Yu Love to See It: MLB 2021

[ursus arctos]

He's not going to play much. Will be a pinch hitter, injury cover and "veteran presence".

Which is essentially what the Angels wanted him to do, only to see him say no way. He obviously feels different with a club as good as LAD.

That gives them four former MVPs: Bellinger, Betts, Kershaw and Albert.

[Patrick Thistle]

It feels like an odd move. Maybe he has a house in LA and didn't feel like moving but had burnt his bridges with the Angels. I don't think many people were queuing up to take him on. Feels like a desperation move*. Frank Thomas on the pre-game today expressed some scepticism about how it would work out.

*on both sides. Albert accepting a lesser role. LA just needing someone.

[caja-dglh]

Not sure it is desperation. I would take a few million bucks and a chance of a World Series ring versus just sitting on my ass getting up to 300lb.

[Patrick Thistle]

I'm staying up tonight to watch the Padres v Cardinals.

[ursus arctos]

Pujols does have a house in SoCal, and they have five kids.

Word is the Cardinals (who actually have a better record) offered something similar, but LA is easier and less pressure.

And it isn't a couple of million for the club. It is a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum because he cleared waivers. The Angels are on the hip ok for the rest of the contract.

[Patrick Thistle]

29 pitch first inning for Chris Paddack. Can't see him going long in the game at this rate.

[Patrick Thistle]

Yippee! Home run gets the Padres off the mark.

[Patrick Thistle]

Yippee again! Kim puts one over the wall. Padres 3-0 up now.

[ursus arctos]

I've taken a real liking to Kim

If he starts to hit (not as KBO level, just competently), it will be a real plus for the Friars

[Patrick Thistle]

Yippee x3. 3rd inning, 3rd homer, a 3 run homer. Padres up 6-0.

[Patrick Thistle]

Good 6th inning. Padres up 10-2. Beginning to feel a bit tired now.

[Patrick Thistle]

I should go to bed. Its 4.45. But the Padres have the bases loaded and the Cardinals are replacing their pitcher...

[danielmak]

If there was a DH in both leagues, he would have had more opportunities and the move would make more sense for the Dodgers. But we'll see. Again, just given the general state of various teams, I think Milwaukee would be the best sporting fit. Of course, as I expressed when Pujols was first released, I'm not a fan at all of Vogelbach and think even this version of Pujols would be a step up. But I have no clue what Milwaukee is doing when it comes to first basemen. They could have tried to convince Braun to come back, they let Thames and Aguilar go in the past. Vogelbach is less athletic than both of those guys and doesn't hit home runs at a higher rate as far as I can tell.

Bauer with another exception performance for the Dodgers but 8th inning and pen has started, which has slowed the game to a crawl.

[Patrick Thistle]

Weird 8th inning in San Diego. Matt Carpenter (2nd baseman) pitched. The batters seemed to struggle against him.

I don't think the Cardinals will make up 10 runs in the 9th and its getting light outside but I'm sticking with it.

[danielmak]

That's some dedication, PT. If this was the playoffs, I could understand it, but for a game in May...I was thinking, you chose an exciting team to follow that should be in the mix for many years to come. But really, going with UA and GY would have been your best bet. The Cubs are 2 hours closer to you in terms of time zone and play a lot of afternoon games.

Bauer gave up two hits, one to the opposing starter. Dodgers ground down the Marlins staff. Another inning with bases loaded and no outs, but got some runs. That was the best piece of news for me tonight.

[ursus arctos]

Four of the six games played in Japan's NPB ended in ties today, the greatest number on a single day in history (worth noting that ties are now declared after nine innings, not the traditional 12j)

[ursus arctos]

PT is a considerably more dedicated Padres fans than anyone I met while living in San Diego (including at games in Jack Murphy)

[Patrick Thistle]

I went to bed as soon as the last Cards batter was caught out. Feel fine now (11am). May be tired later.

Danielmak, I've been a Padres fan since I saw them in 2004. There have been a number of years when they haven't been exciting to watch.

This worked out for me because it was Saturday night on a weekend I had nothing on. I won't be watching the game that starts at midnight (UK time) tonight as I have work tomorrow. I'm lucky I got to watch 3 games last week. A 9pm start, an 8pm start and then the late nighter.

Of course if the Padres had been down 6 at the end of the third inning then I might have knocked it on the head then

[danielmak]

I like the move to protect the catchers but I think runners no longer know what to do. It seems to me that 90%+ of the time, the catcher is in the lane and most of those plays are legitimately cases where the throw pulls the catcher into the lane but the runners never run over the catchers. In part, they don't know that the catcher is going to be in the lane until too late, but I assume most of this is a product of the runner just not knowing what to do. In the Dodger game, Mookie tried to jump over the catcher when he should have just flattened the catcher. Granted, Mookie is a slim guy so he might have come out worse in that deal. Anyway, Dodgers lose.

Last time they went with a bullpen game in Milwaukee the wheels fell off for a few weeks and I fear that will happen again. A bullpen game for this team doesn't make sense. I get that the starters are usually going 6 but the pen is thin and even a 6-inning start means 3 innings of pen work means a heavy load for the better relievers.

[Patrick Thistle]

As you may be aware, something I love about baseball are the factoids and stats. So... last night's win gave the Padres their first clean sweep in a series against the Cardinals since 2010. It wasn't a great start for the Padres as their first hit of the game was by their pitcher, Ryan Weathers. It was also Ryan's first career major league hit (cut to pictures of the ball being officially authenticated). He's the youngest player in the major leagues and has lots of potential.

Batting for the Cardinals, Nolan Arenado got a home run. He homered in all 3 games in the series despite his team losing all 3.

On a more wider note, it feels as if the team has adapted well to losing 5 top players. I wonder if that means they may consider trading some of their established batters who perhaps aren't as indispensable as previously thought, if they wanted to shore up the pitching a bit more. The bull pen is performing reasonably well but the pitchers don't seem to be dominating games. Melancon seems to be established as closer now although even then he's not a certainty to close.

(If it was up to me I would want to keep the squad settled and not trade for anyone, but that's not Preller's style.)

[danielmak]

Melancon is a solid, proven closer. He will be your best bet this season. He just doesn't thrown hard, but he never has. There's a bias in favor of guys who light up the radar gun, but many of those guys don't know how to pitch (hit spots, mix up pitches, understand hitters). This is why Chapman has historically failed in a lot of big moments: he doesn't know how to attack the weaknesses of each hitter.

Seager out for a month. Dodgers injuries keep piling up.

[danielmak]

Gonsolin transferred to the 60-day IL. I thought for sure the speculation during the off-season about the Dodgers signing Bauer was crazy. Well, 2/5 of what was supposed to be the starting staff is out for the year -- don't know if Gonsolin will be ready after 60. Price is back off the IL so perhaps he will move into the starting rotation. Dodgers shouldn't be doing bullpen games.

In other news, Pujols with an RBI, but we're seeing in the 8th inning what manipulating the defense does: Lux isn't a shortstop and made two plays in a row that weren't identified as errors but a quality shortstop would have made the plays. In this case, Seager's injury might have called for Lux in that position either way.

[ursus arctos]

Narrator: Dodgers won 3-1 without ever trailing

Darvish just overpowers Colorado. No runs, four hits and 10 strikeouts in seven innings as Friars win 7-0

[Patrick Thistle]

Today's factoid. Yu Darvish scored more runs (1) against the Rockies than he gave up in the 7 innings he pitched. 2 games in a row where a Padres pitcher has recorded his first hit. Shohei who?

[Greenlander]

Right OTF help me out.

I've been surfing across the major leagues these last few weeks, taking in commentary from just about every point and every division, alongside availing myself of the free game when I can, but I really need a team to get behind. I've narrrowed it down to ten:

Rays - my best mate follows them, thanks to me getting him into the sport. Has a place about 90 minutes from Tampa and as we're going over next year will probably be the team I next see actually live. Such a meh cap though.

Angels - only major league game I've ever seen was there in 1993. Don't like the all red cap.

Blue Jays - just because they're Canadian and my Mum lived in Canada for a few years. Possibly the best cap in the majors.

Reds - the Tortugas parent club. Bit meh on the cap front.

Twins - I have already have Twins cap I brought back about 12 years ago. Like the Vikings.

A's - green, even with the yellow, is always good.

Brewers - love that MB glove logo.

Mariners - my wife loves Seattle and I the colours and the logo.

Mets - when I first went to the States it was NYC and the summer of 86. Daryl Strawberry seemed inordinately cool.

Marlins - yeah, I know they're terrible on all fronts but they are on at a convenient time. New logo better than previous one, though not hard.

Other suggestions are welcome but I don't want to upset the OTF baseball fraternity by blanking your club (sorry but I just can't do the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Cubs or Dodgers which I know includes a fair few of you). Also out are the two from Texas and the Indians. Quite frankly if they still existed I'd have already chosen and stuck with the Expos as it was actually Montreal where my mum lived while back in 86 they were the team I spent my quarters on the baseball arcade game. But not the Nationals either.

I'm sure I asked this question a few years ago and it'll probably end up being the Rays, but I have to whittle my favourite teams down on the MLB app.