Friday, May 19, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Bill Antonello BRO b. 1927, played 1953, d. 1993-03-04
Dan Ford CAL b. 1952, played 1979-1981. Even though I was only dimly aware of the Angels' existence as a youth, I remember Dan Ford for some reason. A top 100 Angel, he's proof that you don't need to be a Reggie Jackson to have a major league career. Never great, he managed at least to have his best season with the Angels. In a sense, it was only fitting: the Halos brought him in to replace a real star, and ironically, another Twin, Lyman Bostock.
Jim Hickman BRO b. 1892, played 1916-1919, d. 1958-12-30
Mike Lee LAA b. 1941, played 1963
Phil Leftwich CAL b. 1969, played 1993-1994, 1996
Earl Naylor BRO b. 1919, played 1946, d. 1990-01-16
Josh Paul ANA,LAA b. 1975, played 2004-2005. Loudmouth White Sox fans will never understand that Doug Eddings blew the call. It's called a gift. Your team won, already. Stop being jerks about it.
Dutch Schliebner BRO b. 1891, played 1923, d. 1975-04-15
Curt Simmons CAL b. 1929, played 1967, All-Star: 1952,1953,1957. Even though he was in the twilight of his career, he was a great pitcher for the Angels for the last 34.2 innings he had. A number two starter for the NL-winning 1950 "Whiz Kids" Phillies, he got one of the largest bonuses for a teenager to that point when the Phils paid him $65,000 in 1947. After the Phils released him in 1960 following arm trouble, he reinvented himself as a soft-tossing breaking ball specialist. He signed with the Cards, with whom he spent another six years.
Roster Notes
- Everybody's all over reports in the Times and Daily News about an anti-fit pitched by Darin Erstad over the fingerpointing going on in the Angels locker room. Those who make the claim that the Angels haven't made RISP hitting an offensive foundation ought to consider that (a) apparently, they have, (b) it's not working, and (c) this is the second year in a row it hasn't worked. If you want to know how the 2005 Angels, at least, made it to the postseason, look to the mound.
- Bartolo Colón's progress has been slowed by "dead arm". The Angels are reluctant to call up Jered Weaver, but their hand may be forced by his arm, and/or Kevin Gregg's next performance.
- Neither of Tim Salmon (knees) or Garret Anderson (hamstring) will be able to play anything but a pinch-hit role this weekend. Expect a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers this year.
- The Angels voted to make up the Chicago rainout on August 7, but the Chisox voted to have it happen on July 27. The matter will go up before the player's union.
- Dioner Navarro is eligible to return from the DL Saturday, but won't because he still can't swing a bat without pain. Navarro's inability to block wild pitches — and conversely, Russell Martin's athleticism behind the plate that saves them — is a subject in a Tony Jackson piece in the Daily News. Martin was drafted as a third baseman, but the Dodgers let him know they thought he would end up as a catcher. Shortly afterwards, they moved him behind the dish.
"I think by the end of my second year catching, I started to feel really comfortable," Martin said. "I think game-calling was probably the toughest part, because early on I just worried about catching the ball and blocking it."
Little has raved about Martin's skill at blocking pitches in the dirt, which already has saved the Dodgers a handful of wild pitches. Before he arrived, the Dodgers already had thrown 10 wild pitches in their first 29 games. That included a costly one by Brad Penny with the bases loaded on April 25 at Houston - a pitch Little later said Navarro should have blocked.
With Martin behind the plate, Dodgers pitchers have thrown only two wild pitches.
I recall that someone over at BTB recently claimed to have discovered the unicorn's chimera, the clutch hitter, but once more the data had to be sliced so thinly that you may as well give up hope finding nine such stalwarts to make a starting lineup.
Newer› ‹Older
 |
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.