SB Nation User Blog: Jason Collette

Alex Rodriguez - surgery

Jason Collette — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:25:12 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3954457

ESPN is reporting that A-Rod needs to have surgery on that cyst and will be out 10 weeks.

That is certainly good news to us and the rest of the AL East with A-Rod missing one-third of the season. The circus is already in full swing in the Bronx and the season has not even begun. It should be a fun year.

from Newberg Report: Turnblow is a Ranger

Jason Collette — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:05:41 -0000

It's either pathetic or sorta funny that this is my life: The kids made it
until about 11:35 before running out of gas, and I just sat down to my
computer minutes after the clock struck midnight, and the first news of 2009
is that, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the Rangers have reached a
tentative agreement with free agent righthander Derrick Turnbow on a
one-year contract. The 30-year-old, who closed games for Milwaukee in 2005
with Mike Maddux as his pitching coach, reportedly chose Texas over Florida
and Pittsburgh.

Gurnick describes the deal as a minor league contract that would pay Turnbow
$925,000 if he makes the big league staff, with an additional $325,000 in
performance incentives.

Red Sox Front Office talking smack

Jason Collette — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:15:14 -0000

Douchenozzles

It is this elitist entitlement attitude that pisses me off. The dirt has been kicked at the team - time to stick it to them and tell them to sit the f*ck down!

Just put this on a continual loop in the clubhouse for the next couple of days.

I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston, I hate Boston

No Way Rays, Boston or New York will win the East

Jason Collette — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:16:14 -0000

I was already in a foul mood this morning for a few reasons. One - it's Monday, and I'm coming off a weekend where I had to put in 20 hours of overtime for work to fix a lot of messes. I sit down to my Google homepage which shows the title above from this article.

In every other precinct outside New York and New England, there remains the hope that baseball's feel-good story still can deliver the goods. The Tampa Bay Rays making the postseason would be as close as baseball has come to the '69 Mets since . . . well, since the '69 Mets.

If you are objective, then it would be impossible for you not to embrace the Rays, a collection of underpaid kids and overachieving veterans managed by a smart baseball man named Joe Maddon who have captured the sport's collective imagination for the season's first two-thirds.

Even this morning, the Rays wake up clear of the behemoths, a game up on the Red Sox and three up on the Yankees. They are 18 games over .500, they are already but nine games shy of the all-time franchise record of 70 wins set four years ago, when they still had a Devil in their name, the only time in their decade of existence when they finished out of last place.

It would be a hell of a story, the Rays finishing ahead of the Red Sox, ahead of the Yankees. A hell of a baseball story. A hell of a Cinderella story.

Too bad it isn't going to happen.

This kind of snobbery should not be a shock coming from a joke of a paper that is widely considered a tabloid and an insult to journalism, but it is this kind of attitude that just pisses me off - and should piss off the Rays as a team.

It leaves the Rays, who this morning still lord over the Sox and the Yanks, who have refused to submit even as the footsteps behind them have grown louder and more threatening. They are a good story. Easy to root for. And unless this weekend was merely a terrible tease, just a week or two away from seeing a couple of blurs zip by them in the passing lane.

I'm tired of reading about everyone waiting for this team to fail because they're in Tampa and not in the Northeast. Why not focus on the best storyline of all: a team with 1/5th of the Boston payroll and 1/10th of the New York payroll is in 1st place on July 28th.

Watch David Price pitch live tonight

Jason Collette — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:51:41 -0000

The Montgomery Biscuits are able to live stream a lot of games. Tonight is one of those times as Price pitches the front end of a double header.

http://raycom.playonsports.tv/wsfa/?eventId=4954

They are making up a rain out from last night. The announcer sounds like he is talking through a tin can, but the video is a nice feed. Maybe the AA Rays can actually score runs unlike their major league brethren who can't hit with a 2x4 right now.

Anemic is too kind a word for this offense

Jason Collette — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:57:13 -0000

via 66.222.163.244

During this 4 game losing streak, the team is hitting .184 with a .250 OBP and .287 SLG%.

25 for 136 at the plate with 6 extra base hits (2 2B, 4 HR), 12 BB, 36 K's, and 7 runs.

Of course, 2 of the 4 games came against lefties who continue to shut this team down (team now hitting .245 against them this year).

Something has to change. I'd start with the lineup. Our #3 hitter has a .350 OBP but a .309 SLG% since June 10th. If a guy can't drive in runs but can get on base, try him out in the leadoff spot.

Tomorrow will be just as ugly against the best lefty in the game right now if we roll this same lineup out there. They have had 4 days to show something and have shown absolutely nothing.

Hit B.J. leadoff

Jason Collette — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:35:25 -0000

Yes, I know baseball is not managed by numbers, but I'm a numbers guy so hear me out.

I used the Lineup Analyzer tool from Baseball Musings and inputted our typical 9 players that make up the lineup card against RHP.

The results were quite interesting. According to the system as it crunches numbers, our 20 best lineups all start with Upton being our leadoff hitter. The full results of that analysis can be found here.

The most optimal lineup we can put out there against RHP is:

1 - Upton
2 - Hinske
3 - Navarro
4 - Longoria
5 - Floyd
6 - Pena
7 - Crawford
8 - Bartlett
9 - Iwamura

That lineup could score us 5.427 runs per contest. If you follow the full results link above, you'll see that most of the worst case scenario lineups involve Crawford hitting leadoff or Iwamura hitting in the 2 hole.

Harden traded to the Cubs

Jason Collette — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:38:36 -0000

Harden and Gaudin Sent to Chicago; A?s Acquire Donaldson, Gallagher, Murton and Patterson.

That's another solid pitcher out of the American League. Stunning it happened today, but the deal is done. Scratch Murton off the table for us acquiring a RH OF. I think that is a nice haul for the A's but the Cubs are clearly in good shape to slug it out with Milwaukee. St. Louis can kiss their butts good bye.

Sabathia is going to the NL

Jason Collette — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:25:07 -0000

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/07/06/brewers-indians-agree-on-sabathia.aspx

Brewers, Indians agree on Sabathia By Tom Haudricourt Sunday, Jul 6 2008, 05:46 PM I just was told by a reliable club source that the Brewers have a deal in place with Cleveland for left-hander C.C. Sabathia, contingent on the paperwork being done and medical records exchanged. But believe me, folks, that's a deal. All that other stuff is formality. All I know so far is that top prospect Matt LaPorta is in the deal. I was told two lower-level minor leaguers also are included. The Brewers refused to include another top prospect such as Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel. Look for Sabathia to make his debut for the Brewers Tuesday night at Miller Park against Colorado. I'll post more details as I get them.

Let's celebrate that he's not coming to the AL East and that we're not giving up huge chunks of the future for someone we cannot realistically sign this off-season.

Can Evan be even better?

Jason Collette — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:04:53 -0000

courtesy of FantasyBaseballGenerals

Patrick DiCaprio takes a look at Evan and just how good he has been. The article is written with a fantasy slant, but it is still a good read and makes it even tougher to temper expectations with him.

He is poised to become the third rookie in the last 50 years to have 15 HR 20 2B and 50 RBI by the All-Star Break. Is it possible that he is underrated right now?

As hard as it is to believe I think the answer is yes. I have been reading a lot of concerns about his batting average, and today heard the opinion that he is a far better real baseball player than a fantasy player because of his defense. He is one hell of a fantasy player, and could easily be a top 20 player in the second half.