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K-Swag

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WILD CARD 2

Last night was what, Erasmo Ramirez' 6th straight quality start since adding** his "keep 'em honest" cut fastball?  I can safely say it's the best I ever saw him throw the ball.  That's exciting, don't you think?  For this year and next.

Shame that the M's botched a big chance.  In the first six innings they must have had 8 hard fly balls that found outfielders' mitts.  Baseball has a lot of luck in it.  Anyhow, with 19 games left:

(Min +5)

LAA +3

KC =

Tex =

Sea -1

Bal -1

Tampa -2

I was amused and delighted to see that Felix goes first this week, then Paxton, which puts Paxton in line for the Yankee$ play-in game if we got there.  Heh, heh, HEH!!  ... Iwakuma lurks also.  Two (three) games back with 19 to play is not dead.  But the M's would need a couple other teams to lose (very, very feasible) or for themselves to get a win streak (less feasible).

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KYLE SEAGER

I don't go to BJOL because I'm a "fan"; I'm not.  I go there because it's the best place to go in the morning.  Occasionally you go there and find 6, 8, 10 basic light bulbs for your collection, different bulbs.  His essay this morning on the Louisiania Purchase was revolutionary; you wind up wondering whether he just came up with it, off the cuff.  If so it should replace what's in high school textbooks and it's just him chatting over coffee.

Spend a few minutes reflecting on that point, would you?  That is the kind of thing you expect from real genius.

...

He answered one question this way:

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Watching Gavin Cecchini it's difficult for me to understand why any team would draft a right-hand hitting high school infielder in the first round. What is it about such a player that would so impress scouts? I imagine if I saw his brother play I'd have the same reaction.
Asked by: manhattanhi

Answered: 9/11/2017
 Garin Cecchini (the brother) was a left-handed batter and a 4th-round draft pick, so I'm not sure how relevant he is.    Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were right-handed hitting infielders drafted out of high school in the first round, and those worked out all right.    If Albert Pujols was on the board, would you draft him in the first round, or Manny Ramirez?
 
If you represent a draft pick as a series of positives and negatives, a long series of 1-2 or 1-10 rankings, you MIGHT consider his being a right-handed hitter to be a minor negative, and you might consider his being a high school player to be a minor negative.    But you would have 50 other categories, many of them more important.   Does he run well, and if so, how well?  Does he throw well?   Is he quick?  Is he intelligent?   Does he love to play the game?   Does he have good work habits?   If we pay him a $4 million bonus, how will he handle that?   Does he have a good swing?   Does he have strong wrists?   Does the ball jump off of his bat?   Could he be using steroids?   Does he have a strong self-image?   Does he accept coaching?   
 
If there are 50 scales--which there are--and a million players, not a single one of them is going to get good marks on every scale.   So if you think the guy could be Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter, you draft him.

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That's a very cool checklist, and you can sort the socks into 2 categories:

√ Does a hitter have special physical tools compared to the best in the world

√ Does a hitter have special ability to learn compared to the best in the world

Usually, in baseball, a hitter has special ability to learn if he has special humility, among other things.  I'd love to know the correlation between Seager-type hitting surprises and whether they tend to be good defenders, since baseball defense requires humility also.

Seager is #8 all time in Seattle Mariner WAR, behind the 5 tremendous Hall of Famers, and Felix, and Moyer.  Ahead of Jay Buhner, Alvin Davis, et al; yet Kyle Seager is 29 years old.  We underappreciate the man.

BABVA,

Dr D

Blog: 
Hottest Groks

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