Thursday, July 31, 2014

No ligament damage in Matt Cain’s elbow, but he’s dealing with “loose bodies” | HardballTalk

Joint mice in knee (not Matt Cain's) 


Cain has "joint mice". No TJ surgery, but he may be shut down for repairs for the immediate future. Good news for 2015 in theory.

from Hardball Talk:
No ligament damage in Matt Cain’s elbow, but he’s dealing with “loose bodies” | HardballTalk:
This is pretty much a good news/bad news situation for the Giants, but Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com has an update on Matt Cain‘s elbow:

So no Tommy John surgery for Matt Cain, which is good, but it sounds like a cleanup-surgery could be in his future no matter what. In other words, he might not pitch for the Giants again anytime soon. We should know more on his status in the next couple of days, but that Jake Peavy INSURANCE POLICY is looking pretty smart right now.
'via Blog this'

Price is right for the Tigers

David Price
Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
David Price will join a loaded starting rotation with the Tigers, who also have Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.


The Giants certainly could have made a more attractive offer than this for Price. Maybe Franklin allows them to turn Zobrist over to the G-men for a song.

Oh wait, we decided to keep Dan Uggla after all instead of the more attractive options out there, my bad. Looks like the Giants waved the white flag every bit as much as the Rays just did. Way to go, Brian.

from ESPN.com:
David Price traded to Detroit Tigers in deal with Tampa Bay Rays - ESPN:
The Detroit Tigers have acquired All-Star left-hander David Price in a blockbuster three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners, a source has confirmed to ESPN's Jayson Stark.
Detroit sent center fielder Austin Jackson to Seattle while Tampa Bay received left-hander Drew Smyly from the Tigers and infielder Nick Franklin from the Mariners, according to multiple reports.

The Rays also received infield prospect Willy Adames from the Tigers, according to reports
'via Blog this'

Cards enter trading frenzy with white flag waving Red Sox





Cards align themselves with the A's trying to win now. Red Sox are playing for next year and beyond at this point. They picked up a quality arm in Kelly and an enigma in Craig who seem to have forgotten how to hit. Banging balls off the green monster should help. Lackey's veteran presence will help the Cards injury bitten staff.

from MLB Trade Rumors:
Cardinals Acquire Lackey; Kelly, Craig To Boston – MLB Trade Rumors:
Cardinals Acquire Lackey; Kelly, Craig To Boston
By Tim Dierkes [July 31, 2014 at 1:03pm CDT]
In their second blockbuster trade of the day, the Red Sox sent veteran starting pitcher John Lackey to the Cardinals along with minor leaguer Corey Littrell and about $1.75MM in cash in exchange for young starter Joe Kelly and outfielder/first baseman Allen Craig.  The deal is now official.   The Red Sox continue to focus on players that can help them win in the near future, having traded Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes for Yoenis Cespedes earlier today.  The Cardinals further bolster their rotation, having acquired Justin Masterson from the Indians yesterday.
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Prospect Report: Chris Stratton & Martin Agosta

MLBfarm.com: Your Source For MLB Farm System Statistics

A's Acquire Lester, Gomes For Cespedes



The A's are flat out going for it!!  Right now, this year.


from mlbtraderumors.com
A's Acquire Lester, Gomes For Cespedes:
A’s Acquire Lester, Gomes For Cespedes
By Steve Adams [July 31, 2014 at 8:54am CDT]
8:54am: Passan tweets that Oakland is also sending a competitive balance draft pick to the Red Sox in the trade, and Boston is sending cash to Oakland. The A’s landed the second pick in Comp Round B in last week’s lottery.
 8:49am: The Athletics have acquired Jon Lester from the Red Sox, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (Twitter links). In what will be a blockbuster deal, Jonny Gomes will go to the A’s, and Yoenis Cespedes will head to Boston. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported that Lester had been traded to an unknown club.
The addition of Lester will give Oakland an incredibly formidable rotation for the balance of the regular season, but perhaps more importantly, in the playoffs. Lester, who has posted a 2.52 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 43.2 percent ground-ball rate, will join fellow trade acquisition Jeff Samardzija, free agent signing Scott Kazmir and homegrown star Sonny Gray atop Oakland’s rotation.
'via Blog this'

Giants make roster moves, expected to cut Uggla | CSN Bay Area

Dan Uggla went 0 for 11 with six strikeouts in his stint with the Giants committing three errors in three starts. (USATSI)
No surprise here. We're seeing Utley and Zobrist mentioned less and less and the Cubs Emilio Bonifacio and Indians Asdrubel Cabrera mentioned more and more.

from CSN Bay Area:
Giants make roster moves, expected to cut Uggla | CSN Bay Area:
As the club boarded a flight to New York for a road trip that begins Friday at Citi Field, they were not joined by Uggla or Colvin. MLB.com’s Chris Haft reported that the Giants released both players, although the club officially confirmed only that Colvin had been optioned to Triple-A Fresno. They did not make an announcement regarding Uggla.
 Giants GM Brian Sabean continues to be active in trade discussions for a second baseman, with Emilio Bonifacio expected to be dealt by the Cubs soon and the Indians also looking to move Asdrubal Cabrera.
........

 Giants GM Brian Sabean continues to be active in trade discussions for a second baseman, with Emilio Bonifacio expected to be dealt by the Cubs soon and the Indians also looking to move Asdrubal Cabrera.
First baseman Brandon Belt could return sooner than expected from the concussion DL. If trade discussions fall through, there’s also an outside shot that the Giants could take a flier on promoting Matt Duffy, who put himself on the radar by hitting .332/.398/.444 in 97 games for Double-A Richmond. Duffy, 23, was an 18th-round pick out of Long Beach State in 2012 and recently moved from shortstop to second base for the Flying Squirrels. He received serious consideration for a promotion before the Giants signed Uggla to a minor league contract.
'via Blog this'

The Giants own AA shortstop Matt Duffy is a dark horse if the Giants do not pull the trigger on one of the many 2B prospects out there. In that case, presumably Joe Panik returns to join Adam Duvall in AAA.

Duffy was a recent addition to Jonathan Mayo MLB.com's top 20 prospect list:
Matt Duffy
Rank: 18
Richmond Flying Squirrels (AA)
ETA: 2015
Position: SS
Age: 23, DOB: 01/15/1991
Bats: R, Throws: R
Height: 6' 2", Weight: 170
Drafted: 2012, 18th (568) - SF






---
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 30 | Run: 45 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45
Long Beach State has sent several of its shortstops to the big leagues through the years, with Chris Gomez,Bobby CrosbyTroy TulowitzkiEvan Longoria and Danny Espinosa all making appearances in the last decade. The next in line is Duffy, who was far less heralded than his predecessors when he signed for $50,000 as an 18th-round pick in 2012.
Duffy batted .303/.389/.433 in his first full pro season, then he got off to an even better start in 2014. He has a quick bat and controls the strike zone well, though he won't have more than gap power. Duffy's speed is fringy, but he shows some aptitude for stealing bases.
Duffy is a steady if unspectacular defender. While he lacks the quickness of a typical shortstop, he has reliable hands to go with a solid arm. Duffy may not be able to displace Brandon Crawford as the Giants' starting shortstop, but Duffy could find a role as a utilityman.

The best thing to come out of this for the Giants is they were able to see what the have in C Andrew Susac, 2B Joe Panik and  3B Adam Duvall. I would be surprised if all three were not contributors next year and a couple of them could start. Although his season was cut short by injury, OF Mac Williamson (6-5, 240 lbs.) could give the Giants a power bat to replace Michael Morse in LF should the Giants go that route. We have to see what he can do against major league pitching.

The Giants face some major roster decisions after this season. Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro are both signed for 2015, however Pablo Sandoval ($8.25M) and Michael Morse ($6M) are not. Among the pitchers, Ryan Vogelsong ($5M) and Sergio Romo ($5.5M) are free agents as well. Conceivably all four could be playing out the string. Morse has to show whether he is more the player we saw in the first 50 games rather than the last 50 games version. From all indications, Sandoval's price may be too dear for the Giants as he is reportedly asking for Hunter Pence money, which is more than Buster Posey money for 2015. Vogie appears to be playing his last days as a Giant and unless Romo finds the slider and the swagger he mysteriously lost, he could be gone. That's $24-$25M that could come off the books.

Arbitration decisions also need to be made on Gregor Blanco ($1.35M) Joaquin Arias (0.925M) Brandon Belt ($531K) Tony Abreu ($500K) Yusmeiro Petit and Brandon Crawford could see salary increases. Blanco is iffy. Arias has value with his defense and versatility. Belt is going to ring the register. Abreu and Petit would appear to be gone next year, although Petit is valuable insurance to the starting rotation. I'm sure he would prefer the opportunity to pitch more innings. Brandon Crawford's recent trip to the principals office notwithstanding, would appear to be secure in his position.

Based on what we've seen, I would not be uncomfortable with Duvall replacing Sandoval at 3B, but I would prefer a more definitive answer in LF. If you put a healthy Scutaro, Pagan and Belt back in the top of the lineup, with Pagan and Scutaro playing for their next contracts, I like the Giants chances. I think the system is well stocked to handle any injuries or performance declines from the starting rotation, but a clearer picture regarding the closer position is needed.










Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Crawford called in to see coach, gets to keep his playbook for now



Good move, long time coming. Crawford should be a better hitter than he has shown. It comes and goes, mostly goes. He should be a 15-75-.275 easy with his stroke.

from CSN Bay Area:
Giants notes: Bochy, Crawford meet; Belt, Pagan closer | CSN Bay Area:
Bochy and Crawford held a lengthy meeting Wednesday morning and they discussed changes he can make to his setup and approach – especially against right-handed pitchers. Crawford’s reverse split, .311 vs. lefties and .198 vs. right-handers, has gotten extreme. “His numbers should not be what they are vs. right-handed pitching,” Bochy said of Crawford, whose overall average is down to .233. “He’s a better hitter than that. We’re trying to get him to shorten up, handle all four quadrants. We’re looking to tweak a couple things, cut down a little movement, maybe open up a hair. It’s time to try some things to get him going.”
'via Blog this'

Crawford should be a better hitter and you can live with where he was with the glove  he brings, but recently even the glove has slipped.


http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=5343&position=SS#core
2012 - .248 Avg.   -12.4 Off.   14.6 Def.
2013 - .248 Avg.     -5.3 Off.   10.1 Def.
2014 - .233 Avg.       0.1 Off.    2.3 Def.

Either the offense has to pick up or the defense has to return to form. Crawford still makes the highlight reel play but has been booting some routine plays of late. The Giants have too many automatic outs in the lineup with the injuries and lack of depth. You know it's bad when the 7-8-9 spots in the lineup were coming up for the Giants last night and I was hoping they would send Hudson up for all three spots. Maybe get the Pirates to agree to an on the spot rule change. I feel the same way sometimes when Bumgarner pitches, that he has a better chance than 2-3 regular guys in the lineup. And it's not just Uggla, it's a few guys who have been with the team, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long without producing. Time to put the big boy pants on!!!




The 100-mph-throwing art school kid: An incredible story of a scouting find - Yahoo Sports



A scout's dream come true, if the story is true. I thought it was a reprisal of the Sidd Finch story, but it's not April Fool's Day.

from Yahoo Sports:
The 100-mph-throwing art school kid: An incredible story of a scouting find - Yahoo Sports:
"About 10 scouts showed up last fall for the Academy of Art University baseball team's pro day. They munched on powdered donuts and sipped the gratis Sunny D and figured this was like any other small-college showcase: a waste of a morning. The position players finished running the 60-yard dash when up walked one more kid, a pitcher for the tiny San Francisco school, who asked the scouts if he could try. They looked up and nodded. Brandon Poulson stood 6-foot-7 and weighed 240 pounds with 8 percent BODY FAT. "He's like Ivan Drago," said Elliott Strankman, a Minnesota Twins scout there that day. "You know that scene in Rocky IV – 'Whatever he hits … he destroys.' That's what he reminds me of.""
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It just goes to show that if you have talent, they will find you.

Heck, they found Bobby Jenks in the mountains of Idaho hanging out with the Unabomber and Billy Wagner throwing 100 MPH in the coal mines of West Virginia.

I forgot about the legend of the Rays brush with "Toe" Nash.  




Does Grunting Improve Your Sports Performance? | STACK



If it does, it should be banned, right? Seriously, I've worked games where an opposing coach wants the softball pitcher who "excessively" grunts is distracting his hitters. I usually suggest he does a better job coaching his hitters so they are not so easily distracted, but whatever.

from STACK:
http://www.stack.com/2014/07/02/grunting-sports/
Some think it’s a tactic of deception—attempting to distract the opponent and hide the sound of the ball. Others think it actually impairs breathing and oxygen consumption.
 However, a recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that grunting may actually have tangible performance benefits.
Researchers from the University of Nebraska had five male and five female NCAA Division-I tennis players participate in two standardized practice sessions—one with grunting and the other without. Each athlete wore a portable metabolic unit to measure oxygen consumption, and each shot was measured with a radar gun.

RELATED: Who Wore the Best Tennis Shoes in History

The finding: grunting increased average groundstroke velocity by 3.8 percent. It also did not impair oxygen consumption—which came as a surprise.
.....
The researchers theorized that an increase in trunk stability when grunting produces the added velocity. The core can more efficiently transfer and produce force without wasting energy, which translates to more powerful groundstrokes.
This caused an instantaneous improvement among the tested athletes, which is remarkable given that NCAA athletes are already near the top of their game, so small improvements are hard to come by.
Did the study have limitations? Certainly. The athletes were only measured over two-minute periods, and a long tennis match can last upwards of five hours. Also, each athlete reported feeling more tired when grunting, even though physiological data indicated otherwise.
However, the study provides a pretty compelling reason to give grunting a try next time you play tennis. Also, it may also apply to other sports skills involving quick bursts of power, such as a baseball swing or a slap shot.
'via Blog this'

In the gym, I'm sure they get many complaints about excessive grunting.

Maria Sharapova turned it into an art form in tennis I suppose, but that's a post for another blog.

Oh what the heck, here we go. Gosh darn it if there isn't a thing called a "grunt-o-meter" and a formal ranking of the female tennis players -- never the males -- what's up with that?

http://www.businessinsider.com/loudest-womens-tennis-shrieks-2013-6?op=1


WARNING: 
Don't let your spouse or boss (same thing, right?) catch you watching these (turn down the volume) or you'll be banned for a week from something you love to do, just like Stephen A. Smith. Apology or no apology.










What Young Athletes need besides 10,000 Hours of Practice




The average teacher explains complexity; the gifted teacher reveals simplicity. -- Robert Brault

The 10,000 hour theory has become the American dream for developing athletes. 
Just work hard enough and your gold medal, Hall of Fame, championship ambitions can come true. 
It is achievable, measurable and finite.

However, many athletes never quite cross the 10,000 hour finish line, and have used the scapegoat reason, "I just didn't have enough time to commit to the sport." 
Now, recent research suggests that while 10,000 hours of deliberate practice may be necessary to achieve world-class status, it may not be the only ingredient to success. (10,000 hour theory was not wrong, just over-simplified)
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, a research paper by Florida State professor K. Anders Ericsson, The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance, has been cited in the scientific press over one thousand times earning its own HOF credentials.  The gist of it is that Ericsson visited a West Berlin music academy and interviewed violin students and their teachers.  First, he asked the students to estimate the number of structured practice hours they had endured up to age 20.  Then, he asked their teachers to divide the class into good, better and best thirds.  The correlation uncovered showed that the best students had accumulated, on average, over 10,000 hours of practice while the middle group was at about 8,000 hours and the bottom group had not reached 5,000 hours.
After checking this relationship within other groups of skilled experts, Ericsson found similar patterns of 10,000 hours of practice and concluded that innate talent or "what we're born with" had little to do with becoming an expert in any field, even sports.  With that declaration, the dream (and the practice odometer) was launched.
However, since that landmark 1993 paper, other researchers have been finding exceptions to the rule; some experts were crowned with only 3,000 hours of practice while others still had not reached the mountaintop even though they had doubled the 10,000 hour mark.
David Hambrick, associate professor of psychology at Michigan State, has been searching for the other necessary ingredients for several years.  In 2011, he and his colleague Elizabeth J. Meinz found that deliberate practice among pianists did account for almost half of the variance between experts and novices.  But in their quest to find out what else mattered to make up the other 50% of variance, they found that working memory capacity, the ability to remember a set of objects while engaged in another task, was also a significant determinant of success.
This month, Hambrick and his team released new research that looked at 14 different studies of chess and music students to find other clues to expertise.  Again, they were convinced that deliberate practice alone was not enough.
"The evidence is quite clear," he writes, "that some people do reach an elite level of performance without copious practice, while other people fail to do so despite copious practice."
It's not just any old "practice" , but deliberate practice that makes the difference.
Smart teachers adjust the old saying "practice makes perfect" into "practice makes permanent" or "perfect practice makes perfect." Indeed, practicing a skill wrong will make a person better at doing it wrong. 
Practice must be designed with quality in mind, as opposed to quantity. Two great repetitions will cause an improvement; 102 bad repetitions will not.
--- Across those chess and music studies, they found that practice explained about one third of the journey to being world class.  
--- One new factor that did emerge was starting at a young age.  Logically, someone who started training at age 7 versus 12 would have five more years of practice, but Hambrick found that even when total hours of practice were comparable, the student that started at an earlier age became more accomplished.  "This evidence suggests that there may be a critical period for acquiring complex skills just as there may be for acquiring language," he concluded.
--- Overall intelligence did make a difference, at least for these chess and music students.  Those students with a higher tested IQ, including working memory capacity, were also more likely to end up being experts.
--- Finally, grit, a determined attitude to succeed, also played a role in creating success.  The term has been made famous by Paul Tough in his book How Children Succeed, based on the research of psychologist Angela Duckworth (see TED talk below).  The desire and passion to get better drives the willingness to spend so many hours practicing a skill.
So, what does all of this mean for the aspiring superstar? 
-- That practice, as much as possible, is still a necessary evil to getting better at a sport.  However, it also confirms that different athletes have different qualities and progress through their journey at different paces.
 -- They may need some guidance based on their individual strengths that will help them find the right sport. "If people are given an accurate assessment of their abilities and the likelihood of achieving certain goals given those abilities," Hambrick predicted, "they may gravitate toward domains in which they have a realistic chance of becoming an expert through deliberate practice."





Giants Top Minor League Prospects

  • 1. Joey Bart 6-2, 215 C Power arm and a power bat, playing a premium defensive position. Good catch and throw skills.
  • 2. Heliot Ramos 6-2, 185 OF Potential high-ceiling player the Giants have been looking for. Great bat speed, early returns were impressive.
  • 3. Chris Shaw 6-3. 230 1B Lefty power bat, limited defensively to 1B, Matt Adams comp?
  • 4. Tyler Beede 6-4, 215 RHP from Vanderbilt projects as top of the rotation starter when he works out his command/control issues. When he misses, he misses by a bunch.
  • 5. Stephen Duggar 6-1, 170 CF Another toolsy, under-achieving OF in the Gary Brown mold, hoping for better results.
  • 6. Sandro Fabian 6-0, 180 OF Dominican signee from 2014, shows some pop in his bat. Below average arm and lack of speed should push him towards LF.
  • 7. Aramis Garcia 6-2, 220 C from Florida INTL projects as a good bat behind the dish with enough defensive skill to play there long-term
  • 8. Heath Quinn 6-2, 190 OF Strong hitter, makes contact with improving approach at the plate. Returns from hamate bone injury.
  • 9. Garrett Williams 6-1, 205 LHP Former Oklahoma standout, Giants prototype, low-ceiling, high-floor prospect.
  • 10. Shaun Anderson 6-4, 225 RHP Large frame, 3.36 K/BB rate. Can start or relieve
  • 11. Jacob Gonzalez 6-3, 190 3B Good pedigree, impressive bat for HS prospect.
  • 12. Seth Corry 6-2 195 LHP Highly regard HS pick. Was mentioned as possible chip in high profile trades.
  • 13. C.J. Hinojosa 5-10, 175 SS Scrappy IF prospect in the mold of Kelby Tomlinson, just gets it done.
  • 14. Garett Cave 6-4, 200 RHP He misses a lot of bats and at times, the plate. 13 K/9 an 5 B/9. Wild thing.

2019 MLB Draft - Top HS Draft Prospects

  • 1. Bobby Witt, Jr. 6-1,185 SS Colleyville Heritage HS (TX) Oklahoma commit. Outstanding defensive SS who can hit. 6.4 speed in 60 yd. Touched 97 on mound. Son of former major leaguer. Five tool potential.
  • 2. Riley Greene 6-2, 190 OF Haggerty HS (FL) Florida commit.Best HS hitting prospect. LH bat with good eye, plate discipline and developing power.
  • 3. C.J. Abrams 6-2, 180 SS Blessed Trinity HS (GA) High-ceiling athlete. 70 speed with plus arm. Hitting needs to develop as he matures. Alabama commit.
  • 4. Reece Hinds 6-4, 210 SS Niceville HS (FL) Power bat, committed to LSU. Plus arm, solid enough bat to move to 3B down the road. 98MPH arm.
  • 5. Daniel Espino 6-3, 200 RHP Georgia Premier Academy (GA) LSU commit. Touches 98 on FB with wipe out SL.

2019 MLB Draft - Top College Draft Prospects

  • 1. Adley Rutschman C Oregon State Plus defender with great arm. Excellent receiver plus a switch hitter with some pop in the bat.
  • 2. Shea Langliers C Baylor Excelent throw and catch skills with good pop time. Quick bat, uses all fields approach with some pop.
  • 3. Zack Thompson 6-2 LHP Kentucky Missed time with an elbow issue. FB up to 95 with plenty of secondary stuff.
  • 4. Matt Wallner 6-5 OF Southern Miss Run producing bat plus mid to upper 90's FB closer. Power bat from the left side, athletic for size.
  • 5. Nick Lodolo LHP TCU Tall LHP, 95MPH FB and solid breaking stuff.