Just quickly ...
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PROPS TO BRENDAN RYAN. Three more hits, an 80 OPS+, and now he's looking like a team captain.
Valle remarked that a guy with so much energy, backing up plays he doesn't have to and all that, is contagious.
Bill James remarked that Johnnie Evers (Tinker to Evers to Chance) was so high-voltage that wristwatches stopped when he wore them. Ryan reminds me of Evers.
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SLOPS TO THE 1-2 HITTERS. The TV said they were 6-for-44 on the trip, or something. Talk about a ballclub running with its shoelaces tied together. The 1-2 hitters bat the most often, didn't I hear something like that?
Compared to the #9 batter, the #2 batter gets an extra AB in 77% of all games. You're increasing the volume of the pain by giving Figgins one extra AB every few games.
Think about it: 7 of 9 games, Figgins gets an extra (high-leverage!) AB right now.
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Geoffy wonders who bats second. It doesn't matter. Lots of guys, Kennedy, Gutierrez, LRod, Cust, anybody. Just not Figgins.
Hitting behind the runner doesn't matter. What matters is safe vs. out. That's what matters.
Therefore batting orders don't matter, except for which guys get the extra AB's. You put your good hitters up front, period.
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SLOPS TO LETTING SP's GET THEIR RHYTHMS -
And by the way, it's never a good idea to give a starting pitcher a gimme first inning. He gets into a rocking chair.
"Get 'em early or don't get 'em at all", you say? Well, how about not giving him one free two-bounce flip to first every first inning.
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SLOPS TO NICK BLACKBURN'S CUTTER.
If you check Brooks Baseball, you'll see a starting pitcher go 9 innings with Mike Marshall's strategy -- almost, minus the offspeed pitch.
There's the armside-fastball / gloveside-cutter game for you:
- 61 fastballs, -7 inches armside run, 89 mph (=5 inches drop)
- 40 cutters, +4 inches gloveside run, 86 mph (=5 inches drop)
- 26 offspeed pitches
I know it seems like there are a number of these guys around, but there really are not. It's just that we're putting them on the marquee :- )
In 2008-09, Blackburn was a pitcher quite similar to Doogie now. He appears to be coming on.
Good thing: he and Doogie are trying to shim up my SSI roto team, the one that lost Braden, Neimann and Hughes.
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PROPS TO ADAM KENNEDY.
First time up, man on second, Kennedy bulleted a topspin groundstroke over toward the RF corner ... Kubel raced over and snagged it knee-high. That's a 75% chance for a hit.
Second time up, Kennedy hit one even harder, diving.... but so was Kubel. EXCELLENT catch by Kubel.
Third time up, Kennedy socked a low liner deep into the RCF gap.... Denard Span zipped over and cut it off on the fly.
He shoulda been 2-for-3. 1-for-3 woulda been bad luck, but Kennedy got oh-fer'ed.
........
Like we sez, tight ballgame, breaks didn't go the M's way. Lotta luck in hardball -- the best teams ever, they lost 3-4 games outta 10. Can't fight City Hall, city hall being the bounce of the ball.
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Curse you Red Baron,
Dr D
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