2016 MLB Regular-Season Thread

Meh. It was bad judgement to toss him.

 

I thought it was bullshit to toss Thor at the time, but the more I thought about it, the ump had to. If there was just a warning, then the Dodgers potentially lose a pitcher if Maeda hit someone when it was the Mets who started it.

 

What I haven't seen pointed out in this debate over the Syndergaard pitch is that it was thrown was completely behind Utley, which in MLB pretty much implies intent, and in the opinion of some is the worst thing for a pitcher to do because the first instinct of the batter is to jump backward. The Mets fans who were cheering that pitch were certainly aware it was intentional, and I'm surprised that Buck and whoever his partner was seemed pretty clueless about that aspect.

Now, I'm not saying there isn't a debate to be had here. Saying the ump should have given Syndergaard a warning is a valid view, but keep in mind this wasn't just some pitch that was up and in, or hit him in the arm; when a ball's thrown behind a batter, the situation is escalated and sometimes the ump feels he needs to act right then so it doesn't get any worse.

 

Looking at the box, what jumps out to me is the Royals scored 14 runs on 21 hits. Brewers pitchers did not walk a batter. How often does a team score 14 without receiving a single walk?

 

I'm guessing that the coke in some Milwaukee nightclub must have been mind-blowing the night before and the Royals were in a hurry to get back to it.

 

Sale defends Ventura amid White Sox tailspin

If only Drake LaRoche were still around. He'd know what to do.

 

Kelvin Herrera got five games for it last year.

 

Not sure he's human. Very fun to watch every time he takes the ball.

 

I bet on one or two of those five he was pitching around a batter.

 

I'm assuming they're only counting starting pitchers. Dennis Eckersley had 18.33 and 18.25 walk to strikeout ratios in 1989 and 1990.

Still, it shows how great Kershaw has been, that his control has been even better than Eck at his peak.

 

Foltynewicz v. Samardzija ...