How Was The Game? (August 2, 2013)
A joy.
Tigers 2, White Sox 1
Any time Doug Fister (22 GS, 143 IP, 3.52 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 3.2 WAR) is on cruise control, it is must see television. He had quick inning after quick inning, getting through 5 innings in 45 pitches, 7 in 75, and 8 in 88. He was brilliant, delivering 8 innings of 7 H, 0 BB, 2 K baseball and allowed just a single run in the 6th inning. He was backed by a Jose Iglesias RBI single and a Jackson solo homerun, but he did the rest without a problem getting ground ball after ground ball and mowing through the White Sox order. It was one of the easiest 8 innings we’ve seen this season from any Tigers starter and there isn’t much else to say other than that while Fister is good, the White Sox are an abysmal offense. The game took just 2 hours and 7 minutes despite Leyland going to the glacial Benoit instead of allowing Fister to finish what he started. I mean seriously it was awesome other than Leyland’s desire to ruin every CG ever. Their 6th straight win and 9th in their last 10 pushes the Tigers to 62-45 and they will go for the series victory Saturday night with Max Scherzer (21 GS, 143.2 IP, 3.01 ERA, 2.72 FIP, 4.3 WAR) taking the baseball.
The Moment: Anything and everything Doug Fister did.
Joe Blanton Defies The Odds
Over in the Community Research section of FanGraphs, I have a post exploring Joe Blanton’s extremely high HR rate, it’s place in history, and what might be causing it. If you’re interesting in pitching and statistical outliers, this might be for you. Take a look over at FanGraphs.
I’m always up to tackle difficult baseball questions, so if you’ve got a Tigers player you want to see broken down or really anything else in baseball, let me know on Twitter @NeilWeinberg44 or at NewEnglishD@gmail.com
Matt Tuiasosopo: Difference Maker
The story is pretty widely known. Matt Tuiasosopo didn’t have a job this winter and e-mailed GM’s who he thought might have interest. Dave Dombrowski took the chance.The Tigers needed a right-handed hitting outfielder to use with Andy Dirks in LF and to come off the bench when the team needed a power bat. It’s paying off.
Tuiasosopo had never had any success in the major leagues. In parts of 3 seasons, the last of which was 2010, he had accumulated 210 PA. In those plate appearances he posted an unimpressive .176/.234/.306 stat line which produced a 48 wRC+ (what’s wRC+?). In total, his career wins above replacement (what’s WAR?) was -1.1. That’s a small sample and you can’t make too much of it, but Tuiasosopo paced out to about -3.0 WAR over a full season based on his career numbers.
Let’s just say 2013 has been different. While Tuiasosopo had some occasional offensive success in the minors it looked liked the 27 year old was never going to have a steady big league job. After four months of 2013, he’s at least earned himself a spot on someone’s big league bench next season.
If you assume there are 255 starting spots in the show (9 spots per AL club, 8 per NL club) then the 255 position players with the most plate appearances are the starters and the rest are bench guys. Obviously injuries throw a wrench into the clean cut off, but I’m just using it as a jumping off point, so we can be a little loose about it.
Among the remaining 527 players to grab a PA this season, Tuiasosopo ranks 15th in WAR at 1.2. He’s been one of the best 15 backup players in the major leagues this season despite no success in his career and zero MLB at bats in the two previous seasons. If you actually look at the list of players in the sample, the two guys at the top are Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig, so we probably shouldn’t count them because they’re basically superstars. Jose Reyes is ahead of Tuiasosopo. So is Wil Myers.
I told you the cutoff line wasn’t perfect, but the point is pretty clear. Tuiasosopo is one of baseball’s most valuable bench players in baseball this season.
He has just 129 PA this year, so let’s see what happens when we look at players with 150 PA or fewer in 2013. Among players with 150 PA or fewer in 2013, Matt Tuiasosopo ranks 3rd in WAR. He’s the 3rd best player in the game (with some margin of error) who averages fewer than 1.5 PA per team game.
I point this out because we spend a lot of time focusing on star players who carry teams, but I’m a big believer in the value of the backups. Individual bench players can’t change their team’s fortune overall, but the overall bench is very important. The ability to fill in for injured players and to give stars a day off is very important. If each of your bench players can give you 1.0 WAR, you’re looking at 4-5 wins above what you could get from a bad bench. If you can get 2+ wins (a starter’s floor) out of a couple bench guys, you’re looking at something pretty special.
There are a finite number of at bats during a season and it’s critical that you get the most out of each. The difference between Tuiasosopo and a AAA player has already been 1.2 wins and could easily find its way to 2 by the time the season is over. What’s great about that is that he looked exactly like one of those replacement level players entering the season.
Dombrowski and his staff saw something in Tui that made him give the guy a shot and the coaches saw enough to bring him north after Spring Training. In those 129 PA, Tuiasosopo has hit .299/.419/.561 with a .424 wOBA (what’s wOBA?) and 171 wRC+. He’s walking 15% of the time he comes to the plate.
I know you can’t just extrapolate it out, but he’s playing at a 6.0 WAR pace. That’s one heck of a weak half of a platoon.
Now Tuiasosopo won’t continue to hit like this because he’s basically hitting like Mike Trout, but he’s already added more value than you could have expected at the start of the year. He’s already done it, even if he never takes another swing. If you set the minimum at 100 PA for 2013, only 6 players have a better overall offensive rate using wRC+. It’s an impressive list.
| Rank | Name | Team | PA | wRC+ |
| 1 | Hanley Ramirez | Dodgers | 196 | 205 |
| 2 | Miguel Cabrera | Tigers | 452 | 202 |
| 3 | Jeff Baker | Rangers | 106 | 183 |
| 4 | Chris Davis | Orioles | 444 | 180 |
| 5 | Yasiel Puig | Dodgers | 212 | 180 |
| 6 | Mike Trout | Angels | 485 | 171 |
| 7 | Matt Tuiasosopo | Tigers | 129 | 171 |
Among players who have come to the plate 100 or more times, only Ramirez, Cabrera, Baker (!), Davis, Puig, and Trout have been better. Surely he’d regress if given a full season of reps, but it’s amazing nonetheless. He’s given the Tigers so much value for almost no cost.
The big moves make headlines. Signing Sanchez and Hunter, extending Verlander, trading for others along the way. But Matt Tuiasosopo has been a very important piece for the 2013 Tigers even if it’s in a limited role. I don’t think we give enough credit to role players in MLB, so that’s really all this is.
Earlier this year I penned this love letter to Don Kelly (my favorite player), but other than that, you don’t see big features written about guys who spend more time on the pines than on the grass. But we do that here at New English D. We love these guys. They play an important role and can sometimes be the difference.
Matt Tuiasosopo is having a heck of a season at the plate and if you’re willing to accept the small sample as indicative of what has already happened even if it isn’t predicitve, he’s one of the best players in the game who fill his role. He’s one of the best hitters with at least 100 PA and one of the most valuable guys to have fewer than 150. He’s not Miguel Cabrera, but the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th spots on the position player side of your lineup card matter and deserve more attention.
Nice job, Dave and Jim. But really, nice job, Matt.
Appointment Television: Baseball’s Must Watch Starting Pitchers (August 2013 Update)
In May, I rolled out our list of Appointment Television starting pitchers, or pitchers who were worth planning your baseball viewing (and life) schedule around. Today, as I did in June and July, I’d like to update that list and talk about the changes. The original list can be found here, which also includes a little more detail on the origin of the project. Recall that the order is tiered into stable and non stable (italics), but each ranking is meaningless.
Here is the gist from the original:
The methodology is simple but also subjective. To be classified as Appointment TV you have to have a high likelihood of pitching a gem. There is no set definition of gem or likelihood, but the idea is that to make this list, you have to be likely enough to throw a game worth clearing your schedule for. I think a number of pitchers qualify. Most are high strikeout guys, but that isn’t a requirement. If you are good enough to dominate on a semi-regular basis you’re in. If on your day to pitch, I make sure I’m aware of the start time so that I can check in, you’re Appointment TV.
This is a rolling list and pitchers will be added and subtracted throughout the season and it will be updated as necessary. There is no order other than that pitchers lower on the list in italics are recent additions, so if you’re wondering if Jordan Zimmermann really qualifies, know that he’s earned his way onto the list in his last few starts. Remember, this is a list of pitchers who on this date are can’t miss TV. These are not necessarily the best pitchers and plenty of good pitchers aren’t on the list.
Appointment Television Starting Pitchers:
- Justin Verlander
- Adam Wainwright
- Clayton Kershaw
- Felix Hernandez
- Yu Darvish
- Matt Harvey
- Cliff Lee
- Max Scherzer
- Anibal Sanchez
- Stephen Strasburg
- Chris Sale
- Doug Fister
- Jose Fernandez
- David Price
- Shelby Miller
- Mat Latos
- Derek Holland
- Jordan Zimmerman
- Francisco Liriano
- Homer Bailey
- Partrick Corbin
- Hiroki Kuroda
Clay Buchholz(On the DL, no return set)
Let’s talk about the changes. First of all, Jose Fernandez made the jump from the borderline region into the stable region because he continues to impress during his rookie season. Jordan Zimmernmann falls into the fringe ranks because while he is still pitching well, he hasn’t been turning in dominating, turn the game on and notice performances.
Everyone else on the list is in the same spot and the remaining changes are those who have joined the party. Francisco Liriano is impressing in Pittsburgh over his 95 IP this season. If he remains healthy, he should hold his spot on the list. Price is an obvious addition to the list. He’s been dominant since coming off the DL and was one of the top pitchers in the game last season. He’s now healthy and even more efficient than before.
Bailey, Corbin, and Kuroda are all having very nice seasons and have earned their way onto the list. They don’t make me turn my head quite as much as some others, but they have now pitched their way to the point where I will always be aware when they are on the mound.
Feel free to make a case for other starting pitchers who are must watch guys and we’ll consider adding them to the list.
The Morning Edition (August 2, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Felix goes 7 innings, allowed 1 run and leaves with a 7-1 lead. The Mariners gave up 1 in the 8th and 6 in the 9th to fall to the Red Sox.
- Darvish strikes out 14 batters, walks none, in 7 shutout innings
- The Cardinals pummel the Pirates to salvage one of five in Pittsburgh
- Hamels throws 8 shutout innings, Papelbon blows it
- Norris is solid against his old club
- Indians and Royals keep their winning streaks going as Raburn hits 2 HR
- 11 K for Teheran as the Braves beat the Rockies
What I’m Watching Today:
- Jose Fernandez looks to slow the Tribe (7p Eastern)
- Bumgarner faces Archer (7p Eastern)
- Shelby Miller leads the Cards into Cinci (7p Eastern)
- Zimmermann tries to get back on track against the Crew (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Who do you like in the NL Central?
The Pirates, Cardinals, and Reds are all 60+ win teams and have clear paths to the playoffs. The Cardinals have the lowest floor, the Pirates are playing well, and the Reds are probably the most talented. But Cards don’t have Yadi, the Pirates are playing above their heads, and the Reds have Dusty holding them back. They’re all good teams and will likely all make it at least until the play-in game. My money is on the Cardinals, but it’s going to be fun.
MLB Power Rankings August 2013
Before the season began, I provided you with how I thought the season would play out in standings form and in power rankings form (30-21, 20-11, 10-1). Each week, I’ve updated the standings projection based on the games from the previous week, and at the beginning of every month, have synthesized that into league-wide power rankings. What follows are my MLB Power Rankings for August 2013. (May, June, and July)
The idea is simple. I ranked the teams at the beginning of the season based on how well I thought they would perform over the entire year. I am doing the same thing here, but I just have new information to include based on what I’ve seen so far. Note that when discussing offensive rankings I will be using wRC+ (what’s wRC+?) and when discussing pitching rankings I will use wins above replacement (what’s WAR?).
30. Houston Astros (July Rank: 29)
I’ve reserved this spot for the Marlins for the last two months, but I have to make a change in August because no other club besides the Astros is so bad offensively, defensively, and on the mound. The Astros are building correctly for the future and are a well-run organization, but there is no worse MLB product on the field right now. They are 27th in hitting, 29th in defense, and 30th in pitching. Right now, their entire roster has been worth less than 1 win above replacement. For some context, Andy Dirks has been worth 1.1 WAR by himself in 2013.
29. Miami Marlins (30)
The Marlins are terrible. They have the league’s worst offense by a massive margin and only have an average pitching staff led by exciting young arms like Jose Fernandez, Jacob Turner, and Nathan Eovaldi. The Marlins are joke of an organization, but there are some reasons to watch.
28. Chicago White Sox (28)
The White Sox are almost as bad offensively as the Marlins and as a result they are wasting the league’s 3rd best pitching staff. Normally, I’d give more weight to the pitching staff in these rankings, but the offensive is so terrible that good pitching doesn’t even help. The Sox are 40-65 and rank 23rd in MLB in WAR. This is a bad team and they just lost Jake Peavy and Jesse Crain. It’s gonna get UG-LY (read that last sentence in a Hawk Harrelson voice).
27. Milwaukee Brewers (27)
The Brewers offense ranks only slightly below average thanks to great production from guys like Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura, but with the loss of Ryan Braun and the black holes at so many spots, it isn’t enough to carry baseball’s 24th best pitching staff. There is very little hope in Milwaukee this year.
26. Minnesota Twins (26)
The Twins rank 21st in hitting and pitching, but are pulled down to 28th overall in WAR thanks to a very poor defense. This is a bad club with a better future. They have a very nice farm system and should be relevant again before the decade is out, but there isn’t much left to do in 2013 other than play spoiler.
25. Chicago Cubs (24)
The Cubs are a team with some good players, but overall hasn’t played very well. They’re 24th at the plate and 19th on the mound, but have also traded some pieces leading up to the deadline. They’re building it right, but the drought will extend at least another season.
24. New York Mets (23)
The Mets are the 20th best offense and 20th best staff in baseball and fall to 24th on this list because there just isn’t a lot of hope they’ll play any better. Matt Harvey is right in the middle of the Cy Young conversation but they’re going to back off his innings as the season wears on. There are many glimmers of hope for the Mets, but they aren’t one of the best of 2013.
23. Seattle Mariners (25)
The Mariners actually have baseball’s 16th best offense and 13th best pitching staff, but also have baseball’s worst defense that has cost them about 5 wins in the standings all on its own. The Mariners aren’t a hapless bad team, but they are firmly outside of the contending realm as well.
22. San Diego Padres (22)
The Padres can hit a little bit and are an average defensive club, but their pitching is just terrible. I don’t have a lot else to say on the matter.
21. San Francisco Giants (14)
Talk about a free-fall. The Giants were in the top ten just two months ago but now they’re barely ahead of the Mets. The offense and defense are respectable, but the pitching continues to be poor and has yet to bounce back to the levels we expect. The clock is running out on the Giants season. I’m not sure how low they’ll finish this year, but for now it doesn’t look pretty for the champs.
20. Los Angeles Angels (17)
It still boggles the mind that the Angels didn’t spend their Hamilton money on pitching. They have baseball’s 5th best offense and 26th worst pitching staff. They completely misjudged their team and it will cost them a trip to the playoffs. They might even finish behind the Mariners despite Mike Trout being Mike Trout.
19. Colorado Rockies (19)
The Rockies offense is below average, but somehow their pitching continues to perform well. I don’t really understand it, but they haven’t played well overall since their hot start. They’re better than I thought at the start of the season, but they aren’t a good team.
18. Toronto Blue Jays (16)
The Blue Jays got bit by the injury bug, but their offense has played well coming in at 10th in MLB. The pitching, even when healthy, just hasn’t been very good. The Jays are likely disappointed, but even if they had played better, it still wouldn’t have been enough to be sure about a playoff spot.
17. Kansas City Royals (21)
The Royals are an average pitching staff with an excellent defense behind them. If only they weren’t terrible hitters. The Royals are baseball’s 5th worst offense, but for some reason, still thought it was a good idea to trade Wil Myers for James Shields last winter. The Royals are playing well enough to finish around .500, but this isn’t much more than an average club.
16. Philadelphia Phillies (18)
The Phils are probably a little worse than this empirically, but they seem very steady to me. They’re 26th in MLB in WAR, but they’re also 50-57 while playing their worst baseball of the season. They seem like a team that will finish just below .500 and still have some very good arms and interesting bats.
15. New York Yankees (12)
The Yankees are the White Sox with a good defense and just enough more on offense to let the pitching staff do the work. They are 19th in WAR as a club, but it’s all coming from the pitching staff. The key for the Yankees is that they got a lot of over-performing value up front and should be getting some good production from the injured stars down the stretch. They have Jeter back and Granderson very close which should help keep them from falling apart. This isn’t a playoff team in my mind, but they are good enough to be around the middle.
14. Washington Nationals (10)
I still believe in the Nats, but the clock has pretty much run out. After opening the season in the top spot they have slid in each ranking. They are baseball’s 25th best offense and the pitching, while sold, is not enough to carry them. Unless the offense starts to click soon, the Nationals will greatly disappoint. The talent is there, but they have not executed in 2013.
13. Arizona Diamondbacks (13)
The Dbacks are only the 22nd best offense in the game and 16th best staff, but they have an excellent defense which makes everything better. They currently rank 15th in total WAR and look to be right around the middle of the league as this thing winds down.
12. Cleveland Indians (15)
The Indians have a very good offense (3rd) to no one’s surprise. The pitching is 24th best in baseball, which likely isn’t enough to get them to October, but this will certainly be one of the best teams to miss the postseason. They’re record is better than their talent, but they don’t have enough pixie dust to turn themselves into a legitimate title contender.
11. Los Angeles Dodgers (20)
Finally the Dodgers started playing well. Their offense is now a top 10 one and the pitching staff isn’t great, but it has Clayton Kershaw. Overall they are 12th in WAR and are playing better as of late while the rest of the NL West is spiraling. With Hanley Ramirez back in All-Star form, they are finally clicking on all cylinders. I don’t think they’re equipped for a deep October run, but they’re no longer the mess they were a month ago.
10. Baltimore Orioles (9)
The Orioles made some moves this month to shore up the 25th best staff in baseball, but their strength remains their offense. The Orioles are probably going to go to the mat for the last wild card, but at the very least, so one considers them a fluke anymore. This is a good offense and good defense led by a smart manager. They don’t have the arms to be a force, but they are a very solid team.
9. Texas Rangers (4)
The Rangers are slumping hard right now which pushed them back a few spots. The bats are still 12th in baseball and the pitching staff remains #2. This is a good team going through a bad stretch. They’ll bounce back, but for now they’re out of the top five.
8. Cincinnati Reds (7)
The Reds are a very good team run by a very bad manager. They’re 7th in WAR and have the 8th best record in baseball, but they are losing games they shouldn’t lose because of Dusty Baker’s decision making. He’s recently moved Cozart out of the 2 hole, but he often replaces him with another poor hitter. He can’t manage a bullpen, either. The Reds are good, but if they miss the postseason by a game or two, you will know why.
7. Atlanta Braves (5)
The Braves just ran away and hid early. They are a top 10 offense and pitching staff and haven’t really done much of note since their hot start. They have talent that is playing up to par, but they look to be the safest division leader in the sport right now.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (11)
The Pirates are still playing over their heads for my money (15th best offense, 17th best staff) but they are 11th in WAR and you can’t erase the lucky wins they’ve already accumulated. They’re a lock to finish above .500 and are a pretty good bet to at least earn a trip to the play-in game. I think they’ll slow down going forward, but they’ve done the work for 107 games and even if they play closer to my expectations the rest of the way, they are still a top 10 team overall.
5. Oakland Athletics (8)
The A’s are kind of the same as the Pirates. They aren’t as good as their record shows, but they are a top 11 and 10 offense and pitching staff who has already earned their extra wins. The A’s are in good position to make the playoffs and should slow down a bit down the stretch, even if they don’t give anything away.
4. Boston Red Sox (3)
The Sox are 4th in offense and 4th on the mound and only rank 2nd in WAR because the Cardinals rate so poorly on defense. The Sox are a good team who added Jake Peavy for the stretch run. I don’t think they win the division, but this is a very good team.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (1)
The Cardinals are so well rounded that despite the present slump, it’s hard to see anything that can actually deflate their season. Except for losing Yadier Molina. Uh oh. The Cards are 6th at the plate and 7th on the mound, but they performed very well in high leverage spots to push their record above their performance overall. I don’t think that’s a predictive skill, but much like the Pirates and the A’s they have already won those games. If Yadi is out for a while, the Cardinals could be in trouble, but they’ll sit at 3rd for now until we know more.
2. Tampa Bay Rays (6)
I didn’t bail on the Rays when they started slow and I feel really good about that now. They have the league’s 2nd best offense, 3rd best staff, and one of the top defenses in the game. This is a well rounded team that always plays above their skill level thanks to excellent management from Joe Maddon. The Rays are on fire now, but look build to stay warm the whole way.
1. Detroit Tigers (2)
I don’t mean this to be a homer pick, but there isn’t really a case I can make against the Tigers based on how I do these rankings. They have the best offense in baseball. They have the best pitching staff in baseball. They lead all of MLB in WAR. They are only 3.5 games back of the best record overall. And it seems like they can play better than they did in the first half. So long as Cabrera doesn’t need a long DL trip and Iglesias can play good enough defense to fill in for Peralta’s bat, this is baseball’s best team.
Thoughts on the list? Let us know in the comments section.
How Was The Month? Detroit Tigers July Report
Excellent.
18-8 (61-45 overall)
It was during July that the Detroit Tigers became the DETROIT TIGERS, AL POWERHOUSE. After playing well, but not having a record that matched the performance perfectly, the Tigers unloaded in the month of July. They won 9 of their final 10 and put themselves back on a 93 win pace thanks to outscoring their opponents by 61 runs.
The Tigers led the AL in offense with a 122 wRC+ (what’s wRC+?) in July and were second in the AL in position player wins above replacement (what’s WAR?) The story of the month offensively was Victor Martinez’s resurgence as he posted a 180 wRC+ after a very slow start, but among Tigers who came to the plate a significant number of times quite a fewer put up above average numbers. Hunter (187 wRC+), Miguel Cabrera (173 wRC+), Don Kelly (138 wRC+), Matt Tuiasosopo (137 wRC+), Alex Avila (126 wRC+), and Jhonny Peralta (115 wRC+) all put up great numbers during the month. Avila’s numbers really jump off the page.
In 77 PA in July, Avila hit .269/.355/.463 and was worth 0.5 WAR. Those numbers look very reasonable for what he could do going forward. Avila might hit for a bit less average, but the walks are always there and he can hit for some decent power. If you guide it out, Avila is a 2.5 to 3.0 WAR player in my mind going forward because he’s going to have to spend some time on the DL each year. The numbers are in a small sample, but the process looks much better too.
Overall, the pitching staff was around average in July, offering a 3.0 WAR in the month and a 3.44 ERA and 3.91 FIP (what’s FIP?) after an historic start to the year. They are still within 1% of having baseball’s best rotation in history, but after July it’s going to be a bit harder to achieve that goal as the starters only posted the 8th best numbers in MLB over the last 31 days.
Scherzer and Porcello were both brilliant in July, and while Anibal Sanchez didn’t pitch great, he did manage to limit the runs he allowed with some timely outs. Verlander struggled in the month across the board and Fister was certainly below where you’d expect to see him, but Fister has figured it out since the break after struggling before it and Verlander has shown signs of promise.
Smyly and Benoit remain one of baseball’s best two headed monsters out in the pen, and with reinforcements coming, things look pretty good there too.
All in all, it was a great month for the team and it was fun to watch. The bats carried the pitching staff, but the pitching staff was still pretty good – they just weren’t as good as the pace they set in the first half. The Tigers have 56 games left in 2013 and will likely play most of them without Jhonny Peralta, but as long as Cabrera’s injury doesn’t prove to be too serious, it doesn’t look like much can stop them. The Tigers look like they’ll ride to the postseason and are ready to make another deep run. They only need to play at an 83 win pace the rest of the way in order to reach 90 wins, which should be more than enough to outlast the Indians and Royals.
The Moment: Brayan Pena tags out Nick Swisher on a ball Swisher expected to go foul. Pena chuckles with delight.
The Morning Edition (August 1, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Essentially nothing happens at the trading deadline
- The Pirates win their 4th game in 3 days against the Cardinals
- Minor dominates as the Braves crush the Rockies
- Three Astros pitchers I’ve literally never heard of shutout the Orioles
- The Indians walk off on the White Sox
- Beltre and the Rangers walk off on the Angels
- Bailey dominates the Padres
What I’m Watching Today:
- Sale takes on Masterson in Cleveland (12p Eastern)
- Matt Harvey day! (1230p Eastern)
- Someone named Zeke Spruill pitches against Darvish (7p Eastern)
- Cain and Hamels in Philly (7p Eastern)
- The Cardinals try to avoid a 5 game sweep in PIT (7p Eastern)
- Felix faces the Sox (7p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Are you ready for the A-Rod coverage?
With such an incredible day of baseball behind us it is sad to realize that a ridiculous amount of coverage will be focused on the impending attempt of MLB to ban Alex Rodriguez for life. A-Rod. The Yankees. The City of New York. Steroids. I’m surprised ESPN hasn’t melted already. Let’s talk about the games, okay? The Pirates have won four straight against the Cardinals and might grab a fifth today. The Pirates are going to finish over .500 and will likely make the playoffs. Woah.
New English D 