This entry was posted on 4/1/2008 11:03 AM and is filed under uncategorized.
Another interesting transcript of the weekly segment with Peter Gammons on 890 ESPN last week. Gammons, discusses among things, the need for Daisuke to slow the game down on the mound this season and specific areas in which Manny's offseason training at API refined his swing and timing at the plate.
Enjoy.
PG: I’m glad the silliness of going to Japan and making money for the owners is over.
Q: Did you enjoy getting up at six at watching the ballgames?
PG: I might have. I’m always up by then anyway. That was fun, but I don’t think it’s something you’d want to do all the time. It would be interesting to see what the ratings would be for NESN if they had every game on at 6 in the morning. This is all about selling licensed products in Japan for Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball’s theme song is the old Contours song: “I don’t care if she waddles like a duck or talks with a lisp, I know I’m in good luck as long as the bills are crisp.” The first time they look at the purse, that’s all that Major League Baseball cares about. To heck with the integrity of a Pennant Race.
Q: Let’s talk about some of the things that we saw in those two games, and let’s start with Daisuke and Jon Lester.
PG: Let’s start with this…I bank no importance on anything that happened there because it’s such an aberrational thing. Being on a plane 17 hours and certain people never going to sleep, I’ll take what I saw in Florida over what I saw in Japan.
Q: That being said, the problems they had in Japan were the same problems throwing strikes and working deep into games were the same problems they had on regular rest in the States last season.
PG: I worry much more about Daisuke than I do about Lester because I saw Lester drive through and his legs just weren’t there in Japan and he wasn’t able to go down through the strike zone like he was in Florida. The thing that concerns me about Daisuke is letting the game get out of hand on him. It’s not slow to him. It amazes with his ability, the lack of command in his fastball bothers me and the lack of confidence in his fastball bothers me. We saw several times last year where he would get to the sixth or seventh inning and look brilliant, and then all of a sudden he would let things get out of hand.
He would have one walk or two walks and then things would suddenly speed up on him, or a couple of umpire’s call. I realize as Terry Francona and John Farrell pointed out there was so much hype on him going back to Japan and all of the stuff that happened with the birth of his child that maybe his metabolism sped up a little. But that was exactly what we saw last year.
I thought he recovered very well and pitched brilliantly after that, but at the same time they need Daisuke to be a very solid second, third or fourth starter that doesn’t get himself out of the control and force the bullpen…with all the pitches that he has he shouldn’t be getting the bullpen into the game in the sixth inning, and as you well know there’s a huge different between the bullpen having to come in the seventh rather than the sixth inning.
Q: Should there be any concern about the Japanese style of pitching, from the way they treat between starts regimen, from six days of rest rather than five days of rest, from the number of pitches, from what seems to a lack of challenging hitters from a lot of these Japanese pitchers. Should there be any concern about the way these guys are taught and raised when it comes to the American game?
PG: It didn’t affect Hideo Nomo and it certainly didn’t affect Saito, who was basically a released pitcher in Japan who has become one of the greatest relievers in the National League. It varies from pitcher to pitcher. I think over in Japan Daisuke could be much more dominant with his fastball. His fastball isn’t hard enough and is much too straight to be a dominant pitch here, but it could be a more effective pitch if he moves it around.
But he has to be more effective throwing his change up and sort of mixing things up. The point that Jason Varitek has made is how does he work when he gets to the third time around the order, and that’s been his biggest bugaboo in Major League Baseball. The phalanx of pitches he throws is all great until he starts speeding up with it, and that’s been his problem. So, we shall see.
I think there was a great section in David Halberstam’s book on Korea, and about what the United States learned about the Japanese in World War II. When they had their game plan and when they had their battle plan and they were going along all as planned, they were a brilliant fighting machine. When they got discombobulated in any way, they sort of fell out as things got out of hand and things got of synch and they weren’t the same.
I read that and I thought ‘you know, that was the way Daisuke pitched last year.’ I actually copied it and sent it to John Farrell from the beaches in Nevis. It’s just something to watch and see what happens. He’s such a great athlete and he’s so light on his feet and he loves the game so much and seems to enjoy it over here so much. I think he’ll adjust and he will get better.
Is he going to be a 20 game winner? I don’t know. He’s probably going to be what he’s been which is 15, 16, 17, game winner and 200 strikeouts which is a pretty good pitcher but not a superstar.
Q: Peter, you and I had a conversation once about the best right-handed hitter in baseball. It may be Pujols and I know who that is now.
PG: I think Pujols’ numbers for his career put him in a class by himself, but I don’t think Albert Pujols is going to last the season. I think the elbow is going to flare out. I don’t believe in predictions, but I did pick Manny Ramirez to win the MVP.
I think he’s going to have a phenomenal year and is going to be an absolute dominant force. I think that whole Ortiz, Ramirez middle of the order is going to be in the end what determines the AL East. I think that they’re going to have absolutely huge seasons. It wouldn’t surprise me that Manny hits about .330 with, whatever, an 1.150 OPS and will be by far the most dominant player in the league.
I was watching a game and I’d never seen Manny run like that. His winter was spent at the API in Tempe where he really worked on his running, his body, his nutrition and everything like that has really transformed him and he looks like he’s 26 years-old again. I do believe this year that [Felger] will be totally vindicated in saying that Manny Ramirez is the best right-handed hitter in the game and maybe the best offensive player in the game.
Q: The thing I find that is a joy to watch is the swing. It’s the prettiest, pure swing of my lifetime, the balance, the power to the opposite field. Now in the follow through he pimps it and lets you see it, but just from a pure swing standpoint I don’t know if I’ve seen better.
PG: No, it’s a great swing and Pujols is too. The thing that has gotten Manny into slumps at times – besides injuries and disinterest – is that his leg kick will get out of synch and he’ll say ‘God I can’t get my landing time down.” It seems that the conditioning work he did this winter has gotten his body into such great shape that the landing foot isn’t a problem. I remember a few years ago he went two months where he struggled with his timing on that.
I think that he came into camp in such great shape that it really hasn’t been an issue.
He hasn’t needed any adjustment period which is unusual for him. It’s a high leg kick and it’s not easy to hit with that kind of kick.
Q: How do you think they’re going to treat the centerfield situation and why did Crisp get the start in the second game?
PG: Tito definitely wants to tone down the expectations on Jacoby Ellsbury and secondly they want Coco playing and being part of the program. If they get a chance to trade him then they’ll trade him, but they need Coco’s head in the game. If Coco or Ellsbury could throw a little better than you’d be over the problem because one of them could play right field, but really Ellsbury played left field in the Cape because he couldn’t throw well enough to play centerfield. His arm has gotten much better, but throwing has been a problem for him and that’s probably why he did what he did.
This whole thing is such a Fantasyland. This whole schedule of 17 days, 7 regular season, six practice games, three countries and I think he’s just trying to find a way to play everybody.
Q: Peter, also I’ve been so many times guys like Alex Gordon be the cover boy playing every day from the start and it doesn’t work out as much as Ryan Braun brought up during the season or Dustin Pedroia sharing playing time with Alex Cora and building confidence in the beginning. Those situations seem to work out a lot more for young players.
PG: I agree. I think Ellsbury is going to be a very good player and he’s going to hit for much more power than people think right now. You watch him take BP and he’s got really nice finish. I don’t think he has quite Grady Sizemore power, but a Grady Sizemore or Curtis Granderson kind of follow.
I think he’s going to be a really good player, but he still gets kind of defensive at the plate at times and won’t take advantage of his swing. They also have to kind of keep everyone on the program and I understand that. I’d like to see Ellsbury play every day, but I’d still like to see them get Matt Murton from the Cubs rather than Bobby Kielty and go with five outfielders. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility.
