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 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:
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 24, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Myers and Longoria homer, but the Rays finally lose to the Sox
- Dodgers out slug the Jays, 10-9
- Cole leads the Pirates over the Nats
- Miller gives the Cards 6 scoreless in win over the Phils
- Yanks get two in the 9th to top the Rangers
- A fine start from Fernandez leads the Fish past the Rockies
- Parker and Cosart pitch well in Houston
What I’m Watching Today:
- Liriano and Strasburg face off in DC (7p Eastern)
- Price goes against the Red Sox (7p Eastern)
- Garza makes his Rangers debut in NY (7p Eastern)
- Jacob Turner heads to Coors (830p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Which young NL pitcher, not named Harvey, do you like?
These numbers are fun. After last night, take a look:
| Name | IP | K% | BB% | ERA- | FIP- | xFIP- | WAR |
| Shelby Miller | 110.2 | 26.50% | 6.70% | 76 | 81 | 88 | 2.3 |
| Jose Fernandez | 111.2 | 24.70% | 9.30% | 72 | 84 | 92 | 2.0 |
I was on the Miller bandwagon early, but Fernandez has really impressed me lately. Tough call.
The Morning Edition (July 23, 2013)
From Last Night:
- MLB suspends Ryan Braun for the remainder of the season
- Rangers acquire Garza from the Cubs
- Matt Moore gets the CGSO as the Rays beat the Sox, move to 18-2 in their last 20
- Feldman’s solid start lifts the O’s over the Royals
- Gee flirts with a no-no, but the Braves take the game in the 9th
- Grilli hurt in win over the Nats
What I’m Watching Today:
- Jarrod Parker and Jarred Cosart pitch in Houston (8p Eastern)
- Miller pitches against the Phils (8p Eastern)
- Jose Fernandez heads to Coors (830p Eastern)
- Corbin gets the Cubs (930p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Thoughts on the Braun suspension?
Obviously the Braun news populated the headlines on Monday, and I have a lot of disjointed reactions I’d like to share. Recognize that these don’t all go together or in order:
- I want MLB or MLBPA to lay out the evidence they have against him. I understand Braun accepted the punishment, which is a partial admission of wrongdoing, but the info that has been made public is not grounds for punishment. I want to know what it is they have on him before I make my final judgments about a person’s character. I see no reason to rush to judgment.
- Braun broke the rules, it appears, and lied about it boldly. That was wrong, but let’s not act like this is such a terrible thing. He should be punished, but this is a sport that has no punishment for dangerous felonies like DUIs. Braun behaved badly, but this isn’t the worst thing an MLB player has done in the last two seasons. Perspective would be nice.
- Also, most people break rules to get advantages in life. Braun is to blame and deserves punishment, but you’re not perfect either.
- Braun being linked to BioGen doesn’t mean the failed test in 2011 was legitimate. The two may not be related. Again, I want to see some evidence. If they are related, my reaction will be different. Evidence is important, speculation is not.
- People are going to town on Braun for tearing down the “sample transporter” person from 2011 and think he should apologize. That person didn’t do his job correctly, even if Braun was dirty. Braun’s guilt doesn’t make up for that guy’s failure. Braun might not have been nice to him, but Braun’s career was at stake. You might have done the same.
- Finally, imagine how you would feel if it was you or a close family member. I’m not asking you to feel sorry for him, but I am asking you to temper your reaction accordingly. He’s a public figure and there are no consequences for anything you say behind a keyboard, so you probably feel okay spewing vitriol. But seriously, this is a person who made a bad choice. He didn’t kill anyone, he didn’t endanger others. The reaction to Braun is not properly weighted to the severity of the offense.
- If he’s guilty, he should be punished. But that’s it. The focus should be on the field, not on the people who made choices to take themselves off of it. Instead of vilifying Braun, why don’t you celebrate the ones left in the game.
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 20, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Brandon Barnes hits for the cycle in a loss to the Mariners
- The Cards shell Marquis, but the Padres make it interesting
- Holland goes 8, but gives up 3 runs in a loss to the O’s
- The Phils pummel the Mets setting Kendrick up for a terrible start that still ends in a win
- The Rays win an 8 HR slugfest with the Jays
- Soriano coughs up a strong start for Strasburg
What I’m Watching Today:
- Hamles versus Wheeler at Citi (1p Eastern)
- Kuroda and Lackey (4p Eastern)
- Burnett takes on Latos (4p Eastern)
- Greinke goes against Gio (7p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Where does the cycle rank among cool baseball achievements?
Obviously the cycle is awesome for it’s value (at least four times on base) and it’s cool factor (getting each type of hit) but where does it rank among other cool things. No-hitters, perfect games, 4 HR games, CGSO? Let’s take a look at the numbers since 1916:
- Perfect Games: 21
- No-hitters: 204
- Cycles: 240
- Cycles w/a walk: 39
- 4 HR: 14
- 15 or more K: 232
If you asked me I’d most prefer to attend a perfect game, no question, but all of them would be a lot of fun. I’ve been to about 3-4 near no-hitters and a 14 K game.
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 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?
Picking the National League All-Stars
With the All-Star rosters looming ahead this weekend, New English D weighs into the fray with these picks. We covered the AL yesterday. A few notes up front. First, I’ve conformed the roster size to the official requirements and have selected starters I feel are most deserving based on their 2013 seasons and have given no deference to the voting up through this point. My view is that the All-Star Game should showcase the game’s standout performers from the first half of 2013, not the best players over the last year or the best players by talent even if they haven’t performed. I think the game should highlight the players who play well, not the players MLB thinks are “marketable.” Every team is represented and I’ve given a list of players who are the first replacements for injuries and such. As you know, this site appreciates advanced statistics, so should you choose to comment on these selections, please do so without using “RBI” or “Wins.” Finally, I watch a ton of baseball, but I watch fewer NL games by function of being a Tigers fan, so some of the down ballot selections are a bit less sure footed.
And I just couldn’t leave Puig out. He has to play in this game.
| PLAYER | TEAM | POSITION |
| Yadier Molina | Cardinals | C |
| Joey Votto | Reds | 1B |
| Matt Carpenter | Cardinals | 2B |
| Jean Segura | Brewers | SS |
| David Wright | Mets | 3B |
| Carlos Gomez | Brewers | OF |
| Andrew McCutchen | Pirates | OF |
| Carlos Gonzalez | Rockies | OF |
| Buster Posey | Giants | DH |
| Matt Harvey | Mets | SP |
| Russell Martin | Pirates | C |
| Paul Goldschmidt | Dbacks | 1B |
| Allen Craig | Cardinals | 1B |
| Chase Utley | Phillies | 2B |
| Ian Desmond | Nationals | SS |
| Pedro Alvarez | Pirates | 3B |
| Starling Marte | Pirates | OF |
| Bryce Harper | Nationals | OF |
| Shin Soo Choo | Reds | OF |
| Yasiel Puig | Dodgers | OF |
| Michael Cuddyer | Rockies | OF |
| Todd Frazier | Reds | 3B |
| Adam Wainwright | Cardinals | SP |
| Cliff Lee | Phillies | SP |
| Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | SP |
| Homer Bailey | Reds | SP |
| Mat Latos | Reds | SP |
| Jeff Samardzija | Cubs | SP |
| Jordan Zimmermann | Nationals | SP |
| Jose Fernandez | Marlins | SP |
| Craig Kimbrel | Braves | RP |
| Sergio Romo | Giants | RP |
| Mark Melancon | Pirates | RP |
| Jason Grilli | Pirates | RP |
| Ryan Braun* | Brewers | OF |
| Troy Tulowitzki* | Rockies | SS |
| Evereth Cabrera* | Padres | SS |
| FIRST REPLACEMENTS | ||
| Jhoulys Chacin | Rockies | SP |
| Patrick Corbin | Dbacks | SP |
| Shelby Miller | Cardinals | SP |
| Stephen Strasburg | Nationals | SP |
| Chris Johnson | Braves | 3B |
| Carlos Beltran | Cardinals | OF |
| Dominic Brown | Phillies | OF |
| * INJURED |
New English D 