Around Baseball 2017

G-Snarls · August 24, 2017

How was the food?

Really good. I sat in the "Hyundai club" area. Great seats and great air conditioned bar/bathroom/food area right behind you. And no lineups for anything. On a 37 degree day it was MUCH appreciated.

Also we got Cespedes bobbleheads

L54 · August 24, 2017

Really good. I sat in the "Hyundai club" area. Great seats and great air conditioned bar/bathroom/food area right behind you. And no lineups for anything. On a 37 degree day it was MUCH appreciated.

Also we got Cespedes bobbleheads

Man sounds like a great day at the ballpark! I love food, so an all you can eat buffet at a baseball game sounds fantastic.

G-Snarls · August 24, 2017

Man sounds like a great day at the ballpark! I love food, so an all you can eat buffet at a baseball game sounds fantastic.

We had a great time

G-Snarls · August 24, 2017

MLBTR:

The Orioles received good news on the troublesome left knee of closer Zach Britton today, per MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Both reported that the Orioles came away with good news from an MRI, with Encina specifically noting that there’s no structural damage in the knee. The joint has given Britton some on-and-off discomfort for the past few years and flared up last night, with Encina noting that there is still some swelling. Both reporters suggest that the team is still weighing whether to place Britton on the 10-day disabled list to give him a bit of an extended break.

art_vandelay275 · August 24, 2017

MLBTR:

The Orioles received good news on the troublesome left knee of closer Zach Britton today, per MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Both reported that the Orioles came away with good news from an MRI, with Encina specifically noting that there’s no structural damage in the knee. The joint has given Britton some on-and-off discomfort for the past few years and flared up last night, with Encina noting that there is still some swelling. Both reporters suggest that the team is still weighing whether to place Britton on the 10-day disabled list to give him a bit of an extended break.

Additional tidbit from the original article (masnsports.com)

“Gosh, I probably had it since like 2014,” Britton said. “I got my cleats stuck one time in Toronto on their turf and it’s something that was kind of bothering me. I think I pitched through it the last three or four years. So, (Dr. Michael Jacobs) kind of wants me to get it checked out.

Pendleton · August 24, 2017

Additional tidbit from the original article (masnsports.com)

“Gosh, I probably had it since like 2014,” Britton said. “I got my cleats stuck one time in Toronto on their turf and it’s something that was kind of bothering me. I think I pitched through it the last three or four years. So, (Dr. Michael Jacobs) kind of wants me to get it checked out.

Glad we could contribute

G-Snarls · August 24, 2017

The turf gets blamed for all kinds of s***

Give me grass or give me... not death but you know... Give Me Grass!!!

BTS · August 25, 2017

Evan Longoria hit 50 career fWAR yesterday. He seems to get no attention, but he's quietly having a possible HOF caliber career.

Bobthe4th · August 25, 2017

Evan Longoria hit 50 career fWAR yesterday. He seems to get no attention, but he's quietly having a possible HOF caliber career.

Only because he plays for the Rays - I think most baseball fans would recognise him as the best Rays player ever and a potential hall of fame candidate.

jays_fever · August 25, 2017

The turf gets blamed for all kinds of s***

Give me grass or give me... not death but you know... Give Me Grass!!!

That stupid turf wrecked Wells' career.

Pendleton · August 25, 2017

Evan Longoria hit 50 career fWAR yesterday. He seems to get no attention, but he's quietly having a possible HOF caliber career.

Always overshadowed by bigger stars in bigger markets but he's so steadily been one of the best at his position for his entire career.

Orgfiller · August 25, 2017

Evan Longoria hit 50 career fWAR yesterday. He seems to get no attention, but he's quietly having a possible HOF caliber career.

He'll only be 32 by the start of next season. I think he has an excellent chance to make it, even on his down years he still surpasses 3 WAR, amazing player.

Orgfiller · August 25, 2017

That stupid turf wrecked Wells' career.

Well that and the wrist injuries which totally f***ed him.

BTS · August 25, 2017

Always overshadowed by bigger stars in bigger markets but he's so steadily been one of the best at his position for his entire career.

He'll only be 32 by the start of next season. I think he has an excellent chance to make it, even on his down years he still surpasses 3 WAR, amazing player.

He's been healthy, and very consistent even though he's not an elite hitter anymore. If he can continue to stay in the lineup, he has a chance to get up near 70 career fWAR, which probably gets him ingiven his importance to the T franchise.

Jimcanuck · August 25, 2017

He's been healthy, and very consistent even though he's not an elite hitter anymore. If he can continue to stay in the lineup, he has a chance to get up near 70 career fWAR, which probably gets him ingiven his importance to the T franchise.

And provided enough voters pay attention to WAR. Most voters undervalue defense, which is a significant part of his value.

jaysfan2014 · August 25, 2017

Only because he plays for the Rays - I think most baseball fans would recognise him as the best Rays player ever and a potential hall of fame candidate.

He'll be on a bigger market club next year where he'll be more noticed--Rays will likely deal him this offseason because of his looming 10/5 rights coming up in April 2018. With a very tight budget and the city dragging its feet on a new stadium, along with the likelihood a major rebuild is coming, Rays will likely deal him for prospects/young players that will help when the new stadium is built or when they relocate to another city...

Brownie19 · August 25, 2017

Always loved Longoria and since my parents live in Port Charlotte for the winter (ST home for the Rays) I've been going to Rays spring training games for a decade now. I've gotten his autograph a few times and have always secretly rooted for him. I hope he ages gracefully (ala Beltre) and makes the HOF.

King · August 25, 2017

Betances doesn't even get a fine lol.

Terminator · August 25, 2017

Betances doesn't even get a fine lol.

-Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera gets seven games, as MLB cites that he is guilty of "inciting" the first fight.

-Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez gets four games for throwing punches.

-Tigers pitcher Alex Wilson gets four games for intentionally throwing at Todd Frazier.

-Yankees catcher Austin Romine gets two games for throwing punches back at Cabrera.

-Tigers manager Brad Ausmus gets one game for Wilson's pitch.

Cabrera got way too many games IMO. He and Sanchez should be switched probably for Sanchez's cheap shot. That was pretty dangerous. How Betances didn't even get a find blow my mind though.

Spanky__99 · August 25, 2017

Betances doesn't even get a fine lol.

What was the suspensions?

I saw...

7 games to Miggy

4 games to the Kraken

2 games to Romine

???

NVM... thanks Tom.

Edit: By the way, these suspensions are horseshit.

Where's Betances 4 games, Fulmer 5 games... ie: 1 start. Flip the 7 and 4 with Sanchez and Miggy, etc...

Edited August 25, 2017 by Spanky99

baseballsss · August 25, 2017

What was the suspensions?

I saw...

7 games to Miggy
4 games to the Kraken
2 games to Romine
???

NVM... thanks Tom.

Edit: By the way, these suspensions are horseshit.

Where's Betances 4 games, Fulmer 5 games... ie: 1 start. Flip the 7 and 4 with Sanchez and Miggy, etc...

Didn't Odor get 5 for throwing a punch? Sanchez cheap shotted two different players and only gets 4? Bentance should f*** himself and Wilson was it? thhat admitted to throwing intentionally should have been suspended the rest of the season. MLB f***ed up.

jays_fever · August 25, 2017

Castellanos needs to bulldoze Sanchez at home next chance he gets.

Elbow to the head seems appropriate

Abomination · August 25, 2017

Didn't Odor get 5 for throwing a punch? Sanchez cheap shotted two different players and only gets 4? Bentance should f*** himself and Wilson was it? thhat admitted to throwing intentionally should have been suspended the rest of the season. MLB f***ed up.

It's the Yankees. I'm kinda surprised he got 4.

Terminator · August 25, 2017

I think Betances hitting him in the head actually prevented him from getting a suspension. "Oh he didn't mean to do that he hit him in the head" became the prevalent thought. lol

He hits him in the back and he's likely looking at a suspension. But what could have happened is he's actually a piece of s*** and aimed for his head OR he aimed for his back and missed high. Not sure why he gets the benefit of the doubt. Regardless no punishment whatsoever is ridiculous.

wamco · August 25, 2017

Longo started early but bat is dying at 32. He'll fall short. Rolen getting in would help. 3b are underrepresented in the hall . Voters don't know what to do with them as they have too high power expectations for them.

jaysblue · August 25, 2017

Longo started early but bat is dying at 32. He'll fall short. Rolen getting in would help. 3b are underrepresented in the hall . Voters don't know what to do with them as they have too high power expectations for them.

He had a pretty solid year last season hitting 36 bombs. Still looks like a consistent 3-4 WAR player moving forward with the potential to maybe squeeze in another 5-6 WAR season perhaps if he has a season where all things click.

havok24 · August 25, 2017

Damn that Rhys Hoskins dude is a monster.

glory · August 26, 2017

Gotta love sports today. Accused of domestic violence? Suspended for like 30% of the season. Commit actual assault on camera on the field? 5 games.

P2F · August 26, 2017

Enter the Guillen Number, a measure initially created by Joe Sheehan several years ago. The Guillen Number is simple. The denominator is all runs scored. Just plain overall runs. The numerator is runs scored directly on homers. How reliant is the league on home runs these days? The trend is unmistakable.

http://cdn.fangraphs.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/guillen-numbers.png

Again, we’re looking at 68 seasons. The third-highest Guillen Number came in 2015, when the league finished at 37.1%. The second-highest Guillen Number came in 2016, when the league finished at 40.1%. The single highest Guillen Number for now is happening in 2017, with the league sitting at 42.6%. In other words, about 43% of all runs are being scored on homers. That’s three out of every seven. While it might not feel like the league is yet all that close to 50%, consider that it was at 33% as recently as 2014. Since then, the Guillen Number has increased by about 10 percentage points. Home runs are taking over team offense. I think most of you already knew that, but perhaps you hadn’t considered it like this.

Because I’m here, I might as well show you what this year’s team-by-team breakdown looks like. Try not to stare too long at the Giants.

http://cdn.fangraphs.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/guillen-numbers-2017.png

The Blue Jays have scored 51% of their runs so far on homers. They’re the only team at something greater than half, but the Rangers are awfully close. More meaningfully, there have been 1,682 individual team-seasons since 1950. Five of the 10 highest Guillen Numbers are getting put up right now, in 2017. There are an additional three teams from 2016. The highest mark so far belongs to the 2010 Blue Jays, who finished at 53.1%. No one right now is threatening to depose them from the throne, but the league is moving forward as a collective. Again, this year’s league Guillen Number is 42.6%. Three years ago, there was just one team that topped that.

This isn’t inherently a good thing or a bad thing. It’s a matter of taste, and some people like movies for the dialogue, while other people like movies for explosions. Neither group of people is superior to the other, and taste feels like a silly thing to criticize. Just, understand what is presently going on. Offense is back, relative to a few years ago, but that’s happened entirely because of the home run. In the run-production pie chart, the home-run slice is getting wider and wider. Runs aren’t back because of anything else. Manufacturing a run isn’t suddenly back in style. Teams now manufacture their runs with big mighty hacks, and trying anything else can feel borderline futile. Home runs aren’t everything, but they’re closer than they’ve ever been. What that means to you is personal, but it’s something for each of us to grasp.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-era-of-encroaching-dinger-reliance/