This Week in Baseball 5/11 - 5/17

[A Happy Medium]

The Rangers are 22-14.

In his last few starts, Matt Harrison is pitching an awful lot like Mark Buerhle right now. If you squint your eyes he actually looks a bit like him, too. He's a lefty that takes the ball and pitches quickly, getting ahead with his fastball. I'm really digging him.

Both Vicente Padilla and Kevin Millwood are in contract years, I believe, which is making them actually get down to pitching.

The new idea is to let the starters set out to go nine innings, which I like. The idea scares the hell out of me at the same time. I'm worried about those arms and bodies getting tired in August night games, where the field temperature is over 100 degrees. Right now, the Rangers are getting it done with something I have never seen them do. It's good pitching, and good defense. Right now, I believe this team will win ninety games, and make a good challenge on the Angels and whoever comes out of the East for the wild card.

 

[alkeiper]

Caught the Lackey thing on the MLB Network. The Angels sure showed Ian Kinsler, didn't they? That will teach him to hit two home runs.

Rehab-mania today. I've got Chien-Ming Wang, Travis Hafner, and Brian Bruney in the same doubleheader.

 

[Dobbs3K]

I was just going to mention the Lackey thing. That was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen in sports.

I can't believe that was intentional. Why would a returning starting pitcher risk ejection facing the first batter? I think he just didn't have his control yet.

As far as the Cardinals' beef with the Brewers...it's pretty dumb. I think their announcers and the majority of their fans don't realize Mike Cameron started it as a tribute to his dad, and has been doing it for years. I know the Mets used to do it sometimes when he was with them, so it's not like this a brand new thing the Brewers came up with just to offend "the best fans in baseball."

 

[snuffbox]

Remember when Prince Fielder tipped his hat to the Cub that spectacularly caught his would-be grand slam? What a dickface.

 

[naiwf]

I was just going to mention the Lackey thing. That was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen in sports.

I can't believe that was intentional. Why would a returning starting pitcher risk ejection facing the first batter? I think he just didn't have his control yet.

As far as the Cardinals' beef with the Brewers...it's pretty dumb. I think their announcers and the majority of their fans don't realize Mike Cameron started it as a tribute to his dad, and has been doing it for years. I know the Mets used to do it sometimes when he was with them, so it's not like this a brand new thing the Brewers came up with just to offend "the best fans in baseball."

He threw one behind Kinsler and then hit him in the side. I don't think a major league caliber pitcher misses by that much and in that way twice in a row by accident. Lackey wasn't some young kid making his first appearance in the league. It looked intentional, especially after Kinsler hit 2 homers the game before.

 

[Bored]

John Lackey went to the A.J. Pierzynski School of Baseball Douchebags. There is no doubt he was throwing at him both times.

 

[Kageho]

I had no problem myself when I saw the throw behind Kinsler, that one looked like it kinda got away from him. The problem was, it was head high. You throw like that, you better not be trying to throw another pitch on the inside that you just admit that you were having troubles with on the previous pitch. As Lackey indicated both were trying to be the same pitch. If I'm a pitcher, and the first inside two seamer I throw misses that widely, I throw something totally else on the outside. There is no way in hell I turn around and throw another one inside when I've already missed that badly.

I don't really think it was totally intentional, I do think Lackey didn't mind he did it, but you just don't do stupid things like that. You really don't. Especially right after the high fastball miss. That's just asking for being ejected. The other reason why it would be looked as intentionaly, is the catcher on the first pitch knew exactly where that first pitch was going. It wasn't like "oh shit" it was like "goo goo g'job, now let's do that again" and set up right on the inner part of the plate.

If I recall, Lackey now has the honored privilege of joining Zach Day (at least I think it was him) from 2005 as a pitcher who left after only throwing two pitches. Think Day though has the excuse of being injured.

 

[Czech]

As far as the Cardinals' beef with the Brewers...it's pretty dumb. I think their announcers and the majority of their fans don't realize Mike Cameron started it as a tribute to his dad, and has been doing it for years. I know the Mets used to do it sometimes when he was with them, so it's not like this a brand new thing the Brewers came up with just to offend "the best fans in baseball."

Yeah, and I've seen other players elsewhere do it and nobody really cared. Part of the problem is the Brewers made a big "thing" out of doing it, and any team-wide premeditated taunt or something is going to piss off other teams (though I don't care about these things; win if you don't like it). Another part of the problem is that Ryan Braun could rescue a puppy from a burning house and still exude dickishness.

 

[Loaded Glove]

Interesting situation in the Dodgers game right now. Clayton Kershaw has a no-hitter through 7 innings. He's already thrown 108 pitches, which ties his career high.

So what do you do here? Leave your 21-year-old in so he can attempt to make history or take him out and try not to wear him out. He just struck out the side in the 7th so he hasn't lost anything as his pitch count went up. Is pitch count overrated? Can ONE game with a shitload of pitches really "Mark Prior" a guy?

He's coming up to bat in the 8th so it looks like they're keeping him in anyway, but it's an interesting dilemma.

 

[Dandy]

I would have someone getting loose in the pen so that he may come out as soon as he gives up a hit or recognizes he needs to come out due to discomfort. Pitch counts are a loose guideline that you should go by, but the pitch count limits have discouraged the development of some young arms in my opinion. The pitchers plateau at the pitch count they have been given over the years of development, justifying said pitch count. Had the pitch count been increased incrementally until they were 25 pitches higher than what they were at previously, who is to say they would not plateau at the new limit? Nolan Ryan is trying to get the Rangers organization to let the guys pitch more than 100 pitches as they are developing.

The thing I wonder about pitch counts is if someone is counting every pitch they make through the day, including the number of throws it takes to get loose, and then the 6-8 pitches they take before each inning.

 

[JHawk]

The umpiring crew for Indians-Rays just missed one horribly for the second time this series.

After completely blowing a call at home plate Friday night that went against Cleveland, this time with Cleveland trailing by two in the 8th, a fly ball hits the fence well behind Crawford's glove, hits Crawford's bare hand, then lands in his glove. Crawford doesn't even try to decoy it and throws into second base where Ryan Garko is now standing...and the umpire calls him out.

If that's not bad enough, the umpires conference for about three minutes, and apparently even though the fielder who allegedly made the catch didn't make any effort to make anybody even believe he caught the ball, and the fact that over 30,000 people with worse views saw the ball hit the fence, the four people who actually matter didn't see it and the call stood.

It's not reviewable because it's not a home run call. It's not protestable because it's considered a judgment call, even though to me "hit the fence" and "hit the outfielder's glove" is pretty black and white and not exactly up to judgment.

Then Eric Wedge argues the call for almost five minutes and doesn't get tossed, which pretty much means "We might have fucked it up but we can't tell for sure". When the manager says "How come half our dugout saw it hit the fence but none of the four of you did?" and doesn't get run, there's some doubt as to whether the call was right or not.

Horrific umpiring in a key point of the game.

 

[alkeiper]

Interesting situation in the Dodgers game right now. Clayton Kershaw has a no-hitter through 7 innings. He's already thrown 108 pitches, which ties his career high.

So what do you do here? Leave your 21-year-old in so he can attempt to make history or take him out and try not to wear him out. He just struck out the side in the 7th so he hasn't lost anything as his pitch count went up. Is pitch count overrated? Can ONE game with a shitload of pitches really "Mark Prior" a guy?

He's coming up to bat in the 8th so it looks like they're keeping him in anyway, but it's an interesting dilemma.

I remember Bud Smith throwing 130+ pitches in his no-hit effort against the Padres in 2001, and he never seemed to be the same pitcher. He was clearly laboring through the 9th.

 

[jimmy no nose]

Rockies pitcher Matt Daley got injured by stepping on a bat trying to cover home plate that the umpire kicked right into him. It was such unbelievable timing that I don[t think you could even do it on purpose. It was a pretty interesting inning as the same pinch hitter ended up hitting twice without an out being recorded.

http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=4610583

 

[devo]

Either there's something wrong with ESPN's radar gun or Matt Cain has a 92 MPH curveball.