Newsletter: Wednesday, July 4, 2012
MEDIA
WLQR 106.5 FM (Toledo, OH)
Jay Jaffe - Jay Jaffe talks baseball with Norm Wamer on "The Front Row,"
Wednesday at 3:15 pm CT/4:15 ET. Streaming via their website at
http://www.1065theticket.com as well
07-04 3:15 PM CST
KROD 600 AM (El Paso, TX)
Jay Jaffe - Jay Jaffe runs down the week in baseball with Steve Kaplowitz.
Streaming at http://krod.com as well.
07-04 4:20 PM MST
NEW PREMIUM CONTENT
Overthinking It
Does Arbitration Drive Players Away?
by Ben Lindbergh
Is a team that takes a player to arbitration really running the risk of
driving him toward another team down the road?
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17566
Daily Hit List
Tuesday, July 3
by Matthew Kory
Filled to the brim with jokes and factoids!
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17567
Future Shock Blog
Minor League Update: Games of July 2
by Kevin Goldstein
Bubba Starling has his first big pro game and notes from around the day in the
minors.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17569
NEW BASIC CONTENT
BP Unfiltered
Cussin' in the Boys Room
by Jason Wojciechowski
Have you ever wondered what Ozzie Guillen's favorite bad words are?
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17572
BP Unfiltered
Just Sayin': Oliver Perez Might Be Back
by Ben Lindbergh
Everything old is new again, including Oliver Perez' stuff.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17571
BP Unfiltered
$12M Goes A Long Way These Days
by Jason Collette
Even with inflation is factored in, the $12M Boston spent on Bobby Jenks is
not the worst $12M deal in baseball history.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17570
BP Unfiltered
The 2012 All-Backwards-Name Team
by Sam Miller
Baseball players whose names are backward.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17563
BP Unfiltered
Brandon Phillips and Context
by R.J. Anderson
The Reds second baseman has gotten better, or at least, not worse.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17568
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: JULY 4
THE MONDAY TAKEAWAY
The Yankees came into yesterday’s game in Tampa Bay having won seven of nine
and with the best road record in the American League at 23-14. However, Joe
Girardi’s squad had lost its last seven games at Tropicana Field, where the
Rays had posted a team ERA of 3.08 this season. Those forces clashed, and the
latter prevailed.
Robinson Cano—who had homered in each of the past two games for a league-high
nine big flies since June 17—went 2-for-4 for the third consecutive day, but
that did not stop Matt Moore from battling through seven innings of three-run
ball. And then, the unforeseeable happened.
David Robertson relieved Boone Logan with Sean Rodriguez at second, two out in
the bottom of the seventh, and New York leading, 3-2, just seven outs away
from snapping its St. Petersburg skid. He promptly gave up an RBI double to
pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad, who was previously 4-for-38 with 15 strikeouts
against right-handed pitching. And then, something even less foreseeable
happened.
The game was tied, and the damage was done, but the Yankees still had their
dignity. Then, with Conrad at second, Elliot Johnson hit a hard roller down
the first-base line that figured to end the inning. But Mark Teixeira—the most
sure-handed first baseman in the league this year with 663 converted chances
and no errors—watched it slip under his glove and take off on the turf into
the right-field corner, as Conrad jogged around third with the deciding run in
the 4-3 Rays win. The loss extended New York’s losing streak in Tampa Bay to
eight, its longest such run since 1989-1991 in Arlington, and brought the Rays
back to within 6 ½ games of the division lead.
The Yankees will try to avoid a ninth consecutive loss at the Trop behind Ivan
Nova tonight (7:10 p.m. ET). Rays starter James Shields doled out 14 hits in a
loss to the Tigers on June 28, and Tampa Bay is just 3-7 in his last 10 starts
after winning each of his first six. In three starts versus the Yankees this
year, Shields has issued 10 walks and struck out only nine batters; he has a
90-to-22 K/BB against all other opponents.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR ON TUESDAY
The first-place Giants travel to Washington to square off with the first-place
Nationals in a matchup of the first National League teams to 45 wins (the
Giants have three more losses). Tim Lincecum had little trouble firing seven
shutout innings in a win over the banged-up Dodgers on June 27, but he’ll face
a stiffer test in the series opener that should give us a better indication of
whether he’s truly back on track. Ian Desmond, who comes into the series on a
seven-game hitting streak that includes seven doubles and two home runs, is
7-for-9 lifetime versus The Freak (6:35 p.m. ET).
***
A.J. Burnett has been credited with a win in eight consecutive outings, and
the Pirates have not lost a game started by the 35-year-old righty since May
2, a span of 10 starts over two months during which he has logged a 2.18 ERA.
Tonight, Burnett puts those streaks to the test against the Astros—the most
recent team to avoid handing him a ‘W,’ despite managing only two runs in
eight innings on May 13—and Lucas Harrell, who has given up only one run over
his last two starts (7:05 p.m. ET).
***
The American League slate also features a matchup of division-leading teams,
with the White Sox and Chris Sale hosting the Rangers and Roy Oswalt. Alex
Rios has been red-hot of late, collecting multiple hits in seven of his last
nine games, and raising his OPS from 795 to 839 since June 24. The Coffee,
Ala. native will look to provide a jolt as the ChiSox try to gain some
breathing room in the AL Central (8:10 p.m. ET).
***
Andrew Cashner and Trevor Bauer will both make their second starts of the
season in the second game of the series between the Padres and the
Diamondbacks in the desert. Cashner was in top form in his first start of
2012—holding the Astros to two hits and fanning nine in 6 1/3 innings—while
Bauer needed 74 pitches to finish four frames against the Braves but was able
to limit the damage. Aaron Hill, who has hit for the cycle twice since June
18, has a gaudy .357/.404/.636 triple slash at Chase Field this season (9:40
p.m. ET).
PODCASTS
BP PODCAST EPISODE 97: CAN I HAVE A SMALL SAMPLE OF YOUR POOP?
Kevin and Jason discuss the feud between Joe Maddon and Davey Johnson, try to
explain the awesomeness of R.A. Dickey, and welcome A's Scouting Director Eric
Kubota to the show. This week's musical guest is Wild Cub.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17454
BP FANTASY PODCAST EPISODE 10: LOOK AT ANOTHER SPREADSHEET, (EXPLETIVE)
Jason and Paul discuss Ben Zobrist's surge, Trevor Bauer's promotion, and
whether Brandon Moss belongs on your fantasy roster. Then, they'll tell you
how to handle those tough-luck trades when a player you own in an AL- or
NL-only league is dealt to the other circuit.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17530
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BASEBALL PROSPECTUS 2012 APP NOW AVAILABLE
At long last, the Baseball Prospectus 2012 annual app is now available for the
iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Follow your favorite MLB teams and players
throughout the season with Baseball Prospectus analysis that includes team
overviews, player assessments, detailed stats, and 2012 projections for over
2000 players. All of that and more for just $4.99 if you purchase it in the
next two weeks. For more information and to access the download page, click
the link below.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=16776
BROOKS BASEBALL NOW AT BP
The outstanding PITCHf/x work of Dan Brooks, Harry Pavlidis, and co. is now
available through BP. For more details on the integration of Brooks Baseball,
see the post by Joe Hamrahi linked below:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=16721
BALLPARK EVENT TICKETS NOW ON SALE
Join your favorite BP writers and industry insiders at our upcoming ballpark
events. For more information and to purchase tickets, click the links below.
July 8 (All-Star Weekend) at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas
City:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17278
SUBMIT A QUESTION TO THE RESEARCH MAILBAG
Got a burning baseball question you want answered? Submit it via email to
Bradley Ankrom (bankrom@baseballprospectus.com) and we'll do our best to find
the answer. Our research staff will select its favorite questions from the
batch and feature them in the mailbag the following week.
PLAYOFF ODDS AVAILABLE DAILY
The season is underway, and our playoff odds report is now updated to account
for the double wild card. Check it out here:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/odds/
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updates throughout the day.
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