Baseball asks you to run out a ground ball even when you’re sure you’re going to be out. It asks you to put your best effort even if you’re team is 50 games out of first place. The sport asks this, for one, because fans and TV networks have been promised this in exchange for their hard-earned money. And because it’s a belief that virtually all of us share. Do your best.
To then turn around and say that “Oh, by the way, we aren’t paying attention to you anymore, so your effort doesn’t matter,” ...
Since they began play at Citi Field, the Mets have a .731 O.P.S. at home, .704 on the road. That is an O.P.S. advantage of 27 points, compared with 37 for the National League over all. That is a negligible difference, largely caused by the recent offensive woes. (Take out the previous homestand, and the Mets’ advantage is virtually identical to that of the league.)
But Mets pitchers have a huge edge over the typical advantage pitchers have at home. From ...
As “Franko” Cassavetes repeatedly repeated in The Dirty Dozen...“You SLOB! You SLOB!”
Why are Beane, author Michael Lewis and the A’s getting a free pass from the sports media on this?
...What other dopers did the A’s have on that team? Well, Jeremy Giambi later confessed to the use of anabolic steroids, but did not specify 2002. Reserve outfielder-third baseman Adam Piatt says he dealt steroids to other players but has been ambiguous about whom besides Tejada he dealt them to.
Matt Kemp quietly took the field in a half-empty ballpark on his 27th birthday with a chance to do something no National League player has done in 74 years.
Win the triple crown.
Kemp launched his 37th home run in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres at cavernous Petco Park on Friday, moving into a tie for the league lead with Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals.
My #### REALLY doesn’t work in a one-game playoff!
Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement for major league baseball are moving at a fast pace and one issue the sides have all but agreed upon is adding two wild-card teams and holding one-game playoffs in each league to determine which of the wild cards advances, The Post has learned.
One person involved in the talks described that scenario as a done deal and another hedged a little by saying it is likely to play out that way, ...
The Economist’s new sports blog mulls the implications of Mike Fast’s study on catcher framing for the efficiency of the game’s labor market.
Hurlers who have been throwing to poor-framing catchers are probably severely undervalued, and smart clubs should seek to stockpile them for cheap. Conversely, a savvy general manager could invest in a great-framing catcher and see his skills reflected in better numbers for his pitching staff. Those pitchers would then become overvalued, and could be ...
In reflecting on how his team’s own offseason acquisitions affected the Yankees’ drive to finishing first in the AL East, Cashman detailed his thoughts to ESPN New York regarding his “pursuit” of Crawford. Yep, it was nothing but monkeyshines with agent Greg Genske.
They both used Boston’s paranoia — along with the media — to their mutual advantage:
“I actually had dinner with the agent to pretend that we were actually involved and drive the price up,” Cashman said. “The outfield wasn’t ...
The Texas Rangers have won the American League West for the second consecutive season.
A few hours after the Rangers pulled away for a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night at Rangers Ballpark, the Athletics held on for a 3-1 victory over the Angels in Anaheim.
...
It’s the first time the Rangers have won consecutive division titles since 1998-99.
For the fifth time in franchise history, the Arizona Diamondbacks are National League West champions.
The D-backs completed the worst-to-first transformation with a 3-1 win over the defending World Series champion Giants on Friday night at Chase Field.
Fittingly, the D-backs had to come from behind to pick up the win. It was the team’s Major League-leading 46th comeback win.
...
After winning the division in 2007, the D-backs finished second in 2008 before bottoming out with back-to-back ...
Two holdovers from former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya’s regime were let go by the organization Friday, major league sources told ESPNNewYork.com.
Former Minaya deputies Wayne Krivsky and Bryan Lambe are out, the sources said. Krivsky is the former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He was influential in bringing rookie infielder Justin Turner to the Mets as a waiver claim.
The departures were expected as their contracts expire and GM ...
Ryan Braun hit a three-run, go-ahead homer in the eighth and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Florida Marlins 4-1 on Friday night to win their first division title since 1982.
Prince Fielder also homered for Milwaukee, which clinched the NL Central and reached the postseason at the earliest date in team history after waiting for 20 minutes the Cubs beat the Cardinals 5-1.
With most of sellout crowd still in its seats, fireworks went off again after the Cardinals lost and fans were showered with ...
Given that, we were taken aback when Federal Express delivered a letter…
The revolution is over. Well, that one, anyway. The new ideas earned a place at the table on merit, by being good ideas that contribute to winning baseball games. While I’m no capital-S stathead, I was fortunate enough to work at Baseball Prospectus for a dozen years alongside some of the best in the field, from Clay Davenport and Gary Huckabay, through Rany Jazayerli and Keith Woolner, through Dan Fox and Nate Silver.
The Reds announced Friday that general manager Walt Jocketty has been given a three-year contract extension through the 2014 season. Jocketty’s original four-year contract was to expire at the end of this season.
Terms were not revealed by the club…
The Reds have a 319-323 record since Jocketty joined the organization, and the club won the National League Central division title last season with 91 victories. It was the franchise’s first postseason berth ...
On Friday night, [Jim] Thome experienced another emotional moment in a season overflowing with them as the Cleveland Indians, the team that will always mean more to him than any other, honored the gentlemanly slugger before opening a three-game series with Minnesota.
Then he went out and earned another curtain call, hitting his 604th career homer, a towering two-run shot to straightaway center, in the direction where he will soon be immortalized.
Denard Span and Danny Valencia are not in tonight’s lineup because they had a fender bender Thursday on the way to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport from Target Field.
Valencia was sitting as the passenger in his Range Rover Sport, with his fiancee driving. Span was following them in his Range Rover. The accident happened after they turned from I-35 onto Hwy 62 East.
“You’re on 35, you make a left onto 62,” Valencia said. “It was bumper-to-bumper traffic, so it was stop and go. I stopped, ...
PHOENIX – Major League Baseball, which banned illegal performance-enhancing drugs and amphetamines, now has several teams restricting the use of energy drinks.
On this, the players say, teams are going too far.
“It’s asinine,” said Arizona Diamondbacks closer J.J. Putz, who typically consumes one Red Bull drink in the seventh inning. “What are they going to ban next, coffee? Soft drinks? It’s so bizarre.”
The Diamondbacks and Houston Astros have stopped providing energy drinks in their ...
Major League Baseball on Friday asked a federal bankruptcy judge to order the sale of the Dodgers, arguing in court papers that Frank McCourt’s plan to retain ownership of the team is “dead on arrival.”
MLB does not intend to approve any sale of television rights that would help McCourt maintain ownership of the Dodgers, according to the filing, and the league could enforce its ability to strip McCourt of the team once it emerged from bankruptcy protection.
...
In Friday’s filing, the league ...
Going into Friday night’s three-game set with the Yankees, the Red Sox have dropped 14 of their past 18 games. Still, despite what you think, what you feel, what you know deep in your bones, they are not — repeat not — choking.
Choking, like clutch-hitting, is an archaic expression. They are really counterintuitive notions rendered obsolete with the advent of sabermetrics. It’s worth reminding you that the Red Sox have for years ...
Personally, I’d rather watch The Town That Dreaded Sundown with Bill…but there is some choice biz here.
Bill James stands in the atrium at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Oakland, surveying the crush of people who have arrived for the world premiere of Moneyball. He looks pleased and a little overwhelmed. His wife, Susan, is on his arm. A Hollywood movie premiere is a first for both. “We usually get our movies from Redbox,” he says as he maneuvers his broad, 6-foot-4-inch frame by the ...
Former Detroit Tigers pitching great Denny McLain was arrested Thursday and is in the process of being extradited to Louisiana on a theft charge.
McLain got turned around in construction near the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and wound up at a toll booth, U.S. Customs Chief Ron Smith said.
A customs agent ran McLain’s identification and found a warrant charging McLain with theft of more than $1,500, Smith said. He didn’t think McLain or a passenger in his vehicle was trying to flee the ...
Today, on the heels of a four-game road sweep of the Phillies—coming just a week after a four-game road sweep of the Mets—the 76-win Nationals still have a shot at finishing above .500 should they go 5-1 in their final six games. That would be terrific, no?
Of course it would. But does it really matter that much?
The immediate future is there for all to see. The pitching staff looks well-stocked for 2012 and beyond. The club looks pretty strong up the middle, though ...
¡Viva No! The Aaron Boone’s Farm System throws up…..arms.
Maybe beer is the more traditional beverage for baseball fans, but as the World Series approaches, wine enthusiasts have more choices than ever, including some high-end vintages on tap to wash down those hot dogs and Cracker Jack.
“You certainly find more wine in a ballpark than you used to, at least the upscale ballparks,” says Kevin Reichard, publisher of Web site Ballpark Digest.
Sixth-generation grape-grower Tim Carl of Huge ...
The A’s quietly stepped away from the mantras of “Moneyball.” By 2006, they used their top pick on high school pitcher Trevor Cahill, a refutation of the principles that dictated that premium picks should not be squandered on prep pitchers. Fuson returned to the organization before the 2010 season as a special adviser.
The draft strategy that Lewis touted simply did not work. The A’s elevated on-base ability to the level of the most coveted tool, ...
Please Pardon Our Noise, It Is the Sound of Freedom!
I started this Mariners Blog last season as a way to express and share my love for the game of Baseball. Sadly the Mariners have had two terrible seasons despite employing sabermetrics types in the front office,which has made this team tough to follow but my passion for the game seems to drive me on. I guess there is no known advanced metrics formula to measure committment to this game but I suppose I have a high WAR in that area and I have ...
Manny Ramirez, upon learning he will not be able to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic because he’s on MLB’s inactive list, told ESPNdeportes.com Thursday that he will formally request reinstatement.
Ramirez said that upon reentry, he would serve his 100-game suspension for a second violation of MLB’s drug policy.
“I would comply with my pending sanction and I would be available for any major league team,” Ramirez told ESPNdeportes.com’s Enrique Rojas via telephone from Miami. “I ...
