Q.  Standing O?  For what?

A.  As Billy Clyde Puckett would say, that's one of your all-time great 25th-man calls.

You know how MLB front offices now have cubicle nests full of brainy interns?  Guys whose searchlights are scouring the minors like Terminator HK's, looking for The Next Great Saber Discovery?

About five or ten times a year, throughout the industry, they find a Luis Rodriguez.

...........

No, LrkrBoi29, the sabr interns don't find Johann Santana five or ten times a year.  They do find very intriguing fringe players with upside, George Sherrill types (though GS himself was a scout find), about that often.

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Q.  This SSI celebration is after the fact?

A.  This celebration occurred on November 24, 2010.  Here's the three-parter, Proceed to Level 102 Scan.

Exec sum:  Starting in the middle of 2010, Rodriguez suddenly "busted out."

We're not talking about a blip in batting average.  We're talking about what Bill James called "something out of alignment in the statistics."

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Q.  What was out of alignment in his stats?

A.  That a guy with a 1:00 EYE and no power kept his 1:00 EYE but added tons of power.

This was because he added tons of TTO's:  his BB's, K's, and HR's all went way up.  As if Earl Weaver sat down and told him how you hit in baseball.

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Q.  Any cross-check on the saber stuff?

A.  Turns out, as Geoff Baker reports (as usual), that Chris Chambliss was present for Luis Rodriguez' bustout.

And undoubtedly the cause of it.  And undoubtedly Chambliss was the guy who fought for Rodriguez' inclusion on the 25-man.

And, we suspect, Chambliss may be present for Rodriguez' continuation of his bustout.  If he's going to.

I'm getting to like Chris "Six-Ring" Chambliss.

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Q.  Does the 2010 bustout mean he's now a certified ML hitter?

A.  No, it means you'd love to Proceed To Level 102 scan - you'd love to bring him to spring training and watch him.

The trick is getting him to come to camp for you, without a decent contract, because all teams would have loved to have had Rodriguez in camp.

Don't know how Zduriencik pulled that off.  ... Chambliss may have been a key.

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Q.  Did he hit in spring?

A.  The raw stats weren't there, but we're supposed to have progressed past AVG, now aren't we?

Rodriguez had a BABIP of .192; the ball didn't fall in, but he did have a 6:7 EYE and hit a homer during spring.

More to the point, Chambliss and Wedge liked what they saw.  

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Q.  Does SSI like Rodriguez' swing?

A.  Fo sho.

 This link has an HR for you ... notice how quiet the hands are.  He's not lifting them up and then looping the bat around - he's simply going straight to the ball nice and quick.

Check out how compact he is to the ball, and yet what zing he gets on it once he gets the arms extended.

Watch the second time and you can see hip load - he's getting power from his lower half, letting the bat do the work, head very quiet, and it's a nice left* hand swing.

We don't say he's Colby Rasmus.  But for a shortstop, it beats Jack Wilson.

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