Chase Field--9:45 PM--TV: SNY--Radio: MIKE'D 660
Lineups
Oh boy, Luis is back. And it says something about Ruben Tejada's performance so far that I'm not being sarcastic. Eric said not to discuss music anymore, so today's lineups feature each player's walk-up song.
- Jose Reyes-SS: El Sapito by Villanosam (video NSFW unless W is a strip club). I don't understand Spanish but the beat here is surprisingly lazy and uninteresting for a reggaeton song. Hopefully the lyrics are something like KILL KILL KILL THE PHILLIES. But I doubt it. C-
- Angel Pagan-RF: I Wanna Rock by Snoop Dogg. PAAAAAAAA-GAAAAAAAN. PAAAAAA-GAAAAAAN. His alternate songs are a bunch of Daddy Yankee, but I give him full marks here. A-
- David Wright-3B: Ladies and Gentlemen by Saliva. Not a good song, but has all the elements of a good walk-up song. B-
- Carlos Beltran-CF: Es Esta aqui- David y Abraham. This song is so obscure the chorus/intro is almost exclusively associated with the image of Beltran walking to the plate...just read the youtube comments. B+
- Ike Davis-1B: Start me up- Rolling Stones. It's a decent enough song and it makes sense as walk-up music, but I can't shake the image of Ike Davis booting into Windows 95 when I hear it. C
- Jason Bay-LF: The Fixer- Pearl Jam. Not bad, not good and all-around uninspiring, like Jason Bay's play and the country of Canada in general. C
- Rod Barajas-C: California Love/Low Rider-- At least he's best at something. A
- Luis Castillo- "2B": On To The Next One by Jay-Z. The beat is distinctive...not in a good way. D
- Mike Pelfrey-P: Shake Me by Taddy Porter. Thanks for not picking Nickleback, Mike. C-
And the other team:
- Young-CF
- KELLY Johnson-2B
- JUpton-RF
- Montero-C
- LaRoche-1B
- Reynolds-3B
- Drew-SS
- Parra-LF
- Kennedy-P
Pitchers
Mike Pelfrey's 2010 stats now exactly resemble his 2009 and 2008 lines. The difference being that in 2010 and 2008 he has a lower BABIP and HR/FB and a higher LOB%. I've never heard so much rise-and-fall narrative attached to one pitcher who's been remarkably consistent and average for three years. Maybe all the talk about a new pitch, old pitch, dead arm, live arm, resuscitated arm is just post-hoc explanation, complicating one of the simplest pitchers in baseball. He's still on pace for that watch, though.
Kennedy's found relative success this year by focusing on throwing his one good pitch: the changeup. His fastball is mediocre in both velocity in movement, but it sets up his changeup as a great strikeout pitch, kind of like old, damaged Johan. His curveball is decent. He's also gotten away from his crappy slider and started throwing more of a cutter, which gives him two excellent weapons against lefties and one average one against righties. It's no surprise, then, that Kennedy has a pronounced reverse-platoon split.