I hate to do it, but I’m putting the baseball blog on hiatus for the time being. I don’t want it to take long, but it’s something I feel that I have to do.
I’ve recently gotten some actual writing work, and the baseball blog was meant to kind of “build” the portfolio a bit. With me writing (and other people counting on that writing), I have to focus my attention elsewhere for the time being.
I’ll be back soon enough, though.
So far, no autopsy results have been released, at least that I could find. I read somewhere “staph infection”, but I only saw it one place, and blood clot seems to make more sense. I’m no doctor, so who knows.
My Candito (or Candido, “to” I believe is his given name, “do” was his ring name) post was actually noted on another website, and surrounded by rips on other blog entries and posts about Chris, mine actually seemed slightly positive:
Yet more Candido sentiment. Thing is, the decent Candido memorial posts seem to come from intelligent fans with true loves of wrestling. They don’t sound “smarky” or have the whole “fuck Candido he was a lifetime doper I have no sympathy for him I’M SO HEEEEEL” anti-sentiment you sometimes get on wrestling sites like this. Hell, people here are being reasonably well-behaved about Candido’s death. God knows people on TheDDT are making more Sytch jokes than anything else. I’m doing it, too - there’s something about contributing to a fund where the only beneficiary is Tamara Lynn Fytch that I don’t like.
It is funny how wrestling fans especially seem to like having an online personna to mirror the attention that their favorite wrestlers achieve. Lots of wrestling fans are attention whores for whatever reason - maybe they weren’t popular in school, maybe they’re a little scary, maybe they’re envious of what wrestlers (and other television personalities) receive just by walking out a door. I used to be a regular on IRC in wrestling chat rooms and those type of things, and there were people there who just couldn’t drop the act. They’re the ones who challenge other online people to fistfights (”Name the place, I’ll be there!”, knowing full well that the two people are 2000 miles apart), saying things purely for shock value, claiming to enjoy things that no one likes (”Dude, I’m such a big Vicera fan!”), and pretty much saying the complete opposite of what more than two people agree with (”You know, Chris Benoit’s an overrated worker. He’s no Paul London.”)
I always thought it was a wrestling thing, but it’s carried over to pretty much any message board or chat room I’ve ever been in. I frequent a message board for a baseball game, and I still see the same stuff (albeit with less frequency).
I wish I could like wrestling now, but I’m pretty much at the point I was at around ‘94-’95. The only thing that got me back into wrestling then was ECW, but I sadly don’t see an ECW on the horizon that’s going to get me interested again.
In that we’re bringing back the 80s! Yes, when Brian Cashman smashed the panic button into 125 pieces, he reacted pretty much like those classic Yankee teams in the 80s did in the midst of a pennant race when they’d dump off… oh, I don’t know, perhaps an extremely promising outfield prospect for a non-fielding left handed DH. Only this is a little different - the blood isn’t on the ground yet (well, a little), but the knife is out, and the background music has stopped, leading to that eerie quiet.
Let’s take a look at the changes, shall we?
1) AAA 2B Robinson Cano becomes Yankees full time 2B - Well, that’s kind of something that we were expecting, although not so soon. Cano was the systems top 2B prospect, and figured to either be playing second for the Yankees eventually, or be shipped off for someone else’s veteran second baseman. However, Cano wasn’t overly impressive last season, so that time was expected to be in 2006 at the earliest. Cano has impressed in AAA, however, and from that early look, seems to be ready. Is he? Well, that’s what option years are for. The move would seem to eliminate the need for Tony Womack, however…
2) Yankees current 2B Tony Womack becomes full time LF - Back when Tony Womack was a young speedy player (back in the mid 90s), the Pirates played him at second base, where he didn’t play badly, but made a few more errors than everyone liked. Due arbitration and seeing the errors, the Pirates dumped him off to Arizona for magic beans and Jason Boyd. Arizona, not willing to put Womack anywhere near shortstop and already having Jay Bell at second and gold glover Steve Finley in center, dropped Womack in right field, where he played a respectful right field (no doubt helped a bit by Finley). While Womack wasn’t a horrible defensive right fielder, he was still what he was - a corner outfielder with a .370 slugging percentage. Corner outfielders are some of the most common position players to find in the minor leagues. Most players who set home run records in the minors are corner outfielders due to their number - the best player on your AAA team is most likely a left fielder, right fielder, or first baseman, mainly because these are the three positions christened by managers as the positions that “anyone” can play. That being said, it’s laughable that the Yankees don’t have someone in their minor league system that can come up and play a corner outfield position. Hell, even on their bench they don’t, which leads to Womack playing left. Womack is playing left because…
3) Yankees current LF Hideki Matsui becomes full time CF - I called this one 18 months ago. While I (and pretty much any Yankee fan) loves Bernie Williams, between injuries and age, he’s shown that he shouldn’t be playing the outfield anymore, at least not center. This was made embarrassingly obvious a few days ago when on a shallow sacrifice fly to center field, Bernie couldn’t reach the pitcher’s mound. Bernie’s never been a “highlight reel” center fielder, which has kept him in center for this long - his knowledge of the field allows him to make up for a lack of speed by knowing how to read the balls and position himself correctly. There’s no need to dive for a ball when you’re already under it. Matsui played center the last time Bernie missed a chunk of time, and played quite well there. While I don’t think Matsui will win a gold glove any time soon in center, I think he’s a decent replacement. But what of Bernie?
4) Yankees current CF Bernie Williams becomes a fourth outfielder/DH/pinch hitter - The (necessary) spin on this is that the move is only temporary, that Bernie just needs time to “rest” and heal up. Bernie on the bench is nice, but that bench becomes incredibly crowded with what seems to be the same player. On that bench are Bernie Williams (whom they won’t let play the field now), Jason Giambi (ditto), and Ruben Sierra (when he comes back from the DL, oh, and ditto) to go along with the regular cast of bench characters in John Flaherty (necessary backup catcher), Andy Phillips (experiment), and Rey Sanchez (Tony Womack with less speed and better fielding). What happened to current bench jockey/fourth outfielder Bubba Crosby?
5) Yankees current bench jockey/fourth outfielder Bubba Crosby becomes a Columbus Clipper, AA starting pitcher Sean Henn enters Yankees rotation - Henn isn’t expected to stick around - he’s just taking Randy Johnson’s rotation turn to rest Johnson, who is nursing an injury.
So what does this mean for the Yankees? Well, right now the Yankees get to see three players (one on a more limited basis) who they hope they can use in Chien-Ming Wang (already with one start under his belt), Cano, and Henn. Henn is 24, so his jump from AA isn’t exactly groundbreaking, although he has limited minor league experience. He’s been lights out for Trenton, and considering the AAA starting pitcher options, Henn’s not a bad crapshoot. I bet the Yanks would kill for Brad Halsey right now.
I personally think the Bernie move is temporary. He’s been having shoulder problems for a while now, with the belief last season that Kenny Lofton would take the stress off of Bernie playing every day. With the disgruntled Lofton being shipped off to Philadelphia, that put Bernie back in center field regularly. Allowing his shoulder to heal and putting him in left when he’s healed (where he wouldn’t have to cover as much ground and his throwing troubles could be covered up a little better) allows him back into the lineup, where he’s still a better offensive fit for the team than Womack is.
As it stands though, the 25 man roster is a little crowded. Tanyon Sturtze is set to return soon, and eventually Jaret Wright and Ruben Sierra will return. Assuming that Henn returns to the minors after his start and Johnson is healthy, you’re left with the following players fighting for spots:
Bernie Williams
Jason Giambi
Andy Phillips
Bubba Crosby
Rey Sanchez
Ruben Sierra
Now, there’s no way that Williams gets released. It’s doubtful that Giambi gets released either. Phillips and Crosby have options remaining, and both could be considered expendable with Womack going into super-utility mode. Also thought to be expendable would be Sanchez, who would probably refuse assignment if demoted and become a free agent. In reality, if the Yankees are dedicated to having Cano on the roster, the need to keep Sanchez, a light hitting middle infielder who is in his mid 30s, is minimal. It’s nice to have a good fielding infielder on the roster, but not necessary - a veteran middle infielder could be signed in a pinch. There’s enough of an argument to boot Sierra off the roster, but Torre seems to be in love with him, and he’s at least a decent bat off the bench, seemingly better than any other the options right now.
The pitchers are the ones to look at right now, because there’s the most volatility there. Cashman has stated that he only wants to carry 11 pitchers on the 25 man roster. Here are the candidates:
Kevin Brown
Tom Gordon
Buddy Groom
Sean Henn
Randy Johnson
Mike Mussina
Carl Pavano
Paul Quantrill
Mariano Rivera
Felix Rodriguez
Mike Stanton
Chien-Ming Wang
Tanyon Sturtze
Jaret Wright
That’s 14. We’re assuming that Henn gets sent down, so that takes it down to 13. So, which two to get rid of? Johnson, Mussina, and Pavano are set in the rotation. Rivera is the closer, and not going anywhere. Gordon, despite his recent troubles, is still set. Wright isn’t getting released, but then again, he may never come off the DL. Stanton and Groom are actually pretty secure, being lefthanders, and the team wants to have two lefthanded pitchers in the bullpen. Torre is in love with Sturtze. Quantrill isn’t likely to be released.
Seemingly, the pitchers in danger seem to be Kevin Brown (who got hammered again), Felix Rodriguez, and Wang. Wang is set in the rotation until Wright comes back, so their roster spots are seemingly interchangeable. However, if Wang impresses and Brown continues to falter, the Yanks could bite the bullet and cut Brown. It’s not on the same level of cutting a Bernie Williams - there will be no fan outcry (or likely team outcry) if Brown is jettisoned from the roster. If Brown somehow returns to form before Wright returns and Wang pitches well, then the Yankees are left with an even tougher decision. They can either keep Wang in the rotation and move Wright into a long relief role, or put Wright into the rotation and send down Wang. While the obvious answer might be to keep Wang in the rotation if he does well, there is the pressure of keeping Wright in the rotation to justify his salary - something not unthinkable.
Rodriguez seems to be in trouble when Sturtze returns. Having already voiced his displeasure about his use this season, Rodriguez has a small enough contract (and enough of a positive past history) to be shipped off, if the team is willing to pay most of the bill.
Any way you slice it, it’s a mess. I’ll probably explore this further in the future.
One of the morbid pleasures of being a fireman is investing motor vehicle accidents (or MVAs, as pretty much everyone calls them in the department). While there’s no positive to someone getting seriously hurt or going through the psychological experience of damaging one of their most expensive possessions, it can be quite interesting trying to figure out how the hell the people had the accident.
Perfect example was this morning. Upon arrival on the scene, I can see it’s a one car accident (unless you count the parked box truck the car hit that hasn’t moved in years, probably.) Yet, with the angle the car hit the box truck, you look around and try to figure out why the car hit the box truck in the first place.
It’s kind of neat, especially with the whole boom of shows like Law & Order and CSI, you’ve got a bunch of amateur detectives looking around the scene, looking for skid marks or broken shrubs. One belief that the car had jumped the curb and crashed into the truck (which would explain the angle) was nixed, even after having pointed out tire tracks in the dirt and a bent back shrub, when it was noted that the shrub was bent in the opposite direction that the car would have been going to have the accident.
The guess was that the car was trying to bypass the signal light by taking a shortcut through the parking lot of the local beverage outlet. In taking that quick shortcut, the person either was met by another car coming in the other side (not too likely, unless someone was doing the shortcut in the opposite direction, since the beverage outlet didn’t open for almost two hours) or perhaps a pedestrian, causing the car to swerve away and colliding into the box truck, which was parked.
Either way, the person driving the vehicle can’t be given too much sympathy - whether it was an ill-advised short cut or falling asleep or a cell phone incident, there was no one to blame here except her.
She’ll be OK, though. She was just a little shaken up. I wouldn’t be talking about it if she got seriously hurt though, would I?
