Scouting Children: Why MLB Has Teams Competing For 14-Year-Olds

BOCA CHICA, Dominican Republic—It’s an early January morning at the Yankees academy in the Dominican Republic. In a couple of hours, hundreds of scouts will be here to watch some of the top Dominican prospects in the 2014 signing class.

For now, on one field, the Yankees are holding a private workout with a pack of team personnel there to evaluate the players. On an adjacent field, with only a few people watching, a pair of infielders are out early taking grounders.

They both look ...

PHOTOS: Is Michael Pineda using pine tar to shut down Red Sox?

So, as you read this, Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda is dominating the visiting Red Sox in a big way. However, is he doing so with pine tar illegally smeared all over his pitching hand? Check out the visual evidence from Thursday night’s game ...

Thanks to Wormeye.

Avisail Garcia needs shoulder surgery, will miss rest of season

I haven’t seen so many injuries in a sport since Harvey Keitel got his in Taxi Driver.

White Sox right fielder Avisail Garcia has a torn labrum in his left shoulder after injuring it during Wednesday’s game in Colorado. He’ll need surgery to repair it, which will end his 2014 season. The White Sox made the announcement official Thursday afternoon.

Garcia, 22, was attempting a diving catch in the sixth inning Thursday, after which he was in obvious pain laying on the field. He laid there for a ...

A’s remove Jim Johnson from the closer role

If Hank Aaron Had Never Hit a Home Run, Would He Be a Hall of Famer? | FiveThirtyEight

This just in…Hank Aaron was no Dave Kingman.

Astros game gets a 0.0 TV rating again

Granillo: David Ortiz Sets the Record for Slowest Tater Trot

Wow! 32.91 seconds! That’s about 25 minutes in instant replay time!

David Ortiz has always been near the top of the Tater Trot Tracker leaderboard with his classic Papi trots. In 2010, he was the first player to break the 30-second barrier. Since then, he has dominated the “Slowest Trot” lists every year. Last year, for example, Ortiz had 7 of the 10 slowest trots of the year.

Despite all of that, the single slowest trot of the Tater Trot Tracker era (non-injury division) belongs to Bobby ...

Mad Met: Tommy Davis on the 1967 New York Jazz Scene

See that’s the thing.  I had one of my best years in New York and I think a lot had to do with my mindset.  You look at the back of the baseball card and notice a season that sticks out from the others and you wonder why the guy played so well that one particular year.  I was very happy in New York.  My wife and children were back in L.A. and I missed them terribly, but the ambient, rolling sounds of the subway trains as I fell asleep at my mother’s house after home games, the common ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-10-2014

Pittsburgh Press, April 10, 1914:

Manager Herzog [of the Reds] has not fully decided how many pitchers he will carry through the season. He may make up his mind to hold as many as nine or ten, and certainly he will not let any twirler go who shows a reasonable chance ot making good in time. He expects to depend upon about six men for his box work, but will hold three or four of the most promising of the recruits…Any pitcher who exhibits an ambitious disposition, together with the ability to put ...

Ryan Braun is the new Phillies killer and he may have mocked you last night, Philly fans

Mr. Braun, are you mocking us with that output? #GwynneShares

Ryan Braun seems not to care. He will just go about destroying our baseball team as he has the past two evenings.

His damage on Wednesday night wasn’t as consistent as it was on Tuesday, but his one big hit was pretty much the dagger the put the Phillies to bed on night two in South Philly. And then, once safely standing on third after the big triple, Braun made a gesture with both hands in the air directed towards … maybe the ...

Matt Moore has torn UCL; Tommy John surgery possible

Further testing on Matt Moore’s left elbow Wednesday revealed a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament. The Rays and Moore are deciding on the next step, which is either surgery or rehabilitation.

“Honestly, let’s just wait until (today). I don’t have everything in,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said after Wednesday’s 7-3 loss to the Royals. “It needs to be looked at a little more deeply, because it’s not a slam-dunk surgery right now.”

Moore, placed on the disabled list Tuesday with left ...

Olbermann: Jonah Keri on Baseball in Montreal

And Up, Up & Away we go!

OMNICHATTER for 4-10-2014

I was going to write all the starters’ names down and highlight the notables, but Andrelton Simmons caught them and then threw them out at first from the outfield grass. Damn, he’s good.

A’s Jim Johnson sinking into a rut

Johnson has faced 26 batters so far and 16 of them have reached base. He’s walked six and struck out four. Batters are hitting .529, albeit with no extra-base hits and a .600 BABIP.

[Audio] Dr. James Andrews, surgeon, on increase in Tommy John surgeries - MLB Network Radio

Interesting interview with Dr. James Andrews about Tommy John surgery where he talks about how many players are developing elbow issues as children.

Sommer: REMARKABLE INFORMATION! Baseball is Back, Staples an’ all!

Tim Sommer: Noted record/haiku producer…on baseball.

What matters is this:  Baseball is back.

Baseball, which kept us company as a lonely child, and thrilled us when our middle school world was full of taunts and the snail-gray of boredom; baseball, which taught us math, patience, frustration, and loyalty to team and town; baseball, whose elegant pace reminded us of the need to breathe amidst the now-continuous distractions of the day, and whose green fields are full of space yet demand ...

Braves Set American Flag on Fire At their Home Opener

As a scheduled part of their home opener, the Atlanta Braves set off fireworks before their game against the New York Mets on Tuesday. As an unscheduled part of their home opener, the fireworks set fire to the American flag that flies above the Braves Vision video screen in center field.
“It happened because of new pyrotechnics,” Braves spokesperson Beth Marshall said. “For the first time, they put pyrotechnics on Braves Vision. One of the pyrotechnics flew at the flag and lit it on ...

Angels’ Josh Hamilton set for thumb surgery, likely out 6-8 weeks

and by that time the instant replay result should be in.

Bad news for the Angels, as the team announced on Wednesday that outfielder Josh Hamilton is set for thumb surgery and will likely be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks. Hamilton injured his left thumb while sliding head-first into first base on Tuesday night against the Mariners, and a subsequent MRI revealed a torn ligament. The surgery will be performed in the coming days in Los Angeles.

The Angels have thus placed Hamilton on ...

Billy Hamilton scores on infield popup

It’s ridiculous that this can happen at the major league level.

Joey Votto dressed as a Mountie when he appeared on MLBN’s Intentional Talk

MLB: Relief Awards named for Rivera, Hoffman

The American League’s top reliever will be given an award named for Mariano Rivera, and the National League winner will receive a trophy named for Trevor Hoffman. Rivera and Hoffman, Nos. 1 and 2 in career saves, spent their entire careers pitching in their respective leagues. . .

The new honors, beginning this season, will replace MLB’s Delivery Man of the Year Award, which was given to one reliever each year, as opposed to one reliever per league. . .

The award winners will be determined by ...

Cameron: Numbers don’t lie: The decline of Pujols is stunning

Pujol’s Pitch Black...

When the Detroit Tigers announced that they had signed Miguel Cabrera to an eight-year contract extension that didn’t even begin for another two years, the deal was immediately met with skepticism. The Tigers tacked on an additional $248 million in guaranteed money to lock up Cabrera’s age-33 to age-40 seasons, and the history of aging, super-sized, bat-only players is littered with disappointments. Exhibit A: Albert Pujols, who has been a severe disappointment since ...

Chris Colabello Finds Comfort at the Plate

From the Worcester Tornadoes to the AL Player of the Week.

Angels’ Josh Hamilton disputes ‘terrible’ replay review ruling

That replay took so long…by the time they came back Spencer Gordon Bennet’s lost film “Play Ball” was discovered!

Josh Hamilton injured his left thumb sliding head-first into first base Tuesday night, but that didn’t prevent the Angels left fielder from giving Major League Baseball two thumbs down to an instant-replay ruling in the fifth inning of the Angels’ 5-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

With a runner on second and one out, Corey Hart lofted a fly ball to deep left that Hamilton ...

Calcaterra: Frank Thomas thinks the balls are juiced this year

The Big Feller has spoken.

Lets make sure this is Real!!! The Baseballs don’t fly like this in April!! Trust Me the Balls are Doctored!! Enough Said!!

Someone had better tell that to the Royals. They’ve yet to hit a homer in seven games.

Someone had also better ask Frank Thomas what was up in 1994, when he hit eight homers in the month of April. Or in 1996, when he hit nine homers in March and April.

Stuff happens. And yes, at times in history, baseball has messed with the baseball. But ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 4-9-2014

Toledo News-Bee, April 9, 1914:

Hi Jasper, White Sox recruit twirler, carries a bar of soap in his pocket and lathers his spitballs, instead of using the time honored saliva, it was learned when the Comiskey men drew in [to Kansas City] for an exhibition game on Thursday. Baseball reporters uncovered Jasper’s shampoo treatment while huddled around a stove in Topeka, where cold weather prevented Wednesday’s game.

Somebody tell Bubbles Hargrave, Chick Lathers, and Cookie Lava-Getto.

Matt Moore hurt in Rays’ loss to Royals.

Manager Joe Maddon acknowledged after the 4-2 loss that they wouldn’t know for sure until getting the MRI results. But he said head athletic trainer Ron Porterfield, after talking with the Royals doctor who did an initial exam at the stadium, told him he considered the injury less severe than last year’s, when Moore was sidelined for more than a month due to soreness.

Moore, 24, said he felt only the soreness — and no pop or sharp pain — while throwing his changeup during the fifth ...

Vin Scully tells a story about Torii Hunter’s dad and a crack pipe (Video)

You could give the same background information about a player to 10 different broadcasters, and Scully would just be able to make it sound so much better than the others. And even when he’s telling a story about crack pipes, he still makes it sound great.

During the Los Angeles Dodgers-Detroit Tigers game on Tuesday, Scully was talking about Torii Hunter and told a story about Hunter’s father being a crack addict. The story went that Hunter’s father wore his son’s jacket and left a ...

OMNICHATTER for APRIL 9, 2014

Link is to the MLB.com scoreboard. And remember: Don’t run on the field, otherwise Adam Jones will see to it that the cops tase you.

The Toolsiest Player of Them All

The table shows the correlation coefficient for each tool against projected WAR/600:

Average Power Speed Arm Fielding
0.53 0.53 0.13 0.43 0.43

Something I’ve kind of wondered is whether speed and arm get encompassed within fielding since they’re part of fielding.