# MLB: April 2016 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 1, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845 "2016-04-01T17:29:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/221 "2016-04-29T11:08:04Z")
> [@Club\_33](#): > > I’m flabbergasted. Never would have suspected it from him. Why’s that? Does he have a reputation in the area for being a good guy or something? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/222 "2016-04-29T13:45:26Z")
Gordon is not exactly Mark McGwire in terms of his skill set or physical characteristics. He’s a slap and speed man. Furthermore, he is a well established player, not a fringe guy like Chris Colabello who would be more likely to turn to 'roids to grab a desperately needed MLB paycheck. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/223 "2016-04-29T14:19:38Z")
That’s unfortunate. I like watching Dee play and laughed pretty good when he forced Baez to balk last night. I’m guessing the drugs are why he’s actually getting on base since he went to Miami probably just trying to hit the ball a little harder. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/224 "2016-04-29T14:24:41Z")
Dee Gordon is like 170lbs, not the image most people have of a PED user. He says he unknowingly took something. Even if true, that’s unacceptable these days. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/225 "2016-04-29T14:44:15Z")
Yeah, but there’s plenty of history of players like Gordon who have been suspended - the first was Alex Sanchez, a speedy slap hitter. Melky Cabrera isn’t a power hitter, but a batting champ like Dee. The mold isn’t just McGwire/Bonds. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/226 "2016-04-29T16:09:40Z")
Dee had a 40 point increase in BABIP and slugging 15 over 14 both of which typically correlate with hitting the ball harder. BABIP could also be due to being faster and turning those plays where he was just beat to first into just beating the play. Since sprinters use PEDs I wouldn’t be surprised if he was doing it to get faster as well. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/227 "2016-04-29T17:38:33Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Why’s that? Does he have a reputation in the area for being a good guy or something? Yeah a bit. I’m sort of sad to see this happen. I have been following Dee since he was a prospect. I had hoped that his breakout was due to a legitimate improvement in skills since he started playing baseball late in life. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/228 "2016-04-29T23:34:17Z")
Speaking of Dee Gordon and Melky Cabrera, I wonder about MLB’s timing of the announcements of their suspensions. MLB evidently announced that Dee was suspended at about 10 PM eastern time yesterday. Why wait until after last night’s Marlins-Dodgers game? To give the fans one more entertaining game with Dee before the suspension? Last night’s attendance was 44,009, so the Dodgers and Marlins weren’t desperate to sell more tickets. In 2012, Melky had the highest batting average in the National League, but he was suspended one plate appearance short of qualifying for the title without additional plate appearances being assigned to him. SABR member Colin Wyers summarizes this [here](http://sabr.org/latest/wyers-very-long-night-melky-cabrera). Basically: > [@](#): > > [MLB] have decided to go with overreacting, amending the rules to deprive Cabrera of the batting title (ostensibly at Cabrera’s request)…Rule 10.22(a) permits a player to be recognized as the official winner if extra hitless at-bats are added to his average and it remains higher than any qualifying player. (Cabrera’s average would fall from .3464 to .3456—still .346 when rounded up.) Under terms of the agreement, Rule 10.22(a) will not apply to suspended players. I wonder if MLB had considered minimizing the embarrassment by not letting Melky accumulate the 502+ plate appearances. Apparently PED-taking athletes continue to believe that they will not get caught. Or perhaps they don’t believe that something besides poppy-seed muffins can cost them $5 million in lost salary. That said, I for one had followed and rooted for Dee since the Dodgers had called him up in 2011. As a little guy gradually achieving success through what looked like hard work and a return to his home state of Florida, he has been a popular player. After he returns to MLB, in mid summer, the game will go on. With surely more suspensions. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/229 "2016-04-30T16:44:46Z")
> [@from\_a\_to\_z](#): > > Speaking of Dee Gordon and Melky Cabrera, I wonder about MLB’s timing of the announcements of their suspensions. MLB evidently announced that Dee was suspended at about 10 PM eastern time yesterday. Why wait until after last night’s Marlins-Dodgers game? To give the fans one more entertaining game with Dee before the suspension? Last night’s attendance was 44,009, so the Dodgers and Marlins weren’t desperate to sell more tickets. My understanding is that Gordon’s PED use was detected some weeks ago, and that his deadline for appeal expired yesterday…and that he informed the league after the game that he was not going to appeal the suspension, so that’s when they announced it. I may be off a bit with some of the timing details, but the gist of it was “he stated that he was declining the opportunity to appeal his suspension, so his suspension was announced at that time” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/230 "2016-04-30T20:18:09Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > A.J. Pierzynski became the 10th catcher in MLB history to reach 2000 hits yesterday. I heard that and I thought, damn only 10. Does he have a shot at the Hall of Fame? Then I looked at his stats and no, he is not a Hall of Famer. Not even close. Ted Simmons, one those other 10 catchers, has better career numbers and didn’t come close to sniffing Cooperstown. I’m talking 3.7% on the first ballot, which is really surprising because Simmons was an 8 time all star. Pierzynski has only been an all star twice. But all the same, good for him on the 2000th. I like him, even though I know he has a rep as kind of an asshole. [I like Michael Barrett’s hit better.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tivag5pOBhM) ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/231 "2016-05-01T01:03:38Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Brett Cecil, **relief pitcher** , has already lost four games. He leads MLB in losses. Five games now. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/232 "2016-05-01T15:02:49Z")
Cecil on pace to go 0-32. I wonder when the ast time was a relief pitcher lost five games in a calendar month? Or has it ever happened at all? At some point you have to let someone else be the go to leftie, just to give Cecil a break if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/233 "2016-05-01T15:20:25Z")
Until the suspension, I had no idea Dee was Tom Gordon’s son. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/234 "2016-05-01T16:42:01Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Cecil on pace to go 0-32. I wonder when the ast time was a relief pitcher lost five games in a calendar month? Or has it ever happened at all? Perusing the daily logs from retrosheet…Looks like Mike Marshall lost 6 games, all in relief, in July 1975. He was 9 and 14 that year. Of course, he pitched practically every game that month (okay, 21 to be exact), so he had an unfair advantage. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/235 "2016-05-01T17:04:58Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Tuesday night, Giants’ center fielder Denard Span hit a double off the wall at AT&T Park. Asked about it after the game, he said > > Wednesday, first baseman Brandon Belt hit a single, a double, and a triple. When asked his thoughts about missing the cycle, his reply: > > Apparently the mood is light in the Giants’ clubhouse these days… I know the thread has moved on over the last few days but I want to note that anytime a ballplayer - or anyone, really - says the phrase ‘I blame…’ without the referent being himself it’s a sign of a troubled situation. Not just the strength coach but a group of people not pulling together. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845/236 "2016-05-01T17:26:33Z")
You guys understand, i assume, that the “blaming” of the strength coach by Belt and Span was good-natured ribbing, right? It was clear to anyone who saw the interview that Span was having fun, and was not being serious about blaming the coach. Numerous media articles after the fact confirm this. [Link 1](http://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/morning-after-span-welcomed-att-park-long-double) [Link 2](http://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Probables-leading-off-7384493.php) [Link 3](http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Giants-pound-Padres-hits-just-keep-on-coming-7379777.php) If the strength coach is having a problem in San Francisco, it’s not showing on the scoreboard. The Giants, despite playing in a park that gives up fewer runs than an average ballpark, are sixth in the Majors in runs scored. And despite being in one of the worst parks in the league for home runs, they are in the middle of the pack when it comes to homers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april-2016/750845.md?page=11)