Silva: Time to End the Collins Era and Bring On Backman

...and Wally dug the Mets out of the basement.

Backman is known to be a great motivator and teacher. He won’t wave a magic wand and make this 4-A squad a contender, but I guarantee the players will maximize their potential- whatever that may be. He can manage a bullpen, and certainly will run a clean clubhouse. He will demand respect and a winning attitude.  The Mets may not win under Backman, at least not right away, but they will compete. This is not what I can say has been the case 100% ...

Megdal: Jason Marquis Put The Time In

Of 47 pitchers with 1,500 innings logged since 2000, Marquis is 40th in strikeout rate, 43rd in walk rate.

But unlike 20 of those 47 pitchers, Jason Marquis is still getting outs and winning games. And he doesn’t much care what anyone thinks about how he does it.

“Whatever it is, I don’t care, the one or the five,” Marquis said of his spot in any team’s rotation as we talked at his locker in Baltimore on Tuesday afternoon, the day before his most recent start. Marquis is uncommonly bright, a ...

MLB hoping for large replay expansion in 2014

Major League Baseball appears set for a vast expansion of video review by umpires in 2014 and is examining whether all calls other than balls or strikes should be subject to instant replay.

Replay has been in place for home run calls since August 2008. Commissioner Bud Selig initially wanted to add trap plays and fair/foul calls down the lines for 2013, but change was put off while more radical options were examined.

‘‘My opinion has evolved,’’ baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday ...

SBnation: Brisbee: Jim Leyland Holds Court on the Shift

I’m seeing double here, four Leylands. 
Warning article contains some salty, grizzled NSFW-ish real talk.

Granillo: Comic Book Guy is living a lie

“In The Simpsons, why in the world is Comic Book Guy’s store called “The Android’s Dungeon and Baseball Card Shop”? This is a travesty that needs to be called out!”

Meanwhile, back at the shop, does CBG even sell baseball cards? There was that one time Milhouse tried to buy a copy of the 1973 Carl Yastrzemski card, when he had the big sideburns. To his credit, Comic Book Guy knew exactly which card he wanted and exactly its price. However, in the 20-plus years since then, there hasn’t been a ...

Bonsignore: Time for Mike Scioscia to come home to the Dodgers

So that’s what Bonsignore means.

Scioscia has been in Anaheim for 14 years and won a World Series title and five division championships.

But everything has a shelf life, and as he oversees yet another season of Angels underachievement, it’s probably only a matter of time before Moreno decides it’s time to bring in a new manager.

But don’t mistake a change in the dugout with heaping all the blame on one person.

It’s not Scioscia’s fault the Angels drastically downgraded their pitching staff. ...

Chicago Softball

The return of the New York softball game has sparked some interest in a second Chicago softball contest as well. Any thoughts from BTF’s Chicagoland contingent on possible dates, locations, etc. should be posted here.

BPro: Marchi: Catcher Framing Before PITCHf/x (free)

Ausmus also gets the career laurel as the cumulative king of framing for the past quarter century. In an 18-year career behind the plate, he added roughly one win per season through his ability to earn extra strike calls. Once more, the purported divide between scouting and statistical analysis is revealed to be a false one: way before numbers-based discussions on framing were made, teams were willing to give playing time to weak-hitting catchers like Ausmus because of their defensive ability. ...Read More...

Arnett Mead (Arjun) Posted: May 16, 2013 at 10:42 AM | 10 comment(s)
  Beats: framing pitches

Washington Post: Boswell:  Reiser Offers Harper A Cautionary Tale

At age 22 in 1941, Reiser finished second for National League MVP. In just 137 games, he had 70 extra-base hits and led the league in runs (117), batting (.343), doubles (39), triples (17), total bases, getting hit by pitches and, if they’d kept track of on-base plus slugging back then, that, too (.964).

He was as good in reality as Harper dreams of being.

Then Reiser started running into walls. He never led the league in anything again, except stolen bases a couple of times….

“In two ...

Kovacevic: Are Grilli/Melancon even human?

Screw Dr. Orloff Ohlendorf…the Pirates now have real monster humans!

For further perspective, in 2003, the year Eric Gagne pretty much set the gold standard for a closer’s single-season performance, he had 55 saves and a 0.69 WHIP, the latter not far from either Grilli or Melancon right now.

Before this season, Grilli never posted a WHIP below 1.14. He got that with the Pirates last season at age 35. Before joining the Pirates in 2011, his career WHIP was 1.45, roughly double what it is ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-16-2013

Pittsburgh Gazette Times, May 16, 1913:

[Clarence Irwin], who was signed by Manager Connie Mack of the Philadelphia American League club, and who was to report for duty on May 26, was instantly killed today by tripping and falling in front of a Philadelphia and Reading Railroad locomotive near Cresson, Pa. He was employed as a brakeman and was in the act of turning a switch.

Man. The guy was so close to fulfilling a lifelong dream.

MASN: Machado on Machado

Manny o’ WAR: Stud record.

On leading the league in WAR:

“You’ve got to play baseball. That’s the main thing. We don’t think about the stats. You don’t think about (WAR) and all that other junk there is out there. Go out there and play baseball and win games. That’s the main goal. This organization, we’re out here to win games and be better every day.”

On at least temporarily leading the league in hits:

“I didn’t know that. Just go out there and keep playing. It’s still a long season to go. ...

Generation K: Baseball’s strikeout trend is growing at record pace

DGAFism spreading across the land…

There are many factors. More teams and more overall games mean more strikeouts. There also are more power arms, more starters who can touch 94 mph, more relievers who finish games throwing 98.

Some are more subtle. Without question, the influence of Sabermetrics has played a role, much to Harold Reynolds’ chagrin. The new math – analyzing baseball using the game’s statistics – has produced a new crop of hitters who are conditioned to take pitches, ...

TB Times: Crash victim works to forgive former Ray Bush

Been through the Bushmills…

Tony Tufano tries not to be bitter, but there are days, like Wednesday, when he struggles to get out of bed and he can’t help it.

Tufano, 73, is grateful to be alive after he was nearly killed last year on March 22 in North Port, when his motorcycle was struck by a Dodge Durango driven by former Rays right-handed pitcher Matt Bush. Bush, 27, baseball’s top overall pick in 2004, is in jail serving a 51-month sentence after pleading no contest in December to driving ...

OMNICHATTER for MAY 16, 2013

Darvish and Verlander face off tonight. Enough said.

Al Lopez house to be moved to new address in Ybor

Here’s a tentative schedule of the move:

• 8-10 p.m.: Moving Al Lopez house toward Nuccio Parkway, where it will wait for the 909 E 12th Ave. house to meet it at 13th Street and Nuccio Parkwaykwy.

• 10-midnight: Moving 909 toward Al Lopez house.

• Midnight-4 a.m.: Moving both houses down Nuccio Parkway, toward 21st Street, then Palm Avenue to 19th Street.

• 4 a.m.: Placing the houses into position at 2003 and 2005 N 19th St.

• 11 a.m: Celebratory toast at Ybor City Museum State ...

Seattle Weekly: The Real Reason “King” Felix Chose to Stay In Seattle

Chace’s Pancake Corral, for real. (NYT backgrounder on the star who stayed)

Seems our favorite M, who dazzles us with the K, makes it a point to visit the Pancake Corral a couple of times a week, in fact, whenever the team’s in town.

“Yes, he comes in with wife and cute little boy and he always has the strawberry waffle with bacon and eggs and orange juice,” says owner Jane Zakskorn, whose dad, William Chace, now deceased, opened the cozy little breakfast and lunch joint 55 years ago ...

MLB.COM: Longtime Royals radio voice Fred White dies

RIP Fred White

Fred White, a Royals radio voice for 25 years, died Wednesday due to complications from melanoma, a day after announcing his retirement following a 40-year relationship with the club.

White teamed with Denny Matthews on broadcasts from 1973-98, and since had served as the team’s director of broadcast services and the Royals Alumni.

His retirement was due to health issues, and he died in hospice care.

The Non-Catching Molina (sjs1959) Posted: May 15, 2013 at 05:06 PM | 9 comment(s)
  Beats: broadcasting, fred white, royals

Beer and Loathing: Taking Stock of the Best and Worst Ballpark Suds | Extra Mustard - SI.com

Mmmm, beer.

2013 MiLB #foodfight

Hungry?

Fans are lining up for oversized sandwiches, massive plates of food or batting helmets filled with edible delights. Which of these 16 food items will be the Greatest of the Gut Busters?

Ever wondered how players do on their bobblehead night? - SBNation.com

This article is bobblelicious!

SI: The 50 highest-earning athletes

When welterweight Floyd Mayweather was No. 1 on Sports Illustrated’s Fortunate 50 last year—knocking out Tiger Woods, who had been No. 1 every year since SI started producing the list in 2004—it looked like a fluke, the result of the $85 million he received for his fights with Victor Ortiz and Miguel Cotto. Now Mayweather is proving that he belongs at the top. From just two bouts this year, one earlier this month and the other scheduled for September, he will earn at least $90 million, ...

MLBTR: Phillies to sign Carlos Zambrano to minor league deal

Get ready for WORLD WAR Z.

The Phillies have officially announced the signing of Carlos Zambrano to a minor league deal. He will report to extended Spring Training in Clearwater, Fla. Zambrano is represented by Praver/Shapiro, as shown in MLBTR’s Agency Database.

The 31-year-old Zambrano had previously agreed to a contract with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League but never signed the contract as he continued to look for employment with a Major League team.

After spending parts of ...

Josh Hamilton’s allergy issues nothing to sneeze at

Josh Hamilton said he has changed sinus medication and is scheduled to be tested for allergies, but he wanted to make one thing about his weakened condition perfectly clear.

“This has absolutely nothing to do with my .200 batting average,” he said.

The Angels limited Hamilton to designated hitter Tuesday, one day after the right fielder came out of a game with what Manager Mike Scioscia called dizziness. Hamilton said he has had sinus and throat discomfort for about 10 days and said he ...

Grantland (Lindbergh): The Art of Pitch Framing

Really good discussion, not just of the good (Molina, J) and bad (Doumit) of pitch framing, but approaches to fixing the issues:

For Diamondbacks bullpen coach Glenn Sherlock, a former minor league catcher and an experienced catching instructor whom Arizona GM Kevin Towers credits with turning Miguel Montero into a good framer, the first fix is glove height. “I think catchers’ targets at the bottom of the zone is so important,” he says. “You see a lot of catchers who have high targets and take ...

FanGraphs: Q&A: Dennis Martinez, El Presidente Legacy

Pontoon points out ~ “Dennis Martinez ERA+106/4000 IP ~ Jack Morris ERA+105/3800 IP”.

On his legacy: “I think maybe I am [underappreciated]. I don’t feel I got the credit I deserved, maybe because of where I came from. I was a Spanish-speaking kid from Nicaragua who didn‘t understand the language real well, and I got a reputation in the Orioles organization as a hot-headed pitcher who didn’t want to go along with the system. The reason was that I fought for my rights. I fought for what ...

BPro: Listen to What the Heyman Said

With the Yang-Mills existence problem seemingly solved…we now move on to the Heyman existence problem. Or something.

And sometimes there isn’t much you can do. I wrote what I did about Hawk Harrelson and The Will To Win because at some point, you have to come to the conclusion that someone isn’t worth talking to anymore. Hawk’s problem wasn’t that he was wrong, it was that he was stuck in a frame of mind that starts from conclusions and will, when it cares to, circle back around to ...

After Felix’s exit, Yanks pounce on Mariners

The Yankees couldn’t solve Seattle’s ace—a common cause celebre among American League teams—but they took advantage of his early exit. Hernandez left with a two-run lead after six innings, and the Yankees used a key seventh-inning rally to earn a 4-3 victory over the Mariners.

Granderson went hitless in the victory, his first game after starting the season on the disabled list.

The Yanks looked like they were destined to lose until Felix went out with back tightness. Wedge said after the ...

Mets’ Collins On Valdespin Flap: ‘I Don’t Answer To Fans’

The Valdespin: Misdirection and diversion.

On Friday night, with the Mets down a sizable margin to Pittsburgh, Valdespin admired his ninth-inning home run. We all knew what was coming Saturday: the outfielder was sent up as a pinch-hitter and promptly got drilled by Pirates pitcher Bryan Morris.

Valdespin was greeted to crickets in the dugout, and the hit-by-pitch wasn’t met with retaliation. Some fans and media personalities – including WFAN radio’s Mike Francesa – got all over the ...

Red Sox could use reliever Mark Melancon right now - ESPN

A great breakdown of Mark Melancon.