MFY Season of Doom 2025

[Lefty Specialist]

Marcus Stroman is probably the happiest guy in camp.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Marcus Stroman is probably the happiest guy in camp.

 

That seems to be against his nature.

[metirish]

Gerrit Cole is getting an MRI on his right elbow , that's hardly ever good news

[metirish]

Jim Bowden on The Athletic reports a source says Cole has been "recommended for TJ surgery" , they are waiting on s second opinion

[Fman99]

I think doctor's cut his elbow open and find that it's all just ticker tape in there where it should be tendons and such.

Sucks to suck

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Buster Olney today was making it sound like this is definitely headed to TJ and that Cole will miss all of this year and the start of next season. Likely won't see him until the All-Star Game in 2026 - which will be in Philly, by the way. Back-to-back NL East stadiums with the game in Atlanta this season.

[MFS62]

Jim Bowden on The Athletic reports a source says Cole has been "recommended for TJ surgery" , they are waiting on s second opinion

 

Channeling Rodney Dangerfield, "The second opinion is... he's ugly."

Later

[metirish]

Passan reports Cole will have TJ surgery tomorrow

[Frayed Knot]

When Cole came up lame in ST last season (and wound up missing most of the first half of the season) I opined that his loss might be bigger than any one player to his team. I based that on my assessment of the Yanx losing the reigning CY winner combined with their thin rotation behind him. Turned out they had the best staff in the majors while he was out thanks to some serious overachieving by others including the unforeseen (at least by me) emergence of the eventual RoY in Luis Gil. But in the second half the others started regressing to their means and the staff as a whole was actually worse with Cole in the rotation than it had been while he was out.

But this time it's Cole for the entire season and Gil is already out for at least the first half. They added a bunch of offensive parts in an attempt to make up for the loss of Soto but really only Max Fried on the pitching side. And while he'll surely help, they're then dependent on a combo of Stroman, Clarke Schmidt, Carlos Rodon, and ... ?

Rookie Will Warren? NRIs Carlos Carrasco and/or Alan Winans?? And then there's old favorite TBA.

[metirish]

Dom Smith opts out of his contract with the MFY

[MFS62]

Those first two homers would have been outs in a real major league ballpark.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Dom Smith opts out of his contract with the MFY

 

Would like to see him hook on somewhere, but the idea that Dom has much of a career left is quickly fading from view.

So back to the Yanx for a sec: their first three opponents this year, and four of their first five, are NL clubs.

Host the Brews for three games, then the same for the DBacks. After that they hit the road for the Pirate's home

opening series followed, finally, by a series in Detroit, after which they return home to for three games vs the Giants.

[metirish]

Custom engineered bats ? What's going on here ?

[kcmets]

Since they periodically check the pitchers hands and gloves,

maybe they should randomly 'x-ray' the bats.

Gosh, the corking era seems so freakin' long ago.

[Frayed Knot]

The bats in question simply have the 'barrel' (the fattest part) closer to the center of the bat while the end starts to taper.

They're perfectly legal as they don't exceed length or weight limits, the weight is merely redistributed.

Volpe and Chisholm are using them so far.

[Centerfield]

So then pitch them outer half.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Custom engineered bats ? What's going on here ?

 

I just caught up to this story. IF the new bats did indeed cause all of those HRs, you can expect the rest of the league to begin switching over. Like pronto.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That's what I was thinking too. Use the "torpedo bats" until they get banned.

[Channel9]

If the bats actually are making a difference expect pitchers to adjust.

End of story.

[Frayed Knot]

Obviously too small a sample to draw any conclusions yet.

Yanx hit 15 HRs in their first three games but, AFAIK, only Jazz Chisholm, (3) Anthony Volpe (2) and Clay Bellinger (1) are using the 'Torpedo' bat. Judge (5) says he has no interest in changing anything ... and why would he!

The theory behind this is to get a better result when getting jammed by a pitch. But you wouldn't think those would turn into HRs. Bloops over the IF, maybe, instead of wood-shattering dribblers.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The theory behind this is to get a better result when getting jammed by a pitch.

 

My understanding is that a "torpedo" bat has a weightier sweet spot. Some of the bat's mass has been transferred to the sweet spot, the area on the bat that batters desire to hit the ball with. Balls struck at the sweet spot will now carry faster and farther. This has nothing to do with batters hitting the ball better while jammed.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6243085/2025/03/31/mlb-torpedo-bats-players-intrigued/

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6240911/2025/03/29/yankees-new-bats-torpedo-home-runs/

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6241862/2025/03/30/yankees-bats-aaron-leanhardt-marlins/

[batmagadanleadoff]

So then pitch them outer half.

 

If the bats actually are making a difference expect pitchers to adjust.

End of story.

 

Youse mean pitchers should avoid pitching to the sweet spot? That's what pitchers have been doing, or trying to do, since baseball was invented.

[Frayed Knot]

My understanding is that a "torpedo" bat has a weightier sweet spot. Some of the bat's mass has been transferred to the sweet spot, the area on the bat that batters desire to hit the ball with. Balls struck at the sweet spot will now carry faster and farther. This has nothing to do with batters hitting the ball better while jammed.

 

It's more like the weight/sweet spot has been shifted.

The fattest part of these new bats is now slightly closer to handle causing the previously fattest part to start to taper a bit towards the very end.

You can always make a bigger sweet spot merely by adding more wood. But of course more wood means more weight which is not what most hitters want, plus there are upper limits on both weight and length. This bat simply takes some of the heft from the end and shifts it inward while keeping the weight more or less the same although a 'torpedo' bat may feel lighter than a same weight traditional one because the weightier portion is now closer to the hands.

A ball now hit off the 'new' sweet spot isn't going to have anymore juice behind it than one previously hit off the traditional sweet spot since it's not a bigger barrel, it's just a slightly relocated barrel. In fact it might even have somewhat less oomph since the center of the bat is traveling more slowly than the end no matter how fat or thin it is. But for those players who feel that that they make contact towards the middle of the bat more often than they do off the traditional barrel (and in this age of hard throwers that's not hard to fathom) then maybe the new design could help them make more solid contact more often, or even just stay alive in an AB more often.

[batmagadanleadoff]

My understanding is that a "torpedo" bat has a weightier sweet spot. Some of the bat's mass has been transferred to the sweet spot, the area on the bat that batters desire to hit the ball with. Balls struck at the sweet spot will now carry faster and farther. This has nothing to do with batters hitting the ball better while jammed.

 

A ball now hit off the 'new' sweet spot isn't going to have anymore juice behind it than one previously hit off the traditional sweet spot since it's not a bigger barrel, it's just a slightly relocated barrel. In fact it might even have somewhat less oomph since the center of the bat is traveling more slowly than the end no matter how fat or thin it is.

 

"He invented the “Torpedo” barrel. It brings more wood - and mass - to where you most often make contact as a hitter."

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6243085/2025/03/31/mlb-torpedo-bats-players-intrigued/

I think we're both right.

"The bats — with their torpedo-like shape — are custom-made to player preferences and are designed so that the densest part of the bat is where that particular hitter most often makes contact with the baseball, said Leanhardt, who became a field coordinator with the Miami Marlins in the offseason."

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6241862/2025/03/30/yankees-bats-aaron-leanhardt-marlins/

[MFS62]

But for those players who feel that that they make contact towards the middle of the bat more often than they do off the traditional barrel (and in this age of hard throwers that's not hard to fathom) then maybe the new design could help them make more solid contact more often, or even just stay alive in an AB more often.

 

As Yogi said, "Half of this game is 90% mental".

The change makes them feel more confident.

But from a Physics standpoint, FK is right - the more mass toward the end of the bat generates more power (assuming contact) if the sweet spot is out there.

My science* starts to dim out when I try to figure if there will be more broken bats when the hitter gets jammed with the new shaped bats.

Later

* = calculating angular momentum

[Frayed Knot]

"The bats — with their torpedo-like shape — are custom-made to player preferences and are designed so that the densest part of the bat is where that particular hitter most often makes contact with the baseball, said Leanhardt, who became a field coordinator with the Miami Marlins in the offseason."

 

Right, because hitting the ball on the traditional sweet spot -- what modern lingo likes to call "barreling it up" -- is hard. Great when it happens, but not easy to do often. So if/when a hitter finds out that, despite wanting to make contract THERE, where he actually makes contact most often is HERE, then you re-shape the bat so as to shift more wood towards that spot. Again, not a bigger sweet spot but a readjusted one that the hitter will hopefully find more often.

Will there be more HRs as a result? Maybe, although I suspect the Yanqui numbers from this weekend are more incidental than cause & effect.

If things work as designed a hitter gets more balls on the 'barrel' but also a slower barrel. Also those balls contacting towards the end at what used to be the barrel will have the opposite case of more bat speed but less weight behind them.

 

My Calculus runs out when I try to figure if there will be more broken bats when the hitter gets jammed with the new shaped bats.

 

Theoretically there will be fewer since the heftiest part of the bat is now closer to the handle and therefore closer to the point of contact on a 'jam job'.

otoh, a pitch that is truly in "on his thumbs", as announcers like to say, is still hitting the thinnest part of the stick and will likely produce the same results and same amount of kindling.

btw, I think this topic could use some splitting off

[Centerfield]

So then pitch them outer half.

 

If the bats actually are making a difference expect pitchers to adjust.

End of story.

 

Youse mean pitchers should avoid pitching to the sweet spot? That's what pitchers have been doing, or trying to do, since baseball was invented.

 

Yes. But assuming it’s a regular barrel, the idea is to live on the corners. If the barrel is now middle in, then the batter should be vulnerable away.

[metirish]

MFY resign Dom Smith

[MFS62]

MFY resign Dom Smith

 

Memo to Dom:

The new bats won't help.

Later

[metirish]

Adam Ottavino signed by the MFY, and added to active roster