Prospect Larceny Formulated Rankings Review

A “formulated rankings” of prospects. The work would be more useful with better list formatting.

Prospect Larceny Formulated Rankings Review

A “formulated rankings” of prospects. The work would be more useful with better list formatting.

Mike Matheny is falling into the same habits that got him fired in St. Louis - Royals Review

My sim league started using OOTP a few seasons ago. Although it’s excellent and provides us great enjoyment, it’s not perfect. Case in point, Mike Matheny is classified as a Sabermetric manager.

Anyway, Max does a great job pointing out some of Matheny’s issues.

Rosenthal: Fernando Tatis Jr. open to position change? Plus MLB trade notes - The Athletic $

What position, if any, will help keep him on the field?

“The plan so far is shortstop,” he said.

Could he play other positions?

Tatis laughed.

“Yeah, I could,” he said.

I then laid out why I was asking. Center field for the Padres hasn’t been great offensively. Ha-Seong Kim has excelled at shortstop defensively. Tatis could play center …

He laughed again.

“I like winning ballgames,” Tatis said. “If it means we’re going to win more ballgames like that, I’ll do it that way.”

Are you taking balls out there?

“I’ve been shagging, yeah.”

Some good comments about handling the metrics. A snippet here.

Turner said the idea of adjusting his game to improve his metrics is “kind of stupid,” while noting, ...

Max Scherzer takes generosity to the max with Double-A teammates | FOX Sports

But Wednesday night, after the Rumble Ponies’ 8-3 victory in Connecticut over the Hartford Yard Goats, Mad Max went above and beyond. According to those familiar, Scherzer, who has earned more than $250 million in his career, shelled out big cash for a locker room feast that included bone-in ribeye, filet mignon and lobster. Whereas a normal postgame dinner would be limited to just one folding table, Chateau Scherzer was a three-to-four folding table situation. The approximate dollar figure tossed around the clubhouse was upward of $7,000.

“They’re eating well tonight,” Scherzer said to the media after his start.

Max Scherzer takes generosity to the max with Double-A teammates | FOX Sports

But Wednesday night, after the Rumble Ponies’ 8-3 victory in Connecticut over the Hartford Yard Goats, Mad Max went above and beyond. According to those familiar, Scherzer, who has earned more than $250 million in his career, shelled out big cash for a locker room feast that included bone-in ribeye, filet mignon and lobster. Whereas a normal postgame dinner would be limited to just one folding table, Chateau Scherzer was a three-to-four folding table situation. The approximate dollar figure tossed around the clubhouse was upward of $7,000.

“They’re eating well tonight,” Scherzer said to the media after his start.

Nation Unable To Enjoy Baseball Without Dozens Of Pitchers Hitting .124

Lamenting that it would never again be able to relish the game as it was intended, the nation reportedly admitted Friday that it was unable to enjoy baseball without dozens of pitchers hitting .124.

St. Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado hits for 2nd career cycle in loss to Philadelphia Phillies

Darick Hall’s tiebreaking home run was his third homer since being called up, and Rhys Hoskins went deep to add an insurance run, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-3 win over Nolan Arenado and the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

The Phillies victory came despite Arenado hitting for the cycle, the second of his career and the 17th in Cardinals history. He had an RBI triple in the first, a two-run homer in the third, doubled in the sixth and was credited with a single in the eighth after his hard-hit grounder caromed off third baseman Matt Vierling’s glove.

“It hasn’t hit me yet because the game didn’t turn out the way we wanted,” Arenado said. “Obviously it’s a rare thing, a special thing. I just thank God I was able to do it ...

Independence Day Weekend OMNICHATTER, for July 1-4, 2022

Julio Rodríguez, Ryan Mountcastle and other hitters surging due to better batted-ball quality - The Athletic

At the beginning, I was like wow, I’m in the big leagues now — but now I’m doing what I want to do,” Rodríguez said recently. “I feel confident and take my best swing now, instead of being protective at the plate.”

The electric Mariners center fielder added a few other reasons for his power surge — he said he started to understand what pitchers were trying to do to him, and found a way to do what he wanted to do and “stick to his strengths more” — but generally it’s that process of getting used to the big leagues that helped Rodriguez hit seven homers in June, a top-25 number for the month, after hitting zero in April.

“I need to calm down and become who I am,” he said with a smile.

Padres unveil City Connect uniforms

But it looks good on you!

The colorful uniforms feature sleeves of pink and mint, with “San Diego” emblazoned across the chest in those same hues. They feature outlines of yellow, and—taken as a whole—the uniforms are meant to match the vibrant colors of San Diego’s fabled pink and yellow sunsets beyond the Pacific Ocean.

Freddie Freeman clearly wanted Braves return over Dodgers deal

Then, after the lockout ended, Excel called the Braves on March 12 to give them a couple counteroffers, and let them know they needed an immediate response and needed to present their max offer, with the implication being that they were ready to move. That night, sources say Excel presented two options as “Braves prices,” which presumably meant a discounted deal for his favored team: $165 million for five years or $175 million for six. They also upped the urgency by telling the Braves they had exactly an hour to respond.

The Braves got back and said no thank you to Excel’s figures, but since they had to try something for an iconic Brave following the World Series win and end of the lockout, sources say they verbally upped their ...

June’s MLB Defensive Player of the Month

Edman is the MLB leader in Defensive Runs Saved this season with 16. He’s also the Sports Info Solutions Defensive Player of the Month for June.

Edman finished the month with 9 Defensive Runs Saved, the most of any player. He had 5 Runs Saved at shortstop and 4 Runs Saved at second base.

Meet the Man Who’s Selling Beer at Every Big-League Ballpark in America

Since 2017, Reginald Duvalsaint has been serving beers (and hot dogs and pretzels, but preferably beers) at stadiums across the country. Over the weekend, he was in San Francisco for the Giants’ series against the Dodgers, and soon he’ll head to Washington, D.C., for a Nationals game before making his way down to Florida to work a Tampa Bay Rays series. This, he says, is just what he likes to do, and so far he’s hit 19 of the country’s 30 parks…“My motivation was more as a fan, you know what I mean? I’m still doing it as a worker, but a good portion of this is me as a fan.”

Surviving ‘the grind’: Cardinals’ plans to weather rigorous schedule ‘reveal a better team’

So, they had experience and Excel sheets.

“Well, one thing that has been similar to 2020 is asking, ‘Who is on the team today?’” pitching coach Mike Maddux said. “We’ve had a lot of changes, and sometimes those changes were out of an available arm because we can’t just keep beating the same guys up time and time and time again. In between there were some injuries and people on the IL for various reasons. It has challenged our depth. But I think it’s become a testament to our depth.”

Maddux works months ahead with the rotation, reverse-engineering it around off days and opponents. The Cardinals engineered the rotation to get Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Dakota Hudson and Jack Flaherty in line to pitch at Milwaukee on the ...

Yankees looking for OF help with Aaron Hicks, Joey Gallo struggling

Juan Soto would top any big-market team’s outfield wish list, but he remains extremely unlikely to be available, and Bryan Reynolds, whom the Yankees have tried for before, is only slightly more likely to hit the market. In an extreme sellers’ market, the Royals’ Andrew Benintendi, the Orioles’ Anthony Santander and the Cubs’ Ian Happ might fit best, with the added bonus that all are left-handed or switch hitters. Benintendi will be a free agent after this season while Santander (free agent after 2024) and Happ (free agent after 2023) won’t be and thus uncertain to be dealt.

The surprising Orioles are seen as reluctant to send an early sell message to fans/players by trading non free agents early, and while they’d have to be ...

Why Juan Soto’s Reported Extension Offer Is Not As Outlandish As It Might Seem

According to Hector Gomez, “Talks are intensifying between the Nationals and Juan Soto regarding a second offer from the team to the star for a 13-years, $425 million extension, which will increase the initial $350 million offer by $75 million.”

If true, this would be the second-highest contract in MLB history, just falling behind Los Angeles Angel’s Mike Trout, who earned $426.5 million deal for the next 12-years.

Now, with Trout being universally expected as the greatest player in the sport, the deal did not receive a lot of backlash for being overpaid. In the trend of sport economics, lengthier contracts like Trout and potentially Soto’s are the new norm, as players prefer contract protection for the remainder of their careers ...

St. Pete mayor reopens talks on future of Rays stadium site

Mayor Ken Welch said Wednesday that two previous proposals for the 86-acre downtown location are being scrapped, with a new round of plans to be solicited beginning in mid-August. Welch, St. Petersburg’s first Black mayor, has made a priority of including such things as affordable housing and greater job opportunities along with Rays baseball.

Welch said the goal is to choose a new redevelopment plan by year’s end. The Rays’ Tropicana Field lease is up in 2027 and Welch said the new plan should envision including a stadium at the site.

“I don’t believe waiting a few months to get this right is unreasonable,” the mayor said at a news conference near Tropicana Field. “I think St. Petersburg is the best opportunity for the Rays. It’s about ...

OMNICHATTER for Thursday, June 30, 2022

When do the Tigers and Royals have to admit that ‘rebuilding’ has turned into plain old losing?

Detroit held on to the stars of its previous contenders too long — squeezing out minimal returns for Justin Verlander, J.D. Martinez and others. Avila declined to trade pitchers Matthew Boyd and Michael Fulmer at the peak of their powers. Kansas City has played the same (losing) waiting game with Whit Merrifield.

What’s missing from the equations in Detroit and Kansas City are the opportunistic gains of churn. The Astros unearthed and polished Jose Altuve and Dallas Keuchel. The Cubs sanded away the rough edges of Jake Arrieta. Other teams like the Padres accumulated such a glut of appealing prospects they traded them for established stars like Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove to speed up their return to contention.

Who, in other words, ...

Nationals burned by quirky ‘fourth-out rule’ as Pirates score despite lining into inning-ending double play

The scene: Pittsburgh had runners at second (Hoy Jun Park) and third (Jack Suwinski) with one out in the fifth inning when Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a soft line drive at first baseman Josh Bell. Park and Suwinski both went on contact, Bell made the catch, then threw to third so the tag could be applied to Park, who did not tag up at second. Here’s the play:

Seems straightforward, right? Bell made the catch for one out, then Park was tagged for another out to complete the inning-ending double play. The confusion stems from Suwinski. He crossed the plate without tagging up at third base and his run counts despite not tagging up. That’s because the Nationals never appealed Suwinski leaving early.

This is covered by MLB Rule 5.09(c), the section ...

The Orioles Aren’t Good… But They Are Interesting

“Throwing another average pitcher into the mix deepens a rotation that still needs significant help. Add Rodriguez and Kremer to a hopefully recovering John Means, Drew Rom, and with a little luck in DL Hall’s development, Baltimore suddenly has a usable rotation, one close enough to supporting a wild card contender that it suddenly becomes a good time to look seriously at free-agent pitchers to fill it out.

Of the top 15 O’s prospects in our preseason rankings, only a single player, Kyle Bradish, has seen his career WAR projection go down in ZiPS. That’s progress.

A lot of things can happen between now and contention. You don’t have to travel far from Baltimore to see cautionary tales in the 2010s Phillies and Pirates. The ...

Rays minority owners sue principal owner over ‘fraudulent transfer,’ other claims

The plaintiffs have alleged in multiple lawsuits that Sternberg transferred the Rays into a different business entity, Rays Baseball Club, without their knowledge. In March 2021, the same five owners — Robert Kleinert, Gary Markel, the MacDougald Family Limited Partnership, Stephen M. Waters and a trust in Waters’ name — filed a lawsuit that alleged a “scheme to squeeze out the limited partners” starting in 2004. The group owns about 9.6 percent of the Rays.

All counts in the original lawsuit but one, a request to expel Sternberg as general partner, were sent by the judge to arbitration. In May, in an attempt to dismiss that count, lawyers for Sternberg argued that the minority owners’ complaints “amount to nothing more than ...

OMNICHATTER for Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Rob Manfred wants you to know: He doesn’t hate baseball, he wants to save it

Manfred gets knocked for things that are arguably out of his control. He also gets crushed for his actions—or inaction—during some of MLB’s trickiest crises, including the steroids investigation he oversaw before he became commissioner and the major cheating scandal under his watch that made a mockery of the integrity of the game—and a World Series. Some players say they don’t trust the commissioner to have the best interests of the game at heart.

I asked Manfred to name the biggest mistake he’s made—one decision he’d like to have back. He laughed. “I have to narrow it down to one?” he said. “You know, I think people who can’t admit they’ve made mistakes, particularly in a job like this, are a little dangerous.”

Manfred insists he’s ...

Boston media explodes after Red Sox blow it without unvaccinated closer Houck

Because Boston Red Sox closer Tanner Houck is unvaccinated, he had to be placed on the restricted list prior to this week’s series in Toronto against the Blue Jays.

And wouldn’t you know it, his absence loomed large on Tuesday when the Blue Jays scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 win over the Red Sox.

Longtime Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy and other members of the Boston media were quick to post their feelings on Twitter.

Without Houck, the Red Sox asked Tyler Danish, who pitched the eighth, to go back out for the ninth.

But Danish, who has zero career saves, let the first two runners on. That prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora to replace him with Hansel Robles.

Let's be clear: Houck chose to abandon his ...

Ranking the home uniforms of all 30 MLB teams

5. San Francisco Giants

Black and orange on white are all right in San Francisco.

4. New York Yankees

Like buying a suit for a Fortune 500 company.

3. Texas Rangers

The Rangers may not have great success throughout history, but they certainly look fine when they take the field at home. These are some cool duds.

2. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays make plenty of contact with the bat and have a striking look when donning these uniforms.

1. St. Louis Cardinals

Talk about being for the (Red)birds. Everything simply works for the Cardinals. One of the iconic franchises in the game boasts a great look, thanks to a great logo. Those colors work, work, work.

1

Frustrated Mike Trout Spots His Own Pitcher Tipping Pitches While Standing in Center Field

In the game, with the Angels already trailing, reliever Elvis Peguero was getting blown up by the White Sox in the 7th inning. While it was happening, the camera caught a visibly frustrated Mike Trout out in center field literally showing how his teammate was tipping his pitches:

Trout is demonstrating what Peguero is doing, seemingly frustrated about how obvious it is and/or about how it isn’t stopping. The White Sox were on him so well, perhaps, because they knew exactly what was coming.

Worse, nobody else seems to have figured it out – or even communicated it to Peguero – until well after the game:

Ohtani up for 2 ESPYs, including Best Athlete, Men’s Sports

Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani, Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini and the World Series champion Atlanta Braves are among the 2022 ESPY Award nominees, which were released Tuesday.

Ohtani is nominated in two categories: Best MLB Player and Best Athlete, Men’s Sports. Ohtani won the former award last year and is up against reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and 2021 World Series MVP Jorge Soler this year.

Wait, what?

SOURCES: OVER 100 PLAYERS REJECT DRAFT COMBINE PHYSICAL; VOID DRAFT BONUS GUARANTEE

According to sources close to the event, only 70 percent of players who attended the 2022 MLB Draft Combine opted to take Major League Baseball’s pre-draft physical. Those who didn’t take the physical have currently voided their guarantee of receiving 75 percent of their future draft slot bonus. 255 players attended the event. Roughly 180 of those players took the physical.

A new piece of the collective bargaining agreement executed this winter guaranteed amateur players 75 percent of their slot bonus in the MLB Draft. Only players designated as “Top 300” prospects were eligible for that guarantee, so long as they took Major League Baseball’s pre-draft physical. The clause was added to the new CBA to help protect amateur ...