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May 9, 2008, 10:35 AM ET
Not About E-Mail
by Joe Sheehan
With the newsletter not currently being sent out, I wanted to update people on a few things related to BP’s run at world domination.
Today at 2 p.m., Will Carroll and I will join Casey Stern and Cory Schwartz on MLB.com’s “Fantasy 411″ on BaseballChannel.tv. Will will be analyzing the impact of injuries on fantasy teams and looking at the projected returns of a number of stars. I’ll mostly be looking at the wrong camera and wondering how in an entire show not a single player on my AL Tout roster is recommended to anyone for anything.
At 3:30, I’ll be talking baseball on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” breaking down one first-place team that looks the part and one who doesn’t, among other topics.
At any time, you can check out Bill Simmons’ “B.S. Report” at ESPN.com. The latest edition includes Bill and I talking baseball for an hour. In an upset, we got through it without him saying “Dave Roberts” or me saying “Bucky Dent.”
This weekend, Nate Silver contributes a piece to The New York Times’ sports section on Ken Griffey Jr. as well.
Check back next week, as Kevin Goldstein ponders accepting the #2 spot on Obama ticket and Clay Davenport starts a four-episode arc as Sandra Oh’s love interest–”McStatty”–on “Grey’s Anatomy”.
May 7, 2008, 06:48 PM ET
Email’s Back
by Dave Pease
Good news on the email front–we’re back online and any email you send to any BP address (or through the contact form) should make it to its intended recipient without delay.
Still working on the newsletter situation; we hope to have that resolved soon. Thank you for your patience.
May 6, 2008, 12:20 PM ET
Email Update
by Dave Pease
Over the weekend, the good old BP email server finally met its match in the form of an amazing deluge of all sorts of interesting spam. As Christina said yesterday, we’re not getting or sending much email. To fix this, we’re in the middle of transitioning email services to another provider.
Newsletter delivery may or may not occur over the rest of the week, and email you send may or may not get to us. As always, please feel free to view the newsletter in your browser–that’ll get updated on the schedule you’re used to seeing. I apologize for the inconvenience, and we’ll keep you updated on our progress.
May 5, 2008, 10:00 PM ET
Email News
by Christina Kahrl
Howdy gang,
This is a general note to let everyone know that we’ve been having some technical problems with our email server of late, so if you haven’t received the Newsletter in the last day or two, it isn’t because we stopped providing content, it’s just a glitch that our tireless tech team is busily repairing. In the meantime, you can always see the latest newsletter by clicking ‘Newsletter’ at the menu bar on top of any BP page. You might enjoy today’s slate, including tonight’s just-published Yankee-centric edition of Transaction of the Day, not to mention tomorrow’s content, which will include the next Prospectus Today on top of all sorts of other good stuff. Also, if you wrote in to a BP author over the last 48 hours, don’t fear, we’ll get your questions, observations, and invariably worthwhile criticisms in time. Just bear with us in the meantime, and rest assured that we’re working on it, and will still providing you with the usual daily content flow. People and occasional BP contributors looking for me can contact me easily enough on gmail–I’m ckahrl9@.
In the meantime, there’s a website to work on, when I’m not dealing with getting flooded out of chez moi. Fun times? Hey, there is baseball to watch, so who’s complaining?
RELATED BASEBALL PROSPECTUS CONTENT
May 05, 2008 - Transaction of the Day: Backing Away from the Abyss by Christina Kahrl
May 5, 2008, 12:00 PM ET
The Great Rock & Roll Swindle
by David Laurila
Some would argue that the Sex Pistols don’t belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but that’s really more a case of personal taste than it is merit. The Malcolm McLaren-managed anarchists didn’t fit the mold that most record company executives look for, nor did they cater to conventional radio-friendly musical tastes, but there’s no denying that they left a lasting impression. And then you have R.J. Swindle.
A misfit lefthander with the Double-A Reading Phillies, Swindle is the Moneyball version of the Sex Pistols. An amalgamation of Lenny DiNardo and Casey Fossum on the mound — and Chris Coste if he makes it to the big leagues — Swindle throws a fastball that tops out in the low 80s and a curveball as slow as 52 mph. Because of his radar gun-averse scouting profile, the 2004 draft pick has bounced around from the Red Sox to the Yankees to the Phillies with a pair of Indie ball stints thrown in for good measure. Keeping a job has proven to be a challenge for Swindle; retiring hitters hasn’t.
Swindle’s numbers in organized ball (Indie ball stats NOT included):
ERA = 1.48
IP = 157.2
H = 117
HR = 3
BB = 18
K = 175
In 11 Double-A games with Reading this season, Swindle is 1-0, 0.54 in 16.2 innings. He has allowed 8 hits and one walk with 16 strikeouts.
Swindle probably isn’t heading to the Hall of Fame, but if he keeps putting up eye-popping numbers he’s deserving of some big league airplay. It’s a matter of Pat Gillick becoming a baseball version of Malcolm McLaren and recognizing that you don’t need to fit a traditional profile to hit the top of the charts — or to get hitters out. Swindle’s numbers rock pretty hard.
May 3, 2008, 09:33 PM ET
Padres Elevator Snapshot
by David Laurila
A ride in a press elevator is too brief for a long conversation, but it does allow enough time for a few quick observations about a baseball team. An advance scout for a National League team who recently followed the Padres for four games offered the following snapshot:
On Trevor Hoffman:
“Hoffman was scuffling a little bit while I was there, but I’m sure he’ll get out of it. He has to have his changeup working, and at the time he wasn’t locating the way he needs to. It was probably more a question of age as much as anything, but he should be fine. He’s what now, 40 years old? He’s had a marvelous career.”
On whom he was pleasantly surprised with:
“That Scott Hairston kid looked pretty good. He’s more of a fourth outfielder to me, which he still might well be, but he played well when I saw him. He hit for some power, and he played some center field while Edmonds was out. He’s got some tools; he’s got some power; he can run. And he showed me that he can play center field, which makes him of some value to a team. He can also play multiple positions, including the infield.”
On the Padres’ offensive capabilities:
“Kouzmanoff and Gonzalez are pretty good hitters in the middle of their lineup. Kouzmanoff has to get hot. I think that Gonzalez is the real deal. Edmonds was hurt then. Giles is there. They have an older team, more of a veteran club. It will be interesting to see what happens with them.”
April 30, 2008, 06:06 PM ET
Cecil and Carrasco Match Up in New Hampshire
by David Laurila
One of the best pitching match-ups of the night comes from Manchester, New Hampshire where the Fisher Cats are hosting the Reading Phillies. The game marks the Double-A debut of 20-year-old lefthander Brett Cecil, a first-round supplemental pick in last year’s draft who is rated as the number 3 prospect in the Blue Jays organization. On the mound for the visitors is the top prospect in the Phillies organization, 21-year-old righthander Carlos Carrasco. The pitching coaches of the respective teams weighed in on their pupils prior to the game.
“I haven’t seen a lot of him yet, but Brett throws four quality pitches,” said New Hampshire’s Dave LaRoche. “He has a fastball that he throws between 92 and 94, a curve, slider and changeup, and he likes to throw them all. Right now he’s young and learning to pitch. He was a reliever in college, and we’re working to make him a starter. Tonight he’ll be limited to 55 to 65 pitches and no more than five innings.”
“Carlos has got a good fastball that sits around 91-92,” said Reading’s Tom Filer, “He also has a quality changeup that acts like a splitter with its downward action. And I really like the development of his curveball. He’s not consistent with it, but he’ll flash a good one at times. I saw Josh Beckett pitch in this league in 2001, and at times it reminds me of Beckett’s curveball. It all depends on him putting it together, but I can see this guy in Philadelphia within a year.”
Blogging Cecil’s first inning, his introduction to Double A wasn’t pretty. The first two batters reached via error and walk; the next four — including the highly-regarded Greg Golson and Lou Marson — stroked singles. Following a mound visit from Filer, Cecil got out of the inning with a double play ball and a strikeout.
Carrasco’s first inning was short and efficient. With a radar reading topping out at 90 mph on what appears to be a slow gun – Cecil sat around 83-84 – Carrasco retired the side in order on a strikeout, lineout and fly out. The fly ball came off the bat of the night’s other must-see attraction, top Toronto prospect Travis Snider.
April 30, 2008, 03:34 PM ET
Friday Night at the Hideout
by Christina Kahrl
For anyone who lives in or near Chicago, if you want to talk baseball, enjoy a night out at an area landmark, maybe groove to some tasty tunes, and just generally enjoy yourself, you might want to stop by the Hideout in Chicago at 1354 W. Wabansia on this Friday night. That’s on May 2nd, the day after the drinking classes cursed to work come down from their celebrations, not to mention that always-embarrassing realization they still don’t know any of the words to the Internationale.
Why the Hideout, you ask? Because on that night, starting at 6:30 p.m., Nate and I will be among the slate of guests on “The Interview Show” with Mark Bazer. Maybe we’ll debate the merits of Matt Murton, freely acknowledge our mutual regard for Ozzie Guillen, or ask whether or not PECOTA’s too high or just high enough about Geovany Soto and Nick Swisher, but whatever direction the conversation takes, you won’t know unless you go. Sadly, attendance isn’t free ($5 at the door, but you’ll be getting music, baseball, and the remaining guests, and in a great venue.
For additional information and links, go to the BP Events page, and we hope to see you there.
April 30, 2008, 02:42 AM ET
All-Star Prep
by Derek Jacques
As part of Baseball Prospectus’s continuing coverage of Yankee Stadium’s final season, I went to the Bronx on Tuesday for a star-studded press conference to kick off the preparations for the lead up to the 2008 All Star Game. The event was at the ballpark’s Stadium Club; like a number of things about the current Yankee Stadium, it’s nice, but you can understand why it could stand to be replaced. The space was probably big enough to accommodate the press corps the last time the Yankees had the All Star Game in their house, back in 1977, but this mid-afternoon PR opportunity was pretty much completely jammed.
The headliner for the press conference was New York’s mayor, the Honorable Michael Bloomberg. The mayor’s demeanor is a bit like that of an extroverted high school math teacher. His speeches for events like these tend to be littered with bad puns and groaning laugh lines, which he delivers with absolutely no shame, knowing that he gets points just for trying. (He did have one funny line, however: after he was given an All Star Game jersey, he quipped, “I’ll wear it with pride. Then, when no one’s looking, I’ll bury it in Fenway Park.”) Major League Baseball was represented by Bob DuPuy (pronunciation guide: rhymes with toupee); co-Chairman Hal Steinbrenner and team President (and former city government insider) Randy Levine were there on behalf of Yankees management, leaving the odd couple of Derek Jeter and Yogi Berra to represent the baseball side of the Yankees.
The purpose of the presser was to announce the All-Star festivities schedule, but the program wound up featuring more boasting than a rap video (”We’re giving $7 million to local charities!” “The All Star Game will bring almost $150 million of revenues into the city!” “The All-Star FanFest will be 50% bigger than it was last year!”). Probably the most pertinent and time-sensitive announcement was that online balloting for the All Star starters was now open, an awkward phrasing resulting from the fact that ballots have been available in Baltimore for more than a week. A few notes:
- Aside from Bloomberg’s jersey quip, the quote of the day had to come from Derek Jeter, saying, “If I never play in another All Star Game again, this is the one I want to play in.” You’d have to think, hell or high water, Jeter will be making the 2008 All Star team, but he certainly didn’t seem to be taking it for granted.
- Unlike his older brother, who looks and sounds like a mimeograph of the old man, Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t bear much of a resemblance his father, until you hear him talk. It’s not that his voice sounds like the elder Steinbrenner’s, but the moment he strings more than two sentences together, the rhythm with which he speaks is unmistakeable. It’s like you’re listening to Larry David’s Steinbrenner impression from Seinfeld.
- It’s way too early to talk All Star ballots, but since one was included in my press packet, I wound up playing a game–pick out the most inappropriate guys on the ballot. Every year, the ballot has a few guys on, like Jayson Nix, who’ve been sent down to the minors before the balloting begins. Frank Thomas is still on the ballot as the Blue Jays‘ DH, even though he was released and signed by the A’s. Based on the sketchy circumstances surrounding Thomas’s departure from Canada, part of me wishes that this meant he could be the Jays’ sole representative at the ASG. Those guys aside, my picks are two playing-time challenged thirdbasemen, Wild Willy Aybar in the AL and Hurtin’ Nomar Garciaparra in the NL. Feel free to send me your choices.
RELATED BASEBALL PROSPECTUS CONTENT
Apr 02, 2008 -  The First Last: Opening Day at Yankee Stadium by Derek Jacques
Apr 22, 2008 - Stupid Lawyer Tricks: Advice for the Young at Heart by Derek Jacques
April 29, 2008, 08:55 PM ET
Consecutive Ks Record: Soto is Safe
by David Laurila
When Geovany Soto singled off Ben Sheets in the second inning tonight at Wrigley Field, it ended a string of 8 consecutive at-bats in which Soto had struck out. It wasn’t a record, but Soto was approaching some infamous territory. Thanks to BP’s Jason Pare, here are the numbers:
At-bats with consecutive strikeouts — position players only:
11 Steve Balboni 1984
11 Bill Melton 1970
10 Andujar Cedeno 1995
10 Tito Landrum 1987
10 Gorman Thomas 1975
9 Mark Reynolds 2007
9 Russ Davis 2001
9 Bo Jackson 1988
9 Eric Davis 1987
9 Reggie Jackson 1987
9 Greg Luzinski 1978
9 Adolpho Phillips 1966
At-bats with consecutive strikeouts – all players:
15 Mike Thurman 1998
14 Miguel Batista 2003
14 Jose DeJesus 1991
14 Juan Eichelberger 1980
14 Vida Blue 1972
14 Dean Chance 1968
14 Bill Hands 1968
Plate appearances with consecutive strikeouts – position players only:
9 Mark Reynolds 2007
9 Bo Jackson 1988
9 Eric Davis 1987
9 Reggie Jackson 1987
9 Steve Balboni 1984
9 Adolpho Phillips 1966
Plate appearances with consecutive strikeouts – all players:
13 Bartolo Colon 2001
13 Dean Chance 1968
11 Rudy May 1972
11 Gary Gentry 1970
11 Dean Chance 1965
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