- Feb 17, 2007
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Torii has been a thorn in the A's side for far too long.
2016 MLB thread. THE CUBS HAVE BROKEN THE CURSE! Chicago Cubs are your 2016 World Series champions
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
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jumpmanfromdabay
Banned
- Jan 25, 2008
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i remember i was heckling him from the bleachers a few years back and he turned around and smiled at me
I kept it clean
- May 8, 2006
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The lump on Jaso's arm.
:x
Just saw that :x
That catch by Aaron Hicks :x
Jim Edmonds X Tori Hunter lite
Last edited:
- Apr 19, 2008
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- Apr 8, 2010
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Keith Law Mock Draft 2.0.
Pivot points of the 2014 first round.
Ellsbury’s unique base-stealing ability.
Why did the Cubs hire Manny Ramirez?
Is Chase Utley a Hall of Famer?
The 2014 draft is now just nine days away, and most teams are starting their main pre-draft meetings today or in the next few days, which means team "pref lists" will start to become clearer between now and early next week.
In the meantime, here's a fresh take on the first round (which runs 27 picks), with a few significant changes near the top. As before, I expect a lot of the draft's better high school pitchers to slide out of the first round into the supplemental first round and second rounds, where they will be selected and likely paid over-slot bonuses by teams that saved money on their initial picks.
Please note that this only covers the first round, which is just 27 picks, because the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles forfeited their first-round selections by signing free agents from others teams who had received qualifying offers. (The Toronto Blue Jays have two first-round picks.)
For a look at my top 100 draft prospects, click here.
1Brady AikenSCHOOL: Cathedral Catholic HS (San Diego)HT: 6-4WT: 200POS: LHP
Analysis: The Astros are still rumored to be on Aiken, Carlos Rodon and possibly Alex Jackson. They've also been linked to well under-slot deals with Aaron Nola (which I don't believe was ever true) and Nick Gordon (which I also doubt), although their concern about taking a pitcher rather than a position player first overall is certainly valid.
It seems far more likely that they do an under-slot deal with Aiken, who might not go until pick 4 if he doesn't go here, than pay full freight for Rodon, or take a player they internally rank much lower in Gordon or anyone else.
PLAYER CARD
2Carlos RodonSCHOOL: NC StateHT: 6-4WT: 235POS: LHP
Analysis: I've heard this comes from the owner: If the Cuban-American lefty is there at No. 2, take him, and we'll have a pair of Cuban aces at the top of our rotation. If he's not here, they're also on Alex Jackson, and general manager Dan Jennings was in attendance for Aaron Nola's strong start at the SEC tournament last week -- although I think that's a real long shot.
PLAYER CARD
3Tyler KolekSCHOOL: Shepherd (Texas) HSHT: 6-5WT: 250POS: RHP
Analysis: The White Sox have been locked in on Kolek for more than a month, and the industry is betting he's their guy even if Carlos Rodon or Brady Aiken drop to this pick. They apparently prefer Kolek to Aiken and would rather not grapple with Rodon's perceived high price tag. (I say "perceived" because I don't believe he has put out any demands at all.)
They were also in heavy at Aaron Nola's last start, with former GM Kenny Williams in the crowd.
PLAYER CARD
4Michael ConfortoSCHOOL: Oregon StateHT: 6-1WT: 215POS: OF
Analysis: If Brady Aiken and Carlos Rodon are gone at this pick, the Cubs go off the board, looking at a deal with one of a handful of players they like here -- Conforto, Kyle Freeland, or maybe the injured Jeff Hoffman.
Both GM Jed Hoyer and team president Theo Epstein saw Max Pentecost within the past week, although I think he's less likely than the names above; Hoyer also saw Aaron Nola at the SEC tourney and left right afterward.
PLAYER CARD
5Nick GordonSCHOOL: Olympia HS, Orlando, Fla.HT: 6-1WT: 170POS: SS
Analysis: They're heavy on Gordon, with Aaron Nola and Sean Newcomb also strong contenders. I think they're just assuming the three arms I have going 1-2-3 are all long gone.
PLAYER CARD
6Alex JacksonSCHOOL: Rancho Bernardo HS (San Diego)HT: 6-2WT: 210POS: C
Analysis: As usual, no one seems to really know what Seattle is doing, and I've heard them on Jackson, Aaron Nola, Michael Conforto, Bradley Zimmer, Grant Holmes and Trea Turner, as well as Sean Newcomb, whom GM Jack Zduriencik flew cross-country to see when I saw Newcomb at Stony Brook earlier this month.
Jackson has been rumored to be their target all spring, though.
PLAYER CARD
7Aaron NolaSCHOOL: LSUHT: 6-1WT: 180POS: RHP
Analysis: I think this is Nola's floor, and if he's gone, they could take Sean Newcomb. They don't seem to be on Kyle Freeland, whom they took in the 35th round out of high school in 2011. All indications, public and private, are that the Phillies would rather take an arm than a bat. The Phillies and Cubs are among a few teams strong on California prep righty Jack Flaherty as a potential over-slot pick in the second round.
PLAYER CARD
8Kyle FreelandSCHOOL: EvansvilleHT: 6-4WT: 185POS: LHP
Analysis: Another team that had its sights set on players who would have reached them -- such as Aaron Nola or Nick Gordon -- had we not had this cascade of pitching injuries this spring. They're a dark horse team on Kyle Schwarber, and I know they had interest in Tyler Beede earlier in the season.
PLAYER CARD
9Touki ToussaintSCHOOL: Coral Springs (Fla.) Christian Acad.HT: 6-2WT: 195POS: RHP
Analysis: The Jays pick again two spots later, and they aren't on many of the same names the Mets (picking in between) are, so the order may not matter much. Their scouting staff is suddenly very high on Trea Turner -- maybe since he started to hit well in the final month of NC State's season -- and he's the one non-pitcher who seems to seriously be in their mix, with Derek Hill a dark horse.
The Jays and Phillies are also on Canadian outfielder Gareth Morgan, who would be an overdraft here but probably goes before either team picks in the second round.
PLAYER CARD
10Sean NewcombSCHOOL: HartfordHT: 6-4WT: 240POS: LHP
Analysis: I've heard them connected mostly with college players, including Michael Conforto and Trea Turner.
PLAYER CARD
11Jeff HoffmanSCHOOL: East CarolinaHT: 6-3WT: 190POS: RHP
Analysis: This is a compensation pick for failing to sign 2013 first-rounder Phil Bickford.
The Jays grabbing Hoffman -- who had Tommy John surgery a few weeks ago -- is another strong consensus in the industry, like the Twins with Nick Gordon. Other players the Jays have been linked to include Grant Holmes and Sean Reid-Foley.
PLAYER CARD
12Max PentecostSCHOOL: Kennesaw State UniversityHT: 6-1WT: 190POS: C
Analysis: They're also on Sean Reid-Foley, Grant Holmes, and Derek Hill, and they're the only team in this area of the draft still openly linked to Tyler Beede, who is in free fall right now.
PLAYER CARD
13Trea TurnerSCHOOL: NC StateHT: 6-1WT: 171POS: SS
Analysis: It looks increasingly like this is Turner's floor, with Seattle probably his absolute best-case scenario. The Padres are also on Max Pentecost, Kyle Freeland and Brandon Finnegan.
PLAYER CARD
14Grant HolmesSCHOOL: Conway (S.C.) HSHT: 6-2WT: 200POS: RHP
Analysis: They don't seem to be on local product Bradley Zimmer, but I've also heard them with Derek Hill and possibly Tyler Beede, as well as Jeff Hoffman, if he's still available.
PLAYER CARD
15Nick BurdiSCHOOL: LouisvilleHT: 6-4WT: 215POS: RHP
Analysis: Also hearing them on Justus Sheffield, Tyler Beede (although that was more likely a month ago) and Kyle Freeland, if he should fall here.
PLAYER CARD
16Bradley ZimmerSCHOOL: San FranciscoHT: 6-5WT: 205POS: OF
Analysis: It sounds like they are focused on bats, as the arms they like (such as Kyle Freeland) most likely will not get to them. In addition to Zimmer, Kyle Schwarber and Michael Chavis are also possibilities.
PLAYER CARD
17Derek FisherSCHOOL: VirginiaHT: 6-3WT: 215POS: OF
Analysis: I've heard they're not on Bradley Zimmer that much, but they are intrigued with high-risk/high-ceiling guys like Michael Gettys, possibly in the supplemental first round.
PLAYER CARD
18Erik FeddeSCHOOL: UNLVHT: 6-4WT: 165POS: RHP
Analysis: The Nats would love Kyle Freeland, and I think they'd do a deal with Jeff Hoffman if he got here, but Fedde -- another guy who recently had Tommy John surgery -- seems most likely.
PLAYER CARD
19Derek HillSCHOOL: Elk Grove (Calif.) HSHT: 6-2WT: 170POS: OF
Analysis: They have also been connected to Sean Reid-Foley and Justus Sheffield.
PLAYER CARD
20Kyle SchwarberSCHOOL: IndianaHT: 6-0WT: 240POS: 1B
Analysis: I'm hearing bats here, mostly college bats, such as Schwarber, Casey Gillaspie and Bradley Zimmer, with the occasional high school name mixed in.
PLAYER CARD
21Michael ChavisSCHOOL: Sprayberry HS (Marietta, Ga.)HT: 5-11WT: 180POS: 3B
Analysis: I've heard the Indians will take the best player available regardless of position or school type, which I take to mean they're waiting to see who falls to them.
PLAYER CARD
22Sean Reid-FoleySCHOOL: Sandalwood HS, Jacksonville, Fla.HT: 6-3WT: 205POS: RHP
Analysis: I did hear a rumor that team president Stan Kasten wants them to focus on college players, which they did with their first few picks last year, but otherwise they're only linked to prep guys, including Derek Hill (whose father works for the team), Justus Sheffield, Scott Blewett, Alex Verdugo and Luis Ortiz.
PLAYER CARD
23Brandon FinneganSCHOOL: TCUHT: 5-11WT: 190POS: LHP
Analysis: Rumor has the Tigers taking Finnegan -- assuming Nick Burdi is gone -- and putting him in a relief role for the rest of the year to fast-track him. I've also heard them on Luis Ortiz, although in the past 13 years, they've taken only two prep pitchers in the first round since 2000: Jacob Turner and Rick Porcello.
PLAYER CARD
24Luis OrtizSCHOOL: Sanger (Calif.) HSHT: 6-3WT: 220POS: RHP
Analysis: I've heard they, like Cleveland, will opt for the best player available rather than any subclass of players; I speculated last time around they might take Tyler Beede as a former top-10 lock who fell due to a subpar spring.
PLAYER CARD
25Ti'Quan ForbesSCHOOL: Columbia (Miss.) HSHT: 6-4WT: 175POS: SS
Analysis: The A's have been linked to Forbes and Monte Harrison all spring, as they've found some success lately with high school bats in the first round and identified Forbes early as one they like.
PLAYER CARD
26Casey GillaspieSCHOOL: Wichita StateHT: 6-4WT: 238POS: 1B
Analysis: I keep hearing a college bat for the Red Sox here, after which they'd open up to all categories of players -- but they did take a prep arm with their first pick last year in Trey Ball.
PLAYER CARD
27Alex BlandinoSCHOOL: StanfordHT: 6-0WT: 190POS: 3B
Analysis: Similar rumors here: college bat first, then prep arms later. Foster Griffin has been a name here, as well as Justus Sheffield, who seems very likely to go in the supplemental first round (picks 28-34) if he doesn't go by this point.
PLAYER CARD
Of course, this leaves a large number of well-known players thought to be first-rounders falling out of the round. Vanderbilt right-hander Tyler Beede was considered a top-five pick earlier in the spring, and still could go somewhere toward the end of the round even after his rough finish at the SEC tournament. Kentucky first baseman A.J. Reed could go in the 26-35 range.
Connecticut prep pitcher Austin Dicarr, a 19-year-old right-hander at the Salisbury School, has some late buzz as a possible top-40 pick. Florida infielder Forrest Wall, who has battled injuries this spring, is also apparently a target in that range, but likely after the first round. And Mississippi State lefty reliever Jacob Lindgren, who was outstanding in the SEC tournament last week, has been rumored for a while to be a candidate for the sandwich round and be this year's Paco Rodriguez -- a college lefty who reaches the majors this season out of the pen.
In the meantime, here's a fresh take on the first round (which runs 27 picks), with a few significant changes near the top. As before, I expect a lot of the draft's better high school pitchers to slide out of the first round into the supplemental first round and second rounds, where they will be selected and likely paid over-slot bonuses by teams that saved money on their initial picks.
Please note that this only covers the first round, which is just 27 picks, because the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles forfeited their first-round selections by signing free agents from others teams who had received qualifying offers. (The Toronto Blue Jays have two first-round picks.)
For a look at my top 100 draft prospects, click here.
1Brady AikenSCHOOL: Cathedral Catholic HS (San Diego)HT: 6-4WT: 200POS: LHP
Analysis: The Astros are still rumored to be on Aiken, Carlos Rodon and possibly Alex Jackson. They've also been linked to well under-slot deals with Aaron Nola (which I don't believe was ever true) and Nick Gordon (which I also doubt), although their concern about taking a pitcher rather than a position player first overall is certainly valid.
It seems far more likely that they do an under-slot deal with Aiken, who might not go until pick 4 if he doesn't go here, than pay full freight for Rodon, or take a player they internally rank much lower in Gordon or anyone else.
PLAYER CARD
2Carlos RodonSCHOOL: NC StateHT: 6-4WT: 235POS: LHP
Analysis: I've heard this comes from the owner: If the Cuban-American lefty is there at No. 2, take him, and we'll have a pair of Cuban aces at the top of our rotation. If he's not here, they're also on Alex Jackson, and general manager Dan Jennings was in attendance for Aaron Nola's strong start at the SEC tournament last week -- although I think that's a real long shot.
PLAYER CARD
3Tyler KolekSCHOOL: Shepherd (Texas) HSHT: 6-5WT: 250POS: RHP
Analysis: The White Sox have been locked in on Kolek for more than a month, and the industry is betting he's their guy even if Carlos Rodon or Brady Aiken drop to this pick. They apparently prefer Kolek to Aiken and would rather not grapple with Rodon's perceived high price tag. (I say "perceived" because I don't believe he has put out any demands at all.)
They were also in heavy at Aaron Nola's last start, with former GM Kenny Williams in the crowd.
PLAYER CARD
4Michael ConfortoSCHOOL: Oregon StateHT: 6-1WT: 215POS: OF
Analysis: If Brady Aiken and Carlos Rodon are gone at this pick, the Cubs go off the board, looking at a deal with one of a handful of players they like here -- Conforto, Kyle Freeland, or maybe the injured Jeff Hoffman.
Both GM Jed Hoyer and team president Theo Epstein saw Max Pentecost within the past week, although I think he's less likely than the names above; Hoyer also saw Aaron Nola at the SEC tourney and left right afterward.
PLAYER CARD
5Nick GordonSCHOOL: Olympia HS, Orlando, Fla.HT: 6-1WT: 170POS: SS
Analysis: They're heavy on Gordon, with Aaron Nola and Sean Newcomb also strong contenders. I think they're just assuming the three arms I have going 1-2-3 are all long gone.
PLAYER CARD
6Alex JacksonSCHOOL: Rancho Bernardo HS (San Diego)HT: 6-2WT: 210POS: C
Analysis: As usual, no one seems to really know what Seattle is doing, and I've heard them on Jackson, Aaron Nola, Michael Conforto, Bradley Zimmer, Grant Holmes and Trea Turner, as well as Sean Newcomb, whom GM Jack Zduriencik flew cross-country to see when I saw Newcomb at Stony Brook earlier this month.
Jackson has been rumored to be their target all spring, though.
PLAYER CARD
7Aaron NolaSCHOOL: LSUHT: 6-1WT: 180POS: RHP
Analysis: I think this is Nola's floor, and if he's gone, they could take Sean Newcomb. They don't seem to be on Kyle Freeland, whom they took in the 35th round out of high school in 2011. All indications, public and private, are that the Phillies would rather take an arm than a bat. The Phillies and Cubs are among a few teams strong on California prep righty Jack Flaherty as a potential over-slot pick in the second round.
PLAYER CARD
8Kyle FreelandSCHOOL: EvansvilleHT: 6-4WT: 185POS: LHP
Analysis: Another team that had its sights set on players who would have reached them -- such as Aaron Nola or Nick Gordon -- had we not had this cascade of pitching injuries this spring. They're a dark horse team on Kyle Schwarber, and I know they had interest in Tyler Beede earlier in the season.
PLAYER CARD
9Touki ToussaintSCHOOL: Coral Springs (Fla.) Christian Acad.HT: 6-2WT: 195POS: RHP
Analysis: The Jays pick again two spots later, and they aren't on many of the same names the Mets (picking in between) are, so the order may not matter much. Their scouting staff is suddenly very high on Trea Turner -- maybe since he started to hit well in the final month of NC State's season -- and he's the one non-pitcher who seems to seriously be in their mix, with Derek Hill a dark horse.
The Jays and Phillies are also on Canadian outfielder Gareth Morgan, who would be an overdraft here but probably goes before either team picks in the second round.
PLAYER CARD
10Sean NewcombSCHOOL: HartfordHT: 6-4WT: 240POS: LHP
Analysis: I've heard them connected mostly with college players, including Michael Conforto and Trea Turner.
PLAYER CARD
11Jeff HoffmanSCHOOL: East CarolinaHT: 6-3WT: 190POS: RHP
Analysis: This is a compensation pick for failing to sign 2013 first-rounder Phil Bickford.
The Jays grabbing Hoffman -- who had Tommy John surgery a few weeks ago -- is another strong consensus in the industry, like the Twins with Nick Gordon. Other players the Jays have been linked to include Grant Holmes and Sean Reid-Foley.
PLAYER CARD
12Max PentecostSCHOOL: Kennesaw State UniversityHT: 6-1WT: 190POS: C
Analysis: They're also on Sean Reid-Foley, Grant Holmes, and Derek Hill, and they're the only team in this area of the draft still openly linked to Tyler Beede, who is in free fall right now.
PLAYER CARD
13Trea TurnerSCHOOL: NC StateHT: 6-1WT: 171POS: SS
Analysis: It looks increasingly like this is Turner's floor, with Seattle probably his absolute best-case scenario. The Padres are also on Max Pentecost, Kyle Freeland and Brandon Finnegan.
PLAYER CARD
14Grant HolmesSCHOOL: Conway (S.C.) HSHT: 6-2WT: 200POS: RHP
Analysis: They don't seem to be on local product Bradley Zimmer, but I've also heard them with Derek Hill and possibly Tyler Beede, as well as Jeff Hoffman, if he's still available.
PLAYER CARD
15Nick BurdiSCHOOL: LouisvilleHT: 6-4WT: 215POS: RHP
Analysis: Also hearing them on Justus Sheffield, Tyler Beede (although that was more likely a month ago) and Kyle Freeland, if he should fall here.
PLAYER CARD
16Bradley ZimmerSCHOOL: San FranciscoHT: 6-5WT: 205POS: OF
Analysis: It sounds like they are focused on bats, as the arms they like (such as Kyle Freeland) most likely will not get to them. In addition to Zimmer, Kyle Schwarber and Michael Chavis are also possibilities.
PLAYER CARD
17Derek FisherSCHOOL: VirginiaHT: 6-3WT: 215POS: OF
Analysis: I've heard they're not on Bradley Zimmer that much, but they are intrigued with high-risk/high-ceiling guys like Michael Gettys, possibly in the supplemental first round.
PLAYER CARD
18Erik FeddeSCHOOL: UNLVHT: 6-4WT: 165POS: RHP
Analysis: The Nats would love Kyle Freeland, and I think they'd do a deal with Jeff Hoffman if he got here, but Fedde -- another guy who recently had Tommy John surgery -- seems most likely.
PLAYER CARD
19Derek HillSCHOOL: Elk Grove (Calif.) HSHT: 6-2WT: 170POS: OF
Analysis: They have also been connected to Sean Reid-Foley and Justus Sheffield.
PLAYER CARD
20Kyle SchwarberSCHOOL: IndianaHT: 6-0WT: 240POS: 1B
Analysis: I'm hearing bats here, mostly college bats, such as Schwarber, Casey Gillaspie and Bradley Zimmer, with the occasional high school name mixed in.
PLAYER CARD
21Michael ChavisSCHOOL: Sprayberry HS (Marietta, Ga.)HT: 5-11WT: 180POS: 3B
Analysis: I've heard the Indians will take the best player available regardless of position or school type, which I take to mean they're waiting to see who falls to them.
PLAYER CARD
22Sean Reid-FoleySCHOOL: Sandalwood HS, Jacksonville, Fla.HT: 6-3WT: 205POS: RHP
Analysis: I did hear a rumor that team president Stan Kasten wants them to focus on college players, which they did with their first few picks last year, but otherwise they're only linked to prep guys, including Derek Hill (whose father works for the team), Justus Sheffield, Scott Blewett, Alex Verdugo and Luis Ortiz.
PLAYER CARD
23Brandon FinneganSCHOOL: TCUHT: 5-11WT: 190POS: LHP
Analysis: Rumor has the Tigers taking Finnegan -- assuming Nick Burdi is gone -- and putting him in a relief role for the rest of the year to fast-track him. I've also heard them on Luis Ortiz, although in the past 13 years, they've taken only two prep pitchers in the first round since 2000: Jacob Turner and Rick Porcello.
PLAYER CARD
24Luis OrtizSCHOOL: Sanger (Calif.) HSHT: 6-3WT: 220POS: RHP
Analysis: I've heard they, like Cleveland, will opt for the best player available rather than any subclass of players; I speculated last time around they might take Tyler Beede as a former top-10 lock who fell due to a subpar spring.
PLAYER CARD
25Ti'Quan ForbesSCHOOL: Columbia (Miss.) HSHT: 6-4WT: 175POS: SS
Analysis: The A's have been linked to Forbes and Monte Harrison all spring, as they've found some success lately with high school bats in the first round and identified Forbes early as one they like.
PLAYER CARD
26Casey GillaspieSCHOOL: Wichita StateHT: 6-4WT: 238POS: 1B
Analysis: I keep hearing a college bat for the Red Sox here, after which they'd open up to all categories of players -- but they did take a prep arm with their first pick last year in Trey Ball.
PLAYER CARD
27Alex BlandinoSCHOOL: StanfordHT: 6-0WT: 190POS: 3B
Analysis: Similar rumors here: college bat first, then prep arms later. Foster Griffin has been a name here, as well as Justus Sheffield, who seems very likely to go in the supplemental first round (picks 28-34) if he doesn't go by this point.
PLAYER CARD
Of course, this leaves a large number of well-known players thought to be first-rounders falling out of the round. Vanderbilt right-hander Tyler Beede was considered a top-five pick earlier in the spring, and still could go somewhere toward the end of the round even after his rough finish at the SEC tournament. Kentucky first baseman A.J. Reed could go in the 26-35 range.
Connecticut prep pitcher Austin Dicarr, a 19-year-old right-hander at the Salisbury School, has some late buzz as a possible top-40 pick. Florida infielder Forrest Wall, who has battled injuries this spring, is also apparently a target in that range, but likely after the first round. And Mississippi State lefty reliever Jacob Lindgren, who was outstanding in the SEC tournament last week, has been rumored for a while to be a candidate for the sandwich round and be this year's Paco Rodriguez -- a college lefty who reaches the majors this season out of the pen.
Pivot points of the 2014 first round.
No matter how good a draft class is, there are always going to be pivot points in the first round; points in the draft where groups of similar talents and skill-sets begin to thin out and a team must move on to the next tier of players, however far the drop may be.
"We always have a straight draft board," an AL Central team executive said. "But you can’t help but say 'if we get one of these four players’ or 'if these two pitchers are still on the board’ we’ll still be in good shape. Even in the strongest draft classes you always have a group with OFP [overall future potential] that drop at some point. You just have to hope that the other clubs that pick ahead of you don’t feel like those players belong in the same group."
For better or worse, this year the talent is as grouped together as it has been in some time, but here’s a look at four "pivot points" in the first round that will help shape the draft in 2014.
Pick No. 4: Chicago Cubs
If the Miami Marlins select Alex Jackson (Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego) with the second pick in the draft, the pivot point would change to the Minnesota Twins at pick No. 5. But let’s assume for a second that the "big three" pitchers -- Carlos Rodon (NC State), Brady Aiken (Cathedral Catholic HS, San Diego) and Tyler Kolek (Shepherd HS, Texas) -- all go in order to the Houston Astros, Miami and the Chicago White Sox with the first three selections of the draft.
With all due respect to Nick Gordon (Olympia HS, Orlando, Fla.) and Jackson, the injury to East Carolina right-hander Jeff Hoffman has made this one of, if not the, biggest drop-offs in terms of talent in the entire draft.
"I think that’s really where the draft starts," an NL West team scout said. "I really think you’ll see Rodon, Aiken and Kolek go one to three in some order, but after, I think it’s as wide open as it’s been in a very long time. The [Cubs'] system needs pitching, but I just don’t think you’ll ever see [Cubs president] Theo Epstein ever draft for need.
"I’ve heard names like Aaron Nola and a few of the collegiate left-handers mentioned there, but I think those are too big of reaches for them. My guess is they’re hoping that one of those three pitchers falls to them, and if not they go upside with Jackson or Gordon."
The other name that has been mentioned here is Kennesaw State catcher Max Pentecost, but whatever Chicago does will play a huge part in how the rest of the draft shapes up.
Pick No. 8: Colorado Rockies
In between the Cubs and Rockies sit the Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies. Assuming that Gordon, Nola and Jackson are off the board, the talents start to muddle up even more at this point. The most common names attached with this selection outside of the three names mentioned above are NC State shortstop Trea Turner, Evansville left-hander Kyle Freeland and San Francisco outfielder Bradley Zimmer, but there are a plethora of other names that could end up with this selection.
What direction the Rockies go will be particularly interesting for the Toronto Blue Jays, who possess two of the next three selections and have had essentially every first-round talent linked to them at some point.
Pick No. 12: Milwaukee Brewers
As many names as the Blue Jays have had mentioned with their two selections, it pales in comparisons to the amount of players who have been attached to the Brewers, and it makes sense when you consider how much the talent dissipates after the first dozen or so players.
This was once viewed as the worst-case scenario (in terms of draft position) for Vanderbilt right-hander Tyler Beede, but his struggles could see him drop out of the first round all together. This could now be the fall point for players like Turner, Hartford left-hander Sean Newcomb, Oregon State outfielder Michael Conforto, and Conway (S.C.) High School right-hander Grant Holmes.
With teams like the San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals -- who all tend to focus on upside -- picking after the Brewers, this will be a pivotal selection, as those teams will all be hoping Milwaukee goes for "safety" over volatility.
Pick No. 20: Tampa Bay Rays
Outside of the Nationals, the Rays have taken chances in the draft as much as any team in baseball, and this is one of the potential landing spots for not only high-risk, high-reward prospects such as Beede and shortstop Jacob Gatewood of Clovis (Calif.) HS, but safer players like Wichita State first-baseman Casey Gillaspie, Indiana catcher Kyle Schwarber and first baseman Braxton Davidson from TC Roberson High School (Ashville, N.C.).
If the Rays do chose to go the safe route with pick 20, you could see several of the "riskier" prospects fall out of the first round, giving teams with extra compensation picks or early picks in round two a chance to pick up a lottery ticket that could play huge dividends if their development goes right.
"We always have a straight draft board," an AL Central team executive said. "But you can’t help but say 'if we get one of these four players’ or 'if these two pitchers are still on the board’ we’ll still be in good shape. Even in the strongest draft classes you always have a group with OFP [overall future potential] that drop at some point. You just have to hope that the other clubs that pick ahead of you don’t feel like those players belong in the same group."
For better or worse, this year the talent is as grouped together as it has been in some time, but here’s a look at four "pivot points" in the first round that will help shape the draft in 2014.
Pick No. 4: Chicago Cubs
If the Miami Marlins select Alex Jackson (Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego) with the second pick in the draft, the pivot point would change to the Minnesota Twins at pick No. 5. But let’s assume for a second that the "big three" pitchers -- Carlos Rodon (NC State), Brady Aiken (Cathedral Catholic HS, San Diego) and Tyler Kolek (Shepherd HS, Texas) -- all go in order to the Houston Astros, Miami and the Chicago White Sox with the first three selections of the draft.
With all due respect to Nick Gordon (Olympia HS, Orlando, Fla.) and Jackson, the injury to East Carolina right-hander Jeff Hoffman has made this one of, if not the, biggest drop-offs in terms of talent in the entire draft.
"I think that’s really where the draft starts," an NL West team scout said. "I really think you’ll see Rodon, Aiken and Kolek go one to three in some order, but after, I think it’s as wide open as it’s been in a very long time. The [Cubs'] system needs pitching, but I just don’t think you’ll ever see [Cubs president] Theo Epstein ever draft for need.
"I’ve heard names like Aaron Nola and a few of the collegiate left-handers mentioned there, but I think those are too big of reaches for them. My guess is they’re hoping that one of those three pitchers falls to them, and if not they go upside with Jackson or Gordon."
The other name that has been mentioned here is Kennesaw State catcher Max Pentecost, but whatever Chicago does will play a huge part in how the rest of the draft shapes up.
Pick No. 8: Colorado Rockies
In between the Cubs and Rockies sit the Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies. Assuming that Gordon, Nola and Jackson are off the board, the talents start to muddle up even more at this point. The most common names attached with this selection outside of the three names mentioned above are NC State shortstop Trea Turner, Evansville left-hander Kyle Freeland and San Francisco outfielder Bradley Zimmer, but there are a plethora of other names that could end up with this selection.
What direction the Rockies go will be particularly interesting for the Toronto Blue Jays, who possess two of the next three selections and have had essentially every first-round talent linked to them at some point.
Pick No. 12: Milwaukee Brewers
As many names as the Blue Jays have had mentioned with their two selections, it pales in comparisons to the amount of players who have been attached to the Brewers, and it makes sense when you consider how much the talent dissipates after the first dozen or so players.
This was once viewed as the worst-case scenario (in terms of draft position) for Vanderbilt right-hander Tyler Beede, but his struggles could see him drop out of the first round all together. This could now be the fall point for players like Turner, Hartford left-hander Sean Newcomb, Oregon State outfielder Michael Conforto, and Conway (S.C.) High School right-hander Grant Holmes.
With teams like the San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals -- who all tend to focus on upside -- picking after the Brewers, this will be a pivotal selection, as those teams will all be hoping Milwaukee goes for "safety" over volatility.
Pick No. 20: Tampa Bay Rays
Outside of the Nationals, the Rays have taken chances in the draft as much as any team in baseball, and this is one of the potential landing spots for not only high-risk, high-reward prospects such as Beede and shortstop Jacob Gatewood of Clovis (Calif.) HS, but safer players like Wichita State first-baseman Casey Gillaspie, Indiana catcher Kyle Schwarber and first baseman Braxton Davidson from TC Roberson High School (Ashville, N.C.).
If the Rays do chose to go the safe route with pick 20, you could see several of the "riskier" prospects fall out of the first round, giving teams with extra compensation picks or early picks in round two a chance to pick up a lottery ticket that could play huge dividends if their development goes right.
Ellsbury’s unique base-stealing ability.
ST. LOUIS -- Mick Kelleher's first year in professional baseball was in 1969, and he says he had never seen before what he saw Monday: a crowd give a standing ovation to a catcher for throwing out a runner. But this is St. Louis and the catcher is Yadier Molina, and when he gunned down Brett Gardner in the eighth inning -- zipping a throw that Jhonny Peralta caught and dropped down on Gardner's left shoulder -- the fans all rose as one and chanted his first name.
"We've seen some pretty good catchers the last 40 to 50 years," said Kelleher, the first-base coach for the Yankees and a former Cardinal. "That was tremendous. I even get excited about something like that. Great baseball fans, great baseball city."
And an even greater catcher. Gardner was the 23rd baserunner who had attempted to steal a base against Molina this season, and the 13th to get thrown out. But when Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk against Randy Choate to open the top of the 12th inning, with the score tied 3-3, Ellsbury figured he would try to steal at some point. The game situation dictated that he at least try, and besides, there is a difference between Ellsbury and most others who try to steal bases, including some faster than he is.
Molina "basically shuts the running game down," Kelleher said. "There are only a few guys who can even run on him … [But] Ellsbury is a tremendous base stealer. He has a knack, with a real sense of timing. It's incredible. He's as good as I've seen, except for maybe Lou Brock or Rickey Henderson, as far as the feel, the knack. As good as Gardy is, he doesn't have the same knack."
Last year, Ellsbury attempted 63 stolen bases in the regular season and postseason and was thrown out just five times. He has led the American League in steals in three different seasons at a success rate of 84 percent. Among players with at least 250 steals in their careers, that is the third highest of all time; only Tim Raines and Eric Davis are better.
Ellsbury watches video of pitchers to get some sense of their pickoff moves and their habits, like how many times they throw to first base, and Ellsbury has been amazed, once he reaches first base, by how often pitchers will alter their habits. Justin Verlander, he recalled, had rarely thrown to first base leading up to the playoffs, and yet when Ellsbury reached, Verlander kept firing over, trying to catch him, trying to keep him close.
Because Ellsbury had played against the Cardinals in last year's World Series, he had some sense of Choate's move to first base even before he reviewed his recent work. Choate had allowed 15 stolen bases in his entire career, a span of 559 games, before Ellsbury took his lead with Brian McCann at the plate. So in other words, Ellsbury was faced with a pitcher who doesn't allow steals working to one of the best-throwing catchers of all time. Choate threw to first, repeatedly, with Ellsbury stepping back to first. "I was looking to go," Ellsbury said. "It was a matter of when."
When Ellsbury gets to first base, he carries with him all of his preparation, the scouting reports and his video work. But like a hitter adjusting to a pitcher's stuff in a given at-bat, Ellsbury will alter his timing according to what he sees in that moment, and he had something on Choate. He saw something. Kelleher wouldn't detail the conversation he had with Ellsbury in between pitches of McCann's at-bat -- there are still two games remaining in this series, and any information the Yankees have gleaned may be used over the next 48 hours -- but he said he knew that Ellsbury would run on the 0-2 pitch.
Ellsbury got a nice break, Molina whipped a throw to second and the tag on Ellsbury was high and very close. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny immediately came out of the dugout to challenge, and from second base, Ellsbury watched the Cardinals dugout scramble to get a read on the replay. Matheny decided to challenge, which made sense, on a crucial play in the 12th inning. Ellsbury thought he was safe. "But any time you get that replay, you never know," he said.
Larry Vanover, the crew chief and the umpire who had the call at second base, took off his headset and flattened his hands in the air: safe.
The play changed the whole inning, as Brendan Ryan noted later. With Ellsbury at second and nobody out, McCann's mission was to pull a ball to the right side, and Choate, having to pitch with even more precision, bounced a pitch off McCann's backside. Yangervis Solarte bunted the runners to second and third, and with Ichiro at the plate and Brian Roberts on deck, Mike Matheny decided to intentionally walk Ichiro -- then looked at Choate and clapped his hands assertively, letting him know that he was leaving Choate in the game to get Roberts.
But Roberts lashed a single to left field and Ellsbury trotted home with the first of three decisive runs, and the Yankees went on to close out another extra-inning victory.
"He wanted to make a difference there," Ryan said. And Ellsbury did.
• Roberts rescued the Yankees, writes Mark Feinsand. Brett Gardner stole one from Molina, writes Bob Klapisch.
• Hyun-Jin Ryu nearly outdid Josh Beckett a day after Beckett's no-hitter, coming within six outs of a perfect game. From ESPN Stats & Information, how Ryu came close:
A. Threw 59.0 percent of his pitches in the strike zone, the second-highest rate in any start in his career.
B. Reds hitters were 2-for-17 in at-bats ending with a pitch in the strike zone.
C. Hitters were 0-for-11 with four strikeouts in at-bats ending with his fastball.
• Meanwhile, A.J. Ellis was placed on the disabled list after getting hurt during the no-hitter celebration.
Olney Signed Ball
Buster Olney/ESPN
Geddy Lee's autographed baseball.
• Rip Rowan is the equipment manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and a friend asked him to get Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki to sign a ball.
Except it's not just any baseball. This one contains the names of almost all of those who accumulated 3,000 hits in their careers. Pete Rose signed the ball, and so did Ty Cobb, and Stan Musial and Roberto Clemente and Carl Yastrzemski, George Brett, Hank Aaron, etc., etc. The only names that Derrick Goold and I couldn't find on the ball were those of Honus Wagner and Cap Anson.
The friend who asked Rip for a favor? Geddy Lee, the front man for the Hall of Fame band Rush, who is a huge baseball fan.
Around the league
• Within the context of 2014, Yordano Ventura seems like the perfect candidate for an elbow injury: He's really good, and he throws really hard. And now he has an elbow injury, as Andy McCullough writes, although Ned Yost says he's not concerned that this injury involves the ligament.
Really, it's incredible how often this has happened this year.
• Mets prospect Noah Syndergaard also has an elbow injury, as Tim Rohan writes.
• Cliff Lee has not been given clearance to resume throwing.
• The Rockies were shut down on the road, again, as Kyle Kendrick pitched a gem. These are the same old Rockies on this trip, writes Patrick Saunders.
The gap between their home and road run production is so stark that it's as though they are completely different teams.
Colorado at home: .952 OPS, 6.7 runs per game, an MLB-best 162 runs
The Rockies on the road: .687 OPS, 3.6 runs per games, 100 runs (17th best).
• There might be better relievers than Dellin Betances right now, but there is nobody else like him. The Yankees right-hander's fastball averages 95.5 mph, and Monday against the Cardinals, he was throwing up to 98 mph. But he throws his primary secondary pitch, his spike curveball, more than he throws his fastball -- 45.5 percent of the time, according to FanGraphs -- and the difference in average velocity is a staggering 13 mph. The disparity is so great that the hitters -- who must anticipate a fastball that good in order to keep up with it -- must essentially guess which pitch he's going to throw.
When Allen Craig batted against Betances on Monday, for example, he had seen other hitters get the curveball, so he looked for the curve. But when Craig got fastballs, all he could do was ward them off to the right side.
Betances has faced 113 batters this season and struck out 51 of those, with just nine walks, and because hitters are stuck in between, they've mustered a .221 slugging percentage against him.
From the Elias Sports Bureau: Betances got 50 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings, the fewest needed to accumulate 50 strikeouts in a season by a Yankees pitcher in franchise history. The previous record was 31 1/3 innings pitched by Ron Davis in 1981, which was later matched by David Robertson in 2011.
• The Mets fired their hitting coach, Dave Hudgens, who said he believes that the booing at home is a problem. From Adam Rubin's story:
"I really just think guys tried too hard at home," Hudgens told MLB.com after his firing. "I think the fans are really tough on the guys at home. How can you boo Curtis Granderson? They have no idea how hard this guy works and how he goes about doing his business, doing his job. He gets off to a slow start and they're booing him? Come on. It’s tougher at home to play than it is on the road, there's no doubt about it. And they're trying really hard at home.
"You can see it in the statistics. The fly-ball rates went up, the swing-and-miss rates went up at home. I think we were first in the league in runs scored on the road, so I think guys were relaxed on the road. They could just go out and play the game, don’t worry about anything. Then at home, they’re trying to do so much. I’ve never seen that work out -- especially young players trying to do more than they should be doing. When you look at the numbers inside the numbers, and you see exit velocity rates going down at home, you see fly ball rates going up, you see swing-and-miss rates going up, you see chase rates going up a little bit -- although we’re best in the league in not chasing pitches out of the zone -- I think those things, it just means guys trying to do too much, trying too hard."
Hudgens also had some thoughts about Keith Hernandez's commentary on the Mets' broadcasts. From Marc Carig's story:
Hudgens, who joined the Mets in 2011, defended the team's patient hitting approach, which has been bashed by broadcaster Keith Hernandez.
"The naysayers, the guys who disapprove of us, the guys who I listen to on TV all the time, those guys that know everything about the game, I'm just amazed at it," Hudgens said.
"What's wrong with getting a good pitch to hit? Somebody, please punch a hole in that for me. I just shake my head at the old-school guys that have it all figured out. Go up there and swing the bat. Well, what do you want to swing at? It just confounds me. It's just hilarious, really.
"That's one thing. I'm glad I don't have to listen to those guys anymore."
• The Blue Jays are the first AL East team to 30 wins, and they are on a serious roll.
• Jeff Samardzija finally got his first win of the season.
• The Red Sox ended their losing streak, as Peter Abraham writes. Ben Cherington says they haven't performed.
• The Tigers got smacked around again.
Dings and dents
Ryan Zimmerman
Chuck Myers/MCT/Getty Images
Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman hopes to be back soon from a thumb injury.
1. Ryan Zimmerman got clearance to hit and throw.
2. Mark Teixeira was scratched from the lineup Monday with tightness in his wrist.
3. Mat Latos can't wait to get back.
4. The Indians are dealing with some injuries.
5. Jim Henderson had a setback, as Todd Rosiak writes.
6. Brandon Guyer suffered a broken thumb.
7. Within this notebook, there is word that Mark Trumbo is no longer wearing a boot.
8. Hector Sanchez admits that he's worried about blows to the head.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Red Sox need to let Clay Buchholz sit, writes Nick Cafardo. There are some rumblings within the Red Sox organization to that end, that Buchholz will be at least temporarily moved out of his role.
2. Randy Wolf is going to get another start.
3. Matt Kemp was benched for the fourth consecutive game.
Monday's games
1. The Pirates rallied against Jose Valverde, as Travis Sawchik writes.
2. Nick Hundley helped the Orioles, writes Dan Connolly.
3. Jose Quintana got a nice cushion.
4. Ervin Santana blew a big lead.
5. A.J. Pollock came up big.
6. Chris Young dominates in Safeco Field, as Bob Dutton writes.
NL West
• Somebody stole Hunter Pence's scooter.
• Yasiel Puig is the best right fielder in baseball, says Don Mattingly.
• Tommy Medica is looking for more playing time, writes Jeff Sanders.
NL Central
• Don't expect the Pirates to make an emotional decision to keep hometown kid Neil Walker, writes Ron Cook.
• Michael Wacha threw the ball well.
• The Reds avoided being no-hit.
• Manny Ramirez has high-impact potential, says Theo Epstein.
The general reaction to the hiring around MLB, in a word: shock.
• K-Rod blew another save chance.
NL East
• Giancarlo Stanton hit another monster homer Monday, a 447-foot shot in the third inning at Washington, his MLB-leading sixth homer of at least 440 feet this season. His average home run in 2014 has been 431 feet, 34 feet longer than the MLB average.
Stanton's 15th homer helped the Marlins win Monday, as Manny Navarro writes.
• Justin Upton likes hitting at home, writes Carroll Rogers.
AL West
• Oakland had a home run party and the Tigers were invited.
• For Tyler Skaggs, progress.
• George Springer had a huge game. ESPN Research monster Justin Havens sent out this list late last night:
In addition to becoming the first Astros player to have four hits, five runs, three RBIs and a home run, he joined an impressive list of AL outfielders to do so:
AL outfielders since 1950
Monday, George Springer, Astros*
1998, Juan Encarnacion, Tigers
1996, Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners*
1994, Tim Raines, White Sox
1986, Joe Carter, Indians
1972, Bobby Murcer, Yankees
1959, Rocky Colavito, Indians*
1955, Minnie Minoso, White Sox
*Did not record an out
• Rougned Odor might be the Rangers' second baseman of the future.
• Ron Washington is nearing a managerial mark.
• Lloyd McClendon says he likes what he sees from the Mariners so far, writes Ryan Divish.
AL Central
• Detroit's offensive weak spots are starting to show, writes Shawn Windsor.
• A Royals prospect is starting to put it together.
• Lonnie Chisenhall is gaining confidence against left-handers, writes Marla Ridenour.
• The Twins' desperation is not a good thing for Aaron Hicks, writes Chip Scoggins.
• Minnesota has a dubious number attached to it.
AL East
• Chase Whitley continues to help the Yankees as they struggle for depth in their rotation; he pitched into the sixth inning here Monday. Whitley was a 15th-round pick, and I asked Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer about the background of how they picked out Whitley.
"Our area scout DJ Svihlik took our National Crosschecker Kendall Carter to see a starter against Troy University. There were a bunch of teams there to see the guy (don't remember his name); after he finished and was out of the game, all of the teams left and DJ asked the Troy coach if he could please put Chase in for an inning or more so his cross checker could see him. The coach did and our guys saw 90-to-91 mph with good change up and a competitor. We were able to draft him lower just because DJ knew the competition.
"Chase has worked hard and refined his stuff and control. Quality competitor."
• Dan Shaughnessy wants to debunk some myths about the 2014 Sox.
• Jonathan Schoop hit two homers Monday and wanted more.
Lastly
• Vin Scully is missing a couple of games.
• Ozzie Smith helped give the Cardinals' goodbye to Derek Jeter.
• The '64 Cardinals got the band back together.
• Vanderbilt has Xavier in the NCAA tournament.
And today will be better than yesterday.
"We've seen some pretty good catchers the last 40 to 50 years," said Kelleher, the first-base coach for the Yankees and a former Cardinal. "That was tremendous. I even get excited about something like that. Great baseball fans, great baseball city."
And an even greater catcher. Gardner was the 23rd baserunner who had attempted to steal a base against Molina this season, and the 13th to get thrown out. But when Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk against Randy Choate to open the top of the 12th inning, with the score tied 3-3, Ellsbury figured he would try to steal at some point. The game situation dictated that he at least try, and besides, there is a difference between Ellsbury and most others who try to steal bases, including some faster than he is.
Molina "basically shuts the running game down," Kelleher said. "There are only a few guys who can even run on him … [But] Ellsbury is a tremendous base stealer. He has a knack, with a real sense of timing. It's incredible. He's as good as I've seen, except for maybe Lou Brock or Rickey Henderson, as far as the feel, the knack. As good as Gardy is, he doesn't have the same knack."
Last year, Ellsbury attempted 63 stolen bases in the regular season and postseason and was thrown out just five times. He has led the American League in steals in three different seasons at a success rate of 84 percent. Among players with at least 250 steals in their careers, that is the third highest of all time; only Tim Raines and Eric Davis are better.
Ellsbury watches video of pitchers to get some sense of their pickoff moves and their habits, like how many times they throw to first base, and Ellsbury has been amazed, once he reaches first base, by how often pitchers will alter their habits. Justin Verlander, he recalled, had rarely thrown to first base leading up to the playoffs, and yet when Ellsbury reached, Verlander kept firing over, trying to catch him, trying to keep him close.
Because Ellsbury had played against the Cardinals in last year's World Series, he had some sense of Choate's move to first base even before he reviewed his recent work. Choate had allowed 15 stolen bases in his entire career, a span of 559 games, before Ellsbury took his lead with Brian McCann at the plate. So in other words, Ellsbury was faced with a pitcher who doesn't allow steals working to one of the best-throwing catchers of all time. Choate threw to first, repeatedly, with Ellsbury stepping back to first. "I was looking to go," Ellsbury said. "It was a matter of when."
When Ellsbury gets to first base, he carries with him all of his preparation, the scouting reports and his video work. But like a hitter adjusting to a pitcher's stuff in a given at-bat, Ellsbury will alter his timing according to what he sees in that moment, and he had something on Choate. He saw something. Kelleher wouldn't detail the conversation he had with Ellsbury in between pitches of McCann's at-bat -- there are still two games remaining in this series, and any information the Yankees have gleaned may be used over the next 48 hours -- but he said he knew that Ellsbury would run on the 0-2 pitch.
Ellsbury got a nice break, Molina whipped a throw to second and the tag on Ellsbury was high and very close. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny immediately came out of the dugout to challenge, and from second base, Ellsbury watched the Cardinals dugout scramble to get a read on the replay. Matheny decided to challenge, which made sense, on a crucial play in the 12th inning. Ellsbury thought he was safe. "But any time you get that replay, you never know," he said.
Larry Vanover, the crew chief and the umpire who had the call at second base, took off his headset and flattened his hands in the air: safe.
The play changed the whole inning, as Brendan Ryan noted later. With Ellsbury at second and nobody out, McCann's mission was to pull a ball to the right side, and Choate, having to pitch with even more precision, bounced a pitch off McCann's backside. Yangervis Solarte bunted the runners to second and third, and with Ichiro at the plate and Brian Roberts on deck, Mike Matheny decided to intentionally walk Ichiro -- then looked at Choate and clapped his hands assertively, letting him know that he was leaving Choate in the game to get Roberts.
But Roberts lashed a single to left field and Ellsbury trotted home with the first of three decisive runs, and the Yankees went on to close out another extra-inning victory.
"He wanted to make a difference there," Ryan said. And Ellsbury did.
• Roberts rescued the Yankees, writes Mark Feinsand. Brett Gardner stole one from Molina, writes Bob Klapisch.
• Hyun-Jin Ryu nearly outdid Josh Beckett a day after Beckett's no-hitter, coming within six outs of a perfect game. From ESPN Stats & Information, how Ryu came close:
A. Threw 59.0 percent of his pitches in the strike zone, the second-highest rate in any start in his career.
B. Reds hitters were 2-for-17 in at-bats ending with a pitch in the strike zone.
C. Hitters were 0-for-11 with four strikeouts in at-bats ending with his fastball.
• Meanwhile, A.J. Ellis was placed on the disabled list after getting hurt during the no-hitter celebration.
Olney Signed Ball
Buster Olney/ESPN
Geddy Lee's autographed baseball.
• Rip Rowan is the equipment manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and a friend asked him to get Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki to sign a ball.
Except it's not just any baseball. This one contains the names of almost all of those who accumulated 3,000 hits in their careers. Pete Rose signed the ball, and so did Ty Cobb, and Stan Musial and Roberto Clemente and Carl Yastrzemski, George Brett, Hank Aaron, etc., etc. The only names that Derrick Goold and I couldn't find on the ball were those of Honus Wagner and Cap Anson.
The friend who asked Rip for a favor? Geddy Lee, the front man for the Hall of Fame band Rush, who is a huge baseball fan.
Around the league
• Within the context of 2014, Yordano Ventura seems like the perfect candidate for an elbow injury: He's really good, and he throws really hard. And now he has an elbow injury, as Andy McCullough writes, although Ned Yost says he's not concerned that this injury involves the ligament.
Really, it's incredible how often this has happened this year.
• Mets prospect Noah Syndergaard also has an elbow injury, as Tim Rohan writes.
• Cliff Lee has not been given clearance to resume throwing.
• The Rockies were shut down on the road, again, as Kyle Kendrick pitched a gem. These are the same old Rockies on this trip, writes Patrick Saunders.
The gap between their home and road run production is so stark that it's as though they are completely different teams.
Colorado at home: .952 OPS, 6.7 runs per game, an MLB-best 162 runs
The Rockies on the road: .687 OPS, 3.6 runs per games, 100 runs (17th best).
• There might be better relievers than Dellin Betances right now, but there is nobody else like him. The Yankees right-hander's fastball averages 95.5 mph, and Monday against the Cardinals, he was throwing up to 98 mph. But he throws his primary secondary pitch, his spike curveball, more than he throws his fastball -- 45.5 percent of the time, according to FanGraphs -- and the difference in average velocity is a staggering 13 mph. The disparity is so great that the hitters -- who must anticipate a fastball that good in order to keep up with it -- must essentially guess which pitch he's going to throw.
When Allen Craig batted against Betances on Monday, for example, he had seen other hitters get the curveball, so he looked for the curve. But when Craig got fastballs, all he could do was ward them off to the right side.
Betances has faced 113 batters this season and struck out 51 of those, with just nine walks, and because hitters are stuck in between, they've mustered a .221 slugging percentage against him.
From the Elias Sports Bureau: Betances got 50 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings, the fewest needed to accumulate 50 strikeouts in a season by a Yankees pitcher in franchise history. The previous record was 31 1/3 innings pitched by Ron Davis in 1981, which was later matched by David Robertson in 2011.
• The Mets fired their hitting coach, Dave Hudgens, who said he believes that the booing at home is a problem. From Adam Rubin's story:
"I really just think guys tried too hard at home," Hudgens told MLB.com after his firing. "I think the fans are really tough on the guys at home. How can you boo Curtis Granderson? They have no idea how hard this guy works and how he goes about doing his business, doing his job. He gets off to a slow start and they're booing him? Come on. It’s tougher at home to play than it is on the road, there's no doubt about it. And they're trying really hard at home.
"You can see it in the statistics. The fly-ball rates went up, the swing-and-miss rates went up at home. I think we were first in the league in runs scored on the road, so I think guys were relaxed on the road. They could just go out and play the game, don’t worry about anything. Then at home, they’re trying to do so much. I’ve never seen that work out -- especially young players trying to do more than they should be doing. When you look at the numbers inside the numbers, and you see exit velocity rates going down at home, you see fly ball rates going up, you see swing-and-miss rates going up, you see chase rates going up a little bit -- although we’re best in the league in not chasing pitches out of the zone -- I think those things, it just means guys trying to do too much, trying too hard."
Hudgens also had some thoughts about Keith Hernandez's commentary on the Mets' broadcasts. From Marc Carig's story:
Hudgens, who joined the Mets in 2011, defended the team's patient hitting approach, which has been bashed by broadcaster Keith Hernandez.
"The naysayers, the guys who disapprove of us, the guys who I listen to on TV all the time, those guys that know everything about the game, I'm just amazed at it," Hudgens said.
"What's wrong with getting a good pitch to hit? Somebody, please punch a hole in that for me. I just shake my head at the old-school guys that have it all figured out. Go up there and swing the bat. Well, what do you want to swing at? It just confounds me. It's just hilarious, really.
"That's one thing. I'm glad I don't have to listen to those guys anymore."
• The Blue Jays are the first AL East team to 30 wins, and they are on a serious roll.
• Jeff Samardzija finally got his first win of the season.
• The Red Sox ended their losing streak, as Peter Abraham writes. Ben Cherington says they haven't performed.
• The Tigers got smacked around again.
Dings and dents
Ryan Zimmerman
Chuck Myers/MCT/Getty Images
Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman hopes to be back soon from a thumb injury.
1. Ryan Zimmerman got clearance to hit and throw.
2. Mark Teixeira was scratched from the lineup Monday with tightness in his wrist.
3. Mat Latos can't wait to get back.
4. The Indians are dealing with some injuries.
5. Jim Henderson had a setback, as Todd Rosiak writes.
6. Brandon Guyer suffered a broken thumb.
7. Within this notebook, there is word that Mark Trumbo is no longer wearing a boot.
8. Hector Sanchez admits that he's worried about blows to the head.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Red Sox need to let Clay Buchholz sit, writes Nick Cafardo. There are some rumblings within the Red Sox organization to that end, that Buchholz will be at least temporarily moved out of his role.
2. Randy Wolf is going to get another start.
3. Matt Kemp was benched for the fourth consecutive game.
Monday's games
1. The Pirates rallied against Jose Valverde, as Travis Sawchik writes.
2. Nick Hundley helped the Orioles, writes Dan Connolly.
3. Jose Quintana got a nice cushion.
4. Ervin Santana blew a big lead.
5. A.J. Pollock came up big.
6. Chris Young dominates in Safeco Field, as Bob Dutton writes.
NL West
• Somebody stole Hunter Pence's scooter.
• Yasiel Puig is the best right fielder in baseball, says Don Mattingly.
• Tommy Medica is looking for more playing time, writes Jeff Sanders.
NL Central
• Don't expect the Pirates to make an emotional decision to keep hometown kid Neil Walker, writes Ron Cook.
• Michael Wacha threw the ball well.
• The Reds avoided being no-hit.
• Manny Ramirez has high-impact potential, says Theo Epstein.
The general reaction to the hiring around MLB, in a word: shock.
• K-Rod blew another save chance.
NL East
• Giancarlo Stanton hit another monster homer Monday, a 447-foot shot in the third inning at Washington, his MLB-leading sixth homer of at least 440 feet this season. His average home run in 2014 has been 431 feet, 34 feet longer than the MLB average.
Stanton's 15th homer helped the Marlins win Monday, as Manny Navarro writes.
• Justin Upton likes hitting at home, writes Carroll Rogers.
AL West
• Oakland had a home run party and the Tigers were invited.
• For Tyler Skaggs, progress.
• George Springer had a huge game. ESPN Research monster Justin Havens sent out this list late last night:
In addition to becoming the first Astros player to have four hits, five runs, three RBIs and a home run, he joined an impressive list of AL outfielders to do so:
AL outfielders since 1950
Monday, George Springer, Astros*
1998, Juan Encarnacion, Tigers
1996, Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners*
1994, Tim Raines, White Sox
1986, Joe Carter, Indians
1972, Bobby Murcer, Yankees
1959, Rocky Colavito, Indians*
1955, Minnie Minoso, White Sox
*Did not record an out
• Rougned Odor might be the Rangers' second baseman of the future.
• Ron Washington is nearing a managerial mark.
• Lloyd McClendon says he likes what he sees from the Mariners so far, writes Ryan Divish.
AL Central
• Detroit's offensive weak spots are starting to show, writes Shawn Windsor.
• A Royals prospect is starting to put it together.
• Lonnie Chisenhall is gaining confidence against left-handers, writes Marla Ridenour.
• The Twins' desperation is not a good thing for Aaron Hicks, writes Chip Scoggins.
• Minnesota has a dubious number attached to it.
AL East
• Chase Whitley continues to help the Yankees as they struggle for depth in their rotation; he pitched into the sixth inning here Monday. Whitley was a 15th-round pick, and I asked Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer about the background of how they picked out Whitley.
"Our area scout DJ Svihlik took our National Crosschecker Kendall Carter to see a starter against Troy University. There were a bunch of teams there to see the guy (don't remember his name); after he finished and was out of the game, all of the teams left and DJ asked the Troy coach if he could please put Chase in for an inning or more so his cross checker could see him. The coach did and our guys saw 90-to-91 mph with good change up and a competitor. We were able to draft him lower just because DJ knew the competition.
"Chase has worked hard and refined his stuff and control. Quality competitor."
• Dan Shaughnessy wants to debunk some myths about the 2014 Sox.
• Jonathan Schoop hit two homers Monday and wanted more.
Lastly
• Vin Scully is missing a couple of games.
• Ozzie Smith helped give the Cardinals' goodbye to Derek Jeter.
• The '64 Cardinals got the band back together.
• Vanderbilt has Xavier in the NCAA tournament.
And today will be better than yesterday.
Why did the Cubs hire Manny Ramirez?
ST. LOUIS -- Manny Ramirez offended a whole lot of folks who work under the Major League Baseball umbrella during his career.
OK, more than a lot. Maybe hundreds. Maybe thousands.
Start with Jack McCormick, the Boston Red Sox’s traveling secretary, who was physically accosted by Ramirez because McCormick couldn't come through on a last-minute request.
How about the employees of a St. Petersburg hotel, who were left to clean up the damage that Ramirez did to his room -- something so offensive that the Red Sox were asked to vacate the premises in the middle of the night. Or the clubhouse attendants whom Ramirez stiffed repeatedly, instead of just doing what every other player does and paying his dues. Or those teammates who constantly covered for him.
Or Frank McCourt, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner who signed Ramirez to a two-year, $45 million deal following the 2008 season, only to see Ramirez immediately be suspended for the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and then finish out his time with the Dodgers as a shell of the superhero he had been before. Maybe that doesn't meet the legal definition of fraud, and certainly McCourt is not a sympathetic figure, but Ramirez essentially took money under false pretenses.
Or how about John Henry, the Red Sox owner who signed Ramirez's checks for years, only to watch the outfielder appear to stop competing early in the summer of 2008, in what seemed to be an effort to force Boston to trade him so that he could get a new contract. Ramirez's behavior was so egregious that the Red Sox felt compelled to deal him, certain that he would continue to sabotage their efforts to win through the working definition of passive-aggressiveness.
Somewhere near the top of the list of those he wronged -- maybe at the very top of the list -- was Theo Epstein, the former general manager of the Red Sox. He saw the absolute worst of Manny being Manny, and often was the one left to deal with the fallout; it was Epstein who had to arrange the trade of Ramirez to the Dodgers, in which the Red Sox had to kick in dollars to get rid of one of the best hitters in the big leagues. If anybody has reason to never forgive Ramirez for his behavior, to hold a lifetime grudge, it might be Epstein.
So there's something to be drawn from the fact that it's Epstein, who now oversees baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, who has hired Ramirez to be a minor league player-coach -- and to be clear, this is much, much, much more about Ramirez being a coach than a player. Within the press release sent out by the Cubs to announce the move, the team spelled out the reality that Ramirez is not going to play in the big leagues for them.
Epstein is not reflexively sunny-side up; he isn't naive. At the GM meetings and winter meetings, he makes his peers laugh with his dark humor.
Epstein is trying to solve problems and he's trying to make the Cubs get better, and presumably, he sees Ramirez as someone who can help the team's prospects -- Javier Baez and others -- get better. Through all the complaints about Ramirez's behavior through the years, nobody ever questioned whether he was a hitting savant, and that he worked extremely hard at his craft. Epstein saw the best of Manny being Manny, as well.
Earlier this season, Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who began in professional baseball with the Red Sox, chatted about hitting one day at Dodger Stadium and said flatly that Manny knew more about what pitchers were trying to do than anybody he'd been around. He recalled the 7 a.m. sessions in the batting cage with Manny, about all the information he extracted from those conversations. The back of Manny Ramirez's baseball card says this: a career .312 average, .411 on-base percentage, 2,574 hits, 555 home runs. Those are numbers that cannot be achieved without extraordinary effort and knowledge. You cannot be known as the greatest breaking-ball hitter of your time, as Ramirez was, without a lot of thought and development.
Some former stars struggle to relate to the struggles of others -- Ted Williams was thought to have this problem when he managed the Washington Senators -- but one of Ramirez's gifts, apparently, is his ability to communicate the art of hitting.
Mike Olt, a teammate of Ramirez's with the Rangers' Triple-A farm team, endorsed Ramirez's ability to explain hitting to teammates, to help them understand their work.
Epstein once said that Ramirez was the best he's ever heard at articulating the swing of a right-handed hitter and the approach to hitting a breaking ball.
What Ramirez did leading up to his trade to the Dodgers in the summer of 2008 might be the worst thing I've seen in baseball: a player appearing to tank in his at-bats, in his play, for the sake of a new contract. (Remember that day when he said he couldn't play because of a knee issue but couldn't remember which knee was injured?)
When Mark McGwire wanted to get back into baseball as the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, he had to do a perp walk of interviews to acknowledge his past use of PEDs. What Ramirez did in his last season with the Red Sox was far worse than the act of taking steroids (although he later did that, too, apparently) because at least the PED users were trying to get better; they were trying to perform, for themselves and for their teams. The choice Ramirez seemed to make in the summer of 2008 wasn't that far removed from what Ed Cicotte and some of his teammates did in the 1919 World Series: compromising the integrity of their play -- and by extension, the competition -- for the sake of money.
But Epstein knows all that, first-hand, and there's no chance he would've hired Ramirez without serious thought, without doing the background work and discussing Ramirez's personal journey of the last couple of years.
There's no chance he would've brought Ramirez on board without believing that Manny has changed. There's no chance he would've hired Ramirez without believing he has become accountable and has taken responsibility for what he did in Boston. There's no chance Epstein would've hired Ramirez without believing he has a chance for baseball redemption, and that going forward, Ramirez should be judged on his ability to recover and do the right thing. There's no chance the Cubs would've hired Ramirez without some conversation with Major League Baseball; what they would've heard back was that Ramirez owned up to his past mistakes.
Based on the history, it's shocking that it's Epstein who is giving Ramirez a mulligan. But Epstein is looking ahead, not back, and providing Ramirez with an opportunity to create another side of his personal history.
David Haugh doesn't like the hiring. It's not a PR move, says Epstein. It's a dalliance that goes against all reason, writes Rick Morrissey.
From ESPN Stats & Info: Manny Ramirez homered against all 30 MLB clubs during his career -- and only one of his 555 regular-season career homers came against the Cubs. It was off Joe Borowski at Wrigley Field on June 12, 2005. The only other team he did not hit multiple homers against was the Dodgers.
Ramirez did more damage against the Cubs in the 2008 playoffs, in an unforgettable performance: He went 5-for-10 with two homers and four walks; one of his homers cut through the wind of Wrigley Field, to straightaway center field.
• Early in spring training, the Dodgers' catchers raved about how great Josh Beckett looked, how sharp his stuff was. When their words were related to Beckett, he mentioned what a difference it was to have full feeling back in his pitching hand again, after surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome.
And on Sunday, he joined the Dodgers' legacy of no-hitters, by dominating the Phillies.
From ESPN Stats & Info, how Beckett won:
A. He recorded 18 outs with his fastball, his second most with that pitch in the last six seasons, and the most since 2009.
B. He allowed only one hard-hit ball in 18 at-bats ending with his fastball.
C. He threw 23 first-pitch strikes, tied for his second most in any start in the last six seasons, and his most since 2010.
D. He got five first-pitch outs, tied for his fourth most in the last six seasons.
E. He threw 51.6 percent of his pitches in the lower third of the strike zone or lower, his highest rate since 2011; recorded 13 outs in at-bats ending with pitches in that location, his most in any game in the last six seasons.
Beckett started talking about the no-hitter in the fourth inning, as Dylan Hernandez writes.
The Phillies were unable to put pressure on Beckett, writes Marc Narducci.
• Meanwhile, the Phillies are thinking about calling up one of their best prospects.
• Adam Wainwright completely overpowered the Reds on "Sunday Night Baseball." We've got the Cardinals and Yankees at 4 p.m. EDT today, following the Red Sox and Braves at 1 p.m.
• Derek Jeter turned back the clock with four hits, writes Mark Feinsand. Busch Stadium is the only park in which Jeter has played and doesn't have a hit.
• That's 10 straight losses for the Red Sox, who had a scrap in the middle of Sunday's defeat in Tampa Bay. Nick Cafardo wonders if this might be a spark for this team.
Jonny Gomes says a World Series hangover isn't the problem. Boston's frustration boiled over, writes Gordon Edes.
I don't think it's very complicated: The Red Sox just aren't hitting like they did last year, when they racked up 57 more runs through the same point of the season. As of today, they are tied for 19th in runs scored.
The AL East is so muddled that even with this giant losing streak, Boston is still just seven games out in the loss column.
The Rays completed the sweep of Boston, and Joe Maddon took umbrage with what the Red Sox did, as Marc Topkin writes. From his story:
Boston manager John Farrrell called that "somewhat of a gray area" as far as no longer running. Maddon scoffed at the thought, mentioning repeatedly, and citing notes, that in last year's playoff opener, former Sox star Jacoby Ellsbury stole second leading 8-2 in the eighth, and the Rays didn't complain.
"That was a little more egregious than their interpretation of (Sunday)," Maddon said.
Escobar grew increasingly animated in his response, pointing repeatedly into the Boston dugout and barking back, breaking away from Foley.
"Yuni's an emotional guy," Foley said. "I guess he could only take so much and it finally got to him." (Escobar declined comment, issuing a statement through the Rays PR staff saying only, "As far as I'm concerned, it's over.")
And also to [Jonny] Gomes -- who led the charge for the Rays against the Sox in an infamous 2008 brawl — as he raced in from leftfield and shoved Escobar, trying to fire up his own team.
"I'm not one to have an arguing match with anyone," Gomes said. "What really has to be said? I figured a hands-on approach was a little more appropriate."
Dings and dents
1. Carlos Beltran is going to test his elbow today.
2. Michael Pineda is making progress in his rehab, writes George King.
3. Eric Young Jr. is likely headed to the disabled list.
4. Danny Valencia suffered a sprained hand.
5. Josh Hamilton had a setback, and the Angels are worried.
6. Carlos Gonzalez is back in the Colorado lineup.
7. James Paxton felt some normal tightness.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. Chris Colabello was sent to Triple-A.
2. Brandon Cumpton is going to get a spot start.
3. Johan Santana has a fluid situation with his opt-out clause, says Baltimore GM Dan Duquette.
4. The Brewers called up a youngster.
5. The Rangers have asked about a Washington first baseman.
6. The Astros bagged one of their platoons, and summoned Robbie Grossman.
7. Matt Kemp is moving to left field. Which would seem to increase the likelihood that somebody is getting traded; Carl Crawford might be the best candidate, given that he's owed about $50 million less than Kemp is.
Sunday's games
1. Doug Fister had another strong start.
2. Francisco Liriano had another struggle, and the Pirates' four-game winning streak ended, as Paul Zeise writes. The Pittsburgh rotation has been reeling, writes Ron Cook.
The Pirates' rotation ERA is 4.44, which ranks 14th in the National League.
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka helped the Mets salvage a split.
4. The Twins were swept.
5. The Brewers closed out their road trip with a win.
6. Randy Wolf was hit hard.
7. Evan Gattis had a great day.
8. Arizona managed to split a doubleheader.
9. Drew Pomeranz got knocked around.
10. The Mariners didn't have a good weekend.
NL East
• Anthony Rendon is seeing the ball better, as he tells Adam Kilgore.
• Craig Kimbrel is nearing John Smoltz's save record.
NL Central
• The Reds were shut down again, writes Tom Groeschen.
• Jason Hammel suffered from hand fatigue.
NL West
• Carlos Quentin delivered again.
• Mike Morse was helped by his mom, writes Ron Kroichick.
• The Giants rolled to a sweep.
AL East
• Edwin Encarnacion and the Blue Jays just keep rolling.
• Nick Hundley is really excited to join the Orioles, writes Eduardo Encina.
AL Central
• Justin Verlander, hit hard Sunday, is still searching for ways to dominate without his good fastball. Verlander's average fastball velocity is down 3 mph from three years ago, according to FanGraphs.com.
• The White Sox should give Daniel Webb a shot at closing.
AL West
• A replacement for Prince Fielder helped the Rangers.
• Dallas Keuchel keeps throwing well.
Lastly
• The Blue Jays are wearing some special jerseys today.
And today will be better than yesterday.
OK, more than a lot. Maybe hundreds. Maybe thousands.
Start with Jack McCormick, the Boston Red Sox’s traveling secretary, who was physically accosted by Ramirez because McCormick couldn't come through on a last-minute request.
How about the employees of a St. Petersburg hotel, who were left to clean up the damage that Ramirez did to his room -- something so offensive that the Red Sox were asked to vacate the premises in the middle of the night. Or the clubhouse attendants whom Ramirez stiffed repeatedly, instead of just doing what every other player does and paying his dues. Or those teammates who constantly covered for him.
Or Frank McCourt, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner who signed Ramirez to a two-year, $45 million deal following the 2008 season, only to see Ramirez immediately be suspended for the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and then finish out his time with the Dodgers as a shell of the superhero he had been before. Maybe that doesn't meet the legal definition of fraud, and certainly McCourt is not a sympathetic figure, but Ramirez essentially took money under false pretenses.
Or how about John Henry, the Red Sox owner who signed Ramirez's checks for years, only to watch the outfielder appear to stop competing early in the summer of 2008, in what seemed to be an effort to force Boston to trade him so that he could get a new contract. Ramirez's behavior was so egregious that the Red Sox felt compelled to deal him, certain that he would continue to sabotage their efforts to win through the working definition of passive-aggressiveness.
Somewhere near the top of the list of those he wronged -- maybe at the very top of the list -- was Theo Epstein, the former general manager of the Red Sox. He saw the absolute worst of Manny being Manny, and often was the one left to deal with the fallout; it was Epstein who had to arrange the trade of Ramirez to the Dodgers, in which the Red Sox had to kick in dollars to get rid of one of the best hitters in the big leagues. If anybody has reason to never forgive Ramirez for his behavior, to hold a lifetime grudge, it might be Epstein.
So there's something to be drawn from the fact that it's Epstein, who now oversees baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, who has hired Ramirez to be a minor league player-coach -- and to be clear, this is much, much, much more about Ramirez being a coach than a player. Within the press release sent out by the Cubs to announce the move, the team spelled out the reality that Ramirez is not going to play in the big leagues for them.
Epstein is not reflexively sunny-side up; he isn't naive. At the GM meetings and winter meetings, he makes his peers laugh with his dark humor.
Epstein is trying to solve problems and he's trying to make the Cubs get better, and presumably, he sees Ramirez as someone who can help the team's prospects -- Javier Baez and others -- get better. Through all the complaints about Ramirez's behavior through the years, nobody ever questioned whether he was a hitting savant, and that he worked extremely hard at his craft. Epstein saw the best of Manny being Manny, as well.
Earlier this season, Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who began in professional baseball with the Red Sox, chatted about hitting one day at Dodger Stadium and said flatly that Manny knew more about what pitchers were trying to do than anybody he'd been around. He recalled the 7 a.m. sessions in the batting cage with Manny, about all the information he extracted from those conversations. The back of Manny Ramirez's baseball card says this: a career .312 average, .411 on-base percentage, 2,574 hits, 555 home runs. Those are numbers that cannot be achieved without extraordinary effort and knowledge. You cannot be known as the greatest breaking-ball hitter of your time, as Ramirez was, without a lot of thought and development.
Some former stars struggle to relate to the struggles of others -- Ted Williams was thought to have this problem when he managed the Washington Senators -- but one of Ramirez's gifts, apparently, is his ability to communicate the art of hitting.
Mike Olt, a teammate of Ramirez's with the Rangers' Triple-A farm team, endorsed Ramirez's ability to explain hitting to teammates, to help them understand their work.
Epstein once said that Ramirez was the best he's ever heard at articulating the swing of a right-handed hitter and the approach to hitting a breaking ball.
What Ramirez did leading up to his trade to the Dodgers in the summer of 2008 might be the worst thing I've seen in baseball: a player appearing to tank in his at-bats, in his play, for the sake of a new contract. (Remember that day when he said he couldn't play because of a knee issue but couldn't remember which knee was injured?)
When Mark McGwire wanted to get back into baseball as the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, he had to do a perp walk of interviews to acknowledge his past use of PEDs. What Ramirez did in his last season with the Red Sox was far worse than the act of taking steroids (although he later did that, too, apparently) because at least the PED users were trying to get better; they were trying to perform, for themselves and for their teams. The choice Ramirez seemed to make in the summer of 2008 wasn't that far removed from what Ed Cicotte and some of his teammates did in the 1919 World Series: compromising the integrity of their play -- and by extension, the competition -- for the sake of money.
But Epstein knows all that, first-hand, and there's no chance he would've hired Ramirez without serious thought, without doing the background work and discussing Ramirez's personal journey of the last couple of years.
There's no chance he would've brought Ramirez on board without believing that Manny has changed. There's no chance he would've hired Ramirez without believing he has become accountable and has taken responsibility for what he did in Boston. There's no chance Epstein would've hired Ramirez without believing he has a chance for baseball redemption, and that going forward, Ramirez should be judged on his ability to recover and do the right thing. There's no chance the Cubs would've hired Ramirez without some conversation with Major League Baseball; what they would've heard back was that Ramirez owned up to his past mistakes.
Based on the history, it's shocking that it's Epstein who is giving Ramirez a mulligan. But Epstein is looking ahead, not back, and providing Ramirez with an opportunity to create another side of his personal history.
David Haugh doesn't like the hiring. It's not a PR move, says Epstein. It's a dalliance that goes against all reason, writes Rick Morrissey.
From ESPN Stats & Info: Manny Ramirez homered against all 30 MLB clubs during his career -- and only one of his 555 regular-season career homers came against the Cubs. It was off Joe Borowski at Wrigley Field on June 12, 2005. The only other team he did not hit multiple homers against was the Dodgers.
Ramirez did more damage against the Cubs in the 2008 playoffs, in an unforgettable performance: He went 5-for-10 with two homers and four walks; one of his homers cut through the wind of Wrigley Field, to straightaway center field.
• Early in spring training, the Dodgers' catchers raved about how great Josh Beckett looked, how sharp his stuff was. When their words were related to Beckett, he mentioned what a difference it was to have full feeling back in his pitching hand again, after surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome.
And on Sunday, he joined the Dodgers' legacy of no-hitters, by dominating the Phillies.
From ESPN Stats & Info, how Beckett won:
A. He recorded 18 outs with his fastball, his second most with that pitch in the last six seasons, and the most since 2009.
B. He allowed only one hard-hit ball in 18 at-bats ending with his fastball.
C. He threw 23 first-pitch strikes, tied for his second most in any start in the last six seasons, and his most since 2010.
D. He got five first-pitch outs, tied for his fourth most in the last six seasons.
E. He threw 51.6 percent of his pitches in the lower third of the strike zone or lower, his highest rate since 2011; recorded 13 outs in at-bats ending with pitches in that location, his most in any game in the last six seasons.
Beckett started talking about the no-hitter in the fourth inning, as Dylan Hernandez writes.
The Phillies were unable to put pressure on Beckett, writes Marc Narducci.
• Meanwhile, the Phillies are thinking about calling up one of their best prospects.
• Adam Wainwright completely overpowered the Reds on "Sunday Night Baseball." We've got the Cardinals and Yankees at 4 p.m. EDT today, following the Red Sox and Braves at 1 p.m.
• Derek Jeter turned back the clock with four hits, writes Mark Feinsand. Busch Stadium is the only park in which Jeter has played and doesn't have a hit.
• That's 10 straight losses for the Red Sox, who had a scrap in the middle of Sunday's defeat in Tampa Bay. Nick Cafardo wonders if this might be a spark for this team.
Jonny Gomes says a World Series hangover isn't the problem. Boston's frustration boiled over, writes Gordon Edes.
I don't think it's very complicated: The Red Sox just aren't hitting like they did last year, when they racked up 57 more runs through the same point of the season. As of today, they are tied for 19th in runs scored.
The AL East is so muddled that even with this giant losing streak, Boston is still just seven games out in the loss column.
The Rays completed the sweep of Boston, and Joe Maddon took umbrage with what the Red Sox did, as Marc Topkin writes. From his story:
Boston manager John Farrrell called that "somewhat of a gray area" as far as no longer running. Maddon scoffed at the thought, mentioning repeatedly, and citing notes, that in last year's playoff opener, former Sox star Jacoby Ellsbury stole second leading 8-2 in the eighth, and the Rays didn't complain.
"That was a little more egregious than their interpretation of (Sunday)," Maddon said.
Escobar grew increasingly animated in his response, pointing repeatedly into the Boston dugout and barking back, breaking away from Foley.
"Yuni's an emotional guy," Foley said. "I guess he could only take so much and it finally got to him." (Escobar declined comment, issuing a statement through the Rays PR staff saying only, "As far as I'm concerned, it's over.")
And also to [Jonny] Gomes -- who led the charge for the Rays against the Sox in an infamous 2008 brawl — as he raced in from leftfield and shoved Escobar, trying to fire up his own team.
"I'm not one to have an arguing match with anyone," Gomes said. "What really has to be said? I figured a hands-on approach was a little more appropriate."
Dings and dents
1. Carlos Beltran is going to test his elbow today.
2. Michael Pineda is making progress in his rehab, writes George King.
3. Eric Young Jr. is likely headed to the disabled list.
4. Danny Valencia suffered a sprained hand.
5. Josh Hamilton had a setback, and the Angels are worried.
6. Carlos Gonzalez is back in the Colorado lineup.
7. James Paxton felt some normal tightness.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. Chris Colabello was sent to Triple-A.
2. Brandon Cumpton is going to get a spot start.
3. Johan Santana has a fluid situation with his opt-out clause, says Baltimore GM Dan Duquette.
4. The Brewers called up a youngster.
5. The Rangers have asked about a Washington first baseman.
6. The Astros bagged one of their platoons, and summoned Robbie Grossman.
7. Matt Kemp is moving to left field. Which would seem to increase the likelihood that somebody is getting traded; Carl Crawford might be the best candidate, given that he's owed about $50 million less than Kemp is.
Sunday's games
1. Doug Fister had another strong start.
2. Francisco Liriano had another struggle, and the Pirates' four-game winning streak ended, as Paul Zeise writes. The Pittsburgh rotation has been reeling, writes Ron Cook.
The Pirates' rotation ERA is 4.44, which ranks 14th in the National League.
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka helped the Mets salvage a split.
4. The Twins were swept.
5. The Brewers closed out their road trip with a win.
6. Randy Wolf was hit hard.
7. Evan Gattis had a great day.
8. Arizona managed to split a doubleheader.
9. Drew Pomeranz got knocked around.
10. The Mariners didn't have a good weekend.
NL East
• Anthony Rendon is seeing the ball better, as he tells Adam Kilgore.
• Craig Kimbrel is nearing John Smoltz's save record.
NL Central
• The Reds were shut down again, writes Tom Groeschen.
• Jason Hammel suffered from hand fatigue.
NL West
• Carlos Quentin delivered again.
• Mike Morse was helped by his mom, writes Ron Kroichick.
• The Giants rolled to a sweep.
AL East
• Edwin Encarnacion and the Blue Jays just keep rolling.
• Nick Hundley is really excited to join the Orioles, writes Eduardo Encina.
AL Central
• Justin Verlander, hit hard Sunday, is still searching for ways to dominate without his good fastball. Verlander's average fastball velocity is down 3 mph from three years ago, according to FanGraphs.com.
• The White Sox should give Daniel Webb a shot at closing.
AL West
• A replacement for Prince Fielder helped the Rangers.
• Dallas Keuchel keeps throwing well.
Lastly
• The Blue Jays are wearing some special jerseys today.
And today will be better than yesterday.
Is Chase Utley a Hall of Famer?
The evaluator hesitated for about 0.2 seconds when considering the question asked over the phone: Who's the best player you've seen lately?
"Chase Utley," he said, and went on to describe how Utley is getting to low pitches in a way he hadn't for a few years, in how he's driving the ball, in how he's making better contact.
Utley missed 216 games from 2010 through 2013, or almost 1.5 full seasons, and by the spring of 2012 he looked as if might never get back to being what he had been in his prime -- an All-Star in five straight seasons, someone who finished in the top 10 in the NL MVP voting three times.
Now Utley is hitting .335 with almost as many doubles (20) as strikeouts (22); we're almost a third of the way through the season, and, at his current pace, he would finish the season with 72 doubles, 11 triples and 11 homers. Ninety-four extra-base hits. His OPS of .942 ranks seventh in the National League.
Utley also could be putting himself onto a path that leads to Hall of Fame consideration, which seemed completely ridiculous two years ago -- and might still be a long shot, given his modest career totals of 1,466 hits and 220 homers. If Utley is ever going to have a case, it'll be because he was one of the game's best players for a period of about five years -- and might be entering that conversation again, surprisingly, in 2014.
If Utley needs a model to follow, he can look in the corner of his dugout. Ryne Sandberg did not accumulate whopping numbers in his career -- 2,386 career hits, with 282 homers and three top-10 finishes in the MVP race, including 1984, when he finished first. But Sandberg was consistently excellent, a high-end offensive player as a middle infielder, and that always plays well with Hall of Fame voters.
I think Utley needs two great years -- this year, and another -- to build the framework of a case for induction. He needs to at least get close to 2,000 hits, and, given his recent injury history, that's not a given. But there are numbers that reflect the overall efficiency and excellence in Utley's career, and they will attract some votes.
Sandberg finished his career with a cumulative WAR of 67.5, including a high of 8.5 in his MVP season. Utley sits at 59.6, with a career high of 9.0 in 2008 and a season of 8.2 in 2009.
To put that into context, here's how some other middle infielders in the Hall of Fame fared in WAR:
Pee Wee Reese, 66.3
Paul Molitor, 75.4
Ozzie Smith, 76.5
Robin Yount, 77.0
Joe Morgan, 100.3
Luis Aparicio, 55.8
Luke Appling, 74.5
Rogers Hornsby, 127.0
Eddie Collins, 119.6
Derek Jeter, 71.9
To repeat: I'm not saying Utley is a Hall of Famer. But he's a lot closer than you might think.
For the readers: Do you think Utley is a Hall of Famer?
• Utley and the Phillies were blanked by the Dodgers on Friday night.
Around the league
• On Friday's podcast, we have an update on the role Charlie Sheen is playing in the preparation for Sunday's "Baseball Tonight," and Richard Durrett, Karl Ravech and Justin Havens all weigh in on what they think the Rangers should do in the aftermath of the Prince Fielder injury.
• Another guy got hurt sliding headfirst, and it's a big-timer: Nolan Arenado might be out four to six weeks.
• Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw got his groove back, firing six scoreless innings, as Dylan Hernandez writes.
• Chris Johnson erupted in the Atlanta dugout, was pulled from the game and apologized. But Gerald Laird came through again.
• Giancarlo Stanton continues to destroy the ball. From ESPN Stats & Information:
Stanton’s two home runs Friday each went at least 440 feet. The lesson for pitchers is that, if you are going to throw him a strike, you'd better locate the pitch at the edge of the strike zone. All 14 of his home runs this season have come on pitches in the strike zone, and nine of them have been center cut.
Most 440-foot-plus home runs this season
Giancarlo Stanton 5
"Chase Utley," he said, and went on to describe how Utley is getting to low pitches in a way he hadn't for a few years, in how he's driving the ball, in how he's making better contact.
Utley missed 216 games from 2010 through 2013, or almost 1.5 full seasons, and by the spring of 2012 he looked as if might never get back to being what he had been in his prime -- an All-Star in five straight seasons, someone who finished in the top 10 in the NL MVP voting three times.
Now Utley is hitting .335 with almost as many doubles (20) as strikeouts (22); we're almost a third of the way through the season, and, at his current pace, he would finish the season with 72 doubles, 11 triples and 11 homers. Ninety-four extra-base hits. His OPS of .942 ranks seventh in the National League.
Utley also could be putting himself onto a path that leads to Hall of Fame consideration, which seemed completely ridiculous two years ago -- and might still be a long shot, given his modest career totals of 1,466 hits and 220 homers. If Utley is ever going to have a case, it'll be because he was one of the game's best players for a period of about five years -- and might be entering that conversation again, surprisingly, in 2014.
If Utley needs a model to follow, he can look in the corner of his dugout. Ryne Sandberg did not accumulate whopping numbers in his career -- 2,386 career hits, with 282 homers and three top-10 finishes in the MVP race, including 1984, when he finished first. But Sandberg was consistently excellent, a high-end offensive player as a middle infielder, and that always plays well with Hall of Fame voters.
I think Utley needs two great years -- this year, and another -- to build the framework of a case for induction. He needs to at least get close to 2,000 hits, and, given his recent injury history, that's not a given. But there are numbers that reflect the overall efficiency and excellence in Utley's career, and they will attract some votes.
Sandberg finished his career with a cumulative WAR of 67.5, including a high of 8.5 in his MVP season. Utley sits at 59.6, with a career high of 9.0 in 2008 and a season of 8.2 in 2009.
To put that into context, here's how some other middle infielders in the Hall of Fame fared in WAR:
Pee Wee Reese, 66.3
Paul Molitor, 75.4
Ozzie Smith, 76.5
Robin Yount, 77.0
Joe Morgan, 100.3
Luis Aparicio, 55.8
Luke Appling, 74.5
Rogers Hornsby, 127.0
Eddie Collins, 119.6
Derek Jeter, 71.9
To repeat: I'm not saying Utley is a Hall of Famer. But he's a lot closer than you might think.
For the readers: Do you think Utley is a Hall of Famer?
• Utley and the Phillies were blanked by the Dodgers on Friday night.
Around the league
• On Friday's podcast, we have an update on the role Charlie Sheen is playing in the preparation for Sunday's "Baseball Tonight," and Richard Durrett, Karl Ravech and Justin Havens all weigh in on what they think the Rangers should do in the aftermath of the Prince Fielder injury.
• Another guy got hurt sliding headfirst, and it's a big-timer: Nolan Arenado might be out four to six weeks.
• Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw got his groove back, firing six scoreless innings, as Dylan Hernandez writes.
• Chris Johnson erupted in the Atlanta dugout, was pulled from the game and apologized. But Gerald Laird came through again.
• Giancarlo Stanton continues to destroy the ball. From ESPN Stats & Information:
Stanton’s two home runs Friday each went at least 440 feet. The lesson for pitchers is that, if you are going to throw him a strike, you'd better locate the pitch at the edge of the strike zone. All 14 of his home runs this season have come on pitches in the strike zone, and nine of them have been center cut.
Most 440-foot-plus home runs this season
Giancarlo Stanton 5
- Sep 27, 2007
- 20,619
- 1,615
The Orioles are considered the leader for Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija, according to CBSChicago.com.
The two sides have mutual interest in a deal. Baltimore would acquire Samardzija, who is under team control through next season. The Cubs are scouting the Orioles top pitching prospects, including Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. Samardzija has done everything possible to boost his trade value. Through 75 innings, he has a 1.68 ERA.
The two sides have mutual interest in a deal. Baltimore would acquire Samardzija, who is under team control through next season. The Cubs are scouting the Orioles top pitching prospects, including Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. Samardzija has done everything possible to boost his trade value. Through 75 innings, he has a 1.68 ERA.
George Springer and Maximizing Contact.
Several weeks ago, there was some concern over Edwin Encarnacion. He was having a somewhat strikeout-prone April, and he was having an under-powered April, and Jays fans weren’t sure what to make of the guy going forward. He’s since hit 13 home runs in May, all in a span of 20 games, and now he basically seems like himself, and on a hot streak to boot. All concern has been erased.
Similarly, people were very worried about George Springer after an underwhelming first couple weeks. Of course, Springer didn’t have Encarnacion’s track record, and of course, Springer was a rookie getting exposed to the majors for the first time, but I’d field questions in my chats about whether or not Springer might get demoted since his power was totally absent. In April, Springer batted .182 without a single dinger. In May, he’s batted .325 with eight dingers, and he’s homered in four games in a row. Springer has been one of the best hitters in baseball lately, and the initial overreaction now seems silly and absurd. Give rookies time. Especially the really good ones.
One thing Springer hasn’t done in May is cut down on the strikeouts. In April, he struck out just under a third of the time. In May, he’s struck out just under a third of the time. And anyone who knows anything about George Springer knows that the strikeouts will forever be a huge part of the equation. That was the big issue for him as he rose through the minor leagues, and issues like this tend not to resolve themselves simply. Springer has always swung and missed a lot, and he probably always will. He’s running one of baseball’s lowest contact rates, and he’s lately been succeeding despite that.
So, let’s talk a little about how. A league-average strikeout rate is about 20%. Springer’s is north of 30%. A league-average contact rate is about 80%. Springer’s is closer to 60% than 70%. Less than two-thirds of the time that Springer has swung so far has he made contact with the baseball. What some people might suggest is that there’s a line beyond which a player simply misses too much to be good, and Springer might be close to that line. Springer might be beyond that line. Springer skeptics have always been first and foremost skeptical about the future of a guy who whiffs so much.
A whiff is, basically, an empty swing. A strikeout is, basically, an empty plate appearance. Every additional whiff is a missed opportunity to do damage, and at some point a player might be reduced to having too few remaining opportunities to compensate. So the key for a guy like Springer is to maximize the contact that he does make. If we take it as a given that Springer will make contact a below-average amount of the time, then he will need for his contact to be above-average in terms of value. If Springer makes a lot out of his contact, then he can effectively cram the value of X contacts into Y/X contacts (where Y
Similarly, people were very worried about George Springer after an underwhelming first couple weeks. Of course, Springer didn’t have Encarnacion’s track record, and of course, Springer was a rookie getting exposed to the majors for the first time, but I’d field questions in my chats about whether or not Springer might get demoted since his power was totally absent. In April, Springer batted .182 without a single dinger. In May, he’s batted .325 with eight dingers, and he’s homered in four games in a row. Springer has been one of the best hitters in baseball lately, and the initial overreaction now seems silly and absurd. Give rookies time. Especially the really good ones.
One thing Springer hasn’t done in May is cut down on the strikeouts. In April, he struck out just under a third of the time. In May, he’s struck out just under a third of the time. And anyone who knows anything about George Springer knows that the strikeouts will forever be a huge part of the equation. That was the big issue for him as he rose through the minor leagues, and issues like this tend not to resolve themselves simply. Springer has always swung and missed a lot, and he probably always will. He’s running one of baseball’s lowest contact rates, and he’s lately been succeeding despite that.
So, let’s talk a little about how. A league-average strikeout rate is about 20%. Springer’s is north of 30%. A league-average contact rate is about 80%. Springer’s is closer to 60% than 70%. Less than two-thirds of the time that Springer has swung so far has he made contact with the baseball. What some people might suggest is that there’s a line beyond which a player simply misses too much to be good, and Springer might be close to that line. Springer might be beyond that line. Springer skeptics have always been first and foremost skeptical about the future of a guy who whiffs so much.
A whiff is, basically, an empty swing. A strikeout is, basically, an empty plate appearance. Every additional whiff is a missed opportunity to do damage, and at some point a player might be reduced to having too few remaining opportunities to compensate. So the key for a guy like Springer is to maximize the contact that he does make. If we take it as a given that Springer will make contact a below-average amount of the time, then he will need for his contact to be above-average in terms of value. If Springer makes a lot out of his contact, then he can effectively cram the value of X contacts into Y/X contacts (where Y
- Dec 14, 2004
- 60,034
- 50,948
- Nov 1, 2005
- 26,898
- 383
50
He's a free agent after next year? Or after '16? I think he's eligible for one more year of arbitration then free agency. Baltimore has actually built a deep farm the last few years. I try to get Schoop if I'm Chicago, since I can probably throw a breaking ball and strike Baez out.
- Oct 31, 2008
- 2,312
- 214
At least 7 or 8 times a week I hear about how little $$ he's making now. Is he really the lowest paid player on the team? Will Beane cash him out when his time comes
I'm not sure if he's the lowest paid player, but he is technically at the league minimum like around 500k
He's under team control for a long time too I believe, not sure what Beane will do because he will be in this 30's when it's actually time to pay him
Feel bad for the guy, out there balling and one the best all-around players in the game, making that Eric Sogard money :x
- Sep 27, 2007
- 20,619
- 1,615
jumpmanfromdabay
Banned
- Jan 25, 2008
- 25,730
- 2,900
jewbacca
Banned
- Jan 27, 2013
- 3,349
- 508
What about Dan Haren?
- Jul 30, 2012
- 2,701
- 1,084
if they can get dylan bundy for him wow
jewbacca
Banned
- Jan 27, 2013
- 3,349
- 508
The O's would be stupid to give up Bundy or Gausman.
- Aug 13, 2013
- 7,884
- 2,014
You'll talk about tulo's long ab time...
Wtf was Crawford doing...? Like get your *** in the box haha
Wtf was Crawford doing...? Like get your *** in the box haha
- Jul 30, 2012
- 2,701
- 1,084
George Springer with another bomb.......
- Dec 14, 2001
- 12,426
- 2,239
AL player of the week
- Status
