SB Nation User Blog: The Ancient Mariner

Bloomquist, Dunn, and the Royals

The Ancient Mariner — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:50:59 -0000

Joe Posnanski posted a great column a few days ago (thanks to Ryan Divish for the link) on the Royals' signing of Willie Bloomquist, and their non-signing (so far, anyway) of Adam Dunn, and the significance of that for understanding Dayton Moore's philosophy of baseball. Posnanski notes that the two are almost complete opposites as ballplayers, and goes on to say, "I think that, in many ways, Dunn and Bloomquist represent opposing philosophies about baseball. . . . I believe every baseball fan, at his/her core, leans Dunn or Bloomquist." Now, I think he overstates his case somewhat -- in particular, I think he's wrong to say that those "who believe that on-base percentage and slugging are the most significant things . . . that what matters is what you do and not how you look doing it" also believe "that defense and speed are overrated"; that's not really true at all. Even with that caveat, however, I have to say that I think he's on to something here, as he often is. Go read his column and see if you agree.

Flashback: M's prospects, 2003

The Ancient Mariner — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:59:46 -0000

I pulled BA's 2003 Prospect Handbook off the shelf yesterday to see what they had to say about Franklin Gutierrez, and then moved over to look at their take on the Seattle system. They had the M's 9th in their talent rankings that year (having ranked them 2nd the year before); here were the players they tagged as our top 30 prospects:

1. Rafael Soriano, RHP
2. Chris Snelling, OF
3. Jose Lopez, SS
4. Shin-Soo Choo, OF
5. Clint Nageotte, RHP
6. Aaron Taylor, RHP
7. Travis Blackley, LHP
8. Rett Johnson, RHP
9. Greg Dobbs, 3B/OF
10. Jamal Strong, OF
11. Ryan Christianson, C
12. Luis Ugueto, SS
13. Willie Bloomquist, IF/OF
14. Ismael Castro, 2B
15. Kevin Olore, RHP
16. Michael Garciaparra, SS
17. Kenny Kelly, OF
18. Ryan Anderson, LHP
19. Jeff Heaverlo, RHP
20. J. J. Putz, RHP
21. Allan Simpson, RHP
22. Bobby Madritsch, LHP
23. Aaron Looper, RHP
24. Rene Rivera, C
25. Craig Anderson, LHP
26. Juan Done, RHP
27. Bobby Livingston, LHP
28. Jon Nelson, 1B/OF
29. Troy Cate, LHP
30. Ryan Ketchner, LHP

I was struck by this comment on Lopez: "Lopez' defensive abilities have been apparent since he made his pro debut. Managers said he had the best infield arm in the Cal League, and he has fine hands, range and actions at shortstop." Having seen him play short at Everett, I agree with that assessment; I still have trouble understanding exactly how that Lopez turned into this Lopez.

As for Gutierrez, there wasn't all that much of interest in the paragraph on him, but I was struck by this line: "There are some holes in his swing he needs to address, though the Dodgers think his aggressiveness is one of his strongest assets" (emphasis mine). That explains a lot.

Tubbs has right knee cleaned out

The Ancient Mariner — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:37:45 -0000

via the scope, as per ESPN; doesn't sound like reason for concern, but I did think it ought to be noted here. He'll miss minicamp in consequence, but is still hoping to be in the lineup to start the season.

Personally, if he can stay healthy going forward, with Bane and Rocky starting and Tripplett added to the squad, I think we have a heck of a rotation at DT; barring injury, I'm betting Red Bryant winds up on the practice squad this year to watch and learn.