2021 MLB Non-Phillies News/Notes

[bkox]

MiLB pitcher discharged after liner to head

[bkox]

When was the last night you saw a reliever throw 95 pitches and give up 11 earned runs? Red Sox called up Ryan Weber before todays game, brought him in in the 2nd inning and left him out there to this line:

5.2IP 13H 11ER 2BB 7K and 4HR 17.47ERA 95 pitches

And they follow him up with a position player and he pitches a 1-2-3 inning

Edit,, leave it to Jayson Stark to answer the question:

Box score line du jour!

Ryan Weber in relief for the #RedSox vs #BlueJays :

5 2/3-13-11-11-2-7, with 4 HR

Only other reliever in the last 80 years to allow 13+ hits, 11+ runs & 4+ HR:

Sid Schacht on June 8, 1950, for the St. Louis Browns in the famed 29-4 game

Also at Fenway!

— Jayson Stark ( @jaysonst ) June 13, 2021

[zambonir]

Jason Heyward says the emphasis on Chicago Cubs players’ vaccination choices is...

Not following closely but as per our previous discussion I wonder if the auxiliary staff is vaccinated to the point where it's actually the players holding things back. Heyward really goes a little crazy here though. Tries to turn it back on the fans and then says he never gets a flu shot because it took him down for a few days years ago and it's only offered to them right before the playoffs (you can still go to Walgreen's after you lose, dude!)

[bkox]

Yesterday Rizzo came out and said he has declined the vaccine and started the backlash against Cubs players

[zambonir]

Yeah and he may or may not have his reasons due to being a cancer survivor but also, he's known for visiting hospitals.

[BostonRoss]

I wish all of the players would get vaccinated because 1) it helps everyone to have more people vaccinated and 2) when a public figure declines vaccination, it probably has an effect on people who are on the fence about getting vaccinated.

Rizzo was pretty upfront that his decision was personal and not medical. Indeed, if cancer survivors were at a higher risk getting the vaccine, this would be common knowledge. I know many vaccinated cancer survivors. Rizzo specifically said he consulted with his doctors and then made a "personal" decision.

Heyward seemed to be trying to justify his choice, and IMO would have been better off saying the same thing as Rizzo--that it was a personal decision. The comments about the flu vaccine and the fans are deflections away from his own decision. Is he trying to imply that if he hadn't had a flu vaccine reaction and that MLB required fans to be vaccinated, that he would get vaccinated?

But unless they are being vocal anti-vaxers, I can't criticize the players who decide not to get the vaccine. It IS a personal decision, and while I am sure many of them are making these decisions without really understanding the facts, unless we are legally required to be vaccinated, they are within their rights.

[LoneStarPhan]

Employers can require vaccination so it seems MLB could require it. Not saying they should.

[bkox]

Employers can require vaccination so it seems MLB could require it. Not saying they should.

I think the union would fight it. As with the CBA expiring after this year I dont think we want another issue

[andyb]

What they should do is require mask-wearing if not vaccinated if they are around other people. Nothing illegal about that. It is simply a choice and reward for individuals that an employer can mandate.

[zambonir]

Yeah simply because their employment is collectively bargained I don't think MLB can do that.

Mask-wearing is theoretically already required, isn't that part of the whole point? That once you exceed 85% you don't have to wear them any more? I assume they are still practicing - or are supposed to practice - mask-wearing and social distance on the bus, at meals, in meetings, in the clubhouse - places we never see. Outdoors no longer required obviously. And the team (our team) has had two outbreaks or contact-tracing groups (or both).

Some people are still very concerned about the Delta variant, especially once summer is over. It would really be something if the Cubs win their division and then lose Rizzo to contact-tracing for a week.

[andyb]

Some people are still very concerned about the Delta variant, especially once summer is over.

Cases are ticking up in Great Britain because of the Delta variant and they are pretty close to us in vaccination percent. They just postponed the date they would be fully open by a month.

[zambonir]

For sure it's a real concern, especially since we're unlikely to do anything about it in this country (and particularly in the low-vax rate states).

A friend if mine in Australia just had to cancel her first post-pandemic concert tour because travelling between the states is banned again.

[bkox]

Baseball Reference officially added the negro league stats today as MLB stats.

Josh GIbson now holds the MLB single season record for OPS (formerly Barry Bonds) and Tetelo Vargas now has the single season Batting Average record at .477

[andyb]

More on this from Fangraphs:

Baseball Reference Launches Major Overhaul of Negro Leagues Coverage

[HopeSpringsEternal]

deGrom removed in the 3rd inning today with an apparent injury.

[bkox]

Mets have said right shoulder soreness

[bkox]

The Diamondbacks have now lost 22 straight road games, tying the longest streak in the modern era (1943 A's, 1963 Mets).

Arizona is 5-36 in its last 41 games overall, the worst mark by an NL team in any 41-game span since the 1909 Boston Doves (also 5-36).

— Stats By STATS ( @StatsBySTATS ) June 17, 2021

[Philsmania]

I think something's up with deGrom. Unless one is a fluke of nature like Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson, it's impossible to keep throwing that hard and not burn out your arm.

[BostonRoss]

deGrom is reminiscent of Sandy Koufax. While deGrom did not have to go through his learning process in the majors as Koufax did due to the rules of the time, he is brilliant while dealing with arm issues. Teams did not often shut down pitchers who were hurting in Koufax's time, and so Sandy continued to pitch Koufax when he probably should have been shut down, as deGrom has had to be. Koufax won three Cy Young awards in his last four years, and if deGrom wins this year, he'll have three in four years. deGrom is already two years older than Koufax was when he retired.

[Philsmania]

deGrom is reminiscent of Sandy Koufax. While deGrom did not have to go through his learning process in the majors as Koufax did due to the rules of the time, he is brilliant while dealing with arm issues. deGrom is already two years older than Koufax was when he retired.

But, for how much longer can deGrom keep going at this level without either missing an entire season after a major surgery or dropping off? Koufax quit while he was ahead.