Inside Pitch

Which Cron? The one you went on and on about being a 30+ HR guy or the Shea Hillenbrand clone I was predicting?

And? Arm strength is arm strength. Maybe you missed it, but I alluded to there being issues behind the plate.. FTR, I don't think he's a MLB catcher, but that arm will play at several spots.. His bat is his calling card.

I think the reasoning with this guy it's more about getting the most out of that bat ASAP than the issues behind the plate. Kid had a strong strong arm. Catchers as a whole just seem to take the longest to develop. Taylor Ward says hello.

Blarg is an evil dude...

10 bombs while playing in that park is pretty nifty... .470 OBP too.. 39 BB -- 16 Ks...

This one can actually hit....

Dammit...

Remember last year when people were writing off Andrew Heaney because his stats at SLC sucked? Well, just for comparison's sake.... Pitcher H/9 -- BB/9 -- K/9 Heaney 8.4 -- 2.4 -- 6.6 N,Smith 8.1 -- 2.1 -- 7.3 Raw ERA tells us pretty much nothing

Clockwork???

Rich Manning's kid.

NL -- where AL failures find new life... Its crazy at times.

BTW... if the M's success results in Arte learning a lesson and staying out of Epplers way -- thanks Jerry!

You're right, there is hyperbole in the statement you are responding to -- but it's not totally baseless... Fun with facts... The Mariner bats rank 6th in MLB in fWAR at 9.6 -- the top 5 Mariner position players? Cano 2.6, Seager 2.1, Martin, 1.7, Cruz 1.6 and then Seth Smith at 0.9. The other JD bats come in at Lee 0.9, Iannetta 0.4, Aoki 0.0, Lind -0.2, Clevenger -0.3, Sardinas -0.4. O'Malley is another JD addition at -0.3 but it's worth noting he was a minor league FA. Lee has proven to be a great signing so far and Servais deserves credit for using him really effectively -- it remains to be seen how teams will adjust and whether his performance will carry over but 0.9 fWAR in 85+ PAs is impressive -- it's also ripe for volatility as the sample gets bigger. But when it's all said and done the three big names that were there before JD have combined for 6.3 fWAR... The entirety of the JD position player additions (7 players) 1.8. Pitching is where JD's moves had a greater impact. The M's rank 12th in fWAR pitching at 4.9... The top 5? Karns 1.0, Iwakuma 0.7, Felix, 0.6. Nuno 0.6 and Nick Vincent 0.5. The rest of the JD additions come in at; Cisek 0.5, Miley 0.1, Benoit 0.0, and Peralta -0.2. So, if we pretend Iwakuma wasn't in Seattle the previous year -- Kuma and the rest of the JD pitching additions have combined for 2.6 WAR. All told -- JD's 14 additions have combined for 4.4 WAR... Minus Iwakuma it's down to 3.7 6.3 > 3.7... So, while it's true people are blinding themselves to the good JD has done, at least some of the information points to the reality that the the big three are in fact the primary reason for the Mariners success. Ultimately his success or failure in Seattle isn't going to change what he did or didn't do in Anaheim, it's pointless to hate on the guy.

I think the neck is definitely a factor but I do believe he may be one of those guys who is just done early -- his father experienced a similar sudden erosion in his play at a similar age. I know some may say his father's history is irrelevant but, genetics are a thing... Jered and Jeff Weaver are another example of guys following extremely similar decline phases. I have always liked Prince, he's been a classy pro and has always tended to take the high road when controversy hit. Ranger or not, I hope he rebounds.

Yeah, I like the kid from Penn way more too. And agreed on the noise being somewhat common. I've just don't recall seeing that much movement -- he literally had movement everywhere. But the swing plane is really nice and clean and he really does get through the hit zone quickly. There are some really good things there too. Just a lot a noise. Tell you who I don't want the Angels to take -- FLA Gators' Buddy Reed. I know he's about as physically talented as they come but that bat of his may not translate.. College bat with question marks are a no go for me after our recent draft strategies..

Reminds me of this....

LOL, I was just thinking that very thing.

Thin skin and message boards make for a bad marriage. Look, you probably think I'm being dick, but you're overreacting. People here flip crap at each other all the time, I think most understand it's innocent banter.. you know, the sort of things friends do with each other...

Noise is such a spot on description of his swing mechanics.. There isn't a single part of his body that isn't in motion. Both feet are moving, the legs aren't set, he rock backwards while he swings.... He's got a nice swing plane but everything else is kind of all over the place.

As overdone as you constantly whining about how people respond to your posts?

Disar and Dave Hollins agree... The Angels should trade Trout like we did Edmonds -- we can't have guys who like playing baseball or are good at it.. We clearly need more players that need to hide behind a scowl in order to make people forget how crappy they are.

Guerrero has put up a sterling .573 OPS since that 5 HR splash at the start of 2015...

Best part of Nate's response/pic -- bottom left corner it has picture copyright as Splash News. I bet that was one hell of a splash.

12 year old boys sure have changed....

I don't remember the numbers exactly but I recall reading how it took one guy (DeCinces), to replace Robinson, giving them 6 years of 116 OPS+ work at 3B, only to be ushered out of town with somewhat of a failure tag on him... It then took them 7 years and 14 different people before Craig Worthington (90 OPS+) gave them any semblance of stability again at 3B in 1989/90 and in reality it wasn't until 1996 with Cal Ripken that they finally had a legit everyday 3B. Its interesting that DeCinces time as an Angel is seen as his best work and yet his overall 117 OPS+ As an Angel is right in line with what he did for the Orioles after taking over full time for Robinson. Replacing a legend is just ugly...