Quick puzzle. Had you noticed that Rowland-Smith got positively smeared by lefty hitters last season? Can you explain that? Give it a look, and after you've come up with your own idea, check the solution to today's Jumble, below the signoff :- )
You knew it was coming :- )
And, you can infer from my timing (POTD long after everybody and his brother has already written up Jaka) that this isn't my type of pitcher. Hey, until Tuesday, the guy was running a lousy K/BB this March, even. I'm hardly biased in favor of the guy.
=== Strike One, Strike Two, Strike Three Dept. ===
If Jaka had a sloppy BB rate -- let's say he walked 3.5 or 4.0 men a game to go with the rest of his profile -- I wouldn't give him another thought.
Similarly, if Jaka were an 89 mph pitch-mixer who wasn't a battler, if he nibbled in Gene Nelson style, I wouldn't give him another thought.
Two homers today. Off a lefty. Who's in the Indians' rotation. One of them came down with frost on it, according to Neihaus.
.314 / .360 / .714.
Paying closer attention to Branyan on TV this March, I was struck by how non-TTO his swing is. He's balanced, controlled, gets homers more by nice torque than by a Dunn-, Deer-type lumberjack swing.
Interesting player: he was essentially 20 unbroken years' worth of Edgar Martinez. With a glove.
Yet he's strangely underrated and ignored, for a player of his magnitude. His (legitimate) comps include Junior, Reggie, and Mickey Mantle, but who thinks of him like they do of those men?
As usual, we've got our three cents on why that is. :- )
The muscled young toughs of the barrio protest that Russell Branyan maybe CAN hit lefties. Good stuff, amigos. :- ) Even while spray-painting my warnings about bringing RB into the LHP house, we were laughing wondering whether half the local monstas would argue that maybe he can hit lefties.
Maybe he can. Wouldn't that be cool, to pull a .380 OBP, 35-homer, 110-RBI star off the shelf at Branyan's salary... If Oakland can do it with Jack Cust, why not us with Russell Branyan?
..................
Morrow took the mound in Tuesday night's TV game. Dr. D had no objection to this.
Casey Blake, impressively, hit an HR to center field on a 96-mph aspirin tablet. That's major leaguers for you, especially when they're nothing but dead red .... Morrow started out 94-95 and quickly loosened up. His fourth hitter, he threw four consecutive screamers 97-97-96-97. That was from the stretch. After not having pitched.
=== Ken Griffey Jr, Sizzlin' Lefty Sock ===
Mister MC sez:
Did you happen to notice what type of pitch Wilson hammered that homerun on? Curveball, the great nemesis of Balentien. I am predicting a breakout year for Wilson right here and now.
It is highly doubtful that Wilson makes the travelling 25, so what that does is make for a very, VERY powerful team down in Tacoma.
