Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 11, 2013

It is time for the SUNDAY REQUEST on The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

@sullybaseball @JustBaseball25 2 more no one EVER questions are RYAN & RIPKEN! Both proved to be superhuman while playing. I question all.
— BiggsDaddyCool (@biggsdaddycool) August 10, 2013

It is a fair point. Who is off limits? And how healthy is being skeptical? Also a lot of hypocrites are in Yankee Stadium today.

Wilmer Flores, Jacoby Ellsbury, Nathan Eovaldi and Anibal Sanchez all owned baseball on August 10, 2013.


To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE. Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 11, 2013

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 10, 2013

How long can Joe Maddon keep Fernando Rodney in as the closer for the Rays?

 Not much longer if he actually wants to win the AL East this year!

That and more on today's episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

Paul Goldschmidt, Josh Reddick, Brandon Beachy and hard luck David Price all owned baseball on August 9, 2013.


To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE.
Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 10, 2013

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 7, 2013

As the topic of A-Rod persists, August 7 is the anniversary of Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's record and the birthday of Mike Trout. Those two events are oddly connected.

 I talk about Bonds and Trout on today's episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.


Andrew Albers, Eric Chavez, Mat Latos and Adam Jones all owned baseball on August 6, 2013.


To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE.
Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 7, 2013

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 6, 2013

Lisa Swan of Subway Squawkers joined The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast today to talk Biogenesis, A-Rod and Bud Selig.

She may be a Yankee fan and I may be a Red Sox fan, but we agree on a lot on this subject.



Zack Grienke, Brandon Belt, Jeremy Guthrie and Alex Avila (NOT Rodriguez) all owned baseball on August 5, 2013.


To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE
Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 6, 2013   Tweets by @sullybaseball

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 2, 2013

The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast is all about the Red Sox, A-Rod, Bud Selig and remembering Thurman Munson.

Daniel Nava, Justin Upton, Matt Cain and Yu Darvish all owned baseball on August 1, 2013.


To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE.
Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - August 2, 2013
     

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - July 5, 2013

Today  The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast, I honor Larry Doby, feel bad for A-Rod and break down M C Hammer's 2 Legit to Quit..

Just another typical podcast.

Wil Nieves, Adrian Beltre, Cole Hamels and Dan Straily all owned baseball on July 4, 2013.


To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE.

 Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

https://soundcloud.com/sullybaseballdaily/sully-baseball-daily-240

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - June 5, 2013

Today's edition of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast looks at the Biogenesis scandal that is rocking baseball.

And by "rocking baseball" I mean a "lame non story filled with stuff we already know.

Prince Fielder, David Phelps, Josh Collmenter and Yasiel Puig (second in as many games in the majors!) all owned baseball on June 4, 2013.

To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE.

Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - June 5, 2013

The Sully - Erin Foley Interviews

 I interviewed comedian Erin Foley at my home. We were supposed to get a podcast recorded in 20 minutes.

We talked for over an hour.

I split our discussion into two different Sully Baseball Daily Podcasts.

The first one, which was first posted on May 13, 2013, discusses our fandom for the Red Sox and Yankees.





The second one, first posted on May 15, 2013, Erin talks about attending the Aaron Boone game while I remembered going to the Bloody Sock game.





Erin is a great comic. Check out her schedule, clips and links at her OFFICIAL SITE.

For the record Clayton Kershaw, Mitch Moreland, Neil Walker and Matt Moore owned baseball on May 14, 2013.

To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE.

Subscribe on iTunes HERE.


 

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - May 8, 2013

The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast brings up the falling Angels again.

Mike Scioscia moves closer to his inevitable firing by the Angels and hiring by the Dodgers.

 Plus A-Rod is the Uncle you hate to see at a family picnic.

Scott Diamond, Matt Weiters, Shin-Soo Choo and of course Matt Harvey owned baseball on May 6, 2013.

To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE.

Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - May 8, 2013

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 31, 2013

This is the 100th Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
I talk a little A-Rod, a little Giants, a little Cardinals.

To subscribe to The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast, click here.
And leave a message, rating and review on iTunes.


Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 31, 2013

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 30, 2013

Today, I had WFAN's Jason Keidel on the podcast.
We talked about Alex Rodriguez, PED's, the Yankees and somehow started talking about Mel Gibson.

This was his most recent article on the subject.


  Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 30, 2013

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 29, 2013

Alex Rodriguez was using PEDS as a member of the New York Yankees.

Nobody is SURPRISED by this, are they?

I talk about that and others things on today's podcast.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 29, 2013
 

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 27, 2013

This old Sports Illustrated cover plays a big part in today's Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

Guess what? Alex Rodriguez is one year away from being the same age as these aging players were when they graced the cover of S.I.

And they weren't coming off of two hip surgeries.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 27, 2013

Barry Zito has more RBI this postseason than A-Rod

That's not an insult. That's just a fact.

In fact Barry Zito matched the RBI total for Alex Rodriguez's postseasons of 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2012 combined.

But that's not fair, because A-Rod did have a great 2009.

Let's write it differently.

Barry Zito matched the combined number of runs batted in hit by Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Alex Rodriguez, Russell Martin, Curtis Granderson, Eric Chavez and Robinson Cano in the ALCS.

Jeter as well, but he was hurt and is the captain and just finished turning water into wine.

Maybe the Yankees can try to acquire Zito and bat him 6th.

Why would the Marlins want A-Rod? A Bleacher Report Article

Keith Olbermann wrote on his baseball blog that the Yankees and Marlins are kicking around the idea of a trade. And it makes partial sense because A-Rod and the Yankees are heading for an inevitable messy divorce. But in my latest article for Bleacher Report I ask the question: Even if the Yankees paid most of the contract, why would the Marlins want him? You can read the whole article HERE.

These Reds and Yankee hitters were a swing away from being heroes

The Reds shockingly blew a 2-0 series lead where the Giants were on the ropes.
The Yankees almost as shockingly are playing for their lives in a Game Five this afternoon against Baltimore.

Both teams not only were in control but there were several moments where a single swing of the bat could have made an instant legend out of a player and send their team to the LCS.

A walk off home run would have clinched it. In a few cases, a home run would not have been necessary.

The Reds are going to be stewing over a very long winter wondering what could have been.
If the Yankees lose today, they will be tormented by missed opportunity after missed opportunity.

But we here at Sully Baseball don't just think about things like the players who could have clinched a playoff series with one swing.

We list them in alphabetical order (because some hitters had more than one shot!)

Reds hitters who could have clinched the Division Series with one swing

Jay Bruce

Game 5 Giants leading 6-4, one out, bottom 9 against Sergio Romo. Runners on first and second. Home run would have clinched the series.

Hit a fly ball to left field.

Ryan Hanigan.

Game 3 tied 1-1, one out, bottom 9 against Sergio Romo. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.

Hit a deep fly ball to center field that was caught.

Scott Rolen 

Game 3 tied 1-1, nobody out, bottom 9 against Sergio Romo. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.

Hit a deep foul ball that was caught in left field.

Game 5 Giants leading 6-4, two outs, bottom 9 against Sergio Romo. Runners on first and second. Home run would have clinched the series.

Struckout swinging.

Drew Stubbs

Game 3 tied 1-1, two outs, bottom 9 against Sergio Romo. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.

Hit a pop up to the second baseman.

Yankees hitters who could have clinched the Division Series with one swing

Robinson Cano

Game 4 tied 1-1, two outs, bottom 10 against Darren O'Day. Runner on first. Extra base hit would have clinched the series.

Popped up to shortstop.

Curtis Granderson
Game 4 tied 1-1, one out, bottom 9 against Darren O'Day. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.
Flew out to deep center field.

Game 4 tied 1-1, no outs, bottom 12 against Pedro Strop. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.

Struck out swinging, catcher to first after dropped ball.

Raul Ibanez
Game 4 tied 1-1, two outs, bottom 9 against Darren O'Day. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.
Grounded to first base.

Derek Jeter
Game 4 tied 1-1, no outs, bottom 10 against Darren O'Day. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.
Grounded to third base.

Game 4 tied 1-1, two outs, bottom 12 against Pedro Strop. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.

Groundout to third.

Russell Martin
Game 4 tied 1-1, no outs, bottom 9 against Darren O'Day. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.
Grounded to third base.

Game 4 tied 1-1, two out, bottom 11 against Pedro Strop. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.
Struck out swinging, catcher to first after dropped ball.

Eduardo Nunez

Game 4 tied 1-1, one outs, bottom 12 against Pedro Strop. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.

Groundout to third.

Alex Rodriguez
Game 4 tied 1-1, no outs, bottom 11 against Pedro Strop. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.
Grounded out to shortstop.

Ichiro Suzuki
Game 4 tied 1-1, one out, bottom 10 against Darren O'Day. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.
Grounded out to first base.

Game 4 tied 1-1, two outs, bottom 12 against Pedro Strop. Runner on first. Extra base hit would have clinched the series.
Grounded out to first base.

Nick Swisher
Game 4 tied 1-1, one out, bottom 11 against Pedro Strop. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.
Flyball out to deep left field.

Mark Teixeira
Game 4 tied 1-1, two outs, bottom 10 against Darren O'Day. Bases empty. Home run would have clinched the series.
Walked.



So four Reds hitters went a combined 0-5 in potential series clinching at bats.
Ten Yankee hitters went a combined 1-13 with a walk in potential series clinching at bats.

If the Yankees join the Reds on the golf course, then they will be wondering what could have been if their at bats went a little differently.

If a drive out of the ballpark would have turned them into instant legends instead of post season footnotes.

Just have Aroldis Chapman close already!

I just watched the Reds beat the Yankees. It was a nailbiter, right down to the last pitch.

Closer Sean Marshall was shaky and the Yankees finally started getting some hits with runners in scoring position.

Reliever Jose Arredondo had to come out and relieved Marshall. He got the final two outs and earned his first career save.

There was no reason for it to get to that point.
In the 8th inning, Dusty Baker brought in Aroldis Chapman out of the pen.

He has a decent ERA.

It is currently 0.00.

Right now Sean Marshall's ERA is 5.02. See the difference?

But not only that, but when Chapman was on the mound against Granderson, Cano and A-Rod, it didn't seem fair. Chapman was so dominating that any hit would have looked miraculous.

It is so obvious that he has big league hitters number.
Nobody has scored a run off of him and he has 38 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings against only 7 walks.

Why trust the 9th inning to someone else? Today he looked like he could have gone another inning. At least give him the chance to face Ibanez, Swisher and Martin?

There was no doubt a sigh of relief in the Yankee dugout when Chapman was taken out.

And if Chapman is going to be a reliever anyway, why not use him in the way that best helps the team out. Not all innings are created equal.

A Yankee rally in the 8th puts the Reds in a bad spot.
A Yankee rally in the 9th could end the game.

And players at the bat can press knowing that these are their last licks. And to do it against Chapman would essentially make the game 8 innings long.

I've been screaming this since September of 2010.

Why doesn't anyone listen to me?

  

The Yankees have a DH... his name is Alex Rodriguez

The A. J. Burnett deal has opened up the chance that Raul Ibanez will be a New York Yankee soon.

If they want him to give the team outfield depth, it makes sense. Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Andruw Jones and Nick Swisher could make a good combination. But you never know, especially with the unpredictable Jones.

But if they want Ibanez to be the fulltime DH, I must submit that would be a mistake for the Yankees. They have a DH on the roster. It is A-Rod.

Let me make my case by asking 5 questions.

ARE THE YANKEES BETTER WITH ALEX RODRIGUEZ IN THE LINEUP EVERY DAY?

That's obviously a big yes. Even if he isn't an MVP candidate anymore (he isn't) he still is a dangerous hitter and helps the hitters right behind him and in front of him by playing every day.

IS ALEX RODRIGUEZ GOING TO PLAY 150 GAMES AT THIRD BASE?

Probably not. In fact he hasn't played 150 games at third base since 2007, when he was 31 and before I knew about what his cousin was shooting in his butt. He is going to be 36 this season and he only played 87 last year at third. When relatively healthy he has yet to play 140 games a season since resigning. So in a best case scenario, someone other than A-Rod will be playing third base 20-30 times.
IS ALEX RODRIGUEZ'S HEALTH GOING TO IMPROVE IN 2012?

Well the days of players suddenly getting stronger in their mid to late 30s has mysteriously ended. And even A-Rod isn't dumb enough to get caught again.

How does he feel health wise? The fact that he's running all over the world, including blood treatments in Germany, makes me thinking that maybe he has some real concerns going into the new season.

WOULD PLAYING AT THIRD BASE BE RISKIER HEALTHWISE THAN BEING THE DESIGNATED HITTER?

What do you think?

IS THERE A LONG TERM BENEFIT TO A-ROD BEING THE DH?

He has 6 more years to this amazing deal.
Last year he was 35 years old and breaking down. At age 41, he will be paid as an elite player.
Shouldn't the Yankees do everything they can to have him NOT totally break down in his mid 30s so they can squeeze something out of him in his early 40s?


So keeping these five questions in mind, why not put him at Designated Hitter?
Why risk having a player who is already a health risk and put him in the infield where he's probably only going to play 110-120 games at most anyway.

Wouldn't it help the Yankees to have A-Rod in the line up for an additional 25-40 games?

Have him play third maybe once a week or in the Interleague Games. Or maybe not.
But resign Eric Chavez and have Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez play third in a rotation. Maybe at the trade deadline swing a deal when a team is dumping salaries. (If the Nationals fall out of contention, Mark Teahen is a pending free agent. Maybe stick him at third.)

Mind you, I think the same thing should be done for three other big leaguers.

Kevin Youkilis? He should be the Red Sox DH. After this year when we all say good bye to Ortiz, put Youk in at DH. He's not valuable for his glove. He needs to get on base and smack balls off the wall.

Miguel Cabrera? His job is to jack balls out of the park and make sure Prince Fielder sees a lot of fastballs.

Albert Pujols? His job is to launch homers into that strange Thunder Mountain Railroad thingee in centerfield and sell jerseys.

It all makes sense to me.
Which is why it probably won't happen.

Bigger romantics? Yankee fans or Twilight fans?

Don't answer right away. It's a tougher question than you think!
As I wrote before, the Yankees as an organization, for all the corporate pinstripe all business image they have, they are really a bunch of softies.

The organization and the fans are all about nostalgia and they can't let go of their favorite stars. They don't forgive them of their weaknesses. They don't recognize the short comings even exist.

Listen to the fans wanting the Yankees to sign Jeter to a long term deal, or making excuses for Posada quitting on the team or Pettite's PED use and tell me they are more rational than those screaming for Team Edward or Team Jacob!

It's not just that they love their players. They never want them to go away. EVER.
Bernie Williams was on the most recent Hall of Fame vote and I bet I can find a few fans who think he should still be playing on the team.

And now there is discussion of how to fill the DH hole on the team with Posada retiring. "WHY? COME BACK JORGE!"

More than one site has said the hole should be filled by either Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui.

Of course it should.
Because the Yankees need to get more players on the downside of their career clogging up their lineup.

Matsui is 38 years old and no longer an elite player. Not 100% how OPS+ works, but I am guessing "92" isn't a great score.

Damon is also 38 and his on base percentage has dropped each of the last 3 seasons.

BUT THEY WON RINGS WITH THE YANKEES!
Bring them back!

They can't let go. It's all romance.

Actually there is an obvious solution to the Yankees' DH hole.
A-ROD!

Seriously, the Yankees should just plop him at DH.

Have you noticed he hasn't played 130 games at third for a season since 2008?

Last year he played third base 89 times.

The Yankees are better with his bat in the lineup, so make HIM the DH and have a younger player who can actually play the field at the hot corner.

Ahhh but there's the rub. DH for the Yankees needs to be filled by a beloved Yankee, something that A-Rod for some reason will NEVER be.

If Matsui and Damon are like Jacob and Edward, then A-Rod is the notorious Aro, trying to bring the Yankees into the Volturi.

And if you think for a second that I have any clue what I just wrote, then you are crazier than any Twilight/Yankee fan out there.

A-Rod runs to Germany to hide from Father Time

I have no clue what Kobe Bryant suggested to Alex Rodriguez. I hope it wasn't marital advice. But the two least favorite players for Boston Sports Fans met and evidently talked about going to Germany to get some sort of blood work done that sounds strange at best and fishy at worst.

Is it legal?
Probably.

It is a red flag that he can't find someone in America to do it?
Yeah. Sort of.

But there are two things that A-Rod can't prevent no matter how many procedures he has had and how many timezones he crosses:

Age and a lack of steroids.

He's on the wrong side of 35.
Back before the days of Performance Enhancing Drugs, that was right around the time that sluggers fell apart.

Jimmie Foxx was washed up by 35.
Frank Robinson was on the decline by then.
Dave Winfield had one more great season after 35, then fought constant injuries.
Eddie Murray was still effective, but his best years were well behind him.
Al Kaline was on his last legs.
Jim Rice was winding down.
Hank Greenberg had his last great season at age 35. He was out of baseball at 37.
Willie Mays never hit 30 homers after age 35 and was never again an MVP candidate.

Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth continued to put up amazing numbers after 35.
They were both pretty good.
And they were the exceptions.

A-Rod is no longer juicing. According to A-Rod his juicing days ended when he left Texas. He took them in Texas because of the pressure. And then he stopped (because Heaven knows there is no pressure in playing in New York.)

He was caught in 2009 and turned his year around by leading the Yankees to the World Championship... an act that bought A-Rod about 3 minutes of good will from Yankees fans. Since winning the MVP (his 3rd) in 2007, his OPS has dropped every season, his home run totals have dropped almost every year (he hit 30 in both 2009 and 2010) and he hasn't been able to avoid injuries.

A drop in power and inability to recover suddenly happening in the past few years, ESPECIALLY after the positive test was revealed? Are you SURE you stopped when your days in Texas ended?

His 1.067 OPS in 158 games in 2007 has turned into an .823 OPS in 99 games last year.
And he will be a year older.
With six years left to play in his megacontract that is set to pay him $29 million in 2012, $28 million in 2013, $25 million in 2014, $21 million in 2015, $20 million in 2016 and a mere $20 million in 2017.

He'll be 41 years old in 2017.
His body is breaking down to the point where he is doing experimental blood work in Germany to get him in playing shape at age 36!

How is this going to get BETTER over the next six years?
Yeah the Yankees have tons of money, but enough to pay a player in 6 years like a superstar even though those years seem behind him NOW?

If 2009 is already a hazy memory for Yankee fans NOW, how distant will it seem in 2017?

Good luck in Germany, A-Rod.
You better hope they found the fountain of youth there... and you had also better hope the fountain of youth isn't on the list of banned substances.