The amazing career of Anthony Young

<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/youngan01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/youngan01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Anthony Young</a></strong><span style="font-size: small;"> is the answer to a trivia question. Feel free to use it at your next party. The record for most consecutive losses in which a pitcher had a decision belongs to Young with 27. Between May 6, 1992 to July 24, 1993, Young did not win a game. He pitched for the Mets those two seasons and they were really bad teams. But the Mets' winning record for those two seasons at least led to a .404 winning percentage. Anthony Young's winning percentage for those two seasons was a combined .100. He went 3-30. Those numbers are just the start of a whole lot of numbers fun concerning Anthony Young.</span></span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anthony Young first arrived on the seen for the Mets in 1991. That season, he went 2-5. By the time he was mercifully traded to the Chicago Cubs (for <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vizcajo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vizcajo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Jose Vizcaino</a></strong>) before the 1994 season, his final record with the Mets was 5-35, good (or bad) for a .125 winning percentage. The teams' winning percentage during that span was .420. Young started 31 games in those three seasons and pitched in relief another 70 times. He actually compiled 18 saves for the Mets. But he couldn't win.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Young fared a little better for the Cubs in 1994 and 1995. He was a starter for them in 1994 and pitched in relief in 1995. His record for the Cubs was 7-10. At least that was good for a .412 winning percentage. His last season was with the Astros. It was his only season not in the red and he finished at 3-3.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Those last three seasons at least allowed him to finish his career with a .238 winning percentage (15-48). Only <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abadfe01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abadfe01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Fernando Abad</a></strong> has pitched in 180 games or more and has a lower winning percentage. And only two pitchers in baseball have pitched in as many as 480 innings with a lower career winning percentage. <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/graydo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/graydo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Dolly Gray</a></strong> pitched between 1909 and 1911 and had a .227 winning percentage. <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pearsik01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pearsik01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Ike Pearson</a></strong> lead the way as he pitched between 1939 and 1948 and compiled a .206 winning percentage.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is sort of amazing about that last paragraph is that Gray and Pearson had an ERA+ for their careers in the 70s. Anthony Young's career ERA+ was 100. We'll get to that a bit later.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is so much more fun to explore first. As a starter, Anthony Young went 7-27 (.206). As a relief pitcher, Young went 8-21 (.276). He was 0-7 in save situations (though he did successfully save 20 games). He went 8-28 at home (.222) and 7-20 on the road (.259). June was a particularly bad time for Anthony Young. He went a combined 2.16 in June (.111).</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Young went 9-32 in the first half (.220) and 6-16 in the second half (.273). He went 8-28 at night (.222) and 7-20 during the day (.259). Young went 9-33 on grass (.214) on grass fields and 6-15 on artificial turf (.286).</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Remarkably, Young finished with a 2-20 record in games he pitched at Shea Stadium. Shea was a pitchers park. His other dark place was Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, where he went 0-5.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The only way Anthony Young could win as a starter was if his team scored six or more runs. He went 6-0 in such situations. But that happened fourteen times when he started games. In other words, there were eight times his team scored more than six runs and Young could not even manage a decision.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anthony Young's teams scored five or less runs 37 times. Young went 1-27 in those games. He was 0-18 when his team scored two runs or less and 1-9 when they scored three to five runs.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the biggest arguments between old school baseball observers and the new statistically minded writers is what makes a good pitcher. The old school thought was: Did the guy win and did he have a good ERA. Now we look at FIP and WAR and other things. By old standards, Anthony Young was awful in that he could not win. But his ERA (and ERA+) were often quite acceptable. His ERA+ was over 100 (league average) in four of his six seasons.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">FIP tells us another story. Young had a FIP of 3.38 in 1992, which isn't half bad. But it went up every season after that by more than fifty points. And, as mentioned, he finished with a 100 career ERA+. There are a lot of mixed signals in his career numbers. Baseball-reference.com gives him 1.1 rWAR for his career. Fangraphs.com gives him 2.5 fWAR including positive WAR for all three years he was a Met. Hmm...</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The truth is somewhere in the middle. The Mets were dead last in fielding efficiency in 1991, next to last in 1992 and in the bottom half in 1993. In other words, his fielders did not help him. Since he was not a strikeout guy and put the ball in play, that had to hurt him. For his three years with the Mets, he allowed 148 runs, but only 115 of them were earned or 78%. Compare that with the 84% of his runs were earned with the Cubs and 94% with the Astros.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The numbers also tell us that as a right-handed pitcher, Young did not pitch well against left-handed batters. They had an .828 OPS against him in his career with a batting average over .300.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An old school guy would say that Anthony Young did not know how to win. But he did go 15-3 in Double-A in 1990. But perhaps a well-balanced look at everything overall tells us that Anthony Young had an extraordinary run of bad luck with the Mets and while not one of the best pitchers ever, did pitch better than his record.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The losing streak was amazing. Fans were sending him rabbit feet and all kinds of things to help him. The family of the previous record holder, </span><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/curticl01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/curticl01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Cliff Curtis</a></strong>, even made a video telling him to pitch a no-hitter so not to break the family's record. Young broke it anyway. The losing streak created a life of its own and colored his career forever.  Perhaps he deserved a kinder fate. But at least this way, his career will never be forgotten.</span></div>

The amazing career of Anthony Young

Anthony Young  is the answer to a trivia question. Feel free to use it at your next party. The record for most consecutive losses in which a...

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Free Ike Davis

<div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?search=Ike+Davis">Ike Davis</a> Experience in New York needs to end. It is as simple as that. The former first round draft pick who showed great promise in the minors and in flashes in the big leagues is just stuck with the Mets and needs a change of scenery. It remains to be seen if such a change will change what has become a nightmare for the player, his team and the fans. But the Mets cannot commit to him at this point and the only shot he seems to find himself again is to go away.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When you look at <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?search=Ike+Davis">Ike Davis'</a> numbers, they are just goofy. The difference between the first half <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?search=Ike+Davis">Ike Davis</a> and the second half is like two different people. Who knows why. Maybe he needs a sports psychologist or something. But it really is a Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the second half, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?search=Ike+Davis">Ike Davis</a> is a career .869 OPS guy. In the first half, he is a .697. He has a career OPS of .584 in May with a .184 batting average. In contrast, his batting average for September is .289. And there is more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the first half, his strikeout rate is 25.4% and his walk rate is 10.1%. In the second half, his strikeout rate is 22.1% and his walk rate is 14.9%. It is freaky.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His real struggles last year included facing left-handed pitching. He was awful against them to the tune of a .406 OPS. But as with Granderson and Long on the other side of the city, strategies against southpaws can be taught.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Everything came to a head last year. He had his typical terrible first half. He got sent to the minors where he was absolutely great and he finished the season with the Mets decently. But his power disappeared. He has a .192 career ISO and that fell to .129 in 2013. His home run per fly ball ratio fell from over 21% in 2012 to 11.8% in 2013.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It just gets to the point where the player just seems all messed up. And <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?search=Ike+Davis">Ike Davis</a> is all messed up. He needs to get out of New York where the managerial and coaching staff has been stable for several years and go get a fresh perspective somewhere.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But where? The need for first basemen around baseball is slight. The best locations for him to have a chance to resurrect his career would be for the Brewers or the Pirates. The Pirates are back to the <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sanchga01.shtml">Gaby Sanchez</a> option. I have never been a fan of Sanchez who can hit for average occasionally but offers little else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Brewers currently have journeyman, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/francju02.shtml">Juan Francisco</a>, as their first baseman on their depth charts. Seriously? <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?search=Ike+Davis">Ike Davis</a> would have to be an upgrade over that. Rumors are that the Mets are asking a lot for Davis. They should not. They should just move him for something useful.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a case where a team like the Mets is stuck with a puzzle they cannot figure out and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?search=Ike+Davis">Ike Davis</a> is languishing in New York and his career is rotting before our eyes. For their own sake and for Davis', the Mets need to trade him soon to a good home like Pittsburgh or Milwaukee and see if Davis is done or the next <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/davisch02.shtml">Chris Davis</a>.</div>

Free Ike Davis

The Ike Davis Experience in New York needs to end. It is as simple as that. The former first round draft pick who showed great promise in ...

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The complete turnaround of Jeremy Hefner

<div style="text-align: justify;">For most of last year and for the first two months of this season, the only thing <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hefneje01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Jeremy Hefner</a></strong> had in common with that famous dude with the same last name was that both took a lot of early showers. This season, not only did Hefner lose his first five decisions, but the Mets lost the game in all ten of his first ten appearances. That was not good. In fact, the Mets lost twelve of Hefner's first thirteen appearances. But Hefner actually started pitching better on May 24 against the Braves and then beat the Yankees for his first win of the season. Now, the Mets have won five of his last five starts with Hefner getting the win in three of them. Jeremy Hefner has turned it around.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When you are pitching in a situation like Jeremy Hefner is with the Mets, the one thing it affords is a chance to get straightened out. If Hefner was pitching for a winning club, he might have been pulled from the rotation and even from a Major League roster. After nine starts, the man did have an ERA of 5.00. But Hefner has benefited from the Mets' situation and was able to keep getting the ball every five days and that has paid off handsomely for him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The big question is this: Are his last five starts for real? Are we finally seeing the real Jeremy Hefner, or is he just having a lucky stretch after a really bad stretch? Let's take a look.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Good News:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hefner pitched 29 innings in April, 28 in May and 29 in June. In April, Hefner walked eleven batters. In May, that went down to nine. In June, that went down again to five. Thus, his strikeout to walk ratio in the three months has a nice progression: 1.82, 2.44, 4.60 and that figure is 4.67 in July. Due to more contact, his hit rate went up all three months, but has come down nicely in July.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike BABIP and other indicators, you cannot fake strikeout to walk ratios.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But does Hefner's stuff look good enough to continue his success? Consider that his slider is rated by Fangraphs as the fourth best in all of baseball. Only Darvish, Masterson and Bumgarner's rate higher. That is pretty nice company. Hefner's curve ranks seventh in all of baseball with guys like Strasburg, Burnett, Leake, Kershaw and Wainwright ahead of him. Again, that is excellent company.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With that kind of success on his breaking stuff, fastball command no doubt makes a big difference in his success. It would be safe to say that early in the season, it was not there. But in the last month and a half, he has been able to get ahead in the count more and then use his terrific breaking pitches to his benefit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only doubt that enters the mind is that his last five appearances have been against teams like the Cubs, the Brewers, the Phillies, the Rockies and the Diamondbacks. It was quite impressive what he did at Coors Field, so you cannot take that away from him. But all five of those teams have struggled in the last month. Will Hefner's success continue when the Mets play the best teams again?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think it will. His stuff is there. He is learning how to get ahead in the count and use his off-speed pitches effectively. Hefner is throwing more strikes, getting less walks and though his homer rate is high, in the last two starts, the one he allowed in each of those starts was a solo homer. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hefner also has an improved strand rate this season over last season. Part of that is luck, of course, but another part of it is learning how to stay in the moment and get the outs you need to get out of situations. Jeremy Hefner has been afforded the chance to learn how to perform his craft at the Major League level and he appears to be doing just that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The late emergence of Jeremy Hefner has to be exciting for Mets fans and for his team's brain-trust. His complete turnaround in the last month and a half seems to show that the Mets have built three-fifths of a great rotation with Harvey, Wheeler and Hefner and Gee is only 27 and is coming around nicely too. If four of your five starters give your team a chance to win every time out, the Mets can be on their way back to respectability.</div>

The complete turnaround of Jeremy Hefner

For most of last year and for the first two months of this season, the only thing Jeremy Hefner had in common with that famous dude with t...

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Wheeler and Harvey - some serious heat

<div style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday could not have been better for Mets fans. Not only did they sweep a double-header in Atlanta, something most would term impossible, but they did it with a bookend of two of the brightest pitching phenoms in the game with <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harvema01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Matt Harvey</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wheelza01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Zack Wheeler</a></strong>. The Atlanta Braves saw some serious heat yesterday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Brooksbaseball.net, here is the fastball breakdown of the two pitchers:</div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Harvey: 64 fastballs, Average speed - 97.15, Max Speed - 100.85, strikes not in play - 32, swings and misses - 8.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Wheeler: 71 fastballs, Average speed - 96.15, Max Speed - 98.5 , strikes not in play - 39, swings and misses - 12</li></ul><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Woof. That is some serious gas spread out over a lot of pitches. The two pitchers pitched a total of 13 innings and struck out 20 batters. They allowed seven hits. They allowed three total runs and only one extra base hit (Uggla's double off of Wheeler). Between the two pitchers, they induced 36 swing and misses total. Wow!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Mets have had a lot of sad times. The ownership situation and several down years have kept the fan base restless and even, at times, angry. Yesterday's double-header and the promise shown by Harvey and Wheeler had to be a strong salve on those hard times. Mets fans deserved yesterday. These two young pitchers should have them buzzing. They should have all of us buzzing.</div>

Wheeler and Harvey - some serious heat

Yesterday could not have been better for Mets fans. Not only did they sweep a double-header in Atlanta, something most would term impossible...

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The Mets, my dad and Memorial Day

<div style="text-align: justify;">Memorial Day and my dad have always been combined for me. The day always brings him to mind more powerfully than any other day. Growing up in Bergenfield, New Jersey, the holiday always meant the big parade. It was a time for my dad to put on his uniform. And man did he look good in that thing. He stayed thin his entire life so it still fit. He was dashing and handsome. Usually, I did not get to see him march because I was marching myself with my PAL teammates. After the parade, we would all go to the VFW, which was like our second home and there would be a barbecue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My dad was born in New York City on July 23, 1923. By 1930, the family had moved to Bergenfield and his dad worked in the public works department for the city for many years. Near the beginning of World War II, dad enlisted and somehow became a radio man in a bomber. The details are fuzzy as I was never able to learn much about it. But his bomber squadron flew many missions, first in Africa and then in Europe.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I cannot even imagine how stressful and scary that must have been. Those aircraft were not made for comfort. The enemy's sole mission is to shoot you down. The harrowing peril must have accompanied every flight. But my dad, like many other heroes of that conflict, did what he had to do and I have a display case with all his medals to prove it. He was our hero. And rightly so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He was not around long enough for me to have asked him for more details. He was in a car accident when I was ten years old and died on March 11, 1966. His death was so long ago that it is a struggle to preserve what few memories I have of him. I cannot close my eyes and picture him. I cannot hear his voice. There were no VCRs or digital cameras back then. We had one tape recording of his voice and it was accidentally erased.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I remember that he loved his kids. My last memory of him was him chasing my brother and I around </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrFLzfQngmZdb9x3jaUTZRrlPk_X2sh1lhTSliurNYQe53SjuZpqsrRcVGEFclyFb9woxP336HO1tG6MzY8BxKRJZ-COQnsWEUHhiBQHRTxeyxFwbrvzk3GxHC9pBh6gD5HB11Wcb8Z8/s1600/dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrFLzfQngmZdb9x3jaUTZRrlPk_X2sh1lhTSliurNYQe53SjuZpqsrRcVGEFclyFb9woxP336HO1tG6MzY8BxKRJZ-COQnsWEUHhiBQHRTxeyxFwbrvzk3GxHC9pBh6gD5HB11Wcb8Z8/s200/dad.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">the house while we threw stuffed animals at each other. I remember him taking us places like the Statue of Liberty and to the Worlds Fair. I know he had blond or sandy hair and blue eyes, characteristics that none of us kids inherited.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And I know that he introduced me to baseball. There are two distinct memories of him and baseball at an early age. The first was an evening that I woke up in the middle of the night (or so it seemed). I must have slept with my head hanging down and it seemed all the blood in my body was in my head. Or maybe I was just stuffed up and did not know any better.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I walked from my bedroom down the short set of stairs in our split level house and heard the television on in the basement. My dad had transformed that basement from a cement bare bones to a really nice family area. He was handy that way. I never got to learn from him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I was really little at the time and walked down the stairs to the basement and Dad was sitting on a chair watching the Mets. That was his team. Like many folks from the area, he must have switched to the Mets after the Giants and Dodgers left town. I vaguely remembering sitting at his feet and watching the game with him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And he took me to my first live ballgame. I have tried to find the exact game because the memory is always faulty when it comes to such things. Two things I distinctly remember was parking and that huge globe statue that I had first seen at the Worlds Fair. Shea Stadium was a beautiful blue color on the outside and was still fresh and new. I also remember that <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vealebo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Bob Veale</a></strong> was the pitcher and since our seats were behind home plate, he was the most scary looking human I had ever seen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Part of it, I am sure, was because I had not had a lot of experiences with African-Americans, but even so, Veale was huge and mean-looking. He was six foot, six inches and in that Pirate uniform, and it seemed like he threw the ball at 100 MPH. He probably did, who knows. He was quite good through the mid-1960s and had a nice career.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also remember that the Mets won the game. The only game that makes sense then was the <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN196408170.shtml" target="_blank">August 17, 1964</a> game at Shea when Veale lost, 5-0. To show you how faulty the memory is, I thought I remembered that <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kraneed01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Ed Kranepool</a></strong> hit a homer. Like everyone of that time period, Kranepool had become a hero of mine. He was handsome and dashing and just looked like a ballplayer. Kranepool had a hit in that game, but the real hitting star was left fielder, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smithch04.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Charley Smith</a></strong>, who hit two homers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was introduced to Yankee Stadium during my PAL years from 1965 and later and became a Yankees fan. But my first game was a Mets game and it was with my dad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My dad was not larger than life. He made his share of mistakes as a human being and things were difficult for us all in the two years before he died. Like most of us, he was flawed. And the one thing I remember the strongest when he died was that I could not cry. My uncle came over to tell us that he passed and told us it was okay sometimes to cry. But I could not.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In fact, I did not mourn at all after he died. Perhaps I never accepted it. We were not, as children, allowed to see him in the hospital or go to the funeral. So it was like it never happened. I imagined for years that he was still alive and had run away.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was not until May 21, 1979 that the dam burst. That was the day my son was born and he would become the fourth straight male firstborn that would be a William. For some reason, becoming a father myself brought back the loss that I had encountered as a boy. I remember crying hysterically and privately for my dad in the days after my beautiful son was born.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And I have missed him terribly since. I remember how important it was to me for both of my children that I survive and be there for them through their eleventh birthday. I remember wanting strongly to make it through their entire childhood so they would not experience the loss I had. I remember how important it was for me to pass along the love of baseball to my own son and I was successful at doing so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many of us are a product of both our environment and our genes. I carry some of his same flaws. I, like him, have made good money and lost it all. But I would like to think that I inherited some of his good qualities too. Very few people disliked my dad. He was popular and loved by my mom's Italian family. After he died, my little old Italian nana would tell me many times that my father was a good man. I would like to think the good outweighed the bad. That is all most of us can hope for in a life that has no blueprints.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His short life and early death have shaped much of my life. I wish I could remember more and hear his voice. I wish I could thank him for the good things and forgive him the bad. He would be 90 years old this year. I wish he were.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But I have his medals. They fill me with pride at what he did for his country. I have Memorial Days that connect me with him. And I have baseball. He passed on enough to celebrate. I wish it was more. </div>

The Mets, my dad and Memorial Day

Memorial Day and my dad have always been combined for me. The day always brings him to mind more powerfully than any other day. Growing up i...

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The Ike Davis dilemma

<div style="text-align: justify;">In a media market such as New York, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=davisik02,davisik01&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Ike Davis</a></strong> of the Mets has been the topic of much conversation. As such, I am not sure how much more I can add to the conversation. At the very least, there are no emotional ties to the situation for me, so perhaps I can look at it from a calmer, less passionate perspective. The starting point of the story is that Ike Davis has nearly duplicated a disastrous April and May in 2012 this season. The two-month mess so nearly doubles what happened last year that it illustrates the dilemma this brings to the Mets.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">How closely does Ike Davis' 2013 first two months resemble his first two months of a year ago? Check it out:</div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">2012 (through the end of May): .170 average, .524 OPS, 5 doubles, 5 homers, 12 walks, 49 K's</li><li style="text-align: justify;">2013 (through May 26th): .148 average, .475 OPS, 2 doubles, 4 homers, 16 walks, 54 K's.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Think about that for a minute. That is basically two months of a season that offers nothing but a black hole of a lineup spot. And if truth be told, 2013 is trending worse than 2012.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dilemma for the Mets is that last season, Davis went the rest of the season hitting 21 more doubles, 27 more homers and 49 more walks. For as bad as Davis was in the first two months of 2012, he ended the season a plus 6.9 runs better than average on offense and with an OPS+ of 111. Patience with Davis appeared to be warranted and he had an .888 OPS in the second half. Can Ike Davis pull his season out of a hat (using polite speech here) again?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dilemma goes deeper. It really was not until June 12 last season that Ike Davis started hitting. In other words, his woes went another two weeks. With crushing media and fan displeasure, are the Mets going to watch Ike Davis struggle two more weeks?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And as decent as Davis' season was in the end a season ago, there were two major problems that remained. First, he struggled mightily at Citi Field. Secondly, he was awful against left-handed pitching. Let's look at both of those a little more closely.</div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">2012 (Home): .188/.277/.342.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">2012 (Away): .262/.335/.566.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">2012 (against lefties): .174/.225/.355</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">This year's numbers thus far are so abysmal that the splits are meaningless. They are all bad. But if last year is a guide, then even if Davis pulls the same rabbit out of the hat this year that he did a year ago, then he is still going to struggle in half of his games (home) and in games against left-handed pitching. Consider that Ike Davis has walked just once against a left-handed pitcher all season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The assumption so far has been that Ike Davis can finish this season like he did 2012. That is a huge leap of faith though. Can a guy keep playing a quarter of the season so poorly and still come out at least smelling decent? That, my friends, is not something I would bet on. And the problem right now is that Davis has confused everyone with what kind of talent he is. You cannot keep digging this kind of hole and expect to climb out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But let's say he does do the same thing as last year and finishes near last year's numbers or a little below them. Is he still worth it? After all was said and done last season, Ike Davis was the sixteenth most valuable first baseman in baseball. Sixteenth when there are thirty teams does not seem to make the patience make sense. Davis is having a better defensive season this year than a year ago and that helps. And his base running is better too.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My assumption here is that Davis will not end up with as good as offensive numbers this season. His stats this year, as bad as last year's were at this time, still regressed. His defense and base-running make up the difference. But even a strong finish like last year will still make him finish in the bottom tier of value for first baseman. And I have already stated that such a strong finish is a long shot.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my opinion, you cannot have a guy continue to stink up a quarter of your season. As good a guy as Davis is, as much as people like him, he is not the player that is going to get the Mets where they need to go. I like the guy too. But it is time for the Mets to cut bait and move on. </div>

The Ike Davis dilemma

In a media market such as New York, Ike Davis of the Mets has been the topic of much conversation. As such, I am not sure how much more I ...

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Johan Santana the next Mike Hampton?

Comparing <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santajo02.shtml" target="_blank">Johan Santana</a></b> to <b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hamptmi01.shtml" target="_blank">Mike Hampton</a></b> sounds rather stupid at first glance. First of all, Mike Hampton at his best was never as good as Johan Santana was at his best. But Hampton was pretty darn good in his hay days. Both were rather slight, left-handed pitchers. Hampton was 5'10, 185. Santana is 6'0, 200. Both received huge contracts after their great years and both ran into serious health problems in their early 30's which made their contracts onerous. Hampton would have a few cameos after his age 32 season. Johan Santana, at the age of 33, looks very much in doubt as being an effective pitcher moving forward.<br /><br />Sure, Johan Santana threw a no-hitter this season...sort of. The record books show he threw one. We can at least say that. But since that game, Santana has a 7.98 ERA and looks terrible. And yet <a href="http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/13/everyone-insists-johan-santana-is-healthy/" target="_blank">everyone</a> insists Santana is healthy. As the linked article from the great Aaron Gleeman points out, does it make any difference if he is hurt or not? The fact is, Santana is not close to being an effective pitcher right now. Watching a few of the highlights from his outing yesterday, his pitches looked like beach balls floating up to the plate.<br /><br />You would not expect Santana's velocity to be as strong as it was during his great years. But how far it has fallen is striking. Look at these three charts from <a href="http://fangraphs.com/">Fangraphs.com</a>. The first is his fastball, the second, the change up and the third, his slider:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTIgW_Hplqhudu0_slbD7l95eSF4xhCj2n8FjH70g1Znor4oy6qsUvLauPFL6ool_L8d1L0q1K36ljcs1f1-jvjwSW0i-82UNcxWW_sVw5dFU8bQo495lAB_dZXi0ROcdqMx-P3gFVP4/s1600/Santana+velo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTIgW_Hplqhudu0_slbD7l95eSF4xhCj2n8FjH70g1Znor4oy6qsUvLauPFL6ool_L8d1L0q1K36ljcs1f1-jvjwSW0i-82UNcxWW_sVw5dFU8bQo495lAB_dZXi0ROcdqMx-P3gFVP4/s400/Santana+velo.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAE-clnYbW9j5dZmn6rk2eaTJqDLAwiGI2HOWbvw0qB3kBvo-vumLV5BAK0JjB5iBZqf4dHsWopANpXDLMFqxinjDSbKh503mOF6aN8sn-uS7o7v44Ou6gU-sRi-MMInbfUQvsbPemSw8/s1600/Santana+change+velo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAE-clnYbW9j5dZmn6rk2eaTJqDLAwiGI2HOWbvw0qB3kBvo-vumLV5BAK0JjB5iBZqf4dHsWopANpXDLMFqxinjDSbKh503mOF6aN8sn-uS7o7v44Ou6gU-sRi-MMInbfUQvsbPemSw8/s400/Santana+change+velo.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMLRTD7oeKBC_bXk0c5zSG6-4AjGFC_OdoVPfhq-9ySDiahPE_xf4zPDD99CRWOhrRX_hSRUR0xSwk7KSb-z-OVx_wsDureb9lHL7Ngw-S9m06Pf55lYe45CbVCiENlAgbOFbTtcNQNw/s1600/Santana+slider+velo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMLRTD7oeKBC_bXk0c5zSG6-4AjGFC_OdoVPfhq-9ySDiahPE_xf4zPDD99CRWOhrRX_hSRUR0xSwk7KSb-z-OVx_wsDureb9lHL7Ngw-S9m06Pf55lYe45CbVCiENlAgbOFbTtcNQNw/s400/Santana+slider+velo.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Sadly, Johan Santana's stuff is no longer good enough to consistently get major league hitters out. And it did not really start this season. According to Santana's Fangraphs page, the lefty maintained some fastball value up through the 2010 season when it was worth 21.9 runs above average. This year, his fastball has a negative value. But Santana is known for his change up. And it is a myth that the change up was still one of the best in the majors after 2008.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In 2008, his first season with the Mets, Santana's change up was his best pitch with a value of 22.9 runs. But that value disappeared starting starting in 2009 when it was worth only 1.8 runs. It was worth 4.8 runs in 2010. It is clear that the change up was gone as one of the best weapons in baseball by 2009. And his slider has not been an effective pitch since 2006.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It would be great to be proven wrong, but the prognosis for Johan Santana moving forward is not promising. He is making $25 million this year and will make $25 million again next year. It will cost the Mets $5.5 million to buy him out in 2014. Essentially, the Mets are on the hook for $55 million for a fallen Johan Santana. That fact makes his contract with the Mets look a lot like Mike Hampton's did for the Braves and Barry Zito's for the Giants. Such a boondoggle for the Mets has gone under-reported.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">And while the money is an issue, there is also sadness that one of the brightest stars of the mid-2000s has gone dim. It may be his health. Or it may simply be that his stuff is gone. Whatever the case, Johan Santana looks very easy to hit and those stunning days of his past seem gone for good.</div>

Johan Santana the next Mike Hampton?

Comparing Johan Santana to Mike Hampton sounds rather stupid at first glance. First of all, Mike Hampton at his best was never as good as ...

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