That move only makes sense if they’re going to flip Stroman for better prospects than they gave the Jays, today or tomorrow, when buyers’ desperation gets higher and the price goes up.
Baseball layman question (not worth its own thread):
Is it really necessary for the 3rd strike to be treated differently than the first 2 strikes, in terms of the ball glancing off of the bat? Why not just treat it the same, so that the 3rd time the ball glances off of the bat, it’s still a strike? It would prevent some of those super-long-at-bat situations.
August schedule isn’t too brutal, and hopefully Scherzer won’t miss more than 2-3 games. You never know with “minor” injuries, though.
Strikeouts are already abnormally high this season. I’m not sure they’re seeing a need to increase them.
Though in principle I’m not opposed to the idea.
Oh my, this would be a drastic change with severe consequences. A lot of good hitters, hitters that don’t strike out much (relative in today’s MLB) are skilled at fouling off good pitches with two strikes. Spoiling pitch after pitch is called having a good at bat, and the drama of those two-strike foul balls is actually appealing to many fans, myself included. A foul ball strike three would speed up the game, yes, but it would also make it so much more boring.
Cubs acquire David Phelps from Toronto in exchange for minor league pitcher Thomas Hatch.
Joc Pederson was pulled from last night’s game for not running out a ground ball in the 8th inning of a 9-1 loss.
Puig goes to the Indians, Reds get Bauer in 3 team deal:
So the only two teams to trade prospects for veteran starting pitchers so far are both below .500. This does not make a ton of sense.
It is a twisted year thus far. What will happen by 4pm EST today though?
It makes sense that Toronto didn’t want to trade Stroman within the division and Cleveland didn’t want to strengthen a rival, though. They might have been dealing exclusively with NL treams. Next year, Cincinnati will have Castillo, Bauer, Gray and DeSclafani heading their rotation. That will be paired with an offense that is currently third in runs scored in the NL. Not too shabby.
No, it doesn’t. The only reason to avoid trading within the division is that your GM is afraid of looking bad if the player that he traded plays well against your team. That’s a terrible reason to sabotage your own team by taking an inferior return. Any GM who refuses to trade within their division should be summarily fired and replaced with somebody who doesn’t blatantly put their own interests above the team’s.
No, it isn’t. You play 19 games a year against a division rival, 6-7 games against an interdivision team, and may not play at all against a team in the other league for multiple years.
If the Jays can get a comparable deal from the Mets as from the Yankees, it makes FAR more sense to avoid strengthening the Yankees. A strong Yankees team makes EVERYTHING harder on the Jays, you have to play them more, and they make it harder to win your division.
The Mets refusing to deal with the Yankees, while talking to the Braves, now that is stupid.
Perfect summary.
The Mets thinking they can get Andrew Benintendi for Edwin Diaz, now that also is stupid.
The “experts” like Buster Olney seem to think he, or JBJ or Chavis have to be a part of a deal. I agree it is stupid and while the Sox are in desperate need of bullpen help, I expect a hell of a lot better return if Benny is part of a trade.
What the Mets just gave up for Stroman kind of set the going rate, right? They didn’t part with any MLB level talent.
Or maybe Brodie is the reincarnation of Frank Lane*.
Too bad the Yankees don’t have a cozy setup with the Kansas City A’s anymore (K.C. was notorious for shipping its best players to the Yankees circa 1955-60 in return for next to nothing).
*still a pariah in Cleveland for trading Rocky Colavito for Harvey Kuenn.
Cubs flip the recently-acquired Martin Maldonado to the Astros for Tony Kemp.
Hell yeah it’s not shabby at all for next year, and while losing a fiery, streaky guy like Puig sucks for this season, the Reds are still not out of the division hunt at 7 games back. All the divisional games are huge now. August will tell the tale.
ETA: and those guys are 4th in ERA (Castillo), 21st (Gray), 31st (Bauer) and 49th (Disclefani) in all of baseball.
SI is saying:
Tee hee.
And got Greinke without parting with either Whitley or Tucker. While getting Arizona to pay a third of Greinke’s salary. Though losing Beer, Bukaskas, Martin, and Rojas may later sting.
Top 3 WHIPs for SP now play for Houston, per Jayson Stark.
Also picked up Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini from Toronto for Derek Fisher. Good outfielder, just blocked in Houston. RickJay, how are the two pitchers from your team that Houston just picked up? Did the Astros get fleeced? Are they guys just needing a change of scenery?