tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722Fri, 08 Nov 2024 15:38:07 +0000MetsYankeesAlex RodriguezDerek LoweOliver PerezbaseballsteroidsAndy PettitteBravesManny RamirezRed SoxBen SheetsBrian CashmanDaniel MurphyFreddy GarciaHall of FameJohan SantanaMark TeixeiraMike CameronPedro MartinezScott BorasTim ReddingXavier Nadyatlanta bravesspring trainingAJ BurnettAdam DunnBernie WilliamsBobby AbreuCC SabathiaCarl PavanoCarlos DelgadoChad CorderoDavid PriceDodgersFernando MartinezIndiansJason VaritekJim RiceJoe GirardiJohn MaineJon GarlandJorge PosadaMark McGwireOrlando HudsonRandy WolfRaysRickey HendersonWill Ohmanaol fanhousebud seligdan grazianogarrett andersonjerry manueljonathon niesejose reyesken griffey jr.livan hernandezluis castilloreggie jacksonsandy koufaxseattle marinerssnyA blog on the Yankees, Mets and everything baseball by Dan Grazianohttp://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Dan)Blogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-4935121063444266817Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:27:00 +00002009-03-24T12:32:47.293-04:00aol fanhousebaseballdan grazianoMetssnyYankeesThis blog was set up as a place for me to write baseball during a time when no one was paying me to do it. This time has been blessedly short.Starting today, you can read me twice a week on www.sny.tv. My first column for them, about the Mets' need to get serious now that they have their team back from the World Baseball Classic, is on that site now. My New York baseball columns will run there onhttp://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-24-hack-on-move.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-658136386217712330Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:27:00 +00002009-03-18T22:10:44.936-04:00I've only seen two days of this contest, but it didn't look like much of one to me. Jon Niese looked like a fine, capable big-league No. 5 starter with upside. Livan Hernandez looked like a smart veteran who knows how to get hitters out with middling stuff. I know who I'm taking if I'm the Mets right now, and it's the guy with the World Series MVP trophy.After he was done today, Livan told us he http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-18-livan-large.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-4485080958655136289Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:06:00 +00002009-03-18T11:15:45.601-04:00baseballDaniel Murphyjonathon nieseMetssandy koufaxWatched Jon Niese pitch yesterday against the Braves at Disney, and he looked basically fine, but the fact that he walked the opposing pitcher in a spring training game clearly gnawed at his manager, who mentioned several times in his postgame that Niese's command wasn't "where it needs to be right now."Livan Hernandez goes today against Braves mega-prospect Tommy Hanson here in the PSL. The http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-18-port-st-lucie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-5988590450095877606Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:48:00 +00002009-03-17T12:10:39.869-04:00atlanta bravesbaseballMetsRed SoxYankeesBoy, if anybody's still checking this site regularly, let me just say: I AM SORRY!It's been weeks since I updated this blog, and the reasons for that are many. First, I was back home in NJ, where there's no big-league ball happening these days. Second, I've been a little obsessed with the college basketball tournaments the past couple of weeks. And third, and most importantly -- I got a job!http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/03/happiest-place-on-earth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-8670554578545413207Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:03:00 +00002009-02-28T09:11:43.413-05:00Freddy Garciajerry manuelJohan Santanajose reyeslivan hernandezluis castilloMetsBack in chilly NJ, it seems a lot of the action is in Port St. Lucie.1. They can say whatever they want about precautions, but the fact is that Johan Santana has now been scratched from two appearances because his elbow hurts. That's five-alarm info, and the alarms won't stop sounding until the man gets on a mound and feels good throwing.2. I agree completely with the premise of this John Harper http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/02/feb-28-three-quick-mets-thoughts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-8120755507695270065Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:59:00 +00002009-02-26T16:25:59.193-05:00Alex RodriguezDavid PriceJohan SantanaJorge PosadaMetsRaysRed SoxYankeesI wasn't with the Mets today, but I did see this story, and I believe the official baseball term for this is "NOT GOOD."Over on this side of the state, we saw Phil Hughes, who was once an emerging top pitching prospect, pitch against the Rays and Wade Davis, who appears to still be. Davis hit 95 on the radar gun and struck out three batters in two scoreless innings, leaving the Yankees impressed http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/02/feb-26-notes-from-yankees-rays.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-7441983856912538555Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:08:00 +00002009-02-25T19:22:59.250-05:00Alex Rodriguezreggie jacksonspring trainingsteroidsYankeesI just saw that Miguel Tejada is dropping out of the World Baseball Classic because the Dominican team asked him to play first base. Curious, I went over to the WBC web site to see who's on the roster who's a better shortstop than Tejada. Holy crap. How about Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes and, if they really want to get kooky, Alex Rodriguez?I'm not much for handicapping, but you have to like their http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/02/feb-25-lots-of-driving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-1612603995912786181Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:27:00 +00002009-02-24T15:41:43.899-05:00AJ BurnettAlex RodriguezBernie WilliamsCC SabathiaMark Teixeiraspring trainingYankeesSick of the weather up there, I figured I'd head on down for a little spring training trip this week. Just because nobody's ordering me to go this year doesn't mean I can't go on my own, right? Now, the trick is to pick up enough freelance assignments while I'm down here to make the trip profitable. Or at least, keep it from being a loss.So I went over to George M. Steinbrenner Field (nee Legendshttp://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/02/feb-24-old-stomping-grounds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-5619145657552441149Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:17:00 +00002009-02-19T13:19:22.160-05:00atlanta bravesbaseballgarrett andersonken griffey jr.seattle marinersOver/Under on the day the Mariners make the publicly painful decision to release Griffey: June 23. Yeah, you heard it here first.Keith Law on ESPN.com did a beautiful job of breaking down this sentimental move -- a foolish one for a team that needs to be rebuilding and getting at-bats for its up-and-coming youngsters so that they can be good again once Griffey is mercifully retired. The money http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/02/feb-19-ken-griffey-jr-returns-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-7764305094444586016Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:17:00 +00002009-02-18T08:59:41.840-05:00Alex Rodriguez says he was young and stupid.Well...he's not young anymore.But he's stupid as hell if he expects us to swallow what he was serving up this afternoon in Tampa.Enough already with the half-truths and made-up stories. This thing about how he and his "cousin" dabbled with over-the-counter injectible drugs they could only get in the Dominican Republic, at a time when he was entering hishttp://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/02/jan-17-were-supposed-to-believe-this.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-2191808310607558844Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:50:00 +00002009-02-18T08:59:52.174-05:00Alex Rodriguezbaseballbud seligDodgersManny RamirezMetssteroidsWill OhmanYankeesThis thing about Bud Selig considering a suspension for A-Rod seems a little silly. There were no penalties in place during the time when Alex admits to having used steroids (though certainly, the drugs were illegal, and had someone been caught using them at that time he would have been subject to some sort of punishment), and it makes little sense to suspend him six years later. Plus, the union http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/02/jan-12-on-selig-rod-and-whole-bunch-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-3609875279300649145Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:17:00 +00002009-02-10T10:33:58.893-05:00Alex RodriguezsteroidsYankeesI guess, at the most basic level, Alex Rodriguez is to be commended for admitting that for which he was caught. His admission, incomplete though it may be, puts him ahead of the Roger Clemenses, Barry Bondses and Mark McGwires of this sordid steroid world. He didn't deny what we already knew, didn't insult our intelligence, didn't hide behind the towering arrogance that convinces our biggest http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/02/feb-10-too-many-questions-remain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-971357151855315750Sun, 08 Feb 2009 05:46:00 +00002009-02-08T01:27:47.558-05:00Alex RodriguezsteroidsYankeesSometime in the middle of 2007, as Alex Rodriguez was obviously on his way to a runaway MVP award and just as surely planning to opt out of the final three years of his contract, I wrote a column for The Star-Ledger in which I urged the Yankees to resist the temptation to bring him back after he opted out. The gist was that sure, his monster 2007 season would prove his tremendous potential value http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/02/feb-8-ssorted-rod-thoughts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-6382443309468391870Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:55:00 +00002009-01-29T11:19:05.236-05:00I don't have an advance copy of the Joe Torre book -- I'll pick up my copy Tuesday like the rest of you. But I have been enjoying the coverage.One of the things that still amazes me, after all the years he's been here, is how Alex Rodriguez always takes shrapnel even when it's not his fight.I'm sure Torre didn't set out to put A-Rod in the middle of controversy about the slugger's maddening http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-29-rod-thoughts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-3572973981498164421Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:00:00 +00002009-01-23T14:15:24.323-05:00Ben SheetsFreddy GarciaJohn MaineMetsOliver PerezPedro MartinezOver the past couple of days, I have talked with some Mets people and some people outside the organization familiar with their thinking, and here are some of the notes I've come up with:-With the signing of Freddy Garcia, the Mets are taking their cue from the Red Sox and the way they've approached their off-season. Boston signed Brad Penny and John Smoltz to low-base, incentive-type deals http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-23-mets-pitching-update-sheets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-8430841954864406501Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:39:00 +00002009-01-22T10:49:17.872-05:00Hall of FameMark McGwiresteroidsYeah, this does it. I'd never really believed any of that huge pile of evidence, circumstantial and otherwise, that Mark McGwire did steroids. But now that his estranged, no-name, obviously-desperate-for-money brother is writing a book that says he did...wow. My eyes are open.Sheesh.I have two points on McGwire. I consider them unrelated, though people seem desperate to relate them. They are:1. Ihttp://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-22-well-now-im-convinced.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-4072395844650463247Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:24:00 +00002009-01-19T11:31:12.804-05:00Alex RodriguezJason VaritekRed SoxScott BorasYankeesHmmmm....Where have we heard this before?A Scott Boras client, failing to find the open market as open as he'd hoped he would, goes back to the team for which he played last year on his own, without Boras, pledges his undying loyalty to the team and says he'd like to do a deal after all.It worked like a charm for Alex Rodriguez last winter, and Jason Varitek hopes it works for him this year.At http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-19-varitek-tears-page-from-a-rod.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-3430626551354571984Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:17:00 +00002009-01-14T13:10:37.645-05:00Andy PettitteBen SheetsDerek LoweJon GarlandMetsOliver PerezRandy WolfA couple of Mets people I talked to yesterday sounded crushed that Derek Lowe had signed with the Braves. These are people who preferred Lowe to Oliver Perez because the former is more reliable and the latter...um...a touch flaky.Another part of the concern is that the Mets don't yet know how their new ballpark is going to play. Omar Minaya has, in recent years, sought out flyball pitchers that http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-14-mets-pitching-options-post-lowe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-6178686519352278044Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:50:00 +00002009-01-13T08:18:52.463-05:00What's the most disappointing thing about this year's Hall of Fame voting for me?Not that Jim Rice got in and Bert Blyleven didn't.Not that Lee Smith got twice as many votes as Tim Raines, who helped win so many more games.Not that Rickey Henderson wasn't unanimous. (A truly ludicrous thing about which to be upset, I think. People can vote or not vote however they want, and the people who don't http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-13-my-hall-of-fame-regret.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-8584497282229117662Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:06:00 +00002009-01-12T15:23:52.027-05:00No real surprise -- Rickey Henderson gets in easily and Jim Rice barely (by eight votes!). I'm on record on Rice (see post below), and I agree with what Joe Sheehan just said on ESPN -- that this opens the door for other corner outfielders in the future to say, "I was as good as that guy; I should be in too."Andre Dawson and Dave Parker can make that case right now, and maybe Dale Murphy. Had anyhttp://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-12-hall-of-fame-voting-results.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-6478236110807878905Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:06:00 +00002009-01-12T08:07:42.359-05:00Andy PettitteBravesDerek LoweHall of FameJim RiceMetsMike CameronOliver PerezRickey HendersonYankeesThe results of the annual BBWAA Hall of Fame voting will be announced this afternoon. Rickey Henderson's a sure thing, but the drama will revolve around Jim Rice and others on the cusp.This is my fourth year as a Hall voter, and I voted for four players this year -- Henderson, Tim Raines, Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris. I explained this ballot in my final blog post for nj.com and The Star-Ledger http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-12-week-ahead-hall-of-fame-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-655161892506089173Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:23:00 +00002009-01-10T08:23:00.161-05:00Adam DunnBobby AbreuCarlos DelgadoDaniel MurphyFernando MartinezManny RamirezMetsWell, no, of course not. But a couple of comments on an earlier post were interesting as they pertained to F-Mart and the Mets' corner outfield situation. Here they are, in order, courtesy of "grab22":Dan, do you think this is the year that Fernando Martinez will finally break out? I fear that if he has another "average" year (.285 7 HR, etc.), that his status as a top prospect will officially http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-10-is-fernando-martinez-keeping.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-3937447854614187552Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:20:00 +00002009-01-09T19:35:37.372-05:00BravesDerek LoweMetsPedro MartinezTim ReddingThe Mets today signed right-hander Tim Redding to a one-year contract that guarantees him $2.25 million. The deal won't be announced until Redding passes a physical, which should be sometime next week.The Mets wanted to bring a veteran in to compete with Jon Niese for the No. 5 spot, according to a person familiar with their thinking, and Redding was their top choice. They also had been http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/jan-9-mets-update-tim-redding-derek.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-4974200993193251626Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:14:00 +00002009-01-09T19:35:58.279-05:00Brian CashmanCarl PavanoIndiansYankeesI mean, Carl Pavano. What a tremendous disaster of a human being.You may have heard the former Yankee (yes, he really did pitch for them -- it's just so hard to remember, jumbled as the actual appearances are with the real injuries, the made-up injuries, the car accidents and the hopping around the country from doctor to doctor looking for somebody, anybody who'd tell him he needed surgery) http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/you-can-take-clown-out-of-new-york.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907432288033149722.post-6460962595018336496Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:55:00 +00002009-01-09T15:35:18.144-05:00Andy PettitteMike CameronXavier NadyYankeesI'll go ahead and spoil the ending by answering the question up front: Yes, there is still room on the Yankees' 2009 payroll for Andy Pettitte. They can still sign him (assuming he's willing to sign for their $10M price) and project a payroll slightly less than last year's.However, as Brian Cashman said earlier this week at the Mark Teixeira press conference, it's become more complicated since http://nybaseballhack.blogspot.com/2009/01/yankees-payroll-analysis-does-pettitte.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dan)1