SB Nation User Blog: Cap'n Snegiryov

[In the Yankees' clubhouse, post-WS victory] Mark Teixeira wore goggles and talked about how God...

Cap'n Snegiryov — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:11:59 -0000

[In the Yankees' clubhouse, post-WS victory] Mark Teixeira wore goggles and talked about how God led him to the right team.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/11/05/yankees/index.html/?eref=sihp

Buzz Bissinger still hasn't read Moneyball.

Cap'n Snegiryov — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:03:34 -0000

Buzz Bissinger still hasn't read Moneyball.

To summarize his argument, "Moneyball" is dead because:

1. OBP was never all that cool to begin with--the A's were great in the early 2000s because of Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito, as evidenced primarily by the fact that they won a combined 149 games over three seasons [no circular reasoning going on there!].

2. "Only" 3 of Beane's 7 draft picks detailed in the book are still in the majors [he conveniently leaves out the fact that two of these draft picks, Joe Blanton and Nick Swisher, have played major roles on the two teams currently favored to make the World Series].

3. In 2009, the playoffs have been dominated by big-budget teams [never mind that the Twins and Rockies made the playoffs, or that the Rays reached the World Series last year, or that the Indians and the Rockies made deep postseason runs in 2007].

I hate this "debate," because it's tired, stupid, and really only matters to writers like Bissinger, as the rest of baseball has moved on. But I thought this piece was noteworthy in its poor reasoning and use of cherry-picked evidence.

Santana named Eastern League MVP

Cap'n Snegiryov — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:32:13 -0000

Santana named Eastern League MVP

As the author points out, this is the second year Santana has won a league MVP award (he was the California League MVP in 2008).

Kevin Goldstein's Top 11 Indians Prospects

Cap'n Snegiryov — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:41:51 -0000

Kevin Goldstein's Top 11 Indians Prospects

Not many surprises here. LaPorta and Santana are 1/2 and both are given five stars. Weglarz is third with four stars, and then there is a massive grouping of three star prospects that includes Miller, Mills, Rondon, and Huff. Goldstein has a lot of nice things to say about the depth in our system, pointing out that no prospect in our top 11 has fewer than a three star rating.

Indians on Facebook

Cap'n Snegiryov — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:34:14 -0000

In general, I get a huge kick out of finding famous athletes on Facebook and friending them. I haven't been terribly successful with it, but I have managed to friend Amobi Okoye (Houston Texans DT) and Chuck Lofgren. Pretty sad and fanboy-ish, I know, but I think it's kind of a fun perspective to get on people who you normally only hear about in scouting reports or game write-ups.

Anyways, I'm wondering: which, if any, Indians/Bisons/Aeros/K-Tribe/whatever players have you found on Facebook and friended? Any interesting results? In fact, I'll broaden my query to include MySpace as well, because I know some of you are 30 year old creepy townies and thus only function on MySpace. Also, I am friends with Leigh Bodden on there (who else knew he read Nietzsche?)

Pedroia's Brother (Link Removed)

Cap'n Snegiryov — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:00:44 -0000

Pedroia's Brother (Link Removed)

(See my comment below - Ryan)

Seattle hires Zduriencik as their new GM

Cap'n Snegiryov — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:26:29 -0000

Seattle hires Zduriencik as their new GM

Most of you all probably saw this, but today Seattle announced the hiring of Jack Z . .duri . . .???. . . whatever as their new GM.

If I were a Seattle fan, I'd be excited about this hire. Jack Z is very highly regarded as a talent evaluator and scout. I know some of their fans (particularly the posters on U.S.S. Mariner) were hoping for a new school analytical type, a la Chris Antonetti, but Z's skills can help them draft and build a player development system as well or better than any of the other candidates who were up for the job.

I like track and field. I liked watching Usain Bolt win the 100 and 200 meters. That's how I think...

Cap'n Snegiryov — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:16:30 -0000

I like track and field. I liked watching Usain Bolt win the 100 and 200 meters. That's how I think I look in my mind when I'm stealing a base.

Jhonny Peralta, on watching the 2008 Olympics.

So if we're not contending. . .

Cap'n Snegiryov — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:45:32 -0000

who are you rooting for? Anyone?

I'm not trying to write the Tribe off prematurely or anything, but this season is quickly going the way of 2006--our bullpen may be as bad as it was then, and our offense is certainly much worse. If we do decide to punt, this season will become interesting for different reasons than we'd hoped (the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes), and if you want to watch meaningful August and September baseball, you'll be watching another team play it.

My question to LGT is this: will you take a rooting interest in another team, or do you already have one? Of course, any support I give other MLB teams will be subordinate and a distant second to my love of the Tribe, but if your team is going to be as soul-crushingly boring and disappointing as the Indians have become this year, I don't see what's wrong with having a bit of an open relationship with it.

My picks:

1.) Atlanta. This is going to be my new home starting in August, and I'm going to be residing there for at least three years (and probably more). Outside of a handful of games in 1995, I've always found a lot to like about the Braves--I've always admired the way they run their organization and fuel their success through homegrown talent, and their rosters are always filled with been toolsy, athletic types who are fun to watch. Bobby Cox is great, Chipper Jones' flirting with a .400 BA is awesome, Brian McCann has been a beast for my fantasy team, and Jeff Francouer just seems cool as hell (and I have to make the customary mention of his cannon throwing arm). Also, one of their TV announcers--I think their play-by-play guy--did a chat on Baseball Prospectus not long ago, which is awesome. Plus, they're a National League team, and I can appreciate the symmetry of rooting for both an AL and an NL team with a vaguely racist name. They're 4.5 games back in a bunched-up NL East, so they're right in the mix of things, and most importantly, their fans aren't obnoxious, which is huge (this is keeping me from liking the Cubs). So, yay Braves!

2.) Tampa Bay. Duh. This team is young, full of awesome talent, has a smart, stats-friendly FO, and most importantly, is making life absolutely miserable for the established powers of the AL East. They start fistfights with the Red Sox and Yankees, Kazmir and Shields are sick, Joel Maddon is weird and a great manager, BJ Upton is great and really underrated, and the Troy Percival comeback is a really cool story. If they make the playoffs, that means either Boston or New York doesn't, so ipso facto, I like this team.

3.) Oakland A's. Basically, I want to see Billy Beane get a ring, so guys like Bill Plaschke can shove it.

What do you all think? Anything?

Carroll: Cleveland's Favorite Eckstein

Cap'n Snegiryov — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:35:22 -0000

Carroll: Cleveland's Favorite Eckstein

Crap. I knew it was only a matter of time before this happened.

"Pest." "Hustle." "Slightly-built." "Running out" things. And the very worst of them all: "A throwback type of player."

The celebration of tiny, mediocre, slap-hitting jockey-looking little men continues. (To be fair, I like Carroll--decent on-base skills, good pickup as a utility infielder. But come on people--for the sake of all that is good and right in this world, we can't let this go any further)