Attendance
continues to rise: the first two weekends have drawn three million fans, which breaks a ten-year-old record by a good margin.
Sadly, offense is still headed the other way. That is precipitous. At what point will we finally repair the damn strike zone?
Statcast makes its TV debut tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. on MLB Network. The Cards play the Nats, so with any luck we'll get to examine a
Bryce Harper moonshot in some proper, loving detail. (How disconcerting is it to see Will Middlebrooks on that list? What happens when that guy develops his
eyesight tool?) I am pretty adamantly of the opinion that Harper ought to catch, but that's another matter. What really concerns me is Fenway's lack of FIELDf/x cameras. It's apparent to anybody watching that this is the way of the future. How much hand wringing has there been over Pablo's defense? Here we could know for certain.
Good news for Travis d'Arnaud, who is a lot closer to being one of the ten best players in baseball than you probably think:
three weeks in a splint, maybe rub some dirt on it. Hand injuries, whatever Pedroia's travails,
hardly impact OPS. Godspeed, TDA, you Crosscutters alum you.
A Rule 5 reliever for the Braves got popped for 80 games. Lots of guys probably sweating it out by now. I don't know what to make of this, but it reminds me of Avon Barksdale's hot shots.
And don't look now, but Arquímedes Caminero is doing a frighteningly good Aroldis Chapman impersonation. He's huge and imposing; he looks mean. He's inducing 18
% swinging strikes and pounding the crap out of the strike zone. The balls he does throw are being chased 40
% of the time. It's extremely early yet, but his numbers in these respects would've ranked third, first, and sixth among relievers last season. He's inducing 57
% groundballs.
The Marlins actually waived this guy when he still had options remaining. (So good to know there are still woefully incompetent organizations around.) Pitch whisperer Ray Searage (another Crosscutters alum! McCutchen and Joey Bats then as well) supposedly
fixed his mechanics—now he's
sitting 100 and blowing everybody the hell away. Mark Melancon's velocity is
extraordinarily down, and he's yet to fool a batter all season. Caminero's not just the closer-to-be. There's a chance he's the best pitcher in the world.
Edit: Holy shit. Starlin Castro fouled a ball straight back and some poor woman standing too near the screen took it
square off the back of her head. Apparently she was down and unmoving for fifteen minutes before they eventually carted her out, unconscious, on a stretcher.
That is horrific. I surely hope she's okay.
Here is the grisly evidence if you really have to see it.
Edit edit: The Pirates announced she was "
conscious and alert" as EMS removed her. Supposedly she gave PNC the thumbs up. That's really good to hear; I was sort of disturbed.
In related news, Caminero was touched up for three runs on
this play and took the loss. He induced one swinging strike. ...That Dodgers bullpen looks formidable