Winning (and losing) can be such a drag
By Christopher Heun
Dateline: New York City
The situation: Winning run on third base. Tie game. Two outs. And the batter lays down a bunt just past the reach of the pitcher. Winning run scores. Game over.
That’s how the Mets beat the Rockies Tuesday night in 12 innings. Endy Chavez’s drag bunt made him the hero.
Listening to the game on the radio, I was struck by the dramatic finish because it could have been the exact same outcome for the Orioles the night before, when Melvin Mora tried to bunt home Corey Patterson, the tying run, from third with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Except Mora’s bunt did not get past the pitcher. Patterson could not score. The Birds lost.
It was a good idea – even if Patterson seemed surprised by it – but it didn’t work. Mora's bunt didn't get past A's closer Huston Street, who held Patterson at third. (After an intentional walk to Nick Markakis, Miguel Tejada made the final out of the game.)
It would be easy to draw grand conclusions about the larger fates of the Mets and O's based on this one game. That’s probably not fair. But still, one of these teams is a playoff contender while the other is not.
The Mets won a game with a pinch-hit homer in the 10th by Damian Easley and a bunt single by Chavez, who also had come off the bench, in the 11th. Manager Sam Perlozzo should be so lucky to have such options in the late innings. (And to pull the right strings at just the right time, but that’s another topic for debate.)
By the way, ex-Oriole David Newhan has also found a spot on the Mets’ bench. He had a chance in the 12th too, but struck out.)
Throughout this young season, the Birds have shown a resilient streak and have come from behind to win – something that would not be possible without an improved bullpen that shuts down opposing lineups in the late innings.
But they lost a game on Monday night that they didn’t deserve to win but probably should have won regardless: with runners on second and third with nobody out in the ninth, they failed to score.
Then they followed that disappointment with a poorly played game on Tuesday afternoon filled with more miscommunication and mental mistakes.
With Boston visiting Camden Yards for two games, the Birds could very well sink back to .500 after an impressive winning streak in which they took eight out of nine.
Or maybe not. Maybe Mora redeems himself. I can’t help but think that he may have a doppelganger in Chavez, whose playoff heroics last October in the N.L.C.S. versus St. Louis endeared him to Mets fans much like Mora did during the 1999 postseason.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query chavez. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query chavez. Sort by date Show all posts
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Thursday, December 11, 2008
More Hot Stove Quick Takes
Teixeira to the Nats would change the whole ballgame
by Matthew Taylor
Yankees back in on Teixeira sweepstakes; Boston Globe handicaps the finalists; Nats offering $160 million
Sure, you'd hate to see Mark Teixeira sign with the Yankees. And the Red Sox would be no better. But admit it, you'd be most upset if Teixeira became a National. Consider this line from Oriole Post: "If the Nationals for some reason acquire Teixeira, I shudder to think what will happen in Baltimore and amongst Oriole fans nationwide."
Up to this point there's be no real rivalry to speak of between the Orioles and Nationals. The Washington Post was pushing hard for one since before D.C. even got a team. Major League Baseball wants the same thing, which is why the teams face off in Interleague Play each year. But ultimately "The Battle of the Beltway" is as silly as it sounds. (What is it about sports marketers' fascination with mass transit, by the way? Subway Series ... Battle of the Beltway ....)
Ultimately, there's just no real steam to the O's - Nats "rivalry." Send Teixeira to D.C., though, and you might finally have the flame that ignites local passions. The Nats have a much easier climb to make in their division, but I can't imagine that will be enough to attract Teixeira. If he's staying local, he's coming to Baltimore.
Brewers-Yankees deal to include Cameron
Mets acquire Putz
On the face of it the Mets seem to be doing the right thing by shoring up their bullpen, but O’s fans know all too well that assembling a high-priced bullpen is a tricky deal that doesn't always turn out as expected. In this case, it's not so easy to shift a closer to a set-up position and get the same results. It's like using George Sherrill in a non-save situation; he just doesn't pitch as well without the pressure.
The Mets should take a look at what happened with the Birds' $42 million bullpen during the 2007 season.
by Matthew Taylor
Yankees back in on Teixeira sweepstakes; Boston Globe handicaps the finalists; Nats offering $160 million
Sure, you'd hate to see Mark Teixeira sign with the Yankees. And the Red Sox would be no better. But admit it, you'd be most upset if Teixeira became a National. Consider this line from Oriole Post: "If the Nationals for some reason acquire Teixeira, I shudder to think what will happen in Baltimore and amongst Oriole fans nationwide."
Up to this point there's be no real rivalry to speak of between the Orioles and Nationals. The Washington Post was pushing hard for one since before D.C. even got a team. Major League Baseball wants the same thing, which is why the teams face off in Interleague Play each year. But ultimately "The Battle of the Beltway" is as silly as it sounds. (What is it about sports marketers' fascination with mass transit, by the way? Subway Series ... Battle of the Beltway ....)
Ultimately, there's just no real steam to the O's - Nats "rivalry." Send Teixeira to D.C., though, and you might finally have the flame that ignites local passions. The Nats have a much easier climb to make in their division, but I can't imagine that will be enough to attract Teixeira. If he's staying local, he's coming to Baltimore.
Brewers-Yankees deal to include Cameron
"The Yankees have found their center fielder for 2009, as they are set to send Melky Cabrera to Milwaukee for veteran outfielder Mike Cameron on Thursday, according to two major league sources. The Yankees have been saying that Cabrera and Brett Gardner would compete for the center field job, but the acquisition of Cameron gives them a veteran presence at the position. (New York Daily News)"This move greatly disappoints me, if only because it deprives me of the opportunity to hear Rick Dempsey refer to Melky Cabrera as "Milky" during the MASN post-game show following Yankees - Orioles match-ups.
Mets acquire Putz
"One day after signing closer Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets have acquired J.J. Putz in a three-team, 12-player trade with the Indians and Mariners. The Mets ship right-hander Aaron Heilman, outfielder Endy Chavez, lefty Jason Vargas and three minor leaguers to the Mariners for Putz, center fielder Jeremy Reed and reliever Sean Green in the first trade by new Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik."Does this mean the J.J. Putz bobblehead I got at a Mariners game last season will go up in value or down in value?
On the face of it the Mets seem to be doing the right thing by shoring up their bullpen, but O’s fans know all too well that assembling a high-priced bullpen is a tricky deal that doesn't always turn out as expected. In this case, it's not so easy to shift a closer to a set-up position and get the same results. It's like using George Sherrill in a non-save situation; he just doesn't pitch as well without the pressure.
The Mets should take a look at what happened with the Birds' $42 million bullpen during the 2007 season.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Taking Stock of the First 40 Games
How much longer before Hayden Penn cracks the starting rotation?
By Christopher Heun
The first quarter of the 2006 season is over. These are the facts:
The injury bug started April 29, when Roberts went down with a groin pull. In the top of the ninth that day, catcher Ramon Hernandez was forced to play first base, Melvin Mora moved to second, Chris Gomez was at shortstop and Jeff Conine had to dust off his third baseman’s mitt. Raul Chavez was behind the plate. Miguel Tejada and Lopez were in the trainer’s room. All that was missing from the makeshift infield was Lenn Sakata wearing a catcher's mask.
Because of injuries, on May 10 the starting infield, from first to third, was Conine, Brandon Fahey, Tejada and Chris Gomez after Mora injured his back the night before. Some players believe the team is snake-bit.
"It just seems like every year, there's been something," Jay Gibbons told The Sun. "It's kind of disheartening. Look at the team we ran out [May 10] compared to Opening Day. It's not even close. We can't afford to lose guys. We've got some guys that are still learning the game and it's hard to compete that way."
The pitching staff has not escaped injury either. Daniel Cabrera went on the disabled list this week, but his lack of command so far this season shouldn’t be blamed on a stiff shoulder, Sam Perlozzo says.
The bullpen has been a mess; that’s well documented. Kurt Birkins, Julio Manon, Chris Britton, Eddy Rodriguez – none of whom were on the Opening Day roster – have all appeared in at least five games.
The biggest puzzler of all, though, has been the starting rotation. Even if you didn’t believe that Leo Mazzone, with all his success in Atlanta, was just going to snap his fingers and lower every Orioles pitcher’s ERA by a run, you still have to be surprised by how bad they’ve been.
The team ERA is second worst in the league, behind Kansas City (who’s only won 10 games all year, an indication of how bad the O’s record really could be). And the staff is tied for the second-most number of homers allowed.
The Washington Post’s Dave Sheinin had this to say during an online chat May 9: "When I talked to Mazzone about this a week or so ago, he expressed some frustration at how the Orioles' pitchers had not yet completely bought into his mantra of pounding fastballs away, away, away. I suspect it is something that will take some time – perhaps even a full season – to sink in."
The other key bit of advice Mazzone has for his pitchers is to throw more than usual between starts, which some people consider unorthodox. Perlozzo defended that in an interview with The Sun: "Hitters go out and they hit every day," he said. "Fielders take extra ground balls. It only makes sense that the more you work on a pitch, the better it should get."
Perlozzo doesn’t really have much choice but to bump Rodrigo Lopez (7.86 ERA) and Bruce Chen (8.23 ERA) from the rotation. Lopez pitched well in the bullpen in 2004, even if he was vocal about his unhappiness with the role. "I think eventually you'll come to a time where you're going to have to say, 'That's it, guys, jobs are in jeopardy,'" Perlozzo told The Sun.
Meanwhile, Penn will likely get called up next week to make at least one start in place of Cabrera. How long he’ll stick around is the question.
In the month of May, an Orioles starter has pitched seven innings only three times: Cabrera, Benson and Bedard each managed it once. That’s a lot of innings for the bullpen.
At the 20 game mark, I said the pitching would get better, for the simple reason that it had to. I was wrong – so far, anyway. The team ERA actually got worse since then, slipping from 5.44 to 5.64. But I still say it gets better.
About his recent slump, Kevin Millar had this to say in his online journal at mlb.com: "I also understand that there's a lot of baseball left and a lot of at-bats left. And that's why they call it a [batting] average."
The same applies to the pitching staff’s earned-run average. Let’s hope they both improve.
By Christopher Heun
The first quarter of the 2006 season is over. These are the facts:
The Orioles are 19-22 heading into Friday night’s game against the Nationals in D.C.There’s no question injuries and inept starting pitching – of the rotation, only Bedard and Benson have ERAs under five – have been the biggest problems. And as glaring as they are, the good news is that the team finished the first 41 games only 3 games under .500.
They’re in fourth place, 5.5 games behind first-place Boston and two games out of the basement.
The pitching staff has given up more runs and more walks than any other team in the American League.
Hayden Penn has a 1.48 ERA in five starts at Triple A Ottawa. In 30 innings, he’s struck out 29, walked 11 and given up 21 hits.
But the most revealing stat of all is this: Of the first 41 games, Brian Roberts and Javy Lopez played in just 24 of them. Reliever Sendy Rleal appeared in more. The Orioles were 6-10 without Roberts. Lopez was also missing from the lineup for most of that stretch.
The injury bug started April 29, when Roberts went down with a groin pull. In the top of the ninth that day, catcher Ramon Hernandez was forced to play first base, Melvin Mora moved to second, Chris Gomez was at shortstop and Jeff Conine had to dust off his third baseman’s mitt. Raul Chavez was behind the plate. Miguel Tejada and Lopez were in the trainer’s room. All that was missing from the makeshift infield was Lenn Sakata wearing a catcher's mask.
Because of injuries, on May 10 the starting infield, from first to third, was Conine, Brandon Fahey, Tejada and Chris Gomez after Mora injured his back the night before. Some players believe the team is snake-bit.
"It just seems like every year, there's been something," Jay Gibbons told The Sun. "It's kind of disheartening. Look at the team we ran out [May 10] compared to Opening Day. It's not even close. We can't afford to lose guys. We've got some guys that are still learning the game and it's hard to compete that way."
The pitching staff has not escaped injury either. Daniel Cabrera went on the disabled list this week, but his lack of command so far this season shouldn’t be blamed on a stiff shoulder, Sam Perlozzo says.
The bullpen has been a mess; that’s well documented. Kurt Birkins, Julio Manon, Chris Britton, Eddy Rodriguez – none of whom were on the Opening Day roster – have all appeared in at least five games.
The biggest puzzler of all, though, has been the starting rotation. Even if you didn’t believe that Leo Mazzone, with all his success in Atlanta, was just going to snap his fingers and lower every Orioles pitcher’s ERA by a run, you still have to be surprised by how bad they’ve been.
The team ERA is second worst in the league, behind Kansas City (who’s only won 10 games all year, an indication of how bad the O’s record really could be). And the staff is tied for the second-most number of homers allowed.
The Washington Post’s Dave Sheinin had this to say during an online chat May 9: "When I talked to Mazzone about this a week or so ago, he expressed some frustration at how the Orioles' pitchers had not yet completely bought into his mantra of pounding fastballs away, away, away. I suspect it is something that will take some time – perhaps even a full season – to sink in."
The other key bit of advice Mazzone has for his pitchers is to throw more than usual between starts, which some people consider unorthodox. Perlozzo defended that in an interview with The Sun: "Hitters go out and they hit every day," he said. "Fielders take extra ground balls. It only makes sense that the more you work on a pitch, the better it should get."
Perlozzo doesn’t really have much choice but to bump Rodrigo Lopez (7.86 ERA) and Bruce Chen (8.23 ERA) from the rotation. Lopez pitched well in the bullpen in 2004, even if he was vocal about his unhappiness with the role. "I think eventually you'll come to a time where you're going to have to say, 'That's it, guys, jobs are in jeopardy,'" Perlozzo told The Sun.
Meanwhile, Penn will likely get called up next week to make at least one start in place of Cabrera. How long he’ll stick around is the question.
In the month of May, an Orioles starter has pitched seven innings only three times: Cabrera, Benson and Bedard each managed it once. That’s a lot of innings for the bullpen.
At the 20 game mark, I said the pitching would get better, for the simple reason that it had to. I was wrong – so far, anyway. The team ERA actually got worse since then, slipping from 5.44 to 5.64. But I still say it gets better.
About his recent slump, Kevin Millar had this to say in his online journal at mlb.com: "I also understand that there's a lot of baseball left and a lot of at-bats left. And that's why they call it a [batting] average."
The same applies to the pitching staff’s earned-run average. Let’s hope they both improve.
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