2021 Misc. MLB News

[adambr2]

Walking is good. OBP heavy OPS is more valuable than SLG heavy OPS.

 

Sure, sometimes you luck into a walk when a pitcher lacks control but for the most part plate discipline is a necessary and valuable baseball skill.

[BruisedCrew]

Travis Shaw just walked off a win for the Red Sox with a grand slam in his first game back.

 

Nice moment for Shaw. It was the 10th inning of a tie game and an error and an intentional walk loaded the bases with nobody out.

 

It wasn’t Shaw’s first game for the Sox. He appeared in 2 previous games and had 3 PA’s.

[adambr2]

Can't believe how bad the Cubs are now. They were in 1st place less than 2 months ago.

[Underachiever]

Travis Shaw just walked off a win for the Red Sox with a grand slam in his first game back.

 

Nice moment for Shaw. It was the 10th inning of a tie game and an error and an intentional walk loaded the bases with nobody out.

 

It wasn’t Shaw’s first game for the Sox. He appeared in 2 previous games and had 3 PA’s.

I must have misheard, I guess. I swear that the announcer said that it was his first game. Oh well.

[Underachiever]

Travis Shaw just walked off a win for the Red Sox with a grand slam in his first game back.

 

Nice moment for Shaw. It was the 10th inning of a tie game and an error and an intentional walk loaded the bases with nobody out.

 

It wasn’t Shaw’s first game for the Sox. He appeared in 2 previous games and had 3 PA’s.

I must have misheard, I guess. I swear that the announcer said that it was his first game. Oh well.

Hey, I’m not crazy! He did say it.

[markedman5]

[KeithStone53151]

 

Bro, just go away already. Nobody likes you...

 

Edit - Referring to the tweet, not the poster...

[Outlander]

Fine with me, keep paying Molina and let productive players like Wong walk.

[MrTPlush]

Alright, so it appears everyone read one sentence and decided the rest of my post didn't exist....you know, the part where I said Votto was still an easy HOFer.

 

All I am saying is perception wise a high walk total/OBP isn't eye popping. I didn't say I thought it was not important or valuable. So lets just get that straight. It is going to matter when HOF voting time comes and his counting stats are lacking. When one of your main calling cards is walking, that is boring. Valuable, more valuable? Maybe, but getting votes isn't going to be as easy for that kind of player. If Votto traded .100 worth of OBP for .100 of slugging the guy would probably be on pace for 500 homers and this debate would have been done a few years ago.

 

When it comes to receiving an invitation many talk about getting to certain numbers. 500 HRs, .300 BA, etc....never, in my life, have I heard a .400 OBP being a ticket into the HOF. Todd Helton may not get in and that is probably a pretty good Votto comp. Of course Helton's peak was much shorter, never won an MVP, was good in that early 2000s era, and of course the Coors bias.

[MrTPlush]

 

His biggest knock is playing for small market Cincy his entire career and they have been mostly pathetic during that span.

 

Interesting point. Sometimes these things have a tendency to fly under the radar, believe it or not, Votto has been to the post season four times ('10,'12',13 and '20) since he broke into the major leagues in 2007 with six years between playoff appearances. Ryan Braun was in the post season five times ('08,'11, '18, '19, '20) and also went six years between playoff appearances.

 

Maybe because the losses piled up more in the lean years in Cincinnati, but certainly over the last 15 or so years the Reds and Brewers have had just about the same number of competitive teams.

 

I think when sports writers decide on who is in the Hall of Fame there is a significant bias against small town players, as opposed to penalizing a player for being on a bad team.

 

The big difference though is the fact the Brewers have some postseason success and the Reds have none. They have gone 2-9 in his career and have never won a postseason series. The Brewers have gone 12-21, but have played in 3x as many games and appeared in the NLCS twice.

 

Brewers had a few runs....the Reds are usually searching for the exit door with zero wins in hand.

[markedman5]

The Cardinals are placing right-hander Jack Flaherty back on the 10-day injured list, manager Mike Shildt announced to reporters during today’s pregame session (Twitter link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). Flaherty, who only just returned from a two-month absence due to a severe oblique strain, has now been diagnosed with a strain in his right shoulder. Shildt indicated that imaging was “mostly negative,” suggesting that there’s no major structural issue in the shoulder.

[nate82]

The Cardinals are placing right-hander Jack Flaherty back on the 10-day injured list, manager Mike Shildt announced to reporters during today’s pregame session (Twitter link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). Flaherty, who only just returned from a two-month absence due to a severe oblique strain, has now been diagnosed with a strain in his right shoulder. Shildt indicated that imaging was “mostly negative,” suggesting that there’s no major structural issue in the shoulder.

 

No structural issue but that probably means he is done for the season and so will be the Cardinals. That September schedule for the Cardinals is brutal as they play all but one series against teams competing for a playoff spot.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

The Cardinals are placing right-hander Jack Flaherty back on the 10-day injured list, manager Mike Shildt announced to reporters during today’s pregame session (Twitter link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). Flaherty, who only just returned from a two-month absence due to a severe oblique strain, has now been diagnosed with a strain in his right shoulder. Shildt indicated that imaging was “mostly negative,” suggesting that there’s no major structural issue in the shoulder.

 

No structural issue but that probably means he is done for the season and so will be the Cardinals. That September schedule for the Cardinals is brutal as they play all but one series against teams competing for a playoff spot.

 

With the Brewers scheduled to play the Cardinals 10 more times this season, I can't say this bothers me all that much.

[tmwiese55]

I have the Cards game on in the background. Not fully paying attention but they're talking about Molina playing one more year then HOF etc. Somehow they get talking about if Pujols played one more year then they could go in together, fine. Then it gets to Wainwright and him playing one more and all three at once. Been some HOF talk here. I hadn't even thought of Wainwright for it. He's at 179 Ws, 3.36 ERA, 2K strikeouts. 3x all star, no Cy Youngs. Do most think he's a HOFer? I would be really surprised if he's first ballot to line up with their talk of all 3 in the same year. I haven't done a deep dive into this or thought about it before but my instinct/gut is he's not quite at that level to make it at all. Certainly open to being wrong on that though and note I was half listening so could've missed some things.

[sveumrules]

I have the Cards game on in the background. Not fully paying attention but they're talking about Molina playing one more year then HOF etc. Somehow they get talking about if Pujols played one more year then they could go in together, fine. Then it gets to Wainwright and him playing one more and all three at once. Been some HOF talk here. I hadn't even thought of Wainwright for it. He's at 179 Ws, 3.36 ERA, 2K strikeouts. 3x all star, no Cy Youngs. Do most think he's a HOFer? I would be really surprised if he's first ballot to line up with their talk of all 3 in the same year. I haven't done a deep dive into this or thought about it before but my instinct/gut is he's not quite at that level to make it at all. Certainly open to being wrong on that though

 

Wainwright is Hall of Very Good for me. 2,332 innings of 3.42 FIP / 3.36 ERA (119 ERA+) works out to 44.5 fWAR / 39.3 bWAR.

 

Lots of people seem to think Greinke is borderline HOF and he is at 3,094 innings of 3.42 FIP / 3.37 ERA (125 ERA+) which works out to 64.2 fWAR / 69.5 bWAR.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Adam Wainwright can go into the Cardinal hall of fame, for sure....but not the MLB hall of fame. He was a good pitcher that had a very long career - but he was never a dominant pitcher in his era as evidenced by no Cy Young awards.

[Jopal78]

Adam Wainwright can go into the Cardinal hall of fame, for sure....but not the MLB hall of fame. He was a good pitcher that had a very long career - but he was never a dominant pitcher in his era as evidenced by no Cy Young awards.

 

Interesting question, certainly amongst the best pitchers in baseball for several years, but not what I'd call an All-Time Great

 

He is/was all All Time Great Brewer Killer though...

2009 5 GS against Milwaukee 36 innings pitched 5 ER and 39 strike outs

2010 3 GS against Milwaukee 25 innings pitched 4 ER and 24 strike outs

2012 3 GS against Milwaukee 21.2 innings pitched 5 ER and 22 strikeouts

2013 2 GS against Milwaukee 14.1 innings pitched 5 ER and 17 strikeouts

2014 4 GS against Milwaukee 31.1 innings pitched 10 ER and 19 strikeouts

2016 3 GS against Milwaukee 22 innings pitched 2 ER and 19 strikeouts

 

Seven complete games against the Brewers, 3 shut outs, 2.49 career ERA against Milwaukee, a 1.07 WHIP, 8K/9 and 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Edited August 25, 2021 by Jopal78!

[Underachiever]

Oh, Javy...

[jerichoholicninja]

Tony La Russa undressed another young player in his dugout again a few days ago, his catcher. Apparently over pitch selection. Ignoring that the pitcher, Lance Lynn, completely missed his spots. Also ignoring Lynn who walked right by during the tongue lashing and should have bore at least some of the blame. Maybe they can get through this year with Drunky McPlunksalot in the dugout but as soon as that team faces a slump I think it's a good bet they quit on him quick.

[nate82]

The Orioles have ended their 19-game losing streak.

[Eye Black]

The Padres and Dodgers played the longest game since the inception of the extra inning runner on second rule. The game went 16 innings and the Padres managed just 4 hits total. Their only extra base hit of the game came in the 15th on a Fernando Tatis home run. I know they got no hit recently, but playing a game for nearly 6 hours (5:49) and managing just four hits would seem almost as frustrating.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Gonna be a lot of finger pointing in the off-season if the Padres don't pull a rabbit out of the hat and grab that 2nd wild card from the Reds, which looks extremely unlikely at this point.

[PeaveyFury]

Good news for the Padres is that their farm system was so loaded that they didn't move even the bulk of their assets to setup their season and have ammo for 2022. But yeah, feels like a job-costing season for some in that org. And certainly an illustration that simply making big-name acquisitions doesn't guarantee success and you have to do it smartly.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Tony La Russa undressed another young player in his dugout again a few days ago, his catcher. Apparently over pitch selection. Ignoring that the pitcher, Lance Lynn, completely missed his spots. Also ignoring Lynn who walked right by during the tongue lashing and should have bore at least some of the blame. Maybe they can get through this year with Drunky McPlunksalot in the dugout but as soon as that team faces a slump I think it's a good bet they quit on him quick.

 

Zavala set up low and away and Lynn tossed a cookie right down the middle. Lynn, in his post game comments said it was his own fault for missing the target, and said that on 3-0 they shouldn't have thrown anything close for Vlad to hit.

 

And of course, after the game, LaRussa made zero comment about the incident with Zavala.

 

LaRussa is a miserable old sot, and I wish baseball would be done with him.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Zavala set up low and away and Lynn tossed a cookie right down the middle.

 

Definitely wasn't a center cut "cookie", was a 95 mph fastball that started off the plate and tailed back to the outer third just above the knees....actually a pitch that most hitters wouldn't even go after on 3-0. Lynn may have missed his spot where the catcher set up, but not by very much. If they wanted to make that pitch and have it end up just off the plate or on the black, the catcher probably needed to set up off the plate, not on the corner. You know LaRussa saw the replay in the dugout before the end of that 1/2 inning, where the pitch wound up, etc....

 

 

I get that people hate LaRussa, but is him getting animated with the catcher in the dugout after that situation really that terrible? I guess I don't know whether just prior to that at bat if there was any sort of mound visit to go over pitch sequence or discussion about not putting Guerrero on intentionally but instead giving him nothing close to the zone to hit to try and see if he'd get himself out.

 

He might be an insufferable blowhard, but he's a great manager....if he wasn't such a terrible human being to the point his act grows tired and has missed multiple blocks of seasons away from baseball between organizations he'd be the winningest manager in baseball history - despite that he's 2nd.