Getty Images As Alice Sweet of Norfolk, Virginia and the rest of baseball fandom mourns the passing of Earl Weaver, Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times gives us 11 cool facts about Weaver that probably never occurred to you.
The one that stopped me in my tracks: Weaver, despite being a gray-haired institution by the time I started paying attention to baseball in the late 70s, was only 56 years old when he managed his last game. As Jaffe notes, that’s younger than Ned Yost is now. And about the same age as Ron Roenicke.
Granted, there are different kinds of 56 year-olds. Some in better shape than others and some who didn’t spend most of their 30s through their 50s yelling at people all the time like Weaver. But man, that’s nutsy to think about.
Anyway, great post by Jaffe about a great manager.
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AP
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…
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AP
Jon Heyman talks to some MLB insiders and reports that, yes Virginia, suspensions are looming in the Biogenesis scandal: Major League Baseball has started interviewing big leaguers linked to the Miami PED investigation, and people who have spoken to MLB investigators are convinced there will be at least some suspensions handed down in the explosive…
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Less than a month after rejoining the Red Sox following a concussion catcher David Ross is back on the seven-day concussion disabled list with a second brain injury. Ross took a foul tip to the catcher’s mask in Friday’s game and manager John Farrell explained yesterday: He’s still having symptoms with the concussion. The foul…
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Tweet of the Day: Dustin Ackley is recovering from his sabermetrics abuse
Jun 19, 2013, 1:00 PM EDT
AP
Had me laughing: Must be fewer sabermetricians in Tacoma: Dustin Ackley hitting .383/.490/.519 in 99 PA in Triple-A. #clearyourhead — Brent Hershey (@BrentHQ) June 19, 2013 And it doesn’t appear as if the improvement is based on Ackley becoming more aggressive or anything. He has walked in 16.16 of plate appearances during his minor…
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Nationals activate Danny Espinosa from the DL … and send him to the minors
Jun 19, 2013, 12:46 PM EDT
AP
Danny Espinosa is recovered enough from his wrist injury to be activated from the disabled list, but the second baseman was so bad before being shut down and so bad during his rehab assignment that the Nationals have decided to option him to Triple-A. Anthony Rendon hitting .338 filling in for Espinosa at second base…
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Look, I love Harvey and Wheeler and wish them nothing but success in all they do outside of games against the Braves. And I think anyone wishing injury on any player — like, say, Joe Simpson seemed to do in yesterday’s game, proving again that he’s awful — is just horrible. But Mets fans would…
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AP
Out since May 20 with a strained oblique, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has been cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment tonight at Double-A. Assuming he doesn’t have a setback Utley’s rehab stint is expected to be just a few games, potentially setting him up to come off the disabled list this weekend. Philadelphia…
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“It would be a dream come true” for Bud Norris to play for the Giants
Jun 19, 2013, 11:32 AM EDT
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Jon Paul Morosi sat down with Astros starter Bud Norris. Norris knows the score: he plays for the Astros and, while the Astros are mildly exceeding expectations, he is clearly a guy they will consider trading for prospects at the deadline. And Norris makes no secret of where he’d like to end up: with the…
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Five weeks after being placed on the disabled list with a strained elbow Diamondbacks closer J.J. Putz has been cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment Thursday at Triple-A. According to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com the plan is for Putz to pitch Thursday and Saturday, take Sunday off, and then try to work back-to-back games…
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I think it was dumb that the Astros put an actual hill in center field when they built their ballpark. But if they hadn’t, we wouldn’t get to see Carlos Gomez climb it and make a great catch. And that’s worth the inevitable broken ankle someone suffers on it someday, yes?
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Yankees get one-time Mets top prospect Fernando Martinez from Astros
Jun 19, 2013, 10:47 AM EDT
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Fernando Martinez was once an elite prospect in the Mets’ farm system, but they let him go for nothing last year and now the Astros have soured on him as well, trading the 24-year-old outfielder to the Yankees for rookie-ball pitcher Charles Basford. I’m sure Mets fans are dreading the possibility of Martinez suddenly figuring…
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Major League Baseball: not so impressed with the San Jose lawsuit
Jun 19, 2013, 10:30 AM EDT
Major League Baseball released a statement about the San Jose lawsuit last night: “In considering the issues related to the Oakland Athletics, Major League Baseball has acted in the best interests of our fans, our communities and the league. The lawsuit is an unfounded attack on the fundamental structures of a professional sports league. It…
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AP
It seemed likely that Colorado could find a taker for Eric Young Jr. after designating him for assignment last week and sure enough the Rockies traded the utility man to the Mets for right-hander Collin McHugh. Young is far from an impact player, but as a switch-hitter with defensive versatility and blazing speed he’s plenty…
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Vin Scully will take over the Dodgers Twitter for tonight’s Yankees-Dodgers game
Jun 19, 2013, 9:43 AM EDT
AP
This could either be great fun or a total disaster: #VinScully will take over @Dodgers for the second game of the doubleheader. The twittering and hashtaging begins at 4pm PT. — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 18, 2013 Since the Dodgers are on the east coast Scully isn’t travelling with the team and will…
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Reuters
Fun story from Jeff Passan at Yahoo!. In the course of his Matt Harvey/Zack Wheeler feature he passes along a tale from last year when Matt Harvey was a rookie and Jon Rauch was a reliever for the Mets. It seems that Harvey was trying to take a nap in the clubhouse and Rauch tried…
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It’s hard to grasp how truly awful Josh Hamilton was on Tuesday night. He came to the plate five times. Here’s what happened: First Inning: No score, Mike Trout on first, nobody out, Hamilton grounds into a double play; Third Inning: Mariners up 2-1, Mike Trout on first, nobody out, Hamilton grounds into a double…
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Brandon DuBreuil of the Manny Does Taiwan blog passes along some Asian news reports which say that Manny Ramirez has been removed from the roster of the Taiwanese team for which he has been playing and will leave the country on June 21. There are mixed reports about why he is leaving, with some saying he…
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Mets 4, Braves 3; Mets 6, Braves 1: New York Mets fans are hoping this is a glimpse of the future. Matt Harvey dominating in one game, Zack Wheeler dominating in the next. And, worth noting, Dillion Gee dominating in the game before those even if they did lose in the end. There’s so much…
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Indians closer Chris Perez is scheduled to be activated from the disabled list this Friday. But there’s reason to wonder whether that will happen. Perez made a rehab appearance — his second — on Tuesday evening with the Double-A Akron Aeros and got absolutely shelled. Facing the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate from Trenton, New Jersey, the…
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Getty Images
The Zack Wheeler era began on a promising note. Making his major league debut on Tuesday evening as part of a doubleheader at Atlanta’s Turner Field, the 23-year-old right-hander tossed six scoreless innings, fanning seven Braves batters and allowing just four hits. Wheeler issued a total of five walks and looked a little bit shaky…
