MLB 2018 regular season thread

Shohei Ohtani Had Another Moment | FanGraphs Baseball

 

Mother of God, how bad is Pat Valaika of the Rockies? .100/.135/.160 in 53 PAs entering tonight!

 

Ya can tell by the kid swatting the man’s hand away that that kid has no parental supervision and will probably end up in prison.

 

Me too? Et tu?

Mike Schmidt apologizes for sexist remarks during Phillies broadcast

At that point, Schmidt told the NBC Sports Philadelphia audience, "I have a dishwasher at home myself: My wife. That was bad. Actually, I do the dishes, most of the time.”

Schmidt didn't stop with his dishwasher comment Sunday:

“Me Too movement," Schmidt said. "Where does that fit in?

 

Josh Hader became the first major league pitcher to strike out eight batters in fewer than three innings pitched. He is also the first pitcher to strike out eight batters in a save since Randy Johnson did it in 1996. Hader did not give up a run or hit, but walked one in 2 2/3 innings pitched for the Brewers tonight. He now has 39 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched.

 

He's filthy. Not really sure about the Brewers' usage of him (I'm hoping he doesn't get stuck in a Joba Chamberlain yo-yo role that ruins him for the bullpen and starting positions), but he's a fucking weapon on the mound.

 

It seems like they are using him the way teams have used Andrew Miller, though I agree that such a role could be trouble down the line. Hader is on pace to pitch 97 innings and strike out 210 batters. I doubt he keeps up quite that K-rate, but he's going to be ahead of quite a few starters. And yes, I do have him on my fantasy baseball teams. I have him on all three of them.

 

Hader is filthy. That was quite the display.

 

The Braves once traded Morton as part of the package for Nate McLouth.

 

Morton's strikeout rate shot up a ton last year, though, as I recall. I haven't dug deep enough to know what the story is behind that, whether his prior teams were mis-using him or whether he developed a new pitch or what it was. But he's been a different pitcher the last couple years than he was before. I know the Astros throw a lot of curveballs. Maybe that's it.

EDIT: Looks like he's added a cutter the last couple seasons and is throwing slightly more curveballs. Started his last year with the Phillies. Big velocity uptick, too, on his four-seam fastball. Maybe from not throwing it as much? Who knows?

 

Part of it is health. Morton has always thrown hard, but injuries slowed him down for much of his career. I think it is a combination of better health and the improve repertoire.