SB Nation User Blog: timlacy

Jaramillo and Tampering?

timlacy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:55:04 -0000

Jaramillo and Tampering?

Like everyone else I'm delighted by the hiring of Jaramillo, but this line caught my attention:

"I knew this team wasn't going to have a hitting coach at the end of the season, and that's why things worked out," Jaramillo said

That has the aura of tampering, to me. Have there been any other stories that have raised the tampering question? - TL

Walks Aren't Everything, But...

timlacy — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:59:57 -0000

Walks Aren't Everything, But...

What the Angels do not do is walk very much. The addition of the former Yankee Bobby Abreu has made their lineup more patient, willing to take more pitches instead of looking to hack. But the Angels still drew fewer walks than the average team, while the Yankees led the majors in that category.

The Angels (.285) and the Yankees (.283) ranked first and second in the majors in batting average, meaning they tend to make contact. That helps the Angels use their speed and put the game in motion, taking chances on the bases.

It's too bad the Royals can't even fall back on the sometimes good excuse (used properly) that they make solid contact and don't strike out often. Then again, the Royals were 18th and the Angels 21st in offensive strikeouts (higher meaning worse, of course). But the Mets had the fewest at 928 and that didn't take them far. So *the answer* isn't walks. That leaves us with OBP. The Yanks came in at #1 (.362) and the Angels #3 (.350). KC? #27 at .318. So walks aren't everything, but.... - TL

Posnanski Relaying Theo Epstein's View Of A Winning Organizational Philosophy

timlacy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:36:13 -0000

Posnanski Relaying Theo Epstein's View Of A Winning Organizational Philosophy

This is a first-rate Posnanski post. Here was my comment:

"I’ve been a baseball fan for a l-o-n-g time. I’ve given a lot of thought to the question: "What makes a winner?" There’s no one answer to that question. But of course I’ve known for a long time that HRs and RBIs, even for a great many players on one team during the same season, won’t make a winning team. All you have to do is look at decade’s worth of those Rangers clubs, and even the Tigers during the late 80s and early 90s, to know those stats alone won’t make a winning team. As a KC fan you need look no further than the 2000 team.

But, related to this post and the interview, I’ve never heard anyone articulate as well as Epstein the larger picture behind looking at OBP. Of course I reviled Dusty Baker’s ignorant "base-clogging" line about walks, but I’ve never quite understood how prioritizing OBP, plus OPS (despite the comment from Ryan above) as an organizational philosophy works toward a winning team until I saw the phrase: "not make outs."

What an excellent, succinct, and powerful way of phrasing the goal. Those three words cover a large range of productive baseball activities both inside and outside the batter’s box: HBP, walk, hits (of course), stealing bases well, running well, not getting picked off, and perhaps sacrifice bunts and flys (which are a borderline activity per Epstein’s interview–get out, but maintain high OBP).

Thanks for forwarding this, Joe. This interview should make an appearance at every non-Boston baseball website within the next week. – TL"

Posnanski Relaying Theo Epstein's View Of A Winning Organizational Philosophy

timlacy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:35:58 -0000

Posnanski Relaying Theo Epstein's View Of A Winning Organizational Philosophy

This is a first-rate Posnanski post. Here was my comment:

Thanks for forwarding this, Joe. This interview should make an appearance at every non-Boston baseball website within the next week. – TL"

Milton Bradley to Royals? Musings.

timlacy — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:30:44 -0000

Milton Bradley to Royals? Musings.

I know this topic has been discussed here before, but the link above presents a potential swap from the Cubs perspective. I'm no Paul Sullivan fan (article's author), but I do see some sense in this. Bradley's a multi-dimensional player who could help KC. I'm sure this will strike some as a Guillen-esque deal. Bradley's way more talented than Guillen. Bradley has a greater career OBP, hits for a higher average, and plays above average defense in right. He might even be less hot-headed than Guillen, believe it or not. ...So long as Bradley avoids our radio and tv announcers, everything could go smoothly. ;) My concern is this: Who do we give up? - TL

Highlight From Today's Win (8/30/09)

timlacy — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:40:32 -0000

Highlight From Today's Win (8/30/09)

I loved seeing this:

The Royals' Zack Greinke followed up a 15-strikeout start with a complete game one-hitter on Sunday. He is just the fourth pitcher to do that since 1900. The other three:

• Pedro Martinez -- Sept. 4, 1999 (15 Ks) and Sept. 10, 1999 (1-hitter, 17 Ks).

• Randy Johnson -- July 11, 1998 (15 Ks) and July 16, 1998 (1-hitter, 11 Ks).

• Vida Blue -- July 9, 1971 (17 Ks) and July 16, 1971 (1-hitter, 9 Ks).

Whenever you're on a list with Vida Blue, Pedro, and Randy Johnson, something's going right.

I'm getting the feeling that "third-place Cy Young voting run" is underestimating things. - TL

BrewCrew Mentioned As Potential Trade Destination For Brian Bannister

timlacy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:39:08 -0000

BrewCrew Mentioned As Potential Trade Destination For Brian Bannister

I had heard this via a FB post from a Milw area friend this morning. The BrewCrew have an abundance of position players, and Bannister certainly has value after recovering this season from his horrific 08 campaign. Of course Milw was a rumored trade partner last year and the year before (e.g. Greinke for P. Fielder---aren't we glad that blew over). - TL

Yeah, We Better Move Him To The Rotation

timlacy — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:12:51 -0000

Yeah, We Better Move Him To The Rotation

"Late in the game here," DeJesus said, "you can always feel that Red Sox aura. But once we got Soria in the game, we feel confident that he’s going to do the job. And he did the job as usual."

And this is why they're called stoppers and get paid the big bucks and are occasionally invaluable. - TL

An Intellectual History Of Grit (For Real)

timlacy — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:41:58 -0000

A favorite topic of some RR members, always brought up ironically, of course, has attracted the attention of a highly respected member of academia. Intellectual historian Wilfred M. McClay has written a kind of short history of grit. No, he doesn't mention the Royals, or any particular Royal, or any recent baseball players for that matter. But he does trace how the term likely originated in America, much like our national pastime, and how it has strong democratic overtones.

This McClay paragraph in particular caught my attention:

Grit is a democratic virtue, the poor man's (or woman's) heroism, the common man's virtue represented by common stuff: by that granular resistance, that friction, that commonplace particulate material needed to hold the mortar together, that elemental stuff on which everything else in life depends. This collocation of meanings is not the least bit fanciful, and it is no mere coincidence. Consider the fact that the word sand had a similar meaning and usage in the nineteenth century, and was a favorite term of Mark Twain's; a person with unusual gutsiness and persistence was said to have "sand."

I think I first heard the term "sand" in Gangs of New York (the "sand of the Dead Rabbits"). I digress.

Anyway, it seems to me then that awarding the attribute of "grit" to a KC ballplayer is, at least in the eyes of McClay, a compliment of the highest order in America. Indeed, anyone having the appropriate quotient of grit is probably our most uncommon common ballplayer. ;) - TL

Poll

What historical KC ballplayer (present team excluded) is the grittiest of all-time?

Mark Grudzielanek

26 votes

Dennis Leonard

3 votes

George Brett

33 votes

Hal MacRae

29 votes

Lou Piniella

10 votes

Willie Aiken

1 votes

John Wathan

3 votes

Mark Gubicza

2 votes

Kevin Appier

4 votes

Freddie Patek

17 votes

Dan Quisenberry

1 votes

129 votes | Poll has closed

Sox Are Worried: Greinke's Inside Their Heads

timlacy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:45:41 -0000

Sox Are Worried: Greinke's Inside Their Heads

The Facts:

Exhibit A: "Nine of the 29 batters Greinke has hit in his career have been Sox hitters."
Exhibit B: "Greinke has hit four Oakland Athletics -- second most but still five fewer than the White Sox."
Exhibit C: "There also have been some near-misses, such as fastballs that buzzed the heads of Carlos Quentin on April 8 and Alexei Ramirez on May 3."

Quotes from

1. Dye: "He knows he has to keep us honest and pitch in. "
2. Guillen: "[Greinke] is a great pitcher and I don't think he's going to hit people just because he wants to hit people."

Conclusion

He's inside their heads. They're more worried about him than hitting the ball.

Prediction: The Royals win 3-1. The Sox's only run comes from a Dye homerun