The Morning Edition (August 7, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Harper homers off Teheran and gets a fastball in his leg the next time out, Nats lose
- The Twins rock Shields, Albers nearly goes the distance in his debut
- Latos superb as Reds top the A’s
- Josh Harrison walks off against the Marlins
What I’m Watching Today:
- Colon and Bailey face off at GABP (1230p Eastern)
- Medlen takes on Zimmermann (7p Eastern)
- Matt Harvey Day! (7p Eastern)
- Shelby Miller faces the Dodgers (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Thoughts on the Harper/Teheran dustup?
You know I’m always coming down against the guy throwing the ball at the batter, but a couple of points should be made. If Teheran hit him on purpose, at least he kept it down in an area that wasn’t dangerous. So good on him for not being Weaver. Second, it’s childish to throw at a guy for homering off you, even if he did watch it a little too long. This isn’t the middle ages, you don’t duel someone over your honor. Shake it off. You threw the meatball, you have to watch him strut. I don’t like when players hot dog it around the bases but you shouldn’t throw at them for it and Harper just admired it and then got moving. It might not have been intentional, but if it was, that’s my take.
The Morning Edition (August 6, 2013)
From Last Night:
- MLB hands down BioGenesis suspensions, no new names are big, and A-Rod is the only one to appeal
- Greinke and the Dodgers edge Wainwright and the Cards in a potential playoff preview
- Atlanta beats the Nats despite a strong start for Strasburg, seemingly buries Nats
- A player returns to the field and the media pays attention in Chicago
What I’m Watching Today:
- Fully exonerated Gio Gonzalez goes against Teheran in DC (7p Eastern)
- Battle of the Justin’s in Cleveland, Masterson and Verlander (7p Eastern)
- Kuroda goes against Sale (8p Eastern)
- Kershaw faces the Cardinals (8p Eastern)
- Darvish takes on the Angels (10p Eastern)
- Felix welcomes the Jays (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Can we finally stop talking about Biogenisis?
Apparently, the media says no because A-Rod is appealing so we have to hear about it for weeks. Come on guys, let’s talk about baseball! For every word someone writes about A-Rod, it should be required that they also write one about the Pirates. I’ll start, the Pirates are the only team (entering Monday) who had four qualifying players to be above average on offense, defense, and on the bases using wRC+, UZR, and BsR. Fun!
The Morning Edition (August 5, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Holland brilliant in Rangers win over the A’s
- Burnett goes the distance as the Pirates top the Rockies
- The Cardinals punish the Reds, 15-2
- Blue Jays get two late to beat the Angels
- Doubront out guns McCarthy in the latter’s return
- KC and Cleveland keeping winning, gain no ground
What I’m Watching Today:
- Finally, an end to BioGenesis?
- Minor duels Strasburg as the Nats try to get back in it (7p Eastern)
- Greinke and Wainwright clash (7p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Is Mike Trout really going to do this again?
The answer is already yes. After leading MLB with 10.0 WAR last season, he’s already put up 7.1 WAR this year. He’s having a better offensive season than last year and is adding more overall value even though his defensive numbers have taken a bit of a slide. He remains one of the best baserunners in the game and is doing all of this from a premium position on the field. In the last 365 days, Mike Trout leads baseball with 10.2 WAR, meaning he has essentially been consistently playing at a 10 WAR clip for almost two years. Only Met Ott has more WAR through age 21. This is getting scary.
The Morning Edition (August 4, 2013)
From Last Night:
- A fine start by Haren leads the Brewers to victory
- Price goes 9 again, but the Rays need a hit from Myers in the 10th to win
- The Sox back Peavy in his Fenway debut
- Liriano walks 5, but doesn’t allow a run as the Pirates beat the Rockies
- Oakland beats Garza and the Rangers, 4-2
- Braves beat the Phillies in 12
- Maxwell’s 12th inning HR lifts the Royals
What I’m Watching Today:
- Santana goes against Wheeler at Citi (1p Eastern)
- McCarthy returns to the mound at Fenway (130p Eastern)
- Holland and Griffin face off in Oakland (4p Eastern)
- Alex Wood and Cliff Lee do it on Sunday Night (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Who is baseball’s worst baserunner?
There were some conversations on MLB Tonight on Saturday about bad baserunning and it made me curious. I often look at the top of the leaderboard, but rarely at the bottom. You can find more about some of the stats below right here, but they are all pretty clear. Entering Saturday….
Worst overall BsR (overall baserunning value): Allen Craig
Worst Basestealer (wSB, combines value of SB and cost of CS): Gerardo Parra
Worst Baserunner, not counting wSB (UBR = BsR – wSB): Allen Craig
Most Outs on the Bases (count of outs made when the player is not forced to the base): Allen Craig/Howie Kendrick
Extra Bases Taken (measures how often a player takes an extra base): Paul Konerko
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.
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.
The Morning Edition (July 29, 2013)
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From Last Night:
- Fernandez goes 8, K’s 13, walks none to lead the Fish past Cole
- Ross narrowly out pitches Corbin to win in AZ
- Cingrani and Capuano pitch to a draw before Puig sends everybody home
- Wood shuts down the Giants, who waste a nice start from Lincecum
- Gordon’s 12th inning bomb lifts the Royals
- The Nats unload on the Mets, win 14-1
- Lester leads the Sox to a 5-0 win
- Toronto walks off on Houston
- Jeter homers in his return, Soriano leads the Yanks to victory
What I’m Watching Today:
- David Price tries to stay hot versus the Sox (6p Eastern)
- Weaver faces Garza (7p Eastern)
- Beachy makes his 2013 debut (7p Eastern)
- Jacob Turner goes against the Mets (7p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Are the BioGenesis suspensions coming today?
Reports have the suspensions coming down this week, likely all at once. We’ll see which players are actually affected, which rumors were wrong, and which players have kept their names out of the press. The impact on the pennant race will be real, but likely not substantial because a given player can only have so much impacted over 55 games. Teams will scramble to find replacements, but the impact will be unpredictable. We’ve had months of speculation that was absolutely unnecessary, now we’re actually going to see something happen. Stay tuned.
The Morning Edition (July 28, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Sale goes the distances, allows 1 R, and loses to the Royals (#KillTheWin) as Davis, Coleman, and Holland blank the Sox
- Bourn hits a leadoff HR against Darvish, no one else scores as Masterson out duels Yu
- Nova goes 7, gives up 1 R, but Archer outshines with a CGSO
- The Braves win a close one against the Cards with 2 in the 8th
- 3 Nats HR back Haren over the Mets
What I’m Watching Today:
- Rays try to stay hot behind Moore (1p Eastern)
- Cole and Fernandez hook up in Miami (1p Eastern)
- Corbin welcomes the Padres to Chase (4p Eastern)
- Miller and Medlen on ESPN (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Are there going to be any deadline deals?
Despite what Heyman, Rosenthal, Olney, and Morosi are telling you there doesn’t seem to be any traffic on the trade market. We’ve had some low profile deals including Feldman and Nolasco and the Cubs did move Garza, but it doesn’t look like a flurry of deals are coming because the teams that are due to sell aren’t budging. The Jays, Royals, Phils, Angels, and Mariners are out of it but not ready to commit. Once that happens we could have some deals, but the second wild card is keeping a lot of teams in it. Peavy’s probably going to move, but now that we’re five days from the deadline I’m actually willing to talk about trades. Trade speculation is boring, but real trades are interesting and if we’re going to get a few, they’ll be coming soon. It’s important to remember that trades can only have a small impact on a team’s chances because there are only 50-55 games left after the deadline comes. You have to replace a terrible player with a great one to gain more than a win or two.
The Morning Edition (July 27, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Tribe blows a big lead, but Ryan Raburn walks off to save them in the 11th
- Minor out pitches Wainwright in a 4-1 win for the Braves
- Rays shell CC, move into first place
- The Royals finally cash in on a great start for Shields, beat the Sox
- Huge 7th inning bails out Dickey in Toronto
- Mets dominate the Nats in game one, but waster Harvey’s gem in game two as Zimmerman walks off
- Chatwood strikes out 11 Brewers
What I’m Watching Today:
- Darvish faces Masterson in Cleveland (7p Eastern)
- Chris Sale faces the Royals (7p Eastern)
- Bumgarner welcomes the Cubs to AT&T (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- How do you feel about Ryan Raburn?
Raburn hit a big 3 run walk off homerun on Friday, improving his season numbers to .273/.371/.533, good for a 153 wRC+ in 186 PA. He is now the Indians second best position player with 2.0 WAR which ties his career high for an entire season. I’ve always loved Raburn because he has the biggest range of possible outcomes of any human being I’ve ever seen. It’s equally likely that he hits 3 HR in a game as it is that he falls down the dugout steps and injures Jason Kipnis. He hits huge homeruns and makes the more untimely mistakes. There’s something quite compelling about that in my book. He’s also playing above average defense and walking 11.8% of the time. This guy.
The Morning Edition (July 26, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Buehrle gets a 2 H, 2 BB, CGSO against the Astros
- Marlins win as Eovaldi and Nicasio combine for 13 shutout innings, but neither factor in the decision as both teams score late
- Kuroda goes 7 scoreless to lead the Yanks past Holland and the Rangers
- The Nationals cough one up to the Pirates, but Harper rallies back to walk off
What I’m Watching Today:
- Jordan Zimmerman welcomes the Mets in Game 1, Harvey goes in Game 2 (130p/7p Eastern)
- Newly minted ground ball machince John Lackey takes on the O’s (7p Eastern)
- Wainwright faces Minor in ATL (7p Eastern)
- Homer Bailey meets Clayton Kershaw (10p Eastern)
- Felix gets the Twins (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- What’s a good sign a player’s breakout is real?
Edwin Encarnacion has really improved his stock in the last couple of seasons with the power, but the K% is coming down really nicely. There aren’t many big power bats who don’t strikeout more often than this:
New English D 