Did You Know

At the age of nineteen, Boston Red Sox slugger Tony Conigliaro hit 24 home runs.  This tally of 24 round-trippers stands as the most home runs hit in a season by a teenager in the major leagues.

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/did-you-know-294/

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Young players to again lead Mariners (AP)

Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik remains extremely optimistic about the bounty of young talent the Mariners possess. He also knows the abundance of youth means another challenging season lies ahead in the Pacific Northwest. “I think we have some very talented young kids. I think this is going to be a challenging year at the [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/01/27/young-players-to-again-lead-mariners-ap/

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NL vs AL

I grew up watching a National League team.  I knew at on about the Reds and quite a bit about the[...]

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http://blog.lovemyteam.com/2012/01/27/nl-vs-al/

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New York Yankees: Fifth Starter Competition Looks
To Be A Dogfight

New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman took the words ?Pitching is a priority,? right out of ex-Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks mouth this off-season. Cashman has left skipper Joe Girardi and Co. with a tough decision to make come Spring Training, as seven[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ladylovespinstripes/~3/eY4xq-ux-tM/

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Friday Rockpile: Dexter Fowler and the Need For
Speed

A regular criticism of Rockies' CF Dexter Fowler is that for a guy his height and with runners legs and the grace of a loping antelope, he really isn't all that great at stealing bases. Watching him, you see his graceful strides and the 15 feet separating his footfalls en route from 1B to 3B, you'd think that he'd have no trouble getting 1B to 2B before the pitcher even realized that he was on 1B.

In 2011, the Rockies were surprisingly 12th in MLB in stolen bases. I was expecting somewhere closer to 30th, so 12th came as a shock. The team's leading base stealer was Eric Young, Jr at 27, then Carlos Gonzalez, who stole the lofty total of 20 bags over his injury-shortened season. Fowler was 3rd with a grand total of 12 bases. Clearly, the Rockies need a real speed burner on the top of their lineup if they want to make it anywhere in 2012.

So there are realistically 2 options in my mind: Start EYJ in the leadoff, or start Fowler in the leadoff.

In EY's case, we're dealing with a guy who has a subpar bat, but he stole 27 bases in 77 games and was only caught 4 times (and that's not including his 17:1 SB:CS ratio in AAA Colorado Springs). While Young's .247 batting average was decidedly below what we'd like to see, his .342 OBP WAS above average. This move would pretty much pull Fowler out of the lineup though, probably putting EYJ in LF and Carlos Gonzalez in CF. Depending on how guys are hitting, we might even see this as an option in the event that Fowler spends any significant time on the bench or DL.

More realistically, Fowler will be batting leadoff, with a better OBP, SLG, and maybe fewer SBs, but a practical guarantee that he'll be on 3B after a single. No, Fowler won't wreak the same sort of pitcher-distracting havoc that EYJ would, but that's not necessarily going to guarantee anything. The 2008 Rockies were 2nd in the majors in SB (141) thanks in large part to Willy Taveras, and scored 747 runs. The 2011 Rockies stole 118 bases and scored 735 runs. Yeah, those 12 offensive runs could've been the difference in like 4-5 games. Probably not enough to take the Rockies from turrible to the playoffs, but definitely an improvement on situational run scoring situations.

I'd argue that the quality of the leadoff hitter is going to be more important than their havoc wreaking abilities. While I have no doubt that EYJ will waste more than his fair share of throws over to 1B, it's not like pitchers are going to let Dexter Fowler just lead off to that red part of the leadoff arrow that TBS used to put on the screen during the playoffs. Good running won't necessarily steal 2B, but we're going to see a lot of plays where Fowler is scoring from 1B on deep singles and almost undoubtedly on doubles. If you buy into BsR (Runs from baserunning as tabulated by Fangraphs), Fowler was the Rockies best baserunner in 2011, regardless of his SB total.

Oftentimes, we'll forget the good things a player does because their shinier numbers like homers, RBI, SB, things of that nature aren't as high and awesome. Seth Smith is a good example here. Regardless of his off-field attitude or work ethic or whatever, Seth Smith had 56 XBH, but was kind of brushed under the rug because he never developed that HR power (15 in 2011). Fowler isn't a good leadoff hitter because of low SB totals. The key for this team is to have well rounded hitters who can take full advantage of spacious Coors Field as far as finding places for your baseball to land.

While the Rockies' offense is going to be heavy around Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, you're going to get a lot of that excess spread among guys like Michael Cuddyer, Marco Scutaro, and Ramon Hernandez. Also, the step up from the 3B joke that 2011 was to Casey Blake - yes, step UP - will add a lot of production. Everyone just needs to focus on being good batters and not on one specific counting stat.

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Rumor: Yankees interested in Raul Ibanez

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Was Ryan Too Quick on the Trigger

I've generally been pleased with the moves the Twins have made this offseason. In his return to the helm, Terry Ryan has wisely allowed some overpriced free agents to depart while signing solid producers like Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit to bargain deals with little downside.

Two moves that have rubbed me the wrong way, however, are the Kevin Slowey trade and the Matt Capps signing. This isn't because I take issue with the decisions that were made ? trading Slowey was certainly justifiable and Capps filled a need as a hard-throwing late-inning righty ? but rather the timing.

Ryan has been aggressive in addressing needs and taking care of business this offseason. The Slowey swap and the Capps contract, like the majority of the Twins' moves this winter, were both pulled off before Christmas. However, in neither case was there a need to rush, and events that have occurred recently have made the Twins' haste in those decisions appear rather misguided.

I addressed my quibbles with the Slowey trade earlier this week, when I pointed out that new needs tend to arise for teams as the season approaches and that a better market to trade the embattled starter would have likely developed had the Twins simply shown patience.

With Capps, the Twins clearly overpaid. He's a solid reliever and his $4.75 million deal for next year might be considered reasonable in a different offseason, but not this year. Not with him coming off an ineffecitve campaign and with a sizable crop of similar right-handed relievers on the market competing for jobs. Not with Ryan Madson forced to settle for a one-year deal; with Brad Lidge signing for only $1 million; with Dan Wheeler taking a minor-league contract.

There's no way any other team was going to give Capps close to $5 million. Not even close.

I argued back when the Twins re-signed Capps that the public backlash against the move was excessive ? because although I certainly recognized it as an overpay at the time, many folks failed to recognize that the righty does have value and will be a boost to the bullpen.

I also embraced the "no such thing as a bad one-year contract" mantra, reasoning that overpaying Capps by a couple million wouldn't hurt the club long-term and wouldn't prevent them from making other cost-effective moves to round out their bullpen. That's not how a high-revenue team playing in a new stadium should operate.

And yet, the Twins have now watched numerous inexpensive setup men come off the board at dirt-cheap prices ? including Lidge and Wheeler, who both signed yesterday ? while crying poor and suggesting that they're up against their payroll limit. The Joel Zumaya signing was nice, but he should be viewed more as a smart low-risk flier than a safe bet to lock down the seventh or eighth inning.

I'm not a person who has berated the Twins for lowering payroll and it doesn't really bother me that they're spending $30 million less than the Tigers, who play in a similar market. But if they're not willing to add a million dollars to their current payroll fill an obvious need, the Capps deal looks a whole lot worse.

Maybe this grumbling is all for naught. Maybe Ryan plans to nab one of the remaining relief arms to fill that right-handed setup role and provide the type of security that Zumaya and a crop of iffy internal candidates do not.

But if they don't sign anyone else because they significantly overspent in their eagerness to bring Capps back, the Twins will again be setting up their closer to be the villain in a bullpen that could easily turn out thin and unreliable for a second straight year.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.nickstwinsblog.com/2012/01/was-ryan-too-quick-on-trigger.html

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2 years, 2 months and 22 days ago: Never Forget

Remember, remember, the fifth of November ...

A mere 813 days ago, our lives as Royals fans changed forever. In the past 116 weeks, we have been bestowed the opportunity to watch one Christopher Ryan Getz play mistake-free baseball with the deft touch of an angel. His prodigal bag of tools amazes us to this day.

On Nov. 5, 2009, Dayton Moore pulled off a career-defining trade, shipping vagabond Mark Teahan to Chicago for Josh Fields and Chris Getz.

The Royals, without question, won the trade. Mark Teahan, forever trying to sell his Mark Teahan Show to franchises, was recently given up on by the Toronto Blue Jays. Josh Fields, sensing Chris Getz' excellence, has allegedly quit baseball to spread the gospel of Getz. As side work, he signed to infiltrate the Los Angeles Dodgers organization on Jan. 4 as a spy for one GMDM.

Yet Chris Getz continues his assault on the record books. Of note:

• He is already 109th all-time in hits among Royals - only three behind demi-god Eric Hosmer. With luck, we will witness Getz pass such true blue greats as Craig Paquette, Vada Pinson, Terry Shumpert and William Bloomquist this season.
• Getz is 110th all-time in triples among Royals, currently tied with such fleet-footed speedsters as Jose Guillen, Billy Butler and Bob Hamelin. Elite company, indeed.

Others have tried to crush Getz' spirit. Gordon Beckham, in a jealous rage over Getz' popularity and boyish good looks, wrote a derogatory message in the infield dirt this past summer that said "Getz is gay." In typical smoothness, Getz blew off ... er, ignored the controversy of the offensive words of Beckham, saying "We're all just going to try to move on and get some real hits, not Google hits."

Those words rang true, as Getz rattled off 97 hits this past season - many of which even reached the outfield grass.

Early, there were some cynics, as noted in this Royals Review gem. Among the respondents at the time:

Home Run Tony Cogan:

I went and looked at their stats on fangraphs. neither player we’re getting is really much to get excited about.

RoyalsRetro:

I’m all for moving Teahen, but moving a good OBA guy for two guys who can’t get on base seems unwise.

And one AverageGatsby:

at the start of the day my look on baseball was like that of Frodo’s look in the end of the third Lord of the Rings. I just dont see how things will ever get better. Yankees keep spending and keep winning, GMDM keeps getting bad players

As recent as this past season, the prudish masses here at Royals Review voted Getz the most pointless Royal of 2011, which proves to be nothing more than misdirected vitriol. Many Royals Review fans are so self-aggrandizing they have to displace recognizing their own faults by passing them off on others.

As for the realists, we won't soon forget the treasure we inherited on Nov. 5.

Along with the birthdays of Bill Walton, Roy Rogers, Dana Jacobson, Kevin Jonas and Johnny Damon, we will remember the day we getz Getz.

While we celebrate National Fig Week, Banana Pudding Lovers Month and National Georgia Pecan month, we will also bask in the grittiness displayed from one St. Christopher of the Blessed Getz.

Nov. 5 has marked such historical accomplishments as Guy Fawkes being hanged in 1605, Susan B. Anthony being arrested for trying to vote in 1871 and the launch of the Monopoly game in 1935 - but we will look back fondly on this day as the moment our championship dreams became a reality.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November.

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1982 Headline: Cubs Obtain Phillies Sandberg

1982 Headline: Cubs Obtain Phillies’ Sandberg On this day in 1982, Ryne Sandberg became a Chicago Cub. The Cubs sent Ivan DeJesus to the Phillies for Sandberg and Larry Bowa.  Prior to the trade, Sandberg played in 21 games for the … Continue reading →

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/1982-headline-cubs-obtain-phillies-san
dberg-3/

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