In this day and age in baseball, when the complete game is almost non-existent, the teams built to last are the ones with strong bullpens. Generally, that entails steady middle relief, complemented by a 1-2 punch of a setup man and closer to finish out games. A prime example for the 2007 season would be the Boston Red Sox, who knew they had a strength in their middle relief and in closer Jonathan Papelbon but truly hit the jackpot by lucking out on Japanese-import-turned-setup man Hideki Okajima. Okajima is 31 but technically a Major League rookie, while Papelbon is 26. In looking back at recent successful teams, the key seems to have been a strong yet young bullpen. Last year's World Series featured a pair of teams carried by tremendous bullpens. The Tigers were sparked by flame-throwing then-21-year-old Joel Zumaya, while the Cardinals found a gem in interim closer Adam Wainwright, 25. This year's Yankees seemed to have taken a similar path, promoting youngsters Joba Chamberlain (21) and Edwar Ramirez (26) to set up games for aging closer Mariano Rivera. Chamberlain has taken fans aback with his 98-mph heater and devastating slider, and the Yankees suddenly have a much stronger bullpen to help bolster their postseason hopes.
This is in no way to say that veteran relievers are out of style. But the last several years have been an indicator that it never hurts to have fresh young arms in your bullpen to take some of the heat off of the older guys during the stretch run. Francisco Rodriguez, a.k.a. "K-Rod" started something of a trend by taking the league by storm after a September call-up by the Angels in 2002. Rodriguez became Troy Percival's primary setup man as the Angels won their first ever World Series title. He has since emerged into one of the game's premier closers. Dating back even further, it is a similar path the Yankees went down with Rivera, who started out as a 26-year old setup man for John Wetteland during the Yankees' 1996 championship season. When Wettleland departed for Texas as a free agent in 1997, Rivera took over as the closer, and has evolved into a Hall Of Fame-caliber pitcher.
It may not be out with the old, but it's certainly in with the new.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Orioles improved, but not quite ready yet
Not to diminish an 11-9 start for a franchise that has endured 9 consecutive losing seasons, but if you watched the Orioles brief two-game set against perennial playoff contender Oakland, you probably were able to pick up a few things, things that lead you to believe that while the Orioles are much improved from a 70-92 2006 campaign, they are not quite at a playoff level just yet.
Start with Monday night's 6-5 loss. After falling behind 5-0 against A's ace Dan Haren, the O's battled back to within 5-4 after 8 innings, getting a huge lift from Aubrey Huff's 3-run homer. But the ninth inning was an indicator that they are not there yet. Nick Swisher hit a crucial homerun to give the A's a 2-run cushion in the top of the 9th before young closer Huston Street came on in the bottom half to close it out. Jay Payton's walk was followed by a Corey Patterson double to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. With a golden opportunity presenting itself, the Orioles crumbled when it mattered most. Chris Gomez took a called third strike for the first out. Then, Brian Roberts lined a single into center field that should've tied the game. Instead, Corey Patterson inexplicably broke back towards second base and failed to score the tying run. Still, the O's had runners at the corners with just one out trailing by just a run. Then, in an even more befuddling turn of events, Melvin Mora dropped a bunt down that failed to score Patterson, as Mora was retired and Roberts advanced to second. After an intentional walk to Nick Markakis, Miguel Tejada swung at the first pitch and hit a harmless grounder to second to end the game and thwart what was an almost improbable comeback against one of the league's best teams.
Sadly, more proof would follow in the following afternoon's game that the Orioles are still a cut below the top-tier teams in baseball.
The Orioles got a strong outing in the first career start for Jeremy Guthrie, yet trailed 2-1 after 5 innings against Dallas Braden, the A's starter also making his first start. In the top half of the 6th, John Parrish came on to relieve Guthrie, and promptly retired Eric Chavez to start the inning. But a hit and two walks later, the A's had loaded the bases with 2 outs for the pesky Jason Kendall. After getting ahead 0-2 on Kendall, Parrish induced what looked to be a harmless ground ball to second baseman Brian Roberts. But Roberts went for the force at second, only to have Miguel Tejada fail to cover the bag, allowing Mark Ellis to reach safely at second. Kendall reached on the fielder's choice, and a run scored to make it 3-1. Parrish then compounded matters by walking No. 9 hitter Danny Putnam, and when the inning finally ended it was a 4-1 game. The hole was too deep for the Orioles against a strong Athletics bullpen, and they suffered a 4-2 loss and a 2-game sweep to Oakland.
After winning 8 of 9, the Orioles have been brought back to reality somewhat, and now host the first-place Boston Red Sox for two games before heading to Cleveland. These two games will be yet another daunting task, as the Orioles get to face Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett. The A's series taught us something, and now it's up to the O's to dispel these notions against the Red Sox. We'll see.
Start with Monday night's 6-5 loss. After falling behind 5-0 against A's ace Dan Haren, the O's battled back to within 5-4 after 8 innings, getting a huge lift from Aubrey Huff's 3-run homer. But the ninth inning was an indicator that they are not there yet. Nick Swisher hit a crucial homerun to give the A's a 2-run cushion in the top of the 9th before young closer Huston Street came on in the bottom half to close it out. Jay Payton's walk was followed by a Corey Patterson double to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. With a golden opportunity presenting itself, the Orioles crumbled when it mattered most. Chris Gomez took a called third strike for the first out. Then, Brian Roberts lined a single into center field that should've tied the game. Instead, Corey Patterson inexplicably broke back towards second base and failed to score the tying run. Still, the O's had runners at the corners with just one out trailing by just a run. Then, in an even more befuddling turn of events, Melvin Mora dropped a bunt down that failed to score Patterson, as Mora was retired and Roberts advanced to second. After an intentional walk to Nick Markakis, Miguel Tejada swung at the first pitch and hit a harmless grounder to second to end the game and thwart what was an almost improbable comeback against one of the league's best teams.
Sadly, more proof would follow in the following afternoon's game that the Orioles are still a cut below the top-tier teams in baseball.
The Orioles got a strong outing in the first career start for Jeremy Guthrie, yet trailed 2-1 after 5 innings against Dallas Braden, the A's starter also making his first start. In the top half of the 6th, John Parrish came on to relieve Guthrie, and promptly retired Eric Chavez to start the inning. But a hit and two walks later, the A's had loaded the bases with 2 outs for the pesky Jason Kendall. After getting ahead 0-2 on Kendall, Parrish induced what looked to be a harmless ground ball to second baseman Brian Roberts. But Roberts went for the force at second, only to have Miguel Tejada fail to cover the bag, allowing Mark Ellis to reach safely at second. Kendall reached on the fielder's choice, and a run scored to make it 3-1. Parrish then compounded matters by walking No. 9 hitter Danny Putnam, and when the inning finally ended it was a 4-1 game. The hole was too deep for the Orioles against a strong Athletics bullpen, and they suffered a 4-2 loss and a 2-game sweep to Oakland.
After winning 8 of 9, the Orioles have been brought back to reality somewhat, and now host the first-place Boston Red Sox for two games before heading to Cleveland. These two games will be yet another daunting task, as the Orioles get to face Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett. The A's series taught us something, and now it's up to the O's to dispel these notions against the Red Sox. We'll see.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Ring was nice, but it didn't validate Manning's career
Charles Barkley called it the S**t List. Call it what you want. You know, the list of professional sports greats never to win a championship. Barkley knows about it. So do Dan Marino and Alex Rodriguez. But Peyton Manning no longer has to worry. He’s off of it following the Colts’ 29-17 win over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
Some out there may believe this is the game that finally elevates Manning to elite status, that it validated his Hall of Fame credentials. But that is a foolish notion. The man who has started all 157 games of his career (including postseason) already holds the NFL record for most seasons with 4,000-plus yards (7), consecutive seasons with 25-plus TD passes (9), and most TD passes in a single season (49, breaking Dan Marino’s coveted record of 48 set in 1984). Throw in a 92-52 record and five division titles, and Manning’s pedigree sans Super Bowl speaks for itself.
Granted, Manning already was a 99.9% sure bet for Canton and he is now a lock. But not even his six previous playoff failures were enough to have kept him from NFL immortality. Given that he likely has at least eight more years, his final numbers could be downright scary. But Manning will tell you all those records just became a lot more meaningful now that he has joined an even more elite club: Super Bowl champion quarterbacks. Number 18 is number 26 on that list, one that doesn’t include Marino, Frank Tarkenton, or Dan Fouts.
In making final reflections upon the 2006 season, Manning probably couldn’t have scripted it any better. Unlike in previous years, where expectations were high for the Colts, they entered the playoffs as one of the biggest question marks thanks in part to their 32-ranked rush defense and a No. 3 seed in the playoffs. And perhaps in the best scenario possible, Manning was able to orchestrate the biggest comeback in conference championship game history, leading his team back from a 21-3 deficit to beat his tormentors from years past, the New England Patriots. That was the game some labeled as the real Super Bowl, but the win over the Bears helped Manning accomplish something that even Tom Brady has yet to do, win four games in a single postseason.
Super Bowl or no Super Bowl, though, Manning is a Hall of Famer.
Some out there may believe this is the game that finally elevates Manning to elite status, that it validated his Hall of Fame credentials. But that is a foolish notion. The man who has started all 157 games of his career (including postseason) already holds the NFL record for most seasons with 4,000-plus yards (7), consecutive seasons with 25-plus TD passes (9), and most TD passes in a single season (49, breaking Dan Marino’s coveted record of 48 set in 1984). Throw in a 92-52 record and five division titles, and Manning’s pedigree sans Super Bowl speaks for itself.
Granted, Manning already was a 99.9% sure bet for Canton and he is now a lock. But not even his six previous playoff failures were enough to have kept him from NFL immortality. Given that he likely has at least eight more years, his final numbers could be downright scary. But Manning will tell you all those records just became a lot more meaningful now that he has joined an even more elite club: Super Bowl champion quarterbacks. Number 18 is number 26 on that list, one that doesn’t include Marino, Frank Tarkenton, or Dan Fouts.
In making final reflections upon the 2006 season, Manning probably couldn’t have scripted it any better. Unlike in previous years, where expectations were high for the Colts, they entered the playoffs as one of the biggest question marks thanks in part to their 32-ranked rush defense and a No. 3 seed in the playoffs. And perhaps in the best scenario possible, Manning was able to orchestrate the biggest comeback in conference championship game history, leading his team back from a 21-3 deficit to beat his tormentors from years past, the New England Patriots. That was the game some labeled as the real Super Bowl, but the win over the Bears helped Manning accomplish something that even Tom Brady has yet to do, win four games in a single postseason.
Super Bowl or no Super Bowl, though, Manning is a Hall of Famer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG){kind=small}
