2021 Misc. MLB News

[Dragonbait]

I was impressed that LaRussa was able to get there in a straight line.

[homer]

Votto just went yard again against the Cubs. After crossing home plate, gave a little double-thumbs "this guy" to the back of the jersey for the fans.

 

He is on quite the heater.

 

He is still on a heater.

[RollieTime]

LaRussa came sprinting out of the dugout after Jose Abreu got pegged in the head and made contact with the opposing catcher slightly pushing him. I absolutely can’t stand that dude, but if he’s not suspended, that’s a big failure on MLB. The catcher was trying to make sure the hitter was okay. He incited the benches clearing very clearly.

 

'Sprinting' is being pretty generous. He looked like he was using an elliptical.

 

As fast as an 80 year old man can move on an elliptical! Now that you say that, that’s exactly how it looks too

[RollieTime]

I was impressed that LaRussa was able to get there in a straight line.

 

This went right over my head until about the 4th time I read it. Nice!

[folly412]

So the Mets didn't sign Kumar Rocker, supposedly over health concerns. Boras puts out a statement denying that, with evidence backing the claim.

 

Strange stuff. Further down the rabbit hole, Rocker won't be returning to Vanderbilt and can't play in affiliated ball until he's drafted again and signs.

 

[sarcasm]Maybe he will sign with the Fon Du Lac Dock Spiders and the Northwoods League stuff that scrolls at the bottom endlessly during the Bally telecasts will almost have a point.[/sarcasm]

[jjfanec]

I haven't looked in a while but Trent Grisham has really struggled of late. His OPS is at .762. He is 6 for his last 50. Urias is at .748. This is why you wait a while to judge a trade. The Lauer and Davies part of the trade looks quite different too

[pacopete4]

I haven't looked in a while but Trent Grisham has really struggled of late. His OPS is at .762. He is 6 for his last 50. Urias is at .748. This is why you wait a while to judge a trade. The Lauer and Davies part of the trade looks quite different too

 

Interesting. I hadn’t looked either. Knowing all we know now, I’m glad this trade was made. Urias is a bright spot and Lauer has shown flashes of success and has had a nice season.

[adambr2]

Keep in mind that Grisham is widely considered an elite defensive player and plays a premium defensive position. Even with his struggles he is STILL on pace for a 4 WAR season.

 

I will definitely admit though that this trade looks much closer than I ever thought would have happened at the early part of this season. I believe that Urias had more years of control over Grisham when we acquired him too and Lauer certainly more than Davies which factors into the values as well.

[wildcat2237]

IMHO Urias has actually been better than Grisham, or at least its close. They have a relatively simlar number of PA's.

 

Urias has more HR and an OBP that only trails by .002. Urias is a utliltiy infielder and Grishma is a centerfielder.

 

Grisham is either going to need a higher OBP or more power as a starting OF.

[adambr2]

IMHO Urias has actually been better than Grisham, or at least its close. They have a relatively simlar number of PA's.

 

Urias has more HR and an OBP that only trails by .002. Urias is a utliltiy infielder and Grishma is a centerfielder.

 

Grisham is either going to need a higher OBP or more power as a starting OF.

 

Yes, Grisham is a CF. Big difference between offensive expectations between a CF and corner OF.

[Outlander]

I believe that Urias had more years of control over Grisham when we acquired him too and Lauer certainly more than Davies which factors into the values as well.

They will be free agents the same year. However Urias has a shot at being super 2 for the 2022 season while Grisham will not pending no changes to the bargaining agreement.

[jjfanec]

Keep in mind that Grisham is widely considered an elite defensive player and plays a premium defensive position. Even with his struggles he is STILL on pace for a 4 WAR season.

 

I will definitely admit though that this trade looks much closer than I ever thought would have happened at the early part of this season. I believe that Urias had more years of control over Grisham when we acquired him too and Lauer certainly more than Davies which factors into the values as well.

 

You are correct that Grisham playing CF is a big part of his value. That is what will likely keep this trade close going forward.

 

On the pitching side it is hard to grade since the Padres flipped Davies and it helped get them Darvish but there was a lot more to that trade than Davies. At the same time Lauer has looked like a guy who could be a back of the rotation under a cheap salary. That definitely has value

[Jopal78]

The injuries have really destroyed the Cardinal pitching rotation.

 

Their rotation is now Wainwright, Kim, LeBlanc (5.14 FIP), Lester (5.41 FIP) and JA Happ (5.40).

 

Yet, after acquiring Arenado it is their offense that is near the bottom of the league in Runs scored (12/15), homeruns (10/15), OBP (14/15) and SLG% (10/15).

 

From a potential juggernaut to a complete mess.

[stoutdude04]

They knew Milwaukee can't hit soft tossing lefties, so they loaded up for our 13 games or whatever.

[adambr2]

Does a no-hitter that isn't a shutout really deserve a no-hitter alert on MLB.com?

[JohnBriggs12]

Anthony Rendon out for the year. 58 games and a .712 OPS for $28 million in 2021. $190 million left on contract. Makes Yellie look like a bargain.

 

Maybe they'll pick up Travis Shaw.

[jerichoholicninja]

I have nothing against players getting paid big bucks but these huge, long term contracts are always a disaster yet every idiot fan and media dolt calls teams cheap or greedy when they don't sign guys to one.

[Underachiever]

I have nothing against players getting paid big bucks but these huge, long term contracts are always a disaster yet every idiot fan and media dolt calls teams cheap or greedy when they don't sign guys to one.

My hope for the next CBA is a path for players to get to their money sooner so that there can be some more middle ground in salaries.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I assume the Jeffress saga has been hashed out here somewhere but couldn't find where. I was under the impression Jeffress fired agent39 in 2020, but I came across this Tweet

 

 

Anyone know what happened here? Of course what sent me down this rabbit hole was thinking JJ can't possibly be worse than what we have going on right now, can he?

[PeaveyFury]

I think that was discussed around that time someplace here, possibly in a TR thread. Yes, Josh was fired by JJ before whatever this thing is/was.

[sveumrules]

Looks like JJ currently has an 8.22 ERA with 10 K / 7 BB over 7.2 IP with the Lexington Legends of the independent Atlantic League.

 

Brandon Phillips is hitting 275/318/480 for Lexington & has even stolen four bags at age forty.

[KeithStone53151]

I haven't seen anything about this posted yet. He's more or less getting a slap on the wrist at worst from the law for some seriously nasty stuff. I suspect we will unfortunately see him play baseball next year.

 

https://foxsportsradio.iheart.com/content/2021-07-29-prosecutors-ditch-felony-charge-on-marcel-ozuna-after-seeing-bodycam-video/

[endaround]

The Cubs know the when you are the house, wining or losing does not matter, all that matters is the vig:

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31967120/take-the-sportsbook-betting-site-next-wrigley-field-approved

[Underachiever]

The Pirates are doing a masterful job of breaking the Reds for good. Once Pittsburgh comes back from being down 7-0, Cincinnati will be done.

[brewcrewdue80]

Jimmy Nelson requires elbow surgery and may be out of baseball til 2023. Hate to see it.