Quote of the Week
“ It is Hollywood, so sometimes you have to act out a little bit. Basically I caught the ball going in the stands and as I came down the ball came out. I was flabbergasted I got away with it. ”
– Todd Frazier, on faking a foul ball catch against the Dodgers
This Week in Baseball
A Ligament of the Imagination...
This week the Angels announced that a recent MRI showed new damage to Shohei Ohtani's elbow ligament following his return to the mound on Sunday. Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery has been recommended. Immediately following the news, Ohtani went out and hit two home runs. Maybe the team should give him bad news before every game: "Hey, Shohei, big game tonight... the vet called about your dog..."
Trade Deadline, Again...
Baseball's final trade deadline is the end of August and at the last minute Andrew McCutcheon, Josh Donaldson, Ryan Madsen and Gio Gonzalez were all traded to contending teams in the playoff push. The busiest team were the Milwaukee Brewers, making trades to get land Gonzalez, outfielder Curtis Granderson and reliever Xavier Cedeno. If you wanted to know how bad things have been lately for the Brewers, they feel that Gonzalez, Granderson and Cedeno actually improve their team.
Best of the Worst...
The Mets may not be going anywhere this season, but that hasn't stopped Jacob deGrom from tying an MLB record this week by allowing three or fewer runs in 25 straight starts in a single season. The Cy Young candidate, who is just 8-8 despite a sparkling 1.68 ERA this season, went six innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers and left with the game tied at 1. The one run the Mets scored was knocked in by deGrom. The Mets could really turn things around if this guy could just pitch in relief for himself, start every day and play every position.
Moon Shot...
Colorado Rockies slugger shortstop Trevor Story crushed a 505-foot blast that cleared all the seats in left field and landed on the concourse beyond. Story connected off San Francisco Giants starter Andrew Suarez in the fourth inning and the ball didn't land until the fifth inning.
Senseless in Seattle...
A fight broke out in the Seattle Mariners' clubhouse several hours before a game at Safeco Field this week. Shortstop Jean Segura and teammate Dee Gordon apparently tangled, while catcher Mike Zunino and other players tried to break up the skirmish. Since it was the Mariners, the fight was more than anyone expected and then just faded away at the end.
On the Air
“ If you haven't figured this out yet: Jed is a comedy writer. ”
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Episode 77: Josh Donaldson; Shohei Ohtani; Jose Bautista; Bob Costas; Four-Man Outfields; Hawaii LLWS Champs; Who Good, Who Bad; Jemelle Hill
First and Foremost, do you think Shohei Ohtani should pitch again this year or is he risking an arm injury with nothing on the line for the Angels? Episode 77 of Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast—the Brooklyn Dodgers era Joe Medwick …
Going Deep
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Keep Your Eyes on the Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays have not lost very many games in the second half of the season. As a matter of fact, they have the fourth best record in the American League since the All-Star break (see chart below). They …
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You Want Speedier Games? Limit Pitching Changes—Part I
This is the fist installment of a three-part series taking a look at baseball’s pace of play. See Part II. In many ways baseball seems like it hasn’t changed since it established its modern rules in the 1880s. Since the …
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Legend and Mystery of Jimmy McMath
The year 1968 is often considered a pivotal time this country’s history. With assassinations, protests and violence in the street, it doesn’t seem like a very comfortable time to have witnessed. And I only got to see half of it, …
Off Base
