Lou Piniella and the Devil Rays
The latest news out of Tampa is that Lou’s agent is meeting with Devil Rays officials. Lou said he doesn’t know anything about it, but given his recent open discontent with the situation there, and his statements about his regret in taking the job there (in particular, saying that his next decision will be driven by his own priorities and not family concerns), it seems reasonable that Piniella and the Devil Rays may be looking for a way out.
The ownership probably feels like they’ve got better things to do with their money than spend $4.5m next year on a manager that doesn’t want to be there, is respected aaaand badmouths them.
Lou, meanwhile, would like a better job.
This has led to speculation that runs in two directions:
– he’ll go to New York, where Steinbrenner has always said he regrets letting Piniella go and would like to re-hire him, and the team is struggling
– he’ll come back to Seattle
We certainly can’t speak to the first. Who knows what crazy things Steinbrenner will do? I doubt Steinbrenner has any idea what he might do by the end of the season.
But Seattle? It’s unlikely. They’ve hired Hargrove, he’s got years on his contract, and it’s not clear that they’d want Lou back anyway. If he’s complaining about the long, badly-run rebuilding effort in Tampa, would they want him back without knowing if the next division contender is going to come in 2006, 2007, or later? And is Lou the manager you want on your team if you’re trying to rebuild around some strange and frustrating prospects around a pitching phenom?
And in the same way, does Lou want that? It would seem like if he and the Devil Rays parted ways after this year, Seattle would not be the best match available, and Piniella might not be the best match for the team on the field and the ownership group.
… and now I go on vacation. Later all. And remember, two “i”s in Piniella. Pin-i-ella.
The Attrition War, Giants
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Giants.
This week’s PI bit: RoboIchiro 2000
My piece in the PI this week, (“Is something wrong with Ichiro“) deals with a topic that came up here earlier (in Dave’s post “What’s wrong with Ichiro“).
It goes in a direction I started to get into a little in the comments — and features a lot about how once you get into smaller and smaller samples, the farther wrong you can go, and features RoboIchiro 2000.
The Attrition War, Rangers
So the Rangers go up out of order, because of a fine reader contribution. Adam Morris writes:
I’m the author of the Lone Star Ball blog, which covers the Rangers.
In conjunction with your attrition reports, I’ve prepared one for the poor, pitiful Texas Rangers pitching prospects who cracked the BA top 10 list from 1995-2004.
It is a pretty depressing list, as a Ranger fan.
This ended up being a great help, as Morris found information on some of the more obscure players that take about 80% of the research time. As a result, I was able to hurry up and get this out the door before I head out on vacation.
Readers who want to help with this freaking enormous research project can either email me to take on a whole team or just look at one in the series, find a player with “unknown” or something, go research them and post the results in the comments.
This is part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Game 63, Phillies at Mariners
RHP Vincente Padilla v RHP Aaron Sele. 7:05, FSN.
20,000 tickets remain for tomorrow’s game. Wow. I was at last night’s game, and there were not a lot of people there. Interestingly, the Mets series is going to sell out entirely. So much for the inherent magic of interleague play.
Beltre is out again with his “grade one” hamstring strain. Hansen gets the start at third. Now, I’m no rocket scientist, but Hansen is the backup 3B? Not Dobbs or Bloomquist? I’m a little baffled at this. Hansen’s skills at the hot corner are… limited?
Japanese stats and the Hall of Fame
Jim Caple raises — and does not answer — the question of whether stats from Japan should be considered in Ichiro’s Hall of Fame case.
I wouldn’t argue in favor of weighting Japanese statistics on a 1-to-1 basis — that’s why Japan’s own Hall of Fame exists — but realistically, it will have to play in voters’ minds that the guy they’re voting on was an exceptional player for years elsewhere.
Besides, I think Ichiro will have a solid Cooperstown resume based solely on what he accomplishes on this side of the pond. Hideki Matsui, on the other hand, would probably need a lot more points for his achievements with Yomiuri. Those two extra prime years make a big difference.
The Attrition War, Nationals
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Nationals.
Game 62, Phillies at Mariners
Last year, before we implemented comments, I did several running game diaries that were fairly popular. This year, we’ve usually ended up just adding into the comments if we’re watching along, but a few people have said they missed the in-post running diaries, so we get one again tonight.
Jon Lieber vs Gil Meche. Liebery, by the way, has given up 18 home runs already, on pace for allowing 45 on the season. Even weirder? He’s a groundball pitcher, and has allowed just 94 fly balls this year. Safeco and the M’s offense could be just what the doctor ordered for Mr. Lieber.
Oh, and Dave Hansen’s starting for Beltre at third tonight.
7:00 pm pacific “You can’t believe how great it is to get out of the heat and the humidity of the east coast and get back to Seattle…”
Screw you, Dave.
7:01 “Gil Meche is going to have to keep the ball down…”
I’m now convinced that Ron Fairly is dead. He’s been replaced by a hologram, and they’re simply playing a loop of his five favorite phrases.
7:08 Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies leadoff hitter, just got a 5 year, $40 million contract. When he’s at at his best, he’s league average. I know its not easy to find a shortstop, but man, that’s a bad deal.
7:10 “They don’t want to have play with 24 men much longer…”
I would argue they’ve been playing with about a 21 man roster all year.
7:11 “There’s a scout… who thinks that Bobby Abreu is the best player in the game.”
Bobby Abreu is a great, underappreciated player, but anyone who thinks he’s the best player in baseball needs to find a new line of work.
7:20 1,000 hits for Ichiro in the majors. I remember when Alvin Davis got his 1,000 career hit as a Mariner, and how big a deal that was.
7:25 Gil Meche with a strikeout! In other life occurrances, hell hath frozen over.
7:27 When he was coming up through the minors, I told everyone that would listen that Chase Utley was overrated, that he had holes in his swing, and that he’d be lucky to have a career like Todd Walkers. Whoops. Utley’s one of the better young players in the game.
7:30 The M’s have their #5, #6, and #7 hitters coming up. Their slugging percentages are .368, .378, and .154 respectively.
7:32 “Everybody goes through slumps… but eventually, he’s going to come out of it.”
Why is it so hard for people to admit that Bret Boone is just finished as a productive player. He’s 36 years old at a position where hall of famers are done at 32 or 33. Boone’s in a slump the same way Mike Tyson is in a slump. He’s not coming out of it.
7:38 M’s up 2-0 thanks to a single, a bloop double, an error, and a flyout. Not exactly stinging the baseball, but they’ll take the runs.
7:45 I’m not saying that attendance is sparce, but Reed runs the ball down in right center field, then flips the ball into the stands, where both fans fought for the ball.
7:50 Ooh, an in game managerial interview. Those are fun…
7:59 It only took him an hour, but Fairly busts out the “four runs or more” logic. I’m telling you, it’s a hologram, and he’s a tape.
8:02 In case we didn’t hear him the first time he was batting, Thome wants to hit the fastball, according to Ron. I’d imagine we’ll hear this every time he comes to the plate, all series long.
8:10 Whats the point of stopping when trying to steal? Ever?
8:19 It’s pretty rare to see that many called third strikes, especially on breaking balls. The Phillies are taking their patient approach a bit too far.
8:23 Ron Fairly leaves, Dave Henderson replaces him. That’s like passing kidney stones and then being told that you need a colonoscopy.
8:25 Argh! Ichiro shows a bunt on the first pitch with a runner at second and one out. He should be fined 100,000,000 yen every time he bunts with a runner in scoring position. I hate that play.
8:34 Not including the hits tonight, Raul Ibanez is hitting .310/.385/.535 against right-handed pitching this year.
8:35 Fine, it worked, but I still hate bunting with runners in scoring position.
8:46 It might not be a beautiful swing, but maybe that home run will get Hansen elevated past Greg Dobbs on the totem poll of bad bench players.
8:56 It was nice to see Meche throw strikes and get ahead of hitters for 8 innings. But, despite what the papers and announcers will tell you, he didn’t flash the kind of dominating potential everyone claims he has. Just four strikeouts, and a lot of flyball outs. That’s not a recipe for long term success.
9:04 I’d just like to point out that, if Eddie Guardado can get 3 outs in the 9th, the Mariners will fail to score four runs and still win.
9:10 A win! And a two hour win at that. Nice job fellas.
The Attrition War, Dodgers
Special contributor edition. Douglas Fearing writes
I performed the Attrition War analysis for the Dodgers and posted it on Dodger Thoughts. Please feel free to post on your site as well.
(Handy link to Dodger Thoughts)
I will! Because I’m lazy!
I have not edited the original email he sent, so this is still almost entirely his work. If I get a chance, I may go through and compare with notes, etc. Readers who want to help with this freaking enormous research project can either email me to take on a whole team or just look at one in the series, find a player with “unknown” or something, go research them and post the results in the comments.
This is part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
The Attrition War, Diamondbacks
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period. For the Devil Rays and Diamondbacks, the comparison period is limited to years the club existed (and also by Baseball America’s listings).
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Diamondbacks.