Cleveland Sports Forum

I'm sure everyone has seen that Angels DFA'd Cody Allen.
Good guy; I hope he can put it back together. Columbus could be a way station for him if he'd be interested in coming back home.

I thought the same thing when saw the news. If he clears waivers and we sign him we’d only be on the hook for league minimum. Angels would have to pay vast majority of salary. Let him come in and work with guys he knows and see if he can figure it out.

Last year he lost consistency with his curve and a tad of velocity. No injury so has to be mechanical. Unless dead arm or something. Be worth a shot for 175 K or whatever it is now.

Hunter Renfroe went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored as the Padres came back to stun the Rockies 14-13 on Sunday.
Renfroe hit a two-run homer in the first inning and then knocked a solo shot in the seventh, helping the Padres claw back as they mounted a furious comeback in the victory. It was the second time in three games that the 27-year-old has hit at least two homers, and he hit five homers with eight RBI and seven runs scored in the four-game series in Coors Field. Renfroe now has 23 homers, 43 RBI and 33 runs scored after the weekend binge, and he's hitting .256/.305/.647 while reportedly being available for trade. We'll see what the Padres decide to do if he keeps raking like this.

Jun 16, 2019, 9:42 PM ET

I've been thinking the same rusty.

SD seems like such a perfect fit. They have so many young excess outfielders and some good minor league pitchers. (Logan Allen comes to mind)

And would love to see Bauer shipped to the NL. Hoping the best offer comes from there.

That said, if an AL team offers the best package, even the Twins, go for it.

Renfroe now has 23 homers, 43 RBI and 33 runs scored after the weekend binge, and he's hitting .256/.305/.647 while reportedly being available for trade. We'll see what the Padres decide to do if he keeps raking like this.

305 OBP after a recent hot streak? No thanks.

We need more guys that can get on base. We have enough 300 OBP guys right now. That’s our problem.

a lot more power than the folks in our outfield

Absolutely, I won't argue with you there. But me personally, I think we need to get some more professional type hitters.

We are 27th in BA in MLB

21st in OBP

23rd in Runs scored

Gotta get some guys who get on base and get clutch hits. A guy that can do that and has power would be ideal.

Good point. In recent seasons we have terrific walk/strikeout numbers. What caused the big change? The only significant absence is Brantley. Gomes didn't walk. Zimmer strikes out too much. Santana is back. I don't know where the problem comes from.

Since Bauer hit a cycle and showed some life I thought I would check in on my old buddy Yandy.

Since returning from injury he has raised his average 30 points, from 256 to 286 the last 10 days, and 2 more homers. He has 11 on the year. (and has missed 13 games)

By the way, here is the other guy I mentioned from SD

MLB.com's AJ Cassavell reports that the Padres will call up pitching prospect Logan Allen to make his major league debut Tuesday versus the Brewers.

Allen has posted a 5.15 ERA this season with Triple-A El Paso in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but he's mostly pitched well after a rough first couple starts and has struck out 63 over 57 2/3 innings.

The left-hander is ranked by MLB.com as the No. 61 prospect in baseball and is viewed as a possible mid-rotation starter. He might eventually be worth using in fantasy leagues, although it's best to avoid him in his difficult first matchup.

Stark: Home Run Madness — it can’t just be the baseballs… or can it?


By Jayson Stark 51m ago 5
All rise in the courtroom of Judge Phineas T. Long Ball, for the trial of one of the world’s most beloved spheres — the major-league baseball.

Today, the baseball stands accused of:

· Flying farther than it has ever flown.

· Soaring repeatedly over every wall ever erected by mankind, with the possible exception of the Great Wall of China.

· Fueling an explosion in home runs that is obliterating the greatest records in this or any sport — and has caused no less a distinguished author than Ken Rosenthal to compare this surge to the PED Era, in terms of its potential damage to the integrity of more than a century’s worth of hallowed statistics.

All right, now a couple of opening arguments. First, let’s quote the words of a current major-league coach, who can’t believe what he’s seeing.

“It’s like watching Home Run Derby,” he said. “We’ve always felt like the balls in the Derby were juiced up. Now it’s like we’re using the Home Run Derby balls in the games.”

Next, let’s hear from a current general manager who recently watched his Triple-A team in the Pacific Coast League, which began using the major-league baseball for the first time this year, and has seen its home-run rate spike by (ready?) 50 percent over last season.

“It’s Arena Baseball,” that GM said, with the bemusement of someone who still isn’t sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Well, whatever it is, it’s definitely a thing. If it feels like some sort of home-run record either gets broken or threatened every 15 minutes these days, you’re not dreaming. Here’s just a partial rundown of the history that has been unfolding before our eyes in 2019:

THE TROT OF THE MONTH CLUB – Let’s see now. There were more home runs hit in April (1,010) than in any April in history. There were more home runs hit in May (1,135) than in any calendar month in history. And now the home-run rate in June (1.42 per game) has blown past even the historic rate in May (1.37) — because of course it has.

THE THOUSAND HOME RUN PYRAMID – So if you made it through the previous paragraph, you won’t be surprised to learn that at this clip, we’d see 6,591 home runs hit this year, which would be … the most in history! And about 1,000 more than last year (5,585)! And nearly 2,400 more than were hit a mere five years ago (4.186)! Even at the height of the PED era, the most bombs launched in any season was “only” 5,695 (in 2000). We could see that total eclipsed by 900 homers this year.

GOPHERVILLE’S TEAM – The Orioles are on pace to do some crazy stuff: A) become the first team ever to allow an average of two homers per game (current rate: 2.0/game) and B) not just serve up the most gopherballs in history (current pace: 324!) but (at this pace) break the previous record (258) by nearly 70 homers.

THE BASH BROTHERS – Meanwhile, three teams — the Twins, Mariners and Brewers — are all on pace to blow away the all-time record for most home runs hit in a season, with the Yankees, Astros and Cubs lagging not far off that pace. No team has ever hit more than 267 homers in a season. The Twins would mash 311 at this rate.

JOIN THE CLUB – Would you believe that 13 different teams are on pace to break their all-time franchise record for homers in a season? Plus four others (Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Pirates) are so close that it wouldn’t be shocking if more than half the teams in baseball hit more home runs this season than they’ve ever hit. Ever.

WAIT TILL THIS YEAR – Finally, here’s a sampling of players who rank among this year’s leaders — and already have hit more home runs than they hit all last season: Josh Bell, Jay Bruce, Tommy La Stella, Ketel Marte, Franmil Reyes, Jorge Soler, Derek Dietrich and Daniel Vogelbach — with the likes of Cody Bellinger, Freddie Freeman and Hunter Renfroe about to join this club any minute now.

So ladies and gentlemen of the jury, those are the facts. Now what’s the defense? It can’t just be the baseball, can it? Oh, yes, it can. But let’s examine the alternatives anyway. Here are the most likely other causes. See what you think.

WHAT ABOUT THE BATS?

We hear this question all the time. So we posed it to people across the sport. It’s true, after all, that the average exit velocity off the bat has never been higher, and that the percentage of hard-hit baseballs is at an all-time high, at least for the era in which those metrics have been measured.

It’s also true that the quality of bats in the big leagues has never been better. That at least feels like a factor.

“When I played,” said Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, “you had to get heavier (bats) to get harder (bats). Now the bat companies are all making bats that are harder and lighter … Ronald Acuña swings a 30-ounce bat. In my day, if you used a 30-ounce bat, it would probably have lasted one at-bat, because (the wood) was so weak.”

So there you go. It must be the bats, right? Uh, wrong. A 2018 scientific study commissioned by Major League Baseball cast great doubt on that. Plus let’s remember one thing: The quality of bats may have improved dramatically over the last 10, 20 or even 30 years. But we’re talking about 1,000 more homers than last year.

Anyone out there think the quality of bats has undergone a massive alteration since last fall? Right. Didn’t think so. Next witness.

IT’S THE LAUNCH ANGLE

Is launch angle now, officially, a major point of emphasis for hitters everywhere? Of course it is. And thanks to the miracle of Statcast, it’s possible to measure that like never before.

HITTERS WITH 20.0+-DEGREE AVG. LAUNCH ANGLE

2015 2
2016 9
2017 12
2018 11
2019 19
(Min. 100 batted balls for 2015-18, 50 for 2019)
Source – baseballsavant.com

That’s a real trend, and it isn’t happening by accident. It’s happening because teams — and players — have never put more emphasis on getting the ball in the air. Kids are knocking on the door at places like Driveline Baseball to learn how to accomplish that. Clubs are teaching it as early as the lower minor leagues. And there’s belief across the game that it’s possible that this widespread, science-based, adaptation in hitters’ swing paths is having an impact.

“Hitting approach and strategy are completely different than they were five years ago,” said one executive. “Is it possible that the change in hitters’ swings is causing them to hit balls harder? It makes total sense.”

Sure. Makes sense on every level — except for one thing. If hitters are now employing that swing path across the minor leagues, why are we only seeing this massive surge in homers in Triple A and the big leagues, which use a different baseball than the lower levels?

“We’re not seeing the same spike in Double A or Single A,” said Twins GM Thad Levine. “Only in Triple A. And the only thing that’s changed there is the baseball.”

Oh, yeah. There’s that. Plus there’s one other problem with that launch-angle theory. Despite the fixation with hitting the ball in the air, the rate of fly balls has barely changed.

FLY BALL PERCENTAGE

2017 35.5%
2018 35.4%
2019 35.8%
Source: FanGraphs

So the increase in the number of fly balls since last year is up 1 percent. The percentage of fly balls that land in somebody’s bleacher seat is up 17 percent. You do the math. Next witness.

IT’S THE PITCHERS’ VELOCITY

Here’s another trend in the game that would seem, on the surface, to be a clearly related development. Pitchers throw harder now than they’ve ever thrown. Baseballs are hit harder now than they’ve ever been hit. Discuss.

“It’s the ball, and it’s velocity,” said the GM of one team that’s among the home run leaders. “And when you combine a ball that goes farther than ever with harder velocity coming in — which means harder velocity going out — you’re going to get balls that fly farther.”

Voila. You don’t need to read the works of Stephen Hawking to accept this theory. It’s packed with logic. It’s packed with physics. It’s packed with intuitive baseball IQ. But once again, it doesn’t explain a 1,000-homer spike since last year.

AVG. FASTBALL VELOCITY

2014 93.2 mph
2015 93.4 mph
2016 93.5 mph
2017 93.5 mph
2018 93.6 mph
2019 93.7 mph
Source: FanGraphs

So let’s think this through again. Do pitchers throw really hard nowadays? Check. Is that having a significant impact on everything in the game? Check. But has any of that welled up just since last October? Negative! Next witness.

IT’S THE WAY TEAMS ARE BUILT

“Do you ever open up the box scores and look at the lineups?” asked one AL exec. “Especially in the American League, one through nine, every guy can hit a mistake 400 feet. Four years ago, that number was six or seven guys. Now it’s eight or nine. That’s not launch angle. That’s a change in the type of player we’re putting on the field. If you can’t hit 20 bombs now, you can’t play regularly in the big leagues anymore.”

That sounds like an exaggeration. Guess again. Every defensive position on the field — except pitchers, obviously — is on pace to average 20 home runs per team this year. Every single position. (*ASTERISK ALERT – It’s actually 19.9 at second base. But are we permitted by the proper authorities to round off those numbers? We are. That is all.)

Once again, you can’t find anyone in the sport who will dispute this major philosophical shift in roster construction. At a time when everyone comprehends that the odds are ugly of hitting three singles in an inning off Max Scherzer, GMs have a bigger crush than ever on dudes who can smoke a hanging cutter off the scoreboard. And why wouldn’t they?

“The fastest way to score runs in the big leagues is with the home run,” Levine said. “So we’re starting to develop talent with an eye toward (honing those long-ball skills) … We’re definitely strategizing for it in the draft. We’re looking for swing paths. And we’re developing that skill.”

Yet once again, does that fully explain what we’re seeing? Did that just start last offseason or something?

“I think the industry has a greater understanding now of the value of a home run compared with where we were 10 to 15 years ago,” said an NL GM. “But I don’t think it’s changed overnight. It’s been a gradual evolution, probably over the last decade or decade and a half.”

So does a decade-long trend connect the dots to a 1,000-homer uptick since last year? You know the answer. Next witness.

COULD THERE BE ANOTHER PED CRISIS?

Let’s get this one out of the way fast, because we know there are people whose automatic explanation for every home run increase is: They’re all cheating.

But we posed this question to people in every corner of the industry. They would never pretend that their sport — or any sport — is 100 percent substance-free. But at a time when testing is more extensive and more frequent than it has ever been, there is no belief anywhere that this is Balco-ball 2.0.

“Zero chance that’s the reason,” said one baseball man who asked not to be identified. “Unless there’s a conspiracy that no one knows about, in the commissioner’s office or the union or anywhere else, I honestly think it’s zero.”

SO IT’S THE BASEBALL, RIGHT?

You’ve now heard all the possible explanations. Does it seem logical that any of them are at work here?

Wait. That’s a trick question. They’re almost all at work in some way, driving the sport toward a very different place, which is leading us toward more home runs than ever before. But…

Does it seem logical that any of them are the answer for those 1,000 extra home runs that weren’t soaring through the ozone last year? That’s where it’s time to start shaking our heads.

So if it’s clearly the baseball, why doesn’t baseball just fix it? There almost seems to be an assumption in many pockets of the game that that’s what’s going to happen.

“I don’t think they should deaden it,” said Seitzer. “Just keep it the way it was when all the records were set. That’s the point of records, right? To have consistency throughout our game? So keep the bases 90 feet apart. Keep the mound at 60 feet, 6 inches. And keep the ball the way it was. It just seems like it should be easy to figure out how to make baseballs (that aren’t this lively). We’ve got machines that do everything else. Why can’t they figure out how to get a machine to make baseballs that are consistent?”

He’s not the only one asking that question: Where’s that state-of-the-art baseball machine anyhow? In a world in which machines and technology seem to control pretty much everything in our lives, you would understand why anybody would ask that. But guess what? It’s not only harder than you’d think, it’s impossible.

We’ve been asking about what turbo-charged the baseball for months. The answers are both puzzling and frustrating.

Baseballs are sewn together by hand. They are made of natural ingredients — cowhide, with wool stitching. There isn’t a machine on earth that is cranking out baseballs for any professional league. They have to be sewn together by hand, at the factory. Have to.

The only way to change that is to design them completely differently. No cowhide. No stitching. No sewing. And guess what? That’s not happening.

There’s something else. There are strict rules that govern the size of the baseball, the type of surface, the fabric for stitching, the specs of the inner core right down to the color. But you know what people in the game have learned after asking the same questions we’ve asked?

It’s virtually impossible to control the drag coefficient.

The drag coefficient? Yes, it’s actually a shift in that drag coefficient — essentially a major change in wind resistance — that a team of scientists determined last year was causing baseballs to whoosh through the sky differently than in the past. But those scientists couldn’t figure out why.

The funny thing is, The Athletic’s Meredith Wills has done studies that might provide some clues. But within MLB, the search for more answers — by a bunch of really smart people — goes on. And nothing they’ve uncovered so far has convinced them they’ve found a solution.

All those specs in the rule book — none of them have changed. The ball isn’t bigger. It isn’t heavier. It isn’t lighter. It isn’t bouncier. It isn’t made of any different materials. It just flies farther. And if you think you know how to fix it, Rob Manfred would love to hear from you.

“We should be able to figure this out,” said one executive who has posed these questions. “But the people who know the most about it just tell me to stop asking.”

So ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we invite you to come up with the answer — because so far, all the powers that be have come up with are more questions. Judge Phineas T. Longball has spoken. Now it’s your turn.

M ET

MICKEY CALLAWAY
SP, NEW YORK METS

James Wagner of the New York Times reports that the Mets have fired pitching coach Dave Eiland.
Mets bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez has also been let go. The team's starting rotation has mostly disappointed this year and the relief corps has been abysmal, so Eiland and Hernandez will take the fall. Eiland was hired before the 2018 season after serving as a longtime pitching instructor with the Royals. He still had a year-and-a-half left on his contract with the Mets.

SOURCE: James Wagner on Twitter
Jun 20, 2019, 3:15 PM ET

Callaway will be back with the Tribe next year.

LOL, except they like Willis better I bet.

Oh gosh, I like Callaway much better. But doubt they would do Willis that way.

If he doesn’t get any other offers they could give him a roaming job but he’ll get offers. He’s one of the best.