Baseball

2015 New York Yankees predictions

Chris McGlynn Baseball, MLB ,

by Matt Luppino

Ah, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. No it’s not the holiday season, it’s not summer vacation, and it’s not even March Madness (technically it’s April Madness now).

That’s right.  It’s baseball season once again. A time when everything in a sport completely resets. A time when last place teams can win a championship a season later. And a time when Yankee fans once again revel in the past… wait, that’s every day.

This year’s 2015 Yankees face an uphill battle after what frankly the ball club will call an unsuccessful season last year. Finishing 84-78 while marred by injuries, the Bronx Bombers missed the playoffs for the second year in a row for the first time since the early 90s, and did not do much to improve. Yes, long time captain, fan favorite, and baseball icon Derek Jeter retired, going out in spectacular fashion in his last home game, but the losses of closer David Robertson, who signed with the Chicago White Sox, and starter Hiroki Kuroda, to the Japanese league, were also unexpected and could prove costly. And of course, after a year-long suspension filled with lawsuits and media hysteria, Alex Rodriguez returns to the diamond.

Here are my grades and predictions for the Yankees this season:

Starting Rotation: B-
Opening Day:
Masahiro Tanaka R
Michael Pineda R
CC Sabathia L
Nathan Eovaldi R
Adam Warren R

The entire Yankees team faces huge question marks, but this is one of their largest.  The rotation was largely affected by injuries last year, some of which are still not resolved.  Tanaka’s elbow, which shut him down after a masterful first half last season, appears healthy but not to full strength.  The same can be said about Sabathia’s knee, though the aging left-hander still needs to learn how to adjust to the lack of velocity in his pitches now, a fact that has haunted him the past few seasons. The addition of the young flamethrower Eovaldi is intriguing, but last season his control often escaped him.  This group has a lot of promise if they manage to pitch to their potential, but there is also a chance that Tanaka and Sabathia could reinjure themselves too.  The X-factor here: Ivan Nova is expected to return from Tommy John surgery in May or June, which would add another strong starter to this team and put Warren back in the bullpen, where he was very strong last year.  If he returns to form, Tanaka once again pitches like the ace we saw a glimpse of last year, and Eovaldi, and Pineda for that matter, find the strike zone, then this could be one of the stronger rotations in baseball.

Bullpen: A-
Opening Day:
Closer: Dellin Betances R
Set-Up: Andrew Miller L
David Carpenter R
Justin Wilson L
Esmil Rogers R
Chasen Shreve L

In spite of the loss of Robertson, one of the top closers in baseball, he could have just been replaced with someone even better.  Betances, an All-Star last season, struck out 135 batters in only 90.0 innings last season, a rate of 13.5 K/ 9 IP.  His ERA of 1.40 and WHIP of 0.78 were among the tops in baseball as well.  He has struggled this spring, but if the adrenaline of a regular season game kicks in, he should be a dominant pitcher once more.  Crafty lefty Andrew Miller offers a strong alternative, for he is equally strong against batters on both sides of the plate.  David Carpenter and Justin Wilson are hard throwers, righty and lefty-specialists respectively.  Plug Warren back into here, and this is one of the best pens in baseball.

Lineup: Ranging from C- to B+…let’s go with a B- for now
Opening Day:
Jacoby Ellsbury L
Brett Gardner L
Carlos Beltran S
Mark Teixeira S
Brian McCann L
Chase Headley S
Alex Rodriguez R/Garrett Jones L
Stephen Drew L
Didi Gregorius L

Why a range?  Because this lineup could be either really good or really bad.  On the good side, Ellsbury and Gardner can both be scary on the basepaths and will set up well for the heart of the lineup.  From the 1-7 spot in this lineup is homerun power, especially with the short porches at Yankee Stadium.  Plus, Gregorius, though not known for his bat, could still be an improvement over the groundball-specialist Jeter.  But, there are questions, mainly injuries.  Beltran, Teixiera, and McCann all suffered from injuries last year, and were rather ineffective when they were playing.  After a year of no baseball, we have no idea what kind of hitting shape A-Rod is in (though this spring has not been awful so far).  Ellsbury and Gregorius suffered minor injuries this spring, though appear to be healthy now.  And Stephen Drew frankly is not very good.  This lineup is very unpredictable, but has the tools in place to score some runs for certain.  If healthy, this is a Bronx Bombers-esque team.

Fielding: B-
Opening Day:
C: McCann
1B: Teixeira
2B: Drew
3B: Headley
SS: Gregorius
LF: Gardner
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Beltran
DH: Rodriguez/Jones
Bench: Chris Young, Brendan Ryan, John Ryan Murphy, Jose Pirela

There is a fairly glaring problem created by the return of Alex Rodriguez.  With two bad hips on a 39-year-old body, a year without baseball, and another 3rd baseman in Headley, Rodriguez is expected to spend most of his time at DH this season. Problem: Beltran and his two bad knees on a 37-year-old body are now forced to be an everyday right fielder.  This is not only a defensive liability, but is also a great plan to get Beltran injured.  Once he gets hurt, there is not a true backup. Garrett Jones is not much of an improvement, and while Chris Young could be, his lack of bat does not make up for it in the lineup. Otherwise, this is not an awful unit.  While Headley and Drew are not great, Teixeira is one of the best fielding first basemen in the game, and Gregorius is a huge upgrade over Jeter, who lacked range in his later years.  Gardner and Ellsbury can easily cover all of the extended left and center fields (and will probably need to cover most of right for Beltran) and are usually Gold Glove caliber fielders who make highlight reel players commonly. McCann is not a great fielder behind the plate, but he is adept at throwing out base stealers and is an excellent game caller.

Manager: A
Joe Girardi

Girardi has never had a losing record in the Bronx, even though the injuries suffered in each of the last two seasons easily warranted it.  He is excellent at resting his players to keep them fresh when needed.  He is also a very good bullpen manager.  Of the 78 losses the Yankees had last season, only 27 were lost by a reliever, about 1/3 of the total.  Girardi knows how to match up against opposing lineups well, and is good at managing innings to keep a pitcher ready for the next game.  With three lefties in his pen and a plethora of long relievers at his disposal, do not expect this to change anytime soon.  Girardi is one of the best.

Overall Prediction: 82-80
I don’t see many of the Yankees staying healthy all season.  If they do, they can contend for the playoffs.  But they are too old and fragile for my liking.  The pitching especially could be troublesome; younger starters from last season like Shane Greene and Vidal Nuno have moved on, leaving open voids should anything happen.  With a fairly weak farm system, the Yankees will struggle to fill the gaps.  This could be a good season, or a disastrous one. We will wait to see the results.

Even as we approach the Sweet 16, many college athletes can be left bitter

Chris McGlynn Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, NCAAF, NCAAM, Soccer, Social Issues ,

The NCAA tournament is in full swing at the moment as the Sweet 16 will take place at the end of this week. However, it seems the NCAA is never safe from scrutiny. President Obama cast his lot into the conversation regarding the corrupt and questionable practices of college athletics’ governing body. He made a couple of different points but the one that rung out the strongest to me was his criticism of players losing scholarships due to injury. The NCAA allows programs to revoke scholarships from players who are injured or who are cut from their respective teams.

What the NCAA continually does to college athletes is something like this. And yes I am looking at you Mark Emmert:

Let’s say that you want to learn how to cook better, so you decide to take some cooking lessons. Upon signing up for the lessons, you discover that the first four months of classes are free. This is a great deal for you, probably all of the classes you might need, and looking at the price, you probably would not be able to afford the classes otherwise. So, you begin taking classes at this local cooking shop and begin learning all sorts of new skills from a chef acting as your teacher. A week or so in, you begin to make your own dishes. The chef continually tells you that you should be researching recipes and practicing on your own time, but you have a full-time job that is meant to take your priority so this is a difficult task.

About a month into your classes, you hurt yourself during one of the sessions. You cut yourself fairly deep on your hand with a knife after you slip up chopping vegetables. An honest mistake but now you cannot go to the cooking classes for the next month due to the stitches in your hand. You take time and heal properly, just as your doctor and teacher tell you, and then return to the class.

Upon your return, someone who works higher up in the corporation that runs the cooking class approaches you. He tells you that because you missed the past month of classes, you are no longer eligible for the discount and you will need to start paying to take the cooking classes now. You complain that you were injured in one of the classes and that the injury was outside of your control. The man insists that there is no other way for you to continue attending the cooking school and you must find a way to pay.

In that story, you are fundamentally wronged and loose out an opportunity to do something you really enjoy because the school turned its back on you. Everyone recognizes that what happened is morally wrong. Yet, this happens to college athletes over and over again. And the scary thing is that there is very little that the NCAA requires colleges to provide regarding healthcare. In fact, most of the healthcare services are optional for schools to provide. So not only are they at risk of losing their scholarships due to the injury, they are not guaranteed to have any medical costs covered. Schools will occasionally cover the fees of surgeries for students but they are not required to and that they are not is what is concerning.

There are many things fundamentally wrong with the NCAA. The amount of money they make while maintaining they are a non-profit is one. The fact that they are exploiting young, college students is another. But pulling away a kid’s hopes and dreams due to an injury sustained while playing for a university under the NCAA is awful. This issue falls on both the school’s and the NCAA’s shoulders to fix, as they are both equally to blame. Schools are not required to honor scholarships; that does not meant they cannot honor them. And the NCAA, does not require schools to honor scholarships, which is sickening. People can talk all they want about how college athletes should be paid (I’m not saying they should or should not) and how the NCAA is exploiting students. Above all else, the NCAA needs to begin protecting the kids who suffer serious injuries playing collegiate athletics. That has got to be the top priority. If you want to maintain that these kids are student-athletes, with the student part coming first, then do not take away their chance to be a student because they got hurt being an athlete.

Top five most successful sports cities

Chris McGlynn Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, Soccer , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As a continuation from yesterday’s piece, I thought it might be interesting to reflect back on the last 15 years of sports champions. More specifically, I am ranking the top ten sports cities in the US since 2000. This includes the five largest sports leagues in America, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS. The rankings will mainly rely on championships won by a single city but I will also take into account appearances in the finals as well. Let’s see if your city cracked the top five.

#5 Chicago: 3 total titles in 6 total appearances
Chicago actually has fewer titles than San Antonio but gets the nod for the extra finals appearance and diversity across more than one sport. Chicago is home to the two-time finalist Fire of the MLS in 2000 and 2003. The Bears also claim the Windy City as home. Even though this NFL team hasn’t won a Super Bowl since 1985, they did make it to 2007 Super Bowl. Despite the Cubs century long struggle to win the World Series, the White Sox claimed a title in 2005. The other two titles came from the NHL side. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010 and 2013. Chicago has seen championship berths from the spread out across these 15 years. The Bulls, despite all the success in the 90s, have not made it to the finals since the turn of the century.

#4 Miami: 4 total titles in 6 total appearances
Florida’s major city clocks in at number four largely due to the success of the Miami Heat during this decade. The Heat made it to a NBA-record four straight NBA Finals, winning the middle two. The Heat also locked up a championship back in 2006 as well over the Dallas Mavericks. So yes, most of the credit goes to the NBA team but the baseball team based in Miami has a World Series title as well. The Marlins, who back then were only the Florida Marlins but still played in the city, won the 2003 World Series over the New York Yankees. The titles from two different sports gives Miami a boost. Now if only the Dolphins could help the city out. Soccer could be springing up as well soon as David Beckham seeks to set up a MLS expansion team. For now though, Miami is nowhere close to jumping over the top three cities on the list.

#3 Tri-State: 6 total titles in 15 total appearances
This seems like it is cheating a little bit but it is hard to differentiate New York and New Jersey. Despite being called the New York Giants, Jets and Red Bulls, all of these teams play in New Jersey, along with the Devils. Either way, The Giants locked up two Super Bowl titles in 2008 and 2012. The Red Bulls made a Cup run in 2008, falling short to Columbus. The Yankees won two World Series titles in 2000 and 2009, the 2000 one over the cross-town rival Mets. The Yanks also made the 2001 and 2003 Series. On the ice, the Devils have two Stanley Cups from runs in 2000 and 2003 to go along with losses in the 2001 and 2012 final. Even the Nets, who back then played in Jersey, made consecutive title appearances in 2002 and 2003. Worth noting, New Jersey based teams have accounted for 4 titles in 9 appearances while New York teams only have 2 championships in 6 showings. Looks like Jersey is holding up their end of the deal…

#2 Boston: 9 total titles in 18 total appearances
You know a city is dominant when they have more finals appearances than there are years in our criteria. Boston’s 18 championship runs is one less than the number one team on this list. The cities 9 titles are incredible though. The largest contributor has been the Patriots, with Super Bowl victories in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2015 and losses in 2008 and 2012. The Red Sox have held up their end of the bargain as well, delivering 3 World Series titles in 2004, 2007 and 2013. The Celtics and Bruins even locked up a title each in 2008 and 2011 respectively. The little known fact is that Revolution actually have contributed the second most title appearances, with five. The issue is that they have come up short every time in the MLS Final. Still Boston’s titles are very impressive. They just couldn’t edge out number one.

#1 Los Angeles: 14 total titles in 19 total appearances
Wow. 14 titles in 15 years. It’s no wonder stars love going to Los Angeles. With teams in every one of the sports being considered but football, LA probably solid chances of succeeding but still 13 championships in 15 years in unprecedented. The LA Galaxy have brought home 5 MLS Cups in 7 attempts in 2002, 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2014. The Lakers have the same numbers with their titles coming in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010. The Kings have been stellar of late, nabbing two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. The Anaheim Ducks grabbed a trophy on the ice in 2007. The Anaheim Angeles added a World Series title in 2002 as well. When one city has three different teams winning titles in a single year (2002), there is really no discussion. This city has truly become Titletown since the year of 2000.

Disagree with the list, tell me who you think should have been included and who should have missed the cut.

The end of an era

Chris McGlynn Baseball, MLB

A legend said goodbye last night. Fans waved to their leader as he took the field one last time. Family and friends gathered to meet him as he walked off that diamond in the Bronx. The last of the “Core Four” walked away from a place he called home. Derek Jeter played his last ever game in a pinstripe uniform in the house that he has so famously built.

All of this of course happened after the Yankee captain stepped into that batter’s box one last time and hit an opposite field single to score a man from second and end the game against the Orioles. The game doesn’t mean anything in the standings, but it certainly means a lot to all of the fans who watched it unfold. Jeter walked it off and then took one last walk around his home to wave farewell to all the people who had come to watch him one last time.

They used to call the old Yankee Stadium “The House that Ruth Built.” There have been some to coin the new home as “The House that Jeter Built” and after last night, they definitely should. In case you weren’t aware, Derek Jeter has been on his farewell tour all season. He played in his final all-star game, he passed Honus Wagner to move into number six on the all-time hits list and he gave Yankee fans one last season of fun.

Now, I will be the first to say that all of the praise Jeter has gotten this year for his play. He really has been average at best, especially by the standard fans have come to expect of him. But it has been fun to watch him go. He has been the iconic face of the most successful sports franchise in the world. And now, it seems like suddenly and too soon, the sporting world must say goodbye to the Yankee shortstop. And upon his retirement, it makes you wonder who is going to that kid from Kalamazoo as the face of this Yankee team. (I say replace for lack of a better word cause no one can really replace what he has done). Could it be David Robertson? Or Brett Gardner perhaps? Or maybe someone we don’t know yet? There is no real way of knowing until it happens.

But until then, the baseball world will be engrossed with just how amazing of an ending that was to one of the most respected and successful careers in all of sports. The only guy who might have done it better is John Elway. And I say might of. The fans at the stadium let Jeter know how much they appreciated his two decades of work chanting, “THANK-YOU JE-TER” for the majority of last night. Jeter kept it as classy as ever and thanked the fans for all their support and saying he didn’t know what they were thanking him for. He was just doing his job. But now I am going to say it too. Thank you Jeter for proving that there is a right way to go about being a professional athlete. Thank you for being respectful, passionate and humble playing for all these years. So this is farewell captain. Thanks for all the memories.

The sun has truly set on an era. What a way for it to end.

How hard is it to repeat?

Chris McGlynn Baseball, Football, MLB, NFL, Soccer, World Cup

The soccer gods really have it out for Spain. They have just become the first defending World Cup champion to be eliminated after the first two matches of group play. Spain and a good part of the world I believe were shocked by the sudden fall of the Spanish national team that was so dominant four years ago. It was not gradual either. Spain entered this tournament still maintaining the number one rank in the world. Suddenly, they have dropped two games by a combined score of seven to one. They were simply blown out of the water by Holland and Chile and it truly looks as if an era has ended for Spain. Andres Iniesta will not be returning, neither will Fernando Torres, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Xavi Alonso nor David Villa. This team is going to most likely be decimated.

However, this is not unheard of in international soccer anymore. At three of the last four World Cups, including this one, the defending champion has failed to make it out of group play. France, Italy and now Spain have all failed to return to the same form they were in during the previous championship campaign. It is shocking how quickly teams can fall apart.

Believe it or not, over the same time frame (twelve years) the NFL has seen similar problems. Of the twelve Super Bowl winners, starting with the 2001 New England Patriots all the way to the 2013 Baltimore Ravens, only six of those twelve teams even made it back to the playoffs the next year. Additionally, only the Patriots won back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004. Those six unsuccessful teams fell apart over the course of less than a year and failed to even make it back for a shot at another championship.

Baseball has a very similar story. From the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks to the 2012 San Francisco Giants, only six of those twelve teams have made it back to the postseason the following year. None of them have repeated as champions. Again, only half of the teams who win a championship one year even make it back to the playoffs the next year. Baseball only has 10 of its team making the playoffs, the fewest of any major sport, making it even harder to make it back to the playoffs the following season.

I was surprised to see this trend across more than one sport. A lot of the issues with repeating as champions can be traced to lack of desire or drive. That edge you have when seeking that championship the first time around fades often times going into the next campaign as teams become complacent and rest on their laurels. Another key aspect is players looking for more money. This happens more in the NFL and MLB than in international soccer. Players who have a successful run in the playoffs look for more money and often become unaffordable.

This doesn’t completely explain the ass-kicking Spain got in the first two games but it certainly helps to identify where the issues may have started. Let me know your theories as to why the Spanish fell so far so fast.