Picture of the day: Bo walks on a wall
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MVP of Yesterday (May 16, 2013): Will Middlebrooks
Will Middlebrooks had only one hit yesterday, but it was a big one: a 8th-inning double that brought home three runs to put the Red Sox ahead 4-3, which would turn out to be the final score.
MVP Standings, as usual, below the jump:
The Unwritten Rules of Watching Baseball
There are unwritten rules of playing baseball, but what are the unwritten rules of watching baseball? Or at least rules of thumbs or something…
Well….
- Veeck’s Law: The knowledge of baseball at a major league game is usually inverse the price of tickets.
- Don’t mention a no-hitter in progress, unless you do.
- Don’t mention a perfect game in progress, unless you do.
- If you mention how quickly a game is moving, it will grind to a halt.
- The players coming in from the field after a half-inning will throw a ball to either the cutest kid or the sexiest girl.
- If you catch a foul ball, and you are near a cute kid, you had better give him or her the ball.
- Every stadium should have at least one “regular” who’s voice can carry into the neighboring county.
- The official attendance of the game is always higher than the actual attendance.
- When a pitcher turns and fakes a pickoff towards second, at least one person will claim it’s a balk. It isn’t.
- The scrappier the player, the more liked he will be, no matter what his batting average.
- When there is a stadium trivia question and three of the choices are Hall of Famers and the fourth is somebody like Rusty Staub or Mike Timlin, then the answer is probably Rusty Staub or Mike Timlin.
- The temperature of the in-stadium thermometer is always at least four degrees higher or lower than it actually is.
- Any close call that goes against the home team is to be considered an insult by a blind umpire, even if it was relatively obvious it was the right call.
- After a few drinks, the person a few seats away from you will suddenly become an expert in when to send a runner, when not to send the runner, how to cover home plate, when to pull the pitcher and whether to swing, bunt or take a pitch.
- The batboy won’t give anyone a ball, but everyone will try and ask him for one anyway.
And that’s just the first 15!
MVP of Yesterday (May 15, 2013): Shin-Soo Choo
Yesterday’s MVP? Shin-Soo Choo of the Reds, who went 4-5 with 2 HR and 3 RBIs in Cincinnati’s win against the Marlins yesterday.
MVP Standings, as always, after the jump:
How the Yankees are pulling it off
As of this writing, the New York Yankees are in first place in the American League East with a 25-14 record, despite the fact that they are supposed to be old, injured and dysfunctional. I mean, that’s what everyone was saying (or at least thinking) before the season. It’s what I thought, what you thought. Heck, it’s probably what the Yankees themselves thought.
And yet, there they are, in first place. Again.
So how are they doing it?
I have four theories, and three of them are actually legitimate theories and not me trying to be funny!
1. Pitching
While injuries ravaged the lineup, the pitchers have been comparatively unscathed. Sports Illustrated noted, for example, that the starting rotation is sixth in the American League in ERA, and, of course, Mariano Rivera still exists. Seriously, that guy is not human. No guy can be that good and that classy for so long and still be human.
Anyway, if you have good pitching, sometimes it doesn’t matter what type of offense you have. And the Yankees have had good pitching.
2. The Last Stand of The Old Guys
Hey, remember when everyone was joking about the fact that the Yankees acquisition of Lyle Overbay, Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells had locked up the 2006 World Series for the Yankees? Yeah, well, they are hitting a combined .276. Go figure.
3. They are winning the close ones
Much like the Orioles last season, the Yankees record is actually better than their Runs Scored vs. Runs Allowed would suggest. In fact, if they were playing to their pythagorean record of 22-17, they’d be either one game behind or would be tied with the Orioles (depending on whether you assume the Orioles would be playing to their pythagorean as well). So why do they have a better record than they “should”, anyway? It’s probably because they are 8-2 in one-run games. This fact and Mariano Rivera are probably related.
4. A Deal with the Devil
The dark truth, however, is likely more terrifying than you can imagine. You know all these injuries the Yankees have had? They actually are sacrifices to some sort of devil, demon, or other evil entity in exchange for a hot start before Jeter and friends return from the DL.
Or maybe it’s one of the first three. Yeah, probably.
Picture of the Day: Hank Gowdy
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MVP of Yesterday (May 14, 2013): Carlos Gonzalez
Carlos Gonzalez had five plate appearances yesterday. He got a hit in all of them, and two of them were homers. This allows him to narrowly beat out Clayton Kershaw for the MVP of Yesterday.
MVP Standings after the jump.
Picture of the Day: Meeting to dicuss ground rules
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MVP of Yesterday (May 13, 2013): Aaron Hicks
Aaron Hicks of the Minnesota Twins had the game of his young career, hitting two home runs and robbing another.
MVP Standings, as always, after the jump:
MVP of Yesterday (May 12, 2013): Chris Sale
Chris Sale threw a one-hitter against the Angels. Seriously, it seems like everything has been thrown this year EXCEPT a no-hitter.
MVP Standings under the jump:
The Baseball Continuum 