Chipper Jones Still Effective

Chipper Jones is off to a disappointing start for the Atlanta Braves this season, but he can still contribute winning baseball.

Going into today's game, he has a .243 batting average, two home runs and a .756 OPS. His OPS+ is 106 so by definition he is an above average hitter. The catch: his on base percentage is .399.

The problem, as outlined in today's box score, is that he is batting third while Jason Heyward is batting second. Batting order is usually designed for the first inning because in the first inning we know who will bat first, second and third. In later innings, it becomes jumbled. Heyward gets on base AND hits for power. His slash stats are .299/.419/.592. I think it's time manager Bobby Cox flips Jones and Heyward in the batting order so Heyward can drive Jones in.

Ivan Rodriguez: True Yankee

ESPN ran a story on its Web site several years ago about a True Yankee. I think the concept is ridiculous because it is synonymous with winning and having a big hit. Despite posting two MVP seasons, Alex Rodriguez wasn't even in the discussion of True Yankee until last season when he had another great, albeit in an injury plagued, season, a dominating post season and a World Series ring. Yet a monster 27-game season followed up with a decent enough post season and a World Series ring put Shane Spencer into True Yankee status after his 1998 season.

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to kind of pick at this notion of True Yankee. I introduce Ivan Rodriguez: True Yankee.

Ivan Rodriguez is a Hall of Fame quality catcher who had a great run with the Texas Rangers from 1991 till 2002. He won an MVP in 1999 and made All-Star appearances from 1992 till 2001. He signed with the Florida Marlins in 2003 and helped them win a World Series over the New York Yankees. He then latched on to the Detroit Tigers in 2004 and put up his last great season posting a .334/.383/.510 line.

Rodriguez briefly played for the New York Yankees in the 2008 season. He played 33 games (101 plate appearances) and posted a .219/.257/.323 slash stats line with 2 home runs and a 51 OPS+. Yes, we're talking only 33 games, but he hadn't posted an OPS+ above 100 since 2004. He was so bad that Jose Molina got a majority of the starts. Coincidentally, Molina in 100 games (297 plate appearances) posted a 51 OPS+. It's always nice when you can get that kind of consistent play among your catchers.

Rodriguez then signed with the Houston Astros and was later traded back to the Texas Rangers in the 2009 season. Combined, he posted a .249/.280/.384 line and a 73 OPS+. He's retired, right? Nope. The Washington Nationals signed him to a two year $6 million contract last off season. If the previous five seasons of average to horrendous play weren't any indicators, the Nationals figured that he could get things figured out as he turns 39 this season and 40 next season. So far, in 31 games and 119 plate appearances, he has posted a respectable .333/.356/.441 line and a 112 OPS+. He should retire now. Ivan Rodriguez: A True National.

Dan Haren to the Bullpen

With the score tied 4-4 after the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied back in the bottom of the eighth, Bob Howry and Chad Qualls gave up five runs in the top of the ninth as the Diamondbacks fall to the St. Louis Cardinals 9-5.

Howry, Qualls, Aaron Heilman and Juan Gutierrez have been miserable to start the year. All have an ERA above 6.43. As of this point, I do not have a strong opinion on Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch, but I am glad that Lou Piniella is not the coach of the Diamondbacks. If he was, would we be talking about Dan Haren, who like Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano is off to a slow start, going to the bullpen?

The Sean Berry and Bill Spiers Platoon

Before the Houston Astros were wasting money on Brandon Lyon, they were a forward thinking team. General manager Gerry Hunsicker and head coach Larry Dierker employed a platoon of Sean Berry and Bill Spiers during the 1998 season.

The right-handed Sean Berry started 76 games and posted a .320/.390/.511 line in those games. Against right-handed pitchers in 222 plate appearances, he had a nice .276/.365/.458 line, but in 120 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, he posted an outstanding .383/.429/.598 line. The left-handed Bill Spiers started 89 games and posted a .291/.373/.422 line in those games. Against right-handed pitchers in 396 plate appearances, he had a solid .287/.370/.415 line. In contrast, he had 41 plate appearances (which was 41 plate appearances too many) against left-handed pitchers and put up a measly .143/.220/.200 line.

Combined as third basemen, they put up a .303/.380/.461 in 708 plate appearances line with 43 doubles, 5 triples and 15 home runs. They were also both 32 years old. For comparison Cal Ripken Jr. posted a .257/.329/.420 line in 718 plate appearances with 26 doubles, 3 triples and 24 home runs during his age 32 season.

What does this all mean? Sean Berry and Bill Spiers are not name-recognition baseball players. By themselves, they were okay hitters but nothing too spectacular. Spiers was atrocious against left handers while Berry was decent against right handers. Combined they put up all-star caliber numbers. The teams that can't field a great player without a platoon split at every position have to be creative with their rosters to get great season-long production.

For those keeping tabs, last year general manager Ed Wade employed Geoff Blum and Jeff Keppinger as their primary third basemen. The switch-hitting Blum posted a .252/.316/.368 line in 386 plate appearances over 100 games as a third baseman. The right-handed Keppinger posted a .243/.319/.374 line in 244 plate appearances over 65 games as a third baseman.

Combined as third basemen, they put up a .249/.317/.370 line in 630 plate appearances with 21 doubles, one triple and 15 home runs.

Carlos Zambrano Will Pitch in the Eight Inning

It's about time that Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano will pitch in the eighth inning. Unfortunately for Cubs fans, we're talking about as a relief pitcher as the Cubs announced his move to the bullpen today.

In 2006, Barry Zito signed a $126 million, seven-year deal with the San Francisco Giants. This contract, rightly so, was outrageous as he was not an elite starting pitcher. While he has struggled at times, he has still given the Giants some good to great games and an okay performance overall.

In the summer of 2007, Zambrano signed a $91.5 million, five-year contract extension (with optional sixth season) with the Cubs. This contract probably should have received the same treatment as the Zito contract. Zambrano has struggled sometimes, save for one game and hasn't topped 200 innings pitched since 2007.

Zito and Zambrano are strangely similar besides the fact that their last names begin with Z. Zito's career pitcher slash stats are .9 hr/9, 3.7 bb/9, 6.7 so/9 and 1.82 so/bb. Zambrano's career slash stats are .7 hr/9, 4.1 bb/9, 7.7 so/9 and 1.91 so/bb. In the two seasons prior to signing his big contract, Zito had a 4.37 FIP in 2005 and a 4.94 FIP in 2006. In the two seasons prior to signing his big contract extension, Zambrano had a 3.62 FIP in 2005 and a 4.15 FIP in 2006. He signed the contract extension in the middle of posting a 4.55 FIP in 2007. Clearly, both pitchers were treading downward and didn't have the stuff to warrant the high contract. Somehow Giants GM Brian Sabean and Cubs GM Jim Hendry are still employed despite these outrageous signings among other horrible signings.

A couple of quotes to take away from the article:

"I told him we really needed him in the bullpen," [Lou] Piniella told reporters in New York before facing the Mets, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "We felt he could do a really nice job for us there."

And then later:

The Cubs' bullpen ERA entering action Wednesday was 6.15 with a 1-6 record. The bullpen has blown 4-of-7 save opportunities this season.

"I'm confident this will help our situation out," Piniella said, according to the Tribune. "This makes all the sense in the world. This is a significant move, not a panic move."

I realize that Zambrano has struggled, but we're talking about a $91.5 million relief pitcher. He's still one of the top five starting pitchers on the team. Also, I'm not sure a guy who has a career 4.4 walks per 9 innings would make for a good relief pitcher.

The other problem is that we are talking about four starts. Sure, they were bad starts, but the only number that jumps out in these four starts that is different than in the past is the 1.9 home runs allowed per 9 innings. His walks per 9 innings are slightly up, but his strikeouts per 9 innings are really up. Those numbers should balance out to something similar to last year's numbers and his home run rate should also go down.

Relief pitchers are a dime a dozen--unless they are Mariano Rivera and a couple others. They struggle, they dominate and ultimately they are replaceable. They shouldn't be making $91.5 million. As long as Zambrano, who never deserved that contract to begin with, is one of the five best starting pitchers, the Cubs should throw him out there like the Giants did with Zito. And if he's not, look to trade him or just swallow some pride and try to buy out his contract.

Finally, here are a couple of links and tweets regarding the situation:

I read this Jack Moore story after writing my post and reading Rob Neyer's blog. Moore emphasizes the same points about Zambrano and brings in the Carlos Silva angle. Interesting enough Silva pitched 6 innings of 2 hit, 1 run, 2 walk and 4 strikeout baseball tonight against the New York Mets. Personally I would think Tom Gorzelanny would be the odd man out. But really, any start now Carlos Silva should turn back into Livan Hernandez.

Jonah Keri tweeted: "The Cubs are paying Lou Piniella $3.75 million/yr to decide that Carlos Silva deserves a starting job over Carlos Zambrano. That's special."

Dave Cameron tweeted: "Cubs moving Carlos Zambrano to bullpen, leaving Carlos Silva in rotation. #CarlosFail"

Keith Law tweeted: "Uh ... got nothin'. RT @sitrick2: @keithlaw Please, if possible, explain the logic of moving Zambrano to the bullpen."

And the best one. williamnyy23 tweeted: "@keithlaw It's obvious. The Cubs keep blowing leads, so Lou thinks it would be easier if the team never had any to begin with."

My First Kiss

I haven't written a creative story since the spring of 2008 when I was still at ASU. I've been wanting to write a story about a first kiss because I thought it could be funny. When I was searching through my computer, I still have a folder saved for my old Web site that I had with about 20 other writes from back in 2007. I browsed through some of the stories, and well, I already wrote about this topic. Below is the story. A couple things to note: the original version was kinda skeleton-y, so I added some content. This has not been through any editing, so we're looking at rough draft material. But the message and humor is there. When someone kidnaps me and takes me to Flagstaff and I enroll in NAU's creative writing Master's program, I'll use this as part of a bigger piece that I will want to write chronicling awkward experiences.

Before I post the story, I should say that this is one of the rare completely creative stories that has no influence on me or anyone I know. My real first kiss resembled mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (I played the role of drowning swimmer) with the girl's dad catching us. I strangely miss those days. Anyway, on to the story!

I was totally unprepared for the voicemail greeting when I called that girl so I just hung up. Fortunately, she had caller ID, and she called me back. We had a good conversation, and we planned for a date that night to meet up at an outdoor mall.

Everything was moving so fast for me. I just got through the telephone call, and now I have to go on a date. Couldn’t I get a week to take a breath? I knew I needed some advice on dates, so I went over to my friend’s house for some consultation.

We sat at the kitchen table and went over everything. We discussed compliments, holding hands and the kiss. I wasn’t sure about the kiss. Obviously this being my first date meant that this would be my first kiss.

“How do I kiss?” I asked, slightly embarrassed by the unusual question.

“You look her in the eyes, you keep your mouth open a little, and you aim for her upper or lower lip,” he said.

“That’s it?” I asked.

“Yeah, and use your hands to make sure her face is positioned at the right angle,” he said.

“I have to use my hands?”

“Yeah, and you can also use your hands to maybe tug her hair or something.”

“Wow, I didn’t even know girls liked that.”

“Some girls do but don’t forget to use your tongue.”

“This is way too much for me to handle.”

“Then just go for a small open mouth kiss on her lips.”

“I think I can handle that.”

“And hey, if the date is going bad, excuse yourself and give me a call and I will call you back to save you.”

I left my friend’s house feeling really confident. I met my date at the mall. We decided to get some dinner first at this Italian restaurant--Fazoli’s.

“These breadsticks are amazing, right?” I asked.

“Yeah, I mean, they are buttery or something,” she said.

God this was awkward. I was thinking really hard for conversation topics, but she was no help. Hmm, legoes.

“You know, I always wanted to make a giant lego fort. Not to like live in, but to have in the backyard. Just kind of chill,” I said.

“Would you have a bed or kitchen?” she asked.

“No, but I think I would have a desk. It could be my area where I would do a lot of writing: journal writing and maybe greeting card writing.”

“People still write greeting cards?” she asked.

“Oh, of course. Who doesn’t like getting something in a carnation colored envelope? Man, so you gotta check this out. I wrote a birthday card to a female friend in felt-tip pen last week. The ink ran so much that the wrong message was written.”

“That’s funny. I need to go use the bathroom”

Why do people say that’s funny when they don’t laugh? Anyway, I used this opportunity to call my friend for some last minute advice.

“Hey, I think the date is going well,” I said.

“Great! Now take her to that fireplace area and give her a kiss,” he said.

“I think I might tug her hair.”

“Umm, okay.”

I hung up the phone, and she returned a couple minutes later. I took her on a walk to the fireplace area. I was thinking about all the advice my friend gave me. Suddenly, we were standing in front of the fireplace looking at each other.

I looked into her eyes, and all my worries went away. I felt confident, like I’ve been there before. I leaned in. This was going to be magical. I parted my lips a little. This was going to be my first kiss! And her cell phone rang.

R. Ortiz is in the game

I had a new game: it was called figure out which R. Ortiz is pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles. How it was played was I would go on my blackberry and check out the Dodgers box scores. When checking out the box scores, the blackberry wouldn't have their full name (both pitchers were labeled R. Ortiz), thus giving the suspense. Since Joe Torre seemingly loves using the same relief pitchers every game, there would be at least one R. Ortiz (maybe both) pitching. I had to guess which R. Ortiz played. It was fun. Sadly, that game is now over. The Dodgers designated Russ Ortiz for assignment.

The Mustached GM never fails to amaze me. He signed Russ Ortiz and Ramon Ortiz. What does The Mustached GM* like about these guys?

Russ Ortiz got the game ball during a World Series (despite the Giants losing the game in the end). He also won 21 games in a year and playing in an All-Star game. And he turns 36 years old this season.

Ramon Ortiz has a less impressive resume. He did actually win a World Series ring. In fact, Ramon's Angels played Russ's Giants in 2002. He won 15 and 16 games in back to back years in 2002 and 2003. He turns 37 years old this season.

Anyone who actually went to baseball-reference would predict that these were horrible signings. Russ Ortiz has a career 1.39 so/bb line, and he hasn't been adequate since his overrated 2003 season, in which he finished 4th in Cy Young balloting despite 4.3 bb/9 and meh 6/3 so/9 lines. Ramon Ortiz hadn't pitched since the 2007 season. He has a career 1.82 so/bb line, and he hasn't been adequate since 2002--his only okay season. Even in that year, he served up a league high 40 home runs to average 1.7 hr/9.

Of course it's not surprising that these two pitchers have struggled so far. Take a glance at Russ Ortiz's box score and Ramon Ortiz's box score. I was hoping that this game would last until at least the All-Star break, but even the Dodgers figured out that Russ Ortiz was horrible. When will they figure out that Ramon Ortiz is horrible?

*The Mustached GM also signed Garret Anderson

What does The Mustached GM like about Garret Anderson?

Anderson was a three time All-Star, won a home run derby, won a World Series with Ramon Ortiz in 2002 and he turns 38 years old this season.

Of course he is a guy who has never been a great on base guy. On top of that, he has little power these days. He hasn't been a good hitter since 2003. Any guess how this one will turn out?