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 30, 2013)
From Last Night:
- The Pirates ride a strong start from Liriano over the Cards
- Giambi walks off against the White Sox
- The Rangers get two homeruns in the 9th to come back against the Angels
- Price leads the Rays past the Sox
- CarGo goes 5-5, but the Braves walk off
What I’m Watching Today:
- Lynn and Burnett continue the 5 game set in Pittsburgh in Game 1 (4p Eastern)
- Peavy scheduled to start in Cleveland, but might be traded beforehand (7p Eastern)
- Strasburg and Sanchez (7p Eastern)
- Wheeler faces Eovaldi (7p Eastern)
- Wilson and Holland go in Texas (8p Eastern)
- Latos and Volquez start opposite one of the players for which they were traded (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Did you enjoy bullpen upgrade day?
The Tigers added Veras, the Braves got Downs (good move), and the Rays gambled on Crain (good move). Will the next two days include any big name starters or position players? I’m sure the TradeRumor-Industrial Complex is hoping so. They’ve been tweeting out rumors for so long they will look pretty silly if there aren’t a lot of players moved in the next 36 hours. We’ll have complete coverage of any Tigers moves here and some quick thoughts on the rest of the deals as well. Follow me on Twitter if you’re looking for up to the minute reaction to things that happen in baseball because most of my day is spent thinking about baseball and deciding if I have something interesting enough to share with other people. Usually the answer is no, but sometimes it is yes!
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 25, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Strasburg goes 8, allows 1 R on 2 H/0 BB/12 K, but loses despite a 4-2 final score…yeah…think about that…#KillTheWin
- Price goes the distance on 97 pitches to lead the Rays over the Sox
- Santana pitches well, but the Royals need a walk off to beat the O’s
- Garza is superb in his Rangers debut, beats the Yanks 3-1
- Braves beat the Mets but lose Hudson to a broken ankle
- Dodgers get 5 in the 10th to beat the Jays
- Kamzir helps the Indians pummel the M’s
- The Angels blank the Twins, 1-0
What I’m Watching Today:
- Wood and Wheeler in NY (1230p Eastern)
- Burnett faces Gio (1230p Eastern)
- Kuroda takes on Holland (2p Eastern)
- Latos goes against Greinke (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Are the Royals even a self-aware entity at this point?
Apparently, the Royals who are 47-51, 8 GB, and have no reason to expect they will play better, are considering buying at the deadline despite it being a seller’s market. Additionally, they are considering upgrading in right field. I wonder if the Rays would part with Wil Myers? I legitimately feel pain for Royals fans. This is embarrassing.
The Morning Edition (July 22, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Harvey dominates the Phils over 7 innings, allows 3 H and 10 K as Lee struggles
- Masterson flirts with a no-hitter in a 7-1 win over the Twins
- Giants waste a great start from Bumgarner
- Colon drops a CGSO on the Angels
- Wainwright’s 8 strong innings lead the Cards over the Padres
- Felix turns in 6 solid inning as the Mariners thrash the Astros
- Peralta and Alvarez throw gems, but it takes a Gindl walk off in the 13th to finalize the Crew and Fish
- Kershaw throws well, Zimmermann gets rocked in Dodgers win at Nats
- Bailey K’s 12 but the Reds fall to the Bucs
- Rays win…again
What I’m Watching Today:
- Darvish comes to Yankee Stadium (7p Eastern)
- Scherzer and Sale (8p Eastern)
- Garza showcase continues against Skaggs in AZ (930p Eastern)
- Lincecum returns to the mound for the first time since his no-hitter (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Should the Rays scare you?
The answer is yes under certain conditions. First, if you cheer for the Rays, no the Rays should not scare you. Also, if you’re team is wildly out of the race, then you should just enjoy baseball and not sweat the standings. But everyone else should be worried because the Rays are dangerous. They probably won’t sustain a 17-2 pace for the rest of the season but they are putting the East on notice. On May 7th, the Rays were 14-18 and looked like they weren’t going to be able to provide their usually excellent starting pitching. Since then, they are 44-23, which is a 106 win pace. This is a good team that just had their rough stretch early, which is often a nice way to lull your opponents into a false sense of security. I picked the Rays to win the East and haven’t wavered. They are baseball’s 3rd best offense and 11th best pitching staff and have one of baseball’s best managers and easily the best GM. This is a team that should scare you. They have one of the game’s best in Longoria, an excellent super utility guy in Zobrist, the underrated Jennings, the young Myers, and the lightning in a bottle Loney. Not to mention the pitching is back. They Rays are hot and are only going to cool off a little.
The Morning Edition (July 21, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Mariners become the first team to ever score 4+ runs while getting just one hit as they beat the Astros in a game in which Bedard left the game without allowing a hit after 6.1 IP
- Indians waste a solid start by Kluber, fall to the Twins
- Kuroda shuts down the Sox, Yanks edge past Lackey
- Rays stay hot against the Jays
- Greinke and Gio pitch great, but the Nats take it in 10
What I’m Watching Today:
- Lee, Harvey…Oswald? at Citi Field (1p Eastern)
- Kershaw takes on Zimmermann in DC (130p Eastern)
- Felix goes to Houston, strikeout warning in effect (2p Eastern)
- Wainwright goes against the Padres (2p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Who’s regretting the offseason now?
Something I noticed last night was that 11:25pm, the Blue Jays, Royals, and Angels (the 3 AL teams that made big moves this offseason) all have the same number of wins as the Mariners. All at 45. The lesson here is that big moves don’t make a good team. I’m not knocking what the Blue Jays did, but the Angels and Royals made poor moves. To recap, the Angels gave $125 million to Josh Hamilton (which is risky in itself) instead of doing anything to improve their pitching staff and the Royals traded away a great young hitter for a starting pitcher who can’t help the team win because they don’t score any runs. Even if Shields and Myers were a good swap in terms of dollars and value, it certainly didn’t make sense to trade from a weakness to get more pitching when that new pitching was only enough to make you a .500 team. Setting that aside, my point is that the national media latched onto the big moves and called these teams the big winners in the offseason. That was silly. You have to look at the whole picture and the whole picture almost always favors the club that adds complimentary pieces instead of big names. The media chases stories, MLB teams should chase wins. Remember that next time you’re reading offseason winners and losers. Texas “had a terrible offseason” if you listened to the writers. Funny how that works out.
The Morning Edition (July 14, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Greinke twirls a CGSO to beat the Rockies despite Chatwood’s CG, 1 ER gem.
- Davis homers again, but Orioles fall to the Jays
- Lincecum no hits the Padres, featuring 13 Ks. (Late out west, hence the lack of intense attention)
- The White Sox tops the Phillies with 2 in the 11th
- Hughes K’s 10, but gives up 4 as the Yanks fall to the Twins
- Haren and Fernandez pitch well, Marlins win in 10
What I’m Watching Today:
- Shields takes on the Indians (1p Eastern)
- Hamels tries to stay on a role (1p Eastern)
- Wainwright and Wood take the final stage before the break (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Who will replace the Sunday starters and injured players on the All-Star rosters?
Enjoy the last day before the break. It’s going to be a slow few days!
The Morning Edition (July 13, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Price gives up 2 runs in a CG against the Astros and loses…to Jared Cosart in his MLB debut, who went 8 scoreless
- Kluber twirls a fine outing, Indians beat the Royals
- Marlins rough up Strasburg, chase him after two
- Chris Davis homers, Orioles win, lather, rinse, repeat.
- Pirates grab a walk off single in 11 against the Mets
- Arroyo shuts down the Braves, Dusty listens and drops Cozart to 7th
What I’m Watching Today:
- Burnett faces the Mets (7p Eastern)
- Lynn and Garza in Chicago (7p Eastern)
- Holland and Scherzer (7p Eastern)
- Jose Fernandez faces the Nats (7p Eastern)
- Felix against the Angels (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Who are your first half ROY?
Let’s break it down by position players and pitchers. For the NL position player, Puig is a pretty good choice with his 2.1 WAR and 198 wRC+, but he’s short on games. Pollack (2.1 WAR), Gattis (1.8 WAR), Gyrko (1.8 WAR) are also good choices. It’s tough to pick rookies because you have to balance overall value and rate stats. Probably Puig, but Pollack would be a good choice too. For the AL position player it’s slim pickens, to this point it’s probably Jose Iglesias (1.6 WAR), but Nick Franklin, Gomes, and Martin have a case and they all have Wil Myers charging. AL pitching is thin, but it’s probably Straily if you want a starter, but there are a lot of good relievers too. Many the AL rookie class is weak. The NL pitchers are much more fun. Miller, Fernandez, Ryu, and Teheran. I love Shelby Miller, but Fernandez right there.
The Morning Edition (July 12, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Salazar impresses and helps beat the Jays in his debut with the Indians
- Reds lose to the Braves with Votto waiting on deck…again
- Kendrick squeaks past Zimmermann and the Nationals
- Both starters stumble, Red Sox beat the Mariners in 10
- Jeter returns to the Yanks, national media doesn’t spend much time talking about it
- Moore K’s 10 in 7.1 innings as he’s named to the ASG
- Tulo’s back!
What I’m Watching Today:
- Cosart makes his MLB debut against Price (7p Eastern)
- Strasburg heads to Miami (7p Eastern)
- Corbin goes against the Crew (930p Eastern)
- Kershaw welcomes the Rockies to LA (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Does the media see the irony?
So recently there have been a number of things written about MLB’s problem getting good national TV ratings and some people have suggested more playoff teams and other stuff I don’t think will be a good idea, but today was the perfect example of how the media is responsible for the problem. Two shortstops came back from injuries today to help their clubs who are on the edge of the postseason race. 99% of the coverage was about Jeter and almost none was about Tulowitzki, who is one of the most dynamic players in the game. I don’t have anything against Jeter, and he’s had a wonderful career, but if you’re wondering why national ratings are down, it’s because the national media recycles the same tired stories about the same 3 or 4 teams. It’s time for Fox, ESPN, and MLB to plug players on smaller market clubs. Tulowitzki could easily be the face of MLB, but you don’t see many Rockies games on national TV.
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