MLBits: TV Ratings Way Up, Yadi is Back, Reds Respond to Brennaman Comments, More

08/22/2020 Sports, World


I do not know about you, but I’m just so scared about Craig Kimbrel’s next appearance from the bullpen. He now has three consecutive scoreless outings along with seven strikeouts, just 1 walk (and 1 HBP) ​​combined, and no hits as runs allowed. And he did so while pumping his fastball up to 99 MPH while suddenly baffled with his curve (including swinging!).

I do not think he will be very double de closer just yet – David Ross can even continue to use Jeremy Jeffress and Rowan Wick even in the 9th at times – but if Kimbrel can do it again, even though he looks as good as he did last time out, he can that closer commission earlier also long, leaving the 8th in the capable hands of Jeffress and Wick.

Brewers placed Corey Knebel on the 10-day IL

Speaking of shutters, the Brewers have placed former All-Star closer Corey Knebel on the 10-day IL with a tight left hamstring (he is 6.2 IP in his return from Tommy John surgery). To be sure, underperformance may have played some role in this particular trip to the IL – he has allowed 4 homers and 7 earned runs in 6.2 IP this season – although his speed is down over 3 MPH and was rocked by just two nights ago the Twins.

Manager Craig Counsell said: “But he has some mechanical problems…. This hamstring, maybe it’s the kind of one of those things that this can cause something of. “

I’m sure we’ll see Knebel back soon enough, but it’s fair to ask how effective he will actually be this season. It’s easy to forget how great he once was to the Brewers.

Yadi is back

The Cardinals activated Yadier Molina from the list of injured (COVID-19) for last night’s opener against the Reds. That, of course, he went 2-4, grabbing all 9.0 innings, while leading the Cardinals to a bounce-back victory that brought them back to .500.

Elsewhere on the roster, Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong reported to the Cardinals alternate training site with a view to returning this Monday, depending on how he looks this disaster weekend. Meanwhile, the plan for Carlos Martinez is still in the air, while reliever Ryan Helsley plus outfielders Austin Dean and Lane Thomas are expected to return this weekend.

No surprise (but very good news) … Women and young people like MLB, too

We touched on this regarding ESPN’s baseball ratings earlier this week, but apparently the trend is true across the market: More people are watching baseball than usual, and that’s especially true for the women’s and youth market, two really good signs for the longing for the sport:

According to Nielsen (via The Athletic), viewership among women between the ages of 18-24 increased by 41% through the first two weeks of this season compared to the first two weeks last year, while viewership among women aged 25-54 with 15% up. Ratings are also all over the place, with a handful of teams (San Diego, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Minnesota, and Cleveland) showing some of the most promising, all of which are a very good thing for the sports (and for a team like the Cubs who will soon be looking more seriously to create their own RSN).

Now, of course, there are all kinds of caveats when playing, from a shorter season, to more playoff teams, to tempo-or-play improvements (tell that to anyone who’s starting to see a Yu Darvish, I kid, I kid … ), to the shortage of script TV due to the pandemic, but that does not mean that there are not very important takeaways either: namely, the market is here. People, women, children – they are interested. MLB now faces the challenge of keeping them engaged over this season. There … we will see.

Reds Commentary on Thom Brennaman

Sure, now you’ve caught wind of what Thom Brennaman said Wednesday about a hot mic, but if not, you can check out our post from that night (or just take my word that it was both homophobic and horrible). In the immediate aftermath of the comments, most Reds did not get a chance to venture on to the incident, although the time is over and they have some things to say.

I think Joey Votto did a particularly nice job:

‘It’s too bad there are people who have been held and oppressed and have had horrible experiences in their lives in connection with that word, because of that word. From our perspective, and I’m always awake to talk about things like this, because I’m not a perfect person and no one is within our workspace, but it’s important that it is recognized that this is wrong, and that many people probably felt pain that they had experienced in the past when they heard that word about just a ballgame. ‘

‘They just tried to vote to watch a ballgame, to support their local team … they just want to watch a baseball game, and so on. … I think collectively, it’s just a reminder that we always have to get better, and that we always have to live with empathy and compassion, listen and grow as human beings. ”

Amir Garrett, also:

Focus on sports… What’s a new idea?

Sometimes I forget that as a fan of the Cubs, where there are very, very few fan-driven “distractions” at ball games, that other teams and people in the sector can literally be upset about broadcasts focusing on it game, even: “What the television audience is watching are the basic games being played in their traditional form without any accounts. And that’s refreshing.” Like… what? I mean, okay. But okay.

To be honest, when I was lucky enough to go to Game 1 of the 2016 World Series in Cleveland, I was * blown away * by how much things they did intermittent innings to “entertain” the fans in the stands. Like … it was the World Series. We are entertained. Hawar. “I agree, I agree,” said Dave Kaval, the 44-year-old president of Oakland A’s, “and finding the fun and spectacle of what’s happening on the diamond. I think that there could actually be some benefits to it, by focusing people’s attention on the sport. “

Odds and Ends:

• This is not entirely unexpected, but it certainly sucks, and is a reminder that although baseball is back in our lives, our lives are not at all back to normal:

• Almost every player who tests positive and is eventually stopped for performance enhancing drugs claims not to know what they have taken, how it would help themselves, or why they test positive, but it seems at least some of those players might tell the truth:

• Trevor Bauer does and says things again:

• With friends like Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez does not even have to play defense:

Official scorebook: Fly to the third baseman … LOL:

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