minor lines, 8/8/10
by steve S on Aug 8, 2010 11:28 PM PDT
in They Might Be Giants
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PrintHighlights from the Giants' farm: both Nick Noonan and Sharlon Schoop homered and doubled; Tommy Joseph homered among three hits, and Kyle Nicholson allowed just 1 ER in 6.0 IP. Also notable, Daniel Burkhart had four in his second NWL game.
AAA: Fresno lost to Albuquerque 8-2
Fresno: 1B Brett Pill: 1 for 4, HR
Fresno: PH-LF Tyler Graham: 2 for 2, 2 2B
Fresno: SP Craig Whitaker: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Fresno: RP Alex Hinshaw: 1.0 IP, 1 K
Albuquerque: SP Seth Etherton: 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Graham did not enter the game until the 6th inning, but he was the only Grizzly with multiple hits. His 18th and 19th doubles accounted for two of the Grizzlies' five hits and raised his AVG back above .350. Pill had his 15th HR.
Whitaker made just his second start of the past four seasons. He threw 58 pitches (33 strikes). Hinshaw worked a perfect 9th inning with seven of eight pitches thrown for strikes. Etherton, who last appeared in the majors four years ago and is now in the Dodgers organization, shut the Grizzlies down with perhaps his best start of the year.
AA: Richmond defeated Portland 16-8
(scoring fifteen runs in the 3rd through 5th innings)
Richmond: CF Darren Ford: 4 for 6, 2 2B, 2 SO
Richmond: 2B Nick Noonan: 2 for 6, HR, 2B
Richmond: LF Thomas Neal: 4 for 6, 2B
Richmond: 1B Sharlon Schoop: 4 for 5, HR, 2B
Portland: 1B Anthony Rizzo: 4 for 5, HR
Richmond: SP Craig Westcott: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K--1 HR, 1 WP
With four hits each, Schoop, Ford, and Neal accounted for two thirds of the Flying Squirrels' eighteen hits. Noonan had his 3rd HR, and Schoop his 2nd HR. Rizzo, who is among the Red Sox' top ten prospects, added four hits, including his 19th HR this year.
Westcott allowed 5 ER for the second time in thre starts, raising his ERA to 4.35.
A+: San Jose defeated Bakersfield 4-2
San Jose: RF Francisco Peguero: 3 for 5, SO, SB, CS
San Jose: CF Juan Perez: 2 for 5, 2B, SO
San Jose: SP Kyle Nicholson: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
San Jose: RP Jason Stoffel: 1.0 IP, 2 K
Peguero's three hits raised his AVG to .314. Perez had his organization-leading 33rd double.
Nicholson had his most effective start in some time. He had allowed 4+ ER in six of his last seven starts. Stoffel struck out two of his three batters. In his last five appearances, he has 1 H, 1 BB, and 9 K in 4.2 IP.
A-: Augusta defeated Asheville 4-3
(after scoring the game's final three runs in the 6th inning)
Augusta: 1B Luke Anders: 1 for 3, HR, SO
Augusta: C-1B Tommy Joseph: 3 for 4, HR
Augusta: SP Andrew Reichard: 7.0 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Augusta: RP Chris Wilson: 2.0 IP, 2 K
Anders and Joseph went back-to-back in the 6th inning for their 12th and 14th HRs, respectively. Joseph's three hits raised his AVG to to .233.
Despite matching a season-high 10 H, Reichard had a quality start. With no walks in a start--the first time he had done so this year--he raised his season K/BB ratio above 2.00. Making his second full-season appearance this year, Wilson threw 2.0 perfect IP.
ssA: Salem-Keizer lost to Eugene 9-1
Salem-Keizer: DH Daniel Burkhart: 4 for 4, 2 2B
Salem-Keizer: SP Kevin Couture: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Salem-Keizer: RP Aaron King: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K--1 HB, 1 WP
Playing in his second NWL game, Burkhart hit safely in all four plate appearances, including a pair of doubles.
Couture had his worst start of the season, allowing three runs in both the 1st and 2nd innings. King finished the game with four strikeouts and five flyouts but six free passes (to the fifteen batters faced).
R: Giants deated Royals 14-10 (12 innings)
Scottsdale: CF Chuckie Jones: 3 for 6, 3B, BB, 2 SO, PO
Scottsdale: C Joe Staley: 3 for 6, 3B, 2B, SO
Scottsdale: SP Austin Fleet: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K--1 HR, 1 HB
Scottsdale: RP Matt Graham: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Jones and Staley were two of the five rookie Giants with at least three hits.
Fleet struck out better than one third of his seven batters, although 2 ER in 4.0 IP edged his ERA upwards to 3.32. Graham allowed a run in his first AZL appearance.
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Good day for Peguero and Perez
inconsistent King is inconsistent
Nice game from ToJo-hopefully he can have a good rest of the year
Wow, nice job Richmond
Proud father of Mike Krukow (who is more than 3 times my age)
Grab Some Pine, Meat
Still cheering for Kevin Frandsen
John Bowker: One of the 3 best OF's on the Giants roster
King :-(
And I might be forever skeptical about Peguero.
Aaron King is still my homeboy... iffy mechanics and all
McFAQ for all you newcomers out there.
I'm a big Peguero fan
as far as King…hopefully he can learn some command
Proud father of Mike Krukow (who is more than 3 times my age)
Grab Some Pine, Meat
Still cheering for Kevin Frandsen
John Bowker: One of the 3 best OF's on the Giants roster
Yup, I’m also a big Peguero fan. I’m pretty sure I’ll put him somewhere in our Top 3 prospects this winter, and not necessarily at #3.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Wow, top 3? I know about the tools, but I can’t get past the horrific k/w numbers and the very high ground-ball rate. It’s nice to see him take a step forward this year, but he’s got a loooooong way to go.
Hater.
Also, I’m pretty down on the system right now it appears.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
You’d put Peguero ahead of Gary Brown, I take it? We haven’t seen Brown against pro pitching yet, but at this point they seem virtually identical. I guess having two of them increases your odds of getting the next Willie McGee….
The thing about Peguero is that’s it’s not like he just has a bad K/BB because he’s impatient. He strikes out way too much for someone who’ll have to hit .300 to succeed as a hitter. Brown is supposed to be a great contact hitter.
I was promised lasagna.
Baseball America
In one of their chats (I think about the Prospect Hot Sheet that Peguero made a few weeks back), they basically said they’d put him ahead of Brown on the Giant’s top prospect list.
Hector Sanchez: Underrated. Fighting body bias since the 2009 off season. I still love you, son, even if you're fat.
And if anyone there gave us reason to think that they understand the importance of minor league K/BB, that would have changed my mind. But when you look at how they overrated hitting prospects like like Brandon Wood, Lastings Milledge, or Jeff Francoeur, I can’t just take their word here.
I was promised lasagna.
Well, their word is almost exclusively a parroting of what professional scouts say. So if you’re heavy into sabermetrics and down on traditional scouting, you’re not going to like what BA has to say, even though the BA guys do understand sabermetric concepts, generally speaking.
Hector Sanchez: Underrated. Fighting body bias since the 2009 off season. I still love you, son, even if you're fat.
I’m not “down” on traditional scouting. I’m just saying it has its faults. Unless you don’t believe in any of the sabermetrics concepts, this isn’t deniable. If, as we clearly know now, essentially the entire scouting community did not truly understand how offense works – if they had clear problems in the way they evaluate MLB hitters (and as far as we know still do), there’s no reason not to expect them to have exactly the same problems when evaluating minor league hitters.
I was promised lasagna.
If, as we clearly know now, essentially the entire scouting community did not truly understand how offense works
I honestly don’t think we know anything of the sort, Cookyman. There are few if any sabermetric concepts that don’t reinforce the corps beliefs of Branch Rickey, for instance, and he was certainly able to marshall scouts to get him the type of players he wanted. The same goes for the Orioles organization of the 60s and 70s really.
For that matter, I’d go a step further and say that the job of a scout isn’t to understand how offenses work, it’s to evaluate the physical abilities and game skills of players in the context of the major league game. It’s other people in an organization’s jobs to define what those evaluations mean, teach organizational philosophies, game planning etc.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Yes, but it doesn’t matter whether or not it’s their job. Teams understand offense now not because scouts have suddenly improved, but because of sabermetric concepts finally getting through to all but a handful (at the most) of GM’s.
BA is based on scouts, not on GM’s. GM’s may be much more knowledgeable than before, but that doesn’t mean that scouts are.
I was promised lasagna.
Actually, I think it IS because he’s impatient. His walk rate is horrendous. He’s K’d this year at about the same rate as Brandon Belt (without Belt’s corresponding virtues, understood).
Also, as I’ve said, I think there’s more power to come with Peguero and he’s got a lot of defensive value (though that could also be said about Brown).
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Hard to believe Schoop just turned 23. Seems like he has been in the Giants system for like a decade
No doubt. I would have guessed he was 27 by now.
by North Side Chicago Expatriate Giants Fan on Aug 9, 2010 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions
NEAL IS REAL!
Noonan!
"He knocks a stake through the heart of the Cardinals! The Cardinals are dead! The Giants are going to the World Series!!!" -Jon Miller
t's Posey time!!
Tim Flannery: Make better decisions dammit.
BELT LIFTED FOR A PH?
Any word why Belt was lifted for a PH in the 5th inning??
Buy High,Sell Lower- The Brian Sabean methodology to Running (Ruining) the Giants
by Mordy From Monsey on Aug 9, 2010 3:55 AM PDT reply actions
No apparent reason
There is nothing listed in any of the game reports. No injury, he was DH so there was no play in the field, and his previous at-bat was a sacrifice fly, so some sort of injury running the bases is unlikely.
It would make sense that it was to give him a rest. He has been struggling a bit lately, and he has been DH twice in the last week, something that I think he had done only once in Richmond before this week. With was was then an 11-2 lead, just resting him makes sense.
It’s easy to forget, because you don’t see it all that often at the Double-A level, but this is Belt’s first pro season, which means it’s his first full season of baseball with road trips through August and September, rather than a three month, three-games per week college season and a summer bus league. Combine that with him playing in one of the hottest summers on record in the area, and fatigue is reasonable.
Although I will admit that wrist issue we heard of earlier is a concern. But if he’s playing Tuesday (the team’s off today), I don’t think it’s anything to worry about too much.
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by BruteSentiment on Aug 9, 2010 4:25 AM PDT up reply actions
He and Gillaspie are really having strong second halves. Hopefully they can continue it all the way thru August and end on a positive note. Still like to see some more HR power from Neal, but given the league he’s having a solid year.
Sadly, the same day Neal snuck over .800 OPS again, Belt’s OBP slipped below .400 :( The baseball gods giveth, and the baseball gods taketh away.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Brett Pill
Does anyone know if he’s made some type of change in either his swing or approach that would account for his recent power surge? His career splits don’t seem to indicate that he typically comes on late, although he’s been pretty good in the middle-end of the summer over his career. Could be that he’s feeling pressure from what Belt has done and is responding, but I’m wondering what’s accounting for his power surge.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
Is 4 HR in 7 days really a power surge in the PCL? He’s actually hitting for strikingly less power than he did last year in the EL, especially when you factor in the respective leagues’ hitting environments. On the whole, he’s having a pretty bad year for a 1B in the PCL at .275/.322/.452.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
I agree
But I would still say that hitting 4 HR in 7 days for a guy that only hit 20 last year is a power surge, even in the PCL. Although, he has had a rough year, my optimism got the better of me it would seem.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 7:01 AM PDT up reply actions
Hmm, minorleaguesplits.com allows you to do MLE within the minors. Sp using http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/mlecalc.html and plugging in Belts line from last year (298/348/480, 19 HR) in that is equivalent to a 263/305/422 18 HR line in Fresno. So far Pill is exceeding that (275/322/452 15 HR) stat line.
Matt Graham is an anagram for .... why don't you ask the scrabble expert!
by say hey nation on Aug 9, 2010 7:47 AM PDT up reply actions
Really? That’s bizarre. The EL severely depresses power and the PCL severely accelerates it. Obviously they don’t know that nobody in the PCL knows how to pitch.
Also, your number’s for Belt’s line in 2009 are just slightly off. I see .300/.352/.478 with 20 HR as his line in Connecticut.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
The MiLB lines on b-r are still rather inaccurate, but I just love thelayout so much I still use them.
Matt Graham is an anagram for .... why don't you ask the scrabble expert!
by say hey nation on Aug 9, 2010 8:38 AM PDT up reply actions
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=pill—001bre
Matt Graham is an anagram for .... why don't you ask the scrabble expert!
by say hey nation on Aug 9, 2010 8:38 AM PDT up reply actions
And I also found that strange :-/
Matt Graham is an anagram for .... why don't you ask the scrabble expert!
by say hey nation on Aug 9, 2010 8:39 AM PDT up reply actions
The other thing that’s strange is I specifically meant to correct your error of substituting Belt for Pill, but instead I somehow followed your lead and made the exact same mistake.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
That is weird...
I wonder if there’s some sort of analysis that’s been done that shows that the EL isn’t as much of pitcher’s league as believed or if the PCL isn’t the hitter’s league it has the reputation of being. I would be shocked if that was true, but if it isn’t than MLE numbers are probably worthless based on that alone.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 8:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Baggs is saying Manny Burriss is being called up today, and the Giants will probably go back to twelve pitchers. Our offensive problems are solved!!
Buster Posey: Let's enjoy him before he goes to the Yankees.
by rxmeister on Aug 9, 2010 5:38 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Quick stats on Burriss from AAA (199 PAs)
BB% K% ISO BB/K 4.52% 9.84% .055 0.5
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Am I doing it right?
Threat level that the 2010 Pads finish with more wins than the 2010 Giants is currently at: 61%
Spoiler: Grumpy older Giants fan is Grumpy.
You’re doing it right, Burriss isn’t.
I feel prickishly demanding!
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by giantsfansince1981 on Aug 9, 2010 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions
Defense
In the time it took to type that Burris committed three errors. Great someone else who can hit in the 6, 7 or 8 hole.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 6:15 AM PDT up reply actions
Also...
Good player for the 26th slot on the major league roster, and the 41st man on the 40-man roster.
Wouldn’t it have been great if the Giants could have called up a left handed outfielder with some pop, who even if he hit .230, had the ability to hit the ball out of the park?
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 7:13 AM PDT up reply actions
The blue Jays are probably interested.
My Son, the best outfielder in the National League.
My rule for the 2010 Giants: Everyone with an OPS over .800 gets a pass.
I am a Bochy hater and a Sabean apologist.
They're changing their name...
To “They Might be Giants”
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 8:33 AM PDT up reply actions
“They Might Have Been Giants”
I feel prickishly demanding!
I couldn't be prouder of my recent adoptee - Tim Lincecum's dealer. He provides the secret fuel behind both Cy Youngs. Also, he taught Timmy the change-up.
by giantsfansince1981 on Aug 9, 2010 9:27 AM PDT up reply actions
And they're changing the name of the Rogers centre
to the Birdhouse in your soul
Proud father of Mike Krukow (who is more than 3 times my age)
Grab Some Pine, Meat
Still cheering for Kevin Frandsen
John Bowker: One of the 3 best OF's on the Giants roster
One more overplayed Meme.
Matt Graham is an anagram for .... why don't you ask the scrabble expert!
by say hey nation on Aug 9, 2010 8:39 AM PDT up reply actions
Are you handing out overplayed Memes?
If so I hope to win one soon.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 8:44 AM PDT up reply actions
I"ll take 3
Obviously any links in the above post are probably NSFW
The baseball gods do not always punish the wicked but they will not just allow people to spit in their faces -- Joe Posnanski
I wish I would stop cheating. fuck. this is jctgamer's fault -- jponry
Jesus. Rohlinger can also not really play shortstop, but at least he can sort of hit. Obviously it’s a good thing they sent him down.
It’s crap like this that makes us reluctant to give credit to management for things like Huff and Torres having great years. Since they obviously don’t know what they’re doing, it must have been luck.
Rohlinger has played a lot of SS in Fresno, but I’ve noticed they’ve been playing Burriss there more lately. This plan probably has long been in the works (unless it’s a result of Downs being on the DL). :(
Adopted Giant: Ryan Rohlinger (on loan from Shanghaijim).
Buster Posey: He knows the rules!
♥BARRY ZITO♥
I really, really hope that Burriss was the third choice here. But I still wish they’d have just put Wellemeyer back on the DL so they could call up Rohlinger again rather than bring up Burriss. Does Burriss even solve the “Matt Cain pinch-hitting in the 5th inning” problem. Not really. I mean, I guess he’s a better hitter than Cain and Bumgarner. Probably. But not by much.
I thought maybe they wanted someone who could play 2B and spell Franchez, but Uribe can do that.
Thinking more about it, I think Rohlinger has been playing 3B because of Downs’ DL stint not because of any master plan. Bond plays 2B, with Burriss at SS and RyRohl at 3B, since Bond and Burriss don’t play 3B. I think Burris is just sort of an emergency with no one else available. Uribe can fill in at 3B if needed, and Burriss can play either 2B or SS.
Adopted Giant: Ryan Rohlinger (on loan from Shanghaijim).
Buster Posey: He knows the rules!
♥BARRY ZITO♥
by kdl on Aug 9, 2010 1:24 PM PDT up reply actions
Weird
On the same day that big club used Matt Cain to PH for Sanchez, Fresno used Eric Hacker as a PH for Brandon Meddars.
You know the Orioles had a day recently where both the major league team and the AAA team had back to back to back HRs. That would have been cool.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Looking at the Giants’ record and then the Orioles’ record, I’m kind of finding it hard to envy them.
Buster Posey: Let's enjoy him before he goes to the Yankees.
by rxmeister on Aug 9, 2010 8:42 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
VROOOOOM! Apparently Bochy misses FBAL.
by North Side Chicago Expatriate Giants Fan on Aug 9, 2010 9:29 AM PDT up reply actions
I’m guessing it’s Casilla who goes?
by North Side Chicago Expatriate Giants Fan on Aug 9, 2010 9:32 AM PDT up reply actions
Well, obviously, BA is most important.
I know RyRohl can’t come up now b/c of having been sent down on the 2nd, but they should have just left him with the team in the first place! The roster management has been idiotic to an extreme degree.
Adopted Giant: Ryan Rohlinger (on loan from Shanghaijim).
Buster Posey: He knows the rules!
♥♥♥BARRY ZITO♥♥♥
by kdl on Aug 9, 2010 9:49 AM PDT up reply actions
Fixed
Therostermanagement has been idiotic to an extreme degree.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 9:53 AM PDT up reply actions
I don’t really think that, though.
Adopted Giant: Ryan Rohlinger (on loan from Shanghaijim).
Buster Posey: He knows the rules!
♥♥♥BARRY ZITO♥♥♥
You don't?
You haven’t been reading MCC enough.
While you were reading this, Carlos Willoughby just stole second base.
Jacob Dunnington
For some reason the Giants don’t want to promote him, so why not move him to the starting rotation in Scottsdale? He had his longest pro stint last night, going 3 innings with 5 Ks and no runs allowed with the scored tied in extra innings. It’s not like he got tired out being stretched out like that, because in his last inning of work he faced 3 batters and struck each of them out. For the season he still has only allowed 1 run (on a sac fly) and 8 hits in 21 2/3rds innings and his peripherals are incredibly good:
K/9=14.1, BB/9=4.6, K/BB=3.1, BAA=.114, GO/AO=.76, TWIP=.97 (TWIP = Total Bases + BBs / Innings Pitched)
And his BB/9 went from 3.7 to 4.5 when he was forced to issue 2 intentional BBs last night due to pitching in a tie game in extra innings.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Fairly Small Sample Size
Only 22 IP….But, he’s still be lights out and is only 19. I don’t know if there’s a concern about his arm getting worn out or how much he pitched before he signed, but that would seem to make sense to me. Any idea about secondary pitches? I imagine that if he doesn’t project to being able to develop 2-3 secondary pitches wanting to keep him in the pen, but sometimes how players progress through the system baffles me.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 10:37 AM PDT up reply actions
The Giants signed him as an NDFA high school grad in Sept. of 2009. He didn’t pitch in any organized leagues since that time before starting the AZL this summer, so he’s in no danger of being overworked. I assume that he’s been down in the Scottsdale complex working on mechanics and getting whatever innings in he can since he was signed. I don’t know anything about his secondary pitches, but a prospect isn’t going to develop any if they only pitch him an inning out of the pen. I do know that his FB velocity was reported to jump 3-5 mph (to 91-94 mph) between the time he graduated from HS in June 2009 and when the Giants signed him in September.
Even if the Giants only believe that his future lies in the pen, he should stll be starting now so that he does get the chance to work on his secondary pitches in live games. It’s not like they’d be stretching him out so much installing him as a starter since the current starters in Scottsdale are averaging barely over 4 innings per start.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
One more thing
I understand that there aren’t slots available in the starting rotation in Scottsdale right now, but that’s no excuse. When the Giants have 2 non-prospects (24 year old Shane Kaufman and 23 year old Taylor Rogers) starting every 5th day for S-K, they obviously have openings for 2 pitchers from Scottsdale to move up and be starters for S-K. Austin Fleet and Dunnington would fit in nicely up in S-K. If they want to keep Dunnington in Scottsdale for some reason, then promote Fleet and another starter and move Dunnington into the Scottsdale rotation. It’s not like S-K is even close to fighting for the pennant in the NWL, so there is no reason to keep Kaufman and Rogers in the rotation.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Totally agree.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
I agree
They could also, halve games. If they know they have someone who’s pitches/innings they’re going to limit, then start them both on the same day, that is have one start and let the other know that they will come in in the 4th or 5th inning regardless. Either way, you’re right if they have non-prospects sucking up roster spots let him go to S-K and he can sink or swim.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 11:55 AM PDT up reply actions
He only just turned 18
I’m cutting him some slack on the 35% K-rate due his young age, lack of experience, and the .819 OPS, but hopefully he gets things like what happened last night out of his system now.
With the score tied at 10-10 and 1 out in the top of the 11th inning, he came through with a triple on a drive to right-center. He then proceeded to get picked off of 3B by the pitcher before the next 2 batters had a chance to drive him in.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Who?
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 10:38 AM PDT up reply actions
Chuckie!
"I wanted to pick a Rockie. But I dislike the Rockies. They're not bona fide." — Jon Miller on the postgame wrap, 7/1/10
by Giant Fan in Singapore on Aug 9, 2010 10:38 AM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, I forgot to write Chuckie Jones
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Tommy Jo turning things around?
Since the beginning of June, ToJo has put up a slash of:
.251/.299/.445/.744 in 204 Plate Appearances – with a K-rate=23% and BB-rate of 6.3%.
And in his 37 games since the all star break he’s even better:
.266/.304/.511/.815
The Ks and BBs aren’t good, but they’re both better than his seasonal rates, and they’re headed in the right direction. It’s a least a glimmer of hope for a kid that just turned 19 and is in his first season of pro ball.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
I really hate that nickname :(
Dude killed Millions of my people =/
Obviously any links in the above post are probably NSFW
The baseball gods do not always punish the wicked but they will not just allow people to spit in their faces -- Joe Posnanski
I wish I would stop cheating. fuck. this is jctgamer's fault -- jponry
Good point
The nickname ToJo needs to be banned.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions
ToGo’s
Overplayed memes:
EASTCOAST BIAS
2002 WS CANCELED
Blue Jays want all our player that we don't utilize correctly
by say hey nation on Aug 9, 2010 12:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Almost any nickname that consists of the first syllable of the first and last name is going to be unimaginative and lame. I’m looking at you ESPN. MadBum is the only exception I can think of, but mostly because it’s meaning makes a mockery of the practice.
Utter frustration and futility.
Adopted 'nephew' to the ever avuncular and always awesome Jon Miller
by Johnny Disaster on Aug 9, 2010 12:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Well said, DanFro.
"I don’t think I’ve ever heard a louder chorus of boos than when the Dodgers made the third out of the ninth. It was awesome.." - Aubrey Huff
All This Said
MadBum is a good nickname.
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
"Out, out, Fred Lewis!" - JCTillam Gamerspeare
Oh someone already said that.
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
"Out, out, Fred Lewis!" - JCTillam Gamerspeare
I'm quite fond of MattCain though
Obviously any links in the above post are probably NSFW
The baseball gods do not always punish the wicked but they will not just allow people to spit in their faces -- Joe Posnanski
I wish I would stop cheating. fuck. this is jctgamer's fault -- jponry
AaRow?
TimLin? BustPo? BarZit? TravIsh?
Neal before Zod!
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants
by nostocksjustbonds on Aug 9, 2010 5:07 PM PDT up reply actions
It might be obvious, but I want to make sure Fla-Giant knows I'm in no way condemning him
Hell, I expect 99% of people don’t even know who Tojo is.
Obviously any links in the above post are probably NSFW
The baseball gods do not always punish the wicked but they will not just allow people to spit in their faces -- Joe Posnanski
I wish I would stop cheating. fuck. this is jctgamer's fault -- jponry
Yeah, its funny how the Japanese WWII criminals kind of get passed over in America.
Overplayed memes:
EASTCOAST BIAS
2002 WS CANCELED
Blue Jays want all our player that we don't utilize correctly
by say hey nation on Aug 9, 2010 1:47 PM PDT up reply actions
It really is
Kind of like Andrew Jackson’s act of genocide.
So optimistic I fart sunshine and rainbows.
Giants Front Office....Torture!
by Giant Torture on Aug 9, 2010 2:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Which one?
Utter frustration and futility.
Adopted 'nephew' to the ever avuncular and always awesome Jon Miller
by Johnny Disaster on Aug 9, 2010 3:19 PM PDT up reply actions
HE SHOT MY SHINS OFF!
Utter frustration and futility.
Adopted 'nephew' to the ever avuncular and always awesome Jon Miller
by Johnny Disaster on Aug 9, 2010 3:18 PM PDT up reply actions
No worries
I understood what you were saying and agree with 86ing that nickname. He was directly responsible for millions of Asian, Australian, and American lives. Nowhere near the levels of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, but that was just because we were able to shorten his time in power by qute a bit.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
That’s a pretty good reason to ban a nickname. I know I’d be irritated if people started using that lame first name syllable last name syllable for a top prospect named, like Hitterbone Leriander or something.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Leriander is not a top prospect
He projects as a 4th outfielder AT BEST.
"I don’t think I’ve ever heard a louder chorus of boos than when the Dodgers made the third out of the ninth. It was awesome.." - Aubrey Huff
Boneler
is pretty good though
Obviously any links in the above post are probably NSFW
The baseball gods do not always punish the wicked but they will not just allow people to spit in their faces -- Joe Posnanski
I wish I would stop cheating. fuck. this is jctgamer's fault -- jponry
YOU TAKE THAT BACK!
Tommy Joseph is the Dingerzball Wizard
by SoFa King Mike on Aug 9, 2010 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
More random musing.
Tommy’s post AS break batting line — mostly the .300 OBP / .500 SLG — got me thinking: Are there major league hitters that have been productive with a high slugging percentage coupled with a below league average OBP?
A quick Play Index query with the follow criteria of min. 300 PAs, <= .310 OBP, and >= .500 SLG, created the following list. The list is sorted by batting runs above average.
Rk Player Rbat OBP SLG PA Year OPS
1 Juan Gonzalez 20 .304 .529 632 1992 .833
2 Tony Armas 20 .310 .500 666 1980 .810
3 Bob Horner 18 .307 .529 495 1980 .836
4 Dave Kingman 16 .286 .506 510 1976 .793
5 Tony Armas 9 .300 .531 679 1984 .831
6 Willie Stargell 9 .304 .501 442 1964 .805
7 Don Mincher 7 .300 .547 320 1964 .847
8 Fred Whitfield 7 .302 .500 383 1963 .802
9 Gus Zernial 7 .304 .508 454 1955 .812
10 Cory Snyder 5 .299 .500 433 1986 .799
11 Wally Post 4 .301 .506 586 1956 .807
12 Bill Robinson 3 .302 .504 455 1979 .805
13 Ernie Banks 3 .306 .503 657 1962 .809
14 Mike Jacobs 2 .299 .514 519 2008 .812
15 Marcus Thames 2 .292 .516 342 2008 .808
16 Tony Armas 2 .298 .514 410 1985 .812
17 Jesse Barfield 2 .296 .510 420 1983 .806
18 Alfonso Soriano 1 .309 .512 682 2005 .821
19 Richie Sexson -1 .305 .514 525 1999 .818
20 Tony Clark -1 .299 .503 411 1996 .802
21 Tony Batista -4 .307 .519 664 2000 .827
22 Garret Anderson -6 .307 .519 681 2000 .827
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/9/2010.
A mostly ick list. Juan Gonzalez ranks #1 for his 1992 season and the +20 batting runs he created. Lots of Tony Armas and even a Dave Kingman sighting. You’ve also got guys like Tony Bautista (super ick), Mike Jacobs, and Marcus Thames near the bottom. It appears to be really, really hard to be a successful hitter on power alone. To which you’re probably saying “duh”. Of course, these guys all did it at the MLB level and not in low-A baseball.
And of course, Joseph could get better, but fixing his plate approach should be a the top of his to-do list.
Ask me about my blog.
Woohoo!
Tommy Boy ranks up there with HOFer Ernie Banks and the great Willie Stargell – his success is guaranteed!!!!
Seriously though, he has to contnue his rate of improvement this month just to reach the numbers that the 17/18 year old AnVil put up in Augusta in 2008. The main point that I was trying to make is that he’s been heading in the right direction for a prolonged period of time – which gives some hope.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
He’s also learning how to be a Catcher at the professional level. He’s got a lot on his plate and he just turned 19 less than a month ago, and it’s his first taste of pro ball. I know you’re not bashing him, but I think people should back off from the cliff a little bit. The nice thing about really young prospects is that they are a lot more likely to take a huge leap in development than an older one who puts up similar mediocre numbers. If Joseph is still hitting like this in 4 years, then yeah he probably won’t amount to anything.
+1
I’m a big proponent of the theory that prospects must learn to deal with embarrasing failure for at least 1 prolonged period of time before they hit the majors. I much prefer for that to be early in their career when there’s less pressure and eyeballs on them.
It will be interesting to see what the Giants do with Tommy Boy next year. Based on recent experience, I’m sure that they’ll promote him to SJ with most of the rest of the team. I’d like to see them start him in Augusta again, then promote him to SJ during his first hot streak.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
+1
I think, at least to start next year, Hector Sanchez and Dan Burkhart should be the SJ catchers and Joseph should return to Augusta with Jeff Arnold.
I don’t think Joseph has earned a promotion and working with Arnold should help his defense.
Proud father of Mike Krukow (who is more than 3 times my age)
Grab Some Pine, Meat
Still cheering for Kevin Frandsen
John Bowker: One of the 3 best OF's on the Giants roster
Of course Stargell was just a kid still trying to learn how to hit big league pitching. The previous year (his rookie season) he’d posted an even worse .243/.290/.428. but he figured things out pretty quickly and went on to post a .360 OBP for his career. If I’m not mistaken Stargell also owns the distinction(?) of being the hitter most negatively affected by his original home in Forbes Field which was cavernous to the right-center power alley.
Wally Post, the previous year had had one of those great historic outlier seasons where he posted a .309/.372/.574 line with 40 HRs in what was essentially his second season in the majors. His follow up year (the line posted in Xanthan’s list) was the beginning of a long, deep, slide to mediocrity. Though he did mix in a couple more very good years, he never hit more than 22 HRs again.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Forbes Field!
I haven’t thought about that place in ages. That was one messed-up outfield. I remember that left field actually had a significant downward slope between the fence and the infield, not as bad as the little hump in the new Houston stadium, but it covered the whole field so that the left fielder had to run uphill when going back for a ball hit over his head.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Tony Bautista! Is he the one with the hilariously open batting stance? Like he’d start out sideways, with his shoulders square to the pitcher? I tried a GIS to find it, but there’s not much there, and it ended up being NSFW. Wish I could take back that last minute of my life.
Also known to haunt as theghostoftravisdenker and theaccidentalghostofsergioromo.
Adopted parent of good old Wendell, he tries so hard. You'll get a hit someday son!
by theghostofjasonellison on Aug 9, 2010 2:31 PM PDT up reply actions
Batista. Not Bautista.
by North Side Chicago Expatriate Giants Fan on Aug 9, 2010 5:40 PM PDT up reply actions
He’s really young. I’ll worry if he’s not making adjustments 3 years from now in AA.
Mike Piazza sucked his first 2 years in the minors too. And he was a little bit older.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=piazza001mic
Shots from last nights AZL game
Rookie league games only get about 3 innings of usable light but here are a couple
Nice pics
As always. I’m curious if your observations of RafRod in AZ are similar to mine in SK in that he seems either very slow or lazy in his approach, both hitting and on defense.
Adopted father of Brian Bocock, Brad Boyer, Sharlon Schoop, Shane Jordan, Jeremiah Luster,Trey Webb,David Quinowski, and Jeff Arnold.
"GM Jack Zduriencik is one of the sharper tools in the shed. Elsewhere in that shed, Brian Sabean continues to pound screws into bricks with a garden rake."
+1
Great stuff as usaual Joe! Congrats on moving your pics off of Flickr. Too bad that guys like Roibal and Dunnington only pitch after dark so you can’t get any good shots of them.
Any eyewitness observations of the prospects that you care to share would always be greatly appreciated. Even if it’s just links to something that you’ve posted on your own site.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Yeah I have yet to get Roibal, Bean, or really any of the relievers in the AZL for that exact reason. There is a double header today with the first game starting at 5pm, but unfortunately I can’t make it.
In terms of Jacob, I actually have a lot of photos of him from ST and EST.
So glad to get photos off of Flickr, they really suck. This new gallery is still a work in progress as I need to build a search tool and re tag every photo…time consuming…
+1
Awesome photos, Joe.
And Dunnington looks like a middle schooler.
"I wanted to pick a Rockie. But I dislike the Rockies. They're not bona fide." — Jon Miller on the postgame wrap, 7/1/10
by Giant Fan in Singapore on Aug 9, 2010 2:08 PM PDT up reply actions
STRAIGHTEN OUT THAT CAP KID
by North Side Chicago Expatriate Giants Fan on Aug 9, 2010 5:41 PM PDT up reply actions
thx
Yeah Raf Rod has never impressed me at all actually. He’s got a massive uppercut swing and doesn’t have very good mechanics at the plate. On defense, his routes to the ball are scary and his glove work is near horrible. I’ve watched at least over 80 games he’s played in and the progress hasn’t been amazing from day 1 to now.
I’ve always felt you could draw his route with an Etch a Sketch.
Adopted father of Brian Bocock, Brad Boyer, Sharlon Schoop, Shane Jordan, Jeremiah Luster,Trey Webb,David Quinowski, and Jeff Arnold.
"GM Jack Zduriencik is one of the sharper tools in the shed. Elsewhere in that shed, Brian Sabean continues to pound screws into bricks with a garden rake."
OT: FERNANDO MARTINEZ IS SPANISH FOR CHRIS SNELLING LOL!
I complained about the totally irrelevant-to-our-lives BBM Chat thing on the sidebar and… they’ve removed the comments section over there.
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
"Out, out, Fred Lewis!" - JCTillam Gamerspeare
BUY BLACKBERRY PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES
Dearest, Susan - The Patron Saint of Patience
by Lars The Wanderer on Aug 9, 2010 1:30 PM PDT up reply actions
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