M’s, Defense, and Statistics
Read this. It’s a fantastic article, and sums up how an organization should go about evaluating these things. It’s not just stats, and it’s not just scouting. It’s both, and they work together.
Minor League Wrap (8/17-23/09)
I’m around for questions this time, so if there’s anything important left over from last week, shoot.
To the jump!
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Game 124, Felix Day in Cleveland
I’ve been a baseball fan since I can remember, and I still can’t quite get used to games that start at 9, 10 AM, where your beverage of choice is coffee instead of Coke, or a beer.
A couple notes on Felix while perusing his Fangraphs page: his groundball percentage this season’s as low as it’s ever been (at 51.7%, last year was 2nd-lowest by a hair at 52.1%), which is significantly off his career numbers. His HR rate, though, is also way down, bettered only by his 2005 partial-season mark, when he was a groundout machine.
Or look at his pitch type distribution, for that matter, and how much different the precentages of breaking pitches is.
It’s sometimes a wonder to me that Felix has managed to get here, considering how many managers (four) and pitching coaches he’s had in his years as a Mariner. And thank goodness he did.
Happy Felix Day.
Much Ichiro! goodness
Brad Lefton in the New York Times on Ichiro, technique, infield hits, and flirtation:
“Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me,†he said. “I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.â€
Game 123, Mariners at Indians
The M’s bullpen is supposed to be rundown, “achy” with Jakubauskas unavailable. And yeah, if you’re a fan of winning, this might get tough, since in terms of guys who haven’t pitched in 2/3 it’s Lowe, Batista, and Kelley.
And it is Fister. The Indians aren’t quite the offensive juggernaut the 2009 Yankees are though, so if Fister’s orders are to go six or seven at any cost, maybe it won’t work out as badly as it did for Snell.
Game 122, Mariners at Indians
4:05 PST, French vs. Huff.
The Hidden Value Of Bill Hall
While the focus on Hall since his acquisition has been his struggles with the bat the last few years, the largest part of his likely value to the team will come through his defensive flexibility. This isn’t something that we’ve talked about too much on the blog because it’s a minor detail that only comes into play when you’re expecting to field a winning team, and we haven’t had many of those to write about, but having a couple of guys who can play almost everywhere is a pretty valuable thing.
With Langerhans, Hannahan, and now Hall on board, the Mariners have two backups at every single position on the field other than catcher. Langerhans and Hall can both cover all three outfield spots, while Hannahan and Hall can both cover 3B/SS/2B, and Hannahan and Langerhans can both cover 1B. With just those three players, the Mariners now have a left-handed and right-handed backup option at every single non-catcher position on the field.
The flexibility offered by those three allows the M’s to do a bunch of things with the roster. They could platoon at DH again if they wanted (though I don’t think they’ll want to), as they have the ability to carry two guys with no defensive value. They could get a no-glove switch-hitter whose just around to pinch-hit. They could carry an extra pitcher when the bullpen gets a little worn down.
Hall, Hannahan, and Langerhans all signify that the Mariners are looking to build a roster in 2010, rather than just a big collection of talent. They fit together in a way that gives Wak an incredible amount of flexibility in how he uses his bench. By covering all the back-up jobs with just three players, the M’s have given themselves an extra roster spot to play with.
Lopez’s Power
I’m not saying Jose Lopez is a pull hitter, but…
Today’s HR isn’t included in that chart yet, but I’ll give you one guess where it went.
Also, fun fact – Lopez doesn’t have a single home run that has traveled 400+ feet. Russell Branyan only has six that have traveled less than 400 feet.
Game 121, Mariners at Tigers
Rowland-Smith Vs Washburn, 10:05 AM
I will be giggling like a school kid if the M’s light up Washburn today.
Also, Olson to Triple-A to make room for Bill Hall.
Game 120, Mariners at Tigers
Snell vs. Verlander, 4:05.
Hall doesn’t arrive until tomorrow, which doesn’t matter too much considering you wouldn’t start him over Hannahan to face Verlander anyway. Josh Wilson is another story, though.
RF-L Ichiro
1B-L Branyan
2B-R Lopez
DH-L Griffey
CF-R Gutierrez
3B-L Hannahan
C-R Joh…jima
LF-L Saunders
SS-R Wilson