Baseball Thread May 2008

The Game Room
141

[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever]
It also helped that he could (in the beginning of his run as Yankee skipper) pull up some of the finest righty and lefty setup men in front of the best closer in baseball history.

I agree with you, though. Hell, if it were all up to me, I’d have a hard time not bringing up youngsters for a week, even if they’re just on the pine.
[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, there’s limitations on bringing guys up and sending them down, and financial implications, and having them on the 40-man roster, yadda yadda yadda. The financial implications have made teams afraid of bringing up guys too early because they’re worried the player who’s be productive at first and then will start making big bucks earlier. You’ve got major and linor league option limitations, revocable and irrevocable waivers, roster limits, mutual funds, Venn diagrams and second derivatives; it’s all insanely complicated and to be quite honest I don’t fully understand it all because it’s like trying to understand the tax code. In fact, my understanding is that the full MLB roster rules aren’t formally made public. Every now and then something happens, like a Blue Jay scrub will get nabbed by some other team, and I’ll be surprised because I didn’t realize that guy was “out of options,” but this other guy wasn’t. “Hey, why could they take him?”

It’d be interesting to see how those negotiations play out. How do the owners do that without putting a lot more guys a year closer to arbitration? There’d be some interesting tradeoffs.

But that said, I think what is going to end up happening is that teams will stop carrying 13 pitchers, and will eventually get down to 11, and maybe even 10 early in the year. Four-man rotations will come back eventually. It just doesn’t make any sense to have as many pitchers as they do. A few times already this year the Jays have brought some guy in to pitch and my reaction has been “Hey, Tallet’s back,” and he’d been there all the time, he just hadn’t been used in a week.

Going to 26 or 27 players might have some unintended negative consequences; you might get more specialization, rather than seeing generalists come back into the game. You might see some guy decide to carry fourteen or fifteen pitchers, God help us all.

142

[QUOTE=RickJay]
The offense is just so unbelievably, and consistently, bad that the starting pitchers must be thinking “I have to pitch a shutout or I’ll lose.” When you’re getting no support at all, it must be tremendously disheartening.
[/QUOTE]
This is what’s happening to the Mariners.

Starting pitching is pretty good. Bedard is as advertised. Hernandez is still young and occasionally foolish but is nevertheless an asset. Silva’s a workmanlike innings-eater. Ditto Washburn, a rung down on the talent scale. Batista is wildly inconsistent but turns in a stellar performance as often as he gets torched. Backup starter Baek is serviceable. Bullpen isn’t as good as last year but is acceptable.

But the defense is mediocre, and offensive performance is horrifying. Yesterday was the first time in twenty tries they were able to overcome a two-run deficit. Read that again if you don’t believe me: in nineteen previous contests, when the opposition got two runs ahead, the game was over.

And the losses aren’t even scrappy (and entertaining) failures. They’re just boring and listless.

The M’s were a long shot to do anything notable this year, but the massive early collapse is simply stunning. Second or third place was expected; but a smoking crater? WTF?

143

[QUOTE=Cervaise]
But the defense is mediocre, and offensive performance is horrifying.
[/QUOTE]

A lot of people are complaining that their teams can’t hit, so I looked it up; AL teams are averaging 4.4 runs per game. That’s actually lower than the NL (4.6) and half a run lower than last year. That’s a freakin’ ton of runs; it’s as if every team replaced its best hitter with Craig Monroe.

Seattle, Toronto and Kansas City are all scoring fewer than 4 runs a game. In the previous ten years, only 3 AL teams managed to do that all season; the 1998 Rays, who were a first year expansion, and the 2002-2003 Tigers, rightly considered among the worst teams ever assembled.

I guess the 'roids are wearing off!

144

And that’s another awesome point. Does anyone know how long it takes for steroids to get out of someone’s system?

That’s assuming that they’re not finding some other more covert way to do the drugs, of course.

145

[QUOTE=What Exit?]
This brings up a good point. The bullpens have creeped up to a huge size now. Many teams have 13 pitchers, leaving only 4 bench players on AL teams. The days of three catchers are long gone now. You rarely even see the old generalist of C-1B-LF.

Is it time for baseball to work some deal with the Union to expand the team size upwards by 1 or 2 players?

What is not happening in the minors that the multipurpose catcher has disappeared from the game? They use to be common.

Would the Union trade the DH for a 26 man team? This would add two bench spots to the AL squads.

Would the owners want to do away with the DH at this point?

If not a DH, what would the owners want back from the Union for a 26 or even 27 man major league teams.

Jim
[/QUOTE]

I think if they expanded the teams it’s almost certainly end up sending more players into the Bullpen. Every spring it seems that the final and most difficult cuts involve who will be the 5th starter and who will be the lefty reliever. Rarely does a manager fret about who his extra lefty bat or utility player will be. Adding more players to the roster will most likely add players to the Pen and lead to even more one-batter pitching substitutions. Shoot me now.

146

[QUOTE=RickJay]
A lot of people are complaining that their teams can’t hit, so I looked it up; AL teams are averaging 4.4 runs per game. That’s actually lower than the NL (4.6) and half a run lower than last year. That’s a freakin’ ton of runs; it’s as if every team replaced its best hitter with Craig Monroe.

Seattle, Toronto and Kansas City are all scoring fewer than 4 runs a game. In the previous ten years, only 3 AL teams managed to do that all season; the 1998 Rays, who were a first year expansion, and the 2002-2003 Tigers, rightly considered among the worst teams ever assembled.

I guess the 'roids are wearing off!
[/QUOTE]

I was wondering about this myself- are home runs down as well?

147

[QUOTE=Wee Bairn]
I was wondering about this myself- are home runs down as well?
[/QUOTE]

Uh, lemme do soms math:

2008: 0.86 homers per team per game
2007: 0.99 homers per team per game
2006: 1.12 homers per team per game
2005: 1.07 homers per team per game

So yes, they’re down quite a bit, and that’s after having been down quite a bit already in 2007.

Batting average is WAY down:

2008: .258 throughout the AL
2007: .271
2006: .275
2005: .268

The AL batiing average hasn’t been as low as .258 since 1981.

148

[QUOTE=RickJay]
Uh, lemme do soms math:

2008: 0.86 homers per team per game
2007: 0.99 homers per team per game
2006: 1.12 homers per team per game
2005: 1.07 homers per team per game

So yes, they’re down quite a bit, and that’s after having been down quite a bit already in 2007.

Batting average is WAY down:

2008: .258 throughout the AL
2007: .271
2006: .275
2005: .268

The AL batiing average hasn’t been as low as .258 since 1981.
[/QUOTE]
Is the homerun statistic also AL-only?

149

Going to the Reds game tonight, I’ve got Diamond Club seats, the best in the house, that my employer gave me. Aaron Harang is pitching, he of the 1-5 record, with an ERA of THREE, holder of **fourth place ** in MLB in strikeouts…did I mention he has a 1-5 record?

I hope the Redleggers swing some lumber tonight…gonna need the fireworks to keep my young sons from getting too bored!

150

[QUOTE=Asimovian]
Is the homerun statistic also AL-only?
[/QUOTE]

That’s all AL numbers. Sorry, I should have made it clearer.

151

Blue Jays shut out again. Two more GIDPs. Five hits, all singles.

I wonder if they can get shut out in the second game of the doubleheader, too. Given that they’re up against a guy having one of the hottest starts of any pitcher in modern baseball history, I’m guessing they can do it. Don’t give up, boys; a double shutout IS possible! Keep your eye off the ball!

It’s horrifying, but strangely fascinating.

152

BTW, congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays for setting a franchise record. For the first time in their entire history, they’re a full 5 games above .500.

153

[QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil]
Going to the Reds game tonight, I’ve got Diamond Club seats, the best in the house, that my employer gave me. Aaron Harang is pitching, he of the 1-5 record, with an ERA of THREE, holder of **fourth place ** in MLB in strikeouts…did I mention he has a 1-5 record?
[/QUOTE]
Example #23,651 of why Wins are a crappy indicator of pitching ability. If only some of the morons who vote for the Cy Young awards would work this out.

154

[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves]
BTW, congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays for setting a franchise record. For the first time in their entire history, they’re a full 5 games above .500.
[/QUOTE]

You’re welcome, any time… th’hell is wrong with the Angels…

155

[QUOTE=mhendo]
Example #23,651 of why Wins are a crappy indicator of pitching ability. If only some of the morons who vote for the Cy Young awards would work this out.
[/QUOTE]

Yanks have a great example of this. Moose who appears very hittable is 5-3 with a 4.36 ERA. He is pitching better than I expected. Yet the second best starter on the team is only 3-3 despite a 3.77 ERA and more Ks. Andy Pettitte should be 5-2 if it was not for tough breaks and Moose has won games where he put up a weak 5.

At this rate the Rays will go to 6 over and Andy will pick up another hard luck loss.

156

GOD I loves me some Asdrubal Cabrera!!!

Unassisted triple play

157

[QUOTE=ZipperJJ]
GOD I loves me some Asdrubal Cabrera!!!

Unassisted triple play
[/QUOTE]
Cool!

Rafael Furcal had an almost identical play a few years ago.

ETA:

Jesus, it was against the Blue Jays, too. That will just make RickJay’s day! :slight_smile:

158

[QUOTE=ZipperJJ]
GOD I loves me some Asdrubal Cabrera!!!

Unassisted triple play
[/QUOTE]

Wow, only the 14th. I was watching when Randy Velarde turned one against the Yanks. It had to be 99 or 2000 and I think he was playing for the Angles at the time, maybe the A’s.

I just updated theWikipedia page and determined Randy did it on May 29, 2000.

159

[QUOTE=mhendo]
Jesus, it was against the Blue Jays, too. That will just make RickJay’s day! :slight_smile:
[/QUOTE]

Yeah but we’re losing in extra innings now. We had to take Lee out and our closer got goofy. (grrr!)

160

RickJay, do those numbers on previous years’ offensive levels refer to entire seasons, or are they “this time last year” numbers? As I’m sure you’re aware, HR-rates in April are not the same as HR rates in August.

I read a BP article a few days ago (that I can’t now find for the life of me) that addressed this issue, and determined that runs are down so far this year, even though OBP and SLG are basically the same. I forget the supposed reason why, if there was one. I’ll do some more digging.