The American League West- Pitching 2009

The pitching in the American League West is in one word…………Abysmal! A train wreck is a prettier site. The 2007 Yankee pitching was a better group of dysfunctional talent. Yankee & Boston fans shouldn't waste time staying up when the teams go on the road to the West, road trips will be predictably successful.

ERAs are high and pitching staffs consist of aging veterans with issues and youngsters with something to prove. Starters have lots of mileage and no one has a real closer. If I had to guess right now who would win the West, I couldn’t say. One thing for sure, the Wild Card is unlikely to come from the West this year. It will be a fight of the worst to win the Western Division.


Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:
My parents said if you can’t say something nice, say something positive, Kelvim Rodriquez will make NY Mets fans ecstatic. As to Angels fans, gone are the good ole days.

The Angels starters are aging. I hope for a glimmer of light in the minor league invitees, otherwise Angel games with AL East and Central times will just result in even higher ERAs. The brightest hope is Jose Arredondo who could be the up and coming closer.

The winning potential of the starters is 0.757; relief is 0.616 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.710 or 115 games. That would work fine if they confine play to the West, but they have to face the East and Central, making them a 92 game winner and the probable champ.

If you live in LA, just root for the Lakers or Dodgers.

Oakland Athletics:
The Oakland Athletics consist of a lot of kids recently brought up from the minors. This team could end up with the best pitching. They have youth and leadership on t heir side. The pitching staff reminds me of the 1996 Yankees. Justin Duchscherer and Josh Devine have great potential and are the best starter and closer in the West, despite their youth.

The winning potential of the starters is 0.443; relief is 0.601 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.513 or 88 games.


Seattle Mariners:
The Mariners have a problem, they have plenty of starters, but no one can get out of the fifth. What makes that worse is they have some solid relief, but not enough to cap the gap and give the bullpen rest. They too will have to experiment with the youth o fill in the holes. I like Carlos Silva, I think he will be in Seattle a while.

While the pitching is shaky, pitching instruction even shakier; Rick Adair has taken over from Mel Stottlemyre. Adair didn’t do much as a pitcher, he never made it out of the minors, and did less at Texas. There will be crying over baseball in Seattle this year.

The winning potential of the starters is 0.323; relief is 0.327 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.354 or 53 games.


Texas Rangers:
The worst pitching in the division! Texas will be a good place for Boston and Yankee road games. The cowboy in the white hat will be Mike Maddux. Maddux came to Texas this year with a proven track record. If anyone can rope in those ERAs it will be him. But he has his work cut out for him.

The winning potential of the starters is 0.478; relief is 0.357 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.424 or 69 games.


AL East Winner: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (90 wins or better)


Also rans: Oakland (85 wins or better), Texas (70 wins or better), Seattle (60 wins or better).
Up next, offense.............

The American League Central - Pitching 2009

The pitching in the American League Central is also tilted. All teams have starters to practice the six inning game, however only the Indians, White Soxs and Twins are actually fielding major league starters and relievers. If you don’t talk about Carl Pavano, the Cleveland Indians have the best pitching in the division, maybe even in baseball. The Chicago White Soxs close trying to scalp the Tribe, and Minnesota Twins can’t be counted out. Floundering like fish are the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals.

Chicago White Soxs:
The White Soxs starters can give them an average of 6 innings and relief can give 3, Bobby Jenks is no Mariano Rivera or Jon Papelbon, but he can stop the game.

The winning potential of the starters is 0.486; relief is 0.457 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.476 or 77 games.

The White Soxs are in it to win it.

The Soxs have the capability to win 95 starts. Their starters can give them an average of 6 innings while relief can give only another 6 innings; Chicago is famous for their extra inning games. The winning potential of the starters is 0.617; relief is 0.976 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.737 or 119 games: with the Indians in the same division if the White Soxs break 100 wins, they will be lucky.

Cleveland Indians:
The Cleveland Indians have the best pitching staff in the American League starters can give them an average of 6 innings and relief can give the required 3, they lack a solid closer, however look for Jensen Lewis to improve. The winning potential of the starters is 0.812; relief is 0.999 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.975 or 110 games.

The Cleveland Indians have the capability to take on all comers and take their scalps.

The Tribe could easily win 123 games. The will battle with the White Soxs, Yankees and Boston. Those teams with the Indians, should be pitching duels. If Carl Pavano makes the Indians roster and does not feign illness, he will be rudely received in the Bronx.

Detroit Tigers:
The Detroit Tigers don’t have bad pitching, they are just it the wrong division this year. Its hard to win when two of the 4 teams you play can dominate you.

The Detroit Tigers starters can give them an average of 6 innings and relief can give 3. The winning potential of the starters is 0.503; relief is 0.963, but their closers are no show stoppers. The have a potential winning percentage of 0.606 or 82 games.

The Tigers may bite and roar, but for all respects they will be tame.

Kansas City Royals:
Kansas City still haves the best steakhouses, but no baseball. The best chance for the Royals is to poison the Gatorade in the visiting clubhouses when other teams come to town. Maybe they can get come peanuts packaged by the Peanut Corporation of America.

The Royals are still building, and if they can remain steady, they have a chance in a few years, but not in 2009. Their relief pitching is their best asset at this time.

The Royals starters can play the 6 innings game and relief finish it off, they lack a solid closer. The winning potential of the starters is 0.503; relief is 0.963 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.606 or 82 games.
The Kansas City Royals are not a playoff team.

Minnesota Twins:
The Twins are the spoiler in the Central with their ultimate secret weapon, Manager Ron Gardenhire.

Their starters can give a solid 6 innings innings and relief can give the needed 3, and they Joe Nathan for a closer. The winning potential of the starters is 0.575; relief is 0.963 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.662 or 85 games.

The Twins could surprise everyone.

AL Central Winner: Cleveland Indians (100 wins or better)

Also rans: Chicago (97 wins or better), Minnesota (98 wins or better), Detroit (80 wins or better), Kansas City (77 wins or better).

American League East Pitching 2009

The pitching in the American League East this year creates a disparity. On one side of the seesaw is New York, Boston and Tampa, on the other Toronto and Baltimore. While New York, Boston and Tampa will be playing for the title of AL East, Toronto and Tampa will be fighting to see which one does not finish in last place.

Baltimore Orioles:

A great disadvantage to Baltimore pitching is Camden Yards, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Soxs. Baltimore has weak and shaky starting pitching. Starters can only give you 5-6 innings, and then it is the Orioles Bullpen.

The Orioles should consider this a rebuilding year.

The Birds have the capability to win 80 starts. Their starters can give them an average of 5-6 innings while relief can give only 2-3; the bullpen will be taxed against opposing AL East power bats from New York and Boston. The winning potential of the starters is 0.559; relief is 0.370 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.496 or 80 games. The Orioles will finish in last place.

Boston Red Soxs:
To the advantage of the pitching staff is the Green Monster, Matsuzaka, Papelbon and David Ortiz. If the Red Soxs hit they can win 99 games, if they don't, 88 games, making them a potential 94 game winner and a rival to New York and Tampa.

The Red Soxs have the capability to win 99 starts. Their starters can give them an average of 6 innings and relief can give 3-4. The winning potential of the starters is 0.544; relief is 0.463 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.517 or 84 games. Boston as always will threaten the Yankees thus make the AL East race interesting, especially with A-Rod on the DL for the season start.

New York Yankees:
While it is a concern what the Yankees will do without Alex Rodriquez's bat, hitting only tacks on runs; pitching is the most important aspect to winning the World Series. This year in the AL East, the Yankees have set themselves up with solid pitching, starters and bullpen. Not only that the Yankees have strong youth potential for starters.

A healthy year could bring another AL East Title.

The Yankees have the capability to win 102 starts. Their starters can give them an average of 7 innings while relief can give 3-4, they can get more rest on Mo's arm. The winning potential of the starters is 0.610; relief is 0.697 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.629 or 102 wins. The Yankees can win the American League East as long as they manufacture runs.

Tampa Bay Rays:

The question remains if Tampa can maintain the momentum of their American League Division Title or are just a flash in the pan. If the Yankees and Boston are healthy, Tampa is an an unknown wild card in the AL East race. They have a solid pitching staff and with care against Boston and New York hitters, they are a potential first place team. They definitely will do better against Toronto and Baltimore than New York or Boston. A factor for the Rays is whether Tropicana Field is now a pro Tampa home or reverts back to Yankee Stadium South.

The Rays need the crowd on their side at home to succeed.

One plus the Rays have is relief pitching in the minors, a new closer. The Rays starters can give them an average of 6 innings and relief can give 3-6 if needed. The wining potential of the starters is 0.563; relief is 0.597 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.574 or 93 games Tampa has potential to win the American League East as long as the can beat Boston and New York, they could be the Cinderella story again. Tampa is favored against poor offensive teams in the League.

Toronto Blue Jays:
Ice Hockey is more important than baseball in Canada. Add to that scary range of talent in starting pitching and unsteady talent in the bullpen and you see the 4th runner up in the American League East Race.

Yankees and Boston are division powers. The Yankees took A.J Burnett from the list of solid Blue Jays starters. Roy Halladay is still good, but the Yankees are set for starters, quality starters; the Jays are no.

Blue Jays fans should attend their beloved hockey games. Toronto fans will be tortured by a 4th place hockey team going nowhere and yet again an also ran baseball team. Toronto fans can continue to hate Boston with a vengeance, because the Boston Bruins are leading the NHL Northeast conference and the Red Soxs will stomp all over the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays starters can give them an average of 5 innings and relief can give 3, they lack a solid closer. The winning potential of the starters is 0.486; relief is 0.457 and that makes for a potential winning percentage of 0.476 or 77 games. The only race Toronto will be in is for the basement of the American League East.

AL East Winner: New York (98 wins or better)

Also rans: Tampa (91 wins or better), Boston (88 wins or better), Toronto (79 wins or better), Baltimore (80 wins or better)

The Ticket Licensee - Finale

After several weeks of trying to get decent seats at a price that is fair, I have thrown in the towel. I will not renew my ticket license. Part of this is pride and part is I don't want to pay through the nose and still not be able to see the ball at the plate. All options offered were between 356 to 416 feet from the plate.

Am I nuts, no, I am very level headed. I don't believe that sports tickets should be out of reach of fans, The Yankees and most of baseball have joined Club Nuts! They are raising seat prices because they can; especially in stadium that don't fill, ticket prices have been evaluated win the capacity crowd team comes to town. Baltimore has tripled the face value of tickets for Red Soxs and Yankee games, tickets remain at normal price level for the rest of American League East.

Baseball is a slow learner. Football banned drugs years back, Baseball just started. This morning the Jets announced the have fiscal issues, they need to furlough 50 non team employees for 2-3 weeks in June-July to meet expenses. Fans aren't biting at the Jets seat licence fee. The Jets like many are being crunched by the economy. this trend will catch up with most sports sooner than later. Payrolls will have to be cut. You can't pay out what you aren't bringing in.

I am not hysterical I did not renew, I will win in the end. Fiscal restraint is necessary, and if you won't charge me a fair price, I will not but your product. The Yankees will still be on TV and now I can work to get tickets for games I want beyond 2 seats. In the end I will do better.

For $899 I can purchase a 42 " Panasonic 1080 HDTV. For $299 DirecTV will sell me a HDTV/DVR. That total cost would only get me to 6 games in the crappy seats the Yankees offered me.

That stills leaves me plenty in my ticket budget, and I will have excellent seats for all 162 games. I can even record them for those west coast games and ESPN Sunday night stands, and watch them in my viewing time. I consider this a victory for the working man, in this case woman.

The license rant is now officially closed; time to turn to Baseball. Up next time, the American League East Pitching.

A final comment to Lonn Trost, Randy Levine, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner:

We need Bernie Back!

Alex Rodriquez and Mickey Mantle have one thing in common.......stupidity. Had Mantle behaved himself, he would have not needed uppers to play and downers to sleep. Instead Mantle painted the town red white wearing the pinstripes. He was a party boy; taking advantage of his fame. In the 1961 season, Mantle acquired a festering sore from his butt injections of uppers and downers. It effectively ended his home run race with Roger Maris, and nearly hurt the Yankees chance of wining the division.

A-Rod prefers low key, uses drugs he should not have, cheated, and now has a hip cyst and a torn acetabular labrum, he represents, while stupid, an offensive weapon against all teams. Cheating or not, Alex can hit the ball. Pitchers know that and plan strategy around his portion in the Lineup.

What other weapons are out there? One fan favorite and still scary bat, Bernie Williams. Williams a victim of Brian Cashman's stupidity a few years back was cut. Arguments by NYY coaches, Joe Torre and Tampa to keep Williams were not weighed. Cashman felt he was done; and in his new position of power cut Bernie Williams. Williams is not a power hitter, he is a switch hitter and that causes pitchers and managers to rethink their strategy. Yes the Yankees have Posada, but adding Bernie to the 40 man would be a smart move

Its time to admit you were WRONG Brian Cashman, and suck it up and re-sign Bernie Williams. Bernie represents a significant offensive distraction. Bernie can still hit. With A-Rod out Williams would be my choice for a bench player and DH for the time. (Especially since Mannie re-upped with LA).

Somehow I don't think Cashman is that smart, or George would have a few more American Leaque and World Series titles. Time to wise up Brian, you don't know squat about talent!

Chapter 10 in the A-Rod Saga

For those who came in late I will recap:

Chapter 1: A-Rod opens mouth and disses Derek Jeter, causing the first of many controversies.

Chapter 2: A-Rod comes to New York Yankees from the Texas Rangers, bringing his all about me personality into the team oriented New York Yankees clubhouse; the Yankees begin a down turn.

Chapter 3: A-Rod admits to frequenting poker clubs, reviving the Pete Rose question about gambling issues associated with sports players.

Chapter 4: Mrs. A-Rod appears at the stadium in a controversial T-Shirt, making the front pages of the Daily News and New York Post, all his money can't buy good fashion sense.

Chapter 5: A-Rod seen with mystery blond in Toronto during the Yankees stand against the Blue Jays.

Chapter 6: Mrs. A-Rod institutes divorce proceedings after A-Rod and Madonna are linked as having extramarital affairs with each other.

Chapter 7: Madonna dumps A-Rod and divorces husband Guy Richie.

Chapter 8: Joe Torre talks extensively about "the A-Rod problem" in his new book, confirming A-Rod's self centered selfish attitude.

Chapter 9: A-Rod admits to steroids, receives many invitations to discuss this from the United States Congress, the US Attorney regarding DEA Issues and Major League Baseball. A-Rod's defense: "My cousin made me do it."

Chapter 10: A-Rod develops hip cyst which could end his career, and so I begin:


Chapter 10: The Hip Cyst:

• Hip Cysts typically are sign of osteoarthritis. Not necessarily a true cysts, they are weakened areas in the bone plate; and a weakened hip joint is never a good thing, once you have pain, the damage is done.
  
• Oh by the way, Osteoarthritis is one of the indicators of intravenous drug abuse and a documented side effect of HGH abuse. By screwing around with the body's normal metabolism by taking pharmaceuticals not prescribed for your condition, bad stuff happens.
  
  Never mind not playing in the world baseball classic, something I want moved to November and not the middle of Spring Training; A-Rod has bigger issues. He could be looking at surgery to fix his hip. Quite easily depending on the size of the area, he has potential for permanent injury, ending his career. While I would like to see A-Rod and his story banished from the Yankees, you don't want a career ending injury to befall anyone.
  
  In the end he only brought it upon himself. Using illegal obtained, non prescribed, performance enhancing substance can cause health problems, just ask Jason Giambi. A-Rod could be looking at early retirement from baseball, a life with an artificial hip, walker or in a wheel chair.
  
  So here you go boys and girls, a lesson, never cheat, especially in sports, because:

Paybacks are a Bitch!

More Ticket Issues-Lack of Integrity

While I doubt feel that many employees in the NYY Ticket Office may be a little dense; they should not assume the licensess are. My latest round with the ticket office goes this way:

Monday, 9AM, March 2, 2009, Greg from the Ticket Office leaves a voice mail on my house phone about Section 132. Please call him back, he will hold the seats till Tuesday.

At 3PM, my assigned ticket rep, Rosa Muniz calls me, again about Section 132, she call the cell. We have an engaging conversation that goes like this:

Rosa: "Everything you heard is wrong, its just fans show are trying to cause trouble. All ticket holders with seniority of 2006 or higher got their requests, anyone in 2007, 2008 0r 2009 got nothing".

Personally I know that is a load of horse poop. And today I find out form another colleague, also a NYY fan, the ticket office tells them nowhere and no answers when they call.

I have till Friday to exercise my license. I am on fence, leaning towards not renewing. I have this ethical situation with what i consider fair market value. Most of the seats in Yankee Stadium are priced beyond fair market value, more towards their value from Stub Hub, then a direct dealer.

I really think it is time baseball fans stood up along with all sports fans and did something about this. Unfortunately we get seduced into ticket plans, which gives us a season of accessibility. I am not easily seduced, and I have better uses for my pile of Yankee ticket money:

1. Purchase a 42 inch flat screen and a DVR.

2. Purchase 4 tickets to Opening Day from a fair market value scalper I know.

3. Purchase tickets to games, with enough seats I can take my niece and toddler nephew.

4. Do a few road trips to away games to protest this trend in baseball to price premium games with inflated values.

5. Spend time and money of what is left to get laws passed regarding fair market value pricing.

Note: I have spent some money with my favorite Voodoo priestess, Sabrina, commissioning a doll of Lon Trost. As I sit in my scalper purchased Opening Day seats, I will be stabbing Lon in enough places that he will be in pain. Sabrina makes a quality Voodoo doll, and she practices fair market value.

Finally my greatest issue these days is with the lack of integrity, in reality bold fat lies being told to me by the Ticket Office. Fans speak to each other, after many years, I know many other licensees. We all got the same line of B/S. The New York Yankees, an organization that takes pride in the integrity of their heroic hall of fame players, is now a den of liars.

I hate liars, I think they should all have their tongues cut out.

Don't ever lie to me, the consequences will not be to your liking.

Update on my NYY Ticket License

On Friday, while I was in San Diego for business, I got a call from the the ticket office of the New York Yankees.

This was clearly in response to my emails and decline of the crappy seats in the bleachers I was offered. Hey maybe they even suspect that I was the one who wen to the Daily News. I did, after the first article, but can't take credit for the bad publicity being generated.

Now Shamir, from the NYY Ticket Office told me I had the opportunity to buy a 41 game plan of field level seats (reality the right field field bleachers, seats no benches); for the mere cost of $8020 plus tax, shipping and handling for 2 seats. I said no, put me in the pool.

The seats offered in reality would have cost $25.00 in the old stadium given there locations (see picture, gray area in right field). They are in fact where in the 1923 Stadium the Bleacher Creatures sat. Who knows where the Yankees have stuck that loyal and crazy group of fans. And the Operations Management of the New York Yankees clearly are living in fantasy land and not have no reality. They have lost their minds.

Also the person who read my letter and passed it on clearly does not get that I have not budgeted $8000-9000 for seats. I really do want what I had and I am not willing to pay more than $50.00 a seat.

Clearly the overpriced seats are not selling or I would not have received a phone call on Friday. And The call was a hard sell. Since I was in between sessions in conference, I gracefully told them they were out of their mind, out of touch with the real fans and to put me in the pool. I anticipate I will not get what I want. The Yankees are determined to stick it to the fans in hopes that someone will be crazy enough to overpay for these highly overpriced seats.

Had the seats actually been along the infield base lines I might have jumped at them. Those seats in the old stadium ran between $75-95 a piece/game. Those seats by the way are now between $300-500 a piece/game.

Despite my business travel, I heard the interview Lon Trost gave to WFAN. Clearly he too is one of the COOs that is out of touch with the economic situation. He clearly is drunk with power, believing that Yankee fans will pay anything. He does not realize that the good times have passed, and like all empires, the Yankee Empire is falling; and he is one of the reasons why.

But don't despair fellow Yankee fans, all empires rise and fall and the Yankees always go through these cycles.

Oh how I wish George Steinbrenner was still the healthy active Kaiser and in charge. Instead the inmates are clearly running the asylum.