The 2020 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

**koz-man** · 02-24-20, 04:29 PM

New OF Shogo Akiyama singles, tries steal in Reds debut

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Shogo Akiyama gave Cincinnati Reds fans a small taste of what he can provide at the top of the batting order and in the outfield Sunday in his first spring training game with the team.
Akiyama, hitting leadoff and playing center field, lined the second pitch he saw from Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease into right field for a single. In the top of the third inning, he made a running catch going to his left on a sinking line drive from Nicky Delmonico.
The five-time Pacific League All-Star is the first player from Japan to sign a major league contract with the Reds. At least a dozen Japanese media members tracked his every move before and after his day at Goodyear Ballpark in the Reds' spring training opener.
The perception of Akiyama in Japan is that he isn't on the same level as Los Angeles Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani or former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, both of whom took the majors by storm when they arrived in the U.S. But Akiyama holds the Japanese league record for hits in a season with 216, set in 2015.

**stevenash** · 02-24-20, 06:18 PM

^
I love that Shogo

**Stallion** · 02-24-20, 09:57 PM

Jose Altuve got beaned today, it was amazing.

**BigSpoon** · 02-25-20, 12:05 AM

Originally posted by Stallion

Jose Altuve got beaned today, it was amazing.

The first of many to come this upcoming season.

**jrgum3** · 02-25-20, 12:20 AM

Originally posted by BigSpoon

The first of many to come this upcoming season.

Dusty Baker said that one wasn't on purpose I'd hate to see what happens when they start drilling Astros on purpose.

**ApricotSinner32** · 02-25-20, 12:58 AM

Originally posted by koz-man

New OF Shogo Akiyama singles, tries steal in Reds debut

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Shogo Akiyama gave Cincinnati Reds fans a small taste of what he can provide at the top of the batting order and in the outfield Sunday in his first spring training game with the team.
Akiyama, hitting leadoff and playing center field, lined the second pitch he saw from Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease into right field for a single. In the top of the third inning, he made a running catch going to his left on a sinking line drive from Nicky Delmonico.
The five-time Pacific League All-Star is the first player from Japan to sign a major league contract with the Reds. At least a dozen Japanese media members tracked his every move before and after his day at Goodyear Ballpark in the Reds' spring training opener.
The perception of Akiyama in Japan is that he isn't on the same level as Los Angeles Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani or former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, both of whom took the majors by storm when they arrived in the U.S. But Akiyama holds the Japanese league record for hits in a season with 216, set in 2015.

thanks for posting this

**Cross** · 02-25-20, 01:11 AM

Great to see cheaters get beaned, maybe Altuve should give back the MVP?

**EmpireMaker** · 02-25-20, 02:01 AM

As seems to be the case every spring, there’s a fair bit of uncertainty surrounding the Brewers’ rotation. Milwaukee eschewed a splashy trade or a potentially cumbersome long-term pact in free agencu, instead opting for lower-cost deals with righty Josh Lindblom (three years, $9.125MM) and Brett Anderson (one year, $5MM) As things currently stand, that duo will likely join holdovers Brandon Woodruff and Adrian Houser in comprising four of the top five spots.
As for the fifth spot in the rotation, Brewers manager Craig Counsell told reporters yesterday that the competition will likely boil down to left-hander Eric Lauer and right-hander Freddy Peralta (Twitter link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). Righty Corbin Burnes isn’t entirely out of the race, but Counsell did indicate that veteran right-hander Shelby Miller won’t be considered just yet. While Miller was invited to MLB camp and will presumably get some innings there, he’s working to reestablish himself after several lost seasons.
The competition between Lauer and Peralta will be a key one for Brewers fans to follow this spring. The former, a 24-year-old lefty picked up alongside Luis Urias in the trade that sent Zach Davies and Trent Grisham to San Diego, already has nearly two full seasons of MLB experience under his belt despite his relative youth. Lauer started 29 games for the Padres last season, pitching to a 4.45 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.20 HR/9 and a 39.9 percent ground-ball rate in 149 2/3 innings.
Lauer pitched into the seventh and eighth inning on a few occasions but ultimately averaged about five frames per start — a concept that should be plenty familiar to Brewers fans at this point. Milwaukee regularly limited the aforementioned Davies and right-hander Chase Anderson to two trips through the opponents’ batting order, leveraging a deep bullpen thereafter. If he wins the fifth spot in the rotation, Lauer could be deployed in similar fashion.
Peralta, meanwhile, is still just 23 year of age. Like Lauer, he’s racked up a fair bit of big league experience in his early 20s, pitching to a combined 4.79 ERA in 163 1/3 Major League innings to this point. Peralta spent most of the 2019 season in a multi-inning relief role — showing better in that capacity than he did as a starting pitcher. But Peralta has added a new pitch to his repertoire this winter, as Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently highlighted, which could change his fortunes. A chat with former big league righty and current Brewers special assistant Carlos Villanueva led to Peralta trying out a slider in the Dominican Winter League, and he responded with a 34-to-3 K/BB ratio in 20 innings with los Toros del Este.
The 25-year-old Burnes could be something of a wild card as camp progresses. A consensus top 100 prospect heading into 2018, Burnes debuted in dominant fashion with the ’18 club when he tossed 38 innings of 2.61 ERA ball with a 35-to-11 K/BB ratio. He made 30 total relief appearances, allowing just 27 hits (four homers); of his 11 walks, two were of the intentional variety. Burnes posted elite spin rates on his curve and heater while flashing high-end velocity. He looked like a potential cornerstone for the pitching staff.
The 2019 season was an unmitigated disaster for Burnes, however. The hitter-friendly nature of the 2019 ball likely didn’t help matters, nor did a sky-high .414 average on balls in play. But Burnes’ poor showing can’t be solely blamed on a juiced ball or poor luck; he was absolutely torched for 48 runs in 49 innings of work — yielding a stunning 17 home runs in that time. The right-hander showed a clear knack for missing bats (12.9 K/9, 17.2 percent swinging-strike rate) but struggled with location both in and out of the zone far. Burnes’ walk rate increased, and his inability to command the ball within the zone contributed to that barrage of long balls.
Regardless of how it shakes out, the Milwaukee rotation will enter the season facing its share of scrutiny. That’s been the case in both of the past two seasons, however, and the team reached the postseason in both instances. A year ago. The 2019 season saw Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Woodruff, Davies, Houser and Gio Gonzalez make the majority of its starts. A year prior, the Brewers entered the season with Chacin, Anderson, Davies, Junior Guerra, Brent Suter and Wade Miley (then on a minor league reclamation deal) heading up its rotation mix.
There may not be a surefire ace among Milwaukee’s starting staff, but both Woodruff and Houser posted sub-4.00 ERAs with strong peripheral marks in more than 100 innings in 2019. Lindblom is an undeniably interesting flier coming off a dominant run in the Korea Baseball Organization, thanks in part to a new splitter. Brett Anderson has a 4.07 ERA and a 55 percent ground-ball rate over the past two seasons (256 1/3 innings). It’s not the most outwardly impressive group of arms, but the Brewers have begun to make a habit of compiling serviceable staffs that are light on name value. They’ll be looking for more of the same in 2020.

**JaimeMiro** · 02-25-20, 06:03 AM

Originally posted by jrgum3

Dusty Baker said that one was on purpose I'd hate to see what happens when they start drilling Astros on purpose.

It's going to be a long season for Astros

**Chi_archie** · 02-25-20, 07:02 AM

Originally posted by Stallion

Jose Altuve got beaned today, it was amazing.

oh wow

**batt33** · 02-25-20, 08:12 AM

Originally posted by Stallion

Jose Altuve got beaned today, it was amazing.

Time to wear full body armor? LOL

**Otters27** · 02-25-20, 08:14 AM

I saw the under over for bregman beans was 13.5

**koz-man** · 02-25-20, 02:41 PM

Marlins to host final of World Baseball Classic

MIAMI -- Next year's World Baseball Classic will be played in Taiwan, Tokyo, Phoenix and Miami, with the Marlins hosting the semifinals and final along with half of the quarterfinals.
The fifth edition of the tournament will be played from March 9-23 next year. There will be four groups of five teams. Those are the 16 participants in the 2017 tournament plus four qualifiers to be determined during a 12-nation tournament this March 13-25 at Tucson, Arizona.
The U.S. won the tournament for the first time in 2017 following titles by Japan in 2006 and 2009 and the Dominican Republic in 2013.

**koz-man** · 02-25-20, 02:42 PM

Braves' Freddie Freeman sidelined by right elbow irritation

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman wasn't in the Braves' starting lineup Tuesday because of irritation in his right elbow.
Freeman felt discomfort Monday and again Tuesday.
"We're trying to nip it in the bud. He's been throwing balls and doing things," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "It's better that it's in February than the end of March."
Snitker said he is not sure how long Freeman will be out.
Freeman had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow on Oct. 18. The entire right elbow joint was cleaned during the procedure, which included removing three fragmented loose bodies and cleaning up multiple bone spur formations.
Freeman played with the injury for part of last season. Despite that, he set career highs in home runs (38), RBIs (121) and runs (113). He was 4-for-20 with a home run in the playoffs.

**koz-man** · 02-25-20, 02:42 PM

Yankees' Brett Gardner granted protective order against fan

NEW YORK -- A Bronx Supreme Court judge granted a protective order for New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner against a fan.
Gardner, 36, filed the request last week against Gina Devasahayam and said in court documents that she has "harassed and menaced" him and his family, the New York Post reported.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Eddie McShan said he granted the request Monday because of "the possibility of injury."
Gardner has told the court that Devasahayam believes they have some sort of relationship, but he said they have never met in person.
Devasahayam, 46, told the Post outside the courtroom that they met on social media.
The judge gave Devasahayam until Thursday to offer evidence to alter the ruling.

**Heltah Skeltah** · 02-25-20, 03:10 PM

Yankee starting pitcher L. Severino needs Tommy John surgery. Yanks take a bit of a hit losing a key starter

**mr. leisure** · 02-25-20, 04:36 PM

Originally posted by Heltah Skeltah

Yankee starting pitcher L. Severino needs Tommy John surgery. Yanks take a bit of a hit losing a key starter

Guy can`t stay healthy , good thing they signed Cole and kept Happ .

**BigSpoon** · 02-26-20, 12:12 AM

Originally posted by mr. leisure

Guy can`t stay healthy , good thing they signed Cole and kept Happ .

Him and James Paxton are both injury prone, can't count on either for 30 starts in a season.

**Cross** · 02-26-20, 12:20 AM

Maybe the Coronavirus will come to New York and wipe out the Yankees.

**EmpireMaker** · 02-26-20, 12:37 AM

Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro discussed the state of his organization with Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic (subscription link). You’ll obviously want to read the full transcript for all the details, but we’ll cover a few key points here.
One of the more interesting observations from Shapiro relates to the hot stove more broadly. The precise course of the market every winter is never a given. If you went back and replayed the offseason you’d likely end up with quite different results.
Shapiro spoke of the Blue Jays’ surprise at the early free agent market development, saying that “some of the signs that happened were pretty far outside what our expectations were.” That forced the club to “adjust to what the market’s doing and still keep our values, but look at measuring what the level of inflation is, and then adjust our values for that inflation.”
One wonders whether the opposite has been true for various teams in the prior two offseasons, which were notably quiet for free agents. It remains quite the curiosity that we saw such a marked dive in spending activity for two-straight years before the market suddenly perked back up this time around.
Certainly, the Jays could’ve just shrugged and decided not to keep pace in the market bidding. Instead, it re-worked its expectations and kept after the best remaining players, ultimately walking away with quality southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu. But stretching to land Ryu doesn’t necessarily mean the front office anticipates a postseason surge.
In terms of timing and expectation, Shapiro walked a line and avoided setting firm expectations. On the one hand, he says that upper management has “started to listen to our young players and just the power of their belief in each other … and the belief in their potential.” That’s part of the reason the club pushed for improvements this winter. At the same time, the team’s top executive isn’t setting runaway dreams. He didn’t want to cap the possibilities but also said that “.500 would be a big step forward in wins.”
So … what happens if the team does surprise and puts itself in contention in 2020? Adding more to the roster “would be spending outside of our budget, for sure,” says Shapiro — an evident nod to the fact that the club has plotted out some lower-spending years after ramping down from a 2016-18 cost inflection. But he also said that he’s “confident that we’ll get the support” from ownership when the time is right. The club is obviously dedicating attention and funds to broader building efforts; Shapiro spoke at length about the improved Dunedin facilities that he believes will help “lead to wins” in a multitude of subtle ways over the long haul.
In discussing the eventual need to ramp up the dedication of assets to the current MLB roster, Shapiro made another observation of broader interest. As he put it: “Usually, the dollars you spend at the trade deadline are not too significant because it’s part-season, partial season of salary.” It’s obviously also important that such investments are made with much greater knowledge of team need and likelihood of postseason qualification. Based upon Shapiro’s characterization, Jays fans can justifiably expect the club to push the pedal down when the young talent comes into its own and the competitive situation warrants further supplementation.

**jrgum3** · 02-26-20, 01:01 AM

Originally posted by mr. leisure

Guy can`t stay healthy , good thing they signed Cole and kept Happ .

At least I won’t have to put up with him in fantasy this year after having to put up with him missing most of last year.

**ApricotSinner32** · 02-26-20, 02:20 AM

Originally posted by jrgum3

At least I won’t have to put up with him in fantasy this year after having to put up with him missing most of last year.

**JaimeMiro** · 02-26-20, 05:30 AM

Originally posted by EmpireMaker

Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro discussed the state of his organization with Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic (subscription link). You’ll obviously want to read the full transcript for all the details, but we’ll cover a few key points here.
One of the more interesting observations from Shapiro relates to the hot stove more broadly. The precise course of the market every winter is never a given. If you went back and replayed the offseason you’d likely end up with quite different results.
Shapiro spoke of the Blue Jays’ surprise at the early free agent market development, saying that “some of the signs that happened were pretty far outside what our expectations were.” That forced the club to “adjust to what the market’s doing and still keep our values, but look at measuring what the level of inflation is, and then adjust our values for that inflation.”
One wonders whether the opposite has been true for various teams in the prior two offseasons, which were notably quiet for free agents. It remains quite the curiosity that we saw such a marked dive in spending activity for two-straight years before the market suddenly perked back up this time around.
Certainly, the Jays could’ve just shrugged and decided not to keep pace in the market bidding. Instead, it re-worked its expectations and kept after the best remaining players, ultimately walking away with quality southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu. But stretching to land Ryu doesn’t necessarily mean the front office anticipates a postseason surge.
In terms of timing and expectation, Shapiro walked a line and avoided setting firm expectations. On the one hand, he says that upper management has “started to listen to our young players and just the power of their belief in each other … and the belief in their potential.” That’s part of the reason the club pushed for improvements this winter. At the same time, the team’s top executive isn’t setting runaway dreams. He didn’t want to cap the possibilities but also said that “.500 would be a big step forward in wins.”
So … what happens if the team does surprise and puts itself in contention in 2020? Adding more to the roster “would be spending outside of our budget, for sure,” says Shapiro — an evident nod to the fact that the club has plotted out some lower-spending years after ramping down from a 2016-18 cost inflection. But he also said that he’s “confident that we’ll get the support” from ownership when the time is right. The club is obviously dedicating attention and funds to broader building efforts; Shapiro spoke at length about the improved Dunedin facilities that he believes will help “lead to wins” in a multitude of subtle ways over the long haul.
In discussing the eventual need to ramp up the dedication of assets to the current MLB roster, Shapiro made another observation of broader interest. As he put it: “Usually, the dollars you spend at the trade deadline are not too significant because it’s part-season, partial season of salary.” It’s obviously also important that such investments are made with much greater knowledge of team need and likelihood of postseason qualification. Based upon Shapiro’s characterization, Jays fans can justifiably expect the club to push the pedal down when the young talent comes into its own and the competitive situation warrants further supplementation.

Blue Jays need more to be able to contend

**Chi_archie** · 02-26-20, 07:49 AM

Originally posted by Cross

Maybe the Coronavirus will come to New York and wipe out the Yankees.

Interesting thought

**batt33** · 02-26-20, 08:12 AM

Originally posted by Heltah Skeltah

Yankee starting pitcher L. Severino needs Tommy John surgery. Yanks take a bit of a hit losing a key starter

Hate to see that happen to any pitcher..

**koz-man** · 02-26-20, 10:05 AM

Originally posted by Heltah Skeltah

Yankee starting pitcher L. Severino needs Tommy John surgery. Yanks take a bit of a hit losing a key starter

Yankees starter Luis Severino needs Tommy John surgery
New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino has an elbow injury that requires Tommy John surgery.

The team said Tuesday the 26-year-old right-hander has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, a development that means the two-time All-Star will miss all of 2020 after being sidelined for nearly all of 2019.

Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek will operate Thursday at the Hospital For Special Surgery in New York.

Severino released a statement on Twitter after the decision was made to have surgery Tuesday.

**stevenash** · 02-26-20, 01:49 PM

Originally posted by JaimeMiro

Blue Jays need more to be able to contend

Looks like Toronto will play some small ball this season.
I'm OK with small ball.

**Heltah Skeltah** · 02-26-20, 02:01 PM

Mets cf B.Nimmo taken out of lineup today. Going to see a cardiologist

**Stallion** · 02-26-20, 09:38 PM

The Jays need more Starting pitching, and arms in the Bullpen.

**Carseller4** · 02-26-20, 11:58 PM

Originally posted by Stallion

The Jays need more Starting pitching, and arms in the Bullpen.

Any team that is +10,000 to win the World Series needs much more than that.

**EmpireMaker** · 02-27-20, 12:10 AM

He’s not the superstar he was in his heyday with the Dodgers, but Marlins outfielder Matt Kemp still believes he has plenty left to offer at the major league level. Kemp “wants to play at least four or five more years,” Steven Wine of the Associated Press writes.
“I’m for real. I can still do some damage out there,” Kemp said. “This is a redemption year. I had 40 at-bats last year, but I was an All-Star in 2018. Seriously, I can still play.”
Spending roughly another half-decade in the majors looks like quite a long shot for Kemp, who turned 35 last September. The former MVP candidate couldn’t even get a big league deal during the offseason, forcing him to settle for a minors pact with Miami in December. He’s now competing for a backup role in a corner outfield that also includes Corey Dickerson and Matt Joyce – two players who received guaranteed contracts over the winter – as well as Garrett Cooper.
Although Kemp’s defense has long been maligned, he has nonetheless spent his entire career in the DH-less National League, and he’ll try to return to the NL in 2020. As Kemp noted, he’s only two years removed from producing solid numbers in a Dodgers uniform. That year, Kemp batted .290/.338/.481 with 21 home runs in 506 trips to the plate en route to his third All-Star appearance.
While 2018 represented a nice bounce-back season, last year couldn’t have gone any worse for Kemp, whom the Reds acquired from the Dodgers during the previous winter. Thanks in part to a broken rib, he totaled only 62 plate appearances in Cincinnati and hit .200/.210/.283 with one HR before the club released him in early May. Kemp caught on with the Mets on a minors pact a few weeks later, though his rib issues continued, and he slashed miserable .235/.278/.324 in 36 tries at the Triple-A level. The Mets released Kemp in the first half of July, but he’s clearly of the belief that his career is far from over.

**ApricotSinner32** · 02-27-20, 12:57 AM

Originally posted by EmpireMaker

As seems to be the case every spring, there’s a fair bit of uncertainty surrounding the Brewers’ rotation. Milwaukee eschewed a splashy trade or a potentially cumbersome long-term pact in free agencu, instead opting for lower-cost deals with righty Josh Lindblom (three years, $9.125MM) and Brett Anderson (one year, $5MM) As things currently stand, that duo will likely join holdovers Brandon Woodruff and Adrian Houser in comprising four of the top five spots.
As for the fifth spot in the rotation, Brewers manager Craig Counsell told reporters yesterday that the competition will likely boil down to left-hander Eric Lauer and right-hander Freddy Peralta (Twitter link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). Righty Corbin Burnes isn’t entirely out of the race, but Counsell did indicate that veteran right-hander Shelby Miller won’t be considered just yet. While Miller was invited to MLB camp and will presumably get some innings there, he’s working to reestablish himself after several lost seasons.
The competition between Lauer and Peralta will be a key one for Brewers fans to follow this spring. The former, a 24-year-old lefty picked up alongside Luis Urias in the trade that sent Zach Davies and Trent Grisham to San Diego, already has nearly two full seasons of MLB experience under his belt despite his relative youth. Lauer started 29 games for the Padres last season, pitching to a 4.45 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.20 HR/9 and a 39.9 percent ground-ball rate in 149 2/3 innings.
Lauer pitched into the seventh and eighth inning on a few occasions but ultimately averaged about five frames per start — a concept that should be plenty familiar to Brewers fans at this point. Milwaukee regularly limited the aforementioned Davies and right-hander Chase Anderson to two trips through the opponents’ batting order, leveraging a deep bullpen thereafter. If he wins the fifth spot in the rotation, Lauer could be deployed in similar fashion.
Peralta, meanwhile, is still just 23 year of age. Like Lauer, he’s racked up a fair bit of big league experience in his early 20s, pitching to a combined 4.79 ERA in 163 1/3 Major League innings to this point. Peralta spent most of the 2019 season in a multi-inning relief role — showing better in that capacity than he did as a starting pitcher. But Peralta has added a new pitch to his repertoire this winter, as Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently highlighted, which could change his fortunes. A chat with former big league righty and current Brewers special assistant Carlos Villanueva led to Peralta trying out a slider in the Dominican Winter League, and he responded with a 34-to-3 K/BB ratio in 20 innings with los Toros del Este.
The 25-year-old Burnes could be something of a wild card as camp progresses. A consensus top 100 prospect heading into 2018, Burnes debuted in dominant fashion with the ’18 club when he tossed 38 innings of 2.61 ERA ball with a 35-to-11 K/BB ratio. He made 30 total relief appearances, allowing just 27 hits (four homers); of his 11 walks, two were of the intentional variety. Burnes posted elite spin rates on his curve and heater while flashing high-end velocity. He looked like a potential cornerstone for the pitching staff.
The 2019 season was an unmitigated disaster for Burnes, however. The hitter-friendly nature of the 2019 ball likely didn’t help matters, nor did a sky-high .414 average on balls in play. But Burnes’ poor showing can’t be solely blamed on a juiced ball or poor luck; he was absolutely torched for 48 runs in 49 innings of work — yielding a stunning 17 home runs in that time. The right-hander showed a clear knack for missing bats (12.9 K/9, 17.2 percent swinging-strike rate) but struggled with location both in and out of the zone far. Burnes’ walk rate increased, and his inability to command the ball within the zone contributed to that barrage of long balls.
Regardless of how it shakes out, the Milwaukee rotation will enter the season facing its share of scrutiny. That’s been the case in both of the past two seasons, however, and the team reached the postseason in both instances. A year ago. The 2019 season saw Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Woodruff, Davies, Houser and Gio Gonzalez make the majority of its starts. A year prior, the Brewers entered the season with Chacin, Anderson, Davies, Junior Guerra, Brent Suter and Wade Miley (then on a minor league reclamation deal) heading up its rotation mix.
There may not be a surefire ace among Milwaukee’s starting staff, but both Woodruff and Houser posted sub-4.00 ERAs with strong peripheral marks in more than 100 innings in 2019. Lindblom is an undeniably interesting flier coming off a dominant run in the Korea Baseball Organization, thanks in part to a new splitter. Brett Anderson has a 4.07 ERA and a 55 percent ground-ball rate over the past two seasons (256 1/3 innings). It’s not the most outwardly impressive group of arms, but the Brewers have begun to make a habit of compiling serviceable staffs that are light on name value. They’ll be looking for more of the same in 2020.

interesting read

**jrgum3** · 02-27-20, 01:05 AM

Crazy to hear that in his World Series start against the Astros in 2017 Clayton Kershaw threw 51 sliders and Curveballs and got zero swings and misses. He has to be pissed knowing that especially since history could have been different if the Astros didn’t know what was coming.

**JaimeMiro** · 02-27-20, 02:44 AM

Originally posted by jrgum3

Crazy to hear that in his World Series start against the Astros in 2017 Clayton Kershaw threw 51 sliders and Curveballs and got zero swings and misses. He has to be pissed knowing that especially since history could have been different if the Astros didn’t know what was coming.

We'll never know

**koz-man** · 02-27-20, 07:29 AM

Originally posted by jrgum3

Crazy to hear that in his World Series start against the Astros in 2017 Clayton Kershaw threw 51 sliders and Curveballs and got zero swings and misses. He has to be pissed knowing that especially since history could have been different if the Astros didn’t know what was coming.

Wow. Some more damning info against the Astros.