(Pride of the Yankees snark in post 200)

Carrasco is 8th Venezuelan pitcher to win 100 MLB games.

Pirates starting pitchers had 12 wins in their first 100 games (40-60), lowest number in MLB since.... 1906 (and yes, the Cubs are second-lowest with 21)

Wins Leaders
Chris Stratton 5
Dillon Peters 5
Chase DeJong 4 (IL)
David Bednar 3
Will Crowe 3
Jose Quintana 3
Mitch Keller 3
Zach Thompson 3

Most Games Started
Quintana 20
Brubaker 19
Keller 17
Thompson 17
BryWilson 10
RContreras 9

using only 6 SPs to start 92 of your 100 games seems pretty darn respectable, too

That didn't last long, 4-4 after Naughton failed completely at his job.

Fox is broadcasting the game, and came in with this insight, 'even though Soto hasn't had a good average since the break, the other team doesn't care about the what have you done lately when it comes to Soto.'

That didn't go as planned, Bell with a three run homerun to give the Nationals a 7-5 lead.

"Pride of the Yankees," starring Gary Cooper and Babe Ruth, is airing now on MLB Network.

Bill Dickey, Bob Meusel & Mark Koenig also played themselves. Surprised Ruth didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor that year - he was born for the role.

just caught up with Episode 4 of the Jeter series (which, perhaps surprisingly to some, I recommend).

this one is 2001-2003. so 9-11, 7th-game WS loss, 6-game WS loss, then trade for A-Rod.

Jeter says he never told anyone this before, but Steinbrenner called him to inform him of the pending deal - and asked Jeter if he said he "has a problem with it."

Jeter notes that even if he did, he never would have admitted it - so he says no. he then adds, almost parenthetically, that he was told right then that A-Rod would play third base.

Aaron "F-ing" Boone, as he is still known among some Red Sox fans, had gone from 2003 ALCS Game 7 hero to blowing out a knee or something in January - so the Yankees needed a 3B.

A-Rod said he was seated at a baseball writer's dinner in NYC just days before, to collect his AL MVP award - seat mate? Brian Cashman.

A-Rod said he's not a drinker, so even one drink had him buzzed. he said Cashman - drinking Scotch - casually asked him what he thought about the idea of playing 3B in pinstripes. A-Rod said it took him a while for that idea to sink in.

the best part of the next episode, of course, will be 2004. Jeter and other Yankees had talked about how confident they always were vs the Red Sox thanks to The Curse. one writer remembers after the Boone HR, Yankees odious President Randy Levine yelling in the press box something like "Take that, you 1918 losers!"
(I wish I had gone back on the tape to make it more precise.)

so far in the special, all Jeter does when it is mentioned about various SS who were better than him - hey, winning is all that matters so they are "losers."

welp, the only additional pennant that Jeter ever won in his last 11 seasons was that 2009 postseason - and we know who drove THAT bus.

Jordan had no issue in his series expressing what an ####### he is. so far, at least, Jeter seems to be trying to have it both ways. the next episode may tell us the most, then.

Thairo Estrada of the Giants got hit in the head. Seemed "OK" by hit in the head standards (awake, sat up eventually) but out of the game. Giants 5-0.

Since we're at the end of July, a few updates:

AL vs NL 104-98 with a +31 differential

ALE 173-120 vs others
ALC 127-162
ALW 131-143

NLE 155-141
NLC 123-166
NLW 164-141

Old farts:

Miggy 99 OPS+
Albert 107 OPS+
Cruz 92 OPS+
Yadi 48 OPS+
Votto 91 OPS+
K Suzuki 55 OPS+
Lowrie 54 OPS+

Rich Hill 102 ERA+
Verlander 213 ERA+, 3.8 WAR (is he the CYA leader?)
Greinke 93 ERA+ (but +ve WAA)
Wainwright 118 ERA+
Morton 98 OPS+

Raise your hand if you thought Albert would be leading the way among the hitters. The end can come fast and steep -- just last year Lowrie had a 101 OPS+ and Cruz 129. It's definitely better to be an old pitcher this year. (There are also some relievers but who cares?)

"Pride of the Yankees," starring Gary Cooper and Babe Ruth, is airing now on MLB Network.

not sure if any of this squares with reality, but:
- Pipp leaves in the middle of an AB, says he's still seeing doubled from being beaned the other day
- Gehrig is told to pinch-hit - and he immediately falls ass-over-teakettle as he slips on the long array of bats lying just outside the dugout
- his future wife, near the front row, mockingly calls him "Tanglefoot"
- Gehrig singles, and when he stops at first base, he and she lock eyes
- there's an attempted DP, with the relay to first conking Gehrig square on the noggin
- Manager Miller Huggins intends to take him out, but Gehrig demurs - says he's waited too long to sit now
- "What, are we gonna have to kill you to get you out of the lineup?" says Higgins

Pride of the Yankees is one of the lamest baseball movies of all time, and that's saying a lot. But then so are nearly all the hagiographies that Hollywood cranked out from the 30's through the 50's. It's striking to realize how many (relatively) good boxing movies were being made in the same period, while the baseball movies were all mostly just mindless hero worship.

(Well, except for the comedies, which were also formulaic but not quite as bad as the bios.)

Cubs trying to make a game of it have closed to 5-3, 1st and 3rd 1 out in t9.

Squibby grounder, 5-4, trying run on 2nd, 2 outs. Happ hoping to be the hero.

And no joy in Wrigleyville as Happ harmlessly hops out to 2B.

Yankees since ASB:

vs Astros - 0-2
vs Orioles - 2-1
vs Mets - 0-2
vs Royals - about to be 3-0

I'm trying to figure out if there's a pattern there. anyone?

That's gonna get it done. Post-ASB goals:

a - not get hurt (particularly Judge)
b - set up their playoff rotation
c - not get hurt

If they beat up on bad teams from here on, they win the East easily.

For the Yankees, these are Spring Training games. With the playoff format the way it is, they pretty much cannot not make the playoffs.

"With the playoff format the way it is, they pretty much cannot not make the playoffs."

Well, the Yankees have a 12.5 game lead on Toronto. Since 1969, that would mean a near-lock to win the division and make the playoffs. In 2022, this means a 12.5 game lead for a "bye". It's true, they would still *make the playoffs* if the Blue Jays pass them, so if that is what you meant it is correct, but to be a #3 or lower seed to win 4 series mostly on the road to win a trophy is real tough, so.... I would say the playoff formst change makes little difference. Your points a b and c still hold! :)

Post-ASB goals:

a - not get hurt (particularly Judge)
b - set up their playoff rotation
c - not get hurt

Beyond staying healthy and adding another starter to the rotation, it's to stay ahead of the Astros and the Dodgers. Houston's tough enough without having to contend with Minute Maid Park in a 7th game.

(That's not to say that no other team is capable of beating them, but to do it they'll have to win that 5th or 7th game at Yankee Stadium.)

Beyond staying healthy and adding another starter to the rotation,

I'd rather get Contreras and a RP, especially if it stops him from going to Houston. Not sure what SP is better than what they have.

The 10 Strangest Trades in Baseball History

4. Johnny Jones for a live turkey
Jones never made it to the big leagues, but his name lives on in infamy as the player that Joe Engel, “The Barnum of the Bushes,” traded for a turkey.

Johns was a light-hitting shortstop for the Chattanooga Lookouts, and he had drawn the ire of the local press. So in 1930, Engel sent him to the Charlotte Hornets of the Piedmont League in exchange for a 25-pound turkey that Engel declared was “having a better year.” Engel had the bird cooked up for the Southern Baseball Writers’ Association Dinner. Alas, the meat turned out to be a little tough, so it was decided that the Hornets had gotten the better end of that deal.

4-0 Cardinals lead in the 4th inning. I wonder what inning the Nationals gain the lead.

Mets are just cruising right now. Have tickets to see them Friday night, thinking that will be Walker’s next game. Sad, but I think I will miss both DeGrom and Scherzer. Sigh…

Speaking of the 5-game series, do the double-header rules allow the Mets to bring David Peterson back as the 27th man Saturday even the was just sent down?

Dejong, two homeruns in two games back.

Speaking of the 5-game series, do the double-header rules allow the Mets to bring David Peterson back as the 27th man Saturday even the was just sent down?

I can't speak with 100% certainty, but I believe so. I think the Cardinals did that earlier this year with one of their faceless pitchers.

all nine Mets batters have a hit or more today - and they did it with one out in the third inning ! I think they were 12-for-19 at one point.

they are 16-for-28 in the 5th inning. SP was Pablo Lopez, a good one - after they slapped around CYA candidate Alcantara on Saturday.

Yankees were down 4-0, but Carpenter’s double (2nd of the game), Higashioka’s RBI single, and LeMahieu’s HR brings them within one, 4-3.

Goldy's ops is now 1.014, very close to dropping below 1.000 for the season.

They let Pallante start the 9th inning, 93 pitches going into the ninth. Back to back hits in the ninth gets him yanked.

Helsley comes in with men on second and third no outs, heart of the order (Hernandez, Soto and Bell) coming up for the Nationals.... strike out, strikeout, fly out.

It should have been a sweep series, but two out of three isn't atrocious. Now just need Boston to hold on to a 5 run lead in the ninth.

Anthony Rizzo’s 3-run HR (#25) to RF (418 feet) puts the Yankees in the lead, 6-4 after 7. Kansas City bullpen hasn’t been much help to the Royals in this series.

Mark Melancon took his 9th loss today in 34 innings pitched

Ohtani with a single and triple today, along with a walk. Not sure if there are any other major league hitters in that lineup. Batting 3rd is a guy with 77 career ops+... I guess Walsh is having a down year so he's probably a decent hitter. Outside of that, literally the next best hitter on the roster is Stassi... By pretty much any objective measurement (assuming I haven't missed someone) the third best hitter in the Angels lineup today is Stassi or Rengifo behind Ohtani and Walsh... And they only have one real bat on the bench, so it's not like they have a lot of options.

The Dodgers started the game with Betts at second base, Gavin Lux in left, rookie James Outman (who homered in his first major league at bat) in right. With a 6-3 lead in the seventh, they moved Betts to right, Lux to second, and Outman to left.

I don't understand that at all. If this is your best defensive lineup, why didn't you want it in innings one through six?

I don't understand that at all. If this is your best defensive lineup, why didn't you want it in innings one through six?

Manager trying to be over managery? Did the hand or flyball type of pitcher maybe change?

Edit: Assuming a few things, Outman probably has the better arm than Lux, Betts is probably the better defender at either second or in the outfield than Lux or Outman, and that the game started off with a groundball pitcher, you might want the better fielder at second base, but if you replace him with a high k, flyball pitcher then it might make sense to move Betts to the outfield.

It was after he lifted Gonsolin, the starter, but Roberts is just running through his whole bullpen now, so I can't imagine it's linked to a single pitcher.

Mookie just turned what looked like a double down the rightfield line into an easy running catch, so I guess it worked.

I would assume they're just trying to get Betts a few real innings at 2B in case they ever need it.

I wasn't paying attention (might have been doing the rubbish) but looks like Kris Bryant hurt himself striking out, got replaced in the field in t6.

In possibly the most minor trade in MLB history (OK, probably not), the Cubs have sent 30-yo AAA SS Dixon Machado to the Giants. With Estrada beaned last night (7-day consussion IL) and Brandon Crawford on the shelf, the Giants are desperate for a SS body. Obviously the Cubs wouldn't get much but I'd think maybe that sort of desperation might be worth a low-level 18-yo lottery ticket but all the Cubs got was a 30-yo AAA starter with an ERA over 5. How do you trade a 30-yo AAA SS and manage to receive even less potential in return?

Machado does have ML experience but not since 2018 (2 years in KBO) with a career WAR of -1.1 in 500 PA. He's having a pretty nice season thought at 312/402/394 at Iowa. Raynel Espinal tossed two innings for Bos last year.

So let's give Espinal his time in the sun. He was still in the Domincan for the Yanks at 21-22 (did they think he was 17?) the missed all of his age 23 season and was a lousy starter in Rk/A- ball at 24. So the Yanks moved him to the pen where, at 25, he put up a 1.09 ERA with 93 K in 74 IP of long relief across A/AA. We've seen that story so at 26 he had a solid season in relief at AAA with 3.09 ERA and 95 Ks in 67 IP. So surely all is set for him to at least start jumping on the AAA shuttle to eat up bullpen innings ... instead the Yanks stick him back in the rotation where he flounders. He moves to the Red Sox who keep him in the rotation and he does pretty well but still not much of a shot. Then to the Giants for this year where he's still in the rotation getting knocked around but 102 Ks in 83 IP.

If he's on the 40-man with options (not sure on either count), I assume he'll pop up to the Cubs over the last two months to soak up some innings. I just don't understand why teams didn't leave him in the pen. We've seen hundreds of these guys over the last few years so why not Espinal?

Betts is probably the better defender at either second or in the outfield than Lux or Outman

This is an odd statement. Mookie Betts is one of the finest defensive RFs in ML history so his OF superiority over those two (or damn near any corner OF in the game) is a given. Meanwhile Mookie has made all of 22 career starts at 2B, 14 of thoe in his rookie year and 5 last year (and now 2 this year). He's Mookie so I'm sure he could have been a good 2B if he'd been left there but Lux was mostly a SS in the minors, has 50 starts at SS in the majors and is rated as an above-average 2B in his 121 starts there. There is almost no chance that Betts today is a better defender at 2B than Lux.

#234 is likely correct. The Dodgers did this a bit last year. It was sorta silly last year because they had Turner, Lux, Taylor and still Muncy ahead of Mookie on the 2B depth chart -- how bad could things possibly get you'd want to start Mookie at 2B? This year at least Turner is at SS, for some reason they've limited Taylor to the OF so 2B has fallen to Lux, Muncy (who has stunk) and Hanser Alberto (who is Hanser Alberto -- not his fault, he didn't have any choice in that matter). It's a lot easier to see a Mookie playoff start at 2B against a tough LHS or due to a Lux or Turner injury. Anybody know why Taylor's not playing any IF this year? He made 61 starts in the IF last year, including 19 at SS, hard to believe the defense fell off so quickly Hanser Alberto made sense.

(Add that the Dodgers have had to use OF starts from Trayce Thompson, Jake Lamb, Kevin Pillar and now Josh Outman while continuing to play Bellinger nearly every day in CF, there's almost no chance the Dodgers will need Mookie at 2B to get an extra bat in the OF. If anything, they should be getting Mookie time in CF so they can get Bellinger out of the lineup against tough lefty starters.)

So I still find it baffling. Plus, July 31 seems a little early for doing wacky playoff prep. I know they're shoo-ins at this point but will starting Mookie at 2B once a week for the rest of the season really prep him for the position in the playoffs?

Mookie Betts is one of the finest defensive RFs in ML history so his OF superiority over those two (or damn near any corner OF in the game) is a given.

I was just listing potential assumptions to make that might justify the managery manager stuff. It's probably more what 234 said for what happened, I was just trying to envision a scenario where it made sense. I literally don't know the first thing about the other two players other than they play for the Dodgers.

Joey Votto was 40 wins above average during his prime. Not a lot of players have done that, if we ever used WAA in HOF consideration it should easily qualify him.

It was James Outman, not Josh (who was a pitcher), and he had a single, double and homer in his major league debut today. He's 25 and looks like no prospect, but the Dodgers are in the same league as the Yankees and Cardinals when it comes to getting otherworldly performance out of what appear to be marginal players.

I was thinking that Josh Outman was a pitcher but figured just mis-remembered. The idea of a 2nd Outman never occurred to me.

Contreras and Happ in the lineup again tonight. The Cubs and their suitors are certainly leaving this to the last minute and taking a silly risk if any deal is nearing completion. I'm starting to think they might be sticking around.

The two Outmen appear to be no relation. Go figure.

He's 25 and looks like no prospect,

This is an interesting question methinks. Sure, he's not a big prospect. But it raises the question of what does the 2020 minor-league shutdown mean for our evaluation of players. Outman was a college draftee at age 21. 7th round, nothing exciting but that's not old for a college draftee. He signed quickly enough he squeezed in 240 PA at rookie ball in his age 21 season and did fine (not great). His age 22 season began at A ball and unfortunately stayed there as it wasn't too good.

Then 2020. In 2021, he played A+ (solid line with too many walks) and AA (solid but more balanced line). In 2022, he did really well at AA, got promoted to AAA (nothing special) and has now hit the majors (probably back down when somebody gets healthy). If his 2021 had been in 2020 as "planned", then 2022 in 2021, he'd be a college draftee making the majors at 24. If the year off hurt his development, as we'd expect, he might have been in the majors even earlier than that.

Tyler Naquin was the 15th overall in 2012 at age 21 out of Texas A&M and didn't make the majors until 25. Piscotty was #36 at age 21 that year, made the majors at 24. Haniger #38 made it at 25. If we pretend that 2020 never happened, then Naquin was pushed a bit faster than Outman but his performance was generally a bit worse, with his breakouts coming at 23 and 24 too. Piscotty was pushed harder and did better. Haniger made AA at 23 but then was sent back to A+ and still in AA at the end of age 24 and didn't really break out until 25.

That's just a "survey" of three guys but Outman's performance and advancement to date looks like a mid-late 1st round college draftee, maybe extra impressive given the missed year. Outman was older than his leagues but usually not by much -- 0.4 years older in rookie, 0.7 in A, then 1.5 in A+ but promoted to AA where he was average. He started this year 0.7 years older than the average AA then 1.7 years younger than the average AAA.

Unless you're a Kris Bryant type, it's hard for a college draftee to make the majors before age 24. True enough, of Outman, Haniger, Piscotty and Naquin, only Piscotty made the bottom of any top 100 lists -- possibly a bias of such lists -- so Outman's not that type of prospect. And neither Piscotty or Naquin have been much more than "useful." But Outman's probably only "25 ... ewww" because of missing all of 2020.

Listening with the sound off ... is that somebody famous on that boat or does ESPN think middle-aged people dancing badly is of interest? I understand that's MLB's demographic but I watch TV to escape the rest of my life.

Good, but pointless, Cubs' OF defense this inning. Bloop RBI single to LCF and Happ immediately comes up firing behind the runner at 2B (who barely made it back). Next batter smacks it way over Valasquez in CF (I assume he was positioned where they told him) and he plays it perfectly off the wall but again the runner beats the throw to second. 4-0 Giants.

With his next HR, Brandon Belt will break a tie with Jeff Kent and tie Will Clark on the Giants' all-time list. He's not far behind Bobby Bonds.I shouldn't be so surprised -- turns out he's been there since 2011, over 5000 PA, very solid 124 OPS+, very solid 28 WAR, 12 WAA. Jeff Kent hit his 175 in 3900 PA. Belt's got 400 more PA (and 10 fewer WAR) than Bonds, even nearly 200 more PA (and 8 fewer WAR) than Clark. I suppose given the HR era, I should be surprised he's not well out in front.

Just another one of those "team lists ain't what you think" moments I guess -- he's tied for 27th all-time in Giants' position player WAR in about 140 years of team history. This might be it for him but he's not far behind Mize, J Clark, Cepeda and within 4 of Kent. Bobby Bonds is all the way up at 13th despite just those 4600 PA -- 5th post-war I think (Mays, Bonds, McCovey, Posey) ... that's position player WAR.

Another fun, halfway decent Birthday Team to ring in August. Especially the fifth starter:

C: Milt May
1B: Kennys Vargas
2B/SS/3B in some combination: Dave Anderson, Howard Freigau, Aledmys Diaz
LF: Gregg Jeffries
CF: Adam Jones
RF: Greg Gross
Bench/co-managers: Tony Muser, Pete Mackanin

SP: Madison Bumgarner
SP: Joe Shaute
SP: Brian Bohanon
SP: Kevin Jarvis
SP: Slim Love

Bullpen: Roenis Elias, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Brandon Kintzler, Nick Ramirez, George Bamberger (pitching coach)

George Bamberger had a 9.42 MLB ERA in three cups of coffee, but won 214 games in the minors. After Bamberger's death, Jim Palmer told Sports Illustrated: "George had flawless mechanics. If I ever got out of sync, I used to visualize him throwing batting practice."

STAT DU JOUR

Matt Carpenter, home game stats:
10 BB
43 AB
17 hits; 2 singles (!), 6 doubles, 9 (!!) home runs

OPS: SIXTEEN HUNDRED NINETY