There’s a general tendency to classify our surroundings. In order to save space in our brains, we label routines, constructs and actions, and store them away. On the positive side, this allows us to master complicated concepts with relative ease. Imagine if you went into your morning commute with a fresh approach every day. You’d be late often. The negatives — perhaps outlined best by Aldous Huxley in The Doors of Perception — are that we fail to fully enjoy how fascinating daily moments can be.

Our appreciation of sports is no different. Even as we revel in the superlative singular performances, we often hasten to label them. Last year was either The Year Of The Pitcher or The Year of the Rookie depending on your focus. Plenty of energy has gone into parsing the former, but let’s instead look at the latter and maybe open a shut door. Was last year exceptional when it came to rookie performance? Were there more debuts, more average rookies or more exceptional rookie seasons last year than there have been in the past?

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“I wouldn’t let a kid at 11-years-old throw a breaking ball, I never threw a breaking ball until I got to high school,” [Tom] Glavine said.

Typically, the rule is that little leaguers shouldn’t be throwing curveballs. The pitch has been blamed for placing too much stress on young elbows, and even a cursory analysis of the mechanics seems to put credence to the credo – it’s a tough pitch to throw. Watching Luke Gregerson throw four sliders out of five pitches to Alex Gonzalez Wednesday night, though, it seemed reasonable to wonder if the slider was also a stressful pitch. Are slider-heavy pitchers more likely to get injured than those that throw the fastball more often?

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This past offseason, the Florida Marlins traded away toolsy but flawed Cameron Maybin to the Padres in exchange for a pair of relievers. So far this season, Maybin has been putting up a .260/.337/.481 line and looks good in the field. Can we stamp this trade as a win for the Padres already?

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The iconic sound of college baseball is gone.

The “ping” that separated amateurs from professionals for nearly four decades disappeared this year. And in its place is a sound that is, well…. not quite so memorable.

As part of its ongoing attempt to temper the trampoline effect of metal bats – and in part lessen on-the-job hazards for pitchers and infielders in the college game – the NCAA this year mandated that bat manufacturers follow a new standard that now makes metal bats only slightly more lively than wood bats. So no ping. Not even a craaack. These days, the sound of ball meeting bat is more like a thwock. “It sounds like a bag of chips,” one scout says.

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There is a general consensus that Manny Ramirez went out at the absolute nadir. His exit from the game was the anti-Ted Williams — the very worst way you could leave. Thus, on the barstool of American sports, the (perhaps warranted) skewering began. The fervor reached a pitch to which Joe Posnanski returned a volley. This week, he noted that, in the debate about steroid users and the hall of fame, those in the ‘against’ category are the most impassioned. He mentioned a Cleveland Frowns post that attempted to put some fervor into the pro-Manny side, but the fact remains:

If Ramirez “deserves” an impassioned defense, then Barry Bonds deserves one more.

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On the Monday evening ESPN SportsCenter, Dave Winfield was highlighting the big plays of the afternoon tilt between the Rangers and the Tigers. Since Michael Young went two-for-four with a big RBI double that broke open a tied, scoreless game in the seventh inning, Winfield was right to attribute much of the offensive glory to the longtime Ranger. He was the offensive WPA champ of the game (+.184) on the revamped box scores.

But maybe Winfield went a little too far when he said “Michael Young is the Derek Jeter of the Texas Rangers.” Derek Jeter still plays shortstop and owns all those rings! Then again, we might find with a little uncovering that the description was apt.

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On Wednesday night, Ben Francisco hit his second home run of the year, which, combined with his seeming comfort in a regular role on a contending team, probably caused more than one Indians fan to utter an epithet under his or her breath. Investigating Francisco’s route to the present day seems to call to mind the titular saying – it seems that his beauty is dependent on the person (or organization) that is doing the appraising.

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Elvis Andrus hit a home run. Elvis Andrus hit a home run!

He hadn’t hit one in 178 games.

It’s all good of course. His defense and speed make him a valuable part of the team, especially while he’s cost-controlled. But 178 games is kind of a long time.

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It looks like it’s not an April Fool’s joke – Matt Holliday is having his appendix out Friday afternoon. A tough spring has just gotten worse for the Cardinals. Approximately how many wins has the team lost in the last month? Let’s count it up.

First they lost as many as five wins when Adam Wainwright went down. Even if Kyle McClellan can replicate his league-averageish FIP work from the rotation (which isn’t likely, considering the penalty usually associated with such a move), the team lost at least about three wins when their young ace grabbed his elbow in pain.

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The Angels may not do it like we want them to, but they do do it. Succeed, I mean. Most of the time at least.

Present Talent – 75.83 (T-18th)

Angels Season Preview

Future Talent – 85.00 (t-5th)

Angels Top 10 Prospects

Financial Resources – 85.00 (4th)
Baseball Operations – 76.67 (T-22nd)

Overall Rating – 80.17 (12th)

Coming off a year that saw the Angels fall to third in their four-team division, it may be a little difficult to appreciate the run of success they’ve had. Or maybe we can think back past last year if we really try, and remember that they won five division titles between 2004 and 2009. Even if they seemed to outproduce their peripherals as a team, that’s an impressive run.

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