Random Collection of Thoughts re: MLB action April 24

The surprising New York Mets took three out of four from the St. Louis Cardinals.  The nifty factoid to take from Thursday's 4-1 loss is the difference in average age in terms of the pitchers used in the game.  The Mets used Bartolo Colon, Carlos Torres, Scott Rice and the returning Daisuke Matsuzaka for an average age of 35.  The Cardinals used Lance Lynn, Kevin Siegrist, Carlos Martinez and Eric Fornataro for an average of 25.25. 


Toward the end of the exhibition season, Erik Bedard let it be known that if he was not in the starting lineup he would consider retirement over coming of the bullpen.  In Bedard's first start on April 18th, he never made it out of the 3rd inning while giving up 4 runs on 6 hits.  Bedard's second start came Thursday night giving up 4 runs on 5 hits while issuing 5 walks while struggling to make it through 4 innings.  Proving to the Tampa Bays Rays you belong, you're doing it wrong Mr. Bedard!!


How do you comeback from a sweep at the hands of a divisional rival?  If you are the Oakland A's, you throttle another divisional opponent 10-1.  Beating down divisional opponents was a theme in the AL East


The Baltimore Orioles defeating the Toronto Blue Jays by a touchdown, 11-4.  The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox so badly, the Sox sent outfielder Mike Carp to pitch the 9th inning.  FIVE WALKS later that misery was over.


Scanned all the infielders stats using the stat column "at bats" to sort each position.  Safe to assume the players making the Top 10 in the "at bats" category are everyday starters.  Here is a look at the slowest starts by players in the top 10 of their respective positions using their batting average as a gage so far this season.

1. C - Sal Perez .213, Buster Posey .229, Juan Castro .217
2. 1B - Nick Swisher .205, Edwin Encarnacion .233
3. 2B - Aaron Hill .232, Brian Dozier .224
4. 3B - Marcus Semien .235, Martin Prado .234, Pedro Alvarez .176, Brett Lawrie .157
5. SS - Ian Desmond .200, Brad Miller .221, Asdrubal Cabrera .238

Random Collection of Thoughts re April 23 in MLB

The first 9 outs St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha recorded on Wednesday were strikeouts.  As impressive as that is any and every time I read his name here's what instantly goes through my mind "waka, waka, waka"


Dictionary.com defines the word "Pinata" as " a gaily decorated crock or papier-mâché figure filled with toys, candy, etc., and suspended from above...so that children, who are blindfolded, may break it or knock it down with sticks and release the contents." New York Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda deserves his own Pinata, so many baseball purists would love to knock the pine tar out of him. 


Internet high five to the Texas Rangers for their sweep three game sweep of the Oakland Athletics.  The A's had not lost back to back games all year and now travel to Houston for a 4 game set.  The A's had just swept the Astros before being whitewashed by the Rangers.  Meanwhile the Rangers head to Seattle for a weekend series, trying to match their season high five game win streak.  During their first five game win streak, three of those wins were against the Mariners.


Speaking of the Seattle Mariners, they are one of three teams that avoided sweeps in their respective series by winning Wednesday night.  Kyle Seager may have earned himself a bobblehead night with a two homerun game with the second one being of the walk-off variety.


The San Francisco Giants, after being outpitched the first two games of the series, decided to try to beat the Colorado Rockies with the long ball.  The Giants hit 6 homeruns with the 6th being a grand slam in the 11th.  Sigh, I stand by my prediction if the Rockies pitching can become mediocre, they will make the playoffs. 


Lastly, the Washington Nationals avoided the sweep to the Los Angeles Angels thanks to 9th inning meltdown in the Angels bullpen.  On paper, the rosters of the Nationals and Angels coulda/shoulda/woulda be World Series bound.  I won't hold my breathe.

Collection of Random Thoughts re April 20 in the MLB

We will start with an internet high five to the two teams who accomplished sweeps this past weekend, the Oakland A's and the Miami Marlins.  The A's swept the Houston Astros, a team with a total payroll of 45 million and a fat chance to make the playoffs.  The Marlins swept the Seattle Mariners, a team that pays Robinson Cano 24 million per year and has a slim chance to make the playoffs.  Makes you realize that a slim chance and a fat chance at the playoffs really are the same.


In a world we have noses that run and feet that smell, having your team get their collective butt kicked one game is not to be taken too seriously.  The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday 16-1 - - Yanks would win Sunday 5-1.  The Chicago White Sox would lose to the Texas Rangers by a combined 18-3 score from their Friday and Saturday matchups - - the Sox would win 16-2 on Sunday.  The Milwaukee Brewers would open their four game series in Pittsburgh against the Pirates with an 11-2 loss - - it would be the only game in the series the BrewCrew lost.


Speaking of the Brewers, this is how Carlos Gomez made headlines on Sunday April 20.  This is how Carlos Gomez made headlines on Wednesday September 25, 2013.  For the 2015 season, I'd like to put $20 that the Carlos Gomez induced brawl will be the final week of August.


The San Francisco Giants played two more one run games this past weekend making it 11 of their 19 games decided by only one run this season.  Both the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays have played only two one run games each thus far in 2014.  I'm accepting witty comments about beer sales because I know they are there for the sharing.


With two National League games going to 14 innings on Sunday, one of them including the New York Mets, I came across this fascinating tidbit of knowledge.  Did you know that 14 innings is the NL record for Opening Day longest game?  The record has been tied 7 times with the New York Mets being involved in the last two times it has happened.  Here is the source to the obscure find.

Random Collection of Thoughts re April 17 in MLB

According to Wikipedia and their sources, the triple play by the New York Yankees during their game against the Tampa Bay Rays was the 692nd of all time.  While that is a nifty factoid there is something else to take from that game that includes a little bit fortune-telling.  Rays starter David Price had a sub-standard showing for a "regular" starting pitcher never mind his time-tested elevated standards.  The next scheduled start for Mr. Price will be versus the Minnesota Twins, bet on Mr. Price to find his groove.


The Pittsburgh Pirates hit four more homeruns Thursday night, three of them with runners on base, to dismantle the hot-no-more Milwaukee Brewers 11-2.  Pittsburgh is now second in the league with 23 round trips around the bases.  When I looked up that stat I was quite surprised to see the Baltimore Orioles, last years far and away leader in homeruns, sitting in 27th place overall with only 9 homeruns.  The next statement is brought to you by Captain Obvious - the only stat that really matters is both teams currently sit at .500 with their win/loss record.


I had asked for the "real" Washington Nationals to please stand up during this weekends 4 game series hosting the St. Louis Cardinals.  Thursday night's series opener featured 4 errors on defense and only 2 hits on offense by the Nats.  Maybe the Nats are just following the script of Hulk Hogan wrestling match and will use Friday to hulk up!


The uber highs and uber lows of being a Seattle Mariner fan can be summed up in the following sequence from their Thursday game with division rival Texas Rangers.  Down 4-0 going into the top of the 3rd inning, Robinson Cano finally hits his 1st homerun of the season (with 2 men on base as an added bonus).  Before their half of the inning was over, the M's would add three more runs to take a 6-4.  The next time Mr. Cano comes to the plate in the top of the 4th inning, the game is tied at 6 and with a man on first, Mr. Cano grounds into a double play. 


Look at the bright side Mariner fans, Toronto Blue Jay fans are all wishing they could call a mulligan on both their games yesterday against the Minnesota Twins.  In the morning game of a double header, Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera would have season long 14 game hitting streak snapped and R A Dickey would have his season long struggles continue.  In the afternoon game of the double header, EIGHT WALKS IN THE 8TH by their bullpen would cost the Jays the game.


One more three game sweep to report, this time by the Kansas City Royals over the Houston Astros.  Internet high five!

Random Collection of Thoughts re April 16 in the MLB

The Washington Nationals defeated the Miami Marlins Wednesday to improve their record versus Miami to 5-1 in 2014.  The Nats have also swept the New York Mets but have gone 1-5 versus the Atlanta Braves, aka, the only team they have played with a legitimate playoff hope.  Up next, the World Series runner ups the St. Louis Cardinals who just squished the Milwaukee Brewers 9 game winning streak by only allowing one run in their first two matchups against the Brew Crew.  The first of four Cardinal pitchers the Nats will face is three time Cy Young Award finalist Adam Wainwright.  Will the real Washington Nationals please stand up!?


Top of the 9th, Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cliff Lee gives up singles to the first two batters of the final frame and Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran is due up in a 1-0 game in favor of the Atlanta.  This situation is the perfect example of why managing a team in the "designated hitter" American League is much easier.


Bottom of the 11th, Houston Astros down 2 runs with a man on and the most publicized rookie since Wil Myers steps into the batters box for the hometown team.  George Springer falls behind 1-2 in the count.  The count goes full at 3-2.   Springer fouls off two balls and then...the strikeout.  Springer would finish the night 1-5 with a walk and two strikeouts.  For the record, the 2013 AL Rookie of the Year Myers started his pro career with an 0-4 at the dish.


This is what happens when a position player pitches in a MLB game - - 1 inning pitched, 1 hit, 2 walks and 2 runs against.  With no other options available, the Chicago White Sox had to practically hand the game over to the Boston Red Sox in the 14th inning.  Captain Obvious says both teams are very happy Thursday's game is NOT a matinee!


In this day of parity/mediocrity I try to always to acknowledge sweeps of a series. An internet high five to the  New York Mets, New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.


Here is a montage of Kendrys Morales' and Stephen Drew's 2014 season.  The question is what is the true reason for their free agency?  Is it

• a)  Teams waiting until after June 5 - 7 draft  to avoid compensation pick  OR
• b) Morales and Drew would rather earn no money rather than be "underpaid"?

Random Collection of Thoughts re April 12 in the MLB

Instant replay rules need limits! 

In today's Red Sox/Yankees game, karma itself is trying to tell the MLB to keep the reviews to homeruns, home plate calls and diving catches in the outfield.  The MLB has already released their statement saying the umpires should have overturned the call on the field when Dean Anna sliding into second had his foot leave the bag momentarily while the Red Sox shortstop held a tag on him.   How long before they start reviewing throws over to first base too?  All the other leagues have limits with their replays, the NFL doesn't review every pass interference call (those yards are just as important as an extra base in baseball), the NHL doesn't review every goal (they learned their lesson the hard way with this Stanley Cup winning goal which during the regular season would have been disallowed), etcetera etcetra.  As much as the MLB is trying its best to remove the human element from decisions being made in-game STOP IT! 


Being from Alberta, the highest level of baseball is the Western Major Baseball League.  Here's some love to two "graduates" off to a good start in 2014.  Cleveland Indians relief pitcher John Axford pitched a perfect inning today dropping his ERA to 1.69 in 6 appearances this season.  Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Jim Henderson kept his ERA at 0.00 today despite giving up two hits which doubled the amount of hits he had giving up in his previous 5 outings.

Two teams losing the pennant in April, the Kansas City Royals and the Cincinnati Reds.

Being outscored 17-2 in two games against the Minnesota Twins is not changing my mind about the Detroit Tigers winning the AL Central but is making me wonder about the Royals earning the wildcard spot.  Meanwhile in Cincy, the Reds need to win on Sunday to avoid a sweep.  If they avoid the sweep, it will be the fourth consecutive series the Reds have lost 2-1.  Last I checked, a .333 winning percentage will not get you into the playoffs.


After Brock Lesnar'ing Paul Goldschmidt's on base streak with a simple mention in this blog, let's see if I can "Brock Lesnar" the Milwaukee Brewers 8 game winning streak going into Sunday's matinee with the Pirates. 

One Series From Every Division to Look Forward to This Weekend

AL EAST - - Red Sox vs Yankees


The Yankees took the 1st game of the four game series on Thursday.  If the Red Sox were not World Series champs, the nod for AL East series of the weekend would have went to the Blue Jays vs Orioles.  I can't imagine the Red Sox not making the playoffs in 2014 but this weekend could start rubbing the sticks together to start that fire.


AL CENTRAL - - Indians vs White Sox


Remember to the 2012 Baltimore's Orioles and their improbable playoff berth?  That's exactly how I feek about the Cleveland's run to the playoffs last season.  Much like the O's failed to make consecutive post season appearances, the same fate awaits the Tribe. My bold prediction is that the White Sox that will challenge them for 3rd place in the division.  The series began Thursday night with the Sox breaking a 14 game losing streak against the Tribe...a sign of things to come!


AL WEST - - A's vs Mariners


"To the man, you've gotta beat the man" Ric Flair The Mariners lost 2 of 3 in Oakland to the A's and (pardon the exaggerated tone in April) can ill-afford to do the same during this weekend's series at Safeco Field.


NL EAST - - Nationals vs Braves


The sexy pick last season to win the AL East was the Nationals.  The sexy pick to possibly knock the Braves out of first place in 2014 is again the Nationals.  The Nats lost 2 of 3 against the Braves in Washington.  Sure it's their only two losses of the season but feasting on teams like the Miami Marlins and New York Mets only makes you pretenders not contenders.


NL CENTRAL - - Cubs vs Cardinals


The argument here is simple, the Cubs hold the power in the NL Central to decide who wins the division.  The Cardinals play their first three of 19 games versus the Cubbies after seeing the Pittsburgh Pirates took 4 of 6 from Chicago.  If Chicago finds a way to take two games this weekend...who am I kidding!


NL WEST - - Tigers vs Padres


This may not be an inter-divisional game but this series has me wondering, how do the Tigers not sweep the Padres?  Porcello, Verlander, Scherzer pitching in the cavernous Petco Park against a team that has scored only 20 runs in 9 games this season.  If the Padres find a way to take 2 of 3, Royals fans should cry if they don't take 2 of 3 from Twins and make up a game on the Tigers "the easy way".

Random Collection of Thoughts re: April 9 in the MLB

Three "first's" happened today that not many people would not have expected to wait over a week to see (or in the last example, expected at all).  The Kansas City Royals hit their 1st homerun of the season and the Cincinnati Reds speed demon Billy Hamilton stole his first two bases of the season.  Toronto Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro stole his first base since 2009.


Many people likely expected Ervin Santana to have some rust in his pitching debut for the Atlanta Braves.  8 innings played, 0 runs allowed, 3 hits against, no walks allowed, 6 strikeouts.  It doesn't matter that it's against the 4th lowest scoring team in the NL because coming in, Atlanta themselves are the lowest scoring team.  That's the real surprise, Atlanta is barely averaging 2 runs per game heading into Santana's debut.


Baltimore Oriole starter Miguel Gonzalez is set to earn $529,000 this season.  New York Yankee starter Masahiro Tanaka just commenced a seven years, $155M contract.  Both have almost identical lines from their meeting against each other, biggest difference, Tanaka was plus 7 in the strikeout category!  The Orioles would win the game in the 9th with Tanaka out of the game and no option to put in Mariano Rivera or his "replacement" David Robertson for the Yankees.


Game of the night honors goes to the Miami Marlins/Washington Nationals!  Marlins surge out to a 5-0 lead after two innings.  After marching back to take a 6-5 lead in the 6th, the Nats leave the bases drunk which naturally means the Marlins tie it the first chance they get.  The tying run came via the first uncontested homerun (first two were reviewed) of the game in the top of the 7th.  Marlins would take the lead in the top of the 8th on an umpire reviewed home plate play.  At this rate of reviews before reacting to anything on the field, you may want a minute or so.


I have professed my affinity for fantasy baseball in previous articles and through that affinity, I have learned that the last adjective to describe relief pitcher Carlos Marmol is reliable.  Now pitching for the Marlins, the game of the night would effectively end when the Nats were able to load the bases against him in the bottom of the 8th and Jayson Werth would empty the bases with a (un-reviewed) grand slam.

Random Collection of Thoughts re: April 8 in MLB

The San Francisco Giants won their game this afternoon.  Professional reporters will tell you it was in part because of a good outing from Tim Hudson and other valid baseball reasons.  I'm telling you they won from the good karma they promoted when they brought back "Batkid" to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  If you do not know the story of "Batkid", please re-new your faith in humanity by clicking this link


How does Cincinnati Red Joey Votto break out of an 0-13 slump?  He wears a Mountie uniform on the show "Intentional Talk".  Votto was hit by a pitch in his first at bat and hit singles in the 3rd and 5th inning.


The New York Yankees won their home opener then got shellacked today in game two of the series.  Game 3 versus Baltimore features Masahiro Tanaka's 2nd MLB start.  For those fans who want to believe the Yankees will finish higher in the AL East than the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday's game is about as "must win" as the series opener celebrating the home kickoff of Derek Jeter's farewell tour.


The Miami Marlins impressively built a 5-2 record versus two clubs that finished 2013 with 74 wins and 76 wins respectively.  Their first game of 2014 versus an opponent with a winning record from 2013, a 5-0 loss to the Washington Nationals.  If the Marlins get swept by the Nationals during these three games in Washington then again next week in the re-match series in Miami, all playoff prognostications for the Fish should read, "nope, not happening".


Going into this three game series in Colorado, the Chicago White Sox had a 5-1 lifetime record at Coors Field.  The Sox got hammered on Monday but Tuesday night put enough air miles on the baseball to almost fly around the world.  SIX HOMERUNS including Jose Abreu's first two in the Majors.

Random Collections of Thoughts re: April 4th in MLB

My last entry highlighted the New York Yankees, Anaheim Angels, Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies as the teams to watch going into this weekend.  Friday night the four teams won by the average margin of a touchdown!


Masahiro Tanaka gave himself two innings to figure out the MLB then threw five solid innings to guide the Yankees to victory.  All nine starters for the Anaheim Angels collected at least a hit ensuring they did not need to rely on pitching for their victory.  The Miami Marlins have apparently all become hitting machines and led by Charlie Blackmon's 6 for 6 evening the Colorado Rockies dismantled the Arizona Diamondbacks.  I linked Blackmon to his career stats so you wouldn't have to Google him.


Official prediction, if the Arizona Diamondbacks can count their season total of wins on one hand come Jackie Robinson Day, Tuesday April 15, Kirk Gibson will be the first manager fired in 2014.  The D'Backs are currently 1-6.


Pittsburgh 12 St Louis 2.  Six months ago to the day, the Pirates beat the Cards 7-1 in Game 2 of the NLDS.  We all know how that ended.


I have heard all spring that the Los Angeles Dodgers outfield is over-crowded.  I remember reading comments from Matt Kemp saying "he is no fourth outfielder".  Why not trade Yasiel Puig?  Seriously, an upgrade at second base and someone to inherit third base from Juan Uribe is not a ridiculous trade demand for a 24 year old causing more trouble than a wolf in a chicken coop.

4 MLB Teams to Watch Going Into the First Weekend

New York Yankees: If the Yankees aging lineup has any aspirations of making the playoffs, two 25 year olds hold their fate.  Masahiro Tanaka and Micheal Pineda are scheduled to pitch the next two games for the Bronx Bombers.  If both struggle and lose, especially after the Astros took two of three, the focus of many Yankee fans will shift from the marathon the season is to the sprint each individual series becomes.


Anaheim Angels: After allowing the 2nd most runs in baseball during their opening season series, the Angels now face the "built for the future" Houston Astros.  Yes the Astros took two games from the Yankees but if Anaheim drops the first two games and slips to 0-5 to start the season, a mayday should be put out for Manager Mike Sciosica's job.  As in, any day in May he should lose his job.


Miami Marlins:  League leader in runs scored and their ace gets the ball on Saturday.  Chase Headley, aka the straw that stirs the drink for their opponent San Diego Padres, has started out hitting .083.  A Marlins sweep is quite feasible which would move them to 7-1 putting their win total at 11% of what they accomplished all of 2013.


Colorado Rockies: You have a healthy Tulo and CarGo and got outscored almost 2 to 1 (27 to 15) in your first series.  Leading into the season looking at the Rockies schedule, fans had to be excited to see that the first seven series were against teams .500 and lower in 2013.  For a 74 win team, this was as "cupcake" of a schedule as possible.  So far, you're doing it wrong!

Huge Contracts Overshadow Feel Good Stories

According to Wikipedia, Miguel Cabrera has just signed the largest pro sports contract in history.  Looking at the Top 25 top contracts, 23 belong to the MLB!!  A stunning 6 of those were signed going into this season!  The New York Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury and Masahiro Tanaka to the 23rd and 20th largest contracts in history and watched the Seattle Mariners sign former Yankee Robinson Cano to the 4th largest contract.  The Cincinnati Reds and the LA Dodgers placed contracts on the list at numbers 6 and 7 with Joey Votto and Clayton Kershaw respectively.


I randomly chose playoff predictions from Sports Illustrated and here's what I found in regards to the 5 teams listed above handing out history making deals.  From SI's panel of six experts, only 2 of them had the Yankees making the playoffs while none of them have the Mariners making the post season.  Only 2 of them have the Cinncinati Reds making the postseason in a very tough NL Central while the Dodgers and Tigers are both clean sweeps to make the playoffs.


Amidst all the pomp and circumstance around big money deals, there is a feel good story to mention.  The Boston Red Sox have announced that Grady Sizemore will be there opening day starting center fielder completing a road to recovery that spanned two years!


Staying with the Boston Red Sox and news that's good for the soul.  On April 21st, the Red Sox will wear home jersey's with the word "Boston" across the front instead of "Red Sox" to honour the city of Boston one year after the Boston Marathon bombings.

MLB Nuggets - - PED Penalty Question, World Series Nifty Realization, Tigers Find, Twins Lost, Harper Mad,

The following is the reported new penalties being worked on for players using performance enhancing drugs (PED's).  A first time offense would be 100 games instead of 50 unless it was "unintentional".  A second time offense would be 162 games instead of 100, again unless it was "unintentional".  Third time is a lifetime ban which is also the current penalty. 


Here's what I find interesting, the MLB (much like the NFL) gives itself the power to be judge, jury & executioner.  Therefore they decide if the players use of PED's was "unintentional" or not.  So if a star player gets caught with a PED in their system but no major firm or pharmacy or scandal is linked to the sale of steroids to said star player, does it automatically just become "unintentional"?


Did you know that since the turn of the 2000's the New York Yankees and St Louis Cardinals are tied with 4 World Series appearances while the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants are tied with 3 World Series appearances.  Here's a nifty realization, the 2005 World Series featured the two teams who finished as the bottom two teams in the American League last season, the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros.


A sneaky good signing was recently made by the Detroit Tigers.  The Tigers signed JD Martinez, cast away by the Houston Astros, to a minor league deal.  Martinez big league career started strong midway 2011 but like many hitters, pitchers learn their faults therefore learning how to get them out.  A fresh start in the Tigers organization should bring him back to the .274 batting average that had fans projecting so much good fortune for Mr. Martinez.


Have to feel sorry for the Minnesota Twins.  The Twins entered training camp with arguably the first and second overall prospects in baseball in tow.  Neither Byron Buxton nor Miguel Sano were expected to get much Major League play in 2014 but to have one suffer a wrist injury threatening the start of his season AND the other one to undergo Tommy John surgery ended his season, that's just terrible luck.


Need a friendly reminder that these exhibition games are not completely meaningless?  Bryce Harper got himself worked up enough that he got ejected from a spring training game.

Weird MLB Rule Explained, New Pop Flavour, Injury Thoughts and a Notso Daring Comparison

The Houston Astros offer Outfielder George Springer, the Astros' top prospect a 7 year 23 million dollar contract.  Springer declines the offer and is demoted to the minors.  Here's the real reasoning behind the demotion - - > If an uber-prospect debuts on Opening Day, he'll be a free agent in six years, presuming he remains on the big league club. However, by waiting one month, a team can push back his free agency an entire year.  Mr. Springer will be an Astro in May.


LeBron James now has is own flavor of Sprite.  My vote for a MLB player to have his own flavor of Sprite would be the Angels Mike Trout.  Somehow it's a sponsorship I don't see working!


Re-visiting the notion of "slips from grace", Hiroyuki Nakajima played his first two innings of exhibition baseball with Oakland A's recently.  Nakajima was projected to be the A's starting shortstop in 2013 after signing a two-year, $6.5 million contract before last season.  Today, Nakajima isn't even on the A's 40-man roster.  Must not drink Sprite.


Los Angeles Dodger 1B Adrian Gonzalez reportedly has a stiff lower back from walking around sightseeing.  Raise your hands if this excuse would earn you a day off of work.  Anybody?  This is exactly why some folks have a hard time respecting baseball players, suck it up buttercup!


The Miami Marlins posted a picture of Derek Dietrich and his nasty bruise after taking a baseball to the face on field. Cinncinati Red Aroldis Chapman only wishes he was that lucky.


You should be as worried about Derek Jeter’s spring training average of .132 in 41 plate appearances this spring as you are excited about Dustin Ackley's spring training average of .457 in 46 plate appearances.

Nifty MLB Finds

Example of dedication from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Pirates 2B Neil Walker is attacking the problems he had against left handed pitchers last season by going to minor league camp.  With a lack of left handed pitchers in the upcoming MLB pre-season schedule, Walker will pick up some games with Double-A Trenton Thunder when they play against lefties.


On the day Blue Jays Jose Bautista was in the final four of the "Face of the MLB" contest on Twitter, he hit a homerun and a double.  On the day after he signed his 1 million dollar arbitration contract,  Angels Mike Trout hit a grand slam.  In the wake of the news that he is a porn addict, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez had a solid outing trying to lock down a spot in the starting rotation.


From the San Francisco Tribune: "He's worked as a volunteer fireman, has appeared in a popular TV show, is a wine connoisseur and does an immense amount of community work, much of it with no fanfare." Oakland A's fans, that's your new closer Jim Johnson.


One of the oldest rivalries in the MLB is the Red Sox versus the Yankees.  With Jacoby Ellsbury switching sides this past summer, it was nice to read the Red Sox blog article from "Brownie Points" showing that it was done civilly. Give it a click!


Check the "Sweet Tweets" for an addition from MLB Fancave care of Joba Chamberlain and his "happy face" tattoo PLUS check the "Words to live by" for an addition from Torii Hunter.