Christian Yelich is just the 5th guy to have hit for the cycle 3 times since 1901 and all have been against the Reds.
OK, two months in, and every division has a clear leader. Closest lead is 3 games, with the average being 5.
Mets running away with the crappy division theyâre in, as every other team is under 0.500.
WYF is this rule for?
Manager Dave Roberts tried to bring in infielder Zach McKinstry to pitch the ninth inning, apparently unaware of a rule barring position players from pitching in games with a deficit of five runs or fewer.
Why canât any fucking player on the fucking roster pitch any fucking time in the fucking game?
(Sorry, bingeing The Morning Show, where that word is used a lot, but surprisingly the word is not being done a lot.)
that was recent. some stupidity about it either delaying the game or somehow tarnishing it? (making a travesty ofâŚas the rules often cite. travesty identification is a big task for the umpires apparently.)
so if ohtani is playing 1B or RF and they try to bring him in to pitch the 9th, no luck?
sometimes the game canât help but get in its own way
what if long extra innings, and just out of pitchers?
I think if you run out of pitchers you can go to position player
More shift whining:
âThe best rule changes are ones that provide the most benefit to the style of play with the least amount of intrusion on competition or disruption to the game we love,â league consultant Theo Epstein said in an email. âUltimately, the new joint competition committee will determine whether the benefits of banning extreme shifts are worth the new âintrusionâ of limiting where teams can position their fielders within fair territory.â
I would counter that ANY additions to the âeight players must be in fair territoryâ rule is an intrusion.
âWhen I first came up, you could be having a bad day and roll a ball over in the 4-hole, and now youâre 1-for-4,â Calhoun said. âIt doesnât let you fall into as deep a slump as what could possibly happen in todayâs game, your 0-for-20s and 1-for-30s ⌠You can kind of salvage your day with something thatâs kind of easy for every hitter. Thatâs not there anymore.â
Yes, because the game is only about you and your stats.
Including the classic, âYou never played the gameâ whine.
âEverybody wants you to go the other way,â Gallo said. âI donât think people who say that realize how hard the game is. They wouldnât step in the box and do it, Iâll tell you that much.â
Yo, itâs not MY job to play the game in a way that helps your team win. but, if forcing the opposition to play a certain way just so some players can get more hits is that important, well, that doesnât seem like an interesting game anymore.
âMuch as I would have fought this truth when I worked for a club, itâs better when games are won or lost by players making big plays ⌠rather than by front offices developing just the proper algorithm to make sure that third infielder on the right side is positioned exactly where the ball is going to be hit,â Epstein, the former Cubs and Red Sox executive, said.
Never would have thought that Theo would go this way. What a shift in philosophy. I guess it depends on who is paying the salary. Went from âIâll make a team using data that will win the World Series,â to âIâll make baseball more exciting by handcuffing the team using data to determine defense.â
All three AL wild cards would be from the AL East based on todayâs standings. Division is as good as last year except Yanks much better.
Maddon out in LAA
I like to look at run differentials to understand how good a team should be, compared to their W/L record, which takes into account things like how you finish games, how you play in close games, heart (yeahâŚIâm a Phillies fan).
Aggregating to division, the AL East is stacked:
| Division | Run Diff | Teams w/ + |
|---|---|---|
| AL East | 152 | 4 |
| NL West | 59 | 3 |
| NL East | 29 | 4 |
| AL West | -12 | 3 |
| NL Central | -65 | 2 |
| AL Central | -163 | 2 |
But I was surprised about the NL East. Early in the season, seemed like only the Mets were any goodâŚbut only the Nats have a negative run differential (2nd worst in the MLB). And the AL Central is just bad!
The AL East has an advantage none of the NL divisions have: they play a large number of games against the AL Central. That is going to fatten up the AL East runs differential, especially against the hapless Royals.
Tigers and White Sox were both supposed to be better than they have been but both teams were hit with injuries, including the entire starting pitching staff of the Tigers.
The Yankees are 16-4 v central, but the rest of the east is only 23-28 v central so they havenât been fattening up on them
Itâs actually the AL west theyâve destroyed to the tune of a 49-29 record.
I was talking runs differential rather than wins-losses. There seem to be more blowout games against the AL Central which fattens up the runs differential. Jays have been in a ton of one run games this season against other divisions but, for example, outscored the Royals 15-0 in their last two games.
Phunny stat: Phillies have 6 wins vs their NL East opponents, and 7 wins vs teams from LA.
Hey, if they can position the 3rd infielder on the right side in the exact position where the ball is going to be hit, shouldnât they be able to position the 2nd infielder on the right side in that place?
Seems when pitchers figure out how to pitch to a batter to limit his effectiveness, it behooves the hitter to figure out how to hit those pitches. Same thing with hitting the other way.
Um, you understand that the shift isnât for âexact position.â It simply lowers the fielding range needed for those fielders, based on historical data of that player. (It DOES seem that way a lot, though. One of those for every âHe beat the shift! Why did they shift??â)
Otherwise, I agree that players need to bat the ball to a place on the field where the opposition is currently not.
â Wee Willie Keeler.
â DTNF
IMO, players that cause a shift to be made will become less valuable, as some already are (note the free-agent player whining in the article) and as it should be.
âItâs supposed to be hard. If it wasnât hard everyone would do it. The Hard is what makes it great.â
IMO, players that donât cause a shift will be more valuable in the future.
Unless, of course, they create more rules in a sport with plenty of rules. For what reason? Even Theo canât muster anything except, âthe game will be more exciting.â What is the measurement of that, Harvard whiz?
HeyâŚthis guyâs pitches are moving from one side of the plate to the other and I canât hit itâŚthat should be illegal!!! WaaaaaaaahhhhâŚ
Yeah, next thing they will restrict 3rd and 1st basemen from playing in on the grass in bunting situations.
No outfield shifts.
No guarding the lines against an XBH in certain situations.
Umpire should simply ask the batter where he would like the defense to be positioned. That would make the game âmore exciting.â