MLB.COM - Toman: Lewis takes exception with Rasmus’ bunt

Rasmus, who singled and later scored off Lewis in the fourth, laid down a bunt with two outs and Toronto up, 2-0, in the fifth, with the Rangers playing the shift on him. Lewis fielded the ball, but Rasmus reached first base safely and was credited with an infield single.

“I told [Rasmus] I didn’t appreciate it,” Lewis said. “You’re up by two runs with two outs and you lay down a bunt. I don’t think that’s the way the game should be played.”

When pressed further on what the problem with ...

Nine things to know about the best changeup in baseball | FOX Sports

You don’t know Jack about Felix Hernandez’s change up.

Svrluga: Baseball’s Relentless Grind - Doug Fister

Starting pitchers such as the Nationals’ Doug Fister must mix patience with intensity, down time with diligence

The original beat writer for the Nationals when they surfaced in D.C., Barry Svrluga, submits his 4th installment in a series examining “how the everydayness of baseball affects an entire organization.” A long piece that makes for good weekend reading, or next week at the office :-)

I hope WaPo’s paywall doesn’t prevent you from reading this series, those money-grubbing ...

OMNICHATTER 7-19-2014

The second day of the second half! OMNICHATTER UP!

Neyer: Jeff Garlin, we hardly knew ye.

Just a bit outside the rules of professional conduct. #FJeff

In that same essay, I trumpeted the participation of Jeff Garlin. This gave me a great deal of pleasure, because I’m a huge fan and thought he would bring certain qualities to this page that might otherwise go missing.

I first met Garlin a couple of months ago, over pancakes (him) and French toast (me) before one of his shows at the legendary Largo. He was funny and engaging and down-to-earth, with occasional hints of sincere ...

Nationals Infielder Anthony Rendon Labels Baseball ‘Too Long And Boring’

“I don’t watch baseball—it’s too long and boring,” he told the Washington Post.

The Nationals are in the middle of a pennant race and their best hitter does not like watching baseball. Is that a problem? His success thus far in 2014 suggests otherwise.

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Yeah, and I don’t really watch tapes of technical reviews and staff meetings when I come home.  They too, are too long and boring.  Although, strictly speaking, they are not billed as entertainment.

The comparison to soccer in TFA is ...

105 Year Old Woman To Throw Out First Pitch For Padres

The Padres are going for a record Sunday:

In honor of her milestone birthday, the San Diego Padres selected a spirited 105-year-old lady with a good sense of humor to throw out the first pitch Sunday before a game at Petco Park. . . . Born in 1909, she just missed the Cubs’ last World Series title in 1908.
. . .
Honored as she is, McKee didn’t spare the Padres with her harsh assessment of the franchise, saying, “I haven’t been very into the Padres because they don’t ever win any games.”

The ...

Angels bringing on Huston Street

The Angels and Padres have agreed to a six-player trade that will send All-Star closer Huston Street to Los Angeles, sources told ESPN Baseball Insider Jim Bowden on Friday.
In return, the Padres will receive second baseman Taylor Lindsey, right-hander R.J. Alvarez, shortstop Jose Rondon and another minor leaguer from the Angels, sources said. Los Angeles also will acquire a minor-league player in the deal.

Looks like the Angels have found the Street that leads to the playoffs.

What it’s like to live and play in the Cape Cod League - Sports - The Boston Globe

Nice.

Davidoff: Sabathia shut down for knee surgery — and it might get worse

Here comes debridement.

CC Sabathia will undergo season-ending arthroscopic surgery to repair his right knee, Brian Cashman said Friday. The Yankees general manager made clear that the big left-hander is not yet out of the woods in terms of needing the more invasive microfracture procedure that would jeopardize his career…

As Cashman put it, Sabathia, who last pitched for the Yankees on May 10, tried the path of least resistance by rehabilitating the knee, a process that failed when Sabathia ...

Calcaterra: The Astros didn’t sign #1 overall pick Brady Aiken

Aiken: “Not On My Way Here”

The signing deadline for players selected in this year’s Rule 4 draft came and went at 5PM Eastern. And the number one overall pick, Brady Aiken, did not sign with the Houston Astros, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com.

If you aren’t up to speed, the Astros selected Aiken with the first overall pick and the parties agreed to a $6.5 million bonus in early June. But following a physical on June 23, the Astros became concerned about something in his left elbow and ...

Braves release Dan Uggla

That is one Uggla contract.

The Braves on Friday released second baseman Dan Uggla, CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman has learned.

The move is notable because Uggla, whom the Braves signed to a five-year, $62-million deal just prior to the 2011 season, is still owed the remainder of his $13-million salary for this season and another $13 million for the 2015 season. In other words, making Uggla go away is worth, oh, almost $20 million to the Braves.

Even with the money involved, the decision is easy ...

Jim Bouton Still As Opinionated As Ever

“Ball Four: The Final Pitch,” which will soon be released in trade paperback, he says. Told that the book has already been updated numerous times, Bouton laughs.

“I promise this will be the last time,” he says.

As commissioner, Bouton also would cut down the times of games.

“I would eliminate Velcro — that would eliminate 45 minutes right there,” he says.

He’d also make batters stay in the box.

“Get into the batter’s box for Chrissakes and stay there,” he says. “If ...

Dave Cameron: 2014 Trade Value: The Top 10

7. Salvador Perez

If there’s one piece of feedback I got more clearly than any other last year, it was that I was too low on Salvador Perez. I had one friend in the game tell me should have been in the top five, and I had him at 36. My bad, Kansas City. Consider this a mea culpa.

Perez might not yet be the best catcher in baseball, but there are a lot of people convinced that he’s going to be in the near future. He’s basically a power spike away from being Jonathan Lucroy, only he’s ...

Rangers replace Carlos Pena with J.P. Arencibia to play at first

Tell ‘im, Wash.

J.P. Arencibia hit his way back to the majors with the Rangers…  Arencibia replaced first baseman Carlos Pena, who was designated for assignment after hitting only .136 in 59 at-bats.

Arencibia opened the season as the Rangers’ front-line catcher but hit only .133 in 60 at-bats… Arencibia fared better against Pacific Coast League pitching, hitting .279 with 14 homers and 41 RBIs in 190 at-bats…

Arencibia said that while in the minors, he decided to go “back to what makes me ...

Top pick for next MLB commissioner rejects job offer

Bud Selig begrudgingly accepts staying on the job another 15 years.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is set to step down from the position next January, and he already has a candidate in mind for who could replace him.

The thing is, he doesn’t want the job.

Steve Greenberg, a former MLB deputy commissioner and son of Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, is appreciative of the offer but doesn’t plan on taking it. Selig, who turns 80 later this month, has been baseball’s commissioner since 1998.

  ...

Vaccaro: Yankees greats have stumbled from where Jeter now stands

Jeter: I can’t OPS+ any more.

Sixty-eight games to stick the landing.

You don’t have to wander very far to know how challenging that can be. Mickey Mantle long regretted how it ended for him, a 1968 season in which he could barely walk, in which he hit .237 and knocked four points off his career average, leaving him at .298.

...Jeter, of course, is equipped with certain unique elements that will steel him from such problems. For one thing, he would have to go 0-for-428 to drop his career ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 7-18-2014

An account of the game of the year from the Pittsburgh Press, July 18, 1914:

In the sixth inning, Wagner singled, after Mowrey had been retired, and took third of [sic] Viox’s drive to center. Bescher pegged to Stock, but when the Giant third-sacker tried to locate the ball it was missing. Wagner jumped up and started for home, and as he ran the sphere dropped from his clothing…Umpire Byron called Wagner out for interference.
...
The decision caused a mighty howl, which was participated in by ...

Instinct Magazine: Legendary Baseball Player Yogi Berra Comes Out Swinging For Gay Athletes In The MLB

Not as pithy, but as wise as any Yogiism he’s ever said (or didn’t):

In 1947, my first year in the majors, Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby also came in. They didn’t have it easy. But they changed the game for good, and for the good of our country. They made the game about equality and respect, the way it should be.

That’s why I’m proud and thrilled that Major League Baseball and Athlete Ally are making baseball even fairer, and better. Their alliance is in the spirit of what we teach young ...

Nightengale: Greenberg could follow Selig - but will he?

While Major League Baseball searches for the next commissioner to replace Bud Selig, several high-ranking industry executives believe they have found the right man for the job.

The trouble is convincing Steve Greenberg, 65, managing director of investment bank Allen & Company, to do it.

Greenberg, former MLB deputy commissioner and son of Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, loves the sport.

Just not the Commissioner’s job.

In addition to the increased workload, I guess he doesn’t want to take a ...

BP: Why are we playing the Hunger Games with minor leaguers?

Is this a good system? I don’t ask that question as an exercise in moral philosophy with the poor pitiable minor leaguers cast as a vulnerable group in need of protection. I’m asking this from the other side. Is it smart for teams in Major League Baseball to willfully pay their minor leaguers so little? Aside from cost-savings and the moralizing, could teams actually have more success developing players if they opened their wallets a little wider?

In addition to the points made in the ...

Tracy McGrady Retires From Baseball

That Baseball-Reference page is Popeye Jones ugly!

Former NBA star and Sugar Land Skeeters pitcher Tracy McGrady started the Atlantic League All Star Game Wednesday at Constellation Field before retiring from baseball after pitching 1.1 innings.

T-Mac struck out the last batter he faced, Atlantic League All Star Bryan Pounds, before walking off the mound to the applause of his teammates. The strikeout was the first and only “K” of McGrady’s baseball career and he kept the baseball for his ...

7-18-14 OMNICHATTER

Let’s get this started again! The second half begins!

Journal News: Recap of Derek Jeter Retirement Gifts

The big 2nd half issue at BBTF is likely to be the retirement gifts The Captain receives as he completes his Final Journey. To provide perspective, the LoHud Yankee Blog reviews the 1st half:

May 25 — White Sox
Once a powerful hitter for both the Yankees and White Sox, retired slugger Ron Kittle built Jeter’s U.S. Cellular Field retirement gift. Kittle created a bench made of baseball equipment with bases as the seat, bats as the back and arm rests, and baseballs used for decoration and ...

MLB Network: Christopher Russo Tongue Twisters

I dislike E.W. Scripps. I dislike Scripps. I dislike Scripps a lot.

Pitchman: How Tom Emanski changed the sport of baseball — and then disappeared

This checks out.

Teaching the Mechanics of the Major League Swing, featuring Houston Astros slugger Glenn Davis alongside a teenaged Eddie Taubensee, was released on VHS in the fall of 1986 and instantly became a hit. Newspaper articles about what Emanski — by then a New York Yankees associate scout (or “bird dog”), later poached by the Pittsburgh Pirates — was doing at Baseball World became more frequent. The Atlanta Braves even sent one of their struggling prospects, the highly ...

The Curious Case of Mark Buehrle

By almost every metric, Mark Buehrle is a thoroughly average pitcher. So how has he managed to find such success, especially at his age?

WaPo: Research supports the notion of the ‘hot hand’

Green and Zwiebel studied two million MLB at-bats from 2000 to 2011. They neutralized for the abilities of the hitter and pitchers — such as lefty-on-lefty matchups and stadium sizes — and focused on 10 major statistical categories, such as batting averages, home run percentages and strikeout rates.

They found that a hitter’s past 25 at-bats were a significant predictor of his next at-bat. When a player is hot, they found his expected on-base percentage to be 25 to 30 points higher than ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 7-17-2014

Milwaukee Journal, July 17, 1914:

HAS DENT IN HEAD

George Weaver, captain and shortstop of the Chicago White Sox, who was injured in a collision with Demmitt, the left fielder, while going after a fly ball at Shibe Park yesterday, will probably be out of the game several days. Weaver has a dent in his forehead over his left eye as the result of coming in contact with Demmitt’s chin.

Seems like you’d get the exact opposite of a dent in your head if you ran into somebody’s chin.

John Feinstein: Len Bias, like Pete Rose, shouldn’t be in a Hall of Fame

A march to sheer madness…

There is no doubt a stain of mendacity on Rose that never fell on Bias. Rose repeatedly lied in depositions for the Dowd Report, the findings of which led to Rose accepting a ban from baseball in 1989. Rose only stopped lying about betting on baseball in 2004 because he was peddling a book and because he believed — as he said as recently as this week — that if he finally fessed up, Selig would reinstate him. He didn’t do it because his conscience caught up with ...