Link to August thread.
The Dodgers are in a bit of a slump. Still leading the division by double-digits, of course.
But the big news is Verlander’s no-hitter against Toronto.
You’re sure this isn’t the May 2011 thread? 
You think Abraham Toro is going to wind up getting something nice from Verlander in the next few days?
the dodgers always do this every year it seems …get ahead of everyone by 60 games and then lose 15 0r 20 and make it look like they have to squeak into postseason…
Detroit Tigers catching prospect Chace Numata has died after injuries sustained during an accident with his electric skateboard. He was 27.
My Nats kept things close against the Mets at home, only trailing 5-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, until the Mets exploded for five runs and took a 10-4 lead.
Then the real Nats team finally showed up, and we scored seven runs, including a three-run blast by Kurt Suzuki to win the game, 11-10. It was the greatest ninth-inning comeback in Nats history. And to think I almost turned it off!
One of my best friends is a Mets fan. That was a brutal, brutal loss. (Sad to say, he wasn’t surprised.) Mets were just on fire out of the gate after the All-Star game, and they just seem to have reverted to the mean in the last couples weeks, including getting swept by my Cubs and now their horrendous bullpen giving up 7 in the bottom of the nine frame.
ETA: And the Nats run production just has been sick as of late. Looking back at the last 16 games, they’ve been averaging just over 8 runs a game. Holy crap.
(Bolding mine)
Mr. Ricketts*, sir? As a die-hard fan since 84, I humbly ask you to keep Nicholas Castellanos beyond this season.
*
I ***did ***turn it off, after Trea Turner’s mental error (he thought there were 2 out, instead of 1, allowing baserunners to advance to second and third, after which they scored). Remind me not to do that again.
As bad as the Mets really Metsed that game, they remained a massive longshot even had they won the game.
Their hot streak was a fluke, just as their cold streaks have been flukes. In truth, their 70-68 record is basically what they really are.
The Kansas City Royals have a new home run king, Jorge Soler. With almost a month of baseball left to play, hopefully he can elevate the team record out of the “utter embarrassment zone”.
I was more than a little upset when the Cubs traded Soler. I understood why they did, but it still hurt. I really liked his bat.
It’s such a weird fluke the Royals never had a 40-homer man before, given how many good teams and excellent hitters the club has had.
The Mets also have a new single season record in Pete Alonso, who’s blown past the old record of 41 and is headed for 50. Christian Yelich has a shot at breaking the Brewers team record; he’s at 43, and the record is 50, by Prince (Fielder.)
No other team besides the Mets and Royals had a team record that low. Most teams (to my surprise) have had at least one 50-home season and the others are in the high 40s.
The Royals have had good teams in the past, but mainly built on pitching, speed and defense. They never had home run hitters (though they’d had plenty of doubles and triples), and Royals/Kauffman Stadium has long had a reputation for being hard to hit home runs in.
In addition to the teams you mentioned, the Angels’ record of 47 seems very likely to fall to Mike Trout this season.
Yeah, I missed Trout; he could get to 50 with a strong finish.
Who’s the greatest player to never even play in a World Series? Mike Trout is getting up there. He’s wasted a hell of a run on a shockingly mediocre club. I guess the answer would be Nap Lajoie if you count guys who partially played before there was a World Series; if you don’t, I’m not sure who it would be. Ken Griffey Jr., maybe.
Ernie Banks would be up there.
He was the old answer, Griffey Jr. is a really strong candidate though.
Nap Lajoie is worth mentioning. He played before the World Series got started but most of his career was in the World Series era.
I’d place Banks behind Griffey.
Another one jumped to mind; Rod Carew.
Carew was a great singles hitter, but he had little power. He was basically an early Ichiro, and Ichiro as well has not played in any World Series.
Possibly someone from the Negro Leagues? (You didn’t specify MLB player.)