On this beautiful day, what about exit velocity? What about WAR? OBS? OPS? Total BS?
Me? I’m stuck in the past. I’m so old-fashioned that I still see my batting average as evidence, as valuable as a library card.
For example, last Sunday, over 40 MLB players were in the lineup despite having a batting average below .200. Over 40! Cubs outfielder Pete “Crowe” Armstrong just missed out on selection because he had a batting average of .200.
The Tigers-Reds games were won by a total of seven times, the Angels-Cubs games were won by six times, the Royals-Rockies games were won by five times, and the Brewers-Dodgers games, both of which are first-place teams, were won by five times.
Not long ago, any player with a batting average below .200 was gone (or retired) by early May at the latest. Now, we need to consider their home run to strikeout ratio.
Joey Gallo struck out 50% of his at-bats and had a batting average of .164. do He hit seven home runs as a reserve for the Nationals, just the sixth team to do so in the past five years, and had to accept a pay cut to $5 million this season.
But consider the advantages that today’s MLB hitters had over their predecessors.
Both leagues have the DH (with nothing distinguishing it left, as evidenced by the All-Star Game’s self-inflicted decline from “must-see TV” to “who-cares TV”).
Then there is the phenomenon of effective starting pitchers intentionally disappearing after five innings, the reasons for which are still unclear 12 years later, but which appear to have started with the desire to pitch as often and as fast as possible.
And there’s a steady rise in the number of pitchers sidelined by arm ailments, a modern epidemic that seems to have coincided with the rise of player-as-robot analysis: “Out for the rest of the season due to Tommy John surgery” is the preface to a pitcher’s form as the mph meter demands.
And hitters don’t have to worry so much about the unexpected “perfect” reliever, who, by analysis, is mandated to face as few batters as possible, even if he was drafted as a starter, something you never hear about on MLB TV as if it’s irrelevant, but it is.
I know, get out of my yard, the old man yells to the crowd. I either follow the plan or get out. I’m just an old fool who thinks it’s a good idea to run to first base, let alone second, third, or home plate.
So if I don’t see you in the future, I’ll see you in the meadow.
It’s time for MLB to get the “F” out of here.
If we really had an MLB commissioner who had the best interests of baseball first, Rob Manfred would have long ago asked Pete Alonso to stop using his vulgar trademark fight chants.
On Thursday afternoon, shortly after Gary Cohen noted that Citi Field was packed with kids from the camp, SNY posted a photo of a man wearing Alonso’s “LFGM” T-shirt.
Cohen then pompously suggested that absentee Keith Hernandez would not be happy about it, as if he were scolding Alonso for his particularly awful recent self- and team-promotion streak, as if Hernandez were a fool.
But Gary, what do you think? Is that OK? Can you translate it on air? No? Well, why are you so cocky?
And the Red Sox’s Jarren Duran will likely be suspended without pay by Manfred for refusing, despite the fine, to stop wearing the now-for-sale T-shirt he proudly and defiantly displays after removing his team jersey to perform a vulgar battle cry for the TV cameras and photographers.
The Mets and Red Sox should have called it quits a long time ago, but “Damn it!” is the new best way to publicly express your enthusiasm and sincerity. Class is over.
But it was Manfred who declared that kids were MLB’s top priority. Well, they’re kids, so never mind.
It seems like every time we turn on the TV, some TV commentator is demanding “transparency” from politicians, what used to be called “truth,” as if we expect and deserve better from Joe Biden and Donald Trump in a sequel to the national nightmare “This is the Best of Us.”
But over the years, it has been the executives at these networks who have made the most deliberately corrupt decisions.
Consider that national and local NBC News have resumed their biennial effort to remove legitimate news stories and replace them with NBC’s Olympic coverage disguised as real news.
During a month packed with international soccer tournaments, Fox lied about match start times by a full hour, instead of the now-standard 15-20 minutes, so matches advertised as starting at 8pm actually started at 9pm. Huge betrayal transparency.
Isn’t it odd that none of Manfred’s money-grubbing exclusive pay-per-view MLB TV games are scheduled for weekday afternoon games? The games most likely to be watched are scheduled for the least amount of viewers.
As long as no one dies it’s okay
Alice, sing: “School’s out forever!”
Oklahoma State is scheduled to play Arkansas on ABC/ESPN on September 7. Here’s one unlikely pick for this game:
On June 30, 20-year-old Ollie Gordon, a star running back at Ohio State and a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, was arrested for speeding and driving under the influence. Gordon refused to take a breathalyzer but apologized in a statement issued by the school.
According to head coach Mike Gundy, who has had the luxury of scouting players who have “gotten into trouble with the law,” Gordon will not be suspended. Here’s why:
“I’m not trying to justify what Ollie did,” he said, adding that no one was injured. “I’ve probably done it 1,000 times in my life and that’s fine, so I counted myself lucky.”
Yes, not killing someone while driving drunk, and likely not killing a regular OSU student, is down to luck, not poor judgment.What a powerful message from an adult who is a leader of youth!
Gundy added that ignoring Gordon’s arrest was a “business” decision because losing a game due to a suspension could hurt his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy, where “good character” is no longer a consideration.
This is not good for business at OSU, nor is it good for Gundy’s personal business, who will get $7.75 million plus bonuses to win at all costs.
Similar fighters: Reader/friend Rich Ippolito introduces us to 1930s heavyweight champions Primo Carnera and Aaron Judge.
The last time we saw Yankees pitcher Alex Verdugo, he hadn’t even reached home plate after flipping his bat for a home run. The thick, gaudy gold chain he wears so unobtrusively around his neck must be slowing him down. He’s another guy who will make major league baseball hard to watch, or even to bear.
Good question of the week: After reading a questionable TV graphic that identified the previous pitch as a 102 mph sinker, Mets radio personality Keith Ladd asked, “How did it have time to sink?”
