Cole Hamels Reportedly Will Miss 8 Weeks with Oblique Injury

The struggling Texas Rangers have been dealt another blow with Cole Hamels reportedly expected to miss eight weeks due to an oblique injury.

Baseball fan grazed by stray bullet during Cardinals game at Busch Stadium

Police are investigating after a woman was grazed in the arm by a stray bullet during Tuesday night’s Cardinals game inside Busch Stadium.

Police sources say there had been a call for shots fired near the 14th Street and Chouteau Avenue area moments before the woman was struck, and that the bullet may have come from someone shooting into the air.

That intersection is less than a mile from Busch….

In a statement, the Cardinals confirmed the incident and said: “There is nothing more important ...

What Happened to Adam Jones Isn’t Just a Boston Problem

I’ve lived in sheltered Northeastern suburbs, big cities in the South, and the hippie utopia of Madison, Wisconsin, where white liberals with Birkenstocks and a four-beer buzz can roam free in a place that is quietly and comprehensively segregated by race and class. From housing discrimination to racial slurs to carefully calculated dog whistles to NIMBYism to broken windows policing, racism is in the foundation of bourgeois white America from sea to shining sea. Pointing at, laughing at, and ...

The Cubs World Series trophy was damaged while crowd surfing

The Boston Globe reports that the Cubs’ 2016 World Series was damaged over the weekend. While crowd surfing.

Theo Epstein brought it and the Red Sox’ 2004 trophy to a concert called the “Hot Stove Cool Music” benefit for his charitable foundation. The trophies were passed around by those in the crowd like Michael Stipe in the “Drive” video (sorry, I’m an old Gen-Xer, so you get old Gen-Xer references).

According to the report, some of the flags on the Cubs’ trophy were dinged ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-3-2017

Pittsburgh Press, May 3, 1917:

Two one-time members of the Giants are going into the army at the earliest opportunity. Eddie Grant, third baseman for McGraw several seasons ago and also pinch hitter, and Harry McCormick, right fielder and pinch hitter when his fielding days were over, have applied to the necessary authorities to go to Plattsburg.

Eddie Grant was killed by an exploding shell in the Argonne Forest a few weeks before the end of World War I. He was an interesting guy - he earned a ...

Orioles turn bizarre triple play on Red Sox | MLB.com

This is a weird one.

Judge on plate approach | MLB.com

He seems to have figured out how to translate his power from BP into games.

Matt Harvey feels better on the mound | MLB.com

I haven’t watched this start yet but it doesn’t sound promising.

The issue, Harvey said, is not stuff, but location—as soon as he fixes that, he implied, he’ll be back to his old self. But fixing it won’t be easy. As Collins noted, there is not much precedent to determine when Harvey might fully recover from the thoracic surgery he underwent last July—or, truth be told, if he ever will.

“Not a lot of guys really have ever come back to be 100 percent again,” Collins said. “When you’ve lost ...

Manny Machado Had Strong Words For the Red Sox | FanGraphs Baseball

There is a difference between throwing behind the guys head and throwing behind his legs. Sale threw behind his legs. Still, I’m a little surprised this is lingering.

Here is snapshot of what an angry Machado had to say following the game:

“If you want to (bleep) hit me, hit me. Go ahead. (Bleep) hit me. Don’t let this (bleep) keep lingering (bleep) around, and keep trying to (bleep) hit people. It’s (bleep) bullshit. It’s (bleep) bullshit. MLB should do something about it. (Bleep) ...

Honoring a Fellow Fan, One Ballpark Bathroom at a Time

Nature was calling, and so was his obligation to his childhood friend and fellow Mets fan Roy Riegel, whose death nine years ago left Mr. McDonald, 56, vowing to honor their baseball bonds in an unconventional way: by disposing of Mr. Riegel’s ashes in ballparks across the country.

Even more unusual was his chosen method: flushing them down public restroom toilets in the ballparks between innings.

The key here is that Mr. Riegel was a plumber, so how better to honor him than by pumping his ...

Former Red Sox player, scout Sam Mele dies at 95

Former Red Sox player and longtime instructor and scout Sam Mele died last night at his home in Quincy. He was 95.

Born Sabath Anthony Mele, he signed as an amateur free agent with the Red Sox prior to the 1946 season. He went on to play 1,046 games over 10 seasons, including parts of five with the Sox (1947-49, 1954-55). He hit .278 for Boston over that span, including .302 as a rookie in 1947.

Mele went into coaching after his playing career and managed the Minnesota Twins for parts of ...

Chris Sale throws behind Manny Machado in latest edition of Red Sox feud with Orioles

It did not end there, however, as Dylan Bundy drilled Mookie Betts in the hip Monday in the first game of a four-game series at Fenway Park. So naturally, with Chris Sale on the mound Tuesday, this pitch happened in the first inning.

The benches were warned after Sale’s inside pitch to Machado, though Machado and Orioles manager Buck Schowalter appeared to have some choice words for the umpires and the Red Sox dugout after the incident.

The inside pitch did not set Sale back at all, however. ...

Re-grading MLB offseason moves

Three that earn D or F grades through the first month

Jose Bautista (one-year, $18.5 million deal with the Blue Jays)

The Blue Jays were hoping to collect a draft pick had Bautista signed elsewhere during the offseason. When that scenario failed to transpire, they took the plunge and bet that he would have a bounce-back year at age 36.

Not so far. Toronto is off to a 9-17 start, and Joey Bats has five extra-base hits in his first 94 at-bats. Maybe the Jays can trade him at the deadline, but ...

Could Ichiro Have Been a Power Hitter?

But it does remind us of another great response Ichiro provided — one that gave life to the idea that he would be a great Home Run Derby entrant. “If I’m allowed to hit .220, I could probably hit 40 [homers],” he told Bob Nightengale back in 2007. “But nobody wants that.”

Ben Lindbergh once looked at the hypothetical shift in Ichiro’s outcomes if the player had attempted to hit for power, but now that we have even better batted-ball data, we can maybe take a look and see if he ...

A’s prospect Casey Thomas dies unexpectedly at age 24

Athletics minor leaguer Casey Thomas has died suddenly, the team announced Tuesday. He was 24.

Thomas was the son of A’s pro scout Tom Thomas.

“We were devastated to hear of this tragedy within the A’s family,” A’s executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to Tom and his family on their loss; Casey was a wonderful young man and teammate, and will be missed by all in the A’s organization.”

Thomas, who was with the ...

People don’t ask, but why is there an OMNICHATTER for May 2, 2017?

Mock Draft: Twins grab McKay, Greene to Reds

1. Twins
Callis: Brendan McKay, 1B/LHP, Louisville. While Minnesota is considering as many as seven candidates, most teams at the top of the Draft believe McKay will be the pick. Whether it’s as a first baseman or a left-handed starter remains to be seen.
Mayo: McKay. It’s still unclear whether he’ll be drafted as a hitter or a pitcher, regardless of what team takes McKay, but it does seem almost certain he’ll go in the top few picks.
2. Reds
Callis: Hunter Greene, RHP, Notre Dame HS (Sherman ...

The Yankees played before their smallest crowd in 13 years last night

Last night the Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays. Paid attendance: 25,566.

That’d be fine for some teams — nine teams are averaging less than that per game so far this year — but it was a dubious record for the Yankees. Indeed, it was their smallest home crowd since they moved into the new Yankee Stadium back in 2009 and their smallest crowd overall since 2004.

For the season, the Yankees are averaging 35,588, which is the sixth best in baseball.

The untold story of ‘It’s a Long Way to October,’ a groundbreaking, forgotten baseball documentary

Torre’s attention and instruction certainly proved helpful, even if Murphy felt a tinge of embarrassment when it played out publicly in the documentary.

“Not because of what he did or said — it’s just because it was on TV,” Murphy said with a chuckle. “It was cool and hard to watch at the same time.”

Sometimes, the audio setup provided accidental, but made-for-TV entertainment.

During a crucial game against the Dodgers, Torre went ballistic over an umpire’s decision to send ...

Bregman apologizes for Tweet about Rangers

Astros third baseman Alex Bregman apologized Monday night for sending out a tweet prior to the start the Lone Star Series that served as bulletin-board material in the Rangers clubhouse before Monday’s game, which the Astros won, 6-2.

The tweet said “opperation (sic) BTSOOTR”

“I made a rookie mistake,” said Bregman, who went 1-for-3 with a run scored. “I shouldn’t have tweeted that out. It was more of just trying to fire up our team. I shouldn’t have put it on social media at all. They have ...

MLB Welcomes Girls to Bat At First-Ever Girls’ Youth Tournament

Major League Baseball is teaming up with USA Baseball to hosting the first-ever Trailblazer Series, girls’ youth tournament, encouraging girls to pursue traditionally dominated male sports.

On April 15, the inaugural Trailblazer series became what is hopefully going to be the first of many girls’ baseball events.

“I didn’t know girls played baseball,” said Ja’nae Wray, a 12 year old from Douglasville, Ga., and one of the 100 girls to travel to Compton for the tournament, The Huffington Post ...

Honoring a Fellow Fan, One Ballpark Bathroom at a Time

The New York Mets were leading the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1, after two innings when Tom McDonald stood up from his upper-deck seat at Citi Field.

Nature was calling, and so was his obligation to his childhood friend and fellow Mets fan Roy Riegel, whose death nine years ago left Mr. McDonald, 56, vowing to honor their baseball bonds in an unconventional way: by disposing of Mr. Riegel’s ashes in ballparks across the country.

Even more unusual was his chosen method: flushing them down ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-2-2017

Harrisburg Telegraph, May 2, 1917:

President Ban Johnson, of the American League, announced here yesterday afternoon that in case the war continued until next spring there would be no attempt to open the 1918 pennant season.

Ban to newsman: Plan will stand if enlisted man’s span near the Gaugin clan doesn’t end.

Orioles’ Adam Jones berated by racist taunts at Fenway Park

Baltimore Orioles All-Star center fielder Adam Jones was berated by racist taunts at Fenway Park while a bag of peanuts was thrown at him Monday night, calling it one of the worst cases of fan abuse he has heard in his career.

“A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,’’ Jones said, “I was called the N-word a handful of times tonight. Thanks. Pretty awesome.’’

Jones, one of just 62 African-Americans on opening-day rosters this year, said he has been subjected to racist ...

‘Pitch’ Officially Cancelled After One Season at Fox

Though “Pitch” was one of the most hotly anticipated new series of the 2016-2017, the cancellation is not a surprise. Despite the early buzz, the baseball drama never connected with viewers, averaging a 0.8 live-plus-same day Nielsen rating in the 18-49 demo and 3 million total viewers per episode. Following its first 10 episodes, Fox did not go forth with a back-order, signaling the imminent cancellation.

Premiering in September 2016, “Pitch” last aired in early December of last year. ...

Man Flushing Cremated Friend’s Ashes Down Various Ballpark Toilets

The New York Mets were leading the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1, after two innings when Tom McDonald stood up from his upper-deck seat at Citi Field.

Nature was calling, and so was his obligation to his childhood friend and fellow Mets fan Roy Riegel, whose death nine years ago left Mr. McDonald, 56, vowing to honor their baseball bonds in an unconventional way: by disposing of Mr. Riegel’s ashes in ballparks across the country.

Even more unusual was his chosen method: flushing them down ...

The Worst Offensive Month in Royals Team History

By OPS compared to the average, the Royals just finished April at 68%. That’s their worst-ever mark by five percentage points, beating out August 2005. The Royals had never hit so poorly. Don’t get me wrong, the Royals had hit very poorly, but this was probably their worst calendar month. And this is not a ballclub with a short history. It took some effort to come out this bad.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was one of the worst months of all time. Shifting to the more familiar wRC+, ...

Angels’ Tyler Skaggs to miss 10-12 weeks with oblique strain

Tyler Skaggs has a grade 2 right oblique strain, which will cause him to miss the next 10 to 12 weeks, the Angels announced on Monday.

The latest setback for a pitching staff beset by injuries came from Skaggs’ evaluation on Monday by Angels doctors and imaging. Skaggs received a platelet-rich plasma injection to help the healing, the Angels said.

Daniel Wright is expected to take Skaggs spot in the rotation, starting on Thursday in Seattle.

Skaggs had allowed just three runs in 19 innings ...

The Great and Glorious People’s OMNICHATTER, May 1, 2017

The surprises and disappointments in the new Statcast xwOBA metric - Beyond the Box Score

Some pretty cool stuff here. Link to some overall results.