Yankees 7, O's 1: The thing about talent is...

by SC on Apr 21, 2008 2:10 AM EDT

Taking two out of three from a team that is expected, at season's end, to be 25-30 games better than the O's is quite OK by me. I just can't bring myself to get negative about today. The Yankees have five or six times the amount of pure talent and ability on their 25-man roster. It's going to happen.

If it continued to happen one out of every three times, we're probably going to the playoffs.

Steve Trachsel, following what will probably end up being one of his best starts of the season (one that resulted in a loss), summed it up best: "We took the series from them. We're happy with that."

Amen, brother. I firmly subscribe to the belief that you're going to win about 60 and lose about 60, and you have 40 or so games that define how good you really are.

One thing that does concern me is George Sherrill's second crappy outing in three appearances. I'm not big on early season ERAs for relievers (or for anyone in most cases), but he's up over six now. "Shutdown" Sherrill may be a mirage. Like, look:

Giambi (LH) strikes out
Cabrera (SH-R) walks
Moeller (RH) singles
Damon (LH) walks
Jeter (RH) plates everyone with a double
Abreu (LH) strikes out
Hey, go get Sarfate.

Kind of looks like what happens when you throw a lefty specialist into full-time duty. I know Sherrill got righties out last year. For his career, that is just not quite the case. LOOGYs have value, and it's certainly worth trying Sherrill as the closer. But if you're surprised at any point that he fails, don't curse his name. He's had exactly one season where he's shown the ability to really get right-handed batters out in his pro career. It wouldn't really be his fault; it would be the Orioles taking a perfectly reasonable chance on a guy and it not working out.

Let's go back to Trachsel, though. Can Steve Trachsel be considered a gamer? Pitchers rarely get this, unless they're closers like Troy Percival, but I think Steve might be worthy. True, he struck out five and walked three on Sunday, a feat about as rare as Brandon Fahey's two-hit bonanza on Saturday, and he pitched fairly legitimately well from the box score look of things (I missed most of the game), but let's talk about his gamer credentials.

He pitches awfully, walks too many, doesn't strike anyone out, throws crap up there, and yet he keeps getting by without turning into one of the absolute worst pitchers in baseball. This shows an ability to "make the most out what talents he has" -- check!
He's white. Generally speaking, this is a prerequisite to being a "gamer."
He has, in fact, been to the playoffs. Check! (We'll ignore that it was one time, and that his performance once there was, ohhh, a little less than stellar.)
He wants his team to win and tries his best to make that happen. I think this is true of all baseball players, really, but the more sports opinion articles I read, the less it seems this is the case. Check!
He inspires people to, I dunno, do stuff? Check? I guess?
He's not particularly handsome. And he always makes that face when he's pitching. The same face. That's consistency. Check.
Consistency. Check.
When the chips were down the other night because Dave Trembley decided to pull the DH instead of the four or five other things he could have done, Steve Trachsel was in the cage taking cuts in case he had to hit. Going the extra mile! Check!

Yeah, I think it's settled. Though he rarely gets his dirty jersey, being an American League pitcher, I believe Steve Trachsel is a Gamer.

Nick Markakis walked three times. Lazy jerkoff.

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Traschel

is most definitely a gamer.

"We might as well just win this game." -Adam Jones

by exitfare on Apr 21, 2008 7:21 AM EDT 0 recs

I was gonna say

that you can’t be “lazy” for taking too many walks if you’re white, but then I thought of Adam Dunn and the well-documented irrational hatred of his skill set.

by pipkin on Apr 21, 2008 7:42 AM EDT 0 recs

trax and "that face"

it really looks like every pitch is going to be his last.

sort of on this line of thought, i was watching a bit of mets-phils the other day and old man moyer really looks like toast. TOTAL gamer…and winningest pitcher in m’s history.

"Well, I've been to one world fair, a picnic, and a rodeo, and that's the stupidest thing I ever heard come over a set of earphones."

by j.q. higgins on Apr 21, 2008 9:04 AM EDT 0 recs

yeah

Moyer looks cooked. Which will happen when you’re nearing 50.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 21, 2008 9:07 AM EDT up 0 recs

holy smokes!

he’ll be 46 this year? time to learn the knuckler!

"Well, I've been to one world fair, a picnic, and a rodeo, and that's the stupidest thing I ever heard come over a set of earphones."

by j.q. higgins on Apr 21, 2008 10:07 AM EDT up 0 recs

He can throw it at the kids who won't get off his lawn.

MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC

by spike2131 on Apr 21, 2008 10:28 AM EDT up 0 recs

those situations are reserved...

for his new found ability to shake his fist w/ the best of them!

"Well, I've been to one world fair, a picnic, and a rodeo, and that's the stupidest thing I ever heard come over a set of earphones."

by j.q. higgins on Apr 21, 2008 11:05 AM EDT up 0 recs

Sherrill

There’s something to be said, or at least is being said, about a closers mentality when they’re out there and its not a save situation. Special closers are able to dial it up when ever they’re thrown out there, others need it to be a save situation or they look like they’re just not in the right mind set.

Its weird to see.

by Dr Orpheus on Apr 21, 2008 10:24 AM EDT 0 recs

from what i can tell

sherril gets a lot of “contact outs” ... his success depends on the ball falling into the gloves of his fielers… outfielders, usually. I think what happened here was that the ball was landing on the grass instead.

by Y Not on Apr 21, 2008 2:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

I hear about this a lot...

But have never seen conclusive statistical proof that it’s actually true. Nor do I really believe it. Some closers are just better than others. These are the ones that seem to be better in non-save situations.

Just like “clutch hitters” are good hitters performing to their own means. Their means just happen to be good.

by pipkin on Apr 21, 2008 9:07 PM EDT up 0 recs