Remember that time Anthony Rizzo went out of his way to initiate contact with Padres catcher Austin Hedges on a play at the plate last year? Maybe not, but perhaps you should freshen up on that incident. Rizzo absolutely leveled Hedges, and MLB determined that his slide had violated rule 6.01(i). No fine. No suspension. [...]
When the Orioles shop Manny Machado, any destination in the AL works great. Sending him to the NL West? Splendid. NL East? Could be worse. The NL Central? That sounds like a positively dreadful idea. If that somehow happens, then please don’t let it be the Cubs. Just not the Cubs. Anybody but the Cubs. [...]
If I learned anything at all from watching “Friends With Benefits”, it’s that Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake were genetically engineered perfect beings presented to humanity as gifts from a higher power. If I learned anything else, it’s that Semisonic and not Third Eye Blind released “Closing Time” – a catchy little bop with lyrics [...]
Do you know what player under the age of 24 years, 4 months has the most XBH prior to May 17th in an even numbered calendar year while playing exactly 53% of his games at an infield position? No, you don’t. Nor should you. That’s just a slightly exaggerated example of how ridiculously arbitrary and [...]
FIP or “fielding independent pitching” provides a type of at-a-glance reference to measure a pitcher’s effectiveness at controlling that which the pitcher can theoretically control. I’d explain exactly what it is, but it’s easier if you just get off your lazy butt and Google it yourselves. Or not. Just know that in a general sense, [...]
Matt Carpenter hasn’t been within shouting distance of the infamous Mendoza line since April 7th, and to say he hasn’t made a strong accurate throw from third base since the Obama administration isn’t nearly as much of an exaggeration as it should be. He’s sporting a wRC+ of 69, and he appears dangerously close to [...]
Rather than risk burying the lede, here is one “truth” that I hope you hold to be self-evident – You don’t need a moronic blogger, loudmouth with a podcast, or a professional journalist to tell you how to fan for your favorite sports ball team. Too many leverage their social media following into a bully [...]
If you listen to enough MLB broadcasts with the sound actually on, at some point you’ll hear a talking head with a mediocre hairpiece bemoan the lack of minority representation in the sport. In keeping with that narrative, they are obligated to mention baseball is losing many such athletes to other sports. If the sport [...]
Admission: When Joe Mauer was about to step into the box for the at-bat that ended with him picking up his 2,000th career hit, I was angrily mashing portions of my iPhone screen in a fruitless attempt to make MLBtv load faster. I didn’t make it, and my phone almost didn’t either. Shame. Despite recent [...]
After Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo triggered Yadier Molina by directing a rather distasteful obscenity at him during yesterday’s game, the rush to judgment was predictably swift and brutal. Lovullo earned an ejection the moment he started arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire, and he earned the wrath of Yadi as well as [...]
If you haven’t read Jack Dickey’s article in Sports Illustrated about Tommy Pham, then I highly recommend you click here and check it out. To some, Pham probably comes across as refreshingly honest, bold, and confident in himself. To others, he probably comes across as arrogant, foul-mouthed, and brazen. Two reasonably good debate teams could [...]
It’s apropos that Citi Field is located in Flushing, because Carlos Martinez just dropped a deuce there on Opening Day. His underwhelming performance combined with the team’s “swinging-at-air” offensive approach made game 1 of the 2018 season feel more like game 163 of the 2017 season. Same dookie, different season. While you may be tempted [...]
