“By now I’m entirely consumed with it, and only marginally able to do anything else”: Bill James can’t stop dreaming about baseball – The Athletic

I know exactly how he feels. I also know I wouldn’t be making this post without ever finding and reading his books.

“The more you know about the game, the more enjoyable — the more fun it becomes,” James says. “And this cycle has been running in me for 50 years, so that by now I’m entirely consumed with it, and only marginally able to do anything else.

“And I’m up in my dirty little office upstairs, just obsessively studying this and that. Not because I have to … I just can’t ...

Yankees vs. Red Sox: Ron Darling doesn’t have a Luis Severino regret — but he should

How quickly can Google Maps find a route from a molehill to a mountain?

When Severino failed, Darling did as well, drawing a straight line from his pregame prep to his poor outing, declaring as fact that Severino warmed up late and left early.

“That was a cute line,” Darling said in our interview. “You are going into break. You are trying to find something interesting to say. That’s a going-to-break line. But I understand what you are saying.”

Nick Cafardo: Red Sox manager Alex Cora went against analytics in Game 3 — and the result was spectacular

Alex Cora managed it. It’s that simple.

He saw that what he had drawn up wasn’t working. As much as he loved and believed in the lineups in the first two games, he had left two of the hotter hitters of the past couple of weeks on the bench. So even though Brock Holt and Rafael Devers had horrific numbers against Luis Severino, he put them in the lineup anyway.

This was one of those nonanalytic moments. Cora simply had a feeling, a Joe Morgan hunch, that the two lefthanded hitters would do ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 10-9-2018

Washington Herald, October 9, 1918:

Capt. Christy Mathewson of the Chemical Warfare Service, U.S.A., has arrived in France, according to authentic information from private sources and has been sent to a training school for instructors.

It has been said and written that Capt. Mathewson and other ball players from here who joined the colors later than others will meet with cool receptions by the boys who have been on the firing line.
...
Surely, Capt. Mathewson ought not to be criticized. As soon ...

Astros Blast Past Cleveland Into LCS

The Astros passed their first October test as the defending World Series champions with flying colors, burying the Indians with a relentless offense and solid pitching on Monday afternoon to earn a champagne celebration they hope won’t be their last.

Rosters stacked with talent, including Vlad Guerrero Jr., as Arizona Fall League kicks off

Ronald Acuna Jr.’s grand slam on Sunday fueled the Atlanta Braves in their Game 3 win in the National League Division Series. A year ago this month, he was roaming the outfield for the Peoria Javelinas.

Acuna stands as the latest example of how the splendor of the Arizona Fall League never fully reveals itself until after the fact, by which point it becomes clear that the best players in the league are more than capable of starring at the game’s highest level.

The next wave of fall ...

Youngest Braves home-schooled on cruelty of the postseason

For the youngest Braves, Monday night at SunTrust Park was the same painful rite of passage navigated by so many of their forebears.

While it certainly was nothing new for those in the Braves’ home dugout to end a season watching someone else celebrate a postseason series victory, it hadn’t happened before in this particular ballpark. Call it another kind of SunTrust Park christening, the kind no one wants to attend. 

And it certainly never had happened to Ozzie Albies.

MLB playoffs: Alex Bregman says Astros belong on ‘primetime television’ after day-game relegation in ALDS

I’m inclined to be sympathetic- but, then again, my perspective is skewed by being a resident of the West Coast, which gives me a perspective on live broadcasting different from that of the denizens of the Eastern and Central Time Zones…..

Yankees Endure Their Worst Postseason Loss Ever as Red Sox Win 16-1 in Game 3

Behind a seven-run fourth inning, a cycle from Brock Holt and a slew of questionable decisions by Yankees manager Aaron Boone, the Red Sox took control of their Division Series against New York with an impressive 16–1 demolition in Game 3. Boston can finish the series on Tuesday night in the Bronx, but before we look ahead to that one, here are three thoughts from a wild rout at Yankee Stadium.

Things looked good for Boston early in Game 1, when the lineup put up five runs in the first three ...

Red Sox’s Brock Holt hits first cycle in MLB playoff history

Brock Holt stands alone in baseball history.

The Boston Red Sox infielder became the first player in MLB history to hit for the cycle in a postseason game.

He completed the feat in the ninth inning of the Red Sox’s 16-1 Game 3 rout of the rival New York Yankees, hitting a two-run homer off Austin Romine – a catcher who was called on to throw the final inning of the blowout.

Congratulations- it’s always impressive to be a first at something like this.

Red Sox vs. Yankees: Angel Hernandez has three calls overturned by replay in first four innings

Veteran umpire Angel Hernandez doesn’t have a good reputation among fans and we can probably loop in the players and managers, too, given his history of quick ejections. Last season, Ian Kinsler suggested Hernandez find another line of work. I’d say after Joe West, Hernandez is probably the umpire fans most know, and that’s not a good sign. A good umpire is pretty anonymous and that makes perfect sense: We notice when you mess up or make the game about you.

Hernandez didn’t have any issues ...

Fangraphs: The Dodgers Might Be in Actual Legal Trouble

...the Dodgers are evidently a prime target of the probe.

One particularly remarkable document shows that Dodgers executives in 2015 went so far as to develop a database that measured the perceived “level of egregious behavior” displayed by 15 of their own employees in Latin America. That is, using a scale of 1 to 5—“innocent bystander” to “criminal”—front-office executives assessed their own staff’s level of corruption. Five employees garnered a “criminal” rating.

***

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The MLB Network broadcast (and Rockies scoreboard) struggled with some Brewers names and facts Sunday night

Jim Kaat will be 80 in a few weeks so he can point to age. But Costas is supposed to be awesome doing baseball and on Sunday he was kind of an embarrassment.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 10-8-2018

Pittsburgh Press, October 8, 1918:

Indignant at the slight put upon the Boston Redsox through Ban Johnson’s scheme for investigating the disbursement of the 10 per cent of winnings from the world’s series, John (Stuffy) McInnis, first baseman of the Boston team, has come forward to the defense of his teammates, insisting that it will be found that the money was properly expended.
...
“[Johnson] had better go carefully. He is getting in deep water. We have some rights that are to be considered ...

OTP 2018 October 8: Hugh Jackman’s ‘The Front Runner’ Confronts The Political Conundrum Of Our Time

The picture drops us into the thick of the 1984 campaign right as Hart (a low-key and weather Jackman, oddly eschewing his usual star charisma) conceding the nomination to Walter Mondale. As you know, Mondale got slaughtered by Ronald Regan in the general election, losing all but one state in the electoral college (despite still winning 41% of the popular vote). So, four years later, Hart is back in the thick of it, as he argues that the failed 1984 campaign was partially to introduce himself ...

End Of An Era For Dodgers And Clayton Kershaw, Win Or Lose

It’s not that Clayton Kershaw isn’t the ace anymore. Not necessarily. It’ just that now he’s a little closer to being one of 25 Dodgers than he was before. Which isn’t to say he isn’t a team player. Not at all. It’s just that now, in his 11th season in Los Angeles, he doesn’t have to be the center of his team’s universe. All that matters is 11 postseason wins, no matter how you get them.

Which means, I’d argue, it’s the end of an era for the Dodgers and Mr. Kershaw. A sunset, if you will. ...

Trevor Bauer’s combative Twitter persona comes back to haunt him vs. Alex Bregman

If there was a list of MLB hitters that Cleveland Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer didn’t want to yield a home run to, Alex Bregman might be near the top. Unfortunately for the outspoken pitcher, that’s exactly what happened in Game 2 of the ALDS.

Facing Bregman in relief during the seventh inning, Bauer allowed a no-doubter off the third baseman that put the Houston Astros up 3-1 in a game that gave them a commanding 2-0 lead in the first round of the MLB playoffs.

The homer was ...

ALDS Game 1: Red Sox overcome bullpen woes to beat Yankees

I thought I was beyond Red Sox angst. I was wrong.

BenFred: Hot corner hasn’t been so hot for Cardinals recently | Ben Frederickson | stltoday.com

What might suit the Cardinals best is a bridge, an upgrade over the present that does not block the future. It’s that line of thinking that leads to the discussion of familiar names like Mike Moustakas and Josh Donaldson. The latter, though righthanded, has a higher ceiling than Moustakas, but he comes with concerns about the calf injury that spoiled his contract year. He can answer questions beneath the postseason’s lights if Cleveland makes a run.

Dodgers showing Braves what postseason dominance looks like

LOS ANGELES—This is baseball, right? It’s not an early September non-conference football game featuring Alabama and Nowhere Tech. It’s the big leagues and one thing we know about this sport is that from the perspective of a single game or two, there is no such thing as an upset. It takes dozens and dozens of games to really know the true difference between teams.

Nevertheless, it very much feels like the Los Angeles Dodgers are playing Alabama to the Atlanta Braves’ Nowhere Tech. It’s not just ...

Sources: Steven Wright likely to be replaced on playoff roster

Turns out that having aging stand-up comedians pitch for you isn’t recommended…..

MLB playoffs: Chris Sale’s velocity rebounds as he gives Red Sox their longest playoff start in five years

The Boston Red Sox started their American League Division Series against the New York Yankees on Friday night by sending ace Chris Sale to the mound. The question with Sale was where would his velocity. For at least a night, he seemed to put those concerns to rest.

Sale completed 5 1/3 innings, holding the Yankees to five hits and two runs in a 5-4 victory. He did strike out eight while averaging 94.6 mph on his fastball. He topped out at 97 mph and his final pitch, No. 93, clocked in around ...

Yankees, Dodgers or Red Sox aren’t America’s team this postseason, but guess who is?

What do the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers have in common? Well, aside from each having massive payrolls and all still being alive in the postseason?

They’re all not the team America is throwing its support behind during the League Division Series. At least not according to the above infographic put together by Sportsbetting.ag, which shows each state’s rooting interest based on geotagged Twitter data.

The team that’s earning the most support from the most ...

OT - NBA Thread (2018-19 season kickoff edition)

I estimate only 10-12 Primates care about the NBA, none of whom knew the old thread would get closed, thus detracting from what this site is really about: the baseball playoffs, maybe?

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 10-5-2018

Los Angeles Herald, October 5, 1918:

Candidates for the presidency of the National League, notwithstanding the comparatively “dead times” of baseball that now temporarily prevail, are bobbing up and launching their claims for consideration.

While I [Sam Crane] was in Chicago attending the resent world’s series, Dick Kinsella announced his willingness to accept the position made vacant to suddenly by John K. Tener, and now, Joe O’Brien, who was once the president of the American association and ...

Hartford Native Peter Bjarkman, Foremost Expert, Author On Cuban Baseball, Dies At 77

Peter C. Bjarkman, a Hartford native who went on to become one of the foremost experts and most prolific writers about baseball in Cuba, died on Monday in Havana. He was 77.

“In America, everyone fancies himself a baseball expert,” wrote John Thorn, the official historian for Major League Baseball, “perhaps in Cuba, too. But no American has joined the past, present and future of each nation’s view of the game as Bjarkman has.”

Details of Bjarkman’s death were not immediately ...

LDS OMNICHATTER! for October 2018

Dipoto: Ichiro will be on Japan Series roster

Possibly the worst kept secret in the history of baseball?

While Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto says there are many questions to be answered as the upcoming offseason plays out, one answer is already known. Ichiro Suzuki will be on the Major League roster when Seattle opens its regular season in Tokyo against the A’s in the Japan Series next March, as long as he is healthy.

vortex of dissipation Posted: October 04, 2018 at 04:54 PM | 5 comment(s)
  Beats: ichiro, japan

What Happened to the Houston Astros’ Hacker?

The Dogs went undefeated, consistently thrashing even the powerful All-Blacks. Something to put on my résumé, the Dogs’ coach thought to himself, mordantly. FPC Cumberland championship softball coach. His CV had once been impeccable. He had been Chris Correa, the former doctoral student who had steadily ascended through the front office of the Cardinals to become their scouting director, in charge of their amateur draft. No longer. Now he was Christopher J. Correa, federal inmate 04550-479.

...

DeWitt on Cardinals chasing improvements for 2019: ‘We’re aggressive and we’ve got resources’ | St. Louis Cardinals | stltoday.com

The Cardinal Way is not dead.

“They’ve certainly put pressure on themselves to get us where we want to go,” DeWitt said Thursday, including himself as part of that “collaborative” group. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, we better win the division next year or we’re going to turn everything upside down.’ That’s not our view. I think that’s a dangerous approach because then you put people in position going all-in as the model. ‘Forget about two, three, five years down the road when, ...