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MLB News & Moments You Should Know – September 8

A Cardinal comeback to cap off the night!

Adam Sloate
MLB Morning News 9/8/2022

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

 

Today’s Headlines

 

The MLBPA is Now an Officially and Certifiably Cool Union

The MLBPA is now officially part of the AFL-CIO.

The AFL-CIO stands for the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations. Instead of one labor union, it is many labor unions combined, which allows member unions to ally with others and seek greater amounts of aid for their struggles. The AFL-CIO is also a lobbyist, organizer, and voice of many labor unions rolled into one. Union members communicate with other unions, advocate for new legislation, and so on. Some of the benefits a union member (whose union is part of the AFL-CIO) might receive include discounts on car purchases, credit cards, mortgages, cell phones, and more. While this might not matter to the Mike Trouts of the world, it sure does matter to Joe Average in the minor leagues, who needs every penny he can get.

For those looking to go deeper on the benefits of joining the AFL-CIO, here’s a great thread:

 

Judge HR Update

HOT TAKE ALERT: This Aaron Judge fella is pretty good…

Could he beat Roger Maris’ single-season HR record of 61? Well, he’s at 55 with 25 games to go, so…probably? Judge has been on the tear of all tears lately (4 homers in 4 straight games), though, so his homer pace might be a little slower going forward than it’s been over the past few weeks.

Of course, Judge’s success is coming at a very tumultuous time for the Yankees, who sit just 5 games ahead of the ever-efficient Tampa Bay Rays. That AL East lead has slowly tapered away as the calendar flipped to August and September. The Rays still aren’t fully healthy, as they’re missing a handful of starting-caliber players, including Shane McClanahan (15-day IL), Wander Franco (10-day), and Shane Baz (60-day). Oh, and Tyler Glasnow is starting a rehab assignment now? If the rotation is back to healthy-ish come playoff time, the Rays will have some fun decisions to make.

 

Mike Trout’s Hot Too

4 homers in 4 games, you say? Well, Michael Nelson Trout can do that too:

It’s 100 degrees at the game, but hey, that just helps heat up Trout’s bat and send that ball absolutely flying. Speaking of people on pace for ridiculous things, Trout has played just 96 games and is still at 4.7 fWAR and will probably hit that 5.0 fWAR mark despite missing a bunch of games. He’s also homered 31 times in 96 games.

The weird part: This is Mike Trout’s worst season of at least 100 games (he’s at 96 but I’m going to assume he’ll hit 100) since 2016. A quick look at the numbers:

  • Slash line of .275/.364/.607. Good, obviously, but not Trout good.
  • 10.8% BB/28.9 K%. Highest K% of his career and second-lowest BB% over a full season.
  • Lowest wOBA since 2014 and lowest xwOBA of the Statcast era.
  • Tied for lowest wRC+ since 2014.
  • 1 stolen base

And yet, Trout won the MVP Award in 2014 and 2016 (and 2019, but that’s beside the point) in some of the worst statistical seasons of his career (8.3 and 8.6 fWAR in 2014 and 2016, respectively and hilariously). Did you know Trout’s pretty good?

 

Cardinal Comeback

Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good!

Paul Goldschmidt put the Cardinals up 1-0 in the fourth:

Then:

Bottom of the Ninth:

  • Brendan Donovan single
  • Paul Goldschmidt walk
  • Nolan Arenado ground-rule double to score Donovan and put Goldy on third.
  • Corey Dickerson RBI groundout to make it 5-3 Nats.
  • Tyler O’Neill walk
  • Nolan Gorman strikes out swinging to put the Cardinals down to their final out.
  • Yadier Molina single to score Arenado and put O’Neill on second. Molina is pinch-run for by Ben DeLuzio. Runners are now on first and second.

Then:

 

Best Moments from Wednesday

 

Johnny Cueto’s Timing Troll

So this is how he has a 2.87 ERA.

The magic of 36-year-old Johnny Cueto shouldn’t be ruined, so skip this part if you want to preserve it.

However, Cueto is striking out 15.5% of the batters he faces (!) and has one of the lowest K-BB% of his career. At least he’s not walking a lot of people, with a 5.5% BB%. His HR/FB numbers are reaching career-lows and he is leaving 80% of his runners on base. And, if that’s not enough to convince you, Cueto’s xERA and FIP are a full point higher than his ERA. He might make it to the end of the season with this kind of luck. Let’s hope so!

 

Thanks, SNY!

Steve Gelbs found it in his heart to give Bob from North Jersey his first-ever TV exposure!

Gelb didn’t give Bob the ball, which is a little rude, but at least Bob got a good story out of the experience–and a Mets win.

Gelb should’ve asked Bob if he knows of Central Jersey, which absolutely exists.

More PNC Park Shenanigans:

 

Alek Manoah: “[Redacted]”

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.: Starting PG for the Toronto Raptors for the 2022-23 season.

 

A Collection of Heads Down Baseball

Firstly, Bally Sports Atlanta was caught lacking with this programming issue:

El Mago was caught lacking by the Halos’ pitching:

The ump was caught lacking at Yankee Stadium:

Craig Counsel went with a position player against the Rockies, down by a mere 6 runs. (Heads down baseball? You decide!)

 

Injuries

 

Max Scherzer is headed back to the IL and will miss his next start on Friday. Starling Marte is also day-to-day with a finger fracture.

Brandon Lowe was activated off the injured list. Vidal Bruján was optioned to Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move. Tyler Glasnow began a Minor League rehab assignment by pitching a scoreless inning for Durham yesterday.

Buckle up, there are a million updates from the Yanks: Josh Donaldson went on the paternity list. Giancarlo Stanton is day-to-day with a left foot/ankle injury. DJ LeMahieu is now seeking opinions from specialists on his left big toe injury. Anthony Rizzo was placed on the IL due to migraines on August 6th.

Eric Lauer exited yesterday’s game with elbow tightness. He gave up 7 ER over 2.2 innings against the Rockies, coming out of the game after conceding a 3-run dinger to Michael Toglia. Freddy Peralta also starts today after being scratched from his scheduled start on Monday.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

The Next Great Arizona Diamondback Pitcher?! – Pitch Breakdown — Nick Pollack, PitcherList

Ranking the top 10 MLB rookies in AL, NL: Julio Rodriguez, Braes’ duo lead strong class — Jim Bowden, The Athletic

Where to sit to catch a historic Judge homer — Mike Petriello, MLB.com

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)

Adam Sloate

Die-hard Angels fan since birth; misses the good ol' days of Vladdy, Kendrys, and Weaver. Temple University alumnus, UCLA Law student.

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