WTF, Joe Kelly pitched a 1-2-3 inning last night? Man the Braves must really suck....

(05-09-2019 11:02 AM)stever20 Wrote:  WTF, Joe Kelly pitched a 1-2-3 inning last night? Man the Braves must really suck....

Dodgers fans everywhere are scratching their heads.

Read a blog post the other day indicating a pretty significant change in his pitching approach, almost certainly at the team's direction. He's been throwing a bunch more change ups. I don't know if last night was a fluke, the change up usage becoming effective, or from giving up on the change up. Or, as you suggest, the Braves just had a bad night.

just fyi- a lot of opinion pieces going around dc saying the Nats should fire Dave Martinez....

So Pujols hits a homer today and with the RBI gives him an incredible 2000 RBI now for his career....

according to baseball reference the only ones with more.... Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, and Cap Anson.

The homer was #639 for Pujols, so only 21 away from Willie Mays for 5th now all time. One of the easiest first ballot hall of famers IMO

(05-09-2019 01:53 PM)stever20 Wrote:  just fyi- a lot of opinion pieces going around dc saying the Nats should fire Dave Martinez....

Why do I have a feeling the Dodgers are going to do their best to save his job?

(05-09-2019 02:06 PM)stever20 Wrote:  So Pujols hits a homer today and with the RBI gives him an incredible 2000 RBI now for his career....

according to baseball reference the only ones with more.... Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, and Cap Anson.

The homer was #639 for Pujols, so only 21 away from Willie Mays for 5th now all time. One of the easiest first ballot hall of famers IMO

OK, so we all know RBI is kind of a crap stat but intuitively I just feel like it's maybe a decent career-level stat; just not a good season-level measure. Does that make sense? Or are big RBI career numbers just a function of longevity and a follow-on benefit of other more meaningful statistics?

(05-09-2019 02:06 PM)stever20 Wrote:  So Pujols hits a homer today and with the RBI gives him an incredible 2000 RBI now for his career....

according to baseball reference the only ones with more.... Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, and Cap Anson.

The homer was #639 for Pujols, so only 21 away from Willie Mays for 5th now all time. One of the easiest first ballot hall of famers IMO

Easily. And yet I almost can't remember when he was great. I mean, the last time he put up a really big season was nearly a decade ago. He started declining the second he turned 31. Generally, players who decline so much, so quickly, do not make it on the first ballot, or at all. It's just a testament to how great he was in that first decade of his career; 81.3 WAR according to BBref. And then 18.6 in the next 9 (including this season)

(05-09-2019 02:06 PM)stever20 Wrote:  So Pujols hits a homer today and with the RBI gives him an incredible 2000 RBI now for his career....

according to baseball reference the only ones with more.... Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, and Cap Anson.

The homer was #639 for Pujols, so only 21 away from Willie Mays for 5th now all time. One of the easiest first ballot hall of famers IMO

And he could (and would if he played another season) pass up A-Rod and Anson on the RBI list. Don't think 1 and 2 are reachable, unless he plays another few years at current rate of production

(05-09-2019 05:35 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(05-09-2019 01:53 PM)stever20 Wrote:  just fyi- a lot of opinion pieces going around dc saying the Nats should fire Dave Martinez....

Why do I have a feeling the Dodgers are going to do their best to save his job?

1st inning did nothing but reinforce that opinion....

5 homers now for Hill given up in only 11 innings of work.... You just wonder how long of a leash the Dodgers will have with him... I mean, he is 39 and the Dodgers have no commitment to him after this season...

(05-09-2019 09:37 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(05-09-2019 05:35 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(05-09-2019 01:53 PM)stever20 Wrote:  just fyi- a lot of opinion pieces going around dc saying the Nats should fire Dave Martinez....

Why do I have a feeling the Dodgers are going to do their best to save his job?

1st inning did nothing but reinforce that opinion....

5 homers now for Hill given up in only 11 innings of work.... You just wonder how long of a leash the Dodgers will have with him... I mean, he is 39 and the Dodgers have no commitment to him after this season...

They think Hill still has the goods; it’s gonna be a while before they just toss him out of the rotation.

With Scherzer and Strasburg over the weekend they’re staring a lost home series in the face if they can’t come back tonight.

Man, that was easy. And it's not all (or even mostly) on Hill. He actually pitched ok after the first but the offense just didn't show up. Win tonight or a sweep is totally in play. In fact, probably the odds-on favorite.

I tell you a guy that if he stays healthy and the Nats fall out of it should get a lot of attention at the trade deadline is Howie Kendrick. in 396 ab's since coming to the Nats in '17- he's slashing a cool .303/.347/.505 for a healthy .852 OPS. Since 2010 he's had 1 season with an OPS+ of less than 100. And he's hitting with more power- 37 homers last 5 years combined- but this year he's on a pace for 25-26. And he's only making 4 million dollars- so even if you pick him up now, he'd only cost like 2.5 million against the threshold.....

[of course now, what anvil will drop on his head tonight?]

(05-09-2019 10:54 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(05-09-2019 09:11 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Well, Brookes, I told you Braves were good, but not nearly at Dodgers' level right now. Congrats on the broom sale this week. See you next time.

Definitely did not expect a sweep. I don’t want to get too excited about the offense but having Turner heating up is pretty important. Just not sure about Braves’ pitching - not sure it’s gonna be enough to get over the hump this year without addition(s).

Still feeling shaky about Jansen.

Yeah, as I said this looks more like a transition year for Braves due to pitching. If they're close in July they'll make make a push to get closer with trades, but they might not have enough unless their pitching really comes together before then. I won't be disappointed if I'm wrong, though!

(05-10-2019 09:07 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Man, that was easy. And it's not all (or even mostly) on Hill. He actually pitched ok after the first but the offense just didn't show up. Win tonight or a sweep is totally in play. In fact, probably the odds-on favorite.

Corbin doing his old team a solid...


Of Goldy, Pollock and Corbin, Corbin is the one I wish the Dbacks had kept


Meanwhile, Luke Weaver, obtained in the Goldy trade, has been sharp

(05-10-2019 10:09 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I tell you a guy that if he stays healthy and the Nats fall out of it should get a lot of attention at the trade deadline is Howie Kendrick. in 396 ab's since coming to the Nats in '17- he's slashing a cool .303/.347/.505 for a healthy .852 OPS. Since 2010 he's had 1 season with an OPS+ of less than 100. And he's hitting with more power- 37 homers last 5 years combined- but this year he's on a pace for 25-26. And he's only making 4 million dollars- so even if you pick him up now, he'd only cost like 2.5 million against the threshold.....

[of course now, what anvil will drop on his head tonight?]

Yeah I kept meaning to post about Kendrick. He's absolutely saved their asses. Such an unexpected season. But you're right, he's great trade bait for a team that needs a dependable RHH

I'm not one to write a team's obituary in May, but at this point I'm wondering how the Nats are going to turn it around. The team I picked to win the pennant has the 2nd worst record in the NL at 15-23, 6.5 out of the division. Last year's team was only 82-80, so at some point you have to wonder, are they actually any good? This does come with a rather large caveat, as two great players in Soto and Turner, are injured and will be back in the next few weeks. So that could jump start them. One 9-1 run, coinciding with the Phillies going 5-5, would bring them right back into the thick of the division race. But it just seems like we're always saying this about them. You have to wonder if they have it in them. Especially with Martinez at the helm.

Brookes, I just realized I never answered your question regarding the WBC. The answer is pretty easy. There have been four of them and my dad and I have been to 3. And I can honestly say those games are (for the most part) the best live baseball I've ever been to. Sure, you get the occasional clunker like Italy vs Australia, where the stadium is empty. But then you get DR vs Venezuela or DR vs USA, where it makes up for those boring games. Yes, on some level the players can only care so much, and sometimes it's hard to attract good depth, because like Alex Bregman in the last tournament, they just don't get enough AB (and they need it, since it's during spring training). But, rather than the players on the field, it's the fans in the stands who make the difference. Most professional sporting events and crowds in the US are rather staid and tame. But the DR, PR and Venezuelan fans are anything but. They constantly make noise and truly love baseball and their country's players. They're not just rooting for a team, they're rooting for their honmeland, and you can really feel it.

I have so many great memories from the tournaments and I can say that they've definitely gotten better each time. The one in Miami (we always go to Florida) in 2017 was amazing. Adam Jones and Arenado were just so into it. With a few tweaks to the format, and more encouragement to sign up and play, the next one could be amazing. Just imagine a DR team with Castillo, Guerrero, Ozuna, Mondesi, Polanco, Franco, Machado, Sanchez, Tatis, Soto and Robles against a Venezuelan team with Torres, Acuna, Albies, Altuve, Andrus. And imagine fans who don't need super loud music to stay engaged, but are naturally engaged through their love of baseball and country. That's what the WBC is about.

Well, they’ve got an excellent chance of taking 3 of 4 from the Dodgers this weekend.

I suspect if the Nats lose both games this weekend, we may see some movements on Monday. And yes, think that could/would include Martinez. Nats need something to jump start them....

so Pujols with 2 hr today.

he's interesting. This year he's got 8 hr- all 8 hit when he's played 1b....

going into today-
OPS playing as 1b ..879 61 pa
OPS playing as dh... .528 69 pa

so an even larger gap now....