MLB 2021 Season

[BeastieRunner]

It was LaRussa's team that hit the home run and he had given the hitter a take sign and was on the edge of the dug out screaming take, take, take to the batter who swung anyways. As "out of touch" everyone is claiming LaRussa is, he has lead the ChiSox to the best record in the AL so far (and tied for best in the majors). I agree the unwritten rules of baseball are outdated and just plain stupid, but when your manager gives you a sign and you choose to ignore it, you are not playing team baseball and you are undermining the clubhouse and the chemistry of a winning team. For me, it's not about the unwritten rules, it's about a rookie thinking he knows better than the manager of his team.


From what I understand, someone on the Twins threw behind Mercedes today. Considering what just happened with Pillar getting hit in the face with a mid 90s fastball and having multiple facial fractures causing him to miss time (and let's not forget Tony Conigliaro whose career was ended by a HBP to the face), doing something you know is going to result in you or one of your teammates getting thrown at is pure stupidity and selfishness. The unwritten rules are stupid, but that doesn't mean doing something like Mercedes did isn't going to get your team thrown at the next day. In that sense, I get why LaRussa was upset-a rookie missed a sign and put his teammates in potential danger the next day because he wanted to swing at a 3-0 pitch and pad his stats in a blowout. Mercedes won't get paid for stats he doesn't get while on the IL because he got hurt when he gets thrown at...

-M

Video doesn't show the batter acknowledged a sign, doesn't appear the base coach gave him one either, and the video doesn't show Tony screaming and running around the dugout.

He might have been screaming but doesn't look like much of what he said happened.

The player has the right to feed his family.

[MRP]

Video doesn't show the batter acknowledged a sign, doesn't appear the base coach gave him one either, and the video doesn't show Tony screaming and running around the dugout.

He might have been screaming but doesn't look like much of what he said happened.

The player has the right to feed his family.

Does he have the right to endanger his teammates too? As a rookie, making a rookie minimum and under team control for a couple of years before he is even eligible for arbitration, one home run more or less is not going to affect his family, and if he gets himself hurt through antagonizing other teams, he may be out of baseball before he hits arbitration. Sure has has the right to feed his family, but hitting that home run isn't going to do that. Having a long career will.

-M

[WestPhillyPunisher]

It was LaRussa's team that hit the home run and he had given the hitter a take sign and was on the edge of the dug out screaming take, take, take to the batter who swung anyways. As "out of touch" everyone is claiming LaRussa is, he has lead the ChiSox to the best record in the AL so far (and tied for best in the majors). I agree the unwritten rules of baseball are outdated and just plain stupid, but when your manager gives you a sign and you choose to ignore it, you are not playing team baseball and you are undermining the clubhouse and the chemistry of a winning team. For me, it's not about the unwritten rules, it's about a rookie thinking he knows better than the manager of his team.


From what I understand, someone on the Twins threw behind Mercedes today. Considering what just happened with Pillar getting hit in the face with a mid 90s fastball and having multiple facial fractures causing him to miss time (and let's not forget Tony Conigliaro whose career was ended by a HBP to the face), doing something you know is going to result in you or one of your teammates getting thrown at is pure stupidity and selfishness. The unwritten rules are stupid, but that doesn't mean doing something like Mercedes did isn't going to get your team thrown at the next day. In that sense, I get why LaRussa was upset-a rookie missed a sign and put his teammates in potential danger the next day because he wanted to swing at a 3-0 pitch and pad his stats in a blowout. Mercedes won't get paid for stats he doesn't get while on the IL because he got hurt when he gets thrown at...

-M

The umps should've laid down the law before THAT game, saying NOBODY, from EITHER team gets thrown at or the pitcher, and the manager gets ejected, no second chances, no nothing! That situation should NEVER have been allowed to happen because the the Twins got their panties in a bunch over getting routed! Pitch better and that doesn't happen! ENOUGH with this unwritten rules bullshit! No wonder baseball gets ridiculed over childish nonsense like this!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Just twenty-four hours after Detroit's Spencer Turnbull no-hit Seattle, Corey Kluber of the Yankees did the same against Texas last night, making that the SIXTH of the season. I know pitching is usually ahead of hitting in the first month or so, but this is crazy! In a word---WOW!!

[Deathstroke]

Just twenty-four hours after Detroit's Spencer Turnbull no-hit Seattle, Corey Kluber of the Yankees did the same against Texas last night, making that the SIXTH of the season. I know pitching is usually ahead of hitting in the first month or so, but this is crazy! In a word---WOW!!

Apparently they are one away from the record for the year.

[MRP]

The umps should've laid down the law before THAT game, saying NOBODY, from EITHER team gets thrown at or the pitcher, and the manager gets ejected, no second chances, no nothing! That situation should NEVER have been allowed to happen because the the Twins got their panties in a bunch over getting routed! Pitch better and that doesn't happen! ENOUGH with this unwritten rules bullshit! No wonder baseball gets ridiculed over childish nonsense like this!

I agree it shouldn't be that way, but until should becomes is, players have to live in the reality where they will get thrown at in retaliation for stupid **** and need to act accordingly. Failing to acknowledge what is the reality because you keep pointing at what reality should be only gets a lot of people hurt. MLB needs to act now to make real substantial changes, but those changes are a reality and not just wishful thinking, players need to understand what could happen that will threaten their well-being and careers when stupid **** like swinging at a 3-0 pitch in a blowout happens.

-M

[achilles]

Just twenty-four hours after Detroit's Spencer Turnbull no-hit Seattle, Corey Kluber of the Yankees did the same against Texas last night, making that the SIXTH of the season. I know pitching is usually ahead of hitting in the first month or so, but this is crazy! In a word---WOW!!

Thanks for mentioning it; because you did I was able to catch it at a time when I desperately need distractions.

[Hiromi]

yeah I forsee drastic changes on the horizon, the balance between hitting and pitching has tilted violently to the pitching side. I expect to see rules constraining shifting to be the first thing to come out of it(they're already testing them in the minors and independent leagues) and other things as well. Who knows maybe they'll even consider lowering the pitching mound again. If we didn't have such a gutless coward for a commissioner they probably would have happened before it got to this level

[MRP]

A lot of the issues on offense stem form the focus on the philosophy that there are only 3 true outcomes of a plate appearance-strike out, walk or home run. Batters approach to at bats has changed with focus on things like launch angle and trying to hit fly balls and being aggressive, swinging at more pitches. That means there are going to be more home runs, but also more strike outs and fewer base hits. OBP is valued, but more so for home runs and walks than base hits. The other major factor is the philosophy that taters should only see the line up twice not three times, and the bullpen should be stacked with power arms who have stuff in the mid to upper 90s. They are throwers rather than pitchers relying on stuff rather than control. The result is more swings and misses, more walks and more home runs-again what is seen as the true outcomes. The whole approach to pitching and hitting has shifted to be focused on those three things. The result is batting averages are down, scoring is down while home runs are up because there's fewer people on base to score ahead of the home run hitters, and strike out and walks are up. And the minor league system of every team has been built towards those goals, so not only is it the current crop of players focused on this, but the next several rounds of prospects and the current crop of scouts are looking for those things in colleges, high schools an international baseball so they can sign or draft more of those, so it's going to be a loooong time before you get players taught to approach the game differently, so what you see for offense, home runs and strike outs is going to be the norm for a long time unless they can retrain and recondition just about every young player trying to get drafted or break into the big leagues.

As people pointed out players get paid on stats, and the stat that pay for pitchers now are strike outs and WHIP, and for hitters its home runs and OBP. Players aren't going to change if that's what gets them paid.

Banning shifts, lowering the mound, altering the baseball to make it a live ball or a deadball, these are band-aids, They won't fix anything because the fundamental philosophy of what skills are desired and what outcomes are the goals towards team building are such that they result in the type of baseball we are seeing now and everything already in the pipeline is geared to produce more of the same. Even kids in little league are being groomed for that type of baseball, so unless we see a fundamental shift in the core philosophy in team-building and have access to a crop of players who can meet those needs, you won't see any substantive changes to the type of baseball being played for at least another generation, no matter what kind of band-aid tweaks the commissioner tries; and owners and the MLBPA have to be on board and on the same page for any of those changes to even be implemented and those two cannot even agree that the sky is blue or water is wet these days, so its more likely there will be an extended work stoppage because no CBA can be agreed to than baseball makes the kind of changes needed to change direction. Current players in the MLBPA aren't going to agree to changes that threaten the chances of the current players to continue to make their livelihood and they have all been groomed in the current dominant philosophy and have skill sets built to meet that, so they are going to be especially resistant to anything that threatens their job security. They are more concerned about service time manipulation than length or game or overall offensive production, and owners are more worried about bottom line that quality control of their product. As long as home runs, strike outs and walks are the foundation they are building baseball on, this is the type of game you are going to have. They are reaping what's been sown for the past decade of player development, and changing it is going to take at least that long if not longer.

-M

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Thanks for mentioning it; because you did I was able to catch it at a time when I desperately need distractions.

By the by, that number would be seven, but Madison Bumgarner's no-no last month wasn't counted because it was in a seven inning doubleheader.

[MRP]

By the by, that number would be seven, but Madison Bumgarner's no-no last month wasn't counted because it was in a seven inning doubleheader.

It just goes with the 50 or so games with no hits that aren't no-hitters that were removed from the rolls of no hitters in 1991 when they changed the official definition to be a 9-hit game. I have no more sympathy for Baumgardner than I do for Matt Young who was credited with a no-hitter than had it taken away because an unearned run scored and he only pitched 8 innings because the home team was winning after 8 1/2. Baumgartner should be mad at those in charge of MLB in '91 for changing the rule not those currently in charge who have to live it because you couldn't get owners and MLBPA to agree on anything let alone that kind of rule change, and it needs to go through approval before it can happen.

-M

[achilles]

Whelp, as of yesterday or maybe the day before, Ohtani was still the MLB HR leader, (my guess is co-leader). Never thought I'd see anything like it.

[achilles]

Oh God. This is why I have to constantly remind myself not to idolize these guys. You just can never tell about a person, especially one you don't actually know, and will never get the time to spend with them.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/mlb-f...en-deportation

Yes, yes, about the site, but it loads quickly on my setup and has a ton of baseball and auto/truck news, which is frankly what I follow more than anything actually newsy.

Also, how did I miss this when it happened? Or did I just forget from all those blows to the head over the years? Don't know.

[achilles]

In better baseball news, ha ha ha, Angels! Pujols passed Eddie Murray on all-time hit list, with 12th place on the ranks. Oh, yeah, and he hit number 668, a two run shot he just muscled out. He's fifth on the all time home run list, with only Barry Bonds and A-Rod above him and still above ground. Yeah, that Albert, he sure sounds over the hill to me! The Angels missed a huge bet. They could have milked a farewell tour, special days, merch.....and he STILL can play.

And....ah, the comedy here is just too good....DeGrom did some tune-up work at their A affiliate, (BTW, check out the minor league caps and jerseys----they are far better than the major league swag), pitching part of a game. I remind you...single A. They tweeted out a half serious plea for someone to "send help". I think you can figure out what happened.

[C_Miller]

I love Jacob deGrom so much. As much as it sucks for the Palm Beach Cardinals, the rehab assignment was likely there to test out his fastball, which was the pitch that was tweaking his side. His 102 mph fastball admittedly is nuts, but I'd be far more concerned trying to hit a slider that caps out at 94 mph; a pitch faster than the MLB average velocity for fastballs, but this one breaks. I don't know how you hit it unless you're sitting on it.