Winter leagues

[CatsEye]

Please leave the moderating to our team of experts, please.     
 

Just spreading the guilt, as much as I can, turtle........ 

[blue911]

Please leave the moderating to our team of experts, please.     

Blue, please stay on topic.
 

Sign Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA & Adam Dunn

[tomterp]

Sign Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA & Adam Dunn

 

[Potomac Cannons]

Maya with another good outing.  7 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K.  Only gave up 1 ER and still picked up the loss.

So far Maya has 0.69 ERA through 5 starts.  26 IP, 14 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 26 K, 0.77 WHIP.

Really looking like all he needed was a chance to shake off the rust.  It will be interesting to see how he does in the Spring.

[Sharp]

Maya looked very good in Cuba too.  I'm not entirely sure I buy that his success in the DWL is anything but the product of a small sample size and the lower quality of hitters he's facing.  Even a major league pitcher like Lannan was able to go down to AA and dominate after a short readjustment period.

[blue911]

Maya looked very good in Cuba too.  I'm not entirely sure I buy that his success in the DWL is anything but the product of a small sample size and the lower quality of hitters he's facing.  Even a major league pitcher like Lannan was able to go down to AA and dominate after a short readjustment period.

You might want to scratch the Lannan statement.

[PANatsFan]

You might want to scratch the Lannan statement.

Yeah, that sounded dumb, he pitched as well as he did in AA when he came back to the majors.

[NatsDad14]

Didn't Maya also dominate the minors?

[houston-nat]

Didn't Maya also dominate the minors?

Not really, he was just OK. Didn't strike anyone out, if I remember correctly. A lot of 5 inning starts.

[Sharp]

Yeah, that sounded dumb, he pitched as well as he did in AA when he came back to the majors.

Briefly, yes.  We really didn't see a ton of starts from him after he came back up (though I liked what I saw).  But there are many pitchers who dominate the minors and struggle in the majors, and the DWL is much closer to AA than the major leagues.

[Lintyfresh85]

Wasn't Lannan pretty much garbage when he got sent to the minors?

I recall not being happy he got called back up, despite putting up pretty terrible minor league stats.

Edit: Yep, 4.20 ERA, 1.45 WHIP

Whatever it was that he found the second time around, swagger, a new pitch, whatever... it worked... but I don't think his less than stellar minor league stint helped him all that much.

[Sharp]

I think his last few starts in the minors were good, but the only real reason he came up was because Maya wasn't doing well and Strasburg was out.

[Potomac Cannons]

I think his last few starts in the minors were good, but the only real reason he came up was because Maya wasn't doing well and Strasburg was out.

Lannan's last three AA starts:

4.2 IP--5 H, 4 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 3 K
5.0 IP--9 H, 4 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 5 K
5.0 IP--7 H, 4 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 4 K

Not exactly stellar.

[Sharp]

Huh.  I wonder why I remember it that way.  This is why you should always check your facts before posting... I've just been too excited lately to do that.

[Potomac Cannons]

Huh.  I wonder why I remember it that way.  This is why you should always check your facts before posting... I've just been too excited lately to do that.

The last two games, considering how his K/BB was so different once he came back up, do suggest he was working on a new pitch/out pitch while disregarding the rest.

[PANatsFan]

Yeah, now I remember being annoyed because he was not performing well in the minors and got called up anyway.

[tomterp]

The last two games, considering how his K/BB was so different once he came back up, do suggest he was working on a new pitch/out pitch while disregarding the rest.

Clearly he was working on stuff, and whatever he did he proved enough to the scouts that he was ready, weak stats notwithstanding.  A reminder to all of us that despite much good information we have available to us, we don't have all of the relevant data all the time.

[blue911]

Clearly he was working on stuff, and whatever he did he proved enough to the scouts that he was ready, weak stats notwithstanding.  A reminder to all of us that despite much good information we have available to us, we don't have all of the relevant data all the time.

Pitching inside didn't hurt.

[Terpfan76]

Pitching inside didn't hurt.

Few things aggravated me more than the Nats pitching staff's complete unwillingness to pitch inside. It doesn't matter if Livan hurls an 84mph heater up at your chin, it still looks fast and will back you off the plate.

[Potomac Cannons]

Few things aggravated me more than the Nats pitching staff's complete unwillingness to pitch inside. It doesn't matter if Livan hurls an 84mph heater up at your chin, it still looks fast and will back you off the plate.

Especially since his previous pitch likely pulled off at a rest stop, stretched it's legs, took a wiz, ate some cheetos, and then decided to cross home plate at a crisp 63 mph.

[blue911]

Few things aggravated me more than the Nats pitching staff's complete unwillingness to pitch inside. It doesn't matter if Livan hurls an 84mph heater up at your chin, it still looks fast and will back you off the plate.

yep. He also threw a couple up in the zone after his return. Low & outside doesn't work if that's all you ever throw.

[imref]

via @half_street:

C Wilson Ramos was 3-for-5, including a 2B off RHP Shairon Martis, w/ a HR & 3 RBI in Aragua’s 6-4 W @ Magallanes in Venezuela.  C Jesus Flores was 3-for-4 w/ a 2B, a HR & 2 RBI for Magallanes in same game; both Ramos & Flores were a 3B short of the cycle.  #Nats

[Terpfan76]

Sounds promising. Can Flores throw worth a crap though?

[Lintyfresh85]

Flores is dead.

Not sure about Zombie Flores, though.

[Potomac Cannons]

Sounds promising. Can Flores throw worth a crap though?

He's getting consistent playing time down there so I guess we can hope so.  It would be a fantastic bit of good luck if we suddenly have 3 promising C prospects and Flores is the old one at 26.

Makes me think Rizzo could sneak Pudge into a deal for his "veteran leadership" and go with Ramos/Flores to start the year and Norris at AA waiting in the wings.

Flores only has 13 games due to the calf strain but he's got a nice .952 OPS so far.