Yahoo: Phils lose 8th straight, longest skid in 11 years

With nothing left to play for in the regular season, the Philadelphia Phillies are playing as if they have nothing left.

Hunter Pence dropped a deep fly ball for an error that led to five unearned runs, and the New York completed a doubleheader sweep with a 6-3 victory Saturday night that handed the NL East champions their eighth straight defeat.

Having already secured homefield advantage throughout the postseason, the sluggish Phillies remained winless since clinching their fifth consecutive ...

Jayson Werth calls for a Teddy Roosevelt victory on Sunday

After trying to interfere on Teddy Roosevelt’s behalf for the second day in a row, Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth made clear his intentions.

“If Teddy can’t win, no one wins,” Werth said in the postgame press conference Saturday at Nationals Park, adding “I must be the last remaining member of the Bull Moose party, I guess.”

On whether Saturday’s ambush was planned, Werth said “I can’t really comment. When you stage a coup, it’s better to keep it quiet.”

Baseball is ...

AL Wildcard race: September 24, 2011

BOS 88-69 [5-17 in SEPT]
TBR 87-71 [13-10 in SEPT] (1.5 GB)
LAA 86-72 [13-9 in SEPT] (2.5 GB)

MLB.com: Lester off as Red Sox’s progress stalls

MLB.com: [Alex] Torres rescues Rays as they gain on Red Sox
MLB.com: Hunter helps Halos gain in Wild Card race

Maury Brown: In Bold Move, MLB Files to Force Frank McCourt to Sell Dodgers

In a move that will test the powers of sports leagues over the control of their franchises, Major League Baseball has asked the bankruptcy judge overseeing the Chapter 11 case of the Dodgers to force Frank McCourt to sell the club and the associated assets of it, which includes Dodger Stadium, ...

[...]

In their filing the league said, ‘[T]he sale proposed in the Media Rights Motion—the centerpiece of the Debtors’ sole reorganization strategy—is dead on arrival and cannot be completed. ...

NL Wildcard race: September 24, 2011

ATL 89-69 [9-14 in SEPT]
STL 87-71 [15-7 in SEPT] (2 GB)

MLB.com: Braves fall in DC; Wild Card lead down to two

MLB.com: Cards gain game on Braves with wild win

Weisman: The myth and reality of ‘valuable’

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,” ...

NYT: Megdal: Actually, Citi Field Is Not That Bad for the Mets

notto Frank (1 fer 12) Catalanotto…

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 ...

Danny Litwhiler, former MLB player, dies at 95

So he won’t make it to Jim Furtado’s wedding today.

Miklasz: Fall at home puts Herzog in hospital

The tumble is now complete.

The beloved Whitey Herzog is in the hospital recovering from a head injury suffered when he fell on a pool deck at his home in South St. Louis County.

The Cardinals’ Hall of Fame manager was still in the intensive care unit as of Friday morning, and friends and family are understandably concerned.

Whitey’s son, Jim Herzog, provided an update and made a request via email:

“Whitey Herzog suffered a fall at home Monday which caused a head contusion and bruised ...

Barra: Brad Pitt Aside, Here’s a Baseball Quiz: Why Does Moneyball Leave Out Steroid Ball?

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.

Is it ...

Dodgers’ Matt Kemp hits 37th home run, has his eye on a ‘triple crown’

Wonder if Ahnold will help produce Kemp Bread…

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.

Kemp’s 119 runs batted in top the league. ...

Sherman: Sources: MLB adding wild-card teams, holding one-game playoff

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: Catcher framing finding shows Moneyball lives

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 ...

Yahoo: Brown: Cashman Details “Fake-Out” of Red Sox

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 ...

Star-Telegram blog: As Angels lose, Rangers clinch—and celebrate—AL West title

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.

All six divisions now spoken for.

MLB.com: D-backs take NL West title with late rally

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 ...

Mets: Ex-Reds GM Krivsky, Lambe out

Well, that’s one dimension changed.

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 ...

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Braun’s homer helps Brewers clinch NL Central Division title

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 ...

S.I.: Sheehan: The Moneyball revolution from someone who helped it happen

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.

...

NL Wildcard race: September 23, 2011

ATL 89-68 [9-13 in SEPT]
STL 86-71 [14-7 in SEPT] (3 GB)

MLB.com: Gutsy Huddy, Braves cut magic number to 3
MLB.com: Cards dealt major blow to playoff aspirations

AL Wildcard race: September 23, 2011

BOS 88-68 [5-16 in SEPT]
TBR 86-71 [12-10 in SEPT] (2.5 GB)
LAA 85-72 [12-9 in SEPT] (3.5 GB)

MLB.com: Rain sets up Sox-Yanks twin bill on Sunday
MLB.com: Price’s miscues cost Rays in playoff chase
MLB.com: A’s 3, Angels 1

Jocketty re-ups to be Reds GM through 2014

There’s some work to do over yonder…

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 ...

THOME HONORED BY INDIANS, WHO PLAN STATUE FOR HIM

THANKS FOR WRITING IN CAPS ABOUT JIM THOME

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.

...

Span and Valencia shaken up in fender bender en route to airport

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, ...

USA TODAY Nightengale: Baseball teams limit consumption of energy drinks by players

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 ...

LA Times: MLB asks judge to order sale of Dodgers

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 ...

Kriegel: Red Sox are anything but ‘Money’

Money: (Marty) Barrett Strong ~ (Mark) Kriegel Weak.

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 ...

Boudway: Watching ‘Moneyball’ With Bill James

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 ...

Tiger great Denny McLain arrested again

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 ...

Phil Wood, MASN: Not obsessing about .500

Dreaming in the District…

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 ...