RuledByNone

Scot Shields was used all over the place. He's looking more and more like the 'Miller' role than I even remembered. I went through all of his game logs and it blew me away how all over the place it was.

2001, cup of coffee
only 8 games, 4 multi, 11 IP, almost exclusively in mop-up/blowout games, all 6th inning on.

2002, used mostly as a long-relief guy (the Rasmus role) with one game started
29 games, 17 multiple inning games, almost used evenly between 4th and 10th+
He appeared in the 8th inning the most at 8 times, but 3-5 times apiece between the 4th and 10th+ innings.
Three times 3 IP+, ten times 2 and 2 2/3 IP 

2003, long relief, two starts in early season, ended year in rotation
44 games, 36 multiple inning games, 13 starts
Aside from his starts, he appeared mostly in the 7th inning (12) but also 5th (2), 6th (6), and 8th (3). Zero in 9th or extras.
In April, his first seven games were 2 or 3 IP. 
Between his rotation stints, he pitched 3-4 IP eight times over a 24 game span!
In non-starts, he went 3-4+ twelve times. He went between 2 and 2 2/3 IP nine times. 

2004 - Swiss Army Knife
60 games, 46 multiple inning games, mostly in the 6th (16) and 7th (22) but multiple games in the 4th, 8th, 9th, and 10th+
five times he pitched 3 IP, twenty six times he pitched between 2 and 2 2/3 IP 

Shields settled in afterwards @hangin n wangin noted in 2005-2008, but by then he already had 141 G and 313.2 IP of 2.81 ERA ball.
Of his 127 non-starts, 103 were multiple innings, 47 were between 2 and 2 2/3 IP, and 20 were 3-4+ IP. 

Between 2005 and 2008 (he finally fell apart in '09-'10) he logged 287 G, and was almost always used in the 8th inning.
Of those 287, 185 were in the 8th inning, and 93 were multiple inning games.
Of those 93, 32 were still 2+ IP (only one was 3 IP)

So while he did indeed settle in to a more defined 8th inning set-up role, he was still used as a multiple inning reliever frequently, and still picked up several games where he went more than 2 IP, which is pretty abnormal for an 8th inning guy.

”This is a great gladiator movie? Look at Kirk Douglas' hair – they didn't have flattops in ancient Rome! " --Ralph Cifaretto, Sopranos

”This is a great gladiator movie? Look at Kirk Douglas' hair – they didn't have flattops in ancient Rome! " --Ralph Cifaretto, Sopranos

Agreed. I listened to that a few days ago and have thought about it several times since. Really smart dude.

https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/650732779268485136
 
This is terrific! Joe Rogan podcast with Jordan Peterson

best ass chin ever

Here is what I shot today with my phantom 3 pro.

They're not going to do much about some perceived insult. China has been downplaying the incident anyway.
What are they going to do, anyway? They've already stopped buying more of our debt. Their holdings of US Treasuries are at the lowest point since 2012. Japan and Saudi have sold also. 10 year Treasuries are sold at auction, so fewer buyers means that you have to offer a higher yield. A full point increase since the july low is the result.
They're not going to do anything that threatens their $300 B trade surplus with the US. China knows there's a shitstorm coming, they've been buying thousands of tons of gold over the last decade (in addition to what they mine themselves as by far the world's largest gold producer), but they're not going to hasten that shitstorm through their own actions. Keep amassing assets for as long as possible. 
When the Fed first started monetizing our debt (purchasing Treasuries with money created out of thin air) in 2010, it oddly coincided with the launch of an SLBM from the other side of Catalina from the first of their new Jin-class submarines. Oh, but that missile launch was just a contrail from an approaching jetliner, some dude on here spent a lifetime arguing. Yeah, but just ignore the fact that the KCBS pilot who captured the launch on film would have seen the approaching jet in just a few minutes if that had been the case. Nice cover story, but the message was loud and clear.
Trump means to negotiate better trade terms, maybe. Why allow an opponent to feel secure about his position right before a negotiation? That's fine, but China is a formidable adversary.

Really easy. The gps/accelerometers keep it rock steady even on a windy day. I flew a $50 drone first and it was fun but very hard to control in any kind of wind. You probably won't crash but there's DJI insurance if you want it. I only crashed because I got overconfident and didn't take the time to learn the new app software.
I think you'll like the mavic especially if you travel or have to take it somewhere to fly because of how portable it is.

I crashed the drone on saturday. I was trying out a great 3rd part app called Litchi. It allows you to enter waypoints from a Google Earth like map and the drone will follow the course autonomously. You can control the altitude of each waypoint, where the camera points, how long it orbits etc.
I ran a short test flight and everything went fine. I set the altitude of all the waypoints to 98 feet thinking that was plenty high enough to be above any trees. What I didn't realize (RTFM!) was that altitude setting is above your starting point, not the ground altitude of each individual waypoint. On the second flight I had the drone going over some extremely rugged area and around a couple of higher mountains. Predictably, once it reached 98 feet above the starting position it crashed into the mountain at full speed. Bad feeling waiting as the drone never came home.
I quickly found the error and used the map program to trace the route to exactly where the drone reached 98 feet above the starting position. I entered the location into the gps and went on a long hike on sunday. Found it within 25 feet of where I thought it would be. One propeller damaged and the gimball shocks knocked loose and battery knocked out. Easy and cheap fix. Lucky. They build these things tough.

Our president should be able to talk to any foreign dignitary he wants without having to worry about hurting China's feelings. 

I crashed the drone on saturday. I was trying out a great 3rd part app called Litchi. It allows you to enter waypoints from a Google Earth like map and the drone will follow the course autonomously. You can control the altitude of each waypoint, where the camera points, how long it orbits etc.
I ran a short test flight and everything went fine. I set the altitude of all the waypoints to 98 feet thinking that was plenty high enough to be above any trees. What I didn't realize (RTFM!) was that altitude setting is above your starting point, not the ground altitude of each individual waypoint. On the second flight I had the drone going over some extremely rugged area and around a couple of higher mountains. Predictably, once it reached 98 feet above the starting position it crashed into the mountain at full speed. Bad feeling waiting as the drone never came home.
I quickly found the error and used the map program to trace the route to exactly where the drone reached 98 feet above the starting position. I entered the location into the gps and went on a long hike on sunday. Found it within 25 feet of where I thought it would be. One propeller damaged and the gimball shocks knocked loose and battery knocked out. Easy and cheap fix. Lucky. They build these things tough.

This one. Last years team wasn't very good. They packed in the defense and Ky couldn't make anything. Different today. UCLA is for real. Going in to Rupp and beating #1 and their slimeball coach is better than last season.

So...   In case you guys didn't know, I was born to Cuban parents ..  This whole thing has hit very close to home.
My Father grew up in a very political family... his Uncle, Carlos Hevia, was at one time an provisional president of Cuba, he had actually been installed as President after Batista (supported by US Ambassador Caffey) had forced the resignation of Grau, three days later he was replaced by one of Batista and Caffey's puppets.  He had been acting as the minster of agriculture at the time and his father in law either had been or was Chief Justice of Cuba.  Carlos Hevia was possibly most famous for having once purchased a bunch of weapons from the US Gov under the condition that they not be used against the Cuban gov...   No sooner had they unloaded the guns off the boats they started shooting in the direction of Batista's goons.   On my Mothers side, my Grandfather was one of Cuba's most famous journalists -- he was the headliner at Cuba's main newspaper, and the Cuban correspondent for both the UPI and AP.  His brother was likewise the editor of Cuba's other major paper and it's top selling magazine.   They were in essence the voices of what would be the NY Times and LA Times here..
Growing up I had no shortage of insight into the Cuban situation, I got to meet a lot of people and hear their stories.  You didn't grow up a Cuban exile without being privy to what happened, it was something the community was very passionate about -- the comparisons to Jews and the Holocaust may be a bit too much but it's the closest comparison and the Jews in Cuba that escaped both are the first to make it.  I saw first hand the scars on my Dad's back and the pictures of him at a robust 180 and then 110 after months in a Cuban work camp for non-communists. My Grandfather and his brother were at gunpoint forced onto the Granma staff to write glorious stories about how the Revolution was making the country a better place and to paint dissenters as traitors working with the Yanquis to bring down the Revolution.  My older sister was put into a room in kindergarten with the rest of her class and ask to pray to God for candy -- then had sit around while nothing happened then prodded to ask the Revolution to give her some candy and immediately given some.  
My Dad wasn't put in front of a firing squad in part because of his fame as a Cuban Judo national champion and for having succeeded in setting fire to the national library (as a 16 year old), in protest of the government's censorship of the press and attempts to rewrite Cuban history (and because his family were famously anti-Batista).  Still, because he wouldn't join the party he was forced into those work camps while Granma (the state run press named after the boat Castro started his revolution with). wrote a nice little story of how he was doing his part for the glorious Revolution by leading the "agriculture corps".  So yeah -- my Grandfather had to write a story about my Dad the hero knowing full well how he was being sent off to work camp to possibly die.  
Ask any Cuban exile above the age of 40 and they all tell a similar story.  They either knew someone who was killed, or had a family member impacted by the Castro regime.  They will all tell you how the Cuban school system that gets lauded as a Castro achievement was in place long before he took power as was the Cuban "clinica" medical system.  In fact, Miami and  South FL as a whole have several group health programs for seniors based on the systems that were in place as early as the 1940s.  Truth is most of the things that Castro gets credit for were actually put into place by the Cuban Constitution of 1940 only to be suspended by Batista in 1952.
Castro was a ****.  Che Gevara was an even bigger ****, and anyone championing either of them as anything other than sadistic ****s is also a ****.   
 

Thats awesome!
Im really hoping i can find a good black friday deal

Some good deals on the phantom 3 standard lately. Samsclub has it for $379 on Nov 12.
It doesn't have quite as good of a camera as the newer models (or P3 advance or pro) and doesn't have obstacle avoidance but it's still a great drone. A couple of years ago an inferior drone would be well over $1k. All the models mentioned have similar flight time, about 21 to 28 minutes and are easy to fly.
I'll be in for a Mavic or P4 when I get back to my place in oregon, mainly for the increased range. There are a lot of deer, elk and turkey on the property (about 860 acres). Wolves too, though I've never seen them. I've been looking to see if I can attach my FLIR camera for night flying or if I have to fabricate a solution on the CNC. The Mavic also allows for VR goggles. Fun hobby.

I'm quite versed in history, thank you. I'm aware who was Secretary of State when so called "Arab Spring" swept across North Africa costing thousands of lives and an American diplomat.

There is little indication that he's gonna be as good offensively as he was last season.   Would be terrific if he was, but league average offense would be fine.  
I have a feeling this is a defensive play of sorts.  Guys who switch from CF to a corner OF tend to do pretty well.  A few examples by defensive runs saved:
 
Melvin Upton
-8 CF 2014 (2015 was limited sample but he was +2 in CF)
+10 LF 2016.  
 
Mookie Betts - yes, he's younger, but I think it still applies
+9 CF 2015
+32 RF 2016
 
Curtis Granderson 
-7 CF 2012
-2 RF 2014
+15 RF 2015
+2 RF 2016
 
Adam Eaton 
-14 CF 2015
+22 RF 2016
 
Torii Hunter 
+2 CF 2010
+15 RF 2011
+14 RF 2012
 
Yoenis Cespedes 
-23 as a CF in 1400 innings
+34 as a LFer in 3900 innings
 
Athletic guys who can play CF and did so well at one point end up being pretty good to great defensive corner OFers.  
I would not be a fan of paying for a player at a premium defensive position who can still play that spot well and then converting them to a position of lesser defensive value.  But when that player has declined at their current position, it's potentially an undervalued move to convert that player and net positive defensive value.  
I haven't checked the SS to 2b or 3b conversion, but it might be similar.  You pay for a crappy or mediocre SS and get an excellent defensive 2bman.  Look for something like that as well.  
Interesting targets:  Erick Aybar.  Brad Miller (a 27yo, 2.5 WAR offensive player with negative defensive value.  I like that one) Danny Espinosa (meh)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Last night, a couple of hundred season ticketholders gathered to hear Billy Eppler talk about the 2016 season and looking ahead to the 2017 season. Considering the limitations on what he could and could not say, he actually said quite a bit. I'd like this thread to be an area where those who attended share some of his comments from the evening.
 
Several of the highlights I recalled was him saying that he wants to get 1 or 2 starting pitchers from outside of the organization. He seemed to stress two pitchers, implying FA as a method. He said that he has told Alex Meyer that he will have to battle for a spot in the rotation. 
 
He absolutely intends to fix LF and 2B.
 
He appeared to rule out getting Wieters but may want a more defensive catcher. He said would he like to get a catcher who can hit 20 HRs? Sure, but is that the best thing? No. he wants a catcher to cut down on runs scored. 
 
He wants more OB%. He talked about this quite a bit. He pointed out the park effects on building the team (108 games that we will play at home and on the road at least will be played in pitcher friendly parks), so he said he's less inclined to get a 10-15 HR guy because their numbers will drop and that "you [fans] will kill me for the drop in production". He said getting a 25 HR guy makes sense because they have "thunder in the bat" and that their numbers won't drop. But he also said we have several guys who can do that.
 
He said they haven't yet decided whether to exercise Escobar's option. But, also said that he has provided the best leadoff player for the organization since Chone Figgins. I found this a bit surprising, although it could still be because the WS is still not over, so that could be a factor. 
 
Marte will not be the LFer next year, but that he will get his ABs around the infield. He told a funny story about learning that Marte was going to play LF. In his mind, Eppler was thinking where, in Fenway?
 
He said that all of the coaching staff will return.
 
He talked about his relationship with Scioscia and how he spends more time than other Angels GMs have in the clubhouse to get the pulse of the team. He's usually in the clubhouse from 2:00-3:30 and again immediately after the game. He said after every game he lets Scioscia get off his chest whatever he needs to and then talks to him about in-game decisions the next day to give him to cool down. He said he learned that skill in NY.
 
He spoke very highly of Jam Jones. So much so, that I'd have to say that in thinking about LF, that has to be part of the equation.
 
He said it should be easier to fill the hole in LF over 2B because it's easier to move a RFer over to LF than it is to make a 2B. And, there are more options for the OF.
 
He talked about new departments that he's created, looking at biomechanics to try and cut down on injuries and improving performance. Same with stats. He's also looking into the brain research to learn more about how a player makes a decision to swing or not swing (is it vision? where is he looking? what part of the plate is he covering? etc.). They have hired a full-time person to head a new department of biomechanics.
 
Shoemaker is doing well and is scheduled for another CAT scan. He should be getting those every 8 weeks, but should be all good for Spring Training.
 
He talked about Pujols, keeping him healthy, especially as he ages, and the toll playing the infield takes on the body.
 
He said on a couple of occasions getting 1 or 2 arms for the bullpen.
 
He talked about rebuilding the farm. To do so, he wants to hoarde talent, which means taking as many waiver claims as they can. He wants to spend all of their bonus money up to the point of losing picks (he said the Angels have never done that before). This applies for Latin America and for domestic players. We will pay the tax for going over, and will spend from now on up to the edge of our limits. He discussed having all the improved data in all of their minor league parks which has been incorporated with minor league players. He told his getting more juice out of the orange analogy. He also talked about new training regimens for players, particularly pitchers. He wants more of a system in place with more internal candidates being groomed (even for a future GM role) so that there is a similar philosophy from top to bottom. 
 
He talked about hiring Matt Swanson to be the new Director of Scouting. He talked about Swanson's ability to grow a department and a team organically. Eppler had high praise for him and the organization that he came from, but said the deciding factor for him was his ability to grow the organization organically. He wants to have a line of prospects in development to be playing the same way.
 
In terms of pitchers, he prefers guys who get strikeouts because those are the only sure outs in a game (I almost wanted to remind him Pierzynski and the playoffs). I think this leans heavily towards Hellickson as a top target.
 
In response to a direct question, he spoke very highly of a prospect named David Fletcher, who he hopes in the best case becomes a starting 2B (he plays SS, and as Eppler said "we have a pretty good SS already"). Worst case, he will still make the Majors. Called him a real gamer.
 
He really did not speak highly of Baldoquin. In response to a question about him, he said "We still have him . . . he's still figuring his way out right now." 
 
All in all, it was a good event. I'm glad that they are doing these, as they do need to be more visible and approachable by fans. If anyone else was there and has more insights or things I missed, please add them to the discussion.
 
 

The Rangers were only two games better than the Angels in the Pantherian Standings, and in the playoffs they played like it.

holy shit

to your first point, i'm not way off. i have a lot of experience with this. i never said a formerly good player shouldn't be respected. the fact is that leadership is shown by achieving positive results. a rah rah guy who can't get off the bench is a nobody, even if he has 500 homeruns. however, if he can get his 500 homeruns off the bench and produce as a pinch hitter, then he'll carry some weight in the clubhouse. otherwise, he's just a has been. i'm not writing those rules, that's just human nature.
second point, i never said anything about being a jerk. 
people respond to those who show they can get the job done, those who walk the walk. people don't respond to those who can only talk a good game. end of story.

The O's gameday thread is 170+ pages. They are displeased.

The O's gameday thread is 170+ pages. They are displeased.

The O's gameday thread is 170+ pages. They are displeased.