And a vesting option for a 4th.I like it considering what we were talking about him getting a month ago.I do wonder what medical issues were found though considering all anyone knows about is the bone spur removal,which is a pretty regular occurance.
The Braves are so lucky to be in the East! 37 wins in the division, the most of any NL team by 5 games!!!!!!!
Yeah just adding to what Chris said and to give you a better understanding of scouting/deeming pitches to be plus or not Fastball - First and foremost you want to look for velocity. Velocity, imo, comprises a big chunk of a fastballs grade. Obviously velocity plays up more in the minors than in the majors because ML hitters can hit velocity but it is still something to look for. So if Pitcher A is throwing 95 and it has heat but is straight and can be picked up early, it wouldn't necessarily be a plus pitch. Neither would a pitch that is thrown 100 with movement but can't hit the plate. (some scouts only count the velocity of pitches that pitchers can throw for strikes consistently) An 8 fastball has to have plus velocity and thrown with excellent movement, command and deception. Breaking Balls are much different than FBs and can actually be scouted in isolation--free from competition. Essentially, breaking balls are deception pitches inherently from the fastball. Once you watch them repeatedly you can start to see what a breaking ball looks like First thing you want to look for is the deception from the fastball. So you want to notice any subtle changes in arm speed, how does the ball look coming out of the hand compared to the FB. If a pitcher can keep a secondary pitch on a FB disguise he can fool hitters easily--which plays into deception. So when a pitchers body slows down in the delivery or arm speed is noticeably deliberate and slower ML hitters can pick it up and have a better chance to match his plane to the ball and hit it So when grading a secondary offering you want to look at the shape of the pitch along with the factors mentioned above (arm speed, deception etc.) So you start looking at the shape of the break. The type of rotation. Is it tight rotation? What type of movement does it have. So if it's a curveball is it tight? How early does it break? And when a pitch breaks doesn't dictate how successful it'll be. A long breaking curveball can be just as effective as a short breaking curvevall and vice versa. It just depends on when the hitter is able to pick it up. Then you want to look at the depth of the pitch/break. When does the reveal come, or, when does the hitter realize this isn't a fastball. A secondary pitch incorporates deception, shape of break, length of break and depth of break. And referring to the debate about curveballs and sliders. For some people it can be hard to distinguish between a slider and a curveball. A Slider is obviously easier to pick up and command but pitchers like Archie Bradley and Neftali Feliz throw their curveballs with a ton of velocity. It's literally 80-84mph and shows characteristics of a slider with two plane movement. But in each case they're tightly wound pitches and are curveballs. Anyways. you can watch these pitches in a BP session and see the subtleties and attributes of each pitch and form a grade once knowing what you're looking for. So now that you're a little more enlightened it should be easier to understand
All of the sudden the Pirates have a nice little lineup. Morneau has sucked since his concussion but he can still hit RHP. Marte Walker Cutch Alvarez Martin Byrd Morneau Barnes. Not a bad lineup
Pirates really pushing for it this year.a WS visit for them would be huge imo.pitt is a great sports town and will pay to see a winner,steelers and penguins are proof of that.
marte is hurt,not sure on the extent of the injury,but that was the driving force behind the byrd trade.mourneau will likely push garrett jones into the OF for the time being and he(mourneau)has been damn good since the break.I think there lineup is pretty solid,but pitt will either win or lose on the strength of their pitching staff,which I really hope holds up
Pittsburg finally gets a shot in the playoffs and they make moves to try to improve their chances, the Nationals finally made the playoffs last year and they consciously flushed their shot down the toilet.
For VRP, doyer and Chris: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/08/nationals-trying-to-danny-espinosa.html
I'd love to buy low on him big time. The way I see it, at worst case he's a backup that can play up the middl with great defense and a threat of power. Maybe like a younger, nick punto with better power. At best case, were talking about a .800 or so OPS SS/2B with lots of Ks, but great value with the power up the middle. I mean, why not? Especially with how thin our depth is in the infield it'd be great, I really think he can turn it around after this injury
Oddly, he reminds of Kelly Johnson with much better defense. He shows flashes of brilliance and then declines. Of course, Johnson always seems to manage to not get picked up, sign another deal (or be traded) and put up decent power for the other team.