Top 20 Greatest Dodgers of all-time according to WAR

According to baseball-reference.com, Fernando pitched in front of more fans than any other pitcher in baseball from 1980 to 1990. That’s true even though Fernando missed six weeks to injury in 1988 and only made two starts in 1980.

Starting Pitchers who Performed in Front of the Most Fans, 1980-1990

1. Fernando Valenzuela … 12,945,716
2. Nolan Ryan … 10,867,110
3. Bob Welch … 10,114,515
4. Jack Morris … 10,096,435
5. Dave Stieb … 10,005,851

Braves vs. White Sox is an epic battle for MLB’s best farm system

And it’s no wonder Braves fans get all parochial when someone dare say the White Sox might have a better system.

Except here’s the thing: They do.

It is not inarguable. One evaluator whom I trust believes deeply Atlanta’s is better. A handful of others agree. Of the 24 people surveyed, though, 18 voted White Sox. And almost all came back to the same reason: The position players.

They love pitching. Everyone loves pitching. Pitching is the lifeblood of baseball. Develop a homegrown ...

Josh Reddick: the Astros are “down in the dumps” about the team standing pat at the trade deadline

Still, there are many who believe that the Astros failing to land a starting pitcher such as Justin Verlander, Sonny Gray or Yu Darvish bodes ill for the team’s chances and these folks have spent the past two weeks feeling kind of deflated. They’re not just fans, either. Some of the disappointed folks are Houston Astros players.

Astros outfielder Josh Reddick was on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM yesterday and he had this to say about the front office’s lack of moves:

“I think deep ...

FiveThirtyEight: Baseball’s ‘Hot Hand’ Is Real

Every starting pitcher in our data shows a noticeable pattern of switching between hot and cold states.5 Some pitchers’ streakiness manifests in a pronounced downside when they’re cold, like what happens to Texas Rangers lefty Cole Hamels. When he’s on, Hamels’ fastball is just a tick faster than average for him. But when he’s off, he loses about two and a half miles per hour compared to his average fastball. The impact is massive: That almost 4 mph difference in heat translates to a ...

Moncada’s Heroics Deliver Sweep of Astros

Yoan Moncada played hero for the first time with a game-tying blast and followed it up with a walk-off single, giving the White Sox their second series sweep of the season as they knocked off the Astros, 3-2, in 11 innings at Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday.

“It was something indescribable,” said Moncada through interpreter Billy Russo. “All my emotions were to the roof when I hit that ball and then when I was running the bases. It was something unique.”

ED: He turned around a 99mph Giles ...

The Multiple Paths to a Tigers Rebuild

If the Tigers want to be competitive again by 2020, they must do more. They need to focus on obtaining prospects nearly ready for a major-league role, something both Candelario and Lugo are. In this vein, moving their youngest pitching talent, like Michael Fulmer or Daniel Norris, to make teams interested in taking on the expensive contracts of older players like Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, or Justin Upton wouldn’t make sense for the Tigers. Fulmer, who’s under club control until ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 8-11-2017

El Paso Herald, August 11, 1917:

That Walter Johnson, the Senators’ great pitcher…is to be disposed of before the 1918 season opens is a report which has not only been freely circulated in Washington, but which in many quarters is given credence.

The Washington club is bound to lose money before the curtain drops next October. It is known that the baseball property here…is not clear of encumbrances, that with salaries and notes to be paid the present stockholders must stand heavy assessments.

...

VIDEO: Tim Tebow greets autistic boy, then hits home run for him

If it happened in a movie we’d say it was unrealistic:

Tebow was on-deck during the July 29 game when Seth Bosch, a young boy with high-functioning autism who just turned 10, took his shot to try and get the ballplayers attention.

Bosch waved at Tebow and, to the child’s surprise, the star walked over and shook his hand through the netting. The boy, who has a tumor behind his right eye which makes it difficult to play sports, went back to his seat next to his parents with tears of joy ...

Fenway Organist Grateful for Gig

As Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda began to walk off the field on April 23, 2014, after being ejected when pine tar was found on his neck, a song played by Red Sox organist Josh Kantor reverberated throughout Fenway Park.

Trying to find the perfect song for the moment, Kantor began to play “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley.

Kantor’s quick thinking and ability to play songs from multiple eras and genres has made him a fan favorite since becoming the organist in 2003. He’s yet to miss a ...

Inside Baseball | Astros Cautious Ways Will Hurt October Chances

AL Notes
NL Notes

“This year” isn’t the timeline the Astros are considering. The idea of overpaying for an aging, expensive starter to incrementally increase the team’s changes clearly doesn’t appeal to them. They want to compete over multiple years and believe in, by only making prudent trades, they will increase their chances of winning a championship *or two* over the next half dozen year.

But you have to wonder whether their conservative style may wind up haunting them this year. Though ...

Getting the Tigers a Real Prospect for Justin Verlander

Nobody claimed Verlander. It suggests no team is willing to just eat his remaining contract. On MLB Network, Ken Rosenthal just suggested the Tigers want top prospects *and* don’t want to assume a big part of his salary. If it’s true, the Tigers are living in a fantasy world and aren’t placing a real-world value in today’s MLB. Verlander will ride down with the Tigers’ sinking ship.

More reasonably, I’d think maybe the Tigers would be willing to pay something like half of Verlander’s ...

It’s Do Or Die For Dansby Swanson

Do or die?

The swing tweak that may have fixed Jose Peraza

How does such an obvious flaw not get fixed in the minor leagues?

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 8-10-2017

Pittsburgh Press, August 10, 1917:

Ira Thomas, former catcher for the Athletics, today denied that he was considering an offer to succeed Miller Huggins as manager of the St. Louis Nationals. He said his income of $3,500 for coaching the Williams college baseball team and $6,000 to $8,000 from his real estate business would prevent him from ever returning to baseball.

Thomas went on to say he had a guy on the other line asking about some whitewalls.

Indians acquire Jay Bruce for Minor Leaguer | MLB.com

The price for bats is pretty low this year.

Early to bed and early to rise makes OMNICHATTER sleep deprived, for August 10, 2017

What Exactly Are the Mets Doing After Trading Jay Bruce to Cleveland?

The Mets’ side of the trade is where things get more interesting, and more curious. Yes, there was little need for Bruce in Queens, what with the Mets staggering toward a sub-.500 finish and having already traded away first baseman Lucas Duda and reliever Addison Reed before the July 31 deadline. And yes, Cleveland will pay Bruce’s entire remaining salary and, yes, he can become a free agent after the season.

However, New York could have made him a qualifying offer. The rules for free ...

Is Ronald Acuña Baseball’s Next Top Prospect?

The Braves have been extremely aggressive with him as we’ve seen him go from rookie ball to AAA in just 206 games. As the competition has gotten stiffer he has become more impressive as he’s gone from a 31% K% in A+ ball with a .191 ISO to an 18.8% K%, 12.1% BB% and .228 ISO in AAA. Through 24 games in AAA the 19 year old is hitting .348/.434/.576 (1.010 OPS) which, if he qualified (2.7PA/game), would put him tops in the International League.

Jamey Newberg: Way. - GammonsDaily.com

Joey Gallo hit another bomb today.

Players Weekend brings colorful names, gear

Please allow us to introduce you to All Rise, Stickman, La Potencia, Kiiiiid, Miggy, Corey’s Brother, Codylove, Tokki 2, Flaco Fuerte, KB, Tsunami, Cruz, EE, El Koja, Bringer of Rain, Big Kid, Wawindaji, Yoyo, Nado and Pappo.

You may know them better, respectively, as Aaron Judge, Chris Sale, Yoenis Cespedes, Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera, Kyle Seager, Cody Bellinger, Joey Votto, Chris Archer, Kris Bryant, Carlos Martinez, Giancarlo Stanton, Edwin Encarnacion, Adrian Beltre, Josh Donaldson, Bryce ...

The Day Games? Again? Crap. OMNICHATTER, for August 9, 2017

Rick Porcello and the 20/20 club no pitcher wants to join

And with Porcello set to make at least nine more starts, the right-hander isn’t out of the woods when it comes to joining the ignominious 20/20 club. In the past 60 years, seven pitchers have lost 20 games one season after winning 20.

Interesting fact #1:  All 7 pairs of seasons were within the narrow range of 1964-65 to ‘76-77.

Interesting fact #2:  Wilbur Wood actually did it twice, and came within a loss of doing it 3 consecutive years:  24-17 in 1972, 24-20 in ‘73, 20-19 in ‘74, and 16-20 ...

South Side - NOTES FROM SABERSEMINAR 2017 FEATURING RICK HAHN

[Hahn] expressed a lot of skepticism about teams that are willing to put a single number valuation on a player (whether veteran or prospect), saying he thinks there’s too much uncertainty and too many different player profiles for him to take such ratings particularly seriously. He said it’s frustrating to hear in trade talks that “this player is worth $100 million and my prospect is worth $120 million, so there’s no way we’re doing this deal.”

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 8-9-2017

Marshalltown [Iowa] Times-Republican, August 9, 1917:

That baseball is falling off is probably true and there’s a reason. The boys of this day do not play baseball as the boys of the former generation did. They do not play because there is no place to play in. And that is a pity.

The sky is falling! Baseball is dying!

Despite great play, time to sell high on Hernandez – Phillies Nation

This will work itself out.

The New Moneyball, With Lots and Lots of Money - WSJ

The Red Sox were once the smartest organization. Unfortunately their thinking stagnated and they started making decisions based on ratings and short-term gains. The Dodgers, on the other hand, have kept their focus on the long-term and continue to explore every possible path to improvement, while using their financial might to maximum advantage. Their organization should be applauded for their patience, starting with Stan Kasten.

Under their stewardship, the Dodgers have avoided long-term ...

Mets lay down gauntlet for ‘mediocre’ Travis d’Arnaud: Now or never | New York Post

“He’s really stayed with his mechanics,’’ hitting coach Kevin Long told The Post before offering these heart-of-the-matter comments about where d’Arnaud needs to improve. “I feel like he has done a really good job of staying more consistent. We stay on him every day about doing the exact same thing.

“Reality has set in and he is saying, ‘I better get this done.’ You say, ‘How much longer can I be mediocre?’ He’s got a high ceiling, it’s time that he gets there,’’ ...

Matt Harvey looks fitter in ‘effortless’ live pitching session | New York Post

“My arm can work the way that it’s supposed to,” Harvey said. “The strength program that we did for the back of my shoulder and the scap area, now it’s moving the proper way. I was talking to [pitching coach] Dan Warthen the other day when I came back from Florida and I said I was excited because it was finally fun to throw a baseball again.”

Joe Maddon won’t apologize for remarks on hometown: ‘There’s no ill intent’ - Chicago Tribune

I’m glad he didn’t reflexively apologize.

Rangers sell RHP Ernesto Frieri to Mariners for $1

Right-hander Ernesto Frieri was sold by the Texas Rangers to the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday for $1.

Signed by the Rangers as a minor league free agent on June 15, the 32-year-old was 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA in six relief appearances for Texas. He was assigned outright to Round Rock on July 7 and went 0-1 with a 1.42 ERA in seven relief outings for the Triple-A club.