Hank Takes On The NL

Hank Steinbrenner holds the National League responsible for the devastating injury suffered by Chien Ming Wang when running the bases in Houston on Sunday.

"My only message is simple: The National League needs to join the 21st century," Steinbrenner said. "They need to grow up and join the 21st century. I've got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He's going to be out. I don't like that, and it's about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s."

Not to be picky, but the designated hitter rule was not instituted until 1973. Hey, what's three quarters of a century between friends. Most American League fans may agree with Steinbrenner's logic, as self-centered as it may currently seem. NL fans will preach "baseball purism" with equal vigor, and nothing will change.

Wang Out With Lisfranc Injury

According to multiple sources, Chien Ming Wang has been diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot:

Imaging studies revealed a mid-foot sprain of the Lisfranc ligament of the right foot and a partial tear of the peroneal longus tendon of the right foot.

This is the same injury which has kept Brian Bruney out and Wang will be stuck in a protective boot for six weeks before beginning rehabilitation. Looks like a late August return would be the ideal situation though Wang could be out until the postseason starts.

These recovery periods are purely speculative on my part, though the Sabathia rumors will certainly gain a life of its own. No doubt about it, this injury is a devastating blow to a team which had just recently begun playing good baseball.

Wang's Progression As A Pitcher

From the NY Sun article: comes a look at Chien-Ming Wang's progression as a pitcher - and not a thrower - though the author does not seem to understand how pitches break.

The most glaring of errors comes when he discusses Wang's sinking fastball. The pitch breaks down and IN to right handed hitters and AWAY from left handed batters - completely opposite from the writer's analysis.

If you don't know that a sinker breaks away from a pitcher's armside, you might want to go back to the blackboard before offering a "study" on pitching. If Wang's fastball broke down and into a left hander's sweet spot it would be a cutter, or the pitch which Mariano Rivera uses to dominate lefties.

Hard to take the rest of his words seriously:

For most of his time in the majors, Wang’s biggest weakness has been against left-handed hitters. Last year, for instance, he struck out 7.9% of those he faced, as against 17.8% of right-handers. There’s no mystery as to why. His nasty sinking fastball, which he routinely throws at 94 mph and can throw much harder, breaks down but also tilts — out and away from right-handers but right into the sweet spot where most left-handers like the ball. The same is true of his slider, his second-best pitch. Wang has usually tried to neutralize left-handers with a changeup that he rarely throws to right-handers, but it isn’t an especially effective pitch.

This year, he has slightly but noticeably changed his approach, throwing the fastball more often against left-handers and the changeup and slider less often, while mixing in the odd split-finger or cutter. So far, his strikeout rate against them is up to 12.2%, which isn’t fantastic, but represents an improvement of half over what he did last year. If he can keep doing as well while continuing to suppress left-handed power (he’s given up just one home run to left-handers in 82 plate appearances), he’ll have gone a long way toward plugging the biggest hole in his game. Against right-handers, Wang has been throwing a cut fastball a bit more often. It isn’t a great pitch, but it does give hitters something else to look for, and further shows his evolving style.

Tonight’s game, though, will especially bear watching because it will give some insight into how Wang will deal with his second main weakness — his susceptibility to lineups that have his fastball well scouted.

For future reference Mr. Marchman here are a few remedial pitching lessons: a fastball goes fast, a curveball curves and a slider slides. Leave the rest of the pitch analysis out of your writing. Yikes.

Wanger Makes History,Remains Oblivious

Chien-Ming Wang battled through six innings and, aided by a timely Bobby Abreu grand slam, was able to improve to 4-0 on the season. The win was a milestone for Wang, the 50th of his career, and put him in good company.

It took Wang a mere 85 starts to gather 50 wins. The last starter to win 50 so quickly was Doc Gooden and the last Yankee was Ron Guidry - both of whom did so in 82 starts.

When asked for his reaction after the game, Wang was his aloof and accidentally hilarious self:

Wang had no idea about the milestone until I mentioned it to him. “Dwight Gooden?” he said. "Who’s that?”

“He pitched for the Mets,” I said.

“You mean Doc Gooden,” he said. “Same guy?”

Joba Chamberlain, who was listening to our conversation, was laughing hysterically.

You've got to hand it to the guy. He makes Tim Duncan look like Conan O'Brien.

Inside The Mind of the Wanger

SI.com had a very entertaining feature on Chien-Ming Wang published yesterday - the piece is more human interest than baseball analytic - which chronicles the meteoric rise from Yankee starter to national phenomenon in his native Taiwan.

Stories of his adoptive parents and humble beginnings are somewhat well-known, but here are some more intriguing bits:

After his rookie season Wang returned home to a hero's welcome, receiving an invitation to meet President Chen Shui-Bian. By the time Wang returned home after the 2006 season, in which he went 19-6 with a 3.63 ERA and finished second in American League Cy Young voting, he was more popular than the president. "There's no question that he has more impact than anyone else in our country," says Shao. "The way we look at it, a president is in office for no more than eight years, then someone else comes along. Wang, he's everlasting."

Now Taiwan's major newspapers charge a higher advertising rate for issues published on a day that Wang pitches, as well as the day after each start. The country's largest circulation daily, Apple Daily, estimates that it sells as many as 300,000 extra papers on days that carry reports of another Wang victory. Endorsements that have come Wang's way include McDonald's, Ford, E Sun Bank (one of the largest in Taiwan) and computer-maker Acer, which claims that Wang's name alone has increased its product sales by 10% and lowered the average age of its consumer by almost four years.

Last year a study in a Taiwanese business journal, Money Weekly, found a correlation between Wang's pitching performances and the fluctuations of the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The report attributed a 25% index rise last summer to Wang's strong June and July. "We absolutely believe it to be true," Shao says of the relationship between Wang's performance and last summer's bull market. "Psychologically, how [Wang] does has a huge effect on the Taiwanese people. If he does well, people are in a good mood, and they go out and spend money. If he doesn't, you walk around and you can see people depressed. It's a very personal matter to the Taiwanese people." (For the record, the country's stock index was up roughly 6%, through Monday, since Wang's first start this season, on April 1.)

In their coverage of pop stars and politicians, the Taiwanese papers can be as cruel as the New York tabloids; when it comes to [Wang], they generally do not pry into his personal life.

"The [Taiwanese] media, they know about this image. They could write about the expensive jewelry he buys, but they don't. They don't want to hurt the image."

And you thought Britney and Paris had to deal with scrutiny. Wang's pitching habits may impact Taiwan's national economy, but our "celebrities" can drink, fornicate, rehab and spiral downward like none other.

Dominant

Chien-Ming Wang's complete game two-hitter may have been a Bobby Abreu wallphobia misplay away from history - and the wormkiller's first no-hitter. Regardless, 9 innings, 2 hits, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts and 93 pitches means Wanger is 3-0 to start the season with a 1.23 ERA. The Boston bash brothers - Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz - were a collective 0-for-6 with three strikeouts on the night.

Plain and simple, this season has seen Wang pitch inside like never before. The results are encouraging for the Yankees as well as Dave Eiland's agent.

Wang, Joba, Mo and Head Home

Opening Night . . .

First and foremost, Tuesday's opening night was a tremendous baseball game. The fact that the Yankees won the game is secondary. There's no doubt who the player of the game was, as Melky Cabrera made two solid catches [one good, one great] along with a 315 foot homerun which landed approximately six inches over the 314 foot sign.

In second place would be Chien Ming-Wang who battled through seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks. He was nowhere near his sharpest and yet when the box-score is printed tomorrow morning it shows he fought, got the ball to Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera and earned himself the win.

It was slightly strange yet interesting to see Joe Girardi jog out to the mound in the seventh inning to chat with Wang [before the pitcher induced a crucial groundout to keep the score tied at 2]. Rivera handed Girardi the ball from the final out, and during his postgame interview the new skipper was noticeably emotional before composing himself.

So as to avoid wasting your time, here are some aspects which stood out during tonight's ballgame:

• Jason Giambi looked cat-like in the field, snatching a screaming line drive with the infield in, and avoiding a tag on an important baserunning play in the seventh.

• Bobby Abreu smoked two balls into rightfield and obviously is planning to start a bit hotter than his dreary 2007 opening.

• Alex Rodriguez - 2 for 3 on the night - picked up where he left off gobbling up his first RBI opportunity in the first inning with an opposite field double.

• Joba Chamberlain is not yet in midseason form - as many last remember him in the Bronx - but he was still able to strike out two and post a zero before passing the baton to Mariano Rivera. Mo, did look like he was pitching in June, pitching a perfect inning and striking out one to earn the first save of 2008. Last season Mariano earned his first save of the season on April 28.

• Roy Halladay caught the short end of the stick after dominating the Yankees for the majority of the game. The "Doc" absolutely dominated through the first five innings, throwing less than 10 pitches per inning through those five frames.
  
  He was throwing his two-seam and four-seam fastballs on either side of the plate. His cutter or slider and spike curveball were also working. That meant Yankees hitters were digging in and had no clue what Halladay would throw next. He is truly a rare breed, the #1 starter in Major League Baseball. Unfortunately, his x-rated reaction to Leche's homerun is nowhere near top-notch.
  

Who Hits Who....

Every starting pitcher has hitters they own and others that own them. Today's starters Chien-Ming Wang and Roy Halladay are no different. Shannon Stewart will replace Matt Stairs who is out with a hip ailment. From The Star Ledger:

Jason Giambi has hit Roy Halladay well, .315 with three homers in 54 at bats, and Robinson Cano is 5-for-13 (.385) with two doubles and two homers against Halladay. But Hideki Matsui is 7-for-34 (.206) against Halladay.

Wang last year was 0-2 against Toronto, with a 6.35 ERA over three starts. He has a 2.23 ERA against the Jays in his career at Yankee Stadium, 12.46 at Rogers Centre. Aaron Hill hits Wang particularly hard: 9-for-14, three doubles and a triple. Frank Thomas is 1-for-11 (.091) against Wang.

Wang on carpet equals Kei Igawa. At home he's Brandon Webb.

Wang Named Opening Day Starter

No shocker here, but Chien-Ming Wang has officially been tabbed the opening day starter for the 2008 New York Yankees. Wang would have been honored with the 2007 opening day start had he not suffered a hamstring injury during Spring training. In his stead pitched Carl Pavano before returning to the comforts of the disabled list.

Inside The Tampa Clubhouse. On his blog, Phil Hughes posted a cell phone photo of the now legendary interior decorating Mike Mussina concocted in his dark corner of the Yankees locker room. Meanwhile, LoHud has the story of yesterday's incident in which a Chien-Ming Wang wild pitch nearly decapitated Derek Jeter. In the same post Joe Girardi reportedly voiced his early impressions of Dan McCutchen, Mark Melancon and Steven White - all strong candidates for the Yankees bullpen at some point next season.

Wang loses arbitration hearing, and $600 K. The hearing between the Yankees and starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang was resolved today, with the Bombers winning the case. The Yankees offered $4 million and Wang requested $4.6 million. Either way, this is not a very big deal - particularly because of Wang's nonchalant persona.

From the Wanger's perspective, the past fews weeks had the frontline starter witness fellow youngster Robinson Cano ink a deal potentially worth nearly $60 million and lose an extra $600,000 via an insulting arbitration hearing.

Wang: Yankees Say 'Not Now'

Newsday cites Chien-Ming Wang who said the Yankees told him now is "not the time" for a longterm contract for the sinkerball specialist. Although Wang said "I want to" complete a multiyear deal, the Yankees are showing a clear reluctance to lock up young pitchers for an extended period of time.

This approach makes sense because the Yankees can control Wang's cost. However, it's also tough love as the Taiwan product probably deserves similar compensation that Robinson Cano recently received. From Newsday:

Newsday first reported in December that Wang's camp was interested in a long-term contract, but yesterday marked Wang's first words on the matter. The Yankees didn't share the desire to sign Wang long-term, even though the righthander has won 38 games in the past two seasons. General manager Brian Cashman did not return a phone call, but told Newsday recently, "Not at this time," when asked about possibly signing Wang long-term.

Wang echoed Cashman's words, saying the Yankees told him it was "not the time."

This is the first time Wang is arbitration-eligible, and his agent, Alan Nero, said he expects to go to an arbitration hearing tomorrow.

Wang said he is OK with going to arbitration and OK with not. Someone close to Wang said the pitcher is disappointed that the Yankees would not entertain the idea of a long-term contract. The source said that the fact that the Yankees signed second baseman Cano to a contract worth at least $30 million and up to $57 million adds to Wang's disappointment at not receiving the same type offer.

One reason the Yankees told Wang they did not want to do a long-term deal now, he said, is: "Because pitchers [can find it] hard to stay healthy."

I'd say Wang has reason to be disappointed, though it speaks of his character that he has yet to complain about his situation and only offered his desire to secure his future with New York.

Wang, Yankees Arbitration Bound

According to the Journal News, the Yankees and Chien-Ming Wang are headed to an arbitration hearing to determine the 19-game winner's 2008 salary.

General manager Brian Cashman said yesterday he expects the team will need a hearing to settle its differences with ace right-hander Chien-Ming Wang.

"There have been talks, but they haven't been productive," Cashman said. "Unless something changes dramatically, we'll see them at the hearing."

The hearing is scheduled for Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla., the same day Wang is scheduled to report to training camp in Tampa. The 27-year-old has been working out with a trainer in Arizona for the last two weeks.

Cashman and agent Alan Nero have discussed terms for Wang since the end of last season. But no deal could be reached, and the sides entered the arbitration process last month. The Yankees submitted $4 million, and Nero $4.6 million.

Wang is 38-13 with a 3.67 ERA over the past two years, probably enough clout to win him his arbitration hearing.

Smith Wanted Kennedy And Wang

The post Santana deal fallout begins. The ace lefthander told Minnesota he would invoke his no-trade clause if he was not dealt by Tuesday.

A report in the Bergen Record today reveals that Twins GM Bill Smith came back to the Yankees after Boston removed Jon Lester from any potential package. Smith reportedly informed Brian Cashman that Phil Hughes would no longer be required in a package to attain Johan Santana. However, a Daily News report made more sense, contending that Smith came back to Cashman and did not ask for just Ian Kennedy, but also demanded Chien-Ming Wang.

To this demand Cashman simply offered rejection, content to move forward with the young pitching he assembled last season. There is no proven fact as to why Smith demanded Kennedy - a prospect superior to any player included in the Mets package - and Wang, a two-time 19 game winner in his twenties. However, it would seem Smith was content to demand more from the Yankees (and Boston) because he was instructed to keep Santana out of the American League unless a deal brought back major dividends.

Cano Wants Long Term Deal

The Yankees are not known for extending their young cost controlled players to multi year contracts until they hit free agency. Chien-Ming Wang and Robinson Cano are no exceptions to this strategy.

However, as Kat O'Brien of Newsday reports Cano and his agent have made it known they would like to lock up a deal similar to what the Mets offered David Wright or Jose Reyes before they hit free agency:

Robinson Cano would be open to the idea of signing a long-term contract with the Yankees, his agent, Bobby Barad, said yesterday.

Barad made clear that the Yankees have not broached that topic with him and Cano, and that he has not brought up the possibility. However, should the Yankees seek to lock up their All-Star second baseman well before free agency - as the Mets did with third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes - Cano could have interest.

"He wouldn't be adverse to that in theory," Barad said.

Cano, 25, batted .306 with 19 homers and 97 RBIs this season. He has a career .314 average in three seasons. He is not eligible for free agency until after the 2010 season.

Due to their financial might, the Yankees never lose their budding stars once they hit free agency. Cano and Wang will likely sign long term extensions once they are FA eligible, however, eliminating the risk and signing them sooner may not be a bad idea. This is especially true when considering the ramifications of a potentially messy arbitration battle with the rising second baseman.


Popper: Mets Should Give Up The Farm

Mets columnist Steve Popper offers his insights regarding the neverending trade saga revolving around Johan Santana this offseason. Popper believes the Mets should give up whatever package of prospects it takes in order to acquire the lefthanded pitcher. From the Bergen Record column:

Finally, Johan Santana is off the airwaves, out of the collective minds of at least fans from New Jersey to Boston, replaced by Eli Manning, Tom Brady and their quests for history.

Which makes me wonder: Will today be the day that Santana finally is traded?

I know what I'm hoping. I hope that we never hear another rumor, never read another story – after this one – about Santana coming to (fill in the blank). And the only way that will happen is if Santana goes somewhere, anywhere.

So Mets, get it done. Give up four prospects. Give up five. Give up Fernando Martinez. Get it done.

Martinez may turn out to be a star. Deolis Guerra could turn out to be an ace. Or maybe they won't. But in Santana, arm health permitting, the Mets would ensure the future of their pitching rotation, something that they are desperately in need of beyond this season.

This is the old school, inkblotch take on baseball prospects. By marginalizing young minor league stars into players who may become this or may become that, Popper is able to overlook the importance of a strong farm system. And in the case of the New York Mets, a deal that would send all five of their prospects would leave the organization with no farm system to speak of.

That said, the Mets should make the deal with or without Fernando Martinez. The Mets "top" prospects are not as terrible as many news outlets would have you think, but they are also not in the same stratosphere as the top five prospects of teams like the Devil Rays and Dodgers.

Humber, Pelfrey have lost a great deal of their prospect status and Gomez is a plus to plus-plus defender with no bat to speak of. F-Mart and to a lesser extent Guerra, are the only true high ceiling prospects of the lot.

If the Mets are able to establish a deal including only one of Martinez and Guerra, they swindled the Twins. If they must include both, I would still pull the trigger. But, they will have to spend equal time attempting to replenish their minor league corps as they pour into signing Santana.

Arbitration: Wang, Cano, Bruney

Yesteday afternoon, Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano and Brian Bruney all exchanged contract figures with the New York Yankees.

The requests filed by representatives for Cano and Wang, two of the Yankees' prized younger components, were separated by $50,000. Cano filed for $4.55 million and was offered $3.2 million by the club, while Wang requested $4.6 million and was offered $4 million.

Bruney, who will be 26 in February, was 3-2 with a 4.68 ERA in 58 appearances across two stints with the Yankees in 2007. He requested $845,000 and was offered $640,000.

Wang will receive close if not exactly what he requested while Cano and the Yankees appear to be much further apart. Considering Cano's past two seasons have seen him knock in 97 runs and hit .342, the second baseman has a gripe. There is certainly the possibility that a neutral arbiter awards Robinson with the $4.55 mill he asked for.

Meanwhile, Bruney will make well over half a million bucks. Spend some of that money wisely and file a restraining order against Kyle Farnsworth and his worthless disregard approach for pitching.

Salary Arbitration List

Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang may receive large arbitration rewardings, unless of course, they are able to reach contract extensions to avoid these hearings. As Pete Abe suggests, Nate Roberton's three year deal worth $21 million may well be a harbinger of what's to come for Wang.

We'll find out tomorrow what happens with the Yankees youngsters, but Wanger and Cano aren't the only ones looking to up the ante. From ESPN.com:

NEW YORK -- The 110 players who filed for salary arbitration Tuesday (x-free agent who accepted arbitration; y-agreed to terms after filing). Players and teams will exchange proposed salaries Friday.

The bigger names around the league include Erik Bedard, K-Rod, Justin Morneau, Scott Kazmir, Matt Holiday, Ryan Howard, Miguel Cabrera, and last but certainly not least, Scott Proctor.

Mark Teixeira, Huston Street and Brad Lidge were among 22 players who avoided salary arbitration by reaching new deals. Teixeira agreed to a $12.5 million contract, and Street a $3.3 million deal.

Blue Jays lefthanded reliever, Scott Downs cashed in on his best season and was awarded a three year $10 million deal. By the way, he pitched a whopping 58 innings to earn that money. "Ten million" and "Scott Downs" do not belong in the same sentence. Ever.

In related news, Kyle Farnsworthless and New York City have a similar level of chemistry together.

RLYW: Wang Not A Fluke

Thanks to the Replacement Level Yankees Weblog, Chien Ming Wang's success despite a minuscule k/9 has been brought to the table as only sabermetrics can:

If you're a baseball fan with at least some proclivity towards stats, you're probably familiar with Voros McCracken's DIPS theory. McCracken basically stated that a pitcher's ability to control what happens on balls in play is variable and volatile. Some overly extreme devotees to this theory take it to mean that a pitcher has zero control over a ball hit into play, but that's not really true. If it was, you wouldn't have groundball pitchers and fly ball pitchers.

Also, selection bias would mean that anyone who reaches the majors may have a certain level of skill on balls in play that allowed them to get that far. I still think DIPS theory is useful in many ways, primarily because it taught me to look more closely at a pitcher's peripherals, but it's really just a fraction of any evaluating of pitching that I do.

One of the often-stated mantras about Chien-Ming Wang is that he generates easily fieldable ground balls, which means his success despite a low strikeout rate is not really that much of a fluke. It's possible this is true, at least in the regular season, but is there a way to quantify it?

Exhaust your baseball acumen and read the rest of the post.

Taiwan & Mickey D's like Themselves Some Wanger

(Source)

Postmortem: Part 1

Tonight's "upset" is one of the reasons journalists, talk-radio hosts and analysts need to stop pontificating series finale pitching matchups before game four's even been played. Baseball is far too unpredictable to overlook anyone, even Paul Byrd, whose last start against the Yankees lasted two innings and yielded seven runs.

Instead, the early exit came on the part of Chien-Ming Wang and the Yankees. Though Wang is a very good starting pitcher and seems a good guy, he was the absolute goat of this ALDS. Running a close second was New York's complete lack of clutch hitting. Hopefully, fans will remain somewhat reasonable, leaving the Wang + Melky for Santana trade rumors in the trash where they belong.

Regardless of your stance, Pro-Torre or Anti-Torre, the only way to describe the skipper's post-game press conference is: heartbreaking. Joe Torre's won 4 championships and appeared in the playoffs all 13 years he managed the Bombers. In any other business, and maybe any other town, Torre would live to fight another day. (Think Bobby Cox, who has three less rings in his dresser drawer)

Hell, most teams would give Torre the privilege of stepping down when he desires. Like every baseball fan, I've frequently been puzzled by some of Torre's managerial decisions, but if you don't respect his enormous accomplishments and understand how spoiled he's enabled Yankee fans to become, then you just don't get it.

What baring this has on pending free agents like Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez should not be overlooked either. One thing is for sure. He's proven himself to be much more than "Clueless Joe" and, should he move on, will be sorely missed.

A few notes from tonight's elimination game:

• Eric Wedge does not look like a baseball manager. The shots of him sitting in the dugout more resemble a bored husband unhappy that he is sitting in a multiplex suffering through a chick flick.

• Derek Jeter continued to hit double-play balls in enormous spots, but the focus of the TBS telecast remained on A-Rod's lack of playoff RBIs, or lack of two-out hits, or lack of fill-in-the-blank. (And this was written before Rodriguez went deep in the seventh)

• It's been obvious for years now, but painfully so this go-round. The Yankees continue to lack the reliable shutdown starter that every top team needs. Aside from Andy Pettitte's fearless performance during Game 2, Roger Clemens lasted just over two innings and Chien-Ming Wang's two starts meant 5.2 innings with 12 earned runs. Putrid. Maybe Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes grow into that type of role, but there's no telling if or when that will happen.

• The TBS crew, particularly Chip Caray and Bob Brenly, like to completely make up things and spew them as fact. Just for Monday night's telecast, Caray welcomed back viewers by explaining that Mike Mussina was making his first career postseason relief appearance. Really? I guess he wasn't following baseball during the 2003 ALCS, when Moose pitched three shutout innings in Game 7. Little things, like referencing a frozen rope to rightfield as "a single up the middle" just wreaks of cluelessness.

• Brenly stated in the seventh inning that Rafael Perez should pitch Robinson Cano "away, away, away" because New York's second baseman doesn't have enough pop to left-centerfield. Guess Bob missed this August's regular season game in which Robinson hit not one, but two bombs over the wall in left-center. Over the course of the series there were countless other mistakes made, but none of us have the time or desire to sift through them all.

• Farnsworth worked a scoreless seventh?!? Wait, the Yankees were down four runs at that point. Now it makes sense.

• Shelley Duncan hugging the dugout fence, tears welling up may be a heartbreaking image for Yankee followers, but it's also a refreshing reminder that some professional athletes still care as much as their fans.

• 15-2 Cleveland outscored New York in two-out RBIs.

2008 begins now. Ideally, it starts with a Boston beatdown and Troy Tulowitzki World Series MVP award before being punctuated by a Johan Santana deal involving Kyle Farnsworth, Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi. Unrealistic?