The Morning Edition (July 7, 2013)
From Last Night:
- MLB All-Star Game participants announced, see below for commentary
- Sale goes 7, gives up 2 ER, 1 BB, and Ks 9…loses again….
- Cardinals walk off on the Fish
- Santana and Parker both solid, but the bullpens decide it in favor of the Royals
- Dickey goes deep into the game, but surrenders 6 runs as the Twins beat the Jays
What I’m Watching Today:
- Kuroda goes against the O’s (1p Eastern)
- Strasburg toes the slab in DC (1p Eastern)
- Danks and Price hook up in Tampa (130p Eastern)
- Fernandez takes on the Cardinals (2p Eastern)
- Burnett comes off the DL to face the Cubs (2p Eastern)
- Kershaw faces the Giants (4p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- How do the All-Star rosters look?
So let me break the ASG rosters down in a very simple way. I’m only going to point out players who got left off criminally and players who probably shouldn’t be on the team. As usual, most of the roster is right, and it’s messed up at the margins. Here are my AL and NL picks and here are the full rosters.
Players Who Should Be on the Rosters:
- Evan Longoria is 6th in MLB in position player WAR, the only AL reserve who could even reasonably be considered more deserving than Longoria is Machado. It’s a crime that Longo isn’t in the game.
- Josh Donaldson is 9th in WAR and is on the outside looking in because you can’t have a million 3B on your team. It’s understandable that one of these guys got left off, it’s unacceptable that both didn’t make it. Either could go as a DH, or replace one of the catching backups or one of the 3 backup 2B.
- Honorable mention to Kyle Seager, because he belongs, but 3B is too deep to make much of a case.
- Ellsbury and Gardner are also better choices than Hunter and Cruz, but it’s less egregious.
- Marte and Choo probably belong over Dom Brown
- Derek Holland is 4th in MLB in pitcher WAR but isn’t on the roster. Not much justification for that.
- Homer Bailey is 5th in the NL in pitcher WAR but isn’t on the roster, hard to buy Locke, Wood, and Bumgarner over him
Players Who Shouldn’t Be on the Roster
- I know he was voted by the fans, so it’s a popularity thing, but Adam Jones has very little business being in the game over some of the guys who missed.
- Bartolo Colon probably doesn’t need to be on the roster, but he has 11 wins, and those are shiny. His A’s teammate Josh Donaldson should get to go in his place even if they play different positions
- Prince Fielder really shouldn’t be an All-Star, but he’s in because he’s well known, has RBI, and it is a pretty down year for 1B in the AL. Longoria or Donaldson really should go in his place
- I love Ben Zobrist, but he has to only be in the game over Longoria because he’s versatile and can fill in for injured guys. There is nothing else that justifies him being on the team over Longo
- Cruz and Hunter together make one good All-Star, but each on their own doesn’t do much for me. Not a huge error, but probably not deserving given who was left off
- Brandon Phillips should not be an All-Star this year. Fan vote, so can’t say too much.
- Dominic Brown is probably a no for me, but it’s not terrible.
I’m sure some of you disagree with these comments, but that’s the way this works. Undeserving players get picked because of name value or voters looking at the wrong numbers, but I stand by the ones about which I wrote most strongly. Longoria and Donaldson must be All-Stars. I don’t care who comes off as long as it isn’t Cabrera, Gomez, Trout, Davis, or Wright. Literally, 2 of the top 10 players in baseball aren’t going to the game. Come on guys.
The Morning Edition (July 6, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Wells delivers a walk off single to back Nova’s CG, 11 K performance
- Milone goes 8.1 to beat the Royals
- Hellickson goes 7, Ks 9 as the Rays defeat the White Sox
- 7 shutout innings from Buerhle push the Jays past the Twins
- Liriano goes the distance as the Bucs top the Cubs
What I’m Watching Today:
- Zimmermann welcomes the Friars to Nationals’ Park (4p Eastern)
- Bonderman and Latos (4p Eastern)
- Sale and Moore in Tampa (7p Eastern)
- Darvish versus the Astros, strikeout warning (7p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Who will get picked to the ASG today?
Yesterday we unveiled our 2013 AL All-Stars and the NL team is coming today at 4pm. It’s always a controversial list, but I feel good about it. You can also catch up on our series chronicling the problems with the wins statistic, starting with great low wins seasons, showing that wins don’t even out over the course of a career, and later today we’re breaking down The Nine Worst 20 Win season in MLB history. Needless to say, it’s a controversial type week at New English D, but we’re all for it. Let’s talk baseball!
Picking the American League All-Stars
With the All-Star rosters looming ahead this weekend, New English D weighs into the fray with these picks. We’ll cover the NL tomorrow. 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. Clay Buchholz would have been selected, as noted, but is currently injured. 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.”
Enjoy and feel free to criticize the 7 Tigers I put on the list. I can’t make a case that they aren’t deserving, even if you think I’m a homer.
| PLAYER | TEAM | POSITION |
| Joe Mauer | Twins | C |
| Chris Davis | Orioles | 1B |
| Jason Kipnis | Indians | 2B |
| Jhonny Peralta | Tigers | SS |
| Miguel Cabrera | Tigers | 3B |
| Mike Trout | Angels | OF |
| Jose Bautista | Jays | OF |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | Red Sox | OF |
| David Ortiz | Red Sox | DH |
| Max Scherzer | Tigers | SP |
| Carlos Santana | Indians | C |
| Edwin Encarnacion | Jays | 1B |
| Dustin Pedroia | Red Sox | 2B |
| Robinson Cano | Yankees | 2B |
| Jed Lowrie | Athletics | SS |
| Evan Longoria | Rays | 3B |
| Manny Machado | Orioles | 3B |
| Josh Donaldson | Athletics | 3B |
| Nate McClouth | Orioles | OF |
| Alex Gordon | Royals | OF |
| Brett Gardner | Yankees | OF |
| Adam Lind | Jays | DH |
| Derek Holland | Rangers | SP |
| Felix Hernandez | Mariners | SP |
| Chris Sale | White Sox | SP |
| Justin Verlander | Tigers | SP |
| Yu Darvish | Rangers | SP |
| Anibal Sanchez | Tigers | SP |
| Doug Fister | Tigers | SP |
| Bud Norris | Astros | SP |
| Brett Cecil | Jays | RP |
| Mariano Rivera | Yankees | RP |
| Drew Smyly | Tigers | RP |
| Jesse Crain | White Sox | RP |
| Clay Buchholz* | Red Sox | SP |
| FIRST REPLACEMENTS | ||
| Kyle Seager | Mariners | 3B |
| Omar Infante | Tigers | 2B |
| Howie Kendrick | Angels | 2B |
| Adrian Beltre | Rangers | 3B |
| Hisashi Iwakuma | Mariners | SP |
| Joaquin Benoit | Tigers | RP |
| Joe Nathan | Rangers | RP |
| * injured |
The Morning Edition (July 5, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Mets and Dbacks each score once in the 13th and 14th before the Snakes win it in 15
- Hamels looks great as he beats Cole and the Bucs
- The A’s takes the Cubs in a 1-0 pitchers’ duel
- Tampa beats the Astros in 11
- Shields struggles, but the Royals storm the Indians with 10 in the final 3 innings to win
- Quintana dominates, but Jones coughs it up for the Sox, only to walk off in the 9th
What I’m Watching Today:
- Lee takes on the Braves (7p Eastern)
- Zack Wheeler heads to Miller Park (8p Eastern)
- Jacob Turner gets the Cards (8p Eastern)
- Ryu and Cain out west (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Who will be named All-Stars as the voting closes last night at midnight?
The interesting one is going to be the AL 3B spot. Obviously, Cabrera is going in as the starter, but between the players and Leyland it’s hard to imagine more than 2 others getting in, three at most. Here are the candidates though:
| Name | PA | HR | R | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | WAR |
| Miguel Cabrera | 383 | 26 | 65 | 85 | 0.364 | 0.454 | 0.670 | 0.470 | 202 | 5.4 |
| Evan Longoria | 356 | 17 | 52 | 48 | 0.294 | 0.365 | 0.537 | 0.382 | 149 | 4.4 |
| Manny Machado | 392 | 6 | 53 | 42 | 0.319 | 0.349 | 0.481 | 0.359 | 125 | 4.2 |
| Josh Donaldson | 353 | 14 | 46 | 55 | 0.314 | 0.382 | 0.526 | 0.389 | 151 | 3.8 |
| Kyle Seager | 361 | 12 | 43 | 38 | 0.280 | 0.338 | 0.465 | 0.348 | 127 | 2.9 |
| Adrian Beltre | 354 | 15 | 47 | 43 | 0.299 | 0.339 | 0.494 | 0.358 | 121 | 2.2 |
Longoria and Machado are the most deserving overall, but Donaldson is the best overall hitter and no one really cares about defense when it comes to picking All-Stars. Plus Beltre has the name recognition and Seager should get some credit for being a great hitter on a terrible club. Third base in the AL is a deep spot. We’ll have more on the All-Star Selections as the happen.
The Morning Edition (July 4, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Felix and Holland hold both clubs to 2 runs, but the bullpens settle it in 10 on a Seager bomb
- Gomes walks off on the Padres
- Nolasco does well in front of the scouts, beats the Braves
- Norris pitches well in trade audition to beat the Rays
- CC goes 7 to beat the Twins
- Grilli gives up 2 runs, gets a save anyway because the save rule is silly
- Lohse twirls a gem to top the Nats
What I’m Watching Today:
- Cain and Leake in Cinci (1p Eastern)
- Gerrit Cole Hamles matchup! (1p Eastern)
- Shields continues to get no help from his team (2p Eastern)
- Wainwright takes on the Angels (9p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- What’s your take on the no-hitter war?
Brian Kenny, who we’re quite fond of at New English D, took to the airwaves and Twitter on Wednesday to mock the attention give to no-hitters because walks and hit batters are part of the game and that separating it into hits and other ways to get on base is misguided. While I understand the sentiment and am I big believing in walks as offensive weapons, there is a different argument that Kenny hasn’t responded to at this point. No hitters are not always great performances, I fully agree. A one hit shutout is better than a 5 walk no hitter, but no hitters in all their forms are much rarer that no walk games. Since 1916, there have been more than 9,000 CG with no BB or HBP, but less than 300 CG with no hits. Less than 30 with no baserunners, period. The point here is that one baserunner is one baserunner no matter how he gets on, but it is much rarer to allow no hits than no walks and that is something worth celebrating. Kenny is right that the mainstream press doesn’t cover one hitters appropriately compared to no hitters with several walks, but I think the problem is in the other direction. Kenny thinks no-hitters are no big deal when the pitcher walks a couple guys, but I think we just don’t give enough credit to 1 and 2 hitters. Here at New English D, we make an attempt to highlight all great pitching performances, but do value the no hitter because the no hitter is rare and it’s quirky. After all, baseball is fun. I don’t usually disagree with Kenny, but on this issue I do.
The Morning Edition (July 2, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Harper homers in his return from the DL, Nats beat the Crew
- Fernandez goes 8 scoreless with 10 K to lead the Marlins over the Friars
- Matt Moore strikes out many Astros
What I’m Watching Today:
- Strasburg takes on the Brewers (7p Eastern)
- NERD darling Kluber looks to bounce back (8p Eastern)
- Price returns from the DL to face the Astros (8p Eastern)
- Kershaw battles Oswalt at Coors (830p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- What about the young pitchers?
So much attention is paid to the Trout, Harper, Machado…Puig(?) talk, but the game’s young starters are having some fun too. Obviously Harvey is getting the bulk of the attention because he’s ripping off a Cy Young season, but Shelby Miller and Jose Fernandez are now 17th and 18th in park adjusted FIP- in all of baseball and both have ERA’s below 3.00. These guys are having great seasons, and that doesn’t even include Patrick Corbin, all the way down at 21st.
The Morning Edition (July 1, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Cuddyer extends the streak to 27 in a loss to the Giants
- Martin walks off in the 14th to beat the Crew
- Jeff Mathis walk off grand slam
- Puig’s big day lifts the Dodgers
- Darvish beats Latos
- The Royals take a wild one from the Twins 9-8
- Masterson shuts out the White Sox, Sale takes ANOTHER 8+IP, 10 K loss
- Wheeler gets shelled, loses to Gio and the Nats
- Sox walk off on the Jays
What I’m Watching Today:
- Zimmermann tries to quiet the Brewers (7p Eastern)
- Jose Fernandez versus the Padres (7p Eastern)
- Matt Moore faces Houston, strikeout watch in effect (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- What’s a realistic season for Puig?
The legend of Puig grows by the day as he had a 4 hit day on Sunday to lift the Dodgers. He’s currently 43rd among position players in WAR, which doesn’t sound impressive until you realize that he has just 107 PA and most of the people around him have 300+. Puig gets some flack for his plate discipline (3.8 BB%) but he did walk more in the minor leagues and you can’t really fault a guy for hacking when he seemingly can’t miss. In 107 PA he’s hitting .436/.467/.713 with 234 wRC+ and 2.1 WAR. That’s ridiculous. He’ll come back to Earth, but he’s on pace for something like a 12.6 WAR season extrapolated out to a full season. One shouldn’t project out like that, but just for reference, that would be the 5th best season in baseball history behind four of Babe Ruth’s best seasons. That’s pretty cool. I have no idea where he’ll settle in, but the skills are there for him to sustain himself as an impact player.
How Was The Game (June 30, 2013)
A missed opportunity.
Rays 3, Tigers 1
While we didn’t see the Rick Porcello (4-6, 86.1 IP, 5.21 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 1.5 WAR) who dominated hitters from May to mid June, we saw an effective Porcello who went 6 innings and gave the Tigers a chance to win. He allowed 3 runs, but only a couple of well hit balls to go with 2 BB and 3 K. Miguel Cabrera crushed a 4th inning HR into the Ray Tank, but the Tigers wouldn’t get any more despite loading the bases with no outs in the 7th. After taking the opener so cleanly on Friday, losing the last two so closely stings, but probably not as much as Ben Zobrist’s right shoulder after Leyland ordered Porcello to hit him in the first inning because Jim Leyland thinks baseball needs more violence. Hopefully, MLB will suspend Leyland, but the odds of that seem quite slim because MLB tends to support this kind of childish behavior. It’ll be a quick turnaround after the flight to Toronto as the Tigers will face the Jays Monday at 1pm with Jose Alvarez (1-1, 16.2 IP, 3.78 ERA, 5.70 FIP, -0.1 WAR) hopefully making his last start for a while with Sanchez’s return looming.
The Moment: Cabrera sends one into the Rays Tank in RCF, just the second player to ever do so.
How Was The Game? (June 29, 2013)
Another extra inning loss.
Rays 4, Tigers 3 (10 innings)
After a great all-around win on Friday, the Tigers sent Justin Verlander (8-5, 105 IP, 3.77 ERA, 3.05 FIP, 2.8 WAR) to the hill and while he wasn’t at his best, there were good signs regarding his stuff and his efficiency. He allowed 3 runs (2 earned), but pitched 8 innings for the first time this season to go with 4 BB and 4 K. It wasn’t vintage Verlander, but it was a much more effective version than he’s been the last few times out. The bats offered three runs in the 3rd on a Jackson homerun and a 2 RBI single from Peralta, but the Rays clawed back and tied it in the 8th leaving it up to the bullpens to hammer out a resolution in the 9th inning and beyond. After a lights out 9th from Smyly, the Tigers handed it over to Rondon in the 10th who allowed two baserunners between a flyout and a strikeout, but allowed the game winning hit to Escobar. Should you care to peruse his velocity, here is a handy tweet:
The Tigers will saddle back up Sunday behind Rick Porcello (4-5, 80.1 IP, 5.27 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 1.3 WAR) who will look to lead the Tigers to a series victory.
The Moment: Verlander gets through 8 for the first time this season.
How Was The Game? (June 28, 2013)
A powerful display.
Tigers 6, Rays 3
Parallel tracks usually take you to the same location and that’s the story of this game. Max Scherzer (12-0, 110.1 IP, 3.10 ERA, 2.67 FIP, 3.3 WAR) had another fine outing, keeping the Rays to just 3 runs in 7 innings while striking out 9 and pitched in almost no traffic, allowing 2 of the 3 runs on solo homers. But the other track was no less impressive as Miguel Cabrera led the way with 2 HR, a single, and a double, moving his season numbers up to 209 wRC+ and 5.4 WAR, both of which are easily MLB bests. But it was Prince Fielder who sealed the deal with a majestic homerun that hit the catwalk in RF, perhaps as it was still traveling upward. The bullpen shut the game down in the final two innings and put the Tigers in position to take the serious to take the series Saturday behind Justin Verlander (8-5, 97 IP, 3.90 ERA, 2.86 FIP, 2.8 WAR).
The Moment: Fielder hits the catwalk on a 2 run HR in the 7th.
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