Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[TawnyVonJagger]

Iwamura is out for the season with a torn ACL.

Akinori Iwamura has a torn anterior cruciate ligament, damage to the medial collateral ligament in his knee, and torn ligaments in his ankle, and will miss the rest of the season, executive vice president Andrew Friedman said this afternoon.

Man talk about a regression with the bullpen. Did you see that 8 run lead they blew....again? David Price went 3.1IP with 100 pitches.

Kazmir, Percival, Iwamura and Bartlett go on the DL. One of the four is done for the year ( Iwamura ) and one may be calling it quits ( Percival ). Tough week, although they did extend Maddon to 2012.

I was expecting a three team race in the AL East this season. Oh well I guess it's gonna be same old, same old.

Oh, and Clay Buchholz took a perfect game to the ninth. Only to give up a hit the other day. Olney's speculating that he's about to be called up, since he's been punishing AAA hitters. I kind of disagree. He's in Pawtucket to "work on everything," and since Penny has been good. Where do you place him unless Penny is traded? That's not even taking into account the inevitable return of Smoltz.

I was at that game when Iwamura got hurt. Hubby and I had a feeling it was ACL or something, it looked bad. But it was a good, clean slide. I feel bad for him. Bartlett got nailed on a slide too, but he shook it off and stayed in the game. On the DL too, huh? Damn.
There were a lot of Rays at the games this weekend...makes me wonder when they became Rays fans...2008? they were cool though, had no problems with them. And this is supposed to be a big rivalry?

WTF happened to the Jays?! And my Marlins suck. Hard.

[killeverything]

Iwamura is out for the season with a torn ACL.

Akinori Iwamura has a torn anterior cruciate ligament, damage to the medial collateral ligament in his knee, and torn ligaments in his ankle, and will miss the rest of the season, executive vice president Andrew Friedman said this afternoon.

Man talk about a regression with the bullpen. Did you see that 8 run lead they blew....again? David Price went 3.1IP with 100 pitches.

Kazmir, Percival, Iwamura and Bartlett go on the DL. One of the four is done for the year ( Iwamura ) and one may be calling it quits ( Percival ). Tough week, although they did extend Maddon to 2012.

I was expecting a three team race in the AL East this season. Oh well I guess it's gonna be same old, same old.

Oh, and Clay Buchholz took a perfect game to the ninth. Only to give up a hit the other day. Olney's speculating that he's about to be called up, since he's been punishing AAA hitters. I kind of disagree. He's in Pawtucket to "work on everything," and since Penny has been good. Where do you place him unless Penny is traded? That's not even taking into account the inevitable return of Smoltz.

I was at that game when Iwamura got hurt. Hubby and I had a feeling it was ACL or something, it looked bad. But it was a good, clean slide. I feel bad for him. Bartlett got nailed on a slide too, but he shook it off and stayed in the game. On the DL too, huh? Damn.
There were a lot of Rays at the games this weekend...makes me wonder when they became Rays fans...2008? they were cool though, had no problems with them. And this is supposed to be a big rivalry?

WTF happened to the Jays?! And my Marlins suck. Hard.

Hey, give the Rays' fans a break. They've been following their team since like September.

I didn't expect the wheels to come off Toronto this soon. They're on like an 8 game losing streak, but has played well enough to still turn it around. It's not like the lost half the team to the DL or anything. The MFY are a 90-95 win team, they're going to play like it. I could see Toronto making a push still, or at least playing spoiler.

As for Tampa. I knew they were going to have a massive BP regression this season. They're BABIP with runners on was unsustainable, especially with guys like Balfour. If Kazmir can return to form, they can put Price in the BP. He seems to be having problems pacing himself through a whole game so far.

As for Florida. They seem to be perenially re-building the team. Nolasco was just sent down to New Orleans, if that guy can get it together. That's one hell of a SP. With the new stadium being built ( it is right? ), the owner might finally stop fucking over the team/fans.

[TawnyVonJagger]

Nolasco is driving me crazy. I don't know what his deal is. The only stalwarts have been JJ and Volstad, aside from the rare bad outing. Most of the starting rotation can't seem to go deep, and our BP is tapped the fuck out already. They're schizophrenic! Most of their pitching callups have been shit, with the exception of Sean West, I was very impressed by his outing the other day.
Man, if our starting rotation don't get their shit together, it's going to be a loooong season.

[Machado]

MLB NETWORK LIVE GAME SCHEDULE THROUGH JUNE 2009
(all times Eastern):

* May 28 - 8:00 p.m. Dodgers @ Cubs - Bob Costas & Harold Reynolds
* May 30 - 9:00 p.m. Cardinals @ Giants
* June 4 - 7:00 p.m. Cubs @ Braves - Matt Vasgersian & Joe Magrane
* June 6 - 9:00 p.m. Orioles @ Athletics
* June 11 - 7:00 p.m. Yankees @ Red Sox - Bob Costas & Jim Kaat
* June 13 - 9:00 p.m. Padres @ Angels
* June 18 - 8:00 p.m. Tigers @ Cardinals - Victor Rojas & Joe Magrane
* June 20 - 7:00 p.m. Gillette Civil Rights Game: White Sox @ Reds
* June 25 - 7:00 p.m. Phillies @ Rays - Matt Vasgersian, Joe Magrane & Mitch Williams
* June 27 - 7:00 p.m. Yankees @ Mets

[killeverything]

Nolasco is driving me crazy. I don't know what his deal is.

If you remember, he had elbow spurs last season right?

I wonder if his struggles are related to hiding an injury, or favoring different mechanics from injury fears. He's had difficulty with Earned Runs this season. His peripherals suggest a top of the rotation ace, without the media machine backing him ( ala Hughes or Chamberlain ). Maybe it's related to age and maturity.

If you look at his recent track record on 5/13 and 5/22 he gave up 8ER in 2 and 3.2IP respectively. He has a 7.63 K/9 so he's getting strike outs.

His release points are the same, but he seems eractic with the location.



He's getting swinging strikes outside the zone too.



He's throwing his four consistently ( four seamer, changeup, slider, curve ). I don't feel like looking at pitching logs to see what's he's getting killed on right now. Plus using Pitch f/x and gameday algorythims, are often inaccurate but can help paint a better idea.

Ricky Nolasco pitched pretty well in his debut as a Zephyr. Ricky went 8 innings threw 103 pitches with 72 for strikes. He gave up 6 hits, walked 2 and struck out 7 while being charged with 3 earned runs.

I'm chalking all this up to confidence. Not unlike Buchholz, keep him in AAA until he get's his pride back......of course I don't know what that's gonna do to the Marlins rotation for the time being.

I drafted Nolasco high this season. I thought he was gonna be not unlike a Lincecum, a guy that comes out of nowhere and dominates.....I traded him to Jake for Kazmir....only to have Kazmir immeaditely hit the DL.

[killeverything]

Todd Zolecki is reporting Brett Myers will likely have hip surgery and be out for the remainder of the 2009 season. As Myers is a free agent at the end of the season, he may have thrown his final pitch as a Phillie.

Myers left yesterday's game against the Marlins early with hip inflammation. The 3 starts before that one he had a 2.57 ERA in 21 innings. The candidates to replace Myers is Chan Ho Park and Kyle Kendrick.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Todd Zolecki is reporting Brett Myers will likely have hip surgery and be out for the remainder of the 2009 season. As Myers is a free agent at the end of the season, he may have thrown his final pitch as a Phillie.

Myers left yesterday's game against the Marlins early with hip inflammation. The 3 starts before that one he had a 2.57 ERA in 21 innings. The candidates to replace Myers is Chan Ho Park and Kyle Kendrick.

If they don't bring up Carlos Carrasco I'll be seriously pissed. CC is already a better pitcher than Park. Their pitching is killing them this year.

[killeverything]

There is a God!

Overatedsby Ellsbury was finally moved out of the leadoff spot. The Mighty Red Sox FO values OBP over speed at the top of the order. He was hitting an OPS+ of 78. His low OBP is almost entirely comprised of hitting singles. 51 of 63 are all singles. With his speed it's amazing to me he can't stretch it out into more 2B.

Found some cool numbers, to fuel my hatred.

Of all AL CFers with at least 100 PA, here's the rankings.

1. Jones: 1.018
2. Hunter: .979
3. Cabrera: .849
4. Granderson: .820
5. Byrd: .808
6. Span: .784
7. Crisp: .743
8. Wells: .740
9. Gardner: .738
10. Hamilton: .736
11. Sizemore: .726
12. Ellsbury: .702
13. Gutierrez: .699
14. Sweeney: .645
15. Upton: .580


I'm gonna get all Sabre on ya'll now.
If you add a total base for each steal, and subtract a total base for each caught stealing, for purposes of caluclating an adjusted slugging percentage, and then use that adjusted slugging percentage to calculate an OPS, here's how that same list comes out, by "steal-adjusted OPS":

1. Jones: 1.029
2. Hunter: 1.019
3. Cabrera: .864
4. Granderson: .851
5. Span: .826
6. Byrd: .821
7. Gardner: .803
8. Crisp: .798
9. Wells: .782
10. Ellsbury: .773
11. Hamilton: .761
12. Sizemore: .731
13. Gutierrez: .692
14. Sweeney: .656
15. Upton: .645


While I'm a huge Ramon Ramirez fan, he's been great. I was completely against the trading of Coco. Ellsbury steals a lot of bases.....that's it. My eyes tell me a different story with his fielding. He seems great. Fan Graphs has him at -3 at the plate and -.2 in the field. He seems to be good, but UZR tells a different story alltogether. For comparisons sake last year he was 16.5 in the field.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. They should've traded him after 2007 when his stock was so fucking high.

There are more linear weights illustrating my point, but you don't care.

[Rainbow Bright]

26 straight hits from Ichiro and a W. Defiantly better than last year's squad

[TawnyVonJagger]

Ichiro is unreal.

So yeah, the month o' June is gonna be BRUTAL for the Fightin' Fish.

Brew Crew-4 games (took the first two) home
Giants home
Cards home
Jays-away
Red Sox-away
MFY-home (yes, my ass will be there, wearing my Yankee Hater hat, althouuuuuuuuugh...been tinkering w/ the idea of selling my tix and making a fucking mint)
Orioles-home
Rays-away

Just. Damn.

[Machado]

How about the bean-ball action from padilla to Tex last night?
Tex followed up by taking out the rangers ss, breaking up a double-play, which allowed for more runs to be scored that inning.

Saw the game on tv and ESPN baseball tonight highlights. Each telecast made a point to say that the rangers hitter's might have a word or two w/padilla for his actions.
As a result of the bean-ball, A.J. Burnett threw "up and in" to nelson cruz in the following inning.

[Facedown]

Braves release Glavine.

[JakeYonkel]

Braves release Glavine.

That's nuts to me.

I mean, I guess the Braves gotta figure they're better off with Tommy Hanson than Glavine - which is true - but they've gotta be killing their fan base after failing to sign Smoltz and now this.

I think that signing Glavine was more of a PR move this year anyway, because the guy's got nothing left. Apparently they gave him the option to retire now as a Brave and he chose to be released. I can't see anybody bothering with him unless it's like Washington or Pittsburgh.

[WOLF]

Pirates deal Nate McLouth to Braves for prospects. Wow! Brings me back to my Expos days.... sigh.....

[Facedown]

It was said that Glavine had pitched 11 innings of scoreless ball in his rehabs and that he was days away from bonus incentives kicking in.

[killeverything]

It was said that Glavine had pitched 11 innings of scoreless ball in his rehabs and that he was days away from bonus incentives kicking in.

His bonus incentives included starts. His salary evened out would've cost the Braves 4.5 million. 1 million for his first day on the active roster, 1.25 million for 30 days on the active roster, 1.25 million for 90 days on the active roster.

Are they that hard up for cash they couldn't give him a start/win and let him retire a Brave? I think the PR on this is going to be extremely negative. Their 14 straight is done, their 3 pitchers are gone. Albeit mostly to age, it just seems that a guy who had been one of the faces for the organization for so long maybe deserves more.

We're all excited to see Tommy Hansen pitch ( especially for 300,000 ). I just could see this being a pretty negative spin in the press. The scouting report on him is out, he was throwing 86mph and not walking a bunch of guys......kinda like he's been for the past five years. I think they coulda let him retire a Brave. Even if there is no spot for him the rotation.

I mean if they really just want to cut someone who isn't going to help the team, how the hell does Jeff Francour still have a job?

[JakeYonkel]

AJ Burnett got suspended 6 games (!) for throwing up and in at Nelson Cruz the other night.

This after Vicente Padilla incited it by hitting Mark Teixeira twice. He got a fine.

It'll all shake out the same way Beckett's suspension did - suspending a starting pitcher is a joke anyway, since they appeal and don't usually miss a start.

But still, in principle - guy actually hits somebody twice, who's known around the league for throwing at people - then the Rangers put him on release waivers immediately after the game - and he gets a fine.

Yet Burnett throws at somebody to send a message - doesn't hit him - and gets 6 games?

Weird shit.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Dan Patrick said there was a rumor that Padilla has been released but couldn't confirm it. His own teammates wouldn't back him up on that ridiculous bullshit, it's probably time for him to go.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

I'd also like to give a big LOL to Sammy Sosa's statement today regarding his "calmly waiting to get into the Hall Of Fame". Motherfucker, that's a pretty well spoken statement considering the fact you COULDN'T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH at the Senate hearings. Fuck him.

[JakeYonkel]

Man, Randy Johnson really oughta send a thank you card to the home plate ump from today's game. That was an AWFUL strike 3 call on Adam Dunn in the 8th inning with the bases loaded. Randy should still be stuck on 299.

[killeverything]

I'd also like to give a big LOL to Sammy Sosa's statement today regarding his "calmly waiting to get into the Hall Of Fame". Motherfucker, that's a pretty well spoken statement considering the fact you COULDN'T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH at the Senate hearings. Fuck him.

Word.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

On ESPN Radio today they alluded to the fact that he probably hit more pussy than home runs, though.

Do you get Dan Patrick on your station? I love his show more than my kids sometimes.

I forgot to post this the other day, Patrick had Tom Verducci from Sports Illustrated on. During the conversation, Verducci revealed that in the early 90s, a noted umpire whom he wouldn't name called pitches for an inning during a game that Randy Johnson was throwing. Allegedly the ump told the catcher "anyone could call a game when Randy was pitching". The catcher told him to go ahead and do it. Not something the powers that be would like to hear if it's true.

[killeverything]

On ESPN Radio today they alluded to the fact that he probably hit more pussy than home runs, though.

Do you get Dan Patrick on your station? I love his show more than my kids sometimes.

I forgot to post this the other day, Patrick had Tom Verducci from Sports Illustrated on. During the conversation, Verducci revealed that in the early 90s, a noted umpire whom he wouldn't name called pitches for an inning during a game that Randy Johnson was throwing. Allegedly the ump told the catcher "anyone could call a game when Randy was pitching". The catcher told him to go ahead and do it. Not something the powers that be would like to hear if it's true.

I think it's like that in all sports though. Especially the NBA ( fake ass shit ). The strikezone and pitch calling has been historically bad this season ( Hughes' start against Boston he got robbed on a lot of pitches, LOSING PITCHER Joba the Fat's 7 non swinging strikeouts outside the batter's box , Santana against Philly, etc. ). Big name's seem to get away with more.

I always chalked it up to ( especially with Greg Maddux ) that they were just that Goddamn good. Yet with the technology becoming availible now. It's easy to see how fucking bad these guys have been. While the awesome PitchF/X isn't 100% accurate yet, it keeps improving daily with it's analysis.

Now I don't know how to actually correct the problem though. I'm pretty opposed to pretty much all types of video replays. Plus the sign of a great pitcher is one who knows what they can throw with a certain ump, and adjusts their game accordingly. It's been that way for 100 years. Maybe it's just the technology availible now, so we see more.....so to speak. But the strikezone enforcement has just been fucking terrible this season.

That's kind of the reason they do the video homerun replays now. With some terrible terrible rulings a couple years ago. Funny story. I was just in Seattle last week. The bartender at the Waterfront Marriot is ( to the chagrin of the GF ) a big baseball guy, so we hit it off. He was telling me that the umps that stay there are pretty cool, but it's kind of secretive type. He said they won't ever name names. No matter how much he's asked. I guess he got along well enough with a couple that they went out for beers after he got off. They still won't divulge any info. The reason I bring that up. Is the ump with the really terrible non-HR ruling ( it was against Arod ), was there when he asked them what they thought about it. This was when it was just instated.

He said they laughed and pointed to him, and said "this guys the reason right here." I guess he was none to pleased. It's an old dog mentality. Even if you could change it.......how?




Anyone interested in playing around with PitchF/X, one of the sites that offers it is:

http://www.brooksbaseball.net

[TawnyVonJagger]

Just drivin' by to say Josh Johnson hit his first career HR tonight, on top of great pitching to boot. His teammates had to push him out of the dugout for the curtain call.

Love my boy. LOVE HIM <3

Off to a good start in this homestand, took 3/4 from the Brew Crew. Noice.


Oh, and my heart is BREAKING for Dontrelle. GOD DAMMIT!

[killeverything]

Just drivin' by to say Josh Johnson hit his first career HR tonight, on top of great pitching to boot. His teammates had to push him out of the dugout for the curtain call.

Love my boy. LOVE HIM <3

Off to a good start in this homestand, took 3/4 from the Brew Crew. Noice.


Oh, and my heart is BREAKING for Dontrelle. GOD DAMMIT!

On a brighter note though ( or semi-brighter ). Carl Pavano ( Ha! ) was the winning pitcher in each of his two starts against the MFY, when he walked off the mound. Unfortunatley the awful Cleveland BP couldn't preserve the lead.

[TawnyVonJagger]

Just drivin' by to say Josh Johnson hit his first career HR tonight, on top of great pitching to boot. His teammates had to push him out of the dugout for the curtain call.

Love my boy. LOVE HIM <3

I never heard of this guy until my wife got him on her fantasy baseball team.

He's fucking sick. His walk to strike out ratio is ridiculous.

He had Tommy John surgery in 07, and he came back way sooner than expected last year, and he's been pretty much money since then. Your wife is a lucky woman.

[killeverything]

Heh. Check this story out. Cute.

Brett Tomko, who tossed three scoreless innings in his longest stint as a Yankee on Wednesday night, had an interesting strategy when he faced Tony Gwynn from 1997 to 2000. Tomko said he pumped fastballs right over the plate.

When Tomko was with the Cincinnati Reds in 1997, he spoke to Pete Harnisch, a teammate, about Gwynn. Gywnn, who is now in the Hall of Fame, was in the midst of winning eight batting titles.
“He told me to throw it right down the middle,” Tomko said.
Tomko questioned Harnisch’s advice, but Harnisch explained it.

“He said that Gwynn was so used to hitting pitches that were out of the strikezone that I was better off throwing it down the middle,” Tomko said. “He said Gwynn wouldn’t be expecting it, so he’d probably roll it over and hit it to the right side or pop it up.”
In Tomko’s first game against Gwynn on Aug. 7, 1997, Tomko threw fastballs over the plate. Gwynn grounded out to first and popped up twice to the infield.

“I looked into the dugout at Pete, and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?.’ ” Tomko said.
The strategy remained successful for Tomko: He held Gywnn, a .338 career hitter, to 2 hits in 12 at-bats.

[UtahRatt]

Power Rankings: Manny-less Dodgers still No. 1

This is the fifth week the Los Angeles Dodgers have been without Manny Ramirez. Yet for four of those weeks, the Dodgers have been the No. 1 team in baseball.

The Dodgers, who continue to play steady baseball in Manny's absence, finished 4-2 for the week to remain atop the MLB Power Rankings for the fourth straight time. They came close to dropping all four games to Philadelphia over the weekend. But after dropping Thursday's game, the Dodgers had to rally against Phillies closer Brad Lidge on Friday and Saturday to take the next two games of the series, before losing Sunday night.

The Dodgers are followed once again by the No. 2 New York Yankees, who were also 4-2 for the week. The Boston Red Sox (No. 3), Philadelphia Phillies (No. 4) and the Milwaukee Brewers (No. 5) fill out the top five.


1 - Dodgers 39-20 As part of their impressive record, the Dodgers are 14-5 in games decided by one run.

2 - New York Yankees 33-23 With 100 home runs in 28 games, the new Yankee Stadium could finish with close to 300 home runs in its first season.

3 - Boston Red Sox 33-24 David Ortiz has raised his average from .185 to .198 with a six-game hitting streak.

4 - Philadelphia Phillies 33-22 The Phillies have won 13 of their past 17 on the road and have the best MLB record (21-8) away from home.

5 - Milwaukee Brewers 33-24 The Brewers have a 29-15 record since April 22.

6 - Texas Rangers 33-23 The Rangers are 13-3 against West Division teams, but 17-20 against AL East and AL Central teams.

7 - Detroit Tigers 30-25 On fire! Edwin Jackson is 5-1 with an 0.76 ERA and 34 K's in 45.1 IP in his past six outings.

8 - Cardinals 31-26 The Cardinals have lost seven of their past 10 and haven't won two in a row since May 26-27

9 - New York Mets 30-25 Francisco Rodriguez is 15-for-15 in save opportunities and has only allowed runs (2) in one of his 25 appearances.

10 - Toronto Blue Jays 32-27 Roy Halladay (10-1, 2.52 ERA) has thrown more than 100 pitches in nine of his past 11 outings, including 133 on June 2.

11 - Tampa Bay Rays 29-29 On nine different occasions, the Rays have had a .500 record this season.

12 - Chicago Cubs 28-26 The Cubs have won seven of 11 games after an eight-game losing streak.

13 - Los Angeles Angels 28-27 Vladimir Guerrero, who lost 35 games due to chest pains, has only one homer in 2009 (April 12 against Boston).

14 - Cincinnati Reds 29-27 The Reds have lost nine of 15 games decided by one run, and four of six extra-innings games.

15 - San Francisco Giants 29-26 Tim Lincecum (5-1) is on a five-win streak and has 10 outings in a row without a loss since April 12.

16 - Minnesota Twins 28-30 Joe Mauer's average has gone under .400 only one day (.397 on May 20) since he made his season debut May 1.

17 - Atlanta Braves 27-28 In addition to being shut out a major league-leading seven times this season, the Braves have scored only one run in five other games.

18 - Seattle Mariners 28-29 The Mariners have played 27 games (15-12) decided by a run.

19 - Florida Marlins 27-31 The Marlins have lost 30 of their 46 games after starting the season 11-1.

20 - Chicago White Sox 26-30 The White Sox have lost five of six games going into their five-game series against the visiting Tigers.

21 - Oakland Athletics 25-30 The A's have won six games in a row, their best streak since August 2006

22 - Pittsburgh Pirates 26-30 Right-hander Ian Snell (1-6) is winless in his past nine outings.

23 - Padres 26-30 The Padres have played in the two longest games of the season, totalling 33 innings and 10 hours and 59 minutes.

24 - Arizona Diamondbacks 25-32 The Diamondbacks are third in the National League with 45 errors, only surpassed by Washington (54) and Florida (49).

25 - Baltimore Orioles 24-33 The Orioles have lost 21 of their past 26 games away from home.

26 - Houston Astros 25-30 Roy Oswalt (2-3, 4.66 ERA) doesn't have a decision in eight of 13 outings this season.

27 - Cleveland Indians 25-34 Carl Pavano is 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA since May 1, lowering his overall ERA from 9.50 to 4.63.

28 - Kansas City Royals 24-32 Zack Greinke has allowed eight runs in 12 IP in his past two outings, raising his ERA from 0.84 to 1.55.

29 - Colorado Rockies 24-32 Colorado is 6-4 since replacing Clint Hurdle with Jim Tracy as manager.

30 - Washington Nationals 15-40 Adam Dunn is the only player with more home runs (17) than his team's win total (15).

[UtahRatt]

Heh. Check this story out. Cute.

Brett Tomko, who tossed three scoreless innings in his longest stint as a Yankee on Wednesday night, had an interesting strategy when he faced Tony Gwynn from 1997 to 2000. Tomko said he pumped fastballs right over the plate.

When Tomko was with the Cincinnati Reds in 1997, he spoke to Pete Harnisch, a teammate, about Gwynn. Gywnn, who is now in the Hall of Fame, was in the midst of winning eight batting titles.
“He told me to throw it right down the middle,” Tomko said.
Tomko questioned Harnisch’s advice, but Harnisch explained it.

“He said that Gwynn was so used to hitting pitches that were out of the strikezone that I was better off throwing it down the middle,” Tomko said. “He said Gwynn wouldn’t be expecting it, so he’d probably roll it over and hit it to the right side or pop it up.”
In Tomko’s first game against Gwynn on Aug. 7, 1997, Tomko threw fastballs over the plate. Gwynn grounded out to first and popped up twice to the infield.

“I looked into the dugout at Pete, and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?.’ ” Tomko said.
The strategy remained successful for Tomko: He held Gywnn, a .338 career hitter, to 2 hits in 12 at-bats.

Now that shit is funny.

[Machado]

3 game series begins today between the sox and Yankees. so far this season the sox have won all 5 games.

A.J. does tonight. hopefully he does a lot better than his previous start vs the sox.

who else saw Hughes last night in relief? 1 inning only, but his fastball was around 96. not sure if he will remain in the pen for long, but it was great to see him get outs in a new role.