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This Week in Baseball

Posted: April 9 18, 12:00 pm
by CardsofSTL
Power Rankings (ESPN)

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2304 ... ams-week-1

1. Houston Astros
Record: 8-2

2. Boston Red Sox
Record: 8-1

3. New York Yankees
Record: 5-5

4. Washington Nationals
Record: 4-5

5. Chicago Cubs
Record: 5-4

6. Arizona Diamondbacks
Record: 7-2

7. Los Angeles Angels
Record: 7-3

8. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 3-6

9. New York Mets
Record: 7-1

10. Cleveland Indians
Record: 4-5

11. Minnesota Twins
Record: 4-3

12. Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 7-2

13. St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 4-5

14. Toronto Blue Jays
Record: 6-4

15. Milwaukee Brewers
Record: 5-5

16. Colorado Rockies
Record: 5-5

17. Seattle Mariners
Record: 4-3

18. Atlanta Braves
Record: 6-3

19. San Francisco Giants
Record: 4-4

20. Baltimore Orioles
Record: 4-6

21. Texas Rangers
Record: 4-7

22. Philadelphia Phillies
Record: 3-5

23. Oakland Athletics
Record: 4-7

24. Chicago White Sox
Record: 3-5

25. Tampa Bay Rays
Record: 1-8

26. Kansas City Royals
Record: 2-5

27. San Diego Padres
Record: 2-8

28. Cincinnati Reds
Record: 2-6

29. Detroit Tigers
Record: 4-4

30. Miami Marlins
Record: 3-6

I am sure it is just my naïveté but I always thought power rankings were mostly influenced by on field performance. That being said; I don't know how the 3-6 Dodgers are in the top ten.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... story.html
1. Watch your words
Major League Baseball needs to suspend Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo and send a message that his punkish behavior is not acceptable.

2. Me TV
Speaking of profane outbursts, Cubs catcher Willson Contreras was also caught on camera Sunday mouthing a profanity a few times while shouting to an unnamed Brewers player from third base.

3. Sho Time
Shohei Ohtani may be the most refreshing thing to hit baseball since Mark Fidrych’s rookie season in Detroit.

4. World War III (cont.)
Warning: The Red Sox and Yankees resume their rivalry Tuesday in Boston. Bring a comfy pillow.

5. Dance fever
Marlins Park tries to make up for its small crowds with the loudest in-game music this side of a ZZ Top concert. It was ear-splitting dance club music and was impossible to tune out even with noise-canceling headphones.
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https://www.mlb.com/cut4/fowlers-daught ... -271444892
Dexter Fowler's daughter and her school are paying close attention to the Cardinals' stats

Re: This Week in Baseball

Posted: April 10 18, 8:59 am
by Hoot45

Re: This Week in Baseball

Posted: April 16 18, 7:58 am
by Hoot45
Following up on the Power Rankings: We dropped two more spots (from 13 to 15) and now seven spots from the pre-season ranking of eight. ESPN contributors not impressed by a sweep of the Reds. Also: ESPN Power Rankings are and have been for a long time, pointless.

Re: This Week in Baseball

Posted: April 16 18, 9:25 am
by CardsofSTL
Hoot45 wrote:Following up on the Power Rankings: We dropped two more spots (from 13 to 15) and now seven spots from the pre-season ranking of eight. ESPN contributors not impressed by a sweep of the Reds. Also: ESPN Power Rankings are and have been for a long time, pointless.
The only rankings that really matter are the standings at the end of the season...but hey got to have something to talk about.

I find the power rankings are always difficult to explain though; for every reason that is given for why a team is ranked low; often the same reasons could be applied to a team that is ranked high. Haters gonna hate.

Re: This Week in Baseball

Posted: April 25 18, 3:30 pm
by CardsofSTL
After Tuesday's 6-5 loss to the Mets, the Cardinals revealed what was beginning to become plain to see. Jack Flaherty will fill the club's need for a starter Saturday against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, manager Mike Matheny said.

Long considered the top candidate to start if the club's rotation had a void, Flaherty will make his second fill-in appearance for Adam Wainwright in the span of a month. The 22-year-old struck out nine over five innings in Wainwright's place in a start against the Brewers on April 3, before going 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA over three starts at Triple-A Memphis.

The club hinted at its plan to promote Flaherty over Austin Gomber or John Gant earlier Tuesday, when it scratched Flaherty from his scheduled start to line him up for Saturday. Flaherty had been set to pitch Wednesday for Memphis, but he will instead throw an extra midweek bullpen session.
Three injured relievers left the team to continue their rehab elsewhere this week, two who are close to returning and one who is not.

Right-hander Sam Tuivailala (left knee strain) and left-hander Ryan Sherriff (right toe fracture) departed for Memphis, where both are scheduled to begin rehab assignments this week. Tuivailala will begin his assignment Wednesday. Sherriff is scheduled to throw batting practice Wednesday, then begin his assignment Friday.

Girsch said both will be asked to throw multiple innings and pitch back-to-back days before being deemed ready for return.

"Neither one of them has been down very long, and they're both relatively close to being ready to go," Girsch said.

The return of left-hander Brett Cecil (left shoudler strain) is further away. Cecil departed for the club's complex in Jupiter, Fla., this week, where he will continue his recovery. Cecil last pitched on Opening Day.

"He's been down longer, and he needs a little more time," Girsch said. "It's easy to send him to Florida, where we have total control over the workout, the timing and everything, since he's not close to coming back anyway."

Re: This Week in Baseball

Posted: April 25 18, 3:42 pm
by CardsofSTL
Power Rankings (ESPN)

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2324 ... ams-week-3

1. Boston Red Sox
Record: 17-4
Week 2 ranking: 1

2. Houston Astros
Record: 16-7
Week 2 ranking: 2

3. Arizona Diamondbacks
Record: 15-6
Week 2 ranking: 5

4. Los Angeles Angels
Record: 14-8
Week 2 ranking: 3

5. Toronto Blue Jays
Record: 13-8
Week 2 ranking: 12

6. New York Mets
Record: 14-6
Week 2 ranking: 4

7. Cleveland Indians
Record: 11-8
Week 2 ranking: 6

8. St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 13-8
Week 2 ranking: 15

9. Washington Nationals
Record: 10-12
Week 2 ranking: 9

10. New York Yankees
Record: 11-9
Week 2 ranking: 7

11. Chicago Cubs
Record: 10-9
Week 2 ranking: 8

12. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 10-10
Week 2 ranking: 11

13. Philadelphia Phillies
Record: 14-7
Week 2 ranking: 18

14. Milwaukee Brewers
Record: 14-9
Week 2 ranking: 17

15. Minnesota Twins
Record: 8-8
Week 2 ranking: 10

16. Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 12-10
Week 2 ranking: 13

17. Atlanta Braves
Record: 12-8
Week 2 ranking: 19

18. Seattle Mariners
Record: 11-9
Week 2 ranking: 14

19. Colorado Rockies
Record: 12-11
Week 2 ranking: 16

20. Oakland Athletics
Record: 11-11
Week 2 ranking: 22

21. Tampa Bay Rays
Record: 8-13
Week 2 ranking: 23

22. San Francisco Giants
Record: 9-12
Week 2 ranking: 20

23. Detroit Tigers
Record: 9-11
Week 2 ranking: 28

24. Texas Rangers
Record: 8-15
Week 2 ranking: 26

25. San Diego Padres
Record: 8-15
Week 2 ranking: 25

26. Baltimore Orioles
Record: 6-16
Week 2 ranking: 21

27. Chicago White Sox
Record: 4-14
Week 2 ranking: 24

28. Kansas City Royals
Record: 5-15
Week 2 ranking: 27

29. Miami Marlins
Record: 5-16
Week 2 ranking: 30

30. Cincinnati Reds
Record: 3-18
Week 2 ranking: 29

Re: This Week in Baseball

Posted: April 27 18, 11:44 am
by CardsofSTL
https://www.mlb.com/news/a-positive-for ... -274080862

They have something positive for every team at the link above; which includes a little intro about the history of 100 loss teams (we may be on the verge of a record breaking season!). I have quoted the NL Central because it's the NL Central.
Cardinals: The Cardinals surprised a lot of people by locking up shortstop Paul DeJong after just one season. The feeling was that DeJong had some holes in his game -- his 5.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio last year seemed like a pretty big red flag for a young hitter. Well, early in 2018, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is no better (5.7), but power covers many flaws, and DeJong has power. He's slugging .584 with seven home runs, and he's playing a good shortstop.
Brewers: That bullpen has been insanely good. Josh Hader has struck out 31 in 15 1/3 innings and has allowed four hits. Jacob Barnes, Jeremy Jeffress, Matt Albers and Dan Jennings have all been sensational. It's a big reason why the Brewers are off to a fantastic start, despite an offense that hasn't yet kicked in.
Pirates: Oh, if this had only been a week ago, there would have been so many good things to talk about. After a rough patch … well, it's still exciting to see what Starling Marte is doing. He's hitting with some power, he's stealing bases, he leads the Majors in Outs Above Average. He looks like he has returned to form after his PED suspension.
Cubs: This is an easy one -- Kyle Schwarber is raking again. He mashed his seventh home run Thursday, he has been hitting close to .400 over the past few weeks, his strikeouts are down, his walks are up and everything is looking positive, at least at the plate. Schwarber is a defensive liability, but if he can hit like this -- and the Cubs were convinced even as he bottomed out last year that this is the real Schwarber -- he's a hugely valuable player. Now, the Cubs need to hope that their starters, particularly major acquisitions Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish, start getting people out.
Reds: MLB.com writers across the league helped with this -- they were kind enough to send me suggestions for their teams. Reds beat writer Mark Sheldon, when trying to find good news, wrote, "The Reds are 3-1 on Mondays this season?" It has been gruesome. Joey Votto seems to be getting hot, which is always good (and always happens). And there is some hope with 23-year-old rookie Tyler Mahle, who has struggled (seven homers allowed already), but also has great potential. Mahle is coming off an impressive 11-strikeout game against Atlanta. For now, this is as good as it gets in Cincinnati.

Re: This Week in Baseball

Posted: May 8 18, 8:58 am
by CardsofSTL
https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-red-so ... -275777726

The most historic rivalry in baseball will break new ground in June 2019, with the Red Sox and Yankees scheduled to meet in London for the first Major League games played in Europe.

The MLB London Series will be played June 29-30, 2019, at London Stadium, site of the 2012 Olympic Games, which will take on a baseball configuration for the event. The estimated capacity of London Stadium for the series will be 55,000. The Red Sox will be the home team for both games, marking the first time that the clubs have met in a city that was not Boston or New York.

Re: This Week in Baseball

Posted: May 8 18, 8:33 pm
by CardsofSTL
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2343 ... yer-seller
While we have only a month and change in the books, we are only two full months of play away from baseball's annual non-waiver trade deadline. Before the season, we speculated about what teams would end up selling, buying or holding, while recognizing that few teams would actually settle into one bucket or another before any games had even been determined. Now, though, in this hyper-stratified environment, there already are a few teams that should pretty much know where they will be at the end of July, even if they aren't publicly willing to admit it.

Re: This Week in Baseball

Posted: May 9 18, 11:50 pm
by CardsofSTL
Boston Red Sox left-hander David Price was diagnosed Wednesday with carpal tunnel syndrome after twice experiencing numbness in his pitching hand this season.

Price was sent to Boston from New York on Tuesday for tests after experiencing numbness in his pitching hand during a bullpen session Sunday. He was forced from a game April 11 with the same symptoms after giving up four runs in the first inning, the shortest start of his career.

Cora described it as a "mild case of carpal tunnel" and said Price will rejoin the team Thursday. He'll throw at Yankee Stadium, and then the team will re-evaluate his status.
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-announces- ... -275943246
Major League Baseball announced the Honorary Bat Girls for each of the 30 clubs on Wednesday as part of the annual "Going To Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative. It is traditionally commemorated across MLB on Mother's Day, and this was the first year in which each team was able to select its own honoree, each of whom has shown an extraordinary commitment to battling breast cancer

MLB will again donate its licensed uniform royalties from Mother's Day apparel to Susan G. Komen and Stand Up To Cancer. Players will also continue to have the opportunity to use pink bats during Mother's Day games, and Louisville Slugger, the Official Bat of Major League Baseball, will donate proceeds from the sales of their pink bats -- which will be stamped with the MLB breast-cancer awareness logo -- to Susan G. Komen and Stand Up To Cancer.
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