Charlie Blackmon in his natural habitat.

This edition of One Night Only contains:

1. Expanded previews for three games: Rubby de la Rosa’s first-ever start (at Philadelphia), Marlin Brad Hand’s debut (against the Braves), and Charlie Effing Blackmon’s maybe debut (at San Diego).

2. Brief, but no less charming, previews for four (!) other games: Chicago (NL) at Cincinnati, New York (NL) at Milwaukee, Toronto at Kansas City, and Tampa Bay at Los Angeles (AL).

3. Pitcher and Team NERD scores for every one of tonight’s games.

Read the rest of this entry »

Giants 5, Nationals 4

Moving the Needle: Freddy Sanchez ends it in the 13th with a walk-off hit, +.372 WPA. The Nats had a 4-0 lead through six, and they were up 4-1 through seven. But the bullpen blew it in the eighth. The Giants picked up three to tie, and then nearly walked off with the win in the ninth. Both teams had their chances in extras, but it wasn’t until the 13th that the Giants finally came through. A walk and hit set up Sanchez, who hit an easy double down the right field line. Of course, he gets credit for only a single, but I don’t think that much matters.

Notables

Aaron Rowand: 1 for 6, 1 HR. His seventh-inning shot got the Giants rolling.

Mike Morse: 2 for 5, 1 2B, 1 HR. In 465 PA in the last two seasons he has a .371 wOBA.

John Lannan: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K. It’s the same old peripherals, same old results for Lannan. It’s still a wonder how he keeps his ERA below his FIP. (Except last year, of course.)

Also in this issue: Rays 5, Angels 1 | Reds 8, Cubs 2 | Orioles 4, A’s 2 | Brewers 7, Marlins 2 | White Sox 3, Mariners 1 | Phillies 3, Dodgers 1 | Twins 6, Indians 4 | Rockies 3, Padres 0 | Royals 3, Blue Jays 2 | Tigers 13, Rangers 7

Read the rest of this entry »

The Indians started the season on fire, winning 20 of their first 28 ballgames. Right at that time, we debuted the FanGraphs Power Rankings, and the first edition had the Indians listed at 20th. People — mainly Indians fans — were outraged. Since that 20-8 start however, the Indians have gone just 13-16, and have been outscored by 26 runs in the process. They are still nine games above .500, but whereas in May it looked like they would run away with a mediocre AL Central, it now appears that they will have to fight for it. The seven-game lead that they had as late as May 23rd is now just 2 ½ games. Throughout this process, the Power Rankings have preached patience when it comes to the Indians. The team has not yet ranked higher than 18th, and this week drops back to 22nd. This is caused by the fact that their WAR% has dropped from 3rd to 15th in the past two weeks.

Read the rest of this entry »

Red Sox fans can be forgiven if they’re not impressed with Carl Crawford’s performance to date this season. Even after blasting his fifth home run of the season in Sunday’s game against Oakland, his triple-slash sits at an unimpressive .248/.286/.389. Those are potential non-tender numbers, not seven-year, $184 million numbers. Slowly but surely, though, Crawford has made his way towards respectability. Over the last month, the 29-year-old Crawford has compiled a .293/.311/.474 line, beginning a steady march towards the production the Red Sox are paying for.

Read the rest of this entry »

On May 18, Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost moved Alex Gordon from third to first in the batting. Gordon has hit leadoff every game since then. This was a surprising move, but for those of us in the Nerdosphere who had been calling for this move before the season (I remember advocating it in the 2008-2009 offseason), it was a welcome one. The Royals aren’t exactly known for being on the sabermetric cutting edge, but the move must have caused waves, as the Tampa Bay Rays followed suit about a week later, moving Evan Longoria into their leadoff spot (at least for a few games).

Maybe that was because of a “sabermetric resonance,” or just the Rays’ obvious lust after all things Royals this season: Kyle Farnsworth, Juan Cruz, and Joel Peralta (can Mike Jacobs be far behind?). Gordon leading off is a nice change of pace from the batting-order choices managers usually make. This is of particular interest because Yost has claimed to have read The Book, ideas from which form the basis of blog-based “Gordon-to-leadoff” enthusiasm. Given the increasing interest in moving the sabermetric revolution from the front office to the dugout, what can the context of Yost’s decision tell us about the present and future of potential sabermetric managing?

Read the rest of this entry »

Felipe Paulino makes his second start for Kansas City tonight.

This edition of One Night Only contains:

1. Expanded previews for three games: Chicago Nationals at Cincinnati, Toronto at Kansas City, and Clay Fight 2011.

2. Pitcher and Team NERD scores for every one of tonight’s games.

3. Moxie?

Read the rest of this entry »

Here is my one and only attempt at a FanGraphs Mock Draft. Starting at 7 p.m. eastern time, we’ll find out just how right (or wrong) I am. Starting at about 6 p.m. I’ll be taking draft and prospect questions in a live chat, with hopefully a few friends dropping by to help out. We’ll also be live blogging through the first round of the draft – and possibly the supplemental round depending on how quickly things move along. Along with hanging out with us, be sure to check out our friends at Baseball America, who always have the best darn draft coverage in town.

1. PIT – Gerrit Cole, RHP (UCLA)
The man with the 100 mph fastball, which is all well and good, but he also has command issues and hasn’t dominated for long stretches. Still, his overall package is very attractive and he’ll be off the board within the first five draft picks. Cole is a big, strong pitcher but his delivery does have some effort to it. He throws his mid-90s fastball, along with a plus slider and OK changeup. He was the 28th overall pick of the New York Yankees out of high school in 2008.

2. SEA – Anthony Rendon, 3B (Rice U)
Perhaps the famous Rice University injury curse is spreading from the pitchers to the hitters. Rendon has been the consensus first overall pick for the 2011 draft since his eye-opening freshman year of college. However, injury concerns – most recently his shoulder, and previously his ankle – have clouded his draft status. Seattle is known to be very interested but he could end up sliding a bit with reports of so-so medical reports that team doctors are no doubt pouring over until the very last minute. If all goes as hoped, Rendon has the chance to be a Gold Glove fielder with 20+ home run potential and a solid batting average.

Read the rest of this entry »