Huh.
- Bengie Molina drew 13 walks all season, in 520 PA. Jose Lopez drew 24 walks in 653 PA. Seriously, guys, we’re not going to miss J-Lo.
- Austin Jackson tripled 9 times for the Yankees AAA affiliate. If only Jarrod Washburn could have netted this guy…
- Mike Hessman struck out 171 times, drew 65 walks, was hit by a pitch 11 times, and hit 23 homers and 30 doubles. That’s filling up the stat sheet big-time.
- Luis Castillo of the Mets posted a 0.043 ISO. I didn’t think that was even possible.
- Nick Johnson reached base 42.6 percent of the time. Do it big, Jackie Z.
- Mark Reynolds (38.6) had a higher K% than Jack Cust (36.1). Good thing the former’s slugging percentage was over .120 points higher than the latter’s.
- Bad news: Yuniesky Betancourt posted a -24.2 wRAA (runs above average) value. Good news: he no longer plays for the Mariners. Impartial news: Dayton Moore is the new Bill Bavasi.
That’s all I’ve got for now. If you guys like this sort of thing, I’ll keep it going.
Call to the Pen
FanSided
Halo Hangout
Nolan Writin'
Swingin' A's
Luis Castillo, probably due to realizing his absence of power, was also MLB’s most disciplined hitter this year. There was a good article about it on Fangraphs for anyone who hasn’t seen it: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/adventures-in-extreme-plate-discpline
Summary: Castillo maintains a league-average wOBA simply by hardly ever swinging the bat.
I think the Yanks press machine overrates Jackson. He’s good, but no superstar. He reminds me of a smaller and RH Saunders.
Is Rich Harden really that good? I saw his previous stats with the Cubs and A’s, but he hasn’t really pitched that many full seasons. I understand that his ERA probably would have come down quite a bit if he had the Mariners defense behind him but is he really worth the effort.
In a word, yes.
Thanks for answering Taylor
Obviously we can’t predict exactly what the Mariners are going to do, but do you think that the Mariners are capable of acquiring both Harden and Nolasco. A Felix, Harden, Nolasco, Rowland-Smith, and Morrow would be a hell of a rotation. It doesn’t seem like it will take an unreasonable amount to acquire both of these guys.
If the Mariners were to assemble such a rotation it would probably be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Felix, Harden, Nolasco, and Morrow strike out guys at awesome rates. Barring injuries, that would probably be one of the best rotations the M’s have had in years(based on potential of course)
Unfortunately, I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much though Chad. As great as it would be, I’m not sure the likelihood that it actually happens
looks like Jack Wilson and Branyan rejected the offers.
Branyan won’t find a multi-year deal anywhere. Not at 34 with a bad back.
Chad and ECM: I could imagine feasibly swapping Lopez for Nolasco, and maybe a Morrow for Harden deal. It’s wishful thinking, and I honestly have no idea what the Marlins/Cubs FO would want in return for those two guys. What I do know is that the M’s ought to pounce on them now, while their values are low. I have to stress that we have absolutely no idea what Zduriencik has up his sleeve. It’s best to wait and see what happens.
Greg: He’ll realize that soon enough. I’d put my money on a 2-year 5M deal with a bunch of incentives. Even if he doesn’t produce like he did in 2009, which he almost definitely won’t, he’s still capable of above average defense and 20-30 homers.
Oh, by the way, I had a link in my first post but I guess the Fansided platform isn’t comment-link friendly so here it is reposted sans link:
Luis Castillo, probably due to realizing his absence of power, was also MLB’s most disciplined hitter this year. There was a good article about it on Fangraphs for anyone who hasn’t seen it: (go to Castillo’s Fangraphs profile if you’re interested in seeing the article).
Summary: Castillo maintains a league-average wOBA simply by hardly ever swinging the bat.
Harden is a FA so fortunately he wont require anything but a contract