It's Kila Time in KC

It's February, when Hot Stove season slows, teams? depth charts look more or less set, prospect rankings have come and gone, and pitchers and catchers are just beginning to trickle into their respective Spring Training homes. It feels early to start previewing teams in earnest. While we wait for the games to start, even the Spring games, time just seems to drag.

In baseball no-man?s land, projection season tides me over. ?No way is A-Rod going to be better than Kevin Youkilis!? Really, I somehow become invested in this stuff. Baseball Prospectus released a revamped PECOTA this year, and I suggest subscribers have a look for themselves. Search by any which way you?d like.

One filter that I ran produced a surprising result. BP has Kila Ka?aihue as the 14th best hitter by True Average in MLB, 8th in the American League. I mentioned that prospect rankings have come and gone but for this post's purposes, it's worth mentioning that the one constant, even one truth it seems, is that the Kansas City Royals boast baseball?s best farm system. Ka?aihue factors into that in one sense, but he?s on the old side for a prospect. It?s hard to say whether or not he will be a part of the next contending Royals club.

While the future is bright, the 2011 Royals are a nightmare. Their starting pitching, with Zack Greinke now a Milwaukee Brewer, may well be the worst rotation we have seen in a long time. But their system is so stacked that enthusiasm is returning bit by bit, at least on the Kansas City Royals blogs. I suspect the more casual fans might take some more time.

The Royals will need to wage a PR battle to bridge their current product to the much better one coming down the pike. And they know this, as evidenced by the exhibition they plan to hold between their AAA and AA affiliates at Kauffman Stadium after their 12:10 game against the Los Angeles Angels on April 2nd. It?s a brilliant move. The fans know the good players are coming, so why not let them have a peek?

One other source for enthusiasm this season should be Ka?aihue. About to play in his 27-year old season, he?s a career .266/.391/.460 Minor League hitter in 4,148 plate appearances. For perspective, that?s more PA?s than Scott Podsednik has notched in his entire Major League career, and more than Nomar Garciaparra had from 2000 through the end of his career. Kila?s been around a while.

In AAA alone over the last three seasons, he?s hit .285/.424/.521 in 1,110 PA?s. In 2010 he broke out, hitting .319/.463/.598 for Omaha before getting the call up to Kansas City. There, he struggled. In 206 PA?s he hit just .217/.307/.394. Nonetheless his body of work over the course of his professional career should excite Royals fans.

PECOTA has had its share of famous misses with young players. Remember when Matt Wieters was going to win the MVP his rookie season? But it?s also been as good a barometer as any in many regards, and the fact that Kila ranks as highly as he does isn?t a sign that he should be penciled into the All Star Game now (although since there?s one player from every team, and this is the Royals?). Instead, it?s just something to look forward to, something in Kansas City to rally around. He?s paid more than his share of dues and finally, he?s set to begin a Big League season with a starting job. While Royals fans wait for talent to fill in around Kila and Billy Butler, they can take a rooting interest in the big Hawaiian as the losses mount.

Source: http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2011/02/its_kila_time_i.php

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Graphing the Pitchers: LOB% and BABIP

Thanks to the work of Voros McCracken and later Tom Tango, Defense Independent Pitching and Fielding Independent Pitching have become widely accepted in the baseball community as better measurements of pitching effectiveness (and predictability of future results) than earned run average (ERA). DIPS and FIP focus on strikeouts, walks, and home runs — the three primary outcomes that a pitcher controls. Except for perhaps catchers, fielders have no impact on these events.

While SO, BB, and HR play a large part in determining ERA, the latter is also a function of defensive and bullpen support, as well as performance with bases empty vs. runners in scoring position. As a result, the difference between ERA and FIP is almost entirely accounted by strand rate (LOB%*) and batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Each variable has a coefficient correlation of nearly 80 percent with the delta between ERA and FIP.

* Based on the formula, the strand rate is an estimator of LOB% rather than an actual tally.

When you put the two together (LOB% divided by BABIP), the coefficient correlation jumps to 90 percent. Accordingly, the coefficient of determination or R² is 81 percent. In other words, more than four-fifths of the difference between ERA and FIP is due to LOB% and BABIP. As such, in addition to SO, BB, and HR rates, it makes sense to study LOB% and BABIP to understand why a pitcher's ERA may be better or worse than his FIP.

The MLB averages for LOB% and BABIP have been running at almost exactly 72 percent and .300, respectively, for several years. These percentages held true once again in 2010.

Plotting LOB% on the y-axis and BABIP on the x-axis for all 147 pitchers who threw at least 100 innings in 2010, I created the following graph. As has become customary around these parts, I broke the graph into quadrants via the intersection of the LOB% and BABIP means. The pitchers in the northwest quadrant had high LOB% and low BABIP. Moving clockwise, the pitchers in the northeast quadrant had high LOB% and high BABIP, the hurlers in the southeast quadrant had low LOB% and high BABIP, and those in the southwest quadrant had low LOB% and low BABIP.

The numbers were lifted from FanGraphs in January. The BABIP data was subsequently recalculated, perhaps due to FanGraphs using an incorrect formula initially. While directionally correct, the BABIP used for this graph are generally about .005-.010 higher than those listed on the site now. The LOB% data matches exactly. You can download the spreadsheet with the applicable data here.

As usual, I have identified the outliers in all four quadrants in the graph above. In addition, as shown below, I have created lists of leaders and laggards for both LOB% and BABIP. For perspective, the ranges on LOB% and BABIP were 59.5-82.7 percent and .238-.354, respectively.

Starting with LOB%, I highlighted the six pitchers with strand rates over 80 percent and compared 2010 with their career marks. All but Madison Bumgarner (who pitched just 10 innings prior to last season) have career LOB% that are well below their results in 2010. That said, I found it interesting that the career rates were all above the MLB norm of 72 percent.

Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Brian Duensing, Tim Hudson, and Tommy Hunter all posted career high LOB%. Halladay had only exceeded 75 percent twice before last year.

In addition to sharing high LOB%, the common thread among these pitchers is that they fared better with RISP than with the bases empty.

There were 11 pitchers with strand rates of 65 percent or lower. Excluding John Ely (who was a rookie), all but Luke Hochevar have career LOB% that are well above their results in 2010. Nonetheless, I found it as equally interesting as the observation from the leader board that the career rates were all at or below the MLB norm of 72 percent.

Nate Robertson, Tim Wakefield, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Jeff Francis, and Paul Maholm all posted career low LOB%. Scott Feldman, Jeremy Bonderman, and Tony Pena produced the second-lowest LOB% while Jamie Moyer had the third-lowest since he broke into the majors in 1986.

In addition to sharing low LOB%, the common thread among these pitchers is that they fared worse with RISP than with the bases empty.

Turning to BABIP, I spotlighted the 14 pitchers with averages under .270 and, like LOB%, compared 2010 with their career marks. All of these starters (including Armando Galarraga who actually posted a .261 BABIP based on FanGraphs' revised calculations) have career BABIP that are above their results in 2010. Of note, the career rates were all below the MLB norm of .300.

Matt Cain has never had a league-average BABIP and, in fact, has not exceeded the .278 he allowed in 2007.

Hudson and Hunter appear on the most favorable LOB% and BABIP lists. Moyer, on the other hand, was the only pitcher to appear on a leader and laggard board.

There were 16 pitchers with BABIP higher than .330. All of these pitchers have career BABIP that are below their results in 2010. In five cases, the career marks are slightly below the MLB norm of .300. The balance are all higher.

Maholm and Feldman appear on the least favorable LOB% and BABIP lists.

Here is the same graph presented with a best-fit trendline. As shown, it slopes from the northwest quadrant down and to the right through the intersection to the southeast quadrant. Generally speaking, the lower the BABIP, the higher the LOB%, and the higher BABIP, the lower the LOB%.

The outliers in the NWQ were the pitchers who benefited the most from high LOB% and low BABIP. Here are the pitchers with the highest ratios of LOB% divided by BABIP:

Six of the above pitchers ranked in the top seven in ascending order in ERA minus FIP (E-F), meaning they had better ERAs than FIPs. The other four placed 11th, 17th, 27th, and 28th (out of 147 pitchers who threw at least 100 innings in 2010).

Conversely, the outliers in the SEQ were victimized the most by low LOB% and high BABIP. Here are the pitchers with the lowest ratios:

Seven of the above pitchers ranked in the top ten in descending order in E-F, meaning they had worse ERAs than FIPs. The other four placed 17th, 19th, 21st, and 22nd.

Interestingly, the outliers in the NEQ and SWQ neither benefited nor were victimized in the aggregate as the abnormal percentages in each category basically offset one another. As an example, Moyer, a SWQ outlier, had an ERA (4.84) minus FIP (4.98) of -0.14.

There are several takeaways embedded in this study, some of which are more obvious than others:

LOB% and BABIP explain over 80 percent of the difference between ERA and FIP.

High LOB% and low BABIP will deflate ERAs. Low LOB% and high BABIP will inflate ERAs.

LOB% appears to be more highly correlated with how a pitcher performs with RISP vs. the bases empty than bullpen support.

Pitchers with extreme LOB% and BABIP will tend to regress/rebound toward their career marks the following year but not necessarily all the way to the MLB averages.

There are also a few questions: Is the discrepancy in performance between RISP and bases empty due to a pitcher's ability to work from the windup as opposed to the stretch? Do certain pitchers have an extra gear that they can employ when the going gets tough? Is there a self-fulfilling prophecy at play here, a Yogi-ism where pitchers perform well until they don't perform well? The answers to these questions could go a long way toward understanding how much skill or luck is involved in the year-to-year fluctuations in LOB%.

Courtesy of Dave Studeman of The Hardball Times, you can read more about LOB% here and here.

Source: http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2011/03/graphing_the_pi.php

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Mattingly and Dotel: Unbelievably bad luck

Neither has ever participated in a World Series. Through their careers, their bad luck has clobbered the odds.

Click the title to read more.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.

Source: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/mattingly-and-dotel-unbelievably-bad-luck/

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25th anniversary of a dominant pitching performance

Twenty-five years ago today, one of the greatest pitching performance in baseball history occurred: Roger Clemens set a record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game when he fanned 20 Mariners.

Clemens? mark has since been tied three times, including once by Clemens himself, but it?s still an impressively long time to hold the record. Steve Carlton first struck out 19 batters in nine innings, a mark that lasted 17 years. Before that, Bob Feller?s 18-K game mark stood as the record for 31 years, but that?s the only one-game nine-inning record to outlast Clemens? achievement.

(I should note, I keep having to say ?in a nine-inning game? because in one of the great overlooked performances in history, Tom Cheney fanned 21 in 16 innings in 1962).

Clemens struck out the side ?only? three teams but struck out at least one batter every inning and multiple batters in every inning except the third. He really hit his stride in the middle innings, striking out eight in a row from the fourth through the sixth. After a Spike Owen fly out ended that streak, Clemens two more Ks in a row, giving him 10 out of 11.

He dominated the game so completely that he hardly needed an infield: Seattle mustered only three groundouts all day long, and one of them was fielded by Clemens. Third baseman Wade Boggs didn?t have to do anything. Aside from fielding throws from his fellow infielders, first baseman Don Baylor had exactly one chance all game, a foul pop up that he muffed for an error. That said, even if Baylor fielded the play cleanly Clemens would?ve still had 20 Ks. The last out of the game was a grounder to short, the only ball hit to that position all day.

Clemens really needed to bear down in that game because his teammates didn?t give him much margin for error. It was scoreless through six innings, and Seattle got on the board first with a solo home run from veteran Gorman Thomas. Immediately afterward, Boston rallied back with three in the bottom of the seventh, which allowed for a 3-1 final.

He wasn?t quite perfect—he allowed three hits and a run—but he was incredibly dominant. His Game Score of 97 has been topped only once in a nine-inning game. Oddly enough, it was another Red Sox that did better: Pedro Martinez scored a 98 against the Yankees in 1999.

While that's the most impressive event celebrating a nice round anniversary marker today, plenty of other baseball items of note celebrate anniversaries and "day-versaries" today. Here some are, with the better ones in bold.

Day-versaries

5,000 days since Tom Glavine won his 150th game, giving him a career record of 150-98.

5,000 days since what might be the worst day Rickey Henderson ever had at the plate: 0-for-4 with 4 Ks. That ties his all-time high in Ks, and is the only time he did it in only four PA.

5,000 days since the first multi-home run game for Derek Jeter

5,000 days since the Dodgers signed Eddie Murray

8,000 days since Nolan Ryan allowed a leadoff single by Harold Reynolds in the first inning, and that was it for Seattle. On the day Ryan's line was: 9 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 11 K. Not bad

8,000 days since a never-ending Astros-Dodgers game. Well, it ended eventually, with Houston winning 5-4 in 22 frames. Along the way, the Astros threw 335 pitches, 218 for strikes, that's the most known strikes by one team in one game. I'm sure some game from long ago tops it, but as I said, this is the known record. Among other things, ace Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser pitched seven innings of relief. He allowed no runs on only three hits, and according to WPA it was his best one-game performance ever (0.850 WPA).

Anniversaries

1876 First extra inning game in the NL: Boston beats Hartford in 10

1879 Noodles Hahn, one of those great pitchers whose arm wasn't strong enough to last long enough, born

1885 200-game winner Will White allows two inside the park homers in one game. Hit by Charlie Comiskey (yes, the future White Sox owner) and Curt Welch.

1888 Charlie Ferguson dies. He's possibly the first great major league player to die. He was fantastic for Philadelphia, but then fell ill, dying barely past his 25th birthday.

1891 Amos Rusie allows a leadoff inside-the-park homer to Hub Collins. There are better ways to start the game

1897 Roger Connor, the all-time home run king before Babe Ruth, hits his final home run. It's No. 138. For perspective, Ryan Braun already has 137 (and that's only if he doesn't hit another homer between the time I write this and you read it).

1898 Major league: Frank Chance

1902 John McGraw hit by pitch five times but the umpire refuses to let him take first. McGraw sits in the batter's box in protest, for which he'll be suspended five games. I don't really know what's going on here, but I assume the ump was a stickler for the rule saying the batter must make an effort to get out of the way of the pitch. It probably didn't help McGraw that umpires hated him.

1905 Speaking of stories I'd love to hear the background for .. .on this day Christy Mathewson punches a kid selling lemonade in the stands. The kid had been heckling Mathewson. Ohhhh-kay. Doesn't really jibe with Mathewson's reputation as a gentleman.

1913 Reds come to Chicago to play the Cubs but there's a problem: They left their uniforms in Cincinnati. So they wear White Sox road uniforms.

1918 Tris Speaker pulls off his sixthth career unassisted double play. It's his second in less than two weeks

1919 Major league debut: Lefty O'Doul. He's a pitcher, but will later convert to batting, where he'll do well for himself.

1922 In Braves Field, the New York Giants leg out four inside-the-park homers. Two were by Highpockets Kelly and one each by Ross Youngs, and Dave Bancroft. All are now in Cooperstown. Kelly and Bancroft both hit one off another Hall of Famer, Rube Marquard. Kelly may have had the most homers, but Youngs had the best day: 5-for-5 with five runs and two RBI. He hit for the cycle with two doubles. Giants beat the Braves, 15-4.

1922 The longest outing in the career of Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt: 14 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 K.

1923 Major league debut: Rube Walberg

1923 Yankees sign Lou Gehrig

1924 Bump Hadley, playing for Mercersburg Academy, not only tosses a perfect game against Hadley-Lynn of Massachusetts, but fans 26 of the 27 batters he faces. Hadley will become a productive major league pitcher for many years.

1926 Major league debut: Joe Cronin

1930 Major league debut: Lefty Gomez

1931 Jimmy McAleer, former major league manager and all-time winningest St. Louis Browns skipper, commits suicide

1931 Wes Ferrell has a game for the ages. He throws a no-hitter, hits a home run and a double, and drives in four runs. Rick Wise may not be impressed, but anyone else out to be. With 26 outs, his brother Rick Ferrell comes to the plate and gets on board with what's ruled an infield error. If I recall correctly, Wes spoke about it in the oral history book Baseball When the Grass Was Real. Brother Rick laid down a bunt, and Wes thought that's how it ought to be: Try your damnedest to get on at all times, no matter that the score was 7-0 and the game put away. Very different from today's "unwritten rules" where you don't try to show up someone like that.

1932 Hall of Famer Red Faber loses his 200th game. He's 249-200 on his career now

1932 Greenelee Field, Negro League park, opens in Pittsburgh.

1933 Dodgers release Jack Quinn

1933 One of the most bizarre plays in baseball history: Yankee teammates Lou Gehrig and Dixie Walker both tagged out at the plate bang-bang one right after the other in one play against the Senators. The same thing happened to the Yanks about a half-century later against the White Sox.

1934 Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio born

1934 Phillies play their first legal Sunday home game. So does Pittsburgh. Sunday ball finally has come to all of major league baseball.

1936 First pro game in Japanese Baseball League

1936 Epic pitchers duel in as Cardinals defeat Giants 2-1 in 17 innings. St. Louis' Roy Parmelee and New York's Carl Hubbell both go the distance. Parmelee: 17 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 K. Hubbell: 16.1 IP, 11 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K.

1936 For the third time in his career, Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons tosses a complete game shutout and hits a home run in one game. NYG 9, BRK 0

1939 Joe DiMaggio tears a muscle in his leg and will be out five weeks

1940 Ted Williams hits two triples in a game. He'll do it once more in his career.

1940 200-game winner Paul Derringer is having one heck of a season. He tosses his 14th straight Quality Start, a career high he'll tie three months later. In this stretch, he's 12-1 in 126 IP with 131 H, 35 R, 30 ER, 18 BB, and 52 K for a 2.14 ERA.

1944 St. Louis Browns, of all teams, set AL record by winning their first nine decisions

1947 Yankees release Joe Medwick.

1948 200 homers: Ted Williams

1948 After 77 straight appearances dating back to 1945 without picking up a loss, Ted Wilks of the Cardinals loses

1952 Al Rosen, Cleveland, homers three times in one game

1952 Bob Feller sets personal record with most hits allowed, 18. He wins in complete game anyway: Indians 21, A's 9. Teammate Jim Fridley smacks six hits in that game

1953 Joe Adcock becomes first person to homer into Polo Grounds' center field bleachers, 475 feet from the plate

1956 Richie Ashburn hits an inside the park home run in the first game of a double header. He also hit two homers in a game the day before. Those are his only homers on the year. Think about it: He gets only three home runs in 719 PA, and they all come within five plate appearances.

1962 100th time Walter Alston and Danny Murtaugh manage a game against each other

1962 Frank Thomas, NYM, HBP twice in one inning

1963 Willie Mays hits his 100th career triple

1966 Hank Aaron homers in his fifth consecutive game, his longest streak

1970 Paul Blair hits three home runs in one game

1971 Sterling Hitchcock born

1978 Pete Rose hits three homers in one game. It's his first multi-homer game in eight years and last one in his career

1979 Gary Carter hits an inside-the-park home run. It's the first of two in his career. He gets two homers in this particular game, the second time in three games he's done that.

1980 Phillies sign amateur free agent Juan Samuel

1981 Steve Carlton fans his 3,000th batter

1983 Steve Carlton picks off three base runners in game vs. Houston

1983 Lee Elia has his memorable postgame tirade denouncing Cubs fans. Mind you, he's the Cubs' manager at the time. Can be heard here (audio NSFW)

1984 100th time Tommy Lasorda and Dick Williams manage a game against each other

1984 Dave Stewart becomes the first pitcher to go 0-6 in April

1985 Larry Parrish hits three homers in a game for the fourth time. Larry Parrish did it four times? Larry Parrish? He was a good hitter, but Hank Aaron did it only once.

1986 Tigers 2, Royals 1. Detroit wins despite getting only two hits all game

1986 Expos hit four homers in fourth inning: Andre Dawson, Hubie Brooks, Tim Wallach and Mike Fitzgerald

1986 Nightmare ending for Cubs: Enter bottom of the ninth leading Padres 4-1. Then: 1B, force out, 1B, 1B, HR.

1987 Greatest game Andre Dawson ever had. Not only does he go 5-for-5 and hit for the cycle, but he throws a runner out at first in the rare 9-3 ground out.

1988 Last game: Joe Niekro

1988 Orioles FINALLY win a game, now 1-21 on the season. BAL 9, CWS 0

1989 According to WPA, this is the worst game Andre Dawson ever had: 1-for-5, one run, GIDP. WPA: -0.400.

1990 Dan Quisenberry retires. When I was a kid, he was the ultimate relief ace. What the BBWAA thinks of Sutter is what I thought of Quis.

1992 Yankee farmhand Jeff Hoffman dies of previously undetected heart problem in his hotel room

1994 Montreal Expo Kirk Rueter becomes first pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela to start his career at 10 wins and no losses

1995 Major league debuts: Brad Radke, LaTroy Hawkins (both for Minnesota Twins), Andy Pettitte and Esteban Loaiza

1996 Tom Kelly offers a memorable quote about Mariano Rivera: "He needs to pitch in a higher league, if there is one. Ban him from baseball. He should be illegal." I half-wonder if I have the right year for this one, but looking it up, Rivera had thrown three innings of hitless middle relief against the Twins the day before. Two days before that he had another three-inning relief stint against the Twins without surrendering a hit. So it was this early in Rivera's career Kelly said that.

1999 A's loss puts manager Art Howe 83 games under .500, his worst (618-701). He'll tie that mark two games later, but will rise up from there.

1999 Brewers sign Hideo Nomo

2001 Geoff Jenkins homers twice in one game, giving him five in two games

2005 The first match-up between two 300-game winners in 18 years as Greg Maddux outduels Roger Clemens 3-2 in Houston.

2006 The 200th career homer for Magglio Ordonez helps Tigers beat Twins, 18-1.

2007 Jamie Moyer slugs his first double in 19 years.

2007 Troy Tulowitzki achieves the most boring of baseball's noteworthy plays: the unassisted triple play. It's the 13th ever.

2009 Yovani Gallardo has quite a nice day: Hits homer while winning 1-0.

2010 Maggio Ordonez raps out his 200th hit

2010 John Buck, Toronto, hits three homers in one game, all off different pitchers.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.

Source: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/25th-anniversary-of-one-of-baseballs-most-dominant-pitching-performances/

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Matsuzaka exits with right elbow tightness

Matsuzaka exits with right elbow tightness

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110429&content_id=18408470&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&partnerId=rss_mlb

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AL Waiver Wire:  Week 4

Three under-owned Rays are featured this week.

Click the title to read more.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.

Source: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/fantasy/article/al-waiver-wire-week-4/

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Crawford, Ellsbury looking to get hot

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Dodgers Notes: McCourt, Robinson, Magic

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It's Cool

Source: http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2008/09/its-cool.html

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Atlanta Braves pitcher Lowe charged with DUI (Seattle Times)

The Georgia State Patrol says Atlanta Braves pitcher Derek Lowe has been charged with drunken driving.

Source : Seattle Times

Explore : Atlanta Braves, Baseball Players, Derek Lowe, Sports

Source: http://wik.io/info/US/262782228

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Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond returns from paternity leave

The Nationals have reinstated shortstop Ian Desmond from the paternity leave list and optioned outfielder Roger Bernadina to Triple-A Syracuse.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6444578&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

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Mock 2: Predicting the second round of 2011 draft

Round 1 of the 2011 NFL draft is in the books along with our first mock draft.But no rest for the weary here ... it's time to mock up Round ...

Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/dMxXtTWzdlM/1

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Fun With Math

Source: http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2008/10/fun-with-math.html

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2012 Contract Issues: San Francisco Giants

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Zito off crutches, but return still indefinite

Zito off crutches, but return still indefinite

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110428&content_id=18355018¬ebook_id=18370826&vkey=notebook_sf&c_id=sf&partnerId=rss_mlb

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Marse Joe?s last hurrah

One of the very greatest went out with a thunderous bang, and then a whimper.

Click the title to read more.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.

Source: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/marse-joes-last-hurrah/

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Thirty years ago this week, two teams just kept playing

This week marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most remarkable games in baseball history.

On April 19, 1981, the Triple-A affiliates of the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles began an International League game on a cold, windy night in Pawtucket, R.I.

...

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Source: http://baseball.about.com/b/2011/04/21/thirty-years-ago-this-week-two-teams-just-kept-playing.htm

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Remembering Woodie Fryman and the 1966 Pirates

Woodie Fryman died last week at the age of 70. He was as average a pitcher as you can be. 141-155 during an 18 year career. He used a double-pump windup, which you didn't see very much of anymore when he broke into the majors in 1966. He was 12-9 that year with a 3.81 ERA — not bad for a rookie. Until you consider that Forbes Field was a huge pitcher's park, this was during the enormous strike zone era, and he pitched three consecutive shutouts in a two-week stretch. The rest of his season was absolutely average. The one thing that stands out is that he threw four one-hitters. I was at the first of them.

I was a rabid Pirate fan living just a few miles from Shea Stadium. July, 1966 and Fryman is pitching a Friday night game at Shea. One aside. The 1966 Pirates will forever be my favorite team. Matty Alou won the batting title, Willie Stargell had his first big power year, and shortstop Gene Alley and second baseman Bill Mazeroski helped set the all-time record for double plays in a season. And then there was Roberto Clemente. He won the National League Most Valuable Player award that year. If your only memory of Roberto is the 1971 World Series, picture him dominating games like that for an entire season. He was something to see. The Pirates were thrilling to watch and I almost never missed a game when they came to town.

Pittsburgh led the NL for most of that season, eventually finishing third to the Dodgers and Giants, three games out of first place. Whenever they team played in San Francisco or Los Angeles, I'd stay up very late listening to the games, trying to get Bob Prince coming in above the static calling the games on WWVA radio, out of Wheeling, West Virginia. The crime of that season was the Dodgers had Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, the Giants had Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry, and we had only Bob Veale and Al McBean!! You call that fair???

Back to Fryman's gem. Ron Hunt leads off the game for the Mets. Chops a ball over Woodie's head. Gene Alley, at short, charges it and tries to one-hand it and throw to first, but the truth is not even Ozzie Smith or Omar Vizquel could've made that play. Infield single. Hunt gets thrown out trying to steal second base and then 26 up and 26 down. A one-hit shutout. Faced only 27 batters. No incredible fielding plays, just 26 up and 26 down. Easily the best pitched game I've ever seen in person. Stargell hit two home runs and the Pirates won 12-0.

After the game, Pirates manager Harry Walker insisted on speaking to Dick Young of the Daily News, the official scorer that night. These were two rather hot-headed guys. Walker wanted Young to change the infield hit to an error, so at least Fryman could have his no-hitter. The whole thing escalates, pushing, shoving and cursing. Walker was suspended for one game and Young wrote articles for days afterward about what a jerk Harry Walker was.

By the time the Pirates became an NL power (five NL East titles between (1970-75), Woodie Fryman was long gone. But I'll never forget that night 45 years ago.

David Bromberg has been going to baseball games since 1955. He was at Yankee Stadium two days before Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956 and at Shea Stadium two days before Jim Bunning's perfect game in 1964. He's never attended a no-hit game.

Source: http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2011/02/remembering_woo.php

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Wells, Cashner throw on flat ground

Wells, Cashner throw on flat ground

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110427&content_id=18304844¬ebook_id=18306994&vkey=notebook_chc&c_id=chc&partnerId=rss_mlb

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Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt meets with MLB, calls Bud Selig's actions 'un-American'

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt expressed defiance and outrage during a news conference in New York on Wednesday after baseball commissioner Bud Selig vetoed McCourt's agreed-upon deal with Fox for a regional sports network.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/news/story?id=6438822&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

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Holy Cow, Does Jon Heyman Hate VORP

Source: http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2008/09/holy-cow-does-jon-heyman-hate-vorp.html

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Federal justice officials say drug dealer kept property in Lvian Hernandez's name

Federal justice officials will meet with Major League Baseball representatives after the name of Washington Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez surfaced in the trial of a convicted drug dealer.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6438736&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

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Dodgers' Ethier extends April hit streak in win vs. Marlins

Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 24 games in the fourth inning, then homered in the 10th Wednesday to help the Los Angeles Dodgers ...

Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/scOYyiSOE74/2011-04-27-andre-ethier-april-hitting-streak_N.htm

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US Amb. To Libya On Casualty #'s and Recognition For TNC (Political Punch)

ABC News' Luis Martinez reports: US ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz says it is hard for the US to determine right now how many civilian casualties there have been in Libya since Gadhafi launched a military campaign against rebel forces....

Source : Political Punch

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Streaking Ethier lifts Dodgers with blast in 10th

Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 24 games in the fourth inning, then homered in the 10th Wednesday to help the Dodgers salvage the final game of their three-game series against Florida, 5-4.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310427128&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

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NL Central Notes: Brewers, Braun, Castro

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MlbTradeRumors/~3/4cjhO1qoh9Y/national-league-notes-marlins-brewers-castro.html

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Hip to Play

Mike Lowell and Chase Utley are both recovering well from their hip surgeries. Lowell played Friday night, hit a home run and started a double play in the field. Chase Utley played in a minor league intrasquad game. So far,...

Source: http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/031382.php

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Phillies closer out 3-4 weeks with strained elbow (Miami Herald)

Phillies closer Jose Contreras has a grade one strain in his right elbow and will be sidelined three to four weeks.

Source : Miami Herald

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Five homers power Tribe, tighten grip on first

Five homers power Tribe, tighten grip on first

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_26_kcamlb_clemlb_1&mode=recap_home&c_id=cle&partnerId=rss_mlb

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Lind homers twice in Blue Jays' 10-3 win at Texas (Miami Herald)

Adam Lind homered twice and drove in five runs for the Toronto Blue Jays, who got off to a fast start on the way to a 10-3 victory over the AL West-leading Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.

Source : Miami Herald

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Milwaukee Brewers' Erick Almonte (concussion) first on 7-day DL

Brewers utility man Erick Almonte became the first major leaguer placed on the new 7-day disabled list for concussions after being hit in the forehead by a thrown ball during batting practice.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6433166&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

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Tight hamstring sidelines Pujols against Astros

Tight hamstring sidelines Pujols against Astros

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110426&content_id=18274684¬ebook_id=18274814&vkey=notebook_stl&c_id=stl&partnerId=rss_mlb

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Hughes waiting for test results, plus a lineup (The LoHud Yankees Blog)

Phil Hughes had two MRIs and some vascular tests this morning, but he hasn?t heard any results. He?s scheduled for more tests tomorrow as the Yankees try to rule out everything or find out something. About 15 minutes ago, Jorge Posada, Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, Andruw Jones and Nick Swisher went onto the field with [...] Click on the headline for the rest of this blog post ...

Source : The LoHud Yankees Blog

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Manny Ramirez Hit A One-Handed Homer At 18, And Other Revelations [Elsewhere] (Deadspin)

Sara Rimer, a former reporter for the New York Times , returned to the paper's pages yesterday with a lovely, nostalgic piece about following the George Washington High School baseball team during its 1991 season. Manny Ramirez, then an 18-year-old on his way to signing with the Cleveland Indians, quickly became her focus. There's a series of captivating photos from his high school days, and...

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Pirates Notes: Clement, Wood, Sanchez

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MlbTradeRumors/~3/cjb_zUqvkdU/pirates-clement-wood-sanchez.html

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Cafardo On Dodgers, Upton, Doumit, Red Sox

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Ludwick's 2-run homer lifts Padres over Braves (Seattle Times)

Ryan Ludwick's second homer of the night, a 2-run shot with one out in the 13th inning, lifted the San Diego Padres to a 5-3 win against the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.

Source : Seattle Times

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Oh, baby: New dad Kennedy blanks Phils

Oh, baby: New dad Kennedy blanks Phils

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_25_phimlb_arimlb_1&mode=recap_home&c_id=ari&partnerId=rss_mlb

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Lannan squares off with Maholm in rubber match

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_25_wasmlb_pitmlb_1&mode=preview&c_id=mlb&partnerId=rss_mlb

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2012 Contract Issues: Cincinnati Reds

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MlbTradeRumors/~3/QaBFErELRNM/2012-contract-issues-cincinnati-reds.html

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Elijah Dukes charged with driving without valid license in Florida

Troubled former Tampa Bay Rays player Elijah Dukes has been charged in Florida with driving with a suspended or revoked driver's license.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6424313&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

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Lowrie's resurgence helping propel Boston

Lowrie's resurgence helping propel Boston

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110425&content_id=18236366&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&partnerId=rss_mlb

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Stunning Result in Dearborn Mosque Protest Case (Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

In an absolutely stunning conclusion, a seven-member jury decided tonight that Pastor Terry Jones cannot hold a protest at the Islamic Center of America mosque in Dearborn. The Detroit Free Press reports : Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

Source : Dispatches from the Culture Wars

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Wilson, Beltre lift Rangers to sweep of Royals

C.J. Wilson struck out 10 in seven innings, Adrian Beltre hit one of Texas' three home runs and the Rangers completed a three-game weekend sweep over the Kansas City Royals with an 8-7 victory Sunday.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310424113&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

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Yankees overcome blown save to best O's in 11

Russell Martin singled home the tiebreaking run in the 11th inning after Mariano Rivera gave up the lead in the ninth, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 Sunday for a two-game sweep.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310424101&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

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Mariners formulating plan to protect Pineda

Mariners formulating plan to protect Pineda

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110424&content_id=18205622¬ebook_id=18215390&vkey=notebook_sea&c_id=sea&partnerId=rss_mlb

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Halladay Ks 14 as Phils cap 4-game sweep (AP)

It wasn't until his 130th and final pitch that the struggling San Diego Padres finally got to Roy Halladay. Even so, Will Venable's RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning Sunday merely denied the Philadelphia Phillies and their sensational pitching staff a third shutout during the course of a four-game sweep.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/mlb/SIG=11jm8d4j3/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=310424125

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Magglio's ankle responding to consistent play

Magglio's ankle responding to consistent play

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110424&content_id=18194248¬ebook_id=18198756&vkey=notebook_det&c_id=det&partnerId=rss_mlb

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Yankee manager Girardi says beanball brought his team together

Yankees manager Joe Girardi believes Saturday's "suspicious" pitch from Baltimore right-hander Josh Rupe created a bonding experience for his ...

Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/kOYAwZ1yji4/1

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New York Mets center fielder Angel Pagan to DL; Jason Pridie called up

The New York Mets officially placed center fielder Angel Pagan on the disabled list Friday with a strained left oblique muscle, and called up Jason Pridie to take his roster spot.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6410939&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

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Red Sox eye four-game sweep of Halos

Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_24_bosmlb_anamlb_1&mode=preview&c_id=mlb&partnerId=rss_mlb

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