MLB Random Thoughts [7/29 - 8/4]

[Woy]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/standings

AL EAST
BOS 63-43
TB 62-43 .5 GB
BAL 58-48 5 GB
NYY 55-50 7.5 GB
TOR 48-56 14 GB

AL CENTRAL
DET 59-45
CLE 56-48 3 GB
KC 51-51 7 GB
MIN 45-57 13 GB
CWS 40-62 18 GB

AL WEST
OAK 62-43
TEX 56-49 6 GB
SEA 50-55 12 GB
LAA 48-55 13 GB
HOU 35-69 26.5 GB

NL EAST
ATL 60-45
WAS 52-54 8.5 GB
PHI 49-56 11 GB
NYM 46-56 12.5 GB
MIA 40-63 19 GB

NL CENTRAL
STL 62-40
PIT 61-42 1.5 GB
CIN 59-47 5 GB
CHC 48-55 14.5 GB
MIL 43-61 20 GB

NL WEST
LAD 56-48
ARZ 54-51 2.5 GB
COL 51-55 6 GB
SD 48-58 9 GB
SF 46-58 10 GB

AL WILDCARD
TB
BAL
CLE 1 GB
TEX 1.5 GB
NYY 2.5 GB
KC 5 GB
SEA 7.5 GB

NL WILDCARD
PIT
CIN
ARZ 4.5 GB
WAS 7 GB
PHI 8 GB

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Lots of LOL DUSTY going on (Keri, Kenny, others) today because Baker never used Chapman yesterday in extra innings.

There isn't a single manager in baseball, ZERO, who use their closer in extra innings on the road unless they have a lead. None.

So again, we have another case of piling on Dusty Baker for something every other manager does as well.

It's not about defending bad strategy, it's about media types focusing on one manager to bash, when all of these managers are the same.

Is it an underlying racist thing with Baker? Are these guys still annoyed about Mark Prior 15 years ago? I don't get it.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I just checked every extra inning game last week.

Not a single road team used the closer unless the team had a lead. One game, the Dodgers waited to bring in Jansen with an 8-3 lead.

Of course, we don't hear about this buffoonery until whipping boy Dusty Baker does it.

Baker is a cheap meme for these writers. Nobody tweets or writes about "What a dumb move Bob Melvin made!", because it's anonymous Bob Melvin, who cares? But let's keep pretending Baker is the only one who does dumb shit. Stupid.

 

[NAHSTE]

____


Also, Warner, FWIW, Fredi uses Kimbrel in extras on the road occasionally. It's something he never did his first season, but has since figured out is ok.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Well I can tell you that nobody did it last week. I checked every game. Nobody makes a fuss until Baker does it.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Lots of LOL DUSTY going on (Keri, Kenny, others) today because Baker never used Chapman yesterday in extra innings.

There isn't a single manager in baseball, ZERO, who use their closer in extra innings on the road unless they have a lead. None.

So again, we have another case of piling on Dusty Baker for something every other manager does as well.

It's not about defending bad strategy, it's about media types focusing on one manager to bash, when all of these managers are the same.

Is it an underlying racist thing with Baker? Are these guys still annoyed about Mark Prior 15 years ago? I don't get it.

Most every manager uses their bullpen in the same way. We all like to criticize them for it, but no one manager deserves it over the others.

My guess would be not racism, but probably Prior. He got a lot of bad press for that one, especially after many assume he ruined the career of Shawn Estes as well.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/estessh01.shtml

Estes biggest workload was 32 starts, 203 innings.

I'm not buying that one.

Six games over 120 pitches, 0 over 130 that season: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=estessh01&t=p&year=1999

I don't see abnormal usage in other Estes seasons, either.

 

[NAHSTE]

Well I can tell you that nobody did it last week. I checked every game. Nobody makes a fuss until Baker does it.

Ok. But not every manager refuses to use their closer in non-save situations. Never a good thing when you're behind Fredi Gonzalez on the evolutionary curve.

I don't get why Dusty gets all the cheap shots either, seems to be a recent trend. It seemed like in past years the snarkdado attacks were pretty evenly distributed between Tracy, Wash, Fredi, etc. Is it because Dusty is considered "old guard"? I don't know. Leyland does even dumber shit but people kind of accept him as a crotchety old man who is set in his ways. It is an odd fixation, I'll grant you that.

Somewhat related, Fredi finally moved Simmons out of the leadoff spot. Getting more #smrt by the day.

 

[EmpireWF]

Checking the Mets extra inning games (they've had a bunch)...

-In PIT, they didn't use Parnell.
-In SF, they only used Parnell after getting the lead.
-In NY, Arizona used Heath Bell in the 13th after getting the lead and he blew the save. Happened again with Chaz Roe in the 14th. Brad Ziegler ended up with the save in the 15th.
-In NY, Arizona blew the save in the 9th with Putz, lost in the 13th
-In NY, Miami only used Cishek in the 10th after getting the lead
-In NY, during a ridiculous 20 inning 3-2 game, Miami only used Cishek in the fucking 20th inning for the save. (Kevin Slowey gave them 7 shutout innings in extras)
-In NY, Atlanta used Kimbrel to save their game in the 10th
-In NY, ChiSox never used their closer in a 1-0 loss in 10.
-In ATL, in a 5-5 9th inning game, Mets used Parnell only after Brandon Lyon allowed a double and ATL bunted him over to 3rd. So with the winning run 90 feet away with 1 out, Parnell came in to keep it tied.
-In MIA, Parnell blew the save in the 9th.
-In NY, Brandon League blew the save in the 9th for LA.
-In COL, Parnell relieved Lyon in the 8th up 8-6. With 2 outs, Rockies had 2 runners on and Parnell came in. Rockies end up tying it up.


So yeah, it's never happened in a Mets game -- the 1 situation had extenuating circumstances of the GW run at 3rd base.

 

[Slateman]

Ubaldo got botox that morning?

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

What is interesting about that (Empire's post), is Terry Collins is not shy about using Parnell in all sorts of situations and for more than one inning, and even he has never used Parnell in extras on the road before a save situation presented itself.

It's common practice, it's stupid, and they all fucking do it.

 

[NAHSTE]

Unfortunately Fredi never got a chance to use Kimbrel in non-save situations this weekend. Sweeping while only allowing 1 run per game will do that.

 

 

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:woy:

 

[Woy]

#BoycottNationalTV

 

[NAHSTE]

#BoycottNationalTV

At least when your team is on national TV you don't have to suffer through 3 hours of dead horses being flogged to death.

"THIS TEAM STRIKES OUT A LOT, YET SOMEHOW THEY WIN. GUESS THEY ARE STUCK WITH THIS FLAWED TEAM WHICH IMPROBABLY STILL WINS"

Same.Tired.Narrative.Every.Fucking.Game.

:suicide:

 

[Woy]

All the broadcasts were absolutely brutal with those narratives this weekend, I agree. There were a lot of stupid comments other than the narratives too, like when Orel Hershier said that Shelby Miller should be sent down to the minors.

I do find it somewhat amusing that the two times we've gotten swept this season were to the Rangers and the Braves. /revenge narrative :runaway:

This week will be huge for the NL Central race. Gonna be at the double-header tomorrow and Wednesday night's game, plus possibly Thursday as well. No way in hell I'm going tonight to see Westbrook get rocked. And then three games in Cincinnati after the five game set in Pittsburgh.

 

[NAHSTE]

At one point Orel actually said

"even with their offensive problems, with all the home runs and strikeouts, ..."

EVEN WITH THEIR OFFENSIVE PROBLEMS, ALL THE HOME RUNS

:lol2:

Also the CRADS were like 2-10 with RISP in that series. #sustainable

 

[Jayrock]

Cubs 17-11 since trading Carlos Marmol

Continuing at that pace puts them with 90 wins by season's end :smug:

 

[Villain]

For Warner:

 

[NAHSTE]

Sat behind some Cubs fans at AT&T Park yesterday. They're all as bad as JayRock, it would seem.

 

[Villain]

I do have to say that I've been mostly proud of Mattingly's use of Kenley Jansen. He pitched the 8th inning in Arizona (with a lead, due to matchups that favored Jansen) instead of saving him for the 9th, and the 10th in extras that same series (without a lead).

In yesterday's extra inning game, Jansen also pitched the top of the 9th without a lead, but I guess the stipulation is saving your closer for a lead on the road. The only times I roll my eyes at the Dodger's bullpen management is when Paco is used as a LOOGY (his numbers are pretty neutral against both sides, but that could be attributed to sample-size, I suppose), or when Carlos Marmol puts on a Dodgers jersey. Hopefully Marmol is gone as soon as Colletti makes his inevitable move for a reliever (he does it every year) or Jose Dominguez comes off of the DL.