The Major League Baseball Post

[kiddin like jason]

Oh. my. god.

Most blatant balk in baseball history goes unnoticed and Matt Kemp gets picked off second base with runners on first and second, one out and the Dodgers down by one in the 9th.

Jamey Carroll comes up, hits a flare that drops into left. Russell Martin rounds second base too far and gets thrown out before Reed Johnson can touch home to tie the game - game over.

 

[stringer bell 32]

8 consecutive wins

2 games above .500

3 game back

 

[jpzx]

Originally Posted by Stringer Bell 32

8 consecutive wins

2 games above .500

3 game back

So you and the White Sox run on the same heartbeat then? When they're dead, you're dead, and when they're alive, you're alive? Interesting.

 

[stringer bell 32]

Originally Posted by JPZx

Originally Posted by Stringer Bell 32

8 consecutive wins

2 games above .500

3 game back

So you and the White Sox run on the same heartbeat then? When they're dead, you're dead, and when they're alive, you're alive? Interesting.

and the stumbling fumbling Twins helped resurrect us

Don't worry I'm not back for good.

 

[franchise 55]

I'm not sure if this was mentioned, but how great is Daniel Nava's story? Amazing.

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

Originally Posted by Kiddin Like Jason

If I wasn't an Indians fan and lived somewhere else, I might buy Extra Innings just to watch Carlos Santana in the box every night. It's like a religious experience.

fellow dominican right there, picked him up on my fantasy team along with pedro alvarez, john axford and brannon boesch

 

[proshares]

It brought some joy to my heart to see Giambi hit that bomb off Pap last night.

Chapman could be brought up to the bullpen before the ASG and so will Volquez.  Amazing.  He hit 98 on the gun yesterday.

 

[pdouly33]

Originally Posted by Kiddin Like Jason

Oh. my. god.

Most blatant balk in baseball history goes unnoticed and Matt Kemp gets picked off second base with runners on first and second, one out and the Dodgers down by one in the 9th.

Jamey Carroll comes up, hits a flare that drops into left. Russell Martin rounds second base too far and gets thrown out before Reed Johnson can touch home to tie the game - game over.

Maybe the saddest ending to a Dodgers game in a while.
Martin was safe too.

 

[kiddin like jason]

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9340341

When the player you robbed salutes you like that, that's when you know.

 

[jpzx]

The White Sox are on fire. Ten straight wins now....

Carlos Zambrano's Outburst in the Dugout Today: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9335281

Apparently he was angry that his fielders weren't diving after balls that were hit hard.

 

[y2kingsfan]

why is toronto the home team in philly? i thought it was a graphics error

 

[durden7]

Originally Posted by y2kingsfan

why is toronto the home team in philly? i thought it was a graphics error

G20 summit.

 

[kiddin like jason]

3-2 count, 2 outs in the 9th and the Tigers down one to the Braves - Johnny Damon gets called out on a pitch at least six inches off the plate.

Branyan traded back to the Mariners.

Seattle - buyers? Oh...

Maybe they're trying to compete with the Indians in separate Russell Branyan stints. 4-2, Tribe. For now.

 

[dland24]

What is wrong with Johan Santana?

 

[messiahchild]

Originally Posted by Kiddin Like Jason

3-2 count, 2 outs in the 9th and the Tigers down one to the Braves - Johnny Damon gets called out on a pitch at least six inches off the plate.

 

[trillipinotrapstar]

Originally Posted by MessiahChild

Originally Posted by Kiddin Like Jason

3-2 count, 2 outs in the 9th and the Tigers down one to the Braves - Johnny Damon gets called out on a pitch at least six inches off the plate.

Kawakami finally got his first win of the year and Chipper just hit his 200th HR @ Turner.

Strassburg vs Heyward will have to wait, though

 

[proshares]

Originally Posted by dland24

What is wrong with Johan Santana?

Once you lose the velocity on the fastball, the great circle change becomes so much more hittable.

 

[dland24]

Originally Posted by Proshares

Originally Posted by dland24

What is wrong with Johan Santana?

Once you lose the velocity on the fastball, the great circle change becomes so much more hittable.

But isnt he still throwing like 91-94?

 

[shaunhillftw49]

Cahill has been a surprise

 

[proshares]

Originally Posted by dland24

Originally Posted by Proshares

Originally Posted by dland24

What is wrong with Johan Santana?

Once you lose the velocity on the fastball, the great circle change becomes so much more hittable.

But isnt he still throwing like 91-94?

He barely hits 90 at all anymore.  At least not in the last few starts.

 

[jpzx]

Originally Posted by dland24

But isnt he still throwing like 91-94?

Some guy in the Mets thread said he was hitting 89 repeatedly.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

Yeah he averages between 88-91, but that's not the main reason why he's getting beat up a little bit as of late. His control has been pretty bad, especially on his change-up. I think if he adds another pitch, because that slider does nothing, he'll be right back to being a dominant pitcher. He just needs to come full circle with his adjustment from last years surgery.

 

[N41D]

Average fastball velocity is down to 89.3 this year and his swinging-strike rate has plummeted to like 8%...

 

[kiddin like jason]

Bobby.

Best rookie class ever?

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/tmi...=4023&_slug_=fangraphs-the-year-of-the-rookie

 

[jpzx]

[h3]http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/4023/fangraphs-the-year-of-the-rookie[/h3]

[h3]FanGraphs: Best rookie class ever?[/h3]By Pat Andriola, FanGraphs

While Rookie of the Year is usually a humble award relative to the MVP and Cy Young, the race for this year’s title may be just as exciting as those for the other major awards around baseball. Mike Fitzpatrick recently called the rise of 2010’s young crop of big league players a "Rookie Revolution," but do the numbers match the hype? Indeed they do.

Compared to past seasons, MLB has seen an upshot in production from first-year players that is relatively unprecedented. First-year batters have amassed 9.0 wins above replacement thus far this season, and if they attain as many plate appearances as they’ve averaged since 2002, are on pace for 35 WAR for the season, which would beat the 2008 record of 27.6 by a significant margin. If rookie pitchers reach their same inning pitched total as last year, they’ll put up 37 WAR, tops since 2002.

While you've no doubt heard about the two big names in this class, it's not just Stephen Strasburg and Jason Heyward making waves. Detroit’s Brennan Boesch is slugging an absurd .617 on the season, best among all rookies in baseball. His teammate, Austin Jackson, is hitting .308 with ten stolen bases in eleven tries and playing quality defense in center field. Third baseman David Freese of the Cardinals and first baseman Gaby Sanchez of the Marlins may be older rookies, but their numbers are not very amateurish. Freese is hitting .306/.370/.425 and Sanchez has an .819 OPS. Mets first baseman Ike Davis has impressed New York with his glove, but his eight homers have also helped an offense that has needed power. Like Davis, Rangers first baseman Justin Smoak hails from the 2008 draft class, and like Ike has hit eight dingers on the year. Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro has been solid in his forty games in Chicago, hitting .266 with very good defense.

Rookie pitchers are even threatening their bat-wielding counterparts on the mound. Besides Strasburg, Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake was the first player since Xavier Nady to go directly to the major leagues from college, but his 3.02 ERA and 4.06 Neftali Feliz of the Rangers has lit up radar guns around baseball with his 100 MPH fastball, but his 2.90 FIP and 2.87 ERA are just as exciting.

Incredibly, all of the players listed have a bunch of competition on the way. The Giants recently called up star catcher Buster Posey, who has hit .303 in twenty games so far, and the Indians called up catcher Carlos Santana, who has serious power behind the plate. The Pirates called up third baseman Pedro Alvarez, the second overall pick of the 2008 draft. Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton was on pace for sixty homers in the minors this year, and the nineteen-year-old hit a grand slam for his first big league homer in Miami after being called up last week.

While we don’t know if this is the best year for rookies of all time, it certainly is on pace to be the greatest in recent memory. Luckily for us, we don’t just get one year of these guys either. Baseball will be blessed with these players for a long time.

Pat Andriola is a writer for FanGraphs.