pirates | The Baseball Zealot

Seattle Mariners to be crunching data

Looks like the Mariners who lost 101 games in 2008, are planning to focus more on statistical analysis.

It was about a year ago that the Pittsburgh Pirates’ newly hired smartypants GM Neal Huntington was talking sabermetric smack at a press conference. One would have thought that have meant they were approaching the game in a different fashion. So different that they finished… last again.

Must have been in the implementation.

The Mariners meanwhile, are creating a whole department devoted to the topic.

The department will fall under the auspices of Tony Blengino, a longtime baseball stats analyst and a special assistant to new Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik. Details of the department’s mandate and size are still to be worked out, but the move could vault the Mariners from their perceived Stone Age approach to stats to one in which they’re seen as one of the game’s more progressive franchises.

hehe, Stone Age. Good one.

The Mariners plan to take all the statistical data they accumulate and combine it with their scouting info.

Lloyd Mac heading for Seattle??

Could Lloyd McClendon be on his way to managing the Mariners? It’s a possibility.

Most remember Lloyd as the manager of the Bucs earlier this decade (2001-2005) but as for me, I remember him for his couple of years with the Cubs as a OF/1B. He even managed a few games at 3B.

He played eight seasons in the majors and of the 35 career homers he hit, 12 were in 1989 with the Cubs.

Mac didn’t exactly wow them in his five-year stint with Pittsburgh (336-446 record). But considering the team he was given, I thought he was an ok manager.

Sandoval: 4 rbis in one inning the hard way

Pablo Sandoval: 2 for 3. 2B, run, 5 rbis

The Giants went double digits in one inning for the first time in five years against the hapless Bucs yesterday and hey, they even won.

22-year old, rook backstop Pablo Sandoval played a big part of that fourth inning. He drove in four of those runs. Three of them came off a line drive double then later in the inning, a sac fly. In all, Sandoval had five ribbes for the game.

The Giants seemed to be going with the youth movement. Including Sandoval, six rookies comprised the Giants’ lineup.

Eight of those runs came against Pirate starter Jeff Karstens who came into the fourth with a 5-0 lead. Karstens made an impression his first two starts in the NL including a near perfect first game. Perhaps now, the NL is figuring him out.

As for Sandoval, his 2 for 3 performance brings him to .364. As a rookie, he’d be someone who I’d be looking at for next year’s rookie draft, but I think I know who I’m picking for catcher already.

Love them Buccos

With the Cubs’ win over the Pirates on Wednesday, that unfortunately closes out the season against them. For 2008, the Cubs were 14-4 against Pittsburgh.

To look for a season when the Cubs won that many games in one season against one team, you would have to go back to 1978. Under the helm of manager Herman Franks, Chicago had a losing season record of 79-83 good for third place. Despite the losing record, they managed to win 15 against NL East rival St Louis Cardinals.

Winning 14 against the last place Pirates may not seem like such a big deal but consider this… The Cubs were 14-16 against them for the last two seasons (2006-2007).

3/31/08 Linescore of the Day: X marks the Spot

Xavier Nady: 4 for 7, 2B, 2 HR, 4 runs, 4 rbis

Don’t you just love looking at boxscores from opening day? Seeing those garish batting averages like .750 or .500 0r .000. Or ERAs like 54.00 or 40.50.

Xavier Nady got a good head start on 2008. With his 2 homers, double and single, he could go 0 for 4 in the next 4 games before his slugging percentage dips below .500.

More importantly, his second homer in the 12th put Pittsburgh ahead for good to defeat Atlanta.

SAVERY SMOKED

I know it’s only spring training, and only the 2nd game at that, but it was disappointing to watch the Buccos tee off on former Rice Ace Joe Savery. The temperature was the same today as yesterday, 53 degrees, but today the sun was shining, and there was no gusting wind. Still my seat behind home plate was empty as I stationed myself down the leftfield line. Florida oranges floating in Blue Moon beer went down too easily. When the young lefty took the hill, I strolled behind the dish to get a better look. I almost had to turn away from what I was seeing. Savery fell behind Bucco hitters, trying to be too fine, then Josh Wilson lined a two run single up the middle, and then Nate McLouth knocked a three run blast over the rightfield wall, turning a 5-1 lead into a 6-5 deficit.

Before this collapse it was all good for the Phils. The Big Guy Ryan Howard almost reached the highway with his monster shot deep to right, still it wasn’t as far as his preseason drive over the hitting back drop in center last year. Pirate Adam LaRoche also went yard in the ballgame. Speaking of homers, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Michael Jack Schmidt was in the house for the second straight day, coaching firstbase, he’ll be a roving instructor this year for Philadelphia. I went to the souvenir stand to purchase a Schmidty tee shirt, but was told there were none for sale. Am I nuts or am I the only one who knows great player’s jerseys from all franchises would sell like hotcakes? A couple of years ago I was in Pittsburgh at PNC where I could purchase a Pokey Reese tee shirt, but could not buy a Clemente or Stargell, something wrong with this picture.

After watching baseball the last couple of days, while hearing of more snow in Chicago, I booked a last minute trip to watch some Cactus League baseball. I’d originally booked this trip way back when, cancelled, and then rebooked for about $600 more. Still I’m very much looking forward to hooking up with DonS to watch some pre-Easter baseball out west, but still have five more Florida games to see. Life is good.

Moskos: Future of the Bucs pitching?

During our last podcast, Todd and I talked a bit about Daniel Moskos, the Pirates’ 2007 first round draft pick. Today, mlb.com has a feature story about Moskos, a reliever turned starter.

Interestingly, Moskos is the only member of the 2007 Draft who part of the Major League portion of Spring Training.

“I’m just trying to fit in,” said Moskos, the Pirates’ top pick in last season’s First-Year Player Draft. “I don’t want to be that young guy that’s just nagging people. I don’t necessarily have to ask them about pitching or anything. It’s just being one of them.”

Baseball Zealot Radio #39: It’s Spring Training!

After some interviews on Baseball Zealot Radio the past few weeks, regular Todd and I finally get a chance to chat. As always, I’m treated to a bittersweet update of his team, the Pirates. I don’t give him too much crap about his team though… if I do, he’ll ask me which team actually won a World Championship (more than one, actually) in our lifetime.

In episode 39, we cover the latest in baseball news in light of the first week of spring training.

Enjoy!

Time: 45:10

Date Recorded: 2/17/08

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