# MLB: May 2012 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514 "2012-05-01T14:36:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/161 "2012-05-14T14:22:54Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Will Josh Hamilton ever level off? Jeez that guy is on a _tear_! He has. He’s only hitting one or two per game now. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/162 "2012-05-14T15:25:49Z")
> [@unwashed\_brain](#): > > Very classy move by the Cards’ fans. I was happier with the sweep, however 🙂 As I’ve said before, Cards fans just have a thing for cheering opponents we like. Not sure where it comes from, but it’s definitely a “thing” here. The little ceremony before Sunday’s game was nice too. As to the baseball, well, the less said the better. It’s a good thing they have an endless supply of Game 6 footage to show to distract the crowd during games like the ones this weekend. So I can ignore Lance Lynn walking everybody and just gaze dreamily at the WS 2011 flag. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/163 "2012-05-14T21:30:16Z")
Apparently Votto’s 3 homers (going 4-5 on the day), one of which was for a grand slam, has never been done before. Pretty sweet! [http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012\_05\_13\_wasmlb\_cinmlb\_1&mode=recap&c\_id=cin#gid=2012\_05\_13\_wasmlb\_cinmlb\_1&mode=video](http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_05_13_wasmlb_cinmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=cin#gid=2012_05_13_wasmlb_cinmlb_1&mode=video) Such a sweet swing. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/164 "2012-05-14T22:29:23Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > The Dodgers have managed to get wins the last four games without much of any contribution offensively from Matt Kemp. Looks like they’re going to have to keep figuring that out, as Kemp finally succumbed to his hamstring issue today. The Dodgers are awaiting the results of an MRI he’ll have tomorrow to see how long he’ll be out. If he winds up on the DL, he’ll be the 3rd Dodger already this season to go down with a hamstring injury, following Juan Rivera and Jerry Hairston. > > I’m starting to wonder what they’re putting in the water in that clubhouse. It’s interesting. The one aspect of their wins that no one seems to be talking about is the unsung OBP from the Ellis twins particularly AJ who has been quietly stunning (3rd best OBP in the majors. Better than Hamilton.) And while Abreu may be over the hill he can get on base pretty well too as can Ethier who is a levity hitter. While Harriston Jr is healthy he gets on base a lot too. That gives them 5 OR 6 bats in their line up with great OBP without talking about Matt Kemp. Of course all thier other bats are terrible and Mattingly isn’t even trying to take advantage of the OBP so they’re stranding just a ton of runners. They might actually be as good as their record if they could get even one average everyday player at 1b, 3b or LF or if they can keep all their old guys healthy. But they won’t ever be flashy and they seriously lack power…but maybe they really are good. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/165 "2012-05-14T22:41:02Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Of course all thier other bats are terrible and Mattingly isn’t even trying to take advantage of the OBP so they’re stranding just a ton of runners. Good offenses usually strand more runners than bad ones. LA is third in OBP, fifth in slugging, and fourth in runs scored, which all seems pretty logically aligned. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/166 "2012-05-15T01:10:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Good offenses usually strand more runners than bad ones. > > LA is third in OBP, fifth in slugging, and fourth in runs scored, which all seems pretty logically aligned. Good point. I have become attuned to sort of a gloom and doom attitude about this team, but maybe that has been wrong. Anyway, Jon Weisman makes the case for AJ Ellis all-star catcher on the ESPN sweet spot blog [here](http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/24396/nl-all-star-catcher-how-about-a-j-ellis). It’s a good read. Also, AJ is batting 5th tonight! Progress.😃 ---
**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:** [May 15, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/167 "2012-05-15T01:49:33Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Also, AJ is batting 5th tonight! Progress.😃 Given the loss of Kemp and now Juan Uribe (sore wrist), there aren’t many other places to put A.J. as is, but I say, let 'em hit! ---
**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:** [May 15, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/168 "2012-05-15T13:51:54Z")
At least Kershaw is calling the D-[del]Bags[/del]Backs on their throwing at him. Let it go already, Gibson. Or you are going to continue to get beat by a team that is limping (but still leading by 6 games). ---
**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:** [May 15, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/169 "2012-05-15T14:06:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > (but still leading by 6 games). 9.5 over AZ as of last night. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/170 "2012-05-15T14:37:10Z")
Badly phrased on my part. I meant leading the division by 6 games (Suck it, SF!)\* 😃 - - We will now open the betting on when the Giants will make me eat those words. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/171 "2012-05-15T23:28:20Z")
David Robertson has been placed on the 15-day DL. I have no doubt Soriano will step up and do a good job, but now I have doubts about getting to Soriano for the Yankees. I’m a Yankees hater, but things just seem so weird without Rivera. The Mariners are now fighting for the basement of the AL West. I had hoped they would be respectable, maybe finish around .500. The last couple of seasons, they’ve had pretty good pitching and historically bad hitting. Now they’re mediocre in both(outside of Felix.) Luckily, they have lots of good pitching prospects in the minors. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/172 "2012-05-16T01:58:08Z")
Brett Lawrie will soon be placed on the Not Allowed To Play For Awhile list after hitting the ump with his helmet. In fairness, as the ump appeared to have just thrown a call on purpose, I can undestand Lawrie’s frustration. But that was pretty dumb. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/173 "2012-05-16T02:42:55Z")
Lawrie was pretty stupid slamming his helmet like that, but those were two pretty fucking awful strike calls. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/174 "2012-05-16T03:50:37Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Lawrie was pretty stupid slamming his helmet like that, but those were two pretty fucking awful strike calls. It wasn’t the first one, really. It was the second… which, I have to be honest, looked deliberate. It really seemd to me like Miller rung Lawrie up on a pitch he knew was not a strike just to “teach the kid a lesson about assuming a call” or some such thing. It was a bullshit, unprofessional call, and Lawrie was perfectly right to shit all over him. If he’d just freaked on the ump and gotten tossed I would applaud that. The ump deserved that. Having the helmet bounce up and hit the ump, though, is totally unacceptable, and he has to serve a suspension for it. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/175 "2012-05-16T04:17:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It wasn’t the first one, really. It was the second… which, I have to be honest, looked deliberate. I agree with you about the second one being the real problem. The first one was a good few inches off the plate, but that was just a poor call. It definitely seemed like the ump was in “lesson giving” mode for the second one, which is completely unprofessional. ---
**Author:** ![Ambihelical\_Hexnut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4491bb/32.png) [@Ambihelical\_Hexnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambihelical_Hexnut)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/176 "2012-05-16T17:28:57Z")
[Citi Field will host the 2013 All-Star game.](http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120516&content_id=31423894&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/177 "2012-05-16T21:31:07Z")
Lawrie has been fined and suspended four games for the helmet toss. The call was terrible and if MLB concludes the umpire was trying to get back at him for his reaction to the call on the 3-1 pitch, he should also be punished. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/178 "2012-05-16T21:34:51Z")
Four games is actually pretty light, IMO, even though the ump was obviously wrong with the call. Those two calls were no worse than ones he made earlier in the game, based on some charts I saw today. But nobody else felt it necessary to throw a helmet at him. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/179 "2012-05-16T21:36:46Z")
If he’d thrown the helmet _at_ the guy it’d be a very different story. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514/180 "2012-05-16T21:41:36Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Four games is actually pretty light, IMO, even though the ump was obviously wrong with the call. Those two calls were no worse than ones he made earlier in the game, based on some charts I saw today. But nobody else felt it necessary to throw a helmet at him. The only way the suspension is light, in my opinion, is if you believe that Lawrie intentionally hit the umpire with the helmet. Had he directed it at the ump, i’d agree with you, but he slammed it straight down and just got an unlucky bounce. In terms of their location, the calls were no worse than some of Miller’s other ones, but i tend to agree with **RickJay** ’s interpretation, whereby the second one was basically the umpire deciding to teach Lawrie a lesson for “showing him up” on the previous pitch by jogging towards first base. Interestingly, if Lawrie decides to appeal the suspension, he could play against the Yankees tonight, where Bill Miller will be the third base umpire, standing about 10 feet from Lawrie’s fielding position. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-may-2012/620514.md?page=10)