=== ACK !, Dept. ===

Think it was Bill the Cat, Bloom County, whose vocabulary rotated around "Ack!," as Bill spit up another hairball at reading something that Berkeley Breathed found galling.  With Breathed's politics, during this election cycle, Bill would have needed a separate litter box just for the hairballs...

Bill was accused of being a spoof of Garfield, an anti-marketing icon that was supposed to be impossible to sell.  Ironically, Bill the Cat sold plenty...

The sight of ACK ! is creating a steady stream of tossed cookies on the back of AFL mounds.  And though ACK ! was also supposed to be too small to change the scoreboard and too raw to play second base, he's selling plenty too...

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Spec Sez:

After an amazing 5-walks-against-5-different-pitchers game the other day (http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=g_log&gid=2010_10_25_...), The Talented Mr. Ackley follows up with 2 more walks the next day, giving him 9 walks in his last 3 games (vs. 2 K in the same stretch).  For the fall season, 11 BB vs. 6 K, on base 18 times in 7 games (32 PA).  He has 7 H, 3 of which are XBH (2 dbl, 1 HR).

Leads the league in OBP and 3rd in OPS: .333/.563/.571/1.134 .  At the plate, he's almost just toying with the minor leaguer pitchers at this point.

He has 1 error in the field and seems to be making all the plays.

Where do folks put the odds on Ackley at 2b on Opening Day 2011?

If the question were simply, "Could Ackley begin taking on big leaguers in April 2011?" well, we know where Loop In Ella woulda been on that question ...hey, if he's got learning to do, let him learn up here...

However, Ackley's development arc is pitch-perfect for the 6.7 year plan ... let him "get his legs under him" in April and May, call him up, and then you get 2011 plus the six more years before free agency...

And in this case, the argument for giving Ackley two more months in AAA cannot be faulted...

But, obviously, if Ackley hits .375 in Arizona in March 2011, the "Pay Your Dues" crowd is going to be operating out of sheer inertia... 

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=== Ackley's Skill Set ===

The curiosity revolves around the question of whether ACK ! is going to hit 10 homers?, or 20-25 homers? as a lefty in Safeco.

For SSI, this question may not amount to much more than, "Is Ackley going to be a star, or an MVP candidate?", which isn't a question that interests me all too much.

...............

Chuck Knoblauch did fine hitting 5-10 homers.  You hit .300-and-plenty, walk enough to get your OBP over .400, and if you're a middle infielder you're a star.

The .400 OBP guys who never hit anything but singles, they're great too ... but you add some gap power and speed, and boom, you're creating 7-8 runs per game, pal. 

Roberto Alomar is another 10-homer superstar who created 7-8 runs per game.

Hit 20 homers?  Why?

..........

On the other hand, supposing that Ackley did whale 20-25 over the RF porch, with the .400 OBP, I guess now you're dreaming about my boyhood hero Joe Morgan ...

Little Joe's eye was really extreme, and he had just enough pop to induce the 120 walks. 

It says here, that Ackley will have enough power to enforce the BB skill.

..........

Whether Ackley's a 2 hitter, or a 3 hitter, doesn't matter.  The Mariners have two Ryan Braun-type commodities in the torpedo bay for 2011.  Both left, both with EYE, both org guys, both hugely gifted.

I don't mind losing when it's with guys like that.

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Cheerio,

Dr D