I dated a girl like this once. When they are good, they are verrry good; when they are bad, they are verrry bad. As much fun as the ride is, eventually it drives you crazy and you realize she’s just a bad girlfriend and you move on.
There’s a Deford in your future… talking about his past.
You write about of the all-time best scenes of Ted Williams. He’s 80 years old, preparing to speak to the Society for American Baseball Research, championing Shoeless Joe Jackson for the Hall of Fame. He’s using a walker and you write, “He raised himself up as tall as he could, thrust out his chest, and in that great bombastic voice, this is what he hollered as an introduction: ‘Are there any ####### Marines in here?’”
As for Leake, Baker shook his head and said, “We’re concerned. We’re all concerned. We’ve been concerned. As far as we know, he’s healthy and it is just a matter him not getting ahead of anybody, always pitching from behind. You pitch from behind and you are asking for trouble. Yeah, we’re concerned. Big-time.
“We’re thinking and doing all we can do at this time and the rest of it is up to the player,” Baker added.
Brewers closer John Axford finally blew a save. But his teammates picked him up.
After converting a club-record 49 in a row, Axford could not close out the 50th on Friday night. A one-out RBI triple by the Cubs’ David DeJesus tied the game at 5 and snapped Axford’s streak, which had stretched back to April 24, 2011.
...“The luck I’ve had in the past didn’t show up tonight,” Axford said in a note left for the media. “All I can do is begin another streak and keep my head ...
Sometimes it’s easy to forget he’s still just a kid, but Nationals phenom Bryce Harper reminded us all Friday night. In the midst of the worst game of his ridiculously-young big-league career—0-for-5 with three strikeouts—Harper was so mad at himself that he slammed a bat against the side of the dugout.
In and of itself, that wouldn’t be big news. After all, baseball players do stuff like this frequently. But in this case, the bat came back and struck ...
Which do you want, Stout beer or tacos? (h/t Dayn)
I delicately wandered into this battle a few weeks ago when, in responding to a Facebook discussion Charlie Pierce was involved in on the merits of Mike Cameron versus Dwight Evans I quipped that “Baseball is an art not a science.” Moments later the esteemed Joe Posnanski and a few others gently reprimanded me, one wagging his finger and writing “They don’t keep score at the ballet, Glenn.” Of course I realized the question was not ...
[Poor Repoz-style intro involving The Chambers Brothers]
10. Dodger Stadium
9. US Cellular Field
8. Fenway Park
7. Edward Jones Dome
6. Candlestick Park
5. O.Co Coliseum (Oakland)
4. Qualcomm Stadium
3. Tropicana Field
2. Nassau Coliseum
1. Metrodome
Sometimes you have to embrace failure in order to embrace success! (or something)
So, there was the dual concern of “Could he come back?” combined with “What would he have left?”
After six starts the answers are “yes” and “plenty.” His average fastball velocity is a career-worst 88.4 mph. Yet his K/9 checks in at 9.87, his highest as a Met and his best since his 10.46 mark back in his Cy Young Award season of 2004. That season, Santana had a 14.1 mph difference between his ...
The New York Times Co. announced today that it has sold its remaining shares of the Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of the Boston Red Sox, for $63 million in cash to multiple buyers in transactions that were completed yesterday and today.
“Philadelphia has a cool feel to it, man,’’ Papelbon says. “It’s a vibe that the city produces. It makes you feel like you are in Paris. I’ve never been to Paris, but I’ve seen it in a lot of movies. I think [Philadelphia] is going to be a great place to live.”
First commenter who disagrees with Papelbon’s assessment gets beaten with a baguette.
In his first home appearance, Papelbon gave up a home run to Miami’s Austin Kearns. The ball cleared the leftfield fence and ...
Bryce Harper is so powerful he injures people with celebration. Matt Weiters trembles.
Mark DeRosa’s progress returning from a strained left oblique muscle was stunted in an odd way, Johnson said. As Bryce Harper came into the dugout Sunday night after he stole home against the Phillies, DeRosa aggravated his oblique when Harper gave him a forceful high-five.
“I don’t know if that set back the rehab or not,” Johnson said. “But I said, ‘Why didn’t use your [right] hand?’ He said ...
But trying to predict the next commissioner while two-plus years remain on Selig’s contract is a little like anticipating the winner of a political election years in advance. In baseball, as in politics, there’s often a name of the moment, someone who gains momentum at precisely the right time and wins, maybe unexpectedly. Until then, fans, players and even the owners themselves are left to speculate.
Question (paraphrased): Did the golf business have any impact on how you pitched?
Answer: None. None.
Question: Anything to say about the golf business?
Answer: No. I spend my off days the way I want to spend them.
Question: Any regrets?
Answer: My off day is my off day.
Question: Given that you were skipped a start with what was described as a tight lat muscle, do people have the right to question why you were golfing?
The poor young sluggers of the Redlands East Valley Little League in Redlands, Calif. have gone most of this season without uniforms, bathrooms or a snack bar.
Why? Because the treasurer of the league, Kathrine Burrola, embezzled $5,000 out of the league’s fund, CBS reports.
Burrola admitted to stealing the money because she hadn’t worked in two years, and she vowed to replace the funds. However, soon after she said that, she pulled her son out of the league and disappeared.
And presiding Forman, Sean, also points out that…“Roger Clemens baseball reference page was entered into evidence at his perjury trial yesterday.”
Yesterday the prosecutors brought forth yet another witness who harms their own case. The witness was Yankees GM Brian Cashman. The upshot of Cashman’s testimony: Roger Clemens was an amazing athlete with drive and determination, Brian McNamee was someone the New York Yankees did not like and did not trust and, oh, we have no evidence whatsoever ...
Uhh…they would have gotten an organizational spell check “SPELL CHECK!” system earlier?
By this logic, if the Cubs ever become a contender again — still an “if” even with Messiah Theo Epstein running the show — does that mean Samardzija will be the big horse on a winning team? Mainieri is even more bullish about Samardzija’s future than he was on his alternate history.
“Jeff Samardzija is simply the best athlete I’ve ever coached,” he said. “Nothing he does ever would surprise ...
But where will they put him? Who goes? I’d say Padilla is a good candidate.
In 9 appearances with the PawSox, Melancon has yet to give up a run, while earning 2 saves and striking out an impressive 17 batters in 9.2 IP. He attributes his success to regaining an aggressive approach on the mound, while also mixing in his secondary pitches.
The Red Sox didn’t question his talent. They questioned whether he could stay healthy. As I posted in another thread, it is only May 11th.
Jed Lowrie has arrived. After four injury riddled seasons with the Boston Red Sox, the 28-year-old shortstop is experiencing a breakout year with the Houston Astros. Lowrie’s performance makes him one of the most exciting players on a Houston team devoid of talent. While health has always been an issue, Lowrie is proving that he’s a player the team may ...
Yes. Cubs first baseman Bryan LaHair will sustain his success. The Cubs have indeed caught lightning in a bottle.
LaHair is leading the MLB with a .510 BABIP and is third behind Matt Kemp and Josh Hamilton with a 36.4% HR/FB ratio. Fans of Chicago’s northside and fans of regression to the mean have begun to pay extra close attention to LaHair because he has performed so well in these luck-affected categories. In Mike Axisa’s most recent first baseman rankings, he moved ...
“I get paid a lot of money to do a job that’s a great job. For me to complain about this or that, I can’t do that. I just control what I can control, which is playing the game and loving it as much as I can.”
We all aren’t geeks living in our mom’s basement only 45.75% of us do.
I have come to respect the baseball analytical community over the past few years. In the beginning I was like a lot of ignorant baseball players, I thought you all were a bunch of geeks in your mom’s basement. You’ve proven otherwise and I see the value in what you do. But every once in a while you’ll write something that makes me think, “What? No, that’s way off.”
That auto accident of last winter had wrecked the health of Jennings, and instead of performing like a raving maniac on the coaching lines, as he did for five years, the brainy little Tiger leader is forced to change ...
Florida Turnpike, ridin’ on a wet night `neath the not-so-finery’s glow…
Hayes and his wife were driving to a birthday party about 6 p.m. when traffic came to a sudden standstill on the northbound side of the turnpike near the Hollywood Boulevard exit. Hayes said that, moments later, a man appeared from out of the pouring rain, walking next to the concrete barrier in the center median.
His first reaction: “Why is a man walking down the turnpike?”
Stephen Strasburg doesn’t always put up ridiculous K numbers in outings, but when he does he prefers to do it against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
PITTSBURGH—What’s the definition of the word “dominance”? Stephen Strasburg. The right-hander was almost unhittable as the Nationals edged the Pirates, 4-2, at PNC Park on Thursday night.
In his six innings on the mound, Strasburg struck out 13 batters. At one point he struck out seven straight hitters, which tied a franchise record. He also accomplished ...
On the whole I would rather be pitching in San Francisco.
Before we send a cable to London announcing Tim Lincecum’s demise, though, we should probably take note of a couple of facts ... Tim Lincecum’s strikeout rate is dead in line with his career rate. Same goes for his home-runs allowed. The only real differences in his statistical performance are his walk rate and his batting average (allowed) on balls in play.
...The other thing is Lincecum’s BABiP, which is .359 this season. As you ...
THE HOME RUN IS THE MOST OVERRATED STATE IN BASEBALL. Do you hear me? Dingers are overrated as are most alderman and the hot dogs at Cubs Park. Mark Eugene Grace, noted slugger? turned broadcaster, and I- chatted about this for roughly three hours on a dreary Tuesday about 15 years ago.
...Home runs should be listed in two separate categories. T.M.H.R’s. Totally meaningless home runs…
