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Brett Wallace’s Thighs: The Eighth Wonder of the World

Some little-known facts about Brett Wallace and his massive thighs:

  • With certain breeds of dogs, you can get an idea of how big they will be based upon the size of their paws as a puppy.  At two-years-old, Wallace’s thighs suggested a career as a corner infielder.
  • Brett Wallace’s thighs have thighs.
  • With those tree trunks, all of his baseball pants are naturally pro-flared.
  • In 2010, Wallace was traded twice due to his unsightliness in khakis.
  • Wallace has never sat in the middle seat on an airplane.
  • He once tried on a pair of skinny jeans.
  • He once got stuck in a pair of skinny jeans.
  • He’s never been considered top heavy.
  • His lower half was the inspiration behind EvoShield’s first products.
  • Brett Wallace can out-leg press Yoenis Cespedes in his sleep.

Wow.

Colby Rasmus: As interesting as a house plant

H/T to Matt Sebek of JoeSportsFan.com for his breakdown of Colby’s backwoods-gangster lingo.  This video is an absolute gem for so many reasons.

I’ll give Colby some credit for mentioning that Michael Jordan is the one person he’d like to meet.  Me too, Colby. Me too.

Top 50 Prospects: #27 – Travis d’Arnaud

#27 Travis d’Arnaud

Toronto Blue Jays

DOB: 2/10/1989

Previous Rank: N/R

ETA: 2013

d’Arnaud earned MVP honors in the Eastern League in 2011 as a 22-year-old, and seems destined to produce big numbers for Toronto sooner rather than later.  As a key portion of the package that sent Roy Halladay to the Phils, the expectations have been high for d’Arnaud.  He delivered and then some in Double-A, and should open the year ready to torch Triple-A to the same tune that he did the Eastern League, with a call-up to the Jays possible at any time.

However, with J.P. Arencibia seemingly firmly entrenched behind the Toronto dish, d’Arnaud may have to wait until September or even 2013 to arrive at the Rogers Centre.  In 2011 for New Hampshire the former 37th-overall selection slashed .311/.371/.542 with 21 dingers.  He only walked 33 times, and plate discipline is his worst offensive tool, but he squares the ball up consistently and generates quality lift.  He covers the zone well and hits to all fields, so the lack of walks is less of a concern than it might be with other more pull-oriented hitters.

Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BA
2007 18 Phillies GULF Rk PHI 41 151 141 18 3 0 4 20 4 2 .241
2008 19 2 Teams 2 Lgs A–A PHI 64 267 239 33 18 1 6 30 1 2 .305
2008 19 Williamsport NYPL A- PHI 48 197 175 21 13 1 4 25 1 2 .309
2008 19 Lakewood SALL A PHI 16 70 64 12 5 0 2 5 0 0 .297
2009 20 Lakewood SALL A PHI 126 540 482 71 38 1 13 71 8 4 .255
2010 21 Dunedin FLOR A+ TOR 71 292 263 36 20 1 6 38 3 1 .259
2011 22 New Hampshire EL AA TOR 114 466 424 72 33 1 21 78 4 2 .311
5 Seasons 416 1716 1549 230 112 4 50 237 20 11 .278
A (2 seasons) A 142 610 546 83 43 1 15 76 8 4 .260
AA (1 season) AA 114 466 424 72 33 1 21 78 4 2 .311
Rk (1 season) Rk 41 151 141 18 3 0 4 20 4 2 .241
A- (1 season) A- 48 197 175 21 13 1 4 25 1 2 .309
A+ (1 season) A+ 71 292 263 36 20 1 6 38 3 1 .259
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/11/2011.
Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB
2007 18 Phillies GULF Rk PHI 41 151 141 4 20 4 23 .241 .278 .348 .626 49
2008 19 2 Teams 2 Lgs A–A PHI 64 267 239 6 30 23 39 .305 .367 .464 .831 111
2008 19 Williamsport NYPL A- PHI 48 197 175 4 25 18 29 .309 .371 .463 .833 81
2008 19 Lakewood SALL A PHI 16 70 64 2 5 5 10 .297 .357 .469 .826 30
2009 20 Lakewood SALL A PHI 126 540 482 13 71 41 75 .255 .319 .419 .738 202
2010 21 Dunedin FLOR A+ TOR 71 292 263 6 38 20 63 .259 .315 .411 .726 108
2011 22 New Hampshire EL AA TOR 114 466 424 21 78 33 100 .311 .371 .542 .914 230
5 Seasons 416 1716 1549 50 237 121 300 .278 .336 .452 .788 700
A (2 seasons) A 142 610 546 15 76 46 85 .260 .323 .425 .748 232
AA (1 season) AA 114 466 424 21 78 33 100 .311 .371 .542 .914 230
Rk (1 season) Rk 41 151 141 4 20 4 23 .241 .278 .348 .626 49
A- (1 season) A- 48 197 175 4 25 18 29 .309 .371 .463 .833 81
A+ (1 season) A+ 71 292 263 6 38 20 63 .259 .315 .411 .726 108
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/11/2011.
Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff G Ch PO A E DP Fld% RF/G PB SB CS CS%
2007 18 Phillies GULF Rk PHI C 23 182 167 11 4 0 .978 7.74 7 19 6 24%
2008 19 2 Teams 2 Lgs A–A PHI C 58 504 453 41 10 1 .980 8.52 16 58 14 19%
2008 19 Williamsport NYPL A- PHI C 42 367 330 31 6 0 .984 8.60 11 41 12 23%
2008 19 Lakewood SALL A PHI C 16 137 123 10 4 1 .971 8.31 5 17 2 11%
2009 20 Lakewood SALL A PHI C 99 891 817 68 6 7 .993 8.94 9 132 40 23%
2010 21 Dunedin FLOR A+ TOR C 58 467 427 38 2 3 .996 8.02 2 38 16 30%
2011 22 New Hampshire EL AA TOR C 98 838 775 57 6 7 .993 8.49 13 66 24 27%
2011 22 New Hampshire EL AA TOR DH 14 0.00
5 Seasons 350 2882 2639 215 28 18 .990 8.15 47 313 100 24%
C (5 seasons) C 336 2882 2639 215 28 18 .990 8.49 47 313 100 24%
DH (1 season) DH 14 0.00
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/11/2011.

He is likely going to top out as an average receiver and thrower, and is a 40-45 in both areas now, but his bat is so good that no one will have any problem dealing with that in Toronto.  Despite the fact that the Doc deal also brought the Jays Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor (who was immediately traded to the A’s and debuted in the Show in 2011), d’Arnaud is looking like the best piece that Toronto got in the trade.

2011 Sombreros in Review: Adam Dunn

What’s there to say about Adam Dunn’s 2011 season that hasn’t already been said?  With an fWAR of -2.9 over 496 plate appearances, Dunn had one of the worst seasons in baseball history and recorded career lows in nearly every offensive category.  He finished the season with a triple slash line of .159/.292/.277, wRC+ of 59, .118 ISO, 27 extra-base hits, and a measly 42 RBI.

Along the way, the big man amassed three golden sombreros, putting him in a seven-way tie for first place in Major League Baseball.  He picked up his first on May 21 against the Dodgers and then followed it up with his second on May 26 against the Blue Jays.  The final sombrero came exactly a month later at the hands of the Washington Nationals.

Absolutely nothing went Dunn’s way in 2011; he hit like crap and was an utter disappointment in his first season with the White Sox.  There wasn’t a single moment where it seemed as though Dunn might turn the corner.  He never hit that dramatic walk-off bomb in front of a sold out home crowd or had a multi-home run game to rally the troops in his favor.

So what can be attributed to Dunn’s abysmal season? Well, his 35.7% strikeout rate is a good but obvious starting point.  In 415 at-bats this season, Dunn set a franchise record by fanning 177 times.  And although his penchant for striking out is as much of a defining trait as his longball potential, nothing pointed towards a complete offensive collapse.

In 2010, Dunn absolutely torched fastballs, as evidenced by a 32.1 wFB.  This past season, however, he posted a wFB of -8.5 (!), which is easily the worst of his storied career.  His inability to square up fastballs in turn damaged his approach at the plate, causing him to struggle mightily against offspeed pitches: -7.2 wSL (0.7 in 2010), -3.6 wCT (-2.5 in 2010), and -5.8 wCH (-3.9 in 2010) – all career lows.

Dunn also recorded a 57.8% O-Contact% (contact percentage on pitches thrown outside the strikezone), which, when supplemented by his 9.6% HR/FB rate, explains why he was seldom feared by opposing pitchers; they could comfortably attack him within the strikezone without the fear of 450-foot repercussions.

Here is Dunn’s ‘Swing Pitch Type’ chart from this past season:

While his selectiveness was decent—he did manage to coax 75 walks (15.1%)—Dunn simply was unable to consistently drive pitches within the strikezone, something that he’d never really struggled with.  Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Dunn failed to provoke an intentional walk all season for the first time in his 11-year career.

Yet, what Dunn’s season indicates, more than anything else, is a total lack of comfort and confidence at the dish – a realm of the game that cannot be quantified. Sure we can delve through endless statistics in search of some type of rationalization, but there is no true, metric-based explanation for why a player who averaged nearly 40 home runs and 100 RBI per season would suddenly hit his way out of a starting line up.

As any hitter will tell you, there’s nothing more detrimental to one’s performance than a waning level of confidence at the plate.  Once that confidence begins to waver, a hitter suddenly becomes susceptible to a slew of problems – some old, some new.  After scuffling through the first month of the season, Dunn never quite turned the corner as everyone expected he would, including himself.  Instead, his season spiraled out of control, as he absorbed the majority of the blame for the White Sox struggles, which in turn compounded his own personal issues.

BBA Stan Musial Award (American League MVP)

How we voted for American League MVP:

Me: 1) Ellsbury  2) Bautista  3) Verlander  4) Granderson  5) Cabrera

Griff: 1) Bautista  2) Ellsbury  3) Granderson  4) Pedroia  5) Zobrist

Dee: 1) Ellsbury  2) Bautista  3) Pedroia  4) Verlander  5) Kinsler

Jim: 1) Verlander  2) Ellsbury  3) Cabrera  4) Bautista  5) Granderson

Towel: 1) Bautista  2) Granderson  3) Verlander  4) Ellsbury  5) Cabrera

Final Vote:

1)    Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Boston Red Sox

2)    Jose Bautista, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

3)    Justin Verlander, RHP, Detroit Tigers

4)    Curtis Granderson, OF, New York Yankees

5)    Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit TIgers