Official 2016 MLB season thread

[MrBug708]

The Giants are 9-5 all-time when Madison Bumgarner throws a CG. By comparison, the Dodgers are 23-1 all-time when Clayton Kershaw has a CG

[miami_fan]

I thought this has to be sarcasm when I saw the original tweet, but the resulting apology just... Let me not jump to any conclusions.

ESPN's Todd Grisham has hot takes on Ichiro, NFL

[stevew]

Brandon Crawford went 7-8 tonight, raising his average by 13 points, and became the first player in almost 41 years to get 7 hits in a game.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I thought this has to be sarcasm when I saw the original tweet, but the resulting apology just... Let me not jump to any conclusions.

ESPN's Todd Grisham has hot takes on Ichiro, NFL

This guy is pretty ignorant all around. 2 situations where he doesn't know the completely story before he starts running his mouth.

[JPhillips]

I just saw that the Reds pitching staff has accounted for -2.1 WAR this season, the only negative WAR for a staff in MLB history.

[stevew]

Tebow is trying out for MLB teams?

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by stevew

Tebow is trying out for MLB teams?

Who wouldn't be interested in a twenty eight year old that hasn't played since HS?

[cartman]

Sounds like Prince Fielder is going to announce his retirement tomorrow. They must have found some troubling stuff after this latest neck surgery.

[lungs]

Interesting, both Prince and Cecil Fielder finish with 319 career HR.

Prince beats Cecil in OPS+ (134 to 119) and WAR (23.8 to 17.1) and most counting stats.

Prince was a huge part of the resurgence of baseball in Wisconsin after a pretty dreadful few decades of Brewer teams. Just glad it wasn't the Brewers that gave him 9 years and $214 million.

[cartman]

He really wanted to keep playing. This is tough to watch.

[lungs]

Originally Posted by cartman

He really wanted to keep playing. This is tough to watch.

An old drinking game we used to play.... Take a drink every time Fielder says "you know" in an interview. The record was three "you knows" in a row.

[Jas_lov]

Arod had a nice send off last night. Double, RBI and got to play 3rd for one out. Yankees released him today and called up Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin. This has to be the youngest lineup they've had since the late '90s

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

Yankees released him today and called up Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin.

Judge and Austin hit back to back HRs on their first at bats. Not a bad start.

[BillyNYC]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

Arod had a nice send off last night. Double, RBI and got to play 3rd for one out. Yankees released him today and called up Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin. This has to be the youngest lineup they've had since the late '90s

Was there last night (tickets were under $20 on Stubhub day of). Somewhat surprised by the pretty universal support. Didn't hear any boos. Everyone on their feet for everything he did.

I'm OK with it. He made mistakes, he paid for it in both time and legacy. From the sounds of it, he's been a great teammate the last 2 years and seems...genuine (or better coached in PR). In his postgame interview, he talked about "giving the fans a lot of headaches over the years" and making mistakes. I think the fans accept that, are appreciative of what he's accomplished over the years, and feel worthy of some forgiveness. Or #forg1v3 -ness.

At the same time, it was very strange. Despite the selloff, they entered the game only 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. The game had the feel of not mattering and being purely celebratory, in the way of a team long eliminated. I agree they're not really contenders this year, but still...only 3.5 out. Stranger things have happened.

[stevew]

Aaron Judge is freaking huge. Normally I sit 8-10 rows behind home plate in AA games and he's one of the first dudes I've seen that is probably a full standard deviation larger than the typical guy. He's about as tall as Steven Moyà but he's built like a defensive end.

[JPhillips]

Just like last year, Joey Votto is putting together a ridiculous second half. So far he's .462/.560/.692

I like to believe he starts slow on purpose just to make Marty look foolish when he busts out.

[miami_fan]

An intentional act by someone who no longer wanted to work for the Cubs or an FU to political correctness? I refuse to believe that this was an accident.

Chicago Cubs apologize for song selection played after Aroldis Chapman pitched Sunday

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Boy, it's a lot of fun right now to be a Royals fan. Still a lot of injuries to deal with, but this team is on fire right now. Looking to make it 10 out of 12 with a win tonight. Probably need to win two out of three over the last 1/4 of the season to have a reasonable shot at a playoff spot, but we've seen crazier finishes by this team over the last two seasons.

So glad to see Alex Gordon breaking out of his season-long slump. Now has a nine game hitting streak with a grand slam tonight.

[JPhillips]

I'm not really sure why, but apparently Joey Votto had 51 pizzas from California Pizza Kitchen in Louisville delivered to Ichiro in the GAPB clubhouse.

[MizzouRah]

Alex Reyes is fun to watch.

[Peregrine]

I've been reading The Arm by Jeff Passan - really interesting book for any baseball fan - talks about the increasing epidemic of UCL tears and Tommy John surgeries and how baseball doesn't really know what to do about them. Kids specializing in baseball and throwing all year round in tournaments etc can't help - lots of good stuff here.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I'm not really sure why, but apparently Joey Votto had 51 pizzas from California Pizza Kitchen in Louisville delivered to Ichiro in the GAPB clubhouse.

t one point during the Cincinnati Reds’ just-completed series against the Miami Marlins, Reds first baseman Joey Votto received a box of donuts from Dunkin Donuts at his locker. They were from Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.

On Thursday, Votto went overboard with his payback. The 32-year-old heard from some members of the Japanese media that Suzuki eats a cheese pizza before each game, specifically one from California Pizza Kitchen. There’s only one problem – there are no CPK restaurants in the Cincinnati area.

Votto solved that problem by ordering from a CPK location in Louisville, more than 95 miles away from Great American Ball Park. He ordered 51 of them to match Suzuki’s jersey number.

“He’s a funny guy,” Votto said. “He’s got a good sense of humor. He likes pizza, and now he’s got enough pizza to last the last 51 days of the season just about.”

According to a tweet from a person who works at the restaurant, the entire order cost Votto $640 plus an addition $200 for an Uber up I-71.

Votto doesn’t know what has become of the pizzas now.

“Hopefully it went to a good cause,” he said.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I've been reading The Arm by Jeff Passan - really interesting book for any baseball fan - talks about the increasing epidemic of UCL tears and Tommy John surgeries and how baseball doesn't really know what to do about them. Kids specializing in baseball and throwing all year round in tournaments etc can't help - lots of good stuff here.

I read that and really enjoyed it.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I've been reading The Arm by Jeff Passan - really interesting book for any baseball fan - talks about the increasing epidemic of UCL tears and Tommy John surgeries and how baseball doesn't really know what to do about them. Kids specializing in baseball and throwing all year round in tournaments etc can't help - lots of good stuff here.

Since I started coaching travel baseball I've been saying that the epidemic of arm injuries isn't a problem at the major league level. It's a problem that starts in youth baseball and continues into high school and college. We're seeing damaged pitchers drafted and their breakdown point is either in the minors or majors.

Before I quit coaching last year I saw (and as a parent of a 14 year old continue to see) so much abuse on young arms it's stunning. I once saw a 9 year old throw 95+ pitches in a game. An 11 year old go 117. A 13 year old throw 97 and 112 in the same week. I've seen a kid go 180+ over a 3 day tournament. I see kids with average fastballs throwing 80+ pitches and 30-40% of those are breaking balls.

Youth tournaments don't have pitch limits, they have innings limits. No one is willing to go to hard pitch counts because most teams don't like going too deep into their rotations for tournaments because they might lose and that makes the coach look bad. Coaches use their overall record for the season and tournament results to recruit players. Losing a couple games because you pitched your 6th and 7th pitcher to save your top pitcher's arm is just out of the question.

Even those that use hard pitch counts have them too high. Little League, which is one of the leaders in player safety in youth sports, has a pitch limit of 85 for 11-12 year olds and 95 for 13-14 year olds. Major league teams typically pull pitchers around 100 pitches but a kids 10 years younger are fine with just 5-15 less pitches. It's ridiculous.

[Peregrine]

Yeah Atocep that book definitely talks a lot about that and certainly links it as a major problem. Kids throwing too much, too often so they blow out their arms in high school or junior high. They were talking to some doctors about how even in the 90s or early 2000s they rarely did Tommy John on teenagers, maybe 2-3 times a year, now its 90-100 times a year for kids that age.

[jbergey22]

Probably depends on how much effort the pitcher is putting into as well. You can watch Greg Maddux clips and watch Chapman pitch and you could just watch for 1 inning and realize who is really testing their arm limits a lot more. With the emphasis on pitchers throwing harder and getting more strikeouts it really tests the limits of professional pitchers limits. I have a hard time putting all the blame on overusage at younger ages because that has been going on for years(probably less now). 20-30 years ago I dont know that coaches had the slightest concern about pitch counts and usage of their younger pitchers at least now whether they follow pitch counts or not they are aware of potential issues harming the pitcher.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I have a hard time putting all the blame on overusage at younger ages because that has been going on for years(probably less now). 20-30 years ago I dont know that coaches had the slightest concern about pitch counts and usage of their younger pitchers at least now whether they follow pitch counts or not they are aware of potential issues harming the pitcher.

I would say it goes on more now - and the reason is that kids now are really pressured to specialize into baseball and play nothing but baseball year round but 20-30 years ago they might have been playing 3 sports. So yeah, back then they didn't really care about pitch counts but I guess it compares to now kids throwing 2-3 times as much. Of course you wouldn't put all the blame on it even so.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Probably depends on how much effort the pitcher is putting into as well. You can watch Greg Maddux clips and watch Chapman pitch and you could just watch for 1 inning and realize who is really testing their arm limits a lot more. With the emphasis on pitchers throwing harder and getting more strikeouts it really tests the limits of professional pitchers limits. I have a hard time putting all the blame on overusage at younger ages because that has been going on for years(probably less now). 20-30 years ago I dont know that coaches had the slightest concern about pitch counts and usage of their younger pitchers at least now whether they follow pitch counts or not they are aware of potential issues harming the pitcher.

Kids throw way more now. It's not even comparable to when I was a kid. The very best players 20-30 years ago were playing maybe 40-50 games a year if they were lucky. Now you have 14-15u teams playing upwards of 100-120 per year in some places. In Washington, where we're limited by weather, a serious team will play at least 50-60 games per year starting at 10u. That doesn't even get into the offseason training programs that didn't even exist then that are common now. For example, my son's offseason this year is July 19th (last game we played) to October 3rd (start of offseason training).

You also didn't have widespread tournament baseball where kids are throwing on no rest. I see teams play in a league plus a tournament nearly every weekend with the same kids getting the ball time and time again.

[Peregrine]

In the book I mentioned the author talks about the possibility of MLB eventually trying to take control of youth baseball to prevent some of the abuses going on. Not sure how feasible that is considering the entrenched powers in that area (Perfect Game etc.)

[JPhillips]

Apparently the research is pretty clear that UCL tears are simply a matter of too many throws at too high a velocity. If you throw 90 mph you have a much lower chance of a tear than if you throw 95 mph. So along with too many throws, the focus on velocity above all else is causing problems.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Apparently the research is pretty clear that UCL tears are simply a matter of too many throws at too high a velocity. If you throw 90 mph you have a much lower chance of a tear than if you throw 95 mph. So along with too many throws, the focus on velocity above all else is causing problems.

I don't think it necessarily has to be one or the other. Velocity programs for pitchers start as early as 14. We've seen a rise pitchers throwing in the 90s as we've also seen a rise in year-round baseball and baseball training at younger ages. These are the programs those guys throwing 90+ are coming out of and they're type of pitcher that's also going to be abused before they're even drafted or head off to college. There was a study by U of Florida that linked the rise in pitching injuries to year-round baseball and I don't think it's at all stunning that we could also link pitching injuries to high velocities.

[JPhillips]

If Billy Hamilton can maintain a .320 obp he's going to be sooo much fun until he loses his speed.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another sweep. Granted, it's the Twins, but you're supposed to beat the bad teams. So excited that we're back in the playoff picture. Next four series are all against teams still in the wild card hunt, so we're about to find out just how good this run really is.

***crosses fingers***

[Butter]

Turns out the Reds with some of their rotation back aren't the worst team in the majors after all. Imagine that.

[lighthousekeeper]

You know your team's getting blown out when the manager puts a position player in to pitch, even though there are 3 relievers available in the pen. Poor Cincy.

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Turns out the Reds with some of their rotation back aren't the worst team in the majors after all. Imagine that.

Today they are though.

[JPhillips]

73, Sunny and little wind.

Strange given offensive numbers for both teams that look like Wrigley with gale force winds.

[cartman]

Billy Butler of Oakland Athletics injured by teammate Danny Valencia's punch to temple

[stevew]

Sounds like Butler deserved to get smacked in the face. Never should mess with someone else's money.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by stevew

Sounds like Butler deserved to get smacked in the face. Never should mess with someone else's money.

Except we don't know what might have prompted that, since they'd shared a clubhouse previously too.

[cartman]

This is legit.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Except we don't know what might have prompted that, since they'd shared a clubhouse previously too.

Both of them weren't terribly popular in the clubhouse. Both were known as people who should be silent more often than they are.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Both of them weren't terribly popular in the clubhouse. Both were known as people who should be silent more often than they are.

Quick turnaround for someone that was such a great guy when playing for the Royals.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Quick turnaround for someone that was such a great guy when playing for the Royals.

He was a fan favorite, but out of the Royals clubhouse over the last few days, it's pretty clear he didn't always know when to shut up in incidents similar to this one. It's somewhat surprising given his general demeanor on the field that most Royals fans saw.

[cartman]

Yu Darvish hit his first MLB home run last night, and it wasn't a cheap one.

[lighthousekeeper]

Ex-player Juan Bell (brother to George Bell) died yesterday of kidney failure. He was only 48. I remember him playing for the Phillies back in the 90s.

http://espndeportes.espn.com/beisbol...-a-los-48-anos

[Suicane75]

Firstly, it sucks that he died, of course.
But the big thing I take away from this is that I have no friggin memory of Juan Bell.

[cartman]

Matt Moore lost a no-hitter with 2 outs in the bottom on the 9th.

[AENeuman]

Originally Posted by cartman

Matt Moore lost a no-hitter with 2 outs in the bottom on the 9th.

Was amazing he got out of the 8th. Very nice to see pitching and defense keep that scary Dodgers offense to 1 run over two games. Going to be a fun September...

[MizzouRah]

I can't remember the last time the Cardinals had defense as bad as this year.