Agreed. What is the hope for him at this point? Long relief guy? Or next in line if one of the starters gets hurt (though I'd imagine Wandy has to be next in line). I really want to see Moran given a legit shot. I know I'm not giving Valbuena enough credit but I just really don't like him. He did that stupid bat flip of his yesterday on a routine grounder--really irks me.
Haha I should have seen that coming. Actually a pretty hysterical interview. I don't mind the bat flipping and slow trots around the diamond on a HR. But on a routine grounder?? Plus his bat flip burns an extra 2-3 seconds that often times has made the difference at a close play or getting an extra base.
I'm not sure. He was optioned in 2012, 2013, & 2014, but 2014 was fewer than 20 days, so I don't think it counts.
Fair enough. Could have sworn I saw a play or two last season where that was the case. Ugh season needs to start already--I'm getting hung up on time duration of bat flips for goodness's sake.
I have no idea if it ever has. I was just imagining a hitter flipping his bat for 2-3 seconds while standing perfectly still and it made me laugh. Probably the only time it would have really had an impact is on the rare occasion when a player hits a long fly that they THINK is a homerun, but turns out to just be off the wall. And then that extra 10th of a second (or whatever it is, can't be much more than that) that they lose flipping their bat somehow results in them being out at second instead of safe (after they turn on the afterburners when they realize they didn't hit it out). Yeah, it's probably happened a few times. But honestly I've never seen anyone do it on a grounder. Did he just do it out of frustration or did he actually have the demeanor of someone that was showboating?
You need to look at their transactions, which I find easiest on MLB.com/Milb.com player pages and see how many years the have been optioned. [rquoter]A decent camp for Feldman most likely puts him in the rotation. Peacock, meanwhile, has options and is expected to be a starter for Class AAA Fresno.[/rquoter] http://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Astros-Brad-Peacock-Scott-Feldman-pleased-6873604.php He's definitely used 2, so assuming the Chronicle is correct, this would be his last one.
I stand corrected. I counted 2014. Some how my mind has blocked the fact that he started 24 games that year.
So in my boredom/curiosity, I looked at a few highlights from last year. On those long fly balls/homers, it's definitely a second or so. But yea 2-3 seconds was a bit reaching, admittedly. In Valbuena's defense, his are a bit quicker when he's done them on those line drives and grounders. It's always been with that showboating demeanor, and it looked about the same on the grounder yesterday. Obviously an isolated incident but it just got under my skin a little for some reason. Anyhoo I really hope he has a good season and he has shown flashes for sure. His defense is also a plus--but if he's struggling mightily I hope they'll be willing to give Moran a chance.
I don't think he's "MLB level", nor do I think he should ever be on the ML team for longer than 2-4 weeks at a time. He's more of a AAAA type guy. But you need some of those. Let's say we have a couple of injuries and Wandy is either hurt, ineffective, traded, etc. You don't necessarily want to start the clock (either 40-man or ML service time) on a high prospect if you're just talking about 1-2 starts. It's nice to have AAAA guys available that can give you 5-6 innings in a pinch.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/STUJZUMrDFY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Probably the only example where a bat flip kind of mattered.
Nah, he probably would not have made it home. Still though, it is pretty hilarious watching Puig's elation, fear when he realizes the ball isn't over the fence, determination around the bases, then euphoria again.
