Baseball is back!

[beuycek]

Some nuggets from yesterday's opening day...

History was made... 🤦

Then this...

But it appears to be working.

[Walter]

Pitchclock results, Day 1:
Game linescore and playing time.

Yankees 5, Giants 0: 2:33
Cubs 4, Brewers 0: 2:21
Braves 7, Nationals 2: 3:07
Rays 4, Tigers 0: 2:14
Orioles 10, Red Sox 9: 3:10
Mets 5, Marlins 3: 2:42
Twins 2, Royals 0: 2:32
Rangers 11, Phillies 7: 3:04
Pirates 5, Reds 4: 3:02
Blue Jays 10, Cardinals 9: 3:38
White Sox 3, Astros 2 2:38
Rockies 7, Padres 2 2:56
Athletics 2, Angels 1 2:30
Dodgers 8, Diamondbacks 2 2:35
Mariners 3, Guardians 0 2:14

Seems to be working!

[mscott59]

Mar 31, 2023 9:38:39 GMT -5 Walter said:

Pitchclock results, Day 1:
Game linescore and playing time.

Yankees 5, Giants 0: 2:33
Cubs 4, Brewers 0: 2:21
Braves 7, Nationals 2: 3:07
Rays 4, Tigers 0: 2:14
Orioles 10, Red Sox 9: 3:10
Mets 5, Marlins 3: 2:42
Twins 2, Royals 0: 2:32
Rangers 11, Phillies 7: 3:04
Pirates 5, Reds 4: 3:02
Blue Jays 10, Cardinals 9: 3:38
White Sox 3, Astros 2 2:38
Rockies 7, Padres 2 2:56
Athletics 2, Angels 1 2:30
Dodgers 8, Diamondbacks 2 2:35
Mariners 3, Guardians 0 2:14

Seems to be working!

well tonight’s cle-sea game will go a lot longer than 2:14. Top of the 5th 1:45 in. guards lead 7-4. kwan just got his 4th and 5th rbi of the night.

btw that opening day crowd in oakland is embarrassing. tribe had some poor attendance back in the day at the old stadium but never on opening day. and the weather was always much worse.

[Walter]

Mar 31, 2023 22:57:35 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

Mar 31, 2023 9:38:39 GMT -5 Walter said:

Pitchclock results, Day 1:
Game linescore and playing time.

Yankees 5, Giants 0: 2:33
Cubs 4, Brewers 0: 2:21
Braves 7, Nationals 2: 3:07
Rays 4, Tigers 0: 2:14
Orioles 10, Red Sox 9: 3:10
Mets 5, Marlins 3: 2:42
Twins 2, Royals 0: 2:32
Rangers 11, Phillies 7: 3:04
Pirates 5, Reds 4: 3:02
Blue Jays 10, Cardinals 9: 3:38
White Sox 3, Astros 2 2:38
Rockies 7, Padres 2 2:56
Athletics 2, Angels 1 2:30
Dodgers 8, Diamondbacks 2 2:35
Mariners 3, Guardians 0 2:14

Seems to be working!

well tonight’s cle-sea game will go a lot longer than 2:14. Top of the 5th 1:45 in. guards lead 7-4. kwan just got his 4th and 5th rbi of the night.

btw that opening day crowd in oakland is embarrassing. tribe had some poor attendance back in the day at the old stadium but never on opening day. and the weather was always much worse.

The Oakland Coliseum might be the worse place to watch a baseball game on the planet, especially when you have one of the best places to watch a game almost within sight just across the bay.

[mscott59]

Mar 31, 2023 23:16:06 GMT -5 Walter said:

Mar 31, 2023 22:57:35 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

well tonight’s cle-sea game will go a lot longer than 2:14. Top of the 5th 1:45 in. guards lead 7-4. kwan just got his 4th and 5th rbi of the night.

btw that opening day crowd in oakland is embarrassing. tribe had some poor attendance back in the day at the old stadium but never on opening day. and the weather was always much worse.

The Oakland Coliseum might be the worse place to watch a baseball game on the planet, especially when you have one of the best places to watch a game almost within sight just across the bay.

last night’s guards-a’s game had an announced attendance of 3,025. right now tonite’s game looks like about 1/2 that.

[Walter]

Pitch clock update.

My initial shock has abated and the players seem to be adapting well.
I think this is going to work, and so far, I think the games are a much better watch and overall, a better product.

A month ago I never thought I'd say it but...Thumbs up for me.

[Walter]

Do not know if it is true cuz I cannot find a stat on it, but apparently bullpen ERAs and BAA are up across the league, and some are saying the pitch clock is affecting how relievers settle in (or don't) on the mound when they come in.

Interesting thing to keep an eye on in the later innings.
The Dodger's pen (which I thought was pretty solid) got shelled in Zona last weekend.

[beuycek]

Apr 11, 2023 9:36:45 GMT -5 Walter said:

Do not know if it is true cuz I cannot find a stat on it, but apparently bullpen ERAs and BAA are up across the league, and some are saying the pitch clock is affecting how relievers settle in (or don't) on the mound when they come in.

Interesting thing to keep an eye on in the later innings.
The Dodger's pen (which I thought was pretty solid) got shelled in Zona last weekend.

I used Fan Graphs to calculate bullpen ERA this year through 4/10 and last year at the same time. Bullpen ERA has gone up from 3.49 to 4.17 so there is definitely some truth to it.

I was also reading some numbers this morning that the slash lines through 11 games are .249/.325/.410 compared to .233/.313/.377 last season at this time.

Also worth noting is the increase in stolen bases. There have been 195 successful steals so far this season (in 240 attempts) compared to 179 attempts at this time last year. You mentioned Arizona... they are leading the NL with 17 steals while the Dodgers only have 2. I don't know if that explains why the bullpens are failing but it might be a reason to consider.

[Walter]

Apr 11, 2023 10:32:05 GMT -5 beuycek said:

Apr 11, 2023 9:36:45 GMT -5 Walter said:

Do not know if it is true cuz I cannot find a stat on it, but apparently bullpen ERAs and BAA are up across the league, and some are saying the pitch clock is affecting how relievers settle in (or don't) on the mound when they come in.

Interesting thing to keep an eye on in the later innings.
The Dodger's pen (which I thought was pretty solid) got shelled in Zona last weekend.

I used Fan Graphs to calculate bullpen ERA this year through 4/10 and last year at the same time. Bullpen ERA has gone up from 3.49 to 4.17 so there is definitely some truth to it.

I was also reading some numbers this morning that the slash lines through 11 games are .249/.325/.410 compared to .233/.313/.377 last season at this time.

Also worth noting is the increase in stolen bases. There have been 195 successful steals so far this season (in 240 attempts) compared to 179 attempts at this time last year. You mentioned Arizona... they are leading the NL with 17 steals while the Dodgers only have 2. I don't know if that explains why the bullpens are failing but it might be a reason to consider.

Zona has embraced small ball over metrics and so far, at least, it appears to be working for them.
They scored in 13 of 16 innings in one stretch in the Dodger series. One of those was a drag bunt with two out and a runner on 3rd. Gutsy, eh?

[beuycek]

Apr 11, 2023 11:32:30 GMT -5 Walter said:

Apr 11, 2023 10:32:05 GMT -5 beuycek said:

I used Fan Graphs to calculate bullpen ERA this year through 4/10 and last year at the same time. Bullpen ERA has gone up from 3.49 to 4.17 so there is definitely some truth to it.

I was also reading some numbers this morning that the slash lines through 11 games are .249/.325/.410 compared to .233/.313/.377 last season at this time.

Also worth noting is the increase in stolen bases. There have been 195 successful steals so far this season (in 240 attempts) compared to 179 attempts at this time last year. You mentioned Arizona... they are leading the NL with 17 steals while the Dodgers only have 2. I don't know if that explains why the bullpens are failing but it might be a reason to consider.

Zona has embraced small ball over metrics and so far, at least, it appears to be working for them.
They scored in 13 of 16 innings in one stretch in the Dodger series. One of those was a drag bunt with two out and a runner on 3rd. Gutsy, eh?

Very gutsy.

Re: small ball, it is interesting to see how teams like Tampa Bay and Cleveland, who have embraced this approach in recent years, have gotten off to great starts. Getting on base, moving players over with steals and finding holes where shifts would normally be appears to be a recipe for success. At least early on.

[Walter]

Taking it too far...

Cody Bellinger returned to LA for the first time as a Cub.
As he stepped into the BB to hit, the crowd gave him a standing O. He stopped to acknowledge the crowd.

PITCH CLOCK VIOLATION.
STRIKE ONE!!

Come on, ump!

[mscott59]

Apr 15, 2023 14:28:23 GMT -5 Walter said:

Taking it too far...

Cody Bellinger returned to LA for the first time as a Cub.
As he stepped into the BB to hit, the crowd gave him a standing O. He stopped to acknowledge the crowd.

PITCH CLOCK VIOLATION.
STRIKE ONE!!

Come on, ump!

I saw that. hilarious

[Walter]

Then last night after he robs JHey of a homer in dead center, the crowd that gave him a standing O the night before mockingly booed him.
Even he laughed, turning to the crowd with his arms out as if to say, "Where'd the love go?".
Great scene.

[dilligaf]

Where have y'all been?

Baseball season began back in February, with LSU ranked as the preseason #1.  AFAIK, as of today, they are STILL #1.

I'll take NCAA baseball over MLB any day.

[Walter]

Apr 17, 2023 11:31:49 GMT -5 dilligaf said:

Where have y'all been?

Baseball season began back in February, with LSU ranked as the preseason #1.  AFAIK, as of today, they are STILL #1.

I'll take NCAA baseball over MLB any day.

My problem with college ball is that baseball might be the easiest spectator sport to see bad play, where there is no place to hide if a player is not any good. I see a college game full of players who swing at bad pitches, pitchers who lack control, fielders who boot routine plays. It's all on display. You can't miss seeing it.

In addition, between April and October, I can watch a MLB game virtually every single day and see the best players on the planet.

In LA I can watch two pro games just about every day if I want. Angels or Dodgers.