Jose Altuve continues torrid July in Astros win over Phillies - Houston Chronicle

Jose Altuve has made a giant dent in Aaron Judge’s American League MVP candidacy, which at the end of the season’s first half looked close to a slam dunk.

With a second consecutive four-hit performance in the Astros’ 13-4 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, Altuve improved his AL-best batting average to .365. He’s batting an astounding .507 in July with six games left in the month. During a career-high 16-game hitting streak, he’s batting .528.

...

Rangers leaning toward not trading Yu Darvish | MLB.com

“I know we are confident we are going to make it to the postseason,” Darvish said. “That’s how we are playing.”

Darvish met with the media briefly before Monday’s game in preparation for Wednesday’s start. He usually meets with the media two days ahead of a start, but he prefaced this session by making it clear he did not want to discuss trade rumors.
It has been a mentally challenging time for the right-hander beyond the normal rigors of a 162-game season. He is a free agent at the end of the ...

Yoan Moncada tops 2017 midseason Prospect list | MLB.com

One theme at the very top is youth. At age 22, Moncada is the elder statesman. Rosario is 21 and the next eight are 20 or younger. There are a pair of teenagers now in the top 10: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays and Ronald Acuna of the Braves.
1. Yoan Moncada, 2B, White Sox
2. Amed Rosario, SS, Mets
3. Gleyber Torres, INF, Yankees
4. Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox
5. Victor Robles, OF, Nationals
6. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, Blue Jays
7. Eloy Jimenez, OF, White Sox
8. Ronald Acuna, OF, ...

Dodgers beat Braves in 10 after losing Kershaw | MLB.com

UPDATE: Projected to miss 4-6 weeks.

No, no, no, no. no.

Kershaw, who missed 2 1/2 months last year with a herniated disk, left with lower right back tightness suffered while warming up for the second inning after an eight-pitch first inning. Atlanta starter Sean Newcomb (1-6) struck out nine but also issued five walks in six innings, two of them scoring ahead of the homer by Barnes inside the left-field foul pole on an 0-2 pitch.

I’ve got more OMNICHATTER than you have bullets, pal, for July 24, 2017

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 7-24-2017

Pittsburgh Press, July 24, 1917:

INFIELD WORKS IN 232 STRAIGHT GAMES

Playing in 232 games the Louisville American association infield is believed to have established an all-time baseball record. The infield is composed of Jay Kirk at first, Joe McCarthy, second; [Red] Corriden, third, and Wilbur Roach at short. The members played in 167 games last year and 65 this year without a member missing a game.

Yep, it’s that Joe McCarthy. I’m not sure how long the streak continued or if it’s still a ...

The sweet friendship forming in Yankees’ rising-star outfield | New York Post

Give Clint Frazier credit. At 22, he’s figuring it out. He is having poised at-bats.

Frazier has sat back and watched how fellow rookie Aaron Judge has handled himself in tough times and in good times, and that has made all the difference. Listen to what Frazier told The Post about Judge:

“He’s the new Jeter,’’ Frazier said.

Sunday Notes: Jose Berrios’s Breaking Ball is Bugs Bunny | FanGraphs Baseball

Sunday notes, one day late. Sorry.

Dan Shaughnessy: What went down between David Price and Dennis Eckersley

I find it shocking—SHOCKING!!—that Dan Shaughnessy has ever been confronted by a player. As for Eckersley, his honesty and broadcasting style make him my favorite part of Red Sox telecasts. That Price didn’t issue an apology says a lot about him as a person.

Nick Cafardo: Every team needs a character player — even during this analytics age

It’s never been all about analytics. Ever.

Sometimes it’s as if baseball has become all about analytics. It’s good to know there’s still a human side to the game. Even analytics-driven teams such as the Astros, Yankees, and Red Sox understand you need players with character who provide elements that can’t be measured with numbers.

These players not only do it between the lines but off the field. They generate good karma and help teammates relax, and act as mentors for younger players.

...

Rafael Devers gets the call

I hope fans temper their expectations. Of course, they won’t.

The Complete Handbook of the Hall of Fame: The Jay Jaffe Mega Q&A

Simply speaking, it is the definitive bookshelf analysis for the Hall of Fame selection process. Jaffe delivers the most objective, sober look at Baseball’s loudest conversation.

Rays have the ultimate troll for visiting managers

In most visiting clubhouses, there’s not much personality. Bare walls, basic necessities, nothing to make the place feel like home. A manager’s office might feel like an empty box, devoid of any warmth. And why not, it’s not up to the home team to make the visitors feel too welcome.

The Rays decided to shake things up by providing a little art on the walls of the visiting manager’s office, a way to make managers feel right at home.

Cool thing they have in the visiting manager's ...

Alex Rodriguez has his very own arcade machine called the ‘A-RodCade’

It appears that Rodriguez has his very own custom arcade system, appropriately titled “A-RodCade.” We have a lot of questions—how long has A-Rod had this? Just who made it for him?—but most important, we need to know exactly what games the A-RodCade contains. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? NBA Jam? A version of Street Fighter featuring nothing but A-Rods? Stay tuned.

News you need to know.

20 years ago today: Greg Maddux threw a 76-pitch complete game

He had a cursory reputation.

Only 13 [pitches] were balls. He had six strikeouts. Not only did Maddux not walk anyone, he didn’t get into a single three-ball count all day. He only got two balls against a hitter twice — once in the second inning against Sammy Sosa and in the seventh against Mark Grace.

A sandwich is a sandwich, but OMNICHATTER is a meal! for the weekend of July 22-23, 2017

Yoenis Cespedes wants to finish career in Oakland - San Francisco Chronicle

“I wish that happens,” Céspedes said, adding “I told (former A’s and current Mets teammate Jerry) Blevins, ‘I don’t know how many years I’m going to play, but I’m going to play the last year of my career with Oakland.’ I don’t know if that’s possible or not, but that’s my goal.”

A series against the A’s means more to the outfielder than most because of his fond feeling for the team and for the fans, he said.

“I still love the A’s. They were the first team to ...

CBS Denver: Charlie Blackmon Kid Meets The Real Deal

IT’S THE TWO-YEAR OLD!!!

The little boy in the viral video who screamed for Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon got to meet the real deal Friday night.

Whenever Blackmon would to the plate, 2-year-old Tommy Carlson would get excited.

Really excited.

NYP: Yoenis Cespedes: I want to finish my career with A’s

Melvin to Cespedes: “Damn baby! What did you do to your hair?”

Yoenis Cespedes hasn’t finished the first season of his four-year, $110 million contact with the Mets, and the star outfielder already is thinking about joining another team.

Before Friday’s game against the A’s at Citi Field, Cespedes told the San Francisco Chronicle that he would like to end his career in Oakland, where he debuted in 2012, and remained until being traded to the Red Sox in July 2014.

“I wish that ...

Baseball’s Best Teams Are Too Damn Good

As we approach the July 31 trade deadline, this is more than just an academic curiosity. A team’s willingness to pony up prospects for a better shot at the World Series is directly tied to how much good it thinks a trade will do. In a wide-open season, even teams outside the top tier of contenders could be convinced to roll the dice on an upgrade — particularly with the expanded wild-card format. But the stronger the top teams are, the less incentive teams on the periphery have to make a ...

Steven Souza Jr. blames state of Athletics’ field for hip injury

Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. is blaming the field conditions at the Oakland Athletics’ O.co Coliseum for a left hip injury that knocked him out of Wednesday’s game.

“I went to slide, and it was extremely muddy around second base,” Souza said after the Rays’ 7-2 loss. “My leg got stuck in the ground, and I just kind of felt a jump in my hip. That didn’t feel very great.”...

“I don’t know how it got real muddy out there, but it was not OK,” Souza told reporters. “I’ve never ...

Sonoma Stompers pitcher just 3rd woman to win pro game

In seven solid innings, the 5-9, 165-pound right-hander allowed just one run and four hits while striking out four and not allowing a walk. The Stompers trounced the Pittsburg Diamonds, 16-1.

Piagno allowed only one hit after the second inning and retired 20 of the final 22 batters she faced.

Don’t look OMNICHATTER in the eye, for July 21, 2017

He played where? Majors’ best ‘irony jerseys’

Giants: Darryl Strawberry’s No. 17
The only time Straw wore that weird No. 17 (which had always been Keith Hernandez’s number in New York) was the 29 games he played with the Giants in 1994. He got off to a very hot start, hitting homers in back-to-back games in Montreal and then doing it again with back-to-back homer days against the Rockies. At that point, Strawberry was hitting .303/.407/.530, but he promptly went 2-for-his-next-26, the strike came, and the Giants let him go.

Indians: Keith ...

Carson Kelly promoted to Cardinals; Marco Gonzales traded | Derrick Goold: Bird Land | stltoday.com

A bunch of moves and the following report:

In blunt terms, Mozeliak says #cardinals need a "change" or "shapeup" to "attitude and culture" and expresses concern for chronic lapses.

— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) July 21, 2017

Sounds like a managing change is coming.

Why all the rest for the Pirates? Clint Hurdle explains | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

This article convinced me that I need a nap.

Mariners trade top prospect Tyler O’Neill to Cardinals for LHP Marco Gonzales

The Mariners have made another trade to beef up their pitching staff, acquiring left-handed starter Marco Gonzales from the Cardinals in exchange for minor-league outfielder Tyler O’Neill, the organizations’ top prospect.

The team announced the move Friday morning, a day after acquiring reliever David Phelps from Miami for four minor-leaguers.

Gonzalez, 25, has a career 5.53 ERA in 12 games over parts of three seasons with St. Louis. He was a first-round pick out of Gonzaga in 2013 and ...

Ties to Cuba Enhance and Entangle Jorge Mas’s Marlins Bid

MIAMI — Throughout his life, Jorge Mas Santos has had a passion for Cuba, family, business and sports.

Now, as one of the wealthiest people in Miami and a serious contender to buy the Miami Marlins, Mas may be able to combine his interests in a way that would have an impact on baseball and, perhaps, the larger world of politics.

In Mas — who inherited his family’s business from his father, Jorge Mas Canosa, who died in 1997 — baseball sees a deep-pocketed investor with strong local ...

It’s unacceptable — Cardinals have lost their Way under Matheny

It was embarrassing and unacceptable, and somebody must be held accountable. Who are these guys masquerading as the St. Louis Cardinals?

There’s a right way to play baseball and a wrong way to play it. For 124 years of Cardinals’ baseball, the glorious franchise of Stan “The Man” Musial was the gold standard.

These guys hardly resemble George Kissell’s beloved Cardinals anymore. They aren’t your mom and dad’s Cardinals, much less your grandma and grandpa’s. The Cardinal Way is ...

The Absurd History of “The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”

Almost nobody noticed it, but a major league team changed its name prior to the 2016 season. Slipped into a team style sheet was a detail almost nobody noticed until this June:  The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim dropped the “of Anaheim” label and returned to the name “Los Angeles Angels” for the first time since the club moved away from Dodger Stadium in 1965.
This is, admittedly, a minor change, but the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” name has been a source of ridicule for fans ...