CENTRAL PARK - JULY 1, 2017 10 AM - BBTF ANNUAL SOFTBALL EXTRAVAGANZA

I think this year we should make t-shirts.

The Central Park field for 10 AM on July 1st has been submitted for approval to the Parks Department, but not yet assigned.  We’re waiting to hear back.  It’s never been a problem as yet, so hopefully it won’t be this year as well. UPDATE: 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM, Great Lawn, Field #2. -vi

Note: This is the same weekend as the massive SABR extravaganza in NYC.  I would expect all connections and all favors to be called in to get some retired MLB players ...

In MLB’s New Home Run Era, It’s The Baseballs That Are Juicing

But it turns out there was an experiment in progress under our noses all along. Baseball’s camera- and radar-tracking technologies measure the speed of the ball shortly after the pitcher releases it and then again when it crosses the plate. By examining how much speed it loses between those two locations, we can calculate its air resistance (as measured by drag coefficient). For example, the average pitch loses about 7.4 mph on its way to the plate. The exact amount of velocity lost depends ...

Let’s Do the Math on Miguel Montero and Jake Arrieta

As recently as 2011?

It underscores the importance of time to the plate as Jon Lester, and his well-known battles with the yips, controls the run game vastly better in part due to a quick time to the plate. When Montero has been catching anyone, a paltry 3% of base-stealers have been caught. Montero’s arm has declined significantly, as he led the league in caught-stealing percentage (40%) as recently as 2011, though that rate fell has fallen each year since 2012 (42%) to 20% in 2015 and 11% ...

JT Realmuto is baseballs most athletic catcher | MLB.com

Remember when we said that the Major League average Sprint Speed was 27 feet per second? Herrera was flying down the basepath at a scorching 29.8 feet per second, but thanks to Realmuto (and pitcher Edinson Volquez), he still couldn’t quite make it safely.

But if you look back to our top five fastest catchers list, you’ll notice something. They’re all young, with the 28-year-old d’Arnaud the elder statesman of the bunch. We talked about Realmuto playing shortstop in high school, and Barnes ...

The education of New York Yankees prospect Clint Frazier

But the question wasn’t whether it was true or not, but could it be? Like A-Rod and the legend of his centaur painting, the believability of the story said a lot. Could A-Rod have had a picture of himself painted as centaur? Yeah, A-Rod could. Considering Frazier’s perceived bravado, could Frazier have asked for a Yankees number to be unretired? Yeah, it’s possible.

Meanwhile, Frazier’s unwavering belief in his own talent can rub some people the wrong way. Until you make it, of course. Then ...

Miguel Montero after Cubs cut him: ‘People can’t handle the truth’ – Chicago Sun-Times

Being right about a fact doesn’t mean you have to share the fact with no tact.

“Sometimes people can’t handle the truth,” he said. “That’s my biggest issue. I’m just straightforward, man, a straight shooter. I’m not going to say you’re pretty when you’re ugly.”

Mariners Smyly to have Tommy John, season over

Seattle Mariners pitcher Drew Smyly will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the 2017 season, the team announced Wednesday.

Dr. James Andrews is scheduled to perform an ulnar collateral reconstruction on Smyly’s left elbow on July 6 in Birmingham, Ala. Since the typical recovery time from a UCL reconstruction is 12-15 months, Smyly is likely to miss most or all of the 2018 season as well.

BULL DURHAM AT 29: A TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY

I had played baseball at UNC and was just finishing up my course work to get my degree.
Someone called UNC and gave them my name. I showed up and did what I always did, I just
played ball.

The first scene I was in, called for me to hit a double as a right-handed hitter. Tim Robbins,
who played “Nuke LaLoosh” actually had to throw it to me because the camera was behind
him filming the scene. He was the worst athlete any actor could possibly be. The guy was all
over the place.  Crash Davis ...

As the Tigers falter, Justin Verlander emerges as an intriguing trade possibility

Multiple front-office sources told Yahoo Sports they expect Verlander to hit the trade market sometime in the next two weeks. This is more tea-leaf reading than any indication Tigers general manager Al Avila has given in conversations with teams. Still, if the Tigers do punt on 2017 – their 34-42 record is the AL’s second worst – they could begin a rebuild in earnest without a franchise icon.

That and Verlander’s performance this season are both tangible issues, as would be his trade ...

Gators knock off LSU, win first baseball national title

Michael Papierski grounded into a double play, allowing Smith to score from third with what would have been the tying run. Instead, Slaughter’s high slide — his foot struck shortstop Dalton Guthrie’s knee — was ruled interference by second base umpire Steve Mattingly, nullifying the run.

Mainieri argued with Mattingly, numerous LSU fans sitting in the outfield of TD Ameritrade Park tossed cups and other debris on the field. They did so again after Papierski’s line drive was caught by ...

No. 4 pick Brendan McKay gets record bonus from Rays

University of Louisville pitcher-first baseman Brendan McKay, the fourth overall pick in the MLB first-year player draft, has signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for a record-setting bonus of $7,007,500.

McKay’s bonus is the highest since baseball’s current draft signing system went into effect in 2012. It surpasses the recent $7 million bonus received by Vanderbilt pitcher and Atlanta Braves first-round pick Kyle Wright, who broke the previous high of $6,708,400 established by Kris Bryant with the ...

OMNICHATTER needs no reason, just space, for June 28, 217

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-28-2017

El Paso Herald, June 28, 1917:

Smoky Joe Wood, who essayed a comeback four weeks ago against the New York Yankees in Cleveland, must begin all over again. In other words, he overtaxed his arm when he pitched those eight innings…

When [Wood] told [his doctor] that he had pitched eight full innings, Dr. Drury threw up both hands, exclaiming: “It’s a wonder you have any arm left—you should have started gradually, finished up a game here and there, going one, possibly two innings, until your arm ...

Trib: Joe Maddon on visit to White House: ‘Easy to say ‘yes’ out of respect to the office’

I was hoping Maddon and his players would show up in their best “Anchorman” attire:

“Whatever Mr. Ricketts would like me to do, I’m going to do. Mr. Ricketts and the Ricketts family have been good to us. So part of that is that. The other part is whenever you have a chance to go to the White House, I think it’s easy to say ‘yes’ out of respect to the office and the building itself.”

But this time, not as many players are expected to attend, due to the scheduled afternoon visit before the ...

Miguel Montero shifts blame to pitchers after Nationals steal seven bases - Chicago Tribune

What’s Montero’s pop times? Statcast, Cubs Nation looks to you for answers.

“What can I say?” said Montero, who has thrown out only one base stealer in 32 attempts, according to baseball-reference.com. “A couple of times (Tuesday night) I didn’t even try to throw because there was no time, no chance to throw (out anybody).”

The situation became even more embarrassing for Montero in the fourth when Michael A. Taylor stole second and scored while stealing third when Montero sailed a throw wide of ...

Ron Darling rips Mets’ muscle-head trainers as a ‘joke’ | New York Post

Is this a real link?

The former Met and current SNY color analyst tore into the team’s current approach to training its players after watching Robert Gsellman become the latest casualty in an injury-plagued season. The Mets have been playing catch-up all season with each star player that hits the disabled list, and Darling suggested on live television he’s found the reason why the injuries keep piling up.

“[These] trainers, get them in a room with some of the old trainers and people that ...

OT-NBA off season thread

I estimate only 10-12 Primates care about the NBA, none that bothered to submit a monthly thread for nearly 4 months as to avoid detracting from what this site is really about: ... white privilege

The Freeze popular with MLB fans and players | MLB.com

Every superhero has a back story, of course, and so it is for The Freeze, who came to life on June 9, 2017, when Nigel Talton saw that guy celebrating.

Former Mets pitcher Anthony Young dead at 51

Former Mets pitcher Anthony Young has died, according to ex-MLB player Lenny Harris. He was 51. The Mets later confirmed his passing.

Young was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in January. He said in February that doctors treated the growth as cancerous because it was located on the brain stem, meaning it was impossible to do a biopsy to test its malignancy. He underwent chemotherapy and reported at the time that the tumor had shrunk. Harris said earlier Tuesday that Young had fallen ...

Indians manager Terry Francona leaves game after not feeling well

Indians manager Terry Francona left Cleveland’s 15-9 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday night because he wasn’t feeling well.
 
He was evaluated by the medical staff and checked out “fine,” the team said, but he did not return to the game.

The team said he experienced symptoms similar to those he had during a game earlier this season. Francona was hospitalized on June 13 following a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Progressive Field. He underwent a battery of tests and was released ...

Live from New York, it’s OMNICHATTER! for June 27, 2017

Is There Still a Place for Ladies Night in Baseball?

Casey Landman, 39, is a lifelong Phillies fan and has attended Baseball 101 every year from 2010 to 2016. Having played softball for 14 years, she’s no stranger to the diamond, but getting to run the bases at Citizens Bank Park, to throw in the bullpen with the Phillies’ pitching coaches, to catch pop-ups and field ground balls with the infield coaches, and to hit in the cages is a fan experience she says is unlike any other. “I just love being as close to baseball as I can and it’s a really ...

Yankee Stadium Charity Is Called Into Question

In the summer of 2006, when the Yankees broke ground on a gleaming new stadium in the South Bronx, they offered an olive branch to a community furious that more than 25 acres of treasured public parkland had been seized for the project. The Yankees created a charity, called the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, which it intended to distribute almost $40 million in cash grants and sports equipment, along with 600,000 baseball tickets, to community organizations in the borough over ...

Aaron Judge or Cody Bellinger?

There, atop the home-run leaderboard for the year, are two young stars on great teams in big media markets: Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger. That’s a match made in heaven, at least for barside arguments around the country. Which one would you rather have?...

Judge has the advantage in raw totals — which isn’t surprising, considering he’s also played more — but he’s also superior in the rate stats right now, both walking more often than Bellinger and offering greater defensive value ...

Phillies Nation: When do the Phils pull the plug on Mackanin?

Soon please, for Pete’s sake!

We can go on and on about how the skipper has nothing to work with, but in reality, Mackanin hasn’t done his part either. Let alone the questionable on-field moves, it’s the lack of communication and discipline on this team that’s causing the demise of the third year manager.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-27-2017

Butte Post, June 27, 1917:

The prince of southpaws is through.

Edward S. Plank, the greatest of them all, has pitched his last major league game, if reports from several of his friends are to be believed.

Suffering from a nervous breakdown and preparing for a minor operation, there is little chance that Plank will ever toe the rubber again.

When Plank left the Browns a few weeks ago, he was reported to have gone to his home in Gettysburg, Pa. He really went to a Philadelphia hospital.

The ...

Julio Urias Might Never Be The Same - VICE Sports

TINSTAAPP.

Travis d’Arnaud is making the Mets move on from him | New York Post

When your value is tied to your offense and your offense stinks, yeah, it’s a problem.

Pitch command not a problem for Sean Newcomb

It still seems weird reading new fangled stats on mainstream publications.

Sprint Speed shows fastest at each position | MLB.com

None of them would beat Speedy Gonzalez in a race.