The Yankees beat the Phillies yesterday 12 - 0, with Chamberlain pitching 3 solid innings, and a host of relievers shutting down the Phillies for the remainder of the game. Igawa's line was identical to Chamberlain's and he has yet to allow a run in spring training. Perhaps the most suprising thing about the game is that the Yankees scored all those runs without a single homerun. That's right, the bombers did not hit a single round tripper as they scored 12 runs. Now some will blame this on the lack of PED's in baseball, and they're probably right. But it will be good for the Yankees to not rely on one big hit, and start relying on solid hitting up and down the lineup. Its going to be a different game with Alex out of the lineup. We won't have a 40 homerun guy around for April, and who knows how he'll do when he comes back.
I started thinking what old time baseball players would accomplish if there were steroids in their days. Could you imagine if Mickey Mantle had been on 'roids? He would have been knocking airplanes out of the sky. It then got me thinking about how baseball will look in the post-Mitchell report world. We've already seen its effects. Last season the AL leader in homeruns hit 37. In the National League, the guys who led in homeruns were big guys like Ryan Howard, Adam Dunn, and Carlos Delgado. I think we're not only going to be seeing a faster game, with stolen bases, and pesky base runners taking a more prominent role, we're also going to see more reliance on base hits to drive in runs, instead of the epic homers we've grown fond of in this era. Of course, I could be wrong. The years of the perennial 60 homerun hitters ended at the beginning of this decade, and in the last few years (Post 2004 testing), I can only think of a couple who have hit more than 50. But the Mitchell Report named names, and with the Alex revelation, anyone who used 'roid's has to be scared. If we don't see many homeruns, we shouldn't be too surprised. Either way, this season looks to be exciting for the Yankees. Is anyone else tired of spring training?
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19 comments:
It is a big deal from them to be able to score like this. They haven't be able to do it consistently in years. Looking forward to a great year!
I am definitely tired of spring training. I am ready for some real baseball! (No offense meant to the WBC. Go USA! I hope they limp their way to a meaningless title.)
WBC can be exciting, but all these spring training games are extremely dull. I know we're just 3 weeks away, but even still, I'm restless.
James B., I agree, if you look at the Yankees from '96 - '00, they really didn't rely on the long ball, and they won championships.
oh Fernando.
First: Tino Martinez had 44 HR in 1997.
Second: The 1998 Yankees had all nine starters and one reserve (Shane Spencer) in double-digits in HR. They hit 207 HR that year, which was fourth in the league. In 2000 they were 6th in the league. They were not a huge power team, but they hit their share of HR.
Also, didnt Dave Justice hit 20 HR in something crazy like 200 AB. They were mostly built on pitching, but they definately dropped some bombs.
Trig, welcome back.
My response to your points:
1997, Tino did hit 44 homeruns, but the next top power hitter hit 21. The team hit 161 total that season.
1998, the team leader in homeruns was Tino again, but with 28 homeruns.
2000, team leader is Bernie Williams with 30 homeruns.
From 1996 - 2000 we averaged about 186 homeruns a season. In the 5 year period between 2003-2007 we averaged 222 homeruns a season. This is what I mean by our reliance in recent years on the long ball.
haha, yeah, i know, I was just arguing for the sake of it. But they were among the leaders in OBP, so they werent exactly playing smallball.
Its fun to argue baseball!
I never said small ball, but I would argue that OBP is apart of small ball. What my point was is that they drove in a lot of runs using base hits, instead of the later teams that seemed to always be looking to take the ball out.
Yea... you prey for it all winter long, and now i am holdig my breath for opening day..ST is great and verything, but i am def ready for some games that count!
small ball is never part of OBP because you are using up outs. Unless you are Jacoby Ellsbury. Then you are a god among bunting for a base hit men.
shit! I'm being negative....ummmm...great work as always, guys! (seriously. I love the site, always makes me laugh.)
haha, caught myself. The new years reasolution lives!
The Yankees have lacked timely hitting over the last few years. This roster ought to be more consistent than it has been recently. The total runs scored may not be more or maybe fewer, but it looks like there will be less 1-2 run games. Combined with the improved pitching staff this team is built better for October.
Now Derek Jeter is going to Hollywood.
Thanks a lot, Mr. JC Romero. The MLB should have banned you for 10000 games instead of 50.
Never let people take your picture when you're drunk, Alex my dear.
And we love you Trig!
Jon, I totally agree. Last year we would see them struggle to score a couple runs per game, and then all of a sudden score 10 like its nothing. As you say, the balance of the lineup will hopefully end that.
Raven, I read that article. Alex just can't catch a publicity break.
Hey Fernando and Raven - who says Alex isn't catching a publicity break? Yeah, it's a stupid shot, but he looks smokin' H-O-T HOT!!! Nice arms Alex!!!
Yes, nice arms, Gaylex.
Sorry Tribegirl, I failed to notice that.
Let's watch the homophobia folks. Alex bashing is cool (sorry TribeGirl, and Alex who I know is reading this right now while kissing his faint reflection in his LCD laptop screen), gay bashing is not.
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