You spend a good piece of your Met season gripping a Vodka Collins and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.
The countdown on Terry Collins began on the first day of pitchers and catchers and nothing so far has made it any easier to believe he’ll be back with the Mets in 2014. Of course, Collins has handled his lame-duck status with grace and maturity — he’s an honest guy, good with people — but that hasn’t stopped Sandy Alderson from letting his ...
With a man on third and a man on first, it was the custom to start a double lead off the bases. The pitcher, as a rule, would peg to Jake [Beckley] and the runner on third would instantly break for home.
...
This was [Beckley’s] idea: The first time the enemy tried that double steal, he, Jake, instead of lingering round first, would be far up towards second; he would take the ball, let the runner on third do as he liked, send the ball to [Roy] Brashear, who was ...
McCatty passionately defended Strasburg this afternoon, saying that the expectations that media members and fans have placed on Strasburg have reached unfair levels, with it getting to the point that Strasburg almost is in a no-win situation.
“You guys put these levels on this guy that are almost unrealistic. You see something so talented, which he is, and when you saw that he was at times so good, you expect it every time,” McCatty said. “... His standards ...
As noted super scout, the amazing Chris Well pointed out…“Will Hudson be the last 200-game winner until the next one? Doubtful.”
Tuesday in Atlanta, Tim Hudson won the 200th game of his marvelous Major League Baseball career.
I hope you were paying attention.
Hudson became only the 110th pitcher in MLB history to accomplish the feat, according to STATS LLC. For context, 236 pitchers have thrown no-hitters. So, Hudson’s new distinction is more than twice as rare as having thrown a ...
Anthony Bosch, former director of the now-shuttered Biogenesis clinic in Miami being investigated by Major League Baseball for allegedly selling performance-enhancing drugs to players, corroborated Tuesday the statement of Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun that his attorneys used Bosch as a consultant only.
In an interview with ESPN, Bosch said he was contacted by Braun’s legal team in regard to their appeal of a positive test for elevated testosterone levels in November 2011. Braun won ...
Hell, I had a plum Gov-job lined up for the building of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (plays taps)...and I didn’t go.
His RBI single to close the 2011 season and knock the Boston Red Sox out of the pennant chase — known as the “Curse of the Andino” — will forever be remembered by Baltimore’s fans. He smiled when told he is part Orioles lore.
“It’s cool. I did something for them,” Andino said. “They showed me the love, so I’m good with it. I’m cool.”
WHAT will Bryce Harper do today?
WILL the Mets blow it again?
WHO can stop the mighty Red Sox?
WHEN will somebody foolishly mention their fantasy team?
WHY am I speaking in questions?
Here you had what ought to have been a taut, exciting affair, but the alarming thinness of both rosters meant, really, that neither team was up for it.
It started back in the sixth inning. Matt Harvey, the Mets’ ace, entered the inning having thrown 99 pitches. Harvey did not locate his fastball with his usual precision, but thanks to a slider that more than made up for it, he had his team ahead, 2-1. Typically, a young pitcher who’d struggled through five ...
I recently called Luhnow after I heard something in scouting circles that I found difficult to believe — that the Astros are instructing their minor leaguers not to swing at any 3-2 pitch.
“I don’t know where that came from,” Luhnow said, chuckling. “I heard that as well. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Our approach is the same top down. It’s driven by our hitting coach, John Mallee, and (assistant coach) Dan Radison. We want (hitters) to swing at pitches they can ...
By now, you’re no doubt familiar with the ongoing controversy roiling Nats Town and attracting national attention, involving pro- and anti-wave forces. Players are largely against it, from what we can tell. A large and vocal faction of fans is also trying to end the wave.
The battle reached a boiling point on Saturday afternoon, when one fan sitting near the back of Section 109 repeatedly attempted to start a wave during later innings — ...
“I think a lot of people that came here understood what happened last year,” Lester said. “We wanted to be a blip in the radar, and I think those guys saw that and said, ‘These guys’ track record speaks for themselves. We’re not going to base our decision on one down year.’ We have a good core, a good group of guys who know how to win and want to win (emphasis added), and I think that helped get some of these guys over here.”
Chicago, April 29—The Cincinnati team of the National League, appearing on the field for the first time in baseball history without its red stockings, was defeated by Chicago here to-day, by a score of 7 to 2.
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Joe Tinker’s men wore the pale stockings of the Chicago White Sox, loaned by Charley Comiskey, with complete outfit of uniforms, gloves, bats and shoes, as the Cincinnati team’s uniforms were accidentally left at St. Louis.
Ruben’s team…forced to close due age/health infractions.
Ruben Amaro, Jr. may be one of the more polarizing general managers in baseball today. In an age when most acknowledge more information is better, and better information is worth more than ever before, Amaro has publicly admitted his front office doesn’t employ an analytics department. This effectively foregoes about 50 percent of all available types of information. How someone in charge of a hundred million dollar business could do that ...
The teams were on the field for 6 hours, 32 minutes in a marathon game that ended at 1:41 a.m. on the West Coast. It was the longest game ever played in Oakland by time and the longest in Angels history as well.
Oakland slugger Yoenis Cespedes singled off the left-center wall to drive in the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Los Angeles went ahead 8-7 in the 15th on a bases-loaded walk, but the A’s tied it in the bottom half on Adam Rosales’ two-out single after a costly ...
Any gripes any fan has would only be the result of the current record. There is not one single substantial thing to hang on Gibby for this start.
Could it be that the team is actually as cold and playing as bad as we analysts keep saying, and that’s all? No evil mastermind bringing them down from within? That the pitchforks and torches are unwarranted?
Seriously, all this #firegibby talk, as if he’s the kryptonite of the club; it’s ...
Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg turned in a quality start against the rival Braves on Monday night, but now he’s receiving treatment for forearm tightness. MASN’s Dan Kolko tweets that Strasburg is receiving medication and being examined by team doctors. Manager Davey Johnson told reporters it’s too early to know whether Strasburg will be able to make his next start. Consider the situation to be developing.
While there’s no indication that this is anything serious, it of course bears ...
YouTube just keeps adding quality content. Last week it was comedy, and this week it’s bulking up on its sporting chops with a Major League Baseball partnership. Always among the most tech-savvy of major sports leagues, MLB has beefed up the offerings on its YouTube channel to include highlights from every game of 2013 (two days after they’ve occurred), and a vast archive of full games from as far back as 1952. Plus, should you reside outside the US, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, ...
Move over, Corky Graham! New WAR correspondent, Jon Heyman is on the scene!
Jon Heyman: i am not a hater of WAR stat, but if someone can explain to me how starling marte & bryce harper are both 1.7, please do
It’s a hardly a clown question, bro.
Heyman is citing the Baseball-Reference version of WAR, and as of this writing, the two men are rated as equal in their performance so far in 2013. Our own WARP has Harper at 1.9 WARP, with Marte at 0.8. That’s not a knock on Marte. Harper has ...
In the minor leagues, Class A Daytona manager Dave Keller benched phenom Jorge Soler for Sunday’s game after Soler twice failed to run hard Saturday.
“(Soler) sat (Sunday) because within the philosophy and the work ethic that we are trying to create in this organization—and that we are trying to get our players to understand – work ethic, energy, determination, playing hard and running hard is part of the whole program,” Daytona manager Dave Keller told ...
Lesley’s ex-wife, Chiho Svimonoff, told the website that the former athlete had been living in a nursing home, where he was receiving dialysis for kidney problems, for the past seven months. According to Svimonoff, the “Little Big League” star was rushed to hospital on Saturday night, and later died there from kidney failure.
Lesley made his Major League debut on July 31, 1982, pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, and was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1984 and let go from the team in 1985. ...Read More...
Not baseball related, but I figure this deserves a thread:
I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.
I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, “I’m different.” If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.
Alas, Tulowitzki left Sunday’s game against the Diamondbacks in the third inning after injuring his left shoulder in an awkward slide into home plate, and his availability going forward isn’t known.
According to the Denver Post‘s Troy Renck, the Rockies said Tulowitzki suffered a mild strain of the rotator cuff in his non-throwing shoulder and will be re-evaluated on Monday. If he goes on the disabled list, it will mark the fourth straight year that he’s missed significant time due to ...
I love Dynasty League Baseball and have played it for years. I love it so much I provided a free ad for the game this season to thank Mike Cieslinski for the many years of enjoyment I’ve gotten from the game. At some point I will do an in-depth review of the game for the site to so you can get a better idea about the game’s strengths and weaknesses.
Barely four months after heading the syndicate that bought the Yankees, chairman George Steinbrenner got what he wanted. On this day in 1973, Michael Burke, team president since 1966, resigned in disgust. Steinbrenner’s choice, Gabe Paul, took over the role. Burke’s abrupt departure marked the first domino in a line that would see GM Lee MacPhail, manager Ralph Houk, and PR head Bob Fishel all quit by year’s end. The old days in ...
Coach Branch Rickey is trying to give the [University of] Michigan ball team some inside stuff. “With one out and a man on third, if you get a base on balls run down to first, turn the bag, and start for second. Draw the throw. If you’re out, you’ll score the man. These college catchers won’t get the man at the plate,” he tells them.
The more I read about Rickey, the more I like him. Maybe some of his ideas were unsuccessful, but you can’t say he was unwilling to ...