Check out Hall of Very Good for my latest there, featuring the First Half “Wisdom-ie” award!
MVPs of the last weekend before the 2015 All-Star Break
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The MVPs of this past weekend are Danny Salazar, Taylor Jungmann, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Standings, as always, after the jump. Obviously.
MVP of Yesterday (July 9, 2015): Zack Greinke
Zack Greinke is on fire, and yesterday, he dominated again, 1-hitting the Phillies (which isn’t quite as impressive as some other feats) and striking out 8 in a shutout victory.
Standings, as always, after the jump:
MVP of Yesterday (July 8th, 2015): Clayton Kershaw
The MVP of Yesterday is the person who should win the NL All-Star Final Vote: Clayton Kershaw. He threw a complete game shutout, striking out 13. Of course, it was against the Phillies, but still.
Standings, as always, after the jump:
MVP of Yesterday (July 7, 2015): Johnny Cueto
Striking out 11 and allowing only two Nationals hits in a complete-game shutout, Johnny Cueto is the MVP of Yesterday.
Standings, as always, after the jump:
MVP of Yesterday (July 6, 2015): Jon Lester, hitting god
Jon Lester went 7 innings and gave up only 2 hits yesterday, striking out eight. However, he lost due to lack of run support, which is especially amazing because LESTER HIMSELF GOT A HIT FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER YESTERDAY. Seriously, he’s now 1-68 on his career. That’s a .015 batting average.
So, for pitching well and getting the monkey off his back, Lester is the MVP of Yesterday. Standings after the jump, obviously:
Over at @HOVG: Wisdom and Links
Aside
I forgot to post this yesterday, but the latest Wisdom and Links is up at Hall of Very Good. Check it out.
Early “Viral” Baseball Stories
We know today that sometimes things go “viral” on the internet. Maybe they are funny videos. Maybe it’s a particularly interesting story or a shocking photo. However, memes and “viral” phenomena are not new things. They’ve always happened. And, to prove that, researchers at Northeastern have compiled a database of things that were going viral back in the 19th century, when newspapers and magazines were the main news sources. This nicely lines up with the time where baseball became a national sport, so I decided to take a look. While time and tide (and the fact that there was a whole Civil War and Reconstruction going on) means that it’s likely the database isn’t complete and doesn’t have nearly as much baseball as you might think, I definitely found some fascinating things.
You can see some of what I found below the jump:
MVPs of the Weekend (July 3, 4 and 5, 2015):
The MVPs of the Weekend are, in order: Carlos Gomez, C.J. Cron, and the one of yesterday’s tough-luck losers, Mat Latos.
Standings, as always, after the jump:
Mark Hamburger and Spikes: America’s Newest Comedy Duo
The setting, Frontier Field in Rochester, NY. July 4th. For some reason, the fireworks aren’t working yet. Desperate to keep the fans from getting annoyed, two heroes emerge: reliever Mark Hamburger and team mascot Spikes.
They do Yoga. Hilarity ensues.
DOWNWARD DOG
Semi-Handstand…. Spikes was having trouble…
Deeeeepppp breathing….
Leg Lift…..
Oh… oh dear, Spikes…
This is called the Warrior pose, right? I can’t remember much from the Wii Fit Trainer…
Up….
Down….
Okay, I’d fall over on my face….
Holy cow.
Okay, that’s really impressive, he held himself up there for several seconds, long enough for me to take two pictures.
And then, after I had finished taking pictures… HE STRAIGHT UP BREAK-DANCED.
Seriously, here’s the aftermath:
So… yeah… that’s something you don’t see every game.
The Baseball Continuum 