The history and contemporary use of book vending machines is fascinating, and even though it's something I try to follow closely, I'm always learning about something new. Like the book vending machine at a Toronto used book shop which dispenses a random used book for $2 CAD. ("Collect all 112 million titles," the machine exclaims.)
Big fan of public transportation here, and I was just introduced to the budget bus company, Megabus. Ran into one almost literally at the LA Times Travel show and it was huge! The double decker bus features comfortable seating upstairs – the better to observe the world rolling by. Downstairs there are tables with electrical outlets and WiFi throughout (although some riders claim the service is spotty on certain routes).
Apparently hockey is still a thing? I’m just kidding. Canadians and weird Americans I can only assume don’t have channels showing NBA or NFL. After holding his position since 1997, Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff was fired on Wednesday in the midst of a slow start during the lockout shortened season.
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This from BJOL.
Before diving in, a couple of prereq light bulbs: (1) James has demonstrated, to most people's satisfaction, that the current use of the super closer -- a great pitcher coming into a 5-3 game to blow away three hitters in the top of the 9th -- is inefficient.
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"I believe in paying my dues, in watching the kids figure things out. It makes winning more fun." - Bill James
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Q. Leaving him where?
A. Well, so if this interpretation be true ... he's got his head together now, he's got talent, he's got power, he's playing his game ... but he just hasn't seen enough pitches yet in his career.
This would mean that he's in a position to learn much more quickly. You don't learn much at all when you're in full-on retreat mode. If you're losing 15-1 to somebody at racquetball, and totally humiliated in front of your boss or girlfriend, are you getting better? Never happen. You learn when you're doing your thing and better players are beating you. To me, that's what's going on with Justin Smoak at the moment.
Smoak has had 2,000 pro at-bats,* majors and minors combined, and his OPS+ stands at 89 right now. Carlos Guillen had 2,700 combined before he stopped having 90 OPS+ years ... then he had one fairly good season, and then he became an MVP. Cecil Fielder had 1,900 minors and NPB at-bats*, plus 400 in Toronto, before he became an overnight sensation with a .592 SLG in the majors.
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... His fall from grace, or his fall from other-dimensional status, at least...
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Q: So the only sanctuary for my sanity right now is that Felix must be tipping his pitches.
Q: Yeah, what's up with Felix getting knocked around three starts in a row?
A. What's up is that Felix' Rock 'n Roll' Fantasy got him overconfident and he began to think of himself as bulletproof. Point of order: after two innings tonight he'd thrown 23 strikes and 6 balls. Here's his strike zone plot.
Bill Krueger, who is a very informative pitching analyst, one with more overall light bulbs on than you or I, jumped on the postgame and instantly delivered the goods. "Felix is a very confident pitcher. He believes in his pitches ... against aggressive teams like Toronto, he's got to go off the plate, over their heads, take advantage of their approach." The Oakland A's were similarly stocked with razor-sharp lefty batters just waiting for strikes they knew they were going to get.
Krueger accurately supplied, "He's making what I call a lot of arm-side mistakes." In other words, Felix has a tendency to kind of spin/sail the ball out-and-over against LH. Against lefties, Felix' dumb little two-seam fastball -- his only Achilles' heel -- fades right out onto the outer 1/3 of the plate and they are CHEATING onto that location.
As a side point, the Jays' 40-homer righty, Edwin Encarnacion, happens to have a rare hot zone for a RH: he likes the ball right on his hands. He leans back in 1970's style, swwaaaaats the bat through real quick and barrels it up. He took Carter Capps deep too in the same game - 15 feet foul. Gorgeous snake-fast bat.
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Felix' changeup dropped right into the hot zone and we were treated to the unpossible sight of a Felix Hernandez dry spitter getting launched, what was it, 440 feet?
Great hitter, great pitcher, Hitter guessed exactly right, Pitcher threw a great pitch but right where Hitter likes it.... video game battle of the titans. Boom time.
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=== Still With Fangs Down To Their Chins ===
.... though Danny Haren doesn't strike you as all that goth, probably. I dunno, is the werewolf look included in the fad or is it just vampires and, um, zombies?
Bill James' 'Pitcher Rankings' paradigm basically treats the last 2-3 seasons as one continuous season, underlining pitchers who have demonstrated their excellence. My favorite use of the 'World's #1 Pitcher' tool right now, is the large, overarc'ing insights into which teams may be playing over their heads. And which teams may be ripe for a surge in the standings.
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=== Catching* ===
As Millwood threw, I wondered about the framing again. But check this little baby. The ump was actually trying to bail Millwood out. And when Furbush entered the game, it's funny how Montero's pitch framing suddenly looked so much better ...
Montero weirdly had three pitches bang off his glove, no bases gained or lost. Dan Wilson thought highly of Montero's feet behind the plate: "that pitch bounced way in front of the plate, real tough to block, but Jesus was all over it." And like that.
The 3rd SB attempt on Montero, and the third SB that wasn't even close. They're not running wild, like several SB's in a game, but it bears watching.
cERA, Montero's up to what, 3.75 -- that's Millwood (a #5 starter) in the Texas crucible, Hector Noesi (a #4 starter) against a weak lineup, and Millwood throwing terribly against a LH power lineup. Charlie Furbush came in there Tuesday and Montero was just flat having fun out there.
