2013 MLB Regular Season running thread

Agrees

 

That's what happens when Michael Kirkman pitches to anybody these days ... Kirkman will be appearing soon in a DFA news release near you.

 

You are correct, Kirkman is out of options. But they still need a warm body in the pen. I suppose that's why Colby Lewis was shifted to the 60-day DL when McGuinness was added to the 40-man to replace Moreland.

(Bringing Mike Olt back makes more sense roster-wise, but Olt just got back from his vision thing.)

I suppose my ire should be more directed at Wash for allowing Kirkman to pitch in a high-leverage situation in the first place. He had Joe Nathan loose in case the Rangers had scored and created a save possibility in the top of the inning.

Wash also could've let Robbie Ross pitch out of his jam in the seventh instead of pulling him for Jason Frasor, another roller-coaster ride of a guy who ultimately blew the save only because Berkman didn't go home for the force.

I'd have been nervous with Frasor in the ninth, but it couldn't have been any worse than the actual result.

 

Towel drills for everyone!

 

Thurman would have been 66 today.

11 years, 113 HR, 700+ RBIs, .292 average.

Let's say he plays, what, 4 more years with the same kind of stats, would he be a Hall of Famer today?

Code:

                                                                                                   
Year           Tm    G   PA   AB   R    H  2B 3B  HR RBI SB  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS      Awards
1969          NYY   26   97   86   6   22   1  2   1   9  0  10  10 .256 .330 .349             .679
1970          NYY  132  526  453  59  137  25  4   6  53  5  57  56 .302 .386 .415 .801 MVP-19RoY-1
1971          NYY  125  517  451  71  113  15  4  10  42  6  52  65 .251 .335 .368 .703          AS
1972          NYY  140  568  511  54  143  16  3   7  46  6  47  58 .280 .343 .364             .707
1973          NYY  147  576  519  80  156  29  4  20  74  4  48  64 .301 .362 .487 .849  ASMVP-12GG
1974          NYY  144  571  517  64  135  19  2  13  60  2  44  66 .261 .316 .381 .697  ASMVP-26GG
1975          NYY  157  661  597  83  190  24  3  12 102  3  45  52 .318 .366 .429 .795   ASMVP-7GG
1976          NYY  152  665  616  79  186  27  1  17 105 14  29  38 .302 .337 .432 .769     ASMVP-1
1977          NYY  149  638  595  85  183  28  5  18 100  5  39  55 .308 .351 .462 .813     ASMVP-7
1978          NYY  154  667  617  73  183  27  1   6  71  2  35  70 .297 .332 .373 .705    ASMVP-22
1979          NYY   97  419  382  42  110  18  3   3  39  1  32  37 .288 .340 .374             .714
11 Yrs            1423 5905 5344 696 1558 229 32 113 701 48 438 571 .292 .346 .410             .756
162 Game Avg.      162  672  608  79  177  26  4  13  80  5  50  65 .292 .346 .410             .756

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/7/2013.

 

I thought he was voted in instantly posthumously, but obviously not. Should've been. Faulty 11-year-old memory at work.

But anyway, having had full lifetime numbers, he would've been a shoo-in. He had the misfortune of playing in an era when he was unfairly compared to contemporary Johnny Bench, the greatest hitting catcher of the time, and after his death, he was overshadowed in his own division by Carlton Fisk. Then later, catchers like Pudge and Piazza pushed the bar even higher.

 

Two small numbers in a large group of them, but I had no idea Munson struck out just 65 times per 162 games played. Not sure how that ranks during his era, but it seems particularly low. The other is that he played between 140 and 154 games in each of his last seven full seasons. Did he ever spend time on the disabled list? Because if he didn't, as a catcher, man.

 

Like virtually every other great catcher (other than Fisk and Ivan Rodriguez), Munson wasn't likely to continue to be a great player past 30. He was in serious decline offensively in the last season-and-a-half before his death.

I don't think his Hall of Fame case would have gotten any better had he lived, so I'll say no.

 

The Cubs have had plenty of experience throwing in the towel, why not practice it?

 

The Cuban does it again. Fourth HR in five games.

 

Puig is getting dangerously close to a 2-page SI spread entitled "The Natural."

 

Shouldn't it be "El Natural?"