WSJ: No, Really, Tell Me About You (Mariano Rivera’s farewell tour)

Mariano Rivera is…impossible to dislike.

CLEVELAND—It is two hours before the scheduled start of Wednesday night’s Yankees-Indians game, and baseball’s all-time saves leader is deep inside the bowels of Progressive Field, holding a marching band’s bass drum.

Mariano Rivera wants to know how the drum’s owner, John Adams, hits it when he’s really mad.

“When the Indians are supposed to score, and they don’t score, how do you hit it?” Rivera asks. [...]

When Rivera decided to retire, he ...

HBT - The class system and the ballpark

The ability to pay to get out of some sort of drudgery of everyday life or, alternatively, to get a taste of the good life. Front-of-the-line-passes. Elite status everything. It’s, in most respects, a logical extension of a capitalist system — if people want something, someone will provide it at some cost — but it also comes at another cost, and that of a shared civic experience.

THIS.  Nice post by Craig.

Theo Epstein expected to address Jorge Soler incident

Cubs president Theo Epstein is expected to address the media sometime this afternoon about the situation Wednesday night involving Cubs prospect Jorge Soler at Class A Daytona. We’ll pick things up here from our blog of this morning and add some reaction, which we’ll flesh out more in depth for the paper tomorrow and online later today. The Cubs and Giants are working out on the outfield grass as a cold rain continues to fall at Wrigley Field before the scheduled 1:20 p.m. game.

...Soler, ...

Mercury News: MLB Commissioner Bud Selig rebuffs San Jose mayor’s meeting request

SAN JOSE—Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has brushed back San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed’s formal request last week for a personal meeting to resolve issues holding up the Oakland A’s desired move to his city.

And Selig in his April 4 response added that Reed’s reference in an April 2 letter to “additional litigation” over the proposed A’s move “is neither productive nor consistent with process that the Athletics have initiated under our rules.”

Selig wrote that the ...

NY Times: Douthat: A Baseball Golden Age?

That’s the bold claim advanced last week by Michael Brendan Dougherty, who just took a step away from political writing to found a baseball newsletter (news-email?) called “The Slurve” [http://www.theslurve.com/], and who gives a great interview about the decision here. His case that baseball is peaking acknowledges the sport’s various difficulties (the Hall of Fame’s steroid problems, the pace of games, the Florida Marlins), but then follows with this:

   But overall the sport has ...

Fangraphs - The Orioles and Holding Runners On: Showalter’s Gambit

More daring than the Ruy Lopez or the Caro-Kann Defense!

The Baltimore manager has his first baseman, Chris Davis, playing a few steps off the bag when holding runners. Not just the slow-of-foot — all runners, all the time. The situation doesn’t matter. According to Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne, the practice began in spring training and has been in place for every game since the start of the season. [...]

Something else Showalter said — and what he wouldn’t say — is where the ...

NY Mets monitoring Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton

In other news, I am monitoring Kate Upton. Up in a tree. With binoculars.

When the Marlins traded Jose Reyes and Josh Johnson to Toronto last November, Mets officials began asking one another questions that remain in their minds today: Can we get Giancarlo Stanton?  Would we trade Zack Wheeler to do it?

According to three team sources, the Mets then spent time at the winter meetings debating whether to make Wheeler available in a variety of trades, including for Arizona’s Justin Upton and ...

The Orioles and Holding Runners: Showalter’s Gambit

The party line is defensive coverage in the three-four hole, but it probably isn’t that simple. Knowing Buck Showalter, some gamesmanship is at play as well.

The Baltimore manager has his first baseman, Chris Davis, playing a few steps off the bag when holding runners. Not just the slow-of-foot — all runners, all the time. The situation doesn’t matter. According to Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne, the practice began in spring training and has been in place for every game since the start ...

Maury Brown: After 820 Games, Sellout Streak Ends for Red Sox at Fenway Park

Maury adds…“As poet laureate Steve Perry said, “The party is over. I have gone away.”

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone likes to have their predictions come true. That’s certainly the case here. While each year writers look to predict the final outcome of MLB’s regular season, I’ve tried to look at attendance trends to see what may occur during the season.

The Red Sox were one of those cases. After missing the playoffs in the last day of the 2011 season, the whole “chicken and ...

Reiter: A’s going deep to lead charge for change yet again

Part of the reason for Oakland’s intentional surplus was to try to approximate the production of its deeper-pocketed competitors, on a payroll of about $60 million, by the establishment of platoons. “We said, OK, if we can put together a 25-man roster of depth, maybe you build a platoon in two or three spots that ultimately gives you the production of a $12- to $15 million player,” explains assistant general manager David Forst. Bob Melvin, the A’s manager, intended to orchestrate at least four ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-11-2013

Pittsburgh Gazette Times, April 11, 1913:

An unusual play occurred in the sixth inning [of yesterday’s Red Sox-Athletics game]. Lapp was on third and Coombs was on second when Murphy hit to Wagner, the latter throwing to the plate to catch Lapp. But Lapp scampered back to third, which he found occupied by Coombs, with Murphy on second. Cady tagged Lapp at third, but as he was entitled to the base, he was safe; Coombs returned to second and Murphy moved back toward first. Hall threw wild…in an ...

Cameron: The Early Trend of 2013: Dingers!

Sheeet, so easy…even Brett Wallace almost hit one to the warning track.

There are two numbers that are probably a bit higher than we would have expected, though, and they’re definitely related.

The league average ERA is 4.13 despite the increase in strikeouts for one simple reason; Major League teams have hit a lot of home runs in the first week of the season. Given the time of year we’re talking about, it’s almost an extraordinary amount of home runs.

...It’s too early to call this ...

April 11, 2013 Omnichatter

A tradition unlike any other (even though it only really started this year)- the Omnichatter.

Anyway, 8 games today, primarily in the AL. Enjoy.

Goat’s head delivered to Wrigley

Not even from a 100 years ago…

A goat’s head was delivered to Wrigley Field this afternoon, addressed to Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, and police are investigating the dropoff of the “intimidating package,” officials said.

A package with a goat’s head was dropped off at Wrigley, 1060 W. Addison St., addressed to Ricketts, Cubs team spokesman Julian Green said.

The package was dropped off at Gate K at the field, Green said. The delivery was reported to police, he said.

Police were called to ...

Buzzfeed: A Star College Quarterback Couldn’t Throw a Baseball to a Catcher.

This week [Robinson] received the honor of throwing out the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game. No problem, right? He’s a quarterback. There job is to throw passes. Piece of cake, right? Right? RIGHT?!

Baseball IS harder than football!

Source: Nolan Ryan to stay with Texas Rangers as CEO

The Rangers announced Wednesday that CEO Nolan Ryan will remain with the club, ending a six-week drama in which he considered leaving because he was uncertain of his role going forward after the promotion of Jon Daniels to general manager/president of baseball operations.

“After productive discussions the last several weeks with Ray Davis and Bob Simpson about the structure of our organization, together we are moving forward. In my role as CEO, I am focused on working closely with ownership ...

Royals Review: Kauffman Stadium Turns 40

There was a very real fear that one or both of the teams could relocate. The report cited the “progressive” city of Atlanta, that built a multi-purpose stadium and then attracted a baseball and football team. These new stadia were all the rage with the Astrodome leading the way. Kansas City and Jackson County wanted to stake their ground. This is what they proposed:

Kansas City was thinking big. Also included in the plans were secondary proposals for a smaller arena for hockey, ...

Ike Davis of New York Mets not concerned about 4-for-27 start at plate - NYPOST.com

Ike Davis, future hitting coach.

“I feel great, I’m seeing it great and I swung at one bad pitch [Monday] and that was basically it,” Davis said. “I’m fouling back a lot of pitches I should hit. Once I actually start hitting those pitches instead of fouling them back, that’s when I start to get hot.”

Yankees notes: Joe Girardi optimistic on Derek Jeter’s return after shortstop runs for the first time since suffering a setback to his ankle last month - NYPOST.com

“He looked as good as at any point in spring training,” Girardi said.

Morse matures from excitable pup to accountable veteran | Seattle Mariners - The News Tribune

“You’re only young once, but you can be immature forever.”

“You know, this game has so many ups and downs, the only way to survive is to be humble,” he said. “You take the good with the bad, and the big thing I’ve learned over the years is to just enjoy it; enjoy the game, enjoy what it brings you. Because when it’s said and done, you’re going to have a lot of great memories.”

Cardinals closer Jason Motte shut down until May, surgery an option | cardinals.com: News

This is not good news.

An MRI taken of Cardinals closer Jason Motte’s right elbow on Tuesday revealed a low-grade tear of the ligament, which, if it doesn’t show improvement over the next three weeks, will require season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Angels righty Jered Weaver has broken left elbow, will be out 4-6 weeks | angels.com: News

Ouch!

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-10-2013

Washington Herald, April 10, 1913:

A telegraphic offer of $15,000 was made [yesterday] to Ty Cobb, the hold-out outfielder of the Detroit team, to play with the [Lynchburg] club in the United States League this season.
...
If Cobb accepts, the money will be raised at once by popular subscription. Cobb declares that he will not play with the Tigers unless he gets $15,000, and President Navin declares he will not pay Cobb any such salary.

“Listen, Ty, we’ll give you $15,000 to play in a league ...

Carlos Carrasco drills Kevin Youkilis in first game back from suspension

Carrasco and the crowns: Synapse gap.

Carlos Carrasco made his season-debut Tuesday night after serving a long-delayed six-game suspension for intentionally hitting a batter. After his performance against the Yankees, it won’t be a shock to see him serve another.

Carrasco was ejected from the game with two out in the fourth inning after he drilled Kevin Youkilis in the back of his left shoulder one pitch after Robinson Cano took the righthander deep.

“No one ever knows if a guy truly ...

Wade Boggs thinks Red Sox should retire his number

Hail Boggs! (It’s about time somebody found him)

“It would be nice,” said Boggs, 54, who is currently the assistant baseball coach of the Wharton High School Wildcats here, wearing pinstripes. “Am I bitter? I thought when I wore a Boston hat in the Hall of Fame I’d be up there.

“It’s been eight years now. I used to be bitter. But I think those days are over. Was I bitter? Absolutely.”

...Boggs says he never needed steroids, even after his average dipped to a career-worst .259 ...

4-10-2013 OMNICHATTER

Omnichatter. It’s where the primates gather to discuss baseball games as they happen. Assuming, of course, they don’t get distracted by random bits of other pop culture or the fact that there is actually a ballplayer named Brad Peacock.

Abraham: Red Sox Sellout Streak Likely To End Wednesday

My, how times have changed. The last two non-sellout games at Fenway were in May 2003, featuring an opponent managed by Buck Showalter.

Bud Selig to create task force on blacks in baseball

Major League Baseball, alarmed by its historic low 7.7 % of African-American players on opening-day rosters this season, will announce the creation of a formal task force Wednesday to help reverse the decline, three MLB executives told USA TODAY Sports.

The executives spoke on the condition of anonymity because Commissioner Bud Selig has yet to announce it.

The 17-member committee will consist of owners, executives and coaches, including Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, Chicago White Sox vice ...

George: Get used to plenty of good seats being available at Miami Marlins home games

Of course, baseball at its intimate best, with the stripped-down Marlins puttering along at 1-7, simply does not appeal to everyone. There’s always something to do at the ballpark, though. Stargazing through the open roof on a comfortable April night, now there’s a romantic notion for you. And for the kids, there’s the latest variation on “Where’s Waldo,” that kooky search for a favorite character in the crowd.

We call it “Find Jeffrey Loria,” and in 2013 it’s apparently not ...

Where the Crazy Closer Comes From

FacePage was way ahead of its time:

I wondered if it would be possible to locate the origin of the Crazy Closer archetype. Was there one late-inning reliever who was simultaneously good at his job and bonkers, thus planting this archetype in the heads of baseball fans and writers forever after? In my hunt to find the answer to this question, I kept coming back to one man: Joe Page.