A couple of tidbits from today's Media Notes that may be of interest to you:
-The Silver Hawks ranks 12th out of 16 teams in batting average
-South Bend ranks dead last in team ERA
-The Silver Hawks are one of six teams in Minor League Baseball without a win so far.
- Alberto Diaz has hits in five of the first six games of the season, including his first multi-hit game on Tuesday.
-Errol Hollinger threw out two base stealers on Tuesday, and has now caught 4-of-11 potential base stealers.
Not surprised the team is winless. The organization wasted a lot of money on high school players that aren't ready for the Midwest League and its a big reason they are fourth to last in batting average for the league. The pitchers are last in ERA because they all have average stuff, and most have average fastballs. You dont need to be a genius to know a 86-89mph fastball is easier to hit than a 91-94mph fastball. You need a good fastball to succeed at the higher levels past rookie ball. They need to work on scouting better players and keeping them and they might have a better chance to win.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous, I appreciate reading different points of views and I know I've been pretty hard on Haley and the organization for what I call lack of instilling a winning focus. I'm in the camp that states there is something fundamentally wrong when a team under the same manager begins the season 0-10, 1-11, 0-6.
ReplyDeleteWhile I pull for the Silver Hawks, there is also the pure Baseball fan inside me who doesn't just watch the game hoping for a Silver Hawks win, I also look at players on both teams to see if I can pick out which players have a legitimate shot at the Majors. There are just a handful of players who make it to the Majors.
But as a fan, i am just as frustrated as you.
Dave
Anon...It's only wasted money if these guys don't make it. Are you willing to give up on players before they turn 20? I'm not, and I think this year's team may prove to be the most rewarding, watching them grow and get better as the season progresses.
ReplyDeleteDave...I understand your concern with the slow starts, but isn't it more important that the team has rallied to make the playoffs every year under Haley? I'd much rather go 0-10 out of the gate and make the playoffs, than go 10-0 and miss them. If the "winning focus" is not there at the beginning, it always has been at the end of the season, and that's what development is all about.
While going winless up until to start this season, lets face it sucks. There is a lot to be said about the way in which the team itself if playing. Ok sure the team abtting average is low, and the ERA at this point leaves a bad taste in the mouth, the team is starting to make strides. I have seen improvment in the guys each game. They are fighting harder, and not falling apart as quickly, or if at all. Lets face it the first game of the season was ugly, but if you look at the score board from the games since then you can see a real improvement on how long the team holds it together, and for how long they fight back.
ReplyDeleteWe are in the middle of the second time through the pitching rotation, and improvement can be seen in both of the guys who have pitched again.
I have to agree with Owen, I would much rather have a losing start, and make then play offs then not make them at all. Yes it will be tougher to make them with the addition of the two new teams, but I believe that once our team fully clicks that they can be unstoppable. The talent is there, just need it to all come together.
Owen,
ReplyDeleteI'm not complaining (much) :-) I don't view the game like the normal fan. I view it at this level for the individual players and try to figure out who will be the future stars. For me, the playoffs are just an extension of games I can watch. (Although the inner Silver Hawks fan wants them to be there)
In regards to being 0-10 but making the playoffs. That is a great accomplishment but We need to break it down. The 2008 team turned out to be awesome! The team really came together, despite where they started. Most went to Visalia the next year, started 10-0 and failed to make the playoffs. I see your point there.
In 2007 and 2009, the teams started off badly and did not improve much. They made the playoffs last year despite being 16? games behind the first place team. It is easier to get a playoff spot the second half because there are less teams in the "race". 4 of 6 teams made the playoffs previously so unless your team was just that bad, they were almost ensured a playoff spot.
With 8 teams going for 4 playoff spots this year, a team will not be able to back into the playoffs as easy as they previously did.
I'm going to post a blog on this myself but...
In the grand scheme of things, yes, having a team dig itself out of a hole and accomplish something, such as the 2008 team did, is truly inspiring. Letting the players choose their own direction and seeing who will lead by example is truly a good exercise in weeding the good players from the bad and seeing who is Major League material.
You will get two different views from two different fans, you will get a different point of view from the Radio/Media guy and then you get my view. We all differ in some way but I enjoy reading everyone's opinions!!!
I guess everyone is so used to seeing the team lose that winning isn't expected. I don't know what fan, if any, likes to see their team lose. Whether its in the beginning or the end of a season. There is no such thing as two "types" of fans. If you support any team, you want to see that team WIN. The reason this one is not winning is because the core of the players aren't ready for this level of play. At this point its not a matter of winning or losing, its about "developing" high draft picks or big signing bonus players. In most cases it is both. They would rather lose with their "prospects" than to win with players that are prepared to get the job done now. It would look bad if they played guys that didn't get drafted high or big money vs the guys who did. So i guess they will just have to wait to see these underdeveloped players fail enough to either see they aren't ever going to get better or just have them fail at the next level. Its not always about talent when it comes to who moves up the system. Its about where you came in the system to start with.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous -- I agree with the first part of your post. No one likes to see their team lose, and the core of this year's players are not ready for this level at this very moment. But I'm having a hard time figuring out why you think that they are going to lose all season long and aren't going to get better.
ReplyDeleteWhile we all want them to win, development is still more important at this level. And just because this team has lost seven in a row to start the year, it doesn't mean that they are horrible ballplayers. Are they a bit overmatched? Probably. Will they get better? Absolutely.
You also keep going back to the fact that only the top rated players are playing. Is there someone in particular you would rather see playing right now? Who hasn't been playing that you think deserves to? If you look at games played, everyone has played at least 3 games. I'm not sure what more you want.
Also, with a team that has made the playoffs for seven straight years, I don't think anyone has grown accustomed to watching the team lose.
ReplyDeleteIt's seven games, let's all take a deep breath and relax. We can revisit the issue in August.
Different Anonymous here,
ReplyDeleteThe 0-9 is very disappointing from a fan's point of view. There are no two ways about it. It is baffling to see this team starting so slowly year after year.
I agree that starting 0-9 and making the playoffs is probably a better result than going 10-0 to start and missing the playoffs. But in developing any skill, it is not always about the result, but more about the process.
Yes, it is great that Hales has lead the Hawks to so many playoff appearances, but I believe that discussing the consistent slow starts is necessary. It seems that there may be a "leak" somewhere that causes this team to start slowly, and regardless of whether the team makes the playoffs, the leak should be looked at and something should be done to repair it (unless it is somehow an organizational decision to do things differently early in order to make the players better in the long run). Perhaps if that were fixed, the team could secure a better playoff seed, or home field advantage, etc. There is room for improvement.
I am not trying to place the blame on Haley at all, he is a very smart baseball guy from what I can tell. But somewhere along the line, the South Bend team has room for improvement, and discussion of that hole in their game can't be ignored or glossed over just because they might wind up making the playoffs anyway.