Monthly Archives: April 2015

Apr29

Baltimore a game for no one

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I have no words. There is no one to hear them. The screaming,and  the fighting are drowning the message.  The message of injustice is lost in the violence. Pride of city is replaced with sadness and shame and fear. I will watch the game for no one. It is a testament to the American spirit that no matter what is happening in the world that we will go on.

My words mean nothing but maybe someone will hear Dr. King’s words.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth101472.html#qwVc94Q24pBt9ZRH.99

Apr28

DH in the NL: Pitchers are still going to get hurt.

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Let’s start off hoping Adam Wainwright has a full and speedy recovery. That being said, Rob Neyer discusses an argument about whether Wainwright should have been running the bases and whether pitchers should bat. A call for the DH in the NL.

I am a AL loving kind of girl but we have talked about my love for traditional baseball.

 

 

I love the NL and its time honored history of no DH. Now Wainwright has been hurt by running the bases and Max Scherzer has been hurt by batting. Scherzer is even being quoted that people don’t want to see the pitchers hit.

https://twitter.com/BBTN/status/592754453926797314

Well sorry Max but this fan loves watching the pitchers hit! I love to see the unexpected and while most of the time the pitcher is an easy out there are some surprises. Having the pitchers hit creates a  different game.  You take that away and you take away some of the game. There other thing to realize, is the AL is the only place pitchers don’t hit. Little league and college ball all have their pitchers hitting.  In the minors the NL clubs the pitchers hit. This from milb.com:

Q. Do pitchers hit in the Minor Leagues?

A. Pitchers only bat at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Here are the rules for the individual leagues at those levels:

International: Pitchers only hit when both clubs are NL affiliates
Pacific Coast: Pitchers only hit when both clubs are NL affiliates and both clubs agree to have their pitchers hit
Eastern: Pitchers only hit when both clubs are NL affiliates
Southern: Pitchers only hit when both clubs are NL affiliates
Texas: Pitchers only hit when both clubs are NL affiliates

its a long standing tradition. Yes, Wainwright got hurt but he got hurt running something he could have done fielding his position. The AL has plenty of hurt pitchers and batting had nothing to do with it. I personally think there is a pitcher epidemic going on. It just seems that a lot of good pitchers are getting very injured. If the hope that the DH will preserve pitching its an argument that has been discredited in the AL.

 

Apr27

Welcome Back Josh Hamilton

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Well it will be announced soon, and there has been a Josh Hamilton sighting at the ballpark. So let me be the first to say Welcome Back Josh Hamilton. You are now a Ranger and because of that you have now earned me fandom. You need to take care of it. For my fandom is awesome. It comes with love and hope and the never ending belief that you will do great things. My opinions didn’t die. But, I do not boo my players. I cheer in hope to uplift you. You are not the first player to come to loving arms of Texas, there have been quite a few player that Texas was the place they need to clear their reputation.  This is where you belong. you bring the talent but we the fans are what makes you the star. It is our love, our hope, our cheers that will raise you up. We only want good things for you.  Give us the love and respect that we have earned that we have proven to deserve. While I wish this was under better circumstances, You are now on my team and as a fan we must embrace our team.  Go Rangers! GO HAMILTON!!!!!

Apr25

Josh Hamilton: What the Rangers could have gotten instead

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I would like to state for the record, i don’t hate Josh Hamilton. I don’t like how he behaves and he has offended me as a baseball fan. I also think you never bash your former team. For me when you become a Ranger you get my Fandom, and when you leave, I will still hope good things for you and when the Rangers are not in the playoff then yeah I will cheer for you. I have always done that and I always will.

That being said. OH NO! Josh Hamilton is back to being a Ranger and as I write this I scan Twitter for some glimmer of hope that the deal has collapsed. Nope we are still a go. OK.

Well as the news broke out you could tell the real fan from the fake ones. I almost laughed at the fans who thought they are getting 2011 Josh Hamilton .298/.346/.536 no we are not getting this. We are getting this .263/.331/.414, for 15 million over the next three years.

So as you know its my quest to finally learn metrics and I thought I would start today. so armed with my new email subscription to Baseball Prospectus, I think we can get the same ballplayer Josh Hamilton for less than 5 million a year.  Let’s test this theory.

Well let me start off by saying WHOA! That’s a lot of stats,but after a bit of searching around I think I got what I needed. According to the Baseball Prospectus 2015 The Essential Guide to the 2015 Season. I am not quoting the stats you want the stats do what the rest of us do Buy the book. I will tell you that Ryan Ludwick was a comparable to Josh Hamilton. Ryan Ludwick was signed by the Rangers this spring and let go. Now isn’t that interesting.

A quick search and a highlighter in hand I have figured out players who would be a better investment, give us the same batting support as Hamilton and be about half the cost of 15 million over three years

Robbie Grossman

Junior Lake

Corey Dickerson

Why did i pick these guys, well I had my reasons. No in all seriousness Baseball Prospectus listed Ryan Ludwick (which we already talked about ) and Josh Willingham as comparables.

So on my list Robbie Grossman had a higher BA BIP .311 than Ludwick and his FB% is 25.8% which is better than  Ludwick and the same as Josh Hamilton

Junior Lake has a BA BIP of .293 while lower than Hamilton his FB% is greater than Hamilton 26.9%

but if you are just looking at BA BIP than Corey Dickerson has it with .356 to Hamilton .350 the other plus for Corey is he is 25. An investment for the future.

Anyone of these guys would love 15 million over the next three years, or even half that. Its time to stop waxing nostalgia and take off the rose colored glasses. The Josh that led us to victory is not here anymore. Can he come back? Well for 15 million he better come back but I think its time for Jon Daniels to really look what is out there and do some serious research. 

 

Apr24

Fun Fact Friday: 15 years ago. Brawl

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https://twitter.com/CJNitkowski/status/591611007119699968

We all saw it last night, Royals and White Sox going at it like it was a bar fight. Brawls are a part of baseball. My official stance is brawling is going to get someone hurt and definitely get someone suspended. The date of this video is why I am sharing it. 15 years and one day ago (Creepy! Right?) The White Sox were in another serious brawl but this time against the Detroit Tigers  Be careful guys. You still have to play baseball.

Apr22

Technology vs Tradition

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Well last night Statcast made its debut. I am torn. As a baseball fan, I love the classics. I love it when a guys wear his pants up to his knees, choke up on the bat and use the classic batting stance. I love old school stats too. The Traditional values of baseball.

 

Then there is a new part that is emerging.  Technology, Statcast shows us  how fast a player is  traveling, how fast did it take the ball to leave the park. what was its trajectory? While interesting, do I want to see this every game? I don’t know.

 

 

This reminds me of the time when  my eyes were awaken during the playoffs and World Series by one Mr. Gabe Kapler. I had heard a little bit about sabermetrics but against my old school values I pushed them aside. Then Kap starts talking and I was enthralled, never before to me had metrics been done in a way where it was fun and understandable. I wondered how could you take a stat and create something. For example when it comes to a two seam fastball who hits it and who doesn’t that is a normal stat. A metrics stat is who hits that two seam fast ball the same. Blew my mind.

I am going to make a new post on Monday where I am calling it Metrics Monday and I am going to learn metrics and if I am lucky maybe Kap will give me some pointers.

Apr21

Not just a pretty pink bat

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I know baseball, I mean I KNOW baseball. There are other girls, women, chicks whatever we like to call ourselves who like and KNOW baseball.

Yes, some of us like the hot guys in tight pants bending over.

 

I am not going to lie to you, baseball players are HOT!

I love the game, I love the diving catches and  I am the chick who digs the long ball. It has also been a dream of mine to have a player crash into me while I am  in the stands. Oh I know I would break something but it would be so worth it!

I know a lot of women, who love this game, we talk about strategy and management while getting our nails done in team colors.

I happen to like pink. I own a pink Texas Ranger hat but I can call a balk and I know about the infield fly rule and I would never interfere with a player trying to catch a ball into the stands unless he is one the opposing team and then I would “accidentally” bump into him

This is what I thought about when I created Miss Baseball, a place for girls, women, chicks who like baseball to come and talk about real baseball,and because we are the fair sex, I thought we would let the boys come talk too.

Apr20

Kap Lifestyle Family

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I have some exciting news. Miss baseball is now apart of the Kap Lifestyle family. I am very excited for this opportunity. Life has a funny way of how it turns. One day you are cheering at a game for a baseball player. Years later that same baseball player provides a different kind of inspiration. Gabe Kapler and his Kap Lifestyle blog inspired this blog and i am so glad he did. I couldn’t image my life without it. Writing about baseball has become such a passion for me. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Thanks Kap!