Dumb & Dusty

From Jeff Passan:

About 30 minutes before the game, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia stood in the dugout working over the handle of his bat with a pine tar rag. Out of nowhere, a blunt noise filled the stadium. Pedroia pirouetted toward left field. A band of Tigers fans in left field had begun a chant. Then drums joined in. Then a horn. And clapping.

“What the (expletive) is that?” Pedroia asked.

Get used to it, he was told. That’s Japanese baseball.

The answer seemed not to suffice.

“Shut up!” Pedroia yelled toward the fans.

Four hundred feet away, they couldn’t hear Pedroia, and even if they could, his bellyaching would not have deterred a thing. Baseball games in Japan are spectacles in simplicity: quiet, bordering on silent, during the opponents’ at-bats, and fervent, with cheers and whistles and other such chicanery, during the home teams’.

Typical. Cultural insensitivity from the Red Sox? What else is new?

Cashman Sells Joba the Starter

From Joel Sherman:

“The bottom line is the guys that wind up in the ‘pen wind up there because they do not have enough [different] pitches to start or are mediocre starters whose stuff plays better in the ‘pen,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. “Mariano Rivera was moved to the pen because of a limited assortment of pitches. He is a remarkable reliever. In Joba’s case, he has four pitches that in our opinion will make him a very good starter. We felt he was a starter or set-up/closer type when we drafted him. I would rather have the starter.”

True, indeed. And if that doesn’t convince you:

As Pirates GM Neal Huntington said, for example, “K-Rod [Francisco Rodriguez] failed as a minor league starter. Joe Nathan failed as a starter. They both turned into tremendous closers. But you don’t have many surprise 200-inning starters who give you a quality 200 innings. It is a much more demanding role.”

The article also reiterates that Joba, although starting the season (as of now) in the bullpen, will probably still transition over and become a starter as the season progresses. This of course depends on how the bullpen shakes out and if there are reliable arms that have gained Joe Girardi’s trust. Only then will Girardi move Joba.

(Props to RAB).

Patient Pettitte

Andy Pettitte didn’t throw today, as the back spasms that forced him out of his start yesterday still seem to be an issue for him. He basically says that he woke up and his back felt a little “tight” although he doesn’t seem overly concerned.

Miguel Cabrera Gets $152 Million

Miguel Cabrera has reached a preliminary agreement with the Detroit Tigers. The deal would add $141 million over a 7-year period to the $11.3 million Cabrera is already making this year, providing him with a total of $152 million over 8 years. This is a sad day for me as a big Miguel Cabrera fan. My dream of seeing him as a Yankee has now ended.