|
Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 19, 2021 19:43:14 GMT -5
For me, my feelings are split. On the one hand, it's always a plus to a post season to go through the Yankees. On the other hand, unlike the Red Sox, the Yankees were expected to win. Having the team collapse while relatively healthy will be devastating as big issues are rearing their heads. Sanchez and Torres in particular are such poor defenders that they have to hit to have any value at all. Neither is.
|
|
|
Post by Underwater Johnson on Sept 19, 2021 21:48:50 GMT -5
One of these days Renfroe will start running before admiring his hits... Disagree. I don't think he will ever do this.
Seriously, the coaches have to have gotten on him about this by now, no? And it's not like he's capable of learning from experience - he's stared and admired his own wall balls enough times to have established that.
Devers could stand to be reminded to run hard from time to time too. His jogging into home on that play where Dalbec got thrown out at third could have cost them a run if Dalbec had slid into third.
And while I'm in a complainy mood following this awesome sweep: what is with playing the left fielder soooo far off the line? It cost them again on Mancini's bases-clearing double: if Verdugo hadn't had to run in from Winthrop to retrieve the ball the third run might not have scored.
Anyway, cool win, Yankees are boned.
I think they started playing the LF off the line like that last year. I think some opposing teams have done it too.
The reasoning goes that if the ball is hit into the corner or off the wall near the line (and the wall in the LF corner is a lot closer than in the LF-CF gap), it's pretty much an automatic double anyway and the runner is not going to try for 3B with the ball right in front of him, even if he's already to 2B by the time the LF gets to the ball.
The risk is that the occasional ball is going to drop close to the line that otherwise could've been caught (and might only wind up as a single anyway) and the reward is that you close the LF-CF gap a bit and maybe take a double away on a ball hit to the warning track out there.
|
|
|
Post by Underwater Johnson on Sept 19, 2021 21:58:26 GMT -5
Scherff hasn't pitched for the Twins. Not sure what happened there I was just looking that up..apparently he was placed on the IL immediately after the trade. Scherff has also had all of 6.2 IP in AA, so he's not exactly the next man up when he gets healthy. He needs to be added to the MIN 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, so that made him a little more expendable for Chaim. Adding cash to the deal gives an idea of how much MIN valued Scherff (as well as how savvy Chaim is in that facet of his job).
|
|
|
Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 19, 2021 22:43:11 GMT -5
Mike Monaco @mikemonaco_ · AL Wild Card
Team GB Red Sox Blue Jays 1 Yankees 2.5
|
|
|
Post by vokuhila on Sept 20, 2021 2:52:46 GMT -5
Pretty good sweep I'd say
|
|
|
Post by jimed14 on Sept 20, 2021 11:36:58 GMT -5
Doug Eddings with the biggest influence on an MLB game this season. 4.8 runs, more than a run higher than the 2nd worst game.
|
|
|
Post by soxfansince67 on Sept 20, 2021 11:42:57 GMT -5
anyone see a Whitlock health update? seems pretty quiet out there.
|
|
|
Post by foreverred9 on Sept 20, 2021 11:49:51 GMT -5
Doug Eddings with the biggest influence on an MLB game this season. 4.8 runs, more than a run higher than the 2nd worst game. Wow, that's bad. 82% outside of the zone has to be one of the worst games of the year, but at least it netted out to be pretty even. He seemed consistently bad. The JDM strike three reminded me of that Livan Hernandez playoff game from '98. I guess when your zone is that big you should have a good in-the-zone accuracy percentage...
|
|
|
Post by incandenza on Sept 20, 2021 12:11:38 GMT -5
If it had ended up making a difference to the outcome, the outrageous call on the strike 3 to Martinez with the bases loaded and one out might have a case to be the single most egregious call all season.
|
|
|
Post by vokuhila on Sept 20, 2021 12:30:01 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by reasonabledoubt on Sept 20, 2021 13:04:43 GMT -5
anyone see a Whitlock health update? seems pretty quiet out there. Jen McCaffery (2+ hours ago) on The Athletic indicated that we won't know anything more until tomorrow.
|
|
|
Post by greenmonster on Sept 20, 2021 13:19:11 GMT -5
anyone see a Whitlock health update? seems pretty quiet out there. Jen McCaffery (2+ hours ago) on The Athletic indicated that we won't know anything more until tomorrow. I hope it just needs more time to calm down and see how he feels, but I fear it is really "seeking a second opinion".
|
|
|
Post by Guidas on Sept 20, 2021 15:19:32 GMT -5
Sneak previews of a longer post ...
I've been looking at and breaking down what might be called total clutch. That's the difference between actual and expected wins, the latter based on just raw hitting and pitching lines. It's a super-Pythagorean differential,as it also filters out karma on scoring and giving up runs.
So here's the rank of the four AL east contendors in: Bullpen wOBA, Bullpen management (turning that talent into WPA) = overall bullpen rank (which is a serious contributor to total clutch), non-bullpen clutch which is almost all offense (I think), total clutch.
Rays have the #3 bullpen numbers, and the #8 management = best in MLB. They are just 14th in offense etc. clutch and hence 4th overall. Sox are tied for 20th in pen numbers, are 3rd in management = 7th overall. They are 6th in offense clutch and 2nd in total clutch. (Mariners are of course #1: tied for 8th, 5th = 5th, 1st offense).
Jays have the 13th best pen and the 20th best management = 18th overall. They are 29th in offense clutch and 26th in total clutch. Translation: their gaudy offensive numbers are half mirage. It's destroying bad pitchers in blowouts. Yankees ... I haven't already looked at them yet! Is that ever significant! That reminds me: I have to bake bread tonight or tomorrow. (Yes, because the Yankees are toast.) Yankees are 5th in pen results but 19th in management = 10th overall. They're 12th in offensive clutch and 11th overall. You will note that bullpen management -- getting your best pitchers into the highest leverage --seems more important than bullpen talent. Which means that there is more variation in management than in collecting talent.
In fact, bullpen wOBA allowed is not a factor at all in total clutch. Bullpen management is half of it.
This is great, Eric - thanks. I've pasted a gif that goes with your clutch stats. link
|
|
|
Post by Oregon Norm on Sept 20, 2021 16:07:19 GMT -5
If it had ended up making a difference to the outcome, the outrageous call on the strike 3 to Martinez with the bases loaded and one out might have a case to be the single most egregious call all season. Again, I'd hope that the umpiring crew is tasked with reviewing their performance. You've probably noticed that during games, across both leagues, bad calls - and good ones that are borderline - are being highlighted with an animated version of the pitch and where it ended up: either around our out of the strike zone. MLB has probably offered that up to broadcasters as a heads-up to the viewing audience. In all likelihood that's in preparation for the eventual transition to automated strike-zone management, with or without umpire input.
|
|
|
Post by Guidas on Sept 20, 2021 16:55:42 GMT -5
If it had ended up making a difference to the outcome, the outrageous call on the strike 3 to Martinez with the bases loaded and one out might have a case to be the single most egregious call all season. Again, I'd hope that the umpiring crew is tasked with reviewing their performance. You've probably noticed that during games, across both leagues, bad calls - and good ones that are borderline - are being highlighted with an animated version of the pitch and where it ended up: either around our out of the strike zone. MLB has probably offered that up to broadcasters as a heads-up to the viewing audience. In all likelihood that's in preparation for the eventual transition to automated strike-zone management, with or without umpire input. We can only hope and pray, Norm.
|
|
|
Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 21, 2021 6:16:22 GMT -5
Again, I'd hope that the umpiring crew is tasked with reviewing their performance. You've probably noticed that during games, across both leagues, bad calls - and good ones that are borderline - are being highlighted with an animated version of the pitch and where it ended up: either around our out of the strike zone. MLB has probably offered that up to broadcasters as a heads-up to the viewing audience. In all likelihood that's in preparation for the eventual transition to automated strike-zone management, with or without umpire input. We can only hope and pray, Norm.
|
|
|
Post by gregblossersbelly on Sept 21, 2021 6:37:27 GMT -5
How does Philly get shutout at home by O’s last night? Warm night. Ball should have been flying out of that park. We scored; 8,16,6,7,9 and 8 against them last two home stands. 54 runs in 6 games. 6-0 with six being fewest number of runs scored.
I know Means has had some good games. He pitched 6 2/3. I believe we miss him in Baltimore next week. He’ll pitch Saturday. But, they’re off Monday. He could go next Thursday
|
|
|
Post by incandenza on Sept 21, 2021 8:52:26 GMT -5
We can only hope and pray, Norm. But the all-knowing rectangle said that was a strike...
It's funny to me that with the strike zone graphics we've suddenly decided the strike zone is knowable with utter precision. Broadcasters show a graphic of the ball knicking the top or bottom millimeter of the zone and are like "looks like it was a strike!" But the strike zone is defined vertically as "the area over home plate from the midpoint between a batter's shoulders and the top of the uniform pants -- when the batter is in his stance and prepared to swing at a pitched ball -- and a point just below the kneecap." It's not exactly a diamond-cut form. I don't even know how the technology calibrates that. Are there ways a batter could game it by starting his stance with his lower legs straight and his torso hunched over?
|
|
|
Post by patford on Sept 21, 2021 9:34:22 GMT -5
But the all-knowing rectangle said that was a strike...
It's funny to me that with the strike zone graphics we've suddenly decided the strike zone is knowable with utter precision. Broadcasters show a graphic of the ball knicking the top or bottom millimeter of the zone and are like "looks like it was a strike!" But the strike zone is defined vertically as "the area over home plate from the midpoint between a batter's shoulders and the top of the uniform pants -- when the batter is in his stance and prepared to swing at a pitched ball -- and a point just below the kneecap." It's not exactly a diamond-cut form. I don't even know how the technology calibrates that. Are there ways a batter could game it by starting his stance with his lower legs straight and his torso hunched over?
Do we know what technology MLB would be using? Ideally the strike zone should be a rectangular cube and not a one dimensional rectangle. I'm sure someone like Sale has many sliders that pass through the zone top to bottom and front to back which don't look like strikes based on where the catcher gloves the pitch. I do think even the crudest blunt instrument (like the rectangle we see on TV) is far better than an umpire. It's less important that electronic balls and strikes be completely accurate than it is they are consistent. And allowing the umpire any discretion at all would be a huge mistake. Umpires need to be taken completely out of the equation.
|
|
|
Post by incandenza on Sept 21, 2021 9:37:50 GMT -5
Maybe robo-umps are a good idea. But for decades and decades the strike zone has been a fuzzy oblong shape, and robo-umps turn it into a crisp rectangle, and we should not underestimate what a significant change to the game that is.
|
|
|
Post by patford on Sept 21, 2021 9:48:23 GMT -5
Maybe robo-umps are a good idea. But for decades and decades the strike zone has been a fuzzy oblong shape, and robo-umps turn it into a crisp rectangle, and we should not underestimate what a significant change to the game that is. Do we know that? As I said. In my opinion the crudest blunt instrument would be an improvement. In fact I'd be in favor of a universal target strike zone which does not vary from player to player. It's always seemed idiotic to me that a Pete Rose hunched crouch is a strike zone when players who use that approach come out of the crouch when they don't take a pitch. In any case I think hitters and pitchers would adjust to a 100% consistent strike zone. There would be fewer game delaying instances of Aaron Boone storming out of the dugout in full melt down and not getting tossed or even fined while John Lester is continuously squeezed because he gives umpires the stink eye. Here's a graphic of what the strike zone should be. Can MLB find some company that can design a program to make this work? Is it even doable? And is it true that any pitch which passes through any portion of this zone should be a strike no matter where it ends up?
|
|
|
Post by jimed14 on Sept 21, 2021 14:18:29 GMT -5
The only thing I don't love about eventual robo umps is the disappearance of catcher framing mattering whatsoever. There's something wrong with calling a strike on a pitch that misses the catcher's glove by 3 feet and has to stab back for it making it look absolutely nothing close to a strike, whether it technically was or wasn't.
|
|
|
Post by patford on Sept 21, 2021 14:36:26 GMT -5
The only thing I don't love about eventual robo umps is the disappearance of catcher framing mattering whatsoever. There's something wrong with calling a strike on a pitch that misses the catcher's glove by 3 feet and has to stab back for it making it look absolutely nothing close to a strike, whether it technically was or wasn't. Sorry if I'm not understanding your comment. Are you saying you like or don't like pitch framing? It's absolutely a skill. It should not be a skill that matters. It's not much different from palming an Ace. Then there is the reputational part of calling balls and strikes. A catcher who is famous for pitch framing is rewarded for framing pitches when he should be punished just as a soccer player taking dives can be given a yellow card. Going beyond that you have a team, it's media and the national media all playing up that whole lineups are "professional hitters." Even if true this pushes the boundaries on calls in the most crucial situations. It can come down to just a few pitches in a game. Is this calculated on the part of the umpire? Maybe not. But I do think chatter and conventional wisdom puts a finger on the scale. Other factors play a role. Crowd noise, momentum, personal grudges between umpires who think they have been shown up. Players who "need to be taught a lesson" because they give an umpire the side eye. We even have that recent study that showed a race based bias.
|
|
|
Post by orion09 on Sept 21, 2021 15:11:15 GMT -5
I might be the only one who doesn’t mind the imperfections of human umpires. Sometimes the calls go for you, sometimes against you. You could call it “sports imitating life.”
|
|
|
Post by jimed14 on Sept 21, 2021 15:16:04 GMT -5
The only thing I don't love about eventual robo umps is the disappearance of catcher framing mattering whatsoever. There's something wrong with calling a strike on a pitch that misses the catcher's glove by 3 feet and has to stab back for it making it look absolutely nothing close to a strike, whether it technically was or wasn't. Sorry if I'm not understanding your comment. Are you saying you like or don't like pitch framing? It's absolutely a skill. It should not be a skill that matters. It's not much different from palming an Ace. Then there is the reputational part of calling balls and strikes. A catcher who is famous for pitch framing is rewarded for framing pitches when he should be punished just as a soccer player taking dives can be given a yellow card. Going beyond that you have a team, it's media and the national media all playing up that whole lineups are "professional hitters." Even if true this pushes the boundaries on calls in the most crucial situations. It can come down to just a few pitches in a game. Is this calculated on the part of the umpire? Maybe not. But I do think chatter and conventional wisdom puts a finger on the scale. Other factors play a role. Crowd noise, momentum, personal grudges between umpires who think they have been shown up. Players who "need to be taught a lesson" because they give an umpire the side eye. We even have that recent study that showed a race based bias. I said that I don't watch pitch framing completely removed from the game. Why would you call it cheating like diving? A lot of these pitches would be called strikes with robo umps and would make it look ridiculous. There are far more obvious ones where the catcher sets up outside and has to stab his glove back all the way across the plate to catch a pitch that missed its spot by 3 feet. Looks like the worst pitches ever. You want pitchers rewarded for not pitching the ball where it's supposed to go? I also said that it's the only thing I don't like about it, so I'm not sure why you had to give me every other reason in favor of it.
|
|