I have it on good authority that much of our site traffic is constant re-loading by readers checking the site 5, 10 times a day. Therefore I declare this Friday official Boeing Employees Frequent Update Day.
w/r/t to emails and questions on what I was talking about when I mentioned the one guy that hates me… there’s a dude out there (Al Bethke) who believes that my casual writing style is part of my plan to be intentionally deceptive, and that (I’m summing up here) I’m the worst writer in the world, a kind of evil mastermind who is ignorant and can’t write well.
I’m not going to talk about this dude directly. I don’t know what to say — I write about baseball, and I’ve written about baseball for years. I’ve worked on style, being a clearer, better writer, and I’ve always to be insightful where I thought I had something to offer and at least amusing if I didn’t. I’ve never written anything I knew was false, though I’ve been wrong. There have been three surprises in my long progression from Usenet to Baseball Prospectus:
1) Some people enjoyed reading my stuff more than I thought reasonable, which inspires me to write better to try and catch up to them
3) Many people read my stuff and step up to offer criticism, suggestions, and corrections, which is amazing in its volume, thoughtfulness, and often in its insight, even when it’s pointed, or annoyed, and makes me feel good about the community of readers
2) Some people hated me and my stuff more than I thought possible, and ascribed all kinds of terrible qualities to me, which I don’t know what to do with
What’s baffled me, though, is when I encounter people who, had I met them in a bar, or at a game, would probably have a good natured argument over some player, find a lot we agreed on, and left on good terms… and these people hate me as an online writer. I don’t know what to do about it, but it’s disappointing and a little scary. It has also made me a lot softer in my own criticisms: I complain sometimes about Levesque, to pick one Seattle writer, but I don’t think he’s a bad guy.
(shrug)
I don’t know.
Hi all, Derek here. You may me remember me from my post about why Freddy can’t be sent to AAA.
Well, maybe he can. While the transaction information available on the web led me to believe that players had three years of options after the clock started, some behind-the-curtain scuffling has led to this:
“Any player with 5+ years of service time is allowed to refuse an option to the minor leagues. Freddy Garcia does not qualify, as he has 4+ years of major league service.
Any player may be optioned during any 3 years of their first 4 years of service, and, in some exceptions, in all 4 years.”
I’m still not entirely sure if this is the case, and need to do more research on this. I would also like to say that none of this is helped by baseball’s insane paranoia about having fans like you and me understand rules like service time, options, and roster transactions.
So I headed down to Tacoma last night. Before the game we went to the Swiss Pub, which had a huge bunch of good taps at good prices, and the most delicious pub fare ever. No kidding, I had this deli-sized sandwitch and it was so good I almost ordered another one. Jeff Bower, formerly of Baseball Prospectus, also was amazed at how good his sandwitch was. We got a chance to talk to the owner, who told us all of the food made from scratch (or, at least, base component parts). I’m not kidding when I say it was some of the best food I’ve ever had at a bar (the pizza at Big Time Brewery in the U-District being the best ever). And the Swiss is a nice bar, wood tables, good service, good pours on your beer, and it’s an easy drive from there to Cheney Stadium. If you’re going down to a Tacoma game, it’s absolutely the best place to go for pre-game eating and drinking. I was so impressed with the Swiss, I’m giving it my almost full endorsement*.
Snelling looked good, he’s really up there hacking though, if he thinks he can get the bat on it he’s swinging. Bower believes that coming back from his injury Snelling just wants to take his swings and will revert to form. Snelling’s feeling a lot better about his knee, though he’s still getting used to playing on it, and it turns out he’s read “Moneyball”. Snelling’s defense was sloppy — he almost made a great catch in right, but later he plum dropped a fly ball. Jamal Strong doesn’t have much of an arm, as reported, but he did cover a lot of ground in center field.
Conversation of the night featured the umpire crew chief, who was sitting behind us, having injured his knee in Edmonton:
PL: “What do you think of Questec?”
PCL umpire chief: “It’s awful. As an evaluation tool, blah blah blah…”
Jeff Bower: “Umpires should all be replaced by machines.”
PCL umpire chief: (gets up and leaves)
Jeff Bower: “You kids get off my lawn.”
* cramped bathroom prevents me from giving it my full endorsement. I think bathrooms are a reflection of the quality of an establishment: if don’t have a nice bathroom, or they can’t keep the bathroom clean, what other corners are they cutting? Why should we expect that the kitchen or storerooms are any cleaner than an area that, while unpleasant to clean, is visible to every customer?
I tried fixing the formatting, but I can’t do it, because I’m an HTML idiot. Sorry.
Want to feel excited about the Mariners bullpen? Here’s a comparison between two pretty well known relievers and one you’ve never heard of. Okay, thats because he doesn’t actually exist. Reliever three is a combination of Julio Mateo and Rafael Soriano since June 1st. Look at those ratios; I think its time for those two to get some more important innings.
Gagne IP H R ER HR BB SO
2003 56 25 11 10 1 13 94
Rates BAA WHIP ERA K/BB BB/9 K/9
0.130 0.68 1.61 7.231 1.915 15.107
Smoltz IP H R ER HR BB SO
2003 57.1 41 6 5 1 8 62
Rates BAA WHIP ERA K/BB BB/9 K/9
0.197 0.85 0.78 7.750 1.261 9.772
Matiano IP H R ER HR BB SO
2003 60.2 37 11 11 5 8 69
Rates BAA WHIP ERA K/BB BB/9 K/9
0.170 0.75 1.64 8.625 1.196 10.316
Being a prospect junkie, the most interesting part of that interview for me was the discussion of the four “untouchable” kids that the M’s won’t deal. The big four, in the M’s minds, are Clint Nageotte, Travis Blackley, Jose Lopez, and Felix Hernandez. There was no mention of Chris Snelling, Shin-Soo Choo, or Rett Johnson.
Now, no one has been a bigger supporter of King Felix than I, and USS Mariner was the first place that anyone not in the organization ever heard of Felix Hernandez. But, honestly, to say that a 17-year-old pitcher in the Northwest League is untouchable, well, I don’t like that. Hernandez has tremendous upside, but he’s got tremendous risk, as well. If the Pirates had called and said they would give us Brian Giles in exchange for Hernandez, you have to make that trade. As good as Felix Hernandez’s arm is, he has a better chance of turning into Ryan Anderson or Cha Baek than he does Joel Pineiro.
Also, the inclusion of Travis Blackley among that group is odd, to me. Nagoette, Lopez, and Hernandez are upside guys, and I can understand the fear of moving them, because they all have the potential to be special players. You don’t want to be remembered as the guy who traded Pedro Martinez for Delino Deshields, for instance. Again, no one was on Travis Blackley earlier than I was and I believe he has a solid future, but he doesn’t have that kind of upside. At this point in his development, he has one major league pitch that he has confidence in (his change). Everyone sees the potential for his curve to be his best pitch, but he’s not to the point where he’ll throw it in big situations yet. His fastball is never going to be more than an average pitch. So, if his curve develops as hoped, he’s a breaking ball and change-up guy with average command. He’s closer to John Halama than Barry Zito, honeslty. Blackley’s a nice arm, pitching well in AA, and is left-handed, but he isn’t a commodity that you should fear giving up. If the right offer came along, I wouldn’t have too many problems moving him.
In case you missed it — and I did, only catching a replay a few minutes ago — our favorite general manager was on KJR this morning talking about a variety of topics. He seemed non-committal with respect to whether Armando Benitez would be a closer or set-up man, saying only that Benitez gave Box Melvin more options out of the pen. Gillick did say, however, that Kazuhiro Sasaki — despite his joining the team in Cleveland today — would be making another rehab appearance in Tacoma this weekend, so apparently he’s not as close to returning as we’d all been lead to believe this week.
Reports that Sasaki has only been hitting around 86 on the radar gun during his rehab appearances aren’t difficult to find. He’s also been hit quite hard, particularly by some hitters who are years away from the majors (three homers in two innings against the Northwest League?!). Just so we’re clear:
1. He’s throwing only fastballs, not splitters
2. Those fastballs are getting hit hard, and by inexperienced hitters
3. Those fastballs aren’t going fast enough to set up his splitter anyway
Yeah, sounds like a few more rehab appearances would be a wise course of action.
Oh, and Derek’s right. I consider myself pretty far up the list when it comes to Jay Buhner fans, but that ends with his play on the field and in no way, shape or form includes his work in the broadcast booth. If the M’s are looking to groom a replacement for our beloved Niehaus, and they should be, Mike Curto would be a fabulous choice. And hey, that would also open up a spot in Tacoma for current Everett broadcaster Pat Dillon.
It pains me to write this, because I love Niehaus, but maybe… maybe it’s time for the team to seriously look for a replacement. I’ve listened to broadcasts of all different teams and heard dozens of crews, but Dave’s still one of the best. And yet I find myself embarassed when he mixes up Cameron with McLemore, as he did a couple of games ago, the increasingly frequent mix-ups of team players (and teams, when he reads off the wrong side of the lineup card), the inability to follow substitutions or player position moves… I’m worried.
There’s no standard for when it’s time to wish him farewell and thank him for all the pleasure he’s brought us, but at the least, it’s time we admitted that it’s going to happen. The team needs to add someone to the play-by-play rotation and start getting them time in the booth. Personally, I advocate Mike Curto. Dude’s been in Tacoma for a while, does a great game, knows the players, he’s smart, knows when to talk and when to be quiet — he’s everything you want in a play by play guy, whether you’re Joe Stathead or Jane Veteranpresence. While we’re at it, I’d like to see some upgrades in the color men. Even Jason, who would be seeded highly in any competition for Jay Buhner’s biggest fan, would admit Jay’s not a good addition to the broadcast team. Niehaus’ eventual move is certainly a cause for sadness, but like all passings, it’s also an opportunity I’d like to see the team take to turn new generations of fans on to the joy of baseball.
I’m headed down to Tacoma tonight to see the Raniers featuring Chris Snelling, Official Outfield Prospect of the U.S.S. Mariner, as they play Fresno. Dollar beer night, folks, and Chris Snelling. What could be better? Which reminds me — isn’t there a better way to describe baseball matchups then the Fox “Division/League rivals collide when Player X and the Team Y face off against Player A and the Team B.”
I’m more eager to be sold on great matchups — that’s what I set to TiVo every morning before I leave the house. I’m looking for interesting hooks. “The free-swinging Tigers take their hacks against the Rangers pitching…” I don’t know. But this template promotion they’re doing hasn’t sold me on a game all year.
Let me echo the sentiments of my cohorts and thank everyone for visiting. We really never imagined it would become anything this size. Keep reading, keep sending us email, and keep being patient if it takes us a while to respond. We’re trying.
Also, Derek mentioned it briefly, but The Future Forty has been updated with a lot of movement from #7 on down. King Felix makes his debut in the top ten, and barring an injury, he won’t be leaving anytime soon. I’ve started adding in the 2003 draftees as well, as they make their pro debuts. One name to watch is Casey Craig, a 21st round pick who was considered a lock to go to school, but the M’s got under contract anyways. He may be the best hitter they drafted this year.
Boy, you weren’t kidding Derek, those are freaking amazing. Thanks mucho everybody! Like Derek said, we had no idea people would be this interested in reading our ramblings. This basically started out because the three of us emailed each other numerous times a day, until we finally said, “Hey, wouldn’t the rest of the world like to read this?” We were half-kidding (if not more so), but hey, it looks like you actually did want to read this. Wow.
So, uh… USS Mariner forever! And all that.
My cousin Scott has started a blog of his own, “The Other Zumsteg” where he’s already got a funny bit about the hot dog scam vendors at Candlestick used to run. I like Scott so much, I give him my full endorsement (in fact, I don’t think he should be selling himself short as the other Zumsteg, but that’s his choice). Check it out.
And hey, on another note — we have some stats, which I’m not going to give away except to say they’re a-fricking-mazing. I had no idea that so many people would dig this, and moreover, that so many of you would have this site bookmarked and visit regularly, and would spread the word to friends, relatives… pretty much anyone, I’m guessing. But we love you all, each and every one of you. Except that one guy who hates me in a weird and disturbing way. I’m not so big on him. Everyone else, though, thanks for reading.