#AskSpector: Dellin Betances for Yankees closer?

Jesse Spector

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#AskSpector: Dellin Betances for Yankees closer? image

Welcome to the latest edition of the #AskSpector Tweetbag, which is, as always, your chance to get the answers to whatever questions are on your mind. What was on your mind this week? Lots of stuff, as usual. If you have a question that you would like to see answered next week, getting that answer is simple -- just head on over to Twitter and send your question with the #AskSpector hashtag. Then come on back here and see the answer!

 

 

David Robertson blew a save on Sunday, so we're doing this now?

The answer is no.

Robertson is 12-for-14 in saves, but more important, he's pitched really well since taking over for Mariano Rivera. The amazing strikeout rate that Betances has, at 15.4 per nine inning? Robertson's is 16.0. If you want to make the case that Betances should be the primary setup man over Adam Warren, that's fine. If you want to argue that Robertson's proficiency at getting out of jams means he should be used as more of a true fireman than a 21st century, ninth-inning-door-swings-open closer, you're right and Joe Girardi has shown a willingness to go to Robertson in high-leverage situations in the eighth inning. Pump the brakes on rushing a pitcher with 40.1 career innings of work into the closer's role, though.

 

 

Martinez is 35 years old, a DH who occasionally plays first base and can sometimes get behind the plate. His main tool is his bat, with which he is hitting .335/.390/.595 this year. His OPS+ of 165 is 42 points better than his impressive career mark, and a 53-point increase on last year's full campaign. See how the season plays out, but for comparison's sake, David Ortiz made a shade under $44 million for his age 36-38 seasons, and Carlos Beltran, now 37 years old, is in the first season of a three-year, $45 million deal. Martinez's next contract should be somewhere in that range.

 

 

My preseason picks to make the playoffs were the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Royals, Rangers, Nationals, Cardinals, Pirates, Dodgers and Giants. Of those teams, Boston, Kansas City, Washington, and Pittsburgh have losing records, so all four of those teams would qualify to me as disappointments so far. The biggest disappointment in the majors, though, has to be a team that I just barely avoided picking to play in October after making it last year -- the Rays. They are 23-34, have lost six straight games, and sit 10.5 games out of first place in the American League East. That is astounding.

 

 

Back in April, I was asked whether I thought Encarnacion or Allen Craig was more likely to rebound from a slow start. I picked Encarnacion, and boy was I right. In the month of may, he hit .281/.369/.763 with 16 home runs to lead the Blue Jays into first place in the American League East. Encarnacion's May could have been even better if not for a .195 BABIP. Craig hit .291/.354/.427 in May, so he wasn't half bad, but he certainly wasn't at Encarnacion's level. Anyway, the Rangers had a better month, because they are going to the Stanley Cup Final, while Encarnacion, after the best month of his career, still finds himself trailing Nelson Cruz in the home run race.

 

 

I don't know if the Blue Jays are going to trade for Jeff Samardzija, but the price for whoever wants the right-hander from the Cubs is sure to be steep, prospect-wise. Let's not act like Toronto is one pitcher away from running away with the American League East, though. The Blue Jays' downfall in recent years has been games within the division, and so far this year, they are a combined 4-5 against the two teams closest to them in the standings, the Yankees and Orioles. And as well as Mark Buehrle has pitched as the one truly reliable starter Toronto has, the 0.94 difference between his ERA and FIP, compared to a career differential of 0.31, suggests that he is headed for some serious regression. Maybe that doesn't happen, because this is just a special season for him, but I'm not sold on the Blue Jays just yet.

 

 

I think that the status quo is sustainable for as long as MLB maintains a two-league setup. Logically, you know that the MLBPA will fight tooth and nail against any attempt to get rid of the DH and the high-paying jobs it creates. Owners also have an incentive to make the DH universal, as doing so would take pitchers -- already so fragile -- out of harm's way when they are not pitching. The arguments for eliminating the DH come back to tradition and strategy. Those do not stand a chance against financial reasons on a long-term basis.

 

 

At 5-6, Napoleon had four inches on James Madison, and as far as physical exploits go, we know that Napoleon was active as a soldier, while Madison's military service was more of an administrative role. Also, Madison went to Princeton, and I'm never picking a Princeton man in anything having to do with basketball, so it's Napoleon all the way.

 

 

You can't go wrong with cereal.

 

 

Find the answer to your question in The Screwball.

 

 

I think "Ice Ice Baby" is the only reasobable choice.

 

 

Frozen, without a doubt. On a related note, they now sell bottled margaritas in the stands at Yankee Stadium. What a world we live in.

 

 

This is a classic paradox. A good read on it is found in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

 

 

I'll take the outfielder over the goaltender every single time when it comes to trying to project a future of stardom. Goalies are voodoo. Nobody ever says that about outfielders. Even Pedro Cerrano's name doesn't come up.

 

 

In "Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch," the titular character plays first base, or at least so it appears from the trailer, because, full disclosure, I have not see the movie.

Astros first basemen are last in the majors with a .561 OPS this season. Also, since so few people in Houston have access to Comcast Sportsnet, which airs Astros games, it's sort of like they're baseball's version of direct-to-DVD. So, it works on multiple levels.

 

 

As far as number of World Series victories since the Blue Jays' inception as a franchise, the difference is one, in Boston's favor. This year, there is a difference of six games in the standings, in Toronto's favor.

 

 

At the old Yankee Stadium, before the 1970s renovations, the monuments were in play. That's much crazier than a hill in center field. The Gas House Gorillas' park had a flagpole, and then also a gravestone.

So, yes, teams can have obstructions in the field of play.

 

 

I think Alain Vigneault's style invigorated the Rangers, but it's not like they didn't get to a conference final two years ago under John Tortorella, and with Ryan Callahan playing a key role. I have no idea how the Stanley Cup is going to play out -- I just look forward to seeing it, because both the Rangers and Kings are very good teams who have this penchant for playing dramatic playoff series, with five seven-gamers and a six-gamer between them this spring.

 

 

I don't think it's unreasonable to think that the Astros can make the playoffs by the end of the decade.

Okay, maybe JFK had loftier goals for things coming out of Houston in a short period of time.

 

 

I'll turn this one over to #AskSpector correspondent Lil' Jon.

 

 

One of the casualties of a clothing weed-out a few years ago in my apartment was the David Justice name-and-number Yankees t-shirt (it's okay on the t-shirts, not the jerseys) that I owned. So, no.

 

 

Are they signing Air Bud to play first base, or not?

 

 

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result, the question is whether you watch the Mets expecting a different result.

 

 

Unwritten rules? There are plenty of written rules. Hey, wait a minute there, Major League Baseball -- the example player in your uniform guide is not wearing high socks, let alone stirrups! GET WITH THE PROGRAM AND SET A BETTER EXAMPLE FOR HOW PLAYERS ARE SUPPOSED TO DRESS. THE RIGHT WAY. IT'S NOT SO HARD, AND EVERYONE WILL LOOK MUCH BETTER -- THE SOCKS ARE PART OF THE UNIFORM AFTER ALL AND I'm sorry, what was the question again?

 

 

Bernie Williams already fell off the BBWAA ballot because he did not get enough votes in his second year of eligibility. Mussina got 20.3% of the vote this year, well short of the required 75% for election, though it's possible that he will gain support as time goes on. Posada would seem to have a decent shot, but if Mike Piazza can't get in, who can as a catcher? And then there's Pettitte, who will be a really interesting case for those voters who make a big deal about performance-enhancing drugs. It's certainly possible that they all get in eventually, including Williams via the Veterans Committee, but I could easily see none of them getting to Cooperstown.

 

 

Yes. Milwaukee is 34-23 this season. Last year, the Reds made the playoffs with 90 wins. To match that, the Brewers would have to go 56-49 the rest of the way -- a .533 winning percentage compared to their current .596. While the current mark includes Milwaukee's hot April, Baseball Prospectus still has the Brewers as having a 65% chance of making the playoffs, and it's hard not to like that.

 

 

I love peanut butter as a food, but the fact that it can be used to get gum out of your hair is mind-blowing.

 

 

I think they need to be a little bit more aggressive about adding to a very solid core, especially when it comes to pitching depth, but yes, I do think the Orioles have a chance to win the World Series in the next five years. If you make the playoffs, you've got a shot at it, and the Orioles are a good enough team to make the playoffs, so, yeah.

 

 

Why does LeBron insist on playing at the same time as the NHL is putting on its best product? The NBA should start its playoffs in February and wrap up in early April.

 

 

I think that Beltran's performance in the 2004 playoffs, when he hit eight home runs in 12 games, impacted people's expectations, even among people smart enough to know better. Then Beltran struck out looking to end the 2006 NLCS, and more normally rational people lost their minds on all subjects Beltran. That's part of being a fan. It happens.

 

 

You mean aside from Jeff Francoeur? No, not really. Teams will want to develop pitchers as pitchers. There are conversion stories, sure, but if you think someone can hit, you're going to try to get them to the major leagues as a hitter.

 

 

I'll take Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final over Game 7 of a World Series, because you don't know if you're going to get the best pitching matchup in Game 7 of a World Series. That's the only justification I can think of for picking one over the other.

 

 

Part of me does, sure, because it would be an amazing rush to cover a team going to the Stanley Cup Final. Part of me certainly does not, because I have the luxury of having watched some of the games during said playoff run on my couch with a beer in my hand. I'm happy either way.

 

 

I think it's unfair to characterize one walkoff loss as a meltdown. Okay, seriously, the Rockies have a big month ahead that will say a lot about where they are in this year's playoff race. After three games against the Diamondbacks starting on Tuesday, Colorado faces the Dodgers and Braves at home, the Giants and Dodgers on the road, the Brwers and Cardinals at home, and then the Brewers on the road. That's seven straight series against teams with winning records. It's going to be a challenge.

 

 

I think you can pull it off.

 

 

A different flavor of ice cream.

 

 

It's going to be tough for the Rangers to top their opening salvo, quite honestly, because it was so organic.

 

 

 

 

George Carlin had some great material on New York vs. Los Angeles, but I can't find it on YouTube, so here's Huey Lewis on both cities and many more.

 

 

I always stick with my preseason pick, so I like the Blackhawks in the Final. I'm assuming that the Kings will be hit with some kind of NCAA violations before Game 1 or something. There's still time. You don't know. Okay, failing that, I'll pick what I'm rooting for -- a never-ending Game 7.

Jesse Spector