Joe Maddon wants the Dodgers? He’s got them if Cubs can win one more | Chicago Sun-Times

‘‘You have to beat the best to be the best,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘You can’t run away from any of this stuff. Pick the ’27 Yankees, pick the ’64 Cardinals, the Big Red Machine, whatever. You just want to believe your guys can match up with anybody, and I want our guys to believe the same thing.’’

Stephen Strasburg’s legacy on line now - Washington Times

This is a weird on. What’s his real issue?

The news that, with Game 4 of the NLDS against the Cubs in Chicago Tuesday pushed back to Wednesday because of rain, that Strasburg, even though he is fully rested, will not start Game 4 was met with howls of laughter and tears — especially when manager Dusty Baker told reporters, that Strasburg is “feeling under the weather.”

Evan Drellich: Eric Hosmer’s leadership, J.D. Martinez’s power fits for Boston Red Sox

Eric Hosmer isn’t a good fit. In this big boom era they need more power.

Dustin Pedroia contemplates surgery, and his future

I look forward to seeing Statcast numbers for infield defense.

Meanwhile, the knee injury impaired other potential contributions. His defensive range may have been diminished. He graded as two runs below an average second baseman, according to Baseball Information Solutions (Fangraphs, by contrast, had him as 6.7 runs above average, as measured by Ultimate Zone Rating). His baserunning ranked near the bottom of the league, as he took an extra base just 16 percent of the time on hits while ...

Astros manager Hinch on player relationships | MLB.com

Hinch needed to get Marwin Gonzalez into a game, and to decide who wouldn’t play, he’d put the names of his regular infielders into a hat and drew one.

“So you picked my name?” Bregman asked.

“I picked Correa’s name,” Hinch said, referring to Astros All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa. “But I put it back in there and drew again.”

Cubs-Nationals Game 4 postponed until Wednesday

Game 4 of the National League Division Series between the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field was postponed by rain, and will be played at 4:08 ET on Wednesday, Major League Baseball announced.

The Cubs will stick with scheduled starter Jake Arrieta for Game 4 regardless, instead of Game 1 starter Kyle Hendricks, manager Joe Maddon said Tuesday afternoon.

Nationals manager Dusty Baker would not yet say whether he would replace scheduled Game 4 starter Tanner Roark with Game ...

Barry Bonds among athletes who flee “crazy” Wine Country fire scene

Former Giants outfielder Barry Bonds wound up shuttling guests who did not have rides away from Mayacama when the villas at the course were evacuated. Longtime Kansas City pitcher Bret Saberhagen left his golf clubs in the parking lot in order to fit Olympic speedskater Dan Jansen and his wife into his rental car. And onetime Dodgers closer Eric Gagne raised the alarm at a second hotel to which the celebrities were sent, pounding on doors to make sure occupants were out.

MLB Trade Rumors: Projected 2018 Arbitration Salaries

Some large sums (service time estimate in parentheses):

Manny Machado (5.056) – $17.3MM
.  .  .
Jose Abreu (4.000) – $17.9MM

Details on methodology & estimate info on all players available at link.

NLDS Game 4 OMNICHATTER for October 10, 2017

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 10-10-2017

Philadelphia Evening Ledger, October 10, 1917:

Big Rube Benton turned the tide of the Giants’ luck in the third game of the world’s series [in New York] this afternoon when he beat Chicago, 2 to 0. The big southerner worked in superb form, outpitching the wizard, Eddie Cicotte, who was believed unbeatable. The series now stands two to one in Chicago’s favor…

The home team had won the first three games of the series at this point. Game four was in New York on the afternoon of October 11. ...Read More...

The Dodgers are dominant in sweep of Diamondbacks - LA Times

Yes they were.

Baseball legend Jim Landis passes away at 83

Landis learned to play outfield while in the minor leagues. He went on to win five consecutive Gold Gloves in eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox as a center fielder. He helped them win the 1959 American League pennant with a 94-60 record and reach the World Series, which they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
Jim Landis was voted by fans to Chicago’s 27-player “Team of the Century” in 2000.

Two-sport Wichita State great, Don Lock, dies at 81

Lock was a 6-foot-2, 195-pound center fielder. He finished sixth in the American League with 27 home runs in 1963, then followed it up with 28 home runs the next season. He led the American League in outfield assists and putouts in 1963, as well. Lock played for the Senators, Phillies and Red Sox in his eight-year career.

Dade County Wants Its Cut of Marlins Sale

Accountants: sharpen your pencils!

Loria’s 2008 deal with Miami and Miami-Dade included payout provisions if he sold the team within six years of the 2012 opening of a county-owned ballpark built with more than $400 million in public dollars and about $150 million from the team. The deal requires the Marlins to pay the two governments 5 percent of the proceeds of a sale.

Five years and six months later, the bill may be coming due. But with Loria able to deduct both debt and taxes paid on ...

Minnesota Twins, Paul Molitor agree to 3-year extension

After guiding the Twins to a record-setting turnaround, Paul Molitor has agreed to a new three-year contract, the team announced Monday afternoon.

SNY Mets to buy Syracuse Chiefs, move Triple-A team from Las Vegas to Syracuse

The Mets will buy the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League and move their Triple-A affiliate from Las Vegas, NV to Syracuse, NY, reports Mark Weiner of Syracuse.com. The move will occur after the 2018 season.

The Chiefs are currently the Triple-A affiliate of the Nationals, while the Mets’ current affiliate—the 51s—is located in Las Vegas.

Once the sale—which was approved on Monday morning—is final, the Mets will own and operate the Chiefs, according to Weiner.

The Mets’ Triple-A ...

LDS OMNICHATTER for Monday, October 9, 2017

Mountcastle Readies For Hot-Corner Trial In AFL | BaseballAmerica.com

Where’s Manny going to end up?

Bird HR, Yankees top Indians in Game 3 of ALDS | MLB.com

This is a nice homer.

D-backs’ Zack Greinke doesn’t reveal strategy | MLB.com

The Poz tells some Zack Greinke stories.

Rookie monster HR, Boston ‘pen stop ‘Stros | MLB.com

Not a big day for throwing slow roller to first, however.

Sunday Notes: The Astros Changed Alex Bregman for the Good | FanGraphs Baseball

Earlier this week we ran a Players’ View that asked the question: Are Today’s Analytically-Inclined Players tomorrow’s GMs? Recently-retired outfielder Sam Fuld wasn’t among the people quoted, but he does have an opinion on the subject. Fuld shared the following shortly after the article went up:

“I do see an increasing role for former players in front offices. Over the last five to ten years, most teams have embraced the role of advanced metrics/big data/creativity, but this change ...

OTP 9 October 2017: Trump Tells Pence to Leave N.F.L. Game as Players Kneel During Anthem

Mr. Pence lavishly documented his early departure in a series of tweets and an official statement issued by his office. On Twitter, he declared, “I left today’s Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.”

While the vice president portrayed his decision as a gesture of patriotic principle, it had the distinct appearance of a well-planned, if costly, political stunt. He doubled back from a trip to the West ...

Not challenging hit-by-pitch only start of Joe Girardi’s problems

In Game 2 on Friday, Sanchez immediately pointed out the ball hit the knob of the bat, not Chisenhall’s hand. He told reporters after the game he yelled “Foul! Foul!” and replays show him looking and pointing toward the dugout, the universal sign for “challenge this.” Girardi did not challenge it. And after the game, Girardi said this:

“There was nothing that told us he was not hit on the pitch.”

Oops.

Baseball Joe Girardi, Upon Review, Offers a Rare Mea Culpa: ‘I Screwed Up’

Given a night of restless sleep — and after perhaps letting an excoriation from the news media (including from commentators on the YES Network, which is partly owned by the Yankees) sink in — Girardi ventured to the Bronx on Saturday, disassembled his standard defensive armor and offered up something unusual: a mea culpa.

“I screwed up,” he said.

“In hindsight, yeah,” he added. “I wish I would have challenged it.”

“Again, I screwed up,” he went on. “And it’s hard. ...

Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen credits predecessors for playoff foundation

Byrnes praised Hazen’s ability to “thread the needle” by assembling a playoff team in a scenario complicated by a potentially narrowing window to win along with a challenging payroll situation.

“As much turnover as there is in the business, every new regime goes about assessing the assets they have and being smart about it, with players and otherwise,” Byrnes said. “It’s critical. It’s easy to repeal and replace everything, but you have to know when you have some good stuff ...

Nick Cafardo: Torey Lovullo brought love — yes, love — to the Diamondbacks’ clubhouse

“I wasn’t afraid to talk about the word ‘love,’ ” Lovullo said before the NL wild-card game on Wednesday. “You know, in baseball and sports we’re very macho people. We’re afraid to talk about it. So you’ve heard me say the word ‘love.’ I think that the guys use the word ‘love,’ and I think that we’ve developed a really special bond. So that was the first thing that I set out to do through my own actions and my own relationships, and I think that the guys caught on. ...

This Yasiel Puig at-bat had everything from a batter’s box dance to a bat flip | MLB.com

More personality and enjoyment of success is not a bad thing. Flip ‘em if you can.

Once the broom, Arizona Diamondbacks in danger of getting swept

My preseason wager is in real danger.

Real Bryce Harper shows he’s on his way back in a big way - Chicago Tribune

Doing the bat flip thing.