Yankees offense starting to round into form. This is what people expected to see coming into the season and now that Stanton and Judge are back they're really swinging the bats. We'll see if they have enough pitching to win it all though because I think that could be a problem for them in the playoffs.
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Playoffs in about 2 weeks, can't wait.Comment -
Justin Verlander has continued to progress in his late-season comeback effort, as Jake Kaplan of The Athletic writes. The veteran hurler isn’t yet ready to return to the Astros rotation, of course, but he has now faced live hitters in a two-inning sim game. It’s still unclear how things will progress from here. The club would surely like to get JV a regular-season appearance before the season concludes, but it’s also possible he’d make his first start in the postseason. Meanwhile, the ’Stros have now welcomed back fellow right-hander Lance McCullers from his own stay on the injured list, as Mark Berman of FOX 26 was among those to tweet. It turned out to be a brief stay for McCullers, who had a procedure to relieve neck nerve irritation. He’ll look to improve upon a 5.79 ERA through his first eight outings.
Here are some more injury notes from around the league …
- Phillies first bagger Rhys Hoskins is still in limbo as he deals with an elbow/foream issue. As Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports on Twitter, the burly slugger is holding out hope of a return even while the threat of a season-ending surgery hangs over his head. When and how this situation will be resolved isn’t yet clear. Losing Hoskins would represent a big dent to the Phils’ lineup. He has to this point of the season turned in a productive .245/.384/.503 slash line with ten long balls.
- It seems the Giants could yet get a bullpen boost from right-hander Reyes Moronta. He’s ready for competitive mound action at the team’s alternate training site, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area notes on Twitter. Moronta has been building up after undergoing shoulder surgery, so the club won’t want to push him too hard. But it’s enticing to imagine adding another postseason weapon, particularly since Moronta is said to be showing typically strong velocity. Jeff Samardzija is also nearing readiness, with a five-inning set scheduled. It’s unclear what role may await for the veteran once he’s deemed a full go. He coughed up 15 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings over his first three starts on the year.
- The Cubs haven’t yet received a contribution from recently acquired southpaw Andrew Chafin, but that may soon change. The 30-year-old reliever, who was nursing a finger sprain when he was dealt at the trade deadline, is close enough that he could be activated over the next few days, skipper David Ross indicated to reporters including Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Chafin had struggled to open the year in Arizona, but he’d represent a notable addition to a bullpen that has had its share of issues, especially from the left side.
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Would you have thought at this point the 21 win KC Royals would be 3 games better than you defending champ Nationals?Comment -
Some umpire tested positive for the rona a couple days ago: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...g-change-crewsComment -
Well, looks like Dodgers are taking it all after allComment -
Excited for Cubs twins series this weekend.Comment -
Definitely a weird year all the way around. Teams that you thought would be better are struggling and teams that you thought had no chance at even contending for a playoff spot are still fighting hard to get in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see what the expanded playoffs have in store for us.
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7:29pm: Yastrzemski will undergo an MRI on Friday, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweets.
4:29pm: Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski left the team’s game against the Mariners on Thursday for what was then an undisclosed reason. It turns out he’s dealing with a tight right calf, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to report.
There’s no word on the severity of Yastrzemski’s injury. However, calf troubles have been known to lead to IL stints (the Yankees’ Aaron Judge is among those capable of attesting to that), which would be a difficult late-season development for the Giants. They surprisingly entered play Thursday with a 24-24 record and a playoff spot in the National League, and their success has come thanks in no small part to Yastrzemski. The 30-year-old has been one of the NL’s most valuable players thus far, having slashed .285/.391/.553 with nine home runs and 2.3 fWAR in 209 plate appearances.
As a tremendous offensive player who can line up all over the outfielder, Yastrzemski has been the Giants’ MVP, so there wouldn’t be a realistic way to replace him if he does need to go on the IL. They subbed in Luis Basabe on Thursday, but he has just two MLB plate appearances to his name.Comment -
Dodgers and Yankees can't be stoppedComment -
Well let's see if the giants can close out a game against oakland.. . Fricken gave up the ghost in the ninth inning last series. .Comment -
The Yankees destroyed the Jays. Yankees vs Dodgers World Series, if the Dodgers can get out of the 1st round
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Yankees Tied in 11 the
I got the YankeesComment -
Hendricks vs Hill was quite the pitchers duel.Comment -
The Padres have reinstated outfielder Tommy Pham from the injured list and optioned right-hander Jorge Ona to their alternate site, the team announced. Pham will be the Padres’ designated hitter Friday.
Pham, who hasn’t played since Aug. 27, missed a few weeks with a broken hamate bone. He posted a .207/.316/.293 line in 95 plate appearances before then, which isn’t what the Padres envisioned when they acquired the 32-year-old in a high-profile trade with the Rays during the offseason. Infielder Jake Cronenworth was also part of the trade, though, and he’s in the running for NL Rookie of the Year honors, so it’s doubtful the Padres regret making the move.
When he joined the Padres, Pham had the reputation as a high-OBP hitter capable of 20-20 numbers during a normal season. San Diego has gone 32-19 without many contributions from Pham, so if he’s able to revisit his old Cardinals/Rays ways, he could serve as an important late-season reinforcement for the Padres in the coming weeks.Comment -
I wouldn't mind seeing the Rays or Twins get through the AL and match up with the Padres in the World Series. Yankees/Dodgers wouldn't be bad but I suspect that people would rather see a team like the Padres make it from the NL since they've never won before and they're fun to watch.Comment -
Justin Verlander announced (via his Instagram page) that he will undergo Tommy John surgery. As per the normal timeline for TJ recovery, Verlander will miss the entire 2021 season.
The right-hander’s full statement…After consulting with several of the best doctors, it has become clear that I need Tommy John surgery. I was hopeful that I would be able to return to competition in 2020, however, during my simulated game unfortunately the injury worsened. Obviously I’m extremely disappointed, but I will not let this slow down my aspirations for my career. I will approach this rehab the only way I know, attack and don’t look back. I’m confident that with a proper rehabilitation program and my unwavering commitment that this surgery will ultimately lengthen my career as opposed to shorten it. I can’t thank my teammates, coaches, the front office and my fans enough for the support they have given me so far in this process. I’m eager to get through this recovery and back on the field to continue to do what I love.Verlander started the Astros’ first game of the season and then was placed on the injured list due to a forearm strain. After some initial speculation that the injury would be season-ending, there was hope that Verlander was nearing a return to Houston’s rotation before the end of the schedule, and that he would be available for the team in the playoffs. Unfortunately, it now seems like we won’t see Verlander back on a mound until Opening Day 2022 at the earliest.
Given that Verlander will be 39 years old at that point, there is at least a chance that we have already seen the last pitch of his Hall Of Fame career. There isn’t a long track record of pitchers rebounding after such a notable surgery at that advanced age, though on the plus side for Verlander, he has been the picture of durability over his career. Apart from a triceps strain that cost him two months of the 2015 season, Verlander has been virtually free of any major injury, so he could theoretically have a better chance at a full recovery and a return to form than most pitchers in their late 30’s.
Verlander has already done better than most in holding off Father Time, as he is coming off two of his best seasons. At ages 35 and 36 during the 2018-19 seasons, Verlander posted a cumulative 2.55 ERA, 12.2 K/9, and 7.47 K/BB rate over 437 innings for Houston, leading the league in both K/BB and WHIP in both years. After finishing second in AL Cy Young voting in 2018, Verlander edged out then-teammate Gerrit Cole to win the award in 2019, eight seasons after Verlander’s initial Cy Young Award triumph (as well as an AL MVP Award) with the Tigers in 2011.
The Astros signed Verlander to a two-year, $66MM extension prior to the 2019 season, and that deal certainly looked all the world like a sound investment in the wake of Verlander’s Cy Young year. However, both years of that contract have now been wiped out thanks to his forearm problem, and it is possible Verlander’s time in Houston could now be up.
It’s a major blow to an Astros team that already has $115MM committed to the 2021 season in the form of only four players — Verlander, Zack Greinke, Jose Altuve, and Alex Bregman. With George Springer, Michael Brantley, and Yuli Gurriel all scheduled for free agency this winter, GM James Click faces some significant financial decisions, and the Astros’ overall direction is now severely complicated with the knowledge that Verlander won’t be a factor in 2021. While Houston has gotten some nice contributions from younger arms like Jose Urquidy, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez, obviously the pitching staff is much deeper and stronger with Verlander teaming with Greinke at the top of the rotation.Comment -
Congrats to Albert Pujols passing Willie Mays on home run list.Comment -
YANKEES and dodgers rolling nowComment -
How about my guy Sal Perez?
He misses all of 2019 due to injury, and puts up these numbers this season.
(Now if we can teach him to take a base on balls every now and then)
Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ 2020 30 KCR AL 29 123 118 17 43 7 22 3 22 0.364 0.382 0.636 1.018 171 Comment -
He will just have more time to do Kate Upton.Comment -
Blue Jays in freefall, Yankees took their soul.Comment -
AgreedComment
