Kuzul

A week ago, there were serious stories in serious newspapers asking how long the Boston Red Sox should wait before making a managerial change.

By Tuesday, the Red Sox were half a game out of first place in the American League East.

Baseball’s monster division isn’t what it once was, and the Red Sox had the extra advantage of four games against their designated rivals, the overmatched Atlanta Braves.

So here’s the question as the Red Sox get set to host the New York Yankees for three games, starting on Friday: Can the AL East and the schedule save the Yankees the way they’ve saved the Sox (at least for now)?

Well, the schedule won’t.

The Yankees’ designated interleague rivals are the New York Mets, who are nothing like the bottom-feeding Braves. That’s four much more difficult games to contend with.

The Yankees won’t play the Braves at all, and they won’t play most of the other hardly trying teams that make up the bottom third of the National League.

So can the AL East save the Yankees, who are about to finish April with a losing record for the first time since 2008?

Maybe, but that’s because the division isn’t what it was then. Then again, neither are the Yankees.

In the 14 years leading up to and including 2009, an AL East team played in the World Series 10 times. The Yankees had a lot to do with that, but the Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays made it too.

Compare that to the last six years, when the only AL East team to win a pennant was the 2013 Red Sox.

The division is more balanced than it was a decade ago without any easy touches. The danger of a superteam running away with it seems to be much less.

A decent team can stay in the race, just as the Yankees did the last two years. But could they do that again?

As Joel Sherman pointed out in Wednesday’s New York Post, there are already worrisome signs suggesting they won’t.

The offense isn’t scoring at all, which might change. The starting rotation is shaky, but that might not change.

It’s hard to believe they’ll keep hitting .191 with runners in scoring position. No American League team in 25 years has hit under .220 with runners in scoring position over a full season. The Yankees may not be good, but they’re not that bad.

The rotation problems are a bigger concern. Michael Pineda and Nathan Eovaldi have shown the type of inconsistency that has characterized both of their careers, and Masahiro Tanaka has shown the reluctance to trust his fastball that has characterized him since he suffered a partially torn ligament in his right elbow two years ago. As for CC Sabathia, who has a 5.06 ERA, he’s 35 years old, and the early-season results simply continue a downward trend.

As of Thursday, Yankee starters had combined for a 5.13 ERA. Only the Houston Astros and a few of the dregs of the National League have been worse.

And as Sherman wrote, the big concern is all this has happened without any apparent injuries. The Yankees rotation was supposed to be vulnerable because of health issues. Instead, the pitchers have been healthy but inconsistent and ineffective.

The Red Sox have their own rotation issues behind David Price, and despite what the standings might tell you, that hasn’t changed. But the Red Sox also have a lineup that has scored the most runs in the American League (114), and that might not change.

The Yankees have scored one more run than the weak-hitting Rays and fewer runs than everyone else in the league (72).

It’s bad enough that MLB.com columnist Barry M. Bloom suggested the Yankees trade Aroldis Chapman, who still hasn’t thrown a pitch for them, for someone who could spark the offense. That’s not happening, but by the time Chapman shows up for his suspension-delayed Yankees debut on May 9, the idea of having a killer end of the bullpen might not look as great as it did when the Yankees traded for Chapman last December.

The Yankees could turn seventh-inning leads into wins, and maybe they could even make sixth-inning leads look safe. Fine. Do you know how many times the Yankees have led a game after six innings so far this season?

Five. Five out of 20.

Even the awful Braves have led seven times after six innings. The Red Sox have led 11 times. The Toronto Blue Jays have led 14 times.

The Jays have actually lost five of those 14 games, which is another reminder that every AL East team has significant flaws. These aren’t the Yankees and Red Sox of 2003-04 or the Yankees of the late 1990s.

It’s a forgiving division, something to remember when you start thinking a team needs drastic changes because of a few losses in April.

But even in a forgiving division, some team is going to be the worst. Right now in the East, that team is the Yankees.

Check back in a few weeks (or months) to see whether it has changed.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball.

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New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on Tuesday he would ban shifts in baseball if he was the commissioner of MLB, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com.

“It is an illegal defense, like basketball. Guard your man, guard your spot,” he said, comparing the shift to basketball’s defensive three-second rule, per Marchand. “If I were commissioner, they would be illegal.”

Yankees starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi lost his no-hitter in the seventh inning Monday evening after the Texas Rangers‘ Nomar Mazara hit a ball through the gap at shortstop that was vacant because the Yankees were running the shift.

While Girardi conceded that he would continue employing the defensive tactic while it was legal, he added: “I just think the field was built this way for a reason, with two on one side and two on the other.”

The shift has also been employed successfully against the Yankees at a consistent rate, another reason for Girardi’s ire.

As Marchand noted, the shift “has hurt the Yankees more than any team the last three seasons. The Yankees have been shifted more than 1,000 times than any other club. Their .269 average is the worst over that span.”

Don’t expect the shift to go away anytime soon, however. While MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred considered banning the shift before taking over his post in 2014, per Marchand, he’s since noted: “When I talked about the defensive shifts, I let myself get into a situation where I speculated about a change I wasn’t serious about.”

Indeed, the shift has become a crucial defensive strategy for many teams. It is most often employed against power hitters who have a tendency to pull the ball, increasing the likelihood that what might otherwise have been a hit will instead find its way to a newly positioned infielder.

There is a trade-off, of course, as the team is left with just one infielder on the other side of the field, meaning a well-placed bunt or opposite-field hit is almost guaranteed to be a hit. That strategic balance is why the shift will likely remain a legal part of the game. 

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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For a few hours on Monday, Chris Archer looked like an ace again. Now the only question is whether he can stay that way.

It’s a fair question in light of how Archer had previously been pitching. The Tampa Bay Rays right-hander ended 2015 with a 5.81 ERA over his last six starts, and he began 2016 with a 7.32 ERA in his first four starts. For a guy who was making a spirited run at the American League Cy Young with a 2.78 ERA through the end of last August, this is quite the fall.

This brings us to Monday’s welcome sight, in which Archer silenced the Baltimore Orioles with 6.2 innings of shutout ball to lead the Rays to a 2-0 win at Tropicana Field. He struck out 10, allowed five hits and walked not a soul.

The effort dropped Archer’s 2016 ERA to 5.47. And in the process of getting it there, he did look like his usual self in some key areas.

One thing Archer hasn’t had dating back to the end of 2015 is his best fastball velocity. As Brooks Baseball can show, his average release speed went from comfortably above 95 miles per hour to below 95 by last October, and opened right there again at 94.7 mph in his first four outings this year.

But against the Orioles, the average release speed on Archer’s fastball was up to 95.4 mph, and got as high as 98.2. His margin for error will go way up if he sustains that, and his history and his relative youth (he’s still only 27) allow for optimism that he will.

Although, how Archer was throwing his fastball wasn’t his biggest problem in his first four outings. As you can see from looking at the percentage of his fastballs in the strike zone compared to 2015, the bigger problem was where he was throwing it:

• 2015: 51.7
• 2016: 43.9

In a very much related story, Archer’s first-pitch strike percentage dropped from 64.1 last season to 51.0 in his first four starts of 2016.

Archer improved on both fronts against the Orioles. He threw first-pitch strikes to 17 of the 25 hitters he faced and, as Matt Synder also noticed at CBS Sports, “rarely missed [his] spots.” From looking at the graph of Archer’s pitches, he did indeed hit the zone with the majority of his heaters:

Cue a sigh of relief. After going into Monday with a rate of 5.5 walks per nine innings over his last 10 outings, Archer’s ongoing control problems have taken at least a one-game break.

The tricky part is it’s hard to tell how Archer accomplished this. His release point wasn’t entirely consistent throughout the game, but his history goes to show that inconsistency is generally the name of the game with his release point. That suggests something else must have clicked for him on Monday evening, in which case Archer and Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey must make sure it stays clicked.

If it does, that will solve one of his big problems. As for the other big one, well, let’s hear it from the horse’s mouth.

“I look back and I haven’t had my A slider yet,” Archer said last week, via Maureen Mullen of USA TODAY. “I’ve still had some pretty decent results, and I’m thinking that I can definitely use my changeup a little more. My fastball’s been OK, but I think at the end of the day the sharpness of my slider has been the difference maker with the balls that I’ve had damage on. They’re not-executed sliders, maybe some decent action but not in the right location.”

This is a slider former Rays ace David Price tweeted was “BY FAR” the best in baseball last year, but it has indeed been missing. After allowing just a .175 average on his slider in the first five months of 2015, hitters upped their average against it to .295 in his 10 starts since last September.

And against the Orioles, Archer’s best slider still wasn’t quite there. Its average release speed of 88.2 mph is short of the roughly 90 mph he was averaging at his peak in 2015, and he was up in the zone with it too much. Not surprisingly, the Orioles put more sliders in play (six) than they swung and missed at (five). 

The bright side, though, is Archer made good on his bright idea to throw his changeup more often.

He balanced his 26 sliders with 20 changeups, which is a lot for a guy who generally disregards his changeup. Even better, his changeups drew six whiffs thanks to action that got a seal of approval from Rays catcher Curt Casali. He spoke to Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times after the game:

Whether Archer even needs his best slider is a good question to begin with, as he was able to open the season with 29 strikeouts in 19.2 innings anyway. But if he’s now going to start working more changeups into his pitch mix, it’s an even better question. 

Archer’s changeup will likely never be as nasty as his slider was at its peak, but that won’t matter if he forces hitters into keeping an eye out for both pitches. As he teased on Monday, simply mixing and matching the two pitches could lead to just as many whiffs as his best slider ever could. 

In all, there would be a more gloomy tune to sing if Archer’s domination of the Orioles had consisted of him skating by on good luck amidst flat stuff and poor control. But that’s not what happened. His best slider’s ongoing absence means we still can’t welcome back the old Chris Archer, but better fastball velocity and command combined with new-found faith in his changeup means we can say hello to a new Chris Archer who may be just as good as the old one.

He’ll need a few more starts in his new skin before he’s out of the woods. But at the very least, Archer just took a big step in the right direction. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez was removed from Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays with left oblique stiffness. It is uncertain when he will return to action.

Continue for updates.

Rodriguez Out vs. Rangers

Monday, April 25

Marly Rivera of ESPN reported that Rodriguez will not be in the lineup against Texas on Monday.

Rodriguez Undergoes MRI

Sunday, April 24

Daniel Popper of the New York Daily News reported that the results of Rodriguez’s MRI came back negative.

Girardi Comments on Rodriguez’s Injury

Sunday, April 24

“Yeah, I worry,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters. “Hopefully whatever it is is really, really minor.”

Rodriguez Bounced Back in 2015 After Suspension

After missing the 2014 season because of a performance-enhancing drug suspension, Rodriguez wielded impressive power in his return to the Bronx. The 40-year-old posted a slash line of .250/.356/.486 while driving in 86 runs and slamming 33 home runs.

When he bashed his 30th home run on Sept. 8 of last season, A-Rod tied Hank Aaron for the most seasons (15) in MLB history with at least 30 dingers.

This season, however, Rodriguez has gotten off to a slow start and is batting .145 with two home runs and six RBI.

And while that production may not justify the $21 million he will earn in 2016 and 2017 before one of the most infamous contracts in baseball history expires, he’s proved to be serviceable in several other ways.

“He is a veteran presence in the clubhouse that likes to take the new players and young players under his wing,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said on the Baseball Tonight podcast, per NJ Advance Media’s Joe Giglio. “He’s really an extra coach. He helped speed up the adjustment process of guys adjusting to New York. He’s impactful in that way.”

The Yankees offense could suffer without Rodriguez, but a lineup with table-setters Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner and power bats like Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Mark Teixeira is already struggling. New York entered Sunday ranked 17th in the majors with 4.06 runs per game after it finished second last season with 4.72 runs per contest.

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Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo will miss at least his next few starts after being placed on the disabled list due to “right shoulder bicep tendinitis.” An exact return date has yet to be announced.

Continue for updates. 

Gallardo’s Diagnosis, Treatment Revealed

Monday, April 25

Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com reported the Orioles are “encouraged” by Gallardo’s MRI, noting there was “nothing new” revealed by the test.

Ghiroli also said Gallardo will “probably get an injection and rest for now.”

Showalter Comments After Gallardo Placed on DL

Sunday, April 24

The Orioles announced Saturday that Gallardo was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

“Until we get the MRI and [team orthopedist] Dr. [Michael] Jacobs sees it, you don’t know exactly what it is,” said Orioles manager Buck Showalter, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). “I don’t think anybody knows what’s causing the symptoms he has. It’s not acute pain or anything. It was just general weakness there.”

Orioles GM Comments on Gallardo’s Recovery

Saturday, April 23

General manager Dan Duquette provided more insight as to the team’s plans for the right-hander, per MASN’s Roch Kubatko: “Hopefully (Gallardo) will respond to a period of rest and rehabilitation and return to contribute to the team.”

Gallardo Comments on Injury

Friday, April 22

After the game, he discussed how his shoulder was giving him problems on the mound, per the Baltimore Sun‘s Eduardo A. Encina:

My shoulder just didn’t feel right. To be honest, it was one of those feelings that I’ve never had my whole career. I’ve never had any issues with my shoulder and I hadn‘t been. For some reason, in the bullpen it just didn’t feel right. I wasn‘t able to extend to get that release point. I think that’s why the ball was just up and all over the place. Felt like the ball was coming out of my hand and the strength wasn‘t there. Hopefully it wasn‘t anything serious.

Gallardo only lasted two innings in his last start—a 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Friday night:

Gallardo’s Velocity Dipping in 2016 from 2015

The injury is concerning since shoulder/elbow fatigue can foreshadow a much larger problem, such as a need for Tommy John surgery. According to BrooksBaseball.net, Gallardo‘s fastball velocity is 87.95 mph through four starts in 2016. That’s nearly a four mph drop from 2015, another worrying sign.

While the extent of his shoulder issues remain unknown, major surgery is at least a possibility.

Showalter won’t need to worry about finding a replacement for Gallardo in the rotation, with Kevin Gausman set to take the hill Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Gausman made 17 starts and appeared in 25 games last year, finishing 4-7 with a 4.25 ERA. Once considered a top prospect in MLB, the 25-year-old has yet to fulfill those massive expectations. Especially if Gallardo is forced to miss a long period of time, the Orioles will need Gausman to take a major step in his development.

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The Jet stole home! The Jet stole home!

In this case, “The Jet” was not beloved Sandlot character Benny Rodriguez but the New York Yankees‘ own Jacoby Ellsbury.

With two on and his team trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning Friday night, the center fielder went for it against Tampa Bay Rays lefty Matt Moore.

Per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Ellsbury said:

You’re trying to score a run, but guys get fired up. It doesn’t happen very often. As a player, you’re like, ‘Hey, did that just happen?’ And then when you’re running down the line, you’re just hoping you’ve got a big enough lead and everything works out. It’s exciting. It’s the ultimate adrenaline rush for a basestealer.

He would know. The 32-year-old speedster stole home against the Yankees in April 2009 as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees went on to win the game 6-3.

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Major League Baseball has suspended Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello for failing a performance-enhancing-drug test.

MLB announced Colabello’s 80-game suspension Friday. Blue Jays radio announcer Mike Wilner reported Colabello tested positive for a PED known as dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.

Colabello issued a statement shortly after the announcement, per Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star:

Toronto general manager Ross Atkins also provided a statement, per SportsCentre:

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told reporters how he found out about Colabello’s suspension and spoke about the team’s subsequent moves, per Hazel Mae of Sportsnet Connected:

Per Mae, Gibbons also addressed his relationship with Colabello:

Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar came to Colabello’s defense, saying, “He’s not a cheater. He got caught up in a flawed system,” per Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.

Colabello’s breakout 2015 was one of the feel-good stories in MLB. He spent seven seasons in the independent leagues from 2005 to 2011 before signing with the Minnesota Twins in 2012. His MLB debut came in 2013, though he hit just .214/.284/.364 in 114 games over his first two seasons.

Colabello was one of MLB’s biggest surprises in 2015, playing an integral role in the Blue Jays’ first division title and playoff appearance in 22 years. He hit .321/.367/.520 with 19 doubles and 15 home runs in 101 games.

This year, however, has not gone well for the 32-year-old, who is hitting a paltry .069/.156/.069 with two singles and nine strikeouts in 29 at-bats.

Moving forward, the Blue Jays have Justin Smoak and Edwin Encarnacion ready to play first base. Encarnacion is the superior hitter, though Gibbons could keep him at designated hitter and use Smoak’s superior glove in the field to get by until Colabello returns.

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Seeking a spark in their starting rotation, the Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly bringing up top prospect Blake Snell for a start Saturday against the New York Yankees.  

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported Friday the Rays will call up the left-handed pitcher from Triple-A Durham. 

Snell brings a stellar minor league pedigree and rave reviews from scouts to the big leagues. The 52nd overall pick in 2011, he entered this season ranked as MLB.com‘s No. 41 prospect. He had a breakout year in 2015, posting a 1.41 ERA with 163 strikeouts and just 84 hits allowed in 134 innings across three levels. 

For his efforts last season, Snell was named Baseball America‘s Minor League Player of the Year, with John Manuel writing about what makes the southpaw a special talent:

Snell stumbled through his first full season, walking 73 in 99 innings for Bowling Green to rank second in the Midwest League and going 4-9, 4.27. The Rays figured he would have to tweak his delivery if he was going to execute the organization’s plan to pitch inside with authority. With a fastball that was steadily increasing in velocity as he added strength, Snell tantalized the Rays with his ability to bust righthanded hitters inside with his fastball and put them away with an impressive changeup that faded away from them.

Tampa Bay’s starting rotation has gotten off to a slow start in 2016. The group currently ranks 14th in ERA (3.99), 16th in innings pitched (88) and 18th in opponents’ slugging percentage (.414). 

Chris Archer, in particular, has been a huge disappointment through four starts. The 27-year-old has allowed an American League-high 30 hits and six home runs in 19.2 innings. He was one of the AL’s best starters in 2015, ranking fifth in FanGraphs‘ wins above replacement (5.3); he also had 252 strikeouts in 212 innings. 

The Rays are a team that is going to win games on the strength of the pitching staff. Snell has only made 12 total starts at Triple-A, including three this season, but his dominance in the minors and polish make him ready for this leap to the big leagues. 

If Archer can turn things around soon, a rotation featuring him, Snell, Matt Moore and Drew Smyly would be one of the AL’s most formidable, and it would keep the Rays in contention for a playoff spot this season. 

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The Toronto Blue Jays added speed and a solid glove to their system Friday in the form of outfielder Michael Bourn.

As first reported by Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, the Jays inked the 11th-year veteran to a minor league contract. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet confirmed the move.

This comes after the Atlanta Braves cut Bourn on April 2, right before the start of the 2016 season, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. O’Brien noted Bourn had a $14 million guaranteed salary, and the Braves elected to designate him for assignment and purchase the contract of Drew Stubbs instead.

It didn’t take long for a player with Bourn’s resume to generate interest after Atlanta cut him. MLB reporter Jon Morosi reported the Arizona Diamondbacks considered adding Bourn after center fielder A.J. Pollock fractured his elbow before the start of the campaign.

As for Bourn, his rookie season in 2006 came with the Philadelphia Phillies, and he also played for the Houston Astros, Braves and Cleveland Indians throughout his career. 

He struggled somewhat in 2015 for the Indians and Braves and hit .238 without a home run. What’s more, his 17 stolen bases were a far cry from what fans saw in his prime when he stole 61 bases in 2009 for the Astros and 61 bases in 2011 for the Astros and Braves. In fact, his overall speed and ability to steal bases is a major reason why he was such a valuable commodity for most of his time in the majors:

Bourn was also a two-time All-Star in 2010 and 2012 and a two-time Gold Glover in 2009 and 2010. According to FanGraphs, he was responsible for 72 total defensive runs saved above average in his career in the outfield coming into the 2016 season. 

At his best, Bourn brings occasional pop in his bat (178 career doubles) and is a threat to set the tone for the rest of the lineup when he gets on base (.331 career on-base percentage). 

While he is past his prime at 33 years old, Bourn is a veteran presence who can fill in where needed for his new team and even serve as a pinch runner who can change the course of a game with a critical steal or advancement on the basepaths. Between his glove and his speed, Bourn is a worthwhile addition as Toronto looks to make a push toward the postseason in 2016.

Bourn may begin his tenure with the organization at Triple-A Buffalo, but there is certainly a clear path back to the major leagues.

There is little depth behind starting outfielders Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar and Michael Saunders in Toronto currently aside from Ezequiel Carrera, which means one injury would quite possibly earn Bourn a call-up.

Bourn does the little things in the field and on the bases that help teams win tight games, and that is precisely what the Blue Jays will be tasked with doing in the competitive AL East.

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Sports, although inherently competitive, are occasionally sprinkled with no-win scenarios.

Trying to outrun the fastest outfield throw ever recorded in baseball is one of them.

The Oakland Athletics‘ Danny Valencia probably could have never imagined that, following a Yonder Alonso fly to left field, he’d be pursued in his sprint from third base to home by a 105.5 mph ball.

But reality became very clear when Yankees left fielder Aaron Hicks unloaded the blazing throw with pitching-caliber speed, and a likely winded Valencia was tagged out. 

Life comes at you fast. Real fast. 

[MLB, h/t Deadspin]

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