7-26-19
The Chihuahuas had
a pair of back-to-back three-game series versus the Aviators, who were three games behind them in the standings, scheduled
this week. The pups took two of three in
Las Vegas, including a 15-9 win in
the finale on Thursday. The next day in
El Paso on Friday, the Chihuahuas went up 11-4 after three innings. Then the wheels completely came off on their
pitching. They gave up 13 runs over the
next four innings. The Aviators
surpassed a team record in home runs in the five-run seventh. Their ninth home run of the game was their
third of the inning. Chihuahuas’ pitcher,
Brad Wieck, took his hat off in
frustration watching the third one fly out.
At least he didn’t slam it into the ground like Charlie Brown. The team even provided some comedy as they
attempted to vacate the field en mass after only the second out of the inning to
give you an idea of how long the inning was.
In the eighth, the Aviators hit their tenth home run to
tie a PCL record. They set the new record
in the ninth with their eleventh homer. The
pups had a position player pitching the inning, which led to some confusion in
the bottom as they lost their DH with that move. It took a couple of days for the league to
sort out that the player had reentered the game to bat, but should have been taken
out. The game didn’t stop to figure it
out as it finished 20-11 Aviators. You’d think 11 runs would be enough to win
any game. The Chihuahuas have not played
as well at home as they have on the road.
This even goes for their whole franchise existence for some reason.
About the home runs, it’s the new MLB ball they’re using,
but that’s not all. It’s a change in
hitting philosophy brought on by the shift.
You can hit to the opposite field or bunt to an undefended side, but
you’re not playing to your strength as a batter, which is what the defense
wants. Hitting into the shift is probably
an out with fielders positioned at likely landing spots. Therefore, batters with any power are
actively swinging for the fences because hitting the ball over the fence isn’t
defensible. This creates an uptick in
strikeouts, but if it was going to be an out anyway, why not try to hit a
homer? It’s like the juiced ball was
introduced to combat the shift.
7-28-19
Horrifically, the Chihuahuas
were swept in all three home games against the Aviators. Their division
lead is now down to one. Much worse,
they gave up a total of 20 home runs over the three games. I think Tim
Hagerty finally got worn out calling them by Sunday. It was like every flyball went over the fence
for them. The pups’ pitching has
officially crashed. They almost got
shutout on Sunday, so their offense is also exhausted. I wonder what the Padres, basically out of the playoffs, will do with the Chihuahuas’
players for the rest of the season. Call
them up early? Bring up reinforcements
for them?
7-31-19
My fiftieth birthday was yesterday. The harbinger of my impending degeneration
and demise was at least softened by some considerate people. My Aunt Judy sent me the above sports cards. The people at work gave me something I always
wanted: a pizza. (I hadn’t had a pizza
in a month. I was happy to see those
pepperonis.) My folks gave me a baseball
magazine and a couple other things to read.
On my own, I’d picked up a couple of comic books, which I may be
reviewing in the future and a box of random old baseball cards (there were a
few winners inside). I looked, but
didn’t find anything else at a couple of other stores. I did turn up my nose at getting Sports Illustrated’s latest issue
celebrating the US Women’s Soccer team. Who needs them? (They should have put Rose Lavelle on the cover, instead of Megan Rapinoe, if they’d wanted to sell more.)
As for the new MLB
definitive trade deadline, the first big move sent Marcus Stroman from the Blue
Jays to the Mets. What?
Are they holding him hostage to playoff teams? Apparently not. They kept him and their other highly-valued
pitchers even though they’re not competitive.
Maybe next year. The Giants kept Madison Bumgarner, since they are surprisingly competitive. The second wild card position is giving quite
a few teams some hope, especially given that most of the division winners may
have already been decided.
The Braves
bolstered their bullpen by picking up closer Shane Greene from the Tigers,
where he wasn’t getting a lot of opportunities to save games. I actually saw him pitch on the Youtube game versus the Angels on Monday. The Cubs
picked up Nick Castellanos from the
Tigers. He did well in that game and was
interviewed in the postgame.
There was a three-team trade that affected the Chihuahuas directly. They lost pitcher, Logan Allen. Just what the
pups needed: less pitching. Both him and
thumper Franmil Reyes from the Padres went to the surging First
Peoples, err Indians. The Indians gave up one of their big game
pitchers, Trevor Bauer, to get Yasiel Puig from the out-of-it Reds.
Right after Puig got traded, he was still in the dugout when the Reds
and the Pirates ended up in big fight and he got involved in it. I’m surprised the Reds’ GM didn’t rush on to
the field and tackle him to keep him from potentially getting injured.
Bauer had thrown a fit on field when he was taken out of
his last start. He apologized
immediately to Tito, who wasn’t
pleased. After he was traded, Bauer was
photographed in the stands in Cleveland watching the game after cleaning out
his locker. I almost think he knew the
trade was going to happen and he didn’t want to go. In any case, this is a loser move for the
Indians. Trading pitching for offense is
unlikely to pay off in the playoffs. The
Reds got Bauer, and the Padres got screwed just getting an outfielding prospect
(albeit the Reds’ top prospect.)
The big move was announced right after the deadline
passed. The D-Back’s Zack Greinke
went to the Astros for four
prospects. This is a loser move as well. Greinke wins games, but hasn’t made any of
the teams he’s been on better. In fact,
they got better after he left them. Maybe
it’s a coincidence. If he wants to prove
me wrong by winning the World Series with the Astros, I’ll be happy to stand
right up and apologize. I’ll believe
Grenike is a real winner and not just a trade piece mercenary when I see it. The Astros also picked up Aaron Sanchez from the Blue Jays. Hey, I saw Sanchez and Bauer pitch great
games against each other last week.
It’s going to be a long August from some teams without the
wavier trade deadline. Teams will have
to wait for the offseason for any more moves.
Meanwhile, the players are worried about the lack of free agency
movement. Teams waited until the last
minute to make major deals last offseason.
I’ve noticed an uptick in trades for cash and international slot
money. The Grenike trade wouldn’t have
even happened, but for the D-Backs kicking in $25M.
Teams are favoring prospects with several controllable years
ahead of them with low salaries over overpriced mediocre veterans. Some teams are “tanking” and dealing all
high-priced players. Even high-payroll
teams, like the Dodgers and Yankees, didn’t make any moves at the
deadline and don’t seem to be eager to sign big free agents. The Player’s Union may be ready to strike,
but I’m not sure how you force owners to spend more on their teams, even with a
minimum roster salary. The extra player
that will be added to everyone’s rosters next year or adding the DH to the National League is unlikely to really
create much of a rise in salaries.
This brings up the issue of “Why aren’t owners spending
more?” Yes, team owners want to win, but
they are uncharacteristically also trying to control salary costs. The “luxury tax” has enough teeth to it to
keep the big market teams from spending “stupid money.” Unfortunately, the middle tier teams seemed mired
as well. The Astros gave up a lot of
future pitching to get Grienke, but only because they’re trying to win while
they’ve still got a great team, one which will likely be broken up by free
agency soon. The Rays are being as smart as they can be in a small market in fielding
a good team, but most of the rest of the teams on their level seem hopeless,
praying for years of good drafts to put decent talent in their hands.
I have a theory, but nobody’s going to like it (especially
not myself). The owners are seeing
declining in-person attendance (you can thank the tanking teams for some of
that) and difficulties in getting a national audience for spotlight games as a
bad omen. While regional TV does well
for some teams, it doesn’t grow the sport.
Meanwhile, even hard core fans, such as myself, are getting turned off
by the current style of play. Shifting,
strikeouts, lots of pitching changes, home run derby, and overly long game
times aren’t mine or apparently anybody else’s cup of tea for enjoyment. I don’t think it’s some grand scheme by the
owners against the union that is tamping down on salaries. I think they’re seeing the future and they
don’t like it.
Given the analytics the owners keep on the players, you’d
think they’d also be able to do a business forecast. I don’t think they think the sport is going
to get any bigger, so they’re going to get smaller in expenses to maintain
their profits and keep the MLB going.
The question is: how hard are the players going to fight this? Are they willing to fight it to the point
where they strike, thus making it even harder to make the sport more popular
and for them to get paid more? Ever
since I’ve had this dark notion, for the first time, I’ve been worried about
the future of baseball.
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