Watching the wires

[chico ruiz]

moneyball (the film) would have you believe that beane wasn't working in conjunction with his scouts or his manager. he was a lone wolf concerned only with on base percentage, which turned the tide for the 2002 a's. the film forgets to tell you they had young hard throwing arms like zito, mulder, hudson, and a rookie named harang. watching that film you would have thought bradford, rincon, and hatteberg were the reason the a's were successful. yes, hatteberg had a good year with a high obp. but, that team had some muscle. dye, chavez, m. tejada, r. hernandez and m. ellis. i don't think the film even mentioned those players, or the specter of peds. so, while beane had them looking at, and approaching, the strike zone differently, the talent on that team shouldn't be overlooked. but, if you look at the bounce some of those guys had in offensive statistics, you can't help but think performance enhancing drugs. bay area? 2002?

there is no doubt beane tried some things that were unconventional, but it's very different from defensive shift positioning based on a variable batted ball chart. do you really think that's what has ruined the game? it really amounts to nothing but a lot of research that's useful in the right hands. to my mind the most salient point is that the basic formula for success hasn't changed that much. there are more overall analytics to cross reference, and a keen eye may notice indicators for guidance in making decisions. but, the bottom line is -as branch rickey taught generations of gm's- player development and smart talent assessments produce a steady stream of winning, more than you lose. rickey would love the extra information. he'd pour over it, pulling all-nighters, chomping on cigar after cigar. but, only organizational continuity can produce that kind of success. it's still a very human endeavor. good skill, and communication, sets in all departments working within financial parameters. after all, you don't want to go bankrupt or sell off all your assets to vultures for cheap.

final question: is the lost art of being a good base runner, or moving a runner over, or understanding certain situations, because of more data? is understanding what the pitcher’s trying to do to you, and whether they’re trying to elevate the ball, or get it on the ground have any thing to do with data? instincts, experience, and development. i'm old enough to remember when people talked about what it meant to be a well-rounded ball player. you don't hear that in conversation much anymore. so, swing from the heels guys, your 7 million dollar signing bonus check is in the mail, and god s-peds.

 

[JohnU]

I elected to not go to Gary last night to see the final game of the homestand, instead opting for an evening with my brewhouse crew where I chatted NBA with the barkeep, a Cleveland nut.

But I kept tabs on the RailCats and through three, it was scoreless. Through six, scoreless, RailCats had a single hit, KC had none.

Seventh, eighth, top of the ninth -- scoreless, KC without a hit.
Bottom of the ninth, 'Cats come to the plate, scoreless, and Karl Triana, the Gary starter, has done the unthinkable, has pitched 9 scoreless, no-hit innings.

I will post the link the the game story.
I think I wish I'd made a different choice for the evening's entertainment.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

 

[chico ruiz]

i hear you john, loud & clear. i live in a largely latin community. there are several parks around me with baseball fields. get this; they're actually used to play baseball on. from little league to high school ball. i go on my exercise routes and will stop and watch 3 or four innings with (i hope you guys don't think this too field of dreamy, because it's the truth) absolute joy in my heart, and a peace that comes over me. they're my moments, and i cherish them. it centers me. when this old town starts spinning me around too much, i walk to the ball fields and -i kid you not- watch until i have a tranquil pain in my ass.

 

[JohnU]

Gary had one pitcher -- William Glen -- who twice pitched 1-hitters, just shy of perfect games. I saw one of them that was pure magic. At least the hits were legit. Triana is a very young Latin pitcher. I don't know his pedigree but he got shelled in the 2nd game of the season, has pitched very well since then.

 

[JohnU]

New York Times offers a compelling look back at the day Gehrig made his farewell address at Yankee Stadium.
Lou's obit is also linked. He died June 2, 1941, hence the relevance of the date for the article.

THE DAY GEHRIG MADE THE STADIUM WEEP

 

[JohnU]

Gotta wonder, if Latos hadn't shown to be naked under his armor, if the White Sox would have traded for Shields.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Beyond Sale and Quintana.... that's a shaky rotation. Have to wonder if Latos is really healthy?

Trading for a 34 year old that is owed $50M+ and hasn't pitched any better than anyone except for Latos is the kind of move that jeopardizes the next couple of seasons.

The Chisox are 6-17 the last 23 games. They have more problems than just Mat Latos.

 

[JohnU]

Dodgers DFA Carl Crawford. Man, there's a guy who managed to profit from potential more than almost anybody except for the late Steve Howe. I assume somebody will sign him.

Was also a little surprised that the Cardinals sent Kolten Wong back to the minors.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The Cardinals don't shy away from making roster decisions based on improving the team today.

Diaz, Carpenter, and Peralta are all better offensive players than Wong. Wong is a little different than a lot of guys that have played infield for the Cards in that he only plays 2B. I'd guess that factored in when they decided to keep Garcia as the UT guy and send Wong to AAA to get everyday playing time. It makes decisions easier when you have better options from within.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Carl Crawford is a classic example of the prudence of signing players to long term deals after their team control years have expired. The guy was a All Star caliber player in TB hitting around .300 for 5000+ plate appearances and as with so many before him was signed based on the back of his baseball card.

I'll never understand why teams sign 28+ year old players to 5-10 year deals as if they can pencil in the previous production standards for years to come.

All you have to do is look at the Reds and you will see the pitfalls of that sort of strategy. Votto, Bailey, Mesoraco, and Jay Bruce have all either missed significant playing time and/or poor performance.

I like the philosophy of extending with team option years. The player gets payed and the team has a out if injury or performance becomes a factor.

I don't understand so many players getting opt out clauses. The player can opt out and get a potential better deal, but the team is stuck if the players sucks.

 

[JohnU]

Soler going down with a hammy pull. Almora may take his place.

Taillon brought up by the Parrots.

YOuth is being served in the NL-C.

 

[JohnU]

An interesting take on Yordano Ventura possibly being on the "outs" with the Royals, not because of his performance but because of his emotional makeup.

PLUNKING HITTERS

 

[JohnU]

Wandy Rodriguez was released by the Orioles.
He will be back in the NL soon. We will see him 3 more times.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

The Chisox DFA Latos.

 

[JohnU]

No surprise after the Shields trade.

 

[JohnU]

Paying some attention to the rumor mill out of New York where the Yankees appear to have either Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman up for the taking to the highest bidder. Seems unlikely that the NL-C would gamble on either one of them.

But ... the Nationals lost Papelbon to an intercostal injury so they gotta be looking for somebody. It pays to pay attention. Which one of these guys can the Yanks not afford? Well, both ... or neither. Chappy appears to be as durable as he is intense.

 

[JohnU]

Notable, Omar Infante and Jimmy Rollins both dispatched for "free agency." Clearly MLB is seeing the need to harvest some of the guys who fans are willing to pay to watch.

 

[JohnU]

The numbers Cueto has been putting up would suggest a couple of things -- and it seems he's serious about the Cy Young this season. Playing in that ballpark probably helps. His stats are off the charts.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Cueto is having a terrific season. He's kept the ball in the park which has really helped.

Unfortunately Kershaw is having his best season as well and that's really saying something. His K/BB ratio is unbelievable..... it's 20+ to 1.

 

[JohnU]

I also see where ancient mariner Casey McGeeheehee has been cast adrift. I recall the days when he was one of the Cubs' prime prospects -- and then got traded.