And just like that, LeBron James has decided – in his seventh year in the NBA – that he needs to honor Michael Jordan, so he’s switching his number.
I mean, is there anyone that believes that this is his true motivation?
NY Yankees
Meet the new king … How will success affect A-Rod now and forever?
After the Yankees won the World Series on Wednesday night, Alex Rodriguez spent some time gleefully saying that he was now “just one of the guys.†That he had earned his pinstripes, so to speak.
This, to me, is wishful thinking on A-Rod’s part. His salary, his very public personal life, his… interesting… personality – none of these dictates someone who will simply blend in.
So if he’s not that, what exactly has he become?
Hate ‘em or love ‘em, Yankees forever the straw that stirs the drink
Say what you will about how they build their team, how they outspend everyone else in the game, about their economic and big-market advantages.
But the Yankees are where it’s at in baseball. And it’s been that way forever.
Lousy pitching decisions turning World Series into clumsy war of attrition
Incredibly, after the Phillies’ win over the Yankees in Game 5, what we seem to have here in the World Series is two managers desperately attempting to help the other team win.
Kings of New York? Jay-Z the wrong choice for Yanks’ pregame anthem
If you’ve been reading, you know SportsAngle is largely in tune with the hip-hop community. (As recently as this month, I shook hands with the great Ghostface Killah) So I watched with keen interest as the Yankees announced that Jay-Z – who has carved out more and more of a presence in sports lately as part-owner of the Nets and celebrity friend of LeBron James – would perform his new song, Empire State of Mind, at Game 1 of the World Series.
And I’m here to tell you the Yankees made a lousy pick.
Putting it bluntly: Philly’s repeat talk not just smoke and mirrors
The Yankees are one of the most talented teams I’ve seen in a long time – as well they should be. They already had the best leadoff hitter, closer, and arguably the best hitter in baseball, and they spent a cool $425 mil to add the top two free-agent starters and the best free-agent position player on the market. That is what you call economy in motion.
What I’ve been surprised about is their ability to come together as a cohesive unit. Their chemistry appears better than I’ve seen from a Yankees team in years. I doubt Jeter truly likes personalities like Nick Swisher and A.J. Burnett, but I’m sure he’s learned to love the loosening-up affect they’ve had on the clubhouse, what with all the pies in the face and whatnot.
But they’re about to run into a Phillies team that is even more cohesive, that makes more sense, that has more of an identity. And that has just as much talent. Here are the factors I see affecting the World Series, which I believe will be a very close affair.
Stat freaks be damned: SportsAngle endorses Teixeira for AL MVP
Now most of you have dismissed this before you even read it. I’d be lucky to get any of you back. To paraphrase my man Billy Hoyle, I’m going to write it anyway.
Future shock: Feliz causing happy thoughts in Arlington
I have seen the future of pitching, and it is Neftali Feliz.
You can keep your Strasburg, if you can sign him. Give me Rangers rookie right-hander Feliz, whose Major League debut was more like a coronation. I’ve seen some dominant pitche
rs make an instant impact the past few years – Cole Hamels, Tim Lincecum, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer come to mind – but I don’t think I’ve seen anything like Feliz’s stuff. The guy is a force of nature.
Basic baseball physics is like this: The bigger difference between your fastball and off-speed stuff, the harder you are to hit. Johan Santana remains great despite the fact that he no longer throws in the mid-upper 90s. He can work down around 89-91 mph, as long as his motion is the same and that magnificent changeup comes in around 80-84.
Now what if I told you that Neftali brings his fastball right around 100 every time? While watching his debut on Monday night, when he came on in relief against the A’s, I was impressed when he hit 99 on the gun no fewer than eight times. Fangraphs has the whole thing mapped out – check it out, impressive stuff.
I was even more awed when Neftali hit 101 on his final pitch. But listen, you can’t just throw fast in this game. Bobby Parnell threw 100 this year but has no out pitch. Joel Zumaya, I believe, got up close to 104, but he couldn’t really pitch, and he couldn’t stay healthy. He was a gimmick. Neftali is the real deal.
Update: Stormy weather no match for Camp Sundown
Just a final note about Camp Sundown’s trip to Yankee Stadium – Before you get on me about the SportsAngle Curse, though it rained on Thursday night, it actually worked out perfectly, as it delayed the game so the campers could catch more of the game, a 6-3 victory over the A’s. Even the weather was smiling on this event.
I talked to a friend of the site who accompanied the campers to the game, and he said they had a terrific suite and then ended up right behind home plate in those cushy seats right behind the plate. They then went on the field and were able to hang out with Jorge Posada and Jose Molina (right). A great time was had by all.
I also paid my compliments to a Yankees PR guy, who called HOPE Week “Nourishment for the soul.†Well put, and congratulations again to the Yanks for doing something truly great for some very special people.
Newsday has a nice writeup of the hopefully-soon-to-be-annual event, along with a photo gallery.
Make no mistake: Rickey all about Rickey
Now I’m not about to tell you brand new Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson wasn’t a great player. Of course he was. And I loved him growing up – who didn’t? He was a swashbuckling stolen base machine who referred to himself in the third person.
That said, if anyone is a better testament to selfishness, I’d like to meet him. Rickey made it an art form. 
Now, before any fans of the 45 teams Rickey played for jump down my throat, I’ll point out that in terms of sheer talent, he’s up there with anyone. I feel like his talent might be overlooked just because he wasn’t a prodigious slugger in an era where that was beginning to come into vogue. (Though his 297 home runs are nothing to sneeze at) Rickey had an outstanding eye at the plate. And you can’t discount someone who had 130 steals in a season and 1,406 in his career.
Most impressively, as Joe Posnanski of SI correctly pointed out, Rickey not only was the all-time leader in runs scored – the entire point of the sport – but also in unintentional walks, demonstrating his remarkable ability to get on base and make something happen when he did.
But you also can’t discount that in his 130-steal season, Rickey was caught an astounding 42 times – so his percentage in 172 attempts was 76%. That’s not terrible, but he still ran himself off the bases 42 times. Last year’s MLB steals leader, the immortal Willy Taveras, stole 68 bases – hardly 130 – but he was caught just 7 times (90%).
In that 1982 season, add up his hits, walks and HBP, take out his homers and triples (when he likely wouldn’t be stealing a base) and it comes to 247 – and he ran 172 times, 69% of the times he put himself on base. I’ll take out his two steals of home and the 19 times he stole multiple bases successively after getting on, and it still comes to 61%. (I admit, it’s an inexact science because it doesn’t factor in getting on base via fielder’s choices, errors and things of that nature, but it’s still telling)