Minor League Wrap (4/27-5/3/09)
This rundown is also slightly clipped, but that should be the last of the time-abbreviated ones for a while. It’s only missing a few of the stories and the happenings in general, but the ground/fly ratios make their triumphant return. I’d say just keeping track of all the transactions for this week gave me more than enough to talk about.
To the jump!
From “The Lumberblogâ€:
Has anyone here visited the Lumberblog yet? You ought to, because Dave Lezotte has been churning out interviews with various players and higher ups. The most significant of these is probably the interview with special assistant John Boles, but Almonte and Kasparek have joined in on the pre-game festivities too. I haven’t had time to give them a listen yet, but I have every intention to later tonight. I hear the Boles one is interesting.
Tacoma Rainiers (2-3 this week, 11-12 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, April 27th 2009
Tacoma 1, Colorado Springs 5 (COL + 8 )
WP: J. Hirsh; LP: C. Seddon
Tuesday, April 28th 2009
Tacoma 6, Colorado Springs 3 (COL + 7)
WP: A. Baldwin; LP: B. Hynick
Wednesday, April 29th 2009
Off day
Thursday, April 30th 2009
Fresno 1 (SF – 7), Tacoma 6
WP: G. Olson; LP: M. Kinney
Friday, May 1st 2009
Fresno 1 (SF – 7), Tacoma 6
WP: K. Pucetas; LP: G. Hernandez; SV: G. Espineli
Saturday, May 2nd 2009
Rained out.
Sunday, May 3rd 2009
Fresno 11 (SF – 5), Tacoma 6
WP: B. Sadler; LP: L. Munoz
Hitter of the Week:
CF Michael Saunders, L/R, 11/19/1986
3 G, 11 AB, 3 R, 4 H, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3/2 K/BB, .364/.462/1.000
As the Tacoma offense struggled to put things together, I was confronted with one of two options: I could either highlight Saunders, fresh off the DL with only three games under his belt, or I could pick between regulars Carp and Redman. I picked Saunders, in part because only six games were played this week. He hit a home run in his first game back, but Sunday’s performance was nothing short of a beauty, as he went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run, and two walks. Welcome back, Saunders. I don’t know when we’ll need you, what with the Wlad kid looking pretty good, but I’m glad you’re here.
Honorable Mention:
RF Prentice Redman, R/R, 8/23/1979
5 G, 17 AB, 6 H, 5 R, 6 H, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3/5 K/BB, CS, .353/~.500/.588
Dishonorable Mention:
OF Freddy Guzman, S/R, 1/20/1981
6 G, 20 AB, R, 2 H, 2/1 K/BB, .100/~.143/.100
Pitcher of the Week:
LHP Garrett Olson, 10/18/1983
1-0, GS, 1.35 ERA in 6.2 IP, H, R, 6/2 K/BB, 7/7 G/F
Olson has had an up and down season so far. His first start, with five walks in three innings, was nothing short of ugly, but he’s been steadily progressing since. While his season K/BB of 19/12 in 26.1 looks pretty bad, in the past three starts he’s gone 18.1 innings and run a K/BB of 16/4. Thursday night highlighted his abilities when he’s on, as he was running a no-hitter up until one out in the sixth inning when someone finally singled. Olson retired the first twelve in order before former M’s farmhand Jesus Guzman drew a walk.
Honorable Mention:
RHP Andy Baldwin, 10/20/1982
1-0, GS, 1.50 ERA in 6.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 5/0 K/BB
Dishonorable Mention:
RHP Luis Munoz, 1/10/1982
0-1, G, 22.09 ERA in 3.2 IP, 10 H (5 HR), 9 R, 3/2 K/BB, 4/4 G/F
From The Training Room:
Promotions of Vargas and Stark brought Luis Munoz, who sucked, and Jared Wells, who was not so good, to the pitching staff. Jimenez has struck out four and allowed three hits in three innings, but fellow southpaw Chris Seddon has gone on the DL. Matt Tuiasosopo didn’t play in a game this week, and is back on the DL. Former Nationals and Angels farmhand RHP Steven Shell has joined the Rainiers on a minor league contract, as has recent White Sox OF Jerry Owens. That Saunders guy is back too…
The Week in Preview:
4/27-28, at Colorado Springs (COL 12-5), All Times 5:05 pm PDT
4/30-5/3, vs. Fresno (SF 5-13), All Times 7:00 pm PDT except Sunday (1:30 pm)
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (3-2 this week, 10-12 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, April 27th 2009
Mississippi 5 (ATL 0), West Tenn 6
WP: J. Fields; LP: J. Lyman
Tuesday, April 28th 2009
Mississippi 6 (ATL – 1), West Tenn 12
WP: J. Wells; LP: S. Marek
Wednesday, April 29th 2009
Rained out.
Thursday, April 30th 2009
West Tenn 2, Birmingham 13 (CHW + 8 )
WP: J. Ely; LP: D. Christensen; SV: F. Hernandez
Friday, May 1st 2009
West Tenn 3, Birmingham 4 (CHW + 9)
WP: C. Santeliz; LP: M. Rivera; SV: F. Hernandez
Saturday, May 2nd 2009
West Tenn 14, Birmingham 4 (CHW + 8
WP: J. Souza; LP: K. McCulloch
Sunday, May 3rd 2009
TORNADOS D:
Hitter of the Week:
CF Ezequiel Carrera, L/L, 6/11/1987
5 G, 16 AB, 6 R, 7 H, 2B, 3B, 5 RBI, 0/7 K/BB, .438/~.609/~.625
I present to you, the Tale of Two Hitters. One, Ezequiel Carrera, has what may be the best batting eye in the system now. He is fourth in the Southern League in average, first in on-base percentage by a good .020 margin, and is tied for the league lead in walks with nineteen. The second, is Gregory Halman, who stubbornly leads the league both in home runs (nine) and strikeouts (thirty-nine). One had refined his game to an art form and is flourishing, and the other runs headlong into hurdle after hurdle and manages to plow through on sheer brute force. They share an outfield. It’s pretty awesome.
Honorable Mention:
CF Gregory Halman, R/R, 8/26/1987
5 G, 22 AB, 7 H, 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 9/1 K/BB, .318/~.348/.909
Dishonorable Mention:
SS Oswaldo Navarro, R/R, 10/2/1984
4 G, 13 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 6/3 K/BB, .154/.266/.154
Pitcher of the Week:
RHP Luis Munoz, 1/10/1982
0-0, GS, 3.18 ERA in 5.2 IP, 3 H (HR), 2 R, 7/0 K/BB, 2/8 G/F
I know what you’re thinking. I’m not really sure what to think either, but it seems to be possible that Munoz is both dishonorably mentioned in Tacoma for his second start of the week and takes home the award for West Tenn. What’s the deal? In short, the D-Jaxx staff is a mess right now, and Munoz simply outpitched every other starter, few mistakes aside. He retired ten in a row on Tuesday and then got destroyed in Tacoma on Sunday. Does he have a home run problem? Yessir.
Honorable Mention:
LHP Nick Hill, 1/30/1985
3 G, 0.0 ERA in 4.1 IP, 3 H, 6/0 K/BB, 2/4 G/F
Dishonorable Mention:
LHP Daniel Christensen,
0-1, GS, 18.00 ERA in 3.0 IP, 10 H (HR), 6 R, 3/0 K/BB, 1/5 G/F
[Josh Fields, who had five unearned runs score against him, gets a pass because I forgot about him in the honorables last week]
From the Training Room:
Injuries and call-ups to Tacoma have reshaped the pitching staff. The Mariners signed LHP Daniel Christensen and RHP Steven Bray to minor league contracts to help bolster the staff and called Hensley and Varvaro up from Clinton and High Desert, respectively. You may be thinking, that’s four guys for three spots, but the D-Jaxx are doing that roster shuffling thing where one guy is with Everett on paper at all times.
They Said It:
“It’s a testament to relief-pitcher ingenuity, creativity, and boredom. Over the course of a series, relievers from another visiting squad built a working shrine to baseball behind the right-field fence. Some big stones, some little stones, a moat dug with cleats. It’s not exactly Stonehenge, more like lazy landscaping, but it certainly captures the minor league feel.â€
Dirk Hayhurst, describing the relief pitcher’s shrine in Pringles Park, which comes in four on his top five list. Baseball America
The Week in Preview:
5/4, at Birmingham (CHW, 15-7), 3:05 pm PDT (doubleheader)
5/5-9, vs. Hunstville (MIL, 10-11), all times 5:05 pm PDT, except Wednesday (9:05 am)
High Desert Mavericks (4-2 this week, 17-7 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, April 27th 2009
Off day
Tuesday, April 28th 2009
High Desert 5, Inland Empire 7 (LAD – 3)
WP: C. Withrow; LP: N. Adcock; SV: D. Pfeiffer
Wednesday, April 29th 2009
Rancho Cucamonga 3 (ANA – 2), High Desert 6
WP: T. Mortimore; LP: T. Sexton; SV: A. Varvaro
Thursday, April 30th 2009
High Desert 9, Inland Empire 4 (LAD – 3)
WP: E. Paredes; LP: A. Bastardo
Friday, May 1st 2009
High Desert 5, Rancho Cucamonga 4 (LAA – 6)
WP: N. Dilone; LP: J. Towns; SV: P. Aumont
Saturday, May 2nd 2009
High Desert 8, Rancho Cucamonga 3 (LAA – 7)
WP: D. Hume; LP: T. Kiely
Sunday, May 3rd 2009
High Desert 2, Rancho Cucamonga 6 (LAA – 6)
WP: R. Fish; LP: E. Paredes
Hitter of the Week:
1B Joe Dunigan, L/L, 3/29/1986
6 G, 24 AB, 8 R, 8 H, 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 6/3 K/BB, SB, 2 CS, .333/~.407/.875
Given how much the two strike out, I know it can’t continue on like this forever, but considering their histories, I’m content for now to watch Dunigan and Liddi duke it out for the top spot (which, arguably should’ve gone to Lo last week, as he was awarded the league’s Player of the Week). Here, Dunigan simply pushed Liddi out of the way with back-to-back two home run games. He also had a nice little streak of four games with two hits, with an 0-for on either side, though the first also included two walks. Fun fact: go to the league batting leaders and order it by slugging. Dunigan .795, Lo .699 (it’s the triples), Liddi .667, Scott .661. Those are the top four.
Honorable Mention:
3B Alex Liddi, R/R, 8/14/1988
6 G, 26 AB, 2 R, 9 H, 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 9/1 K/BB, .346/~.370/.615
Dishonorable Mention:
IF Ron Garth, R/R, 11/5/1984
4 G, 12 AB, R, H, 2B, RBI, 1/2 K/BB, .083/~.154/.167
Pitcher of the Week:
LHP Donnie Hume, 8/29/1985
1-0, 2.08 ERA in 8.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 6/0 K/BB, 9/10 G/F
From the looks of it, it would seem as though I’m giving Hume credit merely for almost going the distance. Take out the ninth, when he arguably shouldn’t have been out there, and what’s his line? 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6/0 K/BB. He retired ten straight from the first to the fourth, and if you nix the guy who did reach then, both because it was by an error and because he was caught stealing, then you have thirteen getting into the fifth. As I said starting out the season, keep an eye on him.
Honorable Mention:
RHP J.C. Ramirez, 8/16/1988
0-0, GS, 1.69 ERA in 5.1 IP, 4 H, R, 2/1 K/BB, 10/4 G/F
Dishonorable Mention:
RHP Juan Zapata, 8/6/1984
0-0, 3 G, 7.36 ERA in 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R (3 ER), 5/2 K/BB, 2/4 G/F
From the Training Room:
Varvaro’s been called up to double-A and Pineda has hit the DL with a minor arm injury, so Aaron Jensen has been pulled off the DL and RHP Stephen Penney was called up from extended. Jensen did not pitch last season due to injury.
They Said It:
“If they can handle what High Desert brings them, they can handle anything,” said Grifol. “So it’s a great evaluator for us makeup-wise for these kids.â€
Pedro Grifol on pitching in High Desert. One has to take some positive out of it, right? MLB.com
The Week in Preview:
5/4, at Rancho Cucamonga (LAA, 9-15), 7:05 pm PDT
5/5-7, vs. Inland Empire (LAD, 9-15), all times 7:05 pm PDT
5/8-10, at Lake Elsinore (SD, 14-10), all times 7:05 pm PDT except Sunday (2:05 pm PDT)
Clinton Lumberkings (5-2 this week, 13-9 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, April 27th 2009
Burlington 2 (KC – 6), Clinton 10
WP: B. LaFromboise; LP: B. Fisher
Tuesday, April 28th 2009
Burlington 0 (KC – 7), Clinton 1
WP: S. Hensley; LP: B. Hardy
Wednesday, April 29th 2009
Fort Wayne 6 (SD + 9), Clinton 4
WP: R. Musgrave; LP: A. Pribanic; SV: B. Brach
Thursday, April 30th 2009
Fort Wayne 0 (SD + 8), Clinton 10
WP: A. Harben; LP: S. Osuna
Friday, May 1st 2009
Fort Wayne 1 (SD + 7), Clinton 4
WP: K. Kasparek; LP: A. Bass; SV: R. Flores
Saturday, May 2nd 2009
Quad Cities 10 (STL + 5), Clinton 4
WP: K. Thomas; LP: W. Suriel; SV: H. Cardenas
Sunday, May 3rd 2009
Quad Cities 3 (STL + 4), Clinton 4
WP: R. Flores; LP: R. Delgado
Hitter of the Week:
SS Terry Serrano, S/R, 2/6/1987
6 G, 19 AB, 5 R, 6 H, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 7/5 K/BB, .316/~.458/.632
Sometimes, the hitter of the week calculations turn up strange results. I had every intention of giving it to Denny Almonte, who basically had two of everything this week spread out over seven games, but when I saw that he had struck out in a third of his at-bats, I had to pause. Almonte still gets mention below, but the hitter of the week is Serrano, who is tied with Maximo Mendez for the most walks on the team, despite Mendez having 25 more at-bats. They are both tied for eleventh in the league, but the gap there isn’t huge. Serrano has never been much with the bat, known mostly for the speed and versatility that allowed him to play center last year and short this year, but the bat has been coming around lately.
Honorable Mention:
RF Denny Almonte, S/R, 9/24/1988
7 G, 27 AB, 5 R, 8 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 9/1 K/BB, SB, .296/~.321/.741
Dishnorable Mention:
IF Luis Nunez, R/R, 12/31/1986
5 G, 14 AB, 3 H, 5/1 K/BB, .214/~.267/.214
Pitcher of the Week:
RHP Kenn Kasparek, 9/23/1985
1-0, GS, 0.00 ERA in 5.2 IP, H, 10/0 K/BB, 1/6 G/F
Kasparek has been the target of a few snipes here. Overshadowed by the performance of three of the league’s leading pitchers in the rest of the rotation, most everything he’d done so far came up short and was unfairly compared to what they did. That is, until Friday, when he retired seventeen of eighteen, including eleven in a row to start the game, and struck out more than half of the hitters he faced. His opponent, Fort Wayne, has been one of the best teams in the league, though not necessarily the best-hitting. Still, you can’t take much away from the performance.
Honorable Mention:
LHP Bobby LaFromboise, 6/25/1986
1-0, 3 G, 0.00 ERA in 8.0 IP, 5 H, 9/2 K/BB
Dishonorable Mention:
RHP Walter Suriel, 7/21/1986
0-1, GS, 13.50 ERA in 4.0 IP, 5 H (HR), 6 R, 3/3 K/BB, 2 HB, 5/3 G/F
From the Training Room:
RHP Keith Meyer was released early in the week and LHP Greg Moviel has taken his place. With Hensley getting a start in West Tenn tomorrow, RHP Chris Kirkland joined the team to replace him. In one of the few non-pitcher moves this week, Fuentes hit the DL and was replaced by Israel Nunez, who was a backstop for the Timber Rattlers for most of last season.
The Week in Preview:
5/4, vs. Quad Cities (STL, 13-9), 4:30 pm PDT
5/5-7, at Dayton (CIN, 6-17), All Times 4:00 pm PDT
5/8-10, at West Michigan (DET, 16-6), 3:35 pm PDT Fri., 4:00 pm PDT Sat., 11:00 am PDT Sun
Comments
29 Responses to “Minor League Wrap (4/27-5/3/09)”
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Jay, thanks so much for taking the time to do these wrap-ups. So much great information there. These have been a great addition to the USSMariner library of insight.
Am I crazy to start thinking that Carrera might end up more than just a useful fourth OF?
Man, if Carrera turns into a useful part, (and frankly, a good 4th OF with speed, defense and OBP is useful in my book) that Putz trade will continue to look fruitful for this organization…
I’m glad people appreciate them. It’s sort of a niche thing and week to week, you’ll see some non-prospects get mentioned for performance alone (Serrano, for one, Munoz probably for another), but I think it will help us get a sense of the larger system trends as they’re happening.
It’s an interesting question. Here’s my take on Carrera thus far…
Positives:
More walks than strikeouts
Scores a ton of runs
Hitting like mad
Negatives:
Accuracy rate on stolen bases is 50%
18% extra-base hits (that’s Ichiro-level)
Performance probably unsustainable
He’s put together some nice stretches where he was walking a lot before, but this is the first time he’s done something quite like this, and what makes it all the more fascinating is that he’s doing it while making one of the tougher leaps in the minor leagues, and after a weak showing in the Florida State League.
What he’s doing is really quite interesting. I expected him too cool off a while ago, but he’s right up there week after week. He didn’t even strike out in this past one. I still want to give it some time, but tip of the cap to Zduriencik and crew for honing in on him.
Whoa, Saunders is alive? Up until now I hadn’t heard jack about him except for speculation.
How much better is Endy Chavez defensively than Saunders? Or, alternatively, how much would Saunders need to hit to be a better option in left?
Well, exactly. I realize that the odds of Carrera ending up a reasonable ML starter are long, that he’d be a pretty rare player to do it — the guy who came to my mind is Roy Thomas, the turn of the century Phils CF who posted a career line of .290/.413/.333 — but for a guy with that little power, he clearly has a plan to make the most of his ability, and I’m starting to wonder if his batting eye and discipline might actually be enough to pull it off.
tgf,
As a corner defender, Endy has to put up some serious defensive numbers to compensate for his lackluster offense and positional adjustment. Only once in his career has he had a positive contribution from his bat, and he was a 2.5 win player that season. The rest of the time he’s been hovering around or below 1 WAR.
I guess my response would be “not much.”
Ancient Mariner,
Speaking of Endy Chavez, he’s pretty much pulling a Rob Thomas for us this season.
That was my intuition as well, I’m just not well informed about Saunders’ defense. They have him playing CF at Tacoma, but they did that with Wlad for a while in the minors as well, so I don’t know what stock to put into that.
Hopefully Saunders will keep up the offense (not at the insane level of his first 3 games of course, but at a high level) and the M’s can upgrade that spot.
Food for thought:
Greg Halman has 2.5x as many walks as Ichiro and Yuni. Combined. Take out Ichiro’s IBBs and the ratio goes to infinity…
TIF: yeah, but we already know that Endy can’t really sustain that.
Yuni and Ichiro don’t really strike out though. They’ve also been hitting for average.
Saunders is borderline long-term in centerfield, but he could be an asset in a corner. Factor in that he could hit 20-25 home runs while Endy might hit five, and I think he pulls ahead pretty easily. Although, I would like to give Wlad a chance. Have you seen his strikeout rates lately? The time on the bench isn’t seeming to do him any harm, small sample caveats aside.
Carrera, has just been looking really well for the season. I’m really excited, i keep waiting to see him drop down to “normal” levels too. I hope he can sustain it!
Before you guys get too excited about replacing Chavez with Saunders, keep in mind that Saunders is a pretty decent athlete, but he’s also pretty raw in the outfield. Not all fast guys are created equal, and while Saunders might become a solid defensive player with more experience, he’s not one yet.
Endy Chavez is legitimately a +15 or better defensive corner outfielder. Saunders is probably a -10 to 0, depending on how fast of a learner he proves to be.
25 runs of defense is worth about 50 points of wOBA. Endy Chavez is probably a .305ish true talent wOBA guy. The odds of Saunders hitting at a .355 wOBA level this year are basically nil.
Saunders’ health and development are good news for 2010. He’s basically irrelevant to this season, though.
Thanks for the update. I’m amazed at the amount of work you put into this every week.
It’s great to hear Carrera is doing so well, but I can’t help wishing he was a middle infielder. Or Saunders, for that matter. The system has some nice left hand bats, but they’re all outfielders. I have my doubts about Grant Green, but I hope some level of the farm gets a fresh infusion at the keystone positions.
Do you think the M’s will move Saunders to LF anytime soon in hopes that he’ll begin to develop there defensively? It seems more like the approach has been, if you can play CF you can play anywhere.
Why not? I know he’s never been a huge walk guy before, but he’s already at 11 on the season and in only 103 PAs. He had 17 in 298 PAs last season. 9 in 165 the year before. His history points squarely at fluke, but it’s the weirdest fluke I’ve ever seen.
Well, maybe “we know” is an overstatement — this is baseball after all, and just when you think you’re sure about something, the game comes along and upskittles you — but considering that in 775 major-league games to this point, Endy’s had 2274 plate appearances and drawn just 126 walks, I’d be amazed. Granted, his BB/PA was a good bit higher in the minors (just over 1/10), but he’s never translated that to the majors before, and 31 would seem to be a bit late to do that.
Russell Branyan can’t hit lefties. (ducks)
Also, thanks to Dave for doing that voice of reason thing. It’s fun to dream, but it’s unrealistic to expect Saunders to come off a missed half year in his development and a serious injury and immediately be able to outdo the production of Chavez’ torrid start to the year. Wait ’til 2010, or the end of this season when he might get a September showing.
Do you think the M’s will move Saunders to LF anytime soon in hopes that he’ll begin to develop there defensively? It seems more like the approach has been, if you can play CF you can play anywhere.
Actually, Saunders was in left his first two games back, and he’s played there at times in the past. It’s not a permanent shift at this point but he’s getting the experience. I’d describe the philosophy more as “we want outfielders to get work at all OF positions they might be capable of playing.” You saw this, for example, with Adam Jones and Shin-Soo Choo.
[deleted, wrong thread]
Jay,
I have another question pertaining to Carrera. I know he plays CF right now (or he has) how is he defensively? From all the scouting reports they say he’s fast but as you said all defensive players arn’t created equal. Also what do you see as his big issue with base stealing.. 5/10 is horrible for a guy of his caliber of speed.
If I recall, he was named the best defensive outfielder in the Florida State League, so he’s no slouch out there in the field.
As for the CS percentage, I’ll have to listen to some more games and get back to you. His career numbers aren’t that bad, more like 2.5:1.
Jay,
Thanks for the great write-up. What do you think the prospects of Liddi and Dunigan being MLB caliber players in the future? I know they are playing in HD where numbers are incredibly inflated.
Also, are you surprised Hensley skipped a level and went straight to AA to make a start tonight? Any thoughts on his long term projection? Thanks for the good work.
Hensley’s promotion to Double-A is short term. The organization had to shuffle a bunch of arms due to injuries.
Woooooooooo Saunders!
Slurve’s pretty enthused about Saunders. With good reason, as the two home runs tonight make me look pretty smart for picking him.
Hensley did end up going today, but game two was rained out and this particular affair only lasted five innings.
Hensley’s line:
L, 6.75 ERA in 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4/4 K/BB
Scouts liked Liddi after he first came on, but his development stagnated for a while. He didn’t really become the defender people thought he would be nor did he put up the right kind of numbers on the field. I don’t know what he’s doing right now that’s any different. His walk rates are down and his K rates are roughly the same, it’s just that the hits have gone through the roof. Confidence will do a lot to improve a guys game, but I’m not really ready to move him up the charts just yet, not until I see that something that indicates a clear breakthrough, one that isn’t lost in the park effects.
Dunigan is more interesting to me right now because he’s 1) left-handed 2) able to play first or either outfield corner 3) capable of drawing walks 4) has a pretty intriguing power speed combo, and 5) hasn’t been taking advantage of the home park quite as much. He’s older, so there’s not as much you can project out of him, but he was more athlete than player in college. His trajectory may be a little different.
Good questions all around guys. Don’t hesitate to keep asking them, as they often help to clarify my stance. I can talk up a guy for having a good week without thinking he’s a particularly great player, as you’ve seen. I’ll try to keep answering as much as I can.
I know its a little late, but what does the (+7, +6) after the team mean?
I keep checking though, at least until the post is bumped off the front page and the side bar.
+ and – after the team is basically a team strength indicator. Birmingham, a strong team, would have +8 because they have eight more wins than losses, where Burlington, -7, would have seven more losses than wins. It’s nothing more complicated than that, but it helps you gauge whether they’re beating up quality opponents or ringers.