general 2021 MLB discussion thread

seems like the cubs and pirates can be forgiven for giving up on kyle schwarber and josh bell, respectively

btw how about the giants? odd that bee ok hasn't shown up yet

barely posted last year too, come back bee

this LAA/LAD game is getting silly, mookie/seager/turner and trout/upton were all taken out because of the blowout but LAA scored 11 runs over the 6th and 7th and now they're only 3 back

seems like the cubs and pirates can be forgiven for giving up on kyle schwarber and josh bell, respectively

― mookieproof, Saturday, May 8, 2021 9:58 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i guess except the cubs replaced schwarber with joc pederson, who is doing only marginally better than schwarber so far

excited to read this mlb.com article

https://i.imgur.com/iBn1LcI.png

Writer’s dad pumped for son’s first headline

but not SUPER PUMPED?

lol

founder of Hillside Elementary Writing Contest super pumped for former winner's son's first headline

Headline writer not actually allowed to write the article they are titling, and here’s why.

corbin burnes finally walked a dude after 58 strikeouts to open the season

and even that one was a good pitch

Yasmani Grandal is hitting .143/.581/.571 (1.152 OPS) with a .000 BABIP in May.

2-for-14, 2 home runs, 16 walks

— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) May 14, 2021

why don't pitchers throw strikes to Grandal? is his plate coverage so good?

yeah, he has the 8th lowest zone% in the majors, which is weird because he isn't particularly amazing at making contact when swinging at strikes. he's above average but not by much

he just doesn't swing at pitches. lowest swing% in the majors by a good margin (25.5% to max muncy's 31.2%), lowest z-swing% (swings on pitches inside the zone) by a mile (39.6% to david fletcher's 48.6%), second lowest o-swing% (swings on pitches outside the zone) after muncy

so pitchers avoid the zone even though he barely ever swings when they put it in there (second highest called strike rate) and he barely ever swings on balls.

it honestly doesn't make sense, he'll basically give you an 0-2 count if you want it but no one challenges him

weird! we should be pitching coaches. i'm ready to go talk to the guy on the mound facing him late in the game. "Rookie, you've gotta calm down. Let me squeeze your shoulder. Yes, there. Relent to me. Attack the zone. Throw strikes. If he hits a HR I'll buy you a beer. But he's not gonna hit it. Because I put a curse on him. I'll tell you about it after the strikeout. Throw strikes."

If things don't pan out for me, I would like to be America's Silliest Pitching Coach for some local team

maybe he's just very short

why the camo hats today? is this some militaristic holiday that i've overlooked?

armed forces day

Kelenic's first HR is beautiful.

Did Bogaerts get hurt today, or was he just removed because of the big lead?

Huascar Ynoa out a few months after breaking his hand punching the dugout lmao

Pujols is starting and batting cleanup for the Dodgers tonight, as anyone could have predicted.

I don't think it's likely but how angry would Angels fans be about a LAD Pujols renaissance?

Liking the new red alternate jerseys for the Marlins.

(xpost) Stranger things have happened. Frogs fell from the sky in Magnolia.

so the twins were projected to win 88 games and their division this year

Pujols signing already paid off

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-dodgers-addition-of-albert-pujols-didnt-make-sense-until/

tldr; the dodgers have a lot of injuries

I've seen a lot of people mention his expected numbers based on statcast suggest he's getting unlucky or something, but the combination of his pull-everything-into-the-shift approach and his slowness suggest to me this is just who he is

Tony LaRussa fucking sucks

you hear it more and more

larussa sucks but the white sox are good. impressively good considering jimenez and robert are injured and giolito has been mediocre

They haven’t played the Astros, A’s, Yankees, Rays and Jays yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjz2UKPdFCU

best part of this is Tim Anderson

alex blandino, #0, third basemen, has a 0.00 ERA through 3.2 career IP

lance lynn (now with the white sox) said it was dumb, too. kind of notable given that he actually played for larussa in his rookie year with the cardinals in 2011, after which larussa left. as a young player on a team managed by larussa that also happened to win the WS that year, he probably has weird feelings about him

"Lance has a locker; I have an office," La Russa said.

when all else fails, just start with the basics

you have the microphone, and we of us here have phones. and many of the fans do as well.

willy adames traded. is it wander franco time? brujan? the other aaa ss guy?

#Rays are calling up ... Taylor Walls

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 21, 2021

meanwhile, who knew that being one the least-vaxxed teams in the league would backfire on the mariners!

The Seattle Mariners have at least one COVID positive, sources tell ESPN, and there is concern within the organization that the relatively low level of vaccination within the clubhouse could be problematic. The Mariners, source said, are among the least-vaccinated teams in MLB.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 21, 2021

besides everyone

i have not posted on ILB for five years but the Giants might be relevant again. i only care about one team and one team only. anyways, going into today the Giants have the best record in all of baseball and they finally play the Dodgers in a three game set. going out of my mind waiting. the Giants starter for tomorrow has gone down and now it's TBD, so this first game is so important. Bauer (2.20 ERA) vs. Wood (1.75 ERA).

long past due on ILB from me: RIP Dr Morbius.

Welcome back. You are welcome to stay even when the Giants are not relevant.

hi bee! good to have you back. i think once or twice i made a joke at your expense (while you were still posting on ILB i mean) about your myopic love of the giants. sorry about that. i have an appreciation for the focus!

i sorta follow the other teams in baseball, but not at 1% of the level that i follow the cardinals. if i'm looking into other teams it's usually because we (meaning me, a member of the cardinals) are about to play them