I didn’t get to watch much (any) baseball this week, so our panelists fill me in…
I haven’t watched any baseball this week. What the most important thing I’ve missed with the Dbacks?
Spencer: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH. I fear we have started playing to our opponents levels rather than our own talent. We look great against LAD and SF then lose a pathetic game against Colorado in devastatingly conclusive fashion. That needs to change ASAP.
Makakilo: The game against the Rockies was out-of-the-ordinary. But don’t be sad if you missed it.
More importantly, in this week’s 6 games, the Diamondbacks got runners on base at the same excellent pace as last season. And their non-homers scored those runners at a pace 6% better than last season. Their 9 homers scored baserunners at a pace less than last season, but it was likely caused by random variation in number of baserunners.
Spencer: Which Rockies game was out-of-the-ordinary? The one we lost having scored 10+ runs? Cause that’s ordinary for us this year. Or the win where the offense scratched just 1 run against the worst team in MLB history? Just saying…
Jim: Won both series, went 4-2, picked up two games on the Padres and the same on the Dodgers (who got swept at home by the worst team in the AL West!). Corbin Burnes and Merrill Kelly looked very good. Offense averaged over six runs per game. My only concern is a weird episode of missing time on Saturday night. Around three hours of which I have no recollection at all. Dunno what that’s about. Probably nothing much.
What’s the most important thing I’ve missed in MLB?
Spencer: Managers are having a rough week or so.
Makakilo: MLB lifted the permanent bans on Pete Rose and 16 other players (who are dead). Considering Pete Rose, it’s too late for the normal Hall-of-Fame voting by writers in the Baseball Writers Association of America. Instead, an era committee will vote on whether to add him to the Hall-of-Fame. They will convene in December of 2027.
Jim: Shohei Ohtani ran out of a burning building with an orphan under one arm, and a litter of puppies in the other. Going by the ongoing coverage, I presume so, anyway. Meanwhile Juan Soto went back to Yankee Stadium and was warmly greeted. There’s a shocker.
How’s Jordan Lawlar done? Do we have the pitchforks out to DFA him yet?
Spencer: I don’t think the Pit is ready for the pitchforks unless we’re talking about his limited playtime. But I have an inkling other parts of the interwebs (cough twitter cough) may not be as intelligent and knowledgeable as we are here. I deleted my twitter account a long time ago (privacy issues), so I’m happy to report I have no way to seek the evidence out myself.
Makakilo: The Diamondbacks journey to the playoffs is far from certain. Surely, the Diamondbacks would not call him up unless he was ready. And yet I wonder.
No hits and one walk in his first 9 PAs. The broadcasters made sure to tell me that Lawlar can hit fastballs, but not so much breaking balls. Are they correct? Let’s look at his first 33 pitches.
My view is that whiffs should not exceed 13% of pitches (which equals 3 breaking balls). So, I agree that Lawlar had a problem with breaking balls. Optimistically, it is fixable.
Jim: Facebook got there first with their pitchforks, after a mere two games.
Insert pic:
But Reddit wasn’t far behind. It made a nice change from people blaming Torey for stuff. Though there was a nice crossover when he pinch-hit for Marte with Lawlar. Turned out Ketel was feeling stiffness. Oh, look: the manager knows more than people on the Internet. Who knew?
What’s your favorite way to unwind?
Spencer: Currently it’s playing Fortnite with my best friends. I don’t get to do it often but it’s my favorite unwinding skill. More commonly in spring and summer and fall I play pickleball with friends and randos I meet at the park!
Makakilo: Pickleball drills. On days when I can’t play pickleball, I do several kinds of drills against a wall. I relax by focusing during the drills.
- My small (but weighted so it is the same weight) training paddle makes me focus on watching the ball so I can hit it in the center of my paddle.
- I focus on how many consecutive times I can hit a small spot (about net high and marked with graffiti) on a wall.
- I focus on my footwork prior to hitting the ball.
Jim: I prefer to remain like a lethally-coiled snake, perpetually ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Unwinding is for wimps. I just keep shotgunning espresso and 5-hour Energy drinks. I can unwind when I’m dead.
Less sarcastically: not following Diamondbacks games, that’s for sure. Less less sarcastically: watching crappy movies. Once you’ve seen a knockoff Mickey Mouse bumping people off on the Staten Island ferry, everything else becomes faintly ludicrous.