The Giants Win The Pennant!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
I meant to post this last night but ended up working from like 11pm till well after 3am so I didn't feel like finishing it up before going to bed...
I wonder how it feels to beat the best football team ever... I bet it feels pretty good. My MVP goes to O, Tuck and Strahan for having some of the best defensive performances I've ever seen. For three quarters they completely dominated what may have been the best offense of all time. Antonio Pierce is a beast too.
I think I can also finally quit hating on the Patriots. With the possible exception of Belichick they handled the loss just about as well as could possibly be expected. This team had the chance to do something really special. They have to know how lucky they were to make it to 18-0 and that there is almost no chance of it happening again, yet after they narrowly missed getting #19 they all held their heads up and complimented the Giants for playing a good game.
Since I've been promising to post some more info on the Twins 4 new players and completely failing to deliver, here goes:
Carlos Gomez:
6-4, 195, 22yo, bats and throws right.
Gomez has been rushed through the Mets system and as a result his game, specifically his hitting, isn't as refined as you would like to see it at this point. He has blazing speed, a great arm and good defensive instincts. He might be able to step in and be one of the better defensive CF in the MLB today. I think the Twins, eager to show that they got some talent in return for Santana are going to want to give him a chance to play right away and I'm worried that will stunt his growth. His combination of size, athleticism and his swing give some hope that he could develop some power, but that remains to be seen and his plate discipline is pretty poor too.
Offensively, right now I think Gomez is a lot like Willy Taveras but I think his upside is pretty much Carl Crawford. I'd like to see him start the year off in Rochester as he obviously has some work to do and I think it'd significantly increase the chances of him reaching that potential.
Here are a couple of YouTube videos of him. The first gives you a decent shot of his swing and then him showcasing his speed. The second gives you a better idea of what his swing looks like, but I wish I could find a video of him taking BP.
Deolis Guerra:
6-5, 200, 19yo RHP.
Guerra signed with the Mets as a 16 year old. At 17 he made 17 starts in low-A ball with impressive results. At 18 he moved to high-A and had similar results, maintaining his K-rate and improving his control a little. He has a good fastball which he controls well, that reportedly sits in the 92-93 range and may touch 95+. As he was only 18 those numbers could go up a bit as he continues to mature. He has a very good changeup which is extremely rare for someone this age. He is also developing a curveball that is starting to come around although it could still use some work. I haven't been able to find any video on him but I did find the following in a forum post:
"He has a somewhat minimal windup/delivery and good, repeatable mechanics."
I'd expect Guerra to start back in A-ball this season. Teenagers are usually almost impossible to project. Guerra certain has front of the rotation potential but at the same time there is definitely a non-zero chance that he never reaches the MLB.
Kevin Mulvey
6-1, 170, RHP, 23yo
2007: 22, AA Binghamton, BB/PA: 6.7% K/PA: 17.2% BABIP: .305 GB: 55% HR/PA: 2% FIP: 3.16
Mulvey has a heavy, sinking fastball in the low 90s that he does a good job of locating. Baseball America ranked his slider the best in the Mets’ system but it doesn’t sound like a real strikeout pitch. He relies more on getting ground balls and keeping the ball in the park. His 55% GB number is pretty good and he obviously did a great job last year of keeping the ball in the park. As a GB type pitcher it’d be nice to see him work on his control a little more/give up less walks which might mean spending most of 2008 in AAA.
Philip Humber
6-4, 210, RHP, 25yo
Humber is a big strong righty who spent the season in AAA last year after missing all of 2006 to a Tommy John surgery. He has a fastball that sits in the low 90s and has a bit of a tailing action. He has a plus, 12-6 curve that Baseball America ranked as the best in the Mets’ system. He also has a solid changeup that supposedly was even better last year then before his surgery. His strikeout and walk numbers weren’t as good last season as they were before his surgery but that could have as much to do with him pitching at a higher level as the procedure itself. He can control all of his pitches well but I’ve read a few places that he has some trouble with his focus on the mound, occasionally getting a little over-eager.
While Humber is a little more advanced in his development, his ceiling probably isn’t as high as Mulvey’s. I’d expect them both to compete for a back of the rotation spot in training camp this season. PECOTA likes Mulvey a lot more then Humber going into this season, but more traditional projection systems have them about equal. PECOTA sees Mulvey as a 5th/6th type starter today, where it basically thinks Humber isn't ready yet. CHONE and Marcel both have both pitchers projected as decent 5th starters right now.
I’ll probably take a closer look at what the Twins roster would/could/should look like in my next post as I’ve decided to put off writing about football anymore until we get a little closer to free agency…
Posted bySL__72 at 2:11 PM
Labels: Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey, New York Giants, Philip Humber
That's a cool clip of Carlos Gomez. It looks like he got a horrible jump when he stole second base, but got there anyways with plenty of time. I suppose the bad jump could have been due to him facing a Lefty. How sexy did Eli look at the Superbowl!!! He was on point, and he is now going to be my new trendy Madden QB.
I was playing Madden last night and have decided that having Reggie Bush is pretty much cheating. He is ridiculous!