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Yeah, I know it probably won't happen but Arizona has quietly played their way into the NL West race...
LA Dodgers 67 56 .545 - - - 4-6 L5 42-20 25-36 8/23 @ HOU, L 2-3 8/25 @ CIN, 7:10 PM San Francisco 66 58 .532 1.5 38 6.0 5-5 L2 35-24 31-34 8/23 @ PIT, L 2-5 8/25 vs CHC, 10:15 PM Arizona 62 61 .504 5.0 35 9.5 6-4 W4 30-29 32-32 8/23 @ CIN, W 4-0 8/24 vs STL, 10:10 PM San Diego 61 63 .492 6.5 33 11.0 7-3 L1 31-30 30-33 8/23 vs STL, L 3-10 8/25 @ WSH, 7:05 PM Colorado 49 73 .402 17.5 23 22.0 2-8 L3 27-36 22-37 8/23 vs NYM, L 1-5 8/24 @ ATL, 7:10 PM Comment -
Happ and the Pirates are still going strong, continuing best of luck.Comment -
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40 saves!!!!Comment -
just looked it up, and Mike wiliams set the record in 2002 with 46 saves
Melancon is 5th all time on Pirates saves chart... time to trade him
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Dwight Gooden made baseball history 30 years ago Tuesday,
becoming the youngest major league pitcher to win 20 games in a season.
But did you know Gooden never won a postseason game?Comment -
NL ROY candidates
FRONT-RUNNERSKris Bryant, Cubs
The Cubs' 23-year-old star has heated up in recent days. He's now at 20 home runs for the season, and he owns a slash line of .262/.366/.481. As well, among rookies only Joc Pederson has played in more games. Given the hype that preceded his arrival and given the Cubs' prominent presence in the sport's consciousness, Bryant may be the frontrunner right now, especially if a 25-homer season is in the offing.
Jung Ho Kang, Pirates
Kang's batting .288/.365/.459 in 395 plate appearances, and voters intuit that he's playing in a tougher offensive environment than Bryant is. Also, Kang's spent more than 400 defensive innings at third base and almost 400 innings at shortstop. With Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison missing significant chunks of the season, Kang's steady bat and flexibility in the infield has been essential to the Pirates this season.
Matt Duffy, GiantsIN THE MIX
Duffy's been a somewhat quietly valuable member of the contending Giants this season. He has spent time at four different infield positions (although he has primarily been a third baseman), and along the way he has put up a line of .308/.345/.460 with 10 home runs, five triples, and 23 doubles in 111 games while also running the bases well.
Joc Pederson, Dodgers
Pederson's case is an interesting one. He's the rare rookie, in that he has been a regular for a contender since Opening Day, so he's racked up the most playing time of any rook. He's also got impressive overall numbers: .798 OPS while playing a solid center field. On the other side of things, recent trends are working against Pederson. Since July 1, Pederson has put up a batting line of .154/.302/.269. That deep decline down the stretch, unless Pederson arrests it, won't be lost on voters.
Noah Syndergaard, Mets
A strong finish to the season, and Syndergaard will rejoin the frontrunners for the award. Right now, his "merely" good numbers don't quite keep him at that level. He checks in with an ERA of 3.17 after 18 starts, and he backs it up with a strong K/BB ratio of 4.50. He leads all NL rookie pitchers in strikeouts. Working against him, though, may be his struggles on the road, which have been getting more attention in the press lately.
Maikel Franco, PhilliesON THE PERIPHERY
Franco's been quite impressive this season. As the Phils' regular third baseman, he has batted .277/.340/.490 with 13 homers in 77 games. Unfortunately, Franco is likely to miss the remainder of the season with a fractured wrist. As such, he's not going to be winning the award.
Randal Grichuk, Cardinals
Grichuk lags the serious contenders when it comes to playing time, but his numbers are highly impressive. In 85 games, he has batted .284/.333/.561 with 43 extra base hits and time spent at all three outfield positions. Grichuk can still mount a charge, but he needs to get back from his elbow strain and finish the season on a tear.
Chris Heston, Giants
Heston's more than "just" a rookie no-hitter. His 145 2/3 innings leads all NL rookies, and over that span he has pitched to an ERA of 3.34. He lacks Syndergaard's long-term ceiling and attention, but frankly there's not much separating their 2015 performances.
Taylor Jungmann, Brewers
The good: Jungmann boasts a 2.66 ERA, and he's allowed just 0.3 homers per nine innings. The bad: He's pitched just 84 2/3 innings over 14 starts. A dominant finish puts him more squarely in the discussion, but the light workload is not in his favor.
Kyle Schwarber, Cubs
Schwarber's been the NL's most impressive rookie hitter on a rate basis, as he's raked a slash line of .284/.382/.575. However, that's been over a span of just 40 games and 157 plate appearances. He's no doubt going to be a fixture in the Cubs' lineup the rest of the way, so if he continues producing at such a high clip then he'll climb the rankings. Likely, though, he's just not going to have enough playing time to prevail in such a strong year for NL rookies.Comment -
Bryant is going to win it.Comment -
Robinson Cano
1st player in history with 11 straight 30+ double seasons to start a career.Comment -
What a finish to this career.
Chris Perez has retired from baseball.
The news comes courtesy of the official transactions page for the International League, where Perez had been with Triple-A Norfolk in the Orioles' organization. He never pitched for Norfolk, as his only six appearances this season came with the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate in Colorado Springs. Perez looked to be on track for a promising career, making two All-Star teams while saving 98 games in his first three years with the Indians. It's been a disaster on and off the field since then, though, and he most recently made news with a 50-game suspension for a second positive test for a drug of abuse. Perez turned just 30 last month.Comment -
nice career chris perez!Comment -
Front-runner(s)Zack Greinke, Dodgers
MLB's ERA leader -- Greinke has a 1.67 ERA, while the next-best mark among qualified starters belongs to Sonny Gray at 2.10 -- remains the NL Cy Young Award front-runner. Greinke is 13-3 this year and he leads baseball in not only ERA, but also ERA+ (222), which adjusts for ballpark, as well as WHIP (0.85) and hit rate (6.1 H/9). Add in stellar strikeout and walk numbers -- 155 strikeouts and 29 walks (5.34 K/BB) in 172 1/3 innings -- and an MLB-best 7.1 WAR and you've got a clear Cy Young favorite. Greinke checks every box.
Jake Arrieta, CubsIn the mix
The Cubbies signed Jon Lester to be the staff ace, but that title belongs to Arrieta right now. He's 16-6 with a 2.22 ERA to go along with great strikeout (9.2 K/9) and walk (2.2 BB/9) rates. Arrieta is among the top five in WAR and is one of only seven big-league starters with a sub-1.00 WHIP (0.98). Arrieta does not lead the league in anything other than wins, but he's top 10 in just about everything, and hey, wins are a good category to lead if you want to win the Cy Young.
Madison Bumgarner, Giants
Should Bumgarner's impressive hitting ability be considered for the Cy Young voting? It is my understanding only the MVP ballot comes with specific instructions, not the Cy Young, so I suppose the answer to that question is up to the voter. Either way, Bumgarner's pitching is enough to merit Cy Young consideration. He's 15-6 with a 3.02 ERA (120 ERA+), a 1.04 WHIP, and 180 strikeouts in 169 2/3 innings. Bumgarner is third in the league in strikeouts and third in K/BB ratio (6.43).
Gerrit Cole, Pirates
Cole has hit a bit of a speed bump in August -- relatively speaking, of course, he still has a 3.60 ERA this month -- that has hurt his overall numbers. He had a 14-5 record with a 2.39 ERA at the time of our first Cy Young Watch, and is now sitting on a 14-7 record with a 2.49 ERA (152 ERA+). Cole has struck out a batter an inning (162 in 162 1/3) and is eighth in the circuit with 3.7 WAR.
Jacob deGrom, Mets
Monday night's outing is not going to help deGrom's Cy Young candidacy. He was tagged for seven runs (six earned) in only 2 2/3 innings by the Phillies. That said, deGrom is still 12-6 with a 2.29 ERA (164 ERA+) on the year, ranking third in ERA and fifth in the league with 4.5 WAR. He has 161 strikeouts and only 32 walks in 157 innings, good for a 5.03 K/BB. Monday's outing means it'll be tough for deGrom to get his ERA under 2.00, where it sat just a few days ago (1.98, to be exact).
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
Remember when everyone was asking, "What's wrong with Kershaw?" back in April? Good times. Kershaw, the reigning NL Cy Young and MVP winner, is only 10-6, but he has a 2.29 ERA (162 ERA+) and leads baseball in strikeouts (222) and FIP (2.12). He's second to Greinke in ERA and WAR (5.4). Kershaw has been vintage Kershaw since May, basically, and five months of vintage Kershaw is better than full seasons of most other Cy Young candidates.
Max Scherzer, Nationals
For a while, the Cy Young race was Greinke vs. Scherzer, but Scherzer has slipped a bit in recent weeks, going 1-2 with a 5.73 ERA (!) in his past six starts. His overall numbers are still fantastic, though: 11-10 with a 2.79 ERA (139 ERA+) and 201 strikeouts against only 26 walks in 171 innings. Scherzer's 7.73 K/BB ratio is the best in baseball, and he's fourth in the league with 4.9 WAR.
Matt Harvey, MetsOn the periphery
deGrom's running mate is right behind him with 4.1 WAR. He has an 11-7 record with a 2.57 ERA (146 ERA+) on the year. The Mets skipped Harvey's last start to control his workload following Tommy John surgery, so his Cy Young case could be hurt by having a smaller workload than other candidates.
Carlos Martinez, Cardinals
Martinez is 12-6 with a 2.85 ERA (135 ERA+) in 148 2/3 innings this year, and that last number is the problem. He's thrown about 30 fewer innings than other Cy Young candidates because this is his first full season as a starter and St. Louis is taking it easy on him.
Michael Wacha, Cardinals
Wacha is in a similar boat as Martinez. He's 15-4 with a 2.80 ERA (137 ERA+) on the year, which is fantastic, but he lags in innings (151 1/3). Also like Martinez, the Cardinals are watching Wacha's workload down the stretch, so he won't make up those innings in September.Comment -
Puig is finally waking up down the stretch.
Yasiel Puig went 1-for-4 with a walk and a two-run home run as the Dodgers beat the Reds on Wednesday.
Puig capped off a five-run fourth inning with a two-run home run to center field off of David Holmberg. The star outfielder is on a nine-game hitting streak and is now carrying a .253/.321/.440 batting line with 11 home runs and 38 RBI in 302 plate appearances this season.Comment -
Strong stretch of play from Verlander
Justin Verlander came up 3 outs shy of a no-hitter Wednesday, the 4th no-hitter lost in the 9th inning this season.
Verlander now has a 0.31 ERA in his last 4 starts --
his lowest ERA in any 4-start span in his career --
after a 5.05 ERA in his first 9 starts of the season.Comment -
Looks like we jinxed them!
Arizona is on the verge of losing their 4th straight and falling 8.5 GB in the NL West...Comment -
yeah crafty vetern verlanderComment -
I liked the time he had weed shipped to his dog: http://deadspin.com/the-weed-that-ca...ssed-512027909Comment -
NL MVP Race
Needless to say, the advanced metrics love Harper as well. He leads the NL in WAR, wRC+, OPS+, etc.
One argument we might hear against Harper is "how valuable could he be if they can't make the playoffs?" My response: The Nationals still have a shot at the playoffs. If not for the season Harper has given them, they'd long have been buried. My guess is they'd be about 56-69 right now without him. Maybe even worse. If you don't think that's valuable, you are biased against Harper.
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates - Cutch won the 2013 MVP and was the runner-up last season and he's unsurprisingly right in the mix here. After an awful April (.194/.302/.333), he's now hitting .300/.400/.521 with 32 doubles, 20 homers and 85 RBI (3rd in NL). He has the pedigree, the team leader component that some voters love and plays for the second-best team in the NL.In the mix
Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks - If you don't like Harper because he's not playing for a playoff team, you can't like Goldy either. Man, is he a monster with the bat, though. He's having a down August and is still hitting .331/.446/.571 with 29 doubles, 25 homers and an NL-best 94 RBI. He even runs, as he has 20 stolen bases, good for eighth in the league.
Zack Greinke, Dodgers - He's 13-3 with a 1.67 ERA. If he keeps that ERA under 2.00 and works up toward 20 wins, he's got a good shot to make it two different Dodgers pitchers in a row.
Buster Posey, Giants - If you don't like Harper because he's not playing for a playoff team, you can't like Posey either. At least not right now. The former MVP should be in the conversation, of course, as he's anchored the Giants through several significant injuries to their offense and is hitting .314/.370/.471 with 16 homers and 80 RBI (4th in NL). Getting that offense from a catcher is a huge plus.
Anthony Rizzo, Cubs - Rizzo, however, is on a team that appears headed for the playoffs and he looks the part of lineup anchor that is popular with voters and rightfully so. This up-and-coming Cubs team needed a veteran presence in the middle of the lineup and Rizzo is hitting .288/.396/.533 with 25 homers, 77 RBI and 30 doubles. Like Goldschmidt, he runs, too, as Rizzo has 15 steals. Only Harper, Votto, Goldschmidt and McCutchen have a better on-base percentage and here's something that might interest the old-schoolers: Rizzo has only struck out 75 times, compared to 103 by Harper, 100 by Votto, 114 by Goldschmidt and 99 by McCutchen.
Nolan Arenado, Rockies - He won't win due to playing for a last-place team and the built-in bias against stats accrued in Coors Field, but Arenado deserves mention due to his insane defense along with 30 homers and 92 RBI, both of which are second in the NL.On the periphery
Matt Carpenter/Jason Heyward, Cardinals - The Cardinals have had the best record in baseball for pretty much the entire season, so they're going to get some MVP love. It's hard to pinpoint exactly where due to it being such a well-rounded ballclub without any obvious individual superstar, though. Carpenter seems to be viewed as the most valuable, but Heyward is having the best all-around season. Maybe Jhonny Peralta gets love, too. None of these guys holds a candle to any of the above individuals, however, as the Cardinals are truly one of those "sum of their parts" teams.
Joey Votto, Reds - He can't win because of his team being bad, but like Arenado he deserves mention. He's hitting .306/.446/.548 with 28 doubles and 24 homers. The new-school voters won't care as much about the Reds being bad but will love his OBP and WAR (only Harper and Goldschmidt are better among NL position players on the latter).
Special mention: Yoenis Cespedes, Mets
There is zero chance that Cespedes even cracks the top five and it's a major long-shot he gets into the top 10. Please keep that in mind.Comment -
Iglesias has looked good down the stretch. Not much else to see in Cincinnati at the moment.
Raisel Iglesias couldn't translate his 10 strikeouts into a win against the Brewers on Friday, as he allowed three runs on four hits over seven innings in the 5-0 defeat.
Iglesias struck out 10 Brewers and walked just two, but opposing starter Taylor Jungmann was just a tad bit better. Given that the Reds scored zero runs, Iglesias probably would have been stuck with a loss no matter what he did. He'll try to improve on his 3-6 record when he takes a 3.92 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 87/23 K/BB ratio (across 80 1/3 innings) into his next start, a Wednesday afternoon road outing against the Cubs.Comment -
Kershaw matches season high in K's
Clayton Kershaw had 14 strikeouts in Friday's win.
It was his 11th game this season with at least 10 K's, tied for third-most by a Dodgers pitcher since 1900, according to Elias.
Only Sandy Koufax (21 in 1965, 15 in 1966) had more.Comment -
Kershaw is very goodComment
