2010 MLB Season

[WorldB3]

I was at a Kenny Rogers game when he pitched for the A's with a no hitter with one or two outs in the 9th and Kent Hrbek for the Twins broke it up with a bunt single.

It was pretty bush league in my opinion.

fwiw - Braden said he was cool with the bunt attempt yesterday and took it as a compliment.

[Quincy]

The Dow is up 359 points, so I guess the market liked the perfect game.

Edited May 10, 2010 by Quincy

[Dave James]

Between the recently released biography on Willie Mays and this new one reviewed below, The Last Hero, A Life Of Henry Aaron, it's been a pretty good few months for baseball books.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/books/10book.html?hpw

[PHILLYQ]

With the bunting a lot depends on the situation- there was a game where a guy was working on a no-hitter, up 2-0 and a guy bunted to try and get on. The hitter was roudly criticized, but if he gets on and the next guy hits one out it's a tie game.

Bunting to get on when you're on the short end of a 20-0 score in a potential no-no is rather weak in my book. I always want to see a clean hit break up a no-no or perfect game. YMMV

[ghost of miles]

With the bunting a lot depends on the situation- there was a game where a guy was working on a no-hitter, up 2-0 and a guy bunted to try and get on. The hitter was roudly criticized, but if he gets on and the next guy hits one out it's a tie game.

Bunting to get on when you're on the short end of a 20-0 score in a potential no-no is rather weak in my book. I always want to see a clean hit break up a no-no or perfect game. YMMV

If it's the 8th or 9th inning and you're getting beaten badly (whatever our definition of that may be...let's say 5 runs or more going into the 8th), yeah, I think bunting at that point looks more like an out-and-out attempt to simply break up the no-hitter. Down by 4 with the other pitcher not even halfway through the game? At that point it's still very competitive and you're simply trying to get on base and hopefully score, keeping your team competitive.

EDIT: Yahoo sports columnist checks in with a yahoo-worthy analysis.

Edited May 11, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Dave James]

ESPN is reporting that Ken Griffey Jr. was found napping in the clubhouse during a game last week when Dan Wakamatsu went to use him as a pinch hitter. Given the Mariners trials and tribulations so far in 2010, this gives new meaning to the expression "You Snooze, You Lose."

Edited May 11, 2010 by Dave James

[ghost of miles]

Hats off to Valverde--he struck out Swisher, Teixeira, and Rodriguez to save the game for Detroit. Outside of a questionable called third strike on Tex, it was just overpowering, wicked stuff--almost entirely splitters.

Joba struck out the side as well in the bottom of the 8th, but much less impressive--it was the 7/8/9 hitters in the Detroit lineup.

Edited May 11, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Chalupa]

With the bunting a lot depends on the situation- there was a game where a guy was working on a no-hitter, up 2-0 and a guy bunted to try and get on. The hitter was roudly criticized, but if he gets on and the next guy hits one out it's a tie game.

Bunting to get on when you're on the short end of a 20-0 score in a potential no-no is rather weak in my book. I always want to see a clean hit break up a no-no or perfect game. YMMV

If it's the 8th or 9th inning and you're getting beaten badly (whatever our definition of that may be...let's say 5 runs or more going into the 8th), yeah, I think bunting at that point looks more like an out-and-out attempt to simply break up the no-hitter. Down by 4 with the other pitcher not even halfway through the game? At that point it's still very competitive and you're simply trying to get on base and hopefully score, keeping your team competitive.

EDIT: Yahoo sports columnist checks in with a yahoo-worthy analysis.

I like his analysis but, I don't agree with his conclusion.

I have trouble with this,"I think bunting at that point looks more like an out-and-out attempt to simply break up the no-hitter." What's wrong with trying to break up a no-no?? Look nobody wants to go down as being on the team that had a no-hitter/perfect game thrown against them so whatever you have to do to escape that fate you do it. YMMV.

I like some of the responses in the comments... (all grammatical/spelling errors have been preserved)

A batters job is to get on base any way he can. If the pitcher is trowing great that day, maybe a bunt is the only way to get on. The media and the fans may not like it but the players understand. They may [profane] about it if the bunt is the only hit, but they would and should do the same thing.

what is this crap. so a batter cannot challenge the pitcher's or infielders' fielding abilities or suddenly he can only operate the bat consistent with his previous at-bats simply because of the timing or the team's hit count?

Another thing, what about the players who's hits are significantly made up of infield hits or bunt singles? What's the difference? If Juan Pierre comes up and breaks up a no no with a bunt single why is that wrong?

Next thing you know there will be an unwritten rule for having a green light on a 3-0 count during a no no...

What Longoria did was fine even if his team was down by 10 runs and it was ninth inning. If you can't handle a bunt attempt then you aren't perfect. The other team doesn't want to be on the other end of a no-no or perfect game and you should expect them to do whatever they can to avoid it. If the other team is expected to cooperate it wouldn't be much of an accomplishement.

I don't have a problem with bunting to break up a no-hitter at any time. Teams can score runs in the 9th inning just as easily as they can in the 1st inning. To just roll over and allow a team to get a no-hitter or a perfect game is poor sportsmanship in my book. That pitcher needs to earn it and if Longoria wants to bunt to get on base, then let him. I know i wouldn't stand idly by and root for the other pitcher to finish his perfect game bid.

[Dan Gould]

Hats off to Valverde--he struck out Swisher, Teixeira, and Rodriguez to save the game for Detroit. Outside of a questionable called third strike on Tex, it was just overpowering, wicked stuff--almost entirely splitters.

Pretty certain those were sliders, not splitters. I've never seen anyone throw splitters with horizontal as well as vertical movement, plus they should look like fastballs until they break late and straight down on the ground.

And Valverde is more of a punk than K-Rod or Joba or any of the people I've criticized. Jumping up and down after the first and second outs of the ninth? Win the fucking game first, asshole, then you can celebrate like a putz!

[BERIGAN]

Valverde has always been quite...Animated on the mound. Interesting talk about whether it was sliders or splits. I saw the end of the game since it ran over the beginning of baseball tonight(which I DVR every day) and I saw his pitches. The espn guys said splitters, but it did seem like some slider action on pitches to Tex.

Some digging around shows what those probably were....cutters. Though cutters usually don't drop like that, do they???...hmmm, well they say he has amazing control of his splitter.

"He's big, strong, with outstanding stuff, and a guy with a lot of personality," Leyland said of Valverde. "Great arm, and a pretty nasty split (split-finger fastball).

"And he's smart, smart, smart. You can tell by the way he talks. He's got a good sense of what's going on. He's got a good feel for people -- a good people person."

It's his fastball the Tigers most love. Valverde throws a four-seam blazer that can approach 100 mph. It tends to ride high in the strike zone, making it tough for batters to lay off, or to get in front of it. He also has a boring fastball, a cutter, which can sail in on the hands of a left-hand batter or shatter the bat of a right-hander when it cuts across the front half of the plate.

"He pitches off his fastball, which is good," said Tigers catcher Gerald Laird, "but that split is pretty nasty. The thing with him is, he has command of the split. A lot of guys who throw it don't know where it's gonna go."

From The Detroit News: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:pU9L1JwCdmEJ:detnews.com/article/20100309/SPORTS0104/3090337/Tigers-closer-Jose-Valverde-is-no-lightweight+detroit+closer+jose&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us#ixzz0nctHt7E4

Edited May 11, 2010 by BERIGAN

[mikelz777]

Re: earlier posts. Why would anyone criticize any kind of effort to break up a no-hitter? It shouldn't matter whether it's a 1-run game or a 10-run game. What's a team supposed to do, just lay down and let it happen? Make the pitcher earn it and preserve what a great accomplishment it is without cheapening it. What team wants to say that they couldn't get a hit off a pitcher? If I were coaching, I would want my players to get a hit no matter how it came about or no matter how far behind we might be. I'd be ticked off if they didn't do everything within their power to get at least 1 hit.

Edited May 11, 2010 by mikelz777

[Chalupa]

Angry A-Rod Man Pitches Perfect Game

[Dave James]

Even though the Yankee dropped their second straight game to the Tigers today, Javier Vazquez had an encouraging outing. He threw seven innings, struck out seven and gave up only five hits. If you're a Yankee fan, you've got to cross your fingers and hope he's turned a corner.

[papsrus]

Even though the Yankee dropped their second straight game to the Tigers today ...

Mmmm .. that is good news. Hadn't checked the scores yet today.

[Dave James]

Paps,

Stay tuned. The Yanks and Tigers play the second half of a twin bill starting in just a few minutes. Hughes vs. Bonderman. It's on ESPN. Me? I can be found watching Montreal and Pittsburg in game 7 of the NHL Eastern Conference semi-finals.

[papsrus]

Paps,

Stay tuned. The Yanks and Tigers play the second half of a twin bill starting in just a few minutes. Hughes vs. Bonderman. It's on ESPN. Me? I can be found watching Montreal and Pittsburg in game 7 of the NHL Eastern Conference semi-finals.

I might join you there. Or at least do a little toggling.

[ghost of miles]

Phil Hughes returned the favor for NY, going 7 IP, no runs given up, 8 Ks. I'm starting to feel more confident with Hughes on the mound than even CC...Yankees up 8-0 going into the bottom of the 9th, so, barring an apocalyptic rally, NY will split the doubleheader. Great to see Javy have such a good start earlier today, even if the offense couldn't come through for him.

[Chalupa]

David Ortiz

[papsrus]

Biggest surprise so far -- The Nationals.

[Dan Gould]

David Ortiz

Ortiz is also a good four weeks ahead of last year's home run pace - which did see him lead the AL in homers after June 1 or something. I'd dare say that ever since Tito enforced the DH platoon with Lowell, Ortiz has come out of the worst of his problems. I would not count him out.

FYI, and I'm just sayin', that DH platoon is costing 25.5 million dollars a year.

[Neal Pomea]

A good pitching performance tonight against the Rockies for Livan Hernandez might put Washington atop the pitching triple crown standings: Livan Hernandez for era, Tyler Clippard for wins, and Matt Capps for saves. Much improved over last year!

Clippard's on a pace to match Elroy Face (18-1 in '59)!

[Dan Gould]

And BTW, Papi hit a three-run shot in the top of the first tonight, described by the Globe blogger as traveling "450 feet into a walkway in rightcenter that few players have reached since the opeing of Comerica Park."

Then he followed it up with a solo blast in his second at-bat, 394 feet to right field.

So maybe, just maybe, Papi is about to start taking out some frustration on a lot of pitchers.

And here's an interesting set of stats. As of this morning, these are the Red Sox' rankings in the majors:

Home runs: 2nd

Doubles: 3rd

Total bases: 2nd

OBP: 5th

Slugging: 2nd

OPS: 2nd

that's been accomplished with very minimal contribution from Ortiz and V-Mart, and missing Ellsbury and Cameron for a good chunk of the season to date. They ought to have the pitching to compete in the East, and its obvious they have good hitting and ought to hit more as players start to play to their historical level.

They've dug a helluva hole for themselves but I don't think its over yet.

[ghost of miles]

Dan, I don't think it's over for Boston by any stretch of the imagination--they're only 5.5 games out of first, and we're not even 1/4 of the way through the season! Plus the Bosox were supposed to be built around pitching and defense this year, and yet, as you point out, they're tearing the cover off the ball so far.

Tonight's NY-Minnesota game--I didn't get a chance to tune in and have been poring over the recaps and highlights. So let me get this straight--Gardenhire intentionally walks Tex to load the bases for A-Rod with one out...then brings in a reliever (Guerrier) against whom A-Rod is already 4-6 with 3 HR lifetime? Wow... we'll take it!

[Dan Gould]

Intriguing stats:

David Ortiz hit .143/.238/.286 in April with one homer and four RBI over 16 games. Through nine games in May he is at .333/.361/.818 with five homers and 11 RBI. And he gets the start tonight against Dontrelle Willis, which means Lowell must be ticked off.

Jon Lester is 3-0 with an 0.98 ERA in his last four starts, allowing only 14 hits over 27.2 innings while striking out 30. His ERA has dropped from 8.44 to 3.71 in that stretch.

Dustin Pedroia through 36 games: .297/.361/.547 with eight homers and 25 RBI.

Dustin Pedroia through 36 games in 2008 when he was the MVP: .304/.344/.419 with one homer and 19 RBI.

Given his history of hitting much better as the year goes on, he may be primed for a very big season.

And finally, since April 20, the Red Sox are 15-8. Only the Padres at 15-7 have been better. Which means, its probably good that the bats haven't been the problem. So long as the Padres are in playoff contention, you can forget about Adrian Gonzales going anywhere.

[Tim McG]

Biggest surprise so far -- The Nationals.

I'd add the Padres to that list.

These guys are just playing over their heads.