SB Nation User Blog: Shoeless In SC

Manny suspended 50 games for PEDs

Shoeless In SC — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:49:52 -0000

Manny suspended 50 games for PEDs

He's expected to attribute it to some supplement he uses for personal issues... the truth of his test is expected to leak later today. He tested positive during spring training, that much is known. The story is developing.

More support for a Steroids Era Room in the Hall of Fame? Discuss.

Pods Returns - A Knight in The Castle

Shoeless In SC — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:28:49 -0000

Charlotte Photo Album

So last night my girlfriend and I made the drive up to Fort Mill, SC, to see the mighty Knights take on the Durham Bulls at 7:15 ET. It was a cool night, about 66 degrees at game time, cooling down to 60 by game's end. We had seats right behind the Knight's dugout on the 1B side, at the edge of the netting. With as many foul balls hit, I was glad we were relatively safe from a concussive blast.

I am not an experienced photographer, and my girlfriend claimed to be, so I allowed her to take the pics. She actually took some fairly solid pics on her Canon digital. I think I will bring her back for another game :)

When we first found our seats, I took out the program, told her the people I wanted pics of, and went out to find an ATM to grab some beer, hot dogs, and diet coke for the lady. It took me forever to find an ATM, and once I finally got the refreshments and sat down, I had missed the top half of the first. I did however, get to see Pods lead off.

It was kids' night at the Castle, and there were kids all around me banging thundersticks and playing with their WebKinz... needless to say I was anxious for the 7th inning to get there and for them to leave and go to bed.

As for the product on the field...

Well Lance Broadway looked fairly sharp. He was touching the low 90's on his fastball. He had a runner on 2nd with 1 out in the 2nd inning and proceeded to get the next two out. He looked poised, I must say, and never truly got into trouble until the 6th inning. I don't recall Armstrong or the pitching coach ever coming to the mound during his start.

On the other side, Wade Davis looked impressive. His fastball consistently sat in the 90-93 range. It's important to note that from my angle I couldn't see much break on the pitches, so I can't make any note on those. Velocity and location were the only two characteristics of the pitches I could note.

An interesting thing happened in the 6th when Adam Kennedy was IBB'd to get to Ray Sadler. This actually paid off as Kennedy was forced out at 2B.

Kennedy would have the only home run of the game, coming in the 8th inning off of Adam Russell. Russell, as big as he is, must throw flat heat. He only walked one in 2 innings of work, but his fastballs got knocked around pretty good. And yes, Charlotte does carry pretty well.

Pods would single to the opposite field(!) and made only routine plays in CF. One ball got over his head and he proceeded to miss the catch at the wall. At least there were no big-time goofs this time.

Wassermann pitched a solid 9th, giving up just one hit. He didn't strike anyone out. I don't believe he touched 90 once.

Armstrong managed a hit in the ninth, a screaming double to the wall, and this was the only highlight of his night at the plate. He didn't look so good during the rest of his at bats.

I hope to spend more time on my next recap, and go more in depth, but for now I must go to work. I leave you all with about 70 pictures from the night. Enjoy the pictures of the deliveries my gf took.

Oh and sorry about the pun in the title... I couldn't resist!

The link to the picture album is above...

Here's the link to the box scores and the recap

Recap

Box

Smells Like Mascot: Battle for Center, Again

Shoeless In SC — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:22:39 -0000

Smells Like Mascot: Battle for Center, Again

Oh Aaron Rowand...

Charlotte Knights Meetup

Shoeless In SC — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:41:33 -0000

Charlotte Knights Meetup

Who in the southeast thinks they will make it out to a Charlotte game this spring and summer? I live 20 minutes from Knights Stadium so I'm always down for a meetup.

That link is the schedule. Opening day is April 9th, a Thursday, and I do know that I will be there for that.

Thirsty Thursdays are $2 beers and $1 sodas =D

Brad Evans - Yahoo! Fantasy Analyst on Viciedo

Shoeless In SC — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:30:38 -0000

Brad Evans - Yahoo! Fantasy Analyst on Viciedo

Fantasy Forecast, Video of him whiffing at sliders

Ron Shandler Baseball Forecaster

Shoeless In SC — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:18:10 -0000

http://www.baseballhq.com/books/bf.shtml

I just saw this as a recommended on Amazon as I was ordering my BP 2009. Anyone read it? What's the format, and how has his projections fared in the past?

I do fantasy baseball and take it pretty seriously.

Amazon had some pretty high marks from the consumers. Would I just be buying another BP, essentially? I've bought the Bill James books in the past, but they are not really interesting reads and mostly just filled with past stats.

Lineup Analysis

Shoeless In SC — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:56:51 -0000

So must of us have used the lineup analysis tool over at baseball musings in the past. With a lot of talk on here about who Ozzie will bat where, etc, I thought I'd try and find out if this tool supports any one lineup heavily over another.

Granted, this is just one tool, and it's the only one of its kind that I am aware of. If someone knows a better one, please share.

For those who have used this before, you know what I did. I put in 9 players in a specific order, 1-9, and plugged in there OBP and SLG as projected by Bill James for 2008.

The first lineup I put in was:

Owens, Cabrera, Thome, Konerko, Swisher, Dye, Fields, Uribe, Pierzynski. This lineup resulted in 5.339 runs per game.

The best lineup it gave was Swisher, Thome, Cabrera, Fields, Konerko, Dye, Pierzynski, Uribe, Owens. This resulted in 5.479 runs per game, and increase of .140.

The worst lineup it gave was Uribe, Cabrera, Fields, Owens, Pierzynski, Swisher, Konerko, Thome, and Dye. This resulted in 5.025 runs per game, a decrease of .314.

Now... I decided to swap some players and see what would happen with the Runs Per Game.

First, swap Uribe with Richar. The same lineup order as before produced 5.410 runs per game, an increase of .071. The best order for the Richar lineup produced 5.568 runs per game, an increase of .209 or so.

Next, I put Uribe back in the lineup and swapped Quentin for Owens. Again, some order, with Quentin now leading off inplace of Owens, and this lineup generated 5.449 runs per game. The best lineup generated 5.565 runs per game. There was in increase of .110 and .226 respectively.

Now, for what we all may hope and pray for... Quentin and Richar starting in place for Owens and Uribe. What would that lineup produce, if Quentin led off? 5.520 runs per game The best order of lineup would produce 5.649 runs per game

So... a recap.

Owens and Uribe in lineup: 5.339 (Ozzie lineup), 5.479 (best) 5.025 (worst)

Owens and Richar in lineup: 5.410 (Ozzie lineup), 5.568 (Best)

Quentin and Uribe in lineup: 5.449 (Ozzie lineup), 5.565 (Best)

Quentin and Richar in lineup: 5.520 (Ozzie lineup) 5.649 (Best)

What this would suggest is that if Owens and URibe were replaced with Quentin and Richar, and put in the most efficient order, our lineup could produce .210 more runs per game. What that means over the course of a full season... I don't know. I would like to believe that Richar and Quentin would have a greater impact than that.

That was a fun way to kill time while I ate my dinner. Thoughts?

MLB The Show 2008

Shoeless In SC — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:08:14 -0000

My bud recently got the Show 2008 for PS2 and I've played about a half dozen games in the past two days. I played as the Sox, of course, and I have some thoughts...

The ball doesn't fly off Swisher's bat as much as I expected. I am not absolutely terrible at the game, but I got one hit with Swisher, and it was a blooping single. I went like 1-10 with him. I think his power is underrated in the game.
Dye is absolutely atrocious in RF. I actually subbed him out and replaced him with Jerry Owens. I immediately noticed an improvement when Francouer hit a slicer down the line and Jerry got to it no problem. I had someone (I forget who) score an in-the-park home run on a shot down the RF line. The guy was half-way to third by the time Dye got to the ball.
Small sample size, sure... but Juan Uribe is a God in the Show. I went 3-4 with a double shy of the cycle. Yes, you read that right... Juanny hit a triple. A legit triple. Another game Juanny went 2-4. I turned on a high fastball and sent it to the seats in dead center of Turner Field.
Quentin has some pop. For some reason the Show made him a retard on the basepaths though. The game is kinda annoying with its pickoff sequence... especially when the catcher throws to firstbase in an attempted pickoff. Quentin trotted casually back to 1B and got CS. I was like "WTF?! Get back!"
Fields got some serious pop. I caught a fastball down the middle and sent it flying. The homerun sequences are pretty cool, as you get to see an individual player's own Homerun strut. Fields just kinda stared at his as he walked down the line. Nothing special.
AJ cannot catch a curveball in the dirt or throw anyone out at 2nd base to save his life. I seriously had 4 passed balls on swung-on-and missed curveballs that were low. This always seemed to happen when someone speedy was at 3rd base. Runs insued.
Swisher is not awful in CF. He's a little slower, but he has a cannon of an arm that makes up for it.
Bobby Jenks' curveball is impossible to hit. It's so filthy it's not fair. Throw in some high heat at 96 MPH, and a decent slider, and you've got a lethal pitcher. Every now and then someone will catch up to the slider and knock it to the wall, so I don't mess with it. I stick with the filth.
Javy is pretty darned filthy, but he is far from unhittable. I had a typical Javy outing, striking out everyone I didn't allow hits to. Buehrle, I thought, is a little easier to succeed with because of his junk.
Wasserman is filthy too. His sidearm delivery is incredibly hard to follow and his stuff has some really awesome movement. Aside from Linebrink and Bobby, I think Wasserman has the best stuff in the bullpen. Logan ain't bad either. I didn't touch Dewon Day, and MacDougal and Thornton had less than spectacular stuff. MacDougal's slider is kinda filthy though if thrown outside the zone. Bottom line... I am really impressed with Wasserman in the game.
a) Some general thoughts on the game... I think it's glitchy in some parts. It freezes sometimes after you go to the menus, like say to the bullpen.

b) Your bud can scroll through your menus when you pause the game (like, say, to make a sub or warm someone up) You can see that when playing someone drunk how quickly this can get old. It makes no sense why they allowed this.

c) The guess pitch feature is kinda useful. If you're facing someone of limited pitches, like say a curve, and two fastballs, you can guess the curve. If the screen doesn't flash, you know you're getting a fastball. If it does flash, you know you're getting the curve. Pretty neat feature.

d) The pickoff ordeal is kinda tricky and favors the defense. Baserunners don't always get back as fast as they should and pickoffs ensue more than they do in real-life.

e) Don't pitch fastballs to power hitters. Ever. Like with Texiera. Ever. I sent him a high Bobby Jenks fastball, out of the zone, like at his face, and he hit a walk-off homer.

f) You can't argue calls, or get your manager tossed. When you visit the mound, you can't calm your pitcher down, or stall the game, etc. That sucks. The EA game was a bit superior in this regard. I kinda wish they still made the EA games.

Overall, the game is deserving of the 8.0 or so that IGN gave it. It is glitchy, and there are some issues, but I hear it's much better than 2K8. That's just from what I've read, as I haven't played 2K8. Maybe I will soon.

The Legend. Here?

Shoeless In SC — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 07:10:17 -0000

K. So you've all probably discussed this a bazillion times, and if there's already a poll up about this then I'll remove it, but I'm curious now that Torii is outta the picture.

Should Kenny shell out the cash to get Rowand? He'll likely cost less than what Torii got, and probably around what Kenny offered for Torii (5/75). Is that reasonable?

Would any of you take Rowand back for anything less than 15 million a year? What's your cutoff point? Do you guys want Rowand back at all? Or who would you rather want? Fukodome? Both Fukodome and Rowand?

So... the question remains... Rowand or no?

Just so we're clear, I want the Legend back here. Real bad. Like there's an itch that only Rowand can scratch.

Update [2007-11-28 10:28:21 by Shoeless In SC]: Well, apparently Rowand won't be coming here so this journal is basically useless. Blast it all to hell! Just when I was getting my hopes up again...

Rowand says no

Poll

Bring back the Legend?

Yay

15 votes

Nay - Give me Fukodome

30 votes

Nay - Give me Sweeney, Anderson, Owens

7 votes

Nay - Bring back the Fairy Grinders

0 votes

52 votes | Poll has closed

Yahoo's Jeff Passan - Free Agent class rankings

Shoeless In SC — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:55:45 -0000

Thought this was interesting. He ranks them according to talks with agents, scouts, and execs.

FIRST BASEMEN

Tony Clark (35) - Not a good sign when the best of the bunch spent last season in a platoon.
Sean Casey (33) - Still can hit. Just not for power (four homers in 454 at-bats).
Doug Mientkiewicz (33) - Slugged .440 last year and is still a defensive whiz
Ryan Klesko (36) - Nice bat off the bench.
Mark Sweeney (38) - Needs 50 more pinch hits to pass Lenny Harris for first all-time.
Greg Norton (35) - After 17 homers in '06, hit just four last year.
Eric Hinske (30) - Pretty sure he won't be getting a $14.75 million deal this time around.
Robert Fick (34) - Could help in a utility role.

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SECOND BASEMEN

Kazuo Matsui (32) - Big postseason means big payday.
Luis Castillo (32) SIGNED - Completed deal with Mets for $25 million, four years.
Tadahito Iguchi (33) - Could be a bargain.
Mark Loretta (36) - Still gets on base and doesn't strike out.
Marcus Giles (29) - Two years ago, he'd have been in the top 20.
Jose Valentin (38) - Coming off an injury, he'll get a flyer somewhere.
Damion Easley (38) - SIGNED Re-signed with the Mets for $950,000 over one year.
Tony Graffanino (35) - Versatile, and a bat with some pop.
Miguel Cairo (33) - Intangible guy, not much more.

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SHORTSTOPS

David Eckstein (33) - Could be substantially overpaid because of waif shortstop class.
Chris Gomez (36) - Repeat: Chris Gomez is the second-best free-agent shortstop.
Chris Woodward (31) - Somehow, entering his 10th season.
Royce Clayton (38) - Could sign with his 12th team.
Ramon Martinez (35) - Only 29 home runs in nearly 2,000 career at-bats.
Neifi Perez (34) - Officially the worst player in the class of '08, and he's still got time left on his amphetamine suspension. Could this be the end of the Neifi Index?

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THIRD BASEMEN

Alex Rodriguez (32) - SIGNED One more record contract - this time $275 million - will take him to the end of his career in pinstripes.
Mike Lowell (34) - SIGNED Agrees to $37.5 million, three-year deal with Red Sox.
Mike Lamb (32) - Just watch. The most underrated player of the class could flourish with full-time at-bats.
Pedro Feliz (32) - Should have won NL Gold Glove and can hit homers. If only he knew how to take a walk.
Geoff Blum (34) - SIGNED Versatile glove, clutch bat goes home to Astros in a one-year, $1.1 million deal.
Aaron Boone (35) - Yeah, he's still playing.
Abraham Nuñez (32) - Never could match breakout '05 season.
Russell Branyan (32) - Couldn't even crack the Mendoza Line last year.
Jeff Cirillo (38) - May just retire.

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OUTFIELDERS

Andruw Jones (30) - One bad season does not a career make. He should pass 400-home run mark this year and - most important - has Scott Boras on his side.
Torii Hunter (32) - SIGNED Signed a five-year deal worth $90 million with Angels.
Barry Bonds (43) - Love him or hate him, the old man can still rake. UPDATE: Don't think anyone's going to be signing him anytime soon.
Kosuke Fukudome (30) - Former Central League MVP will cash in big-time, as teams don't have to pay a posting fee for him.
Aaron Rowand (30) - Picked the right time to have a career year.
Mike Cameron (35) - Picked the wrong time to test positive for amphetamines.
Jose Guillen (31) - So, how much of it was the steroids?
Brad Wilkerson (30) - If he can remember how to walk, he's got all the talent to be a star.
Milton Bradley (29) - Would be higher if he hadn't blown out a knee acting like a tough guy to an umpire.
Corey Patterson (28) - Still doesn't get it, and probably never will. But some team will sign him long term.
Geoff Jenkins (33) - Never had fewer than 17 home runs in a full season.
Shannon Stewart (34) - Make-good year was just OK. Certainly not up to his 2003 season.
Kenny Lofton (40) - Aiming for team No. 12, too.
Luis Gonzalez (40) - Looked halfway decent before the Dodgers' youth movement.
Shawn Green (35) - Remember when he was a star?
Cliff Floyd (35) - Plays like someone five years older.
Bobby Kielty (31) - Never has lived up to potential.
Rob Mackowiak (31) - Super-utility guy can help any team.
Reggie Sanders (40) - In 17 seasons, has never played more than 140 games.
Rondell White (36) - Injuries wracked his promising career as well.
Preston Wilson (33) - Speaking of injuries, coming off a 64-at-bat season.
Darin Erstad (33) - And in that vein, Erstad likewise looked washed-up last year.
Trot Nixon (33) - While we're at it ... you get the picture.
Jeff DaVanon (34) - How is Jeff DaVanon older than Trot Nixon?
Orlando Palmeiro (39) - Old pro just keeps trucking, even with .613 OPS last year.
Jerry Hairston Jr. (31) - Two straight years of near-.200 batting average.

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CATCHERS

Jorge Posada (36) - SIGNED Yankees paid him $52.4 million over four years on the eve of free agency. Story
Michael Barrett (31) - Perhaps someone can show him being a knucklehead isn't the way to go through life.
Paul Lo Duca (35) - Getting by more on reputation than talent these days.
Yorvit Torrealba (29) - So how much was that swing in the NLCS worth? At least $5 million.
Rod Barajas (32) - Hit 21 homers two years ago.
Ramon Castro (32) - SIGNED Re-signed with the Mets for $4.6 million over two years.
Jason Kendall (33) - SIGNED Signed a one-year deal with an option for 2009 with the Brewers.

Damian Miller (38) - And yet he's ahead of this guy, and a dozen (!) others.
Mike Lieberthal (35) - So, how do you rate backup catchers? This guy has hit double-digit homers seven times.
Raul Casanova (35) - And this one hit six in 79 at-bats last year.
Jose Molina (32) - His OPS was over .600 last year.
Gary Bennett (35) - So was his!
Doug Mirabelli (37) - And he can, uh, catch a knuckleball.
Paul Bako (35) - These are backup catchers. This is getting tough.
Mike DiFelice (38) - Actually, DiFelice was the backup to the backup to the backup for the Mets last season.
Josh Paul (32) - He hit .190. It is extremely difficult to be that bad.
Jason LaRue (34) - SIGNED The .148-hitting LaRue signed a one-year, $850,000 deal with the Cardinals.

Kelly Stinnett (38) - Don't forget him! A robust .159.
Sandy Alomar Jr. (41) - The best yet, with a .136 average!
Sal Fasano (36) - Super Mario - pulling up the rear at .178 - will always have a place in our heart

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DESIGNATED HITTERS

Sammy Sosa (39) - Wants $7 million to swing and miss at breaking balls.
Mike Piazza (39) - Coming off worst season of his career. Does he have one more in him?
Mike Sweeney (34) - If he stays healthy ... oh, who are we kidding?

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STARTING PITCHERS

Andy Pettitte (35) - If he plays - and that's a big if.
Hiroki Kuroda (33) - Might be the most sought-after pitcher this offseason, even if his 1.85 ERA in Japan came two years ago.
Carlos Silva (28) - Impeccable control. Not $10 million-a-year control, but the market - and not talent - will dictate that.
Livan Hernandez (33, allegedly) - Nine of 10 years pitched at least 200 innings. The other year: 199 2/3.
Freddy Garcia (32) - Surgery, shmurgery. If he's healthy, he's a legit No. 2, and he can be had at a bargain for the risk-taking types.
Tom Glavine (42) - SIGNED He returns to Atlanta for one-year, $8 million contract.
Kenny Rogers (43) - How much is left?
Kyle Lohse (29) - Were these rankings on potential salary instead of accomplishment, he'd be in the top 10.
Bartolo Colon (35) - Seems like more than two years since he won his Cy Young.
Jason Jennings (29) - Is he the magician who spun a 3.78 ERA in Colorado two years ago or the bum who couldn't keep his ERA under six in Houston?
Randy Wolf (31) - On his way to a solid season until injuries ended it. Heard that one before?
Jeff Weaver (31) - That one-year deal didn't work out so well.
Jon Lieber (37) - Innings-eater went on a hunger strike last year.
Josh Fogg (31) - Boston slew the The Dragon Slayer in the World Series.
Kip Wells (30) - Still hasn't found his LaFawnduh.
Kris Benson (33) - Coming off rotator cuff surgery.
Matt Clement (33) - About $1.39 million per win for the Red Sox.
Odalis Perez (30) - Decent stuff, poor work ethic.
Byung-Hyun Kim (29) - Please, just make him a reliever again.
Steve Trachsel (37) - If this baseball racket doesn't work out, he's got a ready-made TV show.
Brett Tomko (34) - Still never pitched a full season with a sub-4.00 ERA.
Eric Milton (32) - Last time he did this, received one of the worst contracts in the history of free agency.
Rodrigo Lopez (32) - On the off chance that he can come back from a ligament and flexor tendon tears.
Tony Armas (29) - Yeah, he's worse than a guy with a blown-out arm.
Russ Ortiz (33) - Incidentally, he pitches like a guy with a blown-out arm.
Mark Redman (34) - Will he get yet another bite?
Aaron Sele (37) - Ditto.
Jaret Wright (32) - Seems like the longest three-year deal ever.
John Thomson (34) - Pitched 188 innings over three seasons.

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RELIEF PITCHERS

Mariano Rivera (38) - SIGNED Accepts Yankees' $45 million, three-year offer.
Francisco Cordero (32) - Faltered in the second half, but in a weak class, he could get close to B.J. Ryan money.
Masahide Kobayashi (33) - SIGNED Indians signed closer who had 20 saves seven straight years in Japan to a two-year, $6.25 million deal.
Eric Gagne (32) - Lost himself $30 million over the last two months.
David Riske (31) - Consistently one of baseball's best relievers, he posted a 2.45 ERA last year.
Scott Linebrink (31) - Workhorse will log quality innings, and in this market, that's worth $7 million a year.
Kerry Wood (30) - Doesn't hit 100 anymore. Sometimes doesn't even hit 90.
Troy Percival (38) - Long gone are the days of blowing hitters away. Now he just gets them out with the same dominating regularity.
Kazuo Fukumori (31) - He's a risk. Not because of the elbow surgery, but because any man who so enjoys emoticons is a little iffy.
Ron Mahay (36) - If J.C. Romero gets $12 million for three years, Mahay deserves at least that much.
Octavio Dotel (34) - Just stay healthy for one season.
Bob Wickman (39) - Probably will retire, but just in case, he still can get hitters out.
Matt Herges (38) - Reinvented himself and revitalized career in Colorado, of all places.
Mike Timlin (42) - Could retire, too.
LaTroy Hawkins (35) - How does a guy who throws 96 mph strike out only 29 in 55 1/3 innings?
Armando Benitez (35) - Just when you think Captain Meltdown is over the hill, he comes back and surprises.
Luis Vizcaino (33) - Been a reliable middle reliever four years running.
Jeremy Affeldt (28) - Production finally met potential last season.
Shawn Chacon (30) - On the every-other-year-he's-good plan, which is bad for whichever team signs him.
Doug Brocail (40) - Amazing comeback could end in retirement.
Trever Miller (34) - Lefties hit just .209 off him last season
Ray King (34) - Even better: .187 vs. left-handers. But righties were .311
Jorge Julio (29) - Million-dollar arm, bankrupt head.
Rudy Seanez (39) - Set career high by pitching in 73 games last season.
Arthur Rhodes (38) - If he comes back from elbow-ligament surgery.
Antonio Alfonseca (35) - Now we're getting to the dregs.
Mike Myers (38) - The quintessential one-out lefty.
Brian Moehler (36) - Wasn't half-bad last year. Wasn't half-good, either.
Ron Villone (38) - Never was all that great.
Jay Witasick (35) - Best performance of 2007 was here.
Jose Mesa (41) - Once was great. Now? Eek
Chris Reitsma (30) - Health problems always dogging him.
Elmer Dessens (37) - Hear hear, for Mr. Irrelevant!

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Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-freeagentrankings111207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Thoughts?