Happy Trails to the 2012 MLB Season

The Major League Baseball regular season is almost over and for the players and managers of twenty teams, it will be time to put a bow on things and head home for a little bit of normal life.  The playoffs will sustain us for the next month, weaning us off of our  baseball fix until February.  While the closing of the season is always sad for me, baseball has experienced a resurgence over the past two seasons and that makes me feel pretty good about the future of the game.   This season, just like any other, was packed with spectacular happenings; some good, some not so good.  The following is a list of things that I will take away from this season (in no particular order).

*This season may (and hopefully will) mark the first Triple Crown winner in MBL since 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox was able to pull of the magnificent feat.  Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers enters play tonight in sole possession of the lead in all three TC categories (batting average, homeruns, RBIs).  I have never been a big Miggy fan but it would be great if he were able to achieve the accomplishment since it has never happened in my lifetime.  (Heck, it's never happened in my sister's lifetime and that's saying something).

*While looking at some career numbers on Cabrera, which are absolutely unworldly, I was impressed to note that since the beginning of the 2004 season (his first full season in the show) Cabrera has never played less than 150 games in a season and has averaged 158 over that span.  The only thing more impressive is the guy holding down the other corner of the Tiger infield, Prince Fielder.  Since the start of his first full season in 2006, Fielder has missed only 13 ballgames, and 12 of those came in his first three years. 

*The no-hitter lives and can strike at any moment.  With two days left to play, there have already been seven no-nos this season.  Jered Weaver, Matt Cain, Philip Humber, Homer Bailey, Johan Santana, Felix Hernandez, and a combined effort by the Mariners achieved this amazing feat.  In the past three years, there have been 16 no-hitters, five of which were perfect games and one was the second ever postseason no-no. 

*Kris Medlen and Craig Kimbrel have become household names.  Medlen has been the second coming of Greg Maddux since being moved into the starting rotation for the Atlanta Braves.  The Braves have won Medlen's last 23 starts (dating back to 2010) setting a major league record and he has been named NL Pitcher of the Month for August and September.  Kimbrel has been nearly unhittable out of the pen this season, saving 42 games while dominating hitters.  He has struck out 113 of the 227 batters he has faced this season and has an 8:1 strikeout to walk ratio.  Kimbrel has put himself in position to get several votes for the NL Cy Young award.

*Mike Trout and Bryce Harper have proven that they belong with the big boys.  Trout has had such a great season that he will get several votes for AL MVP and may get enough to win.  If he was 30 years old and had ten years experience in the league, his numbers  would be ridiculous but when you consider he is only a 20- year-old rookie, they are almost hard to fathom.  Try this on for size: 30 HR, 83 RBI, .325 AVG, 48 SB (only been caught four times), .910 OPS, and 129 runs scored.  Harper has had a nice rookie season as well, one that could get consideration for the greatest teenage season ever.  Don't be surprised if he puts up Trout-like numbers next year when he's a seasoned 20-year-old.

*R.A. Dickey is an amazing story.  I won't go into his back story here but it is nothing short of amazing.  He finished the season with a 20-6 record, a 2.73 ERA and a chance to lead the league in strikeouts and innings pitched.  Hopefully he can pull down a Cy Young this year to add a final chapter to his amazing tale.

*Three teams have come out of nowhere this season to make the playoffs.  The Nationals, Orioles, and A's have had unbelievable seasons and find themselves playing October baseball.  The Nationals have been the whipping boys of the NL East ever since moving to the nation's capital, but not this season.  They have won 97 games and will probably be the top seed in the NL.  The Orioles are neck and neck with the Yankees for the AL East crown and make their first playoff appearance since 1997.  The A's have played a little moneyball this season and find themselves tied with the Rangers with onehead-to-head matchup left.  All three teams have won with largely unknown players even though the Nationals do have Harper and Stephen Strasburg to boost their name recognition.

*In a storyline fitting of Charles Dickens, Boston and Atlanta are indeed a Tale of Two Cities.  After both historically collapsed last September, many wondered how the two teams would respond.  Boston responded by cleaning house and trying to start over with the controversial Bobby Valentine at the helm.  Needless to say, this year has been a continuation of last September with the Red Sox losing 91 games and dumping much of their roster.  The Braves decided to not make any administrative changes and only slight changes on the field, including hiring a new hitting coach.  Manager Fredi Gonzalez adjusted the way he uses his bullpen and had great results.  As a result, last September is a long-forgotten memory as the Braves have won 93 games this season and will play in the wild card game on Friday.

*Joe Maddon is a great manager.  He has taken a Tampa Bay team that was a laughing stock for their first decade of existence and has led them to five consecutive winning seasons and three playoff appearances.  He has accomplished this feat with largely anonymous players and great young pitching.  He seems like a guy who genuinely enjoys being around the game.  With the job he has done, the Rays deserve much better fan support than they get. 

*Adam Greenberg finally got his first official major league at bat.  If you haven't heard this story, it is truly amazing and inspirational.  Greenberg made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2005 when he was asked to pinch hit against the Marlins.  The first pitch hit Greenberg in the back of the head and he suffered from post-concussion syndrome for a long time after.  Since he was hit, he never recorded an official at bat.  A campaign was recently started for a major league team to sign Greenberg to a one-day contract to let him get his official at bat.  The Marlins agreed to take him up on the offer and seven years later Greenberg got an official at bat against knuckleball king, R.A. Dickey.  Greenberg struck out but I am willing to bet that it never felt so good to get whiffed.

*Melky Cabrera took a sharp fall from grace; going from All-Star Game MVP to humiliated cheater after testing positive for PEDs.  I have nothing for Melky after spending an uneventful year in Atlanta but he did win some points by asking that a loophole that would have allowed him to win the NL batting title not be put to use.  The Giants also won some points by saying they were not going to add Cabrera to the postseason roster even though he would be eligible after five playoff games.

*The game is better for having Chipper Jones be a part of it the past 18 years.  There are not many like him left in the game.

*Just a few days away from the debut of the Wild Card game and I already don't like it.  There is too much at stake for this to be a one game situation.  Should the team that loses the Wild Card game actually be able to claim they made the playoffs?  It certainly won't feel like they did.

Hopefully October 2012 will be as interesting and fulfilling as October 2011 was and with a little bit of luck, great pitching, and timely hitting, the Braves will send Chipper Jones into the sunset with a second World Series championship.

 

What Say You? Kimbrel or Chapman?

The game of baseball is always evolving.  When Babe Ruth played, there was no such thing as a closer; you only went to the bullpen when it was absolutely necessary.  No one had ever heard of a pitch count or a five-man rotation.  But over time, the game has changed and adjusted and now every single roster spot has a purpose.  There is no one on the bench that does not have a specific role.  You have the right-handed pinch hitting specialist, the left-handed pinch hitting specialist, the defensive specialist, platoon guys, left-handed pitchers out of the pen to get out lefties only, right-handed pitchers out of the pen to get out righties only, and your long relief guys.  Everyone has a function right down to the twenty-fifth man on the team.

The game has become specialized in every aspect and it has happened over the past two and half decades; especially when it comes to relief pitchers.  Before the mid-1980s, the average bullpen would have had about five guys; carrying eleven pitchers on the roster would have been unusual. Now, most teams carry twelve pitchers; each with a specialized role.  The most coveted of these specialized positions in the bullpen is that of closer.

The idea of how to use a closer was forever changed during the 1987 season when Tony LaRussa had the idea to use a 33 year-old, washed up starting pitcher who had been relegated to the pen as a closer.  The move worked; propelling the Oakland A’s to three consecutive World Series (one of which they won) and Dennis Eckersley to the Hall of Fame.  While baseball had seen a bevy of exciting closers in the prior decade (Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, et al.), none were used in the manner that Eckersley would be over the next decade.  From the beginning of the 1988 season until the end of 1997, Eckersley saved 386 games in 453 opportunities. 

So, what was the major difference? Eckersley was charged with primarily coming in and pitching only one inning to close out the game.  In years past, a closer would come in and pitch two, or three if necessary, innings to finish a ball game.  While, Eckersley did accumulate some inning plus saves, as time progressed the bullpen required set up men to bridge the gap from starter to closer, virtually eliminating the need for multiple inning saves.

As we near to stretch run for the 2012 campaign, two young closers have emerged as guys who any general manager would love to build their bullpen around.  And when you take a look at both of theses guys, there numbers are remarkably similar, which is why both are being considered early NL Cy Young contenders.  Both are just 24 years old and were named to the All-Star Team this season and both are dominating hitters in the heat of a pennant race.  Of course, the two pitchers I am talking about are the Southern flamethrower for the Atlanta Braves, Craig Kimbrel, and Mr. Cuban Missile himself, Aroldis Chapman, of the Cincinnati Reds.  Here’s a peak at what both have to offer.

Craig Kimbrel

When Kimbrel was called up to the major leagues the first time in May of 2010, just days before turning 22, he made the decision to pick the brain of then Atlanta closer, Billy Wagner, who was retiring at the end of the year.  Kimbrel was expected to inherit the closer’s role in 2011 so anything he could glean from one of the best left-handed relievers to ever close ballgames would be priceless.  Kimbrel, who happens to be a righty but has a similar stature and build as Wagner, parlayed that into immediate success.  Kimbrel ran away with the Rookie of the Year award last season, notching a league leading 46 saves and blowing only eight.  The only problem in that storybook season was the fatigue that settled in during the month of September when Atlanta suffered an historic collapse (let’s hope that what happened in 2011 stays in 2011) and missed the playoffs.  Here’s a look at what the humble righty has done so far this season.

G    IP   SV  BS  W-L  ERA  WHIP  H  BB  K   K/9

48  48    32   2     0-1    1.13    0.65    19  12  86  16.1

Aroldis Chapman

During the World Baseball Classic in 2009, one of the shining stars was a twenty-one year old, skinny left-handed Cuban with a lightning bolt arm.  Everyone knew that eventually he would defect and make his way to the major leagues and that is exactly what happened when the Cuban national team happened to be playing in a tournament in the Netherlands later that year.  The only surprise was the small market major league team who landed such a big fish: the historically miserly Cincinnati Reds.  With Chapman locked in for five seasons at $25 million, the Reds were readying themselves to take a leap in the standings.  After spending most of the 2010 season in the minors, trying to determine whether he fit the rotation or the bullpen better (as well as trying to gain better command of his electric stuff) Chapman finally made his debut in late August as the Reds were poised to win their first division in fifteen years.  After a few ups and downs early in 2011, Chapman rebounded and put together a solid rookie season.  Several times his fastball has been clocked at 105 MPH and his changeup has more speed on in it than your average starter.  This season, after starting the season as set up man, Chapman has emerged as the closer for the team with the best record in baseball.  Here is a look at what the flamboyant lefty has been able to accomplish so far this season.

G   IP   SV  BS  W-L  ERA  WHIP  H  BB  K    K/9

60  64  33    37   5-4   1.27     0.72    30  16  113 15.9

Verdict

While I don’t think you would suffer by picking either guy to close out games for your team, and the numbers are really too close to help one make the call, the marginal differences are enough for me to decide on whom I would take to close out games for me.  Craig Kimbrel.  It really boils down to minutia at this point.  While both young men are just 24 years of age, Kimbrel seems to carry himself with more maturity on and off the field.  Chapman, at times, has found himself at the center of controversy (on the field for doing somersaults off the mound after closing a game, off the field for getting arrested for driving 90+ MPH on a suspended license), but hopefully these are the mistakes of a young man who has found himself to be a multimillionaire and a superstar before ever putting on a major league uniform.  This reason alone is enough to sway my vote.  So, what say you, folks?  Kimbrel or Chapman?

*This is the first in a series of What Say You? comparisons over the next few weeks.  Coming soon, look for the Mike Trout or Bryce Harper? comparison.