Happy Holliday?

Matt Holliday -- Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Here’s a post from PA’s LoHud Blog about Matt Holliday:

Yes, Matt Holliday hit a home run at Yankee Stadium last night. Yes, he’s available. But before you ask Brian Cashman to throw a bunch of prospects in a sack, consider these stats:

Career home splits: .364/.427/.659

Career road splits: .277/.341/.449

Unless the new Yankee Stadium is at a much higher altitude than the old one, you might want to rethink calling for that trade.

Although I agree that Holliday has been assisted by Coors Field over the years, his road splits are a bit skewed. Holliday has really come into his own over the past 3 years and his road numbers definitely reflect that. For example, in 2006, Holliday hit .373 with a 1.132 OPS at home while hitting .280 with a .819 OPS on the road. That’s a pretty big differential, but the road numbers are still fairly solid, even in comparison. In 2007, Holliday hit .376 with a 1.157 OPS at home and, on the road, he produced a .301 BA with an .860 OPS. This year, Holliday is hitting .368 with a 1.079 OPS at home, with a .301 BA and an .850 OPS when away (nearly identical to last year’s road splits). So, essentially, Holliday puts up godlike numbers at Coors while putting up merely MVP numbers when on the road. However, his road splits have gotten better each year.

This can be attributed to several things. For one, Holliday could just be getting better and better, as he has evolved into an elite player. There’s a lot to like about him, whether it’s his patience, his power, or his speed (he has 13 SB this year and could put up 30-30 numbers if he keeps running). He could be, as I said earlier, coming into his own. However, Holliday could possibly be a product of Coors. Pitchers in the NL see his numbers, numbers which are puffed up by Coors Field’s high altitude and they may show him more respect when he’s at the plate, both at home and on the road (which can explain his OBP increase over the years). Nonetheless, if traded to an AL team, he could be, if I had to offer a comparison, very similar to Nick Markakis of the Baltimore Orioles. Markakis has hit 14 HRs, has 9 SB, a .299 BA and an .892 OPS.

The bottom line is that you want Matt Holliday on your team, whether you’re the Yankees, or anyone else out there. If he’s available for a decent package of players, you pull the trigger and wonder about the validity of his career splits later on. He’s that good now.

Keepin’ It Classy With Boston’s Closer

From the Boston Herald:

NEW YORK – By the time last night’s All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium was ready to get underway, and Jonathan Papelbon had joined the rest of the Red Sox in being roundly booed during their introduction, the closer’s blood had somewhat stopped boiling.

“I’m cooled off a bit more now,” Papelbon said in the moments leading to first pitch.

But just a few hours before, Papelbon clearly was in a different state of mind, one that led to an obscenity-laced interview session in front of his locker and one that clearly dampened his entire All-Star experience.

“If I don’t pitch,” he said, “I don’t care.”

Those feelings stemmed from a story in yesterday’s New York Daily News, which was accompanied by the back-page headline “Papelbum!”

The story suggested Papelbon wanted to be the one to close out the All-Star Game, not Mariano Rivera of the host Yankees. The Daily News’ back page was brought to Papelbon’s attention while he was eating breakfast yesterday morning, when he looked over and saw someone else reading the tabloid.

His initial response? “What the (expletive!)”

Despite calming down as the night progressed, his patience was tested once more during the game. Called on to pitch the eighth inning with the game tied at 2-2, Papelbon surrendered the go-ahead run at the time when San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez brought in Miguel Tejada of Houston.

It was an appearance that began with boos, followed by chants of “Mariano,” and concluded by strains of “Overrated!” The closer would pitch only the one inning, with Rivera ultimately appearing the ninth and getting out of a jam in the 10th.

Papelbon and his pregnant wife, Ashley, then were heckled during yesterday’s All-Star parade down Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.

“It just kind of (ticks) me off because if that gets (expletive) written and I’m riding in an (expletive) parade today with my wife so she doesn’t feel safe because some (expletive) from the Daily News says I want to close the game, and that ain’t true,” he said. “See what I’m saying?

“That was an easy headline for that (expletive) to say, ‘Yeah, Papelbon wants to close.’ Of course I do, that’s my competitive nature. But I’m stepping away and saying I don’t need to close.”

Papelbon offered the same explanation to his manager, Terry Francona, when the two discussed the pitcher’s comments.

“His point to me, which is really good, was, ‘If I’m closing and I don’t want to close, what kind of closer am I?’ ” Francona said. “And I completely agree.”

Papelbon said his biggest problem with the story and headline was how it affected his wife, who is due with the couple’s first child on New Year’s Day.

“My wife wasn’t comfortable (during the parade),” Papelbon said. “She’s pregnant with a baby. It (ticks) me off. So some (expletive) from the Daily News can get his headline.

“It kind of (ticks) you off when your family gets involved like that and you’re trying to enjoy an experience with your family and you have a wife who is pregnant who doesn’t feel safe riding in a red carpet event with you. How would you feel?”

Papelbon also reiterated his stance on who should close out last night’s game, insisting he has no problem with Rivera finishing a potential American League win.

“I understand what it’s about to put in your time and pay your dues in this game,” he said. “If you were to ask me, of course I would want to close. I’m not going to back down from anything. But that’s not what the (expletive) was said. It was an easy headline for that (expletive).”

Here’s what Papelbon originally said about wanting to close:

“If I was managing the team, I would close. … But I’m not managing the team,” he said today.

Sam Borden and some of the other writers there asked Papelbon whether Mariano Rivera had earned the right to close.

“I think we both earned that right.” he said.

Okay, so maybe Papelbon meant that, as a competitive closer, he wants the ball, all the time. He could have said something like that to the media instead of what was said here, though. He did say that he thinks he should close and did not defer to Mariano until later in the day, presumably after a talk with Terry Francona (who is always classy). Papelbon could have avoided this whole thing by saying, “You know, as a competitor, I always want to close and, not to be cocky, but I’m good at closing. However, I understand the present situation and if Mariano Rivera gets the call, that makes sense. He’s one of the best of all time and this is his stadium, not mine. So yea.” See, was that hard? Not at all. But, that’s not what Papelbon said.

Now, he’s trying to act as if Yankee fans are attacking his family. He should have known he was going to get this sort of reception all weekend long from baseball fans. People are going to let you know when you say something that’s both stupid and arrogant and this was just a classic example of that. Even if that article wasn’t printed, we all (well, most of us) have this thing called the inernet and we basically knew about it before it was in the papers. Whoever stands next to him is essentially an innocent bystander, but for this weekend, it’s really guilt by association. Also, as I read the Herald article and gazed over Papelbon’s profanity laced tirade, I seriously thought I was going to see a John Rocker moment. Did anyone else get that same feeling?

What Are You Waiting For?

What, exactly, is Brian Cashman waiting for? While the Yankees have tumbled and staggered into the AS break, Yankee fans are left wondering what the rest of 2008 has in store for them. Our team is no stranger to this situation, as they have faced similar perils in years passed (like last year). However, as Phil Allard notes, Brian Cashman’s lack of action is somewhat startling as the team just doesn’t seem good enough to break through this year or make an extended playoff appearance. What will he do, really? After pegging this year on aging players and young starters, what is his backup plan? Essentially, what will he do (via trade or signing) to make the team better for the second half?

These are questions that need to be asked. Some Yankee fans may say, “well, for years we have traded away young talent and were left with a barren farm system. Fans complained about that, and now that we’ve built a strong system, once again, you want to trade away the pieces?” With that, I respond, “is Brian Cashman incapable of making smart trades that won’t entirely drain the farm?” This is a GM’s job. He’s going to have to figure out the best way possible to ensure contention for his team as they head into the second half. So yes, you don’t want to trade away pieces, but you also need to engage teams with smart moves. After all, isn’t this all part of why you build your farm system (so that it can sustain itself after trades)?

With that said, there’s still one guy who’s widely available and his name is Barry Bonds. In light of Matsui’s recent setback, when asked about Barry Bonds, Brian Cashman had the following to say:

“I would say any rampant speculation on us involving a player of that magnitude would be extremely premature,” Cashman said. “I would caution everybody to not misunderstand that since I’m not saying no to it, that that means, ‘Oh my gosh, that that might be happening down the line.’ It’s not something we’re focused on at this point. We’re focused on getting Hideki Matsui back rather than, you know, what we’re going to do if he’s not back.”

I mean, we get it. He delievered it in a roundabout way but we understand what he’s saying. Hopefully, Brian Cashman will stop providing us with safe answers and start making some moves. Something needs to be done, don’t you think?