While Sale has, in fact, been incredible over his career, both in terms of his sub-3.00 ERA and FIP and his all-time best K/BB, it is worth mentioning that Jacob deGrom is also sub-3.00 in both ERA and FIP and is better than Sale in both categories, plus he's got a career K/BB of 5.25, which would be #2 all-time after only Sale.
The one thing that deGrom doesn't have yet is enough innings - Joe's qualifier of a minimum of 2000 career innings disqualifies deGrom, who is only at 1702.
That five-year head start that Sale got does lead to more bulk innings. deGrom is among the handful of best players to not even appear in the majors until they were (seasonal age) 26 years old. But the late start and then breaking down significantly caps his career totals. Not an exactly match, but a modern Dazzy Vance.
Tidbit about how things have changed: In deGrom's entire career, he has about 25 more IP than Wilbur Wood had in only four years.
It bears repeating that it’s crazy to play 162 regular season games. win your division with the 3rd best record, then to play a best of three playoff series to advance. The NBA tried this in the first round for a few years in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s but wisely ditched it after a hr defending champ Lakers were dismissed by the .500 Rockets in the first round in 1981. My vote would be to have only 4 teams make the playoffs and play best of 5 in the first 2 rounds. But they won’t do that and give up the tv revenue, so they at least could go to best of 5 in the 4 first round series.
Braves have an entire starting pitching staff on IL thst would be top 15 in MLB. Now it’s Sale and Mahle and pray for hail, with deference to Spahn and Sain of course.
If only Mahle was pronounced that way. Unfortunately, its MAH-lee. Sale and Mahle and pray to all that's holy? Nah, that isn't any good. Need to workshop it a bit.
I like watching Grant Holmes pitch. He looks like a shade tree mechanic who is about to try to sell you a set of retread tires for your '83 Camaro. Then he throws slop and hopes you hit it to one of his fielders. He reminds me of a less well groomed Mike Boddicker from my earlier years of fandom. Somehow the results are usually good even if the elements that go into it pretty blah.
That said, there is a big difference between me liking a particular player on the one hand and thinking that the player is very good. I have a long history of rooting for various reasons for less than great players. I have zero confidence in Holmes as a playoff caliber starting pitcher.
AJ S-S was lights out when I saw him in Gwinnett this year as he comes back from health issues. But he is capital R RAW. I don't expect that he'll be used to start anything unless "we" have another Charlie Morton broken leg incident.
JR Ritchie seems more likely to get the 4th start. But my confidence level in his ability is ... well, I don't like to say bad things about people I don't know so I'll just say that he is - ahem - unproven.
That's true. But the Brewers were just as hot. Both teams were 17-6 in September, and Milwaukee won 10 of their last 11. It's almost like people got so use to the Brewers playing great baseball that they didn't notice.
That last sentence is SO difficult to understand as a Brewers fan whose formative years (age 9-18) were 1996-2005. I wish I could go back and tell Young Me that better things were coming...
But a horrible team to have to work as groundskeeper for. Think of the poor young man (?) who had to clean the dugout floors and wipe away all the tobacco spit.
I'm hopeful that Sale and the Braves, the only rival this Phillies team seems to get up for (yeah, despite the poor regular-season record against them), is a nice slap in the face.
I'm a Braves fan. When they won the Series five years ago they had Tucker Davidson - with all of 20.2 career innings pitched before the playoffs - start Game 5. Even more amazingly, Dylan Lee started Game 4; Lee had 2, yes two, really TWO, innings pitched in the majors before that postseason.
It reminded me just how much I am rooting for clothing. I had no history with those pitchers and no attachment to them. How could I root for either?
I know it’s probably just random luck that it worked out this way, but it’s wild that the Rays reward for having the best AL record will be to play the AL’s 2nd or 3rd best record (and the AL’s 1st and 3rd teams in run differential).
Meanwhile Cleveland, who has a +11 run differential gets a bye, and could end up playing a team with a -32 run differential (Houston).
The top three teams in the AL are all smooshed into one half of the AL bracket.
It's just ludicrous that they still seed the top three division winners first. I can tolerate representation from each division, to ensure some geographic diversity. That, I get. But c'mon. We've gotta just seed by record. The NBA fixed this over a decade ago.
Disagree. If we do that, we may as well do away with divisions. That would lessen the already weakened long 162 game season, my favorite part of the baseball year.
As a Red Sox fan, all I can do is shake my head wryly at how Chris Sale has bounced back since he left. And duck my head in embarrassment at the “fans” who are harassing Schlittler.
My scouting bona fides: I was really angry that "my" Braves parted with Vaughn Grissom to get an old, expensive, and oft broken arm. Watching him frequently in Gwinnett, I was 110% convinced that he'd be batting .280 with mid-range power, and good plate discipline while playing a credible 2B or excellent 3B / corner OF. And that was being traded for someone who could be projected to pitch 50 innings and was then given an extension before throwing a single pitch.
I suspect that Sale will be selected. Yes, he has under 160 wins and is already 37. But he has a CYA, a 2nd, and five more top 5 finishes. And he is almost certain to get another top 5 this year. I think that voters will reward the dominance and overlook the Wins totals.
I pay $200/month for cable tv, almost exclusively for sports access. My wife and I also have subscriptions to 4 or 5 streaming channels (Prime, Netflix, Apple, HBO, maybe some others I can't remember). I'm not subscribing to YET ANOTHER streaming service because MLB and NBC want a few extra bucks. The result is likely that I won't be captured by this year's playoffs.
Yes. At some point, the sports television deals become too much and each of us have to say no more. I get nervous when I hear that a sport is negotiating a new deal - it's usually not a good thing. Usually.
I think it's MLB exclusivity. I think the White Sox and Cubs games are exclusive to Peacock, but, ESPN's schedule for today shows the game is also on NBCSN which I believe is on YouTube TV.
Another reason why I subscribe to MLB At Bat so I hear the audio of any game except the Rangers during the regular season and any game during the postseason. Of course MLB raised the subscription price for audio by 100% this season, but, it's still worth it for me to listen to Cardinal and White Sox broadcasts as I mow the lawn or during my commute. If I hit the lottery, I'll upgrade to MLB.TV to watch games.
GO SOX (Leo [a/k/a "Bob from the South Side"] says so)!
Yes. I have Peacock (to watch Premier League games & cycling) so no problem for me but I have cousins who are scrambling (& complaining) due to the lack of local coverage.
I have Sirius radio so I generally listen to games there. Not really a big fan of TV play by play. When watching games, sound goes down & I sync radio call to tv picture. Lucky we have Len Kasper to call WSox games.
While Sale has, in fact, been incredible over his career, both in terms of his sub-3.00 ERA and FIP and his all-time best K/BB, it is worth mentioning that Jacob deGrom is also sub-3.00 in both ERA and FIP and is better than Sale in both categories, plus he's got a career K/BB of 5.25, which would be #2 all-time after only Sale.
The one thing that deGrom doesn't have yet is enough innings - Joe's qualifier of a minimum of 2000 career innings disqualifies deGrom, who is only at 1702.
That five-year head start that Sale got does lead to more bulk innings. deGrom is among the handful of best players to not even appear in the majors until they were (seasonal age) 26 years old. But the late start and then breaking down significantly caps his career totals. Not an exactly match, but a modern Dazzy Vance.
Tidbit about how things have changed: In deGrom's entire career, he has about 25 more IP than Wilbur Wood had in only four years.
I think you mean 5 years. 1971-1975.
Yep. Sorry.
In one of Jimmy Buffett's later albums, he had a tune called Math Sucks. Not one of his better songs, but definitely applies to my efforts!
It bears repeating that it’s crazy to play 162 regular season games. win your division with the 3rd best record, then to play a best of three playoff series to advance. The NBA tried this in the first round for a few years in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s but wisely ditched it after a hr defending champ Lakers were dismissed by the .500 Rockets in the first round in 1981. My vote would be to have only 4 teams make the playoffs and play best of 5 in the first 2 rounds. But they won’t do that and give up the tv revenue, so they at least could go to best of 5 in the 4 first round series.
Braves have an entire starting pitching staff on IL thst would be top 15 in MLB. Now it’s Sale and Mahle and pray for hail, with deference to Spahn and Sain of course.
If only Mahle was pronounced that way. Unfortunately, its MAH-lee. Sale and Mahle and pray to all that's holy? Nah, that isn't any good. Need to workshop it a bit.
I like watching Grant Holmes pitch. He looks like a shade tree mechanic who is about to try to sell you a set of retread tires for your '83 Camaro. Then he throws slop and hopes you hit it to one of his fielders. He reminds me of a less well groomed Mike Boddicker from my earlier years of fandom. Somehow the results are usually good even if the elements that go into it pretty blah.
That said, there is a big difference between me liking a particular player on the one hand and thinking that the player is very good. I have a long history of rooting for various reasons for less than great players. I have zero confidence in Holmes as a playoff caliber starting pitcher.
Yes, I took some pronunciation liberties in my Braves pitching mantra and agree with you on Holmes. Also don’t be think Smith-Shawver is ready.
AJ S-S was lights out when I saw him in Gwinnett this year as he comes back from health issues. But he is capital R RAW. I don't expect that he'll be used to start anything unless "we" have another Charlie Morton broken leg incident.
JR Ritchie seems more likely to get the 4th start. But my confidence level in his ability is ... well, I don't like to say bad things about people I don't know so I'll just say that he is - ahem - unproven.
Maybe Suter as an opener and hope for 3 innings?
"No team was hotter than the Padres>"
That's true. But the Brewers were just as hot. Both teams were 17-6 in September, and Milwaukee won 10 of their last 11. It's almost like people got so use to the Brewers playing great baseball that they didn't notice.
That last sentence is SO difficult to understand as a Brewers fan whose formative years (age 9-18) were 1996-2005. I wish I could go back and tell Young Me that better things were coming...
I'm even older; I grew up with Harvey's Wallbangers. Milwaukee had a few decent teams then.
Fun team to watch!
But a horrible team to have to work as groundskeeper for. Think of the poor young man (?) who had to clean the dugout floors and wipe away all the tobacco spit.
I'm hopeful that Sale and the Braves, the only rival this Phillies team seems to get up for (yeah, despite the poor regular-season record against them), is a nice slap in the face.
The White Sox/Astros pitching "match-up" is an embarrassment to post-season baseball.
Embarrassing? Maybe. But what's the next sentence? What do you propose should be done about it?
Mark Buehrle vs Nolan Ryan
Why are you biased against the unalive? Bring back the recently(ish) dead: Tommy John vs. JR Richard, a similar contrast in styles.
I'm a Braves fan. When they won the Series five years ago they had Tucker Davidson - with all of 20.2 career innings pitched before the playoffs - start Game 5. Even more amazingly, Dylan Lee started Game 4; Lee had 2, yes two, really TWO, innings pitched in the majors before that postseason.
It reminded me just how much I am rooting for clothing. I had no history with those pitchers and no attachment to them. How could I root for either?
Embarrassment?
Yes it is.
That said, two seasons ago our WSox set the record for most losses in a 162 game season. So, my supply of embarrassment has been depleted. COYWS!
Before I read your comment, I texted that matchup to a friend and said, Baseball Fever...Catch It! That is just flat out embarrassing.
I know it’s probably just random luck that it worked out this way, but it’s wild that the Rays reward for having the best AL record will be to play the AL’s 2nd or 3rd best record (and the AL’s 1st and 3rd teams in run differential).
Meanwhile Cleveland, who has a +11 run differential gets a bye, and could end up playing a team with a -32 run differential (Houston).
The top three teams in the AL are all smooshed into one half of the AL bracket.
I consider it ridiculous that half of the AL bracket is just a repeat of the AL East. Why are we bothering playing 162 games?
It's just ludicrous that they still seed the top three division winners first. I can tolerate representation from each division, to ensure some geographic diversity. That, I get. But c'mon. We've gotta just seed by record. The NBA fixed this over a decade ago.
Disagree. If we do that, we may as well do away with divisions. That would lessen the already weakened long 162 game season, my favorite part of the baseball year.
What exactly is the purpose of divisions at this point?
To give structure to the season. Not everyone thinks that all that matters is who wins the World Series.
Too bad the new podcast didn’t drop on a game-less Monday. When will I have time to listen before Friday?!?!
As a Red Sox fan, all I can do is shake my head wryly at how Chris Sale has bounced back since he left. And duck my head in embarrassment at the “fans” who are harassing Schlittler.
Everybody thought Sale was toast. Or at least I did.
My scouting bona fides: I was really angry that "my" Braves parted with Vaughn Grissom to get an old, expensive, and oft broken arm. Watching him frequently in Gwinnett, I was 110% convinced that he'd be batting .280 with mid-range power, and good plate discipline while playing a credible 2B or excellent 3B / corner OF. And that was being traded for someone who could be projected to pitch 50 innings and was then given an extension before throwing a single pitch.
I may have been just a bit wrong on that one.
We were all "at least they got _something_." But Grissom turned out to be nothing, and Sale is going to be a solid H0F candidate.
I suspect that Sale will be selected. Yes, he has under 160 wins and is already 37. But he has a CYA, a 2nd, and five more top 5 finishes. And he is almost certain to get another top 5 this year. I think that voters will reward the dominance and overlook the Wins totals.
Does anybody care about wins anymore?
I'm wondering if this is a Chicago thing or nationwide:
No local Chicago station is showing the WSox or Cubs game today. The NBC affiliate (ch. 5) is showing Phils v Atl. and Red Sox v Yanks.
Is this a case of local stations declining to show local baseball teams or some sort of MLB exclusivity?
I pay $200/month for cable tv, almost exclusively for sports access. My wife and I also have subscriptions to 4 or 5 streaming channels (Prime, Netflix, Apple, HBO, maybe some others I can't remember). I'm not subscribing to YET ANOTHER streaming service because MLB and NBC want a few extra bucks. The result is likely that I won't be captured by this year's playoffs.
Yes. At some point, the sports television deals become too much and each of us have to say no more. I get nervous when I hear that a sport is negotiating a new deal - it's usually not a good thing. Usually.
I think it's MLB exclusivity. I think the White Sox and Cubs games are exclusive to Peacock, but, ESPN's schedule for today shows the game is also on NBCSN which I believe is on YouTube TV.
Another reason why I subscribe to MLB At Bat so I hear the audio of any game except the Rangers during the regular season and any game during the postseason. Of course MLB raised the subscription price for audio by 100% this season, but, it's still worth it for me to listen to Cardinal and White Sox broadcasts as I mow the lawn or during my commute. If I hit the lottery, I'll upgrade to MLB.TV to watch games.
GO SOX (Leo [a/k/a "Bob from the South Side"] says so)!
Yes. I have Peacock (to watch Premier League games & cycling) so no problem for me but I have cousins who are scrambling (& complaining) due to the lack of local coverage.
I have Sirius radio so I generally listen to games there. Not really a big fan of TV play by play. When watching games, sound goes down & I sync radio call to tv picture. Lucky we have Len Kasper to call WSox games.
Enjoy!
Hope Bob from Sout Side gives us a slight boost.