Around the MLB

dagger · Post #141 » by **dagger** » Thu May 16, 2019 7:37 pm

Not particularly surprising, but Teoscar Hernandez has been optioned to BUF to look for his missing stroke and Richard Urena is up. Also, Brito cleared waivers and is assigned to BUF.

polo007 · Post #142 » by **polo007** » Fri May 17, 2019 8:56 pm

Bundle up! 2020 MLB opening day is March 26, earliest ever

NEW YORK (AP) — The 2020 Major League Baseball season will open March 26, the earliest big league opening day.

The Texas Rangers announced Friday they will play the St. Louis Cardinals in an exhibition on Monday, March 23 as the first game involving major league teams at Globe Life Field, their new ballpark with a retractable roof.

A person familiar with the schedule then said the season will open on Thursday, March 26. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was authorized.

This season’s opening day for most teams was March 28, two days ahead of 2003, 2008 and 2014, which had been tied for the earliest. Seattle and Oakland started with a two-game series at Tokyo on March 20-21, MLB’s fifth opener in Japan.

By starting March 26 instead of a week later on April 2, the 2020 regular season will be set to end on Sept. 27 rather than Oct. 4

BigLeagueChew · Post #143 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Sun May 19, 2019 5:33 pm

Minnesota became the first team in major league history to have five games with at least five home runs before the start of June.

BigLeagueChew · Post #144 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Sun May 19, 2019 8:10 pm

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Sale is back

BigLeagueChew · Post #145 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Tue May 21, 2019 1:17 am

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Predicted by several but Urshela has an .890ops/137 ops+ at the moment.

BigLeagueChew · Post #146 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Fri May 24, 2019 5:06 pm

Twins drill 8 homers en route to a 16-7 win, on pace to break the yankees record for homeruns in 2018.

Post #147 » by **Schad** » Fri May 24, 2019 7:26 pm

The ever-increasing strikeout totals aren't just about fastball velocity...pitchers are spinning breaking balls at much higher RPMs, and finding the right grip/mechanics is less about serendipity these days, as pitchers/biomechanical experts are designing pitches to achieve the desired outcome:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/mlb-curves-and-sliders-have-gotten-alarmingly-nasty/

We hired one of the Driveline guys over the offseason, and that'd the reason: they're doing some pretty cutting-edge stuff. I mean, they looked to have turned Matt Boyd into a fringe ace, for goodness sake.

polo007 · Post #148 » by **polo007** » Fri May 31, 2019 4:00 am

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Noah Syndergaard wasn’t sharp, but kept the Mets in the game by allowing three earned runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six innings. It came after Syndergaard was hammered by the Tigers in his previous start. Syndergaard’s ERA dropped slightly, from 4.93 to 4.90.

“I thought the ball was coming out really well, I am still scratching my head about how they were able to get those balls in play,” Syndergaard said.

polo007 · Post #149 » by **polo007** » Sun Jun 2, 2019 3:52 pm

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BigLeagueChew · Post #150 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Sun Jun 2, 2019 8:12 pm

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phillipmike · Post #151 » by **phillipmike** » Mon Jun 3, 2019 4:23 pm

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polo007 · Post #152 » by **polo007** » Mon Jun 3, 2019 9:39 pm

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Post #153 » by **Schad** » Wed Jun 5, 2019 4:02 am

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Position players who throw 85 and look like mediocre pitchers? No thanks. Give me a guy throwing 70mph while doing impressions of other people's deliveries that he found on a Youtube search.

He retired the side on ten pitches and threw an eephus pitch so slow that it didn't register on the gun.

I_Like_Dirt · Post #154 » by **I_Like_Dirt** » Wed Jun 5, 2019 2:03 pm

Schad wrote:Position players who throw 85 and look like mediocre pitchers? No thanks. Give me a guy throwing 70mph while doing impressions of other people's deliveries that he found on a Youtube search.

He retired the side on ten pitches and threw an eephus pitch so slow that it didn't register on the gun.

I won't lie, as batters evolve into swing and miss machines hoping to hit homeruns or nothing in order to try and keep up to modern flamethrowing pitchers who often don't pitch more than 5 innings to preserve their stuff, the natural counter might just be a bunch of slow throwing mockeries of what pitching stands for. Throw the ball so slow they can't possibly hit it out of the park unless they're Vlad and with enough unpredictable movement that they actually need hand-eye coordination to make contact at all. It would be the bane of the existence of hacks like Grichuk. It might be like a looney toons cartoon where he strikes out on three swings on the same pitch.

Myth11111 · Post #155 » by **Myth11111** » Thu Jun 6, 2019 12:45 am

Kimbrel signed with the Cubs.

Myth11111 · Post #156 » by **Myth11111** » Thu Jun 6, 2019 1:57 am

3 years, $45 million

polo007 · Post #157 » by **polo007** » Thu Jun 6, 2019 3:56 am

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polo007 · Post #158 » by **polo007** » Thu Jun 6, 2019 10:03 pm

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BigLeagueChew · Post #159 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Fri Jun 7, 2019 1:20 am

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polo007 · Post #160 » by **polo007** » Fri Jun 7, 2019 3:41 pm

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