Austin

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2012 Spec66 Update

 

I mostly did this for my own cross-checking purposes, but I'll go ahead and throw it out there.

I did a "Where are they now?" for the first Spec66 from 2012 (after the 2011 season).

The "consensus" ranking comes from a blog called "Steal of Home" (find it here), which does a nice job of compiling them.  Jesus Montero was the consensus No. 1, and I didn't rank him, which is why there's no "1" in that column.

I put guys who ended up as busts in red, but there are really surprisingly few.

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Singing the Night Away

Austin is a musical town, so everyone has a little bit of a rock star lurking in them somewhere. The next time you’re planning a date, why not check out one of Austin’s great karaoke spots? Austin Karaoke is one of the best places to go for a relaxed night of singing. They have private booths, so there’s no need to worry about stage fright. Or check out New Seoul Karaoke Studio. It’s another spot with private booths and offers the most authentic Eastern karaoke experience you’ll find in the city. And if you want someplace a little more atmospheric, try Ego’s.

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Minor League Offensive Leaderboards, Round 2

Continuing with minor-league offensive leaderboards.

The first batch was limited to players on what I call "MLB Track":

  • Rookie ball/short season by age 19
  • Low-A by age 20
  • High-A by age 21
  • AA by age 22
  • AAA by age 23

This group has all of the hitters, regardless of age-relative-to-level.  But those more than two years older than "MLB Track" level are indicated with a "(+3)" or the like.

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Hose Manning and Noodle Smith

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Dr. D has some doubt that "hose" reads "arm" in Urban Dictionary.  So here is today's Retro Moment.  Hose Manning was the quarterback in Dan Jenkin's Semi-Tough novel.  We're more confident that the reader more quickly connects the term "noodle" with Johnny Damon, Dustin Ackley and PEYTON Manning.

Bill James Online is still a piddling $3 a month, or about one-twentieth of what Spec, Matty, Ben and I plan to charge for our Minor League Crop Circles shtick.  Is there anything in baseball, other than Jeff Sullivan, that is remotely as fun to read as Hey Bill?  Well, maybe Dr. D making a fool of himself on a nightly basis.  But otherwise.

In the arctic tundra of February baseball we're talking about outfield arms.  One excerpt from this week:

Austin Jackson Rounds Third, Heads for --- > 3-4 WAR

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At the trade deadline, the Mariners traded Nick Franklin for Austin Jackson.  We all shook the fog out of our heads, and wondered how you nab a 3-4 win player for a young benchie who had lost his luster.

SSI maintained that we constantly undersell the value of trade chips like Nick Franklin, Chris Taylor, Brad Miller, Roenis Elias, and their ilk.  And GM's aren't immune to the lure of "sexy" UPside -- Nick Franklin is more likely to pull a 3-win player than Chris Taylor is.  Still, it was 6 years of Franklin vs. 2 of Austin Jackson, so, shrug.

Just don't forget that, next time you're talking about a 6-year Mariner kiddie against a 2-year player who is a minor star in the big leagues :- )

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Jackson's line for the Mariners, in case you'd forgotten, .229/.267/.260.  Lou Piniella looked at Brian Hunter (was it?), a skinny stolen base guy who couldn't hit, and said acidly "His on-base is .290 and that should be his BATTING AVERAGE."

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Of Shifts, Personality Flaws, and Championships

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Dr. D doesn't mean this post as harshly as it will sound.  :- )  He's in a cheerful mood, but wishes to simply describe a looming problem as it floats across his addled mind.

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The incoming commissioner?  I don't even know his name, but have seen him on TV and already have a queasy feeling about him.  Hey, Mojo, is "shyster" a pejorative term?  Or is it just a category within the profession, like the "Inane Shtick Peddler" category within blogging?  All I mean by it is, a seedy lawyer who will manifest, ah, moral flexibility.  That's probably wrong.  

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