Weekend wrap: No swearing in baseball - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

Speaking of SABR-stuff that does not compute.... who projected this youngster (shown above) into a SS capable of hitting like this?


from ESPN:
Weekend wrap: No swearing in baseball - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN:

Hitter on the rise: Brandon Crawford, Giants

Is the light-hitting defensive whiz really hitting .291/.361/.547? He hit his fifth home run on Saturday -- one more than he hit last season. 

'via Blog this'


from baseball reference re: Brandon Crawford:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/crawfbr01.shtml

Similar Batters through 25  
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 Compare Stats to Similars

1. Desi Relaford (981)
2. Jose Valdivielso (981)
3. Tom Foley (981)
4. Reid Brignac (972)
5. Walt Weiss (971)
6. Luis Rivera (970)
7. Rance Mulliniks (968)
8. Chico Fernandez (966)
9. Lou Collier (966)
10. Pat Meares (965)

From a Sim-score of Desi Relaford ( 40 HR's in 2,939 AB's ) to a projected pace of 30+ this season?!?

I mean, how do you go from Desi Relaford to Cal Ripken, Jr. in one season?

If this keeps up, I'm handing in my HP-12c calculator and all my Excel spreadsheets and calling it a day. I am, however, keeping the pocket protectors. Thank-you very much.

P.S. - I know there's no crying in baseball.....But, I've never heard of any "no swearing in baseball" credo amongst any of the assembled personnel. If there is one, it is routinely violated. If the umpire "balled a strike" he violated one of the most important ball and strike "rule of thumbs" out there. So....he shouldn't lash out at Price, much less call him a "liar" in public. Sounds like more than one thing got away from Hallion that game, but they should have left it between the lines. Price running to Twitter is a bit juvenile as well, it's just compounding Hallion's errors and escalating the deal. What ever to happened to "leave what happens between the lines, between the lines"? But it does sound like a lot of sand was tossed around in the old sand box yesterday between Hallion and the Rays. Must have been fun to watch.

Kickham kicked -- again!?!....That's a catch-phrase we don't want to catch on

Fortunately for the Giants, the LHP's are carrying the load for the big club. Zito is at 3-1 and  Bummer is 3-0. Six and one combined versus a collective 3-5 for the RHP's ( Cain 0-2, Vogi 1-2, Timmy 2-1 ).

Eric Surkamp is not due back ( from TJ surgery ) until perhaps mid-season, so no relief is in sight for Fresno. Kickham is going to have to battle through it. There is no guarantee that Surkamp goes right to AAA after that surgery anyway.

Giants are rapidly approaching .500 and the middle of the division if they are not careful. It's still early but while the Giants and Dodgers were keeping an eye on each other, the Rockies and D-Backs are trying to run off and build an early lead on the "big boys".

from the Fresno Bee:
Grizzlies Report for 4/28: Reno Aces 11, Fresno 2 - Fresno Grizzlies - fresnobee.com:

Kickham kicked -- again: Kickham, regarded as one of the top left-handers in the San Francisco Giants' organization, was shelled for his fourth consecutive start. The 6-4, 220-pounder from Missouri State plunged to 0-3 with a 7.94 earned-run average after giving up 11 hits and eight runs, including six earned. He did strike out seven without a walk, arguably the most important numbers given the conditions. The four-game series produced an average of 15.3 total runs a game -- not unusual at the high, thin air, where balls carry.

'via Blog this'

Carter Jurica adjusts to Triple-A promotion with Fresno Grizzlies just fine - Fresno Grizzlies - fresnobee.com

GARY KAZANJIAN - Fresno Grizzlies shortstop Carter Jurica

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/04/28/3277925/carter-jurica-adjusts-to-triple.html#storylink=cpy

This is a surprise to the plus side for the Giants. I was actually more than surprised to see Jurica begin the season at the AAA level. There was nothing I saw in his prior stats that would appear to warrant the move. In hindsight, the scouts and developmental staff had it pegged correctly.

Maybe Jurica has some of that "TWTW" Hawk Harrelson talks about. The stuff that all the SABR tools and metrics still have difficulty measuring. Or maybe I was just wrong. I'll have to factor that possibility into future calculations. Put that into your SABR-metrics and smoke it!! Dad gum it!!

from the Fresno Bee:
Carter Jurica adjusts to Triple-A promotion with Fresno Grizzlies just fine - Fresno Grizzlies - fresnobee.com:

"His swing is a lot better," said Mariano, formerly the Giants' minor-league hitting coordinator. "He's able to let the ball get deep in the zone and use the right side of the field, especially with two strikes. That's what you look for in a good hitter."

Defensively, Jurica isn't a glove wizard scouts look for in a big-league shortstop. He projects more at second base or as a utility player. So far, though, he is holding his own with three errors in 83 chances.

'via Blog this'

Round 4 | 2013 NFL Draft Grades: Full Day 3 Report Card | Bleacher Report

1st rounder Justin Pugh was graded an A for Need, a C for Value and a C for Fit. I would agree with the value grade if only because of the position move, but this IS a good fit for the Giants, IMO.

Second day picks:
DT Johnathan Hankins graded (A- for Need, A for Value and A for Fit)
DE Damontre Moore scored  (B, A+, A+) across the board.
so the G-Men get much love on the second day. This is historically where GM Jerry Reese and staff have made their mark.

I like the Nassib pick even if he turns out to be more Ty Detmer or Rex Grossman than Tony Romo. I did not see anyone comment on his ability to hold the clipboard. That will be the QB skill he needs to draw on the most for the next couple of years.

Here is the report card for the final day of the NFL Draft.



from Bleacher Report:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1620219-2013-nfl-draft-grades-full-day-3-report-card

4.12 (110) New York Giants (From SD via AZ)—Ryan Nassib (QB Syracuse)

Value pick, but not sure the Giants really needed to make a trade up to get a quarterback without a lot of upside. Nassib projects as a long-term backup for the Giants and may eventually draw comparisons to the Ty Detmers and Doug Pedersons of yore. Great value, though, for a QB who some thought was the top in this class. (Grade B+)

5.19 (152) New York Giants—Cooper Taylor (S Richmond)

Great athlete who transferred to Richmond after some medical issues at Georgia Tech. Nice upside pick for the later rounds if he's able to overcome his health issues and be a long-term NFL player, but this is a reach. (Grade C+)

7.19 (225) New York Giants—Eric Herman (OG Ohio)

Herman is a big fella at 320 lbs and loves to throw defenders around. He'll take some time to develop at the next level, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a starter down the road. (Grade B+)

7.34 (253) New York Giants (Compensatory)—Michael Cox (RB Massachusetts)

A Michigan transfer who has the size to bang a little bit between the tackles, but the speed to turn a two-yard gain into a 20-yard one. (Grade A-)

'via Blog this'

Damontre Moore Scouting Report: NFL Outlook for Texas A&M DE/LB | Bleacher Report

A bit of a value pick in this spot. Sounds like he'll look to replace Osi somewhat, which is a bit of a downgrade initially. Depending on how he develops, it's a net gain in that he's a younger player. The key will be his productivity at the next level. If he can rush the passer and occasionally drop back into coverage, his versatility will help the defense overall. Good pick for the G-Men.

from Bleacher Report:
Damontre Moore Scouting Report: NFL Outlook for Texas A&M DE/LB | Bleacher Report:

STRENGTHS 
+ Good motor and overall effort level
+ Excellent length, 6' 4.5" with 34.75" arms
+ Impressive awareness, instincts
+ Very productive, 45 TFL and 26.5 sacks in three years

WEAKNESSES
- Struggles to anchor at the point of attack
- Not a dynamic or explosive edge rusher
- Average workout numbers
- Can be too aggressive, occasionally overrunning the play

'via Blog this'

Johnathan Hankins Scouting Report: NFL Outlook for Ohio State DT | Bleacher Report

A middle of the line plugger, which the Giants seem to need. Might have been a bit of a reach even for a need pick. Seems more suited for a 3-4 than a 4-3 defense. If he grabs just enough attention to keep the center away from the Giants ends, he might be worth his considerable weight.

from Bleacher Report:
Johnathan Hankins Scouting Report: NFL Outlook for Ohio State DT | Bleacher Report:

Johnathan Hankins

New York Giants

Second Round: 49th Pick

One of the biggest defensive linemen in this year's draft, Johnathan Hankins shows surprising balance and grace for a man his size. While he does not (and won't ever) offer much as a pass rusher, Hankins has the size, feet, and balance to play multiple positions along the line in a 3-4 defense, although he is still under-developed as a true nose tackle and is more comfortable in space at defensive end and at three-technique right now.

Overall Strengths

+ Impressive size

+ Relatively light feet for his build

+ Good balance

Overall Weaknesses

- Lacks burst in all phases - Slow, winding punch and inconsistent hand use - Not great at the point of attack inside

'via Blog this'

The newest football Giant

The Giants welcome Eli's newest bodyguard. My only concern is with those arms he maybe should have been a Florida Gator than an Orangeman but from all reports that just means he may have to move inside to Guard instead of tackle.  Looks like he can handle putting on some extra weight and maintain his athleticism. 

Sounds like a good guy, good character, hard-worker, fast learner. All those qualities the Giants seem to add into the usual combine mix. Looks like an excellent 1st round pick. 

from Giants.com

http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Scouting-Report-Syracuse-OT-Justin-Pugh/3dc43ce3-005c-4b42-ae22-8f87171df6c9

JUSTIN DAVID PUGH 
Offensive Guard/Tackle 
Syracuse University Orange 
Height: 6-4 
Weight: 301 
Holland, Pennsylvania 
Council Rock South High School 

OVERVIEW 
Pugh drew rave responses from his head coach, Doug Marrone, a former Syracuse offensive lineman himself, when the Orange leader was asked who he thought was the best offensive lineman in the Big East Conference. This is nothing new in the life of one of the most aggressive, dominating blockers to ever perform at the university. Sadly, for Syracuse fans, that career would span only three seasons, after the All-American declared for the 2013 NFL Draft rather than return to school in 2013. 

Cubs Likely To Draft Appel Or Gray: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Appel has a longer and more durable track record, but comes with sign-ability concerns that only Scott Boras can bring. The somewhat eerie comparisons to Mark Prior should not be an impediment to the Cubs since under Theo those ghosts no longer remain. The sign-ability issue should not be as large with the Cubs either. If Boras can't get what he wants / needs / expects from Chicago, he can't get it anywhere.

The comps on Gray could be too alluring to pass up. And we do know that the Theo's of the world have an affinity for trying to prove that they are smarter than the crowd. That should tip the balance towards Gray.

Astros could make the choice easier for the Cubs, but they may avoid both. They have gone more for top end HS'ers lately ( four of last six years - http://espn.go.com/mlb/history/draft/_/team/hou ) and may find one of the two GA boys a little too enticing to pass up.

from MLBTradeRumors.com
Cubs Likely To Draft Appel Or Gray: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com:

Major League Baseball's draft is still about six weeks away, but Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Cubs are likely to draft either Stanford right-hander Mark Appel or Oklahoma right-hander Jonathan Gray with the No. 2 overall pick. Wittenmyer spoke about the draft to multiple team sources, including manager Dale Sveum who told him:

"Obviously, the two big boys, Appel and Gray, if those guys keep the velocity where it is and everything’s going good, I think it’s hard not to take one of them guys."

Appel and Gray are widely considered to be the top two pitching prospects in this year's draft, but other names such as high school outfielders Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier, as well as San Diego third baseman Kris Bryant and Indiana State lefty Sean Manaea have garnered attention as potential Top 5 selections.

'via Blog this'

For some feedback on Gray, this local source is about as good as it gets. This kids stock could rise all the way to the #2 slot.

from NewsOK:
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-baseball-jonathan-grays-stock-is-on-the-rise/article/3781550

Shades of Gray

OU right-hander Jonathan Gray is dominating college hitters and tempting professional personnel men, with his draft stock climbing toward to the top of this June's MLB Draft — maybe all the way to the top. The vitals on Gray:

Height: 6-4

Weight: 240

Throws: Right

Stuff: Fastball that sits at 94-97 mph and can touch 100; cut-slider that ranges from 83-88; changeup that runs low 80s.

Stats: Gray is 6-1 with a 1.19 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings. He's allowed 34 hits and 11 walks. Opponents are batting .167 against him.

Draft stock: Rising. Gray is now being mentioned for the No. 1 overall pick in MLB's June Draft, alongside Stanford's Mark Appel and Indiana State's Sean Manaea, two other noted pitchers.

Compares to: According to baseballdraftreport.com, scouts have favorably compared Gray to several successful pros — Detroit's Max Scherzer, the Mets' Matt Harvey, former Sooner Garrett Richards of the Angels, Pittsburgh top prospect Gerrit Cole. And then there are the eye-opening comps — Roger Clemens and Justin Verlander.

The Compassionate Umpire

You look at the the title of the article and the immediate reaction is "No way, no such thing" but after taking a look under the hood, I recognize some of the same qualities cited by our SABR-sleuthed author. 

The relationship between the count and expected run value tells the tale as to why working the count is such an important component in hitting / pitching strategy and why ball / strike calls are the pivotal battle ground between players / coaches and umpires.

That's why it drives me nuts to see some hitters at the HS level and below operating in a state of seemingly blissful unawareness of the count. I don't know how they hit that way. 

from the Hardball Times:

The Compassionate Umpire:

OK, now that I've got this new strike zone measuring toy, I thought I'd have a look at whether the size of the zone depends on the count. I think most of us have the intuition that on a 3-0 pitch, umpires will tend to call "anything close" a strike. Conversely, I have the notion (which turns out to be true) that when the hitter is in a deep hole, and 0-2 count, the umpires get picky on calling that third strike. Below you see the strike zone graphic separately for pitches thrown at 3-0 and 0-2, respectively.

'via Blog this'

More from the story:

It's as clear as day: These umpires are a bunch of softies. They see a pitcher struggling to put the ball over and they go all Gandhi on us, giving the pitcher an an extra chunk of strike zone to work with when the count reaches 3-0. 

And when the batter becomes the underdog, when the count goes to 0-2? Why, the hearts of our merciful arbiters simply turn to mush: They can't help pulling for the poor batter as he chokes up on the bat, hoping to make some kind of contact. Who knew the umps were such empathetic characters?

 

I have always assumed that the umps call a different strike zone based on count only on the extreme pitchers' and hitters' counts. Sure, we see a big difference between 3-0 and 0-2, but the strike zone is more or less constant for the other counts, yes? Well, no

Interestingly, we see a very strong correlation between strike zone size and the run value of the count.* So, umps are (sub-consciously, to be sure) making small adjustments to the size of the strike zone depending on the count. And they are doing it in such a way as to help the underdog of the moment in the batter/pitcher matchup. 

*You'll notice that the 3-2 count and, to a lesser degree, the 3-1 count do not follow the overall trend so well. I don't have a good reason for that, maybe the ump, after being generous with a called strike on 3-0, is less inclined to help out on 3-1? Possibly, but maybe it's just statistical scatter in the strike zone measurement. 

References and Resources

Here is a table of the run values of ball-strike counts, taken directly from my previous article, "Searching for the game's best pitch". 

+-------+-------------+
| Count | Run value   |
+-------+-------------+
| 0-0   |       0.000 |
| 1-0   |       0.038 |
| 2-0   |       0.104 |
| 3-0   |       0.220 |
| 0-1   |      -0.044 |
| 1-1   |      -0.015 |
| 2-1   |       0.037 |
| 3-1   |       0.142 |
| 0-2   |      -0.106 |
| 1-2   |      -0.082 |
| 2-2   |      -0.039 |
| 3-2   |       0.059 |
+-------+-------------+

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/searching-for-the-games-best-pitch/

This illustrates why hitting a major league pitcher is HARD!!

...and why a lot of hitters who were great at almost every other level of baseball are either selling insurance or considering other various and sundry future career options.

Same release point, same initial visual feedback to the hitter as to pitch type and future destination and then at about a third of the way to the batter and almost past the point of no return, divergence into five different pitches, with five different destinations that the hitter has to cover. That's Pujols hitting and when he puts the heel down and starts his swing, it is really debatable whether or not he has enough visual information to attack this arsenal or if he's taking an educated guess. That's the quandry that a guy with this mix puts a hitter in.

This is an array of Darvish's 2-seam FB, 4-seam FB, cutter and CB. He carries potential no-hit stuff every time out.

Giants rally late and mining for nuggets of gold

4/22/13: Giants rally late and walk off in the ninth

These highlights are from earlier in the week but watching three of Posey's AB's and Belt's walk-off demonstrates the quality that should make both great hitters for a long, long time -- the ability to hit the ball hard the other way. You watch these games and baseball TV shows and sometimes you have to watch the entire 2-3 hours of mundane, sometimes uneventful activity in order to mine the 2-3 minutes of golden nuggets you are looking for.  

Posey crushes two to the opposite field and another HR to dead center. Belt's game-ender goes the other way. 

I was watching the Showtime series "The Franchise" the other day, which chronicled the Giants 2011 season. During the show, Carlos Beltran is in the cage with some of the other Giants -- Sandoval and Torres I think -- and he gave probably the best two minute hitting clinic I think I've ever seen. 

One of the things he mentioned was "in the cage, hit everything the other way". Great advice. He said during the game, your reaction will kick in and you will pull the ball. 

Here it is. From the 10 minute to 12 minute mark. It sounds really great in Spanish too, BTW. Thank God there are sub-titles. Great stuff. 

The Franchise: Episode 5 FULL LENGTH

Matt Cain is not perfect Giants fans -- Deal with it!!

Wow!! And people think I'm harsh. How does Matt Cain go from ace to chump this fast? We're not even out of April yet. I guess if Barry Zito can go from chump to ace during a similar time-frame, maybe you need some sort of counter-weight to keep the universe from spinning off it's axis or something. Good Grief!!

from Yahoo Sports:
San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

Player Notes:

RHP Matt Cain can no longer be considered the ace of the Giants pitching staff. He put his club in a big hole Tuesday by surrendering run-producing hits by Paul Goldschmidt in the first and third innings as the Diamondbacks built a 4-0 lead. The Giants have yet to win with Cain on the mound this season (0-5), and here's one big reason why: In his last 17 innings, he has surrendered six home runs, including the two-run bomb by Goldschmidt in the third inning Tuesday.

'via Blog this'

For a little historical perspective, Matt Cain is still a pretty neat story for the Giants. I'll bet Billy Beane wishes he could replay this draft story referenced below.

Oh well, maybe someone will right an ex-post facto retrospective of Moneyball or something. Hmmm.....

from foolsandsages.net:
http://foolsandsages.net/2012/06/15/on-matt-cains-perfect-game/

Through it all is Matt Cain. He is known for his steadiness and long tenure with the team. As part of the requirement of being a Giant, Cain must have an animal counterpart; his is a horse. True, he was an All Star twice, but he was never considered a starter. He was thought as “good, not great.” Even those who pioneered the idea that, hey, maybe a pitcher’s win-loss record isn’t the best way to evaluate a pitcher point to his sub-par FIP and xFIP to substantiate that “good, not great” claim.

There’s a book out there, a book about baseball economics that masquerades as a tome of sabermetrics, which touts the benefits of drafting college players over high school ones. This book – let’s call it Moneyball – goes at length to describe the Oakland A’s 2002 draft. In this draft, the A’s have two first round picks sandwiched around the San Francisco Giants’ first round pick. Here is that entire draft sequence as written in the book:

Note the handwritten inclusion of Matt Cain. Normally, I do not write in books – it’s distracting and feels wrong – but this was different. The Giants made their pick. What a simple, innocuous filler. It was almost like the Giants’ pick was inconsequential to the narrative, that Billy Beane and Co. were so wise to take Joe Blanton and John McCurdy. Yet here we are, ten years and ten days after that draft. Joe Blanton is in the majors as a fifth starter with a career 4.33 ERA. John McCurdy never made it past AA. Matt Cain threw a perfect game.

Giants Farm Report

Hey, those were the days, huh? This one is not like that.

Augusta Green Jackets:

the hitters:

Chuckie Jones RF is off to a slow start .186 / .269/ .254
Rafael Rodriguez LF same way .200 / .259 / .240
SS Matthew Duffy is really the only starter over .250

the pitchers:

Martin Agosta RHP 3-1 1.71 ERA 1.10 WHIP
Chris Stratton RHP 2-0 1.08 ERA 0.96 WHIP
Kendry Flores 1-0 2.04 ERA
Joan Gregorio 2-0 1.06 ERA 0.76 WHIP

all the starters are doing well and in the bullpen:
Tyler Mizenko, Stephen Johnson and Derek Law are all closing well.

They get 'em to Steve Kline and he really develops 'em to move up the chain. He is going to be somebody's MLB pitching coach real soon if the Giants don't protect him. ( $$ )

San Jose Giants:

Starting Pitching all doing pretty well.

Claton Blackburn 2-0 1.06 ERA
Edwin Escobar 0-0 1.84 ERA
Ty Blach 2-1 1.59 ERA
are excelling, while Chris Marlowe and Adalberto Mejia are scuffling a bit.

among the bats:

Mac Williamson struggling at .217
Shawn Payne at .290

only Kelby Tomlison SS .324 and Ryan Cavan who is repeating the level by shifting to 2B and hitting .329 are excelling.

Yech!!

Richmond Flying Squirrels:

On the mound:

Jack Snodgrass 6-6, 216 RHP from Austin Peay is leading the charts 3-0 2.01 ERA

OK That's it!!!

in the batter's box:

Adam Duvall continues to rake .378 Avg 1.222 OPS
Joe Panik at .282
Ehire Adrianza at .254
Andrew Susac at .250
Ricky Oropesa .217
Jarret Parker .193

OK, now I'm really depressed.

Let's go to Fresno and see if anyone in this organization can hit.

Fresno Grizzlies:

first a view from the mound:

Heath Hembree 1-0 2.25 ERA 4 Svs 8 K's in 8 IP. Nice!!
Mike Kickham 0-2 7.13 ERA 2.04 WHIP. Not Nice!!

now to the bats:

Gary Brown at .197 Yikes!!
Chris Dominguez .243  He looks too good in a uniform to be hitting .243, but we're not selling jeans here.
Roger Kieschnick .368 Avg.1.086 OPS
Francisco Peguero .395 Avg. .831 OPS 0 SB. Too fast to be at 0 SB on 0 attempts.

Oh well, still early. Some good news, some bad news. We'll see if it gets better once the weather warms up.

The battle for physical GLD is becoming the Cuban Missile Crisis of Finance

It will be interesting to see who blinks first. 

In hindsight, Hugo Chavez comes off smelling like a genius. He repatriated his countries gold. 

Asked for it back from the Europeans and received it. 

What does it say about the world economy when Hugo Chavez is looking like the biggest financial genius on the planet?

Now, the Germans ask for their gold back from us, the U.S. and like a degenerate gambler exposed, we tell them we'll give it back to them, in seven years. Which begs the question(s) "Where is the gold these guys gave to us to hold for for safekeeping?" Did we lose it at the track? If we have the world's largest holdings of gold on record, why should it take seven years to return Germany it's gold, which presumably is not even a part of the record amount of gold that we "hold" according to the records?

It appears as if Germany many years back, made the mistake of thinking "Hey Uncle Sam, you're reliable and safe and honest, and you live in a fairly safe neighborhood / location, but my neighborhood if rife with plunderers and thieves, how about you hold my gold until things calm down around here? Just for safekeeping? I'll come back for it when things calm down around here or I need it to pay the rent or something"

So now, Germany wants or needs it's gold back, asks us for it, and we start giving them the stiff-arm, the cold shoulder. What do you suppose they must be thinking of us over in Deutschland? What does it say about us over here?

Now the Republic of Texas wants their gold back.

The comments from the Bloomberg article are really rich. "Poor sportsmanship", "anarchistic". Really?!? 

It seems to be more an issue of poor stewardship and lack of trust. I'll leave it to others to figure out who is on  what side of those lines and who is not. But it seems like we are seeing a real-life, high stakes poker game being played out over the Golden Rule:

from Bloomberg:   

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-15/texas-university-endowment-holds-almost-1-billion-in-gold-bars.html

Contracts Exceed Supply

Open interest in gold futures and options traded on the Comex typically exceeds supplies held in its warehouses. If the holders of just 5 percent of those contracts opted to take delivery of the metal, there wouldn't be enough to cover the demand, Bass said.

"If you own a paper contract where they can only deliver you 10 cents on the dollar or less, you should probably convert it to physical," said Bass, who isn't related to Fort Worth's billionaire Bass family. He said holding cash wasn't a better choice because the rate of inflation exceeds money-market rates by 2.5 percent to 3 percent, eroding the value of cash.

"The call to take delivery is more of a challenge to the system and it borders on the anarchistic," said Ralph Preston, a principal at Heritage West Financial Inc., a San Diego company that specializes in futures trading. "It's like the Republicans trying to overturn President Obama over the birth certificate issue. It's poor sportsmanship."

High school baseball game ends in 65-0 'travesty' - - Sporting News

The game ended in a travesty, yes. But it could have been worse.

This is not only a problem in HS ball, it is a HUGE issue in travel baseball and softball.

The talent disparity that leads to these results is first on the agenda and then who does what to whom in order to NOT have the games turn into this type of travesty after the fact, where NOBODY WINS.


from the Sporting News:
High school baseball game ends in 65-0 'travesty' - - Sporting News:

Boyer told Sporting News the game took more than three hours and finally was called because of darkness. The Ohio High School Athletic Association calls for a 10-run mercy rule after five innings. Boyer wishes the game would've been called much sooner.

"We didn't run on passed balls; we didn't take extra bases or any of those kinds of things," Boyer said. "I even asked the umpire, 'What do you want us to do?'

"I asked if he wanted us to bunt and step on the plate, and he said he didn't want it to be a travesty of a game. And I'm thinking, 'We're already there.' "

'via Blog this'


Apparently, we still have not figured it out. Seriously, how bad is it and how undeniable is the problem when a team doesn't feel good -- actually feels pretty crappy -- after a VICTORY?

Somebody has to explain that equation to me and I'm considered about as old-school as it gets.

In many games, coaches DO mercifully give up outs (as apparently happened here). Generally, when I see that from a coach, I feel like I have carte-blanche to make further adjustments to the strike zone and potential safe / out calls to further tamp down the carnage. Problem is, sometimes players take that as a  hitting challenge and then the ball ( and the influence of the call ) never gets back to me again. Trust me, it happens. Then it's Katy, bar the door!!


More gory details from the story:

Boyer's Hornets beat Harvest Prep 65-0 on April 5 in a game called in the third inning. Licking Heights scored 16 runs in the first, 18 in the second and 31 in the third.

 The numbers are predictably off the charts. Licking Heights had 48 hits, but the team also drew 13 walks and had 11 hit batters against a Harvest Prep team composed of mostly freshmen and sophomores.

Some are of the opinion that it's disrespectful to pull on the reins in this fashion, even during 20-0, 30-0 or more debacles. Their standing on principle you see. And some old-school or whatever-it-is umpires and fans agree with them.

Softball runners leave the base early, giving the umpire an easy out call. Or they bunt their way into outs or step out of the box and hit the ball, again giving the umpire an easy out call.

In baseball, apparently not so easy.

And some umpires can ( if they wish ) adjust the brakes via the strike zone, but woe from the parent who's AB that umpire is "robbing" from.

And yes, many times this occurs in the middle of these 30-0 ( or more ) spectacles.

And yes, this is where hard feelings come from.
And worse beatings are administered then those previously administered simply to the ego.
And that has to stop.

But until we figure it out, you will continue to read these type of stories.
Some will have happier endings than others.

And you will continue to read about them until we figure it out.
And it shouldn't really be that hard.

Timmy and Buster can co-exist. We can breathe again!!!

Hopefully, this puts the issue of Timmy's personal catcher and the whole notion of a Lincecum-Posey feud to bed. Right now, the Giants have more of an issue getting Matt Cain back on track tonight in a pivotal early-season series with the D-Backs. Then they can focus on chasing the high-flying Rockies, who are due to come back to earth.

If the guy can pitch, he can pitch. To ANYBODY!! If that changes his focus / mind-set so much that he can't pitch, then bottom line, HE CAN'T PITCH!! Period. This is the big leagues, it's not Little League baseball anymore.

from Yahoo Sports:
San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

NEXT PITCH: Lincecum-Posey pairing might reappear

Maybe the Tim Lincecum-Buster Posey combination isn't so bad, after all.

Lincecum usually throws to catcher Hector Sanchez because manager Bruce Bochy wants Posey resting his legs, either by playing first base or sitting on the bench.

Lincecum had a 5.62 ERA in three starts with Sanchez catching to begin the season. When Posey crouched behind the plate Saturday, Lincecum threw 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 2-0 win over San Diego.
...

Neither Lincecum nor Posey made a big deal about Lincecum's best start of 2013 coming with Posey behind the plate.

"Obviously, people are going to lean on that because it was the first time," Lincecum said. "But for me, it's always a matter of whoever's out there, I have to throw to him and go out there with my plan."

'via Blog this'

Coaching tips to accelerate sport skill learning - Knoxville Sports Performance | Examiner.com

http://www.dashe.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/accelerated-learning-mind-map-adam-sicinski.gif

Good stuff. Coaching good athletes to become better is hard. This will help simplify


from Knoxville Sports Performance:
Coaching tips to accelerate sport skill learning - Knoxville Sports Performance | Examiner.com:

Athletes can learn and retain sport skills more quickly when coaches use effective instructional techniques.

These psychologically-based coaching tips can help athletes accelerate sport skill learning and performance:

1.  Help athletes learn skills correctly the first time.Initial learning is most impressionable. Coaches should monitor and guide athletes to learn proper technique when they are in the early stages of learning.

2.  Teach skill rhythms first, then refine the movements.  Athletes can learn and recall rhythmic movements more quickly than isolated movements, just as rhymes are more readily remembered than disconnected words in verbal learning.

3.  Chunk movements.  Movements can be learned more quickly if they are "chunked", or grouped, into larger movements.  Break skills down only as much as necessary.  Overanalysis causes paralysis.

 4.  Make new skills meaningful.  Explain and demonstrate a new skill so that the athlete understands what is required and why it is executed that way.  Clarify how a skill, movement, or strategy will help the athlete improve sport performance.

5.  Associate new skills and concepts with well learned skills.  Capitalize on an athlete's previous experience and maturity level by suggesting mental images that associate new skill concepts and features with familiar ones.

6.  Point out specific cues that require the athlete's attention.  Intention to remember alerts an athlete to important aspects of a skill or game situation.  The ability to focus and remember key cues distinguishes beginners from skilled performers. 

7.  Overlearn skills to correct errors.  Practice skills beyond what is necessary to perform them properly in order to correct technique flaws and reinforce skilled movements.

Sport skill memory techniques such as these are only a few of the many coaching tools that can streamline sports training time while boosting sport performance. 

References:

Magill, R.A. (2001). Motor learning: Concepts and applications (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Schmidt, R.A. & Wrisberg, C.A. (2000). Motor learning and performance: A problem-based
learning approach (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Wrisberg, C.A. (2007). Sport skill instruction for coaches. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

'via Blog this'

The importance of knowing where we are and how we got here...and knowing where the exits are ( just in case )

The Humiliation of the Emperor Valerian by the Persian King Sapor by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1521
Public Domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Interesting stuff from  Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia Univ. and Nigel Farage. 

Sorry baseball fans -- but as I've often said  -- "sadly, some things are more important than baseball". 

SR 76 Wall Street

Published on Apr 18, 2013

This is Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University speaking at the "Fixing the Banking System for Good" conference on April 17, 2013. This audio is absolutely EXPLOSIVE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VOWnnEphjI

Jeff Sachs: The Pathological Environment on Wall Street - From the Philadelphia Federal Reserve on 17 April 2013

"I believe we have a crisis of values that is extremely deep, because the regulations and the legal structured need reform. But I meet a lot of these people on Wall Street on a regular basis right now. I'm going to put it very bluntly. I regard the moral environment as pathological. And I'm talking about the human interactions that I have. I've not seen anything like this, not felt it so palpably.

"They have gamed the system to a remarkable extent and they have a docile President, a docile White House and a docile regulatory system that absolutely can't find its voice. It's terrified of these companies."

"We have a corrupt politics to the core, I'm afraid to say. And both parties are up to their necks in this. It's nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans. It really doesn't have anything to do with right wing or left wing, by the way. The corruption, as far as I can see is everywhere. But what it has led to is this sense of impunity that is really stunning and you feel it at the individual level right now."

"I have waited for 5 years now to see one figure on Wall Street speak in a moral language ... and I've not seen it once. And that is shocking to me. And if they won't, I've waited for a judge...for our president...for somebody...and it hasn't happened. And, by the way, it's not going to happen any time soon, it seems."

-----

Fortunately, on the same day I came across this politician speaking out, albeit from across the pond in Europe. Pity that we don't have politicians with a strong enough spine to speak the uncomfortable truth about the sad state of affairs.

Nigel Farage, on the sad state of affairs going on in Europe. Coming soon to Amerika. 

EU Common Criminals

----

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2013/04/gold-daily-and-silver-weekly-charts_18.html

Via Jesse's Cafe Americain, Professor Jeff Sachs speaking to a meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, with regard to Hank Paulson, Goldman Sachs, and their ilk:

"I believe we have a crisis of values that is extremely deep, because the regulations and the legal structure need reform. But I meet a lot of these people on Wall Street on a regular basis right now. I'm going to put it very bluntly. I regard the moral environment as pathological. And I'm talking about the human interactions that I have. I've not seen anything like this, not felt it so palpably.

These people are out to make billions of dollars and nothing should stop them from that. They have no responsibility to pay taxes, they have no responsibility to their clients, they have no responsibility to people... counterparties in transactions. They are tough, greedy, aggressive, and feel absolutely out of control, in a quite literal sense. And they have gamed the system to a remarkable extent and they have a docile president, a docile White House and a docile regulatory system that absolutely can't find its voice. It's terrified of these companies.

If you look at the campaign contributions, which I happened to do yesterday for another purpose, the financial markets are the number one campaign contributors in the U.S. system now. We have a corrupt politics to the core, I'm afraid to say... both parties are up to their necks in this.

... But what it's led to is this sense of impunity that is really stunning and you feel it on the individual level right now. And it's very very unhealthy, I have waited for four years... five years now to see one figure on Wall Street speak in a moral language. And I've have not seen it once. And that is shocking to me. And if they won't, I've waited for a judge, for our president, for somebody, and it hasn't happened. And by the way it's not gonna happen any time soon, it seems."

---

This is the guy who asked the question at the 12:00 minute mark of the Sachs video. Good question 

Dennis Peacocke:

http://www.gostrategic.org/index.cfm?pageID=216

... and one of his articles. 

http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/life/At_The_End_Of_The_Road/35469/p1/

Dennis Peacocke comments on 5 major wrong decisions the USA has made

Liberalism is dead...the reality of human corruption killed it. The idea of "good" men leading mankind into a peaceful and affluent future by simply redistributing wealth and letting each person do his own thing, was doomed from the start. Outside of Christ, the sin nature of man will always compel him to construct fairy tale worlds of reality which ignore God and glorify man. However, such dreams invariably lead to cultural dead ends, and such is the place where we find ourselves today.

Wallowing in aborted babies, sexual diseases, budget deficits, and international terrorism-the results of having cast off our Christian heritage-we may finally be realizing that we are at a point where we must choose between two options. We can either continue to pile up human despair into an ever greater monument to the false god of "human freedom," or we can turn around and retrace our steps to where we made our worst choices. Of course, choosing the latter is humbling since it means admitting we are wrong, and that we cannot survive without obedience to the laws of an absolute God. We have come to the end of the road and are now faced with a choice - humble repentance or societal collapse.

Five Wrong Turns

As I see it, we made at least five major wrong turns along the way. We need to repent for these deviations and pray that the Lord's judgment on us will be merciful.

1. As a nation, we lost our belief in any absolutes.

When we discarded the scriptures for being "too intellectually and sexually confining" and instead put our faith in science and man's unending progress, we were destined for disaster. Confusion first set in when seminarians challenged the Bible's inerrancy, and preachers indicated that modern times required us to view man in a new way-a way which took into account his complexities and gently pushed aside the "old fashioned" concept of personal sin. In a relativistic society, the worst thing you can do is hold absolute convictions about anything or anybody. What has resulted is a public philosophy of humanism that trusts man in general, but is powerless to trust him in particular. Man's behavior becomes unpredictable because his values are relative. The irony of humanism is that the more it promotes the supremacy of man, the more it reveals how untrustworthy his behavior is. A society's divorce rate will always tell you how much its citizens trust each other, and how relative their values and commitments are.

2. As a nation, we lost our belief in cause and effect.

Medical specialists in the transmission of AIDS told a group of homosexual leaders in Seattle that the only cure they could offer was for homosexuals to change their sexual preferences. The indignant response was one of, "There's got to be another way!" This is a perfect example of where we are. If we don't like the consequences of something we're doing, we steadfastly refuse to stop doing it if it means cutting across our personal convenience and pleasure needs.

And what has contributed to this distorted perception? A large amount of the blame must go to the preachers who have twisted and turned the gospel of Christ into a gospel of personal convenience where God serves us and is dedicated to making man happy rather than holy and whole. And society has followed the Church's lead-for good or ill. A "bless me" gospel in the pulpit produces all manner of moral suicide both in the pews and society-at-large.

3. As a nation, we lost our belief in the need for personal discipline.

Led down the garden path by permissive theology, Doctors Freud and Spock convinced at least two generations of parents to totally spoil their children by not disciplining them for fear of bruising their little egos. Unfortunately, unresolved family problems become society's problems, as can all too clearly be seen in the virtual academic collapse of our schools, severely overcrowded jails, soaring divorce rates, personal bankruptcies, drug addiction, drunk driving deaths, burgeoning welfare roles, and the growing societal disease which believes that "society owes me," and that "most of the bad things that have happened to me are someone else's fault."

4. As a nation, we emphasized the rights of our citizens rather than their responsibilities.

If we preach just people's rights, we'll eventually have a revolution because we are promoting primarily selfishness. If we preach people's responsibilities, we'll have a revival because our message demands self-government and sacrifice. By virtue of the debris, it doesn't take much to figure out which of these two gospels has largely been preached. Liberalism buys votes by promising people their rights and then morally and economically bankrupts them in the attempt to make good the promise. At the end of the road we must preach people's responsibilities . . . or suffer societal collapse. The road goes no further.

5. As a nation, we decided to protect the deviant and deprecate the normal.

Taken to their logical conclusion, both humanism and liberalism end up worshiping deviant behavior. Since they are built on deviance (total departure from God's law), deviance is what they must produce. Initially they seem to enjoy a degree of success as man worships and explores his own potential. At the end of the road however, they turn man into a degenerate who kills his children and aged parents while hopping from bed to bed, spreading disease, and breaking promises in the process. What begins as pleasure becomes bondage, and then man finds he must justify and protect his bondage to spare him the shame of admitting he was wrong. Since the legal system itself has broken God's laws, it can't help but promote the "rights" of the lawbreaker.

The End Of The Road

And so we stand at the end of the road. Although there seems to be a trend toward a more biblical view of reality, if the philosophies and theology which convinced us to take the wrong turns are not utterly destroyed, society, as we know it, will indeed collapse and spiral downward in an ever tightening circle of its own corruption. The battle hinges upon the Church having the courage to say to a selfish and prideful society, 

"Man is not to be worshiped, and now it's time to pay the dues for having done so!" Nicer words will only help push us into the ravine beyond the last remaining guardrail at the end of the road.

...the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down... Matthew 3:10