MLBits: Padres Get Manager, Lose Outfielder, Voting Shenanigans, Harvey Angry, More

Jun 18, 2015

For the second time in the week, let’s look at some news from around the league …

After firing manager Bud Black on Monday, the Padres began the long search for his replacement. One day later, and they have their man:

Pat Murphy has been named the club's interim manager for remainder of 2015 season pic.twitter.com/lNCsZokUax

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 16, 2015

Murphy, who managed for the AAA Chihuahuas over the past three seasons and at the collegiate level for twenty years before that, was interviewed along with current bench coach Dave Roberts (who managed on Monday night as the teams’ interim interim manager) and others. The Padres have not committed to Murphy past the 2015 season. You can read more on Murphy and the hiring here and here.

He’ll be without Wil Myers, though, who’s having surgery on his left wrist – that’s not even the wrist he hurt last year – and will miss a couple months.

Over at FanGraphs, Owen Watson sheds some love on Anthony Rizzo and his elite level strikeout rate in 2015. It’s a great read that pairs Rizzo in some very elite company. The main take away is that Rizzo has found a way to increase his power AND lower his strikeout rate, at the same time. I hate to spoil the money quote, but it’s too good to omit: “Rizzo’s 2015 is the equivalent of making a Ferrari go a little faster while using less gas.” Well done, Mr. Watson, well done.

With apologies to Omar Infante, there may be some “shenanigans” tied to the All Star Voting software in 2015. Specifically, over at Sporting News, Jesse Spector brings a couple of interesting, uhm, developments associated with incorrect voting calculations. Individuals have received emails thanking them for voting the maximum number of times … without ever casting a single vote. Interestingly, Alex Hall, a writer for the SB Nation blog Athletics Nation, was thanked for voting and for selecting the Royals (who are blowing away the pack) as his favorite club – again, without casting a single vote. There isn’t evidence of foul play, as it can easily be a computer error/glitch/what-have-you, but in light of the Cardinals hacking scandal, I think the word ‘shenanigans’ works just fine.

After carrying a 7.20 ERA in his previous four starts, Matt Harvey threw seven shut-out innings with four hits and six strike outs on Tuesday. After the game, though, Harvey got a little perturbed, as reporters continued to ask him if “his season was at a crisis point?” and if “he brought too much anger to the mound?” Harvey responded by saying, “I’m not answering that bull****,” and left the interview. Although his delivery could have been better, I don’t disagree with his message. I know that players are human and their emotions can affect their performance, but we too often find reporters trying to lead and create storylines, even if they don’t necessarily exist, because it’s more interesting. I try my best to avoid things like #TWTW and “Who wanted What more,” focusing instead on what actually happens on the field.

The Golden State Warriors have a very interesting strategy for monitoring and maintaining player health, throughout the course of the season. The training staff and data programmers created a “readiness” rating, relative for each player, built on a 0-100 scale. Every day, the athletes answer different questions regarding their health/wellness/etc., the results of which help dictate how they are played/handled during that day’s game or practice. I don’t know much about basketball, but apparently the Warriors have a team full of injury prone players, but avoided any serious losses (presumably) due to this new program. This seems like a great idea to me; and in an era of elevated injuries, I hope it finds its way to baseball sooner rather than later.

written by

Michael Cerami

Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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