Random Collection of #MLB thoughts re: April 26 in the MLB

Toronto Blue Jay Brandon Morrow gave up no hits on Saturday versus the Boston Red Sox.  Morrow did however give up EIGHT walks in 2 and 2/3 innings.  To make matters worse, Blue Jay reliever Chad Jenkins (making his 1st appearance of 2014) gave up homeruns to the first two batters he faced.  At the end of the 3rd inning the Boston Red Sox line read 6 runs on 2 hits. EEP!


So did Ryan Braun take out Jean Segura OR did Segura aimlessly wander into his bat? http://m.mlb.com/video/v32407589/chcmil-segura-leaves-the-game-with-an-injury/?partnerId=as_mlb_20140427_22756654  OBVIOUSLY, if Braun always does his bat stretching at the top step of the dugout (as the announcer states in the clip), then it's on Segura for not paying attention.  Agree or disagree? 


Chicago White Sox Adam Dunn, the king of all or nothing at the plate, is batting .265 in 68 AB.  Dunn is 35 and is part of a three headed monster which features the future in Jose Abreu and the past in Paul Konerko.  Indulging in a game of wannabe GM, the only team that might even be remotely interested in an aging power hitter would be the Milwaukee Brewers who are platooning 37 year old Lyle Overbay and 33 year old Mark Reynolds (if ever there was an Adam Dunn clone it's Reynolds - - minus the height).  Wouldn't you love to see Dunn's bat in Miller Park?


The Minnesota Twins beat Detroit Tigers Saturday.  If the Twins win again on Sunday against the Tigers, that would put them in a tie for first place in the AL Central.  On March 27th if you would have told me on April 27th the Twins would be playing for a share of first place, I would have sent you to live these folks.


Continuing with my look at All Star balloting, here's the three separate submissions in respect to second baseman. 

1. American League - Howie Kendrick, Ben Zobrist, Robinson Cano
2. National League - - Anthony Rendon, Chase Utley, DJ LeMahieu

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 15 in MLB



"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives" ~Jackie Robinson.

Brett Lawrie of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a grand slam Tuesday versus the Minnesota Twins.  Why is that noteworthy?  The runners on base were all WALKED!  I'm trying to work in a joke about some of the Blue Jay players wearing balaclavas on a night the temperature hovered around 0 degrees Celsius to defend the Twins relief pitcher but I just can't defend back-to-back-to-back walks.


On Monday night during the 8th inning of their game, the Colorado Rockies walked the bases loaded then made two throwing errors to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  On Tuesday night, the Rockies gave up a leadoff single then with two outs walked the bases loaded.  Are the Rockies in the business of giving away wins to the San Diego Padres?  As Buzz Lightyear would say, "NOT TODAY!".  The Rockies held on to win 3-2.


My apologies to the Milwaukee Brewers and specifically relief pitcher Jim Henderson.  In his first appearance since praising him for his good start to 2014, the St. Louis Cardinals would put three up on the board against him.  Makes me nervous to praise Oakland A's relief pitcher Jim Johnson on his second straight win and his 3rd straight solid outing after losing his closer title.


The 10 homerun suspended game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds was played out Tuesday night and won by a RBI single in the 7th from the Pirates catcher Russell Martin.  Well that was anticlimactic!!  The Reds would win the scheduled regular Tuesday night game to even the series.  Going into Wednesday's matinee at Pittsburgh, if the Reds were to lose that would be 5 straight series to start the season which they dropped 2-1 which equals T-R-O-U-B-L-E.


You know the cliché "mama said there would be days like this" Boston Red Sox rookie shortstop Xander Bogaerts had one of those Tuesday night.  0-4 at the plate with a hat-trick in strikeouts and the game ending throwing error giving the Chicago White Sox the win.  The Red Sox fall to 5-9 to start 2014 which is a stark contrast to the 10-4 start they had in 2013. 

Random Collection of Thoughts re April 13 in the MLB

Sweeps and their ramifications will be the subject of the day.


The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Arizona Diamondbacks making it a 5-0 regular season start against the NL West Kirk Gibson led foe.  The D'Backs currently sit at 4-11 two days away from Jackie Robinson Day on Tuesday April 15th.  I mentioned in an earlier post that if going into Jackie Robinson Day the Diamondbacks were still counting wins with only one hand that Manager Kirk Gibson likely does not make it through the month of May with his job.  A 3 game series with the New York Mets may just be what the doctor ordered.  Then again, it may be the iceberg that sank the Titanic.


Speaking of baseball managers doubling as crew members of the Titanic, Kansas City manager Ned Yost must be feeling sea sick after being outscored 21-6 whilst being swept by the Minnesota Twins.  The Royals now have lowest scoring offense in the American League 0.02 less runs per game than the Houston Astros.  The Astros happen to be their next opponent before an opportunity for redemption when the Twins visit Kauffman Stadium next weekend.  For a trendy pick to win the division, the Royals are doing it wrong!!


Speaking of trendy picks to win the division, the Washington Nationals just got swept by the Atlanta Braves, the team they would have to overcome to win the NL East.  The Braves scored 23 runs during the series doubling their season long production at the plate.  Another Nats sweep of the Miami Marlins would likely keep them neck and neck with the Braves for 1st place but an abysmal showing in their 4 game set with the St. Louis Cardinals next weekend will help solidify their "pretender not contender" status.


Speaking of the Miami Marlins, anybody remember when they were 5-1?  After being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies, the Marlins now sit at 5-8.  I never thought they would keep pace with the Nationals and Braves but third place in the NL East is feasible.  The Marlins will have to win these games back from the Phillies when they visit Miami May 20-22.


I ran out of "speaking of" tie-ins.  The Milwaukee Brewers extended their winning streak to 9 games by sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Now the real fun begins as they host the St. Louis Cardinals then fly to Pittsburgh for a three game re-match.  The Cardinals were the gold standard last season beating the Brewers in the pennant race by 23 games.  Can a full year of Ryan Braun and tweaked starting rotation really close that gap?

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. 

Random Collection of Thoughts re April 11 in MLB

First off, an apology to Mr. Paul Goldschmidt.  I tried to latch onto him for MLB Beat the Streak contest.  A logical choice because he was on a 31 game on base streak, and now it's over.  I'm sorry I was your Brock Lesnar to your streak.

By gawd, did the baseball lords not read the script going into Friday nights games? 

The Minnesota Twins annihilated the Kansas City Royals - - script says the Royals are suppose to challenge the Tigers for the Division Title.  Those Detroit Tigers got shut out by the San Diego Padres!  The Padres scored 6 runs which translates into 1/3 of the offense they had put up the entire season! 


The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals in extra innings.  The Cards needed a job losing effort from now former Cubs closer Jose Veras just to send it into extra innings.  The script clearly reads that the Cards are the class of the NL Central while the Cubs are there to bring up the rear.


With a loss last night, the Cincinnati Reds fell into sole possession of last place in the NL Central while with a win, the Milwaukee Brewers sit alone atop of the NL Central.  Anybody who tells you they saw this coming likely has a pet unicorn and has people read the script to them!


The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies.  That's fine and dandy.  The win was based in large part to a grand slam BY THE PITCHER!! Some people say baseball is boring, but you can't make this stuff up folks!

Let's see if normalcy returns to the MLB on Saturday.

Random Collection of Thoughts re: April 10 in MLB

Does anybody play ESPN's Streak for Cash?  Were you like me and swearing up a storm when the Pittsburgh Pirates fell behind 4-0 to the Chicago Cubs?  The Bucs can't possibly lose back to back games to the Cubs could they?  The "luvable loser" Cubs sent four pitchers to the mound in the 7th inning, two of them would give up homeruns to the first batter they faced and my streak extends to 7.


Whenever one of my favorite teams opens up a 3 game series, the hope is that they take two of three.  The thought of finishing a season with a winning percentage is .667 is absurd but it helps break up the marathon that is the MLB season.  As (most) teams head into their fourth series this weekend, only 2 AL teams and 4 NL teams are producing at that clip. 


Sweeping a series is always the fans desire.  Brewers fans are full of desire as their Milwaukee Brewers just swept their second straight series ON THE ROAD. The Oakland A's also just completed a road sweep of the Minnesota Twins.  I predicted the Washington Nationals would sweep the upstart Marlins, and they did just that with another chance to do so next week on the road in Miami.


Arizona Diamondbacks Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 31.  Goldy is 25 shy of tying Joe DiMaggio's record.  I have to be honest, since the Undertaker lost his streak at Wrestlemania last Sunday, I need something to get behind and believe in.  For the next week, I will chose Goldy as my MLB Beat the Streak batter.  If he loses his streak, blame Brock Lesnar!

Right Idea's for the MLB

MLB has a rule, if the original team extends a qualifying offer to an upcoming eligible free agent, then if another team signs them during the off-season (up until the June draft) they have to give up a draft pick as compensation.  The free agents complain about how this restricts their movement...bullfritters!!  The only restriction to free agent movement is ridiculous contract demands.  People live happily on $60,000/year so don't freakin tell me you can't make it by on only a measly $9Million/year!  I'm looking at you Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales.


The owner of a Vancouver bar Score on Davie  has instituted an optional turn in your cell phone for the evening program.  The idea is simple, to bring us back to a simpler time (early 1990's) when an evening out meant talking to whomever you were spending the evening with.  I would love to see an MLB club adopt this optional program.


The San Diego Padres on Saturday March 15th are running a little contest.  The Padres will have 1000 fans take one swing for a homerun at the cavernous Petco Park.  Successful batters will win 2014 season tickets.


First, Ian Kinsler wishes his former team a winless season, now new Brewer Matt Garza expresses the following sentiment toward his former club the Chicago Cubs, ""I wish them the best but I like where I'm at, and I'm going to try to kick their teeth in every time I get a chance.""


What would you do if you were Carl Crawford: go to Australia with your LA Dodger teammates or stay home with "any day now" pregnant girlfriend?  Do the right thing Mr. Crawford, stay home!

Len being Len about Baseball

This morning Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista tweets "...fans are the most important part of baseball..." which got me to thinking - - aside from the typical "fan clubs" and "promotion nights" (which fans have been lucky enough to become almost become bored of) what are some of the niftier things baseball clubs are doing to reach out to their fans. 




The following is my top four finds:




1) Milwaukee Brewers Create a Commercial Contest
Contest closes on February 28th and is exactly what it sounds like, you get to make a freakin commercial to be aired during their games.




2) Baltimore Orioles - Orioles Magic Moments
A monthly contest where you send in videos of some of the "magic moments" of Oriole History.  This month it's Cal Ripken Jr setting the "iron man streak".




3) Detroit Tigers - Kids Opening Day Contest
"How do you and your child pledge to live a healthy lifestyle this summer?"  Parents write an essay on behalf of their kids and 21 winners will have the chance to a part of the production of the game. Example, Announce the Starting Line-Ups on the Comerica Park Public Address (two children)




4) Kansas City Royals/Texas Rangers/Los Angeles Dodgers
All three baseball clubs run "Rewards Play and Win" program where by registering to play, the fan collects points by visiting specified sections of their respective teams website and social media.



Blog Update:




a) I have added a "Sweet Tweets" side column to keep together some of the better finds throughout the season.  Today I added a tweet from the Medicine Hat Mavericks, a team in the WMBL




b) I have also added a "Words to Live By" side column to keep together some of the better quotes throughout the season.  Today I added a quote from Toronto Blue Jay GM Alex Anthopoulos