All right, with pitchers and catchers in the wings, time to put this Hot Stove favorite to rest. (It IS a favorite, right?)
Here, if you'll recall, is my list of the Top Ten Professional Sports Dynasties in North American History:
10. Chicago Cubs, 1906-1910.
9. Boston Red Sox, 1912-1918.
8. Los Angeles Lakers, 1980-1991.
7. New York Yankees, 1994-2003.
6. Green Bay Packers, 1960-1967.
5. Chicago Bulls, 1988-1998.
4. Montreal Canadiens, 1955-1979.
3. Boston Celtics, 1956-1969.
2. New England Patriots, 2001-2020.
1. New York Yankees, 1920-1964.
Here were the top two runners-up:
New York Islanders, 1975-1984.
San Francisco 49ers, 1981-1998.
And the hockey runners-up:
Toronto Maple Leafs, 1941-1951.
Toronto Maple Leafs, 1961-1967.
Detroit Red Wings, 1948-1956.
Detroit Red Wings, 1994-2009.
Edmonton Oilers, 1982-1990.
New Jersey Devils, 1993-2003.
And the basketball runners-up:
Minneapolis Lakers, 1948-1954.
Los Angeles Lakers, 1999-2010.
San Antonio Spurs, 1998-2016.
Golden State Warriors, 2014-2019.
Boston Celtics, 1979-1992.
LeBron James, 2003- .
And the football runners-up:
Green Bay Packers, 1929-1931.
New York Giants, 1933-1946.
New York Giants, 1956-1963.
Chicago Bears, 1932-1946.
Cleveland Browns, 1946-1957.
Dallas Cowboys, 1966-1983.
Dallas Cowboys, 1991-1996.
Miami Dolphins, 1970-1975.
Pittsburgh Steelers, 1972-1979.
Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders, 1967-1985.
So, what else could follow, but...your baseball honorable mentions!
Athletics.
Philadelphia Athletics, 1910-1914.
A great "deadball" team, featuring one of the best starting staffs ever—Chief Bender, Jack Coombs, Gettysburg Eddie Plank, Cy Morgan, Sailor Bob Shawkey, Herb "The Knight of Kensett Square" Pennock, Bullet Joe Bush, and Boardwalk Eddie Brown (love these old nicknames)—along with the fabulous, "$100,000 Infield"—Stuffy McInnis, Columbia Eddie Collins, Jack Barry, and Home Run Baker.
They won over 100 games twice, over 90 games all five years, and took 3 World Series (including one that ended the great Cubs dynasty). They might have lasted for years more—but the problem was the same old, same old for the underfinanced owner/manager, Connie Mack: not enough money. With the onset of the Federal League, his stars left for greener pastures or he sold them for cash.
Philadelphia Athletics, 1925-1932.
This team was probably even greater. At one point (1928), it boasted 8 future Hall of Famers, including manager Mack, along with Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Al "Bucketfoot" Simmons, Eddie Collins, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove, in some people's eyes the greatest pitcher to ever play the game.
They won three straight pennants by whopping margins, 1929-1931, winning 104, 102, and 107 games, respectively, and won over 90 games three other years. But they lost a World Series to the Gashouse Gang in 1931, and ran into Connie Mack's usual cash shortage.
Also, this team had the misfortune to largely co-exist with some of the greatest of all Yankees teams, which relegated them to second place in 1927-1928, and 1932. Curiously, great as both clubs were, they only had one real pennant race, which the Yanks took by 2 1/2 games in 1928.
After Grove, these A's lacked really top-rate pitching. And once Jack Dunn died down in Baltimore, Connie Mack's pipeline of great young stars was cut. The team would never seriously contend again, over its last 22 years in Philly.
Oakland Athletics, 1971-1976.
The Swingin' A's! Another great pitching staff with great names—Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Ken Holtzman, Blue Moon Odom, Rollie Fingers, etc.—and the rest of the crew: Sal Bando, Bert Campaneris, Joe Rudi, and your own Reggie Jackson. Plus the irascible Charlie Finley as owner, Dick Williams on the bench for the first two rings, and the future M.C. Hammer as teenage, assistant GM and Finley spy.
You couldn't make this team up. And they were as good as they were colorful: the ONLY baseball team, ever, besides your New York Yankees to win 3 straight World Series (Yanks have done it 3 times). Plus 5 straight division titles and years with over 90 wins, and a close second in 1976. Just didn't last quite long enough, thanks to the usual cash problems.
Cardinals.
St. Louis Cardinals, 1926-1935.
Another underfunded team with a skinflint owner, built solely on the acumen of the great Branch Rickey. Started with player-manager Rogers Hornsby, who he turned into player-manager Frankie Frisch, the Fordham Flash.
These were always hustling, fundamentally sound teams, with aggressive, daring players such as Leo the Lip Durocher, and Pepper Martin, "the Wild Horse of the Osage"—not to mention very good pitching staffs, most famously headed by Dizzy Dean and his brother Daffy.
They took 5 pennants and 3 World Series in 10 years, along with 2 close seconds, and 6 90-plus-win seasons. Their defeat of the 1931 A's was a major upset, and their 1926 and 1934 wins over the Yanks and Tigers were two of the most memorable Series ever played. But they also got whacked by both the A's and Yanks, and were never the top team of the era.
St. Louis Cardinals, 1941-1949.
Another great Branch Rickey creation, and it's tempting to put these together with his previous dynasty, but 7 seasons between winning anything is a little too much.
It is amazing the players that Rickey kept cultivating in his revolutionary farm system. This run had even better pitching depth—Mort Cooper, Max Lanier, Johnny Beasley, Murray Dickson, Howie Pollett, Harry Brecheen—as well as the likes of Johnny Mize, Walker Cooper, Marty Marion, Whitey Kurowski, Harry "the Hat" Walker, Terry Moore, Country Slaughter, and of course Stan the Man Musial.
They won 4 pennants and 3 Series, along with two very close seconds to Brooklyn; took 106, 105, and 105 wins in their 1942-1944 run (the last time any NL team has won 3 straight pennants), and made a mad comeback to overhaul the Dodgers in 1942, then shocked a formidable Yankees team in the World Series that fall.
But much of their success came in the war years, when they got to keep a disproportionate number of their stars, and their cheapo owner not only wouldn't spend, but let Rickey move on to Brooklyn. Big mistake.
Dodgers.
Brooklyn Dodgers, 1941-1956.
You all know the Boys of Summer—yet another great Rickey creation, for the most part, not to mention the first ever integrated team in the modern era. Seven pennants, 9 first-place finishes all told (counting the lost playoff of 1946 and 1951), 5 second-place finishes (including the heartbreakers of 1942 and 1950), 3 100-win and 11 90-win-plus seasons in 16 years...and 1 World Series title.
There's the rub. Who knows what might have happened if Jackie Robinson had been brought up for the 1946 playoff against St. Louis, or if Charlie Dressen hadn't mismanaged the Bobby Thomson game, or if there hadn't been the war...or...
Fact was, these great Dodgers teams were always a little short on pitching, and a little less on the road. But we will love them forever.
Los Angeles Dodgers, 1959-1966.
Almost the mirror-image of the Brooklyn teams: generally light-hitting, great pitching, and over-performed in the World Series. Four pennants (and 1 lost playoff), 3 World Series, 4 90-plus-win seasons, and the likes of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Claude Osteen, and Johnny Podres.
But they never really had enough hitting after the decline of Tommie Davis and the trade of Frank Howard, and their pitchers had suspiciously better records in Chavez Ravine, where they kept the lights down low.
New York Baseball Giants, 1921-1924.
The only NL team to ever win 4 straight pennants, and the last of the great teams of John "Muggsy" McGraw, "the Little Napoleon" (but since Napoleon was already little...oh, never mind!), whose teams suffered just 1 losing seasons in 29 years at the helm. McGraw was a great deadball manager who made a successful transition to the lively ball era, even though he didn't like it.
These Giants won 90 or more games all four years, and came within two bad hops over Freddie Lindstrom's shoulder from winning 3 World Series. On the other hand, they got a huge break when Babe Ruth injured his elbow in the 1921 Series and had to bow out.
Cincinnati Reds, 1970-1981.
The Big Red Machine may have had the greatest lineup of multi-tool players ever assembled. Joe Morgan, George Foster, Ken Griffey, Sr., Dave Concepcion—all those guys could field like crazy, steal a base, and hit with some pop. Cesar Geronimo wasn't bad either, and then there were Johnny Bench and Pete Rose. Six MVPs altogether, and behind them was a formidable bench: Dan Driessen, Doug Flynn, Joel Youngblood, Dave Collins, etc.
All in all, though, "only" 2 titles, 4 pennants, 6 division titles, and the best overall record in the NL in the strike-interrupted season of 1981, when they didn't make the playoffs (oh, that MLB). For that matter, they only won 1 of their 2 World Series because Jim Rice broke his wrist, the ump made a terrible call, and Bill Lee decided that the seventh game of the World Series was a great time to throw his doofus pitch.
The problem again was never enough good starting pitching—despite how well Sparky Anderson handled his pen. And then they didn't want to accept the free-agent era.
Baltimore Orioles, 1966-1983.
Steady, classy winners, always with great pitching depth, home-run hitters, fundamentally sound guys who never beat themselves, and maybe the greatest manager ever for most of this time in Earl Weaver.
Six pennants, 3 World Series wins, 7 division titles, and 7 second-place finishes. Their greatest teams, from 1969-1971, won 109, 108, and 101 wins, respectively and were just overwhelming.
These guys used to drive me crazy. But for much of this time they weren't the best team in baseball, they tended to lose a lot of big games and big series even when they were favored, and they also declined to enter the free-agent market even when it was pretty cheap.
Reggie Jackson swore—after the fact—that he would have been happy to sign a multi-year contract with the Birds after he was traded to Baltimore in 1976, for less than the very reasonable amount he signed for with the Yanks. One shudders to think what would have happened.
Boston Red Sox, 2003-2018.
The original tankers. This one pains me more than anyone—in part because a couple clutch hits and marginally better managing by our boys would have destroyed Red Sox Nation for years to come, back in the 2004 ALCS.
But give the devil his due. Four World Series titles and 4 pennants, 5 division titles, 4 Wild Card spots, 5 second-place finishes, 11 90-plus-win seasons, .
But also: only 1, 100-win season, in 2018 (and we all know how that happened), 3 last-place finishes, and 1 wholly undeserved title, courtesy of Joe Torre. Plus throwback collapses in 2003, 2005, and the demise of The Greatest Team Ever in 2011.
It's the modern times, mon. During this time, these Sox have had better front offices—and usually, better pitching—than the Yankees for pretty much the only time in the modern era. They have been very canny about how to win while not being the best team.
But hey, looks like we've come to another tank...
Pre-1900 Honorables:
Brooklyn Excelsiors, 1860-1862.
Original Cincinnati Red Stockings, 1866-1870.
Boston Red Stockings (National Association), 1871-1875.
Chicago White Stockings [Cubs] (NL), 1880-1886.
St. Louis Browns (American Association), 1885-1889.
Boston Beaneaters (NL), 1891-1899.
Baltimore Orioles (NL), 1894-1898.
Okay? Now let's...play ball!!
Monday, February 10, 2020
The Honorables, Mentioned. Part V.
A Russian Spy
The secret winter meetings of the Yankee braintrust will take place within 7 days.
It is held in an unknown hollow, in an unknown county of upstate New York.
I have delivered caviar to the men who shall gather there. But it comes in the form of a Russian sturgeon, named Hal. And he is alive, swimming like a king, under the surface ice.
Here he is:
The gathered fans have to cut a hole in the ice, and do the fishing they always claim they will do.
Hal has tasty eggs.
Live well, men. The season draws neigh.
Show us what you've got.
Catch this trophy and the season will be fine.
The new Redsock management may have just realized that it's not in Tampa anymore
In both cases, they are simulating the ways of the Yankees over the last 10 years:
A billionaire owner pretends to be a millionaire, so that we should feel sorry for him.
At a time when the global division of wealth now rivals climate change as an existential threat to society - (By the way, if you haven't seen Parasite, it's wonderful!) - the owners of professional sports teams have earned a special dung heap in Hell. They enjoy unprecedented growth in the values of their franchises, and then whine about having to pay the help. "Luxury tax? Unfair! Why, we can't afford this!"
But let's get to the Betts trade, which was revamped over the weekend, after scans of Brusdar Graterol's arm raised flags with Redsock management. (Or maybe it was just the fierce reaction of the Boston fan base.) At the last minute, the Redsocks turned over the chessboard and seemed to collapse the deal, a Trumpian move, as outlined in his ghostwritten books on screwing people. Now, instead of the MLB-ready Graterol, Boston will receives two Double A batteries - a shortstop (named Jeter Downs, no less) and a catcher (Connor Wong.) Yes, the comedy team of Downs and Wong! Both are certifiable prospects, who should elevate the Redsocks farm system, which was vandalized by trades in 2017 and 2018 (and which should take another hit if MLB shows some spine over the recent cheating scandal. My guess, though, is that after seeing the angry backlash against Houston, MLB will soft-pedal the charges against Alex Cora in Boston.)
Look, it's ridiculous to rate deals on the morning after. But one thing this trade does for Boston is extend the date on any evaluations. It will take two or three years before these prospects rise or fail, and unless they fizzle immediately, or are revealed as dwarfs standing piggyback, they will bring long term hope to Fenway Nation. The question, though, is whether the fans will wait.
Boston's new chief executive, Chaim Bloom, is credited with keeping the Tampa Rays competitive for the last 10 years, despite a payroll worthy of Walmart greeters. Bloom did this by trading stars before they reached their contract years, eventually so numbing the hearts of Tampa fans that they barely even support contending teams. Bloom is now doing the same thing in Boston. The Betts deal signals a clear message to every Redsock star: If you like it here, you'll take what we offer.
But Bloom may have underestimated the passion of Boston fans. They don't take kindly to having their hearts kicked to the curb. They'll never fully accept seeing Brady or Betts play for other teams. It's the iciest winter they've endured since the Curse of the Bambino, and it might even signal the end of their golden era of Super Bowl and World Series rings. They won't go down easily. This is not Tampa, and it's cold outside.
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Request: Will Someone Please Kill the Bug that is Up the Collective Ass of the New York Times Sports Department?
So rather than join the tabloids on this unnaturally spring-like day in celebrating the start of the only well-played sport in New York right now, The New York Times' "Sports for People Who Don't Like Sports" Section led off on its front page with a great-big, two-page piece on...the Oregon-Oregon State women's basketball rivalry.
Go Ducks! Go, uh, Beavers!
Meanwhile, two of the section's "journalists," James Wagner and Joel Petterson, decided to write a hilarious piece on how an average Yankees-Red Sox game is as boring as The Irishman:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/08/sports/baseball/baseball-irishman-long.html
Actually, I would gladly sit through game or movie (which I didn't like) again, rather than read this piece another time.
What's more, Wagner is the Mets' regular beat reporter. Petterson is an editor—and apparently a rugby fan.
Yay.
Where else does this occur in The Paper of Record?
Do their architecture critics write oh-so-hilarious pieces about how they hate looking at buildings? Do their real films critics write satirical screeds about how going to the movies is like watching paint dry?
Message to The New York Times: Two of the four words in your name are "New" and "York." Baseball is a popular sport here.
I'm sure The Oregonian has spots for those who wish to write about women's college basketball in the Great Northwest. Your many discontents ought to apply, and let some baseball fans cover baseball here in dear old NYC.
We may be facing the craziest Yankee year in our lifetimes
It's bat-shit wacko.
I mean, forget the impeachment, the nut-job Grammies, the contravirus, Sir Rush "Who... me?" Limbaugh, Meghan & Harry, the 65-degree day in Antarctica - disregard all the toxic, cultural dandruff that tweets its way into our souls each day. Just look at the cascade of crazy, end-of-times-level sporting news, and you wonder where to put the panic room?
Five weeks in, the Astros' cheating scandal is still mushrooming; the more it's examined, the more fundamentally evil it gets. The Mets comical search for a new owner has fizzled into a zombie eternity of Wilpons. And now, the Redsocks' amazingly moronic plan to trade their marquee, generational star, Mookie Betts, seems to have evaporated on a stack of MRIs. Minnesota supposedly is ditching the deal (after Boston - facing furious fans - started demanding more than somebody named Brusdar Granderol.) Can the Redsocks take back Mookie - and the overpriced David Price - after swimming a sewer sea to get rid of them?
Meanwhile, the absolute worst thing that can happen to the Yankees is taking place on a daily basis:
The 2020 team is being crowned world champions.
Yes, the Gammonites are calling the election before a vote has been cast.
Listen: This is not normal. Do do not look up, or you might see the Four Starters of the Apocalypse warming in the pen.
In fact, you should be afraid. Be very afraid. There is nothing angrier, hungrier, more cynical and unforgiving than a New York fan base convinced that this is The Year. Time and again, we've seen strong teams on paper wither under the ape-in-iron-mask rage of the 24-hour Gotham talk media. This year could be one for the ages.
It's amazing how, last week, the Yankiverse shrugged off news that last year's ace, James Paxton, could miss half a season due to back surgery. In another year, such a revelation would blare sirens along River Avenue. Yet this winter, expectations remain above the clouds. Everyone seems to assume that Luis Severino will return to the dominance of early 2018, that Giancarlo Stanton will be restored to the glory of 2017, or that last year's nonstop wave of injuries will end.
None of those hopes may come to fruition. Who is sure that Luke Voit and Mike Ford can play 1B, or that Gleyber can handle SS, or Aaron Judge can play for a season? In so many ways, 2020 could be a death sentence year for Aaron Boone. His teams have twice come close, and he has survived to manage again. But another loss in October could open the flood gates beyond firing Larry Rotschild and the trainers. Even Brian Cashman - who surely owns compromising pictures of the Steinbrenners - could find himself on thin ice, being kicked up the management ladder into Randy Levine territory. The greater the expectations, the harder it is to win... and I cannot remember a winter more filled with certainty. Every Yankee fan I talk with says the same: This is our year. There is no way we'll miss out.
That's the worst juju ever.
Look at Tampa. You find an ascending team that won 96 games and lost to the Codebreakers 3-2 in the playoffs. Look at Toronto, and you find a wave of talent that battled the Yankees tooth-and-nail last September. And we can never sleep on Boston, even if they're tanking for 2021.
It's been a crazy winter. It's going to be a crazier summer, full of anger and fear, and most of all, full of surprises. I invite you to come along for the ride, to keep us from going insane, and to survive the wacko avalanche that is about to happen. Together, we can make it. We either stay sane together or go insane separately. But one thing is for sure: Get ready for some crazy.
Saturday, February 8, 2020
"The way Codebreaker worked was simple: Somebody would watch an in-game live feed and log the catcher’s signs into the spreadsheet, as well as the type of pitch that was actually thrown. With that information, Codebreaker determined how the signs corresponded with different pitches. Once decoded, that information would be communicated through intermediaries to a baserunner, who would relay them to the hitter."
How to win a World Series by cheating.
Read the story in The Wall Street Journal.
Also, considering the newly emerging complexities of this scandal, the use of electronic buzzers inside the jerseys no longer seems like a wacko conspiracy theory. In fact, it now looks more like an inevitable progression.
This just gets uglier and uglier.
Friday, February 7, 2020
Bloomberg Campaign Officially Doomed
From the New York Post:
Mr. Met to help open Bloomberg campaign office in Queens.
Oh, Mike. Did you learn nothing in your time here?
The more we look at 2020, the more we fixate on Luis Severino
From there, all downhill.
By that August, Sevy's ERA had climbed above 3.00. He finished the season at 3.39 - not bad, just nearly twice it was in July, due to a steady drip-drip-drip of walks and gopher balls. (And yes, in case you are wondering: one of his poundings occurred in Boston - four runs in five innings - where the Magical Mr. Cora may have been working the video room. But it must be noted that Sevy was clobbered far worse by the Redsocks in the playoffs - in Yankee Stadium: Six runs in three innings, leading to a 16-1 rout.)
We know what happened last year - sorta. On the Ides of March, Sevy went out with a rotator cuff inflammation, the bane of pitchers in the 1970s. He was supposed to return in April, but suffered a Grade 2 lateral strain. He was supposed to return in June, but tweaks happened. I still can't figure it out, but the short answer is that the Yankees cleaned house of their rehabilitation trainers this winter. Mistakes were made.
Turned out, Sevy returned in September, having to rehab in major league games. He made three regular season starts, dominant in the first and shaky in the third. In last fall's playoffs, he pitched four shutout innings against Minnesota, and then surrendered two runs in four innings against Houston, (at home.) In both games, he constantly pitched out of jams.
And that's it, folks. Five starts, small sample size, not much to say about 2019... that's the line on Luis Severino, whom the Yankees have signed through 2023.
With the loss of James Paxton yesterday - (the Yankees say four months, but really, who believes anything they say?) - Rapid Response Teams across the Yankiverse immediately started beating the garbage can lids on behalf of Luis Severino becoming No. 2 starter in the rotation. And let's face it: Right now, he's as good as we've got. But it's been 16 months since Severino has been a top starter, and there are no guarantees of which pitcher will return - from the first or the second half of 2018.
From here, Severino looks like the fulcrum point on 2020 Yankees. If he returns at full form, the Yankees could have a one-two punch comparable to the Nats' Strasberg and Scherzer. With Boston on the ropes, they could waltz into October with the best record in the AL. But if Sevy continues to stumble - or, worse, becomes a china doll of injuries - the old comedy routine won't ask, "Who's on first?" It will become, "Who's No. 2?"
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Happy New Year ! Welcome to the 2020 Season
Or is it, " It is I" ?
For our foreign guests, the baseball season has not yet begun. Pitchers and catchers don't report for another week or so.
But the The Yankees have a starting pitcher, for whom they paid a ton and traded away even more, will not be reporting. The 2020 season of James Paxton will...to coin a phrase...simply not begin.
Mr. James Paxton was apparently spirited off to Russia a few weeks ago for back surgery. Consider him " done and dusted" as far as adding value to this season.
He pretty much sucked last year anyway, except at the very end when he pitched well but the cheaters prevailed. They tipped his pitches in key games and we went home empty, as has become usual for the Yankees now.
Do any of you remember the plague of injuries which befell the Yankees last year? The injury focus of 2019 was upon the position players. This year, I can see the prejudice shifting to the pitching staff.
In any case, if the cheating continues, the pitching won't matter. There are a lot of alternatives to garbage cans out there.
One last concern; if Severino still sucks, Montgomery is throwing in the high 70's, Tanaka's re-built arm shreds don't hold-up, and El Chappo gets the shakes again....it will be another long, fruitless season.
Maybe Andujar can pitch.
From the Swan pond;
Do not get your hopes up, men ( is there one woman who follows this blog anymore?).
Half the guys injured last season are still down and out.
And growing fat and older.
The first crack in the 2020 Death Star has emerged
So, yesterday, Coop disclosed that No. 2 starter James Paxton recently underwent back surgery, after months of pelvic pillows and kegels didn't quell his pains. Paxton supposedly will miss three or four months. He'll return in June, that is, if you ever believe a word that is inscribed in the Yankees' vast internet sea of deceit.
Frankly, there is no reason to put stock in any public statement by the Yankees, especially regarding tweaked and twisted thingamajigs. The franchise lies with impunity. Last March, they originally said Luis Severino would miss two weeks. He missed the season. Same with Aaron Hicks, Dellin Betances and Giancarlo Stanton: Their original injuries, when first disclosed, were painted as hiccups. In fact, we still wonder if they'll ever come back. (Also, let's be fair: It's not easy to diagnose the full extent of an injury. Nor could the Yankees have foreseen that so many players could be continually re-injured during rehab, a talent the team seemed to learn from Jacoby Ellsbury.) Here's a rule of thumb: When a Yankee goes down, just double the recuperation period; at least that way, you won't be disappointed. By that measure, Paxton will return in August, barely ready for the playoffs. Anybody wanna bet?
But Paxton's injury, which the Yankees knew of months ago, now explains why Cashman held onto J.A. Happ this winter. Shortly after signing Gerrit Cole, the team was said to be shopping the 37-year-old Happ to anybody willing to absorb his $17 million salary. But nothing Happ-ened. (Badabadoom.) In fact, Cashman might have been waiting to see how Paxton reacted to the CBD oil treatments. Also, Domingo German's girlfriend-abuse half-year suspension was yet to be rendered. By keeping Happ, Cashman avoided having to hear this blog SCREAM IN CAPITAL LETTERS for messing up the rotation. Everybody knows: You never have enough pitching. As it is, Severino is returning from a lost year, both Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka are returning from off-season surgery, Happ is returning from a life of disappointment, and Cole will be entering his first year of New York stress. There are plenty of reasons to worry about the Yankees pitching.
But don't worry about Paxton. He is 31 and entering his walk year. While it's true that losing three months will disqualify him from a Cy Young award-level contract, all he needs to do is pitch well in the post-season, and he will do just fine.
The real question is, who's next? Yesterday, in listing the pitchers who will compete for Paxton's rotation slot, Cashman ironically mentioned Michael King, a 24-year-old kid from Rochester. Two years ago, King streaked through the Yankee farm system, compiling a 1.15 ERA in his final month at Scranton. Last February, he came to Tampa with an outside shot at making the rotation. He felt pain in spring training and was quickly shut down. Over the entire season, he pitched only 48 innings. Maybe this will be his year. Let's cross our fingers. But here's that damn reality again: There will be another Michael King in Tampa, a kid with high hopes who right now is in denial about the pain he's feeling. These young pitchers, they break our hearts.
And we won't know who to count on in 2020 until the actual games begin. Until then, we should believe nothing the Yankees say. After all, Cashman needs the leverage.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
The cheating (Cora-gate) Redsocks are preparing to tank. Again.
Surely, you know by now that Boston last night - during the State of Union Address, no less - dealt the beloved Betts and the over-priced Price to Los Angeles, a trade designed to shrink their payroll below the de facto salary cap, (which will likely cause a MLB strike within the next two years.) Betts was a year shy of free agency, and Price had become an outcast among fans who only saw his 7-year, $217 million contract, which in 2015 was the most expensive in history for a pitcher. (Not any more. The Yankees signed Gerrit Cole to 9-years at $324 million.)
In return, Boston gets 23-year-old Alex Verdugo, who, like Betts, was a regular on Baseball America's Top 100 prospect list, before getting called to the Dodgers last summer. He played in 106 games and hit .294 with 12 home runs, which puts him into the same once-around-the-league strata as Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird. Take your pick. He could replace Betts entirely. Or he could flop. Apparently, the Dodgers were willing to take that chance.
Boston also picks up from Minnesota the terrifying RH reliever Brustar Graterol, who looked overwhelming in the AL Division Series against the Yankees. He's only 21 and already looks like a veteran closer, throwing 101 mph sinkers. The question, though, is whether a 6'1" youngster who throws that hard isn't destined to visit Dr. Andrews. They say Graterol will probably start the year in Pawtucket. My guess is that they need him as their opening day closer, just to justify the trade.
Either way, you can see the wheels turning in Boston. Jackie Bradely Jr. could be next to go, and if, by June 15, the team is stumbling, Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi could be on the block. That's how Boston works. They tank. They have won four world championships in this century, and each was preceded by a self-induced mediocrity.
2004 championship - two years earlier, they finished out of the running, 10.5 games behind.
2007 championship - the previous year, they finished third, 11 games out.
2013 championship - the previous year, they finished fifth, 26 games out.
2018 championship - (with asterisk for cheating) - in both 2014-15 they finished last in the AL East, far far away from any discernible race.
I don't write this to condemn them. They are simply smart. It was not until the Yankees decided to tank in 2016 - the trades of Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller - that our current team took shape. Along with cheating, the Astros were built via the tank, and teams throughout pro sports succeed through that cynical strategy. If things go south in April and May, Boston will start looking to 2021 or 2022, and their fans will understand. Yeah, management broke their hearts by trading Mookie - who bore many of the adorable traits that Big Papi once defined (especially in a city full of intense and shallowly buried racial animosities) - but if this new guy hits, all will be forgiven. Besides, Mookie will be in LA, and quite possibly face the Yankees in the World Series. They'll have something to root for in October, after all.
If these two youngsters fail, by July, you can bet that Boston will crash the team around Rafael Devers and Eduardo Rodriguez, with a giant FOR SALE sign around everybody in captivity. And just watch: Every trade or salary dump will involve teams that might face the Yankees in the playoffs. Because that will be the defining interest of the 2020 Redsocks: As long as the Yankees lose, all is fine. So long, Mookie. Hello, Tank.
"Let the River Flow! Let All the Dreamers Greet the Nation!"
ESPN is reporting that the Red Sox are trading Mookie Betts to the Dodgers.
Hee-hee.
In return, they are getting a good-looking young outfielder, Alex Verdugo, who is just 23 and has a .282 batting average in parts of three seasons, playing all three outfield positions.
The Red Sox will also give up David Price, and get in return, in this three-way trade, Verdugo and one Brusdar Graterol, from the Twins. Graterol, who turns 22 next August, had a terrific year in Double-A last season, as a starter, and then was unimpressive as a reliever in Triple-A.
Hmm. Very interesting. And after carefully assessing all of this, my measured, professional opinion is:
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME????
Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee.
Oh, don't get me wrong. Alex Verdugo may be a terrific player in the long run. Is he going to be better than an MVP centerfielder who hit .346 and at 26 has already won 4 Gold Gloves and 3 Silver Slugger awards?
I don't think so...!
Brusdar Graterol, that wonderful new sports energy drink...No, no, stop! That's below me. I apologize.
Ahem. Brusdar Graterol, having already invaded and ravaged three different nations with his Viking band—
I'm sorry. I just can't take this seriously.
Sure, maybe a few years from now we'll be going on and on about how Graterol is the Gatorade for any pitching staff. But I somehow doubt it.
And while I don't know if David Price will ever again be what he was—and let me say, I can't think of a surlier bastard who deserves his decline more—I doubt if Graterol is ever going to be a Cy Young winner with 150 wins by age 33, including two wins and a 2.12 ERA in the World Series.
Heheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh.
Let's face it. The Red Sox have decided to fold their tent for 2020. They'll be back, and knowing what sneaky, sly bastards they are, they may be better than ever.
But all the more reason to go for everything in 2020.
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
The Honorables Mentioned, Part IV
Can this BE anymore exciting???
Oh, wait, word just in from the Iowa Democratic Party: the Yankees have won the 2020 World Series! All right!
Okay, okay, let's press on with this Bataan Death March of a series and get you the pro football honorable mentions for my All-Time Top Ten Professional Sports Dynasties of North America.
Our story so far: the Top Ten.
10. Chicago Cubs, 1906-1910.
9. Boston Red Sox, 1912-1918.
8. Los Angeles Lakers, 1980-1991.
7. New York Yankees, 1994-2003.
6. Green Bay Packers, 1960-1967.
5. Chicago Bulls, 1988-1998.
4. Montreal Canadiens, 1955-1979.
3. Boston Celtics, 1956-1969.
2. New England Patriots, 2001-2020.
1. New York Yankees, 1920-1964.
And the top two runners-up:
New York Islanders, 1975-1984.
San Francisco 49ers, 1981-1998.
And the hockey runners-up:
Toronto Maple Leafs, 1941-1951.
Toronto Maple Leafs, 1961-1967.
Detroit Red Wings, 1948-1956.
Detroit Red Wings, 1994-2009.
Edmonton Oilers, 1982-1990.
New Jersey Devils, 1993-2003.
And the basketball runners-up:
Minneapolis Lakers, 1948-1954.
Los Angeles Lakers, 1999-2010.
San Antonio Spurs, 1998-2016.
Golden State Warriors, 2014-2019.
Boston Celtics, 1979-1992.
LeBron James, 2003- .
And now your football runners-up:
Green Bay Packers, 1929-1931.
Besides the 1965-1967 Packers, this is the only NFL team to win three straight championships, and the 12-0-1 team in 1929 is the only undefeated NFL champion in history other than the 1972 Miami Dolphins. All told, Curly Lambeau's team went 44-5-2, mostly with stellar defense. The 1929 team gave up just 22 points in 13 games—4 of them on safeties!—surrendered no more than 6 points in any one game, and compiled 8 shutouts.
But of course, this was the old, pre-playoffs NFL, with no set schedule—teams played as many as 19 games, and as few as 6—and the likes of the Frankfort Yellow Jackets, Minneapolis Red Jackets (what WAS with all the jackets?), Boston Bulldogs, Providence Steam Roller, Orange Tornadoes (also the name of a popular LSD brand), Buffalo Bisons, Dayton Triangles, and Staten Island Stapletons (yes, Virginia, there is a Staten Island).
For that matter, they were playing with a football that was even shaped differently, making it damned hard to pass, even if you WEREN'T playing the Patriots in the playoffs. (Thank you, thank you! Please remember your waitresses!)
New York Giants, 1933-1946.
Another power of the early NFL. They won 8 division titles, lost a playoff for a 9th, and won the famous "Sneaker Game" against the Bears. Still, just 2 championships in this time marked them as not quite best-of-era.
New York Giants, 1956-1963.
Ditto. A wonderful team, full of charismatic players—Sam Huff, Y.A. Tittle, Del Shofner, Giff, etc.—and they took 6 division titles in 8 years. But despite playing some of the most memorable championship games in NFL history—most notably the 1958, overtime loss to Baltimore that put the league on the map—they took home only 1 title.
Chicago Bears, 1932-1946.
The original Monsters of the Midway! They won 8 division titles and took 6 league championships in 15 seasons (1 in the pre-playoff year of 1932). Behind George "Papa Bear" Halas (briefly, a Yankee outfielder) and Columbia Sid Luckman, they revolutionized the sport.
They also won 10 or more games four times, twice went undefeated in the regular season (13-0 in 1934, 11-0 in 1942), and set the record for the biggest blowout in a championship, with their 1940, 73-0 win over Washington.
But much of their greatest success came during the war years, they lost the title game after each of their undefeated regular seasons, and they were usually playing in an eight-team league with a couple of franchises barely holding on.
Cleveland Browns, 1946-1957.
Another team that revolutionized the sport, under a legendary coach—the only person any team has been named after in North America, for any length of time. Paul Brown's team drove the Rams out of Cleveland, completely dominating the All-American Football Conference (AAFC) for 4 years. They went 14-0 in 1948, 47-4-3 overall, and won all 4 AAFC championship.
They then went over to the NFL and won the title in their first season, making it 5 in a row. They went on to win the East Division their first 6 years in the league, making it 10 straight first-place finishes in a row. Two more titles followed, along with another division crown in Jim Brown's first year.
All this made them a top contender for the Top Ten. But it's hard to really count the AAFC as being just as good as the NFL, and once over in the established league they lost 4 title games in 7 goes.
Dallas Cowboys, 1966-1983.
Tom Landry's Cowboys missed the playoffs only once in 18 seasons, won 10 or more games 15 times (and 12 or more 6 times), and became a merchandising bonanza. They also finished first 12 times, and won 2 Super Bowls.
Trouble is, there were just a few too many other big-game losses: 3 other Super Bowls, those heartbreaking NFL championship losses to Green Bay in 1966-1967, and 5 other NFC conference championships.
When it came to the big game, too often Dallas came up just short. And they were never "America's Team."
Dallas Cowboys, 1991-1996.
Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones' noxious creation took 3 Super Bowl in 4 years, won 5 straight division titles, and ran up 70 wins in 6 seasons. Give the devil his due—just not quite sustained enough to make the Top Ten.
Miami Dolphins, 1970-1975.
Don Shula sure could put together some great teams, and his 1972 Dolphins, of course, were the only one to go undefeated and win the championship in the playoff era. His 67 wins and 4 division titles in these 6 seasons were impressive, and his team had some great characters. But only 2 titles doesn't quite cut it.
Pittsburgh Steelers, 1972-1979.
A very near miss. Four Super Bowl wins in as many tries—including 2 of the more exciting ones—seven division titles (including 6 in a row), and 88 wins in 8 seasons is damned impressive. According to some, the 1976 team, which compiled 5 shutouts in its last 8 games, was the best defensive team ever (though it's hard to go against the 1985 Bears). They just miss out on longevity.
Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders, 1967-1985.
Three Super Bowls in 4 tries and an AFL title, 12 division titles, 12 seasons with 10 or more wins, and 8 seasons with 12 or more wins (including two different, 13-1 years). An innovative, impressive team on offense and defense, and great coaches in John Madden and Tom Flores
What's not to like? Well, there's always the team's cruel and ruthless manipulation of the poor city of Oakland, and Kenny Stabler's attempt to frame a reporter on a cocaine rap (Hey, they didn't call him "Snake" for nothing).
But on the field, there were a lot of big-game losses. Seven lost conference championships, to be exact, as well as that blowout at the hands of Lombardi. These Raiders were a great football team, but rarely the best one of their era.
Next up...the Iowa caucus results! I kid, I kid...we're never getting those!
The most intriguing invitee to Tampa
Across the Yankiverse, Holder is often held up for condemnation as the classic example of a wasted high draft pick, another Cito Culver, picked in the relentless hope of quickly replacing Derek Jeter. He was selected in the "sandwich" round of the 2015 draft, after the Astros had grabbed Garbage Can Bregman, and the Redsocks had taken Babe Benintendi. Holder was the 30th player picked, and to be honest, there is no raging current superstar immediately called afterwards, allowing critics to lord over the Yankees for their failure. (Most early picks are still bumbling around in the minors.)
Signed out of college, Holder was said to possess a major league glove - at SS, no less - that would grease his ride through the minors... if only he could learn to hit. Here's what MLB said:
Holder actually had a strong season from an offensive standpoint with a .348 batting average, but he’s considered an elite defensive shortstop with good instincts and a lot of athleticism.
Last year at Trenton, Holder hit 9 HRs and batted .265, one point above his career minor league total. In a previous generation, those numbers for a shortstop would have him in the majors. But these days, shortstops are supposed to hit 30 HRs and bat third. Holder will never do that. He'll turn 26 in May - (bats LH, by the way) - and it's now or never, as to whether he can be a useful management wrench.
I mention Holder because, if certain events come to pass, he might be exactly what the Yankees need for their 26th man. Of course, they already have two utility infield candidates - Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada - each with a better bat than Holder. But it's questionable whether either represents a defensive upgrade over Gleyber Torres at SS. Here's where Holder's supposedly elite glove could come into play.
Let's say it's the ninth inning of a close game, and the Yanks need their best gloves on the field. Mike Tauchman takes over in left. Would Holder play SS, moving Torres to 2B and DJ LeMahieu to 1B? If so, the oft-maligned Holder might turn out to be one of the most useful first-round picks of the last decade. After all, the guy we picked earlier in that round was James Kaprielian, later dealt to Oakland (and still bumbling around Triple A.)
In the last three years, the Yankees were spoiled by the spectacular defense of Sir Didi Gregorius. He'll be a tough act to follow, and if Gleyber Torres's glove lags, maybe the unheralded Holder will get a shot. You never know.
Monday, February 3, 2020
The Honorables Mentioned, Part III
Okay, now that the NFL season is over—and hey, what happened to that big Kobe tribute at the Super Bowl?—time to try to slog through the last week before P & C.
What better way to do it than with more on the just-missed in my Top Ten, North America, all-time professional sports dynasties list??? That is—the honorable mentions for basketball!
Our winning list, as you'll recall:
10. Chicago Cubs, 1906-1910.
9. Boston Red Sox, 1912-1918.
8. Los Angeles Lakers, 1980-1991.
7. New York Yankees, 1994-2003.
6. Green Bay Packers, 1960-1967.
5. Chicago Bulls, 1988-1998.
4. Montreal Canadiens, 1955-1979.
3. Boston Celtics, 1956-1969.
2. New England Patriots, 2001-2020.
1. New York Yankees, 1920-1964.
And the top two runners-up:
New York Islanders, 1975-1984.
San Francisco 49ers, 1981-1998.
And the other hockey honorable mentions:
Toronto Maple Leafs, 1941-1951.
Toronto Maple Leafs, 1961-1967.
Detroit Red Wings, 1948-1956.
Detroit Red Wings, 1994-2009.
Edmonton Oilers, 1982-1990.
New Jersey Devils, 1993-2003.
And now for the top basketball honorable mentions (drumroll please!)
Minneapolis Lakers, 1948-1954.
The NBA's original dynasty, featuring 6' 10'', bespectacled white goofus giant, George Mikan. In fact, in its first season it wasn't even the NBA at all, but the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which had yet to merge with the National Basketball League (NBL).
Still Mikan was a force, leading the BAA-NBA in scoring 3 times, with as many as 28.4 a game, and in rebounding twice, with as many as 14.4 a game—in a league, mind you, that did not yet have a 24-second clock.
The Lakers who actually played in the land of lakes won 5 titles in 6 seasons. They won 4 division championships, and never played less than .606 ball. Two of those championships were won over your New York Knickerbockers—one of them in 7 games—and who knows how different Knicks history might have been, had they been an early champion in this front-running town?
Nonetheless, this was still an overwhelmingly white NBA (and pre-NBA), one in which teams played in places such as Anderson, Sheboygan, Tri-Cities, Fort Wayne, Waterloo, Providence, and even Rochester and Syracuse. Hard to take it all that seriously, nostalgic as one might be for it in our overhyped age.
Los Angeles Lakers, 1999-2010.
Speaking of the dead...The last of Phil Jackson's (and really, Jerry West's) masterpieces, which won 5 championships in 11 years, and dropped 2 other finals. These Lakers also won 6 division crowns, compiled 50 or more wins 8 times, and won as many as 65 and 67.
There was a definite slump in the middle of the dynasty, though, from 2004-2007, and I don't believe they played in as great an era for basketball as the 1980-1991 Lakers who made the list.
San Antonio Spurs, 1998-2016.
A weird dynasty, to be sure. Won 5 titles (and dropped 1 final) in 18 seasons, with a changing cast usually anchored by Tim Duncan, and coached by Gregg Popovich. They often came up just short against the other super teams of their time, but were always in it, always a threat: 13 division titles, 17 years with 50 or more wins, 6 with 60 or more. Sustained, selfless excellence at its best.
Golden State Warriors, 2014-2019.
Transformed the game, if not necessarily for the better. Still, a highly likable, very exciting team. With 3 championships in 5 seasons (and maybe a 4th with a little help from the refs), the Warriors in this time never won fewer than 57 games in a season, took a record-breaking 73 wins in 2015-2016 (but a loss in the finals that year), and 207 over just 3 seasons.
Boston Celtics, 1979-1992.
Give the devil his due. The Larry Bird Celtics did not quite measure up to the Bill Russell Celtics, but they were a smart, gutty team that won 3 titles and lost 2 other finals in an incredibly competitive era. They took 10 division titles, won over 50 games 12 times, and won over 60, six times.
LeBron James, 2003- .
Nine finals, 3 titles, with teams that he carried on his shoulders—if not outright created. A one-man dynasty, now looking to do it for a third franchise. His comments on China were sad and dumb. But what a force!
Does nobody want Greg Bird?
Bird had bum tootsies. Anything that could go wrong, it went south. Ankles, arches, bunions, heels, hoofs, insteps, nails, pads, sole, toes - whatever. If something could tweak, it twoked. (He also tore a shoulder, at one point.) And once Bird hit the Jacuzzi, you couldn't get him out with a fire drill. Weeks turned into months. A lost cause. Bad wheels. End of story. And yet...
When the Yankees punted on Bird, in advance of the December draft, I had a sinking sense that they'd made a mistake. Bird was no Gold Glove at 1B, but he looked more comfortable than Luke Voit or Mike Ford, the two platoon bookends most likely to play that position in 2020. And once again, you wondered if Bird could reclaim the magic of 2015, when he hit 11 home runs in 46 games.
Even now, I wonder why Bird remains an unsigned free agent. If nobody in baseball wants to take a flier on him, why wouldn't the Yankees give it one more go? Last we heard, the San Francisco Giants were rumored to be interested.
Bird is 27, one year younger than Voit, the same age as Ford. I suppose there is no cause for the Yankees to try again. And they have a recent history of trying out first-basemen, who then succeed with other teams. (Ji-Man Choi last year with Tampa, and before him, Steve Pearce with Boston.)
Pitchers and catchers report in 11 days. Between now and then, somebody out there will take a chance on Greg Bird. I have a feeling, they'll be pleasantly surprised - unless, that is, he gets a taste of their Jacuzzi.
Sunday, February 2, 2020
For those who say Aaron Boone is always wrong ...
Not sure if this will translate to his baseball decisions this year, but ...
On this Super Sunday, our day of cultural jury duty, the 2020 Yankees must carry the torch for NYC sports
It doesn't take much to see that if the Yankees fail in 2020, the lyrics of New York, New York should be amended to, "I wanna wake up in the city that never wins." It's the Yankees, or wait'll-next-year. (Or next decade.) No other team will come close to a championship. If the Death Star fails, NYC might as well fill the Canyon of Heroes with topsoil. If the Yankees fall, the closest that Gotham may come to experiencing a championship could be the International League Governor's Cup, in which NYC can suck some winner's dust from Scranton/Wilkes Barre, only a two-hour drive.
I've said it many times: If all things are equal, New York cannot compete in sports against teams from smaller markets, which simply pose fewer distractions for their libidinous celebrity stallions. The only clear advantage NYC has is money, generated by the size of its market. Remove that fiscal advantage - with luxury taxes and payroll caps - and New York is handicapped by celebrities, traffic, hookers, tabloids, drugs, booze, screaming radio hosts, stalkers, lawyers, cops, robbers, entourages and and the worst ailment of all: The generations of old money, in-bred, dickless, bathrobe-clad owners, who are either dolts from birth, or who are raised to be naive, pampered buttercups, who then become cultivated and controlled by the most treacherous sycophants on the planet. It's a losing proposition, rooting for New York teams. Look at the swamp of mediocrity.
The football Giants. The fourth head coach in four years is about to take over. The 49ers went from worst to the Super Bowl, while the Gints have stagnated onward. It's the owners, of course, who deserve to be dumped in the harbor. Why would anybody think the Jersey Giants will win anything in 2020? In a big year, they'll go 8-8 and draft a wide receiver known for intricate end zone celebrations, which we will never see.
The Jets. A miserable franchise from top to bottom. Their greatest achievement: Somehow, they make the Giants look good.
The Knicks. Dear God, I don't even want to write about them.
The Nets. Could they embarrass the Knicks into improving? Would it be too much to ask?
The Rangers. Yeah. Sure. Whatever.
The Islanders and Devils. Hummina-hummina-hummina...
The Mets. Before they hired and fired Carlos Beltran, there was a spark of hope that his cheating ways could produce a winner. New York is hungry for a Mets revival. If they win the NL East, they will win the 2020 tabloids back pages. But from here, the Nats and Phillies still look better. And, hey, everything said... they're the Mets.
The Yankees. Let's face it. On this Super Sunday, they remain New York's best hope in 2020. The burning question: Did Hal Steinbrenner pull back from the free agent market a bit too soon? Ever since the Yankees sprung for Gerrit Cole - hooray for us! - they've backpedaled, trying to save money by letting key lug nuts walk to other teams. This should be our year. It is the Yankees' talent peak. Come 2021-22, big contracts will come due, and Hal will revert to his Food Stamps ways, cutting payroll to avoid his all-important luxury taxes. This is it. This is the team that carries hope for NYC, and this is our best chance for a Yankee championship season. Boston might even trade Mookie for a complete tear-down and rebuild. If we blow this, the Redsocks might win another world championship before we do. Think about that, and you realize how desperate the stakes are.
Chiefs by 12, Pepsi by six.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Astro & Red Sox Cheating Push "Grandyman" Into Retirement
"The Grandyman " today announced his retirement from baseball.
After stellar careers with Detroit, the Yankees and the Mets...Curtis has packed it in.
" .....it was the cheating that made me leave the game..."
All those inexplainable losses to the Red Sox and the Astros have taken their toll. Batters not flailing at the balls in the dirt. Like Giancarlo Stanton does.
Baseball was his religion until he learned of the false Gods in Houston and Boston.
You think it is a coincidence that Boston and Houston both end in " ton?"
That combination of letters is a satanic symbol....first revealed in Salem, Mass. It foretells cheaters and liars.
Only the most evil, corrupt and despicable humans live in those cities and support those teams.
Duque has said, " this ( the cheating plague ) isn't over. Both team should not be allowed to play in major league baseball until the turn of the century.
They can play in that town in China that has given birth to the Corona virus.
And they can cheat all they want.
But they can't wear masks or have facial hair.
New data shows the Astro cheating scandal was worse than we imagined
Before Christmas, Adams downloaded every 2017 Houston Astros' home game and finagled a software application to sync the data with video of each at-bat, zeroing in on the sound of a banging trash can from the direction of the home dugout. He published his findings on a newly created site called signstealingscandal.com, and they explain why the see-no-evil, suited Keystone Cops of MLB could not turn away from the scandal. Adams looked at more than 8,200 pitches, counted 1,100 suspicious trash bangs, and thus has revealed the scope of an insidious operation, far more than anyone could have expected, and which seems to have clearly altered the outcome of the season. The Washington Post wrote about it yesterday. It's not going to disappear.
Some takeaways from Adams' work:
* The data shows the Astros perfecting the cheat in April of 2017 and attaining full Dirty Tricks Mode by late May. In a May 28 win over Baltimore, Adams detected 28 trash bangs - or pitches tipped. Up to that date, only scattered bangs were heard. From then on, the numbers were almost always in the teens and twenties. The cheat was on.
* On a September day after opposing pitcher Danny Farquar complained about sign-stealing, the practice abruptly stopped. The Astros went from 41 bangs - tipped pitches - to only one on the following night. The suggestion here: They knew exactly what they were doing, and they knew they had been caught.
* Of the Astros, the greatest recipients of bang-help were Marwin Gonzalez (147 tipped pitches), George Springer (139), Carlos Beltrán (138) and Alex Bregman (133). Maybe instead of "M-V-P," Bregman's fans should chant "Lock him up." Relatively low on the list was Jose Altuve, though I still believe his new nickname should be "the Bang-Bang Shrimp."
* Most of the tipped pitches were breaking balls, which the Astro batters laid off on. This supports the rant by Marcus Stroman, who said recently that he could never understand how Astro hitters weren't biting on his slider. Well, the answer is now rather easy: They knew enough to avoid swinging at his "out" pitch.
* MLB's claim that no single outcome was affected by cheating looks increasingly tenuous. Adams spotlights a game on August 23, 2017, where 16 at bats - hinging on 29 tipped pitches - played a huge role in a 6-1 Houston victory. The Astros hit two home runs - one by Joel Marsonek and one by Bregman - in at-bats that included tipped pitches. By the way, the Houston starter that night was Mike Fiers, who later blew the whistle on the whole operation, and whom some Houston players seem to be portraying as a turncoat. Gee, I wonder what they'll say about Tony Adams? He's not a true fan?
* Adams investigation shows two late June games against the Yankees, in which Houston banged the trash can more than 80 times. The Yankees won the first game easily, then lost the second game, 7-6. In that game, Dellin Betances imploded, giving up four runs in the eighth. Yep, Dellin - possessor of the wipe-out curve and the 98 mph fastball. Then again, if you knew which pitch was coming, it would be a different story, eh?
What's next? Tony Adams has shown America the template for a full-scale investigation of how the Astros stole a world championship. The full impact of their cheating is only now coming to forefront.
It's time to scrutinize the 2017, 2018 and 2019 post-seasons. This aint over.
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