general 2021 MLB discussion thread

disre2pectful of wainwright not to groove a fastball to wong like he did for jetes

"maybe they should just let the brewers start every inning with a guy on second, out of respect and gentlemanly fair play"

AKA Bill Hall rule

Thinking the Angels might make the playoffs this season.

if i managed the giants, who had yesterday off, i might not have let 35yo johnny cueto throw 118 pitches in his second start of the season

But are you a good looking ex-catcher who said 'uh-uh nice ok' when explained analytics and probabilities?

Nyy lookin shaky af

going to get buried in "mets don't give degrom run support" discourse if they lose, but trevor rogers might actually be really good now

taylor tyler trevor rogers

I like the Padres players but I find it impossible to root for a team still using military camo for a uniform.

Can’t cheer for a team you can’t see!

"mets don't give degrom run support" discourse

it *is* pretty funny/amazing tho, along with the mets bullpen in degrom starts

https://i.imgur.com/UHLcCSU.png

not that unexpected, i guess, but i just watched arenado do a perfect DP turn as the SS (in a shift) in a 6-4-3, dragging his foot over second base as he took the toss and then throwing it over to first.

giolito was v. good but bieber was just lights-out

9 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 11 K, 113 P, 85 ST, game score 91

31 batters, 24 first-pitch strikes, *one* 3-ball count, *one* runner reached second, don't have an exact count but he went 0-2 on more than half the guys he faced

also the 3-ball count/walk came with two outs in the ninth against the reigning AL MVP

super impressive

damn

Yadi is catching his 2000th game today, 6th all-time.

kinda feel like starting a Cardinals specific thread and being the only who posts in it. Morbs was always against the shared division threads anyway, and i want a place where i can share high-rez pictures of yadi and willie mcgee without shame

Nyy lookin shaky af

― calstars, Saturday, April 10, 2021 1:25 PM (four days ago) bookmarkflaglink

who knew that only doing the bare minimum to improve your team for two offseasons in a row would be a bad thing?

I would never shame you for sharing your Willie McGee pics!

the problem is, willie mcgee pics quickly lead to john nogowski pics

Totally inappropriate.

Of the five guys who got there first (2,000 games), three are in the HOF (I-Rod, Fisk, Carter), two aren't (Bob Boone, Jason Kendall). I thought that might be in and of itself decisive, but no. He's almost dead-even with Kendall in bWAR, so who knows.

kendall's HOF case suffers from playing for small market teams, and not having a HOF-level standout skill. his defense was always good, but i'm not sure he was ever regarded as elite like the current hall of famer yadier molina(i could be wrong)

One thing that Molina might have going for him is that he's the first to do it with one team; probably my own bias speaking, but I think at the margins HOF voters are a little less enthusiastic about itinerant careers.

Speaking of which I just learned Jed Lowrie is on his 4th separate stint with Oakland

the Rolaids "Fourth Time Around" award

yankees are gonna come in fourth, but at least they'll be under the luxury tax

Baseball should install a Lux Interior tax on the oldest and least cool teams.

cubs are sucking it up pretty bad to start the season too. not surprising, though i expected the pitching to be the main problem, not the offense

i’m calling it - 7 inning games are better

Out with you

Please someone stop the Red Sox

Paging Carlos Rodon

kris bryant, willson contreras, and jake marisnick are the only cubs batting above the mendoza line so far this season

Please someone stop the Red Sox

― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, April 14, 2021 10:44 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Only one team can beat them and they are called the mighty Baltimore Orioles

strange days my friends

cubs are 7-for-85 with RISP as a team

that means they're due

Mets are overdue to....play a game

that means they're due

noted yankee-killer michael wacha

So I'm watching a lot of Angels game (blame Trout and Ohtani) and one thing Girardi has done often is have Ohtani batting 2nd, Trout 3rd, someone with a terrible OPS at 4th and Walsh (1.063 OPS) at fifth.

Forgetting dealing with the psychology of players: is having a gap like this some sort of sabermetrics thing I missed? Would my instinct to have Walsh batting 4th straight after Trout and Ohtani be right?

I think you always want to have your best hitters in a row regardless of any other factor

that said your "someone with a terrible OPS" is Justin Upton is it not??

I also saw Pujols in a that spot a week ago vs the Royals, which was strange.

fwiw joe girardi manages the phillies and joe maddon manages the angels

and i guess before i'd criticize maddon's batting order i'd criticize having prince albert in the lineup at all, let alone above ninth

Woops yeah, two old dudes in red uniforms.

Upton is having a good game, so it's probably just psychology.

I don’t think it’s a sabermetrics thing. I think he just has a bunch of old guys with big contracts on his team.

So they’re saying he isn’t the cause but Andrelton Simmons, an anti-vaxer, has caused a covid outbreak in the Twins clubhouse.

giolito gave up 8 runs in the first inning vs. the red sox. i blame it on it being a 10 a.m. CT game for some reason.

sending him back out in the second was an intriguing decision