2021 MLB Season

[cato]

As great of a game as last night’s was (to a neutral observer at least), it was definitely a case study for the “bunting is a lost art” crowd. Numerous “runner on second or third with no outs” situations and zero successful bunts (and only 1 real attempt by a Padres pitcher for the safety squeeze - bunted one fouls and then whiffed twice on full swings).

Excellent point. I wonder if the “automatic runner on second” rule will encourage more people to dedicate time to bunting? Both the Padres and Dodgers seemed all in on the “move someone to third with1 or no outs and try to drive the ball” theory, that one bunt attempt aside.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I was listening to NY sports talk radio yesterday morning and they were discussing all of the rules revisions, and someone asked whether a 7-inning no-hitter in a doubleheader would count as a no-hitter. Interesting timing for the discussion as yesterday afternoon MadBum threw a 7-inning no-hitter which does not count as a no-hitter.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...ooks-no-hitter

[mkirsh]

I was listening to NY sports talk radio yesterday morning and they were discussing all of the rules revisions, and someone asked whether a 7-inning no-hitter in a doubleheader would count as a no-hitter. Interesting timing for the discussion as yesterday afternoon MadBum threw a 7-inning no-hitter which does not count as a no-hitter.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...ooks-no-hitter

Even more hilarious is that MLB dubs this as a ”notable achievement”. Part of Nats TV broadcaster FP Santangelo’s schtick is that he says “there goes the no-hitter” after the first hit of the game, but he’s had to amend that to “there goes the notable achievement” for seven inning contests.

[jv001]

Waino pitches a complete game but loses(2-1) as the Cards only get 2 hits. Both Philadelphia runs same on homers by Hoskins. The Cardinal offense has been so hit and miss in a season that many Cardinal fans thought the offense would be a strength.

GoRedbirds!

[CameronDuke]

Waino pitches a complete game but loses(2-1) as the Cards only get 2 hits. Both Philadelphia runs same on homers by Hoskins. The Cardinal offense has been so hit and miss in a season that many Cardinal fans thought the offense would be a strength.

GoRedbirds!

Waino was fantastic last night, throwing the 25th CG of his storied career at age 39. He is an absolute warrior. He only allowed 6 hits including the two solo HRs you mentioned and punched out 8. It has been great to see Waino and Flaherty assert themselves as the two best starting pitchers on the Cardinals recently. It would be nice to see Carlos Martinez throw a good game tonight. It was also good to see Yadi back in the lineup last night.

[CameronDuke]

The St. Louis Cardinals have recalled catcher Ali Sánchez from the Alternate Site.

Catcher Yadier Molina has been placed on the 10-day IL (right foot tendon strain).

That’s a shame because Yadi was having a great season thus far before getting injured.

[CameronDuke]

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 last night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri in the second game of the four game series. Carlos Martinez started on the hill for the Cardinals and was magnificent. He pitched 7.1 innings, allowing just 2 hits and an earned run, while walking two and striking out 4. Alex Reyes earned his 6th save of April to go with a 0.00 ERA. The win pushed the record of the Cardinals to 12-11.

Johan Oviedo gets the first start of his career tonight vs the Phillies in the third game of the series opposite Vince Velasquez. First pitch is set for 6:45 CT.

Let’s Go Cardinals!

[jv001]

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 last night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri in the second game of the four game series. Carlos Martinez started on the hill for the Cardinals and was magnificent. He pitched 7.1 innings, allowing just 2 hits and an earned run, while walking two and striking out 4. Alex Reyes earned his 6th save of April to go with a 0.00 ERA. The win pushed the record of the Cardinals to 12-11.

Johan Oviedo gets the first start of his career tonight vs the Phillies in the third game of the series opposite Vince Velasquez. First pitch is set for 6:45 CT.

Let’s Go Cardinals!

I hope that I don't put the kiss of death on the starting rotation by saying I'm really impressed with the way the starters are pitching. I had some concerns going into the season. Martinez had not pitched well in a while and he had been injured. So far Carlos has seen his velocity go up and he's had good command. KK was going into his second season and wondered if teams had figured him out. He doesn't have an overpowering fastball but he get's the job done allowing soft contact with his off speed pitches. I wondered if Wainwright could replicate his performance of 2020 at the age of 39. So far, he's been great but has not received any run support. Flaherty is the #1 in the rotation but he had some games in 2020 where he didn't look like a #1. I didn't know what to expect from him. This year he's the opposite of Waino. He's gotten great run support and he's pitched well. Then the there was the question of who would be the 5th starter. Well, John Gant has taken that spot and run with it. Some guys that have stepped up for the Cards; Dylan Carlson, Tommy Edman, Gant, Reyes, and Knizner in Yadi's absence. Now if Goldy and Arenado can just be themselves, we should be able to compete with the Brewers.

GoRedbirds!

[jv001]

Cards bullpen took the loss in a 5-3 defeat to the Phillies last night. Johan Oviedo pitched very well: 5 innings, 3 runs, 7 Ks. He looks to be a starter for a long time.
24 games into the season there are some tight battles going on.

In the senior circuit(NL): East= Atl and Phi tied for 1st place with 12-12 records. Central= Milwaukee 14-10, STL & Pitt with 12-12 records, West= Dodgers and SF tied with 16-9 records.
In the NL East 3 games separate the 1st and last place team. In the Central 4 games separate the 1st and last place team and in the West, 3 games separate the 1st and 4th place team with the last place team 6 games behind the leader.

In the junior league(AL): East= Boston is in first place with a 16-9 record followed by Tampa with a 13-11 record. Central leader KC has a 15-8 record. White Sox 2nd with 12-10 record. West leader is Oakland with 15-10 record. Followed by Houston with a 13-11 record.
In the AL East, 5 games separate the 1st and last place team. In AL the Central we have the widest margin in baseball with the KC Royals ahead of the last place team by 8 games. In the West, 5 games separate the 1st and last place team, but only 2 games separate the 1st and 4th place team.

Surprise teams are the KC Royals, Boston Red Sox and SF Giants. If the first few games are any indication, there should be some exciting baseball ahead.

[CameronDuke]

Cards bullpen took the loss in a 5-3 defeat to the Phillies last night. Johan Oviedo pitched very well: 5 innings, 3 runs, 7 Ks. He looks to be a starter for a long time.
24 games into the season there are some tight battles going on.

In the senior circuit(NL): East= Atl and Phi tied for 1st place with 12-12 records. Central= Milwaukee 14-10, STL & Pitt with 12-12 records, West= Dodgers and SF tied with 16-9 records.
In the NL East 3 games separate the 1st and last place team. In the Central 4 games separate the 1st and last place team and in the West, 3 games separate the 1st and 4th place team with the last place team 6 games behind the leader.

In the junior league(AL): East= Boston is in first place with a 16-9 record followed by Tampa with a 13-11 record. Central leader KC has a 15-8 record. White Sox 2nd with 12-10 record. West leader is Oakland with 15-10 record. Followed by Houston with a 13-11 record.
In the AL East, 5 games separate the 1st and last place team. In AL the Central we have the widest margin in baseball with the KC Royals ahead of the last place team by 8 games. In the West, 5 games separate the 1st and last place team, but only 2 games separate the 1st and 4th place team.

Surprise teams are the KC Royals, Boston Red Sox and SF Giants. If the first few games are any indication, there should be some exciting baseball ahead.

The Cardinals and Phillies game got interesting late. In the top of the 6th, Cardinals pitched Genesis Cabrera hit Bryce Harper in the face with a 97 mph fastball then Didi Gregorius in the ribcage with a 95 mph fastball on back to back pitches. Both benches were warned prompting Phillies manager Joe Girardi to go on a tirade at the home plate umpire. He got tossed and had some words for Cabrera as he exited the field, prompting Mike Shildt to fire back at Girardi.

Today may be interesting. Do the Phillies retaliate? The pitches didn’t look intentional from Cabrera but you have to have better control at the MLB level than that. The pitch to Harper hit him in the cheek square on. I’m surprised he doesn’t have a broken jaw or wasn’t knocked unconscious. I was glad to see he looked ok.

[duke74]

The Cardinals and Phillies game got interesting late. In the top of the 6th, Cardinals pitched Genesis Cabrera hit Bryce Harper in the face with a 97 mph fastball then Didi Gregorius in the ribcage with a 95 mph fastball on back to back pitches. Both benches were warned prompting Phillies manager Joe Girardi to go on a tirade at the home plate umpire. He got tossed and had some words for Cabrera as he exited the field, prompting Mike Shildt to fire back at Girardi.

Today may be interesting. Do the Phillies retaliate? The pitches didn’t look intentional from Cabrera but you have to have better control at the MLB level than that. The pitch to Harper hit him in the cheek square on. I’m surprised he doesn’t have a broken jaw or wasn’t knocked unconscious. I was glad to see he looked ok.

One of the reasons I prefer there NOT to be the DH. There's an implicit accountability in these types of situations. Not having to face another's 100 mph fastball at the plate can embolden pitchers. Sort of like the "keyboard warrior" bravado on the internet.

[CameronDuke]

One of the reasons I prefer there NOT to be the DH. There's an implicit accountability in these types of situations. Not having to face another's 100 mph fastball at the plate can embolden pitchers. Sort of like the "keyboard warrior" bravado on the internet.

Couldn’t agree more. I’m an NL guy and love that pitchers still hit. This is one of the biggest reasons why.

Girardi wanted Cabrera ejected last night rather than the umpires issuing warnings to each club. The new rule for relief pitchers is, however, that they have to face three batters minimum when they enter the game. I’m not sure if it is up to the umpires discretion to be able to eject pitchers if they do not reach the three batter minimum when they enter the game.

Things may get interesting today. Harper is out of the starting lineup but he said after the game last night he is good to go.

[CameronDuke]

In a game that saw Mike Shildt, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, get ejected in the bottom of the 9th inning, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in 10 innings on a walk off wild pitch to salvage a series split. Shildt was ejected after Nolan Arenado got hit by a pitch in the back, maybe as retaliation for the Cardinals hitting Bryce Harper and Didi Gregorius last night.

The Cardinals improved to 13-12 and will travel to Pittsburgh where they’ll take on the Pirates in a three game series at PNC Park. Tomorrow, the Cardinals will send John Gant to the hill against JT Brubaker. Tomorrow’s first pitch is set for 5:35 pm.

Let’s go Cardinals!

[chrishoke]

The Phillies s hit Areando in the back and the Cards manager was ejected. Payback complete. Harper did not play today.

[jv001]

In a game that saw Mike Shildt, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, get ejected in the bottom of the 9th inning, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in 10 innings on a walk off wild pitch to salvage a series split. Shildt was ejected after Nolan Arenado got hit by a pitch in the back, maybe as retaliation for the Cardinals hitting Bryce Harper and Didi Gregorius last night.

The Cardinals improved to 13-12 and will travel to Pittsburgh where they’ll take on the Pirates in a three game series at PNC Park. Tomorrow, the Cardinals will send John Gant to the hill against JT Brubaker. Tomorrow’s first pitch is set for 5:35 pm.

Let’s go Cardinals!

Pretty good back to back series. Sweep of the Reds and 2 of 4 with the Phillies. On to Pittsburgh.

GoRedbirds!

[acdevil]

The extra inning runner on second rule is awful. I’ve basically stopped watching games when it goes there. Rather have a stupid home run derby or a tie.

[duke74]

The extra inning runner on second rule is awful. I’ve basically stopped watching games when it goes there. Rather have a stupid home run derby or a tie.

Rock, paper, scissors?

[CameronDuke]

The extra inning runner on second rule is awful. I’ve basically stopped watching games when it goes there. Rather have a stupid home run derby or a tie.

Yeah seeing the rule implemented at the MLB level is kind of weird for me, an old school baseball purist. Seems like something they would do in my little league games to speed things along back in the day. The game was fine the way it was to me. What’s always been great about baseball is that teams had to earn every base. Time of games wasn’t an issue to me but I can see how the casual fan may think the games take too long. What’s beautiful about baseball to me is there is no clock. Some games are longer and some are shorter. Now I do get annoyed sometimes when batters keep stepping out the box or pitchers attempt pick off after pick off after pick off move? Absolutely but it’s all part of the game.

MLB will always hold a special place in my heart but the rules changes are by and large over cooking their grits to me (pitch clock, extra innings rule, relief pitchers having to face a minimum of 3 batters, etc).

[DU82]

One of the reasons I prefer there NOT to be the DH. There's an implicit accountability in these types of situations. Not having to face another's 100 mph fastball at the plate can embolden pitchers. Sort of like the "keyboard warrior" bravado on the internet.

No evidence that hit-by-pitches were higher when pitchers hit. (From Bill James’s site or one of his books; don’t have the specific reference right now.)

[DU82]

The extra inning runner on second rule is awful. I’ve basically stopped watching games when it goes there. Rather have a stupid home run derby or a tie.

One of the “independent” minor leagues is testing that, having a home run contest to settle an extra inning game. Much like the NHL ‘shootout or the World Cup penalty kick ending.