June 2012
Posted by jemanji on 06/29/12
3 Comments
=== Fastball ===
Is throwing a legit 93-95 MPH, even humping up to 95-96. The ball gets on hitters quickly out of his hand.
Comes sidearm -- actually from various sidearm angles -- so that the pitch comes in on a comfortable hitting plane for right hand hitters. Funky delivery causes Perez to be wild in the strike zone.
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=== Curve ===
Tight spin, two-plane (dropping) pitch that Perez sells with good arm action. 81 MPH leads to outstanding change-curve action with hitters way out in front. RHB's have all kinds of problems with the pitch; LHB's are dead before they start.
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=== Confidence... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/29/12
5 Comments
=== He Can Call It A Forrest Fire, A Snow Flake or a Bahama Breeze ===
.... but Felix' new pitch will still cut in on left hand hitters.
Whatever way he takes hold of it in the mitt, whatever the name, whatever the catcher's signal, the FLIGHT OF THE BALL is the same. It's a 92 MPH pitch that spins toward LHB's and slides in on them.
From a hitter's standpoint it is a cut fastball, end of story.
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=== Not QUITE Unique ===
There are apparently two guys who can throw this pitch, or who could, anyway. The other guy, Mariano Rivera, also throws his murderous cut fastball with a 4-seam grip,... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/29/12
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips - Prov. 27:2
Better for a man to die at birth than to fumble a football. - Shoat Cooper pre-game pep talk
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Let's introduce the dilemma with an obscure and confusing analogy. This is SSI, after all. ... We all know that it's poor form to spend a lot of time worrying about others' mistakes, but ... what if your choice is either (A) do that, or (B) not become President of the United States? Which would you choose?
Similarly, we all know that it's poor form to keep your own blog... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/29/12
Q. Felix never left, y'say?
A. There is a whale of a lot of luck in sports. Or, "baseball is a game of inches." Or, "90% of baseball is half mental." Or ....
Over Felix' 6-start travail, there were any number of balls that ticked off lines, kicked up chalk, nicked the yellow line going over the fence ... Give me a 9th-level Time Stop spell, and the ability to move a batted ball about three feet once or twice a game, and I'll cut all those 4-5 ER starts down to 1-2 runs.
The biggest single factor - not the only factor, but the biggest single one - was that Felix couldn't catch a break. ... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/29/12
5 Comments
Q. The Red Sox' uberstarts said that Felix was "unreal," that he "wasn't human," that he was "the best we've seen," and that his movement was "all over the place."
A. In my judgment, Felix is always going to have to be aware of velocity separation. As long as his fastball is below 93-94, he's always going to have to make sure that hitters aren't able to cheat, to start their bats at a pre-timed moment for the 87-91 range.
But given the fact that he will actually do that, Felix' movement has indeed spiralled off into inhuman territory. I'm quite sure that Felix has the best assortment of... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/27/12
=== That '70's Show, Dept. ===
Almost the first thing Bill James ever did, was to underline road splits for players and teams. He wanted to look past illusions and see the reality of underlying ability, and he did this by lining up road performances for his readers. We remember his doing this with Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams ... one slugged .610 on the road for his career, and the other .615. Bill wrote, "Joe was a great player. But it is fair to say that, in most other times and most other places, he would have been an even greater player.
I got your road splits right here, b'wana. ... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/27/12
28 Comments
Jack Zduriencik has amassed a lot of hitting talent here. Did you read River Avenue Blues when they realized that Zduriencik had wound up with Smoak AND Montero, along with Ackley? It would be one thing if Jose Vidro or Yuniesky were failing here. No, the people failing here are the most pedigreed young hitters in baseball.
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Kyle Seager especially. He's a young hitter with a truly remarkable ability to pull balls hard in the air to RF. He is slugging .566 on the road, and .290 at home. The kid might be a superstar for all we know, prorates to 35 homers as a road... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/27/12
4 Comments
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In his latest article at Bill James Online, co-author John Dewan discusses the best baserunning teams in the majors:
The Atlanta Braves are in the thick of the National League playoff race and can thank good baserunning for part of that. The Braves rank first in the 2012 Baserunning Net Gain statistic featured annually in the Bill James Handbook. Baserunning Net Gain evaluates each player's opportunities to advance on hits and avoid outs on the basepaths, crediting him for the bases advanced better than average and penalizing him triple for baserunning outs.... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/26/12
10 Comments
Spec sez,
How about a quick video take on Taylor Ard (here)?
I love, love, love guys who generate plentiful power with very low strikeout rates -- that's this guy in spades. K% at WSU was 9.3% with .577 SLG. A 6-2, 225 horse with Pedroia eye, kinda.
Could be Vinnie, part 2, with a 7th round pick (Vinnie went in the 10th round), but I'm trying not to get carried away.
Churchill has a blurb take today, too.
Q. Why wasn't Ard taken higher than the 7th round?
A. I have no idea at all.
I don't mean, "he should have gone in the second." I mean, "the reasons that he dropped are beyond my... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/26/12
Q. Who are other big RH hitters who have gigantic cores/abdomens, and who use upper body strength to create short paths to the ball?
A. Jose Canseco was the ultimate. Here's a 540-foot (!!) Canseco homer in which his lower half is completely static. Notice too with Canseco how his upper body is "fused," how he releases his lead shoulder and his hands in one seamless motion. He doesn't release, wait, and fire the hands. He waits and then he fires the lead shoulder.
Bucky Jacobsen had this same advantage: he could use a super-simple swing, be very quick to the ball, and still hit it out... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/26/12
9 Comments
... Echo Canyon being about as much as I can think of right now, to refer to a shout-and-answer at SSI :- ) Cool Papa Bell shoutz,
Doc, what is your take on Cameron's post about Smoak?
Hmmmmm ... which said, what ... ok, here's the article.
:: taps chin :: The key premise is here:
But, at this point, history suggests that those hopes are probably not well founded.
In the last 30 years, there have been 55 first baseman (including Smoak) who have been given 1,000+ plate appearances through their age 25 season. Every single one of them hit better than Smoak has, and we’re not just talking... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/25/12
3 Comments
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Q. Do y' feel like I do? Was he really that good?
A. Every bit that good. Musta been a dream; he don' believe where he been.
The stats say 16 swings and misses, but unfortunately nobody has a stat that counts "garbage swings." That woulda been about 12. He had ten strikeouts, one "accident" walk, this against a lineup stacked with lefties. He pwn'ed 'em, no doubts there.
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Q. What happened out there?
A. After his first start, SSI said tersely, "too many strikes, wayyyyyyy too many fastballs." Erasmo came into the game having thrown more... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/25/12
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In order to grok Erasmo Ramirez, and the nature of his problem in putting together ML pitch sequences, there is one key idea you have to grab. With crystal clarity, as in. Start with this generic map of the strike zone, which tells us how frequently batters get hits with respect to each strike zone location:
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Obviously, the more centered the pitch is, the more likely it's going to be a hit. It's a cliche, and it's true.
But that hit chart is an industrywide chart. It represents the typical MLB hitter against the... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/25/12
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Q. Wow, 28 changeups and 13 swinging strikes? Is that for real?
A. It's one thing to get a swinging strike, and it's another thing to get hitters badly out in front. Erasmo did it the first time through the lineup and he was still doing it the third time through. Up in the zone, they were out in front; burying the pitch outside the zone they were screwing themselves into the ground.
He's just got the knack for selling the pitch. His arm comes through with great acceleration, the ball starts on a fastball arc, and it pops a parachute. It's a wipeout... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/25/12
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Q. Who or what is an Eckersley?
A. Put down your PS Vita for two seconds and behold the greatest 5-year run ever by a major league closer. Dennis Eckersley, 1988-92. When a pitcher's Base Performance Index (BPX) goes up past 100, then past 200 and sails on past 500, BaseballHQ to this day calls 500+ "Vintage Eck Territory." That's the kind of legend you strike when you fan 70 batters, walk 4, run a WHIP of 0.60, and allow no* home runs over the course of twelve months.
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Q. What made him Eckersley?
A. He threw 90 MPH, but with real good command,... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/25/12
14 Comments
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Q. He can pitch better? He gave up three hits, one walk and 10 strikeouts. That's got to be a Game Score of 90 or something.
A. He can pitch way better. He didn't throw that good Monday.
Tom Seaver once said that when he was right, a catcher should be able to catch 80-90% of his fastballs by --- > moving his glove at the wrist. One of these days, F/X will give us a Seaver Percentage. Number of times the catcher had to move his glove more than, say, six inches.
Dr. D has been charting Noesi this way; he's about 50%, give or take. Problem is,... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/23/12
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Q. Joy of Felix, eh?
A. Felix' joy, as in. Genitive case, Zum-bro'. Your move.
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Q. Felix let the ball go with some conviction, Saturday. That was okay by me.
A. Jim Bouton wrote in Ball Four, warming up before his big start with the Astros I think ... "Try to find that tricky elusive thought, the one that makes you feel so smooth and competent. World B. Free once explained his hot rolls shooting from the perimeter, "I dunno, man, one goes in just the right way and then you have that hop in your step."
Saturday, Felix was grinding his way through... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/23/12
1 Comments
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Q. Was it Jesus Montero, C who fanned the flames of Felix' reignited lust for the strikeout?
A. It's a good thing that I've been educated on this one. ;- ) Because lacking my formal training on Montero's ineffectiveness, I'd have thought that Montero kicked the Padres' keisters all the way back to Sea World.
The curve always seemed to parachute in and land like an M-1 tank out of a C-130, the mortified Padres visibly locking up on it. The fastball, it was frequently up in the zone, where it should be, up and over the Padres' flailing bats. Felix threw more... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/22/12
8 Comments
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OBF sez, in the shout box,
Hmmm... F-Gutz might be BACK! 4 hits tonight, but more importantly showing some power the last couple games. homers in back to back games (including a long one tonight in pitcher park petco). Plus some LONG foul balls tonight. We haven't seen him hit the ball this hard in the regular season for at least 1.5 years! I am ok with three center fielders in the outfield all with power :) (Saunders, FGutz, and Wells, Carp DHs, and Ichiro... hmmmm)
A picture's worth 1,000 words. Well, it was worth 1,000 words back when Floyd... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/22/12
6 Comments
IF, if you're like me, you were quietly seething Friday night that --- > Michael Saunders, the one Mariner who apparently is a threat to the 5.0 WAR mark, was benched. And he was benched with the sinister, lurking idea threatening that --- > maybe the Mariners aren't going to commit to Saunders fulltime, even if he demonstrates 5.0 WAR production.
And IF, if you were seething along with me, you've got to take the good with the bad. Wedge stuck Gutierrez in there, and Gutierrez hit two homers one of 'em barely foul. And this morning we sit here wondering just how many 4.0+ WAR... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/22/12
22 Comments
=== Casper Wells ===
There was a number of months there where Dr. D was saying, if you like what Michael Saunders could be, why wouldn't you like what Casper Wells is?
He's very short to the ball, he's Sexson-powerful and he sees the ball well. If he merely does what he's been doing that's a 123 OPS+ with "tweener" (very likeable) defense in the outfield. Here, a sophisticated, thickly-reserached chart for your edification:
Player
OPS+, career
Casper Wells
123
Jay Buhner
124
No, LrKrBoi29, the point isn't that Casper Wells is going into the Mariner Hall of Fame. The point is that Casper... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/22/12
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Good-guy Andrew sez,
I'm curious to hear what y'all think about moving Charlie back into the rotation. I saw above in the comments that his breaking stuff is sharper out of the 'pen but could that be because of an adjustment he made this year? I know the 'big blog' wrote about him and the rotation today, but I looked at some pictures of this year and last year and I think his release may be a little bit different. It seems that he's hiding the ball a little better this year, which is helping him against the right-handers. I wrote... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/22/12
11 Comments
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The national saber sites use a type of "it's 20% harder to pitch in the rotation" paradigm that takes a relief ERA and multiplies it by, say, that 20% figure. Or by component skills, hey, we've got a multiplier for that, too. If a pitcher's K's are 7.0, well, subtract 17% and you've got the rotation K's. That kind of thing.
It never hurts to know what an industry average is, but from where Dr. D sits, industry averages miss the point in cases like this. Are you going to say that the industry average is for a new release movie to... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/16/12
15 Comments
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Bill James once spent an article sardonically praising Walter Matthau. For you kids looking up from your XBoxes, Matthau was the 1970's version of Billy Bob Thornton or Wallace Shawn ("inconceivable!"). When those guys are on the screen, you don't see anything else, which is both a huge blessing and a fatal flaw.
Hey! We can get Billy Bob THORNTON for our movie? Awesome! ... um.... what the deuce do we DO with him?
James' point was, of course, that there are ballplayers like that, guys who have skills and weapons... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/16/12
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To a certain extent this is exactly the kind of issue that Bill James, in 1975, developed sabermetrics for.
Back then, a 21-year-old Jim Thome would come to camp and be obviously a much better hitter than the 32-year-old Brook Jacoby in front of him. And Mike Hargrove would tell Bill*, you don't get it. Brook Jacoby has a knack for the tough RBI. Jacoby knows when to get those base hits. Sure, maybe Thome is slugging .550 and Jacoby only .350. But Jacoby knows how to break up the double play, knows how to move a... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/16/12
15 Comments
As you know, Dr. D lives to serve
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Dr. Lecter, er, Dr. D is good-natured in his polite argumentation style. He is not obsessing about Olivo's playing time. And as you know he likes Eric Wedge very much. And as you know he was the last blogger looking for Olivo's invisible-elephant tracks in the snow. And as you know, uber-wimp hedges like this never lead to anything good in a piece of info-tainment. It's like borrowing a napkin at the lunch table: even if it's necessary, it's not necessary. The cost is far higher... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/16/12
7 Comments
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Gordon sez,
[The Safeco solution is] a garage door opener. Make Edgar close it and leave it closed unless the day is spectacular.
It seems like the easiest fix for the lower end of our offensive woes. The other part - the high end - is harder to fix.
As is ably illustrated in this Jayson Stark article, the age of the crushing offenses is over. It's why I said last year that Fielder was a good buy despite the cost because of his age and because getting great offensive pieces will only get harder.
You might notice that nobody's... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/16/12
8 Comments
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Chris sez,
.. One reason balls flew out in the Kingdome was that it a domed stadium, and therefore climate controlled to a certain extent. We won't see that kind of offense in Safeco unless they decide to enclose it completely.
He's right. The climate control was a big part of what made it hitter-friendly.
Baker pointed out yesterday that Arizona routinely closes the roof when it's too hot there. No reason at all the Mariners can't routinely close the roof when it's below 50 or 55 degrees, or when there's a threat of... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/16/12
12 Comments
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=== Flying Fickle Finger Of Fate, Dept. ===
The most outside-the-box post of the year, maybe? :- )
The solution, IMHO, is to rotate the park 90 degrees.
They did it at the Kingdome...they can do it here. Right now the wind generally blow sin from left. If they turned the park clockwise 90 degrees, the wind would simply be a crosswind blowing mostly out to RCF.
Without any doubt, rotating the field of play WOULD affect the batted balls. A lot. It's a creative suggestion.
I actually... Read More
Puny batters ... grrrrrrr
Posted by jemanji on 06/15/12
2 Comments
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Mike Newman seems to be Fangraphs' feature tools scout. He's got a comprehensive report on Danny Hultzen today, and a video containing dozens of Hultzen pitches from the Chattanooga game that Newman scouted. Great job Mike.
On to the kibitzing!
His success has left me wondering if as a child, Danny Hultzen was the type to constantly ask his parents “are we there yet?” on long road trips. If so, then the left-hander is probably busy texting “Is it time yet?” to Mariners higher-ups as his combination of stuff and performance is Seattle ready.
Hultzen... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/15/12
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Don't know where else to stick this in: Hultzen's head moves 12" straight at 1B, and then he takes a 90-degree turn and goes to home plate. I wonder if he's going to wind up being one of those LHP's who allows 2 stolen bases per year.
Terry Mulholland allowed a good steady 1, 2 stolen bases per full season - 35 SB's and 50 CS's in twenty years. Whitey Ford had quite a few seasons with 0 stolen bases allowed, like went from 1958 to 1962 without allowing one, or something like that. It was suicide to try to run on Kenny Rogers. I think it's funny to watch LHP's who... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/15/12
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Sez Tacoma Rain ...
Time for another chapter on E-Ram? Those wicked rivals really know how to expose our weaknesses...
Sez Dr. D, on arriving at the CPX this afternoon...
Especially the sinister San Diego Padres. Actually I have the afternoon off here and was going to FF through the game, try to figure out what happened.
Heard on the radio that Erasmo fanned the first guy, had the second guy desperately fouling pitches back to the screen and off the 3B dugout ... saw a few pitches over my shoulder in a restaurant ... then checked the box after the game... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/14/12
6 Comments
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=== A Little Parable ===
jemanji: Hey, the Seahawks are going to buy a pricey new offensive coordinator. Carroll wants SSI's recommendation, as you might expect.
Dr. D: I hear that Bill Parcells and Bruce Arians are available.
jemanji: Who'da thunk. Okay, I'm already very clear about the fact that this is not a literal passage. I'll call Pete back and tell him you want Parcells.
Dr. D: Huh? Arians got yards and points up the kazoo when he called plays for Pittsburgh. Tell him to grab Arians.
jemanji: C'mon. You can't tell me that Bruce Arians... Read More
Safeco a/k/a Giant Floating Ping-Pong Ball Lotto Machine
Posted by jemanji on 06/14/12
22 Comments
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Chris sez,
I was messing around a bit on the Safeco scatter plot for this year, and overlaying some of the other parks. It doesn't seem, at first blush, as if just the distance is the problem. Obviously, air quality plays into it as well. For instance, if you look at this year's scatter chart, and overlay Rangers Ballpark, roughly one quarter of the home runs in Safeco this year would be long outs in Texas. I believe maybe the humidity has something to do with it?
What I was looking for was a scatter plot of home runs, as well as warning track flyouts,... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/12/12
Admittedly, it may be Dr. D himself who is most in need of examination
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Q. Does SSI fear, along with other sources, that Felix is injured?
A. Nah.
Felix has now given up crooked numbers in 5 out of 6 starts, true dat. And this is a guy who rips off 25 quality starts in a row. Virtually. So the fact that he's allowing earnies has thrown everybody into a state of confusion. We sympathize. Take two SSI articles and call us in the morning.
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Q. What are the specific reasons you don't fear injury?
A. First of all, Shandler Quality Starts. When... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/12/12
8 Comments
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Q. The title says "Tipping." This is getting to be about the longest get-to-know-you bedside talk we've ever heard.
A. Okay, we get down to it.
The last few weeks have been weird, the 10-hit games, the weird 2-out liners for RBI's, and about the 3rd inning, it suddenly hit me. On a 2-2 count to I forget who, somebody RH, Felix cracked off a devilish overhand yakker for the strikeout. Except the Padre sat back calmly, arm-swung, and leisurely swatted it foul. Ready for next pitch.
Not one pitch, not a single pitch all night long, did the Padres... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/12/12
11 Comments
CHA-CHING, Dept.
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We realize that the vast majority of you read and re-read the classics during Dr. D's downtime. The SSI classics, that is. Still and all, for those in the LF bleachers who haven't lounged around, birds chirping, and properly studied in the Mariners Cyber-Quad, here's an Erasmo summary in one long, glorious Super Bowl commercial. Alternatively, you can view this as one more URL for posterity.
Here is the article POTD Erasmo Ramirez 1. Cliff's Notes: Erasmo comparable to Doug Fister? It is possible. His 1+ BB rates are not achieved Blake... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/12/12
2 Comments
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=== Chone Figgins' Howler in LF ===
Dr. D was sitting in exactly the same seat, in the mezzanine, the night that Milton Bradley did that to Doug Fister. Bradley got cut the next day. I think. Somebody run the tracer. Bradley got cut pretty much the next day. Point is, the deja vu was suffocating.
Figgins had feeb'ed a ground-into-double-play, first ups, and if you weren't there, the booing was heeeaaaav-vee.
Next ups, with one out in a one-run game, Michael Saunders took the massive risk of stealing third. The idea was that the next batter could... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/09/12
32 Comments
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I've spent my entire career on horseback or on a motorcycle. It boxes you in, the way people perceive you - Sam Elliott
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Q: This is a fluke couple of months for Millwood. There's maybe a 2% chance he'll pitch well all year. Millwon't.
A. Great quip on the Millwon't :- )
As to the Level 201 Scan here ... Kevin Millwood is entitled to put 2009 and 2005 on his resume. In those seasons, he established levels at which he's capable of performing.
The 3.67 ERA in 2009 was over 198 innings. Ranking #8 in the AL in ERA, pitching in that ballpark in Texas, is... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/08/12
1 Comments
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In the Ask Bill section over at BJOL, a reader wanted James' perspective on the no-hitter:
Bill, is pitching a No-Hitter overrated? I've always though it was interesting how better pitched 1, 2, 3, or 4, hit games are quickly forgotten. Johan Santana's 8k, 5bb, 0 hit game ended the Mets 51 year drought pitching the team's first no-hitter yet his 90 game score only ranks 61st among all time games in Mets' history, 45th all time among 9 inning games. Chris Capuano by comparison pitched a 96 game score, 13k, 0bb, 2 hit game in 2011. It's basically one of the... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/08/12
15 Comments
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Q. Is this going to be an all-year thing for Millwood?
A. Yeah, it looks like Millwood's arm is fresh after last year. He knows how to avoid mistakes (HR's), he knows how to take liberties (ladder fastballs when conditions allow) and as long as he's throwing 92 he's liable to run a 3+ ERA. Like we sez, it's not many innings eaters Millwood's age who can still spin the sliders and cutters.
He's month to month, but could reasonably continue all year. ... remember Bartolo Colon's great first half in 2011, and the second-half fade. These guys got some mileage... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/08/12
1 Comments
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Q. Who were the big winners?
A. Eric Wedge and Jesus Montero.
Earl Weaver wrote that he used to resent it when people called him a push-button manager, but then the day came when he realized that it was a high compliment. What does a manager do but push buttons? He can't hit a double into the power alley to win the game. He's got to make decisions.
Eric Wedge made five (5) different pitching changes, and they all worked out for him. Visualize yourself as a manager, in the dugout, everybody there hanging on your every button push. Six pitchers, a no-hitter,... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/08/12
9 Comments
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Q. How's about those Kemp and Hamilton comps that Malcontent threw down?
A. Dr. D would compare Josh Hamilton to a lot of things... to Ken Griffey Jr., to Mickey Mantle, to a T-1000 hypermimetic alloy terminator, to a falling meteor with mass in excess of 200,000 metric tons ... beyond that he ain't touching Hamilton comps with a 10-foot pole. :- )
But Malcontent's audacious (and thirsty) comparison to Matt Kemp might have more legs than you'd think... hm, let's toss the corkboard coasters around the table. ...obviously the age-arc factor is not going to... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/07/12
2 Comments
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There was a moment in the Wednesday ballgame that really took me aback.
The Mariners had taken an early 2-0 lead in the game, and Noesi coughed it right back up in the bottom of the second inning. For good measure he added two earnies to his baseball card in the bottom of the third, so Angels up 4-2. This is in LA, now: had this been 2011, never mind 2010, the game was over right there.
Fortunately for you and me, Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager have rather more thirst for battle in 2012 than did their 2010 counterparts, Figgins and Lopez. Ackley and Seager threw down... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/07/12
10 Comments
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=== Und Take Zis Mit You, Dept. ===
... after Seager's GWRBI in the top of the 6th, the Angels rolled their eyes at the cute li'l M's and prepared their answer. Leadoff man, base hit. Second man, base hit. M's up one, true, but there's the tying run and there's the lead run, brother. Let's get this over with and then you guys can fly out and console yourself with your one win in the series.
Except Eric Wedge brought in Steven Hyde, er, Jekyll, er, Pryor ... it's late here. Howie Kendrick topped a ball to Justin Smoak who started a gorgeous 6-3-..... PRYOR'S... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/03/12
27 Comments
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===You Won't Get Any Argument About ... ? ===
... Mike Zunino being the best college position player in this draft. He therefore is, in principle, the least risky pick in the entire draft, and you turn losers into winners by making sure you get something out of your top picks, every time.
Zduriencik used high picks to grab Fielder, Weeks, Braun, etc, and turn the Milwaukee Brewers into an organization that commands respect throughout baseball. He's used his 1st-rounders in Seattle the same way, to grab Ackley, Hultzen, Taijuan Walker... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/03/12
19 Comments
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=== What's Lame About 'Im? ===
His bat could be less than a sure thing. At least as far as his being a 1-1 overall pick. He's hitting .240 in his conference, he's got skeptics among pro scouts, and Dr. D would agree that he most definitely does not have an Ackley-, Rendon-level presence at the plate. SSI envisions a .250 average in the bigs; that's just a first impression off a few vids, of course.
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Dr. D hates, hates, double-hates the fact that Zunino plays the catcher position. The cliche is that you don't draft with respect to... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/02/12
7 Comments
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Q. 98.3 MPH, eh? Does Stephen Pryor throw the hottest fastball in organized baseball?
A. The hottest the Mariners have ever seen, him and the young Randy Johnson. The 98.3 he averaged in his debut, that would theoretically lead both leagues in fastball velocity. Henry Rodriguez averaged 98.0 MPH last year; a grand total of four (4) other guys including Chapman, Bard and Jordan Walden were at 97 or better. Note carefully that Pryor averaged 98.3 despite a multi-inning outing, warming up twice, all that stuff.
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Q... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/02/12
3 Comments
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Q. Will this article be the final word on Pryor's slider and change?
A. We're going off four (4) sliders and one (1) change. Asked and answered, mon cherie. This is a single-game "virtual crosscheck," as it were. Subject to alteration, to correction by G-Money, or to revocation at any time.
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Q. Do you like Pryor's slider?
A. I do not, though Stephen Pryor obviously does.
In his debut game Saturday, Mr. Hyde grabbed Paul Konerko in two arms and ripped him in half at the waist. He chewed out a stogie, swallowed it, and... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/02/12
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Q. This 85% fastball challenge prescription ... does this contradict your complaint about Brandon League "not thinking out there"? Thought you didn't like predictable 1-0 fastballs.
A. It doesn't, thanks for asking. Contradict anything, that is.
Stephen Pryor's fastball passes a point of critical mass. It's a Goose Gossage, an Armando Benitez fastball. Pryor's fastball is overwhelming; Brandon League's is most definitely not.
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Q. Why? Both fastballs are around 97 MPH.
A. League's fastball... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/02/12
1 Comments
=== Checkpoints ===
As y'know, aiki dynamics focus on the center of gravity, its acceleration and the organization of the head and limbs around that CG. Still, all we have are screen captures here, so we have to start with a static description of the movement.
Here is the live video of the below pitch. We'll restrict our description mostly to things that are NOT routine for ML pitchers, and remember that things are going to look quite different because of Pryor's bulk:
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Pryor's overall pace - his time between pitches... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/02/12
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=== Core Exercises, Dept. ===
The M's being obsessed with core strength and whatnot, you'd think they'd be giddy over stumbling into baseball's Ultimate Core Specimen with Stephen Pryor. Oh, wait. Maybe Jay-Z and Tommie Mac drafted Pyror BECAUSE he's got the core power of a Van Helsing monster?
Pryor is not fat, but his waist and abdomen are almost freakishly wide. Would be nice to hear Gordon or Dr. Grumpy or somebody explain what is occurring when a male is wider than he is tall. Is this an over-development of obliques, or is it a... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/02/12
3 Comments
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=== Don' Try to Bluff ME, eh hoser ===
Maybe the simplest poker tell is the staredown. If an opponent splashes his chips and stares at you real hard, he's trying to back you down. He's hoping you'll fold.
And why would he be hoping that you'll fold? Because if you bet, he'll get caught with weak cards.... now suppose a guy slides a stack of chips in gingerly and looks away meekly, hoping not to do anything to put your sense of danger into gear. Why would he sincerely be wanting you to put chips in?
See... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/02/12
8 Comments
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BSR with a disconcerting visual for us, regarding Video Game Chapman's 2012 rampage:
[He has 47 K in 27 IP and an 0.00 ERA...] It's just funny, if he was on the Yankees doing this there would probably be a dedicated Chapman Watch minisite on ESPN.com tracking every pitch...on the Reds I didn't even know this was happening.
That IS funny, and true, too. I watch SportsCenter twice a week maybe and have not yet, this season, seen Chapman on the screen. I usually take Chapman in SBNation's "Pick Six" game; for a long time you could buy him for $3 of your $120... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/01/12
3 Comments
=== Lucas Giolito en passant ===
He was pretty much Stephen Strasburg, the high school musical, except --- > Strasburg himself did not throw 100 MPH when he was in high school. ... Giolito was going to go #1 overall in the draft, first ever HS pitcher to do so I think (Beckett was #2 overall) ... and then Giolito just recently "sprained" (??????) his elbow ligament. He's missing his senior high school season and is on the shelf as we type, and as the draft nears.
I guess this would be the ultimate manifestation of the strategy that SSI posters have played footsie with: there's nobody... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 06/01/12
2 Comments
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=== What's Lame About 'Im ===
It makes me want to hurl when a prep player's own coach - the man who has watched him on and off the field, now - says stuff like this:
"Max goes through spurts when he wants to do everything on his own," Harvard-Westlake coach Matt LaCour said. "He's at his best when he's pitching to contact and getting guys out early in the count. He's shown when he's at his best, he's going to strike out guys. He just doesn't need to strike out every guy.
"That's something with extended time on the mound, he'll... Read More