Junk

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Thu May 05, 2011 1:38 am

I don't care what his average is. I don't care that he feels comfortable at the plate. The point is, I have seen Derek Jeter a lot this season, and I still haven't seen him hit a ball hard yet.

Michael Pineda is talented, to be sure. But, a lot to learn for a rookie. Last night, he threw 77 of 97 pitches for strikes. Too many. Yes, I said too many. He had Texas players inching up on the plate last night, knowing they would probably get strikes. Even throwing a strike to Chris Davis on an 0-2 pitch, which resulted in a home run. I don't know who he throws against next, but if I'm the pitching coach, knowing that the other team has scouted Pineda, the first pitch would send the leadoff hitter sprawling in the dirt.

Adrian Beltre takes a mighty swing occasionally, and ends up on one knee. Lou Gehrig used to do the same thing....

Last night's game between the Red and Angels took almost eight hours.

It took DiceBB mere minutes to end it.

Once you have a skill set....

Well, you know the rest. It is a good cover for saying, anybody that was good at something, could be good again.....

Hello, Jeff Francoeur.

Scott Boras · Post by **Scott Boras** » Thu May 05, 2011 3:58 am

You didn't see Jeter's 2 doubles? Apparently you haven't watched all 108 of his at bats.

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Thu May 05, 2011 4:00 am

Dan - you are usually right on - but actually I saw Jeter hit the ball hard on Tuesday and last night. Let's go to the videotape:

mlb

MLB

He also smacked a line drive that was caught by Miguel Cabrera at 1B late in the game.

Not making excuses here - but he did hit the ball with more authority in all these AB's

Hells Satans · Post by **Hells Satans** » Thu May 05, 2011 4:09 am

Francouer has been awesome, but this type of power isn't a skill set he's ever shown before. It won't last, but we should enjoy it. Here is his HR/FB ratio since he became a fulltime player in 2006:

15.3%

9.8%

6.5%

7.1%

7.6%

this year...22.9%

His BB and K rates are pretty much the same as always, but he has been swinging at a lot fewer pitches. That looks like real progress, so maybe he can get back to something like the 2006 Francouer. I kinda doubt it though.

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Thu May 05, 2011 4:40 am

I saw one.

A ground ball that hugged the line.

I didn't see the other one.

Remembering 'The Jerk' and the sniper with the oil cans....I can hear little voices coming from the grass at Yankee Stadium...

.'He hates worms! Stay away from the worms!!

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Thu May 05, 2011 4:44 am

Originally posted by Ryan C:

Dan - you are usually right on - but actually I saw Jeter hit the ball hard on Tuesday and last night. Let's go to the videotape:

mlb

MLB

He also smacked a line drive that was caught by Miguel Cabrera at 1B late in the game.

Not making excuses here - but he did hit the ball with more authority in all these AB's I couldn't see the sites put up, but I'll trust you're right. I've missed his last two games. His ground ball rate has been through the roof....er, turf. Maybe, he is getting it together while I haven't been watching him.

Dirt Dogs · Post by **Dirt Dogs** » Thu May 05, 2011 6:25 am

Francouer = Bautista

Do i see 40HR from Frenchy this year!

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Thu May 05, 2011 9:24 am

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

quote:Originally posted by Ryan C:

Dan - you are usually right on - but actually I saw Jeter hit the ball hard on Tuesday and last night. Let's go to the videotape:

mlb

MLB

He also smacked a line drive that was caught by Miguel Cabrera at 1B late in the game.

Not making excuses here - but he did hit the ball with more authority in all these AB's I couldn't see the sites put up, but I'll trust you're right. I've missed his last two games. His ground ball rate has been through the roof....er, turf. Maybe, he is getting it together while I haven't been watching him. [/QUOTE]To be fair these were well hit, but still clearly singles. Even I haven't seen any evidence that extra base hits are coming anytime soon.

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Fri May 06, 2011 12:55 am

Originally posted by Dirt Dogs:

Francouer = Bautista

Do i see 40HR from Frenchy this year! That would be SWEEET!

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri May 13, 2011 2:40 am

Dan, I keep looking for unique baseball stats/numbers for you and I saw one last night while reading this week's Sports Illustrated. It was talking about Andre Ethier's 30-game hitting streak and how it's so much harder for today's players to come close to Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. There are many factors for that, but one of them is the specialization of the bullpen. For instance, take a look at these facts:

** During DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak he faced only 55 pitchers. Amazing, but there were fewer teams in the league at that time and many starters went the distance.

** During Ethier's 30-game hitting streak he faced 62 different pitchers. Not surprising.

The MLB batting average in 1941 was .262. Last year it was .257.

Interestingly, DiMaggio's streak has lasted 70 years. The previous streak of 44 straight games was held by Wee Willie Keeler, set in 1897. So only two players have held the longest hitting streak record over the last 114 years. Amazing.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri May 13, 2011 8:42 am

Here's a few interesting stats from STATS today:

** Major leaguers are batting a collective .173 in two-strike counts this year. The Angels are batting a major league-high .224 in those situations and six Angels are hitting higher than .250. Maicer Izturis has 24 two-strike hits, the most in the majors, and Howie Kendrick is second with 22.

** The Cardinals’ Matt Holliday is 7-for-17 with two doubles, two homers and three walks in plate appearances that have started with two consecutive strikes. Among the 256 major leaguers who have started 0-2 at least 15 times this season, Holliday’s .412 average and .500 OBP are the highest.

** On Thursday, when the New York Yankees lost an 11-5 decision to the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, not a single New York batter struck out. It was the first time the Yankees had gone an entire game without striking out since July 8, 2009, when they defeated the Twins during their final trip to the Metrodome. The last time the Yankees lost a game in which they didn’t strike out was a 7-1 defeat in Detroit nearly a decade ago -- on July 19, 2001. The last time they lost at home without striking out was June 17, 1994, in an 8-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

** With a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, the Pittsburgh Pirates improved to 18-17, marking the latest point in the season that they’ve been above .500 since they were 23-22 on May 29, 2004. The Pirates, with 18 consecutive losing seasons heading into 2011, have been above .500 in the second half in only two of those 18 seasons -- the last time in 1999.

** Among the 176 relievers who have appeared in at least 10 games in 2011, only two have yet to allow a first batter they’ve faced to reach base. San Diego’s Mike Adams has retired all 18 of his first batters, and the Angels’ Rich Thompson has set down 13 in 13 games. First batters have gone 0-for-18 against another Padre, Chad Qualls, though he has given up a walk for a still-stingy .053 opponent OBP. Washington closer Drew Storen has the same opponent OBP, limiting first batters to one hit in 19 at-bats.

** No team walks less frequently than the Chicago Cubs, who are averaging one walk per every 14.7 plate appearances.

** The lowest walk rate among batting qualifiers belongs to Oakland leadoff man Coco Crisp, who has drawn just two walks in 30 games -- an average of one walk per 62.0 plate appearances. As a group, leadoff hitters in the majors are drawing an average of one free pass for every 12.6 PAs, walking nearly five times as often as Crisp.