February 2011
Posted by jemanji on 02/28/11
Q. Have the M's suddenly learned how to coach, or has the blog-o-sphere finally educated itself to the point at which it can perceive coaching?
A. Heh! You know what, SSI has been so genteel lately that it has oh-fer'ed its rightful cut of the flame-war traffic.
Debate that is kept in the temp zone between 50C and 75C could probably enliven the spring training scenario...
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There's a third possibility here, one which doesn't assume quite such an unlikely degree of incompetence on either side of the ball. That's the possibility that 99% of what the M's do in player development... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/28/11
Q. What's Category II Quote in the newspaper, then? that M's fans have seen day-in, day-out?
A. Of the other 30% of the quotes that we have seen, day in and day out, percentiles 76-95 have been weirdness that is actually tailored to a specific prospect.
And from Dr. D's chair, it ain't been pretty:
WEIRD PLAYER DEVELOPMENT QUOTE, CATEGORY II
Austin Bibens-Dirkx needs to get on top of the ball so his slider has two planes
Matt Thornton needs to work on his offspeed pitch (not lower his CG)
Gil Meche needs to hold his glove higher in the stretch
Gil Meche needs to forget... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/28/11
Q. So we count a remaining 4% quotes that are neither meaninglessly generic, nor flamed by SSI for brainlessness.
Where have we seen the genius in battle?
A. About 4% of the quotes that Dr. D has seen, over the last year or thirty, have been totally visible, and totally wonderful, corrections that made the difference for a player.
For example, Don Wakamatsu told Jason Vargas to scrap the curveball and become a 2-pitch pitcher. This despite an 87-mph fastball that he threw up in the zone.
Dr. D scoffed, with gusto, and declared Vargas' career over. But Wakamatsu's insight was precisely... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/28/11
1 Comments
Q. Has the blog-o-sphere evolved in its ability to perceive what's going on in baseball?
A. I don't think so, not in the way the question's being asked, anyhow.
We all hope to improve, of course. If we cannot become more erudite second-guessers, we wither and die....
But Dr. D's point of diminishing returns, on sports movement, occurred after he studied aikido and Japanese pitching, following his golf and hoops kinda stuff. That was the late 90's.
Sabermetrically? By 1990 I'd already spent wayyyyyyy too much time on Bill James' paradigm analysis...
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Go back and google... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/28/11
1 Comments
Q. What's the story on Mike Carp? Is this better coaching, or SSI now has the ability to notice this stuff, or what? :- )
A. We read a suggestion -- actually a speculation -- that the Mariners had Earl Weavered this player. Told him to be more aggressive on 2-0, 3-1 counts, told him that he needed to hit the ball out of the ballpark. And that they allocated AAA time for him to assimilate this.
I hope that we've demonstrated to San-Man's satisfaction that this constitutes --- > an unusually sophisticated quote in the papers as to what the Mariners are doing with a prospect.
SSI was... Read More
Posted by Spectator on 02/28/11
13 Comments
A handful of interesting developments:
Erik Bedard returns to face MLB hitters for the first time since 2009 -- and strikes out the first two batters he faces. Seven-pitch inning. Very good news.
Also potentially very good news: James Paxton, the one-time supplemental first-rounder who dropped to the 4th round in the 2010 draft has apparently finally signed. Paxton lost a lot of time due to injuries, eligibility, holdouts, etc., but when he last pitched for real -- at Kentucky in 09 -- he whiffed 115 and walked only 20 in just 78.1 IP. He was throwing mid-90s back then, but... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/25/11
Sez the Big Cheese at Mariner Central, in response to my bearish review of Mangini:
A few things.
More than a few :- )
The more info we get that we hadn't had before, the more we can triangulate the truth. :cpoints:
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- Last year Mangini played almost the entire second half with a Level-2 quad strain. Level 2 means that the muscle was almost ripped from the bone. "Strain" is a misnomer because what the injury was is a tear of the muscle tissue. I don't know how he did it, but I've talked so some people close to Mangini that state that he is one of the toughest sonsaguns... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/25/11
14 Comments
Lonnie goes,
The results are obvious. I went over all of this over at my site in one of my "Hitting Evolution" pieces.
Ya, I know my Mangini lore :)
Lonnie
The lore and then some, Dean...
Only question left: how does a guy with his kind of batspeed, and as well as he gets on top of the ball ... how does he run such disappointing K/BB ratios?
The fact that he attacks early in the count isn't enough to explain ratios like 12:64 and 26:96 from a talented college hitter who usually has the platoon advantage.
If the leg enters into it, fine, but not sure how those two factors would intersect... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/24/11
11 Comments
Buy BaseballHQ.com's Minor League Baseball Analyst here.
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=== Tanned, Rested, and Ready Dept. ===
At age 17, Morban had a very exciting season, and then at age 18, was out with a torn thumb ligament. - Dr. D.
I/O HQ: The notorious "9E" ranking: a 10% chance of becoming a major league franchise player and making $100 million bucks.
After 2009, they said that Morban "projects to an offensive juggernaut" (!) and though he was "as raw as any" player in baseball's minor leagues, he "could launch his way to elite status in a few years."
................
This year, HQ follows on with:... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/24/11
3 Comments
SSI Crunch: Gordon's and Deloney's excitement is contagious. Their slot at #4 last year, for a kid aged 17, was remarkable.
Various reports have Morban as the teenaged prospect you draw up on the chalkboard:
Runs like a Gerenuk
Easy cleanup power (51% extra-base hits and 247 ISO already at 17)
Beautiful lefty swing
Plays in the middle of the field
Tremendous results considering age-and-level
At first glance, Morban's EYE in 2009 looked funky, but here you consider context (that Morban should have been playing, like, soph HS baseball). Also, Morban had an intriguing splash in class-A ball... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/24/11
=== Wear A Helmet, Man ===
I/O HQ: Grade 8D: Potential is (remains) to become an impact player in the majors, a well-above-average third baseman.
"Naturally strong" hitter who "uses a level swing and the entire field." Because of this, could potentially hit for AVG as well as PWR.
Approach is too aggressive (no kidding; his EYEs are 0.19 every year - Jeff). Sometimes looks like he can't get around on a good fastball.
Everything you want at 3B: soft hands, quick hands, powerful arm, excellent range.
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I/O The Rest: In 2007, Mario Martinez came out of Venezuela as one of a... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/24/11
4 Comments
Saber-Scope: Here is one more guy who looks great in the batter's box, who runs a nauseating K/BB ratio ... and who hits the minor-league windshield like a bug. As soon as the pitching gets even a leeeetle better.
Martinez has 55 walks and 302 strikeouts lifetime, and we are talking about the very low minors here, amigos. Where the pitchers have enough of a worry in just getting the ball over the plate at all, much less to some particular part of it.
SSI has been watching the M's since what, 1977. In 1977, and in 2010, and in every year in between, they've brought in the hack-o-matics who... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/24/11
=== Just Settin' Em Up, Coach ===
I/O HQ: "Strong" hitter whose splits suggest possible platooning in the majors.
Clean swing with good bat speed and significant power to pull side.
Very aggressive, not particularly interested in working counts; this could be exploited in MLB, so possibility that Mangini is a AAAA player.
Soft hands, good arm but range at 3B may not be acceptable in majors.
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I/O The Rest: Not in Hardball Times' top 12. Not in Baseball Prospectus' top 20. Not in Fangraphs' top 10. Mangini ranks #16 at Prospect Insider. That's ahead of Liddi, Choi,... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/24/11
9 Comments
SSI CRUNCH, 3B: Dr. D does not take seriously the concept that Mangini could play 140 games at third base. SSI's cross-check from Cheney immediately doused Mangini's 3B glove with lighter fluid and touched a match to it.
There is value in having a 1B who can back up 3B for you. There are games where you want to stack lefties. My man Earl would put a major thumb on the scale for 1B Mangini as a guy who can play multiple positions.
Russ Branyan used to play third. Doesn't mean a lot. Well, if you play in a 5-game qualification fantasy league...
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SSI CRUNCH, OFFENSE: If you went... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/23/11
6 Comments
I/O HQ: Physically tall, athletic, but without overwhelming tools. "Tools play up" due to (Ackley-, Bloomquist-)type baseball IQ.
Tweener offense: good for SS, not good for 3B.
Tweener defensive tools: Beltre-like hands, but may not have the range for SS.
NOTE: HQ's opinion above echoes the consensus, which considers Littlewood a "solid-looking" ballplayer who doesn't have a calling-card skill. All of this would have been the report on Willie Bloomquist at the same age, but then again it would have been the report on some good players, too.
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I/O The Rest: MLB report... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/23/11
4 Comments
SSI CRUNCH: SSI has preached, for many years, that the draft is a crapshoot. And that's when you're talking about the college players... what are you going to say about an 18-year-old shortstop?
But check out this hitting video. Littlewood gets great acceleration from the left side, real great. From the right side he's static, just like Nick Franklin. But from the left, he's starting to remind of the U.S.S. Franklin tonnage on the torque and load. It's so prett-ay!
The bat launch is glassy-smooth, like a PGA golfer drawing a putter back, and there's just 18 kinds of oooomph that... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/23/11
6 Comments
Buy BaseballHQ.com's Minor League Baseball Analyst here.
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Jharmidy DeJesus has 101 AB's above the rookie-ball level, and missed all of 2010 with a shoulder injury. He was a bonus baby out of the Dominican a few years back, got $1M I think.
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=== All Points Bulletin - Notify If Sighted, Dept. ===
I/O HQ: 1-in-10 chance to become an ML All-Star. Another chance, a much bigger one, to not even play in the majors. (The famous "9E" commodity, the lotto ticket at a franchise player.)
Special athlete, natural hitter. Rare combination of plus HIT and plus PWR.
Is quick with hands and feet... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/23/11
Buy BaseballHQ.com's Minor League Baseball Analyst here.
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=== Jason Kendall or Victor Martinez Dept. ===
I/O HQ: Polished approach at the plate (especially for a teenager with about 12 at-bats in this hemisphere). Very nice OBP and gap power.
"Can adequately play both C and 1B." Not that great a catcher in terms of handling pitchers, framing etc. and doesn't yet understand nuances of position.
Does not have the power associated with 1B.
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I/O The Rest: John Sickels has Choi at #15 within the Seattle org, and what he says isn't too much, but what he does say is exactly... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/23/11
16 Comments
SSI CRUNCH: :blinks: this guy isn't in HQ's org top 15? ... but then, he's not in anybody's top 14...
Remember, sabermetrics is about flying by your instruments. The plane flips upside down, you look at the dials, not at the sky.
Choi has bolted out of the shed and pulled the ripcord on the chainsaw. At 19. Before too long, we'll go through the grainy 'net vid and do a POTD. But you could argue this guy for top-10 prospect
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SSI Sez: The Mariners' org remains hamstrung by its defensive vanity, its desire to be admired for aesthetically-pleasing defense.
People assume, and are... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/23/11
Buy BaseballHQ.com's Minor League Baseball Analyst here.
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=== No Crying in Baseball, Dept. ===
I/O HQ: Will get plenty of time in the majors before he's done, probably as a platoon hitters.
"Natural" hitter with pro body hit lots of homers in 2011. (I didn't realize that Carp hit 29 homers in 409 Tacoma AB's, did you? Cheney is a whale of a big baseball park.)
Accomplished, as well as tall/strong, hitter who uses entire park and who has professionally worked the count at all levels.
Moderate bat speed, average power to all fields. Below average defender even at 1B.
Will likely... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/23/11
8 Comments
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SSI CRUNCH: Jack Zduriencik evidently traded for Carp because he felt Carp had "it," the state of mind that pushes a prospect through the pack. (It wasn't glittering numbers, fo sho.)
From the first AB that Dr. D saw Mike Carp, he was convinced. Of Carp's attitude and disposition, that is. This is a man who is not phased by bad counts, and not phased by better players.
HQ seems to have nailed another one, that Carp will put up some 400-AB seasons in the 120 OPS+ range as a platoon player.
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COMP: Tino Martinez was a better player than Carp, but he reminds me.
Tino was also a big... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/23/11
4 Comments
=== Meet for the Master's Use, Dept. ===
I/O HQ: May well play in the majors as a defensive specialist. Could possibly even wind up starting, in about eight years or something.
Man among boys physically, pretty to watch handling pitchers, locks down running game.
Disappointing with the bat, of course. (In fact, Baron was featured in HQ's section on train wrecks from the 2009 draft.) But HQ allows for the idea that Baron could learn to hit like a backup catcher.
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I/O The Rest: Everybody laughs at the Mariners for picking Baron in the first round. The M's could release... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/23/11
Buy BaseballHQ.com's Minor League Baseball Analyst here. If your psychopathic wife won't thrash you within inches of your life.... wait, that's only in London that occurs, Roger.
We don't need no thought control, but HQ's shtick works Dr. D into the mood to roll off all these meatball Top-20 lists that presume to compete.
The #16-35 from HQ is given alphabetically.
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=== A Right Hand* Mistake Hitter? Vot Next? ===
I/O HQ: 30% chance to start in the majors, very possibly in CF.
"Terrific" defender even at the 8 slot.
Has (1) Top-end power, (2) blazing speed, and (3) not the faintest... Read More
Posted by Spectator on 02/17/11
20 Comments
Meaningful baseball starts now!
At noon Pacific time, baseball season starts for the UCLA Bruins vs. San Francisco, and their Opening Day starter is the big righthander Gerrit Cole. No TV, but it appears that free live audio is available from a link at their website.
A bit later, at 4:30 Pacific (6:30 Central), TCU opens against Kansas, and their Opening Day starter is the wiry lefty Matt Purke. That game is live on The Mtn. TV network, and apparently will be streaming live at www.gofrogs.com.
Why care about Cole and Purke? Because after Rice slugger Anthony Rendon, they are... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/15/11
5 Comments
=== Jack Frost with a .310 OBP ===
Heard on the Weather Channel that 31% of the U.S. is covered in snow. Couldn't be warmer from Dr. D's war room in Bonney Lake, though. Baseball's here :- )
One of Mrs. D's 10 fave days of the year arrived on the 14th, and karma was served on the 15th: One of Dr. D's 10 fave days of the baseball season arrived. In the form of BaseballHQ's Minor League Baseball Analyst.
So SSI gets to wallow in the green pastures into which we 'net sheep have been led by Pastor Zduriencik. In Bushes Green ... He Leadeth We ... the sweeeeeeet waters byyyyyyyy... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/15/11
5 Comments
=== Case In Point Dept. ===
... Thus (since HQ offers us 'net rats a data-rich scouting environment) we find that class-A farmhand Erasmo Ramirez sits 86-92 with his fastball, 84 mph with the slider, and 77 mph with his curveball.
We find that Ramirez has "an extremely deceptive delivery." I'd really like to know whether, on a Clinton pitcher, these two guys saw him pitch when he visited a minor-league team near them, or whether they found 'net vid somewhere, or what...
We find that Ramirez spots the ball to all quadrants of the zone, "is smart enough to waste pitches" and that his "... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/15/11
5 Comments
=== Speak Now Or Forever Hold Yer ... Piece, Dept. ===
HQ has 1 Ackley, 2 Pineda, 3 Franklin, which (if you can believe the word actually applies) is indeed the "correct" ranking and the one which everybody and his uncle applies.
However, their 4-15 looks quite a bit different from most that I've seen. For example, HQ has Robles 13 and Triunfel 14! With explanations that are quite interesting on both players. Per HQ, the Seattle crowd has misread what type of pitcher Robles is going to be...
John Sickels, for example, puts Esteilon Peguero at #18 even in the M's own organization,... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/12/11
4 Comments
=== Pre-Match ===
Announcers drive Dr. D to distraction, breathlessly driving us to scrutinize Arsenal for "psychological fallout" the week after what was, mathematically, the greatest collapse in Premier League History.
(Which covers, oh, 18-20 years or something; they simply didn't used to call the first division the "Premier League.") But, still, in 20 years or so nobody had given up a 4-goal lead of any kind, much less 4-0. Nobody. 4-0 is like 40 points up in the NBA.
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It fascinates Dr. D that the English studiously avoid whining about penalty kicks... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/12/11
=== Early Match ===
Cesc Fabregas, with relaxed shoulders and an air as if he were facing an U-18 team, stood over the kickoff and rolled it back to a defender to start play.
For the next five minutes, the Gunners leisurely rolled the ball around hapless Wolverhampton midfielders as the Wolves turned their backs and ran 11 men into the penalty box, desperately hoping to lose only 1-0.
Fifteen minutes in, Spanish superstar Cesc Fabregas used his weak foot to chip a ball into Dutch superstar Robin van Persie, who used his own weak foot to rifle a goal into the back of the net.... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/12/11
1 Comments
=== Quote of the Match ===
The color analyst, hardly an Arsenal fan, calls center midfielder Jack Wilshere "a great, great player. He and Fabregas are" ... tremendous, wonderful, chips and vinegar, I forget the word he used.
Wilshere was 18 years old until a month ago. Slap me silly. It's not unlike a guy starting at quarterback in the NFL at 19. Point guard in the NBA, anyway.
By my count, Wilshere is Arsenal's 10th-best player.
Their manager Arsene Wenger doesn't like to spend money in the 'free agent market,' but wow does he have an eye for youngsters. The soccer version of... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/11/11
1 Comments
Bradley's 2010 numbers were far below his ability, and far below his 2011 projection.
Miguel Olivo in 2005 hit .151/.172/.276 for the Mariners and he had 33 K's to 1 BB in his last 85 AB's for the M's. He looked totally incapable of hitting A+ pitching, much less major league pitching.
There wasn't a way in the world you could have told anybody who saw that, that Miguel Olivo was worth another game, much less another season. Was he? The next year, 2006, he slugged .440 as a catcher (and in 2009, slugged .490 for the Royals).
Olivo was fouled up in 2005, in contradistinction to him... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/11/11
3 Comments
=== The Bad ===
Unthinkable that Bradley should ever post his 160-170 OPS+ seasons again.
Why? It's not only his stats that are down, but also his underlying skills. "It's one thing to be a clubhouse cancer when your skills are intact," writes Shandler. "It's another when your ... AVG ... xAVG ... OBP ... SLG ... BB% ... CT% (K%) ... and EYE are all in steep decline."
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Still: Bill Clinton's influence is down. Down compared to whose? Compared to mine? :- )
Bradley started from a 168 OPS+ and he'll be down. Fine. Keep it in perspective. 120, 130 OPS+ seasons may (... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/11/11
7 Comments
=== Those Gulags Are Spacious, Komrade ===
In Russian criminal trials, the "defendant" is always guilty. Well, not always: only 99.64% of the time.
Russian judicial philosophy is rooted in the idea that the rights of the victim, and of the state (representing the community, victimized) weigh as heavily (sic) as the rights of the accused.
In Russia, they're not nearly as concerned with a poor schmuck going to the gulag undeservedly, as they are concerned with somebody getting away with something they shouldn't.
So they avoid jury trials wherever possible, because juries acquit... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/11/11
=== They Had "Trials" Before Lynchings In Alabama, You Know ===
A person who pays lip service to "55 mph," but who drives his Countach at 140 mph, has more than just a problem with the traffic courts. He's got an attitude problem. That problem being: he doesn't care whether he kills somebody.
A person who pays lip service to "Innocent Till Proven Guilty," but who wants a man accused of harrassment to prove he didn't do it to the Boeing review committee, has an attitude problem also. He's a frustrated fascist. I mean that literally, not pejoratively.
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Trials by... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/11/11
14 Comments
Now, you certainly have the right to like or dislike Milton Bradley, or Lady GaGa, or Charles Krauthammer, or jemanji. You also have the right to state your reasons for that.
This is America: you have the right to encourage other 'net rats not to read my blog. You can go on Mariner Central, or USSM, or Prospect Insider, or whatever, and argue "Steer clear. Don't encourage him."
What you don't have the philosophical right to do, is to attempt to --- > replace America's courts, as it were, doing your level best to create dire consequences for a man that you don't believe has been... Read More
Posted by Spectator on 02/09/11
8 Comments
Sorry to take your blog farther afield, Doc, but you touched on a topic that intrigues me: the constant tendancy to psychoanalyze Americans on the basis of not being sufficiently excited about soccer.
Oh, maybe it's "Americans insist on instant gratification" or "Americans hate any of that-there furrrin stuff" or "Americans are too fat/lazy/dumb/fill-in-the-blank to bother to get it" (not accusing you of anything, Doc).
Maybe it's just me, but it seems a lot more simple -- and it's revealiing that people look past the simple answer in order to develop their big socio-psychological-... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/08/11
3 Comments
Mariner Central, among other places, has a discussion on the idea of Figgins-for-Young.
Sully points out, adroitly, that Young is a Bret Boone-, Edgar-style hitter who takes the ball to right-center with authority ... not that he endorses the acquisition. But that Safeco-fit observation is definitely Point A in any such discussion.
Dr. D has a bias towards talent, a prejudice toward All-Star impact. Does that apply here?
...............
Nay verily. Dr. D also has a bias against paying for cake that somebody else has already eaten, and at age 34 n a neutral park, Young is merely an... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/08/11
7 Comments
SSI is delighted to see knowledgeable EPL commentary, one of which goes,
My gut feeling is that once again, Arsenal don't have the stomach for the fight and are too prone to defensive lapses. Man Utd, on the other hand, regularly win games in the last 10 minutes, precisely because they never believe they're beaten.
Without a doubt, Man U's and Chelsea's previous championships lead to a self-confidence that cannot be obtained any other way.
That's true of any team, in any sport. A team that hasn't yet won, has to find a way to climb a hill that doesn't exist for those who have... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/08/11
3 Comments
Dr. D has seen just criticism of the U.S. for not appreciating soccer precisely because it is not instant-gratification.
In a country, say Algeria, where daily life involves work now and rewards later, a sports match can reflect daily life and hold interest. When the Gunners were up 4-0 on Newcastle, I wanted 5 and 6 .... :- )
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That said, SSI firmly believes that the initiative is critical in sports. One has to try to put the opponent on the back foot. In the NFL, pass rush is dominant, as are "sting" slants to defeat the pass rush.
If a modern NFL team, with its... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/05/11
"The Comeback" was a 1993 playoff game in which the Houston Oilers blew a 35-3 lead to lose in overtime. The upstart Buffalo Bills went on to the Super Bowl, where karma served them with a 52-17 detonation at the hands of the Cowboys.
If losing from 35-3 up seems unlikely, it's because it is: no other team in NFL history has come from that far down to win.
Today (Saturday), Dr. D sat through the wrong end of a Comeback that was probably even less likely than the 1993 NFL game.
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PREGAME: My awesome Arsenal Gunners visited Newcastle, a wobbly club with teetering... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/05/11
At 2-0, the crowd was in denial phase. But they were shortly to move past denial into grief, and then only minutes later they were to achieve the coveted psychiatric phase in which suicidal thoughts predominate.
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3-0 Arsenal: The Gunners looked like a snap away from scoring each time they took the ball. Walcott brushpopped around several Newcastle defenders into the right post of the net and then crossed over to the Gunners' striker, that being Robin van Persie, the best player on the great Dutch team that just played the World Cup final.
van Persie used his off foot to thump the... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/05/11
6 Comments
In Numbers 16, if I recall correctly, it speaks of the earth opening up, swallowing a contingent of hostile visitors, and the earth closing up again. However, in that instance they had warning.
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1-4 Newcastle: the ref followed his red card by handing a Newcastle a free touchdown, er, a penalty kick goal.
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2-4 Newcastle: The Gunners, playing with one man less, unsure of whether to pad their lead, and in total confusion, conceded a rather soft goal ... though with only 15 minutes left in the game to hold their lead.
Arsenal has the 2nd-best midfield in the world,... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/05/11
5 Comments
Slap me silly, it's like a week until pitchers and catcher can report? When do they give us the pitchers for the first intrasquad?
Okay, a quick roundup on how SSI seeds the Rotation Madness Tournament. This isn't the Mariners' seeding, necessarily, it's mine. Which, as you know, is for choice over theirs. ::billmurraysmile::
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1 Felix quick link: "Improvement from 2009 seems impossible. He improved." - Shandler.
Comes to camp as the best starting pitcher in baseball, simple as that, and maybe the healthiest. This generation's Seaver, er, Clemens to youse... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/05/11
15 Comments
3 Pineda quick link: Only injury can slow the Swamp-Thing. Well, I guess algae and branches and stuff slow the Swamp-Thing, but machetes and fire don't. You know.
Once in a while you run across a Strasburg, Beckett, Lincecum, whatever. If you can watch Michael Pineda for two innings and not realize that he's a better pitcher than, say, Jason Vargas ... you better ax somebody, dude.
Pineda isn't a prospect; he's the Mariners' best pitcher, other than Felix and Bedard. And it ain't like the baseball people don't get that. They've been smiling and... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/05/11
5 Vargas quick link: What do you get if a high school pitcher came up with an ML changeup and the guts of a cat burglar?
Robles would rank ahead of Vargas and probably ahead of Fister, if SSI didn't loathe Robles' throwing motion with the fire of a thousand suns.
Since Robles does, in fact, step about eight-ten inches on the first base side of the center line and then wrench his hip --- > trying to cross his own belly like a slalom water skiier bouncing over the speedboat's wake ...
Vargas is five by default.
Proven BOR starter. Long-term forecast drizzly and dreary. Very high... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/05/11
1 Comments
7 David Pauley: Every (well, almost every) ML starter who lasts for any length of time in a big league rotation?, ---> has something he does better than a quad-A pitcher.
In Pauley's case, it's command of the fourth pitches. You'd be amazed how few ML pitchers are comfortable throwing four pitches, like Ryan Franklin is, and like David Pauley seems to be.
He's not good. But he can pitch in the big leagues. That differentiates him from Ian Snell, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Luke French, Garrett Olsen, and about 6.8 billion other people.
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The Founding Father will tell... Read More
Posted by Spectator on 02/02/11
5 Comments
== Larry Stone/Pedro Grifol ==
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thehotstoneleague/2014100965_pedro...
Stone has a post chock-full of prospect info-tainment with farm director Pedro Grifol. Noteworthy:
They're still spreading love on Halman and Triunfel despite lots of towels having been thrown in by folks on the net.
He credits Johermyn Chavez' development to a revamped swing -- making him one of the "top guys."
Wilhelmsen gets props -- so I'm loving that.
A name new to me -- 18-year-old Vicente Campos throws mid- to upper-90s and had 9.3 K/9 in Venezuela at 17.
Reading between the... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/01/11
2 Comments
Mojo on Chone:
Before everyone jumps on board with the plan of trading one of the Mariners best hitters for a worse one, consider the case against...
If we cannot hear the case against, we wither and die. You da man, mojo.
HOB-JECTION though right off the bat: Figgins is certainly a better hitter than most of the Mariners.
But if the Mariners had five starting pitchers with ERA's of 5.25, 5.50, 5.75, 6.00, and 6.25 ... would I resist the idea of trading the 5.50 ERA pitcher to free up his slot?
.......
That Kouzmanoff is a 6.00 ERA guy, in this analogy, is another (and... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 02/01/11
1 Comments
Mojo at the bat, er, bar:
3. The Athletics want Chone, Billy Beane is not a dummy, and he has no interest in making the Mariners a better baseball team. Last I checked, he was still the sworn enemy of Mariners fans. The reason that the Mariners did not have more division titles in 2002-2005 is that he took them, by force. When you trade with Mr. Moneyball, you should check your hand to see if your watch, jewelry, or fingers are missing.
Dr. D studiously attends to his 8x14 yellow pad, while hoping that the jury was asleep during this point.
Still ... might it be possible that Beane... Read More