Presented for you, the games tonight:
Three games. That’s all. Seriously, I understand that sometimes the travel days just all line up, but the idea that MLB’s schedulers would have only three games is ridiculous. Seriously, try to space out the off days, MLB.
That is all.
Okay, so yesterday:
The latest MLB CBA was released today. It is primarily boring legal mumbo-jumbo. But one thing caught my eye, in this section about money and such that a player gets when they are on a injury rehab:
Yes, MLB determines it’s driving distances using Google Maps. No doubt this means that there will be a commercial during the World Series where we see literally how far each team traveled.
You can, and should, be following my Twitter feed at @DanJGlickman (hey, we’re told to advertise ourselves these days), but there are some other great baseball twitter feeds to follow, such as…
The big-name national writers
They seem obvious, but they got to where they are for a reason. Probably more than 70% of baseball news is first heard from one of these guys: Ken Rosenthal, Jon Heyman, Buster Olney, Jeff Passan, Bob Nightengale, Jayson Stark, Rob Neyer, Tim Kurkjian and a bunch of other guys. Really, if you regularly see a person talking baseball news on ESPN or MLB Network, and they are not a retired athlete, there’s a good chance they also have a above-average-to-great twitter feed. Ditto if you see their byline in SI, USA Today or another national publication. Not included more because he is a bit more scattered in his coverage (he’s not simply a baseball writer) is Joe Posnanski, who you should still follow.
The Official MLB Twitter Feeds
Following MLB’s official feed, the feed of the Fan Cave and of MLB Network are good follows not because they are giving you anything new (they usually aren’t), but because they will alert and link to good plays, interesting contests and sweepstakes, let you know what is going to be on TV, etc. On local levels, this is also true for the official feeds of individual teams.
The Funniest Twitter Feeds
Not every feed needs to be serious, or even real. Some of the best feeds are fake or tongue in cheek. Take Charley “Old Hoss” Radbourn’s twitter feed: @OldHossRadbourn. It matters not that Hoss died in 1897, he will continue to comment on 21st century events, while often talking about his (equally historically-inaccurate) recollections of the Civil War, fighting Native Americans, and life in the rough-and-tumble pre-modern world of base ball (with a space). Take this tweet from when Josh Hamilton had his historic night:
If a man hit four home runs in one game in my day he would be sentenced to three months in the stocks for congress with the Devil.
— Old Hoss Radbourn (@OldHossRadbourn) May 9, 2012
Another hilarious baseball feed is that of Not Buster Olney, AKA “TRIPPING OLNEY”. This twitter feed, which is actually followed by the real Buster Olney himself, is essentially a feed of a alternate reality version of Buster Olney. In that alternate universe, Olney is a overexcited journalist who is always tripping on various drugs and who has a unhealthy obsession with Royals pitcher Bruce Chen. He also ALWAYS TYPES IN UPPER CASE.
Another good humor twitter to follow, although it is about all types of sports, is the SportsPickle twitter.
Players to follow
Due to rules by MLB, individual teams and PR worries, not that many ballplayers tweet. And most of them are kind of boring. There are exceptions, though. Take, for example, A’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy, who gave us this immortal gem:
Siri, how do you get Josh Hamilton out?
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) May 12, 2012
One of the first players to take advantage of Twitter was C.J. Wilson, but these days he has not only been joined by McCarthy but also other player-tweeters such as Logan Morrison, Jeremy Guthrie (who played catch with a fan he met on Twitter), Curtis Granderson and @DatDudeBP AKA Brandon Phillips.
Other baseball-related twitter feeds
Besides the various ESPN and MLB Network TV personalities (think of one, search for them, they probably have one), Joe Buck also has a occasionally-updated twitter feed (it comes in waves). I also recommend following other members and sites of the baseball blogosphere, like Craig “HardballTalk” Calcaterra, ‘Duk from Big League Stew, the writers of team-centered blogs, and the writers at Baseball Prospectus. Some good former players to follow are Dirk Hayhurst (@TheGarfoose) and Jose Canseco. Actually, don’t follow Jose Canseco for baseball, instead follow him because he has some of the most… unique Twitter feeds out there. It’s like some kind of poetry of bizarre.
Do you know any other good Twitter feeds to follow? These are just my opinion, after all…
The greatest bane of the Major League Baseball fan in existence is not high ticket prices, competitive imbalance or rainy days. It is the dreadfully antiquated blackout policies of Major League Baseball on television. Drawn up long before the internet, national cable networks and Extra Innings packages, they, as they are currently drawn up, do little to benefit the teams they are meant to and do everything to annoy, enrage and inconvenience fans. It’s so bad, in fact, that some people are suing MLB over it.
(More after the break)
Baseball is a sport where there are a lot of thing that are unexplained or unknown. For example…
And there are no doubt many more as well….
For seemingly the last decade or so, the Athletics have tried to escape from Oakland (home of the infamous Oakland Coliseum, where the crowds are small and the foul territory is the size of the Titanic) and find their way to San Jose (BTW, the way is available on Google Maps). The Giants, who own the territorial rights to there, have basically told the Athletics to take a hike. And so, some have begun to wonder if the Athletics will move out of the Bay Area entirely… Selig has said that MLB would approve the move, depending on where it was (i.e. so long as it didn’t annoy any of the other 29 teams, like San Jose would the Giants).
Wherever the A’s end up though (Las Vegas? San Antonio? Charlotte? Mexico or Puerto Rico?), there is one thing that should happen: They should remain the Athletics. It is too old a name with too rich a history to be abandoned. The A’s nickname has been with that franchise since 1901, and dates back to previous clubs that go back all the way to 1860! Philadelphia, Kansas City or Oakland, they have remained the Athletics. Very few other names in sports have survived so two or more moves: the Boston-Milwaukee-Atlanta Braves (which, contrary to popular belief, was not derived directly from Native Americans, but rather on the notorious Tammany Hall political machine, which had used chiefs as a symbol. Not like that matters) are the only ones from the MLB. The NFL has had the Oakland-LA Raiders (who don’t really count, since the second move was back to Oakland), the Chicago-St. Louis-Arizona Cardinals and the Cleveland-Los Angeles-St. Louis Rams. The NBA has had the New York-New Jersey-Brooklyn Nets, the Milwaukee-St. Louis-Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia-San Francisco-Golden State (i.e. Oakland) Warriors. The NHL hasn’t had one.
And, in honor of the long tradition, the Athletics should keep that name. No matter where they end up.Same for most of the other above teams.
I wasn’t at a TV last night as Justin Verlander, the best pitcher in baseball, was throwing a no-hitter. I was at a ballgame. I heard about it after he’d finished seven, but by the time I got to the ballpark’s bar and got them to switch it to MLB Network, he was just finishing off the eighth. It was then that a Red Sox fan, wondering why that game wasn’t on anymore, asked why:
“Verlander is throwing a no-no,” I said.
“Again? Wow,” the man replied (I’m paraphrasing here).
So then it was just waiting. MLB Network kept showing the Red Sox game, but promising they would head back to Detroit once Verlander took the mound again. It felt like an eternity, waiting for them to get back to Detroit. It felt like it was going to be inevitable that he was going to throw it, so it was something of both a shock and a disappointment when Josh Harrison got a soft hit to center with one out. No-hitters always seem to end with the littlest hits, as that is all it takes.
For most pitchers, to lose a no-hitter in the ninth would be a great missed opportunity, one they likely would never have the chance to have again. With Verlander, however, that isn’t the case, as we are now to the point where every time he steps to the mound, there is a real chance he could throw a no-hitter. It doesn’t matter where he is or who he is facing. Barring injury, I have no doubt that he will throw another no-hitter. Heck, he could have several more. He is the first threat to Nolan Ryan‘s record since… ever.
Only Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Cy Young, Bob Feller and Larry Corcoran (a ace of the 19th century who died at the age of 32 from Bright’s Disease) have three or more no-hitters. It is probably only a matter of time before Verlander joins them, and, perhaps, one day surpasses them.
Quick, ignore the logos and team names, what team is this?:
Well, it’s the Rochester Red Wings. But it’s filled with players who have been a part of the Twins over the rather disastrous past season-and-a-half. Revere is now back up with the Twins (saving Rochestarians from having to hear him sing), but plenty of once-and-possibly-future Twins remain. So when, and who, is most likely to rejoin Revere in Minneapolis? Let’s take a look (more below the break):
Back in April, I wrote my predictions of what would happen in the 2012 season as part of my column for the Cardinal Courier. I’m going to return to those predictions now and in the future to see how I’m doing. Predictions are in BOLD, followed by how I’m doing so far.
Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder will do fine in their new cities (Anaheim and Detroit, respectively).
Well, Prince is doing fine. So chalk that up this prediction as being half-right as of right now.
Justin Verlander will win the AL Cy Young again, but won’t win the MVP again. Instead, Albert Pujols will. He tends to do that.
Too early to tell if Verlander will win the Cy Young again, but I think it’s safe to say that, barring an utterly unbelievable season from here on out, Pujols isn’t winning MVP. Again, half-right as of right now.
The new addition of a extra wild card will make the post-season race more entertaining most years, but this year it will feel underwhelming, since last season’s playoff race was so historic.
Too early to tell.
The Marlins will be the most entertaining ballclub in years, and the second season of The Franchise will be one of the most hilarious documentary series ever created, if only because it will have raw, uncensored, Ozzie Guillen rants.
The first episode (a preview episode, really) of The Franchise was, indeed, quite hilarious with it’s uncensored Ozzie. Problem is, the situation that Ozzie got himself in (the Castro comments) wasn’t. So I guess it is too early to tell.
The Nationals and Royals will be the “surprise” teams of 2012.
Nationals are doing well on this so far. Royals… not so much.
The Mets will stink.
They’ve done surprisingly well so far, but there is still a lot of season left.
This will be the last season for Chipper Jones (who’s confirmed as much), Mariano Rivera (who has hinted as much), Jim Thome, Todd Helton, Roy Oswalt (if he even signs anywhere), Johnny Damon (if he even signs anywhere) and Arthur Rhodes (did you even know he was still in the league?)
Chipper is a yes. Mariano apparently will try to come back from his injury. Oswalt still hasn’t signed. Damon is now with the Indians. Arthur Rhodes has yet to say.
If Twins first-baseman Justin Morneau suffers concussion symptoms again, he will retire for medical reasons. He will go down as one of the great “what might have beens” in sports history.
Hasn’t had concussion symptoms. Thankfully.
Yu Darvish and Yoennis Cespedes, the two big imported players this season (Darvish from Japan, Cespedes defected from Cuba), will do fine, although Darvish is the one more likely to win AL “Rookie” of the Year.
More or less correct.
Bryce Harper will arrive by mid-summer and will become one of the most polarizing athletes this side of Tim Tebow.
Arrived earlier than expected, and has really only served to make Cole Hamels polarizing.
Matt Kemp will win NL MVP, but won’t have a 50-50 season, like he said he is aiming for.
Doubtful on the 50-50. Depends on how well he returns from the DL for the MVP.
Roy “Doc” Halladay will be the NL Cy Young winner. This is, of course, hardly a bold prediction.
He hasn’t been having the best of seasons, by his standards.
Alex Rodriguez will tie Lou Gehrig’s record for career grand slams.
Not yet.
Bryan Stow, the Giants fan who was savagely beaten outside of Dodger Stadium last opening day, will be throwing a ceremonial first pitch out at AT&T Park by the end of the season. And everyone will cry.
He appeared in a video message on opening day but isn’t yet healthy enough to do a first pitch.
Young Royals slugger Eric Hosmer will win the Home Run Derby, fittingly held in Kansas City.
Hosmer has been having a sophomore slump, so it’s unlikely that he will be an all-star.
The NL will win the All-Star Game.
Too early to tell, and a crapshoot to predict anyway.
At least one Cy Young candidate will have his season ended early when he requires Tommy John Surgery.
Depends on if you count Brian Wilson. I don’t think he was a Cy Young contender.
Every home run hit by Ryan Braun will be scrutinized.
Not so much.
The Astros will spend their last year in the National League by being so irrelevant everybody will forget they are in any league.
Actually, they are doing relatively well so far.
Joe Mauer will drop his good manners for a few minutes and ask that the walls at Target Field be moved in.
Not yet, but you know he’s thought about it.
The Cubs and White Sox will both stink, to the point where fans will be chanting for the Bears by late June.
The Cubs do stink, and the White Sox are under .500 so far.
Andy Pettitte’s comeback won’t go as well as he and the Yankees are hoping.
Too early to tell.
Giancarlo Stanton will be referred to as Mike Stanton many times, which isn’t surprising, as he was going by Mike Stanton until this offseason before beginning to use his real first name.
He has.
Buster Posey will be back and will be an All-Star.
He probably will be.
Ichiro will continue his downward slide, but still will probably be the best hitter on the Mariners.
As of this morning, he was hitting a hideous-for-him .288. That’s the highest BA, but not the highest OPS, on the Seattle roster.
The Cardinals and Reds will have a bench-clearing brawl.
Not yet, thankfully.
The Reds will, shockingly, have the best record in the National League, as their pitchers return from their injury-prone 2011 season and they’ve added the better-than-his-win-loss-record-suggests Mat Latos. Oh, and they are in the same division as the Cubs, Pirates and Astros, a great way to inflate a win total.
They aren’t doing bad, but they aren’t the best record in the NL. They merely are at a 19-17 record.
The Orioles will remain three-to-five years away from a return to glory, just like they have been every year since 1997.
I’ll let you know in a few months.
AL Division winners: Yankees, Tigers and Angels (best record).
NL Division winners: Phillies, Reds (the surprise best record in the NL) and Diamondbacks.
The AL Wild Cards will be the Rays and the Rangers. The Rays will win the game.
The NL Wild Cards will be the Giants and the Marlins. The Giants will win the game.
The ALDSes will see the Angels beat the Rays and the Tigers beat the Yankees.
The NLDSes will see the Phillies beat the Diamondbacks and the Giants defeat the Reds.
The Tigers will beat the Angels in the ALCS
The Phillies will outlast the Giants in the NLCS.
The Phillies will defeat the Tigers in the World Series.
Still early, but I’m starting to think my predictions are going to be off…
But, hey, you never know.
The Baseball Continuum 
