EVIL~! alkeiper

Moneyball has an excellent account of that game, probably the highlight of the book.

From minorleaguebaseball.com... First contract season: $850/month maximum. After that, open to negotiation Alien Salary Rates: Different for aliens on visas--mandated by INS (Immigration). Triple-A--First year: $2,150/month, after first year no less than $2,150/month Class AA-First year: $1,500/month, after first year no less than $1,500/month Class A (full season)--First year: $1,050/month, after first year no less than $1,050/month Class A (short-season)--First year: $850/month, after first year no less than $850/month Dominican & Venezuelan Summer Leagues--no lower than $300/month Meal Money: $20 per day at all levels, while on the road And keep in mind seasons are six months or shorter. So essentially, unless the players have a big league contract or a big signing bonus, they're working offseason jobs.

Is this your first time? Cooperstown is truly a terrific place to visit. The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is outstanding. I'm going to the SWB/Syracuse games on Monday/Tuesday. Gustavo Chacin and Casey Janssen are scheduled to pitch for Syracuse. About the Hall: 1) What's the price of admission? 2) It is realistic to think that I could see everything in one day? 1. $14.95 per adult, according to the HOF website. Admission is free for active military and discounted for seniors and children under 12. 2. Yes. Arrive early, as you'll want to get a head start and parking can be a hassle midday. The town's small enough that you can park anywhere on the street and comfortably walk to the museum.

I wish I could see Admin's original post. As it is, I'll make my comments public, and you all can flame away if you wish. 1. Others on the staff have suggested eliminating the Graphics and Testing Folder. This should be done, merging the posts into NHB if necessary. 2. Racism in any form is unacceptable. This includes use of the "n" word, which has gotten entirely out of control the last few months. This is something the mods should take steps on, warning (and banning) posters as situations dictate. Use of such terms outside of NHB should be entirely out of bounds. 3. Obviously posters want to keep NHB. It has its purposes. However, it can not continue entirely without rules. Certain activities, such as threats, scat pictures or what not are unacceptable. I know it's a place for internet feuds but threatening posters, even in fun, should not occur. We're not looking to clamp down on everyone, just trying to manage some small problems on an otherwise good messageboard.

What is the official scorekeeper thinking calling that an RBI triple when it was more likely a single and a 2 base error, or at best a double and an error that allowed the run to score? I forget where I saw it but some sports site had the Phils going on this run primarily because they got rid of Abre-"who?". I just don't think a single player makes that much of a difference. The problem with the team was it's pitching, and Abreu's defense could not have been so bad as to drag that into the drecks. And for what it's worth, the Yankees are 10-6 since the trade.

Occasionally I take friends along to minor league games, and along with conversations via AIM I run into occasional misconceptions regarding minor league baseball. I thought it would be a nice time killer to quickly run over what every level of the minors entails. AAA: Triple A baseball actually showcases relatively few prospects. The main reason is that AAA is the one level where there is an inordinate amount of pressure to promote a player. No one clamors to call up a player to patch a hole in Reading, but if Philadelphia needs help, the player comes up. The average AAA player is around 27 years old. Usually they are relatively experienced players who are finished developing, and while they are not budding superstars they play a very good brand of baseball. Players make relatively few errors compared to other minor league levels. AA: I think AA showcases the most prospects. You might see more guys at lower levels, but at that point you don't know how they will pan out as prospects. The average player in AA is around 26 years old. Players are a lot like AAA in status but not quite as good. You'll see more errors and questionable play. Double A is usually considered the proving ground. It's been said that players who reach AA get to stick around in organized baseball. So you see many more experienced players at AA and AAA than you do at lower levels. For that reason players are more accustumed to breaking pitches, teamwork and the like. Some pitchers who get by at throwing junk find that hitters are not fooled here. Likewise, runners who stole lots of bases solely by their speed get thrown out a lot more often. High A: The Florida State, California and Carolina Leagues. Players here are much younger and inexperienced. While the average Reading Phillie is 26 years old, only three players on the entire Clearwater roster are 26 or older. The average player is around 23 years old. Here you have a crop of players around 23-25 on their last gasp of trying to make something of themselves in baseball. You can usually tell a prospect simply by his age. If he's 22 or younger, he's worth keeping an eye on. Low A: Much like high A except that the players are a level younger and less experienced. The average player is around 22 years old. In High A you might see an occasional veteran. There are NO veterans in Low A, unless a player is on a rehabilitation stint. Low A is the first level where the true prospects really begin to emerge. Short Season A: This level is where most college draftees begin their professional careers, and where truly good younger players come up. The average player is around 21 years old. You often see players learning new positions often here. For that reason, play is sloppier. Both games I have witnessed at this level included multiple fielding miscues. Players have few professional stats at this level so it is difficult to separate the true prospects from the field unless you have a keen eye for talent. Rookie: Just as the term would suggest, this is where most high school and International talent debuts. The average player is 20 years old. Rosters are much deeper here and in Short season, as teams can carry more than 25 players and choose which 25 to activate for that game (as I understand it). The quality of play here is almost certainly lower than that of Division I Collegiate Baseball. There are other Rookie leagues such as the Venezuelan Summer League and Dominican Winter League. Most teams have strong scouting interests in those countries, and the leagues serve as a way for teams to sort out their international signees. I hope this is informative, and I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Nice play by Dellucci there. Thank god we got rid of our "Gold Glove" right fielder so we could improve the defense. I'd say Germano. He's got potential and if nothing else, he'll throw strikes.

Lidle just isn't worth hanging onto. He's an average pitcher and was an impending free agent. I honestly feel that Scott Mathieson, Ryan Madson or Gavin Floyd is just as serviceable in the starter's role, long term.

That sums him up well. Mathieson before this season had never pitched above single A. He took a huge step forward over the last season though and was overpowering in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. I think Mathieson would be better served to finish out the season in Earl Weaver's famed "long relief" role.

Normally I stick to writing about baseball, but sometimes topics come around that are too good to pass up. Logging onto ESPN.com, I was greated with a request to take a short survey. Ok, these are short and relatively painless. I'm paraphrasing the first two questions. Year of birth, how many hours do you spend on the internet? 21-30 hours, 1981. My town doesn't have nightlife and I prefer the internet over television. Are you familiar with a term called Erectile Disfunction? And I thought I was forward. Yes, it's kind of hard to miss. On a 1-5 scale, how would you describe your level of awareness of the symptoms of erectile dysfunction (ED)? Depends on what you mean by awareness. And really, how unaware can you be of the symptoms? There's just one. It's when you look down and notice your erectile is disfunctioning. Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. There are effective treatments for erectile dysfunction Drugs? No. Women? Yes. Somehow I doubt ESPN.com intends to try and sell me the former. Erectile dysfunction is a common problem among men your age If by that you mean the damned urge won't go away, then yes. You would like to learn more about erectile dysfunction It just occurs to me that the survey didn't ask about my gender. Why yes, I find erectile dysfunction fascinating. When I sit down with my buddies to watch baseball, we regularly mute the game so we can sit in a circle and learn more about how our dicks are working (and not working). I take notes and pay visits to girlfriends later. I'm smart like that. Millions of men are being safely and successfully treated for erectile dysfunction Is this a survey or a quiz? Half of all men over 30 have some form of ED Strongly disagree. It should be noted that functional umm, operations can lead to successful sex and then childbirth, which I oppose. If you thought you or your male partner might suffer from the symptoms of erectile dysfunction (ED), how comfortable would you feel talking to your doctor about it? I don't even like talking to my doctor about my diabetes. How interested are you in learning more information about erectile dysfunction (ED)? Ha. How likely are you to talk to your doctor about erectile dysfunction (ED)? I'm shocked I'm even talking to YOU. How likely are you to look for information online about erectile dysfunction (ED)? This blog is as far as it gets. Do you recall seeing an online advertisement about erectile dysfunction (ED)? No, and that's legit. I've trained myself not to notice online advertising. Do you recall seeing an online advertisement featuring Dr. Drew in a stadium? I've seen Kimberly Franklin in a stadium (Gang bang Girl 32). When thinking of products for improving men’s erections, what ONE brand comes to mind first? Hustler. And so on. Luckily I have an ESPN Insider pass from a friend, so ESPN.com now knows how interested a certain TSM Moderator is about erectile dysfunction. Personally, I never knew focus marketing could be so blatant and yet so vauge. They should just come out and say, "should we advertise viagra on our website?" That would save everyone a lot of trouble. Because frankly, when ESPN.com starts asking me about my medical history, survey over. I'd just like to know what type of person answers "why yes, I'd love to know more about erectile dysfunction." No jokes about current TSM posters please.

I think the A's are a better team, and combined with having a hot streak along with another team's cold streak, you get those results. There is not much difference between the two teams, but now that Seattle's 11 games out they are done.

Yeah, he played there too. Seriously, every organization has baseball lifers like Green. It's how the system works.

1. I think the 7 man bullpen is a bad idea, let alone an 8 man bullpen. And that goes for any team short of the Colorado Rockies. 2. David Ortiz is Mo Vaughn Version 2.0. Or Boog Powell if you prefer. Tremendous hitters in their prime but did not age well. How many guys of Ortiz's build do you see in their late 30s?

Just got back from the Red Barons game, a 10-1 asswhupping of the Syracuse Skychiefs. The Barons now sport the best record in the International League. Unfortunately, Michael Bourn now departs for the Olympic Qualifiers.

I just caught Joe Sheehan's article myself, and I agree with naiwf that this causes some of the problems that people have with sabermetrics in baseball. Bill James 20 years ago wrote about statistical idocy, the complete inability to look at anything you can't measure in a statistic. Regardless of the circumstances or what you think about clutch ability, the fact is that Ortiz has had several big hits this season. And while winning teams isn't a necessity, it's ridiculous to put Sizemore #4 when he's not the best player on a sub-.500 team. Defense? They're 10th in runs allowed! Another problem, Sheehan lists FRAR (Fielding Runs Above Average) in his table. Travis Hafner scores 0 (an average fielding DH), David Ortiz scores 0 (ditto), Manny Ramirez scores -4, and Vernon Wells scores 1, putting him in that category. That would make Wells an average center fielder. I don't think I have to tell you that Wells is probably a slightly better fielder than the other three. That's the major quibble I usually have with Baseball Prospectus. Their primary method is to develop a statistic and say, "by this statistic, player X is the best player. That makes us right." Realistically, the roadblock Sheehan runs into is that their statistics set the bar higher for DHs by using offensive baselines. So if David Ortiz outhits Grady Sizemore, their metrics say that Sizemore is a better hitter because he plays center field. That's stupid. Moreover, when they add defense to the equation, Sizemore gets credited TWICE for playing center field. In fairness to Sizemore, he's 11th in OPS in the league playing center field. I'd put him in my top 10. But Sheehan's methodology is awful. Naiwf, I would honestly recommend checking out Bill James' writing if you haven't, because he does not fall into the same traps as your more purely statistically based writers.

I've only caught one ball in over 60 games the last two years. Granted I'm usually in a relatively difficult place for a ball to land. Beyond AAA the stands are set up in a way where not many baseballs land. It takes a fair bit of luck.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/15267563.htm From Todd Zolecki's column this morning. I could've used more details of how the Phils' bench hampered them, but this is absolutely correct. On Friday, the Reds intentionally walked Ryan Howard three times because there was no one on the bench. Right now the Phillies are employing a four man bench and those four players had a combined 91 career at bats coming into this season. Chris Roberson just can't hit (although he's useful as a defensive replacement and pinch runner). Eight relievers is overkill. Fabio Castro is a useful mop-up man who will take the ball every day. Brian Sanches isn't going to win games with his pitching and it's useless to keep him around for the heck of it. A friend asked me the other day if Ryan Howard would make the Hall of Fame, and I said he does not have a prayer. My friend was stunned, and I explained why. In the history of baseball there has been just ONE player who became a regular at the age of 25 and went on to have a Hall of Fame career (Sam Rice). Look at the list of players above. Ed Mathews was 21 when he hit 40+ home runs. Dimaggio was 22, and Klein, Kiner and Banks were 24. Jim Gentile was 27, and he's the odd man out. It's not that Gentile was a bad player. Gentile got a late start because he came up in the Dodgers system when they were overstocked with outfielders. Gentile was finally traded to the Baltimore Orioles before the 1960 season. (On a fun side note, one of the players the Dodgers acquired in this deal was a career minor leaguer named Bill Lajoie. Lajoie is now a senior executive in the Red Sox' front office.) Gentile hit 21 home runs his first year, and 46 the next (an expansion year). The raw stats make the next years look worse than they really are. After 1961, the majors took steps to reduce offense. Gentile was still a good hitter for several seasons. A trade to the Astros and their spacious dome harmed his raw numbers moreso, and Gentile retired in 1966. I doubt Ryan Howard will have the same issue with playing environments.

About 30 SWB Red Barons games, one game at Reading (Reading vs. Bowie), one at Binghamton (BMets vs. RPhillies), and one at Williamsport (Crosscutters vs. Muckdogs). I was debating on going to Lakewood yesterday but decided not to. I missed a no-hitter.

Paging through the press notes, I see Pat Burrell is 0 for 17 career against Pedro Martinez. That's not a lot of at bats, but damn.

He's still on the 'Chiefs roster.

Is this your first time? Cooperstown is truly a terrific place to visit. The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is outstanding. I'm going to the SWB/Syracuse games on Monday/Tuesday. Gustavo Chacin and Casey Janssen are scheduled to pitch for Syracuse.

This week we've got a big Cincinnati vs. St. Louis series in the NL Central from Tuesday-Thursday. The AL West is going up against one another as well. The weekend will inevitably be dominated by the Yankee/Red Sox series. It's amazing how uninspiring a week in mid-August can be when you're 56-60 and facing a team a full 15 games up in the standings. Honestly, I haven't been paying much attention. The AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons have a two game lead on the division and seven on the playoffs with just 23 games left in the season. Beats the hell out of the Phillies and their 13 man pitching circus.

The fans booing him was pathetic. Hitters tend to strike out from time to time. They should have cheered the two runs scored. EDIT: Let me point out that Utley struck out too.

The Phils tie the game at five. This has been a tremendous series.

The Phillies' broadcast showed a statistic about how complete games have declined since 1960. Funny how they don't extend that statistic to show how few complete games pitchers of THAT era pitched in comparison to say the 1910s. Robin Roberts to his credit though has almost never been critical of the changes in the game.