2019 MLB thread

[Dewey 3294]

49 minutes ago, Helobious said:

Factually incorrect. I’ve been alive for 5.

And that's why you're a big fan

Edit, forgot to ask, think your Patriots repeat this year?

Edited August 9, 2019 by Dewey

[Fudge Nuggets 19227]

Yankee fandom isn't quite as bad as all the circa 2016 Cub fans that "always liked them because they were on WGN". 

You know, the same people that back in the 1990's always liked the Braves because they were on WTBS back in the day.

[Beau Vine 54442]

Stark:

Quote

We’re back!

Sorry about that little July hiatus by the normally reliable Useless Info Department. But hey, it was a big month. All-Stars! Trades! A Hall of Fame speech! I was busy, all right?

Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, however, it’s time for our Useless Infomaniacs to home in on the stupendous history that has been unfolding right before your eyes — and we bet you never even noticed. So join us now for an August History Watch edition of Useless Info, plus much more!

Justin Verlander vs. Walter Johnson

On one hand, it would be tough to find any starter who has been more unhittable than Justin Verlander this year. Heck, he’s allowed the fewest hits per nine innings in the entire sport (at a mere 5.42).

On the other hand, nobody serves up home runs like this guy — because he’s also leading the major leagues in gopherballs (with 29). And if you’re thinking that’s a pretty weird combination, to give up the fewest hits but allow the most homers, hey, good call!

In fact, only two pitchers since 1900 have ever done that in any league in the same season — and it’s been a while!

PITCHER	YEAR	HR	H/9
Walter Johnson	1913	9	6.03
Bob Shawkey	1923	17	8.06

(Source: Lee Sinins’ Complete Baseball Encyclopedia)

By the way, nobody has led both leagues in both categories in the same year. But that’s not all — because Verlander also holds the American League lead in ERA (at 2.68). And you don’t see many ERA champs firing up the most home runs in their league, either.

PITCHER	YEAR	HR	ERA*
John Candelaria	1977	29	2.34
Walter Johnson	1913	9	1.14

* since ERA became an official stat in 1913
(Source: Lee Sinins’ Complete Baseball Encyclopedia)

So it’s no surprise that Justin Verlander is chasing history this year. We just didn’t figure it would be that kind.

Tigers vs. Verlander

Not so long ago, those Detroit Tigers had the most star-studded rotation in this great land of ours. Of course, in those days, they were running Verlander, Max Scherzer and David Price out there — not Gregory Soto, Tyler Alexander and Drew VerHagen.

So what’s so historic about this edition of the Tigers’ rotation? Oh, only that the 11 pitchers they’ve started this year have combined to go 16-53 with a 5.26 ERA. Which puts them totally in the running to break the record for lowest winning percentage by any AL rotation since earned runs became an official stat in 1913. Here’s that leader board:

YEAR	TEAM	W-L	WIN PCT
1919	Athletics	28-96	.226
2019	Tigers	16-53	.232
2003	Tigers	29-94	.236

(Source: baseball-reference.com)

Ah, but here’s a way more mesmerizing record the Tigers could “pursue.” Until they beat the White Sox in Game 2 of a doubleheader Tuesday, the entire Tigers rotation had as many wins combined as their old buddy Verlander had by himself (15). And that, friends, is a much more challenging feat. Matter of fact, in the last 110 years, only three teams have pulled that one off:

TEAM	WINS	MLB WINS LEADER	WINS
1962 Mets	23	Don Drysdale	25*
1919 Athletics	28	Ed Cicotte	29
1916 Athletics	33	Grover Cleveland Alexander	33

* Jack Sanford (24), Ralph Terry (23) and Bob Purkey (23) also won as many games in 1962 as the Mets’ whole rotation
(Source: baseball-reference.com)

I know I’m a little warped by my love of the weird and wacky, but I’ll admit it right now: I might be more engrossed in this Tigers-versus-Verlander duel than I am in who winds up in the AL wild-card game!

 

Justin Verlander (Troy Taormina / USA Today)

Mike Trout vs. Ted Williams

I’m pretty sure we’re prohibited by law from doing one of these History Watch columns without mentioning that guy, Mike Trout. So how about this:

Trout is leading the American League in OPS this year. And if that sounds slightly familiar, maybe it’s because he also did that last year. And the year before that. So want to guess how long it’s been since anybody led the AL in OPS three years in a row?

Oh, just to give you an idea, Miguel Cabrera never did it. Mickey Mantle never did it. George Brett never did it. In fact, nobody has done it since … Ted Williams — from 1946-49 (four years in a row).

The last guy before him? Babe Ruth (six years in a row, from 1926-31, and also seven in a row, from 1918-24). And the last before the Babe? Oh, only Ty Cobb (six in a row, from 1907-12). But that, my friends, is the entire list.

So even though Barry Bonds, Mike Schmidt, Willie McCovey and Frank Robinson have done this in the NL in the interim, here’s what we’d tell Mike Trout: If you find yourself joining a club that has only Williams, Ruth and Cobb in it, this just in: You’re pretty freaking good!

The Twins vs. The ’47 Giants

When I said hi to Twins pitcher Jake Odorizzi at the All-Star Game, he announced: “I’ve got the best job in baseball. I get to watch Home Run Derby every night.” Yeah, he does. We’re barely a week into August, and his team has already launched 224 homers.

That doesn’t just put the Twins on pace to break the all-time single-season record, set by last year’s Yankees (267). They’re on pace to obliterate it — by nearly 50 homers. At their current rate, they’d mash 316 of them this year. Which would break that record by an insane 18 percent. And considering we’re nearly a century and a half into the history of big-league baseball, that’s unheard of.

According to our friends from STATS, no team has broken any significant single-season hitting record by 15 percent or more since Johnny Mize’s 1947 New York Giants hiked the home run record by 21.4 percent, by busting the 200-homer barrier for the first time. But that was more than seven decades ago!

Here are the only teams STATS could find since 1900 that broke any single-season record by even 10 percent or more. And it’s all basically ancient history now.

TEAM	RECORD	OLD	NEW	PCT.
1947 Giants	HR	182	221	21.4%
1921 Indians	Doubles	300	355	18.3%
1927 Yankees	HR	142	158	11.3%

Meanwhile, in a related development …

The Orioles vs. The ’59 Dodgers

For every action, there’s a reaction. Which means, if I’ve analyzed this correctly: For every home run that’s hit, somebody has to give one up. Right? So … have you watched an Orioles game lately?

The 2019 Orioles are on a pace to allow 333 homers this year. That’s just nuts, no matter how juiced the baseballs are. Maybe this will help you digest that little nugget: That’s as many long balls as the Red Sox and Cubs gave up combined last season. But there’s also this:

If the Orioles keep serving up bombs at this clip, they’re going to crush the all-time single-season gopherball record — held by Jumbo Díaz’s 2016 Reds (258) — by a mind-blowing 75 homers. Yep, 75! That works out to an absurd 29 percent.

According to STATS, the last time any team did that much damage to the home-runs-allowed record was 1884, when Larry Corcoran’s fabled Chicago White Stockings decided to mess with the ground rules of the funkily designed Lake Front Park — and wound up breaking the record for homers surrendered by a mere 277 percent (from 22 to 83).

But let’s ignore any history that was made in 1884, OK? If we careen into the 20th century, we can’t find any significant single-season pitching record that was broken by more than 20 (or even 15) percent since Johnny Podres’ 1959 Dodgers spiked the team-strikeout record by 20.2 percent (from 896 to 1,077).

That was 60 years ago, though. And it joins just this tiny list of single-season pitching records that have been broken by at least 20 percent since 1900 — none of them lately!

TEAM	RECORD	OLD	NEW	PCT.
1959 Dodgers	Strikeouts	896	1,077	20.2%
1922 Athletics	HR allowed	89	107	20.2%
1906 White Sox	Shutouts	26	32	23.1%
1904 White Sox	Shutouts	21	26	23.8%

So what’s the point here, other than the Orioles do more launching these days than NASA? It’s this: With all the home runs flying every night, you can lose perspective on just how many there are and what it means. But when you realize these records aren’t merely being broken, they’re being annihilated, it’s time to say: This isn’t normal. This. Is. Crazy!

Useless Info of the Week

DROP THAT PUCK — Monday at Target Field, Miguel Sanó did something kinda cool. He didn’t just hit a walk-off homer. He hit a walk-off homer against the Braves. And the best part about that was: It was the Twins’ first walk-off homer against the Braves since … the Kirby Puckett Game 6 We’ll See You Tomorrow Night shot that set up the epic Jack Morris-John Smoltz Game 7 in the 1991 World Series. But wait. There’s more!

WE WILL SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT — Well, you know what happened when those two teams did see each other the next night? On the very first pitch, Ronald Acuña Jr. whomped a leadoff homer. Which caused loyal reader Zach Chizar to ask:

How often do you see a series in which one game ends on a last-pitch homer and the next game starts with a first-pitch homer?

Good one! According to STATS, in the 32-season pitch-count era, it’s happened only one other time — in an Orioles-Angels series in September 2006, when Adam Kennedy hit a Sept. 5 walk-off and Brian Roberts whacked a first-pitch leadoff homer the next day. Love this!

CRUZ CONTROL — He’s 39 years old. But when we tell you that Nelson Cruz is having a second half for the ages, we’re not talking about how many candles were on his birthday cake, OK?

In his first 100 plate appearances after the All-Star break, this dude smoked 16 homers! And if that seems like a lot, it’s only because holy crap, that’s a lot!

MOST HR IN FIRST 100 PA AFTER ALL-STAR BREAK
16	Nelson Cruz, 2019 Twins
16	Mark McGwire, 1999 Cardinals
15	Hank Greenberg, 1938 Tigers
15	Albert Belle, 1998 White Sox

So how many home runs did Cruz hit in the entire second half last year? That would be 15.

DOING 60 — While I was hanging out in Cooperstown last month, Christian Yelich spun yet another astonishing feat off his never-ending assembly line that I couldn’t let pass. In the calendar year from July 20, 2018, to July 20, 2019, you know how many home runs he hit? That would be 60!

Even though it’s now 92 years since Babe Ruth’s fabled 60-homer season, that’s still one of baseball’s most romantic numbers. So I asked STATS to come up with a list of all the players in history who have ever hit 60 in a calendar year without ever hitting 60 in a real season. It’s a great group.

Other active players — J.D. Martinez (60 in 2017-18), Giancarlo Stanton (62 in 2017-18).

Others in the 21st century — A-Rod (63 in 2001-02), David Ortiz (62 in 2005-06), Ryan Howard (63 in 2005-06), José Bautista (62 in 2010-11).

Did it while 60 was still the record — Hank Greenberg (60 in 1938-39), Mickey Mantle (60 in 1960-61).

Did it after Maris hit 61 — Ken Griffey Jr. (62 in 1993-94), Albert Belle (67 in 1995-96), Griffey again (66 in 1997-98).

None of those men ever had a magical 60-homer “season.” But they had 60 in a Season That Never Was. And now Christian Yelich has joined that exalted club. Very cool.

P.S. The Babe (twice) and Mark McGwire (1996-97) also had calendar years in which they hit 60-plus, in years in which they didn’t have 60-homer seasons. Just sayin’.

BOX-SCORE LINE OF THE WEEK — Jon Lester, of all people, unfurled this line Tuesday against the A’s:

4 IP, 10 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 HR

Claims to fame: He’s the first Cubs pitcher to allow 11 runs (or more) in a game in 43 years (since Joe Coleman did it on June 19, 1976). But that’s not Lester’s only claim to fame. Believe it or not, that also makes him the only active pitcher who has given up at least 11 runs twice. The only other pitcher in this decade who has done that: Jeff Locke, for the Pirates and Marlins, in 2016-17. Who knew!

CHANGE FOR A FIVE — That pounding the Red Sox took against the Yankees last weekend didn’t just push the Red Sox 14 1/2 games out of first place. It also left their starting rotation with an ERA over 5.00. And if you have this sneaking suspicion there haven’t been a whole lot of defending champs whose rotations had an ERA in the 5.00s the next year, you’re onto something! Here’s the whole list:

TEAM	ERA
2019 Red Sox	5.00
2007 Cardinals	5.04
1997 Marlins	5.40

So … breaking! It isn’t the bullpen that’s been the most underperforming part of the Red Sox pitching staff. And that’s a fact.

AUSTIN FOUND — I don’t recall anyone describing Yankees catcher Austin Romine as “Ruthian” before now. But why the heck not?

You might recall he got dragged in to pitch in Fenway Park in their 19-3 thrashing by the Red Sox on July 26 — and gave up two home runs. But since then, he’s started six games and hit a home run in four of them. So …

So who was the last Yankees position player to hit a home run and give up a home run in the same season? That would be George Herman “Bambino” Babe Ruth, who did that back on Oct. 1 and 2, 1921, because, hey, of course he did!

Strangest But Truest Feats of the Week

CAPTAIN IN-VINCE-ABLE — I woke up Saturday morning to learn that out there in the Twitter-verse, Friday night’s insane White Sox-Phillies game was already being described as “a Jayson Stark column all by itself.”

jsaquella@jsaquella

 

 

This game is a @jaysonst column all by itself

 

5

11:08 PM - Aug 2, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

See jsaquella's other Tweets

 

 

 

 

OK, I apologize that I didn’t get a whole column out of it. But I’ve got some tidbits!

• The Phillies spent two innings — the 14th and 15th — with an outfielder (Roman Quinn) on the mound and a pitcher (Vince Velasquez) in the outfield. And when Quinn wound up (shockingly) as the losing pitcher, it made this just the second game in the last 30 years in which any game ended with a pitcher in the outfield and a position player taking the loss.

The other: April 17, 2010. Mets at Cardinals. 20 innings of total madness. Kyle Lohse in left. Joe Mather your LP.

• Seven Phillies relievers appeared in this game. The “reliever” who threw the most pitches was … who else! — Roman Quinn (with 36). Just how they drew it up!

• Then again, how the heck did Quinn wind up on the mound in only the 14th inning, on a team with an eight-man bullpen — in August? I spent way too much time looking at every game in the live-ball era in which the losing pitcher wasn’t really a “pitcher.” And …

The Phillies were the first team in those 100 seasons to allow a true position player to take a loss in the 15th inning or earlier — in an August or September game they entered in possession of a playoff spot (or tie). Got it? Other than games in April, no other position player in the last 50 years even entered a game as early as the 14th and lost it.

• But finally, let’s hear it for Vince Velasquez. He threw out a runner at the plate. He made a spectacular catch. He’s the first pitcher in at least the last 70 years to rack up both an outfield assist and putout in the same game. So naturally …

OF ASSISTS THIS YEAR:
Vince Velasquez: 1 (in 2 innings)
The otherwise-awesome Juan Soto: 0 (in 982.2 innings)!

5-STAR CATCHES THIS YEAR (via Statcast):
Vince Velasquez: 1
All other Phillies outfielders: 0

Repeat after me: Baseball!

NOT AS EASY AS 1-2-3 — The good news for the Braves last Sunday was: They hit a home run in the eighth inning. Then they hit two home runs in the ninth inning. Then they hit another home run in the 10th inning. The bad news for the Braves was … they did all that and still lost to the Reds, 6-4.

That’s so hard to do, according to STATS, that only four other teams in history have ever homered in the eighth, ninth and 10th of any game and lost it. Here they are:

DATE	TEAM	OPP	SCORE
8/30/1960	Washington Senators	vs Chicago White Sox	11-10 (10)
7/14/1962	Los Angeles Angels	vs New York Yankees	9-8 (10)
8/3/2008	Detroit Tigers	at Tampa Bay Rays	6-5 (10)
5/20/2013	Seattle Mariners	at Cleveland Indians	10-8 (10)
8/4/2019	Atlanta Braves	vs Cincinnati Reds	6-4 (10)

But here’s the Strangest But Truest part. Only one other National League team has ever done this, and it’s not on that chart — because it was the NL All-Star Team in 2018! The NL homered in the eighth (Christian Yelich), ninth (Scooter Gennett) and 10th (Joey Votto) — and still lost that game, 8-6. Amazing.

O NOOOOOOOO — No truth to the rumor that as you were reading the rest of this column, the Yankees hit six more home runs in Camden Yards. But that’s only, I assume, because the Yankees won’t be permitted to hit there again until 2020. Nevertheless, it’s incomprehensible that all this could have happened in real life:

Games of 5+ homers by the Yankees in Baltimore this year: 5
Games of 5+ homers by the Yankees in Yankee Stadium this year: 0!

Or…

Consecutive games of 5+ HR by the Yankees in Baltimore this week: 3
Most consecutive games of 5+ HR by the Yankees in 7,452 regular-season games at any version of Yankee Stadium: 2!

Or…

Yankees at Camden Yards this year: 43 HR, .725 SLUG in 425 PA
Active players who have ever had 43 HR, .725 SLUG in a season of 425+ PA: 0!

Or, finally, this fantastic note from my friend, Katie Sharp (@ktsharp):

Yankees at Camden Yards This Season: 43 HR, 10 Games
Giants at Oracle Park: 39 HR, 56 Games
Tigers at Comerica Park: 37 HR, 54 Games

Yankees versus Orioles. The Strangest But Truest “rivalry” of 2019.

FINISH WHAT YOU DON’T START — Before we leave the Yankees … Chad Green “started” the second game of their doubleheader Saturday against the Red Sox. All right, so he was really the “opener.” Just go with it, OK?

Then that very same Chad Green saved the Yankees’ game the next day. Which prompted loyal reader Tyler Kepner to ask: How rare is that — in the regular season at least? (Randy Johnson might have some thoughts about doing it in October.)

So I ran that great question past STATS and …

Green was the first pitcher to earn a save the day after “starting” a game since the great Mike Krukow did that for the Giants back on Aug. 30-31, 1984. (Cam Bedrosian did it in back-to-back games — but not days — earlier this season.) And you don’t need to consult Goose Gossage to know that no Yankee had ever done this since the dawn of the modern save rule 50 years ago.

ZERO HEROES — On their trip through Arizona and San Francisco over the last week, the Nationals threw a one-hit shutout against the Diamondbacks and another shutout Monday against the Giants. Nothing unusual about that when a team rolls out the kind of ace-laden rotation the Nationals feature, right?

Uh, wait a second! Would you believe that neither of those games was started by Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin or Aníbal Sánchez? The one-hitter was started by Joe Ross. The game in San Francisco was started by Erick Fedde … because, well, of course it was!

THE BUC DOESN’T STOP HERE — Finally, you probably missed this in the rubble of the Pirates’ second-half nightmare, but can we get a round of applause for their sweet-swinging pitcher, Steven Brault?

He’s working on a seven-game hitting streak — in which he’s gone 8 for 10!

The only other active pitchers who have ever had a streak that long? Wade Miley (an eight-gamer for the 2012 Diamondbacks) and CC Sabathia (another eight-gamer stretched out over four seasons of interleague games when he was in Cleveland).

But here’s the Strange But True part. You know who hasn’t had a seven-game hitting streak at any point this year? Oh, only Aaron Judge. And Albert Pujols. And Marcell Ozuna. And Robbie Canó. And Eugenio Suárez. Just for starters. And that makes no sense at all, except it’s …

Baseball!

 

[Beau Vine 54442]

2 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

Yankee fandom isn't quite as bad as all the circa 2016 Cub fans that "always liked them because they were on WGN". 

You know, the same people that back in the 1990's always liked the Braves because they were on WTBS back in the day.

Or the Astros fans who showed up in 2015.

[Fudge Nuggets 19227]

25 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Or the Astros fans who showed up in 2015.

Or the D-back fans that showed up in 2011 then became Cardinal fans this year.

[TonyTexas 10531]

Or the Astros fans who showed up in 2015.

You missed the point. He’s talking about becoming fans of a team located hundreds if not thousands of miles from where they live with little to no personal connection. . Probably not a lot of Astro fans outside of their region.

[Beau Vine 54442]

1 hour ago, TonyTexas said:

You missed the point. He’s talking about becoming fans of a team located hundreds if not thousands of miles from where they live with little to no personal connection. 

I would disagree that becoming a Cubs fan because of WGN falls under "little to no personal connection."  Pretty sure you're not old enough to remember trying to follow MLB before ESPN took off -- in the pre-cable days, there was one national game on TV a week, every Saturday afternoon.  Then cable showed up and you could watch the Cubs or the Braves every night.  It was an amazing transformation and I don't begrudge anyone who's an out-of-area fan of either team because of that time period.  

[Fudge Nuggets 19227]

If someone became a Braves fan in the 80's because of WTBS, good for them.  Same for anyone that became a Cubs fan because of WGN.

The problem lies with those that were Braves fans until they started to suck again then all of a sudden became a Cubs fan in 2016.

[Guadaloopy 11014]

I can get over the out of region fans of the Braves and the Cubs who never had another natural regional rooting interest.  What I don’t get is choosing another region’s team when you already have one available.  It’s just strange to me.    

[Pato del Muerto 52608]

27 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

I would disagree that becoming a Cubs fan because of WGN falls under "little to no personal connection."  Pretty sure you're not old enough to remember trying to follow MLB before ESPN took off -- in the pre-cable days, there was one national game on TV a week, every Saturday afternoon.  Then cable showed up and you could watch the Cubs or the Braves every night.  It was an amazing transformation and I don't begrudge anyone who's an out-of-area fan of either team because of that time period.  

I watched so many cubs games during summer afternoons and they had guys like an aging Dawson, Sandburg, dunston, raffy then grace, sutcliffe, maddux for a bit. Plus Harry calling the games with Steve. 

But along with wgn, Dallas area cable also had HSE so the rangers games were televised so there was no danger of the cubbies becoming my team. 

Never watched too many braves games as they were night games and competed with rangers games and whatever else I watched on prime time in the 80s. Dukes of hazard and simon&simon or whatnot. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Pato del Muerto

[Guadaloopy 11014]

1 minute ago, Pato del Muerto said:

I watched so many cubs games during summer afternoons and they had guys like an aging Dawson, Sandburg, dunston, raffy then grace, sutcliffe, maddux for a bit. Plus Harry calling the games with Steve. 

But along with wgn, Dallas area cable also had HSE so the rangers games were televised so there was no danger of the cubbies becoming my team. 

This.  I watched a LOT of Cub games and Brave games growing up latchkey in the 80s.   Never once thought of ditching the Astros.  Bill Doran got my all star vote every year over Sandberg.  

[Pato del Muerto 52608]

2 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

This.  I watched a LOT of Cub games and Brave games growing up latchkey in the 80s.   Never once thought of ditching the Astros.  Bill Doran got my all star vote every year over Sandberg.  

Hope you didn’t leave any hanging chads. 

[Beau Vine 54442]

8 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

I watched so many cubs games during summer afternoons and they had guys like an aging Dawson, Sandburg, dunston, raffy then grace, sutcliffe, maddux for a bit. Plus Harry calling the games with Steve. 

But along with wgn, Dallas area cable also had HSE so the rangers games were televised so there was no danger of the cubbies becoming my team. 

Never watched too many braves games as they were night games and competed with rangers games and whatever else I watched on prime time in the 80s. Dukes of hazard and simon&simon or whatnot. 

HSE didn't come along until 1983.  Before that, Ranger games were mostly on channel 11 IIRC, and only road games.  WGN, TBS, and cable hit my household in about 1980.  

[Pato del Muerto 52608]

2 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

HSE didn't come along until 1983.  Before that, Ranger games were mostly on channel 11 IIRC, and only road games.  WGN, TBS, and cable hit my household in about 1980.  

Well I was 2 in 1980 so televised baseball wasn’t on my radar quite yet. 

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

I definitely understand how people become yankee and Red Sox fans when they aren’t from the region. They’ve been featured on Sunday night baseball and espn showcase games more than any other teams for my entire life. If you live in a region with a trash team, it makes perfect sense. Hell, if the rangers weren’t good when I first started watching baseball (‘96-‘98) there’s an outside chance id be a Yankees fan based solely on the amount of Sunday night baseball games I watched from start to finish when i was a kid. 

 

Being around Yankees fans is what makes you hate the Yankees. Not the actual team 

Edited August 9, 2019 by youdunnf'dup

[Planet Houston 4930]

Back to the present day...this is insane:

 

[Helobious 9465]

I was stoked the Yankees didn’t draft him. They drafted his brother Dante Bichette Jr in 2009 or 10 & it was a disaster. Figured Bo Bichette was just a high rated prospect because of his last name. Turns out he’s just really fucking good. He smoked that homer last night. You can tell he’ll be a pain in the ass to face for a long time.

[Goo Punch 4275]

"I knew literally nothing about him, but i naturally assumed that he sucks, and was super stoked when my team didn't draft him. turns out he's really good."

is anyone here archiving these by now? he's like a junior rocko at this point. 

[Beau Vine 54442]

To be fair, I felt the same way, only because I didn't want to continually see his overrated, unibrowed, poster child for Coors Field father's mug in the stands on TV, and have whatever idiot color commentator my favorite team was employing always comment about how Dante was "a professional hitter."

[Scraps 13581]

I mean it was known the Orioles were gonna suck ass, but man the schedule maker computer was not kind to them for this stretch

NYY 3
HOU 3
NYY 4
BOS 3

[Pato del Muerto 52608]

53 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

"I knew literally nothing about him, but i naturally assumed that he sucks, and was super stoked when my team didn't draft him. turns out he's really good."

is anyone here archiving these by now? he's like a junior rocko at this point. 

Completely false interpretation. He knew exactly one thing about him. 

[UpperWestside 6190]

I think Happ should be left off of the post-season roster for the Yanks. Every game I go to I wince when he is the starter because I know he will get shelled at some point. His body of work backs this assertion up.

If Boone is the modern manager he says that he is then Happ will not be in the October rotation and they will just pitch a bullpen game instead. Sounds a bit crazy for the playoffs, but it's for the best. Happ has been mediocre the entire season. 

Edited August 10, 2019 by UpperWestside

[UpperWestside 6190]

2 hours ago, Scraps said:

I mean it was known the Orioles were gonna suck ass, but man the schedule maker computer was not kind to them for this stretch

NYY 3
HOU 3
NYY 4
BOS 3
 

Also known as the part of the schedule where Chris Davis physically assaults Brandon Hyde worse than any baseball thrown at him this year.

[Beau Vine 54442]

22 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

I think Happ should be left off of the post-season roster for the Yanks. Every game I go to I wince when he is the starter because I know he will get shelled at some point. His body of work backs this assertion up.

If Boone is the modern manager he says that he is then Happ will not be in the October rotation and they will just pitch a bullpen game instead. Sounds a bit crazy for the playoffs, but it's for the best. Happ has been mediocre the entire season. 

Come on, he has a 9-6 record!  That's better than Tanaka, Paxton, Sabathia, or Chapman!

[UpperWestside 6190]

5 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Come on, he has a 9-6 record!  That's better than Tanaka, Paxton, Sabathia, or Chapman!

You or I could put in five innings of eephus pitches with that lineup and be at 12 wins. Hell Domingo German might get to 20 while missing a month this season.

Edited August 10, 2019 by UpperWestside

[TheFlagship 436]

Mets with one of the most unlikeliest walk offs I’ve ever seen. They are hot

[UpperWestside 6190]

Brett Gardner was ejected from tonight's game for saying nothing. I do not care about players being ejected, but Gardner said nothing. He is a fairly reserved guy so I support his assertion of the events tonight in Toronto.

The only sad part of this is that Gardy didn't fucking destroy the assclown who ejected him. I despise MLB umpires and want to see a player kick their ass no matter the team.   

Edited August 10, 2019 by UpperWestside

[Beau Vine 54442]

1 minute ago, TheFlagship said:

Mets with one of the most unlikeliest walk offs I’ve ever seen. They are hot

Would it be wrong to use the word amazing?

 

Also,

[UpperWestside 6190]

5 minutes ago, TheFlagship said:

Mets with one of the most unlikeliest walk offs I’ve ever seen. They are hot

I am tempted to take up the Mets fan I work with on a bet about them making the playoffs. He is adamant they will not make it. 

Edited August 10, 2019 by UpperWestside

[UTexasFight 9533]

Also,

They weren’t?

Zombies and shit...

[UTexasFight 9533]

I do like the Dodger Stadium PA playing the Ferris Beuhler’s Day Off “Oohhhh Yeah... Chigga shi ga” every time Walker gets a K or lays down a perfect bunt like he just did.

 

Beautiful inning of baseball by them just now

Leadoff double by 7 hitter

Tyler White walk (D-Back pitching fail. Dude is 1-14 with the Dodgers)

Buehler perfect bunt that dies on the first base line 20’ from home plate moves runners to 2nd and 3rd

Sac fly

 

Can we just fast forward to mid- October for Yanks/Astros ALCS and Dodgers/Braves NLCS?

[Scraps 13581]

Brett Gardner was ejected from tonight's game for saying nothing. I do not care about players being ejected, but Gardner said nothing. He is a fairly reserved guy so I support his assertion of the events tonight in Toronto.
The only sad part of this is that Gardy didn't fucking destroy the assclown who ejected him. I despise MLB umpires and want to see a player kick their ass no matter the team.   

He should just be thrown out for being a fucktard and beating on the dugout with his bat constantly.

[Pato del Muerto 52608]

53 minutes ago, Scraps said:

2 hours ago, UpperWestside said:

Brett Gardner was ejected from tonight's game for saying nothing. I do not care about players being ejected, but Gardner said nothing. He is a fairly reserved guy so I support his assertion of the events tonight in Toronto.
The only sad part of this is that Gardy didn't fucking destroy the assclown who ejected him. I despise MLB umpires and want to see a player kick their ass no matter the team.   

He should just be thrown out for being a fucktard and beating on the dugout with his bat constantly.

You don’t understand, he’s a fairly reserved guy. Except when he’s beating on the dugout roof with his bat or throwing his helmet so hard it bounces back and splits his lip. Besides those incidents and also some others, he’s pretty reserved. 

 

Edited August 10, 2019 by Pato del Muerto

[Goo Punch 4275]

Bryce Harper is nowhere near the "LeBron James of Baseball" type player that he was supposed to be, but...when he gets em, he gets em: 

Jesus Christ he smoked that. He should be in the derby every year, along with Pete, Giancarlo, and Vladdy. 

[gsoda3 3283]

I watched so many cubs games during summer afternoons and they had guys like an aging Dawson, Sandburg, dunston, raffy then grace, sutcliffe, maddux for a bit. Plus Harry calling the games with Steve. 
But along with wgn, Dallas area cable also had HSE so the rangers games were televised so there was no danger of the cubbies becoming my team. 
Never watched too many braves games as they were night games and competed with rangers games and whatever else I watched on prime time in the 80s. Dukes of hazard and simon&simon or whatnot. 

Colorado silver bullets

[Fudge Nuggets 19227]

7 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

You don’t understand, he’s a fairly reserved guy. Except when he’s beating on the dugout roof with his bat or throwing his helmet so hard it bounces back and splits his lip. Besides those incidents and also some others, he’s pretty reserved. 

 

Roid rage is real.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

11 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Come on, he has a 9-6 record!  That's better than Tanaka, Paxton, Sabathia, or Chapman!

To be fair, all those guys suck

[TheFlagship 436]

One of the keys to the Mets second half run? Former Astro JD Davis, hitting .389/.464/.653 since the ASB

[Guadaloopy 11014]

Good for him.   Doesn’t quite sting like that other JD, though.  Alvarez is making it easy to forget all of those former first base/DH prospects that didn’t blossom in Houston.  

[Beau Vine 54442]

5 hours ago, Guadaloopy said:

Good for him.   Doesn’t quite sting like that other JD, though.  Alvarez is making it easy to forget all of those former first base/DH prospects that didn’t blossom in Houston.  

JD FKN DAVIES IS THE MOST Badd asss player everz

[Beau Vine 54442]

What Tom Tango is working on now is even cooler than what he usually does:

 

[Beau Vine 54442]

 

 

[TheFlagship 436]

1 hour ago, Beau Vine said:

JD FKN DAVIES IS THE MOST Badd asss player everz

Well he did go deep again tonight so actually....

Edited August 11, 2019 by TheFlagship

[WBT 20670]

1 hour ago, Beau Vine said:

JD FKN DAVIES IS THE MOST Badd asss player everz

Fat Albers isn't bad either

[spystud13 2371]

HRs in the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th for the immortal Aristides Aquino of Cincy. Will get one more AB. 

[spystud13 2371]

And he K’d. 

[Scraps 13581]

The 44s bringing it tonight

Aquino and Alvarez 3 HRs each

[Fudge Nuggets 19227]

1 hour ago, TheFlagship said:

Well he did go deep again tonight so actually....

He’s no Yordan.

[clapclapclap 9000]

Adrian Houser is the Brewers' best hurler:

If you can stomach the joke, these are the best tweets after Adrian Houser threw up on the mound ... again

[Beau Vine 54442]

2 hours ago, spystud13 said:

HRs in the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th for the immortal Aristides Aquino of Cincy. Will get one more AB. 

7 HRs in 10 games.  Better start than Yordan Alvarez.  28 HR in AAA this season in 323 PA.