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Herrera just next man up, another idiot.Comment -
The Twins have four, 6-home run games this season.
The Astros hold that major league record with five, 6-homer games in 2000.Comment -
Twins are like a video game offense.Comment -
The Rays have been without injured catcher Mike Zunino for three weeks, but he could return as early as Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Zunino went to the 10-day IL on May 9 with a left quad strain.
Injuries, not just to Zunino, have victimized Rays catchers this year. Zunino headed to the shelf just four days after an oblique strain sent fellow backstop Michael Perez to the IL. When the club lost Zunino, it promoted Anthony Bemboom as his replacement, but the latter wound up on the IL on May 15 with a knee sprain.
With only struggling minor league Nick Ciuffo to turn to as a healthy 40-man option, the banged-up Rays had to scour the trade market for help earlier this month. They acquired former Mets starter Travis d’Arnaud from the Dodgers on the 10th and landed journeyman Erik Kratz in a deal with the Giants on the 16th. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, those two haven’t offered much help so far. D’Arnaud and Kratz have combined for seven hits (five singles, two doubles), 17 strikes and three walks in 52 plate appearances, essentially making them automatic outs.
Aside from Perez – who’s still dealing with “discomfort,” per Topkin – no Rays backstop has done much at the plate this season. That includes Zunino, though the ex-Mariner’s .220/.260/.407 line in 96 PA would be welcome for the Rays compared to what they’ve gotten from d’Arnaud and Kratz.
It seems likely the return of Zunino will lead to the end of Kratz’s time on the Rays’ 40-man roster. The 38-year-old’s out of minor league options and has been behind d’Arnaud in Tampa Bay’s pecking order.Comment -
Hoping Rockies don't go crazy * under 12Comment -
Phils' Herrera left hand print on girlfriend's neck
PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera left "hand print markings" on his girlfriend's neck during a domestic assault inside an Atlantic City casino, according to a police report obtained by a newspaper.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday that Herrera also left "small scratches" on the woman's arms, citing the police report.
Atlantic City police would not release the report Wednesday, and the city's municipal court did not return numerous messages seeking information on the case.
Herrera faces a June 17 court appearance on charges of simple assault and knowingly causing bodily injury.
He was arrested at the Golden Nugget casino Monday night.
On Tuesday, Major League Baseball placed him on administrative leave while the case is investigated.
It's not immediately clear if Herrera has retained a lawyer.Comment -
ho hum, the red sox suck againComment -
Of course tonight when I back the red hot Twins the Rays take them to the woodshed. Baseball is truly the toughest sport to cap imo.Comment -
A few weeks into last offseason, the White Sox parted with their 2017-18 primary catcher, Omar Narvaez, sending him to the Mariners for reliever Alex Colome on Nov. 30. The White Sox found Narvaez’s replacement a couple weeks later when they signed former Tigers starting backstop James McCann to a one-year, $2.5MM deal. In other words, a franchise mired in a 10-year playoff drought paid a minimal cost for an unexciting (maybe even bad) major leaguer. You’re forgiven if you couldn’t have cared less at the time.
Five-plus months later, Chicago’s decision to buy low on McCann looks like one of one of the shrewdest of the winter. The 28-year-old has been an absolute hitting machine as a member of the White Sox, with whom he has slashed .346/.384/.523 (145 wRC+) in 138 plate appearances. Based on wRC+, McCann has been in the same league as franchise catchers Gary Sanchez (154) and Willson Contreras (152) in overall offensive production. It’s a stunning rise for McCann, whom the Tigers non-tendered in November in lieu of paying a projected $3.5MM in arbitration.
McCann can now take solace in the fact that he has been a revelation with division-rival Chicago this year while Detroit’s catchers have been dreadful. That said, the Tigers weren’t crazy for letting him go. McCann was a useful regular for the Tigers once – in 2017 – but still didn’t manage world-beating offensive production that year. His Tigers tenure, which spanned from 2014-18, concluded with a .240/.288/.366 line (76 wRC+) and minus-0.2 fWAR in 1,646 trips to the plate. That’s bad. Defensively, McCann did throw out between 30 and 45 percent of base runners in each of his seasons in the Motor City. That’s good. But he floundered as a pitch framer and blocker. That’s bad.
What we know is that McCann has thrived as a White Sox after he did no such thing as a Tiger. The question is whether he’s born anew in a different uniform, if it’s just a two-month blip or something in between. First of all, he’s not going to sustain this kind of offensive production. He didn’t really walk in Detroit and hasn’t in Chicago either, having recorded rates in the 5 percent range with both teams. McCann’s also not going to keep up a .435 batting average on balls in play, especially considering his lifetime mark is .309. Plus, as someone who currently has four home runs and has never topped 13 in a full season, he’s won’t make up for his inevitable drop in average with a significant power surge.
While the above paragraph paints a bleak picture, all hope isn’t lost for McCann, who has cut his strikeout and chase rates by roughly 3 percent and elevated his contact rate by about 2 percent. He has also made more meaningful contact, evidenced in part by a noticeable rise in isolated power. McCann put up an unimposing .126 ISO with the Tigers, including a woeful .094 last year, though he’s running a career-high .183 in the category this season. FanGraphs indicates McCann has slashed his soft contact rate by almost 6 percent, while Statcast shows his average exit velocity has hopped from 87.5 mph to 90.5. Statcast also credits McCann with a .347 expected weighted on-base average. That’s a hefty 48 points below his real wOBA (.395), but it’s still 24 points above average and more than respectable for a catcher.
The right-handed McCann has done a lot of his 2019 damage against same-sided pitchers, which is noteworthy in his case because they’ve typically stymied him. When Chicago added McCann, it couldn’t have expected him to suddenly prove capable of handling righties. He has so far, though, and his offensive strides have come with improved defense. Not only has McCann continued to stop would-be base thieves at a high rate (35 percent), but he has been a scratch overall defensive player after grading out as one of the league’s worst catchers in 2018, according to Baseball Prospectus. If that’s not enough, McCann has developed a solid rapport with potential ace Lucas Giolito.
Adding everything up, it’s clear the McCann signing has worked out brilliantly for the White Sox. He has already given Chicago 1.6 fWAR, double his previous career high, and could remain in the team’s plans beyond this season. Once the 2019 campaign finishes, the Sox will have to decide whether to tender McCann a contract for his final year of arbitration eligibility. It would be a no-brainer decision right now. However, in the seemingly improbable event McCann’s overall production careens off a cliff, the club will be able to move on without any damage.Comment -
Are the Rockies going to get hot or sellers this year?Comment -
Ryu goes 5-0 with 0.59 ERA for Dodgers in May
LOS ANGELES -- Hyun-Jin Ryu was all but untouchable in May.
His final start of the month was no different Thursday night as the left-hander pitched four-hit ball into the eighth inning of his latest dominant outing, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 win over the New York Mets.
Chris Taylor tripled off hard-luck loser Jason Vargas to start the bottom of the first and scored when Max Muncy followed with a double. That was all the offense for either team until Enrique Hernandez singled home an insurance run with two outs in the eighth.
Ryu (8-1) struck out seven and walked one in 7⅔ innings, lowering his major league-best ERA to 1.48. Kenley Jansen got four outs for his 16th save as the NL West leaders took three of four in the series.
Ryu went 5-0 in six May starts with a 0.59 ERA, 36 strikeouts and only three walks.Comment -
Jumped right back on the Twins tonight who don't seem to lose 2 in a row. I think they're 15-3 now following a loss this year or something crazy like that. It doesn't look like anybody is going to catch them in the Central this year but I do think the Indians will make a run at the Wild Card.Comment -
Good morning gentlemen best of luck with your wagers and have a good weekend...Comment -
Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has been out since late April with a left hamstring strain, but it appears he’s nearing a return to game action. The rookie sensation could start a rehab assignment at “the beginning of next week,” according to manager Andy Green (via Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Barring setbacks, Tatis would then have 20 days to return to the majors.
At the time of his injury on April 28, Tatis was perhaps the early front-runner for National League Rookie of the Year honors. The 20-year-old slashed .300/.360/.550 (139 wRC+) with six some runs and six steals over his first 111 plate appearances in the bigs.
Tatis’ production helped San Diego to a 16-12 start, but the club has gone just 14-15 without him. Nevertheless, the surprising Padres (30-27) are within a mere half-game of a wild-card spot, and they’ll likely need a healthy Tatis back for a chance to snap their 12-year playoff drought.
The Padres’ shortstop position has been in the capable hands of Manny Machado during Tatis’ absence, which has left third base to Greg Garcia and Ty France. While the lefty-swinging Garcia has batted a solid .264/.364/.407 (110 wRC+) in 107 trips to the plate, the righty-hitting France has only mustered a .230/.292/.368 slash (77 wRC+) in 96 PA.Comment -
Dodgers
, rout Phillies... simply too good
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Dodgers and twins rolling everybody.Comment -
Homer-happy: MLB-record 1,135 HRs hit in May
More home runs were hit this May than in any other month in Major League Baseball history.
Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went deep in the eighth inning at Colorado on Friday, the final day of the month, to set the record with the 1,120th homer in May. The previous mark was set in August 2017.
Hitters needed to slug 25 home runs Friday to break the record and ended up hitting 40, bringing the historic final tally for May to 1,135 homers.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, there was a homer every 25.0 at-bats in May, the highest in a month in MLB history.
Pittsburgh's Josh Bell, Houston's Alex Bregman and Cincinnati's Derek Dietrich led the way with 12 home runs each in May. Bell's dozen this month are as many as he had all of last season. With 17 on the year, Dietrich has already surpassed his best season tally in his seventh year in the big leagues.
Three teams hit at least 50 home runs in May -- the Minnesota Twins (56), Chicago Cubs (51) and Boston Red Sox (51) -- marking the first time in MLB history that three teams have reached that mark in the same month, according to ESPN Stats & Info.Comment -
First big league homer for Mike Yastrzemski, who played more than 700 games in the minors to get to this point,...ya think the Giants could have held on to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first ....nopeComment
