BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: OMNICHATTER for May 2023

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Monday, May 08, 2023

OMNICHATTER for May 2023

A month Chatter will hold ya.

Scoreboards for the Major Leagues and all minor leagues,
courtesy of Jefferson Manship (Dan Lee).

Hombre Brotani Posted: May 08, 2023 at 02:34 AM | 649 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: omnichatter

Reader Comments and Retorts

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501. Walt Davis Posted: May 25, 2023 at 07:39 PM (#6130132)

FLIP!!!

502. Howie Menckel Posted: May 25, 2023 at 08:45 PM (#6130142)

Joe Block
@joe_block
#Pirates Andrew McCutchen and Carlos Santana each have 5 steals

Other teams, multiple 36+ year olds 5+ SB before June, Live Ball Era:

1984 Athletics - Davey Lopes, Joe Morgan
1927 Athletics - Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins
1924 White Sox - Eddie Collins, Harry Hooper

(via @OptaSTATS)
11:37 AM · May 23, 2023

................

Lopes was actually age 39 and finished 12-for-12 (why not run more?)
Morgan was age 40 and finished 8-for-11

Lopes went 47-for-51 the following year as a Cubs OF at age 40, then 25-for-33 for the Cubs and Astros in 1986.

this team may have more names still remembered almost 40 years than most -though many are remembered most for exploits on other teams in typical A's fashion.
aside from Lopes and Morgan: Bruce Bochte (not Bochy), Tony Phillips, Carney Lansford, RICKEY, Dwayne Murphy, Dave Kingman (35 HR, 118 RBI), Jeff Burroughs, Mickey Tettleton, Ray Burris, Steve McCatty, Lary Sorenson, Tom Burgmeier, Rick Langford, Mike Torrez...

503. Walt Davis Posted: May 26, 2023 at 12:19 AM (#6130168)

If memory serves, at some point in that stretch, Lopes set the record for consecutive steals without getting caught (since broken I think). Davey was a great base stealer but it did seem that he was a bit risk averse in those years.

I haven't done an old farts update this year and since we're nearly 1/3 of the way through the season, let's do one:

Rich Hill: 4-4, 103 ERA+, >5 IP/start
Wainwright: 2-0, 67 ERA+, >5 IP/start
Verlander: 2-2, 118 ERA+, >6 IP/start ... robot
Greinke: 1-5, 98 ERA+, >5 IP/start
Morton: 5-4, 122 ERA+, >5 IP/start ... what a career this guy ended up with
Scherzer: 3-2, 105 ERA+, <5 IP/start ... he's no Charlie Morton

Nelson Cruz: 91 OPS+, 3 HR in 104 PA ... oh well, that was fun while it lasted
Miggy: 32 OPS+, 0 HR in 90 PA ... oh well, that was fun before 2017
Gurriel: 107 OPS+, 0.2 WAR ... must be hot, he looked dead when I last checked
J Turner: 106 OPS+, 5 HR in 205 PA
Donaldson: 10-day IL, 32 OPS+ in 17 PA
Votto: 60-day IL

Pitchers kicking butt although I think that was true this time last year before evening up quite a bit. 8 of the 10 oldest (including Jesse Chavez, I don't care about relievers) are in the NL.

504. Walt Davis Posted: May 26, 2023 at 12:28 AM (#6130170)

Through age 32, Charlie Morton had just under 900 IP with an 84 ERA+, 46-71, -0.7 WAR (not WAA, WAR)

Then Hou discovered spin rates: Just over 900 IP with a 120 ERA+, 75-34, 17 WAR

There are freaks who don't decline. There are weirdos who are better in their 30s. Who has gone from replacement-level** to excellent at age 33?

B-R puts his career earnings at $124 M.

** Sure, he's better than that by FIP. At fg, it's about 8 WAR through 32; 19 WAR since.

505. salvomania Posted: May 26, 2023 at 10:35 AM (#6130211)

Who has gone from replacement-level** to excellent at age 33?

Jamie Moyer?
Bob Tewksbury?

EDIT: Nah, both of those guys had at least some success by age 30.

506. salvomania Posted: May 26, 2023 at 11:51 AM (#6130222)

If in March someone had told me that through the first 50 or so games of the season that:
-- Andrew Knizner had a higher OPS than Tyler Stephenson
-- Andrew Knizner had more home runs than Tyler Stephenson
-- Andrew Knizner had almost 1 bWAR more than Tyler Stephenson
---and that this occurred while Tyler Stephenson started 45 of the Reds' 50 games

I'd assume that Willson Contreras had been hit by a bus and that Andrew Knizner had started channeling the ghost of 1967 Tim McCarver.

Instead, while Knizner has played more than usual given the Cardinals' catching "situation," and he has been putting up acceptable backup-catcher numbers, this is more an indictment of just how awful Stephenson has been all year.

Parked mostly in the cleanup spot, Stephenson has two homers and 19 rbi in almost 200 PA, and is slugging just .332 with an OPS+ of 75.

In 605 PA before 2023---essentially a full season's worth of action---Stephenson had hit .296/.369/.454, with 18 homers and 86 rbi, good for 3.8 bWAR

With -0.2 bWAR so far, he has to be considered one of the NL's most disappointing players in 2023.

507. My name is Votto, and I love to get Moppo Posted: May 26, 2023 at 12:20 PM (#6130226)

The Rays' 20-1 loss this week brought their run differential down to only 2 better than the Rangers. Texas currently +112, Tampa is +114.

508. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 26, 2023 at 12:27 PM (#6130228)

Are runs scored against or allowed by position players pitching removed from the totals when calculating pythag records?

509. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 12:34 PM (#6130229)

Are runs scored against or allowed by position players pitching removed from the totals when calculating pythag records?

No, but some people have suggested modified Pyth records where anything over a certain run difference (7-8 runs) is ignored in either direction. The issue is that would require actual work, while pyth is just a quick down and dirty stat.

510. TomH Posted: May 26, 2023 at 02:00 PM (#6130234)

question for Pirates followers:

Austin Hedges is hitting like a single A player.
Which shouldn't be surprising, since his OPS since spring of 2020 is 501.

So.... why isn't Endy Rodriguez up?

511. salvomania Posted: May 26, 2023 at 02:49 PM (#6130242)

So.... why isn't Endy Rodriguez up?

The backup catcher, Jason Delay, has an OPS+ of 130 and has started about 40% of the games.

Probably a fluke as his career batting line in the minors is .226/.297/.328.

512. salvomania Posted: May 26, 2023 at 03:08 PM (#6130245)

he has to be considered one of the NL's most disappointing players in 2023.

Since my post earlier today, Stephenson has gone 2-for-2 against the Cubs, with a first-inning RBI single, and now a double in the 3rd after which he came around to score.

After his ascendancy to Cy Young candidate based on a 1.45 ERA with just 30 hits allowed through his first seven starts, Justin Steele has now allowed 11 ER on 22 hits in his last 21 innings. Not terrible, but that's not going to bring home any hardware.

513. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 26, 2023 at 03:20 PM (#6130249)

The backup catcher, Jason Delay, has an OPS+ of 130 and has started about 40% of the games.

So you're saying Diaz's callup is being...postponed?

514. TomH Posted: May 26, 2023 at 03:27 PM (#6130252)

Yes, Delay is hitting great. That does not answer the question of why Hedges STILL HAS A JOB

Does Hedges get ; and deserve ; huge credit for the Pirates good team ERA?

(#513.. nicely done. I missed the pun at fist!)

515. salvomania Posted: May 26, 2023 at 04:00 PM (#6130257)

he has to be considered one of the NL's most disappointing players in 2023.

Since my post 512 above, Stephenson has added another RBI single, now at 3-for-3 on the day as his OPS has climbed from .655 to .683.

Steele gets knocked around, allows 6 runs (5 earned) on 10 hits in just 3.2 innings.

The Reds came into the game dead last in the NL in OPS+ (85), but by runs scored they're middle-of-the-pack and they're actually right about .500 over the last month despite recently losing 6-of-7.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that the worst team in the NL Central, while maybe not *good*, isn't completely terrible.

516. The Duke Posted: May 26, 2023 at 04:11 PM (#6130259)

Lowly Cubs getting their clock cleaned today by the lowly Reds after the Reds split a series with the Lowly Cardinals. The Lowly Pirates have not been able to take advantage from this set of events.

517. The Duke Posted: May 26, 2023 at 04:12 PM (#6130260)

Greene with 110 pitches through 6 and he has a no-hitter. That's hard to do.

518. Walt Davis Posted: May 26, 2023 at 05:25 PM (#6130268)

Of course Tyler Stephenson was the DH today. He was in the best shape of his life this offseason. (Actually, it's a perfectly fine article ... and seems refreshing for a ballplayer and his wife to vacation in Amsterdam and Berlin.) But anyway, last year he had a broken collarbone, broken thumb and concussion. Maybe he's not as healthy as might be hoped.

519. Walt Davis Posted: May 26, 2023 at 05:49 PM (#6130272)

Greene with 110 pitches through 6 and he has a no-hitter. That's hard to do.

The following is not the most exciting moment in bbtf history ...

Certainly hard to do while walking just 2 and facing just 20 batters ... 5.5 pitches per batter. Even striking out 11, that's an awful lot of pitches needed to be putting guys away.

Looking at the PBP, he faced 4 in the first with 1 K and 1 BB and threw 25 pitches, each batter requiring at least 6 pitches. 4 swinging strikes, 3 looking strikes, lots of foul balls and 12 outside the zone. Even down 2-0, the Cubs probably liked their chances about then. In the second, 5 pitches to K Mancini, 5 to not K Morel (that's hard) and then a whopping 8 to K Mervis. In the third, 6 pitches to K Mastro and 6 to K Barnhart. That's one trip through the lineup and 55 pitches, every batter seeing at least 5 pitches.

It kept going. He started off Hoerner 0-2 and 5 pitches later he grounded out. The 4 batters in the 4th took 24 pitches -- Mancini started with 2 foul balls, had another two in the PA before K'ing on 7 pitches. He was on 86 pitches through 4. By that point the Cubs are down 7-0 and in hack mode. He got through the 5th, striking out the side on just 12 pitches but still those 9 strikes were 5 fouls and 3 looking -- Cubs weren't swinging and missing. Lord knows why the Reds sent him out there for the 6th but the Cubs cooperated letting him get through on just 12 more pitches but no Ks this time.

In terms of what the nerds look for, of those 110 pitches, only 16 were swinging strikes. (16 looking, 28 fouls, 6 in-play ... 28 fouls seems like a lot). Of the 11 Ks, 6 were swinging (that seems low but I don't know). So unhittable but contactable.

520. shoelesjoe Posted: May 26, 2023 at 06:18 PM (#6130275)

Aaron Boone suspended one game for his argument / ejection last night. I grew up watching Earl Weaver, and thought he had a hair trigger temper when it came to bad calls that went against the Orioles, but Boone is in his own world in that regard. He seems to go bug eyed at the slightest borderline call that goes against his team as if they’re crimes against nature. My completely unscientific impression is that the Yankees tend to benefit from bad calls a whole lot more than they’re hurt by them (especially in home games) which makes Boone’s histrionics that much harder to take. His behavior comes across more as a juvenile sense of entitlement than righteous anger.

521. Howie Menckel Posted: May 26, 2023 at 06:37 PM (#6130276)

a report today claims that MLB umpires privately call Aaron Boone "Karen Boone" for just that reason.
anonymous source, but I am entertained !
(he has gotten the heave-ho in 3 of the last 10 games, which is weird because the team is playing well. so no need either for him to be so frustrated, nor to need to "fire up the clubhouse" with his passion. they're doing just fine.

also entertained as I ran a couple of errands today. WFAN sports talk radio host is madly waving the pom poms for young SS Anthony Volpe, who clearly has some significant positives and negatives so far. decent claims made, but the callers are having NONE of it. they all are on Team Peraza, their other young SS.

none of them called Volpe a bum, they just think he needs more seasoning while Peraza does not, in their minds.

522. NaOH Posted: May 26, 2023 at 07:38 PM (#6130279)

Just opened the MLB app on an old phone I use like an iPod and was offered a free 2-month subscription to Apple TV+, which does the Friday broadcasts. No idea if it was random or if it's being offered all over. And credit to Apple that 1) you can immediately unsubscribe so the trial can't renew, and 2) they always notify you before it auto-renews so you can unsubscribe then, too (I *think* a week ahead of time).

523. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 08:04 PM (#6130281)

Libertore is starting his second game of the season as well as he did his first, which is good. But I have a firm belief that I won't judge a young pitcher until his performances after his sixth start of the current season, meaning I'm ignoring his performance last year also and his minor numbers, but I'll still take any positives I can get right now with this team.

524. Tony S Posted: May 26, 2023 at 08:12 PM (#6130283)

The Orioles were trailing Texas 2-1 in the fourth when we took a brief power hit. The cable reset, reconnected... and the score was now 9-1.

525. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 08:12 PM (#6130284)

a report today claims that MLB umpires privately call Aaron Boone "Karen Boone" for just that reason.

I love that.

526. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 08:21 PM (#6130286)

of course the second I compliment Libetore, he allows three straight runners on base.

527. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 08:23 PM (#6130287)

bases loaded, no outs single to the outfield, scores one run, still bases loaded no outs.... I am fine with trading outs for runs this early in the game, but you need to get the outs.

528. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 08:25 PM (#6130288)

well that didn't work out, bases clearing double to make it 4-0 still no outs.

529. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 08:26 PM (#6130289)

Cardinals have been averaging close to 7 runs a game over the past 2+ weeks so nothing is insurmountable in the 5th inning, but it would be nice to stop the ####### bleeding.

530. The Duke Posted: May 26, 2023 at 08:52 PM (#6130292)

Another reason to get rid of umps - the sooner the better

531. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 09:02 PM (#6130294)

That was probably the best chance of a comeback, bases loaded two outs Nolan Gorman up to bat, but he ends up with just a fly out....

532. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 09:22 PM (#6130296)

I take it back, they put two men on with one out in a 4-2 game which is a legit chance to comeback, and of course hit into a double play with their homerun hitting shortstop at bat.

533. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 09:32 PM (#6130297)

For the most part I like the new rules, but I do think that the batter should have the option of a second timeout after 8 pitches.

534. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 09:36 PM (#6130300)

Edman and Noot back to back doubles to make it a one run game top of the ninth, one out with Goldy and Gorman coming up.

535. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 09:44 PM (#6130302)

we had the names we wanted up, just couldn't deliver.

536. the Hugh Jorgan returns Posted: May 26, 2023 at 10:13 PM (#6130304)

Red Sox decide scoring runs is a good way to actually win games after being in Anaheim and getting throttled.
Have spotted Sale a 3 run lead already. Hopefully Sale will continue to look good and the Sox can add on.

A few observations on late Sat. morning Sydney time.

I notice not even the mighty Dodgers are not immune to the Rays juggernaught.

Also, good to see Soto being JUAN SOTO, last 30 games is OPSing around 1.050, last 7 games around the Bondsian 1.360

537. TomH Posted: May 26, 2023 at 10:24 PM (#6130307)

no kidding. Soto OPS splits

Mar-Apr 757
. May . 1133

538. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 10:45 PM (#6130308)

We only have about a week left on this thread, so just because today on my twitter feed I saw this... Mlb.now (or something like that) asked "who is the model franchise"... my thought was Cardinals (obviously) Dodgers, Astros, Braves, and Rays... but looking through the answers there was Dodgers (absolutely), Braves, Astros and Rays... then a ton of Texas, some Yankees, A's (all made jokingly) Mets, and literally not one single person mentioning the Cardinals... Nor the Padres even(obviously the results there doesn't represent the effort) but I still found it weird that people would think the Mets, Astros, and Rangers are more model franchises than the Cardinals.... it just shows you that a myopic viewpoint like mind, misses the others.

539. Howie Menckel Posted: May 26, 2023 at 10:51 PM (#6130310)

Mad Max goes 7 IP tonight, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 8 K, 101 pitches, leaves with a 4-1 lead.

those ominous footsteps deep in the NL forest are coming from Mets dinosaurs Scherzerasaurus, Verlandersaurus, and Carrascoatops.

if the Mets' sturdy 'pen holds up again, this will leave the squad 13-0 this season when the starter goes 6 IP (no quality start necessary - just get 18 outs of any type at all, and they are good to go).

.............

Brewers INF Mike Brousseau brings the mop and bucket to the mound in the 9th with the team trailing SF 15-1:

Blake Sabol flied out (fly to CF).
J.D. Davis grounded out (ground ball to SS).
Bryce Johnson grounded out (ground ball to 1B).

(it's Brosseau's 10th MLB pitching appearance and 3rd - and definitely not the last - of 2023.
career: 3 R, 9.6 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 1 K.)

540. shoelesjoe Posted: May 26, 2023 at 11:30 PM (#6130313)

none of them called Volpe a bum, they just think he needs more seasoning while Peraza does not, in their minds.

Volpe hit .251 /.348 /.472 in AA, and then .236 /.313 /.404 in AAA, so his current struggles at the big league level (.200 /.284 /.362) are completely predictable. The media hyping a Yankee prospect is par for the course, but the Yankee front office buying into that hype and acting on it is a new one on me.

541. The Yankee Clapper Posted: May 27, 2023 at 12:55 AM (#6130316)

An 8-run 6th inning gave the Nationals a 9-2 lead @ Royals, on the way to a not-that-easy 12-10 win. Among the bright spots, 2nd baseman Luis Garcia was 6-for-6, with 2 doubles in that 6th, reportedly a first for the franchise. And after a slow start, Joey Meneses looks to be on a path toward last season’s surprising performance, with his 3 hits & a BB tonight bringing him to a .305/.338/.399 slash line.

542. Walt Davis Posted: May 27, 2023 at 01:26 AM (#6130318)

Top 2023 debuts (does not include any rookies who debuted last year), by WAR

Bryce Miller 1.4
Zach Neto 1.4 (he hasn't even been up that long)
Volpe 1.2
Ryan Noda 1.0 (he's on the A's)
Jose Caballero 0.8
Yoshida 0.8
a whole bunch of guys at 0.6

Neto has been a solid bat but DRS loves the glove (+5). Volpe's bat has cratered but he's +3 on the bases and +4 in the field. Noda is that age 27 "only the A's would give this guy a chance and he's taking it" with a 137 OPS+, a 20% BB rate (maybe they pitch around him all the time) and is apparently fine at 1B.

Finally I'd yet to stumble across Caballero. He's 26, a Mariner, an IF playing mostly 2B so far, putting up a 137 OPS+ with good running and defense. Nearly 1 WAR in just 77 PA, he's our leading candidate for the next Zobrist (or Muncy or Justin Turner or whoever). He seems to have been hurt his entire career, never made it past AA until this year. Last year at AA (just 134 PA) he had the ridiculous line of 227/440/330. Anyway, this year in 40 PA at AAA he boosted the OPS to 1143 which I guess got him his shot.

543. Booey Posted: May 27, 2023 at 02:11 AM (#6130319)

Also, good to see Soto being JUAN SOTO, last 30 games is OPSing around 1.050, last 7 games around the Bondsian 1.360

Absolutely. With his slow start coupled with his disappointing 2022*, I was beginning to worry if he was already starting to regress as a hitter.

* Yeah, his 135 walks were still able to propel him to a .401 OBP, 148 OPS+, and 5.6 bWaR, but that .242 avg, .452 slg, and a mere 27 homers and 62 RBI were all a bit underwhelming for a young hitting prodigy who was supposed to be the next Frank Thomas or Albert Pujols.

544. TomH Posted: May 27, 2023 at 07:39 AM (#6130320)

Juan Soto, bb-ref age leaderboards, OPS+, through ages

22 - 6th all time
23 - 8th all time
24 - will need a monster rest-of-2024 to crack the top 10

545. TomH Posted: May 27, 2023 at 07:43 AM (#6130321)

TRIVIA - who is only player in the past 55 years to lead his league in RBI four times?
( . . hint: this date cherry-pickingly chosen to eliminate Hank Aaron, who won his first RBI title in 1957)

546. The Duke Posted: May 27, 2023 at 09:00 AM (#6130327)

Mike Schmidt would be my NL guess and Killebrew/Reggie Jackson would be my AL guess. I seem to remember Killebrew being on all those league leader baseball cards

547. TomH Posted: May 27, 2023 at 10:07 AM (#6130337)

DUKE nailed it! Schmidt is the only one. Killebrew had 3. Reggie only led in RBI once; in fact, in 1969, when he had 37 home runs By The All Star Break (!), actually still trialed Killer in RBI at that point, and eventually was 22 RBI behind him by year's end.

548. Booey Posted: May 27, 2023 at 11:33 AM (#6130362)

Ryan Howard came within 1 rbi in 2007 of leading the league 4 consecutive years (2006-2009). And the leader - Matt Holliday - didn't pass Howard until game 163, when the Rockies and Padres played a one game tie-breaker for the final Wild Card slot.

549. The Duke Posted: May 27, 2023 at 11:40 AM (#6130363)

That is an interesting anecdote - this probably cost Ryan Howard the Hall of Fame

550. The Duke Posted: May 27, 2023 at 11:42 AM (#6130364)

Willy Adames concussed in dugout leading to the inevitable handwringing about why the players on the bench aren't required to wear mascot outfits while not playing (for their own protection)

551. Cowboy Popup Posted: May 27, 2023 at 01:40 PM (#6130377)

Severino looks filthy. Hitting 99 consistently.

552. Snowboy Posted: May 27, 2023 at 01:55 PM (#6130378)

Maybe they'll ask him to wash it off. Again.

553. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 27, 2023 at 05:41 PM (#6130400)

It's nice to see a player on my team get recognition, but it's just a snapshot at a particular moment, mlb.com wrote an article explaining why Nolan Gorman has become one of the three best hitters in baseball, and of course that isn't the truth, it was literally based upon the end of one day, and by the time the article came out, many of the numbers used have dropped for Gorman to the point that it kinda looks ridiculous.

Note: I do think that Gorman is going to be among the better bats over the next decade or so, I've pretty much have been championing for him since the season began, but I'm a pessimist when it comes to young players and their consistency as I don't think the muscles of an adult is stabilized until roughly about 25-26 years old, so any positive performance when below that age is going to be erratic, there have been exceptions of course, but that is usually the best of the best and Gorman is an elite power hitter, absolutely no doubt about that (arguably Judge/Alonso level, but he's still younger than both of them before they reached the majors) but his current streak of quality average and avoiding strikeouts is not in his previously recognized tool set, so there has to be a distrust in that level of ability. His current streak makes you think he isn't going to be Kingman/Luzinski/Gallo going forward, but he needs more than 200 pa for anyone to think it's an established level of norm.

554. The Duke Posted: May 27, 2023 at 06:06 PM (#6130402)

I've said from the beginning that he is a Jim Thome-lite. He won't be nearly that good but he's got gargantuan power and the walk rate is already 13%. And that's not people pitching around him , that's just a really good eye. The more he hits the higher that walk rate will go

555. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 27, 2023 at 07:47 PM (#6130409)

It's still early, but it's nice to see the Cardinals with an early 1-0 lead off of a Brendan Donvan with a hr... only 2nd inning though, so obviously not the final score.

556. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 27, 2023 at 09:08 PM (#6130412)

Cleveland relief pitcher having problems finding the strike zone, just walked the bases loaded while not getting any outs, 16 pitches, 12 balls.

557. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 27, 2023 at 09:13 PM (#6130413)

bases loaded, no outs, and the Cardinals can't score. That is going to bite them in the ass. Cardinals are 3 for 26 with risp in the past four games.

558. Froot Loops Posted: May 27, 2023 at 09:46 PM (#6130415)

Rockies rookie Nolan Jones gets his first major league hit - an RBI single off Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. Verlander is getting nickel and dimed to death: single, single, single, bloop double, walk, double and he's down 4-0 with one out in the second.

559. Froot Loops Posted: May 27, 2023 at 09:47 PM (#6130416)

Sac fly on probably the hardest hit ball of the inning and it's 5-0 Rockies.

560. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 27, 2023 at 10:26 PM (#6130420)

Well there was a victory... not in the most conventional way, tied game, extra inning, ghost runner on base steals third, scores on a wild pitch/passed ball. The home team fails to drive in their ghost runner, 2-1 visitors/Cardinals.

561. The Duke Posted: May 27, 2023 at 11:20 PM (#6130442)

Cardinal AAA 1B Luken Baker had the bat sawed off on an inside pitch and hit it over the left field fence in an amazing feat of strength. He's a big boy. Frank Howard big.

Can't say I've ever seen that before

562. The Duke Posted: May 27, 2023 at 11:21 PM (#6130446)

Pirates and brewers tumbling to .500. The whole division will be under .500, perhaps well under .500, pretty soon .

563. Froot Loops Posted: May 28, 2023 at 12:43 AM (#6130463)

Man, this Mets-Rockies game was fun. Colorado jumped all over Justin Verlander for a 6-0 lead, but the Mets started their comeback with a Pete Alonso solo shot, and eventually tied it up on a three-run homer from rookie sensation Francisco Alvarez. The Mets scratched across a run in the seventh to take the lead, but Ryan McMahon's two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh put the Rockies back in front, and they added a couple of insurance runs in the 8th to make the final 10-7 Colorado.

Verlander looks done, so it's only fitting that the two youngest position players in the NL shined in this game. In addition to his game-tying homer, Alvarez had a triple/oops, double and tagged out at third, while the Rockies' Ezequiel Tovar reached three times and scored twice.

564. The Yankee Clapper Posted: May 28, 2023 at 12:49 AM (#6130465)

Can't say I've ever seen that before.

MLB lists more than a dozen broken bat HRs just from the everything-on-video era.

565. the Hugh Jorgan returns Posted: May 28, 2023 at 01:37 AM (#6130466)

I'm watching the Angels totally stuff up this game. They get a HR to tie it in the 8th, get Trout on in the 9th and leave him stranded at 1st.
In the 10th, their LF tries this ridiculous basket catch, which of course he drops and allows a triple and the ghost runner to score. Marlins load the bases, Angels get a comebacker which looks like an easy DP to limit the damage and only be down by 1. But no; the pitcher makes a shite throw home, catcher comes a little forward to scoop it, pulling his foot off the bag. Marlins spot this, call for review. DP overturned, run scores. Next guy up, singles and 2 more runs come home.
Angels now down 8-4 and coming up in the 10th. What a schmozzle.

566. Walt Davis Posted: May 28, 2023 at 02:24 AM (#6130467)

Rockies rookie Nolan Jones gets his first major league hit

Probably earns him a spot on the all-Nolan team. My memory is I gave Gorman a spot once he debuted. (The Nolan pitching staff has some promise. :-)

Correction: Nolan Jones played for Cle last year, had 21 hits. He was probably already on the all-Nolan team.

567. Walt Davis Posted: May 28, 2023 at 02:52 AM (#6130468)

Pirates and brewers tumbling to .500. The whole division will be under .500, perhaps well under .500, pretty soon .

Again, there's really no reason to believe this. Outside of LA and Atl, the entire NL is a set of roughly equal teams. The Brewers indeed are just 27-25 ... which would be 2nd in the NLE and tied for 3rd in the NLW. The NLC is just 5 under vs the NLE, 10 under vs NLW (that's not good) and 1 under vs the AL. The Brewers have played only 9 games in the division. Outside of LA, Atl and Ari, the entire league is between 431 and 519 WP. It's just a whole lot of mediocre teams. (The NL is -4 vs AL overall.) The total run differential is just -16; the NLE is at -51 and the NLW at +9.

If you want to obsess on sub-500, that would be (no surprise) the ALC. The 27-25 Twins would be in 4th in the ALE, just a half-game ahead of Tor, and tied for 4th in the ALW. The ALC is -27 vs ALE, -4 vs ALW and -9 vs NL. It's possible the 10th-best record in the AL will make the playoffs.

There are 6-7 really good teams, mostly in the AL. There are two very, very bad teams, both in the AL. The NL Central isn't bad, it's boring and mediocre. The Pirates will tumble a good bit but the Cards will play better and the Cubs probably aren't as bad as they've played the last two weeks. But sure, don't be surprised if 3 teams with about 85-86 wins make the playoffs out of the NL ... and it will be a pretty random selection ahead of the 3 teams with 83-84 wins. Or sure, it could be 9-10 NL teams finish a smidgen under 500. Over in the AL, the ALC winner will probably be no better than the 8th-9th record and either the 2nd place ALW or 4th place ALE team will get "screwed."

568. The Duke Posted: May 28, 2023 at 06:30 AM (#6130470)

I think there is every reason to believe it. ZIPS had the brewers at 83-79 and now half their pitching staff is hurt. The brewers have never had a lot of depth. The other three teams were projected well below .500. And now the cardinals aren't playing nearly as well as projected.

The central divisions are basically a different league than the rest

569. Froot Loops Posted: May 28, 2023 at 10:17 AM (#6130479)

Correction: Nolan Jones played for Cle last year, had 21 hits. He was probably already on the all-Nolan team.

My mistake. I knew they said it was his first hit in a Rockies uniform and didn't realize he had already been up elsewhere. It turns out he was traded for the immortal Juan Brito - don't know how I missed the news of that blockbuster.

570. Itchy Row Posted: May 28, 2023 at 12:41 PM (#6130493)

Real pitchers duel in Tampa Bay this morning

571. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 28, 2023 at 12:43 PM (#6130494)

Talk about stretching for a historical moment, on my twitter feed / newsfeed today.

Brendan Donovan is the first player since RBI became an official stat (1920), in a win to score multiple runs and all the team runs, to drive in all the team runs, to have all the teams extra base hits, and to steal a base in a game. (I think it's important to point out that it's in a win, so I imagine it probably happened in a loss)

572. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 28, 2023 at 02:44 PM (#6130508)

Cardinals with 3 homeruns in the 5th inning to give them a 3-1 lead.

573. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 28, 2023 at 03:38 PM (#6130514)

Just because it was mentioned earlier, where someone claimed that teams don't do God Bless America for the 7th inning stretch, in Cleveland they just did that.

574. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 28, 2023 at 03:43 PM (#6130515)

Considering how he started the year, it's good to see Jordan Hicks pretty much being as dominant as he's ever been in his last half dozen or so appearances.

575. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 28, 2023 at 04:19 PM (#6130518)

A walkoff victory for the Guardians.... damnit Helsey walked two batters on 8 pitches and they scored on a double.

576. nick swisher hygiene Posted: May 28, 2023 at 04:33 PM (#6130522)

538--it's because everybody knows you think of yourselves as the model franchise, so we don't wanna give you the satisfaction ;-)

577. Walt Davis Posted: May 28, 2023 at 05:02 PM (#6130523)

ZIPS had the brewers at 83-79

Sure. And ZiPS had the Yankees winning the ALE with just 89 wins. And it had the Nats on just 64 wins and the Pirates on just 68. The Mets were going to win 94 and the A's were going to win 72.

Like I said, the NL is incredibly balanced. It will be a lot of coin-flipping. Fangraphs projections right now (a mix of actual to date and projected) puts the entire NL between 400 and 600 WP. For the rest of the season, even the Dodgers are projected to just a 540 WP. In fact, projections being what they are, no team is projected to play better than 572 ball (Atl) anywhere in MLB. Heck, the Rox (397) are the only team projected under 400 from here (even the A's will supposedly play 426 ball). Fangraphs gives the following win projections for the NLC:

Brewers 82
Cards 81
Pirates 77
Cubs 76
Reds 71

That's 5 500-ish teams with even the Reds on a 440 WP. But sure, if a couple coin flips go the wrong way, they could all finish under 500. Compare that to the ALC:

Twins 84
Cle 77
CWS 74
Det 74
KC 64

Right now the Mets are projected to the 3rd-most NL wins with ... 86. Padres 84, Giants 84, DBacks 83, Phillies 83. That's a very, very balanced league not evidence of a hapless central division. At season's end, fangraphs projects the AL with a 14-win edge which is not a big deal. If the NLC sucks then so does the NL as a whole ... only then so does the AL as a whole.

So outside of Atl and LA games, the NL will be flipping coins for the rest of the year. Chances are everybody's local 9 will have a furstrating lack of win streaks, taking 10 steps forward for every 9 back ... or 9 step forwards for 10 back. The fact that "everybody" will be in the playoff hunt but also nobody good enough that a deadline acquisition will be a big deal might lead to an active trade market or an inactive one.

I don't get why this is difficult to understand. The AL has a couple of very good teams and it has some very bad teams. The NL is very balanced. Chances are nobody in the NL will finish with a genuinely bad record (not that, say, 65-97 is anything to be proud of) and possibly nobody will finish with a genuinely good record.

578. Howie Menckel Posted: May 28, 2023 at 05:31 PM (#6130526)

Just because it was mentioned earlier, where someone claimed that teams don't do God Bless America for the 7th inning stretch, in Cleveland they just did that.

the only claim I recall on that is that some teams that do it, only do it on Sundays and holidays (checks calendar...)

579. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 28, 2023 at 06:32 PM (#6130529)

538--it's because everybody knows you think of yourselves as the model franchise, so we don't wanna give you the satisfaction ;-)

I know you are teasing me, but others besides me have mentioned it, but at the least, they should make a top ten list.

580. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 29, 2023 at 04:00 PM (#6130595)

Cardinals haven't been able to get a man on base going into the top of the 7th inning.

581. The Duke Posted: May 29, 2023 at 04:02 PM (#6130596)

In one of those "it's baseball" moments the Royals are throwing a perfect game using the a bullpen game. Has anything like that ever happened?

582. cardsfanboy

Posted: May 29, 2023 at 04:11 PM (#6130599)

Who does Mayers think he is, Ernie Shore?

583. Eric J can SABER all he wants to Posted: May 29, 2023 at 04:36 PM (#6130602)

With the Cubs playing dreadfully and the Rays coming to town, Marcus Stroman throws a 1-hitter with 8 K's, making the lonely 4th-inning sac fly stand up nicely. That's only the 5th single-pitcher shutout in the NL this year, 9th in MLB.

584. Tony S Posted: May 29, 2023 at 05:59 PM (#6130619)

Homerism at its most absurd.

They just flashed a graphic in the Twins-Astros broadcast (Hou feed) showing the Top Five Lefthanded Hitters Career OPS (of all time!)

The list is Ruth, Williams,Gehrig, Bonds and... Yordan Alvarez.

How do they manage this? By setting the "career" cutoff at 1500 AB's.

With the Astros submitting meekly to the Twins, I guess they needed something today.

585. Tony S Posted: May 29, 2023 at 06:06 PM (#6130621)

Maldonado K's with the bases loaded.

In their 62-year history, have the Astros ever had a catcher who was good both offensively and defensively? I can't think of any.

586. Tony S Posted: May 29, 2023 at 06:07 PM (#6130622)

And Altuve blasts a slam to make it 5-4 Houston.

587. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 29, 2023 at 06:48 PM (#6130630)

I had the pleasure of seeing Stroman’s one-hitter at Wrigley today. Best pitching performance I’ve ever seen in person. Only one hard-hit ball all day, and it wasn’t even the hit.

588. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 29, 2023 at 06:50 PM (#6130631)

In their 62-year history, have the Astros ever had a catcher who was good both offensively and defensively? I can't think of any.

Did Biggio get moved because he sucked on defense or to save his knees?

Alan Ashby was OK with the bat. Not sure about the glove.

EDIT: Looking it up, Biggio had one bad year and two decent-to-good years behind the plate. Ashby was decent his first three years in Houston but bad after that.

589. Tony S Posted: May 29, 2023 at 07:53 PM (#6130635)

I think Biggio got moved mainly for his knees. He wasn't outstanding defensively, and his bat and speed were just too valuable to not maximize.

Without checking thoroughly, I think Joe Ferguson in 1977 had the best hitting year of any Astros catcher, .257/.379/.435. A handsome 127+ OPS.

So, naturally, the Astros gave him back to the Dodgers the next year for Jeffrey Leonard (who had an OK career, though not for the Astros) and Rafael Landestoy (oof).

590. Walt Davis Posted: May 29, 2023 at 08:45 PM (#6130640)

In "fairness", Yordan does have a 164 career OPS+ which is really high. He was at 162 through age 25 -- Pujols is 10th at 167 with Williams, Cobb, Gehrig and Musial in the top 10 (I guess Ruth didn't have enough PA to qualify). So Yordan might have been 5th through age 25. He's added a couple of points so far this year but Ruth and Shoeless Joe join the age 26 top 10 ending at Gehrig at 174 ... so Yordan is at best the 6th best LHB by OPS+ through age 26 and I'm guessing still behind Musial at least. Also in their "defense", Yordan is in part at 1700 PA only because of 2020 ... although I'm not sure his 2 games was due to covid or he got hurt.

So sure, an age- or PA-based cmparison would work better than career. Also, it would be nice if the b-r age-based leaderboards went past the top 10 but nothing I can do about that. Somebody with a stathead sub can do a fuller list. Nevertheless, it is not a stretch to say that Alvarez is among the best young _hitters_ (and therefore LHB hitters) that MLB has seen. But, sure, remains to be seen how long it can keep it up.

591. Tony S Posted: May 29, 2023 at 08:59 PM (#6130641)

Wrong thread

592. Walt Davis Posted: May 29, 2023 at 09:26 PM (#6130645)

By the way, Stroman held them hitless through 6 and the 1 hit off him was a clean, bloopy/loopy liner but not much of a hit. I'm not sure I've ever seen a pitcher more pleased with a 1-hit shutout. The crowd too, big standing O. After the C gave him the initial congrats, the team kinda left him out there alone on the mound for a bit to soak it all up then the fielders filed past for the standard congrats.

593. Walt Davis Posted: May 29, 2023 at 09:28 PM (#6130646)

I assume all of America is glued to the A's-Braves matchup. A's have tied it at 1, threatening for more in the 5th. And there's a 3-run HR by (one hopes) future AS Noda.

The big news I assume is that Mike Soroka is on the mound for the Braves for the first time since 2020. I gather he was looking pretty good until this inning.

EDIT: Soroka just 14 innings in 2020, didn't pitch at all in 2021, got 25 innings in 2022. This year 35 innings at AAA in which he had solid peripherals but not good results. He's still just 25 so plenty of time to build a career if he can get healthy.

594. Walt Davis Posted: May 29, 2023 at 09:46 PM (#6130648)

Huh ... Soroka is still out there. He was still under 70 pitches starting the 6th. First batter gets pretty good wood on a flyout to RF.

Anyway ... in far-flung upside comparisons ... entering their age 25 seasons, Soroka and Scherzer had about the same number of career IP. Of course Scherzer was fully healthy and about to rip off a string of 200ish IP seasons. But he still didn't become the Scherzer until age 27-28 and he didn't top Soroka's age 21 bWAR until 28 or age 21 ERA+ until he was 32. (Soroka's age 21 fWAR would be less impressive.) Not a genuine comparison as Scherzer always K'd many more, just a data point showing that Soroka might still be a stud or even make the HoF.

EDIT: final line of 6 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 4 ER, 1 HR. As to possibly losing to the A's, their offense is decent enough, the embarrassment is Braves hitters with just 1 run so far.

EDIT2: I hadn't looked in on A's attendance lately. Looks like a decent crowd today (not by Mem Day standards but you know what I mean). They drew a whopping 30,000 over the full weekend series vs Astros; but the mid-May homestand was about 35,000 over 7 games vs Tex and Ari. Thurs vs Tex drew less than 3,000; Mon vs Ari was barely over 2,000. I've been to jazz concerts with a bigger crowd.

595. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 29, 2023 at 09:54 PM (#6130652)

The crowd too, big standing O.

He got a big ovation when he came back out for the 9th too. The rest of the fielders stayed in the dugout and he threw his first few warmup pitches alone, and then they wandered onto the field. Not sure if that was intentional, but it seemed like it might have been.

596. Hombre Brotani

Posted: May 29, 2023 at 10:24 PM (#6130666)

Liam Hendriks gets into the game, his first game back this season. F cancer. Matt Thaiss stays out of the box, giving the crowd some extra time to rain cheers down. A lovely moment.

597. The Yankee Clapper Posted: May 29, 2023 at 10:32 PM (#6130673)

Aaron Judge’s 2-run HR (#16) off the LF foul pole gives the Yankees a 3-1 lead @ Seattle. Harrison Bader left the game after beating out an infield hit, somewhat concerning given his injury history and the plethora of other injuries that have plagued the Yankees this season.

598. The Yankee Clapper Posted: May 29, 2023 at 11:15 PM (#6130697)

Seattle starter Bryce Miller was the first pitcher to go at least 6 innings and yield no more than 4 hits in his initial 5 major league appearances since at least 1901. Impressive, but the Yankees knocked him out with 11 hits & 8 runs in 4.2 innings. 8-2 Yankees in bottom of 5th.

EDIT: Judge homers again (#17) as Mariners center fielder semi-concussed himself jamming his head into the wall in a failed attempt to catch the ball. 9-4 NYY.

599. NaOH Posted: May 30, 2023 at 12:11 AM (#6130698)

Impressive, but the Yankees knocked him out with 11 hits....

Only the 12th time NY has had a game with double digits hits this season, third fewest in the Majors (Cleveland and San Diego have each done it just 10 times).

600. The Yankee Clapper Posted: May 30, 2023 at 12:20 AM (#6130700)

Flip.

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