Market Power

Two on Youth Baseball: Metal Bats and Pitching

The first is on the use of metal bats and some of the surrounding legal questions.

The second is on the dangers to kids of pitching too much.

The "Seam Surgeon" of Baseball

Jay Mariotti has a great column on Greg Maddux, probably the best pitcher of the best 20 years.

If this was Chicago's final glimpse of the pitching savant, the seam surgeon who has accomplished more with fewer natural gifts than anybody who ever played baseball, the crowd handled the scene with the appropriate tone and reverence. You don't want to go too crazy, for Maddux never has been a rock star. You don't want to be overtheatrical, because you never know if he'll waive his trade clause and end up with the Braves ... or the Cubs again, for the third time. You simply stand, pay your respects and make certain he remembers the moment. And assuming he never passes this way again, it's important he grasps the scope of his magnitude after 23 seasons, 350 wins, four Cy Young Awards, 17 Gold Gloves and a World Series championship.

...The man is too smart to be that dumb. And when I say smart, I mean psychic-smart, international-spy-smart. Ever read the story in ESPN The Magazine from 2006, after he was traded from the Cubs to the Dodgers? Seems pitching ace Brad Penny was so fond of Maddux's innate knowledge that he asked him to call pitches from the dugout during a September game. With Maddux sending signals by looking at different parts of the stadium, Penny threw seven scoreless, walkless innings in a 6-0 victory.

Over the Cubs.

The Mitchell Report Press Conference - An Unofficial Transcript

Update:  here's the official site of the report.

I am currently listening to ESPN's broadcast of George Mitchell's press conference regarding his report on steroid use in Major League Baseball.  Here are a few bullet points mostly paraphrased from Mitchell's conference (which amounted to an executive summary).

1. The Report does not violate the basic agreement.  This was checked by MLB after it received the report 3 days in advance of today's announcement.
2. Steroid use was rampant in baseball.
3. Baseball was slow in stopping steroid use, but it has been getting better after clubs and the union adopted a random testing system in 2002.
4. Every team has had at least one player that has used.
5. Between 5 and 7% tested positive.  This proportion is probably underestimated because players knew they would be tested and because of sampling error (Phil:  yes, but positive tests can also come with error).
6. Players need to be better role models for youngsters.  And too many youngsters use steroids, something that should shock Americans.  It's partly the fault of MLB players. (Phil:  This point extended almost to the point of belaboring).
7. Steroid use is unfair to those who don't use them because of positional externalities (my term).
8. Some information came from sources who did so "at the request" of government officials (emphasis is mine).
9. 11 players admitted Kirk Radomski gave them steroids.
10. Brian McNamee saw three players use steroids.
11. Players moved towards the use of human growth hormone (not detectable with current urine tests) and water-based steroids (which leave the body quicker than oil-based steroids)
12. Some recommendations can be implemented unilaterally by the commissioner.  Some can be implemented only after collective bargaining with the MLBPA.
13. Prior to 2002, teams did not push hard to stop steroids because of economic fears about the game.
14. A goal of this investigation is to bring a close to this chapter in history and to stop future use.
15. Most allegations are "distant in time."
16. Employers must use rules in place at the time when disciplining employees.
17. More than half the players in the report are out of MLB or its "affiliated minor leagues."
18. "There is much about performance enhancing drugs in baseball that I did not learn."
19. Everyone needs to be involved in the riddance of steroids in baseball.
20. Mitchell did his best to uncover the facts.
21. The conclusions and recommendations are the most important part of the report, not the naming of names.

Somewhere, a King Smiles

King is no doubt pleased.  Has diminishing marginal utility set in yet?

"Boys of Rocktober"

21 out of 22.  Good lord!

This isn't just any 21 of 22 streak.  This isn't a streak that occurred in the middle of some season.  This is a streak at crunch time, when the Rockies were down and out and left for dead in the playoff race.  This is a streak that came against some of the best teams of baseball in 2007. 

On September 15th, the Rockies were in 4th place in the NL West, 6.5 games out of first.  They were also in 4th place in the wild card standings, 4.5 games behind the San Diego Padres.  The run began against the Florida Marlins on Sept 16th with a 13-0 win.  They then played:

7 games against LA (all wins)
4 games against SD, including the play-in game (all wins)
3 games against Arizona (won 2 of 3)

to finish the season.  This streak put them into the wildcard as the Mets stumbled down the stretch against also-rans.  They then take 3 straight from Philly and 4 straight from Arizona in the playoffs.  The worst team in that bunch in terms of wins and losses is LA who finished the regular season with 82 wins.  Philly had 89 wins, Arizona had 90 wins, and San Diego finished with 89 wins.  Those latter three clubs made up 3 of the 4 best teams in the NL this year.  The fourth team is the Rockies.

Talk about an uphill climb.  But climb that mountain they did.  Dinger, no doubt, is pleased.

Congratulations to the Rockies

While many pundits expound on the Mets' phenomenal collapse and the Phillies' race to the top of the NL East, few had paid much attention to the rise of the Rockies to claim the NL wild card spot.  The Rockies won 14 of their last 15 games, the last 14 of which came against division brethren.  More importantly, those 14 were against teams that finished with winning records.  You can't say that about the Phillies.  You can't say that about the Cubs.  You can't even say that about the Mets, which makes their collapse even more mind-boggling.  Give the Rockies their due.  They had a great finish to the season against some tough customers and they had a miracle comeback last night.

Unfortunately that finish will come with an asterisk in the minds of some.  It looked to me as if Matt Holiday did not touch home plate to score the winning run in the bottom of the 13th.  His hand clearly was knocked off the plate by Padre catcher Michael Barrett and Holliday's hand was blocked from the umpire's view by Barrett's foot.  The umpire, judging by his delayed and casual call, wasn't sure if he touched home plate.  If he did, it was by the oil on his fingertips and it is tough to see how the umpire can give the benefit of the doubt to the Rockies.  Maybe this is evidence of home team bias on the part of the umpire.  Had the game been played in, say, the Canary Islands, would the call have been reversed?  We'll never know.  Likewise, we will never know how the game would have played out had Holliday been called out.

Still, it was an exciting game and a great conclusion to the Rockies season.

Not Playing to Win

Playing not to win and not playing to win are two different things.  Playing to not win is, basically, fraud.  Not playing to win is something fans will forgive in many instances, like when it's the end of the season and there's nothing to gain from doing much more than going through the motions:

With their regulars resting after a late-night champagne party, the Cubs were just trying to get through a game. They came within one hit of making history.Hill (11-8) gave up Buck Coats' two-out double in the sixth -- Cincinnati's only hit of the game -- then left for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the inning. The left-hander had his way with a lineup that took a get-it-over-with approach.The Cubs weren't trying all that hard to win."It doesn't really mean anything right now except an extra at-bat or two," manager Lou Piniella said. "I think it's more important to rest them than to play them."

Here and here are two earlier posts dealing with playing to not win.

Knee-Jerk Reaction: If Something Bad Happens, Ban the Contributor

Pitcher goes out to nearby restaurant.  Pitcher drinks too much.  Pitcher gets in rented vehicle.  Pitcher talks on cell phone while speeding while drunk.  Pitcher dies in accident.  It's sad and unfortunate, devastating his teammates and family.  But is there any other reason than staving off potential liability to explain this?

The Cubs have decided to end the team policy providing alcohol in the home clubhouse, a move team president John McDonough said comes ''with the safety of our players, our fans and their families in mind.''

The decision comes in the wake of the death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock in a auto crash in which alcohol was evident. The Cubs also will ban alcohol on their Chicago-bound charter flights.

Considering the neighborhood around Wrigley, players have a myriad of choices of where to have an after-game drink.  This ban will do little good. 

This also seems to be one of those knee-jerk reactions that will be around for a year or so.  But since Hancock's death is an outlier, things will return to how they were before his crash before too many years.

 

I Seek the Grail and the Grail Looks Like A Pirate

The "Holy Grail of baseball cards," the famous 1909 Honus Wagner tobacco card once owned by hockey great Wayne Gretzky, has sold for a record-setting $2.35 million, the seller of the card said Monday.

The buyer has only been identified as a Southern California collector. SCP Auctions Inc., a company that holds sports memorabilia auctions, said it bought a small share of the card. It is scheduled to be shown at a news conference at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.

There are about 60 of the tobacco cards in existence featuring the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, one of the first five players to be inducted in Baseball's Hall of Fame.

The seller, Brian Seigel, in 2000 paid a then-record $1,265,000 for the prize card, which is in much better shape than the others.

"This particular one was preserved in spectacular condition," said Joe Orlando, president of Professional Sports Authenticator of Newport Beach -- the company that certified the authenticity of the card. "It's the Holy Grail of baseball cards."

Still, the Wagner cards are so rare that even tattered ones will sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, Seigel said.

Here's the story. 

It's no Honus Wagner card, but maybe there's still hope for my torn and tattered Tony Dorsett rookie card - then again, maybe not.  Back in the day when my friend Ray and I collected football cards and hated the Dallas Cowboys, we took particular delight in defacing a TD rookie card, poking out his eyes and blackening his teeth.  We might have even put the card in the spokes of our bikes.  We had no idea he would be a hall of famer nor did we care.  He was the enemy and we took it to his likeness.  Besides, we had high discount rates.

RIP Buck Oneil

Buck Oneil has passed.

Several hundred of his friends and admirers had gathered at the Negro Leagues Museum for what they thought would be a celebration. Instead, they stood in awkward, restless silence as the old man once again -- (for how many times in his long, eventful life?) brushed bitterness aside.

"Shed no tears for Buck," he told them. "I couldn't attend Sarasota High School. That hurt. I couldn't attend the University of Florida. That hurt.  "But not going into the Hall of Fame, that ain't going to hurt me that much, no. Before, I wouldn't even have a chance. But this time I had that chance.  "Just keep loving old Buck."

We do, Buck.  We do.  RIP.