AL Wildcard race: September 17, 2011

BOS 87-64 [4-12 in SEPT]
TBR 84-67 [10-6 in SEPT] (3 GB)

MLB.com: Rays edge Sox to trim Wild Card deficit

Tampa Bay scored early en route to a 4-3 win over Boston on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park.

By winning, the Rays (84-67) moved to within three games of the American League Wild Card-leading Red Sox (87-64) with one game remaining against their AL East rival and 11 games remaining in the season.

Ben Zobrist got the Rays’ offense started with a two-run homer off Jon Lester in the first ...

CStB: A Banksy-ian Tribute To Brian Wilson

Orange and Black Crate Art

Ever wanted to wake up one morning to see Giants closer Brian Wilson tagging an “SF” logo on the side of your house?  I didn’t think so, but one San Francisco homeowner tells Bernalwood’s Todd Lappin that having previously seen the above Wilson stencil appearing on the city’s streets, he couldn’t resist commissioning one for his own abode,.

I suggested Get Up tag the open, south facing wall of my house (which faces a small empty lot).  The next thing ...

MLB.com: Rivera ties Hoffman as Yanks rally past Jays

Mariano Rivera closed out the Yankees’ 7-6 win against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Saturday, giving him 601 career saves and tying him with Hoffman for first place on the all-time list.
...
Rivera, who hadn’t pitched since reaching the exclusive 600-save club on Tuesday, already has a record 42 postseason saves and sports a career regular-season ERA of 2.22. Now he needs just one more save to be the all-time leader, and if he doesn’t do so on Sunday, he’ll have eight chances to get the ...

Joe Posnanski: A Moneyball Point

Oooooh, Poz, you’re something sort of grandish!

Of course not. Here’s my point: There’s a lot of talk about WAR going on. There’s a lot of talk about the pressure of being in contention. There’s a lot of talk about the MVP award and what it means. There’s a lot of talk about advanced stats and old stats and how people should watch and enjoy baseball. The Granderson for MVP supporters point out he’s having a great year (and he is), that he leads the league in runs scored AND RBIs, that he has ...

Carig: CC Sabathia quickly becoming a cause for concern

Someone sent this over last night…but it turns out Sabathia is at .255 (anyway you look at it…CCymmetry ruined)

 BAA
.257 - CC Sabathia
.257 - Ivan Nova 
.257 - Bartolo Colon 
.257 - A.J. Burnett 

The Yankees have seen this show plenty of times in the past six weeks, though nobody can figure out why, which could be a problem. The start of the playoffs is less than two weeks away and the Yankees are all but guaranteed a spot. But something has gone wrong with their ace, who has labored in ...

Strauss: Motte gets an endorsement as closer

It’s time to reconsider Mottel 6 ERA!

If Cardinals management approaches him later this month about Jason Motte’s readiness to close games for the club in 2012, bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist has a ready answer: Absolutely.

Having witnessed Motte’s evolution from almost solely a four-seam pitcher into a talent who commands a sinker and a cut fastball, Lilliquist offered his emphatic endorsement before Friday’s series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies. “I don’t have to think about it. ...

Dutton: Team has to figure out what it will do with Melky Cabrera

Malted Melk, Malted Melk, try’n to drive my Royals blues away.

The Royals have three basic alternatives with Cabrera:

•Seek to trade him for a much-needed boost to their rotation. They made Cabrera available in July before the nonwaiver trade deadline but couldn’t find anyone willing to meet their price of a bankable No. 3 starter.

•Offer arbitration and brace for a significant increase from his $1.25 million salary. That keeps the club’s options open, limits its commitment and, ...

When White Sox season ends, Adam Dunn will try to forget it

Operation Mincedonkeymeat: The Season That Never Was.

Get your questions in now to Adam Dunn about his horrible season of a lifetime. When it’s over in 11 days, the subject will be closed.

“I want to take this season for what it’s worth, finish this out, go home and somehow erase this, pretend this never even happened,’’ Dunn told the Sun-Times on Friday. “That will be hard, but once the last out is made, I’m never going to talk about it again. Not during the offseason, not next ...

English: Journalists don’t belong in game

I agree…although BaseballGB does occasionally have some neat stuff.

(Richard) Griffin is the Toronto chapter president of the BBWAA. In that role he chooses the eight local baseball writers who will vote on this year’s awards. He was on the road with the Jays this week and I wasn’t able to talk to him.

I did discuss this with sports editor Jon Filson and columnist Cathal Kelly. Both defended the tradition, making the strong case that the voting process is transparent — players, other ...

MLB.com: Fister leads the way as Tigers clinch Central

The Tigers can start making their postseason plans.

Detroit captured the American League Central crown Friday night by beating the Oakland A’s, 3-1, as right-hander Doug Fister—who came to Detroit from Seattle in a July 30 trade—turned in another brilliant start, winning his fifth straight game.

The Tigers won a division title for the first time since 1987, when they were in the AL East, and first time since joining the AL Central in 1998.

AL West race: September 16, 2011

TEX 86-65 [9-5 in SEPT]
LAA 82-68 [9-5 in SEPT] (3.5 GB)

MLB.com: Rangers blanked, but West lead remains same

...the Rangers opened a three-game series at Safeco Field with a 4-0 loss to the Mariners on Friday night.

MLB.com: Haren hit hard…

“It hurts,” Haren said following the Angels 8-3 loss to the last-place Orioles. “Everyone knows every game is so important. I feel terrible.”

NY Times: Hills Alive With Sound of Huckleberries

heilige Kuh!

Watching Rizzuto, Ford and Berra — in video never seen publicly — on a diamond in Austria during a baseball season appears to make little sense. After all, Rizzuto still had a job then as a Yankees announcer.

But this was mid-September 1994. Major leaguers had been on strike for more than a month and the World Series was about to be canceled.

And thousands of miles away, in Austria, some aging Yankees players and some other retired major leaguers were in Yankees road ...

NL Wildcard race: September 16, 2011

ATL 86-65 [6-10 in SEPT]
STL 82-68 [10-4 in SEPT] (3.5 GB)

MLB.com: Lowe falters, Braves lose Wild Card ground

[Derek] Lowe experienced his shortest outing of the season and allowed the first of the two homers David Wright hit while helping the Mets hand the Braves an ugly 11-2 loss on an unseasonably chilly night at Turner Field.

MLB.com: Chambers’ first hit keeps Cardinals rolling

AL Wildcard race: September 16, 2011

BOS 87-63 [4-11 in SEPT]
TBR 83-67 [9-6 in SEPT] (4 GB)

MLB.com: Beckett strong as Boston pads Wild Card lead

Boosted by the return of Josh Beckett from a sprained right ankle, Boston staved off those pesky Rays, 4-3, on Friday night.

Instead of seeing their Wild Card lead slimmed to two games, the Sox instead opened it back up to four with 12 left to play. And they snapped a six-game losing streak against the Rays, in which they had been outscored, 41-12.

Joe Mauer diagnosed with mild pneumonia, might not play again this season

Drew breath. Pain. Drew Butera. Pain+.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer has been diagnosed with mild pneumonia and will miss the next two weeks of the season, which means he will perhaps not return to the field in the 2011 season.

Mauer, who has been plagued by injury problems and illness all season, received the diagnosis after visiting the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The Twins said he had a persistent cough on the just-concluded two-game road trip to Kansas City.

Twins trainer Rick McWane set ...

FanGraphs: Cistulli: Matt Wieters Is Becoming Matt Wieters

As if being a Anthony Volodkin/Pierre Schaeffer bastardo pop king previously was so damn bad!

Matt Wieters entered his rookie season of 2009 with considerable fanfare — especially among the baseballing nerd community. Even before he’d played his first major-league game, Wieters had been celebrated both as the sporting version of Chuck Norris and, by the PECOTA projection system, as very possibly the best hitter in the majors.

...The second reason we ought to consider Wieters’ recent ...

Coolstandings: Top Historic Collapses in Baseball History

hellodes, points out…“List of regular season collapses, ranked by mathematical unlikelihood:”

Here are the most dramatic regular season collapses, covering all seasons back to 1903, sorted by each team’s peak playoff chances of the season. None of the listed teams made the playoffs in that particular season!

Click on the date to jump to the standings reflecting the team’s high point for the season, and click on the team link to see its daily playoff chances. You can also toggle between our ...

DiGiovanna: Angels’ starting pitching could make them dangerous in playoffs

Mike Butcher, the Angels’ pitching coach, said he would take Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana “over anybody’s top three starters in the game.”

That would include the Philadelphia Phillies, who have the best record in baseball and a rotation led by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, who have three Cy Young Awards between them, and Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt.

“Absolutely,” Butcher said. “We’re not pitching to a pitcher. I obviously respect what they do in Philadelphia. Those four guys are all ...

L.A. Times: Angels’ Mike Scioscia sees improvement in 2012 schedule

It appears someone in the commissioner’s office was listening to Manager Mike Scioscia’s heavy criticism of this year’s schedule.

Major League Baseball released the 2012 schedule Wednesday, and 22 of the Angels’ final 31 games will be against American League West teams. Scioscia is a strong proponent of teams’ opening and closing the season against teams in their division…

Scioscia, who as a member of baseball’s special committee for on-field matters has considerable input on issues such as ...

SABR: Strasberg’s Quest: Deliver 50 Talks on Roger Maris This Year

Bah! I once delivered 2 pizza pies to Elliott Maddox’s house.

Strasberg grew up in the Bronx and, unlike many fans his age, idolized Maris — the polar opposite of his beloved teammate Mickey Mantle. As a teenager, Strasberg struck up a friendship at the ballpark with the reluctant superstar, passing notes to Maris in the parking lot and chatting with him before games. Maris once promised him a broken bat and delivered it after returning from a road trip to Anaheim; Strasberg still treasures ...

Prelude to a save: A closer’s guide to choosing the right entrance song

Closers need these songs more than anyone. Pitching just one inning to end the game, they rely on elements of intimidation that workhorse starters can’t sustain over six or seven innings. Closers are performers in the full sense of the word, and their entrance music is nearly as much a part of their personas as a filthy slider or 97-mph fastball. Yet few understand what makes a good entrance song. They have much to learn. Most of which, incidentally, can be found in the following guide.

Former Reds farmhand, 100, finally gets called up

Only in baseball…

The 100-year-old rookie shortstop could still nail a runner at first.

“My arm’s in good shape,” Len Kahny said, firing an imaginary rocket across a make-believe baseball diamond. “But,” he added as he pulled himself up in his wheelchair, “my legs are shot.”

He looked down and slapped his century-old thighs. Then, he gazed in silence at a photo of him in a thick, wool Reds uniform from spring training of 1936.

The home team is honoring him for passing the 100-year-mark ...

Terry Collins Says Team Has ‘Folded It Up’ After Completing 1-8 Homestand

Folding@home: FLOPS!

New York lost its sixth straight, one shy of its longest skid this season, and finished 1-8 on the penultimate homestand of the year. The sluggish Mets (71-79) managed five runs in the four-game series and were outscored 48-26 on the homestand.

Moments after the latest loss, Collins said he was “disgusted” with how his team has been playing and took the blame for the poor performance.

“The perception I have right now: We folded it up. And I won’t stand for ...

Ex-Ballplayers Offer Coffee’s Answer to Chew

Uuuggghhhh…Ga..Ga..Gaggia (blorrcch)

Matt Canepa and Pat Pezet did just that through years and years of unsuccessful amateur and minor league baseball careers. In 2008, after wrapping up their amateur season to return to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, to finish their degrees, the two men took the saying a step further.

One too-hot night while working on an economics project, they decided to skip out on brewing a pot of coffee in favor of doing what comes naturally ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 9-16-2011

Toledo News-Bee, September 16, 1911:

Pitcher Frank Smith, of the Reds, who suffered a peculiar accident while the team was in Philadelphia, will be out of the game for the remainder of the season.  While telephoning in the room of his hotel he rested one foot on a stool.  The stool suddenly gave way, and his foot slipped through a window pane.  A large artery in Smith’s leg was cut and only quick medical attention saved his life.

With all due respect to Marty Cordova, Vince Coleman, and ...

MLB.com: Sandoval hits triple to complete the cycle

Pablo Sandoval used every ounce of speed his legs could provide to notch a sixth-inning triple against the Rockies on Thursday, and it was enough to give the Giants third baseman his first career cycle.

Sandoval’s cycle was the 25th in Giants history.

Sandoval hit a two-run homer in the first inning to set off the big night. He singled in the second inning and hit a leadoff double in the fifth.
...
Sandoval… collected the first Giants cycle since Fred Lewis accomplished the feat on May 13, ...

AL West race: September 15, 2011

TEX 86-64 [9-4 in SEPT]
LAA 82-67 [9-4 in SEPT] (3.5 GB)

MLB.com: Rangers keep offense churning, pad lead

For the 10th time in the last 12 games, the Rangers scored six or more runs, and Alexi Ogando tiptoed out of an early jam to toss six shutout innings as the Rangers defeated the Indians, 7-4, on Thursday at The Ballpark in Arlington.

Josh Hamilton’s Grand Slam Earns Free Flooring for Lucky Customers

Many teams run quirky promotions during games but seldom do we see them payout. On Wednesday in Arlington, one finally came through.

Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton clubbed a grand slam to cap an eight-run fourth inning against the Indians. The grand slam came during a one-month promotion where customers who purchased and installed flooring and countertops from CC Carpet would be refunded if Hamilton hit a grand slam.

Hamilton’s power will floor you!

LSU baseball: Former LSU baseball player Terry Belle killed in car accident

Former LSU baseball player Terry Belle, twin brother of former Tiger Albert “Joey” [Belle] died in a car accident last Saturday in Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Belle, 45, earned three letters from 1985-88 and played on LSU’s first two College World Series teams. He batted .276 in 135 career games with 11 homers and 65 RBI.

Belle’s two children were in the car with him at the time of the accident, but were apparently unharmed. RIP.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland: ‘I will wear these underwear until we lose’

The rose goes in the front, big guy.