8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

[Chip Douglass]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

Three games in 3 days.

I've seen a no-hitter that was the first for Mike Fiers, Jason Castro, and Minute Maid Park.

I've seen Craig Biggio Day, and seen Jimmy Rollins' 500th double.

And I've seen Clayton Kershaw pitch, Carlos Gomez come within inches of stealing home against Kershaw, Yasiel Puig get ejected, and Jason Castro hit a walk-off home run in the 10th.

Baseball, I tell ya.

I saw things that were more disconcerting, but yeah, Minute Maid Park was a blast.

[Speedy]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

Might as well pencil Kris Bryant in as NL ROY. Even if Franco and Pederson stayed healthy and starting respectively, Bryant is getting hot again and would've won it anyway. This just guarantees it basically. Heck, at this rate, Schwarber will probably be the runner up. Double heck, the Cubs might sweep the podium if Addison Russell gets hot--he has 1.9 fWAR despite being under water offensively. And Russell's been hitting way better since moving to SS.

EDIT: No disrespect to Syndergaard and Duffy. I always forget Duffy is still eligible for ROY. Still don't think he keeps up what he's doing though.

Grichuk up in STL was playing stellar till he hit the DL.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

I really can't see bryant finishing ahead of Kang or Duffy. Just too inconsistent

Strongly disagree. Many rookies are inconsistent, but Bryant does enough damage when he's on to lead the pack. This guy is a future perennial All Star in addition to being the frontrunner for ROY at this point.

Rookie of the Year isn't an award for player potential.

Although, Duffy's approach is what is going to keep him in the majors long term. If you throw him a strike, his swing has a place for a single somewhere from line to line. I'm not saying he'll keep that up forever, but he doesn't have a hole in his swing unlike Bryant.

Duffy's glove has also been pretty good this year. A couple of weak throws, but the glove has been there.

"Hole" or not, Bryant does way more damage when he connects. That has to count for something. There's a reason most give Bryant a 70 or even 75 FV grade. Even though you don't like his uppercut swing and have mentioned that on occasion, you might as well get used to it, lol. It's working for him in the sense that he leads all major league rookies in fWAR and is tied with Buster Posey for 15th in the majors among position players as of this morning.

Duffy's not far behind at 20th in fWAR. Duffy's been remarkably consistent in that he's hit around .310 every month aside from April and his strikeout rate has gone down each month. However, I don't see him running a .352 BABIP for too much longer. He just doesn't hit the ball hard enough despite how well he 'places' it. But, it's very Giants-like to create something out of not much really.

Grichuk up in STL was playing stellar till he hit the DL.

True. Another guy, like Duffy, I was sleeping on because he just doesn't seem like a rookie. Grichuk still qualifies as a rookie though.

[BleacherBum2310]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

Rookie of the Year isn't an award for player potential.

Although, Duffy's approach is what is going to keep him in the majors long term. If you throw him a strike, his swing has a place for a single somewhere from line to line. I'm not saying he'll keep that up forever, but he doesn't have a hole in his swing unlike Bryant.

Duffy's glove has also been pretty good this year. A couple of weak throws, but the glove has been there.

Bryant has a hole in his swing?

[Majingir]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

Hoping the Astros can beat Yankees not only tonight,but win the whole series,sweep it even if you want!

[Chip Douglass]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

Bryant has a hole in his swing?

In terms of him striking out a lot, he does. But we're talking about a rookie with a 133 wRC+ even though his power, which was supposed to be his calling card, is still a work in progress.

He's a power spike away from being in best player in baseball territory.

[Chip Douglass]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

For a guy with 80 raw power, you live with the strikeouts.

[19]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

Dragonflies everywhere at Wrigley.

I for one welcome our new Dragonfly overlords.

[19]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

What a play by Rizzo to get the double play off the bunt attempt.

[SPTO]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

OF COURSE deGrom would start out struggling against the Phillies.

The Phillies sure relish the spoiler role eh?

[Knight165]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

Bryant has a hole in his swing?

Everyone has a hole in their swing.
That's why guys bat .280 and not .980.
...and the argument could be made that guys who K more...have bigger holes to exploit.

M.K.
Knight165

[PhilliesFan13]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

deGrom pulled already. I hate losing to bad teams.

Phillies haven't been bad in the 2nd half. 21-12 since the All-Star break.

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[PhilliesFan13]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

Oh wow, I didn't know that. Have they done anything that caused the change?

Ryne Sandberg stepping down was huge. The players want to play for Pete Mackanin. Too big of a change to be coincidental.

Also helps that our young players have been pretty good.

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[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

Good thing Zach McAllister didn't find the hole in Bryant's swing today! :wink: Bryant's at 20 HR now (3 in the past 2 days) and another win for the Cubbies.

[PhilliesFan13]

Re: 8/17 - 8/30 Game Discussion Thread

9-7 Mets now in the 5th. 16 runs between both teams and every single run has been from home runs.

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