At Last....

I can hear the music now, Etta James singing each word.

"At last my love has come along
My lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah
At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up clover the night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to, "

I have finally won my fantasy baseball championship. I celebrate this moment with my son Kevin, my co manager, my baseball guru, my friend.  Kevin, we have finally done it.


My son christened this franchise "Elephants on Acid", and I must admit it took mea long time to get used to that acronym, but it stuck, and I grew to like it.

Here is how it played out. First off we had to play our way into the World Series, we had to defeat a mighty warrior, winner of many championships.

 
Standings, Pitching            W   L   pct.  GB   ERA  CG ShO  RS  Sv   IP     R   ER   H   BA   BB   K  WP
 4  Elephants on Acid           4   0 1.000  -    2.49  0   0  4.8  3   47     14  13   51 .270  19   53  0
 8  Rainy Day Women             0   4  .000  4    3.60  0   0  3.5  0   45     19  18   48 .267  18   57  1
 
    AB    R    H   D   T  HR  RBI  BB   K   BA  OBA  SlgA  SH  F SF GDP  SB  CS  LOB  OP  DP  E  OSB OCS PB
 4  180   19   48  10  0   9   19  18   57 .267 .333 .472   2  1  0   4   0   0   46   0   4   2   1   1  0
 8  189   14   51  10  0   5   13  19   53 .270 .337 .402   0  0  0   4   1   1   53   3   4   3   0   0  1

 4  Jim McCullough            4-0:  @8 3-2, @8 6-5(18), 8 6-4, 8 4-3(11).
 8  Glen Dundas               0-4:  4 2-3, 4 5-6(18), @4 4-6, @4 3-4(11)

then having slayed the dragon, 

Standings, Pitching            W   L   pct.  GB   ERA  CG ShO  RS  Sv   IP     R   ER   H   BA   BB   K  WP
 4  Elephants on Acid           4   2  .667  -    3.79  0   0  6.0  3   57     26  24   62 .264  22   66  2
 5  One Night Stanton           2   4  .333  2    5.30  0   0  4.3  1   56     36  33   62 .278  19   52  1
 
    AB    R    H   D   T  HR  RBI  BB   K   BA  OBA  SlgA  SH  F SF GDP  SB  CS  LOB  OP  DP  E  OSB OCS PB
 4  223   36   62  10  0  14   36  19   52 .278 .331 .511   0  0  3   7   0   0   41   1   2   6   3   0  1
 5  235   26   62  11  1  11   26  22   66 .264 .326 .460   1  0  1   2   3   0   62   5   7   3   0   0  1

 4  Jim McCullough            4-2:  @5 3-4(13), @5 7-4, 5 4-5, 5 3-2, 5 10-4, @5 9-7.
 5  Bruce Luebke              2-4:  4 4-3(13), 4 4-7, @4 5-4, @4 2-3, @4 4-10, 4 7-9.

The true hero is my son, Kevin, who I promised 7 or 8 years ago, that we would win the title,

and keeping me to my promise, with encouragement and love. 

For without his encouragement, I would have thrown in the towel years ago. 

We were close but no cigar many times, then lean years, then ultimately a trade in June 

and the emergence of a young rookie Yordan Alvarez, with the Houston Astros, who appeared on 

the stage like a lightening bolt. 

I have no photographic evidence of the players, but I will post a few pictures of some of

the stars of the season.

Gerrit Cole won 15 regular season games then won twice in post season play.

Jose Altuve, acquired in a mid season trade, led the way with 31 home runs and his usual stellar defense.

Lucas Giolito, the difference maker, broke onto the scene with
a spectacular season, winning 11 games before an injury in mid September cut short his season.

Andrew Benintendi, the rocket in left field with his defensive wizardry, and his efforts on the basepaths.

Young Cavan Biggio emerged as a steady bat off the bench, thereby enabling us to platoon him with other players.

Miguel Sano, who was an off season addition. I decided that we needed another big bat, so I took a chance in trading for Sano, he didn't disappoint,  giving me 34 home runs during the season.

Young Vladimir Guerrero jr, who was brought along slowly in the organization, then vaulted to stardom in late April.

 Yordan Alvarez, the true hero of the season, his contributions, his 23 home runs and .313 batting average in late June made the run possible. His massive home runs were without a doubt more majestic than others.  Well done Yordan.




Well, all I can say is , we'll be back in March redrafting again the balance of the team, ready to defend the championship.
Now, it's back to focusing on the real playoffs and real games.  Next blog, let us savor this victory for a time.  

Cardiac Cards Come Together

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cards Win a Wild Game One vs. Braves

The Braves had the Cardinals right where they wanted them in Game 1 of the NLDS on Thursday, carrying a 3-1 lead into the eighth inning. The back-end of the bullpen became a strength for the club after the July 31 trade deadline, so there was reason to have some confidence as Chris Martin made his way to the mound for his warm-up pitches. But the game went completely sideways from that point forward, resulting in a wild 7-6 win for the Cardinals.

Martin actually never threw a pitch in the eighth, as he suffered an oblique injury during his warm-ups. Luke Jackson took over from there and quickly gave up a homer to the first batter he faced, as Paul Goldschmidt crushed one over the left field fence. Paul DeJong and Kolten Wong kept the inning alive with consecutive two-out singles before Mark Melancon was asked to escape the jam. It didn’t happen, as Matt Carpenter dropped a sinking liner just inside the left field line, plating DeJong with the tying run before Wong was thrown out also trying to score.
Melancon stuck around for the ninth in a tie game, but he struggled to put the Cardinals away, loading the bases to set up a two-run double from Marcell Ozuna. It’s worth wondering why Braves manager Brian Snitker left Melancon in for so long, but he actually hung around for two more batters (an intentional walk to Yadier Molina and a strikeout of Paul DeJong) before Kolten Wong doubled in two more runs. Sean Newcomb finally put out the fire by striking out Cardinals closer Carlos Martinez.

The Braves actually made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, as Ronald Acuna, Jr. connected for a two-run blast against Martinez — and irked Martinez in the process — and Freddie Freeman added a long solo shot to center field. Facing a one-run deficit with one out, the Braves failed to put anything else together, as Josh Donaldson grounded out and Nick Markakis struck out to end it.

The starting pitchers didn’t last long in this one, as Miles Mikolas allowed one run in five innings while Dallas Keuchel yielded one run in 4 2/3 innings despite not striking out a batter. The Braves took advantage of some rare defensive miscues by Wong and DeJong to grab the early advantage.
In addition to losing Game 1 at home, the Braves’ bullpen now carries big question marks. Martin will almost certainly be replaced on the NLDS roster and Mark Melancon probably won’t be available to pitch in Game 2 on Friday after throwing 28 pitches on Thursday.
The Cardinals have put themselves in an enviable position indeed, as staff ace Jack Flaherty is lined up for Game 2. Mike Foltynewicz, who finished strong after returning from the minors, will start for the Braves. First pitch is scheduled for 4:37 p.m. ET.

Dodgers Cruise in Game 1 vs. Nats

With strong starting pitching and a power-packed lineup, the Dodgers posted an National League-best 59-22 record at home this season. They kept that formula going in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Nationals on Thursday, cruising to a 6-0 victory at Dodger Stadium.
Walker Buehler dominated, allowing just one hit — a leadoff single to Juan Soto in the second inning — in six innings while walking three and striking out eight. All three of those walks came in the fourth inning, as he induced a comebacker from Asdrubal Cabrera to escape a tough bases-loaded spot. That was the last major threat of the night for Washington, who managed just two hits on the night.
Patrick Corbin took the loss after allowing one run on three hits and five walks over six innings. Four of those walks came in the first inning, including a bases-loaded walk to Max Muncy. Muncy would later knock in two more runs with a single off Fernando Rodney in the seventh. The Dodgers blew things open in the eighth against Hunter Strickland, as rookie Gavin Lux slugged a pinch-hit solo shot and Joc Pederson hit one off the right field foul pole for a solo homer of his own. Lux, still just 21 years old, is now the youngest player in franchise history with a postseason homer.
After Buehler exited at 100 pitches, Adam Kolarek, Kenta Maeda, and Joe Kelly combined to allow just one baserunner — a single off Kelly in the ninth — with five strikeouts over three scoreless frames to close out the series-opening victory. Buehler essentially picked up from where he left off last postseason, where he threw seven scoreless innings against the Red Sox in Game 3 of the World Series.

After throwing 33 pitches over three scoreless innings for the win in Tuesday’s NL Wild Card game against the Brewers, Stephen Strasburg will try to even things up in Game 2 on Friday night. It doesn’t get any easier for the Nationals, as Clayton Kershaw will make the start for the Dodgers. Taking place at 9:37 p.m. ET, it will be the fourth and final division series game of the day. Get ready for one of the best baseball days of the year.

AL Quick Hits: Jose Berrios will start Game 1 of the ALDS for the Twins while the Yankees will counter with James Paxton … Tyler Glasnow will get the nod to start Game 1 of the ALDS for the Rays while the Astros are going with Justin Verlander … Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said that Luis Arraez (ankle) could still be on the ALDS roster … CC Sabathia will not be on the Yankees’ roster for the ALDS … Adalberto Mondesi is expected to require 5-6 months of recovery time after undergoing a labrum repair on his left shoulder on Thursday, but the Royals are still hopeful he could be ready for Opening Day.

Hey Mickey

 NL Quick Hits: The Mets fired manager Mickey Callaway after he posted a 163-161 record over two seasons on the job … In discussing the Mets’ season, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the club intends to have both Noah Syndergaard and Edwin Diaz on the team next year … Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that it’s very unlikely that Alex Verdugo (oblique, back) will be able to return during the postseason … After letting go of manager Clint Hurdle, the Pirates have also parted ways with pitching coach Ray Searage and bench coach Tom Prince … Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that Brad Ausmus is expected to interview for the Padres’ managerial vacancy.

It will come out in the Wash

The stage is set. The competitors are ready. After seven grueling months, the MLB postseason officially begins on Tuesday as the Nationals host the Brewers for the National League Wild Card Game.
The Nationals enter the game as a very heavy betting favorite (-180) thanks in large part to the right arm of starting pitcher Max Scherzer. The three-time Cy Young Award winner and seven-time All-Star hasn’t quite lived up to his unrealistic expectations this season though, posting a still terrific 2.92 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 243/33 K/BB ratio across 172 ⅓ innings.
Since returning from the injured list with his back injury though, Scherzer has registered an underwhelming 4.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 54/8 K/BB ratio over 38 innings in seven starts.
He’s clearly the Nationals’ guy, and the one they want with the ball in his hand in this must-win situation, but Nationals’ manager Dave Martinez also has Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin at his disposal on Tuesday. If Scherzer struggles early on in the game, or doesn’t look like himself, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Martinez employ a quick hook.
Checking out how this version of the Brewers’ lineup -- sans Christian Yelich -- matches up against Scherzer historically, it has been a comedy of epic proportions. Here’s a glimpse:

Mike Moustakas - .167/.189/.278, 11/1 K/BB in 37 PA

Yasmani Grandal - .063/.167/.063, 9/2 K/BB in 19 PA

Lorenzo Cain - .000/.063/.000, 7/0 K/BB in 16 PA

Ryan Braun - .000/.000/.000, 5/0 K/BB in 14 PA

Eric Thames - .333/.455/.566, 3/2 K/BB in 11 PA

Sure, there’s some small sample sizes in there, and Scherzer isn’t at his best at the moment, but that’s not very encouraging if you’re a Brewers’ fan. Even with that limited data, it would be shocking if Eric Thames didn’t find his way into the Brewers’ lineup for this one.
Brewers’ manager Craig Counsell also announced Monday that both Lorenzo Cain (ankle) and Ryan Braun (calf) will be ready to return to the starting lineup for Tuesday’s critical battle.
On the other side, it will be an all-around team effort for the Brewers’ pitching staff in trying to silence a Nationals’ offensive attack that outscored every team in the Senior Circuit except the Dodgers during the regular season.
Brandon Woodruff will get the ball to start the game for the Brewers, and he’s expected to work at least the first couple of innings. The 26-year-old right-hander has been terrific this season, compiling a 3.62 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 143/30 K/BB ratio across 121 ⅔ innings. He also missed a couple of months of action with an oblique strain though, and since returning on September 17 he has made only two starts -- throwing two scoreless innings in each with a 7/1 K/BB ratio over those four frames. Woodruff threw 37 and 38 pitches respectively in those two outings.

As we did with Scherzer on the other side, we can take a quick look at how the Nationals have fared against the Brewers’ hurler in the past, though the data on that side is even more limited:
Anthony Rendon - .111/.111/.111, 2/0 K/BB in 9 PA

Adam Eaton - .167/.167/.167, 3/0 K/BB ratio in 6 PA

Trea Turner - .167/.167/.167, 1/0 K/BB in 6 PA

Brian Dozier - .500/.600/1.250 (with the team’s only HR), 1/0 K/BB in 5 PA

Ryan Zimmerman - .250/.400/.250, 1/0 K/BB in 5 PA

There are few things in the world more exciting than postseason baseball. It all begins on Tuesday as these two squads battle for the right to take on the Dodgers in the National League Division Series.

 I am picking Washington Nationals to prevail.

Ausmus Out ?

Buster Olney of ESPN reported late Sunday that the job of Angels’ manager Brad Ausmus could be in jeopardy after just one season at the helm.
By Monday afternoon, that fate had been sealed, as Ausmus was officially dismissed from his job as the Angels’ manager. He received a three-year deal from the Angels to replace Mike Scioscia last winter.
In his first season on the job with the Angels, Ausmus posted a disappointing 72-90 record, marking the first time that the Angels have lost 90 games in a season in the last 20 years.
While Ausmus is out, the man that hired him (general manager Billy Eppler) will reportedly retain his job. Eppler of course, is the guy who tried to fix the Angels’ pitching problems last offseason by handing $28.5 million to the trio of Matt Harvey, Cody Allen and Trevor Cahill -- only to see the right-hander’s combine to register a 6.37 ERA across 185 innings, ultimately resulting in Allen and Harvey getting released.
Billy Eppler should be gone as well.

Nearly all of the initial speculation has revolved around Joe Maddon, who has an extensive history with the organization. Maddon coached in the Angels’ organization for 31 years -- and was briefly the interim manager there during both the 1996 and 1999 seasons. He left the Halos when he took his first managerial job with the Rays in 2006.
While nothing is set in stone, there’s certainly a lot of momentum building here, to the point where it would be surprising if Joe Maddon wasn’t named as the next manager of the Los Angeles Angels.
Meanwhile in Chicago, Cubs’ president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told reporters on Monday that interviews with candidates to replace Maddon will begin next week. Mark Loretta is believed to be an in-house candidate who will be interviewed for the gig while Joe Girardi and David Ross are also gaining traction to be the team’s next manager.

Keeping Rendon

Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post reported Monday that the Nationals have offered superstar third baseman Anthony Rendon a seven-year contract in the range of $210 to $215 million.
The offer reportedly came in early September. Rendon, who is coming off the best season of his career in which he hit .319/.412/.598 with career highs in home runs (34), runs (117) and a league-leading 126 RBI.
While Rendon is interested in remaining in Washington, he's also planning to explore the free agent market to see what kind of deals are out there. He and his agent Scott Boras are reportedly seeking something similar to the eight-year, $260 million extension that Nolan Arenado received from the Rockies.
Depending on how far the Nationals advance in the postseason, he’ll have more time to showcase his elite talents for potential suitors while attempting to lead the Nats to a World Series title.

American League Quick Hits: Edwin Encarnacion (oblique) will start taking simulated at-bats on Tuesday in New York. He’s still expected to be ready for the start of the ALDS, but the Yankees won’t make an official determination on his status until seeing how he feels on Wednesday… Red Sox’ assistant general manager Brian O’Halloran announced Monday that the team expects Chris Sale (elbow) to be healthy entering spring training. While that sounds nice, he has still yet to have his follow-up visit with Dr. James Andrews and hasn’t resumed throwing, so that optimism should be taken with a grain of salt… Red Sox’ president and CEO Sam Kennedy said Monday that while there is a way to keep both Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, it will be difficult. The Red Sox are trying to get under the luxury tax threshold, and it seems likely that one of them will be donning a new uniform next season… Mitch Haniger (back, groin) is expected to be fully healthy for the start of spring training… The Orioles sent Chandler Shepherd outright to Triple-A Norfolk… Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported that the Mariners will reassign pitching coach Paul Davis within the organization while parting ways with third base coach Chris Prieto and bullpen coach Jim Bower… 

National League Quick Hits: The Braves announced Monday that Freddie Freeman may need offseason surgery to address the bone spurs in his right elbow. He says he feels fine -- and he’ll be able to play through the postseason -- but the issue will need to be corrected prior to the start of the 2020 season… Andy Martino of SNY writes that Noah Syndergaard is “unlikely to be the subject of trade rumors this offseason… Martino also notes that the Mets and Zack Wheeler’s agent discussed parameters for a possible contract extension in July, though they never came close to an agreement… Ken Rosenthal and Robert Murray of The Athletic reported that the Diamondbacks have cut ties with pitching coach Mike Butcher after four seasons in that role… Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told reporters on Monday that there is no surgery planned on Javier Baez's left thumb… Epstein also announced that Kris Bryant is not expected to require surgery on his injured ankle.

Meaning they want to get him healthy so they can trade him for pitching.

The turning of the page

Ordinary Joe

From the moment Joe Maddon joined the Chicago Cubs, taking the reins in a Wrigley ville bar five years ago, he talked about winning.

He was the right manager at the right time for a franchise that had experienced mostly terrible timing for more than a century. Right until his time in Chicago ran out.

The Cubs will have a new manager next season after Maddon and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein announced Sunday it was time for a change. 

Three years of declining results following the franchise’s historic World Series championship in 2016.

 The situation was finalized when Maddon and Epstein met in Epstein’s hotel room after the Cubs’ 8-6 victory at St. Louis on Saturday, sharing some wine and reminiscing about their successful five-year partnership.

 Maddon’s contract expired after the Cubs’ 9-0 loss to the Cardinals in Sunday’s season finale, which clinched the NL West title for St. Louis.

 ‘‘Change can help you grow,’’ Epstein said. ‘‘And Joe said this change is going to help him grow and I feel it’s going to help the Cubs grow, too.’’

The move begins what could be an active offseason for the Cubs, and the 65-year-old Maddon once again becomes one of baseball’s top free agents.

‘‘I want to continue to do this, whatever’s next out there, I want to be able to be on top of that too,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘All of it’s been positive, man, and it’s been interesting, entertaining and quite frankly for this time of year, feeling pretty good, feeling pretty eager about everything, so it’s been a good year.’’

While Maddon is out after five seasons, he is tied to Chicago forever after managing the Cubs to the franchise’s first title in 108 years.

Chicago also made it to the NL Championship Series in 2015 and 2017, but it lost in the wild-card round last October and tumbled out of the playoff race altogether this year. Weighed down by a puzzling discrepancy between their 51 wins at Wrigley Field and 33 road victories heading into the finale, the Cubs finished third in the NL Central.

‘‘You look at the home and road splits and what we've done on the road . . . I mean these are like some really crazy, hard-to-wrap-your-mind-around things,’’ Maddon said this month. ‘‘I don’t know if somebody’s going to dig deeply enough to really figure it out, but it’s really, just to have your mind try to extrapolate what is going on here, it’s hard to pinpoint anything.’’

The Cubs were in position to make the playoffs for much of this season. They had a half-game lead in the NL Central on Aug. 22. They had control of an NL wild card into September.

But a nine-game slide, including five consecutive one-run losses for the first time since 1915, wiped out their postseason chances and sealed Maddon’s fate.

Even with the disappointing finish each of the past two years, Maddon likely will have plenty of suitors. And there will be a ton of interest in the Cubs’ job.

‘‘Oh yeah, I don’t want to wait. I'm ready,’’ Maddon said.

 The last time Maddon was available, Epstein fired Rick Renteria after just one year to create an opening in Chicago.

Stay Tuned

Give it to the King

 

 

The King’s Court

Felix Hernandez made what will likely be his final start for the Mariners on Thursday, allowing three runs over 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Athletics.

The final line doesn't matter, nor do the unsightly numbers he'll finish this season with. What will be remembered about this night is King Felix's exit as he walked off the T-Mobile Park mound for the last time, hugging his teammates as he continued to wipe tears away with his sleeves, and the curtain call from grateful Mariners fans chanting "Thank you, Felix" as he waved one final goodbye.

The Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star will finish his brilliant 15-year career -- assuming he's done; Thursday sure felt like a sendoff -- having won 169 games with a 3.42 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 2,521 strikeouts in 2,724 1/3 innings of work in a Mariners uniform. Per STATS, he's the only pitcher in MLB history to win a Cy Young, throw a perfect game and strike out more than 2,500 batters for one team.

Despite pitching 15 seasons in the big leagues, Hernandez is still only 33-years-old, so it's in the realm of possibility that he'll look to continue his playing career elsewhere in 2020. He admitted as much after the game, telling reporters that he still feels as though he can compete and does not intend to retire after this season. He finished an injury-plagued 2019 season with a 1-8 record and an unsightly 6.40 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 57/25 K/BB ratio over 71 2/3 innings in his 15 starts.
In the day and age off free agency though, it would look awfully strange to see Hernandez donning any jersey other than the Mariners'.
Long live the King.

Twins Slug 300th HR

Even on a day where the Twins rested most of their regular starters after clinching a division title, they were still setting records on offense in Thursday’s victory over the Tigers.

The Twins and Yankees each entered the day on Thursday tied with 299 home runs on the season. With the Bombers idle, the Twins needed just one long ball against Jordan Zimmermann and company to become the first team in big league history to blast 300 home runs in a single season.

It took awhile to get the job done, but eventually it would get done. Jonathan Schoop crushed the first pitch that he saw from Jose Cisnero in the seventh inning for a no-doubt two-run blast -- increasing the Twins’ lead in the contest to 8-4.
When asked about it after the game, Schoop made sure to acknowledge that it has been an unbelievable team effort to achieve this milestone, "It's not only me, so I cannot take the credit for myself… I cannot hit 300 home runs by myself. It's my teammates. I'm lucky enough that I hit the 300th home run, but it's all teamwork. We're all in history because we all did it together. I'm happy. I'm happy that I did it, but it's teamwork.”

Willians Astudillo tacked onto the record in the eighth inning with a solo shot off of Zac Reininger. Which, what else would you expect from a team that has averaged two home runs per game the entire season.
The Twins will now have a two homer head start against the Yankees heading into the weekend for the battle of ultimate home run supremacy. The Twins will wrap up the season with a three-game series against the Royals in Kansas City over the weekend while the Yankees will battle the Rangers in Arlington.
The Twins also have a chance to make more history as a team over the weekend. They are currently sitting on 99 wins on the season -- which is the second highest total in franchise history. If they sweep the Royals, they’ll match the 1965 Twins that ultimately fell to the Dodgers in the World Series.
Just one more victory over the weekend would give rookie manager Rocco Baldelli his 100th victory of the season, which would set a new franchise record for a manager in his first season on the job.

Getting that W

Stephen Strasburg delivered another outstanding performance in Thursday’s victory over the Phillies, striking out 10 over six innings of one-run baseball. The only blemish against him on the afternoon was a solo shot off the bat of Cesar Hernandez.
With the victory, Strasburg now sits at 18-6 on the season with a 3.32 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and a career-high 251 strikeouts over 209 innings. The 18 victories are tops among all National League hurlers. Max Fried trails him by one victory, though he’s not scheduled to start over the weekend, meaning that Strasburg is likely to remain atop the heap.
He may even get another opportunity to earn another victory. Though it’s assumed that Max Scherzer would start for the Nationals in the Wild Card Game, with the way that Strasburg is throwing the ball currently, he has to be in the conversation as well. Strasburg has already stated that he’d be willing to work out of the bullpen in that game as well.
The 31-year-old right-hander remained healthy throughout the 2019 season, and in turn blew his average draft position completely out of the water. He finished the draft season as the 18th starting pitcher off the board, as he was selected just inside the top 60 players overall. He should go at least a full round higher next season.

American League Quick Hits: Khris Davis (flu) remained out of the Athletics’ lineup on Thursday. He’s considered day-to-day…. Mark Canha (groin) reported considerable improvement on Thursday and is tentatively expected to return to the A’s lineup on Friday… Shohei Ohtani (elbow, knee) was able to play light catch while sitting down on Wednesday -- the first step in his throwing program. He’s not expected to ramp up activity until mid-December… Carlos Correa (back) will not play over the final weekend of the regular season, but is expected to return or Game 1 of the ALDS next week… Willians Astudillo went 4-for-5 with a homer and four runs scored as the Twins walloped the Tigers… Mike Minor struck out nine batters over 8 ⅔ innings in a victory over the Red Sox, bringing his season total to 200. He needed 126 pitches to finally get the job done… Danny Santana blasted a grand slam in that victory -- his 27th home run of the season -- to pace the Rangers’ offense… James McCann smacked a three-run homer as the White Sox defeated the Indians -- and crushed their postseason hopes… Daniel Palka smacked a pair of solo home runs in that one… Matt Chapman clobbered a two-run homer as the Athletics beat the Mariners… Sean Manaea struck out five over six innings of one-run baseball in a win over the Mariners. He's now 4-0 on the season and could be the one to get the ball in next week's Wild Card Game... Kyle Tucker homered in back-to-back games for the first time in his big league career on Thursday.

National League Quick Hits: Eric Thames was removed from Thursday’s game against the Reds after one inning due to bilateral hamstring discomfort. He’s considered day-to-day… Jeff Hoffman (knee) is expected to start Sunday’s regular season finale against the Brewers… Trevor Gott underwent successful surgery on his left groin on Thursday… Justin Turner was held out of the Dodgers’ starting lineup on Thursday due to back tightness… Trevor Bauer’s final start of the season was pushed back until Sunday due to illness… The Phillies have opted to shut down Aaron Nola, scratching the right-hander from his scheduled start against the Marlins on Sunday… Tyler Beede was pulled from Thursday’s start with a left oblique injury. He’ll undergo an MRI on Friday… Jean Segura was removed from Thursday’s game against the Nationals with a right ankle sprain. With only three games left, the Phillies may simply play things cautiously and hold him out through the weekend… Robinson Cano was removed from Thursday’s game after being hit on the hand by a pitch… The Cubs announced that Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks will not make their final scheduled starts of the season… Cole Hamels (shoulder) will start against the Cardinals on Saturday... Orlando Arcia went 2-for-4 with a three-run double, leading the Brewers to victory over the Reds… Aristides Aquino went 3-for-5 and clubbed his 18th home run in a loss to the Brewers… Clayton Kershaw punched out seven over six shutout innings in a victory over the Padres… Mike Yastrzemski slugged his 21st home run as the Giants topped the Rockies… Zack Wheeler struck out 10 over eight innings of three-run baseball in a loss to the Marlins… Jordan Yamamoto punched out 10 while allowing just one hit over six shutout innings in a no-decision against the Mets… Tyler Heineman blasted a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning of that one… Pablo Reyes went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI as the Pirates beat the Cubs.

 Off for the weekend, next blog on Monday. Enjoy Life !

300

The year of the home run is obvious, so obvious it does not need mentioning.

What has also happened this year, is the year of the strikeout.

Gerritt Cole, currently of the Houston Astros, has reached the pinnacle of pinnacles, the magic number of 300 strikeouts in one season.

In his latest outing against the Seattle Mariners, he went 7 innings of 2 hit shutout ball and struck out 14 Mariners.
Not bad eh, it was the 20th time in which he has delivered double digit strikeouts,and by the way, since May 22nd he is undefeated.

MLB did something in 2008 that looked fairly unremarkable. The league set a new record for strikeout rate, bumping just a hair above the record of 17.3% after having spent the last decade bouncing back and forth within the boundaries of a single percentage point.

The 17.5% K-rate was not dramatically higher than the previous record from 2001. But it was the start of something big. Baseball broke this record again in 2009—and 2010, and 2011, and every year since, with no signs of stopping. It’s looked like an unrelenting march across the Land of Balls in Play to the Sea of Three True Outcomes.

The 2019 season has only offered more of the same. In fact, it’s offered dramatically more of the same. It’s not just that the game’s strikeout rate is on track to set a record for the 11th straight year; at this point, the simple existence of a new record hardly feels worth remarking on. No, it’s that the strikeout rate is on track to set a record by a margin that is nearly a record in its own right. Entering Wednesday, 23.2% of plate appearances have resulted in a K—0.9 percentage points above last season’s rate, which might not sound like very much, but on this scale, a tiny fraction can equal hundreds and hundreds of strikeouts. It’s tied for baseball’s eighth-highest increase, year over year, ever, and it’s the second highest in the last quarter-century. So… what does it mean? What does it look like?

And where is it going? 

What’s 0.9 Percentage Points, Anyway ?

Hey, I get it! An 0.9 percentage point increase sounds tiny—meaningless, even. Is 23.2% so different from 22.3%?

Over the course of a year, it’s a difference of roughly 1,700 strikeouts. It’s less than one for every game. But it’s more than one for every two games. When that’s happening on top of a number that was already a record high, it’s a shift big enough to feel. It’s enough to bring the seasonal total up to nearly 43,000, or roughly one per team per inning. And if it keeps going for another two seasons, it’ll be just about enough for one in every four plate appearances to end in a strikeout.
Of course, it’s not yet there, and it might never get there. Right now, though, it’s a place that baseball has never been before—0.9 percentage points above where it was last year. Sure, it’s a tiny fraction. It’s just one that happens to represent 1,700 K’s.

What’s Behind It?

First, an important caveat: It’s impossible to isolate any single factor here, and even if you could, an increase like this one almost certainly isn’t due to any single factor. It’s likely due to several, working together. We can’t separate variables in a lab to figure out exactly what’s going on here. But we can run down a couple of theories, checking out what the numbers say about the game right now compared to where it was last year:
Pitchers are throwing harder. Nope! This season has actually seen a tiny dip in average velocity. Which makes perfect sense, when you consider the next point…
Pitchers are moving away from the fastball and throwing different stuff. Yep. According to Baseball Savant, fastballs have made up just 58% of pitches this season. (That’s all fastballs: fourseamers, cutters, and sinkers.) This number is down from 60% last year and 62% in 2015. What’s made up the difference? There’ve been a few more curveballs and many more sliders. And those sliders have been harder to hit than ever before. Hitters have a .208 batting average on the pitch in 2019. This isn’t the answer, in and of itself, but it’s probably a small part of it.

There are more pitchers, period. Well, there are definitely more pitchers. There are tons of pitchers. Entering Tuesday—2019’s quarter-way mark—565 pitchers had appeared in a game. Rewind two decades-ish, to 1998, the first season with 30 clubs. There were 557 pitchers who appeared in a game over the course of that entire year. The 2018 season only just set the record here (799 pitchers) and it would not be remotely surprising for 2019 to break 800. So… yes, there are more pitchers. Are those pitchers better, though?

 That’s a different question.

As you’d expect, these additional pitchers are primarily reliever, as starters’ workloads shrink and teams rely on their bullpens more than ever.

As reported, however, the growth of and increased dependence on relief corps has coincided with these pitchers performing worse. In other words, there isn’t too much of a statistical gap anymore between the rotation and the ‘pen. It’s harder than ever to draw a line between the two groups. So this point might be a wash: There are more pitchers, which means more pitchers that hitters don’t recognize, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the net performance level here is higher.

Hitters are swinging more. Not so! In fact, they’re swinging a little bit less (46.1% of pitches, compared to last year’s 46.6%.)

Okay, hitters are chasing more. This one isn’t true, either. The decrease in total swings has included a dip in swings outside the zone: 30.2%, versus last year’s 30.9%.
So what’s the verdict? Probably a little of everything! There are more pitchers using more varied arsenals, with more hard-to-hit secondary stuff, and who knows what else. There’s a lot going on here. But it’s not simply “hitters worse, pitchers better.”

Has This Happened Before?


Kind of! From 1955 to 1967, the strikeout rate increased enough each season to set a new record for every year. Of course, the scale was different: The 1955 record was 11.4%, less than half of the current rate. (1967 finished at 15.9%.) That’s a big difference, but it wasn’t born of dramatic spikes; in that stretch, there was just one year-over-year increase as high as the one that baseball has seen this season, and in all, the difference between 1955’s and 1967’s K% is not as big as the difference between 2008’s and 2019’s.

And you thought I was going to critique the movie 300 !  LOL  Sorry, that's for another day.

The Swingin Friars take a fall

It’s been a few days, but I still find myself rather disgusted by the Andy Green firing in San Diego. Yeah, every time a bad team dismisses its manager/coach, there’s a course of “(insert your favorite choice here) couldn’t have won with that group.” I don’t like looking at it that way; a team’s win-loss record is an awfully poor reflection of a manager’s performance. Managers/coaches need to be judged on their own merits, and outsiders aren’t working with anything closer to perfect information there. Still, I think there’s reason to believe Green is a pretty good manager, and his firing is more of a case of GM A.J. Preller deflecting blame for the flawed major league teams he’s put together than anything else. Even though the Padres added one of the market’s very biggest free agents for the second straight winter, not much should have been expected from them this season. How could it be when this was the Opening Day rotation:

• Joey Lucchesi: Eight career MLB wins, simply not enough
• Eric Lauer: Six career MLB wins, barely visible
• Chris Paddack: Rookie who missed 2017 and totaled 90 innings in 2018, good but not much.
• Matt Strahm: Eight career MLB starts, painfully inadequate
• Nick Margevicius: Rookie who had never pitched above A-ball, woefully horrible stats

It looks like the rotation of a team that lost four guys to injuries in spring training, but that wasn’t the case here. Not only did Green have to hope for quality results from this crew, but he had to manage their workloads at the same time; not one of the five had ever topped 140 innings as a pro. The bullpen was going to have to be relied upon heavily, but outside of closer Kirby Yates and Craig Stammen, it was largely dreck. Of the other six relievers to make the team, only Robbie Erlin, Trey Wingenter and Adam Warren stuck around and all are sporting ERAs over 5.00 at the moment.
The offense was better, but still almost as challenging to manage. Green was supposed to figure out how to dole out playing time to five similarly talented outfielders in Wil Myers, Hunter Renfroe, Franmil Reyes, Manuel Margot and Frenchy Cordero. That Cordero almost immediately got hurt cleared things up some, but it robbed the team of the one lefty in the bunch and one of the two decent center field options.


Green also had to try to work the catching situation with Austin Hedges, an outstanding defensive catcher and subpar hitter, and Francisco Mejia, the hot shot prospect with defensive issues.
It’s not a stretch to say Green opened this season with the most challenging on-field assignment of any manager in the league. Sure, he wasn’t under the same pressure to justify his every move as a manager in New York and Boston - and I imagine that helps a lot - but as far as walking the tightrope between what was best for his team’s future and actually needing to win some games with a talented-but-shoddily-assembled roster, there were tough calls to be made every day.
I don’t agree with everything Green did, particularly in his handling of Renfroe. And, obviously, Preller deserves credit for assembling one of the game’s best collections of young talent over the last five years. Preller, though, still has a lot to prove when it comes to constructing a major league roster. He hasn’t come under any pressure yet, but that should change if he can’t put a team on the field capable of making a run at a wild card spot next year.

American League notes

- When Royals manager Ned Yost made his surprise retirement announcement Monday, he said he thought the worst of the team’s rebuild was now in the past. That’s probably true after a second straight 100-loss season. On the other hand:

• The team’s best player is about to turn 31 and might not be a second baseman for much longer.
• The team’s two breakthrough hitters this year are both big defensive liabilities.
• The team’s promising young shortstop has a career .282 OBP and struggles to stay healthy.
• The team’s catcher is coming off Tommy John surgery.
• The rotation foundation of Brad Keller and Jakob Junis have four major league pitches between them.

And those are the Royals’ strong points. I still think the club would have been better off cashing in on Whit Merrifield’s team-friendly contract at the trade deadline. He’s leading the American League in hits, but everything there is a little worse than last year, something that’s obscured by the fact that offense is up across the league. It’s great what Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler have done this year, but Dozier needs to be looked at as a first baseman going forward and Soler has to be a full-time DH. Also, Soler is sure to opt out of his contract and lock in a big raise in arbitration after his 45-homer season.
The Royals farm system is significantly improved now, though it’s not as far along as it would have been had Dayton Moore been more aggressive in rebuilding after the World Series team broke up. That the team should have better reinforcements on the pitching staff next year will help in avoiding another 100-loss season in 2020. I think Yost is right that the worst is over for the Royals. However, I’d be rather surprised if this current group ever sees the postseason.
- Felix Hernandez makes his final start of the year Thursday. The Mariners are clearly looking at it as a send-off outing, and there’s at least some chance it’ll go down as the final start of his stellar career. Hernandez has a 6.51 ERA this year after coming in at 5.55 last season. He’s still just 33, but he’s shown surprisingly little ability to adapt to his diminished velocity in recent years. A big problem is that the changeup that was once an outstanding offering while being delivered in the 88-90 mph range hasn’t retained its usefulness at 83-86 mph. Maybe the right pitching coach could coax some better results out of him, but he’ll almost certainly have to take a minor league deal this winter and one wonders if he’ll decide it’s worth it.

National League notes

- I’ll be really interested to see how aggressive the Diamondbacks are with their offense this winter. They’re pretty well set at the tough spots with Ketel Marte, Carson Kelly, Eduardo Escobar and Nick Ahmed returning at a combined cost of about $19 million. The decisions come down to whether to settle for their current options at the other spots. David Peralta was great in 2018, but it was his only particularly good season in the last four years and he just turned 32. It’ll take $8 million-$10 million to keep him in his final year of arbitration. It’s probably worth holding on to him at that price, especially with the outfield crop looking weak, but it really is too bad the team didn’t trade him after moving Paul Goldschmidt last winter.


At first base, the Diamondbacks can stick with Christian Walker for the minimum. Walker, though, is sitting on a 108 OPS+ in his age-28 season; it would be nice to have more upside in that spot. A Jake Lamb-Walker platoon might be productive, but Lamb is due about $5 million next season and seems likely to be non-tendered. Walker has yet to show any platoon split anyway.
The Diamondbacks have Steven Souza for right field, but Souza was a disaster when healthy in 2018 and is coming off a major injury that cost him the entire season. He’s also due $4 million in arbitration, and though he probably still has some upside left, there’d seem to be better ways to spend that money. Besides, they might be able to re-sign him for half that after he’s non-tendered.
The team also has a $6 million option on Wilmer Flores, who has impressed with a .311/.358/.470 line in 271 plate appearances but who continues to lack a position. He really needs to head to the AL.
It’s unlikely that the Diamondbacks are going to try to upgrade at every spot (they also need a center fielder or a second baseman, depending on where they’d prefer to pencil in Marte), especially since they’re still paying $17 million to Yasmany Tomas to pummel Triple-A pitching. However, since the rotation is already seven deep (Robbie Ray, Luke Weaver, Zac Gallen, Mike Leake, Merrill Kelly, Taijuan Walker and Alex Young), they should have a fair amount of flexibility.

Jose Urena

 The Jose Urena closing experiment would rate as a disaster if the Marlins were playing for anything; after another blown save Tuesday, he’s given up multiple runs in four of his last eight appearances. When they brought Urena back as a reliever, the Marlins made it clear that they still planned to have Urena start next year. However, with his career 4.56 ERA (87 ERA+) in 571 innings, Urena appears obsolete as a starter at this point. He still has the stuff to be average, but his upside has always seemed overstated. If he had impressed as a closer, it would be easier to see a fit for him in the Marlins’ long-term plans. As is, though, it would really make sense to trade him this winter; some team would probably give up a modest prospect for him and the Marlins could find other ways to spend the approximately $5 million that he’s due.