Spring Training 2008

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Speaking of not finding the strike zone, Jason Neighborgall retired.

 

I guess that 4:37 strikeout to walk ratio (and 108.0 ERA in A ball) was an indication that he wasn't making the necessary progress. I've always found his story to be interesting. Too bad he never put it together.

 

I once read a scouting report from a game he pitched in that indicated he threw 12 consecutive balls, 7 of which were wild pitches. It wasn't even a case of the yips either (a la Rick Ankiel), he just couldn't get it over the plate.

[treble 0]

Here are a list of minor league teams and player development contracts for 2008. In most cases, even though the agreement is set to expire the clubs will renew the deal. With Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo all on the bubble, the Mets are almost certain to bring their AAA team close to home next season.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/business/?p=68

I've heard rumours of the Mets taking over Syracuse and the Jays moving their affiliate to Buffalo.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Speaking of not finding the strike zone, Jason Neighborgall retired.

 

I guess that 4:37 strikeout to walk ratio (and 108.0 ERA in A ball) was an indication that he wasn't making the necessary progress. I've always found his story to be interesting. Too bad he never put it together.

 

I once read a scouting report from a game he pitched in that indicated he threw 12 consecutive balls, 7 of which were wild pitches. It was even a case of the yips either (a la Rick Ankiel), he just couldn't get it over the plate.

 

He should've gotten glasses and come out to Wild Thing while Bob Eucker called his games. Even if from heaven.

[Guest Michael Myers Resplendent]

Bob Uecker isn't dead!

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Continuing the discussion of flamethrowers that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, former Red Sox first round pick Dan Bard is heading to the bullpen this year. I'm expecting to see a lot of 1 IP, 3K, 2BB, 1 HBP in his future.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

In a couple hours I'm heading down to Port St. Lucie for tomorrow's Mets/Dodgers game. I'm really really really excited.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I really hate Ticketmaster right now..I had 2 $5 bleacher tickets for the 5.20 Yankees/Orioles game and by the time the page loaded to pay for them my window to buy them (2:15) passed and now..no bleacher tickets available for any night that series. Im not paying $80 a ticket either for seats halfway up the stadium..fuck Ticketmaster...

 

I went to Stubhub and got 2 tickets in the RF Bleachers in Row B for $8 a piece for the 5.21 game (CAP NIGHT!) plus fees which made it $30, but still better than going through Ticketmaster at regular price which would have been $36 for the same tickets.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

The March 29th exhibition game between the Dodgers and Red Sox is expected to draw about 115,000 fans, which will break the baseball attendance recored by more than 20,000. Incidentally, the Sox should feel right at home with the layout of the field as they are erecting a 62 foot high fence in left field as it is only 200 feet from home plate down the line.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

The Yankees beat USF today, 11-4. The 4 runs were scored off Kei Igawa, who gave up a grand slam.

 

Igawa entered the game today in the sixth inning with a 9-0 lead After getting an out, he walked the No. 9 hitter on five pitches. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs.

 

Igawa then left a slider high that a pinch hitter, Eric Baumann, hit for a grand slam. Baumann had two at-bats all season and struck out both times. Keep in mind he was also swinging a wood bat and missed the 2006 and 2007 seasons with a shoulder injury.

 

P-Abe

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Hank Steinbrenner opening his big yapper again.

 

'Red Sox Nation?' Hank says. 'What a bunch of [expletive] that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.' ”

[Brett Favre 0]

Well, when he's right he's right.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

As long as Hank lets Cashman continue running the show, he can say anything he wants.

 

It's not like many people outside of New England have been Red Sox 'fans' for more than 4 years or so now, anyway.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

One last word on Jason Neighborgall, just because his whole career is so damn fascinating. Here's an old article from Baseball Prospectus:

 

The Man Who Broke PECOTA

 

by Nate Silver

 

It finally happened.

 

PECOTA has survived oddities like Barry Bonds and Ichiro Suzuki. It’s survived 17-year-olds who hit .162 in rookie ball. It’s survived Julio Franco, although we have to cheat a little bit to make that happen. But when I woke up this morning to something called a “subscript out of range error”, the batch of forecasts I was running overnight stopped midway in its tracks, I realized that PECOTA finally met the man it couldn’t handle: Jason Neighborgall.

 

Neighborgall, a pitching prospect in the Diamondbacks system, is a modern day Steve Dalkowski. Except that, he makes Dalkowski look like Carlos Silva. Dalkowski, throughout his minor league career, walked 12.2 batters per nine innings. Neighborgall, in his rookie season, walked 17.9 batters per nine innings. As if that wasn’t enough, he upped his rate this year to 31.9 walks per nine innings. In the Pioneer League. He faced 99 batters this season … 46 of those drew a free pass to first base. Neighborgall issued nearly as many walks as his opponents had at-bats (48). He gave up 11 hits … and 22 wild pitches.

 

PECOTA can’t find anybody remotely close to Neighborgall’s numbers in its database, which covers all minor league players since 1997. When we finally do make it more and more and more tolerant, so that it brings in any ol’ rookie-ball pitcher with below-average command, it spits out nonsense: 12 innings, 3,217 walks, and negative 6,000 strikeouts. Things like that.

 

There’s the old aphorism about a pitcher who loses 20 games in a season having to be a pretty good arm; otherwise, he’d never have gotten the chance to accumulate so many losses. By that theory, Neighborgall is one of the best prospects in baseball. But PECOTA won’t be able to confirm that.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Trax pitched 2 scoreless innings today for the Os and was said to be throwing strikes. Os won cause their minor leaguers are better than the Marlins minor leaguers.

 

 

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

OMG, the "my favorite team won/lost a game" has already started and it's not even March yet.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

OMG, the "my favorite team won/lost a game" has already started and it's not even March yet.

Given the Os arent even going to win 60 games supposedly, allow me to enjoy a win whenever they can get one.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

Lou Piniella was in a good mood Saturday afternoon until being informed after a 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles that Jason Marquis told reporters he'd rather go pitch elsewhere if the Cubs don't keep him in the rotation.

 

Piniella then sent a message to Marquis that will likely reverberate through camp and could lead to Marquis' exit from Chicago.

 

"Well, if that's the case, he can go somewhere else," Piniella said. "Win a spot in the rotation, you don't have to worry about it. ... I've got seven starters here for five spots, you know? It's a little bit too early to start talking about what he wants to do or not do."

 

I love Lou.

 

EDIT: I like this one better...

 

After answering a question about Kerry Wood's performance, Piniella stopped in mid-sentence and began talking about Marquis again.

 

"You know, that galls me about Marquis, it really does," he said. "I'm not pleased with that comment. We've had a good camp over here, everybody's getting an opportunity. Go out and win a spot in the rotation."

 

Piniella has not spoken to Marquis about his situation and was caught off guard to hear Marquis was basically giving the Cubs an ultimatum

 

"Sure it's a surprise," he said. "We've got seven guys here that are competing for spots in the rotation and everyone is going to be given an equal chance. After the first start of spring training, saying if I'm not going to make the rotation I'd like to go somewhere else?

 

"He can go somewhere else right now if he wants. How's that?"

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

In a couple hours I'm heading down to Port St. Lucie for tomorrow's Mets/Dodgers game. I'm really really really excited.

Ryan Church and Marlon Anderson collided, Church suffered a grade two concussion. This man is officially a Mets' jinx.

 

The replay of the game is on SNY right now. I'm almost frightened to watch.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

It's true. The last Met game I attended was the one where Jose Lima pitched and gave up a grand slam to Dontrelle Willis.

 

We won this game though, on a walk-off HBP. Ezekiel Carreras is a BEAST. He robbed someone of a home run in the 9th, but I forget whom.

[CanadianChris 0]

The Blue Jays are on TV today. It almost feels like spring. Of course, it'd feel a lot more like spring without the four feet of snow on the ground, but you take what you can get, I guess.

[treble 0]

That was pretty bad, it was basically an infomercial for season tickets. Also, since when do you take commercials in the middle of an at bat?

[Boon 0]

Hank Steinbrenner opening his big yapper again.

 

'Red Sox Nation?' Hank says. 'What a bunch of [expletive] that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.' ”

He was inducted into Red Sox nation on Saturday. I think the new Steinbrenners are going to be fun.

[CanadianChris 0]

That was pretty bad, it was basically an infomercial for season tickets. Also, since when do you take commercials in the middle of an at bat?

It was CityTV, so I wasn't expecting much.

[treble 0]

The Drunk Jays Fans live blog is pretty funny.

 

BBQ coverage!

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Cal Ripken's Real Baseball

 

havent tried it yet but a Multiplayer Online Baseball game sounds fun

[Mike wanna be 0]

If you ever played Ultimate Baseball Online, it's that game rechristened. Now'd be a great time to join, though, because the game's had a huge influx of new players thanks to Ripken shilling it at the end of February. Look for oldskool or Swirl, that's me.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Just a reminder, the TSM Yahoo Fantasy league drafts tomorrow at 9pm ET.

 

There are still openings in the NL and AL only leagues. Here are the league IDs, password for both is tsm.

NL: 112270

AL: 112290

[Cartman 0]

If you ever played Ultimate Baseball Online, it's that game rechristened. Now'd be a great time to join, though, because the game's had a huge influx of new players thanks to Ripken shilling it at the end of February. Look for oldskool or Swirl, that's me.

I'm Nomahhhhh there, been playing UBO/Cal for years now. Really fun game if you can get past the whiny bitches.

[Guest Michael Myers Resplendent]

Hey, fuck Jason Marquis and Lou Piniella for both of their parts in that spat. Now it'll take eating 75% of his contract to move him for a Single-A'er. Have the Chicago Cubs ever sold high under Jim Hendry? Have they ever sold low, as opposed to "completely utterly subterranean"? Whether it's Sosa, Farnsworth, Walker, Barrett, anyone, the Cubs always make sure to bury their outgoing players so badly that the team is invariably in the position of having to pay handsomely just to rid themselves of someone. No traded Cub is ever framed as a desired commodity.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

It's easy to bash Jason Marquis. Looking at his stats though, I'm honestly surprised to see he has made 32+ starts every year for four seasons. Only 15 other pitchers have made as many starts over that span.

 

I need to find a video of Greg Golson making a diving catch in the 8th inning today. Spectacular.