Category: baseball

Manny Machado’s Bat Throw, An Arbiters Dream?

Manny Machado is one of the best young players in all of baseball, but his antics over the weekend were ridiculous. He managed to empty the benches twice by acting like a 12 year old, or his off-season workout buddy Alex Rodriguez.

It all started when Machado was running from second to third on a grounder to Josh Donaldson at third. Machado tried to avoid the tag, but he lost his balance when Donaldson apparently tagged Machado too hard. Machado fell to the ground, slammed his helmet, and immediately got into Donaldson’s face, clearing the benches.

Later in the series, Machado managed to “accidentally” hit catcher Derrick Norris with his bat on his backswing.

It was all topped off when Machado swung at a ball down by his ankles, losing his bat that appeared to be intended for the Oakland A’s third baseman, but three things went wrong there.

1) The third baseman was Alberto Callaspo, not Donaldson who Machado had the beef with

2) The bat was nowhere close to the third baseman, instead had a better chance of hitting the third base umpire than Callaspo.

3) He claims the bat slipped out of his hand as he tried to make contact.

Now, the third thing does not immediately jump out as strange, bats slip out of batters hands, it happens. But when the ball is down and in at the ankles, and the swing would only make contact if the ball was letter high on the outside corner, it is pretty clear he was not actually trying to make contact.

Then again, this could work out really well for the Baltimore Orioles. It is likely Machado will be handed a suspension for his actions over the weekend, and given Machado’s comments after the game, he will likely appeal the suspension and claim he was trying to make contact with the ball.

Machado is arbitration eligible following the 2016 season, and while the Orioles will probably try to sign him to a deal before he gets there, might this swing be in the team’s favor should they go to salary arbitration?

Couldn’t you just imagine the two parties going before an arbiter, Machado’s camp saying “Manny is one of the best young players in all of baseball, just look at his numbers” and the Orioles responding with, “Yes, his numbers are fantastic, however, he claims this swing was an attempt to make contact with the ball, clearly there is some sort of underlying neurological issue yet to be discovered. We will pay him the league minimum but ensure he has health care for life to take care of the problem if it manifests itself again in the future.”

Hey, arbitration is said to be brutal, and when it comes to money people can do some crazy things, so I encourage the Orioles to keep this GIF in their back pocket.

The Mendoza Line Movie Review

The Mendoza Line is a low-budget film written and directed by Nathan Kaufman that does a decent job at taking a look at the side of baseball that is rarely focused on, the low-minors players with no real future in baseball.

The story follows a catcher, Ricardo Perez, in his fourth season in the low minors who is actually an undocumented worker carrying a fake social security number. He is on his way out of professional baseball, and his wife is on her way out of the marriage. The storyline following Perez helps move the story along, but it is the commentary that makes the movie.

Many people don’t realize just how little the typical minor league baseball player makes, many live below the poverty line, and the movie shows that pretty well. Perez’ wife works two low-paying jobs, and he says “she makes more than I do”, which can certainly be the case in the minor leagues.

The movie follows a supposed A ball team, the Marysville Gold Sox, which is actually a collegiate wood bat summer league. It also has some inconsistencies when referring to some minor league cities and the progression a play might make, but I am also hyper-critical when it comes to baseball movies.

There are plenty of old baseball clichés used, but also some decent humor as well. The movie also touches on the lack of African-Americans in baseball, steroid use, and the difference between drafted players and international signings.

Overall, the movie was a decent watch, mixing some cultural issues along with some decent comedic relief. It is a quick watch, a run time around an hour and twenty minutes, but it also flies right by. I wish the movie had been a bit longer and dove deeper into some of the cultural topics raised and it could have been a really good movie. Instead, I put it as a movie that is worth the time to watch, but not a must see like it could have been.

For more information and where to rent/buy the movie, check out The Mendoza Line’s website.

How I found myself at a Chinese National Baseball Team game.

Since I have moved to Arizona, I have been able to experience baseball in a whole new way. I have talked to team scouts, scouts with major media outlets, and countless coaches and players. I got to know the incredible hidden gem that is a minor league spring game on a back field and found the best spots to stand to make sure I get accurate velocity readings from the team’s radar guns.

Then Spring Training comes to an end and 125+ players for every team head off to the level they are assigned to, but that doesn’t mean the complexes go silent (they certainly get a lot quitter, but silent they are not). Instead, Extended Spring begins, and players get to spend another 2 1/2 months living in a hotel playing baseball every day in front of crowds that get dwarfed by little league fields around the corner.

Around baseball fields, you get used to hearing foreign languages, usually Spanish, but being so close to the Rangers, I often ran into groups of fans carrying signs and cardboard cutouts speaking Japanese as they get a glimpse of Yu Darvish getting in some cardio on his non-throw day. The Japanese fans are no longer here in Arizona, so I was surprised when I ran into a group of women on the way to the field speaking an Asian language the other day. It caught me by surprise because it wasn’t the Japanese I got somewhat accustomed to hearing, it was certainly something different.

As I look up toward the fields, one Rangers team is taking on the Seattle Mariners while the other Rangers squad is facing a team in all red uniforms and yellow writing across the chest. My mind immediately races through the teams who have spring complexes in Arizona, and then across the rest of baseball, and no team has this specific color combination. I go to grab the days rosters and lineups from the bins set out so media and scouts know who is who given players are not wearing names on the back of their jersey’s. One lineup shows the Rangers and Mariners logos, while the other has the Rangers logo and a yellow “C” with a red outline in Old English font.

Still thoroughly confused, I decide not to set up behind the radar guns and watch the field that features several players I am interested in getting a look at, but instead head over to the field where the group of women I passed earlier have settled in, along with three Rangers players and one other guy. I set up right behind the plate and look out at the pitcher wearing the all red jersey I am unfamiliar with and read the name printed on the front of the jersey, suddenly I realize it is the Chinese National Baseball Team.

I would love to be able to tell you more about the players, but I still can’t tell you who any of them are other than the pitcher had a big, healthy body that I would say projects well, if I had any clue his age. See, instead of the entire squad being made up of players that tend to be 21-years old or younger that I have become used to seeing in Extended Spring games, the Chinese team had a wide range of ages among their players. The catcher took off his mask to holler something out to his teammates, and looked to be at least in his mid-to-late 30s, while the first baseman couldn’t have been more than 22 or 23, nor was he taller than 5’11”.

I couldn’t tell you who played for the Rangers, I really didn’t pay attention, instead I just watched in curious awe. A tall white man, clearly American, jogs out to the mound to talk to the pitcher, but then someone else comes out quickly after him. Usually when another person follows the manager to the mound there is a pitching change, but instead, it was a translator. I then looked into the dugout to see there were at least three English speaking coaches and the Chinese translator runs back into the dugout to bounce back and forth between coaches to help relay the messages the coaches are trying to get across.

I couldn’t tell you what the score was, who won, or even if the game was competitive, which is the case for pretty much all the spring and extended spring games I have been to as I have focused more on players than the game as a whole, but this day was different. I not only didn’t care about the score, but I didn’t find myself caring who looked good and who didn’t, I simply sat back and enjoyed the oddity that was the Chinese National Baseball Team facing off against a Rangers minor league club in front of a crowd that totaled about a dozen.

2014 MLB Predictions

Shaun’s picks for the 2014 MLB Season

AL East: Boston Red Sox

AL Central: Kansas City Royals

AL West: Oakland A’s

AL Wild Card #1: Detroit Tigers

AL Wild Card #2: Tampa Bay Rays

AL Pennant Winner: Tampa Bay Rays

AL MVP: Mike Trout

AL Cy Young: James Shields

AL Rookie of the Year: Xander Bogaerts

NL East: Washington Nationals

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers

NL Wild Card #1: Cincinnati Reds

NL Wild Card #2: Pittsburgh Pirates

NL Pennant Winner: Washington Nationals

NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez

NL Cy Young: Jose Fernandez

NL Rookie of the Year: Chris Owings

World Series Champion: Tampa Bay Rays

Torsten’s picks for the 2014 MLB Season

AL East: Tampa Bay Rays

AL Central: Detroit Tigers

AL West: Texas Rangers

AL Wild Card #1: Boston Red Sox

AL Wild Card #2: Oakland A’s

AL Pennant Winner: Tampa Bay Rays

AL MVP: Mike Trout

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale

AL Rookie of the Year: George Springer

NL East: Washington Nationals (it was Atlanta before 3/5ths of their starting rotation suffered arm injuries)

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers

NL Wild Card #1: Cincinnati Reds

NL Wild Card #2: San Francisco Giants

NL Pennant Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers

NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez

NL Cy Young: Madison Bumgarner

NL Rookie of the Year: Arquimedes Caminero

World Series Champion: Los Angeles Dodgers

Baseball Over/Unders

Team	Wins	Torsten	Shaun
Arizona Diamondbacks	80.5	Over	Over
Atlanta Braves	87.5	Over	Over
Baltimore Orioles	80.5	Under	Over
Boston Red Sox	87.5	Over	Over
Chicago Cubs	69.5	Under	Under
Chicago White Sox	75.5	Under	Over
Cincinnati Reds	84.5	Over	Over
Cleveland Indians	80.5	Over	Over
Colorado Rockies	76.5	Under	Under
Detroit Tigers	89.5	Over	Under
Houston Astros	62.5	Over	Over
Kansas City Royals	81.5	Over	Over
Los Angeles Angels	86.5	Over	Under
Los Angeles Dodgers	92.5	Over	Over
Miami Marlins	69.5	Under	Under
Milwaukee Brewers	79.5	Under	Over
Minnesota Twins	70.5	Over	Under
New York Mets	73.5	Under	Under
New York Yankees	86.5	Over	Under
Oakland Athletics	88.5	Under	Over
Philadelphia Phillies	76.5	Under	Under
Pittsburgh Pirates	83.5	Over	Over
San Diego Padres	78.5	Under	Over
San Francisco Giants	86.5	Under	Under
Seattle Mariners	81.5	Under	Over
St. Louis Cardinals	90.5	Over	Over
Tampa Bay Rays	88.5	Over	Over
Texas Rangers	86.5	Over	Over
Toronto Blue Jays	79.5	Under	Under
Washington Nationals	88.5	Over	Over

Locks: Baseball is going to be a tough one to call this year. Lots of teams are on the verge of making a jump. A few are on the precipice of a significant drop. But most of these lines look pretty spot on, as us being in agreement on 20 of the 30 teams would indicate. That said, if you’re the betting sort, here’s our lock for the over as well as the under.

Torsten:

Over: Atlanta Braves. Really? 87.5 wins? This team won 96 games last year with practically zero production from Dan Uggla and BJ Upton, and no Brandon Beachy or Johnny Venters for practically the entire year. They have pitching, one of the best young players in baseball in Freddie Freeman, and if any of the aforementioned guys has a better 2014 than 2013 (not a stretch), who is to say this team can’t win 95+ games again? For Pete’s sake, they get to play the Mets, Marlins, and Phillies 19 times each.

Under: San Diego Padres: There’s a bit of talent on this squad, but they’re the fourth best team in a five team division. No way they flirt with .500. Even if Chase Headley manages to stay healthy, and they get a bounce back year from Josh Johnson, there just isn’t enough of anything on this roster. The bullpen especially has question marks the size of Mount Rushmore. They’ll be lucky to get to 70 wins, much less the 78.5 the line is set at. I could have made a similar argument here for the Rockies, but with two superstars in the lineup (Tulo & Cargo) and a better-than-you-think bullpen (Rex Brothers is a stud), you never know.

Shaun:

Over: Kansas City Royals: I really believe the Royals have a shot at the playoffs this year. I like the top of the rotation with Jaime Shields, they have a stud pitcher that should earn himself a spot in the rotation after getting a taste of the big leagues last season in Yordano Ventura, and Greg Holland is an excellent closer. They also play fantastic defense, and have finally filled the black hole that has been second base in Kansas City with the addition of Omar Infante. I see the Royals flirting with 90 wins, not just teetering around .500.

Under: Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies are old, signing older players, and they guys who used to be young and talented are just aging and declining. They do have a couple young guys that are impressive, but that likely won’t be enough. It is hard to say it is a lock for a team to win less than 77 games, especially a team with such a proud history as the Phillies, but I just don’t see it. Their starters aren’t that good anymore, and with all the money locked up in the aging veterans, they lack depth. I honestly see them as one of the five worst teams in baseball.

Best, Worst, and Under-the-Radar Signings in Baseball

Few things are more entertaining for us at The Stain than the free agency period for Major League Baseball. Weird things happen (see Cano, Robinson; Seattle), predictable things happen (see Tanaka, Masahiro; Yankees), and head-scratching things happen (see Arroyo, Bronson; Unemployed as of 1/31). Teams make good decisions, bad decisions, shrewd maneuvers, or in some cases nothing at all. Here’s look at a few noteworthy transactions so far this off-season.

Torsten’s take:

Great Signing: Angels, Raul Ibanez, DH, 1 yr. 2.75 million. Sure, he’s older than dirt and limited to DH duty at this stage of his career, and doesn’t really handle lefties all that well. But, for less than the league average salary, the Halos are going to get around 25 home runs in 350-400 plate appearances. There is no other player that returns that kind of value.

Awful Signing: Red Sox, A.J. Pierzynski, C, 1 yr. 8.25 million. Two disclaimers here. No, I’m not taking a dig at Shaun. And second, I don’t think Pierzynski is a bad player. But, at this stage of his career, he’s weak defensively, and they’re overpaying for offensive production that shouldn’t have been a priority from that position. I’m not going to argue to vehemently with Ben Cherington. The GM of the World Series champions should probably not be the target of too much criticism, but I would have re-signed Salty, or gone after Geovany Soto or Kelly Shoppach before I overpaid for AJ. Silver lining, at least it’s only a one year deal. Honorable mention is the ridiculous contract the Giants gave Tim Lincecum, though the loyalty they’re displaying to one of their iconic players is admirable.

Under the Radar: Yankees, Kelly Johnson, IF/OF, 1 yr. 3 million. Yeah, I died a little inside giving the Yankees credit. But lost in the bustle of the high profile Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, and Brian McCann signings is the fact that they might have taken a massive step to solving one of their two glaring infield issues; A-Rod’s suspension takes away their third baseman, and Seattle took away their second baseman. Johnson could turn out to be terrible and released by June… but he’s a versatile defender (even competent in the outfield if needed), can slug a little bit, and could turn out to be a titanic bargain for a team that spent a ton of cash to return to AL East relevance. Honorable mention is J.P. Howell. Sure, this may be a bit of a homer moment, but as a Dodger fan I got to see exactly how excellent he really is. And the simple fact they got him for less than the average closer makes means that he is a huge bargain.

Shaun’s take:

Quick reaction to Torsten, and no surprise it is about Pierzynski. True, the dollar figure is high, but it actually makes sense. The Red Sox are still about a good amount of money below the luxury tax threshold, and with the probability of either Ryan Dempster or Jake Peavy being traded before the season starts, the money is of little concern. Salty was not resigned because the Red Sox have two high floor catchers in the high minors in Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart. Both are plus defensive backstops, and I just recently rated Swihart as my fourth best Red Sox prospect.

Great Signing: Rangers, Shin-Soo Choo, OF, 7 years, $130 million. If this was the best move of the offseason, it would be an easy vote for the Nationals trading for Doug Fister, and creating what is possibly the best rotation in baseball, but we are talking signings, so I will go with Choo. Choo is a guy I love to watch play the game of baseball, and his story is incredible as well. Choo led his native South Korea to an Asian Games gold medal in baseball, deeming him exempt from his home countries law requiring him to serve two years in the South Korean Army. He is an incredible on-base guy, and proved he can play center field. In 2011, Choo was hit in the thumb by Jonathan Sanchez, landing him on the DL for two months, and resulting in his worst statistical season of his career. The very next season, Choo was once again drilled by Jonathan Sanchez, which is not a huge surprise, given that Sanchez drills a guy every 18 innings or so. Ever since, Choo has struggled against left-handed pitchers, but he is great against right-handers, and still manages a solid OBP against lefties.

Awful Signing: Everyone Signed by the Phillies. The aging Phillies have pulled off the impossible, and got older this year. They resigned Carlos Ruiz at catcher for three years, worth $26 million, despite only being able to play 92 games in 2013. Then they went out and signed Roberto Hernandez, who you may not recognize, mostly because he hasn’t done anything positive since his name was Fausto Carmona, causing him to miss one full season due to suspension and a lack of visa, and it was found he is three years older than originally thought. He is going to receive $4.5 million this year from the Phillies. They have also gone out and signed 36 year old Marlon Byrd, to a two-year deal. As if that wasn’t enough, they signed a guy who was crushing the ball in the Venezuelan Winter League, but will be turning 40 during Spring Training, Bobby Abreu. Granted, I was calling for Abreu to get a contract this winter, but I was thinking he should be signed by an American League team, where he can DH against right-handers, not an old Phillies team where he will have to play the field.

Under–the-Radar: Reds, Roger Bernadina, OF, Minor League deal. The Reds plans are to enter the season with Billy Hamilton leading off and playing center. Now, I have been impressed with his ability to play the field despite having just over one season of experience in the outfield after spending the majority of his life as a shortstop, but his bat scares me. I am not convinced he will be able to get on base often, much less his for a decent average. I am not saying Bernadina will move many dials offensively, but it is great insurance. He has flashed double digit home run power, he can steal a bag, and he can play impressive defense. I would not be at all surprised if Bernadina breaks camp with the Reds, and I can just about guarantee he will make a real impact at times this season.

All-January 31st Birthday Team

Today, January 31st, is the birthday of three all-time greats and Hall of Famers; Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Nolan Ryan. Now, that would be the start of a pretty epic team, so I decided to jump to the Baseball Reference birthday page and see what kind of lineup I could create from guys born on today’s date. I will admit, I have no clue who a lot of these guys are, but I am not gonna let that stop me. So, my lineup for players born on January 31st is:

1) Jackie Robinson – 2B – It is pretty easy to put Jackie at the top of my lineup. He is the Hall of Fame second baseman who broke the color barrier, and was as good an athlete baseball has ever seen. He played just ten seasons, but hit .311, hit 137 home runs, and stole 197 bags, include home 19 times.

2) George Burns– 1B – No, not the comedian, and not the Simpsons character, but instead the first baseman who played for Indians, Tigers, Athletics, Red Sox, and Yankees from 1914-1929. He had a batting average better than .300 and and OBP over .350. He once stole 23 bags in a season, and even had a season with over 200 hits.

3) Ernie Banks– SS – Banks is in the Hall of Fame thanks to hitting more than 500 home runs and driving in more than 1,600 runs. Mr. Cub actually spent more of his career playing primarily first base (10 seasons) than short (9 seasons) but I can’t pass up the opportunity to create the double play combo of Banks and Robinson.

4) Yuniesky Betancourt– 3B – Ok, clearly there is a lack of power when it comes to January 31st birthdays, in fact the only two players with more than 100 career home runs are the two Hall of Fame position players, and Betancourt has the third most, with 80 career dingers. Now, I will have to look past his seven straight seasons with a negative WAR and have him hit cleanup. Who knows, maybe he can revive his career this year in the Japanese Nippon Baseball League.

5) Pinky Hargrave– C – Pinky has a solid name, as does his brother and fellow big leaguer, Bubbles. Pinky played for four teams between 1923-1933. His career triple slash line is .278/.339/.428. He did not make his big league debut until the age of 27, but you gotta like the fact he was just 5’8″ because he was sure to provide a low target for the pitcher.

6) Tim Hendryx– LF – Hendryx was a former New York Yankee when he joined the Boston Red Sox in 1920, the first season following the Babe Ruth trade. Hendryx led the Red Sox in average and RBIs that season, but he wasn’t exactly a power hitter, launching the same number of home runs that year as I did…and I wasn’t born for another 65 years. That same year Ruth hit just 54 home runs, drove in 137, walked 150 times, and had a triple slash line of .376/.532/.847. Regardless, I will stand by the Red Sox and take Hendryx on my squad too.

7) Tex McDonald– RF – Any chance to add a guy named Tex to a lineup, you gotta jump on it. His big league career was brief, lasting from 1912-1915, where, in addition to the Reds and Braves, he played for teams named the Blues, Buffeds, and Rebels, which apparently were actual Major League teams. He had 13 home runs and 134 RBIs, which would be a nice season, but those were his career numbers, Still, his name is Tex, so he makes my lineup.

8) Mel Mazzera– DH – While Mazzera played long before the DH was even a consideration, his final season was in 1940 while the DH was not instituted until the 1973 season, his Baseball Reference page does have one of his positions as a pinch hitter, so that will suffice. He had just 507 career at-bats, where he hit just 10 home runs and drove in less than 70. His average was .268, but slugged over .400, so that is good enough for this lineup.

9) Melky Mesa– CF – True, Mesa has only played eight career games over two seasons, but he is 6/15 lifetime for a batting average of .400. He has yet to hit a home run in his career, but he is entering his age 27 season in 2014, a season in which fantasy players have long argued is a position player’s prime season. I will also admit it, he was one of just a handful of names I actually recognized from the list, so I had to include him.

Nolan Ryan– SP – Yes, my starting pitcher was an easy selection given it is the career strikeout king, and a man who has thrown seven no hitters (which might come in handy with the lineup I put together). He is a Hall of Famer, and grade A badass. While he will probably go all nine innings, I would have Josh Johnson at the ready.

You can follow Shaun Kernahan on twitter @shaunkernahan, add him to your network on Google, and like Shaun on Facebook.

It’s a Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s…Carlos Perez?

Hey, Dodger fans? Guess who just retired 4 straight big leaguers in 1.1 perfect innings in the Dominican Winter League Final? If you said Carlos Perez, you’re two things. Right, and probably a heavy drinker.

For those of you who don’t remember, Perez was a Dominican lefty on the Expos, known for being a promising young pitcher and infuriatingly animated on the mound. His career started brightly, and in 1998, the Dodgers traded for him to supplement their pitching down the stretch. And supplement it he did. 4 wins, including a couple of complete game shut outs, led to a lucrative contract extension and boundless optimism among fans (yours truly included) about the future.

And then…well, nobody really knows what happened. Never overpowering to begin with, Perez lost about 8 miles per hour off of his fastball. No longer able to keep hitters honest, his once formidable breaking stuff was getting teed off on, and that was the beginning of the end.

Some guys age gracefully and decline slowly. For others, the end comes rapidly, and it’s often ugly. After a particularly ugly outing in 2000, Perez went ape…uh…poop on a Gatorade cooler, nearly braining teammate Darren Dreifort who was minding his own business nearby.

2000 was Perez’ last year in the big leagues. For years and years, he was a punch line, as well as a cautionary tale to GM’s looking to reward promising young pitchers with lucrative contract extensions. And then, the memories started to fade. Other pitchers with seemingly bright futures faded away. Rick Ankiel, though to be fair, he did one of the more remarkable things in baseball history, transforming himself from a failed pitcher to a semi-successful big league outfielder. Dontrelle Willis… I’m sure there are others.

Let’s fast forward to today, January 21, 2014. If someone with a cruel sense of humor decided to create a baseball Trivial Pursuit game with a bit of a dark side, one of the questions may be, what do major leaguers Emilio Bonifacio, Engel Beltre, Erick Aybar, and Juan Francisco have in common? The answer would be, they were retired in order by the 42-year-old Carlos Perez. Yes, that Carlos Perez. Bonifacio and Francisco…they went down on strikes.

Baseball is a weird, yet fascinating game. But if Perez somehow parlays this into a minor league invite, I’m not watching it anymore.