Shumenov Training Camp Notes

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Al Woods

“THE UNIFICATION” Shumenov vs. Braehmer January 8th, 2011:
WBA and IBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Beibut Shumenov (10-1, 6 KOs) has been preparing for the biggest fight in his very short, but storied career, training for “The Unification,” his Jan. 8, 2011 blockbuster boxing event first at Team Barry Boxing in Henderson, Nevada with his head trainer and 1984 Olympic Silver Medalist Kevin Barry, and now in Shymkent.
“The Unification,” presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions and KZ Event Productions in association with Universum Box-Promotions, will …
ProBoxing-Fans.com

A Late Rule 5 Preview – With Notes on the Elvin Ramirez Buzz

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Al Woods

Posted in Analysis,Elvin Ramirez,Rule 5 Draft

The rule five draft begins at 9 am this morning. Last night, before the Red Sox made Carl Crawford a very, very rich man, there was a little bit of chatter about the draft.

In particular, there were numerous reports that the Mets would lose hard-throwing right-handed pitcher Elvin Ramirez. Buster Olney tweeted, “The guy widely expected to be the first pick in the Rule 5 draft:Mets right-hander Elvin Ramirez,who has been clocked 94-98 mph this winter.”

At Baseball America, John Manuel, who did not write about Ramirez in his first look at 25 guys who could be selected in the Rule 5 draft, corrected that omission by writing, “Ramirez has pushed his fastball up to 98-99 mph according to several scouts who have seen him in the Dominican. … He throws a changeup, curve and slider as well but has impressed most with his improved fastball velocity and control in the Dominican, where he was averaging 11.32 strikeouts per nine innings and just 1.74 walks per nine.”

The idea that the Mets might lose a player in the Rule Five draft, prompted some overheated reaction on Twitter. In particular, fans wanted to know why Ramirez was left off the 40-man roster, leaving him exposed to the draft. The simple answer is that before his latest 20.2 innings in the Dominican Winter League he didn’t look anything close to Major League ready.

Here are his walk and strikeout rates by level the last three years:

Year	Level	IP	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	K/BB
2008	SAL	81	36	62	4.0	6.9	1.7
2009	SAL	72.67	39	48	4.8	5.9	1.2
2010	FSL	73.3	43	65	5.3	8.0	1.5
2010	EL	6.67	6	7	8.1	9.4	1.2
2010	DWL	20.67	4	26	1.7	11.3	6.5

What he’s done in the last twenty innings in the DWL is completely out of line with the last three years.

Ramirez missed almost all of the second half of the 2008 season with back problems and was sitting in the 92-93 mph range. Similarly, he made just one post-All Star Break appearance in 2009. Coming off two straight injury shortened seasons, the Mets moved Ramirez to the St. Lucie bullpen this year. He was ok, but hardly dominant. He hit neither of my two favorite statistical markers at the advanced-A level: his K/9 was below 1 and his K/BB was well below 2.5. However, he allowed very few hits, just 56 in 73.1 for an opponents’ batting average of .212 and did not yield a home run.

I suppose that one story you could tell is that it’s all about health for Ramirez. Healthy this year, he was able to work to improve his command, and now stronger after a full-season of work, he body is really showing for the first time what he’s capable of doing. If the improvement is real and not a fluke, the timing was terrible for the Mets. The Mets, and all teams in baseball had to submit their reserve lists for the Rule 5 draft on November 20. After his outing on the 18th, Ramirez had thrown 8.2 innings with 9 strikeouts, three walks, five hits allowed and four runs, three earned for a 3.09 ERA. He’d been effective, but hardly overwhelming. In his last 12 innings, he’s fanned 17, walked one and given up nine hits and just two runs. That’s great. It’s also 12 innings. I really don’t know when his velocity spiked, but the idea that Ramirez was a valuable commodity as recently as three weeks ago was far-fetched.

Or maybe these are 12 really fluky innings.

As for the other Mets who could be selected, we’ll go to the Mailbag, where Jesse asks:

Message Body:

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the following pitchers are going to be available in the Rule 5 Draft:

Eddie Kunz

Nicholas Carr

Brant Rustich

Roy Merritt

Erich Niesen

Stephen Clyne

Michael Antonini

Probably some I’m missing. All of these guys were at some point worthwhile enough to make an appearance in the Top 41. Any chance that the Mets lose any of these arms on Thursday?

Thanks,

Jesse

There’s a chance that the Mets could lose any of those guys, but Carr, who was throwing in the mid-to-upper 90s in the AFL is the most likely. Carr has never shown much command or control however. Kunz has been underwhelming for years. Niesen has consistently struggle to throw strikes. Rustich just had surgery for Thorasic Outlet Syndrome this fall and has never made it through any of his three professional seasons without missing significant time to injury.

Wilmer Flores, Brad Emaus and Some other Notes from Winter Ball

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Al Woods

Posted in Wilmer Flores

A few notes on some Mets guys playing winter ball….

Wilmer Flores (pictured) is hitting the cover off the ball in Venezuela. He had two hits in both Saturday and Sunday’s contests. In the Venezuelan Winter League (VWL) he’s hitting .369/.397/.538 with five doubles and a pair of home runs. The VWL is averages .257/.341/.364.

Newly acquired Brad Emaus is hitting .263/.349/.456 in 114 AB over 33 games for the Toros del Este in the Domincan Winter League. He’s shown his usual outstanding control of the strike zone with 13 walks against 17 strikeouts. His platoon split has been huge: .462/.533/.731 in 26 AB vs. lefties and .205/.293/.375 in 88 AB vs. righties. Why shouldn’t you take this seriously at all? In AAA, the right-handed hitting Emaus hit .206/.333/.365 in 63 AB vs. lefties and handled righties at a .321/.411/.528 rate in 246 AB.

Francisco Pena has seen action in 31 of 43 games for Aguilas Cibaenas in the DWL and hit a meager .165/.230/.228 and has struck out in 22% of his plate appearances (19 K/87 PA).

Presented for goofiness:
Aussie Stefan Welch is playing in the new Australian Baseball League but hitting just .172/.254/.375 for the Adelaide Bite. He’s played 16 games at third and two at first. Welch has not played a single game at third in the US since 2008.

Your 2011 Bullpen?
Oliver Perez in Culiacan in Mexico: 5.73 ERA, 9 G, 4 GS, 22 IP, 22 H, 14 R, 3 HR, 14 BB, 17 K.
…..What’s the over/under on his release date?
LHP Michael O’Connor has been effective for Licey in the DWL with well over a strikeout an inning: 18 G, 1.38 ERA, 13 IP, 17 K, 4 BB, 11 H, 3 R.
….. He’s not on the 40-man roster at the moment. The only left-handed reliever aside from, ahem, Oliver Perez is Pat Misch.
RHP Manny Alvarez has been unexceptional for the Navegantes del Magallanes in the VWL: 2.95 ERA, 21.1 IP, 19 H, 9 R, 8 BB, 14 K.
….. Unlike O’Connor, Alvarez is already on the Mets 40-man roster and has some shot to break camp with the Mets after a strong 2010 season that finished up in Buffalo.
RHP Francisco Rodriguez made one appearance for the Tiburones de la Guaira on December 2, pitching 1.2 innings to earn the save.

Presented for goofiness:
RHP Marcos Tabata, who throws a ton of breaking balls, has a 0.39 ERA for Aguilas del Zulia in the VWL in 23 innings despite walking 19 (!) while fanning 23.

Presented for old-times sake:
Jesus Flores, who the Washington Nationals swiped from the Mets in the 2006 rule five draft, is hitting .360/.396/.520 in 14 games in the VWL. Flores missed all of the 2010 season with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

The full stats of all of the Mets’ players in Winter ball are here.

Notes From the Winter Meetings: Wednesday

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Al Woods

-Yes, you heard correctly – Zack Greinke. Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No. The hottest rumor out of the Winter Meetings thus far pertaining to the Phillies is that they are “considering” the Royals ace and Cy Young winner. A person with knowledge of the situation told Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that the Phillies brass has had internal discussions as well as talks with Kansas City about Greinke. Amaro said:

“We have explored and tried and talked about acquiring some significant players,” he said. “We’ve tried to shoot for the moon on some things and laid some groundwork, but the possibility of them happening is kind of remote.”

Unlikely as it may be, Ruben and his boys are stirring things up a bit down in Central Florida. It’s not as crazy as it sounds, but what would it cost? If Cole Hamels is involved, you stay away. Hamels fits beautifully in between the two Roy’s, so you don’t want to mess with that. In no uncertain terms, the Royals organization will pillage the Phils farm system – that’s a given. Dom Brown would have to be involved – also a given.

This trade rumor barely as legs, but it’s a big one nonetheless.

-Dennys Reyes still isn’t a Phillie, however, he could be one soon. There have been multiple reports today of him signing with the team, although nothing has been completed. It would be for one-year with a second-year option.

-Aaron Rowand is not coming to Philadelphia, so says Giants GM Brian Sabean. He said the rumors surrounding his expensive, little-used outfielder are conjecture. This one could be a possibility, especially if the Giants pay most of his remaining salary. He’s a guy the Phillies know well; he’s also a guy the Giants would love to unload. Keep an eye on this, it may have legs. Am I fan of it? Not really, but the market is thinned out after Matt Diaz and Jeff Francouer signed.

-Is Magglio worth it? Scott Boras, his agent-extraordinare, says the bidding begins at two-years, $ 20 million. If that number comes down a bit, then the Phillies might be on to something. However, I’m just not sure if he’s worth $ 10 million a year. I’m also not so sure Carlos Peña is worth $ 10 million a season either, but that’s what the Cubs gave him, so anything’s possible.

Phillies Nation

News & Notes: Chester-Kahlil Scuffle, Pat Mannelly’s Record and Pisa’s Knee Injury

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Al Woods

Lets start with a disappointing free agent signing by the Bears, Chester Taylor. Taylor’s nickname is “Che Tay” sounds friendly right? Not yesterday.

According to Bears officials, running backs Chester Taylor and Kahlil Bell had to be separated during practice yesterday afternoon in the Walter Payton Center. The scuffle was broken up before it could escalate to something worse.

Head coach Lovie Smith had no comment on the scuffle between Taylor and Bell.

This isn’t the smartest move by “Che Tay” considering the Bears signed him to big money to be that change of pace back behind Matt Forte and he hasn’t contributed much this season.

In 11 games this season, Taylor has 213 yards on 82 carries and one touchdown, averaging 2.6 ypc. He has also added 14 catches for 100 yards. With those stats their is no reason for Taylor to be fighting in practice.

Taylor needs to worry about himself because if he can’t step it up he could be looking for a new gig next season.

Kahlil Bell on the other hand is probably gone after this season, considering he hasn’t appeared in a game this season and is a free agent once the year is over.

Fighting in practice is not like Bears players, but the last time it did happen it was during the 2006 Super Bowl run between running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. I wonder if fighting between running backs leads teams to Super Bowls, probably not, but it might help the Bears chances this year.

In other news, long snapper Pat Mannelly became the first player in franchise history to play in 200 regular-season games last Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. Mannelly has been so consistent in those 200 games, it’s not that easy being a long snapper in the NFL, it’s impressive that Mannelly has managed to stay healthy long enough to break some records. I don’t know how much Mannelly has left in him, but he will be honored by the Bears once he retires, I guarantee that.

Lastly, LB Pisa Tinoisamoa’s knee is acting up again. He missed practiced Wednesday and was limited yesterday, his knee injuries seem to be lingering. He is listed as questionable for the Lions on Sunday and if he can’t play expect Nick Roach to step in to replace him for the second time this season.

Head coach Lovie Smith had this to say about Pisa’s knee:

“Pisa has a little soreness in his knee, so he wasn’t able to do a whole lot today, a little bit of a concern for him.”

It might be better to let Tinoisamoa rest his knee, but he needs to get his knee problems figured out before the final four game stretch, if he can’t he might not be back next season. Tinoisamoa is a free agent and I’m sure the Bears want to resign him, but his knee problems have to improve. Look for him to rest this Sunday.

all quotes from chicagotribune.com

Bears Backer

Individual player notes from UK’s win over Boston

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Al Woods

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

A couple of team notes and then individual player notes after UK’s 91-57 bashing of Boston University:

PPP – Kentucky’s offense averaged 1.350 points per possession, best since last year’s club averaged 1.493 in a win over Hartford on Dec. 29, 2009. The Cats were coming off back-to-back games of less than a point per possession. UK averaged 0.927 against Washington and 0.993 against UConn.

Meanwhile, the defensive PPP was much better. The Cats held Boston to 0.837 PPP, compared to 1.253 for Connecticut in the Maui final loss.

THREES – The Cats made 10 of 16 three-pointers for 62.5 percent. That’s the best in any UK game since the Cats made nine of 13 for 69.2 percent against Drexel on Dec. 21 of last season. It’s the best in any game UK has taken 15-or-more three since the Billy Gillispie Era (error?) when the Cats made 12 of 19 for 63.2 at Tennessee on Jan. 13, 2009.

JOSH HARRELLSON — The senior center achieved his first career double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Harrellson went 6-of-7 from the floor, tying his career high of six field goals against Indiana on Dec. 13, 2008. He was six of 12 from the floor that game. Afterward, BU coach Patrick Chambers called Harrellson UK’s “mother-hen.” We figured that at times Cal may have used a similar term when referring to Harrellson.

TERRENCE JONES – Turned his fourth double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Had just four rebounds in 27 minutes in loss to UConn. In last two games, has made 13 of 23 shots. Has blocked at least one shot in all six games. Blocked one against the Terriers.

BRANDON KNIGHT – Bounced back with 23 points after just a six-point effort in loss to UConn. Produced a career-high six assists. After going 0-of-8 from three in Maui final, made four of six beyond the arc against the Terriers. Knight has logged 32-or-more minutes now in five of UK’s six games.

DARIUS MILLER — A non-factor with no points in just seven first-half minutes after picking up two fouls. Was replaced by Doron Lamb at start of second half. Did score eight points in second half, but played just 19 minutes overall. That’s the least amount of time he’s been on the floor since playing just 11 minutes in UK’s first-round NCAA thumping of East Tennessee State last season.

DORON LAMB – Assistant John Robic said after the game that Lamb showed he needs to be on the floor more. The freshman scored 13 points in 27 minutes. He also had a career-high five assists. Lamb has made seven of 14 shots over the last two games, including three of six from three-point range.

DEANDRE LIGGINS – The junior has made just five of 17 shots over his last two games. Liggins had four turnovers, compared to one assist. He did grab his first offensive rebound of the season.

ELOY VARGAS – Odd stat is that Vargas has had four rebounds in four of his six games. Had four against the Terriers. Did have a career-high six free throw attempts, making four. In fact, Vargas has made 8 of 10 free throws over the last two games. Has just one turnover in 85 minutes thus far this season.

JON HOOD — Scored two points in nine minutes. The sophomore has scored 10 points on the season. He did not take a three-pointer against BU, just the second time in six games that has happened. Hood has not had an assist or a turnover so far this season.

STACEY POOLE — Played four minutes, but has still yet to score this season. The freshman has taken just two shots, both in the game against Washington.

JARROD POLSON – The freshman from West Jessamine scored his first points as a Wildcat, making two free throws with 24 seconds remaining. Also had his first assist as a Cat. And turnover.

John Clay’s Sidelines

News & Notes: November 22

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Al Woods

Don’t Call Your Dad During the Game

Taylor Martinez Rumors: Did the video above induce Taylor Martinez to (even possibly) quit Nebraska Football? OF COURSE NOT, Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report is about as credible as Wikipedia and is not apologizing for “chasing the story” (please note that the url title, “Taylor Martinez Quits the Team”, remains intact although the content is now quite different). Other sites (like this one) reported on the “story” (really, a twitter rumor) too, is not a defense. Bleacher Report is the same outfit that reported that Cam Newton was suspended on November 11. I still feel the same way as when I tweeted last night: The Onion should purchase Bleacher Report & give itself a vastly expanded sports section.”

The Exciting BCS System: Oregon, Auburn and TCU didn’t play this past week. Well, isn’t that exciting? Boise State shutout Fresno State 51-0 on Friday but that wasn’t enough to make anything happen in the latest BCS Standings. While Auburn scheduled a Bye week before the Iron Bowl, Alabama played FCS Georgia State on Thursday night.

Voters probably didn’t see the wild affair between Utah and San Diego State (1,087 yards of offense) because it was broadcast on The Mtn./voters are too lazy to look for internet feeds of the games of tangential importance to the BCS Top 5. Utah trailed by 17 early in the second quarter but roared back for a 38-34 win. Likewise, when Nevada stomped New Mexico State 52-6–few, if any voters saw Nevada’s 500th win as a program. By contrast, plenty of people saw Ole Miss vs. LSU and might even believe against the facts that Les Miles is just lucky. LSU won 43-36 in yet another fourth quarter comeback. This win marks the 17th fourth quarter comeback for Miles at LSU. How’s that for lucky? Unlike 2009, Miles managed the clock very well this time around. LSU scored the go-ahead TD with 44 seconds remaining. In any event, voters aren’t armed with enough information to make the most accurate judgment of a team’s ability because there aren’t enough common opponents under the current system. We aren’t going to see Oregon-Nevada, LSU-Stanford, or even Michigan State-Ohio State during this regular season. There’s a better way of structuring college football to avoid the FCS-BCS matchups late in the season as well as the lack of common opponents to look at when trying to determine who should play for the National Championship. I’m still slowly working on such a restructuring plan. For the time being, responsible voters have to rely on schedule calculus and searching for game feeds on the net.

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