I was surprised to see Randy Johnson pitch last night. Johnson pitched last Sunday, and the Diamondbacks had a day off this week (Thursday), so I expected Brenly to give him an extra day of rest, especially with a large division lead. But there he was last night, getting shelled by the Giants. It was the third time this year Johnson has had a game score below 50 (it was a 27; he's also put up a 26 and a 22). I looked at Johnson's game log, and he hasn't pitched on 5 days rest since June, including the All-Star break. He's thrown almost 400 more pitches than anyone else in the NL (thanks to STATS, Inc.):

NL Leaders in Pitches Thrown (Thru games of AUG-30-2002)

Just fooling around with win shares tonight, and I was looking at the AL contenders up the middle (C, 2B, SS, CF). The Yankees have a big advantage:

Team      WS

NYY     92.2

Oak     60.2

Sea     52.9

Ana     49.7

Min     47.9

It's one of the reasons the Yankees have been strong for so long. Look at that team up the middle since 1998, and it's hard to find a better one. The win shares above represent the totals of the regular starters at those positions (for example, Posada, Soriano, Jeter and Williams).

Both Jones and Durham have hit leadoff HRs in the Min-Oak game. Jones now has 10 HR leading off a game, two short of Brady Anderson's single season record of 12.

Tim Keown has the first insightful article I've read on the process post settlement:

The direction of public opinion is mystifying, really. Everyone seems to understand and accept Bud Selig's epic incompetence and seemingly bottomless capacity for -- to be highly generous -- twisting the truth. Just to pick something at random, Selig can't even embrace the game's best stories -- the allegedly impossible small-payroll successes in Minnesota and Oakland. Those two franchises are models, and Bud calls them aberrations. They should be honored, instead they are belittled. Has there ever been a worse spokesman for the game than Selig?

Doesn't matter. You say it was the players' fault, so it was the players' fault. Since everyone seems fixated on Alex Rodriguez's oft-cited $252 million contract, let's shift the argument from Rodriguez to Rangers owner Tom Hicks. This utter incompetent gave A-Rod nearly $100 million more than the next offer, and then he stood around begging for money and bemoaning the system. He deserves some of George Steinbrenner's money? Why, exactly? So his next ridiculous move doesn't hurt as much? These are the same scions and heirs ("Lucky Sperm Club") whose blue blood curdles every time they're asked to pay sales tax on a yacht, and yet they're lining up to push a luxury tax, which is nothing more than a subsidy for the incompetent.

What this contract does is shift the burden of blame from the players to the owners. The owners can't cry about the Yankees having all this money anymore. They can't claim they're not good because they are in a small market. The emperor's new clothes are gone.

Not having to read "Ninth work stoppage since 1972" ever again.

Don Fehr made me look good (from FoxSports):

"We believe this is an agreement we can live with," Fehr said. "Otherwise we wouldn't have made it."

Similar to what I thought would happen yesterday. I just had it happening a little earlier. Well, it was the wee hours in Hawaii. :-)

ESPN is reporting there is a deal. I'm glad my optimism was rewarded. Let's get back to the games now.

I just heard the Red Sox are on their way to the airport. That's the best sign I've seen all day.

There is a report that three teams have told the union they won't walk. Marvin Miller has called the news organization that reported this and says it's not true. If it is true, it's really significant. It would be the first visible lack of solidarity that I've ever seen in the MLBPA. It also shows that the players may have more sense than the men who are leading them in the union. It's Fehr's job to get the best deal, but at this point the differences don't seem to be worth a strike.

Also, contraction is reported to be off the table. I guess it was just a bargaining chip all along. Maybe now people can think about it and do it right. For your review, here are my ideas.

I was just listening to Ron Shapiro being interviewed. He made a point that I've been making for some time, that a partnership has to be formed between the owners and players to avoid this happening again. That's the best way to remove the distrust between the two sides, and build the game back up.

but no strike either. People are paying attention to the Red Sox right now, since they are supposed to have an 8:30 charter. Of course, the game isn't until this evening, so I would guess they could push the charter back to 2 PM and still get to Cleveland in plenty of time for a game.

The real question is when is the latest you can call the Cubs game. There's no rain in the forecast, so I have to think you need to make a decision by noon, otherwise you'll have really angry fans going to the game.

I still think something is going to get done. We may lose today's games, but Saturday/Sunday double headers are fun! Stay tuned.

Fans are throwing things on the field. They threw about 25 beach balls earlier, and someone just threw a baseball. It would be ironic if the last game ended in a forfeit because the fans couldn't be controled.

Just heard while watching the Angels game that the 11:00 PM Eastern conference call between the union and the players has been delayed because Fehr and Selig have been meeting face to face since 9:30 PM Eastern.

I'm sitting here waiting to hear something. I'm watching the Blue Jays pound the Yankees (Phelps has two HR off Clemens), and then I'll watch the Angels, maybe the last game for a while. I keep hoping someone will cut in with news of a deal.

Interestingly, ESPN.com has become more pessimistic, while FoxSports.com has become more optimistic, just the opposite of this morning.

Just looked at the Mariners-Twins box. 0-0 in the 5th, with both Moyer and Reed pitching gems. 7 hits, 0 walks combined.

If the Twins win today, you have to start liking their chances in the post-season. They would have outpitched a fine staff, and shut down a good offensive team. Maybe the Yankees would be better off playing the west wild card. :-)

I guess a few hours can make a big difference. Foxsports.com has this report by Dave Van Dyck from about 7 PM last night that is extremely pessimistic. Jayson Stark, updating this story at 3 AM is much more optimistic.

I love this quote from a management source:

"It's hard to believe we can get it done in 30 hours," said one high-ranking management source after four separate meetings with union officials. "Realistically, I don’t know if we can."

I don't know how many of you get all your work done two weeks ahead of deadline, but I'm usually pushed to the limit. They get it done by one side or the other saying, "I can live with that." My guess is that will happen in the wee hours of tomorrow.

If the A's hold on for the win tonight, it will be their 100th win over the last 3 years after Aug. 1. Here's a list of the best winning percentages, Aug 1st on, 2000-2002 combined:

Team                     W     L    Pct.

Athletics               99    38   0.723

Cardinals               90    51   0.638

Giants                  86    52   0.623

Astros                  83    55   0.601

Mariners                82    55   0.599

Diamondbacks            78    60   0.565

Indians                 79    63   0.556

Yankees                 77    62   0.554

Mets                    74    63   0.540

That winning percentage would give them 117 wins over a full season.

Steve Beers wrote me today:

Dave,

Just read your entry on the Yankees from 8/27. The issue many have with the Yankees is not that they scout, draft, and develop players. It is that they can keep all of the talent they want. The Expos for years have scout, draft and developed players they just could not keep them because they could not afford to. That is where the disparity is.

Steve Beers

Steve makes a great point, but again, the Oakland A's fly in the face of this. They lost Giambi and Damon. They traded away a great OBA guy in Jeremy Giambi. And they are still winning big. The reason is, if you develop good young players, players who get on base, pitchers who throw strikes, you'll always be decent. And if you let the 30 year-olds go and aren't afraid to replace them with young talent, you'll save money. Every team should take a good, hard look at what the A's are doing and try to emulate them. That would do a lot more to even things out in baseball than a luxury tax.

Just when you thought the Yankees pitching might be vulnerable, Mussina and Wells put together back-to-back impressive starts. After 8 tonight, Yankee starters have not allowed a run. Mussina has only thrown 89 pitches tonight, so the Yankees may get back-to-back complete games, giving the Rivera-less bullpen a needed break. Mussina has had great command tonight; I can't say I've seen him throw a hanging pitch tonight. His follow through seems much better. What ever change he's made, it's working.

Another thing the Yankees did well tonight is wear out Martinez. He'd pitched a great game, but got up to 127 pitches before he was taken out. His previous high was 117 on 7/1. Pedro didn't have it in the 7th, left with 2 on, and Bernie Williams took Embree deep.

It's too bad. The Red Sox did a lot of things right this year. They still may make the wild card, but they are not looking like a very good team right now.

Correction: Sorry, should have read the box more carefully. Wells did not pitch a complete game on Tuesday.

Joe Crede hit the 8th walk-off grand slam of the season last night, probably extending the record.

Castro broke it up with 1 out in the 6th.

Finley is now perfect through 5. He threw 8 pitches in the 5th, getting two pop ups and a K. He has thrown 56 pitches through 5. If he keeps this up, he may end up with a complete game with less than 100 pitches thrown. That's been done 11 times this year.

It appears that Chuck Finley has a perfect game through 4 innings. Stay tuned!

Check out Travis Nelson's baseball blog. He has a nice article on why Gossage isn't in the Hall of Fame.

Pierzynski just hit his 5th triple of the year to give the Twins the lead. It will be interesting to see if he goes past 6 triples this year. No one who has caught 100 games in a season has done that since Darrell Porter hit 10 in 1979. Of course, he was playing in KC then, which was a great triples park.

Neither Andruw Jones nor Derek Jeter has a triple this year.

Junior has been playing very well since the all-star break:

               Avg   G  AB   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS TBB HBP SO  OBP  SLG

Pre-All Star  .243  26  74   6  18  4  0  2   4  0  1  10  2  13 .345 .378

Post-All Star .324  25  74   9  24  2  0  5  17  1  1  13  1  17 .418 .554

His post-all star numbers are much more in line with his career. Maybe he's finally healed from his injury.

The Reds offense is better also, scoring 4.92 runs per game since the break, as opposed to 4.33 before. Unfortunately, the pitching has gotten worse, leading to a 18-24 record since the break (all stats coming into tonight).

Reds won game 1 of a double header with St. Louis, but are losing big in the early innings of game 2. The Reds really need a sweep here to get themselves back in the pennant race.

Bob Klapisch has an article on ESPN.com that I agree with. I especially like this passage:

If money really ruled, we'd like to know why the Twins -- who were on the verge of being vaporized by Bud Selig -- are crushing the White Sox and the Indians in the AL Central Division. And why, if cash is king, are the Rangers dead last in the West with a $100 million payroll?

Oakland's success in particular proves that it's aggressive scouting and smart trades that lift franchises, not just money. True, the Yankees had the resources to sign expensive free agents like Jason Giambi and Mike Mussina in the last two years -- and Steinbrenner didn't blink in adding Jeff Weaver and Raul Mondesi in a five-day span -- but the Yankees' core is the product of old-fashioned hard work by their scouts and minor-league managers.

Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams were scouted, drafted and developed by the Yankees themselves. They weren't bought or bartered or acquired in any high-priced trade.

And he gets a good shot in at Selig and the rest of the owners:

Yet, the Yankees suffer the slings and arrows of league-wide outrage, and the club's hierarchy is united in the belief that Selig and his top lieutenant Sandy Alderson are out to get them. Perhaps Steinbrenner would be more popular if he behaved like Rangers' owner Tom Hicks, a buffoon who signed Alex Rodriguez to a $252 million contract, then has the audacity to call for economic reform.

Hard-liners nod in agreement with Hicks, yet enjoy an enduring private laugh at how fast A-Rod's money took the Rangers to the cellar. Nothing bothers Selig more than watching the Yankees win the pennant every year, and for this, Steinbrenner has been banished from the community of owners during the recent labor negotiation.

But, really, what law have the Yankees broken? Steinbrenner is merely repairing the damage the organization suffered between 1982-1995 -- a 14-year dark age during which his team failed to make it to the World Series once.

Strangely, no one had a problem with the Yankees then. And all the while in the '90s, no one seemed to mind the Braves' mastery of the National League.

There's good reason for that, since the Braves prevailed with hard work and intelligent planning. The Yankees spend more than the Braves, but these two organizations operate on a common, iron-credo: players, not money, deliver you into October's embrace.

If you don't believe that, ask the A's.

Better yet, ask the Rangers.

Klapisch does write for a northern NJ paper, so take what he says with a grain of salt, but I like his arguments. I've thought since the 1994 strike that lower payroll teams would eventually find a way to win in this environment. Yes, it takes more work, but it can be done. Revenue sharing, or (as I like to think of it) paying for an opponent to play, will help even things out. But you still have to have the smarts to draft the right players, sign the right free agents, and make deals that help your team.

My friend Andres took some digital photos of the game last night. Here are some that he thought were the best.

My family walking to Fenway. My wife is in the pink shirt, I'm in the blue Oxford, and my daughter is holding my hand.

A view of the Green Moster. Notice they have added advertising to the net above it.

My wife, daughter and nephew in the stands.

A view of the field as we left in the 8th.

I went with friends and family to the Red Sox game last night. My first time at Fenway this year (although I tried to see two other games and failed). The game had everything; two homers by Manny Ramirez, great defense (Floyd and Palmeiro), bad defense (four errors by the Red Sox) some clutch and not-so clutch pitching. I'm afraid John Burkett may be done. I didn't see a pitch over 85 MPH, and the Angels just kept laying the bat on the ball and dropping singles into the outfield. We didn't stay to the end; it takes a while to get home from Fenway, so we left after the Angels scored 4 in the 8th. Of course, we missed the big comeback.

The Red Sox are now 3 games behind Seattle for the wild card, and an interesting scenario has developed, which is one of the negatives about the wild card race. At this point, the wild card will come from the East or the West in the AL. If the wild card is from the west, the Yankees will likely play that team. If it's the Red Sox, the Yankees would probably play the Twins. Now, Minnesota fans may disagree with me, but I'd rather play the Twins in the first round than any of the Western teams that might make the playoffs. So there is a small incentive for the Yankees to lose to the Red Sox. Yankees have a 7 game lead. They could lose 4 out of 5 to the Red Sox, and with their easy schedule the rest of the way and still coast to the AL East crown. This would help the Red Sox win the WC, as the Western teams get to beat each other up down the stretch.

I don't think the Yankees would do this, but the fact that we might even talk about this shows a big weakness of the wild card.

MLB is broadcasting live video of the Rangers-Yankees game today at 1 PM. It's free, and if it works, I assume someday soon you'll be able to see any game in the country over the internet, just as you can listen to any game now. It's good to see MLB embracing the internet. Maybe they learned from their mistakes of avoiding regular radio and television broadcasts when those technologies were new.

but I thought I'd log in to see what was happening in the baseball world. A three way tie in the AL West makes that look like the most exciting race out there. Mets have lost 10 in a row, 6 by 2 runs or less. The DBacks just keep getting better. And the owners and players keep talking. It'll go down to the wire, but the fact that the two sides continue to talk continues to be encouraging to me.

Back next week.

I'm off for a week, so blogging will most likely be non-existent. Check out the other blogs linked on the right for some good commentary. Let's hope for labor progress.

Robin Ventura just hit his 18th road HR off John Halama. That ties him with Giambi for most road HR in the AL. Soriano is third with17.

Ichiro just robbed Jeter of an opposite field HR. Great catch.

The Pirates have now lost 7 in a row, and have been outscored 60-29 in that span. Ten of the runs allowed have been unearned. The DBacks, on the other hand, have only allowed 2 unearned runs in the month of August.

It's the bottom of the 9th, the Mets are down 1 run, Gagne's on the mound, and Alomar and Piazza are on the bench. Valentine lets Ordonez bat. What is he thinking? The announcers are speculating that it's because Rey has two hits tonight. Well, he just weakly tapped back to Gagne, who threw him out. Bad move, Bobby.

Torii Hunter scores in the 5th on a failed DP attempt by the Red Sox. Pedro's streak ends at 35 innings.

Pedro Martinez has not allowed a run in 31 consecutive innings entering tonight. Here's a few stats for him during the streak:

Pitcher                  IP  Op. BA   AB    H   BB    K

Martinez, Pedro        31.0   0.110  100   11    3   38

Not bad. He's throwing a 1 hitter through 4 tonight without a run, and now has struck out 7 in a row.

Of course, Joe Mays has not allowed a hit through 4. Great pitcher's duel.

What an impressive season. 250 K, 19 walks. 19 HR allowed, but 13 of them are solo. A 2.69 ERA, and his home field is a pitcher's park. Schilling and Johnson may be the greatest old duo of all time.

Schilling and Johnson have combined to strike out 501 batters this year. If you look at the top two K pitchers on all clubs, the next closest combination is the Cubs with 307 by Clement and Wood. The best combinations since 1900:

Team            Year    K     Pitchers

Diamondbacks    2001  665     Johnson & Schilling

Angels          1973  624     Ryan & Singer

Dodgers         1965  592     Koufax & Drysdale

Angels          1976  588     Ryan & Tanana

Dodgers         1963  557     Koufax & Drysdale

I don't think they'll pass last year's mark, but they should move well into the top 5. Koufax was 29 and Drysdale 28 in 1965. Johnson is 38, Schilling 35.

This is an exchange I had with David Schoenfield of ESPN.com about the front page graphic announcing the strike:

From: David F. Pinto
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 2:20 PM
To: Schoenfield, David
Subject: Baseball Bomb

David,

Sorry to have to say this, but I think the picture of the baseball bomb on the front page of ESPN.com is in really poor taste, and I've said so in my blog.

David

From: Schoenfield, David
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 2:48 PM
To: David F. Pinto
Subject: RE: Baseball Bomb

I would ask, however, what is in poor taste about it? Because of 9/11? The feeling here is it presents a powerful and accurate statement about a potential strike -- which has absolutely nothing to do with 9/11

From: David F. Pinto
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 2:53 PM
To: Schoenfield, David
Subject: RE: Baseball Bomb

Yes, because of 9/11 and because of all the terrorist bombings that have been taking place. Baseball players are not terrorists. There are a lot of negative things you can say about the owners and players (and ESPN has), but putting them in the same class as bomb wielding terrorists is not appropriate or fair.

David

From: Schoenfield, David
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 3:00 PM
To: David F. Pinto
Subject: RE: Baseball Bomb

You're reading too much into the graphic ... baseball has nothing to do with war or terrorists or 9/11 ... but a strike that could blow up the season is a possibility, thus a powerful and accurate graphic

From: David F. Pinto
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 3:04 PM
To: Schoenfield, David
Subject: RE: Baseball Bomb

Normally I would agree with you, but these are not normal times. An empty stadium shrouded in black might be more appropriate. Besides, a strike destroying baseball is not a forgone conclusion. It's survived 8 other work stoppages. I seem to remember during most of those people saying the fans will never come back.

What killed baseball for a lot of people in 1994 was the loss of the World Series, not the loss of some games during the season. A short strike will do little to hurt the game in my opinion. Baseball does not end if the players walk out on Aug. 30. It will end if they are not back in time for the playoffs.

David

From: Schoenfield, David
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 3:08 PM
To: David F. Pinto
Subject: RE: Baseball Bomb

well, in the graphic, the baseball isn't lit yet, so it's not really saying the season will be destroyed (but has the potential, which is obviously true)

as a colleage of mine writes:

It's a media-blamed 'negative' spin, because a strike date has been set and the two sides are WAY apart on the central issue? Hardly. And notice, the fuse isn't lit on the picture. If Aug. 30 comes and goes and they find a way to keep playing, the FAKE BASEBALL won't blow up.

Comparing the fake baseball to exploding humans is quite a leap.

No matter how much one loves baseball, if this season isn't completed, believe me, it's no spin to make things negative.

(me)

Anyway, I appreciate the email. We had a discussion here and everyone is in agreement to stick with it.

From: David F. Pinto
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 3:14 PM
To: Schoenfield, David
Subject: RE: Baseball Bomb

Okay, thanks for listening.

Sides are not that far apart on the central issues, as Jayson Stark and Dave Campbell point out. Most of the articles that I have read on ESPN.com in the last couple of weeks were good news with negative headlines. (You can look through my blogs for the comments.)

Take care,

David

P.S. Do you mind if I publish this exchange?

From: Schoenfield, David
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 3:18 PM
To: David F. Pinto
Subject: RE: Baseball Bomb

sure, go ahead and publish the exchange

not sure how much good news there has been ... good news is coming to a deal and they've had two years to make one (the original CBA ran out last year) and have failed to do so ...

From: David F. Pinto
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 3:23 PM
To: 'Schoenfield, David'
Subject: RE: Baseball Bomb

Thanks. I thought the movement on drug testing was good news. I thought the movement on the luxury tax, world wide draft and other small issues were good things. And the fact that neither side was calling the other a liar was very good news. Compared to previous years, this is a lovefest. :-)

Negotiations tend to go down to the wire, so each side can try to get its best deal. Up to now, there hasn't been a wire. Putting up one is good news. It means we'll know in two weeks if owners are serious about getting a deal.

David

I enjoyed working for David Schoenfield last year, and I enjoy his columns on ESPN. Although I wouldn't have used that graphic, I'm glad ESPN.com has discussed its merits, and were happy to explain their views on the subject.

Jayson Stark has a good Q & A on the strike issues. As he presents it, the likelihood of a strike is lower than the headlines would have you believe. I like this summary:

In the end, the man who will most determine the fate of this dispute is (who else?) the commish. It's up to Bud Selig to step up, quiet the hawks, come to the table personally and make a compromise deal that gives his side at least some of everything it wanted -- a tax, historic levels of revenue sharing and steroid-testing.

This is no time to get greedy and push for a deal that can't be made. This is a time for baseball to get its act together, prove it can address its problems without a war and get to work on selling its beauty instead of bemoaning its warts. Let's hope that between now and Aug. 30, everybody sees it that way.

I sometimes get the feeling that Bud doesn't want a deal. He really wants an impasse so that he can impose his own system. I think the next two weeks will tell us if that is really true.

ESPN.com is reporting a strike date has been set (but not announced) with a very poor front page graphic. We're at war, and they're drawing a baseball as a bomb being lit by a hand. Please.

In the actual article, there is an interesting sidebar, detailing the previous work stoppages. I handn't realized that only three of them resulted in lost games. Seems like 1/2 of the stoppages occured during spring training, and we still got a full season in. One mid-season strike was 2 days and resulted in no games lost. Just goes to show how things in baseball are spun as negatively as possible by the media.

I think the strike deadline is a good thing. Now we'll know who's really serious about getting a deal done.

I'm old enough to remember when Doonesbury was actually funny. I followed a link to its web site today, and saw they had a search function that allows you look for old strips. I typed in "funny strips," and this is what I found. It's worse than I thought.

My post on the batting out of order problem on the 14th in Anaheim was not correct. It's a confusing situation, but I believe now that Mike's Baseball Rant gets it right, and that the protest would have been upheld if the Angels had lost. However, I don't understand why Inge was announced in the third. Truby should have led off the third.

Michael Jordan writes (no, not that Michael Jordan):

I have to admit that I do not side with either the owners or the players in the current debates. Not because I see either as foes, but because I dont know enough about the situation to create any strong opinion (other than a strike would be worse than a nuisance). Besides, Im awfully young for that kind of presumption.

Recently, though, I have come to find myself falling more often on the side of the players (which, believe it or not, has little to do with the feirce reign of heir Selig). My reasoning is, basically, legal transgressions, and Steroid accusations asside, aren't the players the real asset? Aside from the fans and 5 dollar hotdogs, it's the players that make the game. ARod is being payed an outrageous amount, but would I feel like watching Bud Selig play shortstop for Milwaukee as Rodriguez does in Texas?

It seems to me that most people who are "outraged" by the players pay are mostly jealous. It seems like they want to whine like first graders, "it's not fair". Well, it's not fair that a lot of the richest people in the world get paid to delegate responsibilities, and at least the players have to do something relatively physical (although David Wells still pisses me off for some reason). I wonder how many antiplayer times claim to believe in free market economy.

Besides, if more team executives were smarter about running they're franchises, they wouldn't have to cough up that kind of money (cough, let Eruebial Durazo play, cough, don't pay for 800 year old Mark Grace). There is a lot more I could say, but it's late, and Im tired, and Im sure you don't have a lot of interest in the rantings of crazy college students on the email rampage.

Thanks
Michael C "Yes That's My Real Name" Jordan

I'm interested in rantings of anybody. I like this particular one. As I believe I've written here before, there are lots of ways to compete. The Twins and A's have shown how you can do it while keeping payrolls low. Now, neither of those teams are likely to establish dynasties, but you only have to be real good every few years to keep the fans interested. And if you draft the right kind of players (batters who get on base and pitchers who strike out a lot of batters), you'll probably never be really bad. So I'm really tired of the argument that "we can't compete without more money." Sure there should be more revenue sharing, because it's fair. But it shouldn't be punititive.

There's another point here that addresses the Yankees specifically. I think a lot of the jealousy comes from the Yankees success over the last few years. But I believe that it helps more than hurts MLB to have a strong franchise in at least one big market. The Yankees being good help generate revenue for all teams; national television contracts are worth more if the Yankees are good, because the Yankees bring in larger television audiences. Secondly, it's good because non-Yankee fans love it when the Yankees get beat. You would have thought the Red Sox won the WS last year given the celebrations that went on here at UMass. So constraining teams like the Yankees (or the Dodgers or the Red Sox or the Braves) may hurt in the long run.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall of the conference call today.

With his HR today, Sosa has tied McGwire for the most HR over a five season span. McGwire had 284 between 1995 and 1999. Sosa has that total since 1998, with a month and a half to go. Looks like he'll shatter that record.

Now that the Mets have lost 5 in a row and traded Estes, it looks like they've given up. Which of course means they'll go on a 10 game winning streak, get back in the wild card race, and have to trade for a starter at the waiver deadline. :-)

Jayson Stark characterizes yesterday's labor talks as more than a bump in the road.

But no matter how philosophical the owners' lead negotiator, Rob Manfred, tried to be afterward, this sure felt like more than a "bump in the road" on the way to peace, tranquility and a world without work stoppages. If this was a bump, Mount Kilimanjaro is just another mound of dirt.

The problem with this article is that it seems to be a lot of conjecture. He's reading things into the look on people's faces without getting a quote from any of them. Maybe he has some sources talking on background, but I don't see that indicated. In other words, this isn't a news story. It's Jayson doing drawing conclusions based on his experience.

ESPN's headlines on these negotiations have been much more negative than the articles themselves. It almost seems they want a strike, so they can write stories about the evil owners and players. Setting a strike date isn't a negative, and never has been a negative. If the owners are really serious about getting a deal, a strike date will force them to show that. This will be an interesting 24 hours.

I posted, but didn't know they weren't going through. My ISP is putting in new hardware. Posts should be fine from now on.

As much as I criticized the Royals for laziness on Tuesday, Sweeney was right on the ball last night. Pettitte was not paying attention to him on third (rightly so, I might add), and the big slugger took off for home and was successful. I love it when players size up a situation, notice they can exploit the unexpected, and execute. I remember a game in the late 80's when the Red Sox backup catcher was up in extra innings with two out and the bases loaded. The infield was back, and he dropped a bunt for a base hit that drove in the winning run. We need to see more exciting baseball like that.

Interesting story in the Tigers-Angels game last night. Detroit batted out of order, in fact, they skipped the #9 hitter in the second inning. Because of that, Higginson batted third instead of 4th and hit a HR. The Angels didn't say anything about it until the inning was over. Scioscia protested because the umpires told Pujols who should bat next when he discovered the problem.

The rules on batting out of order are very clear. I had to program this into STATS data collection system. You can read them on this page at MLB.com. Scroll down to rule 6.07. I think Scioscia's protest came from the following:

The umpire shall not direct the attention of any person to the presence in the batter's box of an improper batter. This rule is designed to require constant vigilance by the players and managers of both teams.

But that's not what the umpire did, I believe. I believe the umpire clarified the rule for Pujols. Maybe they shouldn't have done that, but it's probably okay. My guess is Scioscia knew right away that someone had batted out of order. At that point, he had the choice of pointing out the error, which would bring the #9 hitter to the plate, or igorning it unless the improper batter did something good. Scioscia opted for the latter, but it backfired. Lucky for him, the Angels came back and won the game.

Update: I read the article on this incorrectly. Go here for my correction.

Livan Hernandez just got the first triple of his career. That gives him more this season than Andruw Jones. :-)

I think this gets it right. :-)

I just saw Bernie Williams hit a ball over the head of Carlos Beltran of the Royals. What was interesting was Beltran's reaction to the ball. He started back slowly, then just gave up and played the carom. Ken Singleton doesn't think he could have caught it, but I thought if he had broken fast when the ball hit the bat and ran all out he might have made a fantastic play. Certainly, it seems worth a try.

The KC fans picked up on that, I think. They were booing. The Royals are a bad team. Nothing wrong with that, it happens. But if you're bad, you at least have to try hard, and the Royals in that inning didn't look like they trying.

Another positive story with a negative spin at the end, of course. The players made an offer, and the union countered. I take it that means that the union asked for something much less than 50%, or much higher than $98 million, and instead of the owners telling them to get lost, they made a counter offer. Which means the owners have probably come off their original proposal on the tax. This is big and positive, much more so than the story lets on. I'm starting to get optimistic that a deal will be worked out by the end of the week.

I wonder if there is any political pressure on both sides? Bush was an owner, and with Sept. 11 coming up, he (or his political advisers) won't want a lot of negatives things happening at that time. A baseball strike would be a huge negative. I haven't heard anything, but I wouldn't be surprised if some phone calls have been made to Fehr and Selig.

Once again, the news gets more encouraging. The players did not set a strike date today, but will talk again on Friday, at which time I think we'll either have an agreement or a strike date will be set.

It's clear that the players know setting a strike date will be perceived as a big negative, even though it's not. What they are basically doing, I believe, is making the setting of the strike date the deadline for negotiations. That could be dangerous, since management might not look upon it that way, but it's the right PR move to make. I hope this progress keeps up, and that the media stops spinning these talks so negatively.

Scott Rolen is finally having a big game for the Cardinals. He has a single, triple and HR now. They are in the sixth and winning, so we'll see if he gets a chance to hit for the cycle. John Mabry was the last Cardinal to hit for the cycle, on May 18, 1996. Ray Lankford was the last Cardinal to do it at home, on Sept. 15, 1991.

Jarrod Washburn is another pitcher whose great season is being overshadowed by Pedro Martinez. Pedro and Lowe at this time are so far ahead of everyone else, it's hard to see another getting the Cy Young award. But there is the possibility that the Red Sox fail to make the playoffs, while the Angels gain the division or the Wild Card. I personally think that winning the division shouldn't count, but the voters might give an edge to Washburn in that case. Maybe Washburn will match up against Pedro when the teams meet at Fenway in a couple of weeks.

Has McGriff helped Sosa? Crime Dog has had a pretty typical McGriff year; he's slugging .500, hitting for a decent average and getting on-base. Despite all this protection, Sosa's averages are down from last year. Sosa's having a great year, but last year Cubs fans talked a lot about how Sosa deserved the MVP because he didn't have a good team around him. Well, he has a really lousy team around him this year, but he has a great hitter behind him now. It just keeps making me think that the person behind you doesn't make all that much difference. It's much more important to have people on-base in front of you.

I'm not a big fan of the wild card. I understand that as you expand the league, you need to bring more teams into the playoffs to keep fans interested. But I have a hard time getting excited about 2nd rate teams competeing for the playoffs. I really liked it better when two great teams would face off in a division, winner take all. Now if the Yankees and Red Sox are great, or the Dodgers and Giants are great, or the Cubs and Cardinals are great, they both simply make the playoffs. We're never going to have 1978 or 1993 again. I wish there was a way to go to eight divisions, so you have to win a division to make the playoffs. Then, you can still have the tragedy of a great team losing.

If last night were any indication, the playoffs this year should be pretty exciting. Oakland, Minnesota, Atlanta and Arizona all beat playoff hopefuls in 1-run games. Bonds hit #600. And the Expos are now 4-0 vs. the Brewers this year, with a 1.71 ERA against them. Too bad Bud's crew can't beat a team that's going to disappear. :-)

Just looking at the starting lineup for the Padres. The starting CF and catcher both have lower BA's than the pitcher (Tomko).

And the CF is leading off.

Harbor Yard in Bridgeport is a nice ballpark. Hasn't quite revitalized downtown Bridgeport yet, but it's nice to see the city doing something right for a change.

The game was okay. These teams have a lot of cast offs; players who made it to the high minors, but never advanced beyond that. They are not talented, but they played hard. The Metro-North and Amtrak trains rolled by beyond the outfield wall, and the Port Jefferson Ferry sailed in and out of the harbor. The weather was perfect. If you are in the area, I'd recommed a visit to the park. (They also play major league lacrosse there.)

Defensive Efficiency is my favorite team defensive stat. The Yankees have been getting progressively worse as the year has gone on:

Month       DER

April      .726

May        .710

June       .669

July       .647

Aug.       .698

There was an article recently in the NY Times touting Jeter for the Gold Glove. Rob Neyer does a good job of debunking this column, but I think the above numbers help. If Jeter is getting better, and the shortstop contributes a lot to defense, why are the Yankees getting worse.

Over the last couple of years, there have been times where I thought the Yankees were very lackluster on defense; times they looked asleep, or just weren't concentrating. An example of this was Rivera complaining that Brosius didn't make a double play in the 9th inning of game 7 on the 2nd bunt of the inning. Jeter's defense may not be very good, but the rest of the team isn't stellar, either. Luckily, they make up for it with pitchers who strikeout batters and the best offense in baseball. If one of those should falter (as Mussina's K's have done this year), the defense could cost them.

I'm off to see the Bridgeport Bluefish game. They are an independent minor league team. I hope to write about the experience tomorrow.

Kerry Wood just put on a clinic on how to pitch to Bonds. Throw some heat, then break a curve ball over the outside corner to strike him out.

Tony Womack just broke up Maddux's no-hitter with a bunt single to lead off the fourth. Do you think Brenly will chew Womack out and complain to the press about it?

I have Atlanta-Arizona on the TV with the sound turned down, and the Cubs-Giants on the internet broadcast. Maddux has a no-hitter, and Bonds is going for 600. Could be a repeat of Henderson setting the steal record and Ryan throwing a no-hitter. I hope ESPN has the split screen ready if Maddux is going for the last out while Bonds is up. :-)

On 7/20, the Red Sox had a 1 1/2 game lead on the Angels and the A's for the wild card. With the loss to the A's tonight, they are now in third place in the wild card race. Last year they fell from a much higher perch, but they were racked by injuries. This year they don't have an excuse. They are 8-10 from 7/20 on, and have given up 9 or more runs 6 times. They are 2-5 vs. NY, Anaheim and Oakland in that stretch.

This AP story on ESPN.com continues the good news in the labor negotiations. The players have put forth a proposal for drug testing. Owners will counter, but Rob Manfred thought the proposal was "significant."

Progress continues to be made, however slowly. But that's okay. The sides are drawing closer. And the more things they settle, the harder it will be to walk away from a deal when there is one thing (like the luxury tax) left on the table. I get more hopeful everyday.

Just ran wins shares. Tejada is now 2nd in the AL, trailing only A-Rod 23.0 to 26.6. Garciaparra is at 19.1 and Jeter at 18.6. However, I wonder how many people would guess that Vizquel is ahead of both Jeter and Garciaparra, at 19.9! So the Jeter detractors have something to hang their hats on, although I would point out that Jeter is better than any shortstop in the NL.

Neil Hayes on MSNBC thinks Bonds' durability will be his greatest leagacy. I don't know, I think Aaron's durability was as good as Bonds, and we remember Aaron for the great all-around player he was. I think Bonds' ability to get on base, hit with power, speed and defense are all more important than his durability. The durability doesn't make him great, it just let's him set records. He was a great player and sure Hall of Famer before any of us thought he had a real shot at the HR record.

What's really interesting in that article are the sidebars MSNBC inserted showing Babe Ruth with 715 HR. It's there twice; once in the poll, and once in a graphic on "Next Milestones." I'm going to write them and tell them, but that's something that's hard to get wrong.

I'm trying to decide if we are making a big enough deal about Bonds' 600th HR, or not a big enough deal. For example, I don't remember a big media push when Mays or Aaron hit number 600, but there was a big media push when Aaron broke the ML record. In that B.E. time (Before ESPN), NBC cut into every AB until Aaron hit the record breaker. I'm sure ESPN will do that tonight for Bonds.

However, why should they be cutting in? Why not bring the game to the whole country? They have Atlanta-Arizona scheduled as the national game. While that game involves two better teams, it's not all that meaningful in terms of the pennant races, since both have large division leads. The Giants are in a much tighter race for the wild card. And I, for one, would like to see the game unfold, rather than just cut in whenever Bonds comes to bat. I think in this situation, ESPN should ask SF and Chicago to waive their local rights, and bring that game to the whole country.

This is the third time in my lifetime that someone has hit 600 HR. Let's make a big deal about it. Let's see the greatest player of his generation, possibly ever, do it. And let's see all the drama and excitement that goes with it, not just 4 or 5 AB.

I'm watching Mussina get hit hard again. Ibanez just got his 4th hit off Mike, 3 singles and a triple. When Ibanez got his 4th hit, Jim Kaat commented that Mussina threw a good pitch, but Ibanez looked like he knew what was coming. Kaat didn't follow up on that, but I wonder if Mussina is tipping his pitches? His walk total is very low. Has anyone noticed Mussina doing anything that would tip off batters?

News on the labor front continues to be encouraging. I particularly like this bit of lawyer speak:

Owners want to increase the percentage of shared locally generated revenue from 20 to 50 percent. The sides differ on both dollars and structure.

"We have gone days where we have not moved in the wrong direction in this topic. I really do believe this topic is resolvable," Manfred said, adding that there was plenty of "middle ground."

This is great. Instead of saying, "There have been days where we moved in the wrong direction on this topic," he puts a positive spin on it by framing it in the negative. If the owners really wanted an impasse, I don't think you'd be hearing the above from their lawyers.

Aaron's Baseball Blog does a good job of bashing Bud over his remarks about the Twins still being a candidate for contraction. I saw that yesterday and started laughing. But I couldn't bring myself to write another entry about how Bud has:

1. No credibility.


2. No clue.

But that's the nice thing about the blogsphere, there's always someone to pick up the slack.

Lots of blog entries about Prior going 135 pitches. Al's Ramblings has a take, as does baseballjunkie.net. Mangers should really know better by now. Looking at his game log, Prior didn't even have an extra-day of rest. He threw that many after throwing 115 pitches in his previous start, and had 4 days of rest.

Update: Blue Jays Baseballalso has comments on Prior.

Only Baseball Matters has a number of good takes on JT Snow's offense. There do seem to be a lot of poor hitting first basemen around the game the last couple of years.

Starting Tuesday night in Phoenix, the Braves meet the Diamondbacks in what could be a preview of the NLCS. Since the all-star break, the DBacks have won 18 (18-7), the Braves 17 (17-6), the most wins in the NL over that time.

The Braves pitching is probably the best it's been since they've started their winning run in 1991. Coming into today, they had a .85 lead in ERA (2.90 to the Giants 3.75). That would be the largest major league lead in the modern era (1901-on).

The Braves starters are once again leading the majors in ERA. This would be the 11th consecutive year that they've done that. I could check this back to 1980, and obviously no one is close. As in 1993, they are leading the majors in both starters and relief ERA. Again, since 1980, they are the only team to do that, in 1993. In the past, the bullpen has been considered a weak point, but with Smoltz anchoring the bullpen, they've been very tough. Smoltz is ahead of Thigpen in terms of saves and save percentage at the same point in the season.

Offensively, the Braves are middle of the pack (8th in runs/game). This is actually impressive, since Chipper is having a bit of an off year with his power (although I'd take his season anytime). But when you are great at one thing (pitching in this case), being mediocre at the other is good enough to win. Too often in the last few years the Braves offense was bad, and that cost them in the playoffs.

The Diamondbacks have the best offense in the league (1st in runs/game). Well, overall they do. They are 4th in runs/game on the road, so I'm not sure they are really the best, but they are very good. (Braves lead in ERA both at home and on the road). So it's a nice matchup; good hitting vs. good pitching. Looks like the Braves have an advantage in the head-to-head in this series; Schilling goes against Millwood on Tuesday, but Maddux vs. Helling on Wednesday and Glavine vs. Anderson on Thursday. Not too many teams have started lefties against the Braves. Last I looked, the Braves had only seen 16 left-handed starters this year, the lowest in the majors. Should be an exciting series. October in August.

Dan Lewis points out that Alfonso Soriano may have a chance at the doubles record. I think it's a little early to be making this call, but it's something we can watch.

Perez lined out, so 6 K in a row for Johnson.

People new to baseball don't distinguish a hit ball from a base hit. So they think a no-hitter is one in which no batter puts the bat on the ball. Johnson still has his no-hitter, but someone has indeed hit the ball. :-)

Duckworth also struck out the first six batters today, but the 7th got a hit. Big Unit just got the first hit of the day in his game.

Johnson has now struck out the first six batters. If you'd like to see consecutive strikeout records, you can find them here. Interestingly, Tom Seaver also holds the consecutive K record, when he K'd 10 in a row on 4/22/1970. Maybe Johnson will pass two Seaver records today!

Do you think Randy Johnson wants to pass Tom Seaver in Shea Stadium today? So far, he's K'd the first 5 batters. He needs 14 to pass Seaver today for 5th on the all-time strikeout list.

With his 30th HR yesterday, Bonds has 11 straight seasons of 30 HR. Only Jimmy Foxx had more consecutive seasons, with 12. Gehrig, Mathews and Schmidt each had 9 straight seasons. The most Ruth had was 8, and the most Aaron had was 7.

Yankees at Angels, tied 5-5 in the top of the 12th. Bases loaded, 2 out. Soriano hits a slow roller to 2nd, Kennedy scoops to Spiezio, but Soriano beats it out. Spiezio can't believe it, and is lying on the ground arguing with the ump while Posada comes around from 2nd with a 2nd run on the play. The replay shows Soriano was safe. Big mistake by Spiezio.

Ray Anselmo has done the Favorite Toy doubles research:

I've been reading with interest the current discussion regarding doubles, and you mentioned that "when I get a chance, I'll have to use the Favorite Toy to see who has a shot at the record." Well, maybe I can save you some time - a few weeks ago, I worked up Favorite Toy percentages for several categories, including doubles. Here's what I came up with - the percentage chances are as of the beginning of the 2002 season ...

Chances at 500 doubles:

Roberto Alomar - 97.0% (highest possible % in the FT system)

Barry Bonds - 97.0%

Rafael Palmeiro - 97.0%

Jeff Bagwell - 84.7%

Todd Helton - 73.9%

Craig Biggio - 68.7%

Frank Thomas - 55.4%

Alex Rodriguez - 50.4%

Carlos Delgado - 46.5%

Shawn Green - 45.2%

Chipper Jones - 32.1%

Derek Jeter - 28.5%

Jason Giambi - 27.8%

Ken Griffey Jr. - 25.4%

Larry Walker - 16.5%

Sammy Sosa - 13.7%

Jim Thome - 9.2%


Chances at 600 doubles:

Todd Helton - 43.5%

Roberto Alomar - 36.5%

Alex Rodriguez - 23.2%

Jeff Bagwell - 19.3%

Carlos Delgado - 19.3%

Shawn Green - 18.9%

Frank Thomas - 10.8%

Chipper Jones - 9.5%

Derek Jeter - 9.4%

Jason Giambi - 6.9%

Rafael Palmeiro - 0.1%

Chances at 700 doubles:

Todd Helton - 25.2%

Alex Rodriguez - 7.8%

Carlos Delgado - 4.1%

Shawn Green - 3.9%

Roberto Alomar - 2.4%

Chances at 793 doubles:

Todd Helton - 13.6%

I will admit, I didn't include Nomar Garciaparra's numbers, as I figured his 2001 season (or lack thereof) would skew the numbers too drastically downward. If you rate him on his 1998-2000 totals instead of 1999-2001, he has a 3.5% shot at 793, 13.1% at 700, 28.1% at 600 and 52.4% at 500. But other than Nomah, Helton is the only one with a real chance at Speaker's record. It makes sense, since with the possible exception of Fenway, no other park today is so built for doubles hitting as the spacious (and elevated) confines of Coors Field.

Thanks very much, Ray. Todd Helton makes a lot of sense.

Digressions on Baseball by Misha Berkowitz is another blog on baseball. I just think this is so great that so many fans are writing down their thoughts on the game. Keep the blogs coming!

Two readers wrote about my post on doubles yesterday. Mike Hansen writes:

One of the larger reasons for the increase in home runs and the decrease in doubles is the change in the design of current ballparks. Most newer parks are smaller, leading to more homeruns. The corollary to that is that there's less space in the outfield, allowing each outfielder to cover more territory and get to ball in the gaps relatively quicker. The other change is the movement away from Astroturf fields, which gives the ball some more speed as it comes off the field and increases the chance that the ball will get by the outfield. Those are the two more reasons that doubles are down and homeruns are up by current ballplayers.

And Dave Wareham concurs:

I think the main reason why there aren't that many doubles is that modern stadia are for the most part smaller than the ones they've replaced. Other possible factors that spring to mind are the come back that natural grass has made in the last few years (less hard grounders shooting though on astro turf) and the fact that modern fielders are stronger and faster than fielders used to be and so they get the ball back into the infield faster than fielders used to do.

Good points. It should be noted, however, that all-times doubles record should be considered soft. As Bill James points out in his 1983 Abstract, in an essay entitled, "Records In Progress," you can tell if a record is soft by looking at current outstanding performace, and asking how many seasons that would take to break the record. If it's less than 18, it's soft. If it's less than 15, it's very soft. ML leaders in doubles have averaged 54 doubles the last 8 full seasons (I throw out 1994 here, but the ML leader had 45 at the strike, so 54 is a reasonable number for the leader that year as well). Fifty-four doubles would break the record in 14.7 seasons. So the record is on the verge of being very soft. I expect players to start moving up the all-time doubles list quickly in the next few years. When I get a chance, I'll have to use the favorite toy to see who has a shot at the record.

Mike Hansen has also started a blog, Blue Jays Baseball. Enjoy.

I was just looking at the top 100 lists for home runs and doubles. There are currently 21 active players in the top 100 all-time, 3 in the top 20, with Barry Bonds heading the list 4th overall. There are only 10 active players in the top 100 in doubles, however. None are in the top 20 (Palmeiro ranks 32nd, the leader among active players). This strikes me as a bit odd, although it probably shouldn't. I would think that with the increase in HR power would come a proportional increase in doubles power. Hitting the ball hard a long way would lead to more long hits in general, in my opinion. I guess the HR hitters tend to hit fly balls instead of line drives, and they are probably a bit slower. I guess Tris Speaker's career record of 792 doubles will be safe for a while.

Despite the negative spin I've seen in a lot of stories about the labor negotiations, each piece I read tends to reinforce my belief that there will not be a strike. This article is especially bright, although I tend not to trust unnamed sources. Remember, however, that setting a strike date is not always a negative thing. Deadlines often force both sides to get things done.

We have another entry to the baseball blogsphere. Aaron Gleeman is writing Aaron's Baseball Blog. Check it out.

Reader Erik Siegrist takes me to task for not taking another reader to task:

I'm surprised you didn't take that Steve Salhany letter apart; the Yankees gave up some significant players in the Weaver deal (arguably their two best prospects in Griffin and Arnold, plus a talented young lefty starter), and neither Mondesi nor Weaver is a big upgrade, or in Mondy's case any upgrade, statistically over the players they replace (the Vander Wal/Spenser platoon, or Lilly/El Duque). And wasn't some guy named Bonds a free agent last year too?

If someone wants to hate the Yankees, more power to them, but there's plenty to dislike about them without plucking made-up facts out of thin air. Sigh- 'objectivity and reasonable thought' are so hard to find these days.

Erik Siegrist
Rotowire.com Beat Writer

Erik points out in a subsequent letter that he should not have used the word statistically, since he didn't actually do statistical research. That's okay, we get the point.

I feel I had made my points on this subject clear before, so I really didn't feel like I had to take the letter apart, it was a legitimate rant. And the nice thing about a blog like this where I get so many reposnses, is that someone else (like Erik here) will keep the discussion going.

Erik also points to this column by Joe Sheehan at Baseball Prospectus, that come to the same conclusion that Rob Neyer, Michael Kay and myself came to; something is fishy here. I especially like Joe's look at attendance:

It's as if Selig didn't realize what might happen if he allowed Minaya to make the deals. Since the acquisitions of Floyd and Colon, the Expos had broken 10,000 in attendance in 11 of 13 home games, something they'd done just eight times all season before the trades. Oh, hell, let's run a chart:

                     Average Att.      Median Att.

Expos, Not Trying        8,429            6,091

Expos, Trying           14,064           13,402

The trades seemed to prove what we've been saying all along, that fans will come see a team--in any market, in any stadium--that has success, and more importantly, that shows a commitment to winning. On a typical July night, twice as many people came to see the Expos as did before the team made a significant move that signaled that the team was trying to win.

It's like Selig said, "OK, you can do this so I can say that Montreal is a dead issue," and when it wasn't a dead issue, made sure that he stopped the momentum.

Please read Look for the Union Label by Dan Lewis on National Review Online. I agree with every iota of this article. Here are the first two paragraphs:

The Major League Baseball players union began in 1966 when their first executive director, Marvin Miller, was recruited by pitcher (and now Hall of Famer) Robin Roberts. In his book, A Whole Different Ball Game, Miller recounts an early admission by Roberts: the idea of a union wasn't a very popular one, even among the players, for political reasons. Writes Miller, quoting Roberts, "Most players are conservative. They don't know anything about unions. In fact, to many, especially guys from small towns down south, 'union' is a dirty word."

And yes, baseball's union battles look like many others: the big, fat-cat bosses versus the union on which their trade relies. In just about any other case, you'd be able to side "living wage" activists and liberals with the union, and conservatives and free marketeers with the owners in their fight against overpaying for labor. But baseball's union isn't like most others. Regardless of reflexive ideological corners, in baseball, the players — and the union — are the allies of capitalism.

I think all labor unions should be like the MLBPA. Negotiate benefits, set general salary rules, but otherwise let workers salary and tenure be determined by their productivity, rather than salary rules that reward longevity and maintaining the status quo. Be free market.

Texas has scored 18 runs in 5 innings against the Red Sox tonight, after their 17 run outburst vs. the Yankees last night. Carl Everett has 2 HR and 7 RBI tonight. I don't suppose he's gloating. :-)

Schilling lost to the Expos 2-1 tonight. He gave up the winning run with 1 out in the 9th. That pretty much finishes his chances of winning 30.

Zachary D Manprin has started a blog blog on the Oakland Athletics. This is the fourth or fifth blog that a reader has started. It's lots of fun, a great way to vent your feeling about baseball, or any subject of interest. Give it a try.

A reader points out the problem with the Michael Kay column I cited last night:

I would imagine that you would know that columns by people that write for the YES network, like Michael Kay, are not to be trusted when looking for objectivity and reasonable thought. The Yankees are pissed that the Expos traded Floyd to the Sox? Good. The Yankees have already made out like bandits in their acquisitions of Jeff Weaver and Mondesi, giving up pretty much nothing in return (OK, Ted Lilly, but the upgrade the Yankees got is significant). The Yankees also signed THE premier available free agent last winter. How much is enough for these people?

The arrogance of the Yankees and their owner/narcissist and his sycophantic lackies in the media knows no bounds.

Steve Salhany

Steve, the fact that they are never satisfied is why they win all the time. If more owners were like that, baseball would be a lot more competitive. You have a good point about the Yankees complaining about this deal, but it's still fishy.

Frank Mannino sent me this e-mail today:

I was recently thinking that people are often criticizing teams like the Yankees for their outreagous payrolls, however, I have never heard (and this doesn't mean its never been said before) that New York has a much higher cost of living than the rest of the country. A team like Texas or Atlanta doesn't seem to have that high of a payroll, but a million dollars there is worth more than in New York or Boston. I found the team salaries from ESPN's website and a cost of living calculator from :
http://www.datamasters.com/

I then did some quick calculations and re-ranked the salaries (rounded to the nearest million)
Texas - 144
Arizona - 134
Atlanta - 119
Yankees - 109
Boston - 108
St Louis - 99
Seatlle - 95
Cleveland - 95
Cubs - 90
Houston - 86
Mets - 82
Baltimore - 81
Los Angelos - 78
Colorado - 71
White Sox - 68
Detroit - 65
Philadelphia - 64
Kansas City - 62
Milwaukee - 60
Cincinnati - 60
San Francisco - 59
Florida - 53
Anaheim - 51
Pittsburgh - 50
Minnesota - 49
Tampa Bay - 45
San Diego - 35
Oakland - 30

I know these numbers aren't going to be exact, but why isn't this done more often?
By the way, the website had no data on toronto or montreal. And I averaged New York's value between Westchester, Manhattan and Long Island, since the value for just Manhattan is so extreme.
What do you think?

Thanks, Frank that's an interesting analysis. Sometimes you hear about a player being bid on by two teams, and he goes for the lower figure, because due to taxes and other costs, he actually makes more money. One problem with this analysis is that ballplayers don't always live where they play, and when they are on the road, they are taken care of pretty well. But it's true in general that the same job in NY pays more money than other places, because it does cost a lot more to live there.

The other interesting thing is that it sort of blows away the idea that the low payroll teams can't compete. There are three teams in the bottom six on this list that are in contention for the playoffs.

I've had a couple of people point out to me that Pedro Martinez should be pitcher of the month.

                ERA  W  L Sv SvOp  G GS CG    IP   H   R  ER HR TBB IBB SO

April          3.38  3  0  0    0  5  5  0  29.1  17  14  11  0   7  0  32

May            2.58  4  0  0    0  6  6  0  38.1  34  15  11  3  10  0  48

June           3.34  2  2  0    0  5  5  1  35.0  29  13  13  6   4  1  39

July           0.64  5  0  0    0  6  6  0  42.1  22   5   3  0   9  0  59

I didn't look at anyone else last night, sorry. Makes you feel bad for Rodrigo Lopez, however. He puts up a great month, but Pedro's out there looking ten times better.