MLB 2014 Season Thread

Grimmlokk_sl said:

Pirates are finally pulling it together a bit after a truly wretched stretch there. So of course their young future ace goes on the 15 day DL with "shoulder fatigue". Does anyone doubt this will end up fucking his season when he comes back and blows something out? Pitcher number 100 to have Tommy John this year?

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It's only shoulder fatigue and has been throwing pretty much every day since he was put on the DL. It's worrisome, but at this point, I think he is going to be alright.

Our real problem is finding an identity. With Polanco coming up, our outfield is set. (hopefully Marte pulls his head out of his ass) But our pitching is a HUGE question mark. It's still semi early to decide to be sellers, but I'd say by middle of July we know which way this team is going. If they are going to be sellers, we need to flip Liriano, Grilli, Tabata, Snider for some starting pitching and really try to resign Martin for another 2 years with a 3rd year option.

Only seven position players have reached 3.0 WAR. Troy Tulowitzki, Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson, Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Bautista, Yasiel Puig and ALEX F'N GORDON. Rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated, as they always are.

Over the last seven days, Alex Gordon accumulated the most WAR (0.9) and hit .421/.607/.895. He narrowly edged Jason Heyward for most accumulated in the last 14 days. Gordon hit .364/.509/.682. WAR leader the last 30 days? Alex Gordon. He hit .333/.466/.548. So, yeah...Alex Gordon has been the best player in baseball for the last 30 days.

As for pitching, Felix Hernandez has basically taken this thing in a runaway. He's accumulated 3.7 WAR this season. Next best is Corey Kluber with 2.7. Felix could make a good case for MVP right now. He's struck out 9.73 per 9, walked just 1.56 and has a 2.39 ERA, a 1.91 FIP and a 2.41 xFIP.

POSITION PLAYER LEADERS ON JUNE 9TH
WAR - Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies (4.6)
wRC+ - Tulo (197)
wOBA - Tulo (.480)
SLG - Tulo (.688)
OBP - Tulo (.451)
OPS - Tulo (1.139)
AVG - Tulo (.361)
BB% - Carlos Santana, Indians (20.3)
K% - Victor Martinez, Tigers (6.0)
BB/K - Matinez (1.53)
ISO - Nelson Cruz, Orioles (.338)
BABIP - Alex Rios, Rangers (.392)
SB - Dee Gordon, Dodgers (36)
RBI - Cruz (55)
R - Josh Donaldson, Athletics/Brian Dozier, Twins (52)
HR - Cruz (21)
1B - Jose Altuve, Astros/Nick Markakis, Orioles (62)
2B - Chase Utley, Phillies (24)
3B - Rios (7)
H - Jose Altuve, Astros (85)
LD% - Freddie Freeman, Braves (34.6)
GB% - Ben Revere, Phillies (68.7)
FB% - Chris Carter, Astros (52.5)
IFFB% - Erick Aybar, Angels (24.6)
HR/FB - Jose Abreu (37.8)
GB/FB - Revere (5.95)

STARTING PITCHER LEADERS
WAR - Felix Hernandez, Mariners (3.7)
ERA - Julio Teheran, Braves (1.89)
FIP - Felix (1.92)
xFIP - Felix (2.41)
K/9 - Stephen Strasburg, Nationals (11.18)
K% - Strasburg (29.3)
BB/9 - David Price, Rays (0.88)
BB% - Price (2.4)
K/BB - Price (11.22)
K-BB% - Price (24.0)
HR/9 - Garrett Richards, Angels (0.24)
BABIP - Johnny Cueto, Reds (.196)
LOB% - Josh Beckett, Dodgers (88.9)
GB% - Dallas Keuchel, Astros (65.4)
HR/FB% - Richards/Mark Buehrle, Blue Jays (3.3)
IP - Felix (98)
CG - Cueto/Henderson Alvarez, Marlins (3)
ShO - Alvarez (3)

Haha, fucking Tulowitzki. I'll be in CO July 4 weekend and the Dodgers will be in town. Should be a fun offensive match up. Unless Kershaw is pitching.

David Price has always been a pitcher to attack the zone, but it's still surprising to see him #1 on the leader boards for so many categories. He's awesome.

Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn of San Diego Padres died - ESPN

Fuck. Usually celebrity/athlete deaths don't really get to me, but this one does. He was my hero growing up, and really the only true San Diego sports icon. Sad day.

Edit: Seriously he's the only player in any sport that I can think of that everyone I knew growing up loved. Even non sports fans (his image was very prevalent in San Diego in the 80's/90's) loved him. 8 batting titles, .338 average, 5 gold gloves (he used to be fit!) and 19 straight seasons over .300. Legendary.

As a Cub fan I rememb er watching him a lot at Wrigley and always wished our hitters would hit like him. What did he die from?

Abefroman_sl said:

As a Cub fan I rememb er watching him a lot at Wrigley and always wished our hitters would hit like him. What did he die from?

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Cancer that he got from chewing tobacco.

Damn. One of the best pure hitters ever, and by all accounts, one of the best "people" as well.

Loved that tubby dude.

Anyone remember when he broke his finger by slamming it in the door of his Porsche while hurrying to the bank? One of the best hitters of my lifetime and every time I see his name that's what I think of.

Adam12_sl said:

Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn of San Diego Padres died - ESPN

Fuck. Usually celebrity/athlete deaths don't really get to me, but this one does. He was my hero growing up, and really the only true San Diego sports icon. Sad day.

Edit: Seriously he's the only player in any sport that I can think of that everyone I knew growing up loved. Even non sports fans (his image was very prevalent in San Diego in the 80's/90's) loved him. 8 batting titles, .338 average, 5 gold gloves (he used to be fit!) and 19 straight seasons over .300. Legendary.

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As much as I hate you and that entire fucking city, Tony Gwynn was fucking awesome and this is sad.

Really shocked, and sad to hear this. Guy was a hell of a player, and a better person.

Seeing Tony help Ted Williams stand at the 1999 All-Star game will stick with me forever. Fast forward to 34:37.

I'm going to say it, and I'm going to jinx them...but Go Royals! 8 wins in a row, only half a game out of first now with the next 3 games against Detroit.

If the Royals beat the Tigers tomorrow, they will be in first place at the 70-game mark for the first time since...wait for it...1980.

Royals straight up dominating. They are hitting like Chris Brown, and now have a half game lead over the Tigers.

Dat Brock Holt catch today. Dude is crazy...they just stick him in any spot and he can play no problem lol

Must C: Catch | MLB.com

Think i just watched one of the best maybe the best pitching performance in the history of baseball. It wasnt a perfect game, but that doesnt take away the fact that the Rockies had no clue how to hit him 15k's and 0 walks. Only like 2 balls hit hard the whole game and one was a foul.

I saw this commercial this past weekend when the Reds were in Milwaukee (got the Brewers broadcast). This is hilarious. I can't believe Matheny got all pissy about it saying shit like "I can't believe they would say things like that - just because he's a Cardinal". Do you even sports, motherfucker? What a faggot. Fuck him and the Cardinals.

Brewers Run Anti-Cardinals All-Star Ad For Catcher Jonathan Lucroy (Video) | MLB | NESN.com

joeboo_sl said:

I'm going to say it, and I'm going to jinx them...but Go Royals! 8 wins in a row, only half a game out of first now with the next 3 games against Detroit.

If the Royals beat the Tigers tomorrow, they will be in first place at the 70-game mark for the first time since...wait for it...1980.

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Yep, we had won 8 in a row when I posted this

We are 2-4 since, losing 4 in a row, scoring 2 runs or less in 4 of our last 5 games.

Goddamnit Royals...almost 30 years of frustration(29 years since last playoffs)

If it's any consolation, I was going to make an Astros post about how well they had been playing. In the past week or so, they've lost five out of seven to the team with the worst record in baseball and regressed a bit. Now there is news out about their #1 prospect fucking his leg up something fierce this weekend.

Then there's that whole fielding nonsense like in that gif.

Still, they are slightly improved over their pace at this time last year. Gotta find a silver lining somewhere.