Going Yard

Jayson Stark in The Athletic has insights into why Justin Verlander is in very select company in his post-season pitching success, straight from Verlander himself. “I’m a believer in starting pitching,” Verlander said Friday, on the day he won the 12th postseason game of his Hall of Fame career, tying him with Roger Clemens for fourth-most […]

Jayson Stark of The Athletic has a fine piece today on the sudden “fad” of position players pitching. If​ your favorite​ shortstop​ hasn’t​ pitched​ for​ your​ favorite team​ lately, they​ clearly​ didn’t get​ the​ memo – because​​ position players on the mound is now, officially, the coolest baseball fad ever. We’ve had 30 of them pitch […]

Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees has received a $2,500-$3,500 fine from MLB for eight instances of delaying the game by moving too slowly from the on-deck circle to home plate.  Haven’t heard anyone else docked for this.  Very odd.    

Jayson Stark of The Athletic has an excellent analysis piece on whether the pitching staff by committee approach being employed by the Tampa Bay Rays is a harbinger of a future in which there is no ace and no focus on the matchup of the day.  It certainly is cheaper to have a starting rotation […]

Veteran Atlanta Braves broadcasters Chip Caray and Joe Simpson went on a rant during last night’s telecast of the game versus the Cubs when MLB Instant Replay in New York took an inordinate amount of time to review a call and then ruled against the Braves. Caray (son of Skip and grandson of Harry) used […]

Summarizing the sloppy weather month of April in MLB, Jayson Stark of The Athletic made 10 observations about the season so far, the most striking of which, pun intended, is that MLB is en route to over 42,000 Ks this season, up by 10,000 over a decade ago.  What a way to beat the infield […]

The Athletic writer Jayson Stark has a fine thought piece today on the merits of a 154-game schedule versus the current 162.  Among the possible changes:  Sunday day games, all Mondays off and night games Tuesday, a longer All-Star break and an earlier end to the season. “We sometimes forget the players actually are our game,” says former […]

For the most part, April has been a cold awakening for MLB, with temperatures in the 40’s and snow-outs and ice-outs replacing field outs.  Perhaps MLB needs to revisit its 162-game schedule and limit the number of games so play begins in more moderate weather.  Here’s an uncomfortable stat from River Ave Blues, the NYY blog: As […]

New NYY infielder Brandon Drury has been suffering from migraines and blurred vision that landed him on the DL.  Asked how often he’s plagued by this, he answered, “all the time.” It is hard to fathom how a MLB player could be productive under those circumstances–judging balls and strikes and batted balls–and why he never […]

After a crushing loss to the Boston Red Sox that revealed major fault lines in the NYY lineup–batters, bullpen and botched balls–it’s hard to be enthusiastic about a team that looks lost.  Marc Carig, who covers the Yankees for The Athletic, captured it well: At various points, the crowd at at a frigid Fenway Park […]