Jay M. Nunez

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Saturday Update

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Friday, May 27, 2016

Girls of Summer

I received this press release today:

FILMMAKER AND FATHER OF THREE BASEBALL-PLAYING DAUGHTERS TO DIRECT “THE GIRLS OF SUMMER,” ABOUT THE WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO PLAY AMERICA’S PASTIME

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, May 2016 – As a kid, Matthew Temple loved to play baseball. So when he had kids (all daughters) and shared his baseball stories, they wanted to play baseball, too. Yes, hardball. “Little did I know at that time that my daughters would always be the only girls on their teams, and often the only girls in their league,” Temple said. This led him down a rabbit hole of why girls so often don’t play, and the stories of those who do. As a filmmaker by trade, he’s now taking a camera down that rabbit hole.

This summer, women and girls from all over the United States will attend open tryouts for Team USA, in hopes to make the team that will travel to South Korea to play in the Women’s Baseball World Cup for a shot at the Gold Medal. Temple’s documentary team will follow these women from tryouts to the World Cup, as they hope to finally snatch the Gold from the perennial powerhouse, Japan.

He is also meeting with and interviewing girls and women who play, to explore their world in baseball, learn their stories, hear their voices perspectives from the highly competitive levels to the recreational levels, from youth baseball and high school to college. The players who persevered, the ones who decided not to push back against the status quo and move to softball or another sport completely, and others who came to baseball after playing softball. And of course, there are also the stories of the parents, coaches, and the boys who play with them, from the ones who welcome the girls to the ones who don’t.

“This is not a cause film,” says Temple, “it’s a human film, following the stories of the girls and women who play now, who want to play, and what they go through in order to play.” First and foremost, this is a film about the women and girls who play baseball, but he adds, “it is also, in part, a reflection of our society and our cultural relationship to gender, gender expectations, women in sports and the freedom to pursue dreams, hopes, and one’s own path regardless of gender.”

GIRLS OF SUMMER is on Facebook, (http://ift.tt/25nTPGC) where you can join the mailing list, follow the story, and view videos. They have just launched a crowd funding campaign (http://ift.tt/1sgQOtB) and released a video (https://youtu.be/VDe3EAXnfa8). WeStrive, a California 501(c)3 non-profit is fiscal sponsor.

Sounds like an interesting project.

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Jeurys Familia comes in to pitch the ninth with the Mets leading the Dodgers 5-1. He allowes four runs, the last three coming in when Chase Utley hits a two-out, bases loaded double to drive in three runs and tie the game. Mets fans must really love that, given they see Utley as a villain.

Of course, this blown lead won’t show up in the stats. Since it was not a save situation when Familia entered the game, his perfect save percentage remains intact. It’s a small problem with the stat.

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Remolding Clay

The Red Sox move Clay Buchholz to the bullpen:

Boston manager John Farrell announced today that the veteran right-hander will be moved to the bullpen, with Eduardo Rodriguez scheduled to step into the rotation and start Tuesday against the Orioles.

“This is something that’s been done for a lot of years. A starter scuffles, they go to the bullpen to work things out. That’s what we’re doing with Clay,” Farrell said.

Buchholz’s strikeout rate cratered while his walks and home run rates rose sharply. His velocity has not dropped, so it seems might be a location issue.

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Opening for Profar

MLB reduced the suspension of Rougned Odor to seven games, starting with Friday night’s game (tonight). Justin Jurickson Profar takes Odor’s place. Profar was supposed to be a huge prospect for Texas, and made it to the majors in 2012 at the age of 19. He played some in 2013, but injuries derailed his career. He owns a .356 OBP at AAA this season, and with Odor’s suspension he’ll get a chance at the majors again.

Odor is an out machine so if Profar can be a competent lead-off man in this stint, I would not be surprised to see him stick. Odor seems to have a short fuse as well, which won’t help his cause.

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Shelby Shelved

The Diamondbacks send Shelby Miller to the disabled list:

Miller is likely being placed with the finger issue that popped up in his start in San Diego. Miller scraped the mound with his bare knuckles during the 2nd inning of that start and lasted only one batter further before getting pulled. Chip Hale was quoted as recently as yesterday that the finger is still bothering Miller. My only question is why they let Miller go another month if the finger was still bothering him, but that’s a better discussion for the comments section of this page than the article itself.

I suspect they needed to get him off the mound and really find out what is wrong with him, and the finger gives Arizona a legitimate reason for a trip to the DL. Miller is the kind of pitcher who might very well be worse than his career numbers indicate. Until this season, his FIP was always higher than his ERA. I could see him changing to a team where the defense is not as good and posting a four ERA. Pitching this poorly, however, indicates something else is wrong. Maybe if it is just the finger, some time off might help.

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Project Fishermen: Part 5

Not as much progress as I might have liked this week, but I still finished something, let's take a look!

A busy week for me so I didn't get as far as I might have liked, here's where I'm up to with Jac and Sakana..