Gregory Pratt

Um, that's weird. Can someone delete the other Peppers and move this one to the Diamond Club?

Here. Gregory Pratt is working very, very hard. Couldn't Say It Better Myself -- This is why baseball is a great game (8/24): "Colorado beats Cincinnati 4-3 in 12 innings. This despite having 34 individual baserunners stranded and 18 LOB as a team (not sure I've seen numbers like those before). The Rockies had zero RBI's in the game, only to see their first come on a home run by Omar Quintanilla, who had 1 home run in 426 career at bats coming into today." The Making of an Ace Starting Pitcher -- I won't lie: I wonder how Ryan Dempster has been able to transform himself from shaky closer to ace starting pitcher this season, and I have been wrong (so far) in thinking his success temporary. He's going to wrap up a great year, and whether or not it is a career-year that he'll never replicate or a sign of things to come is up in the air. But he's certainly worked hard to achieve what he's achieved this season, and the New York Times has all the details. Excerpt: "Dempster spent his off-season outside Denver training with virtual masochism. At 7,200 feet altitude, he would run up mountains with a resistant harness. He outfitted his garage with new equipment. And he would wake up at 7 a.m. to run one, two and then three steps at a time up the rows of the nearby Red Rocks Amphitheater." A Great Series on MLB.com -- Don't know how many people have noticed, but MLB.com is running a "Where Are They Now?" series, with one former player spotlighted for every organization. The first I read was on Ron Karkovice but there's something for everyone, from Andre Dawson to Fred McGriff to Kevin Ritz to Steve Sax. Tangent: Sax is the main character in one of my all-time favorite baseball anecdotes. From here: Boy Among Children -- This story about a nine year old kid who isn't being allowed to pitch in his baseball league because he's "too good" saddens me. The story is simple: Jericho Scott throws a forty mile per hour fastball and some kids are afraid to face him (though he's never hit anyone) and now the parents and the umpires refuse to let the other children take the field against him. It is often said that highly-talented Little Leaguers are like "men among boys" but now it's more appropriate to note that Scott is a boy among children, adults included. Whether or not he should be moved to a higher league or kept in the one he's in is not clear to me, but I do know that the parents have an obligation not to humiliate a child by ostracizing him for his fastball. On Guardado! -- The Minnesota Twins have brought Eddie Guardado back to the organization to help lead them over the Chicago White Sox in baseball's tightest divisional race. A couple of outings after his arrival, Guardado's ERA has ballooned from 3.65 to 4.18, highlighting the Twins' greatest weakness: the bullpen, which even Ron Gardenhire is thought to be growing tired of. Through my teenage years, it always seemed as if Minnesota's starting pitching was always so-so, on the whole, and their offense filled with slap-hitting nobodies, but the bullpen was always lights-out. I can't find the exact numbers, but I think they only lost one game in 2006 when leading after seven innings. Now they're turning to a man who used to be "Everyday Eddie" but can now be described as "Sometimes Eddie." Sort of like cookies are a sometimes food. Random Note that Might Not Interest Anyone But Me and Peter King -- "[Josh] Fogg hasn't won in six starts since he was hit in the mouth by Joey Votto's line drive during batting practice on July 22. Fogg needed 30 stitches to his upper lip." His "dragon slayer" nickname last season was one of the many memorable minutiae of last season, and I still follow him this season, even though he hasn't been very good. Case of the Red Ass -- Coming into this season, I expected Aaron Harang to have a Cy Young caliber season in continuing his three consecutive years of quality pitching and growth, but he has instead turned in a 4-14, 5.27 ERA fiasco. He's been injured this year, and I suspect that to be the cause of his decline. I'd buy low on him in keeper leagues, as I suspect he'll be closer to four than five next season. Contender's Luck -- Grant Balfour has been a stud in middle relief for the Tampa Bay Rays this season, his first good season in five years as a major league pitcher. Balfour has struck out 64 in 43.2 innings with a 1.44 ERA and a .89 WHIP, and it is most interesting to me because this is the sort of season that every contender seems to have out of a relief pitcher. Reminds me of Cliff Politte and Neal Cotts for the White Sox in 2005, two players who had never before and haven't since found as much success as they had back then (and might not ever). Balfour and Tampa's fans had better enjoy it while they've got it. Groupthink -- I was reading this Sports Illustrated article on "The Freak," Tim Lincecum and his mechanics, which I would recommend to anyone who wants to understand the biomechanics of pitching a baseball, Lincecum's mechanics, and the general art of pitching. But what stood out to me was the "groupthink" the article demonstrates in baseball organizations, especially in regard to mechanics. Everyone condemns Lincecum's mechanics and praises Mark Prior's, which are dealt with in what I think is the most interesting paragraph of the piece: "Mark Prior is a classic example of a high-performing pitcher who was permitted to break down because of poor mechanics. Ironically, Prior was often hailed for his "flawless" mechanics when the Cubs drafted the right-hander out of USC with the No. 2 pick in 2001, though that assessment seems to have been influenced by scouts' preference for his 6' 5", 225-pound body type. Studied closely, his mechanics included two severe red flags: 1) Prior lifted his throwing elbow higher than his shoulder before reaching the loaded position, increasing the stress on his elbow and shoulder; and 2) unlike Lincecum's dynamic late torso rotation, Prior rotated his hips and torso before getting to the loaded position. With the letters of Prior's jersey already facing the target, his arm could not simply "go along for the ride" -- the ride was over, so his arm had to generate all of its own power." People fell in love with his size and forgot all about basic scouting principles, and my question is, "How does that happen?" How can you pull the wool over that many people's eyes? National League Cy Young Race -- Brandon Webb's case for a second Cy Young Award took a hard hit this week as his ERA jumped from 2.74 to 3.19 over the course of two starts. Tim Lincecum now stands at 15-3 while Webb is stuck on 19-6. Lincecum's ERA is 2.43 and he's struck out 210 batters, compared to Webb's total of 160. Lincecum's BA against is twenty points lower, he's allowed .01 more baserunners per nine innings than Webb, and is beating Webb in ERA+ with a 177 mark to Webb's 143. You'd have to give some heavy "ballpark credit" to Webb or credit him extravagantly for his extra wins to consider his season better than Lincecum's. I even think I'd be inclined to give my second place vote to CC Sabathia for throwing a near no-hitter on Sunday and going 9-0 for the Milwaukee Brewers in eleven starts with a 302 ERA+ and 85 strikeouts in 88 innings, sub-1 WHIP and 1.43 ERA, although I'd like to see what he does for the remainder of the season before I put him over Webb. Relatedly, this SI article attempts to refine the "quality start" statistic and makes an interesting statistical read, for all you statheads. Love Stories -- I want to briefly touch on two stories. The first involves the evil Scott Boras and his lackey Pedro Alvarez, the first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates who is supposed to be the next great left-handed slugger. Alvarez signed a country with the Pirates organization late on August fifteenth, the deadline for draftees, and MLB approved it as being timely. Later, Boras claimed that they didn't, that Alvarez is not bound to his contract, and that they want more money. MLB is prepared to defend the Pirates' investment, and the saga is ongoing, almost comical for the depths to which Boras will stoop for an extra dollar or two. The other story is Jay Mariotti's resignation from the Chicago Sun-Times after seventeen years of writing for them. "Awful Announcing" said it best when they wrote, "Chicago wins but America loses," though that has not stopped other people from adding their two cents, including Roger Ebert, Rick Telander (whom Mariotti once ran away from and called security on, only to be laughed at by the whole world) and Sun-Times editor Michael Cooke, who wrote, "We wish Jay well and will miss him -- not personally, of course -- but in the sense of noticing he is no longer here, at least for a few days." Mariotti is reasonable on Around the Horn but an embarrassment to read. He isn't a chronicler or protector of the game in print, nor is he a man of conviction and genuine belief or passion in analyzing the events of the week. He takes contrary positions and insults everyone but refuses to face them, whether it's Ozzie Guillen or his fellow columnists (whom he, again, ran away from and was heavily criticized by even while he worked there) and claims to be a man asking "tough questions." If there were any justice in this world, he'd never find journalistic work again, because he is not a journalist, and no one in journalism respects him as such. I'm just glad he's gone, and the manner in which it all ended is incredibly funny. Mariotti often sent "letters" of resignation to his boss when he did not get his way and on this occasion, he fired off a simple email that read "I Quit" because he didn't get to write about Barack Obama before Rick Telander did (that saga is chronicled here) and that's where it gets funny: "Mariotti resigned, and then headed to the Sun-Times office to tape his Around the Horn segment, only to find that his security pass had been deactivated while the paper was deciding whether or not to accept the resignation." History of the Week -- In history, there's a sub-field called "micro-history" devoted to individual experiences in broader eras. A good example would be the experiences of an Illinois Farmer during the Great Depression. Well, Rick Reilly has written a solid micro-history of minor league baseball players screwed by the steroid era, and I hope you "enjoy" it.

A friend of mine is staying in New Orleans because he left after Katrina and doesn't want to "abandon the city" again this time. I admire it, but I'm worried about the guy.

No. He's just tired -- it's his first full season. And Young/Kinsler haven't been getting on for him. (Kinsler is out, at that.)

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 31, 2008 -> 01:09 PM) John Kerry on Stephanoplous: Kerry didn't pick his first choice, either.

Well, okay.

The insertion of the picture and the caption are not my work. And while I did not ask McDowell if he specifically cared or cared not for Yankee fans he did say that they treated him well after he flipped them off and that it wasn't a big deal, so I don't vouch for the accuracy of the caption either. (McDowell had nary a bad thing to say about anyone in my experience, and I asked him about quite a bit of people/things.)

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Aug 29, 2008 -> 08:24 PM) In 2002, he hit 27 HR with 104 RBI, along with a .304 BA and a .360 OBP. From 2004-2005, he hit around 80 HR, driving in around 220 RBI, with a .280 BA and a .365 OBP. That is superstar-esque. re: 2002 -- an .850-some OPS is not "superstar-esque," especially not at the Cell. And 2006 was, IMO, his career-year and that year wasn't even "superstar-esque."

Can't find it on any news sites.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 26, 2008 -> 10:23 PM) He just got a 3 year extension in June or July and was one of the Sun-Times biggest moneymakers. There is no doubt he left on his own, and writing for the newspaper and internet are VERY different. Yes the stuff you write in the paper appears on the internet, but they are very different. Depends how you mean that. Apparently he submitted resignation letters all the time when he was angry about something, like a small child, and the Sun-Times finally got sick of it and said, "Leave." Harold Ickes did that a lot in the 1940s, and so Truman eventually called him a "chronic quitter" and finally accepted it and told him to hit the road. There are just some men who like to quit on you to show you how "valuable" they are and the truth is that they aren't. No one is so valuable as that.

I like the Miller High-Life commercials. Also: great job Carrasco! He's got stones.

Also: why do people believe that McCain is going to bring Romney along? I'd be floored if that happened. It's just not a wise choice in any sense and is therefore highly unlikely to happen.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 03:10 PM) Frankly, it's not even close. The only one I'd say goes up there with it is the legendary "We begin bombing in 5 minutes" and "I am not a crook". Those aren't gaffes.

QUOTE (Friend of Nordhagen @ Aug 22, 2008 -> 07:36 PM) That's my point. If you're Cotts, why have a fit in the dugout? If you're Kasper, why do you need to continually reassure people how great the pitchers have been? And, finally, why were the Cubs being booed during the Nats' big inning? Makes you wonder. Because he has a competitive spirit and does not like to lose.

If I wear a Sox shirt it's a Cooperstown Fisk jersey. Sometimes I wear my authentic A's Zito, Jays Halladay or Braves Maddux. Usually I don't wear anything baseball-related and just dress up casually.

He was fun to watch.

Also, this is really interesting. From here: Here are the best relief seasons, according to the Baseball Prospectus stat WXRL, which is expected wins added over a replacement-level pitcher and adjusted for level of opposing hitters. 1. John Hiller, 1973 Tigers (9.64) 10-5, 38 saves, 1.44 ERA, 125.1 IP, 89 H, 39 BB, 124 SO 2. Eric Gagne, 2003 Dodgers (9.24) 2-3, 55 saves, 1.20 ERA, 82.1 IP, 37 H, 20 BB, 137 SO 3. Willie Hernandez, 2004 Tigers (9.14) 9-3, 32 saves, 1.92 ERA, 140.1 IP, 96 H, 36 BB, 112 SO 4. Stu Miller, 1965 Orioles (8.96) 14-7, 24 saves, 1.89 ERA, 119.1 IP, 87 H, 32 BB, 104 SO 5. Troy Percival, 1996 Angels (8.31) 0-2, 36 saves, 2.31 ERA, 74 IP, 38 H, 31 BB, 100 SO 6. Trevor Hoffman, 1998 Padres (8.29) 4-2, 53 saves, 1.48 ERA, 73 IP, 41 H, 21 BB, 86 SO 7. Keith Foulke, 2000 White Sox (8.21) 3-1, 34 saves, 2.97 ERA, 88 IP, 66 H, 22 BB, 91 SO 8. Eric Gagne, 2002 Dodgers (8.20) 4-1, 52 saves, 1.97 ERA, 82.1 IP, 55 H, 16 BB, 114 SO 9. Dan Quisenberry, 1980 Royals (8.20) 12-7, 33 saves, 3.09 ERA, 128.1 IP, 27 BB, 37 SO 10. Brad Lidge, 2004 Astros (8.10) 6-5, 29 saves, 1.90 ERA, 94.2 IP, 57 H, 30 BB, 157 SO

I nominated Mike Marshall, Cy Young Award winner in 1974: W L G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WP BFP IBB BK ERA *lgERA *ERA+ WHIP 15 12 106 0 0 0 83 21 208.3 191 66 56 9 56 143 1 5 857 1 3 2.42 3.41 141 1.186 MVP-3,CYA-1,AS (That doesn't mean I'd vote for him. Just a nomination.) What do you nominate / vote for, and why?

I think that's sarcasm.

Here. Gregory Pratt recommends "The Savage Detectives" to all who enjoy reading books. He's too tired to write anything else. Humble Pie -- Last week, I wrote the Arizona Diamondbacks off as offensively-challenged pretenders and praised the Tampa Bay Rays as a talented ballclub that will be able to get by without Carl Crawford, at least until the end of the season. Then Evan Longoria was put on the disabled list, and the Rays now have a significant problem on their hands, long-term, as they have officially declared Carl Crawford's season over and there is a possibility that Longoria -- likely their very best bat -- might not come back strong this season. As if that weren't enough drama, Joe Maddon benched BJ Upton for not hustling late last week and Upton came back to homer in his first game back, Rocco Baldelli made his first appearance of the season for the Tampa Bay Rays but has been mediocre (.544 OPS), and Troy Percival got hurt again. Baldelli's comeback is a great story, but the feel-good Rays don't need another feel-good story: they need a productive bat to replace Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, the former sitting out for the season while the latter recovers from a fractured wrist. I'm definitely rooting for them, but fate sure conspired to make me look foolish in regards to Tampa. Though the Diamondbacks got help from the Reds in Dunn they didn't add much. An empty-power hitter with no glove who once went three years between sacrifice flies. No Horseplay -- Carlos Lee is out for the season after breaking his pinky in six different places. He was eating hot dogs in too much of a hurry. Washington Culture -- Here's something I enjoyed (from this column): Finally, on the subject of smackdowns, is the one that Texas manager Ron Washington put on C.J. Wilson last week. After Wilson stunk up the joint, giving up a grand slam to -- of all people -- Richie Sexson, Washington came to pull his erstwhile closer. Wilson, clearly disgusted, flipped the ball to his skipper and began to leave the mound. This is, under widely accepted baseball etiquette, akin to flipping off your manager on the JumboTron. It's very bad form. Washington, to his everlasting credit, snagged Wilson by the arm, pulled him back up on the mound, gave him the ball and told him to hand it back to him. . This is the coolest part: After Wilson finally got it right, Washington patted him on the butt on the way out. Classic. Wilson was put on the DL the next day, probably never to close for the Rangers again. And everyone learned a lesson. Beauty and Braun -- I enjoyed this too (about a Ryan Braun TV commercial shoot with a supermodel): Braun said the world of endorsements and marketing interested him. “I grew up in Los Angeles and went to college in Miami,” Braun said. “My production on the field is first and foremost. But the more success you have gives you more opportunities off the field. I always envisioned myself doing something like this.” Under nearly perfect conditions, the shooting of the video went well. The story line involves a softball tournament. When a loose ball got to the fence, it was Marisa Miller, in a pink top, black shorts and black tennis shoes, chasing it down. Waiting in the outfield with ball in hand was Braun, dressed in an Affliction T-shirt and designer jeans, with his dog. Braun asks Miller, “shouldn’t you be in a bikini on a beach?” Miller responds, “shouldn’t you be signing some kid’s ball?” He's one of the very best hitters in the league and he deserves the endorsements. Milwaukee needs love, too. Scary Moment -- Tim Lincecum had a line drive hit off his knee early in the week, but wasn't seriously injured and came back on Sunday to thoroughly dominate the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. I was very worried about it as I watched it live, and I'm glad he's alright. A Small Note on the Coming Insanity -- There's much talk that Mark Teixeira wants a two hundred million dollar contract from his next team. There's little hope for baseball if he receives anything resembling that amount. He's a good-to-very good first baseman who plays great defense, but he does not draw in the fans nor is he an exceptional hitter. What would a team have to be thinking to pay him anywhere near that amount? Kent Catch A Break -- What's with this fixation sportswriters have with Jeff Kent being grouchy and surly? So what if he isn't Mr. Quote and likes to wear jeans and go hunting and talks in a Texan accent? Here's the latest "controversy" as related by T.J. Simers of the LA Times: He's been cantankerous all week -- like that's different than any other week, but he's really been Jeff Kent ornery and then some -- peeved at anyone who might suggest he's doing better because Manny Ramirez is hitting behind him in the lineup. It's obvious, though, everyone noticing it, Kent going into Saturday night's game hitting .500 behind Ramirez, Vin Scully mentioning it during each broadcast. "Vin Scully talks too much," Kent said. Now that's funny, the guy who normally doesn't say much, this time saying way too much. "You can't say that," I told Kent, and he said he had just spoken to 200 women (at a Dodgers function) "and I told them the same thing, and they laughed. We all love you, Vin," Kent added with a mischievous grin, "but you still talk too much." Ran that by Scully. He had nothing to say. I wouldn't be surprised if he's not just having fun with the idiotic questions he's being asked. Roy of Roy, Joy of Joy -- Don't know if anyone else has noticed, but Roy Oswalt has been fabulous since coming off the disabled list and Roy Halladay threw another complete game this weekend against the Red Sox. I don't care about Cliff Lee's wins or his fewer losses or his ERA -- Halladay is my Cy Young Award winner this season. R-e-s-p-e-c-t -- The Boston Red Sox walked Josh Hamilton in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday night to avoid blowing the game against the Rangers and get a lesser hitter (Marlon Byrd) to the plate. The gamble paid off, and they won the game, but Hamilton received one of the greatest tributes a player can receive from an opposing team. It was almost as if I were managing the Red Sox in an effort to make Josh look good. No More Workhorse: 47 -- Tom Glavine has injured his arm again this season, and it is doubtful that he'll be able to return before October, so he won't be back until next season if he does return. I think he should just retire and take the call to Cooperstown when it comes, because he's done being an effective major league pitcher. Great athletes often have trouble hanging up the spikes, but it's Glavine's time, and I hope the foolish desire to go out "on top" or at least in good health does not cause him to work out all winter and come to spring training just to embarrass himself. On the Other Hand -- Greg Maddux is being encouraged by his manager, teammates, and beat writers to keep pitching until after next season so that he can pass Warren Spahn on the wins list. I echo my shared hope, but I think it's more important that he, and the Padres, think about getting him two more wins. [Pratt note: traded.) History of the Week -- Have you ever heard of "Moe Berg?" Nothing leaps out, right? Then you realize that he was an Ivy Leaguer in the age of Ivy Leaguers (Franklin Roosevelt's Presidency) and once said that he'd rather play Major League Baseball "than be President of the United States" and he starts to get a little more interesting. But what has always been incredible to me about his life is his post-baseball career as a spy for MLB, particularly his work in Germany. You see, he was sent to spy on Hitler's nuclear program by listening to their top physicist's lectures. And if he thought for one moment that the Nazis had perfected an atomic bomb he had orders to kill the man. It never came to that -- because the Nazis never developed the atomic bomb, nor did they come close -- but it was still high-stakes work. His last words are said to have been "How did the Mets do today?" I recommend The Catcher Was a Spy to all of you with an interest in the story.

Good to see that 1: we're winning 2. Ichiro is having himself a good game. 3. Oakland's beating Minnesota. I want Ichiro to get to two hundred hits and so I'm fine with him doing well tonight. Hopefully we'll win tonight and the Twins will lose. Go Sox!

Mark Ryal.

Had some fun with this issue here, on my blog, but I'll reproduce it: Moscow Ramirez or: Dreadlock Diplomacy Excerpt one: Excerpt two: If you stop and consider these two news stories and the recent histories of Russia and Manny Ramirez, you can see the similarities. The United States has tolerated Russia’s activities since the Soviet Union collapsed but the relationship is straining under the combined pressure of needing to act but being incapable of acting due to the positives a strong Russia brings to the table while Manny Ramirez had tried the Red Sox’ patience for years until they finally traded him. Through much of his tenure in Boston the organization and its fans shrugged off all his exploits as “Manny being Manny” but could not shrug it off forever. We have been doing the same, shrugging “Russia being Russia” for years but it is a bond that is straining. The comparison goes deeper if you look further: the Red Sox put Ramirez on waivers several years ago, waivers being a process whereby anyone can claim a player but they have to take on his contract completely and unconditionally, owing him all the money due to him as a result. Our attempt to sanction the Russians and our inability to do so is a functional equivalent of this process. Next thing you know, they’ll be signing billion dollar contracts with Halliburton just like Ramirez will be signing a hundred million dollar deal with some team this offseason. It’s good to be out of your mind but powerful no matter what the field, eh?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 05:33 PM) Welcome to the board, sir. And that is a nice side benefit - first White Sox fan in the White House. BUT - IMPORANT - in order to post in the Buster in the future, you need to read, agree to, and post acknowledgement in the MUST READ thread at the top of the forum. Thanks. Well, Bush has an aide who is a big Sox fan and I'm sure several others have worked there before, too.

He's pitched a lot more innings with a better WHIP, many more Ks and only a marginally significant ERA difference. Lee has won more games on a bad team but Halladay's losses aren't exactly his fault. The defense and the offense have not come through for him at all. My hope is that Lee falls off a little in September while Halladay doesn't as I'd really like to see the Doc get another Cy Young Award. As it is I still think he deserves it over Lee.