As the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Suspension looms for Blanco:
Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco was ejected from his start against the A’s last night following a foreign substance check by the umpires. Given that players ejected due to a failed foreign substance check are subject to an automatic ten-game suspension, it’s likely that MLB will announce that punishment for the right-hander later today. Blanco indicated last night that he intends to appeal any suspension levied against him, although no suspension for violating the league’s foreign substance policy has been overturned since the automatic suspension was put into place back in June of 2021.
A noteworthy quirk of the suspension is that teams are not allowed to replace players suspended for foreign substance use on their active rosters. That makes the loss of Blanco, who n0-hit the Blue Jays during his first start of the season and has posted a 2.09 ERA through eight starts this season, even more devastating as they will essentially be forced to use a 25-man roster for the next week and a half. Houston had been planning to go with a six-man rotation over the next few weeks because they only have one off-day between now and June 6. Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, and Spencer Arrighetti could perhaps hold things down while Blanco is out but a challenging part of their schedule may now prove to be even tougher.
2. Hoerner to be re-evaluated:
Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner was a late scratch from yesterday’s game against the Braves due to tightness in his left hamstring, and manager Craig Counsell told reporters (per MLB.com’s Injury Tracker) after the game that Hoerner had felt some discomfort during batting practice. Counsell added that Hoerner would be re-evaluated today, while Hoerner suggested that his injury was day-to-day.
An absence of any length for Hoerner is a notable blow to the Cubs, as the second baseman had been tabbed to cover shortstop with Dansby Swanson on the injured list due to a right knee sprain. Utilityman Miles Mastrobuoni made his first career big league start at shortstop last night in Hoerner’s absence, with Nick Madrigal covering second base. Shoulder Hoerner be in for a longer absence, it’s possible the Cubs could look to add a player better suited to shortstop, such as youngster Luis Vázquez, to the roster as a stopgap option. Vázquez, 24, has not yet made his major league debut but is already on the 40-man roster and has hit a solid .280/.381/.424 at the Triple-A level this year.
3. Winn to undergo MRI:
Giants right-hander Keaton Winn departed last night’s game against the Dodgers in the fifth inning due to what the team described as forearm tightness, as noted by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Winn is slated to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the issue later today. Any sort of issue with the forearm is a somewhat ominous diagnosis, although Winn told reporters (per MLB.com’s Injury Tracker) after the game that he doesn’t believe the issue is serious, instead attributing his dip in velocity to fatigue.
Winn, 26, has struggled badly through nine starts for the Giants with a 6.17 ERA despite a decent 4.38 FIP. While a trip to the injured list could afford the youngster an opportunity to reset, it would be a devastating below for a Giants rotation that’s already down to just four healthy pitchers with Blake Snell, Alex Cobb, Tristan Beck, and Robbie Ray all already on the injured list. Should Winn require a trip to the shelf, right-hander Mason Black appears to be the most likely candidate to step into the rotation in his stead.
Most honest team in MLB because they admitted to low-level “cheating” (debatable) and completely made up for it- in fact way more than completely made up for it and Manfred owes them a huge apology and how dare he call it a ‘piece of metal’. Meanwhile, every other team in MLB continues much much higher level (real) cheating to the present day, all while lying about it.
Most honest organization in MLB. Most underrated city east of the Misisipi . Most underrated stadium/fanbase/culture/history in international sports. The next time theyre referred to as the “Trashtros” or any reference to “cheating” is made about them in any way theres going to be a problem
Shiver me timbers
LOL “Misipi”.
Aren’t the astros west of the “misisipi”
Yes. He isn’t too bright.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
@sheep8
“Whispering” wasn’t it the Japanese
No it’s from Animal House.
@giantjim
I know the next 2 lines are what I posted followed by “let it go he’s on a roll” I was seeing if someone was going say he’s on a roll
Cheating trashtros.
Off your knees, Trojan. And wipe off your mouth while you’re at it
Trojan Toss ” It’s too salty!”
Coconut ” It’s just an oyster.
Um, Houston is west of the Mississippi.
Looks and sounds like you need spelling and geography lessons. you Cheating Trashtros fan.
Uh, what kind of a problem? They cheated; they got caught; they basically got away with a slap on the wrist; and they literally stole a WS Championship. Should the rest of the country be worried because you say there”is going to be a problem?”
The problem of being lost and steeped in hopeless ignorance,
“The Commission has concluded… that evidence for dishonest play by members of the Houston Astros is inconclusive and highly unlikely, especially in the context of the lack of true outlier performances by members of the Houston Astros as well as the pervasive and clearly identified, much more significant, dishonest play by members of every other MLB organization”
-The Commissioners Report, in conjunction with the United States Senate and MLBPeeA
Youre welcome
That quote is made up. No google hits except for comments on this site from this weirdo.
They have no farm mostly by losing 4 top picks. We know at least the Yankees, Sox and the Dodgers were doing the same thing. So no they didn’t steal the 2017 title and no they got a major punishment and they weren’t the only ones . Only an idiot that can’t read would say so
Losing picks & dealing prospects is why they have no farm. They haven’t been shy about dealing the prospects they did have.
Luhnow was also just better at finding talent. The end is near for their run(if we’re not already there)
I bet this guy speaks with the eloquence and knowledge of Donald J Trump. You know, where your brains are pretty much oozing out of your ear while you do it? >=}
Houston is west of the Mississippi.
I had to come back to this one. Please tell me exactly what my problem is going to be? The last time I checked there is such a thing as freedom of speech in the country and I can say anything I want about the “Trashtros” and how they cheated to win the World Series. It will never go away because Astros haters like me will always be here to remind idiots like you about it happening. Your team and your so called dynasty is dying. It’s over so deal with it!!
3 time Champions. Your loss.
Hope you enjoy them. Like I said that’s all in the past…… Yesterday…..You won’t be seeing another one anytime soon.
3 time champions sure, 2017 (the definitely not stained year, 2019 (because the nats cheated and it was forfeited to the astros) 2022 (he remembers 2 years ago)
It was definitely “just a piece of metal” for the 2020 World Series Title. And not because the Dodgers won it. It’s because the 2020 season was an entire sham.
MLB needs to take a page out of the NPB league and pre-tack balls so pitchers have a uniform grip on the ball.
They are testing in AA I believe. MLB doesnt seem to like the pretack balls because contact went down while using them
@Os1995
Contact is going down because guys are swinging for the fences not because of the tack. In Japan, the batter’s strategy is to make contact not crush the ball 1,000 miles.
Contact has been trending down for years. I’m referring to the study conducted last year that showed tack balls increased spin rates and strikeouts when used in AA last year,
@Os1995
But that study doesn’t take into considering the fact that batters have changed their approach from making contact with the ball to having powerful swings. They’ve traded contact with power, so regardless of the tackiness of the ball, guys are going to see a drop in contact because they’re trying to send the ball 1,000 miles away because that’s what gets them paid. Look at Luis Arraez. Guy’s a hit machine but isn’t getting a mega contract because he doesn’t hit for power.
How does it not take into account that batters changed there approach? They played half the season with normal balls and half with tacky balls last year. Did the players just randomly decide to sell out for power in the second half of last season after trying to make contact in the first half?
@Os1995
Because today’s batters are brought up to hit with power not contact. The approaches and strategy are completely different. Today’s batters are too focused on massive power over actually making contact.
How does that have to do with Tacky balls? They did a study with AA players the same season and same players. When all things are equal (plate approach, players, etc.) the tacky balls had higher spin rates and generated more strikeouts vs non-tacky balls. The MLB is trying to make the game more watchable by wanting to increase contact which is why they aren’t really interested in using tacky baseballs to further reduce contact rates.
@Os1995
Again, the strategy of the players right now, for what they’re paid for in the open market, is to focus on POWER over CONTACT. So, regardless of sticky vs. non-sticky, the players are swinging for the fences, which will ultimately result in MORE strikeouts and weak contact. If MLB wants MORE action, they should be paying players to make contact, like Arraez, not Stanton and Schwarber.
I’d frankly feel more comfortable having normal balls than tacky balls.
@Paleobros
Except, MLB has been manipulating the balls since they took over the manufacturer, so we don’t even have normal balls anymore.
Or Schweaty Balls. Those aren’t fun either.
You just argued for pre-tacked balls & he presented data that contact went down with those balls.
Obviously batting approaches are not as contact oriented but the pre-tacked balls have shown to make contact worse. MLB surely doesn’t want that.
Old York is having problems comprehending your point. We all understand what Old York is saying. Swinging for power is the norm, and it occurred in both the first half of the test, as well as the second half. Your point is that it got even worse in the second half, with the tacky balls. My question is whether it reduced the number of hit by pitch, which has been given as a reason for better grip?
Tacky balls happens more frequently in warmer weather. I assume the second half of the season was warmer.
@stymeedone
The point is moot because the goal of the batters has changed completely since the 70s, so it doesn’t matter if you have sticky stuff or not on it. Guys swinging with full power are going to have less contact, no matter the situation. Arraez is not having that problem in this environment because he doesn’t swing for the fences every AB.
Old York, No one is talking about the 70’s. The study was 1st half of 2023 vs second half 2023 AA where in the 2nd half the balls were treated with a chemical coating developed by BASF that was intended to allow the pitchers to get better grips on the ball without having to use any sticky stuff. I was presenting data that the balls that allowed the pitchers to get a better grip was used to induce higher spin rates and more strikeouts and that MLB is trying to decrease strikeouts to induce more action in the game. The use of the tacky baseballs (the ones with the chemical coating) further increased strikeouts and reduced contact further than the rates observed currently.
Good article but Ronel was *not* “cheating” in any way, shape, or form.
Bro… Like the umps want to eject him and get him suspended? Former Yankee and current terrible person Domingo German got tossed for Rosin and sunscreen. If the dudes hands are too sticky off to the showers.
He had nothing for the NoNo? He had none for the 1st 3 innings? They said he had rosin in the glove but he had none on his glove hand?
I remember Caliipari said it’s not paranoid if it’s true.
Ronel for CY.
When a pitcher is caught using substance they should award the opposing team 20 runs. Tack on 20 runs to that pitchers ERA and suspend him 30 games. Costing your team a win and hurting your stats for the rest of the year would make them think twice about cheating.
@ARC 2
But ERA is a TEAM stat, so it essentially tells you that when the guy is pitching, his team sucks at defense. You’d need to look under the hood at stats like xERA & FRA to have a better picture of what the pitcher actually can control.
He’s definitely overperforming his ERA. xERA should be 3.04 and FRA should be 4.42.
My problem is he cheated and they still won the game. make it a automatic loss. 1 game could mean they get into the playoffs.
@ARC 2
Well, those weren’t the rules during the game. MLB could say as of today, any cheating will results in an auto loss. But given MLBs history on cheaters, over all these decades, they’re pretty weak. They don’t seem to like players betting and get harsh punishment but actually cheating during the game seems be be less of a concern.
Ignore the added stats, just make the player a) ineligible for the post season for any performance enchancing suspension (PEDs, unpermitted substances, etc); b) ineligible for any awards that season; c) implement a progressive discipline over lifetime just like PEDs get.
That would be a good rule to stop the cheating. Instead a slap on the wrist.
If they have to play a man down who’s going to bang the trash can?
Interesting fact. A suspended player can be in the stadium, and has – I’m thinking victorino who even went up to a broadcast booth.
So, clubhouse is likely possible as well. Since the trash cans were banged from a corridor, no reason he couldn’t serve as designated hitter (of trashcans) during his time away.
I see a trend of Toss randomly posting controversial statements just to see how many comments he can stir up. In the future it might be best to ignore his comments and let him sit in his moms basement peacefully
Oldguy—it’s so much easier just to hit the mute button–when I see that 22 comments are hidden I already know I’m “missing out” on how the White Sox are the real team in Chicago and how great the south side is or how the Astros cheated and still cheat. Wash, rinse, repeat. Mute, mute, mute. And when he changes the name and not the content….mute again. Don’t tell me I’m wrong about the content.
The key is the Bauer comment that gives it away. The Legendary Harambe. His comments are easy to mute.
Wow he already changed to Josh Bells book club, You can add that one to the mute list. It’s hilarious when I see one of his comments has two likes when you know it’s just another one of his list of screen names. You kinda wish the site would cancel IP addresses not just screen names for people who are just here to antagonize everyone.
It sucks when your mute list has 24 names on it and 23 of them you know are the same idiot.
actually Mike I give him many likes – I find him wonderfully amusing, and I don’t think he is the same guy as Harambe – I like Harambe too, but Trojan is funnier
The Astros have in the 1st quarter of the season had the hardest schedule. Out of the 1st 40 games they have played 32 games against teams with winning records. To put it in context, the Phillies only had 3.
This stretch is a breather, it’s just they have a lot of games in a row. And at most he’ll miss 1 start.
@Memphis Kong
Oh, noez! My fav team had to play against tough competition! Based on Strength of Schedule for the remaining 120 games, they’ll play teams sitting around .482.
I’ve always disliked the ‘against winning records’ argument, particularly when in the earlier parts of a season or when against a team who overwhelmingly leads the head to head match-up.
The question becomes, just how much that line is inflated by the losses your team handed them, or, if the opponent themselves played a particularly weak stretch of a schedule.
Even at the end of 2023, only 13 teams wound up under .500
Of those, Boston was 3 wins shy of being 81-81, as was Detroit. In Cleveland, it was 5 wins. NYM, 6 wins from 81-81. PIT was back to only 5, and, SF was 2 wins away from being 81-81.
At that point you’re getting to teams who were 8, 10, or more wins away from .500 meaning it’s more likely their abilities were who their records said, sub .500 teams even if only slightly.
The reality is, even the ‘balanced schedule’ will never be truly balanced, not only because team schedules still favor division play, but, because injuries, promotions, and rotational matchups all mean teams don’t face an equally difficult opponent despite playing the same ‘team’…
@GASoxFan
We might as well adjust the schedule so that every team plays the other team an even number of times in a season. We’ve essentially removed the two leagues as we now have a universal DH and play interleague games almost every week. For the playoffs, just make it the top 12 teams in the league making the playoffs.
And here I thought you were going to suggest games be rescheduled until all players on both teams are healthy.
@stymeedone
Well, it would make more sense to just play them all through computer generations. That would be the fairest option. No injuries and games are quick. Problem solved.
So someone on the Astro-isks cheated? Color me shocked.
The best pitcher in the world is pitching in Mexico and is available for league minimum.
@Trojan Toss
Mexico is a pretty weak league in general. A step up from the Little League World Series.
Look, I know he’s great, but I wouldn’t call Jeurys Familia the Best Pitcher in the World!
Not enough likes/thumbs up.
Im out of here
It’ll be interesting to see if one of the two professional major league baseball teams mentioned in this article look at the possibility of signing somebody like former Cy Young winner, Trevor Bauer.
It’s a contentious move owing to his history of creating fire and brimstone everywhere he goes, but it may prove an opportunity that’s too good to turn down once they factor in how his elite pitching style has once again put the Mexican league back on the map.
I wouldn’t put money on it myself but Harambe might.
@Josh Bell’s Bookclub
Unfortunately, he’s cooked. I’d like to see him back but I doubt that happens.
Are there too many mustaches in the game these days? There’s a lot. How many is too many? Where’s the discourse on this?
I should have kept a record but I swear the umps have been more aggressive as of late. Just seems like there have been more false calls at the plate than usual and umps are too quick to jump on someone. Using this case as an example, you could see the looks of doubt in the eyes of some of the umps while one triggered the boot too quickly. I wondered, too, if he didn’t want to walk it back but too late to do that and save face, right?
Well, as a union they have to be concerned with the dual threats of the robot umps going through their paces combined with meat heads like Hernandez making a case for why they should lose some relevancy.