The Morning Edition (July 19, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Sadness. There wasn’t baseball.
What I’m Watching Today:
- Strasburg faces the Dodgers (7p Eastern)
- Price looks to stay hot against the Jays (7p Eastern)
- Chen and Holland in Arlington (8p Eastern)
- Turner tries to keep it up in Milwaukee (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Which team who’s out can make a run?
My own personal rule, and the rule of this site, is not to make anything about the standings until after the All-Star Break. You can discuss how individual teams have played, but you shouldn’t care about how they stack up until now. Every team is trying to win until now. At this point, teams take stock and think about buying and selling and whatnot. Now it’s okay to decide if you need some help or if it’s time to pack it in. There are currently 16 teams within 6 games of first place in their divisions, all of whom are at least in it for two more weeks. Some of those teams should sell because they’re not that good, but most of them are reasonably in it for now. Among those teams, the Nationals and Dodgers should be most on the radar as far as comebacks are concerned because the Dodgers are in a terrible division and the Nats have under performed. I bought the Nats in March and I’ll go down with the ship. This is a good team.
The Morning Edition (July 16, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Cespedes defeats Harper in the finals of the HR Derby
What I’m Watching Today:
- Scherzer leads the AL into Citi Field against Matt Harvey (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Can the AL’s power laden lineup return home-field to the Junior Circuit?
It’s good to see Jim Leyland didn’t listen to Cliff Floyd who wanted to put Adam Jones and his low OBP in the leadoff spot and decided to go with Trout. He’ll start the game in the box against Matt Harvey. The future of baseball.
The Morning Edition (July 15, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Archer dominates the Astros with a CGSO, 0 BB, 8 K performance
- Iwakuma leads the M’s past the Angels
- Workman flirts with a no-no for the Red Sox but Donaldson walks off for the A’s
- Stop me if you’re heard this, Davis homers, O’s win
- The Phillies beat the White Sox in extras…again
- 3 runs in the 10th get the Nats past the Fish
- The Twins shell Sabathia
What I’m Watching Today:
- HR Derby (8pm Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Will Chris Davis carry his homerun streak into the derby?
I’m not a huge fan of the HR Derby. It’s a fine event, but I think ESPN makes it pretty boring to watch with their interviews with players from the Yankees and Red Sox and commentary about the first half from analysts I don’t really want to listen to. A lot of people have offered ways to freshen the competition, but I think freshening the coverage could be just as good. Instead of Chris Berman screaming “back, back, back…” I’d like to see more coverage focusing on player reactions. We could mic up 15 or 20 players and just bounce around as they talk to each other about the season and the big swings. I think that would be cool. Or we could just get Vin Scully. Either way, I’m pulling for Prince, but will take Davis to win.
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.
The Morning Edition (July 11, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Wheeler great, Cain awful in a big Mets win
- Another great start for Turner in Miami
- The Angels unload on the Cubs, get a good start from Wilson
- Lee gives up four solo homeruns in a loss to the Nationals
- Toronto tops Cleveland after a wild 9th
- Nova and the Yanks handle the Royals easily
- Twins and Rays play deep into the night, Zobrist walks off
What I’m Watching Today:
- Sale and Sanchez in Detroit (1p Eastern)
- Zimmermann goes against the Phils (7p Eastern)
- Bumgarner (underrated) and Marquis (overrated) face off in Petco (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- How should we pick the ASG starter?
There’s been some debate, as there always is regarding ASG stuff, as to who should start for each side. Harvey is the frontrunner in the NL because he is having one of the best seasons and the game is at his home park. It’s not a lock that he should start on merit, but he’s in the conversation and the hometown thing probably pushes him over. I think it’s safe to say Harvey, Wainwright, and Kershaw are the contenders, but depending on what stats you like, you can make a case that any of them are the best starter so far. But should it be about the best starter so far this season? Should it be about the best starter for the last calendar year? The biggest star? The guy who we judge to be the best, because the game does count? It’s not a clear formula. For what it’s worth, Wainwright is schedule to pitch Sunday so he’s probably out. Kershaw and Harvey are both “stop what you’re doing and watch guys” who are having elite years and are top 10 guys since the last ASG. If you’re asking for six outs, they can both get them with the best of them. Is there really a way to separate who should get the start if we don’t have a fixed definition. If Kershaw was far and away having a better season, it might be different, but they’re pretty even, so it just makes sense to go with Harvey…I think. Kershaw’s about to get $200 million. Harvey could have that in his future, but he has more work to do. Let’s go with Harvey.
The Morning Edition (July 10, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Hamels twirls a gem against the Nats
- CC goes the distance, but Shields and the Royals hold off the Yanks
- Josh Johnson has a good day, but the Tribe shut out his Jays
- Machado homers, but the Rangers beat the O’s 8-4
What I’m Watching Today:
- Jacob Turner takes the hill (1230p Eastern)
- Wheeler and Cain (330p Eastern)
- Gio and Lee from the left side (7p Eastern)
- Miller faces the Astros, strikeout warning in effect (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- How much should we care about pitcher-hitting?
Dave Cameron threw out some tweets today regarding the (false) perception that the Pirates can’t hit citing that they are 11th in MLB in non-pitcher wRC+. However, their pitchers are comically and historically bad, as Jeff Sullivan noted earlier this year. So while the Pirates non-pitchers are almost in the top 3rd in wRC+, they fall off a bit when you add in their pitchers and are in the bottom third in runs scored. PNC is a pitchers park, but not in an extreme way. All told, it got me thinking. We don’t really think of pitchers as part of the offense, but they get 2-3 PA a game and can have a meaningful impact on the outcome of a game. I think it might be time to either add the DH to the NL or start seriously considering how much a team can benefit from pitchers who are good at hitting. We tend to brush it off, but might their be something to paying attention to how well a pitcher can hit? I don’t know, but it got me thinking.
The Morning Edition (July 9, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Lannan sharp before Papelbon tries to give it away to the Nats
- 6 run 6th inning helps the Rangers and Holland top Feldman and the O’s
- Colon out duels Locke
- Gomez robs a Votto homerun to end the game in Milwaukee
- Braves score 6 in the 14th to beat the Fish
- Good starts on the west coast
What I’m Watching Today:
- Shields and CC hook up in NY (7p Eastern)
- Norris faces Wainwright in St. Louis (8p Eastern)
- Nolasco makes his first start with LA (930p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Do you care about the homerun derby?
The HR Derby picks came out yesterday and NL features Wright, Cuddyer, Harper, and CarGo while the AL offers Cano, Fielder, Davis, and TBA (because apparently Cano can’t even get that right). A lot of people were upset with some of the picks because their hometown guy didn’t get picked or because someone strange (Cuddyer) or someone who was hurt (Harper) got picked. I don’t really care too much about the Derby, but someone people really seem to. It’s always seemed like a really weird publicity stunt that didn’t quite make sense. I’d like to see a reformatting. Thoughts?
The Morning Edition (July 8, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Corbin goes 8, strikes out 10 as the Snakes beat the Rockies
- Price goes the distance to beat the White Sox
- The Dodgers get 3 in the 9th to back Kershaw’s 8 strong innings
- The Cubs walk off in 11
- Fernandez looks ordinary in loss to the Cards
- The Nats back Strasburg in a slugfest with the Padres
- Rivera gives up a game winner to Jones and the O’s
What I’m Watching Today:
- Derek Holland comes to Camden (7p Eastern)
- Garza keeps on the trade audition tour against the weak hitting White Sox (8p Eastern)
- Bailey takes the mound for the first time since the no hitter (8p Eastern)
- Lester goes to Seattle to face Felix (10p Eastern)
- Matt Harvey takes his show to SF (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Is this really happening again?
It is. Mike Trout is back on the chase after a homerun on Sunday night and now ranks 3rd among all MLB qualifiers with 161 wRC+, trailing only Cabrera and Davis. Mix in his great baserunning and better defense along with playing a more important defensive position and he’s only looking up at Miguel Cabrera on the WAR leaderboard. It’s Cabrera at 5.8 and Trout at 5.1. It’s happening again and I love it. Trout is essentially on pace to match his 2012 campaign, which would put him on some sort of ridiculous career trajectory. Think about this, Miguel Cabrera became the best hitter in the sport in his late 20s. Trout is 21. He’s probably at his peak defensively and on the bases, but he’s going to get better at the plate. What could this guy do? In the last 365 days, Trout (10.5) and Cabrera (9.2) are 1 and 2 in WAR and Trout already has more than 15 WAR in his career. Since 1901, only 2 players have accumulated more WAR through age 21: Mel Ott and Ty Cobb. That’s a list for ya.
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