yankees

Baseball and Mathematics

~ latskojerry ~ Leave a comment

As sure as Samuel Scudder is the dean of eighteenth century lepidopterists, we are at the All Star break. This, 2025, is being a pretty damned interesting season. Are the Dodgers in first place? Yes, dweeb, just like we told you they’d be. Still and yet, they are not 26 games ahead in their division like we thought they might be. Plus, the surest way in baseball to get injured is to pitch for the Dodgers.

Scientists trying to convince the world about global warming should just analyze home run totals at Dodger Stadium and that place in Anaheim. There are significant changes since the days of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Dean Chance and Bo Belinsky. Upward bound. They call it the marine layer but I ‘m not very knowledgeable about weather. Those totals, however, have more than doubled over the last five or six decades.

The Mets clinched by signing Juan Soto, right? Some of us still favored the Braves in that division but did we forget about the Phillies? Forget about that, pal.

Anyone who tells you that this was the first half is a remedial math student. Ninety seven has never been half of 162.

Will I welcome the ABS system that was showcased at the All Star game in Atlanta? Yes and no. Human beings should remain part of baseball as much as possible now and forever. Videotape and cameras have had a somewhat positive effect insofar as “getting it right” and have proven more than a few perhaps pot bellied humans as being, well, human. One of the best aspects of good sportsmanship has always been the recognition that we’re all trying our best. The helmet tap will be good. Technology, however, is not perfect either. It’s developed by humans.

No, I never could have predicted the fall of the Orioles. I’m sure they’ll be back. I doubt that it was the manager, Brandon Hyde, that deserved blame. Middle management looks for scapegoats who aren’t so highly paid. The Red Sox are in a drive that I hope will be successful to save Alex Cora‘s job. Toronto has become a serious contender. The second surest way to get injured in baseball is to pitch for the Yankees. Given time, Aaron Judge could cure cancer. Aaron Boone still believes.

I decided a while back that the Astros were finished and then they took off. Texas, Seattle, attention please! The Angels are befuddling. The Pirates (organization, not players) are showing how much they don’t care. Cincinnati, however, is caring. St. Louis is still hard for me to figure but Milwaukee has new life. I’m learning a bit late what a good job A.J. Hinch and the Tigers are doing. Quite impressive it is. Here comes the fun!

Merry May Questionary

~ latskojerry ~ 1 Comment

Yesterday was the 94th birthday for the best baseball player I have ever seen, Mr. Willie Mays. It was the first one he hasn’t been present for, as Willie died last June. The Boston ivy on the brick walls at Wrigley Field in Chicago has finally shown its green leaves so the new season is truly under way. Mays’ old team, the Giants, celebrated with nine runs in the eleventh inning to beat the Cubs, 14-5. It was a wacky game in what has been a rather wacky start to the 2025 season.

Questions abound after the first few weeks of the season. For instance, the American League has only nine hitters batting over .300 and the National League has but eight. That’s one thing, but what about all those batters who are batting under .200? Checking the box scores of the games played May 3, 28 teams had a total of 57 regular players under what has been called the Mendoza line (.200). St. Louis and the New York Mets did not play that day so I added their records from the next day that made it all 30 teams combined for 58 sub .200 hitters. The Cleveland Guardians led the majors with six. Colorado and San Francisco each had four. Three teams, San Diego, Atlanta and Sacrovegas had no starters batting under .200. These statistics lead to two questions. First, while 35 games or so does represent a small sample size of around 125 at bats for most of these players, what the hell is making it so hard to attain even a lousy percentage of success? Second, how do we explain Aaron Judge and his .414 average after 35 games? Is he super human?

For perspective, consider that my research shows a total of 11 batters in the major leagues in 2024 who made at least 300 plate appearances had batting averages under .200. The aforementioned Mendoza line has been anecdotally attributed to Reggie Jackson referring to Mario Mendoza, who played infield for nine seasons for the Pirates, Mariners, and Rangers and had a career batting average of .215, which was, of course, higher than the Mendoza line. I’m certain that someone will let me know if I got that wrong.

Another question is, would Major League Baseball ever consider relegation for teams like Colorado (6-28) or the Chicago White Sox (10-25). The English Premiere League of futbol has a system that relegates bottom finishing teams to what we would call minor leagues and replace them with teams that did the best in the “lower” leagues. This would provide incentive for team owners to perhaps put forth better efforts to give their followers some expectation that competitive effort would be forthcoming. A yearly flush might be a little too demanding and confusing, but maybe a five year plan would work.

With difficult economic times likely on the way all over North and South Trumptesla Land, it may be that the use of minor league parks, as currently done in Sacramento and Tampa Bay, will become the wave of the future. Attendance capacities of 10 to 15 thousand would scale everything down risk wise for owners and make television income even more important. Robot umpiring with AI assistance could also help the bottom line and expensive announcing crews might eventually be replaced by AI sound effects. Who knows what lies ahead?

Here is hoping that some of the early features of the 2025 season can persist:, the The bright , shiny, new Cubs with Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker, and Michael Busch making life interesting for their fans, the surging New York Mets and Detroit Tigers looking strong, the suddenly dangerous San Francisco Giants and–can it be?–the first place Seattle Mariners. It’s being a bit wacky, but wacky can be fun.

Back to the Fifties?

~ latskojerry ~ 2 Comments

February has traditionally been the time of year when the winter thaw begins to hint that it might be starting. Let’s not start playing catch yet, but in a couple of weeks the pitchers and catchers will start showing up in the warmer portions of the country where “spring training” takes place. Sports pages and other media outlets begin to pry themselves away from football obsessions (hoping here that it includes Taylor Swift) and allow what used to be called the “National Pastime” some space. The mood has generally been warm, even optimistic. This year it seems a bit different. The great game is looking a bit shoddy and decadent.

The World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, despite having a horrific bolt of reality dealt to the community in which they operate by the stupendous loss of people, living space,wildlife, and morale, apparently decided to keep on spending money like everything was going to be okay. Kirby Yates, Roki Sasaki, everybody, come on down. Sign up. The sun will still shine behind all the smoke there in fantasy land and we’ve got a great television contract. We survivors are all still rich, right? I’m not sure that that is what is meant by resilience.The Oakland A’s are gone to a minor league yard but who needs Oakland, right? It’s just working class people without the glitter of Las Vegas and the glitter of gambling (now a proud partner of Major League Baseball) or the glitter of over rated show business has beens.You may or may not agree with me that there is no place in organized baseball for glitter. Sacramento will be the so called temporary home for the A’s as they share a field there with the Triple A team that the San Francisco Giants are affiliated with, the River Cats. Sacramento deserves better than the ignorant slobs running that franchise.

Rob Cumberworld Manfred is the perfect commissioner in the Trump II era who doesn’t have a clue what the product he’s selling is all about. Just take their money and feed them bullcrap. Honor the billionaires and laugh at the peasants.

Eventually the athletes will help us to feel better. That’s what I’m hoping. I’m glad that Juan Soto is a New York Met, not a Yankee. I’m glad Justin Verlander is still going to work. Here’s hoping, but it looks like 1954.

The New York Yankees string of five consecutive pennants was broken that year by a remarkable Cleveland team that won 111 games against 43 losses but the Yanks won 103 . The big weapon the Yankees had, and still have, was cash. Cleveland was greatly aided that year by their “acqusition” of slugger Vic Wertz from the Baltimore Orioles, formerly the sad sack St. Louis Browns. Baltimore finished seventh in the eight team American League that year by losing 100 games. They were outdone in losing by the Philadelphia A’s, who were 51-103. Fourth place Boston finished 44 games behind Cleveland. Third place Chicago won 94 games. So money talked big back in the day. The National League came closer to parity. Eighth place Pittsburgh finished 44 games behind the pennant winning New York Giants with a 53-101 record. Steps were eventually taken to even things out somewhat. The amateur draft began in 1965 and the expansion drafts led to creation of divisions within each league so that more teams qualified for the post season. Obviously, the independence of players increased tremendously when free agency was fought for and won in the 70s.

The big enemy of parity is the capability of team owners to sign players to contracts with payment deferred for years and years. This helps teams get around being financially punished for spending too much on salaries in any given year. The Dodgers have done this, most notably with the massive contract they have with Shohei Ohtani. The idea is to spend into the future in order to sell tickets and television rights today. This is what needs to be banished if true parity is ever to exist. The big problem is that the players don’t seem to mind and the fans don’t get a vote. Okay, let’s all go shovel the snow or whatever. We”ll feel better in the Spring. Won’t we?

From Dream to Nightmare

~ latskojerry ~ 3 Comments

Have I learned my lesson? Let’s hope so. Game five of the 2024 World Series was a pleasant dream for the New York Yankees and their fans which, in the vernacular of John Smoltz, I allowed myself to join for the past week. To thine own self be true, right? No, this life long Yankees hater was overcome with desire for defeat of the best team money could buy and became openly in favor of victory for the sons of Steinbrenner. For four fun innings, it looked like the momentum had definitely shifted. A walk to Juan Soto was followed by a home run to the previously struggling Aaron Judge. Then Jazz Chisholm, who comes close to defying the Yankees grooming orders, hit another. Gerrit Cole was his determined, poker faced self mowing down the Dodgers hitters. Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo produced a fourth run in the second inning and the remarkably resurgent Giancarlo Stanton blasted yet another home run to make it 5-0 after three innings. One could imagine Dave Roberts flashing back to 20 years ago, when his team (the Red Sox at the time) came back in the league championship series from a three games to none deficit to vault past the Yankees to the World Series.

Then came the meltdown. Judge, who had made a great catch to deny the unstoppable Freddie freeman in the fourth, dropped a routine fly ball after Kike Hernandez started the fifth inning with the Dodger’s first hit, a single. Then Volpe made a bad throw to Chisholm at third on another routine play and the two errors had loaded the bases with none out. Cole gathered himself and struck out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani and the pleasant dream was revived. Mookie Betts rolled a grounder wide of first base and Anthony Rizzo had it easily, but Betts runs hard and fast and Gerrit Cole was caught being a spectator without a ticket. Five to one, still nobody out and the bases sacked. Then came Freddie with a base hit to make it 5-3. Teoscar Hernandez then cracked a double and the score was tied and the air was out of the balloon. Cole is an experienced, fiery competitor but it was amazing that no mound visit was made yet–not by the catcher, not by pitching coach Mark Prior, not by the ghost of Thurmon Munson. After Max Muncy walked there finally was a mound visit and somehow, after that 38 pitch inning, Cole returned to pitch the sixth and part of the seventh but momentum, ever slippery, had gone back to the visitors.

Stanton’s sacrifice fly put New York back in front but the fearsome Bronx Bombers had turned into zombies. Helped by a catcher’s interference in the eighth inning, Los Angeles got what they wanted despite Ohtani’s 0 for 4 night.

Just like that it became time to say good bye to repetitive commercials for things I’ll never buy and verbose announcers that I actually listened to quite a bit this game. Now, until next Spring, the TV can rest except for English Premiere League futbol and the European Women Super League along with U.S. men and women games as they occur. Plus streaming movies and shows . Overall, MLB was very interesting all season. I’m starting to favor going back to a 154 game schedule, though. These playoffs go long, and they might turn some of us into zombies if we’re not careful.

Pride and Prejudice

~ latskojerry ~ 2 Comments

How is the 2024 Major League Baseball “post season” going for you so far? There are only four teams remaining now. Some of us can remember the awful old days when only two teams participated unless one of the two leagues ended the regular season with a tie for first place as the National league did in 1951, 1959, and 1962 and the American League did in 1948. Then, at most, ten games would be played to decide what is called the World Champion. So far, in 2024, 27 games have been played and we are just getting started. We think that it’s great.

Being exclusively a television viewing fan, which as we know is short for fanatic, we do get tired beyond exhaustion with the same old insurance, beer, car, truck and stomach churning fast food advertising but it’s the price we pay for living in a country where Rupert Murdoch and now the loathsome Larry Ellison control much of the airwaves. We do get some really good games and, when TBS is involved, some really good analysis from the likes of Pedro Martinez, Dusty Baker, Jimmy Rollins, and Curtis Granderson with Lauren Shehardi as an excellent host.

It’s great to know that Cleveland will be there to challenge the New York Yankees. Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers were a great late season story and proved that, though it seemed they were giving up at trade deadline time, they will be a force to reckon with in the future. Their addition of Trey Sweeney at shortstop looks like it will solve the hideous Javier Baez situation very well. A.J. Hinch has bounced back well from the over rated “scandal” of his Houston Astros tenure. I’ll be rooting for the Guardians in their matchup with the powerful Yankees. Aaron Judge is likely to wreak havoc with Cleveland’s overworked pitching staff but Stephen Vogt has them believing. Emmanuel Clase is the true “closer” that most teams wish they had. Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez give them veteran strength that all teams crave. Judge, Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton strike real fear in opposition but the Yanks may be vulnerable on the mound after Gerrit Cole. We must not fail to mention the stalwart, inspirational story of the Kansas City Royals, the team that lost 106 games in 2023 and won lots of games and many hearts as they became very serious threats this season Few if any of us expected three teams from the A.L. Central to make the playoffs but there they all were, and deservedly so.

For the first time since 1969, I will be a diehard New York Mets follower this autumn. Like the San Diego Padres, they were a fabulous second half team. No one should count them out against the Los Angeles Dodgers in this League Championship Series. Francisco Lindor is on a sensational roll these days and the Mets have a strong balance of speed, defense, and pitching that is reminding me of a World Series team from last year–the Arizona Diamondbacks. If this is a “new” trend in baseball, we will all be happier. Full counts, walks, and solo home runs are large contributors to snoring nationally. I once loved the Dodgers, but their yard has turned into a noiseatorium and they just have too much money . I do like Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez but they are like the old Yankees, too arrogant and wealthy. Plus, their DH has poor judgement. San Diego might actually be the better team, but not for the last 25 innings. After the Braves fell out amid lots of bad injury luck, I thought the Phillies would end up N.L. champs. That’s why I think the Mets are for real.

In other news, what do you call it, irony? Pete Rose, deservedly banished, has passed away in the year that Fan Dual has become “a proud partner of MLB”. Line up, suckers! Also, all of those team color towels were a bit tacky.

It’s still the best game in the world, let’s enjoy!