OMNICHATTER is smart! OMNI is smart and wants respect! on May 20, 2017

Price Makes Rehab Start in Pawtucket Loss | MiLB.com

A Price sighting.

Mike Trout: Baseball’s Best, Without the Brand - The New York Times

“What he does on a daily basis, it’s just awesome to watch and be a part of,” Angels starting pitcher Matt Shoemaker said. “There’s always something brand-new he’s done in baseball that no one’s ever done.”

Trout is LeBron James in spikes, Tom Brady out of shoulder pads, minus their championship rings. Also missing is something that barely matters to Trout but is so important to other athletes in his echelon: a brand.

ESPN Olney:The stupidity of retaliation

Major League Baseball is in an era of enlightenment, in which organizations are filled with bright minds of men and women who won’t accept the status quo without examination. The phrase That’s the way it’s always been done is routinely ignored, thankfully, and more informed decisions are made….

But somehow, as the sport has evolved, the practice of retaliation—through the use of a baseball thrown at a prone human target—is still in play, left over like a horse and buggy in the middle of an ...

The man behind Cody Bellinger’s early success with the Dodgers

Meet Cody Bellinger.

A Legendary Butt: Meet Your Favorite Ballplayer’s Best Friend

As Oks recalls, the daily ritual began in conversation with a few veteran Cardinals like Smith and former All-Star Pedro Guerrero. It was 1989 or thereabouts. Details are a little hazy. Their banter one day devolved into talk of pranks. Oks said he’d moon the Cardinals bus. The players called his bluff. Oks was adamant. Smith remembers thinking, “Yeah, right.”

“They didn’t believe me, so I did it, and from there, it carried on for many years,” Oks, now 55, said. “Every day, every ...

Giancarlo Stanton says frustration level is “highest ever”

Giancarlo Stanton should be a happy man, what with a $325 million contract that sets him up for life.

But all that money—guaranteed to the decimal—isn’t putting a smile on his face. He is fed up with losing, and losing is all he’s ever known as a Marlin.

Before taking the field Thursday at Dodger Stadium, before the Marlins tossed another loss into the raging bonfire, Stanton said his frustration level is reaching new heights.

“It’s probably the highest ever,” Stanton said. “It’s ...

Olney: The stupidity of retaliation

So what was the point of the retaliation?

Longtime broadcaster Joe Simpson asked a really great question as Teheran struggled in the early innings: How much was Teheran thinking about his forthcoming retaliatory strike on Bautista as he prepared and warmed up for the game? Because drilling a hitter on purpose is not something pitchers do often.

Keep in mind: Teheran went into Thursday’s start needing performance traction. He really could have used a clean first inning, to get off to a good ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-19-2017

Chicago Eagle, May 19, 1917:

John B. Foster, secretary of the New York Giants, agrees with President Barrow of the International league that the game of baseball will not suffer because of war. He believes even that baseball might be stimulated.

“War has never hurt baseball in this country,” said Foster. “As a matter of fact, it was the baseball played during the Civil war by the soldiers which resulted in giving the game its great impetus in this country.
...
“Baseball games have been played ...

OMNICHATTER, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, for May 19, 2017

The end of the Cuban revolution is coming soon with Luis Robert’s signing

The Cuban revolution in Major League Baseball ends this week. Technically, Luis Robert, 19 years old, 6-foot-2, 180 yoked pounds, outfielder, right-handed hitter and thrower, fast as a bullwhip and, like every one of his predecessors, especially interesting because he is shrouded in the unknown, is not the last baseball player to come to the United States from Cuba. The drip-drip-drip of talent, whether through defection or an agreement between the league and nation, will cease no time soon.

...

Manfred Eyes 2019 For Regular-Season Games In Europe

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred remains hopeful the sport can play regular-season games in Europe for the first time in 2019.

Major League Baseball had hoped to have European games in 2018, possibly between the Yankees and Red Sox at London’s Olympic Stadium, but decided there was not enough time to get plans in place.

“It’s something we’d really like to do in 2019,” Manfred said Thursday following a quarterly owners’ meeting. “I can’t tell you we are going to do it. I ...

Angels To Sign Doug Fister

The Angels are in agreement with free-agent right-hander Doug Fister on a Major League contract, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Fister is a client of PSI Sports Management.

As of last week, the 33-year-old Fister was said to be close to signing, and Cotillo listed the Angels as one of five clubs in the mix for him at that time.

MLB probing incident involving Kevin Pillar’s homophobic slur

Major League Baseball says it is investigating an incident in which Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar appeared to say a homophobic slur at Atlanta Braves pitcher Jason Motte during Wednesday night’s game.

Pillar struck out swinging to end the seventh inning of Atlanta’s 8–4 win and felt he was quick-pitched by Motte.

Pillar started to yell toward the mound at Motte after he struck out….

illar apologized to for actions after the game.

“It was immature, it was stupid, it was ...

MLB To Stream Games Live On Facebook Without Blackouts

Major League Baseball games are coming to Facebook (NASDAQ: FB). The announcement was made today by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred at the end of the quarterly owners meetings in New York City. The deal will see a national game streamed via MLB’s Facebook page each Friday beginning with tomorrow’s (Friday. May 19th) game between the Rockies at Reds at 7:10pm ET. Other matchups will be announced at a later date.

“This is very important for us to experiment [with Facebook],” said Manfred.

...

Baseball Prospectus | Pitching Backward: What We Know About Spin Rate

I hope this doesn’t make your head spin.

Peter Gammons: The Pirates and the depreciating asset of Gerrit Cole - GammonsDaily.com

Most big Scott Boras clients come with an expiration date tag. Sometimes, that free agent promise date seems a distraction; their teams believe it in the cases of Jake Arrieta and Matt Harvey, but it never distracted Max Scherzer from his relentless drive for greatness.

Puerto Rico’s spirit is alive on the baseball fields

Those who don’t understand it never will. It’s the same reason we held a parade after the WBC for #LosNuestros, our guys, even though they didn’t win it all. Puerto Ricans take a lot of pride in wearing their flag, letting people know where they are from. Even the people living in the U.S., you are still Puerto Rican at heart. You are still Boricua.

OMNICHATTER forgives, but does not forget, for May 18, 2017

Scoreboards for the Major Leagues and all minor leagues,
courtesy of Jefferson Manship (Dan Lee).

Mock MLB Draft 3.0 | BaseballAmerica.com

1. Twins

Minnesota appears to be leaning toward McKay, but considering him as much now as a hitter as on the mound. Some evaluators agree that McKay has more looseness at the plate than he does on the mound, and may have more upside as a hitter, but that he’s a safer bet on the mound.

However, the best combination of upside and modest risk is Vanderbilt righthander Kyle Wright, who is the third player on the Twins’ list in addition to McKay and Greene. The Twins have been in hard on ...

How Mike Trout Is Hitting Better Than Ever – The Ringer

Trout has achieved his historic consistency through a remarkable ability to evolve. Throw him high fastballs designed to elude his low-ball swing, and he’ll eventually become one of the best hitters against that pitch. Tell him his arm is weak, and he’ll work on throwing until his arm is no longer a liability. Point out that he’s stopped stealing bases, and after combining for 27 in two years, he’ll swipe 30 in a single season. We’ve seen Trout stand out as an all-around stud capable ...

Twins Miguel Sano is 2017’s hardest hitter | MLB.com

Highest percentage of batted balls hit 95 mph or harder in 2017
68.3 percent—Sano, Twins
58.9 percent—Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
58.0 percent—Khris Davis, A’s
57.6 percent—Joey Gallo, Rangers
55.5 percent—Nicholas Castellanos, Tigers
54.6 percent—Manny Machado, Orioles
52.9 percent—Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
51.3 percent—Aaron Judge, Yankees
51.3 percent—Matt Carpenter, Cardinals
51.0 percent—Justin Bour, Marlins
Minimum 50 balls in play. MLB average—33.5 percent

...Read More...

Jim Furtado Posted: May 18, 2017 at 10:50 AM | 7 comment(s)
  Beats: statcast

New York Mets’ injury issues go far beyond the disabled list

“It’s the same old, same old mistakes,’’ one industry source said. “The Mets are a successful, profitable organization. But no organization, over a protracted period of time, has more significant players on the disabled list. There’s a failing across the board. And what changes have been instituted, if any?’‘

Freddie Freeman expected to miss significant time

There’s no official word as to whether or not Freddie Freeman has a broken wrist, but the expectation is the Atlanta Braves star first baseman will miss significant time.

As a result, the Braves are discussing options at first base moving forward, including outside options. One potential in-house fill-in, Adonis Garcia, is on the disabled list with an Achillies injury, which makes the need to look outside more pressing.

There’s still no word from the Braves, but there was real concern and ...

Cubs fan dies after falling over railing at Wrigley: ‘He was a great guy, everyone loved him’

A Wheaton man died a day after falling over a railing and hitting his head while leaving Wrigley Field after Tuesday night’s game, officials said.

Richard E. Garrity, 42, was pronounced dead at 3:33 p.m. Wednesday at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.  Garrity was taken by private ambulance to the hospital, police said.

The Cubs said in a statement that Garrity fell as he was leaving the ballpark around 11 p.m.  The game had ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-18-2017

Seattle Star, May 18, 1917:

Seattle school kids will again be admitted to the baseball park free of charge tomorrow to see the Giants and Butte club play. The boys were admitted last Saturday, and behaved so well it was decided to give them another free day.

Thumbs up, old timey Seattle team.

Study shows youth baseball, softball participation on the rise

Baseball and softball combined to rank as the most participated team sport in 2016, according to the annual report by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, a leader in sports participation research.

Equally important from baseball’s perspective, the sport showed growth in both casual and core participation over one-, three- and five-year periods at a time when the trends in other team sports are less encouraging, said Tom Cove, the president and CEO of SFIA.

The findings in SFIA’s ...

Jung Ho Kang’s suspended sentence upheld by South Korean court

A South Korean court on Thursday upheld a suspended prison sentence for Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang over a drunken driving conviction, a ruling that may complicate his plans to rejoin his team this season.

The Seoul Central District Court dismissed Kang’s appeal of a suspended eight-month prison sentence over charges of fleeing the scene after crashing a car into the guardrail while driving drunk in December, a court official said. The court official didn’t want to be named, ...

Pillar, Bautista apologetic after bench-clearing incidents

Blue Jays outfielders Kevin Pillar and Jose Bautista were both apologetic on Wednesday night after they were involved in on-field incidents that twice cleared the benches against the Atlanta Braves.
In the top of the seventh inning, Jason Motte struck out Pillar to end the inning. After his swing and miss, Pillar said something to Motte as the pitcher headed for the dugout and despite there being no physical aggression, both benches cleared.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Pillar called ...

Braves pitcher Eric O’Flaherty: I’ve seen it from Jose Bautista too much

Benches emptied in the Blue Jays-Braves game Wednesday night after Toronto slugger Jose Bautista homered to left field, stood at home plate and stared toward pitcher Eric O’Flaherty before flipping the bat away with a towering toss in Atlanta.

Jace Peterson said something to Bautista as he rounded first, and Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki was waiting for Bautista when he touched home.

No punches were thrown, but O’Flaherty didn’t mince words about Bautista’s actions.

“That’s something making the ...