FanHouse Jack Morris

Bert Blyleven doesn't have it easy. Every year there's a Hall of Fame vote and every year he's a little bit closer to getting enshrined, but not quite close enough. The guy is fifth all-time in strikeouts, he posted dominant numbers, and yet, there's still a group of people with votes who want him kept out. Why, I have no idea. And yet, there will probably be people who vote for Curt Schilling and Jack Morris, but not Blyleven. But don't listen to me gripe about it. Let Blyleven do that! Via AA.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

The 2009 Hall of Fame ballot was released Monday, and with it is certain to come heated debate right up until and after the voting results are revealed on Jan. 12, 2009. This year's class of candidates is similar to last year's, in that it's a shallow group.

There is only one sure-fire Hall of Famer among the 23 candidates, which means this is a critical vote for the borderline players who have been up for election on multiple occasions. Now is the time for those borderline guys to get over the top or make a big push to lay the groundwork for election in future years.

After the jump is a breakdown of the ballot, complete with what I think will happen and what should happen with this year's class of Cooperstown contenders.

Johan Santana's changeup is considered transcendent ... iconic, if you will. But there's a former World Series MVP and 250 game winner who thinks that Santana needs to create some distance between himself and the changeup, and that person is Jack Morris.

"It's my opinion that his changeup is definitely not a strikeout pitch," Morris said of Santana this past week in a telephone interview. "He has fallen in love with it. I don't like what I see, because I love his slider and his 95-mph fastball. His go-to pitch is what I consider his third pitch (...) History says that he'll pitch better in the National League. But it would be my guess that if he has any problems, it'll be because of that changeup. It won't be because he's throwing a nasty slider."

According to "Bill James Online," the new Web site by the godfather of modern-day statistical analysis, Santana has become increasingly reliant on his changeup. In 2003, his first full season in the big leagues, he threw 63 percent fastballs, 16 percent sliders and 15 percent changeups. By 2005, that evolved to 53 percent fastballs, 22 percent changeups and 15 percent sliders. And last year, Santana threw 58 percent fastballs, 29 percent changeups and 11 percent sliders.

"If you look at last year, compared to the rest of his years with the Twins, he gave up a lot more home runs [33, topping his high of 24 set in 2004 and 2006]," Morris said. "The majority of those home runs were changeups over the plate. If the AL is catching up to his pattern, if baseball is catching up to him, then he's going to have to reinvent the wheel. If the NL doesn't understand him, or doesn't scout him properly, he'll succeed. But if they get his pattern right away, Johan is going to have to adjust, not the hitters."

Morris did go on to say that he believes that Santana is, in fact, smart enough to adjust (and not dismiss statistical analysis as certain managers would). And that's a good thing, because the last thing Mets fans need is another reason to panic going into 2008.

"Under The Gun" takes a look at one player from each team who will bear all the pressure for the upcoming '08 season.

Now I know what you're thinking, who the hell is Carlos Gomez, and why is he feeling any pressure? Good questions, and I don't blame you for asking them. After all, so far in FanHouse's Under the Gun series we've focused on players who are key new additions to their team, or are in contract years, or are expected to get their team over the proverbial hump.

The fact is though, there really isn't that much pressure in Minnesota this season. After trading Johan Santana to the Mets, and losing Torii Hunter to the Angels, nobody is expecting the Twins to win this season. So it was hard to find any one player on the Twins roster who is going to be feeling a lot of heat this season.

Sure, I could have taken the angle of Joe Mauer being the face of the franchise, and needing to avoid more time on the disabled list, or I could have possibly gone with Francisco Liriano and the fact his arm may snap off on any pitch.

In the end though, I just couldn't ignore Gomez.

Think about it, not only did he come over to the Twins from the Mets in a trade for the greatest pitcher in Twins history (unless you ask Bert Blyleven or Jack Morris), but he also will be playing centerfield where he replaces the most popular player on the team since Kirby Puckett.

The poor kid has no chance.

Carlos can have himself a great 2008 season for the Twins and he's still not going to be as good as Santana or Hunter. If that's not pressure, I don't know what is.