Max Stassi's Embarrassing Debut: I don't personally know Max Stassi, but I know of him before he was even drafted by the Oakland A's. Stassi went to high school near where I grew up in Yuba City, California. His father was the manager of the team and he himself was once a prospect in the Giants system. Stassi was drafted by the Oakland A's, got injured, struggled, and then was traded to the Houston Astros. Stassi on Tuesday night made his MLB debut and immediately made the highlight reels for all the wrong reasons.
AL West Battle: As of right now the A's and Rangers are separated by a half of a game with the A's as the 2nd wild card team. Beyond the Boxscore looks at how both teams stack up for the rest of the season. They both have about the same schedule so we should see an exciting race right up into the final week of the season.
How Do You Get Miguel Cabrera Out?: Baseball Analytics tries to find anyplace, anywhere for pitchers to get Miguel Cabrera out. Spoiler Alert: There's almost no place on the plate he can't hit. I say almost because he kinda struggles with stuff low and away as demonstrated by this chart.
The Mets Are the Future Of New York Baseball?: It's true according to ESPN's Sweet Spot blog. Unlike the Yankees the Mets have actually shed a lot of payroll and have young players to look forward to. The Mets have two stars at pitching in Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler while the rest of the rotation really isn't that bad. They have a stud catching prospect who just made his debut. Ike Davis is finally looking like the great player he was suppose to be. The Mets are crawling out of the shit and are starting to see the daylight.
Ichiro at 4000: On Wednesday night Ichiro collected his 4000th hit in his professional career. I say professional career because Ichiro collected 4000 hits between Japan and the United States and this has lead people like Rob Neyer to say that number should come with an asterisk. Grant Brisbee wonders how many hits Ichiro would have if he started his career in the United States and comes the conclusion that he would probably still have 4000 hits. Either way it's been special watching Ichiro play.
Talk To The Glove: Why do pitchers talk into their gloves? Where did this start? Giants fans like myself are proud of the fact that Greg Maddux started this trend because Will Clark read his lips and then hit a grand slam off of him in the 1989 NLCS. In Jayson Stark's article it is claimed that Maddux started talking into his glove because he would mouth what pitch he was going to throw when he'd get the sign from the catcher. I prefer the Will Clark story myself.
Best of the Weekend: A look at the best games/pitching matchups of the weekend.
Friday, Atlanta at St. Louis, Medlen vs Wainwright: The Cardinals obviously need this series more than the Braves. The Braves have basically wrapped up their division. The Braves though would like to see a good outing from Medlen though who's FIP has been too high all season which has lead to a bad record. Wainwright meanwhile is having another great season for the Cards.
Saturday, Boston at Los Angeles, Lester vs Ryu: The big series of the weekend and the best game of the weekend is between these two lefties. Ryu has been pretty good for the Dodgers in his first season in the big leagues. Lester is having another solid season for the Red Sox. I hope the Red Sox destroy the Dodgers in this series.
Sunday, Oakland at Baltimore, Parker vs Gonzalez: The other big series of the weekend. This series is important for both of these teams because of division implications but also because of Wild Card implications. The Orioles are out of the Wild Card by 3 games and can jump right into that leaderboard with a good weekend.
The Mets have actually looked competent lately. They've actually passed the Phillies in the standings. They actually have a future.
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