MLB.com is running a "handicapping" series this week. And today’s article, by Robert Falkoff, was titled Players on the rebound: MLB.com looks at the players most likely to recover from ’05. The article talked mostly about players who had suffered major injuries. (May they all come back fully recovered!) But it mentioned as well several players who had bad seasons not due to illness or injury: Adrian Beltre, Justin Morneau, Doug Mientkiewicz, Jeremy Affeldt, Mike Lowell, Eric Milton, Carlos Beltran, and Oliver Perez.

Hey, Falkoff, you missed somebody…Eric Byrnes! How quickly the media likes to forget that in 2004 Byrnes hit .283 and had 20 homers, 39 doubles and 73 RBI. Fortunately, smart GMs don’t assume one abysmal, aberrant year tells the whole story. Byrnesie got at least five offers in December. He’s going to be one of the sparkplugs of the 2006 Arizona Diamondbacks.

As the article said: "The trick is to show the resiliency and resolve to bounce back strong, putting that disappointing season in the rear-view mirror and speeding away to brighter days." Eric Byrnes has that resiliency and resolve. So sure..go ahead…be that way…leave him off the list of likely rebound players to keep an eye on in the National League! I’ll keep an eye on him for you. I’ll keep both eyes on him. Better yet, I’ll keep four eyes on him, since I wear glasses. Eric Byrnes is going to be just fine!

Go Byrnesie! Go Snakes!

Kéllia Ramares
Oakland, CA

  I really don’t know if Eric Byrnes is the type to set numerical goals for himself. Some guys do, and make it public, some guys don’t, and others probably do but keep it to themselves. While I really don’t care if Byrnes does or doesn’t—he’s just always looking to get better and that’s good enough for me—baseball is the most statistical of sports.

So I am going to put up a few benchmarks that I think would be great for Byrnes to meet or exceed. If he does, that will certainly help his team win, and help his chances of getting a good contract next year. Byrnes is only signed for one year and I would like to see him get a multi-year contract next time. Stability is a good thing for a ball player. I don’t think it is a mere coincidence that pitcher Bruce Chen had his best year, 13 wins, last year. He was with the Baltimore Orioles all last season; 2005 was the first year since his rookie year that Chen was with one team throughout an entire season. Of course, pitcher Bronson Arroyo might have a different opinion on the alleged stability of a multi-year contract. But I would love to see Byrnesie get a three-year, maybe even a four-year, deal next time. Hitting some numerical targets would help that cause.

Games: 143. This is how many he appeared in 2004. Of course, Byrnes would play all 162 if someone would let him. But so far, no one has let him and we can’t expect that Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin will be the first. It appears that the decision already has been made to have the fourth outfielder, Jeff DaVanon, who can play all three outfield positions, get most of his playing time at center field. But Byrnesie needs to be out there a lot to play well, and he did sign on to be the Diamondbacks’ every day CF, so I am hoping to see something quite near the 2004 games numbers this year.

Batting Average: .303. Byrnes hit .263 in 2003, the first year he made the Opening Day roster. He hit .283 in 2004. Another 20-point leap would be .303. I think he’s capable of .323, and if he gets that this year, terrific! But I’m willing to wait another season for that one, given that Byrnesie is changing leagues.

HR: 25. This is 5 better than his career high of 20 in 2004. I think he’s capable of 30+, He’s strong; he’ll get his share of jacks. However, I think he needs to focus on a higher batting average than on more homers this year and that will mean more contact and situational hitting rather than trying to get it over the fence. If he can just show more patience at the plate: a willingness to work deeper into the count and a willingness to walk more, pitchers are not going to be able to throw him as much low and away junk as they did during abysmal, aberrant 2005. And when pitchers make mistakes to Byrnes, they often need a replacement baseball. The 30+ will show up this year if those pitchers end up making more mistakes.

RBIs: 90. I want to say 100, but the combination of the times when Byrnes will bat leadoff and the times he won’t play at all might prevent this. Still, 100 is the gold standard of RBI production and is possible. Byrnes drove in 73 runs in ’04.

Doubles: 45. This is a bit better than the 39 Byrnes hit in 2004. A higher BA means more hits over all and that means more 2Bs over all because Eric is fast and strong and a high percentage of his hits are for extra bases. Forty-five doubles would put him up among the league leaders, which is where he should be in this category.

K/BB ratio: 1:1 Eric needs to show more willingness to walk. It helps the OBP. You can’t steal second until you get on first. And speaking of stolen bases…

SB: 30. If the D’Backs are more willing to take the extra base than Byrnes’ first organization, the A’s, were, we should see Byrnesie swiping a lot of bags. He’s got the speed and aggressiveness to be a good base stealer; he needs a team that values that talent. Is it the D’Backs?

Other Notes: With the D’Backs on the tube today, I saw Eric lay down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to move Chris Snyder, who had walked, to second base in the third inning. Of course, I’m wondering why the manager would want to take the bat out of the hands of his leadoff hitter. But as long as sacrifice bunts are asked for, it’s good to know Byrnesie can execute them. The runner did not score.

In the fifth inning, Snyder singled, and Byrnesie doubled him to third. Then Conor Jackson drove them both in with a single. That’s better.

MLB.com reporter Jim Street wrote an article called "Wild, wild NL West should be improved: Offseason enhancements improved division from top to bottom". In listing "New Faces" for the the teams in that division, he listed Johnny Estrada, and "El Duque" Hernandez for the D’Backs, but he missed Gold Glove 2B Orlando Hudson AND Eric Byrnes, while mentioning some NL West mainstays like Brett Tomko (from Giants to Dogders) and Steve Finley (Dodgers, Padres, D’Backs and now Giants). OK, media, forget Byrnesie, underestimate the D’Backs. I’ll be happy to pay attention for you.

From the "I know it’s just spring training, but still…" Department: Today’s game was just background for the White Sox broadcasters, Hawk Harrelson and Darren Jackson, who were yakking about their own former careers. I don’t mind a little of that, but it went on for innings. Frazier batted for Byrnes to lead off the seventh and they never mentioned his name. It’s a good thing D’Backs players have their names on the backs of their jerseys. Here’s another reason to be happy the regular season will soon be upon us: Once the games count, there will be no more having regulars like Byrnes pinch-hit for by minor leaguers like Frazier.

Eric Byrnes went 1-2 with a double, a run scored and a sac bunt as the D’Backs beat the White Sox 3-1. And we’re one day closer to Opening Day!

Go Byrnesie!
Go Snakes!

Kéllia Ramares
Oakland, CA

P.S. More wind and rain yesterday and today in Oakland. BRRR! and GRRR! Would anyone out there like to send me some water wings?

Any time Eric Byrnes get a hit, or makes a great defensive play, is an occasion to be of good cheer. –Kéllia Ramares, Aug. 25, 2005

Well today Eric Byrnes got a hit, a sharp single to left his first time up (1-3), AND made a great defensive play, a “running back toward the wall while keeping his eye on the ball full out extension dive into the air to catch it” play that announcer Mark Grace, who knows a thing or two about MLB, was still praising, with reason, innings later. A rarity for you to see, Gracie, but par for the course for us Byrnes-watchers, who never tire of seeing our guy turn potential extra-base hits into loud outs.  Get delightfully used to it!

AND I got to see the hit and the catch! Finally! (Yeah, I work in radio, but I’d much rather watch baseball than listen to it, especially when Eric Byrnes is patrolling the outfield).

Three AB’s is really not enough for me to say a whole bunch about Byrnesie’s batting mechanics, so I won’t until I’ve seen more. (I am having trouble lately getting MLB up on my workstation computer, but I will deal with that later this week). I will say this much, though: Given what I saw in today’s game, what I saw in a little quote of him they played during the telecast, and what his manager, Bob Melvin had to say about his all-out style of play and infectious clubhouse personality, I would say Byrnesie’s working hard as ever, but is relaxed and happy with the D’Backs. This spells good things for him and them. (And for people like me who are rooting for him to do very well).

Byrnes batted 7th today. With Craig Counsell back from his injury, there is a bit of a logjam at the top of the order. Shortstop Counsell, second baseman Hudson, who batted second and homered today, center fielder Byrnes, and even catcher Johnny Estrada are all capable tablesetters. With the Cubs starting a right hander, Byrnes was moved down in the order. But against southpaws, he’s expected to see some at bats at leadoff or the two hole this season.

The D’Backs bolstered their bullpen today. Brad Halsey was scheduled to start today’s game but he was traded to Oakland this morning for reliever Juan Cruz, a right-hander. Eric Byrnes has played with Cruz and likes the deal. In a Steve Gilbert story about the trade, Byrnesie said, "He’s a good pitcher that’s got electrifying stuff. He throws in the upper 90s and has an unbelievable slider. I think he’s a great pickup for us. I’m very excited to have him."

Other Notes: Congrats to George Mason, the team many said should not be in the NCAA tournament. They beat U Conn, the team I thought would take it all, 86-84 in OT to make the Final Four.

Even though I had to leave off watching the game, which ended D’Backs 6 Cubs 0, to go to work, it was sunny in Oakland and 62 degrees. That’s another reason to be of good cheer, what with all the cold, wind and rain we have had in Oakland of late.

One piece of bad news: Indy car driver Paul Dana, of the Rahal-Letterman racing team, died after a crash in practice at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. The rookie driver was 30 years old.

Kéllia Ramares
Oakland, CA

The Diamondbacks had runners on first and second and no one out in the seventh inning against the geographically-challenged Angels yesterday, when Eric Byrnes came up to bat. He was asked to sacrifice them over. (Daryl cringes. He hates the sacrifice bunt!) The first pitch was a ball. Byrnesie tried to bunt the second pitch but fouled it back. Strike one. The third pitch was a ball. With the count in Byrnes’ favor, the bunt sign was taken off. Byrnesie sent the fourth pitch into territory well beyond the left-centerfield wall. <big, toothy grin>

What is the moral of this story, beyond the fact that it is more fun to hear your favorite player hit a three-run-homer than it is to hear him bunt?

It’s that patience is a virtue. When a hitter, especially a guy with pop in his bat, like Eric Byrnes, can run the count in his favor, it’s less likely that a pitcher will try cutesy stuff like throwing low and away junk to get the hitter to chase a bad one; the pitcher doesn’t want to risk issuing a walk. In yesterday’s scenario, a walk would have loaded the bases. Special moral of the story to pitcher J. Bulger: he who does not precisely locate his fastball to Eric Byrnes often needs a replacement sphere. <heh-heh-heh>

AMN of Some Ballyard put it well: "A skilled batter is not simply attempting to hit the pitch. He is attempting to hit the pitch with purpose…Often an at bat has multiple purposes, and varies depending on how the at bat unfolds, which is obviously dependent on what the pitcher, who also has his objectives, throws. "

Of course, there are several ways to advance runners. The home run is the most fun. But, as it has been said, "The three-run homer does not come to the park everyday." Earlier in the day, Eric Byrnes demonstrated another method. He advanced Craig Counsell from first to second with an opposite-field single to right. Moral of that story: go with the pitch, be willing to use more of the field, or as Wee Willlie Keeler said, "Hit ‘em where they ain’t." It’s great for the batting average, the OBP, and it sometimes leads to runs for the team.

Unfortunately, such was not the case this particular inning. What should have been at least bases loaded with one out after Byrnesie batted, was instead runners on first and second with two out after that single because Orlando Hernandez, who had singled earlier, got thrown out trying to steal second. Just what the heck was in "El Duque’s" mind when he tried to steal with Counsell and Byrnes coming up behind him? Pitchers, especially old pitchers, should not try to steal bases. (Bobby, of Deep Fried Fish Blog, might partially disagree. But Dontrelle Willis knows more about baserunning than most pitchers do because he hits way better than most pitchers do. Still, even D-Train barrelling down the basepaths can be unsettling to his own team).

Eric Byrnes’s spring batting average is now a hefty .341. And the astrologically inclined among you should note that he had his Mars return on the 24th. Mars is a symbol of our physical energy and assertiveness that is especially important to athletes. About every two years, Mars returns to where it was when a person was born. The Mars return marks a new two-year cycle and is a great time to launch new projects, and fastballs over the wall. Happy Mars Return, Byrnesie! 2006 is promising to be a good year for you.

Other Notes: Yesterday was a truly great day for Eric Byrnes. Not only did he go 2-4 with a homer, 3 RBI and a run scored in a game the D’Backs won, but his UCLA Bruins made the Final Four.

Kéllia Ramares
Oakland, CA

The Diamondbacks and the geographically-challenged Angels are on the radio today. The Arizona broadcasters started talking about ex-Angel Jeff DaVanon, who figures to be the Snakes’ No. 4 outfielder. They talked about how he can play center field.

Jeff DaVanon can play all three outfield positions and he’s a switch-hitter, which makes him a very flexible utility player. But the reporters covering the D’Backs like to hone in on Jeff playing center field, which is Eric Byrnes’ position. WHY? It is right fielder Shawn Green who is having a lousy spring at the plate. It is left fielder Luis Gonzalez who is 38-years-old–Byrnes turned 30 in February–and might need a few day games after night games off.

I am not suggesting that DaVanon should never, ever play center field, but DaVanon is mentioned more as a center fielder than as a guy who can play all three positions. (BTW, Byrnesie can do that, too). All this center field talk strikes me as media reports of a de facto platoon, which is the last thing Byrnesie, who signed on to be the everyday center fielder, needs. He did his best in 2004, the year he played the most games. That is no coincidence. Some guys are great off the bench; that’s a special talent. Others needs to play a lot to be their best. Byrnesie is one of those.

As I started this entry, Byrnesie hit a single to right field. He’s been hitting more to center and right this spring than he has in past years. Looks like someone in AZ has been helping him see the value of going with the pitch and hitting to all fields. Opposite field hitting will enable him to better deal with the low and away pitches that right-handers, especially, liked to throw him last year. Forget abysmal, aberrant 2005! Byrnesie’s going to have a good year in 2006. So enough already of all this talk of Jeff DaVanon playing center field!

Update at 1:59 P.M. Eric Byrnes just hit a big 3-run homer!!! D’Backs leading 6-1. Chalk up another multi-hit day for him!

Go Byrnesie! Go Snakes!

Kéllia Ramares
Oakland, CA