http://www.drivelinemechanics.com/2008/12/12/690384/pitching-mechanics-robert

Summary:

Overall, I really like his mechanics! I think his shoulder will hold up fairly well, and the hard pronated release of his fastball will do a lot to protect his elbow (and give him life on his fastball, which he is known for). We can't know for sure how he throws his slider (without high speed video), but it's probably a supinated release and thus dangerous on his arm. In general, I prefer supinated curves to sliders due to the pressure a slider puts on the elbow, but I realize that sliders are called strikes more frequently and are easier to learn to throw.

Don't know enough to know if he knows what he's talking about, but it adds more information.

I do believe him about the scap-loading, and just seeing a pitcher scap load makes my shoulders hurt.

Take a look and see what else he says about Ross.

R

I've heard repeatedly that Botts didn't "do anything with his chance."

Well, here's a couple of other people who didn't "do anything with their chances" either in a 50 AB stint when they were first able to accumulate 50 AB in a year, so obviously, they must suck, too:

Player A: .216/.293/.431 in 51 AB

Player B: .220/.317/.360 in 50 AB

Player C: .220/.291/.360 in 50 AB

Player D: .160/.236/.320 in 50 AB

Player E: .180/.196/.360 in 50 AB

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http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3099599

Two guys who Adam's had some interest in have been traded for each other.

The Phillies sent outfielder Michael Bourn, pitcher Geoff Geary and minor leaguer Mike Costanzo to Houston, and received infielder Eric Bruntlett in addition to Lidge.

I like Houston's side to it.

While Lidge is good, he's been up-and-down the past couple of years....

Interestingly enough, the Astros have Pence in CF (though I'm not sure if they'll keep him there). So, potentially, this might open up a deal for one of CF.... Req

NL GG Winners

P Greg Maddux
C Brad Ausmus
1B Albert Pujols
2B Orlando Hudson
SS Omar Vizquel
3B Scott Rolen
OF Carlos Beltran
OF Mike Cameron
OF Andruw Jones

Dewan's all-fielding team

First Base - Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals (87 points)
Second Base - Orlando Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks (90)
Third Base - Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners (78)
Shortstop - Adam Everett, Houston Astros (98)
Left Field - Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (87)
Center Field - Carlos Beltran, New York Mets (90)
Right Field - Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners (95)
Catcher - Ivan Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers (96)
Pitcher - Greg Maddux, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers (78)

I agree a lot more with the Dewan' All-fielding team than the GGs....

Brad Ausmus?
Vizquel over Everett?
Andruw Jones (he has not been very good over the past couple of years)?

I think it's better to just ignore the Gold Gloves. Hmmmm, maybe that's what I should have done.... Oh, well.

Req

AL defense

and

NL defense

# are above average (RSpt is Runs Saved total,  RS/150 is per 150 games)

Texas Players:

Player     GP   INN   RSpt RS/150
Barajas    94   825.0   1     1
Teixeira  159  1399.0   2     2
Kinsler   119  1032.0  -3    -3
Blalock   122  1063.7   1     1
M Young   155  1356.3   4     4
Wilkerson  80   664.3  -5    -9
Matthews  142  1227.0  -8    -9
DeRosa     60   512.0   2     6
Mench      57   489.7  -6   -16
C Lee(MIL) 98   835.3  -3    -5

Some other notables:

Player      GP   INN   RSpt RS/150
A Gonzalez 155 1341.0   5     5
Soriano    158 1374.7   5     5
D Roberts  116  970.0  14    19
Cameron    141 1244.0   8     9
Giles      158 1399.7  12    11
Pierre     162 1426.0  16    15
Lofton     120  961.0  -2    -3
V Wells    150 1290.3  12    13

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Thought I'd post a diary of this since a lot of the information seems to be scattered. This is a further analysis of what I posted earlier. I'm basically using comparisons of what free agents were considered in earlier rankings.

There are some funky ratings that I'm not sure if they're a fluke or not, which might make these comparisons completely wrong, though. So this is just a guesstimate.

Continue reading this post »

Freddy Garcia with a perfect game through 7.....

Watch him give something up in the 8th because of this post....

To get over the word limit,

that's a no-hitter from Anibal Sanchez, a no-hit bid for Randy Johnson and Freddy with this bid all within the span of less than a week.....

Freddy Garcia with a perfect game through 7.....
Freddy Garcia with a perfect game through 7.....
Freddy Garcia with a perfect game through 7.....

Req

It looks like Big Papi is shilling for MVP votes and throwing his teammates under a bus while doing so....

"Don't get me wrong -- he's a great player, having a great season, but he's got a lot of guys in that lineup," Ortiz continued. "Top to bottom, you've got a guy who can hurt you. Come hit in this lineup, see how good you can be."

He also doesn't mention having Manny right behind him (who's likely a BETTER hitter than Ortiz) to provide for that ever-elusive "protection" in the lineup.

Chalk another one to the "baseball players can be dumb sometimes" theory.

Link to story

Req

Ok, I've seen it used on this site before....

But now I've seen it used on a poll at ESPN.com

Now, when the heck did dominate become an adjective?

I've looked at Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, and, heck, even UrbanDictionary.com  and none of them references an adjective form for dominate.

Is this word usage occurring because people can't differentiate between a verb (dominate) and an adjective (dominant)?

It obviously can't be a misspelling of dominated, because that is pretty much the OPPOSITE meaning of dominant.

I don't get this.

Req

Rumblings: Clubs Notified that Draft Pick Compensation to be Dropped in Upcoming CBA

Link to story

snippet:

Ken Davidoff of Newsday reported just over a week ago that teams may no longer receive draft picks as compensation for free agents who leave as part of the upcoming CBA....

This would explain, in part, why Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee have been on the trading block. Both the Nationals and Rangers have been hot to try and get something for these two players before free agency forces both clubs to possibly walk away without anything for these two top players that were not dealt at the trading deadline.

If this is the case, it makes the Lee deal look quite a bit worse....

Req