If We Knew This, Why Didn't Brian Cashman?

On Wednesday, we wrote that Kei Igawa's numbers in the Minor Leagues were not important. What would be indicative of his play in the Majors would be how he was pitching each hitter, how he was getting to that ERA. With the high curveball and the high and away fastball, he would be unable to produce in the Major Leagues. Well, we were right. Three innings, six runs and 11 hits later, Igawa looks worse than he did last year. How did Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi not know this? The Tigers hit .550 off him last night. Who's the fat toad now?

- D. Spell

TODAY IN SPORTS (SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2008)

• Reds at Mets 1:10 p.m. (SNY) - Johan Santana is only four wins short of 100 for his career. 
• Yankees at Tigers 3:40 p.m. (YES) - Darrell Rasner is only four wins short of nine for his career.
• Reds at Mets 7:30 p.m. (SNY) - Double the trouble.
• Red Bulls at Galaxy 10:30 p.m. (MSG) - David Beckham might be there. 

- D. Spell

No Longer Farns-Worthless

Kyle Farnsworth's appeal was worth it after all. After being penalized with a three game suspension for allegedly throwing at Manny Ramirez's head in a game between the Yankees and Red Sox on April 17th, Farnsworth's punishment was reduced to a one game suspension on Friday. 

When Farnsworth was initially suspended, my reaction was an overwhelming feeling of happiness. I wanted the Yankee set-up man out longer than three days. He had been horrible out of the bullpen for the past two years and was off to another poor start. 

However, since April 13th, Farnsworth has a 1.69 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP and is averaging 9.3 K/9. He has helped lead the Yankee bullpen, which has been surprisingly good, to major success thus far this season. Now, he's actually worth something.

- D. Spell

Award Injustices-Dominik Hasek Over Martin Brodeur 1996-97

We are going to be running a series highlighting the greatest award injustices (situations where the winner of an award clearly should not have been the victor) in New York sports history. We will be doing this in both directions-where a New York player was not given the award even when he was the superior player, and when a New York player was given the award even though there was a better option available. Today we will be examining...

Dominik Hasek's victory over Martin Brodeur for the 1996-97 Vezina Trophy

The Vezina Trophy, named after 1920's goaltender Georges Vezina, is awarded to the best goalie in the league. It is basically the CY Young of NHL awards, since goalies rarely win the Hart Trophy (the NHL's MVP award), winning the Vezina is the crowning achievement of a successful season. During the 1996-97 season there were two clear candidates for the Vezina, Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres, and Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. Their stats follow-

1996-97 Stats- Games Played Wins Losses Ties Shutouts GAA Save %
Dominik Hasek- 67 37 20 10 5 2.27 .930
Martin Brodeur- 67 37 14 13 10 1.88 .927

Brodeur and Hasek had remarkably similar seasons. They started the same amount of games, won the same amount of games had save percentages within .003 of each other. And yet Hasek won the Vezina trophy and he won it handily. Not only did Brodeur win the same amount of games as Hasek, but he last lost 6 fewer and tied 3 more, giving him a much better overall record. However, the two most vital parts of Brodeur's argument in favor of winning the Vezina over Hasek are his goals against average and the amount of shutouts he had. Brodeur's goals against average of 1.88, easily the lowest of any goaltender of the 96-97 seasonis incredibly impressive and nearly half a goal better than Hasek's GAA. Many people argue that, like ERA in baseball, GAA is heavily dependent on the defense in front of you but even so, a GAA that low is indicative of an amazing goaltender not just the caliber of his defense. The 10 shutouts that Brodeur had during the 1996-97 season also speak to the high-level that he was playing at.Having twice as many shutouts as Hasek, while playing the same amount of games lead me to believe that Brodeur was the better stopper that season.
Hasek went on to win three Vezina trophies, from the 1996-97 season through the 1998-99 season, while Brodeur was held without a Vezina until the 2002-2003 season. That Brodeur had to wait that long for his first Vezina is one of the greatest injustices in New York hockey history, especially since he should have had it won in the 1996-97 season.

-Mose

Ultimate Subway Series-Yankees Play In Series

Yankees Play-In Series: Best 3 out of 5
8. 1978 Yankees VS. 9. 1956 Yankees

Game 1
Home: 1978 Yankees-Ron Guidry Away:1956 Yankee-Whitey Ford

In the opening game of this play-in series each team put forth an excellent pitching effort. The game went through 10 innings in a 1-1 tie. Whitey Ford pitched brilliantly, allowing only 5 base runners over 10 innings, while Guidry only allowed 5 hits over 8 innings. The game reached the top 11th inning, with Sparky Lyle pitching for the '78 Yanks. Lyle give up two quick hits to Bill Skowron and Hank Bauer, and had to face Billy Martin with no outs and runners on first and third. Martin hit a triple into the gap in right field, allowing Bauer and Skowron to score, and Marting was driven in later in the inning by an Elston Howard sacrifice. With a 4-1 lead, Tommy Byrne came into close it out securing the win for the 1956 Yankees
Game MVP:Whitey Ford, 10 innings pitched, 1 ER.
1956 Yankees win 4-1.

Game 2
Home: 1978 Yankees-Ed Figueroa Away:1956 Yankees-Don Larsen

Trying to not fall into a 2-0 hole, the 1978 Yankees game out swinging against Don Larsen and the '56 Yanks. The game started out the '56 Yankees way, after Mickey Mantle hit a 3-run shot in the first, but it soon turned into a slugfest for the 1978 Yankees thanks in part to errors by Gil McDougald and Andy Carey. In all the '78 Yanks scored 15 runs, leaving the '56 Yanks in the dust. Home runs by Willie Randolph and Roy White highlighted the effort and Ed Figueroa pitched a complete game as the '78 Yanks tied the series at 1 game apiece.
Game MVP:Willie Randolph, 3 RBIs and 1 Homer
1978 Yankees win 15-5

Game 3
Home:1956 Yankees-Tom Sturdivant Away:1978 Yankees-Catfish Hunter

Game 3 saw another offensive explosion, but this time on the side of the 1956 Yankees. Catfish Hunter was dealt with handily as the '56 Yankees scored 7 runs in the 5th thanks to a bases clearing double by Elston Howard with the bases loaded and some sloppy defense from catcher Thurmon Munson who had a passed ball and an error in the inning. After that the '78 Yankees could not scratch anything together, getting only two men on base after the 5th inning.
Game MVP: Mickey Mantle, 2 doubles and 3 RBIs
1956 Yankees win 10-3

Game 4
Home: 1956Yankees-Whitey Ford Away:1978 Yankees-Ron Guidry

Playing for their tournament lives, the 1978 Yankees threw out Ron Guidry to face the '56 Yankees ace Whitey Ford. Unlike the first game of this series, the '78 Yankees were able to get to Ford, with 9 hits over 6 innings. The scoring began in the 6th for the '78 Yankees, after singles from Lou Pinella and Thurmon Munson were followed by hits from Mickey Rivers and Bucky Dent scoring both runners. The '78 Yanks scored two more in the 7th thanks to a Graig Nettles double with 2 men on base. That turned out to be enough as Ron Guidry pitched a beautiful game, allowing just 2 runs in a complete game victory, as the series returns to 1978 for the deciding game of the series.
Game MVP:Ron Guidry, Complete Game, 2 runs allowed, 9 strikeouts
1978 Yankees win 5-2

Game 5
Home: 1978 Yankees-Ed Figueroa Away:1956 Yankees-Don Larsen

The 5th and final game of the series was also the most exciting of all 5 games. Ed Figueroa and Don Larsen paced each other through 6 innings, with the '56 Yankees holding a 1 run lead in a 4 to 3 game. Two-run homers by Gil McDouglad and Yogi Berra had given the '56 Yankees and lead and Andy Carey widened that lead the 3 runs with a 2 RBI double in the 7th. The game remained at 6-3 until the 8th inning until Tommy Byrne, in for relief of Don Larsen, walked 3 consecutive batters after surrendering a single to open the inning. Tom Morgan came in to the game to stop the bleeding, allowing only 2 more runs with the bases loaded and no one out, but at that point it was already too late and the '78 Yankees had tied the game at 6 going into the ninth inning. Don Gullett escaped the top half of the ninth thanks to a great defensive play at second base by Willie Randolph, which stopped a run from scoring. In the bottom of the ninth Roy White came to bat with the bases-loaded and 2 out, facing Rip Coleman, and he came through squeaking a single up the middle to drive in the deciding run of the series.
Game MVP:Roy White, series winning RBI
1978 Yankees win 7-6

1978 Yankees win series 3-2

-Mose

I Guess Green Really is the Color of Money

This offseason the Jets have spent an incredible amount of money in order to solidify their defense and offensive line. The moves on defense have garnered the majority of the attention-signing Cardinals OLB/DE Calvin Pace to a huge contract worth 22 million guaranteed, trading for run-stuffing defensive tackle Kris Jenkins from Carolina, signing corner back and former first round pick Andre Woolfolk, and finally veteran safety Artrell Hawkins.

The Pace signing, paired with the Jets first round selection of Vernon Gholston should create one of the best past rushing tandems in the entire NFL. I really like the Pace signing, even though the guaranteed money is a little high because with the departure of Victor Hobson to the Patriots there was a hole to fill and the Jets did what they needed to do to find a replacement. It seems like this is one of the first seasons in which the Jets organization actively attempted to fill holes through blockbuster free agent signings or trades as opposed to simply finding role players who were average at best. This pattern is easily seen with the acquisition of Kris Jenkins, who is a good fit for the Jets 3-4 defense, weighing in at 6'4 and 335 pounds if there was ever a body made to play the nose Jenkins is the one. And now that the Dewayne Robertson era is over, the Jets might actually be able to play some run defense next season.

The signings of Woolfolk and Hawkins are interesting because neither defensive back played even one down in the NFL last year. Woolfolk hasn't really had any impact in the league since 2005 when he played 13 games, had 55 tackles, and 1 interception. If Woolfolk manages to remain uninjured then he should be able to help the Jets in run support and he can play a decent 3rd or 4th corner. Either way he cannot be any worse than Andre Dyson. who the Jets waived in February. Hawkins, who last played in 2006 with the Patriots, will look to replace the departing Erik Coleman, who left for the Falcons in free agency. Hawkins is only 31 and had a very solid season with the Pats recording 73 tackles, an interception, and two forced fumbles.
On the offensive side of the ball The Jets biggest free agent signings were on the O-Line. Damien Woody was signed to play right tackle, and Alan Faneca signed another huge contract, with 21 million dollars guaranteed over 5 seasons. Woody is supposedly a great player, even though he was moved from guard to tackle last season and he played on one of the league's worst offensive lines in Detroit. I will take a wait and see approach towards Woody, I am not expecting an incredible season. Faneca is in my mind the premier offensive guard in the league and his acquisition should give a huge boost to the running game, where Thomas Jones and Leon Washington looked dazed and confused for the majority of last season. To further help Jones and Washington the Jets signed veteran full back Tony Richardson. It is unclear how much gas he has left in the tank, but Richardson has been one of the greatest blocking and receiving fullbacks in the league over the past 10 years.

The last offseason acquisition of any import was the signing of tight end Bubba Franks. I am worried about Franks' durability as he has missed significant time due to injury in two of the past three seasons, Franks signing paired with the selection of TE Dustin Keller in the first round of the draft leaves me even more confused about what the Jets are going to be doing offensively. Why the Jets chose to take Keller at the end of the first round instead of a big wide receiver like Limas Sweed is quite a mystery. I have no choice, but to hope that the Mangenious knows what he is doing, I just hope we don't end up running multiple 3 tight end sets, because that my friends is not fun to watch for anyone.

Going into the season the Jets have made some massive improvements, particularly on defense, but the situation at quarterback still leaves a lot to be desired. No matter how many weapons Pennington gets, he still will never be able to throw the ball more than 20 yards down field, and until Kellen Clemens becomes more consistent this could end up being another very long season for the Jets.

-Mose

TRIVIA OF THE DAY

Today's Yankees starter, Kei Igawa, has only one career quality start (three runs or fewer in six innings or more) in his career in 12 starts. It was almost 13 months ago (4/18/07).