What Are You Hearing? March 31, 2007
Posted by SBG on Saturday, March 31st, 2007 at 9:01 am
Good morning and welcome to the ongoing feature "What are You Hearing," where members of SBG Nation set the agenda of discussion by submitting stories and commentary. If you have a story that you'd like to submit, e-mail me at the address listed on the right. Now, let's get to it.
ubelmann writes: Nate Silver does a quick comparison between ESPN authors' projected standings and PECOTA projected standings. Apparently, Steve Phillips doesn't think much like PECOTA. Shocker.
ubelmann writes: As mentioned by Dan Fox in an article on double-steals, this is a crazy way to start a game. Man, I love baseball.
ubelmann writes: Apparently, at least one manager in the AL Central is willing to think outside the box:
Ivan Rodriguez will lead off for the Tigers against left-handed pitchers this season.
He looked good batting first today against a right-hander.
Rodriguez hit two doubles off Jason Bergmann, helping the Tigers beat the Washington Nationals, 6-5.
The All-Star catcher was a leadoff hitter three times last year and has done it 13 times since making his major league debut in 1991.
“I’ll hit anywhere I am in the lineup. It doesn’t matter,” said Rodriguez, a career .304 hitter. “I don’t care where I hit, as long as I’m in the lineup every day.”
ubelmann writes: Inspired again by David Pinto of Baseball Musings, here's a sonnet about a Red's fan's feelings about Eric Milton. I wonder what he'll write about Carlos Silva when he gets sent to the Reds sometime mid-season.
SDfan writes: Two really superb articles by Tom Verducci on SI today. The first was originally published two years ago, wherein the author recounts his five days in the Toronto Blue Jays training camp - complete with an at-bat in the first intra-squad game of the year. Here is a short excerpt I enjoyed from his description of batting practice facing Roy Halladay.
"I step in against righthander Roy Halladay, the 2003 Cy Young Award winner, who is 6'6", 225 pounds and looks capable of throwing a pitch through the cinder block wall behind the cage. I immediately realize the utter inadequacy of television to capture the power of a major league pitch. Halladay's fastball is angry, announcing its indignation with an audible hum that grows frighteningly loud as it approaches. His slider is even more evil because it presents itself in the clothing of a fastball but then, like a ball rolling down the street and falling into an open manhole, drops out of sight, down and away. His curveball bends more than an election-year politician."
The second article, published just recently, details the author's experience as a big-league ump for a spring-training game. I found both to be extremely enjoyable. It seems clear to me that Verducci loves baseball - loves it. He writes lovingly of a game that - through these experiences - he now understands in a more profound way. He waxes eloquent on occasion, but the style wasn't distracting or overbearing. I thought these were two of the most enjoyable baseball articles I've read (other than the good stuff served up daily here at the WGOM, of course). [SBG Note: The check's in the mail! :)]
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I very much enjoyed the Verducci article on umpiring. Now I'm off to read the other.
an article on double-steals
What a teaser for the non-BP'ers of us! (I bet the Freemasons used to do this to the Catholics after Reformation...)
a crazy way to start a game
I take it back - I hadn't read the second link yet.
I try not to be too much of a tease...
I wonder what he’ll write about Carlos Silva when he gets sent to the Reds sometime mid-season.
Sheesh. A little verklempt on nohitter-Milton there...