Spring Has Sprung 2010

[SKO]

I was driving across the Centennial Bridge here in the Quad Cities and out the passenger side window I saw them getting the local minor league park in shape for the upcoming season, and god damnit, I was excited for baseball season. Right after that initial wave of enthusiasm all of the familiar criticisms came flooding back and I started worrying about the back of the rotation, the lack of experience (and probably talent) in the bullpen, the aging of Ramirez, Lee, Soriano, etc. and you know what? Fuck it. Baseball season is two weeks away. I'm slapping on the optimism and saying that it's the year. All they need is about 20 career years and this team is a fucking lock to win it all. I've got all of July and the rest of the year to be pissy and grumpy, but damnit, I'm too young to be as bitter as Huey and too likeable to be as pessimistic as Chuck. I managed to convince myself that a team with Mark Clark starting a playoff game could win a World Series, why can't I do the same now? So fuck y'all. Bring on the crack of the bat, James Earl Jones, Eddie Vedder sap and play ball.

I have tickets to like 10 games this year and leave for Arizona in the morning. Yet, I haven't been less excited about a baseball season since 1995 after the strike. In those days I was a soon-to-be high school graduate with no college plans. I'd recently been arrested and kicked off the baseball team right before the season started. All I cared about was my girlfriend, getting chiefed with my friends, listening to Wu-Tang and watching New York Knicks basketball. My life is completely different now. In the past 15 years I've worked my fucking ass off to get into the position I'm in now. I'll have the resources and the proximity to truly enjoy this season the way I always dreamed I would during those dark days between the corn and the beans with an outlook less promising than the prophecies of Nostradomous. What happened along the way? Did I change? Fuck no. The 2008 playoffs happened and then last year happened and now I'm just kind of done. The emotion, the love, the angst. Meh. I'm that guy now. Just give me a beer and a seat in the sun. I'll look at some titties and forget who plays second for every team in the league. GO CUBS GO!!!111!!!!

Go Boilers though Bulldogs!!11!!!!!!

Mesa'd.

Fuck yeah. Sorry 'bout your Boilers, though.

[Eli]

Tyler Colvin is 3 for 4 so far today and is pretty damn awesome. still hasn't drawn a walk this spring.

Gonna suck'd.

[SKO]

Tyler Colvin is 3 for 4 so far today and is pretty damn awesome. still hasn't drawn a walk this spring.

Gonna suck'd.

You would bitch about a guy hitting .468 just because hasn't drawn a walk. Gay ass, shit talkin' about Jay Mariotti, statfaggot. HEY, QUEER-O, what does a .468 batting average and zero walks equal? Oh yeah, a .468 OBP.  Which is higher than mother fucking Ty Cobb's career OBP, and he's a guy I'm sure you cock suckers would have loved because you're all racist dick chuggers like him anyways. Fucking intolerant faggots.

[R-V]

Tyler Colvin is 3 for 4 so far today and is pretty damn awesome. still hasn't drawn a walk this spring.

Gonna suck'd.

Aramis doesn't have any walks this spring either. Therefore, Colvin will be awesome.

[Armchair_QB]

Tyler Colvin is 3 for 4 so far today and is pretty damn awesome. still hasn't drawn a walk this spring.

Gonna suck'd.

You would bitch about a guy hitting .468 just because hasn't drawn a walk. Gay ass, shit talkin' about Jay Mariotti, statfaggot. HEY, QUEER-O, what does a .468 batting average and zero walks equal? Oh yeah, a .468 OBP.  Which is higher than mother fucking Ty Cobb's career OBP, and he's a guy I'm sure you cock suckers would have loved because you're all racist dick chuggers like him anyways. Fucking intolerant faggots.

Gary Scott says hi.

[Quality Start Machine]

Does anyone walk a lot in Spring Training? I'd think pitchers are trying to get their command of the strike zone, and hitters are trying to get swings in.

[Brownie]

Does anyone walk a lot in Spring Training? I'd think pitchers are trying to get their command of the strike zone, and hitters are trying to get swings in.

If you go to Camelback Ranch in Glendale, I understand YOU will walk a lot. It's more than a mile from the ballpark to the lots. As for the players, nah, they have golf carts and buses and good parking spots. And what Fork said.

[Yeti]

Well, even though Fork may be right about that, the point is that Colvin has a BB% of somewhere close to 5% while his K% is somewhere near 15-18%. Basically, you can be a pretty decent player with those, but in order to do so, you need to hit around .325-.340 until your offensive production is worth a damn. Basically, he needs to be a very good hitter, have a great LD% couple with a good BABiP for him to be worth a darn. He doesn't look to be a very good player because the odds are against him, but I still have some HOPE that he'll prove me wrong.

[Pre]

the point is that Colvin has a BB% of somewhere close to 5% while his K% is somewhere near 15-18%.

Yeah, taking his total minor league average for walks is some kind of proof that he will totally suck.

He'll probably not be that good.  But maybe the added mass will help a lot.  Either way, it's a hell
of a lot more complicated than walk and k rates.

[Yeti]

the point is that Colvin has a BB% of somewhere close to 5% while his K% is somewhere near 15-18%.

Yeah, taking his total minor league average for walks is some kind of proof that he will totally suck.

He'll probably not be that good.  But maybe the added mass will help a lot.  Either way, it's a hell
of a lot more complicated than walk and k rates.

He has over 1000 ABs to look at. I'm not really sure how building muscle will really affect that. If a guy can't take walks in the minors, I'm going to go out on a very thin limb and say he probably won't take walks in the majors. I mean, I might be wrong, but taking walks doesn't seem to be a product of strength or swing style. It's a guy's discipline and eye. I doubt that's going to change. Like I said, he may be a decent player, but he can't hit .275 and be decent because he'll have like a .285 OBP and need to have a slugging of .515 just to have an .800 OPS, which would put him just a little bit above average. I'd like to see him materialize into a decent player, but it probably won't happen. His walk rates (more so than his K rates) show that he has quite the challenge in front of him to be a good player.

[PenFoe]

the point is that Colvin has a BB% of somewhere close to 5% while his K% is somewhere near 15-18%.

Yeah, taking his total minor league average for walks is some kind of proof that he will totally suck.

He'll probably not be that good.  But maybe the added mass will help a lot.  Either way, it's a hell
of a lot more complicated than walk and k rates.

He has over 1000 ABs to look at. I'm not really sure how building muscle will really affect that. If a guy can't take walks in the minors, I'm going to go out on a very thin limb and say he probably won't take walks in the majors. I mean, I might be wrong, but taking walks doesn't seem to be a product of strength or swing style. It's a guy's discipline and eye. I doubt that's going to change. Like I said, he may be a decent player, but he can't hit .275 and be decent because he'll have like a .285 OBP and need to have a slugging of .515 just to have an .800 OPS, which would put him just a little bit above average. I'd like to see him materialize into a decent player, but it probably won't happen. His walk rates (more so than his K rates) show that he has quite the challenge in front of him to be a good player.

I think the important thing to take away from all of this is that you don't have any fucking idea how good or bad Colvin's gonna be.

[SKO]

the point is that Colvin has a BB% of somewhere close to 5% while his K% is somewhere near 15-18%.

Yeah, taking his total minor league average for walks is some kind of proof that he will totally suck.

He'll probably not be that good.  But maybe the added mass will help a lot.  Either way, it's a hell
of a lot more complicated than walk and k rates.

He has over 1000 ABs to look at. I'm not really sure how building muscle will really affect that. If a guy can't take walks in the minors, I'm going to go out on a very thin limb and say he probably won't take walks in the majors. I mean, I might be wrong, but taking walks doesn't seem to be a product of strength or swing style. It's a guy's discipline and eye. I doubt that's going to change. Like I said, he may be a decent player, but he can't hit .275 and be decent because he'll have like a .285 OBP and need to have a slugging of .515 just to have an .800 OPS, which would put him just a little bit above average. I'd like to see him materialize into a decent player, but it probably won't happen. His walk rates (more so than his K rates) show that he has quite the challenge in front of him to be a good player.

Thanks for explaining that you need to like, walk and stuff, to have a good OBP. The guy had a .332 OBP last year. That's below average, but it's not abysmal or Pattersonian, and it's an improvement from the year before. He also cut down on strikeouts from 08 to 09 and the added bulk might make him more of a power threat and might lead to teams being more afraid to challenge him. I don't know if he'll be any fucking good or not, and Jim Hendry's obsession with toolsy outfielders with little plate discipline drives me as crazy as it does you, but you're being an overly simplistic moran.

[Internet Apex]

the point is that Colvin has a BB% of somewhere close to 5% while his K% is somewhere near 15-18%.

Yeah, taking his total minor league average for walks is some kind of proof that he will totally suck.

He'll probably not be that good.  But maybe the added mass will help a lot.  Either way, it's a hell
of a lot more complicated than walk and k rates.

He has over 1000 ABs to look at. I'm not really sure how building muscle will really affect that. If a guy can't take walks in the minors, I'm going to go out on a very thin limb and say he probably won't take walks in the majors. I mean, I might be wrong, but taking walks doesn't seem to be a product of strength or swing style. It's a guy's discipline and eye. I doubt that's going to change. Like I said, he may be a decent player, but he can't hit .275 and be decent because he'll have like a .285 OBP and need to have a slugging of .515 just to have an .800 OPS, which would put him just a little bit above average. I'd like to see him materialize into a decent player, but it probably won't happen. His walk rates (more so than his K rates) show that he has quite the challenge in front of him to be a good player.

Thanks for explaining that you need to like, walk and stuff, to have a good OBP. The guy had a .332 OBP last year. That's below average, but it's not abysmal or Pattersonian, and it's an improvement from the year before. He also cut down on strikeouts from 08 to 09 and the added bulk might make him more of a power threat and might lead to teams being more afraid to challenge him. I don't know if he'll be any fucking good or not, and Jim Hendry's obsession with toolsy outfielders with little plate discipline drives me as crazy as it does you, but you're being an overly simplistic moran.

I like being an overly simplistic moran as much as the next guy and I say that because he had four hits in a game I saw last weekend that he's a fucking stud, Marlon Byrd should get benched and this kid should be allowed to become the best Cub centerfielder of my lifetime starting next week.

Boom.

The idea of walk rates as the sole explainer of how good/bad a ballplayer was led many to believe that Matt Murton was not a piece of shit. I understand that ignoring it completely led many others to believe the same about Corey Patterson. But here's one you can put in your cock shaped pipe and puff on. Corey > Murton.

Ask anybody in Japan. They'll tell you that Murton only has one useful baseball skill - not swinging at pitches. That's the same one everybody on this messageboard shares. The whole running and catching and throwing and hitting home runs thing? That wasn't Matt's game.

Colivin forever bicthamites.

[Yeti]

the point is that Colvin has a BB% of somewhere close to 5% while his K% is somewhere near 15-18%.

Yeah, taking his total minor league average for walks is some kind of proof that he will totally suck.

He'll probably not be that good.  But maybe the added mass will help a lot.  Either way, it's a hell
of a lot more complicated than walk and k rates.

He has over 1000 ABs to look at. I'm not really sure how building muscle will really affect that. If a guy can't take walks in the minors, I'm going to go out on a very thin limb and say he probably won't take walks in the majors. I mean, I might be wrong, but taking walks doesn't seem to be a product of strength or swing style. It's a guy's discipline and eye. I doubt that's going to change. Like I said, he may be a decent player, but he can't hit .275 and be decent because he'll have like a .285 OBP and need to have a slugging of .515 just to have an .800 OPS, which would put him just a little bit above average. I'd like to see him materialize into a decent player, but it probably won't happen. His walk rates (more so than his K rates) show that he has quite the challenge in front of him to be a good player.

Thanks for explaining that you need to like, walk and stuff, to have a good OBP. The guy had a .332 OBP last year. That's below average, but it's not abysmal or Pattersonian, and it's an improvement from the year before. He also cut down on strikeouts from 08 to 09 and the added bulk might make him more of a power threat and might lead to teams being more afraid to challenge him. I don't know if he'll be any fucking good or not, and Jim Hendry's obsession with toolsy outfielders with little plate discipline drives me as crazy as it does you, but you're being an overly simplistic moran.

k

[Saul Goodman]

the point is that Colvin has a BB% of somewhere close to 5% while his K% is somewhere near 15-18%.

Yeah, taking his total minor league average for walks is some kind of proof that he will totally suck.

He'll probably not be that good.  But maybe the added mass will help a lot.  Either way, it's a hell
of a lot more complicated than walk and k rates.

He has over 1000 ABs to look at. I'm not really sure how building muscle will really affect that. If a guy can't take walks in the minors, I'm going to go out on a very thin limb and say he probably won't take walks in the majors. I mean, I might be wrong, but taking walks doesn't seem to be a product of strength or swing style. It's a guy's discipline and eye. I doubt that's going to change. Like I said, he may be a decent player, but he can't hit .275 and be decent because he'll have like a .285 OBP and need to have a slugging of .515 just to have an .800 OPS, which would put him just a little bit above average. I'd like to see him materialize into a decent player, but it probably won't happen. His walk rates (more so than his K rates) show that he has quite the challenge in front of him to be a good player.

Thanks for explaining that you need to like, walk and stuff, to have a good OBP. The guy had a .332 OBP last year. That's below average, but it's not abysmal or Pattersonian, and it's an improvement from the year before. He also cut down on strikeouts from 08 to 09 and the added bulk might make him more of a power threat and might lead to teams being more afraid to challenge him. I don't know if he'll be any fucking good or not, and Jim Hendry's obsession with toolsy outfielders with little plate discipline drives me as crazy as it does you, but you're being an overly simplistic moran.

I like being an overly simplistic moran as much as the next guy and I say that because he had four hits in a game I saw last weekend that he's a fucking stud, Marlon Byrd should get benched and this kid should be allowed to become the best Cub centerfielder of my lifetime starting next week.

Boom.

Whoa whoa whoa, pal.  You've got 99 more games to go before you can start making statements like that.