Yankees Search for Options

With the loss of Chien-Ming Wang until at least September 1, the New York Yankees start the search for a way reach the playoffs for the 14th straight year without their ace and winner of 46 games in 2 years and 2 months. The first man given the chance to keep the Empire's head above water seems to be journeyman Dan Giese.

Giese cannot be expected to be the inning eater that Wang is nor can anyone expect Giese to be as dominate as Wang pitches during the regular season. No one can doubt Wang's ability to be a number one starter for the Yankees during the season, it is the playoffs that is another story, and no one will fill those shoes for the Bronx Bombers.

What Giese can provide the Yankees is someone who will go out to the mound and throw strikes. He should try and pitch with the same approach he has used throughout his career in AAA, get through at least the fifth inning, and hope that the Yankees offense can carry him to victories. If he cannot do the job, Brian Cashman will be searching for other answers.

Ian Kennedy should be coming off the disabled list within the next two or three weeks and has to be the Yankees first option after Giese. Although his struggles so far this season have been well documented, Kennedy has shown the ability to pitch at the major league level by going 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts last September.

If Kennedy's return is slowed, and Giese does not get the job done, the Yankees may also look at the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Kei Igawa's name will always appear when the Yankees are searching for pitching because of his salary, but Igawa's lack of command on a fastball that tops out around 90 should be evidence enough that he has zero future in the Bronx. Sadly for Yankee fans Cashman has not realized Igawa's lack of ability at the highest level.

Other options include...

• Jeffrey Marquez: 6-7 4.69 ERA in 14 starts for Scranton (AAA)
  
• Daniel McCutchen: 1-4 3.62 ERA in 5 starts for Scranton (AAA)
  
• Alan Horne: 2-0 3.44 ERA in 4 starts for Scranton (AAA)
  
• James Jones: 8-2 2.30 ERA in 13 starts for Trenton (AA)
• Chase Wright: 6-1 2.56 ERA in 10 starts for Trenton (AA)

McCutchen and Horne will probably not receive a call-up until later in the season. Both have recently returned from the disabled list and the Yankees do not want to risk their futures for a couple of replacement starts. Jones has grown as a starter at Trenton last year and this year although it is unlikely they call him up before a few starts at the AAA level. Finally, Wright has not received much thought after serving up back to back to back to back home runs last season at Fenway. Although his record may make some consider another chance, a September call-up is much more likely.

Defense Wins Championships

An old cliche rings true once again as the Boston Celtics won the 17th championship in franchise history last night while dismantling the Los Angeles Lakers 131-92.

The Celtics pulled away from the Lakers in the 2nd quarter led by their big three who combined for 69 points, over half of the champion's total, without playing much of the final quarter.

Despite the 131 points Tuesday night, the Celtics can credit their team defense for another banner to hang from an already crowded rafter section. League MVP Kobe Bryant struggled to have any open looks and finished the game with 22 points on 7-22 shooting with only one assist and three rebounds.

From the opening tip Bryant was smothered by defenders. After hitting a fade-away three early in the first quarter, his third of the game, the MVP could not find any separation. Doc Rivers continued to switch different defenders on Bryant hoping that he would get tired and it appeared he did as Kobe pressed and finished with four turnovers.

With the return of Kendrick Perkins the Celtics dominated the offensive and defensive glass, out-rebounding the Celtics 48-29. They also had 18 steals led by the "weakness" of the Celtics starting five Rajon Rando who finished with six steals.

At the end of the night it was the MVP flying across country without the ring many felt would validate his status with the Michael Jordan's of the league. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and the rest of their undesirable players found a way to get it done let by incompetent head coach Doc Rivers. They did it with defense and found a way to stop the best player in the universe.

Stern's Fantasy Comes True

David Stern could not have scripted it any better last night in Los Angeles. While the media focused on the allegations of game fixing by referees and fans questioned the product on the court, the NBA Finals reached historic levels last night as the Boston Celtics came back from a 24-point deficit to beat the Lakers 97-91.

 

From the opening tip the Lakers, looking to even the series 2-2, seemed to have complete control over the Celtics. Lamar Odom, who slept through the first three games, started the game 7-7 from the field. League MVP Kobe Bryant did not even take a shot through the entire first half.

 

With the first half winding down, the Celtics seemed to have life before a Jordan Farmar three pointed that banked off the glass. At that moment it seemed like the Lakers were destined to even the series.

 

But Boston came out of the halftime break with high energy. Pierce moved to Bryant and shut him down as Bryant finished with 17 points. It got to the point where Bryant seemed to believe that he couldn’t change the direction of the game. Instead of attempting to take over the game, the MVP continued to pass the ball early in the shot clock and allow his teammates to decide the game.

 

Although many have been critical towards Bryant over his relationship with his teammates, this was not the game to allow his teammates to run the show. Kobe needed to step up and demand for the ball. Every play down court should have gone through him either in a post up situation or a play that allowed Kobe to take Pierce off the defender.

 

Instead the Celtics suffocated the Lakers and now lead the series 3-1. No team in NBA finals history has ever overcome such a disadvantage and the way the Lakers are playing they do not appear to be the first.

 

Odom played great in the first half but faded as the game went along. Gasol continued to struggle to do anything but dunk the basketball as even his lay-up is not always a guarantee. Kobe, the one sure thing for the Lakers in the first three games, played like he was afraid of the spotlight yesterday. Sunday night he must be better, he has to be better, and more importantly, he needs to be better. Otherwise all of Kobe’s demands to want to carry a team to a championship last summer will seem fickle.

 

Quick thoughts…

 

How long does it take a Vick to get into trouble? Well now Marcus Vick is back in the news for being arrested on DUI charges and eluding police. It is sad to me that such great athletes never found the right people to guide them.

 

Joba Chamberlain starts his third game for the Yankees tonight and is allowed to throw up to 95 pitches. The Yankees desperately need to string together a couple of wins and it can start tonight with Joba. If the Yankees can get more than five games above .500 heading into the All-Star break, and if Ian Kennedy can regain his form from last September, the Yankees will be fine.

 

Tiger may be able to compete with his injured knee, but he will not be able to win with it. Finishing second at the Masters with this knee problem is impressive as well as returning so soon, but even Tiger can’t beat professionals on one leg… I think.

 

Mussina Belongs in Cooperstown

PREFACE: I wrote this article last week after Mike Mussina had defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1. Since then Mussina has faced the Kansas City Royals on Monday June 9th. The Yankees lost 3-2 but not because of Mussina who did not earn a decision in the game. His final line read as follows:

8 IP; 7 H; 2 R; 2 ER; 3 SO; 1 BB; 1 HR

This outing lowered the Moose's ERA to 3.82 and he will now work for his tenth victory of the season Saturday at Houston...

The debate over whether New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina is a Hall of Famer may have just turned into an argument. The 39-year-old, who turns 40 after the season in December, won for the ninth time so far in the 2008 season last night, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1.

Throwing 103 pitches, Mussina completed six innings while only allowing one earned run over five hits. He walked one while striking out six and earning the eighth win in his last nine starts, including a string of three straight victories.

The win is Mussina’s 259th which puts him in 39th place on the all time wins list, during his 18 year career that has seen multiple honors and awards. A few of the major recognitions include:
· Six Gold Gloves
· Five-time All-Star
· 16 straight seasons with at least 10 wins (the only pitcher in American League history to accomplish such a feat)
· Two appearances on the Most Valuable Player ballot
· Eight appearances on the Cy Young Award ballot, finishing second, fourth (2), fifth (3), and sixth (2)
· Nine trips to the postseason
· 2,702 strikeouts (21st all time)

Even with all of the awards, recognitions, and statistics, coming into the 2008 season many experts thought that Mussina was on the outside looking in with regards to the Hall of Fame. They pointed at his lack of a 20-win season, the fact he was still below the 300-win threshold, his three one-hitters and one two-hitter instead of a perfect game or no-hitter, and his lack of a World Series ring or Cy Young title, or MVP title as reasons not to vote him into Cooperstown.

But as the steroid era appears to be ending and home run totals drop, the numbers in order to receive a vote into the Hall also needs to drop. There is a very good chance that no one becomes the 24th pitcher to win 300 games for a long time. Randy Johnson has the best chance as of now with 288 wins.

A player, both in the field and on the mound, needs to be evaluated by examining their longevity and dominance over an era. Numbers will also remain an important part of baseball lore, but they should not be the only indication of a Hall of Fame player.

Without a doubt, Mussina passes the longevity test. Eighteen years as a Major League pitcher including double digit wins in sixteen of those years. This season Mussina should reach at least ten wins again, unless an injury ends his season in the next couple of days.

When examining his dominance over the league throughout his career, Mussina can point at an ERA that stayed within the top five of the league eight times. He has led the league in wins only once during his career (1995 with the Orioles), but fourth among active players and has six top five finishes. The Moose has also finished the season in the top five in strikeouts seven times during his career. In numerous other categories Mussina ranks in the top ten or better multiple times (for a complete list visit http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mussimi01.shtml)

Some analysts may say that even with the start that Mussina has had for this 2008 season, a 20-win season and/or a World Series ring is the only way Mussina can be elected to the Hall of Fame. That statement is wrong and if that is the case expect very few pitchers reaching Cooperstown for the next 20 years until a new cycle of voters arrive.

Mike Mussina is, without a doubt, a future member of the Hall of Fame. Twenty wins this season, which is very likely when remembering that the Yankee offense should only improve throughout the season, may elect him the first time his name appears on the ballot.