February 2009

  • Would you take Bonds #1 All Time?

    By jemanji on 2/16/09 1:47am
    Add Comment

    Mucho interest in where Bonds should rank as a historical player.  With a .440+ OBP and 760+ home runs, Bonds is in the discussion for best player ever.

    Read more >

  • The List of AllTimers vs Bonds

    By jemanji on 2/16/09 12:47am
    3 Comments

    == Inner Circle Dept. ===

    1. Ruth has an OPS+ 25 points higher than Bonds (!), and Ruth was an All-Star pitcher as well.

    2. Teddy Ballgame had a career OPS+ of 190, had an OBP of .482 in a lesser offensive era.  He also missed 5 years as a war hero. If my #1 could be Bonds or Teddy, I’d rather he be Ted.

    I follow Bill James in adding the five war years to Williams’ record. You are not playing “what if” on those five years. Ted actually was a great hitter during those five years.

    Read more >

  • POTD Jack Cust

    By jemanji on 2/15/09 11:58pm
    Add Comment

     

    Take out a clean sheet of paper and a #2 pencil, kiddies.  OK, one question only, pass or fail...

    Read more >

  • Jack Cust - 2009 Projection

    By jemanji on 2/15/09 9:05pm
    Add Comment

    Q.  Do you like his chances going forward?

    A.  Ron Shandler doesn't:

    "There are no comps for this skill set.  A PX over 200 with this ridiculous strikeout rate?  Seems impossible to sustain...

    Read more >

  • Why didn't Lincecum need the minors?

    By jemanji on 2/9/09 8:12am
    Add Comment

    Also see June 2006's:  Tim Lincecum (mechanics)

    And:  Tim Lincecum (POTD)

    ………………………..

    In early 2007, we attended a Rainiers game in which Lincecum had a great bullpen session, throwing a model 62 strikes against 31 balls.

    The Rainiers swung at some of his practice pitches, golfclapped, and wandered back to the dugout. (11k, 0bb, 0r, 3h). That’s 28k and 5bb in 18.2ip, and an 0.00 ERA for Lincecum.

    ……………….

    It was good to see him get experience in making adjustments; I think the third time through he usually chose the hook on strike three :- )

    ………….. 

    How could Lincecum possibly do so well, despite the fact that he had not learned how to pitch in pro baseball? 

    Dr.

    Read more >

  • Bonds' Steroid Use Covered Up by MLB?

    By jemanji on 2/5/09 7:31pm
    Add Comment

    Good discussion at Mariner Central.  Did MLB cover up for Bonds?

    My $0.02, based on conversations with MLB execs and based on reading the tea leaves over the last ten years:

    ...............

    1.  MLB doesn't much care whether players are making themselves better with dangerous chemicals.  If somebody becomes a star but then dies at 67 instead of 74, that's not really a problem they put at the top of the list.

    ................

    1a.  If a team thought they were negotiating with a player that was about to crash into a performance/injury wall, like the Yankees with Giambi, then to that extent they'd be concerned.  But this isn't as much of a concern, in most cases, as fans think.  A player is as liable to pull a Bret Boone as he is to pull a Giambi.

    .................

    2.  The Players' Union really shows its teeth when the owners give players the slightest pushback on steroids whatsoever.

    Even publicly, you sometimes hear the stories about players' reps literally t

    Read more >

  • The Moneyball Draft ... A+ for the A's

    By jemanji on 2/4/09 8:53pm
    3 Comments

    JH, in the Moneyball thread on Proball USA, argues strongly that the M's could get a lot done this summer, if they out-draft the 2002 A's:

    If you’re responding to people who think the draft will be a sure-fire opportunity to stock the team with 4-5 future all-stars, then sure, that’s an unreasonable statement. However, I don’t think that’s what most people, including Blengino, are saying.

    If you look at a random sampling of all-star rosters, you see that the game’s elite talent comes disproportionately from the first round - there are typically about as many first-rounders in your average all-star game than players from every other round combined, and at least as many 1st-rounders as foreign-born/signed players.

    Read more >