NASCAR Wrecks Daytona 500

Posted on February 26, 2017 by admin

The carnage, madness, metal & humanity are all back, and NASCAR decided to tinker with its race format– starting with it’s Super Bowl. Bad idea. I’m writing this piece as the race concludes. I don’t care who wins, and neither to most racing fans at this point. When the race is still going, and many of the superstar drivers are personally feeding their social media, that ain’t good.

Facebook posted February 19 at 11:56am

NASCAR 2017 Monster Energy Cup Predictions:
1) The new staged-race format will not last into April, stupid idea.
2) The new rules on not being able to go into the garage and then back out on the track, etc… are great rules changes that will stick and lead to more safety improvements.
3) Danica Patrick will find another primary sponsor to compliment Aspen Dental/replace Nature’s Bakery, and she’ll get wrecked…

Kyle Busch #18 didn’t win the Daytona 500, after crashing out due to a Goodyear tire blowout. (Always mention the sponsors). But he did win the first ‘stage’ and play-off point– so congratulations, I suppose? I wonder if he’ll take pride in it?

Nature’s Bakery bailed as Danica’s Patrick’s primary sponsor for the #10 car a few weeks before Daytona, and is now trying to stiff her team (SHR) in court for $32M owed. Turns out, NB’s food isn’t so healthy, and neither are their business practices. The most popular driver in NASCAR had to hustle for a new primary, and proved she is still fast on her feet, by getting Aspen Dental to extend their commitment to “double digit” races.

There are 36 races in the season, and Tax Act sponsors three for her. That leaves her with a sponsorship gap, which will need to be filled during the season. Her car looked faster at Daytona today, until she was caught up in the huge stage-3 wreck pictured above. I had wondered if actually paying the bills would put more speed in her car, and I think it might. Imagine that?

My final fan comments on NASCAR’s 3-stage race format is that I only care who wins the third stage, and same goes for everyone else. Too many re-starts leads to too many multi-car crashes, like the one that obliterated stage 3. A race is supposed to have a rhythm to it, and this gimmick destroys it. NASCAR has mangled their Super Bowl.

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Top Post-Race Driver Comments [1]:

Kyle Busch (38th): “I don’t know if it was a left rear that went down or the right that went down but man, tore up three JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars in one hit and also Jr. (Dale Earnhardt Jr.). So I feel bad, horrible, for those guys, but man, nothing that we did wrong. You know obviously Goodyear tires just aren’t very good at holding air. It’s very frustrating when we have that down here every single year we’ve been here. Last year we had it as well too. … Thankfully we have I guess a segment point you know out of this day. That’s a positive. But man, you’re trying to win the Daytona 500 here you know. It’s just so disappointing.”

Joey Logano (6th): “I just couldn’t get anyone to go for it at the end. Everyone was so conservative and I don’t understand why. We kept trying to go to the bottom and make a run down there and no one would go with us. We had three cars that kind of wanted to do it, but it’s a matter of getting the right run and getting the right cars behind us and we didn’t have enough of them and couldn’t get up to the lead pack. I don’t know why everyone was so conservative today. … It was crazy to say the least. Right after the last segment it was like everyone turned up the wick a little bit and at the end it was like it burned out.”

Kevin Harvick (22nd): “We just got some cars up there that didn’t need to be up there and wound up doing more than their car could do. … We had, I felt, the fastest car in the field and right in contention for both segments and then it’s all tore up and it came to an end. What do you do? … I think that’s the fastest car I’ve ever had here, so it’s kind of disappointing.”

Jimmie Johnson (34th): “That could have been avoided and it wasn’t called for. From the minute, I got off of Turn 2 on the entire back straightaway, I kept getting hit and the rear tires are off the ground. I know there is a lot of energy behind me in the pack, but I didn’t have a chance. I fought it the whole straightaway and finally got turned going into (Turn) 3. It’s very unfortunate. I hate it for Lowe’s. I hate it for Chevrolet. We’ll go to Atlanta next week and see what we can do there.”

Danica Patrick (33rd): “I don’t really know. I just know we were all three-wide and it looks like the 6 (Trevor Bayne) and 48 (Jimmie Johnson) had something happen. There was nowhere to go. They just kept coming and hitting me. … It was the funnest 500 I’ve ever had. Well, probably not 500, more like 300 or 250. It is a real shame. I feel like we could have been a contender at the end, for sure we could have been an influencer.”

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Final Day-After Commentary:

I actually believe I have understated how much NASCAR has de-valued their product & alienated their fanbase. A MLB rules-change equivalent would be: instead of playing a nine-inning game for the win, they ‘improve’ it by making three-games-in-one: innings 1-3, 4-6, then the big finale 7-9. Each segment would award ‘win shares’ and ‘play-off points.’ It would be SO interesting and surely embraced by fans everywhere. Just watch this idea catch on, like ‘new’ Coke in the mid-1980’s.

Final NASCAR Notes 2-28-17:
NASCAR must fix this list to stop the hemorrhaging, and take advantage of the sport’s current growth potential. 1) Dump the segmented format, and go back to racin’. 2) Reduce the grid size to 30 maximum. There are simply too many drivers who aren’t good enough to be out there, trying to compete with top professionals. These minor-leaguers clog up the track, and create the majority of wrecks because they are in-over-their-heads, and at ~200 MPH– that’s some serious bleep. On a short-track such as Bristol, it’s impossible to have a decent race, because there’s just no room with only one good groove on the track and 40 cars jammed within 1/2 mile of each other at full speed. It reminisces your favorite interstate traffic jam at rush hour. 3) More road course races. This tests a broader range of driving skills and gives different teams competitive advantages, which is good for any sport. 4) Severe punishment for intentional wreckers. This means penalties that start with driver/team suspensions, up to banishment from the sport. Driver safety must be the priory, so NASCAR never has another Dale Earnhardt tragedy.

NASCAR is a private enterprise owned by the “Big Bill” France family. They take all revenue from NASCAR ticket sales, merchandising, concessions, television and other media. The drivers are paid purses & prize money from NASCAR, which doesn’t come close to paying the bills on a race car & its team. When it comes to the problems of NASCAR, the common denominator is always ownership. Until the fans & drivers unite against this monopoly of stupid self-interest, this sport will continue to wreck itself.

3-7-17: Atlanta Motor Speedway Wrap-up: The Monster Cup series points leader after two races is Kevin Harvick, who finished 22nd at Daytona and 9th at Atlanta. This points debacle is because of the new staged-race format. Racing fans are not intrigued by those battles for 8th, 9th & 10th at the end of stages 1 & 2, which now (too much) determine cup points. Adding false drama to a sport doesn’t make it better. Racing is about one winner, and then rewarding those who finished 2nd-on-down appropriately. The point is, you wait until the race is over to do it. So, where does the handing out a trophy for winning stage 1 (during the race!), rank in the all-time most-embarrassing NASCAR moments?

Final Danica Update: NASCAR is about being competitive on the 1.5-mile tracks, so Atlanta is the first true test of the season. Danica Patrick would have gotten lapped at the end of stage 1, if the race leader hadn’t been teammate Kevin Harvick, who eased off the gas and still cruised to the stage win. If a car doesn’t have the horsepower to stay on the lead lap on a 1.5 mile track, then it has no chance in ~30 of the 36 races. The only places a slower car can hang with the leaders are the super speedways (Daytona & Talladega– restrictor plate), and the two road-course races (Sonoma & Watkins Glen). This only means competing for a top-10, forget about winning.

Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has four teams. Kurt Busch’s #41 won the Daytona 500. Kevin Harvick’s #4 should have won in Atlanta. Clint Boyer’s #14 (replacing retired Tony Stewart) started 6th at Daytona (but was wrecked), and finished 11th at Atlanta. Three of the 4 SHR cars have speed to win. The fourth doesn’t even have the horsepower to stay on the lead lap. This is (again) the problem for the driver of the #10 car, who possesses one of the best overall skill-sets in NASCAR.

Over & Out

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Carpe Diem: LF Ryan Braun to the Padres?

Posted on February 22, 2017 by admin

There are 5 years/$85M (through 2021) remaining on Brewers LF Ryan Braun contract. LF Alex Dickerson (or RF Hunter Renfroe), and a few middling prospects would likely make a deal– if Padres ownership is willing to take on the payroll. Prospect/MLB player value would be comparable to the C Jonathan Lucroy to Texas deal last summer, which wouldn’t hamper AJP’s rebuild. PED-stigma aside, Braun is a HOF-production bat as long as his back is healthy.

The Angels, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Marlins and Padres are the 6 teams the Brewers can deal him to, without asking him to waive his no-trade clause. This gives AJP tremendous leverage in possibly acquiring one of the best right-handed hitters of this era. HOF-ers (and ace pitching) are what win WS.
The best fit of those 6 teams is the Padres. In terms of prospects available to make the deal the Snakes, Halos & Fish are all discounted due to poor farm systems. They simply don’t have the prospects to make a deal.
Positional availability & payroll limitations take effect too, as the Dodgers have an outfield log-jam– with unloading Yasiel Puig as their current priority.
The Giants have out-of-options Jarrett Parker who is left-handed & cheap– which is what they need in LF. Their bullpen set-up situation is their priority and GM Brian Sabean won’t waste money on something he doesn’t need, unless it falls to replacement level. That’s how you win 3 WS in 5 seasons.

Anyways, the point is: the Padres are the most-logical fit for Ryan Braun. I believe AJP is taking these few weeks in ST to evaluate all his rookie & minor-league talent, in order to determine who is untouchable and whom he is willing to package. Owner Ron Fowler may be “biting his lip for now,” but the headline a few days back read “We’re going to have some fun,” and the article quoted him saying Opening Day payroll would be ~$75M. Right now it’s just under $57M [1]. I forecast the Padres/Brewers are going to make this surprise blockbuster very soon. Shhh!!

Why? 1) Brewers need to move Braun, and the time has come. He’ll be the last piece to be sold off. 2) Braun is undervalued & talented, and AJP covets that. 3) AJP has leverage and Braun fits with SD. Really only the D-backs & Giants could conceivably compete for his services among the 6 listed teams, and they aren’t likely to do so, due to payroll restrictions. 4) Padres owner Ron Fowler has money, and he wants to spend it.

This is a think-outside-the-box situation, an incredible opportunity to move the Padres franchise forward in it’s winning curve. It’s too good for AJP and Fowler to resist, IMO. I know it sounds like I’m out in left-field here [!], but consider this not only as a possibility but as a distinct probability, and watch for any more signs.

More Signs

Yesterday’s Padres headlines [2]:

Padres set with current crop of players
GM Preller doesn’t expect any adds before start of regular season
AJP is quoted, “Then again, never say never.”

Trades aren’t adds.

If Ryan Braun is acquired by the Padres, then this is my piece. If not, then Play Ball!!!

Acquiring LF Ryan Braun solidifies this lineup as competitive with the Giants & Dodgers. Padres lineup: 1) Manny Margot/Travis Jankowski (platoon) CF, 2) switch-hitter 3B Yangervis Solarte, 3) LF righty-masher Ryan Braun, 4) righty franchise player 1B Wil Myers (or reverse 3-4), 5) lefty pop & OBP 2B Ryan Schimpf, 6) power with excellent defense RF Hunter Renfroe, 7) Elite defense, hopefully-he-hits-enough C Austin Hedges, 8) SS will be the last position to be filled, proving the curse of Ozzie Smith as the hardest for the Padres to exorcise; I like the Luis Sardinas & Allen Cordoba mix.

That’s turning over a lineup from Gyorko, Norris, Upton, Upton, Amarista & Kemp!!! Padres team base-running was tops in MLB last season, and it will likely stay there or near. Their defense improved vastly, and will get even better everywhere except LF, with BJ Upton being clearly better defensively than Braun. Braun if healthy is average-to-slightly-below in LF. What he brings to the plate is all the difference in winning by transforming a lineup.

The 2017 Padres starting pitching has been filled out with low-cost, high bounce-back-potential free agents, but is still two notches (at least) below the NL West elite. They need Luis Perdomo to become their #2 starter, then find/develop an ace. The Padres bullpen should be a strength with the Carter Capps fixing his delivery to become the closer, and Ryan Buchter & Brad Hand as dominant lefty set-up men. The bullpen question marks come in with the righty relief corps, and that’s what the AJP-pitcher-round-up this winter was partly about. The dugout brains is there in manager Andy Green, ace pitching coach Darren Balsley and the rest, so most fans are confident they’ll figure it out. There’s tons of pitching talent, deep in their minor-league system.

This now is a 3rd-place team in the NL West, vaulting past the Diamondbacks & Rockies, with an outside shot at being a wild card contender. The Padres competitive window which appeared to be opening around 2019 or so, is now here in 2017. Note that this doesn’t interfere with their organizational rebuild, as the talent pool has been well-stocked and the Preller pipeline is already bearing fruit with Margot, and the last of the Josh Byrnes prospects. There’s plenty more to come, with prospect depth and payroll commitment/flexibility to get the player(s) they’ll need– whenever they’re ready.

This is a hungry organization with a huge chip on its shoulder, because it has never won a WS since its inception in 1969, and has too often been a joke. The conventional baseball wisdom this winter was the teams that improved themselves the most were CWS, SEA, BOS, blah, blah… Now these MLB experts are going to have to rethink and (gasp!) rewrite their narratives & predictions because this changes many things.

To all those I say: find me another GM who can dominate the Rule 5 draft, sign the best low-cost free agent starting pitchers (4 for <$10M), lock up your two best young players in Myers & Solarte with team-friendly deals, then grab the best right-handed hitter in the NL who has 5 years of affordable team control, without blowing your budget? The Padres OD payroll is now ~ $75M. AJP is the best GM in MLB because he works most completely with his organization, from ownership all the way down to his scouts, coaches & players. He even listens to his fans. He sees the big picture (in English & Spanish) better than the rest, and therefore anticipates a situation in which the Padres are going to have maximum leverage to improve themselves, and then he seizes the day.

The Crafty Spider

A crafty spider had very little, so he began spinning a web. He took great care in spinning, making his ties strong and using only the best silk. His web was meager to start, only able to trap smaller prey, but it worked well and consistently nourished the crafty spider. As the crafty spider began to grow in size, it kept spinning more web. Other spiders would look on and remark, “Why do you need such a big fancy web, you’ll never catch anything that large!” The crafty spider ignored all this and quietly and went on spinning. Night & day; day & night. Spinning, spinning, spinning. All kinds of webs were spun; webs that hooked & snared, webs that linked & held stuff together, webs that were shiny & beautiful. Eventually these links not only provided structure & support for the crafty spider, but also became webs of enchantment & deception for others– filled with pitfalls, persuasions & slippery slopes.

Within this larger house, was another spider who possessed one of the juiciest specimens [!] in the entire domain. This delightful morsel contained enough nutritive value to satisfy even the most ravenous appetite, but it came with a limited no-trade clause. This selected against the fiercest competitors within the species, including the dreaded Yankee spider and the hated Red Sox spider– most-toxic & desperately in search of a new Papi. These predators could only watch through the window with snapping jaws, as hunger pangs gnawed at their bellies, as only six lucky spiders would have the opportunity to wrap their legs around this bountiful feast.

The day came when the possessing spider realized that much of his web needed rebuilding. The section of his web with Ryan Braun was strong, but too much of the remaining structure was incomplete & weak. It had also become a luxury which was too costly to maintain. This spider needed fresh raw materials to build a better web, but where would he find them? He visited the webs of five available spiders, but found them to be in a state of disrepair and mostly barren. Some even looked pitifully worse that his own, while the remaining webs simply didn’t have enough space available for such a catch. Until the day finally came when the possessing spider had to bring his prize into the crafty spider’s web, at which point they were immediately caught.

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Dialectical Processes

Posted on February 5, 2017 by admin

A website is always evolving– an indisputable fact of the Internet. Even if a site immediately goes stale, forgotten by its creator (like most), it’s even decaying beyond that– at a rate the Internet is advancing. Therefore, any website is either evolving or devolving.

When I began this site (with all technical assistance from friend/webmaster TomP), I had no idea what I was doing or where it was going? What this site has become is a guide-to-better-living, with much of what-you-need-to-know for understanding this crazy world we all inhabit, contained and/or linked here. This site is about taking care of yourself, while always thinking of others. That means a global scope, with respect for everything in it & beyond.

This site is dialectically materialist in philosophy, rejecting any notion of god as a universal creator (as a failed hypothesis), relying instead on actual data & rational science. This has allowed a transformative creativity in some particularly reactionary fields of modern journalism, the best example here being the sports writings. Starting from a sound political & philosophical foundation makes this possible, and it’s the only way to remove the emotional element from sportswriting, which is a major issue, even (especially) in the professional ranks.

Sports bring out the passion (good & bad) in people, which makes them a volatile subject. Most writers can’t separate their fanhood from their responsibility as journalists. These schleps love sports so much, they will say & do anything to maintain their precious access to their heroes. This is the condition of the modern American sportswriter. The amount of hackwork they collectively produce in covering the NFL, NBA & MLB is staggering. What is perhaps even more astounding, is how little of it holds up over time; as it’s mostly speculation, rumor mongering, hidden agendas, etc… with very little research, much less hard analysis.

All these people do is watch sports, so how can they be so obtuse? In the end, it’s always a matter of perspective and class forces. Whether it’s an individual team or league in trouble, notice how it’s problems are always pinned on an individual– usually the head coach or a star player. Scapegoats are useful in all fields, and the business of sports is no different. When rabid sports fans are whipped into a lather regarding a lackluster performance, a scapegoat is singled out and moved in front of the cameras to answer impossible questions for irate fans. No one ever questions the fairness or rationality of this media browbeating, it’s just how business is conducted.

For example, why don’t these writers discuss why the Orlando Magic fail year-after-year? The reason is because if they did, eventually they would come to the root of the problem, which is failed ownership & incompetent management. That makes powerful people look bad, which is not allowed under capitalism. At least not until the Internet and a Marxist (with time & love for the game), actually does the work [1]. The result becomes their franchise history, which still holds up better than anything anyone has ever written (or filmed) on the Orlando Magic, because it speaks the truth from top to bottom.

The point has been reached in these writings where less becomes more, and further commentary becomes redundant. Therefore, the stream of new content will henceforth be less frequent, and mostly confined to pressing world political events and Marxist revolutionary theory. As for the social, cultural & artistic spheres; I believe I’ve already adequately & articulately spoken on music, film, art, sports, health, beauty, fashion, and the rest. I hope these writings will inspire others to take these ideas further.

As for health, fitness & art pieces posted here in the future, it will be mostly my own going forward. At a certain juncture, these fields become more personal in their importance; as surviving and maintaining a healthy body & mind into & through adulthood are more important than becoming a celebrity or professional athlete. I’ve already spoken enough on its power to inspire, as well as the hypocrisy & corruption.

What homo sapiens must do is come together as a species and problem-solve– in the interests of everybody & everything on Earth. If you aren’t acting, thinking, and living the way I’m describing, then you need to connect with this site and re-humanize yourself. Physical & mental health are one, they can’t be separated. If you think rudely, with hostility & ignorance, then you can’t be healthy in body. At some point this bad mind, which is full of short-cuts, justifications and excuses will undermine any attempt at physical health. Whether it’s cancer, senility, arthritis, heart disease or stroke; whatever your greatest risk exposure is, it will become the crux of your undoing if you don’t live correctly with respect for others.

This site will remain online for as long as the Internet is allowed to be globally shared. Today the Internet is a battleground. This site has been jammed, and even hacked a few times over the years. I expect it to get worse, before it gets better for people like us. RS.com is an essential tool in fighting fascism. Today’s revolutionaries need to understand Trotskyist Marxism, as well as being physically healthy, in order to command. Leaders will need this mental & physical fitness, and will be asked to prove themselves in the heat-of-battle over & over, in order to win the support of the masses.

This is what actually impresses & influences people, much more than money or any other trappings of power. Why? Because it’s on an instinctive level that people are trusting. That cuts through the hype, in a way capitalism can never do, due to its worship of money at the expense of everything else. The truth is, the best leaders are not the richest individuals. The wealthiest portfolios are actually the sickest people, and therefore need to be removed from power and any other important decision-making, due to mental illness. This is only possible in a society transformed by revolutionary socialism.

Discover & use the knowledge here to better yourself, while enjoying & sharing the music!!

If I Could Be Reincarnated

As an animal:

As a plant:

As an organism: a virus

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Moneyball & Organized Labor

Posted on January 23, 2017 by admin

Analyzing players & pitchers in MLB requires knowledge in many areas. A scout’s eye and natural athleticism help, but are no longer required. Any position player can be cross-sectioned as a hitter by (1) knowing if they bat R/L/S, and (2) their AVG/OBP/SLG line. Defensive is now scrutinized & measured with video analysis, computers and advanced metrics to gain a better understanding of its true value in baseball. The bottom line to old-school dinosaurs– it’s been severely underrated. Defense is an individual & team skill, and can vary widely from season-to-season. All players are in decline defensively by age 30. Generally speaking, veteran players get injured less, but take longer to recover. Health is a skill, but is also influenced by playing surface, teammates, coaching, and luck.

Pitchers are best measured by IP, ERA and WHIP, reflecting how any competent manager values pitching. Preventing injuries & blowouts are a manager’s and pitching coach’s primary responsibility at any level– including MLB. Understanding pitcher abuse as a concept (and reality) is the first step towards reducing Tommy John & shoulder surgeries. Recognizing fatigue and immediately removing that pitcher is the most-necessary correction, because once a pitcher hits the wall– he’s done. Any pitches thrown afterwards will be maximum effort with failing mechanics [1]. Pitching through fatigue ruins more young pitchers with correct form (Mark Prior), than anything else. Skippers at all levels need to seriously improve at recognizing early signs of fatigue. This will lead to improvements in bullpen management, and end much of the up-and-down-in-the-pen nonsense, which is endemic at all levels.

Pitchers need to understand their body’s better, and be more honest with themselves and their coaches. A young athlete must find good coaches (not easy), and be willing to listen to them in order to improve. Expert advice & focused work can make all the difference for a motivated young individual. This path helps the athlete gain a better understanding of their body. Improving mechanics, conditioning, strength & flexibility all become more natural through this approach. Injury prevention science will become the next revolution in baseball metrics. The cost investment to acquire elite pitching prospects is already high and rising, while most teams are scrambling for pitching. This has created an urgency for a market that had never existed before in injury prevention & health care for pitchers. Organizations can no longer afford to have their top young pitchers go down with arm problems, wiping out a season, or even a team’s competitive window depending on the depth of investment.

Player-age and their contract status are modern baseball facts. It wasn’t always considered this way. A brief labor history of MLB payrolls starts with the reserve clause, which was a founding owner’s agreement that bound players to their teams through perpetual one-year contracts. This was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1922, when it ruled in MLB’s favor granting it anti-trust exemption. The was no union or labor organizing, so players had little leverage under this system of indentured servitude, which remained largely unquestioned in MLB until the 1960’s. At this point, most good ballplayers were paid $20K-$50K per season, an improvement over pre-war, depression-era salaries [2].

Labor attorney Marvin Miller (1917-2012) began the MLB player’s revolution towards collectively bargained players rights in the late 1960’s. This led to MLB free agency in 1976, which has benefited every player since, but particularly the veterans. It also paved the way for free agency in the other major sports. That victory for labor in MLB earned Miller the eternal enmity of old-guard ownership, which controls the HOF voting process. That is why reviled owner/commissioner Bud Selig gets the nod, while Marvin Miller is left out in the cold– even in death.

Generally it takes a drafted baseball player at least 9-10 years before he becomes a free agent, if he’s fortunate enough to make it that far. A top prospect drafted out of a premier college will need 2-3 years to navigate the Rookie leagues, A-ball (possibly at an advanced affiliate, otherwise low-A), then AA, and finally some seasoning at AAA before being MLB-ready. High school and Latin American prospects are younger, so they generally take even longer. A first-year professional ballplayer makes just over $1,000 a month. In AA, the monthly salary is $1700 and it goes up $100 per month for subsequent years. For AAA, the monthly salary is $2150 per month and it goes up to $2400 the second year and $2700 the third year. If a player becomes a minor-league free agent, higher salaries can be negotiated [3]. These are wages of poverty, and they are only paid through the season. There are ~ 7,500 players in Minor League Baseball at any time, and the vast majority will never make it to the majors.

Clubs have exclusive rights to their players for the first six years of MLB service time. These are complex rule-systems, meant to keep labor costs fixed for MLB owners. Unless a rookie player was able to negotiate a ‘super-prospect’ deal when he initially signed, he makes league minimum which has now been raised to $535,000 in 2017. Second-year players get approximately double that. The following off-season begins the arbitration process for 3-4 years before the player has the right to shop his talents on the open market. Arbitration is when the team and the player exchange salary figures, and (if necessary) an arbitrator will choose the ‘fairest’ offer. Most teams negotiate a deal before this hearing. Old-school owners and their front offices tend to be the toughest negotiators in arbitration, which often embitters the player who already knows he’s underpaid. LF Barry Bonds with the Pirates was a perfect example of this mistreatment. Owners have argued throughout baseball history that (1) they never have enough pitching, and (2) they have never made money. One of those is truth, and the other fiction– you figure it out.

In the early 1970’s (still pre-free agency), top stars like Pete Rose (Reds) & Reggie Jackson (A’s) made hundreds-of-thousands of dollars. By the end of that decade, Rose (Phillies) & Jackson (Yankees) were making millions. A MLB player’s strike in 1981 split the regular season and ended in a stalemate. Afterwards, the owners covertly resorted to collusion to break free agency. Collusion was a tacit agreement by every MLB owner, GM & team executive to NOT sign any free agents from ~1984-87. It was an owner’s agreement to not improve your team, led by old-guard ownership (mainly Jerry Reinsdorf– CWS), who hated George Steinbrenner, Ray Kroc (Padres), etc… for spending on their teams. To these ancient ‘caretakers of the game,’ baseball has always been a business first, and this was payroll. All this was finally settled in the courts (in the late 1980’s) when the MLBPA sued MLB, and won over $300M in damages to stars such as RHP Jack Morris, RF Andre Dawson & newly-minted HOF-er LF Tim Raines.

Losing legally on collusion only redoubled the resolve of the most-hardened opponents of labor. As ESPN took off with their regular coverage of MLB games, highlights on SportsCenter, expanded post-season coverage, etc…the really BIG $$ started rolling in. Owners once again couldn’t control their spending & greed, which led to the MLB labor stoppage of 1994, costing the fans a season, post-season and World Series. The owners provoked a strike with the players by threatening to unilaterally impose a hard salary cap, a condition the MLBPA would never accept. The players walked out after they had been paid the major portion of their 1994 season’s salary, while denying owners their annual post-season revenue bonanza. When everything was settled between the millionaires & billionaires in the spring of 1995, new revenue streams from regional sports networks and ultimately the Internet, would bring unprecedented sums into the game. This inflationary bubble has continued up to today, with free-agent pitchers and sluggers now commanding $20-$30M/season multi-year deals.

These blockbuster television deals have made MLB owners money at a much faster rate than every group of baseball players, outside of veteran free agents, while minor-leaguers and pre-free agency major-leaguers have their labor value suppressed.

Marxists define money as congealed human labor. The commodity ballplayers produce is the game we love, and they deserve to be paid fair value for their work. Profit is the difference between what labor is worth, and what he/she is actually paid, with the capitalist pocketing this surplus value. MLB & the MLBPA work together (like all other corporate/union arrangements) to enrich themselves and an elite clique (veteran players), at the expense of everyone else. This inequality is no longer sustainable with the obscene amounts of money flowing into today’s game. The level of awareness is increasing [4], and soon large-scale demands for revolutionary change in baseball will come from below.

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MLB GM’s & Annual Farm-System Rankings

Posted on January 22, 2017 by admin

Keith Law’s 2017 MLB Farm System Rankings were just released at ESPN.com [1]. This is a cause for much discussion among baseball fans, as Law is a recognized prospect guru and farm systems are what sustain current success stories, while sowing future championships for others. The health of any MLB organization can be measured by (1) W/L record, (2) post-season success, (3) payroll obligations, and (4) the strength of the farm system.

The general manager (GM) is directly responsible for all of this, and the first three criteria listed above are easy enough to measure, it’s a team’s minor-league system which is trickiest to quantify. It’s necessary to do this because the minors are brimming with valuable prospects, which hold the most value in today’s (and tomorrow’s) game. The best GM’s build through their farm system, then deal from strength to fill in needs during a competitive window. They lock up organizational talent early, at a fair rate, and rarely indulge in free agency splashes. Young, cost-controlled talent is king, and pitching is always primary.

With that explained, this piece is a comparison of what the 30 MLB GM’s have done for their organizations in terms of planning & value this winter. It will take Keith Law’s farm- system rankings as generally correct, and weigh the factors mentioned above to appraise chances in 2017, and beyond. Law mentions in his preface that any of the top-three teams could be switched around, depending on scouting preferences. This means the Braves, Yankees & Padres are clearly the best farm systems, a cut above the rest. Obviously, Opening Day rosters are still not set, meaning payroll is still in flux for most teams. Cot’s Contracts is used as the reference [2].

The 2016 farm rankings are listed in parenthesis, and any rise or drop must be understood in its total context. At what point is this team in it’s competitive cycle? Are they competing for a WS? Are they in decline? Are they rebuilding? Sometimes a team will drop in the farm rankings for all the right reasons, such as the Cubs here: they fell from 4th to 18th, because their prospects became championship players, and other pieces were also dealt in order to win it. Teams that fall in the rankings AND have a poor W/L records (Angels, D-backs) are scouting & spending poorly. They have the worst 25-man rosters & prospects, and therefore are furthest from competing. If these teams don’t have new GM’s, then their current one should be on the hot seat.

1. Atlanta Braves (1st in 2016); GM John Coppolella has amassed some nice talent from trades (Shelby Miller), and in the 2017-18 J2 draft. But some fans still wonder why he took on RF Matt Kemp with his hefty contract and low OBP/poor defense? Off-season pitching acquisitions include: 1/$12.5M for age-44 RHP Bartolo Colon, 1/$8M for age-42 righty knuckleball R.A. Dickey, and $12M (and 3 prospects to STL) for age-30 LHP Jaime Garcia– before he becomes a FA. They will eat innings, but aren’t likely to be very effective. Braves are wasting money all over the place, while they await fruition from their farm system. There is plenty of upside here, but also organizational flaws, which may prevent future success.

2. New York Yankees (13th in 2016); GM Brian Cashman was finally given free reign last summer, and he immediately dealt premier closer Aroldis Chapman and set-up man Andrew Miller for huge hauls. They also went in big on an earlier J2 draft, which is about to pay off in the Bronx. The Yankees signed Chapman to a 5-year deal, and the Evil Empire will be back by 2018 for sure, when A-Rod & CC Sabathia are off-the-books. They still have a propensity to waste money; Ellsbury, Headley… but now have a solid cache of prospects to compliment them.

3. San Diego Padres (20th in 2016); GM AJ Preller is currently the best GM in MLB [3]. He grabbed the top-3 selection in the Rule 5 Draft; including the back-up C and utility SS he was seeking. The rest has been pitching this winter. RHP Trevor Cahill, RHP Jhoulys Chacin ($1.75M) & LHP Clayton Richard ($1.75-2.5M) are all 1-year deals which fill 3/5 of the Padres 2017 rotation. This winter AJ Preller also acquired: age-22 RHP Miguel Diaz from MIL (top Rule 5 selection), age-24 RHP Tyrell Jenkins claimed on waivers from ATL, and age-25 RHP Zach Lee claimed on waivers from SEA; all of whom are pre-Arb, with upside. This money was spent to protect assets Luis Perdomo, Christian Friedrich, Ryan Buchter, Brad Hand, etc… and keep this franchise respectable until the waves of pitching talent start arriving from the minors by 2018. What smart teams understand is that it’s always about pitching, having enough of it and having the best of it. The Padres can’t afford to pay for the best, so they’ve done the next best thing which is acquire depth on their 40-man roster (at a bargain), through hard work & brains. Maintaining payroll & roster flexibility are also critical, which is what AJP has accomplished with the 3B Yangervis Solarte (4/$13M) & 1B Wil Myers (6/$83M) extensions. This organization will be a force to be reckoned with by 2018.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates (8th in 2016); GM Neal Huntington has built this team, but he’s now on the hot seat. The have the stud in CF Andrew McCutchen, but were shopping him (??) this winter, after winning only 78 games in 2017. McCutchen, LF Starling Marte, 3B Jung Ho Kang are a good nucleus, but they need their farm system to come through again. Pirates need to develop a closer, after trading Mark Melancon at the deadline. They also need another starter or two to support their young RHP’s Gerrit Cole & Jameson Tailon. Huntington’s FA splash was 3/$26M for age-30 RHP Ivan Nova, who represents a significant risk with limited upside for the penny-pinching Pirates. Possible fire sale in the Pirate’s future if they tank.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd in 2016); GM Andrew Friedman since leaving the cost-cutting Rays, has had the highest payroll in MLB. Cot’s Contracts currently has their 2017 payroll commitment to be $222+M, and they still don’t have a second baseman as of this writing. Their farm system is starting to slip for the right reasons, meaning prospects have developed in regulars and All-Stars. Unfortunately it’s still not enough, and this team relies too much on ace LHP Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers basically re-signed everybody they lost to free agency, which significantly raises payroll. Friedman is putting everything on his farm system being the boost that gets them past the Cubs. I’m skeptical.

6. Milwaukee Brewers (5th in 2016); GM David Stearns traded away franchise favorite C Jonathan Lucroy, and the players that develop from that deal (Lewis Brinson, Luis Ortiz and Ryan Cordell) will likely be his legacy, along with trading RF Ryan Braun. Young SS Jonathan Villar is currently their best player to build around. There is no pitching for skipper Craig Counsell to manage, because these are the Brewers.

7. New York Mets (16th in 2016); RF Jay Bruce will be age-30 next season and make $13M with a batting line around .240/.300/.420 in Citi Field. Recall when the Mets withdrew prospect Brandon Nimmo on 8-1-16, and the Reds still made the deal; making it clear to everyone they were dumping Bruce’s contract. What makes Mets GM Sandy Alderson think anyone else would be interested in dealing for that? Mets will have to eat ~$8-10M to move Jay Bruce, and they NEED to move him. This 25-man roster is thin beyond CF Yoenis Cespedes, and their brilliant young pitching which is starting to breakdown.

8. Cincinnati Reds (12th in 2016); The GM situation here is Dick Williams, with Walt Jocketty as the consiglierie. Old-school at work here, and it really hurt when they got raped by the Yankees in the Aroldis Chapman deal. What Yankees GM Brian Cashman received (above the Reds) in flipping Chapman to the Cubs proves how much dinosaurs like Jocketty are hurting their organizations. When opportunities like that are squandered, the Reds end up on the short end and are stuck with 2B Brandon Phillips & SS Zack Cosart, who are viewed as assets by their outdated brain-trust, when they are simply bad contracts to everyone else. This team can’t rebuild until it recognizes sunk costs and moves on.

9. Colorado Rockies (7th in 2016); GM Jeff Bridich signed age-31 Ian Desmond at 5/$70M (career .267/.316/.427) to play 1B. This happened less than a year after no one would give Desmond a multi-year deal at SS. The Rockies finished 2016 with a payroll of $120+M– a team record. Around $22M went to SS Jose Reyes, who was released and is being paid another $21M by Colorado this season. RF Carlos Gonzalez at $20.4M is an albatross that the Rockies front-office (and their fans) too-much view as a bargain. There’s even been talk of extending him, meaning they must have some really nice bud in the Mile High city. Every dollar this organization spends on bats is a complete waste for the Rockies, who desperately need to acquire & develop pitching. This has been a leitmotif of their existence.

10. Chicago White Sox (22nd in 2016); GM Rick Hahn did what he had to do and dealt ace LHP Chris Sale to the Red Sox for a bounty of top prospects. This and the Adam Eaton deal to Washington are what elevates this farm system and gives their fans some hope for the future. There’s still a lot of work left here, including dealing young lefty Jose Quintana, 1B Jose Abreau, and RHP James Shields– which will require eating contract. That was a really bad trade, giving up 3B prospect Fernando Tatis, Jr to the Padres for a broken-down veteran starter, and it will delay their rebuilding significantly.

11. Minnesota Twins (3rd in 2016); New GM Thad Levine takes over after Terry Ryan was finally fired. Levine inherits one of the worst organizations in MLB as far as ownership commitment and overall talent in the majors & minors. This organization has a reputation for holding their prospects back, and developing pitchers that ‘pitch to contact’ instead of missing bats. Their pitching stinks and age-29 2B Brian Dozier is their best player, with age-23 DH Miguel Sano their sole wild-card. Manager Paul Molitor has a few more 100-loss seasons ahead of him (if he stays), until new management can draft and figure out a new direction. New ownership would help a lot.

12. Houston Astros (17th in 2016); GM Jeff Luhnow & manager AJ Hinch work well together, and are a model for new-school thinking. In today’s game, teams need their dugout manager to listen to the front office, who are supplying the talent. That means managers must understand sabermetrics, as all front offices use this in their decision-making. Payroll matters, and value means production/dollar. Astros 2017 payroll is currently at $104+M, which means they have the flexibility to get what they need at the deadline, and the prospects to make the deal. This is a young exciting team, and Carlos Beltran at DH is a significant upgrade.

13. St. Louis Cardinals (19th in 2016); GM John Mozeliak & manager Mike Matheny are another nice tandem. Unfortunately this team has gotten old, and now their second HOF-er (first Albert Pujols, then Matt Holliday) has left. C Yadier Molina & 3B Matt Carpenter are still studs, and there’s some young talent to fill in, but no impact players on the foreseeable horizon. Their rotation is still above-average, with depth; but lacks a true ace. Cardinals won 86 games in 2016, but fell short of the post-season. I see one or two more championship runs with this core, but they’ll need some major luck to succeed. They’re capable, and (like the Giants) are always dangerous.

14. Philadelphia Phillies (6th in 2016); GM Matt Klentak saw their system graduate prospects to the big club in 2016, accounting for the drop in their farm rankings. Unfortunately they only won 71 games, so they still need a lot more help and have predictably gone the Andy MacPhail splash route this off-season in acquiring RHP Clay Bucholtz ($12M + prospects), righty set-up man Joaquin Benoit ($7.5M), OF Michael Saunders ($9M) and 2B Howie Kendrick (2/$22M). That gets the Phillies to ~75 wins in 2017, now what?

15. Texas Rangers (9th in 2016); GM Jon Daniels keeps plunging, dealing prospects for the missing link that will win them a WS. Last year it was C Jonathan Lucroy, which was a fantastic deal. This winter it’s ex-Padres RHP’s Andrew Cashner ($10M) and Tyson Ross ($6M), which forebodes disaster. The Rangers have another year or two, before their competitive window collapses from too much payroll and not enough young talent. It’s clear now that much of the scouting & organizational brains left Texas when AJ Preller went to San Diego.

16. Boston Red Sox (10th in 2016); GM Dave Dombrowski (and Orioles GM Dan Duquette) built the Montreal Expos dynasty in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, and the 1994 Expos stand as MLB’s greatest forgotten team [4]. Dombrowski built winners in Florida, Detroit and has now been on the job for over a year in Boston. The early returns in beantown aren’t good, as the Sox were swept in the Divisional round by Cleveland last fall, and HoF DH David Ortiz has retired. Young talent will need to step in and sustain this machine, but Dombrowski has traded much of it away. Craig Kimbrel, Drew Pomeranz & Chris Sale are valuable commodities; but Manny Margot, Anderson Espinoza and Yoan Mocanda are all blue-chip prospects in whom the Red Sox had invested tens-of-millions of dollars. This talent will now yield surplus value for the Padres & White Sox instead. If the Red Sox don’t win a WS with the players Dombrowski has acquired, then these trades are busts. That’s how high the stakes are in Boston. Note: the Red Sox were given the chance to reverse the Drew Pomeranz-for-Anderson Espinoza deal with the Padres, due to “undisclosed anti-inflammatories.” The Red Sox declined [5].

17. Cleveland Indians (11th in 2016); GM Mike Chernoff & manager Terry Francona are another winning combination. The LHP Andrew Miller deal was a difference-maker for Cleveland last fall. Recall the Indians almost had Jonathan Lucroy also, who used his no-trade clause to nix the deal. He was then traded to Texas the next day. Young talent in the rotation, bullpen, and on the field make Cleveland a sustainable success story. Their current $111+M 2017 payroll gives them some flexibility, which they’ll need to make another run.

18. Chicago Cubs (4th in 2016); GM Jed Hoyer got busy early this off-season nabbing CF Jon Jay at a bargain (1/$8M), and the arms he needed– including closer Wade Davis from KCR for young OF Jorge Soler. When management drafts & develops talent, it can sustain itself on a budget. The Cubs are a textbook example of this, making them WS favs again in 2017.

19. Tampa Bay Rays (14th in 2016); GM Matt Silverman has overseen the gutting of a once-competitive franchise. Wil Myers and Matt Moore have been dealt with little to show in return. LHP Drew Smyly (the centerpiece of the David Price deal) was just flipped; and coveted starters Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, and Alex Cobb are next. GM’s around MLB are salivating at the thought of stealing one of these valuable arms from this directionless franchise. This organization needs new ownership as much as any MLB franchise.

20. San Francisco Giants (21st in 2016); GM Brian Sabean acquired LHP Matt Moore from the Rays for busted 3B-prospect Matt Duffy and some other junk. The Giants already had aces in Madison Bumgarner & Johnny Cueto, and have now added Mark Melancon to close. This is a championship roster for several more seasons, barring major injuries.

21. Toronto Blue Jays (25th in 2016); GM Ross Atkins is in a tight spot, with a payroll-heavy roster constructed under a previous regime, that probably isn’t good enough to win it. RF Jose Bautista was a tough negotiation for both sides this off-season, as his early 2016 negotiating stance about “knowing his value” definitely soured his market. He’s age-36, and his AVG, SLG and defense have slipped significantly, while becoming injury-prone. In the end the Jays need Joey Bats, and vise versa, so 1/$18M is about right. This winter revealed the Blue Jays have reached their payroll limit. Combine that with a lack of prospects, and I see the AL East in 2017 as Boston & NYY, with Toronto & Baltimore slipping back.

22. Washington Nationals (15th in 2016); GM Mike Rizzo hired Dusty Baker to manage, after Bud Black declined a low-ball contract offer last off-season. The Nationals are currently at $144+M according to Cots Contracts. They made deals this winter with the Padres (C Derek Norris) and White Sox (CF Adam Eaton) to shore up their roster, by dealing prospects. Young phenom Trea Turner moves from part-time CF to full-time SS, as the Nats make another run at a WS. This team may have the most talent in MLB, yet still hasn’t won a play-off series. Someday someone in Washington may point their finger at a manager who doesn’t know how to construct a line-up, or manage a pitching staff.

23. Oakland Athletics (18th in 2016); Moneyball GM Billy Beane (now kicked upstairs) deserves the HOF, but with that said, he had fallen hopelessly behind in his profession. The truth is GM Beane never recovered from the 3B Eric Chavez extension: 6/$66M (2005-10), which blew up with a bad back and financially crippled the franchise. David Forst has taken over as new GM, and he currently has a roster with a payroll at $66+M, which is mostly comprised of fungible position players & fragile arms. This is another team that needs new ownership to have any chance at competing.

24. Detroit Tigers (26th in 2016); GM Al Avila has continued the Dave Dombrowski playbook in Detroit, with predictable results. The LF Justin Upton (6/$132M) splash last winter was predictably a bust, and now it’s time to face the music. Their competitive window is closing, and there’s only one or two more runs before it’s time to rebuild. There are assets here, but also a lot of contracts that will need to be eaten when this happens.

25. Baltimore Orioles (27th in 2016); GM Dan Duquette takes his orders from owner Peter Angelos. That’s how things work in Baltimore. Last off-season it was all about signing 1B Chris Davis for 7/$161M, and giving up a 1st-round draft pick to sign RHP Yovani Gallardo. That didn’t work, so this winter Duquette dealt Gallardo ($13M) to the Mariners for veteran RF Seth Smith ($7M) as a form of salary dump, then re-signed RF/DH Mark Trumbo (3/$37M). This team desperately needs starting pitching, and yet has done nothing this off-season to acquire any. There’s obviously nothing coming from the minors, as evidenced by this farm-system ranking, so no one knows what they are doing to fill their most basic need? Spring Training is less than a month away.

26. Kansas City Royals (23rd in 2016); GM Dayton Moore extended breakout starter age-28 LHP Danny Duffy at 5/$65M which is a win-win deal. I always like GM’s who make those deals, as they lock down talent and build team chemistry, without busting an organization’s budget. I’m just not sold that it will work here. This team could win it all again, or it could bust again. The smart GM has to play for the former, while making contingencies for the latter. After winning the WS in 2015, this franchise is now at a crossroads. Update: Within hours of this publication came the news of age-25 RHP Yordano Ventura dying in a car crash in his homeland of the Dominican Republic. MLB and all fans mourn his passing.

27. Los Angeles Angels (30th in 2016); GM Billy Eppler & manager Mike Scioscia are in no-man’s land, with huge payroll bloat around the best player in the game, CF Mike Trout. They have no effective pitching, starting or bullpen. With ~$150M already committed in 2017, for a second-division team with no prospects, this may be the worst organization in MLB.

28. Seattle Mariners (28th in 2016); GM Jerry Dipoto has made the biggest overall splash this winter, and is the current fashionable GM. His dealings look more like reshuffling chairs on the decks of the Titanic, than actual improvement, as the 2017 Mariners look suspiciously like the 2016 Diamondbacks or 2015 Padres to this observer. There’s not enough pitching to compete with Texas or Houston, much less for a WS. This looks like one last gamble with a veteran core that has never come close to putting it together. Whatever the result, the Mariners are a story in 2017.

29. Miami Marlins (29th in 2016); GM Mike Hill has been criticized for his recent deal-making, and the RHP Dan Straily trade is his latest head-scratcher. Hill already inked RHP Edinson Volquez to a 2/$22M deal earlier this winter, which seemed like an overpay. The Marlins needed another arm, so #2 organizational prospect RHP Luis Castillo (the trade-back in the Colin Rea fiasco with the Padres last July/August) was shipped with 2 others to Cincinnati. Castillo throws ~ 100 MPH and has a closer profile, but is a long ways away. All that is probably more valuable than a 5th starter whom the Reds picked up on waivers last April. In addition, the Marlins have multiple back-loaded contracts (such as Giancarlo Stanton’s), which are about to balloon. If things go south in 2017, the Marlins are going to have another fire sale, and there’s a significant chance they will. The Marlins can’t possibly replace heart-and-soul inspiration, and ace RHP Jose Fernandez– RIP.

30. Arizona Diamondbacks (24th in 2016); New GM Mike Hazen is a Dombrowski protoge, and he replaces Dave Stewart, which is a relief to D-back fans. Age-33 RHP Zack Greinke (5/$172.5M remaining) may be the biggest current albatross contract in MLB, and the Shelby Miller deal with the Braves last winter was a complete disaster, which is why this farm system is ranked dead last. It’s going to be a long rebuild in Arizona with Grienke, RHP Taijuan Walker, 1B Paul Goldschmidt, and CF AJ Pollock as their only real assets.

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Pitching Motion Analysis

Posted on December 17, 2016 by admin

Pitchers get injured. That is no news flash as throwing a baseball at 90-100 MPH is an unnatural act which stresses the body to its physical limits and sometimes its breaking point. With that understood, there are ways to prevent injuries to pitchers, and it all comes down to physics & bio-mechanics.

A MLB pitcher must have correct mechanics to maintain a healthy and sustained career. This is true for relievers as well as starters. In this article, the proper motion for pitching a baseball will be illustrated & described. Anyone with an interest can learn and apply these correct techniques to their own motion. Pitching coaches must know everything described below, or else their efforts with kids are of no value, or even worse– destructive.

Let’s start with proper mechanics. The most critical position for a pitcher to maintain throughout the loading part of his wind-up is the “Flex-T” position. Both shoulders need to be locked into this straight-line posture, in order to avoid excessive strain on the shoulder capsule and the elbow. From there both forearms are flexed, which minimizes strain throughout the kinetic chain. Below is Nolan Ryan, one of the greatest & most durable power pitchers of all-time (late in his career), locked into the Flex-T:

Fatigue is the enemy that cripples pitchers with correct mechanics. The photo below is an illustration of the most common mechanical flaw in pitching, which is over-rotation of the upper arm/shoulder. This is the proverbial, “reaching back for something extra” doesn’t really help, in fact it’s damaging. If the shoulders are not held into a straight-line posture, the excessive strain will lead to shoulder/elbow breakdown, unless immediately corrected with a strong Flex-T posture:

Analyzing a pitching motion can be difficult, as many things are happening in the <2 seconds it takes a hurler to deliver the ball to home plate. While reviewing video, it is helpful to pause and scroll it forward manually– frame by frame. Using this method, we will evaluate some of the best pitching motions in the game, as well as some problematic ones.

The hardest thrower in MLB is Aroldis Chapman, who just signed a 5-year/$86M deal with the NY Yankees. Focus your attention at 21-22 seconds into the video, which is the best view of his motion in this clip:

Aroldis Chapman has fluid & flawless mechanics, which is what creates all his power. He over-rotates his hip turn, but still holds everything together throughout his motion because he’s such a great athlete. This reduces his injury risk considerably (although not absolutely), which is what Yankee GM Brian Cashman needs on a 5-year deal for a power pitcher. The key to longevity will be for Chapman to remain strong & flexible in the hips & core. Here’s more science on what make Chapman so extraordinary:

Chapman disagrees with how Cubs used him in postseason 12-16-16 [1]
If I was Aroldis Chapman, I’d be upset with Joe Maddon too, as he was abused– by any rational definition of pitcher handling. No one appreciates being abused. Yes, it won the Cubs a WS, and yes he’s well-paid, and that’s why they play em’, and flags fly forever, etc…, but Chapman (at least) should have been informed by his manager that he was planning on using him extensively in both games 6 & 7– and clearly he’s saying he wasn’t. It’s his career (and a lot of $$) at risk, pitching fatigued, so he had a few parting words out the door. Anyone who can’t understand that is a hypocrite and/or has never competed. I would love to hear Joe Maddon’s thoughts on all this.
BTW, Yankee fans should be ecstatic, as Brian Cashman has done the impossible which is to replace Mariano Rivera.

One of the most durable and effective starting pitchers of this era is Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. Not surprisingly his motion is extremely compact & efficient. Note the beautiful balance throughout his delivery:

Not heeding the principles of sound mechanics & thermodynamics has catastrophic consequences for pitchers, as well as teams trying to build & maintain a staff. Here’s Tyson Ross, whom the San Diego Padres just released, despite being one of the best pitchers in the NL from 2013-15. Ross over-rotates his shoulders, and doesn’t use enough hips in his delivery, which has led to his shoulder problems:

Below is Steven Strasburg, the celebrated #1 overall pick by the Nationals in 2009, whose MLB career has been one injury issue after another. It’s not hard to see why, as the right shoulder severely flies out, creating all kinds of stress on the rotator cuff & ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). This is the game which he was taken out of last season, before being shut down. Note that Strasburg has pitched 200+ innings only once in his 7-season career:

Below is a really poor motion, that deserves scrutiny. RHP Zach Lee is from Texas, listed as 6’4″, 227 lbs– age 25. Scouts would project this kid to be sitting at 95-96 MPH and touching 98 with his fastball, with a 92-93 MPH wipe-out slider. The slider in the video rolls in at 88 MPH, and is a “hanger.” The Seattle Mariners just released him for fear of what Mike Trout does to pitches like that. Everything describes hereafter happens at 3-4 seconds:

Look for Lee’s forearm being nearly vertical as he starts his rotation towards home plate. This leads to the eventual “forearm fly-out,” seen clearly at mid-rotation. This severely stress the UCL, causing velocity/control loss and eventually leads to TJ surgery. Lee also doesn’t pronate at the finish, another major mechanical flaw which leads to velocity loss and eventually soft-tissue breakdown of the elbow and/or shoulder. Lastly, his drive-line ends up towards the lefty batter’s box, instead of straight home. His push-off the rubber could also be improved, and his hips are sluggish– which is really the root of all his problems.

The most likely reason Zack Lee stinks is because he’s hurt– due to faulty mechanics. The Padres just claimed Lee off waivers, and if he is ever going to pitch effectively for them, he needs an immediate MRI of the right elbow & shoulder along with both hips– as there is major damage in there.

Injuries must be evaluated & diagnosed first, followed by a treatment plan for full recovery & rehabilitation. Next, the pitching mechanics must be corrected. It needs to be a total commitment by everyone from the player, to the coaching & medical staff, or else it fails. It’s a lot of science, but it’s also that simple.

Addendum 1-4-17: The San Diego Padres are considering a 6-man rotation in 2017. The traditional & sabermetric argument against 5-man rotations (vs. 4-man rotations) is that the ace gets less starts. The Padres don’t really have that problem, as they don’t have a true ace. Luis Perdomo is probably their opening day starter, and the Padres have high hopes for him, but no one claims he can match up consistently with Clayton Kershaw or Madison Bumgarner– who are true aces. The issue the Padres have is keeping their arms healthy, which means limiting their innings. A 5-man rotation asks for 32.4 starts per pitcher, meaning #1 & #2 get 33 starts over 162 games. A 6-man rotation asks for 27 starts per pitcher. Since the drop-off in quality isn’t as much of an issue as limiting fatigue and preventing elbow & shoulder blowouts, the benefits are clear in this case. Even with an injury, the fall-back is #7 starter, or a 5-man rotation until the pitcher has healed. This is a good year for the Padres to experiment, as they have nothing to lose on the field.

One last point on a 6-man rotation is that it doesn’t limit innings on a pitcher who is effective and can handle the workload. If a starter averages 7 IP in 27 starts, then he will pitch 189 innings. 7.1 IP/start is 198 innings, etc… It’s about economizing and going deeper into games, when they’re ready. A 6-man set-up will allow teams the flexibility to stretch some guys out, while protecting others.

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MLB ‘Steroid Commissioner’ Gets HoF Nod

Posted on December 5, 2016 by admin

MLB’s 16-member Today’s Game Era Committee is an offshoot of the old Veterans Committee. It nominates non-playing personnel and players who were passed over during Baseball Writers Association of America election period.

Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Mark McGwire, Lou Piniella, John Schuerholz, Bud Selig and George Steinbrenner were the candidates considered by this committee for the 2017 Hall of Fame class.

These are the 16 people who make up that committee, which voted Bud Selig into the MLB HoF, against the expressed will of baseball fans everywhere. At least 12 of them voted for him:

Hall of Famers: Johnny Bench, Whitey Herzog, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, Tony Pérez, Frank Robinson, Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith

Executives: Bill Giles, David Glass, Andy MacPhail, Jerry Reinsdorf

Media: Bob Elliott, Tim Kurkjian, Ross Newhan, Tom Verducci

Bud Selig will be inducted, along with Atlanta Braves GM John Schuerholz and any players elected by the BBWAA (announced January 18) at Cooperstown, N.Y. on July 30– which also will be Selig’s 83rd birthday.

One can only see this for what it is– political horse-trading & backroom deal making. A straw poll on Bud Selig’s popularity among baseball fans would run 90+% negative. This is well-deserved for:

1.) Being the Steroid Commissioner
2.) Cancelling a season & World Series in 1994
3.) Attempting to contract the Montreal Expos & Minnesota Twins
4.) Bankrupting the Montreal Expos, then MLB’s subsequent gutting of the franchise from 2003-05 [1]
5.) The 2002 All-Star game hosted in Milwaukee, which was to be his triumphant farewell to a Brewers franchise he owned & mismanaged for over 20 years, which turned into a fiasco by going extra innings [!] with both managers running out of pitchers. Selig intervened by stopping the game, which ended in a tie & a hail of boos for the commissioner from the hometown crowd
6.) Refusing to be at the game when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s career HR record, proving more his own gutlessness & lack of leadership than anything else

That’s just off the top of my head.

Selling MLB to Fox hasn’t helped the game in any way either; outside of enriching owners, management, and star veteran players. More exploding graphics, late starts, soaring prices and Joe Buck in our faces isn’t good for baseball. This is why many fans have turned to free advanced media to get around as much of the hype & commercialization as possible. It isn’t easy.

What Selig did best was make money for the owners, and the owners are the ones who control the game– including the HoF committees. That’s how Selig breezes in on his 1st ballot, when an entire generation of all-time great players are shut out. [2]

This hypocrisy is simply class struggle, as this is a labor/ownership issue, with management & the media co-opted as tools to control & scapegoat the players. The message sent in the Selig (& Schuerholz) HoF selection is, ownership & management take no responsibility for the PED era– it’s all on the players. That position is irrational, contrary to the facts, and insulting to the intelligence of baseball fans everywhere. When bootlicks like Richard Justice apologize for this garbage, they need to be shouted down. [3]

Baseball fans everywhere are disgusted by this selection, and the only way towards improvement is for fans to start speaking their minds, and more importantly with the wallets. These institutions need to be ruthlessly exposed for their corruption, no longer deserving of fan support. That is the only message the people running the game will understand. It is the only path towards the betterment of the game.

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Padres Clean House & Amputate

Posted on December 3, 2016 by admin

Norris returns to Nats in deal with Padres 12-2-16 5:47 PM ET
Derek Norris had about as tough a season as any catcher could have in 2016. The entire Padres rotation was disabled and/or traded. Their All-Star closer (Fernando Rodney) was also traded. Due to service time issues and a hand injury to top catching prospect Austin Hedges, Norris was forced to carry too much of the load, as backup Christian Bethancourt is still a liability behind the plate. Teams can’t have poor defense from the most valuable defensive position, which directly affects the entire pitching staff. Norris is a bounce-back candidate because he’s going to a much better team with competitive depth. This is another nifty move by Padres GM AJ Preller to clear roster room & salary, while adding value.

AJP waited as long as he could and found a situation in Washington to maximize his return with a high-upside young Latin American arm. Preller is essentially continuing his summer selling spree. and will now seriously shop Ryan Buchter & Brad Hand, two of the most valuable commodities on the market: effective & cost-controlled lefty relievers. AJP will be looking for big prospect hauls, or no deal. The alternative is big $$$ free-agent closers, which is a volatile and costly market, so there should be plenty of interest.

The Derek Norris trade also ends any irrational speculation of AJP being unable to make deals after his MLB suspension. Everyone who paid attention now knows it was an old-school vendetta from East-coast teams whom he had made look foolish on a scouting level. The fallout from the MLB suspension was Padres team president Mike Dee being fired, which has strengthened AJ Preller’s position in the organization. Dee’s replacement has yet to be announced.

SD’s Ross non-tendered, now a free agent. Righty had October surgery; Pirela, Amarista, Sanchez, Edwards and Johnson let go 12-2-16 ~9:00 PM ET

Shoulder injuries are high risk, and the thoracic outlet surgery to correct Tyson Ross’ problem is still healing. In addition, there’s rehabilitation & strengthening of the shoulder capsule, which will take him into the summer (at least) before he’s possibly able to pitch. That’s not worth the money (~$10M) as he was going to be in his walk year. AJ Preller had a chance to trade Tyson Ross in 2015, but held out.

What really cost the Padres with Ross was not getting an early diagnosis. If they had figured it out early, then the surgery could have taken place in time for him to be ready for 2017. Tyson Ross was hurt on Opening Day, and the Padres medical staff didn’t even get a diagnosis until September. That incompetence stung the Padres organization– big time.

I am not around Tyson Ross & the Padres, but I recall reading for months in their MLB forum about “shoulder tightness” and “fatigue issues” which are conditions & symptoms. The Padres were rehabilitating without knowing the cause of the problem. By early summer the Padres had Ross throwing again, even featuring his slider against medical orders according to manager Andy Green.

Part of this debacle was hard-headedness on Tyson Ross. He also set himself back by injuring his ankle in a hotel room, so there are red-flags about his head and what he’s thinking, but the major issue was the Padres medical staff not diagnosing the condition sooner. That is their job, and it took far too long to figure out a problem which has affected others, and has precedence in sports-medicine. All this cost the Padres $9.625M in 2016, and leaves them without the front-line starter they were expecting to have through 2017.

Final Notes: A new MLB CBA was ratified on the eve of its expiration, and will run through 2021. The major takeaway from a business standpoint is the change in the International draft system, where each team now gets $5-6M/year, with a hard spending cap. The Padres are penalized for the 2017-18 period, and can’t spend over $300,000 on any player they sign, but with the hard cap now in place, that hurts much less than it would under the previous system. Padres CEO Ron Fowler was leading the negotiations for the owners. A.J Preller played it perfectly knowing the system would be scrapped and revised under the new CBA, grabbing the lion’s share of the most-talented prospect crop under the old rules.

This was the most contentious of the labor issues, as several Latin American players voiced their opinions at the bargaining table concerning the exploitative nature of this annual third world talent grab by MLB.

Jon Jay signed with the Chicago Cubs for 1yr/$8M. The Federalist is a winning player, who is undervalued. The San Diego outfield youth movement now has room to sort itself out. If Jay hadn’t been beaned in the wrist by Gnats RHP Gio Gonzalez, he probably would have been flipped at the deadline. Jon Jay was leading the league in doubles with an excellent OBP when he got hurt. Many Cardinals fans this past season talked about how they still root for the Federalist, and I imagine many Padres will now do the same. The Cubs grabbed the perfect guy (at a bargain) to fill CF, and that makes them the team to beat again– already.

Compared to Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Trumbo, etc… (albatross contracts waiting to happen, due to their age and defensive liabilities), Jon Jay is a steal and proves the brains running the Cubs will keep them in front for the foreseeable future. Staying away from most of the remaining free agent market, is required for GM’s serious about winning. Smart GM’s save their budget and deal from strength at the 7/31 deadline, for what their team needs most.

MLB article “Non-tendered players hit free-agent market” is a good early list of low-level free agents, of which pitchers will draw the most interest. AJP now has an extra $20M or so to spend in a very thin market. This will be another interesting Padres off-season, where trades will be the primary vehicle for competitive teams improving, as the free agent market is mostly barren & very costly. AJ Preller also has Padres fans guessing who he is going to take in the Rule 5 draft, with the 3rd pick on December 8. Preview at “10 intriguing names for the Rule 5 Draft.” Remember, AJP made a record four selections last year and two are still on their 40-man roster– RHP Luis Perdomo & OF Jabari Blash.

Padres reveal lineup of 2017 uniforms 11-22-16

Padres need brown in their uniforms for continuity with their nickname. The Milwaukee Brewers are another organization that had an awesome look (ingenious 70’s/80’s logo design with the glove & ball being the ‘M’ & ‘B’), and threw it away for a generic one. You have to have brown in the Padres uniforms, otherwise it doesn’t make sense. The debate is between yellow or orange as its compliment. More money than brains making these decisions. Who, specifically designed & approved this? This is supposed to be the easy part of franchise building.

Rule 5 Draft Results 12-8-16:

3. Padres: Allen Cordoba, SS, Cardinals is their major Rule 5 pick of 2016.
AAA phase: Padres had the 2nd pick and took Trevor Frank, RHP, Indians
Linked is a brief bio on Allen Cordoba, who just turned 21 and hasn’t played above rookie ball. [1]

This is an intriguing selection, and it would be a bigger jump than RHP Luis Perdomo made last year. Cardinals fans and personnel are probably not loving AJP, after looting them again. Cordoba provides depth behind Luis Sardinas.

AJ Preller also traded for the top 2 Rule 5 picks, right-hander Miguel Diaz from the Brewers, catcher Luis Torrens from the Yankees. AJP got the top 3 picks in the Rule 5 Draft, which is unprecedented. The cost of a Rule 5 pick increased from $50,000 to $100,000, and from $25,000 to $50,000 for returning a player, in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Total cost for the Padres claiming the top three Rule 5 picks (& a AAA selection) is $324,000, plus the cash to Minnesota & Cincinnati– who also get a PTBNL.

Round 1
1. Twins: Miguel Diaz, RHP, Brewers No. 21 prospect
2. Reds: Luis Torrens, C, Yankees No. 17 prospect
3. Padres: Allen Cordoba, SS, Cardinals No. 19 prospect

The Padres didn’t lose anybody, so Preller did a great job managing & protecting his roster. He’ll probably let the market settle a bit more before he moves in on free agent pitching. AJP filled his 3rd catcher & backup infielder slots with these selections, obtaining the top available starting pitcher as well. Tell me that isn’t impressive work?

Padres complete trade for Rule 5 pick Torrens
Friars send VanMeter, cash to Reds for catcher 12-9-16
Josh VanMeter is now listed as a 3B, and hit .198/.248/.274 in just over 100 PA’s at AA San Antonio in 2016. He’ll be 22 next spring and is way behind for his age– likely destined to be a career minor-leaguer. This and $500-$700k (best guess) is what it cost the Padres for the top 3 picks in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft, all of whom were top-30 prospects from organizations with deep farm systems: MIL, NYY & STL.

With the Winter Meetings over, the Mariners, Twins & Pirates will be competing with the Padres for FA pitching bargains. For the 2017 Padres, only 1B Wil Myers & 3B Yangervis Solarte (thanks NYY) are proven. Fans are hopeful on long-time prospects C Austin Hedges & RF Hunter Renfroe, as well as newbie CF Manny Margot (Kimbrel trade). They are going with Luis Sardinas and a Rule 5 utility guy at SS. Christian Bethancourt and Rule 5 pick Luis Torrens make 3 catchers, with some interesting flexibility for Andy Green. LF needs a bat, with Alex Dickerson being the best internal option at this point, and Travis Jankowski as a 4th outfielder– until he learns to hit lefties. Second base is still a bit of a mystery as Ryan Schimpf was incredibly productive at the plate for half a season, but his defense was fair-to-poor. Cory Spangenberg will be ready, but who knows what to expect from him at this point? Fans only hope he stays healthy, which leads to off-season priority 1A (after acquiring starting pitching), which is cleaning up & improving the medical staff. The Padres invested ~$75M in the J2 draft, with many of these young prospects being pitchers. The Amateur & Rule 5 drafts have also yielded high-upside pitchers for the Padres under AJP. These arms are potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars, if they can be kept attached. The point is, with these investments in talent it’s critical to their development to keep them healthy. If that fails, then all this planning & hard work has been for naught.

The most veteran player on the current Padres roster is Carter Capps, with 4+ years of MLB service who is Arb2 in 2017. Every other player is Arb1 or less, giving this team payroll flexibility, especially as the dead money moves off the books. Every Padres fan needs to know this schedule: 2017 $31M, 2018 $20M, 2019 $10.5M, 2020 $8.5M. That’s the cost of foolish handouts (Byrnes/Gyorko) and FA splurging (Fowler group/AJP for Kemp & Shields).

Final Padres off-season thoughts: Four teams have dealt with AJP since his suspension: Nats, Twins/Angels & Reds. New Twins GM Thad Levine even went so far as to say, “Working with San Diego in this regard was extremely beneficial because they’re very creative.” See: Twins trade for RHP Haley in Rule 5 Draft 12-8-16. It was a very creative deal as the Twins got the pitcher they wanted (for free, paid for by SD), the Angels got some cash, and the Padres got the pitcher they wanted for a few extra hundred thousand dollars. Win-win-win. The only wariness other GM’s need to have in dealing with Preller is that he is a shark.

There are only 3 teams in which relationships between organizations were damaged by AJ Preller’s various dealings: the Red Sox, White Sox & Marlins.

I believe GM Dave Dombrowski would make another deal with Preller, if they needed say (ace lefty relievers) Brad Hand or Ryan Buchter, because Boston is always in it to win it and will do whatever they feel is necessary, putting hurt feelings aside.
The White Sox would be tougher to deal with, because they really feel burned on the James Shields deal, which they were. It was just a bad trade, no medical issues there, but owner Jerry Reinsdorf won’t forget it. That’s a family organization and the front office will have its orders, so any attempts to deal with them will likely be fruitless, as their price will always be too high for AJP.
The Marlins I believe will refuse to ever deal with AJP again. Preller made their front office look foolish three times in 2016, once in the Fernando Rodney deal and twice in a few days with the Cash Out & then the Colin Rea trade-back. This is a petty & narrow-minded organization, owned by a complete scoundrel. It’s too bad because they had a nice team in 2016, until bad trades (then the Jose Fernandez tragedy) ruined it.

Jose Fernandez 1992-2016

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The Ambidextrous Athlete

Posted on November 26, 2016 by admin

Ambidextrous athleticism & functional strength go hand in hand. It is impossible to achieve maximum body strength without ambidexterity.

If the hips & back are a mess, then nothing significant can be done in athletics. Pain sources must be diagnosed, then released for any muscular rebuilding to occur. The epidemic problem of hip injuries has been discussed at length in earlier articles [1], as well as its rehabilitation protocol [2]. Applying ambidextrous sports training can help in this discovery and rehabilitation process, as the athlete is now opening up their entire body by using both sides repetitively & vigorously.

This article will speak in terms of right-handed being the ‘dominant & preferred’ side, and the left as being the ‘weak & off’ side, in order to maintain continuity. Lefties– reverse it.

Long-term statistical analysis of MLB records which go back over 100 years, prove conclusively that athletic peak is age 27. By the time a human has reached 30, he/she is well past that prime. Therefore any individual’s focus should shift from peak athletic achievement, towards maintaining health for life.

Most recreational athletes cease competitive activity by age 30, and have fallen apart by age 50. This is mostly because they never learned to be great athletes, and therefore have poor mechanics, even when it comes to their favorite sports. This leads to injuries which get progressively worse, then the breakdown of the dominant side of their body. Meanwhile, there is an unused left side which is neglecting into atrophy, yet in much healthier condition.

Games that can (and should) be used to develop ambidexterity include basketball, soccer & tennis. Any competent youth basketball or soccer coach will tell their kids they must be right & left-handed/footed, otherwise they are only half a player. Actually without these skills, you are less than half a player, as it is impossible to be fluid & powerful with an overdeveloped right side and an underdeveloped left side.

For a tennis player with tennis elbow or a right shoulder injury, putting a racket in their left hand and starting over is more than most macho maniacs can take, but it’s actually how to recover without surgery. Rotator cuff surgery is a sports-career wrecker, so it’s best to do everything possible to avoid it.

Ambidexterity starts with correct form and mechanics, which means taking it slowly to start, and using each training session as purposeful rehabilitation. This leads to steady improvements on BOTH sides of the body. The injured right side is being rested, while the once-atrophied left side is now being strengthened & honed. This develops better overall coordination with rapid improvements in mechanics, muscle gain & fat loss. Peak efficiency can now be approached, as previously-unused muscle groups now provide real work & stabilization. With a healthy & balanced body, much of the ‘thinking’ and ‘negative self-talk’ during competition goes away, and many of the previous performance problems are now solved.

Note: One of the biggest deterrents to ambidexterity for most athletes is their pride. Most male athletes have a HUGE fear of looking bad in front of others. When they stink in front of others, they shrivel up. This cuts them to the quick, which leads to the trash talking & carrying on you see everywhere today, all to deflect inadequacies. This type of ‘athlete’ will never attempt anything as serious as what I’m proposing. The point for these posers is to always look good on the field/court, at any cost, then cover up the rest with bullshit. As their saying goes, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you place the blame.”

The truth is, wherever there are sports injuries there are reasons. It’s usually either 1) traumatic injury, and/or 2) improper repetitive mechanics. The serious athlete needs to look at this left side as an unused canvas. This is their chance to start over (with experience & knowledge!), on a clean slate. As the athlete progresses with sustained focus, inefficiencies will inevitably show up and left-side muscular breakdowns will occur. These breakdowns need to be scrutinized as likely the same mistakes were made on the right side. This allows healing to flow back and forth, through the body. Every athlete should become a student of anatomy. There are so many muscles in the human body, with most of the focus on chest and extremities, to the point that the major core muscles (which really matter for functional strength), are often ignored– even by top athletes.

Sports are most enjoyed by its participants when they are a pain-free experience, or at least as much as possible. This means avoiding the chemical route and its nasty side-effects, many of which are unknown to the user until long after usage has ceased.

Today it is basically a consensus of elite athletes and their sports organizations which prefers surgeries & pharmacology as their primary injury-management tool. While there have been revolutionary advances in these scientific fields, their real-world application can be most-accurately defined as abusive over-prescription. The sheer number of surgeries for sports injuries, weight loss and other ‘cosmetic’ procedures is a complete disaster for consumers, who continue to be unhealthy at record-setting rates. Globally we now have a whole subgroup of people who are addicted to this culture, and this is presented as normal– even desirable, when in fact it is deeply pathological.

All surgeries contains inherent risk, including the most common risk-outcome of making the situation worse for the patient. Too often this is the result, as the cutting of bone, ligaments and cartilage (with its resultant scarring) is a common pathway to future disability. Eventually the surgeons say there’s nothing they can do, and it’s chronic pain as a daily reality.

The only way to avoid this and maintain any semblance of youth into middle age & beyond, is to follow these outlined recommendations, which are based on science. Nutrition, work/stress management, and exercise must all be balanced. As you become more ambidextrous, you will become more balanced in everything. This is the true path towards health & wisdom.

This ‘Fountain of Youth’ is inside of all of us, but it is only something one can achieve thorough due diligence & hard work. It means remaining pure of heart and being open to new ideas. It takes steady purpose and focused intelligence to push through the pain & ridicule one must endure to achieve ambidexterity, but once this status has been achieved, it outshines everything else.

Eventually we all give way into the eternal cosmic ash, but knowing that one was the best they could be is an existence to admire. As we age we are supposed to get wiser, but this only happens when we learn life’s most valuable lessons. Ambidexterity is a life skill, which means that it helps the individual in all things. Working towards this ideal balance & synergy brings out the best in our humanity.

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San Diego Padres 2016 Wrap-up

Posted on September 29, 2016 by admin

Last game @ Petco tonight, in this toughest of seasons for the Padres. This team (currently 68-90) will have to fight for 70 wins & avoiding the NL West cellar (ARZ), but they will be much better for it going forward. The Padres opponents tonight are the NL West champion LA Dodgers. It’s been a long, but winning season for the Dodgers, who now have a suspect starting rotation (due to injuries) behind ace LHP Clayton Kershaw.

Dodgers also have an inconsistent run-producing lineup, led (and too often carried) by ROY Corey Seager. On the plus side, they do have good defense– rated 2nd in the NL in efficiency, behind the Cubs. Overall, the Dodgers look a bit thin matching-up against the Nationals in the divisional round, but the Gnats have never won anything themselves, so it could be an interesting series.

Padres finished just above league-average defensively, mostly due to their innovative use of shifting by new manager Andy Green. The Padres shifted more than any other team in MLB in 2016, and gained a huge advantage in outs recorded. Many Padres defenders individually were average (at best), or poor including: 3B Yangervis Solarte, RF Matt Kemp, second base, shortstop, and most of their bench.

Padres were last in the NL in OBP & 13th in SLG, yet they were 10th in runs scored. Again this is a testament to Andy Green & GM A.J. Preller working together with advanced metrics in everything, as the Padres offense had no business being as productive as it actually was. Their aggressiveness on the bases, in all aspects netted them several wins over the course of the season. Padres fans loved it.

Their GM traded away all their pitching by the 8/1 deadline, then acquired more-productive pitchers off the waiver wire in RHP Paul Clemens & LHP Clayton Richard. This cost savings allowed splurges in the amateur & international drafts, reaping a bonanza of talent for the organization. The Padres finished 10th in the NL in ERA, just behind PIT & STL.

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Rule 5 selection Luis Perdomo, age 23, threw 146.2 IP and survived the season with an ERA of 5.71. His 60+% ground-ball rate was the best in MLB for starters. Most likely he’ll be the Padres opening day starter in 2017, with the health status of RHP Tyson Ross still in question?

Padres would love for Clemens and Richard to return at affordable deals, but it’s a barren pitching market so they may receive significant offers elsewhere. They may have a better chance of thriving in San Diego, but they’re each certainly better than RHP Edwin Jackson, who is finishing off his overpay contract with the Cubs in San Diego. If the Padres can get RHP Jared Cosart (acquired in the Marlins ‘Cash Out’) healthy & right, he could be a rotation horse.

We’ll see what Preller, Green, pitching coach Darren Balsley, and their medical staff can come up with. Pitching is the crux of any future success. Padres must develop power arms and keep them healthy, if they are ever to consistently compete for a World Series.

Photo by Heinz Kluetmeier /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

The last Dodgers/Padres tilt of 2016 signals the end of Vin Scully & Dick Enberg behind the microphone, two of the All-time Golden Voices. Each are amazing & incomparable in their resume & style. Each will be missed & forever loved by sports fans everywhere.

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Final Wrap-up: 10-2-16

Tough season for the Padres, and their fans knew it was over after the first series, getting shut-out 26-0 vs. the Dodgers @ Petco. 3B Yangervis Solarte got hurt the next series against Colorado (pulling his hamstring rounding first base), and RHP Tyson Ross never pitched after opening day. Lots of work to be done in San Diego. Player development & medical issues– mainly keeping their pitchers healthy, are priorities after their talent-grab this year.

At some point after the trade deadline when RHP Luis Perdomo pitched, there were 6 rookies in the Padres starting lineup. The Padres staff to start the season was Ross, Shields, Cashner, Pomeranz & Rea: 3 traded & 2 DL’d. How this team didn’t lose 100 games is mostly about Andy Green, and some great dumpster acquisitions by AJP in 2B Schimpf, RHP Clemens, LHP Richard & SS Sardinas.

Padres ended up with the 3rd worst record in MLB at 68-94, behind the Twins & Reds. This determines their slot order for the next Rule 5, Amateur & International drafts; as well as priority for any waivers claims, in which AJP has proven very effective. He’s possibly the best GM at evaluating talent in the game right now, and he owns high-slot picks for all the upcoming drafts.

The International draft will surely be modified, as the current MLB collective bargaining agreement (2012-16) is set to expire. New rules will surely be set in place for the this draft, to ensure one team doesn’t acquire 30% of the top talent all to itself– the way AJ Preller did this 2016-17 signing period for the Padres. [1]

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

One final off-season note: baseball fans should push to eliminate the DH under the new CBA. Papi is retiring, and David Ortiz was the best remaining argument for the DH. The DH has been kept in place by the MLBPA because it’s a high-salary, veteran player position. Unions like that. Unfortunately, the DH creates unfair AL line-ups, which abuse & destroy pitching.

It’s too much of a high-payroll advantage for the Boston Red Sox to start LHP David Price, and allow David Ortiz to hit for him. That’s 2 HoFer’s in one player, with no penalty for Ortiz’s bad defense. Also, the DH allows far too much throwing at hitters with no repercussions, since AL pitchers don’t bat. It’s not real baseball, and owners are going to want the savings. We’ll see…

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Ric Size

Songwriter, Musician, Artist

Category Archives: Sports