Baltimore Sun: Reynolds thinks Angels’ Santana hit him on purpose

First baseman Mark Reynolds was out of the starting lineup Sunday for precautionary reasons after he was hit in the head by Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ervin Santana in the third inning of Saturday night’s game.

Reynolds said Sunday morning that he felt fine except for a sore spot above his left temple. He also left no doubt that he feels Santana hit him intentionally in his first at-bat after he slammed his 34th homer off the Angels right-hander.

“I think he hit me on purpose,’’ Reynolds ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 9-19-2011

San Jose Evening News, September 19, 1911:

Canonsburg, in the Allegany and Washington (Pa.) league, has released to Washington Third Baseman “Scoops” Baedler for a stamped envelope.

...

Canonsburg kicked on Baedler and said he loafed and threw games.  [League President W.B.] McVicker said it was a harsh charge to make and advised that the player be sent elsewhere.  Canonsburg’s management to show its contempt accepted a stamped envelope in payment.

Washington got ripped off. ...Read More...

NL Wildcard race: September 18, 2011

ATL 87-66 [7-11 in SEPT]
STL 83-69 [11-5 in SEPT] (3.5 GB)
SFG 83-70 [11-5 in SEPT] (4 GB)

MLB.com: Braves’ magic number at seven with nine to go
MLB.com: Cards pound Phils to gain game on Braves
MLB.com: Giants slug six homers in eighth straight win

Carl Crawford diary: ‘Sorry for the year I’ve had’

Crawford, now starring in…“They All Kissed the Bridesmaid”.

Now that I am in a Red Sox uniform, I definitely hear the boos when I go back to Tampa, like our recent trip we made there. When I was in left field, I definitely heard heckling there. It was a bunch of haters in left field pretty much. Hey, it’s cool. I understand. The thing is, they’ve got to realize they’ve got to deal with me for another six years. I struggled this year and I’ll give them this year. But I am definitely, ...

Yahoo!: Verlander improves to 24-5 with 12th straight win

Justin Verlander won his 12th straight start, pitching three-hit ball over eight innings to become the first pitcher in nine years to reach 24 wins and lead the AL Central champion Detroit Tigers over the Oakland Athletics 3-0 Sunday.

Verlander (24-5) struck out six and walked three, extending his scoreless streak to 17 innings. He has a 2.28 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 87 innings over his streak, becoming the first pitcher to win a dozen starts in a row since Minnesota’s Johan Santana in ...

AL Wildcard race: September 18, 2011

BOS 87-65 [4-13 in SEPT]
TBR 85-67 [11-6 in SEPT] (2 GB)
LAA 83-69 [10-6 in SEPT] (4 GB)

MLB.com: Rays win series, now two back of Red Sox

For a second consecutive weekend, Tampa Bay got the job done against Boston, taking an 8-5 win Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park to claim three out of four in the series and move within two games of the American League Wild Card leaders.

MLB.com: Aybar’s two-homer day keeps Halos in hunt

BPro: Carty: Reviewing “Behind the Seams: The Stat Story”

Paging JamesPotocki…

Once we get past this little detour—which is much smaller than I’m sure I’ve made it out to be—“The Stat Story” actually levels off pretty well, attempting to shed a positive light on statistics and telling the story of how statistics have impacted the game of baseball. In fact, after it was all said and done, our Finley/Brock/Lasorda spectacle became much more of an afterthought, almost included to say, “OK, there are still people who don’t agree with all ...

Wolfley: Fox baseball broadcast featured criminal intent

Season 21, Episode 3: Stupid Network Behavior #5

Matt Vasgersian and Tim McCarver on the call. Tampa 4, Boston 3, bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Runner on second. Rays’ reliever Joel Peralta with a 2-2 count on Marco Scutaro. Rays chasing the Red Sox for a wild card slot.

So the payoff pitch is about to be delivered. Moments like this are deliciously dramatic and intense and deserving of our full attention. What this moment didn’t deserve was what Fox did to it, which can only be described as ...

NY Times:  Pennington: Ted Williams’s .406 Is More Than a Number

Inside his room at Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Hotel on Saturday, Sept. 27, 1941, Ted Williams was jumpy and impatient. That might have been an apt description of the mercurial Williams at most times, but on this evening he had good cause for his unease.

His batting average stood at .39955 with a season-finale doubleheader to be played the next day at Shibe Park, home of Connie Mack’s Athletics. Since batting averages are rounded to the next decimal, Williams could have sat out the final ...

Joel Sherman: Over past 40 years, Rivera not only greatest closer, but greatest ... period

I believe it was U.S. Representative from New York turned weak philosopher, Socrates N. Sherman, that said…“I know that I know nothing about baseball”

I recognize and accept the validity of these arguments. Yet, over the 40 years that I have been watching baseball — roughly from the tail end of great careers such as Hank Aaron and Willie Mays until now — I believe Rivera has elevated himself into the conversation. He has all the qualities that I want in determining the best player I have ...

eBay: Amarillo Sox Mascot Costume

Baseball-themed nightmare fuel for the low price of $5k, with all proceeds to go to charity.

According to the ad, “The Amarillo Sox are incredibly excited to feature this one-of-a-kind item to the public.”

MLB.com: Giants gain ground with seventh straight win

The Giants rallied late on a chilly Saturday night at Coors Field, as Brett Pill’s big night led the way in a 6-5 win over the Rockies.

It was the seventh straight win for the Giants, who trail the National League West-leading D-backs—who lost to the Padres, 3-1, on Saturday—by five games with 10 to play. The Giants also trail the Braves by five games in the NL Wild Card race.

NYBD: Silva: Why I Applaud Keith Law’s Evolution

Law Abiding Citizen: How do you stop a blogger who is already behind Insider?

I can identify with Law because I see some what he is going through in me. I have grown since I started covering baseball in March of 2007. Before that I was just another fan who watched the game as a fan and listened to talk radio. By no means do I have the front office experience or analytical background of Keith Law, but I think I know baseball pretty well and can hold my own with the big boys, sometimes.That’s ...

Yahoo!: Royals pound White Sox for 7th straight win

Mike Moustakas hit his third home run in four games and Jeff Francoeur hit a three-run homer and the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 10-3 Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.

The winning streak is the Royals’ longest since winning seven consecutive Sept. 13-18, 2008. The White Sox have lost seven in a row, matching their longest losing streak of the year.

“I think our fans can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Moustakas, Eric Hosmer ...

OSN: Baseball’s Annual Awards: 2011 Edition

The Onion looks at the 2011 Awards:

AL Cy Young: Adam Dunn—Dunn’s historic performance this season did more for American League pitching than anyone who actually took the mound

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Girardi—His team has the best record, therefore he is the best manager. Why do people need to vote on this again?

And more!

Philly.com: Phillies win NL East with defeat of Cardinals

The Phillies clinched the NL East for the fifth straight season with a 9-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

With six runs in the eighth inning, the Phillies opened up a seven run lead capped by Raul Ibanez’s grand slam.

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.