SB Nation User Blog: zknower

ALCS Game 6 Postponed Until Tomorrow

zknower — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:11:56 -0000

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Per Joel Sherman (NY Post) on Twitter, tonight's ALCS game between the Angels and Yankees has been postponed.

Game 6 is now scheduled for 8:20pm EDT tomorrow (Sunday).

Game 7, if necessary, will be at 7:57pm EDT on Monday.

The Angels are probably psyched, because they can now start Lackey on short rest Monday if they so desire.

The Onion nails it: "Redskins Hold Press Conference To Announce They Are Still Sort Of A Football Team"

zknower — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:45:31 -0000

This is pretty funny.

Washington Redskins head coach Jim Zorn held a press conference Sunday to reassure fans that, despite an inability to effectively execute their offense, defense, or special teams, the Redskins were still somewhat comparable to a real football team. "It's been a tough season so far, and even though we are 2-4, we still have players, uniforms, Motorola headsets—all the components that technically constitute an NFL team, sort of," Zorn said while grimacing and making a "so-so" gesture with his hand.
"Sure, I was stripped of play-calling responsibilities by team management, and I really don't have any clue who will play quarterback for us this Sunday, but I swear to you, in a weird, very convoluted way, we are in the NFL." Placing his hand over the microphone, Zorn then spoke briefly with an unidentified man near the stage, and announced that, for what it's worth, the organization owns the Internet domain name washingtonredskins.com through 2010.

Dead on.

Down and Dirty NLCS Gamethread

zknower — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:47:25 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - ASSOCIATED PRESS

about 1 month ago: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez during a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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Dodgers and Phillies are currently tied after 8 innings in the bottom of the 8th inning.

Markakis: Done in by Aubrey Huff's departure?

zknower — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:12:32 -0000

Just a quick musing on my part:

How much did the Aubrey Huff trade affect Nick Markakis' stats?

Before you flame me, consider this: Yes, Huff had a down year, but he still had 73 RBIs at the time of his trade. Opposing pitchers started the season knowing that the 2008 edition of Huff had had 32 dingers and was fifth in the league in OPS.

And yeah, Huff was off the pace for much of 2009, but players go through ups and downs all the time, and he had enough good stretches early in the year that pitchers had to respect him somewhat. So there's little doubt that in the typical Orioles' 2009 lineup of 3-Markakis, 4-Huff, they were throwing better stuff Nicky's way.

When Aubrey was traded in August, who were these pitchers to fear? Melvin Mora? How long did it take Trembley to move Nolan Reimold up?

No, I don't think this accounts for all of Nicky's lowered numbers (AJ's declining average and time on the DL hurt Nicky's RBI chances) but I think it's a contributing factor.

Part of getting Nicky back to form next year will involve Andy finding someone with a big bat to protect him in the lineup.

Stats, for those of you who are so inclined.....

Aubrey Huff was traded on August 17th. Nick's stats before and after that date, courtesy B-R.com:

Date	Tm	G	GS	Rslt	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	ROE	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Apr 6, 2009 to Aug 17, 2009	BAL	118	117	48-70	527	480	70	146	39	1	15	84	39	0	77	3	0	5	9	9	3	2	.304	.357	.483	.840
per 162 games		163	161		724	660	97	201	54	2	21	116	54	0	106	5	0	7	13	13	5	3

Link

Date	Tm	G	GS	Rslt	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	ROE	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Aug 18, 2009 to Oct 4, 2009	BAL	43	43	16-27	184	164	24	42	6	1	3	17	17	0	21	0	0	3	0	3	3	0	.256	.321	.360	.680
per 162 games		162	162		694	618	91	159	23	4	12	65	65	0	80	0	0	12	0	12	12	0

Link
Note that the only statistically significant offensive category that's higher in the second stretch is BB/162 games. It's 20% higher. Nicky's numbers all went down except this walk rate. It's not like he was getting a bunch of IBBs, but pitchers weren't afraid of losing him to pitch to the next guy either.

Don't Blow It Up

zknower — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:16:56 -0000

This post is late by a few days. I had a pretty crazy week.

But I wanted to say as early as last Monday, "Dudes. Chill."

It's indisputable that the 'Skins played like crap against the Lions. But a shitty loss was blown out of proportion by the Lions' winless streak and the media calling for Zorn's head, Campbell's head, anyone's head. Every team in the league takes a complete dump in the field once in a while.

But calling for a complete rebuild 3 games into the season?

C'mon. I expect better than that from HH. That's Daniel Snyder-esque impatience.

Today's mildly successful win against the pathetic Bucs doesn't exactly inspire confidence, but there were a few sweet plays in it. Portis got on track a bit. The Campbell-to-Moss hookup was poetry. Cooley had a number of clutch plays. To balance out the goodness, there were some inexplicable play calls, some horrible Campbell INTs, a blocked PAT for chrissake. But in the end, the team bore down and did what it needed to to win.

The fact is, this team went through a horrible period of being snakebit. It was obvious they were playing tight. You could see on the field during the Rams game that everyone, from the head coach on down, was pressing too hard, due to the insanely elevated expectations of "playing in Washington, DC, in Zorn's second season." They were supposed to have worked everything out and been stupendous somehow 'cause, you know, they had all last year to become perfect.

That same tightness, the choking, the tense/nervous/jittery energy pervaded the team through the next 6 quarters or so.

Today against Tampa Bay, they shook some of it off. You could sense the tension seeping away. Once you've hit rock bottom, what is there to be tense about? Some of the guys look like they had a wakeup call in Detroit. The O-line looked particularly improved this game.

I'm not saying this is a playoff team. I really have no idea, and neither do they. But there is an awful lot of talent on this squad, and now that no one gives a rat's ass about them, maybe, just maybe, they'll start to ease up a bit and remember what got them to the show in the first place.

Next up are two teams that still haven't won a game this season. We could conceivably be hosting Philadelphia in three weeks with a 4-2 record. It might be a sloppy, not-living-up-to-potential 4-2 record, but honestly, I don't care.

As I said in a previous post, let the team figure out its identity during this early, soft part of the season. They're not an elite team right now. They can't even claim to be a playoff team. But maybe enough of a lesson has been learned from these few weeks of putridness that by November, they'll be a step close to making that claim.

I hope we beat Detroit.... but not by more than a TD

zknower — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:32:52 -0000

Of course I want a 'Skins victory on Sunday.

But I'm actually glad we barely got by the Rams. And I'm hoping we do only slightly better against Detroit.

Why?

Because the alternative would have hamstrung this team.

If the 'Skins had won by three touchdowns this past week, all would be rosy in DC. Headlines would read, SKINS ARE BACK or OFFENSE SHINES—ZORN OFF THE HOT SEAT.

Which would be a mistake.

Two things that are always true in the NFL:

Preseason doesn't really allow you to truly prepare for regular season games; and
Non-elite teams that make the playoffs historically do so by getting some momentum going mid-season and then peak in December.

We have been blessed with a soft schedule for the next month. Don't get me wrong, on "any given Sunday" as it is said, any team in the NFL can win, even the Lions; the 'Skins can't cakewalk through this month.

But they can afford to make a few mistakes against the Lions, Bucs, Panthers, and Chiefs. These are four teams that are currently winless, all of them giving up around 30 points per game.

I'm really not worried about our D. They're looking like they'll be top-5 again, and there are no major questions there (although the cornerback situation, as mentioned by KevinE, is cause for concern).

I, like Redskins fans everyhwere, am worried about the offense. When will all these superior parts be assembled and tweaked to make a Ferrari instead of a Ford Pinto?

That's Zorn's task this next month—to develop the offense into a major threat. And this is important—as long as he gets the Ws, I don't care how crappy the team looks. I only care about one thing: that they progress from week to week. That they improve. That they get the kinks out. Say what you want, but in a team with as much offseason BS as the 'Skins have had this year, a team in only its second year with an innovative coach, a team that has to polish up its 2nd-year receivers and find a way to take make its O-Line productive, there will be many kinks to work out.

And it is far, far better that they be worked out now—that Zorn be taking a long look in the mirror, that certain plays be starred as "go-to" plays, and that parts of the playbook get shredded because they are ill-suited to this team—it is far better for all that to happen now than for it to happen in November. Because when we start playing the good teams, we need to have our act together.

This can be a talented team. There is enough on the roster to make it one. But they aren't yet. And I'd rather they discover how to be one and develop an identity slowly over a period of weeks rather than get all fired up because they just beat St. Louis by 30 points. If that had happened, or if they cream the Lions this week, there's a chance that either Zorn, or the players, will get complacent and think it's "fixed". I don't want them to think it's fixed after one game. I want them to stay hungry until they know, they know from the pains of 3 or 4 difficult weeks, that they have truly jelled.

So media, and Danny Boy: STFU. Don't fire coaches, don't offer seven different ways to "fix it"; just get the fuck out of the kitchen. You're the reason Zorn is calling option passes to Portis: because he feels he needs to show you some razzle-dazzle in Week 2 instead of finding out, against an inferior team, how well Kelly can run a fade route.

Here's to four weeks of Redskins victories that I hope will result in them hosting Philadelphia at the end of October with a 5-1 record, but more importantly with a real sense of what they can do.

Chat: Chat with Nolan Reimold - SportsNation - ESPN

zknower — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:53:22 -0000

Chat: Chat with Nolan Reimold - SportsNation - ESPN

Submit your questions to Nolan Reimold! Chat will take place at 3pm eastern.

Thanks to CC user swilhelmross for the tip.

Wednesday Bird Droppings

zknower — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:37:28 -0000

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

I don't want to use a picture of last night's game. So here's some BriBob eye candy instead. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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Jones, Bergesen go on Orioles' DL - UPI.com
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones went on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday and pitcher Brad Bergesen was put on the 60-day DL. Baltimore also called up five players from Class AAA Norfolk.

Rating AL's top rookies - SweetSpot by Rob Neyer - ESPN
Rob Neyer doesn't think Nolan Reimold deserves any RoY votes.

Your 2009 (and 2008, ‘07, ‘06 …) Pittsburgh Pirates - 2nd & Short - Mark McGuire, timesunion.com - Albany NY
A depressing column about the Orioles NL counterpart. Some nice comments about the O's at the bottom by Pirates fans.

Babe Ruth Museum Celebrates Brooks Robinson - ABC News
Babe Ruth Museum celebrates Brooks Robinson at an annual Gala.

MLB.com At Bat 2009 app expanding | MLB.com: News
iPhone and iPod touch users without an MLB.tv subscription can now watch games on demand for 99 cents per game.

Turner's excitement about reaching majors is 'indescribable' -- baltimoresun.com
Justin Turner savors his first trip to the majors. And good news, Trembley describes him as "a grinder, a blue-collar guy...a gamer."

Eastern League Announces Weekly Award Winners - OurSports Central
Steve Johnson, a right-handed starting pitcher for the Bowie Baysox, is the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending September 7th. The 6'1", 200 lb. hurler made a pair of starts for the Baysox last week and was 2-0 with 14 strikeouts and a 1.42 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched.

Scout.com: Tony Butler Q & A
An update on Tony Butler, the forgotten man in the Erik Bedard trade.

Widlansky wins Carolina League batting title - MASNsports.com
1B/OF Robbie Widlansky won the Carolina League batting title, the third Key in 2009 to be recognized by the league (Zach Britton was named Pitcher of the Year and Brandon Waring won MVP).

This is the Open Thread you could be saving if you switched to GEICO.

For Mac and gCalendar users: 2009 Redskins Schedule in iCal Format

zknower — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:52:05 -0000

Hey HH peeps:

I do this every year.

For the 15% of you out there that use a Mac regularly, I've created a 2009 Redskins Schedule in iCal. It contains the opponents, start times, and TV Network (in the notes section) for all the games. After every weekend, I update it with the score of the last game and our place in the standings.

Perhaps one day, someone will design something that allows iCal and Entourage to talk to each other. But until that happens, this is your solution if you're on a Mac and would like the 'Skins games to conveniently show up in your iPhone.

The calendar is hosted at iCal exchange (icalx.com). To subscribe to it, do the following:

Copy this URL: http://www.icalx.com/public/skinsfan/Redskins%202009.ics
Open iCal
Under the "Calendar" menu, select "Subscribe"
Paste in the URL you just copied from above and click the "Subscribe" button.

That's pretty much it! You should set it to auto refresh every day or week or whatever you want. I'll usually update on Mondays. You can always hit Command-R to get it to refresh if you haven't recently.

If you use a Google Calendar, you can subscribe by using the "Add a Friend's Calendar" function and entering the same URL above.

If you decide to do this, leave me a message in the comments, as I often wonder if anyone else is geeky enough to think this is as cool as I do.

Tuesday Bird Droppings

zknower — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:17:06 -0000

Leading off with some news to make you feel better about the plight of the O's:

Pirates unmoved by record 17th losing season
With the final out yesterday afternoon at PNC Park -- a Lastings Milledge flyout that ended a 4-2 flattening by the Chicago Cubs -- the once-proud Pittsburgh Baseball Club recorded its annually anticipated 82nd loss and clinched a 17th consecutive losing season, the longest such streak in the history of North America's four major professional sports.

O's won't see Dice-K | The Japan Times Online
Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Sunday Daisuke Matsuzaka will make one more minor league rehab start on Wednesday before he rejoins the fold. Matsuzaka was initially supposed to re-join the rotation for the Red Sox's game against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.

Streaky Roberts stays on even keel -- baltimoresun.com
Brian Roberts talks about being a leader, fans expectations, and being the old man on the team.

Wieters! - MASNsports.com
He throws harder than Pudge Rodriguez, because he's supernatural.

Vote Nick Markakis Man of the Year! | MLB.com
Nick Markakis is great and all, but man of the year? And A-Rod is also on the ballot? I don't know, man.

Senators Wash Out Baysox in 2009 Finale - baysox.com
The Baysox lost 4-2 in their season finale, but Josh Bell hit his 9th home run in just 33 games with Bowie.

Carroll County Times: Westminster, Maryland
"It’s a great thing for the Orioles," Frederick manager Richie Hebner said in a phone interview. "The MVP and the best pitcher in the Carolina League [both] belong to the Baltimore Orioles."

For Shorebirds, a season of developments | delmarvanow.com
"One of the goals was to teach the guys how to play the game with a winning attitude, while being a professional and representing the uniform of the Baltimore Orioles with respect and pride."

O's farmhand Avery hoping to post Carl Crawford-like numbers - Carroll County Times
"I’m striving to be a .300 hitter in the big leagues when I make it there and to steal over 50 [bases] a year," Xavier Avery said. "The Orioles are bringing up a lot of young guys, getting them ready for down the road and I want to be a part of down the road," Avery continued. "I want to be a part of that group of young guys. I’m trying to make it as fast as I can."

This is your Open Thread.