Month: August 2009

Future shock: Feliz causing happy thoughts in Arlington

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I have seen the future of pitching, and it is Neftali Feliz.

You can keep your Strasburg, if you can sign him. Give me Rangers rookie right-hander Feliz, whose Major League debut was more like a coronation. I’ve seen some dominant pitcheNeftali Feliz at -- appropriately -- the Futures Gamers make an instant impact the past few years – Cole Hamels, Tim Lincecum, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer come to mind – but I don’t think I’ve seen anything like Feliz’s stuff. The guy is a force of nature.

Basic baseball physics is like this: The bigger difference between your fastball and off-speed stuff, the harder you are to hit. Johan Santana remains great despite the fact that he no longer throws in the mid-upper 90s. He can work down around 89-91 mph, as long as his motion is the same and that magnificent changeup comes in around 80-84. 

Now what if I told you that Neftali brings his fastball right around 100 every time? While watching his debut on Monday night, when he came on in relief against the A’s, I was impressed when he hit 99 on the gun no fewer than eight times. Fangraphs has the whole thing mapped out – check it out, impressive stuff.

I was even more awed when Neftali hit 101 on his final pitch. But listen, you can’t just throw fast in this game. Bobby Parnell threw 100 this year but has no out pitch. Joel Zumaya, I believe, got up close to 104, but he couldn’t really pitch, and he couldn’t stay healthy. He was a gimmick. Neftali is the real deal.

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Victor Zambrano Deadline Award goes to White Sox for Peavy deal

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Jake Peavy, meet Mr. Victor Zambrano

Say the name Victor Zambrano to a Mets fan, and it’s like bringing up Catwoman to Halle Berry. It’s like the Battlefield Earth of blockbuster trades.

Dial back the calendar to the day before the Trade Deadline in 2005, and the Mets made two horrendous deals. They traded for incredibly soft right-hander Kris Benson, but far worse than that, they traded future All-Star and AL strikeout leader Scott Kazmir for wild veteran Victor Zambrano, known for walking the universe and putting up decidedly mediocre numbers when he actually did find the plate.

It was the rare occasion when the moment a trade had been consummated, you already knew it was terrible. A top prospect being traded for someone not even as good – even at that time. It was like the Mavs trading Devin Harris to the Nets for Jason Kidd, except, I mean, at least they got Jason Kidd, albeit an older, slower version.

Zambrano made three starts – one admittedly great, the other two lousy – before being shut down. He went 7-12 in 2005 before his elbow almost literally exploded in his fifth start in 2006. Meanwhile, Kazmir’s debut for the Rays less than a month after the trade resulted in five shutout innings. Pitching for mostly bad teams, Kazmir is 52-43 with a 3.87 ERA and 845 strikeouts in 804 innings.

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Gatti’s death a suicide? Not bloody likely

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Arturo Gatti where he was most comfortable, Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic CitySo the Brazilian authorities, who had been virtually certain that Arturo Gatti’s wife was responsible for his murder, have now surmised that his death at the age of 38 was a suicide, which adds up perfectly, right?

Sure… until you find out that the Brazilian authorities apparently ran an incomplete investigation.

And until you find out that a second autopsy commissioned by Gatti’s family has not ruled out homicide.

And until you hear that the Gatti family brought a computer to the cops, saying it had pertinent information regarding his death.

And until you realize that three weeks ago, a new will was created that gave Gatti’s entire fortune to his wife, Amanda Rodrigues. That leaves nothing for Gatti’s family, including his mother and kids. In the CSI world, I believe they call that a motive.

And until you think about the logistics. Generally, a suicide attempt would not consist of both a stab wound in the back of the head, and a hanging (with his wife’s purse strap). It would seem that those events are mutually exclusive.

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