The Baseball Talmud

The Baseball Talmud: Live Readings/Signings (New! 2010 dates added!)

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:09:00 +0000

A constantly updated list! If you have any suggested places for readings, please e-mail me at hmegdal@yahoo.com.

2010 SIGNINGS
Thursday, January 7, 2010 Ohev Shalom, 6:00 p.m., Richboro, PA
Sunday, March 7, 2010, Main Line Reform Temple, 9:00 a.m., Wynnewood, PA
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Temple Israel, 7:00 p.m., Westport, CT

2009 SIGNINGS
Friday April 3, 7 p.m., Palisades Center Barnes and Noble, West Nyack, NY
Sunday April 5, 2 p.m. Borders, Ramsey, NJ
Tuesday April 7, 7 p.m. Suffern Free Library, Suffern, NY
Thursday April 16, 7 p.m., Book Revue, Huntington, NY
Wednesday April 22, 7 p.m., Cherry Hill Library, Cherry Hill, NJ
Sunday April 26, 9 a.m. Temple Beth Torah, Nyack, NY
Tuesday April 28, 7 p.m., BU Hillel House, 213 Bay State Rd., Boston, MA
Saturday May 2, 3 p.m. Merritt Books, Red Hook (Dutchess County), NY
Monday May 4, 7 p.m., JCC Rockland, West Nyack, NY
Tuesday, May 5, 7 p.m., Barnes and Noble, Colonie, NY
Wednesday, May 13, 7:30 p.m., Barnes and Noble, Marlton, NJ
Saturday May 16, 2 p.m. Borders, Marlton, NJ
Sunday May 17, 9 a.m. Temple Emanuel, Cherry Hill, NJ
Thursday May 28, 7 p.m., Barnes and Noble, Cherry Hill, NJ
Wednesday June 3, 8 p.m., Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday June 10, 8:15 p.m., Merrick Jewish Centre, 225 Fox Blvd., Merrick, NY
Saturday June 13, 2 p.m. Borders, Ramsey, NJ
Sunday June 14, 2 p.m., Pawling Book Cove, Pawling, NY
Tuesday June 23 8 p.m. Columbus Jewish Historical Society, Columbus, OH
Wednesday June 24, 7 p.m. Barnes and Noble, Columbus, OH
Tuesday July 7, 6 p.m., Brooklyn Cyclones Jewish Heritage Night, Keyspan Park, Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday July 8, 6 p.m., Trenton Thunder Jewish Heritage Night, Mercer County Waterfront Park, Trenton, NJ
Thursday July 23, 7:30 p.m. Freiberg JCC, Oceanside, NY
Tuesday, August 4, 7:00 p.m., Newton Free Library, Newton, MA
Thursday, August 20, 6:00 p.m., Phillies Jewish Heritage Night, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Wednesday, September 9, 7:30 p.m., Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Sunday, September 13, 8:30 a.m., Westchester Jewish Center, Mamaroneck, NY
Sunday, October 18, 9:15 a.m., Temple Beth Shalom, Cherry Hill, NJ
Tuesday, October 27, 6:00 p.m., University of Delaware Hillel, Newark, DE
Wednesday, November 11, 7:00 p.m., Cherry Hill Book Festival, Cherry Hill, NJ
Sunday, November 22, 9:00 a.m., Temple Adath Emanu-el, Mt. Laurel, NJ

Make Jewish History!

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:55:00 +0000

Heading out to Brooklyn soon (come see me at Keyspan Park tonight, or Mercer County Stadium in Trenton tomorrow night!), but I would be remiss if I didn't post this shofar call from Ron Kaplan:

Getting Out the Vote for Kinsler

We have a chance for an All Star Game just six Jews short of a minyan. Let's make it happen. Voting concludes Thursday, so hurry!

Interview with Melanie Greenberg

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:26:00 +0000

While most people know Hank Greenberg as the best Jewish hitter in baseball history (and I have him number one overall), his major accomplishment may well be his granddaughter, the writer Melanie Greenberg. Melanie recently joined SNY's blog network with her entry, Struck Out Looking, an informed, witty take on the world of baseball. She was gracious enough to discuss her work, and her grandfather, via e-mail.

1. Tell me a bit about how you came to write Struck Out Looking, along with its fantastic predecessor, You Suck Coco Crisp.

I started You Suck Coco Crisp on a whim, more or less. Most of the energy that I was expending on writing was going into my novel, and I wanted a forum where I could just mess around -- say whatever I felt like. It happened to be baseball season, so that's what was on my mind. "You Suck Coco Crisp" has been a long standing joke amongst my friends, and that was how how I went about selecting the blog name. I go into that in my inaugural entry. I think that choosing that particular name was part of what shaped a lot of my recurring themes -- particularly having fun with names and wordplay. As for Struck Out Looking, it's more or less the same content, but since SNY is hosting it now, I try to keep it more narrowly focused on sports. I also try to keep it a little less rambly. As it happened, the day after I came to an informal agreement with SNY, Coco was traded to the Royals, so I was able to justify the name change in a way that didn't make me feel like a corporate sellout.

2. Your dogs are named Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto and Rookie. Why the impersonal third name- wouldn't it have been more appropriate to go with a particularly impressive Yankee rookie- say Joe DiMaggio, 1936 or Shelley Duncan, 2007?

I felt like it was important that the selection process not be arbitrary. Strange as it may sound, in one way or another, Yogi and Phil both remind me of the players for which they're named. When I first met Rookie, the only player she really called to mind was Thurman Munson. That just didn't seem like a workable dog name. Of course, now that I know her better, I think she has a little bit of the Chuck Knoblauch afraid to throw the ball thing going on. She's a little bit of a headcase. In any event, the name Rookie is actually less impersonal than it seems. I grew up with a dog named Rookie. My godparents then named their dog Rookie after my parents' dog. So, as it happens, my Rookie is actually carrying the meshpucha torch on this one.

3. Do you look at the old picture of your grandfather in the Yankee uniform- the one that allegedly got him traded by the Tigers- and think about what could have been?

Sure, I have definitely indulged the fantasy. However, it's a fantasy that involves me in the dugout working in a consultative capacity with Joe Torre (the eternal Yankees manager) and having thanksgiving every year with Bernie Williams, so it's probably not particularly realistic.

That said, given the chance, I wouldn't rewrite history if i could. For starters, from a purely practical perspective, Yankee Stadium was a graveyard for right-handed hitters in those days. Still is -- but back then, it was even worse. Who knows what that would have meant for his career as a slugger? Plus, I think in a funny way, he was able to have a bigger impact on both the game and the Jewish community as a player in Detroit. It's true that a career in New York would have probably afforded him more long lasting celebrity. But I think that by going to a smaller city that was hit so hard by the Depression and playing for a ball club that was pretty down and out, he was better able to establish a presence and make people aware of him. Not to mention that Detroit was a much bigger hotbed of anti-Semitism than New York. My grandfather never decided to become a ballplayer in order to fight a political fight, though unwittingly, that's what ended up happening. Being in Detroit put him on the frontlines of that fight.

4. There's been tremendous scholarship done on your grandfather, particularly the Aviva Kempner film. What do you think is the biggest thing the study of him has missed so far?

The first thing that comes to my mind is that there's not a lot of scholarship out there on his personal life. In particular, people rarely write anything on the twenty-five years he spent with his second wife, m step-grandmother, Mary Jo Greenberg. This can probably be attributed to the fact that he was a private person. As far as his career is concerned, there is very little out there about his time as a baseball executive. In addition to being the first Jewish GM in baseball for the Cleveland Indians, he was also part owner of both the Indians and White Sox along with the legendary Bill Veeck.

5. Can you imagine what kind of reaction a legit Jewish star would get here in New York?

I think if you could get a Derek Jeter caliber star, who was either a nice, single boy (e.g. not making Page Six on a biweekly basis for being out at all hours every night with a different starlet) or a family guy with good values, and he was openly Jewish playing for a New York team, people would go crazy.

But I do think that he would have to meet both of those qualifications in order to evoke any kind of real large-scale excitement.

6. Tell me about the novel you are working on- when will the public get a chance to read it?

The book is actually based loosely on my own experience in Cambodia, back in the days when I thought I wanted to go into human rights law. The characters and storyline are very much fictional, however. Essentially, it's about a volunteer who goes to Cambodia all starry-eyed and with the idea in mind that she's going to change the world. As the book unfolds, she discovers that an unfortunate number of the non-profit agencies in the region are almost absurdly ineffective and incapable of navigating the cultural landmines. It's both a coming-of-age and a bit of a satirical look at Western non-profits.

As for when the public will get to read it? You're probably in just about as good of a position to answer that question as I am. I've learned through this process that writing a novel is not actually nearly as challenging as publishing one. I am in the middle of a rewrite at the moment, after which point, I am going to renew my efforts to find an agent. This theoretical agent will try to find me a theoretical publisher, who, if I'm lucky, from what I hear, will have the book on the shelves about 18 months later. So, all told, I think we're talking best-case scenario about three years from now.

7. What is your foremost writing goal over the next five years?

Publish the aforementioned novel -- and then never look at it again.

Odds and Ends

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:28:00 +0000

A few quick notes:

The good people at Baseball Prospectus assure me that their 2009 PECOTA projection calling for reduced power from Kevin Youkilis is about the fact that a larger-than-expected number of his fly balls left the park last season--not anti-Semitism. I guess I believe Steve Goldman and Kevin Goldstein... Christina Kahrl and Cliff Corcoran, too.

The general consensus of four very smart baseball people, incidentally, was that Ryan Braun is by far the best Jewish player today. I brought up his awful third base defense, and Goldstein made a great point, that with Braun, as with many players, his bat was major league ready before his glove was.

In all seriousness, go see the Prospectus team anywhere you can-worth your time.

I also see that John Grabow will be playing for Team USA, giving the Stars and Stripes a third Jewish representative to go with Youkilis and Braun.

Later this week, I'll be running down the fantasy prospects in Jewish baseball-who to draft among the Chosen People and when.

Madoff and Koufax

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Sad news, with the release of information that Sandy Koufax was among those who lost money in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme.
It makes sense-Koufax and Fred Wilpon, the owner of the Mets, are friends going back to childhood, and we know Wilpon lost hundreds of millions.
Remember, Koufax retired after the 1966 season, about a decade before free agency. So it isn't as if he made millions of dollars playing baseball. Let's hope he didn't have all his eggs in the Madoff basket.

David Newhan: Back to the Astros?

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:58:00 +0000

For those of you who like your Jews with a dash of Jesus, Messianic Jew David Newhan has a standing invite to come back to to spring training and battle for a reserve infield spot.

Newhan, the son of sportswriting legend Ross Newhan, was a delight to deal with when I had the chance during his tenure with the Mets. And unlike his time in New York, Newhan even hit a little with the Astros, posting a reasonable line of .260/.297/.404.

His whole career has been an unlikely one. And I'd imagine some will say he doesn't belong in my book. But he was Bar Mitzvahed, and considers himself Jewish. I will leave it to others to say who is and isn't a Member of the Tribe. (The Indians, incidentally, are one of the few teams he hasn't played for.)

Brad Ausmus: Modern-Day Moe Berg

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:59:00 +0000

No, he's not a spy (that I know of- though if I did, he'd be an awfully poor spy!)- but in the fact that Brad Ausmus continues to get work- a $1 million, one-year deal with the Dodgers after also being courted by the Padres.

And no, he's not getting paid for his offense- his line of .218/.303/.296 is unimpressive- but more so when you realize he put it up in Houston's Minute Maid Park, which had a park factor of 103 last year- hitter-friendly.

But like Berg, Ausmus is Ivy League-educated. And like Berg, teams believe it is helpful to have him around. Berg hit .243/.278/.299 for his career- and lasted 15 seasons.

Ausmus should get a fair amount of playing time- the Dodgers want to play Russell Martin at third base more to keep him fresher. It is a great landing spot for Ausmus.

Of particular note to Jewish fans- with 10 games played in 2009, Ausmus passes Buddy Myer for the all-time record in games played among Jewish players. Let's hope he has a Rickey Henderson moment where he holds up a Torah at second base and recites the Sh'ma.

The Jewish Greek God of Long-Term Contracts

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:22:00 +0000

Okay, perhaps not Zeus, more like the Department of the Interior God, but great news for Kevin Youkilis, who signed a four-year, $41 million contract that covers his final two arbitration-eligible seasons and two free-agent years.

Youkilis has developed into an all-star level player at first base- at third base, he'd be in Hall of Fame discussions, should he continue at this level offensively and defensively for another 5-6 years (though his last start hurts him in terms of career totals).

Regardless, he is certainly in the discussion with Ryan Braun and Ian Kinsler for best Jewish player in the game today.

Another Florida Jewish Transplant

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:08:00 +0000

The news came today that Gabe Kapler signed a one-year, $1 million deal to join the defending AL champion Tampa Bay Rays.

Kapler is a terrific signing for Tampa. He can fill all three outfield spots, which will help if B.J. Upton is slow to recover from offseason surgery, and he has the bat to play in the corners. His 2008 line was terrific--.301/.340/.498.

The projections system put his 2009 OPS at .759, .751, .746 and .775- Dan Szymborski's ZIPS, Bill James, CHONE and Marcel, respectively. This is very good for a fourth OF- and I suspect this is a softer prediction than many others, as the comps for players that took a year off, then resumed a career must be few and far between.

I am hopeful that there will be a fan group created at Tampa games called either "Kapler's Knishes", who will all dress up as enormous potato products, or "Kapler's Kvetchers", who will all dress up as my grandmother.

Marquis and Hirsh and Some Guys Who Go to Church

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Ah, the variation of the old "Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain" chant. But it is entirely possible- the Colorado Rockies, known just a few years ago as the Christian baseball team, will have a rotation next year that is 40% kosher following the acquisition of Jason Marquis from the Chicago Cubs, and the hopeful return to health by Jason Hirsh.

As a Mets fan, I was hoping the rumored deals sending Marquis home (he is a Staten Island native) would replenish the Semitic stock in Queens, with Scott Schoeneweis off to Arizona. Alas, it is not to be.

But the Rockies can easily become a favorite team for Jews, especially should Jason Hirsh regain form. Hirsh not only has the chance to become a tremendous pitcher, he is also the tallest pitcher in Jewish history, at 6'8".

Other things to watch for: Jason Marquis is a terrific hitter. What will the .206 hitter do in Coors Field? He hit 2 home runs last year-will 5 home runs be possible? Mike Hampton hit 7 in his first season in Colorado.

Most promising will be, of course, if both Marquis and Hirsh become the 1-2 punch for the Rockies. Here are some themed nicknames, to get the ball rolling ahead of time:

Yom Kippur for Hitters
The Mordecai and Esther of Denver
No Ham or Hits
The Two Answers
The Festival of Lights-Out

Feel free to add your own to the mix!

Jewish Baseball on Christmas! Because all the stores are closed.

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:12:00 +0000

Fans, here are some links to enjoy before you head off to the Chinese restaurant and a movie.

At the indispensable Kaplan's Korner, Ron Kaplan of the New Jersey Jewish News details what some "Jewish Sports Personalities" wanted for Hannukah. It was an honor to participate!

Seriously, though- bookmark this site. Endless enjoyment.

Jews in Baseball has a compiled list of most total bases by a Jewish hitter, season-by-season.
I think it is worth noting that 4 of the top 11 were by Shawn Green- he was a far better player than he gets credit for, thanks to that early decline.

The site editor, Josh Borenstein, also has a piece on Bob Melvin, Jewish manager, though as I said to Josh, his religion is Jew-be-determined.

And here's a piece about one of my favorite Jewish players ever, Andy Cohen, by a terrific writer, Irwin Cohen.

Last but not least, you couldn't have Christmas without a video tribute to Brad Ausmus, could you? I didn't think so.

Now let's go have a terrific fifth night of Hanukkah!

Jewish Baseball Everywhere!

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:05:00 +0000

Peter Gammons checks in with Kevin Youkilis, regular guy:

"One can argue just as long about who was the Red Sox's MVP, Dustin Pedroia or Kevin Youkilis. When it came to Pedroia's payday, he needed no record deal. What he wanted was to play where he started, with a team that is competitive, in a city where people love baseball, and where he walks a couple of blocks every day from his condominium to Fenway Park. Youkilis may soon follow in signing a long-term deal because he wants to stay where he has become such a devoted contributor to the city's social issues."

Ron Kaplan checks in on Jewish players sponsored at the indispensable Baseball-Reference.com.

And Josh Borenstein continues the Jewish baseball boomlet with his site, Jews in Baseball.

Quiet Year in Jewish Free Agency

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:52:00 +0000

So as many of you know, the biggest prizes in this year's free agency sweepstakes aren't Jewish. (No, despite his size, CC Sabathia didn't have a Jewish mother urging him to eat.) But there are two major league Jewish free agents to watch with the Winter Meetings around the corner.

The first is Brad Ausmus, the veteran catcher, who has indicated that he doesn't want to return for a 17th season if he isn't on the west coast. That works for the San Diego Padres, who, according to the USA Today, are interested in Ausmus as a backup to Nick Hundley.

Ausmus hasn't been a prolific offensive player, in the sense that Sarah Palin hasn't been a whiz on foreign geography or turkey-killing optics. His OPS+ numbers since 2001: 57, 74, 55, 63, 80, 54, 68, 60. Even his raw totals aren't greatly inflated by Houston's home park: just .218/.303/.296 in 2008. But in San Diego? I shudder to think what those numbers would look like in 2009. Still, Ausmus is a terrific interview, and his grandfather was a rabbi. Let's hope he catches on.

The other Jewish free agent is Gabe Kapler, who had a fantastic season with Milwaukee before a September injury (listed by various outlets as a shoulder or upper back issue) ended his season. He finished with a season line of .301/.340/.498, and assuming he is healthy, can greatly help a team (Hello? New York Mets? This is the righty outfielder with power you need to spell Ryan Church).

Let's hope for a return to good health for Kapler, who showed skeptics he was right to end his one-year retirement.

Among the minor league Jewish free agents to watch, there's the star-crossed Adam Greenberg, who needs a break. Greenberg, remember, had just one major league plate appearance, got hit in the head, and never even made it to first base. He's like Moonlight Graham crossed with Jerry the Cat. He deserves another MLB plate appearance, ideally with Greg Maddux pitching.

2008 Jewish MVP

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:33:00 +0000

After a lot of back and forth in my mind- it's got to be Ryan Braun. A good case can be made for any of the top three. Here's my overall list*:

1. Ryan Braun
2. Kevin Youkilis
3. Ian Kinsler
4. Craig Breslow
5. Jason Marquis
6. Gabe Kapler
7. John Grabow
8. Scott Feldman
9. Scott Schoeneweis
10. Brad Ausmus

* List modified to include Jason Marquis- great catch by the esteemed Ron Kaplan.

That Darn Jew

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:27:00 +0000

It would have been Albert Brooks' sitcom, had his character in "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World" accepted al-Jazeera's offer.

Instead, for Mets fans, that was Ryan Braun all week, particularly Sunday, hitting game-winning home runs to help Milwaukee get past New York and into the playoffs.

Plenty of Jewish players in the postseason, and we'll have a Jewish playoff preview this week.

But worth noting- in what may be his final game, Brad Ausmus homered for the Astros. One of the better Jewish catchers ever. I hope he comes back.

A Plea for Adam Greenberg

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:34:00 +0000

Dear Los Angeles formerly California Angels now of Anaheim:

You have in your possession what would be one of the feel-good stories of the baseball season. At AA, you have outfielder Adam Greenberg.

Back in 2005, Greenberg was a prospect, and finally got his chance to come to the plate on July 9 against the Florida Marlins. But if Moonlight Graham was disappointed in never getting to the plate, he wouldn't trade places with Greenberg, who was hit in the head by the pitch. His 2005 season was history, and he has struggled to return to the major leagues ever since.

Now, according to my calculations, you have a 12 gazillion-game lead in the American League West, and are set to clinch the division in the next few minutes. You also have an expanded roster, and I see no reason why you shouldn't bring up Adam Greenberg, and give him a chance to live down his demons. He was not a spectacular AA player, but he held his own: .271/.347/.361. He suffered a hamstring injury on August 25, but he certainly should be healed prior to the end of the regular season. You could certainly do worse for a game.

And who knows- if Greenberg faces down his demons, he may just recover the form that made him a top prospect back in 2005. Do it for the 21st century Moonlight Graham. I have a feeling if you do, he will someday save your daughter from choking on a hot dog.

Regards,
Howard Megdal

The AL Batting Title and the Jewish People

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:22:00 +0000

Well, the news isn't good for the injured Ian Kinsler. What was initially diagnosed as a sore left groin now appears to be a sports hernia that will likely sideline Kinsler for the rest of the season.
While this is bad news for Kinsler, it may not be the worst news for him from the AL batting title standpoint. Here is how the race currently shapes up, through games of August 18:

Mauer .325
Pedroia .320
Kinsler .319
Youkilis .317
Bradley .316
Italics indicates Jewish player

But with more than the required 502 plate appearances, Kinsler is now locked in at .319. Mauer, the 2006 champion, is having a tremendous August, hitting .360 so far. But he has historically slowed down as the season progresses, unsurprising for a catcher. His .290 September average is the lowest of any of his career months.
Pedroia, meanwhile, has been hot for three months, hitting above .350 in June, July and August. But he hit just .276 last September.
Kinsler, by dint of injury, has also protected his batting average against a September slump. He is a career .276 September hitter- a month he will not have to factor into his batting average.
As for Kevin Youkilis, the active hope for Jewish batting title supremacy, he could hardly be having a better August, checking in at .368. But for Youkilis, it's a long, long way from great to September, with a career .221 mark. Just as his entire 2008 season has revised upwards what can reasonably be expected, Youkilis will have to greatly improve on his previous Septembers to win the batting title.
After all, we already know what Ian Kinsler will be batting at the end of September: .319.

Possible Jews to Watch: B.J. Rosenberg, Robert Roth

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:16:00 +0000

Thirteenth-round pick B.J. Rosenberg out of the University of Louisville has quickly put himself on the Phillies' prospect map with a dominating first professional performance.
The 22-year-old 6'2" righty has a microscopic 1.06 ERA in his first 17 innings with Williamsport of the New York-Penn League, striking out 29 and walking 8. He has allowed just one home run, and has six saves.
As for Robert Roth, the 2006 19th round pick by the Phillies, the recovery from labrum surgery that cost him all of 2007 appears to be coming along nicely. Now 19 years old, Roth has pitched to a 1.59 ERA in 45 2/3 innings over 7 starts, also for Williamsport. He's allowed just 12 walks, though the strikeout rate is not overwhelming- just 18. Still, the year after such surgery, health, rather than performance, is the primary concern, and he's answered the bell all year so far. A 1.59 ERA is just a bonus.
I will try to see them both in the coming weeks- unfortunately, he makes only one trip to Staten Island, and it isn't clear whether I'll be able to get there.
But to get a clear look at Rosenberg and Roth, let's vote him into the New York-Penn League All Star Game!
More on them both as I hear more-I currently have an e-mail into the Crosscutters. If I can get them, I will be posting interviews in the coming weeks.

I Just Can't Quit You, Scott Feldman!

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:50:00 +0000

The Texas Rangers, who have developed more pitchers over the past 10 years than virtually anyone, not including all other major league teams, converted Scott Feldman to a reliever at the All Star Break in order to reduce his innings total in 2008. He'd never thrown more than about 70 innings, and was at 100 innings this season, so already, there was a danger in pitching him beyond where he is.
Then an injury occured, and Feldman filled in on July 21, going six innings against the White Sox. And when Kevin Millwood came out of Wednesday's game, guess who was tabbed to take his next start? That's right: Scott Feldman.
Makes sense, doesn't it? The Rangers are now just 10.5 games out of first place- ruining a middling arm that represents one of the few current Texas properties that could provide innings in 2009 and beyond to chase a highly improbaqble playoff berth- sign me up!
It's still not clear what Feldman will be. In his first season as a starter, his control has been decent- 39 walks in 93 2/3 innings- but the strikeout rate does not befit his 6'5", 210 lb. frame- 42 Ks. He's never been much of a strikeout pitcher, even as a reliever, so it's hard to say that will improve all that much.
Essentially, my guess is he can be a league-average innings eater. That certainly has value. Of course, that is if Texas doesn't run him into the ground, first.

Kevin Youkilis: The Greek God of Production

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:32:00 +0000

So Kevin Youkilis homered again last night. It's getting to the point where you'd have to say Youkilis has made a real jump in his performance. Considering that prior to 2008, he was still a very valuable offensive player, this represents a jump into baseball's elite. A 144 OPS+ and top-flight defense at first base is quite impressive.
Compare this to Hank Greenberg, and it still falls short, of course. Greenberg put up full-season OPS+ of 156, 169, 172, 169, 156, 163, and in his final year, 132 at first base. Now, his defensive reputation seems to indicate he wasn't in Youkilis' class as a fielder, which narrows the gap somewhat.
But to fall a bit short of Greenberg, whose production makes him an inner-circle Hall of Famer, even as the war kept his career totals from the lofty ones put up by, for instance, Lou Gehrig (who was so reluctant to fight in the war that he contracted his own disease back in 1939) is impressive.
The problem Youkilis has with Hall of Fame possibilities are two-fold- one, he doesn't seem like he'll put up the kind of 40-home run seasons that draw the attention of Hall voters for first basemen. Two, his late-career start-he didn't debut until age 25, and didn't start until age 27-makes it very difficult to pile up the kind of career stats looked for in lieu of a sustained period of absolute dominance.
If Youkilis has made the leap from 110 OPS+ player to 140 OPS+ player, he'll need to sustain that performance until roughly age-36 to merit Hall consideration. That would put him in the neighborhood of 2100 hits- figure a normal decline from there gets him to about 2500. Averaging 25-30 home runs from age 30-36, assuming 30 this year, gets him to between 220-250 home runs. But he'd end up with an OPS+ in the 125-130 range. Tony Perez is at 122. Eddie Murray was at 129. Add a run of gold gloves into the mix, and Youkilis is certainly in the discussion.
Clearly, this is a long shot. But for a player who looked to be a poor man's Dave Magadan, it's astounding how far he's come.

Ian Kinsler: Second to None

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:41:00 +0000

Mike Pindelski has a great piece establishing just how dominant Ian Kinsler has been this season.

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2008/7/15/571789/second-to-none-the-first-h

Just a brief, Jewish lens addition- Kinsler currently has na OPS+ of 152 in 2008. Buddy Myer, the best Jewish second baseman ever, had a season-high OPS+ of 138 in his career. So he's in pretty uncharted territory here.

Tonight: Ryan Braun in Home Run Derby

noreply@blogger.com (Howard A. Megdal) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:34:00 +0000

Get ready, Jewish baseball lovers! A prospective minyan member will be part of the minions aiming to win the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium tonight. Ryan Braun, the Jewish people wish you luck.
There has been a fair amount of complaining on the absence of big names in this year's derby, but between Braun, Evan Longoria, Grady Sizemore, Chase Utley, Josh Hamilton, etc., some of baseball's elite sluggers are participating in the event. In fact, in a relatively short time, these guys may be viewed as huge names- particularly Sizemore, who is leading the AL in homers, and Utley, who seems to be having the best year in the National League, period.
Braun can compete with any of them, though. He's having another monster year, and his career line, to date? .307/.349/.595. A .944 OPS, and he doesn't turn 25 until November 17! Ridiculous.