Wednesday, August 30, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Dave Chalk CAL b. 1950, played 1973-1978, All-Star: 1974-1975. A Top 100 Angel, Chalk was a solid defender and a league-average bat. Knee injuries ended his career.
Kiki Cuyler BRO b. 1898, played 1938, All-Star: 1934, Hall of Fame: 1968 (Veterans), d. 1950-02-11. Attended West Point during World War I; Bill James claimed he had one of the best ten rookie seasons by a right fielder in history. He led the majors four times in steals, three times in games played and times on base, twice in runs scored and hit by pitch, and once each on triples and doubles. A fantastic player for the Pirates, cheap owner Barney Dreyfuss got nervous about the financial side effects of having three top stars on his team (the other two being the Hall of Famer brothers Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner) — and traded Cuyler to Chicago, where he went on to be even better. He played with and coached for the Dodgers in the last season of his career.
Tommy Dean LAN b. 1945, played 1967. Spent one season with the Dodgers as a rookie, behind Dick Schofield; traded to San Diego, he was an original Padre, for whom he played shortstop as their regular starter.
Dave Smith CAL b. 1957, played 1984-1985
Bert Tooley BRO b. 1886, played 1911-1912, d. 1976-08-17
Which Weaver? Mariners 6, Angel 4
So Jered Weaver coughed up four homers. It's long been a great fear of mine that some of those flyball outs will turn into home runs. Mat misrepresents the concern; it's not making bets on particular games that matters so much as having a clear idea of which outcomes are likely. At this point in his career, Jered Weaver still has a lot of adjusting to do, as do his opponents. Is the Jered Weaver we'll know in 2007 the guy who just gave up four longballs? Or the tough luck loser of his start prior?Jarrod Washburn had one really good season in an Angels uniform, his 2002, and was never before or again so good. Is that what we're getting with Jered?
Finally, it ought to be noted that Rafael Soriano was hospitalized with a concussion after he took a Vladimir Guerrero line drive off the back of his head. He was able to turn his head after contact, never lost consciousness, and x-rays appear to show he has no fracture. Vlad supposedly had planned to visit Rafael in the hospital. Speedy recovery.
You Picked A Fine Time To Leave The Yard, Lucille: Dodgers 6, Reds 5
Okay, so that's an obscure reference to the Dodger Thoughts commenters' chosen nickname for Ramon Martinez, but after the eleventh, I decided to bail from the confines at Dodger Stadium. It was a good thing, because I managed to get out in one of the easiest exits I've ever had, and nothing really happened until Martinez's 16th inning dinger, well after I got home. Mark Hendrickson was lousy-mediocre (this was a surprise to some people enamored of Ned Colletti's furious trading, from whom I expect to hear not at all around these parts), but the bullpen put together twelve innings of one-run ball, pretty good considering how well the Cincy lineup can hit.Oh, and postscriptum: happy birthday to Jay Jaffe, the announcement of which made the displays ringing the infield scoreboard.
Roster Notes
- Bill Stoneman is counting on Bartolo Colon for next year.
- Derek Lowe will make his next scheduled start despite the injury to his non-pitching hand.
- Brad Penny and Chad Billingsley will flip-flop their turns in the rotation, with Penny starting Saturday and Billingsley starting Sunday.
- The Dodgers may be interested in David Wells. (Update: Also via Ken Rosenthal.)
Getting uglier every day. 6.4% chance. Heck just 4 days ago it was 15%. Figures, on the day I give Arte a $5600 interest free loan the Halos disappoint.
: 8/30/2006 11:35:00 AM : 8/30/2006 12:05:00 PMSeriously, I made Rob sit at Wrigley field during a pouring rain (under the top deck) with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for gosh, seemed like an hour, before they called the game. It was cold, too. It was this game:
http://tinyurl.com/e9bw9
Every pitcher has a bad game, and indeed predicting when that will precisely occur by using stats is no more likely to be accurate than using a horoscope or biorhythms.
But in terms of simply predicting if an event will happen, yeah, one could use tea leaves, stats, or see if the pitcher weighs the same as a duck.
: 8/30/2006 02:17:00 PM : 8/30/2006 02:50:00 PMFrankly, I think the "war" that has erupted is kinda silly.
As a fan of both your site and his, it makes me not want to read either one. You guys should try to bury the hatchet.
Ultimately, I think a substantial amount of the vitriol that has been spewed is really just overflow frustration with how the Angels seem to be pissing away the season, allowing an Oakland team that really isn't any better (or shouldn't be) to run away with the division.
: 8/30/2006 05:11:00 PMThe Internet: SERIOUS BUSINESS.
Why can't we all just get along?
: 8/31/2006 12:12:00 PM : 8/31/2006 12:56:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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