Category Archives: Baseball

Nothing gets Minnesotans angry like Jose Ramirez bat flips

October 1, 2015 Ai Leave a comment

GIF: Jose Ramirez's bat flip against the Twins. #Indians #Twins pic.twitter.com/11yfrcXG14

— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) October 1, 2015

https://twitter.com/TJZuppe/status/649429644916170752

What a week to be an unwritten rule in baseball, eh?

On Sunday, probable NL MVP Bryce Harper didn’t run out a popup so Jonathan Papelbon decided to choke him out. Pap was later suspended for the rest of the season and the team even pulled his jersey off of the racks in the team shop.

Then on Wednesday, Padres pitcher Bud Norris dropped this bombshell of a paragraph in a USA Today article about racial tensions in baseball:

“I think it’s a culture shock,’’ Norris said. “This is America’s game. This is America’s pastime, and over the last 10-15 years we’ve seen a very big world influence in this game, which we as a union and as players appreciate. We’re opening this game to everyone that can play. However, if you’re going to come into our country and make our American dollars, you need to respect a game that has been here for over a hundred years, and I think sometimes that can be misconstrued. There are some players that have antics, that have done things over the years that we don’t necessarily agree with.”

I’ve always sat somewhere in the middle with these things. My dad is about as old-school as it gets and most of my coaches from tee ball through college were as well. So I understand that side of it. But I also appreciate the HELL out of a good bat flip. They’re part of the game guys. And yeah, so is some sweet chin music for the next batter or for the bat flipper later in the game or in the season. Sure. Players understand that. If they rip off a monster pimp job and get a fastball in the ass the next AB, they might give a quick glance towards the mound but most guys know it’s coming. Hence Jose’s quote after the game:

Jose Ramirez, asked if he was worried if Twins would throw at him Thurs: "It's my bad. If they hit me, I'll take it." (Salazar translated).

— paul hoynes (@hoynsie) October 1, 2015

Side note, it’s certainly not just the Latin American players doing it, Bud. Even if it was, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind it if it was a go-ahead dinger during one of your starts.

As for this specific situation last night, I wish I could say I wouldn’t have been chirping Jose as he crossed home plate if I was in the visitors dugout but I definitely would have. Long day, second game of a double header, your team is getting pounded, a kid hitting .220 hits his eighth career homer and sends his lumber to the moon right in front of the bench.

Then again, the Twins had intentionally walked Kipnis to face Ramirez, so I can see why he might have been a bit fired up to make them pay for that.

As long as people hit monster home runs and baseball still self-governs itself with rules that aren’t recorded anywhere, you’ll have these tiffs. And I, for one, can’t get enough of them.

Baseball's Top 10 Unwritten Rules:
1)
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4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)

— Casey Fisk (@FiskPT) September 30, 2015

KEEP THE CHIEF

Baseball, Indians

The Indians broke Lloyd McClendon

June 3, 2015 Ai Leave a comment

So the Tribe invaded Seattle this past weekend and took three of four from the M’s. The whole squad had a rough weekend, including manager Lloyd McClendon.

Then, on Tuesday, Alex Rodriguez checked his swing.

You’ll have to click the link cause I’m on my lunch break and can’t figure out how to embed it:

http://m.mlb.com/video/v142346583

Here are some highlights:

Best parts about this historical tirade:

Obviously the kicking of the hat. Clean contact, great distance. One of those drives in golf that you hit perfectly, a line drive off a baseball bat that you don’t even feel because you squared it up so nice. Big players make big plays at big moments, and your boy Lloyd absolutely crushed the hat punt.
Making sure every umpire got a piece of his mind. There’s no way 90% of what was coming out of his mouth was making any sense or had any relevance to the situation at hand, but it’s all about making a show. Check, check and check.
The hustle in the jog out to the third base ump. That part made me LOL. “I’m gonna throw a temper tantrum, but god damnit I’ll make it as convenient for you as possible.”

This ain’t Lloyd’s first rodeo, either. The man literally stole first base when he was managing the Pirates back in the day.

Still, for my money, the best ejection of all time is quite safely in the hands of Wally Backman.

“Let’s go have a beer, Doc.”

Baseball

The rich get richer: Max Scherzer to Washington, 7 years $210 million

January 19, 2015 Ai Leave a comment

Source: Scherzer deal with #Nationals is seven years, $210M with half deferred. He will receive $15M per year for 14 years.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 19, 2015

So, in the end, Scherzer gets $66M more from #Nationals than #Tigers offered. Present-day value of $210M will be lower due to deferrals.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 19, 2015

Not a bad way to kick your week off, eh Max?

The contract he signed on Monday was the second-highest for a starting pitcher in baseball history, behind Clayton Kershaw’s 7 year, $215 million dollar Dodger deal. I don’t care about the fact that it’s really not $210 million when you take inflation into account…that’s a whole f*** ton of dough. The guy is going to be getting $15 million dollars a year from the Nationals until 2028.

Buster Olney had the Nationals at the very top of his list of best rotations in the bigs a week ago, before they signed the 2013 AL Cy Young winner. On paper this is probably the best rotation we’ve seen since the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies (Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hames & Roy Oswalt). Even if they do end up dealing either Stephen Strasburg or Jordan Zimmermann like they’ve been rumored to be trying to do, they’re gonna be a really unenjoyable bunch to hit against.

Believe it or not, the Indians have had some decent success against Scherzer in the past three years. He’s 5-1 with a 4.06 ERA and a .243 BAA against the featherheads since 2012. Not bad at all, but not up to his recent standards. And he’s one of those guys who can rip off a complete game shutout on any given night. Plus he beats up on the rest of the division. Good riddance! – The AL Central.

How does this affect the market for James Shields? Probably not that much. Shields older so he was never going to sniff the 7 year deal Scherzer got. The consensus seems to still be a 4 year deal worth around $70-$80 mil. There have been some whispers that the Indians have a deal on the table for Big Game James. Would it be cool? Of course. But I’m happy with where our rotation is now, and I don’t know if the anti-Swisher/Bourn-contract fans could handle another big deal for someone on the wrong side of 30.

PS That list of top rotations from Buster Olney? Indians at 10. He also did a top ten for bullpens and lineups. Indians at 10 and 9 respectively. But what does he know?