BBTF.org/m/oakland : Cespedes: ‘I’ll rest when we get a championship’

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Jack O’Connell: Yanks’ bats silent against Athletics

(cutoffman.mlblogs.com)

posted 3 weeks ago by Repoz to bbwaa tin badge, oakland, yankees | 12 comment(s)

It’s one thing for Michael the Kay and Sen. Al Leiter to screw this up last night…but the BBWAA high muckety-muck? “Rookie shortstop Adam Rosales smoked a first-pitch fastball to left-center for his first career home run.”

Sabathia was taken deep on the first pitch of the game. Rookie shortstop Adam Rosales smoked a first-pitch fastball to left-center for his first career home run. Sabathis settled down nicely but needed major help from second baseman Robinson Cano to get out of a fifth-inning ...

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1. vortex of dissipation posted on September 14, 2012 at 11:30 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Cespedes said through translator Ariel Prieto

Interesting that he's got an ex-major league pitcher as his translator.

2. The importance of being Ernest Riles posted on September 14, 2012 at 11:44 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

A's picked Prieto 5th overall in the 95 draft, two picks ahead of Todd Helton. This has caused much garment-rending and tooth-gnashing among us A's fans over the years. Prieto had huge hype as a Mystery Cuban Pitcher, but never really amounted to much.

Oh, and Cespedes hit a real bomb in the real game against the Orioles. Dude's legit.

3. BourbonSamurai, vassal of the Harpsburg Empire posted on September 14, 2012 at 11:57 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

About time the A's get some ####### value out of Prieto

4. The importance of being Ernest Riles posted on September 15, 2012 at 12:13 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Next up: Todd van Poppel, equipment manager. Or they'll get a burnt out high pick who topped out as a reserve outfielder to be GM.

5. Famous Original Joe C posted on September 15, 2012 at 12:44 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Ariel Prieto

That name has to be a real blast from the past for someone here besides me, right?

6. charityslave is thinking about baseball posted on September 15, 2012 at 12:52 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Brien Taylor- fight trainer
Elijah Dukes - marriage councilor
Matt Bush- driving instructor, guidance councilor

7. Random Transaction Generator posted on September 15, 2012 at 01:17 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Ariel Prieto was one of the first "prospects" I ever drafted in my Scoresheet career.
I was positive he was going to be something (I wasn't looking at stats very well back then), and held on to him for two years.
"He's gonna be better than van Poppel!"

8. Walt Davis posted on September 15, 2012 at 01:42 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Prieto is probably more than an interpreter. He was a minor-leauge pitching coach for the A's in 2011 and probably still holds some title in the organization. But, hey, if he can make Cespedes more comfortable, he's probably worth more as an interpreter than a low minors pitching coach.

Speaking of Cuban defectors, I would like to finally publicly thank Rolando Arrojo for helping me to my first fantasy league title in 1998.

9. Tripon posted on September 15, 2012 at 02:17 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Cespedes is going have to take a rest. Left the game with a sprained ankle.

10. cardsfanboy

posted on September 15, 2012 at 09:06 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Any other year and Cespedes would be an excellent choice for rookie of the year.

11. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on September 15, 2012 at 09:10 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Interesting that he's got an ex-major league pitcher as his translator.

It probably is useful. Prieto is going to speak "baseball" better than some translator, even a translator who is a baseball fan and will probably do a better job of communicating nuance and subtlety.

And yeah, that was a blast from the past.

12. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines posted on September 15, 2012 at 09:38 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

The plot of Moneyball II: The Human Cespedes is less horrifying than anyone expected.

13. BourbonSamurai, vassal of the Harpsburg Empire posted on September 15, 2012 at 09:40 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Next up: Todd van Poppel, equipment manager.

I approve this as long as Kirk Dressendorfer can be in charge of the clubhouse spread.

Who were the other four aces? David Zancanaro and Don Peters? Is that right at all?

14. Rowland Office Supplies posted on September 15, 2012 at 10:47 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Dude just absolutely murders the ball. I love to watch him rake.

15. Swedish Chef posted on September 15, 2012 at 11:30 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

If this was fiction it would end with the restless ghost of Cespedes traveling from ballpark to ballpark looking for that elusive championship but he's always haunting the wrong team.

16. Willie Mayspedes posted on September 15, 2012 at 11:34 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

He hasn't been as flashy as I thought after watching the showcase. He's a better player than I thought too.

17. Tom Nawrocki posted on September 15, 2012 at 11:39 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Brien Taylor- fight trainer
Elijah Dukes - marriage councilor
Matt Bush- driving instructor, guidance councilor

Matt Harrington - financial advisor

18. BDC

posted on September 15, 2012 at 12:00 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Henry Wiggen: punctuation inserter and spelling improver.

19. puck posted on September 15, 2012 at 12:03 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Matt Harrington - financial advisor

Partner, Dykstra, Clark & Harrington?

20. esseff posted on September 15, 2012 at 12:24 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Favorite fan sign from last night's telecast: "Cespedes for the rest of us"

21. Fred Lynn Nolan Ryan Sweeney Agonistes posted on September 15, 2012 at 01:45 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Cespedes is going have to take a rest. Left the game with a sprained ankle.

???
He was in LF at the end.
Anyway, he better stay healthy -
A's record with Cespedes: 71-40.
A's record without Cespedes: 12-21.

After last night's game, as the A's were walking off the field, Amazing GF called it: the A's are winning it all this year. I immediately made her knock on wood, cross herself three times, throw salt over her shoulder, and cross a black cat's path... but as of this AM, she is sticking to her pronouncement. Whatever happens next, it's her fault.

22. The Clarence Thomas of BBTF (scott) posted on September 15, 2012 at 03:20 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Cespedes has been pretty awesome for the A's this year. I didn't expect him to be so good so fast.

23. Squash posted on September 15, 2012 at 04:52 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I also did not expect him to be this good - I thought he was going to be a classic overrated tools prospect.

Favorite fan sign from last night's telecast: "Cespedes for the rest of us"

I have to admit I don't get the reference. Can somebody fill me in?

24. Benji Gil Gamesh Rises posted on September 15, 2012 at 05:04 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I have to admit I don't get the reference. Can somebody fill me in?

Seinfeld reference.

25. Fred Lynn Nolan Ryan Sweeney Agonistes posted on September 15, 2012 at 06:29 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Anybody know why bbref-war hates Cespedes' defense so much?

26. DKDC posted on September 15, 2012 at 06:38 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Oh, and Cespedes hit a real bomb in the real game against the Orioles. Dude's legit.

I'm not sure I'd call that one a bomb. It got out in a hurry, but it was hit low and was the third shortest HR hit in the majors yesterday.

But that's not to say his power isn't scary.

27. Danny posted on September 15, 2012 at 06:38 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Anybody know why bbref-war hates Cespedes' defense so much?

UZR: -13 (what Fangraphs uses)
DRS: -12 (what bb-ref uses)
TZ: -1

For a guy with good top speed and a strong arm, he's shockingly bad in the field. He seems to have been close to averagish in the second half, but he took a lot of awful routes in the first half.

28. Dock Ellis on Acid

posted on September 15, 2012 at 06:50 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Favorite fan sign from last night's telecast: "Cespedes for the rest of us"

This is useful because now I know how to pronounce his last name.

29. Fred Lynn Nolan Ryan Sweeney Agonistes posted on September 15, 2012 at 06:55 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I'm not sure I'd call that one a bomb. It got out in a hurry, but it was hit low and was the third shortest HR hit in the majors yesterday.

But that's not to say his power isn't scary.

Yeah, that got out fast. Looked like it was never more than about 30 feet high.

For a guy with good top speed and a strong arm, he's shockingly bad in the field. He seems to have been close to averagish in the second half, but he took a lot of awful routes in the first half.

That all sounds true. It's just hard to believe he's given SO many runs back in the field. But maybe he has, I dunno.

Despite Crisp's Damon-esque throwing arm, I still think of Cespedes / Coco / Reddick as a pretty hellacious defensive OF.

30. Walt Davis posted on September 15, 2012 at 08:27 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

For what it's worth, the defensive numbers are "consistent" in that they say he's been horrific in CF (relative to average CF) and just standard bad in LF (relative to average LF).

The number of fast guys -- guys substantially faster than Cespedes -- who are surprisingly bad in CF and/or surprisingly average in LF is pretty long. Raines, Brock, Roger Cedeno, Vince Coleman just off the top of my head. Baseball is a funny game.

31. The importance of being Ernest Riles posted on September 16, 2012 at 02:43 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Yet somehow the A's have an excellent defensive efficiency. Can anyone break it down by IF/OF?

I'm not sure I'd call that one a bomb.

Bomb, laser, either way you don't want to be on the wrong side of one.

Cespedes (as a hitter) reminds me of peak-era Miguel Tejada.

32. Lassus posted on September 16, 2012 at 09:13 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

That all sounds true. It's just hard to believe he's given SO many runs back in the field. But maybe he has, I dunno.

Advanced defensive metrics FTL.

33. streak of perros posted on September 16, 2012 at 11:03 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

After last night's game, as the A's were walking off the field, Amazing GF called it: the A's are winning it all this year. I immediately made her knock on wood, cross herself three times, throw salt over her shoulder, and cross a black cat's path...

I hope you didn't forget the hummer.

34. streak of perros posted on September 16, 2012 at 11:06 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

The number of fast guys -- guys substantially faster than Cespedes -- who are surprisingly bad in CF and/or surprisingly average in LF is pretty long. Raines, Brock, Roger Cedeno, Vince Coleman just off the top of my head. Baseball is a funny game.

This is kinda like putting Bob Hayes and Willie Gault at wide receiver. Speed is good, but it's just one tool.

35. streak of perros posted on September 16, 2012 at 11:09 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I've really enjoyed this baseball season, maybe more than any since 2001. Lots of surprising stories, but even more than the Orioles, that the Athletics sit two games back of the Rangers on September 16 is not something anyone would have predicted this spring.

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Saturday, May 04, 2013

Jack O’Connell: Yanks’ bats silent against Athletics

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Oakland Think Factory