Jim Bunning: Cubs’ sale at odds with MLB antitrust exemption

Jim Bunning: “You can’t fool the people that long.” Sweet fuctwa! Bunning’s been winning elections since 1977!

If anyone in the U.S. House or Senate decides to bring another challenge to Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption, the Cubs’ sale to the Ricketts family could become part of the case, former lawmaker Jim Bunning said.

Bunning, the baseball Hall of Famer who later led multiple threats and challenges to MLB’s exemption as a seven-term congressman and two-term senator, ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-16-2014

Pittsburgh Press, June 16, 1914:

Ray Chapman was to have cavorted in the shortfield in yesterday’s Washington-Nap game, but Dr. M.H. Castle, club physician, crossed Manager Birmingham at the last minute. He does not think Chappie will be ready for another week.

In the meantime Ray will spend most of his practice time running backwards. A half dozen players who dropped out of their team lineup because of fractured ankle bones got themselves back in trim by running backwards.

“A player favors an ...

It was 50 years ago today Cards got Lou Brock from Cubs

As my old Cubs pal Ellsworthless Dick used to say: “You can’t spell I Go Boner Rile! without Ernie Broglio!”

On June 15, 1964, with his team enjoying an off day, Cubs second baseman Joey Amalfitano heard a knock on the door of his apartment.

Old pal Ernie Broglio was there with a suitcase and a smile, which baffled Amalfitano because his former minor league roommate pitched for the Cardinals and the Phillies were next on the Cubs’ schedule.

“I said, ‘What in the world are you doing ...

Celebrating 60: Boog Powell was big part of Orioles’ dominance in 1960s, 1970s

The 1971 season was Powell’s last All-Star season. He played three more for the Orioles and then after the 1974 season, he was traded to Cleveland in a deal that brought Dave Duncan to Baltimore.

“I felt awful, disappointed,’’ Powell says. “I had deep roots in Baltimore.’‘

Powell had injury issues with his shoulder in his final seasons in Baltimore, but in 1975, he was healthy, leading to 27 home runs with 86 RBIs for the Indians. The Orioles won 90 games, but finished second in the AL East ...

BLS: Jimmy Rollins’ and Mike Schmidt’s career batting averages leave Ruben Amaro confused

The Amaro Variation: Monster-Error-of-the-Week.

In said appearance, Amaro did not seem to fully grasp the basic differences between a plate appearance and at-bat and how they effect stats such as batting average and on base percentage. The confusion stemmed from Philadelphia’s broadcast team noting that Jimmy Rollins was approaching Michael Schmidt’s team record for career hits — which he ultimately surpassed in a very cool moment on Saturday — to which Amaro replied.

  “Yeah, we were ...

6-15 OMNICHATTER (w/College World Series)

Chatter up MLB games and the College World Series here.

Cameron: FG on Fox: Maybe Hitters Are Being Too Passive

If this lasts, it would mark the first season ever recorded — as far back as Baseball-Reference’s data for that split goes anyway, which for this specific number is 1988 — where the OPS on at-bats with a first pitch swing was higher than the OPS on at-bats with a first pitch take. For most of the last 25 years, it hasn’t even been close.

Fangraphs: MLB Releases More Tracking Data, Names Product

We welcome our new StatCast overlords.  Here are the two new plays with StatCast data that have been released.

Yasiel Puig‘s insane catch.

Andrew McCutchen‘s only-slightly-less insane catch.

BtBS: Jonathan Lucroy is the best catcher in baseball

This season, Lucroy has compiled a .325/.394/.491 batting line for a 146 wRC+ and 2.4 fWAR, easily the highest mark among catchers. Over the last calendar year, he’s managed a .306/.370/.480 line for a 135 wRC+ and 5.3 fWAR. That’s a half win more than Molina and almost two full wins more than Posey. [...]

Lucroy, Molina and Posey all rate very highly with regards to pitch-framing. Of the three, Lucroy is clearly the best.

Jose Canseco plans to travel the country trying to break home run records

The former MLB slugger is hopping in an RV for 10 weeks and traveling the U.S. and Canada for a “Home Run Tour” in which he’s trying to break the records for longest baseball and softball home runs.

As far as ideas go…this is one.  They’ve got a graphic and everything.

Dodgers’ fans, players and Vin Scully react to Kings’ Stanley Cup victory

In fact, even those in attendance at Dodger Stadium had to find a way to get their eyes on overtime. They ended up flooding the concourse where the in-stadium televisions broadcast each heart-stopping pass, shot and save. Then, finally, with the baseball action in the bottom of the sixth inning, a small eruption could be heard as Alec Martinez tapped home a rebound for the Cup clinching goal.

AJ Ellis on crowd reacting to #LAKings win: “We knew they weren’t getting fired up over a Chone ...

Jordan Ellenberg: The Author of How Not to Be Wrong Explains How He Was Wrong

As Horatio Prim once (okay a lot more) said: “Odds bodkins!”

When you write a book called How Not to Be Wrong, you ought to expect to be fact-checked a little. And one of the virtues of the new, data-driven journalism currently in vogue is the habit of going back and checking one’s own old stuff. We’re not supposed to avert our gaze from the howlers in our old columns. We’re supposed to find the mistakes and learn from them.

Overall, my record’s not too bad. Mathematicians over 30 ...

Keri: The BestCoolest MLB Teams (I’ve Ever Seen)

Last year, I unveiled my rankings of the BestCoolest Player I’ve Ever Seen, pitchers and hitters editions. As with most other Grantland baseball fare, there was some level of objectivity to the rankings, since we can do a pretty good of evaluating the best players from the past 30-plus years. “Coolest” is an entirely different matter, though. Should steroids guys count? How is Rickey not no. 1? And what the hell should we do with Bo Jackson? While unanimity was impossible, you could still ...

Robin Yount, no fan of old timers games, says: ‘I ain’t playin’ so don’t ask me to come’

Love to hear Robin go tweet (NO!) tweet (NO!) tweet (NO!).

Yount is not sad to see the demise of old timers games. He said he would never consent to play in them because they diminish the memory of how good a player was when he was active.

“I think it (the Brewers Wall of Honor ceremony) was far better than any old timers game you could ever have,” Yount said. “I am not a fan of old timers games, in all honesty. And I’ll tell you why. Some of these kids will recognize names and not ...

George “The Animal” Steele Mangles A Baseball

Unlike Tiger Jeets Singh…George “The Animal” Steele still has range of motion (according to the new TheraBite Sabermetric System).

As noted earlier, WWE Hall of Famer George “the Animal” Steele threw out the ceremonial first pitch at The Charlotte Knights - Columbus Clippers MiLB game last Sunday at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC as part of “Animal Day.” You can watch Steele throw the pitch and mangle a baseball in the video above.

6-14-2014 OMNICHATTER (w/College World Series OMNICHATTER)

In addition to MLB games, today is also the first day of the College World Series:

3 PM- UC Irvine vs. Texas (ESPN2)

8 PM- Louisville vs. Vanderbilt (ESPN2)

CHATTER UP!

Bellone: Travis d’Arnaud is off to the worst start I have ever seen

So when I look at Travis d’Arnaud, the prized prospect the Mets acquired by trading R.A. Dickey, and think about how his lack of performance at the plate stacks up against the myriad poor performers that my favorite baseball team, the Mets, have put before me, I am considering a historical reference of about twenty years, dating back to 1994. And I can say, with some certainty, that d’Arnaud has been the least exciting, worst hitting, prospect I have ever seen.

Travis d’Arnaud has an OPS+ of ...

MLB: Ripken, Niekro urge youth to become role models

How are we ever going to Overgrow The Government with this kind of nonsense going on!?

Niekro said he recalled being a young pitcher with the Braves when he was invited into the hotel room of some fellow teammates where he suspected that recreational drugs might be available.

“I knew it was marijuana. I knew that’s what it was,” recalled the 75-year-old former knuckleballer. “I didn’t know what to do, so I stopped and thought, ‘I think I’ll call my dad and ask him what I should do.’ I knew ...

GIF: Carlos Torres punches himself in the head after blowing game

Thursday was not a good day for Mets reliever Carlos Torres. The team’s usually reliable relief workhorse entered the game with the score tied in the 12th inning, then allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk to effectively lose the game. It was ugly.

Rather than toss a water cooler or even punch a wall (with his non-pitching hand, of course), Torres opted for self-abuse and punched himself in the head a few times.

I just hope he doesn’t suffer from occasional bouts of ED.

Bandwagoners? Study shows Oakland A’s fans have third-highest “win sensitivity”

“Emory Sports Marketing Analytics released a study this week that ranked Major League Baseball fan bases in a variety of ways, including “win sensitivity.”

Nats much better off without Michael Morse

Michael Morse wasn’t the sharpest pencil in the box in the Washington Nationals clubhouse when he was here. Nice guy, good for some laughs, but if the clubhouse ever had to show up for a collective IQ test, let’s just say it would be a good time for Morse to take one of his many trips to the disabled lis

OMNICHATTER 6-13-2014

Friday the 13th OMNICHATTER

Derrick May & Dave May, Jr: What We Think About When We Think About Dad

DAVID MAY, JR.: Toward the end of his career, Dad tended to be more of a fourth or fifth outfielder, but he gained this reputation for being one of the greatest batting practice hitters in the game. I mean, from what his friends and ex-teammates have told me and what we remember, whenever he wanted to turn it on, Dad turned it on. One of those times was during the All-Star Game in Venezuela. Dave Parker was down there, too. This was during the 1976/1977 offseason. Parker was on the verge of ...

PressBox: 1960-69 All-Baltimore Amateur Baseball Team

Things Of Jauschnegg & Krimmelbein…and Greg Arnold.

And then there’s Arnold, who went to Southern and lives now in Glen Burnie.

“Greg Arnold is the hardest thrower I’ve ever seen in the city of Baltimore,” O’Malley said. “I was hosting a show for the old Caltech Cable Company, and we were interviewing Jim Palmer at his house. He said Greg had the best arm he’s ever seen.”

But Arnold’s arm often did not jive with his personality.

“If there had been radar guns back then, he easily would’ve ...

Shakeup could be coming for Padres after slow start

“I’ve never seen such stupid ballplaying in my life,”
-Ray Kroc, on the Jack Murphy Stadium PA system, April 9, 1974

Ron Fowler, the team’s executive chairman, indicated in an e-mail to FOX Sports on Thursday night that changes could be imminent for his struggling franchise.

“At this time, we will not be discussing our situation with any parties outside of our senior management circle,” Fowler said.

“That said, we are terribly disappointed in the team’s offense this year and staying the ...

Does Ruben Amaro Know That Walks Are Valuable?

Count the ring you nerds.

Amaro is talking about Jimmy Rollins’ pursuit of the club hit record and is comparing Rollins to Mike Schmidt.  As transcribed by Scott, here’s what Amaro said:

“Yeah, we were checking it out. In fact Schmitty was in the booth yesterday when we were talking about it, and, um, I think it’s about a thousand difference in, ah, plate appearances. Pretty amazing. But their batting averages aren’t that different, which is kind of… weird. I don’t quite understand ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-13-2014

Pittsburgh Press, June 13, 1914:

King Cole of the Yankees works at his trade as a barber in Chicago in winter. One day last winter a fan entered the shop and climbed into Cole’s chair. Glancing up, he recognized the tall pitcher.

“Here, boy,” said the patron to the porter, “bring a board and lay it over my feet.”

“Why do you want that board?” inquired Cole.

“Well,” explained the patron, “if you’re as wild with that razor as you were with a baseball last time I saw you you’ll be cutting my ...

Brewers to unveil Wall of Honor on Friday

The Brewers Hall of Fame
The Brewers Hall of Very Good
The Brewers Wall of Guys Who Played for the Brewers

In what might be the largest gathering ever of former Brewers players in one place at one time, the Brewers will unveil the newest major addition to Miller Park on Friday.

Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers and Robin Yount will be [ 58 Brewers ] greats in attendance for an afternoon ceremony at the Brewers Wall of Honor, a new installation outside the ballpark to commemorate ...

Tempers flare as Rockies beat Braves

The Rockies led 8-3 in the eighth when Dickerson fouled away a pitch and knocked off Laird’s facemask.

...

With his next pitch, Atlanta reliever David Carpenter hit Dickerson in the thigh and was ejected.

“I guess Carpenter thought it was on purpose,” Dickerson said.

Ah, those loveable scamps are at it again.

Davidoff: Mets’ fear of tearing it all down puts them behind Astros

As we sit on Thursday, the Astros (30-37) are percentage points ahead of the Mets (29-36). From Opening Day 2009 through the present, the Astros are 342-535, a .390 winning percentage. In the same time period, the Mets are 403-472 (.461). Few would dispute the Astros possess a deeper base of young talent than do the Mets, with rookies Jon Singleton and George Springer joining the club this year and many more coming.

You know why the Astros’ future seems brighter than the Mets’? In my ...