# MLB: July **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 1, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097 "2014-07-01T14:40:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/261 "2014-07-31T18:35:59Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > For even one decent prospect it’d a better deal than Cespedes. It’s too easy to fall in love with prospects. Even the top-rated ones are crapshoots. For every Mike Trout, there are three or more Lars Andersons, for instance. Loading up on prospects is a way to build up to contending five years from now. A big market team can, and has to try to, win this year and every year. The roster five years from now can be built with the prospects who do work out, and free agents who can be bought. A guy who can help win next year really is a better and surer acquisition for Boston than two or three guys who look good against AAA or even AA pitchers, especially when they have prospects enough of their own. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/262 "2014-07-31T19:37:45Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > a 29-year-old corner outfielder having a terrible year, Allen Craig That foot injury must still be bothering him. His established level is much higher than this. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/263 "2014-07-31T19:38:06Z")
My favorite Indian since Sandy Alomar, Asdrubal Cabrera, has been traded (to the Nats). I won’t miss his poor performance as of late, and I won’t miss having to watch the other kids on Twitter take him down night after night, but I will miss having him out there filling the gap at short. Glad he’s going to the NL, for now at least, so he can’t hurt us when he makes his comeback. Be kind to him, world. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/264 "2014-07-31T19:47:30Z")
I’m really liking the Dodgers essentially standing pat up to this point, and not trading prospects for rentals. Sure, we could stand some upgrades at our #4 and 5 starting pitchers, but who couldn’t? I do think Maholm needs to swap places with Haren if Haren has one more bad start, or we need to think about bringing up our most likely SP from AAA and getting him some seasoning. I predicted at the beginning of this thread that Kemp would have a monster year, and that Billingsley would have a good one. Maybe the first prediction is beginning to come true. The second, obviously, not so much (good wishes for a strong recovery, Bils). ---
**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:** [July 31, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/265 "2014-07-31T19:54:51Z")
Just heard Price to Detroit. For real? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/266 "2014-07-31T19:58:11Z")
[Looks that way.](http://www.freep.com/article/20140731/SPORTS02/307310154/detroit-tigers-andrew-miller) They’ll need to replace Scherzer next year, so might as well have 'em both for the stretch run. [Austin Jackson goes to Seattle](http://www.freep.com/article/20140730/SPORTS02/140730003/) and Drew Smyly to TB - a three-way deal? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/267 "2014-07-31T19:58:29Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Just heard Price to Detroit. For real? Sounds that way! The Tigers get Price, Austin Jackson goes to Seattle, and Nick Franklin and Drew Smyly goes to Tampa. The Tigers and A’s have a real mutually assured destruction pitching thing going on. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/268 "2014-07-31T20:06:02Z")
Wow, If they hadn’t send Smyly, Verlander would be the 6th best starter on the Tigers roster. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/269 "2014-07-31T20:27:52Z")
Stephen Drew to the Yankees, Andrew Miller to Baltimore, would be lots of handshaking and well-wishing at Fenway if there were a game tonight. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/270 "2014-07-31T20:37:40Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My favorite Indian since Sandy Alomar, Asdrubal Cabrera, has been traded (to the Nats). I won’t miss his poor performance as of late, and I won’t miss having to watch the other kids on Twitter take him down night after night, but I will miss having him out there filling the gap at short. > > Glad he’s going to the NL, for now at least, so he can’t hurt us when he makes his comeback. > > Be kind to him, world. Obviously he won’t hit enough to replace Ryan Zimmerman’s production, but he should hit plenty better than Danny Espinosa, who strikes out about 40 per cent of the time from the left side. Zach Walters, who the Indians received, has big time power for a middle infielder but also big time holes in his swing. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/271 "2014-07-31T21:25:51Z")
The Red Sox moves make sense. Why not get something for Lackey and Lester? They definitely improved their outfield, albeit not dramatically. As for my Yankees…I think every reasonable Yankee fan understands they aren’t going anywhere this year. Even if they snagged a wild card, do they have any hope of getting past Detroit or Oakland? No. I’m not sure why they even bothered with Drew and Prado. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/272 "2014-07-31T21:47:55Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My favorite Indian since Sandy Alomar, Asdrubal Cabrera, has been traded (to the Nats). Now I have to change my wi-fi password. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/273 "2014-07-31T22:43:22Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I’m not sure why they even bothered with Drew and Prado. I understand they’ll have Drew play 2B. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/274 "2014-07-31T23:42:25Z")
As an A’s fan, I have no problem with the trade, I actually think it’s good for both teams. That Pesky Pole is going to be looking mighty tempting for Cespedes. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/275 "2014-08-01T01:39:07Z")
I still don’t really understand what the hell’s going on with the new rules regarding catchers and plays at the plate. Cincinnati just tied the game and then took the lead in the top of the 8th inning against the Marlins after an overturned call on a play at the plate. Zack Cosart was on third, and Todd Frazier hit a fly-ball to Stanton in right field. Cosart tagged and tried to score, while Stanton caught the ball and fired to the plate. The throw tailed a little bit, just down the third base line. Catcher Mathis moved to catch the ball, which he did well before Cosart arrived. He tagged Cosart before he arrived at the plate, and the umpire called Cosart out. Looked perfectly straightforward. The Reds challenged the play, and after about six minutes, the folks in New York overturned the call and awarded the run. That tied the game 1-1, and Ryan Ludwick then singled to score two more and give the Reds the lead. For the life of me, i don’t know what Mathis was supposed to do in this situation. If he doesn’t move to catch the ball coming in from the outfield, then he’ll miss it altogether and will probably allow two runs to score. But if he moves to catch it, he has now apparently violated the new rule about catchers standing in the base path. But i was under the impression that catchers were, in fact, allowed to move into the third base line if such a move was required to actually catch the ball. And if the play _was_ called according to the new rules (and i’m not exactly sure whether or not this is the case), then the new rules suck. If anyone has any insight on this, i’m all ears. There’s no highlight video of the play yet on the MLB site. I’ll add a link later if they put one up. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/276 "2014-08-01T02:03:41Z")
[Here is the video](http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_07_31_cinmlb_miamlb_1&mode=video#/play?content_id=34973785) of the play. I think that should open the proper clip. If it doesn’t just click on either of the clips titled “Out at home reviewed” or “Redmond’s ejection.” ---
**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:** [August 1, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/277 "2014-08-01T02:10:29Z")
I think the gist of that rule is that the catcher cannot move to block the sight line/access of or to the plate until he has the ball, which he did before the ball arrived. They’re talking about it here in the Nati, and they showed a clip of “the right way to do it” with Brian Pena in a very similar situation in the same game. I do know one thing: well over six minutes to decide on a ruling is WAAAY too long. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/278 "2014-08-01T02:39:41Z")
Nats are in the midst of one of their “disengage brains before taking the field” periods. First it was giving away outs on the bases, then it was horrible fielding. Gio Gonzalez, as much as I like the guy, looks like a space cadet at times. If the Braves could hit a lick they’d be in first, and if the Nats don’t get it together they’ll find themselves in second in short order. If they hadn’t lost Fernandez I’m not sure the marlins wouldn’t be breathing down the necks of the front runners. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/279 "2014-08-01T03:28:29Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Lackey is pitching really, really well this year, and Kelly is pitching badly. At least for this stretch drive that is not a slight upgrade. You’re right, of course. And if Lackey really does follow through with pitching for the league minimum next season (and is even 5th-starter effective) then the trade is likely a win for the Cards. It’s just so cold, though. Both of those guys were fan favorites. I’m very much a “rooting for laundry” fan, but the key guys from that magical 2011 World Series are now almost all gone: Pujols, Freese, Berkman, Craig. The only ones left are Holliday, Jay and Yadi, of the position players. It’s actually pretty amazing that a team that won the World Series, then went to Game 7 of the NLCS, then went to the World Series again, has had so much turnover (or maybe it’s not in the modern game). From the entire 2011 roster, I only count 8 players that are still with the team. And only the three listed above and Jason Motte had any significant role. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097/280 "2014-08-01T05:03:05Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > For the life of me, i don’t know what Mathis was supposed to do in this situation. If he doesn’t move to catch the ball coming in from the outfield, then he’ll miss it altogether and will probably allow two runs to score. But if he moves to catch it, he has now apparently violated the new rule about catchers standing in the base path. But i was under the impression that catchers were, in fact, allowed to move into the third base line if such a move was required to actually catch the ball. He’s in the basepath well before the ball reaches him. It’s pretty obvious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-july/692097.md?page=15)