Great Moments in post hoc ergo propter hoc: the Royals, and everyone else, are looking for “winners”
Dec 13, 2012, 9:40 AM EDT
Getty Images Jeff Passan has a great piece up about how teams are looking for “winners.” Or at least players perceived to be “winners.” Players like the ones who propelled the San Francisco Giants to two World Series titles in the past three seasons and who, as a result, are now in demand regardless of whether or not there is any empirical basis for calling them that.
Passan’s case study is the Kansas City Royals. His example on the Royals: Jeff Francouer. ”Jeff Francouer is a winner,” Dayton Moore tells Passan. And then Passan demonstrates just how not a winner Jeff Francoeur is by any reasonable definition of the term. Read it: it’s genius. You’ll think my slamming Francouer over the past several years is tame by comparison. Yet Passan says nothing that is not demonstrably true.
Chemistry. Juju. Mojo. Leadership. Call it whatever you want, but as Passan observes in this wonderful piece, it seems to be what teams are looking for these days.
And even if you don’t care about any of that stuff, you gotta read it for the lede about Ned Yost at Starbucks, which is absolutely priceless.
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At least one person thinks San Jose has a strong case against Major League Baseball
Jun 20, 2013, 9:14 AM EDT
Unfortunately that one person is ESPN’s legal analyst Lester Munson who, as we and many others have noted over the years, tends to get things pretty darn wrong pretty darn often. You won’t be shocked to hear that I feel like he’s off on this one too. To be fair, he is half right. He…
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All good things must come to an end. Jason Grilli has been a good thing for the Pirates so far this year, but he was pretty unlikely to be perfect in save situations all year. And last night he blew his first save of the year. Granted, it wasn’t an easy save. The Pirates led…
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Jonathan Papelbon blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth in yesterday’s Phillies-Nationals game. And he did take responsibility for not making the right pitches to Jayson Werth who singled in the tying run. But he also called out his entire team and, it seems, coaching staff, for playing poor fundamental baseball. Jim Salisbury has the…
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Sorry for the abbreviated recap this morning, folks, but some things came up this morning preventing a thorough going-over of the box scores, game stories and whatnot. It’ll be a normal day besides that. Just an early morning jam-up. So, discuss yesterday’s amongst yourself. I’ll give you a topic: Could Yasiel Puig create a rock…
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Jose Reyes could rejoin the Jays on Monday. Shi Davidi of Canada’s Sportsnet reports that the Toronto shortstop will shift his minor league rehab assignment from High-A Dunedin to Triple-A Buffalo this Friday night, putting him one small step away from returning to the active major league roster. Reyes has been on the disabled list since…
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Derek Jeter takes round of batting practice for first time since diagnosis of second ankle fracture
Jun 19, 2013, 9:59 PM EDT
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Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter took batting practice Wednesday in Tampa, Florida for the first time since a new crack was discovered in his surgically-repaired left ankle back in mid-April. Jeter had no issues during Wednesday’s workout. He has been doing light fielding drills for the past week…
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Indians outfielder Nick Swisher has not appeared in a game since June 15 due to soreness in his left shoulder. But he is apparently feeling much better. From Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer comes word that Swisher is tentatively scheduled to return to the Indians’ starting lineup this Saturday against the Twins. He…
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Josh Hamilton struck out twice and grounded into three double plays in the Angels’ 3-2 loss to the Mariners on Tuesday and is now sporting a putrid .213/.269/.388 batting line through 69 games this season. So some changes are being made. Hamilton will bat seventh Wednesday as the Halos take on the M’s for the third…
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Indians closer Chris Perez was supposed to return from the disabled list on Friday. But it won’t happen. According to Nick Camino of Cleveland’s WTAM 1100, the Indians are pulling back from their original plan for Perez because he got hammered in a rehab appearance on Tuesday night at Double-A Akron and they’re worried that…
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David Price felt “great” after a bullpen session on Tuesday and has now been cleared to take a major step in his recovery from a strained left triceps. According to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune, the ace left-hander is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Friday with the High-A Charlotte Stone…
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Bruce Bochy is not inclined to pick Yasiel Puig for the All-Star Game
Jun 19, 2013, 5:42 PM EDT
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Everyone’s going crazy for Yasiel Puig, but NL All-Star manager Bruce Bochy thinks the All-Stars he picks to fill out his roster need a few more miles on the odometer. Bochy spoke with Jim Bowden and Casey Stern of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today about the possibility of Puig on the squad: “Well, Jim, I’ve got…
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Joe Torre’s daughter, 44-year-old Christina Torre, was walking down the street in Brooklyn when she spotted a 1-year-old baby hanging from a storefront awning. Here’s what happened next, according to the New York Daily News: Suddenly, the child dropped–but he landed safely in Torre’s outstretched arms, the sources and witnesses said. “The woman caught the…
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Chris Davis‘ insane season continues apace. Today the Orioles’ first baseman — playing DH — hit two two-run homers and a ground rule double to collect five RBI as the Orioles trounced the Tigers 13-3 in Detroit. That’s 26 homers on the season for Davis, including four in his last four games. His season line…
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The panda foot/Panda’s foot is feeling better: Pagan goes on rehab tomorrow. Could be activated this weekend. Panda starts his Saturday. Could be active Monday. @bcraw35 doubtful for tmrw — Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) June 19, 2013 Sandoval hit .289 with eight homers and a .753 OPS in 57 games before the injury. He should…
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No. 4 pick Kohl Stewart and the Twins have agreed to a deal and Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the high school right-hander from Texas will get the exact slot bonus amount of $4,544,400. Minnesota was linked to Stewart throughout the draft process and several reports suggested that the Twins would have taken…
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Jon Paul Morosi spoke with Bud Selig about a few things today. This one came up: Bud Selig said the only thing that could change separate DH rule would be “significant geographic realignment.” — Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) June 19, 2013 I assume that this means radical realignment that would cause multiple teams to switch…
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The San Francisco Chronicle spoke to some officials from Oakland who are not at all happy at the A’s and the rest of the world portraying the Coliseum as an antiquated dump. The story from Chris Wright, the general manager of the Coliseum: Wright, however, said there was nothing structurally wrong with the Coliseum’s plumbing…
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Everth Cabrera is in the midst of a breakout year as the Padres’ starting shortstop, hitting .305 with an .800 OPS and MLB-leading 31 stolen bases in 69 games, but now he’s headed to the disabled list. Cabrera strained his hamstring Sunday while attempting a stolen base and the Padres have classified the injury as…
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Quote of the Day: Jayson Werth is ready to “eat somebody’s face”
Jun 19, 2013, 2:10 PM EDT
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Holy bath salts, Batman! I missed this last night. Here’s Jayson Werth‘s quote after last night’s loss to the Phillies: Jayson Werth certainly hasn’t lost confidence or resolve: “We gotta show up tomorrow ready to eat somebody’s face.” — James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) June 19, 2013 Given that, for most of his career, Werth has…
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Making official what was reported earlier this week, the Astros announced that they’ve come to an agreement with No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel. Appel, who turned down $3.8 million from the Pirates last year as the No. 8 pick, is expected to receive around $6.35 million. That means returning for his senior season at…
