Hey, the new guy's pretty good

I just thought I’d publish a few thoughts on the new guy, David Schoenfield. A couple of days ago, he officially debuted on the SweetSpot as the replacement of Rob Neyer – big shoes to fill according to us, little shoes according to Neyer. You have to love the humility.
 
Anyway, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t eagerly awaiting his replacement. For one, Neyer vowed a hunger strike until his replacement emerged, and I don’t wish him to die. Of course, he was almost certainly as apocryphal about the fast as he was about the “small shoes to fill” comment. Or else he’d be quite gaunt.
 
The other reason is that I think I was ready for consistent, cohesive content on the SweetSpot. I thought handing the space over to the Network writers was a phenomenal idea, one that gave most of them a really great chance to showcase their talents. It also exposed a gamut of topics given the different styles and interests of each writer. Even better, I think the best of the bunch really shined. But as I said, I was ready.
 
His inaugural post was but an introduction, and I enjoyed it. As his furious pace continued in day one, I continued to read. Most importantly, when every so often a new post appeared on my Twitter feed, I found myself compelled to read it. This was always why I found myself coming back to the SweetSpot when Neyer was at the helm (and why I continue to do the same at his SB Nation page): I genuinely wanted to read everything he wrote. I don’t always agree with him, but there’s something about his writing that makes me feel as if, were I to miss a single post, I’ll have missed something important.
 
I also like this about the new guy’s style: it’s different. I won’t say they could have cloned Neyer, but maybe they could have hired someone to do something similar. Instead, they hired Schoenfield and he’s taken a different approach – as was evidenced by his posting of the Random Old Photo of the Day, which reminds me of something I quite enjoy about Roger Ebert’s blog. Another example: how he “teases” the ESPN Podcast – that’s one of David’s words (tease), by the way. Different. Joel and Ethan Coen could have casted someone to mimic John Wayne in the True Grit (2010) remake. But they astutely plugged in Jeff Bridges, allowed him to steal the show – alongside a brilliant performance by a 14-year-old girl – and forged a new classic. Brilliant.
 
I don’t know that I’ll continue to read David day after day, but I hope I do.
 
ESPN: you done good.
 
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On a side note, I’ve joined Chris Quick and Otis Anderson at Bay City Ball, the San Francisco Giants’ representative at the ESPN SweetSpot Network. Many of you already know this. Both are great writers and I was thrilled to join Chris’ “nerd-squad.” We’ll be covering the Giants all year long, and Chris will continue to provide the blurb for the weekly Power Rankings. Good stuff.
 
Paapfly isn’t disappearing. I’ll probably update it from time to time. I don’t know. That’s the honest answer. But, as you can see, I just posted this, so I don’t have immediate plans to shut it down. What’s more, I plan to continue to excerpt what I write elsewhere here. Most of all, I’m confident if you truly enjoyed reading my writing that you’ll find it, wherever it is.

The end of an era and the end of a beginning

I began reading Rob Neyer’s SweetSpot at some unknown and arbitrary point in 2009, and that’s where this story begins.

Prior to that, I thought wins were a good measure of the worth of a starting pitcher, saves of closer, RBI of a hitter, and Gold Gloves of a fielder. My baseball world was about to rocked, forever and ultimately for the better.

Shortly thereafter, I began emailing each of my brothers constantly about baseball, mostly the Giants, as something inside me was brewing. I also started reading Fangraphs, and spending more time on Baseball-reference. I’d always loved baseball, but the ball of passion that lay in my chest was stagnant in growth and used for the most part only during the season. But as I say, a storm was coming.

Neyer Happ(ily) sets the record straight

There’s been a ton of talk this offseason about J.A. Happ’s ‘lucky’ 2009 rookie season. In short, the sum of Happ’s peripheral stats in 2009 aren’t the making of a sustainable sub-3 ERA beyond his rookie year. He walked too many, struck out too few, but was lucky enough to strand a majority.

Luckily, Neyer comes to Happ’s defense. His point? With the internet, anyone can say anything about a ball player. I’m guilty of pointing out that the Giants’ very own lefty set-up man, Jeremy Affeldt, also had a quite ‘lucky’ 2009. But Neyer does point out some interesting aspects of Happ’s craft that bode well for his future. He describes his tall lengthy frame and how he’s deceptive, making his mediocre fastball appear to be plus. Additionally, Neyer points out his significantly higher strikeout ratio in the minor leagues.

Neyer’s “big finish:”

“I don’t suppose I should speak for my colleagues, so I’ll just tell you this: J.A. Happ, lucky or not, awes me. He’s one of the most brilliant athletes on the planet, doing something that’s incredibly rare and difficult. And that’s all true whether Happ is the new Mark Redman or the new Tom Glavine.”

Neyer indicates it may be implied that people like he “don’t respect the talents of people like J.A. Happ.” I myself was once a very successful pitcher. I threw a perfect game in little league. I was Santa Clara County Juco Pitcher of the Year as a freshman at DeAnza College. I was recruited by Kansas, San Jose State and Santa Clara University. Before I tore my labrum, I was pretty darn good, but certainly not J.A. Happ good, or in all likelihood even rookie ball good. The majority of players that (just) make it to the minor leagues were probably the very best players in their high schools, towns, counties and even states in some cases. Each one of them is incredibly talented. And do you know what they get for it (at least initially)? Long muggy bus rides through Middle America and a $20 (soon to be $25) per diem, or just enough to get 3 sloppy fast food meals a day worthy of – well, no one.

In other cases, such as that of Mark Prior, a player is one of the very best players in his entire country but gets hurt and dissolves into our distant memories. Avoiding that takes quite a bit of luck – there’s that word again.

Happ not only braved the minors but differentiated himself enough to warrant a promotion to the big leagues and pitched well enough, no less, to receive considerable Rookie of the Year consideration. So, ya, Happ has earned a whole lot of credit. I’m glad Neyer wanted to (and did) set the record straight.

And for those who are wondering, Glavine made himself a (Hall of Fame) career of seasons in which the sum of his peripherals didn’t indicate sub-3 ERA’s or greatness. But the sum of his numerous great seasons (and overall longevity) has his ticket to Cooperstown all but punched. As for Happ? Only time (and perhaps a little luck) will determine his legacy. But, Neyer’s right, if he never threw another pitch in the big leagues he’d still be “one of the most brilliant athletes on the planet…”

Given all the time us “nerds” spend toiling over numbers and determining a player was lucky and won’t improve upon or even equal a successful season, it’s nice to see someone put it into perspective.