OT - Catch-All Pop Culture Extravaganza (April - June 2018)

The following is previously unseen rehearsal footage of Prince & The Revolution from the summer of 1984.

It was in this very room at Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota that Prince created and committed to tape one of his most beloved and iconic compositions, which six years later would become a worldwide hit for Sinead O’Connor.

Prince’s original studio version of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ is presented here for the first time.

Trial to see if there’s sufficient ...

ESPN’s top 50 players

You won’t believe #9!!

Angell: Night Moves

The Mets’ new manager, Mickey Callaway, has so far proved imaginative and unafraid during the first sixteen games of his tenure, encouraging steals and the unexpected extra base in mid-rally. What is needed now to exorcise the bogey-team Nats is for him to emulate Fry’s example. Since baseball’s dimensions are different, he need only pee at the termination of the right- and left-field foul lines, where they meet the wall, and then—in consideration of the heavy in-game traffic around the ...

Look at the size of this WEEKEND OMNICHATTER!, for April 21-22, 2018

Why the drop in home runs in 2018? Major League Baseball had better hope it’s the weather.

The article is behind the Washington Post Paywall.  Some interesting thoughts and factoids about the evolution of the game the last few years.

“I actually really like the game,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said last year. “But it’s not what I like — the issue is what do the fans want to see. [And] our research suggests the home run is actually a popular play in baseball.”

Keep up the good work Rob.

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give an OMNICHATTER, for April 20, 2018.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-20-2018

Chicago Eagle, April 20, 1918:

Agitation against the use of the so-called “freak” deliveries in baseball will have no effect on the most unusual style of boxmanship of Benjamin Pellowitz, Philadelphia school boy, whose unique pitching is natural.

Pellowitz is fifteen years old. That old saying about the awkward boy, “His fingers are all thumbs,” acts with reverse English in this case, for it is on his two thumbs that Benny depends on for his success in pitching. One is a growth of the other ...

Bryan Price dismissed as Reds manager | MLB.com

The Bryan Price era is over.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-19-2018

Toledo News-Bee, April 19, 1918:

It is reported [in Boston] that Ed Barrow won’t last long as the Red Sox boss. He and Johnny Evers have had a blowout, Heinie Wagner replacing the little second sacker as utility man and coach. It seems Evers told Barrow that he believed 10 years at a desk had ruined his bench judgment. Evers is backed by several of the Red Sox regulars.

One can only hope that Barrow responded by telling Evers that all those Fudge Orgies and Nicotine Sprees had ruined Johnny’s ...

It’s not just ownership that’s keeping Jose Reyes a Met

It’s all good when your team is winning.

At long last, have you no sense of OMNICHATTER for March 19, 2018

Braves sign Jose Bautista to a minor-league contract, will play third base

The Braves announced an agreement with infielder Jose Bautista on a one-year, minor-league contract Wednesday. Bautista has reported to the team’s extended spring training in Florida.

The Braves announced he would play third base. Bautista manned third in eight games last season (38 innings), but hasn’t consistently played there since 2007, when he appeared in 126 games at the hot corner for the Pirates.

Update: Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo calls his shorter-season, pay-cut comments ‘my opinion’

No thank you.

Leave the gun, take the OMNICHATTER for April 16, 2018

Diamondbacks’ Taijuan Walker diagnosed with “UCL injury”

Lovullo was pressed on multiple occasions as to whether Walker’s ligament was torn or not, but he repeatedly said he didn’t know. Asked what else it could be if it wasn’t torn or frayed to some extent, he said, “I don’t know that answer. We’re optimistic that it’s going to be as good as possible.”

One thing seems certain: If Walker has a full tear of the ligament, flying to New York for a second opinion wouldn’t make any sense.

“I guess you could say that,” Lovullo said. ...

Ready Player One

Anyone who’s ever tried to explain baseball to someone genuinely encountering it for the first time knows how hard it is to put the game into words. But I noticed something else about how I told the story. It was entirely about the batter and his brave adventure. It’s a strange decision, given that the batter is only half of the equation. In some sense, it’s understandable. When trying to explain any game, it’s a good idea to start with one of the universal features of competitive ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-18-2018

Oklahoma City Times, April 18, 1918:

An English sportsman, who was resting at Mineral Wells, Texas, was much interested in the Chicago White Sox, and in Eddie Cicotte especially. He had heard that Cicotte was the leading pitcher in the American league last season, and couldn’t understand why an athlete, apparently so short, could be such a marvel.
...
[The Englishman asked Cicotte] “And may I inquire if you ever play cricket?”

“Cricket! That’s a bug game,” responded Cicotte.

To this day the ...

Deadspin: The Mets Previewed A Dark, Mets-y Future Last Night

When he trotted out for the eighth inning, Jacob deGrom became the first Mets starter to throw a pitch that late in a game this season. That lack of length hadn’t mattered much, as the team’s bullpen had been virtually spotless over the season’s first two weeks. DeGrom allowed two singles and struck out Michael A. Taylor, and Mickey Callaway made his move. The Mets co-ace left after 103 pitches and with what looked like ample cushion for a win. The bullpen needed only to get five outs ...

Was it over when the Germans bombed OMNICHATTER, for April 17, 2018

Royals’ Blaine Boyer took wheel of team bus after chunk of ice smashed windshield

Royals strength and conditioning coach Ryan Stoneberg shared what happened on Instagram.

“While driving from the airport to the hotel through brutal cold conditions, ice from the roof of the staff bus flew off and hit the windshield of the trailing bus,” Stoneberg wrote. “The windshield was smashed, glass flew in the face of the driver, and one of our players had to assist with steering the bus to safety on the highway. I am so glad that all our players are safe due to quick action of our team ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-17-2018

Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, April 17, 1918:

The effort is being made to introduce “kittem,” a modified form of baseball, into New York playgrounds. The extra sunlight is expected to greatly augment interest in the sport, the scheme of which is as follows:

Kittem is played with a large twelve-inch ball, the clenched fist being used as a bat. The game has been very successful in Detroit, where it originated; Minneapolis, St. Paul and other large cities where daylight-saving laws have been ...

Francisco Mejia and the Legal Limits of Brand Contracts | FanGraphs Baseball

Very interesting court case.

With Kiermaier sidelined into July, time for Rays to make some big moves

A proponent of tanking.

A cautionary note about spring statistics, and other thoughts - Chicago Tribune

Unfortunately for Happ, this is the first April of his major-league career, so he doesn’t have a full season under his belt to prove it’s an anomaly. After a couple of hits Friday, Happ was asked if having five hits in eight 8 at-bats over three games was encouraging after his rough start, despite the small sample size.

“That’s a small sample size,” he said of his 41 at-bats. “Just wait until the end of the year.”

Manager Joe Maddon is not likely to give up on Happ, at least not ...

Ozzie Albies: A Tale of Two Hitters - Fake Teams

Confirmation of everything our eyes are telling us.

Ohtani Almost Signed With Red Sox (but not when you think)

Traveling the world as international scouts, Jon Deeble and Eddie Romero encountered their share of oddities. But the Red Sox talent evaluators had no idea what awaited them at Hanamaki Higashi High School, a two-hour bullet train ride outside Tokyo, in 2012.

They had come to interview schoolboy phenom Shohei Ohtani, and all of Japan evidently knew it.

“The media sitting out in front of the school at the front entrance was unbelievable,” Deeble recalled. “When we went in to interview him, ...

About the only problem the Red Sox have is what to do with Blake Swihart

Having talent is not a problem. Because of his injuries Swihart’s stock is down. The Red Sox need to get him into the mix behind the plate to either showcase him for deals or to turn him into a partner for Vazquez. They can keep Sandy Leon around if they want him for insurance to remain as a future backup to Vazquez. He should not be an impediment.

Rick Porcello has now settled in nicely with Leon catching him. Pitchers love Leon behind the plate. Any notion of trying to deal Leon to make room ...

And the wind cries OMNICHATTER, for April 16, 2018

Clayton Kershaw strikes out 12 in Dodgers’ 7-2 victory over Diamondbacks | LA Times

That the Dodgers reported for work in last place in the National League West for the first time in three years did not particularly worry the men in uniform. It was April, after all. They would win one of these days, and Clayton Kershaw would be their pitcher on this day.

“If there’s anyone you want to take the mound in a game like this, it’s Clayton,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

A game like this? Three consecutive losses overall, five consecutive losses to the Arizona Diamondbacks, ...

Rays Kiermaier to have surgery, miss 8-12 weeks | TB Times

Kiermaier will have surgery for a torn ligament in his right thumb and is expected to miss 8-12 weeks, the Tampa Bay Times has learned. An announcement from the team is expected later today.

The Rays have been in this position before, each of the last two years actually, waiting for test results but expecting bad news regarding an injury to centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier.

This time it’s a right thumb injury, sustained sliding headfirst into second Sunday while taking an extra base, with the ...