Joe Chat 9/1

From today's weekly chat with Joe (a day late I might add, Joe missed it yesterday for some reason).

Tito (Brooklyn)

Do you think CC Sabathia is the frontrunner for the AL CY Young award right now?

Joe Morgan

I've always said that but everyone seems to think that his numbers don't matter because he pitches for the Yankees. All CC has done is continue to win, while others were talking about Cliff Lee being the best pitcher in the AL. Right now we have many different ways to look at how a pitcher is performing, but the name of the game is to win. I feel that he should be the Cy Young Award winner because he's the only one carrying the Yankees rotation right now. But there's something about the Yankees that people don't want to give him credit for. I'm amazed that Mark Teixiera and Jeter did not get a first place vote for MVP last year.

“I’m amazed that Mark Teixeira and Jeter did not get a first place vote for MVP last year.” What does this sentence have to do with the rest of the answer? Abso-fuckin-lutely nothing. Why the hell would Joe bring up last year’s MVP voting when talking about the Cy Young race this year? I have no fucking idea. And even if you forget the fact that the sentence is completely irrelevant, Joe was apparently not paying attention to this guy named Joe Mauer last year. Mauer had better numbers than Jeter in literally almost every meaningful statistic (2B, HR, RBI, AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, BB, TB, and less Ks). And Mauer had a better AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS then Mark Teixeira as well. Oh, and he did it while playing the most difficult position on the baseball field, catcher. So that is why neither Jeter nor Teixeira received any first place votes. (Side note: the only first place vote that didn’t go to Mauer went to Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who got the vote from a Detroit writer. Seems fair…)

Connor (Philadelphia)

What is your opinion on the batting woes of the Phillies. Is this something you feel they can come out of any time soon, and can they make the playoffs if it continues?

Joe Morgan

The amazing thing to me is they fired their hitting coach. He was there when they won back to back pennants and they have not hit better since. They are definitely an offensive led team. They do not have four great starters nor (sic) a great bullpen. If their offense continues to struggle, then no they won't make the playoffs. But I expect Ryan Howard to do what they've done and lead the team in September to another championship.

1) Please, just try to read that last sentence. It doesn’t make any sense.

2) Sorry, but last time I checked, the championship is in October, not September.

3) You didn’t answer the first question.

Pete (NC)

Starlin Castro has been amazing. Any chance he edges Posey for NL ROY?

Joe Morgan

He came late on the scene, I think that puts him at a slight disadvantage. I'm not going to give the award to Posey. I think he'll be a big star in the league. I'm still a Jason Heyward fan. He got the Braves off to a great start and kept them in the pennant race. If I were voting right now, it would be Heyward, Posey and then Castro. But I have no problem with people thinking Posey would be No. 1.

Who came in late on the scene? Castro? Castro got called up May 7. Posey got called up May 29. If Castro was late to the scene, then Posey was later. But good try, anyway. The case can definitely be made that Posey is ahead of Castro, and I would probably agree with you. But it’s not because Castro was “late on the scene.”

ish (NYC)

Joe, ready to pronounce the Red Sox done? Eight games and two teams in a month? Can't be done, right?

Joe Morgan

Well, they only have to leap over one team to get to the playoffs, probably. First, the Red Sox have the best rotation of the teams, if they pitch to their potential. They have to have Beckett pitch as he did in the past and Lackey as he did when he was the Angels' aces. If that happens, it's not over yet. Their chances are slim, but it's not over. The Yankees' starting rotation, other than Sabathia and Hughes, is struggling. Plus they've said they're going to cut down on Hughes' pitch count.

I forgot, John Lackey used to be so good, that not only was he the Angels number one starter, he was also their number two and three starters. Yes, that’s right, John Lackey used to be the Angels’ “aces.” And Beckett has to pitch like he did in the past. I’m sorry Joe, could you please be a little more vague? But hey, great news Sox fans! All the Red Sox need is to have a few of their pitchers go back in time a couple years and start pitching like they did in their prime. If that happens, who knows how the AL East race will end.

Jason (Long Island, NY)

Hey Joe. Big fan! I'm curious. When you are in a slump, is there stuff that a player does differently then when they are hitting well, or you have stay inside your strengths and the hits will just come?

Joe Morgan

No, a lot of times when a hitter goes into a slump, his balance gets out of whack, his timing.

He asked an either or question, and you responded by saying “no.” Good job, Joe. But it sounds like you’re saying that a guy’s stance and approach at the plate has changed when he goes into a slump. Okay.

A hitter's balance is the most important thing. If you have it and you're swinging properly, the hits will come.

Wait, so now you’re saying that he should just keep doing what he’s doing and the hits will come.

For me, you go back to the fundamentals all the time. Seeing the ball and getting your balance back. A lot of times guys will try a lot of different things, change your stance, start guessing. When you do that, that's when slumps get prolonged.

Don’t you have to try different things if your balance and timing are off and you need to get them back? You certainly can’t keep doing the same thing and expect your balance and timing to magically appear, right? And who says you can’t change your stance and be successful? Josh Hamilton did it, and it seems to have worked out all right for him. Hell, Cal Ripken Jr. changed his stance every other day, and he’s only in the Hall of Fame.

Steve (Middletown, CT)

Hey Joe the Reds in '75 and '76 didn't have a single player hit 30 home runs or a pitcher win 20 games. How were you guys so successful without much power and even fewer good pitchers?

Joe Morgan

First of all, it doesn't matter if you have 5 pitchers win 20 games or 10 pitchers win 10 games, either way it's 100 wins. And I'm not sure if Bench or Foster didn't hit 30, I had 27….

Believe it or not, Joe, the man was right (he must have actually done some research…). Neither Bench nor Foster had 30 home runs in either of those years.