Jordan Lyles debuted for the Astros Tuesday night at the tender age of 20. He’s the second youngest player in the majors, and the second younger than my daughter! Lyles walked none and struck out four in seven innings of work, holding the Cubs to two runs as Houston won 7-3. Jordan did not get […]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:27 pm | Games, Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Offense at the Top
Chris Denorfria collected three hits tonight leading off for the Padres and figured in three of the team’s five runs as San Diego defeated the Braves by one run. He and Chase Headley are the only two regulars on the Padres with decent OBPs, and batting him lead off paid off tonight. Ryan Ludwick picked […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:58 pm | Games, Players | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2011
Indians Youth
Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana combined for six hits, three runs and two RBI as the Indians defeated the Blue Jays 6-3. Brantley hit a double and a triple, while Carlos added two doubles. Brantley led off and Grady Sizemore batted sixth tonight. Brantley is proving to be a good lead-off hitter, while Sizemore’s power […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:49 pm | Games, Players | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Double Trouble
The Cardinals hit three doubles in the bottom of the eighth inning, setting up a three-run rally that pushed them past the Giants for a 4-3 win. The Cardinals came into the game leading the National League with 109 doubles, and added to that total tonight.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:41 pm | Games | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Winning Al
Al Alberquerque won his third game in relief, pitching a perfect eighth inning, giving Brennan Boesch the chance to drive home the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning as the Tigers win a slugfest, 8-7 over the Twins. This was the sixth time Alburquerque struck out at least two […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:36 pm | Games, Pitchers | Permalink | 2 Comments
May 31, 2011
Perfect Pen
James McDonald pitched a six-inning quality start and the Pirates bullpen followed with three perfect innings as the Pirates defeated the Mets 5-1. R.A. Dickey made a 1-0 first inning Mets lead hold up until the eighth, when Neil Walker singled home two runs to give the Pirates the lead. McDonald has now pitched six […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:10 pm | Games, Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Espinosa Espinouta
Danny Espinosa hit two home runs and a single Tuesday night as the Nationals blew out the Phillies 10-2. Both home runs came off Cliff Lee, who has now allowed eight on the season. With his three for four night, Danny brought his hit total up to 39, with 20 of those for extra bases […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:04 pm | Games, Players | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Longball for Longoria
With the Rays down 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Evan Longoria launched his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot that gives the Rays a 5-4 lead over the Rangers. Longoria moved back down to fourth in the lineup, and he cleaned up on that shot. Update: Kyle Farnsworth retires the […]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:27 pm | Games, Players | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Game Moved
The Red Sox just announced that Saturday’s game, June 4th, will start at 1:00 PM EDT instead of 7 PM EDT. The evening game would conflict with the Bruins game, so the Red Sox moved it at the request of fans.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:05 pm | Games, Tickets | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2011
Uggla Benched
Fredi Gonzalez gave Dan Uggla the night off: Uggla and Gonzalez had a conversation before the game. Uggla says he didn’t agree with the decision. Uggla is simply not hitting. There’s only a .004 probability that a .258 hitter would collect no more than 37 hits in 208 at bats. This is more than a […]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:48 pm | Management, Players | Permalink | 2 Comments
May 31, 2011
Aging Hitters
Jeff Zimmerman draws some interesting aging curves, showing once again that players tend to peak earlier than most people realize.
Posted by David Pinto at 6:16 pm | Players | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Ike Davis Not Healing
Ike Davis won’t return to the Mets lineup any time soon: “The only baseball activities he can do, basically, is play catch, and he’ll be able to swing,” Collins said. “But he’s not to do any running whatsoever for the next three weeks. There’s still a hot spot where the bone bruise is. So we’re […]
Posted by David Pinto at 5:44 pm | Injuries, Players | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
The Boys from Bristol
Just received Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN in the mail today. I happened to open to page 301 where Gary Miller was talking about the start of ESPN2, and Peter Gammons being asked to remove his tie for a live shot on the network. A Gammons rant and hilarity […]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:36 pm | Books | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Dodgers Make Their Payroll
The Dodgers keep selling the future to pay for the present: Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt was able to meet the team’s payroll Tuesday with cash advances drawn on the team’s corporate sponsorship deals, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. Since McCourt has been unable […]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:27 pm | Management, Owners | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2011
Soriano Disabled
The Cubs placed Alfonso Soriano on the disabled list, despite his injury not being that severe. According to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com the Cubs don’t actually think Soriano would be unavailable for a full 15 days, but put him on the DL anyway because they “don’t want to go too long a man short.” Soriano […]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:21 pm | Injuries, Players | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Wingspan and Defense
Athletics Nation is starting a series on how Trevor Cahill’s fielding ability could lead to repositioning the Oakland infielders.
Posted by David Pinto at 2:45 pm | Defense | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Welcome to the Ivy League
Princeton presented Hank Aaron with an honorary degree: The former home run record-holder was awarded an honorary doctorate of humanities for making America a better place with his “imperishable example of grace under pressure.” Very nice. Of course, why did it have to be Princeton? Bill Russell received an honorary degree from Harvard at the […]
Posted by David Pinto at 1:05 pm | All-Time Greats | Permalink | 2 Comments
May 31, 2011
The Six Man Rotation
The White Sox went to a six-man rotation when Jake Peavy returned from the disabled list because Ozzie Guillen did not want to send down Phil Humber. The results through 19 games are mixed. There are a number of fine starts in this stretch. A 7-6 record with a 4.19 ERA isn’t bad, the rotation […]
Posted by David Pinto at 12:39 pm | Management, Pitchers | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2011
Games of the Day
The White Sox try to make it two in a row against the Red Sox as they send Phil Humber to the mound against Alfredo Aceves. Humber is the reason the White Sox decided to go with a six-man rotation when Jake Peavy returned. The way Phil is pitching, I suspect he’ll stick around longer […]
Posted by David Pinto at 12:11 pm | Games | Permalink | 3 Comments
May 31, 2011
Creating Value
Beyond the Boxscore takes a look at how Billy Beane creates value for the Athletics through trading. I will caution however, that Dave Drombrowski is a very intelligent GM, and if he was willing to trade Scott Sizemore, I suspect there was a pretty good reason behind it. Scott May turn out to be an […]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:28 am | Management, Trades | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
The Keys to the Console
Gaslamp Ball points out the instant replay console at PETCO Park: In 2007, the General Managers voted 25-5 to approve Instant Replay. In 2008, Bud Selig made Instant Replay available to review boundary home run calls. Only the Umpire crew chief and at least one other member of his crew are allowed to open the […]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:12 am | Umpires | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Video Available
It looks like MLB.com is starting to allow embedding of highlights: However, it seems to take some time before these highlights are available. None of the must see highlights from yesterday carried an embed button.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:33 am | Broadcasts | Permalink | 4 Comments
May 31, 2011
Ubaldo’s Velocity
Dave Krieger explores the reasons for Ubaldo Jimenez’s loss of velocity in 2011. There are a number of theories, from minor injuries preventing him from building up arm strength to Ubaldo’s desire for better control changing the way he pitches. Note that Ubaldo’s velocity declined slightly as 2010 progressed, but fell off the cliff in […]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:10 am | Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Keeping it Simple
At Baseball Analytics, I look at how Bartolo Colon pitched his best game in five years with just his fastball.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:43 am | Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Matheny on Posey’s Collision
Mike Matheny, the former catcher who changed the way MLB treats players who suffer concussions, thinks the Buster Posey collision was avoidable: “He went hunting,” Matheny said of Cousins. “Buster gave hin an option and he didn’t take it. “The play wasn’t illegal. He didn’t come in high spikes or high elbows, but it wasn’t […]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:04 am | Injuries, Players | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Long Ball Holiday
The majors celebrated Memorial Day with a home run barrage. Teams combined to hit 46 long balls on Monday, the highest one day total this season. It was the second highest total since the start of the 2010 season (47 on July 7, 2010) and the 14th highest total this century. Despite the big home […]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:43 am | Offense, Sluggers | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
What’s Wrong with Soria?
I agree with Rany: The data is clear that hitters are no longer being fooled. What isn’t clear is why. The Royals can go on and on about how he’s just having trouble locating his pitches, or finishing his pitches, or scuffing his pitches, or whatever excuse they’ll come up with today. But when a […]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:11 am | Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2011
Tuesday Update
The Day by Day Database is up to date.
Posted by David Pinto at 6:29 am | Day by Day | Permalink | No Comments
May 30, 2011
No Run Wonders
The Rockies out-hit the Dodgers 14-11, but the Dodgers won 7-1. That’s right, fourteen hits and one run for the Rockies. The Rockies only run came on a solo homer, as they went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. The Rockies also drew four walks and hit into three double plays.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:32 pm | Games | Permalink | No Comments
May 30, 2011
Cycle Time
Kelly Johnson is scheduled to bat third in the bottom of the eighth, needing a single for the cycle. He’s four for five with a double, triple and two home runs as the Diamondbacks lead the Marlins 15-4. Update: Johnson cycled last season in an Arizona loss on July 23rd. Update: Johnson fouls off the […]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:07 pm | Feats, Games, Players | Permalink | No Comments