Not to mention the rundown where they failed to get any of three runners out, and in fact, allowed one to score due to interference.
They looked like traffic pylons.
I found an article noting Nakken’s primary roles are coaching baserunning and outfield defense.
It makes sense to be that teams should have many coaches. When I was a kid a manager usually had four coaches; first and third base, hitting coach, pitching coach. Sometimes a bullpen coach, plus the trainer. They started adding “bench coaches” - assistant managers - later on. But if you’re paying $100-$200 million to try to win ballgames and millions are at stake if you win or lose, why not have a baserunning expert? An infield defense coach? An outfield coach? A sports psychologist? All the trainers you can think of? They cost far less than the players do and maximize what you get out of them, so have as many coaches as you can fit into the dugouts.
I’d be happy if the Royals just hired a kid out of college to sit next to pitching coach Cal Eldred and just say, over and over “fastballs are not as effective as breaking balls”.
Definitely not a fan of those either. And, seeing the Nats on TV confirms that I didn’t like their city uniforms either. The cherry blossoms are amazing in D.C., but that pink is just a hard color to incorporate.
I have to say that I do like the Astros city connect uniform and like they picked a NASA theme, Florida didn’t have baseball during the space race or even the Cold War. Houston’s colors also flashback to their famous 1970s uniforms.
I am honestly terrified that when the Blue Jays try city connect uniforms they’ll include a fucking picture of Drake.
WOO! Well-pitched game by the Nats leads to a 3-1 win over the Braves and we take two out of three from the defending World Series champions.
Dodgers pull Kershaw after 80 pitches and 7 innings. I hate this baseball by the spreadsheet.
Apparently, it was Kershaw’s choice:
Dodgers vs. Twins - Game Recap - April 13, 2022 - ESPN
Kershaw took a perfect game through seven innings for the Dodgers until he was pulled after 80 pitches, dominating the Twins with 13 strikeouts in 21 batters during a 7-0 victory on Wednesday.
“Those are selfish goals,” Kershaw said. “We’re trying to win. That’s really all we’re here for.”
Roberts consulted with Kershaw after the sixth, and the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner told him his preference: one more inning with an 85-pitch limit.
"I would have loved to have stayed, but bigger things, man, bigger things,‘’ Kershaw said.
I’m not sure I could have done the same thing. Was it the right choice, pulling him?
I’ll remain in doubt about Kershaw wanting to come out. He does know to not throw managers and coaches under the bus.
It strikes me as being voluntold to come out of the game, but none of us were there on the mound. Maybe if the perfect game was gone, I could understand thinking longer term.
It sucks. I’m not sure it’s a typical matter of load management. Spring Training was really short, and there have been a ton of starting pitchers so far pulled before even 5 IP. If this was June, I wonder if he’d have stayed in. Would love to have seen it.
Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these:
Hansel Robles is, for now, the Red Sox closer. 
What a disgrace. Eighty pitches, and obviously he was pitching smoothly. Let him pitch. If need be, just tell him “just fastballs down the pipe. Maybe they’ll hit into outs quickly.”
Vladdy Jr. hit a homer his first time up off Gerrit Cole. He was subsequently accidentally spiked by Aaron Hicks, badly cutting his finger, but they wrapped it up and he kept playing. His next time up he hit another homer, this one off a 99-MPH fastball that was well inside. I have never seen a better hitter wear the Jays uniform.
ETA: He hit a third, even further than the first two.
It sucks, but I’m not sure what it has to do with a spreadsheet. Do you think a Dodgers’ analyst was pushing to pull him because a reliever would be more effective in the 8th?
I’m quite certain they pulled him purely for health reasons. That said… I mean, not every 80 pitches are the same. I think we all know 80 pitches throws in a 3.2 inning stint where you get beaten up is more tiring than 80 pitches throw when you’re just mowing them down.
Got a double, too. He was 4-for-4. Man’s a machine.
Right, but that isn’t a Sabermetric thing. That is a team and pitcher wanting to protect his arm. And while I wish they let him try, I understand a pitcher with a history of arm problems and not much build up not wanting to push things.
He was on deck when Toronto made their last out, so sadly never got a shot at Homer #4.
The only blue Jay to hit four bombs in a game was Carlos Delgado in 2003. In that game, Delgado also never batted a fifth time. He is the only one of the eighteen players to hit four homers in a game who only batted four times.
Agreed. Kershaw missed much of the second half of 2021 with arm soreness, had a shortened spring training (in which he pitched only 11 2/3 innings), and was pitching in cold, lousy weather yesterday, in what was his regular-season debut.
A couple of weeks from now, with Kershaw having had a few more good outings under his belt, I’d feel differently about not letting him try to finish the perfect game. But, given all the extenuating circumstances, it does feel like the wiser decision was made.
Not to mention he hit two off Gerrit Cole and the third off Loaisiga (who led AL relievers with 3.3 WAR last season*.) That’s not feasting off AAA scrubs. The dude is the scariest Vladimir of all (too soon?)
*Phillies reliever Ranger Suarez is credited with 5.6 bWAR in 2021. That seems impossible. Fangraphs lists Suarez and Loaisiga at 3.0 and 2.4, respectively.
Suarez also started 12 games last year, so not quite a reliever, but 106 IP isn’t quite a full time starter.