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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What’s his ERA look like? Should we give him 4 years/40 million?
6.24… ouch
6.24… ouch
Give that man a contract!
“But Odalis Perez’s skillset is all over the board”
No kidding!
“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.”
Sounds like some of our pitchers!
Who does Perez remind you guys of? (Hint: Pitches for Padres, last name is a recreational area.)
And Princess Willie is playing, of course!
While I don’t tend to think too much of pitchers’ LOB rates (in terms of judging their quality), I do think it is safe to say that there are some exceptions who will do particularly better in one case (empty vs. men on) than in the other.
Some might simply have concentration issues facing batter after batter with none on, and focus better when there are runners on.
Some may become flustered too easily when men do reach base.
Aside from mental aspects, others may physically do better with windup / stretch, if they employ both.
The problem is, then most pitchers end up being characterized with one of those labels, or a similar one. That really shouldn’t be the case, since some deviation can be expected, and even a couple of years on one end of the spectrum doesn’t necessarily mean anything, per se.
Based on what you shared about Ortiz, it’s safe to say he’s a little bit different in a number of regards. It was good to read that. I haven’t really kept up on him much.
All we can hope for tonight is that he doesn’t do anything to impress our FO.
You’ve stumped me Coach Owen!
Damn, Perez, not Ortiz. Mixed up first and last name, I guess.
And Princess Willie is playing, of course!
Not to be a complete snickerpuss, but lefties have historically hit Perez a bit better than righties.
Grover has no shame.
chan ho park
There certainly are pitchers who post consistently lower LOB% than we’d expect, given their peripherals. I’ve actually been doing a bit of work on this lately, wondering if I could correlate LOB% with mental reputation. Guys like Javier Vazuqez, A.J. Burnett, and Jeremy Bonderman have had their coaches question their intelligence or mental fortitude at times in their careers, and all three have posted lower LOB% than we’d expect, given their abilities.
I think there is a correlation. I’m not sure if the lack of stranding runners creates the reputation, or if it’s evidence that maybe the coaches are right. It’s an interesting issue for me, as you can probably tell.
11. Correct, good job.
It’s an interesting issue for me, as you can probably tell.
I can tell, and it’s great to learn more about it. Like you say, we really have a great ways to go in learning about pitchers and evaluating them.
It would be great to see any interesting reads you might find in the future.
LOB% will rear it’s head on tv tonight, feedback on usage would be appreciated.
(Hint: Pitches for Padres, last name is a recreational area.)
Jung Bong pitches for the Padres?
Park. I get it..
I was trying to think of the name of an actual recreational area ( like Lake Mead, or Lake Roosevelt), as opposed to a synonym for one.
Holy crap. That’s plagiarism!
LOB% will rear it’s head on tv tonight, feedback on usage would be appreciated.
Well, you’ve got a matchup of Washburn and Perez, who have both posted wildly inconsistent LOB% over the past couple of years. Putting something up comparing Washburn’s 2005 and 2006 LOB% and Perez’s 2004 and 2005/2006 LOB% combined could get the point across about how big a difference it can make on a pitcher’s ERA.
we’ll do perez later after the grfx guy gets it’s built, we did 2004 vs 2006 with dodgers
FWIW, from the PI tuesday:
“Snelling’s primary goal is remaining healthy for the final month of the season and entering a spring training without the stigma of recovering from an injury. His surgically repaired left knee still causes discomfort, but he said he will have to get used to the pain. It won’t go away.
“I want to be able to be healthy at the end of the year and be ready (for spring training). That’s something I haven’t done in six years,” Snelling said. “The knee is something I’ll always think about because I’ve had so many surgeries on it. And right now, it’s as good as it’s going to get.”
Manager Mike Hargrove said he’s monitoring Snelling’s playing time and the amount of pounding on the knee. The consensus is Snelling could compete for a starting job if he avoids injury. “With him coming off the knee surgery, I’m not sure how smart it is to play him a number of days in a row,” Hargrove said. “I thought it was a good idea to give him a day off against a left-hander.”
Why doesn’t Hargrove give Ichiro a day off? That might be one of the reasons for his slump.
You’re the man. Next time we have a USSM feed, you get in free. Just remind me when we announce it.
18. i do my own research, ussm just pointed me in the proper direction, besides, i don’t recall crying foul when you posted the clips of me running “doyle” on the fox box last month.
I’m kidding.
Where’s Morse?
In fact, I think its great. I wanna see if the talking heads offer any sort of commentary, or draw any conclusion from it.
Remember when Hendu *almost* put it together that errors were useless during the Boston series? That was great TV.
Is it a bad sign when your #3 hitter is lucky merely to have “only” hit into a DOUBLE play?
Were 3-4 against a him and yet to reach third base
Maybe Sexson can fix that
Its kinda sad to see such a nice looking venue so empty.
I was going to mock Kansas City for batting Grudzielanek 3rd, then I remembered who are three hitter was and…
Nice to see us grab an early lead.
So I’m watching the game with rabbit ears, and I’m stuck watching in high quality black and white. This is freaking sweet.
A more artistic feel in b/w. Felliniesque, if you will.
Man, do you ever feel jinxed? Small sample size and all, but before trade Eduardo Perez OPS .979, comes to Mariners .571.
Broussard pre .880, post .712.
I feel like I’m watching a game in 1955.
Nah with b/w/ you can’t just shut the color off, you have to have that blueish glow too.
#35 The you might need to pick some of this up.
Schlitz
nah i like budweiser better.
Should say “Then you might need to pick some of this up”
Guess I hit the Pabst Blue Ribbon a wee bit too early tonight.
nah i’d rather stay sober than drink PBR
Thanks, Willie. Next time, just leave the bat on your shoulder?
Gamecast is showing Will-Blow safe on a fielder’s choice. Was that a bunt or a chopper or what?
No one covering first at all…Bell should be thrilled with that execution.
I think it was John McKay (when he was coaching the sorry TB Bucs in the early days) who, when asked about the execution of his players he responded, “I’m all for it.”
Hargrove must love these productive outs.
The great thing about this inning is that we have our “#3 hitter” coming up now.
I can’t get any kind of audio feed, but I sense someone gushing over Willie’s scoring from third. What grit!
Odalis is looking a little pissy at his defense…
The Royals have no grit.
Wasn’t it Odalis’ fault that no one covered first? He should be pissy at himself.
I loved the Gruden quote from this weekend — it felt so much like most of the season here: “I can’t say anything offensively when you score zero points. Zero! Z-E-R-O. That sums it up pretty damn well, I think.”.
#49– Odalis was torqued at the lackadaisical outfield play. He didn’t express himself concerning 1st…
Doyle throws Costa out. Rag-arm Scrappy Do, not so much…
Playing the Royals demonstrates the gulf that separates the M’s, a “so-so” team that really could be over .500 from the Royals, a truly sorry bottom dweller. With some fine-tuning (emphasis on “fine”), we could be competitive…even next season. C’mon, Bavasi. Do it. Pleeeeeeeeez.
#12: I’ve been doing a lot of fan graph sleuthing recently with various pitchers and one of the more consistent things I’ve noticed with rate stats and effectiveness is that wild (often unsustainably so) variation in strand rate often correlates with a run of success or a bad patch. This troubles me because there seems to often be no rhythm nor reason. Rate stats seem to have potential predictive power. But how can variation in LOB% be predicted (i.e. controlled from a variable standpoint)? uuuggghhhhhh…..
But how can variation in LOB% be predicted
There’s actually a formula for expected LOB%, created by Dave Studeman, that attempts to predict LOB% by using his rate stats, and for the most part, does a decent job. According to Studes research, 20% of stranding runners can be explained by pitching talent – the other 80% is unknown, but is probably mostly random.
Doyle would’ve made that throw!
Nice throw Mary…
57 – why Mary?
We blow.
Can Washburn EVER hang onto a lead?
His record can be partially blamed on his low run support but it’s also partially because whenever he DOES get some runs, he gives them right back up
That’s it, let’s play down to the level of our competition.
yay………..pineiro’s back in the rotation..
ICHIRO!
M’s throwing away the rest of season with both hands continues with firing Rohn and putting Joel back in the rotation for the rest of the season. Perhaps Grover would like to drop some weights on Ichiro’s foot as well–IDIOT (heavy sigh)
#57– someone wants a word with you.
#62– the explanation given on Joel was that they wanted to see if his bullpen success would translate into starting again.
Pineiro as a reliever:
17.2 IP, 13H, 6BB, 13K, 1HR, .210 OPP AVG.
So yeah, I guess he has pitched better. All SSS warnings apply.
Sigh, my sister is Mary and she throws like a girl.
and it isn’t as though putting Joel in the rotation is stunting Jake Woods’ development.
so how is Rohn being gone throwing the season away?
msb-Sorry, still laughing too hard to properly respond…
I liked this on Seattlest today about what happens without a bench coach…
…which will take at bats away from Beltre as he attempts to hit as many homers this year as Tampa Bay’s Ty Wigginton (currently, Beltre’s three behind, but Wigginton’s had the benefit of being more rested–he’s hit his in 150 less at bats).
This one’s pretty good too.
Aw fudge.
say, wasn’t one of the keys to the game supposed to be keeping the 1 and 2 batters off the bases tonight?
I fixed your italics, JI.
And I have to admit to being a bit biased, since I’ve known Seth since high school, but he writes some pretty funny quick takes on the M’s over there.
Washburn cannot hold a lead
In a 2-0 game with the Mariners down, Jarrod will pitch beautifully and take the loss. In a 6-0 game with the M’s up, Washburn will give up 7 runs and take the loss. (Best case scenario, Jarrod gives up 5 runs and the M’s win 6-5) Ugh.
Well, I was distraught about the unnessicarily long URL I forgot to delete after I pasted it into the more compact link but…
Actually, the key to the game was to strand the runners you allow. But, hey, who’s counting.
digger: it’s gonna be the beef and a half
I wonder how many warning track deep fly balls Fruto will give up today. And how many of those will soon turn into 2-3 run HR’s
so is Fruto as old as Julio Franco, or only as old as El Duque?
Well that went over like a fart in a diver’s helmet
Fruto doesn’t like baserunners when he pitches.
This guy’s terrible. Who said Fruto was closer material? He’s not making the best of his MLB trial run.. major control issues. At best, he’s a Mateo+ (Mateo with slightly better stuff)
Who said Fruto was closer material?
no one that I can recall.
Good thing we got Wasbhurn out of there quickly (eyes rolling)
Of course it may have been beneficial to squeeze out more than three runs when you have EIGHT hits in the first two innings.
Just a thought
oh, now you’re being greedy.
In a previous game thread, I mentioned how Fruto seemed to be flying under the radar and not getting roasted like some of the other M’s players who havne’t exactly…performed (Mateo, WFB, Pinata, etc.) Someone mentioned that he had good potential and was closer-material.
huh. wonder why?
Three-for-three! Where are the Ichiro! bashers now?
Well, I was distraught about the unnessicarily long URL I forgot to delete after I pasted it into the more compact link but…
Well then, dammit, I fixed that too.
I’ve never been a big Fruto fan, but evaluating a supposedly 22-year-old kid based on a handful of major league innings is pretty stupid.
He’s better than Mateo.
Fruto does have closer potential. For the Reds.
Forgot my smiley after that…
#87– ah, I bet this was it– from a name I didn’t recognise, but someone who also thinks that Fruto is ‘young’….
Fruto has enough stuff to be a stopper. Question is does he have enough character to progress to that level? He really looks like he needs to start a conditioning program and work on his command. He’s young but it is gut check time for Emiliano.
88. Same
Point still stands though, he’s been flying under the radar for how badly he’s been performing.
Not sure if anyone else remembers but earlier in the season, when we still had a chance, Fruto lost a game and put several out of reach. He got lucky his past 2-3 appearences where he gave up some deep flyballs 2-3 ft. away from being a HR.
Needs to develop better control of his pitches.
Finally Princess Willie contributed.
Ichiro sucks.
An ugly baserunning screw up followed by an even uglier slide at home…sigh
Grover must really preach smart baserunning on this team.
Lopez is the worst baserunner since unsliced bread.
Hargrove’s surprise strategy – giving up an out and forcing the Royals to walk Ichiro – has clearly spread confusion all around.
(Like on the basepaths.)
One wonders what further surprises Hargrove has in store for the unwary.
Yuny isn’t so great on the basepaths either. Actually the M’s as a whole fall a bit short in that category but we’re young and with guidance and experience, I’m sure they’ll get better at it.
Nice ab by our #3 hitter.
Was that a three pitch or a four pitch K? (Note the last pitch being something even Kingman would’ve thought twice about)
3 cheers for aggressive baserunning!
What’s sorta funny is one of these teams has to win this game no matter how many mistakes both make. (That’s my Ron Fairly like statement for the day)
When will these guys criticize Ichiro’s baserunning?
I don’t know whats worse. The Mariners vs. the Royals, or me watching the Mariners vs. the Royals.
Pineiro as a reliever:
17.2 IP, 13H, 6BB, 13K, 1HR, .210 OPP AVG.
So yeah, I guess he has pitched better. All SSS warnings apply.
SSS coupled with the following facts make it pretty much useless:
- The bullpen is supposedly used with each person pitching in situations preferable to them, as opposed to starters who just start and have to suck it up if they get a bunch of bad matchups.
- Less pitches, more energy available to expend, along those lines…
- His stuff isn’t good enough to hold batters to .210 BAA going forward. It just isn’t.
- His 1 HR compared to 18 FB as a reliever is 5.55%. Those are only “outs” as well. I don’t know where to find his relief pitching stats on total fly balls to see what the discrepancy might be.
Probably more that I’m missing, but my stomach is growling now and I can’t think straight.
Also, I have somewhat different stats (maybe they’re incorrect, but took ‘em off the “official” site):
16.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 15 K, 1 HR, .210 BAA.
Remember earlier when Ibanez actually hit doubles and triples?
Even with Sexson actually hitting over .300 since the break, he’s still only hitting .194 vs lefties this year.
How on earth is that possible?
Timmy Gobble
now that’s a true american name
One more that I forgot to add, but I don’t have the time to look into either, is considering whether some of his performances have come in blow outs with scrubs taking over on the other team’s lineup. I don’t know whether that is the case, but it would be worth looking into.
Okay, dinner time for real.
Wow…even our best hitter with RISP manages to make two outs instead of just one.
Not good
Maybe Joel is raising his hands again. That’s clearly the reason for his improved performance. Hands up!! /sarcasm
111. you need some kansas city BBQ
Maybe he has a new arm slot /snark If I hear that about any other pitchers this year, my head may explode.
How is it long men give up the big hit with inherited runners on base and then get outs like there’s no problem?
Seems like over the years that happens on every team.
Snelling pinch-hitting for Golden Willie???
OMFG!!!
And making it look like not such a good idea, unfortunately.
When was the last time a guy hitting .111 got intentionally walked?
Man, I hate intentional walks. Especially when they’re issued to no-name guys hitting .111.
jinx
119- At least no one is dumb enough to intentionally walk Adam Kennedy to face Howie Kendrick.
oh….wait.
On the radio Dave N was rhapsodizing about his favorite park, Fenway, and said the key to charm was that even though they sweep it up, when you walk in the gate “you can smell the stale beer.”
Oh, and Betancourt’s golden fielding gets a shout out from some guy at SI (#4).
Beltre!
Why couldn’t he do that when the bases are loaded?
And holy crap, Betancourt walked?
GATES BBQ !!!!!!
#110- Jimmy Gobble.
boy, that game didn’t get any better in the time I was gone, did it?
so, who is this Chuck James with the 10-3 record for the Braves, who just shut out the Phillies tonight?
An incredibly extreme flyball pitcher whose success is a mirage.
extreme might be a understatement.
GB%=26.1%
On the bright side, the soup I made during the game is good.
I like soup
144. What kind of soup?
I ment “133.”
Mariner Notes: Hargrove said “we already have” started going over names for a bench coach for next year and that Goff “is certainly one of the names.”
Still think he is going to be fired in two weeks?
I read the same thing over at The News Tribune. Please god no.
Nooooooooo!!!!
Ok. I am now done panicking for the day.
Dave please tell me these articles are just random specualtion and hold no truth. Tell me the sky is not falling. And while you are at it tell me what the winning Mega millions numbers are.
Theil rambles on about the firings and continues in his belief that Joh is a ‘mediocre’ catcher.
Unbelieveable, how clueless can this front office get?
We are going to keep BOTH Grover and Bavasi.
No I don’t, and it annoys the crap out of me.
Well, you can almost expect this team to do bad in 2007 with Dumb and Dumber still around for the M’s.
This just ruins my day.
Interesting article. So Rohn told everyone and his uncle that Grover is an idiot, usually a CLM (Career limiting move)and does require his boss to give him the old heave ho. I loved the speculation why Grover would be back next year, not because Rohn was wrong but because if Bavasi were to get it, they didn’t want a multi year contract on another of his schmucks. Great strategy. Rearrange the deck chairs and hope for something different next time around but actually expect to have to fire more folks because you really don’t think it’s working. AAAAAAAArrrgh!!!
Interesting article. So Rohn told everyone and his uncle that Grover is an idiot, usually a CLM (Career limiting move)and does require his boss to give him the old heave ho. I loved the speculation why Grover would be back next year, not because Rohn was wrong but because if Bavasi were to get it, they didn’t want a multi year contract on another of his schmucks. Great strategy. Rearrange the deck chairs and hope for something different next time around but actually expect to have to fire more folks because you really don’t think it’s working. AAAAAAAArrrgh!!!
AAAAARgh, indeed.
If true, this is a textbook case of corporate-think, and a dysfunctional corporation, at that. Penny wise, pound foolish. This really IS thinking budget first, and putting the true goal of the organization in second or third place.
Thiel IMHO is a bit of a turd muffin….
I don’t understand the readiness to show the world you just don’t get it…
For instance, he writes, “because standard timing for staff butchery following a blown season takes place the first week of October”. IMHO, this season while a bit dissapointing was far from a bust. Several young guys stepped up and Beltre has made a strong case for himself. This season IS progress…. I had hard time seeing THAT last year…
Other paraphrased gems: “felix is fat”, “Johjima can’t catch”,”Ichiro quit being *Mr Clutch*”, more Beltre nonsense.., no team leader-implying something about chemistry… I guess the Ms need chemistry but not ornaments and somehow they are like a broken car…
I could’ve written that colummn in about ten minutes….
On the other hand, this frenzy is all based on media speculation. We all know how far standard journalism has fallen these days. And sports journalism…
How about we impose a moratorium on freaking out about Hargrove being retained for next year until after that’s actually announced?
Everyone is trying to read way too much into statements made to the press. Don’t forget, Bavasi was asked directly at the press conference if Rohn’s firing signaled that Hargrove would return next year, and his answer was something like “I don’t understand the question.”
Just wait, okay?
Jeez, you’re no fun. I have budgets up the kazoo to do on a Friday, now I have to actually work.
The one that really disturbed me from the News Tribune article was this excerpt:
“…and Joel Piñeiro will return to the rotation on Saturday – and stay there for the remainder of the season.
Piñeiro, who was moved to the bullpen after pitching ineffectively, has changed his arm angle, improved his control and increased his velocity in relief.”
Isn’t this about the 5th or 6th time that Pineiro has changed his arm angle? I mean, really, how many pitching arm angles are there? The part about the increased velocity is also quite disturbing. It seems to me that an increased amount of velocity would be as a result of knowing that you’re only going to throw 50-60 pitches (max) versus 90-100 as a starter. It stands to reason that a pitcher can put more behind their pitches when they know they’re going to throw less pitches. Once he starts again, I’d predict a return to his previous velocity. I think it’s just absurd to put him back into that rotation.
Either he’ll reduce velocity or he’ll get lit up in the fourth inning when his arm falls off.
Why is the team so bad at evaluating its own talent?
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.