Other Baseball

http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/bryan-price-ejected-from-game-before-it-even-starts-1706547924 I'm honestly not sure if I've seen this before but the Reds manager got thrown out prior to the game starting. Apparently he was still upset about some bad calls the game before. The Reds are not good and he's probably on the hot seat at this point.

I am finally going to see the Twins in Minnesota and I am stoked! I was curious if Target Field is autograph friendly? I have only been to Safco and used to show up two hours early for batting practice and could score some autographs that way. After I get done seeing the Twins game I am flying to Chicago to see the Cubs and know zero about that stadium. Same question applies and if anyone could suggest a hotel and anything awesome to do in Chicago that would be appreciated. I have an 11 year old so factor that in too. Thank you!

Someone started a post about their favorite major league stadiums so I am wondering what everyone's favorite minor league stadiums are. I have been to a few and my favorite by far is the one in the Quad Cities. It was recently renovated and has a spectaular view of the Mississippi River. I have been there twice and would go back in a second! I have tickets to the first Saints game at CHS Field next week so I am looking forward to checking out that one too. Another one of my favorites is Wade Stadium in Duluth- just a classic old brick ballpark and you get a great view of Lake Superior if you are in the upper seats. The only one I can think of that I didn't like was the on…

http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/021315aaa.html Don't really know where else to place this and it's a bit old but apparently Hunter jr missed his senior year of baseball b/c of an injury and then went to Notre Dame on a football scholarship to be a wide receiver. He'll be playing on the baseball team this year though but it's been a three year lay off for him. Obviously, he must be a great athlete and football seems to be his first love but does anyone know how well regarded he was as a baseball player in HS before his injury? Could he have been a real prospect?

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2015_05_17_milmlb_nynmlb_1&mode=video Met's super rookie Syndergaard accidentally hit Gomez with a 97 mph fastball. Apparently it looks worse than it was and Gomez is ok. No concussion somehow.

Patrick Saunders ‏@psaundersdp · 34m34 minutes ago #Rockies put Justin Morneau on 7-day DL with neck strain and concussion symptoms. 7-day because of concussion protocol D*MN, I was hoping this was all behind him.

There's been a great thread about people's favorite MLB parks. Thanks to all who have contributed. This is WAY too long to use as a reply to that, so I'm starting a new one. Over spring break 2015, my wife and I took a trip to the southwest, checking the last three current stadiums off my list. In addition to the current 30, I’ve been able to take in games at 12 parks that are no longer in use. I’ve thought about ranking all 42, but that would be like splitting hairs. Here are brief comments on each, generally moving from west to east, with some rankings at the bottom. Everyone’s experience is different obviously, but this is one person’s ramblings… • Safeco (Seattle) –…

Listing ex-Twins in order of (at-bats), with AVG and OPS. Kendrys Morales (147) .306 .841 Ben Revere (140) .243 .619 Michael Cuddyer (124) .234 .651 David Ortiz (123) .228 .686 Justin Morneau (100) .290 .767 Yangervis Solarte (105) .286 .736 Denard Span (89) .326 .894 Delmon Young (82) .280 .635 Carlos Gomez (76) .250 .733 Danny Valencia (43) .349 .829 Chris Colabello (38) .474 1.132 JJ Hardy (28) .214 .731

This morning John Bonnes' wrote a post on the Twins 6-2 win over the Tigers last night and gave a mini review of Comerica Park. He gave it a nice review but said it wouldn't quite make it into his top 10 stadiums. Which got me thinking about my favorite MLB stadiums and what other's favorite ballparks are. I didn't really care about seeing different parks until 10 years ago when I was just out of college and in between jobs. A few buddies of mine were going to take a 10 day stadium trip. I decided what the hell, I'll go along. I am glad I did! At the time I had only been to the Metrodome and Comiskey/Cellular one. It was great seeing all of the different designs,…

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/123260340/rockies-john-axfords-son-throws-out-first-pitch-vs-dodgers John Axford's son threw out the first pitch yesterday. The young kid was recovering from two serious snake bite wounds and is still in a wheelchair. Axford is the Rockies closer. His son got bit while in AZ for spring training. Hopefully, his recovery continues.

I thought this was a nice article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/05/07/matt-carpenter-cardinals-all-star-torii-hunter/70965644/

I flipped on Baseball Tonight when I got home today, and I noticed the format may have changed since I had last watched (or paid attention). Ravich, Kruk were gone. Tonight, Tim Kirchen acted as moderator/host with a table of Stark, Keith Law, Buster Olney, and some other guy. And I find myself actually paying attention. There's still plenty of hokey stories and self-congratulatory laugh lines, but the show is actually tolerable. My question: has the format really changed, or is this just an every once in a while thing?

The NABA is a realistic and progressive Baseball sim league where you create your player and are drafted to a team. Will you be a Vancouver Beaver, a Philadelphia Blackbird or even a Charlotte Warrior? Where will you land? You have the choice to customize your player to your liking. You want to be a power hitter, maybe a speedster, want to throw heaters from the mound. or even a defensive beast in the outfield, you make it so! You work through your career to hopefully one day be a Hall Of Fame player and even a chance to have a trophy or two named after you. Help your player and your team through a 8 week 82 game season for a chance to win it all! Join today the draft i…

What would you give up for Lucroy from the Brewers? http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-case-for-trading-jonathan-lucroy/ I would do this: Both college catchers they just drafted One of Stewart, Hu, Gonsalves Aaron Hicks and/or Kepler Polanco Suzuki Yes, I'd deal up to 5 guys for him. MLB all star catcher, signed for good money......and that is worth more to this roster than the above guys (and by this roster, I mean over the next 5 years). thoughts? Of course, you then also deal Suzuki. You could give him to Milwaukee also, and they could then trade him maybe (hahahahaha).

http://kingsofkauffman.com/2015/05/05/kansas-city-royals-prospect-kyle-zimmer-injured-again/ If anyone remembers the debates about the 2012 draft, they'll remember that three college pitchers were seen as top talents. Most mocks had Appel going #1 to Houston and there were tons of threads on which pitcher the Twins should draft at #2. Instead, Houston took Correa and the Twins took Buxton. While neither has yet to make the majors, it looks like Houston and MN are pretty happy with those picks. Those three pitchers are having growing pains. Appel went #1 a year later to Houston but is struggling in AA this year. The 23 year old is in AA with a 4.57 era and is only…

Will announce new manager at a press conference tomorrow morning. Let the speculation begin. https://mobile.twitter.com/Brewers/status/595049484133990400/photo/1

I was at the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes California League high A ball game against the Inland Valley 66'ers and low and behold, Denny Hocking is the manager of the 66'ers. San Bernardino is not the best place in the world to live however, so it might be kind of like sort of a penalty to be there. Ha ha Quakes are the Dodgers affiliate and the 66'ers are the Angels affiliate.

Who would you pick? 1b Miguel Cabrera Adrian Gonzalez 2b Devon Travis Dee Gordon 3b Josh Donaldson Matt Carpenter SS Marcus Semien Zack Cozart C Stephen Vogt AJ Pierzynski DH Nelson Cruz OF Mike Trout Matt Holiday Adam Jones Corey Dickerson Hanley Ramirez Matt Kemp P Chris Archer Gerrit Cole

Nice article about a former ball player's thoughts on analytics. Oriole's Vice President of Operations, Brady Anderson. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/brady-anderson-on-analytics/

http://deadspin.com/the-orioles-will-play-in-an-empty-stadium-1700733716 This is pathetic. The Orioles and White Sox will play tomorrow afternoon but fans won't be allowed inside b/c we are busy building a police state and fear-mongering is important. MLB's new commish - who should lose his job - said it was done to "minimize safety concerns."

http://deadspin.com/sociopathic-angels-blogger-posts-now-deleted-rant-about-1700641867 And sometimes I think the posters here go a bit too far. This Angels fan is not a fan of Hamilton, at all. SB Nation removed the post but deadspin posted a bit of it before hand. I know we tend to root for uniforms before people but this guy was insane.

Right now, Giants/Dodgers is probably the best rivalry in baseball and last night Bumgarner and Kershaw dueled it out. But the fun part was when Vlad Guerrero popped out to shallow right field and Bumgarner told him "you're not that ****ing good" after Guerrero acted frustrated for popping out. A nice way for Bumgarner to remind him that he's Vlad Guerrero and he's Madison Bumgarner. http://deadspin.com/madison-bumgarner-to-alex-guerrero-youre-not-that-fuc-1700947591

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/04/brandon-mccarthy-has-torn-ucl.html I wonder if they will be interested in Mike Pelfrey I think they traded for Correia.

I have never understood why Major League Baseball players can be so lazy. They just don't keep the hustle up and hope for the best even when it seems hopeless. I mean, what else do they have to do? The time they get to be at bat or on the base paths is limited, and they get to play a game and get paid millions of dollars, so what is the problem? Why do almost all stoop to loafing and quitting and giving up before the play is over? Watching Oswaldo Arcia give up on the base paths against the Tigers as he ran through a hold sign raised my ire to new heights. More about that later. Time after time I watch a batter strikeout on a swinging strike in which the ball is not cau…

http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/archie-bradley-leaves-game-under-own-power-after-liner-1700849750/+bubbaprog That looked bad but he walked off the field on his own so hopefully it's not too serious. A few years back, Nick Blackburn got a liner to the head from Bobby Abreau but was fine for his next outing. Hopefully, Bradley will be too.

I wonder what will happen next: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/04/marlins-designate-jarrod-saltamacchia-for-assignment.html

Sad news. Just a link: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/120038934/joe-nathan-to-have-season-ending-right-elbow-surgery

Apparently he has an achilles injury. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/04/adam-wainwright-could-be-out-for-season.html

Maybe it's the Royals? http://m.mlb.com/news/article/120176696/tensions-boil-over-in-royals-white-sox-fracas Anyway, I've never quite seen this before. The pitcher (Yordano Ventura) snags a pretty well hit groundball by Eaton and seemed angry about it. As Eaton jogs up the first base line, it looks like Ventura brings into question Eaton's mother's sexual proclivity. They exchange swear words but the dugouts emptied fast and some other players make it a little scrum. These Royals sure are making April more interesting.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/116166112/no-penalties-for-josh-hamilton-arbitrator-rules I'm actually happy about this and I hope he gets his life in order. The arbitrator ruled that Hamilton's drug use didn't violate the agreement in place with MLB. And it's also a nice reminder of how much stronger MLB player's union is over their NFL counterpart. Good for baseball.