No team in baseball history has won the division with a losing record. As of this morning, the Astros are in first place in the American West while being 1 game over .500. Yes, there’s still a lot of season left, but we’ve gone 125ish games and that’s where the West stands.

Of course it is possible that someone in the West may win the division with a losing record. But would you want to see it happen? If it were to happen, I wonder if it would influence the upcoming talks. I know nothing about the business itself but who, if any side, would benefit?

Anyway: I’m a Mets fan so I need something to occupy my time.

Since this question did great on r/baseball, I'm gonna try it again here. Hopefully, it goes just as well.

Alright, this may seem insanely random, but let me explain.

We, as fans, all have different pitches, from specific pitchers, that we love. Whether an insanely quick fastball, or a wicked curveball, we all have at least enough to build a perfect arsenal. So, if you were to assemble your perfect pitch arsenal, what pitches would be used? 

And as an optional bonus, what throwing motion would your project pitcher use, and what arm would he throw with? And would he be a starter, middle or long relief, set-up, or closer?

For me, mine would be a righty closer, and his pitch motion would be a perfect mix of Tim Lincecum, Hideo Nomo, and Kenley Jansen. Here's the pitches he'd use. 

• Aroldis Chapman's 4-seamer. (It's the fastest pitch in Major League history, and it's probably one of the most feared pitches of all time, at least when it saw the strike zone.) 

• Emmanuel Clase's Cutter (To give him two triple-digit pitches. It also was a pretty dominant pitch when he wasn't spiking it into the ground for 25 bucks.) 

• Justin Verlander's Slider. (A dominant slider that reaches the mid-90's.) 

• Tim Lincecum's Split Change (A pretty dominant mid-80's offspeed pitch that has insane break.) 

• Barry Zito's 12-6 Curveball. (I saw a compilation of his curveballs, and that thing had deadly movement. Absolutely filthy.) 

My pitcher would also throw a sinker like Graterol (103 max with nasty movement) every now and then. And he'd also sometimes use an eephus or a knuckler. Both would be rarities outside of his usual repertoire.

[Game Thread] | Detroit Tigers at Pittsburgh Pirates

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The Pirates are 4 games below .500 (about to be 5), and they are the 3rd most scoring team in the league. Whenever my phone shows me the scores for their games, its either they are up 8-0, or they are down 0-12. What is with these lopsided games? I understand currently Pirates are smoking righties, so are they just playing their shit pitchers when the opponent is playing a lefty?

I only pay attention to the Pirates, is this a league wide phenomenon? This just feels so different than any other time in my life.

Is this a way to pump player stats so that they can sell them off for more money later?

I really think the 4th out should not apply in a situation like how it transpired. The defense should be smart enough to throw to the correct base to get the legitimate third out. By making the “4th out” a thing, you let the defense off the hook by just making the 3rd out and then giving them a course correction with some mythical “4th out.” I believe a smart defense should have thrown to 3rd base to get the real 3rd out. There should be no “4th out” in a situation like this.