MLB 2014: APRIL

[Brian Fowler]

I really really wish they hadn't torn it down though.

Comerica is beautiful.

[RIPPA]

Joe Blanton has decided to call it a career

[The Nature Boy]

I really really wish they hadn't torn it down though.

Comerica is beautiful.

 

Here's a story from a couple of years ago that I found interesting: 

 

http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/id/7071717/detroit-refuses-gm-offer-save-tiger-stadium-lot-espn-magazine

 

GM wants to preserve the site and turn it into a youth baseball field, the city says no because they think it's a prime spot for economic development. 

[TimWresPowr]

This is admittedly a small sample set, but I'm starting to think this season just may be defined by the instant replay changing the game.  At least judging by the Braves/Nats series & the MASN announcers' coverage of it.  Admittedly there seemed to be a lot of flukey plays or borderline calls in this set of 3 games, but I swear the announcers spent more time analyzing the officiating of the games, how the managers' strategy has to change in light of the officiating, and the motivation & approach of the umpiring itself.  Like there was a full season's worth of umpires getting face time & talked up in just 3 days.

 

Some of the talking points & stuff that happened in this series:

--they claim that because the umpires in NY reviewing the plays are peers of the guys on the field, there is a feeling of not wanting to "show up" their brethren, thinking that plays are less likely to be overturned due to not wanting to prove their colleagues "wrong"--they were pushing for a nameless/faceless crew in NY reviewing plays that wouldn't be biased & could make more objective calls in reviewing plays

 

--apparently the managers can delay a game while their team's clubhouse reviews a play for minutes on end before even deciding whether or not to challenge a call... in Friday's game alone, the Braves twice & the Nats once had their manager come on the field & stand around with the ump waiting for a thumbs up/thumbs down from their dugout as to whether a challenge was close enough to be worth a challenge, all 3 times, the game was delayed & the manager ultimately ran off the field without a challenge, at least one of those plays, the announcers found enough camera angles to show the mgr SHOULD have challenged.  This seems like way too many delays.

 

--announcers were analyzing whether more & more calls coming under scrutiny would lead to more indecisiveness & less aggression from umpires to where they will just obstain from making calls on the field & let the replays take care of it

 

--umpires are apparently interpreting rules & making calls differently this year because of replay.  There was a play where a Brave flew out to right field, the ball was clearly caught but dropped on the transfer.  The hitter was called safe.  The announcer says that's a common play at 2nd base but traditionally on a pop-up to the OF, that was traditionally called an out on the batter but an error that would allow any other runners to advance.

[hammerva]

The Pirates tonight against the Reds have had back to back home runs 3 times tonight.   Yet they are still tied 7-7.    So far this season the Pirates are masters of the 1 run home run. 

[Kuetsar]

This is admittedly a small sample set, but I'm starting to think this season just may be defined by the instant replay changing the game.  At least judging by the Braves/Nats series & the MASN announcers' coverage of it.  Admittedly there seemed to be a lot of flukey plays or borderline calls in this set of 3 games, but I swear the announcers spent more time analyzing the officiating of the games, how the managers' strategy has to change in light of the officiating, and the motivation & approach of the umpiring itself.  Like there was a full season's worth of umpires getting face time & talked up in just 3 days.

 

Some of the talking points & stuff that happened in this series:

--they claim that because the umpires in NY reviewing the plays are peers of the guys on the field, there is a feeling of not wanting to "show up" their brethren, thinking that plays are less likely to be overturned due to not wanting to prove their colleagues "wrong"--they were pushing for a nameless/faceless crew in NY reviewing plays that wouldn't be biased & could make more objective calls in reviewing plays

 

--apparently the managers can delay a game while their team's clubhouse reviews a play for minutes on end before even deciding whether or not to challenge a call... in Friday's game alone, the Braves twice & the Nats once had their manager come on the field & stand around with the ump waiting for a thumbs up/thumbs down from their dugout as to whether a challenge was close enough to be worth a challenge, all 3 times, the game was delayed & the manager ultimately ran off the field without a challenge, at least one of those plays, the announcers found enough camera angles to show the mgr SHOULD have challenged.  This seems like way too many delays.

 

--announcers were analyzing whether more & more calls coming under scrutiny would lead to more indecisiveness & less aggression from umpires to where they will just obstain from making calls on the field & let the replays take care of it

 

--umpires are apparently interpreting rules & making calls differently this year because of replay.  There was a play where a Brave flew out to right field, the ball was clearly caught but dropped on the transfer.  The hitter was called safe.  The announcer says that's a common play at 2nd base but traditionally on a pop-up to the OF, that was traditionally called an out on the batter but an error that would allow any other runners to advance.

As much as its needed in football, instant replay is not in MLB. For homers, sure I suppose, but in the regular season especially breaks tend to even out. I'm not strongly on this position, but it seems that the cure is worse than the disease, at least right now. . . 

[The Nature Boy]

 

This is admittedly a small sample set, but I'm starting to think this season just may be defined by the instant replay changing the game.  At least judging by the Braves/Nats series & the MASN announcers' coverage of it.  Admittedly there seemed to be a lot of flukey plays or borderline calls in this set of 3 games, but I swear the announcers spent more time analyzing the officiating of the games, how the managers' strategy has to change in light of the officiating, and the motivation & approach of the umpiring itself.  Like there was a full season's worth of umpires getting face time & talked up in just 3 days.

 

Some of the talking points & stuff that happened in this series:

--they claim that because the umpires in NY reviewing the plays are peers of the guys on the field, there is a feeling of not wanting to "show up" their brethren, thinking that plays are less likely to be overturned due to not wanting to prove their colleagues "wrong"--they were pushing for a nameless/faceless crew in NY reviewing plays that wouldn't be biased & could make more objective calls in reviewing plays

 

--apparently the managers can delay a game while their team's clubhouse reviews a play for minutes on end before even deciding whether or not to challenge a call... in Friday's game alone, the Braves twice & the Nats once had their manager come on the field & stand around with the ump waiting for a thumbs up/thumbs down from their dugout as to whether a challenge was close enough to be worth a challenge, all 3 times, the game was delayed & the manager ultimately ran off the field without a challenge, at least one of those plays, the announcers found enough camera angles to show the mgr SHOULD have challenged.  This seems like way too many delays.

 

--announcers were analyzing whether more & more calls coming under scrutiny would lead to more indecisiveness & less aggression from umpires to where they will just obstain from making calls on the field & let the replays take care of it

 

--umpires are apparently interpreting rules & making calls differently this year because of replay.  There was a play where a Brave flew out to right field, the ball was clearly caught but dropped on the transfer.  The hitter was called safe.  The announcer says that's a common play at 2nd base but traditionally on a pop-up to the OF, that was traditionally called an out on the batter but an error that would allow any other runners to advance.

As much as its needed in football, instant replay is not in MLB. For homers, sure I suppose, but in the regular season especially breaks tend to even out. I'm not strongly on this position, but it seems that the cure is worse than the disease, at least right now. . . 

 

 

Honestly, it disrupts the flow of the game. The ump's call should be final. Get this instant replay crap out of here.

[piranesi]

The ability to challenge should be based on how fast they keep the game moving.  A set time for each inning tells them if they've earned a challenge.

 

Keep your goddamned batters in the box, and tell your pitchers not to go through their fucking sumo prayer before every pitch and maybe you'll be under time and have a challenge.

 

AND GOSHDAMMIT LET ME SEE A CAMERA ANGLE OTHER THAN A CLOSEUP ON THE PITCHER'S INTENSE FACE@!!! THIS IS BASEBALL NOT TENNIS!!!!!!  THERE IS A FIELD FULL OF STUFF HAPPENING@@@@!!#!#@#

[Kevin Wilson]

Yea I watched the same Nats/Braves games, the replays and the rules are just brutal.  I know they want to 'get it right' but a five minute delay to see if a guy is out at first base is just not worth it.  Baseball is already a slow game, let's not make it slower.  A little human error never hurt anybody.  I hope that after this year they 're-evaluate' and if they have to keep the replay, find a way to make it a lot faster.  College football has the right idea where they have a referee on site that replays the play before it is even challenged, so once it is challenged it doesn't take too long.  They should look into that.

[RIPPA]

The Pirates tonight against the Reds have had back to back home runs 3 times tonight.   Yet they are still tied 7-7.    So far this season the Pirates are masters of the 1 run home run. 

 

The game got suspended due to rain. Finishes up at 5:30 tonight

[cubbymark]

Add Matt Moore to the Tommy John Wrecking Crew.

[RIPPA]

Yanks/Cubs already postponed for tonight

[Dolfan in NYC]

Dan Uggla hit a grand slam yesterday to help win the game.  Here's the glorious reaction of Philadelphia fans, who'd been taunting him during the at bat. 

 

 

I love the internet.

[Tabe]

Keep your goddamned batters in the box, and tell your pitchers not to go through their fucking sumo prayer before every pitch and maybe you'll be under time and have a challenge.

Watching major league baseball games the last few years, I've become convinced of two things:

 

1) HItters are absolutely terrified at the idea of being in the batter's box

 

2) Pitchers are absolutely terrified at the idea of throwing a pitch

 

Seriously.  Nobody needs to "reset" and "refocus" every single time they do something that they've done tens of thousands of times before.

[Death From Above]

If it takes someone longer than 2 minutes to make a decision on a 7 second replay, the fault lies with the person making the decision not with the technology involved.

 

No one has that many angles.

[piranesi]

 

Keep your goddamned batters in the box, and tell your pitchers not to go through their fucking sumo prayer before every pitch and maybe you'll be under time and have a challenge.

Watching major league baseball games the last few years, I've become convinced of two things:

 

1) HItters are absolutely terrified at the idea of being in the batter's box

 

2) Pitchers are absolutely terrified at the idea of throwing a pitch

 

Seriously.  Nobody needs to "reset" and "refocus" every single time they do something that they've done tens of thousands of times before.

 

 

Sometimes it seems like a collusional ploy by the networks to create phony drama.  Some of these games, pitch by pitch, are like a wrestling match where the best part of the match is the staredown before the match...but over and over and over and over and over....

[RIPPA]

I assume the Cubs are happy that will be the only time they face Tanaka for awhile

[Cristobal]

Since being taken out of the closer's role, Jim Johnson has thrown 5 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits, striking out 5 and walking 1.

 

Small sample size, to be sure, but some in here (well, just Rippa) were writing him off after even less.

[RIPPA]

The reason I didn't respond to your post before was I got to it like 12 hours after it was posted and I didn't feel like rehashing it after other folks started talking about other things.

 

But since you brought him back up - If you want to think he is more talented that I give him credit for. Fine - I am not going to pick nits over that.

 

But the notoriously frugal As brought him in at what they knew was going to be around $10 million a year to specifically be their closer. (And the Os were doing it as a salary dump - and this was widely known at the time - so the return they got didn't matter to them).

 

Johnson - their 2nd highest paid player this year - is no longer their closer.

 

So that is... unless he gets his job back (and keeps it this time)... not good

 

The only other $10 million dollar setup man I can think of off the top of my head is Brian Wilson - and that isn't working out either.

[Joe Lucia]

The reason the A's did it (apparently) was to avoid handing the closer role to someone like Cook or Doolittle and have them rack up saves going into arb, where they would get more expensive in the long-term. It's a little hard to comprehend, but...it makes sense.

[Cristobal]

White Sox go through their entire bullpen, end up sending utilityman Leury Garcia out to pitch the 14th against the Red Sox.

Per MLB Gameday, Garcia's pitches include a low-80s 4-seam fastball and a high-70s changeup.

Garcia got the first two hitters out, but walked the next two. At that point the pitching coach went out to the mound.

I imagine that meeting went as follows:

"Kid?"

"Yeah coach?"

"Just throw it over the fucking plate."

[piranesi]

White Sox go through their entire bullpen, end up sending utilityman Leury Garcia out to pitch the 14th against the Red Sox.

Per MLB Gameday, Garcia's pitches include a low-80s 4-seam fastball and a high-70s changeup.

Garcia got the first two hitters out, but walked the next two. At that point the pitching coach went out to the mound.

I imagine that meeting went as follows:

"Kid?"

"Yeah coach?"

"Just throw it over the fucking plate."

 

"I'm gonna try and finesse the corners, skip!"

[RIPPA]

In a interesting(?), weird(?) stat - the Cubs have never won in the Bronx

 

Swept in both the 1932 and 1938 World Series

Swept in 2005 inter-league series

Swept yesterday

 

Heck - toss in the two exhibition games in 2009 and they still haven't won there

[Mistah Na1m4rk]

The Cubs shouldn't be playing in the Bronx unless it is the World Series (so, you know, never).  Interleague play remains an abomination and I'm hoping the next commissioner has the sack to excise this tumor.

 

Also the Yankees pitching staff looks pretty good so far.

[RIPPA]

I have been on this post for far too long because I keep staring at Naimark's sig