Fungos: The Greinke comment, the A’s going for it, and more…
By Gary Armida
It’s a guarantee that if you write about the Yankees, your site will have a high traffic day. Evidently, my musings about the consequences IF CC Sabathia doesn’t sign with the Yankees crashed the site for a while. When checking the FCP mailbox, there were eight emails stating that they could not respond to the article (the comments all seem to be working fine now). The debate on the site and in the emails were inspiring (I love being challenged, honestly I do-baseball should inspire debate) and ranged from questioning my baseball acumen to pontificating about how the Yankees may get what they deserve. There were a couple of comments from yesterday that I am going to address and then move on to our traditional Fungos column.
The first topic that is brought up quite a bit is Sabathia’s weight. As a rookie in 2001, he was officially listed at 250 pounds. This year, Sabathia listed his weight on his website at 290 pounds. Yes, he’s probably over 300 pounds in reality. But, is it that important for a pitcher? The fact is that nobody really knows the answer. Some heavy pitchers like David Wells have long and fruitful careers while others like a Bartolo Colon don’t. The only indisputable fact is that Sabathia has never had an arm injury and has proven durable. That cannot be disputed. Should his weight be a concern? Yes, but only if it prevents him from pitching well. Remember, he is not a hitter. The recent weight gain hasn’t really impacted him as he’s thrown 20 complete games over the last two seasons and pitched for the last month of 2008 on short rest.
Secondly, there was a line in the article regarding Zach Greinke when discussing possible trades with the Royals. I wrote, “…Greinke represents a talented, yet questionable starting pitcher who is just 24 years old and coming off of a 202.1 innings with an ERA of 3.47 season. Unlike Bedard, Greinke is not an ace, but he would be a solid fourth or fifth starter…”Ok, let’s attack this sentence. First, Greinke, as stated, is an immensely talented pitcher who I’ve seen pitch many times during his career (the MLB Extra Innings Package is tremendous). Greinke has ridiculously good control and seemingly found himself last season at the age of 24. He changes speeds very well and can, obviously, throw any of his pitches for strikes. His 3.47 ERA and 1.275 WHIP are good indicators of his outstanding season. But, at this point (perhaps that phrase should’ve have been in the article), he is definitely not an ace. There are a couple of reasons. One is the fact that this was his first above average season as a full-time starter. One does need to do that for at least a few seasons to be elevated to ace status. Secondly, and most importantly, is the fact that he pitches in Kansas City. As any knowledgeable baseball fan knows, there is a distinct difference pitching in a market like New York or Boston. Remember, Jeff Weaver was a hotshot young “ace” before posting a 5.99 ERA in New York. The list of Yankee failures on the mound is long. Additionally, one cannot ignore the fact that Greinke missed all of 2006 because of a social disorder. While he has seemingly overcome this (thankfully), an issue like that could be exacerbated in New York.
So, Greinke is talented and coulddevelop into an ace someday (maybe even in 2009). But, here’s the other indisputable fact-Sabathia already is an ace. He’s proven, he’s durable, and he’s just 28 years old, just four years Greinke’s senior. It is almost forgotten that Sabathia pitched for some lousy Indians’ teams during his first few seasons (his rookie year being the exception). Sabathia was still able to take the ball and perform well leading up to his prime. Perhaps Greinke can do that as well, but he hasn’t proven anything yet. People tend to forget that Brian Bannister posted a 3.87 ERA and a 1.212 WHIP in 2007 before failing in 2008. Greinke is much more talented, but he still has to prove it for more than just one season before even being considered a top of the rotation pitcher for a team with legitimate playoff aspirations. It also may be important to mention this line from the Greinke trade segment, “This trade seems highly unlikely, but the rumor is worth mentioning.”
So, there you have it…Zach Greinke is pretty good, but Sabathia is better at the moment and for the foreseeable future. As stated in the opening, debate in baseball is great so thank you to the four who posted comments and the eight emailers.
Now, let’s take a look at little (literally, there is little to no news at the moment, which is normal) news and rumors floating around the baseball world this Thanksgiving day…
- Billy Beane evidently thinks that the AL West is winnable. Rafael Furcal did come to visit Oakland this week and now it has been reported that Beane requested the medical records of Nick Johnson of the Nationals. Johnson may be Beane’s ideal hitter as Johnson is a tremendous OBP type guy. The problem, of course, is keeping him on the field. Beane must have a tremendous belief in his young pitchers as acquiring Holliday, negotiating with Furcal and now looking into Johnson is a healthy upgrade to a dormant, boring offensive attack. This marks the first time since the Hudson, Mulder, and Zito A’s that Beane is making an actual attempt to win. The Angels are the clear favorite at the moment, but if Beane is correct about the pitching, the A’s could be in contention deep into the season.
- The Dodgers seem to have an obsession with Jack Wilson who is once again on the trading block. However, it seems that talks have ended because of the unreasonable demands by the Pirates who were rumored to ask for Ching-Lung Hu and two other younger players. The Dodgers were smart to break off talks as Wilson has a career .312 on base percentage. The Dodgers need more help than that even in the unlikely scenario that Manny Ramirez re-signs.
- The Mets are finally beginning the process of negotiating with a closer. Nothing is going to get done soon, but the Mets had no choice but to set the market as everyone was waiting on them. Additionally, Francisco Rodriguez’s agent stated that he doesn’t expect K-Rod to have a contract before the winter meets. His presence as a free agent gives the meetings a bigger sense of urgency.
- Junichi Tazawa is getting an awful lot of attention lately. The Red Sox are reportedly the favorites to land the 22 year old. There are rumors that Tazawa will pitch in the minors because he is so raw. It is for the best, but owners who pay for a player often expect him to be on the field. Make no mistake, this is not a Dice-K, but it’s not a Kei Igawa either. Tazawa may be too young and inexperienced to be successul right away.
- The Phillies are rumored to be in on the Derek Lowe/ AJ Burnett sweepstakes. It could be pure rumors as the Phils should be working on replacing all of the offense they’ re losing. With Utley gone for 4 to 6 months and Pat Burell a free agent, the Phillies need a replacement.
- That’s really it for a Thanksgiving Day. We’ll see you back here tomorrow for another feature article to get you started on your weekend. Also, check out the Harry Doyle Page 2 page as Mr. Campione has a great piece about his Thanksgiving. Be sure to check it out.
