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Aerodeliria

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Everything posted by Aerodeliria

  1. Aerodeliria
    BTW, this is one of the most difficult words for Japanese to pronounce ("r" and "l" interference). They almost always say, "Squeal."
  2. Aerodeliria
    This post piqued my interest and I went searching. The Bash Brothers never clubbed 40 home runs in any one year that I could find. The Colorado Rockies in 1997 had three players reach 40 home runs in one season (the only time it's been done??). Walker 49 (130 RBIs) Galarraga 41 (140 RBIs) Castilla 40 (113 RBIs) Interestingly, that team also included Dante Bichette who hit only 26 home runs but drove in 118 runs as well as Ellis Burks who clubbed 32 (82 RBIs). The other weird discovery was that in 1920 Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs, but his total was more than the total home runs for every other team in the league (maybe I rediscovered this...I think I had read it once before).
  3. Aerodeliria
    It might be a bit closer than one would think, however. This also from FanGraphs:(And before anyone carps about sample size. He also talked about it extensively. I just didn't want this to be any longer than it needed to.) The other day I wrote about Shin-Soo Choo and the way he’s hitting the ball really hard despite being a 37-year-old who has never garnered much of a reputation as a power hitter. In that piece, I included a chart that showed Choo was having the second-best season in terms of hard-hit percentage by a player 35 years of age or older since we started gathering such data in 2002. Choo was deserving of the digital ink used on him, but as impressed as I was with his placement on that chart, the most remarkable player listed was the one directly above him. The hard-hit rate that Choo had put together that ranked second on that list was 46.7%. No. 1 on that list was 2019 Nelson Cruz, whose hard contact rate currently rests at a whopping 55%. He’s 39 years old, and he’s hitting the ball hard more often than anyone else in baseball. He also just wrapped up one of the hottest two-week stretches you’ll ever see. All season long, Trout, Cody Bellinger, and Christian Yelich have separated themselves from the rest of baseball in terms of offensive prowess. On July 21, 31 points separated Bellinger’s third-place wRC+ (183) from Anthony Rendon’s fourth-place wRC+ (152). Just over two weeks later, Cruz has nearly caught the top three, with his wRC+ of 168 now just eight points back of Bellinger. This may have the looks of a player simply hitting out of his mind for two weeks, and indeed it is. Statcast data, however, suggests that this past week has simply been Cruz quickly catching up to what his batted ball data said his numbers should have looked like all season long. His xSLG of .666 this year is the highest in the majors, and his xwOBA of .440 is third in the majors. He is also second in exit velocity and third in hard-hit percentage. All of this adds up to what suddenly looks like a career-best season for Cruz at the plate, which is an absurd thing to say about a 39-year-old who’s already put together a long list of impressive seasons, the majority of which have come in the second half of his career. His wRC+ is 10 points better than any other season he’s ever put up, but he’s also tying his career-high in walk rate while blowing past his career-high ISO by nearly 100 points.
  4. Aerodeliria
    Yes, it's very cool! Thanks!!!
  5. Aerodeliria
    Let's not give Anderson too much credit. The double was a handle shot down the right field line that plopped down about an inch inside the line and then because of the spin (I imagine) made a weird carom of the wall--more like a yarn rather than a rope IMHO. Even on the home run Anderson was fooled, but he was able to slow his bat speed and kind of barreled it down the left field line. It hung just a little so he could keep the barrel on the ball long enough to generate a fly ball. It carried very well. I thought Pineda pitched well. Even the home run by Abreu was a decent pitch. Abreu just clocked it. You sometimes have to tip your hat to your opponent. Cruz may not be the league MVP but he is probably the team MVP at the moment. His presence in the batting order has an effect up and down the lineup.
  6. Aerodeliria
    That was certainly the low-point...although Gonzales also whiffed in the same inning. Cron really hasn't been the hitter he was earlier in the season. Getting one run in that 6th inning was critical.
  7. Aerodeliria
    Meh...games almost always turn on one or two pitches. We'll see what happens next time Gibson goes out. He's been disappointing fairly consistently lately. I also like Arraez in the leadoff spot. He did what we wanted him to and had a nice two-out swing with runners on. It was a pity it didn't fall in. It's nice to have Cruz back.
  8. Aerodeliria
    I think I'd give the pitching nod to Sammons despite getting the L. Only one hit the entire game is a yeoman's performance, but there were a few good candidates to choose from on the pitching side.
  9. Aerodeliria
    Thanks again Parker. I noticed his balance again (as I did last time) and his stance. The hand adjustment naturally improves his stance. I noticed how much more upright he looks in the box. Also, because the pitches farther out of the zone away, look like they are farther away, he can lay off of those pitches. Previously, as you mentioned, he had only one 'sweet spot,' while every other place he was swinging like the proverbial 'broken ladder.' The lunge factor has also seemed to correct itself (to me those were the ugliest swings of all). Sometimes intervention is needed as these things do not correct themselves over time--they tend to worsen. Kudos to the Twins and to Sano (for heeding their advice).
  10. Aerodeliria
    Well-said!
  11. Aerodeliria
    Sure, but I think the assumption is that someone comes off the bench in a situation where contact is needed--say like in a WS game with the pitcher's spot coming to the plate and a man on 3rd with one or two outs. I am assuming that Arraez will be in the lineup and therefore only available when his turn comes up.
  12. Aerodeliria
    This a perfect summery summary! You touched on everything of import. Thank you!!
  13. Aerodeliria
    Sweep! I really thought we had a good chance to dominate the Rangers who were "pie in the sky" dreamers at the deadline. They could have landed a couple of very good prospects from the Twins had they been willing to let Minor come to the Twins. Their plan to get back in the playoff race by taking out the Twins backfired. Saying Romo allowed a base-runner is a bit cheeky. Polanco had his mandatory errant throw to put that base-runner on. His huge hit makes the error easy to overlook, but this is a trend that won't play well against better teams. The error thing is becoming problematic. Without Gallo in the line-up, the Rangers lack firepower. I'd rather face Danny Santana and Choo-choo than Joey Gallo any day of the week.
  14. Aerodeliria
    Great hitting in this win! Unimpressive defense and starting pitching from Berrios. It's not a minor problem when you give your 'ace' a six round cushion and he nearly squanders it away (and almost certainly would have squandered it all). Kudos to Rocco for pulling Berrios for whom his leash has been a bit longer in past poor performances. Superbly balanced hitting in this game though. 12 runs, but only two home runs hit. It's nice to generate 12 runs without relying on six home runs to achieve it.
  15. Aerodeliria
    It sometimes happens when the scorer takes a nap for an inning or so, so when s/he comes to, the pitcher remembered gets the W. It happens.
  16. Aerodeliria
    Nice 'W'. I was so happy with how the bullpen performed in a very tight game. And a big hat tip to Rogers who had to deal with another late inning error from Sano and pitched his way through the mess. We may occasionally be able to skate through a late inning error or two in a tight game, but more often than not such things will lead to late inning heartbreaks, especially when playing teams like the Yankees. So should we put Gonzales at 3rd and Adrianza at ss for the 8th and 9th just to protect a one/two run lead? The errors are really piling up in these tight games for Sano and Polanco. What say you?
  17. Aerodeliria
    It takes a long time for a turtle to right itself once it's upside down. Welcome back!
  18. Aerodeliria
    PS-If it is an unwritten rule, who is the judge? As a batter, if you argue a strike call for more than say three seconds, you'll be tossed. I'm sure that is an unwritten rule. I guess the umpire should have thrown Cave out of the game for swinging 3-0.
  19. Aerodeliria
    If a rule is unwritten concerning game play, then it's not a rule IMHO. Last year some pitcher had a no-hitter going into like the 7th inning. It was broken up by a bunt single. The player was heavily criticized for breaking an unwritten rule. I'd say, that's smart baseball. Who knows, such a play might start a big rally, but instead, it almost resulted in a donnybrook. BTW, here in Japan, we had a VERY rare occurrence. We had both benches empty in a game between the Seibu Lions and the Orix Buffaloes after the Orix catcher was beaned. Usually after a beaning, the opposing pitcher removes his cap and does a slight head bow to indicate no intention. Apparently, this didn't happen. (There was even a retaliation bean ball in the next inning with an instantaneous ejection.)
  20. Aerodeliria
    I'll take Thorpe. He's my favorite of the Shuttle Twins.
  21. Aerodeliria
    It's not solely related to errors having a negative effect; it is when errors occur that is the critical issue. In a 10-1 game an error by either side will likely not be a big deal regardless of the inning. The Twins tend to make errors in the innings where it really matters--an errant throw here or there in one or two run games, which seems to ignite the other team. It also makes in that much harder on the pitchers to throw strikes, additional baserunners on board and knowing that a ground ball might be tossed into the stands or simply bounce off the first baseman's mitt. Errors and walks are the twin sisters of doom. When put together they spell disaster (or errorswalks if you're thinking literally).
  22. Aerodeliria
    I was thinking the same thing. Still the great teams do not make errors in crucial situations.
  23. Aerodeliria
    Truth! We definitely will need this version of him.
  24. Aerodeliria
    I agree 100% with your starter rankings and I would switch Houston and the NY for relief pitching. We'll have to see how Kluber performs, but I'd say Cleveland was the biggest winner in trading away Bauer. He was getting to be a problem and they've improved their hitting prowess dramatically. I actually give the Twins kudos for getting two relief pitchers in Dyson and Romo. If Dyson can pitch like he did tonight, the Twins bullpen improves dramatically. We all know that overusing Rogers is a lose-lose situation as we experienced in the final game against the Indians.
  25. Aerodeliria
    My favorite shuttler has been Thorpe. He pitched well again in AAA.
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