Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 8-26-2016

Pittsburgh Press, August 26, 1916:

[The Giants] have not been making many runs. Until they tied the score in the ninth inning of yesterday’s game at Forbes Field, the McGraw tribe had crossed the plate but once in 54 consecutive innings—and that score was made in Thursday’s game here.

I don’t have any idea how you’d measure this, but the 1916 Giants just have to be the single streakiest team in MLB history.

Rangers pitcher Jeremy Jeffress arrested, records show

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress was apparently arrested overnight in Dallas County, records show.

Dallas County Jail records say Jeffress was booked into jail at 5:13 a.m. Friday.

The reason for the arrest was not immediately made clear. No charges had been listed on the Dallas County Jail’s website. News 8 has reached out to the Rangers for comment.

Votto ‘reaches out’ to Mays, Musial, Jeter

“I was striking out a tremendous amount,” he said. “I was striking out far too much and to me that was not going to stand the test of time. Again, I looked at Willie, I looked at Stan and I looked at Derek. Willie and Derek stood out to me the most. Both of them struck out during the first two months almost the same amount they struck out the last four months. That means they struck out so much that they said, ‘OK, I’m not doing that any more’ and their seasons ended up being pretty ...

Astros analysis: Third baseman of the future has to be Alex Bregman - Houston Chronicle

But Bregman’s performance - after a 1-for-34 start, he has raised his batting average to .231 - already has begun to force the front office’s hand, first evident when Gurriel appeared in left field during a minor league stint in which he had been expected to play only third base and DH. A month after his celebrated debut, Bregman has yet to start a big league game in left field, appearing in the outfield only once as part of an in-game substitution.

The question, then, is where to play ...

Mets try to salvage challenging season, but know changes are inevitable

At least he has a good perspective.

“They may fire me at the end of the year,’’ Collins told USA TODAY Sports, “but they have supported my ass the entire time I’ve been here. That’s why I’ve got no (complaints). None.

“Whatever happens at the end of the year, I’ll walk out of here with a smile on my face, and get ready for spring training, or get ready to play golf, either one.’’

Minnesota Twins’ Byung Ho Park has wrist pain examined

Disappointing so far.

Shelby Miller’s demotion likely to delay free agency

Miller can’t complain. Well, he can, but I wouldn’t be sympathetic.

With Shelby Miller scheduled to make at least one more start with Triple-A Reno, it appears the Diamondbacks, whether they intended to or not, will gain an extra year of club control over the right-hander.

Miller, according to sources, has three years, 133 days of major-league service time. Assuming he isn’t promoted to the big leagues Thursday, the most days he could accrue the rest of the season is 38. That would bring him ...

Jeff Francoeur is Still Employed by a Major League Team

From Frenchy’s perspective, it’s just about a best-case scenario: You’ve gone from a hopeless, helpless last-place team to one in the thick of a wild card chase; you’ve been traded not only within your division, but you’re staying in the same time zone and avoiding major travel disruptions. It’s easy to see why he’s excited.

But what’s in it for the Marlins?

MLB’s Hit-Tracking Tool Misses A Lot Of Hits | FiveThirtyEight

That’s still a lot of missed plays.

But that data isn’t always easy to analyze. Front office analysts I spoke with said that Statcast’s radars frequently lose track of batted balls on atypical trajectories — for example, with extremely high (popup) or low (chopper) angles. In 2015, Statcast failed to provide data on 13.4 percent of all batted balls; it’s gotten a bit better as time has progressed, dropping to 12.5 percent in the first half of 2016 to only 11.2 percent since July.

...

Dodgers land Ruiz from Phillies | dodgers.com

There goes Kershaw’s personal catcher.

The Dodgers have acquired catcher Carlos Ruiz from the Phillies in exchange for catcher A.J. Ellis, Minor League pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named later or cash considerations, the clubs announced on Thursday.

Heyman - Dodgers On Amazing Kershaw-less Run

Heyman’s weekly notes column. He likes the Dodgers’ process (but doesn’t like the Astros) because, essentially, he’s a front-runner.

But while the rotation turns (like a soap opera), the bullpen Friedman formed is reminiscent of his high-achieving, no-name Rays pens, filled with unsung heroes, while the lineup has come together spectacularly. The pen comprised of star closer Kenley Jansen, unknowns (Casey Fien, Adam Liberatore) and reclamation projects (Joe Blanton comes to mind) has been the ...

Three MLB stadiums to host World Baseball Classic games in 2017

The fourth installment of the World Baseball Classic takes place next spring and, as expected, three of the host ballparks will come from Major League Baseball. MLB revealed Thursday that WBC games will take place in Dodger Stadium, Marlins Park and Petco Park.

Dodger Stadium gets the top billing here, as it will host the semifinals and finals March 20-22. It previously held those two rounds in 2009.

Oakland A’s trade Marc Rzepczynski to Washington Nationals

The A’s announced this morning that LHP Marc Rzepczynski (1-0, 3.00) was traded to the Nationals, along with cash, for minor league 2B Max Schrock. Max Schrock, age 21 and taken out of South Carolina in the 13th round last year, seems like a weirdly excellent pickup. He’s the Nationals’ #17 prospect according to MLB.com, which sounds about right for a reliever trade in late August, but he’s having an incredible debut season.

Across A and High-A this year, he’s hit a combined ...

From Bench to Benchmark: Jose Canseco Is Twitter’s Favorite Financial Analyst

I still prefer Wu-Tang Financial.

Into this vacuum slipped a muscle-bound former baseball outfielder who exposed baseball’s rampant steroid use and nearly blew off his middle finger with a handgun. Jose Canseco, who slugged his way through the major leagues, has now developed a cult following after some of his contrarian predictions about financial markets came true.

“He’s been pretty much spot on with the macro picture,” said James Mark II. The San Antonio-based stock and commodities ...

Heyman: Dodgers not desperate to trade Puig

The Los Angeles Dodgers have gauged interest in Yasiel Puig, but executives with interested teams say the Dodgers don’t appear desperate to trade Puig, and in fact have rebuffed offers.

Teams appear to be bottom feeding for Puig in the hopes that the Dodgers want to give him away, and while the Dodgers don’t seem anxious or even interested in calling him up to the major-league team, the impression rival executives have is that the Dodgers are clearly not of a mind to give him away.

While ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 8-25-2016

Pittsburgh Gazette Times, August 25, 1916:

Manager Mathewson today announced that he had agreed to pitch his first game for the Reds at Chicago on September 4 when the opposing pitcher will be Miner [Mordecai] Brown for the Chicago Cubs.

It was the final major league game for two no-doubt, obvious Hall of Famers. Has there ever been a game in which two comparably great players played for the final time?

Marlins acquire Jeff Francoeur from Braves in 3-way deal

Delta has non-stop flights to Miami daily!

The Marlins have acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur in a three-way deal with the Braves and Rangers, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The deal will send shortstop Dylan Moore (from Texas) and catcher/first baseman Matt Foley (from Marlins) to the Braves and three international bonus slots (two from Miami and one from Atlanta) to the Rangers.

Francoeur, 32, recently cleared revocable trade waivers, making him eligible to be traded to ...

Former Cy Young winner Éric Gagné signs with the Ottawa Champions

The Mascouche, QC, native will start the final game of the season on Sept. 5 against the Quebec Capitales. The 40-year-old Gagne was originally signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1995 and made his debut with the team in 1999. He went on to become one of the most dominant closers in baseball, appearing in three all-star games, winning the 2003 NL Cy Young Award and at one point converting 63 consecutive save opportunities.

“I have been getting ready to pitch for ...

End of torturous rehab in sight for Rays’ Alex Cobb | Tampa Bay Times

In the 17 months since he first felt something amiss in his right arm that afternoon in Clearwater, in the 15-plus months since the Tommy John surgery to repair the tear in his elbow, in the nearly two months since he started pitching, and not particularly well, in minor-league games, Alex Cobb has remained singularly focused on getting back on the mound to start again for the Rays.

“I have a vision of when I’m going to get back, and I know it will happen,” Cobb said Wednesday. “I’ve worked ...

Swinging For The Fences: What Tim Tebow’s Baseball Past Says About MLB Hopes | NFL | NESN.com

Tebow had one thing going for him already, though: Raw, incredible power. Take the time Nease played a game at Florida Air Academy, of which future MLB star Prince Fielder was a recent graduate. “(Tebow) hits a baseball that bounces off a dormitory beyond left field,” Fagan recalls. “Their coach says, ‘I’ve never seen Prince Fielder do that.’ He hits another one over an equipment shed in right field. And the guy is like, ‘Holy crap, that’s the farthest I’ve seen anything hit ...

Why the Baltimore Orioles’ outstanding closer should not win the Cy Young | FOX Sports

Mariano Rivera never won a Cy Young Award; he finished second once, third three times. Rivera also never won an MVP, never even finished higher than ninth.

Relievers, on occasion, do win a Cy Young, an MVP, or even both. Eric Gagne captured the Cy in 2003, Dennis Eckersley the Cy and MVP in 1992, Willie Hernandez both in 1984. So, if you want to tell me that Orioles closer Zach Britton is a candidate for both honors this season, I won’t complain. But the argument for Britton is more an ...

MLB, MLBPA move to help baseball in Puerto Rico. After hurting baseball in Puerto Rico.

Yesterday Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Union announced that they will play games in Puerto Rico as part of a plan to develop and support baseball on the island. They likewise pledged $5 million for the creation of development programs in Puerto Rico and plan to stage special events there.

The press release about this made mention of Puerto Rico’s undeniably outstanding baseball tradition. What it did not mention is that, in the view of many, Major League Baseball itself harmed ...

Q&A with Kim Ng, Senior Vice President, Major League Baseball

Kim Ng is a trailblazer. Since 2011, she’s been Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of baseball operations, working under Joe Torre. When she was hired as the Yankees’ assistant general manager in 1998, she was the youngest in MLB history (at 29) to hold the position and one of only three women. She served the same role with the Dodgers for more than a decade. Before that, she was the youngest person and only woman to present salary arbitration cases. Many believe Ng (pronounced ...

Jose Fernandez pitches Marlins past Royals | MLB.com

I watched a Baseball Tonight clip of Fernandez in a few ABs. I was surprised by the number of sliders he was throwing. Checking out Brooks Baseball’s game breakdown shows that he threw 55 *curveballs*, 7 change ups, and 49 fastballs. I put asterisks around curveballs because it appears PitchFx classifies the giant break on his slider as a curveball. Anyway, for the year, Fangraphs PitchFx totals breaks down his season totals as 1189 four-seam fastballs 50%, 817 curves 34%, 296 changes 12%, and ...

Mark Teixeira: You Would Walk Gary Sanchez With Babe Ruth On Deck

Time to break out the hyperbole:

It is not a rare occurrence, except when the hitter being walked is in career game No. 21 and the batter behind him has 404 career home runs. The Seattle Mariners did not intentionally walk New York Yankees rookie sensation Gary Sanchez once Wednesday to face Mark Teixeira—they did it twice. And even Teixeira knew they had no choice.

“Shoot, if Babe Ruth is hitting behind him, you intentionally walk him,” said Teixeira after the Yankees’ 5-0 victory over the ...

OMNICHATTER 8-25-16

Guaranteed OMNICHATTER Field

(Sorry about yesterday!)

Conlon Collection Auction this Weekend

The archives of the famous Conlon Collection of baseball photographs is up for auction this weekend.  The article claims the winning bid could be a million dollars.  It should go for a lot more…....

Five California League expansion options

Why it works: Oxnard is a sweet spot for minor league franchises in California, close enough to have a rabid fanbase of a major league team, but far enough (and along such a heavily-trafficked route) that many fans can’t get to the games. With baseball passion, beautiful scenery and a large fanbase to draw from, especially once nearby Ventura’s population is included, Oxnard checks the boxes for a successful minor league franchise.

Why it doesn’t: The area is so Dodgers-heavy, it would ...

U.S. Cellular Field Changing Name To Guaranteed Rate Field

Yuck.  It’ll always be The Cell to me.

U.S. Cellular Field will change its name to Guaranteed Rate Field, the White Sox announced Wednesday afternoon.

The White Sox and Guaranteed Rate, a national mortgage lender, have signed 13-year naming rights deal, according to the Sox. But the name could last even longer — the Sox have an option of extending the deal past 2030.

Worst new stadium name?  It’s up there.

Report: A’s owner to tour waterfront site for new ballpark

Momentum may be building for an A’s stadium at the Howard Terminal site near Jack London Square.

A’s co-owner John Fisher will take what the San Francisco Chronicle called “a hush-hush tour” of that site at Port of Oakland, which mayor Libby Schaaf has long promoted as a landing spot for the team.

Fisher, who is usually quiet publicly but holds a majority stake in the A’s, will reportedly be joined on the Thursday visit by port officials familiar with real estate, environmental aspects and ...