Melky Cabrera suspended 50 games

[Funketown]

Before this Melky could have been looking at what, ~5 years/$60 million? It will be interesting to see how much this hurts his next contract. I could see anything from 1 year/$10 million+incentives to 3/36. [sarcasm]poor guy[/sarcasm]

 

 

Edit: I can't type.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

He has come out and actually owned up to do it as well.

 

Very interesting, can't recall anyone else suspended that has admitted use.

 

 

Alex Rodriguez did.

[TooLiveBrew]

Andy Pettitte wasn't suspended, but admitted using PEDs... but iirc he said something like, 'sorry I took PEDs to try & help rehab faster so I could get back to help my team.'

[brains and braun]

[sarcasm]So, Braun gets the ASG MVP now, right?[/sarcasm]

 

^^^^^Well played, sir.

[phnxcrew]

[sarcasm]So, Braun gets the ASG MVP now, right?[/sarcasm]

 

^^^^^Well played, sir.

 

Obviously matt kemp deserves it because braun is a cheater, liar, and he punches kittens and puppies on a daily basis.

[Ennder]

Too bad they forgot to test Miguel Cabrera.

[1992casey]

 

If I'm not mistaken, they tack on hitless ABs until the minimum threshold is met. If nobody else qualifies at a better average, that person wins the batting title.

 

This is correct, though it is plate appearances, not at-bats.

 

The tack-ons would be ABs.

That makes sense. Batting average is based on ABs. The ABs would be added, and the batting average would be re-computed,. If the re-computed BA was higher than that of the runner-up, the player would win the title.

[jerichoholicninja]

Too bad they forgot to test Miguel Cabrera.

 

I'm pretty sure the only thing Miggy would test positive for is ice cream sandwiches.

[JackNicholson1974]

High Cholesterol maybe.

[trwi7]

What would Miguel Cabrera do for a Klondike Bar? Steal Prince's Klondike Bar.

[Thurston Fluff]

Basically, he's hitting so much better this season because more balls are sneaking through the infield. Unless someone can prove higher testosterone causes more balls to sneak through the infield, I'm more likely to believe this season is a lucky fluke more than the result of being on something.

 

Why did you suggest he just had more balls sneak through? Seems to me BAPIP isn't a measure of balls that sneak through as much as a measure of balls that get through. One would think balls being hit harder would have a higher rate of doing that. I think it reasonable that someone juicing would hit balls harder and increase BAPIP than when they weren't.

Overall I'm not sure why you would believe his career season is luck when that career season happens the same season he was taking enhancements. That it is a coincidence that stretches credibility.

[logan82]

[pre]Season Team GB/FB LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB IFH% BUH%

2005 Yankees 0.86 18.8 % 37.5 % 43.8 % 0.0 % 0.0 % 16.7 % 0.0 %

2006 Yankees 1.48 17.2 % 49.5 % 33.3 % 12.9 % 5.3 % 6.1 % 27.3 %

2007 Yankees 1.75 19.7 % 51.2 % 29.2 % 11.6 % 5.8 % 8.3 % 13.0 %

2008 Yankees 1.33 18.6 % 46.5 % 34.9 % 15.3 % 6.5 % 4.8 % 25.0 %

2009 Yankees 1.67 20.9 % 49.5 % 29.6 % 10.3 % 10.3 % 6.6 % 25.0 %

2010 Braves 1.51 19.0 % 48.7 % 32.2 % 7.1 % 3.1 % 9.4 % 12.5 %

2011 Royals 1.44 20.3 % 47.1 % 32.6 % 10.9 % 9.8 % 9.8 % 53.3 %

2012 Giants 2.00 21.8 % 52.2 % 26.1 % 11.7 % 10.7 % 7.3 % 71.4 %

Total - - - 1.58 19.7 % 49.1 % 31.2 % 11.3 % 7.3 % 7.7 % 29.6 %[/pre]

Looks like he has had a few more balls sneak through.

[Thurston Fluff]

What on that chart shows how hard they are hit compared to past seasons?

[Funketown]

His LD% is up 1.5 percentage points, his GB% is up 5.1 percentage points, and his FB% is down 6.5 percentage points. His xBABIP this season is .330 and I doubt it was that high in the past. So it's probably reasonable to expect a few more balls have squeaked through but his batted ball stats do suggest he should have a fairly high average on balls in play.

[LouisEly]

What the heck - LD%, GB%, FB%?!?

 

How about just looking at his career SLG%?

 

.391, .391, .341, .416, .354... then .476, .510. Yes, you would expect it to rise as he ages from 21 to 27, but that much of a spike over the last two years is rather suspicious.

[monty57]

Why did you suggest he just had more balls sneak through? Seems to me BAPIP isn't a measure of balls that sneak through as much as a measure of balls that get through. One would think balls being hit harder would have a higher rate of doing that. I think it reasonable that someone juicing would hit balls harder and increase BAPIP than when they weren't.

 

Agreed, plus steroids will make you faster, so that could lead to more infield hits.

 

But, as LouisEly said, the SLG shows a big spike, and Melky admitted to using. He's hitting less FB (steroids wouldn't really affect that) but more of his FB's are leaving the park (steroids would affect that). More of his grounders are turning into hits, and that could very well be from harder hit balls (as Thurston's quote above states) and greater speed, or it could be "balls sneaking through." Since he admitted using, I'd guess more of the former than the latter.

[logan82]

His bunt hit % is way up but his infield hit% is about the same as in previous years.(although it is hard to say how often he is bunting for hits without further digging. That number could skew very easily if he only bunts for hits on rare occasions) His fly balls are going out at a 3% higher rate than the rest of his career which would be an indication he is hitting balls harder. He is hitting balls in the air less than in any previous season.

 

.391, .391, .341, .416, .354... then .476, .510. Yes, you would expect it to rise as he ages from 21 to 27, but that much of a spike over the last two years is rather suspicious.

 

or you could look at it as he had a bad year in 2010. He had a spike in 2009 but didn't follow it up with a good year in 2010. Right within his age 25-28 seasons. SLG is going to go up and down a lot with BA. If you look at Andrew McCutchen(or Weeks for that matter) you see a similar jump in SLG and ISO.

[torts]

What the heck - LD%, GB%, FB%?!?

 

How about just looking at his career SLG%?

 

.391, .391, .341, .416, .354... then .476, .510. Yes, you would expect it to rise as he ages from 21 to 27, but that much of a spike over the last two years is rather suspicious.

 

player A career SLG%

 

.239, .179, .420, .414, .405, .408, .617, .608, .534

 

do those numbers make you suspicious?

[slappzilla]

I bet there's lots of MLB'ers who dabble in PED's. That's why I'm never naive to anyone being caught, Braun included.

 

I think a lot of MLB players just dabble in and out with PED's, hoping to miss the random tests when they're on them. Dan Patrick said the hottest PED in the minor league system is a PED that lasts 24 hours, and then is completely out of your system. With technology now a days there could be all sorts of PED's similar to that. Maybe one thatss gone within a couple of days or a week. I think those are the types of PED's players do now a days, just a guess though.

[pitchleague]

is player A Jose Bautista?

[torts]

is player A Jose Bautista?

 

ding ding

[torts]

but i was sort of hoping no one would say his name to just get a response from that poster

[pitchleague]

sorry, I knew exactly where you were going with it. Guess I shouldn't have just flown off the handle.

[nate82]

Andy Pettitte wasn't suspended, but admitted using PEDs... but iirc he said something like, 'sorry I took PEDs to try & help rehab faster so I could get back to help my team.'

 

Well they do kind of help in the healing process so I guess I can get on board with this explanation on why a player would take PEDs.

 

On another note I don't believe Bautista is taking PEDs.

[dlk9s]

So SF needs an outfielder.

 

[sarcasm]Hart for Cain?[/sarcasm]