caulfield12

Might be his last big league appearance ever, like Juan Nicasio after surrendering a GS on a 3-0 count last year for Texas.

The Giants are beating the Reds 18-1 now...and who’s in to pitch? Carson Fulmer...haha. All five Reds’ pitchers have given up runs, Fulmer 4 in two IP. Shouldn’t they stop swinging away and just allow the pitchers to strike them out with bats not leaving the perch on their shoulders? By this argument...conversely, pitchers should feel sorry for the Indians, Tigers and M’s...and groove more pitches to help them increase their offensive output.

If anything, trying to protect five relievers (for Game 3) Baldelli could have selected ahead of Astudillo is where Baldelli erred...if you have a legit arm like Matt Davidson for the Sox and he’s entering the game with every single guy in the pen already burned, then you can start to argue about this 3-0 swinging thing. But Astudillo throwing 47 mph eephus pitches was respectful to the game how exactly? A catcher should be able throw at least in the high 70’s or 80’s with minimal effort. Striking out opposing hitters with beer league softball velocities is a tad bit ludicrous and just a comic sideshow for the home dugout to ease the in-house tensions related to all those early season Twins’ losses.

Plus, the whole Don Cooper didn’t see eye to eye with him thing’s now a non factor...

None, it was the slowest pitch ever to be homered on in that situation, since you have to supply all the power yourself, especially to CF. It was something like 98.2% likely to be an out.

Nobody has ever come back from 7 runs down in Texas before...haha. Which got lost in the shuffle a little bit because it became part of four Grand Slams over consecutive games. Shouldn’t we criticize anyone who clears the bases, too? Because keeping the line moving with runners on base is actually more demoralizing to the opposing pitcher...basically nickel and diming him to death, bleeding to death from a thousand small cuts. We usually hear solo homers aren’t really a big deal at all to most starting pitchers, for example.

Morgana, the Kissing Bandit?

With the team in NYC? Are they the Sunday night ESPN game?

https://www.pressherald.com/2021/05/19/unwritten-rules-of-baseball-are-baffling/ Add former White Sox, the eminently quotable Brandon McCarthy...to the Team Yermin supporters list. To La Russa’s point, Mercedes did do something major league players just don’t do. ESPN baseball writer Jeff Passan tweeted out the astonishing stat that in the last 20 years, big league players have seen 557 pitches on 3-0 counts with their team leading by 10 runs or more and Mercedes was the first to swing.

Aaron Boone also agreed with the White Sox players... https://nypost.com/2021/05/19/aaron-boone-fine-with-tony-la-russas-player-breaking-unwritten-rule/ rhahn@chisox.comrhahn@chisox.com kwilliams@chisox.comkwilliams@chisox.com Brooks Boyerbboyer@chisox.com May 20 at 11:12 PM Now even more sick of your stupid hire. https://twitter.com/R2C2/status/1395380726493810691?s=20

Experience the last ten years?

Whereas Ron is NY Daily News?

Hot take!!! That’s worth at least two likes for insightfulness.

Why was there an article at some point stating he was in AZ at extended ST?

Just trying to give a sample of the scope and scale of how this story has blown up to epic proportions...for those few arguing “let’s just move on, ignore it and it will simply go away.”

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/yermin-mercedes-homers-annoys-own-manager/ https://blogs.fangraphs.com/yermin-mercedes-homers-annoys-own-manager/ In La Russa’s very mild defense, he had tried to give Mercedes the take sign. Now, I’m not sure how Mercedes was supposed to see it. Nobody is looking for a sign in an 11-run game and Astudillo was doing his best to get on Rob Manfred’s good side by taking all of two seconds between pitches. Still, a missed sign is a missed sign, and La Russa wasn’t out of line to bring it up with Mercedes. That conversation should stay behind closed doors, though, particularly since it wasn’t just one isolated remark. La Russa wasn’t done when he called his rookie slugger “clueless,” adding: “There will be a consequence he has to endure here within our family,” the manager said. “It’s a learning experience.” Let’s pause to consider the inanity here. It’s weird enough that players are supposed to stop trying just because they’re ahead by a certain number of runs (the exact number, of course, remains ambiguous) or treat these at-bats like they don’t count; it’s not like the arbiter is going to toss out stats accumulated against position players come contract negotiation time. It’s just as puzzling that it’s entirely acceptable for a team to dispatch the backup catcher to lob lollipops but uncouth for a hitter to swing after working a 3-0 count. There’s an added wrinkle at play that I think gets overlooked in these situations. Minnesota was only throwing Astudillo to save the bullpen, which means that they were effectively surrendering early so as to be more competitive in the next game, a matchup against these very same White Sox. The burden placed on the hitter in this situation is just odd. The defensive team is transparently putting as little effort as possible into fulfilling their obligations, for the express purpose of saving their fire for the next game, and yet it’s the hitter’s job to help steer the inning to a close. I don’t have any problems with Minnesota employing such gamesmanship, but it seems that the least Chicago — or any other team in that situation — can do is swing for the fences. ...... I’m not a Chicago White Sock, so I can’t say definitively. But from a distance, it seems a clumsy fit so far, and the situation is only growing tenser. In an Instagram post from NBC Sports Chicago that highlighted Mercedes’ and La Russa’s comments, Anderson weighed in, writing “The game wasn’t over! Keep doing you big daddy,” which triggered a positive response from Mercedes. After last night’s game, Lance Lynn also defended his teammate, saying “If a position player is on the mound, there are no rules. Let’s get the damn game over with. And if you have a problem with whatever happened, then put a pitcher out there.” It’s not quite insubordination, but the episode makes one wonder about the relationship between La Russa and his players. Perhaps it doesn’t matter. Plenty of good teams have won with an out-to-lunch manager, or galvanized themselves around a collective dislike of the boss. Still, all things being equal, I’m sure most players would like to play for someone who has their back. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/yermin-mercedes-homers-annoys-own-manager/ Lost in all this is that Baldelli had FIVE (5) unused relievers on his bench when he inserted Astudillo and made a mockery of the game...

In 2020, he got a cup of coffee. And this season he got his first real shot — a 28-year-old catcher who isn’t defensively trusted to catch, and is thus totally dependent on his bat to justify his place on the roster. So far, so great. But Mercedes is still only making the league minimum ($570,500) and still lives in a precarious position, long-term. Despite the warm and fuzzy sheen of his trajectory right now, his presence (and Astudillo’s, for that matter) in the big leagues must be, in part, credited to cold roster calculations that make a hitter with any level of experience at catcher extra useful. It will be at least 2024 before Mercedes even has the chance to earn money based on his production through MLB’s byzantine arbitration system — at which point every home run and RBI will come with a very real cash value. Perhaps even more likely is the possibility he will also bounce around before then and need to point to his statistics as leverage for opportunities and marginally higher payment. That’s what makes La Russa’s pie-in-the-sky invocation of some universal sportsmanship code so openly out of touch. This is not analogous to similar running up the score controversies in other sports. A young NBA player with the chance to hit a three or dunk in the closing seconds of a blowout is ultimately not affecting his finances either way, and he’s certainly not forced to choose between a faux pas or a negative mark on his stats. Specifically because Mercedes plays Major League Baseball, as La Russa haughtily says, he has long known the difference between a hitless at-bat and a shot at a slugging percentage boost. It’s not killer instinct; it’s survival instinct. https://sports.yahoo.com/yermin-mercedes-home-run-swing-makes-far-more-sense-than-the-white-sox-hiring-tony-la-russa-171458168.html

Tony La Russa doesn't think there's a rift in the Chicago White Sox's clubhouse, but some players have indicated publicly that they disagree with the Hall of Fame manager's comments about rookie slugger Yermin Mercedes. La Russa said that when he walked around the clubhouse, no one was giving him "the Heisman." The manager was adamant that he's simply trying to teach good sportsmanship to a rookie. "If you're going to tell me that sportsmanship and the respect for the game of baseball and respect for your opponent is not an important priority, I can't disagree with you more," La Russa said. "... You think you need more [runs] to win, you keep pushing. If you think you have enough, respect the game and opposition. Sportsmanship." La Russa didn't expect the story to last several days. "I'm surprised I'm getting so many questions on this," La Russa said. "It's not much to-do about nothing. It's much to-do about a little bit." https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31472069/chicago-white-sox-manager-tony-la-russa-says-respect-game-important-priority When you rewind the tape and consider the decision made in the moment, Mercedes’ reasons are obvious. And Chicago’s rationale for putting La Russa in charge of this team — currently the best in the AL despite him — is even harder to square. Swinging on 3-0 is increasingly common in MLB, nearly doubling in frequency over the past decade. There have only been seven 3-0 pitches thrown by position players pitching this year. There were only five in 2020 and 29 in the 2019 season. In the last season La Russa managed, 2011, there was precisely one all year. (For the record, then-White Sox catcher James McCann swung and singled on one of the 2019 pitches.) If the vibe is that the game is over, maybe Mercedes could be credited with trying to just end the Twins’ misery and get things over with. You’ll recall that Astudillo lobbed a 47.1 mph pitch up there. That made it extremely unlikely Mercedes was going to hit a home run! It’s the slowest pitch on record that has left the park.

https://nypost.com/2021/05/19/tony-larussa-losing-white-sox-after-ripping-yermin-mercedes/ “White Sox players nearing revolt against Tony La Russa” By Jeremy Layton

“I really didn’t have an issue with it,’’ Boone said Wednesday of Yermin Mercedes’ homer on a 3-0 pitch from Minnesota Twins position player Willians Astudillo late in a lopsided game on Monday. “The other night, you’ve got a position player throwing lobs,’’ Boone said of Astudillo. “Do you want [Mercedes] to sit there and take?” Boone added his stance might be different in a blowout if a pitcher were still on the mound, but “once a position player is in there, you can’t really fault anyone for anything.” ..... That brought Boone back to what he called the “run rule,” where if a team led by 10 or more runs after the seventh inning, the game would end. He mentioned it in 2019 after using Mike Ford and Austin Romine to pitch in games that season. If such a rule existed, Boone said, it might also eliminate some of the “unwritten rules” about swinging away at pitches or stealing a base in a blowout and risking angering the opposing team. “If everyone’s fighting to get to that 10-run [lead] by the seventh inning … then you don’t have to worry and we’re just playing,’’ Boone said. “I’m not saying I’m for it. I’m saying it’s worth discussing.” https://nypost.com/2021/05/19/aaron-boone-fine-with-tony-la-russas-player-breaking-unwritten-rule/

Six problems with how Tony La Russa handled the Yermín Mercedes situation The White Sox manager just can't stay out of his own way By Matt Snyder 17 hrs ago7 min read 6. He ignored Mercedes' situation There's this notion among some casual fans and those people who don't like baseball that every player is some pampered and greedy millionaire. It's a garbage line of thinking, but that's a discussion for a different day, other than to say it couldn't be further from the truth with Mercedes. Mercedes signed as an international free agent with the Nationals in 2011. His signing info is tough to find, but Baseball America has a top-30 list for that year and he's not on it (the lowest figure included is $570,000). After three seasons in the Dominican Summer League (Rookie Ball with low salaries), he was released. He then played independent ball in 2014 before signing a minor-league deal with the Orioles. By 2017, he finally made Double-A. The White Sox took him before 2018 in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. He debuted last season with one at-bat, so it's safe to say he basically made nothing last season. This year, Mercedes is on the league minimum, which is $570,000. That's a big salary! In looking at his entire career from the beginning, he's not rich. This matters because of what was mentioned above about players getting paid based upon their stats. Mercedes is 28 years old and who knows how long he'll be a productive big-league player? There's no way La Russa considered this before making his comments, but maybe he should. He's the manager. Speaking of which, where would La Russa's team be without Mercedes? They lost Eloy Jimenez just before the season started and Mercedes has gobbled up those at-bats to the tune of (heading into Wednesday's day game) .368/.417/.571, good for a 178 OPS+ and the major-league lead in batting average. The White Sox are in first place and, by WAR, Mercedes has been their second-most valuable player. The bottom line: Do better than this, La Russa. https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/six-problems-with-how-tony-la-russa-handled-the-yermin-mercedes-situation/

The ankle is more related to sliding home to score the winning run on that wild pitch to end the game. No connection to Hunter Dozier collision.

Just shout at those youngsters in Lawrence, GET THE F---K OFF MY LAWN!!! with faux Clint Eastwood expression on your/one's face.

Voted for Cespedes. Just because Ron didn't include him. I didn't report Ron, however, to board administrators for that potential oversight. Also left off Micker Adolfo. Does Ron have a bias against Latin American players??

Like #metoo, but if the octogenarians of the U.S. Senate were setting and enforcing the rules, lol...well, it's an analogy.