# MLB: June 2012 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 1, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765 "2012-06-01T13:59:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/141 "2012-06-17T19:36:30Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Odd stat of the day related to the Yanks’ win streak: > > They “are hitting just .253 during the 8-game win streak.” (US Presswire) I’m not seeing what’s odd about that. If they were hitting .153, that’d be something. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/142 "2012-06-17T19:38:02Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I have to disagree. That was going to be called a hit most of the time. It sure wasn’t a terrible call. > > That blows, which 3? Brandon Morrow; straing oblique muscle, out for at least four weeks Kyle Drabek, torn rotator cuff, out until late 2013/2014 Drew Hutchison, unknown elbow injury, return date unknown That leaves only Ricky Romero and Henderson Alvarez. They’re scrambling to find replacements. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/143 "2012-06-17T19:47:25Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’m not seeing what’s odd about that. Especially since, as of today, .253 also happens to be the [exact batting average](http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2012.shtml) of the American League for the 2012 season. The Yanks have restricted their opponents to 2.25 runs per game over their winning stretch (18 runs in 8 games). If you can produce league-average hitting, and give up two and a quarter runs per game, you’ll have a pretty damn good season. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/144 "2012-06-17T20:26:41Z")
After dropping the first game of the series, the Orioles shut the Braves out for 18 straight innings to take the series 2-1. Woohoo! ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/145 "2012-06-17T20:51:49Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Especially since, as of today, .253 also happens to be the [exact batting average](http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2012.shtml) of the American League for the 2012 season. Yeah, but the winning percentage for the league over that time is probably close to .500 (would be exactly .500 if not for interleague). Putting together an 8-game winning streak with average offense is mildly interesting to me, anyway. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/146 "2012-06-17T21:11:38Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Yeah, but the winning percentage for the league over that time is probably close to .500 (would be exactly .500 if not for interleague). > > Putting together an 8-game winning streak with average offense is mildly interesting to me, anyway. 9 game! ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/147 "2012-06-18T01:12:35Z")
The entire AL central is under 500 at home right now. I 'm not exactly what that portends, but I doubt it a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/148 "2012-06-18T02:56:22Z")
Man, Dee Gordon can run. Of course, it was to get away from Matt Kemp after he (Gordon) drove in the game-winning run in extra innings against the White Sox. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/149 "2012-06-18T02:58:19Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Man, Dee Gordon can run. > Of course, it was to get away from Matt Kemp after he (Gordon) drove in the game-winning run in extra innings against the White Sox. Would have been nice if we’d only had to win the game once instead of twice due to inexplicably bad umpire calls. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/150 "2012-06-18T03:10:25Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Yeah, but the winning percentage for the league over that time is probably close to .500 (would be exactly .500 if not for interleague). > > Putting together an 8-game winning streak with average offense is mildly interesting to me, anyway. Pretty much my thought. Thank you. Love the 9 straight, but looks like Yanks won’t gain a game today as all the AL East won again if Boston holds their current lead. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/151 "2012-06-18T04:18:11Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Putting together an 8-game winning streak with average offense is mildly interesting to me, anyway. I guess. Sure. But it’s only average offense in terms of batting average. What was their OBP and their SLG for those 8 games? That might tell a different story, and those stats are, in many ways, more important than AVG anyway. For me, the most interesting thing is that the Yankees, whose pitching was struggling for a while earlier in the season, managed to restrict some decent-hitting ballclubs to two and a quarter runs per game. Anyway, the AL East certainly beat up on the NL East this weekend. All five AL clubs won all their series, and they went a collective 12-3 over those 15 games. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/152 "2012-06-18T14:05:55Z")
Resolved: Suicide squeezes in the 5th inning with runners on second and third and nobody out against Luis Mendoza are always a bad idea. Hell, just take the sacrifice bunt out of the playbook. And the intentional walk. It’s obvious you don’t know how to use them, and they are too dangerous for non-experts to play around with. I knew the drop-off in in-game managing from Tony LaRussa to anybody would take some getting used to, but this is painful. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/153 "2012-06-18T18:51:59Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’m looking forward to the Yanks’ having a lousy weekend in D.C. 😃 Well, didn’t _that_ just suck. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/154 "2012-06-18T20:06:04Z")
Interesting article about the lower-than-average offense in West Coast ballparks: [Bad air days: Pacific conditions give hitters fits](http://mariners.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120617&content_id=33487892&vkey=news_sea&c_id=sea) > [@](#): > > The West Coast, with its Pacific Ocean breezes, beaches and breathtaking beauty, is a wonderful place to play baseball – if you’re a pitcher. > > If you swing a bat for a living, its natural wonders can lose their allure in a heartbeat, starting with a soup-like marine layer invading cool ballparks in late spring and early autumn. > > It should come as no surprise to those familiar with the West Coast that four of the five no-hitters spun this season have come in the pitcher-friendly environs of Seattle, Anaheim and San Francisco. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/155 "2012-06-19T00:19:30Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Right. Sorry got my LA teams mixed up. Based on what I just saw on Yahoo!, [you aren’t alone](http://www.flickr.com/photos/asimovian/7397945312/in/photostream). ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/156 "2012-06-19T03:59:19Z")
R. A. Dickey channeled Johnny Vander Meer-lite and pitched his second consecutive 1-hitter. The last of the knuckleballers is on fire right now. I really hope this leads to more knuckleballers. Aaron Hill hit for the cycle tonight, which goes to show anyone can possibly do it. It just seems to be one of those random things that humans find patterns in. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/157 "2012-06-19T13:08:06Z")
The first time in 24 years that had been done; Dave Stieb did it in 1988. Stieb’s one-hitters, though, were a bit more heartbreaking - _both were no-hitters broken up with two out in the ninth inning_. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/158 "2012-06-19T13:56:53Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > I really hope this leads to more knuckleballers. I do too, it’s just fun to watch him pitch. And he is commanding the pitch too. The knock on knuckleballers is that they have no idea where the ball is going and are all kinds of wild, but I read yesterday\* that Dicky hasn’t thrown a wild pitch all season, which is better than a lot of non knuckleballers can say. He isn’t walking a ton of guys either. I hope he keeps it up. \*(I have not checked this stat personally but I trust the source) ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/159 "2012-06-19T14:56:33Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > Aaron Hill hit for the cycle tonight, which goes to show anyone can possibly do it. It just seems to be one of those random things that humans find patterns in. Hell, Bengie Molina did it right after the Giants traded him in 2010 - he’s slower than Dick Clark… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765/160 "2012-06-21T02:53:15Z")
The Rockies have gone to a four man rotation with a 75 pitch count limit. It’s not done based on Sabermetric theories, it’s because their rotation sucks and the bullpen is pitching much better than the starters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2012/623765.md?page=9)