Random Thoughts About Baseball...

Discussion in 'Baseball' started by Dr. Wankler, Apr 8, 2013.

  1. riverplate

    riverplate Member+

    Jan 1, 2003
    Corona, Queens
    Club:
    CA River Plate
    Both Clayton Kershaw and Yu Darvish begin the season on the DL.

    Other news...

    MLB and Union Stiffen PED Ban - ESPN
    http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...eball-union-toughen-drug-agreement-provisions

    Mike Trout Gets Extension Thru 2020 - ESPN
    http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/...rout-los-angeles-angels-thrilled-new-contract
     
  2. KensingtonSC

    KensingtonSC Still Lazy After All These Years

    FC Vaduz / Philadelphia Union
    Jan 7, 2010
    Andalusia, PA
    Club:
    FC Vaduz
    6 straight months of regular season baseball start tonight. Gonna be a great season.

    Unless you're the Astros.
     
  3. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Hey, they'll probably win 50 again this year. That's practically two wins per week.
     
  4. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    They're a pretty solid bet to win 70 IMHO. It is hard to lose 110 games, real hard to do it twice in a row.
     
  5. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb...md=20140331&content_id=70498168&vkey=news_mlb

    Cubs make the first challenge: call confirmed...

    With the game tied 0-0, the Cubs had runners at first and second with nobody out when pitcher Jeff Samardzija bunted toward the third-base side. Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano fielded the ball and threw to third baseman Pedro Alvarez to get the runner, and he then fired to second baseman Neil Walker, who was covering first.

    Samardzija signaled safe as he crossed the bag, but first-base umpire Bob Davidson called the pitcher out. Renteria went out to talk to Davidson, and he challenged the call. After Davidson and home-plate umpire John Hirschbeck consulted with the Replay Operations Center at Major League Baseball Advanced Media's headquarters in New York, the call was confirmed. Handled by MLBAM replay technician Timothy Akins and MLB umpire Larry Vanover, the ruling was made in about 90 seconds.​


    "MLBAM Replay Technician" is a job I wish I had.
     
  6. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #131 Haole, Apr 1, 2014
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2014
    MILWAUKEE -- "Ryan Braun received a standing ovation in his first at-bat back with the Milwaukee Brewers following his 65-game suspension last season.

    The right-handed slugger drew overwhelming applause as he strode to the plate in Milwaukee's opener against the Atlanta Braves. There may have been a trickling of boos, but those were easily drowned out."

    And for those thoughtful fans in Milwaukee whose sentiments were "drowned out" - a few morsels from Mr. Clemens about just such situations:


    [​IMG]
    1..“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”

    2. "It's easier to fool people than to convince them they are being fooled"

    3. "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

    What a great way to welcome back the Clown Prince of Milwaukee - Ryan Braun.

    Shameful stuff. Plenty of cheats out there but, don't remember a flagrant, two-time offender and liar getting a standing O on his return, yet again, from another drug suspension. Silly-ass stuff from a Micky Mouse franchise.

    And the irony of Selig's history with the club and his role in Braun's latest suspension? Yikes. Gotta wonder about the mainstream baseball press as they duck under the table again when these kind of shenanigans start.
     
    Dr. Wankler repped this.
  7. KensingtonSC

    KensingtonSC Still Lazy After All These Years

    FC Vaduz / Philadelphia Union
    Jan 7, 2010
    Andalusia, PA
    Club:
    FC Vaduz
    Watching the Dodgers game, and they just said that Kershaw is probably out for 3 weeks more than originally thought. Not good news for the Dodgers. They certainly don't want to rush him back in any way.
     
  8. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Full credit to (a good chunk of the) Pirate fans at their opener, then...

    http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/03/barry-bonds-pittsburgh-pirates-mccutchen-mvp-ceremony/


    It’s a bit unfortunate if any of McCutchen’s MVP ceremony was sullied by boos aimed at Bonds, but then, the Pirates had to expect some negativity when they invited Bonds for the presentation.
    And Bonds, for his part, must know by now not to expect anything different. He’s one of the greatest players of all time, but also one of the most reviled — due both to his associations with performance-enhancing drugs and his general cantankerousness during his career. If he didn’t want to get booed, he wouldn’t ever leave his house. ​


    I watching a Pirates/Giants game when Bonds got beaned. The crowd went wild in a way I've NEVER heard a crowd go wild when a ball went off a batter's helmet.

    Incidentally, one of the Twitter commenters quoted, Dejan Kovacevic, covers the Pirates for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: He's a damn fine beat reporter.
     
    Haole repped this.
  9. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  10. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Corporate Ink Rule:

    "The nickname “Tatman” was a natural. On Monday, someone asked him if he planned to add a Red Sox logo to his artwork.

    “I don’t think I can do that," Roberts said. “They got a new rule."

    The rule isn’t new -- it has been in place at least since the current collective bargaining agreement was adopted in 2011 -- but MLB prohibits corporate markings or logos, essentially, banning tattoos that would serve as advertisements (Sorry, Samsung).

    Here’s the rule:

    No Player may have any visible corporate markings or logos tattooed on his body. In addition, no pitcher shall have markings on his body that are potentially distracting to the umpire or batter.

    Markings that are potentially distracting include tattoo(s) or other marking(s) which, in the opinion of the umpire, could interfere with the umpires’ ability to make calls, endanger the health or safety of a batter or otherwise interfere with the play of the game.

    (a) If an umpire determines that a Player’s tattoos or other markings violate the above standard, the umpire shall inform the On-Field Department of the Office of the Commissioner, which shall notify both the Player and the Players Association. The umpire will not require the Player to cover the tattoos or markings prior to being instructed to do so by the Office of the Commissioner.

    (b) If a Player desires to appeal the umpire’s decision to the Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations, he must do so within 24 hours of receiving notice. The Player will not be required to cover his tattoos or markings between the filing." -ESPN/Boston

    upload_2014-4-8_6-58-20.jpeg
     
  11. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Unnamed Exec on how to attract new fans... Make games 7 innings...

    http://t.foxsports.msn.com/mlb-exec-suggests-games-should-be-shortened-to-7-innings

    According to {Buster} Olney's post*:

    The games are often played too slowly, he noted. The audience of Major League Baseball is aging, with polls indicating that the youngest generation expects faster and fastest in what it consumes.

    At the same time, the exec said, teams are struggling to find enough good pitching -- and, at the same time, the number of injuries is skyrocketing. If oblique strains were the prevalent injury two years ago, ulnar collateral ligament strains are the ailment du jour. Top prospect Jameson Taillon of the Pirates is the latest pitcher to be headed for Tommy John surgery; maybe he'll bump into Bobby Parnell along the way.


    *No word on whether to post was dated April 1.
     
  12. KensingtonSC

    KensingtonSC Still Lazy After All These Years

    FC Vaduz / Philadelphia Union
    Jan 7, 2010
    Andalusia, PA
    Club:
    FC Vaduz
    To be fair, the games are entirely too long. There are several ways in which you can speed up the game without taking out their precious commercials. Pitchers like Bud Norris and Mark Buehrle, as soon as they get the ball back from the catcher, they're ready to throw again. It absolutely sucks when the batter isn't ready, or he's gotta step out 4 times during the at bat, or the pitcher has to take 30 seconds between pitches for several reasons. Games can be trimmed down, but no one actually wants to implement it.
     
  13. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I'm with you on that. My ideal (which won't be implemented because of the pull equipment manufacturers have): ban the batting glove and anything else that a batter might need to adjust during an at bat. That will knock a good chunk of time off the game.

    And incidentally....That's only one reason I like the Cardinal's Matt Carpenter...


    [​IMG]
     
  14. riverplate

    riverplate Member+

    Jan 1, 2003
    Corona, Queens
    Club:
    CA River Plate
    MLB Names Relief Awards After Rivera, Hoffman - ESPN
    http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10756425/mariano-rivera-trevor-hoffman-new-awards-named-them
     
  15. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  16. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Beckett last nite v. Tigers:

    Game Time: 4:16

    The Line:

    4 IP, 5 Runs, 85 pitches
     
  17. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Old stats from 2010 - the height/bottom? of the Yankee-Red Sox yawners:


    http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/pitcher-pace-time-between-pitches/

    The slowest 5 pitchers are: (circa 2010)

    Daisuke Matsuzaka – 25.9 sec.
    Matt Garza – 25.8 sec.
    Josh Beckett – 25.2 sec.
    Clay Buchholz – 24.6 sec.
    CC Sabathia – 24.6 sec.

    And the 5 fastest are:

    Mark Buehrle – 16.4 sec.
    Mike Leake – 17.6 sec.
    John Danks – 17.6 sec.
    Joe Blanton – 17.6 sec.
    Clayton Richard – 17.7 sec.


    Joe Blanton a personal favorite. Big Joe just throws - whatever he's got that day - slow junk, cutters, sneaky fastball - he just walks out and starts tossing. Angel fans notwithstanding, he's a fun guy to watch. SloToss softball meets Hardball.
     
  18. KensingtonSC

    KensingtonSC Still Lazy After All These Years

    FC Vaduz / Philadelphia Union
    Jan 7, 2010
    Andalusia, PA
    Club:
    FC Vaduz
    Holy crap. I started watching that game last night, fell asleep at midnight, and it was only going to the bottom of the 5th. This is one of the things that makes baseball really painful to watch at times.
     
  19. KensingtonSC

    KensingtonSC Still Lazy After All These Years

    FC Vaduz / Philadelphia Union
    Jan 7, 2010
    Andalusia, PA
    Club:
    FC Vaduz
    That's interesting. Yesterday, Leake was pitching against the Cards and his game wrapped up in 2:19. Some of the players were complaining that he was quick pitching, and wasn't giving them a chance in the box. The O's Bud Norris is also a quick worker, but teams found out that if they stall him by stepping out after every pitch, he gets frustrated and he can be beaten easily. It's worse if he's got runners on base.
     
  20. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yea, we were taught to step out and stall. Especially early when some guy's amped up and throwing Big Heat. Works but, some guys (Lackey comes to mind) would then come in on you tight to up the ante.

    Big Papi's made a science out of the stall - hand up to ump, step out, swing, step back, tap your shin guard and ready to roll.
     
  21. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  22. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Replay scorecard to date:

    "Umpires are now 59/89 (.663 Affirmation Rate) in Replay Reviews during the 2014 MLB season."

    More from Closecallsports.com:

    http://www.closecallsports.com/

    [​IMG]
     
  23. riverplate

    riverplate Member+

    Jan 1, 2003
    Corona, Queens
    Club:
    CA River Plate
    Wow. I'm surprised to see the umps have only been right 2/3rds of the time. That's pretty poor.
     
  24. Haole

    Haole Member

    Feb 14, 2005
    costa mesa, ca
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Really. This will be interesting come playoffs time.
     
  25. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    Wrong way to measure it?

    On a quick and dirty calculation/estimate the umpires have made something like 21000 reviewable calls so far this season. Of those something on the order of .0042 have been challenged and .0014 overturned.

    I've actually been pretty impressed at the restraint of the managers in not challenging close calls when they have a challenge left...

    Keep in mind something approaching 20 percent of the challenges that have been made have been in regard to the new "transfer rule" which is a mess and producing counterintuitive results. Umps are around 50% on that one.
     

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