2018 MLB Season

[weezie]

Could the nat be Harperless soon, too?

Houston, have you got many many many millions?

[JBDuke]

Could the nat be Harperless soon, too?

Houston, have you got many many many millions?

Remains to be seen. The locals are touting this weekend as "win or sell". The Nationals have won their last 3. They have the talent to make a good run and likely beat Philly and Atlanta, but it remains to be seen if they can pull it together consistently.

[YmoBeThere]

Has the complaining about Dusty started? Oh wait, he isn't there any more.

[JBDuke]

Has the complaining about Dusty started? Oh wait, he isn't there any more.

There certainly has been some grumbling about Davey Martinez, and he's made his share of "rookie" mistakes - most frequently in the handling of the bullpen. But he's also very much liked by his players, and he's had a tough job so far this year, due to the number of injuries the team has sustained - apparently, by some measure, the team most impacted by injuries. I, for one, am hoping for some stability in the manager's position, so I hope he sticks around. Unless he loses the clubhouse, like Matt Williams did, I'd like to see him here for a few years.

[Duke79UNLV77]

Has the complaining about Dusty started? Oh wait, he isn't there any more.

And the team that fired him got worse after doing so. Has happened every time.

[El_Diablo]

And the team that fired him got worse after doing so. Has happened every time.

Huh? That only happened with the Reds in 2014, who were decimated by injuries (including Votto, who missed most of the year). And even then, they were 51-44 at the All Star break before collapsing late. The Giants' record improved by five wins the year after Baker left. The Cubs' record improved by 19 wins the year after Baker left.

[Duke79UNLV77]

Huh? That only happened with the Reds in 2014, who were decimated by injuries (including Votto, who missed most of the year). And even then, they were 51-44 at the All Star break before collapsing late. The Giants' record improved by five wins the year after Baker left. The Cubs' record improved by 19 wins the year after Baker left.

I overstated the case, but I still think there is a trend. Baker led the Giants to 95 wins and a WS appearance in his last year and pretty consistently had them in the playoffs or at least strong contention. They did win 100 games the following year, but then missed the playoffs for 6 consecutive years after that. Other than the immediate next year, there was a pronounced downward trend post-Baker. The Cubs had made the playoffs once in 13 years before Baker and then made it within a jinx of the World Series his first year. If you're going to point to decimating injuries, that's what hurt Baker's tenure in Chicago. Admittedly, Pinella did get them in the playoffs twice, before they went into a downward trend. The Reds won the division 3 of Baker's last 4 years, and have averaged only 69 wins in the 4 full years since, whether Votto was healthy or not. The Nats averaged 96 wins in Baker's 2 years and are now a game under .500 almost 2/3 of the way through the season.

[CDu]

I overstated the case, but I still think there is a trend. Baker led the Giants to 95 wins and a WS appearance in his last year and pretty consistently had them in the playoffs or at least strong contention. They did win 100 games the following year, but then missed the playoffs for 6 consecutive years after that. Other than the immediate next year, there was a pronounced downward trend post-Baker. The Cubs had made the playoffs once in 13 years before Baker and then made it within a jinx of the World Series his first year. If you're going to point to decimating injuries, that's what hurt Baker's tenure in Chicago. Admittedly, Pinella did get them in the playoffs twice, before they went into a downward trend. The Reds won the division 3 of Baker's last 4 years, and have averaged only 69 wins in the 4 full years since, whether Votto was healthy or not. The Nats averaged 96 wins in Baker's 2 years and are now a game under .500 almost 2/3 of the way through the season.

To be fair, one of the biggest complaints about Baker is that he abuses starting pitchers. So the Cubs' critical injuries during his time (Wood and Prior) may well be partly his own fault as he rode them REALLY hard down the stretch in 2003.

And, as noted, it's hard to argue that the teams got worse without Baker when the immediate seasons following Baker's exit (i.e., the teams with the most comparable rosters to those he coached) were better without him in half of the cases, and injuries have factored heavily in one of the two examples in which the team got worse without him.

[Duke79UNLV77]

To be fair, one of the biggest complaints about Baker is that he abuses starting pitchers. So the Cubs' critical injuries during his time (Wood and Prior) may well be partly his own fault as he rode them REALLY hard down the stretch in 2003.

And, as noted, it's hard to argue that the teams got worse without Baker when the immediate seasons following Baker's exit (i.e., the teams with the most comparable rosters to those he coached) were better without him in half of the cases, and injuries have factored heavily in one of the two examples in which the team got worse without him.

To be fair, Wood had missed a full season due to injury in 1999, before the 2003 near-WS year. Further, both Wood and Prior pitched 211 innings in 2003. By comparison, Nolan Ryan pitched 332 innings at a similar age (when 285 innings was only 10th in the league). Heck, Ryan even pitched 239 innings at age 42. The marginal uptick the Giants had from 95 wins and a WS appearance to 100 wins the following year doesn't match the extreme drop off the Reds have faced from perennial playoff appearances to bottom of the league post-Baker, the Giants' downward spiral for 6 years, or the Nats' projection to win almost 20 fewer games this year.

[JasonEvans]

By comparison, Nolan Ryan pitched 332 innings at a similar age (when 285 innings was only 10th in the league). Heck, Ryan even pitched 239 innings at age 42.

Come on. We all know that Nolan Ryan was the subject of a secret government experiment that gave him a bionic arm. I thought that was common knowledge by now.

[Blue in the Face]

First big deadline trade - Chris Archer to Pittsburgh for Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow, both very highly rated prospects, and a third yet-unnamed piece. Very nice return for the Rays - Archer's certainly capable of being very good, but he's far from a consistent dominant starter. I wouldn't have wanted the Yankees to give up a package like that for him. Though he is under team control for 3 more seasons at a pretty reasonable salary, which is nice. (Especially since I think the Bucs will miss the post-season with him just as easily as they would have without him).

https://www.bucsdugout.com/2018/7/31...e-chris-archer

[CDu]

To be fair, Wood had missed a full season due to injury in 1999, before the 2003 near-WS year. Further, both Wood and Prior pitched 211 innings in 2003. By comparison, Nolan Ryan pitched 332 innings at a similar age (when 285 innings was only 10th in the league). Heck, Ryan even pitched 239 innings at age 42. The marginal uptick the Giants had from 95 wins and a WS appearance to 100 wins the following year doesn't match the extreme drop off the Reds have faced from perennial playoff appearances to bottom of the league post-Baker, the Giants' downward spiral for 6 years, or the Nats' projection to win almost 20 fewer games this year.

The Giants’ spiral starting two years after Baker left (they won 100 games and 91 games the first two years after he left) coincides with the end of Barry Bonds. It had nothing to do with the loss of Baker.

The Cubs churned along just fine without Baker before that team’s window closed.

The Reds lost Votto for 2/3 of the year and Choo permanently, AND hired a rookie manager, AND subsequently siphoned off rotation pieces

The Nationals’ demise this year is due to excessive injuries, not the loss of Baker.

One could argue that Baker is better than Martinez or Price, but I am not sure that “better than a rookie manager or a possibly awful manager” is a selling argument in Baker’s favor.

And on top of that, there is clearly no “Post-Dusty trend” evident. Two teams went right on winning, two teams didn’t, and there were extenuating circumstances in each case.

[Jim3k]

And now, that atmospheric disturbance in the East Bay has gotten much stronger. In recent days, the A's acquired Jeurys Familia from the Mets, Shawn Kelley from the Nats, Mike Fiers from the Tigs and late today, Fernanado Rodney from the Twins.

Given the moderate success of the starters, it looks like they have hardened an already strong bullpen. Seems like the starters will only have to go four innings.

Standings-wise, the A's are now 19 games over .500 and 4-½ behind division leader Houston. As for the wild card, they currently lead for the second wildcard and are beginning to push the Yankees for the first wildcard.

They are hitting well, have team speed and decent power. Khris Davis is third in the league with 32 HRs and second in RBIs with 88. Their defense is as good as anyone's, with gold glove caliber corner infielders, the two Matts, Chapman and Olson. I'm not sure there's better third baseman in baseball than Chapman. The Rox's Arenado is the only one at his level.

For a mediocre pitching staff, they are fourth in ERA. They give the appearance of chopped liver, but are far from that.

For those who are not paying attention, the A's are worth watching. So, if you like Cinderellas and underdogs, this team fills the bill.

[Jim3k]

As of last night, thanks to the Mariners' sweep of Houston, the A's are now 2-½ games behind the division-leading Astros. But...the Mariners have also closed the gap. The A's and Mariners start a three game set tonight in Oakland.

[CDu]

As of last night, thanks to the Mariners' sweep of Houston, the A's are now 2-½ games behind the division-leading Astros. But...the Mariners have also closed the gap. The A's and Mariners start a three game set tonight in Oakland.

The A’s are a fun story. I would love to see them playing in October.

[Blue in the Face]

In the lame move of the day department, Ronald Acuna was working on a 5 game HR streak, including 3 straight leadoff homers, when he stepped in at the beginning of last night's game against the Marlins. For his troubles, he was promptly plunked by Marlins pitcher Jose Urena, clearly intentionally. Benches cleared, somewhat half-heartedly, twice, and Urena was eventually tossed before facing another batter. Acuna stayed in the game, but then came out in the top of the 2nd after taking the field then signalling to come out. X-rays on Acuna were negative, and it would be a real shame if he misses any significant time because of it. Aside from the playoff race, Acuna has been outrageously hot, and has turned the NL rookie of the year from a foregone conclusion into a real race. Since the all-star break, while Juan Soto has kept on keeping on, putting up .435/.593/1.028, Acuna has taken orbit with .425/.821/1.246. Yowza.

[Matches]

Marlins are bush league. Mattingly even half-heartedly defended what was pretty obviously an intentional plunking. Gross.

[CDu]

In the lame move of the day department, Ronald Acuna was working on a 5 game HR streak, including 3 straight leadoff homers, when he stepped in at the beginning of last night's game against the Marlins. For his troubles, he was promptly plunked by Marlins pitcher Jose Urena, clearly intentionally. Benches cleared, somewhat half-heartedly, twice, and Urena was eventually tossed before facing another batter. Acuna stayed in the game, but then came out in the top of the 2nd after taking the field then signalling to come out. X-rays on Acuna were negative, and it would be a real shame if he misses any significant time because of it. Aside from the playoff race, Acuna has been outrageously hot, and has turned the NL rookie of the year from a foregone conclusion into a real race. Since the all-star break, while Juan Soto has kept on keeping on, putting up .435/.593/1.028, Acuna has taken orbit with .425/.821/1.246. Yowza.

Marlins are bush league. Mattingly even half-heartedly defended what was pretty obviously an intentional plunking. Gross.

Yeah, that was hot garbage. The Marlins and Mattingly are getting pretty well roasted for it in the media, and rightfully so.

[Blue in the Face]

The party's over in Washington.

Murphy to Cubs.

Adams to Cardinals.

[jimsumner]

The party's over in Washington.

Murphy to Cubs.

Adams to Cardinals.

What would Bryce Harper bring at this point? Could they get him through waivers?

And, no, I don't believe the denials. I can't imagine the Nats thing they'll sign him now that they seem to be entering a rebuilding phase.