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fromthestretch

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Everything posted by fromthestretch

  1. fromthestretch
    I thought I heard on XM that it was somewhere in the neighborhood of three years, $20 million. I may have mis-heard that , but it seems a bit steep.
  2. fromthestretch
    I would prefer that the WBC took place after the season, instead of during spring training. However, even then, I would put pitch counts into place, but they probably wouldn't have to be as low as they are during the spring. Depending on when other countries' professional seasons end, perhaps have the WBC withing a couple weeks of the end of the World Series. Of course, then you run into issues with some pitchers in the WBC from MLB playoff teams, especially the World Series teams, throwing too many innings for the year (regular season, Division Series, Championship Series, World Series). Then again, the WBC is only every four years (although they're saying that it will only be three years between this one and the next). I don't know where I'm going with this. :?
  3. fromthestretch
    You obviously haven't seen him pitch. Felix is a very dominant pitcher and he will be remembered as one of the best pitchers in the history of the game if he doesn't get derailed with injuries. Too bad he isn't going to play in the WBC. The Mariners held him out cause they don't want him to get injured. Also, the Cy Young award is overrated. Colon's a good pitcher if healthy, but Felix is already on par with, if not better than Colon. That's scary, considering Felix is 19. As with all young pitchers, you worry about his health, but if he can avoid injury, he's going to dominate. Something funny to note...on baseball-reference.com, Colon is listed at 6'0, 185 lbs. I don't know what scale they used to weigh him when that weight was registered, but I'd have it looked at. an honest question, how does felix compare to a gooden or ankiel (or anybody that was in the bigs at that age) in minor league #'s? Here's what I was able to put together: FELIX 39 G (34 GS), 21-6, 2.72 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 263 K, 74 BB, 184 H, 218.1 IP ANKIEL (before MLB debut) 21 G (21 GS), 9-6, 2.79 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 181 K, 38 BB, 91 H, 125.2 IP GOODEN (before MLB debut) 38 G (38 GS), 24-9, 2.56 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 384 K, 140 BB, 185 H, 269.2 IP
  4. fromthestretch
    You obviously haven't seen him pitch. Felix is a very dominant pitcher and he will be remembered as one of the best pitchers in the history of the game if he doesn't get derailed with injuries. Too bad he isn't going to play in the WBC. The Mariners held him out cause they don't want him to get injured. Also, the Cy Young award is overrated. Colon's a good pitcher if healthy, but Felix is already on par with, if not better than Colon. That's scary, considering Felix is 19. As with all young pitchers, you worry about his health, but if he can avoid injury, he's going to dominate. Something funny to note...on baseball-reference.com, Colon is listed at 6'0, 185 lbs. I don't know what scale they used to weigh him when that weight was registered, but I'd have it looked at.
  5. fromthestretch
    I did public address one year and play-by-play another year for the Colt World Series. The tournament had a team from South Korea and a team from Puerto Rico both years. It's actually not too difficult if you work with the team's translator on the pronunciations. The asian names are fairly easy because there typically aren't too many syllables to screw up. I find the hispanic names to be more difficult because of the placement of the accents.
  6. fromthestretch
    I don't recall ever seeing a figure of Aramis. Aramis http://www.spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=2880 The Toys R Us by us is going out of business, and I got the following for cheap: http://www.spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=2571 http://www.spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=2288
  7. fromthestretch
    They have one of Ramirez, too, I think. Not sure which series though.
  8. fromthestretch
    Now, how much value does that have compared to the actual ability of getting on base? To me, the ability to distract some of the lesser pitchers isn't nearly as important as the ability to get on 1B. Obviously obp is more important, but ideally you want someone w/ good obp and speed. Pierre fits both. Except the two seasons he hasn't. Two out of his 5 1/2 seasons, he's had an unacceptable OBP for a leadoff hitter. But the other 3.5 seasons have been pretty good. What's the point? He's had more OBP success than failure. His career OBP is very respectable. And Pierre's worst season would still be a huge upgrade over what the Cubs got out of center last year. Yes, even in his worst year, he's better than what Baker pencilled into the leadoff spot most of last season. But that's not the argument here. He's been in the league 5.5 years. He's had three full seasons and one half season (his rookie year) where his OBP at the end of the year was at least good. He's had two full seasons where his OBP frankly sucked for a guy that doesn't do anything else well but run fast (which isn't very useful if he's not getting on base). So 3.5 seasons of good production, two years of crap production. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence. That said, I do agree that he'll be better than what the Cubs had in the leadoff spot last year. I'm just not all that sure that he'll be three young pitchers and a few million dollars better than what the Cubs had in the leadoff spot last year. I think there's a good chance Pierre will put up a .360+ OBP. I also think there's a good chance he'll put up a sub .340 OBP. The point is, Pierre isn't exactly a sure bet.
  9. fromthestretch
    Now, how much value does that have compared to the actual ability of getting on base? To me, the ability to distract some of the lesser pitchers isn't nearly as important as the ability to get on 1B. Obviously obp is more important, but ideally you want someone w/ good obp and speed. Pierre fits both. Except the two seasons he hasn't. Two out of his 5 1/2 seasons, he's had an unacceptable OBP for a leadoff hitter.
  10. fromthestretch
    So you're saying it's a certainty that Pierre won't repeat his terrible 2005 numbers? I'm not saying he'll be terrible, but he's had two bad seasons out of six. It seems to me that you have absolutely no doubt he'll put up a good OBP. I'm curious what leads you to believe that. Then why give up three young pitchers and take on more salary to get Pierre when Walker could bat leadoff? Isn't this really more of an indictment of general managers rather than managers? Hendry is the one that went out and got Pierre. Are you implying that every GM who acquired a "prototypical leadoff man" had great success?
  11. fromthestretch
    And if Adam Dunn didn't have plate discipline, he'd have a .270 OBP. And if Barry Zito had an average curveball, he wouldn't be in the major leagues. It's not reasonable to remove a player's most valuable asset in order to show a lack of productivity. That's not what that was about. He was showing that the value of Pierre's speed is measured in his numbers. Not only that but Dunn's plate discipline isn't his only asset. He also has tremendous power. If he walked only 30-40 times a season instead of 100+, he'd be Dave Kingman with more strikeouts...capable of hitting 30-45 homers with a crappy batting average. Certainly not ideal, but still capable of being somewhat productive. If you took away Pierre's speed, you'd most likely see a significant drop in his batting average, and since he doesn't walk much, you'd definitely see a massive drop in his OBP. He wouldn't be stealing bases. What little extra base power he has is due in large part to his speed, so you'd probably see his doubles and triples totals drop.
  12. fromthestretch
    There's a big difference between how a high school pitcher will react with a fast runner on base and how a major league pitcher will react. There's most likely a big difference between how an A-ball pitcher will react and a major league pitcher will react. Focused pitchers won't let their attention waver that much. Yes, they'll throw over occasionally (some like Steve "the human rain delay" Trachsel will throw over more than others). Some may change their delivery to use more of a slide step. But by the time they get to the majors, they should have been in the situation enough times to not let it affect how much they are focused on the hitter. I'm not saying pitchers shouldn't pay any attention to baserunners. Frankly, I hate seeing pitchers with piss-poor moves to first base. Furthermore, I think it's an absolute crime for a left-hander to not have a decent move. It's certainly a part of the game that a lot of pitchers need to work on. However, it shouldn't be done to the extent that it affects their ability to concentrate on the hitter.
  13. fromthestretch
    I agree, this is something BBB is overlooking. Now I am just a casual fan, haven't been watching alot until I got back into it 2 years ago. But I beleive in the thought that a pesky guy at first can cause the pitcher and middle defense to make some mistakes. Because they are thinking even a little thought about him taking off, their concentration then is divided. Causing them to possibly loose concentration, and not throw the ball as well. I don't have years of experience "observing" this, but I look foward to seeing if it really is true by watching Pierre this year. Derrick Lee beleives the same thing and he has said that in different interviews. (about pierre disrupting the picther/defense). You need to put more credit into this element Pierre brings. . Again...how much havoc is he going to wreak if he's not on base in the first place? You can't run, or even pose the threat of running, if you don't first get on base. And as has been mentioned, Murton is capable of stealing bases, as well...not 50+ like Pierre, but certainly 15-20 and probably more if pitchers decide not to take him seriously when he's standing on first. I don't think that a speedster on first will distract the pitcher as much as it may cause him to change his strategy a bit, primarily regarding pitch selection. At the major league level, pitchers (and the defense) should be able to handle the fact that a fast runner is going to be on base from time-to-time. It's not like they've never been in that situation before. It's part of the game. Considering the frequency with which Pierre gets caught stealing, I'd say his ability to distract pitchers isn't as good as some may think.
  14. fromthestretch
    I don't think anyone is arguing the importance of a leadoff hitter. However, what I think people are arguing is what is important to have in a leadoff hitter. Running fast isn't at the top of the list. Getting on base is. If Pierre doesn't hit over .300, his OBP won't be all that great. The only other thing he provides is speed, and I don't care how fast he can run, his speed is worthless if he's not on base to use it. Pierre is a decent leadoff hitter. He's shown that there are seasons where he can be among the league's best table-setters. He's also had two seasons where he probably would have been better off batting eighth. Regardless, he's an improvement over Neifi Perez and the 2005 version of Corey Patterson. But I would have been just as happy had the Cubs plugged Walker into the leadoff spot, pencilled Murton in as the #2 hitter, and overpaid for a better right-fielder either via trade or free agency. As for the Murton vs. Pierre issue, I think there's a very good chance that Murton could outproduce Pierre in 2006...if he's given 500+ plate appearances. This is all moot though. If the Cubs are going to contend, they need decent years out of both players.
  15. fromthestretch
    One thing to think about with respect to sports like baseball, basketball, football, etc., is that players of a specific era are pretty much all playing in the same conditions. Ty Cobb, for example, didn't have advanced weight training, advanced supplements (legal or otherwise), video of every pitcher he was facing, finely manicured fields to play on, etc. However, the pitchers he faced and the other players in the legaue didn't have any of those things either. Cobb and the like put up their numbers against guys who were in the same boat as them. Plus, as someone mentioned, with fewer teams and pitchers who started more often and went deeper into games, hitters back then most likely faced the same pitchers more often. Bonds and other modern players are facing pitchers who have had their mechanics refined by experts, went through targeted strength training, have access to the same supplements (for some reason, people tend to focus primarily on position players when talking about steroids and similar things), have advanced scouting reports, etc. Likewise, pitchers are facing hitters that are in great shape, have studied video on them, etc. It's because of this that makes it very difficult to predict who would do what in different eras. NOTE: Edited to add the bolded line.
  16. fromthestretch
    Seconded.
  17. fromthestretch
    How is having a lower career OBP by .049, a lower career SLG by .051, only five more career homers, and 161 more career RBI all in 1782 more career plate appearances considered far greater? Sosa's 162-game average for his career: .274/.345/.537, 43 HR, 114 RBI, 103 R, 65 BB, 159 K McGwire's 162-game average for his career: .263/.394/.588, 50 HR, 122 RBI, 101 R, 114 BB, 138 K I don't see how Sammy was "far greater" over his career.
  18. fromthestretch
    Considering that some pitchers have been suspended for steroid use and that we'll never really know how many of them took steroids or some sort of performance-enhancing drugs, I don't think it's fair to only indict position players in the court of public opinion. In fact, I believe the fact that some pitchers have taken things to enhance their performance makes it a bit more of a level playing field.
  19. fromthestretch
    If all costs were equal, I'd probably agree with that statement. But considering the talent and money it would cost to get Soriano, I'll take the latter for now.
  20. fromthestretch
    Regardless of how much of a difference you feel Dunn makes for the Reds, there's no question he'd make a hell of a big impact in the Cubs lineup. If you replace Jones with Dunn and bat him between Lee and Ramirez, a lot of pitchers would not look forward to facing the Cubs.
  21. fromthestretch
    Perhaps I'm misreading this, but are you advocating bunting Pierre from second to third? If he can't score from second on a single with his speed, then he's worth less than I thought. Second base is considered scoring position. I'm not a fan of bunting runners over. Obviously, there are situations where one run wins the game, and bunting may get a runner closer to home. But by and large, it's a waste of an out. Plus, there's no guarantee that Walker would be the one due up in that situation anyway. There's no reason to do it early in the game. What makes Walker a good #2 hitter is that he makes good contact, gets on base, and has some extra-base power. The fact that he's left-handed and can pull the ball to right field makes it easier for Pierre to go from first to third. Plus, he's done a decent job at avoiding grounding into double plays the past two years. His ability (or lack thereof) to bunt shouldn't be a factor here.
  22. fromthestretch
    It appears that he did not record a putout. http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lancale01.shtml
  23. fromthestretch
    Now that you mention it, I remember him doing that, too. I can't remember the pitcher (it may have been Worrell), but the Cardinals had a right-handed reliever in to face a right-handed batter. The next hitter was a lefty, so they moved the reliever to LF for that batter and brought him back to the mound for the following hitter.
  24. fromthestretch
    Actually, I'm almost certain you can do this. As long as you stay in the game defensively, you can return to the mound. I believe though, in the AL, if a pitcher leaves the mound for another defensive position, you lose the DH.
  25. fromthestretch
    I'm curious how he explains his 2004 numbers, when Hunter was healthy and playing everyday. Was he trying to do too much because Mauer was hurt?
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