C.J. Wilson says former teammates created bad chemistry for Texas Rangers (RR)

Clean living youth, and social change are the way to go!

Wilson lauded the arrivals of players such as Milton Bradley and Eddie Guardado for their influence in the clubhouse. But he also said there were key players on last year’s team who were more interested in money than in winning baseball games. He also said an unnamed key veteran was “mean” to younger players.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how much better it is now than it was two years ago,” Wilson told KTCK’s Bob Sturm. “And the most obvious thing I can say is, you look at the roster, the guys that we have now versus the guys that we had then.”

...While Wilson didn’t name any departures directly, he told Sturm a “dark cloud” was lifted from the club last July. He also said a “big” and “medium-sized” cloud disappeared after the 2006 season.

The Rangers traded Eric Gagne, Kenny Lofton and Mark Teixeira in the final week of July 2007. Wilson cited Gagne as an excellent teammate but made no mention of the other two players.

“They weren’t interested in being part of a team,” Wilson said of the unnamed players. “They were just interested in bank accounts.”

MLB.com: Bullpen declares independence at home

Whenever Erik Bedard starts a game these days, Mariners relievers know there is about a 99-plus-percent chance that some of them will see some action. Sure enough, the left-hander departed after five innings and 99 pitches on Friday afternoon.
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“(Bedard’s) pitch count was up near 100, so I was already getting ready,” [Sean] Green said. “I also knew they had a lot of right-handers in the lineup today, so I was prepared.”

Bedard, who has now thrown fewer than 100 pitches in each of his past six starts, and has reached triple digits six times in 15 outings this season.
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Bedard dressed quickly and departed Safeco Field without talking to the media—the second consecutive game a Seattle starter has shunned the press. Carlos Silva had no comments after his start on Thursday night.

ESPN: Zambrano quiets Cards’ offense in Edmonds’ homecoming

The return of Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano trumped the soap opera setting of Jim Edmonds’ homecoming and Albert Pujols’ 300th home run. Zambrano came off the 15-day disabled list from a shoulder strain with six spotless innings Friday night, leading Chicago to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a three-game series matching the National League’s top two teams.
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Pujols became the fifth-youngest player to 300 with an eighth-inning shot off the left-field foul pole against Bob Howry. He’s 5-for-9 with two homers against Howry, and made it to the milestone at 28 years, 170 days, beating Hall of Famer Mel Ott by one day. Alex Rodriguez is the youngest to 300 homers at 27 years, 249 days.
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Edmonds, who got a prolonged ovation before his first at-bat, was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Larry King says Barry Bonds still wants to play

and Sandy Koufax still wants to play ringalevio and wear my fave PJ’s during sleepovers!

Barry Bonds would like to play again but realizes it probably will not happen. That was the impression he left with one of his Hollywood friends, CNN talk-show host Larry King, when they chatted two weeks ago.

“I don’t think he’s going to play again,” King said during a visit to China Basin on Friday. “He hasn’t said he’s not going to play again, but I don’t think he’s going to play again. He works out. He goes to UCLA, I think, every day. He’s on the track. If an offer came, would he take it? My impression is yes. Does he expect it? No.”

King said he dined with a baseball person Thursday night and they discussed a rumor that Bonds quietly went to Fenway Park to take batting practice for the Boston Red Sox after David Ortiz got hurt. Although that has not been substantiated, King said, “That would be wild, because he fits there.”

King said Bonds was “a little down, a little sullen” over his parting with San Francisco, adding, “I think he expected more out of the Giants.”

MLB.com: Damon hurt as ball sits on top of wall

With two outs, Kevin Youkilis stepped to the plate for Boston and smacked a fly ball deep to left field. Johnny Damon took chase and crashed against the wall to make the grab. The ball could temporarily be seen in his glove before it popped out.

But then it seemed to disappear, and all eyes—including those of Damon—searched the outfield before a white object was spotted sitting on top of the left-field wall.

“I think it was bizarre in that it stayed on the wall,” said Mike Lowell, who delivered the game-winning three-run homer for Boston in the fifth inning. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.”

In a strange series of events, the ball rocked back and forth while Damon fell backward onto the warning track. As he sat up, the left fielder whipped his head around to locate the ball as it dropped back onto the field with Youkilis legging out a two-run triple to tie the game.
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Instead of making a catch that would have ended the frame for the Red Sox, Damon was forced to leave the game with what was later diagnosed as a contusion and sprain of the AC joint of his left shoulder.

Chicago Tribune blog: Edmonds at odds with La Russa

The first volley of the Cubs-Cardinals showdown was sent Friday afternoon at Busch Stadium when Jim Edmonds ripped former manager Tony La Russa for suggesting Edmonds wanted to bury his Cardinals past.

La Russa had told a newspaper he was disturbed by Edmonds’ comments to Chicago reporters that he wanted to be accepted as a Cub, asking them to stop associating him with the Cardinals.

“I think we ought to follow his lead,” La Russa said… “So I would treat him like he never played here. I would wait until the end of his career and I would remember he was a Cardinal. I would ignore the fact that he was ever here because that’s what he wants. I would honor his request. Forget the Cardinal days until his career his over.”

Edmonds responded Friday afternoon by calling the comments “asinine” and “ridiculous.”

“For someone to say I don’t want to be affiliated with the Cardinals couldn’t be further from the truth, and could be the most asinine thing I ever heard,” Edmonds said. “I was just trying to be respectful to the situation and respectful to the organization I’m in now.”
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La Russa told the media he would shake Edmonds hand if he sees him. When told of that, Edmonds replied: “He’s a (sissy) if he doesn’t.”

FOX: Rosenthal - Dodgers join Brewers in pursuit of Sabathia

The Brewers aren’t the only team pushing hard for Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia. The Dodgers also are heavily in the mix, according to major-league sources.

However, the Dodgers’ bid for Sabathia is complicated by their pursuit of Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson as a replacement for the injured Rafael Furcal, sources say. To get Wilson, the Dodgers would need to trade the Pirates some of the same players that the Indians want for Sabathia, leaving Los Angeles with a choice of one deal or the other.
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While the Dodgers might not offer a prospect better than Brewers Class AA left fielder Matt LaPorta, their proposal for Sabathia would include three players, sources say. Class AA right-hander James McDonald, Class AAA shortstop Chin-Lung Hu and third baseman Andy LaRoche are among the Dodgers’ prospects likely drawing consideration form the Indians.
...
By acquiring Wilson, the Dodgers would signal that they might not intend to keep Furcal, whom they probably consider too big of a physical risk to re-sign as a free agent.

Indians designate closer Borowski for assignment

Bayonne Joe...next stop the Hackensack Troasts.

Indians closer Joe Borowski, last year’s American League saves leader, was designated for assignment on Friday.

The right-hander blew his fourth save in 10 chances on Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox, and was 1-3 with a 7.56 ERA in 18 games this season.

Borowski had 45 saves last season but has struggled since returning from an arm injury. He returned to the Indians in late May after being sidelined for about a month with a strained right triceps that caused him to lose velocity on his pitches.

General manager Mark Shapiro said the club tried to give Borowski every chance but the reliever wasn’t able to return to form.

Yahoo! Sports: Can Kim Ng break the gender barrier?

I don’t know, but I’d have to say she has a better chance than Michelle Malkin....

The air is warm on an afternoon at Dodger Stadium. The sun cuts through the smog like a laser beam. Kim Ng finds a seat in the shade behind home plate and pushes a pair of sleek black sunglasses to the top of her head.

Nice writing, Tim.

Klapisch: Time for Yanks to face reality

“It’s definitely not one of the better [Yankee] teams of the last few years,” said one major league talent evaluator. “Too many things had to go right for them to stay even with the Red Sox, and that’s without knowing Tampa Bay was going to be this good.”

...But there’s no work-around for the slow, insidious decline in Derek Jeter’s performance, one which will eventually bring the Yankees to a brutal, crossroads decision.

At what point will the Bombers decide they can no longer afford to a light-hitting, heavy-strikeout presence in the No. 2 spot? Even more pressing is Jeter’s shrinking range and the need to someday move him out of shortstop.

One major league scout wondered out loud, “Who in that organization is going to be the one to make the move [to shift Jeter to another position]. Who has enough juice to do that?”

Thanks to hard-hitting Zeke Bella Abzug.

Outs Per Swing: Reid Brignac Called Up To Rays

I had a friend that decided one day to only talk only hardcore gibberish and brignac (right after braddiac-nern, of course) was a word he used quite often. He ended up missorting himself on a United Parcel Service carousel and I never heard from him again. Gleep-gleep, old friend, and a hearty hurgnebble welcome to Reid Brignac!

To replace Bartlett the Rays recalled a pair of short stops from Durham including one of their top prospects, Reid Brignac. I’m expecting and hoping that Brignac will take over the starting duties while Bartlett is out with Zobrist being here as a backup plan.  This will give the Rays a chance to see what a future left side of Brignac and Evan Longoria would look like at the Major League level. Brignac was hitting .265/.312/.431 with 7 HR and 38 RBI at Durham. His defense according to several scouting reports has improved tremendously in the past year to two years

It will also allow the Rays to showcase Brignac to other teams as he is one of the Rays most attractive trade pieces. Many wondered about the future of Brignac once the Rays acquired Bartlett and Brignac’s future became even more cloudy when the Rays drafted SS, Tim Beckham, with the 1st overall pick.  I have wondered if the Rays would move Brignac to RF, but we won’tl see him play anything but the middle IF in this call up.

Johnny Damon calls out teammates after loss to Red Sox

Not since “Porky" Brockway’s dickchillian..."EEE-AWK-EEE" call out...have I heard such blather.

After Thursday’s embarrassing loss to the Red Sox, Johnny Damon called out his teammates. He admitted that the Yankees have been a disappointment this season and they are running out of time to turn their season around.

“We’re not playing up to our expectations. That’s never good,” Damon said after the Yankees emerged from the 30-minute team meeting that followed their 7-0 loss to Boston. “The Steinbrenners spent $200 million on us and we haven’t shown what we’re made of. I know this is one game and we have 75 games or so left, but we better do something soon. July 31 comes sooner than you know it, and I know a lot of guys here don’t want to go to another team or even be in that conversation. This is a team that’s built to win, to get to the playoffs and to win a championship. By July 31, we better be in a good spot.

“We’re damn lucky to put on these pinstripes. We definitely need to set a better example of what putting on these pinstripes means.”

“When you put the pinstripes on, there’s a lot of pride that goes with it,” Damon said when asked about the Yankees’ lineup, which went back to struggling a night after scoring 18 runs against the Texas Rangers. “There’s 55,000 fans out there. There are many media outlets that are going to talk about, ‘How come the Yankees aren’t scoring?’ It’s embarrassing.”

FOX Sports: Perry: Twins’ surprise run built on shaky foundation

Barren von Mitterwald?...Never!

A pile of runs and a lack of defense — not your typical Twins team.

On a total level, it’s worth noting that, according to runs scored and runs allowed, the Twins’ record should be three games worse than it is. That doesn’t bode particularly well for the future because teams that over-perform relative to their run differentials tend to come back to earth. It’s partly because of the run differential that Baseball Prospectus gives the Twins just a 7.1% chance of making the postseason. For comparison’s sake, the third-place Tigers have a 15.3% chance, more than twice Minnesota’s odds.

On another level, the Twins’ seeminglyly aberrant performance in clutch situations is also worrisome. Consider: Minnesota leads the majors in batting average with runners on base and in batting average with the bases loaded. They also rank second the majors in batting average with runners in scoring position and two outs, and lead the majors in batting average with runners in scoring position by a full 27 points.

It’s the latter fact — that they’re hitting .313 with runners in scoring position — that raises eyebrows, especially considering that the Twins are batting .276 in all situations. Most often when you see such a huge disparity between those two figures, it’s a matter of luck. It’s not likely that the Twins’ extraordinary performance with runners in scoring position is going to continue.

KEITH HERNANDEZ, JOSE REYES NEARLY COME TO BLOWS ON PLANE (RR)

You know I am only teasing. I love you babies out there — always have.

Jose Reyes and Keith Hernandez had to be separated on the Mets charter plane Sunday night after a tense confrontation over Hernandez’s critical comments about the All-Star shortstop.

A team source described the situation aboard the plane as “very heated.” One player told The Post that he thought Reyes and the popular former Met - now an analyst for the club’s SNY TV network - were close to exchanging punches until others stepped in.

Reyes said yesterday he was angry at Hernandez after numerous friends and relatives told him Hernandez accused the Mets of “babying” Reyes during the broadcast of Sunday’s 3-1 win over the YankeesNew York Yankees at Shea Stadium.

“He got his point [across] and I got mine,” Reyes, when asked to describe the confrontation, told The Post before he drove in three runs in the Mets’ 11-1 victory over the Cardinals last night. “I’m not too happy with the way he’s been talking.”

According to one account, strongly denied by both Reyes and Hernandez, what set Reyes off during the flight was when Hernandez allegedly responded to Reyes’ concerns by saying: “I was just doing my job - you should do yours.”

Plaschke: Dodgers need to play the Angels’ brand of ball

L.A. Times to cut 250 jobs...Plaschke, heed the warning of king of all floating heads, Watson Pritchard..."They’re coming for me now...and then they’ll come for you!”

Who is a ballplayer? Who is not? Who can continue to grow here? Who will not?

Blake DeWitt, he’s a ballplayer.

How do they find a bunch of other guys who play the game the right way like he does?

Some of their other youngsters have much more talent, but, having been coddled since double A, they might never become ballplayers here. It may be time to trade some of that flashy talent for somebody who understands the fundamentals. And, yes, once again, Matt Kemp’s name is being whispered through Dodgers offices.

Players such as Kemp and Andre Ethier and James Loney have been more highly touted than guys such as Casey Kotchman, Maicer Izturis and Erick Aybar.

But it is those Angels who have a better understanding of winning.

Before Thursday, the Dodgers had a better team batting average and on-base percentage than the Angels, while scoring only 10 fewer runs. Yet the Angels had won 11 more games.

Why? The Angels have a culture that believes in winning over statistics, winning over awards, winning over everything.

espn.com: Filing claims syringes will test positive for Clemens’ DNA

Tests of syringes and other steroid paraphernalia that trainer Brian McNamee submitted to federal agents will test positive for Roger Clemens’ DNA, according to a brief filed in court by McNamee’s lawyers.

Will test positive, or have tested positive?

Braves Send Francoeur To Double-A

The Braves Show.com has learned the Atlanta Braves have sent struggling outfielder Jeff Francoeur to Double-A Mississippi. Richmond outfielder Jason Perry will be called up to the big leagues Friday.

Chicago Tribune: Piniella on Marmol: Little bit of a concern (RR)

Cubs manager Lou Piniella spoke to Carlos Marmol Thursday morning about his location after Marmol served up a game-tying three-run homer to Ray Durham Wednesday night. In Piniella’s eyes, Marmol had not lost any confidence.

“He was hitting his head after (Durham) hit the home run,” Piniella said. “So I think he’s OK.”

But Marmol went out Thursday and served up another three-run home run to Rich Aurilia to put the 8-3 loss out of reach. It was the fourth homer he has given up in his last 12 innings, and Piniella now is wondering if Marmol is tipping his pitches.

“It’s hard to give up home runs like he has been giving them up on a consistent basis, even if you tell the hitter what’s coming,” Piniella said. “Maybe he is. Maybe he’s doing something, so we’re going to look at the film [Friday] in St. Louis. It’s starting to be a little bit of a concern, to be quite honest.”

Piniella said he took Sean Gallagher out after five innings Thursday so he could be used in the bullpen, though he didn’t say Gallagher would replace Marmol as a set-up man.

Miami Herald: Broadcaster Buck’s joke backfires

But Buck said by phone Thursday that he was joking. The only broader point he meant seriously, Buck said, was baseball must follow through on efforts to speed up the game.

...Bayless, ESPN’s resident gasbag, said, ``If I’m Bud Selig, I don’t want him being my national voice of baseball.’’

‘’Good for him,’’ Buck said of Bayless’ remark.

But seriously . . . ‘’It was a total joke. If it didn’t come across as that, you fault the joke teller. Baseball has been my life [forever],’’ Buck said, as he recalled accompanying his father, legendary announcer Jack Buck, to games as a child.

Buck assured Thursday that he watches a lot of baseball not only because ‘’it’s my job to stay current,’’ but also because ‘’I enjoy it.’’ He said he jokingly mentioned The Bachelorette only ``because I had watched it with my wife the night before.’’

On Thursday, Buck called Selig, baseball executive Tim Brosnan, Fox Sports president Ed Goren and Fox Sports chairman David Hill to apologize. ‘’I said it was wrong and I’m sorry and it won’t happen again,’’ Buck said. ``I learned a valuable lesson. You have to be careful what you say and I was not careful.’’

Buck said Selig ‘’joked that he’ll tell my mom to spank me.’’

Woo-hoo...I hope that shows up on that whacky The Caning Mutiny site!

FOX: Rosenthal: Brewers lead pack making serious run at Sabathia

The Milwaukee Brewers are serious about trading for Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia — more serious, perhaps, than any other club. The Brewers’ offer for Sabathia includes Class AA left fielder Matt LaPorta, according to sources with two other clubs that are interested in acquiring the pitcher.

Class AA shortstop Alcides Escobar also may be in the Brewers’ proposed deal, one of the sources says.

The Brewers likely would prefer to substitute a lesser player for Escobar, or perhaps would insist upon additional talent if the Indians demanded his inclusion. But if the Brewers indeed were willing to give up both LaPorta and Escobar, the Sabathia sweepstakes might be over before they started.

“I can not imagine anyone would top that,” the first source said. The second added, “That deal should get it done.”

ESPN: Stark - Rumblings & Grumblings - Deadline deals don’t match the hype

Here’s an interesting development: Clubs that have spoken with the Mariners report they’re back-burning their attempts to deal Erik Bedard, for the moment at least, because they have more pressing priorities.

And what might those priorities be? Moving the likes of Richie Sexson, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista and Adrian Beltre. That’s what. Not surprisingly, unloading Sexson heads that list—not that they’re getting anywhere.

Seattle is even expressing reluctance to deal Raul Ibanez—at this point, anyway. One club reports the Mariners would like to package Ibanez with someone like Washburn or Batista, in hopes of maximizing the return. Otherwise, they’re saying they would move their left fielder only “for a quality young outfielder” and another piece.
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Another left-handed arm who looks as if he’ll be tough to pry loose is Pittsburgh’s Damaso Marte. The Pirates have been telling teams they project Marte to be a Type A free agent—so they would want the equivalent of a first-round pick and a sandwich pick to trade him. Our read of the market right now is this: They’re not likely to get it.
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We heard from three different teams this week that the Reds have “zero” takers on Adam Dunn. Hard to believe Dunn wouldn’t be a fit for an AL team with a lineup deep enough that he wouldn’t have to be a middle-of-the-order presence.

Cardboard Gods: Wilker: The Coach’s Son

As Eric Enders said..."Yikes. What a haunting and creepy story.”

Baltimore Sun: O’s interested in Toronto’s Eckstein

Seeking to fill what has become the team’s most glaring deficiency, the Orioles have engaged in talks with the Toronto Blue Jays regarding shortstop David Eckstein, according to industry sources.

Eckstein, 33, is hitting .273 with one home run and 18 RBIs in 198 at-bats. However, he has become expendable on a roster that includes infielders Marco Scutaro, John McDonald and Joe Inglett, who has seen his role increase with regular second baseman Aaron Hill injured.

Because of the glut of middle infielders, the Blue Jays’ asking price for Eckstein isn’t expected to be too high. The two-time All-Star and former World Series Most Valuable Player signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Blue Jays and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

MLB.com: Bartlett on DL with right knee sprain

A day after playing a significant role in the Rays’ 7-6 Wednesday night win over the Red Sox, shortstop Jason Bartlett was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee sprain on Thursday. To take Bartlett’s place, the Rays recalled shortstop Ben Zobrist and selected Reid Brignac from Triple-A Durham. To make room, right-hander Mitch Talbot was optioned to Durham.

Bartlett’s injury occurred when stealing third base in the Rays’ pivotal six-run seventh inning Wednesday night.
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Bartlett is expected to be back after the All-Star break.

SportTicker: Mets place 2B Castillo on DL

Prior to Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Mets placed [Luis] Castillo on the 15-day disabled list with what they classified as a strained left hip flexor… To take his place on the roster, the Mets purchased the contract of infielder Argenis Reyes, 25, from Class AAA New Orleans.

Reyes batted .290 with 22 RBI in 79 games for the Zephyrs. He was signed by the Mets in the offseason after spending the first seven years of his professional career in the Cleveland Indians’ organization.

The Mets also recalled outfielder Chris Aquila from New Orleans and optioned righthander Carlos Muniz to the Zephyrs.

MLB.com: Brewers stunned in ninth by D-backs

I thought there was a good chance they’d lose the Webb-started finale, but not like THIS…

The D-backs rallied for all six of their runs in the bottom of the ninth inning without recording an out to stun the Brewers, 6-5, at Chase Field on Thursday.
...
Mitch Stetter and Eric Gagne each worked a scoreless inning in relief of [Manny] Parra, but the rest of Milwaukee’s relief corps was not as effective. Reliever Guillermo Mota surrendered a pair of infield hits and a walk before exiting in favor of left-hander Brian Shouse, who surrendered a bases-clearing, three-run double to pinch-hitter Chad Tracy.

That prompted a call for Brewers closer Salomon Torres, who was 13-for-13 in save opportunities since Gagne went on the disabled list in mid-May. He surrendered three straight hits; a single to Justin Upton that made it 5-4, a double to Orlando Hudson that left runners at second and third and a single up the middle to Connor Jackson that drove home the tying and winning runs.

Ken Herman: Hustle doo!  Korean baseball’s an audience participation sport

Former major leaguer Karim Garcia, a first-year player here and the leading vote-getter in fan balloting for the Korean all-star game, is hailed by Giant fans with a song that repeats Gar-ci-a over and over again.

Also in the Giants’ dugout is former major leaguer Jerry Royster, who, as the Giants’ skipper, is the first American to manage a Korean team.

‘’I’m having a blast,’’ Royster said. ``I’m having an absolute blast.’’

Royster loves the enthusiasm and respect in the stands but is trying to get his team to play more aggressively, which is somewhat out of character in Korea.

‘The approach that the players have here is quite different than what we are used to in the United States. It’s not very aggressive baseball and they are very respectful of each other. That comes into play quite a bit on double plays. They don’t break up double plays. And when guys get hit (by a pitch) there is somewhat of an `I’m sorry’ kind of attitude for hitting you,’’ he said.

I think Ken Herman is a political writer, writing here mostly from a marketing perspective, but this is a pretty entertaining article.

Here is a related article that’s entirely about Royster.

The Korean league, now with eight teams playing 126-game schedules from March through August, was formed in 1982, long after baseball was brought to the nation by U.S. missionaries in the early 20th century. In 1994, pitcher Chan Ho Park became the first Korean to play in the U.S. major leagues.

On the field, the play is solid and entertaining, but nowhere near as intriguing as what goes on in the stands.

It’s four hours of wonderment for Tennyson, his sister Erica and her two American friends, who, like her, teach English here.

‘’I’m a big fan of the cheerleaders and the guy who actually leads cheers,’’ Tennyson said. ``That’s a great job. We need that back home.’’

‘’They all know every song, every dance move,’’ Erica Tennyson said as fans around her sang and danced.

Could this work back home?

‘’It would be amazing,’’ said Andrea Mullen, a Greenville, S.C. native. ``I would go to more games if this happened.’’

BPro: Seidman: Max Scherzer talks about his own numbers-crunching.

20 Minutes into the Sabermetric Future...with Max.

MS: Last year my brother came across the whole BABIP theory and explained it to me, but I was initially very skeptical because I just could not imagine all pitchers were essentially the same. As my season went on, I kept an eye on it, and he was right—pitchers really do not have control over the balls put in play, [that’s on] the defense and luck. I’m very numbers-oriented myself, so I kept digging into this wealth of information. Sure enough, the K/BB and HR/9 were really the driving numbers behind the success of pitching. It really made sense to me, but the pitcher inside couldn’t comprehend that, of everything involved, just three outcomes can determine one’s success.

ES: So part of you embraces the BABIP and three outcomes of controllable skill, but the other part struggles to comprehend it. How do you deal with that?

MS: Well, I’ve been challenging Alex over and over on different scenarios to see how they affect the three outcomes, and it never seems to fail. By digging deeper and deeper into the numbers, it really has allowed me to take away the fear of failure.

ES: How so?

MS: I’m going to have success, and I will have failure. So when failure comes, it really has allowed me to brush it off and say it was meant to happen, and the next 10 batters will never do that. Basically, it has allowed me to be even more aggressive and work ahead better.

Yahoo: Pasan: Inoa becomes a sign of the times

Meet Jeff Pasan…
...his boy Inoa

Oakland – low-revenue Oakland, immortalized in the book “Moneyball,” about winning with a scrimp-and-save payroll – signed a 16-year-old named Michel Inoa on Wednesday. Along with his $4.25 million bonus, Inoa got an Anglicized name, Michael, and a ticket to the Dominican Summer League, where he can add weight to his lithe 6-foot-7 frame, throw his 94-mph fastball, unleash his polished breaking ball and work on his changeup.....

The meeting convinced Oakland to shatter signing-bonus records for a Latino amateur not from Cuba. It’s been nearly a decade since the Yankees gave outfielder Wily Mo Peña a $2.44 million bonus and seven years since the Dodgers gave infielder Joel Guzman $2.25 million. The top bonuses each year since have vacillated between $1 million and $2 million.

SNY: Salfino: Small-market Rays are outclassing Yankees, Red Sox

A beacon that radiates throughout Tampa Bay and across the entire states of New York and Massachusetts!

Not many expected that the Fourth of July series that begins today in the Bronx would pit New York and Boston in a Wild Card scrum. But that’s where we stand because there’s little doubt the Rays are for real.

Yes, their run differential of 59 should give them 48 wins, or four fewer than they have. But no one on their team is hitting above expectations except for Eric Hinske and maybe Evan Longoria, a rookie with a 135 OPS+ (which means he’s about 35 percent better than an average hitter). Longoria, though, was viewed as one of the top hitting prospects in baseball, so there’s a chance he’s just a quick study and will hit even better.

Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena are all good bets to produce much better in the second half. Even if they don’t, the Rays are likely to play at that .570 rate their net-runs total suggests, and that would give them 96 wins, which should win the East given the questionable health of David Ortiz and myriad of injury problems for the Yankees.

Their pitching, which everyone should have seen as being very good heading into the season, is the reason the Rays’ middling offense has been good enough. Remember, Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza, so skillfully acquired for badly overhyped problem child Delmon Young (who hasn’t yet hit and maybe never will), missed seven starts so far due to injury. They’re both healthy now.