RIP Mel Didier: Had an Eye for Talent – Inside the Seams

We lost another great baseball man.

On the sneak, OMNICHATTER’s bringin’ heat for real! for Monday, September 11, 2017

Why This Week Means More To Mookie Betts

From Sept. 10-17, the world will recoginize “World Suicide Prevention Week,” a cause that is close to Betts’ heart.

Just after leaving high school, one of Betts’ close friends, Braxton, took his own life. The two had grown up together playing basketball and football, with their families often getting together. It wasn’t the only incident Betts had come in contact involving that form of tragedy, with his family having also previously been affected by suicide.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 9-11-2017

Butte Daily Post, September 11, 1917:

BRITISH FIND NOT A LITTLE AMUSEMENT IN AMERICAN GAME

To the average American fan his reading accounts of the game in British papers will be truly interesting. In brief, one of the London contemporaries has termed the sport “Merry Hulla-Ballo.” Thus far the foreign critics have not fully grasped the common expression of “That’s the boy.”
...
While Stanley, the Canadian twirler, was displaying an effective delivery, the fans complained that he was throwing ...

Taking Back the Ballparks - Red Sox Unconstitutional Executive Order Thread

This was not an easy call. While there was some support for conducting a vote, even if it was a mere formality, there was even more backing for simply calling Fenway the winner. Moreover, there was a substantial undercurrent of thought that even having a vote threatened the project itself. It’s not an opinion I share, but given I’m relying on the support of Primates to keep thing going, it’s one I have to take seriously. Thus, I hereby proclaim that Fenway Park is the name of choice for the ...

The Dodgers Look Beyond Terrible Right Now | FanGraphs Baseball

Dave Cameron gets out the shovel.

Using a four-man outfield - Beyond the Box Score

Maybe not the next new thing.

OTP 11 September 2017: Hurricane Irma wreaking havoc on minor league baseball playoffs

There are 18 minor league affiliations that play playoffs every season, and those playoffs all have different formats – some with one wild card, some with split first-half/second-half winners, some with a required 8-10 team playoff grouping. This season, the issues caused by Hurricane Irma will lead to 3 of those 18 championships being cancelled and turned into co-champions.

Baseball’s next Moneyball concept: Turning internet writers into prospect scouts - CBSSports.com

“Teams want young people with very few ties. They want people who would be willing to travel 300 days,” Newman told CBS Sports. “I was very cognizant of the fact that the only way that I could scout was if I had a team that thought I was good enough to cater to my family and some of my scheduling needs. I was also cognizant of the fact that, why would they ever do that with a thousand other people in line behind me to get a scouting job? I’m not that [freaking] special.”

Newman ...

Why shutting down Aaron Sanchez provides more questions than answers - Sportsnet.ca

The blisters have become just part of the issue for the Toronto Blue Jays Aaron Sanchez, who was told just days ago by Dr. Thomas Graham, a hand specialist, that he has damaged a ligament in his right middle finger, likely the result of compensating for the blisters and fingernail issues that have plagued him this season.

Great, eh?

Mark Reynolds’ grand slam give Rockies a sweep | MLB.com

Dodgers still can’t win.

Indians sweep Orioles, win 18th straight | MLB.com

Indians still can’t lose.

Svrluga-No Joke, The Nationals Have Evolved Into One Of Baseball’s Best Franchises

His Most Reverend Barry puts the Nationals’ journey into perspective. A good read.

Stephen Strasburg was first out of the clubhouse and up the dugout steps, and Bryce Harper was right behind him, and that’s just the perfect introduction to the 2017 National League East champions – the two players who best represent the transformation from irrelevant, 100-loss jokes into what the Washington Nationals are now, which is a contender for best franchise in baseball.

Scout trashes Yankees’ Gary Sanchez for laziness behind plate | NJ.com

A comparison of breaking pitches with Romine and Sanchez would make for an interesting study. Sanchez does get lazy back there. Do Yankees pitchers adjust to Sanchez by changing either their aggressiveness below the strike zone or their mix of pitches?

“Sanchez has got a ways to go defensively, and I knew it all along,” a Major League scout for an opposing club told NJ Advance Media. “He gets very lazy. He wants to reach instead of shifting his feet. He tries to get away with stuff because of ...

Bryce Brentz hung in there and the Red Sox hung in there with him — until they didn’t

I’ve seen enough of Bryce Brentz to believe he can be a serviceable major leaguer in the Jonny Gomes mode. I’m sure he’ll be able to catch on with another team. 

Among other things in the piece, the Commissioner speaks:

Q. Are the rumors about the new Marlins ownership slashing payroll by 50 percent true, and are you concerned by that?

A. “I talked to [new Marlins owner] Bruce Sherman this morning. I think that the Marlins, the new ownership, once they are approved, are intent on putting a ...

Sunday Notes: Zack Littell Knows a 20-1 Record is Relative | FanGraphs Baseball

David Laurila’s latest.

Marte came over from the Mariners in last winter’s Taijuan Walker–Jean Segura trade, which means he received Hall-of-Fame-quality hitting tutorials before arriving in Arizona.

“Edgar Martinez was my hitting coach in Seattle last year, and he taught me a lot,” Marte told me in late August. “He would tell me that every time he would go to home plate, he would be looking to hit the ball to right field. He said if you’re thinking middle away, you’re going to be ...

Rockies send Dodgers to 9th straight loss | MLB.com

Dodgers STILL CAN’T WIN!

Indians extend winning streak to 17 games | MLB.com

Indians STILL CAN’T LOSE!

Brewers Jimmy Nelson to miss rest of season | MLB.com

Not good. At least he got a hit.

Twitter: Brian Kenny: Is a consistent player more valuable than a volatile player?

I’m going to have to think about it because I can’t remember off the top of my head but…haven’t there been studies which looked at this? If there haven’t, this can be simulated. As a proxy, looking at injured players with replacement players would give us an answer. It’s essentially a question about peak vs. average.

On the other part of the question related to the Jeter hitting good pitching versus a guy who feasts on bad pitchers but is overmatched against better hurlers, I also believe ...

Rockies hand Dodgers eighth straight loss | MLB.com

Dodgers still can’t win.

Indians shut out Orioles, up win streak to 16 | MLB.com

Indians still can’t lose.

OMNICHATTER can’t come back ‘till the water comes down, for the weekend of September 9-10, 2017

OT - 2017 NFL thread

Free agent NFL cornerback Antonio Cromartie and his wife Terricka announced the birth of baby girl Jhett Paxton, born Aug. 30.

This is the couple’s sixth child, and it is Cromartie’s fourteenth. By our count, it is his third child since (supposedly) having a vasectomy during his tenure with the New York Jets in 2013.

Gotta blame it on something, Blame it on OMNICHATTER for September 8, 2017

Braves prospect Acuna Pipeline Hitter of Year | MLB.com

This kids looks pretty, pretty good.

MLB MVPs: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and ... Tommy Pham? Smart money says these are the candidates | SI.com

Jay Jaffe embraces the best way to pay for WAR.

Dodgers’ Walker Buehler solid in debut | MLB.com

The next big thing.

2017 Minor League All-Star Team | BaseballAmerica.com

That’s a lot of Blue Jays.

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

Seattle Star, September 8, 1917:

Shortstop Lavan and Second Baseman Pratt, of the Browns, have each filed suit against P.D. Ball, president of the club, for $50,000 damages, for alleged slanderous statements contained in an interview in a St. Louis paper.

The petitions assert Ball, “by his statements, meant and intended to charge that the plaintiffs and other players failed to play a good game of ball, and that the plaintiff was unfaithful and dishonest in his business and profession of ...