# MLB: April

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [March 30, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370 "2013-03-30T19:03:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 11

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**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/201 "2013-04-10T21:53:06Z")

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Zito’s batting average (.667) is higher than his ERA (0.00). I doubt that will continue much past this week. 🙂

Posey got the single, but he’s probably only got one more shot at the HR.

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**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/202 "2013-04-10T22:00:03Z")

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> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#):
>
> Well, he seems to be returning to _last season’s_ form, so you may not have been so far off…
> 
> But hey, the Giants are 2-0 in games he’s started, so right now he’s projected to go 16-0 😃

And that’s all that matters, really. I’m going to hold you to this. 16-0, with a 5.12 ERA.

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**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/203 "2013-04-10T22:01:15Z")

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> [@jsc1953](#):
>
> Zito’s batting average (.667) is higher than his ERA (0.00). I doubt that will continue much past this week. 🙂
> 
> Posey got the single, but he’s probably only got one more shot at the HR.

And another base knock for Zito.

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**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 10, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/204 "2013-04-10T22:48:16Z")

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> [@Yorikke](#):
>
> And that’s all that matters, really. I’m going to hold you to this. 16-0, with a 5.12 ERA.

I guarantee it!

Well…either that, or 5-12 with a 16.0 ERA…same thing, right?

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/205 "2013-04-10T22:51:47Z")

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Way way too early to draw any conclusions, but the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t doing anything to shake my prediction of them finishing third in the AL East. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/206 "2013-04-10T23:34:00Z")

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> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> Way way too early to draw any conclusions, but the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t doing anything to shake my prediction of them finishing third in the AL East. 🙂

Is a .333 record really going to be good enough for third?

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**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/207 "2013-04-10T23:38:28Z")

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Patience grasshopper. Patience.  
(Thank God it’s a long season!)

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**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/208 "2013-04-11T00:08:48Z")

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Screw you, Cardinals.

Dammit!

🙂

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**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/209 "2013-04-11T11:58:17Z")

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Nats looked better, none of the stupid errors they’ve been making. Good thing too, because Atlanta is up next.

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**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/210 "2013-04-11T15:06:45Z")

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> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#):
>
> Screw you, Cardinals.

Certainly a fun two games after the debacle of the home opener. I think the Reds and Cards could have a pretty fun race for the NL Central this season.

One question that kept popping up over the series - just how broken is Joey Votto?

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**Author:** ![Yaxche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8dc957/32.png) [@Yaxche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yaxche)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/211 "2013-04-11T15:26:38Z")

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Well, League did his best to lose it last night in the 9th. Starting to look a lot like the Guerra experiment last year. Do we have an over/under on when Jansen steps back into the role again? 🙂

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**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/212 "2013-04-11T15:40:43Z")

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> [@madmonk28](#):
>
> Nats looked better, none of the stupid errors they’ve been making. Good thing too, because Atlanta is up next.

Yes, and some offense the past couple of games beyond solo homers.

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**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/213 "2013-04-11T15:44:32Z")

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Damn, Joel Hanrahan has been teh sukk so far. Boston has too many other guys who can close to let this thing fester much longer, though.

Good thing they’ve finally dropped the pretense of having a home sellout streak going, That had been an embarrassingly obvious lie for a couple of years now.

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**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/214 "2013-04-11T15:59:05Z")

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> [@Jas09](#):
>
> Certainly a fun two games after the debacle of the home opener. I think the Reds and Cards could have a pretty fun race for the NL Central this season.
> 
> One question that kept popping up over the series - just how broken is Joey Votto?

You know…I’m not sure. His power doesn’t seem there. He hasn’t hit a home run since last June, prior to his injury and he wasn’t right when he came back at the end of last season. His OB percentage is pretty good, as is his average…but the Reds aren’t paying Votto a quarter of a billion dollars to be Tony Gwynn.

I am hoping its mental. Joey strikes me as a weird dude…so seemingly devoid of emotion. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile. But whatever it is, it needs to be addressed and sooner rather than later. I don’t want the Reds to have to try to replicate what they did last season without him. When he’s himself, he’s one of the best in the game. The Reds need him.

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**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/215 "2013-04-11T16:11:53Z")

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> [@bup](#):
>
> Yes, and some offense the past couple of games beyond solo homers.

Yeah, but Haren is pitching tonight. He didn’t exactly wow us in Cinci, let’s hope it was opening night jitters.

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**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/216 "2013-04-11T23:02:23Z")

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I know it’s early but I’m surprised by the Blue Jays start to the season.

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**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/217 "2013-04-12T02:15:10Z")

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That makes millions of us. Starting 3-6 is really not a big deal; any team’s going to lose six of nine at some point. But they have looked very, very bad doing it. This isn’t a team that just hasn’t gotten the bounces; they’re playing terribly.

Three observations:

1. The absence of Brett Lawrie has a huge impact on the team. Aside from his being a much better hitter than any of the people who replace him, it has a cascading effect on the defense. Lawrie’s the best defensive third baseman in the league. Without him the third baseman has been Maicer Izturis, who is a bad defensive third baseman; and because Izturis is at third, Emilio Bonifacio, who is really an outfielder, has to play second, which he’s bad at. So Lawrie’s absence damages the team at TWO positions. Once he is back, the infield defense becomes twice as good; Lawrie is awesome at third, and Izturis is actually a good second baseman.

2. I cannot imagine the starting pitching could be any worse. If there is a saving grace in all this it’s that there’s just no way the starters can actually be this terrible, so the team will be better just by virtue of that.

3. Of course, Jose Reyes has been awesome.

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**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/218 "2013-04-12T05:50:27Z")

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Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. They just reported that Zack Greinke suffered a fractured collarbone during a pretty huge brawl with the Padres tonight.

Fuck you, Carlos Quentin.

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**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/219 "2013-04-12T12:06:37Z")

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That really was a jack move by Quentin, especially considering the situation in the game in which the beanball occurred (one run game, 3-2 count, 6th inning) coupled with the fact that this dude is well known for leaning into pitches to try to draw walks. Fuck that guy.

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**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-april/654370/220 "2013-04-12T12:16:33Z")

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Anyone hear what Grienke said to Quentin before he charged the mound?

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