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| Monday, July 1 Baker's Dozen: The week in preview By Jim Baker Special to ESPN.com |
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1: Best Matchup of the Week The best baseball this week will be played in the Bay area. The combined records for both these series currently stand at 106-76. Both series have wild-card implications. There is a strong possibility that both wild-card teams will be represented in these games. So, take what romance you can from that revelation. Wild card! The name that demands an exclamation point.
2: The Worst Matchup of the Week Regardless of their records, I wouldn't mind going to a big-league doubleheader and if you're a real fan of the game, neither would you. (How's that for throwing down the gauntlet at the feet of your fandom?) I remember seeing a doubleheader between these two teams in 1983. Mickey Rivers was playing left field and he spent an entire game trying to distract his own shortstop, Bucky Dent. At least, that's what it seemed like he was trying to do. You never knew with Mickey, of course. They were probably bored out of their minds by then. The White Sox were running away with the division and, if you combined their OPS figures, they don't add up to what Barry Bonds is doing this year. It wasn't so long before that they were soaking up pinstripe glory.
3: The Biggest Mismatchup of the Week Here's a test to see how much people like Fenway Park: have the Devil Rays play the remainder of their 2002 home games there. (Because it would be the Rays and not the Red Sox playing, ticket prices wouldn't have to be in the $28 to $60 range.) What do you think big-league ballgames that didn't feature the Red Sox would draw there? Here's a better idea: play some minor-league games at the park. This is something the Giants did earlier this season and would be a good idea for teams with near sell-out crowds to pick up on. Stadiums are grossly under-utilized as it is and the popular ones (like Fenway and Wrigley) would do well to host some more ballgames that don't necessarily include the major-league tenant.
4: The Closest Matchup of the Week So called because they are tied heading into Monday's contest. It's funny how two teams can meet at this point in the season with identical records and have arrived there in such diverse ways. What, exactly, are the Marlins up to? When a team trades its best player, their motivations are always suspect. They've got a fairly talented group of fairly young players in Preston Wilson, Derrek Lee, Luis Castillo and Mike Lowell. That's something to build on. Heading into the season, their five-man young guy rotation looked one to envy as well. Of course, groups of promising pitchers will screw you up every time (unless you're the Braves), so that portion of their game hasn't gone according to plan. Right now, they don't have a single pitcher with an ERA under 3.00. Not even some guy who pitched three innings and got sent down. At least they don't have the same problems the Mets have.
5: The Makin' Payroll Matchup of the Week Here are some things George Steinbrenner never hears: "There will be a 20-minute wait for a table, sir." "Your car will be ready on Friday." "Sorry pal, K-Mart does not carry sport coats in your size." I think that is what bugs us middle-class types most about the rich -- not the fancy cars, the swimming pools, the armpiece girlfriends, the financial wherewithal to supersize any and every fast food meal -- no, it's that they are rarely inconvenienced like the rest of us and face very little rejection as they go through life. When Steinbrenner wants something, he gets it. How do you root for a guy like that to succeed?
6: The Playing Out the String Matchup of the Week If things continue as they are, the Braves will win their division by about 17 games. It will mark their 11th consecutive division title (1994 is excluded). Here are their margins of victory since their Great Awakening in 1991: 1, 8, 1, 21, 8, 9, 18, 6.5, 1, 2. Do you see the pattern here? Neither do I. Here is some small bit of hope for Braves fans: In the seasons in which they've had close scrapes, their postseason won-lost record is 13-18. In the seasons wherein they finished 6.5 games ahead or better, their record is 43-32. Even taking away their lone World Championship in this run -- 1995 -- the record still stands at 32-29. So, if nothing else, they'll go a little deeper into the playoffs this year if the past performance holds up.
7: The Class of '61 Matchup of the Week The Angels and Twins both began play in the same year, 1961. Of course, the Twins had been around the previous sixty years in the guise of the Washington Senators. In that first season, the Twins finished one-half game ahead of the Angels and did so for eight of the next eight years. They continued their superiority in the '70s, finishing behind them in 1971 but ahead the next six years. The Angels have been more dominant since then, but overall, the Twins have finished ahead 23 times to Los Angeles/California/Anaheim's 15. There have been three ties, including two in a row in 1983-84.
8: The Old School Matchup of the Week Too bad for White Sox manager Jerry Manuel: he got the dreaded "vote of confidence" from general manager Ken Williams. According to the Associated Press, Williams had this to say about the situation: "Jerry Manuel is the manager of the Chicago White Sox. He will not be fired. I have confidence in him. Absolutely." In other words, Jerry, don't send your laundry out. Nothing spells doom quite like a vote of confidence. I think it's time that people start using the vote of confidence in everyday life. When you call to find out about a shipment date, they should say, "We are giving Friday the vote of confidence." When your girlfriend asks you for a commitment, you can say, "You have my vote of confidence this is a long-term relationship." It's the nicest, most sincere way of giving someone the kiss of death without actually kissing them.
9: The House Devil/Street Angel Matchup of the Week For a brief time last week, the Tigers managed to fall into last place in the majors in total runs scored. As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark points out, this is not common for an American League team to do what with your designated hitter and general disregard for small ball. According to Jayson, it's only happened eight times in the 29 years since the DH was put into place. The Tigers' run-scoring problem is, of course, owed to their ballpark. When they get away from the place, they can score runs; perhaps not with the best of them, but with the most mediocre of them, anyway. If you believe that what a team does on the road is the truest indication of its real abilities -- as do many in baseball's smarter set -- then here are the teams with the worst runs-per-game away from home:
30. Colorado: 3.38 (Detroit is at 4.06 runs per game.) The only surprise is Colorado, but not really, as they are notorious for their prodigious dropoffs away from Coors Field. However, four of the five are American League teams.
10: The Party at Al's Crib Matchup of the Week By now you've heard that Allen Iverson hosted a "low-key" barbecue on Saturday -- just something to pass the time while waiting for the police to arrest him on Tuesday. While on the surface this may seem absurd, this is not such a bad strategy on the part of the police allowing him to do this. If a guy is planning a party, you know he's not going to be a flight risk, right? First of all, it takes about a day to do the invitations and get them in the mail. Then it takes another day to buy the food, drinks and decorations. Then, there's the day of the party in which the most cleaning occurs to get the place ready. Then, the day after the party there is the clean up, right? That's four days right there that the potential flight risk is committed to being at home. So, just to make sure he stays there, the police should ask him to host a postgame get-together after the Cubs-Phils game on Thursday night.
11: The House Devil/Street Angel Matchup of the Week, NL
version Jeez, is Pac Bell Park ever hard on the poor Giants hitters. Below is a list of the differential in road OPS as opposed to home for the most active Giants' players:
Damon Minor +369 The only player who does better at home is Reggie Sanders, who is 88 points lower on the road. Bonds' differential works out to about one percent, so he is Barry Bonds no matter where he goes. However, what if he played in a park more favorable to hitters? Would a 1450 OPS be out of the question?
12: The If There'd Been a Team In Tampa Bay When He Was
Playing, Ted Williams Would Have Rather Been Fishing
There Matchup of the Week Here's a lyric from a folk song written in 2147:
Today they thaw Ted Williams
Played a game called baseball
'bout what the hell this baseball was
13: The Outgunned at Every Turn Matchup of the Week I ask you: is this sporting? Position-by-position, every Orioles starter has a lower OPS than every Mariners starter, save for third base:
C: Wilson over Gil 727 to 721 Putting Melvin Mora or Gary Matthews Jr. into center would give the Orioles another trump. Mark McLemore beats both of them off the bench. (Or the M's could play McLemore at third base.) Jim Baker's 'Baker's Dozen' column appears on Mondays during the baseball season. He also writes Monday through Friday for ESPN Insider. |
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