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Gotta love it when a Mariner gets StatCasted. Shaded well over into left-center, Leonys Martin hit 20.8 MPH on a 30-yard run to slide into an Arquimedes Pozo blooper over Robinson Cano’s head. Nice.
Gotta link you up dis way: http://m.mlb.com/sea/video/topic/73955164/v1065066083/sealaa-martin-sprints-208-mph-for-sliding-catch/?c_id=sea . Sorry.
Leonydas’ 20.8 MPH top speed equates to a 10.8 time in the 100 meters. Amazing to think that you could give Martin a running start at the line, give him zero deceleration all the way through … and he’d finish 10-15 yards behind the Olympic sprinters. World-class athletes are more myth than mammal at this point.
That 0.23 first step is the time of an average eye blink. It’s about the best I can do when finger-pressing a button to a sound and light, much less taking a first step in that time. Leonydas was using the pitch and swing as clues, but still. Sportswriters used to claim you could never watch a swing and look out to center field to watch Joe DiMaggio get started. If the claim seemed dubious then, we know now that it was a major understatement. There isn’t any way to watch the ball hit the bat and then move your eyes to watch an outfielder with both feet planted.
Bill James Online (John Dewan) does have Martin as the 21st-ranked center fielder, including -14 plays with his arm (23 runners advanced in 70-odd opportunities). Here is SABRMatt’s theory about defense fluctuating because of injury; Martin’s historically-great arm was going to be one of our thrills at Safeco, but so far no dice.
To the extent Martin’s hamstrings and elbow start feeling better, so will the M’s glovework in the wide pastures at Safeco. On Wednesday he started showing some wheels again, both on defense and on the bases.
The Mariners have -18 runs on defense, all of it in the outfield, -8 in either corner and -4 in center, including subs. That’s about equal to 0.15 runs’ worth of ERA, not a huge deal. But Guillermo Heredia. Especially when there is a fly ball pitcher on the mound, notably Paxton and LeBlanc.
The world-class aspect about the M’s so far in 2016 has been their infield and their DH. Now their closer, too.
Enjoy,
Dr D
Detect O Vision Mainframe 