Sunday Notes: Giants’ Law, Twins’ May, Miller’s Pop, January, more

Earlier this week, I interviewed Giants rookie right-hander Derek Law in the visiting dugout at Fenway Park. Approximately 10 feet to our right, another conversation was taking place. Johnny Cueto was shooting the breeze with Luis Tiant.

Tiant was a favorite of mine during his glory years. Law was born in 1990, eight years after the Cuban legend threw his last pitch, but he was every bit as captivated with the nearby confab.

“I’m a huge Luis Tiant fan,” Law told me. “I’d love to go over and get his autograph after this. My dad pitched for a bit and I’m big into baseball history. Tiant is one of the guys I’ve really taken a liking to.”

The windup is a big reason. Cueto essentially copied the one El Tiante artistically employed on his way to 229 wins. Not surprisingly, the youngster has asked his Giants teammate about the wiggle and turn.

“I’ve talked to Cueto a little about how he goes about his delivery,” said Law. “He tells me, ‘I’m just having fun with it.’ I’m like, ‘Well, all right; have fun with it, I guess.’

The youngster is having some fun of his own. Not only does he boast a 2.62 ERA and a 1.95 FIP over 36 games and 34-and-a-third innings, he does it with a hint of style.

“If you’ve seen me pitch, I actually turn as well,” explained Law, who did get Tiant to autograph a ball for him. “I started doing it around the time I was in college. I always had a high leg kick and kind of turned a little bit, and as I got older my delivery got more turn. I’ve calmed it down a bit, though. I used to turn probably as much as Cueto, but now it’s more like Tim Lincecum’s.

An interesting note on Law’s father: Joe Law spent four days on Oakland’s big-league roster in July 1988, but he never appeared in a game. A right-handed pitcher like his son, he pitched in the A’s minor league system from 1983-1992.

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Trevor May has had a weird season. The Twins reliever has struck out nearly 13 batters per nine innings, yet his ERA is an ugly 6.06. When I asked him about it on Thursday, he pointed to two things. One of them was too many pitches located mid-thigh. The other was a five-outing stretch in late May where he allowed 10 earned runs in three-and-a-third innings.

“I was battling a little back issue and not getting down and away to righties, or down and in to lefties,” said May. “Pretty much any negative stat I have can be attributed to that one stretch. My numbers were insane, in a bad way.

“My stride was really long and the height of my arm as I was the top of my delivery was lower than it’s been. Because of that, I went from life to flat with my fastball. It was a matter of about six inches, and those extra six inches of perceived depth give me swings and misses. That disappeared for awhile.”

May disappeared from the Minnesota roster from June 10 to July 5 because of the back issue. He had five scoreless outings upon his return, but then misfortune returned. A few hours after our Thursday conversation, May followed up a clean inning by giving up a four-spot against the Red Sox.

“It is a little bit of an enigma,” May told me the following day. “You would think that a high-strikeout guy would be able to get out of those situations, but for me, when it’s been raining it’s been pouring. The bad things that happen seem to come in a row, which makes it glaring. That’s been the tale of my season. ”

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Once upon a time, second basemen and shortstops who could clear fences were the exception and not the rule. That’s no longer the case. With more than two months left to go in the season, 31 middle infielders have reached double figures in home runs. Eleven more have at least seven home runs.

Brad Miller is among them. In his first season with Tampa Bay, the former Mariner has already left the yard 15 times. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s getting more respect. According to the 26-year-old shortstop, “Pitchers are still coming right after me; they’re not trying to trick me.”

To some extent, that might help explain why a career-low walk rate (6.8%) accompanies Miller’s career-high home run total. But pitchers not pussy-footing around the plate against him isn’t the only reason. Free passes aren’t part of his plan.

“I’m going up there hoping to swing and hit something hard,” explained Miller. “One thing that’s always baffling to me is people saying, ‘Work your walks.’ You’re never looking for walks. They just come.”

So do home runs and respect. Again, the two don’t always go hand-in-hand.

“As a young player, I always thought it worked that way,” admitted Miller. “They’re going to challenge you until you do something about it, then once you’ve earned respect — once you’ve shown you can hit balls hard — they’re going to be a little more careful. I’ve been able to move some balls lately, but they’re still pretty much attacking me.”

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Scouting amateur players for the June draft involves more than assessing raw talent. Character is also a focal point. Area scouts spend a lot of time getting to know players — home visits are standard fare — especially those who will be taken in earlier rounds. Teams don’t want to waste time and money on a bad apple unlikely to fulfill his potential due to off-the-field issues.

Ryan January, who was drafted in the eighth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks this year, is adamant that he’s not a bad apple. The 19-year-old catcher cut his baseball teeth in the prestigious East Cobb program, then ended up spending a year at San Jacinto Junior College after being bypassed in the 2015 draft. The experience left him shaking his head.

“There was speculation that I got dismissed from my prep school in Salisbury (Connecticut),” said January. ”I’ve since gone back and gotten a letter signed by the dean, saying that I left on my own in good standing. I was also able to straighten out any questions about my character with a good year at San Jacinto. I was able to show some scouts who I really am.”

Jason Groome, who the Red Sox drafted 12th overall this year, faced character questions as well. A transfer issue of his own — the New Jersey native spent time at IMG Academy in Florida — raised a few eyebrows. January isn’t buying it.

“I know Jason personally and he’s a great kid,” January told me. “I think sometimes scouts get too caught up in trying to know every single thing about you. In my case, there was really no need to dig that deep, because they were digging into nothing. There wasn’t anything there. It didn’t hurt Jason — he went in the first round — but it did hurt me. Scouts need to do their homework better.”

By and large, the scouting community doesn’t see it that way. I spoke to scouts from two organizations, and while they wouldn’t go into specifics, both confirmed the industry concerns. One team January going anywhere from the 7th to the 15th round out of high school based on talent alone. Speculation had Groome going first overall before industry scuttlebutt caused him to drop out of the top 10.

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When the Mariners inked Nelson Cruz to a four-year, $57 million contract prior to the 2015 season, many criticized the signing. The 34-year-old (at the time) slugger was called a one-dimensional player with a fast-approaching decline phase.

Nearly halfway through his contract, Cruz is proving the critics wrong. Since coming to Seattle Cruz has slashed .297/.370/.559 with 69 home runs. He’s been worth 7.3 WAR, the most on the Mariners.

On a related note, Mark Trumbo will be a free agent at the end of this season.

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Not saying they should actually do it, but the Angels almost have to explore trading Mike Trout. Right? Everyone has his price. If you’re Billy Eppler, wouldn’t you want to know what rival general managers might be willing to part with in exchange for the best player on the planet?

Suppose the Dodgers were to offer up a package centered around Corey Seager and Julio Urias? Or the Red Sox included names like Mookie Betts and Yoan Moncada? You’d certainly listen. But would you actually do it? Would you be willing to trade Mike Trout?

Eppler may not want to go down that road, but he should at least kick some tires.

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Giants broadcaster Dave Flemming shared some astute observations on Buster Posey when I spoke to him at Fenway Park on Wednesday. Along with pointing out his elite framing — StatCorner rates Posey as the best of the best — Flemming told me that the if you watch closely, you’ll see the all-star catcher paying close attention to what opposing hitters are doing in the batter’s box. All good catchers do this, of course, but according to Flemming, Posey takes it to another level.

Posey is also tuned in to tempo and rhythm. If he feels a hitter is locked in and comfortable in the box, he may stay in his crouch for an extra several second before giving a sign to the pitcher. Recognizing what’s happening, the pitcher may shake off a sign that hasn’t been given yet.

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This weekend’s Hall of Fame induction ceremonies have me pondering two things. One is a recent comment made by Pete Rose. The other is the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, which is given annually for “meritorious contributions to baseball writing” and inducts the recipient into the Hall’s writer’s wing.

A few weeks ago, Rose opined that David Ortiz is a “borderline” Hall of Famer. Not because of PED innuendo, but rather “because of how many hits he has.” In Rose’s opinion, Ortiz will be “a cinch” if he plays a few more years, but he’s not there yet.

Rose has a right to his opinion, but he might want to be a little more careful with his commentary. Ortiz has 2,407 hits, which happens to be 67 more than Reds icon Barry Larkin had on his way to the Hall of Fame. Does Rose not feel Larkin is worthy? What about sluggers like Willie McCovey, Mike Schmidt and Willie Stargell? They, along with several other inductees, have fewer hits than Ortiz as well.

Meanwhile, it is (hopefully) only a matter of time before we begin seeing saber-minded writers receive the Spink Award. This year’s honoree is Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, who regularly includes “mother’s basement” schtick in his columns. Similar sentiments have been shared by previous winners.

That’s not to say the list of Spink honorees doesn’t include luminaries — it does — but it is nonetheless populated by old-school scribes like Murray Chass and Tracey Ringolsby. (Peter Gammons, who is more stat-savvy than many realize, qualifies as both old-school and new-school.)

Per the BBWAA constitution, only members are eligible to receive the Spink Award. That leaves Bill James and John Thorn, to name just two, on the outside looking in. As for those who are eligible, it will be interesting to see who among the new breed of analysts-writers will be the first to be honored.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

At sciencenews.org, Emily Conover referenced a study showing that a phenomenon called drag crisis might be responsible for the erratic movement of knuckleballs.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic took a look at the current state of the Diamondbacks’ outfield defense.

The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier wrote about Red Sox pitching prospect Brian Johnson’s decision to seek treatment for anxiety. “I can’t live my life unhappy . . . I needed help.”

Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote about the human touch Terry Ryan brought to his job as Twins GM.

Over at the Tampa Bay Times, Roger Mooney caught up with Dewon Brazelton, who never lived up to expectations after being taken third-overall in the 2001 draft.

RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Since breaking into the big leagues in 2008, Brad Ziegler has intentionally walked 41 batters (in 572 innings), the most of any pitcher over that time. Jon Lester has intentionally walked three batters over 1,775 innings.

In 1991, Felix Fermin reached 27 full counts without drawing a walk. In 1996, Omar Vizquel reached 51 full counts without striking out. (Per Aidan Jackson-Evans of USA Today Sports Weekly High Heat Stats.)

Prior to this week, the Red Sox had played inter-league games with the Giants in four separate seasons and won the World Series in three of them (2004, 2007, 2013). The year they didn’t, 2010, the Giants won the World Series. (Per Mike Shalin of the New Hampshire Union Leader.)

The Nationals have hit back-to-back home runs 12 times this year, the most in either league. The Orioles have gone back-to-back 10 times.

On this date in 1965, Casey Stengel managed his 3,747th and final game. Following a loss — the Mets’ 10th straight — the 75-year-old skipper fractured his hip in a fall at Toot Shore’s Restaurant.

On this date in 1983, George Brett had too much pine tar on his bat.

BONUS FACTS AND STATS — ICHIRO AND NPB

Of Ichiro Suzuki’s 2,996 hits, 2,442 have been singles. No other active player has more than 1.839 singles (Alex Rodriguez). Ichiro’s 506 stolen bases are the most among active players.

Since coming to MLB, Ichiro Suzuki has hit .308/.354/.401 against right-handed pitchers and .329/.367/.417 against left-handed pitchers.

Hideki Matsui, with 1,253, is the only Japanese player besides Ichiro with at least 1,000 MLB hits. Matsui’s 175 home runs are the most by a Japanese player.

Isao Harimoto (3.085) is the only player in NPB history with at least 3,000 hits. Harimoto slashed .319/.399/.534, with 504 home runs, from 1959-1981.

Sadaharu Oh, who hit an NPB-record 868 home runs, ranks third on NPB’s all-time hits list with 2,786. Oh slashed .301/.446/.634 from 1959-1980.