The Dodgers signed Blake Snell to a 5 year contract that will pay him about 36 million a year for the next 5 years. Blake Snell was a high risk signing. He has played in the majors for 9 seasons. In only 2 of those seasons has he pitched in over 30 games. He has had 2 outstanding seasons which has netted him 2 Cy Young awards. Besides not coming to the post all that often his overall numbers are not that impressive. His career OPS+, the comparison stat where 100 is league average, is 128. Simply put, over the past 9 years he has pitched better than 28% of major league pitchers. Max Fried of the Braves is a free agent also this year. His career OPS+ over 8 years is 140. He has had his share of injuries, even more so than Snell. He has averaged 21 starts per year whereas Snell has averaged close to 24 starts. Snell’s biggest problem is his control. Even his Cy Young year with the Padres he averaged 5 walks per 9 innings. Until Snell threw his no hitter this year where he went 9 innings, he had never had a complete game. Let that one sink in for a while. Naturally when the Dodgers signed Snell all of the media was moaning and complaining that the system is broken, blah blah blah. The idea that only about 5 or 6 teams could afford Snell is ridiculous. Even the Pirates could afford Snell even though they would never admit it. However, what teams like the Pirates cannot do is take the risk of Snell having a mediocre year which he did for 3 of those 9 years. They also cannot take the risk of him taking the mound only 24 times or less which he did 5 out of 9 seasons. The Dodgers can take that risk and are taking that risk. In my view it is a big risk. The Dodgers have one of the strongest stables of starting pitching in all of baseball. The question will be how many of them will be able to come to the post. Not many did last year for various reasons. Despite all of this the Dodgers did manage to win the World Series. They still have the big three, Betts, Ohtani, and Freeman, who combined for 15 WAR last year. The starting 9 for the Pirates had a combined WAR of 8. This was not a player that the Pirates needed to or should have signed. It is obvious they need position players. Even for the Dodgers the Blake Snell signing is a burden for their payroll. It is very likely a signing that they will regret.
Pirates Morning Report: Let’s Set The Record Straight
The offseason is now in full swing, although not much has happened yet with everybody waiting to see where Juan Soto signs and for how much. The off season may be tougher on Pirate fans than the regular season because the Pirates do so little. Even when they sign someone it is usually on garbage. They spent over 35 million on garbage last year. With the exception of Andrew McCutchen and Aroldis Chapman, the free agent signings of Rowdy Tellez, Michael A. Taylor, Yasmani Grandal, Marcos Gonzales, and Martin Perez contributed absolutely nothing to the Pirates cause. The propaganda put out by the Pittsburgh media is the Pirates cannot afford someone like Juan Soto or other top free agents. The system is unfair. Baseball needs a salary cap. As I will show this is another example of pure garbage. Let’s look at the facts, Jack
The Pirate payroll in 2024 came in at around 85 million, which put them 29th in baseball only ahead of the Oakland A’s. When you remove the free agents from the equation in 2025 this will drop it to around 50 million. The only free agent the Pirates might resign would be Andrew McCutchen from last year’s bunch. The speculation on what Juan Soto might sign for is really wild. I will go with one number that has been bandied about. If he would sign for 700,000 million for 13 years this would come out to an annual salary of almost 54 million. This would put the Pirate payroll at approximately 104 million. If the Pirates can’t have a 100 million dollar payroll, then they might as well trade Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz, Jared Jones immediately. People will argue that if you sign Soto for that much that the Pirates will not be able to sign those 3 players to long term contracts. I wrote before that one of the top priorities this year for the Pirates should be to sign Skenes to a 6 year deal worth 30 million per year. However, to get a player like Juan Soto that plan could certainly be tabled. Adding Soto makes the Pirates immediate contenders not only for the playoffs but for the World Series. Those revenues would certainly help toward extending those three players. The bottom line is it’s not that the Pirates can’t afford Soto, it’s that they really do not want to sign Soto. There are many in the list of top 30 free agents that could really help turn the Pirates into contenders. They probably won’t sign any of them even though they could easily afford at least two of them. Here is a list of the ones that fill the Pirates needs the most.
In no particular order, Pete Alonso 1st base age 30, Alex Bregman 3rd base age 31, Teoscar Hernadez OF age 32, Anthony Santander OF age 30, Tyler O’ Neill OF age 30, Jurickson Profar OF age 32, Tanner Scott left handed relief pitcher age 30, Christian Walker 1st base age 34, Paul Goldschmidt 1st base age 37 and good old Carlos Santana 1st base age 39. With the exception of Bergman all of these free agents listed are areas of need for the Pirates. There are some great starting pitchers out there and although this is a Pirate strength as the old saying goes you cannot have enough pitching. Getting another top of the rotation starter may send one or more of the starters to the bullpen, which is a good way to bolster a very thin bullpen. It might set up a trade for an offensive threat by sending one of the mid rotation guys to another team. Last year I wrote that the Pirates should sign Cody Bellinger. The Cubs signed him for 30 million, less than what the Pirates paid for all that garbage. Granted Bellinger did not really light it up last year with a slash line of .266/.325/.484 with a WAR of 2.2, think Oneil Cruz with defense. These numbers were way better than anything the Pirate first basemen and centerfielder put up in 2024. Would it had been enough to get the Pirates into the playoffs, who knows, but it would have most likely meant meaningful games in September. Will the Pirates sign anybody in the top 30 free agent market? Most likely not. There is always a risk when it comes to signing free agents. All of the above players are 30 or over. However, the Pirates in their current state have a lot of young unproven players. They only have 3 bonified major league position players, Oneil Cruz, barely, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan Reynolds, solidly. Any free agent they signm if they only perform at the Major League average will be a huge upgrade. They desperately need a corner outfielder and a first baseman. They are sitting there right in front of them. Instead, the Pirates will probably continue as the king of the waiver deals and minor league contract signings. Here are their last two. I will withhold their names to protect their families and agents from embarrassment. Waiver player no. 1 has 139 major league at bats with a slash line of .209/.245/.331. He is an outfielder and a 1st baseman but not like Cody Bellinger. With Waiver player no. 2 it even gets better. Career minor league player, 28 years old with 139 major league at bats. His slash line is .152/.222/.273. What I get a big kick out of is when you read the articles about these acquisitions they somehow write about how they can help the Pirates. They actually have the audacity to give some justification to picking up these players. The only things these players can do is to help continue the losing ways of this pathetic organization. It is too bad there is something not politically incorrect about the nickname Pirates. There would be no problem coming up with the Pirates new name. The Pittsburgh Pathetics. The Pirate payroll is set up perfectly to make at least 2 free agent pick ups that would run between 20 and 30 million per year per player. It is so sad that this has practically no chance of happening. Which is the same that can be said for a winning season next year.
Golf: Revisiting Grip Pressure, Overswinging, and Starting The Downswing.
I wrote these three articles about 2 to 3 years ago and they remain my most popular blogs, especially the one on grip pressure. The overswinging blog was titled You Cannot Overswing and the blog on starting the downswing was Maybe Sam Snead Was Right After All. Snead had a unique thought on how to start the downswing which was mostly criticized by other golf instructors. Over these last 3 years I haven’t really changed my mind, but I thought it might be time to clarify a few points in each area and even strengthen some points because there are still instructors out there that teach a different philosophy that in my view hurts the average golfer more than helps. All three subjects are what it takes to hit a golf ball consistently. A most important aspect of the address, the grip, how to make a backswing, and the first move in making the downswing. If you can do these things correctly then your chances of making solid contact with the ball increase dramatically. Unfortunately, golf instruction has some strange ideas on these subjects, especially the first two, which makes learning the game very difficult. They are not as far off on starting the downswing mainly because there are as many ways to start the downswing as there are body parts. What makes this difficult at times is that the methods used will work, it just boils down to finding what might work for you. This is different when it comes to the grip and backswing, because what most golf instruction teaches is wrong. So, let’s dive in.
There are way too many endorsers of the light grip. I saw a recent video aimed at senior golfers that said it is very important to start with a light grip. They say that your grip will tighten up automatically when you start to swing. What happen to constant grip pressure during the swing. Most of the older instruction books write about having a firm grip. The pressure points are the middle two fingers of the right hand and the last 3 fingers of the left hand. All of this light grip stuff started because some beginners take a death grip on the club. To put a number on it, let’s say that 1 is the lightest you can hold the club and 10 is the tightest you can squeeze the club. In order to grip the club with the correct firmness I would put a number around 7 to 8 depending on the shot. 8 for the driver and longer clubs and for hitting out of the rough no matter what the club. If you don’t want the club closing over out of the rough, you had better firm up those last 3 fingers of the left hand. For all short shots and short irons I would say it should be closer to a 7. It is perfectly fine to work your fingers and have some hand movement before the shot. Just before you start the swing you want to feel that the hands are firming up and ready to control the clubhead. Your hands are never going to be able to react to the movement of the swing, especially at the point of contact with club accelerating at full speed. You do not need to choke the life out of the club, no pun intended, but you do need to take full command of the club and the clubhead. There is no way you are doing this with a light grip. If you played these sports think of how you held a baseball bat or a tennis racket. Be the firm handshake, not the dead fish.
I still believe that you cannot overswing. However, you do have to do two things at the end of your backswing. Your weight should be solidly on the right foot, and you should feel that you are in balance. One of the biggest swing faults I see is that people take too short of a backswing. This short backswing is caused by anxiety in trying to hit the ball, and the odd feeling of turning away from your target. It does not help that most golf instruction talks about restricting the hip turn. This all started with what is known as the X factor. The X factor being the more you can turn your shoulders without turning your hips the farther you will hit the ball. The basic swing is a 45 degree hip turn and a 90-degree shoulder turn. This is a difference of 45 degrees. The goal of the X factor swing is to increase this 10 to 20 degrees. If you do this, you will hit the ball farther. Is this correct. Absolutely. Will you be able to play golf well into your 70’s with this method. Probably not. A big hip turn is essential if you are going to minimize the wear and tear on the body. I feel the hips should turn at least 45 degrees and you should try to turn them anywhere from 60 to 70 degrees. The great Bobby Jones had a huge hip turn. None other than Jack Nicklaus had a big hip turn. He even raised his heel off the ground to ensure that his hips were turning quite a bit. Once you start making a big hip turn you will really feel your swing loosening up and become more fluid. The only danger of making a big hip turn is that as you turn toward the 70 degree mark, there may be a tendency to throw the body toward the left side or on the left foot. Make sure you maintain the weight on the right foot at the top of the backswing, and you will be hitting the ball in an effortless way. You will not be stretching the left side of the body to its limits, causing damage to tendons and muscles. Try a big hip turn backswing and let the body heal from restricting those hips.
All right, we are at the top of the swing. Now it is time to start down and make contact with the ball. There are many correct ways to start the downswing. None of them are wrong. As a player you need to find the one that works for you. However, you don’t need to be a slave to any of them. If one of them does not seem to be working, then go to another one. Before we get to all the ways to start down, let’s look at what Sam Snead said. He said that the best way to start down was to think about pulling a rope down that was attached to a church bell. Snead was really panned for that idea because as golf instruction developed and video came into use, the lower body became king as the way to start down. The idea was to keep the hands out of the picture until the last minute when they would release for a powerful smash right at the ball, but not any sooner. What Snead did not emphasize when he wrote about this, is that the hands need to start straight down form the top. All of a sudden you see this being advocated under the heading of the gravity swing. When you get to the top drop the hands straight down. The difference is, Snead used the word pull, and now people are talking about letting the hands just drop. To me this indicates a more passive move to start the downswing, where Snead’s words of pulling the hands down is more aggressive. It is a matter of semantics but there is no question this is what Snead was telling people to do 65 years ago. There are other effective ways to start the downswing. I am going to briefly mention a number of them without any explanation. If you want to read more about them, you can look them up. They all can work. Straightening your left leg. Kicking your right knee toward the ball. Raising your left shoulder. It helps if you are thinking of lowering your left shoulder during the back swing. Bump your hips to the left before turning toward the target. Just shift you weight to the left foot before starting down. Falling into the lead foot. Unscrewing your backswing with the legs and then firing the shoulder away from the body. Moving the core forward then increasing the arm speed. Lots to choose from there and none of them are bad. However, none of them are going to give Snead’s method of starting the downswing a thumbs up. Believe me it is another effective and yet very simple way to start the downswing. It is a method you should definitely try.
Golf: My 2024 Season
Yes, I am still playing and playing often. So far this year I have played 135 rounds of golf. Besides the Pirates taking up most of the blog space during the spring, summer and early fall, I really have not found anything knew or exciting about how to play the game. As usual, there have been times that I thought I found something that may be of benefit to my game as well as to others struggling at this game. Whatever it was, it was short lived to be filed in the trash bin like about 500 other things I thought might have some merit. Over the next month or two, golf will be the main topic of the blog as I will discuss some things I have talked about in the past. There are some ball striking views and how to play this game, I have tweaked over the years. I had a really up and down year as you will see with some of the same old problems rearing their ugly head.
The good news is that I shot my age, 74 or better, 18 times. The majority of those rounds were from the gold tees. The highlights were a 72 from the white tees at South Park. I hadn’t done that for about 2 to 3 years. I shot a 2 under 70 from gold for my low round of the year. On the other side of the coin, I had 42 rounds between 80 and 88 with the remaining 75 rounds between 75 and 79. My handicap index started the season at 5.7 reached a high of 7.1 in mid May when I had the most trouble with the yips but then took a steady decline until the end of October to 4.7 but jump up to the present 5.0. I have about 5 rounds to go in posting scores as the last day is November 14th. My driving continues to be the best part of my game by far. My iron game as been good to awful, but never great. By far the most erratic part of my game. The short game has not been bad when I do not yip. My putting has been the 2nd most erratic part of my game. Even when I do not yip I will have bad putting days. A lot of the issue is my green reading, which continues to deteriorate. During my age shooting rounds my putting was spot on. In my other rounds including rounds that I shot in the 70’s my putting kept me from having more age shooting rounds. That was the story of my year. A very inconsistent year with the yips rearing their ugly head way too many times. I will go into more depth on that in a later blog.
I consider the 72 from the whites the best round of the year. I had 5 birdies to offset a poor iron shot and chip yip double bogey on the 9th hole. I have proved the saying it’s not where your good shots go but where your bad shots go that is the key to scoring in golf. Some of my shots can be ranked up as horrid. What is amazing to me is that they can come up even in the middle of some of my best rounds of the year. I have tried a lot of stuff this year. I have not swung the same for more than 10 days tops. Our weather is looking good so the season is far from over and I will do a final post at the end of the year. As I stated before, the blog will be about golf for the next 3 months unless the Pirates do something unusual in the off season like acquire a major league player. I am going to revisit 3 of my most popular articles, grip pressure, you cannot overswing, and how to start the downswing in the next blog. I think all of those articles need a bit of an update. Stay tuned.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 