Category: Baseball

After Alex Bregman’s three home run game, I thought about how many veteran players have given the Nats issues this year. Obviously the likes of Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto have had big moments, but they are some of the best players in the league. I am going to take a look at three guys having otherwise mediocre seasons who have owned the Nats.

The first player we will talk about is the aforementioned Bregman. Despite being a star for most of his career, Bregman really has not put up superstar numbers in his first season in Chicago. He is hitting .256 with 16 homers and a .759 OPS. This is not bad, but pretty underwhelming for a guy like Bregman. 

These numbers would be even more unimpressive if he did not play the Nats. Six of Bregman’s 16 homers have come against Washington. Last night he put the Cubs on his back, hitting three homers in a game for the first time in his career.

It has always felt like Bregman does well whenever he plays the Nats, especially in DC. He is one of those players I feel like Ted Lerner would have gone after if he were still owning the Nats. Bregman would have been a great veteran in this clubhouse and a good mentor for players such as Wood and Abrams. However, he is now in Chicago and owns the Nats whenever he plays us.

Bregman is far from the only player 30 or older to own the Nats this year though. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is Derek Hill, who has broken our hearts multiple times this year. Hill was a Nat at one point, but made zero impact on the team.

Honestly, I thought Hill would be out of baseball by now. Thanks to his speed, defense and improving offensive ability, the center fielder has stuck around. For the season, he is hitting .233 with a .708 OPS, 9 homers and has 0.8 WAR. That is a nice season for a journeyman like him.

However, a lot of that production has come against the Nats. He is hitting .368 against us in 19 at bats, and honestly that is lower than I thought. The 30 year old has 3 homers against the Nats, with two of them being complete backbreakers.

Back in June, he took Brad Lord deep in the 9th inning of a wild game that the Phillies ended up winning. It was just a total gut punch to get beat by Hill of all people. When the two teams squared off again in August, Hill hit a go-ahead grand slam off of Tom Cosgrove to extend the Nats misery.

When the Nats get beat by the likes of Bryce Harper or Kyle Schwarber, it is easy to shrug it off because those guys are elite players. This year it has been Derek Hill who has been killing this team. It is both very annoying and shows the struggles of the Nats pitching staff.

There have honestly been plenty of instances where the Nats do a solid job shutting down the best player on teams, but let other guys destroy them. That happened against Yordan Alvarez when we played Houston. It also is happening this week against the Cubs. Outside of one homer, PCA has been fairly quiet, but Bregman and Seiya Suzuki are feasting.

The last player on the list is also a veteran who is not his team’s best hitter. Like Bregman, Matt Chapman is having an underwhelming season by his standards. He was only hitting .235 with 7 homers and a .692 OPS before going down with season ending surgery.

However, he went 14 for 26 with 2 homers and 8 RBI against the Nats. The 33 year old was just hitting rockets all over the field whenever he played against the Nats. He played a big role in that horrible Nats meltdown, hitting two homers in that game to get the Giants back in it. Chapman also had the game winning hit in a 12 inning game. Despite the rough season, he has been a thorn in the Nats side. 

It feels like players like Chapman and Bregman are the ones who really have owned the Nats this year. Simon Mathews and Sean Doolittle have come up with solid game plans for the stars, but the lack of pitching talent really shows up against these guys. You cannot spend as much time preparing for the sidekicks, and those guys have punished the Nats.

Throughout this season, experienced teams and players have had the Nats number. Alex Bregman, Derek Hill and Matt Chapman are just three examples of that. Hopefully the Nats learn from this season and continue to improve, especially on the mound. However, there will always be guys who are Nats killers, and these are a few of them.

1906
The White Sox ended their first and greatest homestand with a 0-0 tie against New York. While the Highlanders were held to three singles by Doc White, the White Sox somehow failed to score in spite of six hits and three New York errors. The homestand ended a record 15-1-1. (Two subsequent White Sox homestands finished 15-1.)

This game was also the only blemish on the 19 consecutive victories the White Sox ran off, setting the all-time modern (1901-on) MLB mark. The record, still recognized in spite of a tie in Game 12, was broken 10 years later by the New York Giants but remains tied for the fifth-longest in modern baseball and tied for eighth overall in major league baseball.

1933
The White Sox lost in 17 innings, 6-5, against Detroit. The loss is notable in that it remains tied for the 15th-longest game in White Sox history. However, it also saw the end of eight consecutive hits and 10 consecutive trips on base for journeyman second baseman Hal Rhyne.

Rhyne’s streak had started two games earlier, when he replaced Jackie Hayes and singled twice in two at-bats while finishing out a 2-0 win over the Tigers. The next game, Rhyne went 4-for-4 with four singles in an 11-2 win over the Tigers. In this third game, Rhyne singled in the second and fourth innings before finally failing to get a hit — however, in the sixth, his fielder’s choice grounder still got him safely on base. In the eighth, Rhyne got on base again, with a bunt single. Only in leading off the 10th inning of this third game did Rhyne finally fail to get on base, by tapping back out to the pitcher; Rhyne in fact would not get a hit at all in extras, making the final out of the game, ending the 17th.

A combination of his sparse play and those uncanny, eight straight hits saw Rhyne’s batting average raise 110 points over the three games, from .265 to .375 (in fact, in-game during this 17-inning marathon, Rhyne’s batting average got as high as .405).

The second sacker would play in just 15 more games after this one for the White Sox, and those would also be his final 15 MLB games; Rhyne was dealt to the San Francisco Seals of the International League after the 1933 season and would never see the majors again. However, he would play in the minors until 1940, when he was 41 years old.

1943
White Sox shortstop Luke Appling collected his 2,000th hit. It came against the Red Sox, helping the White Sox to a 3-2 win. The hit drove in a run in the first inning, off of Cecil “Tex” Hughson, as Wally Moses scored.

1948
In front of an overstuffed Comiskey Park brimming with 51,013 fans, Negro League legend and newly-christened Cleveland hurler Satchel Paige spun a masterpiece, 5-0, over the White Sox. It was Paige’s second career MLB start and just his 12th game pitched overall. The White Sox managed just five singles off of Paige. The whitewash moved Cleveland 28 games ahead of Chicago in the American League, with the South Siders falling to 36-70 in what still stands as the third-worst season in team history.

1954
White Sox pitcher Jack Harshman, who is tied for the franchise mark for most strikeouts in a game, notched another milestone. On this date against the Tigers, Harshman pitched all 16 innings in a 1-0 win at Comiskey Park.

The Sox finally plated a run in the last of the 16th, on a triple by Minnie Miñoso scoring Nellie Fox.

Harshman allowed nine hits and seven walks, facing a total of 65 hitters. Incredibly, Detroit’s Al Aber also went the distance in the contest! Harshman’s effort ties him for the sixth-longest pitching appearance in White Sox history.

The franchise mark is held by Ted Lyons who threw 21 innings in a game in 1929.

1967
All season long the White Sox battled the big boys — the Tigers, Twins and Red Sox — in the greatest pennant race in American League history. But for the White Sox, this game marked the beginning of the end of the dream.

The Sox lost a controversial game to the Twins, 3-2, when Tommie Agee doubled to center to lead off the ninth inning but was called out at third on a close play when he tried to stretch it into a triple. The Sox dropped out of first place for the first time in two months, as the Twins swept them in the series and moved atop the American League standings.

Afterwards, manager Eddie Stanky kept Vice President Hubert Humphrey waiting outside the Sox locker room, along with reporters. Stankylater said, ”What do I need Humphrey for? Can he hit?”

1984
The White Sox were having a terrible year on the field, but on this day they ensured a bad one off the field as well, sending left-handed reliever Kevin Hickey and minor-leaguer Doug Drabek to the New York Mets to complete a July deal for Roy Smalley. Two years from now Drabek would commence a stellar starting career that would end with him compiling 27.6 WAR and earning the 1990 Cy Young, making this a horrendous what-if deal.

Smalley played 47 games for the 1984 White Sox, and only 28 more from this day forward, earning -0.1 WAR.

1996
Robin Ventura clubbed his team-record ninth grand slam, leading the White Sox to an 8-4 victory over the Yankees. It came in the fifth inning off of David Weathers, and erased a 4-1 New York lead.

2002
White Sox infielder José Valentín homered from both sides of the plate in the same game. It was the fifth time in White Sox history this feat had occurred. Valentín did it in Texas off of Rangers hurlers Dennys Reyes and Todd Van Poppel, and the shot off of Reyes was a grand slam.

Valentín drove in six runs in the 12-3 win, with the home runs being his only two hits. He first did this two-homer trick in 2000, and would do it a third time in 2003!

I lead off with my overriding impression of this game and, in fact, the first two games of this series. Future me is not looking forward to playing this Nationals team a year or two from now. I mentioned yesterday that I had picked up the stat during the broadcast just how young this Nationals team is on the offensive side of the ball. Despite that, that offense just keeps coming and I’m very much aware that their most productive hitter isn’t even in the lineup. If they keep things on track, they are going to be a real handful. For now, it is 2026 and I feel the dawning of the Nationals’ “Wait ‘til Next Year Day” is not super far off into the distance.

My next thought is that I am hereby suspending the reality check. I will return my scoreboard watching feature instead. Today is the day that I have elected to start dreaming dreams. Spoiler alert, though you probably already know, the Brewers got swept by the Padres and suddenly the Cubs are within three games of first place and showing no signs of slowing down. I warned you all probably a hundred times by now to not get carried away. This was going to be a simple season. The team was surprisingly good despite largely having no pitching staff and so it was readily apparent that they would make the playoffs and that winning a series would be a fantastic accomplishment and probably an overachieve with the remaining healthy team. Certainly, the absolute season.

Acknowledging that reality is buzz-killing this incredibly fun team that is on a truly remarkable run. They had that 20-3 stretch earlier this year that was bookended by the two 10 game winning streaks they had early on. Right now? They’ve won 18 of 26. I said it yesterday, this team is reminding me of the 2015 Cubs. This has that same feeling like they are just basically going to win every day. Because of the thud ending to the 2015 season coupled with the third-place finish in the division that year, that season is occasionally overlooked as one of the best seasons any Cub team has ever had.

By straight regular season wins, that year is tied for the 10th best regular season in Cub history. For a long and distinguished franchise, that’s a pretty lofty rating. It is the best Cub team ever to finish third in its existing grouping. Among the nine teams that won more games, only the 1907, 1908 and 2016 teams won any postseason series. So 97 or more wins and a postseason series win? One of only four such Cub teams. So I respect the weight of history when I say this team reminds me of that one.

Ironically, this Cub team FINALLY feels like the team I originally thought the Cubs were creating when I watched all of their early drafts. I thought that they were drafting a team focused on pounding you into oblivion, much more so than a run prevention team. That 2016 team and even back to 2015, was focused on great pitching, with a lean towards contact management and elite defense. This team is designed around elite position players. All across the diamond they feature plus players. It’s absurd to me that in a just world, Seiya Suzuki would probably be a Gold Glove finalist in right field. That figured to be one of their weaknesses. I wouldn’t look at you as if you were insane if you invited seven Cubs to be Gold Glove finalists. It’s remarkable.

Now, Alex Bregman has hit blistering hot and this lineup is just so long. Good pitching is generally going to beat good hitting. So I still harbor no delusions about the ceiling of this team. But man, you better execute your plan, because this team is waiting to pounce if you don’t. This is now 17 times with double digit runs and 22 with nine or more. 31 with eight or more. 30 wins in 31 games. Yeah, I can do math, this team is actually under .500 if it doesn’t score eight runs. That stat is just wild in magnitude. In basically a quarter of their games, they score eight or more runs. When things start sliding for you against this Cub offense, the team runs to the bat rack to pour it on.

So don’t mind me, I’m entertaining delusions of division titles and World Series runs. And hey, look at that, the team in closest geographical proximity to me (the Rays) just travelled west and swept nine games. Neat. In 2016, both my parents died and I moved into a new home perfectly sandwiched between that. I was in no position to go to a World Series game. Give me a Rays/Cubs series for early Christmas. I’ll be there! So you are all now on your own to reality check yourself. I warned you early and often. I’m just going to go for the ride and crash hard some time later. See ya at the end.

Three Positives:

• I’d ask you if you remember the previous Cub to hit three homers in a game. But I suspect your memory reaches to July. Alex Bregman, three homers and seven runs driven in. I’m never going to tell you that you have to vote unanimously. But really… Alex’s season line is up to .256/.347/.412 (wRC+ 113). Those first two numbers are gravitating towards his career numbers. Also, he improved his OPS by .030 in mid-August. Wild. That’s a 24 point slugging jump in a game this late in the year.
• Dansby Swanson had two hits, a double and a homer. He also drew a walk. He drove in two and scored three.
• Pedro Ramirez had a single, double and a walk. He scored twice and stole two bases as well. When I say this offense is really long, I mean it. The fifth infielder is a really potent bat. The 4th outfielder and 2nd catcher have both been terrific as well.
• Fun note, Javier Assad threw four innings for another multi-inning save in a lopsided Cub game. That’s two of those for Assad, Colin Rea has one, and Jordan Wicks has one. Without digging, the Cubs have almost as many more than three-out saves as three outs or fewer. This team is just different.

Game 121, August 12: Cubs 12, Nationals 6 (71-50)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Alex Bregman (.369). 3-3, 3 HR, 2 BB, 7 RBI, 3 R
• Hero: Dansby Swanson (.230). 2-4, HR, 2B, BB, 2 RBI, 3 R
• Sidekick: Pedro Ramirez (.158). 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, 2 SB

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: David Peterson (-.231). 5 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 4 R (3 ER), 6 K (W 4-1)
• Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.159). 1-5, DP
• Kid: Carson Kelly (-.077). 0-4, BB

WPA Play of the Game: Daylen Lile batted with the bases loaded and two outs, the Cubs up by two. He singled, driving in two to tie the game. (.243)

Cubs Play of the Game: Alex Bregman’s first homer, a three-run shot in the top of the fifth with one out. (.212)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 120 Winner: Jacob Webb received 57 of 91 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +29
• Alex Bregman +22
• Carson Kelly +14.5
• Shōta Imanaga +14
• Trent Thornton +13.5
• Phil Maton -10
• Nico Hoerner -11
• Jameson Taillon -13
• Dansby Swanson -19
• Caleb Thielbar -19.5

Up Next: The Cubs get a chance to go for a road sweep. Get greedy. Last road sweep was June 23-25, when the Cubs beat the Mets four times in three days. Kevin Gausman (6-10, 4.29) makes his second Cub start. He allowed two runs over seven in his debut. 27-year-old Cade Cavalli (9-5, 3.57) starts for the Nats. He’s finishing strong in his first full major league season. He’s 4-1 with a 3.29 (38.1 IP) over his last seven. He doesn’t go particularly deep in games. About six when things are going well. Keep it close and beat their bullpen again.

Scoreboard Watching: In games with implications for the Cubs, the Diamondbacks and Phillies each lost, extending the Cubs lead for the first Wild Card spot to 7.5 games. The Brewers lost, bringing the Cubs within three games. The Dodgers and Braves each won, staying two ahead of the Cubs. On Thursday, the Brewers travel to LA to play the Dodgers. Keep winning, there are games to be gained.

Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (60-55) won 10-2 (BOX SCORE)

Sugar Land got the scoring started in the second inning scoring 5 runs on a Price 2 run home run, Ferreras 2 run double and a run on a wild pitch. McPherson started fro Sugar Land and went 2.2 innings allowing 2 unearned runs. The offense got another run in the 5th on an Alexander solo home run. Weiss tossed 3.1 scoreless innings in relief. The offense got some insurance in the 9th scoring 4 runs on a Price 2 run home run and Salazar 2 run home run. The rest of the bullpen was solid tossing shutout innings as they closed out the 10-2 win.

Note: Alexander has a .874 OPS this season.

• Pascanel Ferreras, SS: 2-for-5, R, 2B, RBI
• CJ Alexander, LF: 2-for-5, R, HR, RBI
• Trenton Brooks, 1B: 2-for-3, 2 R, BB
• Collin Price, C: 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI
• Lucas Spence, RF: 0-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB
• Cesar Salazar, DH: 2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB

• Brandon McPherson, RHP: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
• Ryan Weiss, RHP: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (WIN)
• Logan VanWey, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Michael Knorr, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Christian Roa, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (52-58) lost 9-3 (BOX SCORE)

Hertzler started for the Hooks but struggled allowing 8 runs, 7 earned, over 2 innings. The Hooks got on the board in the 5th inning on an Austin 2 run home run. They picked up another run in the 9th on a Call groundout but that was it as they were unable to overcome the early deficit and fell 9-3.

Note: Austin has 14 home runs this season.

• Trevor Austin, LF: 1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• Tyler Whitaker, CF: 0-for-1, R, 3 BB, SB
• Chase Call, RF: 0-for-3, RBI, BB
• Marcus Brown, SS: 1-for-4, R

• Cole Hertzler, LHP: 2.0 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• Alejandro Torres, RHP: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Ramsey David, RHP: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• Hudson Leach, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

A+: Asheville Tourists (37-71) lost 4-1 (BOX SCORE)

Perez got the start for Asheville and allowed 2 runs over 4.1 innings while striking out 7. Asheville got a run in the 5th inning with a run scoring on a double play. The bullpen allowed a couple of runs as the Emperors extended their lead. The Asheville offense qwas quiet the rest of the way as they fell 4-1.

Note: Thomas has 32 stolen bases this season.

• Justin Thomas, DH: 1-for-4, SB
• Xavier Neyens, 3B: 1-for-4
• Zach Daudet, SS: 1-for-3, R
• DJ Newman, LF: 1-for-3

• Javier Perez, RHP: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
• Max Martin, RHP: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
• Andrew Marrero, RHP: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
• Colby Langford, LHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (55-52)

Game One – won 5-4 (BOX SCORE)

Weber started this game on Tuesday and went 3 innings allowing 1 run. The game was suspended due to rain and picked up on Wednesday. The offense got on the board in the third when a run scored on a double play. Smith came into the game in the 4th and went 4.2 innings allowing 3 runs. The offense got a run in the 6th on a Piasecki walk and then 2 runs in the 8th inning to tie it on a Piasecki groundout and a run on an error. The bullpen tossed a scoreless 9th and in the bottom of the inning the Woodpeckers walked it off on a Luciano RBI single.

Note: Weber has a 3.17 ERA this season.

• Kam Durnin, SS: 1-for-4, R, BB
• Logan Hughes, 1B: 2-for-5, R, 2 2B
• Waner Luciano, 3B: 1-for-4, RBI, BB
• Owen Nowak, RF: 1-for-4, R, 3B
• Aaron Piasecki, SS: 0-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• Arturo Flores, C: 2-for-4, R

• Charlie Weber, RHP: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• Aubrey Smith, RHP: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
• John Carver, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
• Mick Uebelhor, RHP: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (WIN)

Game Two – won 4-0 (BOX SCORE)

Fraide started for the Woodpeckers and pitched well tossing 6 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts. The Woodpeckers got on the board in the 2nd inning on a Tryon solo home run. In the 4th, the offense added 3 runs on a Flores RBI single and De Leon 2 run single. Butler tossed a scoreless 7th inning to close out the 4-0 win.

Note: Fraide has a 2.96 ERA in Single-A.

• Owen Nowak, CF: 1-for-3
• Kevin Alvarez, DH: 1-for-3
• Waner Luciano, 3B: 0-for-2, R, BB, SB
• German Ramirez, SS: 1-for-3
• Arturo Flores, 1B: 1-for-3, R, RBI
• Ben Tryon, RF: 1-for-3, R, HR, RBI
• Jadyn Fielder, LF: 1-for-2, R, 2B
• Luis De Leon, C: 1-for-2, 2 RBI

• Juan Fraide, RHP: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K (WIN)
• Taz Butler, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: Jason Alexander – 6:45 CT

CC: Brett Gillis – 6:35 CT

AV: Adam Shoemaker – 5:35 CT

FV: TBD – 5:35 CT

Ten billion dollars.

Supposedly that’s what Yankees Global Enterprises, the consortium that controls the New York Yankees, Legends Hospitality, owns a controlling interest in the YES Network and partial stakes in New York City FC and AC Milan, is worth. That valuation was an agreed-upon sum as YGE received a $2.5 billion cash injection from Apollo Global Management, a private equity fund that stepped in last week to help the Yankees refinance their debt, as well as purchase an as-yet undisclosed equity share in the Enterprise.

MLB hates when companies own stakes in their teams. They hate that Liberty owns the Braves and Rogers owns the Blue Jays, for a number of reasons. Having to publicly report earnings, massaged though they may be, undermines the greatest trick the league ever pulled — publicizing player salaries while privatizing the return owners enjoy. Companies have shareholders that demand the arrow only ever go up and to the right, where individual owners can be assuaged with the prestige and status that comes with owning one of 30 very shiny toys.

True to this form, league rules mandate that PE firms cannot own more than 15 percent of a club, which if Evan Drellich’s reporting on that $10 billion valuation is true — and Evan’s very good at this stuff — gives us a pretty clear breakdown of the maximum financing vs. equity split. Private equity, in its most vampiric form, is a big part of the reason your life might suck. Fast food used to be cheap, quick, with dubious quality. Now Roark, Inspire and 3G have made it pricey and slow, while maintaining dubious quality. The inheritance you expect from your parents will instead likely be burned away in assisted living and end-of-life care, an industry so dominated by PE that it burps revolvers. Sears was so big it had the naming rights to the tallest building in the richest nation on earth, now it’s a footnote in an accounting textbook.

These are the worst case scenarios, orchestrated by the worst people to exist in the history of capitalism. I am cautiously optimistic that this will not happen, to the same degree, to the New York Yankees. Part of that optimism comes from the arrogance of the folks who still run the team — there’s far more value in calling it Yankee Stadium than Amazon Field, simply because of the legacy other people helped build before Hal received the keys to the kingdom.

Still, the entry of Apollo signals a change that has been coming around for a while, but is here all the same. The business of baseball has always been about making money. To us, Babe Ruth is the greatest player to ever step on a field because of 714, because of 14 WAR seasons, because of the called shot. To the business of baseball, Ruth is the greatest because nobody, past or present, sold as many tickets just with his name. To us, Jackie Robinson is a hero because of the moral courage, determination, and grace he showed in breaking baseball’s segregation. To the business of baseball, Jackie is a hero because he unlocked a brand new customer base — see AM Glimmitz’s excellent The Metropolitans.

You used to have to be good, or at least be interesting, to make money in baseball. You used to have to sell tickets and ad space on the back of your actual accomplishments. Even rights fees from regional TV deals, the lifeblood of baseball, was at least a little dependent on Winning Baseball Games. Revenue sharing socialized all of that, the rich subsidizing the poor and allowing the poor to continue to drag themselves along the bottom, which I’m pretty sure I was told is against the ethos of American capitalism. Anyway.

Private equity doesn’t particularly care about the quality of your product at time of buy-in. Private equity cares whether there is something that can be cut away, or something that can be fertilized, in order to recognize an outsized return with a very quick turnaround. PE found its legs in distressed assets, companies that did have fat or inefficiencies or, yknow, pensions. Strip away that fat, those inefficiencies, those employees, temporarily boost profit, and spin off the now-crippled asset is the name of the game. It won’t work with the Yankees and that MLB rule still holds, but one wonders about the actual distressed assets in the league — what this mindset could do to the Pirates, the Rockies, the Angels.

That the New York Yankees seemingly no longer have to worry about being good, about having a Babe Ruth or a Jackie Robinson, that they can sign a document that injects $2.5 billion into various numbered accounts and solves a debt issue that otherwise might have made them think about how to grow the business and increase quality, is that canary keeled over when the worker returns. PE will reach into your wallet at every opportunity, your diet, your parents, your mechanic. It has now come for your leisure.

Good morning A’s fans!

But not a good morning for the A’s squad. After getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday afternoon the club is officially in the cellar of all of MLB with a 47-74 record. At least they aren’t alone there as the Los Angeles Angels also have a 47-74 record. The goal over the final few weeks needs to be to finish better than the Angels, who sold off some pieces at the trade deadline. For as good as our young core is, are we really reaching these depths?

The team did just face the club with the best record in the sport. So how does the rest of the schedule look? Well first we have our off day today, then the home stand continues tomorrow against the Texas Rangers, who are both below .500 and also fighting for the AL West with their Texas rivals. This would be an excellent chance to put our spoiler hats on for a division rival.

Then the A’s will head to Kansas City for four games against the Royals, four very winnable games. Then to Houston to take on the Astros so hopefully we keep those spoiler hats ready after the Rangers series. After that the road trips ends with the A’s welcoming the Twins to Sacramento for three games. We just saw them last month and perhaps helped them become buyers at the trade deadline after losing two of three. Then we wrap the month with three against the Baltimore Orioles. Very winnable series.

September should be much easier for the Athletics. While all the other teams in the league are duking it out for playoff spots the A’s will have a fairly easy schedule. After starting the month with three against the Rangers the A’s will then face the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Mariners again for nearly the first two entire weeks of September. The Blue Jays are one of the biggest disappointments in the league this year after nearly winning the World Series last season, and like the A’s they’re in their own fight to avoid last place in their division. The M’s are also a letdown for fans across the sport after their improbable run to the AL West crown last year.

And then the final road trip of the year. Three in Tampa and three in Cleveland. Those games are going to be hard with the Rays and Guardians likely battling for their division leads. Afterwards we wrap the year with a long homestand against the Angels and Astros. That Angels series might end up determining who spend the winter in the basement of the AL West while the Astros could be resting starters in preparation for the playoffs.

How did it come to this? The club was riding high the first few weeks of the season and we were in first place in mid-May. Pitching, pitching, pitching. Injuries didn’t help but the focus this offseason needs to be pitching. Playing in a minor league ballpark doesn’t help but that’s the reality of the situation for the club right now. No knowing how the Las Vegas ballpark plays until we get there so we had better be ready for whatever comes.

No baseball today folks. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Until then! Have a great day everyone.

A’s Coverage:

• Perkins confident he can be the pitcher he wants to be in season’s final weeks
• A’s Swept Again in 8-4 Series Finale Loss
• Athletics Outright Jonathan Ornelas
• A’s Blown Out By Rays 12-4
• Wilson’s errorless streak survives a scare after further review
• A’s Bullpen Chokes in 10-6 loss Against Rays
• Why The New GM Needs To “Clean House”
• Feinstein discusses new role as A’s interim GM
• Sage-burning A’s cope with departure of GM as spiraling season continues
• 111 games, zero errors: Wilson sets MLB record at shortstop
• Mason Edwards Headlines Athletics’ Pitching Play In 2026 Draft
• Late Comeback Helps A’s Beat Red Sox 4-3
• Athletics Claim Taylor Rashi
• A’s Claim Drew Rom
• Miracles Happen: A’s Win 7-3
• A Seemingly Rock Bottomless Glass
• MLB Trade Grades: A’s Have Quiet Trade Deadline
• A’s Top Prospect Jamie Arnold Sets Career High in One of His Best Double-A Starts
• A’s First-Round Pick Drew Burress Already Showing Prodigious Power in Single-A
• Fustercluck 2026: The Real Reasons For A Disappointing Season
• Signs Of Hope And Signs Of Hopeless
• Athletics prospect Ryan Lasko says feeling in his legs returning
• Cuban’s investment group purchases minority stake in Athletics
• Chan Ho Park joins A’s group; 1st Korean to buy stake in MLB club
• Blogfather Saves The Day With Pearls Of Most Excellent Advice

MLB News and Interest:

• Everything to know about tonight’s MLB at Field of Dreams Game on Netflix
• Paul Skenes exits after 65 pitches amid latest velocity drop
• Tigers Place Riley Greene On Injured List
• Blue Jays claim Paul Sewald after veteran DFA’d by Diamondbacks
• Freeman smiles through ‘total body soreness’ after scary tumble into opposing dugout
• Alex Bregman’s first 3-homer game helps Cubs rout Nationals
• Yandy Díaz Reaches Vesting Option Threshold
• Rays, Jorge Mateo Agree To Major League Deal
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Worth the read from Ken Rosenthal:

ICYMI:

Future ace:

No comment:

After yesterday’s post appealing to Stephen Vogt, it’s time to hypothetically talk to my all-time favorite baseball player, Jose Ramirez.

Jose, there are few things in life that bring me more joy than watching you play baseball. You are on your way to being the greatest Cleveland baseball player to ever lace them up. It isn’t your fault you broke your hamate and had to get surgery. Your quick return and dedication to playing everyday isn’t surprising to anyone who has followed you for any period of time.

But, Jose… is it possible you need a couple more weeks to rest? We can all see that your hand/wrist is a huge liability for you. Prior to your injury, your “down” season was 111 wRC+ with a .354 xwOBA and a slashline of .239/.339/.418 with a .249 BABIP with a 14/13 K/BB%. Since your return, you have a 61 wRC+ and a slashline of .207/.338/.207. with a .317 xwOBA and a 4.5/15.5 K/BB%. To your credit, you’re still making amazing quantities of contact and spitting on bad pitches… but your hand doesn’t have the strength to do anything much with the contact you make at the moment. Would that strength have a better chance of returning with a little more rest?

Perhaps most concerningly, the injury is affecting your play at third base. From not being able to turn the wrist quick enough to catch a snap throw to third to nab a runner, to not being able to smoothly corral ground balls, it’s clear that more time needs to elapse in order to recover enough mobility to be reliably fluid at the hot corner.

Now, if you were to go on the IL again, the infield would become Travis Bazzana at second, Angel Genao at third, and Brayan Rocchio at short, with Daniel Schneemann likely returning as the utility infielder. Personally, I’d like to give the recently red-hot Milan Tolentino a look in that role for a bit, but, in any case, it’s important to note that Schneemann has a .286 xwOBA, Rocchio a .294 xwOBA, and Bazzana a .302 xwOBA (Tolentino’s xwOBA would be much better of late in Columbus but for the season it is only .316), so I can see that your expected numbers even with a drastically diminished wrist tell us you’re still a better hitter than all these young players. However, there is enough reasonable optimism about these fledgling bats (including Genao’s sparkling .381 xwOBA!) to float us to the end of the month and give you a chance to return with some additional strength and healing at the beginning of September.

It’s up to you. Cleveland has made that clear, and far be it from me, a fanalyst, to tell you how to go about your business. You have earned the right to do as you see fit. But, if even a small part of you feels like getting another couple weeks plus off can give you a shot at returning as something closer to your normal self (especially defensively), don’t hesitate. It’ll help the team most of all if that hand/wrist heals more and gives us a shot at getting our star back to something like his usual abilities.

Every Guardians’ fan is in your corner and believing in you to find your way and play a part in giving us a chance at a playoff run. Just know it can involve some more R&R if needed and no one will feel you have failed them in the slightest!

Offenses across the board were pretty stagnant on Wednesday, but the pitching — for the most part — stood out, with Hernandez leading the charge for the Stripers. Let’s get into it.

(58-57) Gwinnett Stripers 5, (41-73) Norfolk Tides 6 (F/10)

• Brewer Hicklen, LF: 2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI
• Patrick Clohisy, CF: 1-3, RBI, R, BB
• Cal Conley, 2B: 1-4, RBI, R
• Herick Hernandez, SP: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 11 K

Box Score

Gwinnett ultimately fell short on Wednesday, moving to just one game above the .500 mark for the year. While the outcome wasn’t what everyone wanted, Herick Hernandez had as good of a day as he’s ever had as a professional.

Across 6.1 innings of work, Hernandez gave up two runs on two hits, but managed to strike out 11 batters in the process for his first double-digit strikeout game since being promoted to triple-A. Additionally, Hernandez managed to get a phenomenal 22 whiffs as well on the night, which paced all pitchers at the triple-A level on Wednesday.

Hernandez’ stock has absolutely rocketed up over the course of this season, as he is suddenly looking like a potential big league piece — perhaps as soon as this season. The stuff is there, but he will need to cut down on the walks if he wants to truly take that next step.

Regardless, the strikeout stuff is legit and he, at the very least, should be able to help out of the bullpen, if not the rotation in Atlanta sooner rather than later.

Back to Wednesday’s action, the Stripers actually outhit Norfolk by a 6-4 tally and actually carried a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh. However, the Tides managed to tie things up and the game ultimately went into extras.

Gwinnett brought home their fifth run in the top of the 10th thanks to a Brewer Hicklen — who also had a pair of doubles on the night — sacrifice fly to plate Maverick Handley. In the home half, however, Norfolk tagged Ian Hamilton for two walks (one intentional) and a two-RBI double to take the lead and seal off the walkoff loss for the Stripers.

(51-54) Columbus Clingstones 4, (44-66) Birmingham Barons 3

• Owen Carey, RF: 1-4, 2 RBI, R
• Adam Zebrowski, C: 2-4, 2B, RBI
• Eric Hartman, LF: 1-4, 2 R
• John Gil, SS: 1-5
• Cam Caminiti, SP: 3 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Box Score

It was a bit shaky as Columbus had to stave off a late comeback attempt, but the Clingstones managed to get things done and cap off the narrow 4-3 win over Birmingham.

Cam Caminiti got the start and got a relatively early hook as he didn’t have his best stuff. His command was off and he gave up a homer in the three inning start in which he allowed the one run while striking out three. However, there doesn’t seem to be any concern regarding injury for Atlanta’s top prospect, but perhaps rather a case of wanting to pull him simply because he wasn’t bringing his plus stuff on the night.

At the plate, Owen Carey paced the offense by driving in a pair of runs and scoring one himself, while Adam Zebrowski went 2-4 with a double and RBI to his credit as well.

Carey’s biggest hit of the night came in the top of the eighth inning, as he singled into right field to plate Eric Hartman to give Columbus what would be a crucial insurance run.

Leading 4-1 headed into the bottom of the ninth, the Clingstones only needed three outs to secure the win, but Birmingham didn’t make it easy.

The Barons tagged Owen Hackman for two runs on two hits to cut the Columbus lead to 4-3. However, Hackman thankfully settled in and managed to record the final out to get the save.

(51-55) Rome Emperors 4, (37-71) Asheville Tourists 1

• Dixon Williams, 2B: 2-4, 2B, 3B
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 2-5, 2 2B, RBI, R
• Luke Sinnard, SP: 4 IP, 2 H, 4 K

Box Score

Rome rode a solid start from Luke Sinnard and multiple banner performances at the plate en route to a 4-1 victory over Asheville.

Across four innings, Sinnard held the Tourists scoreless, limiting the opposition to just a pair of hits and striking out four as well.

In his seven starts with Rome since returning from injury, Sinnard has been excellent. Sinnard is carrying an ERA of 2.81 across 25.2 innings in which he has also struck out 29 batters and limiting the opposition to a batting average of .202.

Overall, Sinnard is striking out batters at a 30.1% clip, while his walk rate has remained steady at 8.1%, which is slightly below his career average thus far. The system will most-likely take it easy with Sinnard and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him finish out the season with the Emperors. However, there is a slight possibility he gets a few start at Columbus at the end of the year.

As Sinnard was dealing, his offense provided him with plenty of firepower in the process.

Colin Burgess got the scoring party started with an RBI-single in the top of the second to plate Colby Jones and make it a 1-0 lead. Burgess then came around to score on an RBI-double off the bat of Luis Guanipa to extend the lead to 2-0. Had the Emperors been playing in virtually any other park, Guanipa’s double would’ve probably resulted in a homer.

Nevertheless, Guanipa had a big day at the plate, doubling twice and driving in and scoring a run as well. It is an encouraging turn of events for Guanipa, who has sputtered a bit since being promoted to high-A.

Dixon Williams also had a huge game for the Emperors, which featured a triple in the top of the seventh, while Logan Braunschweig came off the bench in the eighth and provided an RBI-single to extend the lead to 4-1 which held as the final.

(57-51) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (62-48) Charleston RiverDogs 11

• Carter Beck, DH: 2-5
• Parker Brosius, LF: 1-4, 2B, R
• Caleb Klein, CF: 2-4, RBI
• Gensi Angeles, SP: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER, BB, K

Box Score

This one unfortunately was pretty much over with before the GreenJackets even had a chance to come to the plate.

Starter Gensi Angeles was hit hard, giving up six runs (five earned) on four hits while walking one and striking out one. Angeles ultimately wouldn’t make it out of the first inning, as Augusta had to go to their bullpen earlier than they probably would have liked to.

With Charleston leading 8-0, the GreenJackets finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth as 2026 15th round pick Caleb Klein registered his first professional RBI on a single to score Parker Brosius — who tallied a double to his credit on the night — to make it an 8-1 game.

Augusta got their second run of the night in the eighth inning as Cooper McMurray scampered home on a wild pitch, cutting the deficit to 9-2.

(15-35) DSL Braves 4, (30-20) DSL Tampa Bay 3

• Luis Fortunato, 3B: 1-3, 2B, RBI, R, BB
• Luis Consoro, LF: 2-4, RBI
• Yassel Pena, 1B: 1-2, RBI
• Cesar Navarro, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 K

Box Score

The DSL Braves mounted a late comeback in this one to earn their 15th victory of the season on Wednesday.

Cesar Navarro got the start and spun an excellent game, allowing two runs across six innings, striking out three and not walking a single batter on the day.

Overall, Navarro has sort of flown under the radar in terms of Braves prospects putting together a solid 2026 campaign. In 10 starts — 47.1 innings pitched — Navarro is currently carrying an ERA of 2.47 while striking out 36 batters during that span. Opponents are also hitting just .196 against the righty, while only tallying one homer against him on the season as well.

If Navarro can continue to put up solid numbers through the close of the DSL season, there’s a good chance he could sneak his way onto next season’s top preseason prospects lists.

Back to Wednesday’s action, while Navarro was doing his thing, his offense sputtered through the first six innings.

In the midst of a 3-0 shutout, the Braves’ bats finally came alive in the top of the seventh.

Luis Fortunato led things off with a walk before advancing to second on a Jose Nelo infield single. Elioberto Mondesir worked a walk to load the bases before Yassel Pena drew a free pass of his own to plate Fortunato and cut the deficit to 3-1.

Luis Consoro proceeded to come through with an RBI-single up the middle, allowing Nelo to score and make it a 3-2 game. The tying run came as Durban Arnedo grounded into a double play and Mondesir scored.

It wouldn’t take much longer for the Braves to take their first lead of the night, as Fortunato doubled home Mayonbanex Rosa to give them a 4-3 lead, which ultimately held as the final.

Good morning friends!

The Mariners couldn’t hang onto an early lead in last night’s game against the Yankees, dropping the middle match 10-5. The gods have cursed us with another Mariners baseball game today with first pitch slated for 10:35am PT.

In Mariners news…

• The Mariners claimed catcher Willie MacIver off waivers from the Blue Jays.
• The M’s have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Scott Effross.
• Zach Crizer wrote about Cal Raleigh’s complete fall from grace just one year after his near-MVP season.

Around the league…

• The Tigers placed outfielder Riley Greene on the injured list with a right hamstring strain.
• Both chambers of the California State Legislature have signed off on a measure that would force the Angels to go back to being called the “Anaheim Angels.” Team owner Arte Moreno has long opposed the dropping of “Los Angeles” from the team name, but the state is asking the team to claim the city of Anaheim in exchange for an affordable housing exemption.
• Several Angels players spent the trade deadline at Mike Trout’s private golf course. Davy Andrews at Fangraphs did an analysis on where exactly on the course everyone was when they found out they were getting dealt — and why Trout decided to do this in the first place.
• This is pretty remarkable.

Anders’ pick…

• Rumor has it that Nintendo plans to release a port for Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald on the Nintendo Switch 2 within the next couple of months.

Team News

D-backs struggle to cash in baserunners as crucial road trip looms
https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/d-backs-strand-15-baserunners-in-loss-to-rockies

Zack Littell comfortable with bullpen role on Diamondbacks: ‘I just want to help the team win’https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/zack-littell-bullpen-role-diamondbacks

Corbin Carroll joins another historic club with 100th career home runhttps://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/corbin-carroll-joins-another-historic-club

Blue Jays claim Paul Sewald after he was DFA’d by Diamondbackshttps://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/blue-jays-claim-paul-sewald-after-he-was-dfad

Anything Goes

This day in history:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-13

This day in baseball:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/August_13

Pencils are yellow because of Chinese royalty.

In the 1800s, the best graphite in the world came from China. The Americans wanted to give a tribute to the Chinese for the graphite used in their pencils. Yellow means royalty and respect in China, which is why the Americans manufactured their pencils in yellow. To this day, the default color for pencils is still yellow. 

Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

Most planets rotate on their axis in an anti-clockwise motion. However, Venus rotates clockwise in retrograde once every 243 Earth days.

Star Trek: Generations was the first film to have a website.

The 1994 film Star Trek: Generations was the first movie to ever have an official website. Since then, the trend seems to have caught on, now it’s strange not to have a website for a movie.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

It's a shortened getaway-day baseball slate, but our MLB expert picks are thriving anyway.

The "Field of Dreams" game is back in heaven Iowa tonight, and we're favoring the Minnesota Twins over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Additionally, we're looking at the New York Yankees in a matinee matchup vs. the Seattle Mariners and more MLB picks on Thursday, Aug. 13.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: MIN ML	+100
Jon Metler: LAD ML	-138
Dustin Saracini: TOR +1.5	-122
Joe Osborne: NYY ML	-138

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Twins moneyline

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

The Minnesota Twins are slight 50-cent "home" underdogs for their "Field of Dreams" game in Iowa today at the new permanent Dyersville Stadium.

I know everyone thinks the Philadelphia Phillies are the better team on paper, but how they’re perceived and how they produce are two different things.

The Twins have the pitching edge, as lefties are hitting just .206 against Taj Bradley, while Aaron Nola could be vulnerable to the long ball with the low Iowa fences. No pitcher has allowed more home runs than Nola this year.

The Minnesota bullpen is also the better unit. The Phillies' pen has been overworked of late and is pitching to a 4.94 ERA over the last week, compared to 2.31 for Minnesota. There are also two very good sub-3.00 ERA lefties available to throw against this heavily left-handed Philly lineup.

In what is being priced as a near coin-flip, I have the Twins at around 53%-54% probability.

• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Netflix

Jon Metler's expert pick: Dodgers moneyline

Price: 58¢ (-138) at Polymarket

This is straight-up appointment television.

We're looking at a potential NLCS matchup between the two top teams in the National League, but unfortunately, tonight's game could be a preview of how that series ultimately plays out.

I'm taking the Los Angeles Dodgers on the moneyline. They're trading at 58 cents on Polymarket, but this number should be closer to 60 cents.

Roki Sasaki has arguably been the Dodgers' best starting pitcher over the last month, and his swing-and-miss stuff should play extremely well against a Milwaukee Brewers lineup that wants to work counts, put the ball in play, and create pressure on the basepaths. That's a difficult approach to execute when you're facing a pitcher capable of taking the bat out of your hands and sending you back to the dugout via the strikeout.

Todd Cordell has a full breakdown of this game in his Brewers vs. Dodgers predictions.

• Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Brewers.TV, SportsNet LA

Dustin Saracini's expert pick: Blue Jays +1.5

Price: 55¢ (-122) at Polymarket

Max Scherzer has a history of showing up in big games (look no further than last year's Game 7 of the World Series), and has actually been pretty serviceable for the Toronto Blue Jays as of late after struggling out of the gate.

The veteran has allowed just three earned runs across his last 11 1/3 innings pitched, and the stage might be the brightest of the season tonight as Toronto looks to sweep the Boston Red Sox and continue its ascent in the Wild Card standings.

He's looked good in this specific matchup, too, limiting Willson Contreras, Adley Rutschman, and Jarren Duran to a .165 xBA or worse across 25 combined at-bats. The Jays have won 10 of their last 14 games, and the offense has scored five or more runs in five of their last six.

I'm a buyer at 55 cents as a result.

• Time: 3:07 p.m. ET
• How to watch: NESN, Sportsnet

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Yankees moneyline

Price: 58¢ (-138) at Polymarket

The New York Yankees are available at a very fair price at home today with Max Fried on the mound, especially considering the state of their opponent.

Fried has been excellent since returning to action, allowing one run or fewer in three of his last four starts. While Seattle Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert has been solid, New York holds a major edge in the recent form of both its offense and bullpen. 

Over the past week, the Yankees rank eighth in OPS compared to 26th for the Seattle, while their bullpen ranks fourth in ERA compared to 29th for the Mariners. Seattle has now lost six straight and 15 of its last 20 games in what's been a disaster of a second half.

For a comprehensive look at this matinee clash, Phil Naessens has you covered with his Mariners vs. Yankees predictions.

• Time: 1:35 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Mariners.TV, YES

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