox would get two first round picks if the catcher was to sign with a different team. If the arbitration offer is accepted, Varitek would be wearing a Boston Red Sox jersey for at least one more season.

Scott Boras, Jason Varitek’s agent has expressed his concern with playing full-time. Varitek started 120 games for the Red Sox in 2008, his lowest number of starts recorded, except in 2006 when injuries played a role.

The Red Sox organization has not spoken a word to the Media or Varitek.

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Updated Friday, November 28, 2008 11:45 EST.

Sabermetrics 101: An Introduction

Let start off with the Wikipedia definition of the term, Sabermetrics. Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research. It was coined by Bill James, who was among its first proponents and has long been its most prominent and public advocate.
In the next few posts that I do here in RBI Magazine, we will explore some traditional sabermetric tools of the trade. This methodology was made famous by Bill James, but it really didn’t get public notoriety until Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball hit bookstores. In his book, Lewis follows the change in methodology in evaluating talent in the Oakland A’s organization that was spearheaded by GM Billy Beane.

Beane changed his methodology in an attempt to find a creative way to compete with the big market teams such as the NY Yankees, Boston Red Sox, NY Mets, LA Dodgers and Angels (to name a few).

And it worked! The small market team from Oakland, CA became annual participants in October baseball by either beating out the Angels for the division title or via the Wild Card slot. This has worked for them until, as usual, the rest of baseball caught up with them, including the big market teams like Boston.

What does this mean for the average fan? You no longer have to rely only on offensive statistical categories such as batting average (BA), runs scored (R), runs batted in (RBI), home runs (HR), but now you have on base percentage (OBP), on base plus slugging (OPS), runs created (RC), value over replacement players (VORP) and a host of others.

These tools can make or break your fantasy team if you have the time to delve into it deeply enough. They are also to stat geek’s tools of the trade and the love of baseball economists everywhere.

If you love stats and don’t yet know much about Sabermetrics, you’re going to love this series and if love is too strong of a word for you, then we’ll say that you’re really going to enjoy the next few posts in this series.

If you’re a novice with Sabermetrics, feel free to ask me to cover a specific statistic and I’ll be happy to give it a go or point you in the right direction if it’s beyond the scope of this series. See you next time…

Peter also writes once a month for Seamheads.com and on a regular basis on his own site, Baseball Reflections.com.

Visit my Blog at:

http://www.baseballreflections.com

The Improbable Dream! Rays Win Game 7!

First the New York Yankees, then the Cleveland Indians. NOT added to the victim list - The Tampa Bay Rays!

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox became the first team in history to survive a 3-0 deficit by winning 4 straight games against the New York Yankees to advance to the 2004 World Series. Last year the Red Sox found themselves trailing the Cleveland Indians 3-1. The ‘Sox rallied like rock stars winning three in a row and eventually sweeping the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series. This year trailing the Rays 3-1 the Red Sox just could not get it done!

Dustin Pedroia lead off the attack for Boston in the first inning driving a solo home run (his third of the series and the 25th home run of the ALCS), deep to left putting the ‘Sox on the board first in Game 7. The Rays fought back in the bottom of the 4th when Evan Longoria doubled on a fly ball hit in the right field gap near J.D. Drew scoring Carlos Pena. The Rays then took the lead in the bottom of the 5th after an RBI single hit by Rocco Baldeli scoring Willy Aybar from second. After 5 innings of play, the Rays lead 2-1.

Series Timeline

Game 1: Daisuke Matsuzaka held the Tampa Bay Rays scoreless through seven innings in game one and cruised his team to a 2-0 victory and a 1-0 start to the ALCS.

Game 2: A four home run night in Game 2 proved not to be enough after 11 total innings for the Red Sox. A sac fly by Tampa’s B.J. Upton late in the 11th tied the series at one game a piece and a 9-8 victory over Boston.

Game 3: Tampa over powers the Red Sox with two 3-run home runs hit over the Green Monster by B.J. Upton and Rocco Baldelli. The only run for the ‘Sox came from a seventh-inning sac fly from Jacoby Ellsbury. Boston finds themselves down two games to one in the ALCS after a 9-1 pounding.

Game 4: The Rays continued their hot streak in Game 4 blasting 14 hits including home runs from Pena, Longoria, and Aybar handing the Red Sox a 13-4 loss and a 3-1 deficit in the ALCS.

Game 5: The wheels fall off for the Rays. After leading game 5 7-0, the Tampa Bay Rays gave up 4 runs in the 7th, 3 in the eight, and a game-winning line drive by J.D. Drew scoring Kevin Youkilis. The biggest comeback in MLB playoff history since 1929 proved to be nothing short of miraculous.

Game 6: Kevin Youkilis and Jason Varitek hit solo home runs as the defense only allowed two runs allowing the Red Sox to beat the Rays 4-2 and force Game 7 after trailing in the series 3-1.

The bottom of the 7th inning may have been the turning point for Rays. Willy Aybar slapped a solo home run against John Lester deep to into the seats above the left field wall giving the Rays a 3-1 lead. Aybars home run was the 16th home run hit by the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS and it set a ALCS post season record of 26 combined home runs for the series.

Once again Boston faced a 3-1 deficit in the 7th inning. The doors seemed to open in the top of the eight when right fielder J.D. Drew came to the plate with bases juiced. In his second Major League appearance Rays left-hander David Price caught Drew looking on an “Priceless” outside fastball to end the inning.

David Price continued to be “Priceless” in the 9th striking out Mark Kotsay and Jason Varitek with the same pitch that claimed J.D. Drew back in the eight.

The Tampa Bay Rays are your American League Champions defeating the Red Sox 3-1 and advancing to the World Series for the first time in franchise history and will face off with the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 World Series.

The All Time Best VORP for Second Basemen Since 1954

A reader of mine recently asked me if Boston Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia had the best VORP at his position this year (2008) than any other player before him. But before I go further, some of you might be asking, “What in the world is VORP anyway?”. According to Baseball Prospectus, VORP stands for Value Over Replacement Player, which is broken down as the number of runs contributed beyond what a replacement-level player at the same position would contribute if given the same percentage of team plate appearances.

VORP scores do not consider the quality of a player’s defense. Researching this was a bit tedious, but well worth it! The Baseball Prospectus database has gone as far back as 1954 in calculating VORP. What I found out is that Pedroia, depsite all of the MVP talk he’s getting, just beat out the Phillies’ Chase Utley by a tenth of a point in VORP this year, 63.3 to 63.2. In comparing him to the all time leaders at second base, he didn’t even finish in the top 20.

The top player at this position with a VORP of 98.8, which is 35.5 points higher than Pedroia, was Chuck Knoblauch in 1996. For the remainder of the top 20, please see the chart below. So much for Pedroia having the best VORP ever by a second baseman!

In fact, Utley, for all of his offensive hype, just made the top 20 with his stellar performance in 2007 with a score of 68.8 (the same score Ryne Sandberg had in 1984)! Between Pedroia’s 63.3 and the top 20 list provided below there are 10 other higher scores from 4 players who are already in the top 20 and 4 others who are not (Bobby Grich, Willie Randolph, Mark Loretta and Jose Vidro).

Therefore, the bottom line is that Pedroia’s 2008 VORP of 63.3 ranks only 31st on the all time VORP list for second basemen. I hope that helps give people some perspective, but don’t let this conclusion fool you. Pedroia still had a very good year, but it just goes to show you that you shouldn’t jump to conclusions about how great of a year a player either is having or has had without digging a little deeper into past performances.

Year    Player                           VORP
1996    Chuck Knoblauch 98.8
1976    Joe  Morgan 94.2
2000    Jeff  Kent                      92.7
1975    Joe  Morgan                  91.6
1996    Roberto  Alomar 85.1
2001    Roberto  Alomar           81.6
1998    Craig  Biggio                80.5
1997    Craig  Biggio                79.8
1974    Joe  Morgan                  79.8
1999    Roberto  Alomar           77.9
2002    Jeff  Kent 77.7
1973    Joe  Morgan                  77.7
2001    Bret  Boone 77.4
2000    Edgardo  Alfonzo 76.9
1974    Rod  Carew 76.5
1975    Rod  Carew                   75.4
1993    Roberto  Alomar           75.2
1972    Joe  Morgan                  74.1
1977    Joe  Morgan                  71.8
1995    Chuck  Knoblauch        71.6
1991    Julio  Franco 70.1
2007    Chase  Utley 68.8
1984    Ryne  Sandberg 68.8

Peter Schiller also writes for BaseballReflections.com, which he started in October 2007. To see more of his work over the past year, please follow the link

provided. He also writes for Seamheads.com once a month.

Chicago Teams Not Great in ‘08

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers are both a single win away from advancing in October baseball.  The Rays sunk the White Sox last night, in game 2 of the ALDS, securing a two game advantage in the series. The Dodgers also have a perfect record, taking the first two games of the NLDS from the Cubs at the infamous Wrigley. The Dodgers have been “rocking out” at the plate outscoring the Cubs 17-5 after only two games.

Why have the Dodgers been so hot in post season play? You might just want to thank the Dodgers entire organization for acquiring Manny Ramirez. Experience combined with his “larger than life bat” can pose a threat to any team’s defense. Ramirez has gone deep twice against the Cubs, leading the offensive attack for LA, while in the pitching department, Chad Billingsley and the entire Dodgers pitching staff has been nothing short of stellar. As we all know, pitching and defense will win games, and with offensive factors like Manny Ramirez streamlining the next fastball out of the park - you can become the team to beat!

Now to the Rays. If you are familiar with word analogies, Akinori Iwamura has been like salt is to popcorn for Tampa Bay - absolutely essential! Friday came with a great start for the White Sox and optimism floated throughout the entire dugout until Akinori smashed a go-ahead two run shot that eventually led his team to a 6-2 victory over Chicago. Talk about a tough break! The momentum that the Sox possessed coming into the playoffs has now dwindled to merely a trickling stream.

Why not so great in ‘08? According to ESPN, hopes were set so high for the Cubs, that the city of Chicago had to limit alcohol sales around Wrigley field during the event of a clinching game. Fans meant business! Celebrations of the Cubs clinching and advancing have been prepared by millions, and now after 100 years those fans may need to live their lives one more year without a championship. Three straight wins and an offensive explosion from the Cubs will now be needed in order to even think about lifting the curse.

The White Sox also had great expectations from the city of Chicago, but the Sox have not been able to execute at the plate. Friday night came and left 12 runners stranded on base and not a single hit was recorded for extra bases. The team will now head home to Cellular Field for game 3 and 4 hoping for a miracle. Unfortunately, for the Chicago clubs, only four teams ever have come back from a 2 game deficit to win a division series.

FELIZ NAVIDAD! Phillies Clinch NL East

[RBI Magazine-Philadelphia] Bases were loaded with 1 out in the top of the ninth. The score 4-3, Phillies lead, as Ryan Zimmerman stepped to the plate and delivered a hard sharp ground ball to Phillies short-stop Jimmy Rollins. Rollins slid on his knees and willingly fell forward as he flipped the ball towards Chase Utley hovering over second. Utley elevated himself above the bag to avoid the slide and threw the ball across his chest.

When the ball hit Ryan Howard’s glove across the diamond, the Philadelphia crowd erupted like a volcano that has been dormant for years. Fireworks exploded from the outer perimeter of Citizen’s Bank Park while 45,000 fans plus threw rally towels, cup holders and those rather tasty buckets of Chickies & Petes crab fries were also tossed into the late September sky as the Phillies repeat of Division champions became a reality.

When the game began, Phillies fans had already heard about the performance of Johan Santana up in New York, shutting out the Florida Marlins 2-0. The Phillies knew however, that it was time to take care of their own business. Jamie Moyer took the mound and allowed only 1 run and 6 hits over six innings. Moyer earned his 246th win tying Joe McGinnity for 47th on the all-time career win list. When 45 year old Moyer was removed from the game in the sixth, 45,000 fans rose to their feet applauding their season long hero. Jamie finished the season 22-11 after 33 starts.

The game progressed with a few scary moments. In the eight, pitcher Ryan Madson delivered the ball with runners on second and third with no outs. Washington National Lastings Milledge slapped the ball to shallow center. Rollins had a great jump on the ball and made an incredible grab over his right shoulder. However in the process, center fielder Shane Victorino also had a great start at the ball and collided with Rollins after the grab was made. Victorino tried to avoid Rollins by sliding on his back but made heavy contact with Rollins near the shin area. Victorino fell to the ground favoring his left leg but still remained in the game. 

As the night continued, Citizen’s Bank Park was nothing short of electric. Not a single fan sat. Rally towels waved continuously between every pitch. The beer vendors that circulated throughout the stands all unoticabley stopped their alcohol distribution to take part in the last few innings. What was taking place on the field seemed to be better than looking for that next beer. Hard to believe! Pedro Feliz stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eight and delivered a key base knock with 1 out. Victorino followed using his Gap gift card as he launced a bullet into the left-center gap. Feliz scored the insurance RBI that lifted the Phils 4-2 over the Nats. The stage was now set. Three outs. National League East Champions.

The ninth inning followed producing ups-and-downs of the century for Phillies fans. The first out did come easy, but after the Nationals loaded the bases, Phillies fans began to expect the worst. However, the waving of rally towels and the roar from the crowd never ceased except when Zimmerman connected with the infamous 2-2 pitch. You could have heard a pin drop as the ball appeared to be in slow motion, traveling from Rollins to Utley and then finally floating to Ryan Howard completing the succesful 6-4-3 double play to win the NL East!

At the games conclusion not a single fan left the stadium. Jimmy Rollins expressed his appreciation to his teammates and the fans of Philadelphia. When Ryan Howard took the mic the chant of “MVP” echoed throughout the entire stadium. Pedro Feliz rode a bicycle around the warning track thanking the fans for being a huge part of the Phillies success this season. Champagne rained inside the Phillies clubhouse and the celebration of the Phillies season began all across the city of Brotherly Love.

Can Position Players Really Pitch?

Have you ever been to a Major League Baseball game when all of a sudden the second baseman was called over to the mound to finish out an inning? Didn’t think so! This is a common practice in Youth Baseball Leagues, High School leagues, and sometimes Minor League games, but it never happens in MLB right? WRONG! The situation rarely takes place during an entire MLB season, but it does happen!!

How often does it actually happen? Usually, it only happens in blowouts when a manager wants to save the other arms in the bullpen for another day. While it hasn’t happened yet this season (2008), six position players on four different teams toed the rubber at some point in 2007. Can you guess who they are?

Jeff Cirillo - Arizona Diamondbacks
Aaron Miles - St. Louis Cardinals
Augie Ojeda - Arizona Diamondbacks
Scott Spiezio - St. Louis Cardinals
Josh Wilson - Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Jason Wood - Florida Marlins

Here is a list of position players who last pitched sorted by team: Recondite Baseball

Lately, position players that can pitch do wonders in the world of sports betting. Apparently, Willie Randolph was considering using a position player (Ryan Church) to pitch in a drag against the Phillies in late April. The Mets have used position players in tough situations, but not since 1992. And according to Church he was not thrilled at the idea.

Imagine the pressure of a younger, well-know, highly skilled player trying to hold his reputation after being unexpectedly moved to the mound in a tight situation. If players like Jeter and A-Rod were moved to the mound, fans could care less if they “got rocked” and lost the game anyway. Those trying to hold a position on the field after only being in the league for a few years would rather not make a debut on the mound in the heat of the moment. MLB betting can sometimes be effected by a player who can sometimes pitch.

In baseball’s early years, baseball teams were smaller, and relief pitchers were relatively uncommon, with the starter normally remaining for the entire game unless he was either thoroughly ineffective or became injured; today, with a much greater emphasis on pitch count (100 being the “magic number” in general), over the course of a single game each team will frequently use from two to five pitchers.

If a team empties the “pen” during a game or sequentially through the course of a week’s worth of games, a few position players must be designated to pitch in these tough situations. You may be thinking about the 2009 World Series odds that a pitcher could possibly pitch in a World Series?  So the next time you attend a Major League Baseball game, do not be suprised if a pitcher is replaced by another player who you least expect because POSITION PLAYERS CAN REALLY PITCH!

MLB Players Gone Wild: Gloves Now On Both Hands

MLB players have now put the glove on both hands and instead of a baseball game you get WWE smackdown as one player usually sends both teams ”cannon-balling” onto the field creating utter chaos. Benches have been clearing like window washers in the recent weeks of MLB play.  Actions like these will be sure to sell more and more  MLB Tickets.

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, left, has been suspended for four games and fined an undisclosed amount for his part in a shoving match on Tuesday, June 3rd that resulted in the clearing of both teams’ benches. Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba, right, was suspended three games and also fined.

The most serious fight took place last night (June 5th) when Cocoa Crisp’s milk got a bit sour. Cocoa charged the mound, threw a punch, got punched, scratched, thrown out of the game all at the same time. Red Sox tickets have been selling like hot cakes ever since.  Alright, maybe not exactly at the same time. Notice (right) how the umpire is pointing to direct Cocoa to first base, not the mound. Cocoa was beaned by a pitch and then beaned again this time with a knuckle sandwich before both benches cleared once again.

Soon after the brawl, a fight erupted in the Boston dugout. TV cameras showed Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis being separated after a quick push and exchangement of words at the end of the fourth inning. Ramirez was then escorted down the ramp into the clubhouse and those who had event tickets to see Ramirez had to do without the outfielder for the rest of the game.

Both teams may have been on edge fighting to take back first place in the AL, but many fans feel the incident was sparked by a June 4th play (below) when Boston Red Sox’ Coco Crisp (AGAIN) slid into Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura, of Japan, while being caught stealing in the eighth inning of their game at Fenway. Trying to knock down the second baseball to break up a double play is always acceptable, in this case however, notice Cocoa’s right arm wrapped around Iwamura’s leg. This is what I mean when I say WWE. This looks like a linebacker trying to drop a running-back before he gets to the goal line. Totally un-excusable!

In most cases, Major League baseball has answered by ejecting players involved with altercations only after a flare up by both teams becomes apparent, not for the individual acts like the tackle to your left. Would Cocoa have been ejected if Akinori Iwamura didn’t retaliate? Hell no.

If you look back on the history of the game, some of baseball’s greatest memories are circled around altercations that took place in the heat of the moment. Remember when Roger Clemens and Mike Pizza went at “it” in the 2000 World Series. Piazza of the Mets shattered his bat on a Clemens pitch, and the jagged barrel of the bat dribbled out to the front of the mound. Clemens proceeded to field the bat and throw it at Piazza. The hype and drama surrounding the infamous Subway Series made that series unforgettable. Fans who had World Series tickets will never forget this one.

Fans may argue that charging the mound and trying to kill the second baseman to break up a double play-is part of the game and I know most of you would agree. However, when players get hurt and fighting becomes excessive, the game of baseball becomes tarnished and the respect of players becomes lost from fans of all ages, coaches, and other players.

 

 

 

A cool brawl that errupted during a minor league game…ps..here is your video! Enjoy!

Here are a few rules (written by Brian Watterman from MVN, a Seattle Mariners Blog) players should follow when tempers flare and Cocoa gets Crispy;

1. If you’re a key pitcher, especially the staff ace, and you are not the one actually throwing the pitch, do not get involved in the fight. Felix Hernandez–stay in the dugout.

2. If you’re having a good year, especially in a contract year, stay out of it. If you must be in it, yell and maybe push and shove on the edges.

3. If you’re recovering from an injury, especially a knee injury, Milton Bradley, do not try to pick someone up and risk re-injuring yourself.

4. If you’re the pitcher, try not to throw at the biggest guy on the team. Don’t throw at Richie Sexson, throw at Willie Bloomquist. When he charges the mound, you will not get hit as hard.

5. If you have Tampa Bay Rays tickets you will always be in for a treat!

The videos of Robin Ventura and Nolan Ryan are no longer available. Best I can do….

 

 

Jason Varitek gives Alex Rodriguez a face full of catcher’s mitt, setting off a benches-clearing incident July 24, 2004. (Globe Staff Photo / Barry Chin)