Ryan Vogelsong removed from the COL-PIT game after taking a 91-mph pitch to the head. It looks like it caught the edge of the helmet, but some of his cheek and temple area as well. Hope he’s OK.
Damn, I always liked Vogey when he was a Giant. I hope he’s going to be okay.
Apparently MLB is considering changing the intentional walk rule so that if you want to walk someone, you just say so and they go to first base without any pitches having to be thrown. Baseball purists will hate it. I don’t like it. The IBB takes like a minute and is not a terribly frequent occurrence. So how much time do you really save?
They also may raise the strike zone from the bottom of the knee to the top of the knee. Apparently too many low strikes are being called. I think that would actually have a substantial impact on offensive numbers.
I was actually thinking about starting a poll on this today.
I agree with you that the proposed IW rule is stupid. There are plenty of games that go by without one being issued at all. In fact, according to the Baseball Almanac, the most ever issued in a game is five, and that was in extra innings. How much time could this possibly be saving? On top of that, you’re eliminating the possibility of a rare-but-fun mishap with a wild pitch or someone actually swinging at a poorly-placed pitch. I just don’t see the point.
As for the strike zone issue, my understanding is that they want to narrow the zone so that more balls are put into play. I’m not someone that has any issues with the number of strikeouts or the pace of the game, but I don’t have any strong objection to that particular rule change, I guess.
Psh. Bryce Harper gets walked intentionally three or four times a game and they’re rarely called as intentional walks. How will this change anything? And why is it important to make this rule change?
Terrible, terrible idea. Takes away the possibility of fakeouts, passed balls, and even hits. Baseball is largely about the anticipation of possibilities, things that don’t necessarily happen often; why would you want to take a little of that away?
It would. I’d think the first step should be more rigorous electronic monitoring of umpires’ balls-and-strikes.
I understand the low strike decision. I don’t agree with it, but I understand it. The low strike is the hardest for the umpire to call, and raising the zone will result in more offense, so I see their point. But the IW rule is a mistake and terminally stupid.
It might be unfair, but it’s a Red Sox player so who cares? 
I’ve been fooled too many times. A-Rod will be the clean home run king. Lance Armstrongs heart is 50% larger than average. Yada Yada Yada. Besides, Big Papis hall of fame plaque isn’t a done deal. Edgar Martinez finished at 68.3 WAR and hasn’t come close to election. Ortiz is currently at 52.3 WAR for his career. As a plus he has an amazing postseason record, but it’s also pretty much accepted that he’s a P.E.D. user.
I assumed the “hate crime” speculation was in reference to a rogue tech, not team management. And honestly, that appears to be the case. The Padres claimed there was “no evidence of malicious intent,” and that it was (redundantly) an “unintentional mistake.” But then they fired a contractor and “disciplined” a game-production employee, which makes sense when you consider how obvious this was. The chorus was not only on the field, they were on the giant video board, the careful running of which is a top feature of game production.
I don’t have any issue with the pace of play, but I do think there are an awful lot of strikeouts these days. It’s no biggie to have 100 K’s in a season. That used to be obscene. I remember when folks thought nobody would ever match Rob Deer’s 180-something K’s in a season. A few years ago Adam Dunn struck out 222 times and was an All Star!
That said, I don’t completely blame the strike zone.
You think so? That most people think he’s a user? He’s my favorite player so I like to think he’s pure as the driven snow. If voters think he’s clean, there’s no way he can be kept out of the HOF. Career WAR be damned, he’s reached the appropriate milestones. 500 HRs. 600 doubles. Well over 1500 RBI. Not to mention the postseason accomplishments.
Josh Hamilton out for the season and quite possibly his career is over.
NBC Sports - HardballTalk: Josh Hamilton to undergo knee surgery, miss the rest of 2016
Did you see his last AB? Needed a triple to get his first cycle ever, the only way he could do it was to hit one into the triangle and make the CF run it down, he hit it right there - and it bounced into the stands. :mad:
That was before his PED detox. He’s much lighter and faster now.
I’m for an inclusive Hall (so the best DHs and relievers get in too) and I’ve given up on keeping the top level PED users out, but yeah, I think Ortiz is probably just as dirty as A-Rod. Still, he belongs in the Hall.
As an aside, the steroid problem also seems to be a Dominican problem. I’ve never heard any MLB official mention it, but fully half of the players suspended since the tough penalties were imposed are from the D.R…
Then why do they call them PEDs?
I don’t know, but I assume that sound (wind blowing really hard right above your head) is called a “whoosh”.
The Giants won their second straight 1-0 ballgame tonight. The winning run scored with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, on a wind-aided popup that dropped about 150 feet out into right field, scoring a runner from first.
The curse of the Angels extends to players off their team (but on their payroll).
Boy, when are the Dodgers gonna get rid of that bum Kershaw, anyway? In a sign of continuing decline, he only managed seven strikeouts, gave up a friggen’ walk (dropping his K/BB to a measly 19/1) and couldn’t even stay under 100 pitches in the complete-game shutout.
I assume he’ll be sent down to the minors any day, now.
Nah, they need him to pinch hit and DH in AL parks.
You might say that Johnny Cueto owns the Padres. In 3 starts against them this year, he’s 3-0, 27 innings, and given up a total of 1 run.