George was The Boss, make no mistake. He built the Yankees into champions and that’s something nobody can ever deny. He was a very generous, caring, passionate man. George and I had our differences, but who didn’t? We became great friends over the last decade and I will miss him very much.

I found this link in a post at Another Cubs Blog. Author mb21 cuts to the chase:

There’s no such thing as a closer of the future.

In Moneyball Michael Lewis noted Billy Beane’s success in keeping closers on a budget. He avoided paying for the successful and generally (barring injuries and Octavio Dotel) had few problems bringing up new ones.

A corollary, I suspect, is that there’s no special value in college closers.

Last night Tim Wakefield passed Roger Clemens to become the all-time innings pitched leader for the Boston Red Sox. He tops an impressive list:

1. Tim Wakefield

2. Roger Clemens

3. Cy Young

4. Luis Tiant

Next up, the all-time Red Sox wins record. Clemens and Young both have 192. Wake has 177. 15 plus 1 to go.

Because nothing says “Spring Training” like Boof Bonser’s tattoos.

Man, this makes me happy.

What about Scutaro’s fielding? Sox fans don’t know. Neither do I. Almost no one knows.

After some research I’m prepared to say that Gonzalez and Scutaro are both somewhere in the muddy middle of fielders. Gonzalez may be slightly better and he’s certainly more consistent, but it’s hard to make the call. For the record, the best in 2009 was the obscure Jack Wilson. The best this decade was probably the light-hitting Adam Everett. The worst this decade is quite likely Derek Jeter (though he had his best year ever in 2009). This brings up Bill James’ seminal article, Jeter vs. Everett, which could be subtitled “the skeptic looks at fielding.” After reviewing an analysis prepared by John Dewan of Baseball Info Solutions, James writes:

The low defensive rating for Derek Jeter is not based on computers, it is not based on statistics, and it is not based on math. It is based on a specific observation that there are balls going through the shortstop hole against the Yankees that might very well have been fielded.

This type of analysis — in which every play in every game is examined by position — is how hardcore enthusiasts grade fielding. Two statistics that result are plus/minus and zone rating. Plus/minus evaluates how many runs score (or not) based on plays made (or not). Zone rating is a ratio of plays made compared to the number of balls hit in a player’s “zone.”

Baseball Reference provides a plus/minus rating called “Total Fielding Runs Above Average” abbreviated Rtot, or Rtot/yr when divided by 1,250 innings.

FanGraphs provides a zone rating called “Ultimate Zone Rating” abbreviated UZR, or UZR/150 when divided by 150 defensive games.

Two things stand out to me when examining these statistics. The first is that while they roughly track each other, the two ratings don’t always agree — underscoring the difficulty of evaluating fielding. The second is that for individual players, fielding varies as much as batting from year to year, if not more so. Like batting, fielding is affected by injury, age, luck, and intangibles. Everett’s wizardry in 2006 and 2007 was followed by good but not great years in 2008 and 2009. Gonzalez’s UZR/150 since 2002 (not counting 2008 when he did not play) is 10.5, 6.8, 5.0, -2.7, 16.9, 5.9, and 10.5 (for comparison, Everett achieved a high of 29.2 in 2007 and has never been lower than 11.2 as a starter).

In this company, Scutaro appears to be especially erratic. In 2006, when he played 69 games at shortstop for the Athletics, his UZR/150 was negative 28.1. Two years later, when he played 56 games at shortstop for the Blue Jays, his UZR/150 was positive 20.3. Arguably the fact that he played multiple positions every season before 2009 could be a factor — perhaps cutting into his practice and certainly lowering the sample sizes. His actual capability as a shortstop may best be reflected by his 2009 season, when he played 143 games at shortstop and achieved a UZR/150 of 1.0. In lifetime numbers, Scutaro ends up as an average fielder at shortstop with a UZR/150 of -2.9 (he is average or worse at second and third base as well).

Gonzalez seems to be a more consistent fielder than Scutaro, but he may not be a better fielder. Certainly, it’s impossible to say who will be better in 2010. Yet Red Sox fans will continue to remember Gonzalez fondly, not least because his best year as a fielder, in 2006, just happened to be for the Boston club.

A summary of findings:

I want to see Tim Wakefield pitch in the All-Star Game. He’s a good guy, and historically unique, and I’ve been avidly following the ups and downs of his career since he arrived in the majors 17 years ago. I think an All-Star Game that has room for Tim Wakefield is a better All-Star Game.

The Red Sox used to line up their starters so that Tim Wakefield would follow Curt Schilling. The idea was to keep opposing hitters off balance through a three-game series.

Now Joe Maddon gets to do the same thing in miniature. Sometime in the later innings, after the NL sluggers have faced Roy Halladay, Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander and few other flamethrowers, after their bats are catching up, Maddon will send out Wakefield for an inning of 60 mph knucklers — and the most effective 72 mph fastball in the majors.

Then he’ll send out Jonathan Papelbon and his 97 mph fastball.

Update: Well, Maddon didn’t use Wakefield. Maybe in a 3-3 ballgame, Maddon figured he’d save Wakefield for the 12th – 15th innings. And maybe he didn’t want to give Victor Martinez a heart attack.

All this anguish went for nought as the Red Sox proceeded to rally the next night, scoring 4 in the ninth to tie the Orioles, then beating them in extra innings.

Carl Bialik has the numbers. Of the two comebacks, the Orioles’ was the more improbable. Oddly, the odds against the Red Sox were slightly more extreme with the score 5-3 and two outs in the ninth then they were at the beginning of the ninth with the score 5-1.

As for fate, Jonathan Papelbon gets redemption. He doesn’t blow the save. None of the other pitchers involved in the debacle on June 30 were involved. Ramon Ramirez gets the win. The key hit is delivered by Rocco Baldelli off the bench.