MaxPower said:

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That was my takeaway. Kind of interesting Dusty thought these kind of shenanigans still left machete untouchable.

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I mean, Dusty played in an era where that's how vets treated rookies I'm sure. I'm not really all that surprised at all.

AustinCountyAg said:

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W said:

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however Singleton needs more bat flip worthy AB's

BA down to .213

slugging down to .371

the walks are saving his stats for now

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a walk is as good as a screaming line drive to the outfield.

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Depends. If there's a runner on that can advance then the single has more value. Can't think of a scenario where a walk has more value than a single (maybe increasing pitch count).

Thank you.

Ag_07 said:

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Look I'm not saying I want Espada to be the second coming of Scott Servais where he's fired up about every single play but I am in the camp that thinks he needs to show some fire.

Especially given how lethargic his team had looked since they broke ST.

Hinch was pretty damn low key (even too low key for some) but even he had his moments where he wasn't afraid to get chippy. Same for Dusty

This is my only complaint about Espada so far.

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agreed. not to mention the precedent has already been set in these same situations where players are allowed to go wash their hands and return to the game. Not saying he should've flipped last night, but I think he had every reason to if he wanted to.....but this goes back to the rule and general lack of consistency with the umpires which is a different conversation.

Ag_07 said:

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Look I'm not saying I want Espada to be the second coming of Scott Servais where he's fired up about every single play but I am in the camp that thinks he needs to show some fire.

Especially given how lethargic his team had looked since they broke ST.

Hinch was pretty damn low key (even too low key for some) but even he had his moments where he wasn't afraid to get chippy. Same for Dusty

This is my only complaint about Espada so far.

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I don't disagree that some heated discussion between umpires is warranted every now and then. I just think it's massively overrated and not correlated to team performance.

Do you honestly think if Espada is out there yelling at the umps that it changes the way the team played in Mar/Apr? How does him going out there and "showing fire" get Abreu, Pressly, and Hader to not blow saves in the later innings of the games in Mar/Apr? How does him getting fired up get Breggy or Abreu to hit better? How does him yelling at umps get Yordan going? Do those guys need Espada yelling at umps to know how serious the situation is? These are professionals who have done it for a long time.

I'm not saying it might not have some mental impact on those guys and could possibly bring some cohesion between manager and player, but I don't think Espada showing fire or whatever changes any outcome of the first month at all.

My point was basing passion on "showing fire" and yelling at umps seems kind of silly. It's the same to me as saying the players don't want to win while they're losing and when the have the same exact reactions when they're winning.

Additionally, I don't see Hinch or Dusty yelling at those umps last night over the glove incident.

I wanted Boone last year before Espeda was hired. The players love him and he has there backs 100% when they are right, and wrong.

Ag_07 said:

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I don't disagree with most of that thinking.

I think a little fire from the manager sets a tone and gives the team a bit of urgency. Not that it makes them hit or throw better but just gives them a sense of 'OK it's time to get to work'.

IMO Aaron Boone has the perfect balance between not taking **** from umpires but also not being a hot head a-hole. Granted he's a Yankee so he has a longer leach to work with than say Espada.

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I also don't disagree with a lot of what you're saying.

I do not disagree a little on the field fire can help set the tone. I'm definitely not saying don't get fired up on the field. There are absolutely situations where it is warranted and expected in sports.

My broader point is I think it it's less correlated to a team's performance than most fans think.

I also agree with you on Aaron Boone, honestly. He's someone who I think who probably got himself ejected too much early in his managerial career, but I think he does toe the line pretty well now.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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"We gotta figure out a better way than this"

After Ronel Blanco's ejection, @aj_pierzynskiFT says MLB needs a better system for identifying & testing the "sticky substances" pic.twitter.com/u5ip5lwrSw

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 15, 2024

Thank you

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Good to see, between this and Dallas Braden, baseball folks sticking up for Ronel. Probably won't save the suspension because MLB dgaf but it is what it is.

Yup. I'm defaulting to MLB enforcing the suspension. Will be surprised if they do anything other than suspend him 10 games.

They're MLB, of course they will never admit fault or inconsistency in application of the rules

10 game suspension on the way, but at least that is in essence 1 missed turn in the rotation as he is just late for his 2nd start by a day or 2. It's a good thing we got Javier back recently I guess.

Astros-Brewers probables:

Fri: Hunter Brown vs. Freddy Peralta
Sat: Justin Verlander vs. Bryse Wilson
Sun: Spencer Arrighetti vs. Colin Rea

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 15, 2024

Best of luck to us winning two of those.

Interesting article on pitch framing (a/k/a strike stealing) and the uptick in interference.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mlb-may-act-strike-stealing-101023548.html

Quote:

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MLB may have to act on strike-stealing after catcher's gruesome injury: 'Classic risk-reward'
. . .
When a swing from New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez fractured St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras' left forearm May 7, the obsession with and inherent problems stemming from framing pitches and stealing strikes came into stark relief.

Contreras, in the second year of a five-year, $87.5 million contract, will miss about 10 weeks due to the injury, a big price for the struggling Cardinals especially when the benefit was simply gaining one extra strike for his pitcher.

The obsession with pitch framing strike-stealing, or strike-preserving, depending on one's perspective isn't going away, at least in the absence of a fully automated strike zone. Yet Major League Baseball's concern with the problem which predates the Contreras-Martinez incident may prompt the league to bring the matter before its competition committee if teams and players cannot correct the rise in incidents themselves, according to a person familiar with the league's thinking who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The league has reason to act: Catcher's interference calls are at an all-time high.

Through Sunday, there have been 35 violations for catcher's interference, which is called when a batter's swing strikes the catcher's glove before coming through the strike zone.

With the season barely one-quarter complete, the 35 violations already exceed the entire 2015 season's total of 33. After that season, catcher's interference calls began a steady rise, and increased 57% from 2021 to 2023, when it peaked with 74 violations a mark that will be obliterated this year, perhaps by the All-Star break.

That line of demarcation is probably no coincidence: 2015 was the first year MLB produced Statcast data, which, in concert with third-party tools such as high speed cameras and other tech, changed the way the game is analyzed, valued and ultimately played.

For catchers, it's meant creeping ever closer to the batter, largely aiming to stop the ball's flight before it dips below the strike zone. No matter the danger.

"I think at the end of the day, nothing will change because it's valued so much in terms of what you bring to the position, value to your team and ultimately to yourself in terms of getting paid," catcher Tucker Barnhart, an 11-year veteran, told USA TODAY Sports. "It's kind of a double-edged sword: If you don't do it, you don't play and you don't get paid.
. . .
Barnhart debuted in 2014, when, he said, framing was "kind of an afterthought" after blocking balls, nabbing basestealers and then receiving ability.

Now, he says, "It's the complete inverse."

The tools of ignorance have given way to countless contraptions. More than a dozen teams have invested in a Trajekt Arc pitching machine, a robot that's loaded with Statcast pitching data for both opponents and teammates. A catcher can test-drive a pitcher's repertoire and know exactly where to set up to snag a strike or two.

Advance scouting meetings are replete with information on how to best set up a hitter, which may involve creeping closer to his stance. And there's plenty of dirt on the guys with the longest, and ostensibly most dangerous swings.

"Hey, you have to be aware," says Baltimore Orioles veteran catcher James McCann. "Anyone can get you at any one time. But there are more guys that, based on their swing types, are a little more prone than other guys.

"One of the things we talk about before a series this guy has multiples (catcher's interference); be aware. It doesn't mean you change anything; just maybe don't go that far inside on him."

Indeed, the book was already out on Martinez a 6-3, 230-pounder who is particularly effective at letting the ball travel and pounding it to the opposite field. Shohei Ohtani, Luis Robert and Kyle Tucker are similarly long-limbed, long-swinging sluggers who consistently rank among league leaders in reaching base via interference.
. . .
Yet even before Contreras' injury, MLB had sounded the alarm on the rise in catcher interference. Now, in the wake of the Contreras injury, it again must ponder if it must intercede if teams don't change their habits.
. . .
You could also simply sort by batting average, pick out the lightest-hitting catchers and know why they're around. The Cleveland Guardians brought back Austin Hedges as a backup even after he batted just .172 over the previous four seasons.

"Hedges is always elite, maybe the best in the league," says Walker. "I remember taking some at-bats and him framing a breaking ball low and getting the call and looking down and his glove was in front of me. That's how they're doing it they're going and getting it.

"If they're willing to take the chance that the hitter's not swinging the bat and want to be vulnerable and go and get the pitch props to them. That's the classic risk-reward it sucks that it can come at the (expense) of a real injury. It sucks for Contreras; it's terrible. But also, you kind of know what could happen if that's the game we're playing."

The cat-and-mouse between pitcher, catcher and batter won't be going away soon. But nobody wants to see another Contreras situation.

To that end, MLB officials visited all 30 training camps this past spring and, as Arizona manager Torey Lovullo put it, "clearly defined the rules of where a catcher could set up and said they were going to monitor how close that catcher was to the batter."
. . .
Yet it seems either teams, managers or catchers are not listening. The league made it a point of emphasis during sessions with all 30 managers at the winter meetings, and then again during spring training. But with the rise in catcher-bat contact, the league may present catcher's interference to its competition committee as a potential safety issue.

The committee would then decide whether and how to legislate the issue and enforce it. The committee is comprised of six club representatives, four MLB Players' Association reps and one umpire.
. . .

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Astros vs. A’s RHP Brooks: pic.twitter.com/cWvxbh08sN

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) May 15, 2024

Surprised there's been no bullpen roster move