tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post3784060782536823254..comments2024-02-15T05:42:18.307-05:00Comments on Nats Insider: Werth is truckin' alongMark Zuckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13525315258889435961noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-57339445115435245902012-03-26T21:28:25.194-04:002012-03-26T21:28:25.194-04:00I was at the game on Sunday and today I spoke with...I was at the game on Sunday and today I spoke with the same people quoted in Tom Boswell's Post column Both the parking lot attendant and the tiki bar bartender told me the same story, that Werth's truck was parked near the entrance to the players' parking lot behind the left field fence and the World of Beer's tiki bar and that the home run banked off an palm tree and onto Werth's truck. Today, by the way, Werth had parked in left field again, but he was driving his Porsche, not his truck. (At the body shop?)The Retired Journalistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-76949797289155110272012-03-26T12:54:42.954-04:002012-03-26T12:54:42.954-04:00I'll take Ruth :-)I'll take Ruth :-)Cwjnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-62809298073946050642012-03-26T10:59:02.381-04:002012-03-26T10:59:02.381-04:00Anonymous 11:25
"Sorry dude but Mantle's...Anonymous 11:25<br /><br />"Sorry dude but Mantle's ONLY advantage as an impact hitter over Williams was his switch hitting and when he was younger his speed ... which didn't last very long."<br /><br />Oh, my. Where to begin to address such abysmal ignorance? Well, let's start with some Bill James analysis. If you are not just talking through your hat, you know who Bill James is, right? If you don't, James created the sabremetric of runs created (RC = (hits + walks)/plate appearances) that assesses credit for each run produced. In 2001, he came up with a formula for "win shares", an extrapolation of runs created that calculates a player's contribution to every victory. According to that metric, Mantle should have been the AL's MVP on 9 separate occasions, not just the 3 he was awarded. When Cyril Manning extrapolated win shares per at bat, Mantle came in 2nd only to Babe Ruth. If you wanted a winning team, Mantle would have been the informed choice, not Williams.<br /><br />Now let's go to Pete Palmer, author of "Hidden Game of Baseball", shall we? Just so you know, it was he who developed the OPS metric, OPS = SLG + OBP, as well as developing BFW (batter fielder wins), which calculates the number of wins (over or under) what an average player would contribute with his batting base running and fielding. In the world of BFWs, 2 games per season are significant. Palmer credits Mantle with 71.8 over his career, with Mantle scoring a BFW of 8 in both 1956 and 1957, and with a 7.5 in 1961. On 3 other occasions, he had a BNFW over 5.<br /><br />And, lest we forget, contrary to your unsupported assertion, part of Mantle's superior effectiveness was his speed. Even after age and injury took some of that away, he avoided the dreaded GDP stat like few in the history of the game, far fewer than other alleged speed demons such as Willie Mays (only about half as many as Mays), and certainly contributed far more with his base-running and fielding skills than lead-footed Ted Williams. <br /><br />You can argue that Williams was the better hitter, but there is no question that Mantle was the better and more effective player. When he was healthy Mantle was also, arguably, the best there ever was. Tony Kubek, who played on the field in the same era as both Mantle and Williams, argues that Mantle, batting right-handed, was the best hitter he ever saw.<br /><br />You can take Williams. He was certainly a great player. I'll take Mick, who was even better.<br /><br />Laddie_Blah_BlahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-85876406739435947222012-03-26T09:18:22.228-04:002012-03-26T09:18:22.228-04:00The discussion of Ted Williams brings back memorie...The discussion of Ted Williams brings back memories of when he managed the Senators from 1969-71. He treated hitting as a science and would talk to strangers for hours about it. Fans came early to BP, hoping to see Teddy hit line drives at age 51. He was able to increase the Senators' BA 27 points from '68 to '69 in leading the Senators to their last winning record. The roster included the likes of Eddie Brinkman, Tim Cullen and Paul Casanova, none of whom could make the Nats' lineup.<br />Wait--wasn't Ted cryogenically frozen somewhere in an Arizona fridge? Could he be brought back to teach hitting to our current team?? Hmmm . . .<br /><br /><br /><br />Could we bring him back to teach hitting to our current team??? Hmmmm. . . .fast eddienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-60841857180889908422012-03-26T07:59:03.734-04:002012-03-26T07:59:03.734-04:00Always nice when fat sports fans give swing advice...Always nice when fat sports fans give swing advice to major league hitters. Thanks for the laugh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-51880612355921176442012-03-26T07:15:37.869-04:002012-03-26T07:15:37.869-04:00Anon@6:24 if you read this, check MLB.com for the ...Anon@6:24 if you read this, check MLB.com for the Mariners or the Oakland A's. That will give you game times. Wednesday 6:10 a.m. is the first game.NatsLadynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-59483022313776235612012-03-26T06:57:11.913-04:002012-03-26T06:57:11.913-04:00>>Williams still played right field and neve...>>Williams still played right field and never moved into to a cozy slot at first base.<<<br />_____<br /><br />Ted played left field. Not a good arm and no speed.upperdeck4noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-55151744735283150642012-03-26T06:26:51.619-04:002012-03-26T06:26:51.619-04:00What, no love for Vinny's mullet?
Anonymous s...What, no love for Vinny's mullet?<br /><br />Anonymous said...<br /><br /> Vinny Castillo Swing > then Mickey Mantle & Ted Williams<br /> March 26, 2012 3:11 AMnatsfan1anoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-76556114204405708882012-03-26T06:24:48.087-04:002012-03-26T06:24:48.087-04:00I am always up early for work - where can I find o...I am always up early for work - where can I find out the info on the japan games?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-49514433308216243602012-03-26T05:27:33.487-04:002012-03-26T05:27:33.487-04:00Anon in Juneau--had to wake up really early for wo...Anon in Juneau--had to wake up really early for work and your post made me LOL! The Japan games are on here at 6:10 a.m. Gonna be a struggle to watch but it'll be for real baseball.NatsLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06814911056080758503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-81549776841497387772012-03-26T03:16:15.365-04:002012-03-26T03:16:15.365-04:00I also like to point out the east coast bias on th...I also like to point out the east coast bias on the time of these posts. I currently am the President of the Nats fan club in Juneau, Alaska (which currently consists of me) and it is 11:15 pm Alaskan time. God Bless America. And Go Nats! F Philly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-60872331429943597842012-03-26T03:11:38.771-04:002012-03-26T03:11:38.771-04:00Vinny Castillo Swing > then Mickey Mantle &...Vinny Castillo Swing > then Mickey Mantle & Ted WilliamsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-42906038545697152342012-03-25T23:25:06.766-04:002012-03-25T23:25:06.766-04:00Laddie_Blah_Blah
In 1960 William's last year ...Laddie_Blah_Blah<br /><br />In 1960 William's last year he had a .451 OBP a .470 wOBA and a WAR calculated to be 4.0. Yeah his average was lower than normal at .316? Nice ISO of .329?? This was at age 40. <br /><br />NO ONE ON THE NATS did that last year? I rather doubt ANYONE will do that this year at whatever age they are ... right?<br /><br />That is why HE is in the hall of fame as the best pure hitter that likely ever played the game. <br /><br />In Mantle's last year? Let's we see a .385 OBP, a .362 wOBA but only a .161 ISO? Not bad and .262 average. He did make a 3.9 WAR. <br /><br />Interestingly enough Williams UZR of -9.0 was about the same as mantle's -10.0. Williams still played right field and never moved into to a cozy slot at first base.<br /><br />Sorry dude but Mantle's ONLY advantage as an impact hitter over Williams was his switch hitting and when he was younger his speed ... which didn't last very long.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-42256452663194380462012-03-25T22:48:18.955-04:002012-03-25T22:48:18.955-04:00Anonymous 9:44
I am not comparing Werth with Mant...Anonymous 9:44<br /><br />I am not comparing Werth with Mantle, just applying Gonat's own analysis to another player and the results he achieved with the same swing as Werth's. Take a course in reading comprehension, or perhaps it is you who needs to have his eyes checked.<br /><br />Gonat, you must never have seen Mantle actually swing. He put his entire body into his swing, as well as his wrists and hands. When Mantle swung and missed, the power of his own swing often sent him to the ground on one knee. That was not because of wrist action, but because he put everything he had into generating that bat speed.<br /><br />Early in his career, Ted Williams approached him at the All-Star game and asked him how he changed his swing for different pitches and pitchers. Mantle had no idea how to answer, but went into a 2-week slump after the All-Star game trying to figure out how to refine his swing. He only came out of when he went back to swinging all-out, all the time, and to hell with Williams' approach to hitting. Or yours, too, I imagine.<br /><br />I think Mantle is in the Hall of Fame, despite his swing.<br /><br />Laddie_Blah_BlahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-38508064037755149012012-03-25T21:55:29.723-04:002012-03-25T21:55:29.723-04:00NatsBrat, the players parking lot is more in Right...NatsBrat, the players parking lot is more in Right Center but players parallel park on the grass in the left-field area in the players area.Gonatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-65212884598238613812012-03-25T21:51:30.504-04:002012-03-25T21:51:30.504-04:00If the player's parking lot is behind right fi...If the player's parking lot is behind right field, I guess Werth must have forgotten where he parked his truck--or else the ball bounced laterally for some 2-300 feet!NatsBratnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-86874087564195255592012-03-25T21:44:33.653-04:002012-03-25T21:44:33.653-04:00Bryce Harper would be excited to know that Werth i...Bryce Harper would be excited to know that Werth is being compared to Mickey Mantle. They aren't close. That is such a slam on Mickey to have his name used in the same sentence as Werth. Laddie, you need your eyes checked.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-64417496821663448052012-03-25T21:34:50.062-04:002012-03-25T21:34:50.062-04:00Gonat, my apologies, I see the difference. Werth i...Gonat, my apologies, I see the difference. Werth is bent back in his swing. This is what he is and probably no change from his Philly days. Still a matter of results. Wouldn't be surprised if Eckstein didn't screw with his swing last year.Mark'dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-53204647129538750232012-03-25T21:26:07.870-04:002012-03-25T21:26:07.870-04:00Laddie_Blah_Blah, Mickey attacked the ball with gr...Laddie_Blah_Blah, Mickey attacked the ball with great rotation of his wrist and hands. His front plant leg was always slightly more bent than Werth. Mickey had amazing power generated by bat speed.<br /><br />Watch Pujols in frames 33 to 35 on his front leg and momentum going forward. Right after impact his leg will go straight for his finish. Its subtle and his part of rotational hitting is demonstrated well in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWDwbxdXi3YGonatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-86255093382539334862012-03-25T21:12:03.857-04:002012-03-25T21:12:03.857-04:00Good for Milone. I hope he does well in Oakland; ...Good for Milone. I hope he does well in Oakland; the others, too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-88278440334969679662012-03-25T21:09:48.156-04:002012-03-25T21:09:48.156-04:00Mark'd, its not style points or how your stanc...Mark'd, its not style points or how your stance looks, it is how you look at the point of impact.<br /><br />Werth has never had a picture perfect swing, and its what he is. Just an observation on the photo.Gonatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-44514458632614296542012-03-25T21:09:01.453-04:002012-03-25T21:09:01.453-04:00Gonat,
As I type this I am looking at a picture ...Gonat, <br /><br />As I type this I am looking at a picture of Mickey Mantle's swing (right-handed) and it shows him with his lead leg straight, his center of gravity behind his right (trailing) knee, and his head bent slightly forward, just as in the picture of Werth that Mark included in this story. <br /><br />Too bad Mickey did not have you as his hitting coach, or he might have done better than the .434 that he put up, batting right-handed, at the age of 34.<br /><br />Laddie_Blah_BlahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-69311959522061353922012-03-25T20:57:33.179-04:002012-03-25T20:57:33.179-04:00Meanwhile Milone is pitching 7 inning shutout ball...Meanwhile Milone is pitching 7 inning shutout ball in Japan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-7478373187817317532012-03-25T20:52:35.083-04:002012-03-25T20:52:35.083-04:00Gonat, as long as the results are better this seas...Gonat, as long as the results are better this season who cares about style points.Mark'dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-27248644872419824972012-03-25T20:29:43.384-04:002012-03-25T20:29:43.384-04:00From that photo above it looks like Werth's sw...From that photo above it looks like Werth's swing hasn't changed from last year and too far back in his stance. If the swing is working, that's great. I will tell you though that his form isn't great unless his knee moved forward to perpendicular at impact. <br /><br />Last year Werth's back knee was dipping too much. Difference I see is that he is seeing the ball better and probably getting more aggressive.Gonatnoreply@blogger.com