MLB 2021: it’s baseball season!

[Dan Gould]

11 minutes ago, Dub Modal said:

Rodon was one errant pitch away from a perfect game. Oh well, the no-hitter will do. 

 

Did you think that was the right call at first base. None of the angles were very good and it looked to me that the 1B's foot/leg didn't stop moving - indicating contact with the base - before the runners hand arrived. I think the upholding of the call might have been based mostly on getting the out call in real time. Not enough video evidence to overturn, but if the call was safe, they would have upheld that too. 

[Dub Modal]

Just now, Dan Gould said:

I think the upholding of the call might have been based mostly on getting the out call in real time.

Yeah, I think this is what it was with lack of video evidence as you say. 

[Dan Gould]

I think this Sox fan (the other color) has to enjoy this start while he can. Second best record in the league, second best run differential.

There are elements of the roster to watch - Dalbec has a sweet stroke and serious power, Tanner Houk looks for real though he isn't even up with the team yet, there's a Japanese middle-reliever who has an electric fastball, JD Martinez seems to be back, and of course there is Ottavino and a Yankee minor league starter, stolen thru the Rule V draft, who looks good so far ... but its a marathon not a sprint and the real talent will prove itself in this division.

[JSngry]

Just now, Dan Gould said:

I think this Sox fan (the other color) has to enjoy this start while he can.

You might get a kick out of Morning Joe. Scarborough, Mike Barnacle, and Jonathan Lemire have this running Red Sox commentary/schtick that they will interject at damn near any point, much to Mika's "chagrin". At times, it gets rolling and has me LOL-ing at too early in the AM to be healthy.

[Dan Gould]

Hmm ... too bad I don't engage in any TV commentary in the mornings, just see a little bit of local news post-coffee & Internet and before the horses get moved so Sue can work on stalls.

[soulpope]

https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/remembering-fernandomania-40-years-later

[ghost of miles]

Madison Bumgarner’s 7-inning no-hitter

If 7-inning doubleheader games are here to stay (having been retained by MLB after being introduced during last year’s pandemic-shortened season), then the 1991 statistical rule/definition, made when there were no such games, needs to be updated. Pitchers who throw all 7 innings and/or don’t give up a run are being officially credited with complete games and shutouts; why suddenly change that when it comes to defining a no-hitter? To me, the logic comes from the game reaching its intended length (as opposed to a weather-shortened game that was supposed to go 9 innings, or 7 in the case of a doubleheader).  

[JSngry]

Did they change the rules during any other war?

[ghost of miles]

On 4/15/2021 at 9:43 AM, Dan Gould said:

a Yankee minor league starter, stolen thru the Rule V draft, who looks good so far ... but its a marathon not a sprint and the real talent will prove itself in this division.

Garrett Whitlock, and you'll be happy to know that Yankee fans continue to suffer heartburn over the organization's failure to protect him.  As for the AL East, I feel as if the pre-season conversations I had with several friends and fellow MLB fans are holding true--that the division will be a bloodbath, with the Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees all capable of finishing with anywhere from 80 to 95 wins.  (And yes, I know the consensus is that Boston's playing over their heads, but I always felt that Cora's return, among other things, would enable them to outperform expectations. And JD has certainly regained his pre-2020 form.)

[Dan Gould]

45 minutes ago, ghost of miles said:

Garrett Whitlock, and you'll be happy to know that Yankee fans continue to suffer heartburn over the organization's failure to protect him.  As for the AL East, I feel as if the pre-season conversations I had with several friends and fellow MLB fans are holding true--that the division will be a bloodbath, with the Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees all capable of finishing with anywhere from 80 to 95 wins.  (And yes, I know the consensus is that Boston's playing over their heads, but I always felt that Cora's return, among other things, would enable them to outperform expectations. And JD has certainly regained his pre-2020 form.)

I am just going to enjoy while it lasts before everyone returns to what should be their rational level.  We are already seeing signs of it on the Sox roster, though I have to say E-Rod's return and performance is very pleasing.  Maybe if they somehow hang in to the summer they get Sale back but the guy isn't even throwing off a mound. With his surgery I can't imagine them rushing him back before end of July. And it might be miraculous if, right away, he is the Sale of old.

[JSngry]

 

[ghost of miles]

May 20 and we’ve already had six no-hitters after Turnbull and Kluber’s back-to-back outings this week—only one away from tying the MLB season record. If Bumgarner’s had counted we’d already be there. Is the collective league BA still running at a near-alltime low? Have the pitching ghosts of 1968 reincarnated in the three-true-outcomes era? 

[JSngry]

Hell, if I could get the ball to the plate, I could probably pitch a no-hitter the way that batters swing today.

Seriously, power uber alles, and shift, what shift, what other way, what finesse, what....baseball?

Who will come along and "revolutionize" this modern game by simply hitting them where they ain't?

And my Scarborough/Barnacle/Geist combo lost serious cred with me this morning by crediting that to Pee Wee Reese instead of Wee Willie Keeler. They all got cells on set, they all get people correcting them about shit, and they go to the mat for Pee Wee Reese.

The stupidity of the play is infecting the fans now, Pee Wee Reese, all of them, just going with Pee Wee Resse (who, by the way, they were sad to inform us was dead now,). Who will be Baseball Jesus now? Or, for that matter, John the Bunterist?

However, I will give Barnacle credit for saying that the strike zone for Kluber's game last night was "as big as a cow's ass".

Mika's back tomorrow.

[Dan Gould]

Red Sox second in league in BA at .263, Yanks at .227 (essentially tied in home runs). 

In the end, if it stays that way, will it matter? The Sox seem to have stocked the roster with power hitters yet are also hitting for a decent average. 

Let's just say I am not totally in love with the modern game but I'll keep watching as long as my teams are in the race.

 

[ghost of miles]

1 hour ago, Dan Gould said:

Red Sox second in league in BA at .263, Yanks at .227 (essentially tied in home runs). 

In the end, if it stays that way, will it matter? The Sox seem to have stocked the roster with power hitters yet are also hitting for a decent average. 

Let's just say I am not totally in love with the modern game but I'll keep watching as long as my teams are in the race.

 

AL East is shaping up, much as I thought, to be a real dogfight. I think everybody but the O’s has a shot at winning it, and it could end up with four teams winning 85-95 games. If the Nats decide to sell Scherzer mid-season and either Boston or Toronto (which hasn’t even had George Springer in the lineup regularly yet) nabs him, look out. 

Edited May 20, 2021 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

ESPN stats & info feed says last night’s Yankees-White Sox game was the first in modern MLB history (since 1900) in which both starting pitchers struck out at least 10 and allowed no runs or walks.

[GA Russell]

Mudcat Grant has died at 85.  RIP.  He was a favorite of mine with the Indians and the Twins.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31620189/jim-mudcat-grant-al-first-black-20-game-winner-dies-85

[ghost of miles]

Glasnow blames UCL injury on MLB’s sticky-substance crackdown

... much as the pitcher-batter dynamic has tilted too much in favor of the pitchers, this sudden lurch from one extreme to the other in the middle of a season, with a clumsy heavy-handedness worthy of Manfred’s maladroit leadership in general, does seem f’d up from the pitchers’ POV. 

[Dan Gould]

7 minutes ago, ghost of miles said:

Glasnow blames UCL injury on MLB’s sticky-substance crackdown

... much as the pitcher-batter dynamic has tilted too much in favor of the pitchers, this sudden lurch from one extreme to the other in the middle of a season, with a clumsy heavy-handedness worthy of Manfred’s maladroit leadership in general, does seem f’d up from the pitchers’ POV. 

Well, yes and no. Maybe it could have been done in between seasons, but when did they start looking at this?  I think of sunscreen as slippery but that was what Glasnow was using? And why should foreign substances be tolerated under any circumstances? One thing that isn't so f-ed up for pitchers is that they may serve a 10 game suspension but its with pay.  Wouldn't be that way if they were emptying their pockets and an emery board came flying out while pretending it was nothing.

[Dan Gould]

Strange to have such a quiet baseball thread this deep into the season. Is it all quiet Yankee fans with little to talk about?  The Mets are in first place in a weak division ... Aside from the Red Sox you have the Giants as major surprises - and three very good teams in the NL West.  And Houston rolling right along.

At the moment I think Houston has the best shot at a trip the World Series in the AL. Red Sox need to win the division to have much of a shot - and they have to field better to do that, not to mention better starting pitching. Can Sale make a difference in August-September?  That would be a huge addition if he is the Sale of old, and I do think its smarter to keep him a starter than as a bullpen weapon. 5-6 innings of ace starter is big, I do think the bullpen is more than capable of handling the load the way that it has so far.

[ghost of miles]

I’m in trainwreck-watching mode re the Yankees—main drama now is whether or not they keep their seasons-above-.500 streak alive. They’re not even currently in contention for the second wildcard spot. And I’m full of I-told-ya-so (to AL East watchers in general) about the Red Sox and the Rays, though I honestly did expect NY to be slugging it out with them at this point. Cora and Chaim Bloom are as good at maximizing talent as the Yankees are bad at it (outside of the occasional exception such as Gio Urshela—but for every Gio, there are several players they seem to screw up or fail to develop effectively), and the Rays can always be counted on to field a 90+ wins team.  And yeah, agree that Houston right now looks like the best bet to take the AL pennant.

[Dan Gould]

10 minutes ago, ghost of miles said:

I’m in trainwreck-watching mode re the Yankees—main drama now is whether or not they keep their seasons-above-.500 streak alive. They’re not even currently in contention for the second wildcard spot. 

The remarkable thing is the runs scored stat, only two runs better than Detroit for dead last in the league???  That's insane for a Yankee team. Their runs allowed is actually quite good, barely worse than Houston and third best in the league. I guess the question is which will get better/worse in the second half? The starting pitching ought to regress and the offense should get closer to normal, is my guess.

[Dan Gould]

Five MLB.com reporters (four of them beat reporters for the Red Sox, Jays, Rays and Yankees) all pick the Red Sox to win the East.

https://www.mlb.com/news/roundtable-which-team-will-win-al-east

Sounds like the kiss of death to me.

[jlhoots]

While no one has been watching, the Brewers have won 11 in a row!!

[Dan Gould]

1 minute ago, jlhoots said:

While no one has been watching, the Brewers have won 11 in a row!!

Oh, I have been watching because the Cubs have matched them, more or less, only in the other direction. Pathetic timing for team-wide suckitude. They have a small window now to avoid being sellers at the end of the month, and that will be more or less it for the championship team. Sad.