Apparently David Aardsma is one of two pitchers throwing to Tim Tebow during his "showcase" at Dedeaux Field in LA today.

https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/770653570534301697

Might as well have also brought in The Sheriff so they'd have a lefty:



Former MLB pitcher Norm Charlton now fishing guide in Rockport
May 13, 2015 9:27 PM EST

ROCKPORT - Twelve seasons, one all-star game and a world series championship later, Texas native Norm Charlton resides in Rockport where he reminisces about his glory days on a fishing boat with people he doesn't even know.

"I'm a baseball player, I'm not a businessman. I had the talent and I worked hard to be able to play baseball, but I saw no reason ever for me to wear a suit," said Charlton.

So, he started his fishing guide business Big League Adventures back in 2009.

He says his baseball experience helps him on the water.

"If we come out here and we don't catch a fish, I've got to be prepared to come catch fish the next day. I have to look back at that situation just like I look back at baseball and say, 'Okay why did I not catch fish, why did those other guys catch fish? What were they doing, where were they fishing?'" said Charlton.

The Rice University alum is just as good at fishing as he was at baseball.

When KRIS 6 Sports went out on a fishing trip with him, the day ended with seven total fish. Charlton said his main goal is to give people a fun experience.

Charlton said, "You'll be saying, 'I went fishing with Norm Charlton when I caught my first fish on a boat in Rockport, Texas."

Here's something Aardsma wrote about facing Tebow about 10 days ago:

http://www.baseballessential.com/news/20...tim-tebow/

Quote:Tebow and his representatives wanted to make the showcase as authentic as possible, so they added a wrinkle for another round. David Aardsma and Chad Smith, two pitchers with major-league experience, threw a simulated game to Tebow, with balls and strikes, changeups and breaking balls mixed in with heaters, and an ever-present surprise element: One pitch after the next, Tebow had no idea what was coming.

"There's no question David Aardsma was out here today looking to find a job for next year. That makes it more real,'' former big-league catcher Chad Moeller said.

link with videos: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17426...r-baseball

Tebow homers on 1st pitch in Florida Instructional League

Tebow is like a fly... no matter how much you try to ignore and hope it goes away ... buzzzzzz it manages to stick around.

Tebow displays "good hands" at fan event:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/11/report...d-praying/

[from Drudge]

(09-28-2016 01:24 PM)Antarius Wrote:  Tebow is like a fly... no matter how much you try to ignore and hope it goes away ... buzzzzzz it manages to stick around.

I was thinking he was like bad breath....always comes back.

Not as dramatic as Tebow's instructional league debut where he homered on the first pitch, this time he only resuscitated a fan.

”He's just shaking violently,'' Kelly told the AP. "We're like, 'Get a paramedic! Get a paramedic!'"
Kelly said he and his wife, Samantha, began to pray. Kelly then looked up to see that Tebow was also praying while placing a hand on Berry's leg.
Kelly said Berry appeared unconscious for about 30 seconds before coming to with a coughing fit.

TEBOW TIME!

(10-12-2016 09:42 AM)MarketingOwl Wrote:  TEBOW TIME!

Hmmm, somehow they captured his NFL career in a baseball picture!

(10-11-2016 11:06 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  

(09-28-2016 01:24 PM)Antarius Wrote:  Tebow is like a fly... no matter how much you try to ignore and hope it goes away ... buzzzzzz it manages to stick around.

I was thinking he was like bad breath....always comes back.

Kind of like the Clintons.

Everyone's favorite baseball writer coming in with a strong stance on Tebow...

http://deadspin.com/espns-keith-law-call...1787808981

(10-14-2016 02:09 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  Everyone's favorite baseball writer coming in with a strong stance on Tebow...

http://deadspin.com/espns-keith-law-call...1787808981

Taking some time, But Tim's probably closer than Keith Law ever thought he'd get.

(02-26-2019 11:27 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(10-14-2016 02:09 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  Everyone's favorite baseball writer coming in with a strong stance on Tebow...

http://deadspin.com/espns-keith-law-call...1787808981

Taking some time, But Tim's probably closer than Keith Law ever thought he'd get.

Regardless of what you think about Keith Law, Tebow has been a bad baseball player in his 2 seasons as a professional. He's being promoted because he draws some extra fans and the Mets are letting all their minor league affiliates get that benefit. He has shown little in-game power, strikes out a ton, and doesn't walk enough to overcome those other shortcomings.

(02-27-2019 10:15 AM)mrbig Wrote:  Regardless of what you think about Keith Law, Tebow has been a bad baseball player in his 2 seasons as a professional. He's being promoted because he draws some extra fans and the Mets are letting all their minor league affiliates get that benefit. He has shown little in-game power, strikes out a ton, and doesn't walk enough to overcome those other shortcomings.

Like any evaluator, he's not going to be 100% hit or miss. But I did find David Aardsma's evaluation in one of the posts above insightful. It at least pointed to Tebow potentially making it this far, and not only for the reasons you enumerated. He did actually pitch to a much greener Tebow, after all. What'd you think of what David said?

(02-27-2019 12:20 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(02-27-2019 10:15 AM)mrbig Wrote:  Regardless of what you think about Keith Law, Tebow has been a bad baseball player in his 2 seasons as a professional. He's being promoted because he draws some extra fans and the Mets are letting all their minor league affiliates get that benefit. He has shown little in-game power, strikes out a ton, and doesn't walk enough to overcome those other shortcomings.

Like any evaluator, he's not going to be 100% hit or miss. But I did find David Aardsma's evaluation in one of the posts above insightful. It at least pointed to Tebow potentially making it this far, and not only for the reasons you enumerated. He did actually pitch to a much greener Tebow, after all. What'd you think of what David said?

Two years of in-game evidence is more valuable then Aardsma's impressions from 5 simulated at-bats. He's a big, strong, athletic guy with a good work ethic. If he had played baseball in college and his early professional career, maybe he would have had a chance. But starting his baseball career at 29 as a hitter is pretty tough, because as a batter, he is literally thousands of at-bats behind other guys on the developmental curve.

I think one can credibly argue that Tebow hasn't been a complete disaster as a baseball player. He hasn't embarrassed himself. But after 2 seasons, he isn't any kind of prospect and hasn't made the kind of adjustments he needs to make. And at 31, he's entering his physical decline (for baseball players). If he wasn't famous outside of baseball, he never would have been promoted through the minors like he has.

(02-27-2019 12:39 PM)mrbig Wrote:  Two years of in-game evidence is more valuable then Aardsma's impressions from 5 simulated at-bats. He's a big, strong, athletic guy with a good work ethic. If he had played baseball in college and his early professional career, maybe he would have had a chance. But starting his baseball career at 29 as a hitter is pretty tough, because as a batter, he is literally thousands of at-bats behind other guys on the developmental curve.

I think one can credibly argue that Tebow hasn't been a complete disaster as a baseball player. He hasn't embarrassed himself. But after 2 seasons, he isn't any kind of prospect and hasn't made the kind of adjustments he needs to make. And at 31, he's entering his physical decline (for baseball players). If he wasn't famous outside of baseball, he never would have been promoted through the minors like he has.

OK. I think I can agree with the gist of what you're saying. Still, I really didn't think he'd make it this far for the reasons you mentioned in paragraph 1. But I think because of your first 2 sentences in paragraph 2, he was able to be promoted, unlike, say for instance Michael Jordan, who never made it past AA in his "hiatus" from Basketball. Jordan was a player who arguably had more natural physical talent than Tebow, and certainly had more of the promotional/marketing effect you previously mentioned. But he stalled with the AA Birmingham Barons, if I remember it correctly.

I guess you could argue Jordan kinda knew he'd be back playing with the Bulls after a time-out, and perhaps didn't apply himself with 100% effort like Aardsma was saying Tebow was (and Tebow doesn't seem to have at least an NFL shot anymore, although there certainly seem to be other lesser pro football leagues he'd get a paycheck for his abilities at their level of competition.). Then again, Jordan didn't make his HS Varsity team because of wek free-throw shooting and so he redoubled his efforts and discipline to shore up the weak areas of his game, so I'm not sure it was ever in Jordan to "tank" at anything much athletic--I think he gave it as much all as Tebow is purported to.

So, yeah, I agree with the 'Aardsma only 5 at bats' angle, but then again, Aardsma did pitch in the Majors several years (2004-2015) and Law didn't, so it seems like their overall knowledge bases are from somewhat different perspectives.

BTW, to refresh what many here already likely know, Here's what Law's Baseball reference page says:

Keith Law
Positions: Shortstop, Relief Pitcher and First Baseman
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
6-2, 165lb (188cm, 74kg)
Born: January 12, 1977 (Age: 42-046d) in Marietta, GA us

Draft: Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 26th round of the 1995 MLB June Amateur Draft from East Paulding HS (Dallas, GA) and the Detroit Tigers in the 30th round of the 1998 MLB June Amateur Draft from Georgia Perimeter College (Covington, GA).

Full Name: Keith Zachary Law

(02-27-2019 01:15 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  BTW, to refresh what many here already likely know, Here's what Law's Baseball reference page says:

Keith Law
Positions: Shortstop, Relief Pitcher and First Baseman
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
6-2, 165lb (188cm, 74kg)
Born: January 12, 1977 (Age: 42-046d) in Marietta, GA us

Draft: Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 26th round of the 1995 MLB June Amateur Draft from East Paulding HS (Dallas, GA) and the Detroit Tigers in the 30th round of the 1998 MLB June Amateur Draft from Georgia Perimeter College (Covington, GA).

Full Name: Keith Zachary Law

Code:

Teams Played For: Keith Law

Year    Age    Tm   Lg  Lvl  Parent Club
1998    21    Jamestown Jammers  NY-Penn League    A-    DET
1999    22    Oneonta Tigers   NY-Penn League    A-    DET
2000    23    Oneonta Tigers   NY-Penn League    A-    DET
2000    23    West Michigan Whitecaps   Midwest League    A    DET
2001    24    Evansville Otters   Frontier League    Ind

That ... is not the correct Keith Law. The real Keith Law is a Harvard grad who never played minor league baseball and spent ~4 years in the Blue Jays front office (as both a scout and a stat-head) before spending the last 13 years with ESPN.

(02-27-2019 01:15 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(02-27-2019 12:39 PM)mrbig Wrote:  Two years of in-game evidence is more valuable then Aardsma's impressions from 5 simulated at-bats. He's a big, strong, athletic guy with a good work ethic. If he had played baseball in college and his early professional career, maybe he would have had a chance. But starting his baseball career at 29 as a hitter is pretty tough, because as a batter, he is literally thousands of at-bats behind other guys on the developmental curve.

I think one can credibly argue that Tebow hasn't been a complete disaster as a baseball player. He hasn't embarrassed himself. But after 2 seasons, he isn't any kind of prospect and hasn't made the kind of adjustments he needs to make. And at 31, he's entering his physical decline (for baseball players). If he wasn't famous outside of baseball, he never would have been promoted through the minors like he has.

OK. I think I can agree with the gist of what you're saying. Still, I really didn't think he'd make it this far for the reasons you mentioned in paragraph 1. But I think because of your first 2 sentences in paragraph 2, he was able to be promoted, unlike, say for instance Michael Jordan, who never made it past AA in his "hiatus" from Basketball. Jordan was a player who arguably had more natural physical talent than Tebow, and certainly had more of the promotional/marketing effect you previously mentioned. But he stalled with the AA Birmingham Barons, if I remember it correctly.

I guess you could argue Jordan kinda knew he'd be back playing with the Bulls after a time-out, and perhaps didn't apply himself with 100% effort like Aardsma was saying Tebow was (and Tebow doesn't seem to have at least an NFL shot anymore, although there certainly seem to be other lesser pro football leagues he'd get a paycheck for his abilities at their level of competition.). Then again, Jordan didn't make his HS Varsity team because of wek free-throw shooting and so he redoubled his efforts and discipline to shore up the weak areas of his game, so I'm not sure it was ever in Jordan to "tank" at anything much athletic--I think he gave it as much all as Tebow is purported to.

So, yeah, I agree with the 'Aardsma only 5 at bats' angle, but then again, Aardsma did pitch in the Majors several years (2004-2015) and Law didn't, so it seems like their overall knowledge bases are from somewhat different perspectives.

My only point is that the only reason he "made it this far" is because he is famous, not because he is a talented baseball player. So maybe it is surprising that a team is promoting a guy who hasn't demonstrated the necessary baseball talent to be promoted to the high minors. But it isn't surprising that he has developed this much baseball talent ... because he hasn't developed this much baseball talent.

Tebow and Jordan are interesting to compare.

Jordan was 31 during his 1 season as a baseball player. He was jumped straight to AA and hit .202/.289/.266 with 30 SB and 18 CS. That's a pretty bad line and he was clearly overmatched, but he took some walks and his 22.9% strikeout rate was high (especially for someone not hitting for any power), but not too horrible. He didn't "stall" at AA. He played one season. He never should have started at AA.

Tebow was 29 during his 1st season as a baseball player. He split the season between Lo-A and Hi-A, combining for a .226/.307/.347 line with 2 SB and 2 CS. So he hit for a little more power and struck out more (29.3% combined) than Jordan, but was otherwise similar. But I think Jordan's season was better because he was 1.5 years younger and playing at a higher level.

Alternatively, you can compare Tebow's 2nd season as a 30-year-old in AA with Jordan's 1st season as a 31-year-old in AA. The problem with this comparison is that the #1 thing both guys were lacking were at-bats, so playing a 2nd season should have given Jordan a pretty big jump (in terms of how he prepared in the offseason and spring training). Tebow's superficial line of .273/.336/.396 isn't too bad. But his .417 BABIP was shockingly high and his 34.6% strikeout rate was disastrously high. So his superficial line was pretty lucky and his more granular numbers suggest he was significantly overmatched (striking out in 11.7% more of his plate appearances than Jordan did at the same level, but he was a little younger and had 1 year of extra experience).

To summarize, neither Tebow or Jordan did enough in their baseball careers to ever suggest then could make it to the majors on talent. They are physically gifted, and with a few thousand more at-bats toiling in the minors, perhaps some things would have clicked and they could have truly become prospects. But it is tough to do so at that advanced age, and starting your career at AA (like Jordan) or being rapidly promoted to AA despite not being successful at the lower levels (like Tebow) is more likely to stunt a player's growth then actually help them develop as a baseball player. If the Mets really considered Tebow to be a prospect, they would have left him in Lo-A last year and maybe this year until he really started to succeed. They would seriously work with him on hitting more flyballs to tap into his raw power (his FB% is crazy-low).

I don't think there's any way Tebow is a legitimate MLB prospect, but if I were running a big league club I would have given I'm a contract, for the same two reasons why I would have done it for Jordan:

1) You've got a bunch of young prospects who are trying to learn how to behave at the same time as they are developing their baseball skills. Having a role model who is a competitor and has done it at the top level in another sport can be a very good example for them.

2) You're in a business, and more importantly so are your minor league owners. Putting Tebow on their team gives them a great chance to put 5,000 butts in their seats instead of 558. And keeping good relations with your farm club owners is a big thing if you're into a scouting and player development model.

There's a third reason, but it's pretty far fetched. There is a tiny, but nonzero, chance that he could become a player.