Sports

Games of May 15, 2012

"Main Event" Coming on Thursday

Schedule alert: Thursday's schedule includes a face-off between #2 overall pick Read more about Games of May 15, 2012

As we've mentioned a time or three, you can get about $30 per month's worth of value for $3 per month at Bill James Online. One of the Disney "Lands" at the site is the weekly column ... this week it had James' scouting report, er, notes 'scuse me, on the Mariners' visit to Fenway.

It's behind the pay wall, but BJOL sez us that they don't mind excerpts with credit, so .... here are a few of the things that impressed the Founding Father about the M's on Tuesday ...

The Mariners are physically impressive.

Blake Beavan is a beast; he looks like he is 6-7, and his shoulders are huge. (He is 6-7, listed at 240). Saunders, Smoak and Seager are all physically very impressive—big, strong kids, Carp and Ackley to an extent as well.

Dr. D remembers during the 1989-1992 period, how the M's front office used to complain about the Oakland Bash Brothers' clubs being so physically superior to the Mariners' teams of that time. "They are physically impressive, and they can back up that impression with performance," one of them said. Think it was Armstrong. That was the phrase, physically impressive.

Read more about SABR Candyland

Games of May 14, 2012

Ouch! Walker Exits with Ankle Injury After Paxton Debacle

AA -- Tennessee 15, Jackson 4 [Box Read more about Games of May 14, 2012

Keystone Opening Day 2004

36 hours of skiing for $36

Back in 2004 it had been about ten years since I last had gone skiing. I was traveling in the U.S., visiting friends. A few good friends of mine lived in Denver, and one lived up in Silverthorne, Summit Country, about an hour or two into the mountains. So after a few weeks in Denver, the snow had accumulated nicely and the big Colorado ski resorts were preparing to open.

Summit Country is surrounded by ski hills, including Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Arapahoe. We chose Keystone because the opening day was set to last 36 hours.

That’s right – the ski hill opened at 9 the morning on Friday and went throughout the night and then into the day until 9 in the evening on Saturday. On top of all that, the price was only $36.

Dustin Ackley and John Olerud

=== Taking His OBP In a New Direction, Dept. ===

Probably there are a few amigos here who hadn't noticed that Dustin Ackley has a 10-game hitting streak on. This coincides with his batting leadoff, from which slot he has batted .304/.396/.457 this season.

Here is a TexasLeaguers.com scatterchart for Ackley during this 10-game hitting streak:

...............

Outside the leadoff spot, Ackley has hit .221/.275/.305 this season. Here is the 2012 scatterchart prior to May 3; dig the blizzard of topped 4-3 groundouts ...

..................

Go back and check the May 3 - 14 scatterchart and you'll see confirmation of what the CF camera has told you during those two weeks. Ackley's torso is no longer lunging at the RF fence like it was in April. He's keeping his head and front shoulder back, letting the pitch come to him. He still lets the bat fly, still has that awesome wrist hinge, but now he's spraying line shots to random vectors all over the ballpark. If we hadn't told you, you might have thought that first chart was from a RH hitter, no?

He gets all kinds of velocity off the bat this way. He hit an HR the other way in Yankee; he hit a frozen rope base-hit off Jon Lester on Monday; he hit a 400+ warning track out off Lester later in that same game.

The day will come when Dustin Ackley knows what's coming 2-0 and 3-1, and he'll be able to scatter the popcorn vendors in the RF cheaps. But for right now, while he's learning, taking the ball up the middle and the other way is making him an instant star.

Enemy Pitchers Not Giving M's Anything

.............

Toss out your morning New York Times crossword puzzle, or Sudoku, or Skip-O-Vision translation ring game, and tackle something much more challenging this morning. Which of the following numbers does not belong?

SEA rank among 30 teams	O-Swing	Z-Swing	Contact%	Zone%	SwStr%	F-Strike%	HR	ISO
	26	23	16	1	14	16	13	18

The Mariners see more strikes than any other team - a lot more strikes. Over 49% of pitches delivered to the M's are thrown inside the strike zone, compared to 45% for the league. Only three other teams are even over 47.0%.

This contributes to a BB rate that is much lower than it should be; the M's are #26 in BB percentage. As you might have noticed, it's tough grinding out a rally when you never seem to have a walk or two mixed in there.

I don't have the data, but would be willing to bet that most "crooked number" rallies -- the number on the board is not straight, a "1" -- are "given to" the offense by a pitcher who walked a man or two aboard. A lot of sports lies in the "unforced error" aspect of the battle, much more than fans like to admit.

Q. Are the pitchers refusing to walk the Mariners because they're not dangerous enough to command respect?

A. Check the HR and ISO column. Why wouldn't the 17 teams below them in the HR column be getting no walks?

Essential food for runners

Oranges, eggs, Greek yogurt, beans and salmon

Hitting the pavement, treadmill or trails consistently can be tolling for runners. It's important to provide your body with the nutrition it needs to keep your runs long and strong. Here are some of the best foods runners can eat to obtain the most nutrition and energy for runs of any distance.

Games of May 13, 2012

Abrvtd Schdl

Jst 2 gms plyd Sndy.

AAA -- Tcma 9, Rnd Rck 1 [Bx]

Tcma's offns wsn't abbrvtd Sndy, tho mst of it ws frm "jrnymn" & "rstr fllrs." Gd pitchg prfmnc fr Anthny Vsquz, stll tchnicly a prspct, bt wy dwn th dpth chrt du 2 hs "fce plnt" MLB oprtnty.

Stpn Pryr stl unscrd-upn aftr 3 AAA apprcncs: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Lw-A -- Bloit 3, Clntn 1 [Bx]

"Elcrtc Bt" Guirmo Pmntl hd a dbl 2 extnd hs htg strk 2 7 gms. 11-fr-21 n tht spn. Kyl Hntr ptchd 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

St. Louis Cardinals and More: Family Deals

Treat your kids to these summer activities.

Hop On It is offering a one-day $85 Cardinals Kids Clinic deal for kids ages 7-13 for just $50 today. It includes a one-day clinic to learn to play like the pros as well as vouchers for two Cardinals tickets, a Cardinals t-shirt and cap, and other goodies.

DLC Academy is offering a week of summer camp, regularly priced at $135, for just $65.

Then get up to 90% off at Xist Fitness when you buy this deal: 25 visits for $25.

Games of May 12, 2012

Mother's Day Express Brunch

AAA -- Tacoma 6, Round Rock 1 [Box]

Erasmo Ramirez got "stretched" a little more in his second AAA start of the year, going 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. Good for Erasmo's Mom, maybe not for Kevin Millwood's Mom.

Carlos Triunfel's Mom is having a whole Mother's Month. Tri had 2 more hits Saturday, and, in May: 11 G, .383/.420/.702 with 3 HR. "702" is the SLG, not the OPS. The OPS is 1.122.

AA -- Jackson 9, Tennessee 2 [Box]

Steven Proscia's Mom can be glad that he got his first 2 AA hits, and one was a home run.

High-A -- High Desert 13, Rancho Cucamonga 12 [Box]

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