Thursday, September 07, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Brent Cookson LAN b. 1969, played 1999. A former Dirtbag, the 15th-round draftee has the third most home runs in school history. He spent most of his professional career in the minors, with some eye-popping numbers as an outfielder in the Giants' system (.324/.381/.614 with AA Shreveport), but fizzled at higher levels. He spent time in eight different teams' systems, including a 24-at-bat stint as a 34-year-old with the AAA Iowa Cubs. That's determination.
Willie Crawford LAN b. 1946, played 1964-1975, d. 2004-08-27. Not exactly a bust, but not exactly a star, he signed for $100,000 out of Fremont High in Los Angeles in 1964. A speedy player who could and did play all three outfield positions, but was at his best in the corners, yet never hit with enough power to justify parking him there. His speed never translated to success on the basepaths, as he had a career .563 SB% with the Dodgers, and only swiped more than ten in a single year. He spent a couple more years in the majors with St. Louis, Houston, and Oakland, and retired after 1977.
Curt Davis BRO b. 1903, played 1940-1946, All-Star: 1936, 1939, d. 1965-10-12. Made his major league debut with the Phillies at the shocking age of 30, and proceeded to win 19 games. The Cubs got hold of him in May 1936, and proved they had a front office that knew how to make a trade, unloading him in April 1938 for future Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean; the transaction was one of the most expensive deals in major league history at the time, moving $185,000 to the Cards. A 22-game winner in 1939 as a 35-year-old with the emerging dynasty of the late 30's/early 40's Cardinals, he spent the latter half or so of his career in a Brooklyn uniform. In his only World Series appearance, he took a 3-2 loss in Game 1 of the 1941 Series. World War II probably prolonged his career, as he was a mostly above-average pitcher throughout the war years, but tanked after brief usage in 1946.
Dave Foutz BRO b. 1856, played 1890-1896, d. 1897-03-05. Owns the second-highest career winning percentage (.690) in major league history, though he came to the game late (a 27-year-old rookie) and was increasingly used as an outfielder as he aged.
Ed Poole BRO b. 1874, played 1904, d. 1919-03-11
Lew Ritter BRO b. 1875, played 1902-1908, d. 1952-05-27
Joe Rudi CAL b. 1946, played 1977-1980, All-Star: 1972, 1974-1975. A three-time All-Star who twice placed second in the MVP balloting, Rudi manned the corners for the great Oakland teams of the early 70's, playing in the shadow of another Athletic who would eventually don an Angels uniform, Reggie Jackson. The 1979 division champion Angels were unable to rely on him because of frequent injuries; Dan Ford, Rick Miller, or Don Baylor all got more playing time. He retired after 1982 following stints with the A's and Red Sox.
Bill Schroeder CAL b. 1958, played 1989-1990
Eddie Wilson BRO b. 1909, played 1936-1937, d. 1979-04-11
Buckle Down: Angels 8, Orioles 4
A pitcher who gave you quality starts, nothing more and nothing less, all season would have a 4.50 ERA, but yesterday's four runs over seven innings amounts to a 5.14 ERA, and this against a club struggling to drive runners in. Only 14 of Santana's 23 games started this year were quality starts, or a little over half. I'm not saying that Ervin Santana shouldn't be cut some slack because of age and so forth, but it doesn't seem like he's playing up to his much-heralded potential, last year's ALDS notwithstanding.That gripe aside, the Angels did, oh yes, manage to collect a win anyway, mostly by beating up on the O's bullpen. Scioscia's roster rejiggling does seem to have helped a little, and at least it belatedly acknowledged the awful consequences of leaving Chone Figgins in the leadoff spot, where hitting .250 has bad consequences for the team.
Not A Stopper So Much As A Cork: Dodgers 2, Brewers 1
After the 9-0 knockdown on Tuesday, it was a tonic to get Derek Lowe in there and shut down the mighty... Brewers, who actually are a decent team this year, but for the injuries, the unexpected ineffectiveness from multiple corners, and the usual what-if's that plague teams built without adequate depth. Takashi Saito notched his 18th save, and at the rate he's going, he'll start accumulating the league's first negative ERA.Bullety Stuff
- Twice in one week, and even after a bad experience: Eric Stults, starter. So desperate are the Dodgers.
- Tony Jackson has penned a piece about Oscar Robles' return to the majors.
- Unbeknownst to Eric Stults, Jerry Reuss took a photo of his first major league pitch. Guess he wanted to preserve it before it left the yard or something.
- John Klima thinks Andre Ethier is really toolsy, and that's a good thing:
What Ethier did to get to the big leagues didn't excite everyone in amateur or professional baseball. Though he was a second-round pick out of Arizona State in 2002, Ethier's skill set was never considered scout-friendly. He was a junior college player. He wasn't an exceptionally fast runner. His arm was playable, but not outstanding. His best ability was to make contact, but where was the power? In the eyes of the steroid era scouts, a line drive hitter with gap power was considered a glorified singles hitter.
In many ways, Ethier was a victim of the kind of player profiling that became rampant in the steroid era, and to a degree, still exists now. Teams covet power bats and power arms to combat them. The value of players who did things with skill instead of tools began to decline. The value of contact hitters, finesse pitchers, athletes who can run, began to fall. Teams wanted, and still want, players with the quickest path to the major leagues and who can exhibit power the moment they get there.
Ethier simply plays the game well. He has knowledge of the strike zone, which doesn't have to translate into walks, but only into a hitter's recognition of which pitches he can drive and which pitches he cannot. Ethier is hitting .335 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs in his first 106 games.
- Chone Figgins will continue his stint at the bottom of the lineup, at least until he starts hitting better.
- Juan Rivera could return to the lineup on Friday.
I still think the guy is going to develop the consistency necessary to be a big winner.
I'd be curious to see what his ERA is with Napoli v. Molina behind the plate.
: 9/07/2006 11:20:00 AM
So far this year, Santana has had five "disaster" starts (more ER than IP, or less than 5 IP) - that's without counting an outing early in the year at Minnesota in which he allowed four unearned runs. Interestingly enough, all five disaster starts have come on the road, and Minnesota's "gray" start was away, too. So - he's not just pitching poorly on the road, he's getting KILLED on the road.
On the broadcast yesterday, the announcers were commenting about Santana's home-road splits and said that Black and Scioscia had no answers. I can't accept that. It's their job to figure that out, even if they have to hire a private secretary to track Ervin's every move.
If/when they get Santana squared away on the road, THEN we'll have the pitcher that we are teased with at the Big A. If not, then Santana will have a very mediocre career.
: 9/07/2006 11:59:00 AMhttp://usdtoreros.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/090706aag.html
: 9/07/2006 03:49:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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