Why Bother

Today, when Jonathan Papelbon came in to pitch, he ended up striking out Alex Rodriguez. Once he struck out A-Rod, he pumped his fist, looked directly at A-Rod and screamed (no goggles this time). Last week we were bombarded with stories about Joba Chamberlain and his scream, twirl and of course, the fist pump. However, Papelbon looked directly in at A-Rod and screamed, as this action looked very similar to Joba’s except it was directed at A-Rod, whereas Joba never looked at Thomas after striking him out. Tomrrow, I’m sure we won’t hear anything about Papelbon’s move. Instead, we’ll hear how he braved a 2-hour rain delay to come out and pitch 1.1 innings.

This might sound stupid, but it just goes to show you that, when you’re a Yankee, the spotlight shines brighter and you’re sure to get burned (more than once).

Joba and Wang: Pitching Mechanics

This site caught my attention recently (via Hardball Times). It’s called Driveline Mechanics and it features detailed and descriptive analyses of pitcher mechanics. They’ve done some work on our boys Joba Chamberlain and Chien-Ming Wang. Here’s the Joba feature, and here’s the text on Wang. They seem to like Wang’s mechanics a lot more than Joba’s.

I don’t know too much about mechanics, other than the general motions (some of the language they used in the Wang piece could be somewhat confusing) and things of that nature, but I found this tidbit on Wang to be pretty interesting. Wang apparently punches his glove lightly when delivering a pitch. He does it in order to keep his timing in check and he reportedly added this motion during the spring.

Here’s a GIF image:

 

I mean, Wang has always been effective, but if this added motion allows him to really focus on his delivery and timing (he’s had mechanical failures in the past) then he could be even more effective this year, which can be seen in his past 3 starts (all wins).

Game 2: Yanks VS. Red Sox

Here are the lineups (source: PA):

YANKEES
Johnny Damon LF
Melky Cabrera CF
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Jorge Posada DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Jose Molina C
Alberto Gonzalez SS
Mike Mussina RHP

RED SOX
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
David Ortiz DH
Manny Ramirez LF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
J.D. Drew RF
Jason Varitek C
Sean Casey 1B
Julio Lugo SS
Josh Beckett RHP

Josh Beckett, the ace of the Sox staff, is much like Chien-Ming Wang. When I say that I mean that Beckett has never had a tremendous amount of success against the Yankees, their biggest rival (up until yesterday, Wang has never really been that great against the Sox). In 46.2 innings, Beckett has compiled a 6.56 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. It’ll be interesting to see how he performs tonight after a tough outing against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Some notes about the game:

• Hopefully the sleeping giant that is David Ortiz will continue to slumber today. Mike Mussina will have to throw a lot of junk, because David Ortiz will sit on a 86 mph fb all afternoon.
• That goes double for Manny Ramirez. He and Ortiz have never had phenomenal numbers against Mussina, but the Moose is a different pitcher now so the career lines are really out of context.
• Jose Molina is 5-for-13 with 4 doubles so far, on the road, and he’s hit in each game that he’s started (7 of them). He’s probably one of the smartest signings Cashman has ever made and he’ll also be the least heralded, of course (backup catchers get no love).

UPDATE (8:37) — Typical “do too much” A-Rod. After that rain delay, he swung at 3 pitches and all 3 of them were likely balls (1 high, 1 low, 1 outside).

Stadium Sketch

Well, I’ve been to Yankee Stadium multiple times. In fact, I cannot count the amount of times I’ve been there. However, due to economical limitations and also because of availability, I’ve never been THAT close to a Yankee game (e.g. on the field, etc.). Well, here I have an actual depiction of something that many people would love to see. It’s a rather detailed sketch of the new Yankee Stadium’s interior (just a small section only). You can see the clubhouse area where the players hang out (A-Rod, Posada, Jeter, Cano, etc.), where cameras are positioned, training facilities, shower areas, meeting rooms, etc. It’s just a really interesting.

 

Pretty cool. This is a specific snapshot of a much larger image (I have multiple prints of the stadium, different angles, various sketches, etc.). I’ll post up more as the stadium nears its completion.

What Could Have Been

From Bryan Hoch:

Given the lead, Wang saw his mechanics get a little sloppy in the fifth. Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis flied out to deep right for the first two outs of the inning, but Drew launched a deep drive that Abreu appeared to have a bead on. Abreu jumped at the wall but jarred his right shoulder against the fence, tipping the ball into the Boston bullpen and spoiling the no-hit bid.

“I felt bad,” Abreu said. “It could have been a chance to no-no there. We try to do the best we can do.”

Wang would recover, getting Jason Varitek to fly loudly to center before pitching coach Dave Eiland corrected a flaw in Wang’s mechanics, telling him to get more on top of his pitches. Armed with that, Wang retired the next 11 before Crisp reached on his two-out bunt in the ninth. Pedroia flied out to left for the final out, and Wang’s two-hitter was complete.

“I had good defense catching the ball for me,” Wang said. “I could control the ball inside and outside today. Sometimes the slider would run, but the sinker was good.”

Wang’s performance was, in the baseball world, sheer art. When you think about it and realize that Wang held the Boston Red Sox, the WS champions and a team that he has always struggled against at Fenway, to a tip-off the glove homer and a bunt single over 9 innings, you really have to tip your hat to the guy, even if his mechanics were to blame for that homer by JD Drew (Abreu could have caught it, but it was still a tough play). Wang was amazing tonight, and, I’m sure everyone in the baseball world took notice. Also, the mechanical note is interesting. Whenever Wang’s performance begins to decline, it’s a mechanical issue, and it has never been a “stuff” concern, or even that the league is catching up to him. When Wang performed poorly in the playoffs, that was mechanical. As long as that is kept in check, expect Wang to win 20+ games this season (Cy Young votes will not be able to ignore that win total).

Damn, too bad I sat him in one of my fantasy leagues.

The Debate is Over

Chien-Ming Wang = Dominant. ‘Nuff said.