2010 MLB Catch-All Thread

[HuskyCaucasian]

Looking at Brooksbaseball, pitch f/x had him sitting at 102.11 and topping out at 103.9

what's the world record? I thought it was around 102 0r 103

[LittleHurt05]

We had discussed attendance in an earlier Sox catch-all thread, but I'm very surprised by the horrible performance by Reds fans. Their attendance this week for 3 straight weekday night games:

 

Mon: 14,589

Tues: 19,218

Wed: 16,412

 

I know the Brewers aren't a contender, but your team has a big lead in the division and is looking more and more like a lock for the playoffs, and you can't even get 20k fans??

[Harry Chappas]

We had discussed attendance in an earlier Sox catch-all thread, but I'm very surprised by the horrible performance by Reds fans. Their attendance this week for 3 straight weekday night games:

 

Mon: 14,589

Tues: 19,218

Wed: 16,412

 

I know the Brewers aren't a contender, but your team has a big lead in the division and is looking more and more like a lock for the playoffs, and you can't even get 20k fans??

 

I couldn't agree more. That team is somethign to watch.

 

It really shows you what season ticket holders mean to a franchise.

[chw42]

Nyjer Morgan is CRAZY.

[Rowand44]

It is. But it seems like every team in baseball has at least one guy consistently hitting 100 MPH.

True but 104?!?!?

 

And that slider he's breaking off is f***in nasty as well. Freak of f***in nature, hopefully he can stay healthy.

[Balta1701]

True but 104?!?!?

Has he hit 104 on a big league calibrated gun? And can he do so repeatedly?

[Kalapse]

Has he hit 104 on a big league calibrated gun? And can he do so repeatedly?

103.9 last night according to pitch f/x, sitting at 102.1

 

That's legit.

[Rowand44]

Has he hit 104 on a big league calibrated gun? And can he do so repeatedly?

Hit 103.9 and 103.8 I believe last night, so ya it's legit.

[Kalapse]

[SoxAce]

103.9 last night according to pitch f/x, sitting at 102.1

 

That's legit.

 

Don't have to hear some of the usual posters "ol' that gun was 100% jacked up/gun is probably 5 mph too fast" as usual.

[Jordan4life_2007]

When the hell did the Rays get Brad Hawpe? And 0/4 with 4 Ks has to be the worst debut with a new team ever.

[Jordan4life_2007]

AL Cy Young

 

If there has ever been an award race that loomed as a referendum on where we stand on New Age versus Old Time award values, this is it. We're about to find out exactly how sabermetrified our trusty Cy Young electorate has become.

 

If this were 1963, or even 2003, there's no doubt who would win this Cy Young. That would be Sabathia, a big-time ace who is 18-5, has gone 14-2 since the beginning of June, just ripped off a streak of 16 straight quality starts and has a shot to become the AL's first 24-game winner in two decades.

 

So for voters fixated on the old win column, Sabathia currently owns eight more wins than King Felix. And it wouldn't shock anyone, given the state of their two teams, if that gap inflated to nine, or 10 or 11 wins by the end of the season.

 

OK, so then what?

 

It's one thing for the voters to hand a Cy Young to 15- and 16-game winners over a 19-game winner, the way they did last year for Tim Lincecum and Zack Greinke. It's another thing to deliver a Cy Young to a 13-game winner over, say, a 22-game winner.

 

But remember, this is a performance award, period. And King Felix leads the league in every meaningful sabermetric pitching stat on Earth except adjusted ERA+ (where Buchholz is No. 1 -- and Sabathia ranks ninth).

 

Even if you compare more traditional numbers, though, Hernandez has an ERA that's three-quarters of a run lower than Sabathia's, an opponent OPS that's 74 points lower, more innings pitched, a better strikeout rate and a better WHIP.

 

So if you truly analyze the big picture, Buchholz (your ERA leader) and Wilson (whose team is 15-2 in his past 17 starts) should rank ahead of Sabathia in this race. But are voters really ready to ignore that win column completely? We'll find out. Won't we?

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...blings1000902_1

 

Pratt, this is what I was talking about when I brought up Sabermetrics.

[LittleHurt05]

On a side note, a funny stat about Felix is that despite his awful run support, he is somehow 3-0 vs. the Yankees in 3 starts. The fact that he gave up 1 earned run in 26 innings played a large part of it, but the Mariners still scored 17 runs in those 3 games (5.67 runs/game). They scored 75 runs in his other 26 starts (2.88 runs/game).

[Milkman delivers]

I thought the fastest a person could throw was 103 mph. Obviously, I was wrong.

[Gregory Pratt]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...blings1000902_1

 

Pratt, this is what I was talking about when I brought up Sabermetrics.

 

Thanks, although what you're talking about contains what I was talking about.

[Balta1701]

"(Chapman's) 104 mph fastball takes only .39 seconds to reach the plate,'' Bynum wrote. "Factoring a stride of about 5 feet, that time is reduced to .36 seconds. The average human eye blinks at a speed (between) three-tenths and four-tenths of a second. So if you are the batter and you blink at the point of Chapman's release, the ball will pass you before you open your eyes again.''

link

[Steve9347]

link

That's just crazy.

[BigSqwert]

In all fairness, if you blink at the point of release from any pitcher in MLB you're pretty much screwed.

[Jordan4life_2007]

The on a roll award

 

I'm not sure exactly what day or exactly what moment it became apparent that Carlos Gonzalez was the single most multitalented player in baseball. But now it couldn't seem more obvious, could it?

 

And never more than lately. Here's how hot this guy is:

 

• Over his past 10 games, he's hitting .526, with six homers, five doubles, two triples, 14 RBIs, six walks, a .578 on-base percentage and a near-impossible 1.815 OPS. He's the first man, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, to have an average that high and that many homers, RBIs and extra-base hits over any 10-game span since his teammate Todd Helton in 2003.

 

• Since the last week of July, Gonzalez is hitting .414 and slugging .898, with three four-hit games, five three-hit games, nine two-hit games and two multihomer games.

 

• And he's currently working on a streak of 10 straight games with an extra-base hit -- something only eight other players in history have ever done. The list of those who have includes Willie Mays, Rogers Hornsby and Ken Griffey Jr. But the list of those who never did this would include Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and about a billion other mashers you've probably heard of.

 

"You know what? When the Rockies first acquired him, they thought he'd be this good," one scout said. "Seems like we've been hearing about him forever. I remember hearing his name when he was 18, playing in the Instructional League with the Diamondbacks. But right now, it's all coming together."

 

It's not as if Gonzalez is a 6-foot-5, 240-pound behemoth, either. He's 6-1, 210. But he's reminding us that special athletes do special things -- not just big dudes with big bats.

 

"Go back and look at films of the old hitters," the same scout said. "They weren't all monsters. I mean, Joe DiMaggio was just an average-size guy. But he hit a lot of homers and got a lot of hits because he had strength, and he had great hands, and everything exploded properly to the ball. And in a way, that's how this kid does it."

 

OK, CarGo has a long ways to go to become Joe DiMaggio. But already, Carlos Gonzalez has done one thing "The Clipper" never did. And by that I mean: He's won a Sandwich Award. What else?

 

Billy Beane is a genius.

[Gregory Pratt]

Where is the bullet point about his impressive .295 OBP and .729 OPS on the road?

 

Great post.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Where is the bullet point about his impressive .295 OBP and .729 OPS on the road?

 

I choose to ignore his road numbers. lol. Honestly, I think it's a fluke more than anything. A guy with Carlos' skillset should hit anywhere. I don't see this being a yearly issue.

[Jordan4life_2007]

I don't buy it.

 

Colorado Home/Road Splits in OPS for the NL

 

2010

Home-1st(874)

Road-14th(651)

 

2009

Home-1st(850)

Road-9th(718)

 

2008

Home-2nd(804)

Away-12th(699)

 

But keep ignoring road numbers. It's only half his AB's.

 

I was half joking when I said I ignore the road numbers. It's obviously something to look at. I'm just a huge fan of the guy and have been for a few years. And I think some of your numbers are off. '08 he wasn't even a Rockie. So I'll ignore that. '09 was a half season sample size. But fair enough. It's something you can't totally ignore. But I've seen the guy play and he has the skill-set. Is he AS good as he is when he's at home? No. But he's not Mark Kotsay on the road either. Even if the numbers suggest that. His skillset is just too good. Now if this continues again next year, his second full season, then I will admit there's an issue. Either way, Beane f***ed up.

Edited September 5, 2010 by Jordan4life

[SoxAce]

He has put up fantastic numbers at home this season, and obviously that isn't all because of Coors. However, over his short career his numbers away from Colorado say he is a very average baseball player. Until he shows otherwise, I'm not marbles in on the "CarGo" hype.

 

Agreed. The Rockies are my second favorite team in the MLB, I like CarGo alot, more than you Tony. But J4L's consistent over-ration of him makes me like him less and less by the day. No offense bro.

Edited September 5, 2010 by J.Reedfan8

[flavum]

Huge 2-run homer for Uribe in the 9th tonight. Padres are falling apart.

[SoxAce]

Huge 2-run homer for Uribe in the 9th tonight. Padres are falling apart.

 

They are playing like how they were projected. 9 game losing streak now. Giants now are only 2 games back (3 back in the WC) and the Rockies are 5.5 games back. Amazing. I don't know what it is with the Rockies and miracle Septembers, but they seem to thrive at it. Might have to hold off those Bud Black manager of the year award here.