baseball – Page 11

Another steroid story

So, which big name star is going down in this investigation?

As with other drugs, if the demand is there someone will step up with a supply. Baseball need to address the demand for steroids — not just testing, but compensating players who do more than just hit homers and bringing the game back to the days when small ball was the norm and fans wanted to watch 2-1 pitching contests. If there are no benefits to be gained by taking steroids, players are likely to stop taking them.

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Random thoughts on baseballduring the season’s first month

What’s the over-under on Charlie Manuel losing his job? His team is terrible (due mostly to the Phillies not finding any useful arms for the bullpen), he fights a reporter and then moves his ace starter into the set-up role. I give him to the end of the month.

Felix Hernandez, the phenom pitcher in Seattle, left the game in the first last night — which is not just bad for Seattle but for all of baseball. The kid is a monster.

I find it funny that everyone was so concerned about the Mets’ starting pitching before the season — with cause — but no one seemed to worry about the Yankees. So, remind me, which team is it again that is trolling the minors for starters?

The Cubs are awful. They will remain awful. And they deserve to be awful. They spent a lot of money to get some real nice players, but in each case they paid more than they should have. So, no sympathy from me.

How much fun is it to watch Jose Reyes play?

Jimmy Rollins, at least, is doing his part to live up to his boast. Too bad his teammates aren’t (well, too bad if you’re a Phillies fan).

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It’s the pitching, stupid II

Mike Pelfrey (left, pictured from The New York Post) offers a reason for optimism this year at Shea. The 23-year-old pitcher, considered one of the two top pitching prospects in the Mets organization, appears ready for the bigs, having tossed 14 innings and given up just two earned runs.

More reasons for optimism: Oliver Perez and his 95 mph fastball seem to be rounding into shape after a shaky first outing earlier this month.

From the Post:

In the first inning, after freezing Ortiz on a slider, Perez fell behind Ramirez 3-and-1. But when the offbeat Boston slugger tried to walk to first on an inside fastball, plate umpire Jerry Meals ruled it a strike. The same thing happened on a full count, as Perez froze Ramirez on an inside fastball on the black. He
whiffed them back-to-back again in the fourth.

Impressive.

So far this spring, the biggest questions marks — John Maine, Perez and Pelfrey — have been impressive, while No. 2 starter Orlando Hernandez has been old. Let’s hope youthful exuberence turns into wins when the games count.

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It’s the pitching, stupid

I know it’s early still — opening day remains about two weeks off — but hte news from Mets camp has me feeling more optimistic than I probably have a right to feel.

The rotation — incredibly suspect for a contending team — may just be rounding into shape. both John Maine and Mike Pelfrey have been impressive and Oliver Perez has thrown well since he opened the spring with a poor outinng. If all three prove to be ready and even moderately reliable, that would give the Mets enough starting pitching to counter the overrated Phillies rotation. And there remains a chance that Pedro will return, that Jason Vargas (who has Major League stuff) could become a player, etc.

As I’ve written before, the upside is there and it is a rather high upside at that. And it also put the lie to the notion that the Mets’ pitching is old. Consider a potential rotation in 2008 that includes Pelfrey, Maine, Philip Humber, Perez and Vargas — two lefties and a lot of potential. At the very least, there are lots of trade chips to be dangled for a proven arm.

As for Pelfrey and Maine, they are the story of the day from camp: