Talking Baseball

Tim Lincecum was signed to a 2-year contract, the pitchers and catchers are getting closer to reporting to Spring Training, at their top flight Scottsdale facility so I figure it's time to talk a little baseball.

Occasionally I'll read a survey or see an article on a player and an interesting tidbit is found within its contents. In the January 18th Sporting News was a survey on the newly retired, sure-to-be Hall-of-Famer, Randy Johnson.

Toughest thing about Johnson: His stuff, size or demeanor?
"His stuff, because you-and he- didn't know where it was going to go sometimes." -Mark Whiten

Which current pitcher compares to Johnson in his heyday?
"Not many 6-10 ugly lefties out there."

A February 1st article was a question and answer and the question was, What does it matter if you strike out, fly out or ground out? An out is an out. Am I out of my mind?

Answer: You can actually tax a pitcher more by making him throw more pitches to strike a batter out instead of rolling over the first fastball down and away at the knees.

It used to be the pitcher who started the game finished the game. And the thinking was to make your opponent earn their outs. It was an embarrasment to most players when they approached or surpassed 100 whiffs in a season. That is no more. Nowadays an out is an out because of the almighty pitch count.

Everything revolves around the pitch count. When teams are at-bat they are schooled to not be so aggressive and swing at the first pitch. Even if the pitcher has a history of getting the first pitch strike? One might ask. YES, even if it's likely to be the best pitch you are likely to see. That's absurd.

Don't give a hitter instructions to do something that might be exactly what the pitcher is hoping he'll do. Let the batter utilize his strengths against what he has ascertained to be the pitcher's weaknesses and see who wins the batter.

A strikeout is an out, like any other. But don't you think the more a batter strikes out the more that game within the game starts to get inside his head. And he begins to guess wrong and a good catcher will detect this in the batter's body language and instruct his pitcher to do whatever it takes to thoroughly confuse the hitter to where he's not going to be a factor. If the pitcher and catcher do a good enough job it could put the hitter in a slump.

Good hitters don't let the game within the game get to them. But as Yogi Berra once said, 'Ninety percent of the game is half mental.' A lot of what happens is between the ears of the player.

Kevin Marquez

Let's Look at Roster Changes Within the NL West

In the National League Western Division there are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.

Arizona worked on bulking up their pitching staff with the additions of Aaron Heilman, Bob Howry (remember him Giants' fans?), Edwin Jackson, and Billy Buckner. All right-handers.

They acquired a solid second-baseman in Kelly Johnson and former Pirate first-sacker, Adam LaRoche.

Colorado signed Miguel Olivo, a catcher. Re-signed Jason Giambi and utility infielder formerly with the Baltimore Orioles, Melvin Mora.

San Diego signed pitcher Jon Garland and catcher Yorvit Torrealba. If you recall, they ended the season as one of the hottest in an already good division. They have a lot of young talent that kicked some butt in September. So we shall see if those players improve without all of the growing pains.

Los Angeles Dodgers have Ramon and Russ Ortiz as non-roster invitees. Also on that list are: Justin Knoedler (former Giant farmhand), Doug Mientkiewicz and Brian Giles. Giles really tailed off last season but he's well-respected and the Dodgers are smart to give him a looksee.

The re-signed Vicente Padilla and Brad Ausmus. Signed Jamey Carroll (INF) and Reed Johnson (OF). Not bad for a team that won the division last season.

Last but certainly not least, YOUR San Francisco Giants.
We know about Mark DeRosa, a versatile player with some pop in his bat and Aubrey Huff, a good low-ball hitter who is said to be suspect with the glove. Nate Schierholtz will have an opportunity to win the right field job and replace last year's almost automatic out, but solid defender, Randy Winn.

Is Dan Runzler the real deal? The lefty who came up late last season and did remarkably well. Does Ryan Rohlinger give reason to replace Edgar Renteria. I realize the Giants will have to do some juggling of infielders but this is a game of who is hot and who is not. Who is not will be riding some pine and they have versatility in Pablo Sandoval (1B-3B-C), Juan Uribe (3B-SS-2B) and the aforementioned Mark DeRosa (OF-2B).

They added Guillermo Mota, Todd Wellemeyer,B.Y. Kim as non-roster invitees to help bolster their solid bullpen.

My buddy Rich will be attending Spring Training's first week and I hope he can add some insights as well as photos of his trip to see the 2010 San Francisco Giants.

Kevin Marquez

Congrats to Jon Miller

I heard on this morning's (Brian) Murph and (Paulie) Mac show (5am-9am, KNBR; Mon-Fri) an interview with Jon Miller who took time away from his "Colombian cruise" to speak about receiving the Ford C. Frick Award and being inducted into the Baseball broadcaster's Hall of Fame.

He will join both Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons, two voices Miller said got him interested in the craft of play-by-play for baseball games.

I am currently reading a book on the Beatles by Tim Riley and his description of how the Beatles put together their songs rings so perfectly true to me it was as if I went back in time and recalled the emotions I shared with the lyrics and styles of each and every Beatle tune.

That's the way Jon Miller must have felt when he was able to meet those who first made him interested in broadcasting. And then to get a congrats from non other than Willie Mays himself, the player who made baseball such a great game to listen to (on the radio) or want to go out and see in person.

Murph recalled the time he interviewed Jon Miller when baseball was trying to figure out ways to speed the game up and he asked Miller what Miller would do about "speeding up the game" and Miller's response was , 'What could be better than watching a three-hour baseball game?'

Miller then went on to say that one of his most precious memories was the time there was a rainout and the Giants had to play back-to-back doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday one week. Heaven on Earth!

When you listen to Jon Miller broadcast a game you can tell it's the only thing on his mind. He's not multi-tasking, he's concentrating on how to deliver the game in a most listenable fashion with an occasional anecdote to keep some levity in the air, because after all it is only a game. But it's a game he is passionate about and he will do everything in his power to make the listening audience feel as if they were there in-person. You can almost taste the peanuts and hot dogs when Miller gets on a roll with the intricacies of the game and almost always wraps up his strategy with a humorous one-liner.

Congratulations to Jon Miller.

Now if only we can get enough of those voters who realized that Jon Miller belongs in the Hall of Fame to listen to tapes of Bill King so he too will get his due, because the former voice of the Warriors and Raiders is most definitely worthy of the same honor bestowed on Jon Miller.

Kevin Marquez

Whole Lotta Cheating Going On

I am certainly in no position to judge if Mark McGwire was sincere in his acknowledgment that he used performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) because in times like these I give the person the benefit of the doubt.

McGwire, while talking to Bob Costas (on the Major League Baseball network), didn't think the PEDs were why he achieved the home run totals he collected. He wasn't thinking that because he used the PEDs to allow his body to heal faster which made it possible for him to return to the lineup and continue to add to his totals that there was any relationship whatsoever. That it gave him a chance to get some at-bats he otherwise would not have gotten and when you hit a home run in (let's say) every 7 or8 at-bats your totals do have a tendency to increase at a most impressive rate. And as we all witnessed, they most certainly did.

McGwire thought his hard work and physical gifts made it so he didn't need the assistance PEDs would provide. He wasn't thinking that by playing more he would get a chance at more at-bats therefore increasing his offensive contribution. McGwire felt like he had the hand-eye coordination and ability to hit a baseball before he took the steroids and that his taking PEDs was only to heal his injury. In his mind he wasn't cheating, he was doing what was necessary to build his body back up so he could play some more AND that was the approach he was sticking to.

I truly believe he felt like this was acceptable since major league baseball did not monitor what players were using to help their healing process. In fact, within MLB, it wasn't illegal to use PEDs. And, to a degree, when the powers that be turned their heads away from the inevitable "cheating" it created the epidemic that was baseball for that period (also known as the Steroid Era).

Jose "Canary" Canseco will float around and offer his opinions on the subject every time one of the big boys of the game has something to say. Just as when or if Barry Bonds has his say, Jose "Canary" will be right there with his comments because of his book he feels it's his obligation.

And in McGwire's apology, did you get the feeling his former manager (at both Oakland and St. Louis) Tony LaRussa sort of came up with something the public would have to accept because Tony wasn't going to admit he had no clue about what was going on. Tony was going to come off like the best goombah this side of the military serviceman who took a bullet for his foxhole buddy. (According to an article in the NY Times, McGwire and his associates put a lot of thought into how they were going to handle this since Mark decided he wanted to be a batting instructor for LaRussa's Cardinals this upcoming 2010 season.)

You know what Mark McGwire's sniffle fest said to me. It said that rules are meant to be broken.

Lies and alibies. It's kind of funny how some people come off so disingenuous and yet they think it's best for everyone. They spent so much time rehearsing what it was they thought the listening public wanted to hear that when it was all said and done you, the listener, feels cheated.

A whole lot of cheating going on. Both on the field and when it comes time to admitting you weren't playing by the rules, even if those rules weren't etched in stone. Only women can get away with playing by whatever rules they so desire and that's because enough men need the poontang that they don't care about those things that might get in the way of them getting it (poontang).

And so, once again, rules are something not everyone needs to follow. This is and always will be a world of Haves and Have Nots. It's a matter of choice not obligation. If you can get got without following a rule then go get it. But if you are under observation and do not have the leeway to stray mindlessly then you had better follow the rule for if you do not it will do you in.





Kevin Marquez

The Win is NOT Dead

In the November 30, 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated was an article entitled Geek Chorus that had a picture of the long-haired Tim Lincecum inside of a time machine type contraption.

In the article the writer (Joe Posnanski) says, and I quote: Lincecum proves that other numbers better assess a pitcher's value and so the win is dead.

But in actuality it takes a whole team to get a "win." The pitcher does his job simply by keeping his team in the game. And when his team is scoring 1 or 2 runs (every time a particular pitcher is on the mound, i.e., Matt Cain as well as the aforementioned Lincecum) it makes the pitcher's efforts that much more impressive.

In cases when you lose 2-1 or 1-0, too much emphasis is put on the loss. Because you cannot win unless your team scores runs AND if you are a starter you must complete at least 5 innings.

Wins will always be important because that is what it takes to get your team into the post-season and if you win -at the right time- it captures the World Series title.

How about the statistic of how the team fares even if the starter wasn't the one who was credited with the win?

Or the blown save?

Putting things in the proper perspective you can see that the win is NOT dead but it can be a little overrated.

Kevin J. Marquez

Rudy Jaramillo (2010 Cubs' hitting coach) and Ernie Harwell

Sporting News magazine, the 11/23/2009 edition had several good articles. About Quarterbacks and how they approach certain situations. The best broadcasters and analysts going in sports today. And the gurus of the coaching world.

One of these coaches, a hitting coach who gets rave reviews wherever he goes is Rudy Jaramillo.
Here are some tidbits about the hitting coach guru...

Best advice I ever got: "Be patient." That says a lot in everything you do. (He aint kidding. In my approach at the plate I too need to be more patient. Not so eager to swing. Let the ball reach my kill zone.)

Best book about hitting: The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams.

If I could get the people I work with to remember one thing, it would be: Believe in yourself.
(This too hits home. In my most important at-bat, in summer league ball, I made the last out of the championship game. I didn't think I could do, so I didn't do it. I have vowed to never again let that happen and so far, so good.)

Best hitter I ever saw: Barry Bonds. He did the most damage of anyone.

The one training aide I can't do without: A one-hand short bat. Best tool I've ever used. It trains you to get in the power slot. It helps you learn how to unfold with your top hand or bottom hand, the proper approach. Also, it helps you get in an athletic position. The big key when you're using both hands, you have to let the ball get deep.

Favorite training technique: Get in an athletic position. You've got to have balance to be able to strike the ball.

Words to succeed by: Don't be scared. Be fearless.

Things I believe in:

Attitude. You've got to believe in yourself. You've got to compete. I think you have that competitiveness naturally, but some have it more than others. (in the words of George Carlin, on his 7 Dirty Words album...'You have to want it!')

Aptitude: What makes a good hitter is someone who can repeat his swing and make adjustments.
You've got to have a lot of discipline. The more mentally strong you are, the shorter those slumps are.

Ernie Harwell

Things about the game of baseball I love...
- The game's simplicity. The team with the most runs wins.
- the game's complexity. Signs, the double-switch, the squeeze play and the hit and run.
- Bob Gibson's determined intimidation.
- Willie Mays' basket catch. And his losing his cap while rounding the bases.
- the grace in a Ted Williams home run swing.
- the dedicated hustle of Pete Rose.
- the national anthem by Jose Feliciano (1968 World Series).
- the class of Al Kaline.
- a no-hitter by Nolan Ryan.
- Mark Fidrych's charisma.
- box scores and coffee/breakfast with the morning newspaper.
- the smell of a new baseball.
- the green symmetry of the diamond. (When I'm on the bus, and the bus passes all the lonely downtrodden people and you are just about gasping for breath, hoping something happens to change the way you are feeling and then you come upon a ball field. It just makes all that you saw so much more acceptable. Seeing the freshly dragged infield, even if your mind is playing tricks, makes everything a whole lot better.)

- the thrill of an 8-year-old seeing his first game.
- baseball's generation-to-generation appeal.
- animated chat around the batting cage.
- the give-and-take repartee in the clubhouse.
- the passion of hometown fans.

Ernie's personal favorites...

*Interviewing Ty Cobb, Connie Mack and Babe Ruth.
*Broadcasting the debuts of Willie Mays and Brooks Robinson and other superstars.
* Broadcasting at Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds
*Listening to Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Ted Williams discuss hitting techniques at veterans committee dinners in Tampa.
*The hope and optimism of spring training.
* Working the NBC telecast when Bob Thomson hit his "Shot Heard 'Round the World."
*And Ernie's true claim to fame: When I left the Brooklyn Dodgers, after the 1949 season to go to the Giants, Vin Scully took my place.


(thanks to the Sporting News for their well-thought out articles)

Kevin Marquez

Worst Attendances in Major League Baseball

When I first saw these games and the number of people that attended the game I was shocked.
That so few people saw the need to go a game. It just doesn't seem possible that so few would attend a game. It must have been like "The game is starting and there's nobody in the stands."

April 9, 1997: Toronto Blue Jays @ Chicago White Sox 746 fans
September 8, 1975: Houston Astros @ Atlanta Braves 737 fans
September 21, 1970: Kansas City Royals @ Chicago White Sox 672 fans
September 12, 2007: Washington Nationals @ Florida Marlins 375 fans.

On the Oakland Athletics' worst attendance night it at least reaches a couple thousand. That seems bad until you see the aforementioned numbers. And those chilly nights at Candlestick never drew so poorly which goes to show how loyal Giants' fans are to the black and orange.

(thanks to ESPN mag for the listing)

Kevin Marquez