Another day another Anthony Rizzo HR. He decided to pair his 13th shot of the year with a triple and kept his average at .359. Brett Jackson on the other hand is really scuffling right now as he slipped down to .226 after another 0-4 day. Randy Wells got shelled and has a 7 + ERA right now. He is also getting paid some 2 million dollars to do so. Some people noticed Gioskar Amaya got promoted from instructs straight to AAA but he is just filling a bench spot while the club waits to see if DeWitt will accept assignment to Iowa. Amaya got his first AB as a PH and promptly doubled.
Junior Lake continues to hit going 3-5 with 3 RBI's in the 10-8 win. Justin Bour went 2-4 with his 6th home run of the year and Alberto Cabrera earned the save.
Daytona
Rain Out
Hey look, its a Geraldo Concepcion start where he didn't totally suck! Concepcion worked 6 scoreless innings walking 3 and striking out 3. Ben Wells followed with three shutout innings of his own and Zeke DeVoss tied the Peoria franchise record with 4 stolen bases in one game. DeVoss had 4 at bats and got a pair of hits go with a pair of walks.
Comments
Thanks, Seattle!
BerseliusQuote Reply
Where has Mish been lately? He’s mostly been MIA and that’s just unacceptable. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
mb21 wrote:
GBTSQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Just a couple of really busy weeks at work, and I’m actually going on vacation next week. I am still hear reading most every word though. (dying laughing)
MishQuote Reply
This driver couldn’t handle the power…
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/lamborghini-gallardo-crash-wrecks-driver-reputation-suburban-chicago-142429294.html
How does that even happen?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
But we all knows that Bat-Mish gets the last laugh.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
MishQuote Reply
What’s the deal with B Jax? Thought he’d be at Wrigley at some point this year now it doesn’t look as such.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
The Lamborghini then…much more subtle.
/Alfred
MishQuote Reply
@ Mish:
I hope you cleared the vacation plans with our HR department
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Mish:
That’s not on par with “Minor League Guy” but is still pretty cool.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Mish:
Well, it’s true
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
I don’t know. It’s looking more likely he’ll get called down to Tennessee than up to Chicago at this point.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Without video or other scouting opinions I wonder if Brett Jackson is just pressing a bit much.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I have nothing to back this up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they are tinkering with his swing to cut down on the K’s which in the short term is crushing his numbers.
jtsunamiQuote Reply
Thanks to the So Dead app I have learned that my expected date of death is January 11, 2047.
mb21Quote Reply
I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s true about Jackson’s swIng, but it’s not helping so far. He’s really struggling.
mb21Quote Reply
unless you’re going to consider 1 hit a “small sample size,” then i think it’s safe to say:
gioskar amaya ——> transformed
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
Do we know for sure that Amaya is at AAA to just fill a hole for a few days? To me, that seems less likely tha skipping him 4 levels. Surely there are other guys who could fill that hole.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Does BJax swing and miss a lot or does he K so much because he’s working such deep counts? I wonder if him being more aggressive early in the count would cut down his K%?
MuckerQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Under. (dying laughing)
GBTSQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
In the few games I’ve paid attention to it seems like he’ll swing and miss even on the first pitch, but that’s probably true of all players at some time or another. Maybe he should just go back to whatever he was doing that allowed him to OPS .900+ last season.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
thats what AZ Phil was reporting MD.
dylanjQuote Reply
mb21 wrote:
dylanj wrote:
So AZ Phil is your killer, then?
BerseliusQuote Reply
I think BJax just sees how much the Chicago bullpen is struggling and is making a case to be transformed to a relief pitcher.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/chi-ventura-nl-strategy-is-obvious-20120515,0,7305357.story
Just throwing that out there.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Yeah, there is more strategy in the AL. Pinch hitting for a pitcher in the 7th inning isn’t strategy. It’s common sense.
mb21Quote Reply
mb21 wrote:
Not if you’re Don Zimmer and the pitcher is Chuck McElroy.
AndCountingQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
I agree with him.
MishQuote Reply
mb21 wrote:
Probably better to say there’s relatively little strategy in both leagues.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Who gives a shit, right? This is like debating who is the hottest chick in the IT department.
Bobby HansenQuote Reply
I looked up your sponsor for this blog post. I was not disappointed.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
There’s a lot of strategy in the game, but most of it is in both leagues (lineup construction, defensive positioning, batter-pitcher match-ups, pitching, etc). It’s always irritated me when NL fans say there’s more in the NL because the freaking pitcher bats. Pitcher gets to 100 pitches you pinch hit. Pitcher not pitching particularly well you pinch hit. There’s no strategy in that. Only inferior batters.
mb21Quote Reply
I would add to that by saying that in the NL you know there’s an auto-bunt/auto-out coming up in the 9th spot, whereas in the AL, the bunt could come as a surprise or as design at any point in the lineup.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Clemens trial jurors are dropping like flies because they can’t stay awake (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Bobby Hansen:
False. There are no chicks in the IT department.
Also, great name.
MishQuote Reply
Sounds like bullpen linchpin Lendy Castillo is headed to the DL with a case of Rule Five Phantom Injury (David Patton’s Disease)
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
albinism?
GWQuote Reply
@ GW:
Shittiness
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Double switch!
ACTQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Obviously not a Ron Santo-era radio listener(/torture victim).
joshQuote Reply
Baseball’s not all that strategic of a game. I would like it if you could somehow write the rules so that a really smart manager could actually have a huge impact on taking his team all the way, but the fact is that the swing seems to be mostly negative, and the traditional managers, while not perfect, don’t hurt the teams much with their decisions. It’s not like they’re out there leading off with pitchers because it’s tradition.
joshQuote Reply
Personally, I’d say that one of the reasons I hate pitchers batting is that it leads to their getting taken out of the game when they’re doing well.
ACTQuote Reply
@ josh:
#8 hitters routinely bat second
GWQuote Reply
@ GW:
Yeah, but it’s routine so that levels the playing field, and putting a better hitter there doesn’t improve your win percentage by such a margin that you suddenly would see a team winning 100 games with just that change.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
Not to mention, the #2 hitter thing costs, what, 10 runs a year compared to an optimal lineup? That’s pretty big for a managerial decision, but pretty small in the grand scheme of things.
ACTQuote Reply
@ josh:
For example, if TLR’s theory of batting the pitcher 8th made any sense, and was the reason he won the World Series twice, everyone would do it, and the advantage would be nullified. I’m not saying there’s no strategy, just that I think strategy doesn’t instantly translate into success, it also takes a lot of other things.
,
joshQuote Reply
@ ACT:
Yeah, the best manager can give his team a couple of wins, basically. That’s great if you need an edge to get over a better team, but if you’re middle of the pack, then it’s kind of meaningless. That’s basically why I think they picked Sveum. They are focusing on player developement right now and they thing Sveum will give them that.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
Tango found a tiny advantage to hitting the pitcher 8th in The Book, though MGL said it doesn’t always show up on his simulations.
ACTQuote Reply
Personally, even if there is some tiny theoretical advantage to hitting the pitcher 8th, I’m not sure it’s worth telling some position player that he has to hit behind the pitcher. Player confidence and comfort are more important than perfect lineup optimization.
ACTQuote Reply
@ ACT:
players are all familiar with the double leadoff strategy. pretty simple to explain.
GWQuote Reply
@ ACT:
I agree with this. Managers are for the most part managing egos and hitting a position player after the pitcher can’t be good for one’s ego. I think the advantage The Book found was like 2 runs, right? That could easily be nullified by the happiness of the player who ends up batting 9th most frequently.
mb21Quote Reply
@ josh:
they picked sveum because he was the best of a bad lot (ie former players interested in the gig). they didn’t have the balls to cross the line and bring analytics to the bench.
GWQuote Reply
@ josh:
There’s a lot of strategy in baseball. The pitcher is trying to keep the batter off guard all the time. He’s mixing his pitches, which is strategy. The catcher is calling for pitches. The dugout calls for certain pitches. Pitch outs. Defensive alignment. The lineup order. Who is in the lineup (left/right match-ups). Defensive replacements. Pinch hitters and pinch runners. Playing the infield in (or back). Pickoff attempts. Pitcher going home without a leg kick when a runner is on base. Bunting. Hitting and running. Stolen base attempt.
mb21Quote Reply
GW wrote:
I agree with this. I’ve been meaning to write an article about it and include what you’ve said before regarding an analytical type as a bench coach. I’d probably go with manager though and the bench coach being the old timey traditionalist who manages egos. I got a feeling the analytical manager is going to be more open to what the bench coach would say regarding egos and what not than the old timey manager would be willing to incorporate analytics in his decisions.
mb21Quote Reply
@ GW:
They may understand it intellectually, but how would they feel about hitting behind the pitcher?
ACTQuote Reply
@ mb21:
that could be true.
GWQuote Reply
Jesus Montero sucks at catching.
ACTQuote Reply
This is not the King Felix start I was expecting.
ACTQuote Reply
@ ACT:
…and throwing.
ACTQuote Reply
Juan Pierre and Matt Garza doing Juan Pierre and Matt Garza things
BerseliusQuote Reply
Are they even trying to get Garza to practice throws to first when he’s not playing? He needs a shit ton of reps doing it right.
joshQuote Reply
Tons of Phillies fans in the crowd, judging from the reactions to those pitches
BerseliusQuote Reply
Man, I have to say, Brett Lowrie was right, both of those were way outside.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120516&content_id=31435564&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
I think at this point it’s just not going to make a difference.
mb21Quote Reply
I hate the bunting this team does
bubblesdachimpQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Maybe a couple of days of focus would break whatever mental block he has. He knows how to throw the ball to another guy. That’s what he does for a living. Surely this is some kind of weird psychological tic.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
Pitching and throwing to a base are different though. Maybe he just needs to throw using the same motion.
mb21Quote Reply
This might be crazy but would you consider bunting at garza on third base side every time till he proves he can throw to first?
bubblesdachimpQuote Reply
@ bubblesdachimp:
You have to hold three bunting tournaments before you can trust your players to bunt it well enough
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Well done B.
bubblesdachimpQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I know it’s a little different. I think that’s what it is, that he’s letting up instead of firing it over there, and that attempt not to throw so hard is causing him to think about the throw. If he just reacted, he’d throw it over there hard with no problem.
Then again, what the hell do I know?
joshQuote Reply
Is there anything worse than Gary Meier’s commercials on WGN radio? I can’t think of anything. Although, maybe whatever the next commercial is will probably be as bad.
@ bubblesdachimp:
Juan Pierr3 agrees
joshQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
Juan Pierre!
ACTQuote Reply
That was a hell of a long at bat. I think Pierrestein got bored.
joshQuote Reply
Helluva PA by LaHair
also (dying laughing) at Juan Pierre
BerseliusQuote Reply
I know the idea that home runs come in bunches has been debunked, but Sori sure hits his home runs in bunches.
ACTQuote Reply
ADOLFO!!!!
BerseliusQuote Reply
More HR than Pujols!
BerseliusQuote Reply
is that really only garza’s second error of the year? am i the only one that would have guessed at least 4?
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
i always feel bad that people are cheering for soriano. these same idiots will be booing the hell out of him as soon as he goes on a 1-13 stretch. they shouldn’t be allowed to also cheer for him when he does good.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
That’s why Ted Williams refused to doff his cap for the crowd.
ACTQuote Reply
Hey Matt, how about striking people out for a change?
ACTQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
That can’t be right. He’s had 2 this game already, and he had that one that he threw into the stands. That’s at least three. I think he had at least one more.
joshQuote Reply
I can’t believe that Soriano hasn’t had a (or more) days off with this leg injury
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ josh:
according to the box he’s only had one today. then the one he threw in the stands and (i thought) one other one, and i assumed he has at least one i haven’t seen. that’s where i came up with 4+. but 2 different websites say he only has 1 prior to tonight so i was wondering if pitchers are held to a different fielding standard. i mean i know they are but i was wondering if anyone knows specifics?
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
I guess the second bad throw was a close play, now that I think about it. So, if they’ve been cases like that, where a good throw gets the guy out, but the throw doesn’t go past the first baseman, then maybe you don’t get an error. Errors or not, his defense is agonizing.
joshQuote Reply
This was a close game a couple innings ago.
mb21Quote Reply
Hector Fucking Luna, you guys
BerseliusQuote Reply
Glad to see the Cubs’ bullpen put the nail in the coffin of this one.
joshQuote Reply
this bullpen is just beyond miserable
bubblesdachimpQuote Reply
Can someone tell me why reaching on an error doesn’t count towards a consecutive games reached base streak?
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Because on errors–by definition–the “blame” is given to the defense, not the batter. Not saying it’s right, but that’s the way it is and has been for over a century.
ACTQuote Reply
@ mb21:
That didn’t make sense to me either. Pat and Keith thought that was the case, but it seems to me it should count.
joshQuote Reply
If you want a more rigorous (MGL-esque) explanation, it would be that ROE’s are not (short-term) good indications of batter skill (i.e., ROE numbers are dominated by randomness over yearly samples). Over the course of a year or so, it might be more “accurate” to count an ROE as an out, just as you ignore a pitcher’s BABIP over similar lengths of time.
ACTQuote Reply
I mean, LaHair hit a can of corn today and by some weird fluke, he wound up on second. What does that tell you about his skill other than that he made contact?
ACTQuote Reply
Aisle424Quote Reply
That was a game I did not recently enjoy.
Mobile RiceQuote Reply
So has anyone seen that Obama has added himself to the past 14 or so presidential biographies on the white house website? (dying laughing)
WaLiQuote Reply
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/17/write-what-you-want-about-dale-sveum-hes-not-going-to-read-it/
MishQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
I saw some headline about it, but didn’t read the article. I assume this is uncommon, which seems odd to me considering the massive egos politicians have. Either way it’s pretty funny.
mb21Quote Reply
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Yeah? Well, Mish doesn’t wear hockey pads.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I thought someone else was taking over MLB.com Fastcast. Now Eric Heiss is doing it again. That guy has the most annoying voice in all of broadcast journalism.
joshQuote Reply
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/17/cubs-patriarch-joe-ricketts-is-in-need-of-a-literate-black-man/
MishQuote Reply
new shit http://obstructedview.net/major-league-baseball/q-a-with-phillies-blog-that-balls-outta-here.html
BerseliusQuote Reply