Could be. He isn’t exactly porky, though. Jose Reyes gets hurt every year without fail and he’s in great shape. Why is that? I have no idea.
Could also be shitty training staff. Maybe the Angels just aren’t good at keeping men healthy. (My team, the Blue Jays, are terrible at it, to a statistically noticeable degree.)
Could be bad luck. Paul Molitor got hurt a lot most of his career and it was just bad luck, really.
Could be he simply isn’t built to be durable.
Could be random chance.
Frankly, the human body is so complex and is so continuously strained at the level of pro sports that unless we have personal, immediate knowledge of each case, it’s impossible to say.
Not a fan of this weird late start time between the Cubs and Nationals. It’s 7 PM Washington time and unless i’m missing some big event in DC, having a late afternoon game makes no sense.
No part of a team is more miserable than a miserable bullpen. I’m certain if you hooked up electrodes to the heads of 1000 baseball fans you could scientifically prove that a terrible bullpen causes more anguish than a terrible rotation, infield, or whatever. I think it has something to do with the mounting sense of dread as the late innings approach.
I’m a little puzzled why there isn’t more being said today, like there has been before, about banning maple bats for safety reasons. It isn’t just that maple bats seem to break more often (why guys keep using bats that cost them hits is another question), but that when they do break, they break into more dangerous, sharp-edged pieces. The woman in Boston is apparently going to make it, but has a long recovery ahead.
I know that they’ve had injury concerns, and that they’re in rebuilding mode, but what the hell has happened to the Reds? Their bullpen has been shit, true. But they’ve hit a bad downturn. Todd Frazier’s playing like an MVP candidate, but he’s really been the only bright spot offensively. Billy Hamilton’s making great defensive plays, and he’s always a stolen base threat, but that doesn’t work if he doesn’t get on base consistently. Their bullpen has blown quite a few leads. Game-tying grand slam by Yonder Alonso in the 9th inning the other day against the Padres. A walk-off error against the Phillies.
It’s not just that they’re losing leads late; it’s that they look like a AA team doing it.
Does anyone know whether it was a maple bat that impaled Tyler Colvin?
Regarding the Boston incident, I’m glad she’s going to make it (though the EMT part of me wants to see how she looked right after getting hit). I’m not sure if it’s MLB or the Red Sox, but I would imagine that she doesn’t have to worry about medical bills.
The main component of the Royal’s turnaround is the bullpen - it seems like in one year we went from no lead is safe to playing 6-inning games. I’ve blocked out the name, but it seems like one year our closer had more wins (from blowing leads and the team coming back) than saves. Roberto Hernandez, maybe?
Maybe I overlooked a name, but the closest that I could find is 1969, Moe Drabowsky with 11 wins and 11 saves all in relief. Any excuse to revisit his goofiness, seemingly more fun as a spectator than as a victim. (Anyone who could successfully channel Charles Finley and Alvin Dark has got something on the ball.)
An entertaining play – at least for a Blue Jays fan – is from yesterday’s game with the Astros in Rogers Centre, box score here, video of the following incident here. Bottom of the 9th, one out, Astros leading 6-5 after a run had already scored in the 9th. José Reyes of the Blue Jays, playing in his 28th game in 2015, is on 2nd base. José Bautista at bat. Bautista pops up Luke Gregerson’s pitch, high above 2nd base. It doesn’t look like there is much wind. Reyes stays on 2nd, covering his head, as SS Jonathan Villar and 2B José Altuve wait for the popup to drop to a catchable height. Instead of either stepping around Reyes, Villar leans far over Reyes and falls down as the popup clanks off his glove. Everyone safe, and – surprise – Gregerson is charged with a hit. Astros first base coach Rich Dauer, among others, looks gobsmacked. Baseball remains fun for a sub-500 team, as Drabowsky knew.
Besides Josh Hamilton, David Ortiz has to be the most immature jerk in baseball. He’s been lousy all season , just like his team. Rather than man up, and admit he needs to old better, he does his poor little me routine. Whether he likes it or not, he’s almost 40 and having an awful season. Maybe he’ll get it together but there’s also a chance he’s done.
Sub-.500 they may be, but in truth the Blue Jays currently have the best run differential in the American League (and at this very moment, given their early 7-0 lead over Miami, the second best in all of baseball). Raise your hand if you would’ve guessed that to be the case…
Both hands remain on the keyboard, but their Schedule and Results show that in their first 58 games they have scored 10+ runs in a win 9 times. They are currently leading 11-3 in the top of the 8th.
2015 American League Standings and Head-to-Head has other details for anyone looking for a silver lining. Toronto’s Pythagorean Win-Loss, the expected Win-Loss record based on the number of runs scored and allowed by the team = 33-25, 1/2 game better than the first place Yankees.
Again, bad bullpen. Toronto can’t hold close leads.
They could still make it as the division is weak, but I truth I think the sky high run scoring is a bit flukey. They get injured a lot; sooner or later it’ll catch up with them.
Eh, I give Papi a pass on this one. Someone asked him point blank, “are you washed up?” It’s not like they asked him, “what’s going on, why are you struggling?”
He is having a terrible season statistically, but he’s right. He can still hit. His .232 BABIP this year is the worst of his career by far while his BB% and K% are both below his career average. And his LD% is above his career average.
I think there are 2 things working against Ortiz.
The strike zone is bigger. That’s not news, we discussed in another thread that the strike zone has been expanding over the last 7-8 years. This does not effect Papi exclusively, but I think it does effect veterans more. The Strike Zone Expansion is Out of Control | The Hardball Times
The shift is working really well against Ortiz this year. I think now that the shift has been consistently used for so long, defenses are getting better at executing it and pitchers are getting better at pitching to it. I’d love to see how many hits are taken away from Ortiz by the shift. Watching the games, it feels like about 1 every 10ABs, or .100 BA points.
