Ray’s Ramblings: October 23, This and That

We’re approaching Halloween, though of course it will not be the same this year. Something that is the same as always is the oddities of postseason pitching. I’ll touch on that in here, as well as a hitting on a bunch of players that simply aren’t hitting. There’s also some reporting on some free agents, guys like Cruz and Molina, and some other interesting tidbit-itos.

Who is Randy Arozarena? Read this article to find out.

Nelson Cruz is 40 years old. He wants a 2-year deal. He will have zero issue getting it from someone. Cruz is coming off yet another dominant effort as he went .303/.397/.595. You simply cannot be that good at 40 years of age – yet he is. That .992 OPS was right in line with the .933 mark he’s posted the last six years. He’s been an elite hitter, for any age, since he turned 35. It truly is a remarkable run for a player who is roundly regarded as special based upon his work ethic.

Carl Edwards has elected free agency. I was taken aback by the fact that he barely has 180 career innings pitched. He often dominated in 2017 and 2018, but he’s thrown just 21.2 innings the last two seasons as he’s dealt with injury and loss of the strike zone. By the way, here are some numbers from 2017-18: 12.25 K/9, 1.14 WHIP and 5.32 BB/9.

I missed it, did you? Turns out that Gold Glove winners this year are being judged by… computers.

Didi Gregorius will seemingly be a hot commodity this offseason. Have to think that the Phillies want him back, and there is a report suggesting that the Angels are interested if they cannot bring back Andrelton Simmons. Over his last 142 games Didi has gone .256-26-101-81-5. That’s Xander Bogaerts counting category stuff… with the big hit to the batting average of course. As for Simmons, he played just 30 games cause of injury, but he still hit .297. He has little pop, but his offensive game isn’t terrible and here is his production the last 133 games: .271-7-50-66-12. He’s a deep mixed league MI option when your starters go down or are struggling.

Nick Madrigal had shoulder surgery and he will likely miss 5-6 months. That put his availability for next season in some question, though a smooth recovery should get him back out there. I feel that not enough folks noticed that he hit .340 this season. Did you take note of it?

Yadier Molina wants a two-year deal. Just like Cruz above, he’s likely to get it, I think (I’m less convinced with Molina than with Cruz). Molina, now 38 years old, still plays strong defense. His offense was down this past season with a .662 OPS, but he still hit .262 and offers something offensively. I think. His 84.7 exit velocity was three mph low while his 25.4 hard-hit rate was way off his 30.5 mark since 2015. Those are two concerning numbers.

Where did mud on the baseball start? Here.

What are Troubles?

Is Mike Trout still the best player in baseball?

Have you ever watched a horror movie and seem someone get torched by having their fingernails pulled out? It is just – awful to watch. So when I heard that Zack Wheeler had fingernail surgery, it just sounds gruesome. I know it isn’t that bad in real life, I’ve had two matrixectomy’s on my toe, but it is still not fun. The bottom line is that Wheeler should be fine by the start of the season next year. How did the injury happen? For me it was from a long hike that started an ingrown toenail. For Wheeler… “It’s just one of those stupid things where I tripped a little bit, lost my balance, and my jeans just kind of yanked out of my hand,” Wheeler said. “And my nail was already lifted off of the skin bed. So it was really easy just to catch it. Just ripped it a little more off.”

WORLD SERIES NOTES

The team that has the most homers in a postseason game this year is 32-5.

Walker Buehler has a 1.69 ERA over 53.1 post season innings. That’s pretty damn good. So is the .182 BAA and .562 OPS he’s allowed. He’s set to pitch Game 3 and Game 7.

Yandy Diaz has a .557 OPS in 10 games.

Tyler Glasnow walked six guys in his last outing. He also struck out eight meaning he threw 112 pitches and didn’t make it through five innings (4.1 frames). That pitch total was a career high for Glasnow. It was the most pitches thrown in 4.1 or fewer innings since at least 1988 (when pitches started to be accurately tracked). It is the highest pitch total for any Ray this season. The team that won’t use Snell, see below, just let er ride with Glasnow. Kinda lets you know what the manager thinks about the two hurlers.

Which team benefits from an off-day?

Brandon Lowe hit a couple of homers the last time out. He’s still hitting a sickly .131 with a .476 OPS over 16 postseason games.

Austin Meadows is hitting .125 with a .442 OPS. This is after a regular season with a .205 average and .667 OPS. He has continued to look nothing at all like the guy that was a fantasy star in 2019.

Charlie Morton is pitching Game 3. He’s made three starts and allowed two runs, one earned. He’s also thrown 5.0, 5.0 and 5.2 innings as the Rays, despite his excellent pitching, will not let him go deep into games (86, 96 and 66 pitches in three outings).

Max Muncy has 10 RBI and a .880 OPS.

A.J. Pollock has a .500 OPS in 12 games.

Corey Seager has seven homers, the most ever by a shortstop in one postseason.

Blake Snell, it has been a running theme, failed to last five innings yet again in Game 2 as he allowed two runs over 4.2 innings. He’s failed to go five innings his last two times out and he’s thrown 90-pitches just once in five postseason games. Can you really be a star pitcher if you can’t throw 90 pitches? Does your team think you are a start if they don’t let you throw 90 pitches? He’s going to be fascinating to rank next season.

Justin Turner’s jersey stain. What is it?