Noah's Arc
First, I just need to say.. Thank God we finally have a closer who will come in and shut the door on the opposition.
Grrrrrrrrrr
OK, Let's investigate one Noah Lowry, supposed Savior of the Franchise.
Here are two pitchers, which would you rather have in your rotation?
ERA K/9 BB/9 OPS Against
Pitcher A 2.84 8.53 2.27 .693
Pitcher B 5.74 7.43 4.05 .807
Well they both have decent K/9 rates, one pitcher does seem to be quite a bit better than the other. Of course, no surprise, both of these pitchers are Noah Lowry. Pitcher A is at Pac Bell, and Pitcher B is anywhere else in the Major League Baseball universe.
So is Noah really the Savior of the Franchise? Or is he one of those pitchers who somehow MATCHES UP WELL WITH PAC BELL?
I'd say his next start will be a good indicator, but it's against Arizona. At Pac Bell. So I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict Lowry to throw another shut-out.
They have platoons in the field all the time, how about platoons in the rotation? Now that we know Tomko hates pitching at Pac Bell, lets shift Lowry and Tomko back and forth in the rotation. If the 5th spot falls at home, Lowry pitches and Tomko is long man from the bull-pen for a few days before and after. If the 5th spot falls somewhere else, Tomko pitches, Lowry goes deep.
Just a suggestion.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Monday, August 30, 2004
It's Raining Snow
Right now, after going 0-2 so far as the Giants fall behind 3-1 to the Braves, J.T. Snow is hitting .323. And it's not an empty .323, as an OBP of .424 and an SLG of .514 (!) will attest. That Snow has an OPS of .938 is one of those "check to make sure it's not raining locusts" end-of-the-world signs.
So this begs the question, should he be our 1B in 2005?
Which is actually a more interesting question than "WILL he be our 1B in 2005" because I'm betting he will. There's a $2 mil option which will be difficult to pass up for a 1B with a .938 OPS and Gold Glove. Problem is, we won't be getting .938 in 2005. We'll be getting @ .750. And While $2 mil for a .750 OPS at short or second might be worthwhile, not so at 1B. We can get REAL 1B who will hit .900 or more on a consistant basis and strike fear into the heart of pitchers everywhere. They'll cost more, but tell me throwing a healthy Mr. Delgado, or Mr. Sexton into the 5-hole behind The Barry doesn't improve things.
I mean come on people. Which is more believable? That at 32, J.T. figured it out and has raised his game to the level of the elite for all time? Or that posting a BA, OBP, and SLG all higher than career bests turns 2004 (in less than full-time -- he doesn't qualify for the batting title yet) makes him this year's Brady Anderson?
If only he was Brady Anderson of '96. 50 HRs would look mighty good right now.
The true horror is the idea that Sabean gets all excited, falls over himself, and signs Snow to another 4-year deal at $17 mil per or something.
That's a chilling Snow thought.
Right now, after going 0-2 so far as the Giants fall behind 3-1 to the Braves, J.T. Snow is hitting .323. And it's not an empty .323, as an OBP of .424 and an SLG of .514 (!) will attest. That Snow has an OPS of .938 is one of those "check to make sure it's not raining locusts" end-of-the-world signs.
So this begs the question, should he be our 1B in 2005?
Which is actually a more interesting question than "WILL he be our 1B in 2005" because I'm betting he will. There's a $2 mil option which will be difficult to pass up for a 1B with a .938 OPS and Gold Glove. Problem is, we won't be getting .938 in 2005. We'll be getting @ .750. And While $2 mil for a .750 OPS at short or second might be worthwhile, not so at 1B. We can get REAL 1B who will hit .900 or more on a consistant basis and strike fear into the heart of pitchers everywhere. They'll cost more, but tell me throwing a healthy Mr. Delgado, or Mr. Sexton into the 5-hole behind The Barry doesn't improve things.
I mean come on people. Which is more believable? That at 32, J.T. figured it out and has raised his game to the level of the elite for all time? Or that posting a BA, OBP, and SLG all higher than career bests turns 2004 (in less than full-time -- he doesn't qualify for the batting title yet) makes him this year's Brady Anderson?
If only he was Brady Anderson of '96. 50 HRs would look mighty good right now.
The true horror is the idea that Sabean gets all excited, falls over himself, and signs Snow to another 4-year deal at $17 mil per or something.
That's a chilling Snow thought.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Group Therapy
"Hi. My name is Kirk Rueter and I have a problem."
"Hi Kirk."
"I am a 5-inning pitcher. I want to fight it, I want to be a real starting pitcher, but I'm not."
"Tell us more."
"I have an ERA of 4.62 in inning 1-5. Nothing great, but it gets me a paycheck. Problem is, I have an ERA of 8.14 in innings 6 and beyond."
"Ouch."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Just today, I was going smooth, had a shut-out through 5. Then I came out in the 6th. Didn't retire a batter, gave up 4 runs."
"Man, I feel for ya."
"Maybe if my manager understood my limitations, I'd be able to get out after 5 and get a win. But unfortunately, my manager keeps bringing me out in the 6th and beyond. I don't know what to do."
"Have you tried faking injury after 5 innings?"
"No. Hadn't thought of that.. Interesting idea."
"That's what we're here for. Until then, let's practice our mantra. I WILL NOT PITCH THE 6TH INNIG OR BEYOND. BECAUSE IF I DO, MY TEAM WILL LOSE THE GAME."
"I WILL NOT PITCH THE 6TH INNIG OR BEYOND. BECAUSE IF I DO, MY TEAM WILL LOSE THE GAME"
"Very good Kirk. Can't wait to use you against St. Louis in the playoffs."
"Hi. My name is Kirk Rueter and I have a problem."
"Hi Kirk."
"I am a 5-inning pitcher. I want to fight it, I want to be a real starting pitcher, but I'm not."
"Tell us more."
"I have an ERA of 4.62 in inning 1-5. Nothing great, but it gets me a paycheck. Problem is, I have an ERA of 8.14 in innings 6 and beyond."
"Ouch."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Just today, I was going smooth, had a shut-out through 5. Then I came out in the 6th. Didn't retire a batter, gave up 4 runs."
"Man, I feel for ya."
"Maybe if my manager understood my limitations, I'd be able to get out after 5 and get a win. But unfortunately, my manager keeps bringing me out in the 6th and beyond. I don't know what to do."
"Have you tried faking injury after 5 innings?"
"No. Hadn't thought of that.. Interesting idea."
"That's what we're here for. Until then, let's practice our mantra. I WILL NOT PITCH THE 6TH INNIG OR BEYOND. BECAUSE IF I DO, MY TEAM WILL LOSE THE GAME."
"I WILL NOT PITCH THE 6TH INNIG OR BEYOND. BECAUSE IF I DO, MY TEAM WILL LOSE THE GAME"
"Very good Kirk. Can't wait to use you against St. Louis in the playoffs."
The Magical Mr. Tomko
After spending months not updating, I decided to use this blog for something I'll update a lot more frequently on: The San Francisco Giants.
For those not in the know (both of my imaginary readers) The Giants currently stand 71-58, 4 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West, 1 game behind the Cubbies for the NL Wild Card, and 1 game above the Padres in all things.
Last night, in Florida, Brett Tomko pitched his first major league shutout, dominating the Marlins 5-0. Seeing that happen (on the Internet, at least) reminded me that Tomko first came to my attention as part of a hot, young, Seattle rotation that was going to rule the world. Gil Meche. Freddie Garcia. Ryan Anderson. Brett Tomko. These were the young studs of the system. And Tomko was often mentioned by scouts as one of the best.
So what happened? How'd he go from up-and-coming Superstar to journeyman who has somehow managed to obtain a winning record for this season? I dunno. I know that when we signed Tomko, I thought to myself "Cool. He's gonna break out and have the season folks have been predicting." And he did. And started, like, 1-4 or 1-5. That's the season everyone has been predicting. Last night he reminded everyone why he was once thought of as a future star. But the rest of this season, he has reminded everyone of why he's a journeyman.
Eh. He's just keeping a rotation spot warm for Cain.
In Other News:
My film, the one I wrote and got produced, is available. You can rent it at Blockbuster. You can rent it at Hollywood Video. You can rent it from Netflix, or find it on Amazon. I get a piece of the backend, so go see it. Both of you. It's called The Eliminator. Starring Michael Rooker and Bas Rooten. Go have a few beers, pop it in and enjoy yourself. It's no work of art, but it's no Pluto Nash either.
No news on any of my other scripts. I'll keep you posted.
After spending months not updating, I decided to use this blog for something I'll update a lot more frequently on: The San Francisco Giants.
For those not in the know (both of my imaginary readers) The Giants currently stand 71-58, 4 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West, 1 game behind the Cubbies for the NL Wild Card, and 1 game above the Padres in all things.
Last night, in Florida, Brett Tomko pitched his first major league shutout, dominating the Marlins 5-0. Seeing that happen (on the Internet, at least) reminded me that Tomko first came to my attention as part of a hot, young, Seattle rotation that was going to rule the world. Gil Meche. Freddie Garcia. Ryan Anderson. Brett Tomko. These were the young studs of the system. And Tomko was often mentioned by scouts as one of the best.
So what happened? How'd he go from up-and-coming Superstar to journeyman who has somehow managed to obtain a winning record for this season? I dunno. I know that when we signed Tomko, I thought to myself "Cool. He's gonna break out and have the season folks have been predicting." And he did. And started, like, 1-4 or 1-5. That's the season everyone has been predicting. Last night he reminded everyone why he was once thought of as a future star. But the rest of this season, he has reminded everyone of why he's a journeyman.
Eh. He's just keeping a rotation spot warm for Cain.
In Other News:
My film, the one I wrote and got produced, is available. You can rent it at Blockbuster. You can rent it at Hollywood Video. You can rent it from Netflix, or find it on Amazon. I get a piece of the backend, so go see it. Both of you. It's called The Eliminator. Starring Michael Rooker and Bas Rooten. Go have a few beers, pop it in and enjoy yourself. It's no work of art, but it's no Pluto Nash either.
No news on any of my other scripts. I'll keep you posted.
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