Results tagged ‘ Joe Mauer ’
Expanding Replay after the Year of the Umpire
If last season is remembered as the “Year of the Pitcher,” can we remember this season as “The Year of the Umpire”? And when I say “Year of the Umpire,” I don’t mean it in a good way. It’s no mystery to baseball fans that over the past 15 seasons the state of umpiring in the game has been nothing short of dreadful. The missed home runs by umpires forced the league to adopt a limited instant replay system a few years ago. But with the bad calls this season, it’s clear to anyone that is paying attention that this has not been a good year for the men in blue and that replay needs to be expanded.
Two weeks ago, umpire Jerry Meals made what probably has to be the most egregious decisions in the history of umpiring, when he ruled that Julio Lugo was safe at home plate with the winning run, of what was up to that point a 19 inning classic between the Braves and Pirates. You didn’t need to see a replay of Julio Lugo being tagged out at home plate to know what happened since it was clear to anyone watching at home that he was out by–not a mile–but an astronomical mile. Yet, Meals, the third closest person to the play, somehow, thought that Lugo was safe which gave the Braves a 19 inning victory, and the Pirates a crushing defeat which they haven’t recovered from. And two nights ago, Dana DeMuth committed a similar blunder of his own when he ruled a Billy Butler double, that did not clear the fence at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, a home run. These two examples, are just the epitome of the bad calls we have seen throughout the league this season, and from the looks of it, things are likely to get worse. And what could be worse for the league is another bad call that ultimately decides the World Series.
Expanding replay…
With all these bad calls by the umpires this season, I think it’s time that the League urgently consider expanding instant replay. Such a system shouldn’t eliminate the umpire’s judgment calls, but eliminate the idea that all judgment calls by them is final and irreversible and not to be questioned by other umpires. The Commissioner should also dismiss the arguments against replay, since most are ridiculous to begin with.
The length of the game, one argument goes, would be higher with expanded replay. The reality is that replay will not affect the length of the game. The League can take steps to make the games faster, and one of the ways to do that is to enforce the 12 second rule between pitches when there are no runners on base. Second, it should stop batters from stepping out of the box after every pitch. With these measures in place, a five minute review at a play (in reality most plays take less than five minutes to review) would be inconsequential to the time of the game.
The other ridiculous argument against replay is that it would take the “human element” and interest out of the game. Actually it won’t. What replay would do is correct the “human element” of the game. The game is interesting to watch when you consider the fact that umpires do make mistake on crucial plays; but consider the added increase in the interest to a ball game when controversial calls, thanks to the human element, can be reversed. What if Joe Mauer’s “foul ball” in game 2 of the ALDS in 2009, between the Yankees and Twins, had been reversed thanks to replay and ruled a double? The human element of the game wouldn’t have been eliminated, but correct. And the process to correct the call would have attracted the interest of many fans around the country, as the complexion of the game and of that series would have been different than what it ultimately turned out to be.
The fact is, most of the arguments against replay are bad. The League has ample evidence of the way technology can be used to correct calls and instead of hiding behind exploratory committees and bad arguments, the Commissioner and the rules committee should form a system of replay that will help preserve the integrity of the game.
Quick American League Predictions..
Forgot to add my American League predictions, but now that the season started, I’ll just add my quick predictions..not much to explain, I think it will be self explanatory…so here it goes:
AL East Champions: Boston Red Sox…they have an advantage over the Yankees at the moment, and unless if the Yankees make a move, the Red Sox should win the division. They have a tough lineup that added power and speed and has returning injured players from last year. This is a very good team with a very solid rotation. Lester and Buchholz are prime to have a big season, and if Jose Reyes is available he will be a Red Sox.
AL Central: Minnesota Twins…They have the best team in the division and one of the best ballplayers in the game today. I’m not sold on Chicago and their talk of good pitching. Joe Mauer will again have a big year and will lead this team to a division crown. The key for the Twins success in the post season will rest not on its pitching staff, or Mauer, but on the health of first baseman Justin Morneau.
AL West: Texas Rangers…They will repeat as champions. CJ Wilson is ready to be the ace of this pitching staff, and his short time with Cliff Lee probably has provided him with much needed leadership help. Moreover, the Rangers have a solid bullpen with up coming talent. Josh Hamilton needs to be healthy all year however if the Rangers hope to repeat as West champs..
AL Wild Card: New York Yankees…the Yankees are good enough to win the Wild Card, but not the division..unless they make a move for another starting pitcher…like Felix Hernandez. The Yankees will score a lot of runs, but have deep question marks in their rotation..
Of course there are some teams to watch in the American League this year. The Oakland A’s are much improved and could end up beating out the Rangers if things go well for them. Another team to watch is the White Sox…although I’m not sold on their pitching, but if Peavy comes back from the DL and remains healthy this year and if John Danks duplicates and improves upon from last season, the White Sox could surprise many teams this year.
The Gold Standard: American League.
Even though I’m not a big fan of the Gold Gloves, I want to extend my congratulations to this year’s recipients of the award with a few comments. Of course, before I do that I have to explain why I don’t give much stock to this particular award. At least to me it seems that the Gold Glove Awards are based more on popularity than on actual on the field play. For instance, why is Derek Jeter a Gold Glove winner this year? No disrespect to Jeter, but it’s been clear that for the past few season, except for 2009, that he has lost considerable range at short. When Jeter came up in 1995, he showed some range (of course not the same range at short that A-Rod, Nomar Garciaparra or Ray Ordonez all had) but he never developed that part of his game to the fullest, falling behind other notable shortstops in both leagues. And as Jeter has gotten older, his range has so considerably diminished that one Texas Rangers’ scout recently, and gleefully, told Ed Randall that it was one of the reasons why they were successful against the Yankees in the ALCS. If MLB scouts can see that Jeter has lost range, why is he the recipient of another undeserved Gold Glove? I guess popularity does counts.
And the Gold Gloves goes too…..
C. Joe Mauer.. No surprise here. I think Joe Mauer is the most complete catcher in baseball right now. Not only can he gundown runners, but he has been able to do a good job handling the Twins pitching staff the past two seasons. Only Buster Posey is a close second.
1B. Mark Teixeira.. I have said this before, Mark Teixeira’s glove is as important as his bat. Considered the playoffs in 2009. Teixeira didn’t hit much in all three rounds, however, it was his defensive play that saved one game and extended another; ALDS game 2, Teixeira made an important defensive play with the base loaded and zero outs, and in ALCS game 3, he kept the go ahead run from scoring, before the Yankees fell in extra-innings.
2B. Robinson Cano.. He has come of age playing at second. It is remarkable to see how far he has come. In 2007, one of the problems many fans had with Cano was his shoddy defense, but since that year, Cano has worked hard to improve his defense and this year it paid dividends when he helped turn 114 double plays.
3B. Evan Longoria.. Longoria is the real deal at third base. He has considerable range, a very strong arm and ever since he came up in 2008, we have witness a superstar in the making..not to be confused with Eva Longoria..
SS. Derek Jeter.. Seriously?
OF. Ichiro Suzuki.. Not only does Ichiro swing a mean bat, but he complements his offensive with crisp defense. Ichiro is one of those special players because he focuses on the fundamentals of the game on both sides of the ball, which is why he will be considered as one of the greats of the game here and in Japan.
OF. Carl Crawford.. He is the best all around left-fielder in the game, so it isn’t a surprise he has won it. This year Crawford in UZR with an 18.5 rating. That means he saved the Rays an average of 18 runs against.
OF. Franklin Gutierrez.. Not surprising. Gutierrez is one of the best centerfielders in the game today, and this season he gave the Mariners steller outfield play. In 2009, Gutierrez had a UZR of 29.1.
P. Mark Buehrle.. Of course he was going to win it this year. On Opening Day he made the play of the year; a play which inspired ESPN’s Buehrlemeter, the standard on which all defensive plays were judged during the course of the season. Buehrle however has been one of the best fielding pitchers in the American League, and one play made on Opening Day is just a microcosm of his excellent defensive play.
Weird day yesterday…
I couldn’t help but notice some of the wierd goings-on around the league yesterday, especially involving the two teams in Florida. The Rays lose because their homefield isn’t really an advantage to them and the Florida Marlins lost their game against the Phillies because the umpire saw one thing, while the rest of us saw something else.
Wake up call?
If you’re a fan of the Rays, what happened yesterday afternoon must make you a little sick, if not, at least it should be of some concern. After being dominated by Kevin Slowey for 7.1 innings, the Rays finally put the pressure on the Twins and knock Slowey out of the game. Now with the Twins Jesse Crain on to pitch in relief of Slowey and the Rays down 6-1 with the bases loaded, Crain does what any reliever in such a pressure situation does best by forcing in a run. After Aybar’s pass to first and with the score now 6-2, Crain is relieved by Ron Mahay who immediately gives up a grand slam to pinch hitter Jason Bartlett to tie the game at 6. An incredible comeback by the Rays, after being dominated for 7.1 innings of baseball, the Rays roared back to tie the game and swing the momentum of the game entirely to their favor. As I sat watching the game on the MLB Network, I thought the Rays were once again on their way to another win.
But as fate would have it, the Rays own ballpark became their own worst enemy. After Jason Repko lead off the 9th inning with a double, the Twins get to work. After an intentional walk to Mauer and a force out at second, with two Jason Kubel hits a pop fly that should’ve been an easy play for Reid Brignac at second, except the ball hits one of the many catwalks in Tropicana field and it lands right behind the pitcher’s mound. Repko scores on the pop infield single, the Twins take a 7-6 lead and win the game 8-6.
As a Yankees fan, I’m not upset the Rays lost, but as a die hard baseball fan, it would make me sick to my stomach if the Rays lose the division by one game. If that were to happen, you can point at this game. If this isn’t a wakeup call to the fans of the Rays, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Major League Baseball, that the Rays need a real baseball park, then the next time it happens the game could mean much. It is time for MLB to take some of the billions it generates in revenue to help small market teams like the Rays get a new park. Moreover, big teams like the Yankees should be taxed a little more by MLB to help these small market teams improve their facilities, or get new parks.
As for the Marlins..
The Marlins got a tough break yesterday when third base umpire Bob Davidson called a fair ball off the bat of Gaby Sanchez. From the Marlins broadcast replay, it seems to me that the ball is foul over the bag, but because of the top spin on the ball, it lands fair. Because of that replay, I’m going to give Bob Davidson the benefit of doubt and say he made the right call. Bad for the Marlins, Gaby Sanchez could have giving the Marlins another walk off win this season, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Umpires and the Umpiring Fans who hate them: Instant Replay in the future?
I don’t know if us armchair umpires hate the real umpires. But after a few days of questionable calls we’re certainly screaming at the top of our lungs and wondering, just what the heck is going on? Is there something in the water out there? Are MLB umpires sick? Drunk, or just bad? Hopefully none of the above; but the bad calls by umpires in the past few weeks, again brings up the question of instant replay and the necessity of it in today’s game.
The other day, if I got the teams right, in the A’s/Royals game, Coco Crisp hit a foul ball that was inexplicably reversed and made into a double. A foul ball was reversed and made into a double, even though there was no way of knowing on that play–if the ball had landed fair–that Crisp would have only made it to second. Why not award the guy a triple, he could’ve made it to third on a fair ball? How about an inside the park homerun? What an incredibly bad call, and that call cost the Royals in the inning, as Crisp scored later in the inning. Clearly the umpires made a mistake here that could have quickly been rectified by instant replay.
The bad umpiring continued on Sunday during the Mets and Giants game. And in this game Phil Cuzzi batted a thousand as he was perfect in making bad calls in one inning. In the bottom of the 9th with the score tied at three and K-Rod blowing another save for the Mets, Freddy Sanchez came to the plate with the bases loaded. During the at-bat he hit a chopper to David Wright, which was promptly field by the Mets third baseman. Wright, having no choice but to go home on the play, threw the ball high to Henry Blanco, which was caught by the Mets catcher while his feet left home plate uncovered. Travis Ishigawa, who was the runner at third during Sanchez’s at bat, slid under the feet of Blanco, avoiding the force. To everyone who saw the play live, Ishigawa was clearly safe and the Giants had won the game. But to Phil Cuzzi, Ishigawa was out.. How? The replay clearly showed that Ishigawa was safe. If replay had been available, the Giants would have won this game.
To make matters worse, there were times during the game in which Cuzzi forgot what the count was, even though he was the umpire-in-chief. Cuzzi cost the Minnesota Twins a game in last year’s ALDS, when he called a clear Joe Mauer double a foul ball, and now this season, he has cost the Giants a game that, in a tight NL West, could cost them later in the season.
These two examples, and many more during the season, including the infamous Jim Joyce call, is enough evidence for the umpiring fans that support instant replay to argue for the necessity of video replay in the game. I have been against instant replay for a long time, however, after what I have seen, it is clear that I’m in the minority and that baseball better listen to the majority of the fans and do something about replay. And they should do it soon.
Joba rebounds, Yankees win…the rest of the league.
Is there anyone out there that thinks Joba should be a starter? After last night’s performance by Joba, in a key situation, I think it is time to drop all the talk about Chamberlain being a starter and leave him in the pen where he can become a dominant relieve pitcher, and obvious heir apparent to Mariano Rivera. What Joba did last night was what Yankee fans became accustomed to seeing from him back in 2007, where he’d come out of the pen and dominate hitters with his pitching. Last night, although not the same Joba from 3 seasons ago, Joba was great. He inherited a runner on second, the potentially tying run, with one out in the 8th inning and proceeded to strike out Adrian Beltre and J.D Drew, thus preserving the Yankees’ one run lead. After a lackluster performance on Sunday night, Chamberlain rebounded nicely last night to help the Yankees win their first game of the year. Moreover, it seems to me that Joba looks more comfortable coming out of the pen in such key situations during the game and has a habit of coming up big when the Yankees need it. So I beg the powers that be in the Bronx, leave Joba in the Pen!
Around the Major’s last night..
There was a light schedule last night in the League, but nevertheless, the action was great.
The Minnesota Twins rebounded nicely after an opening night loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau provided a pair of homeruns for the Twins, a sign of things to come for the rest of the league as the M&M boys look healthy. J.J Hardy also contributed with a homerun of his own, and Nick Blackburn had a solid 6.2′s outing as the Twins won the game 5-3.
Bad news for the Angels however, as Joe Saunders had a terrible outing, giving up three homeruns. It might be a case of Saunders not being fully ready after Spring Training, but Twin hitters were on top of his fastball all night and, if you watched the game (on MLB Network 
) you saw the results as Mauer, Morneau and Hardy all hit their homeruns off Saunder’s fastball.
Tonight what to expect…
John Lackey doesn’t need motivation against the Yankees. With Pettitte on the mound for New York, this could be the best pitching matchup of this opening series. Then again, it is Yankees/Red Sox and both teams could bang 10 or more runs in less than two innings.
I still hate predictions…
I still hate predictions, but to finish the predictions I made earlier today, I will try to predict the American League division winners. The American League is harder to predict than the National League. Unlike the latter league, there is no clear runaway best team in the American League.
American League East Champion: New York Yankees
This isn’t an easy prediction, but I will still make it because I think the Yankees just have a formidable lineup that will match up and beat American League pitching. However, the Yankees drive to another division championship won’t be easy as they will they face a stiff challenge from the hated rival, Red Sox, but they will also have to fend off the young and talented Tampa Bay Rays team, who I think will show that last year was the fluke and not 2008. Yet I still believe the Yankees will win this division because with the addition of Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson, this lineup will rely less on the homerun and more on timely hitting, stolen bases, and hitters taking more pitches to manufacture runs. A lineup that can manufacture runs on a consistent basis to compliment strong starting pitching is what gives the Yankees the edge over both Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox.
American League Central Champion: Minnesota Twins
The Twins will christen their new ballpark with a division title and a trip to the post season. Now that Joe Mauer has signed a 8 year extension, the Twins can focus on building a perennial contender around him and Justin Morneau. The Twins will also feature a young pitching staff that will be lead by Carl Pavano. If the everyday players like Morneau and pitchers like Kevin Slowey stay healthy, the Twins will have a much better team than the one that beat the Tigers last year.
American League West Champion: Los Angeles Angels
The loss of John Lackey, Vladimir Guerrero and Chone Figgins could hurt the Angels, but as long as Mike Scioscia is the manager of this club, he can mold any player to fit into his system. The Angels are the best team in manufacturing runs, and the addition of Hideki Matsui in the lineup will make the team one of the best in the American League. Moreover, the rotation will be young and I believe that Jared Weaver will fill John Lackey’s shoes perfectly and Joe Saunders, who I still believe is a very underrated pitcher, will have another solid season.
Even though the Mariners will definately give the Angels a scare, they won’t have enough to keep up with the Angels.
American League Champions: I don’t know
Unlike the Senior Circuit, there is no clear favorite in the American League in my opinion. I hope the Yankees repeat as American League champions for the 41st time but it will be tough.
Joe Mauer signs extension
Joe Mauer and the Minnesota Twins reached a $185 million extension agreement that will keep Mauer as a member of the Twins until 2018. That is certainly good news for the Twins and its fan base. The extension of Mauer’s contract is also important for baseball since the economic gap between big market clubs and medium size markets is still wide and will be deepening over the next few years.
Aroldis Chapman…
Aroldis Chapman is having a good spring so far and on his few spring outings, however, the Cuban defector and promising future star had a bad outing yesterday against the Red Sox because of a pulled back muscle. Injuries will happen, they always do, but Reds fans need to remember that Chapman will not be the Reds savior this season. If anything, I still expect Chapman to start the season in the minor leagues, probably in Double A.
David Veloz
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