A.L. Central Smack Talk 2014

[Fountain City Blues]

Most would take Perez, but I think Gordon is better at his position..

Debatable. I would argue that Perez' framing ability (something not quantified by DRS) pulls him ahead of Gordon. Cain now that he is hitting competently combined with stellar defense of his own is a candidate as well.

 

[dougplayer]

sanchez looked good his first start back from the DL. gave up 2 runs in 5 innings.


If Avila could catch the ball it would have only been 1 runs. how long is Avila going to be in the line up???? his .212 AVERAGE is dropping faster than the twins attendance

 

[Lions=TeHsUcKs]

That was a horrible throw by DK for one..

 

[Lions=TeHsUcKs]

Debatable. I would argue that Perez' framing ability (something not quantified by DRS) pulls him ahead of Gordon. Cain now that he is hitting competently combined with stellar defense of his own is a candidate as well.

I think as the season progresses, Perez's value will decline a tad while Gordon will improve to what he was the last two seasons..

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I think as the season progresses, Perez's value will decline a tad while Gordon will improve to what he was the last two seasons..

Certainly possible.

 

[navamind]

Honestly, I can't say I'm too surprised the Sox got swept. The 2nd and 3rd pitching matchups seemed pretty favorable for the Tigers and Lester-Scherzer was a tossup (perhaps favoring the Tigers). Peavy's command has not been impressive this year. He didn't walk anyone tonight, but even then, he still has 27 walks in 54 innings. And he isn't really known for walking a lot of batters.

Tigers have been among the best teams in the league over the last few years. This year isn't any different. Hopefully our teams will meet again in the playoffs.

 

[broncosmitty]

Sat Ricky in three fantasy leagues. Didn't see a performance like the one he had, coming on Saturday.(I was assuming we'd see his first "stinker" of the year tbh.) But figured the other two were "winnable". Really felt good about tonight's game knowing the entire bullpen(Plus Ray, which surprised me) was available to have Sanchez' back in his return from the DL.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Royals lineup thus far by WRC+


Aoki: 82
Infante (DL currently): 99
Hosmer: 98
Butler: 64
Gordon: 100
Perez: 109


Moustakas (RHP-LHP Platoon): 48
Valencia(RHP-LHP Platoon): 95


Cain:112
Escobar: 102


Pretty clear that there are some enormous holes and/or underperformers in this lineup. Aoki needs to be on base more like we were accustomed to seeing in Milwaukee. Billy needs to be Billy again. Hosmer needs to hit homers, very simple. Moose needs to do... something.

 

[broncosmitty]

Not gonna lie Moose, I have no fricken idea what WRC+ is. Nor do I really want to. But the lack of any hitters an opposing pitcher "fears", has got to be an issue. Butler and Hosmer (and whoever else starts at third or right, usually Moustakis and Aoiki I believe) just don't hit for power like a 1st basemen and DH HAVE to, IMO. (Butlers suckiness seems crippling to me.)

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Not gonna lie Moose, I have no fricken idea what WRC+ is. Nor do I really want to. But the lack of any hitters an opposing pitcher "fears", has got to be an issue. Butler and Hosmer (and whoever else starts at third or right, usually Moustakis and Aoiki I believe) just don't hit for power like a 1st basemen and DH HAVE to, IMO. (Butlers suckiness seems crippling to me.)

Basically it is a weighted variant of the Runs Created (RC) metric on a scale where 100 is average.

And yeah, this is kind of a familiar schtick with Hosmer with waiting until June for him to hit homers instead of singles and doubles. Gordon woke up today, but he needs to hit better than he has. Butler should be fine, but I have been saying that for 43 games and it is growing a little tiresome despite 3 hits today. Aoki's OBP needs to be more reminiscent of what it was in Milwaukee.

I am pretty much on the send Moose to AAA bandwagon at this point. An AAA hitter is just as effective as he has been against RHP.

 

[broncosmitty]

I agree on everything aside from Butler. He's been on a downward turn for a couple years. If he doesn't start juicing I don't see him lasting much longer. (More serious than not with that comment. Homers a doubles are a must from his "position".)There aren't many DHs(Papi being one) who don't/can't field a position from time to time. And they are usually power hitters. Not sure what Butler is anymore, but it's not a power hitter. Gordon's a helluva baseball player. Today should be the beginning of a successful stretch for him. I think anyway.

 

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

Basically it is a weighted variant of the Runs Created (RC) metric on a scale where 100 is average.

And yeah, this is kind of a familiar schtick with Hosmer with waiting until June for him to hit homers instead of singles and doubles. Gordon woke up today, but he needs to hit better than he has. Butler should be fine, but I have been saying that for 43 games and it is growing a little tiresome despite 3 hits today. Aoki's OBP needs to be more reminiscent of what it was in Milwaukee.

I am pretty much on the send Moose to AAA bandwagon at this point. An AAA hitter is just as effective as he has been against RHP.

It's been a little bit of an on-running joke on the O's board (you say you have a pitcher who's not living up to expectations? Send him over the O's way.. we'll have him looking like Cy Young in no time!) but I see we helped Gordon's ails today.

Not happy to help. lol.

 

[Howie115]

the point was..... many said scherzer would not have any thing close to as good as year he had last year. many argued about it. I said...are you crazy??? he is just getting better and better. he has learned how to pitch. plus he can throw 95 plus.. of course.. many scoffed. said I was a homer. as always I was RIGHT> that's just my point!

Well, Doug, I will bow to you on this one. I was wrong. Scherzer got incredible run support last year, and it was his first-ever season under a 3.00 ERA -- first under a 3.50 ERA, in fact. I expected a good season, but nothing close to last year. Glad to be wrong on this one.

 

[Howie115]

If Avila could catch the ball it would have only been 1 runs.

Some folks on the CBS glog were whining about Avila on that play, too. But c'mon, Kelly was 50 feet away and threw an absolute seed in the dirt. There's a lot to complain about with Avila this season, but that play was Kelly's fault.

 

[Howie115]

Look out ALC ... the Tigers biggest weakness -- the bullpen -- is getting better, including a 0.00 ERA on the 6-game road sweep. From mlive.com:


After a tumultuous start to the season in which it didn't look like Detroit's relievers could hold a touchdown-size lead, the bullpen has made a 180-degree turn.

• Before May 1, the Tigers' bullpen ranked 29th in ERA (5.37), 17th in WHIP and allowed 74 hits in 70 1/3 innings pitched.

• Since May 1, the Tigers' bullpen has ranked first in ERA (2.45), WHIP (1.04), walks per nine innings (1.96) and holds (14).

What was once considered the team's Achilles' heel, Detroit's bullpen has suddenly emerged as one of the best in the American League.

And, lest we forget, Detroit signed two-time All-Star Joel Hanrahan to a one-year deal earlier this month. He's expected to join the Tigers at some point in June.

 

[gvsulaker82]

Not gonna lie Moose, I have no fricken idea what WRC+ is. Nor do I really want to. But the lack of any hitters an opposing pitcher "fears", has got to be an issue. Butler and Hosmer (and whoever else starts at third or right, usually Moustakis and Aoiki I believe) just don't hit for power like a 1st basemen and DH HAVE to, IMO. (Butlers suckiness seems crippling to me.)

I agree, not a dude on the royals currently that scares me in their lineup. The twins lineup on the other hand has been very impressive so far, although their pitching is nothing to write home about.

 

[gvsulaker82]

Well, Doug, I will bow to you on this one. I was wrong. Scherzer got incredible run support last year, and it was his first-ever season under a 3.00 ERA -- first under a 3.50 ERA, in fact. I expected a good season, but nothing close to last year. Glad to be wrong on this one.

I agree, kind of similar to where jose bautista started hitting 40 bombs a year.

 

[gvsulaker82]

Look out ALC ... the Tigers biggest weakness -- the bullpen -- is getting better, including a 0.00 ERA on the 6-game road sweep. From mlive.com:


After a tumultuous start to the season in which it didn't look like Detroit's relievers could hold a touchdown-size lead, the bullpen has made a 180-degree turn.

• Before May 1, the Tigers' bullpen ranked 29th in ERA (5.37), 17th in WHIP and allowed 74 hits in 70 1/3 innings pitched.

• Since May 1, the Tigers' bullpen has ranked first in ERA (2.45), WHIP (1.04), walks per nine innings (1.96) and holds (14).

What was once considered the team's Achilles' heel, Detroit's bullpen has suddenly emerged as one of the best in the American League.

And, lest we forget, Detroit signed two-time All-Star Joel Hanrahan to a one-year deal earlier this month. He's expected to join the Tigers at some point in June.

Its good to see the pen doing better but im just not sold on guys like joba, coke, reed and krol. Not one of them has that impressive of stuff. While they may be doing ok now, the only guy in the pen that has legit stuff is nathan...and hanrahan if healthy.

 

[gandydancer]

Not gonna lie Moose, I have no fricken idea what WRC+ is. Nor do I really want to. But the lack of any hitters an opposing pitcher "fears", has got to be an issue. Butler and Hosmer (and whoever else starts at third or right, usually Moustakis and Aoiki I believe) just don't hit for power like a 1st basemen and DH HAVE to, IMO. (Butlers suckiness seems crippling to me.)

Every couple years baseball gets a new stat with a mix of perimeters. I am like you Smitty, when I look at normal stats they tell a story. When you mix a formula of X/y+16% = RS *2 / blah blah... tell same story, JD Martinez still sucks.

 

[gandydancer]

true. but you know you cant argue with me the Dougster. I have a huge ego that I think is bigger than the game. I will always be right

I am sure this was his first post before the alter ego typed his real statement.