Category: MLB General

George is going up

The Yankees top all MLB teams with a $1.03 Billion dollar valuation, which is just about enough to finance their underachieving payroll. Behind them at $617M are the Boston Red Sox. If you combined the Red Sox and the and the least valuable team (Tampa Bay Devil Rays at $209M), hey still wouldn’t be worth as much as the Yankees. Here’s the full list of MLB franchise values.

On average, team values increased by 15% year over year for the second consecutive year. The Washington Nationals and the Toronto Blue Jays had the biggest increase in valuations at 42% and 34%, respectively. It’s no coincidence that both teams have significantly increased their payrolls this season.

If you want to know which sport is truly the national pastime, just look at the valuation of the NFL franchises. The Arizona Cardinals (by all accounts a worthless franchise) has a valuation of $673M, which would be 2nd in a MLB list. The average value of an NFL franchise is $819M while the average value of an MLB franchise is $376M.

Links:
[Forbes.com]: The Business Of Baseball
[Forbes]: NFL Team Valuations

1. Call them dust; they’ve been swept: The Royals know how to do two things well: get swept and get shut out. They accomplished both in Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to the White Sox. After beating the White Sox twice earlier this season, Chicago’s pitching shut them down in the three-game set. KC scored only 1 run in the entire series, among the most pitiful offensive performances we’ve ever seen. This is the third series in a row that the Royals have been swept, including to the Devil Rays last weekend. They fell to an MLB-worst 2-12 on the year, while the White Sox took the division lead at 10-5.

2. Complete game madness strikes Atlanta: The Braves got yet another complete game yesterday, this one from Tim Hudson. This was the Braves’ second CG in a row and their 3rd in a span of five days. Hudson finished with 3 hits allowed and 1 earned run in the 2-1 game. Andruw Jones was again the difference for the Braves, hitting a homer for the fourth game in a row. While much has been said (and deservedly so) about Albert Pujols’ stellar season so far, Jones can almost match his numbers. He has 8 homers and a league-leading 23 RBIs on the year. The victory gave the Braves a much-needed overall series win against the Mets.

3. Indians lose at their own game: The Indians have won this year mainly because of a hard-hitting offense that leads the majors in runs. Nothing changed on Wednesday, when the team had 14 hits and 9 runs. But the Orioles hitters were even better–they put up 18 on the scoreboard. Every batter who started for Baltimore got at least 2 hits and 1 run. Everyone in the lineup had an RBI except leadoff man Brian Roberts. And Ramon Hernandez, Corey Patterson, and Jay Gibbons all homered in the victory. Indians starter Jake Westbrook was the main victim, with 12 hits and 9 runs allowed in less than 5 innings of work. The Orioles improved to a surprising 9-7 record on the year, while the Indians fell to second place in the AL Central at 9-6.

4. He’s pitching like it’s 2001: If the AL Cy Young was awarded today, it would go to Curt Shilling. He picked up his 4th win yesterday against Tampa Bay, good for first in the AL. Now he needs four more wins to get to 200 on his illustrious career. Shilling’s ERA dropped to 1.61, and he has been an invaluable part of the Sox’s major league best 11 wins. Boston rolled over Tampa, 9-1.

5. D-rays need some ‘more cowbell’: Among the millions of things the Devil Rays need to become a contender, owner Stuart Sternberg believes one is ‘more cowbell‘. He announced plans to show the legendary Saturday Night Live skit during games to pump up all three people in the stands at Tropicana Field. “I’m hoping this becomes the fans’ signature,” Sternberg said. We hope winning becomes the team’s signature.

Thursday means it’s time to see how your GM is wasting your ticket and television dollars. Let’s assume that the Yankees will be at the bottom every week — but they at least have a shot at the championship. Not so the Royals. Not only are they one of the cheapest teams in the league, they also have the least wins, a double whammy that has them in second to last in the Cost Index.

** all $ are in millions.

Angel Rocha

With MLB’s crackdown on steroids, you have to be either really stupid or really desperate to keep taking steroids. Look at Barry Bonds, he stopped taking steroids and now he’s not hitting any more homers. Oops, we didn’t just say that.

Five minor leaguers have been suspended for positive steroids tests. Angel Rocha was given the longest suspension to date because this is his second positive test. Karl Jelinas (LA), Jorge Reyes (NYM), Yonathan Siviri (Stl), and Matthew Varner (SD) each got 50 game suspensions for a first positive test. We understand the pressure for minor leaguers to get to the Show but being suspended won’t get you there any faster.

Links:
[AP]: Five more minor leaguers suspended for positive tests

[Editor’s Note: Sportscolumn Blog welcomes Jackson Govatos as the lead baseball blogger. Jackson’s daily feature, The Full Count, will take you through the five baseball stories you need to know.]

1. Davies domination: The Braves avenged Pedro Martinez’s 200th win on Monday with a little pitching of their own. Kyle Davies, the Braves 22-year-old right hander, pitched a complete game with only 1 earned run. This was the second complete game by a Braves pitcher in four days, which is unheard of for a team with a 5.64 ERA. Andruw Jones provided most of the offense for the Braves, with 2 homers and 4 RBIs. He now leads the NL with 22 RBIs and has 7 home runs. Tonight it will be Glavine vs. Hudson to decide the series.

2. Indians crush Orioles: The scoreboard at Camden Yards had a lot of action Tuesday night, and most of it was for the visitor. Cleveland, after scoring 10 runs against Detroit on Monday, put up 20 hits in a 15-1 slaughter. Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez both hit homers for the Indians, and Jason Johnson allowed one run and picked up the win. Cleveland now leads the majors in runs scored.

3. Big Unit comes up small: Given a four run lead after the first inning, Randy Johnson could not get anything going in a pitiful seven earned run effort. He only lasted 3.1 innings, as Toronto ripped him for 9 hits and two homers. Troy Glaus, one of Toronto’s offseason pickups, had his first stud performance with 2 homers and 3 RBIs. Despite home runs from the Yankees’ Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, and Alex Rodriguez, they lost 10-5.

4. You want some offense? We got some offense here for you: In what would look like a pitcher’s duel on paper, Milwaukee and Houston combined for 25 runs in a crazy game. Through 7 innings it appeared that Houston would cruise, as they led 11-2, but the Brewers went wild with 8 runs in the 7th and 8th innings. Somehow, Houston held on for a 13-12 win. Morgan Ensberg went yard twice, and Craig Biggio picked up his first homer of the year for the Astros. Brad Lidge got the save despite allowing 2 runs in 1.2 innings of work. The win improved Houston to a .500 all-time franchise record. They had not been .500 as a franchise since the 12th game in the 44-year-old franchise’s history.

5. Venezuelan embassy relocated to MLB pitching mounds: A record 7 Venezuelan pitchers started on Tuesday, setting a new record for the country. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the previous mark was five on August 17, 2004. Carlos Silva and Kelvin Escobar, both Venezuelan, pitched against each other (Escobar picked up the win).

[Editor’s Note: Sportscolumn Blog welcomes Jackson Govatos as the lead baseball blogger. Jackson’s daily feature, The Full Count, will take you through the five baseball stories you need to know.]

1. Mr. Consistency strikes again: It didn’t take long for Albert Pujols to follow up his 3 homer game on Sunday. In the first inning against the Pirates, Pujols hit a two-run shot off Paul Maholm to remain the National League home run leader so far this year. This latest blast gave him four in consecutive at-bats, tying 34 other players for the major league record. Those two runs proved to be all the Cardinals needed as they won 2-1 behind strong pitching from Jason Marquis.

2. “K”-dro wins #200: Pedro Martinez of the Mets achieved his 200th win in a 4-3 victory over the Braves on Monday. Martinez wasn’t perfect–he allowed 3 earned runs, including a monster homer to Andruw Jones–but he still got the job done in a close win over the division rival. Duaner Sánchez and Billy Wagner relieved Martinez, allowing no hits or runs in 2.1 innings of work. Wagner will be a key contributor to Martinez’s success this season. Last year, before the acquisition of Wagner, Martinez allowed 3 or less earned runs 10 times in games that he did not pick up the win. Wagner gives the Mets a reliable closer so that won’t happen as much this year. The victory improved the Mets to a major league best 10-2 record, while the Braves fell to 6-8.

3. Not so fast my friend: Apparently realizing the Tigers had taken the division lead, the Indians exploded on offense to defeat Detroit 10-2. This game ended the highly competitive series in a 2-2 tie. Victor Martinez and Aaron Boone provided the offensive spark for Cleveland with 5 combined RBIs. The Indians are on fire offensively, with a .305 average for the season. However, they still couldn’t stop Tigers first baseman Chris Shelton–the slugger picked up his AL-leading 9th home run of the season in a losing effort.

4. The 40 year old surgin’: Greg Maddux pitched another strong game on Monday to improve to 3-0 on the year. The victory was Maddux’s 321st of his career and his first since turning 40 years old on April 14. Pitching against the Dodgers, Maddux worked 8 innings with 6 K’s and only 1 run allowed. His season ERA improved to 1.33, good for 2nd in the NL. The Cubs beat the Dodgers 4-1 and improved to a surprising 8-4 on the year.

5. Could it get any worse?: Barry Bonds, all over the news for the steroid allegations and possible perjury charges, got an object thrown at him during the 4th inning of last night’s 10-9 win over the Diamondbacks.
The object, which police say resembles a toothpaste tube, landed a few feet in front of Bonds and was promptly removed by security. The man who threw the object, 23-year-old Mark Greggersen, was charged with disorderly conduct. It was the second time an object has been thrown at Bonds this season. Bonds declined to speak to the media, but teammate Randy Winn said, “It’s definitely not a trend we want to continue.”

This is possibly the greatest idea anyone has ever had since Girls Gone Wild. A guy with too much time on his hands recreated the final inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series using RBI Baseball for the NES and dubbed Vin Scully’s play by play over it. This is something you might think of drunk or high but never actually get around to doing it. Kudos to Conor Lastowka for seeing this crazy idea through. You can read all about why and how he did it, or just watch the best baseball video to ever grace the internet. Yes, even better than Randy Johnson blowing up a bird with a fastball.

The Chicago White Sox have fined Pitcher Mark Buehrle for tarp sliding during Sunday’s rain delay. Tarp sliding! This was a staple of TWIB and our favorite childhood memories were of Mel Allen giving the play by play of everyone’s favorite rain delay distraction.

While Buehrle might have gone overboard when he motioned for fans to join in on the fray (someone actually did and was quickly escorted off by security), there will be no more tarp sliding with or without inviting the fans for Buehrle.

After I came in, somebody else said [I was fined]. We’ll see if it comes out to be the truth, but if it is, I won’t be out there anymore. I can’t have any fun no more.

This is a sad day for the NFL MLB.

Links:
[MLB.com]: No more tarp sliding for Buehrle

[Editor’s Note: Sportscolumn Blog welcomes Jackson Govatos as the lead baseball blogger. Jackson’s daily feature, The Full Count, will take you through the five baseball stories you need to know.]

Ineptitude

1. “What the hell is goin’ on out there?”: The Atlanta Braves lost another game on Sunday due to pitching. While they have traditionally had one of the majors’ best staffs, their pitching has let them down so far this year. Besides John Smoltz’s shutout last Saturday, the Braves have not received a win from a starting pitcher. They are 15th in the NL in ERA–only the Pirates rank lower. This is to say nothing of their bullpen–which has been an absolute disaster besides 4-win Oscar Villarreal. There is good news in Atlanta: their hitting has been excellent. They lead the NL in runs and homers, and Andruw Jones is picking up where he left off last year. If they could just put pitching and hitting together, we will see another division title for the Braves.

2. Is Chris Shelton the Next Big Thing?: He’s certainly looked like a true star the first two weeks of the season. Nothing changed on Easter Sunday, when Shelton belted his league-leading 8th homer to beat the Indians 1-0. Shelton has led the team to a division-leading 7-5 record. While the Tigers have won mainly due to 26 home runs (first in the majors), they proved on Sunday that they can win pitchers’ duels as well. Mike Maroth, subject of ridicule after his 21-loss 2003 season, pitched 7 scoreless innings to decrease his ERA to a softball-like 0.73. If the Tigers can add pitching like this to their impressive lineup, they could actually prove a challenger in the AL Wild Card race.

3. Department of Redundancy Dept.: It seems like the same group of top players are jacking balls out of the park every day. Albert Pujols headlined the group of homerun hitters yesterday, with his 6th, 7th, and 8th slams of the season. St. Louis’ opponent, the Cincinnati Reds, got a 7th homer from slugger Adam Dunn. While the White Sox-Blue Jays game was rained out in the 5th inning, Jim Thome still managed to hit his 7th jack of the season. Some other big names to touch `em all on Sunday were the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi, Vlad Guerrero of the LA Angels, the Mets’ Carlos Delgado, and Aramis Ramirez of the Cubs.

4. It had to happen eventually: Over the course of the 11 years and 888 games played at Coors Field, never had there been a 1-0 game won by the Rockies’ opponent. Until yesterday, when Brett Myers of the Phillies combined with closer Tom Gordon to shut out Colorado’s offense. A Ryan Howard home run provided to only score in a rare Coors Field pitcher’s duel. Amazingly, the win pushed Myers’ career record at the homer heavy Coors to 4-0 with a 2.64 ERA. This kind of win is important for the Phillies, who lack a true ace and lost closer Billy Wagner to the Mets over the offseason. They need Myers and Gordon to pitch like they did today in order to have a winning record in the tough NL East.

5. The Battle for 29th: We can all agree–the Devil Rays and the Royals have probably been the two worst teams in baseball the last few years. They just finished a series in Tampa, which probably drew less people than the NCAA women’s bowling championships. However, this series was interesting because of how one-sided it was. The Rays swept KC by a combined score of 22-10, extending a streak of seven straight victories over the Royals. When does one of the worst teams in a sport ever dominate another one of the worst teams like the Devil Rays have? It’s certainly rare to say the least.