Hey Tank, nice pitching staff
April 28th, 2009 by Cliffy
What do the Yankees have in payroll in their pitching staff… a little over $60 million, if my abacus is correct? And that buys the only team ERA over 6.00 in the majors - good for last in the entire major leagues. Very, very impressive.
As of today, NY Yankees team ERA - 6.18. The top two currently in the majors? KC - 3.34, and Pittsburgh 3.36. Oh, btw… the *entire* team payrolls for each: KC - $58 million, and Pittsburgh - $49 million.
I’m not sayin’… I’m just sayin’.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Awful. Only April, but just awful. In fairness to the rest of the staff, Wang accounts for over 1 run on the team ERA despite having pitched a mere 6 innings, but with the exception of Pettitte none of the starters are pitching at the level they are being paid for. In the poetic justice department, today the Yanks announced 50% price cuts on some of the higher-priced seats, to try and avoid further embarrassment from TV broadcasts showing tons of empty field-level seats.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:48 am
If I heard correctly, the Yanks were going to give some of those field-level seats to current season-ticket holders (presumably in other parts of the stadium, where the TV cameras wander far less often) from game to game… did I hear that correctly?
As for Wang, what’s the deal? I mean… the guy’s been fairly consistent the past few years. Then he broke his foot on a freak play (which naturally lead Captain Bluster, Hank Steinbrenner, to proclaim that his pitchers shouldn’t be expected to run in a game). He was pronounced fully healed, but… he’s been worse than John “Way Back” Wasdin. I suspect he has Yankee fans pining for the return of Lee “Kerosene” Gutterman… even Ol’ Kerosene wasn’t *this* bad! Seriously, though, what gives? One theory I heard was that the foot injury did some ancillary damage in the foot/leg and/or weakened muscles in that area, such that it’s affected his mechanics. One would think mechanics should be correctable, and clearly that’s why the Yankees came up with some phantom injury to send him down to the minors for “rehab” (coincidentally after he refused an outright assignment to the minors).
As a Sox fan, I’m happy if Wang is no longer effective.. the guy is/was very good. But as a baseball fan, I admit I’m befuddled as to the precipitous drop he’s had to begin this season.
Hmmm… maybe the Yankees will bring Clemens back again in May to ride in and save the day - and Susan “Oh my goodness gracious!!!” Waldman can have an on-air orgasm again. Or maybe not.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Yes, you heard that correctly; I suppose giving out free extra tickets is one way to fill seats in the short term without actually repricing them down.
No clue what’s wrong with Wang. Seems like nobody really has a handle on it. Time will tell I guess. Plus Joba needs to get into better shape and get his speed up. Maybe they should make him work out with Pettitte, who flourished while adopting Clemens’ workout regimen.
April 30th, 2009 at 8:30 am
“… workout with Pettitte, who flourished while adopting Clemens’ workout regimen.” Um, Tank… in case you missed it - MLB is now cracking down on PEDs… er, “Clemens workout regimen” which helped Pettitte “flourish”. Indeed, if Pettitte had adopted Clemens approach to *answering* for his workout regimen, Pettitte likely wouldn’t be collecting a MLB paycheck right now (like Clemens).
But I agree with your general point: Joba seems to be very talented, and shame on him if he doesn’t do the work now to maximize his potential.
May 1st, 2009 at 9:02 am
An additional thought: Pettitte was terrific at the beginning of last season, and wore down at the end. I think we can safely say that he is indeed *not* on any PEDs anymore (or at least, not on any that work).
Last year (age 36), first half/second half splits: First half - 20G, 10-7, 4.03 ERA, 1.336 WHIP. Okay, not a Cy Young contender, but pretty good… especially for a 36-yr-old.
Second half - 13G, 4-7, 5.35 ERA, 1.532 WHIP. Hmm… about the only stat he matched from the first half to the second half was losses.
I’m picking on Pettitte, but he’s far from alone - and the general point is simple: *That* is the effect of no more PEDs for pitchers… and *that* is why pitchers were taking them just as often as hitters were, even though hitters got far more press at the time.
May 1st, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I think it’s time to start putting snot on the ball
May 7th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
You really think Pettitte was juiced? That would genuinely surprise me.