Welcome to a different version of 5 Issues I Appreciated (Or Didn’t Like) This Week. I’m going to maintain the introduction brief and candy in the present day so I can get again to my once-annual responsible pleasure: spending all day watching the US Open. However whereas I’m going full Jimmy Butler, loads of baseball is occurring, so I’ve obtained my eyes on that as properly. You couldn’t watch a recreation this week with out seeing one thing spectacular. We’ve obtained nice baserunning, terrible baserunning, and phenomenal catches. We’ve obtained groups misunderstanding danger and reward, and GMs touching scorching stoves over and over. It’s an awesome week to look at baseball, as a result of it all the time is. Shout out to Zach Lowe of ESPN as all the time for the column concept, and one programming notice: 5 Issues will probably be off subsequent Friday. Let’s get to the baseball!
1. Anthony Volpe’s Disruptive VelocityOne other 12 months, one other below-average season with the bat for the Yankees shortstop. That’s turning him right into a lightning rod for controversy, as a result of he’s a kind of participant who typically will get missed (protection and velocity) enjoying for a crew the place gamers typically get overrated. The mix of the 2 results in some complicated opinions. “He’s participant who will make fewer All-Star groups than you suppose as a result of defensive worth is persistently underappreciated” isn’t precisely a powerful argument in the event you’re speaking to an acquaintance at a sports activities bar.
One factor that everybody can agree on, although: After he reaches base, Anthony Volpe is an issue. I tuned into Monday’s Nationals-Yankees recreation to see Dylan Crews within the majors and to look at Aaron Decide and Juan Soto, however I ended up simply marveling at Volpe for lots of the afternoon. He obtained on base 3 times (that’s the onerous half for him, to be clear) and tilted the whole protection every time. He wasn’t even occurring this play, and his vault lead nonetheless dragged Ildemaro Vargas out of place:
I’m not fairly positive the way to assign worth for that play. The ball discovered a gap there, however DJ LeMahieu may simply as simply have hit the ball straight to Vargas. I’m not saying that we want a complicated statistical reckoning concerning the worth of a runner bluffing a fielder into movement, however that doesn’t change how cool it’s to look at Volpe spook good veteran infielders simply by standing round and bouncing.
A few of his baserunning worth is of the easy, look-at-this-fast-human-being selection. You don’t have to hit the ball very deep to drive him house from third:
A number of the worth is effort-based. Volpe’s all the time fascinated with an additional base. Even when he hits a clear single, he’s obtained eyes on the play. An innocuous outfield bobble? He’ll take the bottom, thanks very a lot:
After all, in the event you present somebody taking a bouncing lead within the first GIF, it’s a must to present them stealing a base within the fourth: Name it Volpe’s Run. That double led to a pitching change, and after two seems to be at Joe La Sorsa’s supply, Volpe helped himself to 3rd base:
Not each recreation is like this, however most of his occasions on base are. He’s by no means content material to go station to station. His instincts are finely tuned, his velocity blazing. I’m rooting for Volpe to enhance on the plate, and it’s for egocentric causes: I really like to look at nice baserunning, and I wish to see him get extra possibilities to do it.
2. Regardless of the Reverse of That Is
Oh Washington. The Nats are close to the highest of my watch checklist proper now. Their assortment of younger offensive standouts makes for enjoyable video games, and now that Crews has debuted, the highest of their lineup seems to be legitimately wonderful. You’ll be able to see the way forward for the crew even earlier than they’re able to contend, and that’s simply cool. They could even be good already – they gained the sequence towards the Yankees this week, with Crews hitting his first huge league homer within the deciding recreation. However uh, they’re not fairly prepared for prime time but. Check out this laser beam double:
Boy, it positive seems to be enjoyable to pour on the runs if you’re already profitable. Wait, I misspoke. Check out this lengthy fielder’s selection:
Someway, Joey Gallo didn’t rating on a jog on that one. He slammed on the brakes at third base and realized he couldn’t make it house. Then he obtained frolicked to dry as a result of everybody else within the play stored operating prefer it was a transparent double (it was). What a goof! That meant the one query was whether or not he’d be capable of maintain the rundown lengthy sufficient to let everybody advance a base. The reply was a convincing sure – to everybody aside from Juan Yepez:
I believe his mind simply brief circuited there. He was standing on third with Gallo utterly caught in a rundown. All it’s a must to do to complete the play is stand nonetheless. However for no matter motive, he began side-shuffling in retreat towards second, one other base at the moment occupied by a runner (!). Whereas Jazz Chisholm Jr. tagged Gallo out, Yepez was busy hanging José Tena out to dry. Famously, you’ll be able to’t have two runners on the identical base. The remainder of the play was educational:
I really feel unhealthy hanging Yepez out to dry, as a result of some clearer communication would have made this play a run-scoring double. First, Gallo was overly cautious tagging up on the deep drive to middle. Then, he obtained bamboozled. Watch the bottom coach maintain Yepez, just for Gallo to see the signal and suppose it was meant for him:
Only a catastrophe throughout. I can’t get sufficient of the Gameday description: “José Tena singles on a pointy line drive to middle fielder Aaron Decide. Juan Yepez to third. José Tena traces right into a double play, middle fielder Aaron Decide to shortstop Anthony Volpe to catcher Austin Wells to first baseman DJ LeMahieu to catcher Austin Wells to 3rd baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second baseman Gleyber Torres. Joey Gallo out at house. Juan Yepez to third. José Tena out at 2nd. Two Outs.”
Ah, sure, simply your typical 8-6-2-3-2-5-4 double play. The Nationals are lots of enjoyable to look at – even when it’s at their expense.
3. We Get It, Rays
The entire never-trade-with-Tampa-Bay bit is overdone. The Rays lose loads of trades. They win their justifiable share too, after all, however they’re excessive quantity operators in a enterprise filled with uncertainty. Typically, you get Isaac Paredes for nearly nothing. Typically, you get Jonny DeLuca. Whenever you churn your roster to the extent that they do, you’ll be able to’t win all of them, and that’s fantastic. However the Cardinals? Yeah, they need to undoubtedly not commerce with the Rays.
First, in 2018, they despatched Tommy Pham to Tampa Bay in change for some depth prospects, and Pham racked up 8 WAR within the subsequent 12 months and a half with the Rays. Then, earlier than the 2020 season, the Cardinals swapped Randy Arozarena for Matthew Liberatore; Randy turned the face of the postseason, and Libby became an extended reliever. The latest deal may not be probably the most damaging, however it’s an apt capper to a transaction trilogy.
Dylan Carlson was alleged to be the following huge factor in St. Louis, however that ship had sailed lengthy earlier than the Cardinals jettisoned him on the deadline this 12 months. His offensive recreation simply broke down out of nowhere over the past two years, and he performed himself out of St. Louis even because the crew floundered for outfield depth this 12 months. He had a 50 wRC+ in a part-time position when the crew determined it was time to maneuver on.
That’s fantastic, guys want adjustments of surroundings on a regular basis. However buying and selling him to the Rays, of all groups, felt a bit of on the nostril. The reliever they obtained again, Shawn Armstrong, is a superbly good bullpen possibility. He made 11 appearances for the Redbirds and compiled a 2.84 ERA (2.78 FIP), a stable month’s work. However I’m utilizing the previous tense as a result of they designated him for task earlier this week, hoping one other crew would choose up the stability of his contract and save them $350,000 or so. They’ve made an identical transfer with Pham, whom additionally they acquired on the deadline, since then. In Armstrong’s case, additionally they did it as a result of he’d pitched two days in a row and so they wanted one other recent arm on the energetic roster; it was a messy scenario throughout.
We have now their postseason odds at 1.1% after a desultory August, and so they probably aren’t shedding a lot of that worth by transferring on from Armstrong. It’s the signaling of all of it, although: They traded for the man, obtained precisely what they wished from him, and nonetheless couldn’t hold him round for 2 months. In the meantime, Carlson seems to be like an affordable main leaguer once more. He hasn’t been a world beater by any means, however he’s hitting the ball onerous extra regularly in a semi-platoon position that takes benefit of his skill to hit lefties. He already has three homers as a Ray after none all 12 months as a Cardinal.
Carlson needed to go, as a result of one thing wasn’t working in St. Louis. Armstrong was a superbly affordable return, and he did precisely what the crew hoped for when the Cardinals acquired him. The optics, although! They traded one more fairly good outfielder who didn’t match into the puzzle in St. Louis. Tampa Bay has two years to get probably the most out of him. As is customary, not one of the gamers the Rays despatched again to Missouri moved the needle. For appearances’ sake, if nothing else, the Cardinals can’t hold making these trades.
4. Outrageous Robberies
It feels bizarre that Jackson Chourio, a five-tool famous person with blazing footspeed, doesn’t play middle. It looks like a knock on him, nearly. Certain, this man’s a prodigy, however he can’t deal with the robust defensive place that you just may anticipate him to play given his expertise. Besides, that’s not fairly proper. Why would you play him in middle discipline if you at the moment have Spider-Man patrolling the grass? I imply…
Blake Perkins robs ANOTHER house run! ? pic.twitter.com/vvEn9GVR7V
— MLB (@MLB) August 28, 2024
Oh my goodness. I don’t even wish to hear about catch likelihood on this one, as a result of the issue of this play is the half the place he will get over the wall in deep middle. This isn’t a kind of “robberies” the place the fielder grazes the wall together with his again and everybody celebrates. Blake Perkins can do these simply fantastic – he has 4 robberies this 12 months, and so they weren’t all this tough – however he also can go the additional mile. He went all the best way up and over to get this one:
That’s an 8-foot wall, so he in all probability obtained to the ball 9 or so toes within the air. He needed to cowl a ton of floor earlier than getting there; 101 toes from his preliminary place, to be exact. He took an awesome route, which gave him time to decelerate and time the leap, however the ball stored carrying. In the long run, he needed to parkour up the wall a bit of bit to get sufficient top:
What extra can I say? You’ll be able to’t do it any higher than that. Perkins reacted like he was shocked by his personal play:
So no sweat, Jackson. You’re a fairly good outfielder too; you simply can’t climb partitions fairly so nimbly. There’s no disgrace in second place when first place seems to be like that.
5. Getting by With a Little Assist
Austin Riley is on the IL proper now, and 2024 has been a down 12 months for him. That’s largely an offensive challenge, although his protection isn’t fairly as much as earlier years’ requirements, both. That mentioned, he can nonetheless flip an absolute gem on the market. Check out this magnificence from two weeks in the past:
That’s the realm the place he’s improved probably the most. His arm is under common for third base, so he compensates by getting his toes planted and placing his total physique into the throw. That ball needed to journey eternally, and to be honest, it two-hopped Matt Olson, however that’s an correct ball given the place he caught it and the way rapidly he needed to let it go. That’s very good, however watch Jo Adell on the bag. What’s he doing?!? That isn’t the way you’re alleged to run out a bang-bang play. If he went straight in, he’d beat the throw comfortably. As a substitute, he curled his manner into an out.
In his thoughts, I’m positive that ball was a double proper out of the field. That’s affordable! Have a look at the place Riley made the play:
Riley’s plant foot ended up all the best way into the grass in foul territory. Not many baseballs get fielded there, and Adell hit that one on a line, so when he began out of the field, he was absolutely contemplating his choices with regard to second base. He got here out of the field wanting down the road and taking a direct, reasonably than rounded, route. However as you’ll be able to see from the excessive angle replay, he began to bend his path to chop the bag and head for second, proper across the similar time that Riley rose and fired:
The closeup of Adell is unquestionably a nasty look:
However take one other have a look at these final two photographs and also you’ll get a greater concept of what occurred. Adell in all probability couldn’t see the ball within the nook cleanly. There was lots of site visitors: baserunners, umpires, Riley himself, the pitcher, and so forth. About midway down the baseline, he seemed away from the play to select up first base coach Bo Porter, precisely what it is best to do when you’ll be able to’t discover the ball by yourself. However Porter simply plain missed it. He was pinwheeling Adell towards second, imploring him to arc out for further velocity. He clearly thought the ball was within the outfield and that Adell going vast may give him a shot at an additional base.
I’d put extra blame on Porter than on Adell on this scenario, however there’s blame to go round for each. I’d give credit score to Riley, too, after all. Base coaches and baserunners make errors generally, and so they aren’t all the time punished by excellent defensive performs like that. However that is an unforgivable mistake given the sport scenario.
Adell’s run was far much less vital than the 2 in entrance of him. If there was any query in any respect about his being protected or not, any query about whether or not Riley had fielded it, the right play was to e-book it to first and utterly neglect concerning the double. Reaching first safely is value greater than a run: the runner scoring from third plus the primary and third scenario that may’ve outcome from it. Groups have scored 0.52 runs after first and third with two outs this 12 months, and 0.59 runs after second and third with two outs. That means, if Adell had taken a straight line path, the Angels would’ve scored a run and had that 0.52 on prime of it, so making an out at first base value them an anticipated 1.52 runs. Advancing to second would have gained them one other 0.07 anticipated runs, however provided that that runner on third scored, which didn’t occur as a result of Adell was out at first. They’d’ve wanted to efficiently advance to second 96 occasions out of 100 to make the maths work there. It’s worse than that, although: Going from a one-run result in a two-run lead is value astronomically greater than stepping up from two to a few. Take that into consideration, and we’re taking a look at a play the place you’d should be proper 98 occasions out of 100.
The Angels mistook enjoying onerous for taking part in sensible. The profitable baseball play there’s to make sure the run. It didn’t find yourself costing them, however it may have. They by no means scored once more, and the Braves put loads of site visitors on the bases the remainder of the best way. The humorous factor is, I’m positive that Adell will get knocked for not hustling on this play, and I don’t suppose that’s what went mistaken. He and Porter simply obtained grasping aiming for a hustle double when the fitting selection was to nit it up (play extraordinarily conservatively, for the non-poker-players on the market). It’s an odd solution to make a mistake – however it’s undoubtedly nonetheless a mistake.
