#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.

No, the Cleveland Indians don’t miss Mike Napoli or Rajai Davis: Zack Meisel’s musings | cleveland.com

I’m sure they were expecting more from Edwin Encarnacion.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-31-2017

Tucumcari News, May 31, 1917, an American soldier tells of organizing a baseball team alongside British soldiers on the front lines at the Somme:

...our first baseman, a Welshman, found an old German hand grenade of the ‘hairbrush’ variety. Being an ardent souvenir hunter, he proceeded to get busy on that bomb with the point of his bayonet…The result of his investigation was right arm blown off and no first baseman.
...
Our shortstop had a bad habit of trying to stop hot grass eaters with his ...

Unlikely Albers-Glover combo has stabilized Nationals bullpen - Nationals Pastime

Maybe they don’t need a “veteran” closer.

“Things go in streaks,” manager Dusty Baker said. “I still feel very confident in my bullpen. Quite honestly, I’m kind of tired of talking about it. Everybody wants to go on a day-to-day thing, and that’s not how you do it. That’s why you play six months of the season. We’ve played two months. We’ve still got two-thirds of the season left to go.”

Whether it’s coincidence or not, Glover’s ascendance to the closer’s role has ...

Sucre or Norris? | The Process Report

Three catchers in the days of 13 man bullpen? Yup, I’d say it would limit their flexibility. Ultimately, Norris and Sucre aren’t very good, so the choice isn’t really that tough.

Maybe the Rays feel like Ramos is only ready for DH duty, and they happen to keep three natural catchers on the roster for the time being, but I feel like they wouldn’t bring him back if he wasn’t 100% ready. Carrying three catchers would obviously limit their flexibility, so that seems out of the question. With the ...

FiveThirtyEight: Who Needs A DH? The NL Is Outhitting The AL, Somehow

Entering play on Tuesday, the National League hitters — including the pitchers — had a .739 on-base plus slugging percentage compared with .735 for the American League. This is remarkable considering the NL’s OPS includes 1,590 plate appearances by pitchers whereas AL pitchers have batted just 125 times. Only once in history has the NL outhit the AL across a full season, in 1976 — and that year it was a virtual dead heat (.6812 OPS to .6809). The average advantage for the AL has been 22 ...

Jeb Bush drops bid for Miami Marlins | Miami Herald

The source would not go as far as to say MLB would not allow Bush to be the control person under those circumstances, but said it had become a problematic issue in recent days. An MLB spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Jeter now would be the group’s “control” person, putting him in charge of all franchise decisions if he succeeds in buying the team, according to a source with direct knowledge.

An associate of Bush said he knew of no friction between Bush and ...

Hunter Strickland, Bryce Harper suspended | MLB.com

Major League Baseball announced disciplinary measures for Giants reliever Hunter Strickland and Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper on Tuesday following their fracas on Monday afternoon in San Francisco. Strickland has been suspended for six games and was fined an undisclosed amount for throwing at Harper, the Nationals star who was suspended for four games and also fined for charging the mound and throwing his helmet at Strickland.

Both players have elected to appeal their suspensions, and ...

Texas Rangers’ Joey Gallo Is Here to Stay - Minor League Ball

Will he ever hit above .250? Will it matter?

So don’t focus on his .205 average or his 71 strikeouts; league-leading “Crush” Davis provides a direct cautionary tale for the Rangers. Gallo has managed 23 walks, stolen four bases without being caught, his .548 slugging percentage ranks 23rd in all of baseball and a .861 OPS is also top 50 (42nd) in the league.

It may not be in the most traditional statistical sense, but Joey Gallo is a very, very unique player. He has certainly arrived, and ...

Why do Philly sports fans trust the Sixers’ process but have little faith in Phillies’ rebuild?

But are they selling jeans?

The acceptance of losing and trust in a rebuilding process hasn’t quite made its way across Pattison Avenue.

The Phillies, like the Sixers, haven’t finished a season with a winning record in a half decade. They entered play on Saturday with a 223-309 record (.419 winning percentage) since the start of the 2014 season.

The Phillies’ management and ownership, like that of the Sixers, officially embarked on a rebuilding project (in October of 2014) that saw the ...

Rosario’s streak reaches sweet 16 for 51s | MiLB.com News

What’s the Super 2 day again? Of course, playing in the PCL in Vegas makes it a little tough to judge where his offense really is.

Although he just turned 21 six months ago, Rosario has shown no problems adjusting to Triple-A. Through his first 50 games in the Pacific Coast League, he’s hitting .354/.393/.519 with 21 extra-base hits, 37 RBIs and 32 runs scored. His 73 hits stand second to Reno’s Ketel Marte (82) and his 10 stolen bases are eighth-most in the circuit.

Dodgers’ bullpen throwing most high fastballs | MLB.com

Interesting stuff.

Hector Olivera To Sign With Atlantic League’s Sugar Land Skeeters

Former Major Leaguer Hector Olivera has signed a contract with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League, reports Robert Murray of FanRag Sports (via Twitter).

The 32-year-old Olivera hasn’t played since early in the 2016 season thanks first and foremost to a domestic abuse arrest and conviction that caused clubs to steer clear of him even when he was effectively available for nothing. Then a member of the Braves, Olivera was arrested in April 2016 and charged with ...

Scott Boras: Bryce Harper deserves lesser penalty from Nationals-Giants brawl | FOX Sports

I call bullshit. He was hit in his ass. The pitch wasn’t up near his head.

As the Giants and Nationals await the discipline for Monday’s brawl, agent Scott Boras contends that his client, Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper, deserves a lesser penalty than some other players receive when they charge the mound.

Boras told FOX Sports on Tuesday that because there had been no “notice of provocation” between the Giants and Nationals, Harper should not be treated as harshly as a player who ...

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of OMNICHATTER, for May 30, 2017

Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger is off to record-setting start – and will get better | FOX Sports

Cody Bellinger possesses that rarest of baseball gifts.

“He has the ability,” Dodgers first base coach George Lombard said, “to make everything look easy.”

Lombard said that the Dodgers’ staff didn’t know Bellinger all that well at the start of spring training. His arm proved better than they expected. He ran better than they expected. And his power . . . it’s doubtful that even Bellinger’s father, former major-league infielder/outfielder Clay Bellinger – expected this.