King Felix

yea he's pretty good

he could be up there w Johan this year

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." -Steve Prefontaine

by jrose643 on Apr 2, 2007 8:32 PM EDT reply actions

FELIX

Does my name say it all?

by King Felix 21 on Apr 2, 2007 8:33 PM EDT reply actions

He's nice

the guy is nasty.

by NYYLover1000 on Apr 2, 2007 8:33 PM EDT reply actions

That is significant, if he keeps the ball in the park with groundball he could be as dominant as Santana who has looked human tonight. I think Felix has had the most dominant start today. I hope they don't keep him in the 9th, he's thrown 111 pitches.

by Bravesin07 on Apr 2, 2007 8:34 PM EDT reply actions

very significant

Whatever felix might lack in santana's control right now he can make it up significantly with his ground ball approach.

He could be the best in baseball, just pray he stays healthy. As a baseball fan, i hope he does.

by Team Moneyball on Apr 2, 2007 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions

wow

he was nasty today, and i didnt even realize his G:F ratio was 12:0, which is probably the most impressive aspect of his outing.

by nyybaseball99 on Apr 2, 2007 8:49 PM EDT up reply actions

santana looking human

well, santana always looks human in april and may. call back in august.

by wily mo on Apr 2, 2007 8:55 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

wily mo has K'ed the correct

Go Pirates!!!

by cool hand Charlie on Apr 2, 2007 11:38 PM EDT up reply actions

could you imagine

a team of only Felix and Brian McCAnn? They wouldn't need any fielders because Felix would strike out everyone, and McCann could be the only hitter becuase he'd hit a home run every at bat!

by Galt on Apr 2, 2007 8:48 PM EDT reply actions

Another "KIng" pitcher

Sounds like something another King, Eddie Feigner, from the King and his Court softball team would have, or if I am not mistaken, did try.

by BERSMR on Apr 3, 2007 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions

If it wasn't for Garcia he would be on the Braves

Garcia was the reason he signed with the Mariners, if that wasn't the case I think he would of signed with Atlanta. Man I wish he signed with Atlanta.

by Bravesin07 on Apr 2, 2007 8:53 PM EDT reply actions

+1

As an A's fan so do I!

by bl on Apr 3, 2007 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Lets break up this lovefest.....

He's no Philip Hughes, lets be honest with ourselves

by Terry Ryan Jr on Apr 2, 2007 8:58 PM EDT reply actions

Hughes?

He's no Tyler Clippard, the true stud in the Yankees system.

by nyr2k2 on Apr 2, 2007 9:31 PM EDT up reply actions

very true

clippard is a true yankee, hughes isnt, he's an overpriced pitcher that never pitches well in big games.

i'll take clippard of king felix any day, cuz he's got more heart.

by nyybaseball99 on Apr 2, 2007 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions

clippard over felix, that is.

by nyybaseball99 on Apr 2, 2007 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions

That HAS...

...to be sarcasm. King Felix is just turning 21 this month. He's STILL GETTING BETTER!

Clippard over Felix? Whatever...

-peter

by PeterF on Apr 3, 2007 12:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah I'm pretty sure that's sarcasm

by Goose on Apr 3, 2007 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions

haha

yeah, it was.

by nyybaseball99 on Apr 3, 2007 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Clippard...

isn't a true Yankee, he is too stat conscious. Now, Ian Kennedy is a TRUE yankee...he has lots of leadership and gets by with grit and guile, just like Paul O'Neill and Scott Brosius. I'd take him in a "big spot" over Felix, Hughes and Clippard everyday and 2x on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some people bring the Bible to college...we bring Moneyball.

by uga007 on Apr 3, 2007 1:56 AM EDT up reply actions

Felix looked good

really good. The A's hitters looked silly at the plate. However i wouldnt give him the cy young yet. Haren looked good to, great pitchers duel until crosby forgot how to catch a ball, and Sexton made them pay.
Kendall one of the hardest guys to K and he didnt have a clue what was coming.

"Win or Lose, Still Drink Booze"

by Bud Light @ Minor League Ball on Apr 2, 2007 9:46 PM EDT reply actions

Can I ask a silly question?

Why can nobody get his name right? It's SexSon. Not SexTon. It's gotta be an east coast thing, because I remember hearing BoSox announcers do the same thing. Yankee announcers too.

by TIF @ Minor League Ball on Apr 3, 2007 2:52 AM EDT up reply actions

bullsh*t

Which BoSox announcers? I watch every game and have never heard that.

The House That Dewey Built http://www.deweyshouse.com

by SmokeyJoeWood on Apr 3, 2007 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions

hmmm

maybe people on the west coast have bad hearing...? :dunno:

by nyybaseball99 on Apr 3, 2007 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions

maybe

because SexSon is redundant?

by pedrophile on Apr 3, 2007 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions

The 12 K's are a career high.

One flyball the whole game. A double by Travis Buck.

He unleashed the slider today. And an improved change(which he got the majority of his K's on).

3 pitchers have struck out a dozen hitters on opening day in the past 25 years.

Randy Johnson
Pedro Martinez
Felix Hernandez.

7th youngest opening day starter ever.

Speaking of control, did anybody notice his 6.00 K/BB in ST? Kinda like the 6/00 K/BB he has now.

12 K's, 12 Groundouts. No other pitcher alive can achieve that combination.

The Reign has begun.

by Goose on Apr 2, 2007 9:53 PM EDT reply actions

Another thing

It seemed like he was ahead in the count all day. Very impressive.

by bl on Apr 3, 2007 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions

Change-Up

ESPN said just 1 K on the change

I'll be the first A+ prospect...

by ufoboy90 on Apr 3, 2007 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Felix is nasty....

I am hoping to see some domination out of him this season.

by VtTigers on Apr 2, 2007 9:53 PM EDT reply actions

I want to hear the guys on this blog

who said that felix is overrated. Show some nuts.

by NYYLover1000 on Apr 2, 2007 9:59 PM EDT reply actions

OK

You wanna see my nuts? Well here they are! As I've said before, Felix Hernandez is an excellent young pitcher. He pitched a great game today. It's just one game. This diary has gone absolutely bonkers. Right now, he's overrated in this diary just from the irrational exuberance. That doesn't mean I don't think he's an very good, exciting young pitcher.

P.S. Someday I hope to see a Hernandez/ Matt Cain duel in the WS!! Or maybe All-Star game starters?

by DrBGiantsfan on Apr 2, 2007 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Damn. I didn't

know you were gonna answer that.

Plus, When I did say "Show some nuts", I mean't that figuratively.

by NYYLover1000 on Apr 2, 2007 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions

besides I agree with what you said

.

by NYYLover1000 on Apr 2, 2007 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions

bonkers?

I think ANY pitcher who throws a 8 inning shutout with 12 K's and a 12/0 GB:FB ratio will get entries in a diary.

It's amazing how quickly people jump out against a diary praising a great effort.

On another note, find me a handful of pitchers of any age who sit at 97, have 3-4 plus pitches with command of them all, and a major league BB/9 rate under 3. It's just as absurd to call Felix Hernandez overrated as it is for some of you to ignore what kind of talent he has.

I could understand some of you being upset at the diary if we were talking about a prospect with "upside", but we're talking about a guy who is in the majors and dominating major leaguers NOW.

Rays in '08....

by youALREADYknow on Apr 2, 2007 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Bonkers

Yes, he pitched a great game. If he keeps this up all year and stays healthy, we're looking at the Cy Young winner if not the MVP. He hasn't done it yet.

In the meantime, let me towel off from all the gushing.

by DrBGiantsfan on Apr 2, 2007 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

well said, lets go felix!

Lincecum is the blood diamond.

by realityconquest on Apr 2, 2007 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree.....

...that the diary deserved to be made, and that it would have been written for anyone else at any point in the season.

My only objection is to some of the entries made in the diary.

Also, I would almost never call Felix overrated. Every time the word "Johan" appears in this diary, he is being overrated though. "Johan-level talent" maybe. And just maybe he'll meet (or exceed) those expectations. But it's not a fair comparison right now, and it shouldn't be made.

by bleedjaxblue on Apr 2, 2007 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions

btw

I'm guessing Johjima has learned English, since that was the reason Felix didn't win the Cy last year.

by pedrophile on Apr 2, 2007 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions

What?

by Goose on Apr 3, 2007 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions

reasons Felix didn't win the Cy last year:

Excuse #1: Johjima couldn't communicate and call a good game
Excuse #2: Felix wasn't allowed to throw many sliders
Excuse #3: Felix was overweight
Excuse #4: He had bad luck
Excuse #5: HR's shouldn't have left the park that frequently, NASA is looking into it
Excuse #6: He threw too many fastballs
Excuse #7: He threw too many breaking balls
Excuse #8: Shut-up, he's Felix!

Ok, I created the last one. But all of the others I saw here on this site.

Felix = the highest potential young pitcher. No doubt. But when 100 excuses are made for any shortcoming it's very annoying. If he had a bad start I'm sure we'd see many new excuses. But since it was a good one he is compared favorably to Santana and now is going to win the Cy.

by pedrophile on Apr 3, 2007 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions

rumor I heard....

....was that they both took classes in Esperanto.

Though neither learned it, the bonding experience they had was unforgettable, and that has led to a stronger, more unified calling of pitches by this dynamic duo.

by bleedjaxblue on Apr 3, 2007 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions

did you just make that up?

because if you did I like it :)))

by pedrophile on Apr 3, 2007 12:10 AM EDT up reply actions

well, it certainly didn't REALLY happen

though I wish it did.

the slideshow they would have had to present to Hargrove & Co. would have been priceless.

by bleedjaxblue on Apr 3, 2007 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Well

How are you supposed to write "Johan-level talent" without out writing the word "Johan"? Not one person honestly said that Felix was as good as Johan. They said that he 'could be' as good as Johan so what exactly is the difference between saying Felix could be as good as Johan and saying Felix has "Johan-level talent"?

by neutralluke on Apr 3, 2007 2:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I would start....

....by using "Johan-level talent" sparingly, and focus for now on him being a good pitcher in his own right, which lord knows he's capable of being, but he hasn't been one at the major league level yet. From there, I would cut the following entries:

http://www.minorleagueball.com/comments/2007/4/2/20307/87082/1#1
http://www.minorleagueball.com/comments/2007/4/2/20307/87082/4#4
http://www.minorleagueball.com/comments/2007/4/2/20307/87082/5#5
http://www.minorleagueball.com/comments/2007/4/2/20307/87082/15#15
http://www.minorleagueball.com/comments/2007/4/2/9294/07977/18#18

by bleedjaxblue on Apr 3, 2007 2:43 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm not sure if comparing Felix and Santana

is a good comparison anyways. They are very different pitches. It's apples and oranges IMO.

Felix is a right hander who succeeds with the rare combination of high K rates and high groundball rates, along with good control.

Santana is a left hander who succeeds with even higher K rates, excellent control, and changing speeds with a fastball/changeup combo. Felix does well with his offspeed pitchers and changing speeds as well, but Santana is the best there is at it today.

So I don't think you really can compare them. You can compare Santana and Pedro, or Felix and maybe Halliday(because I can't think of an historic comp for Felix that succeeded with the high K/GB combo).

by Goose on Apr 3, 2007 2:52 AM EDT up reply actions

who had.....

....April 2nd in the pool for the date we'd reach King Felix oversaturation?

by bleedjaxblue on Apr 2, 2007 10:00 PM EDT reply actions

I agree of what you are saying and people tend

to forget this is the A's line up he's doing against, one of the weaker line ups in baseball but give the kid credit. He did dominate and he was sensational. Great performance.

by NYYLover1000 on Apr 2, 2007 10:06 PM EDT up reply actions

great performance.....

by a great talent.

it was a lineup capable of being dominated on many an occasion, but that's not even my beef, because i think he's capable of sustaining a level of excellence over the entire season against many other teams.

my beef is that it's been ONE game. and people are making direct comparisons of his first game to santana's, like that means anything whatsoever.

as i've said before, i would never call him anything short of the best young pitcher in the game today. but that doesn't mean people can't go off the deep end when describing him.

i also can't WAIT until we get further into the season, so people can stop posting these "through-10-ABs" type diaries. they might be even worse than the ones from spring training.

by bleedjaxblue on Apr 2, 2007 10:14 PM EDT up reply actions

well

i think the thing is, this is a guy who people have been predicting this type of performance from for awhile, in other words, this guys is supposed to be one of the top 5 pitchers in the league at somepoint soon and with all the talk about losing weight and the good spring, people are getting excited...i think you'd have to agree he is certainly cable of putting up a santana like year, is he going to this year or is it likely? probably not, but its not like this is kyle davies who people are predicting to have a gigantic year

by nyybaseball99 on Apr 2, 2007 10:28 PM EDT up reply actions

he might be.....

....capable of putting together a Santana-like year, but this game didn't prove it.

This game was worth writing about, but it wasn't worth directly comparing to Santana's game, nor projecting out over 35 starts, or anything else.

I'm with you that it's exciting to see him pitch so well. But it's diaries like this that just BEG for anti-Felix diaries, when, in his next start, he goes 4.2 and gives up 4 runs on 10 hits. If each side goes off exaggerrating each meaningless event like this and treating it as a mountain of evidence......well, then I'm going to be damn sick of reading Felix diaries before it's March.

by bleedjaxblue on Apr 2, 2007 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions

did I say March?

I meant "May." May's the month I meant. I'm sorry; I'm calendar dyslexic.

by bleedjaxblue on Apr 2, 2007 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions

right

thats my point...it wasnt this game that says he can turn into a santana-like pitcher, its his talent that says he can do develop into a pitcher like that

by nyybaseball99 on Apr 3, 2007 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions

I understand,

it can be annoying at times and has not prove anything yet but hey I think he's the best young pitcher in baseball. Hell even when Liriano was pitching great, I still said I would take Felix over Liriano. Can the hype be annoying yeah, but you know I don't mind it that much but unless it reaches a level in which 8 of the 10 diaries on the right hand section is nothing but Felix stuff then I can deal with it.

He's a great talent jax.

by NYYLover1000 on Apr 2, 2007 10:24 PM EDT reply actions

Ben Sheets Anyone?

by JD Sussman on Apr 2, 2007 11:15 PM EDT reply actions

yep

Impressive. I predicted a cy young season from him earlier.

by doublestix on Apr 2, 2007 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Ben Sheets

Great CG today.

Both him and Felix on the fantasy keeper team... great day of baseball.

Rays in '08....

by youALREADYknow on Apr 2, 2007 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Borat says "it's sexy time"

ps: for whoever said "Kendall one of the hardest guys to K and he didnt have a clue what was coming."

I think this is only because for some reason Kendall's swing is still not qualified as a bunt even though he's been technically proven to have a similar bat speed as the average MLB bunt.

by pedrophile on Apr 2, 2007 11:30 PM EDT reply actions

question

What's the Vegas over/under of dislocated shoulders from clowns/donkeys/{insert acronym here} vigorously patting themselves on the back for a game one performance of one of their roto guys.

by pedrophile on Apr 2, 2007 11:33 PM EDT reply actions

Special Guest Comment

8 innings, three hits, 12 K's? I'm deferring to (read: paraphrasing) Dennis Green here, and I think we can all agree that's appropriate: "(Felix Hernandez is) who we thought they were! That's why we took the damn field! If you wanna crown 'em then crown their ass!" (punches microphone)

"What you're forgetting is that you need at least three DWIs before you're considered a 'dominant' drunk driver." (limozeen)

by drjayphd on Apr 3, 2007 12:09 AM EDT reply actions

lincecum

woo lincecum

by wily mo on Apr 3, 2007 12:13 AM EDT reply actions

slurp slurp slurp slurp sluuurp

God rested one day out of 7, Felix rests 4 out of 5.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on Apr 3, 2007 12:41 AM EDT reply actions

king felix

I swear, you guys are to King Felix what rock critics are to Springsteen. Sometime this summer I'm going to read that Obama would make a great running mate for Felix if Felix were old enough to run.

I suppose he is a pretty fair pitcher, though. ;)

by whichthat on Apr 3, 2007 12:53 AM EDT reply actions

Whatever....

At 2:30pm CDT this afternoon Adam Dunn was on pace to hit roughly 600 HR's this year. He is still on pace for over 300.

I know that its opening day, and I know that Felix is a stud, but its not as if we as a collective audience of baseball enthusiasts today witnessed the greatest game ever pitched, nor did we see the greatest pitcher to ever throw. We saw a young kid do something extraordinary. Which is nice, and the length of this blog has more to do with the 12 year old kid in us than anything else. Its F'ing baseball after 5 months of having to follow inferior sports. Hallelujah

by Terry Ryan Jr on Apr 3, 2007 2:05 AM EDT reply actions

Morneau is still

on pace to get thrown out over 300 times though we've got that.

1941 .406

by FrozenTed9 on Apr 3, 2007 2:53 AM EDT up reply actions

And since we're on the topic

Felix is on pace for 256 IP and 384 K's.

by Goose on Apr 3, 2007 2:59 AM EDT up reply actions

That's kind of scary

that RJ actually maintained that pace for a full season in '01

Koufax and Ryan had more Ks, but they also had over 40 starts

by Galt on Apr 3, 2007 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions

The Knob Slobberers and The Have To NaySayers

Seriously, cut from the same cloth.

Excuses Felix didn't win Cy Young last year (bad luck) or Excuses Felix was so dominant this game (The A's lineup sucks!).

Y'all... I mean... damn. Forget it.

Hail to the King, baby.

by TIF @ Minor League Ball on Apr 3, 2007 2:59 AM EDT reply actions

I really don't think Johan is good enough

I personally feel like we need to be looking at Randy J and Pedro in their prime to see what Felix is capable of...Johan just isn't that good...

by Dfarth on Apr 3, 2007 10:35 AM EDT reply actions

re:

Pedro in his prime was better than anyone else in baseball history.

Is it possible that Felix matches him? Sure, but I'd say the odds are something like 1/1000.

The House That Dewey Built http://www.deweyshouse.com

by SmokeyJoeWood on Apr 3, 2007 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions

WTF?

Was that post serious?

Santana not that good? Lol.

by SenorGato88 on Apr 3, 2007 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Sorry

I have trouble making serious posts when threads are all over the place like this one...have a nice day...

by Dfarth on Apr 3, 2007 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Better than Carlos

King Felix may not be as good as Johan just yet,but he is definitely a better pitcher than Carlos.

Long live the King!!!

by Steve549 on Apr 3, 2007 11:02 AM EDT reply actions

funny

This thread was created to acknowledge a great pitching effort.

It's evolution into banter and bullcrap is an absolute shame.

Stop taking every diary too seriously... relax and appreciate good baseball for a change instead of microanalyzing every damn word others write.

Rays in '08....

by youALREADYknow on Apr 3, 2007 12:00 PM EDT reply actions

I'm excited

After seeing him in the minors and then in the majors last year I had serious concerns about him mechanically.

Last night he looked alot cleaner in his delivery. I need to look a little closer today but if his mechanics start matching his stuff the hype is going to be warranted.

Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est.

by HuskerBob on Apr 3, 2007 12:18 PM EDT reply actions

Are u on Drugs????!!

Clippard over Felix that must be a joke. Tell me what drugs u are on. Clippard is older than Felix and nowhere near him and will never be! Im not saying that Clippard doesnt have potential, I think he will be a good # 2 pitcher but dont even compare him to KING FELIX.

by King Felix 21 on Apr 3, 2007 1:38 PM EDT reply actions

hehe

The House That Dewey Built http://www.deweyshouse.com

by SmokeyJoeWood on Apr 3, 2007 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions

are you on drugs?

because it was so obvious it was a joke how couldn't you tell? The only thing more funny was people getting indignant about it.

by pedrophile on Apr 3, 2007 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Felix

Was he really hitting 99, even 100 yesterday like MLB.com's gameday claimed?

I'm guessing he really worked this offseason to get himself inot shape and be an ace... unlike last offseason after a pretty great rookie half-season.

by ultxmxpx on Apr 3, 2007 7:47 PM EDT reply actions

I doubt it. Those guys are always 1-2 MPH fast

Felix generally hits between 96-98.So he might have hit 99 once or twice, but I doubt he hit 100.

by Goose on Apr 3, 2007 9:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Guys=Guns

by Goose on Apr 3, 2007 9:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Good Chance

Guns are not typically fast unlike what many people say. Unless they are artificially tampered with almost all guns will produce identical velocities.

The problem is most guns will read slower velocities based on HOW the reading is done.

If the person taking the reading is on an angle the velocity will be lower (because of velocity relative to target).

The person taking velocity has to pick a target point. Typically this is 6-12 feet after release. The farther from release the slower the velocity. But if you get closer to release you will run the risk of not getting a reading at all.

I hear there will be new technology coming in to reduce the margin of error.

So - If there are many missed readings they are probably measuring closest to the true velocity out of the pitchers hand. Nobody measures across the plate. If they did 9mph would be lost and not look so sexy. That and it's more affected by spin, etc.

The only way the readings are false is if:

Doctored the guns (very unlikely)
The actual readings/reporting was lied about

by pedrophile on Apr 3, 2007 11:03 PM EDT up reply actions

There are 2

main munufacturers of the guns. Scouts claim one is about 2 mph different from the other.

by slurve on Apr 4, 2007 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions

*manufacturers

by slurve on Apr 4, 2007 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah

that used to be true. But I think it's now almost identical.

You should check out the facts on radar guns. Help you next time facing a speeding ticket. Do you realize the radar gun has absolutely no clue which car was speeding? If another car within sightline of the radar was speeding they would be the one setting it off, it just reads highest speed.

by pedrophile on Apr 4, 2007 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Oh, I know all about this

Ways to get out of speeding tix:

Continue court appearance to when officer that issued ticket is not going to be there. Call him as a witness - case is dropped for "lack of prosecution."
If officer can't be lost that way, challenge them to provide calibration data for that exact gun. This is rarely done as it's supposed to be, even if they did do it, many times its lost as they don't keep god records in most cases.

Most people just assume they are screwed and never even think of fighting speeding tix. I've beaten several. OK, not several as I'm not really much of a leadfoot, but 3. The first one was completely bogus which is why I went and researched how to beat them in the first place.

by slurve on Apr 4, 2007 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions

calibration

is overkill. Assume the gun is perfect.

Prove he saw "you" speeding. He can't. People fight the readings when it's the fact we can not know who the gun is reading.

It doesn't even matter direction.

by pedrophile on Apr 4, 2007 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions

When you're the only only one

driving down a highway in the boonies - calibration is your only friend.

by slurve on Apr 5, 2007 7:37 AM EDT up reply actions

that

and hoping your car is faster.

I do love how out of state tickets are not really enforced very well.

by pedrophile on Apr 5, 2007 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions

thats good knowledge

by wildthang on Apr 4, 2007 2:36 AM EDT up reply actions

Projections from one start?

Felix will have one competitor for the Cy Young for the next decade. Thats his former rotation buddy Gil Meche. What a stud. 7.1 inn 6hits 1bb 1er 6k. Sarcasm! On a more serious note... John Lackey. I am getting very high on him. Great spring and great opening day. Seems primed for even bigger year than last year.