Brian Cashman is keeping Ben Francisco around to “piss everybody off”

The Yankees designated infielder Alberto Gonzalez for assignment this afternoon in order to make room for the newly-acquired Reid Brignac. Some thought that Ben Francisco‘s roster spot could be in jeopardy, as he’s hitting just .114 (5-for-44) in 21 games, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman joked to reporters today that he’s keeping him around for a very important reason.

Andy McCullough @McCulloughSL

Cashman on Ben Francisco’s roster spot: “Just in terms of your fan comments ...

Draft Features Rarest of Prospects: Redheads

The issue of redheadedness and athletic performance took center stage before the 2011 NFL draft, when Sports Illustrated’s Peter King interviewed an anonymous head coach who questioned Texas Christian University product Andy Dalton’s ability to lead a team from the quarterback spot. The scout’s objections were based less on Dalton’s arm strength, pocket presence and his Wonderlic score than his hair color.

“Has there ever been a redheaded quarterback in the NFL who’s really done ...

Phil Wood: It’s time for baseball to use technology to make sure umps get it right

Phil Wood’s still honking…who knew?

This brings us back to balls and strikes, and the case of minor league ump—and big league fill-in—John Tumpane.

Tumpane was behind the plate May 12 when the Nationals played the Cubs.

Tumpane is a Triple-A guy who’s called up when a regular ump has a day off. He started getting major league assignments in 2010 when he was only 27 and apparently believes that close enough is good enough.

When a pitch is so far off the plate that the catcher makes no ...

SoE (Megdal): It’s Time to Finally Believe in the Orioles

Primer’s own Mr. Megdal takes a break from his contractually obligated ball-busting of the Wilpons to point out that Serious You Guys, the Orioles really are a pretty solid team now:

BALTIMORE—A pair of diametrically opposed views exists about the Baltimore Orioles, 2012’s winner of 93 games and a playoff spot, off to another strong start in 2013.

Outside the Baltimore area, skeptics abound. Sure, the Orioles won 93 games, but their Pythagorean record—a measure of expected wins and losses based ...

Holmes: Where does Miguel Cabrera rank among Tiger greats?

Bah! No mention of Em Lindbeck...he was an on-base machine (.000/.500/.000)!

However, and I know this will irk the legion of Kaline fans out there, Cabrera is a better hitter than #6. He has more power, he pulls the ball better, he goes to the opposite field better, and he is a better RBI man than Al was. It’s not a knock on Kaline, because Cabrera is one of the best hitters to ever play the game. He has a career .320 batting average and his slugging marks are among the best of the last 25 ...

Townsend: Troy Tulowitzki denies accusing Madison Bumgarner of doctoring baseballs

That brings us to Coors Field on Friday night. For a few seconds it seemed like we may have been headed towards that inevitable flare up. It happened in the third inning with Troy Tulowitzki running on first base, D.J. LeMahieu at the plate, and Madison Bumgarner pitching. As it’s being reported, Tulowitzki asked first base umpire Tim McClelland to check the baseball. McClelland complied, stopping play to give it a once over before tossing it out of play.

Bumgarner had the outward reaction ...

PressBox: Boog Powell: Meat Of The Order

Eeeww, grotle. Now I’m touch and go on pulling out the Blüd Sausage EP.

Ever since Powell entered the major leagues in 1961, Orioles fans have known him as an affable giant, whose Popeye-esque muscles and robust 6-foot-4 frame stood in stark contrast with his easy smile and kind-hearted demeanor. For 14 years, Powell readily accommodated the Baltimore aficionados, signing autographs by day, swatting homers by night. So beloved was Powell that even after he went to Cleveland in 1975, toward ...

Babcock: Can The 2013 Cubs Channel The Turnaround Artists Of 1967?

Could always ask…Rich Nye the Quantum Chronophysics Guy.

Indeed, scanning the 2013 roster, only an optimist of Ernie Banksian dimensions would find four future Hall-of-Famers. I only count two position players who have even made the All-Star team as Cubs: Starlin Castro (2011, 2012), Alfonso Soriano (2007, 2008). Castro is still a work in progress and The Fonz can only hope for lasting recognition if his outfield hop turns into a Gangnam style YouTube sensation.

Getting more granular, ...

Bradford: Could this be the smartest Red Sox team since ‘07?

Using the Bradford–Binet Intelligence Test…uhh, no.

The Gomes persona might offer the best evidence of an ‘07 dynamic within these Red Sox.

There might be some frustration for fans who choose to define success and failure by pure numbers with the outfielder hitting .183 with a .643 OPS. Intangibles aside, it certainly would behoove the Red Sox to get Gomes’ digits up a bit. But something as simple of managing to hit a ball in the air when his team needed it the most, as was the case in 10th ...

OMNICHATTER for MAY 18, 2013

All 30 Major League teams play today. Hey, it’s different than saying it’s a full slate of 15 games.

Pinstriped Bible: Albin: Is Ichiro done?

The Yankees are only a month and a half into Ichiro’s new contract, and it already looks like they will rue the day the two sides reached a deal. Well, perhaps the business side of the organization is pleased, but I digress. Ichiro is hitting .239/.280/.328 through 145 plate appearances, and finally broke a 22 at-bat hitless skid last night. At this point, it is hard to be optimistic about him going forward.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Ichiro is scuffling. From 2011 through 2012, Ichiro ...

MLB: Talking past, present and future with Ryne Sandberg

Per Sandberg: Self-Appointed Chairman of the Committee on HOF Justice. #norynonoryno

MLB.com: During your Hall of Fame acceptance speech in 2005, you spoke a lot about playing the game the right way. What was your take on the most recent voting?

Sandberg: Well, first of all, the voting is in the hands of the sportswriters who follow the game, and I think that the writers once again sent a strong message to baseball that illegal drugs and all that is not and should not be a part of baseball. I ...

Powerball odds? Juan Pierre’s homers are long shots, too

Odds of being attacked by a shark marlin: 1 in 11.5 million.

Pierre’s clout came leading off the bottom of the first for the Miami Marlins against the Cincinnati Reds.

Pierre’s homer was his first since June 23. He whooped when the ball went over the fence down the right-field line.

“I don’t know how to react to those things, so it’s just a spur-of-the-moment deal,” Pierre told reporters of his homer reaction. “That’s about the only time you’ll see me smiling on the baseball field.”

...

Girardi Still Believes as Injuries Mount

“Things stay fresh in my mind,” Girardi said. “I’ve seen Hafner hit home runs to left-center in big parks; I’ve seen him pull balls; I’ve seen him work counts. I’ve seen Lyle be a double monster his whole career and play great defense at first base. I remember saying, ‘Oh, my goodness, can you believe how close he’s playing to second base?’ I remember seeing Vernon hit balls out on us. I remember Youk taking Mo deep.

“So I believe in these guys. I believe they can still ...

Dunson: The Campaign For Mariano Rivera To Start The All-Star Game Is A Backhanded Compliment

Has the BBC decided to pick up the filler-filled “Mariano Rivera’s Grand Tour” yet?

Even as the career saves leader, and a five-time World Series champion, Rivera catches shade from critics who point out that he benefitted from longevity because of this era’s relief pitching specialization. Pitching prejudice is always swimming beneath the surface.

Rivera has no Cy Young Awards in his war chest, but this is a life lesson. Play your position. Rivera was built for the bright lights of the ...

Pregame: Hurdle discusses the role of pitcher / hitter matchups in lineup construction - Bucs Dugout

Good stuff. Take a look.

MLB draft bonus pool up 8.2 percent

A larger bite for the Appel?

Major League Baseball teams can spend a little more money on amateur draft picks this year.

The signing bonus values for the selections in next month’s draft will increase by 8.2 percent, players and owners agreed this week.

Under their memorandum of understanding in November 2010 for a five-year labor contract, the sides said signing bonus values will increase each year at the same rate as industry revenue.

The value for the No. 1 pick, held for the second ...

Studying the art of pitch framing by catchers such as Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart, Jose Molina, and others - Grantland

Fascinating stuff.

If you take the Astros’ plan, and Manwaring’s comment about copycats, to their logical conclusion, then at some point in the not-too-distant future, almost every team — save, perhaps, for a few with gifted offensive catchers for whom framing aptitude is less paramount — could have someone squatting behind the plate and stealing extra strikes. But sweeping changes to the sport rarely come without unforeseen consequences. That kind of mass movement toward catchers with ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-17-2013

Toledo News-Bee, May 17, 1913:

One of the weirdest triple plays ever seen in the American league was staged in the seventh inning of the Nap-Athletic contest Friday at Cleveland. Johnson [sic] opened with a single and took third on Chapman’s double. Olson then drew a single off Barry’s chest. Johnson was sent home by his coacher, Steen, who saw Chapman racing for third. Johnson was run down. Chappie started back to second and found Olson there. Barry tagged Olson and Chapman. Olson was retired, ...

OMNICHATTER for May 17, 2013

Omni=Latin prefix for all or every.
Chatter=Talk or to be talking.

Number of game today=15.

Jeremy Affeldt returned extra $500,000

I’d like Jeremy more if he had given it back to Oakland.

Josh Hamilton’s allergies not linked to drug use, doctors say

Otolaryngology has another O-4 in it.

Josh Hamilton said he was assured by doctors this week that the allergies that lead to occasional sinus and throat discomfort and dizziness were not caused or exacerbated by his heavy cocaine use from 2002-2005.

“You have a hallway up the middle of your nose and sinus cavities on each side,” said Hamilton, whose addiction to drugs and alcohol led to a ban from baseball from 2003-2005. “When you breathe air, it goes up and down the hallway.

“Same thing ...

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