Don't blame me for blowing Anibal Sanchez's no hitter

OK, I feel a LITTLE bad about writing a post about Anibal Sanchez and pitchers throwing no hitters while he had a no no after 6.

But in the post I NEVER said that Sanchez was throwing a no hitter. I just said there were a lot of pitchers throwing no hitters late into the game and had a picture of Sanchez.

Alas almost EXACTLY after I posted it, Laynce Nix of the Nationals hit a low line drive that Mike Stanton couldn't catch, ending the no hitter.

I DIDN'T DO IT!
I didn't jinx anything!

(Then why do I feel badly?)

I am liking this post steroid baseball

Doesn't it seem like every day there is a pitcher taking a no hitter into the late innings? I think it is pretty cool.

Why am I including a picture of Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez?
No reason.

(I didn't jinx anything!)

A Historic Fluke? My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I take a look at a historic oddity regarding Jim Leyland, Mike Scioscia and Ozzie Guillen.

Each of them managed a World Series winner without a clear Hall of Famer on their playoff roster. And the only other teams to have won the World Series without a future Hall of Famer (the '81 and '88 Dodgers and the '84 Tigers) had Hall of Fame managers.

So is this a fluke? Or are Leyland, Scioscia and Guillen putting together Cooperstown resumes?

You can read the article here.

I love the virtual Marlins Stadium

On the Marlins website on MLB.com there is a cool interactive page regarding the new stadium in Miami.

Basically it is a 3D representation of the stadium and if you click on any seat, you can see your view. As someone who is addicted to going to new ballparks, this makes me perfectly giddy.

And what I really love about it is I love the design. It is modern, sleek and doesn't try for a faux nostalgia. It is a ballpark of the future, instead of reflecting on a past that didn't exist.

Now that most stadiums look like old time parks, it is nice to see one looking ahead instead of behind.

It's as if a baseball franchise has hopes that a new generation will be nostalgic.

I wish the Astros had build a park like this instead of trying to have an old time feel and abandon their "team of the future" identity.

Ah well, back to clicking on seats.

Coolest game of the night... Marlins and Nationals?

Seriously... what more did you want in a game?
Extra innings... late inning rallies...




Roger Bernadina made a jaw dropping full extension snow cone grab in center field that is a lock for SportsCenter highlights for years to come.





Then Omar Infante scored the winning run with a bizarre and brilliant slide, putting his hand around catcher Wilson Ramos' tag.

What more do you want?

Teams other than the Marlins and Nationals?

I can't help you with that.

Oh dear, Javy

It wasn't supposed to be like this, Javier Vazquez. Wasn't the whole point of you going to Florida was that you were going to relax and NOT suck?

I got on Vazquez all last season because I thought from the start he was ill fitting in New York. But I thought a trip to Florida would be like his time in Atlanta. Relaxed and without pressure, Vazquez would revert to his All Star stuff.

Instead he got smacked around by the Mets. Yeah it is only one game... but this isn't a good start.

I wonder if my Anonymous Javy Vazquez admirer will come back.

I admire this young Met fan in Miami

It's going to be a long season, Met fans.
I said it... 90 losses.

89 left after today. It's going to be a year where players like Josh Johnson are in your division. And the Phillies had a great comeback that will be "Standard Operating Procedure" for the Mets' biggest tormentors.

But this kid clearly cares. He clearly WANTS to the Mets to be good. And he has no memory of 1986. I doubt he remembers the 2000 World Series. Heck, he is young enough that maybe the 2006 might be vague. His only clear memories of the Mets could very well be the collapses of 2007 and 2008 and the non factors of 2009 and 2010.

He is being brought up in the post Madoff mess and still cares.
Folks, THIS is a great sports fan. Keep this ticket stub, pal. Show people "I was THERE when things looked bad for the Mets."

Someday the Mets will be damn good again and you can smile knowing you logged in the pain before the pleasure.

This my dear readers is a GOOD fan!

Sully Baseball Salutes... Braden Looper

Pitcher Braden Looper retired today after failing to land a roster spot with the Cubs. He probably won't get a prolonged farewell in baseball circles nor a big celebration of his career.

Chances are he'll clean out his locker, say good bye to some old friends and leave Arizona for his home in Illinois.

But the staff here at Sully Baseball thinks his career in baseball is worth a salute.

The Oklahoma native pitched in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games and starred at Wichita State. He was drafted third overall that year (after Kris Benson and Travis Lee) and worked his way up the Cardinals system.

But because of the on going Florida Marlins firesale, he was sent packing to Miami in exchange for former World Series hero Edgar Renteria after the 1998 seasons. In his five seasons in Florida, he developed into a solid if not spectacular reliever and a part time closer.

Though he lost the closer job to Ugeth Urbina, Looper became a key contributor to the 2003 Marlins playoff push. In the Division Series, he was the winning pitcher when Pudge Rodriguez laced a 2 run 2 out walk off single in the 10th inning of Game 3. In the NLCS, he got the save for the marathon game 1. And when Alex Gonzalez hit the walk off homer in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, Looper got the win.

In 2004 and 2005 he pitched for the Mets as their closer before returning to St. Louis in 2006. He vultured off 9 relief wins in 2006 and got the final outs in Game 1 of the 2006 World Series. After earning his second ring in four years, Looper became a starting pitcher for the first time in his big league career.

His best start came on June 11, 2008, when he got 5 first inning runs and cruised to a complete game, 3 hit, no walk 10-0 shutout of the Reds.

He last pitched in the big leagues in 2009 when he posted a respectable 14-7 record with the Brewers. But he threw to a 5.22 ERA and led the league in runs and homers allowed.

I urged the Twins to sign him last year, but alas it never happened.

So now he hangs up his spikes. He never was an All Star but a lot of top 3 picks never pan out as major leaguers. (Just ask the Pirates.)

And he has wrapped up 12 full big league seasons (and a partial season in 1998). He saved 103 ballgames and earned over $20 million in the process.

Looper can go home to Illinois with his head high about his career. And he and his wife are raising three children, including a girl they adopted from China.

And if any of the kids ask about daddy's baseball career, he can slip on one his two World Series rings and tell them some tales.

Some Green from the Teal - Giving the Florida Marlins some credit

It is easy to trash the fish for their cheap ways. But right now they are looking to make the NL East very very interesting in 2012.

The Marlins are indeed the strangest franchise in all of American sports. On the surface they look like a classic Quadruple A team like the Royals and Pirates. They trade veterans for prospects, turn those prospects into big league players and when they ask for too much money, ship them off for more prospects.

Along with playing in a football stadium that isn't designed for baseball and having it be either too hot or too rainy, the inability for Marlins fans to get emotionally attached to any player is as big a reason to why they have had trouble drawing over the years.

And yet there is something so different about the Marlins as compared to Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

First of all they can have winning seasons. The Marlins played their first game in 1993. The Royals and Pirates have combined for two winning seasons in that stretch, both by Kansas City. The Marlins have had 6 winnings seasons in the same stretch.

And of course they remain the only MLB franchise to have never lost a post season series. They are 6-0 in October, winning it all in 1997 and 2003.

This little franchise that could has as many World Series titles as the Mets, the Cubs, the Indians and the Phillies. They are one World Series title behind the Orioles, who have a history of putting consistent winners on the field during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

One thing they do better than Pittsburgh and Kansas City is they actually get VALUE back when they make trades. When I wrote the Home Grown vs. Acquired post for the Marlins, their home grown talent was minimal. But the players they picked up from other clubs were the backbone for their winning teams.

And I'm not just talking about the Pudge Rodriguezes and Moises Alous and Kevin Browns of the world who came in, won a ring and split.

Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, Derek Lee, Brad Penny, Anibal Sanchez, Carl Pavano, Dontrelle Willis and Ricky Nolasco were all picked up and blossomed in Miami.

But their spending habits have been laughable. In 2006 their opening day payroll was $16 million... or $4 million less than what the Yankees paid Jason Giambi. The fact that Joe Girardi almost led that team to a winning record was all he needed to win Manager of the Year that year.

In 2008 they spent $22 million on players and had a winning season.
Imagine if their payroll went from "Laughable pathetic" to merely "Small." They probably could have won the Wild Card.

With the Players Association trashing their payroll and forcing the Marlins to spend a little bit, a refreshing picture is starting to emerge in South Florida that has nothing to do with LeBron James.

The Marlins are moving into their new tax payer sinkhole in 2012. And for the first time in their history, the Marlins will have a ballpark to call their own instead of feel like they are crashing on the Dolphins couch.

Miami fans will be able to know they will have decent seats, they won't be rained on and it won't be stifling with humidity.

In other words there will be an incentive to actually GO to the game.

And unless the Marlins trade off a lot of salary between now and 2012, guess who will be under contract and wearing teal?

Hanley Ramirez.
Josh Johnson.
Ricky Nolasco.
Anibal Sanchez.
Mike Stanton.
Gaby Sanchez.
Logan Morrison.
Chris Coghlan.
Chris Volstad.

That's a decent core with an MVP candidate, a Cy Young candidate and some good young pitchers and hitters.

And with Ricky Nolasco signing an extension this year to go along with Hanley Ramirez's extension and Josh Johnson's pact, the Marlins will have three solid players entering their 7th year with the team when they go into the new ballpark.

That's enough time to attach some emotion to a player.

Add to that the new revenue and the fact that Miami, with its many transplanted Northeasterners to go along with the Latin population, should be a baseball haven. And with some money, big free agents should want to live in the low taxed, glamorous Miami lifestyle playing in a low pressure environment.

By 2012 the Phillies juggernaut may be slowing down.
Jimmy Rollins will be a free agent and the Cliff Lees and Roy Halladays and Ryan Howards would all be deeper into their 30s.

2012 could also be the time that Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are ready to shine in Washington. And the Braves are continuing to build on their strong core.

By then a young Marlins team with a burst of energy in the new ballpark and some more money to spend might just be ready to make their move.

And with their post season good fortune, they might indeed win another World Series title. (How would THAT sit with the Cubs and Indians fans of the world?)

So I give you credit, Marlins. You are operating in the Cleveland Indians mold from the mid 1990s. Put together a talented core and by the time you have a new ballpark and new fans filing in, give them a good product.

And before long, who knows? Maybe the Marlins will be one of those teams that people say "It isn't fair. They always out bid other teams on free agents!"

Bobby jenks and his bond with Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon

Today the Red Sox took a flier on former White Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks for some bullpen depth. How could it hurt?

But as Jenks changes the color of his Sox, he has a unique bond with current Boston pitchers Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon:

All three were the pitchers on the mound when their team won the World Series.

Beckett tagged out Jorge Posada on a little dribbler to end the 2003 World Series for the Marlins.

Jenks got Orlando Palmeiro to ground out to end the 2005 World Series for the White Sox.

And Papelbon struck out Seth Smith to end the 2007 World Seris for the Red Sox.

Personally, I can't think of anything cooler in all of sports than being the pitcher to end the World Series. More than a game winning home run. I used to reenact clinching a World Series as a pitcher on our front lawn... jumping up and being mobbed on the mound.

And I've written a few posts like this one and this one about my fascination with the pitcher who got the final out.

I can't help but wonder if they will talk about it amongst each other in spring training.

They MUST talk about it. Heck, that's how I would preface every sentence. "As a man who clinched the World Series... I will order the chicken salad."

Maybe that's just me.

Vazquez won't flop as a fish

I’ve written some nasty things over the last few years about Javier Vazquez… and got an anonymous reader to lash out at me every time I did.

I got on his case when he was with the White Sox and I made the easy prediction that he was going to be a flop when he returned to the Yankees.

So you might think I am going to kill the Marlins for spending some of their revenue sharing by forking over $7 million to a guy who pitched himself out of a Yankees rotation that desperately needed an innings eater and off a playoff roster that screamed for bullpen depth.

It’s tough to get excited about someone who posted a 5.32 ERA for the season. A guy who posted a 5.96 ERA in August and a 8.84 ERA in September.

Yes, that first number was an 8… and yes he pitched in more than one game.

But truthfully, it is an ideal move for both the Marlins and Vazquez.

Florida should always be an ideal spot for pitchers to revive their reputations. Remember how Todd Jones became an All Star caliber closer in Miami?

Even the perennially awful Armando Benitez found his grove in the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie.

Every once in a while, Vazquez puts together a terrific season that makes everyone think he is an ace. He’s not. He’s a .500 pitcher who throws a lot of innings and lets up a run about every other inning he throws.

He’ll probably go 16-5 next year… his ERA will be in the mid 3’s… he’ll be among the league leaders in innings pitched.

And his one year contract will be up and a team like the Mets or the Angels will overpay him and they’ll be stunned when he doesn’t post those numbers again.

And the back of his baseball card will get more and more cluttered… and he’ll have made over $100 million over his career.

$7 million will be well spent by the Marlins.
Good luck (and thanks again for both of Johnny Damon’s ALCS homers in 2004.)

Didn't you used to be Andrew Miller?

In 2006, the Tigers drafted Andrew Miller, a top prospect out of UNC. He was a Golden Spikes nominee, the top pitching prospect in college and the #6 pick overall.

He was in the big leagues later that year and looked like he was going to be the real deal.

By the end of the 2007 season he was a key part of the trade to bring Miguel Cabrera, one of the legit MVP candidates in the game, and was off to Florida to be part of their youth movement.

He was going to fit right in with Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez as the Marlins became an unlikely winner.

Right?

He's now 25 years old and was dealt to my Red Sox... and not for a legit MVP candidate but for Dustin Richardson, an OK but not exactly great reliever on the Boston/Pawtucket shuttle.

Not exactly breaking up the farm system for a guy who 5 seasons ago was picked ahead of Tim Lincecum.

Imagine if the Red Sox can harness that talent. OK, maybe not Lincecum level... but what if he could be a kick ass left hander out of the pen? What if he can put his being rushed to the bigs in Detroit and being on and off the DL in Florida behind him?

What if they stole a stud?

Or how about this?

What if the Red Sox call the Tigers and see if they can deal Miller back to them for Cabrera?
Hey, it is worth the phone call!

I’ve heard this song before…

The Giants finished the regular season as Division Champs and got home field advantage in the Division Series. And drew the Wild Card team from the East.

They won Game 1 with a complete game shutout from their ace and looked like they were cruising in Game 2.

Everyone had their eyes set for the League Championship Series… and maybe if luck with have it a match up against Dusty Baker’s squad.

And then before anyone knew what was happening, they lost Game 2.

Am I talking about the Giants loss to Atlanta tonight?
Or am I talking about the 2003 Division Series against the Marlins?

Remember that year?
The Giants had Jason Schmidt throw a complete game shutout (against Josh Beckett no less) and San Francisco was off to the races.

Then the Giants were up 4-1 in Game 2… and they fell apart.

Juan Encanarcion homered to tie the game and Marquis Grissom’s error opened up the flood gates.

They went back to Florida and lost game 3 in extra innings even though they had the lead with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the bottom of the 10th… and of course lost game 4 when J. T. Snow was thrown out at home trying to tie the game.

Why am I bringing this up?

Have your guard up, Giants fans… these scenarios don’t end well.

I’ve seen it before.

Walk away if you win #28, Joe

Hey Joe Girardi… take a good long look at what has happened to the legacy of Joe Torre. Only Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel had ever managed three straight World Series winners before Torre and he brought class and dignity to the Yankee clubhouse along with his titles.



And today he is being portrayed as a manipulator, a man with a tarnished legacy and even those are questioning whether he belongs in Cooperstown.



His very rings are being questioned since he couldn’t win a pennant in Atlanta nor in Los Angeles (not to mention with the Mets or Cardinals.)



Now imagine if Joe had left the Yankees after the 2001 season…

He would have been the greatest New Yorker since LaGuardia.



Imagine if he had left after the 2003 World Series…

He would have won 6 pennants in his 8 years and maintained superiority over Boston.



Imagine if he had left after the 2005 playoffs (when EVERYONE thought he was going to.)

Yeah the collapse of 2004 would have hung over his head, but the perception would have been George and company were meddling and undermining him.



Instead it ended after 2007… when with more control he couldn’t make it out of the Division Series, lost the respect of his superstar and left town co authoring a petty (albeit fun) book.



Learn from Mr. Torre. If the Yankees win the 2010 World Series title… BOLT TOWN!

Seriously… don’t wait around for your Yankee legacy to deteriorate.



You’ve shown you could manage when you took the 2006 Marlins team with a payroll under $30 million and kept them in the running for the Wild Card into September. You won a Manager of the Year award. You can do it.



So make your Yankee legacy this if you win it all:

2008 was an adjustment year followed by back to back World Series titles.

Leave a WINNER and finish with more World Series titles than Billy Martin at the helm.



Go home to Chicago. If you win the World Series there, do you know how you will be treated?



Me neither! NOBODY knows. The team hasn’t won it since the series was called the World’s Championship Series and it was still an experiment. Win in Chicago and your ticket to the Hall of Fame will already be punched.



Have some other poor shmuck take over the Yankees and deal with this nonsense.



Heck, Joe Torre is available!