Obsession? Maybe.

*sniff, sniff*

Can you smell it?

*crack!*

Can you hear it?

Oh come on now!  I know you can.  The smell of freshly cut grass and the warmth of the spring sun on your face.  The crack of the bat as the ball is lined past the infield and the roar of the crowd as they cheer their team.

YES! Baseball is here.  (Oh, and coincidentally, Spring is around the corner.)

Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re saying. “Great, here come some more posts filled with Yankee filled nonsense.”  Well, if you are here, what else did you expect? Mark and Mercedes, the morning DJs from a local radio station, 94.1, were talking about obsessions this morning.  Mercedes said she is obsessed with the Yankees because she is watching Spring Training games.  If that is considered an obsession, then I’ve got a full-blown outbreak.  How bad is it?  Let me count the ways…

• I have a Yankees license plate frame.  Tame, I know, but it gets worse.
• My Twitter handle, @LasVegasYankee
• I order the Yankees Yearbook almost every year (when I can afford it.  They are getting expensive).
• I’ve got all the volumes of Yankeeography on DVD. And I’m constantly watching them.
• I order the MLB Extra Innings package every season (6 years and counting)
• I switched from Cox Cable to DirecTV just so I can get the YES Network.
• I also watch Spring Training games.  But I also watch “Yankee Classics” (reruns of classic games) whenever I can.
• My original ManCave* was painted Yankee Blue.
• Yankee Jerseys, got ‘em.  Seven (7) and counting.
• Yankee Memorabilia? I don’t have that much time to list it all. But I’m pretty sure I’ve got more than the average Yankee fan, but not as much as a hardcore fan.
• Autographs? Yeah, I got ‘em (Jeter, Rizzutto, Ford to name a few).

Is it bad? I don’t know. You tell me.

(One of several Yearbooks that I own.  This one being the oldest)

_____

* Original Mancave is now a rental home.  Haven't had a chance to set up the Mancave in the new house yet.

JAR (Just Another Rant)

Wow, I knew it had been a long time since I wrote something, but I didn’t realize it’s been over a month. I guess I haven’t had nothing to vent about lately… Except the Yankees not winning the World Series.* Well, contrary to popular belief, the Yankees do not win (or buy as some are apt to say. I’m looking at you Ken) the World Series every year. Let me lay down some knowledge on you.

Looking from the beginning of Y2K (haven’t heard that term in a while) we’ve had 12 World Series. The stats breakdown like this:

• # of different participants – 15
  • Angels, Astros, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Giants, Marlins, Mets, Phillies, Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Rockies, Tigers, White Sox, Yankees.
• # of multiple participants – 6
  • Cardinals, Giants, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, Yankees.
• # of multiple champions – 3
  • Cardinals, Red Sox, Yankees.

So, that means that in the last 12 years, any baseball fan has had a 50% chance of seeing their team in the World Series. Out of those 15 teams, less than 40% appeared more than once. To top it off, only 20% or World Series participants won more than one championship.

Let’s compare…

NFL

• # of different participants – 16
  • Bears, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Colts, Eagles, Giants, Packers, Panthers, Patriots, Raiders, Rams, Ravens, Saints, Seahawks, Steelers, Titans.
• # of multiple participants – 5
  • Colts, Giants, Patriots, Rams, Steelers.
• # of multiple champions – 2
  • Patriots, Steelers.

So, the football fans had the same chance of seeing their team in the Super Bowl as baseball fans did, 50%. Of those 16 teams, 31% went more than once and 13% won more than one championship.

NBA

• # of different participants – 11
  • 76ers, Cavaliers, Celtics, Heat, Lakers, Magic, Maverick, Nets, Pacers, Pistons, Spurs.
• # of multiple participants – 7
  • Celtics, Heat, Lakers, Mavericks, Nets, Pistons, Spurs.
• # of multiple champions – 2
  • Lakers, Spurs.

Basketball fans only had a 36% chance of seeing their team in the championship game.** From there, 63% of those are repeat teams and 18% won multiple championships. I feel sorry for Western Conference fans. The Lakers, Spurs and Mavs have totally dominated that side of the NBA. But then again, those three teams probably have 90% of Western Conference fans anyway.

NHL

• # of different participants – 15
  • Avalanche, Blackhawks, Bruins, Canucks, Devils, Ducks, Flames, Flyers, Hurricanes, Lightning, Oilers, Penguins, Red Wings, Senators, Stars.
• # of multiple participants – 5
  • Devils, Ducks, Hurricanes, Penguins, Red Wings
• # of multiple champions – 2
  • Devils, Red Wings.

Hockey fans also have a 50% chance of seeing their team in the Stanley Cup. On par with MLB and NFL, 33% were multiple participants with 13% being multiple winners.

Tell you what, let’s put it on a table to make it easier to read…

League	# of teams in league	# of Champ participants	%	Participants w/ multiple appearance	%	Participants w/ multiple champs	%
MLB	30	15	50%	6	40%	3	20%
NFL	32	16	50%	5	31%	2	13%
NBA	30	11	36%	7	63%	2	18%
NHL	30	15	50%	5	33%	2	13%

So what does all this prove? Honestly, I totally forgot the whole point of this. I just started looking at numbers and… oh yeah! I remember now.

So, what does all this prove? This proves is that, unless you are a NBA fan, your team has 1 in 2 chance of making it to the respective leagues championship game. Once there, they have a pretty good chance of winning it all, 60% or higher. Also, unless you are a NBA fan, if your team made it to the finals, they have a 34% +/- chance of going back to the championship game within a few years. And, if it wasn’t for the Cardinals, multiple championship winners would be the same in all sports except, you guessed it, basketball.***

Money doesn’t buy championships as many Yankee haters would have you believe. I believe there is parity in all major sports except the NBA. Yeah, I know the Yankees have more Championships than any other professional sports team, but that’s only because they’ve been around for over 100 years. Let’s take a look at basketball. There have been 62 championship games, in which more than half have been dominated by two teams, the Lakers and Celtics. Heck, the Celtics went on a run from 1957 to 1969 in which they won 11 of 13 and an amazing 8-in-a-row win streak. Not even the Yankees could manage that.

Yeah, I just convinced myself (again) that baseball is the greatest of all professional sports. Baseball is a true team sport where strategy is involved, it takes the entire team to win (unlike football where a QB, RB, WRs and half decent offensive line are all you need), one person can’t carry a team (What are the Bulls of the 90s without Jordan?), and the rules are easy to understand (blue line, red line… I’ll never understand hockey).

Show me one person that can name every single person on a 45 man (ok, maybe just half) football roster, and I can show half a dozen that can name everyone on a 25 man for multiple years. How about rattling off basketball stats? Maybe give me a dozen hockey players that are household name? Yeah, not happening to often is it?

I’m not hating on other sports. I enjoy watching football, basketball and hockey. All exciting games, but I’ll always be a baseball nut.

I miss baseball…

Spring training can’t get here soon enough…

Late,

JV

_____

*Yeah, you might say they didn’t even make it to the World Series and I say Semantics. The fact is, 29 other teams didn’t win the World Series. So there.

** Couldn’t the NBA think tank come up with something more than just NBA Championship Game? MLB has the World Series, NFL has the Super Bowl, and NHL has the Stanly Cup. NBA Championship Game is so… blah. Just saying.

*** True, the Cards won just as many as the Yankees and the BoSox (2) but who else am I going to blame? There is no way I’m laying any blame on the Yankees and if I start to blame the BoSox then I’ll be accused of being a biased Yankee fan with no respect for the BoSox. Fact is that the Cards have a higher World Series winning percentage (75%) than the Yankees (50%) since 2000.

Dodger Dogs... Baseballs got 'em! 'Nuff Said!

What a finish!

And this is what it all boils down to.  Yeah, 161 games were played but none of that mattered.  In the greatest finish since The Play (UC-Stanford ’82), The Catch (49ers-Cowboys ’82), The Collapse (Yankees-Red Sox ’04)… Actually, scratch that last one. Nobody needs to be talking about that.  So, 161 games played and there are still 4 teams playing for 2 spots.  In all honesty, I was hoping the Ray and Sox would both win.  A 1-game playoff is always exciting (1978 anyone?) and it would have allowed the Red Sox at redemption.  Yeah, redemption since almost every 2011 MLB Prediction at the beginning of the season had the Red Sox winning the Division. So, not only do they not win the Division, they can’t even muster enough to force a 1-game playoff and at least nab the Wild Card.

I watched the games.  I was on the edge of my seat for the last few innings of both games.  Yes, I was cheering for the Rays and the Sox.  My wife thought I had lost my mind.  When my family reads this, they will probably think I’ve lost my mind.  Maybe I have, but the excitement was overwhelming.  And since we were in public, I couldn’t yell and cheer out loud. Talk about frustrating.  I’m glad I had my Twitter account to vent with.

Watching the game, I wonder. Did the Yankees throw the game in the end?  Did they give the Rays the opportunity to mount the comeback?  Yeah, it sounds crazy but walk with me for a minute on this.

1)      Attitude – Fact, the Yankees clinched.  Since there were no types of season records in play, this was a “meaningless” game.  When in a situation like, most people automatically change their attitude and take things down a few notches. 

2)      Starters – The game started with only 5 regular starters in the initial lineup.  By the end of the 7^th, 4 of those had been replaced.

3)      Relief – Girardi had already stated that he wouldn’t be using any relievers in the finale.  So, everyone knows that, no matter what, Mo won’t be in the game.  That’s sure to give opposing batter a boost in confidence.

4)      Exhaustion – Let’s face it, 162 games is a lot of games.  When you don’t clinch until 10 days before the end of the season, you are going to be tired.  Then you still gotta play at 100% to clinch the Division.  Yeah, very tiring.

5)      Opposition – Finally, you have to decide who would you want rather face in the ALDS.  Red Sox or Rays?  Yeah, I’d rather face the Rays because the Red Sox were really dialed in on the Yankees this season.

There you go.  Evidence, flimsy but evidence all the same, that the Yankees could have thrown the game.  But no matter, in the end it was one of the most exciting finishes to the season that I’ve seen in a long time.  I enjoyed watching each and every deciding game.

Congratulations Rays.  See you next season Sox.

(Associated Press)

Big Papi - "See you in the playoffs."

Manny - "No you won't."

Stay on target... Almost there...

As of this writing, DJ (Derek Jeter for you uncultured ones) is two hits shy of joining Club 3K (3000 hits).  Think about that for a minute.... Done? Ok. Most people don't realize how exclusive of a club this is.  The other big hitters club, the 500 Home Run Club, isn't as exclusive as it used to be.  There are at least a half-dozen 'Roiders in there and, let's face it, the whole "Chicks dig the long ball" thing is so passé. 

Anyway...

Back to Club 3K, I found it interesting that some of the bigger names in the game are in the club. My all-time favorite player, Lou Gehrig, not in. The original HR King, Babe Ruth, not in. Junior? Nope. Mantle? Negative. Dave Winfield, Rickey "Run, Rickey, Run" Henderson? Well, yeah, but they didn't hit #3000 with the Yankees (Twins & Padres respectively).  The only blemish in the Club is Rafael Palmeiro.

So not only is going to join the Club, DJ isn't going to stop at 3K. I really think he is going to be one of the top 10 in hits (3315+).  He has a contract till at least 2014. That's another 3 full years.  According to Baseball-Reference, DJ has averaged 206 hits a year over his career.  Barring further injury and extended slumps, 160-175 hits this season is not out of the question.  That should put him at about 3170 at the end of this season.  Throw in one more spectacular season (he has one more in him) at 193 hits and two seasons of +/- average seasons at 171 and 157 hits, that would put him at... carry the one, divide by the square root of his shoe size... around 3690 hits for his career.   That is good enough for 4th on the All-Time list behind Rose, Cobb and Aaron. 

Yet, there are still people that will insist that he is not a HoFer.  Really?  Let's take a look at his other numbers.

If he keeps his career average going, he will also join the 300 Home Run Club. Yeah, I know, it doesn't have the same ring as the 500 Home Run Club.  However, take a look at the big picture.  Only 130 players have it 300 home runs.  Yeah, that sounds like a lot when you think there are 750 baseball players (25-man roster X 30 teams), about 17%. However, when you realize that it's not 750, but closer to 17,150 guys that have played baseball since the 1800s, that percentage drops waaaaay down to 0.75%.  All of a sudden, 300 home runs is kinda impressive.  Oh, and one other thing, DJ really isn't a home run hitter. Kinda makes that stat that much more impressive.

One of my favorite stats, simply because Jathniel gets to talk in the 3rd person like one of his favorite players (Rickey Henderson), is the stolen base.  One of the greatest strategies of the game, the stolen base can get a player from 1st to 3rd quick-fast, in a hurry, and totally disrupt the pitcher's concentration.  JD already has 330. He gets another 10 this year and average 20 the next three years and that will put him at 400 swipes.  That will put him at #70 on the all-time list. Good company considering 25 of those 70 are in the Hall.

Let's see what else is on the list... 400 away from 10,000 at bats (25 members of that club)... on track for 2500+ games played (that'll put him in the top 50)... 12x All-Star... 5x World Series Champ... 5x Gold Glove... All-Star MVP... World Series MVP...

Seriously, if those aren't 1st Year Induction stats, I don't know what is.

Just saying...

JV

Slow week...

Didn’t go to the movies last week.  I don’t know, Super 8 just didn’t catch my eye enough to see it on the big screen.   Didn’t go to any baseball games either. That couldn’t be helped, the 51’s weren’t in town.  Didn’t see much baseball either. Watching the sweep kinda killed my mood.  However, we did add a new member to the family.  Meet Yoshi.

Yoshi is a Blue & Gold Macaw.  We picked him up from a local breeder and store owner, Juan Anderson of E & J Exotic Pets.  Wasn’t expecting to pick him up for another two weeks but Juan said that it was eating well enough on its own to go home. 

Needless to say, it’s been an interesting weekend. The dogs don’t know what to do with it. Yoshi is still getting used to its new surroundings. I’m running around with a rag cleaning up poop.  Fortunately it’s not a lot and it doesn’t smell so I’m good.

On an interesting note, The MLB All-Star Ballot updates have been released.  Yankees in the lead are:

Catcher – Russell Martin

1B – Mark Teixeira

2B – Robinson Cano

3B – Alex Rodriguez

SS – Derek Jeter

OF – Curtis Granderson

DH – Jorge Posada (3^rd)

See something funny there? The ENTIRE infield are Yankees. I don’t have a problem with this but really?  Where are all the other teams’ fans? Martin, Cano, and Granderson all have comfortable leads. But, how many of these guys are really All-Star quality this year? Martin? Nope. Tex? Maybe. Cano? Yep. Rodriguez? Maybe. Jeter? Not really… But I think this is more of a sentimental vote because, let’s face it, he is in decline and probably won’t voted to a starting team anymore after this season. Granderson? Oh YEAH! Posada? What in the world? How did he even get in the top ten is beyond me.

The NL ballot looks a lot more realistic.  Actually, it even looks stronger than the AL ballot.  Uh Oh, do I feel a prediction coming on? Yes you do.

National League wins the All-Star Game, 5-3. Albert Pujols named MVP.

There I said it. Done. I’m out.

Late

JV