Cavs vs. Wizards Behind The Boxscore: Depleted backcourt rears its ugly head
February 23, 2014John Wall on Kyrie Irving: “I’m more of a point guard that likes to get his teammates involved”
February 24, 2014Cleveland sports fans are waiting. Thus, while we’re all waiting, the WFNY editors thought you might enjoy reading. Because you never know how long we might be waiting. So here are assorted reading goodies for you to enjoy. Send more good links for tomorrow’s edition to tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Wow Sabathia. 40 pounds lighter? “However, Sabathia’s weight loss has created plenty of consternation for armchair pitching coaches. His average velocity fastball was a career-low 91.3 mph last season, according to FanGraphs, and has gone down steadily since it peaked at 94.1 during his first season in New York. Thus, it is easy to expect that Sabathia’s fastball will continue to lose steam this season as he will be putting less weight behind it, though recovering from offseason arthroscopic elbow surgery also surely had something else to do with his diminished velocity.” [Perrotto/Sports on Earth]
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New toy for Zach Attack. “At the suggestion of Cleveland’s coaching staff, McAllister went to work over the offseason on adding a slider to his repertoire. The goal of the pitch, which essentially replaces the inconsistent cutter he featured last season, is to give the Tribe starter a more reliable weapon for hitters to chase.” [Bastian/MLB]
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“Makeup is one of those things that cannot be quantified with any combination of stats, but at the same time is undeniable for those who have been around Lindor on the baseball field. It’s hard to put a specific value on makeup, but it has a positive effect on more than just Lindor. I go back to the discussion that I had with team president Mark Shapiro during spring training last season, when we talked about “levers” that the Indians can pull that effect more than one player at a time. Shapiro referred to a guy like Nick Swisher, whose animated enthusiasm can be infections throughout the clubhouse as a lever. There’s no doubt in my mind that Francisco Lindor will be a similar lever both on and off the field. On the field, Lindor plays outstanding defense, helping every pitcher that plays with him put up better numbers. Off the field, he’s provided leadership throughout his rise through the minor leagues, setting a positive example for other young players in the organization. Every time I think I’m as excited as I can possibly be about Francisco Lindor, something like this comes up that makes me even more eager to see him playing shortstop at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.” [Ciammaichella/The DiaTribe]
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Worst off season transactions. “3. Rangers sign Shin-Soo Choo. Cost: Seven years, $130 million. $130 million isn’t superstar money anymore, but it should buy a better overall player than Shin-Soo Choo. The things he does well, he does very well, and they certainly have value, but he’s not a good fielder, he doesn’t hit left-handed pitching, and he doesn’t even have that much power for a guy whose value is almost entirely tied up in his bat. The total package is an above average non-star, and he probably was worth something closer to Curtis Granderson’s contract than the one he actually got.” [Cameron/FanGraphs]
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Your tweet of the day.
RT "@ScottHanson In last five years 15 WR's have run *official* sub 4.4 at #NFLCombine. Only 1 (Mike Wallace) has a 1,000 yard NFL season.”
— Scott Wright (@DraftCountdown) February 24, 2014
5 Comments
Glad to see the Tigers at #1. Also glad to see Fister out of the division.
Dri Archer is so fast:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2014/story/_/id/10510482/dri-archer-runs-40-yard-dash-426-seconds-narrowly-misses-chris-johnson-nfl-scouting-combine-record
Crazy some of the speeds being posted. Most impressive so far? Aaron Donald, a DT who clocked a 4.65. A DT who runs faster than Johnny Football.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/24/aaron-donalds-also-opening-eyes-with-his-40/
note: none of these really mean that much. just one little blip in the overall scouting profile. but, taken together it does help demonstrate how much the game has been changing towards speed even at “non-speed” positions.
Clowney had a 4.47. That’s obscene
I say Donald’s is more impressive. Bigger guy running at that speed and he almost tied Clowney at the 10yd split (1.59 – 1.56). Both are crazy (as is Dri’s).
I didn’t see Donald run, but it gives me a headache just thinking about getting hit by a guy that big going that fast