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SportsTechnology
Why Some Sports Are Missing Out on the Industry's Love Affair with Technology
Zaim Sultan 2017-02-23
Zaim Sultan · February 23, 2017
"Artificial Intelligence" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by theglobalpanorama
When it comes to sport and technology, there are some that do and there are some that don't. While it might seem obvious to some that all sports could benefit greatly from the introduction of that latest technology, there are some governing bodies that just don't seem too hot on the idea.
For example, the idea of goal-line technology in soccer has been talked about for years. With stinging shots liable to hit the crossbar, smash down somewhere close to the line and then out again, seeing whether or not it was a goal can be tough. However, despite the apparent failings of the human eye in this instance, certain ruling bodies have been slow to implement the technology.
In contrast, there are sports that have not only welcomed new technology, but practically revolutionised the way it works because of it. By far the most impressive example of sport and technology getting on like a house on fire is Aussie Rules. Arguably one of the toughest sports in the world, this high-octane rugby-style game has introduced a number of tech innovations over the years.
Covering everything from safety and scoring to statistics on betting odds and player form, Aussie Rules is now awash with ways both players and fans can get more out of the game. With this in mind, we've outlined some of the best tech innovations the Aussie Football League (AFL) has embraced in recent years.
Ball Tracking
"Aussie Rules football" (CC BY 2.0) by Geoff Penaluna
One of the first tech innovations to be adopted by the AFL was ball tracking. Developed by Melbourne's Sherrin and the UK's Catapult Innovations, the SmartBall basically allowed AFL teams and coaches to track the movements of a ball using an e-tag.
By inserting a microchip into an Aussie Rules ball, users could track its movements in real-time and, more importantly, record a wealth of data, including:
How many moves it takes a forward player to get possession of the ball.
How the ball was won, i.e. in open or congested space.
Which positions on the pitch a team is attacking from.
Changes in work rate when a team has/doesn't have the ball.
Having access to this information has allowed AFL teams to vastly improve their tactics to the point where strategy is almost a science.
Odds Tracking
"Numbers Everywhere" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by storyvillegirl
In the same way players and coaches have been able to compile significant stats using micro-chipped balls, AFL fans have been able to enhance their experience of the game through online aggregators. Designed both for entertainment and to improve a sports bettor's ability to make the best picks, stats sites are now the go to place for AFL fans who want to learn more about a team or player.
For example, when a fan visits Oddschecker, the site will not only list the latest AFL odds for the Grand Final winner and other competitions from the industry's top bookmakers, but a breakdown of where people are staking their money. At the bottom of the AFL page, users will see a pie chart that represents the number of bets placed on a particular team. Using this information in conjunction with the betting lines and Oddschecker's market reports, bettors can get a much better insight into each team and their chances of winning.
Goal Tracking
"AFL International Cup 2011" (CC BY 2.0) by Flying Cloud
As vehemently as soccer has rejected goal-line technology, the AFL has welcomed it. The famous Hawk-Eye, which has helped transform professional tennis, now has a place in the AFL. Back in 2014, AFL operations boss Mark Evans told the Herald Sun that he was looking into the practical applications of a Hawk-Eye-style system that could improve goal tracking in the league.
One of the latest innovations he was interested in involved a vision-stacking solution which allowed the controller to zoom in on various parts of the goal. Unlike tennis where the ball isn't typically obscured as it hits the line, a goal in Aussie Rules can often be scored under a pile of bodies. To counter this, multiple camera angles and the ability to zoom in was necessary.
Today, camera technology is even better than it was in 2014 and, as we move forward, it will be interesting to see what other developments take place. Indeed, with greater connectivity between Internet-enabled devices now possible, there isn't any reason why fans and coaching staff alike couldn't have access to real-time stats, data and even goal replays during a game.
Whatever happens, the relationship between sport and technology has already shown to be a fruitful one and, despite the reluctance of some, it appears as though it will remain that way for many years to come.
How Virtual Reality Will Affect Online Gaming
Autonomous Machines on The Rise: Is this the Future of Farming?
Zaim Sultan
I am Zaim Sultan's work as a freelance writer who loves to write in all niche such as technology, education, business, health, sports and travel, and many more.


The Train of Thought: What If The Teabaggers Weren't White?
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters - the black protesters - spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn't like were enforced by the government? Would these protesters — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that's what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation's capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country's political leaders if the need arose.
I'd say you'd be hard pressed to find many conservatives who'd disagree with this assessment, but a decent number of them think Obama is a socialist and a secret Muslim so maybe not.


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A sunny seaside location, a renovated historic district and the proximity of both beaches and the Mexican border make San Diego the laid-back sophisticate of choice in Southern California.
Death Valley Scenic Byway
Southeastern California near the Nevada border and through Death Valley National Park
81.5 miles (131 km)
Two hours to drive or 3.5 hours to enjoy the entire Byway.
Drivable year round, best seen during winter and spring
There is an entrance fee to the national park.
Death Valley Scenic Byway is an otherworldly experience; from barren salt flats, colored dunes of sodium chloride, and iron-red mountainsides, this historic and scenic drive is as intriguing as it is ghostly and still.
Death Valley Scenic Byway starts at the eastern entrance of Death Valley National Park, roughly 13 miles west of Death Valley Junction on HWY 190. The Byway continues on HWY 190 to the western boundary of Death Valley National Park, marking the end of the Byway.
The rugged beauty of Death Valley remains in stasis, the wind along with passing travelers being the only perceivable motion. Dante's View is the best place to take in the scene, a strange mixture of simultaneous sensory deprivation and overload. Another site worth a stop is Badwater, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. The salt flats near here form erratic white geometric shapes outlined by dark cracks.
Points of Interest Along The Way
Artist's Drive (CA)
Artist Drive is one of the most fantastic drives through California- Artist Pallette. See for yourself why visitors and geologists alike are fascinated by this natural wonder. With limestone, hematite, and other chemically altered volcanic ash in hues of pink, lavender, blue, red and green, you'll be astounded by the close-up view of this "painted" desert.
Artist Drive is the best way to get great photographs of Artist Palette. See how the colors blend together to look eerily natural in the normally neutral landscape.
Artist`s Drive is off the the Badwater Highway. Follow the signs along this one-way canyon.
Badwater (CA)
Become intrigued and awed over the expansive desolation of Badwater. Look up to the Black Mountains nearby; 250 feet above you is a simple white sign with the words "Sea Level." Death Valley is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, and Badwater is the lowest point in the Death Valley area.
Take a walk along the trails through Badwater, literally named for the taste of its water, and try to imagine what it was like a century and a half ago when miners in search of gold trekked through the expansive desert in the scorching temperatures without roads, signs, maps, or a steady supply of water.
Badwater is located 17 miles south of the Furnace Creek Inn.
Dante's View (CA)
Aptly named, from this viewpoint, you can see the very lowest point of Death Valley all the way up to the highest - a difference of 11,329 feet.
Dante`s View is just south of Zabriskie Point along Highway 190 and then take the road from the parking lot up to the lookout.
Darwin (CA)
In the 1870s, Darwin was a thriving mining town. It served as a supply center for the many mines nearby. Then, a major mineral find in 1874 caused a sudden growth spurt in the town. The town reached its peak in 1877, hosting around 200 people. Later, as mining moved elsewhere, the town began to decline.
Darwin is notable today as a nearly deserted mining town. The traveler can view old mines and old miner cabins. The town's old schoolhouse and other significant municipal buildings still stand. The Darwin cemetery is a fascinating sight.
Off of Highway 190
Darwin Falls (CA)
Darwin Falls is a welcome site in the Death Valley region.Generally dry and desolate, the Falls consists to two 30-foot waterfalls that flow year round. The area around them is unusually lush and green at all times of year, and surrounded by species of birds who welcome a cool drink in the Death Valley heat.
The entrance to the gravel road leading to the trailhead to Darwin Falls is approximately 16 miles west of Towne Pass.
Death Valley (CA)
Stop by Furnace Creek, the main visitor's service area in the park and home to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, for great information about nearby visitor services and about the remainder of the park.
Death Valley Museum and Visitor Center (CA)
The visitor center in Furnace Creek marks the beginning of the Death Valley Scenic Byway. Start here to get the story and context of the amazing sites you are about to encounter on this unique drive through the Death Valley Area. Discuss your travels with a ranger, tour the museum of geology and history, and plan your itinerary.
Check out the visitor center bookstore to pick up some books about the history of the area or perhaps a map to plan your drive.
The Death Valley Museum and Visitor Center is located just north of Furnace Creek Ranch on Highway 190.
Death Valley National Park Visitor Center (CA)
Death Valley National Park comprises more than 3.3 million acres of spectacular desert scenery, rare desert wildlife, complex geology, undisturbed wilderness and sites of historical interest. Death Valley is unique because it contains the lowest, hottest, driest location in North America. Nearly 550 square miles of its area lie below sea level. Ecologically, its plants and animals are representative of the Mojave Desert.
Death Valley is one of the hottest places on earth, attaining the second-highest temperature ever recorded, 134 degrees F. in 1913. It contains the lowest point in the western hemisphere -- 282 feet below sea level near Badwater -- as well as numerous high-rising mountain peaks, including Telescope Peak at over 11,000 feet. Death Valley was named by gold-seekers, some of whom died crossing the valley during the 1849 California gold rush.
Death Valley National Park is located in the desert of eastern California. The byway is within the Park.
Devil's Cornfield (CA)
Right along the Byway, see these unusual plants called arroweed that thrive on very salty water.
The turnoff at Devil`s Cornfield is right on the byway near the sand dunes, a sign marks where to park.
Devil's Golf Course (CA)
Of the erratic shapes, bumps and craters a guidebook once said of this region "only the devil could play golf on such a surface." See for yourself this landscape of pure dirt-stained sodium chloride made up of spiky terrain and calcite pits to get a true feel of the desolation and eerie emptiness of this dried-up lake region.
Devil`s Golf Course is on the Badwater Highway--follow the signs to the dirt road that takes you out to the golf course.
CA-190 W

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Space per pupil: 42 sq.ft.
A ninety year old interdepartmental collaboration had created a pedagogical approach to early education which is uniquely appropriate to Penn State. Creating a new facility provided an amazing opportunity, allowing educators and researchers to reconfirm and support the basic tenets of their mission but also to "push the envelope" in the design. Environmental education and connecting children to nature had become a high priority of the program but was severely limited by the old facility. The campus Masterplan called for a new school on a Greenfield site on the periphery of campus but the team quickly realized that removing children from the center of campus and proximity to the Department of Education was not in the best interest of broader university goals.
To demonstrate Penn State's commitment to lifelong learning and the nearly 90 year history of early education on campus: relocate the early care and education program, created in 1929, to a new place – a place that connects children with nature and supports a biophilia-infused, child centered curriculum.
To heal the ragged edge of the Hort Woods, the only "heritage grove" of trees on campus. Create a campus entry that reflects the University's commitment to sustainability in a facility that also speaks to children.
To explore innovative approaches to integrating sustainable design, nature, and education for young children, students, and academic researchers. Reconnect children and nature by creating tangible links between sustainable design, curriculum, and children's everyday experiences. Support learning about environmental stewardship through exploration.
Benefiting from a 'perfect storm' of project circumstances, and using a highly collaborative and integrated design approach, Penn State University built a LEED Platinum early learning center that demonstrates the explicit connections between design, education, biophilia, and the environment. The project demonstrates how sustainable design can truly make an educational impact.
The project would not have been possible without the motivation and clarity of purpose provided by the Penn State University education team but was also dependent on a highly inclusive project development process. Beginning with site selection, representatives of the early learning team, education department, and campus planning were able to look beyond conventional site selection criteria to realize that keeping children on campus and "in the woods" outweighed any inherent site challenges. Since the project goals included maximizing children's connections to the out-of-doors and ensuring that key sustainability strategies are visible and engage students, user involvement at all stages of the design was critical. Involving the larger campus community in the design review process was invaluable in establishing consensus, and the University security, sustainability, and physical plant specialists were an integral part of the design process.
Project challenges included an extremely constrained site containing 'old growth' trees and a need to create an architecture that could fit comfortably into the campus setting while reflecting its purpose as a place for children. The choice and composition of materials (bricks forming larger blocks, copper wrapping and folding, and exposed structure) allow children to understand the building they inhabit with the same logic as the buildings they build out of blocks or cardboard boxes. It also provides an aesthetic introduction to the architectural fabric of the campus in a playful way appropriate to the program.
Key opportunities lay in the woods itself and the enthusiasm of the educators for their mission to connect children to the environment. The site, a somewhat forgotten parcel on the edge of the last intact wooded area on campus, was initially thought to be "too constrained" for the program but in the end, presented an amazing setting for children to engage the natural world and an opportunity for restoring and enhancing a key entry point to the campus. A "close reading" of the site (in this case, educational and emotional value of the woods, micro-climates and associated temperature gradients, and existing trees) informed the design.
Working with Penn State arborists, the design team determined that in order to protect the large trees, no building elements or impervious surfaces should be introduced outside of the footprint of the existing building and parking area. This constraint, along with the desire to maintain and restore the existing natural wooded areas and micro-climatic zones, drove the plan layout. Integrating the building into the woodland edge created a wide variety of spaces. The zones, which are defined in terms of form, climate, materiality, plantings, and opportunities for different activities, all enhance the children's experience and awareness of their environment. The building placement also marks the campus entry with careful attention to scale, materials, and a playfulness appropriate to children.
The project provides a multi-level learning experience, especially in terms of the components associated with the natural environment and the sustainable systems. On one level, children's learning is enhanced through their exploration of a sensory rich environment created with a palette of natural materials. Children and teachers benefit from the visible and accessible sustainable components which are integrated into the curriculum. Finally, students in education and the broader university community benefit from a new educational paradigm that values biophilia and a strong relationship to the environment.
Through rainwater harvesting, water is imbedded into the educational fabric of the center. The rain barrels "explain" the system and allow children to engage with it. The covered pavilion is centered on a rain barrel which collects roof rainwater and is situated at the origin of a dry stream. The stream is responsible for diverting approximately half of the building's rooftop rainwater back into the woods (re-establishing the natural site drainage pattern) while creating a play and exploration area. Another rain barrel sits above the center's main entrance on a rooftop vegetable garden where the children water and tend to plants that will be used in the kitchen just below their feet for future lunches. In parallel, a 6000 gallon underground cistern harvests rainwater for reuse in the building.
Natural daylight is critical to a child's well-being, acting as a beneficial "natural clock" and enhancing the overall feel of the space. It's also a key component in the integrated green strategy for this project. The copper-clad light shelves and clerestory windows were introduced along the south facade to allow daylight to penetrate deep into the classrooms. This horizontal light-reflecting overhang was carefully placed at the appropriate height above eye-level to bring natural light deep into the spaces and help block harsh direct summer rays. Appropriate accent colors and materials in the spaces assist to reflect light through the spaces without creating high contrast and glare situations.
The material palette was chosen both for sustainability, warm natural feel, and durability, but also to create sensory rich environments and "stories" to engage children. Children explore how the cork for their floors is harvested, its properties (it's light, it floats, it's resilient), and use it in art projects. Outdoor bamboo hideaways relate to the bamboo stairs on the interior. Children explore how quickly it grows and how it can be used indoors as an attractive building material. Children's learning is enhanced through their exploration of a sensory-rich environment created with a palette of natural materials. In addition to exemplary performance in several LEED materials categories, the sustainable material palette is deployed to fulfill multiple project requirements. Materials are accessible to children and become the basis for instructional/explorational narratives that inform the "green" curriculum. For example, stone pavers, salvaged from the site and re-used in the outdoor garden, work with the campus, fit in the natural setting, are readily understood and tell a story that helps children identify with stewardship of natural resources.
The building section and shading devices are designed to maximize day lighting, reduce summer solar heat gain and facilitate the hybrid ventilation system. The interactive ventilation system is triggered by outdoor temperature and humidity sensors which email the center director when conditions are appropriate to engage the natural ventilation system. Large sliding windows are opened on the cool north side of the building and colored lights alert children to open sliding wall panels which in turn activate booster fans and open south-facing clerestory windows. The children further engage the system in the 'Fanimation' program, a collaboration with the Penn State Art Education Department where the students explore and learn about the hybrid ventilation system through art. They begin to understand the way the fans bring fresh air into the space through representation, interaction, and discussion by creating kinetic sculptures which are then animated by the fans. The sustainable design components support the educational process for all ages and in all settings and encourage an increased engagement with nature and technology.
This particular project, with it's imperative to "heal" a critical site, its institutional enthusiasm for re-connecting children and nature, and the inherent direct relationship between the way young children learn and their immediate physical environment, is an extremely clear example of the value of a site and context specific architecture grounded in sustainability.
General Contractor: Leonard S. Fiore, Inc.


I was working on the check in machine at my library. Up next for me was a stint at the phone station. And I was pleased to know that, because I was following one of our industrious substitutes, I would have an easy time of it when I got there. These industrious substitute workers come in and simply work steadily for the whole time they're here. They don't pace themselves, nurse grudges, or get other side projects done. They don't have side projects. They don't have ages to go before their next weekend. And they don't have a fully developed sense of self-righteousness. They are great to follow, especially on the phones. So imagine my grave disappointment when I got to the phones and found that the industrious sub was no longer industrious. She had gotten almost nothing done, and my new spot came ready made with unavoidable, backed up work!
Oh, right, this sub has been here awhile.
Let me check her expiration date. Yep, she'd expired.
A small number of new workers are never competent and never industrious, and they never will be. They shouldn't be hired and shouldn't be allowed to stay, but they are. They can be fun to write blog posts about and surely have other virtues, none of which I will ever remember for the rest of my life. Another very small group of new workers are industrious and will forever remain industrious despite other limitations that tend to go with that. We are not here to talk about them either right now. But the great majority of new workers start out on their best behavior. They need guidance, help, and information. They want to make a decent impression in this strange new environment and the best thing they have to offer is a good application to the grunt work, to doing thoroughly the things they know. They shelve, they empty, they process, and they stay where they're supposed to be.
They cannot solve complicated problems independently. They do not keep things running smoothly under the surface. They are not secretly laying the tracks to keep the library running on a quiet, unseen efficiency. They cannot do it all without fuss or notice. But they can shelve more than average and they can keep working all the time they're scheduled to keep working.
This period of application and industry lasts even longer with substitutes. They work fewer hours and so stay new longer.
But eventually there comes a time where these new people know everyone. They understand how most things work. They attain a small level of comfortable familiarity. And they start to compare. They start to ask "Why am I working all the time? None of these other people are." And then they spend fifteen minutes on their Facebook page, they shoot the breeze with someone they've come to like, they finish their work and don't look for something new to do, they look for something not to do. This is a revelation to them. The world doesn't end.
And the rest of us say "Oh crap."
If they are good, these no longer new workers, they will take up their share of the secret work. If they are not good, they won't.
But the above average grunt work is over. "Oh crap." We say. "And welcome to the club."
I'm not always 100 percent on understanding comments. So, um, do you mean the TV show? It's sort of like the TV show.


We are still keeping up with our No Tech Tuesday thing. The boys actually are starting to look forward to it now.
Today we worked on our puzzle and it is starting to take shape finally.
We paid bills. We discussed finances with the boys too. We don't want them to end up in debt because they have no clue how to budget or work a checkbook.
We made a quick and easy dinner of toaster strudels.
Played with Z in her room.
We also decided to start something new. What we decided to do is look in the freezer or ads and find a main ingredient to find a new recipe to try. This one came from the freezer and it is a whole cut up chicken.
We have it narrowed down to a few different things to try so stay tuned to see what we decide to make.
What would you make with a whole chicken?
I definitely need to implement a no tech or tv day!!
A whole chicken, hmm, I would be lazy and roast it. Or make chicken noodle soup!
no tech tuesday would make me bonkers! I have to have some kind of connection. I have no idea what I'd do with a whole chicken. rotisserie?
It is easier than you think try it and see.
No Tech Tuesday is awesome for you guys. I am also glad that you are showing the boys some practical life skills!
A whole chicken, eh? Throw it in the crockpot, shred it and use it for multiple meals. That's what I would do, lol!
I think that if I implemented a no tech Tuesday around here they would find my body in the middle of the desert somewhere. lol I'm serious the teens would go crazy and so would my husband only because he wouldn't be able to stand the ruckus! Ha!
As far as the whole chicken goes I have to agree with Echo's comment above as I often use the crockpot and turn things into at least two meals!


In 1904, Brazil began a major naval building program that included three small battleships. Designing and ordering the ships took two years, but these plans were scrapped after the revolutionary "dreadnought" concept rendered the Brazilian design obsolete—two dreadnoughts were instead ordered from the United Kingdom, making Brazil the third country to have ships of this type under construction—before traditional powers like Germany, France, or Russia. As such, the ships created much uncertainty among the major countries in the world, many of whom incorrectly speculated the ships were actually destined for a rival nation. Similarly, they also caused much consternation in Argentina and consequently Chile.
Soon after their delivery in 1910, both Minas Geraes and São Paulo were embroiled in the Revolt of the Lash (Revolta da Chibata), in which the crews of four Brazilian ships demanded the abolition of corporal punishment in the navy. The mutineers surrendered after four days, when a bill was passed granting amnesty to all those involved. In 1922, the two battleships were used to help put down a revolt at Fort Copacabana. Two years later, lieutenants on São Paulo mutinied but found little support from other military units, so they sailed to Montevideo, Uruguay, and obtained asylum. Minas Geraes was modernized in the 1930s, but both battleships were too old to participate actively in the Second World War, and instead were employed as harbor defense ships in Salvador and Recife. São Paulo was sold in 1951 to a British shipbreaker, but was lost in a storm north of the Azores while being towed to its final destination. Minas Geraes was sold to an Italian scrapper in 1953 and towed to Genoa the following year.
The file contains all the sounds and pcx files. Model is my own creation. Wyrmshadow provided the animation files and Ares de Borg did the sounds. A big thanks to everyone that helped out!


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May 31, 2015 by alexlynch695
The Warning Track: Power Rankings, Week 8
The Warning Track is a blog that covers all things Major League Baseball on a weekly basis, from discussing why some teams are getting hot, who's in line for awards at season's end and who is getting ready to make the leap to contender status, as well as off-the-field issues like first-time Commissioner Rob Manfred, which players could be headed to new homes, and A-Rod's latest conundrum.
1. St. Louis Cardinals (33-17, 1st in the NL Central)
Ranking two weeks ago: 1
After stumbling a bit against the Royals, the Redbirds rebounded by sweeping the Diamonbacks at home and taking the opener against the Dodgers, who they are on track to possibly match up with once again when October rolls around.
St. Louis continues to face adversity in the form of the injury bug. Matt Adam is now presumably done for the season after undergoing surgery for a quad injury that he suffered in a game against Arizona, leaving many to wonder if the Cards will go after Ryan Howard of the Phillies to re-fortify the lineup.
Cardinals lose 1B Matt Adams 3-4 months with quadriceps injury. Immediate speculation is Cards pursuing STL native Ryan Howard.
— Eric Hagman (@esh714) May 28, 2015
Adams' injury is countered by the return of Jon Jay, as well as the continued production of Matt Holliday, who set a National League record on Wednesday for most consecutive games reaching base safely to start the season (43). That streak has since been extended to 44, 10 away from setting a new major league record (Jeter holds the record with 53 from 1999).
2. Houston Astros (31-20, 1st in the AL West)
Ranking two weeks ago: Not ranked
Almost two months into the season, it's starting to become an inescapable truth: These Astros might just be legit, as I examined last week. Dallas Keuchel has been electrifying with his arm, Jose Altuve with his bat. In fact, everyone's bats are alive; Houston leads baseball in home runs (68) and have scored the seventh-most runs in the American League (219).
They are also second in the AL with 43 stolen bases, just one behind Detroit. All this despite sitting last in the league in batting average at .235. Imagine what we'll see from the team with the second-best record in major league baseball once that average starts rising.
Springer, one of the many young Astros, has 7 homers, but is only batting .222. There's only one direction that number can go for him and his teammates.
3. Kansas City Royals (29-19, 2nd in the AL Central)
Taking 2 of 3 from the Cardinals awarded KC the league's best record for a short time, only for them to be swept by the Yankees in New York early in the week, being outscored 23-4 in the process. But they remain one of the most complete teams in baseball, ranking 7th in the bigs in team ERA (3.53) while also having scored the fourth-most runs (223).
RECAP: A trio of solo HRs boosts the #Royals to victory at Wrigley Field: http://t.co/P2NKINYwe9 #ForeverRoyal pic.twitter.com/gkZeLu18Ot — Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 29, 2015
Those numbers are the tale of the tape for the Royals when it comes to their run differential, which remains the second-best in baseball (behind St. Louis) at +50. The 2015 Royals are just as good as the club that roared through most of the postseason. In fact, with their newfound and somewhat surprising offensive firepower, they're even better.
4. San Francisco Giants (30-22, 2nd in the NL West)
The Giants were dead in the water at season's start, as many predicted they might be – it is an odd year, after all. But after posting a 9-13 record in April, and being outscored by 28 runs, the defending champions have roared to life in May, garnering a 21-7 record, including 6-4 in their last ten games.
Their offense has been revitalized with the return of Hunter Pence, and their pitching has been stellar.
This is remarkable: #Giants have pitched 8 shutouts in May, all at home. Only NL team in 99 seasons to have at least 8 home SO in month
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienAJC) May 30, 2015
San Francisco has played their way to a tie at the top of the NL West after being as far back as six games in late April, setting up what should be an exciting race to watch in the coming months with the Dodgers and Padres on deck.
5. Washington Nationals (28-22, 1St in the NL East)
The Nationals have cooled off just a bit after going on a 18-4 run earlier in the month, but Bryce Harper sure hasn't.
Bryce Harper isn't human! Harper hits 18th home run of the year, tying Nelson Cruz for most in majors. pic.twitter.com/ckq08EQqTM — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 28, 2015
Surprisingly, their offense (226 runs scored, second in the NL) has outperformed their hyped rotation (3.82 starter ERA, seventh in the NL), even with Jayson Werth yet to play, something the Nationals will have to start getting used to.
Nationals OF Jayson Werth has 2 small fractures in his left wrist, & could return by August if his rehab goes to plan http://t.co/7cFboxfiZE
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) May 29, 2015
Darker days may be ahead for Washington, with Strasburg continuing to struggle due to injury and Doug Fister on the DL, but for now, a weak division should help the Nats stay a few games above .500, as should Bryce Harper staying in Unhuman Mode.
.@Bharper3407 homered. AGAIN.
— MLB (@MLB) May 28, 2015
Flawed Five
1. Milwaukee Brewers (17-34, 5th in the NL Central)
Telling statistics: 29th in MLB in team ERA (4.67), 29th in MLB in opponent batting avg. with RISP (.290), last in the NL in batting average (.227), 29th in MLB in errors (44)
2. Philadelphia Phillies (19-33, 5th in the NL East)
Telling statistics: 26th in MLB in opponent batting avg. with bases loaded (.371), last in the NL in runs scored (154), 13th in the NL in batting average (.237), 13th in the NL in batting average with RISP (.223), last in MLB in home runs (27)
3. Oakland Athletics (20-33, 5th in the AL West)
Telling statistics: Last in MLB in bullpen ERA (4.83), last in MLB in errors (51)
4. Cincinnati Reds (22-27, 4th in the NL Central)
Telling statistics: 28th in MLB in bullpen ERA (4.63), 14th in the NL in runs scored (175), last in the NL in batting average with RISP (.185), last in MLB in doubles (59)
5. Miami Marlins (20-31, 4th in the NL East)
Telling statistics: Last in MLB in opponent batting average with RISP (.305), 13th in the NL in runs scored (182), 28th in MLB in doubles (66), 27th in MLB in home runs (36)
May 29, 2015 May 29, 2015 by alexlynch695
The Warning Track: A Year of Resurgence
anthony rizzo, baseball, Blog, chicago cubs, dallas keuchel, houston astros, jon lester, jose altuve, kris bryant, major league baseball, minnesota twins, mlb, surprise teams, the warning track, torii hunter
The 2015 major league baseball campaign has been, thus far, dominated by surprising individual performances. Bryce Harper is finally doing what everyone in Washington expected him to do. Shelby Miller has pitched his way into the Cy Young discussion. A-Rod is etching his name into more pages of the records books. And Kershaw hasn't been Kershaw thus far.
With all the fanfare surrounding individual players, whether for better or for worse, it's easy to overlook the status of whole ballclubs, some of which are giving their fans new faith after years of holding the position as cellar-dwellar, lending a whole new dimension to a sport that prides itself on parity in the process.
The Astros – who have averaged a 69-93 regular season record since they got swept in the 2005 World Series – have the best record in the American League at 30-18, second-best in the bigs only to St. Louis.
The first team in baseball with 30 wins? The Houston @astros.
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 27, 2015
Read that sentence again. Take a deep breath, maybe two. It's okay, everyone else it just as shocked as you are. Led by AL Cy Young contender Dallas Keuchel (6-1, 1.98 ERA) and hit machine Jose Altuve (.299 batting average, AL-leading 15 swiped bags), the Astros are coming into their own as a team that is completely defying all expectations – which, admittedly, were minimal – and becoming legitimate threats for the AL West crown.
It's one thing to have brushed the 2015 Astros off as a team that is simply hot for the time being, but it's nearing the end of May, and they have yet to lose more than three games in a row.
They embarked on a ten-game winning streak from late April to early May to make a statement, and so far they have justified it, as they are one of only five ballclubs in the major leagues (and only one of two in the American League) to have a winning record both on the road (15-8) and at home (15-10).
What has gotten into the Astros? http://t.co/RnXtdaT822 pic.twitter.com/DgoEW6X53W — SB Nation (@SBNation) May 5, 2015
That being said, it's time to take the Astros seriously, something I thought was still a couple years away from happening. They're proving me and many others wrong, and the sport is all the better for it.
And when you take into account the youth that is energizing the team – Altuve is 25, George Springer 25, Luis Valbuena 29, Keuchel 27 – as well as the fact that Carlos Correa and Mark Appel (the 2nd- and 28th-ranked MLB prospects, according to minor league baseball's Prospect Watch) have yet to arrive, maybe it's time we settle in and enjoy this team, because their time might just be right now, and it might just last for the better part of the next decade.
The Twins haven't won more than 70 games in a season since 2010, when they were swept in the division series for the second consecutive year. They have't advanced passed that round since 2002, where they lost in the ALCS 4 games to 1.
They've set a benchmark for futility and irrelevance for baseball, but lately they've been looking like a team ready to forget all of that history, to the tune of an 8-2 record in their last ten games and a 28-18 mark overall.
That's good enough to tie them for first in an ultra-competitive AL Central division, where the Royals, Twins and Tigers are all separated by just 1.5 games.
But the Twins are the hottest of those three, as well as one of the hottest clubs in all of baseball, having not lost a series in over two weeks and outscoring opponents 27-11 on a current five-game winning streak.
.@Twins complete the sweep with 6-4 win over Red Sox. -Hicks: HR, 2 RBI -Hunter: 2 RBI -Pedroia: 2 HR, 4 RBI pic.twitter.com/EcIuAcZaEB
These are the Twins, mind you. It's been a long long time since they've been this intimidating. But they are, and the return of Torii Hunter, who spent his first ten big league season in Minnesota, is a big reason why. He's 29 RBI and 7 dingers to go along with a .280/.333/.457 line. In addition, their pitching has improved by leaps and bounds this season. An AL-worst 4.57 team ERA from 2014 has undergone a seemingly impossible evolution in 2015, where they now sport a 3.94 team ERA.
Better watch out because these @Twins are on 🔥🔥🔥 right now. http://t.co/hRss76P4QN pic.twitter.com/hB5HWJhYs3 — MLB (@MLB) May 25, 2015
They've also already won half as many extra-inning games this seasons as they did in all of 2014 (3-1 versus 6-7), showing that they have a newfound resilience to churning out victories.
Time will tell if the Twins can live up to the new expectations they've set for themselves, expectations they know they're capable of. It isn't the most common thing in baseball for a team to go from worst to first as the Twins are gunning to do this season, but at the very least, for the time being, it makes for a good story, and one that might be worth revisiting in the coming weeks and months.
Unlike the Astros and Twins, the Cubs entered 2015 with expectations as high as a ball hit off the bat of Nelson Cruz, looking to end over a century of disappointment.
Although they've been inconsistent at time, they will have a record over .500 once the calendar flips to June – they are 25-21 entering play today – which for the Cubs is reason enough to get excited, especially seeing as they would be only one game back of a wild card spot if the season ended today.
Much of what the Cubs are expected to do this season and in the coming years is dependent on the performances of their stars – experienced ace Jon Lester, inexperienced phenom Kris Bryant, and budding MVP candidate Anthony Rizzo. So far the potential has not only been warranted, but fulfilled.
After struggling in April to begin his National League career, Lester (has pitched his way back into his starring role as rotation leader, giving up two earned runs or less in 5 of his last 6 starts. He hasn't quite performed at the plate, but Rizzo, the undisputed face of the franchise at just 25 years old, has more than made up for it, batting his way to a .315 average to go along with 9 homers and 29 RBI.
6 RBIs for Cubs 1B @ARizzo44 … that's #ASGWorthy, right? http://t.co/0xnso02wz1 pic.twitter.com/8Zs9KCLvvn
But the star of the show, and the storyline of the season on the North Side, has been the arrival of basher Kris Bryant. After taking a couple weeks to adjust to the big leagues upon his advent, the third baseman began to hit like we all knew he would. He leads the team in RBI (31) and also has hit 7 longballs and crossed home plate 26 times, all top three for the Cubs.
Although a struggling bullpen (4.07 ERA) has caused them to drop some games in the late innings, the Cubs so far have been making their fans happy.
"Who are you, 2015 Chicago Cubs?" "I'm the opposite of every Cubs team you've ever met." https://t.co/zdiMkXvLPK
— jon greenberg (@jon_greenberg) May 23, 2015
There's excitement in the air on the North Side of the Windy City, and if the Cardinals ever cool off on their historic start, the NL Central race should be a fun one to watch down the stretch, especially with the Pirates winning their last seven and making a move toward the front of the pack.
The Warning Track: A Near No-No and the Fallout
The Warning Track, Uncategorized
atlanta brave, dan jennings, jeff loria, major league baseball, miami marlins, mlb, shelby miller
The Warning Track is a blog that covers all things Major League Baseball on a weekly basis, from discussing why some teams are getting hot, who's in line for awards at season's end and who is getting ready to make the leap to contender status, as well as off-the-field issues like first-time Commissioner Rob Manfred, which players could be headed to new homes, and A-Rod's latest lie.
A Star in the Making
Last Saturday, against the Miami Marlins, Braves pitcher Shelby Miller came an out away from a no-hitter for the second time in his young career. It was, incredibly, not even the most eye-opening linescore of his time in the bigs.
#DidYouKnow #StlCards Shelby Miller vs #Rockies (5/10/13) 9 IP – 1 H – 0 R – 0 BB – 13 SO – GSc 98 (Best Performance in @Cardinals History)
— Larry Underwood (@lau56) May 17, 2015
Acquired in an offseason trade with the Cardinals, Miller has done more than finally give us a taste of his full potential; he's taking over the position of Braves ace, the guy who can be counted on to put in gem after gem, from Julio Teheran. But last weekend's performance put him on a whole other tier, one which puts the rest of the National League on notice.
SO CLOSE! Shelby Miller has no-hit bid broken up with 2 outs in the 9th by Justin Bour. @Braves beat Marlins, 6-0. pic.twitter.com/Rc1VuZ8UUS
Shelby Miller threw his 2nd "Maddux" of the season (9-inning SHO, fewer than 100 pitches)…Rest of MLB has none this season
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 17, 2015
Miller sits first in major league baseball in ERA (1.33), ahead of established superstars like A.J. Burnett (1.38), Zack Greinke (1.48) and Max Scherzer (1,67). He also leads baseball in WHIP (0.83), batting average against (.156) and complete games (2) and is a bona fide Cy Young contender in the early going, a discussion that many foresaw when he was with the Cardinals.
Miller spent his first two big league seasons in St. Louis, where he garnered a 3.40 ERA and 25-18 record in 62 starts. That's not bad for a young hurler getting his first taste of The Show, but issues with St. Louis brass, as well as the need for an upgrade in right field in The Gateway City, led Miller to Atlanta while Jason Heyward was shipped to the Cardinals.
Now, without the chip on his shoulder and on a club working to rebuild, Miller is dominating the opposition in a way that was seemingly inevitable.
And it couldn't have come at a better time for the Atlanta Braves and their fans, who have had to settle for only one division title in the last 9 seasons after being crowned NL East champions every year from 1991 through 2005, with the exception of 1994.
For the better part of the past decade, the core group of Justin and Melvin Upton, Freddie Freeman, and Dan Uggla couldn't translate 80-plus win seasons into postsesaon success, leading to the exporting of most of those players and the start of a new rebuild.
Freeman has helped lead the Braves to three postseason appearances since 2010, but the team has yet to advance to advance to the League Championship Series for the first time since 2001.
But as the organization develops young talent for the big leagues – their farm was ranked 15th before the season began by Baseball America – Miller is giving them some hope for the future of their franchise every fifth day. He is the only Braves starter with an ERA under 3.00, and has at least 6 innings in every one of his starts but two. He has yet to give up more than earned runs in a start, and even then he has only given up that many earned runs thrice.
In addition, Miller is dominant no matter what the situation is. His home and road ERAs are virtually identical – 1.29 versus 1.36, respectively – and he has a 1.20 ERA in day games compared to a 1.38 mark in night games.
Miller is the future of the Braves franchise, that much as been made clear through the first seven weeks of the 2015 campaign. He's flown under the radar for much of that time, but with his nearly-flawless performance last weekend, the rest of major league baseball has been put on notice.
A Fishy Move
While we're on the topic of Shelby Miller's excellent outing against the Marlins, let's talk about the aftermath: the unsurprising dismissal of manager Mike Redmond immediately following the game.
His seat has definitely been scorching for a while. Two years ago he had been expected to help lead the resurgence of the franchise, and this year was when everything was supposed to come together, what with the established superstar status of 300 million dollar man Giancarlo Stanton as well as supporting players like Christian Yelich and Dee Gordon.
But his 155-207 record in Miami hasn't amounted to much other than disappointment, and unfortunately home runs hit out of the stadium alone won't amount to much success.
So while many wondered who would succeed Redmond, some in the media were getting tips that Bartolo Colon would hit a home run before guessing who would take over as Marlins manager.
Ultimately, the baseball world was left incredulous at the announcement that General Manager Dan Jennings would take over managing duties.
From general manager to manager? The Marlins made a move you don't exactly see every day: http://t.co/0nskrbRQJy pic.twitter.com/AWGvArYSyB
— ESPN (@espn) May 18, 2015
Dan Jennings is a very sharp baseball mind, but again, it's another hire of a white manager with zero experience.
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) May 18, 2015
Dan Jennings is a good baseball man but he's not a manager. Please make Jeffrey Loria go away once and for all. #Marlins #MLB
— John Perrotto (@JPerrotto) May 18, 2015
Jennings has never coached in the big leagues, nor in the minors. His experience amounts to four years of coaching at Davidson High School in the '80s. He has also never played in a major league game.
In a sense, this is an extremely Marlins-esque move. The organization hasn't exactly had a stable, successful manager for some time, and this is as perplexing a move as we've ever seen them make.
One manager in the last 22 seasons has had a winning tenure in Miami.
It's tough to see the pros of this move from owner Jeffrey Loria, and certain figures around the sport haven't exactly endorsed the move. The only thing I can think of is that Loria and Marlins brass believe Jennings has the ability to instill an enduring culture in the Marlins clubhouse, one set on winning at all cost and utilizing the talent that the club knows they have.
Jennings certainly knows they have it. After all, he crafted this team. Maybe he knows them better than they know themselves. And if not, if the experiment turns out to be a bust, then it isn't like the Marlins' championship window is closing.
Heck, it hasn't even fully opened. Maybe Jennings will be able to show his squad how beautiful it can be outside their ongoing nightmare of underperforming, because right now it's a storm.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a feast for the superhero-weary, carnage-hungry action enthusiast
Movie Review, Uncategorized
chaos, charlize theron, feminist, Fury Road, George Miller, immortan joe, imperator furiosa, Mad Max, mayhem, movie, Movie Review, tom hardy
George Miller's original visions of Mad Max from the '70s and '80s were never really about one man, but rather an entire desolate world, barely grasping onto threads of hope for sanity in a post-apocalypstic wasteland.
At its best, George Miller successfully recaptures those themes in Mad Max: Fury Road, the first installment in the franchise since Beyond Thunderdome 30 thirty years ago, while serving up some of the most primal and relentless action in cinema today.
Luckily for the audience, whether they are new to the franchise or grew up with Mel Gibson's version of the hardened road warrior 30 years ago, Fury Road is at its best for virtually its entire running time, offering up two hours of pure carnage and mayhem that is a breath of fresh air at a time when heroes in capes reign supreme, while also subverting gender tropes senseless in its portrayal of the female heroine.
Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Warrior) is the titular Max this time around, and he is as mad as the title suggests; haunted by an ambiguous past that seems to be his only real connection to the world, eating creatures of the desert like popcorn and straying just barely of the insanity that chases him endlessly.
When the white-body painted crazies do capture him and take him for their own nefarious uses, the film's over-the-top tone and scale are introduced, albeit in a small but effective way. By the time the title card is embroiled on the screen, the audience knows it's in for something much for lustfully violent and demonic than standard Hollywood fare.
The punk-Western influences of the original Mad Maxes still dominate Fury Road.
That grittiness later becomes debauchery of the most satisfying kind, as Fury Road eventually evolves into an orchestra of madness and vehicular carnage that is rarely even attempted in modern film. Fury Road isn't necessarily dark, but like previous entries in the franchise, it strives to be as hyperbolic as it can, presenting a world where steering wheels are weapons, blood is fuel, and minions who call themselves War Boys are devoted to finding salvation in their violent exploits. It's twisted and elegantly maniacal in a way that makes it stand out amongst more standard Hollywood offerings.
Miller doesn't want to be standard, he refuses to be. That much is clearly apparent by the time the flame-spitting guitarist contributing musically to the madness is first introduced.
Fury Road doesn't trouble the audience with establishing these visceral tones on a large scale, focusing instead on the chase between self-proclaimed ruler Immortan Joe, his appearance as disconcerting as his name suggests, and Imperator Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron (Prometheus, The Italian Job, Snow White and the Huntsman).
Furiosa is attempting to liberate Immortan Joe's Five Wives, essentially his property, and to bring them from where she came, a promised land dubbed the Green Place where women aren't viewed as things and from where civilization could begin anew.
Max is along for the ride, but this is Furiosa's show as much as it is his. Miller effectively gives the finger to the seemingly universal unwritten laws of modern cinema that women in action flicks have to be the one being rescued, the one who can't shoot the gun. Theron, with her short hair and lubricant-lathered stare of determination, doesn't take lightly to those tropes as Furiosa, a character as strong and willing as any Captain America or James Bond or Jason Bourne. She is threatening and unwavering in her pursuit of finding hope where none may exist, and male and female audience members alike will find it easy to cheer her on.
And she isn't the only one lending the film a feminist tone, which becomes apparent by the time the film's third act begins. I'll just say the final action piece is a thoroughly welcome destruction of gender constructs, one which elevates Fury Road to become a statement about our reality and the way women are viewed. In that sense, Miller has crafted this year's Wild.
Hardy is as memorable as Max, whose lines we can probably count on two hands, but whose character conveys the hopelessness and single goal of survival that is the staple of the franchise. Hardy is influenced by his performance as Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, as his eyes have to do all the acting when his face is covered for a good chunk of the film. When he finally gets it off and later finds the humanity he seemingly lost so long ago, it's hard not to applaud.
The writing is also very strong, vibrant and enthusiastic in its embrace of the masochistic undertones that Mad Max is grounded on. The music plays just as big a role in painting that devious and relentless atmosphere, tense and foreboding all the way through.
But audience members paying ten bucks for a movie ticket are here for the spectacle, and that is exactly what they get. The vast majority of Fury Road is nonstop vehicular warfare of the definite R-rated variety – bloody, visceral and unforgiving. Individual set pieces are pulled off to incredibly satisfying effect, never taking its audience for granted. Fury Road's trailers tease the action that audience can expect, and it lives up to the hype it places on itself.
Miller's world is as beautiful as it is violent.
Even the hand-to-hand combat is excellently choreographed and executed, the moment when Max and Furiosa meet resulting in one of the most memorable sequences to be had at the movies this year. And it's just in time, what with Marvel entries starting to becoming somewhat stale and predictable with the type of spectacle that audiences have come to expect for years now.
By contrast, Miller doesn't go huge with Fury Road, but deep, immersing all the audience's senses into the chaos. The action in Mad Max is fresh and imaginative, buoyed by its desire to resemble the old action pics of yester-century. Classics like Die Hard, First Blood and The Terminator clearly influenced Miller, who seeks to give audiences a display long forgotten by the (mostly) unimaginative modern choir of industry leaders.
Fury Road truly does look like something out of place. It's genre bending with its portrayals of heroes and sacrifice, while embracing old-school action and spectacle outfitted with the best visuals that modern cinema has to offer. It prides itself on carnage with levity; a story that, while entertaining and memorable, works to also let audiences know what they've been missing, whether they've realized it or not. It doesn't subvert substance for style, but combines them. In that sense, Fury Road is long overdue.
Wild meets a version of Fast and Furious for the demonic, Fury Road is one of the most unique films to be had in years, its punk-Western mayhem a sight to behold and its societal messages hinting that the world of Mad Max may not be as much a fantasy as we think.
Mad Max: Fury Road is rated R for intense sequences of violence throughout, and for disturbing images
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
The Warning Track – Week 6
colorado rockies, major league baseball, mlb, power rankings, troy tulowitzki
A Blockbuster in the Making?
For a couple years the Colorado Rockies have tempted 29 other clubs by dangling their star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki like a carrot for one or two or ten young guys (because let's face it, Tulo is worth it), only to snatch it back in the hopes that their team might one year get out of the basement of the NL West.
Well, in 2015 Tulowitzki is 30 years old and the Rockies continue to be unforgiving to their fans, already nine and a half games back of the Dodgers in their division and losers of 9 of their last 10. .
So, naturally, Tulowitzki came close to taking matters into his own hands and getting the rumor train a-chugging with reports that he was considering asking the organization he has been with his whole career for a trade, only to forego/delay the move.
It all seems pretty inevitable. Tulowitzki is one of the premier shortshops in the majors, and even with his susceptibility to injury – he failed to play in 100 games in two of the last three seasons – he is still a considerable upgrade at the position for several contenders, including the Mets and Mariners, as someone who averages 29 home runs and 101 RBI over a full season.
But all that production in Colorado has been made moot by Rockie pitching, among the league's worst in recenty years. It's no different this year with their 5.30 team ERA, the worst in baseball by over half a run. It would be a win-win situation for Colorado and a potential trade partner if they got Tulo's worth in young pitching with potential as part of a complete rebuild.
SS Troy Tulowitzki will reportedly ask the Rockies for a trade. He will get paid $129M from 2015-2021
— SportsBlogNewYork (@SportBlogNYC) May 13, 2015
And Colorado wouldn't be surrendering all of its offensive firepower. Player like Nolan Arenado (.291 avg., six home runs, 17 RBI), Charlie Blackmon (.298 average, five home runs, 14 RBI), and Corey Dickerson (.315 average, five home runs, 15 RBI), all aged 28 or under, have done just as much, if not more, than Tulowitzki (.284 average, 2 home runs, 11 RBI) this season.
As a result, for the price of someone hungry to play in October, the Rockies would ask for pitching, pitching, and more pitching, especially when their top two prospects, Jon Gray (7.75 ERA in 33.2 innings) and Eddie Butler (4.24 ERA in 34.0 innings), aren't exactly tearing it up in the minors.
If another organization was willing to pay that price, Tulo could play this October – something every baseball fans wants to see – and the Rockies could be two or three years away from (finally) winning games on a consistent basis.
Wouldn't that be a sight to see?
The Cardinals stay strong despite losing their ace, and the Dodgers are giving them a run for their money as the best team in the National League. The AL Central is becoming a fun race to watch, with the Royals, Tigers and surprising Twins all within three games of each other. And a couple of teams make their Fab Five debut thanks to some offensive firepower.
An NL-best bullpen (1.71 ERA) and rising offensive attack (5.3 runs over the last ten games) have helped the Redbirds overcome some shaky starts by Adam Wainwright's (temporary?) replacement Tyler Lyons and Carlos Martinez, who after giving up five earned runs through his first five starts to the season, has given up seven in each of his last two start to inflate his ERA.
The Cards are owners of the second best run differential in baseball at +51, and a weekend series with the Detroit Tigers (21-14) will play a big part in legitimizing them as the best all-around team in baseball, or a club whose easy early schedule plays into their MLB-best record.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (23-12, 1st in the NL West)
A 15-4 home record and MLB-best +61 run differential has helped to compensate for a 7-8 road record, as well as an offense that has scored the most runs in baseball (178), along with leading the bigs in home runs (53), on –base percentage (.352), slugging percentage (.485), on-plus-slugging percentage (.837) and walks (138).
Upcoming series' with the Padres, Braves and Cardinals should test a Dodgers club that hasn't yet reached its full potential with a subpar Kershaw (1-2, 4.26 ERA through seven starts).
Kershaw has had 4 starts since win #99. Of 27 active pitchers w/ 100, only Buehrle (7), Hamels (6), E. Santana (6) had more between 99-100
3. Kansas City Royals (23-13, 1st in the AL Central)
One of only two teams in baseball (St. Louis) whose longest losing streak was two, the Royals took two of three from Detroit, hot on their heels in the Central, to whom they lost an earlier series. They then went on to split a 4-game series with the Rangers. KC is top five in runs scored as well as team ERA, and they've shown that they can win without getting physical with their opponents.
4. Washington Nationals (20-17, 2nd in the NL East)
The team most everyone has pegged to win the World Series has gotten hot as of late, winning 5 of their last 7 and going 7-3 in their last 10 overall. And they're doing it not with their pitching, which has allowed at least 6 runs four times in the last week, but by the leadership of Bryce Harper, who has burst into the MVP discussion, hitting seven homers in 9 games, with five of those being multi-hit performances. He's raised his average from .256 to .303 over the last two weeks.
5. Chicago Cubs (21-15, 2nd in the NL Central)
Welcome to relative consistency, Cubbies.
After losing two of three to the white flag-waving Brewers last weekend, Chicago came back home and cooled off a hot New York Mets team by sweeping all four games, all but one of them being one-run affairs. That's important if Chicago wants to make any noise in September in October; games like Wednesday's comeback from being down 5-1 early to win 6-5 will give some experience to Chicago's youngsters who have yet to experience October.
And speaking of youngsters, Kris Bryant has officially arrived. After a couple weeks of homer-less baseball, he's hit four in seven games, and doesn't show any signs of slowing down.
Since making his debut on April 17th, Kris Bryant had 24 RBI entering today. The only player w/ more RBI in that span is Bryce Harper (28)
Ace Jon Lester has also settled in, giving up only four runs over his last three starts (15 in his first four) to drop his ERA to just over 4.
1. Milwaukee Brewers (13-23, last in the NL Central)
Telling statistics: 27th team ERA in MLB (4.49), NL-worst .228 team batting average, NL-worst 262 hits (7.5/game), 1 dismissed manager
2. Colorado Rockies (12-20, last in NL West)
Telling statistics: 27th in MLB in runs scored (121, 3.9/game), MLB-worst 61 walks (1.9/game), MLB-worst 5.29 ERA, MLB-worst .287 batting average against, NL-worst 26 runs scored in 7-8-9th innings
3. Oakland Athletics (13-24, last in the AL West)
Telling stats: MLB-worst 36 errors (1/game), AL-worst 4.98 bullpen ERA, 27th in MLB in batting average against left-handers (.206)
4. Cleveland Indians (13-21, last in AL Central)
Telling stats: 13th in AL in team ERA (4.49), 13th in AL in batting average against (.267), 13th in AL in runs scored in 7-8-9th innings (38)
5. Philadelphia Phillies (14-23, last in NL East)
Telling stats: MLB-worst 103 runs scored, MLB-worst 19 home runs, 26th in MLB in batting average (.232), 14th in NL in starter ERA (4.85), NL-worst 11.89 ERA with runners in scoring position and two outs,
Captivating performances and a soaring script elevates Ex Machina above the grandeur of modern blockbusters
AI, dohmnall gleeson, ex machina, movie, Movie Review, oscar isaac, robot, sci-fi, science fiction, thriller
What if what we think is the right thing actually isn't so? How far are we willing to go for a love we're aren't sure is real? Who do we place our faith in: a mysterious creator or the ostensibly naïve created?
These are the kinds of questions set forth by Ex Machina, an intimate yet intense thriller that combines all the elements of classic science fiction to craft a two-hour cinematic metaphor about the occasionally faulty outputs of human nature.
Writer-director Alex Garland, known for penning Danny Boyle's zombie classic 28 Days Later, doesn't leave a stone unturned as he creates a wholly original and memorable movie that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining.
Domhnall Gleeson (Unbroken, Frank, Harry Potter) plays Caleb, a programmer for the world's most powerful search engine, Bluebook (sorry, Google). He wins a contest to spend a week with one of the leading thinkers of Bluebook, Nathan, and examining the tortured genius' newest project – Ava, the world's first artificial intelligence.
But as these tales always go, there is more than meets the eye with almost every party involved, and the film consistently has an air of mystery and dread to it that fills every scene with tension.
Much of that is attributed to Oscar Isaac's (Drive, Inside Llewyn Davis, A Most Violent Year) performance of Nathan, suspicious and intriguing from the moment we meet him. Isaac adds another illustrious performance to an otherwise colorful yet overlooked career, but that should change with the forthcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He is as intellectually sound as he is drunkenly enigmatic, perfectly conveying Nathan's sense of gaudy superiority.
Gleeson also puts in a fantastically believable turn as Caleb, with whom the audience can relate almost all the way through, with every untrustworthy conversation with Nathan and the more intimate experiences with Ava.
But she is undoubtedly the star of the show, played by the Swedish Alicia Vikander (The Fifth Estate, Anna Karenina). Surrounded by an aura just as mysterious and threatening as her creator, the audience is put through the same test as Caleb is to ensure that Ava can make us believe she is human, and she does. Vikander perfects a curious naiveté while seemingly knowing all there is to know about being human that we forget she is until we hear the mechanical whirring of her being when she makes even the slightest move.
From her slightest of smiles that always turn a moment too soon, to the craving in her eyes to know about the world outside Nathan's lab, Vikander is simply incredible, overpowering and overbearing just in the way she speaks.
Like every great entry in the science fiction genre, Ex Machina has a certain self-awareness about it where the audience never feels cheated. Every piece of dialogue, every plot point is carefully constructed to form a bigger picture that is slowly revealed, and there is almost never a slow point precisely because Garland keeps us so engaged in what is happening on-screen.
In addition, he takes us on such a deep journey through each character so as to make us feel it is reality and not just science-fiction, as if we have to question their motives for our own sake. Deep philosophical questions are at play, some which are admittedly too grand to get a grasp of in a first viewing, but the film is predominantly about the struggle to differentiate between what we think we know and what we are led to believe.
It's easy to focus on those themes, too, because the plot is so straightforward and delicate. Isolation is another key theme in Ex Machina, of both the literal and figurative kind. At times you feel like you're peeking into a conversation or an action that you shouldn't be, and that is a testament to Garland's direction and the actors' performances.
All good sci-fi also has a haunting soundtrack, and Ex Machina's is blistering and preeminent at times, like the most macabre parts of a David Fincher movie.
The strength in Ex Machina, and what makes is so wholly original, is that it's impossible to know what forces are really at play. Motivations are foggy and Garland is so cunning a writer that there is a never-ending stream of twists and turns conjured up, and you never see them coming because you're so drawn in to what you think you know.
Garland is out to tear apart what preconceptions are formed in an hour and a half in the final twenty minutes, every moment of which is thrilling, poignant, and cinematically gorgeous. You never see the ultimate villain coming, and, indeed, might not even be sure who the bad guy really is, leaving it as a topic of debate in the audience's head long after the credits have rolled.
And he does it without explosions, without warning, without conviction. Just a careful deconstruction of what we've seen, thinking at first that it makes no sense, only for it to come full circle once we do what the movie asks us to do: examine ourselves and our faulty superiority.
Most science fiction is content with offering up a distorted view of the world and saying it's a metaphor for reality. But when it comes to questioning our own lives in an intimate and profound way while building up to an ending that is entirely uncommon and satisfying, Ex Machina reigns supreme.
Ex Machina is rated R for graphic nudity, language, sexual references and some violence
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac
Directed by Alex Garland
May 9, 2015 by alexlynch695
The Warning Track: Week Five
661, alex rodriguez, angels, baseball, cy young, dodgers, giancarlo stanton, home run, major league baseball, mariners, max scherzer, mike trout, minority, mlb, mvl, nelson cruz, the warning track, willie mays, yankees, zack greinke
Awards Watch
With this year's contenders, for both the postseason and individual awards at the end of the season, starting to becoming clear, it's a good time to look back and see how off The Warning Track was with its preseason predictions, as far as the five-week old season is concerned.
American League Most Valuable Player
Who I said: Mike Trout, with Miguel Cabrera and Jose Abreu on deck
Trout and Cabrera are in the top ten in homers (seven and six, respectively), with Abreu close on their heels with five. Their among the leaders of their respective teams in most offensive categories, and have certainly performed as expected.
But two key things: The Angels and White Sox are playing sub-.500 ball, so Trout and Abreu are susceptible, just susceptible, to getting knocked out of the conversation in the early going. Cabrera's Tigers are 19-12 in the early going, but players like Jose Iglesias, Yoenis Cespedes and J.D. Martinez are contributing just as much on a team that has averaged four and a half runs a game.
And, secondly, other players have simply been more incredible as of early May, dominating the opposition consistently and unabashedly.
As such, we have a couple new contenders, including one who would be named MVP of both leagues should the season end today.
1. Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners (12-17)
MLB-leading 14 home runs and .748 slugging percentage, AL-leading 1.130 OPS, third in AL in hits (39)
Hey, I said Trout and Abreu were susceptible to getting knocked out of the early MVP discussion due to their teams losing more games than they've won. Nelson Cruz's Mariners are currently hanging out in the basement of the AL West, but no player in baseball has been more intimidating than Cruz through five weeks. If it wasn't for Cruz (and probably King Felix), Seattle might not even be at five wins. He leads the team in average, home runs, RBI, runs, OBP, SLG, OPS, hits and walks.
Dating back to April 11, @ncboomstick23 is batting .380 with 19 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 14 HR, 26 RBI, 8 B and 1 SB. pic.twitter.com/1uVOzsYusc
— #VoteMariners (@Mariners) May 9, 2015
As of now, there is one Seattle Mariner with his eye on October, and it's Nelson Cruz.
2. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees (19-12)
Top five in AL in home runs (10), RBI (23), walks (19), fifth in AL in SLG (.584)
3. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (14-16)
Top ten in AL in home runs (7), runs (24), stolen bases (7), SLG (.570), OPS (.959), walks (16)
National League Most Valuable Player
Who I said: Giancarlo Stanton, followed by Jason Heyward and Kris Bryant
Jason Heyward has been eclipsed by another Cardinal, and Kris Bryant isn't even the top contender for NL Rookie of the Year (yet). But Stanton has surely been tearing up the league, right?
Well, yes. After a slow first couple weeks, he's turned it on to lead the majors in RBI (29) and lingering at the top of other major offensive categories.
But the National League has had its own Nelson Cruz, another veteran slugger who makes even the most potent National League pitcher drip sweat when he comes to the plate.
Here are my updated NL MVP standings.
1. Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers (19-10)
MLB-leading 1.166 OPS, NL-leading .727 slugging percentage, top five in NL in home runs (9), batting average (.373), RBI (25), runs (23), OBP (.439), hits (41), doubles (12)
A-Gone came out swinging right out of the gate, becoming the first player in major league history to hit five homers in his team's first three games, and refused to cool down. He's led his team to a hot start, along with youngster Joc Pederson, and has wholeheartedly hoisted the Dodgers on his shoulders in the absence of Yasiel Puig.
GONZO! Congrats to #Dodgers' slugger Adrian Gonzalez on being named NL Player of the Month! pic.twitter.com/rDQfCjUiZc — FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 4, 2015
2. Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals (22-7)
MLB-leading 14 doubles, top five in NL runs (23), SLG (.620), top ten in NL in RBI (20), average (.333), hits (36), OPS (1.024)
3. Joc Pederson, Los Angeles Dodgers (19-10)
Top five in NL in home runs (9), SLG (.632), OPS (1.057) , walks (24), top ten in NL in RBI (19), runs (21), OBP (.425)
Who I said: Felix Hernandez, followed by Chris Sale and Corey Kluber
In a league inhabited by very few consistently powerful aces, my preseason pick, the King, has had another astounding start to the season, with a 1.73 ERA and sterling 5-0 record, a bright spot on an underperforming Mariners squad. But someone on an overperforming American League club has taken the reigns in the early going of what has been a very tight race for best pitcher in a batter-friendly league.
As far as the other guys, Chris Sale is serving a five-game suspension, and reigning AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber has given up at least four earned runs in four of seven starts. Sooooo……
Updated AL Cy Young standings
Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros (19-11)
MLB-leading .80 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, fifth-in-MLB 45.0 innings pitched, AL-leading .139 batting average against
The Astros are leading their division one week into May. Woah.
For the first time in over a decade, they are proving to be a fundamentally complete team. Woah.
And they have a player leading an awards race. WOAH!!!!!
Woah, indeed.
Keuchel has been incredible so far for an Astros squad that is third in team ERA in the AL at 3.40. He's given up only four earned runs in six starts this season, and in all but one he went at least seven innings. He's the pitcher Houston needs and the one it deserves right now.
Heck, their fans have been deserving for ten years.
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners (12-17)
AL-leading five wins, top ten in AL in ERA (1.73), strikeouts (44), WHIP (.084), innings pitched (41.2), one complete game along with four other AL pitchers
3. Chris Archers, Tampa Bay Rays (16-14)
AL-leading 50 strikeouts, top ten in AL in ERA (2.59), WHIP (1.01), batting average against (.185)
Who I said: Max Scherzer beating out Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright
Scherzer has performed okay, Clayton Kershaw hasn't at all, and the baseball world was rocked when Wainwright went down for the season two weeks ago. That'll cause some changes.
Updated NL Cy Young standings
1. Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers (19-10)
Tied-for-MLB-lead five wins, NL-leading 0.84 WHIP, ERA (1.56), top ten in NL in batting average (.174), innings pitched (40.1)
Clayton Kershaw hasn't been himself this season. He is 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA through six starts, numbers he has no right to own. He's gone at least seven innings his last two times on the mound, after failing to do so the previous four starts, but he has yet to not allow a run in a game.
In the meantime, Greinke has made up for it with, filling his role as co-ace admirably for a team that might that'll make a huge jump once Kershaw is his old self once again.
Oh he's raking at the plate, too, and he wants the world to know.
.@YasielPuig may have retired from bat flipping, but his teachings live on in Zack Greinke: http://t.co/aSQSl8PYHQ pic.twitter.com/WdM8QEXIG5
— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 6, 2015
2. Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh Pirates (13-16)
Top ten in NL in ERA (2.27), wins (4), strikeouts (39)
3. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals (16-15)
Top ten in NL in ERA (2.11), strikeouts (49), WHIP (0.94), batting average (.216), innings pitched (42.2)
An Ovation With An Asterisk
When Alex Rodriguez hit his 661st career home run on Thursday, passing Willie Mays to solely occupy fourth place on the all-time career list, there was excitement among those in the Yankees fandom who had forgiven A-Rod, accepted A-Rod, and now cheered on A-Rod.
But outside New York, there seemed to be little ovation to be had. As for me, I got an alert on my phone form my favorite sports app, followed quickly by a brief twitter takeover by various sports media bringing attention to the historic moment, and then nothing.
With a sigh, I went back to my day.
It's unusual, and a little bit frightening, to think about what could have been, would have been, should have been. It's no secret that the Yankees organization was planning a huge marketing campaign to be centered around A-Rod's journey to 660.
We're talking a big, season-long campaign. Creative slogans. Countless billboards in the Big Apple. Nike-endorsed commercials. Merchandise upon merchandise upon merchandise. A-Rod everywhere, the prodigy, the champion, the modern day Babe Ruth, just as it was meant to be.
A-Rod hit his 661st HR last night, passing Mays. Where might he land among baseball's greats? http://t.co/YVf33kB4H9 pic.twitter.com/UYVwAc5Y5u
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 8, 2015
And now, we're left wondering whether it would have ever even been considered if A-Rod hadn't used PEDs. Would he even have gotten close?
There would have been grandeur, lights, fireworks, spectacle. Every baseball fan form Yankee Stadium to AT&T Stadium in San Fran, whether they loved him or loathed him, would have at least given him a tip of the cap for what he accomplished.
I'll give him a golf clap. 661 is still an astounding number, and hitting a baseball in general is still one of the toughest, if not the toughest, tasks in sports. But a golf clap is all I'm willing to do before contemplating how magnificent the event could have been, would have been…perhaps may never have been.
His name would have been written in the history books of baseball in sharpie with a flourish and an exclamation point, as someone who, in the Golden Age of Pitching, would have dominated the competition.
Instead, a miniscule "Alex Rodriguez: 661 and counting" is inscribed rather feebly into the margins between Willie Mays Babe Ruth. With pencil and an enormous asterisk, etched in such a way that perhaps the name might be someday be erased or otherwise wiped away, with no one noticing.
Rodriguez sits at 2,963 hits, setting up another uncomfortable celebration for the near future as he looks to become the 29th player in history to garner 3,000 hits.
In 2009, ten of major league baseball's 30 managers belonged to a minority.
At the start of last season, that number was whittled down to five.
Now, only two major league managers – Lloyd McClendon of the Mariners, an African American, and Fredi Gonzalez, a Latino, in Atlanta – are not white.
Those interesting facts once you consider that the same figures aren't reflected on the diamond. According to a 2014 report by Dr. Richard Lapchick, director of The Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), 60.9 percent of players on 2014 Opening Day rosters were white, compared to 93.4 percent of managers.
Manager trends over the last five seasons concerning race.
The game is more diverse than ever, with major league clubs looking more and more at big-time prospects from Cuba, Japan and other countries who could make an impact on their squads.
So why isn't that commonplace when it comes to the ultimate leader of the clubhouse?
Major League Baseball is also seemingly concerned about the trend, issuing a memo to its 30 clubs reminding them of a protocol that was installed in the Bud Selig era. The rule calls for teams to at least consider those of minority descent when looking to fill the roles of general manager, assistant general manager, field manager, director of player development and director of scouting positions."
It's a good move on their part, because how would it look to have a game that is becoming more global being represented by 30 managers who are all white?
It's as big as issue as is the dropping levels of black players on the field. According to the TIDES study, only 8.2 percent of players were black, a sharp decrease from 13 percent at the start of the millennium.
It isn't necessarily a new problem when it comes to managers, either. In every years 1991, at least 76 percent (about 23) of major league baseball's managers where white. The one outlier came in 2002, when there were eight black and two Latino managers in the league.
While the problem is an enduring one, the trends are disturbing, seeing as baseball is on track to have all-white managers sooner rather than later.
There are obviously facts we don't know. Perhaps there aren't people of ethnic descent interviewing for the position. Maybe teams are only relaying information about job openings to a certain group of people, though that is unlikely.
But it's something to keep an eye on – and major league baseball is, rightfully so – in a game that is becoming more globalized.
The TIDES report at the start of 2014, when there were five minority managers in the bigs, gave major league baseball an A when it came to hiring practices. It would be interesting to see what grade the league would get a little over a year later.
Other baseball thoughts from the week
HE HIT A DINGER!!!
Bryce Harper, on the cusp of the MVP conversation.
More injuries to elite platers: Strasburg and his shoulder ankle, Price and his hammy, Cobb and his elbow.
BoSox fire their pitching coach after starting the season with team ERA of 4.95, worst in the majors save for the Rockies. Time to panic for the club that many thought would contend for the Series?
The Warning Track: One Month Later
Does the National League Designated Hitter Have Its Posey?
Last weekend, in a game against the Brewers, Cardinals' ace and superstar Adam Wainwright lookup up at a popup, needlessly started for first base, and then, as 40,000 Cardinals fans and the rest of baseball took a collective breath, he started limping.
He would come out immediately, of course. And over the next few days, major league baseball would be partially turned on its head as the Cardinals would confirm Wainwright being out for the rest of 2015 due to an Achilles tear.
So, naturally when a pitcher who ranks first in total innings pitches since 2012, and right at the top of most major pitching statistics, goes down in his unnatural habitat – behind the plate – the questions arises: to DH or not to DH in the National League?
Some of the game's biggest hurler have already made some of their opinions known on the issue.
Max Scherzer wants the National League to use the designated hitter » http://t.co/zNqCcJWBls pic.twitter.com/MkT8CN28vJ
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) April 27, 2015
Madison Bumgarner thinks Max Scherzer's opinion that NL pitchers shouldn't bat is nonsense. http://t.co/bQcUBMS7Kt pic.twitter.com/565ArXXkNx — Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) April 28, 2015
And the man who went down himself.
Adam Wainwright on DH: 'Baseball has to stay doing what it is' http://t.co/JMO4TXWS4z pic.twitter.com/q1AG5uZ47p
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 28, 2015
One may find it surprising what Wainwright thinks of the situation, given his current situation. But if you really knew Wainwright or follow St. Louis baseball, it also isn't too startling.He's always been a man of the game, and, like Bumgarner – who is one of the better-hitting pitcher in the league in his own right – he respects tradition.
I myself was conflicted on the issue for a time. As a Cardinals fan, obviously my immediate reaction after even the first hint of speculation that Wainwright might be out for an extended period of time was "It's time for the DH, plain and simple. No pitcher should be out for a year after getting injured at the plate." I even talked myself into thinking I would be saying the same thing if someone like Kershaw or Cueto or Bumgarner went down – and I probably would.
That perspective strengthened as I read various opinions from figures in the sport, columns from baseball writers. It also weakened as I read others.
Now, it's almost completely diminished. I agree with what many have said: it was a freak accident that could happened at the plate, on the mound, in the shower, walking on the street.
More importantly, as Wainwright said, baseball is a game of tradition. Tradition dictates that the pitcher is in the lineup. It adds a whole new dimension to the game, calls for much more strategy on the manager's part, and is a huge reason as to why major league baseball is the only one of the "Big 4"American sports – NBA, NFL, NHL being the others – that has a legitimate distinction between it's two leagues/conferences, as well as a legitimate reason as to why there is an MVP handed out for both leagues at season's end.
Having the pitcher bat makes the National League special, just like having the designated hitter makes the American League special. It shouldn't be messed with. Even though one superstar's injury caused one of the most drastic rule changes in recent memory, injuries to pitchers at the plate simply aren't common enough. Otherwise it would be a different story.
Wainwright's injury has revived the debate, there is no doubt about that. And it will continue throughout the season, perhaps the offseason, maybe into next year. It's always been there. It's simply a bit louder now. But a truly legitimate argument for the adoption of the designated hitter into the National League is yet to arise. It could be to revive the offense, an ongoing topic of discussion. It could be that pitchers are restless of having to worry about putting in work at the plate, which is almost unseen.
The argument isn't here yet. It may come next year. It may come in ten years. But Wainwright's freak occurrence – and that's exactly what it is – simply isn't reason enough to change the way the game has been played for over a hundred years in a major way.
And no, Commissioner Manfred, your ongoing initiate to infuse more excitement into the game isn't valid enough.
The Right Priorities? First-year commissioner Rob Manfred has been working on all fronts toward a primary initiative in the short time he has led major league baseball: making the game more exciting and adapting it to entice a younger generation that for the most part prefers to tune in to football.
I can write a whole other column about my not-so-agreeable thoughts on that, but I'm going to focus my argument on something else that has been prevalent in the league in recent years: the drastic increase of players taking trips to the disabled list.
The problem with today's game isn't its pace – something I've recently touched on – it's an alarming amount of injuries that impact clubs, and sometimes their entire seasons. Once the first pitch of the season was being thrown by Jon Lester in Wrigley a month ago, there were already some big names sitting out to start the season, including Justin Verlander, J.J. Hardy, and a record 113 others.
And then, for some reason, when Wainwright went down last weekend, a handful of other stars in the game followed suit. Jed Lowrie will be out 2-3 months. Masahiro Tanaka has a torn UCL after enduring an injury-prone 2014. The Dodgers' Carl Crawford, a career. 292 hitter, has an oblique strain. All those players, major components of their respective teams, hit the DL on Tuesday.
What should we really be focusing on? If Manfred argues that the new pace-of-play protocol will hopefully spur greater interest in the sport, what argument does he have for the fact that people getting into baseball aren't able to cherish it's greatest athletes?
Red Sox place outfielder Shane Victorino on the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain. pic.twitter.com/K0Z4jjoZLp — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 25, 2015
The Orioles have placed INF Ryan Flaherty on the 15-day Disabled List with a right groin strain, retroactive to April 23. — Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 24, 2015
Reds place P Homer Bailey on the 15-day DL list with a right elbow ligament sprain: http://t.co/liO5puf1yl pic.twitter.com/62O9eZpzQK — SI Fantasy News (@SI_Fantasy) April 28, 2015
There is so easy fix to something like injuries. But there is an issue, that much is clear. The Rangers used a record number of players last year, while a record number were hurt.
In 2014, a major point of discussion across baseball was the alarming number of pitchers missing entire seasons due to a Tommy John epidemic. ESPN's baseball insiders acknowledged there might be no easy fix for the issue in professional baseball, where players make careers on the health of their arms.
The amount or pitchers forced to undergo Tommy John surgery has astronomically increased in the last ten years.
Certainly that's a place to start the conversation, considering the role that pitchers have in the game. And if the conversation is present, and it is prevalent – which it should be, as the numbers show – Rob Manfred to enter it, be fully engaged in it and lead it.
Maybe there is something that can be implemented on the farms to reverse the injury trends. Maybe the way players warm up, work out, cool down can have an impact. There needs to be ideas, and there needs to be focus and attention on the issue.
Baseball players are seemingly getting hurt every day. That's only the slightest of exaggerations.
If people really want to get through a baseball game with their families as quick as possible so they can get home, fine. But what would they rather pay for: a two-hour and 10-minutes game with lineups back of minor leaguers as starters warm the bench, or a two-hour, 30-minutes matchup between two teams that are as even matched as could possible be?
Something to think about, Commish.
April Fools?
There was a whole lineup of surprises in the first month of regular season baseball, mostly due to over performing clubs and individual players putting MLB's parity on full display. Here's the top five things we did not expect to begin the 2015 campaign.
1.The Astros blast off to a 15-7 record
The Houston Astros, basement dwellers for a decade in the NL Central before assuming the same position in the AL West for the last two seasons, have come alive with a vengeance. They have the second-best winning percentage in baseball (.696) and lead a division in which, perhaps even more surprisingly, they are the only club over .500. Those other teams include the Angels, A's, and Mariners.
Talk about flipping the script.
The Astros have been on an absolute tear as of late, winning. seven straight and nine of their last ten. And they don't exactly have an advantage by way of their schedule; they've been beating the Angels, Mariners, Padres and A's as of late, all of those clubs expected postseason contenders.
Yep, it's true: The Houston @Astros could wake up tomorrow with the best record in baseball. http://t.co/lqWdi14Bpb pic.twitter.com/fv2ldUfe7o
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2015
They've been led mostly by their pitching: they have an AL-best 3.04 team ERA and are in the top five in team WHIP, opponent average, and innings pitched. Reigning major league hits champion Jose Altuve is off to another incredible start, hitting .373 and second only to Miami's Dee Gordon for the major league lead in hits. Who knows if the Astros will be able to keep this up, but for a team that has averaged a 62-100 regular season record since 2010, their April was pretty special.
2. Something's up with Kershaw
Clayton Kershaw hasn't been himself this season. Like, at all. As in, he has an ERA close to 4.00 through five starts. As in, he has yet to have an outing where he hasn't allowed an earned run. As in, he's already almost halfway (4) to allowing the number of home runs he gave up in his 2014 historic campaign (9). Maybe that's just it. Maybe we're looking too much into this – I certainly have done my share – when Kershaw has just set his standards at level that simply can't be maintained. For the first time in a long time, he looks vulnerable. For the first time in a long time, he's beatable. His current record stands at 1-2.
Nothing's been the same ever since CardinalNation attacked.
It would be foolish to even suggest that his reign of dominance may be over – he just turned 27, after all, and he's healthy so far as we know – but until he can regain the form we're all accustomed to seeing, Kershaw has looked, dare I say it…human. And it's just weird.
The Kansas City Royals are an offensive powerhouse
We all knew Royals pitching was good, even with James Shields' departure. We all knew their defense was solid, probably the best in the bigs. We all knew they would score runs…wait, no we didn't!
The Royals, amid all their drama on the field, have scored 119 runs. They're on pace to bring 880 across the plate for the season, 149 more than 2014. Oh and remember that deadly pitching, led by Yordano Ventura and an elite bullpen? Combine those two facets of the game, and the Royals lead major league baseball in run differential in April, with a +45.
#Royals' +45 run differential highest for month since +53 in August 1980. George Brett hit .430 with 30 RBIs that month. — David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield) May 1, 2015
They're right up there with the best records in baseball, tied with the Astros in winning percentage, trailing only the Cardinals. But make no doubt about it, they are the most complete team in baseball. It'll be all on them to keep up the high-octane start.
4. A-Rod's Resurgence
The Yankees, who haven't played in October since they last won it all in 2009, are back on the throne of the AL East at 15-9. And they are led by none other than Alex Rodriguez himself.
What an interesting , conflicted situation that club is in.
Remember that $6 million bonus the Yankees owe Rodriguez if he ever tied Willie Mays' fourth-place spot on the career home run records list? Maybe it was the cynic in all of us – okay, it was the cynic in all of us – that thought "No way 39-year old Alex Rodriguez is going to hit six balls into the stands this season, especially when we don't know if he's ever hit a clean longball in his carrer."
Welp. Here we are, at the beginning of May, and A-Rod's asterisked name is officially in the baseball annals.
660! Alex Rodriguez hits his 660th career home run to tie Willie Mays for 4th most all-time. pic.twitter.com/wqZUFjbNRe
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 2, 2015
Can he keep it up? Who knows, and that's a question more of his body's durability at this point in his career more than anything. But he might have to keep hiting, along with a dominant Mark Teixeira, for the Yanks' sake. Oh, the irony.
5. Kris Bryant has yet to hit a major league dinger
Seriously, guys, what's going on. Kris Bryant's been in the bigs for a few weeks and he hasn't hit one out of the park? What the…what?! Kris. C'mon, man. Don't tease us with your nine-homer Spring Training, only to come up empty in your first couple weeks in the bigs!
So Kris Bryant is now the lone @Cubs regular without a home run? Man, that guy's terrible.
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) May 1, 2015
I kid, of course, but not really.
1. St. Louis Cardinals (17-6)
2. Kansas City Royals (16-7)
3. New York Mets (16-8)
4. New York Yankees (15-9)
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (14-8)