by Red Herring
[Note: PLS's own Red Herring was at the Marlins/Phillies game for this memorable occasion.]
Perfection:
Living in South Florida I have a plethora of entertainment options on a Saturday. Luckily for me I choose to attend the Phillies-Marlins game. At this point I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that My wife, Mrs. Red, was the driving force behind this decision. I didn’t even know who was pitching until I was already in the car and asked my wife to look up the probable pitchers. Tonight its Halladay and Johnson she read to me off the Marlins webpage. I told her, that’s a really good pitching matchup I’m excited about this now.
The first three innings were spent like most normal innings are when you’re at a ball game. Ordering a beer, ordering a second beer, the trek to the concession stand where and selecting something that will probably take five minutes off my life. By the fifth inning I did notice something. The Marlins had no hits, I think to myself, have they had any base runners? A quick check of the box score on my iPhone tells me no, they haven’t had a single base on balls.
Holly crap! This is a perfect game I’m watching! But it’s only the fifth, plenty of time for the Marlins to get someone on base and break it up.
There are certain rules to watching a perfect game. But you only need to remember one rule to do it properly. YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE PERFECT GAME. Why am I telling you this? Because the gaggle of middle school aged boys behind me seems to have forgotten that very simple rule. From the fifth inning on these children were mentioning perfect game, saying perfect game and doing everything short of lighting a fire and sending smoke signals to people on the other side of the stadium alerting them to the perfect game they were watching. This pissed me off. Being a baseball fan I know that there have only been 19 perfect games in the history of the game. 19! Professional baseball has been played in this country for over 100 years and a perfect game has happened 19 times and these kids are doing everything they can to jinx it. Instead of being able to tell their children I saw a perfect game they will be able to say “I saw Roy Halladay pitch a perfect game into the 6th inning. That’s bush.
Anyway back to the game. I started taking notes on my iPhone when I realized what was going on but honestly, at some point between the fifth and seventh inning I just put it away and started watching. Simply put, Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball. He was not on the same level as the rest of the players on the field that night. He was hitting his spots and not over thinking it. I can’t remember him shaking off his catcher a single time. He threw the ball, caught the ball and then threw the ball again. He was calm and deliberate and most importantly not over thinking things. Far too often athletes will over think what they’re doing and proceed to screw it up. Not Ol’ Roy. He was masterful, he trusted his catcher to call the right pitches and his defense to make plays behind him.
Roy started to fall behind batters after the Seventh inning. He was in several three ball counts but the Marlins seemed to understand that you just don’t break up a perfect game in the eighth inning with a base on balls and they proceeded to swing freely at three ball counts. (or they knew that either the ump wasn’t going to give them a base on balls or Halladay would proceed to beat their brains in on the way to first if they even thought about trying to work a walk against him.)
I had a direct view into the Phillies dugout from my seats and I could see that everyone was treating Roy like he had the plague. Which is another rule for a perfect game. You don’t pat the guy on the back, or talk to him or look at him. You stay as far away as you can, but not too far away. You avoid looking at him, but don’t make it look like you’re trying not to look at him. You sit down, stay away and take your at bats when you come up in the order. I’m sure you also pray that you’re not the one who screws this thing up because you know that you’ll never be able to live it down. Roy was left alone to continue his dominance and it worked out pretty well.
Sometimes you don’t realize how fast the game is played unless you’re actually sitting in the stadium and watching it firsthand. When something happens in a ball game it happens quick. Leading off the eighth Jorge Cantu hit a screamer to third and Juan Castro scooped it up and threw Canto out. On TV this looked like a nice play. In person you see things a little differently, everyone in the stadium held their breath when that ball came off Cantu’s bat. Castro lunged to his left and snared it on the hop and made an easy throw to first to get Cantu, but I have never seen a more exciting play in person. It was quick, it was skillful and it was calm sometimes we don’t give enough credit to players for making the easy plays but we have to remember even the easy ones in the bigs are still darn hard to come up with.
Simply put everything that Roy had done that night was in the hands of Castro and Castro didn’t let him down. It was clutch, it was money and it was probably the most important play of the game.
By the time we hit the bottom of the ninth everyone was on their feet. The tension was rolling off of everyone in the stadium, and while there might have been a few die hard Marlins fans there (I know they exist, just not in large numbers or at the actual game very often) everyone else was wishing and rooting and screaming for Halladay to get it done. And he did.
Perfection existed for one man on one Saturday night in Florida. He did everything right, and he was rewarded with joining the most exclusive list of pitchers in the history of the game. Halladay was perfect, and the scary part? He didn’t even look like he was trying very hard to do it.
Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Who Nat? Tales of Struggling Clubs Doing Well This Year
Posted by Iroquois Plisken
Because I am a sucker for puns, I've made a new feature that will run whenever I think of a team that hasn't done well recently that is presently doing well this year (sorry, Pittsburgh. Probably not you.) The first up in our inaugural series is the namesake, the Washington Nationals.
Impressively enough, the Washington Nationals are sitting above .500 a little more than six weeks into the season. Adam Dunn is doing what he does best - be a three outcome batter. What I find fascinating, though, is where the Nationals offense ranks among the National League clubs. Would you believe that they are presently in the top 50% in average, OPS (and the two feeder categories, OBP and SLG), and in the top 3 of SB? We can probably attribute this to the surprisingly not-shitty play of Cristian Guzman, though to be fair that is mostly based off of his stinky performances in Minnesota. He's been serviceable for the Nats for the last two years.
Their middle of the order is pretty much the same as last year and are producing steadily. Ryan Zimmerman is putting up All-Star numbers (.330, 8 HR, 23 RBI through 37 games). Josh Willingham has been putting up comparable numbers (except average) and getting on base at a steady clip, almost at a Nick Johnson level (.413 OBP). Adam Dunn is, well, the posterchild of consistency. With about a 5% margin of error, his line will look something like 40 HR, 100 RBI, 110 BB, 100 R, and .245 BA. Every year. Some years (like last year), he bucks it up a bit in the batting average department, but you know what you're gonna get.
I think the real story is how the Nats have been winning without vastly improved starting pitching. Can you name the starting 5 for the Nats? I got three before I had to look up the other two. They are
John Lannan (L), Craig Stammen (R), Livan Hernandez (R), Scott Olsen (L), and Luis Atilano (R)
I think the staff of the 1989 Cleveland Indians had more names than this, and they were put together to be the worst team in the majors. You can probably point to Pudge Rodriguez's influence over this staff, as he always seems to coax a little more out of his pitching talent. Nobody on their is going to blow you away with their stuff...yet.
The 900 lb gorilla in the minors is, of course, Stephen Strasburg, destroyer of worlds, pillager of loot, and fast of pitcher. You've heard the hype. If he can come in and be about half as effective as he has been in the minors, the Nats suddenly become an interesting squadron. More interesting than they are now, at least. Add in potentially acquiring Roy Oswalt, as the hot rumor has it, or even Cliff Lee (should the Mariners fall out of it. Don't laugh.) and suddenly the punching bag is firing back with a right cross or two. They already have a strong (albeit overworked) bullpen with Capps and Clippard (7 wins!), and they just added Drew Storen (closer of the future) to get him some experience. A potential rotation of
Oswalt/Lee, Strasburg, Hernandez, Lannan, Olsen
and you might be onto something. Maybe not playoff contention yet, but certainly 70-80 wins.
To top it all off, you're holding the #1 pick with Bryce Harper waiting in the wings. The hype machine is certainly in force for the kid (with help from his official page). A quick YouTube search will bring up his monstrous home runs against clearly inferior competition. He is, no doubt, the most hyped catcher prospect since Joe Mauer (who, apparently, helps people get banned from Mexico). Signability can't be an issue if they got their way with Strasburg.
I'm not sure how long the Nats will remain in contention, but if their good fortune continues, we could see a return to 2005, where they eclipsed the 80 win mark. A little luck with their pitching prospects and potential trade partners and maybe they scuffle for the Wild Card for a couple weeks. I can't think of a Nats fan (I could stop the sentence right here) who would turn that down.
Is baseball back on the Beltway? You're definitely not rushing Storen and Strasburg up to the Majors to rebuild. You want to see what you got and strike while the bats are hot. If nothing else, tune in on or after Memorial Day to see the 100 MPH fastballs cranked out of the park or past some bats. Hopefully Strasburg doesn't aspire to be the next Kirk Hammett and injure himself cranking out some sweet 5 button solos.
Because I am a sucker for puns, I've made a new feature that will run whenever I think of a team that hasn't done well recently that is presently doing well this year (sorry, Pittsburgh. Probably not you.) The first up in our inaugural series is the namesake, the Washington Nationals.
Impressively enough, the Washington Nationals are sitting above .500 a little more than six weeks into the season. Adam Dunn is doing what he does best - be a three outcome batter. What I find fascinating, though, is where the Nationals offense ranks among the National League clubs. Would you believe that they are presently in the top 50% in average, OPS (and the two feeder categories, OBP and SLG), and in the top 3 of SB? We can probably attribute this to the surprisingly not-shitty play of Cristian Guzman, though to be fair that is mostly based off of his stinky performances in Minnesota. He's been serviceable for the Nats for the last two years.
Their middle of the order is pretty much the same as last year and are producing steadily. Ryan Zimmerman is putting up All-Star numbers (.330, 8 HR, 23 RBI through 37 games). Josh Willingham has been putting up comparable numbers (except average) and getting on base at a steady clip, almost at a Nick Johnson level (.413 OBP). Adam Dunn is, well, the posterchild of consistency. With about a 5% margin of error, his line will look something like 40 HR, 100 RBI, 110 BB, 100 R, and .245 BA. Every year. Some years (like last year), he bucks it up a bit in the batting average department, but you know what you're gonna get.
I think the real story is how the Nats have been winning without vastly improved starting pitching. Can you name the starting 5 for the Nats? I got three before I had to look up the other two. They are
John Lannan (L), Craig Stammen (R), Livan Hernandez (R), Scott Olsen (L), and Luis Atilano (R)
I think the staff of the 1989 Cleveland Indians had more names than this, and they were put together to be the worst team in the majors. You can probably point to Pudge Rodriguez's influence over this staff, as he always seems to coax a little more out of his pitching talent. Nobody on their is going to blow you away with their stuff...yet.
The 900 lb gorilla in the minors is, of course, Stephen Strasburg, destroyer of worlds, pillager of loot, and fast of pitcher. You've heard the hype. If he can come in and be about half as effective as he has been in the minors, the Nats suddenly become an interesting squadron. More interesting than they are now, at least. Add in potentially acquiring Roy Oswalt, as the hot rumor has it, or even Cliff Lee (should the Mariners fall out of it. Don't laugh.) and suddenly the punching bag is firing back with a right cross or two. They already have a strong (albeit overworked) bullpen with Capps and Clippard (7 wins!), and they just added Drew Storen (closer of the future) to get him some experience. A potential rotation of
Oswalt/Lee, Strasburg, Hernandez, Lannan, Olsen
and you might be onto something. Maybe not playoff contention yet, but certainly 70-80 wins.
To top it all off, you're holding the #1 pick with Bryce Harper waiting in the wings. The hype machine is certainly in force for the kid (with help from his official page). A quick YouTube search will bring up his monstrous home runs against clearly inferior competition. He is, no doubt, the most hyped catcher prospect since Joe Mauer (who, apparently, helps people get banned from Mexico). Signability can't be an issue if they got their way with Strasburg.
I'm not sure how long the Nats will remain in contention, but if their good fortune continues, we could see a return to 2005, where they eclipsed the 80 win mark. A little luck with their pitching prospects and potential trade partners and maybe they scuffle for the Wild Card for a couple weeks. I can't think of a Nats fan (I could stop the sentence right here) who would turn that down.
Is baseball back on the Beltway? You're definitely not rushing Storen and Strasburg up to the Majors to rebuild. You want to see what you got and strike while the bats are hot. If nothing else, tune in on or after Memorial Day to see the 100 MPH fastballs cranked out of the park or past some bats. Hopefully Strasburg doesn't aspire to be the next Kirk Hammett and injure himself cranking out some sweet 5 button solos.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Watching a Trainwreck in Real Time
by Slate Quicksilver
Being a Florida Marlins fan, seeing mlb.com's report on Sportscenter that Joe Mauer hasn't resigned with the Twins yet but is "hopeful" that a deal will get done soon or during next offseason set off a 5 bell alarm. That part of the sentence in bold requires a closer inspection, but first, my credentials. I've seen this movie unfold so many times, I can call the script before it even happens. This has happened no less than 15 times with my team, the Florida Marlins (although there are some who apparently think we don't exist). I won't stand for their crimes against the game of baseball, but I am a fan. I was taught to root for your team through thick and thin, and seeing this report about Mauer and the Twins is troubling because I've seen this movie before; and it never ends well.
First off, let's look at the mlb.com part. If this report came out, it is solely done by the Mauer camp. The Twins don't want their poker hand shown to the rest of the world. That hand? A four, six, seven, jack and a king... all off suit. They are strapped for cash, simply put. They have Justin Morneau on board for 8 digits (12.5 mil) and Mauer will unquestionably be an 8 digit man himself. Joe Nathan checks in a 6 million (which he may get paid even if he fishes all season) and Mr. Mauer, himself, cashes in 6.25 million and for some reason Jim Thome is on the ledger for 13 million. Those four gentleman, at the status quo, account for nearly 75% of the Twins team salary (65 million + change). The Twins, in other words, can't take on Mauer and Morneau (and Thome). If anyone tipped the media off, it was a Mauer rep.
Secondly, let's look at the "hopeful" part. All accounts that are in the know agree that Joe Mauer is a stand up guy. He has offered a hometown discount to the Twins and he has made it clear he wants to stay there. Now allow me give you a few names of players who did this for the team I root for: Charles Johnson, Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, Gary Sheffield, Moises Alou, Luis Castillo, Jeff Conine (x2), Preston Wilson, Cliff Floyd, Josh Beckett, AJ Burnett, Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. In fact the only great (yes I called Preston Wilson great... wanna fight about it?) player the Marlins have had in the last 15 years who made no appearance of being "hopeful" that he could stay with the team and give them a discount was Hanley Ramirez, who the Marlins promptly responded by giving him a 5 year 75 million dollar contract. Great players on small market teams all want to stay (or at least say they do) but baseball is a business. If offered a "wowza" contract, Mauer will be gone in half a minute.
Let's finish with the time frame for getting it done. When it gets done is moot. To Mauer, that is. Joe can bide his time... even he signs tomorrow the contract doesn't go in to effect until next year... so monetarily he is ambivalent. But for the Twins, time is oxygen. He will be an unrestricted free agent, but only after a certain date. This means that the Twins are the only ones who can talk to him. This is the ball being shoved into the Twins' court and reminding them about the cloud of impending doom over their heads. That cloud is saturated with the fact that the free agent deadline on July 31st is a "make a deal or forever hold your peace" deadline for the organization. They have a new ballpark and they stole the division last year and are the favorites this year. Signing Mauer would basically give the direction for this decade. Yet, they haven't done it. They haven't done it yet and if they don't do it by July 31st they lose the safety net of compensation. Mauer will become unrestricted sometime in November and then he's moves in open water. At least if they trade him before 7/31, they get something back. Prospects, a few good players... whatever. If he signs as an unrestricted FA, they get nothing.
So basically the Twins have a choice.
Door #1: Resign Mauer longterm and expensively
Door #2: Trade him in late July to get some prospects
or Door #3: Stall too long and allow for the Yankees to fly a helicopter to the Mauer Estate and dump money on his roof until he's the starting catcher who replaces Jorge Posada in Yankee Stadium (OMG THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENZZZZ!!!).
My prediction: Door #3.
Well good night folks and Red, go wash your hands and keyboard after reading this.
Being a Florida Marlins fan, seeing mlb.com's report on Sportscenter that Joe Mauer hasn't resigned with the Twins yet but is "hopeful" that a deal will get done soon or during next offseason set off a 5 bell alarm. That part of the sentence in bold requires a closer inspection, but first, my credentials. I've seen this movie unfold so many times, I can call the script before it even happens. This has happened no less than 15 times with my team, the Florida Marlins (although there are some who apparently think we don't exist). I won't stand for their crimes against the game of baseball, but I am a fan. I was taught to root for your team through thick and thin, and seeing this report about Mauer and the Twins is troubling because I've seen this movie before; and it never ends well.
First off, let's look at the mlb.com part. If this report came out, it is solely done by the Mauer camp. The Twins don't want their poker hand shown to the rest of the world. That hand? A four, six, seven, jack and a king... all off suit. They are strapped for cash, simply put. They have Justin Morneau on board for 8 digits (12.5 mil) and Mauer will unquestionably be an 8 digit man himself. Joe Nathan checks in a 6 million (which he may get paid even if he fishes all season) and Mr. Mauer, himself, cashes in 6.25 million and for some reason Jim Thome is on the ledger for 13 million. Those four gentleman, at the status quo, account for nearly 75% of the Twins team salary (65 million + change). The Twins, in other words, can't take on Mauer and Morneau (and Thome). If anyone tipped the media off, it was a Mauer rep.
Secondly, let's look at the "hopeful" part. All accounts that are in the know agree that Joe Mauer is a stand up guy. He has offered a hometown discount to the Twins and he has made it clear he wants to stay there. Now allow me give you a few names of players who did this for the team I root for: Charles Johnson, Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, Gary Sheffield, Moises Alou, Luis Castillo, Jeff Conine (x2), Preston Wilson, Cliff Floyd, Josh Beckett, AJ Burnett, Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. In fact the only great (yes I called Preston Wilson great... wanna fight about it?) player the Marlins have had in the last 15 years who made no appearance of being "hopeful" that he could stay with the team and give them a discount was Hanley Ramirez, who the Marlins promptly responded by giving him a 5 year 75 million dollar contract. Great players on small market teams all want to stay (or at least say they do) but baseball is a business. If offered a "wowza" contract, Mauer will be gone in half a minute.
Let's finish with the time frame for getting it done. When it gets done is moot. To Mauer, that is. Joe can bide his time... even he signs tomorrow the contract doesn't go in to effect until next year... so monetarily he is ambivalent. But for the Twins, time is oxygen. He will be an unrestricted free agent, but only after a certain date. This means that the Twins are the only ones who can talk to him. This is the ball being shoved into the Twins' court and reminding them about the cloud of impending doom over their heads. That cloud is saturated with the fact that the free agent deadline on July 31st is a "make a deal or forever hold your peace" deadline for the organization. They have a new ballpark and they stole the division last year and are the favorites this year. Signing Mauer would basically give the direction for this decade. Yet, they haven't done it. They haven't done it yet and if they don't do it by July 31st they lose the safety net of compensation. Mauer will become unrestricted sometime in November and then he's moves in open water. At least if they trade him before 7/31, they get something back. Prospects, a few good players... whatever. If he signs as an unrestricted FA, they get nothing.
So basically the Twins have a choice.
Door #1: Resign Mauer longterm and expensively
Door #2: Trade him in late July to get some prospects
or Door #3: Stall too long and allow for the Yankees to fly a helicopter to the Mauer Estate and dump money on his roof until he's the starting catcher who replaces Jorge Posada in Yankee Stadium (OMG THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENZZZZ!!!).
My prediction: Door #3.
Well good night folks and Red, go wash your hands and keyboard after reading this.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sports Smörgåsbord for February 22, 2010
Posted by Iroquois Plisken
Since I've got a lot of thoughts and can't pin down a topic, I'm going to throw them all out there and see what happens.
MLB - Judas Damon signs a one year deal with the Detroit Tigers, a move that makes sense, but one that fails to overwhelm. First, he's 36. Nobody post-PED-en-vogue era is going to have a career year, not to mention the inevitable padding his stats got because he was in the Yankees lineup. You've got to expect his age to catch up with him sometime. Still, a good and smart leadoff hitter will keep the Big Bopper happy (Miggy Cabrera) with the maintenance and possible exceeding of expectations in terms of R and RBI.
Second, Damon's numbers will (likely) be negatively altered by the change in ballpark. I'm expecting a reversion back a few years to his career average of about 15 HR. He also figures to have less RBI as well because of that heinous bottom of the order. Still, there's something to be said for consistency, and I'd expect to return a combination of 2004 and 2007 Damon stats, a line of something around .290, 15 HR, 80 RBI, 80 R and maybe 20 SB. That's still pretty good.
Third, his noodle arm isn't getting any better. It's never been terrific but manning LF for Detroit probably won't do him any favors. Hopefully he doesn't impact either Austin Jackson or Ryan Raburn in the quest for a better OF (I would think Mags would be the bigger opposition, at any rate). Still, Damon's lack of defense is offset by his idiocy.
NBA - Maybe there's a reason to play the rest of the games after all. The Cleve has dropped three straight since their mega-trade, including one to my favorite squadron. While this isn't any reason to freak out (it normally takes time to integrate the so-called missing piece), it's always nice to have a pleasant reminder that anything is possible in the world of sports. In the coming weeks, we should start to see teams adjust their strategy while jockeying for either lottery balls or playoff seeding, fortuitously timed with March Madness and college basketball conference tournaments.
Hockey - The United States beat Canada 5-2 in the Olympics the other day. I feel, as a pretty disinterested party in both the Olympics and Hockey, that I represent the average American, so I feel I can speak for the general public when I say, "U-S-A! U-S-A! That'll show those hosers what's what!"
However, some mere puffers are claiming this is the biggest victory since Lake Placid. Is that even remotely close to true? From what I understand, it's not like America is guaranteed a medal yet. The victory over the Pinko Commies in 1980 is one of the biggest sports events ever. Comparing this non-medal round upset of the Canadians to that game is completely and utterly blasphemous in my opinion. See, I can be overreactionary like the average bandwagon fan, too.
And finally, in the Stuff Nobody Cares About department...
It's intramural time again (at least in the warm weather states). In softball, Team Jolly Drank is 1-0 with a 13-2 victory last night. Your fearless writer has the Eli Marrero (get used to hearing his name bandied about during baseball season around here) position on lock, playing RF/C for the team and going 2-3 with 2 R. Not a bad debut, but man, am I out of shape.
Since I've got a lot of thoughts and can't pin down a topic, I'm going to throw them all out there and see what happens.
MLB - Judas Damon signs a one year deal with the Detroit Tigers, a move that makes sense, but one that fails to overwhelm. First, he's 36. Nobody post-PED-en-vogue era is going to have a career year, not to mention the inevitable padding his stats got because he was in the Yankees lineup. You've got to expect his age to catch up with him sometime. Still, a good and smart leadoff hitter will keep the Big Bopper happy (Miggy Cabrera) with the maintenance and possible exceeding of expectations in terms of R and RBI.
Second, Damon's numbers will (likely) be negatively altered by the change in ballpark. I'm expecting a reversion back a few years to his career average of about 15 HR. He also figures to have less RBI as well because of that heinous bottom of the order. Still, there's something to be said for consistency, and I'd expect to return a combination of 2004 and 2007 Damon stats, a line of something around .290, 15 HR, 80 RBI, 80 R and maybe 20 SB. That's still pretty good.
Third, his noodle arm isn't getting any better. It's never been terrific but manning LF for Detroit probably won't do him any favors. Hopefully he doesn't impact either Austin Jackson or Ryan Raburn in the quest for a better OF (I would think Mags would be the bigger opposition, at any rate). Still, Damon's lack of defense is offset by his idiocy.
NBA - Maybe there's a reason to play the rest of the games after all. The Cleve has dropped three straight since their mega-trade, including one to my favorite squadron. While this isn't any reason to freak out (it normally takes time to integrate the so-called missing piece), it's always nice to have a pleasant reminder that anything is possible in the world of sports. In the coming weeks, we should start to see teams adjust their strategy while jockeying for either lottery balls or playoff seeding, fortuitously timed with March Madness and college basketball conference tournaments.
Hockey - The United States beat Canada 5-2 in the Olympics the other day. I feel, as a pretty disinterested party in both the Olympics and Hockey, that I represent the average American, so I feel I can speak for the general public when I say, "U-S-A! U-S-A! That'll show those hosers what's what!"
However, some mere puffers are claiming this is the biggest victory since Lake Placid. Is that even remotely close to true? From what I understand, it's not like America is guaranteed a medal yet. The victory over the Pinko Commies in 1980 is one of the biggest sports events ever. Comparing this non-medal round upset of the Canadians to that game is completely and utterly blasphemous in my opinion. See, I can be overreactionary like the average bandwagon fan, too.
And finally, in the Stuff Nobody Cares About department...
It's intramural time again (at least in the warm weather states). In softball, Team Jolly Drank is 1-0 with a 13-2 victory last night. Your fearless writer has the Eli Marrero (get used to hearing his name bandied about during baseball season around here) position on lock, playing RF/C for the team and going 2-3 with 2 R. Not a bad debut, but man, am I out of shape.
Monday, February 15, 2010
One Week 'til Players Report: Who Won the Offseason?
Posted by Iroquois Plisken
The Major League Baseball offseason has nearly come to a close, though you wouldn't know it by the weather. This is approaching one of the hallmarks of the year: March Madness, Baseball Opening, NBA Playoffs, Hockey Existing (...?), and my birthday all coincide. We should have no shortage of fodder in the upcoming weeks for your mental and physical (?) entertainment. For now, let's take a look at a few teams I think did very well in the offseason.
Seattle Mariners - I really liked the Cliff Lee acquisiton for the Mariners. They have a strong 1-2 punch with King Felix and Lee, both of whom should contend for the Cy Young this year. If Erik Bedard pulls himself together, Seattle could have a surprisingly effective 1-4 punch (I would go Lee, Hernandez, Bedard, Snell to throw a LRLR, but that won't happen). But, their problems last year were on offense. Chone Figgins isn't a slugger by any stretch of the imagination, but he should help address a team whose batting average was awful last year and provide a flexible #2 hitter behind Ichiro (or leadoff if it is so required). They still need to work on power after getting an unexpected boost from Russell Branyan last year, but for now they're taking steps in the right direction. Last but not least, they acquired Milton Bradley. Hope they're saying "Yahtzee!" at the end of the year rather than dealing with Aggravation.
Minnesota Twins - Keith Law sorta stole my thunder here, but they've had a sneaky good offseason. The Twins have a knack for employing some of my favorite fantasy baseball middle relievers who actually translate well to real life. Pat Neshek and Matt Guerrier spring to mind. Anyhow, they get a contract year out of uber-catcher Joe Mauer, another quasi-MVP year out of Justin Morneau, and added more consistent offense in the middle with Orlando Hudson. J.J. Hardy's a bit of a streaker, but in flashes, he's great (they only wish they had the legendary Nathan Andreassen). Brendan Harris should improve this year as well. If Frankie Liriano comes back and Scott Baker stops toying with his fantasy owners, they should challenge Detroit for the division next year.
Boston Red Sox - Yeah, their offense plummeted this offseason, but I think they did an alright job shoring up their defense and pitching. They overpaid a bit for Lackey, but they can afford to do that. They probably overpaid for Adrian Beltre, but he would be better this year than Mike Lowell would anyhow. Mike Cameron, Marco Scutaro, and Jose Iglesias are all solid additions, with Iglesias projected to man shortstop in a couple of years. The new rotation of Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Matsuzaka, and Buchholz ought to have confidence in the fielders behind them and should throw as such this year. To improve, they need to acquire some LHP for the bullpen.
Atlanta Braves - Just to throw an NL team out there. I wasn't super impressed with any major National League moves (way overpaid for Holliday/Bay, e.g.), but the Braves at least have something to look forward to. Tommy Hanson is still alive and kicking, which is a boon for them, plus Jason Heyward is waiting in the minors. But, even Atlanta made a couple of questionable moves. Who is this guy Rafael Soriano was traded for? Why did they give up a 1RP to sign Billy Wagner? Slate may chime in another time with his offseason winners, mostly because he's a well-documented National League fan.
Up Wednesday and Thursday: a current NBA coach gives us his opinion of the trade deadline.
The Major League Baseball offseason has nearly come to a close, though you wouldn't know it by the weather. This is approaching one of the hallmarks of the year: March Madness, Baseball Opening, NBA Playoffs, Hockey Existing (...?), and my birthday all coincide. We should have no shortage of fodder in the upcoming weeks for your mental and physical (?) entertainment. For now, let's take a look at a few teams I think did very well in the offseason.
Seattle Mariners - I really liked the Cliff Lee acquisiton for the Mariners. They have a strong 1-2 punch with King Felix and Lee, both of whom should contend for the Cy Young this year. If Erik Bedard pulls himself together, Seattle could have a surprisingly effective 1-4 punch (I would go Lee, Hernandez, Bedard, Snell to throw a LRLR, but that won't happen). But, their problems last year were on offense. Chone Figgins isn't a slugger by any stretch of the imagination, but he should help address a team whose batting average was awful last year and provide a flexible #2 hitter behind Ichiro (or leadoff if it is so required). They still need to work on power after getting an unexpected boost from Russell Branyan last year, but for now they're taking steps in the right direction. Last but not least, they acquired Milton Bradley. Hope they're saying "Yahtzee!" at the end of the year rather than dealing with Aggravation.
Minnesota Twins - Keith Law sorta stole my thunder here, but they've had a sneaky good offseason. The Twins have a knack for employing some of my favorite fantasy baseball middle relievers who actually translate well to real life. Pat Neshek and Matt Guerrier spring to mind. Anyhow, they get a contract year out of uber-catcher Joe Mauer, another quasi-MVP year out of Justin Morneau, and added more consistent offense in the middle with Orlando Hudson. J.J. Hardy's a bit of a streaker, but in flashes, he's great (they only wish they had the legendary Nathan Andreassen). Brendan Harris should improve this year as well. If Frankie Liriano comes back and Scott Baker stops toying with his fantasy owners, they should challenge Detroit for the division next year.
Boston Red Sox - Yeah, their offense plummeted this offseason, but I think they did an alright job shoring up their defense and pitching. They overpaid a bit for Lackey, but they can afford to do that. They probably overpaid for Adrian Beltre, but he would be better this year than Mike Lowell would anyhow. Mike Cameron, Marco Scutaro, and Jose Iglesias are all solid additions, with Iglesias projected to man shortstop in a couple of years. The new rotation of Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Matsuzaka, and Buchholz ought to have confidence in the fielders behind them and should throw as such this year. To improve, they need to acquire some LHP for the bullpen.
Atlanta Braves - Just to throw an NL team out there. I wasn't super impressed with any major National League moves (way overpaid for Holliday/Bay, e.g.), but the Braves at least have something to look forward to. Tommy Hanson is still alive and kicking, which is a boon for them, plus Jason Heyward is waiting in the minors. But, even Atlanta made a couple of questionable moves. Who is this guy Rafael Soriano was traded for? Why did they give up a 1RP to sign Billy Wagner? Slate may chime in another time with his offseason winners, mostly because he's a well-documented National League fan.
Up Wednesday and Thursday: a current NBA coach gives us his opinion of the trade deadline.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
In response to a Marlins fan, why your team should move and why it is all your fault.
By Red Herring
I’m about to lawyer Slate.
The Location of the stadium:
South Florida has a lot of things, but one of the things it doesn’t have is a major rail infrastructure to move massive amounts of people around. The truth is that South Florida is the most excellent example of urban sprawl I can think of. Everything is far away from everything else and if you want to get somewhere you either have to drive a car or take a bus. Now this alone doesn’t mean that a team will fail but it sure doesn’t help in their attendance. Slate suggests that moving the stadium to a “better” part of South Florida will result in an increase in attendance. I argue that the Dolphins already play in the apparent cesspool that is Land Shark Stadium and manage to draw very good crowds. If the stadium isn’t the problem then what is?
Maybe the product that the team puts on the field is the problem. But wait, this Marlins team, this lowest attendance numbers of any National League team, has won not one but TWO World Series titles in its short life. How can this be?
Good attendance when they are winning?:
Simply put even when the Marlins put a quality team on the field the fans don’t show up, and you can’t blame that on the stadium because we know that another pro team plays in the same stadium and is able to draw capacity crowds. In 2003 the year that the Marlins won their second World Series the Marlins only beat two teams in terms of home attendance, the Washington Nationals and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. So even when the Marlins manage to put a quality team on the field the fans still stay away and that is something you cannot blame on the stadium.
The finances of the team:
Another argument that has been presented is that the Marlins struggle to draw crowds because of the oppressive contract they have with the stadium. Well, research being something I tend to do before I simply go off on tangents, I decided to look at what the Marlins spend on salary and what they received from MLB’s revenue sharing agreement. I feel that this site explains what the Marlins do best by examining what the Marlins did in 2006 ”By shedding these stars, Florida was able to cut its payroll down to $14.9 million in 2006, which is less than 20% of the Major League average of $78 million. It was also less than half of the $31 million in revenue sharing dollars the team received that year. So, rather than using the money to retain or attract on-field talent, the owners took it as part of the team's MLB best $43 million profit in 2006.” You can’t blame a bad contract with a stadium for simply refusing to spend money on players, what this telling statistic tells us is that even if the Marlins were getting 100% of the money being spent at the stadium they still wouldn’t have spent it on payroll, and when it is clear the team is not in it to win it why should the fans bother to make the trek to the stadium?
The finances argument fails because it is clear that the Marlins ownership group won’t spend money, not that they can’t. Maybe that was just that one year? Nope, this article points out that this kind of thing has been going on for a long time. So, I’m sorry to say, the claim that the Marlins have no money to spend is simply not true. They have money to spend they just don’t do it. So even if the fans would come to the game, which they don’t, they won’t spend any money on putting a quality team on the field anyway.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Cities that should have Major League teams and Cities that shouldn’t
By Red Herring.
We all know them, those teams that just don’t make sense. The sports equivalent of trying to put a square peg into a round hole. I’ve decided in my infinite wisdom (Ed. Note - HAHAHAHA!) to examine a few of these frustrated franchises and explore where they could better plant their roots.
I know I know, they have a new stadium coming and a new name coming with it. But guess what, attendance figures don’t lie. Now I know what some people (including some people who happen to write for this very blog) are going to say, “but.. but… but… the Marlins have solid middle of the road TV ratings.” Well guess what, TV ratings don’t buy Hot dogs and Soda for the kiddies for 8 bucks a pop or a beer for $14.99. During one point in their illustrious history the marlins managed to draw about 400 people to a game against the Nationals, so few people that a fan was thrown out for arguing with an umpire! Living in South Florida for a significant part of my life I can tell you one thing with certainty, the only sports team with fins that people in south Florida care about play football and that is not going to change anytime soon.
We all know them, those teams that just don’t make sense. The sports equivalent of trying to put a square peg into a round hole. I’ve decided in my infinite wisdom (Ed. Note - HAHAHAHA!) to examine a few of these frustrated franchises and explore where they could better plant their roots.
Our first installment is:
The Florida Marlins
I know I know, they have a new stadium coming and a new name coming with it. But guess what, attendance figures don’t lie. Now I know what some people (including some people who happen to write for this very blog) are going to say, “but.. but… but… the Marlins have solid middle of the road TV ratings.” Well guess what, TV ratings don’t buy Hot dogs and Soda for the kiddies for 8 bucks a pop or a beer for $14.99. During one point in their illustrious history the marlins managed to draw about 400 people to a game against the Nationals, so few people that a fan was thrown out for arguing with an umpire! Living in South Florida for a significant part of my life I can tell you one thing with certainty, the only sports team with fins that people in south Florida care about play football and that is not going to change anytime soon.
For whatever reason South Florida has not embraced Major League Baseball and it is time for the two sides to say that they gave it a good go but have decided to move on. But where, where do we send the now homeless Marlins? They need to go somewhere that has a solid fan base and a big market. That is why I humbly suggest that the Marlins move to Indianapolis.
They will have to change their name because let’s be honest, the Indianapolis Marlins just sounds silly. So let’s call them the Indianapolis Wildcats. The region is more than big enough to support a major league team and the triple-A team the Indianapolis Indians have excellent attendance numbers. If they can get 549,552 people to come to see a minor league team play in a year then they certainly can get enough people into the seats to support a major league team.
So ladies and gentlemen that is my opening salvo in the Marlins should move discussion. What do you think? Leave a comment and I’ll respond to your thoughts, or I won’t, you’re not the boss of me.
Monday, December 14, 2009
99th Post Extravaganza - Random Thoughts on Buffets and MLB
Posted by Iroquois Plisken
In the spirit of the site, for the (almost) 100th post, I will pen a few quick thoughts on some baseball hot stove, then quickly offer a thought on all-you-can-eat buffets.
First, some breaking news. As of this typing, a report surfaced that Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are changing teams in a three-card-monte between Seattle (who receives Lee, amazingly), Toronto, and Philly. It is interesting that after "settling" for Cliff Lee (and reaching a World Series in the process), Philly just as quickly ships him out. I'm really not sure how much of an upgrade Ol' Roy is at this point for Philly, unless they were really itching to get a RHP in there. Lee was absolute perfection when he needed to be and I'd probably have been a bit more reluctant to ship him off. Still, the details are sketchy at best, so we'll see what happens from there. Your author finds it interesting how often Cliff Lee ends up being shipped in blockbuster deals, swiftly recalling one of the worst trades of all time wherein Lee, Brandon Phillips, and Grady Sizemore for what amounted to Bartolo Colon during his Radar Love phase. Meanwhile, Seattle has another ace to stack with Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard (if he ever figures himself out).
From talking about lefties to a guy who can't hit lefties, the Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson for a slew of prospects, mostly going to Detroit. Red Herring, the token Yankees fan, is pretty upset that the Yankees gave up Austin Jackson in the deal, and I can't say I blame him. For really what just amounts to Granderson, the Yankees threw a lot of chips out. Baby Grand was a lovely fantasy player last year (average aside) because he was Adam Dunn like, only with greater speed, but for all practical purposes, the Yanks better hope Granderson can produce that 30 home runs again because that average (~.250) is not gonna fly in the Bronx.
I love this deal for the Tigers, though. Edwin Jackson is not going to be near as good as Scherzer in perhaps as little as two years, though both are fine pitchers in their own right. In addition, the Tigers got enough pieces, mostly lefty relievers, to patch a lot of holes in their pen and a future star in Austin Jackson. What puzzles your author the most is why Arizona felt compelled to make a deal here. Really? Just Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy? How highly do you have to value both of these guys?
The Red Sox traded away Mike Lowell for Max Ramirez (nice deal, if it goes through) and signed John Lackey today. If we're going to see the John Lackey of old (the Cy Young Lackey), this is going to be an above average acquisition. Lackey's stuff isn't as dominating as A.J. Burnett, but he's more consistent, I believe. However, if this is the injury-prone Lackey we've seen in the last couple of years, it may be as questionable of a signing as Daisuke Matsuzaka's deal. Were I the Red Sox front office, I might not have paid as much, but then again, that's why they work there and I don't. I did like the original offer by the Angels for $72M over 5, which is why I believe the $82.5 is a bit high.
Finally, a revelation. In need of a good overeating binge, your author headed to CiCi's Pizza (the best pizza value anywhere, so sayeth the radio jingle) and was stunned, nay floored, to see that, of all places, they had the audacity to claim they were one of the top 5 healthiest places to eat. Surely, they could not be so bold to claim that $5.99 all-you-can-eat anything is even remotely healthy. Turns out, they weren't kidding. As long as you check your willpower at the door, apparently CiCi's actually is pretty good for you. Your author isn't quite sure how powerful the Pizza Buffet lobby is, nor is he sure of how prone the Eat This, Not That guide is to corruption (probably not very much, I'd suspect--those guys do good work), but is nevertheless apologetic and still somewhat taken aback by the healthiness of the place. This would also explain why the crust tastes like cardboard and you are able to inhale those slices; it's got nothing relatively fattening in it.
Thanks for a great inital few months, folks. We look forward to bringing you more content about sports, food, and sports-food. From the looks of it also, you seem to enjoy Stan Van Gundy's take on the NBA. We'll talk to him and see if he can supply some more reports, but you guys know Stan. The man wants what he wants and if he isn't up to more reports, then I guess you (and I) are stuck with a 1991 Toyota Tercel.
In the spirit of the site, for the (almost) 100th post, I will pen a few quick thoughts on some baseball hot stove, then quickly offer a thought on all-you-can-eat buffets.
First, some breaking news. As of this typing, a report surfaced that Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are changing teams in a three-card-monte between Seattle (who receives Lee, amazingly), Toronto, and Philly. It is interesting that after "settling" for Cliff Lee (and reaching a World Series in the process), Philly just as quickly ships him out. I'm really not sure how much of an upgrade Ol' Roy is at this point for Philly, unless they were really itching to get a RHP in there. Lee was absolute perfection when he needed to be and I'd probably have been a bit more reluctant to ship him off. Still, the details are sketchy at best, so we'll see what happens from there. Your author finds it interesting how often Cliff Lee ends up being shipped in blockbuster deals, swiftly recalling one of the worst trades of all time wherein Lee, Brandon Phillips, and Grady Sizemore for what amounted to Bartolo Colon during his Radar Love phase. Meanwhile, Seattle has another ace to stack with Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard (if he ever figures himself out).
From talking about lefties to a guy who can't hit lefties, the Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson for a slew of prospects, mostly going to Detroit. Red Herring, the token Yankees fan, is pretty upset that the Yankees gave up Austin Jackson in the deal, and I can't say I blame him. For really what just amounts to Granderson, the Yankees threw a lot of chips out. Baby Grand was a lovely fantasy player last year (average aside) because he was Adam Dunn like, only with greater speed, but for all practical purposes, the Yanks better hope Granderson can produce that 30 home runs again because that average (~.250) is not gonna fly in the Bronx.
I love this deal for the Tigers, though. Edwin Jackson is not going to be near as good as Scherzer in perhaps as little as two years, though both are fine pitchers in their own right. In addition, the Tigers got enough pieces, mostly lefty relievers, to patch a lot of holes in their pen and a future star in Austin Jackson. What puzzles your author the most is why Arizona felt compelled to make a deal here. Really? Just Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy? How highly do you have to value both of these guys?
The Red Sox traded away Mike Lowell for Max Ramirez (nice deal, if it goes through) and signed John Lackey today. If we're going to see the John Lackey of old (the Cy Young Lackey), this is going to be an above average acquisition. Lackey's stuff isn't as dominating as A.J. Burnett, but he's more consistent, I believe. However, if this is the injury-prone Lackey we've seen in the last couple of years, it may be as questionable of a signing as Daisuke Matsuzaka's deal. Were I the Red Sox front office, I might not have paid as much, but then again, that's why they work there and I don't. I did like the original offer by the Angels for $72M over 5, which is why I believe the $82.5 is a bit high.
Finally, a revelation. In need of a good overeating binge, your author headed to CiCi's Pizza (the best pizza value anywhere, so sayeth the radio jingle) and was stunned, nay floored, to see that, of all places, they had the audacity to claim they were one of the top 5 healthiest places to eat. Surely, they could not be so bold to claim that $5.99 all-you-can-eat anything is even remotely healthy. Turns out, they weren't kidding. As long as you check your willpower at the door, apparently CiCi's actually is pretty good for you. Your author isn't quite sure how powerful the Pizza Buffet lobby is, nor is he sure of how prone the Eat This, Not That guide is to corruption (probably not very much, I'd suspect--those guys do good work), but is nevertheless apologetic and still somewhat taken aback by the healthiness of the place. This would also explain why the crust tastes like cardboard and you are able to inhale those slices; it's got nothing relatively fattening in it.
Thanks for a great inital few months, folks. We look forward to bringing you more content about sports, food, and sports-food. From the looks of it also, you seem to enjoy Stan Van Gundy's take on the NBA. We'll talk to him and see if he can supply some more reports, but you guys know Stan. The man wants what he wants and if he isn't up to more reports, then I guess you (and I) are stuck with a 1991 Toyota Tercel.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
ROFLCOPTER GUEST EDITOR LOL
Now that I'm running the show (at least for the interim), let's try out a new feature. In keeping with the food theme (though you wouldn't know it from me), I'm going to start the Sports Smörgåsbord, wherein you, the reader, get a quick rundown of something that's happening from the sports that we here at PLS cover. Note that I know nothing about hockey, so reading that section will be akin to watching an infant snack on some delicious lead paint chips. Onto the buffet...
Major League Baseball - The playoffs begin today. Also, in case you missed it, last night's one-game playoff betwixt Tiggies and Twins was simply stellar baseball. There were some boneheaded decisions made (I'm looking at you, Delmon Young. Hit the cutoff man!) and plenty of strategy. Most of all, there was drama. Lots of it. I still can't figure out why Detroit chose not to try and drop a bunt. Might have won 'em the game. All's well, though. The Twins' reward is a slaughtering at the hands of the NYY.
NATION-AL FOOT-BALL LEAGUE - Tampa still sucks. Meanwhile, if the season ended today, who would be the MVP? Compelling cases can be made for a lot of players, but I still vote for Manning, P. Of course, watch Mr. Never-Beat-Florida suck out loud next week or something, like I cursed the Atlanta Braves last week. Additionally, I feel the weakest undefeated team right now has to be the NYG, simply because they haven't played anyone.
National Basketball Association - The preseason started. Go Magic. Just keep your clothes on, Dwight.
National Hockey League - The Calgary Flames got some assumedly decent position player for some assumedly worse player. They might or might not have made out on the deal. Time will tell whether or not the deal works out for one, both, or neither side.
Random Salient Point - Deion Sanders just brings trouble with him wherever he goes. First he gets Crabtree (pre-signing) tampering allegations, now he gets Dez Bryant ineligible. Guess Lane Kiffin isn't the only one who doesn't know some aspect of the NCAA rules.
Enjoy, everyone.
Major League Baseball - The playoffs begin today. Also, in case you missed it, last night's one-game playoff betwixt Tiggies and Twins was simply stellar baseball. There were some boneheaded decisions made (I'm looking at you, Delmon Young. Hit the cutoff man!) and plenty of strategy. Most of all, there was drama. Lots of it. I still can't figure out why Detroit chose not to try and drop a bunt. Might have won 'em the game. All's well, though. The Twins' reward is a slaughtering at the hands of the NYY.
NATION-AL FOOT-BALL LEAGUE - Tampa still sucks. Meanwhile, if the season ended today, who would be the MVP? Compelling cases can be made for a lot of players, but I still vote for Manning, P. Of course, watch Mr. Never-Beat-Florida suck out loud next week or something, like I cursed the Atlanta Braves last week. Additionally, I feel the weakest undefeated team right now has to be the NYG, simply because they haven't played anyone.
National Basketball Association - The preseason started. Go Magic. Just keep your clothes on, Dwight.
National Hockey League - The Calgary Flames got some assumedly decent position player for some assumedly worse player. They might or might not have made out on the deal. Time will tell whether or not the deal works out for one, both, or neither side.
Random Salient Point - Deion Sanders just brings trouble with him wherever he goes. First he gets Crabtree (pre-signing) tampering allegations, now he gets Dez Bryant ineligible. Guess Lane Kiffin isn't the only one who doesn't know some aspect of the NCAA rules.
Enjoy, everyone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)