Sometimes you just need a restaurant that's classy and refined yet not pretentious as can be. That's what you'll find at Masraff's, an elegant yet affordable contemporary cuisine hub at the Houston Galleria. Take your honey out for a big night without breaking the bank at this Texas staple.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
One of the fun parts about promoting all your players from the farm is that eventually you have to figure out what they're worth, and whether to pay them. We still don't know who Ackley and Smoak are at the plate, so it's hard to come up with contract terms for them that would satisfy both parties. But do we think we know who Kyle Seager is?
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Q. How often does C.J. Wilson give up 6 earnies?
A. Last year, twice -- at Texas, on July 30, and at the Dodgers, on May 27. I don't notice that either game was on Opening Day* or against a lefty lineup.
The year before, three times -- at Texas, at Fenway (LOL!) and the Tampa Rays got him at home.
In 2011, Wilson didn't yield six earned runs all season, despite pitching the year in Texas. So, there you go -- it's a miniscule 5% of the time that Wilson coughs up 6+, and never under favorable circumstances.
The Mariners are no longer "favorable circumstances." QED.
;- )
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Q. Who else in the American League is 2-0?
A. Read it and weep, you pesky rodent Angel fans. I know one team that isn't.
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Q. Are the Angels worried at all?
A. Want to see them in full-on panic mode? ALREADY? Check it out rat cheer :- )
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Q. What precisely is going on with Dustin Ackley's game? Sabermetrically, first.
A. On TV, they advertise that he's been too patient - last year's 50% swing rate on strikes was 2nd-lowest in baseball, sez they. Personally, I wouldn't agree. So far this year his overall swing rate is the same as it has been. It's not like he's going up there hacking.
But! He's having a much easier time reading the pitches. O-Swing is "swings outside the zone," Z-Swing is "swings when pitch is a strike," and so forth:
| Year | O-Swing% | Z-Swing% | O Contact% | Z Contact% | CT% |
| 2013 | 25% | 52 | 74 (grrr) | 91 | 86 |
| 2014 | 13 | 67 | 0 (!!) | 100 (!!) | 86 |
| ML average | 30 | 61 | 61 | 86 | 77 |
His swings, and contact rate, aren't different. What IS different, is that he is very easily deciding what is a good pitch and what isn't.
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Q. The above table tells us about X and Y axis. How about the Z axis -- the front and back of the zone?
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Q. Is Dr. Detecto routinely genteel and friendly towards the Mariners' front office?
A. Routinely.
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Q. Explain to us, again, why Bill James has been on that crusade that --- > LH relievers are overused?
A. Thusly:
Look, kiddies. Are you going to pinch-hit Willie Bloomquist for Brad Miller, because you're so flippin' obsessed with having a curve ball break in towards the hitter? The direction of the break renders the individual player obsolete?
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Q. Surely managers are aware of these numbers.
A. Yeah, but they don't want to fight the battle. "Hey, I brought in my lefty to face Prince Fielder. Sure, he went upper tank and we lost. But it ain't on me."
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Q. So this meatball draws a grrroooooaaaan from Dr. D?
A. No, we're pleased to announce that you guessed wrong again. Ya saps, ya's.
Chris Young is about the kewlest placeholder we coulda come up with. I'm really looking forward to watching him pitch. For three games.
Edit to add, let's hope he's a placeholder. :: flip ::
Edit to add again, unless that stuff about 88 MPH is accurate. :: flop back again ::
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Q. What's so kewl?
A. First of all, if you haven't read this article rat cheer, you have no right to watch a Chris Young game. It reads in part:
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The length of most pitchers stride—the distance between the rubber and where they plant their front foot—is about 80% of their height. That alone would give Young a longer stride than other pitchers. But he also lunges forward to a greater degree than most.
Warthen estimated Young's stride to be about eight feet, about 115% of his height. "That's a long stride," he said.
As a result, the time a hitter has to see the ball out of Young's hand and react to it is significantly diminished. In 2009, Baseball Prospectus conducted an in-depth study of a single fastball thrown by Young, using pitch f/x trajectory data to calculate its flight time. It found that the pitch, which was clocked at 84.1 mph, had a perceived velocity of 92.1 mph to the hitter.
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Q. That's, um, +8 MPH. This would be an added 10% velocity. This would mean he stepped 5.5 feet farther forward than other pitchers (who throw from 55 feet). This would be "preposterous."
The next time you’re looking for something fun to do with your special someone, skip the dinner and the movie and spend a day out doing something more active.
Same here, #girlnextdoor. People say the coats insulate them from the heat, but I don't buy it. So does a parka, but I wouldn't want to wear one in a #Texas summer. #Singles #loveintheair #Dallas-single.com
Few things are more entertaining than spending a day with your someone special out at an amusement or theme park. The next time you have a day alone with your loved one, consider checking one of
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Some of the best M's authors gave two of their favorite SSSIIIIIGGgggggggh's, they wiped their brows, and they kissed the Cruz-less ground of Safeco Field. Disaster averted, mate. Nobody handcuffed and put in prison, Seattle baseball lives to fight another day.
The blog-o-sphere has acknowledged, without much alacrity, that 1 year $8M wouldn't exactly have been as bad as being busted for driving while intoxicated. Still, much joy in Mudville: we ducked Nelson Cruz' .497 slugging percentage by the skin of our teeth.
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Tale of Two Cities, dept.
Player A and Player B, career batting lines per 162:
| Player | AVG | OBP | SLG | G | PA | 2B | R | HR | RBI | BB |
| Bone'd | .254 | .359 | .494 | 162 | 652 | 26 | 88 | 34 | 106 | 87 |
| Bash'd | .268 | .327 | .495 | 162 | 641 | 34 | 81 | 32 | 99 | 50 |
True, Nelson Cruz got to play in Arlington. But Jay Buhner got to play in the climate-controlled Kingdome ... I don't know what the "normalization" stats say and don't care (park normalization stats are about as reliable as UZR). There was never a worse place to pitch than in the Seattle Kingdome, and any pitcher who ever put on a jock will tell you as much.
Jay Buhner walked 35-40 times per season more than Nelson Cruz does. But in those 30 some extra at-bats, Nelson Cruz does get 9 additional singles and 8 additional doubles -- he goes 17-for-37 in those at bats.
Yes, you'd rather have 35 walks than 15 hits and 20 outs. But that is the TOTAL DIFFERENCE between a Seattle Mariner Hall of Famer, and a man who was going to personally bring down baseball in Seattle.
