Jarrod Dyson is Fun to Watch

Speed in baseball is a under-appreciated talent especially on the Mariners for the last several years. The previous GM focused so much on power that he forgot what an important skill can be. By collecting lumbering power hitters the Mariners sacrificed runs. Fast players are able take an extra base and they can score when other slower players would be stuck on second or third.

The Mariners new GM, Jerry Dipoto, has recognized how valuable speed can be. He has filled the Mariners roster with athletic players. The whole outfield can fly. For me this has made the Mariners offense fun to watch again. They are getting on base (9th highest OBP in MLB) and scoring runs (10th most runs in MLB). Of all the new guys, outfielder Jarrod Dyson has been my favorite to watch. His defining characteristic, and why I love watching him, is he super fast speed. He is like ridiculous, blink and you'll miss him fast.

Whenever Dyson gets on base it is almost a guarantee he is going to steal second base. His walks and singles are as good as doubles. There is always a threat he might steal third base, something not many guys attempt anymore. As proof consider this, he already has 12 stolen bases, which is on pace for 45 by the end of the year. In 2016 the Mariners team leader, Leonys Martin, had 24 over the whole year.  Also Dyson has only been caught stealing twice. That is an 86% success rate for stolen bases, which is good.

Dyson's speed has also helped the Mariners by letting him score frequently. Despite having only 28 hits, 12 walks, and 8 HBP, Dyson has already scored 24 runs. That means he is scoring a run half the time he reaches base. For comparison's sake, the highest rate in the league is Trea Turner at 62.1%. Jarrod Dyson is ranked 14th of all eligible players for his run scoring percentage. That is almost entirely because of his speed.

As already alluded to, the problem with Dyson is he held back by his poor hitting skill. He is only batting .217 this year with an OBP of .318. In his seven year career he is only a .256 hitter. When you consider how fast he reaches first base, that average is low. Dyson doesn't make good quality contact frequently enough (only 17.8% of his hits are line drives) and he doesn't have any power (only 9 career home runs). I wish there was a way to improve Dyson's skills with the bat because once he doesn't get on base he is electric.

Dyson's speed is a huge offensive asset for the Mariners. He is able to turn single into extra base hits by outrunning throws and stealing bases. He is able to score runs on other players hits when most players would still be stuck on base. His speed is fun to watch and makes the game exciting. However, it would be even better if he could just get on base more often. His poor hitting prevents him from being great.

Sources: Fangraphs

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My 2016-2017 NBA Games: One Bust After Another

I don't watch a lot of NBA basketball. When I do watch it is usually something I planned based on the matchup or with friends. I don't dislike the NBA, but without a pro team in Seattle it is hard for me to feel invested. However, fans are tell me all the time how exciting it is. They insist the games are full of drama and excitement. However, that wasn't my experience this year. I have only watched four games and all four were duds. The closet final score differential was 15.

The first game I watched was back in November. The best team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors, were set to play the Los Angeles Lakers. The game looked poised to be an exhibition of the Splash Brother prowess. I was hoping to see the Dubs in their full offensive juggernaut glory. Against a team like the Lakers (who ended up the third worst defense team at the end of the year) there seemed to be a chance that Steph Curry or Klay Thompson could drop 50 points. Instead I got treated to see the first time in 157 games157 games that Curry didn't make a three point shot. I got to watch the Lakers beat the Warriors by 20 points. Sure seeing D'Angelo Russell play adequately was kind of interesting, but it wasn't what I was hoping for when I decide to watch the game.

The next game I watched was a random Thursday night game in February. I was on babysitting duty and channel surfing during a nap. I found the Knicks leading the Cavs early. The first quarter was a high octane offense driven affair. The score at the end of one quarter of play was 34-33 Cleveland. Sure, I knew the Knicks were bad and they should have no chance to hanging with the Cavs, but that one quarter had got my hopes up. I decided to stick around and see what happened. What happened was the Knicks remember who they are and fell apart in the second quarter getting outscored 35-18. That score doesn't even do the quarter justice. Watching the game it felt like the Cavaliers outscored them by 30. Carmelo Anthony and Courtney Lee tried valiantly to bring the Knicks back in the third, but the Cavs were just too much for them to handle. After the first quarter it never felt close again. The Knicks ended up losing 119 to 104.

The third and final regular season game I watched was in March. The San Antonio Spurs were set to take on the Golden State Warriors. This matchup should have been a great one. The Spurs and Warriors are two of the best teams in the league year after year. At the end of the season the Warriors ended up with the Western Conference's number 1 seed, yet again, and the Spurs landed the number 2 seed. Unfortunately both teams decided to rest their starters robbing us of this potentially awesome matchup. Ian Clark was the Warriors leading scorer and Patty Mills lead the Spurs. Those guys are far from stars, but being the leading scorers for their respective teams doesn't have to be a bad thing. The game could still be interesting. However, the thing is the Warriors, one of the greatest offensive forces in basketball history, scored a season low 85 points and they lost by 22 points. The Spurs B-squad at least showed up to play. Other than Ian Clark the Warriors bench looked like trash.

Yesterday I decided to watch the Boston Celtics third playoff game against the Washington Wizards. University of Washington Alum and PNW basketball hero Isaiah Thomas is the Boston Celtics star point guard. Thomas averaged 28.9 ppg on 46.3% shooting during the regular season. In the first two games of the playoff series of Thomas scored 86 points. The guy is also only 5'9" (which is generous), which makes it all the more amazing that he is able to score so dominantly in the NBA where the average height is 6'6". But that isn't all. Thomas is also overcoming the recent death of his younger sister and getting one of histeeth knocked out during the first game of the series. I was excited to watch Thomas continue his run of stellar playoff run and build his epic narrative. Instead Thomas went 3 for 8 shooting from the field, scored only 13 points and the Celtics lost by 27 to the Wizards. On the bright side I got to see John Wall run really fast, shot poorly, and get fouled a bunch all while scoring 24 points.

Like I said before I have had rotten luck picking NBA games to watch this year. The closet final score differential was 15 (Cavs vs Knicks). In three of the four games the losing team didn't even score 100 points. The player that scored the most individual points in any of these games was Ian Clark. Basically every game I watched was a complete bust. So NBA, if you want to convince me that your games can be exciting show me a game that isn't a blow out and where the star players actually perform