Baseball becoming young man's game
Posted: Friday, August 31, 2007 3:17 PM
There are Joba Rules now in New York. A new phrase has been introduced to baseball fans. A young phenom has been thrust into a pennant race between baseball’s most heated rivals. His organization is trying to limit his use, protecting future value from present day abuse.
The Yankees hope Joba Chamberlain will be this year’s Francisco Rodriguez, an electric arm whose spark added to the Yanks’ bullpen could propel them to postseason success. Right now, he is the biggest and brightest example of another change in baseball.
It’s talent over experience.
We’ve seen the game become more athletic, gravitating away from slow-pitch softball toward speed, defense and all-around athleticism.
Now we’re seeing the game go young, younger than ever in crucial positions for contending teams.
Look at the Yankees, chasing the Red Sox and catching the Mariners with Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes filling key pitching roles while Melky Cabrera’s play in center has ended any nostalgia for Bernie Williams.
Whether it’s Cameron Maybin replacing Craig Monroe in Detroit, Lastings Milledge threatening Shawn Green’s at-bats with the Mets or Arizona thrusting 19-year-old Justin Upton into right field for a division leader, furthering the youth movement on the “Baby Backs,” the trend is clear: Teams are more willing to push their own talent instead of casting about for retreads.
Some of this is the demand to win now; some is the hope inherent in new talent over the faint glimmer of discovering life in used bodies. What’s interesting is that teams, once accused by agents/union of suppressing young talent to delay the service time clock and thus arbitration and free agency, are now more than willing to bring forth their young. Win now, they hope, and we’ll gladly pay later.
Quick final thoughts on the big week in baseball: The Phillies and Angels were the big winners. There is now an unexpected race in the NL East and the Braves advantage over the Mets this year (8-4) looms over this weekend’s series in Atlanta. Seattle’s bats were silenced by the Angels’ pitching and that haunts the M’s in September: can they hit when it matters most?
Most amazing stat this week: they haven’t pounded him, but the Indians have beaten Johan Santana four times this season. They have one more meeting, Monday at the Metrodome.
The Yankees are the front-runner for the wild card and have put some doubt into Red Sox Nation. The game wins if their September series at Fenway has meaning.
