Yesterday’s MVP? Sonny Gray, who gave up only one hit in 8 innings of work. Apologies to David Price, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez and Nolan Arenado.
Standings:
Jason Heyward: 1
Sonny Gray: 1
MVP of Yesterday (April 6, 2015): Sonny Gray
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Category Archives: Baseball
MVP of Yesterday (April 5, 2015): Jason Heyward
Jason Heyward had a great night last night, going 3-5 in his Cardinals debut. And, for that, he’s the first MVP of Yesterday for 2015!
Standings:
Jason Heyward: 1
OOTP International Baseball Competition Part 3: Week 2
Throughout the year, I’ll be posting updates of a simulated league from Out Of The Park Baseball 2016 made up of national “dream teams” to determine what the greatest baseball country on Earth is… or something like that. Previous installments can be found here. This is a long post, so there is a JUMP after the first day. Also, hit any picture to make it bigger and more readable.
April 6:
The final games of the second series of the season actually started the day before, as Italy at Korea and Taiwan at Japan both began at 11:05 Eastern time on Sunday night.
In Tokyo, it was the Masahiro Tanaka show, as he struck out 14 Taiwanese, a record for the young season, while the Japanese offense got to Wei-Yin Chen and the Taiwanese bullpen to get the 8-0 win in a crisp two-and-a-half hour game. Japan thus remained undefeated at 6-0, while the Taiwanese fell to 2-4 on the year.
In Seoul, Italy remained without a victory, as Korea bludgeoned them, 12-2. Byung-Ho Park and Yong-Taek Park hit home runs, while Hyun-Jin Ryu (who wasn’t on the DL when this simulation started, and thus isn’t on the DL in the simulation) got the win.
Several hours later, in the visitor’s clubhouse of Rogers Centre, Team USA manager Joe Maddon sat in his office with his Bench Coach, the esteemed Buck Showalter. It was, to be sure, an unusual pair- the personable and quirky Maddon and the outwardly gruff Showalter. But Team USA hadn’t lost a game yet, and there hadn’t been any complaints or anything from those who had been on the bench the whole time!
And there were many: Matt Holliday hadn’t played yet. Joe Mauer hadn’t played yet. Jonathan Lucroy and David Wright hadn’t played yet either. Luke Donaldson had only played once. Long-reliever Madison Bumgarner (“I wish I had this much depth in the real world,” said Joe) and middle set-up man Steve Cishek had yet to leave the bullpen.
In fact, the discussion today seemed to be whether maybe they should shake up the starting line-up. They decided not to.
And then Joe Maddon spoke:
“Man, this is very cool, it’s like a computer-enhanced situation that’s perfect.”
Buck Showalter just let out a “Mmmm-hmmmm”.
Not long after the discussion in Toronto, the mid-day game in Caracas started between Venezuela and Australia. Liam Hendriks pitched well for Australia, giving up only 7 hits, but sadly for him, he allowed two runs, while Felix Hernandez allowed only one. And, to make matters worse, Hendriks left the game with an injury, at the time not yet disclosed. Ned Kelly O’Shaughessy didn’t take the news well, needless to say, and at one point screamed at God, saying that he volunteered to have inflicted upon him any injury that had hit one of Australia’s few starting pitchers with MLB experience. At the end of the game, he teared up while saying: “Well, mates, our boys lost 2-1 today, but it feels like 20-1. I need a drink.”
Up in Canada, meanwhile, it looked like Joe and Buck’s decision to keep with the usual line-up was working out just fine. After 4 innings, Team USA led 6-1, and Canada was already putting in it’s 3rd pitcher of the day in Chris LeRoux. A Paul Goldschmidt single and a Andrew McCutchen home run later, and it was 8-1.
“Alright, alright, alright,” said Joe Maddon. Buck kept the same expression he always has:
Team USA bench coach Buck Showalter, simply delighted by a 8-1 lead with Clayton Kershaw on the mound.
As the game went on, it became even more of a rout: Buster Posey and Giancarlo Stanton went back-to-back off Scott Richmond in the 6th and two more runs were added off Dustin Molleken in the 8th. Kershaw, meanwhile, taking Tanaka’s earlier performance for a challenge, went and struck out 15 Canadians, resetting the record not even 24 hours after it had been set.
Post-game, Maddon quipped that the 3-game sweep of Canada was America’s revenge for Queenston Heights. No American sports writer had any goddamn idea what he was talking about.
In Latin American night games:
The Dominican Republic scored two runs in the 8th and one in the 9th to edge out a 5-4 victory over the Puerto Ricans, who fell to 0-6. Robinson Cano had two home runs.
Colombia also remained winless, as they were beat by Rick Vandenhurk and the Dutch 2-1.
Cuba demolished Panama, 16-3, but received a scare as Odrisamer Despaigne had to leave early with a tender shoulder. He was listed as day-to-day after the game.
But in Nicaragua, the game was going into the Bottom of the 9th and the home-team Rest-Of-Worlders were tied up with Mexico, 3-3. However, Rene Leveret (a French-born 1B who plays in the Indy leagues) and Cheslor Cuthbert (a Nicaraguan Royals prospect) died with groundouts, and a Antoan Richardson (Bahaman, Rangers Organization) single was for naught when pinch-hitter Kai Gronauer (German, formerly of the Mets organization) flew out to right. To extra-innings the game went, and there a Jorge Cantu double brought home the winning run for Mexico as they stood victorious 4-3 over the still winless Rest-Of-Worlders.
(GO BELOW THE JUMP FOR MORE)
“30 Teams, 30 Posts” (2015): A request to the Minnesota Twins, from a Rochester Red Wings Fan
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2015 season. Previous installments can be found here. Today, in the final installment, an open letter from a Rochester Red Wings fan to their parent club.
TO: Minnesota Twins
CC: General Manager Terry Ryan, CEO Jim Pohlad, Director of Minor League Operations Brad Stell, Manager Paul Molitor
SUBJECT: Sano and Buxton
Hello,
I am writing as a fan of the Rochester Red Wings, your AAA club. You’ve been good to us over the years. We’ve made the playoffs twice and come close a few other times since this affiliation began, and we’ve been lucky enough to see Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Brian Dozier, Francisco Liriano, Denard Span, Grant Balfour, Glen Perkins, and many other fine players. We even got to have Joe Mauer and Joe Nathan stop by briefly on rehab assignments, which was nice.
But, not to sound ungrateful, we have a simple request for this coming season: Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton. We very much would like it if you had them stop here before you inevitably call them up in September (if not earlier), perhaps never to grace minor league fields again.
Now, we understand. Neither of them have been able to put much time in AA yet, and with a new affiliate in the Chattanooga Lookouts, you no doubt are looking to make a good first impression. And, what’s more, Chattanooga’s climate is probably way better for a young baseball player in April and May than Rochester’s is.
Seriously, the weather here in April can never seem to remember what season it is. Yesterday, I was in shorts, but this weekend, it could snow.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that, come June, Rochester would be the perfect place for Minnesota’s two biggest prospects since Mauer to prepare for the big leagues. The weather will be getting warmer, schools will start letting out, and Frontier Field will start getting packed. By the 4th of July, the stadium will be full basically every Friday night, with some fans packing cowbells and giveaway thunder-stix, much to the annoyance of some people.
And it’ll be even more special if we have Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano to cheer on. Some of us have been waiting for years to see them. So, please, if at all possible, don’t make them bypass AAA.
Thank you, and good luck on your upcoming season,
-A Rochester Red Wings Fan
“30 Teams, 30 Posts” (2015): The Cubs won’t be boring
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2015 season. Previous installments can be found here. Today, the Cubs.
There is a saying that a work of fiction can be good or bad, but the worst thing it can be is be boring. The same could be said for baseball teams. And, well, the Cubs may be many things this season, but they will not be boring.
After all, this is a team with Joe Maddon as manager. He’s never boring. He’s always doing crazy shifts, having his team do themed road-trips where they dress up as 1890s gentlemen or Hawaiian beach bums or whatever.
They have wonder-prospect Kris Bryant. Or, at least, they will. It’s complicated, but basically they’ll call him up within a few weeks, when they’ll be able to start his service clock late enough where they’ll be able to keep him from free agency for an extra year.
They have Wrigley Field still under heavy renovation. The bleachers won’t be done for at least two months. What the heck! How does this happen? Still, not boring.
And, of course, they have their endless quest to finally win their first World Series since 1908, and, perhaps more importantly, the quest to prove Back To The Future II correct.
So, yes… the Cubs are not going to be boring this year. That is for sure.
REVIEW: OOTP 2016 improves the series even more
Last year, I said that that year’s incarnation of Out Of The Park Baseball had improvements and new features that weren’t perfect, but opened the way for endless possibilities in the future.
And while there still is room for improvement, the future is most definitely now, as almost every improvement or new feature from last season has been further improved, even more features have been added, and an official MLB license has made the game easier to set-up than ever.
The Good:
- Same old, Same old. The core of OOTP is still in place, and that’s a good thing. It’s still about building baseball teams and managing (or general-managing) baseball teams– or simply simulating them if you would like. The settings, options, etc. are the same. And this is a good thing, because they are great. Look up my previous reviews to see screens and comments on those.
- Logos and Rosters are there from the start, and those that aren’t are easily modded in. With the acquisition of the MLB license, most of the MLB and other logos are now built-in, making it a lot easier to load them up and use them, as opposed to previously, where you had to mod them in. And, don’t worry, it’s easy to mod in those that aren’t there.
- The 3D stadiums work better now! The 3D stadiums were something of a work-in-progress last year and you often had to do a lot of work to get them working correctly as far as placement of players and ball locations. Now, most MLB stadiums are already installed!
- Rosters! International! The international and independent leagues have never been better, as more real-life stadiums and rosters are there than ever before. Basically every professional baseball league of prominence- even the super-duper-low Pecos League- is in there. It’s what makes the International Baseball Competition possible, since OOTP provides all of the players, managers and most of the stadiums right out of the box.
- Better role-playing, clubhouse and front office functions. Remember the Angels’ “30 Teams, 30 Posts” post? Remember this:
That’s new this year. You can be given orders from the owner, and you’ll hear from folks in the clubhouse about the chemistry amongst the team. A nice addition that I hadn’t thought of before. - Lots of other little changes and improvements, so many that I haven’t run into all of them yet!
The Bad:
- Lack of (realistic) Winter Leagues. It’s kind of a bummer we can’t have the Caribbean World Series or anything like that our players could take part in during the off-season.
- No built-in WBC features
- It doesn’t give you real-world money
Score: 9.7 out of 10.
Full Disclosure: I received a review copy from Out Of The Park Developments for this review.
“30 Teams, 30 Posts” (2015): The Padres do exist! Let’s remember when we thought otherwise!
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2015 season. Previous installments can be found here. Today, the Padres.
It’s nice to see that San Diego, one of the most beautiful cities in America, has finally gotten a MLB team again. I mean, maybe they’ve had one the last few years, but I honestly can’t remember. After all, the Padres were like extras in a movie: there, but unnoticed.
So, let’s remember the years where San Diego only technically had a Major League team, because we all forgot they existed:
2007: The last year I can truly remember the Padres existing before this year. They got into a tie-breaker playoff against the Rockies and lost in 13 innings. The age of darkness began.
2008: 63-99 and last place. America only recognized their existence when Jake Peavy or late-career Greg Maddux pitched, along with the occasional Trevor Hoffman milestone.
2009: 75-87, 4th place. The most notable thing listed about them on their Wikipedia page is that Jody Gerut became the first player in history to have a lead-off home run in a new stadium when he led off the first game at CitiField with a homer off of Mike Pelfrey. Jake Peavy was traded this year and Trevor Hoffman had gone to the Brewers. The sinkage into obscurity seemed to be in full swing.
2010: Actually a pretty good year, as they went 90-72 and finished in second place, a beacon of relevance in a ocean of meh. Oh, but they blew a 6.5 game lead late in the season and lost the division to the Giants, and then Adrian Gonzalez was traded after the season. And then they returned to obscuresville.
2011: 71-91, last place. I cannot remember a thing about this team.
2012: 76-86, 4th place. This was Chase Headley’s breakout year, if I remember correctly. Other than that, I can’t think of anything special about the Padres in 2012.
2013: 76-86, 3rd place. Was this the year they had the fight with the Dodgers? I think this was the year they had a fight with the Dodgers. Otherwise, I can’t remember a thing about them.
2014: 77-85, 3rd place. Tony Gwynn died and everything was terrible. Otherwise, I can’t remember much about them.
…And then there is 2015. I guess we’ll see how that turns out, huh?
Next time: The Cubs.
Famous For Something Else: Will Ferrell
For April Fool’s Day, here are the statistics for Will Ferrell from his “Every Position In One Day” charity stunt:
| Year | Tm | Age | POS | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | OppQual | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | OAK | 48 | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | SEA | 48 | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | LAA | 48 | CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | CHC | 48 | 3Bc/PH/1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | ARI | 48 | LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | CIN | 48 | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | CHW | 48 | DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | SFG | 48 | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | LAD | 48 | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | SDP | 48 | RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Tm | Age | GS | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | BK | WP | BF | OppQual | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | LAD | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
In other April Fool’s Day news, check out how Baseball Reference has added a feature to add a ‘stache, afro or beard to any player picture.
Really, is there anything that that site doesn’t do?
“30 Teams, 30 Posts” (2015): Reds October? Unlikely.
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2015 season. Previous installments can be found here. Today, the Reds.
There is a lot of parity in baseball these days. Few teams can truly be said to be totally out of it. However, when you look at the NL Central, you can’t help but feel like the Cincinnati Reds have missed their chance, at least for this year:
- They are in a deep division with four teams that could conceivably win the division, and are certainly in better shape to do so than the Reds are.
- They did nothing to significantly improve over the winter.
- While the lineup is great, the starting rotation is very iffy, especially if Homer Bailey has more health issues. They don’t have Mat Latos anymore.
- Oh, and Johnny Cueto is headed to free agency soon, so it’s likely the Reds are going to have even more pitching depth issues in the future.
- Some members of the line-up are coming off of off-years (or, at least, what the Reds hope were just off-years and not starts of a trend) or, in some cases, just getting old. They’ve added Marlon Byrd as their big off-season addition, and he’s 37, for pete’s sake!
- With the ticket sales and excitement that come with hosting the All-Star game this season, it’s less likely that Reds brass feel the need to add anybody during the year to spice things up and get more butts in the stands in the short-term.
So… sorry, Reds fans, but you won’t be seeing a Reds October this year.
Next Time: Padres.
New “Wisdom and Links” up at Hall of Very Good!
Aside
Over at Hall of Very Good, we have a new “Wisdom and Links” up! Check it out.
The Baseball Continuum 