Wednesday's Frosty Mug
by KLSnow on Apr 22, 2009 9:14 AM CDT
36 comments
Some things to read while pulling the tarp at dawn.
Well, the opening game of this series was about as much fun as the rest of them have been. Adam McCalvy's excitement over the decision to resume the game after an hour rain delay sums it up nicely.
Ryan Braun spoke to reporters after the game about his frustration with the team's play. He says there's plenty of blame to go around. (Also noted in FanShot)
Rickie Weeks left last night's game early after a collision with J.J. Hardy, who cut in front of him to get a ground ball in the second inning. Weeks was complaining of dizziness at the time but says he's fine and is not expected to miss any time.
The Bucky Channel says something is missing from this team. I'll go ahead and suggest control from the pitching staff. Brewer pitchers have walked 65 batters through 13 games. They're on pace for 810 walks in 2009, up 282 from 2008 and 153 more than the Pirates allowed last season, when they led the National League. Chuckie Hacks is struggling to find another situation in sports to compare it to.
At any rate, the thing this team is missing is almost certainly not Tony Gwynn Jr., but Al notes that TGJ is posting a .390 OBP early in the season in AAA.
Trevor Hoffman threw 18 pitches in an inning of work for Nashville last night, and is still on pace to return to the team Sunday. When he is activated, either Jorge Julio or R.J. Swindle will likely be removed from the roster to make room for him. Al handicapped the race for the spot.
Jason Kendall will stay in the lineup despite his early season struggles at the plate. Ken Macha had this to say about it:
Macha said he drew up "the pluses and minuses" of Kendall and Rivera, both behind the plate and on offense.
"If the No. 3, 4 and 5 guys were hitting, you wouldn't be asking what Jason Kendall is doing," Macha said.
I guess we now know for sure that Ken Macha doesn't read this site.
Since there's not much else to discuss in positive terms, I guess we can keep talking about Todd Coffey, right? He set a Brewer record for most scoreless appearances to begin a Brewer career, and needs 2.2 more scoreless innings to tie the record for most scoreless innings.
Maybe some of these fans will buy a Coffey jersey: The Brewers announced yesterday they've sold 2 million tickets this season. It's the earliest they've reached that milestone in team history, but the pace may be slowing a bit - they've been well ahead of last year's pace for most of the offseason, but are only three days ahead now.
Elsewhere around baseball:
Angels: Placed reliever Kevin Jepsen on the DL with back spasms.
A's: Reliever Joey Devine underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of 2009.
Nationals: Placed Joe Beimel on the DL with a hip injury.
Orioles: Ryan Freel has been placed on the DL after being hit in the head with a pickoff throw.
Pirates: Ryan Doumit will have surgery on his right wrist and be out 8-10 weeks.
Rockies: Ryan Speier has been placed on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Tigers: Marcus Thames will be placed on the DL with what sounds like a strained oblique.
Twins: Phil Humber cleared waivers and was sent to AAA.
White Sox: Designated Mike MacDougal for assignment.
Rickie Weeks has had his share of scary moments over the last few days, but umpire Kerwin Danley can top it. He was hit in the head by a broken bat last night and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher after suffering a possible concussion.
Oh, and Hideki Irabu is attempting a comeback.
Drink up.
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I'm assuming BK did it sometime during last night's game.
I changed “Milwalkee” back to “Milwaukee” for search engine reasons.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
by KLSnow on Apr 22, 2009 9:52 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
just figure out how to throw them both in there
or make use of subtitles and lots of meta tags.
by PagsBrewCrew on Apr 22, 2009 12:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Milwalkee Brewers of Milwaukee?
"I didn't realize his velocity was that high," said Macha, noting that radar readings aren't flashed during exhibition games.
by battlekow on Apr 22, 2009 1:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Mine wasn't either.
But it is now.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
by KLSnow on Apr 22, 2009 9:59 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Broken bats are a serious issue
And I don’t mean to be pessimistic but I believe that one day, someone will die in a major league/minor game from a broken bat… Whether it be a fan getting a shard lodged in the neck or an umpire or player, it is a serious serious issue and think that there needs to be some regulations passed to ensure fewer broken bats.
I don’t know if it is the maple bats, but I heard it was more of the discrepency of the weight at the barrell of the bat versus the handle. Whatever the cause in the increase, it needs to be addressed. Knowing how strong the players union, it will most likely take a tragedy before anything happens.
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
by Kyguy922 on Apr 22, 2009 10:31 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Adam Dunn says that he stopped using them
because he doesn’t want his name to be on the barrel of the bat that’s sticking out of some guy’s neck.
by tcyoung on Apr 22, 2009 10:45 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
There were regulations on maple bats passed this offseason
MLB had the timber products lab in Madison test a bunch of bats and found reasons why some bats cracked all the time. The grain has to align a certain way, and there needs to be an unpainted spot on to verify grain direction. Also, they mandated that the handle needs to be above a certain thickness.
I haven’t seen anywhere near as many broken bats so far this year as last…
by warwick5s on Apr 22, 2009 11:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't mean to take anything away from or trivialize your point, which is valid enough
But this kind of reminds me of saying someone will eventually hit 5 home runs in one game. Home runs and broken bats have been part of baseball for decades and each has increased in recent years, but neither 5 HR in a game nor someone dying from a bat has happened. They certainly could happen, but haven’t.
Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.
by TheJay on Apr 22, 2009 6:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oh, man, Tonny John surgery?
That’s some heavy news.
:) + Suppan = :'(
by NoahJ on Apr 22, 2009 11:09 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
unassisted triple plays
this one’s for TheJay.
A couple of days ago, Bill Hall made an unassisted double play. Uke apparently commented that he could have had 4 outs with that ball (presumably assisted). But that got me to think. What are the positions represented by unassisted triple plays in the majors? I’m assuming Second is the most frequent position, followed by short and third. I doubt there are any catchers (I can see unassisted DP, as in bunt popout and tag at home, but don’t know where the TP would come in), and first basemen are probably pretty rare (a severe shift for a righty pull hitter with men on base such that the first baseman is basically playing by the bag at second and not holding that runner on). I could also see a right fielder or center fielder OCCASIONALLY getting one on a short-high bloop that no one thinks he can cover. I can’t see it in left for some reason though (I guess because most runners on third wait on the bag until the ball falls or is caught).
So, TheJay or some obscurity-statistician, how often does an unassisted TP happen and what positions have pulled it off?
by PagsBrewCrew on Apr 22, 2009 12:32 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Here you go...
That’s 14 out of about 674 total TPs.
by Zeyes on Apr 22, 2009 12:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kind of interesting
2 happened in the post season, and 3 of them happened in double headers. Throw in the 2 that happened a day apart, and you’ve got yourself a more interesting play happening.
I’m curious how a 1B pulls off an unassisted TP. I can see a SS or 2B catching a liner, stepping on the bag and tagging a guy, but a 1B? That would be quite the athletic feat to pull off.
"That's not a weird stat. Rickie is a run-scorer," Yost said. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Yost told reporters. "See, you guys have no concept. He's a run-scorer. So there's nothing weird about it. That's what he does."
by Hyatt on Apr 22, 2009 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'd guess it's kind of like an unassisted double play for an outfielder.
The runners go, the first baseman catches a line drive, tags the runner off first, and the other runner gives up on the play, knowing he could be thrown out, and is just standing there when the fielder tags him or the base.
"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."
by KLSnow on Apr 22, 2009 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's all there on the site :)
9/14/1923:
Frank Brower (CLE) is the batter with a ?-? count. He hits a line drive right to the 1B (George Burns) who speared the ball while moving to his right. (OUT 1)
1B then reached out and tagged the runner from first, Rube Lutzke (OUT 2)
1B dashed to second and slid into it a few feet ahead of the runner from second, Riggs Stephenson, who was trying to return to the base (OUT 3)
5/31/1927:
Homer Summa (CLE) is the batter with a ?-? count. He hits a hard liner right at the 1B, Johnny Neun (OUT 1)
1B then ran the base paths toward second and tagged the runner from first, Charlie Jamieson (OUT 2)
1B continued to second base, landing there before the runner from second, Glenn Myatt, could return (OUT 3)
by Zeyes on Apr 22, 2009 1:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
almost unassisted triple play by outfielder
5/8/1878 NL Providence Grays vs NL Boston Red Caps Messer Street Grounds
Bot 8 INN Score V-H 1 – 3 PLAY SEQUENCE: 8*-8*-4* Source: Total Baseball, 7th Edition 2001
Event: 8(B)8(3)84(2)/FTP Men On: 2 [ 1-3 ] PRO vs BSN
Batter: Jack Burdock First Second Ezra Sutton Third Jack Manning
Batter: 1 G 78 Runner 1: 0 Runner 2: 3 D 46 Runner 3: 2 D 5
Out# Type Loc: Out# Type Loc: Out# Type Loc: Out# Type Loc:
{Out Type: D=Doubled-Off F=Forced G=Gloved T=Tagged X=Strike-Out; Out Loc: Retrosheet Field Location}
Jack Burdock (BSN) is the batter. He hit a looping fly ball to short left-center field. Both runners took off, but the CF (Paul Hines) caught the ball
(OUT 1) and continued running towards third.
CF stepped on third, doubling off the runner from that station, Jack Manning, who had reached home (OUT 2) and presumably also the runner
from second, Ezra Sutton. However, Sutton had not reached third base when the CF made the catch.
Therefore, stepping on third could not put out Sutton. CF Hines threw the ball to the 2B (Charlie Sweasy) who touched the middle sack putting
out the runner from second, Ezra Sutton (OUT 3)
NOTE: (Un)assisted Triple Play by Hines? – FIRST TRIPLE PLAY AT MESSER STREET GROUNDS
Although if Sutton was right around 3rd base, why not just reach over and tag him rather than throw to second?
by PagsBrewCrew on Apr 22, 2009 1:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
cool
so 8 SSs
4 2Bs
2 1Bs
never a third baseman, an outfielder or a pitcher.
How about if we extended to minor leagues? Any site out there have that data?
by PagsBrewCrew on Apr 22, 2009 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Actually, an outfielder *may have* turned the first one, just under rules that now deprecated
* Paul Hines, May 8, 1878, Providence Grays (vs. Boston Red Caps)
o With runners on second and third, center fielder Hines caught a line drive from Jack Burdock that the runners thought was uncatchable. When he caught it, both runners had already passed third. Hines stepped on third, which by the rules of the day meant both runners were out. To make sure, he threw the ball to Charlie Sweasy at second base. It is still debated whether this was truly an unassisted triple play. (Modern rules would indeed have required the ball either to be conveyed to second base to put out the runner who had been on that base and had not tagged up, or to tag that runner.) According to the Society for American Baseball Research, the runner coming from second, Ezra Sutton, had not yet touched third base, which would mean that even by 19th century rules the play was not complete until Hines threw to second, and thus the play was not unassisted. 1 Ernest J. Lanigan’s Baseball Cyclopedia, 1922, which covers professional baseball back to 1876, states on p.157 that Neal Ball in 1909 was “the first major leaguer to make an unassisted triple play.” The Sporting News Baseball Record Book, which covers records back to 1876, likewise does not list Hines’ play in the section on unassisted triple plays.
"I didn't realize his velocity was that high," said Macha, noting that radar readings aren't flashed during exhibition games.
by battlekow on Apr 22, 2009 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
beat you by a minute:P
but you had a different explanation text.
by PagsBrewCrew on Apr 22, 2009 1:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I win for readability
"I didn't realize his velocity was that high," said Macha, noting that radar readings aren't flashed during exhibition games.
by battlekow on Apr 22, 2009 1:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
that you do
Scott Hatteberg (BOS) lined into a triple play on 8/6/2001 vs. TEX in the 4th inning. He made amends with his bat in the 6th inning by hitting a Grand Slam Home Run.
by PagsBrewCrew on Apr 22, 2009 1:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
another interesting TP: 1 pitch inning
On May 30, 2008 Relief Pitcher Keiichu Yabu (SF-N) entered the tie game (3-3) with runners on first and second and nobody out. Kevin Kouzmanoff (SD-N) swung at the very first pitch right into a grounder TP making it a one-pitch inning for Yabu as San Francisco turned a 5*-4*-3* TP. [Dan Comfort]
by PagsBrewCrew on Apr 22, 2009 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Scarpetta's been dominant today
6.0 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 10 K
"I didn't realize his velocity was that high," said Macha, noting that radar readings aren't flashed during exhibition games.
by battlekow on Apr 22, 2009 1:41 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Can he throw strikes? Saw him at opening day, seemed to have really only two pitches.
by SgtClueLs on Apr 22, 2009 3:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
What do you mean, "Can he throw strikes?"
He had a 10/2 K/BB. I’d venture to say that most starting pitchers in the low minors have only two pitches.
Baseball America on Scarpetta:
Before he got hurt, he showed a plus fastball every time out this spring, usually sitting around 92-94 mph. In addition to increasing his velocity, he also turned his breaking ball into a true power curveball and added a changeup.
Scarpetta on Scarpetta:
I throw a hard, heavy power fastball down in the zone, a hard, tight downer power curve for an out pitch, and a developing change that I can throw for strikes.
I do not know how accurate Fox Cities Stadium’s gun is, but I saw a few readings for Scarpetta in the low 90s, and it was pretty cold out there tonight…The curveball is definitely worth its reputation as an out pitch, it was in the low to mid 70s— it is a power curve— and he got a ton of swings and misses on it.
So yeah, I’d say he’s got two pitches, plus a changeup that he’s working on and will need at the upper levels.
"I didn't realize his velocity was that high," said Macha, noting that radar readings aren't flashed during exhibition games.
by battlekow on Apr 22, 2009 4:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
a brewer pitching prospect learning a changeup?
how long until they have the middle infielders learning how to throw a changeup too?
by PagsBrewCrew on Apr 22, 2009 5:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
This made me laugh
Because I automatically thought of Weeks and Hardy throwing changups to Prince at first and the mental image of Fielder trying to catch a changup humored me greatly.
BCB, the preferred above replacement level sarcasm supplier.
by MadJimiBrewha on Apr 22, 2009 6:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
thanks:)
and you just got me laughing. that would be quite the sight.
by PagsBrewCrew on Apr 22, 2009 10:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hideki Irabu is attempting a comeback.
A comeback to what? His most well known American baseball moment was when Frank Costanza ridiculed him on Seinfeld.
by sheeter on Apr 22, 2009 5:44 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis
|
91 | 71 | .561 | 0 | Lost 6 |
|
Chicago
|
83 | 78 | .515 | 7.5 | Lost 1 |
|
Milwaukee
|
80 | 82 | .493 | 11 | Won 3 |
|
Cincinnati
|
78 | 84 | .481 | 13 | Won 2 |
|
Houston
|
74 | 88 | .456 | 17 | Lost 3 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
62 | 99 | .385 | 28.5 | Lost 2 |
(updated 11.7.2009 at 4:17 PM CST)
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