Last night, the Dodgers trailed the Giants 2-1 in the seventh inning. Juan Rivera and James Loney led off the inning with back-to-back singles, putting the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run on base with nobody out. Juan Uribe, the #7 hitter in the line-up, was due up to hit.

Don Mattingly asked him to bunt, which, if successful, would have put runners at second and third with one out, bringing A.J. Ellis to the plate with first base open. With the pitcher’s spot coming up behind Ellis, an intentional walk would have been an obvious call, and the Dodgers would then have had the bases loaded with one out and Bobby Abreu pinch-hitting. A few years ago, that might have been a really nice situation. Now, though, Abreu is about a league average hitter, and hitters perform worse in pinch-hitting situations than in other situations. Abreu is also a guy who hits the ball on the ground more than most hitters, and he’s a good candidate to hit into a double play in that situation. Had Abreu only made one out and not ended the inning, the Dodgers would then have had Dee Gordon and his .266 wOBA at the plate. Essentially, Don Mattingly was willing to give up an out for the chance to have a pinch-hitting Bobby Abreu and a bad-hitting Dee Gordon try to put runs on the board.

However, Uribe laid down a lousy bunt, and Buster Posey turned it into a 2-5-3 double play. Ellis then flew out to end the inning, and the rally ended up without even turning the line-up over, much less getting any runs across.

Read the rest of this entry »

Source: FanGraphs

Josh Hamilton wrote his name into the history books in Baltimore tonight, becoming just the 14th player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a single game, launching two off Orioles starter Jake Arrieta, one off reliever Zach Phillips, and one off side-armer Darren O’Day.

He’s just the third player to ever record a fifth extra base hit in the game in which he also hit four homers, as he added a double to rack up 18 total bases on the night. Only Shawn Green in 2002 and Joe Adcock in 1954 added a fifth XBH to their big night, and prior to tonight, those were the only games in history where a player had accumulated at least 18 total bases in a single performance. Green actually added a single as well, so he still stands alone with 19 total bases based on his 6-6 night.

Hamilton homered in his final at-bat in last night’s game, so over the span of six plate appearances, he managed to hit five home runs and a double. It will take a little more digging to confirm, but there’s a pretty good chance that no one has ever done that before.

Hamilton now has 14 home runs on the season, two more than the San Diego Padres and just three behind the Minnesota Twins. As far as FanGraphs metrics go, Hamilton entered the night with a .474 wOBA and raised it to .536, passing Matt Kemp for the best mark in baseball. For the evening, he posted a wRC+ of 1,212. His wRC+ for the year is now 247 – Babe Ruth’s highest single season wRC+ was .235.

If you want to view the home runs, the highlights are up on MLB.com.

HR #1
HR #2
HR #3
HR #4

The guys over at Baseball America have been killing it for the last few weeks, but since we try not to link to content that requires a subscription to read, I’ve held off on linking to several of their better recent stories. Today, though, Ben Badler has a fantastic read on how teams may attempt to exploit some potential loopholes in the new CBA, and it’s free for everyone to read. I’ll just quote the first loophole that he mentions, but you should click through and read the entire piece. It’s worth your time.

While the new international rules kick in on July 2, before then a team can sign currently eligible players—pretty much anyone 17 or older—and and not have the money count against its signing bonus pool.

If a trainer has an outfielder who previously might have commanded $3 million in an unrestricted market, he could still get his $3 million by agreeing to a package deal with a team. Before July 2, the team will reach an oral agreement to sign the trainer’s outfielder when he becomes eligible, say for $2.2 million, and to sign a couple of 17-year-old players from the same trainer before July 2 for a total of $800,000, regardless of how much those 17-year-old players are truly worth.

In the end, the team gets the outfielder it values at $3 million, and the trainer gets his commission on $3 million. While the star outfield prospect may get shortchanged, the trainer could work out an arrangement with his players to pass some of their money to the outfielder, since the 17-year-olds would know he’s the only reason they’re getting inflated bonuses.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been meaning to write about Jose Altuve for a couple of weeks now, but with Ryan espousing the virtues of Starlin Castro, this seems like the perfect time to talk about Altuve. Why does an article about the Cubs shortstop lead to a follow-up article about the Astros second baseman? Because Castro and Altuve are essentially the exact same player.

Below are the Major League career batting lines for both Castro and Altuve.

Read the rest of this entry »

Heading into the 2008 draft, Baseball America concluded their scouting report on Long Beach State right-hander Vance Worley by saying this:

Command is the primary concern with Worley, not in terms of walks but in quality of pitches and efficiency, as he frequently finds himself in deep counts. With refinement of his secondary offerings, he could develop into a mid-rotation starter in pro ball, but his power arm makes a conversion to the bullpen a solid option.

Worley had struggled in his junior season at LBSU, but had impressed enough in the Cape Cod League the summer before that the Phillies ended up selecting him in the third round of that 2008 draft. After a two start stint in the short-season New York Penn League, he finished he season at low-A Lakewood and pitched pretty well, running a 53/7 K/BB ratio in 61 innings. Of course, as a college pitcher facing a string of teenagers, anything less would have been a significant disappointment.

The Phillies moved him up to Double-A in 2009, a more appropriate level of competition for a guy with his experience. This didn’t go so well. He threw 153 mediocre innings, walked 49 batters, struck out just 100, and gave up 17 home runs on the way to posting a 4.39 FIP and 5.34 ERA. His 15.2% strikeout rate was perhaps the most alarming sign, as guys who don’t miss bats in the minors generally don’t make successful conversions as they climb the ladder.

Read the rest of this entry »

After seeing the nearly unanimous reaction of sadness to the news of Mariano Rivera’s injury, I began to wonder what other athletes in history had this kind of widespread affection at the time they were playing. There are certainly people who are looked back on now with great fondness and respect, but it is human nature to emphasize the good qualities of the past, and people are rarely seen in such a positive light at the time they are in the spotlight.

Rivera’s stature is that of a beloved living legend, and I don’t know a single person who responded in any way besides sadness when they heard that he had a torn ACL. This is not something I’ve ever experienced before in watching sports. So, I’m curious about the larger perspective. How do you perceive Rivera now relative to some of the other players during their playing days who were often talked about with reverence and widespread respect?

Poll after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Yankees were beaten by the Kansas City Royals tonight, but the real loss occurred before the game, when Mariano Rivera slipped shagging balls during BP and had to be carted off the field. Addressing the media after the game, Joe Girardi confirmed the worst – Rivera has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the 2012 season.

Little needs to be said about Rivera. He’s the best reliever of all time, and even at an age where most pitchers are long retired, he remains one of the dominant relief aces in the sport. Perhaps just as amazing as his consistent excellence has been his durability, as he’s thrown 60+ innings in every season of his career save one. He has appeared in 1,041 games, seventh most all time, and ranks 14th all time in innings pitched by a reliever. Among relievers with at least 500 career innings, Rivera’s 2.05 ERA is easily the best ever.

For baseball’s sake, let’s hope Rivera’s career does not end this way. At 42-years-old, he’s hinted at retirement as a possibility after this season, but you can’t imagine that this is how he wants to go out. This shouldn’t be how one of the truly great careers of all time ends.

For the Yankees, they have options – David Robertson is very good, Rafael Soriano has been an excellent closer before, and the tandem of Cory Wade and Boone Logan can be effective middle relievers. But, there’s no replacing Rivera. Even if they go out on the trade market to bring in another arm, they’re not going to get a guy in Rivera’s league. While relievers in general are often overrated, Mariano Rivera is not. He’s the best at what he does, and now the Yankees will have to find someone else to protect 9th inning leads.

The Yankees can survive this, but losing Rivera is a significant blow.

Led by Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval, the San Francisco Giants offense has actually been decent this year. Their 95 wRC+ ranks them 8th in the National League, thanks in large part to the contributions of Buster Posey (.342/.400/.575) and Pablo Sandoval (.316/.375/.537). Melky Cabrera has been good, and the team has gotten production from the Brandon Belt/Brett Pill platoon when they’ve played, but the offense has been driven by the consistent thumping of Posey and Sandoval.

Their depth is about to be tested, however, as Hank Schulman is reporting that Sandoval has a broken hamate bone in his wrist. He had this same issue last year – only this year, it’s the other hand – and he missed 41 games over six weeks while recovering from the injury.

The effects of the injury seemed to linger even after he returned, however. Here are his monthly wRC+ splits from last year:

April: 147
May: DL
June: 77
July: 149
August: 124
September: 209

Hand and wrist injuries are notorious power sappers, and Sandoval had just five extra base hits in 70 plate appearances in June. His power returned in the second half, and he was one of the best hitters in baseball down the stretch, so this shouldn’t derail him for the whole season, but if last year is any indicator of how the injury will affect him, this will likely be a problem for him until the All-Star break.

So, for the next couple of months, the Giants are going to have to get their offense elsewhere. Conor Gillaspie is expected to be recalled to take his place on the roster, but the Giants might need to look outside the organization for additional help. Perhaps the logical place to look would be for a player who can play both third base and shortstop, giving them the flexibility of replacing Brandon Crawford with the new acquisition once Sandoval returns. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ned Colletti was already on the phone offering Juan Uribe back to the Giants…

This afternoon, Tim Welke gave us this.

This evening, the Braves and Phillies gave us this.

Source: FanGraphs

Then, in the wee hours of the night, Jered Weaver gave us this.

Thank you, baseball. You’re the best.

In today’s Rockies-Dodgers game, Jerry Hairston hit a groundball to third base. The throw pulled Todd Helton off the bag. Strike that – the throw pulled Todd Helton out of the vicinity of the bag. Tim Welke still called Hairston out.

Here’s a screengrab of where Helton was when he caught it.

Seriously, MLB, expanded use of replay. For the love of God, expanded use of replay.