Baseball Fans Helping Other Baseball Fans

You will wonder what this has to do with baseball as you read, but I have to tell the whole story. It begins as such:

There was an accident on the NJ Garden State Parkway Wednesday that shut the southbound road 8 miles above Exit 74. The accident was at Exit 74, A truck hit the exit overpass. http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/NEWS/806050571

It took me 3 hours, 47 minutes to get from the Toms River Tolls to my house last night' a distance of 9.7 miles. the overpass road is shut indefinitely for repairs, cutting 80% of my town off from a direct route into the town center, and isolating the people who live west of the Garden State Parkway from shopping, schools and gasoline.

I was stuck in traffic at ~6:30 PM. I would have been home in time to see last night's Yankee Game. I sale the 9th inning, that's all. I was trapped in the car and in my area of NJ the radio broadcast did not reach. I also left he XM radio home that day by accident. No baseball.

Fortunately I got some game updates from my friend Mike, (Check out -New York Yankee Update). Proving that true Yankee fans will always help other Yankee fans. Mike by the way was stuck in the same traffic mess hours earlier. Today's blog isn't so much about baseball but baseball friendships.

I met Mike online through Myspace. From time to time I have actually socialized with Mike and his wife; we like the same local band. Mike is one of the many NYY fans I have met online and a decent egg.

Mike provided me with a few game updates by testing my PDA. Mike knows the feeling of desperation and suicide when you are trapped in your car for hours. The game updates helped me forget about committing suicide. After an hour in car you become suicidal when the car has only gone 1 mile and there is no place to go. Mike is a true Yankee fan and a source of volumes of Yankee history.

If you have not read the New York Yankke Update, you should, especially the archives.

The Great Joba Experiment No Fair to Mel Stottlemyre

Tomorrow many will second guess NYY decision to start the NYY decision to start Joba. They will start by saying he is 2 inning guy, he three 62 pitches in 2.1 innings, what were the Yankees thinking. their short memories will not recall a young Andy Pettitte or an even younger Mel Stottlemyre; although at pre-game they were all making the comparison.

In his rookie year, 1964, at age 22, Mel Stottlemyre tossed in 96 innings and finished with a 9-3, 2 no decisions. He struck out 49, walked 35, hit 2, and intentionally put on 3 in a total of 14 games, 5 of which were complete games. He finished the season with a 2.06 ERA. Oh by the way 14, (5 complete games) and 96 inning is ...................5.6 innings per game pitched in partially games (Mel's losses albeit his game 1 debut, 1 win and 2 no decisions)

On August 12, 1964, when he debuted he pitched 9, he lost in 9 inning; giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk to the Chicago White Soxs. The White Soxs beat the Yankees. 7-3 that day. Mel faced 27 batters.

Gone are those good old days, the days of the complete game.

In tomorrow's dissection of the Joba starter premier, we will also forget about Mel and his losing debut. We will forget about pitchers being pitcher, not starters, relief or closers. What is wrong with baseball is specialty pitching. All pitchers should be whole games pitchers.

As far as I am concerned, Joba's role should be closer, heir to Mo. As far as starters are concerned, if 9 inning was good enough for Mel, in 1964 it is good enough for all in 2008. The game has not changed that much.