edcoffin

The lack of a physical (as far as I know) was likely a two way agreement. Kinsler had a lengthy record of injuries requiring DL time. Prince did not. So DD and JD apparently whittled over the compensatory money and signed off. Neither team did a physical.

Initially the ESPN forums (which self-destructed). Then, as an AL West fan, visited on Halos Heaven, which had some good posters but Rev's immense snark and immaturity ran me off. Found Chuck's first setup, liked it, connected, and have been a reader and infrequent poster ever since. As the administrator of Jamey Newberg's Ranger fansite forum, thoughtful Angel fans and baseball addicts regardless of team patronage make it a fairly good site to visit. I was happy to recommend angelswin.com to other Rangerlanders, some of whom behave and of course a few don't. When SBN organized the multi-tier setup they now have, some of the snark on their Angels site was reduced, but still .... this is the go-to site for all interested in the Angels.

I truly don't think fandom has much to do with evaluating a trade, or a callup, or a demotion (all FO functions). A fan wants the team he follows to do well, and when transactions backfire or look moronic at the get-go, you still want your team to do well. The only caution - don't let the fortunes of your team control your self image! We are not smarter for guessing right in advance of a transaction, and not 'better' for supporting an unholy bad one. Hell, just follow and support your team - and realize that criticism of a transaction, a roster move, or a play during a game is part of the scenery.

If I ever hear the national anthem sung like this again, I'm going to hunt down and kill a puppy ...

mingjung posted this report on the NMLR earlier tonight. -------------------------------------- Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez Scouting Report Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, originally from Cuba, has been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball. A 25-26 (I read two different ages) year old right-handed pitcher, he is listed at 6-2 185. There aren't good scouting reports available online from what I can find, but the Dodgers and the Cubs are interested, along with some other teams that have been watching him throw. Statistically, the last year I can find that he played in the professional league in Cuba is 2009-2010. He had a ERA 2.13 better than league average, 6.99 K/9IP (19.2 K%), and 3.9 BB% (1.45 BB/9IP). League Average that year was 5.0 K/9IP and 3.83 BB/9IP. So Gonzalez was a lot better than league average, but when comparing him to other professional Cuban pitchers that came to the states, his strikeout rate is still pedestrian. Reports are that he has a fastball, changeup, forkball, and curveball. This is the only video I can find of Gonzalez, and is what I used to write this article. He really looks lanky in the video, but at his age, you don't expect him to really add weight. He seems to be able to locate his fastball low or high. It looks a little straight up high and the velocity doesn't look plus, but seems workable. He showed he can get in on lefties and break bats. The change movement doesn't look great, but it looks like he gets on top of the curveball well. I wish I could see more of those two pitches. The forkball looks more like a splitter than the traditional forkball (at least compared to the ones you see in Japan) with quite a bit of arm side movement before dropping (almost looking like some kind of 2-seam hybrid). Statistically, he had good command, and when teams see him throwing, they will obviously know his velocity, and without having very good readings, it is hard to really speak to his ceiling or placement in a rotation in the Majors. He does seem to have at least two big league pitches, and should be able to pitch in the big leagues, but how effectively I can't really speak to. http://irfast.blogspot.com/2013/06/m...ng-report.html

*sigh* matchups. Oakland has fared best in the matchup arena, Texas tends to play at the level of their competition. Rather odd while a fairly short sample: Texas' recent series wins include 3 of 4 over Oakland, 3 game sweep of St. Louis, even 1-1 against the Yankees. But they can lose any game to any other team on a given night, and it isn't just streakiness or necessarily key injuries. They can also beat any other team on a given night, and it isn't that theirs is the top positional or rotation talent out there. I think Oakland is steadier in whatever you consider persistency and consistency. But yeah, as of now, the East is better top to bottom.

I've been comparatively watching all the AL West since probably 1986. The one thing in addition to the 'win series, keep players fresh' take is pitching performance, particularly in late season matchups. But yeah, I agree with both of BN's points.

From a neutral - wait, make that generalized - perspective, one thing rather stands out. Losing winnable games. Over the long run, a team that loses when it is positioned to win needs to look at a mix: (a) walks and errors that put opponents on base, ( poor decisions - OF'ers throwing to the wrong base, missing cutoff men, not turning a DP when you could but no error since you registered an out but not two etc, and © situational hitting - moving runners into scoring position, bringing in runners with two outs, failing to score with RISP and less than two outs. The stats, including defensive metrics, provide not only historical information but are a fair source of predictability. The downside is that predictability does not in fact assure you of what will happen. It's like the batting order doesn't matter mantra - and can, and does, based on the predilection of a batter to hit ground balls, sustain a LD rate, or strike out a lot. (True it's random given you can't be sure when preceeding batters will get on base). But the a-b-c triple lens will tell you more that DRS or other functional effectiveness calculations. Just MHO.

I am still holding out hope that we'll see three AL West teams in the postseason - if not this year, maybe next. That is a long term view (or wish) mostly to spite the friends and family who follow Central and East teams with a fervor. I'd love it ..... if .....

It would be fitting if he were the first.

RIP Doc ... he will long be honored for his advances in sports medicine and restorative surgery. A loss to sports, yes, and a loss to mankind.

Longest I've seen lately is the one Nelson Cruz hit over the rockpile. If that one had no impediment it might have come down pretty far out.

True. What they do to try to maintain it consistently is dig deep in Latin America, scout diligently in Asia, and in the amateur draft almost ignore positional need and go for the best players available. All that combines to reduce the need to either draft or trade for positional help.

Wells qualifies, yes ... I had Hamilton in mind after his disastrous 2nd half in 2012, and perhaps surprisingly Mike Young, who as face of the franchise was huge in the clubhouse but awful at the plate and in the field ... yet is hitting well in Philly where he has something to prove.

A good loss only happens when you get rid of a player whose reputation is attractive to other teams, but who simply for whatever reason cannot perform for your team.

Since I don't get to see him play (KC has no feed in DFW and I don't subscribe to MLB), keep an eye on Salvador Perez (Royals' catcher). KC signed him for quite a long term. I'd like to see if he's really a franchise type player, or just the Royals' best bet at the position. Thanks in advance for any comment back this direction!

Rhetorical pondering: What do Arte Moreno and Jerry Jones have in common? A: They are major sports owners who should fire the team owner, but can't <note: all this, ignoring the huge amount on money each has invested in their team. community, etc> <footnote: if you have to have your team win and only win to enjoy a pastime, you may be enthusiastic about the wrong things>

AO, didn't Dipoto place about 35 people new to the organization this year? Isn't one of them Scott Servais? I think what you just said is Dipotos' intent from his day one on the job - but just maybe, your owner yanked the plan resources around quite a bit with big name signings.

Sign him, he's a left handed soft tosser!

Unless I get bad information, Darin seems to be happy (and settled) in Nebraska. Anyway, a player with an outstanding work ethic and high character does not aleays equate to a capable manager. But I'd agree that hiring on the record of past performance is a crapshoot. Instead of making the most of what you've got, such a hire needs to be 'the guy who is most likely able to get you to where you want to go'. Case in point - Ron Washington isn't a prototypical field manager, he's a coach, and instructor, a motivator. Ryan and Daniels figured that is the fuel to build cohesion on, given good talent acquisition accompanies it. Not every organization would have fared so well. Sometimes a serious tactician (Maddon, anyone?) is 'the guy to get'. Depends on each team's situation.

Again,I've no real chips on this table. Just a reminder though - it takes 3 years to align your organization, and up to five for any plan to work out. DiPoto did a massive re-set in the scouting, minor league administration, and ahalytics areas. That's step one. From a distance, it seems that Arte called the shots on the massive long term contracts, for player fame PR promotion. If left alone (figuratively speaking) DiPoto will use much the same develop from within and buy undervalued talent that other currently successful GM's have applied. The big buck long term deals are a burden, regardless of income and regardless of performance on the field. Patience. It's baseball. You don't always get what you want, and you don't always want what you get.

12th of Never

It is surely the baseball post of the year. I'm pretty sure there will not be anything close for maybe ever ....

I get a notion it will be Williams (if not Richards)

Correct soil erosion the full length of the Mississippi River.