MLB.com: Sterling calls Melky’s catch

Was a clown. Still a clown. Will always be a clown.

Mets heating up, hope to climb back into race | MLB.com

They are resting.

Statcast Sprint Speed shows speed peaks young | MLB.com

When data confirms what you already know.

Josh Reddick Remains the King of the Unclutch

Josh Reddick is having a career year at the plate, but he continues to struggle in high-leverage situations. It’s part of a near-decade-long trend that both lacks a clear explanation and calls into question what the Astros outfielder’s true value is.

Yankees rookie Dustin Fowler carted off with injury during first major league inning

Yankees rookie outfielder Dustin Fowler sustained what appeared to be a serious leg injury during the first major league inning of his career.

In a game against the White Sox in Chicago that started four hours late due to a rain delay, Fowler careened into the rightfield wall in foul territory attempting to corral a ball. It’s unclear if the field conditions directly affected the play.

Fowler was unable to stay upright and was carted off the field.

Just a heartbreaking scene for the ...

Nationals speedster Trea Turner fractures wrist on hit by pitch

The Nationals have lost Trea Turner indefinitely due to a broken wrist suffered Thursday.

In the bottom of the seventh inning of Washington’s 5-4 loss to the Cubs, Turner was hit in the right wrist by a 96 mph fastball from Chicago reliever Pedro Strop. Turner glanced briefly at Strop, then walked slowly to first base.

The 24-year old shortstop remained in the game and caught a pop-up in the top of the eighth inning, but was replaced in the top of the ninth by reserve infielder Wilmer Difo. ...Read More...

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: June 29, 2017 at 11:43 PM | 3 comment(s)
  Beats: nationals, trea turner

MLB.tv Flash Sale: $10 per YEAR

Offer is good through June 29 (TONIGHT’S) games, then it’s back to $113 per year.

Normally I wouldn’t post a shameless advertisement like this, but it’s probably of sufficient interest to folks on this site that I wanted to get it out there.

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Inside Baseball | 96 Players Who Could Be Traded Ranked By Value

Jon Heyman’s list of trade candidates.

When you are done with that one, check out his AL Notes and NL Notes.

Braves Designate Bartolo Colon

The Braves announced that they have designated veteran righty Bartolo Colon for assignment. Atlanta selected the contract of southpaw Rex Brothers to take his roster spot.

It always hurts to drop a player who’s owed a big salary — in this case, $12.5MM on the year — but his performance left the team with little alternative. Colon, 44, carries an unsightly 8.14 ERA through 63 innings with 6.0 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 and a 45.6% groundball rate.

Though a recent DL placement bought some time ...

2017 Futures Game packed with top prospects

It’s a team, which will be managed by former Marlins catcher Charles Johnson, that is jam-packed with elite prospects. Three of the other four U.S. outfielders with Tucker are also in the Top 100, including his organization-mate Derek Fisher. Five U.S. pitchers are Top 100 guys, led by White Sox flame-thrower Michael Kopech. There are three Top 100 infielders and both U.S. catchers, Futures Game vet Chance Sisco (he homered in last year’s game) of the Orioles and 2016 White Sox first-round pick ...

Shock therapy continues as Cardinals demote Diaz

The Cardinals have tried shock therapy at several different levels in this disappointing season.

They traded former regular first baseman Matt Adams to Atlanta for a Class A prospect. They sent regular outfielder Randal Grichuk to Class A. They reassigned their third-base coach and released former regular Jhonny Peralta. And on Wednesday, the scythe was wielded for 2016 All-Star shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who was optioned to Class AAA Memphis.

Taking the roster place of Diaz, who hit .300 last ...

Hey, pal, I’m OMNICHATTER and you’re not, for June 29, 2017

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-29-2017

Pittsburgh Press, June 29, 1917:

Something out of the ordinary is for an outfielder to make the putout on a player who is caught off first by a pitcher. Amos Strunk, Athletic center fielder, was the hero of this kind in a game played in Washington on June 20.
...
“Rube” Schauer detected Jamieson taking too long a lead off first in the eighth inning and his throw to McInnis started a run down play that was completed when Strunk, who helped in it, tagged Jamieson on the line and the back.

A trick ...

Shohei Otani and why being Babe Ruth isn’t all it’s cracked up to be

Sam Miller on two-way players.

MLB Prospects Rankings - Top Fantasy Baseball Rookies for 2017 (Week 13) | RotoBaller

Ranking the prospects based on fantasy baseball impact.

2017 Minor League Ball MLB prospect index - Minor League Ball

John Sickels has expanded prospect coverage. Here’s a link to the index.

MLB Umpire Saves Woman

As a Major League Baseball umpire, John Tumpane often has to diffuse tense situations at the ballpark.

None compared to the scene he came upon Wednesday as he walked across the Roberto Clemente Bridge around 3 p.m. on his way back from a run and lunch: A few hundred yards from PNC Park, he saw a woman climb over a railing and look toward the Allegheny River below.

In MLB’s New Home Run Era, It’s The Baseballs That Are Juicing

But it turns out there was an experiment in progress under our noses all along. Baseball’s camera- and radar-tracking technologies measure the speed of the ball shortly after the pitcher releases it and then again when it crosses the plate. By examining how much speed it loses between those two locations, we can calculate its air resistance (as measured by drag coefficient). For example, the average pitch loses about 7.4 mph on its way to the plate. The exact amount of velocity lost depends ...

Let’s Do the Math on Miguel Montero and Jake Arrieta

As recently as 2011?

It underscores the importance of time to the plate as Jon Lester, and his well-known battles with the yips, controls the run game vastly better in part due to a quick time to the plate. When Montero has been catching anyone, a paltry 3% of base-stealers have been caught. Montero’s arm has declined significantly, as he led the league in caught-stealing percentage (40%) as recently as 2011, though that rate fell has fallen each year since 2012 (42%) to 20% in 2015 and 11% ...

JT Realmuto is baseballs most athletic catcher | MLB.com

Remember when we said that the Major League average Sprint Speed was 27 feet per second? Herrera was flying down the basepath at a scorching 29.8 feet per second, but thanks to Realmuto (and pitcher Edinson Volquez), he still couldn’t quite make it safely.

But if you look back to our top five fastest catchers list, you’ll notice something. They’re all young, with the 28-year-old d’Arnaud the elder statesman of the bunch. We talked about Realmuto playing shortstop in high school, and Barnes ...

The education of New York Yankees prospect Clint Frazier

But the question wasn’t whether it was true or not, but could it be? Like A-Rod and the legend of his centaur painting, the believability of the story said a lot. Could A-Rod have had a picture of himself painted as centaur? Yeah, A-Rod could. Considering Frazier’s perceived bravado, could Frazier have asked for a Yankees number to be unretired? Yeah, it’s possible.

Meanwhile, Frazier’s unwavering belief in his own talent can rub some people the wrong way. Until you make it, of course. Then ...

Miguel Montero after Cubs cut him: ‘People can’t handle the truth’ – Chicago Sun-Times

Being right about a fact doesn’t mean you have to share the fact with no tact.

“Sometimes people can’t handle the truth,” he said. “That’s my biggest issue. I’m just straightforward, man, a straight shooter. I’m not going to say you’re pretty when you’re ugly.”

Mariners Smyly to have Tommy John, season over

Seattle Mariners pitcher Drew Smyly will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the 2017 season, the team announced Wednesday.

Dr. James Andrews is scheduled to perform an ulnar collateral reconstruction on Smyly’s left elbow on July 6 in Birmingham, Ala. Since the typical recovery time from a UCL reconstruction is 12-15 months, Smyly is likely to miss most or all of the 2018 season as well.

BULL DURHAM AT 29: A TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY

I had played baseball at UNC and was just finishing up my course work to get my degree.
Someone called UNC and gave them my name. I showed up and did what I always did, I just
played ball.

The first scene I was in, called for me to hit a double as a right-handed hitter. Tim Robbins,
who played “Nuke LaLoosh” actually had to throw it to me because the camera was behind
him filming the scene. He was the worst athlete any actor could possibly be. The guy was all
over the place.  Crash Davis ...

As the Tigers falter, Justin Verlander emerges as an intriguing trade possibility

Multiple front-office sources told Yahoo Sports they expect Verlander to hit the trade market sometime in the next two weeks. This is more tea-leaf reading than any indication Tigers general manager Al Avila has given in conversations with teams. Still, if the Tigers do punt on 2017 – their 34-42 record is the AL’s second worst – they could begin a rebuild in earnest without a franchise icon.

That and Verlander’s performance this season are both tangible issues, as would be his trade ...

Gators knock off LSU, win first baseball national title

Michael Papierski grounded into a double play, allowing Smith to score from third with what would have been the tying run. Instead, Slaughter’s high slide — his foot struck shortstop Dalton Guthrie’s knee — was ruled interference by second base umpire Steve Mattingly, nullifying the run.

Mainieri argued with Mattingly, numerous LSU fans sitting in the outfield of TD Ameritrade Park tossed cups and other debris on the field. They did so again after Papierski’s line drive was caught by ...

No. 4 pick Brendan McKay gets record bonus from Rays

University of Louisville pitcher-first baseman Brendan McKay, the fourth overall pick in the MLB first-year player draft, has signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for a record-setting bonus of $7,007,500.

McKay’s bonus is the highest since baseball’s current draft signing system went into effect in 2012. It surpasses the recent $7 million bonus received by Vanderbilt pitcher and Atlanta Braves first-round pick Kyle Wright, who broke the previous high of $6,708,400 established by Kris Bryant with the ...

OMNICHATTER needs no reason, just space, for June 28, 217

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-28-2017

El Paso Herald, June 28, 1917:

Smoky Joe Wood, who essayed a comeback four weeks ago against the New York Yankees in Cleveland, must begin all over again. In other words, he overtaxed his arm when he pitched those eight innings…

When [Wood] told [his doctor] that he had pitched eight full innings, Dr. Drury threw up both hands, exclaiming: “It’s a wonder you have any arm left—you should have started gradually, finished up a game here and there, going one, possibly two innings, until your arm ...

Trib: Joe Maddon on visit to White House: ‘Easy to say ‘yes’ out of respect to the office’

I was hoping Maddon and his players would show up in their best “Anchorman” attire:

“Whatever Mr. Ricketts would like me to do, I’m going to do. Mr. Ricketts and the Ricketts family have been good to us. So part of that is that. The other part is whenever you have a chance to go to the White House, I think it’s easy to say ‘yes’ out of respect to the office and the building itself.”

But this time, not as many players are expected to attend, due to the scheduled afternoon visit before the ...