Friday, July 31, 2015

Giants Get Top Target Leake to 'Impact' Rotation


Mike Leake

#45, SP, San Francisco
Mike Leake
  • Height: 
    5-10
  • Weight: 
    190
  • Bats: 
    R
  • Throws: 
    R
  • Born: 
    November 12, 1987
  • Birth Place: 
    San Diego, California
  • College: 
    Arizona State
  • Draft: 
    2009 1ˢᵗ round (8ᵗʰ pick) by the Cincinnati Reds
  • W
    9
  • L
    5
  • ERA
    3.56
  • K
    90
  • BB
    34






The Giants get "their" man. They were likely never in the mix for Hamels and while Price would have been very, very nice in reality he too was a little rich for the Giants tastes.

from csnbayarea.com via Bleacher Report:
Giants Get Top Target Leake to 'Impact' Rotation
Leake will be a free agent at the end of the season, but some in the organization have talked in the past of getting him in a Giants uniform and hoping he falls in love with the franchise and the city. A similar approach worked with Hunter Pence, who passed up a chance at free agency in 2013 and instead signed a five-year deal with the Giants. Regardless of how the deadline played out, Leake was going to be a target in the offseason. 
Found via Team Stream by Bleacher Report.

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 Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Giants have agreed to a deal with the Reds for Mike Leake.
Advice: The Reds will receive minor leaguers Keury Mella and Adam Duvall in return. The Giants get the rotation help that they so desperately coveted without having to sacrifice their entire future. It's also a huge win for Mike Leake, who gets to pitch in his home state while moving from one of the top offensive parks in the league to a pitcher's paradise in San Francisco.
MoreJon Heyman on Twitter

Leake should fit in well and give the Giants a little bit of a "recruiting" advantage. Leake benefits by going from a hitters paradise to a pitching friendly, defensive oriented team. Classic Win - Win scenario.

The Broken Down Gang ( the Giants starting rotation ) gets a needed boost. Leake gives the Giants three solid and steady starters along with Bumgarner and Heston. Now if one, maybe two guys can up their game from a list that includes Matt Cain, Jake Peavy, Tim Lincecum, Tim Hudson and Ryan Vogelsong, the Giants improved their chances to make a serious stretch run and playoff push. One of two solid efforts out of five options. Not too much to ask for.
P.S. - To date: Bumgarner 11-5, Heston 11-5, Leake 9-5. Top three starters are winning 2/3 of games started. They should eat up 96 of 162 starts, giving you  64-32 mark in those games. If the #4 and #5 starters can just give you a .500 record, 33-33 in the remaining 66 starts, you finish 97-65. And actually the final two starts should go to your #1 and #2 starters, but it doesn't change the final mark unless you assume #1 and #2 win both versus a split by the mid-bottom of the rotation. So there you go.
BTW: Mella is a solid prospect, I'm not sure he is the #1 prospect in the chain even though MLB Prospect Pipeline does, but I am glad the cost was not two pitching prospects. The fact that Duvall was the second guy in makes this deal a relative bargain, even though Leake is considered a "rental". He is a rental, but with the option to buy.  This is a solid deal on all fronts for the Giants.

Duvall is not even a prospect anymore due to his age. Duffy has a head-lock on the position for now anyway. So he goes to the Reds and sits behind Joey Votto and Todd Frazier. Good Luck with that.

Duvall's experience illustrates the old saw "When opportunity knocks, you better answer the damn door". Don't hide behind the curtains and act like your not home or treat Opportunity like a bill collector or your good for nothing cousin or something.

Do what Matt Duffy did, seize the opportunity. Carpe Opportunity!!! That's why Matt Duffy is still a Giant and Adam Duvall is not. Lesson learned.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Definition of Coaching

coaching definition

This definition from Vern Gambetta, one of the pre-eminent conditioning coaches out there.

I first saw Vern at a free football conditioning clinic he was doing at a physical therapy office in St. Petersburg, FL back in 1990, I believe. I stopped by there only because Dwight Gooden was signing autographs and my son not only loved Dwight Gooden, but was developing into a young pitcher. I figured I would stick around for the info. since it was free.

Gambetta was there talking about football conditioning generally and mentioned using medicine balls specifically to condition the throwing arms of QB's He said they would be useful for any throwing athletes. I wasn't sure if he meant just track athletes like shot-putters and javelin throwers since his book, co-authored with Steve Odgers ( I still have it), was geared along those lines, so I asked if it would be useful for baseball pitchers and he said "Absolutely, any throwers".

From that point it was Game On!! At the time, we people used to look at us like we had three heads tossing these balls hither and yon, but they worked pretty well. Now, they are de rigueur.

So many thanks to Mr. Gambetta, 25 years later,  for getting me started and pointed in the right direction as far as strength and conditioning and athletic development goes.  

from Vern Gambetta's blog:
functionalpathtrainingblog.com

Coaching 

Coaching is a process with a foundation in pedagogy, supported by science, forged in experience, proven & tested in the competitive arena. Lest we forget coaching is not about training, technique, tactics and strategy, it is about people. We are not coaching numbers in an algorithm; we are coaching human beings who are individuals with emotions and feeling. The coaches who make a difference are coaches who focus on the process not the outcomes. Coaching is not something you do; it is something you are with every fiber of your being. Invest in the process and take time to enjoy the journey.

About Vernon Gambetta

Vern is currently is the Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. He has been the a conditioning coach for several teams in Major League Soccer as well as the conditioning consultant to the US Men's World Cup Soccer team. Vern is the former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox and Director of Athletic Development for the New York Mets. Vern is recognized internationally as an expert in training and conditioning for sport having worked with world class athletes and teams in a wide variety of sports. He is a popular speaker and writer on conditioning topics having lectured and conducted clinics in Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe. Vern's coaching experience spans 39 years at all levels of competition.
Vern has authored six books and over one hundred articles related to coaching and sport performance in a variety of sports. He received his BA from Fresno State University and his teaching credential with a coaching minor from University of California Santa Barbara. Vern obtained his MA in Education with an emphasis in physical education from Stanford University.

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Bay Area BBWAA for/against Bonds - Bonds wins in court of law, will lose in court of public opinion


A. R. Cassidy, "Justice Hurling a Bomb"
Engraving, Graphic News
June 5, 1886

http://www.chicagohistory.org/dramas/act3/courtOfPublicOpinion/justiceStrikesBack_f.htm
Here a determined female figure representing the state and standing on what appears to be an anarchist flag or banner seems to behave like a stereotypical anarchist. She hurls a fizzing bomb labeled "law" at the fleeing crowd. While at least two men carry guns, this "mob" looks more like middle-class Chicagoans than working people. In the upper right is an uncannily prophetic vision of the actual police monument that would be unveiled three years later.

Recently there have been some murmurs that perhaps Bonds and Clemens should be "allowed" in the Hall of Fame if for no other reason than, especially in Bonds' case, they were fairly certain to be HOF'ers before they started failing the "eyeball" test. 

Many are worried that if Piazza and his "back-ne" are allowed in, then it would be silly to exclude Bonds, Clemens and certainly Jeff Bagwell. Palmeiro may be the only one in trouble for having wagged his finger at Congress and then failing a drug test. Maybe he should be in the Stupid Hall of Fame. 

from wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_public_opinion
  1. Trying cases in the court of public opinion refers to using the news media to influence public support for one side or the other in a courtcase. This can result in persons outside the justice system (i.e. people other than the judge or jury) taking action for or against a party.



Sosa and McGwire get in IMO as well. If Judge Kenesaw "Mountain" Landis is in for "saving" baseball after the Black Sox scandal,  then Sosa and McGwire deserve to be in as well. They brought the game back when it was tetering on the brink of irrelevancy after the owners canceled the World Series. They should consider themselves lucky that after the "fell good" effect of the Cal Ripken milestone passed, something started the turnstiles humming again. And it was "the Long Ball". 

Anyone care to put a number on how much each owner or franchise has pocketed in revenue to say nothing of the cumulative franchise value increases due largely in part to the HR chase? Billions, approaching trillions, I would guess. 


I watched a lot of this last night. Who knows what they'll decide but I would be surprised if the conviction is not overturned; that certainly seemed to be the way the judges were heading with their questions (and they sort of scoffed and laughed their way through the questioning of the government's attorney). They gave the government's attorney a very hard time. The judges were incredulous that Bonds could be convicted of obstruction after ultimately answering the question. (The government tried to argue that he rambled with an ill purpose, i.e., to evade the question, but this argument flies out the window once you realize that he then answered the bleeping question after he was asked it again. Plus it's the lawyer's job to get a rambling witness back on point. Along with several other reasons why the government is in bad shape here.)

The judges were also displeased that the initial indictment did not even set forth that Bonds was going to be tried for obstruction on this particular sequence. The judges brought up the delicious irony that he was convicted of being evasive but the government was evasive in indicting him in that they didn't even tell him in the initial indictment that he would be tried for this. Also one judge made the statement that if this were obstruction then "most or all of the bar who practices civil litigation and responds to interrogatories with evasive answers would be in prison for obstruction."

So, to recap: A $100 million witch hunt of Bonds and Clemens, and Clemens was acquitted and now it appears for all the world that the tiny sliver of "victory" the government had for getting a conviction on just one of the many perjury and obstruction counts against Bonds -- and a bogus conviction at that -- will be thrown out.

The only thing the judges have yet to comment on is the yawn-inducing question of whether Bonds will now get Andy's imaginary Hall of Fame vote.


People have forgotten how dominant Bonds was in this game prior to 1999 and how many MVP awards he should have won. Terry Pendleton my ass. He should have won it over Barry Larkin in 1995 as well and Caminiti in 1996. Nothing going on over there, right? And you can make a case that in 1998 he should have bested Sammy Sosa. That would have been 7 MVP's from 1990-1998 and you can check his "physique" out and see if the passes the drug test du jour any more than Sosa. 

Voters  Avg  HR  RBI  WAR   WAR Winner  Avg  HR  RBI  WAR
1988 Gibson .290 25 76 6.47 B.Butler .287 6 43 6.811989 Mitchell .291 45 125 6.91 L. Smith .315 21 79 8.791990 Bonds .301 33 114 9.73 Bonds1991 Pendleton .319 22 86 6.11 Bonds .292 43 116 7.931992 Bonds .311 34 103 9.04 Bonds1993 Bonds .336 46 123 9.89 Bonds1994 Bagwell .368 39 116 8.16 Bagwell1995 Larkin .319 15 66 5.9 Bonds .294 33 104 7.471996 Caminiti .326 40 130 7.54 Bonds .308 42 129 9.681997 Walker .366 49 130 9.81 Walker1998 Sosa .308 66 158 6.43 Bonds .303 37 122 8.061999 C. Jones .319 45 110 6.87 Bagwell .304 42 126 7.382000 Kent .334 33 125 7.17 Helton .372 42 147 8.862001 Bonds .328 73 137 11.88 Bonds2002 Bonds .370 46 110 11.78 Bonds2003 Bonds .341 45 90 9.16 Bonds2004 Bonds .362 45 101 10.65 Bonds2005 Pujols .330 41 117 8.39 Pujols2006 Howard .313 58 149 5.19 Pujols .331 49 137 8.452007 Rollins .296 30 94 6.07 Pujols .327 32 103 8.742008 Pujols .357 37 116 9.19 Pujols2009 Pujols .327 47 135 9.71 Pujols2010 Votto .324 37 113 7.16 Pujols .312 42 118 7.512011 Braun .332 33 111 7.83 Kemp .324 39 126 8.132012 Posey .336 24 103 7.38 Posey


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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.