AP The real question is why Hector Sanchez ever started catching Tim Lincecum in the first place this year.
Yeah, Lincecum got off to an awful start this year with Buster Posey catching him. But who made that about Posey? Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner certainly didn’t have any problem with Posey. And Lincecum was extremely successful throwing to Posey in 2011, amassing a 1.55 ERA in 62 2/3 innings.
If Lincecum has a legitimate problem with Posey — and there’s been speculation to that effect — he needs to get over it. And it’s part of Bruce Bochy’s job to make sure that happens.
Lincecum did have some early success throwing to Sanchez this year, but in the end, it really didn’t matter much. There was an ERA difference: Lincecum had a 4.87 ERA working with Sanchez and a 5.46 ERA working with Posey, but nothing really backed that up. The league hit .255/.341/.414 against Lincecum with Sanchez catching and .258/.340/.429 against him with Posey catching. In pretty much the same number of innings, baserunners were 18-for-20 stealing against Lincecum-Sanchez and 6-for-6 against Lincecum-Posey.
Plus, Lincecum did just great in relief throwing to Posey in the postseason, pitching four scoreless innings in two appearances.
But there was Sanchez behind the plate for Thursday’s Game 4 against the Cardinals. It did Lincecum no good, as he gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings to take a loss, and Sanchez ended up going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts at the plate. He also dropped a relay on a play at the plate in the fifth, opening the door for a two-run inning. He did manage to throw out a would-be basestealer, but that was the only highlight of the night.
This should put an end to the foolishness, anyway. If the Giants do come back and win the NLCS, one imagines that Posey will be the choice to catch Lincecum in the World Series. And if they don’t, the Giants need to work out whatever differences Lincecum and Posey have, as this arrangement simply can’t be allowed to linger into 2013.
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Saving the home run for last, Mike Trout recorded his first career cycle Tuesday as the Angels crushed the Mariners 12-0. Trout struck out in his first at-bat of the night before singling in the third, tripling in the fourth, doubling in the sixth and homering in the eighth. He ended the game with five…
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FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi reports that the Orioles will call up top pitching prospect Kevin Gausman to start Thursday in their series opener versus the Blue Jays. Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette told MLB.com just one week ago that the 22-year-old right-hander was “doing fine at Double-A” and not close to a promotion, but…
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Finally some good news for the Anaheim Angels. According to beat writer Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, staff ace Jered Weaver could be activated from the disabled list for a start next week if everything goes well during his appearance in an extended spring training game on Wednesday. Weaver has been out since…
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Chris Sale won’t start Wednesday against the Red Sox because of left shoulder tendinitis
May 21, 2013, 9:20 PM EDT
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Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com has the news: Chris Sale has been scratched from Wednesday’s start with mild tendinitis in his left posterior shoulder, the team announced Tuesday. … A team official said Sale is expected to make his next start on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs. Hector Santiago will take the mound in his place. Sale has…
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Royals catcher Salvador Perez left Monday’s game against the Astros after slamming into the fence in front of the home dugout at Houston’s Minute Maid Park while trying to track down a foul popup. Perez has been diagnosed with a deep right hip bruise, according to beat writer Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star,…
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From Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com comes word that the Phillies have scratched second baseman Chase Utley from Tuesday’s game against the Marlins because of pain in his right side. The Phillies aren’t giving out many details, only saying that Utley will be reevaluated by team doctors on Wednesday. He apparently felt the discomfort while taking pregame batting…
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Anthony Rendon, Miguel Sano rate as 2013′s top minor league performers
May 21, 2013, 6:43 PM EDT
AP
The top of the minor league OPS leaderboard is typically littered with Triple-A veterans and A-ball players too old for their leagues. That’s still the case this year, but numbers two, three and four on the list are all top prospects. Minor league OPS leaders (minimum 100 at-bats) Scott Van Slyke (26 Dodgers): 1.236 OPS…
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MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers have scratched Nick Tepesch from his scheduled Wednesday start against the A’s due to a blister on his right middle finger. Ross Wolf will be called up from Triple-A Round Rock to pitch in his place. Tepesch developed the blister Friday evening on the only slider he threw…
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Sorry. That headline may have been a bit dramatic. But see, I turn 40 in July. And while I’m generally cool with that — and while I am, in all honestly, in The Best Shape of My Life — it has dawned on me pretty clearly that we are almost to the point where there…
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From the press release machine: The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that Milwaukee Brewers Minor League left-handed pitcher Alan Williams has received a 50-game suspension without pay after a second positive test for a drug of abuse in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The suspension of Williams, who…
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As expected the Cubs activated Matt Garza from the disabled list to face the Pirates tonight, which will be his first start since being shut down with elbow problems last July. His recovery from the elbow injury was delayed by a lat injury suffered during spring training, which is how he ended up missing 10…
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Larry Dierker has been part of the Astros family forever. He played there from 1964 through 1976, served as a radio broadcaster from 1979 through 1996 and managed the team from 1997 through 2001, winning the Manager of the Year award in 1998 and winning four division titles in his five seasons at the helm.…
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Jair Jurrjens’ return to the majors was a brief one, as the Orioles sent him back to Triple-A to make room on the roster for Miguel Gonzalez coming off the disabled list. Jurrjens predictably struggled in his first big-league start since July of 2012, allowing four runs in five innings against the Rays. He had…
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What type of MLB player do you want to be?
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AP
The NFL just granted Super Bowls L and LI to San Carlos Santa Clara, California and Houston, respectively. Also in the running was Miami, but it was shafted. Why? Because neither Miami nor the State of Florida would pony up taxpayer dollars for upgrades to the Sun Life Stadium. Why wouldn’t they? Florio gives the…
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For the second time in a month Daric Barton was placed on waivers by the A’s and passed through without being claimed by any of the other 29 teams. Our own Bill Baer wondered over the weekend if Barton could be a fit for the Mets or other teams getting little production from first base,…
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The late Stan-the-Man’s house is on the market. Built in 1962 and, not surprisingly given the age of its owner when he passed, it rather looks it. But like Joe Morgan’s dated home (a) the bones are good and if you just redid the place it’d be fine; ad (b) it’d be kinda cool to…
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AP
Patrick Corbin was never considered an elite prospect and had a decent but unspectacular rookie season for the Diamondbacks last year, throwing 107 innings with a 4.54 ERA and 86/25 K/BB ratio. He had to compete for the fifth starter job this spring and now … well, it’s safe to say his rotation spot is…
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Eh, probably not. But such speculation is way more fun than Dodgers and Angels baseball these days. Also: I inexplicably used the term “legit” twice in this video. Sorry, everyone.
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MLB is putting players in camouflage uniforms on Memorial Day. Which is kinda weird.
May 21, 2013, 1:30 PM EDT
Paul Lukas of UniWatch figured out that MLB is putting all teams in uniforms with camouflage design highlights on Memorial Day. He figured it out because the team store for each team has the jerseys on sale, with the note “as worn on-field, Memorial Day, May 27, 2013.” I’m informed by an MLB source that the…
