Wakamatsu saying all the right things

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 19, 2009 7:09 AM PDT

-If you're wondering what Don Wakamatsu values, you might want to start with defense. He will be faced with some difficult decisions regarding playing time and he told me he'll give defense its due weight. That will probably come up in battles at catcher, first base, shortstop, and left field. Not sure it means good news for Jeff Clement, Ken Griffey Jr. or Yuniesky Betancourt.

DW seems to be truly pained by having to play Griffey in the outfield, but seems conscious of how badly Griffey wants to be out there. If Wak was a real bastard (in a good way) he could play Griffey in the outfield for a week and a half straight, and when the knees start to flare up come to him and say "see, we'll never get to 2 million in attendance this way, why don't you DH after they drain that joint again".

And Baker:

Betancourt saw just six pitches tonight in his four at-bats... Wakamatsu said that unless he sees a change in Betancourt's approach... "And if he doesn't produce, then we'll look to go in a different direction.'

Later Baker quotes Wak saying that after Yuni's no-out double play they sent Cedeno to talk to him right away. I'm not sure what that means, or what Cedeno could have said.

YB 'Hola, como estas?"

RC /kicks Yuni right in the babymaker

YB "Ai, mis santos cojones!"

In the audio Wak talks about how Ronny laid down another nice bunt and does all the small things they do to manufacture runs, which sounds like standard spring training fare - we're going to do the fundamentals and so on. I hate hearing about doing the little things because the little things don't usually involve hitting the ball well. Bunts are nice and all, but getting the ball past the infielders is nicer.

On the other hand, we have an annoyingly Angel-like lineup, and Wakamatsu may well be serious about playing Scoscia ball this year. With plus defense, a lot of speed on the basepaths and a solid bullpen you don't need a bunch of homerun hitters to win games. Of course, we don't necessarily have a solid bullpen but you never know with these things.

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We also don't have a speedy lineup.

Outside of Ichiro, Gutierrez, and Endy, this team isn’t exactly hell on wheels. I recall that Beltre runs the bases fairly well, but I’m having trouble finding the baserunning WPA numbers. I do remember that Yuni and Loafie are dreadful. I can’t imagine Russ Branyan is all that special on the dirt either.

by abender20 on Mar 19, 2009 8:46 AM PDT reply actions

None good sans Ichiro, but none really bad either.

BP Link

by Matthew on Mar 19, 2009 9:18 AM PDT up reply actions

If I understand correctly, EQBRR is not position-dependent.

I wouldn’t expect many catchers or 1B to be crafty on the bases, but wouldn’t the average SS and 2b (positions generally manned by more speedy humans) put up higher EQBRR numbers? That, if true, would make Yuni and Lopez “bad” by comparison and in turn hurt the M’s who could in theory be playing better baserunning middle infielders (all else being equal).

by abender20 on Mar 19, 2009 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions

Notice how Ichiro makes up for the entire rest of the team.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Mar 19, 2009 11:01 AM PDT up reply actions

Yuni doesn't steal well but he's fast

or was at one point. And between the OFers, Beltre, and Yuni the team is more fast than not.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 19, 2009 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions

Yuni was the worst baserunner on the team last year by total EQBRR.

by abender20 on Mar 19, 2009 10:56 AM PDT up reply actions

That's because he should not try to steal

but his foot speed is not bad. At least, he used to be able to take an extra base once in a while. Anyway, Cedeno is looking more and more like the regular SS and he’s at least average.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 19, 2009 11:36 AM PDT up reply actions

His baserunning is sub-par, that's all there is to it.

by abender20 on Mar 19, 2009 1:12 PM PDT up reply actions

And yet he is quite fast and occasionally stretches singles into doubles

There. That’s all there is to it. :)

by johnbai on Mar 19, 2009 1:15 PM PDT up reply actions

But he is atrociously bad at stealing bases despite decent speed

I swear to god that’s all there is to it.

by OlSalty on Mar 19, 2009 1:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Like Jack, I'm giving Wakamatsu the benefit of the doubt, so he's a good manager in my book until he proves otherwise.

He’s done nothing to prove the negative yet. I like him more and more with each thing I hear from him. I mean, sending the guy that might replace Yuni to talk to Yuni about what he did wrong? Excellent.

Throw the snacks in the bag and I'm ghost like Swayze!
Preserved In All His Greatness - R.I.P. The Reignman 1989 to 1997

by JLProck on Mar 19, 2009 8:48 AM PDT reply actions

You know, I love that move too. His public remarks about Yuni also.

For a bit I was thinking if Yuni didn’t fit into the long range plans of the team, then trying to maximize whatever value he has for a trade would be smart. Now I’m going the other way for 2 reasons.
1) Usually you don’t pick on a guy or push him unless you believe he’s under-performing and you’re trying to wake them up. If you don’t believe in someone or don’t like them, typically they wind up not getting a lot of input as no one gives a shit about them.

2) Wakamatsu is singling Yuni out of the pack as an example. He’s not some new guy, the Star Trek crew member with no name that you pretty much expect not to survive the episode. He’s fairly established on this team, so if Wakamatsu nails his hide to the wall it’s a pretty clear message to the rest of the team who is in charge, what the expectations are, and that nobody owns a position. Perform or get out of the way, like that.

by Kermit. on Mar 19, 2009 10:12 AM PDT up reply actions

More likely conversation

YB: Hey Ron, what’s up?
RC: Skip just asked me to come over and give you a pat on the back.
YB: Really? But I just grounded into a double play on the first pitch.
RC: Yeah, but skip could tell that you were trying your hardest. He likes your approach and told me to tell you not to change a thing. Keep hackin’ and the hits will come.

by johnbai on Mar 19, 2009 11:35 AM PDT reply actions

I didn't know how to say all that in spanish

and I’ve always loved the use of ‘santos cojones’ as an expletive.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 19, 2009 11:37 AM PDT up reply actions

Does this basically translate into "Holy balls"?

by johnbai on Mar 19, 2009 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah I guess

my Spanish is rudimentary, so I don’t know if there’s a distinction between ‘holy’ and ‘saintly’. Holy could be maybe sacro? Anyway, it’s used mostly in the phrase ‘por mis santos cojones’ which I’ve always taken to mean ‘for my saintly balls’, and saintly carries with it an implication of both moral purity and unjust suffering for a greater cause. The real question is, are there two halos or only one?

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 19, 2009 1:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Well if it's Lance Armstrong...

by brayden04 on Mar 19, 2009 10:24 PM PDT up reply actions

If "santos" is an adjective, wouldn't it come after the noun?

as in: “cajones santos”… leading me to believe that it’s not an adjective at all. But another plural noun. Perhaps cajones is the adjective… so “por mis santos cajones” really means “for my testicular saints”?

by johnbai on Mar 20, 2009 12:16 PM PDT up reply actions