The Greg of Rohan was 2-4 with a HR. Jaye Chapman lowered his ERA to 8.64 by working a clean inning.
Jae Hoon Ha hit his 7th HR of the year and is batting .405/.476/.649 in his last 10. He added an OF assist for fun. Ha has a .995 OPS in August and I can't remember him having a better month than this in his career.
Daytona
Need we even say anything? Another PPD game.
Starling Peralta struck out 8 in 6 IP and gave up a pair of runs. His ERA now sits at 3.35. Jorge Soler was 1-3 with a double and is slugging .509 in in Peoria. Jacob Rogers went 2-3 with a HR.
Boise
No Game
Yasiel Balaguert hit his 2nd AZL HR last night but is still scuffling pretty badly. 2012 pick Ryan McNeil pitched 4 no hit innings walking 3 and striking out 2. He was followed by Corbin Hoffner who fanned 5 in 2.
I know, I’m cautiously optimistic that he could be a productive player. I’d definitely take a D-Lee pt.2.
I mentioned in the last thread that I need help from some people who have an Android phone. Send me an email at dmick89 [at] gmail [dot] com
What position does Ha play?
@ josh:
Corner OF.
DJ, most of us know about Baez, Soler, Vogelbach, Amaya, etc. but who are some of the names that don’t get the attention as much but might be worth keeping an eye on?
umm, Trey Martin down in Boise is one, plays a good CF and has hit a little bit this year. Ha would be a good example. Plays all OF spots and plays them well and is hitting in AA. Probably not a starter but could be a good 4th OF. Logan Watkins is probably my favorite though, I think he is the starting 2B in 2014.
Will the Stros win 50 games? They are terrible. They might threaten the 03 Tigers for suckage.
@ dylanj:
Great, thanks.
It seems Ha’s approach at the plate has been alot more patient this year. Alot more BBs and more K’s. I think before he was regarded as a high-contact, low-BB, low-K guy.
he was AB- its really weird ever since he came back from that wall crash injury he has been super patient & just all around better at the plate
@ mb21:
Don’t tell me what to do.
The Cubs can switch affiliates after this season for most of the levels right? Maybe the Daytona Cubs can move to an affiliate that doesn’t rain out an entire month.
https://twitter.com/WendellPierce/status/240506949081370624/photo/1
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Lovely people we have in this country.
@ Suburban kid:
My wife never gets that joke.
@ Mish:
I remember seeing that (on the Internet) awhile ago. Perhaps it is just a photoshopped meme.
@ Suburban kid:
No, it’s real. I saw an interview with the guy who makes them. That made a splash a few months ago.
The justification was that it was a pun, but it’s not. “Renege” means to fail to fulfill a contract. “Don’t renege” would mean don’t fail to fulfill the contract, which would basically imply, if anything, that we should re-elect Obama and fulfill the contract, or so that he can fulfill the contract?
Carrie Muskat @CarrieMuskat
Castro’s deal with #Cubs is done
@ Mish:
Read about it this morning. Sounds like there are a bunch of incentives, too.
@ AndCounting:
7 years for $53M (+$6M signing) seems like we got a great deal.
@ WaLi:
Walt could have gotten him ten times — TWENTY times that.
@ WaLi:
It’s 7-years, $60 million ($1 million buyout if the option isn’t exercised). It’s an OK deal. It’s about what he was worth over 7 years (maybe a little too high, but not much). Add in the likely option and I think the Cubs paid too much, but not enough to get worked up over.
@ mb21:
There’s no NTC which is nice, but by the end he will be a 10/5 player, right?
I guess there are also some incentives though. Those are probably in a lot of contracts though.
Cubs ——————> Not getting 2014 ASG
No more ‘Wrigley 2014″?
Another Crane Kenney FAIL?
@ WaLi:
If they exercise the option he’d be a 10/5 player. Otherwise the final year of the contract will be the 10th year in baseball. You need 10+ years in baseball and 5+ with one team to qualify for 10 and 5 rights.
Ugh, fucking mechanic lost my keys. FFS.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
They had pretty much given up on 2014 when their first attempt to get money from the state and city went belly up. I think I heard they were targeting 2016 as a more realistic goal.
@ Aisle424:
Yeah, I didn’t even know 2014 was still an option. I thought it was announced awhile ago they’d not be getting it.
I don’t think MLB could have given Chicago the ASG in 2014. They never gave it to the Red Sox on their 100th anniversary so I figured it was an extreme longshot from the start.
@ Aisle424:
Ah, so they probably took their foot off the gas for the ASG, too, then.
Hinshaw ———> DFA
That lasted long (dying laughing)
@ Berselius:
If you can’t make this pitching staff, you should retire.
@ josh:
My other highlight for this year is watching Barney play D, especially considering that 2B isn’t really even his natural position.
@ SVB:
Considering this, why don’t the Cubs flip flop Barney and Castro in the IF? I recall hearing some discussion about this in the papers some time back, but before I started spending much time here. Surely this was analyzed for about 3 weeks here or at ACB, right? Can someone give me the “comment-sized” summary?
Blue Jays first rounded busted for PEDs.
Nothing like making a good first impression.
@ SVB:
The short version is that it won’t matter. Barney would be 5-8 runs worse defensively and Castro would be 5-8 runs better. You don’t gain anything. May as well stick with the guy at SS that offers the most potential.
@ SVB:
Note: Barney’s only error this year was at SS.
Bautista is out for the season, as are The Blue Jays admittedly slim chances of a wildcard spot.
@ josh:
They should trade for the rest of the Red Sox payroll, I’m sure it will work out well for them.
Some bullshit video ad started playing at the top of this page when I refreshed. It was in the first little box in the right sidebar.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Well, I suspect what motivated the Dodgers was the blood in the water of San Francisco Bay in the shape of Melky Cabrera. I don’t think the Blue Jays care that much. The Tigers, on the other hand. How have they not bet the farm trying to get talent? They seem like a desperate/stupid team.
@ josh:
I think the Tigers are banking on the house of cards on the South Side collapsing.
I thought this was an interesting article:
http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/37270006/
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I don’t know. With the pitching they’ve been getting and a resurrected Adam Dunn, they look strong.
So we can have three lefties at the top of the lineup if Valbuena hits second, but not Jackson? One of these players has OBP skills.
@ PFD:
Valbuena DID break up the no-hitter…
I like the part where Rizzo didn’t swing. That was awesome.
@ PFD:
I don’t understand Valbunea/Vitters batting 2nd. It’s dumber than Neifi Perez batting 2nd.
Sometimes you just gotta tip your cap when a guy like Jeff Bianchi tees off on you.
Gallardo looks like he’s wearing a wig under his hat. That’s just not the kind of hairstyle that looks good in a baseball hat. (dying laughing)
mb21 wrote:
We’ve been over this before, but I’ll say it again. Managers put their best fielders at “premium” positions for a reason. You save runs by putting your best fielders at positions that have the most chances. Do you really think you can just swap shortstops with other infielders or centerfielders with corner outfielders and have the gains and losses cancel out?
OBP!!
Dale Sveum puts his OBP guys in the 7th spot.
@ mb21:
They gotta set the table for the auto-bunt.
@ mb21:
Kinda sad that a guy with a .333 OBP (and a .337 projection) counts as an “OBP guy” on this team.
Cubs lose
Our sponsors of the day are currently on retainer for GBTS’s and GW’s Fantasy Baseball teams.
I guess Travis Wood isn’t ready for the DH yet.
Valbuena’s been on base twice tonight.
/aliens
Wow. 7 runs (earned) for Verlander through 2. His FIP on the day is -0.51.
@ Rizzo the Rat:
No, my question was about Barney and Castro. Barney’s D is excellent. He has pretty much always played SS until making the bigs, with good D there. Castro plays D OK and aside from some plays where he seems to have been caught on his heels, to me it seems like his biggest issue is throwing accurately (a la Dunston). So a move to 2b might help that situation out. I’m not sure the difference in chances between 2b and SS but I know the premium D positions are SS, 2B, CF, and C. This is the kind of question that I know will have been evaluated in detail here, and I’m satisfied with mb’s short answer. The plusses you get by moving Castro to 2b balance out some minusses from Barney. Plus I get the allure of having a better offensive guy at SS if it’ll work, since O-talented SS’s are less common than good-bat 2Bs.
And of course, the fact that Barney has made his only error in the last 110 games at SS absolutely proves this point. (dying laughing)
@ Rizzo the Rat:
On average, yes. Would it be true for a specific player? No idea,
@ SVB:
At least I’ll lose a perfectly healthy Strasburg in a week or two also. (dying laughing)
I seriously think Brenly is going to sit on that beer dispenser before the night is over.
@ Rice Cube:
Yeah, what the hell was up with that play?
Valbuena can has defense.
Three full counts for Brett Jackson. One walk and two strikeouts.
I’m kind of disappointed in Dylan. I mean, according to the WGN broadcast, Michael Brenly is the only player worth mentioning on the Smokies, and yet we NEVER hear about him.
I really hope Brenly doesn’t come back. I’m sick of him. If you’ve heard him do one game, you’ve heard him do 1000.
So the Cubs let a run score in a most annoying fashion it seems.
The Cubs are fucking horrible.
Nice!
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/28/pablo-sandoval-and-brandon-crawford-make-the-craziest-play-youll-see-this-year/
That was an impressive play.
Helluva play by Beltran/Molina. Too bad Yadi got hurt on the play:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=24289239&source=MLB&gid=2012_08_28_sfnmlb_houmlb_1
This was not a good play:
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=24292123&c_id=mlb
I wasn’t sure why Rizzo didn’t swing on this one:
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=24281237&c_id=mlb
Also not sure why Valbuena was given the green light to go.
@ GBTS:
a baffling move, no matter what folks say about IP and pitch count.
@ Rice Cube:
That’s a tough one. Looked like Barney chased him back, but at that point, you almost have to choose to commit to getting Weeks or throw home and let Weeks have 2nd. Smart play by the Brewers.
@ SVB:
You gotta plan for the future. Who knows, someday the Nationals might find themselves with the best record in baseball in a relatively weak National League. Whenever that season happens, you’re going to want Strasburg.
@ josh:
Didn’t they do that to us earlier this year? Or maybe they did it to another team.
@ WaLi:
I think you’re right.
@ GBTS:
Anyone ask Strasburg’s opinion? I bet he’s ecstatic about not jumping on this opportunity to help his team into the postseason in favor of waiting until the Phillies, Mets, and Marlins rebuild their teams and making the Nationals have to work that much harder to have a chance.
Seriously, are the Nationals trying out to be the stupidest team in baseball?
mb, JoePoz’s kinda-not-really thoughts on the iPad: http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2012/08/an-ipad-review.html
@ josh:
I thought they would shut him down until the playoffs, not for the year, although I guess it doesn’t work that way. Why not let him skip a some starts instead, or go to a 6-man rotation.
Scott Boras has been showing up on any radio show that will have him and talking about how their doctors have recommended a specific limit of innings that they feel comfortable allowing a young pitcher to throw after the surgery he had. He raises some good points that if you are going to trust the doctors through the diagnosis, the surgery, and the rehab, why would you suddenly stop listening to them when he starts pitching in actual games again shortly after the procedure?
He kept harping on Steve Avery’s pitch load when he was under the age of 23 and his resulting sharp decline into injury and ineffectiveness. He also stated that the Nationals aren’t going to do right by Strasburg if he injures himself in the name of reaching the World Series, so he needs to be smart about making his career as long as possible to think about his own interests. Which is also true.
So he has a point, but what is baffling is that they didn’t see this circumstance coming. I think the 6-man rotation is a perfectly plausible way to extend Strasburg’s limited innings into the post-season. The White Sox have a similar reluctance to lean too heavily on Sale, so they’ve skipped him in the rotation a few times over the course of the year to extend him. This sprintby the Nationals towards a brick wall that everyone knew was there is baffling.
@ Aisle424:
What Boras doesn’t seem to understand or accept is that if you limit the innings the pitcher gets paid less. CC Sabathia is no longer worth $100 million plus in a 6-man rotation. It’s as simple as that. Someone needs to ask Boras whether or not he accepts this reality and will work within it. I don’t think teams are going to change what they’re doing because of what some doctor says, but I don’t think Boras is willing to accept less money for someone like Sabathia either.
@ mb21:
I was wondering about this. If the Nats shut down a completely healthy pitcher against his will, does the union get involved?
@ Aisle424:
1000x this. It’s been pretty obvious since June that this team had a real shot at the pennant.
@ GBTS:
I think MLBPA will sit this one out. They’ve been largely unsuccessful in challenging the right of teams to use their personnel how the team sees fit, most notably with teams delaying callups to delay the arb clock.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
As well they should sit out. The players agree to contracts and the team can use them as they wish. It’s obviously in the interest of the Nationals to keep him healthy, but there is zero evidence to suggest that a lighter workload will increase those odds.
The player’s union can’t have it both ways with regards to salaries. They can’t demand high salaries and demand a limited workload. How many millions would Sabathia sacrifice to have a lighter schedule? I’ll bet he’d sacrifice nothing. The pitchers and their agents have a decision to make: let the teams use them as they wish or accept less money.
The agents would be better off focusing on relievers workload. They can convince the owners that teams aren’t using them optimally and that the best relievers are more than capable of throwing 100+ innings in a season. This reduces the number of pitchers required on the roster and gives the best relievers more money. There is no reduction in jobs so it’s a win-win for the players to take this attitude, but they don’t. It’s too bad because it’s the one way in which there is sufficient evidence to suggest that teams aren’t using relievers correctly.
So everyone and their mother is on waivers, including Joe Mauer.
It’s incredibly unreasonable to claim him but it would’ve been fun to see Mauer as a Cub.
mb21 wrote:
I don’t think Boras is claiming that everyone should go to a six-man rotation for the health of the pitchers, I thought we were just talking about Strasburg. A guy who blows out his elbow a second time is going to make a lot less money than a guy with a reduced IP load for one year following TJS.
I laugh every year when “ZOMG PLAYER X IS ON WAIVERS” becomes a story.
@ mb21:
Maybe I’m misunderstanding you, but I’m talking about the union getting upset with an arbitrary shutdown of a healthy player, affecting a player’s totals. Could set a bad precedent for, say, future shutdowns of young arms that will negatively affect arbitration (less wins, less strikeouts, etc.)
@ Berselius:
That may be, but how much of the signing bonus is Strasburg and Boras willing to return to the Nationals if they can only use him in a 6-man rotation? It’s absurd that Boras thinks this should be done out of the safety of his pitcher with no recollection of payments already made under the belief that he’d be like any other pitcher. The Nationals didn’t pay him to pitch every 7th day. How much is Boras willing to return to the Nationals? if it’s $0 then he needs to shut the fuck up.
BTW, I like Boras. I know a lot of people don’t, but the guy is fantastic at his job and that’s why he makes a lot of money. In this case though, he’s delusional.
@ GBTS:
It seems to me that Boras is taking up the fight for the union so what would they be upset about?
@ Berselius:
Hey, them writer folk gotta write about something.
@ Aisle424:
I’m in the camp that the better way to handle this was managing him better earlier in the season. But I don’t know. There are arguments on both sides, but I guess it’s just a pattern of weirdness with that org that has me doubting their decision-making skills.
Personally, I believe it’s up to the player. If Strasburg wanted a lighter workload and I was his boss I’d give it to him. It’s his life. I’d make it clear he’ll earn much less money because of it, but it’s his call. I’d point out there’s no evidence to suggest it’s a horrifying problem, but again, it’s his call. I’d then ask for some money back because I’ve already paid him for a certain thing and he’s telling me he’s unwilling to do it. If at that point he wants a lighter workload I’d give it to him.
The Nationals paid him that signing bonus thinking he’d pitch in a 5-man rotation. If he doesn’t want that, fine, but give the Nationals some money back.
From what I’ve heard, Strasburg has said he wants to play and doesn’t want to be shut down or limited. If that’s true, I’d ignore the agent altogether.
Fangraphs now has RA9 wins. That’s awesome.
Aisle424 wrote:
I agree with this comment. It seemed the Nats did want to limit his innings and did nothing along the way to do so. That said, I don’t blame them one bit.
Joe Poz’s article on NL WAR:
Maybe I’m wrong on this, but I think Mike Rizzo and Boras are on basically the same page. It’s the fans and media that are clamoring for them to scrap the innings limit. This isn’t the Nationals wanting him to pitch and Boras saying Strasburg is going to take his ball and go home. At least, I didn’t think it was.
Also, Strasburg SAYS he wants to be there with his teammates and yada, yada, yada but he pretty much has to say that. Both so his teammates don’t think he’s a coddled wuss and the fans don’t turn on him for not caring about winning above money. I think any public statements Strasburg makes are completely valueless when assessing his feelings on the subject.
@ Aisle424:
I would agree, but Boras threatened a lawsuit at which point what Strasburg says would immediately get the case thrown out. http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/comments/scott_boras_strasburgs_lawyer/
Comment 5 was my favorite:
I look at this like I do the 2003 Cubs and Mark Prior. Some say they shouldn’t have worked him so hard, but I disagree. It’s not that I think they should have worked him as hard as they did, it’s that teams are going to work these pitchers, young and old, hard when they’re fighting for a playoff spot. What would we as fans think if the cubs shut Prior down and they missed the playoffs that year? Odds are overwhelming his career would still have ended when it did anyway.
@ Rice Cube:
Blooper or Highlight or Bloolight?
@ WaLi:
It would have been a blooper if Crawford hadn’t saved the Panda’s bamboo.
@ mb21:
Brewers worked the shit out of Sabathia in 2008 and he is no worse for wear (Although he did just jump on the DL, but I think that was for his groin, not arm)
@ WaLi:
Actually resulted in an out.
@ mb21:
I don’t really have a problem with riding a young pitcher’s arm in general, but there are good and bad ways to do it. Leaving Prior in to keep pile up pitches in a blowout is not one of them. For what it’s worth the Cubs had an above average pen in 03, though I’m sure part of it was due to the less shitty pitchers getting exposure due to starters working deep into games.
@ WaLi:
That 2008 run by Sabathia with the Brewers was insane. It’s hard to believe that was four seasons ago.
/pours one out for 2008 Cubs
@ josh:
But no way it was intentional, right?
@ WaLi:
No, unplanned hilarity.
New Comic:
http://www.obstructedview.net/comics/intervention.html
@ Berselius:
Also “perfect” mechanics, etc. etc. My point is that there are responsible ways to do it.