# MLB: March/April 2019 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 27, 2019, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604 "2019-03-27T13:17:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/221 "2019-04-25T13:20:52Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > the divisions are nuts this year 2 teams on top and everyone else in the sewer… Three teams are 1.5 games apart in the AL Central right now. Three teams are 2.5 games apart in the AL West. Three teams are half a game apart in the NL East. Four teams are 3 games apart in the NL Central. Three teams are half a game apart in the NL West. The only division that meets your description is the AL East and I do not think there is any chance in hell the Red Sox are actually this bad. Their record is a fluke, they’ll come back big time. No one goes from being one of the best teams of all time to being this shitty in one offseason. ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/222 "2019-04-25T13:26:48Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Cubs pitcher Pedro Strop had a busy day. His car was stolen and he had to leave the police station just in case he had to pitch today! He got the save. > [https://twitter.com/espnchicubs/status/1121258829298184193?s=21](https://twitter.com/espnchicubs/status/1121258829298184193?s=21) Speaking of the Cubs game, I cannot freakin believe that the Dodgers intentionally walked Willson Contreras when Jason Hayward was the next batter. Have they not, like, been _paying attention_ to Hayward this year? He’s been kind of a dead spot in the line-up the last few years, but THIS year? Have they been looking at how he’s been doing _this_ year? His on-base-plus-slugging is over a thousand. He’s been more than earning his enormous salary. He got his swing right in the off-season. He’s been dipping his bat in kerosene and striking a match before walking to the plate. I realize that Contreras’s OPS is over 1.100 – Cubs hitting in general is damn good – and I also realize that LA pitcher Scotty A. is a lefty, and Hayward is also a lefty, and so Hayward’s slugging would be down from his average against righties. Even so. That intentional walk quite probably cost the Dodgers the ballgame. Which I’m totally fine with. I just don’t _understand_ it. The Cubs won by one run. That one run was the intentional walk, after Hayward jacked the ball over the fence. They gave away the game with that free pass. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2019, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/223 "2019-04-25T13:28:43Z")
The schedule has been kind to the Yanks so far but I’m enjoying the hell out of this ragtag team. Actual small-ball. Bunts, sac flies, stolen bases, singles and doubles. Some guy who wandered in from a local softball league playing first. Players so green that they fall for the hidden ball trick. Ironically, there was some concern that the team was too right-handed. Not a current problem. Also, I came across this [savage tweet](https://twitter.com/EmSheDoesIt/status/1120879813030555649) somewhere: > [@](#): > > Thairo Estrada was fucking shot and spent less time on the IL than Jacoby Ellsbury ---
**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:** [April 25, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/224 "2019-04-25T19:40:58Z")
This is Dodger’s baseball!! [Taylor's RBI infield single | 04/24/2019 | Los Angeles Dodgers](https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/video/cole-hamels-in-play-run-s-to-chris-taylor) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/225 "2019-04-25T21:36:07Z")
Q. What’s the quickest way to squander $7 million? A. Sign Trevor Rosenthal. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/226 "2019-04-25T23:48:00Z")
About time… Vladimir Guerrero will finally suit up as a Blue Jay in tomorrow’s game in Toronto against the As. Tickets have been going fast, and went up over 50% on the secondary market, for one of the top two? three? prospects in baseball. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/227 "2019-04-26T00:23:34Z")
Hitting wise, absolutely the best prospect in baseball. The most talented young hitter in the history of the franchise; not even Carlos Delgado was this advanced (at this age Delgado was still in high A ball.) His minor league numbers are not a fluke; just sensational. He is way, way past his age in his skill, approach, everything. He might end up being a better hitter than his Dad, which is saying something. Overall I think there is more reason to like the long term value of Fernando Tatis Jr., because 1. Tatis is a skilled defensive shortstop; VGJ is a poor third baseman, and 2. Tatis is in great shape; VGJ is worryingly overweight for a young man. I don’t know anyone who seriously thinks VGJ has a long term future at third; he’ll end up at first base or DH, which is fine. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/228 "2019-04-26T00:37:39Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Vladimir Guerrero will finally suit up as a Blue Jay :smack: I seem to have forgotten about all that Dunedin stuff. Yeah, Tatis is hitting around .290, and Padres management is also impressed with the even-keeled temperament for such a young player - yet another good sign, down the road. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2019, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/229 "2019-04-26T02:15:43Z")
You know what’s weird? With the massive increase in strikeouts and players hitting into shifts, shouldn’t we be seeing more no-hitters? I know the complete game is a thing of the past, but shouldn’t we be having more no-hitters by committee or at least 6 or 7 inning hitless outings by starters? ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/230 "2019-04-26T14:16:20Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > This is Dodger’s baseball!! [https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/video/cole-hamels-in-play-run-s-to-chris-taylor](https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/video/cole-hamels-in-play-run-s-to-chris-taylor) He’s got great hussle but I think that slide into first had more to do with him hitting .163 then anything else. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/231 "2019-04-26T18:49:04Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > You know what’s weird? With the massive increase in strikeouts and players hitting into shifts, shouldn’t we be seeing more no-hitters? I know the complete game is a thing of the past, but shouldn’t we be having more no-hitters by committee or at least 6 or 7 inning hitless outings by starters? The MLB batting average isn’t that low, though. Strikeouts don’t matter if they’re just replacing flyouts and groundouts. The overall average is down a bit - I think it was .248 last year - but it’s not ludicrously low. The distribution of no hitters is very random, and the number in one season, or over a few seasons, can be unexpectedly high or low just by chance. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/232 "2019-04-26T21:24:35Z")
Nats put Trevor Rosenthal on the IL to the shock of no one. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/233 "2019-04-27T00:31:36Z")
Max Scherzer just surpassed Christy Mathewsen on the all-time strikeout list. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/234 "2019-04-27T13:53:26Z")
The annual cry [“The ball is juiced!”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/04/26/mlb-hitters-are-blasting-homers-record-rate-theyre-just-getting-warmed-up/?utm_term=.470f42d9dcae) is upon us once again, and not just because the Orioles suck. > [@](#): > > Entering Friday, teams had combined to hit a record 979 homers — an average of 1.32 per team-game. That’s 116 more than teams hit in April 2017, a season that would yield a record 6,105 homers. > > In other words, the 2019 home run rate is 5 percent higher than the highest rate in history (1.26 per team-game in 2017) and up 15 percent from last year, when the leaguewide rate dipped to 1.15. > > … > > It is worth pointing out that all games in Class AAA this season are being played with MLB-issued baseballs, a change from previous years when a different, minor league ball was used across all levels. Has that made a difference? You be the judge. Across Class AAA entering Friday, batters were averaging 1.28 homers per team-game. And at Class AA — just one level down, but using the minor league ball — batters were averaging 0.73 homers per team-game. > > You can probably see where this is going. That’s right — here we go with the juiced balls again. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/235 "2019-04-27T15:55:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Across Class AAA entering Friday, batters were averaging 1.28 homers per team-game. And at Class AA — just one level down, but using the minor league ball — batters were averaging 0.73 homers per team-game. Would it have killed the reporter to find out the AA and AAA home run averages from previous years? It’s a meaningless stat without that context. Maybe there are always fewer home runs in AA. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/236 "2019-04-28T00:43:21Z")
I know you never panic in April but the Washington Nationals are seriously underperforming and it’s almost May. This team needs a shake up and I’m not sure if a manager change is what’s needed. This team seriously underperformed last year and the NL East has only gotten more competitive. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/237 "2019-04-28T17:28:39Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I know you never panic in April but the Washington Nationals are seriously underperforming and it’s almost May. This team needs a shake up and I’m not sure if a manager change is what’s needed. This team seriously underperformed last year and the NL East has only gotten more competitive. Well their bullpen flat out sucks. Doolittle is the only reliable arm out there. It must be very demoralizing to the starters and the hitters to have the pen constantly blowing leads. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/238 "2019-04-28T18:13:45Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The annual cry [“The ball is juiced!”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/04/26/mlb-hitters-are-blasting-homers-record-rate-theyre-just-getting-warmed-up/?utm_term=.470f42d9dcae) is upon us once again, and not just because the Orioles suck. i said theyd say that bck in wk1 when all the double digit games happened never mind theres no way to juice a ball… ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/239 "2019-04-29T12:27:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The MLB batting average isn’t that low, though. Strikeouts don’t matter if they’re just replacing flyouts and groundouts. The overall average is down a bit - I think it was .248 last year - but it’s not ludicrously low. > > The distribution of no hitters is very random, and the number in one season, or over a few seasons, can be unexpectedly high or low just by chance. What I find odd is that there just aren’t that many .300 hitters any more. Currently, [mlb.com](http://mlb.com) shows 32 players above .300, barely 1 per team. It used to be that most lineups had at least 3-4 .300 hitters. Nowadays, batting .240 is acceptable as long as you get your homers. The game was a lot more fun to watch in the days of Billyball. Stolen bases, hit and runs, sacrifices, pinch hitting are all becoming lost arts. Now it’s swing for the fences every time. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2019, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/240 "2019-04-29T13:05:06Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > What I find odd is that there just aren’t that many .300 hitters any more. Currently, [mlb.com](http://mlb.com) shows 32 players above .300, barely 1 per team. It used to be that most lineups had at least 3-4 .300 hitters. … You going back to 1930 or something? 🙂 I checked a few years: 1970, 24 teams, 27 players over .300 1980, 26 teams, 29 (and four more at .300) 1990, 26 teams, 22 players 2000, 30 teams, 53 players 2010, 30 teams, 23 players Looks like about one per team has been pretty standard for a while, with a bump around 2000 up to about two per team. 32 players at or above .300 looks like it’s actually a little above the norm for the last 50 years. (Of course, it’s early yet) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604.md?page=13)