SB Nation User Blog: t ball

Violinist plays National Anthem on electric violin--made from a baseball bat. Hat tip, Baseball...

t ball — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:46:59 -0000

Violinist plays National Anthem on electric violin--made from a baseball bat. Hat tip, Baseball Think Factory. Link to Washington Post story: http://tinyurl.com/nfl9xq

RIP Farrah Fawcett

t ball — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:52:36 -0000

RIP Farrah Fawcett

Dead of cancer at 62. I had The Poster when I was young:
http://www.posters57.com/images/categories/FARRAH-FAWCETT.jpg

Um, Minors thread? 5/22 & 5/23

t ball — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:22:29 -0000

Everyone must be distracted by Holland's awesome bunting skills.

Today's probables:

The Hickorys already lost, but it wasn't Nam's fault: 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7K. Opponents are now hitting .106 off Namsterdam.

Main just under way in Bakersfield against the rehabbing Kuroda.

Jones trying to plug the hole left in the dike by Hamilton in Frisco. Whittleman = toast, he is dead to me, by the way.

In Sin City, Mendoza takes the pill against the hated 51s. Max has hits in 8 of his last 10 games, seems to be waking up.

Oops, forgot shroom's site...

http://my.calendars.net/farmprobs

I'll go ahead and post Saturday's stuff as well since there weren't too many comments here last night.

In HIckory, JoeWee (he of the monster calves) tries to build on his solid debut.

Beavan takes the bump for Bakersfield.

Frisco features Ballard. Pina seems to have cooled off, just 4 for his last 26, with an uncharacteristically high 26 K's in that span (8 games) after just 34 K's all last year. I hope he didn't get too excited about hitting during his hot streak and change his approach too much.

Rupe gets the late start for OKC. As Pina cools, Max heats up, .342 over his last 10 games, though he only has 3 XBH's and 2 BB's in that time.

Glovework in Texas

t ball — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:44:06 -0000

Glovework in Texas

Fangraphs has an article up giving props to the improved defense for the Rangers.

Jon Daniels Chat at DMN blog

t ball — Fri, 08 May 2009 04:14:18 -0000

Jon Daniels Chat at DMN blog

DMN chat earlier today with Jon Daniels. Some of the questions were good and Daniels was candid, as usual.

Dutch Treat: Holland's Debut link dump

t ball — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:59:39 -0000

I was unable to watch the game last night, didn't get home from work untl after 10. So I gobbled up reports of Holland's debut as I could find them. I was excited to read the universally positive reports, all painting a picture of a poised young man pitching well enough that even thedirkatron or Mike Hindman won't be exaggerating when they talk about him. I thought it would be nice to collect some quotes and links in one place.

From Richard Durrett's blog entry:

He didn't walk anybody and had two strikeouts (threw 29 strikes out of 42 pitches). He did not look at all intimidated and was aggressively throwing strikes. He showed an ability to paint the corners and that slider looked good. For a long relief outing, that was a great way to start your career.

http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/how-about-derek-hollands-big-league-debu.html

Kevin Sherrington praised Holland for keeping his cool on the questionable call on a ball in Barajas' at bat, and summed up the performance this way:

Even though he was in A ball a year ago, Holland, with a fastball that ran to 96 mph, has the stuff to pitch in the big leagues. On Thursday, he showed he has the make-up. If he keeps this up, Holland will be in the rotation before Memorial Day. And that's exactly where he should be, if the Rangers want to keep their date as a contender for 2010.

http://kevinsherringtonblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/hollands-texas-rangers-debut-a.html

From the Jeff Wilson game report, a quote I like from Holland:

"I attacked the zone, went right after them and showed I wasn't afraid of them," Holland said.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/baseball/rangers/stories/042309dnsporanglede.3b490aa.html

Project Prospect put up a scouting report last night, including this tidbit we can debate:

Though there is sure to be a few growing pains along the way, Derek Holland may already be the Rangers' best pitcher.

http://projectprospect.com/article/2009/04/24/scouting-report-hollands-mlb-debut

Over at BBTIA, Joey also has pitch f/x data as part of his detailed report:

http://www.bbtia.com/home/2009/4/23/derek-hollands-strong-debut-overshadows-rangers-8-7-loss.html#comments

Some discussion over at minorleagueball:

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2009/4/22/849518/hollands-first-seven-fastballs

A scouting report at minorleaguenotebook:

http://minorleaguenotebook.com/2009/04/22/derek-hollands-debut-scouting-report/

And be sure to check out the links below in FanShots provided by philkid to Beyond the Box Score's report (which includes pitch f/x charts) and some nice pics by the fightingengineer.

It's really too bad that Evan Grant couldn't make the trip to Toronto, and it would have been nice to have one of Jeff Miller's articles over at Inside Corner. Hopefully they'll have something up later today or talk to Holland at some point soon.

I may update with more later if I find something interesting, or please add stuff you find in the comments. I'm sorry I missed the game, but this was fun reading. I'm sure Holland will struggle at times, but he's off to a nice start and, like Andrus, you get the impression that he belongs in the big leagues now.

Update: Scott Lucas has a thorough look at Holland's appearance:

http://www.rangers.scottlucas.com/archives/2009/04/a_quick_pitchfx.html

Washington death watch poll

t ball — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 12:39:14 -0000

Washington obviously didn't think the team could win. He didn't think his pitchers could prevent any more runs. He thought it better to rest the top of the order rather than play them. I'd wager he lost a lot of respect in the clubhouse by giving up. These players believe they can come back from anything, and now Washington has given up on them.

Jackie Moore, or someone else, will be managing this team soon. Vote your guess as to when below.

OT: I can't think of Jackie Moore without seeing Jackie Wright, Benny Hill's little bald sidekick. So when Moore comes out to make a pitching change I'll be hearing/seeing the signature Benny Hill chase scene that closed his show. Here's a classic clip with a parody of Woodstock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyhdNK2BlFA

Poll

When does Wash get the boot?

Today

3 votes

Before the Toronto series (Tues.)

60 votes

By the end of next week

40 votes

By May 1

84 votes

Later this season

35 votes

He stays

32 votes

254 votes | Poll has closed

Whittleman's defense not so bad?

t ball — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:27:37 -0000

Whittleman's defense not so bad?

Part of a running series over at BTB, Whittleman comes out as slightly above average on defense?

Baseball writer John Brattain dead

t ball — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:11:05 -0000

Baseball writer John Brattain dead

Shocking. I've enjoyed Brattain's articles over at The Hardball Times for a long time, good writer.

Organizational Rankings at Fangraphs - Rangers

t ball — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:06:29 -0000

Organizational Rankings at Fangraphs - Rangers

Rangers come in at #12.
"The Rangers have been a punch line for several years, but that’s not going to continue for much longer. With a remarkable group of young talent, an underrated front office, and an owner who isn’t afraid to invest in the product, Texas has the ability to get good in a hurry. By acknowledging their defensive shortcomings, they’ve already made steps in the right direction, re-aligning their talent to give their pitchers a fighting chance. Give them another year of development, and the Rangers are going to be a force in the AL West."