5 Issues I Appreciated (Or Didn’t Like) This Week, Could 2

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Robert Edwards-Imagn Pictures

Welcome to a different version of 5 Issues I Appreciated (Or Didn’t Like) This Week. With the primary month of main league baseball within the books, I’m settling into the rhythm of the common season. Baseball writing within the morning, baseball on TV within the afternoon, and normally baseball on TV within the night. Every now and then, I’ll skip two of these and go to the ballpark as a substitute. The precise baseball is falling right into a rhythm, too. The Dodgers have the most effective file in baseball, Aaron Choose is the most effective hitter, and Paul Skenes is the most effective pitcher, identical to all of us anticipated. However a part of the rhythm of baseball is that the sudden occurs a number of instances a day, and that’s what 5 Issues is for. With a nod of recognition and because of Zach Lowe of The Ringer for the column format, let’s begin the shenanigans.

1. Stopping at Third
The maths is fairly simple: A double with runners on second and third scores each runners. Typically it even brings dwelling a man standing on first initially of the play, too. Final week, although, issues obtained bizarre. First, Jacob Stallings flat out demolished a ball off the correct subject wall, however Hunter Goodman didn’t have the learn:

Hey, that occurs. There are a number of performs like this within the majors yearly. The batter can tear across the bases as a lot as he desires, however runners should cease and ensure it’s a success first. Goodman couldn’t make certain that the ball would hit the wall, and with nobody out, he fairly moderately performed it secure. Blake Dunn performed the carom completely, and once more, with no person out, Goodman didn’t strive his luck at dwelling.

However then it occurred once more. On Saturday, Nolan Jones laced a line drive to proper middle, and Steven Kwan solely obtained one base out of it:

Kwan is a wonderful baserunner, and it’s honest to suppose that he thought of the context right here. With the low-strikeout Guardians offense working, reaching third base with nobody out is sort of pretty much as good as scoring. Reaching third with just one out is nice, too. And so Kwan tagged up at second, planning on advancing if Wilyer Abreu made the catch:

Although each of these choices appear completely affordable to me, it was wild to see them occur consecutively. A runner failing to attain from second on a double on back-to-back days? That occurred on consecutive days twice in all of 2024. It’s not unparalleled, however it had my antennae up. Then I went to Sunday’s Giants-Rangers recreation, and 5 Issues favourite Jake Burger did this:

This one would possibly require a bit extra clarification. Joc Pederson hardly has blazing pace, and but he cruised into second. There was by no means any probability of a fly out, so tagging up wasn’t vital. However unhealthy reads can occur anyplace:

Extra particularly, Burger simply didn’t commit quickly sufficient. When he noticed Chapman retreating and diving, he put it in impartial, however he spent a bit of too lengthy chopping his toes earlier than placing it again in gear:

Look, it’s not the tip of the world. Burger scored two batters later. Goodman and Kwan additionally scored. However three of those in three days? You don’t see that each… uh, each three-day span, I assume. The truth is, these three are the primary 3 times that this explicit play has occurred all 12 months. It didn’t occur on back-to-back-to-back days at any level final season. Perhaps that’s what Burger and third base coach Tony Beasley have been speaking about after the play:

2. When the Lesser Lights Shine
The Dodgers are a juggernaut due to their peerless array of top-end expertise. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman? Will Smith doesn’t even bat within the high 4? They’ve what number of aces? What number of elite closers? The easiest that Los Angeles can provide is healthier than anybody else’s. However these guys can’t be on the plate or on the mound on a regular basis, and when the Dodgers are scuffling, the underside of the lineup can really feel like a headwind. The Dodgers scored solely seven runs of their collection in opposition to Texas a number of weeks in the past, for instance, whereas the 7-9 spots within the lineup went 5-for-29 with no homers and no walks. A kind of hits was even from Smith pinch-hitting. Hey, unhealthy stretches occur to everyone, and that is the underside of the lineup for a purpose.

However when these elements of the Los Angeles lineup warmth up, be careful. Instantly after that Texas collection, the Dodgers scored 67 runs of their subsequent eight video games, and that span included a recreation by which Skenes shut them out. That’s roughly 10 runs per recreation within the different seven. And also you higher consider that the underside of the order obtained concerned. Their 7-9 batters hit .333/.404/.526 in these video games. Andy Pages slashed .600/.619/1.050 throughout that stretch, and Enrique Hernández had a .958 OPS.

When the underside of the order is clicking like that – and I make no guarantees concerning the sustainability, to be clear – the Dodgers really feel utterly unstoppable. Dealing with the highest of their order is difficult even when the remainder of the staff isn’t hitting. When you must face them extra actually because nobody else is making outs, and with runners on base as a result of, once more, nobody else is making outs? Good luck. You may’t make a dwelling getting the three-headed MVP monster out. These guys obtained their {hardware} for a purpose. They’re going to provide. When that manufacturing is driving within the backside of the order, or getting pushed in by the underside of the order, the Dodgers offense is an absolute terror.

3. Off-Steadiness Miracles
Don’t do this at dwelling:

The angles make no sense right here. Nolan Arenado caught that ball working sideways moderately than towards dwelling, and he lunged towards proper subject to snare it, placing him in a horrible place to go to the plate. Jackson Chourio is an elite baserunner. With no power play, even an ideal throw may not have been sufficient. However with a one-run lead, one of many biggest defenders of our technology did what he does greatest: improvise.

Watch his toes as he performs this one:

There was no approach to put his decrease physique into the throw, as a result of his toes have been carrying him throughout the infield. Attempt working left and placing some energy on a right-handed throw. You’ll understand how unnatural it’s. There’s no a part of your physique which you could rotate for additional energy; it’s like throwing from a seated place, solely worse, as a result of as a substitute of merely not serving to you out, your momentum on this case goes in the wrong way, making it tougher to throw precisely.

Arenado, naturally, hit Pedro Pagés within the glove. Due to course he did; he’s Nolan Arenado. He’s all the time been a superb off-platform thrower. Lots of his defensive highlights contain unconventional arm angles or unusual throwing motions. However even for an ideal defender, this one was sensational. The published didn’t have an ideal snapshot of the second he launched the ball, however not less than there’s this:

Yeah, that doesn’t appear to be somebody throwing the ball precisely. The flawed leg is planted, the flawed shoulder is ahead, and are his eyes closed?? I believe he was most likely simply blinking, however after that magic trick, I’m prepared to consider that Arenado can do something defensively. What a gem.

4. The Massive Bopping A’s
The A’s got here into the 2025 season with the potential for a positional logjam. Brent Rooker, their greatest hitter, performs DH. Tyler Soderstrom, their high choose within the 2020 draft, has migrated from catcher to first base searching for a defensive dwelling. Nick Kurtz, their high choose a 12 months in the past, performs first base and hit so effectively within the minors that the A’s merely needed to name him up. That’s three guys for 2 spots – one thing needed to give.

There are many methods to deal with this, lots of them unhealthy. The A’s may do some form of tender platooning, having Kurtz again up Soderstrom whereas additionally letting the newcomer get at-bats in opposition to some righties with a purpose to give Rooker a day without work. They might make Soderstrom a part-time catcher, regardless of loads of proof that it’s a poor long-term match. They might put Rooker again into the outfield, although he’s by no means been good on the market and simply turned 30. The A’s selected none of those choices, although. As a substitute, they picked the highest-upside one and instructed Soderstrom to be taught left subject in a rush.

That’s a loopy transfer for the previous catcher. His first skilled look within the outfield was two weeks in the past. His reads want some work. He seems tentative on the market, and who may blame him? He’s not used to seeing the ball from this angle, and he hasn’t even had an offseason to work on it. He doesn’t have the pace to make up for unhealthy jumps or routes – he’s not sluggish, however he’s additionally not quick.

So what? So long as having to be taught a defensive place on the fly doesn’t mess along with his confidence on the plate, the potential advantages of it may very well be effectively value the associated fee. The A’s want to determine whether or not they can play with Rooker, Soderstrom, and Kurtz all in the identical lineup, and the alignment they settled on looks as if the most effective long-term answer. They completely needed to strive it, and I’m comfortable that they ripped the Band-Assist off now moderately than kicking the can down the highway.

Soderstrom even made a pleasant catch on Wednesday! Check out this magnificence:

Awkward? Positive. However athletic, too, and that’s a very tough play; it’s not precisely the place you’d count on to run into a sequence hyperlink fence. He truly obtained snarled within the fence a bit on his leap, which ended up making the catch simpler, since he may need overshot the ball in any other case. I don’t suppose he’s going to win a Gold Glove anytime quickly, however for a man who obtained moved to the outfield extra lately than I’ve put fuel in my automobile, it was a heck of an effort.

Will this all work out? I don’t know. It hasn’t actually clicked but – an inning after he made that catch, the A’s introduced in Seth Brown to pinch-run after which play protection. When Seth Brown (profession Outs Above Common within the outfield: -9) is coming in for protection, one thing bizarre is going on. However kudos to the A’s for making an attempt to squeeze three first base/DH sorts into their lineup, and kudos to Soderstrom for going together with it.

5. Stroll-offs
Everybody loves a walk-off, until it’s in opposition to their staff. The joy! The sudden-death drama! The ball slowly bouncing towards the pitcher because the runner sprints for first. Wait, have been you guys not considering of the identical walk-off that I used to be?

There’s simply a lot to like about this play. First, I like how dedicated Luke Jackson was to changing that batted ball into an out. Now, ought to he have been? Undoubtedly not! Watch this snippet of the play, think about that you simply don’t know the way it ends, and attempt to guess the place the ball goes:

Proper subject, proper? That’s what you guessed? Good. Now, bear in mind once I praised Arenado for his means to make tough, off-platform throws? Jackson shouldn’t be Arenado. Falling away, off the flawed leg, sidearm? No probability. Have a look at how far off the bag Burger went making an attempt to get this ball:

Jackson ought to have eaten it, or not less than let third baseman Josh Smith deal with it. After his ill-fated effort, it was only a matter of how far Heliot Ramos may run earlier than the Rangers recovered the ball. And about that:

Poor Burger. While you dive on the infield like that, you’re basically taking your self out of the play when you don’t snare the ball. However there was no backup. Adolis García flat out misplaced the ball. He was taking part in deep and shaded towards triples alley in proper middle, however he took an abysmal path to play the carom, staying so deep within the outfield that he left Burger on an island. What number of first basemen dive after which additionally throw the ball from 60 toes deep within the outfield on the identical play?

From there, it simply obtained worse. Jackson obtained up from his sprawling tumble and ambled ineffectually into foul territory. I don’t know each staff’s infield rotations, however my cash says Jackson was presupposed to be the first backup at third base. It’s an necessary spot to again up; when an infielder tosses the ball into proper subject making an attempt to make a play at first, the subsequent throw is nearly all the time a protracted one from foul territory in proper to 3rd base.

Smith then gambled, absolutely relying on both Jackson or left fielder Dustin Harris to be there backing him up. He stayed on the bag for so long as potential, hoping to tag Ramos out, as a substitute of leaving the bottom to play the ball. I can perceive why; a runner on third with nobody out is sort of as unhealthy a scenario for the Rangers as what truly occurred. The draw back is theoretically small, too. With the ball having been in play for therefore lengthy, and the motion so distant, absolutely one of many two gamers tasked with backing up could be there to get the ball if it skipped previous Smith. Solely, nope:

The truth is, Ramos inadvertently led Smith to take that threat by getting a foul learn at second base. He, like just about everybody within the stadium, noticed the ball skip previous Burger and assumed it was a one-base error. That’s how that form of play – throwing error on a ball that was fielded close to the mound – normally ends. The appropriate fielder performs it off the wall and throws it to 3rd, whereas the baserunner cruises into second. However when García didn’t present and Burger needed to make the play, Ramos picked up the third base coach and stepped on the fuel in a rush:

One participant making a mistake? That’s form of boring. I’ve seen that play 1,000,000 instances. However the extra gamers that make errors, the extra entertained I get. And on this one, seemingly half the Rangers on the sector and in addition the one Big on base goofed up. That’s how you find yourself with a walk-off that travels precisely one foot within the air, with a -66 diploma launch angle. I used to be at this recreation, as I discussed earlier, and I misplaced my thoughts when this occurred. I simply couldn’t comprehend the way it may’ve been potential. However then, across the time Ramos crossed third base, I finished monitoring who was presupposed to be the place and simply watched the fantastic celebration:



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