The mighty Padres were finally subdued, so tomorrow’s day off won’t be quite as torturous as I had expected.
Things started off well, with the Braves taking a 2-0, first-inning lead on the shaky Clayton Richard, using a double from Prado and consecutive singles from Chipper, McCann, Freeman, and AGony. They failed to score more, despite having the bases loaded with only one out, when Uggla, finally dropped to seventh in the order, became involved.
In the top of the second, the Padres tied it when Kyle Phillips homered on the first pitch he saw—the second consecutive pitch on which he’d homered, dating back to Monday. I’m not sure how many PAs one needs to qualify for official Braves Killer status, but I know I’m already terrified every time this back-up catcher with a career minor-league line of .270/.335/.387 comes up.
Anyway, Hanson pitched a good game—his breaking ball was as sharp as I’ve seen it all year—as those would be the only runs he gave up in six innings and 95 pitches of work, working around a couple of brutal throws from McCann on stolen-base attempts. Richard wasn’t nearly as sharp, leaving after only 4 2/3 innings of work, but the Braves were only able to add one more run in that time, on back-to-back doubles from McCann and Freeman in the third. (Another possible rally was thwarted in the fourth, on a play that almost drove me to re-booting Awful Umpiring site while I hold the Power of Mac. Other than the fact that Richard clearly balked and Hawpe clearly applied a late tag, Prado was definitely picked off, though.)
Anyway … Prado homered on an 0-2 pitch in the sixth to cap the Braves’ scoring, and it would prove to be enough. O’Flaherty struggled a bit in the seventh, giving up a run, but he got out of it on a generous third strike call to Aaron Cunningham in what must have been the Irish-est match-up of the MLB season. Venters, though, was dominant, striking out the side and making Ludwick look especially Ugglan; Kimbrel was equally dominant for two batters, before giving up a single to Phillips (of course) and needing a f—ing successful catch at the wall to end it.
Uggla remains lost and Chipper remains gimpy, but at least they get a crack at the most hilariously inept franchise in all of professional sports, starting Friday.
Stu, nice recap.
Well done Stu.
Do we still think Schafer will get sent down when McLouth is ready to rejoin the team? That nice catch to end the game aside, he’s played better defense than McLouth while offering similar offensive output.
If Schafer stays right where he’s at then I’d rather have him in center. I’m not sure he’s going to be able to keep it up, though.
“Ugglan” – I like it.
We know with Bobby that a veteran never lost his job to an injury. Feeding is probably the same way.
But a good showing from Schafer certainly shortens Nate’s rope.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/sort/OPS/order/false/minpa/225
Schafer should remain when McLouth returns (we can send Matt Young down), but I would think will be sent down when Heyward returns (wait, who’s due back first?). However, he’s shown enough to leapfrog Young and Hicks as the first position player option from here on out. Thanks to the versatility of Prado, Schafer can be recalled to take the place of any non-catching position player. Other than AAG, which would put us in quite a bind….
Phi and Fla both lost. Good day.
F—ing successful recap, Stu.
Nice recap.
Now let’s kneecap the Mets.
@5- My phone auto-corrected Fredi into Feeding… sorry.
Also, credit is due to Fredi for moving Freeman to the 5 spot, and Uggla down, even with a lefty starter. That wasn’t a given, and Freeman responded with hits in the clutch.
How dare you. This is my thread, and I will not stand for compliments to Fredi.
Freeman shows enough flashes to make you think he’ll eventually be good.
This Uggla thing is turning depressing.
Good win though. Well done Stu.
Yeah. Fredi is up to .260, AAG is up to .270, and Chipper’s been hitting/walking (if not running) well.
Good writeup, Stu. 10 hits and 5 walks should equate to more than 4 runs, but it is our offense. Hopefully the guys get it going against the Mutts.
I didn’t realize we were five games over .500. That’s not too shabby for a team that is clearly underperforming.
as i said in the game thread, the Braves have now won their first game of every month this season except for April. Pretty cool trend
Fredi on Prado’s work ethic: “I don’t want him going out and killing people at night because he’s all tensed up.” This made me laugh out loud.
The recap was positively Macian, Stu.
Maccian? Mcian? McCann?
New words for my vocabulary:
Irish -est, Ugglan. Well done Stu.
I’ve actually come around on Schafer but his sister can hit the ball harder than he can. I guess I’m getting greedy though. I should be satisfied with OBP and Defense. But while McLouth wasn’t playing particularly well he wasn’t playing bad either. He should get another shot when he comes off the DL.
Well done, Stu!
Has Schafer silenced his critics yet?
Good work Stu.
Typically the best cure for anything that is going wrong with the Braves is the Mets.
I was disappointed in the writeup. Mike Minor was not mentioned once.
He was implied throughout.
Minor and Stu are a combined package. If you get one, you’ve got both.
HIlariously, the Phillies lost two to the Nats. I just wish one of the losses had been Monday when most of the stadium was Phillies fans.
Schaefer has the highest OBP on the team (385 through 40 PA). If only he had a little pop (281 slg)…
Is Schafer moving into the Blanco role?
@6 Pretty funny to see Uggla and Infante at the lowest end.
Im calling it, Mets Series is when Uggla snaps out. He is going to have a monster series. At least I hope!
Florida looks legit, which makes the NL East a bear. We’re definitely gonna earn what we get this year.
Wow, Venters opponents slugging is .164 this year.
Olney tweeted that JV is the best reliever in the majors right now, hard to disagree.
Hope he makes the All Star Team.
Venters is fun to watch, I love pitching, so his stuff is magical to me. Its fun knowing if its 2-1 and he goes in, your leaving 2-1. I just hope his arm holds up from all this use!
So now that the TNT NBA is finished, will EJ jr. relieve us from Chip at any point?
I had been hoping that, with UBL having been disposed of, SEAL Team 6 would relieve us from Chip.
Schafer seems like an either/or player. Either he can get on base or hit for power. He doesn’t seem to be able to do both.
If it makes any difference, Bruce Bochy (the man who picks the NL all-star staff) has seen Venters handle his club with ease.
In 5 regular-season appearances vs SF, Venters has seen 17 PAs, given up a walk & 2 singles. He has 7 Ks & 2 GIDPs. And yes, that’s a 0.00 ERA. (He also went 5.1 IP in the NLDS with a 0.00 ERA.) Can’t get better than that.
So, unless Venters suddenly morphs into Dave “Chopper” Campbell, he’s an all-star shoe-in. Nobody deserves it more.
#38 – I dont think he cant hit for power. I just hope he can keep his OBP north of .350 and play good defense.
In 117 2/3 MLB innings, Jonny Venters has a 2.5 K/BB ratio and a GB% of 72.3—and he’s given up 1 HR.
Looking at those Uggla OPS stats (worst in MLB baseball), he is also excelling in the little things that do not make OPS (only one in the worst 10 OPS with more CS than SB). They really need a way to get him out of town to work on whatever has gone wrong; you do not go from a 30 HR, .850 OPS guy for 4 years to this. Shoot, even Carl Crawford has begun to hit.
Can Pastornicky (MS) play 2B? Shouldn’t we move him to gwinnett, to see if he can get ready to be servicable by September, if Uggla cannot recover this year? Conrad is not the answer (he shouldn’t even be the question).
I think the guy Thornton from the White Sox made it last year, wasnt he a middle reliever? That would be a precedent for Venters.
Uggla is bound to break out this weekend, i am holding hope.
Kimbrel should get an All Star selection too–he’s deserving so long as the emphasis on relievers continues this season. Aside from being tied for second in the majors with 16 saves, his FIP (1.79) is fifth among all MLB relievers while his xFIP (2.16) places him in third. Altogether, Kimbrel leads the majors in fWAR (1.1). Johnny Venters, as it happens, is second with 1.0.
Pretty good duo, those two.
That’s one reason I’m not a total fan of fWAR’s emphasis on FIP rather than runs. As I’ve been watching all year, I think it’s fairly clear that Venters has been more effective than Kimbrel. He doesn’t have quite as many strikeouts, but he’s given up far, far fewer hits, and far fewer runs. (Kimbrel has given up 22 hits and 10 runs, 9 earned; in 6 2/3 more innings, Venters has given up just 15 hits and 2 runs, both earned.)
Venters has been, in my mind, the best reliever in baseball this year. Incidentally, he leads the majors with 2.2 rWAR, while Kimbrel has just 0.7.
Loved the talk about catcher collisions on PTI yesterday. Tony mentions that it’s not a great time for catching prowess, then runs down all the catchers he can think of. Out Boy mentioned (as one of the two best in baseball). Pudge mentioned. VARITEK mentioned. But no McCann.
While wondering if Uggla needs to visit McCann’s optometrist, I came upon this:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/marlins/2008-08-25-uggla_N.htm
So I’m jumping on the Mets weekend breakout for Dan bandwagon.
Go Braves
Remember when McCann got clobbered at the plate a few years ago and what out for awhile? Remember how no one cared?
@44I don’t believe any stat that says Kimbrel is better at anything than Venters, besides throwing with your right arm.
@46 – Not a shocker. I like listening to Mr. Tony but I can tell you the Braves are not even on his radar.
Tony doesn’t really know much about sports generally other than in Washington. That’s sort of his schtick. And Wilbon doesn’t like baseball much so he is only going by the names he hears a lot. PTI’s not the place to go for in-depth analysis of baseball.
I just have a gut feeling, i watch/listen to every game up here in NJ, and read this blog/comments every day. I agree with 99% of the comments. I do believe, that, this is his weekend to breakout. I have no scientific evidence, just a gut feeling!
I don’t think anyone was outraged when Caminiti steamrolled Greg Olson, either. I don’t think Don Sutton’s wrong when he says that a lot of this Posey stuff is just hypocrisy by people who wouldn’t give a second thought if it was Koyie Hill who was out for the season. But I’m also sympathetic to the desire to make baseball less dangerous to players. Hell, that’s why Jordan Schafer wears the second ear flap, and catchers all wear hockey masks now. If hypocrisy over Posey is what it takes to help prevent future injuries like this, then I think it will have been a good thing.
Even though he was out.
*52
Agree, if it was Josh Thole, not as many people would care or even mention, they would just say, “Thats baseball” But when one of the young studs of the league gets knocked out, then it becomes a big deal. You wrote your post perfectly!
One thing PTI got right in their discussion is that the catcher collision is completely out of context with the rest of the sport, and the risk involved to the catcher is immensely disproportionate to the reward sought by the runner. Sutton may be right about the hypocrisy, but it’s well established in baseball and many other walks of life that high-profile incidents are the only ones that engender change. As to what rule change to make, I have no idea.
@54- Blocking the plate without the ball will result in an automatic run.
Contact with the catcher non-pursuant to the plate will result in an automatic out.
I mean it’s pretty obvious when a guy goes shoulder first into a catcher, ala Cousins, his intention is “dislodge first, then come back and tag the plate.” There’s no other place on the diamond that that’s permitted.
At the same time, catchers know that that’s part of the job, they’re going to get hit like that. So they block the plate while waiting for the ball. Thus ensuring that a guy who beats the throw will still have to hit them in order to score, ala Cousins.
Catchers won’t block the plate unless they have the ball, because the run will count even if he has to go around you, and it gives you time to tag him.
Runners won’t nail catchers who have them out, dead-to-rights, because even if you dislodge the ball, you’ll be out.
You might even cut back on plays like Pena hitting Doumit, because while Pena was fulfilling his obligation, going for the plate, not the catcher, Doumit blocked the plate to buy time for the throw to arrive. With a rule change, that run would count anyway, so Doumit wouldn’t have been in that position.
The equipment that catchers wear does not protect them from collisions. It’s not like they’re in football pads. I’d be in favor of abolishing collisions, it doesn’t really fit with the sport, IMO.
If blocking the plate or feet crossing over the baseline out of the infield was an automatic run scored against the catcher, and feet crossing over to the infield side of the baseline was an automatic out against the runner, then what potential injuries would be left? You’d still have the awesomely nifty precision sweep tags and wide slides with a stealthy hand slap of the plate that are quite entertaining, and you’d keep bodies separated under penalty of giving up a run or being called out.
Edit: Or what 55 said.
The rule changes would be perfect for McCann I think, since he always seems to have one eye on the runner and turtle arms the catch ever since getting run a few years ago. He might now relax and make the play instead of dropping so many of the throws home.
As long as it is clear cut and improves safety, then I have no trouble with a new rule. But giving more judgment calls to the umps (beyond out/safe) is asking for angst. Look at how hard it is for balks, fair/foul balls, and for determining when players are in the base path. And those calls typically don’t have the weight of adding a run or not.
Just getting the out/safe call on a bang-bang play at the plate is hard enough. How many more factors can be processed in that amount of time with a high success rate?
@59: I don’t think “high success rate” should be the standard. First of all, presumably umps will get the vast majority of the obvious calls right–throw beats runner to the plate by five feet, throw comes in two feet up the first base line and catcher sweeps the tag in after the runner has already slid through the plate. Beyond that, let’s say that any remotely close play the umps can call with no more than chance accuracy. So what? They’ll blow a lot of calls, it will more or less even out over the course of a season (usually), and fewer catchers will end up maimed by gruesome collisions. I think the highly reduced injury risk is well worth a passel of blown calls.
Am I just a phenomenal ass for thinking that no one holds catchers at gunpoint, forcing them to block the plate?
Don’t want to? Then don’t.
I think I agree with auto out/auto run ideas.
60 — My first line stated that I’d be in favor of a rule that improves safety.
I was merely pre-lamenting the craze that will ensue when games are won or lost on a call based on new criteria.
Separate from the issue of safety, I am genuinely curious about how many different factors can be processed correctly on a close play.
Catcher collisions are stupid. It’d be like if you were allowed to kick the 1B’s foot as you were running by to try to knock him off the bag. And if you did, you were safe. I see the catcher thing as that stupid. It makes no sense that you can do that. No sense at all.
Catchers wear armor. And runs matter more than infield singles. There is a presumed difference and also an actual difference.
I’m still mad about the Estrada/Erstad collision. Of course, Estrada’s replacement turned out all right, but you gotta think that the way he got his call-up affects the way he approaches plays at the plate.
Apropos of nothing, Peter Moylan is engaged to a woman who looks better in a dress than he does.
And you’re right about the Estrada collision. What a tool Erstad was.
I really think too much is being made of the catcher safety issue. If a catcher doesn’t want to get run over, then he shouldn’t block the plate. Especially without the ball. As a runner, if a catcher is standing between 3rd base and home with or without the ball, its open season. Is it against the rules to lower your shoulder on a short-stop if they are standing between 2nd and 1st without the ball on a steal attempt? I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. Albert Belle lowered the boom on Fernado Vina when he had the ball trying to tag him before throwing to 1st for a double play. That was legal. If your catcher does stand in front the plate (toward the mound) and still gets creamed, the next time the guys comes to bat (or next 3 times) put a fastball in his ribs.
@61: I wouldn’t say you’re a colossal ass, but I don’t think that’s a very accurate way to look at it. Under the current rules (and yes, I understand that you said you might be in favor of changing them), there’s a strong incentive for catchers to block the plate if they place a high value on saving runs. And if they don’t place a high value on saving runs, they may be kicked out of baseball for not having sufficient commitment. Even players with phenomenal skills can lose their jobs for perceived insubordination or insufficient effort. Thus, the career incentives strongly reinforce the tactical incentives, and catchers are basically forced to block the plate if they want to keep their jobs.
@67 – I agree with you, if we are talking about the non-McCann-Posey-Mauer division. Those guys hit enough that willingness to block the plate doesn’t enter in to it… But your other 90% of catchers, Miquel Olivo types, yes, I feel that a reputation for being lackadaisical or even scared could be the difference between finding a job next year or not.
@60
Are collisions at the plate really gruesome? Is a professional athlete charging into another professional athlete to prevent/produce the most important event in a baseball game really as crazy as some people are all of a sudden making it out to be?
I’m all for an effective rule change or addition, but I have a hard time getting worked up over home plate collisions. I think if organizations started teaching their catchers to play off the plate more, it would go a long way in preventing serious injuries. Sure, there are always going to be a few assholes who go into a bang bang play at the plate looking to inflict pain. But I have to think most guys are just looking for the easiest and least painful way to score.
I think a combination of a change in catcher strategy, along with hefty fines for the more questionable collisions, could actually be pretty effective.
There’s no way that the ability/willingness to block the plate would play a big part in a catcher’s career advancement. I played catcher up through college ball and it wasn’t even on my radar. There’s no way I’d block the plate without the ball – always positioned myself towards the infield to encourage the runner to go around. If the ball arrives early then you have time to block things off, and if it doesn’t then the runner is very likely to slide/dive to the back edge of the plate rather than go out of his way to bowl you over.
It’s such a rare play that it’s just not worth getting hurt over. If I’m a coach at any level I’d be telling my star catcher the same thing. BMac should never block the plate without the ball. Giving up one run is not worth losing his bat for any period of time. It’s not like he’s in there for defensive purposes in the first place.
It’s such a rare play that it’s just not worth getting hurt over.
Finally, someone gets to the heart of the matter.
If a player realized he was going to be out at second on what he hoped would be a double, and he gave up on the base and tried instead to barrel over the shortstop, he’d be called out.
At the same time, a shortstop would not stand in front of second base, awaiting a throw, to force the runner to go around him, because he knows he’d be called for interference and the base would be awarded.
Make it the same at the plate. I don’t see what’s so hard.
@55 – Fielders have “right of way” under the rules everywhere else on the field. A runner is out if he intentionally interferes with a thrown ball. The rule should be applied equally to catchers.
@72 – Jynx.
@69
It’s about concussions as much as gruesome injuries IMO. Catchers bear the brunt of probably 90% of the concussions suffered on the field, between collisions and foul tips. Jason Larue and Mike Matheny are two recent examples of catchers who have had to retire rather than risk further concussions. There are too many awful stories about the post-career lives of football players who’ve suffered multiple concussions not to pay attention to the issue in baseball too.
@73- safe to say we’re on the same page, huh?
@75 – Definitely.
@74 and others – I completely agree that MLB is worried about serious injuries, particularly head injuries. But applying fielders’ rules to catchers is also consistent with the logic of how the game is played everywhere else on the field. The absurdity of the present situation is obvious in a scenario where a fielder is backing up the catcher on a run down. The runner isn’t allowed to plow through the fielder to touch the plate, any more than a fielder without the ball is allowed to impede the runner’s advance.
The catcher should be entitled to field a thrown ball without obstruction, and the runner advancing home should be entitled to score if the catcher (or anyone else defending the plate) without the ball interferes with him advancing.
One reason the plate is different from the other bases is that you can always overrun it. That is, if you go in too fast at second or third you will hurt your knee or ankle or you will slide over or past. And then you will be out.
To “overrun the bag” at first, you have to stay in foul territory and the 1B has to stay in fair territory unless he has to “sweep tag” on a bad throw on the home plate side.
So, at home, there is more speed available to create the collision.
The automatic out if you come in any way other than hand or foot first / automatic safe if the catcher ends up blocking the plate (as Richard Boone and then John Wayne as Big Jake would say “Your fault, my fault, nobody’s fault it doesn’t matter.”) would stop the problem.
jj @ 55 – what an elegant solution.
I think you have it exactly right.
What happens when ball and runner arrive at the same moment?
I’m really excited for my son’s first season of t-ball (starting soon). But I’m a little sad to find out his team is named the Phillies…
@78, same thing that happens everywhere else on the field, and even at home plate 90% of the time: the umpire determines if the player was tagged before, or after, he reached the plate.
We’re talking about a tiny amount of plays. Most plays at the plate involve a player sliding in to, or past, the plate, and a catcher trying to lay a tag on him first. Just like everywhere else on the diamond.
For some reason, only at the plate, if the throw beats you, you’re allowed to go after the fielder rather than the base. Most guys try to evade the tag, and reach the plate, as they are required to do at every other base when the throw beats them.
@79–my son’s little team this year was the Mets–I cheered for him and his teammates but I couldn’t bring myself to yell anything like “let’s go Mets”
Brian Sabean is a complete tool.
81 — no doubt.
Jurrjens, NL Pitcher of the Month.
Speaking of months, we should own June this year. The Rangers and Jays are formidable but we need to crush this month. Starting with the Mets.
In the spirit of good sportsmanship, I try to look at all of our opponents as worthy competitors.
But I have the Braves stomp the sh*t out of the f***king Mets!
Per ESPN…
Heyward indicated that there’s no change with his troublesome shoulder and that he won’t start hitting until it feels right, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Spin: Heyward plans go to Orlando while the Braves are on the road (starting Friday at New York) and at this point there’s no firm timetable for his return.
Thu, Jun 2
Screw Heyward.
Might want to focus on some trades for RF or Nate/Schafer better be able to produce.
Well, I think we can safley say we are in on Hunter Pence
The last thing Heyward needs is to try to come back early. He couldn’t hit worth a damn the last few weeks he was active, anyway.
Heyward is a frustrating ballplayer when he’s not playing. Meanwhile, Mike Stanton is carrying the Marlins’ offense with 12 HR and a .915 OPS.
Ryan Ludwick! Make it happen, Frank!
our last 11 wins have been by 1 or 2 runs. We haven’t had a 3-run win since May 8th. kinda crazy.
Do you guys think Heyward’s problem is some sort of nerve damage?
I’m sure there are websites for this but I’m too lazy to look for them and, besides, BravesJournal is replete with folks who have answers at their fingertips (and, occassionally, my softball questions lead to interesting discussions), so:
Why not Beltran? Too expensive? Isn’t his deal up this year?
I think we need to assume Heyward won’t be a key piece to any playoff run this year and we need someone to take his spot (expectations and all) in the lineup.
And if, God forbid, we need to move Prado to 3B for any extended period of time, we’ll really need someone like Good Beltran.
I’d be willing to explore Beltran as a half-year rental, if the Mets were willing to trade him as a salary dump, and we could send over a B- prospect for some salary relief.
I’m not assuming we won’t have Heyward back. It’s only a third of the way through the season, and whatever his injury is it sounds like nothing more than a matter of hitting upon the right method of physical therapy.
DOOOMED!
Bourn is the guy we should be after. Short commitment, quite a good player, and he’d give us a ton of flexibility with McClouth moving to a corner where his atrocious defense would matter less or mixing and matching with Hinske and Schafer. And as I’ve said before, Ed Wade seems like one of the more dupe-able GMs in the game.
Don’t look now, but Saltalamacchia is playing pretty well.
I’m trying to decide if the lesson of the Texeira trade is to NOT swing for the fences. There’s a number of players we lost in that episode I’d like to have back.
It’s rather McClellan-ish to constantly keep your powder dry, but if your heroic charge up the hill proves to be a failure …
Perhaps what you do is make a long list of Untouchables and then play your remaining cards as if they were all aces.
A beginning list of Untouchables (for me):
Teheran
Kimbrel
Venters
McCann
Freeman (maybe – if another team was willing to drastically overpay …)
Who else would be on the Untouchable List? (Yes, I realize Heyward is not on mine.)
Beltran is a middle of the order hitter and would come dirt cheap (prospect wise). The Mets owner has already killed that trade value in the media. All depends on his health, which appears to be fine. Id go after him.
@101, My untouchables would be Heyward, McCann, and the 10-and-5 guys (Chipper and Hudson).
I understand Freeman being on the list, and I might put Hanson there, too, but I can’t imagine ever refusing to move a relief pitcher or an unproven prospect given the right deal.
I’d trade Heyward in a heartbeat, but I’m sure I’m in the minority on that one.
It’s disheartening that anybody would generalize about Jason Heyward (or anybody, really) based on the last few weeks. Believing that only the very recent past defines what a player is and is likely to ever be — I mean, other than someone whose career is clearly over, is that EVER correct? Why do that? It displays a lack of wisdom, and an absolute refusal to learn a lesson that’s being taught constantly all around you.
Hi, I’m out of the hospital. I’m stoned and working on a netbook so I really can’t talk long.
I am not imagining that the entire NL East except the Braves is in violation of MLB debt compliance, right? Of course, the other four teams don’t have Uggla.
I’m pretty sure that if it’s possible to be in violation of something, the New York Mets are.
Enjoy the drugs, Mac!
The Posey thing has gotten alot of play, probably because he was the MVP of the World Champion team.
That said, wouldn’t this (and most of the problems in baseball) be fixed by just enforcing the rules that already on the books?
Where in the rules is it legal to block or obstruct ANY base? This includes 2nd and third on slides when the defender applying the tag drops his knee to block the base. You are not supposed to impede the runner. When did it become legal for the runner to run out of the baseline and take out somebody?
While I am on my tangent, where in the rule books is it legal to balk like most left hand pitchers do? You are not supposed to ‘decieve the runner’, well hell, every pitcher, especially LHP do alot of decieving. Why do umpires call the strike zone like it supposed to be called, which is bottom of the letters to the top of the knees and over the plate.
If you called the rules by the book, both offense and pitching would benefit. If hitters had to protect a bigger zone, pitchers would be rewarding for spotting their pitches, and while it would be harder for some hitters to get on base, they would be more of a threat when they were on. Action and scoring probably goes up and injuries probably go down.
Glad you’re out Mac.
Yeah, here’s the story:
Report: Debt issues cast wider MLB net
How could the Marlins be in debt? They don’t spend any money!
111 – They don’t make any money either.
Glad you are out, enjoy being stoned if possible.
The short-sightedness here regarding Heyward is mindboggling. When he hasn’t been acting dumb and trying to play through an injury, he’s been fantastic, hitting for power and getting on base. He’s been frustrating to watch this year becuase he’s been good for all of about two weeks out of the first two months, but he’s 21, ffs! When he’s healthy for a full year and puts up a .290/.410/.550 line, you’ll feel pretty silly for trying to move him.
I’d honestly like to know what you think you could get for him that would be worth the trade.
So the Braves are apparently targeting LHPs in the draft. Grayson Garvin anyone? I know Stu would be in favor.
@114,
Sigh, not the soft tossing left approach again
Garvin’s not exactly soft-tossing, but I don’t understand why the Braves aren’t looking at hitters. Where’d you see that, Big D?
Game thread is up.