The MLB Thread

[vansmack]

A's trade for Adam Dunn.

Billy might be regretting the Cespedes deal,  but I think he's missing the point.  Anaheim has scored twice in this series on balls where Cespedes threw out runners back in May.  His defense is as much of a loss as his offense.

[vansmack]

ESPN Power Rankings

1. Angels
2. Nationals
3. Orioles

Going to be a fun couple months.

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

ESPN Power Rankings

1. Angels
2. Nationals
3. Orioles

Going to be a fun couple months.

With all due respect, any power ranking that doesn't have #VerlandersButt at #1 does not have it's finger on the pulse of the MLB.

[vansmack]

With all due respect, any power ranking that doesn't have #VerlandersButt at #1 does not have it's finger on the pulse of the MLB.

That's probably more appropriate for my thread,  I'm just not done doing my research yet

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

With all due respect, any power ranking that doesn't have #VerlandersButt at #1 does not have it's finger on the pulse of the MLB.

That's probably more appropriate for my thread,  I'm just not done doing my research yet

Fair enough.

[stevewizzle]

A's trade for Adam Dunn.

Billy might be regretting the Cespedes deal,  but I think he's missing the point.  Anaheim has scored twice in this series on balls where Cespedes threw out runners back in May.  His defense is as much of a loss as his offense.

not to mention, cespedes keeps winning games for the red sox left and right.  i think he's had 5 winning/go ahead hit for the sox to date.  is their a stat for that? their has to be to a stat for that.

[stevewizzle]

A++++++++ would trade again

craig is signed through 2017 (team option for 2018), and he's have a remarkably bad year after having 3 straight excellent seasons. not good, excellent.  the past two seasons were MVP-caliber even though he was largely unrecognized.

cespedes is no longer a young prospect and some of his plate discipline is concerning, but he's getting out of a tough division filled with pitchers parks and moving to the AL east where it's practically little league fields in comparison.

yeah, A+ to vansmack for calling OAK.  but my prediction is heads will roll in OAK when it turns out they gutted their team for a win-now mentality and it doesn't work out.  lester is a stud, but this is no roy halladay/cliff lee type of pick-up. 

boston just traded for 2 all-star outfielders, mid relief, and got something in return for two pitchers who were out the door anyways. 

A+ to stevewizzle

[vansmack]

A+ to stevewizzle

Yes, though Billy Beane keeps his job, if he wants it. 

Lester has been a stud, though.  3-2, sure, but 2.66 ERA and he gave up 2ER in one of those losses and 3 through 6 in the other. 

The loss of Cespedes probably surpasses 2.66 runs every 5 games though, if we combine defense and offense.

[stevewizzle]

seattle has 7 upcoming games against the astros and rangers, and detroit has to play the likes of cleveland, KC, and SF - all wild card contenders.  seattle could gain some serious ground here... regardless, this is going to be a fun couple of weeks leading up to october.

[vansmack]

I am 100% in favor of an all AL West wild card game, so long as the Angels aren't one of the teams in the game.

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

I am 100% in favor of an all AL West wild card game, so long as the Angels aren't one of the teams in the game.

Honestly, as a Tigers fan, I am too. Detroit making the playoffs is only going to end in some absurd ignominy like Scherzer throwing a no-no but us scoring no runs and losing in the 12th inning or our bullpen giving up 8 in the 9th or something else historically dumb.

[stevewizzle]

I am 100% in favor of an all AL West wild card game, so long as the Angels aren't one of the teams in the game.

Honestly, as a Tigers fan, I am too. Detroit making the playoffs is only going to end in some absurd ignominy like Scherzer throwing a no-no but us scoring no runs and losing in the 12th inning or our bullpen giving up 8 in the 9th or something else historically dumb.

there's the whole overcoming adversity associated with wild card teams, right?

"no one thought we would make it this far!" and all that hoorah leading to teams outperforming themselves during the postseason.

[vansmack]

POSTSEASON SCHEDULE

Wild Card

Tues., Sept. 30: AL Wild Card Game, TBS
Wed., Oct. 1: NL Wild Card Game, ESPN

Division Series

Thurs., Oct. 2: ALDS A, Game 1, TBS, ALDS B, Game 1, TBS

Fri., Oct. 3:
ALDS A, Game 2, TBS, ALDS B, Game 2, TBS, NLDS A, Game 1, FS1, NLDS B, Game 1, FS1

Sat., Oct. 4: NLDS A, Game 2, FS1 or MLBN, NLDS B, Game 2, FS1 or MLBN

Sun., Oct. 5: ALDS A, Game 3, TBS, ALDS B, Game 3, TBS

Mon., Oct. 6:
ALDS A, Game 4, TBS, ALDS B, Game 4, TBS, NLDS A, Game 3, FS1 or MLBN, NLDS B, Game 3, FS1 or MLBN

Tues., Oct. 7: NLDS A, Game 4, FS1, NLDS B, Game 4, FS1

Wed., Oct. 8: ALDS A, Game 5, TBS, ALDS B, Game 5, TBS

Thurs. Oct. 9: NLDS A, Game 5, FS1, NLDS B, Game 5 FS1


Championship Series

Fri., Oct. 10: ALCS Game 1, TBS
Sat., Oct. 11: ALCS Game 2, TBS, NLCS Game 1, FOX
Sun., Oct. 12: NLCS Game 2, FS1
Mon., Oct. 13: ALCS Game 3, TBS
Tues. Oct. 14: NLCS Game 3, FS1, ALCS Game 4, TBS
Wed., Oct. 15: ALCS Game 5, TBS, NLCS Game 4, FS1
Thurs., Oct. 16: NLCS Game 5, FS1
Fri., Oct. 17: ALCS Game 6, TBS
Sat. Oct. 18: NLCS Game 6, FOX, ALCS Game 7, TBS
Sun. Oct. 19: NLCS Game 7, FS1


World Series

Tues., Oct. 21: Game 1, AL city, FOX
Wed. Oct. 22: Game 2, AL city, FOX
Thurs. Oct. 23: Travel day
Fri., Oct. 24: Game 3, NL city, FOX
Sat., Oct. 25: Game 4, NL city, FOX
Sun., Oct. 26: Game 5, NL city, FOX
Mon., Oct. 27: Travel day
Tues., Oct. 28: Game 6, AL city, FOX
Wed., Oct. 29: Game 7, AL city, FOX

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

A very weird play in the Tigers/Indians game yesterday. Wish I could find footage because its hard to explain, I really have never seen this happen. Bottom of the 8th, Tigers leading 4-3 with runners on second and third and one out. CC Lee pitching for Cleveland and he gets the signal to intentionally walk Kinsler to load the bases and try to get Torii Hunter to hit into a double play. Catcher sticks his hand out to the right, sure enough, Lee throws it four feet right of home plate, a standard intentional walk ball. Catcher throws it back, sticks his arm out again.

As soon as Lee goes into his windup, the catcher does the traditional two-steps to his right to catch the ball, but Lee throws a fastball right down the middle of the plate (albeit high out of the strike zone). The catcher dives back and misses, the ball goes all the way to the backstop, runner scores from third, turns up being the winning run. I rewound it several times, I have no idea what he was doing. He acknowledged it was an intentional walk with a first pitch five feet off the plate. Did somehow his intentional walk pitch get away from him? It was crazy.

My question, though, is the scoring. They called it a wild-pitch. How is this not a passed ball? A catcher under average ability - positioned properly behind the plate - catches that ball 99.99999% of the time. Shouldn't the catcher being horrifically out-of-position make it a passed ball, not a wild pitch?

[vansmack]

Here's how it's scored:

10.13 Wild Pitches And Passed Balls
A wild pitch is defined in Rule 2.00 (Wild Pitch). A passed ball is a statistic charged against a catcher whose action has caused a runner or runners to advance, as set forth in this Rule 10.13.
(a) The official scorer shall charge a pitcher with a wild pitch when a legally delivered ball is so high, so wide or so low that the catcher does not stop and control the ball by ordinary effort, thereby permitting a runner or runners to advance. [EDIT]

(b) The official scorer shall charge a catcher with a passed ball when the catcher fails to hold or to control a legally pitched ball that should have been held or controlled with ordinary effort, thereby permitting a runner or runners to advance. [EDIT]


I think they got it right.  "Ordinary effort" is not the same as "ordinary positioning" and rule 10.14(b) describes an intentional base on balls as when the catcher has his arm out so it would be ordinary positioning to be standing and have an arm out expecting the ball to be outside the strike zone.