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Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Sherman: TEIXEIRA PERFECT FIT FOR BOMBERS (RR)

2. Teixeira has a mixed reputation. He has much in common with A-Rod. He is diligent about staying in shape year-round, is durable and works hard on all facets of his game. But his detractors - and there are more than a few - say that, like A-Rod, Teixeira is an accumulator who feasts on bad pitching, does his best work when his team is way ahead or behind, and is a corporation unto himself who does not mesh seamlessly with the clubhouse culture. Essentially the overall numbers are better than the total package.

“The statistics will be there, but this is not a player who will make anyone else on the team better,” said a former teammate of Teixeira’s. “The numbers indicate an elite player, but if you watch him every day you will realize he is a very good player, not elite.”

Thanks to Dave Sells Everything.

Repoz Posted: October 07, 2008 at 02:25 PM | 142 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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Page 2 of 2 pages  < 1 2
   101. Mister High Standards Posted: October 07, 2008 at 07:59 PM (#2973759)
I don't know about this, but I'm all but certain they will sign Sabathia.


Temple, are you saying you think the RedSox are going to sign CC? I don't see it. They have 4 starters locked up. Masterson/Buchholtz/Bowdon and maybe shilling for the 5th spot.
   102. Exploring Leftist Conservatism since 2008 (ark..) Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:03 PM (#2973767)
I know everyone likes to make the "what's wrong with being fat? [Ruth/Wells/Sabathia] was fat!" argument, but Fielder is the only major-leaguer I can remember seeing that visibly jiggles when he runs
This is true only because Wells stopped running when he was about twelve.
   103. RJ in TO Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:07 PM (#2973771)
This is true only because Wells stopped running when he was about twelve.


Why the mocking of Wells? According to B-R, he's only 225 lbs, which is pretty reasonable for a guy who's 6'4".
   104. RJ not in TO Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:10 PM (#2973775)
This is true only because Wells stopped running when he was about twelve.

You know, Wells takes a lot of ####, but credit where credit is due. The man proved beyond any doubt that fat, drunk, and stupid is not only a way to go through life, but you can make nearly $60 million dollars doing so.
   105. BeanoCook Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:11 PM (#2973776)
The idea that the Red Sox are not interested in CC is dead wrong. They will be right there in the bidding trying to win, if not trying to drive the price of CC up for Hank.
   106. aleskel Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:11 PM (#2973777)
Why the mocking of Wells? According to B-R, he's only 225 lbs, which is pretty reasonable for a guy who's 6'4".

that makes me wonder where/when B-R gets its height/weight entires. Wells wasn't THAT tubby in the early- and mid-90s, IIRC. By the time he joined the Yankees he was easily 250, and he never went back, not even when he got gout.
   107. RJ not in TO Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:11 PM (#2973779)
Why the mocking of Wells? According to B-R, he's only 225 lbs, which is pretty reasonable for a guy who's 6'4".

Height and weight listings for athletes are almost always inaccurate. The heights are usually an inch or two high and the weights are their weights at some point when they were rookies or in the minors and have little bearing on their actual current weight.
   108. RJ in TO Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:14 PM (#2973782)
that makes me wonder where/when B-R gets its height/weight entires. Wells wasn't THAT tubby in the early- and mid-90s, IIRC. By the time he joined the Yankees he was easily 250, and he never went back, not even when he got gout.


I'm guessing media guides, where they basically ask a player "So, how much you weigh?" and then print the response, no matter how ludicrous.

Also, Wells was already on the portly side when he was still with the Jays, although it wasn't until later that he really started to indulge his passionate love for ham and ballooned up to the David Wells we all remember.
   109. RJ in TO Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:15 PM (#2973785)
Height and weight listings for athletes are almost always inaccurate. The heights are usually an inch or two high and the weights are their weights at some point when they were rookies or in the minors and have little bearing on their actual current weight.


Apparently, I wasn't obvious enough...

Trust me, I've watched Wells for years. He's 225 lbs in roughly the same way that I'm 9 feet tall.
   110. ellsbury my heart at wounded knee Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:20 PM (#2973794)
So, you Jones boys are related, no? I think I've been mixing you up in my mind for a while now.
   111. aleskel Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:21 PM (#2973795)
Apparently, I wasn't obvious enough...

I figured you were being facetious, I didn't mean my comment to look like a corrective.
   112. billyshears Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:25 PM (#2973798)
Everybody is entitled to their preferences, but I think there is a far greater difference between Sabathia and Hughes than there is between Teixera and Fielder. If the money is the same, I think Fielder/Sabathia is the clear choice.
   113. Dizzypaco Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:27 PM (#2973800)
The idea that the Red Sox are not interested in CC is dead wrong. They will be right there in the bidding trying to win, if not trying to drive the price of CC up for Hank.

I don't agree. I think CC is going to go for an obscene amount of money. Sure the Red Sox would love to have him if he didn't cost an arm and a leg, but they aren't going to offer him $200 million dollars, and I think its going to take more than $200 million to sign him.
   114. Mark Donelson Posted: October 07, 2008 at 08:29 PM (#2973803)
If the money is the same,

Well, there's the rub, eh?
   115. RJ in TO Posted: October 07, 2008 at 09:01 PM (#2973836)
So, you Jones boys are related, no?


Not to the best of my knowledge. It's just one of those wonderful coincidences that the Internet brings.
   116. billyshears Posted: October 07, 2008 at 09:09 PM (#2973841)
Well, there's the rub, eh?


Of course, but I think Teixeira and Sabathia will be in the same financial ballpark. Teixeira might get more years and Sabathia might get a higher AAV, but I suspect the total dollars will be close.
   117. CWS Keith plans to boo your show at the Apollo Posted: October 07, 2008 at 09:09 PM (#2973843)

I'm guessing media guides, where they basically ask a player "So, how much you weigh?" and then print the response, no matter how ludicrous.


My favorite instance of this was a Blackhawks' media guide listing of Theo Fleury at about six-feet tall (IIRC), when in reality he was barely taller than me (and I think that's when I was a freshman in high school).
   118. Social media assassin (Templeusox) Posted: October 07, 2008 at 09:16 PM (#2973848)
Temple, are you saying you think the RedSox are going to sign CC? I don't see it. They have 4 starters locked up. Masterson/Buchholtz/Bowdon and maybe shilling for the 5th spot.
I would be very surprised if they didn't make a huge push for him, and I actually expect them to sign him. Now, there are apparently factors with C.C. which the Sox can't control like wanting to play in the NL and on the West Coast. But I think they will be ready to pay as much money as the team which actually signs him. There is significant money coming off the books and we don't have a lot of positional holes to shore up. I foresee one of those situations where the Sox target a star and go all out to get him a la Dice-K.

As for the rotation, why not try going to a 6-man rotation? You know the Sox want to. They've been giving guys fake injury stints for the last two years just to preserve them for the post-season.

You can have:

Lester
Sabathia
Beckett
Matsuzaka
Wakefield
Bowden/Buchholz

(I think Masterson will be in the pen)
   119. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige Posted: October 07, 2008 at 09:26 PM (#2973852)
I can see the Sox getting involved. What would be interesting is to see how Beckett would react. He's basically signed into a very good contract for the Sox and would make significantly less than CC for at least two years of his contract.
   120. Phil Coorey, You Won't Posted: October 07, 2008 at 09:31 PM (#2973854)
zuvella - Beckett signed that deal on his own in 2006. His time will come
   121. Harry Balsagne's transparent jealousy Posted: October 07, 2008 at 09:41 PM (#2973864)
Absolutely on the height/weight listing inaccuracy thing. There's no way CC Sabathia is 250lbs. That would make him roughly 10 pounds overweight for his height. Look at him. He's gotta be between 300-325, at least, especially considering there's a fair amount of muscle beneath that flab.
   122. nick swisher hygiene Posted: October 07, 2008 at 10:18 PM (#2973877)
This has a certain beauty....

Prince's old man was encased, walrus-like, by jiggling rolls of fat.
Balboni looked like he belonged in a sauce-stained guinea tee, slapping his wife around on the Lifetime channel.
Meyer was just a big flabby guy who appeared to be composed primarily of cellulite.

Sid Fernandez "commonly took to the mound wearing a butter-splattered lobster bib."
   123. ...even Chuck Norris was afraid of Jim Rice Posted: October 07, 2008 at 10:29 PM (#2973881)
I would be very surprised if they didn't make a huge push for him, and I actually expect them to sign him.

I don't see it. The Yankees are opening up a new stadium, have a glaring hole in the rotation, and are coming off their first season in which they didn't make the playoffs in over a decade. They aren't going to be outbid. The only way CC doesn't wind up a Yankee is if he makes up his mind that he prefers to play in LA, irrespective of the cash.

The Daisuke situation is apples to oranges. It was a blind bidding process and if the negotiations broke down, they could return him and recoup the posting fee. With Sabathia, it's going to take 6-8 years and upwards of $200 million... and the negotiations keep going until someone chickens out. Do you seriously believe the Yankees will put up their hands and say "No way, it's too much money!"? Because it's not going to happen.
   124. Jim (jimmuscomp) Posted: October 07, 2008 at 10:45 PM (#2973890)
Fielder is the only major-leaguer I can remember seeing that visibly jiggles when he runs


Benji Molina thanks you for your short memory.

And Cecil Fielder.

And Morganna.
   125. alskor Posted: October 08, 2008 at 06:07 AM (#2974097)
And Tony Gwynn at the end
   126. alskor Posted: October 08, 2008 at 06:09 AM (#2974098)
The only way CC doesn't wind up a Yankee is if he makes up his mind that he prefers to play in LA, irrespective of the cash.


Or he could decide he just doesnt want to have to be the savior of the Yankees, with all the ######## that entails.
   127. Crispix Attacks Posted: October 08, 2008 at 06:48 AM (#2974109)
Aha, but Tony Gwynn was unable to run at the end of his career too, so we never got a chance to see what he looked like when he ran.

Brad Nelson is an up and coming fat guy in the majors. If the Brewers give him significant playing time next year I think he becomes a fan favorite. He looks like one of those guys who work at the Agway, sitting around and drinking soda until a customer backs their truck around behind the store and he has to start loading 100-pound bags of dirt.
   128. The Bones McCoy of THT Posted: October 08, 2008 at 11:52 AM (#2974154)
I want a stat that measures bounciness of manboobs during a home run trot.


Pectorals Obviously Reverberating Kinetically? (PORK) Flabby Abdominals Taking A Severe Shaking? (FATASS)

Best Regards

John
   129. RJ not in TO Posted: October 08, 2008 at 12:14 PM (#2974165)
Or he could decide he just doesnt want to have to be the savior of the Yankees, with all the ######## that entails.

As long as A-Rod is still around, he will take all that flak.
   130. RJ in TO Posted: October 08, 2008 at 12:34 PM (#2974181)
As long as A-Rod is still around, he will take all that flak.


Are you sure about that? Sabathia will be coming in with incredibly high expectations, based on his half-season in Milwaukee, and likely a contract nearly as big as the one possessed by A-Rod. Even if he performs like his Cy Young year in 2007, there will be those who will view him as a disappointment.

It's New York. If the Yankees don't win, there's enough blame for everyone.
   131. The Good Face Posted: October 08, 2008 at 12:43 PM (#2974188)
It's New York. If the Yankees don't win, there's enough blame for everyone.


Nah. Unless A-Rod is duplicating his 2007 season, both in production and clutchiness, he'll always be the primary lightning rod. That goes double for any playoffs the Yankees may find themselves in. Plus C.C. comes off as much more likable than A-Rod... unless he tanks Barry Zito-style, he'll be fine.
   132. RJ in TO Posted: October 08, 2008 at 01:01 PM (#2974203)
Nah. Unless A-Rod is duplicating his 2007 season, both in production and clutchiness, he'll always be the primary lightning rod. That goes double for any playoffs the Yankees may find themselves in. Plus C.C. comes off as much more likable than A-Rod... unless he tanks Barry Zito-style, he'll be fine.


You may be right but, for Sabathia's sake, I hope that he performs better in the playoffs for the Yankees than he did for Cleveland and Milwaukee - a 7.92 playoff era will probably lead to him getting the Kenny Rogers/Jeff Weaver treatment.
   133. The Kids Are Enright (1k5v3L) Posted: October 08, 2008 at 01:10 PM (#2974214)

Unlike Melky, Hughes was actually considered a top prospect. Hughes is a lot more like Quentin than he is, say Alberto Callaspo.
Touche, salesman. Whenever I saw Hughes pitch this past year, however, I couldn't for the life of me understand why he was a top prospect. Then again, neither could I understand it when I saw Buchholz pitch. So it must be me.
   134. RJ not in TO Posted: October 08, 2008 at 01:18 PM (#2974224)
Whenever I saw Hughes pitch this past year, however, I couldn't for the life of me understand why he was a top prospect.

At some point before this season, the Yankees tried to change Hughes's motion to a more over the top arm angle than the one he had previously used(it was closer to a 3/4 arm angle). After he came back from injury this year he was back to using his old motion and looked much, much better.
   135. ellsbury my heart at wounded knee Posted: October 08, 2008 at 01:18 PM (#2974225)
Whenever I saw Hughes pitch this past year, however, I couldn't for the life of me understand why he was a top prospect. Then again, neither could I understand it when I saw Buchholz pitch. So it must be me.


Really? I mean, they definitely sucked pretty hard this year, but even when they sucked, they had moments where you could see how good they could be. To me, both guys seem to have some pretty obviously amazing stuff sometimes, they just liberally mix in some really terrible, hittable stuff with poor command. That they at least possess the ability to throw great pitches seems pretty clear, it's their consistency and execution that seem off. Maybe that's what you're talking about, but to me that seems qualitatively different than a guy who's struggling and just throwing slop.
   136. RB in NYC (Now with New Running Goal!) Posted: October 08, 2008 at 01:22 PM (#2974230)
a 7.92 playoff era will probably lead to him getting the Kenny Rogers/Jeff Weaver treatment.
Hey, Kenny Rogers deserved everything he got in New York.

Also, I'm with #136 on Hughes (and I assume Buchholz, I didn't see him pitch much this season). When you look at something like Hughes' 4/3 or 9/24 starts, you can clearly see what merited his status. The same is true (again, I'm guessing from stats here) of something like Buchholz' 4/26 game. The talent is clearly there, it's putting it to use.
   137. The Kids Are Enright (1k5v3L) Posted: October 08, 2008 at 01:34 PM (#2974247)
I didn't see any of Hughes's starts after he came back from the injury (he made what, a couple of them?) but in the ones I saw earlier in the year, his velocity seemed low, his command was off, he was nibbling all the time. I mean, you could tell he had more talent than Ian Kennedy, for example, but I expected more from someone who was once considered the top pitching prospect in baseball. Ditto for the couple of Buchholz starts I saw (maybe those were the really bad ones)...
   138. NJ is feeling better Posted: October 08, 2008 at 01:43 PM (#2974257)
I didn't see any of Hughes's starts after he came back from the injury (he made what, a couple of them?) but in the ones I saw earlier in the year, his velocity seemed low, his command was off, he was nibbling all the time. I mean, you could tell he had more talent than Ian Kennedy, for example, but I expected more from someone who was once considered the top pitching prospect in baseball. Ditto for the couple of Buchholz starts I saw (maybe those were the really bad ones)...

The fastball is never going to wow, it seems. Whatever 90-95 or whatever you want to say he used to have seems long gone. He consistently dips to 89-91 after about the 3rd inning, but for whatever reason, I guess it's "sneaky fast", batters still seem to be late on it. In the early going he will give you 90-93. That's ok. The curveball is really exciting though, a ton of break and movement on that pitch. The problem in the early going was the piss poor fastball command and since his change is still very much a work in progress that left him with just curveballs to go with. However, he picked up a cutter (Which Gameday calls a slider) on his rehab stint and, those it was only two starts in his return, it looked really, really, really good. Maybe he no longer projects as an ace, but I don't have much difficulty seeing him as a #2.
   139. RB in NYC (Now with New Running Goal!) Posted: October 08, 2008 at 01:47 PM (#2974263)
but I expected more from someone who was once considered the top pitching prospect in baseball. Ditto for the couple of Buchholz starts I saw (maybe those were the really bad ones)...
I know this is circling back to the age thing, but H&B;are both so young, that pitching, even with nibbling style in the Majors is a testament to their talent. At the same age Hughes is, Brandon Webb was putting up a four ERA in High-A. Derek Lowe was putting up a 5.29 ERA in a season split between AA and Rookie ball. Hell, look at Jon Danks who had a 5.50 ERA last year in the Majors at the same age. Or Gavin Floyd.

I'm not saying H&B are definitely going to evolve into those guys, but you have to give them credit as top prospects for reaching the Majors and pitching at that level.
   140. Greg Pope Posted: October 08, 2008 at 02:00 PM (#2974280)
Is there a long list of players who ate themselves out of the league? There's a lot of examples of fat guys with decent-length careers, but who are the players who got too fat?

And then, what's the duration of their careers? Mo Vaughn probably got too fat, but he did get 600 AB at the age of 32. Fielder's quite a ways from 32.

Other guys mentioned didn't really eat themselves out of the league so much as they weren't that good to begin with. Doughy Meyer? He was never good. There's some guys like Calvin Pickering, but again, I'm not so sure that he was out of baseball due to his weight.
   141. Karl from NY Posted: October 08, 2008 at 11:01 PM (#2974838)
I want a stat that measures bounciness of manboobs during a home run trot.

Pancake Flaps.
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