Wednesday night I was a spectator at a baseball game for the first time this season.
Yu Darvish was at his considerable best in a 6-0 shutout of the Marlins. It was his first complete game in the North American major leagues, and thus his first shutout as well.
The most impressive of his 10 strikeouts came in the sixth inning against RF Giancarlo Stanton. On the third strike, Stanton backed away and took a half-hearted swing at a pitch that broke sharply down and away from the plate. It was just unfair.
That at-bat inspired me to develop an unscientific scale of how hard batters swing. The original inspiration was Reds CF Billy Hamilton early this season when he took a short, downward-chopping swing at a fastball by (I believe Cubs RHP Jeff Samardzija) after the ball already at crossed the plate.
That weakest swing I've ever seen by a major league batter established the scale at 1 Hamilton. I rated Stanton's swing against Darvish at 8.7 Hamiltons. During the two-game series against the Rangers, Stanton swung the bat as hard as 60 Hamiltons.
The hardest swinger I've seen this year is Frisco C Tomas Telis, who currently tops the scale at about 85 Hamiltons. Telis is a short-stocky guy who rarely gets cheated on his swings. He also rarely misses the ball entirely. At the beginning of this week, at least, he was leading the Double-A Texas League in batting average. Telis is also good at blocking low pitches and has a strong arm. I'm expecting that he would arrive in the majors this September.
* * *
The talk of baseball the last couple of days has been Athletics LF Yoenis Cespedes -- not for his hitting, but for two on-the-fly strikes to throw out runners. Memo to teams playing against Oakland: When Cespedes misplays a ball in the field, don't try to take an extra base. Angels 2B Howie Kendrick and 1B Albert Pujols have found that out to their detriment.
* * *
The other Rangers apparently stayed alive in the Stanley Cup finals. Remember hockey?
It figures that it would take a monumental effort by goalie Henrik Lundqvist, the primary reason why New York got this far in the playoffs. He made 40 saves, 15 in the scoreless third period, as the Rangers held on to defeat the Kings 2-1. New York's Ryan Callahan-for-Martin St. Louis trade also paid off. St. Louis scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Perhaps the Rangers could get lucky again at home in Game 5 on Friday the 13th.
Showing posts with label Giancarlo Stanton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Giancarlo Stanton. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
The Legend of Joey Gallo
Joey Gallo is dating a Disney star, but he might have a greater flair for the dramatic.
The Texas Rangers prospect made his long-awaited debut with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders Monday and wasted no time showing a half-full stadium what the fuss was all about.
Gallo's first swing made a resounding CRACK! and sent a foul ball down the right field line out of the park almost before I could see it. His next swing hit the ball nearly as hard, but on the ground down the first base line. Midland first baseman Max Muncy almost fell over fielding the ball behind the bag, but beat Gallo to the base as a run scored.
His next three times up, Gallo struck out. He batted again with two teammates on base and two out in the bottom of the ninth of a 4-4 game.
Athletics farmhand Seth Frankoff fell behind Gallo 2-0. The right-hander tried to pitch the lefty-swinging Gallo away with a change up.
The 20-year-old swung and hit the ball very high, but how far? Very far. It cleared the left-center field fence and landed at the base of a video display board some 400 feet from home plate.
After Gallo rounded third base, he sent his batting helmet skyward and prepared for an enthusiastic greeting from his new team gathered around home plate. After signing autographs along the third-base stands on the way to the clubhouse, he met the assembled media.
There's video, and the best account I saw was Kevin Sherrington's column in the Dallas Morning News.
Speaking of video, Gallo's girlfriend is 19-year-old Allie DeBerry, best known for her work on the Disney Channel's "A.N.T. Farm."
Tuesday night, I was at the Marlins-Rangers game. Miami RF Giancarlo Stanton hit a ball about as hard as Gallo had the night before. The line drive wasn't high enough to clear the left field wall. The wonder was that the ball didn't go THROUGH the wall. So that was a double instead of a home run.
The Marlins' star was LF Christian Yelich, who was 4-for-6 with four RBI. He hustled his way into a double on what appeared to be a routine single to center field. That was part of my most favorable impression of Miami's surprising team. The Marlins run the bases very aggressively and pressure defenses. Stanton went daringly from first to third on a single to left field. That play led to throwing errors by LF Michael Choice and RHP Tanner Scheppers. When the Little Leaguers finally corraled the ball, instead of having Marlins at first and third, they had a run and a runner at third.
While I was there, I received some updates from Frisco. Gallo doubled home a run in the first inning and hit a home run (his 23rd between Class A Myrtle Beach and Frisco). I found out this mornign that he walked in his other two appearances. In seven Double-A at-bats, Gallo has six RBI.
A legend indeed.
The Texas Rangers prospect made his long-awaited debut with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders Monday and wasted no time showing a half-full stadium what the fuss was all about.
Gallo's first swing made a resounding CRACK! and sent a foul ball down the right field line out of the park almost before I could see it. His next swing hit the ball nearly as hard, but on the ground down the first base line. Midland first baseman Max Muncy almost fell over fielding the ball behind the bag, but beat Gallo to the base as a run scored.
His next three times up, Gallo struck out. He batted again with two teammates on base and two out in the bottom of the ninth of a 4-4 game.
Athletics farmhand Seth Frankoff fell behind Gallo 2-0. The right-hander tried to pitch the lefty-swinging Gallo away with a change up.
The 20-year-old swung and hit the ball very high, but how far? Very far. It cleared the left-center field fence and landed at the base of a video display board some 400 feet from home plate.
After Gallo rounded third base, he sent his batting helmet skyward and prepared for an enthusiastic greeting from his new team gathered around home plate. After signing autographs along the third-base stands on the way to the clubhouse, he met the assembled media.
There's video, and the best account I saw was Kevin Sherrington's column in the Dallas Morning News.
Speaking of video, Gallo's girlfriend is 19-year-old Allie DeBerry, best known for her work on the Disney Channel's "A.N.T. Farm."
Tuesday night, I was at the Marlins-Rangers game. Miami RF Giancarlo Stanton hit a ball about as hard as Gallo had the night before. The line drive wasn't high enough to clear the left field wall. The wonder was that the ball didn't go THROUGH the wall. So that was a double instead of a home run.
The Marlins' star was LF Christian Yelich, who was 4-for-6 with four RBI. He hustled his way into a double on what appeared to be a routine single to center field. That was part of my most favorable impression of Miami's surprising team. The Marlins run the bases very aggressively and pressure defenses. Stanton went daringly from first to third on a single to left field. That play led to throwing errors by LF Michael Choice and RHP Tanner Scheppers. When the Little Leaguers finally corraled the ball, instead of having Marlins at first and third, they had a run and a runner at third.
While I was there, I received some updates from Frisco. Gallo doubled home a run in the first inning and hit a home run (his 23rd between Class A Myrtle Beach and Frisco). I found out this mornign that he walked in his other two appearances. In seven Double-A at-bats, Gallo has six RBI.
A legend indeed.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Dealing from strength
The baseball hot stove is heating up. In recent years, a lot of talk has been bubbling on the stove in Texas.
This winter's big issue is which middle infielder the Rangers will trade. Side issues are what can they get in return, how big the deal will be and how they might replace what they'll be giving up.
For my money, Texas would be giving up less by trading 2B Ian Kinsler than if they were to deal SS Elvis Andrus, swingman Jurickson Profar or Double-A 2B Rougned Odor. I'm leaving Double-A SS Luis Sardinas out of the mix because to me he seems the least advanced/talented of the group. But if a team would prefer him in a trade, I wouldn't hesitate to sell him high.
Kinsler is most expendable because he has virtually no upside, and all of the others have dynamic upsides.
I still think Andrus can hit for at least gap power, and his greatest value lies in his defense.
Profar didn't fare well in his spotty first pretty much whole season in the majors. He's not Mike Trout, but Profar will be an above-average fielder and a useful offensive player.
Odor is an overachieving scrapper. I'd say potentially a higher-end Jose Altuve.
Texas' No. 1 trade target seems to be Rays LHP David Price, the guy who kept the Rangers out of the playoffs in 2013.
The Rangers couldn't just trade Kinsler and call it a day. In order to trade him from an already shrunken offense, they'd have to make another deal to bring in a proven bat. It's quite likely that many of the scenarios Texas' front office has played out included Marlins OF Giancarlo aka Mike Stanton. Miami insists he is not on the market.
Thus, the Rangers might be more likely to look to free agency for a bat, and they won't find one with Stanton's raw power or upside. They'd probably have to settle for OF Carlos Beltran or 1B Justin Morneau.
Another possibility would be resigning RF Nelson Cruz, but he's also on the downside of his career. Or Texas could try to pry OF Jose Bautista away from the Blue Jays. It's an intricate puzzle. Every move seems to require a counter move.
We could see the Rangers make a honeycomb or matrix of deals. They believe -- as do a number of other organizations -- that they have nearly sure-fire prospects at just about every position.
From what I've seen of their farm system, it's not as dynamically productive as it has been during the past several years. But other organizations are enamored of the prospects from an organization that has brought along way more prospects than their own system has.
Another scenario is that Texas could be shut out in the trade and free agency markets, as it was for the most part a year ago. That didn't work too well last winter, so expect the Rangers to make even somewhat less advantageous deals than they'd like to have at least a chance of moving forward.
* * *
Just started reading a very interesting book that I've had for probably a decade. It's a SABR reprint of a 1925 book called "Batting," by F.C. Lane. I believe this was one of the bonus publications that SABR provides to its members along with its usual publications. As the editor of the old Baseball magazine, Lane interviewed many players during the first quarter of the 20th century. They're quoted with their opinions about batting.
One passage seems really relevant, given today's emphasis on defensive shifts. " ... In short, batting resolves to the brief but pointed epigram of Willie Keeler's when he said, 'Hit 'em where they ain't.' "'Where they ain't,' is something of a study in geography limited by the playing field and its immediate environs. There are certain zones of safety where the ball may be driven and allow the batter time to negotiate first, but these zones of safety can never be chartered, for they vary with the batter, with the opposing pitcher, with the ball field, even with the stage of the game."
That wasn't to say that teams hadn't developed shifts against certain hitters 90 or 100 years ago. Lane pointed out that opponents would overload the right side of their defense when lefty slugger Cy Williams came to bat. But clearly, today's computer capabilities weren't envisioned in 1925.
Even so, the idea of maximizing and customized defensive capabilities has been around for a century and it has taken most of that time to put the idea into effect.
* * *
Even before Monday night's game, I have won in one fantasy football league and lost in the other. I'm on a bit of a roll in the former, now 6-5 and I believe tied for fourth. The other league is going south, down to 4-7. Just 14 points from Peyton Manning, which just about equaled the total from the three RBs in my lineup. Bad day for Jordan Reed too.
* * *
My fantasy hockey team is pretty much static, still fourth by a comfortable margin, half a point out of third and not likely to finish first unless the current leader collapses totally. With plenty of room to grow with my goalies, I have made a trade offer to the owner who leads in GAA and save percentage. We'll see what happens there. By the way, the goalie I already picked up on waivers was Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
This winter's big issue is which middle infielder the Rangers will trade. Side issues are what can they get in return, how big the deal will be and how they might replace what they'll be giving up.
For my money, Texas would be giving up less by trading 2B Ian Kinsler than if they were to deal SS Elvis Andrus, swingman Jurickson Profar or Double-A 2B Rougned Odor. I'm leaving Double-A SS Luis Sardinas out of the mix because to me he seems the least advanced/talented of the group. But if a team would prefer him in a trade, I wouldn't hesitate to sell him high.
Kinsler is most expendable because he has virtually no upside, and all of the others have dynamic upsides.
I still think Andrus can hit for at least gap power, and his greatest value lies in his defense.
Profar didn't fare well in his spotty first pretty much whole season in the majors. He's not Mike Trout, but Profar will be an above-average fielder and a useful offensive player.
Odor is an overachieving scrapper. I'd say potentially a higher-end Jose Altuve.
Texas' No. 1 trade target seems to be Rays LHP David Price, the guy who kept the Rangers out of the playoffs in 2013.
The Rangers couldn't just trade Kinsler and call it a day. In order to trade him from an already shrunken offense, they'd have to make another deal to bring in a proven bat. It's quite likely that many of the scenarios Texas' front office has played out included Marlins OF Giancarlo aka Mike Stanton. Miami insists he is not on the market.
Thus, the Rangers might be more likely to look to free agency for a bat, and they won't find one with Stanton's raw power or upside. They'd probably have to settle for OF Carlos Beltran or 1B Justin Morneau.
Another possibility would be resigning RF Nelson Cruz, but he's also on the downside of his career. Or Texas could try to pry OF Jose Bautista away from the Blue Jays. It's an intricate puzzle. Every move seems to require a counter move.
We could see the Rangers make a honeycomb or matrix of deals. They believe -- as do a number of other organizations -- that they have nearly sure-fire prospects at just about every position.
From what I've seen of their farm system, it's not as dynamically productive as it has been during the past several years. But other organizations are enamored of the prospects from an organization that has brought along way more prospects than their own system has.
Another scenario is that Texas could be shut out in the trade and free agency markets, as it was for the most part a year ago. That didn't work too well last winter, so expect the Rangers to make even somewhat less advantageous deals than they'd like to have at least a chance of moving forward.
* * *
Just started reading a very interesting book that I've had for probably a decade. It's a SABR reprint of a 1925 book called "Batting," by F.C. Lane. I believe this was one of the bonus publications that SABR provides to its members along with its usual publications. As the editor of the old Baseball magazine, Lane interviewed many players during the first quarter of the 20th century. They're quoted with their opinions about batting.
One passage seems really relevant, given today's emphasis on defensive shifts. " ... In short, batting resolves to the brief but pointed epigram of Willie Keeler's when he said, 'Hit 'em where they ain't.' "'Where they ain't,' is something of a study in geography limited by the playing field and its immediate environs. There are certain zones of safety where the ball may be driven and allow the batter time to negotiate first, but these zones of safety can never be chartered, for they vary with the batter, with the opposing pitcher, with the ball field, even with the stage of the game."
That wasn't to say that teams hadn't developed shifts against certain hitters 90 or 100 years ago. Lane pointed out that opponents would overload the right side of their defense when lefty slugger Cy Williams came to bat. But clearly, today's computer capabilities weren't envisioned in 1925.
Even so, the idea of maximizing and customized defensive capabilities has been around for a century and it has taken most of that time to put the idea into effect.
* * *
Even before Monday night's game, I have won in one fantasy football league and lost in the other. I'm on a bit of a roll in the former, now 6-5 and I believe tied for fourth. The other league is going south, down to 4-7. Just 14 points from Peyton Manning, which just about equaled the total from the three RBs in my lineup. Bad day for Jordan Reed too.
* * *
My fantasy hockey team is pretty much static, still fourth by a comfortable margin, half a point out of third and not likely to finish first unless the current leader collapses totally. With plenty of room to grow with my goalies, I have made a trade offer to the owner who leads in GAA and save percentage. We'll see what happens there. By the way, the goalie I already picked up on waivers was Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)