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Another week, another No-Hitter. Or Two. This time from an unlikely candidate in Wade Miley. Good for him, but what is slightly troublesome here, is the fact that he threw it against the Indians. This gives the Indians the dubious distinction of being one of eighteen teams in history to be No-Hit twice in the same season and there are still nearly five months of baseball left! Third times the charm? Let’s hope not for their sake. John Means threw the other No-No which was a dropped third strike away from a Perfect Game, he has looked phenomenal this year. Something not many Orioles pitchers have been able to say for quite some time.

In other notable news, Sean Manaea flirted with a Perfect Game the same night as Miley which was eventually broken up by the Rays in the eighth inning. Also, Jacob deGrom was scratched in his first start of the week with an inflamed lat muscle, which is something to keep an eye on.

After a little more than a month’s worth of baseball in the books I think one thing is certain. This is going to be the year of the pitcher. There have been four No-Hitters, more strikeouts and offense is down across the entire league. Does some of this have to do with April weather? Sure, but the real “issue” depending on how you look at it is, the MLB’s doctoring of baseballs for the third time in four years. At least this time they admitted they were doing it. We expected offense to be down, but to what degree? Week by week we’re finding out just what degree that is. And for the sake of this weekly post alone, it’s made for some riveting writing I will say that. With that said my weekly No-No pick of the week is…(drum roll please)… Shane Bieber! Revenge time! Now let’s get goin.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

There is a sense of validation when you go and look at the roster %’s for players who have been previously mentioned in the series.  Unfortunately, there is also a sense of dread when you find out that a certain recommendation of Austin Gomber has led to a new term.  Being “Gomber-ed”.  Remember tho, we are still a mere 18% of the way through the season, and there will be plenty of good and bad decisions ahead.  This week incorporates a few more inter-league games, and will set the path for future weeks in which a H2H matchup can be in your favor if preparation is taken.  Or if I keep getting Gomber-ed, more like Preparation H.  

Please, blog, may I have some more?

“Who freaking cares.” That’s the question I asked myself as I sat down to write the 1,000th bold prediction article that you’re going to see this coming week. Listen, I love those types of articles. But me writing another bold predictions piece is basically like taking a piss in the ocean. It may feel good but it ultimately gets lost in the vast ecosystem, leaving absolutely no impact. I’m not really sure where my piss would have the most impact but I at least want my last article of the pre-season to be of benefit to you, my loyal reader. That’s why this week we’ll be looking ahead at favorable early-season matchups for you to take advantage of. Hold on a sec, let me go take a leak (in a toilet bowl) and then we’ll get started.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I was a big Spencer Turnbull believer at the beginning of the season — but now I’m not too sure. And unfortunately, he has no one to blame but himself. He’s got the highest BB/9 in the league with a 5.97 mark. Yee-ikes! How bad is that number? Well since 2000 the worst BB/9 was Matt Clement’s 5.49 in 2000. He ended the season with a 5.14 ERA. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1994 to find someone with a worse BB/9 than Turnbull right now. A young man by the name of Todd Van Poppel of the Oakland Athletics had a 6.87 BB/9. His ERA at the end of that year was 6.09. The Brewers shouldn’t be a tough team — they have the 3rd worst OPS vs righties in the league. However, he faced them his last start and — you guessed it — walked way too many guys (5 in 5 IP) and allowed 5 ERs. He’s never had the best control — but almost 6 per game is unprecedented. In the minors, he hovered around a 3.5 BB/9 mark. Right now he’s at the bottom of his tier and looking down because if you look through some of his previous starts this season when he keeps the walks below 4 he can have some success — but unfortunately, that often isn’t the case. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?