The Yankees swept a double-header yesterday, and a big reason was Robinson Cano, who had 6 hits and 4 RBIs during the games.
Standings, as always, under the jump:
MVP of Yesterday (August 20, 2013): Robinson Cano
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MVP of Yesterday (August 19, 2013): Jarrod Parker
Jarrod Parker of the Athletics is the MVP of Yesterday due to his excellent complete game, 8-strikeout performance, allowing only one earned run as the A’s won a close 2-1 game against the Mariners.
The Continuum will again be back to it’s normal update schedule tomorrow, but until then, the standings are after the jump:
MVP of Yesterday (August 18, 2013): Chris Davis
For a brief second of seconds, I considered Alex Rodriguez, if only because his beaning by Ryan Dempster seemed to have fueled the Yankees yesterday. However, the MVP of Yesterday is really Chris Davis, who went 4-5 with a HR and 2 RBIs while also coming around to score thrice in the Orioles’ victory over Colorado.
It’s his fourth of the year.
Standings, as usual, after the jump:
Happy Birthday, Pablo Sanchez
Today, August 18, is an important day, as it is the birthday of the greatest baseball player of all time: Pablo Sanchez. Yes, Pablo Sanchez. The Secret Weapon. You remember him, from back in the day, that Mexican-American wonder-kid who couldn’t speak a lick of English (or so he claimed), but could speak the language of baseball like nobody else. He could throw a no-hitter (although pitching wasn’t his main strength), hit the ball 723 feet, and was also a great multi-sport athlete who also played soccer, hockey, football and basketball.
To this day, it is said, if you find a sandlot, close your eyes, and think of him, you can still hear his song drift through the wind, reminding us all of the legend.
Feliz cumpleaños, Pablo. Wherever you are…
(Oh, and I guess I should take the time to wish a happy birthday to my sister as well.)
MVP of Yesterday (Aug. 17, 2013): Clayton Kershaw
The Dodgers are 42-8 for the last 50 games, something that hasn’t happened for ANY team since the 1942 Cardinals and only the third overall in the modern era (the 1941 Yankees also did it). And part of the reason they have done so is because of their pitching, such as that of Cy Young-award frontrunner Clayton Kershaw, who’s 8 shutout innings yesterday not only made him the MVP of Yesterday, but put him at a ludicrous 1.80 ERA.
Standings under jump:
MVP of Yesterday (Aug. 16, 2013): Justin Ruggiano
Justin Ruggiano went 3-4 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs in the Marlins’ madcap 14-10 loss to the Giants yesterday (if only Marino had been able to score once more!). But he’s the MVP of Yesterday, despite the loss.
It’s his second of the year.
Standings… oh, you know the drill:
Is this the end of the “Red Devil”, old Charlie Manuel? Or merely the end of the Phillies?
Charlie Manuel has had an interesting baseball life. After a sub-par career in the big leagues, he headed to Japan, where he was dubbed the “Red Devil” by fans for his tenacious play (at one point returning to play against doctor’s order after having his jaw smashed into six pieces by a beanball) and becoming the first American to win the MVP of Japan’s Pacific League. He also, legend says, once joined forces with fellow American exiles Clyde Wright and Roger Repoz in fighting the East German National Hockey Team in a Tokyo nightclub.
After retiring, Manuel’s second life began, as a scout and then as a manager. And what a career it ended up being: he made the playoffs once with the Indians before being let go after a contract dispute, and then later began the tenure that this post is about: the Phillies job. In this final year, where the Phillies have flailed and flopped and ultimately cost Manuel his job, some may have forgotten just how good the Manuel Phillies have been. Before this year, they had finished at or above .500 every single year. They won five straight NL East titles, and won one World Series and may well have won another if it weren’t for Alex Rodriguez‘s alleged artificial help (yeah, I said it). While, as SBNation’s Steven Goldman said, Manuel was hardly the second coming of John McGraw, the success must have had at least something to do with him. And, while the fall of the Phillies (the Phillies’ Phailure?) also has something to do with him, it’s not his fault. No, the end of the Phillies run can be traced primarily to Ruben Amaro, the General Manager of Philadelphia.
Amaro gave a gargantuan extension to Ryan Howard in 2010, an extension that has come back to bite the Phillies as Howard’s injuries have increased and his power numbers have gone down. Nobody is willing to trade for him, and as a result, Howard and his 125 million dollar salary will be with the Phillies until 2016. The rest of the team, while not suffering the wear-and-tear of age and injury to the extent as Howard has, still isn’t getting any younger. And bad drafts and once-acclaimed trades have left the cupboard bare for the Phillies as far as the minor leagues are concerned. And, what’s more, Amaro has refused to deal some of the best trading chips he had: he could have traded Cliff Lee for several good prospects this summer, for example, but didn’t.
Charlie Manuel may one day find another job… but the Phillies could be in the wilderness for several years in the future. Good luck, Ryne Sandberg.
MVP of Yesterday (August 15, 2013): Sonny Gray
The MVP of Yesterday is Sonny Gray, the awesomely named pitcher for the Athletics, who went eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts in the A’s victory against the Astros.
Standings, as always, after the jump:
Yasiel Puig has a cannon
Via SBNation by way of Deadspin:
MVP of Yesterday (Aug. 14, 2013): Alfonso Soriano
On almost any other day, Joe Mauer‘s excellent 5-7 with a HR performance would be enough to win MVP of Yesterday (well played, Mauer), but not yesterday, as Alfonso Soriano went deep twice (one of them a grand slam) and had 7 RBIs in the Yankees’ victory.
Standings, as usual, under the jump:
The Baseball Continuum 