Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Oliver Perez: Pity Fu- uhm, Draft

I am sitting here at 1:30 on a lazy Wednesday, watching some Spring Training baseball, when who should be pitching for the New York Metropolitans but Oliver "Really? You want me to pitch Game 7? Really?!" Perez.
Now, there will be a host of Mets fans who happen to be fantasy managers who will somehow talk themselves into drafting him by pointing to his gritty, bulldog-like, UNLIKELY AND HIGHLY IMPROBABLE (emphasis added) start in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. Granted, this is his first start against live competition since last fall, but my observations have more to them than simple "rust."
Quite simply, Perez's mechanics are atrocious in every sense of the word. While I do not hold myself out as some expert scout of pitchers (being falsely modest, of course I'm an expert, I have a blog), I have done some pitching in my day and studied mechanics.
The problem that jumps out at me is that of his landing foot. From what I've seen when he was on Pittsburgh, he's always thrown crosswise, over his body, but somehow (at least when he was effective) he was able to get his weight and arm in the proper position (on top of the ball, throwing down) at the release of the ball. THAT is the magic he is missing nowadays. His body simply swings around his plant foot, dropping his arm, flattening EVERYTHING, including his once-hellacious slider.
For imagery, imagine this. You have a gate or door with an old school latch on it. Imagine the latch is the pitcher's arm. When you open the door, the latch (if it is in the upright position) will swing down. If you open the door quickly enough and with enough force, the latch will hang at a 90 degree angle to the door before pivoting downwards and hanging there.
This is what's happening to Perez's arm. He is unable to completely clear his hips, so instead of a diagonal right turn pulling his right arm and right hip down, he is just swinging around the doorpost that is his plant foot, which prevents his arm from throwing the ball DOWN into the hitter, instead slinging it on a level plane. Rick Peterson can kiss my ass.

-RJ

Monday, February 26, 2007

Supersized-zaka Mania!

Quick hit for today, just to get Lefty's blood up. Reports out of Red Sox camp have coaches and certain managerial personnel (Read: Epstein, Theo) juuuuuust a little upset that Dice-K (or Deuce-five if we are counting pounds) showed up looking alot more like Rough Justice than he did the taut Yankee-killer they were all hoping for.

Legend has it that players, upon receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed contract and endorsement money, tend to, uhm, let themselves go. Check this shit out:


Maybe pinstripes are slimming (ask David Wells) but here he is now:
That's alot of tempura, folks. Enjoy the derailment of the Red Sox AL Express.

-RJ

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Papelboner 101

Alrite Ive sat and stewed about this long enough. It seems my silent protest and general malaise regarding these winter months has proved futile in hopes of quelling my fury regarding the red sox. Im sitting here trying to come up with rational thoughts or even words that arent complete gibberish regarding the red sox but I can't do it so instead of talking about the Red Sox, Im going to... talk about the red sox?Huh? Bear with me.

Keith Foulke's retirement. God bless you Keith you gave up your career for a Red Sox World Series win. (Yes RJ it DID happen.) Pitching absurd amounts of lights out innings for that peice of Red Sox lore will forever make you great in the Nation's eyes. Coincidentally, the sox now face a dilemma at the closer position. Theo and the brass (not his band, the sox management) have decided Papelbon's career is more important than winning a World Series. How? Well lets face it, Joel Piniero aint a top notch closer in Little League, much less the Major Leagues, however in order to maintain the length of papelbon's career it's been decreed he become a starter instead of a God of a closer and the next Mo Rivera. Note: This worked for the Braves and John Smoltz, and Im not a doctor so Ill just assume pitching every fifth day is healthier than closing.

Now the question I pose is this: Would Papelbon give his career to win a world series? I say a resounding yes. He's said he'd embrace the role of closer if Tito wants him there next year, and I believe him. I believe in my heart of hearts (probably a bit naive) that most professional athletes would sacrifice their careers for a world championship victory. See: Brett Favre's deal with El Diablo that has run out. Am I saying Papelbon would rather close than start? Heck no. He knows he's better off starting and with him in the rotation the sox have arguably the best staff in baseball (this assumes Dice-K isnt Hideki Irabu part deux) and have to be considered among the favorites to win a World Series.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Giving Lefty his Papelboner

Interesting bit of historical revisionism going on from Red Sox camp. It seems that Tim Kurkistan (ijihad? Whatever.) is reporting on the ESPN.com site for spring training that:

It was a sound decision to move Jonathan Papelbon to the rotation to prevent him from getting another tired shoulder, which ended his season a month early last year.

Now, as I remember it, Papelbon's shoulder was not simply TIRED, but IN MORE PIECES THAN A SHOULDER SHOULD BE IN. Here's the injury report from Rototimes.com:
September 6, 2006: Sox medical director Thomas Gill said the ball of the shoulder joint had slipped slightly forward, but not completely out of the joint to the point where it would be considered a dislocation.

Woe unto those who falsify or downplay injury reports. My ass gets tired from sitting here all day, but it doesn't "slip slightly forward."

Yours in the hopes the rotation falls apart around his shoulders,
-RJ

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Moron Alert...

...and it's not me for being lax in my blog duties.
I would imagine that working in San Francisco is good for many things. Chief among them, of course, is the FAAAAAABULOUS interior design. I would also imagine that covering the Giants all season long would lead you to become inundated with cliches and other tomfoolery, what with Barry Booster Shot and the rest of the antique Village People.
John Shea, however, in his report on the best lineups in the league on today's ESPN.com MLB section, has reached new heights of stupidity simply quoting dogma without common sense.
1. Cubs: The Cubs were last in the National League in on-base percentage (.319) and needed an overhaul after Dusty Baker's club lost 96 games. They had an active offseason (committing to $300 million in contracts), including replacing Baker with Lou Piniella. The biggest spending was for Alfonso Soriano, who will cost 136 million over seven years and should help improve their on-base percentage. He'll be joining Aramis Ramirez, who was re-signed for $75 million, and Derrek Lee, who's eyeing a season of good health. (Emphasis added)
Now, I'm not asking for a quote of Soriano's OBP (.351) or any kind of analysis considering how an OBP of under .400, coming from a player who, at age 31, suddenly doubled his walk rate from previous years (overall .325 OBP for his career) will help improve the entire Cubs organization's take concerning on-base percentage. Fuck you, John Shea.
My prediction? Soriano hits .280 30+HR 90RBI and an OBP right around his career mark of .325. Even with his newfound patience, Cubs fans will quickly sour of how many one-out, men-on-second-and-third rallies are killed by his complete and utter disregard for the strike zone.

-RJ