Rumored trade candidate Frankie Montas starting for the A’s tonight, against J. P. Sears, the Yankees spot-starter whose catalogue includes a 4-seam fastball, slider & change-up.

What's up with Freddie Freeman? What must the Dodgers think ?

Carried over from yesterday, CFB on Wainwright's WAR

Waino jumped to 1.7 from 1.3

His RA9avg did come down a smidgen from 4.20 to 4.17. Maybe a rounding thing, I thought he'd be at 9 RAA but he's at 8 ... but 8 RAA translated to 0.9 WAA so that's close enough. (Oh, I've never noticed RAR in the pitching WAR table -- it's at 19 now, wish I'd written down what it was before. That means about 11 Rrep due to rounding which seems too many but now that I know it's there, I can keep an eye on it.)

There was also some Goldschmidt MVP/HoF discussion. MVP: He currently leads the NL in WAR at 4.3 and has plenty of black ink so he's pretty clearly the front-runner right now. Second is Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara who's unlikely to win MVP (obviously a real shot at CYA). Edman (4.1) and Arenado (3.5) are 3rd and 5th. That leaves Machado and the longshot Swanson as the real competition at the moment. The Cards winning the division would probably seal it for him unless the Padres overtake the Dodgers. I assume Goldschmidt is more likely to maintain the crazy offensive numbers than Machado is.

HoF: As the Duke mentions, he's doing what a HoFer needs to do by being really good in his 30s. Last year (age 33) was 6 WAR with nice counting stats and this year he's almost certainly going to at least match that. But it's 1B so there's still a way to go (55 WAR currently). He's a good bet to add at least enough value to reach the border. He's still only 34, there's a universal DH now, he should at least make it into the low 60s. But unless he ages well, the counting stats aren't going to be there -- he's on 299 HR and 991 RBI, he's unlikely to reach 500/1500. He doesn't necessarily have to reach those numbers to get in but obviously they would help.

Bagwell's a comp that springs to mind -- i.e. good BA, good but not great power, good defense. Bagwell had his first full season at 23, Goldschmidt had about 1/3 of a season at 23. Bagwell lost time to the 94 strike, Goldschmidt lost time to covid. Bagwell's career line was 297/408/540/149 OPS+ whle Goldschmidt is at 296/391/527/144 in 2800 fewer PA (which is a lot). By WAR it's not close though, Bagwell at 72 through age 34. Some of that is the 1300 PA lead (man stayed in the lineup) and then the OBP edge adds nearly a win per year (the other components are all quite close). Bagwell only had 1500 more very good PA left but Goldschmidt is never catching up.

Of course looking like "not quite Bagwell" means looking a good bit like Todd Helton. I'm thinking Helton will probably make it but that's mainly due to some pretty weak ballots. I don't know what the ballot will look like when Goldschmidt hits the ballot but the voters will have fairly recently inducted Pujols, Cabrera and (hopefully) Votto so Goldschmidt better hope the standard voter amnesia kicks in and they don't compare him to those guys.

Duke noted he already has the HoF 1B avg for WAR7 which will be going up a bit after this year. Obviously he'll also move up the WAR/JAWS ladder as well. But JAWS points out the "problem" -- Goldschmidt is currently 23rd and will be moving up. But Votto, in just 1500 more PA, is #12. Still, another 10 WAR and his JAWS should be a good match to McCovey's (so is Helton's). If he can grind it out until he's 40, he might catch Cabrera in WAR (needs about 14). He has a very good shot at entering the range where the only non-PED guys who might not make it are Helton and Votto.

Of course the big thing he's missing for the voters and any future VC if needed is an MVP. I suspect a VC would put him if the voters jilted them -- he's certainly better than Cepeda ... but Cepeda had the MVP and TEH FEAR. An MVP this year would be a big step towards an easy HoF election.

Goldschmidt has finished top-six in MVP voting five times including two runner-up finishes, so a win would be huge

I missed doing the covid update yesterday, as the Red Sox came to Toronto for a series.
(I was working, but also secretly hoping there would not longer be a need for a covid update? Alas I still have to wear a mask at work, because some people still want to make it an issue.)
The following Boston players were not allowed to enter Canada, for lack of covid vaccination and were placed on the restricted list: RHP Tanner Houck, 2B Jarren Duran.
In their place 2B Yolmer Sanchez, RHP Connor Seabold.

ed: Seabold was SP last night.

Jamie Moyer came up in a different discussion today and it was interesting to note that Tommy John (288), Jamie Moyer (269), Bartolo Colon (247), Frank Tanana (240) and Dennis Martinez (245) all had and have no chance of making the Hall today. Those win totals will become huge as time keeps passing onto the new generation of 5 inning starters. petitte (256) has the PED issue but likely wouldn't have made it either

Meanwhile Verlander, greinke, Kershaw and scherzer are locks to go in at lower totals. Verlander May soar into the high 200s yet.

Perhaps the Jim Kaat induction will help John get across the finish line.

Seabold gave up 7ER in his second MLB appearance, first start. Sent down today for RHP Silvino Bracho

Seabold gave up 7ER in his second MLB appearance, first start.

One of the many side effects that Big Vaxx won't tell you about.

There was also some Goldschmidt MVP/HoF discussion. MVP: He currently leads the NL in WAR at 4.3 and has plenty of black ink so he's pretty clearly the front-runner right now. Second is Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara who's unlikely to win MVP (obviously a real shot at CYA). Edman (4.1) and Arenado (3.5) are 3rd and 5th. That leaves Machado and the longshot Swanson as the real competition at the moment. The Cards winning the division would probably seal it for him unless the Padres overtake the Dodgers. I assume Goldschmidt is more likely to maintain the crazy offensive numbers than Machado is.

I think it's really a two person race as of right now, Machado and Goldschmidt. Based upon just assuming their probable play going forward. I don't feel as if either is likely to continue their offense at the level they are at, but both are capable of keeping it looking good and would require someone having a strong second half. Obviously things change, players get injured etc.

LeMahieu single, Donaldson double & Trevino single puts thenYankees on the board, 1-0.

Per the YES broadcast, the Yankees have gone 31 games without allowing an unearned run, a franchise record. They’ve only allowed 8 unearned runs all season, 3 of whom were the dreaded Manfred Men in extra innings.

EDIT: Marwin Gonzalez solo HR (#3) to RF (399 feet) makes it 2-0, NYY.

I think Machados foot injury will hamper him. Hard for soft tissue injuries to heal in-season. I'll be amazed if he keeps up the pace when he returns.

Orioles only 5 under in that big division. Pretty impressive

Early innnings, but Toronto again showing the Red Sox who is boss. Jays up 4-1 in the 4th.

CFB - Any reason to think Pete Alonso will generate some MVP love?

CFB - Any reason to think Pete Alonso will generate some MVP love?

I think he'll generate some, but he's a bit one dimensional and his team is extremely good so far this season that he doesn't get the story treatment.

J. P. Sears gave the Yankees 5.2 scoreless innings tonight (& 12.2 for the season), and is in store for the win if the Yankees can hold the lead. 2-0 heading into the bottom of 6th.

Orioles only 5 under in that big division. Pretty impressive

If the O's can sweep the Mariners tonight and tomorrow, that would mean that every team in the AL East will have a winning record against non-AL East teams. Is this the strongest top to bottom division ever?

Goldy 1 for 2 with a walk and an rbi so far today, Edman 2 for 3 with 2 runs, rbi, and a double. Both are vying for most war by a position player in baseball.

Whilst busy at work, Red Sox tie it up 4-4. Red Sox bullpen need to keep Toronto off the board. I am not overly confident that will happen...

Confirming what anyone with 2 working eyes could've seen, there was a graph on the screen tonight that noted that Judge has had more incorrectly called strikes against him this year (53) and since 2017 (433) than any other player in MLB. That didn't include 2 or 3 tonight that were way below the knees. One more reason to bring in robo-umps.

The runner being put on base in the 9th via Catcher's Interference and then coming around, ends the streak of Yankee games without giving up an earned run.

But when the hell did Catcher's Interference become so damn common?

In the absence of Tanner Houck, Boston going with Danish in the 9th, but pinch-hitter Kirk feasts on his 1st offering for a single to LF.

The runner being put on base in the 9th via Catcher's Interference and then coming around, ends the streak of Yankee games without giving up an earned run.

Catchers interference is scored as an error on the catcher, so the run was unearned. That’s how the boxscore now reads, although there may have been some confusion since the YES broadcast indicated that the run had initially been deemed earned.

So... Cora bringing Robles into this game is basically him slamming Houck against a locker and telling him to get vaccinated, right?

Of course the flip side is: Cora, WTMF are you doing?

The Mariners are apparently declining the opportunity to send an intergenerational message by plunking Tyler Nevin.

I really get the feeling that when Cora writes his memoirs someday, we're going to hear a lot of how he truly feels about his unvaccinated players. He's been a pretty prominent face and voice for vaccination PSAs.

Red Sox bullpen need to keep Toronto off the board. I am not overly confident that will happen...

With good reason, as it turns out.

Un-F-real.

Why on Earth was Robles brought into that game. What possible reason? Unless every other reliever was vomiting and crapping his pants out in the bullpen in makes no MF sense.

And as mentioned in 19, my lack of confidence was spot on. Sox pen sh*ts the bed, Sox lose 6-5. Hansel and Gretel threw like 3 pitches and 2 of them went for run scoring hits. Why is this guy even on the roster?

What is the Cora-Vax storyline?

So... Cora bringing Robles into this game is basically him slamming Houck against a locker and telling him to get vaccinated, right?

Just what is it with Houck, anyway? Is he just a garden variety redneck without an ounce of common sense?

I don't think Cora is a dumb guy, so maybe this move was: (a) if it works, great! and (b) if it doesn't work, the 23 guys who *are* here and *are* vaccinated might decide to have a quiet word with the 2 who are not.

I hope Tanner Houck is happy. And I hope his teammates all let him know how happy they are he's not in Toronto.

Just what is it with Houck, anyway? Is he just a garden variety redneck without an ounce of common sense?

I have no idea if he's Papelbon 2.0 but I can see where that vibe comes from.

Just what is it with Houck, anyway? Is he just a garden variety redneck without an ounce of common sense?

Apparently he grew up in small-town southern Illinois outside of St. Louis…

Angels Archie Bradley will miss a couple months after fracturing something in the brawl. Wasn't it Buster Posey who refused to engage in fights for fear of injury ?

31 - Nothing terribly operatic, but whenever the Red Sox or city have done an ad about Covid precautions, from the park being used as a center to current radio ads about treatment, you'd see or hear Cora. He was notably silent when one of his coaches was jettisoned for vaccination stupidity. Basically, it's been pretty clear where he stands even if he's not throwing players under the bus, clear enough that it's not hard to imagine that this must annoy the heck out of him.

Angels Archie Bradley will miss a couple months after fracturing something in the brawl. Wasn't it Buster Posey who refused to engage in fights for fear of injury?

As noted 3 hours ago in the brawl article thread, Bradley injured himself when he slipped attempting to climb over the dugout railing. No fighter he.

I'm just surprised Canada still has such a draconian vax requirement. Hasn't this been dropped now ? Do we demand proof of vax to come to US?

I hope Tanner Houck is happy. And I hope his teammates all let him know how happy they are he's not in Toronto.

Well Tanner may have blown the save also, however putting Robles in there was just pure white towel stuff. The team has a sh*tload of no name guys who can throw an inning, there is no excuse to put this guy on the bump. It's like no one remembers that April happened....

Do we demand proof of vax to come to US?

Yes, in fact you do.

The only recent change was proof of a negative PCR test was dropped like 3 weeks ago. The USA was leading the Draconian stakes in this one as most countries around the world dropped the negative test requirements months ago.

Hugh, I've come around to the notion that Robles was an indirect message to Houck.

I've come around to the notion that Robles was an indirect message to Houck.

I can see that, but effectively throwing a game stinks. Robles was never going to get out of that inning.

Do we demand proof of vax to come to US?

"Noncitizens who are nonimmigrants and seeking to enter the United States by air are required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States from a foreign country" is the current wording, and I don't know whether players with employment visas would be considered immigrants.

And proof of vaccination hardly seems "draconian"; I'm certainly not sweating it for my trip to Montreal in a couple weeks.

And proof of vaccination hardly seems "draconian"

Agree. What the USA had until recently, unlike most other western countries, was you needed proof of a negative PCR within 24 hours of departure. It was a huge pain in the arse that most countries dropped 4-8 months ago.

Just what is it with Houck, anyway? Is he just a garden variety redneck without an ounce of common sense?

Apparently he grew up in small-town southern Illinois outside of St. Louis

Makes sense. Southern Illinois is mostly closer to Mississippi than it is to Chicago.

Makes sense. Southern Illinois is mostly closer to Mississippi than it is to Chicago.

Hell, go 20 minutes outside of Champaign-Urbana in any direction.

I've come around to the notion that Robles was an indirect message to Houck.

I can see that, but effectively throwing a game stinks. Robles was never going to get out of that inning.

It could be a message to GM Brian O'Halloran as well: an anti-vax guy and Robles is leaving me pretty empty handed against a division rival.