Posts belonging to Category Daniel “Dee” Clark

June 2, 2010

I recently told Arlo that I would attempt to make more frequent Sombrero posts, but this weekend was a busy one for me.  I was in Denver attending the Calcote/Lucero bachelor party.  Jason Calcote is a lifelong friend of mine and was kind enough to invite me to be one of the groomsmen in his upcoming wedding.  Garret Lucero is another friend of mine, and the two decided to have a combined party up in Denver so that we could catch part of the Dodgers/Rox series.  It was a fun weekend.  I’m going to leave it at that.

A lot of baseball stuff happened over the weekend, though, so I’m going to attempt to condense it all into a reasonably brief post.  Probably the sweetest thing for New Mexican baseball that took place over the holiday weekend was UNM’s at-large bid into a regional.  The selection, which took place early Monday morning, was the program’s first selection in almost half a century.  They open up against Stanford as a three-seed in the Fullerton regional.  I truly believe they have an honest to God shot at making it into the round of 16.  With wins against Texas, TCU, and a couple other schools that have spent time in the top-25, this group appears to have all the requisite preparation for games of this magnitude.

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May 25, 2010

A friend of the Sombrero has had quite a month of May (and parts of April).  He accepted a job with a large scouting agency to analyze prospect statistics for a summer, he earned his masters degree from a very high-ranking economics program, and he is currently in a long interview process with a certain desert-located big league team named after a snake.  If I seem like I am being a little cryptic, it is because our friend, who will be referred to as Eat-a for the remainder of this post, has not been given the job quite yet.  Eat-a has been kind enough to include me a little in the process and has enlightened me as to what is expected from realistic applicants for jobs in the big leagues.  I personally found some of it surprising, but the majority of his process has been largely what I would have expected given how coveted these jobs surely are.

Eat-a played ball in college with most of the Sombrero writers and appeared on numerous All-MWC teams as a Pioneer.  He captained the team as a senior, and threw professionally in Australia after his graduation.  Essentially, Eat-a had a very successful career in the game and we all greatly benefitted from being his teammate.

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May 22, 2010

Jim got engaged!  To a terrific young lady I might add.  Congratulations, buddy!  We’re really proud and excited for you.  Two more engagement shout-outs: first one for our buddy, Kevin (Kev Kong) Wilcox; second one for my dental school classmate/friend and cadaver dissecting partner, Val Sanchez.  Very fun things.

Before I get going with this post, I want to apologize for not posting anything lately.  My finals week lasted about 15 days/nights and was a truly painful experience for everyone involved.  I still am awaiting confirmation that I passed my last two exams, but I did not need to do that well on them to make it to 2^nd year.  I don’t think when I began dental school or even when I was applying that I had any idea what it would actually be like.  Grinnell is a challenging undergraduate institution that consistently ranks among the most extensive in the country in terms of workload.  It did not remotely compare to what was expected of each student at Baylor.  They say the first year of professional school is the most challenging of any student’s career.  I really hope that is the case.

Moving on.  I have tried not to write much about fantasy on this blog because I am fearful of disclosing information that has helped me succeed in previous to my competitors.  The blog comes first now, though, so hopefully none of what I disclose is seen as particularly novel.

This post will center on some recent trades I have completed in my 16-team 7 x 7 (AVG, OBP, SLUG, HR, SB, R, RBI x IP, W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP, K/BB) league that I play in with my friends, many of whom write for the Sombrero.  Before I begin I should mention that I tend to give the team I drafted a month or so of a chance for two primary reasons.  First, it takes approximately 100 plate appearances or so to produce a meaningful set of results capable of evaluation.  Second, this evaluation should help determine a reevaluation of the predraft rankings implicit within are new projections and expectations.  This reevaluation should generate some inefficiencies and potential bargain deals throughout any league.  Hopefully a month into the season every one of your players are playing over-their-heads and producing at unsustainably high levels.  This will inflate their values to the point that they are capable of fetching players ranked considerably higher in the predraft rankings.  A month into the season the rankings that should be taken the most seriously remain those produced prior to the draft because they are based in the most extensive and reliable numbers.  Some players are streaky, and some streak/slump oscillations express periods of a month or longer.  For these reasons, I target May as the month in which I need to work the hardest in fantasy.  This unfortunately coincides with finals and has been hindered more than usual this year.  Nevertheless I have made a few moves that I think will really help my squad, the Heights Knights (named after my 8^th grade basketball team), find their stride and hopefully begin to climb in the standings.

CLAR traded Kevin Youkilis, Bos 3B to A-holes
CLAR traded Nate McLouth, Atl OF to A-holes
CLAR traded Kevin Slowey, Min SP to A-holes
MVW traded David Wright, NYM 3B to Knights
MVW dropped David DeJesus, KC OF to Free Agency
MVW dropped Nick Hundley, SD C to Free Agency

This trade took place in early May and heavily reflects my love for David Wright and very little else.  Simply put, I lost this trade.  Youkilis plays for a better team in a better yard, makes contact more often and has better control of the strike zone, probably more power, is more consistent, and, most importantly, will be an easier guy to move later on.  This final reason is a product of the fact that as the season progresses, Wright’s strikeout totals will likely seem more astronomic by the day.  The Mets are a pathetic organization.  I blame their management and front office entirely for David’s recent and ongoing struggles with contact.  That’s a different subject for a different day, though.  Back to the trade.  Slowey’s command is second to none, and even though he lacks a put-away pitch or above average anything, his ability to locate makes him a serviceable two or exceptional three in any rotation.  In a league like ours that uses IP as a category, Slowey is a horse and will always outperform his 5×5 ranking.  McLouth has not looked like the all-star he was in 2008 because he is not making contact often enough.  He will continue to lose playing time as long as he fails to put the ball in play, but, when near his best, McLouth makes Melky Cabrera look like the minor league journeyman he should be.

Eunuch (MVW) beat me on this trade, but I have David, my favorite player, and I am much happier moving forward now as a result.

TOWL traded Nick Markakis, Bal OF to Knights
CLAR traded Yovani Gallardo, Mil SP to Corporate Towls

This trade was mostly a reflection of our cap on starts.  Essentially three starters should be able to reach the cap (100), and I had five at the time.  Gallardo was my highest ranked according to ESPN, but in our league should have been dropped extensively due to his notoriously high pitch counts and less-than-ace-caliber walk totals.  In standard formats, these are virtually meaningless, but in our league make Yo a 4-category contributor in a 14-category format.

Markakis has been one of my targets since 2006.  His ability to both differentiate balls and strikes as well as center the baseball make him lethal in formats such as ours that utilize both average and OBP categories despite having just 15 to 20-bomb power.  Because OBP is not included in the standard format, Markakis is far more valuable in the Cup than he is according to ESPN.

Budz dropped Kris Medlen, Atl RP to Free Agency
Budz dropped J.J. Putz, CWS RP to Free Agency
Budz traded Billy Butler, KC 1B to Knights
CLAR traded Todd Helton, Col 1B to ChronicL’s
CLAR traded Josh Willingham, Was OF to ChronicL’s
CLAR traded Matt Lindstrom, Hou RP to ChronicL’s

Ty9 traded Carlos Lee, Hou OF to Knights
CLAR traded Billy Butler, KC 1B to POO

These trades happened within hours of each other, so I will treat them as one mega deal in which I move Helton, Willingham, and Lindstrom for Carlos Lee.  A trade like this is only possible if you really know the other managers in the league.  My first trading partner in this deal was Griff.  Griff is after a first-place finish this year, and I know it.  He has produced increasingly higher finishes each year and made it into the top-5 last season for the first time.  In a 16-team league, saves are a big deal.  Not only are there only 30 closers at any time but also a 0 in any category means a lot more when one team is getting 16 and the average team is snagging 8 or 9 from that category.  I find it very hard to envision a first place team getting last or even close to last in the saves category.  A single stable closer (30 saves) for the entire season is probably enough to avoid a catastrophically low saves total, and closers are hoarded in our league as a result.  The effects of this hoarding are an enhanced demand and a reduced supply of saves.  Griff recognized that the longer he waited, the less the return and the higher the cost.  By a stroke of luck, Alfredo Simon, the new Orioles closer was available as well as Manny Corpas making Lindstrom somewhat expendable.

Willingham is another guy who is worth more in our league than in a standard league because of his skill at reaching base, but what some folks have been slow to accept is the quality of the heart of the Nationals order.  Hitting behind Adam Dunn should provide Hammer with a shot at 100 RBI’s.  He has a chance this season to be an all-star and is especially valuable in a platoon.

Todd Helton again is more valuable in our league due to his combination of average and on-base skills.  Jason Giambi is a ridiculous distraction and almost comical nowadays, but he should be eliminated shortly I suspect due to the imminent season-ending injury that surely accompanies 39-year old, fat, steroid abusers.  Griff actually got Helton at a time when his value may be somewhat deflated due to his slow start, and in general this trade is looking as though I came away the loser.

However, I knew if I could just snag Butler that Ty9, a lifelong and diehard Royals fan, would probably give me Carlos Lee in exchange.  Lee has been getting a lot of bad publicity recently because of his slow start, but the guy can take every square inch of the zone 450 ft.  I saw his slow start as an obvious opportunity to buy low on a guy that has a 3-year mean OPS over .880 and a 5-year average of 31 dongs/season.

Everyone other Tyrone won this one.

Bob dropped Mike Adams, SD RP to Free Agency
CLAR traded David Ortiz, Bos DH to of Shelley
CLAR traded Chris Coghlan, Fla OF to of Shelley
Bob traded Carlos Pena, TB 1B to Knights

As noted earlier, I have a tendency to fall in love with certain players.  Carlos is one of those guys for me.  I have never had him on my team.  He is clearly underperforming right now, but has shown the ability to stay inside and above the ball with good lower body action in the last week or so against good arms.  The ball Gardner took away was an excellent swing, and the next night Carlos went deep twice.  I love him and rolled out the red carpet this morning for him.

I’m a Coghlan believer.  I think his mechanics at the plate allow him to handle almost all pitches even though they probably are good for no more than fifteen jacks/season.  As everyone has always known about Coghlan, his skills play better at 2B than at a COF spot.  Not going to happen with Uggla on 40-jack pace.  Still, Coghlan should be around a .300 hitter the rest of the way while walking at a respectable clip.

Papi is so tough to evaluate right now.  Sometimes he looks as good as ever, and sometimes he looks like he could go 0-for a beer league game.  This suggests that Papi is guessing and cheating his hands at the plate to compensate for either reduced pitch deciphering abilities, reduced bat speed, injury, or a combination of the three.  I suspect that I may have moved him at the perfect time, and while I have normally been a fan of Papi, the failed PED test was a big turnoff for me.  Considering I plucked him off of waivers a week before this deal, it was easy to pull the trigger.

I am very satisfied with these trades and the way my team is looking.  This has been one of my more successful Mays, and, with the addition of luck, health, and a few more quality moves, it should put me in position to challenge for my first title.

The current Knights:

May 8, 2010

Friday evening saw what will go down as a historic District 1AAAA title game between Farmington High and Piedra Vista High. The game saw two Division 1 signees in dead lockstep on the mound, extra innings, and victory for the home team. As FHS 3B, Joe Cervantes, touched home in the bottom of the 8th, the Scorps raced from the dugout to celebrate at the plate while the Panthers sauntered off of the field. All was not lost, however, since, due to a rule which is ripe for amendment, the Panthers still retained enough of a runs scored/allowed difference to collect their school’s first title.

The following morning, coaches from both schools carpooled and caravanned together southward to scout various potential opponents they may face in the upcoming state tournament in what will surely go down as another first. Prior to this season, the coaching staffs of the two powerhouses were bitter rivals and enemies. With a new generation of coaches at both schools has come a sense of cooperativity both in the school ball season and the club seasons. It is the opinion of the local baseball community that this cooperation was entirely overdue. The rivalry at times destroyed friendships, resulted in criminal activity, and, most importantly, stalled players’ development. No doubt the schools shared some of their scouting information in an effort to ensure the state title comes home to Farmington. It’s about time that eastside and westside Farmington were viewed as a single baseball community.

Sunday morning the two schools snagged the top two seeds in the state tournament bracket (PV at the top) ensuring that the earliest the two clubs can meet is the title bout. The road will be tough for both schools with a number of strong Albuquerque metro schools as well as a couple strong squads from the southern half of the state. Nevertheless, none of these schools should stand in the way of what should break the current tie between the two powers from up north.

PV has never won a state championship, but they have played in a handful.  They are the heavy favorite to win their first one this month, but what FHS proved last weekend is that this juggernaut has a weakness or two. Most notably is the fact that their entire lineup is right-handed. Scorpion starting arm, Eli Freese, held the Panthers to just two hits and never allowed a ball into the outfield in the air. Good downward and heavy action from righties will cause PV trouble at the plate. They play exceptional defense and have easily the strongest rotation and bullpen in the state, but other schools possess a more diverse offense. Don’t get me wrong, though. PV has proven they can scrape runs across when they need primarily by means of speed and an aggressive approach to running bases.

The state tourney kicks off this weekend with both Farmington High and PV hosting regionals at Ricketts against Bernalillo and Deming respectively. The visiting squads should not beat either of the home junior varsities, so let’s hope the Scorps and Panthers can get some of the early postseason jitters out Friday so they will be ready to attack in the quarters the following weekend.

As an alum of both of these programs (played at FHS and coached at PV), I am not sure I have ever been as proud to be a member of the Farmington baseball community as I am now. The way these two rivals have turned their war into something that benefits everyone has been nothing short of inspirational, and both schools will reap the rewards for generations. The perception held by kids now is not that they will eventually be a Panther or a Scorp but rather that they will represent their town in a way that is shared and owned communally. Finally. Best of luck to both of these schools. Leave no doubt in anyone’s mind where the blue trophy belongs: Ricketts.

Coaches set out to accomplish a few things at the beginning of every season. At the very top of this list is the development of players. In other words, the primary objective of any coach is to provide the resources and skills needed to ensure that each of his players turn more of their potential into performance, ultimately leading to the eventual fulfillment of the players’ talent. Sometimes it is very easy to find the desire and inspiration to attack this task. Sometimes, players find themselves in the middle of winning streaks or hit streaks, and during these times, the yard is quite alluring. When players come to the yard with joy and excitement on their faces, it is easy to get the most out of ourselves as coaches. We know that the players’ intentions during these times revolve around having the most fun they can between the lines or in the cage. All we have to do is roll them a ball and they will develop at a rapid pace.

Other times, however, it is a search to find the same smiles and joy in the players’ faces. What are we to do when our suggestions and criticisms are received with hostility and contempt? Is it fair to expect players to love the game even if they haven’t won a game in a week and are 0-for-June?  Fairness may ultimately be a futile ambition when excellence is the goal. However, the illusion of fairness for the sake of motivation is possible.

Players understand that their actions are perpetually evaluated and that their roster spots are always up for grabs. This insecurity reasonably leads to internal competition. The important point, however, is that the coach must create a situation where he is seen as the competition. Thus, a unified attempt to defeat the coach will ensue as opposed to a number of isolated individual battles between players competing for the lineup. Players thrive off competition, and the coach must understand that at times, he must be defeated in practice settings in order to bring the team a new sense of community. Players must compete daily, but this can be very uncomfortable at times, particularly those times when players know they are fighting for tomorrow’s at-bats. The coach must find ways to ensure that these competitions are still intrinsically motivating, however, and this may mean allowing himself to become an occasional antagonist.

I am not suggesting that the coach must only be seen as an enemy. Rather, the coach must demonstrate that he is a friend first, but a friend willing to be blunt to the point of insult.  Players need honesty so that their ability to evaluate their own performances are accurate and consistent.

These can be difficult parameters in which to find fun, but it is certainly still possible. The point is that practice must be fun if a player is going to allow games to be. By producing stressful situations that the team must overcome communally, the coach trains his players to handle competition as a group. Teams are fun. Baseball has very little to do with teamwork during games, but the comfort present in a player who feels safely backed by his friends allows him to experience stress with his team and not alone.  Comfort is the first step toward righting any slumps or doubts. Players have fun when they are allowed to express themselves, and a coach willing to allow his team to view him as the occasional enemy stands a stronger chance of developing comfortable players capable of letting the game be a reflection of themselves. That sounds fun to me.