Play-Off Picture Although the minor league season has been extended to the third week in September the push for a very limited play-off spot will soon begin. Actually, the A and AA regular seasons end on September 19 with a five-game playoff between the two teams with the best winning percentage in the league regardless of their division. There are no playoffs at the AAA level but the regular schedule…
Just a few notes today. Following some of the amazing posts in the past few days, I indeed feel somewhat like a little leaguer as my writing is solely focused on the minor leagues and naturally cannot lead to much discussion. However, little league provided me with some of my best long-term memories, way back in the early fifties. Minor league ball keeps me somewhat in touch with those memories…
Very early in the season, I predicted that the Dodgers would have a TOP 5 BULLPEN. Well, they currently are now #5 in ERA in all of MLB. I have always used ERA as a metric, although I know there are many others. Some of you want to use other metrics to “disprove” that they are #5. I say “Whatever!” I have always thought about combining a number of metrics,…
Not so many games in the minor league scene today as teams at the Low-A, High-A, and AA levels have Mondays off. Triple-A has Wednesdays off. The Arizona Complex League and the Dominican Summer League both have Sundays off. So I thought I would take a look back at the week that was. That is, July 19-25. The Loons four-pitcher no-hitter on July 23 has already been featured on LADT….
I should say “some of you guys.”… and I am glad you are not. No disrespect intended. 😉 For the uninitiated, my wife runs the Finance and Operations part of US Water Systems and I run the Sales and Marketing. She is a very “hands-on” micromanager, while I am a “Big Picture” person. She is very good at her job, but it does create some issues. at times. There are…
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune of losing Trevor Bauer, Dustin May, and Clayton KershawOr to take Arms against a Sea of troubles by trading prospects for Max Scherzer or some other ilk… Yes, old Billy has nothing on me. I’m a poet but don’t know it, yet my feet are Longfellows. OK, I’ll stop right there. I wear size 15…
A statistician had one foot in a bucket of ice water and one foot in a bucket of boiling water. He said, “My feet feel great, on average.” He meant that the average temperature of the water in the two buckets was comfortable. This may be true, but the average temperature doesn’t tell the entire story. If you put one foot in ice water and the other in boiling water, on…
Another rainy day and not great results in the minor league system yesterday. Well, that isn’t quite true. The nature of the day is not always decided by wins and losses. It is an individual game played in the context of a team game. Here is a bit about some individuals. Jake Vogel In Rancho Cucamonga 19-year-old Jake Vogel seems to have shaken off his early injury woes while having…
These two things wrestle with one another constantly: Sight absorbs the visual elements of this world.Vision unveils a world that can exist. Sight reveals boundaries in our path.Vision sees beyond boundaries. Sight shows you what you do not have.Vision gives hope to weary eyes. Sight is present.Vision is future. Do you remember when the Dodgers were no-hit by the Cubs and I wrote: “Getting No-Hit May be the Best Thing That has Happened to This Team.” I guess…
Last night the Dodger players spoke without saying a word. Their four errors showed that they might have been somewhat distracted… and understandably so. But they maintained their composure until they got Max Scherzer out of the game and proceeded to destroy the Nationals bullpen. The Dodger players were laughing and having a great time for the most part… except for the defensive lapses. I can understand it. The White…