So we get one a week now moving quickly to one a night? Ho-hum.

I heard tonight the entire Mariner roster is below the Mendoza line. Thank god they have the DH or they’d really be hitting poorly

a) Lower the mound.

b) Reduce the advantage of the shift: make the bunt more likely to succeed by restricting the ability of the pitcher to field it.

c) Enforce the pitch clock so pitchers cannot take 20+seconds between pitches.

It's not just 1-inning Hunter Strickland's that is causing the batters to struggle - most pitchers, because of better training, can just throw harder and more effectively than before, and with improved field condition, training, and positioning, the fielding is a lot better as well. Batters are swinging for the fences because it's the only viable strategy.

Assuming baseball lasts that long, I look forward* to some period in the 2080s when league BA is .350 and they assemble 25 90 year olds to talk about their no-hitters, which haven't happened in 15 years, on whatever broadcast service is then available.


* Well, you know what I mean.

After Kluber recorded the final out, his teammates charged the field, everybody jumped on top of him, it was the typical pandemonium, etc. But at what point would players start being like, "That was a great start, dude. Congrats." as they shake hands.

Also: The "No hitter every week" thing and the "No more complete games" thing are sort of colliding. There have been 21 complete games so far this year, and six no hitters. So 30% of complete games this year have been no hitters.

Also: The "No hitter every week" thing and the "No more complete games" thing are sort of colliding. There have been 21 complete games so far this year, and six no hitters. So 30% of complete games this year have been no hitters.

As I mentioned in the other thread, that doesn't include Bumgarner's, which counts as a CG but not as a no-hitter. So 1/3 of the CG have featured no hits by the opposition.

And of those six no-hitters, how many of the pitchers would've been allowed to complete their games if they'd given up a seeing-eye single in the second inning?

The shark has officially been jumped.

As for the complete games, how many of them have come in just 7 innings (double header games)?

As for the complete games, how many of them have come in just 7 innings (double header games)?

I've been wondering that, but I didn't know how to look.

The shark has officially been jumped.

Yup.

We need a rush order of 1920's style thick handled bats, tiny gloves, and softer baseballs. Might as well try something different. It has to be more entertaining than this.

I heard tonight the entire Mariner roster is below the Mendoza line.

You joke but Seattle has 12 hitters with >75 PA (no one else has more than 30). Of those 12:

Three are BELOW .150
Four are between .150 and .200
Four are between .200 and .250
And ONE (Mitch Haniger) is at .256

I think he meant as a team. Here is Seattle's team slash line for 2021: .198/.279/.360

Is there anything Rob Manfred touches that doesn't immediately turn to crap?

No hitters are awesome, and having more of them is more awesome.

Sure we're going through a period where no-hitters seem common, but we can't forget how still rare they are in the grand scheme of baseball. According to the article this is the first Yankee no-hitter on the road in 70 years. Not exactly ho-hum.

No hitters are awesome, and having more of them is more awesome.

That's predicated on them being rare and really difficult to achieve. If we have one a week, neither is true any longer.

Also, along with more no-hitters, you're going to have a lot more 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-hitters, and those are boring as watching paint dry.

The problem with the current game is that only one strategy is a successful strategy. That sort of game is boring AF.

Sure we're going through a period where no-hitters seem common, but we can't forget how still rare they are in the grand scheme of baseball. According to the article this is the first Yankee no-hitter on the road in 70 years. Not exactly ho-hum.

It's the 7th one of a season which is less than two months old. It's pretty ho-hum.

Sure we're going through a period where no-hitters seem common, but we can't forget how still rare they are in the grand scheme of baseball. According to the article this is the first Yankee no-hitter on the road in 70 years.

And that no-hitter was a 1-0 shutout against a Hall of Famer who'd pitched a no-hitter of his own just 11 days earlier. The winner of that 1-0 game then went on to pitch another no-hitter in his final start of the season.

After Kluber recorded the final out, his teammates charged the field, everybody jumped on top of him, it was the typical pandemonium, etc. But at what point would players start being like, "That was a great start, dude. Congrats." as they shake hands.

Eh, they mob a guy and tear his shirt off after a walk-off single to win a game in April.

The problem with the current game is that only one strategy is a successful strategy.

I guess you could say this if everyone in baseball was batting below .250.

But I see there are 10 qualifiers hitting .330 or above. Are these players super human?

If the conditions of the game made it so ImPoSsIbLe to get hits and score runs, then these .330 hitters wouldn't exist.

The problem with the current game is that EVERYONE THINKS only one strategy is a successful strategy.

But I see there are 10 qualifiers hitting .330 or above. Are these players super human?

I think you're not getting it. The issue is that the only optimal strategy is high-K, high-FB, high-exit velocity for hitters, and high-K, high-velocity, max-effort for pitchers.

There are guys who are better or worse at it, but there's only one axis of play.

For any sport or game - this isn't limited to baseball - a good ruleset allows multiple successful strategies. They don't even need to be EQUALLY successful, just close enough that with the help of game theory (i.e., as a majority adopts a strategy, that creates weaknesses that can be exploited by a minority running the alternate strategy), there are multiple viable successful strategies at any given time.

I don't even give a #### what the alternative strategy is. Anything is better than just watching a competition of who can throw hardest or hit the ball hardest. Watching contemporary baseball is almost like watching track and field. Which is a famously terrible spectator sport, for that exact reason.

After Kluber recorded the final out, his teammates charged the field, everybody jumped on top of him, it was the typical pandemonium, etc. But at what point would players start being like, "That was a great start, dude. Congrats." as they shake hands.

Eh, they mob a guy and tear his shirt off after a walk-off single to win a game in April.

At the rate we are getting no-hitters, they might just start doing that to a guy if he slaps a single in the third inning...

Assuming baseball lasts that long, I look forward* to some period in the 2080s when league BA is .350 and they assemble 25 90 year olds to talk about their no-hitters, which haven't happened in 15 years, on whatever broadcast service is then available.

Blernsball Lives! I can't wait for the motorcycle guy to show up-maybe they can work in the Golden Snitch somehow...

Is there anything Rob Manfred touches that doesn't immediately turn to crap?

Au contraire, it's his laissez-faire attitude of hands-off which has led to this.

Houston is hitting .271 as a team and the Mariners are hitting .198. Has there ever been a gap this big ?

But at what point would players start being like, "That was a great start, dude. Congrats." as they shake hands.

It'll be like Drysdale's line when told Koufax pitched a shutout: "Did we win?"

This is fun. It's a memorable season. Yeah if there are 25 or 30 no hitters this year that's kind of lame but even then, it's something different to talk about. Too many home runs are boring, too many no hitters are boring, too many strikeouts are boring, yeesh, enjoy the moment.

Having said that obviously any time a Yankee does something good it's terrible and that can't be overstated.

I have the data. There have been 21 complete games through May 19th. They are:

- Six no-hitters
- Six that were seven-inning CGs (including Bumgarner's sort of no-hitter)
- One that was a six-inning complete game (Detroit's starter pitched six, and the Tigers lost.)
- One that was an eight-inning complete game (Bauer pitched eight innings in a losing effort by the Dodgers on the road)
- That leaves seven non-no-hitter, nine-inning, good old-fashioned complete games. They were:
Zach Wheeler (118 pitches)
Lynn 111
deGrom 109
Nola 109
Wainwright 107
Scherzer 106
DeSciafani 100

So this season, there have been only 13 games where the starter went nine innings...and six of them were a no-hitter!

The number of pitches thrown in each official no-hitter:
Musgrove 112
Miley 114
Means 113
Turnbull 117
Rodon 114
Kluber 101

Perhaps there has been a start this year where the pitcher reached 120 pitches...but it wasn't in the course of throwing a complete game.

Basically, if you are not throwing a no-hitter, it is just extremely unlikely that the manager is going to let you finish what you started. Also, it does not appear there has yet been a situation in 2021 where a pitcher was eight innings into a game with a chance at the no hitter, but where the pitch count kept them out of the ninth inning. In all six no hitters, it is pretty clear the starter was at about 100 pitches entering the 9th.

Turnbull threw the most pitches in a no hitter this year (117), and he entered the 9th inning at exactly 100 pitches. Rodon threw 114 pitches - but started the 9th inning at only 95.

Last thing: Only one team has three complete games, the White Sox. It includes the Rodon no-hitter; a Lance Lynn 9-inning CG; and a 7-inning complete game. Tony LaRussa is the manager of the only team with three complete games, which makes perfect sense. The year LaMarr Hoyt won the Cy Young (1983, when he probably wasn't even the best pitcher on his own team), he threw 11 CGs, 260 innings...and was pretty much cooked after that season. There's no way Tony isn't going to try to grow some chest hair on these whippersnappers in 2021!

Last thing: Only one team has three complete games, the White Sox. It includes the Rodon no-hitter; a Lance Lynn 9-inning CG; and a 7-inning complete game. Tony LaRussa is the manager of the only team with three complete games, which makes perfect sense. The year LaMarr Hoyt won the Cy Young (1983, when he probably wasn't even the best pitcher on his own team), he threw 11 CGs, 260 innings...and was pretty much cooked after that season. There's no way Tony isn't going to try to grow some chest hair on these whippersnappers in 2021!

Wait, that would be the TLR who is also credited (blamed) for developing the one-inning reliever usage? Neat trick.

What is amazing to me is that NOBODY is making a run at Reggie's K record. Giancarlo Stanton is 1100 behind, which for him would be about 7 years, but he missed most of 2019 and has minimal defensive value. Trout is only 29 and 12 years away, but is now out for 2 months. Harper 28 and also injury prone.

Nolan Ryan's is safe I'd say-the drop in CG and innings has more than outweighed the rise in K rates.

All 6 official no-hitter have come against just three teams (2 each):

- Texas Rangers (team AVG: .236)
- Cleveland Indians (team AVG: .213)
- Seattle Mariners (team AVG: .198)

Texas is near the AL average (.237) for batting, but Cleveland and Seattle are the two worst teams in all of MLB...and they are using a DH!

I mean, Seattle has been kept to 2 hits or less 6 times already this season. They are on pace to have that happen more than 20 times.

The record for a single season is 11 (3 times). The last time it was ever that high was 1968 and the Chicago Cubs.

It's possible that there are just some TERRIBLE hitting teams out there right now.

It's possible that there are just some TERRIBLE hitting teams out there right now.

True, but even the good hitting teams are pretty bad at BA. LAD is 3rd in R/G and are hitting .245. CIN is 4th and is hitting .249. TBR 7th, .231. CHC 8th, .238. ATL 9th, .227.

The year LaMarr Hoyt won the Cy Young (1983, when he probably wasn't even the best pitcher on his own team), he threw 11 CGs, 260 innings...and was pretty much cooked after that season.

In Hoyt's case he wasn't that good in the first place, he wasn't going to repeat that 83 season no matter what. His workload in terms of innings was nothing close to remarkable at the time, and if pitch counts were tracked he probably didn't throw that many games over say, 120 pitches. He didn't walk anybody and not much of a strikeout pitcher.

Compare Hoyt's workload to Jack Morris that year. Jack threw 293 innings and 20 complete games. Plus, with higher walk and strikeout rates Jack was almost certainly throwing more pitches per inning. All that workload took it's toll though, and a decade later Morris was toast.

What is amazing to me is that NOBODY is making a run at Reggie's K record.

That is amazing. Looking at the leaderboard, Jim Thome came close. If he had been a regular DH instead of a platoon guy his last few years he would have had it.

Adam Dunn really missed an opportunity to set the record and put it out of reach. He's third place, no more than 2 years away from passing Reggie. Only one year away if he whiffed as many times as his own career high. But he retired at 34. Through age 34, Dunn leads Reggie 2379 to 1728.

I sent this exact question to Bill James, asking why no one was threatening Reggie's record. He responded that he wrote up a long answer to my question, but the computer ate it. I don't send questions to Bill James anymore.

ESPN radio ( — I’m just out of Philly and Baltimore range :( — said that it was Kluber bobble head night at the visiting park! Apparently the rangers planned on a night for him last year that was canceled. He pitched all of 1 inning for the Rangers!

The issue is that the only optimal strategy is high-K, high-FB, high-exit velocity for hitters, and high-K, high-velocity, max-effort for pitchers.

This is a completely unsupported assertion.

and with improved field condition, training, and positioning, the fielding is a lot better as well.

Instead of the infield dirt, require it to be the infield gravel.

No hitters are awesome, and having more of them is more awesome.

Well, it’s certainly not awful to have a season with a record-breaking number of no-hitters. Let’s see how it plays out before we jump to any conclusions. If we end up with ‘too many’ no-hitters, maybe going back to the pre-2021 baseball is all that is needed.

ESPN radio ( — I’m just out of Philly and Baltimore range :( — said that it was Kluber bobble head night at the visiting park! Apparently the rangers planned on a night for him last year that was canceled. He pitched all of 1 inning for the Rangers!

Given the Rangers’ roster this year, promos involving the visiting team seem pretty astute.

The real question is: Is Vander Meer in danger?

Adam Dunn really missed an opportunity to set the record and put it out of reach. He's third place, no more than 2 years away from passing Reggie. Only one year away if he whiffed as many times as his own career high. But he retired at 34. Through age 34, Dunn leads Reggie 2379 to 1728.

Could it be that, because of the general difficulty hitters are having getting contact, the hitters (like Dunn) that might be "natural" challengers to Reggie, eventually just completely lose the ability to make contact and wash out/retire. Jack Cust comes to mind. Puljols might even be an example of this. Reggie was interesting in that his strikeout rate was relatively constant (it actually went down near the end) - striking out for Reggie was kind of a characteristic of his hitting style (he swung at a lot of bad pitches) than simply the fact that he in some sense lacked contact skills, which might be characteristic of folks like Dunn. The natural kind of hitter to challenge Reggie would be someone like Panda or Eric Chavez, bad-ball hitters, who maybe learned a little bit of selectivity over time that would balance out a slowing bat speed. But no one with that profile has come along with the same longevity as Reggie in a while.

One more no-no than the entirety of the 1968 season, which also included consecutive nights (9/17 by Gaylord Perry & 9/18 by Ray Washburn). Catfish Hunter's was a perfect game. The other two were by George Culver & Tom Phoebus.

(I don't know if any others might've been thrown but erased later as no-hitters when they screwed with the definition a couple of decades ago.)

Reggie's record -- Stanton probably would have had it if he could stay healthy. But let's not undersell Reggie -- he had a career 23% K-rate which, until a couple of years ago, would have been above-average at any time ... and he was good enough to last for over 11,000 PA. Sosa, for example, has a higher career rate but didn't age well and stopped short of 10,000 PA.

It's presumbably just a matter of time, but, to this point, it's still only 2 players that have made it to 7000 PA with a K-rate over 25% -- Dunn (>8000) and Justin Upton. Upton's only signed for one more year and is having his 3rd straight below-replacemeht year so no way is he getting the 3000 or so PA he needs to pass Reggie.

Even for K monsters, it's gonna be a hard slog. Baez has a 29% K-rate and it's not likely to get better. He's a good-fielding SS, could easily transition to 3B as he ages and isn't required to put up Reggie/Thome/Dunn/Upton offensive numbers to keep playing. But he's also still under 3000 PA and already 28. On the one hand, he only needs to get not too far over 8000 PA to challenge Reggie; on the other hand, he's still over 5000 PA away. Can Baez hang on as a full-time starter for another 8 years while staying healthy?

So really, if he can stay healthy, Trout is probably the best bet to challenge Reggie. His K-rate needs to go up but it might well do that as he ages. He's nearly halfway to Reggie in PAs but he's 84 Ks off the pace. He's under contract for 9 more years (through age 38) and if they're fully healthy ones, he's probably got it or he'll need to hang on for a couple more years.

Stanton's defensive value (#29) -- Stanton has always been and may still be a very good OF. He's moved to DH because Judge and Gardner were even better and in hopes of keeping him healthy. Stick him in the NL and I'm confident he'd at least be playing an average LF ... for the 35 games a year he wouldn't be on the IL.

Players hitting 330+ (#20) -- c'mon, we're just 1/4 of the way in. In 2020, such as it was, there were 7 guys at 330+. In 2019, there was one; in 2018, there were two. It's not that the guys hitting 200 are incompetent boobs too stupid to give up their uppercut swing and the guys hitting 330 are line drive gods and if the first group would just be smart enough to hit LDs, they'd raise their BA by 50 points. Most of the guys currently hitting 330 won't be hitting anything like that the rest of the way ... and most of the guys hitting 200 will be hitting 220 the rest of the way or sent to the bench ... or playing for a team full of poor hitters.

BAgb is basically at an all-time low. I don't think that's quite as dire as it sounds but it certainly means that it's far from obvious that pursuing a contact/GB hitting style is a good idea right now.

The real question is: Is Vander Meer in danger?

Interesting question. Well, I mean the answer's obviously no -- unless you define "danger" as the chance might actually be higher than 1 in 1,000 now. But the question you're really asking is whether VM is in more danger than he's ever been before and that's kinda interesting. You have two competing trends -- the hot, sexy, now no-hitter fad and the long-running, boring nobody throws CGs anymore. How often over the last 5-10 years has a SP even thrown consecutive starts of 110+ pitches?

Current 330+ hitters

Yermin Mercedes 358 ... who knows?
Bogaerts 345 ... career 291, high 320
Yordan Alvarez 343 ... who knows?
Jesse Winker 343 ... career 289, high 299, 255 last year
Castellanos 338 ... career 276, high 298, 225 last year
Y Gurriel 338 ... career 290, high 299, 37 years old
Trout 333 ... let's hope he qualifies
Jared Walsh 331 ... who knows?
JDM 328 ... career 291, high 330
Trea Turner 327 ... career 298 but 335 in 2020 and 342 in 2016 (half-season)

Given Trout's injury, JDM is probably the best bet to finish the season at 330 or higher even though he's currently a bit below. One of the others will probably hold on due to luck. X is having a career year so why not. Yordan Alvarez in his early 20s is a match for Nelson Cruz in his late 30s (baseball is a funny game) and has demolished MLB in his 528 PA.

And, oh yeah, in 1984, 3 guys hit 330 or better (Gwynn, Mattingly, Winfield). In the entirety of the 1980s, ignoring 1981, 34 batters made it to 330+, just under 4 per year. Al Oliver won a batting title at 331; Wilson at 332; Raines at 334; Gwynn at 336. For sure, that was more than the full 10 years of 2010-19 (26 players) and especially the super-BA hitter is gone (13 times somebody topped 350 in the 80s, only one guy in the 2010s) -- Sporcle quiz!

It seems intuitive that the best approach to increased velocity would be a Keeler/Gwynn "punch at the ball, short swing" approach. Wonder why there aren't more Nick Madrigal type hitters out there.

You know, there was a reason I stopped coming here, and though I do hate that offense is bad, how is it possible for you all to be so cranky all the time?

Jesus.

I shall officially leave the Angels fan as perhaps the only person who isn't a cranky white guy.

Trout is probably the best bet to challenge Reggie

Agreed, and I was looking into this too, I think the other name is Bryce Harper. He's a year younger, 600 PA and 120 K short of Trout, which means he's actually a bit ahead on the pace. I'd put him a bit behind Trout just because he's much more likely to lose PAs later in his career due to ineffectiveness. I wouldn't handicap either one was better than 4-1 against to do it.

Looking at the really high K guys I had the same conclusion as you Walt. None of them are getting the PAs. I think it's either generally because they debuted late (probably on account of a 35% K rate in the minors) or because they just aren't very good. You can be effective in the modern MLB with a 30% rate, but it's hard to be a superstar and get to 8000+ PAs.

how is it possible for you all to be so cranky all the time?

Dude, I'm a Rockies fan.

No hitters are awesome, and having more of them is more awesome.

That's predicated on them being rare and really difficult to achieve.

Not at all! If there were two a week they'd still be awesome, and still difficult to achieve.

There's a level of anticipation that builds within an in progress no-hitter. That's what makes it awesome. If there were two a week it doesn't matter, because once you're watching a game and a pitcher has gone 5 innings without giving up a hit, the anticipation builds until either it gets broken up or he succeeds. Stolen bases, double plays, diving catches, rallies in the bottom of the 9th... Each builds anticipation on a more micro level. And it's awesome. No hitters are the same concept.

There's a level of anticipation that builds within an in progress no-hitter. That's what makes it awesome. If there were two a week it doesn't matter, because once you're watching a game and a pitcher has gone 5 innings without giving up a hit, the anticipation builds until either it gets broken up or he succeeds. Stolen bases, double plays, diving catches, rallies in the bottom of the 9th... Each builds anticipation on a more micro level. And it's awesome. No hitters are the same concept.

I'd much rather see a triple.

Reggie's record -- Stanton probably would have had it if he could stay healthy. But let's not undersell Reggie -- he had a career 23% K-rate which, until a couple of years ago, would have been above-average at any time ... and he was good enough to last for over 11,000 PA. Sosa, for example, has a higher career rate but didn't age well and stopped short of 10,000 PA.

A random list of players arranged in order of their strikeouts per 162 games. Make of it what you will. 15 players on the list average 1.0 strikeouts per game or more, but I'm sure there are many others not listed who'd qualify.

My favorite factoid is the comparison between Joe and Vince Dimaggio, with Dom in the middle. And notice how far down the list Babe Ruth is. And also Don Mattingly, given his era.

Joey Gallo 231
Aaron Judge 217
Chris Davis 212
Clint Frazier 199
Adam Dunn 193
Giancarlo Stanton 192
Fernando Tatis Jr. 192
Ronald Acuna 183
Gary Sanchez 177
Javier Báez 175
Kris Bryant 169
Trent Grisham 168
Jose Canseco 167
J. D. Martinez 163
Jim Thome 162
George Springer 160
Sammy Sosa 159
Bobby Bonds 154
Dave Kingman 152
Rafael Devers 152
Nelson Cruz 151
Curtis Granderson 151
Bryce Harper 150
Reggie Jackson 149
Alfonso Soriano 148
Carlos Correa 144
Marcell Ozuna 144
Mark McGwire 138
Darryl Strawberry 138
Freddie Freeman 138
Alex Rodriguez 133
Willie Stargell 133
Juan Soto 131
Trea Turner 130
Jorge Posada 129
Andruw Jones 129
Yordan Alvarez 128
Manny Ramirez 128
Xander Bogaerts 126
Mark Teixeira 125
Joey Votto 124
Vince Dimaggio 122
Miguel Cabrera 120
Manny Machado 118
Mickey Mantle 115
Jason Heyward 114
Harmon Killebrew 113
Jim Rice 110
Derek Jeter 109
Anthony Rizzo 109
Ken Griffey Jr. 108
Larry Doby 107
Alex Bregman 100
Hank Greenberg 98
Mookie Betts 97
Bernie Williams 95
Duke Snider 94
Paul O'Neill 92
Jimmie Foxx 92
Fred Lynn 92
Roger Maris 91
Rickey Henderson 89
Frank Robinson 88
Justin Turner 87
Tino Martinez 86
Hack Wilson 86
Bill Skowron 85
Jose Altuve 84
Willie Mays 83
Barry Bonds 83
Ralph Kiner 82
Roberto Clemente 82
Tony Lazzeri 80
Ernie Banks 79
Keith Hernandez 79
Babe Ruth 76
Gil McDougald 76
Michael Brantley 75
Gary Sheffield 74
Joe Gordon 73
Yuli Gurriel 73
Chuck Knoblauch 72
Bob Meusel 71
Charlie Keller 69
Chris Chambliss 69
Ken Griffey Sr. 69
Hank Aaron 68
Carl Yastrzemski 68
Hank Bauer 67
Roy Campanella 67
Dom Dimaggio 66
Thurman Munson 65
Roy White 61
Lou Gehrig 59
Billy Martin 56
Hal Chase 56
Brooks Robinson 55
Mel Ott 53
Pete Rose 52
Lou Piniella 50
Ted Williams 50
Rogers Hornsby 49
Tommy Henrich 48
Chuck Klein 48
Johnny Mize 45
Ducky Medwick 45
Gene Woodling 43
Honus Wagner 43
Richie Ashburn 42
Don Mattingly 40
Phil Rizzuto 39
Stan Musial 37
Ty Cobb 36
Joe Dimaggio 34
Jackie Robinson 34
Yogi Berra 32
Earl Combs 31
Lou Boudreau 30
Joe Jackson 28
Eddie Collins 27
Bill Dickey 26
George Sisler 26
Tris Speaker 23
Edd Roush 21
Frankie Frisch 19
Joe Sewell 10

how is it possible for you all to be so cranky all the time?

In fairness, I've been cranky since May 1993.

Back to Ks ... Agree Harper has a shot at Reggie and I guess Judge is another guy to add. He got a very late start and has been fragile but he's producing at a level that he's got a relatively high shot to still be playing at 40. His K-rate is 31% which blows Reggie, Trout and Harper out of the water. 8500 PAs shoule easily do it. Still, he's 6500 PA away which means he has to stay completely healthy from here on.

I think no-hitters are awesome, and I'll make a noticeable effort to be less cranky and appreciate the good.

As noted in another post, Aroldis Chapman is really good at what he does (though a tad wild, seems to have improved on that lately). The SF Giants are good and good in an interesting way. The Padres are good and good in an interesting way, and not perhaps the way that they expected, which is even more interesting. And the White Sox and Red Sox are good and I didn't expect that they would be as good as they are.

I doubt if too many people in the offseason expected the Yankees would be ranked 9th in AL OPS, and 1st in staff ERA. Their last 3 starters (Kluber, Germán, and Montgomery) have now given them 23 straight scoreless innings, with 25 strikeouts and 1 walk.

Trout is probably the best bet to challenge Reggie

He can also be the guy who tries to kill the Queen when they re-boot the Naked Gun movies.

Kluber is having an amazing year for a guy who I thought flew his plane into a building.