Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The quiet things that no one ever knows

Well, the life has been crazy of late. Just havn’t had time to write as much as I would have liked in the past week. BUT, I’ll try to play some catch up with some observations that I havn’t seen made and maybe some that have…


#1 Derek Holland was called up by Texas

This guy is is considered to be their #2 SP prospect and #46 in the entire MLB. This has to be a sign that the Rangers think he’s ready. I guess they just wanted him to get some work at OKC before coming on up. He’ll be in the bullpen to start off but I gotta think that if he shows any signs of being able to handle major league hitters he’ll be thrusted into the pitching rotation.


MLB article here

Holland, a lefty could very easily take Benson, Padilla or Matt Harrison’s spots should they continue to struggle. I think the aging Padilla or Benson is more likely. As Harrison 23, is still young and learning his way around the biggs. I would think that Benson is on his last leg at this point, while Padilla is a has been Benson at this point is a #1 pick. That has show signs but never fully panned into the pitcher he was thought he could become.

In 10 years Benson has only hit 200 IP twice. He has been injury prone and has been with 4 Other Major League Clubs in 3 years. I gotta think the Rangers can only allow this experiment go on for so long. Even after a slow start the Angels and Athletics have been brought down to a new low-level and the division is up for grabs. I would love to see Benson succeed but I just don’t see it happening with Holland now in the bull-pen


#2 Pedro Martinez STILL is unsigned

Are you kidding me?! Did anyone see this guy pitch. I know it’s 3 weeks into the season. But with teams taking interest in Ben Sheets, John Smoltz, and Chris Carpenter. How do you not take alittle interest in one of the best pitchers of the decade?! This is a shocker to me and it leaves me a bit curious as to who is going to be the one team falling all over themselves come time that division leaders start to pull away. MARK MY WORDS~ this will end up impacting a division race this year in a huge way.

#3 Kevin Millwood and Jarrod Washburn have 1.17 and 1.29 ERAs

I was looking at League Leaders and this stood out to me. Um… I really didn’t want to do another post on the Rangers again and I’ve been thinking about Washburn and with all the pressure there is to perform on him and then Hayden and I started talking about Millwood the other day it got me thinking these two are in a very similar boat right now. ON TOP of the fact their teams both needed them to earn their contract with economic times getting tight.

I just think this is amazing. I totally don’t think either one can keep this up. It’s the very definition of sell high. However the huge difference between the two pitchers is that Millwood was once an arguable #1 or 2 pitcher and Washburn has always been a #3 starter. But I guess the M’s could very well get a 200 inning season out of Washburn the same with the Rangers and Kevin Millwood.

Anyone else curious on the lines of each player getting Injured before their 10th Start or even which pitcher lasts the longest?? It would be an interesting bet for sure!

#4 Matt Holliday is hitting .267/.313/.400 (BA/OBP/SLG ) /w 0 Hr’s and 9 RBIs

Wow … so this is the guy that’s going to be the next 200 mil guy? Yeah right. I said he was going to flop moving to the AL and so far in TWO WEEKS I WAS RIGHT! LOL, okay maybe it’s a little too soon to call it a flop. He does have 9 RBI’s but .. I mean Compare him to Griffey right now, .206/.357/.382 /w 2 Hr’s his monstrous 2 RBIs. He also is has 13 more Abs and is well.. atleast 50 years younger. With that said I don’t see him having another +30 HR season. I know there was some issues last year that really prevented him from being his best and he’s only 29. BUT! I just don’t see this guy hitting 15+ homers in Oakland.

Check out holliday’s batting splits…



in 1378 ABs he has 84 HRs at home
in 1323 ABs he has 44 HRs on the road

that’s a huge decline! And something that people need to start looking at, a team is going to completely over pay for him after he declines and hits 23-27 homers this year.

Please don’t mistake this for a flaming I hate Matt Holliday post. I think this guy is a great hitter.

he has declining stats in more than just HRs on the road to include walks, hit and increased strikes outs. It maybe that Matt Holiday does not play as good on the road than during a home stand where he gets to sleep in his own bed. He’s not the first and not the last. But I do believe that his “home run power” comes from the majority of the parks he plays in.

time will only tell if come July he is sitting around 10-15 home runs and hitting around .280-90 that Coors field had a bigger impact on his hitting than people care to admit.


#5 The Dodgers, Blue Jays and Marlins are the first teams to 10 wins

Wow .. just an observation..Oh, and I totally called the Marlins before the season starts. Ask Hayden.


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My most recent favorite headline…




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cool place to watch home runs hit at Safeco field





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Yet proof that I could go from the Air Force IT to working the MLB!!!

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