The Morning Edition (June 27, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Marcum goes 8 scoreless to beat the Sox
- Gordon walks off on the Braves
- Kazmir flirts with a no-hitter, but it took a Johnson blown save to win it
- Zimmermann leads the Nats over the Dbacks
- Lackey dominates the Rockies
- Felix strikes out 11, gives up 2 ER, somehow doesn’t win…
- AJ Griffin CGSO
- Dickey CGSO
What I’m Watching Today:
- Corbin and Strasburg in DC (4p Eastern)
- NERD favorite Kluber in Baltimore (7p Eastern)
- Greinke faces the Phillies, hopes not to get in a fight (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Didn’t 2B used to be a glove first position?
We live in a world in which Robinson Cano is 5th among 2B in WAR this season. Carpenter and Kipnis are taking the league by storm and Pedroia and Kendrick are ahead of him too. Cano is 7th among qualifiers in wRC+ for 2B. When did this happen? I remember just a couple seasons back you had like two second basemen who could hit and everyone else was Ramon Santiago. The game is changing, it’s pretty cool. Here’s Dave Cameron writing on a similar subject a little ways back.
The Morning Edition (June 26, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Chris Sale went 8, gave up 2 ER, had 13 K and left with the lead. He didn’t get the win. The guy who blew the save did.
- Matt Moore does a Matt Moore impression with 11 K and 6 BB, wins
- The Red Sox score 11 without a HR
- Ichiro walks off as Darvish and Kuroda are ordinary
- Casilla hit as many homeruns as Chris Davis, 1 each
What I’m Watching Today:
- Felix faces the Pirates (330p Eastern)
- Zimmermann takes the hill (7p Eastern)
- Cole Hamels against the Padres (10p Eastern)
- Kershaw and Lincecum (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Come on guys, can we leave Chris Sale alone?
Seriously, I want to discredit the win stat too, but can it not keep happening to the same guy. But. BUT! Let’s play a game regarding Astros pitcher Erik Bedard. Let’s explore his ERA and FIP by month:
He’s getting a lot better each month. This is good news. I bet he’s striking out more batters than he was at the beginning of the season.
Oh. Well. I bet he’s walking fewer people!
Well he is, but he’s still walking and awful lot of people. Hmmm, this is tricky. Maybe it’s because he is allowing fewer homeruns?
Yeah, that’s probably it. Sorry, Bedard this probably isn’t sustainable!
The Morning Edition (June 25, 2013)
From Last Night:
- The Blue Jays finally lost after winning 11 straight
- There were four games, you don’t need me for this. Here are all the scores and boxes.
What I’m Watching Today:
- Darvish versus Kuroda at Yankees Stadium (7p Eastern)
- One of the only reasons to watch the Marlins, Jose Fernandez takes the hill (7p Eastern)
- Wheeler faces Sale (8p Eastern)
- The surprisingly impressive Jeff Locke faces the Mariners (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- So, are the Jays back in this?
A week ago, I questioned if the Blue Jays were buried despite recent success and they didn’t lose from that point until yesterday. They are back in it. Which gave me a new threshold for determining whether or not a team is or is not out of it. I heard someone else spout this idea, so I’m not taking credit for it, I’m merely buying into it. If a team is a good two week stretch away from being in contention, they aren’t out of it. I think this is a good barometer for teams thinking about selling at the deadline and that kind of thing. If we play our best baseball right now for two weeks, would we be in this race? That’s how I’m going to start thinking about the standings. Although, I make it a rule not to spend much time looking at the standings until after the break. But hey, that’s soon.
The Morning Edition (June 19, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Harvey flirts with a no-no, Ks 13 and Wheeler goes 6 scoreless to sweep the DH
- The Sox sweep the Rays in a DH as Gomes walks off
- Goldy walks off in the desert
- Sweeney and Ranson homer to beat Wainwright
- Parker out does Darvish, despite 10 K
- Lee dazzles again
What I’m Watching Today:
- Ryu and Kuroda in NY (1p Eastern)
- Fernandez faces Cahill at Chase Field (330p Eastern)
- Chris Sale gets the Twins after the hardest of luck losses last time (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- What Tuesday a glimpse into the Mets future?
Matt Harvey pulled into a WAR tie with league leader Adam Wainwright after their starts on Tuesday at 3.8 after a great start featuring 13 K. He has a 2.04 FIP and a nearly 5:1 K:BB ratio. I don’t like to make big proclamations like this, but he’s probably the under 25 pitcher to watch if we’re thinking about who are going to be the game’s best in the next four or five seasons. But his rotation mate was strong too, as far as strikeouts and run prevention go. The walks were a bit of an issue, but Wheeler is young and should improve. I like the Mets rotation, now only if they could play OF on their off days. And if you’re like me and enjoy this kind of thing, here’s what they did on Tuesday:
The Morning Edition (June 15, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Chris Sale went 8 innings, allowed 0 ER, and struck out 14. Against the Astros. He lost.
- Buehrle looks good, blanks the Rangers over 7
- Bumgarner is brilliant against the Braves, 10K
- Fernandez K’s 10 to beat the Cards
- Dusty Baker actually used Chapman in a non-save situation, helping Jay Bruce homer the Reds to victory
- Moore struggles in loss to the Royals (about to lose Appointment TV status)
- The Indians walk off the Nats, Masterson K’s 10
What I’m Watching Today:
- Kershaw pitches at PNC (4p Eastern)
- Cobb faces the Royals (4p Eastern)
- Felix tries to slow the A’s (7p Eastern)
- Zimmermann vs Kazmir (7p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Are we still even keeping track of wins after what happened to Sale tonight?
Chris Sale went the distance, gave up no earned runs, and struck out 14 Astros and lost. Basically, you can give up 7 ER in 7 IP and get a win and give up 0 ER in 8 innings and lose. So these make sense. But much more notably, MLB handed down suspensions for the Dbacks and Dodgers brawl today and kept it pretty toothless. Belesario threw punches and got one game. Ian Kennedy got 10 games, but he’s only going to miss one start. The managers only got one game. It doesn’t look like MLB wants to curb this behavior, even thought it’s essentially felonious. Other than that, I just have to plug Rick Porcello again, because he’s turning into a star.
The Morning Edition (June 12, 2013)
From Last Night:
- The Dbacks and Dodgers trade serious beanballs, brawl in LA, many suspensions to come
- Cole goes 6.1 in his MLB debut as the Pirates beat the Giants
- The Jays tie it in the 9th and win it in the 10th against the White Sox
- Kluber goes 8 to end the Indians’ skid
- Cingrani and the Reds unload on Garza and the Cubs
- Stanton homers in the 8th to avoid spoiling Turner’s strong outing
- Rays shell Lester
- Harang CGSO
What I’m Watching Today:
- Shelby Miller goes to Citi Field (7p Eastern)
- Corbin and Ryu in LA (10p Eastern)
- Bonderman gets the Astros in Seattle (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- So, no hard feelings between the Dodgers and Dbacks?
Hardly the case. Greinke hit Ross early in the game (not intentional at all), but things heated up when Kennedy hit Puig in the 6th and Greinke retaliated by hitting Montero in the 7th. Greinke came to the plate in the 7th and Kennedy hit him in the head, precipitating a massive bench clearing brawl that featured grown men tackling each other and punches being thrown. I’ve been pretty outspoken about the need to curtail this type of behavior in baseball. I wasn’t watching the game, so I don’t know which pitch was the one that started it, but everyone carries some blame for keeping it going. I hope MLB suspends everyone involved because there is just no place for this in the game. Intentional beaning is dangerous and childish, especially when it’s up around the head, but it’s even more ridiculous for adults to run onto the field and start fighting. I have no problem with certain members of the teams coming out to talk and yell about it, but it’s not appropriate to settle these things with violence. If this happened somewhere other than the field of play, there would be arrests. It reflects poorly on the sport, even if people enjoy it.
The Morning Edition (June 11, 2013)
From Last Night:
- The Red Sox and Rays enter into Game of the Year territory (see below)
- Bailey rolls over the Cubs with 8 innings, 0 ER
- A fog delay at US Cellular
- Another Kershaw-y Kershaw start
What I’m Watching Today:
- Gerrit Cole makes his MLB debut against the Giants (7p Eastern)
- Lester starts after Monday’s marathon game (7p Eastern)
- Turner tries to stay hot in Miami (7p Eastern)
- Wacha against the Mets (7p Eastern)
- CC and Colon in Oakland, I’ll leave the jokes to you (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Can you believe that game in Tampa last night?
So here’s what happened, briefly. Alex Cobb started and got shelled. 6 run first. But the Rays clawed back. 2 in the first and 1 in each of the 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 8th. 6-6. In the 10th, the Sox got two to take the lead, then Andrew Bailey had the meltdown to end all meltdowns and sent it hurling forward deeper into the night. It ended, finally, when Nava singled home Victorino in the 14th and the Sox added another for good measure. Just for reference, one of the more incredible win expectancy graphs you will ever see:
The Morning Edition (June 9, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Marlins win a 20 inning marathon against the Mets
- Darvish and Buehrle both go 7, but it takes 18 for the Jays to beat the Rangers
- Danks goes 8 as the Sox win with 3 in the 8th over the A’s
- Pettitte wins #250 against the Mariners
- Gausman gets shelled, again
- Twins beat the Nats in 11
What I’m Watching Today:
- Zimmermann faces the Twins (1p Eastern)
- Moore tries to shake off his last outing against the O’s (130p Eastern)
- The still underappreciated Felix Hernandez gets the Yankees (4p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- So the Marlins and Mets, eh?
Let’s review. The Mets and Marlins were tied 1-1 after 9 innings of baseball. At this point, Harvey and Fernandez had both been strong and the bullpens had combined for 5 scoreless innings. There were still 11 innings left. In the innings that followed two pitchers would each throw more than both team’s starters! Slowey went 7 in relief, allowing 8 hits, 0 BB, and 8 K. Marcum went 8, allowing 5 hits and a run with 0 BB and 8 K. That’s right, the Mets walked 2 batters in 20 innings and lost. Only twice in MLB history has a team lost a game in which they walked 2 or fewer hitters in 18 or more innings. Perhaps even more remarkable, this was the 2nd 15+ inning game between the clubs this year starter by Fernandez and Harvey.
The Morning Edition (June 7, 2013)
From Last Night:
- The first night of the MLB Draft features some surprises, Appel, Bryant, Gray go 1-2-3
- Rosales’ 10th inning HR beats the White Sox
- Four run 8th gets the Royals past the Twins
- Miller, after being named to my Appointment TV list, Ks 9 in 6 innings and homers as the Cards beat the Dbacks
- Ortiz walks off as Holland and Lester both meander through 6
What I’m Watching Today:
- Middle rounds of the MLB Draft (1p Eastern)
- Harvey and Hernandez face off in New York (7p Eastern)
- Wainwright faces the Reds (7p Eastern)
- Lee heads to Milwaukee (8p Eastern)
- Cain versus Corbin in Arizona (930p Eastern)
- Kuroda gets Bonderman’s 2nd start (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Which clubs will look back on last night as a building block en route to a title?
I’m not the world’s best guy for draft analysis, but I’ll give you my brief thoughts. First of all, if you’re looking for who went where, I can direct you here, among other places. The reason I’m not the best guy for draft analysis is not because I don’t know anything about amateur baseball, but rather because I don’t like to give analysis that isn’t based on my own observation. Almost everyone who was and will be drafted this weekend are guys I haven’t seen myself, so I’d rather direct you to guys like Keith Law or Jonathan Mayo or Baseball America. I could give you reports about guys based on things I’ve read, but you can read. I’m much more useful to you as someone who analyzes baseball players I’ve seen in person and on TV and in the box score. I have, however, seen Colin Moran, who went 6th overall to the Marlins. He’s a 3B with a great approach and a very good hit tool. Some question if the power will come and if he can stick at third, but I’m bullish there. I don’t think he’ll be a star, but a good approach can play for me. Here are some picks I liked from the first day:
Plenty of teams got good players, but those stand out to me as teams who made good choices when presented with a lot of options.
The Morning Edition (June 6, 2013)
From Last Night:
- The Mariners and White Sox take a 0-0 game into the 14th, each score 5, but the Sox win it in 16
- CarGo hits 3 HR and Tulo hits 2 HR as the Rockies smash the Reds
- Byrd homers twice to back a solid outing by Gee over the Nats
- Dickey helps his own cause at the plate and nearly misses a CGSO
- Hamels finally looks like Hamels, striking out 11 Marlins
- Sabathia gives up 4, but gets the CG win against the Indians
- Teheran nearly no-hits the Pirates
What I’m Watching Today:
- Lester and Holland duel in Boston (7p Eastern)
- Shelby Miller faces the Dbacks, looks to earn Appointment Television title in the process (8p Eastern)
- Greinke tries to straighten out against the Braves (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Who will populate the top picks in today’s draft?
While there is plenty of exciting baseball on today, the MLB Draft will take center stage for most die hard fans. Unlike the NFL Draft, the MLB version doesn’t turn itself into an entire season in and of itself, but rather calls attention to itself in more subtle and sophisticated ways. Only a handful of mock drafts are done and only the first two rounds get airtime. A few names to know for the first pick are Mark Appel, Jonathan Gray, Kris Bryant, and Colin Moran, but it still remains unclear as to who the Astros will take first overall. I’m hoping for the Tar Heel, Moran, not because he’s the best, but because I’m a grad student at UNC and am hoping he drops several hundred dollars on his way back from signing the contract. If you’re new to the process, the key difference between the MLB Draft and others is that MLB teams are always drafting the best player available and do not focus on their current positional needs. NFL picks are expected to contribute right away, but MLB picks go through a seasoning process. For example, the Tigers will take a 3B with their pick if he’s the best player left even though they have a big of a logjam at the position. If you’re looking for a primer on the top picks, I suggest Mark Anderson’s work at BPN:
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