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Young Bryce spazzin.
2016 MLB thread. THE CUBS HAVE BROKEN THE CURSE! Chicago Cubs are your 2016 World Series champions
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Young Bryce spazzin.
I loved seeing Lawrie celebrate like that.
The folly of Mike Scioscia.
Brewers road woes.
Mike Adams readjusts to Texas life.
The folly of Mike Scioscia.
Spoiler [+]
For the most part, it's hard to criticize Mike Scioscia. The Los Angeles Angels' manager has reached the playoffs six times in his 11 full seasons at the helm (including a World Series win), and his club consistently outplays its Pythagorean record, which is a strong indication he knows how to manage bullpen and bench. It would be hard to name five managers in baseball who are better than Scioscia. Because of that, it makes his one glaring blind spot -- his insistence on playing Jeff Mathis regularly -- all the more mind-blowing.
As of today, the Angels are 1.5 games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West. More remarkable is that the Halos are this close to first despite allowing Mathis -- and his .495 OPS -- to bat 220 times so far this season.
It's hard to overstate just how poor a hitter Mathis truly is. For his career, he has a .197 batting average in 1,299 plate appearances. According to Baseball Reference, there have been just three others players in history to amass 1,300 PAs while batting below the Mendoza Line, and two of them, Mike Ryan and Ray Oyler, spent much of their careers in the 1960s, arguably the most pitcher-friendly era in baseball history. (Even the guy for whom the Mendoza Line was named actually had a career batting average of .215.) In other words, when you're that bad a hitter, they don't let you get the chance to amass 1,300 PAs because you've already proven you don't belong in the majors.
So what gives? Scioscia clearly believes Mathis is so valuable behind the plate that it makes up for his offensive deficiencies. In fact, he said as much this past weekend to the L.A. Times: "If you look at the job he's done with [Jered] Weaver and [Dan] Haren, we're winning games when they pitch not because of anything Jeff's doing at the plate, but what he's doing behind the plate."
(Of course, that argument would hold a lot more water if Dan Haren hadn't already established himself as one of the best pitchers in the league before joining the Angels.)
Since Scioscia is a former catcher, it isn't a huge surprise he thinks a catcher's value goes beyond the numbers. But this isn't a case in which Mathis is a little bit worse than the alternative; he's much, much worse. The Angels recently demoted Hank Conger to Triple A, where the 23-year-old has a .311/.393/.568 line in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Now, it's not as if Conger set the world on fire when he was in the big leagues (.654 OPS), but you don't need to set the world on fire to be better than Mathis, you need to be passable. Considering Conger's fine prospect pedigree -- he was a first-round pick in 2006 -- and stellar minor-league performance, there is reason to believe he could easily improve and be an above-average major league catcher.
According to weighted runs above average, Mathis' bat has been worth minus-17.7 runs this year, and Conger's has been worth minus-3.6. Remember, this is Conger's rookie season, and he has plenty of upside, while Mathis is performing how Mathis usually performs.
Sure, it's possible Mathis is significantly better defensively, but there is no evidence that suggests that. Mathis throws out base stealers with slightly greater frequency, but the difference isn't major (23.5 percent for his career to 17.9 percent for Conger). While I don't put much stock in catcher's ERA, Conger actually has a better CERA for his career (3.26) than Mathis (3.76). You want to tell me Mathis has subtle skills that make him a much better defender than the alternative, I'll buy it, particularly coming from a former catcher such as Scioscia. But if your argument involves how well he catches a guy who was one of the best pitchers in baseball before he joined your team, you lose me.
I realize I'm not the first person to point out Scioscia's stubbornness regarding Mathis, and I certainly won't be the last. But at this point, putting him out there is simply hubris. Heck, his OPS is less than the slugging percentage of Mike Napoli, the catcher the Angels traded away last winter for Vernon Wells because Scioscia didn't like his defense. As it was, choosing Mathis over Napoli was roughly the equivalent of the Atlanta Braves choosing Dave Ross over Brian McCann because of some intangible defensive value. Obviously, that would be insane.
At this point, someone needs to step in and save Scioscia from his Mathis fetish -- whether it be GM Tony Reagins, owner Arte Moreno or the National Guard. The more Mathis plays, the more the Angels' playoff hopes dwindle.
As of today, the Angels are 1.5 games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West. More remarkable is that the Halos are this close to first despite allowing Mathis -- and his .495 OPS -- to bat 220 times so far this season.
It's hard to overstate just how poor a hitter Mathis truly is. For his career, he has a .197 batting average in 1,299 plate appearances. According to Baseball Reference, there have been just three others players in history to amass 1,300 PAs while batting below the Mendoza Line, and two of them, Mike Ryan and Ray Oyler, spent much of their careers in the 1960s, arguably the most pitcher-friendly era in baseball history. (Even the guy for whom the Mendoza Line was named actually had a career batting average of .215.) In other words, when you're that bad a hitter, they don't let you get the chance to amass 1,300 PAs because you've already proven you don't belong in the majors.
So what gives? Scioscia clearly believes Mathis is so valuable behind the plate that it makes up for his offensive deficiencies. In fact, he said as much this past weekend to the L.A. Times: "If you look at the job he's done with [Jered] Weaver and [Dan] Haren, we're winning games when they pitch not because of anything Jeff's doing at the plate, but what he's doing behind the plate."
(Of course, that argument would hold a lot more water if Dan Haren hadn't already established himself as one of the best pitchers in the league before joining the Angels.)
Since Scioscia is a former catcher, it isn't a huge surprise he thinks a catcher's value goes beyond the numbers. But this isn't a case in which Mathis is a little bit worse than the alternative; he's much, much worse. The Angels recently demoted Hank Conger to Triple A, where the 23-year-old has a .311/.393/.568 line in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Now, it's not as if Conger set the world on fire when he was in the big leagues (.654 OPS), but you don't need to set the world on fire to be better than Mathis, you need to be passable. Considering Conger's fine prospect pedigree -- he was a first-round pick in 2006 -- and stellar minor-league performance, there is reason to believe he could easily improve and be an above-average major league catcher.
According to weighted runs above average, Mathis' bat has been worth minus-17.7 runs this year, and Conger's has been worth minus-3.6. Remember, this is Conger's rookie season, and he has plenty of upside, while Mathis is performing how Mathis usually performs.
Sure, it's possible Mathis is significantly better defensively, but there is no evidence that suggests that. Mathis throws out base stealers with slightly greater frequency, but the difference isn't major (23.5 percent for his career to 17.9 percent for Conger). While I don't put much stock in catcher's ERA, Conger actually has a better CERA for his career (3.26) than Mathis (3.76). You want to tell me Mathis has subtle skills that make him a much better defender than the alternative, I'll buy it, particularly coming from a former catcher such as Scioscia. But if your argument involves how well he catches a guy who was one of the best pitchers in baseball before he joined your team, you lose me.
I realize I'm not the first person to point out Scioscia's stubbornness regarding Mathis, and I certainly won't be the last. But at this point, putting him out there is simply hubris. Heck, his OPS is less than the slugging percentage of Mike Napoli, the catcher the Angels traded away last winter for Vernon Wells because Scioscia didn't like his defense. As it was, choosing Mathis over Napoli was roughly the equivalent of the Atlanta Braves choosing Dave Ross over Brian McCann because of some intangible defensive value. Obviously, that would be insane.
At this point, someone needs to step in and save Scioscia from his Mathis fetish -- whether it be GM Tony Reagins, owner Arte Moreno or the National Guard. The more Mathis plays, the more the Angels' playoff hopes dwindle.
Brewers road woes.
Spoiler [+]
In terms of performance at home and on the road, the 2011 http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/mil/milwaukee-brewersMilwaukee Brewers have been a team of puzzling extremes.
At this writing, the Brewers have enjoyed the best home record in all of baseball at 41-15, but on the road they're a rather miserable 23-35. To put a finer point on it, no other team currently in playoff position has a losing record on the road. In the National League, only the http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/chc/chicago-cubsChicago Cubs, http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/wsh/washington-nationalsWashington Nationals and http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/hou/houston-astrosHouston Astros have worse marks away from home.
This is notable, of course, because the Brewers are a good team -- a team with a 63.9 percent chance of making the postseason.
On a general level, one-year home-road trends are Just One of Those Things[sup]TM[/sup], however unsatisfying such an explanation may be. (The http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-bravesAtlanta Braves, for instance, nabbed the 2010 NL wild-card berth despite a 35-46 record in road games. This season, the Braves -- largely those same Braves -- are 31-26 away from home.)
Additionally, there's a built-in cushion to these home-road records in that the host team tends to win about 54 percent of the time. In the Brewers' case, though, is there something else at work?
It's hard to ignore the strength of Milwaukee's trends. In fact, if paces hold, then the Brewers will win 91 games this season, and 59 of those wins will come at home. So what's the source of Milwaukee's Howard Hughes-like reluctance to leave the crib?
One could be forgiven for thinking it's a team-wide phenomenon. The Brewers score 5.25 runs per game at home but 3.89 runs per game on the road. On the pitching-and-defense front, the Brewers devolve from allowing 3.64 runs per game at Miller Park to allowing 4.57 runs per game everywhere else.
Stated another way, the Brewers, in terms of scoring runs, are 25.9 percent worse on the road. In terms of preventing runs, they're 25.5 percent worse on the road. Those are obviously very similar figures, and they suggest that the Brewers' failures away from home are systemic in nature. But that's not the case. Largely, it comes down to simple bad luck on the part of the Brewer bats.
Those Brewer bats, of course, largely succeed by virtue of their power. The Brewers rank second in NL in homers, total bases, slugging percentage and isolated power. A function of Miller Park? Not entirely.
Miller is somewhat distinct in that it's a roughly neutral environment in terms of run-scoring, but at the same time it notably increases home run rates, particularly for left-handed hitters. So it's a good power park without inflating the other offensive components.
This happens to be a good thing for the current model. That's because when it comes to turning fly balls into bombs, only the Yankees are more efficient than the Brewers have been this season. Overall, Milwaukee has a HR/FB rate of 11.8 percent. At home, that figure is 14.2 percent. Put the Brewers attack on the road, however, and the HR/FB rate becomes measurably more ordinary (9.6 percent). Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart all have a HR/FB of greater than 20 percent at Miller Park, but none of them top 16 percent in away games.
The Brewers' bats have also been struck by a little bit of bad luck. Their Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) utterly craters away from Miller Park. The Brewers have the highest home BABIP in the National League (.320). However, they rank 15th in the NL in road BABIP (.273). That's almost 50 points of BABIP worse away from home. Considering that the Brewers don't play their home games in, say, Coors Field, that's likely more of a fluke-%+% curiosity than anything else.
On the pitching front, there's nothing terribly unusual going on. You can look at traditional metrics like ERA or advanced ones like xFIP, and you won't find any yawning gaps in how the Brewers perform at home versus on the road.
The only aspect of the Brewers' home-road split that may go beyond luck is their home run rates at home as opposed to the road. And if they had a few balls fall in away from Miller Park, their road record probably wouldn't look so bad.
At this writing, the Brewers have enjoyed the best home record in all of baseball at 41-15, but on the road they're a rather miserable 23-35. To put a finer point on it, no other team currently in playoff position has a losing record on the road. In the National League, only the http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/chc/chicago-cubsChicago Cubs, http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/wsh/washington-nationalsWashington Nationals and http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/hou/houston-astrosHouston Astros have worse marks away from home.
This is notable, of course, because the Brewers are a good team -- a team with a 63.9 percent chance of making the postseason.
On a general level, one-year home-road trends are Just One of Those Things[sup]TM[/sup], however unsatisfying such an explanation may be. (The http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-bravesAtlanta Braves, for instance, nabbed the 2010 NL wild-card berth despite a 35-46 record in road games. This season, the Braves -- largely those same Braves -- are 31-26 away from home.)
Additionally, there's a built-in cushion to these home-road records in that the host team tends to win about 54 percent of the time. In the Brewers' case, though, is there something else at work?
It's hard to ignore the strength of Milwaukee's trends. In fact, if paces hold, then the Brewers will win 91 games this season, and 59 of those wins will come at home. So what's the source of Milwaukee's Howard Hughes-like reluctance to leave the crib?
One could be forgiven for thinking it's a team-wide phenomenon. The Brewers score 5.25 runs per game at home but 3.89 runs per game on the road. On the pitching-and-defense front, the Brewers devolve from allowing 3.64 runs per game at Miller Park to allowing 4.57 runs per game everywhere else.
Stated another way, the Brewers, in terms of scoring runs, are 25.9 percent worse on the road. In terms of preventing runs, they're 25.5 percent worse on the road. Those are obviously very similar figures, and they suggest that the Brewers' failures away from home are systemic in nature. But that's not the case. Largely, it comes down to simple bad luck on the part of the Brewer bats.
Those Brewer bats, of course, largely succeed by virtue of their power. The Brewers rank second in NL in homers, total bases, slugging percentage and isolated power. A function of Miller Park? Not entirely.
Miller is somewhat distinct in that it's a roughly neutral environment in terms of run-scoring, but at the same time it notably increases home run rates, particularly for left-handed hitters. So it's a good power park without inflating the other offensive components.
This happens to be a good thing for the current model. That's because when it comes to turning fly balls into bombs, only the Yankees are more efficient than the Brewers have been this season. Overall, Milwaukee has a HR/FB rate of 11.8 percent. At home, that figure is 14.2 percent. Put the Brewers attack on the road, however, and the HR/FB rate becomes measurably more ordinary (9.6 percent). Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart all have a HR/FB of greater than 20 percent at Miller Park, but none of them top 16 percent in away games.
The Brewers' bats have also been struck by a little bit of bad luck. Their Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) utterly craters away from Miller Park. The Brewers have the highest home BABIP in the National League (.320). However, they rank 15th in the NL in road BABIP (.273). That's almost 50 points of BABIP worse away from home. Considering that the Brewers don't play their home games in, say, Coors Field, that's likely more of a fluke-%+% curiosity than anything else.
On the pitching front, there's nothing terribly unusual going on. You can look at traditional metrics like ERA or advanced ones like xFIP, and you won't find any yawning gaps in how the Brewers perform at home versus on the road.
The only aspect of the Brewers' home-road split that may go beyond luck is their home run rates at home as opposed to the road. And if they had a few balls fall in away from Miller Park, their road record probably wouldn't look so bad.
Mike Adams readjusts to Texas life.
Spoiler [+]
On one of his first days with the Rangers, Mike Adams turned a corner and walked into the clubhouse manager's office, and there, sitting on the couch, was someone who filled a poster that was on Adams' wall as a kid -- Nolan Ryan.
"I was a little bit awestruck," Adams said Wednesday. "It kind of surprised me."
[+] Enlarge
Rick Osentoski/US PresswireMike Adams is back playing in his home state of Texas.
Ryan and Adams chatted a bit, about the conversation that Ryan had with Adams' father the night before, but Adams never got to the questions that he wants to ask Ryan. There will be time for that in the months ahead, now that Adams is entrenched in the Texas bullpen for the rest of this year, and probably through next year.
The Rangers were the team he followed as a kid, while growing up in Texas, and every summer he would travel to stay with his aunt, Nelda Chapa, and go watch Rangers games, and Ryan, particularly. Generally, Adams had hoped for the opportunity to pitch for the Rangers at some point, but in the last days before the July 31 trade deadline, it appeared that Adams would remain with the San Diego Padres and Heath Bell was more likely to be traded, because Bell is eligible for free agency after this season. Adams had heard that the Phillies were in trade talks for him, and he figured that once Philadelphia traded prospects to Houston for Hunter Pence, he likely would stay with San Diego to be the closer.
On the morning of July 31, Adams was in the trainers' room getting treatment when Padres pitching coach Darryl Akerfelds walked in and told him he needed to immediately stop what he was doing because manager Bud Black wanted to see him.
"You've been traded," Black told him, immediately, but he didn't want to go into the details right away, because general manager Jed Hoyer was on his way to the clubhouse.
"I was very curious to see where I had been traded," Adams recalled, but he had to wait -- and after Hoyer arrived and he was told his destination, Adams was "a little disappointed, because I expected to stay in San Diego and close there."
But for the next hour, Adams processed the whole thing and began to feel differently. He was going home, to pitch for the team he rooted for as a kid, a team that was competing for a division title and a chance to go back to the World Series. With the addition of Adams and Koji Uehara, Adams said, he hopes that the Rangers' bullpen will bring back the dominance, some swagger. "It took me a couple of days to make the little transitions," he said. "It's been fun. This is a good group of guys."
When San Diego played in Texas in the past, Adams sent a jersey to the front office for Ryan to sign, which Ryan did, and Adams will have plenty of opportunity to pick the legend's brain, as the Rangers play the biggest games of their seasons in the weeks ahead.
[h3]Notables[/h3]
• A Rangers rally fell short on Wednesday.
• The Diamondbacks are a first-place team, after taking down the Houston Astros, as Bob McManaman writes. Paul Goldschmidt, their first baseman, is still finding his footing, and his confidence hasn't waned. This is part of what impressed the Arizona staff in spring training -- that Goldschmidt seems to be even-keeled.
The struggling Giants lost again, writes Steve Kroner. Jonathan Sanchez made no pronouncements, writes Andrew Baggarly.
• Dan Uggla's hitting streak has reached 31 games, incredibly.
FROM ELIAS: Longest hitting streaks by second basemen, all time
Chase Utley -- 35 (Phillies, 2006)
Luis Castillo -- 35 (Marlins, 2002)
Rogers Hornsby -- 33 (Cardinals, 1922)
Dan Uggla -- 31 (Braves, 2011)
Nap Lajoie -- 31 (Indians, 1906)
Uggla's 31-game hit streak is tied for the longest in a season since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966. It is tied for the second-longest in a season in franchise history.
• In Cleveland, Jason Kipnis is becoming a Sam Fuld-like hero: He went 5-for-5 and the Indians smoked the Tigers in the second game of the series between the clubs, making tonight's matchup of Justin Verlander vs. Fausto Carmona must-watch TV.
Kipnis did some damage against breaking pitches -- research done by ESPN Stats and Info shows that three of Kipnis' five hits Wednesday came against off-speed pitches, notable because he had been 1-for-27 in at-bats ending with an off-speed pitch over the first 15 games of his career.
From ELIAS: Kipnis is the second Indians rookie with 5-plus hits and 4-plus runs in a game: Jim Fridley had six hits and four runs on April 29, 1952.
Ubaldo Jimenez picked up his first victory with the Indians, throwing well. From ESPN Stats and Info, how he won:
A) Jimenez featured more 2-seam fastballs than usual and got good side run movement on his fastballs. His fastballs averaged 7.7 inches of horizontal movement (in to RHB, away from LHB), tying his third-most in a start this season.
B) Jimenez induced nine swings and misses on his fastballs, his most in a start this season. Eight of the nine swings and misses came at the belt or above.
C) Jimenez relied more on his fastball to put hitters away. Seventy percent of his two-strike pitches were fastballs, his fourth most in a start this season. Five of his six strikeouts came on fastballs. Kosuke Fukudome took a pitch the night before to win a game; there is word within the same Paul Hoynes notebook that Shin-Soo Choo is making progress in his rehab.
Jack Hannahan would've gotten the ball after Manny Acta ran out of pitchers the other night, writes Sheldon Ocker.
Rick Porcello got hit hard, writes Tom Gage. The Tigers need to lean more on their young talent, writes Michael Rosenberg.
• The Cardinals need a win today, badly, after losing again to Milwaukee; the Brewers have a five-game lead, as Todd Rosiak writes.
The Brewers have shut down Albert Pujols, as Bernie Miklasz writes. Earlier this week, Jonathan Lucroy called out Tony La Russa.
La Russa insists he doesn't play head games. That's his perspective. And other teams have a very different perspective.
• Ivan Nova pitched effectively again Wednesday night and picked up his 11th victory. The Yankees had thought about returning the young right-hander to the minors last week, after his start against the White Sox -- but then Nova went out and threw great, and the Yankees changed those plans. GM Brian Cashman explained that Nova was kept because of the players in the clubhouse -- because as the Yankees play to win daily, they deserve to have the best pitchers in the big leagues. The Yankees could have made an easy roster decision by returning Nova to Triple-A, but he has earned the right to be in the big leagues with his emotional progression.
Nova has gone from "I think I can" succeed in the big leagues, Cashman said, "to 'I know I can.'"
• Jose Bautista says he was told it was the White Sox who were the source of the sign-stealing story. GM Alex Anthopoulos says the suggestion of sign-stealing is stupid, writes Richard Griffin. ESPN did baseball in Toronto a huge favor, writes Cathal Kelley.
The White Sox reacted.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Kyle Davies was cut, to make room for Salvador Perez; he will be the starting catcher, writes Bob Dutton.
2. The mystery that is Ian Stewart continues: He was sent to the minors, and his big league future is in doubt.
3. The Braves called up Arodys Vizcaino, one of the hard-throwing prospects that Atlanta refused to trade, and cut Scott Proctor.
4. The Mariners are not likely to use Brandon League for multiple-inning saves.
5. The Yonder Alonso story was very strange, as Paul Daugherty writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Justin Morneau is set to rejoin the Twins on Friday.
2. Alex Rodriguez is set to play Friday in the minors.
3. Brandon Phillips is out with a sore elbow.
4. Tommy Hanson has tendinitis.
5. Hanley Ramirez is going on the DL, and Chris Volstad is being recalled.
6. Chris Narveson landed on the DL, after a freak accident.
7. Alex Cobb will have season-ending surgery.
[h3]Wednesday's games[/h3]
1. Brett Lawrie was The Man for the Blue Jays, as Mike Rutsey writes. He found his groove quickly, writes Jeff Blair.
[h4]Pence with benefits[/h4]
Ryan Howard's numbers this season, before and after Hunter Pence trade
[th=""]Stat[/th][th=""]Before[/th][th=""]After[/th]
2. The Phillies' dominance has reached the point that when they're facing big deficits early in the game, you still expect them to win -- and that's what happened on Wednesday. The Phillies are 76-40 and on pace for 106 victories. Ryan Howard has been much better since the acquisition of Hunter Pence.
3. Curtis Granderson clubbed a couple of homers and the Yankees rolled. The Yankees have two players with 30 homers through 115 team games. It's the first time they've had two players with 30+ through 115 games since 1961, when Mickey Mantle had 44 and Roger Maris had 43.
FROM ELIAS: Fewest team games to 30 HR among Yankees teammates
Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris -- 84 (1961)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 88 (1927)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 99 (1930)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 104 (1931)
Mark Teixeira/Curtis Granderson -- 115 (2011)
4. Troy Tulowitzki has been killing the ball, but the Rockies still lost to the Reds.
5. Joe Nathan set a record, as La Velle Neal writes.
6. Jason Vargas shut down the Rangers.
7. Jeff Karstens racked up nine strikeouts.
8. The Marlins were swept.
9. The Cubs continue to play well: They won again, as Dave van Dyck writes.
10. Missed opportunities haunted the White Sox again, as Mark Gonzales writes.
11. Nolan Reimold did some gut-ripping.
12. The Royals blew a four-run lead.
13. Garrett Richards had a tough debut.
14. The Padres hung on to a lead.
15. Sam Fuld made a wild dash home, writes Marc Topkin.
16. The Astros are 41 games under .500, as Zachary Levine writes.
17. Jon Lester lost control. There has been a power outage for Adrian Gonzalez.
"I was a little bit awestruck," Adams said Wednesday. "It kind of surprised me."
[+] Enlarge
Rick Osentoski/US PresswireMike Adams is back playing in his home state of Texas.
Ryan and Adams chatted a bit, about the conversation that Ryan had with Adams' father the night before, but Adams never got to the questions that he wants to ask Ryan. There will be time for that in the months ahead, now that Adams is entrenched in the Texas bullpen for the rest of this year, and probably through next year.
The Rangers were the team he followed as a kid, while growing up in Texas, and every summer he would travel to stay with his aunt, Nelda Chapa, and go watch Rangers games, and Ryan, particularly. Generally, Adams had hoped for the opportunity to pitch for the Rangers at some point, but in the last days before the July 31 trade deadline, it appeared that Adams would remain with the San Diego Padres and Heath Bell was more likely to be traded, because Bell is eligible for free agency after this season. Adams had heard that the Phillies were in trade talks for him, and he figured that once Philadelphia traded prospects to Houston for Hunter Pence, he likely would stay with San Diego to be the closer.
On the morning of July 31, Adams was in the trainers' room getting treatment when Padres pitching coach Darryl Akerfelds walked in and told him he needed to immediately stop what he was doing because manager Bud Black wanted to see him.
"You've been traded," Black told him, immediately, but he didn't want to go into the details right away, because general manager Jed Hoyer was on his way to the clubhouse.
"I was very curious to see where I had been traded," Adams recalled, but he had to wait -- and after Hoyer arrived and he was told his destination, Adams was "a little disappointed, because I expected to stay in San Diego and close there."
But for the next hour, Adams processed the whole thing and began to feel differently. He was going home, to pitch for the team he rooted for as a kid, a team that was competing for a division title and a chance to go back to the World Series. With the addition of Adams and Koji Uehara, Adams said, he hopes that the Rangers' bullpen will bring back the dominance, some swagger. "It took me a couple of days to make the little transitions," he said. "It's been fun. This is a good group of guys."
When San Diego played in Texas in the past, Adams sent a jersey to the front office for Ryan to sign, which Ryan did, and Adams will have plenty of opportunity to pick the legend's brain, as the Rangers play the biggest games of their seasons in the weeks ahead.
[h3]Notables[/h3]
• A Rangers rally fell short on Wednesday.
• The Diamondbacks are a first-place team, after taking down the Houston Astros, as Bob McManaman writes. Paul Goldschmidt, their first baseman, is still finding his footing, and his confidence hasn't waned. This is part of what impressed the Arizona staff in spring training -- that Goldschmidt seems to be even-keeled.
The struggling Giants lost again, writes Steve Kroner. Jonathan Sanchez made no pronouncements, writes Andrew Baggarly.
• Dan Uggla's hitting streak has reached 31 games, incredibly.
FROM ELIAS: Longest hitting streaks by second basemen, all time
Chase Utley -- 35 (Phillies, 2006)
Luis Castillo -- 35 (Marlins, 2002)
Rogers Hornsby -- 33 (Cardinals, 1922)
Dan Uggla -- 31 (Braves, 2011)
Nap Lajoie -- 31 (Indians, 1906)
Uggla's 31-game hit streak is tied for the longest in a season since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966. It is tied for the second-longest in a season in franchise history.
• In Cleveland, Jason Kipnis is becoming a Sam Fuld-like hero: He went 5-for-5 and the Indians smoked the Tigers in the second game of the series between the clubs, making tonight's matchup of Justin Verlander vs. Fausto Carmona must-watch TV.
Kipnis did some damage against breaking pitches -- research done by ESPN Stats and Info shows that three of Kipnis' five hits Wednesday came against off-speed pitches, notable because he had been 1-for-27 in at-bats ending with an off-speed pitch over the first 15 games of his career.
From ELIAS: Kipnis is the second Indians rookie with 5-plus hits and 4-plus runs in a game: Jim Fridley had six hits and four runs on April 29, 1952.
Ubaldo Jimenez picked up his first victory with the Indians, throwing well. From ESPN Stats and Info, how he won:
A) Jimenez featured more 2-seam fastballs than usual and got good side run movement on his fastballs. His fastballs averaged 7.7 inches of horizontal movement (in to RHB, away from LHB), tying his third-most in a start this season.
B) Jimenez induced nine swings and misses on his fastballs, his most in a start this season. Eight of the nine swings and misses came at the belt or above.
C) Jimenez relied more on his fastball to put hitters away. Seventy percent of his two-strike pitches were fastballs, his fourth most in a start this season. Five of his six strikeouts came on fastballs. Kosuke Fukudome took a pitch the night before to win a game; there is word within the same Paul Hoynes notebook that Shin-Soo Choo is making progress in his rehab.
Jack Hannahan would've gotten the ball after Manny Acta ran out of pitchers the other night, writes Sheldon Ocker.
Rick Porcello got hit hard, writes Tom Gage. The Tigers need to lean more on their young talent, writes Michael Rosenberg.
• The Cardinals need a win today, badly, after losing again to Milwaukee; the Brewers have a five-game lead, as Todd Rosiak writes.
The Brewers have shut down Albert Pujols, as Bernie Miklasz writes. Earlier this week, Jonathan Lucroy called out Tony La Russa.
La Russa insists he doesn't play head games. That's his perspective. And other teams have a very different perspective.
• Ivan Nova pitched effectively again Wednesday night and picked up his 11th victory. The Yankees had thought about returning the young right-hander to the minors last week, after his start against the White Sox -- but then Nova went out and threw great, and the Yankees changed those plans. GM Brian Cashman explained that Nova was kept because of the players in the clubhouse -- because as the Yankees play to win daily, they deserve to have the best pitchers in the big leagues. The Yankees could have made an easy roster decision by returning Nova to Triple-A, but he has earned the right to be in the big leagues with his emotional progression.
Nova has gone from "I think I can" succeed in the big leagues, Cashman said, "to 'I know I can.'"
• Jose Bautista says he was told it was the White Sox who were the source of the sign-stealing story. GM Alex Anthopoulos says the suggestion of sign-stealing is stupid, writes Richard Griffin. ESPN did baseball in Toronto a huge favor, writes Cathal Kelley.
The White Sox reacted.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Kyle Davies was cut, to make room for Salvador Perez; he will be the starting catcher, writes Bob Dutton.
2. The mystery that is Ian Stewart continues: He was sent to the minors, and his big league future is in doubt.
3. The Braves called up Arodys Vizcaino, one of the hard-throwing prospects that Atlanta refused to trade, and cut Scott Proctor.
4. The Mariners are not likely to use Brandon League for multiple-inning saves.
5. The Yonder Alonso story was very strange, as Paul Daugherty writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Justin Morneau is set to rejoin the Twins on Friday.
2. Alex Rodriguez is set to play Friday in the minors.
3. Brandon Phillips is out with a sore elbow.
4. Tommy Hanson has tendinitis.
5. Hanley Ramirez is going on the DL, and Chris Volstad is being recalled.
6. Chris Narveson landed on the DL, after a freak accident.
7. Alex Cobb will have season-ending surgery.
[h3]Wednesday's games[/h3]
1. Brett Lawrie was The Man for the Blue Jays, as Mike Rutsey writes. He found his groove quickly, writes Jeff Blair.
[h4]Pence with benefits[/h4]
Ryan Howard's numbers this season, before and after Hunter Pence trade
| BA | .246 | .304 |
| OBP | .337 | .373 |
| Slug pct | .459 | .739 |
| AB/HR | 19.5 | 9.2 |
2. The Phillies' dominance has reached the point that when they're facing big deficits early in the game, you still expect them to win -- and that's what happened on Wednesday. The Phillies are 76-40 and on pace for 106 victories. Ryan Howard has been much better since the acquisition of Hunter Pence.
3. Curtis Granderson clubbed a couple of homers and the Yankees rolled. The Yankees have two players with 30 homers through 115 team games. It's the first time they've had two players with 30+ through 115 games since 1961, when Mickey Mantle had 44 and Roger Maris had 43.
FROM ELIAS: Fewest team games to 30 HR among Yankees teammates
Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris -- 84 (1961)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 88 (1927)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 99 (1930)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 104 (1931)
Mark Teixeira/Curtis Granderson -- 115 (2011)
4. Troy Tulowitzki has been killing the ball, but the Rockies still lost to the Reds.
5. Joe Nathan set a record, as La Velle Neal writes.
6. Jason Vargas shut down the Rangers.
7. Jeff Karstens racked up nine strikeouts.
8. The Marlins were swept.
9. The Cubs continue to play well: They won again, as Dave van Dyck writes.
10. Missed opportunities haunted the White Sox again, as Mark Gonzales writes.
11. Nolan Reimold did some gut-ripping.
12. The Royals blew a four-run lead.
13. Garrett Richards had a tough debut.
14. The Padres hung on to a lead.
15. Sam Fuld made a wild dash home, writes Marc Topkin.
16. The Astros are 41 games under .500, as Zachary Levine writes.
17. Jon Lester lost control. There has been a power outage for Adrian Gonzalez.
I loved seeing Lawrie celebrate like that.
The folly of Mike Scioscia.
Brewers road woes.
Mike Adams readjusts to Texas life.
The folly of Mike Scioscia.
Spoiler [+]
For the most part, it's hard to criticize Mike Scioscia. The Los Angeles Angels' manager has reached the playoffs six times in his 11 full seasons at the helm (including a World Series win), and his club consistently outplays its Pythagorean record, which is a strong indication he knows how to manage bullpen and bench. It would be hard to name five managers in baseball who are better than Scioscia. Because of that, it makes his one glaring blind spot -- his insistence on playing Jeff Mathis regularly -- all the more mind-blowing.
As of today, the Angels are 1.5 games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West. More remarkable is that the Halos are this close to first despite allowing Mathis -- and his .495 OPS -- to bat 220 times so far this season.
It's hard to overstate just how poor a hitter Mathis truly is. For his career, he has a .197 batting average in 1,299 plate appearances. According to Baseball Reference, there have been just three others players in history to amass 1,300 PAs while batting below the Mendoza Line, and two of them, Mike Ryan and Ray Oyler, spent much of their careers in the 1960s, arguably the most pitcher-friendly era in baseball history. (Even the guy for whom the Mendoza Line was named actually had a career batting average of .215.) In other words, when you're that bad a hitter, they don't let you get the chance to amass 1,300 PAs because you've already proven you don't belong in the majors.
So what gives? Scioscia clearly believes Mathis is so valuable behind the plate that it makes up for his offensive deficiencies. In fact, he said as much this past weekend to the L.A. Times: "If you look at the job he's done with [Jered] Weaver and [Dan] Haren, we're winning games when they pitch not because of anything Jeff's doing at the plate, but what he's doing behind the plate."
(Of course, that argument would hold a lot more water if Dan Haren hadn't already established himself as one of the best pitchers in the league before joining the Angels.)
Since Scioscia is a former catcher, it isn't a huge surprise he thinks a catcher's value goes beyond the numbers. But this isn't a case in which Mathis is a little bit worse than the alternative; he's much, much worse. The Angels recently demoted Hank Conger to Triple A, where the 23-year-old has a .311/.393/.568 line in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Now, it's not as if Conger set the world on fire when he was in the big leagues (.654 OPS), but you don't need to set the world on fire to be better than Mathis, you need to be passable. Considering Conger's fine prospect pedigree -- he was a first-round pick in 2006 -- and stellar minor-league performance, there is reason to believe he could easily improve and be an above-average major league catcher.
According to weighted runs above average, Mathis' bat has been worth minus-17.7 runs this year, and Conger's has been worth minus-3.6. Remember, this is Conger's rookie season, and he has plenty of upside, while Mathis is performing how Mathis usually performs.
Sure, it's possible Mathis is significantly better defensively, but there is no evidence that suggests that. Mathis throws out base stealers with slightly greater frequency, but the difference isn't major (23.5 percent for his career to 17.9 percent for Conger). While I don't put much stock in catcher's ERA, Conger actually has a better CERA for his career (3.26) than Mathis (3.76). You want to tell me Mathis has subtle skills that make him a much better defender than the alternative, I'll buy it, particularly coming from a former catcher such as Scioscia. But if your argument involves how well he catches a guy who was one of the best pitchers in baseball before he joined your team, you lose me.
I realize I'm not the first person to point out Scioscia's stubbornness regarding Mathis, and I certainly won't be the last. But at this point, putting him out there is simply hubris. Heck, his OPS is less than the slugging percentage of Mike Napoli, the catcher the Angels traded away last winter for Vernon Wells because Scioscia didn't like his defense. As it was, choosing Mathis over Napoli was roughly the equivalent of the Atlanta Braves choosing Dave Ross over Brian McCann because of some intangible defensive value. Obviously, that would be insane.
At this point, someone needs to step in and save Scioscia from his Mathis fetish -- whether it be GM Tony Reagins, owner Arte Moreno or the National Guard. The more Mathis plays, the more the Angels' playoff hopes dwindle.
As of today, the Angels are 1.5 games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West. More remarkable is that the Halos are this close to first despite allowing Mathis -- and his .495 OPS -- to bat 220 times so far this season.
It's hard to overstate just how poor a hitter Mathis truly is. For his career, he has a .197 batting average in 1,299 plate appearances. According to Baseball Reference, there have been just three others players in history to amass 1,300 PAs while batting below the Mendoza Line, and two of them, Mike Ryan and Ray Oyler, spent much of their careers in the 1960s, arguably the most pitcher-friendly era in baseball history. (Even the guy for whom the Mendoza Line was named actually had a career batting average of .215.) In other words, when you're that bad a hitter, they don't let you get the chance to amass 1,300 PAs because you've already proven you don't belong in the majors.
So what gives? Scioscia clearly believes Mathis is so valuable behind the plate that it makes up for his offensive deficiencies. In fact, he said as much this past weekend to the L.A. Times: "If you look at the job he's done with [Jered] Weaver and [Dan] Haren, we're winning games when they pitch not because of anything Jeff's doing at the plate, but what he's doing behind the plate."
(Of course, that argument would hold a lot more water if Dan Haren hadn't already established himself as one of the best pitchers in the league before joining the Angels.)
Since Scioscia is a former catcher, it isn't a huge surprise he thinks a catcher's value goes beyond the numbers. But this isn't a case in which Mathis is a little bit worse than the alternative; he's much, much worse. The Angels recently demoted Hank Conger to Triple A, where the 23-year-old has a .311/.393/.568 line in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Now, it's not as if Conger set the world on fire when he was in the big leagues (.654 OPS), but you don't need to set the world on fire to be better than Mathis, you need to be passable. Considering Conger's fine prospect pedigree -- he was a first-round pick in 2006 -- and stellar minor-league performance, there is reason to believe he could easily improve and be an above-average major league catcher.
According to weighted runs above average, Mathis' bat has been worth minus-17.7 runs this year, and Conger's has been worth minus-3.6. Remember, this is Conger's rookie season, and he has plenty of upside, while Mathis is performing how Mathis usually performs.
Sure, it's possible Mathis is significantly better defensively, but there is no evidence that suggests that. Mathis throws out base stealers with slightly greater frequency, but the difference isn't major (23.5 percent for his career to 17.9 percent for Conger). While I don't put much stock in catcher's ERA, Conger actually has a better CERA for his career (3.26) than Mathis (3.76). You want to tell me Mathis has subtle skills that make him a much better defender than the alternative, I'll buy it, particularly coming from a former catcher such as Scioscia. But if your argument involves how well he catches a guy who was one of the best pitchers in baseball before he joined your team, you lose me.
I realize I'm not the first person to point out Scioscia's stubbornness regarding Mathis, and I certainly won't be the last. But at this point, putting him out there is simply hubris. Heck, his OPS is less than the slugging percentage of Mike Napoli, the catcher the Angels traded away last winter for Vernon Wells because Scioscia didn't like his defense. As it was, choosing Mathis over Napoli was roughly the equivalent of the Atlanta Braves choosing Dave Ross over Brian McCann because of some intangible defensive value. Obviously, that would be insane.
At this point, someone needs to step in and save Scioscia from his Mathis fetish -- whether it be GM Tony Reagins, owner Arte Moreno or the National Guard. The more Mathis plays, the more the Angels' playoff hopes dwindle.
Brewers road woes.
Spoiler [+]
In terms of performance at home and on the road, the 2011 http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/mil/milwaukee-brewersMilwaukee Brewers have been a team of puzzling extremes.
At this writing, the Brewers have enjoyed the best home record in all of baseball at 41-15, but on the road they're a rather miserable 23-35. To put a finer point on it, no other team currently in playoff position has a losing record on the road. In the National League, only the http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/chc/chicago-cubsChicago Cubs, http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/wsh/washington-nationalsWashington Nationals and http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/hou/houston-astrosHouston Astros have worse marks away from home.
This is notable, of course, because the Brewers are a good team -- a team with a 63.9 percent chance of making the postseason.
On a general level, one-year home-road trends are Just One of Those Things[sup]TM[/sup], however unsatisfying such an explanation may be. (The http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-bravesAtlanta Braves, for instance, nabbed the 2010 NL wild-card berth despite a 35-46 record in road games. This season, the Braves -- largely those same Braves -- are 31-26 away from home.)
Additionally, there's a built-in cushion to these home-road records in that the host team tends to win about 54 percent of the time. In the Brewers' case, though, is there something else at work?
It's hard to ignore the strength of Milwaukee's trends. In fact, if paces hold, then the Brewers will win 91 games this season, and 59 of those wins will come at home. So what's the source of Milwaukee's Howard Hughes-like reluctance to leave the crib?
One could be forgiven for thinking it's a team-wide phenomenon. The Brewers score 5.25 runs per game at home but 3.89 runs per game on the road. On the pitching-and-defense front, the Brewers devolve from allowing 3.64 runs per game at Miller Park to allowing 4.57 runs per game everywhere else.
Stated another way, the Brewers, in terms of scoring runs, are 25.9 percent worse on the road. In terms of preventing runs, they're 25.5 percent worse on the road. Those are obviously very similar figures, and they suggest that the Brewers' failures away from home are systemic in nature. But that's not the case. Largely, it comes down to simple bad luck on the part of the Brewer bats.
Those Brewer bats, of course, largely succeed by virtue of their power. The Brewers rank second in NL in homers, total bases, slugging percentage and isolated power. A function of Miller Park? Not entirely.
Miller is somewhat distinct in that it's a roughly neutral environment in terms of run-scoring, but at the same time it notably increases home run rates, particularly for left-handed hitters. So it's a good power park without inflating the other offensive components.
This happens to be a good thing for the current model. That's because when it comes to turning fly balls into bombs, only the Yankees are more efficient than the Brewers have been this season. Overall, Milwaukee has a HR/FB rate of 11.8 percent. At home, that figure is 14.2 percent. Put the Brewers attack on the road, however, and the HR/FB rate becomes measurably more ordinary (9.6 percent). Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart all have a HR/FB of greater than 20 percent at Miller Park, but none of them top 16 percent in away games.
The Brewers' bats have also been struck by a little bit of bad luck. Their Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) utterly craters away from Miller Park. The Brewers have the highest home BABIP in the National League (.320). However, they rank 15th in the NL in road BABIP (.273). That's almost 50 points of BABIP worse away from home. Considering that the Brewers don't play their home games in, say, Coors Field, that's likely more of a fluke-%+% curiosity than anything else.
On the pitching front, there's nothing terribly unusual going on. You can look at traditional metrics like ERA or advanced ones like xFIP, and you won't find any yawning gaps in how the Brewers perform at home versus on the road.
The only aspect of the Brewers' home-road split that may go beyond luck is their home run rates at home as opposed to the road. And if they had a few balls fall in away from Miller Park, their road record probably wouldn't look so bad.
At this writing, the Brewers have enjoyed the best home record in all of baseball at 41-15, but on the road they're a rather miserable 23-35. To put a finer point on it, no other team currently in playoff position has a losing record on the road. In the National League, only the http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/chc/chicago-cubsChicago Cubs, http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/wsh/washington-nationalsWashington Nationals and http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/hou/houston-astrosHouston Astros have worse marks away from home.
This is notable, of course, because the Brewers are a good team -- a team with a 63.9 percent chance of making the postseason.
On a general level, one-year home-road trends are Just One of Those Things[sup]TM[/sup], however unsatisfying such an explanation may be. (The http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-bravesAtlanta Braves, for instance, nabbed the 2010 NL wild-card berth despite a 35-46 record in road games. This season, the Braves -- largely those same Braves -- are 31-26 away from home.)
Additionally, there's a built-in cushion to these home-road records in that the host team tends to win about 54 percent of the time. In the Brewers' case, though, is there something else at work?
It's hard to ignore the strength of Milwaukee's trends. In fact, if paces hold, then the Brewers will win 91 games this season, and 59 of those wins will come at home. So what's the source of Milwaukee's Howard Hughes-like reluctance to leave the crib?
One could be forgiven for thinking it's a team-wide phenomenon. The Brewers score 5.25 runs per game at home but 3.89 runs per game on the road. On the pitching-and-defense front, the Brewers devolve from allowing 3.64 runs per game at Miller Park to allowing 4.57 runs per game everywhere else.
Stated another way, the Brewers, in terms of scoring runs, are 25.9 percent worse on the road. In terms of preventing runs, they're 25.5 percent worse on the road. Those are obviously very similar figures, and they suggest that the Brewers' failures away from home are systemic in nature. But that's not the case. Largely, it comes down to simple bad luck on the part of the Brewer bats.
Those Brewer bats, of course, largely succeed by virtue of their power. The Brewers rank second in NL in homers, total bases, slugging percentage and isolated power. A function of Miller Park? Not entirely.
Miller is somewhat distinct in that it's a roughly neutral environment in terms of run-scoring, but at the same time it notably increases home run rates, particularly for left-handed hitters. So it's a good power park without inflating the other offensive components.
This happens to be a good thing for the current model. That's because when it comes to turning fly balls into bombs, only the Yankees are more efficient than the Brewers have been this season. Overall, Milwaukee has a HR/FB rate of 11.8 percent. At home, that figure is 14.2 percent. Put the Brewers attack on the road, however, and the HR/FB rate becomes measurably more ordinary (9.6 percent). Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart all have a HR/FB of greater than 20 percent at Miller Park, but none of them top 16 percent in away games.
The Brewers' bats have also been struck by a little bit of bad luck. Their Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) utterly craters away from Miller Park. The Brewers have the highest home BABIP in the National League (.320). However, they rank 15th in the NL in road BABIP (.273). That's almost 50 points of BABIP worse away from home. Considering that the Brewers don't play their home games in, say, Coors Field, that's likely more of a fluke-%+% curiosity than anything else.
On the pitching front, there's nothing terribly unusual going on. You can look at traditional metrics like ERA or advanced ones like xFIP, and you won't find any yawning gaps in how the Brewers perform at home versus on the road.
The only aspect of the Brewers' home-road split that may go beyond luck is their home run rates at home as opposed to the road. And if they had a few balls fall in away from Miller Park, their road record probably wouldn't look so bad.
Mike Adams readjusts to Texas life.
Spoiler [+]
On one of his first days with the Rangers, Mike Adams turned a corner and walked into the clubhouse manager's office, and there, sitting on the couch, was someone who filled a poster that was on Adams' wall as a kid -- Nolan Ryan.
"I was a little bit awestruck," Adams said Wednesday. "It kind of surprised me."
[+] Enlarge
Rick Osentoski/US PresswireMike Adams is back playing in his home state of Texas.
Ryan and Adams chatted a bit, about the conversation that Ryan had with Adams' father the night before, but Adams never got to the questions that he wants to ask Ryan. There will be time for that in the months ahead, now that Adams is entrenched in the Texas bullpen for the rest of this year, and probably through next year.
The Rangers were the team he followed as a kid, while growing up in Texas, and every summer he would travel to stay with his aunt, Nelda Chapa, and go watch Rangers games, and Ryan, particularly. Generally, Adams had hoped for the opportunity to pitch for the Rangers at some point, but in the last days before the July 31 trade deadline, it appeared that Adams would remain with the San Diego Padres and Heath Bell was more likely to be traded, because Bell is eligible for free agency after this season. Adams had heard that the Phillies were in trade talks for him, and he figured that once Philadelphia traded prospects to Houston for Hunter Pence, he likely would stay with San Diego to be the closer.
On the morning of July 31, Adams was in the trainers' room getting treatment when Padres pitching coach Darryl Akerfelds walked in and told him he needed to immediately stop what he was doing because manager Bud Black wanted to see him.
"You've been traded," Black told him, immediately, but he didn't want to go into the details right away, because general manager Jed Hoyer was on his way to the clubhouse.
"I was very curious to see where I had been traded," Adams recalled, but he had to wait -- and after Hoyer arrived and he was told his destination, Adams was "a little disappointed, because I expected to stay in San Diego and close there."
But for the next hour, Adams processed the whole thing and began to feel differently. He was going home, to pitch for the team he rooted for as a kid, a team that was competing for a division title and a chance to go back to the World Series. With the addition of Adams and Koji Uehara, Adams said, he hopes that the Rangers' bullpen will bring back the dominance, some swagger. "It took me a couple of days to make the little transitions," he said. "It's been fun. This is a good group of guys."
When San Diego played in Texas in the past, Adams sent a jersey to the front office for Ryan to sign, which Ryan did, and Adams will have plenty of opportunity to pick the legend's brain, as the Rangers play the biggest games of their seasons in the weeks ahead.
[h3]Notables[/h3]
• A Rangers rally fell short on Wednesday.
• The Diamondbacks are a first-place team, after taking down the Houston Astros, as Bob McManaman writes. Paul Goldschmidt, their first baseman, is still finding his footing, and his confidence hasn't waned. This is part of what impressed the Arizona staff in spring training -- that Goldschmidt seems to be even-keeled.
The struggling Giants lost again, writes Steve Kroner. Jonathan Sanchez made no pronouncements, writes Andrew Baggarly.
• Dan Uggla's hitting streak has reached 31 games, incredibly.
FROM ELIAS: Longest hitting streaks by second basemen, all time
Chase Utley -- 35 (Phillies, 2006)
Luis Castillo -- 35 (Marlins, 2002)
Rogers Hornsby -- 33 (Cardinals, 1922)
Dan Uggla -- 31 (Braves, 2011)
Nap Lajoie -- 31 (Indians, 1906)
Uggla's 31-game hit streak is tied for the longest in a season since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966. It is tied for the second-longest in a season in franchise history.
• In Cleveland, Jason Kipnis is becoming a Sam Fuld-like hero: He went 5-for-5 and the Indians smoked the Tigers in the second game of the series between the clubs, making tonight's matchup of Justin Verlander vs. Fausto Carmona must-watch TV.
Kipnis did some damage against breaking pitches -- research done by ESPN Stats and Info shows that three of Kipnis' five hits Wednesday came against off-speed pitches, notable because he had been 1-for-27 in at-bats ending with an off-speed pitch over the first 15 games of his career.
From ELIAS: Kipnis is the second Indians rookie with 5-plus hits and 4-plus runs in a game: Jim Fridley had six hits and four runs on April 29, 1952.
Ubaldo Jimenez picked up his first victory with the Indians, throwing well. From ESPN Stats and Info, how he won:
A) Jimenez featured more 2-seam fastballs than usual and got good side run movement on his fastballs. His fastballs averaged 7.7 inches of horizontal movement (in to RHB, away from LHB), tying his third-most in a start this season.
B) Jimenez induced nine swings and misses on his fastballs, his most in a start this season. Eight of the nine swings and misses came at the belt or above.
C) Jimenez relied more on his fastball to put hitters away. Seventy percent of his two-strike pitches were fastballs, his fourth most in a start this season. Five of his six strikeouts came on fastballs. Kosuke Fukudome took a pitch the night before to win a game; there is word within the same Paul Hoynes notebook that Shin-Soo Choo is making progress in his rehab.
Jack Hannahan would've gotten the ball after Manny Acta ran out of pitchers the other night, writes Sheldon Ocker.
Rick Porcello got hit hard, writes Tom Gage. The Tigers need to lean more on their young talent, writes Michael Rosenberg.
• The Cardinals need a win today, badly, after losing again to Milwaukee; the Brewers have a five-game lead, as Todd Rosiak writes.
The Brewers have shut down Albert Pujols, as Bernie Miklasz writes. Earlier this week, Jonathan Lucroy called out Tony La Russa.
La Russa insists he doesn't play head games. That's his perspective. And other teams have a very different perspective.
• Ivan Nova pitched effectively again Wednesday night and picked up his 11th victory. The Yankees had thought about returning the young right-hander to the minors last week, after his start against the White Sox -- but then Nova went out and threw great, and the Yankees changed those plans. GM Brian Cashman explained that Nova was kept because of the players in the clubhouse -- because as the Yankees play to win daily, they deserve to have the best pitchers in the big leagues. The Yankees could have made an easy roster decision by returning Nova to Triple-A, but he has earned the right to be in the big leagues with his emotional progression.
Nova has gone from "I think I can" succeed in the big leagues, Cashman said, "to 'I know I can.'"
• Jose Bautista says he was told it was the White Sox who were the source of the sign-stealing story. GM Alex Anthopoulos says the suggestion of sign-stealing is stupid, writes Richard Griffin. ESPN did baseball in Toronto a huge favor, writes Cathal Kelley.
The White Sox reacted.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Kyle Davies was cut, to make room for Salvador Perez; he will be the starting catcher, writes Bob Dutton.
2. The mystery that is Ian Stewart continues: He was sent to the minors, and his big league future is in doubt.
3. The Braves called up Arodys Vizcaino, one of the hard-throwing prospects that Atlanta refused to trade, and cut Scott Proctor.
4. The Mariners are not likely to use Brandon League for multiple-inning saves.
5. The Yonder Alonso story was very strange, as Paul Daugherty writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Justin Morneau is set to rejoin the Twins on Friday.
2. Alex Rodriguez is set to play Friday in the minors.
3. Brandon Phillips is out with a sore elbow.
4. Tommy Hanson has tendinitis.
5. Hanley Ramirez is going on the DL, and Chris Volstad is being recalled.
6. Chris Narveson landed on the DL, after a freak accident.
7. Alex Cobb will have season-ending surgery.
[h3]Wednesday's games[/h3]
1. Brett Lawrie was The Man for the Blue Jays, as Mike Rutsey writes. He found his groove quickly, writes Jeff Blair.
[h4]Pence with benefits[/h4]
Ryan Howard's numbers this season, before and after Hunter Pence trade
[th=""]Stat[/th][th=""]Before[/th][th=""]After[/th]
2. The Phillies' dominance has reached the point that when they're facing big deficits early in the game, you still expect them to win -- and that's what happened on Wednesday. The Phillies are 76-40 and on pace for 106 victories. Ryan Howard has been much better since the acquisition of Hunter Pence.
3. Curtis Granderson clubbed a couple of homers and the Yankees rolled. The Yankees have two players with 30 homers through 115 team games. It's the first time they've had two players with 30+ through 115 games since 1961, when Mickey Mantle had 44 and Roger Maris had 43.
FROM ELIAS: Fewest team games to 30 HR among Yankees teammates
Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris -- 84 (1961)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 88 (1927)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 99 (1930)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 104 (1931)
Mark Teixeira/Curtis Granderson -- 115 (2011)
4. Troy Tulowitzki has been killing the ball, but the Rockies still lost to the Reds.
5. Joe Nathan set a record, as La Velle Neal writes.
6. Jason Vargas shut down the Rangers.
7. Jeff Karstens racked up nine strikeouts.
8. The Marlins were swept.
9. The Cubs continue to play well: They won again, as Dave van Dyck writes.
10. Missed opportunities haunted the White Sox again, as Mark Gonzales writes.
11. Nolan Reimold did some gut-ripping.
12. The Royals blew a four-run lead.
13. Garrett Richards had a tough debut.
14. The Padres hung on to a lead.
15. Sam Fuld made a wild dash home, writes Marc Topkin.
16. The Astros are 41 games under .500, as Zachary Levine writes.
17. Jon Lester lost control. There has been a power outage for Adrian Gonzalez.
"I was a little bit awestruck," Adams said Wednesday. "It kind of surprised me."
[+] Enlarge
Rick Osentoski/US PresswireMike Adams is back playing in his home state of Texas.
Ryan and Adams chatted a bit, about the conversation that Ryan had with Adams' father the night before, but Adams never got to the questions that he wants to ask Ryan. There will be time for that in the months ahead, now that Adams is entrenched in the Texas bullpen for the rest of this year, and probably through next year.
The Rangers were the team he followed as a kid, while growing up in Texas, and every summer he would travel to stay with his aunt, Nelda Chapa, and go watch Rangers games, and Ryan, particularly. Generally, Adams had hoped for the opportunity to pitch for the Rangers at some point, but in the last days before the July 31 trade deadline, it appeared that Adams would remain with the San Diego Padres and Heath Bell was more likely to be traded, because Bell is eligible for free agency after this season. Adams had heard that the Phillies were in trade talks for him, and he figured that once Philadelphia traded prospects to Houston for Hunter Pence, he likely would stay with San Diego to be the closer.
On the morning of July 31, Adams was in the trainers' room getting treatment when Padres pitching coach Darryl Akerfelds walked in and told him he needed to immediately stop what he was doing because manager Bud Black wanted to see him.
"You've been traded," Black told him, immediately, but he didn't want to go into the details right away, because general manager Jed Hoyer was on his way to the clubhouse.
"I was very curious to see where I had been traded," Adams recalled, but he had to wait -- and after Hoyer arrived and he was told his destination, Adams was "a little disappointed, because I expected to stay in San Diego and close there."
But for the next hour, Adams processed the whole thing and began to feel differently. He was going home, to pitch for the team he rooted for as a kid, a team that was competing for a division title and a chance to go back to the World Series. With the addition of Adams and Koji Uehara, Adams said, he hopes that the Rangers' bullpen will bring back the dominance, some swagger. "It took me a couple of days to make the little transitions," he said. "It's been fun. This is a good group of guys."
When San Diego played in Texas in the past, Adams sent a jersey to the front office for Ryan to sign, which Ryan did, and Adams will have plenty of opportunity to pick the legend's brain, as the Rangers play the biggest games of their seasons in the weeks ahead.
[h3]Notables[/h3]
• A Rangers rally fell short on Wednesday.
• The Diamondbacks are a first-place team, after taking down the Houston Astros, as Bob McManaman writes. Paul Goldschmidt, their first baseman, is still finding his footing, and his confidence hasn't waned. This is part of what impressed the Arizona staff in spring training -- that Goldschmidt seems to be even-keeled.
The struggling Giants lost again, writes Steve Kroner. Jonathan Sanchez made no pronouncements, writes Andrew Baggarly.
• Dan Uggla's hitting streak has reached 31 games, incredibly.
FROM ELIAS: Longest hitting streaks by second basemen, all time
Chase Utley -- 35 (Phillies, 2006)
Luis Castillo -- 35 (Marlins, 2002)
Rogers Hornsby -- 33 (Cardinals, 1922)
Dan Uggla -- 31 (Braves, 2011)
Nap Lajoie -- 31 (Indians, 1906)
Uggla's 31-game hit streak is tied for the longest in a season since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966. It is tied for the second-longest in a season in franchise history.
• In Cleveland, Jason Kipnis is becoming a Sam Fuld-like hero: He went 5-for-5 and the Indians smoked the Tigers in the second game of the series between the clubs, making tonight's matchup of Justin Verlander vs. Fausto Carmona must-watch TV.
Kipnis did some damage against breaking pitches -- research done by ESPN Stats and Info shows that three of Kipnis' five hits Wednesday came against off-speed pitches, notable because he had been 1-for-27 in at-bats ending with an off-speed pitch over the first 15 games of his career.
From ELIAS: Kipnis is the second Indians rookie with 5-plus hits and 4-plus runs in a game: Jim Fridley had six hits and four runs on April 29, 1952.
Ubaldo Jimenez picked up his first victory with the Indians, throwing well. From ESPN Stats and Info, how he won:
A) Jimenez featured more 2-seam fastballs than usual and got good side run movement on his fastballs. His fastballs averaged 7.7 inches of horizontal movement (in to RHB, away from LHB), tying his third-most in a start this season.
B) Jimenez induced nine swings and misses on his fastballs, his most in a start this season. Eight of the nine swings and misses came at the belt or above.
C) Jimenez relied more on his fastball to put hitters away. Seventy percent of his two-strike pitches were fastballs, his fourth most in a start this season. Five of his six strikeouts came on fastballs. Kosuke Fukudome took a pitch the night before to win a game; there is word within the same Paul Hoynes notebook that Shin-Soo Choo is making progress in his rehab.
Jack Hannahan would've gotten the ball after Manny Acta ran out of pitchers the other night, writes Sheldon Ocker.
Rick Porcello got hit hard, writes Tom Gage. The Tigers need to lean more on their young talent, writes Michael Rosenberg.
• The Cardinals need a win today, badly, after losing again to Milwaukee; the Brewers have a five-game lead, as Todd Rosiak writes.
The Brewers have shut down Albert Pujols, as Bernie Miklasz writes. Earlier this week, Jonathan Lucroy called out Tony La Russa.
La Russa insists he doesn't play head games. That's his perspective. And other teams have a very different perspective.
• Ivan Nova pitched effectively again Wednesday night and picked up his 11th victory. The Yankees had thought about returning the young right-hander to the minors last week, after his start against the White Sox -- but then Nova went out and threw great, and the Yankees changed those plans. GM Brian Cashman explained that Nova was kept because of the players in the clubhouse -- because as the Yankees play to win daily, they deserve to have the best pitchers in the big leagues. The Yankees could have made an easy roster decision by returning Nova to Triple-A, but he has earned the right to be in the big leagues with his emotional progression.
Nova has gone from "I think I can" succeed in the big leagues, Cashman said, "to 'I know I can.'"
• Jose Bautista says he was told it was the White Sox who were the source of the sign-stealing story. GM Alex Anthopoulos says the suggestion of sign-stealing is stupid, writes Richard Griffin. ESPN did baseball in Toronto a huge favor, writes Cathal Kelley.
The White Sox reacted.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Kyle Davies was cut, to make room for Salvador Perez; he will be the starting catcher, writes Bob Dutton.
2. The mystery that is Ian Stewart continues: He was sent to the minors, and his big league future is in doubt.
3. The Braves called up Arodys Vizcaino, one of the hard-throwing prospects that Atlanta refused to trade, and cut Scott Proctor.
4. The Mariners are not likely to use Brandon League for multiple-inning saves.
5. The Yonder Alonso story was very strange, as Paul Daugherty writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Justin Morneau is set to rejoin the Twins on Friday.
2. Alex Rodriguez is set to play Friday in the minors.
3. Brandon Phillips is out with a sore elbow.
4. Tommy Hanson has tendinitis.
5. Hanley Ramirez is going on the DL, and Chris Volstad is being recalled.
6. Chris Narveson landed on the DL, after a freak accident.
7. Alex Cobb will have season-ending surgery.
[h3]Wednesday's games[/h3]
1. Brett Lawrie was The Man for the Blue Jays, as Mike Rutsey writes. He found his groove quickly, writes Jeff Blair.
[h4]Pence with benefits[/h4]
Ryan Howard's numbers this season, before and after Hunter Pence trade
| BA | .246 | .304 |
| OBP | .337 | .373 |
| Slug pct | .459 | .739 |
| AB/HR | 19.5 | 9.2 |
2. The Phillies' dominance has reached the point that when they're facing big deficits early in the game, you still expect them to win -- and that's what happened on Wednesday. The Phillies are 76-40 and on pace for 106 victories. Ryan Howard has been much better since the acquisition of Hunter Pence.
3. Curtis Granderson clubbed a couple of homers and the Yankees rolled. The Yankees have two players with 30 homers through 115 team games. It's the first time they've had two players with 30+ through 115 games since 1961, when Mickey Mantle had 44 and Roger Maris had 43.
FROM ELIAS: Fewest team games to 30 HR among Yankees teammates
Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris -- 84 (1961)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 88 (1927)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 99 (1930)
Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth -- 104 (1931)
Mark Teixeira/Curtis Granderson -- 115 (2011)
4. Troy Tulowitzki has been killing the ball, but the Rockies still lost to the Reds.
5. Joe Nathan set a record, as La Velle Neal writes.
6. Jason Vargas shut down the Rangers.
7. Jeff Karstens racked up nine strikeouts.
8. The Marlins were swept.
9. The Cubs continue to play well: They won again, as Dave van Dyck writes.
10. Missed opportunities haunted the White Sox again, as Mark Gonzales writes.
11. Nolan Reimold did some gut-ripping.
12. The Royals blew a four-run lead.
13. Garrett Richards had a tough debut.
14. The Padres hung on to a lead.
15. Sam Fuld made a wild dash home, writes Marc Topkin.
16. The Astros are 41 games under .500, as Zachary Levine writes.
17. Jon Lester lost control. There has been a power outage for Adrian Gonzalez.
- 1,031
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Originally Posted by DoubleJs07
Blue Jays and stealing signs is kind of a big deal, huh?
How is this even a story? If players/fans/teams can decipher your signs that's your problem. Look at Football they make their signs so complex and take certain precautions that its very had to interpret. Plus I would go as far as to say stealing signs in baseball is not cheating.
- 1,031
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Originally Posted by DoubleJs07
Blue Jays and stealing signs is kind of a big deal, huh?
How is this even a story? If players/fans/teams can decipher your signs that's your problem. Look at Football they make their signs so complex and take certain precautions that its very had to interpret. Plus I would go as far as to say stealing signs in baseball is not cheating.
- 7,805
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What's the point of defensive metrics and advanced stats if managers pay it no mind?
Here's a blurb on Adam Jones where AL Managers ranked him as the 2nd best defensive OFer...
http://www.masnsports.com/steve_mel...s-make-baseball-americas-best-tools-list.htmlLink
Fangraphs would say otherwise, and on the O's MB folks are perplexed. I find this funny as %@+*. Dudes been putting down Jones' defense all season and this comes out.
Here's a blurb on Adam Jones where AL Managers ranked him as the 2nd best defensive OFer...
http://www.masnsports.com/steve_mel...s-make-baseball-americas-best-tools-list.htmlLink
Fangraphs would say otherwise, and on the O's MB folks are perplexed. I find this funny as %@+*. Dudes been putting down Jones' defense all season and this comes out.
- 21,151
- 37
What's the point of defensive metrics and advanced stats if managers pay it no mind?
Here's a blurb on Adam Jones where AL Managers ranked him as the 2nd best defensive OFer...
http://www.masnsports.com/steve_mel...s-make-baseball-americas-best-tools-list.htmlLink
Fangraphs would say otherwise, and on the O's MB folks are perplexed. I find this funny as %@+*. Dudes been putting down Jones' defense all season and this comes out.
Here's a blurb on Adam Jones where AL Managers ranked him as the 2nd best defensive OFer...
http://www.masnsports.com/steve_mel...s-make-baseball-americas-best-tools-list.htmlLink
Fangraphs would say otherwise, and on the O's MB folks are perplexed. I find this funny as %@+*. Dudes been putting down Jones' defense all season and this comes out.
- 34,115
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UZR needs three year samples to really be accurate.
- 34,115
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UZR needs three year samples to really be accurate.
bkmac
Banned
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Proshares, hypothetically, who would you be willing to trade for if the D'Backs were willing to trade back your boy IPK to us; what proposal would the D'Backs accept?
bkmac
Banned
- 11,540
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Proshares, hypothetically, who would you be willing to trade for if the D'Backs were willing to trade back your boy IPK to us; what proposal would the D'Backs accept?
Osh, that's why I think WAR shouldn't include seasonal UZR. It can take a fluke year good or bad on defense and mess the WAR up.
Osh, that's why I think WAR shouldn't include seasonal UZR. It can take a fluke year good or bad on defense and mess the WAR up.
elpablo21
Supporter
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Zambrano needs therapy
elpablo21
Supporter
- 106,374
- 195,689
Zambrano needs therapy
- 28,107
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Dont know how old this is. First time seeing it.
EMBED-Incredible Play At The Plate - Watch more free videos
EMBED-Incredible Play At The Plate - Watch more free videos
- 28,107
- 9,248
Dont know how old this is. First time seeing it.
EMBED-Incredible Play At The Plate - Watch more free videos
EMBED-Incredible Play At The Plate - Watch more free videos
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Cubs are horrible.
- 58,787
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Cubs are horrible.
jpzx
Supporter
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jpzx
Supporter
- 58,666
- 27,990
The aging St. Louis Cardinals.
Waiver wire pitching targets.
Marlins send LoMo to AAA.
Spoiler [+]
Heading into the season, the St. Louis Cardinals armed themselves to the teeth with veterans. With Albert Pujols under team control for one more season, and Tony La Russa essentially working year-to-year, this was the time to push their chips to the middle of the table. But as the trade deadline neared, the Cardinals' playoff chances were tenuous at best, so they doubled down for even more veterans, and did so in part by trading their youngest premium position player -- Colby Rasmus. Unfortunately, the Cards' new acquisitions have failed to stem the tide, and as their playoff hopes fade, it's fair to wonder if the window of opportunity has closed for the suddenly old Cardinals.
In breaking down FanGraphs' WAR of each team in the game by age group, we find that at the start of play on Friday, the Cardinals were one of five teams in baseball in which players aged 30 or higher were contributing close to half of their team's WAR or more. The Cardinals were at 56 percent; the other four are the Texas Rangers (49 percent), Chicago Cubs (54 percent), New York Yankees (67 percent) and Philadelphia Phillies (76 percent). While the Cubs are in a league of their own, the Yankees, Rangers and Phillies all stand a very good chance of reaching the postseason.
In Rasmus, the Cardinals had the guy to balance the aging scales. Last season, at the precocious age of 23, Rasmus compiled a .366 wOBA that ranked third among center fielders, trailing only Josh Hamilton and Carlos Gonzalez. But as center field was not the primary position for either Hamilton or Gonzalez, there was a case to be made for Rasmus as the best offensive center fielder in the game entering the season. Rasmus, however, hasn't been the same player this year, and the pitching-thin Cards decided they needed pitching more than they did their young center fielder.
In the deal, the Cards did receive two players under 30 -- 27-year-old Edwin Jackson and 25-year-old Marc Rzepczynski. But whereas Rasmus still has another three years to go before he reaches free agency, Jackson is a free agent at season's end. The Cards will have Rzepczynski for quite some time, but they have already marginalized him in favor of another uber-veteran -- 41-year old Arthur Rhodes, who the club signed off the scrap heap Friday. It's a head-scratching move, as Rzepczynski's FIP this season is a career-best 3.22, while Rhodes' is a putrid 5.97, the fourth-worst mark among relievers with at least 20 innings pitched.
Despite all the jockeying, St. Louis continues to slip. At the time of the Rasmus trade, the Cards had a 45.1 percent chance to reach the playoffs, according to Cool Standings. After Friday's win over the Rockies, that percentage had dropped to 29.9 percent -- sixth in the National League. Again though, the situation may be bleaker than it appears, as the Cards have not been able to solve the Milwaukee Brewers, their only remaining competition in the National League Central. For the season, St. Louis is 4-8 against the Brewers, but since the start of June, it's even worse: The Cards are just 2-7 and have been outscored by 22 runs against the Brew Crew. The two teams will play six more times between now and Sept. 7, and there is a chance that their final matchup doubles as the Cardinals' last day of contention.
The future isn't completely barren in St. Louis, of course. On the prospect front, Keith Law listed three Cardinals pitchers among his midseason top 50 prospects. But pitching prospects are a notoriously fickle bunch, and if the Cards pick up Chris Carpenter's option, they'll already have five starters under contract for next season -- four of whom will be 30 or older. Among players already in the majors, Rasmus' replacement, Jon Jay, has been above average offensively and is just 26. And when 27-year-old Allen Craig and 28-year-old David Freese have been in the lineup, they have produced as well. However, those guys are seen more as complementary players rather than building blocks.
When the Cardinals signed 35-year-old Lance Berkman, 33-year-old Jake Westbrook, 40-year-old Miguel Batista and 33-year-old Nick Punto before the season, the message was clear: We're going for it. But now the Cardinals are a team filled with players on the wrong side of 30 -- in Friday's game, six of the team's nine starters were 31 or older -- and the Rasmus trade, as well as recent acquisitions like Rhodes and shortstop Rafael Furcal, give them no path to getting younger and maintaining their current level of production at the same time.
And that's without getting into what they will do if they lose Pujols in free agency.
So not only is this year's window closing rapidly for the Cardinals, what's worse is that without Rasmus, there isn't anyone on the left side of 30 to help keep it wedged open.
In breaking down FanGraphs' WAR of each team in the game by age group, we find that at the start of play on Friday, the Cardinals were one of five teams in baseball in which players aged 30 or higher were contributing close to half of their team's WAR or more. The Cardinals were at 56 percent; the other four are the Texas Rangers (49 percent), Chicago Cubs (54 percent), New York Yankees (67 percent) and Philadelphia Phillies (76 percent). While the Cubs are in a league of their own, the Yankees, Rangers and Phillies all stand a very good chance of reaching the postseason.
In Rasmus, the Cardinals had the guy to balance the aging scales. Last season, at the precocious age of 23, Rasmus compiled a .366 wOBA that ranked third among center fielders, trailing only Josh Hamilton and Carlos Gonzalez. But as center field was not the primary position for either Hamilton or Gonzalez, there was a case to be made for Rasmus as the best offensive center fielder in the game entering the season. Rasmus, however, hasn't been the same player this year, and the pitching-thin Cards decided they needed pitching more than they did their young center fielder.
In the deal, the Cards did receive two players under 30 -- 27-year-old Edwin Jackson and 25-year-old Marc Rzepczynski. But whereas Rasmus still has another three years to go before he reaches free agency, Jackson is a free agent at season's end. The Cards will have Rzepczynski for quite some time, but they have already marginalized him in favor of another uber-veteran -- 41-year old Arthur Rhodes, who the club signed off the scrap heap Friday. It's a head-scratching move, as Rzepczynski's FIP this season is a career-best 3.22, while Rhodes' is a putrid 5.97, the fourth-worst mark among relievers with at least 20 innings pitched.
Despite all the jockeying, St. Louis continues to slip. At the time of the Rasmus trade, the Cards had a 45.1 percent chance to reach the playoffs, according to Cool Standings. After Friday's win over the Rockies, that percentage had dropped to 29.9 percent -- sixth in the National League. Again though, the situation may be bleaker than it appears, as the Cards have not been able to solve the Milwaukee Brewers, their only remaining competition in the National League Central. For the season, St. Louis is 4-8 against the Brewers, but since the start of June, it's even worse: The Cards are just 2-7 and have been outscored by 22 runs against the Brew Crew. The two teams will play six more times between now and Sept. 7, and there is a chance that their final matchup doubles as the Cardinals' last day of contention.
The future isn't completely barren in St. Louis, of course. On the prospect front, Keith Law listed three Cardinals pitchers among his midseason top 50 prospects. But pitching prospects are a notoriously fickle bunch, and if the Cards pick up Chris Carpenter's option, they'll already have five starters under contract for next season -- four of whom will be 30 or older. Among players already in the majors, Rasmus' replacement, Jon Jay, has been above average offensively and is just 26. And when 27-year-old Allen Craig and 28-year-old David Freese have been in the lineup, they have produced as well. However, those guys are seen more as complementary players rather than building blocks.
When the Cardinals signed 35-year-old Lance Berkman, 33-year-old Jake Westbrook, 40-year-old Miguel Batista and 33-year-old Nick Punto before the season, the message was clear: We're going for it. But now the Cardinals are a team filled with players on the wrong side of 30 -- in Friday's game, six of the team's nine starters were 31 or older -- and the Rasmus trade, as well as recent acquisitions like Rhodes and shortstop Rafael Furcal, give them no path to getting younger and maintaining their current level of production at the same time.
And that's without getting into what they will do if they lose Pujols in free agency.
So not only is this year's window closing rapidly for the Cardinals, what's worse is that without Rasmus, there isn't anyone on the left side of 30 to help keep it wedged open.
Waiver wire pitching targets.
Spoiler [+]
Jason Marquis pitched with a broken leg until he couldn't anymore. Now the starting pitcher who was acquired to fill a spot in their rotation will be out for four to six weeks, as Nick Piecoro writes.
[+] Enlarge
Crystal LoGiudice/US PresswireIf they don't go the waiver route, Bauer could get the call.
The Diamondbacks apparently have called up left-hander Wade Miley, as Nick writes, to fill Marquis's spot on the roster, and considering how well Miley has thrown in eight Triple-A starts, it's possible that he could be the solution. Miley's numbers in the hitting-rich league: 4-1, 3.64 ERA, only 16 walks in 54.1 innings, with 56 strikeouts.
But presumably, the Diamondbacks will continue to evaluate all alternatives, such as Trevor Bauer, the No. 3 pick in the June draft, who made his first start in Double-A on Sunday and dominated -- he allowed no runs in five innings, surrendering five hits and a walk while striking out eight.
And Arizona will comb through the names of pitchers who are passing through waivers, or who have already passed through. Here are pitchers who have gone through waivers and can be traded right now:
Bruce Chen, Kansas City: He's 7-5, with a 4.15 ERA, and is making $2 million. He has pitched well at home, and struggled on the road this season.
Jason Vargas, Seattle: He's 7-10, 4.01, working at the back end of the Seattle rotation, while making $2.45 million. He has really struggled in the second half, with a 6.03 ERA.
Rodrigo Lopez, Cubs: He is 3-3 with a 4.78 ERA this season, while making little more than minimum. Remember, he started 33 games for the Diamondbacks last year, posting a 5.00 ERA. He wouldn't be a bad option, because of his versatility and experience.
Chris Capuano, Mets: He's 9-11 with a 4.58 ERA, and isn't making much money. But remember, he's an acute fly-ball pitcher and has had success working in spacious Citi Field; in Arizona, some of the deep fly balls that are caught in Citi Field would be rows deep in the stands.
Capuano pitched against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, and again struggled in the middle innings, as Andy Martino writes.
Ted Lilly, Dodgers: He's still owed about $28 million on his contract, and there's no way the Diamondbacks would absorb that salary.
Chien-Ming Wang, Nationals: He's pitched OK for Washington, but it's hard to believe that the Nationals would just give him away, considering the money and time they've put into his rehabilitation -- and it's hard to imagine the Diamondbacks would want to give up a lot for him, considering the risk. As a ground-ball pitcher, Wang would fit Arizona better than someone like Capuano.
Tom Gorzelanny, Nationals: He's 2-6 with a 4.50 ERA, while making $2.1 million.
Carlos Zambrano, Cubs: You might have heard that he's some had issues of late.
Bronson Arroyo, Reds: Too expensive, and even the Reds have wondered how healthy he is.
So, in summation: the Diamondbacks' best hope for help is probably from within, and Bauer is someone to watch.
[h3]Uggla's run[/h3]
⢠Dan Uggla's remarkable hitting streak is over, after 33 games, after Darwin Barney robbed him of a hit on Sunday. And Uggla could not have been more gracious after the streak ended, relishing the experience, talking about how fun it was, and about how incredible Joe DiMaggio's record is.
Uggla's streak energized teammates, writes David O'Brien.
From ESPN Stats & Info: With an 0-for-3 day Sunday, Dan Uggla saw his hitting streak come to an end at 33 games. It's the fourth-longest hitting streak by any player since 2000 and matches the third-longest by a second baseman all-time. The longest since 2000:
2005-06 Jimmy Rollins: 38
2006 Chase Utley: 35
2002 Luis Castillo: 35
2011 Dan Uggla: 33
And the longest by second basemen all-time:
Chase Utley, 2006: 35
Luis Castillo, 2002: 35
Dan Uggla, 2011: 33
Rogers Hornsby, 1922: 33
Nap Lajoie 1906: 31
[h3]Notables[/h3]
⢠Today is deadline day for draft picks to sign, and keep in mind that a lot of the deals that will be finalized in these last hours have been in place for weeks. But there are many club officials who don't want to announce significant contracts that go beyond the Commissioner's slot recommendations, lest they incur the wrath of the suits on Park Avenue.
The Orioles are working to finalize their deal with Dylan Bundy. The Royals will know today if they'll sign Bubba Starling. Washington GM Mike Rizzo negotiated with Matt Purke's agent.
The Diamondbacks are still negotiating with Archie Bradley, the No. 7 overall pick.
⢠Jack McKeon was fairly direct in addressing Logan Morrison's demotion; it is clear from his comments that Morrison's outspokenness, as a young player, did not sit well. From George Richards's story:
David Hyde thinks the Marlins have sent a good, hard message.
The thoughts from here: Morrison should head to Triple-A and go about the business of playing baseball. Derek Jeter is considered to be incredibly boring by some of the writers who have covered him, but there is a method -- a strategy -- in that. Derek figured out a long time ago that he didn't want to create any situation that would interfere what he really loves: Playing baseball. It would be worthwhile for Morrison to take the same approach.
⢠The Cubs have won 13 of their last 17, while preparing for the grievance war with Carlos Zambrano, writes Paul Sullivan. The Cubs are culpable in the Zambrano mess, writes Rick Telander.
⢠The Astros are at the center of realignment talk, writes Zachary Levine.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Torii Hunter had hoped to sell the Angels to Carl Crawford last winter, and this winter, he says he won't be selling to anyone.
2. Jorge Posada would consider playing for other teams, writes Mark Hale.
3. Alex Gordon is going to talk about a long-term deal with the Royals.
4. Trevor Plouffe is going to get playing time, and now the rest is up to him, as La Velle Neal writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Juan Nicasio is set to visit teammates today, as Troy Renck writes; coach Rich Dauer suffered a fractured nose.
2. Barry Zito has a severe ankle sprain.
3. Juan Uribe is going to see a specialist about his injury, as Ben Bolch writes.
4. Justin Smoak hopes to be back in a couple of weeks.
5. Alex Rodriguez played in a simulated game.
6. Jake Arrieta is pleased with how his surgery turned out, writes Keith Van Valkenburg.
7. You have to feel bad for Dontrelle Willis, who has battled his way back -- but is now dealing with forearm stiffness.
8. Jason Kipnis is dealing with some soreness, as Dennis Manoloff writes.
9. Brennan Boesch is ready to return, he says.
[h3]Sunday's games[/h3]
1. You can't stop the Brewers, you can only hope to contain them: Nyjer Morgan got it done in extra innings.
2. Brandon Belt was put in the Giants' lineup, hit two homers, and you wonder if years will pass before he's out of the lineup as a regular again, as Henry Schulman writes. He is tired of scenarios, as Andrew Baggarly writes.
3. The Rangers won, on the eve of a big series, as Jeff Wilson writes.
4. The Angels lost to fall four games behind the Rangers, and as Bill Shaikin writes, seven of the Angels' next 12 games will be against the Rangers.
5. The White Sox are back to .500, and maybe prepared for a run, writes Dave van Dyck.
6. The Cardinals pulled out a badly needed win, behind Albert Pujols. Octavio Dotel starred in relief, writes Derrick Goold.
7. Oakland's rally fell short.
8. A young Dodger shortstop had a really good day.
9. The Mariners got a strong outing from Charlie Furbush, as Geoff Baker writes.
10. Brett Lawrie has proved he belongs, as Richard Griffin writes.
11. The Rockies have lost 17 straight games on Sunday. From Elias: That's the longest streak on a Sunday since 1900, topping the 1927-28 Phillies, who lost 16 straight on Sunday, and the 1960 Phillies, who did the same.
12. The Padres headed home, after winning again.
13. The Red Sox were tagged with a loss in Seattle, as Peter Abraham writes. Tim Wakefield's wait for 200 career victories is starting to feel heavy, writes Dan Shaughnessy.
14. The Tigers lost, and Magglio Ordonez's struggles continue, as Vince Ellis writes.
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Crystal LoGiudice/US PresswireIf they don't go the waiver route, Bauer could get the call.
The Diamondbacks apparently have called up left-hander Wade Miley, as Nick writes, to fill Marquis's spot on the roster, and considering how well Miley has thrown in eight Triple-A starts, it's possible that he could be the solution. Miley's numbers in the hitting-rich league: 4-1, 3.64 ERA, only 16 walks in 54.1 innings, with 56 strikeouts.
But presumably, the Diamondbacks will continue to evaluate all alternatives, such as Trevor Bauer, the No. 3 pick in the June draft, who made his first start in Double-A on Sunday and dominated -- he allowed no runs in five innings, surrendering five hits and a walk while striking out eight.
And Arizona will comb through the names of pitchers who are passing through waivers, or who have already passed through. Here are pitchers who have gone through waivers and can be traded right now:
Bruce Chen, Kansas City: He's 7-5, with a 4.15 ERA, and is making $2 million. He has pitched well at home, and struggled on the road this season.
Jason Vargas, Seattle: He's 7-10, 4.01, working at the back end of the Seattle rotation, while making $2.45 million. He has really struggled in the second half, with a 6.03 ERA.
Rodrigo Lopez, Cubs: He is 3-3 with a 4.78 ERA this season, while making little more than minimum. Remember, he started 33 games for the Diamondbacks last year, posting a 5.00 ERA. He wouldn't be a bad option, because of his versatility and experience.
Chris Capuano, Mets: He's 9-11 with a 4.58 ERA, and isn't making much money. But remember, he's an acute fly-ball pitcher and has had success working in spacious Citi Field; in Arizona, some of the deep fly balls that are caught in Citi Field would be rows deep in the stands.
Capuano pitched against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, and again struggled in the middle innings, as Andy Martino writes.
Ted Lilly, Dodgers: He's still owed about $28 million on his contract, and there's no way the Diamondbacks would absorb that salary.
Chien-Ming Wang, Nationals: He's pitched OK for Washington, but it's hard to believe that the Nationals would just give him away, considering the money and time they've put into his rehabilitation -- and it's hard to imagine the Diamondbacks would want to give up a lot for him, considering the risk. As a ground-ball pitcher, Wang would fit Arizona better than someone like Capuano.
Tom Gorzelanny, Nationals: He's 2-6 with a 4.50 ERA, while making $2.1 million.
Carlos Zambrano, Cubs: You might have heard that he's some had issues of late.
Bronson Arroyo, Reds: Too expensive, and even the Reds have wondered how healthy he is.
So, in summation: the Diamondbacks' best hope for help is probably from within, and Bauer is someone to watch.
[h3]Uggla's run[/h3]
⢠Dan Uggla's remarkable hitting streak is over, after 33 games, after Darwin Barney robbed him of a hit on Sunday. And Uggla could not have been more gracious after the streak ended, relishing the experience, talking about how fun it was, and about how incredible Joe DiMaggio's record is.
Uggla's streak energized teammates, writes David O'Brien.
From ESPN Stats & Info: With an 0-for-3 day Sunday, Dan Uggla saw his hitting streak come to an end at 33 games. It's the fourth-longest hitting streak by any player since 2000 and matches the third-longest by a second baseman all-time. The longest since 2000:
2005-06 Jimmy Rollins: 38
2006 Chase Utley: 35
2002 Luis Castillo: 35
2011 Dan Uggla: 33
And the longest by second basemen all-time:
Chase Utley, 2006: 35
Luis Castillo, 2002: 35
Dan Uggla, 2011: 33
Rogers Hornsby, 1922: 33
Nap Lajoie 1906: 31
[h3]Notables[/h3]
⢠Today is deadline day for draft picks to sign, and keep in mind that a lot of the deals that will be finalized in these last hours have been in place for weeks. But there are many club officials who don't want to announce significant contracts that go beyond the Commissioner's slot recommendations, lest they incur the wrath of the suits on Park Avenue.
The Orioles are working to finalize their deal with Dylan Bundy. The Royals will know today if they'll sign Bubba Starling. Washington GM Mike Rizzo negotiated with Matt Purke's agent.
The Diamondbacks are still negotiating with Archie Bradley, the No. 7 overall pick.
⢠Jack McKeon was fairly direct in addressing Logan Morrison's demotion; it is clear from his comments that Morrison's outspokenness, as a young player, did not sit well. From George Richards's story:
- "If there is a message, it's, 'Don't get comfortable,' '' McKeon said. "Don't think you have it made. You have to work at this game. Too many young guys think they have it made, are darlings of the media, run their mouth. Tend to your business, get better at your craft. The record books are full of one- and two-year phenoms. Don't believe me? Look it up.''
David Hyde thinks the Marlins have sent a good, hard message.
The thoughts from here: Morrison should head to Triple-A and go about the business of playing baseball. Derek Jeter is considered to be incredibly boring by some of the writers who have covered him, but there is a method -- a strategy -- in that. Derek figured out a long time ago that he didn't want to create any situation that would interfere what he really loves: Playing baseball. It would be worthwhile for Morrison to take the same approach.
⢠The Cubs have won 13 of their last 17, while preparing for the grievance war with Carlos Zambrano, writes Paul Sullivan. The Cubs are culpable in the Zambrano mess, writes Rick Telander.
⢠The Astros are at the center of realignment talk, writes Zachary Levine.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Torii Hunter had hoped to sell the Angels to Carl Crawford last winter, and this winter, he says he won't be selling to anyone.
2. Jorge Posada would consider playing for other teams, writes Mark Hale.
3. Alex Gordon is going to talk about a long-term deal with the Royals.
4. Trevor Plouffe is going to get playing time, and now the rest is up to him, as La Velle Neal writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Juan Nicasio is set to visit teammates today, as Troy Renck writes; coach Rich Dauer suffered a fractured nose.
2. Barry Zito has a severe ankle sprain.
3. Juan Uribe is going to see a specialist about his injury, as Ben Bolch writes.
4. Justin Smoak hopes to be back in a couple of weeks.
5. Alex Rodriguez played in a simulated game.
6. Jake Arrieta is pleased with how his surgery turned out, writes Keith Van Valkenburg.
7. You have to feel bad for Dontrelle Willis, who has battled his way back -- but is now dealing with forearm stiffness.
8. Jason Kipnis is dealing with some soreness, as Dennis Manoloff writes.
9. Brennan Boesch is ready to return, he says.
[h3]Sunday's games[/h3]
1. You can't stop the Brewers, you can only hope to contain them: Nyjer Morgan got it done in extra innings.
2. Brandon Belt was put in the Giants' lineup, hit two homers, and you wonder if years will pass before he's out of the lineup as a regular again, as Henry Schulman writes. He is tired of scenarios, as Andrew Baggarly writes.
3. The Rangers won, on the eve of a big series, as Jeff Wilson writes.
4. The Angels lost to fall four games behind the Rangers, and as Bill Shaikin writes, seven of the Angels' next 12 games will be against the Rangers.
5. The White Sox are back to .500, and maybe prepared for a run, writes Dave van Dyck.
6. The Cardinals pulled out a badly needed win, behind Albert Pujols. Octavio Dotel starred in relief, writes Derrick Goold.
7. Oakland's rally fell short.
8. A young Dodger shortstop had a really good day.
9. The Mariners got a strong outing from Charlie Furbush, as Geoff Baker writes.
10. Brett Lawrie has proved he belongs, as Richard Griffin writes.
11. The Rockies have lost 17 straight games on Sunday. From Elias: That's the longest streak on a Sunday since 1900, topping the 1927-28 Phillies, who lost 16 straight on Sunday, and the 1960 Phillies, who did the same.
12. The Padres headed home, after winning again.
13. The Red Sox were tagged with a loss in Seattle, as Peter Abraham writes. Tim Wakefield's wait for 200 career victories is starting to feel heavy, writes Dan Shaughnessy.
14. The Tigers lost, and Magglio Ordonez's struggles continue, as Vince Ellis writes.
Marlins send LoMo to AAA.
Spoiler [+]
On Saturday night, the Florida Marlins decided that Logan Morrison needed to spend a little more time in the minors, so they optioned their starting left fielder back to Triple-A. According to Morrison, he was so angry with the decision he left the room before the explanation got further than âyouâre hitting .249,â
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