Tough day for starting pitchers on NL division leaders. Kershaw left the game early with back tightness (he had back problems last year too; hopefully this isn't a chronic issue for him). Strasburg left his start early too with arm tightness. Yikes.
Singler is IRON
I STILL GOT IT! -- Ryan Kelly, March 2, 2013
Tough day for starting pitchers on NL division leaders. Kershaw left the game early with back tightness (he had back problems last year too; hopefully this isn't a chronic issue for him). Strasburg left his start early too with arm tightness. Yikes.
The Nationals had a particularly tough weekend for injuries. On Saturday, they lost Chris Heisey to a strained groin and Ryan Raburn to bereavement leave. They're already down three other outfielders - Werth (broken bone & bruise in foot), Taylor (oblique), and Eaton (ACL). Andrew Stevenson was called up from Syracuse to make his MLB debut, while Wilmer Difo - a middle infielder - got the start in left field on Sunday. Adrian Sanchez started at shortstop (in for Trea Turner). Backup catcher Jose Lobaton, making a traditional Sunday day start after a night game by regular Weiters the night before, went down after a receiving a pitch in the 8th. Luckily, that turned out to just be cramps in his legs.
On the pitching side, Strasburg left after 2 innings with a "stiff arm" - still no official word on the cause. The bullpen did a good job of filling in, but reliever Enny Romero left after an undisclosed injury in the 7th. (Looked like a leg/ankle problem to me.)
The Nationals haven't been as impacted as some teams by injuries this year, thank goodness, but this weekend was a disaster.
JBDuke
Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”
Hate to see so many injuries. Luckily, your guys have a stranglehold on the division. So if most of these guys (obviously not Eaton) can come back healthy before season's end, all should be ok. Definitely hope Strasburg is ok. As a Cubs fan, I am no stranger to having ace pitchers' careers derailed by arm injuries. Hope that isn't the case for Strasburg.
Some potential excitement for Mets fans - AA pitcher Chris Flexen has been called up to start Thursday. He wasn't a particularly highly rated prospect, but to say he's dominated AA would be an understatement. 6-1 with a 1.66 ERA, 7.1 K/BB ratio, 0.7 WHIP. Could be someone to watch. And after Flexen, how far behind can Tebow be? (I kid, but since what seemed like an unwarranted promotion, Tebow has really raked in high A).
Demented and sad, but social, right?
Tebow
Last edited by acdevil; 07-26-2017 at 09:45 PM. Reason: Auto correct
Looks like the scrappy, fighting Yankees have returned.
The Cubs finally appear to have awoken from their World Series hangover. After a thoroughly mediocre (2 games under .500) first half, they are now 11-2 since the All-Star break, and back in sole possession of first in the NL Central.
A lot of baseball still left to be played, but it sure feels like the series in Milwaukee this weekend will be make or break for the Brewers. If the Cubs take 2 of 3, they will be ahead by 4 in the loss column and up 2.5 overall heading into August.
That was one of the most bizarre singles I've ever seen. The Rays have the shift on with the third baseman, shortstop and second baseman all to the left of second base. There are maybe 15-20 feet between Hecharria (sp?) and Beckham. Sanchez bounces a slow roller right between them -- neither goes for the ball. Should have been a routine out and a 5-4 Rays' win.
Definitely a gift run ... but give the Yankees credit. That took advantage of Tampa Bay's miscue.
Yankees regain the lead in the AL East ... actually two games ahead of the Red Sox in the loss column.
Less that 36 hours left before the trade deadline. I think Verlander and Sonny Gray are the two big prizes left. With Pineda out for the Yankees and now Price on the DL for the Red Sox, the race may turn on the ability to get one or the other.
Yu Darvish is also available, but he's been so bad lately, I'm not sure he's a prime pickup.
^^^enjoy yourself. Tigs are heading into the Large Apple on Monday. I'm busy hanging the memorial wreath for this and the next few long, quiet seasons...
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'
Another day. Another Brett Gardner walk-off. Ho hum.
Red Sox have to be kicking themselves for not burying the Yanks when they had the chance.
Well, while Gray still in play, the Bombers got their down rotation starter (Jaime Garcia) for two prospects. Twins picking up some salary if I read correctly. Another FA post season.
Also might reduce A's leverage in any deal.
And of course, Duda has 2 HRs in two games for the Rays. He would have loved RF in the Stadium (assuming he can stay on the field).
Clock ticking down to JV's last start in the Olde English D?
Why do I have the feeling that he asked for this in order to give the fans one last cap tip?
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'
Garcia was a nice three-month rental, who didn't really cost anything -- neither Littell or Enns were even mid-level prospects.
Sonny Gray will cost more. To get him, the Yankees will have to give up at least one significant prospect (Mateo?)
Worth noting -- Gray was scheduled to start today ... but he was a late scratch.
He's almost certainly going somewhere, although not necessarily NY.
Adrian Beltre gets his 3000th hit.
Certainly a no-doubt HoFer, on the day where five were inducted, including Bud Selig, which should lead the way for the PED crowd to be inducted (ignoring rumors about two of today's inductees.) If the guy who looked the other way is inducted, why not the players?
(Then again, there's a bunch of admitted PED users from earlier eras, to quote Wiki, "Amphetamine is also used as an athletic performance enhancer and cognitive enhancer".)
Oy. The Cubs acquire the last 1+ years of Justin Wilson's cost control and the last few months of Alex Avila's contract from the Tigers, at the cost of their two best remaining position-player prospects. Candelario is a guy whose bat is ready for the MLB, but he doesn't necessarily have a position. He's an average-to-bad 3B, an okay 1B, but not really fast enough for the OF. Paredes is an 18 year old in full-season A ball, which is pretty rare. And he's hitting pretty well there, too. He currently plays SS, but his build suggests he'll probably get moved to 2B or 3B eventually (he's a stocky kid already). In many ways, his trajectory may be similar to that of Gleyber Torres, though he isn't as likely to stick at SS and thus isn't quite as promising. But Paredes was likely to become the top prospect in the Cubs' system by next year had he stayed.
It's a high price to pay for a backup C (Avila has played really well this year for Detroit, but he isn't taking Willson Contreras' job) and 1+ years of a very good reliever. Epstein and Hoyer appear to be saying "these next few years are our window; we are going to do everything we can to win as many titles as possible in this time frame." The team is certainly not favored to win this year, but the front office is trying to give them the best chance to do so after a rough first half.
But at this point, the Cubs' farm system is pretty barren. They have a couple of fringy prospects in AAA (Zagunis, Caratini, and Maples), one pitching prospect in AA (Alzolay), and that's it. Everything else is a LOOOOOOONG way away. Which, I guess, is fine, considering that the major league roster is pretty stocked for the next 3-4 years (health pending). But still, it's weird to go from one of the deepest and best farm systems in baseball to one of the worst in just a 12-month span.