Leitch: Anger Management

Bo más!

It’s fun when people try new things, and while it’s worth noting that the owners probably didn’t mind the payroll slashing (and fans generally are paying major league prices to watch a team bottom out on purpose), you find yourself giving the Astros the benefit of the doubt. It’s exciting to see smart people doing something different. You want to see it work out for them. You want them to, eventually, succeed.

Which is why it’s probably time for the manager to get with the program. ...

Dessem: Clyde Bruckman: The Gag Man

Clyde Bruckman: One Smart Sap. Sportswriter to Hollywood legend to…a fascinating read.

That spring, before he’d graduated, he began writing about sports for the San Bernardino Sun.  He rose to sports editor in a year, and was hired to cover the 1914 baseball season for the Los Angeles Times. That summer, as World War I began, Clyde chronicled the fortunes of long-forgotten teams of the Pacific Coast League, whose names ranged from the unimaginative (the Los Angeles Angels, the Oakland Oaks), ...

Kevin Millar on M&M: Red Sox ‘lack of identity right now’

John F.
Identity Theft Victim

Thanks in part to a 14-5 loss to the Yankees on Monday, the Red Sox dropped two of three to New York this week. Along the way, they were outscored 24-13 during the series.

“They just look like they have a lack of identity right now,” Millar said. “They’€™re not very fast. They’€™re not very athletic from first to third — from (Mike) Napoli to (Jonny) Gomes to (David Ortiz) to (Daniel) Nava to whoever you want – A.J. Pierzynski. The moral of the ...

Matt Moore, Ivan Nova, and the Injury Zone

As the recent rash of season-ending injuries indicates, we’re a long way from figuring out when a pitcher is about to break. Not every injury is preceded by a warning sign, and not every red flag reveals a real problem. Many pitcher injuries are the result of cumulative wear and tear, but the process often culminates in one pitch, followed by a pop or a sharp pain and an arm clutched tightly on the trip back to the dugout. From there, it’s just a matter of time until the Twitpic from the ...

What If All Baseball Players Were Fat?

This is funny.

MLB fixes transfer rule, effective immediately

Baseball Fixer…catch it!

Major League Baseball has adjusted the transfer rule, effective immediately, the league has announced. Things will essentially go back to the way they were before this season. Here’s the announcement:

  Major League Baseball announced today that the Playing Rules Committee has provided its official view of how Umpires should apply the Official Playing Rules when a fielder loses possession of a ball when attempting to transfer it to his throwing hand.
  The ...

Leavengood: Mike Trout and Bryce Harper: Pat Boone and Elvis

Tutti Frutti, good booty!

But Trout has those gleaming white teeth that remind me more of Pat Boone than anyone else, and if Trout had gone to college, he would fill out his Letterman Sweater and the girls would swoon like they once did for the last of the great crooners, Mr. Argyle Elegance himself. Harper has none of that Joe College appeal. He was all Charlie Hustle in his first season in Washington, DC. The Nationals were struggling after there face plate, Ryan Zimmerman, started slow and ...

Daisuke Matsuzaka earns first major league save to help Mets beat Cardinals - NY Daily News

Daisuke, the new Mets savior!

Barra: The 4 Biggest Myths About Baseball

No…this isn’t just another one of those “Even Dag Wentim of The Zwen Nine Laughs at Derek Jeter’s Defense” type articles.

Myth No. 3: Baseball’s Talent Pool Has Been Diluted by Expansion and Competition From Other Sports

“The quality of baseball was at an all-time high after World War II because there was such a concentration of talent on just sixteen teams,” wrote Ralph Kiner in his 2004 memoir, Baseball Forever. “By the time each league added two more teams in 1961 and 1962, you had ...

John Henry and the Making of a Boston Red Sox Baseball Dynasty - Businessweek

It’s all about John.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-25-2014

Pittsburgh Press, April 25, 1914:

One of the umpires in the [minor league] Union association is Sam La Roque, now approaching 53 in the total of his years.
...
Mr. La Roque states, and has the clippings to prove it, that he holds the error record of all time. In one game, at shortstop some 25 years ago, La Roque committed 14 errors out of 15 chances, and that sterling standard has never been approached.

Bob Brenly nods knowingly.

OMNICHATTER 4-25-2014

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