Game 146, Mariners at Royals
Washburn vs Perez, 5:10 pm.
Anyone want to try to explain Odalis Perez’s career path? Two years ago, he was a heavy groundballer who could miss bats and he posted a ridiculously high 79% LOB% which gave him an unsustainably low ERA and made it look like a breakout year. Last year, his walk/strikeout/home run rates were pretty much the same, but his LOB% went from one of the best in the league to one of the worst, and his ERA went up a point and a half. He also spent half the season on the DL.
He comes back this year, gets demoted to the bullpen, sees his strikeout rate go through the floor but simultaneously cuts his walk rate, basically becoming a Ryan Franklin type pitcher, but continues to allow almost everyone who reaches base to score. He makes a bunch of stupid comments, and the Dodgers give away a decent prospect to the Royals in turn for taking his salary off their hands. Since coming to Kansas City, his walk and strikeout rates jump back, but now he’s an extreme flyball pitcher, and he STILL can’t strand runners to save his life.
Basic skillsets are generally pretty stable, even if the results aren’t. But Odalis Perez’s skillset is all over the board, and he’s now posted ridiculously low strand rates the past two years, despite being a pretty decent pitcher with the bases empty.
He’s the kind of pitcher who makes you want to throw your hands in the air and say who knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw a perfect game tonight, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t last two innings.
1. Ichiro, CF
2. Beltre, 3B
3. Betancourt, SS
4. Ibanez, LF
5. Sexson, 1B
6. Perez, DH
7. Johjima, C
8. Lopez, 2B
9. WFB, RF
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173 Responses to “Game 146, Mariners at Royals”
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what’s wrong with putting him in the rotation and proving once and for all that he shouldn’t be back there?
my fear is that the boys at the top decide that 4 managers in 4 years ‘looks bad’, and they override the GM’s wishes.
#151 – I guess I thought that he already proved his lack of value by this point. I wonder if that game where he pitched 3 2/3rds hitless innings changed their mind about him? If so, it really disturbs me that they’ve yet to grasp the concept of sample size.
If it’s true that Rohn criticized his boss to players, I can’t blame them for firing him. Even if the boss is an idiot, the “assistant boss” can’t go around badmouthing him to subordinates. Not as long as the idiot boss is still the boss.
And I think it’d be 4 managers in 6 years if they hire a replacement for Hargrove in ’07:
’02 – Lou
’03 and ’04 – BoMel
’05 and ’06 – Hargrove
my fear is that the boys at the top decide that 4 managers in 4 years ‘looks bad’, and they override the GM’s wishes.
And they can the GM anyway next year, despite the manager not being the man the GM wants.
Gee. That makes a lot of sense.
On the other hand, this is from a man who did a mediocre job with the premiere console game maker in the world at various times. And forced out a manager that won 116 games. So, who knows?
#153 – I agree. Perhaps Rohn was not aware of how to “play the game”, in a corporate sense. No matter how much you disagree with your boss, you simply cannot berate him like that to anyone who will listen. To do so is to commit career suicide, just like in the business world.
Or perhaps Rohn was not aware of who was a clubhouse snitch.
Maybe Rohn was at USSMARINER too much….I mean heck, before i started coming here i thought WFB was a great player (with hustle), thought ERA was a great measure of a pitcher, and didn’t think a manager could do TOO much damage to a team. Not to mention the value of evaluating SAMPLE SIZE!!!!
#158 – LOL. Perhaps the person whose handle is “Free Dan Rohn!” is none other than Dan Rohn himself??
#159 Well, in a way, he has been freed.
I hope Joel achieves new levels of sucktastickness in the rotation for these remaining few starts so there is not one scrap of doubt left that he does not belong on the team as a starter.
160- How awful is that? —> We have to hope for OBVIOUS Sucktasticness, so that the team will make the correct evaluation of his talent…
It is awful. Not saying I want the M’s to lose. Just Joel to suck. He can give up 7 runs in 2 innings and we can win 8-7. I would be fine with that. Of course Bloomers would also have to go 0-4 with 3 k’s and a gidp.
Geez, quite honestly right now, I feel like the M’s are 20 games out of first place for 2007 already.
And the new season doesn’t start for 7 months!!!
Ah but there IS reason to root for the M’s to lose. Can you imagine what it would do for Grover’s standing if the team were to go an an end of year tear, and reach 500 (no, i am not imbibing anything that makes me think there is any chance that will happen). In contrast, what if they suck it up so badly that Grover gets his 90 losses in a row??
I meant “90 losses for the fith year in a row.”
Meh…I don’t like them losing, but then again I like the nails in Hargrove’s coffin.
Torn, because I love baseball and it is an escape from my real job (submarines suck) but I really want this season to end so I can see what unfolds. This really has to be an off-season of change.
I am also very curious as to who wins the Daisuke sweepstakes if he gets posted. No team knows what the other is bidding. You know Steinbrenner will throw his cash around.
8,839 people at that game, the lowest home crowd for the Royals all season. Even the people in KC, starved as they are for real baseball, know what to avoid.
Dave,
When will we know the winter ball rosters? I am assuming Felix won’t be doing much. How about Morrow and some of the other pitchers we drafted this year? Will they be playing or is the organization going to limit their arm usage?
I am also very curious as to who wins the Daisuke sweepstakes if he gets posted. No team knows what the other is bidding.
You sure about that? Japanese baseball is an even smaller club than MLB. And the M’s owner is friendly with pretty much all of them. I’m just saying…
BTW, all this kremlinology over the M’s front office — complete with minute parsings of opaque comments, panic over 2nd or 3rd-hand reports, and wild speculation unsupported by any facts — was rather amusing immediately after firings. It’s getting a bit tedious by now… particularly since we don’t actually know anything more now than we did then, and pretty much everything of any value was posted in the first few hours, so it’s all become just a hall of hysterical mirrors.
Yup. I am sure. The bids are sealed and go to MLB (Selig). The highest bidder is then given the opportunity to negotiate.
Here is a link that explains it in the most general detail.
Dang. Here is the link.
Posting Process
I’m still appalled someone gave Grover another job after Baltimore.
Over the last 36 games that season he went 4-8 if you ignore the TWO 12 GAME LOSING STREAKS.