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Post by pippsheadache on Apr 20, 2019 19:54:04 GMT -5
Tampa Bay digs out of a 5-2 hole to tie Boston in the eighth. Can both teams lose? I wish |
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Post by pippsheadache on Apr 20, 2019 20:28:28 GMT -5
Hanley Ramirez DFA'd by Cleveland. For a guy whose best years were 2007-2010, it's been a slow ride downhill.
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Post by domeplease on Apr 21, 2019 12:30:25 GMT -5
GREAT ARTICLE: bleacherreport.com/articles/2831460-mlbs-quirkiest-new-age-team-is-leaving-yankees-red-sox-in-their-dust?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=referral
The 2019 MLB season is young. It's too early to draw any sweeping conclusions. But so far, a quirky contender is leaving two high-powered franchises in the rearview with an arsenal of unconventional tactics.
The Tampa Bay Rays entered play on Monday with a 12-4 record, 5.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees and six games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the American League East. Their plus-38 run differential paces both leagues.
The Red Sox's 2019 payroll sits at $222.7 million, per Spotrac, tops in the game. The Yankees check in third at $208.1 million.
The Rays, meanwhile, rank dead last at $60.4 million.
How are they outpacing two of the most storied, deep-pocketed squads in baseball?
It's a pretty fun story.
On the "no duh" side of the ledger, they have the best defense in the Junior Circuit, via FanGraphs. Also, their pitching staff leads baseball with a 2.44 ERA. Their starters have been especially outstanding, with a 1.47 ERA.
That includes reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (2.16 ERA), veteran Charlie Morton (2.18 ERA) and emerging 25-year-old stud Tyler Glasnow (0.53 ERA).
Austin Meadows, who was acquired along with Glasnow in the July 2018 trade that sent erstwhile ace Chris Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates, leads the club in home runs (six) and RBI (17) and sports a 1.170 OPS.
It was a classic Tampa Bay move: jettisoning a decorated pitcher under club control and getting cheaper, arguably more valuable pieces back.
The Rays' staff also includes less conventional pitchers such as "opener" Ryne Stanek, who has struck out 10 in 8.1 innings, and Yonny Chironos, who has started and come out of the bullpen in a "bulk-innings" role and fanned 14 in 14.1 frames.
Opener. Bulk innings. These phrases are unfamiliar in a sport that's dominated by tradition. The Rays, however, are reinventing the rules.
It goes deeper than newfangled pitching machinations. They've employed a four-outfielder shift, which was first implemented under former Tampa Bay skipper Joe Maddon.
On April 7, in a game against the San Francisco Giants, current Rays manager Kevin Cash went way outside the box.
After southpaw reliever Adam Kolarek pitched a scoreless sixth inning to uphold a 2-0 lead, he surrendered a leadoff single in the seventh. Cash slid him to first base, a position Kolarek had never played in the majors, and then reinserted him at pitcher one batter later.
Against the rules? Nope.
Kolarek recorded a strikeout, gave up another single and exited the game. The Rays went on to win, 3-0.
"When Cash extended his hand for the ball, I handed it to him and started walking toward the dugout. He said, 'Hold up, go play first,'" Kolarek told reporters. "You have to be ready for anything around here. It's probably the coolest thing that's happened to me on a major league field."
"Kolarek might have been stunned, but I'm glad it worked out," Cash added.
We should all be stunned, or at least impressed. By conventional wisdom, the Rays ought to be looking up at the Yankees and Sox. They're David fighting a pair of Goliaths.
There's ample time for Boston, the defending World Series champions, or the powerful Yanks to catch up. But Tampa Bay is more than an early-season novelty.
Oakland Athletics executive Billy Beane shifted the landscape with his Moneyball philosophy nearly two decades ago. Now, the Rays are repeating the formula with their own twist.
In an era when massive salaries dominate the conversation, it's refreshing to see a scrappy bottom-feeder outwit the big-spending bullies.
The Rays won 90 games in 2018. They can improve on that total in 2019.
If the Yankees and Red Sox aren't hearing footsteps, they should be.
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Post by greatfatness on Apr 21, 2019 19:39:50 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Apr 22, 2019 10:06:56 GMT -5
I seems that a highlight film of that outfielder would take an hour or two watch...What a player... |
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Post by pippsheadache on Apr 22, 2019 16:37:00 GMT -5
Christian Yelich's splits in the early going are on a track to be the most lopsided in history. Obviously way too early to make any serious projections, but these numbers are crazy:
Home: 14 Games, 13 HRs, 29 RBIs, .417 BA, .540 OBP, 14 BBs, 6 Ks
Away: 9 Games, 0 HRs, 2 RBIs, .270 BA, .325 OBP, 2 BBs, 9 Ks.
From what I have seen of him, he gets more than his share of opposite field home runs. I guess the key to getting him out is to face him on the road.
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Post by greatfatness on Apr 22, 2019 18:42:01 GMT -5
Christian Yelich's splits in the early going are on a track to be the most lopsided in history. Obviously way too early to make any serious projections, but these numbers are crazy: Home: 14 Games, 13 HRs, 29 RBIs, .417 BA, .540 OBP, 14 BBs, 6 Ks Away: 9 Games, 0 HRs, 2 RBIs, .270 BA, .325 OBP, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. From what I have seen of him, he gets more than his share of opposite field home runs. I guess the key to getting him out is to face him on the road. If you look at the trades the Marlins made after Jeter took over, it doesn't look like Derek is quite the executive he was the ballplayer. |
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Post by inger on Apr 22, 2019 18:52:02 GMT -5
Christian Yelich's splits in the early going are on a track to be the most lopsided in history. Obviously way too early to make any serious projections, but these numbers are crazy: Home: 14 Games, 13 HRs, 29 RBIs, .417 BA, .540 OBP, 14 BBs, 6 Ks Away: 9 Games, 0 HRs, 2 RBIs, .270 BA, .325 OBP, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. From what I have seen of him, he gets more than his share of opposite field home runs. I guess the key to getting him out is to face him on the road. If you look at the trades the Marlins made after Jeter took over, it doesn't look like Derek is quite the executive he was the ballplayer. Granted, though it must be qualified that it’s hard to look good when your budget is basically full of red ink. The real issue is that he may not be the smartest investor. He bought the worst franchise in the game. If he can turn it around, he’ll be filthy rich. But he also bought the worst real estate in the game. He’s stuck with Baltic Avenue, and since he didn’t buy Mediterranean, he can’t even put a hotel on it... |
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Post by pippsheadache on Apr 22, 2019 19:01:23 GMT -5
One thing about the Yankees being on the West Coast is that I watch a bit of games I wouldn't ordinarily spend any time on. Manny Banuelos starting against Baltimore for the White Sox with three scoreless innings so far. Until a week or two ago I didn't realize he was back in the majors.
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Post by inger on Apr 22, 2019 19:23:46 GMT -5
One thing about the Yankees being on the West Coast is that I watch a bit of games I wouldn't ordinarily spend any time on. Manny Banuelos starting against Baltimore for the White Sox with three scoreless innings so far. Until a week or two ago I didn't realize he was back in the majors. I wasn’t sure he was still alive...Does pitching against Baltimore qualify as a MLB start??? |
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Post by pippsheadache on Apr 22, 2019 19:38:51 GMT -5
One thing about the Yankees being on the West Coast is that I watch a bit of games I wouldn't ordinarily spend any time on. Manny Banuelos starting against Baltimore for the White Sox with three scoreless innings so far. Until a week or two ago I didn't realize he was back in the majors. I wasn’t sure he was still alive...Does pitching against Baltimore qualify as a MLB start??? Well -- they did take two of three from the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. But there are a lot of bottom feeders in the American League this year, and the Orioles and White Sox are both in that category for sure. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Apr 22, 2019 19:41:44 GMT -5
For the record -- Banuelos taken out after four innings with a 4-0 lead. Another illustration of why teams carry 13 pitchers and it still isn't enough.
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Post by chiyankee on Apr 22, 2019 20:51:44 GMT -5
For the record -- Banuelos taken out after four innings with a 4-0 lead. Another illustration of why teams carry 13 pitchers and it still isn't enough. Banuelos is only 28, so if he stays healthy.....  |
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Post by inger on Apr 22, 2019 21:18:36 GMT -5
For the record -- Banuelos taken out after four innings with a 4-0 lead. Another illustration of why teams carry 13 pitchers and it still isn't enough. Banuelos is only 28, so if he stays healthy..... Maybe some day we’ll pick Manny up for the stretch run, and he’ll help us win it all. Then we can sign him to a late Carter deal ala’ Happ, and the rest will be history... |
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Post by pippsheadache on Apr 23, 2019 10:40:09 GMT -5
Boston has a day/night doubleheader today with Detroit to make up for last night's rainout. Let's hope they have a couple of 14-inning games to wear down that pitching staff.
Orioles backup catcher Jesus Sucre threw a one-two-three ninth inning on nine pitches against the top of the order while the O's were getting blown out by the White Sox. His fastest pitch was clocked at 69.3 MPH.
Bryce Harper was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the Phillies game against the Mets. The home plate ump really was bad, but distributed his bad calls pretty evenly. Anyway, it was the twelfth ejection of Harper's career, putting him second to Matt Kemp with 14 among active players. Kemp has been around six years longer than Harper, so Bryce has a much better Adjusted Heave-Ho Ratio (AHHR) than Matt.
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