Chicago Cubs say slow start offers ‘no need to worry’

Do it like 1978!

Cubs manager Joe Maddon is keeping calm while fans in Chicago might be “freaking out” over the team’s 25-24 record as the calendar hits Memorial Day. After a weekend sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Maddon was asked what to tell a nervous fan base.

“Please, go ahead and freak out,” he said with a smile. “If you want to freak out, freak out.”

Statcast: Taylor’s speedy grab | MLB.com

I bet this wasn’t on Sportscenter.

Brandon McCarthy expected to make next start | MLB.com

Look like no DL time for now. Will he be able to make it through a whole season in the rotation?

OTP 29 May 2017: Should we double check with Rod Laver?

Political controversy in sport is global, as witness this episode from Down Under:

Margaret Court said last week she would not travel on Qantas because the boss of the airline, Alan Joyce, supported same-sex marriage.

A volley of controversy followed. It was even suggested that the Melbourne Park court named after the winner of 24 grand slam titles be renamed. It is amazing how stupid some of our community can be.

Should we double check with Rod Laver on his thoughts? What if he doesn’t ...

Mike Trout sprains thumb in Angels’ loss to Marlins

Trout sprained his left thumb on a head-first slide during the Angels’ 9-2 loss to the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon, the disappointing end to a trip in which they lost six of 10 games.

Initial X-rays revealed that Trout doesn’t have a fracture, but an MRI on Monday will show the extent of soft tissue damage. At this point, he may miss only a day or two, or he may be placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career.

A lie told often enough becomes OMNICHATTER, for May 28, 2017

Well said: Orioles are ‘swinging at a lot of pitches we probably can’t do much with’ - Baltimore Sun

“It’s kind of hard to pinpoint,” outfielder Mark Trumbo said. “I think everybody’s probably got something different going on, but I think we’re swinging at a lot of pitches we probably can’t do much with. We need to do a better job capitalizing on the good pitches and laying off some of the ones that are in the dirt and so forth.”

Strikeouts keep rising across baseball, but Red Sox have been game’s best team at hitting with two strikes - Sports - providencejournal.com - Providence, RI

The Red Sox are also not hitting a lot of home runs. Coincidence?

Phillies need to sell Jeremy Hellickson this time around – Phillies Nation

Doesn’t Kirsten Swanson know other teams have access to his full-season performance as well?

Terry Collins deserves more time with Mets, but will he get it? - NY Daily News

Does Terry Collins know that he can throw some relievers multiple innings?

Sunday Notes: Tribe’s McKenzie, Mariners’ Motter, Barnette on the Shuuto, SSS Match-up Comps, more | FanGraphs Baseball

David Laurila’s latest.

Jeff Banister addressed match-ups and sample size prior to Tuesday’s game. The Texas Rangers manager brought up a salient point when doing so. When there’s not much of a history between a particular hitter and a particular pitcher, introducing comps to the equation can help.

“(You’re) finding like pitchers, like hitters, like stuff, matching them up and extrapolating them out to come up with a better predictor,” explained Banister. “So when you get that 15 to ...

Rays journal: Steven Souza Jr. laughing right along after comical dive | Tampa Bay Times

“I can’t really think of one that tops that,” CF Kevin Kiermaier said. “I was just hysterically laughing out there.”

Souza said he heard from so many people he had to turn off the messaging on his phone, but he also engaged, sending a tweet to the folks running MLB’s StatCast asking for a breakdown, which it said was that he came up 23 feet short and had “0% catch probability but a five-star effort.”

Scott Boras says Jake Arrieta still elite pitcher even though velocity has dropped

And his shoes. His shoes look great. This are so shiny you can see your face. And have you seen his last haircut? Great! A great haircut!

Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta’s agent, Scott Boras, pushed back on the notion Arrieta isn’t an elite pitcher just because his fastball velocity has dropped this year, while also insisting it’s way too small of a sample size to judge the free agent to be.

“The question becomes what’s [Clayton] Kershaw averaging?” Boras said Saturday at Dodger Stadium. ...

Stephen Strasburg sets career high with 15 K’s | MLB.com

Should it really count when it’s against a bad AAA team?

Homer Simpson inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

Clearly deserving ... but near as I can tell Bugs Bunny is not there which is a travesty!

Cards notebook: Carpenter defies shift; Sierra still surging | St. Louis Cardinals | stltoday.com

“If their third baseman is not there, if they don’t have a shortstop playing third or someone on the grass on the left side, I’ll do it every time,” Carpenter said. “I look every time. If they had a true David Ortiz (shift) where they are all over there, I would do it every time. But they don’t because they know I would do it.”

Fantasy Draft Rankings for Imaginary Players

Roy Hobbs—The Natural
A 35-year-old rookie with a nebulous past and no minor-league track record to speak of? Sign me up! A shooting in a hotel room, an outfielder dying after crashing through a fence, and a bribe potentially influencing a top player’s effort all illustrate the challenges fantasy managers would have had in the 1930s had our game existed back then. Pick up Hobbs? Whatever. Life in Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry’s scripted version of the 1952 Bernard Malamud novel is a ...

Former Senator, baseball Hall of Famer Jim Bunning has died

Former Republican Senator Jim Bunning has died.

He served as a United States senator from 1999 to 2011.

Bunning pitched in the MLB for 17 years and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996.

His career was spent mostly with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies.

Bunning had suffered a stroke at his Southgate home in October.

He was 85 years old.

You’re a disease, and OMNICHATTER is the cure, for May 27, 2017

Senator Jim Bunning Dies at 85

Former U.S. Senator and National Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Bunning has died.

He was 85.

“Heaven got its #1 starter today. Our lives & the nation are better off because of your love & dedication to family,” tweeted David Bunning, the senator’s son and a federal judge for the eastern district of Kentucky.

R.I.P.

Hollywood casts the Chicago Cubs - Chicago Cubs Blog- ESPN

Kyle Hendricks: “Dustin Hoffman in ‘The Graduate.’ Embodies the quiet cerebral determination that Dustin’s character had in the movie. And I can’t deny that I project him to have a hidden mischievous side.”

Phillies’ Bowa, Hernandez form bond that crosses generational and cultural lines

“We just had a meeting and I told these guys, ‘Even if all you go 0-for-4, you should still be dead tired at the end of the game from backing up bases, moving on pitches and going out for relays,’” Bowa said. “These are things that come into play. You’re in a position on the field where you’re always in the middle of the action. Double plays are huge. It’s the pitcher’s best friend. So you have to stay alert.

“In the end, they know I’m trying to help them, and if I see them trying to take ...

With 95 mph slider, Glover seizing opportunity to close - Nationals Pastime

Glover is doing his job thanks in part to some extra oomph on his secondary pitches. In the last few days, he has thrown six sliders that registered at least 94 mph. His final pitch last night to Renfroe was a slider that officially clocked in at 95.6 mph, the hardest slider for a swinging strike in the majors this season, according to MLB.com’s Statcast figures.

Brian Kenny on Twitter: “Regarding the Andrew McCutchen comeback: An absence of good news.

Regarding the Andrew McCutchen comeback:
An absence of good news. #DiggingIntoTheData pic.twitter.com/kUuZJAHWn2

— Brian Kenny (@MrBrianKenny) May 27, 2017

Yankees ticket sales plunge; New York has lost $166 million since 2009 | SI.com

Wow.

Last year, Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost, went on the team’s local radio station, WFAN, and basically admitted the Yankees want to keep the riff raff away from the wealthy people who spend the big bucks.

“The problem below market at a certain point is that if you buy a ticket in a very premium location and pay a substantial amount of money,” Trost said. “It’s not that we don’t want that fan to sell it, but that fan is sitting there having paid a substantial amount of money for ...

Before we start, my safeword is OMNICHATTER, for May 26, 2017

Rachel Robinson To Join Husband In Hall Of Fame

“Rachel Robinson has worked tirelessly to raise the level of equality not only in baseball, but throughout society,” Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark aid in a statement. “Through her grace, dignity and unsurpassed spirit, she continues to show the value, decency and importance of inclusiveness.”

Braves Rio Ruiz positioned to remain in Majors | MLB.com

Rio Ruiz was distraught last week when the Braves opted not to promote him from Triple-A Gwinnett after Adonis Garcia was placed on the disabled list. But when Freddie Freeman fractured his left wrist the next day, Ruiz was given an opportunity that has positioned him to remain Atlanta’s primary third baseman even after Garcia is activated.

Ruiz is far from a finished product, as there remains some concern about his strikeout rate, struggles against left-handed pitching and some defensive ...

A look at what all 30 teams can do with MLB’s free agent mega-class of 2018-19

Over the next 18 months, as two trade deadlines and one offseason pass, all 30 teams in baseball will have one eye trained squarely on Las Vegas. The city’s reputation as chaos agent certainly won’t abate on account of baseball holding its most anticipated Winter Meetings ever there. What happens in Vegas will reverberate for the next decade.

For those who have yet to hear about the free-agent class of 2018-19, here’s a sampling: Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Clayton Kershaw, Josh ...

Big League Talent Harder to Find in 2017

An area scout was discussing his region. But based on conversations with scouts around the country, he may as well have been talking about the whole 2017 draft class.

“I feel like a beachcomber with a metal detector,” he said, “and all I keep finding is a broken earring here or there.”

Scouts do not expect to look back at the 2017 draft with fondness. But they will look back and find big leaguers, even impact big leaguers, who came out of this class.

They’re just harder to find, ...