‘Battered Bastards of Baseball’ review: Portland Mavericks’ story is true to the team’s name

I give it 4.5 Rob Neyer flannel shirts out of a possible 5.

First-time directors Chapman and Maclain Way are the grandsons of Bing Russell, the cowboy actor who founded the independent, minor-league Portland Mavericks in 1973, so “Battered Bastards” is an affectionate family valentine rather than a hard-hitting exposé.  But the Ways’ family connections probably helped convince a number of erstwhile Mavs to sit for interviews, not least of them Bing’s movie-star son Kurt, who rhapsodizes about ...

MLB: Brewers heartbroken by death of Jean Segura’s 9-month-old son

Just awful. Nothing else to say.

MILWAUKEE—Sometimes life trumps losing streaks. Saturday was one of those sometimes for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Players spent the morning trying to focus on an ostensibly big game against the rival Cardinals while hurting inside for shortstop Jean Segura, who was informed following Friday’s series-opening loss that his nine-month-old son, Janniel, had died suddenly in the Dominican Republic. [...]

Segura’s return to the team is open-ended. A player can remain ...

Cardinals execute bizarre 5-8 forceout at second base

The ole dropped-bunt-throw-to-center-fielder-covering-second-base. All those drills in practice have finally paid off.

5-8 on a hop is strange.  Really though, something like this should be infield fly rule.

Aroldis sets MLB record with K in 40th straight game

His streak began on Aug. 21, 2013.

Chapman surpassed Bruce Sutter, who did so in 39 straight games from June 1-Oct. 2, 1977.

Given the current environment, I would have guessed that this record was like five minutes old.  But 1977…that impressive.  I guess.

OMNICHATTER 7-12-2014

The “Last Saturday Before The Break” OMNICHATTER

Seinfeld Had Backup Plan In Case Keith Hernandez Couldn’t Cut It On The Set

It turned out the writers and producers had a backup plan if Hernandez’s nerves got to him. If the memorable performance was average, Hernandez could have seen his scene cut. The hour-long double-episode could have been a single episode, with a greater emphasis on George Costanza’s subplot.

Bullet dodged.  I love that episode.

Brooks: Baseball or Soccer?

Is life more like baseball, or is it more like soccer?
...
Most of us spend our days thinking we are playing baseball, but we are really playing soccer. We think we individually choose what career path to take, whom to socialize with, what views to hold. But, in fact, those decisions are shaped by the networks of people around us more than we dare recognize.

If life were anything like that Argentina-Netherlands semifinal, I would have swerved into oncoming traffic years ago.  That was 120 ...

Fangraphs: Let’s Imagine a Baseball-Playing LeBron James

Fun with stats!

Obviously, the first step is figuring out James’ single-season value, and this is why we’ll have two approaches. One idea: last year, James was worth about 2.3% of all basketball WAR. Because a baseball season has 1,000 total WAR, that would give us a target of about 23. The other idea: James is projected for about 21 WAR. That’s over an 82-game season, so over a 162-game season, you’d be talking about almost 42 WAR. I don’t know which way to go, so I’ll go both.

Texas Rangers catcher Geovany Soto arrested Wednesday on marijuana possession charge

Texas Rangers catcher Geovany Soto was arrested Wednesday night in Grapevine on a marijuana possession charge.

Soto, 31, was pulled over for speeding around 10 p.m. in the 3500 block of Ira E. Woods Avenue, said Grapevine police spokesman Sgt. Robert Eberling.

He has been charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana under 2 ounces. Eberling said Soto was cooperative during the arrest.

Soto is free on a $500 bail. The Tarrant County district attorney’s office filed his charges Friday. ...

CCB: Cubs Wind Landmarks OK for Wrigley Redo

The team finally got the news they’ve been aiming to hear for years.

Adrian Beltre sets a major league record (3B total bases)

1) Yesterday, Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre set the major league record for career total bases by a 3B and he is 8th vs. the league average.

MOST CAREER TOTAL BASES, 3B

1    Adrian Beltre             4272   Dodgers/Mariners/Red Sox/Rangers
2    Brooks Robinson            4270   Orioles
3    Eddie Mathews             4224   Braves/Astros/Tigers
4    Chipper Jones             4171   Braves
5    Mike Schmidt               4112   Phillies
6    Wade Boggs          ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 7-11-2014

Washington Herald, July 12, 1914:

Boston, July 11—The Red Sox took a fall out of the tail-end Naps here to-day, beating them 4 to 3 in a game that was hard-fought all the way. “Baby” Ruth, the $25,000 Baltimore star, opened in the box for the winners, but game way to a pinch hitter in the seventh, when the score was three all. Leonard finished up. Mitchell did the hurling for Cleveland and was hit hard at opportune times by the home team.

Duffy Lewis: The first man to pinch-hit for Babe Ruth in ...

When a bat boy went to a Paul McCartney concert with Mark Fidrych and Tom Veryzer

The Old Red Rose Speedway Barn…ugh. Guess the Death gig was sold out.

On Saturday, May 8, just a few weeks prior to The Bird becoming the most famous player in all baseball (at least all baseball in 1976), I had the good fortune of hanging out with him. Paul McCartney and his newly formed band were in the middle of their “Wings Over America Tour,” and Tiger shortstop Tom Veryzer and I planned to go hear them the night after an afternoon game between the Tigers and the White Sox. We decided ...

OMNICHATTER 7-11

The “Insert Lame 7-11 Joke” OMNICHATTER

DMN: After 15-6 loss to Angels, Washington gives ‘fire-and-brimstone’ blistering of Rangers

Manager Ron Washington resorted to a fire-and-brimstone blistering of the Rangers after a 15-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night at Globe Life Park.

In a post-game clubhouse meeting that lasted about 30 minutes, Washington vented his unhappiness at the way his club has been playing in this current dreadful stretch. The Rangers have lost five consecutive games and 19 of their last 22 games.

“I needed to remind them of some things,” Washington said.

Right-hander Colby Lewis, ...

Rockies Owner: ‘Maybe Denver Doesn’t Deserve A Franchise’

This guy needs to mellow out.  Anyone know a good way to do that in Colorado?

[A] season ticket holder… sent an email to the Rockies fan feedback line July 5t, writing, “The Monforts have no business owning a baseball team and their missteps in hiring ‘the good old boys’ for front office and management positions is solid evidence of their ineptitude. They have ruined pro baseball in this region while generating millions of dollars in profit.’ ”

... the next day, July 6 at 6:47 p.m., ...

Calcaterra: The first Derek Jeter Publishing title is available for pre-order

Last fall we learned that Derek Jeter was starting his own publishing business in a partnership with Simon & Schuster. The first book is coming out in September. You can pre-order it now. It’s called “The Contract” and it’s for middle school readers. This is the description:

As a young boy, Derek Jeter dreams of begin [sic] the shortstop for the New York Yankees. He even imagines himself in the World Series. So when Derek is chosen for the Little League Tigers, he hopes to play ...

Sale, Rizzo Win 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote

I assume Keuchel got 0.0 votes.

The creative campaigns are over. Twitter voting ended in a furious rally. And at the end of the four-day online voting program, it is Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox and Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs who were chosen by fans as the winners of the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Experian. Sale and Rizzo earned the final two AL and NL All-Star Team roster spots through online voting on MLB.com, the individual Club sites and Twitter, where ...

Oz: Thumb injuries to Yadier Molina, Brandon Phillips shake up NL Central

I hereby confer upon you the honorary degree of ThD. That’s Doctor of Thumbology.

The news wasn’t good for the St. Louis Cardinals and their cornerstone catcher Yadier Molina. Molina has a torn ligament in his thumb and will miss 8-12 weeks after surgery, according to Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak.

Nor was it good for the division rival Cincinnati Reds, who confirmed Thursday that their star second baseman Brandon Phillips also needs thumb surgery to repair a ligament. The Reds say ...

The Mystery of the Vanishing Screwball

“The word on the street is that the screwball is hard on the arm,” says Don Cooper, Chicago’s pitching coach. “But listen, there’s no documentation on that. Maybe that’s why a lot of people don’t throw it, but I believe no pitch is any more dangerous than any other if you have a good delivery. If you have a bad delivery, every pitch is freakin’ dangerous.”

Among baseball lifers, though, Cooper’s is decidedly a minority opinion. Lurid stories about the pitch are commonplace. ...

Bradford: The A.J. Pierzynski problem was worse than anybody could have imagined

Maybe he was sending the pitcher a Yo?

A microcosm of Pierzynski’s approach was mentioned by more than one of the backstop’s former teammates, who revealed his propensity to spend a significant amount of time looking at his phone while at his locker during games. In one instance, after a particularly rough outing in which the starting pitcher had been pulled early in the game, Pierzynski could be found staring at his phone while the pitcher gave off the appearance of being an emotional wreck ...

Blue Jays lose Adam Lind following loss to Angels

The list of the Blue Jays’ walking wounded grew, in a literal sense, on Wednesday when it was learned after Toronto’s 8-7 loss to the Angels that DH Adam Lind is suffering from a non-displaced fracture of the bone in his right foot that connects to the big toe. He injured the foot in Baltimore on June 14 but did not have an MRI done until Tuesday in California.

“My mom wanted me to get an MRI, which I hadn’t had yet,” Lind said. “It wasn’t getting any better, so I asked for an ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 7-10-2014

Washington Times, July 10, 1914:

The Boston American League team today purchased of the Baltimore International team Pitcher Ruth, Catcher Egan, and Shore, paying in the vicinity of $30,000 for the three men.

President Lannin, in making the announcement, would not state the exact amount, other than it was in excess of the $25,000 offer he made for Ruth, Shore, and Derrick when the Boston club was in Washington last week.

Worth every penny.

Tim Brown: Borrowing a few of Albert Pujols’ bats has helped Angels’ Erick Aybar stand out

If one gauges a man by his OPS or WAR, Aybar leads qualified AL shortstops in both. Same with, love them or not, RBIs. He doesn’t walk much, but hardly strikes out either. It doesn’t take long to find a defensive metric that says Aybar is the best in the league, or very nearly the best, at that, too.

This is, however, Derek Jeter’s year, and warranted. And, apparently, Alexei Ramirez’s, too, by player vote. And it’s Aybar’s to kill a little time on the twirling teacups, which makes him smile ...

OMNICHATTER 7-10-2014

The “Do Jedi stat-heads have light-SABRs?” OMNICHATTER

CBS Sports: Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka to have MRI on pitching arm

Yankees rookie ace Masahiro Tanaka is heading back to New York to undergo an MRI on his pitching arm, reports George A. King III of the New York Post. As King notes, Tanaka is coming off his worst start of this, his first season in the U.S. major league…Needless to say, if Tanaka’s reported MRI turns up anything significant, then it will be a grave blow to a Yankees team that’s already dealing with a number of injuries in the rotation

Gee, ya think?

Red Sox part ways with A.J. Pierzynski

Cold Pierogi?

The Red Sox decided to move on from A.J. Pierzynski on Wednesday when they designated the catcher for assignment. The team called up prospect Christian Vazquez from Pawtucket to take his place.

Tom Veryzer, shortstop for Tigers and Indians, dies at 61

Former Tigers and Indians shortstop Tom Veryzer, who played in the big leages for 12 years, died Thursday at the age of 61, according to The Oakland Press.

Veryzer was drafted by the Tigers with the No. 11 overall pick in the 1971 MLB Draft and was the team’s starting shortstop from 1975 to 1977. Detroit traded him to the Indians that offseason to make room for Alan Trammell. He played for Cleveland until 1981 before ending his career with stints with the Mets (1982) and Cubs (1983-84).

He ...

San Francisco Giants considering ban on culturally insensitive attire

The proposed policy, which is still in the working stages, could potentially say that fans who wear culturally insensitive attire to games or use culturally insensitive language could be asked to stop by Giants security or potentially be asked to leave the stadium.

Staci Slaughter, Giants senior vice president, communications, and senior advisor to the CEO, said the Giants have policies about obscene language and offensive signs.

“We are considering expanding the policy to be more explicit ...

Jake Peavy could be traded, but Red Sox aren’t giving up on season yet

Boston wouldn’t mind using talented rookie Rubby De La Rosa in the rotation, and Peavy is currently blocking his path. Additionally, Peavy, a loser of seven straight (though much of that is due to a lack of support) may frankly be better suited to go back to the NL at this stage of his career.

Give up?  When were they ever trying?