MARCO’S
BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE 2019: THE SMOKING BASEBALL GUN
1/
Pardon me while I rant.
The
Cubs were playing somebody at Wrigley...the only place the
Cubs can seem to win a game. This is a big game for Kyle
Schwarber, an affable, popular player for the Cubs who has
settled in as perhaps the prototypical 21st century ball
player. He’s a six footer playing at a stocky 235 pounds and is
plenty strong. He has a beautiful leftie uppercut swing. He’s had
420 plate appearances this year and has 24 round trippers.
Good...right? Baseball doesn’t want you to focus on anything other
than that...look at all those glorious, photogenic home runs sailing
over the ballyard fences of our national game!
Screw
you MLB...I’m looking at more than taters.
Don’t
get me wrong...I like Kyle Schwarber. But he’s struck out 108 times
in those 420 plate appearances, batted at a sizzling .229 clip and
has an OPS+ (that’s on base plus slugging tweaked to reflect and
normalize ballpark effects and general hitting climate) of exactly
100, which means he’s perfectly balanced as the absolute average
hitter in baseball today.
In
this game left-handed hitter Kyle gets hold of one in an early at bat
and blasts it about 450 feet to right center for a long, long home
run. A true no-doubter. Credit where credit is due. But in a later at
bat, Kyle gets badly fooled on a slider outside. And I mean badly
fooled...flailing one handed in a pathetic attempt just to foul it
off and save the at bat fooled. His back hand is totally off the bat
and he stabs at the pitch with no stride, no follow through, no
nothing...and the ball flies out of the ballpark to left field. He
hits a 350 foot homer with a mistake swing to the opposite field.
Either
Kyle is loading his bat with silly putty or there is something up
with the baseballs.
MLB
just recently purchased the Rawlings Company, which makes
major league baseballs. And this year, for the first time, they also
make the baseballs used in Triple A baseball. MLB has wanted to
uniformalize(?) the baseballs used in the various levels of
professional ball...Rookie, A-ball, Double A, Triple A and the
majors...for a while now, but the lower leagues haven’t been able
to afford the top brand. This year is the first year that Triple A
leagues have gone with Rawlings. The lower leagues are still using
cheaper baseballs like “Franklin” and other not so
resplendent brands made in the Caribbean or Taiwan or God knows
where.
So
what you ask? Well, home run totals are about the same or a little
bit lower this year than the last few years in the lower levels (A
and Double A) of pro ball. (Those leagues that are still using the
same balls they used in recent years.) Triple A is where the new
balls can be statistically evaluated and in Triple A, 2019, there
have already been some 700 MORE home runs hit than in all of 2018,
when they still used different baseballs. That’s a new home run
record in only two thirds of a season! That’s got to be absolute
proof that Rawlings baseballs are juiced compared to what used to be
standard in our game.
It’s
also proof that Rob Manfred and all the other mealy mouthed
apologists for the freakish boom in long ball hitting are lying
pieces of excrement. Whether it be tighter lacing on the seams,
slippery cow hide, more tightly wrapped cores inside the ball or
whatever, these baseballs are JUICED! And that’s why we’re
setting new home run records every season and why the major leagues
are on track to shatter the record just set in 2018.
Yes,
I’ve been the first to point out that other factors, like weight
training and recruitment of beefy hitters and the uppercut swing and
fresh baseballs constantly being put into the games so the hitters
are smacking a brand new baseball on every lousy foul ball they touch
and better lighting and shorter fences and warmer weather throughout
the continent and blah blah blah are all major factors in the
increase of power hitting, but Hey!...the majors are going to break
the all time home run record by about 600-800 this year!
No
wonder hitting coaches are preaching the uppercut swing! We’re in
the golden days of the pop-up tater. Fly ball pitchers are getting
creamed. Justin Verlander of
the Astros leads the league in ERA and WHIP and led
the league in strikeouts last year (290). Well, he’s still leading
the league in ERA and WHIP but he’s given up 29 home runs. His
previous all time high was 30 surrendered over a whole season for
Detroit in 2016. He’s headed for about 40 four baggers
surrendered this season. That’s a lot. Justin is absolutely sure
that the balls are juiced, by the way. And who can argue with him?
But
you can understand it if you realize that fly balls are going about
10% farther on average. So a routine 300 foot fly ball is now going
an extra 30 feet, and that gets you to the wall and over it down the
lines in most parks.
They’re
turning this sport into a video game.
2/
Yet another Pirates/Reds beanball war. Pittsburgh has been
teaching their pitchers to throw inside for years now, so they wind
up in these blood feuds with a bunch of teams. The thing I object to
is throwing head high fastballs at the hitters. Any pitcher who
throws a pitch head high on purpose (in the opinion of the umpires
because who else have we got who can decide?) should be ejected,
suspended and fined. Not for a week or two weeks but for a month or
so and for $50,000 or ten per cent of their salary or something. If
they hurt somebody make them stay out until that injured batter gets
well. I’m not talking about a breaking pitch that gets away a
little high. I’m talking about a bullet behind the head. People can
get killed or injured for life. If you think you have to “stand up
for your hitters”, hit somebody in the butt and then have your fun
when they charge the mound. But don’t throw head high. It’s a
life and death proposition.
However,
there was one moment of sportsmanship and de-escalation in the
ongoing Tit for Tat beanball debate.
Jake
Marisnick of the Humpin Houstonians came barreling into the plate
trying to score on a sac fly to right against the Lost Angels of
Anaheim the other day. Being a bearded Hustle-Meister, Jake was
going full out and as he approached the plate, right fielder Cole
Calhoun’s strong throw was coming into catcher Jonathon
Lucroy. What transpired next is debatable in its intention but
only too stark in its reality. Lucroy was straddling the line and
made a sudden move toward the inside to catch the ball just as
Marisnick seemed to swerve inside also...resulting in a train wreck
which Lucroy definitely got the worst of. (Every body knows that MLB
changed the rules a few years ago after Golden Boy catcher Buster
Posey got Laid Out and Leg Broke in a similar turkey shoot at
home. No more lost careers for expensive catchers who are sitting
turkeys for runners coming home hard and itching to score, ala Pete
Rose and the famous All Star Debacle where he launched himself
like a cruise missile at Ray Fosse and ended his career. (By
the way, they were great friends and had just had dinner together the
previous night! But that was Pete Rose!)
Lucroy
got his bell rung and broke his nose. Marisnick was declared out for
not avoiding the collision when there was a clear path to the base.
(Lucroy’s inside move DID clear a path to home on the outside, but
I really think Marisnick was going too fast to make that last minute
adjustment after committing to his inside path. After all, Lucroy was
blocking the outside of the plate just before he made that inside
stab for the throw and Jake Marisnick was right on top of him by
then. The League didn’t buy it and suspended Marisnick for two
games. Lucroy went to the hospital and is probably out for awhile
with a concussion along with that busted nose.
My
Sportsmanship commendation was Marisnick’s reaction after the play.
After touching the plate, he immediately knelt by Lucroy and tried to
check him for damage. (Which is why I don’t think he was trying to
run over the catcher, it was just a freak play. ) But all the Angels
came running in and the manager (Ausmus) berated the umps and
got the call of out on Marisnick.
But
Marisnick has to have another at bat later in the game. The Angels
pitcher of course nails him to even the score on behalf of his
wounded catcher. And this was a dangerous, high fastball in that
clipped Marisnick on the shoulder and came close to his face. To his
credit, Jake never even glances at the Angel pitcher...he just trots
down to first. He knows what’s going on but he never complained
about that pitch. The Astros dugout makes some squawk about it
though, and first baseman Albert Pujols makes his mean face
and walks over to their first base dugout to see if anybody wants to
continue the conversation. (No takers from the Astros’ bench...very
little back talking when you’re dealing with Albert Pujols!) the
bullpens spill out of the outfield and come running into the infield
for the usual melee but who is that out there being the number one
peacemaker? Jake Marisnick! He gets between Pujols and the rest of
his teammates and waves his ‘Stros back into their dugout and
defuses the escalation right away. He accepts that he was bound to
get hit after laying the catcher out like that so why continue the
fight? Classy move Jake...and I hope Lucroy recovers quickly.
3/
Big surprises. The Dodgers and
the Yankees didn’t make any moves to bolster their
pitching staffs for the stretch run. The Dodgers are going to cruise
into the playoffs and why should they give up their young talent when
they can just bring them up in late August and qualify them for the
playoffs ?
They’ve
got right-handers Dustin May and Dennis Santana ready
and Tony Gonsolin coming next year. Pay the rookies the
minimum and forget signing a high-priced free agent- to- be for one
season. The rookies are going to be almost as good usually anyway.
The
Yankees are probably going to get Betances and
Severino back in September. And who are they worried about ?
Tampa? Hah! Boston? Double Hah-Hah!
The
Yankees are making the Red Sox pitching staff do a good impression
of a hog strung up by its back feet with its throat cut, being
quickly bled out in preparation for butchering. Only in Fenway can
the poor Soxies survive their arsonist pitching staff and score
enough runs to beat down the Yanks. Anywhere else, they’re toast.
4/
Remember the Giants? Used to win the World Series every other
year. Got a great clutch pitcher Madison Bumgarner, the North
Carolina Mountain MadBum? Ready to fight any hitter who admires a
home run hit off of him? Or ready to fight Yasiel Puig
anytime Puig steps out of the dugout? They went on a winning streak
recently and actually got to second place in the division. Then they
lost a few games, but they are still at .500 only 3.5 games out of a
wild card spot. (Along with...gulp...seven more teams) they’re only
17.5 games in back of the Dodgers for the division title!
Cancel all trades for younger players! Cancel retirement plans for
Longoria, Posey and the
Panda! We’re 21-9 in our last 30 games! Start printing those
World Series tickets!
The
Giants are like the cancer patient who temporarily rallies three days
before he drops in his tracks. But it’s still nice to watch Yaz’s
grandson Mike play well.
5/ For Numero Cinco let’s
acknowledge that the previously chronicled Houston Astros have
dynamited the levees down in Petrochemical Paradise and have flooded
their roster with fresh talent. They picked up Zack
Greinke for some top prospects and acquired former ERA champ
Aaron Sanchez and reliever Joe Biagini from the Blue
Jays. They got catcher Martin Maldonado as well.
The Petros are going for it
this year. They want to win another Series before the inevitable free
agent losses and player decline sets in with this bunch of Jefes.
Springer, Altuve, Correa and Bregman are in
their primes. Verlander is having a late career epiphany and
Gerrit Cole is under contract for the rest of this year. Yuli
Gurriel has turned into a power hitting monster. Michael
Brantley is having a career year after leaving Cleveland
and rookie Yordan Alvarez has an OPS+ (remember that?) of 189
over his first 41 games. That’s Willie McCovey territory.
Houston has the best record in
the game (along with the Dodgers) and has to be the favorite to go
all the way in the AL this year and maybe more. Hell, I even picked
them to win it this year, and that’s before they got Greinke and
Alvarez.
6/ Pennant races to watch:
NL East because Atlanta
is looking solid as a Division winner but the Nats and Phils
are shaky and somehow the Mets have come alive after NOT
trading Syndergaard and are steamrolling the competition.
NL Central because
nobody is playing better than anybody else. Pittsburgh appears out of
it now but Cincinnati is still fighting and the Cubs, Cards and
Brewers are just beating each other up. I keep waiting for
one Cubs hitter and one Cubs pitcher (Darvish?) to get real hot and
get them over the finish line. Or one Cards hitter and one Cardinal
pitcher. So far no takers even though Goldschmidt is stirring. The
only guy looking to play Jedai with the Force is Yellich. But
do the Brewers have a stopper on that weak pitching staff? To be
determined…
In the AL it’s looking
doubtful that the Red Sox can catch Cleveland, Tampa Bay or
even Oakland for a wild card. The mystery is how the Boston
pitching staff has gotten so mediocre so fast. Sale (ERA
4.68), Price, Porcello (ERA 5.64), and Cashner (ERA
7.53 and I hope you didn’t purchase a Boston residence just yet)
are all coughing up hairballs every start. Only Eduardo Rodriguez
has pitched at all well and his WHIP is a very bad 1.340. their
bullpen gets lit up every night in the late innings so the hitters
don’t feel like they can ever score enough runs to win. It’s a
crappy situation.
My money is now on Oakland to
win the second wild card and face Cleveland in the play-in game. But
I expect Houston to make the Series.
Happy August...stay frosty.
Marco
