Ted Williams’ Last Game

(Brearley Collection Photo from Opening Day 1947)

By Lew Freedman | Staff Historian

He refused to tip his cap to the fans after the last majestic hit of his wondrous 21-year Major League career with the Boston Red Sox. He refused to step out of the dugout to acknowledge the cheers filling the air at Fenway Park in the last game of his professional life. And that was so Ted.

The ballplayer who said his only ambition in life was to have people see him walk down the street and say, “There goes the best hitter there ever was,” achieved his goal and slipped away from his sport on his own terms.

Ted Williams may well have been the best hitter in baseball history, although some can argue statistics for Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby or Babe Ruth, those who like Williams are in the penthouse of the Hall of Fame.

It is 52 years since Williams retired his Boston Red Sox spikes on September 28, 1960, as was true throughout most of his career, they were going nowhere but home as the regular-season ended. Williams saw too few Octobers in his career with the Red Sox.

Analyzing the AL Wild Card Race

(Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

By Devin Pangaro | @devinpangaro

The race for the American League Wild Card positions is not for the faint of heart. With four teams in the mix for two spots, the seasons waning days are set for excitement and heartbreak. One can't help but imagine Commissioner Selig holed up in an office, with an Emperor Palpatine like smile across his face as he watches this weekend’s games unfold. While the drama may never compare to the final day last season, be assured that the intensity and magnitude of what does remain should more than suffice. Four teams. Two positions. Everything is on the line. Let's take a look at the contenders.

Baltimore Orioles (89-67, +1 up on Wild Card 1)

Despite an underwhelming run differential for most of the season, Buck's bunch has defied expectations and stayed in the mix all season long, thanks to excellent starting pitching and clutch hitting. Failing to fall in September, Baltimore has held strong with a 16-9 record including four extra-inning wins that have added on to their record of 16 straight over the course of 2012. In fact, much of their success is derivative of their ability to win close games. They are currently a lead leading 27-9 in one run games thanks largely in part to an underrated bullpen led by AL saves leader Jim Johnson, and setup men Pedro Strop and Troy Patton. One thing to keep in mind is that this Baltimore team is very much fighting a war on two fronts. With the Yankees holding a precarious one game lead in the division, Baltimore must continue to click on all cylinders.

A cause of concern may be first year starter Wei-Yin Chen who has led the Orioles staff in a myriad of pitching categories in a very solid season. September however has not been kind to Taiwanese lefty. Whether it be exhaustion, or simply the league catching up to him Chen has struggled during the season’s final month. In five starts, Chen is 0-3 with a 5.90 ERA. Furthermore, he has allowed se
ven home runs in 29 innings making that his highest monthly total all season long.

Previewing this weekend's NL Wild Card Race

(Marc Serota/Getty Images)

 

By Stevo-sama | @yoshiki89

-- standings as of end of play 9/27/12 --

Atlanta Braves (Clinched Wild Card Spot, currently Wild Card 1)

With an exhilarating five-game winning streak behind them (having swept the hapless Miami Marlins), the Braves charge on to meet the visiting New York Mets in their final homestand of the season. Not only are they continuing to add a sincere exclamation point to their race for the Wild Card, they are making it rather difficult for the NL East leading Washington Nationals to clinch the division title. The Mets are mildly enjoying a two-game winning streak, also underlined by R.A. Dickey’s stellar performance yesterday. The Mets are 10-14 in September and are 36-39 on the road this season…yet they are 7-5 in their last four road series. The Braves are 10-3 in their last four home series, which isn’t saying much…they are nearly as good on the road as they are at home. A closer look at the pitching matchups reveals that the Mets are 5-6 in September with the scheduled starters on the mound, their lines are 4-3 with 19 ER and a combined 3.51 ERA. By comparison, the Braves’ starters have allowed more ER (22) but the team is 11-3 when these three guys start in September (they are 9-2 with a 2.11 ERA in those starts).

Matchups:

9/28 Niese (12-9) v Hudson (16-6)

9/29 Young (4-8) v Minor (10-10)

9/30 Mejia (1-1) v Medlen (9-1)

 

St. Louis Cardinals (Wild Card 2, currently 7 GB the Braves)

As if it couldn’t be expected, this year’s Cardinals bear some resemblance to last year’s Cardinals in their unyielding push for the playoffs. Heading into the weekend they are tentatively locked into one of the Wild Card spots opposite the Braves, which of course will result in a one-game playoff should either team stay within reach of the standings they currently possess over their next six-games. Where the Braves are providing a challenge for the Nationals’ division clinch, the Cardinals (returning to Busch after a successful 4-2 road trip) are sure to provide even more as Washington comes roaring into town on their second consecutive, and so far winning, road series. The highlight of this upcoming series is sure to be the face-off between the rebounding Jordan Zimmermann and the equally formidable Lance Lynn in game three. Zimmermann is 3-0 with a 4.45 ERA in five September starts, Lynn is 4-2 in three starts with a seismic 0.93 ERA in September (he pitched 4.2 innings out of the bullpen during four consecutive games to start the month, with a 5.79 ERA during those outings alone).

The Great Miami Marlins Mistake

(AP Photo)

 

By Devin Pangaro | @devinpangaro

The 2012 season was meant to be the start of something big in South Beach. The team formally known as the Florida Marlins abandoned their old identity and rechristened themselves the Miami Marlins, adopting a brand new look. Like a high school nerd returning from summer break with a flashy new wardrobe and a brash attitude, the Marlins set forth to abandon everything that once defined them.

Sure, maybe their uniforms were in dire need of an alteration. Teal is, after all, so 90's. However, is a grossly enlarged M on the hat truly an improvement? With the odd multi-colored scheme and futuristic design of the current uniforms bringing back memories of the ill-fated "Turn Ahead the Clock Day" from 1999, it became increasingly difficult to take this team seriously. Unfortunately for Marlins fans, the joke doesn't end there. This season has been nothing short of a disaster. Let's take a look at what went wrong.

MLB Power Rankings - September 24, 2012

By Chris Carelli | @Chris_Carelli

Since last week's rankings went up three National League teams earned postseason berths with the Cincinnati Reds winning the NL Central, the San Francisco Giants winning the NL West and the Washington Nationals who are closing in on the NL East title, securing at least a wild card bid.

The Atlanta Braves are inching closer to a playoff appearance which alluded them in 2011 after a massive collapse. The St. Louis Cardinals, who overtook the Braves last season are being pursued closest by division rival Milwaukee Brewers after the Crew has staged a magnificent two month blitz and the Los Angeles Dodgers who haven't played all that well since May.

In the American League all spots are very much up in the air. In the AL East, New York and Baltimore are separated by one game with the Rays holding on. The same differential holds true in the AL Central between Chicago and Detroit. The Texas Rangers have had a hard time closing the Oakland A's and Los Angeles Angels out of the AL West race but still have a fairly big lead (4 games) with ten games remaining. The Yankees, Orioles, Rays, A's and Angels are all contenders for the wild card spots after the division races filter out.

So, here are the power rankings for this week. Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

Previewing the NL Wild Card Race

(Rob Carr/Getty Images)     

By Stevo-sama | @yoshiki89

-- standings as of end of play 9/23/12 --
 

Atlanta Braves (1st Wild Card)

The fighting Braves welcome the visiting Miami Marlins for a three-game series starting in Atlanta on Tuesday, 9/25. The Braves are 14-7 in September, their current mark of 23 games over .500 equals their greatest margin of victory so far this season. With Kris Medlen opening the series against hard-throwing Nathan Eovaldi, Medlen (the Cy Young candidate we should be talking more about) and the Braves have a clear advantage right out of the gate. Paul Maholm’s rough outings seem to be alternating through his last 10 starts, so he’s due for another strike against his sub-4.0 ERA; however, he handled the Marlins well (in Miami) in his last start on 9/18, despite that outing being a no decision with a Braves loss, so there’s at least hope that he can keep the wins moving along for Atlanta. Tommy Hanson is 2-0 against the Marlins this season, but is 0-2 in four September starts, giving up 11 ER in 21.2 IP. On the flip side, he has 25 strikeouts and an opponent BABIP of .245 during those outings.

Matchups:

9/25 Eovaldi (4-12) v Medlen (9-1)

9/26 Johnson (8-13) v Maholm (12-10)

9/27 Turner (2-4) v Hanson (12-9)

Why are Professional Baseball Players still taking PEDs

(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

By Chris Carelli | @Chris_Carelli

-- This column was originally written for the September issue of Big Leagues Monthly | Magazine. --

The use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) is a major issue in sports, but this is a baseball magazine so I’m going to focus my efforts on trying to determine why professional baseball players still get caught taking these drugs after everything the sport has endured since the 2007 Mitchell Report.

There are many forms of PEDs, but the most typical of the bunch linked to baseball are anabolic steroids, typically testosterone, though designer synthetic drugs have become popular as well. Androstenedione or ‘Andro’ is another popular steroid known to be used. Human growth hormone (HGH) is also prevalent but requires blood tests to detect, where steroids can be found through urinalysis. MLB players are not currently tested for HGH. Lastly there is the old standby, greenies, better known as amphetamines by those outside the sport.

I’m not going to discuss the past transgressions of famous baseball players who have succumbed to PEDs or have been linked to them. We know who they are and the stories that are associated with each of them. I won’t deliberate on whether or not they did or did not take them. Instead, we’re going to try to figure out why, with a fairly uniform and well-tested drug enforcement policy, we still see professional ballplayers getting caught in the web of PED use.

First, we should review why they take the drugs in the first place. The long and short of it is the desire to rise to the top or maintain a presence at the top of the sport and the ease at which they can be found. Baseball players and athletes in general, especially superior ones, have a driving energy that supersedes anything we know as casual sports participants. Sure, we want to win when we’re playing our pickup games, but there isn’t millions of dollars being waved around the neighborhood park. The goal to reach star status or maintain it is penultimate to professional ballplayers, because being seen as a superstar leads to cash, loads and loads of cash.

Scouting Diamondbacks Prospect Archie Bradley

(Charlie Leight/The Arizona Republic)

By Jared Thatcher | @Jared_Thatcher

With so many 19 and 20 year old players making their Major League debut in 2012 (Harper, Bundy, Machado, Profar), I wanted to do some in-depth analysis of a few players who may make their debuts at a very young age in 2013.

It takes a whole lot to be a first round draft pick, and it takes even more to live up to that hype. Many players who are drafted in the first round often snap, crackle, and pop in rookie ball, then fizzle out in the upper minor leagues.

A team’s top prospects are usually the guys who have the “highest ceiling” – or the most “upside” – but rarely does upside AND performance cross paths. In the words of the Ghostbusters, when you cross the streams it could destroy everything OR a dynamic All-Star caliber baseball player is created.

Archie Bradley will be the focus of this report because he has a serious shot to break into the Diamondbacks rotation in 2013. Bradley was drafted 7th overall in the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft – the Dbacks took Trevor Bauer at number 3 – and signed for a $5 million bonus.

He only pitched two innings in 2011 for Missoula in the Pioneer league and allowed one hit. 2012 saw Bradley begin and end the year at South Bend where he went 12-6 with a 3.84 ERA and 152 Ks in 136 IP.

Braves Look for 21st Win in a Row with Kris Medlen on the Mound

(Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE)

By Carlos Collazo | @CarlosCollazo__

Kris Medlen has been one of the most talked about pitchers recently, and for good reason. The Braves have won his past 20 starts (dating back to 2010), and he is going for his 21st tonight against Josh Johnson and the Miami Marlins.

I wrote an article a week or two ago on Tomahawk Take and you can check that out if you’d like, but he hasn’t done anything but get better since then so why not have a continued discussion on the reliever-turned ace pitcher?

If you check Fangraphs stats for over the past 30 days, you will find out that Medlen is putting up elite numbers with the best of ‘em.

·         He has the lowest ERA in the majors with .73. The closest to that mark is Cliff Lee with 1.29

·         He has the highest LOB%, with an absolutely ridiculous 95.6% mark. That pretty much means that even if you get on base against Medlen, you have less than a 5% chance of scoring. No biggy right?

·         Kris has the fourth best FIP at 1.75

·         His xFIP is ranked first at 2.08

·         A K/BB ratio of 11 is easily good for first, again topping that Lee fellow.

·         His WHIP is the third best at .81 behind James shields and Yu Darvish

Orioles Promote Dylan Bundy to the Big Leagues; plus Scouting Notes

(Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

By Jim Pratt | @BigLeaguesMthly

With an 18-inning, five-plus hour affair with the Seattle Mariners last night now in their hip pocket, the Baltimore Orioles continue to defy logic as they find themselves in a deadlock atop the AL East.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports, the Orioles contacted their top pitching prospect, Dylan Bundy, shortly after their 4-2 win against the Mariners to inform him of his promotion to the big leagues.

The Orioles have been reluctant to call-up Bundy, deciding to send him to Instructional League once the Double-A season ended, but the use of seven relievers last night has seemingly forced their hand.

Bundy is expected to be in uniform for tonight’s series finale with the Mariners.

In the August issue of Big Leagues Monthly | Magazine, columnist Nathaniel Stoltz discussed his thoughts on Bundy in his Scouting Notebook.

MLB Power Rankings - September 18, 2012

The wild card race in the National League got very interesting over the last week as the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies have positioned themselves for a late run. 

Both teams should be commended for continuing to go out and play hard despite being written off by many fans. The Brewers could be up in the race had they had more success in the holding leads this season. The Phillies have gotten healthier and have a three-headed monster in the rotation consisting of Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee who could give any National League team a fit in a short series. 

This is exactly what MLB had in mind with the additional wild card team; a frenzied finish with as many teams left in the mix as possible. In the American League, there are eight teams vying for the five spots. In the National League, there are eleven teams within six games of the last spot (a stretch true, but a possibility) which has been made possible by recent swoons from the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Without further delay, let’s check out the rankings. As always please tell us what you think in the comments.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Taste of a Winning Season



(Keith Srakocic/AP)

By Stevo-Sama | @yoshiki89

While many baseball fans are still managing the hope that their team can maintain and/or gain ground on their chances for postseason play, realistic or otherwise, fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates are literally standing on the edge of a season that still, with only 16 games left, has several outcomes. The most unattractive of these has to be the distinct possibility that 2012 could mark the 20th consecutive losing season for the Pirates, extending a record for the longest such streak in North American professional sports history.

Yes, it has been 20 long years since the Pirates lost their third consecutive NLCS contest (to the Atlanta Braves, in seven games) after finishing 96-66 under manager Jim Leyland, their third consecutive season finishing over .500.

Aroldis Chapman: The Cuban Missile Crisis

By Stevo-sama | @yoshiki89

A great deal of attention has been focused upon Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman and his stunning performance during a concise time frame, unfortunately the attention after his performance in a loss against the Houston Astros on September 7^th has been focused on Chapman’s apparent shoulder fatigue and how the Reds are going to manage his workload just as they are on the cusp on breaking into the playoffs. 

This concern was underlined on Monday, September 10^th when Chapman entered the game against the Pirates and lasted only 0.2 (luckily) scoreless innings, facing 5 batters, walking 3 and striking out 1 in 22 pitches.  Only 7 of those pitches were thrown for strikes.

Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs eloquently examined Chapman’s drop in velocity in this article posted Tuesday.  Sullivan hints that there may be more than fatigue at hand in Chapman’s situation, and with the level of hype the Reds reliever has been subject to throughout his brief career with the organization, the level of concern amongst Reds fans and many baseball analysts is magnified greatly.

The drop in velocity could be a very telling sign of fatigue, and data presented in Sullivan’s article validates what the box score already tells us…his velocity as well as his pitch location are not what we’ve seen from Chapman this season.  The question remains, is fatigue truly a factor in what has happened during these two games?

The management of pitchers via innings limit has been a subject of morose controversy in light of the Strasburg shutdown; how has Aroldis Chapman’s innings workload this season compared to those in the past?

Eric Hosmer’s Lost Season

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

By Matt Hunter | @MHunterYGY

After shining in his rookie debut to the tune of a .293/.334/.465 line, Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals has experienced what many well-informed and attentive fans may call a “sophomore slump” - referring, of course, to a poor second performance following a strong first. Indeed, Hosmer’s second performance has been exceedingly disappointing to both fans of the Kansas City Royals and fantasy owners who may have expected an improvement from last year, not a regression.

Let’s take a look at the positives first, for I am a “glass half full” kind of guy (especially when that glass contains a certain alcoholic malted beverage). Conveniently for me, Hosmer has accrued close to the same number of plate appearances this year and last, making for easy comparisons. Here’s one such comparison: last year, Hosmer stole 11 bases and got caught five times, while this year, he has stolen 14 bases and been caught only once. This isn’t a huge improvement, not is it particularly important, but at least Hosmer has improved at least one aspect of his game.

Another comparison: Hosmer is walking 9.1% of the time this year compared to only 6.0% of the times last year. Now, this is a much more substantial and important improvement than the above and indicates an improved plate approach for Hosmer. Indeed, if we take a look at his plate discipline this year, we see that he is only swinging at 31.6% of pitches outside of the strike zone, compared to 36.3% last year. He is doing this without also swinging less at pitches inside the strike zone. This indicates to me that Hosmer’s eye, or at the very least his patience, has improved this year…a very positive sign for a young player.

MLB Power Rankings - September 10, 2012

Joey Votto is back, Stephen Strasburg is done for the season and the Baltimore Orioles are indeed for real. There were plenty of story lines this past week which played a part in the rankings and the races for playoff berths in both leagues.

The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are streaking; winning five and six straight games respectively. The Braves' streak has them seven games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers who are right now the first team out of the National League wild card race.

The Angels have moved within one game of the Orioles for the last spot in the American League playoffs and only 2 1/2 games behind division rival Oakland who holds the top position.

With their excellent weeks both teams made moves up the charts while the Washington Nationals swap places with the Texas Rangers mostly due to Strasburg's departure from the field. Please let us know what you think about the rankings in the comments below.

Are the Cardinals Doing Right by Adam Wainwright?

(Photo by Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

By Devin Pangaro | @devinpangaro

The defending World Series champion St.Louis Cardinals have faced an uphill climb in their quest to return to the post season in 2012. Staff ace Chris Carpenter has missed the entire season due to nerve-related shoulder problems that led to surgery, and Adam Wainwright has dealt with bouts of inconsistency in his return from Tommy John surgery.

 

With the season in the midst of its final month, St. Louis continues to lean heavily on the thirty-one year old right hander and have thus far contradicted a preseason claim by general manager John Mozeliak that the Cardinals would limit Wainwright to around 150-175 innings pitched as precaution. The dilemma over what's best for the Cardinals and what's best for Wainwright career remains in play.

The question that remains:  Why haven't the St. Louis Cardinals enforced an innings limit on their recovering ace?

Playoff Risk Mitigation: Are the Nationals concerned about Jordan Zimmermann?



(Getty Images)

By Stevo-sama | @yoshiki89

There can be no question about the continued success of the Washington Nationals in the NL East this season and the alarming reality that after years of mediocrity, they are something more than a valid playoff contender. The franchise’s last winning season was their inaugural season as the Nationals in 2005, as a .500 team that still floundered in the basement of the division. Prior to that, only the 2002 Montreal Expos could boast a winning season and a division title berth, finishing 2nd at 83-79.

There should be dancing in the streets as September arrives. The taste of playoff baseball is in the air, and the team leads the NL East over the Atlanta Braves by 6.5 games. However, the cause for pre-emptive celebration in DC has been dampened somewhat not only by the inevitable exeunt of phenom Stephen Strasburg as a playoff pitcher but also by the recent struggles of Jordan Zimmermann.

Strasburg’s highly-publicized innings limit this season has been a highly debated and thoroughly analyzed question mark in the Nationals’ potential post-season strategy for the past few weeks. Some of the alarm in this plan has been magnified by Zimmermann’s performance in August.

MLB Power Rankings - September 3, 2012

By Chris Carelli | @Chris_Carelli

We're into the final month-plus of the season and just in the last week the landscape has begun to dramatically shift in the America League division races, while the National League seems to be settling into a race for the wild card spots.

The Baltimore Orioles won two of three from the New York Yankees, shaving the Bombers' lead in the AL East to two games.

The Detroit Tigers swept the Chicago White Sox to even up the AL Central.

In the AL West, the Oakland A's are on a nine-game winning streak putting pressure on the two-time defending American League Champion Texas Rangers.

The NL East is firmly in the grasp of the Washington Nationals despite going 4-6 in their last ten games.

The Cincinnati Reds are running away with the NL Central, doing so without their best player, Joey Votto. He is making rehab starts now and the Reds look to be a dangerous team heading toward the postseason.

In the NL West, the San Francisco Giants are taking advantage of the slumping play of the Los Angeles Dodgers and have opened up a five-game lead in the loss column.

The AL Wild Card race features the red-hot A's, the Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Angels, not to mention the division leaders who could easily be overtaken with almost a full month to play.

In the National League, the race for the last two playoff spots is headed by the Atlanta Braves at the moment, with the St. Louis Cardinals, Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates separated by just 1.5 games.

The Reds are now heading the power rankings and there was plenty of movement among the rest of the teams this past week. Please let us know what you think in the comments.