2019 MLB Regular Season running thread

Also has some experience with that:

 

So the A's now have 13 pitchers on their active roster - is that the going rate these days? Figured with the increase maneuverablity with rosters (sending pitchers down and the short IL) they'd carry fewer.

 

A lot of teams carry eight-man bullpens.

 

Shit, the Cardinals had 14 pitchers on hand for a game this past weekend because they had burned through so many relievers in the previous two or three games. It's obviously an outlier, but it points out the problems a team faces when a starter can't get through even five innings.

 

The Angels change every day. You have to check the roster on a daily basis to know who might be pitching in the fifth or sixth inning. The guy they bring in from the bullpen might have been in Salt Lake City the day before.

 

Giants have been burning a lot of rubber between SF and Sacramento all week, thanks to a four-game series at Colorado and three extra-inning games with the Mets.

 

There’s something about Giants this year, not saying it’s a WS contender but really nice to see some youngsters excel and get them over .500 so late in year. When you get key hits from Slater and Panik in 8th to win, its a sign.

 

They're above .500 for the first time since Aug. 14 of last year, winning close games, winning games late and coming back from behind. They haven't looked this good since at least the start of last year and quite possibly since the first half of 2016 before it all went to hell. Farhan might be on to something. Like you I doubt a world series is in the cards this year but 2020 might be really interesting.

 

So home runs and strike outs are up. Maybe the balls are juiced. But how much does the standardized strike zone have to do with it? With less variation from ump to ump, figure players can get more dialed in and not have to guess as much. If its close, they're swinging. Does the standardized zone also discourage pitchers from trying to paint the corners, thus the simultaneous decrease in walks?

 

That's a good point, though if that is the case, it should stabilize in time and I still think it was definitely the right way to go.