Jose Molina and Called Strikes - Beyond the Box Score

There is nothing like a handcrafted leather framing of a good pitch.

Barsch: Analytics and Hedgehogs: Lessons from the Tampa Bay Rays

Think my kids threw that “Sonic and the Silicon Warriors” book away years ago…

But enabling that hedgehog-like approach to pitching is a culture of measurement and analysis.  To illustrate, the SI article mentions that pitchers are encouraged to have a faster delivery (no more than 1.3 seconds should elapse between a pitch and hitting the catcher’s glove). Pitchers are also instructed to throw the changeup on 15% of deliveries. And while other pitchers try and focus on getting ahead of ...

Tomase: Red Sox Easy To Root For

From the Boston Herald, so it’s just making the case that it’s easy for Red Sox fans to root for this version of the team. Last year… not so much.

On WEEI this morning they noted how everyone in the dugout was giving Middlebrooks high-fives after his flyout yesterday. I think it’s a foregone conclusion that nobody was happy he made an out. And it’s a lot easier to maintain a positive attitude when ahead by double digits, and in first place. But it’s still a positive sign that they’re a ...

Josh Hamilton on early woes: ‘I’d suck anywhere right now’

It was painful at times, and the Texas homecoming was nastier than Los Angeles Angels right fielder Josh Hamilton ever envisioned, but finally it’s over.

“Rough crowd,” said Hamilton, after the Angels’ 7-3 defeat Sunday night to the Texas Rangers, concluding the three-game series. “It was a little more hectic than I expected. The persistence of the crowd. The first day, with the first couple of at-bats, I understood. I was able to block it out a lot better later.

“It was a little surprising, ...

Yallof: They came, we SAW, they conquered

As an insider once told me…“When Matt Yallof walks in the room…we stop talking baseball.”

Sensory overload. It’s our way of life. Constantly looking down and poking at a keyboard with one finger. So personable. With Twitter, Facebook, and real-time scoring apps, you can follow every pitch of an entire game without seeing a single play. I tried it and my eyes went blurry and a migraine kicked in by the bottom of the fourth. In many ways the technology is useful. But it also takes us away from ...

Panas: Defensive Activity at an All-time Low

Cheapest Jeter joke ever.

So, why does Neyer think this is a problem?  Fans love home runs and strikeouts can be exciting especially when your favorite power pitcher is dominating the opposition.  Neyer’s feeling is that baseball has reached the point where too much of a good thing has turned into not such a good thing and I agree with that sentiment.

The result of so many true outcomes is widespread defensive inactivity.  There are fewer players involved in the action than ever before.  That ...

Sickels: Prospect Retrospective: Vida Blue

From the “You Had To Be There File”...

He spent most of 1970 in Des Moines, pitching outstandingly for the Triple-A Iowa Oaks of the American Association, posting a 12-3, 2.17 ERA with a 165/55 K/BB in 133 innings with just 88 hits allowed. He made such a positive impression that long-time baseball watchers in Des Moines still talked about his tenure there 20 years later.

Promoted to the majors in September, he made six starts for Oakland and wowed the baseball world by throwing a no-hitter ...

Sunday wasn’t a good day to be one of baseball’s best pitchers

I can almost kiss my “Those Nasty Coelom Diploblasters” fantasy team goodbye…

Sunday wasn’t a good day to be an ace pitcher in Major League Baseball — with a few exceptions, like C.C. Sabathia, who led his New York Yankees to a 7-0 win over Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers. Verlander didn’t look as bad as the score indicates either, giving up three earned runs in 7 1/3 innings. Some of Verlander’s fellow frontline starters can’t say the same.

Let’s check the scorecard:

• David ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-8-2013

Pittsburgh Press, April 8, 1913:

Handcuff baseball is the latest wrinkle that Coach Rickey has introduced into the training camp of the [University of] Michigan ball players.
...
The game is played in the ordinary way, except the man at bat is handcuffed by tying two ropes to his wrists and attaching them to his belt. Then the coach tells him to bunt the ball and woe betide him if the heave is high and he attempts to put the bat up into it. The ball simply whizzes by and the batter has his ...

April 8, 2013 OMNICHATTER

More teams have their home openers as the second full week of baseball begins…

The Baseball Show with Rany and Joe - 4/2/13

Now sponsored by Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index!

- Joe is a character in the new MLB: The Show video game.  (So is Aaron Gleeman, BTW.)  Since Joe isn’t a video game player, he doesn’t really know the details, but he’s happy.

- Playoff predictions:
Rany: TOR, DET, LAA, TB (wild card), TEX (wild card), WAS, CIN, ARI, ATL (wild card), STL (wild card); play-ins: TB d. TEX, ATL d. STL; World Series: WAS d. TOR
Joe: TB, DET, TEX, TOR (wild card), LAA (wild card), WAS, CIN, SD, SF (wild ...

MLB: Howard’s slow start doesn’t concern Manuel

Chino chimes in…“Fantasy owners, it’s a different story.”

Ryan Howard had a rough afternoon before singling in the ninth inning Sunday at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies’ first baseman had struck out three times in his first four at-bats. Even with the single, he is hitting .167 (4-for-24) with three RBIs, two walks and eight strikeouts in six games. He is still looking for his first extra-base hit.

“I think a lot of guys come out sometimes, you play two or three games, and if you don’t hit ...

Major League Baseball: The Social Media Rundown [INFOGRAPHIC]

Baseball in social media.

Braves place Freddie Freeman on DL with oblique strain

Freeman in Plaster of Paris.

The Braves have placed first baseman Freddie Freeman on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained oblique, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.

Freeman sustained the injury during a workout last Sunday. As Bowman subsequently notes, Freeman is hardly pleased by the decision to deactivate him:

Mark Bowman tweet: Freeman thinks he could play through the pain. He doesn’t understand why the club opted to DL him hours after he was on deck for Upton’s HR

Mark Bowman ...

Lemke: Phil Nerone stripped uniform, left pro ball

A regular Mike Damone in the making…

One of the stories detailed the short, but memorable career of former Appleton Foxes outfielder Phil Nerone.

Written by sports staffer Mike Woods, the story quoted former team executive Milt Drier and his recollection of Nerone.

“It was at spring training in 1976,” said Milt Drier, a former team president of the Foxes, “All of a sudden one day, while he was in the outfield, he took off all his baseball clothes.”

The hat hat, the glove, the pants, the ...

Hall of Fame 3B Schmidt, Brett undecided about attending Cooperstown ceremony in July

Not what Gossage was counting on.

Hall of Fame third basemen George Brett and Mike Schmidt are both undecided if they’ll attend this summer’s induction ceremonies at Cooperstown.

No one was elected to the Hall of Fame this year. For only the second time in four decades, baseball writers didn’t give any player the 75 percent required for induction. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa were among the Steriod Era stars shut out .

Houston Astros second baseman Craig Biggio, 20th on ...

Free agency isn’t really dying. But it is definitely changing | MLB.com

There will always be free agents. Maybe not as many 27 year-old free agents, but for teams wanting to make a splash, guys like Josh Hamilton will always be around.

Detroit Tigers Max Scherzer pitches - ESPN

Depression is serious. Hopefully someone suffering from the illness will be helped by the Scherzers sharing their story.

Tampa Bay Rays apologize for mascot holding offensive sign

I am sorry for holding up the funny, offensive sign.

Red Sox no longer short on depth | Boston Herald

My guess, Bogaerts ends up staying at short.

“They’re definitely among the stronger groups” in baseball at the shortstop position, said Jim Callis, executive editor of Baseball America. “Xander may (switch positions) when he’s ready for the big leagues, but the more I talk to people about him, people who used to point out that he’s athletic and big and may wind up having to move, now the more of those people you talk to, it’s, ‘You know what, this guy may be able to stay ...

Rangers intentionally walk Pujols three times to face Josh Hamilton - CBSSports.com

Subtract one Vernon Wells, add one Josh Hamilton. It’s all about balance.

So, how did Hamilton respond to being challenged by his former team? Not so well:

First and second with two outs in the second: Three-pitch strikeout.
First and second with two outs in the fourth: Three-pitch strikeout.
First and second with one out in the eighth: First-pitch fly out to left.

Hamilton, 31, went 0 for 4 with a walk, a run scored and two strikeouts in the game, dropping his season batting line to ...

Colorado Rockies trade Ramon Hernandez to L.A. Dodgers for Harang, cash - The Denver Post

Weird deal.

The Rockies traded catcher Ramón Hernández to the Dodgers for pitcher Aaron Harang and cash considerations Saturday.
The Rockies then designated Harang for assignment and will attempt to trade him. They have 10 days to make a deal.
Regardless if he’s dealt, the Rockies will save money in the transaction, roughly in the $1 million range.

David Dahl sent to extended spring training after just one game

David Dahl has been a bad boy, a baaaaaaaaad boy.

Are Red Sox equipped to deal with injury to John Lackey? - Red Sox - Boston.com

Watching the game, I wonder why Lackey didn’t call out the trainer when he first felt discomfort. Hopefully, it was just a cramp.

T206 Honus Wagner baseball card sets $2.1M auction mark - ESPN

Wow!

The most coveted baseball card of all-time proved its worth once again early Saturday morning, as the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card sold for $2.1 million in an online auction.

Yankees’ minor league affiliate starts brush fire with postgame fireworks display

The Scranton Times Tribune reports that the blaze started after fireworks landed on some dry brush in a field just beyond the stadium, which we probably could have surmised on our own. They did add that the fire was contained to just one acre of land which means local firefighters reacted quickly and did a good job knocking it down.

It sounds as though conditions were conducive to brush fires as typically spring does bring warmer temperatures and drier weather. In fact, local meteorologist ...

April 7, 2013 OMNICHATTER

Some pitching match-ups to watch: Lester vs. Dickey, Sabathia vs. Verlander, Wainwright vs. Cain, and, in the ESPN game of the week: Weaver vs. Darvish.

And I didn’t even mention Strasburg’s pitching (against Cueto).

Upton brothers homer in 9th, Braves rally to win

Y’all gonna make me lose my mind.

B.J. Upton led off the ninth inning with a homer and his brother Justin followed one out later with another long ball that helped the Atlanta Braves rally past embattled Chicago Cubs closer Carlos Marmol for a 6-5 victory Saturday night.

Marmol had been through a tough week. He was pulled from a save situation after facing four batters and not recording an out in Chicago’s win at Pittsburgh on opening day, but he earned a save on Thursday against the Pirates ...

Jeter essentially starting Spring Training over

Well, since he’s never won the James P. Dawson Award.

Yankees captain Derek Jeter took 41 ground balls hit directly at him on the grass near the left-field fence at the club’s Minor League complex in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday morning, according to The Associated Press.

If that update sounds familiar, it is because Jeter went through similar activities back on Feb. 11. All signs indicate that the 38-year-old is essentially starting Spring Training over after a March 23 setback with his ...

ESPN: Wrigley renovation deal close

The agreement is expected to include $300 million in renovations at Wrigley, more night games, a parking lot and a $200 million hotel nearby, the people said. They said the team would pick up the entire tab to renovate Wrigley

The plan calls for a video scoreboard inside the park in left field and another sign in right field, said one person close to the negotiations. The size of the video scoreboard was among the details still being worked out. Some owners of the famed rooftops across the ...