The only thing that could make a frustrating series in Colorado with it’s Peewee’s Playhouse rules is backing that up by having to deal with the National League’s best team for four nights. Which makes it pretty damn tough to get out of this road trip over .500, as that would mean taking three of four in a place where the home team is 25-7. Good times all around.

So where to start with the Dodgers? Maybe Cody Bellinger doing a damn fine Mike Trout impression for two and a half months?That’s what he’s been doing, cutting down his strikeouts while losing none of his power and becoming a plus right fielder even though he’s a first baseman (still convinced he has rohypnol in his house though). There’s Joc Pederesen cutting down his strikeouts and still providing the power he always did. There’s latest lab project Max Muncy providing offensive force from a variety of positions. Or maybe Justin Turner and his dependable dominance. Perhaps we should stop.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s twofold: One, the Cubs are catching them right after Cory Seager had his latest twang and he’s out for a month at least. Second, the Dodgers effectiveness against lefties is still not nearly as strong as the other side, and the Cubs will be tossing two of them. That brings Enrique Hernandez into the lineup and Chris Taylor, and both have been not good. But it’s not much, as both Muncy and Bellinger still hit lefties really well, Turner is still around…and well that’s enough.

Going to the rotation won’t provide any solace, as the Dodgers have five starters with sub-4.00 ERAs. And Kershaw has maybe been their third or fourth best starter as he ages. It’s a wonder how anyone hits Buehler at all given his stuff, and Rich Hill is still here TO SHOW YOU HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO HIM GODDAMMIT HE CARES SO MUCH CAN’T YOU SEE HOW MUCH HE FUCKING CARES GOD HE CARES SO MUCH. Ryu has been the best starter in the NL. So even if they don’t bash your skull in with the bats, they’ll probably smother you with the pitching.

If there’s been anything resembling a bugaboo, it’s the pen. So they’ll be competing with the Cubs for an arm or two in the trade market, using pieces from their system that’s become a goddamn assembly line. Kenley Jensen hasn’t been as automatic, though still very hard to break through on, and the bridge to him has been rickety. Joe Kelly got a contract to solve that even though he’s always sucked. Pedro Baez has been his usual highly effective while making everyone understand Nietzche while doing so. Ross Stripling has been a touch unlucky, while Yimi Garcia has been straight up bad. But generally, they only have to get 3-6 outs per night which just about anyone can manage, even Dave Roberts.

So yeah, four with all that. The Cubs got two of three from the Dodgers in April, before they ascended to whatever plane they’re on now. There are no such things as markers or measuring sticks in a season this long, but there’s more than a small chance the Cubs and Dodgers will renew their blood feud in the NLCS come October. It would be refreshing for us, not the players, if they looked like they belonged on the same field this weekend. It’s always fascinating to see Kyle Hendricks go against a lineup this high-powered, and it’ll be another test for Darvish.

No one said this will be fun.

Baseball

Dodgers Spotlight: Another Weapon They Didn’t Need

By Sam Fels June 13, 2019 1278 0

It’s bad enough that the Dodgers have a weaponized, flexible, young lineup that’s been punching holes in the ozone all season. The Dodgers have run roughshod over the National League now for basically two and a half seasons. Sure, last season’s record and needing a 163rd game to win the division doesn’t sound like it, but any of their underlying stats told you that they were the class of the Senior Circuit. They apparently are determined to set that record straight this season.

In the past couple seasons, the Dodgers rotation has been good, but beyond Clayton Kershaw it had been more to the functional side than dominant. Perhaps that’s what kept them from capping it all off with a World Series wins, as true nuclear lineups like the Astros and Red Sox essentially pummeled them.

Not so anymore. Kershaw doesn’t even have to be Kershaw anymore, and they’re still rocking five starters with ERAs under 4.00. Walker Buehler promised this last year, Rich Hill infuriatingly has been this effective his whole tenure there. But Hyun-Jin Ryu is the real surprise. Then again, the real surprise is that he’s been upright for more than four or five starts.

Ryu hasn’t made 30 starts in six seasons, and he’s only crossed 20 twice in the five seasons since. So taking the ball every fifth day already this season is something of a win. And of course, when he is, no one has been able to touch him. He currently has a microchip of an ERA of 1.36, a WHIP of 0.80, and a FIP of 2.62. All of which lead the National League (he’s second in FIP behind Scherzer barely) and make Ryu your clubhouse leader for the Cy Young.

Ryu has been using a sinker more often this year instead of his fastball, but it’s his fastball that is showing a heightened effectiveness. Whereas in the past hitters managed a .283 average against his fastball, it’s only .203 now. Ryu is getting more whiffs and foul balls off it, but the contact is just about the same. But Ryu seems to be combatting the new swing planes of hitters by using it only in the upper part of the zone. See for yourself:

Another change is that Ryu is using his change more. He’s throwing it a quarter of the time, up from 18% last year. That’s how he’s been getting all the grounders, as nearly 60% of the changes that are put in play end up with grass stains. It’s become his go-to, as he throws it more than any other pitch with two strikes.

There is an element of mirrors to Ryu’s season so far. He’s got a .248 BABIP, which is some 40 points below his career average. And he’s getting a 94 left-on-base percentage, which clearly won’t last. The Dodgers have a great infield defense of course, so the higher number of grounders should lower the BABIP. But more of those runners will score. Ryu’s 1.6% BB% is simply ridiculous, and would be the lowest since Carlos Silva’s 1.2% in 2005 and no other marks since 1980. Maybe he can keep it up, but it hasn’t been done in a very long time or at all.

Combined with Buehler, Kershaw, and Hill, the Dodgers have a rotation that can slice through anyone in a playoff series, which obscures perhaps their one mini-weakness which is the bridge to Kenley Jansen (who hasn’t been his normal self this year). As if they didn’t have everything already.

Everything Else

You Get What Anyone Gets – Saying Goodbye To The ’18-19 Boston Bruins

By Sam Fels June 13, 2019 2390 0

You fucking fuckwits.

One of the reasons that most everyone hates the Patriots is that the path always seems to make itself in front of them. Not only are they ahead of the game, but their division has had unmatched and an almost incomprehensible incompetence and asshoolery for over a decade. Which means the Pats get six wins every year automatically to start, which means they only have to find five or six out of the other 10 to play at home through the playoffs. Just their aura has turned everyone closest to them into unidentifiable goo.

That’s what befell the Bruins here. Must be a Boston thing. The juggernaut in their own division broke all their ribs trying to fellate themselves in the first round, while the Bruins drew the one team that has such a mental block about them all they have to do is stand still and watch the doofuses on the other bench speak in tongues and break their backs doing some sort of seance. From there all they had was playoff neophytes through to the Final, ones that were getting nosebleeds from the rarified air they hadn’t experienced before. All too easy.

And then all it was in the Final was a team that didn’t belong. That didn’t know what they were doing there and kept turning around to find the relief of someone telling them to get out of there. The Bruins had 11 days off, a gift this time of year for nothing else but to stuff Patrice Bergeron’s organs back out of his legs where they seem to keep falling during any playoff run.

And yet they kept making it harder. Long stretches of trying to do the Humpty dance at the offensive blue line instead of just getting it deep and seeing if the Blues defense could get it out, which they can’t. The false impression that Zdeno Chara can do anything any more, which he can’t. Another Brad Marchand disappearance (and we’ll get back to this fraudulent shit weasel in a second). Bergeron injury. We’ve seen it all before. It’s the script.

And yet the Bruins had it in their hands. They’d engineered what should have been the Blues-iest moment in history, deflating that sweat-stained and illiterate balloon and party they were so ready to have. Game 7 at home, after pulling the pin. All they had to do was basically show up and not fuck up. All they had to do was bury the puck in a three-quarters open net instead of firing it back into the guts of a scrambling Jordan Binnington.

But that’s what the Bruins, and Marchand, did. It was easier to score, and would have changed the game and series. But this is June, which means it’s when Brad Marchand turns into a gaseous cloud.

Here’s Marchand’s record in his last two final appearances. One 5-on-3 goal, one empty net goal. That’s it. 13 games, and the supposed best left winger in the game can’t be found when it matters most with the a space telescope. Here, let’s revisit his coup-de-fuckstick:

I don’t know what’s best/worst. His Roger Dorn Ole bullshit at the blue line or his “Fuck it it’s your problem now” shuffle off to the bench with all of seven seconds left. This is Brad Marchand when it counts. Enjoy paying him until he’s David Backes II.

Here’s a list of teams to lose two Finals since the Great Lockout of ’05: Boston.

Congrats, it’s what you’ve always wanted, your own exclusive club where you can chew a truck-full of Skoal, pretend the Dropkicks are good and represent you in anyway, and talk about how Cam Neely could still score 50 in this league (that is if the league hadn’t been “pussified,” which is definitely how Bruins fans and execs described it). We know what happens here. You’ll learn all the wrong lessons because you still let Mike Milbury hang around for some godforsaken reason. Despite your success the past two years based on a quick defense and playing as fast as possible, along with Bergeron’s genius, you’ll conclude it’s because you’re not tough enough. You’ll let your BarfStool fandom bully you into thinking this. You know it to be true. Here comes Wayne Simmonds and Braydon Coburn. Fucking book it. This is the only organization that could double-down on a Backes signing, and they will.

You’ll blame Tuukka Rask, and finally break him when he gives up three goals in a period in the first week of October. If he has any sense he’ll pull a Patrick Roy right after Kevin Paul Dupont belches up his column questioning his heart, and then he’ll go on to win a Conn Smythe with the Flames. It’s what he deserves. It’s what you deserve.

It couldn’t have been any simpler, and you could have saved us from this great plague. You made every mistake possible and yet it was still there for you. The Blues kept tossing you the Cup, the one you kept chanting you wanted, and the Bruins kept receiving it like a person seeing a 16-inch softball for the first time.

I’ll tell you what happens now. You’ll lose to the Leafs next year. Everything’s broken, and you broke it. The gates are open, and everyone is coming for theirs. That’s if you don’t return to your natural state and getting fetal for the Canadiens in the first round. And then Krejci, Marchand, and Bergeron will be too old. There’s nothing behind them. This was it for you. You can’t fuck up a chance like this and think you’ll ever get another one. Hockey may be random and weird and stupid, but it doesn’t allow for that kind of compassion. It will exact its pound of flesh.

Also your biggest celebrity fans are either the leader of the most racist, misogynist sports empire in the world, a comedian who stole all of his stuff from Bill Hicks, or some dipshit actor who somehow keeps drugging Emily Blunt into believing he’s either talented or handsome. How perfect.

So in the words of Jon Hamm, perhaps the only good thing about St. Louis:

Baseball

Series Preview – Yankees at White Sox: Blood Money

By Andy Jonathan June 13, 2019 1261 0

VS

Records: Yankees 41-25 White Sox: 32-34

Gametimes: Thurs/Fri/Sat 7:10pm. Sunday: 1:10

TV: NBCSN

The Evil Empire: PinstripeAlley

Probable Starters:

Thursday: JA Happ vs Ivan Nova

Friday: CC Sabathia vs Lucas Giolito

Saturday: TBD vs Reynaldo Lopez

Sunday: Masahiro Tanaka vs Odrisamer Despaigne

PROBABLE LINEUPS

YANKEES

1. DJ LeMahieu (2B)

2. Aaron Hicks (CF)

3. Luke Voit (DH)

4. Gary Sanchez (C)

5. Didi Gregorius (SS)

6. Clint Frazier (RF)

7. Kendrys Morales (1B)

8. Gio Urshela (3B)

9. Brett Gardner (LF)

SOX

1. Leury Garcia (CF)

2. Tim Anderson (SS)

3. Jose Abreu (1B)

4. James McCann (C)

5. Eloy Jimenez (LF)

6. Yonder Alonso (DH) (SIGH)

7. Jose Rondon (3B)

8. Yolmer Sanchez (2B)

9. Ryan Cordell (RF)

The Evil Empire comes to town for a 4 game set this weekend, with the Yankees splitting a double header against their crosstown counterparts the Mets this past Tuesday, with them banging out 16 runs between the two games. The Yankees haven’t had as much luck with the win column in June, constantly flip flopping with the Rays for first place in the division. That hasn’t stopped them from hitting the shit out of the ball during that span, however.

This is a different Yankees team than the one that visited back in April. While Giancarlo “Mike” Stanton and Aaron Judge are still on the IL along with Luis Severino the rest of the team has mostly gotten healthier. The replacements for the ones that haven’t continue to hit at a prodigious pace, with DJ Lethal LeMahieu leading the way with his .316 average and 47 RBIs. Doughboy Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez are pummeling the ball right now, with a combined 37 home runs between the two of them. With the return of Didi Gregorious to the lineup after Tommy John surgery there aren’t too many weak spots in the lineup as it stands right now other than Brett Gardner, and he’ll get punted to the bench when Stanton comes back in the next week or two.

As far as their pitching staff goes, this unit is currently anchored down by Masa Tanaka who currently has an ERA that sits in the mid 3’s. James Paxton had strung together a few solid starts in a row before the wheels came off against the Mets on Tuesday. He didn’t make it out of the 3rd inning while giving up 6 runs. He got booed off the mound by the New York “faithful”, and may have his turn in the rotation skipped as a result. Personal favorite CC Sabathia is also still here, the retirement train still chugging along with a 3.66 ERA. JA Happ is still struggling to string together decent starts, and he stands as the Sox best chance to pull out an easy win this weekend.

As for the Pale Hose, after their split with the Nationals earlier this week they still sit 2 games under .500, with their odds of getting past that not looking great. With both Lopez and Nova on tap this weekend, they’re going to need to have better control than they’ve shown of late if they want to see the 5th inning, Nova in particular. Giolito gets his sternest test to date against this lineup of mashers and it will be interesting to see how he responds. O-driss gets his second start in a Sox jersey, and if he can replicate what he did against the Nats on Monday night, I’ll be shocked.

This could be ugly…

Baseball

Yankees Spotlight: The CC Sabathia Farewell Tour

By Andy Jonathan June 13, 2019 1290 0

Just gonna get this out of the way right at the front. I like CC Sabathia, always have. When he came up with the Indians back in 2001, I loved the way he pitched. He just didn’t give a shit. Walked out to the mound with his jersey 12% tucked in, hat askew, and just threw smoke. This was back when the Sox teams were nothing to sneeze at, too. Frank Thomas, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome. It didn’t matter who was up there, he just toed the rubber and THREW. Much like Johan Santana with the Twins back then, you couldn’t help be impressed. Those opening years his ERA was always hovering right around 4ish, but you never seemed to notice because the Indians rosters back then were hilariously loaded. Shit, Cliff Lee had a 5.53 ERA in 2004 and STILL won 14 games. CC was different, however. You could always just see that this dude was destined for something greater than the Mistake By The Lake.

As his career moved on, this became clear. The last 3 years in Cleveland you could see the switch flip. He became a pure workhorse, winning 48 games between 2006-08, and going the distance in 20(!!!) of them. His ERA went down almost a full point by the time he was traded to the Brewers at the deadline in 2008, and he tried his damnedest to drag Milwaukee to the promised land (nope). After that, it was time for him to get paid, and that’s exactly what happened. The Evil Empire signed him to a 7 year deal worth $161 million, the largest ever given to a pitcher at the time. He responded by winning 19 games that season with a 3.30 ERA and helped the Yank to their first World Series trophy in almost a decade.

Usually when a player, especially a pitcher, signs a wacky deal like the one CC signed, the odds of him finishing that contract with the same team are pretty damn low. Not only did Sabathia finish that contract, but signed two extensions after it. During the 2013-15 seasons, injuries began to plague the big man. This really isn’t a surprise when you look at the innings he pitched up until this point. He battled through them and came back healthy in 2017, in which he had something of a renaissance. He started 26 games that year, racked up 14 wins and 150 innings. The Yankees believed (rightly so) that proper management of his innings, combined with the introduction of a cutter to his repertoire after years of a mostly fastball/slider 1-2 punch would extend his shelf life. It worked, as the now 39 year old CC is one of only 7 other pitchers to ever win 100 games with two different teams. He missed some time at the beginning of this season, mostly because doctors were putting a stent into his heart, but he still made it back in time to beat the Sox in April.

As his career winds down to a close, all you have to do is look at his career statistics and you’ll see a six time all star, and a first ballot hall of famer. He’s won 248 games and counting, struck out over 3,000 batters in 3450 innings, and won the AL Cy Young in 2007. He won a world series in 2009, and been nothing but classy his entire career. There’s really nothing else for him to do, except retire on his own terms, which I have the utmost respect for him doing. Despite him playing exclusively for teams that I despise, I’ll truly miss seeing him pitch. Just not when he was pitching against the Sox.

Baseball

Series Wrap – Cubs Lose Two Of Three In Colorado: The Rocky Mountain Way Can Kiss My Ass

By Sam Fels June 12, 2019 1340 0

Game 1 Box Score: Rockies 6, Cubs 5

Game 2 Box Score: Rockies 10, Cubs 3

Game 3 Box Score: Cubs 10, Rockies 1

Maybe I just forget every season, or I truly didn’t realize how torturous series in Denver are. Or maybe it was not wanting to lose the buzz from that homestand so quickly, and maybe losing just two of three doesn’t do that. I leave that to you. But good god, you’re never comfortable, sure something will go wrong, and the more you watch them you’re sure the Rockies are some gimmick team that are helpless outside their own environs. It feels cheap in a way.

Anyway, each team got a blowout and the Rockies got the coin-flip. While the massive bullpen meltdowns are no more damaging, though harder to watch, it’s the slow leaks that feel worse. Sure, Montgomery just hung one pitch that got hit to goddamn Telluride, and then Cishek was the victim of some fiendish BABIP Kung Fu Treachery with Murphy’s ball hitting the motherfucking bag. Maybe Rizzo doesn’t get there anyway, but I’m willing to bet he would have. Even McMahon’s game-winning hit was a product of Coors. You can say all that.

But that’s the problem. Even when the pen isn’t actively lighting itself on fire it still leaks a run here or there, and in close games that’s all it takes when the other team has a decent pen. Montgomery might not be as dependable as he was, and his 5.17 ERA and 1.7 WHIP suggest he’s not. Perhaps the yo-yoing of his role has finally taken its toll.

The Cubs still have a few weeks to survive until Craig Kimbrel arrives, and even then the pen won’t be sorted unless Carl Edwards Jr. finally finds the fountain of control, Cishek proves he’s not still dragging from last year, and either Maples finds that same fountain or they acquire someone or Brandon Morrow actually comes up for air. It’s the only thing holding this team back.

Anyway…

The Two Obs

-Schwarber now tickling a .900 OPS out of the leadoff spot. Everyone can kiss my ass and call it a love story.

-It’s funny how we feel differently about Yu Darvish‘s start than we do about Jon Lester‘s on Sunday, even though they were both four runs over six innings. Obviously, one held the opponent down to give his team a chance to come back while the other coughed up a lead. But that’s mitigated by this being Coors Field. Darvish didn’t walk anyone, which is a big step. Of late, Yu is losing his slider less, and his straight fastball more, which is probably a little easier to control. It’s getting there, and while he might be the highest-paid starter which makes his #5 status feel wrong, it’s still a hell of a fifth starter to have if that’s how things are right now.

–Cole Hamels got half-whiffs on any change-up the Rockies swung at today, which is probably the only way to get out of that dungeon alive. Your curve is going to be affected, but your change won’t. Hamels has been nails his last three starts, which makes it unfortunate he’s the only one the Cubs won’t get to use against the Gashouse Gorillas this weekend.

-Boy, Victor Caratini is putting to rest those overcooked fears from Spring Training that Willson would get too tired come the end of the year, huh? Caratini has also been a plus-framer so far this year, whereas Contreras has been just about even.

-Heyward is a good weekend from getting up over an .800 OPS again, which would be more than acceptable.

-Quintana has shied away from using his change the past two starts, both against the Rockies. Both starts saw him give up three runs but one was in over seven innings where he didn’t get out of the fifth last night. When he doesn’t use that change, he becomes a two-pitch pitcher which is a real problem when he can’t locate the fastball.

-Boy the Rockies get red-assed, huh? To be fair the whole thing was dumb. They weren’t trying to hit Kris Bryant twice in a game, and I don’t know how hitting Arenado makes Bryant un-hit or will prevent anyone from hitting Bryant again. We really think a pitcher on another team is even going to know about this, much less think, “I’m not going to throw inside to one of the best hitters in the game because they might plunk my guy?” Awfully complicated. Baez putting one 450 feet away is how you do it. Do it more often.

Onwards…

Everything Else

Stanley Cup Final Game 7 Preview – Cue The Europe

By Sam Fels June 12, 2019 1583 0

vs.

GAMETIME: 7pm Central

TV: NBC

PISSHEADS AND CHOWDAHEADS: St. Louis Gametime, Stanley Cup Of Chowder

If it feels like this goddamn Final has gone on for two months, you’re not alone. While the added day off for travel makes sense and should have been instituted a while ago, it does add four days to the series so you go from two weeks to two and a half, and it makes a difference. Hockey on June 12th is just dumb.

Or maybe it feels like it’s been this long because it’s two teams you’d rather not see win, and we spent all that time staring into the abyss that St. Louis could actually pull this off. Those two days felt like 70. And they still could, clearly, but a Game 7 on the road doesn’t much seem in character for them. Then again, being here at all doesn’t seem in character for them, so everything we knew and built our foundations upon is rubbish. Good way to live.

So it comes to this. Analyzing one hockey game can be futile, because anything can flip it. A bad call, a missed call, a delay of game penalty, a too many men penalty, someone falling on their ass, really anything.

Also, if Tuukka Rask plays as well as he did in Game 6, it isn’t going to matter much anyway. He is the reason the Bruins traipsed to the Final, and the layoff clearly took him down a level (down was the only way for him to go), but he may have found it again.

What Blues fans will be watching intently is if Jordan Binnington is going to revert to Blues traditional goaltending after letting in Brandon Carlo’s double-play ball through him and into the net. BABIP Kung Fu Treachery can come to hockey too, people. You would imagine the Blues aren’t going to get this with a middling goalie performance as the Bruins will make the Blues work at least on the power play, and Rask isn’t going to let the bottom fall out either. You know what we’re betting on.

Again, it’s a bit silly to pinpoint one player, because any fuckwit can come up with two goals and have his name live forever. Remember Max Talbot scoring twice in a Game 7? That dude was just a live action Pepe Le Peux. Still, most will focus on the Bruins top line. If they score, the Bruins tend to win. They hadn’t really until Game 6, with Marchand pulling a Jagr and only showing up when his team was on a two-man advantage and then Pastrnak got one in the third. The narrative has been that Bergeron has been getting pushed around in this series, but I don’t know that I buy it. He’s only been in the red in both attempts and expected goals in a game in Game 5 and Game 2, so he just hasn’t gotten the rub.

You would expect Bruce Cassidy to continue to keep Bergeron’s line and the Chara-McAvoy pairing separate, mostly to keep Chara away from Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko which he simply hasn’t had the mobility to deal with. That still leaves O’Reilly’s line as the assignment, and he’s obviously been going off of late. One feels if the Blues get this, it will be from that line. If anyone else dents on either side, then it’ll be their night.

It’s hard to see the Bruins losing three straight home games. The Blues have the bigger questions in goal and on special teams, which is not where you want to be in a Game 7. But again, it’s one game, where anything stupid or inexplicable is possible. But hey, at least it will be over come 11pm or 12am, right?

Baseball

Giolito And The All-Star Game

By Sam Fels June 12, 2019 1339 0

You may expect me to come here and shit on the All-Star Game and tell you it doesn’t matter if Lucas Giolito starts it for the American League or not. And then do various Rock impressions and references, which I’ll be doing anyway around my house because that’s how I get through the day. But that’s not what I’m here to do.

The ASG has lost some gloss to everyone, I think, but mostly that’s because of how the game is played. Everyone gets in, everyone gets on a roster after expansions and injuries and pitchers declared ineligible. The every team rule also is a bit stupid, but at least that one I understand. It wasn’t the tie in 2002 that cheapened it, it was the response to it. Not everyone needs to play in it, and keeping the best of the best on the field longer would go some way to restoring the luster of it. Then again, I totally understand those who would rather catch a flight home somewhere around the 7th inning and get a mini-break in during a very long season.

That said, the All-Star starter still carries a lot of weight, at least to me. It’s the spot that can’t get borked by some stupid fan campaign to load votes onto whoever a fanbase has decided needs to be there. It doesn’t get altered by the every team rule, because it’s just about the only spot where the best player for the first half gets his role without any bullshit. Sure, he might have to bow out if he starts on the Sunday before or whatever the rule is, but he gets the title. Those who take the mound on that Tuesday in July first, there’s something special about them. They are unquestionably the best at what they do for that season at that point.

So the question now becomes should Giolito be the AL starter in Cleveland? Yes, of course. What’re you stupid? Get outta here. I ain’t got time for this.

Ok, obviously it’s not that simple. Giolito does have the best FIP in the AL, and the third best ERA behind Jake Odorizzi and Charlie Morton. By fWAR, Giolito is the best pitcher in the league right now. According to Baseball reference, he’s behind Mike Minor, Verlander, and Matthew Boyd. So let’s just say fuck Baseball Reference, huh? (I don’t mean that. Love you, BBREF). By ERA-, which does take park effects into account, Giolito trails Odorizzi and Morton as well. When it comes to ERA, I would argue that both Odorizzi and Morton play behind significantly better defenses than Giolito does, though the Twins only have the significant advantage in the outfield.

I suppose it would be hypocritical to argue that MLB should step in, but this is a league that’s had a hard time marketing new stars and getting them into the consciousness of the casual sporting public. And Odorizzi or Morton are hardly household names. But Giolito carries more weight, as he plays in a team that’s been dormant for a while. Sure, Morton plays for a team that they need to get ANYONE to watch, and his selection it could be argued would remind people that the Rays exist. They also gave Blake Snell, deservedly, the fucking Cy Young last year and still no one cares. The Twins are the new hotness as well, so Odorizzi along with the raft of others they’ll have at the game could lead that charge.

But of the three, it feels like the selection of Giolito would be part of a start of something, a marker in a career that could go just about anywhere. This is probably as brightly as Morton or Odorizzi will burn. It would, hopefully, not be the pinnacle of Giolito’s career.

He’s going either way, and will probably get on the mound. And that will be a thrill for Sox fans as they wait for meaningful baseball again. But give him the full ride.

Everything Else

Offseason Trade Target: The Ghost Bear

By Sam Fels June 12, 2019 2146 0

We continue our look around what the Hawks might be able to pry loose via trade this summer, and our lonely eyes turn to The Iladelph. This one isn’t as clear as some others, where the Flyers aren’t actively shopping Shayne Gostisbehere. But they’re also listening, desperate for some forward help. That’s why they’ve traded for the rights to pay Kevin Hayes, who sucks, but it would be truly Flyers to get the jump on negotiations and fuck them up anyway.

So first off, would the Flyers actually part with Ghost Bear? Possibly. He’s been passed on the depth chart by Ivan Provorov, and it might soon be that Travis Sanheim does as well. They’ve been waiting for Robert Hagg and Samuel Morin forever, and there’s a couple other kids down in the system as well. It’s something of a strength to trade from for them.

And Ghost Bear has earned himself the title of a power play specialist. Your first reaction is to say that he’s just younger, more mobile Erik Gustafsson. Except that younger and more mobile is something we’ve wanted Gus to be for his entire stay here, so I’m not sure that’s anything worth complaining about.

But yes, Gostisbehere has racked up the power play points in the past, with 33 two years ago, and 23 the year before that. That doesn’t mean he’s a total nincompoop at even-strength, with 23 points this year and 32 the year before that. Ghost Bear might always be haunted by his rookie year where he put up 17 goals in just 64 games. But he shot 11% that season, which is astronomical for a defenseman and really shouldn’t be expected again.

That said, Gostisbehere’s metrics at evens are pretty good, well above the team-rate in Corsi the past three seasons and above in expected goals the past two. The caveat here is that Ghost Bear is punted in the offensive zone to start his shifts most of the time, so he should probably carry a higher rate than the team.

The drawback to Ghost Bear is that he doesn’t help out the defensive game much. And while he’s brilliantly skilled and mobile, it’s unclear if he can consistently skate or pass his team out of trouble when in his own zone. He wasn’t asked to do it a whole lot in Philly. Again, perhaps paired with a really good defensive partner you’d have a nice dynamic, but right now the only player the Hawks have that qualifies as that is Connor Murphy. It’s a nice thought, but a Ghost Bear-Murphy pairing sounds like a really nice second pairing and doesn’t solve your top of the rotation problem.

Is he gettable? Probably. Rumors have the Canadiens hot on his ass and dangling Andrew Shaw and/or Paul Byron to get him. Certainly Brandon Saad would be more than that, though if that deal straight up makes you queasy I get it. The Flyers are desperate for any kind of second line help, and Saad would definitely qualify as that. Fuck, maybe you catch the Flyers being the Flyers and convince them that Anisimov is that, especially if they can’t sign Hayes. It’s a longshot, but dumber things have happened.

Does he help? That’s a harder case to make. Again, the Hawks are fiending for mobility on the back end like no one else. This would make Renton’s withdrawal look like a cold. But Ghost Bear might be more of what they have, somewhat wayward in his own zone. If he had proved to be a carry-the-mail type, you’d be in on this 100%. But he might just be like Gustafsson, where you’ve got to get him to the offensive zone another way before his real effectiveness is apparent.

Like we’ve said about just about everyone we’ve previewed, he’s better than almost everything else the Hawks have on the roster now. But is he such an improvement? He would make Gustafsson expendable and you probably can fetch more for Gus than you give up for Ghost Bear simply due to the contract. Ghost Bear is also 26, so he may have some improving to do but he’s also not so far away from his peak that you can picture him being significantly more than he is. Again, this feels like another half-measure.

Baseball

Series Wrap – Sox Split Two with Nationals: Eloy Hit One to Indiana, That’s All I Care About

By Adam Hess June 12, 2019 1383 0

Game 1 – Nations 12, White Sox 1

Game 2 – Nationals 5, White Sox 7

The White Sox have kind of existed within this realm of having a good record but being a mostly bad team for a while now, and this two game set with the Nats kinda proved that to be the case even further. Now at 32-34, the Sox appear to be close to competency and at least theoretically in the Wild Card hunt, but they also split a 2-game series with a team with a worse record than them and had a -9 run differential in the process, leaving them at -55 on the season as well. So really, they aren’t that good but kinda look like they are. Anyway who cares, Eloy hit a ball to the moon.

THE BULLETS

– The White Sox had something called Odrisamer Despaigne start for them on Monday, which is a hilarious insult to everyone’s intelligence but also somehow not exaclt a bad move? Listen, if you want Dylan Cease in the majors at this point, I certainly won’t argue with you on it because I agree, but at this point the motivations are clearly not financial anymore. They have the year of control in the pocket, Super-2 is gone, so it’s not about money. They clearly think there is something developmentally that still needs to be done, and hey I am not really gonna argue with them because even if I am a fool, arms are the one area I just kinda trust the Sox on even when I don’t agree. Sam had wonderful thoughts on this yesterday as he slowly descends to becoming One Of Us. Despaigne also held up his end of the bargain in the game, and the bullpen fell apart, so it’s fine. The wins and losses mean nothing this year so if he needs to start another one, so be it.

– Yoan Moncada tweaking his back is certainly a major problem. One thing that I have just come to accept about Yoan is that he tends to milk it when he is hurt or suffering discomfort, like when he hobbled back to the dugout after scoring from second base last week only to remain in the game and have it not really be anything to worry about. But backs are a different animal. Luckily it didn’t sound too serious, and Sox have today off for him to rest, but the Sox would be wise to take it slow here and let him make sure he’s 100% before coming back. I’d prefer if that didn’t involve an IL stint, though.

– Similar to Despaigne, I was pleased with the start Manny Banuelos turned in on Tuesday. It was nothing special, but after a bad first inning he kept control and didn’t let the game blow up on him. Banuelos’ starts are really just glorified bullpen days, so him getting you through 4.2 innings is more than fine. I’m glad Ricky didn’t try to hold out on him in the when he got in trouble in the 5th to earn him the win, but I also am not convinced that wasn’t mostly because it was said glorified bullpen day. If that had been ReyLo, I bet he stays out there and the inning blows up. But it didn’t!

– Eloy hit a ball forever far. They called it 462 feet and I think that was just a moment of dyslexia and they meant 642. There is simply no way that centerfield concourse is only 60 feet behind the dead center wall. I refuse to believe it.

– As much fun as the home run was, I was more impressive with Eloy’s phenomenal walk in the first inning that preceded Wllington Castillo’s grand slam. Patrick Corbin sliders are nothing to joke about, and Eloy spit on two of them in the dirt in a two-strike count to force Corbin to beat him, and worked a walk out of it. To me, that’s far more evidence of his growth and progress at the plate this year. We knew he could hit balls into orbit, but he hadn’t proven to major league pitchers he could lay off low breaking balls. If they need to find new ways to beat him moving forward, they could be looking for a long time.

Faxes from Uncle Dale

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