Saturday, April 11, 2009
Saturday Morning Snapshot
A busy day-and-a-half has concluded. Now: quiet Saturday in the early hours. One of the better listens to Modern Times in some time and two cups of coffee in (half-decaf).
A quiet baseball night. Yankee game was over by 7, and I didn't hang in there for the West Coast games. Jumped into the Tampa/Baltimore game for a bit before packing it in.
Is it worth even looking at the standings less than a week in? For what it's worth, the teams with one loss or none: Florida (4-0), the only undefeated team left; Toronto, Baltimore, Texas and Colorado all have one loss apiece. The one team without a win? Cleveland, who have just been hemmoraging runs this week. They've given up 42 runs in four games, 10 more than anyone else in baseball.
A handful of #1 starters make their second start of the season today, and a few of them will be looking for bounce-back performances after lousy '09 debuts. I'm thinking primarily of Sabathia; Cliff Lee and Justin Verlander, who all get pounded on Monday.
Nothing else particularly jumps off the page about today's match-ups.
The thing that's caught my attention the most regarding the Yankees' opening to this season it's been Robinson Cano's at-bats. He was 2-3 with a walk and a run scored yesterday in Kansas City. And dating back to last year, he now has a 15-game hitting streak going.
He's 8-14 on the season so far with four walks and zero strikeouts. If we can take *any* substance from this early season sample, this marks a dramatic shift from last season in which Cano netted 26 free passes the entire season (a ghastly .305 OBP). Cano is still the kind of player I don't entirely trust. A focused approach on the plate in April could melt into lethargy and a lack of focus in August. But for now, I'll take it. His at-bats have been crisp and calm. He's not jumping or lunging at the ball or swinging at bad pitches, and has shown an acceptance (or willingness) to slap the ball the other way when necessary. We'll see. He's always had the skill. It's just been an issue of disciplining that skill.
City Lights (Days Go By)
A great time in the City on Thursday night as I ventured out to see Bob Mould perform solo for the 1st time since 2003. However, it wasn't solo as Jason Narducy joined him on stage and accompanied him on electric bass. A pleasant surprise.
Jason probably remains the one person in the world I'm most envious as he gets to pal around and share the stage with Bob and another Bob.
Thursday's set was solid overall: a little flat in the 1st half, spectacular on the back end. I like the new album, but have to admit my initial buoyant reaction of Tuesday night has faded a bit.
"Things Happen for a Reason"
The other day my friend happened to comment on his disdain for this oft-issued phrase by those trying to process and reason tragic or unfortunate events. It's hard to argue with him, especially in the context of Nick Adenhart's passing on Thursday morning. If there is a reason, then it pushes the limits of our cognitive understanding of the world, because I can't believe there is a plausible answer that explains or justifies that event and others like it that take place every day. Steven Goldman offered his take on his Pinstriped Bible, so I'll leave most of the words for him to tackle.
What Goes Around Comes Around (Again and Again)
I have to admit, I smiled upon seeing Carl Pavano's line from Thursday:
1 IP 6 H 9 R 9 ER 2 HR 3 BB
After reading Verducci's book in the month leading up to the season, Pavano is not only as easy a target as we think he is, he sounds like a guy you'd want to root against. I find it odd when a move like this transpires in a good organization. Shapiro is one of the most respected GMs in the game; I don't even know what he would consider "break even" for this move paying off. I don't care how low the financial commitment is, I wouldn't have let this guy near my team. Kind of like not allowing Kyle Farnsworth to pitch in a tight game late. His slider did look nasty yesterday though.
Have a great weekend.
A busy day-and-a-half has concluded. Now: quiet Saturday in the early hours. One of the better listens to Modern Times in some time and two cups of coffee in (half-decaf).
A quiet baseball night. Yankee game was over by 7, and I didn't hang in there for the West Coast games. Jumped into the Tampa/Baltimore game for a bit before packing it in.
Is it worth even looking at the standings less than a week in? For what it's worth, the teams with one loss or none: Florida (4-0), the only undefeated team left; Toronto, Baltimore, Texas and Colorado all have one loss apiece. The one team without a win? Cleveland, who have just been hemmoraging runs this week. They've given up 42 runs in four games, 10 more than anyone else in baseball.
A handful of #1 starters make their second start of the season today, and a few of them will be looking for bounce-back performances after lousy '09 debuts. I'm thinking primarily of Sabathia; Cliff Lee and Justin Verlander, who all get pounded on Monday.
Nothing else particularly jumps off the page about today's match-ups.
The thing that's caught my attention the most regarding the Yankees' opening to this season it's been Robinson Cano's at-bats. He was 2-3 with a walk and a run scored yesterday in Kansas City. And dating back to last year, he now has a 15-game hitting streak going.
He's 8-14 on the season so far with four walks and zero strikeouts. If we can take *any* substance from this early season sample, this marks a dramatic shift from last season in which Cano netted 26 free passes the entire season (a ghastly .305 OBP). Cano is still the kind of player I don't entirely trust. A focused approach on the plate in April could melt into lethargy and a lack of focus in August. But for now, I'll take it. His at-bats have been crisp and calm. He's not jumping or lunging at the ball or swinging at bad pitches, and has shown an acceptance (or willingness) to slap the ball the other way when necessary. We'll see. He's always had the skill. It's just been an issue of disciplining that skill.
City Lights (Days Go By)
A great time in the City on Thursday night as I ventured out to see Bob Mould perform solo for the 1st time since 2003. However, it wasn't solo as Jason Narducy joined him on stage and accompanied him on electric bass. A pleasant surprise.
Jason probably remains the one person in the world I'm most envious as he gets to pal around and share the stage with Bob and another Bob.
Thursday's set was solid overall: a little flat in the 1st half, spectacular on the back end. I like the new album, but have to admit my initial buoyant reaction of Tuesday night has faded a bit.
"Things Happen for a Reason"
The other day my friend happened to comment on his disdain for this oft-issued phrase by those trying to process and reason tragic or unfortunate events. It's hard to argue with him, especially in the context of Nick Adenhart's passing on Thursday morning. If there is a reason, then it pushes the limits of our cognitive understanding of the world, because I can't believe there is a plausible answer that explains or justifies that event and others like it that take place every day. Steven Goldman offered his take on his Pinstriped Bible, so I'll leave most of the words for him to tackle.
What Goes Around Comes Around (Again and Again)
I have to admit, I smiled upon seeing Carl Pavano's line from Thursday:
1 IP 6 H 9 R 9 ER 2 HR 3 BB
After reading Verducci's book in the month leading up to the season, Pavano is not only as easy a target as we think he is, he sounds like a guy you'd want to root against. I find it odd when a move like this transpires in a good organization. Shapiro is one of the most respected GMs in the game; I don't even know what he would consider "break even" for this move paying off. I don't care how low the financial commitment is, I wouldn't have let this guy near my team. Kind of like not allowing Kyle Farnsworth to pitch in a tight game late. His slider did look nasty yesterday though.
Have a great weekend.
