We asked our staff for their favorite baseball broadcasters. Here are their answers

Ian Casselberry: I really like Ron Darling’s work. Maybe we favor play-by-play guys because they do most of the talking and set the tone for a broadcast, and because it’s really difficult to overcome an annoying or poor one. But Darling benefits from a strong play-by-play man setting him up in Gary Cohen, and he’s taken the opportunity to develop into a broadcaster capable of providing insightful analysis, being entertaining at slow points in the action, and also calling a game if needed. ...Read More...

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: June 01, 2017 at 11:39 PM | 47 comment(s)
  Beats: broadcasters, dan shulman, don orsillo, jon miller, len kasper, ron darling

What if The King Wanted to be The Kid?

Still not as good as Jordan…..

What if a nine-year old LeBron James, inspired by Ken Griffey Jr.’s 45-homer monster season in 1993, had picked up a bat and glove? Instead of setting his ultra-competitive mind to chasing the ghost who played in Chicago (Michael Jordan), he could have set it to the one who played in San Francisco (Willie Mays), Atlanta (Hank Aaron), Seattle (Griffey) or Pittsburgh (Barry Bonds).
Given that James has been in the NBA for 14 years, and we were watching his high ...

101-year-old diehard Mets fan attends her first game in person

On Thursday, June 1, 2017, Rudal “Rudy” Ahlen, who turns 102 on July 29 and has been a Mets fan since Day One in 1962 after nearly a half-century as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, was treated to a game and a meet-and-greet with some players after the organization read a Newsday story about her watching Opening Day at the Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Commack, where she lives and shouts at the screen when they lose.

MLB officially has too many damn home runs

Please remove 3.

p.s. I am not a crackpot.

Kyle Schwarber Is Not Bad at Baseball | FanGraphs Baseball

Monstrous production of 2015?

Schwarber’s has recorded a .343 xwOBA for the season. That’s a good bit above average and would produce about a 110 or 115 wRC+ after park adjustment. It remains to be seen whether Schwarber returns to the monstrous production of 2015. He’s going to walk a ton, though, which should keep his on-base percentage afloat. He might always strike out a lot, too, which will limit his upside some. Even if he hits the rest of the season just like he has so far, that’s ...

Heyman | Hot Seat Isn’t Hot But Here Are 14 Names To Consider

AL Notes and NL Notes.

1. John Farrell, Red Sox.

There have been a few bad signs, most notably when star Dustin Pedroia yelled over to his friend Manny Machado that “it wasn’t me, it was them,” seeming to pin the team’s beanball silliness on nondescript reliever Matt Barnes and someone above Barnes (presumably Farrell). Even Red Sox people admit that didn’t look good at all. It also wasn’t great when Farrell had an argument in the dugout in Oakland with Drew Pomeranz. And ...

Heyman | Boras Goes To Bat For Arrieta After Up-And-Down Start

Boras is consistent. If one of his clients was in an accident and lost a leg, Boras would be claiming the weight loss would help him hop faster down the line.

Astronomical – Joe Blogs – Medium

The Poz on the Astros, Kyle Schwarber, and Mr. Met.

A few years ago, when Theo Epstein was first talking about how to make the Cubs winners, he kept going back to a singular philosophy: You need to control the strike zone both on offense and on defense. He thought of the strike zone the way football coaches think about the line of scrimmage.

Here’s why the Atlanta Braves won’t trade Matt Kemp | Mark Bradley blog

Matt Kemp is teasing the Braves. What happens when he comes to camp next year with 20-30 extra pounds?

Why MLB hitters are suddenly obsessed with launch angles - Washington Post

This is some great stuff.

What The Mets Really Need To Apologize For

I can’t disagree.

Felix Hernandez scheduled to begin rehab assignment soon | The Seattle Times

Hernandez, who hasn’t pitched in more than a month, will likely throw a few innings in a simulated game on Friday or Saturday. If that goes well, Hernandez will make at least one minor-league rehab start, although Servais said “most likely two will be the right amount.”

That means Hernandez is about two weeks away from returning to the Mariners’ rotation.

Which MLB manager should be your life coach? Take this quiz to find out | MLB.com

I got Tito.

New York State of Mind

I’m not a big fan of having the most current article at the site root and not providing an alternative link. Hopefully if you decide to click the link, you’ll get to the right article.

The driver walked down the steps, and Mr. Durso got behind the wheel.

Thankfully, by now, a New York cop was quickly approaching the bus. Faster than you can say “WTF,” he got on the bus, looked around, said “WTF” – and realized we truly were the Chicago Cubs. He got Peter out of the driver’s seat, ...

Manny Machado: How Gleyber Torres should handle pressure call-up | New York Post

“What’s the old expression Billy [Martin] used to say? ‘Try as you may, you can’t screw up the really good ones,’ ” said Showalter, who got to know Martin during his final term as Yankees manager in 1988. “They will always seek to their level. Manny could play anywhere. Of course it was, you know, if you want to go to the big leagues, you’ve got to learn how to play third base. ‘OK, I’ll do that.’ ”

#LaunchMo

Does this mean he’s actually good because of a mechanical change or is it small sample size theater?

The added loft to his swing is allowing him to drive the ball to and over the fence. Morrison’s average launch angle from 2015 through 2016 was between 10.7 and 12.1% with his average batted ball distance between 172 and 175 feet. So far in 2017, his average launch angle is 15.1% and his average batted ball distance is up 50 feet from last season to 215 feet. His 18 Barrels leads the club and ...

Royals’ Ned Yost struggles to find playing time for Jorge Soler | The Kansas City Star

On Wednesday, it was more apparent than ever. The Royals were facing a left-handed starter in Detroit’s Matthew Boyd. Yost opted for the right-handed hitting Bonifacio in right field and Salvador Perez at designated hitter, offering a start to backup catcher Drew Butera. Yost said he wanted to give Perez a half-day off. Alex Gordon, a struggling left-handed hitter, started in left field.

Despite the constant negative press OMNIFEFE, June 1, 2017

Phillies have discussed sending Maikel Franco to Triple A

Maikel Franco, who opened the season hitting fourth in the Phillies’ lineup, could be sent to Triple A if he doesn’t break out of his slump.

“We’ve talked about it,” manager Pete Mackanin said before Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Marlins. “That’s about all I’ll say. It’s been discussed.”

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-1-2017

Washington Times, June 1, 1917:

BROWNS’ SLUGGERS USE NAILS IN BATS
...
According to the story, Sisler strolled up to the plate in the opening game of the recent series in St. Louis, and Leslie Nunamaker, catcher for the Yanks, noticed a few metal knobs at the end of the bat.
...
“But let me see it,” insisted the catcher. “I want to look at that row of tacks at the end.”

“They’re not tacks; they’re nails,” answered George. “This is my favorite bat, and I fixed it after breaking it in batting ...

Joey Gallo on Athleticism and Defensive Versatility | FanGraphs Baseball

On his pitching background: “There was no chance of me going into pro ball as a pitcher. I had a lot of opportunities to do that. Pretty much every team came into my house and wanted me to be a pitcher, including teams with a really high pick. We would always say no. I wanted to hit. If all else failed — if I couldn’t figure it out at the plate — then maybe I would go to pitching.

“I could always throw hard. My senior year [of high school], I was 94-98 as a starter, and when I came ...

Don’t rush to judgment on trades, just look at the Reds | FOX Sports

Really?

Jocketty, who became an executive advisor with the Reds in December with Dick Williams taking over as GM, said that in 22 years as a lead executive he learned the value of patience and persistence. He credits a variety of scouts and assistants when discussing his trades — Marty Maier and Mike Squires liked Suarez, J Harrison was high on Duvall, Jeff Schugel pushed Schebler and Bruce Manno — the Braves’ former assistant GM — recommended Peraza.

The Chapman deal still could yield ...

Posnanski—How Many More Years: Dale Murphy

So how many more good years would Dale Murphy have needed to convince those voters that he was a Hall of Famer? Well, one more good year would have pushed him well over 400 home runs; that is something that might have pushed a few more votes in his corner. But I think, if we’re being honest, I think Murphy’s best bet would have been FIVE hundred home runs. With 500 homers he would have been a first ballot, slam dunk Hall of Famer.

In 1990, when Murphy was traded from the Braves to ...

Ex-Yankees announcer to retire next season — his 34th in booth | New York Post

Ex-Yankees?

Harrelson began his broadcasting career with the Red Sox in 1975. He moved to Chicago in 1982, partnering with Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale. After stints as the White Sox GM and broadcast work with the Yankees and NBC, he returned to the White Sox booth in 1990.

During the 1987–1988 seasons, Harrelson was the play-by-play man for New York Yankees games on SportsChannel New York.[

NY Post: Mr. Met Flips The Bird To Fans

Oh, no! Not Mr. Met:

Even Mr. Met has had enough. After the Mets fell to the Brewers in an ugly 7-1 defeat at Citi Field Wednesday night, Mr. Met headed toward the tunnel dejected but not before turning around and flipping the bird to a fan in the stands.

A Mets official told The Associated Press more than one person wears the Mr. Met costume during each season, and the person who donned it Wednesday night will not do so again.

Noah Syndergaard’s notorious affair with Mrs. Met has apparently ...

TSN: Tom Seaver to today’s power pitchers: ‘Learn how to pitch’

“So this one game, I come back to the dugout after the first inning and Dave Duncan, our pitching coach, comes up to me and says: ‘You ain’t got s— today.’ I said to him, ‘I know that’ and then I pointed to the other dugout, and added, ‘but they don’t know that!’”

Day games are hard for OMNICHATTER, for May 31, 2017

Two Little Birds: How Baltimore’s Best Hitting and Pitching Prospects Finally Came Good

Five years after they were both top-10 prospects, Machado and Bundy are now 24 years old, the best position player and pitcher, respectively, on a contending Orioles team. They’ve made good on the hype, and while Bundy’s lost years will keep him from reaching free agency until after 2021, Machado’s already deep into arbitration, making $11.5 million this year, with a chance for a couple hundred million more when he hits free agency after next season. So if someone from the future had ...

Royals manager Ned Yost on retaliatory pitches and unwritten rules: ‘Let boys be boys’

As he sat inside his office on Tuesday, Yost was asked if he ever got nervous about a standout player such as Eric Hosmer potentially getting hurt because of an arbitrarily applied written rule — whether it be an errant pitch in the hands or arm or an injury during a brawl. Yost shrugged off the inquiry.

“I’m nervous every time Eric Hosmer crosses the street,” Yost said. “He could get hit by a car. A bird could poop in his eye, and we’d lose him for a week. C’mon, you can get ...

Ray finds an old friend – Joe Blogs – Medium

Ray was dominate last night with great command of his fastball which sat 95-98. As much as the curve is a nice wrinkle, with a fastball like that he doesn’t need to have the best curve to make him effective.