2018 Season MLB Non-Phillies News/Notes Discussion

zambonir 2018-04-21 06:26:57 UTC #41

For the sake of argument though I think we could agree that only AA or AAA players should be compared to the G League or the AHL. High A could be compared to the ECHL. It's still not close.

zambonir 2018-04-23 16:53:04 UTC #42

(About strikeouts, mostly. Name of the feature is somewhat tongue-in-cheek. It seems everyone agrees that they don't actually like the way the game has been heading, but nobody can agree on - let alone execute - some reforms.)

Lawman 2018-04-23 20:11:20 UTC #43

https://sports.yahoo.com/baseball-strikeout-era-better-worse-050031337.html

For the 11th consecutive season, Major League Baseball is going to set a record for strikeouts. The new marks are not simply incremental, either. In 2008, hitters struck out 32,884 times. At the current pace in 2018, they will strike out 43,163 times, which would obliterate the record of 40,104 set last year. This is a game careening toward a reckoning borne of inaction, and when nearly 23 percent of plate appearances end with a third strike, the culprit is clear.

zambonir 2018-04-23 21:08:31 UTC #44

Thanks, I actually forgot to click on that.

These articles also put some of our own hitters' struggles into context.

flyers19rw 2018-04-30 22:45:31 UTC #45

Corey Seager out for the year with TJ surgery.

Philsmania 2018-05-01 14:55:29 UTC #46

That's a blow to the already-disappointing Dodgers. Everyone's consensus is that eventually them and the Nationals will be right in the thick of things. At what point do you say though that it just isn't happening?

andyb 2018-05-01 15:38:55 UTC #47

In the "what does it mean to Philly" spin, the speculation will turn to whether the Dodgers need to go get Machado I suspect. In the minor consequences category, Chase should get more playing time now, and he is doing well so far this year (822 OPS) and maybe a good 400 PA season will push him over the HOF line.

teabag259 2018-05-03 00:28:40 UTC #48

DeGrom left today’s game after the 4th with an undisclosed injury.

tom81 2018-05-03 02:24:55 UTC #49

Hyperextended his elbow.

Lawman 2018-05-03 16:59:00 UTC #50

This is a really obscure rule:

With two outs and runners on first and second, Vazquez blocked a Carson Smith pitch in the dirt, took off his mask, then casually used the mask to roll the ball back into his glove and throw it back to the pitcher.......Vazquez’s maneuver seemed harmless and didn’t appear to affect gameplay. But by deliberately touching the ball with his mask — which was detached from “its proper place on his person” — Vazquez violated MLB Rule 5.06.b.3(E), meaning he was charged with an error that resulted in the Royals’ runners advancing to second and third.

bkeich 2018-05-03 18:08:18 UTC #51

Hehe, I did EXACTLY that in high school and got called for it. It is a logical rule the catcher cannot use his mask to control the ball intentionally, but it rarely comes up. Catchers should know better, now in this case I think a warning might have been a better way to go since it had no effect whatsoever on the game, but I am not even sure that umpires have the discretion to use a warning there.

Lawman 2018-05-03 18:46:45 UTC #52

Article says hasn't been called since 2009. Although, as soon as they saw it, the announcers knew right away.

LoneStarPhan 2018-05-03 21:23:27 UTC #53

It is rare because catchers know better than to use the mask to control a ball that is live. Since runners can advance on a passed ball, or even a ball handled cleanly by the catcher, the ball is in live. Using the mask is against the rules because it could make a difference in the outcome of a possible play - runners trying to advance. Just because it didn't seem to make any difference in the game doesn't change the fact that a violation of the rule had occurred. I think the ump had to enforce the penalty as required by the rule.

Squire 2018-05-08 14:15:12 UTC #54

Not that its a big deal but I almost think that the Rangers picking and retaining of Carlos Tocci is a personal thing about losing Odubel Herrera. Tocci has been profoundly awful. In 25 ABs he has 2 singles, 1BB and 12Ks for a .288 OPS.

andyb 2018-05-08 14:25:18 UTC #55

And of course they are playing DL games. Early in the season they prominently noted he was getting treatment for a sore back after hitting the outfield wall. Then after he got hit by a pitch he was put of the DL with a sore hip. Now we are 16 days later and he is not back till "late May". Not sure what the maximum number of days are that he can be on the DL, but the Rangers appear willing to test it.

Of course I also tend to think that Morgan's "injury" is basically his turn to be shuffled off the roster for 10 days to put a fresh arm in.

Philsmania 2018-05-08 16:11:38 UTC #56

In the media down in the Metroplex and on Rangers fan boards and blogs, is there a lot of bemoaning how the Rangers let Herrera get away? I know if was the other way around, this site, the Inquirer and even WIP would be constantly reminding everybody what Herrera was accomplishing.

LoneStarPhan 2018-05-08 16:53:38 UTC #57

I have not heard any talk about Herrera here but to be honest, I don’t spend much time on Rangers stuff on-line. I watch news/sports on local TV, but don’t recall Herrera being mentioned.

andyb 2018-05-08 17:11:09 UTC #58

Even though Tocci is playing poorly, speculation is that his odds of sticking with the Rangers improve the worse the Rangers do. Teams is 14-23 and already 8 games out of the 2nd wild card. If Texas packs it in and starts making trades then Tocci will actually get more playing time and his roster spot will be more stable. Not sure we would be interested in Hamels, but he might be available for a fairly modest price in a couple of months.

zambonir 2018-05-08 17:56:41 UTC #59

I think the Rangers' success at the time and Odubel's relative obscurity (on a very bad team) probably eased the sting. It was just such an unusual set of circumstances (they had plenty of 2B, nobody except our guy apparently considered making him a CF).

Also DeShields has turned out to be pretty good for them, though not as good as Herrera is so far this season. If Herrera makes the all-star team or the Phillies are in the playoffs I'm sure it will get a bit more attention from Rangers writers when they run out of things to write about in the dog days.

tom81 2018-05-08 23:08:15 UTC #60