4 thoughts on “links for 2009-08-21”

1. In reference to Starks article. I agree with him that the Cardinals are looking very good these days. They have the best pitcher and hitter in baseball right now (Carpenter and Pujols).

2. OK, he may put out some head scratching lineups, but I for one think there is much to be said for a manager who casually can spit out this quote (referring to flying with other coaches): “If it gets bumpy, we get scared. If it gets real bumpy, we get drunk.” Also, let’s give JL some credit for calling all the right pinch hitting move yesterday.

   I lived in Chicago during the Dusty Baker era – it could be worse, much, much worse.

3. Its wonderful that JV is finally learning to “pitch” this year and control his emotions. I think its pretty telling if he’s voted “best fasball” and “best curveball,” but nowhere to be seen on the “best pitcher” list…its just an indication that there’s more to it than raw talent and that, hopefully, he’s finally figuring it out this year, because a few of his performances HAVE been the stuff of aces.

4. Verlander has been dominant since the end of April. But to me, the bigger change came about a month or 6 weeks later, when he just stopped walking people. His BB/9 is below 2.50 now, which is elite at 12th among qualified AL starters. But you look above him on that list, and half of the guys aren’t pitchers you’d want throwing for you anyway because they strike out so few: Bergesen, Washburn, Blackburn, Pavano, etc. He’s 3rd in the league in SO/BB, behind only Halladay and Greinke. All of that stems from his league-best fastball and his willingness to throw it for strikes constantly and trust that even if he misses, the movement and velocity are together enough to make the batter do something other than square it up.

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