I recently called Luhnow after I heard something in scouting circles that I found difficult to believe — that the Astros are instructing their minor leaguers not to swing at any 3-2 pitch.
“I don’t know where that came from,” Luhnow said, chuckling. “I heard that as well. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Our approach is the same top down. It’s driven by our hitting coach, John Mallee, and (assistant coach) Dan Radison. We want (hitters) to swing at pitches they can ...
By now, you’re no doubt familiar with the ongoing controversy roiling Nats Town and attracting national attention, involving pro- and anti-wave forces. Players are largely against it, from what we can tell. A large and vocal faction of fans is also trying to end the wave.
The battle reached a boiling point on Saturday afternoon, when one fan sitting near the back of Section 109 repeatedly attempted to start a wave during later innings — ...
“I think a lot of people that came here understood what happened last year,” Lester said. “We wanted to be a blip in the radar, and I think those guys saw that and said, ‘These guys’ track record speaks for themselves. We’re not going to base our decision on one down year.’ We have a good core, a good group of guys who know how to win and want to win (emphasis added), and I think that helped get some of these guys over here.”
Chicago, April 29—The Cincinnati team of the National League, appearing on the field for the first time in baseball history without its red stockings, was defeated by Chicago here to-day, by a score of 7 to 2.
...
Joe Tinker’s men wore the pale stockings of the Chicago White Sox, loaned by Charley Comiskey, with complete outfit of uniforms, gloves, bats and shoes, as the Cincinnati team’s uniforms were accidentally left at St. Louis.
Ruben’s team…forced to close due age/health infractions.
Ruben Amaro, Jr. may be one of the more polarizing general managers in baseball today. In an age when most acknowledge more information is better, and better information is worth more than ever before, Amaro has publicly admitted his front office doesn’t employ an analytics department. This effectively foregoes about 50 percent of all available types of information. How someone in charge of a hundred million dollar business could do that ...
The teams were on the field for 6 hours, 32 minutes in a marathon game that ended at 1:41 a.m. on the West Coast. It was the longest game ever played in Oakland by time and the longest in Angels history as well.
Oakland slugger Yoenis Cespedes singled off the left-center wall to drive in the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Los Angeles went ahead 8-7 in the 15th on a bases-loaded walk, but the A’s tied it in the bottom half on Adam Rosales’ two-out single after a costly ...
Any gripes any fan has would only be the result of the current record. There is not one single substantial thing to hang on Gibby for this start.
Could it be that the team is actually as cold and playing as bad as we analysts keep saying, and that’s all? No evil mastermind bringing them down from within? That the pitchforks and torches are unwarranted?
Seriously, all this #firegibby talk, as if he’s the kryptonite of the club; it’s ...
Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg turned in a quality start against the rival Braves on Monday night, but now he’s receiving treatment for forearm tightness. MASN’s Dan Kolko tweets that Strasburg is receiving medication and being examined by team doctors. Manager Davey Johnson told reporters it’s too early to know whether Strasburg will be able to make his next start. Consider the situation to be developing.
While there’s no indication that this is anything serious, it of course bears ...
YouTube just keeps adding quality content. Last week it was comedy, and this week it’s bulking up on its sporting chops with a Major League Baseball partnership. Always among the most tech-savvy of major sports leagues, MLB has beefed up the offerings on its YouTube channel to include highlights from every game of 2013 (two days after they’ve occurred), and a vast archive of full games from as far back as 1952. Plus, should you reside outside the US, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, ...
Move over, Corky Graham! New WAR correspondent, Jon Heyman is on the scene!
Jon Heyman: i am not a hater of WAR stat, but if someone can explain to me how starling marte & bryce harper are both 1.7, please do
It’s a hardly a clown question, bro.
Heyman is citing the Baseball-Reference version of WAR, and as of this writing, the two men are rated as equal in their performance so far in 2013. Our own WARP has Harper at 1.9 WARP, with Marte at 0.8. That’s not a knock on Marte. Harper has ...
In the minor leagues, Class A Daytona manager Dave Keller benched phenom Jorge Soler for Sunday’s game after Soler twice failed to run hard Saturday.
“(Soler) sat (Sunday) because within the philosophy and the work ethic that we are trying to create in this organization—and that we are trying to get our players to understand – work ethic, energy, determination, playing hard and running hard is part of the whole program,” Daytona manager Dave Keller told ...
Lesley’s ex-wife, Chiho Svimonoff, told the website that the former athlete had been living in a nursing home, where he was receiving dialysis for kidney problems, for the past seven months. According to Svimonoff, the “Little Big League” star was rushed to hospital on Saturday night, and later died there from kidney failure.
Lesley made his Major League debut on July 31, 1982, pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, and was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1984 and let go from the team in 1985. ...Read More...
Not baseball related, but I figure this deserves a thread:
I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.
I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, “I’m different.” If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.
Alas, Tulowitzki left Sunday’s game against the Diamondbacks in the third inning after injuring his left shoulder in an awkward slide into home plate, and his availability going forward isn’t known.
According to the Denver Post‘s Troy Renck, the Rockies said Tulowitzki suffered a mild strain of the rotator cuff in his non-throwing shoulder and will be re-evaluated on Monday. If he goes on the disabled list, it will mark the fourth straight year that he’s missed significant time due to ...
I love Dynasty League Baseball and have played it for years. I love it so much I provided a free ad for the game this season to thank Mike Cieslinski for the many years of enjoyment I’ve gotten from the game. At some point I will do an in-depth review of the game for the site to so you can get a better idea about the game’s strengths and weaknesses.
Barely four months after heading the syndicate that bought the Yankees, chairman George Steinbrenner got what he wanted. On this day in 1973, Michael Burke, team president since 1966, resigned in disgust. Steinbrenner’s choice, Gabe Paul, took over the role. Burke’s abrupt departure marked the first domino in a line that would see GM Lee MacPhail, manager Ralph Houk, and PR head Bob Fishel all quit by year’s end. The old days in ...
Coach Branch Rickey is trying to give the [University of] Michigan ball team some inside stuff. “With one out and a man on third, if you get a base on balls run down to first, turn the bag, and start for second. Draw the throw. If you’re out, you’ll score the man. These college catchers won’t get the man at the plate,” he tells them.
The more I read about Rickey, the more I like him. Maybe some of his ideas were unsuccessful, but you can’t say he was unwilling to ...
The thought goes like this: When a network pays huge money for a sports team’s TV rights, it hikes its carriage fee for cable providers. The best regional sports networks (RSNs) cost upward of $3 a month for cable and satellite providers to provide to each household. With monthly TV bills already exorbitant and more options to provide entertainment, from Netflix to Hulu and beyond, consumers could rebel against the single-payment system and choose what they view a la carte. One executive who ...
Bryce: No longer a fractal landscape…but a full season in.
Because the season started a little later last year, the past calendar year includes more than 162 games for a few guys, but Harper is right at 162 after yesterday. And in those 162 games, he’s been one of the ten best players in baseball. Some fun facts from Harper’s first full season.
Over the last year, he has a .234 ISO. Prince Fielder has a .233 ISO.
Harper is still learning how to hit lefties, which isn’t unusual for a ...
Hide your whiskey and lock up your women! Here comes the Hallion!
On Price’s next-to-last pitch, he thought he had struck out Dewayne Wise with a fastball, but Hallion called it a ball. Price, who appeared to take a step toward the first-base dugout, retired Wise on a comebacker on the next pitch.
“The 2-2 fastball to Dewayne Wise was a perfect pitch,” Price said. “I really don’t know why he swung at the next one since it was in the same spot. Then I walked off the mound. I was mad at myself ...
I look forward to seeing Dietrich at the next Immortal Love Pop-up Experience!
While Dietrich has been receiving plaudits for his talents on the field, there’s no denying his skills away from the game when it comes to juggling. Whether it’s with baseballs, flaming torches, machetes or (and this is where Marlins officials gasp) chain saws that are going, Dietrich has shown a skill that few others have mastered.
“I enjoy juggling. I love doing it as a hobby,” Dietrich said. “I love ...
It’s Matt Harvey Day! And Strasmas (note: Strasmas is cancelled on days where he doesn’t do well)! And St. Waino’s Day! And… uh…. the Feast of Theodore Roosevelt Lilly?
Oh, and the Astros come to the Bronx. They once no-hit the Yankees in the Bronx. That was a long time ago.
A couple of weeks before her ex-husband agreed to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jamie McCourt reached a divorce settlement that gave her $131 million tax-free and several luxurious homes.
Now she says her decision was a huge mistake.
The team’s former CEO is seeking to have the agreement thrown out, saying she was misled about the value of the Dodgers that was later sold for $2 billion. A judge will hear closing arguments Wednesday in a bench trial that could ...
Early in spring training, before the exhibition games started, the Houston Astros practiced victory celebrations. It was part of their daily schedule - nothing fancy, just handshake lines, game balls and smiles, and maybe the outfielders would bounce together on their way to the mound.
“I’m a firm believer that if you want to be it, you have to be it before you are it,” Bo Porter, the Astros’ new manager, said in the visitors’ dugout at Fenway Park on Friday. “You want to send a ...
Dodgers prospect Yasiel Puig was arrested by police in Chattanooga, Tenn., early Sunday and charged with speeding, reckless driving and driving without proof of insurance.
A spokesman for the Hamilton County jail confirmed that Puig was booked Sunday morning and released a short time later. He has a hearing scheduled for the afternoon of May 14 in Hamilton County court.
Puig, a 22-year-old Cuban defector, signed a seven-year, $42-million contract with the Dodgers last June.
