Lookout Landing

Some stuff to think about on a day with nothing to think about:

• Not that I'm going to provide constant updates, but because there's not much else to say at the moment, the BBTF HoF ballot tracker has been updated, and Edgar's at 46.6% (34) of 73. I think it's going to happen. I think it's going to happen you guys. It might take as long as the Bavasi Era did, but, again, this is a fine first showing. For the record I will choose to ignore every other name on the ballot because I don't give a shit about any of them.
  


• Remember Aroldis Chapman? You can forget about him now, because he's not coming here. (Edit: to Seattle, I mean)
  


• Two weeks ago, Matthew posted a poll asking for the identity of your least favorite Mariner. 2828 votes later - much to the chagrin of Ryan Divish - Rob Johnson is the popular pick, drawing more votes than #2 (Jose Lopez) and #3 (Bill Hall) combined. Turns out stat-friendly fans don't take kindly to a player who can't hit or pitch or play defense. We don't know for sure, of course, if Johnson's really as bad as his numbers, but I'm already sick of the Great CERA Watch Of 2010, and it hasn't even been posted yet. Hypothesis: it's not that Rob Johnson's style is good, but rather that Kenji Johjima's style was unusual, and Johnson's not really much better than any other white guy.
  
  You Johnson fans out there are going to love this attempt to project the value of blocking balls. Guess who sucks!


• It is interesting to see that Lopez came in second. I mean, I get it. He hacks. He never draws a walk. His defense isn't great. He occasionally conveys a sense of carelessness. He should be better than he is. Overall, he's a frustrating player. But then, Adrian Beltre's a frustrating player, too, and most everyone here loved the guy. I'm not going to criticize anyone's likes or dislikes, since I loved Ben Broussard and didn't really care for Raul Ibanez - these things are irrational. I just hope that people are able to keep separate who they like and who they understand to contribute value. You can continue to dislike Jose Lopez as much as you want. Just please keep in mind that he's an ~average player making little money.
  
  Along the same lines, I've seen it argued in several places that Jack Zduriencik would like to trade Lopez because Lopez "isn't Jack's kind of player." Now, the two points here are probably true. I imagine Z would like to trade Lopez, and Lopez isn't Z's kind of player. But there's no causal relationship. They're separate statements. While I'm sure Z would prefer a second baseman with better range and a greater idea of the strike zone, that's not reason enough to deal Lopez; he'll only sell him if he can get value back, because whether he likes Lopez's approach or not, Z is aware of his contributions. Style can be important, but overall value - that's the trump card.


• The most amazing thing I've seen in a long long time:
  
   


• Late update: been meaning to mention this again, but for anyone who didn't already know, LL's on Twitter. Been on for a while. Love it. And though everyone on the planet's been through an anti-Twitter phase all his or her own, at this point, if you fancy yourself a serious baseball fan, it's required reading.