Archive for August 29th, 2012

Vance Worley: Out For Season

Posted by Darren Kritzer under News And Notes, Philadelphia Phillies, Vance Worley on Aug 29, 2012

The Philadelphia Phillies season full of injuries (although nothing like the the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays woes) continued with news that last night’s starter Vance Worley has been placed on the 15-day Disabled List with an elbow injury. He will undergo surgery and is out for the remainder of the season.

On the season, Worley has posted a 4.20 ERA, 3.85 FIP and 4.04 xFIP in 23 starts. He has only one win since July 20, and has allowed four or more runs five times in his last eight starts. After last night’s outing against the Mets, allowing four runs in just over four innings, Worley insisted his recent struggles had nothing to do with the bone chips in his elbow.

It hasn’t affected me. I’m just not getting pitches where I need to get them. It’s all about pitch location. That’s why I got beat tonight and pulled from the game. I don;t feel anything at all. I’m just having a tough stretch.

Funny how things change over 24 hours.

The Phillies recalled pitcher Tyler Cloyd from Triple-A to take the spot of Cole Hamels, who will miss tonight’s scheduled start due to a stomach virus. When Hamels returns, Cloyd will likely take Worley’s spot in the rotation.

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Boring Old Ryan Braun

Posted by Drew Fairservice under Analysis, Milwaukee Brewers, Ryan Braun on Aug 29, 2012

It is probably in the best interests of Ryan Braun that he maintain a low profile this season. After all the fireworks resulting from his leaked positive drug test/botched test result snafu, that Ryan Braun just came out and played baseball was a good choice.

Any extra “DRUGS made him good!” scrutiny quickly went away as Ryan Braun promptly starting posting Ryan Braun numbers. Somehow the defending NL MVP doesn’t get the same amount media attention devoted to the Giancarlo Stanton’s or Mike Trout’s of the world yet here Braun sits: the best offensive player in baseball.

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Joe Mauer Is Owed More Than The Average Annual Income Of 3,226 Residents Of Minnesota

Posted by Dustin Parkes under General, Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins on Aug 29, 2012

The Minnesota Twins have unsurprisingly placed catcher and hair product pusher Joe Mauer on trade waivers to see if some team, any team, perhaps one on the West Coast that’s recently amassed an assortment of unwanted contracts or one on the East Coast that’s recently rid itself of said unwanted contracts, might make a claim for him. Unfortunately for the Twins, such a scenario playing out seems unlikely.

That’s because almost two years into an eight year contract, Mr. Mauer has provided approximately half of the value for which he’s been paid, and as a player who’s not only about to turn 30-years-old, but has also seen his talent diminished to a degree by injuries, that’s a cause for concern.

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Tim After Tim

Posted by Dustin Parkes under Tim Hudson, Tim Lincecum on Aug 29, 2012

Every pitcher who ever performed on the big league stage for a significant period of time has had to adapt. As we learned a couple of months ago from Eno Sarris, from the day a professional pitcher is born, his velocity begins dying. This means that today’s whiff-inducing hard fastball up in the zone is tomorrow’s meatball that gets taken deep.

This inevitable decline is hardest felt on pitchers who depend on their fastball, not only to get swing and misses, but also to set up their other pitches. Perhaps the most cited recent example of this phenomenon is San Francisco Giants’ starter Tim Lincecum who has seen a major drop in velocity on his fastball coupled with atrocious numbers in terms of runs being scored against.

Enter Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tim Hudson, who has been around the block more than a few times. The fourteen year veteran is the standard bearer for adapting approach to match capability as one ages. Once a swing and miss maestro with the Oakland A’s, after a drop in velocity, he turned himself into a ground ball inducing machine with the Atlanta Braves through a sinking fastball that looks like it uses magnetic forces to avoid line drives and fly balls off of the bats of opponents.

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The Most Defining Play Of The Year

Posted by Dustin Parkes under Pablo Sandoval, Riffin' And GIFfin', San Francisco Giants on Aug 29, 2012


This pretty much sums up the San Francisco Giants in one single play. Something difficult is almost achieved before it appears to result in failure, only for the completely unexpected to rescue it to find success at the last moment. Also, it’s pretty enjoyable to watch Pablo Sandoval do just about anything.

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Professor Barajas Ushers Class Into Session

Posted by Drew Fairservice under Josh Harrison, Riffin' And GIFfin', Rod Barajas on Aug 29, 2012

What else is there to say? Rod Barajas angrily (awesomely? Let’s go with awesomely) reacts to Josh Harrison — he of Yadier Molina beheading fame — getting beaned by Jake Westbrook in the fifth inning in retaliation for the aforementioned mortal wounding.

Rod Barajas references the teachings of famed Western scholar and philosopher Omar Little when he suggests catchers getting run at the plate is part and parcel when one dons the tools of ignorance. Fellow members of the Fraternal Order of Backstops assume such risks, understanding it be “all in the game, yo.”

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URL Weaver: The Bobby Valentine Show

Posted by Dustin Parkes under Bobby Valentine, Boston Red Sox, Link Dump on Aug 29, 2012

A few weeks ago, Baseball Prospectus published an article by Russell Carleton in which he equates difficult decisions that a Major League Baseball manager must make to unwelcome duties with which you and I might be more familiar. The point of the piece is to show that being a manager is far more difficult of a job than we often realize. I have no doubt that this is accurate.

Unfortunately, all of the new found empathy for managers that such a post might create in baseball fans is thrown by the wayside for instances like last night in Anaheim, where Bobby Valentine fed a struggling Alfredo Aceves to the wolves of the Los Angeles Angels, after making him pay his own way there.

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