Baseball: Past and Present

I’m pleased to present the latest guest post from Joe Guzzardi, which presents a novel solution for the woes of the Pittsburgh Pirates: the return of the player manager.

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Although a month has passed since the Pittsburgh Pirates abruptly but unsurprisingly fired manager John Russell, no successor has been named.

Does this mean that the job of piloting the Pirates is so thankless that no one is intrepid enough to assume the challenge? Or does it mean that Pirates’ brass is in the process of such a through deliberation that no stone will be left unturned.

Last year, when it became obvious that Russell wouldn’t survive to manage a fourth season, I endorsed 90-year-old Ralph Houk as Bucco skipper.

Since Houk managed the New York Yankees, the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox for a total of twenty years, he had plenty of experience. Not only did Houk win two World Series and an American League championship, he served as an Army Ranger in World War II, participated in the Normandy invasion, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, won a Silver Star and retired as a major. Houk would have been just the right guy to kick some Pirates’ butt should the need arise, as it often does.

An added Houk bonus is that he had the smarts to forge non-Yankee championship teams. In 1986, Houk became the Minnesota Twins’ Vice President and put together the 1987 World Series champion.

Unfortunately, Houk died last July thus permanently eliminating himself.

To date, the Pirates’ have interviewed Eric Wedge, Bo Porter, Tony Pena, Carlos Tosca, Jeff Bannister and John Gibbons. Bannister and Clint Hurdle, the Texas Rangers hitting coach, are still in the running.

I took an informal poll among some lifelong Pirates’ fans to measure their enthusiasm for any of the above candidates. Each name that I ticked off was met with a colossal yawn.

What the Pirates’ administration should consider during their managerial search is that they need to create a buzz so that fans will have something exciting to talk about going into 2011.

Appointing an obscure major league bench coach or unheard of minor league manager and introducing him as “a sound fundamental baseball tactician” or “a proven leader whose strength is teaching young players” just won’t cut it.

In my July blog, I suggested that any of the Pirates’ broadcasters—Steve Blass, Bob Walk or Kent Tekulve—would make an excellent manager. They’re all former Pirates and beloved in the Pittsburgh community.

That idea went nowhere. Undaunted, today I offer another seemingly radical solution but also one that would energize fans. The Pirates should name pitcher Ross Ohlendorf the new manager.

Ohlendorf would become the fourth Pirates’ player-manager following Fred Clarke, Honus Wagner and Pie Traynor. In its history, baseball has had more than 225 player-managers, the last of which was Pete Rose twenty-five years ago.

Why would I pick Ohlendorf?

First, he’s an articulate Princeton University graduate who could interact effectively with the media, one of Russell’s shortcomings. Ohlendorf majored in Operations Research and Financial Management; his thesis analyzed the baseball draft in which he examined the top 100 picks from 1989 to 1993, then tracked the progress of each player for a 12-year period to determine the value of the picks. By weighing the original signing bonus against the financial return the player provided the team, Ohlendorf determined whether the team drafted wisely.

Ohlendorf’s paper was so impressive that Sigma XI, the Scientific Research Society, awarded him an associate membership.

Second, Ohlendorf is popular in the club house. Former Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson said that Ohlendorf takes the kidding about his intelligence in stride.

Third, despite a sorry (1-11, 4.07 ERA) 2010 season, Ohlendorf is a hard throwing pitcher who along with other young Buccos like Neil Walker, Andrew McCutcheon, Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata, could contribute to a Pirates turn around

Although Ohlendorf is only 27, his age doesn’t preclude success. In 1942, the Cleveland Indians’ picked 25-year-old Lou Boudreau as its manager. By 1948, under Boudreau’s direction, the Indians won the World Series over the Boston Braves.

In 1924 Bucky Harris, also 27 but younger than two-thirds of his players, led the Washington Senators to a World Series victory by beating the New York Giants.

Obviously, neither Boudreau nor Harris had any previous managerial experience.

I’m sure only a few readers will take my Ohlendorf suggestion seriously. Even I’m not totally convinced that’s it’s a good idea. What I know is this: desperate times call for drastic measures.

As the Pirates face its nineteenth consecutive losing season, the times in Pittsburgh are nothing if not desperate.

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Joe Guzzardi belongs to the Society for American Baseball Research, as well as the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. Email him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com

San Francisco Giants team president Larry Baer said it. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reported that at a ceremony following the team’s championship parade in San Francisco on Wednesday, Baer told the crowd:

The men sitting on our stage over here, the 2010 Giants, honor not just our city and not just our remarkable 2010 Giants fans. They pay tribute to the 1,500 men who wore the San Francisco Giants uniform before them, from Willie Mays to Dirty Al Gallagher, from Willie McCovey to Felipe Alou, from Will Clark to Barry Bonds, from Orlando Cepeda to Jim Davenport to Gaylord Perry to Juan Marichal to Murph (clubhouse manager Mike Murphy) … You guys brought it home for them. Thank you.

The championship was about many things for a team that hadn’t won a World Series since 1954. It was about Billy O’Dell, who won 19 games for the 1962 team that nearly won the World Series. It was about Gallagher, who played on the 1971 Giants club that lost in the National League Championship Series. It was about his teammate Ken Henderson, who was to succeed Willie Mays, departed after eight inglorious seasons in 1972, and rejoined the organization this year. It was about announcer Hank Greenwald, who spent more seasons in San Francisco than any current Giant.

O’Dell, Gallagher, Henderson, and Greenwald share one thing in common, beyond their ties to the Giants organization: Each appreciated the championship and, in their time in San Francisco, endured frustrations.

For O’Dell, it was sitting on the bench in Game 7 of the ’62 Series with two outs in the ninth inning, the potential tying and winning runs on second and third, and Willie McCovey at bat. When McCovey smoked a line drive, O’Dell said in an interview in May, he assumed the Giants had won the title, but Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson snared the ball and ended the game. On Wednesday, I called O’Dell, now 77 and asked if he could have guessed the Giants would need nearly 50 more years for their championship.

“I never thought it would take them that long, because they had some pretty good ball clubs,” O’Dell said. “But I was glad they finally did it. They deserve it.”

Greenwald broadcast games for a couple of those Giants clubs in two stints in San Francisco totaling 18 years. I asked Greenwald how these Giants compared to the ’89 team that was swept by the Oakland Athletics in the Battle of the Bay World Series. He said the depth of pitching on the 2010 club was much stronger. I also asked the 75-year-old Detroit native — who I previously interviewed in August — how the feeling from this year’s World Series compared to 1945 when his hero Hank Greenberg led the Tigers to a championship.

“Of course, 1945 was the first one,” Greenwald said. “I was 10 years old and the impressions were much stronger at that particular point. You’re a 10-year-old kid, and boy, this was Christmas, this was Disneyland if there was one at that time, it was everything rolled into one. I don’t think you ever forget the first World Series that you actually go to or are able to follow it, especially in your hometown.”

Gallagher knows that feeling all too well. The San Francisco native grew up in the Mission District, started going to Giants games at Seals Stadium in 1958, and remembers the ’62 World Series. A first round draft pick by San Francisco in 1965 and a three-year veteran of the team, the 65-year-old Gallagher rooted for these Giants from his Texas home. “I couldn’t be happier that the Giants won the pennant,” Gallagher said.

For Henderson, it was something more. Following his retirement from baseball in 1980, Henderson spent many years in the corporate world, occasionally wondering what might have been in his playing career. The 64-year-old Henderson took a job with the Giants in March selling luxury corporate boxes, bringing him full circle in baseball, in more ways than he could have anticipated.

“I could have gone back to the organization four years ago or I could have come back next year or the year after,” said Henderson, who was at every game of the World Series. “Not to say that we won’t win it next year, but I came back during a year that we actually won it all, and, you know, I think somebody was looking out for me. It’s just very special. I kind of get broken up when I think about it actually.”

What he did: In 13 seasons between 1936 and 1951, all with the New York Yankees, the Hall of Fame centerfielder hit .325 with 361 home runs and three American League Most Valuable Player awards. Had DiMaggio not lost three prime years to World War II, battled injuries, or retired at 36, he may have had 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. Regardless, he’s an all-time great.

Era he might have thrived in: DiMaggio probably would have thrived playing whenever. In fact, he may have been good enough to succeed where few did: Candlestick Park in the 1970s and ’80s, with his hometown San Francisco Giants.

Why: I was motivated to write this column after the Giants clinched their first World Series since 1954. A reader recently sent me an email with the header, “Joe DiMaggio Lucky to be a Brownie,” suggesting DiMaggio could have raked on some abominable, but good-hitting St. Louis Browns teams of the 1930s and ’40s. I agree DiMaggio could have boosted his lifetime numbers playing for bottom-barrel clubs in St. Louis. In San Francisco, though, he may have helped toward a greater good.

I’m preparing something for Friday on players and personnel affiliated with the Giants near-miss clubs over the years, and on Wednesday, I talked to Hank Greenwald who broadcast for San Francisco from 1979 through 1986 and again from 1989 through 1996. I asked Greenwald what kept the Giants from a championship, and he suggested Candlestick, saying the park factors cost the team a few wins a season.

With its fierce winds, persistent chills, and vast confines, Candlestick surely got the best of most Giants hitters with few exceptions. Essentially, from Willie Mays’ departure in 1972 to Will Clark’s arrival in 1986, Candlestick was the place would-be successors went to die. DiMaggio might have been the bridge. I ran some conversions, and if DiMaggio played his entire career in San Francisco, say 1975 through 1990, it would have been fairly similar in trajectory and lifetime numbers to Jim Rice, another star who struggled with injuries and retired at 36.

Here’s a chart with DiMaggio’s converted numbers and Rice’s actual stats:

	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA
DiMaggio	8091	1415	2423	426	142	399	1569	34	869	447	.299
Rice	8225	1249	2452	373	79	382	1451	58	670	1423	.298

Since the Baseball Writers Association of America inducted Rice on his fifteenth try, I’m guessing DiMaggio would make it sooner. He wouldn’t be a first-ballot pick, but then, he wasn’t in real life.

On a side note, I gave DiMaggio credit for the 1943-45 seasons he lost playing in World War II and used those for his 1982-84 years with the Giants. I took DiMaggio’s 162-game averages if he’d played every year of his career on the 1982, 1983, and 1984 Giants and then converted the stats to 117-game seasons, the average number of contests DiMaggio got in during his actual career. My method isn’t perfect, I realize, but it gives a general idea of how DiMaggio may have fared and what those years may have added to his lifetime totals.

The big winner here is the Giants, who get good work from DiMaggio at the right times (plus excellence at plenty of rotten times– his 1941 season converts to 28 home runs, 108 RBI and a .330 batting average for the 75-86 1980 Giants.) DiMaggio’s 1948 season, which I used for San Francisco’s 1987 NLCS club would equal 39 home runs, 150 RBI and a .309 batting average, good perhaps for a Giants’ championship and a DiMaggio MVP. He’d decline in 1988, along with his team, but rebound in 1989; his 1950 season converts to 29 home runs, 100 RBI, and a .271 batting average. Clark and Kevin Mitchell would be the bigger stars by then but it would be a great final year in the sun for DiMaggio, perhaps enough for the Giants to beat the A’s in the Battle of the Bay.

DiMaggio’s numbers drop again in San Francisco for his possible final season, 1990, but in this era, he might capitalize on his ’89 season and go to the American League as a free agent to DH another few years. Perhaps DiMaggio would get 3,000 hits and close to 500 home runs. DiMaggio might not have the reputation he still enjoys, even in death, but he’d be a player worth celebrating– perhaps more so.

Any player/Any era is a Thursday feature here that looks at how a player might have done in an era besides his own.

Others in this series: Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds, Bob Caruthers, Dom DiMaggio, Fritz Maisel, George Case, Harmon Killebrew, Home Run Baker, Jackie Robinson, Jimmy Wynn, Johnny Frederick, Josh Hamilton, Ken Griffey Jr., Nate Colbert, Pete Rose, Rickey Henderson, Roberto Clemente, Sam Thompson, Sandy Koufax, Shoeless Joe Jackson, The Meusel Brothers, Ty Cobb

I’m pleased to present the latest guest post from Joe Guzzardi, which offers a historical look at the San Francisco Giants’ 2010 World Series victory.

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I’m old enough to remember watching the 1954 World Champion New York Giants beat the Cleveland Indians on television. And as a native Californian who lived close to AT&T Park and attended numerous San Francisco Giants games, I see several parallels between the two clubs that brought both to baseball’s pinnacle.

The 1954 Giants, much like its San Francisco stepchild, won the World Series in large part because of key offseason acquisitions and brilliant managing throughout the year, especially in the post season. Both Leo Durocher and Bruce Bochy made all the right moves even when they seemed wrong.

The Giants had come off a dismal, fifth-place 1953 season that was hampered by poor pitching. From the starting rotation of Ruben Gomez, Larry Jansen, Sal Maglie, Jim Hearn and Al Worthington, only Gomez finished above .500

In February 1954, Durocher approached owner Horace Stoneham to urge him to trade for southpaw Johnny Antonelli, an inexperienced and indifferent (17-22) Milwaukee Braves’ starter.

Durocher knew that Willie Mays would soon return from a 21-month absence spent serving as a U.S. Army private and suggested offering extra outfielder Bobby Thompson straight up for Antonelli. Although Stoneham had a sentimental attachment to Thompson because of his 1951 pennant winning home run heroics against the Brooklyn Dodgers, he reluctantly approved the trade.

As was so often the case, Durocher’s insights proved correct. Antonelli anchored the National League’s best staff, went 21-7, led the league in shut outs (6) and ERA (2.30). Over his career with the New York and San Francisco Giants, Antonelli was a six time All Star.

By mid-July, the excitement surrounding Mays’ return was at a feverish pitch. Mays had 36 homers and was on pace to break Babe Ruth’s record. Nevertheless, Durocher insisted that Mays change his batting stance by coming out his crouch and moving his feet closer together. Although Mays only hit five more home runs, he batted at a .379 clip for the rest of the season to finish with a league-leading .345 average, 110 RBIs and 45 homers and wrap up the Most Valuable Player award.

When the Giants unexpectedly got to the World Series, the team was a prohibitive 8-5 underdog against the 111-game winning Cleveland Indians. Odds against a Giants four game sweep were 22-1. The reasons: Bob Lemon (23-7), Early Wynn (23-11), Mike Garcia (19-8), Bob Feller (13-3) and Art Houteman (15-7) with the lefty-righty tandem of Don Mossi (6-1) and Ray Narleski (3-3) waiting in bullpen. In the unlikely event of a complete collapse, Hal Newhouser (7-2) could be summoned by manager Al Lopez. The Indians, with four future Hall of Famers on their pitching staff, looked unbeatable.

All that changed during Game One. The Indians sent ace Bob Lemon to the mound to face the crafty veteran Sal Maglie. With the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Maglie gave up a walk to Larry Doby and a single to Al Rosen. Durocher called for lefty Don Little to replace Maglie.

The next batter, Vic Wertz, then hit his titanic 420 foot fly ball to deep center field– commonly referred to as “The Catch”– where Mays ran it down. (See “The Catch” here.) Now with runners on second and third but only one out, Durocher returned to the mound to make another pitching change.

Durocher’s obvious bull pen call would be to Giants’ closer Hoyt Wilhelm (12-4, 2.10 ERA and seven saves). Instead he tapped 36-year-old Marv Grissom, in his first full year as a reliever. Grissom struck out pinch hitter Dave Pope and, to end the threat, retired catcher Jim Hegan on a harmless fly ball.

Grissom pitched 2-2/3 scoreless innings to get the 5-2 win after pinch hitter Dusty Rhodes hit a three-run bottom of the tenth homer.

When questioned after the game about his strategy, Durocher explained that still fresh in his mind was the eighth inning of a September 10 game when four Wilhelm knucklers got past catcher Ray Katt. With the potential winning runs on second and third, Durocher didn’t want to risk a passed ball.

After the shocking Giants’ first game victory, the Indians folded in the next three contests.

Comparing the two series upsets side by side, the 1954 Giants’ sweep was a ten on the baseball Richter Scale. As heartwarming as the 2010 Giants’ upset is, it registers only a 5. Everyone knew that the Giants have outstanding pitching and that in a best of seven series, anything is possible.

The Giants’ victory parade begins on Market Street in San Francisco today at 10 a.m. local time. As far as Giants fans are concerned, this morning and for many mornings to come a 5 is as good as a ten.

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Joe Guzzardi belongs to the Society for American Baseball Research, as well as the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. Email him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com

Before Game 3 of the World Series, fans got a treat. Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group reported:

Nolan Ryan’s ceremonial first pitch was a 68 mph fastball – not bad for a 63-year-old man wearing a dress shirt and necktie. It also was low and wide, but catcher Pudge Rodriguez, another Rangers legend, made it OK by scooping the ball out of the dirt.

It makes me wonder what Ryan could do with proper attire and a little training. Like fellow 60-something Sylvester Stallone in the latest Rocky film, I think Ryan could face younger adversaries if he wanted. With some effort, Ryan — who was arguably one of the most durable pitchers all-time during his career — might top 80 mph in a scoreless inning or two of relief against a weak-hitting team like the Pirates or Nationals. I’d certainly pay to see it.

Ryan wouldn’t be the first man to pitch again following a long break. Here are six pitchers who showed their stuff years after retirement:

Satchel Paige: Ryan can look to Paige for inspiration if he decides to pitch again. Paige may have been older than Ryan is now when he made a start for the Kansas City Athletics on September 25, 1965. Officially 59 but perhaps as old as 65 — depending on the source — the Negro Leagues legend had last pitched in the big leagues in 1953. Paige pitched scoreless ball in his return, though his relief lost the game. In September, Joe Guzzardi wrote a fine recap of the game.

Dizzy Dean: The same team that had Paige on its pitching staff in the early 1950s, the St. Louis Browns, gave their broadcaster Dean a start on September 28, 1947. The 37-year-old future Hall of Famer, who quit playing in 1941 due to injuries, said on-air he could pitch better than nine out of 10 Browns. Dean backed up his talk with four scoreless innings before hitting a single and pulling a muscle rounding first. His reliever gave up five runs in the ninth inning and lost.

Chief Bender: Tom Swift wrote in his biography of the Deadball Era hurler about how in July 1925, as a 41-year-old coach for the Chicago White Sox, Bender made a relief appearance in a 6-3 loss to Boston. Swift wrote of Bender retiring the first three batters he faced before surrendering two runs on a walk and home run.

Jim Palmer, Jim Bouton: I wrote of these pitchers in September 2009 and again in February, about how Palmer had an aborted comeback in 1991, and Bouton pitched five games for the Atlanta Braves in September 1978, eight years after he published Ball Four and quit playing.

Sandy Koufax: The Dodgers Hall of Fame southpaw never pitched again in the majors after retiring at 30 in 1966, but Koufax brought the heat at Dodger batting practices and camps into the 1980s. Jane Leavy wrote in her biography on Koufax:

It was at one of those Dodger Fantasy Camps that he first met Dave Wallace. Wallace watched from the third base coaching box the transformation in the aging left-hander when his mettle was questioned. “He was in throwing shape because he had thrown batting practice in the summer for the minor league teams. And you’re throwing the ball and having a little fun and some wise-ass fantasy camper walking up to the plate says, ‘Goddamn, Koufax, is that all you’ve got?’”

“I mean to tell you, his eyes changed like that. He threw four or five pitches there’s no doubt in my mind were on the verge of ninety miles an hour. ‘Take that, you smart-ass sonofabitch.'”

Ryan’s not the only pitcher who could join these ranks. For what it’s worth, here are five retired pitchers I believe could pitch again: Mike Mussina, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling.

I’m pleased to present a bonus guest post from Gerry Garte, who recently volunteered to contribute here every other Friday. Gerry sent this post early because it references the World Series, which heads to Game 4 this evening.

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Manager Buck Showalter said it before Game 2 of the World Series: Bullpens do not belong on the field of play.

Amen.

A fielder in full pursuit of a fly ball — while looking upward to track it – can find himself in foul territory amid an obstacle course of pitching mounds.

Is there a rule restricting bullpens from the field of play? No.

But the challenge presented to fielders is significant, and the hazard as obvious as a pile of dirt.

Although bullpens on the field of play were common in the game’s earlier years, as new parks were built most stadiums placed the bullpens behind a fence and off the field of play.

This issue arises again because AT&T Park, home of the National League champion San Francisco Giants, is one of only five current Major League stadiums that have on-field bullpens.

The curious point is that the beautiful Giants’ ballpark was built only 10 years ago, and baseball has known for many years that on-field bullpens can be an impediment to play.

The other ballparks with on-field bullpens are Wrigley Field (Cubs, 1914), Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (A’s, 1968), Tropicana Field (Rays, 1998) and Petco Park (Padres, 2004).

We can understand Wrigley Field being on the list, and maybe Oakland, too. But those other three ballparks are much newer.

A point can be made that the tarpaulin, used to cover the infield, can also be a hazard because in many stadiums they are stored on the field of play. But unlike tarps, warm-up mounds are much smaller and harder for a fielder to negotiate as he attempts to catch a ball.

It may be that these newer stadiums wanted to re-create the feel of an older ballpark. Or, more likely, the ball club wanted to find more seats for paying customers, and made a choice between income and field integrity.

Umpiring and Cameras

As a life-long baseball fan, the issue of using TV cameras to improve umpiring calls is hard to ignore. I am from the sect of baseball fans that believes in getting the call right.

The NFL has led the way in this department. Coaches are offered three challenges per game. TV cameras provide many views — sometimes it’s a clear view of a missed call.

Making corrections to referee errors is accepted and often appreciated by football and its fans. Cameras enhance the quality of calls; hence, the integrity of the game.

How can a limited-use of TV cameras be bad? We’ve all seen many poor umpiring calls the past few years.

The technology is available to improve the Major League product. Getting the call right – through competent video assistance — should be baseball’s overriding concern.

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Email Gerry Garte at garte@comcast.net

I’m pleased to present the latest guest post by Doug Bird, who began contributing Sunday articles last week. Today, Doug offers a recap of the first two games of the World Series, written before Texas’s 4-2 victory in Game 3 on Saturday.

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Game 1: Giants 11, Rangers 7

Yeah, this was the pitcher’s duel everyone had anticipated. Cliff Lee, the more than formidable playoff pitcher who silenced the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees and was undefeated over two playoff seasons against the National League Cy Young winner of the two previous seasons, the little guy with the big stuff, Tim Lincecum. This game was definitely going to be 1-0 for someone and it would
take about fourteen innings to complete. Lee and Lincecum would go ten or eleven innings, striking out twelve each leaving it to the formidable bullpens of each team to decide the outcome. The Rangers would probably win on a homerun by someone, unless Cody Ross decided another game. But, as they say somewhere, that’s why they play the game.

Game 1 was a very sloppy affair with Bruce Bochy over managing his bullpen, Tim Lincecum looking as if it was his first day in Little League, Freddy Sanchez running the bases as if it was his first day in Little League, Vlad Guerro seemingly afraid of the baseball in the field and the Rangers taking too many sleeping pills the night before and forgetting their scouting reports back at the hotel.

Tim Lincecum seemed lost not only in his pitch selection but failed to cover first base on a routine play and then, instead of a routine throw to third after having a runner hung up on third base, inexplicably held onto the ball and got no one out. Bochy used five pitchers after the Giants went out in front 8-2. Five. Two good signs for the Giants- Freddy Sanchez is now officially healthy, hitting three hard doubles, and Juan Uribe doesn’t hit often but when he does, hit the ball hard and in the clutch.

Cliff Lee couldn’t get any of his normal movement on his fastball, had an ineffective curveball, and located both pitches too much and too often, over the plate. The Rangers still continued to throw fastballs to Cody Ross although more on the outside part of the plate and held him to one hit in five tries but should certainly know better. Ron Washington, in a sign of things to come, used Mark Lowe, a
non-roster pitcher before the start of the World Series, Mark Lowe, in a crucial spot.

Game 2: Giants 9, Rangers 0

Matt Cain and C. J. Wilson righted the World Series ship and after seven innings the Giants were holding a slim 2-0 lead. This promised to be one of those classic World Series games at last. Cain was especially impressive with a nasty fastball and pinpoint location. Wilson, while not as spectacular, allowed only two runs and made the clutch pitches when he had to. It seemed that the bullpens would decide this game. Ironically, at least from the viewpoint of the Texas Rangers, they did.

In the eighth inning everything unraveled and the blame must be placed squarely on manager Ron Washington. Post-game interviews did little to clarify the situation and I would like to believe that Washington was managing under circumstances unknown to those of us who watched the disaster unfold which might shed some
light on his unexplainable misuse of his bullpen. It was painful and embarrassing to watch a manager who apparently had never witnessed let alone managed a major league game before this October night.

The reaction of co-owner and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan led me to believe that it was the latter, and not the former, which was responsible for one of the most embarrassingly mismanaged innings in World Series history. Righty Darren O’Day struck out the first two batters then allowed a single. Two out and no Giant base runners. So far, so good. The Giants lefty Nate Schireholtz was due up next , a defensive replacement outfielder and a non-factor as a hitter. Darren O’Day is cruising. Washington brought in lefty, Derek Holland, who while effective over the 2010 season, has little post season experience. Holland walked the next three batters on thirteen pitches.

Inexplicably, no one was up in the Ranger bullpen even after the three walks on thirteen pitches. Now the bullpen gets active. However, Washington brings in a not sufficiently warm Mark Lowe– a walk, a two-run single, and the Giants lead 6-0. It was obvious that Lowe wasn’t sufficiently– even barely– warmed up. More than obvious. Things simply got worse and the Giants scored three more times in the inning. Darren Oliver was just sitting there. Neftali Perez and his 40 regular season saves was just sitting there there. Ron Washington just sat there. I just sat there. A head shake just won’t do it.

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Email feedback to Doug Bird at d.bird@rogers.com

With the World Series heading for Game 3 this evening, I’m pleased to present the latest guest post from Joe Guzzardi on a key player for one of the teams.

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In my final regular season blog, I identified Minnesota Twins pitcher Matt Capps as baseball’s fortunate son. Capps went from a maligned Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher in 2009 to the 2010 American League Central Division champion Minnesota Twins’ closer. Making his year even sweeter, Capps had a detour in Washington where he was the Nationals’ only All Star representative.

Unfortunately, Capps’ season came to an abrupt and unglamorous end. The New York Yankees swept the Twins in three straight first round playoff games. Capps appeared in only one and gave up an earned run in the single inning he pitched.

As it happens, baseball has an even more fortunate son. Freddy Sanchez, Capps’ 2009 Pirates teammate, is now playing an unerring second base for the National League champion San Francisco Giants and, in the opener, became the first player ever to hit three consecutive doubles in his first three World Series at bats.

Unlike Capps with whom fans grew unhappy because of his poor clutch pitching during his final Pirates season, Sanchez is one of the most popular players in Pirates’ history.

Bucco fans love Freddy for a lot of reasons. During his five and a half years in Pittsburgh, Freddy was one of the few reasons to root for the Pirates. A three-time All Star and the 2006 National League batting champion (.344), Sanchez with his boyhood friend Jack Wilson made up one of baseball’s best double play combinations. Sanchez and Wilson, both native Californians, once played summer league ball together although Jack then a second baseman and Freddy, a shortstop.

Given the media’s fascination with hard luck stories in sports, I’m amazed that more hadn’t been previously written about the personal adversity that Sanchez overcame.

Doctors gave Sanchez, born with a club right foot, little chance to walk. Every night, his mother Michelle removed his cast, hoping to eventually see a straightened foot. Yet despite the long odds against him Sanchez, who attributes his recovery to faith and hard work, became an outstanding major league baseball player.

In the Pittsburgh suburb of Cranberry, Sanchez helped build Miracle Field where disabled kids play baseball. In June, when the Giants came to Pittsburgh, Freddy was out at Miracle Field taking in a game.

Although being traded to the Giants is the best baseball thing that ever happened to Sanchez, his road in San Francisco has not been smooth. Sanchez had left knee surgery in September 2009 followed four months later by an operation on his left shoulder. Just a month before the playoffs started, Freddy’s right rotator cuff strain made it nearly impossible for him to throw the ball to first base.

As the World Series moves to Texas, Sanchez has been one of the Giants unsung heroes. Sanchez says: “You want to be up with everything on the line. You don’t always come through, but all you can ask for is the chance.”

Given the chance, Sanchez hit .292 this season— .330 from August 1 on— and .360 when the Giants beat the Phillies in six games. After two World Series games, he’s hitting .400 and handling the keystone flawlessly.

Anyone who watched the first post-game Sanchez interview saw his graciousness. While talking about how thrilling it is play in the World Series, Sanchez had this message for long-suffering Pirates fans: “That’s the one regret I have, that we didn’t get it done for those fans. Pirates fans are so great, and they stand behind their team. They deserve a winner there.” (Watch Sanchez during his midseason return to Pittsburgh praise the Pirates fans here.)

Whenever a deserving, good guy like Sanchez stars in the national spotlight, all of baseball is the better for it.

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Joe Guzzardi belongs to the Society for American Baseball Research, as well as the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. Email him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com

With Wins Above Replacement being a relatively new stat in baseball, gaining acceptance only in the past decade, it makes sense many awards historically bear loose correlation with the WAR totals from their respective years. In fact, sometimes it’s been off by a wide margin.

I bring this up because with the San Francisco Giants looking like they could win the World Series, I think there’s a chance the following National League Most Valuable Player scenario occurs: Carlos Gonzalez, Albert Pujols, and Joey Votto cancel one another’s Triple Crown-esque seasons among voters and Aubrey Huff, the best player on a starless Giants team wins MVP. This despite Huff trailing Pujols in WAR 5.9 to 7.2.

Here are some other times an MVP winner didn’t have the best WAR ranking:

Roger Peckinpaugh, 1925 (2.4): Perhaps the worst MVP in baseball history, Peckinpaugh hit .294 with four home runs and 64 RBI in 1925 and was buried on the WAR charts, even strictly among his AL champion Washington Senators. Teammate Goose Goslin had 18 home runs, 113 RBI, .334 and a 6.6 WAR that was just below AL leader Harry Heilmann at 7.1. Goslin even did better in the World Series than Peckinpaugh, hitting .308 with three home runs and six RBI.

Mickey Cochrane, 1934 (4.3): Another MVP vote that, in hindsight, seems insane. Of course, WAR didn’t exist in 1934 to show Lou Gehrig triumphing in WAR with 10.7, but his Triple Crown season amidst Babe Ruth’s decline should have secured him the MVP. And on the AL champion Detroit Tigers, 23-year-old first baseman Hank Greenberg meant more than veteran catcher/manager Cochrane. Greenberg bested Cochrane in WAR at 6.7, batting average (.339 t0 .320), home runs (26 to two) and RBI (139 to 76), among other things.

Joe Gordon, 1942 (8.4): It’s not that Gordon wasn’t outstanding, hitting .322 and posting the second-best WAR in the league for the AL champion New York Yankees. But the man in front of him in WAR at 11.0 and second in MVP voting, Ted Williams, won the Triple Crown with 36 home runs, 137 RBI and a .356 batting average. In fact, Williams wasn’t MVP his other Triple Crown season, 1947 or in 1941 when he hit .406. Williams lost both of those years to Joe DiMaggio but once again led the AL in WAR each season.

Dick Groat, 1960 (5.7): Joe Guzzardi wrote here on Wednesday that Roberto Clemente considered teammate Don Hoak the true NL MVP in 1960. The honor also could have gone to Willie Mays, who overcame a thin Giants team to post an NL-best 9.7 WAR, with 29 home runs and 103 RBI.

Maury Wills, 1962 (6.1): Here’s another year Mays got robbed, which happened routinely in the ’60s. Mays amassed 10.6 WAR, 49 home runs, 141 RBI, a .304 batting average, and a Gold Glove for the NL champion Giants in 1962. He represented the winning run in Game Seven when only a phenomenal catch of a McCovey line drive by Bobby Richardson kept San Francisco from its first championship. Wills broke a longstanding stolen base record.

Ken Boyer, 1964 (5.6): As in 1960, Mays led the NL in WAR, at 10.2 (as well as home runs with 47) but came nowhere close to MVP. While it’s understandable writers would honor a member of the world champion St. Louis Cardinals, they could have tabbed Bob Gibson who posted a higher WAR, at 6.2 and went 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 27 innings in the World Series.

Jeff Burroughs (3.6), Steve Garvey (5.1), 1974: Mike Schmidt had twice as much WAR as Garvey, with an NL-best 10.5, and the NL champion Dodgers also got superior WAR from Ron Cey, Andy Messersmith, and Jimmy Wynn. Burroughs put up good numbers for a Texas Ranger club that made a dramatic jump in the standings, going from 57-105 to 84-76; but in WAR, Burroughs ranked far below AL leader Gaylord Perry at 8.2, Reggie Jackson who posted a 6.7 WAR to go with 29 home runs for the world champion Oakland Athletics, and Rod Carew who had 6.4 WAR and a .364 batting average for the Twins.

Jim Rice, 1978 (7.0): Rice was fourth in WAR, trailing Ron Guidry, who put up an AL-best 8.5 WAR and went 25-3 with 1.74 ERA for the world champion Yankees. I emailed one of my regular readers while writing this post, and he replied, “I think that Rice winning was one of the worse miscarriages of all time. If Guidry has a special season and goes 23-4, there’s no playoff. If he loses the playoff and ends 24-4, they go home. He has an all time historic season and still loses out. Without him, the Yankees don’t win the pennant, let alone the World Series.”

Ken Caminiti, 1996 (7.9): It’s not so much that Caminiti revealed in 2002 that he used steroids during this season– Caminiti rates a mention here because Barry Bonds, the NL leader in 1996 in WAR at 10.8, turned in a 40-40 season that year but finished fifth in MVP voting.

Related: The seven greatest seasons for pitchers since 1950