Category Archives: The Rest: Everything Baseball
From Cuba to Japan, Opening Day to the World Series and the WBC
Tigers Stay Alive and NLCS Tied Up: Recap of MLB Playoffs and Notes
Friday October 14, 2011
MLB reports – Jonathan Hacohen: The Rangers had a chance on Thursday to advance to the World Series. The Cardinals were up 2-1 in the NLCS and looking to take a commanding lead. How did they do? Let’s recap Thursday’s MLB playoffs:
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers: ALCS Game Five
The battle of the aces. C.J. Wilson and Justin Verlander. This game turned into a high scoring affair rather than a pitching classic. The Tigers pulled out a 7-5 victory to stay alive in the series. Verlander took the win, with 7 1/3 IP, 4 runs allowed, 8 hits, 3 walks and 8 strikeouts. The lone home run given up Verlander was in the 5th inning to none other than… Nelson Cruz. The Rangers slugger hit his 5th home run of the series, a 2-run effort. Phil Coke came in for the rare save, pitching 1 2/3 innings, allowing 1 run. C.J. Wilson took the loss for the Rangers. In 6.0 IP, Wilson allowed a staggering 6 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. The long ball did Wilson in, as he allowed 3 of them to the Tigers in their home park. Alex Avila hit a solo blast in the 3rd, while Delmon Young had a pair on the day (a solo home run in the 4th and 2-run blast in the 6th). For good measure, Koji Uehara came on in the 7th to give up a solo home run to Ryan Raburn.
The crooked number came for the Tigers in the 6th. Miguel Cabrera hit a ground ball off the third base bag that could have led to a double play, but rather went for a double. Detroit kept the momentum from there and scored four runs in the inning. Detroit actually had a 7-2 lead going into the 8th, but the Rangers were able to chip away and stay within striking distance. Texas now leads the series 3-2 going into game 6 on Saturday. The game will be played at 8:05 PM ET, with Max Scherzer and Derek Holland set to faceoff. The Rangers continue to be one game away from that magical trip back to the World Series.
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals: NLCS Game Four
The Cardinals held a 2-1 lead in the series with game four to be played at home. Kyle Lohse was on the hill for the home team, Randy Wolf for the Brewers. Turns out that Wolf was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Brewers. The starter pitched a solid 7.0 IP to take the win, giving up only 2 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. The only runs allowed by Wolf were on solo home runs, to Matt Holliday in the 2nd and Allen Craig in the 3rd. Francisco Rodriguez got the hold in the 8th and closer John Axford with the save in the 9th. Kyle Lohse could not make it out of the 5th, pitching 4 1/3 IP for the loss. Lohse gave up 3 runs on 6 hits, no walks and struck out 3. Mitchell Boggs, Arthur Rhodes, Octavio Dotel and Fernando Salas also pitched in this one. The Brewers recipe for success in this one was simple. Great pitching and grinding out runs at the plate. One could say that the Brewers beat Tony La Russa at his own game. The Brewers did not hit a long ball in this one, but will certainly take out the well-earned victory. With the series tied up 2-2, game five goes tonight at 8:05 PM ET in St. Louis. A great matchup on the mound, as Jamie Garcia and Zack Greinke faceoff.
MLB Notes:
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With the Theo Epstein soap opera about to conclude, the focus shifts to Baltimore and Boston for their vacant General Manager positions. Boston is looking internally to fill the role, while Baltimore is considering everyone and anyone to lead their team. This is a crucial stage for both teams’ development. Boston needs to maintain its status as a top flight MLB organization, while Baltimore is on the verge of breaking through (with a great deal of talent in their farm system).
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The sale of the Houston Astros to Crane will apparently be going through. The sale will lead to the Astros moving to the American League, playing in the West division. I will be writing about this subject very soon on the Reports. But at this point I will say that the move is a win-win for the Astros and its fans. The team needs stability and renewed excitement. A move to the AL West should provide just that and more.
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Another day, another rumor. With the Red Sox in apparent turmoil, Big Papi has come out and indicated that he may not return to Boston. That is his decision and I respect that. But will Boston be asking him back…and at what price? If Papi does leave, look for the Jays, Rays and Yankees to all hold discussions with the big man. The Angels may also be a consideration. But my money is on a return to Beantown.
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The expansion of the MLB playoffs will happen. It is just a question of when. The latest reports have Major League Baseball adding one more wild card team to each league and a sudden death, one game playoff, to be played by the wild card teams. I do not know yet how I feel about having just a one gamer to decide the wild card winner. But I am definitely in favour of expanding the amount of teams. Personally, I like the idea of each top team getting a full bye into the championship series. But this may be too revolutionary for baseball. The expanded MLB playoffs is likely coming as early as the 2013 season.
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The World Baseball Classic is coming in the spring of 2013. The qualifying tournament will be played sometime in the fall of 2012. I am a big fan of this tournament and see it as a big step for baseball expansion throughout the world. More details will likely not be available until next year, but I will continue to update everyone as information becomes available.
Jonathan Hacohen is the Lead Baseball Columnist & Editor for MLB reports
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ALCS Game 4 and NLCS Game 3: MLB Playoffs Recap for Wednesday October 12th
Thursday October 13, 2011
Jonathan Hacohen (Lead Baseball Columnist – MLB reports): Going into today, the Rangers held a 2-1 series lead while the Cards and Brewers were tied up at 1-1. Could the Tigers square up their series? Who would pull away between Milwaukee and St. Louis? Let’s get to it by recapping Wednesday’s action:
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers: ALCS Game Four
Rick Porcello and Matt Harrison faced off in the battle of number four starters. Both pitchers did a fairly good job on the night. Porcello pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up 3 runs (2 earned), 8 hits, 0 walks and struck out six. Harrison on the other side lasted five innings, giving up 2 runs, three hits, three walks and striking out three. Both starters left with a no decision. The scoring in this one started in the first, courtesy of a Miguel Cabrera 2-run double. Other than a Brandon Inge solo home run in the 7th inning (off reliever Alexi Ogando), the Rangers pitching staff did not concede another Tigers’ run. Texas actually trailed in this one 2-0 until the 6th, when they were able to put up 3 runs on the board. From there it was the battle of the pens, as both teams sent out plenty of relievers in this one. The Rangers used Alexi Ogando, Mike Adams, Darren Oliver, Scott Feldman and Neftali Feliz. The Rangers countered with Al Alburquerque, Joaquin Benoit, Jose Valverde and Phil Coke.
Tied up 3-3 going into the 11th, the Tigers trotting out their closer Jose Valverde who had already worked the 10th. The decision proved to be fatal. With one out and two on, Valverde faced Nelson Cruz– Texas Rangers postseason hero. Cruz proceeded to knock in a three run home run, his fourth home run of the playoffs. The Rangers went on to score four runs in the inning and take the game, final score 7-3. Feldman with the win, Valverde takes the loss. The Rangers hold a commanding 3-1 series going into tomorrow afternoon in Texas. The game is scheduled for 4:19 PM EST, with aces C.J. Wilson and Justin Verlander set to face-off. With one more win, the Rangers are off to the World Series, their second consecutive appearance in the finals.
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals: NLCS Game Three
St. Louis was the site for the battle of the aces. Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals, Yovani Gallardo for the Brewers. Neither pitcher was particularly on this night, but did what they had to do to keep their teams in this one. Gallardo gave up all four runs in the 1st inning, but combined with the Brewers pen for seven shutout innings the rest of the way. Gallardo pitched 5 innings, giving up 8 hits, 5 walks and striking out 2. Carpenter only lasted 5 innings as well, giving up 3 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks and striking out 3. The pens for both teams went into lockdown mode. The Brewers relievers, LaTroy Hawkins, Takashi Saito and Chris Narveson combined to give up 1 hit and 1 walk over 3 innings, while striking out 3. The Cardinals pen was even better though on this night. Fernando Salas, Lance Lynn, Marc Rzepczynski and Jason Motte gave up no hits or walks over 4 innings pitched. Motte struck out 3 batter in 1 1/3 innings pitched for the save. Carpenter ended up with the win, while Gallardo took the loss. Albert Pujols was once again the star for the Cardinals, going 2 for 2 with 2 walks, 1 run and 1 RBI. The Cardinals take a 2-1, going into game 4 tomorrow night in St. Louis. Game time is 8:05 PM ET, Randy Wolf vs. Kyle Lohse. The battle of the number 4’s will determine if St. Louis can take a stranglehold on the series, or the Brewers can even things up going back to Milwaukee.
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Tigers get the “Purr-fect” Comeback: Recap of Game 3 of ALCS
Wednesday October 12, 2011
April Whitzman (Blue Jays Writer – MLB reports): After losing the first two games of the series to the Rangers, the Tigers headed home, needing a win. Thankfully, with the hometown crowd of 41,905 behind them, they got exactly that. Here is a recap of ALCS Game Three:
New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers: ALCS Game Three
It didn’t start off good for the Tigers, however, as the Rangers started the game with three singles, the last of which was Josh Hamilton’s RBI single that scored Ian Kinsler.
While the Rangers then had the 1-0 lead, Victor Martinez didn’t let it stay that way in the forth as he crushed a home run to right field to tie the game.
In the following inning, the Tigers added some more with three 2-out hits, one of which was a 2-RBI double off the bat of Miguel Cabrera that scored Austin Jackson and Ramon Santiago.
With Fister now in a groove, there was no looking back. Evidently, Jhonny Peralta thought so too, as in the sixth, he also belted a home run to left field. Still in the same inning, Austin Jackson scored Andy Dirk, and with that the Tigers had a 4-1 lead.
Cabrera wasn’t done yet, though, as in the seventh inning, he also hit a home run, the Tigers’ third of the game, and his third RBI of the game. With that the Tigers had a 5-1 lead.
The Rangers tried to catch up in the eighth when Yorvit Torrealba started off the inning with a double, and scored on Ian Kinsler’s groundout, but the damage had already been done.
Jose Valverde came in to pitch the ninth, allowing a leadoff double by Josh Hamilton, but nothing more, as the Tigers went on to beat the Rangers 5-2. They now trail 2-1 in the series.
Doug Fister earned the win, going 7.1 innings pitched, allowing two earned runs on seven hits while walking none and striking out three. Rangers’ Colby Lewis, on the other hand, received the loss, going 5.2 innings pitched, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out six.
Tigers’ Rick Porcello hopes to have a similar fate as Fister with the hometown crowd, but Texas’ Matt Harrison is hoping for a different outcome. Stay tuned as game four is coming up shortly.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you. Comment below, email MLBreports@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter at @Alleycat17.
Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter (@MLBreports) and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage
2011 MLB Playoffs: Recap for Monday October 10th
Tuesday October 11, 2011
Sam Evans (Intern – MLB reports): Monday was a fun day of baseball. These two games had strong performances from superstar players who led their team to victory. One team took a defining step forward by winning their 2nd game of the series, while one team fought to even their series up. Let’s start with the first game of the day which was a thrilling ballgame in Texas.
Detroit Tigers at Texas Rangers: ALCS Game Two
The Rangers jumped out to an early lead thanks to Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre who both hit RBI doubles in the bottom of the first. They both jumped on Max Scherzer‘s fastball, which he was consistently throwing early in the count. Derek Holland showed the poise of a veteran, getting Ramon Santiago to ground out with the bases loaded in the second. Things weren’t exactly easy for Holland on Monday, as evidenced as Ryan Raburn‘s three run homer in the third. This was a crucial hit because it gave the Tigers an early 3-2 lead. Ron Washington had a very short rope with Holland, he pulled him after Holland had only thrown 2.2 innings. Holland really struggled to throw even two innings, he just didn’t have his command. He did nothing to dismiss chatter of his inconsistency by throwing 76 pitches in his limited appearance. Still, Scott Feldman played the role of dominant long reliever needing only 49 pitches to throw 4.1shutout innings in relief. Scherzer surrendered a 1-2 fastball to Nelson Cruz who hit out to left field to tie things up. Scherzer had just thrown three straight sliders and Cruz must have just been waiting back on the fastball. Going into the season, Nelson Cruz was my dark horse MVP pick. He is just a monster, i seriously believe he could have a .300 AVG, 45 HR, 100 Runs, and 100 RBI type season. The main thing holding Cruz back for superstardom these past couple years has been injuries. In particular, his hamstring injury stints have been lengthy and costly to his ballclub.
In the top of the ninth, Neftali Feliz escaped a bases-loaded jam by getting Victor Martinez to hit an infield fly. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, the Rangers had the bases loaded with no outs! The sometimes annoying, but overall effective, Jose Valverde got David Murphy to fly out to shallow left field, which was not enough for Beltre to tag up. Next, he made a huge 2-2 pitch to get Mitch Moreland to ground into a double play to retire the side. In the top of the 10th, the Tigers had a runner on second with only one out, but they just couldn’t drive the run in. This game was really an offensive struggle for both teams, especially trying to drive runners in scoring position in. In the bottom of the 11th, Ryan Perry came into the game to pitch for the Tigers. He gave up three consecutive singles to load the bases. Then he threw a 1-2 slider to Nelson Cruz who crushed it to left field to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the series. This was the first ever walk-off grand slam in postseason history. This was an amazing game, and i feel sorry for you if you missed the chance to witness history in the making at the Ballpark in Arlington. The series will shift to Detroit where the two teams will face off Tuesday at 8:05 ET. Colby Lewis will start for the Rangers while Doug Fister will start for the Tigers. It should be a pretty fun game, and a vital game for the Tigers to get their first win of the series.
St.Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers: NLCS Game Two
Fresh off a tough 9-6 loss on Sunday, the Cardinals came out and dominated the Brewers on Monday. Albert Pujols got things started with a two-run home run in the top of the first. Then, when Pujols faced Shaun Marcum again in the third, he ripped a two-run double off the center field wall. In the top of the fourth, Nick Punto singled to center field scoring Yadier Molina from third. The Brewers weren’t completely mute, Rickie Weeks belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth. Shaun Marcum had another rough outing, he has given up 13 runs in 8.2 innings this postseason. He has been hit hard in both of his outings, but after the game Manager Ron Roenicke suggested that Marcum would pitch again this series if the Brewers needed him. In the top of the fifth, Albert Pujols collected his third extra base hit of the day, an RBI double to score Jon Jay. Pujols came around to score on a Marco Estrada wild pitch. The Cardinals also strung together six straight hits in the 7th to really blow open the lead. Prince Fielder hit a moonshot in the bottom of the eighth, and David Freese also homered in the ninth. Edwin Jackson turned in another decent start. Despite getting hit around a little bit, he only gave up two runs in 4.1 innings. The real stud of this game was debatably the best hitter in baseball, Albert Pujols. Pujols finished 4 for 5 with 5 RBI. The series will move to St.Louis all tied up. Yovani Gallardo will start for the Brewers against Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals. The game is Wednesday at 8:05 PM ET.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Sam Evans. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Sam on Twitter.***
Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.
2011 MLB Playoffs: Recap for Sunday October 9th and MLB Notes
Monday October 10, 2011
Sam Evans (Intern – MLB reports): There turned out to only be one game on Sunday, nonetheless it was still an exciting, and important game. Let’s get to the Recaps!
Detroit Tigers at Texas Rangers: ALCS Game Two
Major League Baseball actually called this game at 2:00 PM CT, more than four hours before the game even started. MLB was obviously trying to the pitchers from a situation similar to Saturday night. While MLB probably had good intentions, this was a very bad decision. According to multiple weather reports, it never rained on Sunday at the Ballpark in Arlington. If the decision makers had just waited a couple more hours we probably would have a game between these two teams on Sunday. Now, because of MLB jumping the gun, these teams have to play four straight days of baseball. As a result, Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Tigers this afternoon against Derek Holland for the Rangers. Game time is 4:19 PM ET, assuming the skies stay clear in Arlington.
St.Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers: NLCS Game One
With all the trash talking leading up to this game, this proved to be a pivotal game for both teams. Neither pitcher was very sharp, but both offenses showed up ready to battle. In the top of the first, Matt Holliday had an RBI single off Brewers starter Zack Greinke to give up the Cardinals an early lead. In the bottom of the first, the Brewers erased the Cardinals’ lead by scoring two runs, courtesy of Ryan Braun‘s 444 foot home run. Both pitchers battled throughout the second and third innings, until in the fourth when David Freese hit a 3-run home run to give the Cards’ a 4-2 lead. Freese is having a tremendous postseason, coming tough in the clutch for St.Louis. In the top of the fifth, Lance Berkman drove in Rafael Furcal to make it 5-2. In the bottom of the fifth, everything went wrong for Jaime Garcia. The inning started off with a Corey Hart single, then a Jerry Hairston double. Next, Ryan Braun jumped on the first pitch and hit a ground rule double to right field. From there, Prince Fielder crushed Garcia’s first pitch, an 87 MPH fastball, to right center field. ESPN’s Home Run Tracker had that bomb traveling at 119.2 MPH. This would make it the hardest hit homer of the season. A lot is going to be made about the Brewers celebrations after every home run they hit, but I really don’t have a problem with it. If the Cardinals don’t like it, then maybe they just shouldn’t give up home runs!
Garcia’s main problem with this huge inning was that he stopped throwing his breaking ball. Out of the 12 pitches he threw, not one was offspeed. Things got worse for the Redbirds when Octavio Dotel came into the game, and gave up a 2-run home run to Yuniesky Betancourt, of all people. The Cardinals scored once more in the 7th when Albert Pujols grounded into a double play, but the big 6th inning was enough for the Brewers. Final score: Brewers 9 Cardinals 6, with Greinke getting the win, Garcia the loss, and John Axford nailing down the save. These two teams will face off for game two tonight, Monday, at 8:05 PM ET. Edwin Jackson will get the start for St.Louis, against Shaun Marcum for Milwaukee.
Editor’s Notes:
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All the talk surrounding Zack Greinke’s comments turned out to be just that, talk. Once the teams took the field yesterday afternoon, the focus centered on the game itself. After getting hit fairly hard yesterday, I do not expect we will hear many more harsh words from Greinke during this series.
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The Tigers are looking very susceptible offensively, especially after the loss of Magglio Ordonez to a broken ankle and Delmon Young to an oblique strain. The Rangers have caught fire at the right time and should be making a second straight trip to the World Series.
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The free agency talk won’t talk, even though we are still in playoff mode. Possible destinations for C.J. Wilson and Prince Fielder have been speculated on for the past few days, as strong or stronger than they have all season. The reality is the focus should be on the games ahead. There will be plenty of time to have these discussions between the end of the playoffs and New Years.
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A story has come out indicating that the Reds are going to star taking offers for their star first baseman, Joey Votto. Expect 29 other teams to submit their bids if this is true.
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Epstein-gate continues to swirl, as the Cubs and supposedly Angels are interested in his services. My advice if Theo was sitting in front of me? Stay put. You are considered a genius in Boston. Move elsewhere and you run the risk of failing to replicate your magic. If that occurs, your lustre will get tarnished. Same advice to Billy Beane. Stay home and keep your legacy. The grass is always greener on the other side.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Sam Evans. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Sam on Twitter.***
Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.
Preview of MLB Playoffs for Sunday October 9th and Rangers Take Game 1 ALCS
Sunday October 9, 2011
Jonathan Hacohen (Lead Baseball Columnist – MLB reports): And then they were down to four. On the road to the World Series, Milwaukee and St. Louis are set to do battle for the National League- while over in the AL, Detroit and Texas have already started their series. Is there anything better than the MLB Playoffs? Didn’t think so. Let’s get to it by recapping last night’s action:
Detroit Tigers at Texas Rangers: ALCS Game One
The Detroit Tigers are becoming linked with “rain” in the 2011 MLB playoffs. Game one of their ALDS matchup in New York was suspended and played a day later. So of course, Murphy’s law dictated that the opening game of their ALCS would see rain as well. But despite nearly a two-hour rain delay (2 total rain delays in the 5th), the Rangers and Tigers were able to get this one in. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they again ended up losing their opener to fall behind 1-0 in the series to the Rangers. Neither starter was particularly effective in this one. Justin Verlander gave up 3 runs over 4 IP to take the loss, giving up 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5. Verlander gave up 2 runs in the 2nd and the eventual game winning run in the 4th, courtesy of a Nelson Cruz solo home run. His opponent on the night, C.J. Wilson was also very un-ace like for the Rangers. In his 4 2/3 IP, Wilson gave up 2 runs on 6 hits and a whopping 5 walks, while striking out 6. Once the rain delay was over in the 5th and the game resumed, this game was the story of the bullpens. Both pens pitched shutout ball the rest of the way. Rick Porcello, Phil Coke and Ryan Perry kept the Tigers in this one, but the Rangers were able to make their early 3-2 lead stick. The stars of the night were the Texas Rangers’ relievers, as one by one, they can in to stifle the Tigers bats.
Mike Gonzalez earned his paycheque for the year by coming in on the 5th to the greatest pressure situation in baseball as a reliever. Bases loaded, Gonzalez faced Alex Avila with 2-outs. Needing only 2 pitches, Gonzalez retired Avila to end the inning and the Tigers best chance at breaking this game open. From there, Alexi Ogando, Darren Oliver, Mike Adams and Neftali Feliz over 4 innings gave up 1 hit, 1 walk, and struck out 8. As lock-down as you get in baseball. Blame it on the rain, blame it on the Rangers having home field advantage and coming in rested. No matter how you slice or dice it, the Tigers were good on this night. But the Rangers were better. With the Rangers high-octane offense and stacked bullpen, the Tigers bats will need to muster more than two runs in a game if they hope to compete with the reigning AL champions. Another great game in the archives, in what is becoming one of the better MLB playoffs in recent history.
Preview of Sunday October 9th:
Game two of the ALCS was scheduled to go tonight, with Derek Holland on the hill for the Rangers and Max Scherzer for the Tigers. With rain in the forecast at a 90% probability, Major League Baseball wisely postponed this one until tomorrow afternoon. With Doug Fister not scheduled to pitch until game 3, the Tigers need this game or face a 2-0 deficit. The Rangers will be hungry to take the Tigers down early and get back to the World Series in a hurry. This series is far from over and should prove to be an excellent battle. Over in the National League, the Cardinals and Brewers are set to begin their battle. Jaime Garcia and Zack Greinke face-off in what should prove to be a classic. With many “experts” picking the Brewers to advance to the World Series, Tony LaRussa and his Cardinals have their work cut out for them. But as the Cardinals proved against the Philadelphia Phillies, a team with Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter cannot be counted out. Both teams have strong bullpens, as is the case in the American League. With tight games, this game could come down to Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford of the Brewers, or Fernando Salas and Jason Motte for the Cardinals. With Zack Greinke starting the war of words, the battle lines have been drawn. Another great series, leading up to the 2011 World Series.
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Brewers and Cardinals Advance to 2011 NLCS, Plus Recap of Carpenter vs. Halladay
Saturday October 8, 2011
Jonathan Hacohen (Lead Baseball Columnist – MLB reports): In what had been shaping up to be very tight league division series, MLB fans were treated to not one or two, but rather three game fives this year. With the Tigers advancing last night to face the Rangers, it was time for the National League to decide its championship series competitors. The Diamondbacks were in Milwaukee to face the Brewers, while the Phillies were at home to host the Cardinals. Both games ended in on run leads, with the Cardinals and Brewers pulling out the wins. Let’s recap the MLB action from Friday night:
St.Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies: NLDS Game Five
The best way that I can sum up this game is as follows. Chris Carpenter was taking the mound, facing off against ex-Blue Jays teammate Roy Halladay. This was a game that had a great deal of hype and buzz and excitement surrounding it. Games of this nature usually end up disappointing. I have seen all too often two great pitchers matchup, with one of the starters leaving early or getting hit hard. This one was one of those games though that ended up exceeding expectations. Carpenter won it, pitching a complete game shutout, three hitter, no walks and three strikeouts. About as good of a performance as you will see in baseball, let a lone the playoffs. Halladay on the other hand was just as strong, finishing with 8 IP, 6 hits allowed, 1 ER, 1 BB and 7 strikeouts. Ryan Madson came in for a clean 9th inning, striking out a pair. The only blemish for Halladay came in the first, when he gave up a leadoff triple to Rafael Furcal, who proceeded to score on a Skip Schumaker double. An Albert Pujols intentional walk- otherwise, an almost perfect day as well for Halladay. The Cardinals stranded more runners on base (7), while the Phillies only left 4 on base. Carpenter did hit Chase Utley, but managed to complete the game unscathed. Carpenter was very efficient in this outing, requiring only 110 pitches for the complete game. Halladay on the other hand needed 126 pitches to get through six. It is rare to get only one run in the 1st inning and to make the lead stick. But Chris Carpenter did just that. Now the Cardinals advance and continue their Cinderella run (blame the rally squirrel). Given the importance of the game and intensity, you would be hard-pressed to find a better pitched baseball game. Hats off to both starters, as each had an incredible outing last night. But Carpenter was the better arm on this day and as a result, the Cardinals break through while the Phillies stun the baseball world by exiting the playoffs in the first round.
Howard to have MRI: After the game, the baseball world was buzzing about Ryan Howard. Requiring help to get off the field,
Howard was on crutches. Reports indicate that he may have tore his Achilles tendon. Howard will have an MRI today to confirm the severity of his injury. This type of injury can typically take 6-9 months approximately of recovery time. With the Phillies possibly losing their top star for a good portion of next season, things just back to worse for the one time heavy favorite to win the 2011 World Series. Roy Oswalt, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Madson may all not be back, and Cole Hamels also has an impending free agent status that will need to be dealt with. For a team that was expected to do so much, greater uncertainly lies ahead as the team attempts to recover and figure out what went wrong.
Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers: NLDS Game Five
The second battle of the aces of the day featured Yovani Gallardo opposing Ian Kennedy. Both pitchers did their jobs in this one, going six inning apiece. Kennedy giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, Gallardo 1 run on 6 hits. Both walked 2 and struck out 5. Gallardo’s only blemish on the day was a solo home run to Justin Upon in the 3rd. The Brewers led this one from the 6th on, until the 9th. Saito and Rodriguez each earned holds with a clean inning of work each. With closer John Axford on to pitch the 9th, he gave up the tying run to send this one to the 10th. Axford ended up pitching 2 innings for the win. After setup man David Hernandez pitched 2 clean innings, it was up to closer J.J. Putz to hold the Brewers in check in the 10th. The unlikely hero was Nyjer Morgan, who got the game-winning hit to score Carlos Gomez to send the Brewers to a 3-2 win and a meeting with the Cardinals in the NLCS. While the Diamondbacks were the feel-good team of this year’s playoffs, the clock struck midnight on them. The Brewers, stocked to make a run this year, fulfill a part of their destiny by advancing. The Diamondbacks go home feeling good about themselves. A team that was expected to continued rebuilding grouped together, and made a run that few if any in the baseball world could have expected. Kirk Gibson and his boys should proud when reflecting their on season.
The Cardinals are Flying in: The Brewers get to stay home for game one of their NLCS matchup with the Cardinals. Zack Greinke is set to go for the Brewers, with the Cardinals starter still TBD. The Brewers are the favored squad, with their balance of sluggers, top starting pitching and lockdown bullpen. The Cardinals now take on the role of the Diamondbacks, the underdogs that everyone is rooting for. With the Rally Squirrel being the talk of the town (don’t ask…), do the Cardinals have the firepower to match up with the powerful Brewers? This series will come down to managing. Tony LaRussa vs. Ron Roenicke. While Roenicke has an extensive coaching resume, he is still a fairly raw manager. LaRussa is as crafty as they come and my money is on St. Louis making a return trip to the World Series. The Cardinals have a strong offense, led by Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman. The team has received good to great starting pitching and their bullpen gets the job done. The Brewers are the favorites on paper. I see this one going the full seven games, with the Cardinals moving on to face the Rangers in the World Series. The road to the World Series begins tonight in Arlington, as Detroit and Justin Verlander take on C.J. Wilson and the Rangers. A great postseason so far, that only promises to get better.
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Tigers advance to ALCS, Yankees Go Home and Ventura Named White Sox Manager
Friday October 7, 2011
Jonathan Hacohen (Lead Baseball Columnist – MLB reports): Thursday was an exciting day in the world of Major League Baseball. The Detroit Tigers were set to face-off against the Yankees in New York. Game five of their ALDS series, all tied up 2-2. Winner moves on to face the Texas Rangers, loser goes home. The Yankees has their AL ROY candidate Ivan Nova on the mound, with the Tigers relying on Doug Fister. In the wake of the only game on Thursday’s schedule, Kenny Williams and the Chicago White Sox shocked the baseball world by naming Robin Ventura their new manager. A wild and crazy day indeed.
Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees: ALDS Game Five
The highly anticipating pitching matchup never took place in this one. Fister did his part for the Tigers, tossing 5 innings, giving up 5 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks while striking out 5. Max Scherzer and Joaquin Benoit earned holds while Jose Valverde earned the save with a lockdown 1-2-3 9th inning. Ivan Nova lasted only 2 innings, giving up 2 runs (back to back solo home runs in the first to Don Kelly and Delmon Young), while allowing 3 hits and striking out 3. Not taking any chances, Joe Girardi was active with his bullpen all night, sending out Phil Hughes, Boone Logan, C.C. Sabathia, Rafael Soriano, Dave Robertson and Mariano Rivera. This game boiled down to execution and squeaking out runs.
The Tigers, underdogs going into the series, were able to pull out a 3-2 win. Fister got the win while Nova took the loss. Sabathia, ironically enough, ended up giving up allowing the game winning run in the 7th. Despite getting more hits than the Tigers (10-8), the Yankees left a whopping 20 men on base last night, while the Tigers left 13. The Tigers did lose Delmon Young during the game to injury (apparent oblique strain), making his status for the immediate future uncertain. Young, along with Fister, were the difference makers in this game. Both mid-season acquisitions by GM Dave Dombrowski, helped the Tigers win the Central and advance to the ALCS. Brian Cashman and the Yankees stood pat at the trade deadline, and were left standing in the wings once again in the playoffs.
The game marked the likely end of Jorge Posada‘s Yankee (and possibly major league) career. The future hall-of-famer endured his
toughest year ever in the majors. But for all his troubles in the regular season, Posada ended up shining in this year’s playoffs- finishing with a .429 average. The game also possibly marked the last game of C.C. Sabathia’s tenure in New York. With his opt-out clause looming this off-season, there is a chance that Sabathia may jump ship to another team. Highly unlikely, given his apparent love for New York and the Yankees dire need for his arm. But as Alex Rodriguez proved yet again this year (.111 AVG in the playoffs, with 3 strikeout on the night, including the game ending at-bat), big contracts do not necessarily guarantee victories. With 6 years and approximately $143 million left on the books (excluding incentives), the Yankees will likely be eating A-Rod pie for some time to come.
With this game in the books, questions now centre on the immediate future of each team. The Tigers move on to the ALCS, to face the Texas Rangers. This will be an exciting series and a big challenge for the Tigers. With the Texas-sized offense in place, the Tigers’ pitching staff (led by AL pitching triple crown winner and likely Cy Young and MVP winner Justin Verlander and Fister) will need to be stellar. Both teams have strong bullpens that will be relied upon heavily in the series. This series will boil down to whether the Tigers offense can muster enough runs to compete with Texas, and on the same token, how well the Texas rotation can contain Detroit. The Tigers have enjoyed a great run to-date, but my crystal ball is showing a Texas return trip to the World Series. One year wiser and more experienced, Ron Washington’s team should be able to win this out in six games. But keep one thing in mind: whenever Jim Leyland is involved, anything can happen. The Tigers made it this far for a reason and in a short series…. you never know.
Robin Ventura Named Chicago White Sox Manager
The talk of the day yesterday was the White Sox big announcement. GM Kenny Williams announced that the team had hired former third baseman, Robin Ventura as the White Sox new manager. Ventura, 44, spent 10 years with the White Sox as a player. Most recently he was retained by the team as a “Special Advisor”. Now, Ventura with no managerial experience to his resume, takes over control of the team on the field. Many names were thrown around as possible candidates, including former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona, former players and currently employed coaches Sandy Alomar Jr. and Dave Martinez, as well as hall of famer and current minor league manager Ryne Sandberg. Personally, I expected the White Sox to hire Martinez or Sandberg. Given the success of the Rays, Martinez as bench coach to manager Joe Maddon is highly considered in the game. Sandberg, on the other hand, has a proven track record managing in the minors and has strong ties to Chicago (obviously). Why then the choice of the inexperienced Ventura?
A couple of reasons come to mind. Firstly, the White Sox endured a very difficult 2011 season in missing the playoffs, despite heavy preseason expectations. Nothing distracts a fan base better than brining in a well known and loved name. Ventura was one of the most popular White Sox players in his day, and his hire at some level will help appease the fans. As well, a shocking signing of this nature has an effective way of masking the results of the season gone by, as well as steering the press to focus on 2012 and how Ventura will perform as a manager, rather than analyze the season that had just been completed. A stroke of genius in my book. Another reason to consider, which is a guess on my part, is that Williams is not interested in hiring a big and powerful name that will overshadow him. After enduring years of arguments and power struggles with former manager Ozzie Guillen, Williams was looking for a manager that would first and foremost listen to him and know his role in the organization. While Ryne Sandberg is my book is a far more qualified individual for the job, his stature in the game (as well as Chicago) would have relegated Williams to the back seat, had Ryno been named the new White Sox manager.
The ironic part is that while hiring Ventura clearly solidifies Kenny William’s place in the White Sox food chain, it may have the strongest effect of sweeping him out of town soon. The lustre of the White Sox 2005 World Series championship has long faded. With a large payroll and unsuccessful ballclub, it is “put up or shut up” time for Williams and the White Sox. If the team gets off to a slow start, and/or has another failed campaign, I fully expect Kenny Williams to be reassigned or dismissed from his post. If results on the field are the most important factor for Williams to keep his job, then he should have looked for the best candidate to guide his team. The Ventura signing may make White Sox fans feel all soft and cuddly at the onset. But losing games will change that in a hurry. With Frank Thomas being discussed as a possible candidate for a role on the squad, the 2012 White Sox coaching staff may look like a reunion from years gone by. I enjoyed watching Ventura as a player and had he been groomed as a coach for this position, perhaps he would have been prepared to succeed. But coming in raw, the new manager will have to learn quickly on the job. A move made by Williams’ ego, but not his sensibility in my estimation.
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2011 MLB Playoffs: Recap of Wednesday October 5th
Thursday October 6, 2011
Sam Evans (Intern – MLB reports): Wednesday was a fun night of playoff baseball. We saw two close games for teams on the verge of elimination, and unusual players stepping up to take the spotlight and assist their team to victory.
Philadelphia Phillies at St.Louis Cardinals: NLDS Game Four
Going into the game, I thought that the superior team, the Phillies, would win and advance to the ALCS. However, in baseball the best team doesn’t always win. What the Cardinals showed tonight is that they weren’t ready to have their season come to an end. They’ve come so far this year and they weren’t going to go home without a good fight. What was impressive to me is how clean of a ballgame they played. Nobody wanted to make a mistake, as evidenced by the Cardinals zero errors. They just seemed upbeat and confident that they’d win.
The Phillies got off to a fast start in the top of the first with a double, followed by a triple, followed by a single. However, Lance Berkman came through in the bottom of the inning with a two out RBI double. Edwin Jackson turned in an impressive performance going six innings while only giving up two runs. Jackson only gave up two hits, singles, after the big first inning. In the fourth inning, Oswalt walked Berkman then hit Matt Holliday. To make things worse, David Freese crushed a one out double down into the left field corner to put the Cardinals up 3-2. You could tell Oswalt didn’t have his best stuff tonight. Sometimes pitchers have those days where it looks like they are only seventy percent of what they should be. Well, Oswalt had one of those days.
Then, in the fifth inning something magical happened. If you missed it, on Tuesday a squirrel ran across the field at Busch Stadium in St.Louis. Well today, either the same squirrel or one of his relatives made another unwelcome appearance. This time, the squirrel actually ran across home plate during Skip Schumaker‘s at bat. When asked about the incident after the game, Charlie Manuel had this to say,” “There’s not too much I can do about a squirrel running across the field, I don’t know what I can do about that. Of course, being from the south and being a squirrel hunter, if I had a gun there, might have done something. I’m a pretty good shot.” Hopefully, the Busch Stadium squirrel family will make a surprise appearance Friday in Philadelphia, where most likely, they’ll be booed.
Even after his RBI double, David Freese’s day wasn’t done yet. In the bottom of the sixth, Freese got a 0-1 fastball, which he belted to center field to add two more runs to the Cardinals lead. Guess you could say he really iced the Phillies chances, eh? Anyone? Moving on, the Phillies scored one more run in the eighth off of a Fernando Salas wild pitch but the Cards held on for a 5-3 win. The series moves back to Philly for Game 5 Friday at 8:30 PM ET. Roy Halladay takes the mound against Chris Carpenter tomorrow in a one of the better pitching faceoffs in baseball. It’s sure to be an exciting, pressure packed game which will determine which team will continue their season in the NLCS.
Milwaukee Brewers at Arizona Diamondbacks: NLDS Game Four
Out of all of the first round matchups this year, there’s no doubt that this one has been my favorite. Both teams play with such crazy energy and enthusiasm unmatched by any other two teams. If you like watching offense, this was the game for you. These teams have some pretty interesting stories of how they got to this point in the playoffs, but I can’t put enough emphasize on much fun these teams are to watch. Both teams have a player the fans love, in Nyjer Morgan and Ryan Roberts, and great position players to build their team around.
The Brewers led things off with a Ryan Braun RBI double in the top half of the first. When the Diamondbacks came up to bat, everything went wrong for Randy Wolf. He loaded up the bases and with two outs, Ryan Roberts A.K.A Tatman poked a grand slam just over the left field fence. Then the next at-bat, on a 3-1 pitch, Chris Young homered. The rest of the game was a slugfest, with D-Backs players crushing the Brewers pitchers. Aaron Hill homered and Colin Cowgill brought in two runs with a single. Chris Young finished 2 for 3, with 2 HR, 3 RBI, and 1 BB. In my opinion, the hero of the game was Ryan Roberts. His grand slam gave the D-Backs an early lead and their pitchers a nice cushion to work with. Even though the Brewers scored six runs, it wasn’t enough to get the win. Final score: D-Backs: 10 Brewers: 6. The series is tied up 2-2 and will head back to Milwaukee where Yovani Gallardo and Ian Kennedy will face off in a battle of two of the game’s top righties. Game time on Friday at 5:00 PM ET.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Sam Evans. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Sam on Twitter.***
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2011 MLB Playoffs: Recap Tuesday October 4th
Wednesday October 5, 2011
MLB reports: While three teams on Tuesday could have moved on to the next series, only one team did. Here is a recap of the scores and highlights from Tuesday’s games:
Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees: ALDS Game Four
With A.J. Burnett on the mound, Yankee fans were on the edge of their seat in anticipation for the game against the Tigers. They knew they needed a win, and a big one.
Well, they got exactly that.
Derek Jeter started the scoring in the third inning with a double that scored Russell Martin and Jorge Posada.
They would hold the 2-0 lead until the bottom of the fourth, when Victor Martinez launched a solo homerun to make it a 2-1 game.
That would, however, be the only run that the Tigers would score as the Yankees scored another run in the 5th, when Curtis Granderson doubled Brett Gardner. Later in the inning, Alex Rodriguez would score Derek Jeter to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead.
And they never looked back.
In the top of the eighth, Al Alburquerque, facing Jesus Montero, balked which allowed Alex Rodriguez from second. Montero would later single to score Mark Teixeira. Daniel Schlereth would then come in for the Tigers, but it didn’t get any better, as he threw a wild pitch that scored Montero and then gave up a 2-RBI single to Robinson Cano. After a 6-run inning the score was 10-1.
Evidently, that would be the way the game ended as Boone Logan struck out the side in the ninth, as the Yankees forced a game 5. Burnett went 5.2IP allowing one earned run on four hits, three walks and one strikeout. From then on in, the collective bullpen pitching, including Rafael Soriano, Phil Hughes and Boone Logan pitched 3 1/3 of no-hit baseball, allowing no walks yet striking out six. Game five goes tomorrow night in New York, Fister vs. Nova for all the marbles.
Texas Rangers at Tampay Bay Rays: ALDS Game Four
The Rays had been in this position not too long ago – one loss away from not being able to move on to the next step. Recognizing this, they sent Hellickson to the mound against Rangers’ Harrison.
That said, after already winning two games in a row, the Rangers were not going to go down easy as Ian Kinsler hit a home run in the first at-bat of the game.
In the 2nd, the Rangers added to their lead with another home run, one from Adrian Beltre, and already Texas was up 2-0.
In the bottom of the inning, the Rays cut the Rangers lead in half thanks in part to Matt Joyce’s RBI double.
Adrian Beltre, did not give up easy and in the forth, launched another solo home run. His 2nd of the game.
But again, the Rays fought back and again, Sean Rodriguez scored, this time off the bat of Casey Kotchman.
Adrian Beltre though would not allow the Rays to catch up as, in the top of the seventh, he launched his THIRD home run of the game.
In the bottom of the 9th, with the score 4-2, Sean Rodriguez once again told his team he wanted to cross the plate once again. So sure enough, Casey Kotchman singled him in with one out in the ninth, making the score 4-3.
But the third Beltre homerun proved to be the difference, as Alexi Ogando got Matt Joyce to pop out and Desmond Jennings to ground out.
Harrison got the win, going five complete innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while walking two and striking out nine.
With the win, the Texas Rangers move on to the next series, facing off against the winner of the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers.
Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals: NLDS Game Three
Everyone loves great baseball and that is certainly what was received when Phillies’ Cole Hamels faced off against Cardinals’ Jaime Garcia.
There was no score until the seventh inning as both pitchers were cruising along. Much like what occurred in all other aforementioned games, a home run proved to be the difference as after Shane Victorino singled and Carlos Ruiz was intentionally walked, Ben Francisco was placed in to pinch hit and he did not disappoint – launching a three run home run to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead.
The Cards fought back in the bottom of the inning as David Freese hit an RBI single that scored Allen Craig.
They would carry this momentum into the ninth inning as Albert Pujols led off the inning with a double off Ryan Madson. Pujols would later score off of a Yadier Molina single but that would be all they would get as Ryan Theriot grounded out to end the game, enabling the Phillies to win by a score of 3-2.
Cole Hamels got the win, going six complete innings without a run, allowing five hits and three walks, but striking out eight. Game four goes tonight in St. Louis, Oswalt vs. Jackson.
Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers: NLDS Game Three
In a must-win game for the Arizona Diamondbacks, they sent Josh Collemeter to the mound against Brewers’ Shaun Marcum and Collemeter did not disappoint.
Arizona got on the board early against Marcum thank in part to a RBI double from Miguel Montero and an RBI single from Paul Goldschmidt.
Both of these scoring plays were fielder by centerfielder Corey Hart, so Hart felt he needed redemption. When he got up to bat in the third, he did exactly that, hitting a homerun to left field, and cutting Arizona’s lead to 2-1.
The damage, however, had already been done. In the bottom of the inning, Arizona added to their lead when Aaron Hill scored on Montero’s second RBI of the game. On the play, Nyjer Morgan got Justin Upton out on a close play at the plate.
With the score 3-1, Arizona knew they needed a few more runs to ensure a game four. Evidently, Paul Goldschmidt was thinking the same thing as in the fifth inning, he hit a GRAND SLAM (GOLDSCHMIDTTTTT!). Kameron Loe would then come in to pitch and replace Marcum, but Arizona was much too dominant, scoring another run in the inning from a Ryan Roberts RBI single, giving the Diamondbacks an 8-1 lead.
This evidently would be how the game would end as Milwaukee managed only three hits in the game. This can be attributed to Collemeter’s fantastic game as he went seven complete innings, allowing only two hits, one earned run on two walks and six strikeouts.
Marcum’s outing was not as great, as the ex-Blue Jay went 4.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three. Game four is the late game tonight in Arizona, Wolf vs. Saunders.
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James Lamb MLB Guest Blog: Tips for the Baseball Parent
Tuesday October 4, 2011
MLB reports: We are very fortunate to have James Lamb return as our MLB Guest Blogger today. For all current and future baseball parents, you will find James insights and tips extremely valuable. We proudly feature on the reports, James O. Lamb, with his latest tips on baseball parenting, “Involvement with respect to your son playing baseball beyond recreational levels” :
Involvement with respect to your son playing baseball beyond recreational levels
James O. Lamb (Guest MLB Blogger): There are plenty of theories that circulate in and around the game of baseball throughout all levels of participation. The ideas shared here on this platform were used during my son’s play and driven by providing every opportunity available during his development. The shear hope for his sincere enjoyment during his path of playing baseball was not left for chance, but rather constantly monitored through a parental involvement. The idea of taking a walk with your son during a baseball career was described in an earlier article. When is it time to stop the parental involvement? Should a parent meet with the high school coach about playing time? Does changing schools help a player get into the college or professional levels? How does playing club, or travel, baseball impact an amateur career? These are just a few of the ideas to be addressed about involvement with respect to your son playing baseball beyond recreational levels.
The concept of stopping a parental involvement with your son playing baseball is near and dear to my heart. The answer is quite simple but also very difficult to follow. Never stop being a parent to your kids… ever. Support and involvement can cause a cloudy area about athletics and more specifically baseball during the wrong stages of a young man’s career. Continue to support their participation with your involvement from a distance. There is no value in coaching your son from the backstop or the stands. Let the coach try to aid your son’s development as a man, a teammate and a player. Surely some coaches are better than others as with players on the field. If you can help your son’s ability to play the game by catching, throwing and hitting the baseball that is great but there are more important things to do as a parent. A very dear friend of mine that continues his professional baseball career as a scout once told me that my son did not need another coach to play he simply needed a supportive Dad from the stands and nothing else. Truly the best advice I could have received when my son entered Laguna Hills High School at the age of 13 years old. Parental involvement never ends from the citizen perspective, but clearly has limits during baseball.
When should a parent face a high school coach about playing time? Never is clearly the best answer here unless you want to start issues that will never be resolved. I always enforced the belief in my son to talk with his arm, glove, bat, legs and intellect to play the game. Work harder than everyone else at throwing, catching and hitting the baseball and any competent coach should place the best players in his line-up to win some games. If the coach does not place your son in the game have your son ask the questions about areas he needs to improve for a better chance to play after the hard work. Feel free to stand behind him during his conversation with the coach for support but let him do the talking and ask the questions. If the coach does not give him the respect to ask the questions then you might just have to step in and help buffer the situation to allow your son to talk. Respect is a two-way street between the coach and player but keep in mind the egos that are tested by all entangled in this equation. The distant approach is typically implemented during the wrong stages of their son’s amateur career. More parents seem to become obsessed during the high school, college and even the professional levels of baseball. The ideas of confrontation during the later years of playing the game can be devastating to a baseball career. Support is the key without engagement for the player to compete for the spot on the roster or line-up card. Actively participating with a coach about your son’s playing time will get him nowhere within the game real fast.
Many families change schools based on coaches, roster spots availability or reputations associated with certain programs. This is really a family choice and the merits come from a variety of positions on this concept. The same can be said about the wide diversity of opinions for signing a professional contracts out of high school versus college. Some players are ready to move on while others are not. There are pros and cons associated with changing schools for the benefit of baseball development due mostly to education and athletic ability. Some coaches teach the game better than others, just as some players have raw tools to play the game and some need help to improve. If your son can play he should be on the field no matter where he goes to school. College and professional scouts will more than likely find him playing and if not there are plenty of simple suggestions to increase your chances of finding the right college or university to further a career. There is a plethora of advice and practical approaches to keep the uniform on until the player is ready to take the cleats off. Changing schools does not always work as intended but sometimes it will serve a true value for the player’s growth and opportunity to play baseball beyond the recreational levels.
The last area of this article will focus on the popular decisions during an amateur career to play travel, or club, baseball and the potential result of involvement. From a development standpoint, playing on a club team can greatly aid a player and baseball opportunity. The research and time needed to insure your son’s improvement should not be underestimated otherwise you are merely allowing someone to take your money without results. Simply writing a check to play in tournaments or on the weekends will not guarantee improvement if your son does not put in the necessary effort to work on his own. Keep in mind that a few talented instructors throughout the country, and world for that matter, really can help your son improve but there is no magic wand waved over their head walking in and out of the dugout. Your high school team should always have first priority to take part and be very careful trying to add travel baseball during school activities set by the coach. Within the Southern California area there is a growing tendency to play for a club organization over high school and college. Tremendous debate has been triggered over this propensity to ignore the challenges associated with playing in high school and college. There seems to be family logic involved with some of these choices but others are being held to rattling rumors of handling the rigors of college and, or, professional competition based on these growing trends. Only time will tell if this path has merit for being a successful college or professional baseball player with any true substance and value. Now if your high school does not have an off-season program and there is no interest of playing the other sports in season than by all means play baseball during the fall and winter. The paramount suggestion about travel baseball is buyers beware. I am a firm believer that the best programs are the least expensive, or even free to take part. Prime example is the reigning 2011 Connie Mack Champions the Midland Redskins for Amelia, Ohio. My opinion comes from personal experience of my son’s development while associated with the Midland program during the two summers he spent away from home learning how to compete and play without Dad making out the line-up card. Don’t forget the importance to take some time off while conditioning the body and mind for another full season of baseball in school.
There are a heap of concepts related to amateur baseball and a yet a very limited number of stories that can successfully account for playing Major League Baseball as a career. The story has not fully been written within the Lamb household during our experiences associated with the professional phase of John Lamb playing the great game of baseball. There are two things most certain as a foundation for a player’s development. Support and involvement seem to be the common denominators for many if not all the paths to the big leagues. Knowing when to back off and just be a supportive parent is critical for the player’s success on the diamond.
© by James O. Lamb. All rights reserved. (reprinted by permission)
Twitter @JamesOLamb
* Please be advised that this article and any additional comments, posts or opinions from the content do not reflect the opinions of the Florida Marlins, L.P., Major League Baseball, or any other affiliations of professional baseball. *
Thank you James for preparing today’s article. Please feel free to contact James O. Lamb on Twitter or through his websites for comments and questions. James is one of the brightest baseball minds that I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with and getting to know. We highly encourage our readers to subscribe to James’ websites to gain valuable information and insights.
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2011 MLB Playoffs: Recap Monday October 3rd
Tuesday October 4, 2011
April Whitzman (Blue Jays Writer – MLB reports): With the National League taking the night off, we were treated to game three in both ALDS series. Here is a recap of the scores and highlights from Monday’s games:
New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers: ALDS Game Three
It may not have been the pitching duel that everyone expected, but Monday’s game between Yankees’ CC Sabathia, and Tigers’ Justin Verlander was still an exciting one.
While Verlander pitched a strong 120-pitches-eight innings hitting 100MPH continually, striking out 11 and allowing four runs, six hits and three walks. Sabathia, on the other hand, never made it through the sixth, allowing four runs and seven hits with six walks in 5 1/3 innings.
After the first inning, however, one would not have expected that outcome. Derek Jeter hit the first pitch he saw for a single, scored on Curtis Granderson’s triple, who then scored on Alex Rodriguez’s groundout. T he Yankees had an early 2-0 lead.
The lead didn’t last long as Sabathia had control issues right away, walking four of the first six hitters he faced. Double plays proved to be the Tigers’ Achilles though, as they grounded into a double play to end both the first and second innings.
In the third, however, things turned around for the Tigers. Brandon Inge started the bottom of the inning with a double, Austin Jackson walked, Santiago scored Inge on a single, then Young singled, loading the bases for Miguel Cabrera – who homered in game 2. He grounded into the Tigers’ third double play of the game, but still tied the game at 2 apiece.
While the Tigers were continuing to put numbers on the board and grabbing the 4-2 lead, Verlander was dominating. He also proved his excellence on this night by striking out the side on 10 pitches in the fifth.
Yankees’ Brett Gardner finally got to the 24-game winner in the seventh, hitting a two-run double. Delmon Young, who also homered in Monday’s game off Sabathia, allowed the Tigers to regain the lead with a home run to right field that gave Detroit a 5-4 lead.
That would be the way the game ended, as a shaky Valverde struck out Derek Jeter with runners on 1st and 2nd to end the game, giving the Tigers a 2-1 series lead. In today’s must win game for the Yankees, A..J. Burnett is on the mound against Tigers’ Rick Porcello.
Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays: ALDS Game Three
The Rays and Rangers match was just as tight and nerve-wracking for the fans. Tampa Bay’s David Price hit the mound against Texas’ Colby Lewis. Both pitchers were dominant through seven, as the Rays held a 1-0 lead thanks to Desmond Jennings leadoff home run in the 4th.
But in the top of the 7th, the Rangers answered back. Once Adrian Beltre got on with a leadoff single, Mike Napoli hit the next pitch he saw over the centerfield wall to take a 2-1 lead. Josh Hamilton would later hit a 2-RBI double to increase their lead to 4-1.
But the Rays werenot going to go down without a fight. They got a run back in the bottom of the inning, when Sean Rodriguez grounded out but scored Johnny Damon. The Rays cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-3 in the eighth, when Desmond Jennings hit his 2nd home run of the game.
Neftali Feliz kept the score intact though in the 9th, inducing a Kelly Shoppach double play with Jennings on deck to end the game, earning his 2nd save of the playoffs. The Rangers took a 2-1 lead in their ALDS series.
In today’s game, Matt Harrison for the Rangers faces off against Tampa Bay and Jeremy Hellickson. It is a must-win game for the Rays, but after their historic win against the Yankees to make it to the post-season, my gut says this series should go the distance.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you. Comment below, email MLBreports@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter at @Alleycat17.
Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter (@MLBreports) and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage
2011 MLB Playoffs: Recap Sunday October 2nd
Monday October 3, 2011
Sam Evans (Intern – MLB reports): The first Sunday of postseason baseball didn’t have any letdowns for viewers. Starting at about noon, I watched and listened to roughly ten hours of baseball. Usually after I spend one of my Sunday’s watching baseball, I wish I could have those hours back because I really didn’t have the free time to watch all those games. The postseason is way different. No matter what I have to do, I always try to make sure watching the games is my top priority. After Jason Motte recorded the final out of the day, I felt like that was the best way I could’ve spent my day. Albeit from my couch, there’s nothing like cheering on your favorite teams and players during October. Enough rambling, let’s get to the games.
Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees: ALDS Game Two
In the top of the first inning, Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-0 changeup from Freddy Garcia 337 feet into the right field bleachers. Only at Yankee Stadium is that a home run, the short porch in right field gives hitters an almost unfair advantage. Max Scherzer was terrific, not allowing a hit until Robinson Cano singled in the bottom of the sixth. Scherzer finished the game after throwing six shutout innings striking out five. Freddy Garcia didn’t pitch that bad he was just made a couple of mistakes and had some bad luck. After six innings, the Tigers appeared to be in control. Then, the rain started coming down. I can’t believe that the Yankees spent 1.3 billion on a new stadium but they couldn’t even construct a retractable roof. Anyways, Joaquin Benoit twirled two innings, just giving up a Curtis Granderson homer. Jose Valverde didn’t make it look easy in the ninth, allowing a Nick Swisher dinger, then a Jorge Posada triple! Nonetheless, “Papa Grande” got Robinson Cano to ground out with runners on first and second to end the game. On the offensive side of this game the Tigers star was Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI. Cabrera showed how versatile of a hitter he is hitting an opposite field homer, poking an RBI single up the middle, and pulling a single to left field. Now the series will head to Detroit tied up 1-1. Game time is Monday at 8:30 PM ET.
Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers: NLDS Game Two
Ryan Braun got things started with a two run homer off Dan Hudson in the first. However, in the top of the 2nd Paul Goldschmidt took Zack Greinke deep. I have no idea why Kirk Gibson didn’t start Goldschmidt in the first game, as he obviously deserves to be in there. In spite of both teams starting talented pitchers, this was not a pitcher’s duel. Milwaukee took a 4-1 lead in the third thanks to Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder driving in the runs. By the sixth, Arizona had tied it up at 4-4 largely in part to Chris Young and Justin Upton going deep. However, in the bottom of the sixth everything fell apart for the D-Backs. The Brew Crew had runners on first and third when catcher Jonathan Lucroy shocked the Diamondbacks by laying down a suicide squeeze to score Jerry Hairston. After that, things just fell apart from Arizona’s pitcher Brad Ziegler; he gave up three straight singles to Corey Hart, Nyjer Morgan, and Ryan Braun. By the time Ziegler was pulled, the Brewers had a 9-4 lead. The Brewers relievers combined to throw four shutout innings, and the Brewers won by the final score of 9-4. When asked after the game, Willie Bloomquist A.K.A Willie Ballgame had this to say, “We’re going to come out fighting on Tuesday. It’s a tough position to be in, but you know what? We’re comfortable with the uncomfortable.” The series is now 2-0 Brewers and the two teams will meet in Phoenix on Tuesday at 9:30 PM ET.
St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies: NLDS Game Two
To lead off the game Rafael Furcal tripled but then the Cards ran into Cliff Lee, who retired the 2-3-4 hitters without allowing a run. The Phillies delivered a big blow in the bottom of the first, with Ryan Howard coming through with a bases loaded single. Chris Carpenter, pitching on three days’ rest, had a rough day, only lasted three innings while giving up four runs. In the fourth inning, the Cardinals scored three times, and would’ve scored four if it weren’t for it weren’t for Raul Ibanez gunning down Jon Jay at the plate. Jay tied things up in the sixth with a single to score Ryan Theriot from second. The Cardinals bullpen threw four consecutive 1-2-3 innings baffling Phillies hitters. I was impressed by Tony LaRussa’s methodical use of his bullpen. Some games LaRussa looks like an idiot, some games he looks like a genius. I guess that’s just the way he works. In the top of the 7th Charlie Manuel decided to leave Lee in despite him being over 100 pitches. The decision backfired when Shane Victorino misplayed an Allen Craig line drive. Craig was in at third with a standup triple and he didn’t have to wait long before Albert Pujols drove him in. Jason Motte needed only six pitches (all of which were over 90 MPH) to earn the save. The Cardinals finished with thirteen hits to the Phillies six. The series will switch to St.Louis all tied up. The next game is on Tuesday at 5:00 PM ET.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Sam Evans. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Sam on Twitter.***
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2011 MLB Playoffs: Saturday October 1st Recap, Plus Thoughts on Francona and Reagins
Sunday October 2, 2011
Jonathan Hacohen (Lead Baseball Columnist – MLB reports): Major League Baseball had a full slate of games on Saturday, with all four series going. The NLDS teams got their first taste of playoff action, while the Rays/Rangers played game two of their series and the Yankees/Tigers resumed game one which had been forced to be paused after heavy rain in the Bronx the night before. Here is a summary of the action from Saturday, together with my final thoughts on Terry Francona and Tony Reagins, two big names in baseball that became suddenly unemployed as of Friday. Let’s jump right in first to game summaries from Saturday:
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers: NLDS Game One
This game was all about pitching, as Yovani Gallardo and Ian Kennedy faced off. Although Kennedy had the better regular season numbers, it was Gallardo who came out on top on this one. Gallardo took the win, with 8 IP, 4 hits allowed, 1 ER, 1 BB and 9 SO. A strong effort by the Brewers ace. John Axford picked up where he left from the regular season, coming in for a clean 9th inning for the save. Kennedy took the loss, giving up all four runs on 6 2/3 IP, giving up 8 hits, 1 BB and 3 SO. Both starters gave up a home run, Prince Fielder with a 2-run home run in the 7th for the Brewers, while Ryan Roberts responded with a solo blast in the 8th. Fielder finished with a 2 for 4 afternoon, while Ryan Braun went 3 for 4 and 2 runs scored. Willie Bloomquist went 2 for 4 with 2 singles in the leadoff spot for the Diamondbacks, who managed a measly 4 hits all day against the Brewers’ pitchers. The opening game on Saturday belonged to the favored Brewers.
Result: Brewers defeat the Diamondbacks 4-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Phillies: NLDS Game One
This game looked like a mismatch on paper, with Phillies ace Roy Halladay opposing Kyle Lohse of the Cardinals. It was the Cards though that jumped out to the early lead, as the Cardinals led by a Lance Berkman 3-run blast in the 1st led 3-0 for the first 3 innings. After a rough 1st, Halladay settled down and was untouchable the rest of the game. Halladay finished with 8 IP, 3 ERs allowed, 3 hits, 1 BB and 8 SO. A typical day in the office for Doc. The Cardinal’s Lohse, who looked so dominant after 3 IP, had the wheels fall off shortly after, as he gave up 1 run in the 4th and a whopping 5th in the 6th. Lohse finished the afternoon with 5 1/3 IP, 6 runs (5 earned), 7 hits allowed, 1 BB and 4 SO. The big blows in the 6th being a 3-run bomb to Ryan Howard and a 2-run blast shortly after to Raul Ibanez. Many offensive stars in this one. For the Phillies: Jimmy Rollins 2 for 4, 3 runs scored and a walk; Chase Utley 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored; Howard with 4 RBIs; Shane Victorino 3 for 4, 2 RBIs and 1 run scored; Raul Ibanez 2 for 4, 3 RBIs and 1 run scored. For the Cardinals, Lance Berkman was the big offensive star with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored; Skip Schumaker chipped in with 2 hits and 2 runs scored. Halladay with the win, while Lohse was charged with the loss.
Recap: The Phillies beat the Cardinals in a wild one, 11-6 to take a 1-o series lead.
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers: ALDS Game Two
After a wild opener, the Rays looked to win game 2 and take a stranglehold on the series. The Rays had James Shields (AKA Big Game James) on the mound, with the Rangers going with Derek Holland. After 3 1/2 it looked like the Rays were unstoppable, as Big Game James had a 3-0 lead staked to him. The big blowing coming in the 4th inning, as Matt Joyce hitting a 2-run blast off Holland. The Rangers though came alive in the 4th, with 5 big runs off Shields. The Rays hurler loaded the bases with no outs that inning, then proceeding to hit Adrian Beltre to force in Elvis Andrus with the Rangers first run. There was no looking back for the Rangers, who scored 8 runs in total to back Holland with the win. Holland pitched the minimum 5.0 innings, with 3 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, 2 BB and 2 SO. Koji Uehara could not get a batter out in the 7th, the blow being a 3-run home run to Evan Longoria to close the gap. The Rangers pen was on fire from there, with Mike Adams and Darren Oliver with a clean inning a piece and closer Neftali Feliz with the save. James Shields gave up 7 runs in his 5.0 innings of work to take the loss, 8 hits, 0 BB and 6 SO. Mitch Moreland had the only Rangers long ball, a 2-run blast in the 8th, hitting in the 9th hole. Leadoff man Ian Kinsler, along with Michael Young and Mike Napoli had 2 hits apiece. For the Rays, aside from the Joyce and Longoria home runs, got 3 hits from B.J. Upton, who also scored 2 runs in the loss. The Rangers are back people and are not ready to lay down to the Rays.
Result: Rangers beat the Rays 9-6 to take game 2 and even the series at 1-1.
New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers: ALDS Game One
The game started on Friday night, with aces C.C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander facing off. Suspended at 1-1 in the bottom of the 2nd, the game resumed with new pitchers Doug Fister and Ivan Nova facing off. The two pitchers exchanged zeros until the 5th, when the Yankees took a 2-1 lead. The Yankees bats exploded in the 6th, with the big blow coming in the 6th inning. With 2 outs and the bases loaded, Robinson Cano had a grand slam off reliever Al Alburquerque. The Yankees added another run for good measure in the 8th. The Tigers scored 2 in the 9th, long after this one was decided. Doug Fister took the loss, charged with 6 ER, 7 hits, 2 BB and 6 SO. Nova got the win in his first ever playoff start, pitching 6 1/3 innings, 2 ER, 4 hits, 4 BB and 5 SO. With the Yankees pitching in question all season, the rookie Nova proved that he was for real to lead the Yankees in this one. The biggest star for the Yankees was Cano, finished 3 for 5 with 6 RBIs and 1 run scored. All the Yankees hitters interestingly enough had at least 1 hit, except for Alex Rodriguez– who continued his usual playoff disappearing act going 0 for 5 with 2 SOs. Derek Jeter chipped in with 2 hits and 3 runs scored. Delmon Young, Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Raburn each contributed 2 hits in the Tigers loss.
Result: Yankees wallop the Tigers 9-3 to take game one and 1-0 series lead.
Final Thoughts: Terry Francona and Tony Reagins
On Friday, an MLB manager, as well as GM both left their teams after long tenures. Boston Red Sox manager, Terry Francona, depending on which story you believed was fired/mutually split from the BoSox. While in Anaheim, General Manager Tony Reagins resigned from the team. Two baseball men with impressive records, abruptly leaving their teams on sour notes.
Firstly Francona. Tito at age 52 had managed the Red Sox for 8 years. He leaves with a 744-522 record, good for a .574 winning percentage, 2 pennants and most importantly, 2 world series titles. The man who guided the Red Sox to beating the curse, he should have had a lifetime job in Boston for all his strong accomplishments. However, Fracona ends his Red Sox tenure after a strange and difficult 2011 season. After a slow start to the season, where many analysts wrote them off, the Red Sox were strong for most of the year and looked to be playoff locks. However, after a September crash for the ages, the Red Sox were eliminated in humiliating fashion on the final day of the season. With the team on the outside looking in on the playoffs, management was looking for a scapegoat and Francona became the victim. While some say the split was mutual, with Francona looking for a change of scenery and the team deciding weeks ago to make the move, the decision to not pick up Francona’s option smells of fear and desperation. A hero not so long ago, Francona is gone as the Red Sox decide to move on in 2012. In my opinion, the fault lies at the veterans who did not come through for the team, including John Lackey and Carl Crawford. But as the old saying goes, it is easier to change one manager than twenty-five players. Thus Francona is out of the game, although not likely for long.
In Anaheim, Tony Reagins resigned as Angels GM. With the Angels organization for 20 years, Reagins will apparently stay on in an advisor type role. During his tenure as GM, the Angels won 2 division titles, but were not serious World Series contenders. While the official departure is labelled a resignation, my feeling is that the Angels allowed Reagins to save face by labelling the choice as a resignation rather than firing or reassignment. The final straw came this year, as the Angels despite coming close at some points had a difficult time keeping up with the Rangers and missing the playoffs. The Angels had some of the pitching in baseball, but failed to score runs offensively to support their hurlers. The finger was often pointed at Reagins, with poor trades including the Scott Kazmir fiasco. The big blunder on his record being the acquisition of Vernon Wells this past offseason from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Angels took on most of Wells’ salary, which is considered by many to be one of the worst in baseball history. For $23 million in 2011 ($5 million paid by the Jays), the Angels got 25 home runs from Wells, along with 66 RBIs and 60 runs scored. They also received a .218 AVG, .248 OBP and .412 SLG. The question that may never get answered is: who is responsible for the acquisition of Wells. The Angels, who are on the hook for 3 more years at $21 million a year, had to have the move approved by owner, Arte Moreno. Most reports seem to indicate that it was Reagins who approached Moreno with the idea to acquire Wells. If this is true, then truly Reagins did deserve to take the fall. After all, besides acquiring the declining Wells, the Angels dumped Mike Napoli, who blossomed into an offensive beast in Texas (acquired by the Rangers in a later trade with Toronto). The Reagins move smells like a Red Sox type decision, where the team embarrassed by its season failure felt the need to make a change. However, unlike the BoSox, the Angels took the high road and allowed Reagins to save face. It is possible that the team had planned to fire their GM but gave him the option to resign instead. Or perhaps it was fully his decision to leave. The feeling is that Reagins was forced out but given the option to resign. Either way, the team handled the move with class and allowed him to stay in the organization.
Abrupt moves in Boston and Anaheim. Panic and rash moves that were done quickly in the heat of the moment. Did Francona and Reagins deserve better fates? That is debatable. Anaheim at least chose to use dignity, although the team’s press statement did indicate that the team chose to move forward (hint that the team did force their GM out). The Red Sox come out though looking like the bad guys, as their former manager deserved more respect for all he contributed to the team. But baseball is a business and these two moves prove just that.
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2011 MLB Playoffs: ALDS Day One Recap
Saturday October 1, 2011
Sam Evans (Intern – MLB reports): Going into the day, the opening day of playoffs had some pretty high expectations to live up to. While the games weren’t as electrifying as the last day of the season, it was pretty fun to finally watch some high pressure postseason baseball. Here is a recap of what happened today:
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers: ALDS Game One
The Rays came into this game with energy and by most accounts, the number three rated prospect in all of baseball taking the mound. Perhaps the most emotional part of the game was the first pitch thrown out by Cooper Stone. Cooper’s dad Shannon was killed after falling while trying to catch a foul ball. The game started in pleasant 80 degree weather in Arlington with a stadium filled with fans wearing Rangers colors. After the Rays had scored six runs in the first three innings, it became obvious that the Rangers would need to rely on their offense. This is something they’ve done all year, but Matt Moore proved to be too much for the Texas sluggers. He was so dominant that in the sixth inning Josh Hamilton, of all people, tried to bunt for a hit (his effort was unsuccessful). Moore pitched seven scoreless innings while allowing only two hits. Talk about impressive. Matt Moore is only twenty-two years, and this was only his second start in the majors (fourth appearance). If the Rays thought they could hide Moore in the minors for a few months next year, now it seems next to impossible. To have such a big time performance in front of the whole country will be something that will stay with him forever. (Another thing that will stay with him forever is his extremely bushy eyebrows, but that’s a different story for another time.) The Rays other hero was Kelly Shoppach, the thirty-one year old backup catcher. Shoppach went 3 for 5 with 5 RBI and 2 homers. That’s pretty impressive considering he batted .176 with 11 HR on the season. When asked after the game about Matt Moore, Shoppach had this to say, “His nameplate said Matt Moore and I said, ‘Who is Matt Moore?’ … Nobody will forget his name now.” This game wasn’t a thriller but it showed how many different players on a given day have to contribute in order for the Rays to have success.
Result: Rays win 9-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers: ALDS Game One
This game started off with Delmon Young going deep off C.C. Sabathia to right field. The ball carried just inches over Nick Swisher’s glove and gave the Tigers an early lead. However, the Yankees battled back to score in the bottom of the first. After that, the rain started. This is becoming a trend for postseason baseball and it’s not good for the game at all. In my opinion, Bud Selig should shorten the season or start spring training earlier in order to avoid this in the future. Nobody enjoys watching how weather affects the game. We just want to see the best players square off against each other. Anyways, the rain kept coming until at fifteen minutes past 11PM in New York, the umpires decided to suspend the game. Since this is the postseason, that means that the current score, outs, strikes, etc. will be delayed until Saturday at 8:37PM ET. The only real bummer is that Sabathia and Justin Verlander won’t be able to finish their matchup. Sabathia wants to pitch tomorrow but I think that’s doubtful and a bad idea no matter how thin the Yankees rotation is. According to Yankees beat writer Bryan Hoch, Ivan Nova is likely to get the start tomorrow. So if that is true the “starters” will be Nova for New York, and Doug Fister for Detroit. Fister is 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA since being traded to Detroit, so he will provide a challenge for the Yankees offense. It should be a fun game to watch, providing the rain holds up.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Sam Evans. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Sam on Twitter.***
Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.
Baseball Book Review: The Fastest 30 Ballgames
Tuesday September 27, 2011
THE FASTEST 30 BALLGAMES – A BALLPARK CHASERS WORLD RECORD STORY; BY: DOUGLAS ‘CHUCK’ BOOTH, CRAIG B. LANDGREN & KENNETH A. LEE
(AuthorHouse: 2011)
Jonathan Hacohen (Lead Baseball Columnist – MLB reports): As you have probably guessed from my previous reviews, I have a great love for baseball books. I have read hundreds of them over the years and will read hundreds more before my time is done. As baseball seasons have gone by, it seems that the market has become more and more saturated with baseball reading material. With so many options and so little spare time, many baseball readers have a difficult time choosing which books to add to their collections. I can completely relate to this dilemma. Speaking from experience, when I select my next baseball book- I always look for an original and fresh concept. I look to learn, laugh and get lost in time. Let’s face it: with our hectic schedules, reading is supposed to be our time to unwind, relax and have an escape. I recently uncovered a baseball book that provided all of the above and more. A book that will become a must-own for every serious baseball fan. “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” is the title and is the subject of today’s book review.
Every baseball fan that I know has either just come back from a baseball trip, is going on a baseball trip or is planning to one day take a baseball trip. The bottom line is that baseball fans love their baseball outings. Fans from all corners are discussing as we speak their dream of visiting Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field…and so on. We read about all of the major league stadiums. We listen to different teams play on the radio and watch their games on television. The next logical step is to visit those same parks in person. For most, if not all baseball fans, the dream of visiting new major league parks represents the ultimate dream vacation. In his book, The Fastest 30 Ballgames, author Doug Booth takes his readers through his tour of every single MLB stadium. What fans dream of experiencing, Booth has lived it. “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” provides readers with a journey through a baseball odyssey that has never been seen before. We get to live vicariously through Doug Booth. If a great book is to be an escape for its readers, then this book is just that. A really great book. When you finally complete this book, you will not only feel like you know every baseball park, but you will also have the sense of having been there. I got completely lost in the world of Doug Booth and the wonderful universe that is baseball.
I have never read a baseball book that is as expansive as “The Fastest 30 Ballgames”. This book works on so many levels. The first part walks us through Doug Booth’s attempts to set the Guinness World Record of watching games at all 30 major league parks in the fewest amount of days. Think baseball’s version of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” meets “The Amazing Race”. Sometimes an exercise in frustration, while other times an exhilarating ride. Booth does it all and sees it all, in setting out to fulfil his goal. What I most enjoyed about Booth’s writing style is his honesty, passion and heart. To me, the first part of “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” is a raw diary of the life of Doug Booth. From picking his mode of transportation, tickets, accommodations and route to each city and ballpark, Booth recounts in great detail his life and experiences in hopping from one baseball park to another. Booth does not hold back from sharing the personal details of his life, which make his legend and tale that much more real and rewarding to read. I felt that I was with Booth every step of the way. Booth’s use of imagery was so vivid that I could literally picture his words in my mind, creating a sense that I was along for the ride. A sign of a talented author and one that believes in his work.
Did Doug Booth set the world record you ask? Yes he did. After narrating in detail his near record-setting attempt in 2008, Booth went on to set the Guinness record the following year by watching baseball games in all 30 parks in only 24 days. If you do the math and take a look at a map, that is a very impressive feat. With weather, traffic, plane delays and countless other factors always lurking, Booth’s feat is mind-blowing. This book is worth reading just to find out how he was able to accomplish such an impossible feat. The reality is that very few of us, if any, will ever attempt what Doug Booth accomplished. When I completed “The Fastest 30 Ballgames”, I have to admit though that I felt the urge to continue my own baseball journeys. I started to calculate in my head all the baseball parks that I had already visited in my lifetime, and the ones that I still had left on my list. I started to visualize geographically where each stadium was located and how many I could visit per trip. From there, I calculated the number of trips and period of time I realistically thought it would take to complete the mission. As I was doing this, I realized that I was beginning to channel Doug Booth. I had the itch… and the only known cure was ordering tickets and getting on the road. Doug Booth had inspired me. I would assume that this was one of Booth’s goals in writing this book. By stirring the baseball excitement within me, I appreciated Booth’s own baseball travels and wanted to further trips of my own. Not only did I enjoy the book as a relaxing escape, but I was inspired and motivated. Another sign of a successful writer.
It is one thing to say that a person wants to achieve a goal. It is another thing to actually do it. Armed with my the drive to see every major league park, part 2 of the book lays out how to make it happen. Co-author Craig Landgren prepared a detailed listing and ranking of all 30 MLB parks. From where to park, sit, buy tickets, food, best months of the year to attend, nearest attractions and closest stadiums, Landgren provides the perfect “AAA” type guide to visiting baseball stadiums. A book within a book, Landgren provides the ideal cheat sheet for every stadium in the “Ballpark Chaser Guides” section, as it is referred to in the book. For those that are interested (and if you are a baseball fan, you will be), be sure to visit Landgren’s site: http://Ballparkchasers.com. Ballpark Chasers is an on-line community of baseball die-hard fans, sharing information, stories and pictures on baseball travelling. For “The Fastest 30 Ballgames”, Landgren lays out beautifully the information and images of all 30 MLB parks. In essence, Booth sets you up by inspiring you to follow his baseball trips, while Landgren teaches you how to make it happen. “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” is part autobiography and part baseball travel guide. But fully 100% baseball. Just the way we like it.
The last part of the book is real life stories of “Ballpark Chasers”, real people like you and I, telling the story of their stadium trips. Reading each of their stories, I started to think and plot in my head what story I would be telling one day on the Ballpark Chasers website. I could identify with all of the individuals, as they were the same as me. Baseball fans who loved the sport passionately and enjoying watching the games immensely. I could identify with each of these Chasers and felt that I could one day be one of them. That at the end of the day was likely the reason for including their tales. Now I was inspired by Booth, had the guide to travel from Landgren and the reinforcement from other Chasers that my planned travels could one day come true. Like Booth, it was extremely enjoyable to read each and every one of these baseball tales. This part added to the authenticity of the book that its authors strived towards. I was glad to read all of the Chasers’ tales and look forward to one day writing a baseball travel story of my own.
I have a deep dark secret I need to share. Most baseball books take me several days to complete. With professional and family
commitments, I will usually take 1-2 weeks to complete a book. “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” took me several weeks to complete. This was the longest amount of time I have ever taken to complete a baseball book. This is a compliment though to how much I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” travelled with me everywhere this summer. From my bedside, to doctor’s offices, the cottage and even my trip to Cooperstown, it followed me each and every step of the way. When I picked this book up, I could literally not put it down. I found myself going back to certain chapters and sections, reading and re-reading certain portions. When I was watching ballgames on television, I would pull out the book and compare its descriptions to what was seeing before me in real-time. It takes a lot to get me excited and gushing. Booth and his co-authors were able to accomplish that in their baseball masterpiece.
With the playoffs around the corner, the MLB 2012 schedule was recently released this month. Perfect timing to pick up “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” and start planning your next baseball trip. After reading all the tips and insights into each major league city and park, I would not dare to plan a meal, hotel reservation or purchase ball tickets without consulting this book. The book is an enjoyable read and provides hours of fantastic baseball tales. But at the end of the day it is not just a storybook, it is also a key reference tool. With so much baseball information and knowledge available in this book, I am certainly glad that I read it. If you are a seasoned veteran or someone just introduced to the game: do yourself a favour and pick this book up. “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” will be one of the most enjoyable baseball experiences that you ever experience. Until you get to all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums yourself one day!
**The photographs in today’s feature are courtesy of Douglas ‘Chuck’ Booth**
*** To learn more about “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” and Doug Booth, you can follow Doug on Twitter (@ChuckBooth3024) and click here for Doug’s website, fastestthirtyballgames.com***
Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.
Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays: Something ‘Fishy’ About New Logos?
Tuesday September 27, 2011
April Whitzman (Blue Jays Writer – MLB reports): It has been said that a logo symbolizes a company’s identity and provides an image of an organization second to none. Recognizing this, I have decided to analyze two recently leaked and rumored new MLB logos, belonging to the recently renamed Miami Marlins and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Miami Marlins
Let’s start by analyzing the logo of the Florida Marlins… er the Miami Marlins. With a new home in Miami for 2012, the organization felt that there was no better way to start a new identity in their new home, than with a new logo.
The change in logo, in my opinion, is a good move. Now in my seventh (and final) year of university studying towards a degree in public relations and marketing, I have been taught time and time again that a logo contributes greatly to the visibility and credibility of a business. The two factors that will help an organization most flourish and attain success.
Eliminated long ago from making the playoffs, the Marlins are attempting to start over with a new ballpark, manager (Ozzie Guillen) and powerful logo. But that being said, is the logo doing everything it is set out to do?
Let’s begin by analyzing the colors used. There is no denying that color plays an important role in catching the eyes of viewers and is an integral part of an organization’s identity. Recognizing this, upon comparing the new logo with their existing one, one can see that the Marlins have used the same colors of turquoise/blue, orange, white, and black, but have also added the color yellow to the mix.
The colors used in a logo are important in terms of how the organization will be perceived psychologically. Keeping this in mind, what is the team trying to indicate with the added brightness? If one thinks about items that are yellow – the sun, a caution sign, a taxi cab, these are all things that are either associated with joy, energy, or are used to grab attention in order to make people take notice.
Is that what the Marlins are trying to say? Is the team trying to give a warning to the National League that this new Miami team is born again and ready to become the centre of attention of the baseball world?
In their last two years, the Marlins have not been a serious contender. It is evident that with a new logo, the team is attempting to erase all negative sentiments associated with the team of the past in the minds of the fans. But is getting rid of their reputable fish the way to do it?
Even with the added colour, the new logo seems to not be as energetic as many had envisioned, and in my personal opinion, the logo is very lifeless. A good logo is intended to help an organization stand out from the crowd and scream out their presence. I am not sure if the new Marlins logo does either successfully.
Many have echoed my sentiments of disapproval of the logo, believing there should be more consistency with the team. Some have even recommended keeping the ‘F’ style logo with the same background and colors and merely changing the ‘F’ to ‘M’ (for Miami).
Toronto Blue Jays
One of the first things I was taught during my public relation classes was that a logo immediately becomes an important extension of a brand’s message. For this reason, a logo must communicate that message in every possible way. This could be done through the image itself, through the shape, or through the colors, as long as the message remains consistent.
There is no doubt that the new Toronto Blue Jays’ logo does exactly this. Interestingly, the Blue Jays’ organization went for a different approach than that of the Marlins. Instead of pursuing a completely new perspective, the Jays chose instead to revisit a logo that was once an integral part of the team. Comparing the new logo to the one that was predominant when the team first started in 1977, one can see a lot of similarities.
This, in my opinion, was a great decision. Not only does the organization constantly hear comments from fans to bring back the retro
bird, but also to move back to the logo that is associated with the team’s period of greatest success. That logo was predominant during the early 90’s when the Blue Jays’ won back-to-back World Series. So why not bring it back?
There are a few things that I remember clearly from my first marketing class: Know your customer and own your branding. The Toronto Blue Jays’ marketing initiative should be a complete success, as it is evident that by listening to their fans and introducing a new logo which incorporates the retro feel, the Jays are aware of what makes their core customers happy. In return, the organization recognizes that they will be able to sell new shirts, new hats, and new memorabilia with the new logo. Thus, Jays’ decision makers are bringing in additional revenues to the organization, which could become the difference in signing key players in the future.
Additionally, comparing the new logo to the most recent version, one can also see more emphasis placed on the color red through the symbolic image of the maple leaf. This to me not only accentuates the pride of being Canada’s only baseball team, but also represents the team’s message through the color red- which is known to denote energy, strength, power, determination and passion.
With new young and energetic players such as Brett Lawrie, Eric Thames, J.P. Arencibia and Colby Rasmus and the Blue Jays’ motto of ‘hustle and heart; the focus of the red in the logo only accentuates the team’s message. With many speculating that the team will also be unleashing new red uniforms in 2012, this realization only becomes stronger.
Overall
While logos can have a great impact and be a strong influence in expressing a team’s message and identity, logos in themselves are meaningless without strong teams behind them. If the Marlins want to portray a message of ‘watch out’ with their new yellow-and-fishless logo, and if the Blue Jays want to portray an image of determination and passion with their retro bird and red-pride logo, both teams still require strong teams that match their key messages.
It is evident that the Miami Marlins are realizing the importance of matching their new logo and new stadium with a new team, as evidenced from the upcoming trade that brings Chicago White Sox’ Manager, Ozzie Guillen, to the Marlins. In addition, however, the Marlins are still in dire need of new pitching and more offense that will make the team truly feel ‘new’ in the minds of their fans.
Conversely, the Blue Jays also need pitching (both a dominant starter and a lights-out closer) and a productive first baseman. I would recommend that the Blue Jays not just try to sign a power first baseman (such as Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols) solely based on his numbers. One thing that every public relations professional realizes is that one’s key message must be consistent. Thus the Blue Jays must find players that fit within the team’s notions of energy, determination and passion.
At this present time, neither logos have been confirmed by either organization. It is evident that while both teams have a lot of potential in their logos, they just have to ensure that their respective key messages are constant within every aspect of their organizations. If the Marlins and Jays utilize this approach, with their logos, rosters and throughout their organizations, there is no doubt that both teams will find success in the future by starting new today.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you. Comment below, email MLBreports@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter at @Alleycat17.
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Jobless in 2012 – MLB Managers on the Hot Seat from 2011
Saturday September 10, 2011
Rob Bland (Baseball Writer – MLB reports): When a team has a disappointing season, the most likely candidate to lose his job is the manager. So far in the 2011 season, there has already been three managers who have either resigned or been fired. The Oakland Athletics fired Bob Geren on June 9th and replaced him with Bob Melvin. A week and a half later, Edwin Rodriguez resigned from his post as manager of the Florida Marlins. Jack McKeon became the oldest manager since Connie Mack at 80 years old. Yet another week later on June 26th, Jim Riggleman of the Washington Nationals resigned and was replaced by Davey Johnson two days later. With only a few weeks left in the regular season, who are the frontrunners to be replaced after the World Series?
With eight managers being new to their respective teams to start the 2011 season, one would think there can’t be too many jobs to lose. The first criteria I look at in order to predict who will not be returning his club is if the team was expected to contend for the playoffs, and fell short. Another thing I look at is the perception of the clubhouse, ie. if players get along, or if the manager is able to manage egos. Of course, the manager’s ability to create a lineup and manage a bullpen is taken into consideration. Other factors such as injuries and expectations of players are measured as well. The list that follows are my top 3 managers who could be canned after this season.
Mike Quade, Chicago Cubs
It is not oft
en that I would think a first year manager would be fired like this, but there are so many circumstances that make me believe he will be gone. First, there has been grumbling since day one in Chicago that Quade was hired over franchise icon Ryne Sandberg. The Cubs have been packed with talented players such as Carlos Zambrano, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto, Ryan Dempster and Carlos Marmol. Add in Matt Garza and Starlin Castro, and you would think they could at least come close in the terrible NL Central. They are 22 games behind the streaking Milwaukee Brewers, and 21.5 behind Atlanta for the Wild Card. Their record is 62-81 with a 35-40 record at Wrigley Field.
Bud Black, San Diego Padres
With 2011 being Black’s 5th season with the Padres, a 62-82 record and already 21 games behind Arizona for the NL West title, he could be on the way out. The Padres have yet to reach the postseason under Black, however they were involved in a 1-game playoff with Colorado for the Wild Card title in 2007 that many of us will never forget as one of the most exciting games we have ever witnessed. In 2010, the Padres held a 6.5 game lead over eventual World Series Champs San Francisco Giants on August 25th. After a 10 game losing streak, the Padres were still in contention, and were not officially eliminated from the playoffs until the final day of the regular season with a 90-72 record. Those were the only winnings seasons in Black’s tenure and his time in San Diego may be up.
Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
Is it really fair to say Gardenhire’s job is in jeopardy? Probably not, but it definitely is possible. Over his 10 year career with the Twins, he has amassed an 861-740 record and they have been in the playoffs 6 times. However, they have only won 6 games, 4 of which were in one series, in Gardenhire’s first season; 2002. The Twins have not won a playoff game since 2004, being swept in 2006, 2009 and 2010 in the American League Division Series. This year, Gardenhire has had to deal with crippling injuries of former AL MVP’s Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. Statistically, the best hitter has been Michael Cuddyer, hitting .282 with 18 home runs and 64 RBI. The best pitcher has been Scott Baker who is 8-6 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 131 2/3 innings. Francisco Liriano has not been the same as he was before undergoing Tommy John surgery after the 2006 season, and aside from his no-hitter against the White Sox on May 3, he has been downright awful and is now on the 15-day disabled list. When the best players don’t perform, or are hurt, the manager is forced to do the best he can with what he is given. However a 59-84 record may just be the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back for Gardenhire.
This year, with 3 mid-season changes already, and eight new managers at the beginning of the season, shouldn’t see too much activity. I do believe that with the Cubs’ search for a new general manager under way, Quade’s days are numbered in Chicago. I also believe that Black’s inability to get the always promising Padres to the next level will leave him without a job by November. Gardenhire has not proven to me that he can bring the Twins to the World Series, and that is what the job description entails. Has it ever happened where both Managers of the Year from their respective leagues gets fired the following year? It could happen if Black and Gardenhire are let go.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our Baseball Writer, Rob Bland. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Rob on Twitter.***
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What Can a Parent Do: A Guide to Being a Baseball Parent
Monday September 5, 2011
MLB reports: I had the pleasure of meeting James Lamb through social media this year. As parents and through our mutual love of baseball, we have enjoyed several baseball discussions and debates. As a professional scout for the Florida Marlins, James is very active in Major League Baseball and is extremely knowledgeable on the sport. Many of our discussions though centered on parenthood, including being a baseball parent. James own son, John Lamb, is a prospect with the Kansas City Royals. Having been through the process of having a son drafted to a major league team, James’ story is a fascinating one. I learned about James also through his websites, http://pbdad.com and http://baseballpg.com. Being a father myself to a five-year son with another baby boy on the way, I started discussing with James the journey of becoming a baseball parent. That is where the concept of this article was born. We are very fortunate to have James Lamb as our MLB Guest Blogger today. For all current and future baseball parents, you will find James insights and tips extremely valuable. We proudly feature on the reports, James O. Lamb, with A Guide to Being a Baseball Parent:
James O. Lamb (Guest MLB Blogger): Baseball has an infinite number of stories about the players, personnel, coaches and fans whom are associated with the game. One thing that is common among all the unique stories is having parents during the path of participating with the game. I realize the common thread is obvious, but the job of parenthood is key to success as a citizen first and athlete second. There are multiple positions affiliated with the game of baseball throughout the many steps of participation on the field. Surely there are some instances of tragedy where a child loses a parent, or maybe both, but the relative or friend that steps up to facilitate the child assume a very important role in their life. So what can a parent do to help their son play baseball? Try to take a walk with your kids in the game of baseball.
I will never claim to have all the answers but being the father of a current professional baseball player in the Kansas City Royals organization and also a scout for the Florida Marlins, I do have a small clue about the game of baseball. Routinely I’m asked questions about things associated around the great game of baseball. Some ask about youth ball, some ask about the high school challenges, some ask about playing college baseball, some want advice about improving their son’s skills, and many more want to know about the path of their son playing in professional baseball. What is the most important thing a parent can do for their son around the game of baseball? What should a parent do about extra instruction? When should a parent leave the dugout and let someone else control their son’s participation on the field? The examples of questions go on and on covering a huge variety of topics. There all good questions, but I’m reminded by a comment my grandfather made to me when I was very young… the only stupid question is the one never asked. It’s very obvious that many parents have no clue about the game and steps to play for a long time and that is fine. Sound advice for the baseball parent can be discussed in a wide variety of ways, but for the purpose of this article I will address the key ingredients to help any parent with their challenges around the game. I have made mistakes during my walk of being a parent but hopefully some of these experiences can be beneficial during your journey. Take a walk with your kids in the game of baseball and you just might be pleasantly surprised.
Wait for your son to ask you about playing the game. Take them to games and hope they catch the bug and desire to play. It will happen sooner or later if your son wants to learn how to throw, catch or hit. Don’t rush this step of the baseball career. If you already missed this important step, or ignored the obvious, it will eventually be exposed and unlikely they will be a fan of the game. Not the end of the world by any means, but I see players on a regular basis in the high school level, and even college, that illustrate major resentments. The further I dig or observe it becomes extremely obvious the player does not play for the right reasons. Way too much work is necessary for baseball success and the desire simply must be from within the individual, not someone else. The best approach to baseball starts early through desires from the player not the parent. Parents cannot do the work needed for the player’s opportunity to play the game at the highest level, nor can they write a check for their son’s chance to be in the show. Don’t force the game on kids!
Allow them to be kids. Let them enjoy playing the game of baseball. This directly ties into the previous point, I know, but if parents don’t have a sound grip on the foundation of the game of baseball, there will be some serious challenges around the dinner table. Even if the only time you use the table is during the holidays. Kids need to be kids as long as possible and cannot be expected to be perfect on the baseball field. The game of baseball is failure based during half of the game. The offensive side is the glaring example of failure associated with baseball and must be accepted during the early years of playing. Parents that expect more hits, less strike-outs, more wins or higher expectations than the statistics of an average big leaguer are setting their kids up for some serious challenges in baseball and in life. I can say that in retrospect I too was a victim of high expectations during my son’s playing youth baseball. I realize it is difficult to allow our kids to fail with dignity but if we, as parents, push too hard… our young men will likely have years of therapy in their future due to our high unrealistic expectations during their youth. The games your son plays during the ages of 5 to 17 will not impact their careers of playing for a long time, but the negative reaction to possible failure during those games could keep them from wearing a uniform quicker than necessary. If you allow them to fail with integrity, I guarantee you will see them succeed around the game. It is imperative that the kids are allowed to be kids during the early years of playing baseball. The longer they can play with fun in their hearts the higher the likelihood they will be in love with the game enough to survive the challenges ahead. Don’t forget that they are kids while they play!
Let them experience other sports during their youth. Don’t be in a hurry to have your son play 100+ games a year. Way too many kids are simply playing too much baseball during their youth. This approach to playing baseball is an epidemic now in some areas of the United States where the weather permits games and tournaments to be scheduled practically year round. The idea of missing out on baseball development is driven by good marketing from a bunch of ill-advised individuals and corporations. Some players in the professional level are falling victim to a growing statistic of arm problems before their careers are complete and in certain circumstances a player’s career comes to an abrupt halt due to injury. Recently, I have struggled with this situation via hindsight of my own son’s amateur baseball career. John went down earlier this year in a Double-A level game with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in the first inning against the third batter. Maybe he played too much during his youth, and maybe he didn’t, but this dad will always wonder if the amount of youth games really contributed to the Tommy John surgery before his 21st birthday. Parents should force their boys to rest or simply play another sport to help occupy their minds away from baseball during the typical off-season periods of baseball. If you live in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas or Florida try to pretend there is snow on the ground during the winter months and you might not need to endure the agony of watching your son‘s career stop against a huge brick wall. My son played youth basketball and even flag-football in an attempt to rest from the game, but his desires to play baseball usually won the household battles especially the closer he got to graduating from high school. The hundred plus game schedules should be a goal for the parent of a baseball player not part of the process for obtaining the professional opportunity of the game. Plenty of other things can provide their much needed rest.
Keep being involved with your son playing the game of baseball. Having been a coach for many years now throughout all levels of youth baseball following my son’s desire to play the game, I am still blown away by the number of parents that treat their son’s practice, games or training as nothing more than a form of childcare. It’s not necessary to be at every practice or game but the more the merrier, at least until they become high school players. Pushing your son’s out of the car at their practice and running errands prevent the chance of assuring he really is learning how to play the game, or more importantly, having fun. If he’s not having fun he should be doing something else to find his passion and genius in life. I played for a few real crappy coaches during my youth but my love and desire to play the game was my personal driving force to work hard and compete for a line-up spot. You’ll never know about your son’s desires if you’re busy getting your nails done or working your brains out to help your boss pay his mortgage. By watching your kids practice or play you’re giving yourself a chance to ensure their desires to participate. Popping into a practice without announcement will give you a clear perspective of their experience and it will have enormous benefit when your son finds you there taking part of their enjoyment, or lack thereof. Your son’s may lose their desires to improve if you’re not part of the experience needed for them to improve and develop during their amateur days of playing the game. I realize the huge challenges parents have to mange time in our fast paced economy and lifestyles but you really should make an effort to be actively involved with the baseball stuff. If you’re too involved your son will let you know that you need to back off. Over involvement is really very common during the wrong stages of a boy’s baseball career, but that is another article for another day. Keep staying involved during their baseball until they make the high school team, at least.
What can a parent do? Try to take a walk with your kid in the game of baseball. The experiences from walking side by side around the game will be life changing for everyone involved. Although a potential love affair with the game may create other obstacles down the road of life all of which depend on the level of involvement with baseball, one thing can be said for sure and that is a true respect for the game will be created. If a relationship is fully allowed to blossom, the benefits are unlimited by the amount of jobs associated in and around the game. Parents can have a profound impact on their kids both in and out of the ballpark. Being a good human being only adds to the true value of any ballplayer at any level. Talent, hard work, a dash of luck and tremendous humility can open many doors and reciprocal affair with baseball. I’m always looking forward to yet another unparalleled baseball story engrained by the individuality of the greatest game on earth.
© by James O. Lamb. All rights reserved.
Twitter @JamesOLamb
* Please be advised that this article and any additional comments, posts or opinions from the content do not reflect the opinions of the Florida Marlins, L.P., Major League Baseball, or any other affiliations of professional baseball. *
Thank you James for preparing today’s article. Please feel free to contact James O. Lamb on Twitter or through his websites for comments and questions. James is one of the brightest baseball minds that I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with and getting to know. We highly encourage our readers to subscribe to James’ websites to gain valuable information and insights.
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Sunday MLB Insider Report: Our Views on the Latest Baseball News
Sunday September 4, 2011
MLB reports: Here is our weekly look at Major League Baseball and the latest news, together with analysis and of course, our opinions:
I am about to finish the latest baseball book that I am reading and will be posting a review this week. “The Fastest Thirty Ballgames”, by Ballpark Chaser extraordinaire, Doug Booth. I don’t want to give away much of my report, that will be saved for the review. Needless to say, the book has inspired me to fulfil my goal of seeing all thirty MLB ballparks. While it takes me ordinarily a couple of days to a week to complete a baseball book, this particular book has taken me much longer. I have read and re-read this book over and over, going back to read favorite sections. For any baseball fan who loves baseball road trips or is thinking of taking one, this book is the perfect travel companion.
One of the biggest topics on the lips of Yankees fans is the contract status of C.C. Sabathia. After Ivan Nova, the Yankees have several question marks as to their rotation going into the playoffs. Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett are all in the mix. But if Sabathia were to hypothetically opt out of his deal and test free agency, the Yankees pitching staff could collapse like a house of cards. It appears that Sabathia has enjoyed his time thus far in New York and plans to continue pitching as a Yankee. Although Sabathia will likely opt out, both player and team will do everything possible to keep the big guy in pinstripes. Sabathia will become even richer on a new deal, as Alex Rodriguez was on his decision to opt out and sign a new Yankees deal. For the team with the highest payroll in baseball, to contend it will re-sign its ace in the offseason.
Rumors are circulating that many MLB General Managers will be wooed to change teams in 2012. Brian Cashman of the Yankees,
Andrew Friedman of the Rays and Theo Epstein of the Red Sox are all apparently in demand, as is Billy Beane in Oakland and Mike Rizzo in Washington. From all the best GMs that will be considered for the Cubs position, the only one I could see is Cashman. With his contract up in New York and the Steinbrenner regime exercising control in decision-making (see the Rafael Soriano deal), Cashman may have had enough and makes the move to the Windy City. All of the other GMs are in great positions, with little or no incentive to make the leap. Some have called for the Astros to make a strong play for Friedman, but I see him staying put in a great situation with a strong talent base. Friedman will see his team through to an eventual World Championship.
I had several conversations with baseball people about the World Baseball Classic, with the third edition coming up rapidly in 2013. As discussed in a previous article, there are some changes to the WBC that have been instituted, including a qualifying tournament in the fall of 2012. New countries in the mix include Great Britain, France, Israel and Brazil. In all there will be 12 new countries, together with 4 holdover countries vying for 4 open spots into the tournament. From the 16 existing WBC countries, 12 were granted automatic berths into the tournament. The challenge facing MLB and WBC officials is to have eligible players play for their respective countries. One particular country I discussed was Israel. Imagine a team lead by Ian Kinsler, Ryan Braun and Kevin Youkilis. Quite the powerhouse offense. To have this tournament ultimately succeed, star players that are eligible for new and less known baseball countries need to play for these countries and increase the exposure of the sport in those regions. That is really what the WBC is all about.
For fans in Kansas City, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Washington, and San Diego, please be patient. Your teams will be better. It might be hard to believe and some of you must be sick of hearing it, but your teams have great young talent and each will be a contender one day. The only variable against you is time.
With their victory over the Giants last night, the Diamondbacks now hold a six game lead in the NL West. How Kevin Towers
remained on the market so long before being hired in Arizona is beyond me. Derrick Hall and company have put together a nice young team, with strong management on the field and in the front office. Towers has put together the team and manager Kirk Gibson has molded them into a contender. It goes to show that a bleak situation can be transformed almost overnight, if you have the right people in place. Baseball, as much as any other sport, starts with the people in charge. A solid management foundation flows through the whole organization and can make or break a major league team. Arizona is the team of destiny in the NL West in my mind and while they will have a very difficult time passing the Phillies if they make the playoffs, just playing in October this year will be considered a huge victory for the team.
Outside of New York and Boston, many baseball fans are apparently sick of talking about the Red Sox and Yankees. For as much as fans may despise the teams, as baseball fans they should still respect them. Baseball, without the history and tradition of the Red Sox and Yankees, would have a large void. During my recent trip to Cooperstown (with a full report on my experiences coming soon), I was fascinated by the Babe Ruth exhibit and all the features on the two powerhouse squads. There are no guarantees that either the Red Sox or Yankees will be in the World Series this year. But having the teams in baseball is a good thing. Attendance figures on the road when either team in town shows the demand. You may hate the Red Sox and Yankees. But you love to hate them. For those of you that are either Red Sox or Yankees fans (can’t be both), you are some of the most passionate and knowledgable fans in baseball and I salute you.
I have been speculating since spring training that Jonathan Papelbon will leave Boston and join the Phillies this offseason. I read some speculation this week that the Yankees may look to add him as the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera. I could only imagine the feeling in Fenway the first time Papelbon would step foot on the mound in Pinstripes. Unlikely to happen in my opinion, but speculating can be fun sometimes. Until I hear otherwise, I am predicting Papelbon to the Phillies.
With the playoff races in baseball almost completed, it is time to turn our attention to October and thinking about the teams that will play in the World Series. My picks at this point are the Rangers and Phillies. Call it a hunch. Call me crazy. I am seeing a Texas Philadelphia matchup and one of the best fall classics in recent history.
Finally, I made a point on Twitter yesterday that the regular season is almost done. If you have not made it a live game yet this year or even if you have gone to twenty or more games, try to attend as many September games as you can. When November hits, the winter can be quite a sad time for baseball fans. Unless you can make it out to Arizona or Mexico, chances are that you will not be able to watch winter ball. With the internet, those games can be found to be viewed on your computer. But as fans can attest, nothing beats a live ball game. Enjoy as many of those games as you can now.
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Twitter and Baseball: Thoughts from Toronto Blue Jays Prospects
Thursday September 1, 2011
April Whitzman (Guest Writer- MLB reports): There is no denying that social media has completely changed the sports world. It changes the way we watch it, the way we consume it, and the way we interact with it. Sports fans used to live their lives with everything at arm’s length, but now, it is just a finger click away.
One of the biggest advancements that social media has presented is the ability for fans to interact with players, and in return, allow the players to be able to interact with the fans. This has become predominant thanks to one specific social media tool, Twitter. Discussing this opportunity, I spoke with numerous Toronto Blue Jays prospects, who frequently engage on Twitter, to discuss their thoughts on this subject.
I first spoke with Justin Jackson, the Toronto Blue Jays 1st round pick of the 2007 MLB Draft. He has found great success this year as the present outfielder for the Dunedin Blue Jays, posting a .265 batting average. Despite his success at the plate, many Blue Jays fans are even more impressed with his ability to interact with everyone on Twitter via his handle of, @JaxChillinONE. When asked what he likes best about the tool, Jackson replied, “My favourite thing about Twitter is definitely the interaction with fans and friends!”
Next, I turned to Ian Kadish, present reliever for the Bluefield Blue Jays. He has been dominant on the mound, maintaining a 2-3 record with a 2.67ERA in 23 games. What has also been more dominant, however, is his ability to consistently keep his fans and followers updated and connected. Not only does Kadish inform via his Twitter handle, @BearJew36, but he also has his own blog featured at: http://livinginthelifeofian.blogspot.com/. Discussing his activity on social media, Kadish informed me: “There is no denying that I am a fan of social media, but I realize that it has its positives and negatives. Athletes need to be smart about it. I definitely think it has brought the athletes and fans closer together because they can interact with each other much easier. It is more of an interactive environment where fans can give the athlete their praise or tell them how bad they were on that specific day. Hopefully, the latter does not happen, but sometimes it will, so athletes need to take the comments with a grain of salt.”
Kadish’s statement regarding the fact that players must be cautious could not be more accurate. It was also echoed by Sam Strickland, who is also a reliever for the Toronto Blue Jays organization. This season, with the Lansing Lugnuts, Strickland has posted a 3-1 record with a 4.98 ERA yet has also proven his command and control on the Twitter mound via his handle of @S_Strickland34. Strickland stated, “Without fans, baseball has no purpose. Being a professional athlete comes with a few attachments of the field – Including answering to fans. If you have a great game, people will notice, as is the same with a poor game. And as a pro athlete you have to learn that both occur. It wasn’t that long ago that I was the huge crazy fan, so I am definitely an advocate for social media being intertwined with pro sports. It allows closer access. We as athletes just have to be careful!”
Right-handed pitcher for the Bluefield Blue Jays, Tucker Jensen (@Tucker_Jensen), also highlighted the fact that social media does have its faults, but indicated how the positives certainly outweigh each and everyone. He stated: “Of course, through social media, an athlete is going to hear both praise and hate because of their play. That is just the way sports work. But what needs to be realized is that it is beneficial because it allows others such as JaysProspects or myself to communicate with one another and at the same time get updates of the individuals being followed.”
Steve McQuail has shown his power this season with the Vancouver Canadians, already hitting 12 home runs. He has also shown his
power online as well, as through his handle @SteveMcQuail, McQuail consistently keeps his followers updated with his progress throughout the season. He admitted his praise of social networking, indicating: “I think Twitter is an amazing tool because it gives people the opportunity to get on a personal level with their favorite players, stars or idols. You can pick up on everyday routines of the people you look up to, an option that was never available before.”
@Mark_Biggs, a right-handed pitcher who only joined the Blue Jays organization a few weeks ago upon signing in the 8th round of the 2011 MLB Draft., echoed McQuail’s statements, indicating, “I think the major benefit of social networking is for people to follow their favorite athletes or actors or whatever the case may be, and allow them to directly interact with them. It’s a unique and wonderful opportunity!”
Brandon Berl, known by his Twitter handle, @Brandon_Berl, has posted a 3-5 record with a 2.47 ERA with the Lansing Lugnuts so far this season. While Berl shows his presence frequently with the Lugnuts, appearing in 28 games so far this season, he shows his presence on Twitter even more regularly. When he was asked to discuss his thoughts on social media, he answered: “Social media has definitely added a great opportunity to connect with fans and for them to learn a little bit more about me and all other players. I have enjoyed the opportunity to communicate with fans and engage with new people and I cannot wait to do so with more!”
Lastly, I spoke with Jonathan Jones, @JonJones707, who echoed all of the Blue Jays thoughts perfectly, stating, “I believe that Twitter is a great tool. It gives the fans access to follow their favorite players and see what they are doing, learn their likes and dislikes, and even get to see photos. It allows fans to feel like they have a personal relationship and for the athletes, and in return, it allows us (the players) to see all the fans’ love and support. It goes a long way for us.”
Knowing that it goes a long way, make sure you follow each and every player mentioned on Twitter. While you are at it, also follow me on Twitter at @Alleycat17. For more information on these players and for regular updates, also add @JaysProspects, or visit www.JaysProspects.com.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our guest writer, April Whitzman. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers.***
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Sunday MLB Insider Report: Our Views on the Latest Baseball News
Sunday August 28, 2011
MLB reports: Here is our weekly look at Major League Baseball and the latest news, together with analysis and opinions:
First our condolences to the Flanagan family, as the baseball world learned of the loss of ex-Orioles and Jays pitcher Mike Flanagan. Mike was a baseball lifer, having played the game and remained active as a coach, broadcaster and executive. The part of the ordeal that makes the story most tragic is how quickly speculation and then reports surfaced that his death was a suicide. In this age of social media, it is difficult to impossible to mask the facts behind a story. When rumors begin that are untrue, it is then often too difficult to bury them when they are later proven untrue. Once a story is put out into the world on the internet, it often remains there in people’s minds, if fact or faction. So when we think of Mike Flanagan, let’s remember him for the star pitcher that he was in the later 1970s and all the contributions he made to the game in all different capacities. Without having walked in his shoes, none of us could ever understand what was in his mind and the factors that led to his unfortunate passing. We cannot change the past. So when remembering Mike Flanagan, let’s remember him for his role in the game and not for the manner in which he passed away. I’m sure the Flanagan family would want it that way.
From a sad story to a literally bizarre tale, Lenny Dykstra is in the news once again. And for all the wrong reasons, again. The former World Series hero for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies apparently was arrested for soliciting women on Craig’s List for fake jobs and then exposing himself to them. Looking to hire women for roles such as assistants and cleaning women, Nails according to reports has hit a new low. Once heralded as a business genius in business magazines, for his many business ventures including a string of car washes, Dykstra is now bankrupt and at the bottom of the barrel. I had a reader write in that questioned why ex-players like Dykstra and Flanagan pull stunts to get themselves into the news and cannot get away from the limelight. After my jaw dropped and blood boiled, I took some time to think about this comment. Overall, my response is that there is a difference between Flanagan, Dykstra and a publicity hound like Jose Canseco. Mike Flanagan passed in an unfortunate manner, but I think any reasonable person would not associate his death with a publicity stunt. Flanagan was a troubled soul but in no way looking for attention. Rather he was moving away from attention, likely looking for peace. To say that Flanagan was seeking publicity is extremely disrespectful to his legacy and family that was left behind. In the case of Dykstra, if the recent allegations are true, I also do not believe that he was seeking attention. To commit such crude and strange acts indicates that the man is disturbed and in need of professional assistance. Perhaps in some ways it is a cry for help, in other ways he may just have a giant ego and believes that he can do whatever he wants without repercussions. But it is extremely unlikely that Dykstra was hoping his actions would be publicized to the world and bring his name back to the spotlight. In a way it all comes back to Jose Canseco. In his truest form, Canseco only acts in a manner so that he will get his name into the public spotlight. From reality shows, boxing matches, independent baseball games, tell all books etc, Canseco’s singular purpose is to get attention. So while there are many ex-athletes out there in the world, let’s not all be so quick to group them into the Jose Canseco category. Some may have troubles, some may keep clean and we will never hear about them. But just because a story emerges about an ex-MLB player, let’s not be so quick to think that all of them are publicity hounds. Some want the exact opposite and enjoy their private time since their careers have finished.
Don’t look now Texas Rangers fans, but the Angels are hot on the heels of your team. The Rangers’ lead in the AL West is down to a mere 2.0 games with the Angels suddenly on fire. In their last 10 games respectively, the Rangers are 3-7 while the Angels are a mirror opposite 7-3. With the teams set to face-off today against each other, the gap could close even more. It seems that the Angels have caught fire at the right time, while the Rangers have cooled off. The Rangers are still scoring runs at a large clip, as they normally do in August in Arlington. But while the Rangers pitching is starting to fall short, the Angels pitching is on fire. Led by dual aces Jeff Weaver and Dan Haren, the Angels pitching looks unstoppable at this point. The Rangers will be tough to beat, with one of the best offenses in baseball led by Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young and Mike Napoli. They also have a very deep end of the bullpen led by closer Neftali Feliz. But as the San Francisco Giants showed last year, strong pitching can beat good hitting to win at all. The Rangers have the bats and the Angels have the arms. While the Angels have some good bats, including Torii Hunter and Mike Trumbo, they are nowhere close to the level of the Rangers. It will be an AL West dogfight right to the end of the season. Baseball fans everywhere look forward to the September AL West showdown.
I read a really good article this week on the Sports Illustrated site. It was a look at the large contract signed by Jered Weaver and
the Angels and analyzing the rationale behind it. The article made many strong points that I wanted to touch upon. While many analysts have argued that Weaver left tens of millions of dollars on the table, such is not always the case. Looking at the worst case scenarios of such a deal, the article brought up the Carlos Zambrano deal in Chicago and Brandon Webb not signing a contract with the Diamondbacks. Zambrano signed at the time a “team friendly” deal which the Cubs are now working very hard to get out of. On the flip side, Brandon Webb did not end up signing a long-term deal in Arizona and ended up getting hurt and costing himself millions. I would throw in as well the failure of Nomar Garciaparra to sign a long-term deal with Boston that ended up costing him millions due to later injuries suffered and likely saving the team in the long run. In the case of starting pitchers, you never know when one will get injured and waiting until free agency could result in injuries and lost wages overall. So while some view Weaver as having lost millions, others could look at it as gained millions and take the sure road to a rich contract and not gambling on what the future could bring. The bottom line is that Weaver is comfortable where he is and being paid handsomely to play the game he loves at home. Both the team and player are happy with the deal and everyone wins as a result. If Weaver gets injured or falters, the player will look as the victor. If Weaver dominates over the next five years, the team will appear as coming ahead. Without looking into a crystal ball, we will say that this was a fair deal for a player not yet eligible for free agency and we will call it a tie. As Chone Figgins in Seattle, Adam Dunn in Chicago and Jeff Weaver also in Seattle can attest, the highest dollar isn’t necessarily the best one for a baseball career. Staying in a productive situation can often best further a baseball career and lead to the most years played and quite often, the most dollars overall earned as a result.
Finally, one of our favorite baseball topics: prospects. From the explosion in exposure of the MLB draft to the countless websites devoted to tracking baseball prospects, baseball fans are hot on the heels of future “stars’ like never before. In addition to the social media available reporting on prospects, teams have pressure to develop and call-up prospects at a quicker pace due to the dollar amounts involved. With top prospects earning bigger bonuses than seen back in the day, executives are feeling the heat to rushing these bonus babies to the majors. So the combination of big bucks and fan pressure is resulting in prospects climbing early to the majors at very young ages. So while Brett Lawrie may appear to be an early success for the Jays, teammate Travis Snider has failed to reach his potential yet and is doing the trek from the minors to the majors and back. Alex Gordon similarly came to the majors with a mountain of expectations and took many years to develop. Colby Rasmus burnt out in St. Louis for many reasons and found his way to Toronto. Matt LaPorta was traded by the Brewers to the Indians in the C.C. Sabathia trade and has failed to live up to Indians’ fans expectations thus far. But on the flip side we see a Paul Goldschmidt come up with the Diamondbacks with little fanfare around the majors and find success. We can look at hit and miss prospects all day, but my point is as follows. Baseball prospects take the longest to develop out of all the major sports. While the NBA and NFL do not have a minor league system per say and the NHL has one minor league level, Major League Baseball has several minor league stops. It is rare to impossible for a baseball prospect to make it to the show without spending time in the minors. While most baseball prospects realistically need 2-4 years in the minors to develop their game, many top prospects are being rushed like never before. I do not see this as a positive in the game and in many cases a hinderance to the development of the players. But with the baseball media machine at full blast and money being thrown at top prospects at record high levels, I cannot see the rushing of top prospects stopping any time soon. But I think we all need to step away for a moment and really think about what is best for these players careers. For every Brett Lawrie, there will be hundreds of failed prospects that will take time to develop. Alex Gordon this year is one of the few lucky ones, that has been able to turn around his career. But it took a position change and many failed attempts to get to this point. Analyzing and watching prospects is one of my guilty habits, I will admit it. I just hope that major league teams will give their top prospects the tools and ability to succeed, rather than set them up for failure. It is a fine line and one that many teams are still learning to walk on.
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The Sunday MLB Inside Reports
MLB reports: Greetings readers from Cooperstown, New York. I am on the road and writing today’s report on my BlackBerry. As I sit in my hotel and prepare to visit the Cooperstown baseball museum tomorrow, here are today’s reports:
Watching the Cubs and Cardinals playing the Sunday night game of the week, I had some thoughts. Firstly, ESPN loves Starlin Castro. He was on the tv set about 60% of the game and had his name mentioned about 3,000 times. He is good, but still young and raw. The hype needs to be toned down. Also nice home run showings by Jon Jay and Yadier Molina with a pair. But top prize goes to Albert Pujols for the bomb he hit off Lopez. That shot will put Pujols back on the map as he proves health and performance on road to new contract in the offseason. That home run may have earned another $20 million on his new contract.
The Tigers are looking good after this weekend. They currently sit in 1st place in the Central. The Indians are 4 GB, with the White Sox 5 GB. Watch out for the Sox as they are still in it. In my opinion, there is not a better catcher right now in baseball than Alex Avila. With power and patience at the plate, to go along with strong D, Avila is doing it all for the Tigers. Credit goes to Victor Martinez, a positive mentor to Avila and a great free agent acquisition for Detroit. On the flip side, Ubaldo Jimenez got rocked Sunday. The Indians starter does not look 100% on the mound and may have an undisclosed ailment.
The Braves bullpen combination of Venters and Kimbrel is downright scary for opponents. To go along with starters Tim Hudson and Jair Jurrjens, the Braves should take the NL Wild Card come October. The National League is officially on notice.
It looks like the Brewers are running away with the NL Central. A very deep team top to bottom, the Brewers were built for the 2011 playoffs. The Reds have been a big disappointment this year and the Cardinals simply do not have the pitching to match up with the Brewers.
Jose Bautista hit his major league leading 36th home run of the year. Bautista has done it all this year, showing power and patience at the plate with great D at 3B and the outfield. Perhaps the most valuable player to his team, expect Bautista to get many votes for AL MVP this year.
I enjoyed reading the Bill James Abstract today on the drive up to Cooperstown. Given James’ important contributions to the game, consideration should be given to putting James in the Hall of Fame one day. His contributions have been that important considering how much he has changed the game through statistical identification and analysis.
Baseball needs to stop digging in its heels as many decisions need to be made soon. Upcoming baseball discussions centre on realignment, expansion, adding wild card teams HGH testing, rookie salary caps and finding a replacement for Bud Selig. Expect much more information to come out as the current MLB CBA expires in December.
As a side note, it was a glorious drive up to Cooperstown this afternoon. When you enter the town, it really feels like being in small town USA. Many houses have American flags proudly displayed up front and there is grass, trees and baseball signs everywhere. For a baseball fan, there is no better place on earth than Cooperstown. If you haven’t visited, I highly recommend it.
Have a great night everyone and I wish everybody a great week. As the MLB pennant race heats up, be sure to support your favorite team. September is around the corner and playoff baseball will be here soon.
E-MAILBAG: Ask the Reports, Wednesday August 17th
Thank you for reading the E-mailbag. Please send all your questions to mlbreports@gmail.com and please include your first name and City/Country.
We will be compiling a list of your questions from our e-mailbag and posting the responses on Wednesdays.
Wednesday August 17, 2011
Q: Watched the Tigers / Twins game today ( Aug 15th ) and was happy to see my fave player, Jim Thome hit 600. I consider him one of the best home run hitters of all time. My question to you: Thome has done most of his damage as a DH and on non playoff teams. What are his chances to make it to the Hall Of Fame and if he does go in, what hat do you think he will wear? From Larry, Nevada.
MLB reports: A great question Larry. I wouldn’t expect anything less from our #1 reader! Taking a look at Thome’s numbers, you may find a few surprises. Thome in his career has played 1102 games at 1B and 492 games at 3B. Thome did not become a full-time DH until 2006. Considering that he came up with Cleveland in 1991, I do not believe the DH role late in his career will affect him much, if any. The cloud of the steroid era may, as it seems that many big sluggers from Thome’s generation will have a difficult, if not impossible time getting into Cooperstown. But unlike Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, Thome is seen as one of the “clean” home run hitters of his generation. At 600+ home runs, a lifetime OBP over .400 and SLG over .550, I view Thome as a definite first ballot hall-of-famer. With 12 years and 334 home runs in Cleveland, I can guarantee you that Thome will go into Cooperstown as a member of your beloved Indians.
Q: Any insight on Wade Miley? From Joseph, Nashville.
MLB reports: Great question, thank you Joseph. Wade was a 1st round pick of the Diamondbacks back in 2008 (43rd overall), after being drafted in the 20th round by Tampa Bay in 2005 and not signing. The 24-year old Miley is a 6’1″ left-handed starter in the Diamondbacks organization. Currently pitching in AAA after a recent promotion, Miley has a 3.64 ERA , to go along with a 4-1 record and 1.270 ERA. With this being his 4th season in the minors and showing steady development, it should come as no suprise that Miley got the call today as he has been promoted to the big leagues. With Jason Marquis on the DL, Miley may get a few spot starts for Arizona and at the very least, a spot in their pen the rest of the way. 2010 was a breakout season for Miley and despite some regression this year in AA, he has gotten better as the season has progressed. With the amount of pitching prospects in the Diamondbacks system, Miley will have a difficult time fighting for a rotation spot with the big club. Long-term I see him as trade bait for an organization that has room in its rotation for him or perhaps a bullpen role. He may yet develop into a solid #4 starter for the Diamondbacks, but at this point that remains to be seen. The future is still bright for Miley, but 2012 will be a big year for him in Arizona. We wish Miley the best of luck on his recent promotion, as he joins the first place Diamondbacks in the quest to win the NL West division this year.
Q: Sorry if I missed it, but have you done a report on the Angels CF, Peter Bourjos? That kid can fly? From Craig, Texas.
MLB reports: I answered this one briefly on twitter but wanted to elaborate. I have received many questions on Bourjos this year, but have not filed a report on him to-date. It was a calculated decision, mostly due to the fact that not many fans have asked about him outside of Anaheim. Looking at the numbers, Bourjos is a steady, but not spectacular hitter for the Halos. .271 AVG, .328 OBP, .416 SLG, 5 home runs and 15 stolen bases. At this point, Bourjos is keeping a spot warm for future superstar Mike Trout. Originally a 10th round pick, the 24-year old Bourjos may blossom into a future superstar. But I have my doubts that will happen. Long-term I see Bourjos as a #4 outfielder on most teams, with the chance of becoming a good leadoff hitter if he can increase his on-base percentage. We will all continue to keep an eye on Bourjos, but be sure to keep expectations in check until a breakout occurs.
Q: Do you think that the Indians are going to get a RH bat? If so, who? And do you think they are going to win the Central? From Martin, Cleveland.
MLB reports: Let the Indians theme continue! Many solid questions Martin, I take it that you are a big supporter of the tribe. One of the biggest surprises of the week was Delmon Young moving to the Twins to the Tigers. Probably one of the better right-handed bats was passed over by the Indians to their division rivals in Detroit. By passing Young over, my gut feel is that the Indians are likely done tweaking their lineup. With the additions of Kosuke Fukudome and Ubaldo Jimenez, the Indians will go with their current roster for the most part in battling for the AL Central crown. There is a chance that the team may add one more depth player, but I do not expect any real player of consequence at this stage. As far as the AL Central race goes, it is a 3-team race between the Tigers currently in 1st place, the Indians 3.0 games back and White Sox 3.5 games back. This one is too close to call. I will admit that I am very partial to the Tigers and like their chances at this point. While the Indians seemed to be a team of destiny at the start of the year, the Tigers look to be prime for a division title led by Justin Verlander. The Indians end the season going up against the Tigers in Detroit, while the White Sox face the Blue Jays in Chicago. The AL Central will come down to the final week, with my money on Detroit to take it all.
Q: Any news on Yu Darvish? Will we see him in North America next year? From Shane, Kansas.
MLB reports: Darvish is represented by an agent (Arn Tellem) and at 25-years of age would be a prime addition to any major league team. There has been a debate in baseball circles whether his Japanese club, the Nippon-Ham Fighters will post him, which really boils down to Darvish wanting to leave Japan to come to the major leagues. Despite mixed messages I have read in his interviews, it sounds like Darvish is ready to make the jump (and pocket the large paychecks that will follow). Expect Darvish to arrive in 2012, with at least 8-10 teams fighting for his services. The Yankees, Rangers, Red Sox, Blue Jays and many others will be fighting for his services. This one will simply boil down to which team is willing to pay the most and when Darvish is ready to make the change. As one of the best, if not the best pitchers not currently in North America, Yarvish should be an instant ace for the team lucky enough to land him. We will keep following this story and let you know as we have updates.
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2011 MLB Draft: Recap and Draftees who Didn’t Sign
Tuesday August 16, 2011
Rob Bland (Intern- MLB Reports): Amongst all the madness that was the Draft Signing Deadline, I first have to say congratulations to Jim Thome for hitting the 599th and 600th home runs of his illustrious career. He is only the eighth player in MLB history to reach that mark.
There were many signings that went down to the wire last night, and most players in the early rounds signed. There were five Major League deals signed from this draft. The Washington Nationals gave pitcher Matt Purke a 4-year, $4.4M deal out of the third round. Second overall pick Danny Hultzen, the left-handed pitcher from Virginia University selected by the Seattle Mariners was given 5 years and a guarantee of $8.5M. It was previously reported that the Arizona Diamondbacks gave RHP and third overall pick Trevor Bauer a 4 year, $7M deal. High school pitcher Dylan Bundy was given five years and $6.225M from the Baltimore Orioles and Rice University’s Anthony Rendon was given four years and $7.2M as the most polished bat in the draft by the Washington Nationals. Top pick Gerrit Cole was given an $8M bonus by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
However, there were three players in the first two rounds who did not sign, which will result in the teams who selected them receiving a
compensation pick in next year’s draft. First of those was RHP Tyler Beede. Known to be extremely tough to sign, the Toronto Blue Jays selected him 21st overall. Beede’s talent alone could have taken him into the top 10 picks, but his lofty demands as well as his desire to play for Vanderbilt University dropped him down to the Blue Jays. It was reported that the final offer The Blue Jays offered was in the $2.3M range, but Beede did not budge from his demands. In a tweet from his Twitter handle @TylerBeede, he said “g-d has plans for me and that is college first.” Beede will look to follow in the footsteps of recent first round pitchers from Vanderbilt; David Price and Jeremy Sowers. Beede was one of my picks that would come down to the wire, and I said that it would take close to $3M to sign him. The Blue Jays will now pick 22nd in the 2012 draft.
North Carolina State University will get their coveted catching signee, as the San Diego Padres were unable to sign switch hitter Brett Austin. The first supplemental round pick, 54th overall, has plus speed for a catcher, being clocked at less than 6.9 seconds in a 60-yard dash. He has a quick release and routinely has a pop time (throwing the ball home to second as if a runner were stealing) under 2 seconds. He has quick feet and a quick bat, although he has more bat speed from the right side of the plate. With the Padres already locking up catcher Austin Hedges for $3M, they felt as though Austin was expendable, and did not offer a contract near his demands. The Padres will choose 55th in the 2012 draft.
When the New York Yankees selected college junior Sam Stafford in the second round, 88th overall, it was widely believed that the
University of Texas Longhorns had lost their top two pitchers. Taylor Jungmann was selected 12th overall and signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for $2.525M. However, talks with the Yankees hit a snag over parts of his physical, and Stafford was never offered a contract around the slot value. Stafford was 6-2 with a 1.77 ERA in 81 1/3 innings this past season at UT. The left-handed pitcher has had consistency issues with fastball command, but pitches in the 90-93 mph range. His curveball and change-up are both works in progress and he shows flashes of plus potential in both. The Yankees will select 89th in the 2012 draft.
The biggest surprise to me was that the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to sign Josh Bell. It did not take a Major League contract, and only $5M to pull him away from the University of Texas. This was much less than originally predicted, and his huge demands seem to have just been posturing. The Pirates signed both of their top picks for a total of $13M, which in itself would have been the most money spent by one team in draft history.
Other notable signings were second round pick LHP Daniel Norris of the Toronto Blue Jays at $2.5M, 14th round pitcher Dillon Maples of the Chicago Cubs at $2.5M, and 6th round catcher Nicky Delmonico of the Baltimore Orioles at $1.525M.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Rob Bland. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Rob on Twitter.***
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E-MAILBAG: Ask the Reports, Wednesday August 10th
Thank you for reading the E-mailbag. Please send all your questions to mlbreports@gmail.com and please include your first name and City/Country.
We will be compiling a list of your questions from our e-mailbag and posting the responses on Wednesdays.
Wednesday August 10, 2011
Q: Once Anthony Rendon signs with the Nationals, do you see him moving to 2B? What’s your best guess? From Flips, parts unknown.
MLB reports: The Rice product, drafted 6th overall by the Nationals this year is likely to sign with the Nationals by the August 15th deadline. In the unlikely event that he does not sign, then the Nationals would get a compensation pick next draft. But luckily for Washington, Rendon is expected to join the club this year. With Ryan Zimmerman entrenched at 3rd base, many people have speculated at which position Rendon will end up. I have heard 2nd base tossed around, but the smart money is 1st base. Adam La Roche is a temporary solution for the squad and not the long-term answer. The Nationals appear to be set up the middle with Danny Espinosa and Ian Desmond. Rendon’s bat has never been a question. To get him quickly into the lineup, expect the Nationals to move him to 1st base right away after being signed. The outfield is another option, but more of a last resort.
Q: Will this be the year that the Texas Rangers win the World Series? From Anne, Dallas.
MLB reports: If the Rangers had been able to sign Cliff Lee, my answer would have been yes. But they did not and the Halladay-Lee combination will lead the Phillies to victory in the fall in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, the Rangers have an excellent team. An offense led by Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and company. C.J. Wilson as the ace. The bullpen trio of Neftali Feliz, Mike Adams and Koji Uehara. The Rangers can do it all. But firstly, just to make it to the World Series the Rangers will need to pass the Yankees and Red Sox. Even then, the Phillies if they end up as their opponent will be tough to beat. The Phillies have a solid offense core of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Hunter Pence. The bullpen has been steady, led by closer Ryan Madson. But it is the starting pitching that will see the Phillies through. With all the roadblocks in the Rangers path, I see them as a strong contender but not necessarily the favorites to win the World Series this year.
Q: Why is it legal to bulldoze a catcher when he clearly has the ball, but not a fielder at any other base? From G Homan, Ohio.
MLB reports: You will have to check the rule book on this one. It is just as legal to take out a catcher as it is an infielder during play, but it depends on the nature of the play. A baserunner cannot run outside of the baselines to purposely run over an infielder or a catcher. But in the course of running the bases, runners can collide with an infielder as they would a catcher. Now the runners cannot purposely injure a defensive player, like using the spikes or an elbow to the face. But to reach base safely, a strong slide or collision is a part of the game and can happen at second base the same way it can at home. Despite cries to change the rules after the Buster Posey injury, strong and aggressive base running remains a vital part of the game.
Q: Will the Phillies get an arm for their bullpen through waivers? From Miguel, Philadelphia.
MLB reports: Last time I checked, your team was stacked fairly well at the back-end of their pitching staff. Ryan Madson as closer. Brad Lidge, Antonio Bastardo, Jose Contreras (when healthy) and Kyle Kendrick. I wouldn’t be too worried about the pen. Some people are calling for Heath Bell still to go to the Phillies. But with the waiver process in effect, I can’t see Bell falling to the Phillies before getting snapped up earlier on waivers. Another arm or two might out there, but nothing too special. The Phillies most likely go with what they got and that is still much above most other pens in baseball.
Q: If you look at the numbers, you will find out that Indianapolis, IN and San Antonio, TX are the most populous cities without a MLB team. I would think size of market would drive who gets the next teams. It is obvious that MLB is financially doing really well. I would keep two leagues, and give the expansion teams to the AL, since they are the league with only 14 teams.
American League:
West Midwest East Atlantic
LA Angels Rangers Indianapolis Yankees
Oakland A’s KC Royals Tigers Red Sox
San Antonio Twins Indians Orioles
Mariners White Sox Rays Blue Jays
National League:
West Midwest East Atlantic
Dodgers Colorado Rockies Chicago Cubs NY Mets
Padres Houston Astros Cincinnati Reds Phil Phillies
Giants St. Louis Cardinals Atlanta Braves Florida Marlins
Dbacks Brewers Pitt Pirates Wash Nationals
I tried to used a US map,and place teams in divisions according to how the line up East and West. From Tom, Orange CA.
MLB reports: Very interesting alignment Tom. Indianapolis and San Antonio have been two very popular destinations for our readers in selecting the next two expansion MLB cities. There has been resistance by Bud Selig to further expand baseball. However, as discussed in our previous articles on the subject, baseball needs to add two more teams to balance out the leagues to 16-teams a piece. Also realignment is in order to create better geographical rivalries and even out the number of teams per division. So far, the most that we have heard is that baseball is planning to realign by moving one NL team to the AL by 2013 (as the 2012 regular season schedule has already been prepared in draft format). The problem with the 15/15 split is that an interleague game would need to be played most days, which does not seem like a worthwhile proposition. Houston by most accounts is the team most likely to move. So while we appreciate your thoughts, the expansion and radical realignment ideas are unlikely to happen… yet. If and when they do, we would like to see more shifting of teams to create new excitement and rivalries in baseball. But the framework you have laid down is a very good start. Thank you for sending it in.
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E-MAILBAG: Ask the Reports, Wednesday August 3rd
Thank you for reading the E-mailbag. Please send all your questions to mlbreports@gmail.com and please include your first name and City/Country.
We will be compiling a list of your questions from our e-mailbag and posting the responses on Wednesdays.
Wednesday August 3, 2011
Q: More worrisome for the Braves? Lack of offense or starting pitching? From Jory, Parts Uknown.
MLB reports: I’m not worried about either to be honest. But if I had to pick one, I would have liked to see Atlanta add one more strong bat. With Jason Heyward and Chipper Jones‘ injuries, plus Dan Uggla‘s inconsistency all season, another strong bat would have been in order. Michael Bourn was a nice pickup and will help at the leadoff spot. But Hunter Pence would have been better. If Heyward comes back to health and Uggla continues to heat up though, watch out for the Braves. With Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson and Tim Hudson, the Braves should do well in a short series if they make the playoffs.
Q: Who got the better deal in the Seattle – Detroit trade? (Fister to Tigers) From: Martin, Cleveland.
MLB reports: I would have liked to see the Tigers make a trade for a better starter. Doug Fister is good, but not the Ubaldo Jimenez type pitcher that the Indians received. David Pauley though was a solid addition in relief and boosts the Tigers pen greatly. The four prospects the Mariners received are decent, but no superstars in the bunch. I think the Tigers win this one in that they receive two players that will help the stretch run without emptying the farm of its top prospects. Considering the need for pitching at the major league level, the Tigers did well for themselves. It was a trade that the Mariners needed to make, as they continue to re-stock their farm. But if I had to pick a winner, it’s the Tigers by a hair.
Q: Still think the Phillies are going to win the World Series? From Catherine, Edmonton.
MLB reports: Without a doubt. I am putting all my playoff eggs in the Phillies basket. With Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee at the top of the rotation. An offense led by Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Hunter Pence. An improving bullpen that should benefit from a healthy Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge. The Phillies are the team to beat in my estimation. Come playoff time, no team can throw out a 1-2 punch like Halladay and Lee, combined with such a deep balanced team playing behind the pitchers. The Giants have Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. No doubt. But I give the Phillies the edge based on their offense.
Q: If you had to pick one player to build a major league team around, who would you pick and why? From James, New York.
MLB reports: What a great question. Many analysts tend to select a starting pitcher when asked this type of question. Not me. Pitchers for me carry too much risk, given their propensity to get injured at much higher rates than positional players. If I had to go with one player though, considering how many talented MLB players are out there, I would go with Bryce Harper. Considering his age and tools, Harper is a once-in-a-lifetime type talents. The kid can do it all on a baseball field and he would be my #1 selection when starting a team. I have watched his batting stroke, speed on the bases and arm in the outfield. This is the real deal and a future MVP for the Washington Nationals. I would normally go with a proven major league player over a prospect. But Harper is really that good.
Q: Did the Yankees make a mistake by making no trades at the deadline? From Lance, Boston.
MLB reports: One word answer: yes. Ok, let me explain in greater detail. The team is stacked offensively. No question, plus Jesus Montero is on the farm ready to get called up. But with all the runs the Yankees can score, their pitching leaves much to be desired. Their rotation is C.C. Sabathia and a pile of question marks. Freddy Garcia. Bartolo Colon. Phil Hughes. A.J. Burnett. Ivan Nova. This is a patchwork pitching staff at best. For what the San Francisco Giants are on offense, the Yankees are pitching-wise. The bullpen has been good with Mariano Rivera and David Robertson leading the way. If Rafael Soriano can come back strong, the bullpen will be that much more imposing. Another arm in the pen would have been nice. But one or two starting pitchers would have been essential. Considering the team lost out on Cliff Lee last year, they made a similar mistake in my opinion by not acquiring Ubaldo Jimenez. He would have been the difference maker for the team. The Yankees might be able to keep up the smoke and mirrors on the mound through October, but I don’t see that happening.
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Vernon Wells Trade Discussion: Midseason Winners and Loser
Sunday July 17, 2011
Rob Bland (Intern- MLB Reports): January 21, 2011 is seen as a bit of a turning point in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays. General Manager Alex Anthopolous traded away long-time face of the franchise, Vernon Wells. Wells had been with the Blue Jays since he was drafted in the first round, fifth overall by the Jays in the 1997 amateur draft. After making his debut in 1999, he played in a Toronto uniform through the 2010 season. His name is littered across franchise record books, and he was a beloved figure in the clubhouse. On December 15, 2006, Wells signed a seven-year, $126 million contract extension, which at the time was the 6th largest contract in MLB history. Over the next few years, Wells’ lack of production and time spent on the disabled list, made his contract “unmoveable”.
That was of course until Alex Anthopolous took the helm as Jays GM, and was able to find a taker for Wells and the four years and $86 million remaining on the contract. Into the picture came Tony Reagins, GM of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It has been said that Reagins approached Anthopolous about Wells. One would think that in order for a deal to work, the Blue Jays would have had to send a large sum of cash to the Angels in order for the deal to go through.
The deal that was finally consummated was to send Wells and approximately $5 million to the Angels in exchange for OF Juan Rivera, and C/1B Mike Napoli. Rivera was seen as a throw-in, as his $4M contract was more than the Angels wanted to pay. Napoli had fallen out of favour in manager Mike Scioscia’s eyes; despite hitting at least 20 home runs in each of the three previous seasons despite receiving limited playing time. Toronto then flipped Napoli to the Texas Rangers for standout reliever Frank Francisco. The Rangers received the powerful, right-handed versatile hitter they coveted, and the Blue Jays thought they received the closer they needed.
It is quite obvious that no matter how any of those players perform, the Blue Jays are the big winner because of the payroll space they have cleared and can use to extend their star players, see Jose Bautista. However, this deal has not been so cut and dry. While Napoli has swung the bat with authority, Juan Rivera has been traded to the LA Dodgers, and Francisco has been awful out of the Jays bullpen.
Let’s take a quick look at each player’s production and how their respective teams have fared so far.
Mike Napoli
Again performing as a part-time player at three positions, Napoli has been very solid for the Rangers. He has hit 13 home runs and driven in 34 RBI in only 187 plate appearances. While his average leaves something to be desired, he makes up for it in his ability to take walks and hit the ball to the gaps. With his OPS at .906, he has proven that he is a tremendously underrated player. His WAR through half the season is at 1.7, and he is on pace to break his career high of 2.6.
Juan Rivera
Because he was seen as a salary dump for the Angels, the Blue Jays took him on and saw him as the everyday left fielder and DH out of spring training. He was never able to get it going, and quickly fell out of favour in Toronto. His OPS sat at .666 when traded, with a limited ability to get on base and very little power. This on top of the fact that he played atrocious defense led to his -1.2 WAR. He was traded to the LA Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash considerations on July 12, 2011.
Frank Francisco
Seen as a pretty successful power arm for the late innings, Francisco was picked up from the Texas Rangers along with cash. He continues to strike out a ton of batters, (10.1 K/9), but he is giving up more hits than he has in the past. However, part of this is due to a batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .359. His xFIP is actually almost two runs lower than his ERA, 3.56 as opposed to 5.40. I think that Francisco has been unlucky, and when it all evens out, it will show that he is at least a competent late inning reliever.
Vernon Wells
Wells was obviously the big fish in this trade. He has the ability to be an MVP-caliber player (see his 2003 and 2006 seasons). He has two gold gloves in center field, as well as three All-Star appearances in his career. He has hit 30 home runs three times and driven in 100 RBI three times. Wells’ production in 2011 has been nothing short of horrendous. He has 14 home runs so far, but other than that, hasn’t done anything particularly well. His OPS is .671 with an OBP of .254. Wells is striking out in over 20% of his plate appearances, and walking in less than 4%. Now, you could look at his BABIP (.228) and think he has been unlucky, but it is that low because of his awful 10% line drive rate. With a flyball rate of 47% and by hitting a ton of infield flies, his BABIP won’t likely rise much. It is unlikely that Wells will ever return to being the player he once was.
VERDICT:
Taking a look at these stats, we can see that the Rangers were an instant winner. They gave up an expendable reliever, and gained a valuable bat off the bench. The Angels are the big losers in the deal, as they owe Wells over $60M over the next 3.5 years. That kind of production out of a left fielder is unacceptable for a team trying to contend for the playoffs. Toronto knew that with the trades they made, they would not be as good of a team without Wells. They are in a rebuilding mode, and the money they save can be used on drafting and developing young talent. Francisco could be a Type B free agent at the end of the year, so another draft pick could be theirs.
**The grand winner in this series of moves is the Blue Jays, as with the departure of Wells, they have been able to extend Jose Bautista with a five-year, $65M contract. They have been aggressive in international signings this month as well, and look to pour more resources into the draft. ***
***Thank you to Rob Bland for preparing today’s article on the Vernon Wells trade. You can follow Rob on Twitter.***
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MLB Global: Creation of MLB Dominicana, International MLB Drafts and Leagues
Thursday July 13, 2011
MLB reports: In our never-ending quest to revitalize and reform baseball, we have discussed and covered in previous editions of the Reports several cutting edge topics. We have looked at MLB Expansion, the new format introduced for the 2013 edition of the WBC, expanding the MLB Playoffs and proposing MLB Realignment. If you thought that we were radical thinkers up until now, well then you haven’t seen anything yet. Today we bring you the new international MLB system, a creation that we feel is long overdue. Discussions have existed for many years in baseball circles that the international development of talent and leagues by Major League Baseball is not working. With the formation of MLB Global, that is all about to change.
There are several international matters being discussed currently as the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire on December 11, 2011. At the forefront is the current system of signing of international free agents by MLB teams. Under the current system, international talent is not subject to a draft and salary recommendations and as a result, when the international free agency period begins, all talent in applicable areas are available to teams at the highest bidder of each player’s choice. Eligible countries include the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia.
From there, Japan is under another system called posting, whereby until
a player has nine years experience in the Japanese league and is exempt, his controlling Japanese team can offer his rights to MLB teams if requested by the player and consented by the team. MLB Teams submit secret bids over a four-day period. If the Japanese team accepts the winning bid, from there the highest offer then allows the winning team a 30-day window period to negotiate a contract with the player. If the two sides cannot come to terms, the player stays in Japan and the posting fee is returned to the MLB team. Two examples of distinct systems that are currently in place in baseball, but neither appears to be working particularly well.
I have read commentators calling for many changes to the current international baseball markets in relation to Major League Baseball. I have heard the cries for an international draft, whereby all eligible players would be required to be drafted to join a MLB team. There would be anything from recommended slot salaries, to a soft or hard cap. Having most international players simply available to the highest bidder is seen as circumventing the equality and fairness principles behind a draft. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can afford to lose draft picks in signing top free agents, as they are able to recoup the prospects back in the international market. But if there was a draft system in place, there would be more opportunity for other teams to have access to top international prospects. But how to hold such a draft and what countries to include? These are questions that linger and result in delays to changing the international system. Then there is the Japanese posting system to contend with and how to liberate Japanese players to Major League Baseball. We may not have all the answers, but there is a starting point. MLB Global.
For simplicity of this article, we will use the Dominican Republic and Japan as examples of territories for MLB Global. From there, the boundaries will be increased until even one day, Cuba could become a territory. But let’s start the discussion with explaining what is MLB Global. The mandate of MLB Global would be the expansion of the MLB brand around the world. Depending on the countries involved, MLB Global would be creating for the most part either sister MLB leagues or MLB affiliated leagues. Let’s start with our inaugural league: MLB Dominicana. Long known for producing top baseball talent, the Dominican Republic is one of the world’s greatest baseball hotbeds. Major League teams have been building academies in the Dominican for years and attempting to cultivate new prospects. But a quandary exists in the Dominican. While the Dominican has a great deal of talent, it still has room to grow. Yet only certain teams are established in the country, while others stay away. Some analysts believe the area is saturated and it is time to discover new areas of development. I believe that more investment is actually needed, but in a manner that will benefit Major League Baseball as a whole rather than select teams. More prospects could be developed in the Dominican if the proper funding and system were put into place. The Dominican has not hit its limit, but rather has not yet even met its potential. MLB Dominicana can work towards utilizing and maximizing the talent available in the Dominican.
MLB Dominicana would be established as follows. A league would be formed,
either through an existing Dominican baseball league or a completely new league. The league could have ten to sixteen teams to start off and eventually grow to thirty teams over the years. The goal would be for every MLB team to have a sister team as part of MLB Dominicana. From there, every eligible Dominican player would need to be drafted by a MLB Dominicana team, which would essentially give that player’s rights to his North American MLB team. Creating this system would be taxing initially for each MLB team, but a system of co-ownership and co-management could be created between each MLB team and their affiliate team in the Dominican. What is envisioned from there, is the cross-development and mobility of players between MLB and MLB Dominicana. Let’s take the for example the Colorado Rockies and if they had a sister MLB Dominicana team, the Boca Chica Thunder. The Thunder are involved in a yearly player draft, as is done in Major League Baseball. In the 2011 draft: 1st round, 5th overall, the Thunder take 16-year old shortstop Pedro Beltran. Once the Dominican player is drafted by the Thunder, the Rockies would have the ability to either keep Beltran in MLB Dominicana to play for the Thunder or to bring him over to North America to play in the minors or majors. The Rockies would be responsible for Beltran’s signing bonus and salary regardless of where he plays. The creation of MLB Dominicana creates an incentive for MLB teams to invest resources, including money and coaching to the Dominican area. Players like the fictitious Pedro Beltran would be able to stay home and continue their baseball development and integrate easier to North America. A win for the Dominican Republic, its baseball fans, the players and MLB teams.
But wait, there is more. The mobility of players from MLB Dominicana to North America could work the reverse way as well. Younger players with options in North America would be available to play for the sister MLB Dominicana team as well. Take the Rockies again. They have a young pitcher in their system by the name of Casey Weathers. Once considered to be their closer of the future, Weathers is now 26-years of age and pitching in AA. His numbers are not at the highest level and his stock is starting to fall. The Rockies could move Weathers over to MLB Dominicana, to either pitch out of the Thunder’s bullpen or stretch him out as a starter. We are starting to see more mobility of North America players to international baseball markets. Ryan Garko in Korea. Josh Fields to Japan. Heck, think of Tuffy Rhodes and Cecil Fielder with home run records and Matt Murton becoming the single season hit king in Japan. As baseball becomes a true international sport and the level of talent increases, the amount of available positions on each MLB affiliate team in North American decreases drastically. Having MLB Dominicana available to North American teams to develop and provide opportunities to its younger players would be invaluable. In addition, the younger Domican players would benefit from having North American teammates to assist in their own development as players by sharing and learning each one’s knowledge and style of play. Again, a win-win proposition.
As MLB Dominicana advances and grows, its limits are endless. Additional
minor league levels can be established as the number of teams and available players can grow. MLB Dominicana can have its own AAA and AA levels as is done in North American ball. Local sponsorship and support would be difficult, given the economic difficulties faced by the region. The revenue stream would be of less focus as in comparison to the talent that the league produces. For the money that each team puts into MLB Dominicana, the end result will be more talent in North America eventually for each MLB team. Probably the biggest obstacle that MLB Dominicana will face is perception. Critics will point to the failure of NFL Europe and predetermine the inability of MLB Dominicana to succeed. While NFL Europe has some similarities to MLB Dominicana, the goals and focus of each league is different. NFL Europe was created to be a money-making operation and grow the NFL brand and work as a farm system/development league for the NFL. MLB Dominicana will work towards building the MLB brand, but in the development of local talent rather than just operating as a pure minor league affiliate system. Rather than simply opening academies, training young players and hoping to sign them one day as free agents, MLB teams will draft the same hometown players through their MLB Dominicana team and grow and develop each player until they are ready for North America. MLB Dominicana will not be a money-maker or loser, but rather an investment in the development of talent. As the league becomes more competitive and popular, international merchandising and television rights would develop as well. NFL Europe was seen as a watered down, poor man’s version of the NFL. Football’s answer to Euro Disney. MLB Dominicana will not try to recreate or become Major League Baseball in Dominican. It will become a complimentary league. The potential is there to create a thriving baseball league that will develop talent in a popular baseball market, while creating an organized system of drafting and development of players between MLB teams.
MLB Global would be in charge of finding countries like the Dominican Republic where the creation of MLB leagues is feasible from a talent, political, economical, cultural and social points of view. Mexico and Australia would seem like ideal candidates, as would South Korea and Venezuela depending on political agreement and safety. The baseball talent base in Venezuela for instance, is too rich for Major League teams to ignore. The creation of MLB Venezuela would create a further pipeline of talent by way of investment in the growth and expansion of baseball in such an area.
The ultimate future league that is dreamed of is MLB Cuba. There is no denying
the level of talent in Cuban baseball, as seen in international tournaments and WBC showings in years pasts. Given the political and economical turmoil in the region, details of which are beyond the scope of this article, needless to say that many changes would have to occur politically before such a concept could even be discussed. But perhaps the common love of baseball could one day bring Cuba to a system of change economically, which would allow both its country and the sport it loves to thrive. Or perhaps this is just wishful thinking.
The last country to review is Japan. One of the powerhouse baseball countries, Japan has won both of the World Baseball Classic tournaments. With its high level of talent and existing Nippon Professional Baseball league (NPB), Japan may not take too kindly to transforming its current system to MLB Japan. Pride, development, ownership and decision-making all come into play as to who will run individual teams and control the use of players. In such a scenario, as well as other countries with existing leagues and teams that are not interested in being co-run and managed by Major League Baseball and its teams, a different arrangement will be needed.
The proposal is an affiliation structure, whereby MLB teams would have
affiliation agreements with NPB teams. As an example, the Colorado Rockies and the Chunichi Dragons could align and have an affiliation agreement. The Rockies and Dragons could cross-promote their teams and products through the affiliation. But most importantly, the transfer of younger eligible players would be between the affiliated teams only. So the Rockies could transfer Casey Weathers to play for the Dragons. The Dragons in turn, could send pitcher Yuta Muto to play in North America for the Rockies organization. Each team would be responsible for the salary of the respective player when playing as part of its professional league. The incentive for the Dragons would be the investment by the Rockies into baseball development in the area, including coaches and infrastructure. The Dragons would have access to more North American players and the Rockies and Dragons would be able to share baseball knowledge and information to better their organizations. In return, aside from the sharing of resources, the Rockies would have access to Dragon players and increase its own prospect pool. Fine tuning would be required as to eligibility and number/types of players that would be able to be transferred. But in such a system, the Rockies would have a vested interest in the players drafted and developed by the Dragons and vice-versa. There would be a high level of trust and commitment to the teams working together as part of the affiliation program in developing teams and players. But if all goes well, both leagues would benefit from working together and would bring an end to the expensive and unproductive posting system. Japan could act as the training ground for the affiliation system and if it works, could lead to the expansion of the NPB by more teams and use of the affiliation system in other countries.
Overall, it is clear that the international baseball scene is very complex and confusing. Major League Baseball appears to be ready to make changes and bring about a new structure and system whereby international players come to North America to play ball. As part of this article, the idea being presented is that such a change will not occur unless Major League Baseball works with the other countries and baseball leagues to make this happen. Whether MLB leagues start forming slowly across the world, including MLB Dominicana, or affiliation systems are put into place between teams from MLB and other countries, some sort of partnership is desperately needed. It will cost MLB and its teams millions of dollars, time and personnel to make MLB Global a reality. While this may not happen tomorrow or ever, we hope that they will at least work to making the dream of global baseball a reality.
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2011 MLB All-Star Game Recap: National League Defeats the American League for 2nd Year in a Row
Wednesday July 13, 2011
Rob Bland (Intern Candidate for MLB Reports): This year’s edition of the Midsummer Classic, the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, had a record-setting vote-getter. Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays received over 7.4 million votes in fan voting. This game was said to have lost some of its lustre due to the amount of players who elected not to participate. A total of eight players that were voted in by fans or chosen by coaches dropped out due to injury, timing or just plain wanting to rest. For the American League, David Price (TB), Derek Jeter (NYY), Mariano Rivera (NYY), Alex Rodriguez (NYY) and Jon Lester (BOS) all withdrew due to various ailments and injuries. Chipper Jones (ATL), Jose Reyes (NYM), and Placido Polanco (PHI) were the players who bowed out in the National League. One of Major League Baseball’s rules pertaining to eligibility for pitchers is that they must not start on the Sunday prior to the game. Due to this rule, CC Sabathia (NYY), James Shields (TB), Justin Verlander (DET), Felix Hernandez (SEA), Cole Hamels (PHI), and Matt Cain (SF) were ruled ineligible and unable to participate in the game.
Surely not having Price, Sabathia, Shields, Verlander, Hernandez and Rivera hurt the AL. Although he has had an impressive start to the season, CJ Wilson (TEX) probably should not have been pitching when he gave up the 3-run home run to Prince Fielder (MIL). It easily could have been one of those more accomplished aces as mentioned. However, that is the way it turned out, as the National League took advantage early and defeated the American League by a score of 5-1. The MVP of the game was Fielder, because of his huge home run that put the NL on top early and as it turned out, for good.
My pick for MVP was Roy Halladay (PHI), as he started for the National League and was dominant as only the Doc can be. He faced the minimum six batters over two innings, including Curtis Granderson (NYY), Adrian Gonzalez (BOS) and Jose Bautista (TOR); all potential MVP candidates. Halladay managed to throw only 19 pitches as part of his historical pitching performance.
In the 2nd inning, the defensive play of the game occurred when Brian McCann (ATL) hit a towering flyball in foul territory that Bautista caught as he slid into the wall. Aside from being one of the top home run hitters in baseall, Bautista is also an accomplished fielder who is capable of winning a gold glove at either third base or right field.
The scoring in the game started in the top of the 4th inning, when Adrian Gonzalez blasted a Cliff Lee (PHI) cutter over the right center field wall for a solo blast. The AL
followed with three straight singles, the last of which was off Tyler Clippard (WAS). Hunter Pence fielded the ball and threw a laser to the plate to catch Bautista who tried to score from second for the third out. In the bottom of the inning, Carlos Beltran (NYM) and Matt Kemp (LAD) hit singles to set up Fielder`s massive bomb.
Jordan Walden (LAA), another player who probably didn`t deserve to play as much as the other big name starters, began to light up the radar gun last night, hitting 100 mph on his first four fastballs. Starlin Castro (CHC) came in to pinch run at first base after Troy Tulowitzki (COL) hit a leadoff single. Castro proceeded to immediately steal second and third base. He then set up another play at the plate, where Walden bare handed a weak ground ball by Rickie Weeks (MIL) and threw Castro out. Weeks stole second and came around to score when Andre Ethier (LAD) hit a single to right field, making the score 4-1.
The scoring continued in the bottom of the seventh inning when Pablo Sandoval (SF) hit a ground rule double over the wall in the left field corner. This scored Hunter Pence (HOU) after his leadoff single and a passed ball that allowed him to move to second base, and eventually score.
Fan favorite Brian Wilson (SF) came in the top of the nineth inning with runners on second and third. A fly out and ground out later, and the game was in the books. Make the final score 5-1, as the National League wins for the All-Star Game for the second year in a row and secures home field advantage for its league in the up coming World Series in the fall.
This year`s All-Star Festivities were enjoyed by so many fans, and continually impressed me. I have had a great time covering the 2011 All-Star Game, everything from the Futures Game, Home Run Derby and of course, the All-Star Game itself. With Major League Baseball now entering the dog days of summer and the secon half of the season, it is time to speculate on trades and the calling up of prospects. Pure heaven for this baseball writer!
***EDITOR’S NOTE: With Chase Field still buzzing, the trade market has already begun. The Milwaukee Brewers announced right after the game taht they had acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez and cash considerations from the New York Mets for two players to be named later. With the Brewers acquiring Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum in the offseason, clearly Milwaukee is going for it. Will be interesting to see if Brewers allow K-Rod’s $17.5 million option to vest for 2012, which is based on number of games finished in 2011. If K-Rod finishes 55 games, the option will vest. As he has already finsihed 34 this season, so the option could vest depending on how the Brewers use K-Rod and how close they remain to a playoff berth. It will be interesting to see what prospects go from Milwaukee to New York. Long-term this deal could hurt Milwaukee depending on which top prospects they give up. But in the short-term, this deal will make the Brewers’ fanbase happy and their slugging free agent to be, Prince Fielder, may have more thinking to do before selecting his new team for 2012. The ground work has been set with respect to the trade market. Now we will see if the K-Rod deal has indeed open the trading floodgates for the rest of baseball. ***
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| American | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| National | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 9 | 2 |
W: T. Clippard
L: C. Wilson
S: B. Wilson
|
National All-Stars |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| R Weeks 2B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
B Phillips 2B
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| C Beltran DH | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .500 | .500 | .500 |
|
a-A Ethier PH-DH
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
|
b-G Sanchez PH-DH
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| M Kemp CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | .500 | .667 | .500 |
|
A McCutchen CF
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| P Fielder 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .500 | .500 | 2.000 |
|
J Votto 1B
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| B McCann C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
Y Molina C
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
|
c-J Bruce PH-RF
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| L Berkman RF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
|
J Upton RF
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
M Montero C
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| M Holliday LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
H Pence LF
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .500 | .500 | .500 |
| T Tulowitzki SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .500 | .500 | .500 |
|
S Castro PR-SS
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| S Rolen 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
P Sandoval 3B
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| Totals | 31 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 126 | |||
| a-singled to right for C Beltran in the 5th b-popped out to second for A Ethier in the 7th c-struck out looking for Y Molina in the 8th |
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| BATTING 2B: Y Molina (1, C Perez); P Sandoval (1, B League) HR: P Fielder (1, 4th inning off C Wilson 2 on, 0 Out) RBI: P Fielder 3 (3), A Ethier (1), P Sandoval (1) 2-out RBI: A Ethier All-Stars RISP: 3-8 (P Fielder 1-1, J Upton 0-1, S Rolen 0-1, B Phillips 0-1, R Weeks 0-1, A Ethier 1-1, G Sanchez 0-1, P Sandoval 1-1) Team LOB: 3 |
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| BASERUNNING SB: S Castro 2 (2, 2nd base off J Walden/A Avila, 3rd base off J Walden/A Avila); R Weeks (1, 2nd base off J Walden/A Avila) CS: L Berkman (1, 2nd base by D Robertson/A Avila) |
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| FIELDING E: S Castro (1, throw); J Bruce (1, throw) Outfield Assist: H Pence (J Bautista at Home). |
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|
National All-Stars |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA | |
| R Halladay | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19-14 | 0.00 | |
| C Lee | 1.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25-16 | 5.40 | |
T Clippard |
0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3-3 | 0.00 | |
| C Kershaw (H) |
1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8-6 | 0.00 | |
| J Jurrjens (H) |
1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23-15 | 0.00 | |
| C Kimbrel (H) |
0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14-8 | 0.00 | |
| J Venters | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4-4 | 0.00 | |
| H Bell | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5-2 | 0.00 | |
| J Hanrahan | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14-9 | 0.00 | |
| B Wilson (S) |
0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7-5 | 0.00 | |
| Totals | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 122-82 | ||
| PITCHING First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: R Halladay 4/6; C Lee 4/8; T Clippard 1/1; C Kershaw 1/3; J Jurrjens 5/6; C Kimbrel 0/2; J Venters 2/2; H Bell 0/1; J Hanrahan 1/3; B Wilson 2/2 Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes: R Halladay 4-3-2-5; C Lee 4-1-3-8; T Clippard 1-1-0-1; C Kershaw 1-1-2-2; J Jurrjens 3-5-3-4; C Kimbrel 1-2-4-1; J Venters 1-2-0-1; H Bell 1-0-0-1; J Hanrahan 1-2-4-2; B Wilson 1-1-1-2 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: R Halladay 3-2; C Lee 4-1; T Clippard 0-0; C Kershaw 2-0; J Jurrjens 2-2; C Kimbrel 1-0; J Venters 1-0; H Bell 0-1; J Hanrahan 0-0; B Wilson 1-1 Game Scores: R Halladay 57 |
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|
American All-Stars |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| C Granderson CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
J Ellsbury CF
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| A Cabrera SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
J Peralta SS
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| A Gonzalez 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .500 | .500 | 2.000 |
|
M Cabrera 1B
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
M Young 3B
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| J Bautista RF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .500 | .500 | .500 |
|
C Quentin RF
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| J Hamilton LF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .500 | .500 | .500 |
|
M Joyce LF
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .500 | .500 | .500 |
| A Beltre 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .500 | .500 | .500 |
|
K Youkilis 3B
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
|
M Cuddyer 1B
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| D Ortiz DH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
a-P Konerko PH-DH
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | .000 | .500 | .000 |
| R Cano 2B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
H Kendrick 2B
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| A Avila C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
|
M Wieters C
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Totals | 33 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 122 | |||
| a-walked for D Ortiz in the 7th | ||||||||||
| BATTING HR: A Gonzalez (1, 4th inning off C Lee 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: A Gonzalez (1) 2-out RBI: A Gonzalez All-Stars RISP: 2-5 (M Joyce 1-1, A Beltre 1-1, H Kendrick 0-1, M Cuddyer 0-1, P Konerko 0-1) Team LOB: 6 |
||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (A Avila-R Cano). PB: M Wieters. Outfield Assist: J Bautista (A Ethier at 2nd base). |
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|
American All-Stars |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA | |
| J Weaver | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14-8 | 0.00 | |
| D Robertson | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14-7 | 0.00 | |
| M Pineda | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10-8 | 0.00 | |
| C Wilson (L) |
1.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22-14 | 27.00 | |
| J Walden | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20-13 | 9.00 | |
| C Perez | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15-9 | 0.00 | |
| B League | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19-13 | 9.00 | |
| A Ogando | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6-5 | 0.00 | |
| G Gonzalez | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6-3 | 0.00 | |
| Totals | 8.0 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 126-80 | ||
| PITCHING First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: J Weaver 4/4; D Robertson 1/3; M Pineda 3/3; C Wilson 3/6; J Walden 2/4; C Perez 2/4; B League 3/5; A Ogando 2/2; G Gonzalez 1/1 Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes: J Weaver 3-3-0-2; D Robertson 2-1-3-1; M Pineda 3-3-1-1; C Wilson 4-2-4-4; J Walden 2-3-5-3; C Perez 2-2-2-3; B League 1-4-4-4; A Ogando 2-0-1-2; G Gonzalez 2-1-0-0 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: J Weaver 1-1; D Robertson 0-1; M Pineda 0-1; C Wilson 0-2; J Walden 1-0; C Perez 0-2; B League 0-2; A Ogando 2-0; G Gonzalez 0-0 Game Scores: J Weaver 53 |
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***Thank you to Rob Bland for preparing today’s article on the All-Star Game. You can follow Rob on Twitter.***
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