Sunday Night Baseball
Dave · May 6, 2007 at 4:25 pm · Filed Under Mariners
It’s Lincecum vs Hamels in about 40 minutes. It’s not the Mariners, but this is a game you want to watch.
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Until I see a Lackey vs. Shields matchup, this could be my favorite pairing of the year.
This is on what, ESPN?
BTW, it’s nice to see Moyer isn’t the only ex-M’s pitcher to teach Hamels a thing or two about the big leagues.
Hamels could probably teach Freddy Garcia about how to be an immature drunk idiot. He broke his hand in a bar fight that cost him most of the season a couple of years ago, and the tales going around about his off-the-field endeavors are legendary.
But oh, that change-up.
Such people can grow up and become Josh Hamilton, who just bashed two more dingers today. .306/.398/.671 in more than 100 plate appearances; not too shabby.
Hamilton was never a bad guy – he just had some really overbearing parents and a couple of nasty drug habits.
Hamels, by all accounts, not a great dude.
But yea, the Hamilton story is a great one, and I’m really glad to see him succeeding.
While I’m not yet a Wayne Krivsky fan, he’s done a great job of identifying free talent — snaking Brandon Phillips from Cleveland (and why couldn’t Phillips succeed in Cleveland, anyway?), and giving Hamilton a full shot in circumstances in which many GMs would have shipped him out for at least half a season of Double-A ball.
Hamilton was a Rule 5. He had to be on the major league roster.
Prospectus gives Lincecum a similarity index of 0. Zero.
Are there any criticisms out there that don’t have to do with his frame? I haven’t heard any.
So, ESPN knows Barry Bonds isn’t playing, right?
Lincecum’s command isn’t good. It’s my main problem with him – he has lapses in nearly every start where he can’t throw strikes, and it runs up his pitch count. He might only be a 5-6 inning starter until it improves.
The conditions really favor Hamels tonight — not surprisingly, he has a huge home/road split.
Damn, I was really hoping for a Greg Dobbs spot start.
“Plus command and poise” for LIncecum? ESPN”s contradicting you, Dave.
Shane Victorino, poster child for FOGYs (fourth-outfielder guys). See also: Johnson, Reed; Ford, Lew; Phillips, Jason.
This looks like he got called up too early.
ESPN’s wrong.
Uhh, I wouldn’t judge the kid on two batters.
That was a Weaveresque meatball. Maybe marginally harder.
This kid is Morrow, throws hard and can’t spot an off speed pitch.
We judged Morrow after his two batters…both strike outs.
If Jason Phillips is a fourth outfielder, then some organization out there is in dire straits.
Oops, sorry, I meant Jason Michaels.
Nicely done, Tim.
This kid fills out a little more and he’s going to be extremely hard to beat. This kid would be an appetizer for a guy like Roger Clemens.
This kid is Morrow, throws hard and can’t spot an off speed pitch.
Have you ever seen him pitch before this inning?
Sometimes, it’s best to watch and learn rather than commenting on things you don’t know much about.
Tim’s going to do just fine. I think comparisons to Oswalt are premature but Oswalt is the closest comparison based on build and pitching style. He hasn’t broken out the good breaking ball yet tonight but he will.
28 million dollars (pro-rated) for Roger to pitch 4 and a half months. Good LORD.
Roger Clemens is one of the best pitchers in baseball history, but does anybody believe he can still run it out there consistently enough to warrant that kind of scratch? Not that the Yankees have any problem whatsoever paying it, but Roger could very easily implode since he’ll be 45 this August.
Lincecum so far:
1 IP, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 SO.
THE KING OF THE THREE OUTCOMES!
Have you seen the Yankees starters compared to the all star cast they usually have?
I like that ESPN has Randy Winn as being acquired from the Devil Rays.
No, and only New York’s DL has.
God AT&T park’s dimensions are absurd.
Interesting projections on Clemens as a Yankee in 2007 can be found here
Having watched him some at UW, Lincecum is the type of guy who will blow away a lot of batters, but also walk 3-5 guys, give up 3 runs, at least one HR, and give you 5-6 innings with 8-10 K. He can get hit by anyone who can stay in front of that crazy heater.
He and Hamels are about as opposite as you could imagine.
Geez, Helms … didn’t your Little League coach teach you to stay in front of the ball?
If he hadn’t tried to play it side saddle, the hop hits him in the chest and he can still throw Molina out. The problem wasn’t that he let the ball play him, but that he didn’t get in front of it. Pretty basic fundamental there.
Sadly, Gameday isn’t giving a radar gun reading or pitch break this time…
But if the pitch location is even half right, Lincecum likes to pitch up, doesn’t he?
Wow. I like that Hamels goes up there a-hacking. None of that timid bat-on-the-shoulder stuff.
Yea, Lincecum keeps his fastball up more than most pitchers. He’s got the velocity to get it past people, but it’s going to result in more homers than if he pitched low in the zone.
So, Dave … do you think Linden will ever get past his Quad-A-ness?
Actually I’m wondering if him staying up there wont amount to more longevity. I wonder if anybody has done a study on whether these power pitchers that dont try to force the ball down in the zone all the time have less injury risk then those who constantly try to make a perfect pitch at the knees.
Probably not – he’s pretty much done developing, and he does’t do anything well enough to be an everyday player. He’s a decent enough 4th OF, but what you see is what you get.
Wow, even Hamel’s gameday pic looks drunk…
Worst part about being a young pitcher in an NL system is that you’ve gotta come up and immediately face a guy like Cole Hamels. It’s not even a bunt situation. Poor guy.
Dave
About #20, I know its to early to judge him. It is to early to judge Morrow either they are both still growing. I made a joke, I will put a rim shot behind my next one.
I brought this up before, and Derek was pretty down on it, so I’ll ask you, Dave: Any chance Omar Vizquel makes the Hall of Fame, in your opinion?
Maybe, because HOF voters aren’t that good at what they do.
No one’s judging Morrow, BHS – calling him a one-pitch pitcher is a statement of fact. It doesn’t mean he can’t develop his slider, but right now, he has one major league pitch.
Lincecum has two dominant out-pitches – the fastball and a spike curve. Lincecum is way ahead of Morrow right now.
That pitch was from the Gil Meche playbook – 94 and right down the middle.
Dave- Hope you are right about his curve for his sake, his fastball is getting killed tonight.
No, it’s not. He gave up a wind-aided flyball to Victorino that is an out on any other night, and he made a mistake to Ryan Howard, who led the NL in homers last year.
He’s blowing his fastball by most hitters, though. His command problems are his main concern, but there’s no reason to worry about his fastball.
I like how Morgan’s definition of a “good pitch” is one that results in an out.
Honestly if any one of you were hired to be a broadcaster for one day and you started spouting off a bunch of negative-but-true remarks about ballplayers constantly like is said here, you’d be fired immediately.
Oi that change was berry nice!
Yes, because we’d broadcast a game to millions of people exactly like we blog during a game thread…
Pitching up in the zone will only work for him if batters continue to try and catch up to that pitch. He’s been wildly effective tonight because he doesn’t have a lot of control. I’ve never seen a pitcher have any sort of longevity being wildly effective.
He’s throwing a lot of pitches. From my understanding the Giants minor league staff was told not to mess with his delivery but just preach that he needed to work on his control.
Meanwhile Joe Morgan just went on a rambling discourse on how Bonds has been treated unfairly….
Of course you wouldn’t. That is my point.
bhs…give it up buddy.
57
It could be argued that Nolan Ryan was wildly effective…
59- I am just saying they are young guys with a lot of work to do. Is Tim the next 300 game winner in your eyes or something?
Would it be too much for these two bozos to actually discuss the game being played, instead of one Giant who isn’t playing and a Yankee who isn’t even in uniform yet?
Thought of a new drinking game. Take a drink every time you hear the name “Bonds” while watching a Giants game. Even when he’s not playing.
61
I wasn’t trying to get into the Lincecum argument, I was trying to say be careful cause Dave is in a cynical mood.
re 60…
You know, I have to agree with you on that. Ryan was wildly effective. Anyone else?
Hello mute button, we meet again old friend.
64 Everyone knows Dave would kick my ass and wipe the floor with me in a baseball argument. I was just pointing out the kid is still raw.
63 You could have an equally effective drinking game by drinking whenever Bonds is mentioned during a non Giants game.
It’s weird how the broadcasters have the best seat in the house, and forget there’s a game going on. That ESPN poll is kind of interesting, I guess we really are a country of racists.
anyone know how Justin Thomas faired today? is he going to need surgery??
The reaction to the OJ trial didn’t make that apparent?
I wish Craig Biggio would just go away and get his 3,000th hit in an empty parking garage somewhere. Not only does he no longer help his team, but his team is quite happy to be handicapped by him. (And Everett, and Ausmus, etc.) The Astros truly are a team with far important things on their agenda than winning ballgames.
if the same racist espn poll were asked to everyone in this blog I wonder if the numbers would be the same.
is someone down on the blog today??
I see Scott Proctor is refusing to comment on his “retalition” pitch. I’m not surprised; you can’t really defend the indefensible.
Wow, what logic.
How is the poll racist?
Hamels 12 outs are a steller 6 Ks, 6 groundouts.
So do Lincecum’s control issues have anything to do with whether he’s in the minors or not, is it something serious enough that they’ll have to send him down? Hopefully they’ll see him as at least better then what they could replace him with, it seems teams too often get frustrated with young pitchers struggling with their command.
So wait, are you guys saying that Jayson Stark wrote an article worth reading?
I think Joe Morgan uses a different pronunciation of ‘Lincecum’ everytime he says it.
The GIants got jobbed on that call.
That might be the most insane call I’ve ever seen. He was clearly out of the basepath when he made contact. Where exactly did Visquel prevent him from going that he was allowed to go? Also, the contact was clearly intentional.
Sneaky base running, awful call. Got to love good baseball like that.
It’s the same principle that allowed Josh Pehlps get away with going out of his way to bulldoze Johjima.
Where’s DMZ. That looked like a good round of cheating to me…
Out of the basepath and going even FURTHER out of the way to hit Vizquel.
I’m just waiting for Omar to punch his lights out.
I wonder if that’s enough to spur a Cheater’s Guide Blog writeup about runners trying to create interference where there is none?
If Morgan is correct that a runner actually “establishes their basebath”, then Victorino established his basepath to the outfield side, making the extent to which he was out of the path towards the plate even greater.
Is that 49 straight fastballs?
So how do we judge this debut? He missed bats, but was wild. How close is this to his usual outings where he loses control?
He pounded the zone much better in Fresno, though of course he wasn’t facing MLB caliber hitters. This is a solid lineup that crushes mistakes.
Also, I was surprised he lost so much velocity towards the end there. First-start nerves, perhaps?
He’s got the goods. All-star caliber pitcher as long as he maintains that mid-90’s+ fastball. If he ever gets a better handle on his control he’ll really be something else…Dave explained his weaknesses as best as can be done. He’s come a long way from Liberty, that’s for damn sure…he deserves a lot of credit already.
WTF? Morgan equates not having control of one’s fastball to needing to learn more about pitching! He’s acting like Lincecum threw too many meatballs and got shelled. Doesn’t being an analyst require you to at least try to learn about what you are analyzing, especially considering Morgan’s playing experience does not include pitching? Didn’t he ever realize when he was drawing all those walks that sometimes pitchers can’t find the strikezone, and it’s nothing more than that?
Dave,
Other than command one issue with Lincecum might be getting lefties out. Other that the Fastball does he have an out pitch against lefties? I didn’t see him even offer the curve to any of the top of the phillies line up.
That’s some horrible fielding right there. In fact both outfielders took the wrong path to the ball.
If I’m Sabean I order him to limit his breaking balls severely in the first few starts. He blows out his elbow, it’s my head they’re calling for. There’s my conspiracy theory.
Well if that’s the case it must be frustrating to have two great pitches, have one go screwy and not be able to use the other, and suffer the consequences.
He’s good enough that I drafted him in non-keeper leagues this year.
it makes zero sense that he could throw his curve in the minors then not be able to in the majors.
most likely the 0-2 hangar scared him into not throwning it too much.
I don’t know about having a pitcher who’s up to 92 pitches (and prone to throw a lot of pitches) leading off the inning in a tie game. It was fine as he doubled and then scored, but is the Phillies’ bullpen/bench hitting really that bad?
100: Isn’t that just what the manager/pitching coach peptalks are for, to tell a pitcher to trust their stuff, etc.?
You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. Nevertheless, if he blows out his elbow in one of his first few starts throwing nasty breaking balls when he could be throwing his 95+ past most of the lineup, it looks extremely bad. Like I said, it’s a conspiracy theory.
Makes as much sense as him being too frightened to throw it though.
Or maybe the catcher had no idea when to call for the deuce? Let’s face it, I doubt that Molina had no idea what Tim could throw, what he could trust to get over the plate and won’t for at least 2 starts.
Clemens to the Yankees. Yay, he says sarcastically. I wonder if he’ll blow out a hamstring also?
so, who’s taller — Lincecum at 5′1″ (cough) or Geary at 6 ft (cough)
5′1″, you say? Pity, I can no longer look up to him then.
sorry, Tim is 5′11″. really. it says so.
thank goodness, more Clemens coverage.
ok, did I really read that the Yankees are on national tv again tomorrow night? will we see the Clemens footage again?
Yes, and yes. Oh, as a side note, the M’s are on national TV again also.
so, lets see, the Ms can be baffled once more by a pitcher they don’t know, we can have Roger shoved down our throats and maybe someone else gets hit! national excitement!
Hooray Rotoworld:
Jose Lopez was held out of Sunday’s game because of a bruised right ankle.
If Lopez can’t play Monday, Willie Bloomquist will make three or four more outs.
If they refer to him as Boom Boom or The Ignitor in the future, I will elevate them to pantheon status.
Can anybody here do a good imitation of Nelson’s laugh from “The Simpsons”?
Freddy must have thought it was the beverage cart.
I’d be interested in seeing a bit about Clemens signing with the Yankees. I mean, yeah he’s Roger Clemens, but gosh, he is turning 45 this year and they’re paying him a lot of money.
Also, doesn’t ARod have a clause that says he has to be the highest paid player in baseball? Doesn’t 28 million a year mean Clemen’s is higher paid, even if he isn’t getting all of it?
Can anybody here do a good imitation of Nelson’s laugh from “The Simpsons”?
Oh, yes. But you’ll have to take my word for it.
I deputize you to go research A-Rod’s contract and report back on his escalator clauses and potential consequences.
doesn’t ARod have a clause that says he has to be the highest paid player in baseball?
Since this isn’t the last two years of his deal, no. And because Clemens is a pitcher, also no.
Source: USA Today
But Cot’s says that the team isn’t required to pay that, only that it gives ARod a(nother) way to opt out of the contract if they don’t.
MLB draft will be televised on ESPN2 on June 7th at 11 am PT….weeeeeee
How is that legal? What if two players have that clause?