MLB - NEWS & NOTES

Red Sox manager John Farrell has lymphoma and is stepping away from the team.

 

I actually like passer rating, it makes some sense but is too complicated. If there's a guy I don't know a ton about sometimes I'll glance at his passer rating because it'll give a rough estimate, but I won't argue 1 guy is better than another based on it.

QBR is like WAR, lots of random stuff in there and no one really gets it. Only up side is only ESPN calculates QBR vs WAR which has like a dozen calculations as you eluded to.

 

That's too bad, hopefully he'll make a great recovery and have many years left in front of him both on and off the field.

 

Kemp completes first cycle in Padres history

DENVER -- As he chugged hard between second and third base in the ninth inning on Friday, Matt Kemp was well aware he had never once hit for the cycle in a big league career that has spanned 10 seasons.

He just wasn't aware that the Padres -- a franchise born in April of 1969 -- hadn't had one of their own, either.

After Friday's 9-5 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field, they do now.

"When I slid into third base, [third base coach Glenn Hoffman] Hoffy says, 'That's the first one.' I said, 'Yeah, that is my first one.' He said, 'No ? that's the first one for the Padres.'"
Kemp, smiling ear-to-ear as Hoffman patted him on the back, pondered that. How could a club that played its 7,444 game on Friday never have had anyone hit for the cycle?

"It's hard to believe. All those great hitters that have been here, like Tony Gwynn and all those guys, haven't been able to get a hit for a cycle," Kemp said. "I'm just glad to be able to do it."

Kemp came to bat in the ninth inning needing that triple -- often the elusive hit for batters who have fallen just shy of hitting for the cycle.

The Padres know this as much as anyone. Prior to Kemp's achievement, the team had been one hit shy of the cycle 361 times. On those occasions, 258 of them fell a triple short. (MLB.com)

 

Truly sad... wish him the best.

 

i never said sabermetrics were stupid. i just don't like them over seeing a kid live and judging his talents with your own 2 eyes and not a computer.

 

I know, I just know things can become all good or all bad in our minds, so I wanted to point out some of the things I like about them as well.

 

i saw a picture once of the grading report on tom seaver. it was on a little card like a child's report cared and had all these categories and grades in it with personal notes about seaver. pretty cool. to me that's what real scouting is all about.

 

Perfect Game by Fiers for the Astros vs the Dodgers.

As for AL MVP Donaldson has got to be the frontrunner right now. But it's a 2-man race.

 

Interesting note on that graphic, Donaldson has played 1 more game but has 21 more PA's.

 

Being on the top scoring team by a ridiculous amount of runs helps in getting plate appearances.

 

Pirates walked it off today against the Giants...

 

i may be the only man in philly that is angry at the phils winning since the All-Star Break. It's costing them the #1 pick in the draft. Sure a top 5 pick is nice, but at #1 they hold a lot of leverage to trade it etc. They keep winning meaningless games and are not the worst team in the majors right now. these dopes on facebook are so happy and want them to keep winning. shut up!

just lose baby! *ROSE*

 

Absolutely, wholeheartedly disagree. I would be happy for my team that they are playing great ball. If anyone on my team tanked as a player or coach... i would kick some ass.

Here's what i think cat... with the whole planet full of great ballers, especially in Venezuala, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, let alone the US... Dropping down 100 players that are draftable is not going to make that much difference.

You always step onto the field and give your best, imo. Anything short of that is un-exceptable. The very thought of deliberate losing to procure a top draftee is just plane dumb. That goes for anyone in sports, the work place, or what have you.

People pay big bucks as fans to see their team play hard... how is it fair or right to deny them and cheat them this way?

 

dropping down 100 players makes a huge difference. the phils need all the help they can get so winning a few meaningless games to change their draft picks matters a lot. this isn't like the oilers with 3 picks in a row or some crap like that. the phils were picked to be the worst team in the league and are now winning like they can make the playoffs. they can't, so don't ruin a good thing here.

im not saying cheat and lose games on purpose but every player they have called up has done well unexpectedly. nola pitched a gem and the athlerr kid is playing solid so far with 2 hrs in his first week in the bigs. if they thought they could win then why trade utley, papelbon and hamels ?

:-/

 

I think Utley and Papelbon are close to being washed up and the young players are playing well. It's giving the young players more experience and eventually more will be called up and the team will only get better. The young players HAVE to play hard and show their wares to be in the starting lineup next season. No player likes to tank. It all has to do with who the FO wants in the lineup. And they obviously want to see what they have in the minors. That is why they are called up......

 

And the Oilers get another #1 in Connor McDavid this year....... *REF*

 

We can agree to disagree. You just proved my point, by the way. If the prospects and call-ups are doing well with experience... why would you be so concerned about getting the 1st pick?

The '100' was a way of showing how exagerrated this rankings are. You wont slip down 100 picks, you might just slip down a few. Too me thats not significant enough of a drop to be concerned or to tank a season and screw the paying fans.