August 2018 MLB Game Thread

[gedman211]

The "who will trade for Machado?" question dominated baseball discussions since spring training. Now it looks like he won't even make the playoffs. It really takes a historic hot-streak from a positional player for him to be a real difference making deadline acquisition. Cespedes, for instance with the Mets a couple years ago was such an example. The Manny of the "Mannywood" season in LA. I'd love to include O-Cab from '04, but that deal was more of a spiritual cleanse than anything else.

 

[DJnVa]

They're 3.5 out of WC and 4.5 out of West--not quite at "looking like he won't make the playoffs" yet.

 

[DJnVa]

So, what if there's an 8-way tie in the NL?

These are crazy times, extraordinary times, disorienting times. Times when you struggle to believe or comprehend what you're reading and seeing, and every new development is more baffling than the last.

I am, of course, writing exclusively about the National League standings.

Sure, there's a lot of baseball yet to be played, but right now the Senior Circuit is threatening to push MLB's established tiebreaking procedures to an unprecedented -- and, frankly, awesome -- extreme.

 

[bosockboy]

They're 3.5 out of WC and 4.5 out of West--not quite at "looking like he won't make the playoffs" yet.

Not yet, but they look done. The Cardinals went in there and destroyed them.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Not yet, but they look done. The Cardinals went in there and destroyed them.

I'm not sure destroyed is accurate. They beat them by 2, 3, and 2 runs, with Jansen giving up 3 home runs in his first two games back(5 all last season). In the first and third games, they were tied going into the 9th. It was a close series that St. Louis swept.

The Dodgers are extremely capable of going on a run--hell, they went 26-13 from June 1 to the ASB. They need Jansen to be Jansen, but if he is, I surely wouldn't write them off yet.

 

[Catcher Block]

So, what if there's an 8-way tie in the NL?

As someone currently employed in the ticket office for one of these teams, this is my actual nightmare.

 

[SirPsychoSquints]

So, what if there's an 8-way tie in the NL?

I think I'm missing something from that article. In scenario 2, on day 2, why are the Cardinals playing a game? They've already been eliminated from the Wild Card, haven't they?

So, if I'm right:
Day 1, DBacks host Rockies, with the winner hosting the Dodgers for the NL West and the loser shunted to the Wild Card tournament. DBacks win.
Day 1, Cardinals host Phillies, with the loser eliminated from the Wild Card. Phillies win.
Day 2, DBacks face Dodgers - winner wins the NL West, loser shunted to the Wild Card tournament. Dodgers win.
Day 2, Brewers host the Rockies, loser eliminated from the Wild Card. Brewers win.

Day 3 - So at this point, the Brewers & Phillies have both won a game in the Wild Card Tournament, and the DBacks are alive and haven't participated. Based on A B C D etc. designations, the DBacks would visit one of those two teams.
Day 4 - actual Wild Card game, with the Brewers or Phillies (whichever one didn't play on Day 3) visiting the winner of Day 3.... right?

Because the 5 way tie, after figuring out who won the NL West, you have to assign A B C D E. For logistical purposes, non-NL West teams must be A & B, and play on Day 1. The other non-NL West team is C, with the loser of the NL West Day 1 game slotting in at D, facing C on Day 2. The last NL West loser is team E, and visits the winner of A & B on Day 3. The winner of that game will be the host of the winner of C & D on Day 2, because they've gotten through more opponents.

Does that make sense? I'm confusing myself. In the above examples, the Cardinals are A, Phillies are B, Brewers are C, Rockies wind up at D, and DBacks wind up at E.

 

[AB in DC]

Fangraphs now projects seven NL teams at 87-88 projected wins.

 

[terrynever]

Great moment today in Phillies-Nats game. Harper vs. Nola in a 2-0 game, two outs in 8th, tying runs on base. Harper is up to .251 now, and 9-for-12 in recent RISP situations. Nola fans him on a fastball up and away. Nola has turned into a true ace for Philly.

 

[Jim Ed Rice in HOF]

Another day, another Acuna HR vs. the Marlins.

 

[SemperFidelisSox]

Speaking of Acuna, Urena comes back from his suspension on Tuesday to face...the Sox in Fenway. Wear your elbow pads.

 

[LogansDad]

And Acuna got beaned again by the fucking Jeterfish.

 

[Boggs26]

3 more games between ATL and MIA. The league better be in top of it, because the braves are likely (and rightly) pissed.

 

[Sad Sam Jones]

Either a pipe or the fountain has burst in KC... game delay as they attempt to squeegee a few inches of water off the warning track and out of the bullpens. Water has been pouring out under the fences for at least 5 minutes. I'm sure there's a joke about the Royals season in there somewhere.

*

 

[Oppo]

Speaking of Acuna, Urena comes back from his suspension on Tuesday to face...the Sox in Fenway. Wear your elbow pads.

Why? If he comes too far inside/beans someone he's facing a huge suspension/loss of income. He should be on his best behavior.

 

[jon abbey]

Crazy that the A's and Cardinals are as hot as anyone in late August with the rotations they currently have, Joel Sherman with some good specifics in this column:

"Oakland.

Edwin Jackson’s best season was 2009 and he is most famous for tying the major league record for playing with 13 different teams. Brett Anderson’s best season is 2009 and he is the pitching Nick Johnson — a talented guy unable to stay healthy. Trevor Cahill was last a regular major league starter in 2013. And Mike Fiers is perhaps most famous for hitting Giancarlo Stanton in the face with a pitch.

Yet those four guys, in particular, have helped the A’s amass the majors’ third-best rotation ERA in the second half. It is hard to believe. Then again, so is everything about the 2018 A’s.

St. Louis.

The Cardinals acquired no starter before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. In August, Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha and Adam Wainwright have combined for zero starts. The starters have been Jack Flaherty, John Gant, Austin Gomber, Miles Mikolas, Daniel Poncedeleon, Tyson Ross (an August waiver claim) and Luke Weaver. That group had a 2.92 ERA this month. St. Louis had an MLB-best 16-4 record."

https://nypost.com/2018/08/22/the-starting-pitchers-who-will-make-or-break-title-contenders/

 

[ookami7m]

Altuve showing off his high baseball IQ again - turning an easy pop up into 2 outs:

https://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/mp4/2018/08/25/2424023683/1535166383559/asset_2500K.mp4

 

[SirPsychoSquints]

Altuve showing off his high baseball IQ again - turning an easy pop up into 2 outs:

https://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/mp4/2018/08/25/2424023683/1535166383559/asset_2500K.mp4

Haven’t umps called it a pop out when mike Lowell used to do that?

 

[Sad Sam Jones]

There has to be a force play at 3rd base to enact the infield fly rule. That would be the difference between allowing this and calling some other play a pop out.

*

 

[hbk72777]

It's mind boggling when you see that the Rays and Dodgers have the same record, this late in August

Dodgers added Machado, Axford and Dozier while the Rays traded Archer and Eovaldi, and play in a division with 2 teams on pace for 100+ wins.

Kevin Cash has got to be a shoo in for manager of the year, regardless of what the A's do from here on out

 

[E5 Yaz]

Kevin Cash has got to be a shoo in for manager of the year, regardless of what the A's do from here on out

This is "He used to play for the Red Sox" bias to an extreme degree.

The A's have a playoff spot all but locked up -- which no suspected would be possible -- and still have a shot at a division title, in a division with the defending WS champions. That easily betters what Cash has done.

Besides, Oakland's manager also played for the Red Sox

 

[Sad Sam Jones]

Manager of the Year is also voted on by baseball writers. I would be surprised if there aren't a few of them who go old school and consider Cash to be too gimmicky. Either way, it's Bob Melvin's award to lose, and the only way he does is if Seattle takes the 2nd wild card (at which point Scott Servais would be in the running as manager of the team that crushed its pythag record).

*

 

[ookami7m]

There has to be a force play at 3rd base to enact the infield fly rule. That would be the difference between allowing this and calling some other play a pop out.

*

If it touches the glove and is dropped then yes the ump can call the batter out and a dead ball. Utley got caught doing that last year. As FFA points out you have to have 2 runners on and less than 2 outs for the infield fly rule.

 

[jon abbey]

Nats Town had a big walkoff HR Wednesday down to their last out, flipping a loss against PHI to a big win. That was the turning point in their season, catapuling them to...

oh, wait, actually they've been shut out three consecutive times since.

 

[hbk72777]

This is "He used to play for the Red Sox" bias to an extreme degree.

The A's have a playoff spot all but locked up -- which no suspected would be possible -- and still have a shot at a division title, in a division with the defending WS champions. That easily betters what Cash has done.

Besides, Oakland's manager also played for the Red Sox

Um, I hate the Red Sox.. I don't even remember Cash's career at all.

But you have the Rays with a rotation consisting of Blake Snell and RELIEVERS . That's it. They don't have a star batter like Kris Davis. They didn't add Famillia, Rodney, Kelley and Fiers , in fact, they traded Ramos for a player to be named, Venters for slot money etc, major league players gone for essentially nothing that helps them this year.


That doesn't even include what they did in the offseason


"Over the last four days, the Rays have jettisoned three key pieces of their 2017 roster: designated hitter Corey Dickerson (designated for assignment), starter Jake Odorizzi (traded to Minnesota) and outfielder Steven Souza (sent to Arizona in a three-team swap). That comes on the heels of the December deal in which they dumped face of the franchise Evan Longoria on San Francisco in exchange for three prospects and Denard Span, and a late November trade of former closer Brad Boxberger to the Diamondbacks. The team has also waved goodbye, via free agency, to starter Alex Cobb, first basemen Logan Morrison and Lucas Duda, and relievers Steve Cishek and Tommy Hunter.

To replace all of those outgoing names, the Rays have done … well, nothing."


I've never seen a team dump almost their entire roster, put in scrubs and still compete.

 

[hbk72777]

 

[jon abbey]

Matt Holliday got signed by his old Rockies team recently, and just got activated a few days ago. Tonight he hit a pinch-hit HR at Coors to give COL a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 7th against the red hot Cards, happy for him.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Jansen gave up yet another home run tonight, blowing the save against SD. It's in extras.

 

[ledsox]

40,000 in the dark in LA now. The power went out again at Dodger Stadium. It's 4-4 in the 12th and they are waiting.

 

[soxhop411]

40,000 in the dark in LA now. The power went out again at Dodger Stadium. It's 4-4 in the 12th and they are waiting.

Someone forgot to pay the power bill...

 

[jon abbey]

Edwin Diaz got his 50th save, 14th time it’s been done. In other news, it is August 25.

 

[VORP Speed]

Um, I hate the Red Sox.. I don't even remember Cash's career at all.

But you have the Rays with a rotation consisting of Blake Snell and RELIEVERS . That's it. They don't have a star batter like Kris Davis. They didn't add Famillia, Rodney, Kelley and Fiers , in fact, they traded Ramos for a player to be named, Venters for slot money etc, major league players gone for essentially nothing that helps them this year.


That doesn't even include what they did in the offseason


"Over the last four days, the Rays have jettisoned three key pieces of their 2017 roster: designated hitter Corey Dickerson (designated for assignment), starter Jake Odorizzi (traded to Minnesota) and outfielder Steven Souza (sent to Arizona in a three-team swap). That comes on the heels of the December deal in which they dumped face of the franchise Evan Longoria on San Francisco in exchange for three prospects and Denard Span, and a late November trade of former closer Brad Boxberger to the Diamondbacks. The team has also waved goodbye, via free agency, to starter Alex Cobb, first basemen Logan Morrison and Lucas Duda, and relievers Steve Cishek and Tommy Hunter.

To replace all of those outgoing names, the Rays have done … well, nothing."


I've never seen a team dump almost their entire roster, put in scrubs and still compete.

It’s almost like the Rays’ front office knows what they’re doing....

 

[jon abbey]

It’s almost like the Rays’ front office knows what they’re doing....

Yeah, to me, it's never so easy to figure out the split between front office and manager, but I would credit TB's front office more than Cash and I think Oakland's manager more than Beane and his GM.

 

[hbk72777]

Who came up with the relievers starting the game thing?

Because so far, THAT'S the biggest reason for their success

(as they sweep the best team in baseball, and perhaps one of the best (record wise) of all time)

 

[jon abbey]

Nats not doing a great job spreading around their runs this series, they scored one run total in the first 25 innings against the Mets, then 14 in the final two innings. So they have outscored the Mets 15-6 but will lose the series.

 

[Sad Sam Jones]

Since I complained about Jason Kipnis' lack of offense earlier today, he's gone 4-for-5, capping it off with an inside-the-park home run that ricocheted off the top of the fence in the right field corner at Kansas City. The only out he's made was actually a line drive played on the short hop in the outfield, but since there was a runner on first, and it took so long to rule whether it was caught or not, it was turned into a force out at second base. Kip can't complain too much though, because he also sliced a bloop single and received a gift double when the center fielder lost a fly ball in the sun.

*

 

[jon abbey]

"With their loss to the Cubs today, the Reds are now 1-17 in games started by Homer Bailey in 2018. This is now the most team losses through 18 starts of an individual pitcher's season in the live-ball era."

They are 55-58 in games not started by Bailey, talk about an anchor.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

"With their loss to the Cubs today, the Reds are now 1-17 in games started by Homer Bailey in 2018. This is now the most team losses through 18 starts of an individual pitcher's season in the live-ball era."

They are 55-58 in games not started by Bailey, talk about an anchor.

At least he only makes $21 million(23 next season)

 

[VORP Speed]

Who came up with the relievers starting the game thing?

Because so far, THAT'S the biggest reason for their success

(as they sweep the best team in baseball, and perhaps one of the best (record wise) of all time)

Everything the Rays do comes down from the front office. Lots of collaboration between analytics team, GM/baseball ops, and on-field coaching staff, but Cash doesn’t just come up with something like that on his own. He gets credit for being willing to implement forward thinking strategies and be the face of it, but that’s also pretty explicitly part of the deal if you take the Rays job.
The quant nerds in the front office identified the 3rd time through the order effect a few years ago and they had been steadily moving towards reducing the length of starts for awhile before making the leap this year that you could squeeze a little more out of your weakest “starters” if they actually began by facing the bottom of the order...so they can go 2.5x through the lineup without facing the good hitters 3x.

 

[jon abbey]

The Rays have a killer system also, still can't believe what they got for The Artist Formerly Known As Chris Archer (shelled again today).

 

[DanoooME]

Someone forgot to pay the power bill...

If Frank McCourt still owned the Dodgers, I'd totally believe this.

"With their loss to the Cubs today, the Reds are now 1-17 in games started by Homer Bailey in 2018. This is now the most team losses through 18 starts of an individual pitcher's season in the live-ball era."

They are 55-58 in games not started by Bailey, talk about an anchor.

Sadly in Anthony Young's 1993 1-16 season, he only started 10 times and the team went 0-10.

Edit: If you throw in his last 9 starts in 1992, the Mets went 1-8 in those too. I know it said individual season, but thought I'd point it out anyway. Amazingly, after he started 2-8 in 1992 as a starter, the Mets made him a closer in July. He racked up 12 saves into the beginning of September without blowing one and then blew 5 down the stretch. Young's career is just fascinating to me.

 

[curly2]

Cool throwbacks for the Angels tonight.

 

[SemperFidelisSox]

The Astros are back healthy and back thumping. Overcame an early 4-0 deficit against Oakland. Six game win streak since Altuve came off the DL.

 

[Remagellan]

Mike Schildt is interim no longer as the Cards have removed that designation from his title. Well deserved given how the team has responded to him.

 

[DJnVa]

Not yet, but they look done. The Cardinals went in there and destroyed them.

Oops

 

[jon abbey]

Franmil Reyes on SD has an impressive 15 HRs in just 179 ABs, but somehow only has 23 RBIs. That is not easy to do.

 

[DeadlySplitter]

the Dodger bullpen is back at it against the Mets. 1-1 game again to the 9th (to be fair, deGrom started)... Jansen was not available due to pitching the previous 3 days, all 3-2 Dodger wins... so they went to converted starter Maeda who I think is the 8th inning guy right now....

double, sacrifice, HBP, 3-run bomb