Some Reader Questions

I'm pretty stretched for time right now, so I'll answer some questions that have been popping up in comments.


b/c asks EJ, are you going to get profiles on the pitchers from the trades. i really want to see Jackson's and Ohlendorf's?

My prior objection to doing so was ignorance about the who the prospects really were. I don't like to rehash other people's analysis because I couldn't come up with anything original alone. I'm starting to become more familiar with the guys, so I'll probably put out profiles for Ross Ohlendorf and Alberto Gonzalez before battery mates report.

Jepedo - DO you know why Joshua Schmidt is still in High A Ball - Tampa? Where do you think He will end this year?

It's a pretty standard path for a reliever to spend a full year in A+ ball after being drafted and sent to short season play. I am glad to see in the Baseball Analysts article that someone mentioned that Schmidt has both above average K rates and top-line ground ball rates.

In case anyone did not know, Jason Schmidt absolutely decimated the short season A ball league in 2005 after being drafted. 33 innings, .27 ERA, 45 Ks, 8 walks, 2.29 GO/AO. He did pretty well in Tampa before the all star break (2.59 ERA, 32 K, 14 BB, Zero HR allowed), but fell apart after the break (5.65 ERA, 36 innings, 34 K, 17 BB, 4 HR allowed). Overall, in the Florida State League, it's a bad year (4.24 ERA). I think that Schmidt still has a lot of potential, but I'm not sold on him until he solves his control problems. He is a sidearmer who throws 89-91 with (as the reader mentioned) a sick little slider.

I think that Schmidt was kept down in Tampa because Tampa needed some bullpen help. They were in a serious playoff hunt and needed the arms. Plus, Trenton had a pretty strong staff. He'll go to a strong Trenton team next season. I would expect him to spend the whole year at Trenton, unless he really dominates. The Scranton bullpen is crowded enough.

Jedepo also asks - Do you think Wang's can learn how to throw new pitch like a 12-6 curveball or knucklecurve from Mussina to the lefties and cutter to the righties?

I doubt that he could learn a curveball. It's really difficult for a pitcher already in the majors to learn a new pitch. Wang already has a slider - which used to be pretty good. He throws it every once in awhile. Reportedly, Wang was working on a cutter toward the end of last season, which you may see a little more in 2007. You do have a point though that Wang needs an out pitch against lefties.