Heath Bell fielding a ninth inning bunt off the bat of Will Venable went about as well as you could expect for someone with Heath Bell’s physique. The Diamondbacks beat the Padres 5-2, and Bell picked up his seventh save of the season. I’d like to say I appreciate his effort on this play, but I really just love watching portly men belly flop.
Just Past a Diving Heath Bell
Posted by Scott Lewis under HardBall Talkin', Heath Bell on May 25, 2013
MLB GIFs of the Week: That Stare Will Show ‘Em
Posted by Scott Lewis under Riffin' And GIFfin' on May 24, 2013
Hey, it’s time for your weekly feed of looping images. Come and get it. We lead with Andre Ethier and his ‘hold me back’ stare directed at home plate umpire Dan Bellino. Ethier was upset with a call during his at-bat, or maybe it was the pitch that may or may not have been directed at his head by Mike Gonzalez. Whatever the case, that’s a cold ass stare.
We got spitballs, beer toss, terrible swings, and more staring after the jump.
URL Weaver: Move Along, Just Motivational Tactics Here
Posted by Scott Lewis under Link Dump on May 24, 2013
If a Dodgers team sporting a $230 million payroll to go along with a 19-26 record wasn’t going to cost Don Mattingly his job, it appeared as though some criticism of its players and possibly management may have. This is not the case, though, as Mattingly has received yet another vote of confidence from the Dodgers’ suits.
Earlier this week, Mattingly questioned his team’s compete level, as well as the construction of the Dodgers roster. This came on the heels of a vote of confidence from general manager Ned Colletti. Mattingly, so it seemed, gnashed his teeth at the hand that feeds. Alas, this was not the case. We’ll chalk this one up to ‘motivation’, I guess.
Dodgers vice president Stan Kasten reiterated the ball club’s support of Mattingly on Thursday. Kasten and co. did not see Mattingly’s earlier tirade as a shot directed at themselves, according to a Ken Rosenthal report.
“I know what Don is trying to do, what his intention is,” Kasten told FOXSports.com on Thursday. “It’s to light a fire, kick-start the team. He’s trying everything he can think of. We’re all behind him.”
Video: Mike Trout Tears Fabric of Reality, Hits Tape-Measure Home Run
Posted by Drew Fairservice under HardBall Talkin', Mike Trout on May 23, 2013
I don’t know what kind of weather system blew through Kansas City tonight but our planet’s prevailing physics don’t appear to apply in the Show Me state.
What other possible explanation could there be for a baseball swing that short and compact to impart such violent force upon a baseball? The kind of force required to send a baseball careening some 460 feet the other way needs a bigger swing and a bigger man, doesn’t it? HOW? WHY? I’M BAMBOOZLED.
SUPERLATIVE SUPERLATIVE MIKE TROUT EXPRESSION OF DISBELIEF PROFANITY SUPERLATIVE.
The Getting Blanked Podcast #133: Parade of Superstars
Posted by Drew Fairservice under Podcast on May 23, 2013
Today’s edition of the Getting Blanked podcast is a “who’s who” of Major League baseball talent. Sure we talk about Jose Bautista for a while, but after that it is all Worley, all the time – with a little MONTERO thrown in for good measure.
Listen to the podcast directly here.
Subscribe to Getting Blanked on iTunes to ensure the podcast, daily video show and other life-changing materials goes straight to your device of choice each week. Or, you can hook up the RSS feed here if that is more your style.
Some (underlined) Mint Musical Interludes courtesy of The Constantines and Arts & Crafts Records and Deathwish Records. Check out the full catologue and buy what you like. It’s the right thing to do.
Fogging the Measure: Catcher Defense Ratings, May 2013 Edition
Posted by Matt Klaassen under Fogging The Measure, Matt Wieters, Yadier Molina on May 23, 2013
We bloggers are spur-of-the-moment, react-just-to-react types, you know? We live for the present. And for the snark. And dogmatically defending metrics because we just can’t handle uncertainty.
Sometimes, though, we like an “evergreen” series of posts. Even we dwellers in the ephemeral like to have something we can fall back on. In my case, I have chosen to do catcher fielding rankings on (somewhat) monthly basis. It seems like a good idea for an easy, quasi-monthly post, but then I realize how clunky my spreadsheet is, and how it needs to be touched up and checked every time, and how the first post of the year, especially, is brutal since I have usually forgotten how a lot of it is set up. SIGH. Blogging: it’s hard, y’all.
I started doing the catcher defensive rankings at the end of 2009 for a now-defunct site, and even though I think there are catcher fielding metrics available now that are probably better, this is somewhat expected of me and people seem to like it, so I am going to try and stop apologizing for it. (For some of that, here are last year’s final rankings.) Anyway, it is always fun to start them early enough in the year so that someone surprising will end up on top (or bottom) and people will throw a fit about it. So forget sample size qualifications, true talent-versus-observed performance reminders, and methodological admissions (brief notes about the method can be found at the very bottom of the post — please read that before complaining), let’s get to it!
Andrew McCutchen Talks Ballpark Food and Eggo Waffles with Anthony Bourdain
Posted by Scott Lewis under Andrew McCutchen, HardBall Talkin' on May 23, 2013
Pittsburgh’s ROOT Sports launched a new television and web series titled ‘All Stars with Andrew McCutchen’ on Tuesday. The show features McCutchen interviewing ‘all stars’ from fields outside of sports, and the Pirates center fielder’s first guest was none other than celebrity chef, reality TV star, and author Anthony Bourdain.
Kudos to Bourdain for slamming ballpark beer prices. If it was up to Bourdain, he’d have very good beer at a reasonable price at his ballpark. You can own a ball team in my world any day, Mr. Bourdain.
McCutchen and Bourdain close this short segment out by discussing their love of junk food. McCutchen declared his love for Eggo Waffles and Bourdain informs us that he can’t get enough Popeye’s fried chicken. Swoon.
Via @TheCUTCH22
