Nationals ace Max Scherzer has completed his second no-hitter of the season. The Mets fell victim to an utterly dominating outing. Scherzer fanned 17 hitters. The only base runner reached via error. The win actually has some postseason implications too. The Dodgers are now just one win away from securing home field advantage against New York. Scherzer no-hit the Pirates earlier this year. He struck out 10 in that contest. This was also the second time the Mets were no-hit (Chris Heston).
- Phillies starter Aaron Harang has yet to decide if he’ll play in 2016, tweets Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Harang, 37, posted a 4.86 ERA with 5.72 K/9 and 2.70 BB/9 over 166 and 2/3 innings. Through his first 11 starts, he had a 2.02 ERA and 3.10 FIP, but injuries soon sapped his production. Harang will consult with his family in San Diego before making a decision.
- Newly minted Phillies president Andy MacPhail is part of a long baseball tradition, writes Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer. His father, former baseball executive Lee MacPhail once described his son as decisive, adding “he never second-guesses himself.” The Phillies will hope that decisiveness results in a rapid turnaround after a miserable season. If you’re looking to learn more about the MacPhail dynasty, Fitzpatrick provides a thorough background.
- Against all odds, Nationals infielder Dan Uggla won a roster spot in Spring Training and never gave it up, writes Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Uggla didn’t earn much playing time with the Nationals. Including two plate appearances today, he’s hit .183/.298/.300 in 141 plate appearances. Uggla believes his vision and health are back to where they were in his Marlins days. While it’s unclear if Uggla will find a guaranteed contract this offseason, multiple sources with Washington praised his clubhouse presence.
- The Braves hope to re-sign catcher A.J. Pierzynski, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The soon-to-be 39-year-old had a remarkably productive season after signing a one-year, $2MM contract over the offseason. He’s hit .300/.339/.430 with nine home runs. Pierzynski figures to receive some attention in free agency, but teams may be wary of his age and reputation.
- Mets starter Steven Matz is starting to build a reputation as injury prone, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Personally, it seems too soon to worry over seemingly minor injuries – even if they are poorly timed. However, one rival executive wondered “is he one of those guys where there is always going to be an issue?” For now, the Mets have to decide if and how they want to use him in the postseason. However, it’s possible the club could use him as trade bait over the offseason given their rotation strength. His trade value will be at a low point if rival clubs view him as an injury risk.
- Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki aims to play 10 more years, writes David Waldstein of the New York Times. The former Mariners star has played in 150 games for Miami due to a serious of injuries in the outfield. He’s posted a .233/.286/.284 line over 431 plate appearances. Advanced defensive measures look favorably upon his performance in the outfield. While another 10 years feels like a stretch, Ichiro should receive ample opportunity to reach 3,000 hits. He’s currently 65 shy.
While I wouldn’t mind the Phillies signing a Fister/Latos/Shark, I don’t think they should really look into many pitchers who are going to be guaranteed a roster spot. You’d expect Nola, Eickoff and Morgan will all be in the rotation with no IP limit. From there, you’d have Buchanan, Matt Harrison, Alec Asher, MAG and Severino Gonzalez as guys with MLB experience, then you have a handful of top 20 prospects (organizational) that are middle of the rotation upside in Thompson, Eflin, Lively, Windle, Biddle, and Pivella who could all get a look. You should be able to get 162 starts out of all of those guys.
You’d figure the opening day rotation will probably be a Nola/Eickoff/Morgan/Harrison/FA mix though.
Most of those guys you listed are trash. The Phillies have nothing to lose by signing a guy like Fister. Plus, there’s no need for a season this dismal again. The Phillies should sign a couple veterans so they can try and at least not be the worst team again. It’s good for the younger guys to develop in an environment that is somewhat productive
Thompson and Eflin are 2 really good pitching prospects. Lively and Windle atleast have mid-rotation upside and Biddle/Pivella are wild cards.
Harrison is going to be in the rotation, Buchanan and Asher are atleast going to get shots.
How are you ever going to know if Asher is going to be anything if you don’t let him pitch? 5 bad starts and 1 good one isn’t a story teller on anyone.
As long as Fister doesn’t have a QO (which he won’t), I wouldn’t mind picking him up either.
My general statement about staying away from FA is more regarded toward multi year deals. Guys like Leake, Kennedy, Kazmir and one of the 4 aces.
Why not sign a QO guy? The Phillies won’t be losing their first rounder and Fister/Leake/Kazmir will more than likely be much more valuable to them than a 2nd round pick. Nola is a great prospect, but he is not ready to lead a big league staff. They need at least one veteran at the top of the rotation to take the pressure off. Otherwise Nola will rapidly lose confidence being on the losing end of matchups against the aces of the NL.
I wouldn’t sign Fister due to injury problems. Neither Leake nor Kazmir are QO eligible due to mid-season trades. Either would offer veteran experience in a rotation lacking it. Colón could be another option. As a Mets fan, he has played a pivotal role in helping the Mets’ young arms transition from “throwers” to “pitchers”. Any of Leake/Kazmir/Colón/Latos could be a decent signing for the team.
I’d want to sign Latos, Fister, or Shark if I were a rebuilding team – but only on a one-year deal and with the idea of selling them mid-season if they perform well and the team is out of contention.
I’m not sure whether Scherzer should feel elated (two no hitters is an amazing achievement) or devastated (he lost two perfect games in the same season– one on an error and one on a HBP). Either way, it was an outstanding performance tonight. I suppose the most amazing aspect of this all, though, is that the guy who threw two no hitters this year likely won’t finish higher than fourth in the Cy Young voting.
It’s just as strange that the rookie (Heston) that pitched the first no hitter of the year and led all rookies in wins is unlikely to even get votes in the ROY voting.
He’s been awful lately, with a FIP over 4 for the season now. Unlikely to make the Giants’ rotation next year (assuming they are as active as I expect them to be this off-season). WAY too many better rookies, including his teammate Duffy, to be considered.
I wouldn’t consider matz injury prone If it’s only his rookie year. I’d give him 2 more years of injuries to call him that.
He had TJ surgery a couple years ago too.
I hope the Ichiro article is someone’s idea of a joke. I love the guy, but if he plays past 2016, he’s going to seriously tarnish his legacy, much akin to 1977 Brooks Robinson, 1973 Willie Mays, 1975 Bob Gibson, etc. Please just allow us to watch you get to 3,000 hits and gracefully retire.
I don’t think one bad season is going to ruin anyone’s legacy. If you ask anyone who knows what they’re talking about, “whos the best 5 tool player ever,” most of them are going to consider it to be Mays.
If Ichiro still wants to play in 2017, I think someone is going to give him a shot if hes not absolutely terrible in 2016.
I don’t think any of the guys you mention had their legacies tarnished by staying one season too long. Most people now don’t even remember their bad season.
Ichiro has already had a lot of bad seasons, to the point where his career bottom line hitting stats are pretty average (batting average aside, and honestly even that is just being propped up by those absolutely absurd seasons he had early in his career at this point).
A lot of bad seasons? 15 years in the majors. Here are his BA by year .351, .321, .312, .372, .303, .322, .351, .310, .352, .315, .272, .283, .262, .230. 15 years, 4 below .300. Wouldn’t really say .272 or .283 are bad years either honestly. This is the first year in his career he has been worth negative WAR. Only the 3rd out of 15 in which he wasn’t worth at least 1 win. This is only the 2nd season in his career in which he has an OBP below .300. He never was anything more than an average guy. Virtually no power throughout his career so I am not sure what you expect other than average and OBP. Still stole 20 bases the year he hit .262. As far as I, and most people are concerned (My guessing) is that he has had one bad season in his career. Sure, 3 average seasons as well. But how many players keep up their career averages as they approach 40? Unless you have a lot of needles around.
He’ll probably get 3,000 hits here and go back to Japan soon after, where I’m sure he’ll be able to play as long as he wants.