The day after the All-Star game Halolinks. Has anyone else noticed there's an additional day off following the game? Typically the break is Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, with games resuming on Thursday, however this season there's an extra day off and games don't return until Friday. WTF?
- In his six season in the minors, Trumbo walked in 7.4% of his plate appearances and increased that rate to 9.7% in his final year in triple-A. The increase isn't so unsustainable: Mark Trumbo Makes a Name for Himself - FanGraphs Baseball. "While Trumbo has improved his walk rate, the gains aren’t as drastic as they initially appear. Trumbo walked in 9.8% of his plate appearances through the first month of the season, but he was unable to maintain that level. And while his overall performance improved in May — he hit .367/.407/.670 — his walk rate dropped to 5.9%. He managed to make a slight improvement in June, and it’s probably too early to fully rely on his July rebound."
- Not too sure what Trout being in the N.L. has to do with this post, but it interesting that he's been the only player to steal a base while R.A. Dickey was on the mound: If Mike Trout Were In The National League ... - Baseball Nation. "That was Mike Trout, with R.A. Dickey on the mound, stealing second base in the sixth inning. Yes, Mike Trout steals bases all the time. He's funny like that. But Dickey, you might be surprised to learn, hardly ever gives up stolen bases. Hardly ever? Never. This season he'd pitched 120 innings without allowing a single stole base -- 0 SB, 2 CS."
- And he keeps adding to the legend: Trout handles whatever the NL throws at him - angels.com. "Trout didn't enter until the sixth and got only two plate appearances, but he didn't leave Kansas City without accomplishing a little history. With that base hit up the middle, Trout -- 20 years, 338 days old -- became the youngest player to record a hit in the All-Star Game since Detroit Hall of Famer Al Kaline in 1955, and third-youngest overall. Before that, he had never even seen a knuckleball."
- Oops: Bryce Harper Does Bryce Harper Things - Baseball Nation. "In the bottom of the inning, Harper trotted out to left field. With David Ortiz on first base, Mike Napoli lifted a routine fly ball to routine left field. Harper trotted in for the catch, stopped still ... and probably heard the ball hit the ground, 10 feet behind him. He'd lost it completely in the lights."
- Bryce Harper has forgettable All-Star debut - Yahoo! Sports. "The 19-year-old Washington Nationals phenom lost a fly ball in the lights and got hung up between second and third Tuesday night during the NL's 8-0 victory over the American League. At the plate, he was 0 for 1 with a strikeout and a walk."
- Rob Neyer is curious about about balls (and so am I): So, About Those Home Run Derby Baseballs ... - Baseball Nation. "I was wandering around FanFest in downtown Kansas City and happened across the Rawlings guys, selling baseballs. Lest they suspect that I'm some sort of muckraking journalist like that guy in the last season of The Wire, I stuff my credential in my back pocket, walk up to a fellow behind a table and say ... "Say, do you guys supply special baseballs for the Home Run Derby? You know, that go farther?"
- Amy K. Nelson:
- Ugly. Ugly. UGLY: Bryce Harper and Melky Cabrera debut colorful cleats in All-Star game - Yahoo! Sports. "Chipper Jones would agree with that assessment for any of his teammate's brand new colorful cleats. "I would not be caught dead in those shoes to be honest. Aw, I'm just kidding. You know what? They get paid a lot of money to wear those shoes. It's a little flashy and a little loud, but we had a little fun with it here in the clubhouse." Wait, what? They'll pay me to wear those ugly pieces of crap? Whoa, those shoes are awesome!
- Yay Chipper! Now let's do something about that name: Chipper Jones inspires National League in All-Star Game win on field, off field as 40-year-old delivers - FOX Sports. "Jones busted down the line, then broke into a wide grin as he reached first, knowing the ball probably should not have rolled through the hole and into right field. "I was thinking beat it out all the way," Jones joked. "Forty years old, an infield hit in the All-Star Game. It’s actually the way I scripted it."
- This is the greatest story. Imagine finding this in your attic or garage: Baseball cards in Ohio attic might fetch millions - NBC Sports. "Karl Kissner picked up a soot-covered cardboard box that had been under a wooden dollhouse in his grandfather's attic. Taking a look inside, he saw hundreds of baseball cards bundled with twine. They were smaller than the ones he was used to seeing. But some of the names were familiar: Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner. Then he put the box on a dresser and went back to digging through the attic. It wasn't until two weeks later that he learned that his family had come across what experts say is one of the biggest, most exciting finds in the history of sports card collecting, a discovery worth perhaps millions."