Early Weekend 6-pack (3/18/10)
by APV on Mar 18, 2010 2:00 PM EDT
227 comments
Once again, feel free to use this week's edition of the early weekend 6-pack as a gamethread.
Indians vs. Reds (4:05 pm EST)
LF Crowe, CF Sizemore, 3B Grudz, DH Hafner, RF Kearns, 2B Valbuena, 1B Hodges, SS Rivero, C Espino. LHP Sowers
1. The race for the 4th and 5th spot in the rotation is beginning to look like a race for the 5th spot.
It is still early obviously, but Mitch Talbot, he of the zero remaining options, has so far performed the way you would hope. If he continues his early success for the remainder of camp, the decision to give him a roster spot will be a no-brainer. Here is what Shapiro and Acta said of Talbot following his last start.
"I've been impressed with Talbot," Shapiro said. "He has a looseness to his delivery. I've seen him go out without his best pitch, his changeup, and still compete in Glendale the other day. His slider has been surprisingly good. We had that as his third pitch. In talking to him, he hasn't thrown his best changeup yet, so that's a good thing."
"He's flying high right now," Acta said of Talbot.
As for Talbot himself, this is what he had to say about his best pitch, his changeup:
"It hasn't been my best pitch out here," he said. "In Arizona, the ball slips out, and it's harder to get a grip on it....The first one I threw went about three feet above the head of the catcher," he said. "But it had good action on it."
2. Maybe there is something to this getting off to a good start thing...
Although not too much. Here is a chart of the Indians win% in their opening 10 games (x-axis) compared to their season win%.
3. The race for the Indians spring HR title is intense
Currently the race is a 8-way tie between Brian Buscher, Asdrubal Cabrera, Nick Weglarz, Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta, Shin-Soo Choo, Beau Mills and Andy Marte. The first of these guys to hit his second HR will move into a commanding lead. For the record, Wes Hodges has a 3-2 edge in doubles over Chisenhall, Grudz, and the Carloses (Rivero and Santana).
4. The Indians starting lineup might be saving a few bucks on birthday candles.
Last year's opening day lineup was Sizemore CF, DeRosa 3B, Martinez 1B, Hafner DH, Peralta SS, Choo RF, Shoppach C, Francisco LF, and Cabrera 2B. The average age of that group was 28, with 5 of the 9 guys in the "peak" 26-30 range.
Should Branyan start off the season the DL, which looks suspiciously likely, the Indians opening day lineup might looking something like this: Cabrera SS, Sizemore CF, Choo RF, Hafner DH, Peralta 3B, LaPorta 1B, Valbuena 2B, Marson C, Brantley LF. The average age of this group would be 26, with just 3 of the 9 guys in their "peaks" (and 5 of the 9 younger than "peak"). Last year's starting rotation out of camp was Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona, Carl Pavano, Scott Lewis and Anthony Reyes. That group didn't stick together for long, but they had an average age of 28. Subbing Huff and Sowers in for Lewis and Reyes gives you the five guys who made the most starts and an average age of 27.5. Assuming the Indians break camp with a rotation of Westbrook, Masterson, Carmona, Talbot and Huff - good for an average age of 26.5.
5. Which of the following is most egregiously too long?
- A: spring training
- B: the NBA season
- C: the football section of the PD
- D: Mark Shapiro's sentences
6. The sleepy kitten might want to drink a little warm milk before taking the mound. Meanwhile, big Mr. Carsten Charles has not gotten any slimmer by the looks of things. Victor, on the other hand, appears quite svelte. I'm not exactly sure why carrying not one, but two emergency catchers on your roster can be considered a luxury. How often has does any emergency catcher get used in a game, let alone two of them? Ben Francisco, meanwhile, appears to be settling into the role I always thought would best fit his skill set, NL 4th outfielder.
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If I am correct, and Victor stays healthy and has a very good year, that would make him something like a 4-5 WAR player based on fangraphs system. For Masterson to top that he would pretty much have to be a top 20 pitcher. I think that is not impossible (last year that would have been guys like Wandy Rodriguez and Jamie Shields territory).
By the way, the somewhat outlier of a point on that graph, the one showing a .900 W% in the first 10 games and a sub-.500 season W%…that is 2002. I had completely forgotten that we actually began that season winning 11 of our first 12 games, including 10 straight. We then, of course, lost 15 of our next 17 games. Sad face.
Lawton, Burks, Vizquel and Thome all got off to hot starts that season. And for that first stretch, our bullpen was holding it together well.
They were 11-1 on Saturday April 13, with the final game of a home series against the Royals coming up, and the Tribe decides to take it easy and postpone the Sunday game, as if the hot streak would last forever. “Take the afternoon off, fellows. No need to sweat it with this kind of lead.” They then went 1-9.
I’ve heard this theory 1000 times and I refuse to buy it. One rain out didn’t turn them into a 74-88 team.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Mar 19, 2010 6:22 AM EDT up reply actions
This is why whenever I’m on a lucky streak at the craps table, I like to hand over the dice to someone else, take a break, maybe a stroll out to the parking lot, to cool off. Then when I go back to the table I roll nothing but losers. Especially against the Royals.
The problem with this entire theory is that, in looking at the roster, it’s obvious that team wasn’t very good. The starting 9 put up, among it, maybe ~10 more legit seasons as major league starters and 5 of those are Thome’s. The 2B and 3B were basically out of baseball the next year, and the catcher and DH weren’t long for this world either.
Well … they weren’t long for this league. They are still alive, I think.
by Jay on Mar 19, 2010 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Absolutely. It was a luck-driven event. But it’s easy to be seduced into thinking this would be the time luck would favor the Indians. All they have to do is play .500 ball the rest of the season. As Dr. Johnson said of second marriages: a triumph of hope over experience.
Look at it this way: Luck didn’t turn them into a 63-87 team — which is what they were after that rainout. That’s about as bad as the 2009 Indians.
You just got done watching that season — did it look like it was mostly just bad luck?
I remember needing to fly home to Cleveland on the 13th for my Grandmother’s funeral on the 16th; I had a short layover in Philadelphia and was watching the scores on ESPN at an airport bar. I remember them being down 7-2 nearing the bottom of the 8th and I had to leave to catch my connection. I was thinking, “well, anyhow, that was a nice streak to start the season.” I was hoping to squeeze in the Sunday game and it would have been nice to see them continuing a long winning run.
When I got off the plane in Cleveland I checked out the scores to discover that they had scored 5 in the 8th to tie it up and then win it in the 9th. Einar Diaz scored on a Jason Grimsley wild pitch with 1 out and bases loaded (Diaz was put in as a pinch runner after Eddie Perez singled to start the inning). The streak would continue. These guys could play!
It then rained hard and long enough for Sundays game to be postponed. I would see no baseball while in Cleveland. And the streak that would follow was brutal. Those guys could not play.
I’m not emotional about iPad...
I remember a few things about the start of that season; was it traumatic for all of us or something? One, all the talk about not opening a season like that since X year. I think it was in the 90’s. The second thing I remember is Matt Lawton doing the wave with fans in right field at the end of a game the Indians had in the bag during the streak. And finally, I remember how dejected Hamilton’s voice was when that month ended the way it did and he announced our record.
Steel Nick
I highly recommend World’s Greatest Dad.
by cleveland teamer on Mar 18, 2010 8:32 PM EDT up reply actions
I think I’d phrase that argument toward Anchorman being the most overrated of his work. I mean, I guess I give it props for bringing “classy” back into the common lexicon, but on the other hand, the whole film is basically “lol sexism” with mustaches and polyester. But you suggest it isn’t a point of comedy genius and people act like you’re some pervert who skins puppies for fun (at least in college, as I have no concept of the real world).
I’m very fond of SNL-era Farrell, especially his Dubya impression. Not from a political standpoint, just from a “that’s amazingly funny” one.
I thought Anchorman was hilarious, but I now hate it simply for the movies that it spawned in it’s aftermath. Such as Dewey Cox, Semi-Pro, etc.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
I really don’t think Walk Hard and Semi Pro are anywhere close to the same level. I actually laughed in Walk Hard.
Steel Nick
But see, there is much more originality in Anchorman than any of those others. Then it was “oh, let’s take an ordinary person and make him really weird and eccentric and a little dumb, then its a movie!” Again and again and again.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
I think you are badly underselling the ensemble in Anchorman. There are a lot of funny people taking their turns at the slapstick.
Was that what Walk Hard was? I thought it almost had more of a Naked Gun feel to it. Pure slapstick parody, not “dumb guy says weird things that end up getting quoted a billion times.”
Steel Nick
Speaking as a musician who loves movies with lots of in-jokes for musicians … Walk Hard is by no means in the same league with Anchorman. Although Jonah Hill’s why-the-hell-not cameo is hysterical.
This Is Spinal Tap, obviously. That Thing You Do is an unheralded classic with all kinds of real-world gems for the life of a band (and probably also Liv Tyler’s most appealing performance). A bunch of biopic movies — really enjoyed both _Ray_ and Walk the Line, and Coal Miner’s Daughter is a classic.
The documentary Bring On The Night, which documents the formation of Sting’s first band as a solo artist, is a pretty interesting view, and for that matter even Madonna’s documentary is, too — both of those show some evidence of artist influence over the editing, but not enough to totally rob them of interest. I watched most of the four-hour Tom Petty documentary last year, it was surprisingly riveting. Not sure if anyone here has ever heard of Here Comes Huffamoose, which apparently is something of a cult classic for rock nerds, hard for me to have perspective on that as I actually know the guys in the band.
This is not even getting into real concert films, which is a whole other category.
I spent the better part of a summer watching That Thing You Do when I was a teen.
Thoughts on It Might Get Loud? I liked watching Jimmy Page grin like a kid when he played “Rumble.”
Steel Nick
Haven’t seen it yet. There are a few reportedly great music docs I have just never gotten around to, including the ones about the Funk Brothers and Tom Dowd.
It Might Get Loud would have been cool without the Edge. I say that for 2 reasons: 1) I do not like U2. 2) If even you like U2, his style doesn’t mesh with Page and White. Your could have brought in someone with a more blues-based background, but in the end it would have still fallen into the same trap. It really needed to be about only 2 people to provide enough content to be insightful. It wasn’t a waste of time, but it was a slight let down for me.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
I agree, but I thought it was at least interesting enough having the Edge on because he was so different from the others.
My favorite part of the movie was a little comedy put together by the editors: the Edge spends five minutes showing us all the distortions and sounds he can get through all the technology associated with his guitar, then they cut to Jack White saying, more or less, that people who do that are bulls***.
Steel Nick
This whole sub-thread of Ferrell/McKay/Apatow hate is really irksome and completely comparable, in my mind, to the conversations we’ve had on this site about music. The movies aren’t award-winning and they aren’t timeless. But the work of these men, with notable exceptions as always, has been solid and, in my opinion, has revived what was, for a time, an awfully unappealing genre, the stupid comedy.
by NickFantana on Mar 20, 2010 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah. I’m not crazy about Ferrell’s schtick, but much to my surprise, he has grown on me, or maybe his work has deepened. The two “stupid comedy” giants preceding him were Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler. Ferrell and his cohorts have made dumb-comedy a lot smarter and funnier, in my view.
but much to my surprise, he has grown on me
What confuses me about a lot of Ferrell’s movies is that on first viewing I really don’t like a lot of them. But with repeated viewings I have a tendency to grow quite fond of them. This is quite the opposite of my normal viewing relationship.
Stranger than Fiction doesn’t really fit this genre, though. It seemed like a fanciful romantic comedy, not a “stupid comedy”.
Agreed. I’m going to assume you like Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love?
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
True, just kinda had the feeling you’d be on board with that. Great flick, can’t wait to see it on Blu-ray, too.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
I felt like that film spent two hours going “look at me! I’m different! I’m challenging your preconceptions about plot and characters! I’m…not actually doing anything meaningful or entertaining, though.”
So, to someone who apparently likes it: what was I supposed to “get” from that film?
I think the common misconception is that you have to “get” something from a film, like it owes you something. This is a common boiling point for someone such as myself who is into watching/making avant garde film (not that this particular one necessarily is). Sometimes films like this need to be viewed more as an experience, first and foremost a visual experience. And in the end, someone will always love it and someone will always hate it.
I haven’t watched it in a solid 4 years, so I would have to revisit it again to tell you more precisely what you should watch for, but I can tell you that the cinematography is quite spectacular.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
Ferrell is quite good most of the time. I think the studios were trying too hard to duplicate successes by nearly duplicating premises (Semi Pro, Blades of Glory) rather than creating new stories for his type of comedy.
Elf is downright charming and Stranger Than Fiction is interesting storytelling. Even Talledega Nights has its moments.
Apatow’s work is surprisingly deep.
STBNL
I agree with this take. I also agree with what Jay said above about making stupid comedies smarter but I didn’t want to make a separate comment.
Hands down, the most impressive thing Ferrell and McKay have done is to make Talladega Nights, which is pretty scathing towards a particular version of the “American way of life” without anyone seeming to even notice or care.
No kidding. I’ve been quitting At Bat between innings to save my battery, since the app is a powersuck like woah, and I totally missed the whole inning in the time it took to convince my iPhone to play something not Lady Gaga. I give up on that, come back to At Bat, and suddenly it’s the middle of the third.
Also, This Sports Time Ohio 24/7 HD radio commercial has a music track that sounds more like a gay club. Probably not their target demographic.
i’ve had an amazing run of good luck the last 9 hours in a stout bonanza, ending with snagging the last two KBS from a store nearby a bit ago. problem now is, i don’t know if i should drink one or save them
seems like sam adams has a million different beers that they bottle anymore. come to think of it, do they have a small batch venue or is it all or nothing with what they distribute?
They brew in a couple of locations of varying scale. Most of the stuff shipped nationally is large batch, brewed somewhere in upstate New York if I recall. In the Boston area you get more variety because they do some of their special brews and test brews in their original brewery in South Boston. The Noble Pils is a seasonal selection.
I don’t mind it. I have found, and I say this without meaning to be geographically snobbish in any way, but Sam Adams taste better in the Boston area. I think we get locally distributed batches which just taste better. Outside of this area I’m not a Sam Adams fan either, but here it is always a safe choice for a good beer.
I bought a T-shirt when I was there (long ago), and was sad to discover after two washings that it had gotten too small. Rather than accept defeat and throw it out I cut off the sleeves, cut it into a v-neck, and took to wearing it around the house when I felt particularly angry.
by APV on Mar 19, 2010 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
And, to a lesser degree, Chris Gimenez.
by VA tribe fan on Mar 18, 2010 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Don’t look now, but Trevor has been en fuego lately.
by ken from alexandria on Mar 18, 2010 7:53 PM EDT up reply actions
if a brick types in a thread, and nobody is there to read it, did he use capital letters?
by Brick. on Mar 18, 2010 5:25 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
I just got paid, and mlb.com has a buy one, get one 40% off deal going on. I’d like to get an Indians t-shirt. I already bought a Masterson jersey this year, and I have a Choo from last season. Any other suggestions? I’m leaning towards Marson or Brantley, personally.
do we know what santana’s number is going to be?
by Gradyforpresident on Mar 18, 2010 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions
The batting practice jersey looks nice, is cheaper, and is in some ways a little more functional than a typical jersey
For the Tribe, I logged in and the announcers were saying something about trying to make a miracle catch and it turned a single into a triple.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
Was there another play earlier because something similar just happened. Time-machined maybe.
I’m not emotional about iPad...
I got back to NYC from Goodyear at around 3am on Tuesday and had to be at work at 10am. The basement in the gallery flooded with around 16"of water on the weekend and I’ve been trying to salvage whatever can be wrung out. It’s pretty bad and I’ve had to put in 3 long days so far.
I’m a little fried.
I have pictures to put up at some point when I can get to it. I haven’t even unpacked yet.
I’m not emotional about iPad...
I wanted to but I talked myself out it. Stupid move. Also this is the only year I didn’t pick Old Dominion.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
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Evan Lysacek: 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist ♥
by ClemsonGirl on Mar 18, 2010 10:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Two years in a row I’ve looked at the Ohio-local school with a low seed and said, “Man, I’d love to pick them for an early upset. If only they weren’t going up against [perennial powerhouse buzzsaw] in the first round. Shame.”
I promise if Mount Union makes it into the tourney next year I’ll put them in the Sweet Sixteen.
Steel Nick
The Ohio U victory, while surprising coming from the #9 seed in the MAC, wasn’t a complete shock. Georgetown is as much perennial disappointment as perennial powerhouse. Since winning their national title, they have made it as far as the Sweet 16 only about half the time (8 for 17 counting this year). And they’ve never made it beyond the second round with a team that had 10 or more losses. I didn’t think Ohio would win, and certainly didn’t think they’d win the way they did, but for Georgetown to lose the first weekend was entirely foreseeable.
USSChoo didn’t you go to Ohio?
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
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Evan Lysacek: 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist ♥
I immediately facebooked every Ohio guy/girl I knew after that game to congratulate. Would have loved to have been down there after that…..pandemonium
"Mixed emotions. Rather see him hit PEDroia [with that pitch]. I don’t care if he is in the dugout"
by Gradysmanldy on Mar 19, 2010 8:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Some of the pictures I saw from Court St. were pretty jam packed. Looked like crowds you’d typically see on Halloween.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
Might as well put this here…BP linked to this handy Chrome extension that adds a button for searching any/all of the main stat sites (B-Ref, FanGraphs, etc.). You check the boxes for the sites you want to search and it will open a new tab for each.
by cleveland teamer on Mar 19, 2010 9:56 AM EDT reply actions
SBN ought to get on that. We have player pages, and they are useful (although not so much for stats).
The biggest problem is that there is not, to my knowledge, a way to search player pages directly via SBN. The file for the extension contains default query parameters for each site, which in most cases will take you directly to the player’s page (everything except First Inning). For SBN, you get a search landing page that contains stories and comments, with a link in the sidebar to the player page. Less useful. You could always shoot an email to Mark Cerritelli (email details at cleveland teamer’s link).
Nice. But not enough to get me to install a third browser.
... Paul Hoynes is a really great guy ...
My friends keep pushing me to get Chrome, but Firefox feels so good.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
My friends don’t talk about Monster Cable. Among my colleagues, it comes up once in a while, and we laugh smugly for a moment, then move on.
If asked, I’m prepared to discuss Monster Cable. I’m just a helpful person, what can I say.
by Jay on Mar 22, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Not even cables made by the hands of Zeus himself could help the annoying hum coming from my desktop speakers at the moment.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
Pretty sure you don’t want the god of weather and thunder making your electronic equipment. Maybe Hephaestus, with some input from Apollo.
Don’t forget Pan. And consultation from Dionysus.
by YoDaddyWags on Mar 23, 2010 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Some gods do their best work while drunk. You probably wouldn’t like a sober Dionysus. Very bitter.
Welcome back, Sandy! ATALECG...
I know it’s kid lit, but that’s basically the Dionysus in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series (with which my 10 year old was recently obsessed and to which the Chris Columbus hack job of a movie did not do justice). Banished from Olympus and forced to dry out.
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