Is Triple A a critical step for development?

“Creating policies or procedures around that small sample [of players who struggled when reaching the big leagues] can be a mistake, because it will prevent you from calling up the next guy. That’s something you have to be careful of in these situations,” said Hazen. “When you look at it at the micro level, you can pick apart any one decision, any one path, any one player, any one background, and create large-scale theories on that. We need to evaluate each one of these situations in ...

How Managers Were Fooled by the Home-Run Spike | FanGraphs Baseball

Some interesting breakdowns. Read the whole thing.

What’s fascinating about this is that managers are responding to the home-run spike. If you look at earlier seasons, there’s not a clear relationship between scoring and pitches per start or innings per start. And you wouldn’t expect there to be in the aggregate. The decision to pull the starter should be based on his effectiveness relative to the other pitching options, not his un-adjusted in-game performance. But that’s not how it ...

The Decline of Albert Pujols Underscores the Greatness of Frank Thomas

Piling on Phat Albert.

“Frank Thomas was a first-ballot HOFer, but in some respects he might be modestly underrated as a hitter. I suspect it’s because Thomas, like Pujols, endured an extended decline phase that began after his last truly great season (at age 32). But unlike Pujols, Thomas was actually a very good hitter deep into his 30s; Pujols (and the Angels) would kill for this kind of production.”

The Indians and Andrew Miller Are Reshaping How We Think About Elite Reliever Usage

Chapman didn’t enter a game before the ninth inning or stay in any game for more than three outs. Miller, meanwhile, saw action as early as the sixth. He jogged in as often in the eighth as the ninth, and he entered in the seventh most often of all. He also turned in longer outings, throwing more innings than Chapman despite appearing in three fewer games. Chapman pitched in save situations all but three times; Miller pitched in non-save situations all but three times. He’s a closer-quality ...

The 10 best MLB players, for talent, without serious Hall of Fame cases

6. Kerry Wood

The one-time Cubs ace is somehow still only 39. In a more just world, Wood’s 20-strikeout performance as a 20-year-old five games into his MLB career wouldn’t have signaled open season for his managers on his arm. Perhaps Wood would be closing in on 300 wins now.

7. Josh Hamilton

If there’s a Hall of Fame for overcoming cataclysmic life issues before finally achieving MLB stardom, the former No. 1 draft pick might command his own wing. As it stands, a .290 lifetime ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 9-2-2016

Pittsburgh Press, September 2, 1916:

Tom Seaton has had his last of Pullman drawing rooms and private suites in hotels on the road. Seaton…was one of the Phillies’ pitching stars in 1913. He accepted terms for the following year, and then jumped to the Brooklyn Feds. He held up [Brooklyn’s owners] for a three-year contract at $8,000 per, with the stipulation that his employers should pay the traveling expenses of Mrs. Seaton while the team was on the road. Furthermore, he insisted on having a ...

OMNICHATTER 9-2-16

The OMNICHATTER has not done a stupid Harambe meme

The Comps for Tim Tebow Aren’t Encouraging | FanGraphs Baseball

This is just as silly as ESPN’s comparisons for swing and miss.

Death of baseball hurts heart, soul of black community

Baseball was a weekend respite from the oppression and depression of the waning days of a Jim Crow Deep South.

Baseball was where grown men could spend early afternoons hurling sliders to kids before late afternoon’s final sunlight gave way to darkness.

It was where mentoring black men could mold a battalion of young black boys toward adulthood, teaching respect for your teammates, for your elders, to respect women, to respect your peers and respect for the game itself.

Our strengths and ...

Heyman: White Sox Have Little Interesting in Moving Sale or Quintana

Their 80-year-old owner wants to win now.

Does this mean the Sox will remain “mired in mediocrity” (as Rick Hahn put it) as long as Reinsdorf is around?

Mike Trout Involved in [minor] Car Crash

Trout was uninjured while trying to avoid an accident on the freeway.

Two questions: is he Bruce Willis from “Unbreakable”? And what in the world was he doing in Tustin?

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 9-1-2016

[Liberty, Mississippi] Southern Herald, September 1, 1916:

According to a report Johnny Evers’ layoff may be somewhat extended. He has in addition to a lame leg and a sore arm a bad case of nerves.

Obviously, this is a result of all those fudge orgies and nicotine sprees.

I find reports like this fascinating; it seems like there may have been less of a stigma about anxiety and depression among athletes 100 years ago than there is today. I know Zack Greinke and Dontrelle Willis had anxiety ...

Sources: Dodgers expressed interest in bringing back Zack Greinke | FOX Sports

How about a story about a team “thinking” about contacting another team about a player?

It’s not going to happen, not yet and maybe not ever. But the Dodgers expressed interest in trading for the Diamondbacks right-hander before Wednesday night’s deadline for players to become eligible for postseason rosters, according to major-league sources.

The discussions were not substantive and did not advance, sources said. The Dodgers, however, could revisit their continuing interest in Greinke this ...

With a Little Help from His Friends: The Story Behind Baseball Announcer Vin Scully’s Stories | VICE Sports

Instead of an on-air partner, Scully relies on two silent men in the booth beside him: stage manager Boyd Robertson, and camera operator Rob Menschel, who also occasionally directs. Robertson and Menschel have worked with Scully on Dodger broadcasts since 1989. When the three of them are together, the booth has the feel of a family business—respect and professionalism underlined with nonverbal communication and easy humor. Facing home plate in the Dodger Stadium press box, Scully sits on the ...

Dodgers come from six down to stun Rockies | MLB.com

With a furious late rally, the Dodgers stormed to a remarkable 10-8 Coors Field win over the Rockies on Wednesday night on Andrew Toles’ grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning of the nightcap, avoiding sweeps of the doubleheader and the three-game series.

After falling behind, 8-2, the Dodgers scored three runs in the eighth and five more in the ninth off Adam Ottavino. Toles’ slam was his third homer of the season and the win left the Dodgers with a 1 1/2-game lead over the Giants in ...

Nothing bugs the Royals like doubters, and they’ve still got plenty left

Bugs or propels?

Red Sox Call Up Top Prospect Yoan Moncada « CBS Boston

It will be interesting to see him play defense at 3B.

Boston announced on Wednesday night that Yoan Moncada, who recently shifted from second base to third base, will be promoted to the majors in time for Friday night’s game in Oakland.

Neil Walker Likely To Undergo Season-Ending Back Surgery

News of Walker’s herniated disk broke earlier this morning, and while GM Sandy Alderson originally expressed some optimism, manager Terry Collins said prior to tonight’s contest that surgery was an option, though the team and Walker were waiting on a second opinion before making a final decision. That decision, now, looks to have been made, and it comes as a significant blow for a Mets team that topped the Marlins tonight and currently sits just two games back of the second Wild Card spot ...

OMNICHATTER 9-1-16

The “Miss Me?” OMNICHATTER

OT - September 2016 College Football thread

The Best Opening Weekend Ever® kicks off tonight with the now-traditional “When was it decided that every season should open with South Carolina?” game.

ESPN:Will Kris Bryant be the first true utility player to win MVP?

When you’re hitting over .300, leading the league in homers, and a lock to knock in 100 runs, you’re going to be in the heart of the MVP discussion. At 24 years old, Kris Bryant has put up these numbers going into the final month of the regular season, not only making his case for top value in 2016, but also making it known that he could be this productive for the next decade.

Yet when you try and check his defensive box, you can’t. Bryant is one of the best “super-utility” players of this ...

Leaks, Agendas, And Old-Fashioned Gossip: Inside Baseball’s Internet Trade Rumor Economy | VICE Sports

How soon before we see MLB rumor mags at the supermarket checkout?

Ranking The Arizona Fall League Rosters - BaseballAmerica.com

1. Surprise Saguaros

Yoan Moncada is the best prospect in baseball. Michael Kopech is one of the best pitching prospects who will be throwing in the desert. Josh Staumont isn’t as good of a prospect but he throws nearly as hard as Kopech. Nick Gordon is one of the better middle infield prospects around and Austin Meadows is nearly big league-ready if he can find a spot in the Pirates outfield.

2016 Arizona Fall League rosters

Yoan Moncada, Greg Bird, Cody Bellinger are among the more interesting names.

INTERESTING: The Yankees more or less sent an entire infield to Scottsdale. Legitimately, manager Tom Goodwin (Royals) could start Miguel Andujar at third, Torres at shortstop, Tyler Wade at second base and Greg Bird at first base at the same time. Wade, as he did last year, earns plaudits for the sum of his parts. No one tool is standout, but none is lacking, either. Andujar started strong after a move to Double-A ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 8-31-2016

Cubs owner Charles Weeghman explains the Heinie Zimmerman trade, from the Pittsburgh Press, August 31, 1916:

“Manager Tinker tolerated many infractions of the rules in the hope that Zimmerman eventually would see the folly of his conduct…His indifferent playing and conduct on the ball field Aug. 23 before a large crowd was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
...
Hisses and catcalls were directed at him by the fans. He made offensive remarks at Tinker within the hearing of men and women ...

Clayton Kershaw and Cross-Era Comparisons – The Hardball Times

Koufax and Kershaw are pretty, pretty good.

Definitive or not, though, it’s pretty clear Kershaw’s career is already at least comparable to one of the most revered pitchers in baseball history. Even if Kershaw were to walk away from the game today, his legacy already would be secure. Instead, once he returns to the mound, Dodgers fans finally will get a glimpse at the answer to the question that’s been burning in their hearts for the last 50 years: What if Sandy Koufax had more time?

Pirates notebook: Cole relieved after receiving diagnosis on ailing elbow | TribLIVE

Cole rejoined the Pirates on Tuesday after being examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. ElAttrache found inflammation — but no ligament damage, bone chips or bone spurs — and agreed with the Pirates doctors’ diagnosis.

“Any time you have elbow pain, a lot of things can be connected,” Cole said. “It could be from the shoulder, a lot of different things. That’s obviously a major concern. So, obviously, it’s a relief that (the ligament) is not involved.”

The Importance Of “Glue Guys” - MLB Trade Rumors

There are no shirts that say A.J. Ellis was the “heart and soul” of the Dodgers team, but you don’t need one to know that he was. Look at the reactions around baseball. Look at the response of the players in that clubhouse and the media that follows them. Ellis was the last player the Dodgers expected to lose. This story has nothing to do with Carlos Ruiz as a player, and everything to do with how front offices value a team. The Dodgers can easily win the World Series this year, because ...

The Women Succeeding in a Men’s Professional Baseball League - The New Yorker

The Stompers seem likely to invite them back next summer, and they may not be the only women on the team. “We’re going to continue to scout for women players,” Fightmaster said. “We held a mid-season tryout and had two girls register. So I think we’re going to have more women coming to us, saying, ‘Hey, y’know, I pitch in the men’s league in my town, and I shut these guys out every Sunday. I’ve got a knuckleball, I’ve got this, I’ve got that.’ To me, that’s the hope, ...

Must C: McAllister’s kick save | MLB.com

This was a little crazy.