The Official 2013 MLB Thread

[TroyF]

The Rockies/Dodgers have are finishing up a three game series. The Dodgers took the first two, the Rockies are currently up 8-4 in the sixth in the series finale.

Some quick thoughts on both Puig and the Dodgers:

1) The Dodgers are going to win the NL West so long as they do not have two hundred more injuries.

2) Puig is going to multiple all star games.

3) Puig is living an incredibly charmed life right now. It is not an insult, it is just the way it is. He has misplayed 4 fly balls in 2.5 games. He has caught them all. He has made 2 horrible running mistakes in 2.5 games. He scored both times due to Rockies fielding blunders. He goes a foot out of the zone, breaks his bat and gets a seeing eye single that goes for an RBI.

I repeat #2 up there, but it is only a matter of time before this guy becomes a "it is Puig being Puig" meme.

4) I will be very interested to see what happens with this kid and this team as a whole the first time some of these breaks go away. I'm talking about his first 2-25 stretch. Will the energy turn to brooding, stupidity and ejections or will he keep up the great attitude?

5) I think the Dodgers will be fine even when Puig becomes semi mortal. Kershaw/Greinke will prevent any long losing streaks. When the hitting or other pitchers is on, they'll go on tears. With Kemp heating up and the rest of the lineup healthy, they are just too good and too deep not to win this division.

[JPhillips]

I think the biggest issue with Puig is whether he'll break himself before the season ends. The guy needs to learn to play for tomorrow a bit.

[TroyF]

I agree that is a concern, but I hesitate to raise that as a concern now. It is beyond refreshing to see a player work his ass off and play that hard.

[MizzouRah]

Well.. not a great ending to my night.

[Bad-example]

Hoping Puig becomes most famous for his dramatic weight gain and appalling personal hygiene.

Fat, filthy Puig.

Don't always give max effort, kid. Learn from Ethier and Kemp. Dogging it on some days makes you look that much better when you're hot!

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Bad-example

Hoping Puig becomes most famous for his dramatic weight gain and appalling personal hygiene.

Fat, filthy Puig.

Really taking that Sandoval personally aren't you?

[Bad-example]

Nah. Just like to see the kid fit into the clubhouse ok.

[MrBug708]

Does that mean its only a matter of time til Posey has a needle in his ass?

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by TroyF

3) Puig is living an incredibly charmed life right now. It is not an insult, it is just the way it is. He has misplayed 4 fly balls in 2.5 games. He has caught them all. He has made 2 horrible running mistakes in 2.5 games. He scored both times due to Rockies fielding blunders. He goes a foot out of the zone, breaks his bat and gets a seeing eye single that goes for an RBI.

He's had a couple of fly balls in recent days he's misplayed into opponent hits. The one he booted into the stands for a ground rule double comes to mind.

He's also run himself out of a few plays offensively, as well. He loves to try to take second on singles up the middle. It's worked once or twice, and it's cost the Dodgers a runner a few times.

Neither of those have gotten the attention they otherwise might because he's living, as you say, a charmed life offensively. Once that drops off some, I'd imagine there will be some more focus by the media on the baserunning blunders. Not sure there will be on his defense because even with the balls he misplays, he also makes a lot of spectacular plays that will keep him on Web Gems.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

He's had a couple of fly balls in recent days he's misplayed into opponent hits. The one he booted into the stands for a ground rule double comes to mind.

He's also run himself out of a few plays offensively, as well. He loves to try to take second on singles up the middle. It's worked once or twice, and it's cost the Dodgers a runner a few times.

Neither of those have gotten the attention they otherwise might because he's living, as you say, a charmed life offensively. Once that drops off some, I'd imagine there will be some more focus by the media on the baserunning blunders. Not sure there will be on his defense because even with the balls he misplays, he also makes a lot of spectacular plays that will keep him on Web Gems.

Agree on the fielding. It likely will never get a ton of play because of the spectacular pays. (Though from what I saw this week, his horrible reads on fly balls actually make him look better than he is). The baserunning can and will get tidied up. The offense drops off some and then the Dodgers lose a game because of it, it wiill get more play.

The Dodgers telecast said that when h swings at the first pitch, he is something like 16-20. He will cool off, but i still think he will be a stud and I still think the Dodgers have too much for anyone in the west.

[MrBug708]

Bruce Bochy on figuring out who's batting third in the first inning

[MrBug708]

@MLB_PR : Puig had 842,915 write-in votes, most since #Pirates Freddy Sanchez totaled 856,685 in 2006.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Well.. not a great ending to my night.

You have me worried since you are a Cardinals fan and this is the MLB thread. Is it Molina's knee? I can't find anything about it on the internet.

EDIT: Nevermind. Just noticed this was from last night.

[panerd]

Question for Dodger's fans...

Matt Kemp's injury, is it nothing or serious? I am being offered Kemp for pennies on the dollar in a keeper league. I give up nothing for this season but a couple good prospects for next. I really think I have a chance to win it this season. I just would hate to pull the trigger and see "Matt Kemp out for the season" on Monday. It really looked like he was starting to turn things around this week.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by panerd

Question for Dodger's fans...

Matt Kemp's injury, is it nothing or serious? I am being offered Kemp for pennies on the dollar in a keeper league. I give up nothing for this season but a couple good prospects for next. I really think I have a chance to win it this season. I just would hate to pull the trigger and see "Matt Kemp out for the season" on Monday. It really looked like he was starting to turn things around this week.

It's an aggravated shoulder. He's probably not out for the season but don't pick him up expecting 2011 Kemp, either.

Realize that he's probably not going to be a significant force in fantasy baseball until at least next season.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by panerd

You have me worried since you are a Cardinals fan and this is the MLB thread. Is it Molina's knee? I can't find anything about it on the internet.

EDIT: Nevermind. Just noticed this was from last night.

As for Molina, he's having his right knee examined. I hope it's just irritation or soreness and not something more serious. That would be a HUGE blow.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Thank you Madison Bumgarner for keeping the lineup blunder from being the punchline to this entire season for the Giants.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

So the Royals get two All-Stars and neither one is a pitcher? Little bit of a surprise there.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

It's an aggravated shoulder. He's probably not out for the season but don't pick him up expecting 2011 Kemp, either.

Realize that he's probably not going to be a significant force in fantasy baseball until at least next season.

Ended up getting Ryan Braun instead. He carries his own set of problems with the thumb and the looming suspension but should be quite the upgrade in an NL-only league over Darwin Barney at the minimum with a chance for a huge improvement in RBI's and HR's for the second half.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

So the Royals get two All-Stars and neither one is a pitcher? Little bit of a surprise there.

Hey, I'm just happy the Royals legitimately got 2 All Stars

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Hey, I'm just happy the Royals legitimately got 2 All Stars

SI

I guess it just seems odd that as rough as the offense has been and as great as the pitching has been (2nd in the AL), that's the last thing I expected to see.

[ISiddiqui]

You know I was thinking that Puig shouldn't be an All Star, even a last vote one, due to so little playing time.... until I realized that even with 125ish PAs his WAR is more than Freddy Freeman who has almost 3 times as many PAs.

(Even saying that though, I voted Ian Desmond - whose WAR is much higher, at Fangraphs at the very least).

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by rowech

I don't disagree but let's not focus on K/9 as a measure of a number one. Look at his K/BB ratio and it is above 3. Less than a homerun per 9 pitching in GABP. I don't think he is a number one either but you can be a number one without striking guys out.

I was more using it as shorthand to indicate Leake hasn't drastically improved any one pitch or changed his pitching style. His walk rate is slightly lower, and his GB rate is slightly higher, but his K rate is unchanged, and most of his success vs. last year is due to being a lot luckier on BABIP, HR/FB and LOB%. There's actually a good argument there that he was very unlucky in all 3 categories last year (and his higher xFIP this year than either of the last two backs that up), and I agree the 4.58 ERA was misleading, but he's a high 3.00's ERA, 6 IP per start kinda guy.

Overall, I would say you need to strike out close to 8 K/9 to be #1 (and of course, that always depends on your definition of a #1 - I'd probably put 20-25 guys there right now). You always get a couple of 1-year outliers like Bartolo Colon or Jeff Locke, but off a cursory check the best, most consistent pitchers with K/9 <7 over the last 2-3 years would be Jordan Zimmerman, Hiroki Kuroda, Kyle Lohse, Matt Harrison and Doug Fister. All solid, probably underrated pitchers, but I wouldn't call any an ace. Jared Weaver probably has the lowest K/9 at 7.17 of anyone people would think of as a top 25 pitcher, and he's always been an extreme outlier.

[Vince, Pt. II]

The Giants are just trolling us now. 16-inning loss on 4 unearned runs (the three Lincecum gave up were direct results of Andres Torres being awesome in LF, and included a security guard running on the field of play while a ball was live), and now they've signed Francoeur. Sigh.

[JPhillips]

Thank God the Giants signed Frenchy rather than the Reds. His veteran savvy would have been irresistible to Dusty.

[Crapshoot]

Last night was fucking miserable. I can't believe I stayed up till 1230 to watch that shit.

[Logan]

I bet there were some dumb shits that stayed up until 3:30 to watch that shit.

Thankfully I was not one of them.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by espn

Major League Baseball is expected to suspend Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez, and as many as 20 players connected to the Biogenesis clinic sometime after next week's All-Star break, several sources told T.J. Quinn and Mike Fish of ESPN.com.

Read more: 2013 Non-Sox MLB Discussion | SoxProspects.com Forum

Hey Detroit, what'll you give us for Stephen Drew?

[rowech]

Bad call at the plate costs the Reds in inside the park homerun or a single with three errors. Not sure which. Slowly growing to hate this Reds season. Last night might have been over the edge.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another good win for the Royals in NY tonight. Shields finally got out of his funk. Royals are now 5-3 in the first part of their tough 20 game stretch. Also have now hit 22 HR's in the last 15 games, which is ridiculous given that they're the Royals.

A sweep tomorrow and the Royals will have climbed back to .500 for the season which would be amazing given that atrocious 10 game home losing streak they had earlier this season.

[rowech]

You know runs scored just isn't an accurate measure of the offense of a team. The Reds score a lot of runs but it's usually like 12, 2, 1 in a three game series instead of 5, 5, 5.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Another good win for the Royals in NY tonight. Shields finally got out of his funk. Royals are now 5-3 in the first part of their tough 20 game stretch. Also have now hit 22 HR's in the last 15 games, which is ridiculous given that they're the Royals.

A sweep tomorrow and the Royals will have climbed back to .500 for the season which would be amazing given that atrocious 10 game home losing streak they had earlier this season.

Four game series that goes thru Thursday but the rest remains. Still torn about this team. Really wanted Moore gone during the horrible May stretch and, sadly, if they finish .500, I expect an ill advised extension

SI

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by rowech

You know runs scored just isn't an accurate measure of the offense of a team. The Reds score a lot of runs but it's usually like 12, 2, 1 in a three game series instead of 5, 5, 5.

I dunno about that. The Reds are 50-39 (which, btw, is really good), and their Pythagorean Record (comparing Runs Scored to Red Allowed) is 51-38, so they are basically right in line with where they are supposed to be taking their runs into account.

[kingfc22]

Ugh! This season just keeps going south.

[Crapshoot]

The Giants have been the worst team in baseball since the start of June.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by rowech

How does Brook Jacoby still have his fucking job? The Reds hitters NEVER get better.

Maybe the issue is more the minor league hitting instructors and development staff? By the time you get to the majors, I would think that most of the habits you'd have as a player are pretty close to set...

[Suicane75]

Yasiel Puig continues to astonish at the plate. Two, count em, TWO walks tonight. Unearthly.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I dunno about that. The Reds are 50-39 (which, btw, is really good), and their Pythagorean Record (comparing Runs Scored to Red Allowed) is 51-38, so they are basically right in line with where they are supposed to be taking their runs into account.

I use runs created instead of runs scored when I look at Pythagorean records. That puts the Reds 3 games under where they should be. Extrapolate over a season and they're 5 or 6 games under.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

You know I was thinking that Puig shouldn't be an All Star, even a last vote one, due to so little playing time.... until I realized that even with 125ish PAs his WAR is more than Freddy Freeman who has almost 3 times as many PAs.

(Even saying that though, I voted Ian Desmond - whose WAR is much higher, at Fangraphs at the very least).

I am amazed that everyone talks about Puig non stop and doesn't talk about another member of his own team. Hanley Ramirez is hitting better than Puig in the same number of games. Why is he not an all star? Oh, right, because he has less than 150 at bats.

Desmond should be the guy that wins this, but I do not think he will be.

[ISiddiqui]

There isn't as much of a push by Washington fans. I think Freeman wins it, unfortunately due to Braves fans getting out there and voting a ton, though I'd put him behind Desmond and Puig.

[Coffee Warlord]

Travis Wood is 5th in OPS amongst the Cubs.

[Suburban Rhythm]

This could probably go in the Strange News Stories thread too...

Listen: Kris Benson's 911 call about heavily armed wife

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

You're not trying hard enough!

Pleading worked...haha

[Suicane75]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

This could probably go in the Strange News Stories thread too...

Listen: Kris Benson's 911 call about heavily armed wife

Her going bathsit crazy may be the least strange thing ever.

[BishopMVP]

Freddie Freeman making the ASG over Yasiel Puig will revolutionize the way I don't watch the ASG this year.

In the AL, I actually think Uehara deserved it over Delabar, but every Red Sox fan I know would prefer he just get the rest than go show up there.

[Vince, Pt. II]

If I'm a Dodger fan, I'm happy Puig didn't make the team. I haven't been watching their games, but I hear he's doing things like flipping his bat after walks and staring down the catcher after a collision in which he was out. If that's the case, his ego really needs to be toned down, and making the All Star game after 35 games played wouldn't have helped with that at all.

[miked]

Yeah, and apparently he also dissed Luis Gonzalez in Arizona during BP too. Granted, it's not a major story, but the narrative of him being an arrogant baby is building.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Freddie Freeman making the ASG over Yasiel Puig will revolutionize the way I don't watch the ASG this year.

In the AL, I actually think Uehara deserved it over Delabar, but every Red Sox fan I know would prefer he just get the rest than go show up there.

So you were tuning in for his pinch hit appearance in the 7th or 8th?

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

If I'm a Dodger fan, I'm happy Puig didn't make the team. I haven't been watching their games, but I hear he's doing things like flipping his bat after walks and staring down the catcher after a collision in which he was out. If that's the case, his ego really needs to be toned down, and making the All Star game after 35 games played wouldn't have helped with that at all.

Is that really worth trying to hit Puig? Apparently, yes it is

As for the "stare", Montero seems to be the one with the issue as I dont think Puig looked at him for more than half a second.

Miguel Montero gives Yasiel Puig finger wag after collision (Video) | Larry Brown Sports

Originally Posted by miked

Yeah, and apparently he also dissed Luis Gonzalez in Arizona during BP too. Granted, it's not a major story, but the narrative of him being an arrogant baby is building.

I'm sorry that Luis Gonzalez was hurt that Puig wasn't interested in talking to him. I can't believe this was even a story. Perhaps Puig isn't interested in talking to members of the D-Backs after they throw at his head? Or maybe he doesn't have any idea who Luis is? Puig didnt even know what color the Dodgers were when he learned they had signed him. Could he have said stuff to Luis? Sure, is this a story that he didn't bother to talk with him? No.

Yasiel Puig backlash attempts to turn prodigy into punk in premature rush to judgment - Yahoo! Sports

Mostly archaic MLB "unspoken rules" tweaking players who think they matter. Puig has a lot of maturing to do, but people are getting upset over things that don't matter

[MrBug708]

Then there is this, which basically rips the Luis Gonzalez meeting as a "Hi, I'm Luis Gonzalez", a guy who was someone, surprise, Puig had no idea who he was but did shake his hands. I guess Luis was hurt that no one cares about him anymore?

Finally, there is ESPN making one last point about Puig