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 ...

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.

Fox Sports eliminates digital writing staff in favor of promoting their debate shows

Must be because of their liberal takes on politics!

Fox Sports has axed their digital writing and editing team to create more video positions and promote their on-air personalities. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw reported the news at 1 p.m. Eastern Monday, citing an internal memo from Fox Sports’ Jamie Horowitz (Fox’s president of national networks, and also the head of Fox digital following Mark Pesavento’s exit) that was actually sent to staffers after the Bloomberg article was published…. ...Read More...

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: June 27, 2017 at 12:11 AM | 43 comment(s)
  Beats: fox sports, media

Different seams no longer bothering Twins’ Jose Berrios

This story has balls.

Rays To Acquire Adeiny Hechavarria

The Rays and Marlins have agreed to a trade that will send shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria from Miami to Tampa Bay, reports Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). The Rays will send outfielder Braxton Lee and right-hander Ethan Clark to the Marlins in return. The Rays will pay the remainder of Hechavarria’s salary, according to Spencer.

Hechavarria, 27, has been out for more than a month due to a strained oblique muscle but is ready to return to the field.

Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger has never heard of ‘Seinfeld,’ teammates hilariously respond

The Dodgers’ 21-year-old rookie Cody Bellinger revealed that he doesn’t know who Jerry Seinfeld is on SportsCenter on Friday night.

As Scott Van Pelt laughed and was in shock, the Arizona native said, “I’m not gonna lie to you. I know the name, but I couldn’t put a face to the name. I don’t really know what he does, man. I’m sorry.”

Bellinger recognizes Seinfeld, but he has never heard of the TV show. He has no idea. He was born in 1995 and was only two years old when the last ...

Myself, OMNICHATTER, two droids, and no questions asked, for June 26, 2017

Forbes: Seattle Mariners Owning Social Media And Not Just Sticking To Baseball

Instead of shrinking back and acting out fear that fans might be turned away by the team’s celebration of LGBT pride, the Seattle Mariners stood their ground on social media.

On the team’s Facebook account, the Mariners announced they were “proud to celebrate equality,” changing the team’s profile picture to an image of the Mariners logo in the foreground of a rainbow pride flag.

Video: Idiot Mets fan catches foul ball at Dodger Stadium, nearly drops baby, wife ready to kill him

Baseball is fathers playing catch with sons.

The Giants chemistry is suffering because a guy they all hated is gone

All of which makes me wonder what the heck to do about this passage from Ken Rosenthal’s latest column. It’s about the reeling San Francisco Giants. They have all kinds of issues — their offense is putrid, their pitching isn’t much better and they’ve been without their ace most of the year — but today Rosenthal looks at their team chemistry. It’s a quiet and subdued clubhouse, he notes, and it has a lot of people wondering if something is wrong there. What could it be?

Sandoval, ...

Son of Keith Lockhart On Life Support

Jason Lockhart, son of infielder Keith Lockhart, was playing in a baseball tournament in South Carolina on June 17 when the catcher threw a ball back to the pitcher as Jason was crossing the plate and it hit him in the face, WXIA reports…

On Tuesday, Jason had surgery and the next day, doctors discovered there was an artery cut by the fracture, according to FOX 5. By Friday, he was put on life support and sedated in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Everybody wins by pushing the draft back

A few quick fixes could make both events work better, and a Sports Business Journal report reveals MLB is moving to improve the draft’s visibility. The report indicated the potential to move the draft back to July during the all-star break. Also, the draft would move out of MLB Network studios in Secaucus, N.J., likely rotating to the site of the All-Star Game.

Hosting the draft while the NCAA Tournament is going on (even during super regionals this year) doesn’t make sense. It’s an ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-26-2017

Since we missed it over the weekend…

New York Sun, June 24, 1917:

A no hit, no run, no man reached first base pitching performance by Ernest Shore, Boston twirler [and] an assault upon Umpire Owens by Babe Ruth…were incidents of the world champions’ double victory over Washington to-day. The scores were 4 to 0 and 5 to 0.

Shore’s entry into the select list of pitchers who have shown perfect performances was made possibly by Ruth’s banishment from the first game. Ruth had pitched only to Ray ...

OTP 26 June 2017: Confederations Cup shows how sports media in Russia differs from politics

And a lot of those perceptions are based on truth. Though a lively and influential group of independent outlets still provide critical news coverage in Russia, their staffers are under continual pressure, and are menaced regularly with legal and financial threats (and on occasion even physical harm) over unfavorable stories, which often obligates them to commit self-censorship. According to the watchdog group Freedom House, Russia’s news press is classified as “not free,” television often ...

Nationals fan’s obituary blames bullpen for blowing ‘yet another lead’

Some type of salve could have prevented this.

‘Why me?’: Jameson Taillon opens up on cancer as he returns to Pirates | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Why anyone?

Every year, players emerge from nowhere to become All-Stars; here are this year’s candidates | The Seattle Times

Who could forget?

Remember Bryan LaHair for the Cubs in 2012, or utility man Brock Holt for the Red Sox in 2016 or Michael Saunders for the Blue Jays last season? Each year it seems a sure bet that an unexpected All-Star will make the team.

Who will be that player this year?

Record homers, strikeouts show something not adding up in MLB | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

It sucks when our gods stumble.

No one is safe. The best pitcher in the game, the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, already has allowed 17 homers. Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees, who pitched against the Rangers on Friday night, has given up 21.