From the April 12 SF Giants at San Diego Padre's game. SF ace Tim Lincecum struggles again, throwing 46% balls, walking 3 and giving up 10 hits and 4 runs in 5 1/3 innings. It could have been worse. In the second inning, with 2 outs, SD's #6 and #7 hitters both single. Their number 8 hitter, Luis Rodriquez, walks "non-intentionally" on four pitches, bringing up the SD pitcher, Chris Young, who strikes out on three pitches.
In the third inning, the Padres score three runs and have runners on 2nd and 3rd base with two outs. Rodriquez is intentionally walked again. SD pitcher Chris Young manages a weak grounder this time, inning over.
Who is this feared #8 hitter, Luis Rodriquez? A career backup / utility man, good glove, with an OPS of .664 that may not even rate as "replacement level". Before today, he had one intentional walk in his career. The only reason he gets walked is that the next batter, pitcher Chris Young, has an even more pathetic .360 OPS.
Some may claim that this is "strategy" and good for the game. Bah humbug. If having a pitcher bat is so "strategic" and requires deep thought, how come pitchers always (except for Tony LaRussa) bat 9th? Pitchers almost always bunt when they should bunt, and #8 batters almost always get intentionally walked when they should get walked. It's not strategy or thinking, it has become routine practice.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Nick Adenhart killed
Wow. A young man pitches six innings of shutout baseball in his major league season debut. Then is taken from us by a hit and run driver. Even though times are tough for many, this should make everybody else appreciate what they still do have.
In ancient Rome, after a glorious victory, a Roman general was paraded on a chariot through the streets of Rome in a celebration known as a triumph. Standing behind the general was a slave, whose job was to remind the general that glory and life are fleeting. In legends, the slave whispered to the general to remember that he was mortal: "Memento mori."
Remember that you are mortal. I found a hymn by Sanford Bennett (that I've never heard of before) but I like the words:
In ancient Rome, after a glorious victory, a Roman general was paraded on a chariot through the streets of Rome in a celebration known as a triumph. Standing behind the general was a slave, whose job was to remind the general that glory and life are fleeting. In legends, the slave whispered to the general to remember that he was mortal: "Memento mori."
Remember that you are mortal. I found a hymn by Sanford Bennett (that I've never heard of before) but I like the words:
Life is fleeting, life is fleeting!
Let us do what good we can,
Have for all a kindly greeting,
In love's army lead the van,
Hoping ev'ry seed that falleth
May grow up in flowers of love,
Till the gracious master calleth
All his children home above.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
SF Giants Opening Day
I was lucky enough to attend the San Francisco Giants Opening Day versus the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday (April 7). The weather was dicey, delaying the start of the game by about half an hour, and canceling the exciting "flyover", but it cleared up nicely for the game, with even a little sun peeking out and a beautiful rainbow after the game.
The game itself was very sloppy, perhaps reflecting the field. Pitching sucked: mixed in with twenty-two hits were 13 walks and four hit batsmen. The Giants won 10-6 thanks to three home runs and because their pitchers fared better in wriggling out of jams (three double plays, plus the Brewers team left 11 men on base, more than one per inning).
Some concrete observations:
Tim Lincecum has no control over his fastball. It was consistently high in the strike zone. The good news is that the Brewers hitters couldn't dig in, and he rung up 5 Ks, the bad news is that he pitched only three innings, walking three and throwing over 70 pitches. Hopefully he's not hurt, nor is he turning into a nibbling Barry Zito.
Jeff Suppan is not a #1 pitcher. His ERA has been in steep decline for three years, ending last year at nearly 5. If the Brewer's highly touted youngsters, Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra, struggle this year, it could be a long season for them.
Pablo Sandoval can hit, but is no Brooks Robinson or Eric Chavez. He has several chances to make admittedly tricky plays, and succeeded at none. Either he grows into the position, or he will grow into Miguel Cabrera and be relegated to first base or traded to the AL as a DH.
In general, the Giant's defense looked shaky. Edgar Renteria looks a step slow, Fred Lewis made a terrible throw home, and the Brewers stole four bases. Maybe it was the wet field and first game jitters, but if they don't tighten up behind their good pitching they could set a record for yielding unearned runs.
Travis Ishikawa looks good. Fielded fine and had some key hits with power. And I just like his name - very melting pot American.
Congratulations to Joe Martinez on the win in his major league debut. It wasn't pretty (2 runs in two innings) but many wins aren't pretty and I'm sure he will savor it for the rest of his life.
The game itself was very sloppy, perhaps reflecting the field. Pitching sucked: mixed in with twenty-two hits were 13 walks and four hit batsmen. The Giants won 10-6 thanks to three home runs and because their pitchers fared better in wriggling out of jams (three double plays, plus the Brewers team left 11 men on base, more than one per inning).
Some concrete observations:
Tim Lincecum has no control over his fastball. It was consistently high in the strike zone. The good news is that the Brewers hitters couldn't dig in, and he rung up 5 Ks, the bad news is that he pitched only three innings, walking three and throwing over 70 pitches. Hopefully he's not hurt, nor is he turning into a nibbling Barry Zito.
Jeff Suppan is not a #1 pitcher. His ERA has been in steep decline for three years, ending last year at nearly 5. If the Brewer's highly touted youngsters, Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra, struggle this year, it could be a long season for them.
Pablo Sandoval can hit, but is no Brooks Robinson or Eric Chavez. He has several chances to make admittedly tricky plays, and succeeded at none. Either he grows into the position, or he will grow into Miguel Cabrera and be relegated to first base or traded to the AL as a DH.
In general, the Giant's defense looked shaky. Edgar Renteria looks a step slow, Fred Lewis made a terrible throw home, and the Brewers stole four bases. Maybe it was the wet field and first game jitters, but if they don't tighten up behind their good pitching they could set a record for yielding unearned runs.
Travis Ishikawa looks good. Fielded fine and had some key hits with power. And I just like his name - very melting pot American.
Congratulations to Joe Martinez on the win in his major league debut. It wasn't pretty (2 runs in two innings) but many wins aren't pretty and I'm sure he will savor it for the rest of his life.
Money Changes Everything (in Cricket)
Thanks to Cyndi Lauper for the title, and thanks to A Vinu, one of my followers, for some interesting links. I really don't know a whole lot about Cricket myself, but it's seeing some of the economic issues that affect baseball. Which is probably good - if there were zero money in cricket there's be a lot less of it.
The lucrative Twenty20 Cricket is sucking top players away from traditional test matches. (For those slightly more ignorant than me, Twenty20 is a shorter form of cricket, finishing in a couple of hours rather than days). This sounds much like the the World Baseball Classic, which many top players (e.g. Ryan Howard, Adrien Beltre) skip, or are forced to skip by their clubs, since it is a sidelight from their highly paid jobs in Major League Baseball. Some of the WBC issue is the timing, since it occurs during MLB's Spring Training. But the ened effect is to cast some doubt on the "validity" of the results, since teams with "apparently" less talent, like South Korea, have dominated because they can field their full team. It's clear that Korea really does have a ton of baseball talent, plus a ton of pride in their play, and great fans!, but until the WBC has the financial wherewithal to really attract all the top talent from all teams, it will be a stepchild to MLB.
The same may be true in cricket. If the national teams want all their their stars in the test matches, they will either have to pay better, drum up nationalistic pride and pressure for them to play, or adjust the schedule to avoid conflicts with Twenty20. Cricket has an advantage over baseball, since test matches are traditional and Twenty20 is new, whereas in baseball the WBC is "new" and has to overcome both tradition and money.
TV coverage of cricket is also an issue, especially for young people:
On the bright side for cricket, major manufacturers are sponsoring teams, providing high tech clothing, and sending hot babes. And Bollywood is there.
The lucrative Twenty20 Cricket is sucking top players away from traditional test matches. (For those slightly more ignorant than me, Twenty20 is a shorter form of cricket, finishing in a couple of hours rather than days). This sounds much like the the World Baseball Classic, which many top players (e.g. Ryan Howard, Adrien Beltre) skip, or are forced to skip by their clubs, since it is a sidelight from their highly paid jobs in Major League Baseball. Some of the WBC issue is the timing, since it occurs during MLB's Spring Training. But the ened effect is to cast some doubt on the "validity" of the results, since teams with "apparently" less talent, like South Korea, have dominated because they can field their full team. It's clear that Korea really does have a ton of baseball talent, plus a ton of pride in their play, and great fans!, but until the WBC has the financial wherewithal to really attract all the top talent from all teams, it will be a stepchild to MLB.
The same may be true in cricket. If the national teams want all their their stars in the test matches, they will either have to pay better, drum up nationalistic pride and pressure for them to play, or adjust the schedule to avoid conflicts with Twenty20. Cricket has an advantage over baseball, since test matches are traditional and Twenty20 is new, whereas in baseball the WBC is "new" and has to overcome both tradition and money.
TV coverage of cricket is also an issue, especially for young people:
Berry again voices concern about the lack of free-to-air TV coverage in the UK. While he acknowledges that the ECB attracted top dollar for the sale of international TV rights to BSkyB, he draws attention to chilling research carried out among more than 26,000 schoolchildren in South London. ... Cricket was ranked 21stThis is much like MLB playoff baseball. TV sets the times for the big games, often in prime time in the evening (for big ad revenues) which is too late for younger children, especially a few time zones away. Many games are on pay channels. The end result is that fewer kids can watch the games and baseball loses future fans and players. Years ago these playoff and World Series games were often on during the daytime and we'd sneak radios into school to listen to our heroes. If the teacher was a fan, no sneaking was required! I guess today kids can follow the games on their cell phones. (I follow some games on the internet) Not sure what the solution is for cricket. An internet feed should be decent for following the game. But there are a lot of places in the sub-continent where this is not an option.
On the bright side for cricket, major manufacturers are sponsoring teams, providing high tech clothing, and sending hot babes. And Bollywood is there.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Six months has greatly changed the G20
Kevin Hennessey (caveat, a former Bushie) compares the language of the G20 resolution from November 2008 and April 2009. Wow, how times (and presidents) change.
Since Hennessey correctly predicted that "free" would be dropped, give him a little credit. He's better at prognosticating than most of the other economist. :-)
IMO, dropping one or two of these clauses is no big deal. But dropping four clauses, all having to do with traditional American principles, concerns me. Yes, some free market execs really screwed up, but let's not throw the baby out with the abthwater.
A quick summary of some minor things missing from the new, April document:
Note that the word “free” is nowhere in the document.
"… rule of law …” is nowhere in the document
"… private property …” is nowhere in the document
"… competitive markets …” and the word “competitive” are nowhere in the document
Since Hennessey correctly predicted that "free" would be dropped, give him a little credit. He's better at prognosticating than most of the other economist. :-)
IMO, dropping one or two of these clauses is no big deal. But dropping four clauses, all having to do with traditional American principles, concerns me. Yes, some free market execs really screwed up, but let's not throw the baby out with the abthwater.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Where do they play the Indian Premier League?
Sounds like a modern take on the old "who's buried in Grant's tomb" question. Where do they play the Indian Premier League? Not in India. The 59 match, 5 week tournament has been moved to South Africa due to security concerns in India. South Africa was chosen over England cause it's closer to India in time zones and distance, and the weather in April will be more reliable. Maybe they have some empty hotel rooms. It's probably a good sign that some Indians think the elections are more important, though I know that I would go to a baseball World Series in preference to a US election. (There was some danger that a good Oakland Athletics run in 2005 would interfere with my wedding).
Anyway, it's a little sad, but a serious onlooker can't really disagree with the decision when lives could be at stake. Let's hope it runs smoothly and safely. But Groucho Marx is having a little laugh today.
Anyway, it's a little sad, but a serious onlooker can't really disagree with the decision when lives could be at stake. Let's hope it runs smoothly and safely. But Groucho Marx is having a little laugh today.
Wherein I agree with the Huffington Post
Somewhat to my surprise. Not much to add. Maybe to point out that
sounds like a John McCain quote that the Democrats blasted as "out of touch".
The economic badmouthing has been going on for years. (Checkout most Paul Krugman editorials for the last 8 years) My wife and I can hardly watch the TV news anymore - it's all bad, or spun to be bad. For example, after dire warnings of doom, the California snowpack was just measured at 81% - 85% of normal, which I'm sure is well within a normal range. Yet the article highlights water official's worries. They are paid to worry about water, and it fits the paper's need to create doom and gloom.
"But it seems to me that this cycle of doubt itself, rather than fundamentals of
the economy, is partly to blame for the dizzying decline in the market averages
and the associated fallout"
sounds like a John McCain quote that the Democrats blasted as "out of touch".
The economic badmouthing has been going on for years. (Checkout most Paul Krugman editorials for the last 8 years) My wife and I can hardly watch the TV news anymore - it's all bad, or spun to be bad. For example, after dire warnings of doom, the California snowpack was just measured at 81% - 85% of normal, which I'm sure is well within a normal range. Yet the article highlights water official's worries. They are paid to worry about water, and it fits the paper's need to create doom and gloom.
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