MARCO'S
BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE 2018: MOOKIE AND THE MIGHTY MASHING MUNCHKINS
One
third of the 2018 season completed and what do we know?
Negatory:
1/the
games move too slowly.
2/there
are too many bad teams.
3/everybody
strikes out too much.
4/injuries
decide pennant races.
Positractive:
1/3
super teams make for a pennant race worth watching.
2/a
whole bunch of great young players have come up.
3/Mookie
and the Munchkins are taking over.
Let's
start with the last item:
Mookie
Betts is 5'8” and weighs (very suspect listing) 180 lbs. and he
leads all of baseball in home runs. If he winds up winning the home
run crown he will be the smallest player ever to do that. (Hack
Wilson hit 56 in 1930 and he was 5'6” but he weighed about 230.
He was a true walking barrel. Size 4 feet. How did he balance
himself, even?)
Of
course, even though the baseball reference lists Mook at 5”9” we
know that's bunk. And I doubt he's within 10 pounds of the 180 he's
listed at. All pro sports lie about size because everybody want to be
bigger. (Okay...not horse racing. Jockeys lie that they're smaller.)
Basketball players always add a couple three inches in height so they
get drafted higher. Charles Barkley was listed at 6”6”.
Hah! He's like 6'3”. Football players likewise. Quarterbacks need
to be tall so they lie. Offensive lineman can't get anybody to take
them seriously unless they're over 300 lbs. And nobody used to want
to recruit little guys to play baseball. If they were tiny little
men, they had to play shortstop or second and steal a lot of bases.
Little guys with power? Seen any unicorns lately?
In
the history of baseball only a handful of smaller hitters have been
real power threats.
Mel
Ott of the New York Giants in the 20's to 40's was probably the
first. He was listed at 5'9” and 170 and he arrived in the majors
at the age of 17. Ott was the first hitter (that anybody remembers)
who used the high leg kick as a timing mechanism, something that was
completely unheard of in baseball at the time. Ott, a leftie hitter,
would balance on his back leg and dip his hands so the bat was below
his waist as the pitch came in. Then he'd launch his weight forward
and generate power. His manager, John McGraw, refused to send
him down to the minors for seasoning because he knew some minor
league coach would try to change Ott's style. McGraw left him alone
and Ott rewarded the Giants with 6 years as home run leader and 511
taters for his career, 7 years with an OPS of over 1.0 and 9 years
top 12 in MVP voting.
Yogi
Berra played at 5'6” and 185 (stretching it) and learned how to
jack the ball to right in Yankee Stadium. He wasn't a home run
leader, but he was dangerous and averaged 27 homers for every 162
games played.
Joe
Morgan was 5'6” and was a pretty good home run threat who
averaged 16 dings for each 162 games. He was never close to leading
the league though.
Kirby
Puckett (5'7” 178 lbs.) likewise. Puck hit 19 homers per 162
games.
Now,
Ott and Berra really benefited from the parks they played their home
games in. The old Polo Grounds that housed the Giants was 257 down
the right field line. Ott knew that and tailored his swing
accordingly. Berra had a very friendly relationship with the famous
Yankee Stadium right field porch.
So
what do we make of Jimmy Wynn, the Toy Cannon? Wynn played for
the Astros in the worst hitter's park in the majors, the famously
dead-aired Astrodome. And yet Jimmy Wynn, at 5'9” and 160 lbs.,
finished in the top 10 in N.L. home runs 5 times. He is unfairly
undervalued by historians because he played in the relative backwater
of Houston and wasn't on competitive teams. And of course his
offensive stats were curtailed by that lousy hitting environment. But
Jimmy was a legit bomber. (25 4-baggers per 162 games.) He hit one of
the longest home runs in the history of Crosley Field in Cincinnati.
Watch
it on youtube
and
this freak show at Forbes Field
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Cn6qusV3c
But
now we have at least 4 Jimmy Wynn's playing in the majors. The Mighty
Mashing Munchkins have arrived!
2018:
season so far…
Mookie
Betts Red Sox: 17 homers
(1st), 19 doubles (1st) 36 rbi's (6th
but he's a lead off hitter!) runs 52 (1st) batting average
.359 (1st) steals 13 (2nd)
Jose
Ramirez Cleveland (5'8” 165lbs.) 15 homers, 14 doubles (through
only 50 games!) (29/56 last season)
in
the National League:
Ozzie
Albies Braves: (5'7” 165 lbs.) 14 homers, 15 doubles 46 runs
scored
and
lest we forget…
Jose
Altuve Astros: 5'5”
165 (listed...actually about 150) only 4 homers so far but he hit 24
each of the last two seasons. Perennial batting champ and hits
leader.
This
is the year we were all supposed to be gaga over the Twin Towers of
the Yankees, Judge and Stanton...forget it. I'll take the Munchkins!
MLB
was making a big deal over the length of games in the off
season and making plans to correct said sloth. That's funny. Games
still drag on. The reasons are mostly because nobody can put the ball
in play and counts go deep to every batter, most of whom wind up
striking out. And with all the pitches being thrown, naturally you
have to use more pitchers...6 or 7 per game regularly. Warming up and
replacing reliever after reliever and then having every other batter
going to full counts...that'll lengthen your games a little, don't
you think?
MLB
made some noise about voluntarily getting pitchers to take less time
between pitches and asking batters not to step out as often but it's
done little to shorten ball games. I watched some of the
Yankee/Angels game with the very deliberate deliveries of Tanaka
versus Garrett
Richards...painful! Both of them topped 26 seconds between every
pitch.
What
to do?
First
here's what NOT to do...don't mess with the strike zone. Don't limit
the number of relievers used in an inning or anything nutty like
that. Try these ideas:
1/A
20 second pitch clock except on charged time outs when the catcher
absolutely has to go out to the mound.
2/Limit
those visits to 5 a game.
3/5
warmup pitches each half inning instead of 8, including relievers who
should have warmed up in the pen anyway.
4/All
relievers brought in by golf cart.
5/Cut
one thirty second commercial out of each half inning but add a full
minute and a half back during the seventh inning stretch to reclaim
some lost commercial dollars.
6/No
batter step outs except after a swing or if the ump thinks the
pitcher is taking too much time and grants the batter a time out.
7/equip
umps with a two way radio so the replay ump in New York can tell the
chief instantly if a call should be changed or not. No more walking
over to a dugout and waiting around endlessly for a call...the ump
should know the answer by the time the manager calls for a replay.
I
think these changes could cut 20-30 minutes off a game. But they
never listen to me anyway…
The
pennant races this year:
There
are too many bad teams in baseball. Teams intentionally folding and
selling off everything of value so they can finish last and get draft
choices has gotten out of hand. I brought this up in my start of the
season issue and it's even worse than I thought.
Now
we have 6 Zombie Teams in the majors (I define it as teams at .400 or
under). Miami and Cincinnati in the N.L. (San Diego
almost qualifies except they are at .407 and still only 6 ½ games
out in the weak N.L. West.) the A.L. has 4: Baltimore (19
games back already!), Kansas City, Chicago and Texas.
That's a lot of non-competitive teams and a lot of disinterested
fans.
What
to do? Outside of imposing some kind of financial penalties for
badness, not much. One thing MLB could do is force Zombie Teams to
spend any money that the rich teams who go over the spending limit
share with them on the team and not on profits for owners. The only
other thing would be to dictate the ticket prices based on where the
team finished the year before. That would be an incentive to win more
games for sure, but I doubt if that is even constitutional. And a
$100 ticket in New York kind of equals a $30 ticket in a Zombie town,
so how do you parse that?
One
thing for sure...attendance is down in baseball and I think long
games, too many strike outs and Zombie Teams are to blame.
Injuries
decide pennant races: Witness Washington. As usual, half their
roster is on the DL at any given time. So they've been treading water
at 1 game back. I still say they'll finish first in the East, but
Harper hasn't had his annual injury yet and neither has
Strasburg. (Note: everybody swoons over Harper and his
unbelievable talent and power...give me a break... the guy is batting
.226!)
The
New York Metropublicans also got their annual
bombing and lost Cespedes, D'Arnaud, Flores, Frazier
and several starting pitchers to the usual Met afflictions.
(oblique/hammy/elbow etc.)
Philadelphia
and Atlanta took advantage and are now vying for first place in
the East.
I
predicted the Phils would finish second and I stand by that. They
have much better pitching with Nola emerging as a real ace and
Pivetta and Arrieta a solid 2 and 3. If they can pick
up a good hitting outfielder to help out Odubel
Herrera and get Hoskins and Santana off the snide,
they could surprise. (Note: I don't expect Odubel to stay this hot.
He has the most complicated batting stance I've ever seen. His front
(right) foot is lying sideways on the ground at this weird angle. He
has a good batting eye though.)
Atlanta
has suddenly become relevant with great young players. Acuna and
Albies and Swanson
are helping Freeman
and Markakis and
Inciarte. Their team BA is .265 and OBP is .335, both
near the top of baseball. Their pitching ERA is in the top half of
MLB, even while playing in the new launching pad of SunTrust Park. I
expect the Bravos to finish third, but this is one team that's worth
the price of admission.
The
N.L. Central is a 4-team race with Milwaukee currently
on top. The addition of two great outfielders in Cain and
Yelich, plus the ongoing excellence of third sacker Travis
Shaw has their offense humming. The rotation has been ordinary,
but the bullpen, led by Josh Hader, has been exemplary. I
didn't think they would be this strong.
Of
course, continued under-achievement from Chicago and St.
Louis has helped the Brew Crew build a 4 game cushion. God knows
what's with the Cubbies. I suppose they are waiting for their usual
post-All Star Game surge, but how do they lose so many games with
their roster? Rizzo (BA .215) and Heyward (.224) have
been duds all year, but Bryant, Baez and
Schwarber have all been hitting well. Put most of the blame on
the really wretched performances of starters Yu Darvish,
Tyler Chatwood and
Jose Quintana.
The
Cardinal story can be told with crystal clarity if you look at
the DL list below:
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Name |
Last Updated |
Injury Type |
Injury Details |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Matthew
Bowman |
May 18, 2018 |
Finger |
Bowman has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to
blisters and there is no timetable for return. |
|
Paul
DeJong |
May 25, 2018 |
Hand |
DeJong has been placed on the 10-day disabled list and is
expected to miss four-to-eight weeks after having surgery to
insert screws and a metal plate into his fractured left hand. |
|
Dexter
Fowler |
May 27, 2018 |
Knee |
Fowler sat out the last game with a right knee injury and it
is unknown if he will play against the Brewers on Monday. |
|
Luke
Gregerson |
May 16, 2018 |
Shoulder |
Gregerson has landed on the 10-day disabled list due to a
right shoulder impingement and elbow soreness. There is no
timetable for his return to the lineup. |
|
Greg
Holland |
May 26, 2018 |
Hip |
Holland has been designated for the 10-day disabled list due
to a right hip impingement. A timeline for his return has yet to
be established. |
|
Dominic
Leone |
May 06, 2018 |
Bicep |
Leone is on the 10-day disabled list with right biceps nerve
irritation and it is unclear when he will return to the lineup. |
|
Carlos
Martinez |
May 20, 2018 |
Upper Body |
Martinez has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a
strained right lat muscle but is expected to return to action in
10-14 days. |
|
Yadier
Molina |
May 06, 2018 |
Pelvis |
Molina has landed the 10-day disabled list after undergoing
surgery to his pelvic area for a traumatic hematoma. He is
expected to be shelved for at least four weeks. |
|
Alex
Reyes |
May 27, 2018 |
Elbow |
Reyes has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list while
recovering from Tommy John surgery. He is on a rehab assignment
and is expected to be activated and start Wednesday's game
against the Brewers. |
|
Adam
Wainwright |
May 17, 2018 |
Elbow |
Wainwright has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list
while recuperating from inflammation in his pitching elbow and
is expected to held out of action until at least the All-Star
break. |
8
out of those 10 names were players they were really counting on.
Losing Molina alone put them behind the eight-ball because he
is so important to their pitching staff. Add to this grim casualty
list the under-performing Marcel Ozuna, Matt Carpenter, Kolton
Wong and Dexter
Fowler and you have the reason St. Louis is 4 back.
But
the rest of the league should be concerned that it's only 4 games,
even with that much carnage.
Another
surprise: the Piraticals are playing .538 and are only 5
games out! We all wrote them off when they traded McCutcheon and
Cole. But here they still are, hitting for good average, little
power and pitching fairly poorly but winning more games than they
lose. Congratulations Buccos...you didn't go Zombie...you're still
trying and your fans appreciate it I'm sure. That's all the fans can
ask for, really, is a team that really tries hard to win and plays
with spirit.
N.L.West...Diamondbacks...currently
in free-fall. Reason? 11 out of their top 16 position players are
hitting .220 or less...9 are fully under the Mendoza Line of .200.
Result: Utter Disaster!
The
Humps started hot despite Paul Goldschmidt's awful slump, but
instead of coming out of it, Goldie has infected the rest of the
team, and, now that Pollack is hurt, they have no offense at
all to speak of. Goldie has struck out 69 times in 220 plate
appearances! He has only 16 ribbies in a third of a season! He looks
so lost! 5 other players have struck out over 40 times in the 52
games the team has played.
The
pitching has held up well, led by Corbin, Greinke and
an effective bullpen of Boxberger, Bradley, Hirano and
Chafin.
This
is a team playing in one of the best hitting parks in the majors
hitting .211 for the team. OBP .289. Meltdown!
So
you'd think the Dodgers would be running away with it, but they
aren't. They had terrible luck with injuries to Justin Turner
and Corey Seager and lost Kershaw for a month with
a strained bicep. They were buried in fourth place for a while, but
the 'Heads have come roaring back to 3 ½ games behind the Rockies
(but still playing .462 ball.) I confidently predicted that the front
office would make a play for Manny Machado, but losing Kershaw
and Seager might have made them think that first place was out of
reach. Or maybe they're just tired of spending all that money. But
Kershaw is back now, the other starting pitching has been
stellar,
and Kenley Jansen has worked through his early season funk.
Turner came back with a bang. Maybe they think they can still
take it.
I
think the Dodgers are short and really need a big bat. Matt Kemp
has been unexpectedly awesome, but they need somebody to give them
what Seager could. Bellinger has been okay, but not the force
he was last year. (As I predicted!)
The
reason I think that L.A. is short is that the Colorado Rockies
are in first place despite having a terrible start offensively.
Arrenado, Blackmon and Story have been hitting but
that's it. And they've been stinking it up at home in Coors Field!
Their
pitching has been very ordinary, despite that stacked bullpen. When
it gets warm, the Rocks are going to get it going and pull away, I
predict. The Dodgers usually get hot in July and August, but they'll
have to get really hot to grab a playoff spot.
San
Francisco lost their whole starting rotation but have been
playing with pride to stay around .500. Bumgarner is almost
back, but it would take something really miraculous to resurrect the
Gigantes.
A.L.
East: Let us now praise the first two of our Super Teams in MLB.
New York and Boston. These two heavyweights have proved
their superiority. They should wrestle down to the wire. The Yanks
have come up with a truly scary lineup mixture of hitters in their
prime (Stanton, Gregorius, Walker, Gardner, Hicks) mixed with
young studlies (Andujar, Torres, Judge, Austin, Sanchez and
Bird)
Add
in Severino as a Number One starter and that lights-out
bullpen and the Yanks are about one starting pitcher away from total
domination. And this domination should last for a while. Only the
Red Sox and the Astros can play with the Big Dog
Yankees.
Boston
has the best record in baseball for now. But even with that
unbelievable record hot start they're only up by one game over the
Yankees. I think they'll keep hitting, but if they lose Betts or
Martinez to injury they'll be in trouble. They have depth in the
rotation, but they need Sale and Price to keep pitching
at a high level.
Toronto
and Tampa Bay are scrappy teams but they are also- rans in
this division.
The
A.L Central I call the “Who has the Lousiest Bullpen”
Division. Statistically, it's the Cleveland Indians, who would
probably be considered a Super Team if it wasn't for their bottom of
the barrel pen. They just put Andrew Miller back on the DL.
Cleveland needs help...but they're still the first place team in this
flawed division.
Minnesota
has watched Byron Buxton slide back to being a
.157
hitter after showing signs of life last season.
Mauer
is hurt and so is Santana but the starting pitching has been
petty darn good and the Twinks are 3 ½ back. (and yes, the bullpen
sucks.)
Detroit
has specialized in bad bullpens over the years so what's new? Their
big star players (Cabrera and Zimmerman) are hurt so
what's new? Detroit was expected to Zombie but their pride won't let
them. Strive ever onward, Tigres! You and the Pirates can look at
yourselves in the mirror and not flinch.
Over
in the A.L. West it's a fight for the second wild card spot
after either Boston or New York wraps up the first. Houston is
going to win this division unless their bad bullpen does them in.
They really should get a few new arms out there cause that bunch
sucks right now. They had an 8-3 lead over Cleveland yesterday and
coughed it up in the ninth with lousy relief.
But
what Houston has is starters. That rotation will be hard to deal with
in the playoffs...Verlander, Cole, Keuchel, Morton and
McCullers. That lineup might dominate the Yankees even.
Seattle
lost Cano (no more bold face type for you, Cheater!)to drug cheating
and went on a winning streak. They're only 1 back of Houston right
now. The Angels are 4 ½ back but don't have enough pitching
behind Richards and Ohtani (who only pitches on
Sundays)
What
an interesting kid that Ohtani is! Has such a joy for the game you
gotta love him. Good eye at the plate. Power plus. One of the fastest
runners in the league (and one of the worst baserunners!)
Nobody
takes Oakland seriously but the A's take mediocre pitching and
stomp it in the head. And they have a few good pitchers themselves.
Beware!
The
only note I have for poor Texas is...teach Joey Gallo
how to hit to the opposite field! Teams are shifting EVERYBODY to the
right side when he comes up...nobody in left at all, nobody left of
second base at all! And yet the big lug just keeps trying to pull it
to Arkansas every time up.
Think
about it...Gallo hits on average 1 homer every four games. He barely
gets a hit other than an occasional homer. He's struck out 78 times
in 219 plate appearances. With this shift he's only had 20 other hits
besides the 15 taters he's hit. He's batting .197.
Now
what if suddenly, Gallo starts hitting the ball to left field every
time he comes up...or at least trying to. Don't go for homers at all,
just bunt it or slap it or somehow hit the ball to left. It's an
automatic hit because nobody is over there! If he does that four
games in a row even figuring in his strike outs he gets on say 12 out
of 16 times. Don't you think the other team is going to start putting
a guy or two back on the left side? I mean, would you be willing to
let Joey Gallo bat ..750 against your defense game after game? So if
Joey gives up pulling the ball for a few games, he helps his team out
a lot and eventually the defense is going to have to come back to the
left side. Then he can try to blast a few again.
If
you were the Texas manager, would you rather have Joe hit 1 homer
every four games and make almost all outs otherwise, or would you
like him to get on 3 out of 4 times every game?
Okay...that's
enough for today. Happy Memorial Day and remember our soldiers and
sailors and aviators who have to put it on the line to take care of
us.
Until
next time...
--Marco
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