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Today: I Live For This...
The above could, equally well, be a monitor of my heart-rate during the ninth inning. I showed the graph to a nurse, and she immediately reached for the defibrillator. [I then had some difficulty explaining to Mrs. SnakePit why I was taking my shirt off for a nurse in the office, but that's part of the high price of blogging, I guess...]
Oh, dear: Paolo Boivin's back writing in the Banana. And, typically, she gets her facts wrong in the third paragraph, boldly stating, "Through 41 games, the team has an identical record to last season's group." Oh, really? Not according to Baseball-Reference.com" and ESPN.com: both give a record last year of 24-17, a game better than the 2006 version. Now, everyone makes mistakes - heaven knows, I do, but in mitigation, I've got a fulltime job, plus help Chris run our business, and have three other websites to take care of, in addition to the blog. Which I do purely for fun (though you could have fooled me when Russ Ortiz starts...)
Put bluntly, I expect better accuracy - and editing, too - from a professional writer working for the state's biggest newspaper. And that's aside from the sheer laziness of her piece, for she goes on: "Although the long-term goals are admirable...the short-term goals need to be rethought. In simpler language [Words fail me here - Jim], pursue another starting pitcher." She then suggests Dontrelle Willis: my, that's real cutting-edge journalism, johngordonma brought up the Willis idea here more than three weeks ago. If you want an illustration of why Messrs. Piecoro and Reaves are a breath of fresh air, but have an uphill battle redeeming the rep of the Rep, the work of Boivin is Exhibit A.
The good news is, despite Boivin pimping that idea of Dontrelle Willis, Josh Byrnes isn't biting, answering with polite vagueness, "If we were able to get the right sort of player for the right situation, absolutely." Emphasis added, and absolutely no evidence Willis is "right". Because getting him would inevitably mean sacrificing the long-term goals: Florida are not interested in Shawn Green and Luis Gonzalez. Boivin may not realise this, but fortunately, Byrnes apparently does.
Our lineup in Tucson has stood down from Amber Alert: Orlando Hernandez pronounced himself ready for Monday's start following a bullpen session. With Juan Cruz starting on Sunday, I think it's safe to say fans will be walking on eggshells during the early innings of those two games.
Finally, a rather strange story of Padres vandalism, as reported in the Rep.
This isn't the only time visitors have had fun at the JumboTron's expense. And isn't the only case involving the Padres. San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman once busted a few of the JumboTron's panels while hitting golf balls off a tee from home plate before a game.