Kuzul

We’ve spent a decent amount of space here discussing how the Washington Nationals and Stephen Strasburg are going to negotiate the innings limit that general manager Mike Rizzo insists will go into effect, presumably in September.

Two weeks ago, I tossed out five ideas that could help Strasburg extend his season and manipulate his schedule to make sure that he could still be pitching during the Nats’ playoff run while still keeping himself under the 200-inning limit that Rizzo wants to shield his young star from. 

Those included tactics like moving to a six-man starting rotation or limiting Strasburg to 75 pitches per outing. Maybe the Nationals could pitch him solely against NL East rivals or schedule him for Fridays, as if he were playing in college again. 

But former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz, now an announcer for TBS and MLB Network, had a different proposal for limiting Strasburg’s innings that would also make him available when the Nationals are trying to clinch a division title or playoff spot and competing in the postseason. Just make an injury up, son. 

Say what now? No, seriously—this is what Smoltz said on ESPN Radio (via DC Sports Bog). 

“Honestly, I know this is gonna sound . . . well, I’m a little bit different anyways,” Smoltz told Scott Van Pelt. “I’d create my own little gap. I’d have a blister one day, maybe a hangnail the next start.

“You know, I think there’s ways to do it. And I get it—their statement is every game counts. Well, it does, but it doesn’t count as much as in September.”

Smoltz is definitely different, in that he’s being blatantly honest about how Strasburg and the Nationals are probably going to manipulate his schedule so that he can pitch in September.

He’s just the first guy who just came right out and said it. And by doing so, perhaps he also exposed what’s probably a relatively common routine in baseball. 

Manager: Hey, pitcher—how do you feel today?

Pitcher: I feel great. I feel strong. 

Manager: Are you sure?

Pitcher: Yeah, absolutely. My last bullpen went great. Was throwing free and easy.

General manager: Free and easy? Really? You didn’t feel a pinch in your shoulder?

Pitcher: What? No, I told you—I feel great.

General manager: No, you don’t look so good.

Manager: Yeah, you look tired. Look at how long it’s taking you to get dressed. Are you OK?

Pitcher: What are you talking about? I just haven’t put my shoes on yet because I’m sitting here—

General manager: No, you have a tired arm. Listen to me. Tired arm.

Pitcher: But I’m not—

Manager: Tired arm. You’re going on the DL. 

Pitcher: OK, but…can I still play golf? 

The only difference with Smoltz’s scenario is that he suggests Strasburg come up with a nagging problem that causes him to miss a start here and there. The painful blister. The dreaded hangnail. Maybe he can say he slept on his eye wrong, as Chris Brown supposedly once told Sparky Anderson.

It’s not like Smoltz is some Jim Bouton-esque whistle blower here, revealing deep, dark secrets from the clubhouse. But he did say what most everyone following this situation has been thinking.

Smoltz didn’t suggest that he or any of his teammates ever did such a thing. However, he sure seemed confident that it was something he would do if his team threatened to impose an innings limit on him.

Additionally, skipping a start here and there would be much easier to justify to the players than shutting him down in September when the team is fighting for a playoff spot. 

Smoltz went on to suggest something that I mentioned when discussing the possible argument to come over shutting Strasburg down. Rizzo began the season with the plan and apparently has every intention of sticking with it. But deep down, he probably didn’t think the Nats would jump ahead of schedule and contend for the NL East this year. 

So if Strasburg suddenly comes down with a chipped fingernail, stiff back or the aforementioned blister, we can all wink at each other with the knowledge of what’s really going on. Yep—tired arm. We’ll see you in September, sir.

Strasburg just has to make sure to fake a relatively harmless injury. Don’t say forearm tightness or bicep soreness. That will be too real and scare the hell out of everyone. 

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Well, this stinks. 

I can’t ever remember a team losing three starting pitchers to injury in less than a week.

Both Brandon Morrow and Drew Hutchison were pulled after only nine pitches each. I almost expect to see John Farrell cover Ricky Romero up in bubble wrap after the eighth pitch this afternoon.

Throw in the fact that the National Post is reporting that Kyle Drabek has a Monday appointment with “Dr. Doom” (James Andrews) himself , and you got a pretty tasty bad luck sandwich going on in Toronto right now. 

Oh, and don’t forget to add Vladimir Guerrero sauce too.

The old “us against the world” cliche has never been so applicable. Especially since it seems like everything in the world is literally trying to defeat you. 

What makes it all worse is that a small part of me feels like I jinxed them. Especially with Vlad and Hutch.

Listen, every team battles with injuries. Baseball is a game of attrition. In fact, no team knows this better than the Phillies, who go up against the Blue Jays today. But this ridiculous string of bad luck is even more deflating for a squad like the 2012 Blue Jays. So much hype had been built around the potential of this year’s team. But their margin for error was admittedly small. Especially in the AL East. 

This is definitely a character-check moment for this super young group. It feels like Toronto has gone from “buyers” to “sellers” in a blink of an eye. If this team has any hope to compete throughout the season, then the offense must carry the slack. Jose Bautista can’t do everything. 

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Every baseball stat fan worth his or her salt knows the big baseball records. Hank Aaron: 755 home runs. Cy Young: 511 wins. Nolan Ryan: 5,714 strikeouts, seven no-hitters.

But what about those lesser-known gems? Who has the most errors? Who has the most hit batsmen?

What follows is a list of the most bizarre baseball records of all time, those flubs (and gems) that stupefy and spur the imagination.

Most games pitched with no wins:

Tie: Juan Alvarez, 1999-2003, and Ed Olwine, 1986-1988 (80)

There have been plenty of poor pitchers to grace the rubber over the years. Anthony Young, a Mets starter who picked up a record 27 losses in a row over two seasons before finally earning a win, comes immediately to mind. But at least he won, eventually. For Juan Alvarez and Ed Olwine, that was never the case.

Each man pitched 80 games in the major leagues before hanging up his spikes, and each man retired from the pro game without ever earning a win.

Yikes. And Anthony Young thought that he had it tough.

(Source: Baseball-Reference.com)

Most at-bats in a career without hitting any home runs:

William Holbert, 1876-1888 (2,335)

Yes, the pre-Ruthian days of the game were known as the dead-ball era. Still, that’s no excuse for William Holbert. In 2,335 at-bats over the course of 13 seasons, Holbert didn’t manage to hit a single home run.

By contrast, in the first 2,335 at-bats of his career, Albert Pujols had already hit over 150 home runs.

(Source: Society for American Baseball Research)

Most stolen base attempts in a season without allowing any successful steals (pitcher):

Luis Tiant, 1968: nine steal attempts, nine caught stealing, zero steals allowed in 258.1 innings pitched

Last year was interesting in that Josh Tomlin pitched a full 165.1-inning season without a single runner attempting a steal on him. This was only the second time on record that this has ever happened—and the first was over half a century ago, in 1950.

Tomlin’s no-steal season, though, was just one of 22 instances of pitchers managing to hurl a full season without allowing a single stolen base.

Whitey Ford holds an interesting title all on his own, as he threw 283.0 innings in 1960 without allowing a single steal.  But then, only three runners even tried to steal on the lefty that year.

The most impressive award has to go to Luis Tiant, who, according to JunkStats, in 1968 pitched 258.1 innings without allowing a single steal, nabbing nine runners along the way.

Now that’s good work.

Most career at-bats without a stolen base:

Russ Nixon, 1957-1968 (2,504)

There’s pitching position skill, and then there’s offensive ineptitude.

In a career that spanned 12 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins, lead-footed catcher Russ Nixon never once managed to steal a base. Even David Ortiz has 11 swipes in his career!

It’s not just indifference, either—Nixon was caught stealing a number of times. With his incredible lack of baserunning prowess, Russ Nixon has managed to enshrine himself in the annals of baseball history.

Best career ERA:

Ed Walsh, 1904-1917 (1.82)

Most fans know that the wins champ is Cy Young. Young is the all-time leader in losses, too. But ERA? That’s a record that most seem to have forgotten.

The man who holds the record is Chicago White Sox righty Ed Walsh. To fully explain how dominant his career 1.82 ERA is, consider this: If now-injured Mariano Rivera, the most dominant pitcher of our modern era, does retire, he and his lifetime 2.14 ERA will stand at only No. 13 on the all-time list.

Times hit by pitch:

Hughie Jennings, 1891-1918 (287)

Many people remember that Craig Biggio, in his final year in the bigs, made a run at this ignominious record. But he fell just short, leaving the crown safely in the hands of Hall of Famer Hughie Jennings. 

Jennings had a lot going for him besides his ability to step into a pitch and take one for the team. He managed to enjoy quite a long pro career—a 27-year span—by any player’s standards, let alone for a guy who got beaned as much as he did.

Hit batsmen:

Gus Weyhing, 1887-1901 (277)

If someone’s getting beaned by a pitch, someone else has to do the beaning. The all-time record holder for most hit batsmen is Gus Weyhing, who managed to drill a whopping 277 batters.

He’s another old-timer with a record in his hip pocket. Maybe umps didn’t like to kick players out back then.

Wild pitches:

Tony Mullane 1881-1894 (343)

With 343 to his name, pre-MLB era professional player Tony Mullane is the all-time leader in wild pitches; this much is true. But given that Mullane played in an era of loose federations of professional ball, perhaps this award more rightly belongs to the second name on the all-time list: Nolan Ryan.

Yes, strikeout king Nolan Ryan is No. 1 all time in the MLB record books for wild pitches, with a whopping 277. He also, despite his strikeout ability, holds by a large margin the all-time record for walks, with 2,795.

Double plays:

Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr., 1981-2001 (350)

Cal Ripken surely turned plenty of double plays during his days as a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles. But he doesn’t hold the title for double plays turned, defensively: He holds the titles for most double plays grounded into! 

Cal, don’t you know you’re supposed to hit it where they ain’t? Luckily, he’s in good company. Of the next six names on the list, all are or are soon-to-be Hall of Famers as well: Ivan Rodriguez, Hank Aaron, Carl Yastrzemski, Dave Winfield, Eddie Murray and Jim Rice.

Career caught stealing:

Rickey Henderson, 1979-2003 (335)

Yes, Rickey is the all-time King of Steal with 1,406 stolen bags, a total that may never be broken. But his 335 instances of being caught stealing makes him tops of all time, too.

Rickey, we know you love to tout yourself as No. 1. But for this record, you may want to keep quiet.

Most outs:

Pete Rose, 1963-1986 (10,328)

Pete Rose is the all-time leader in hits, and the all-time leader in outs. Given that, with 14,053 over 24 seasons, he’s taken more at-bats than any other player in history, you might think it stands to reason that Rose would have notched more outs than anyone else. But Pete Rose hit for a .303 average over his career and finished with three batting titles.

He also had a great eye at the plate, finishing his career with more walks than strikeouts, and that’s to say nothing of that hits record. So it does come as a bit of a surprise that Rose would have made more outs than any other player.

The man in second place? Home run king Hank Aaron.

Most errors committed in a career:

Herman Long, 1889-1904 (1,096)

Yes, he was a shortstop. And yes, gloves were smaller then. But Herman Long managed to commit 1,096 errors while playing just 1,875 games. That’s amazing. It’s an average of more than one error every other day.

(And to think: Dodgers fans used to think Jose Offerman was bad.)

If Long had such trouble fielding, you’ve got to wonder why his team kept letting him play. Couldn’t his manager at least have moved him to second base, where he couldn’t do so much damage?

Oldest player:

Minnie Miñoso, 1980 (54)

With all this talk of Jamie Moyer’s return to the pro ranks, you’ve got to wonder, who was the oldest player ever to suit up for an MLB game?

It turns out that Moyer has a long way to go. In 1980, Minnie Miñoso cleated up for the Cleveland White Sox at the age of 54. It was 20 years after the last of Miñoso’s seven All-Star appearances, and some 31 years after he’d first broken into the big leagues in 1949, and yet, the near-arthritic Cuban stepped up to the plate.

Miñoso originally retired at age 38, in 1964. He returned to pro baseball 12 years later, at age 50, stroking one hit in eight plate appearances with the White Sox. He then gave up the ghost again, only to return four years later for two more brief days in the sun.

Youngest player:

Joe Nuxhall, 1944 (15)

Standing in stark contrast to Miñoso is Joe Nuxhall, who made his big league debut in 1944—at age 15!

And people think Bryce Harper is immature.

The 1944 season was right in the heart of the WWII baseball exodus; thanks to the war, much of baseball’s talent was missing. Nuxhall, of course, was too young to enlist, so the Cincinnati Reds had no trouble signing him out of local Hamilton (OH) high school, whereupon they put him on the mound. In his major league debut, Nuxhall surrendered five runs (and five walks) in less than an inning before he was yanked, leaving him with a whopping single-game and single-season ERA of 67.50.

It would be eight years after that shellacking before Nuxhall returned to the pros at the far more sensible rookie age of 23. From there, he went on to have a lengthy career that included two All-Star game appearances.  He played nearly his whole career in Cincinnati and would eventually become the voice of the Reds, broadcasting games for the club for nearly 40 years.

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Derek Jeter is one of the best players to ever play the game for the Yankees. When you are a legend in your sport, you get rewarded with millions of dollars – and a revolving door of hot girlfriends.

We have seen Jeter with numerous ladies that we expected – and often hoped – he would finally settle down with. Every time the public has come to expect him to finally have found the ‘one,’ we get another one of those breakup tabloids.

Let’s take a look at 11 of the almost Mrs. Jeter’s.

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To channel Tim Kurkjian, one of the reasons we love watching baseball is because the game doesn’t always turn out the way you expect.

Case in point: Stephen Strasburg started for the Washington Nationals against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday afternoon. The Padres came into the game with the second-lowest team hit total in the NL at 269, as well as the second-lowest run total at 120.

That had some people, such as MLB.com Nats beat writer Bill Ladson, thinking that this could be the day for Strasburg to throw a no-hitter. (Check out the responses to his Tweet, which are pretty funny.) 

Well, it didn’t quite turn out that way for Strasburg and the Nats. For one thing, it was Padres starter Anthony Bass who had the no-hitter through three innings. But Strasburg wasn’t sharp at all in the first inning, throwing 39 pitches while allowing three runs, three hits and two walks. 

At the risk of being Captain Obvious, Tuesday’s effort was Strasburg’s worst start of the season.

He lasted four innings, giving up four runs, seven hits (one of them James Darnell’s first homer of the year) and two walks. Strasburg had lasted at least six innings in each of his previous seven starts, never allowing an earned run in five of those games. 

So what was the story with the Nats’ ace? It couldn’t have been pitching during the day. Consider a small sample size of nine starts, Strasburg is 3-1 with a 1.28 ERA in day games.

Was it because of the rainy conditions in D.C., which soaked Nationals Park with a quick burst of rain that resulted in an eight-minute rain delay?

Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps it was just a bad game. It happens for every pitcher, even the best ones. 

But in post-game interviews with manager Davey Johnson, Nats beat writers found out that something else may have thrown Strasburg off his game. The Washington Post‘s Adam Kilgore shared the information with this Tweet.

Hey now. Some pitchers, such as Roger Clemens, go for that sort of thing. Others, I’m guessing, prefer not to suffer through the discomfort of intense heat from analgesic balm on their unmentionables. 

Upon further investigation, it was determined that this wasn’t a prank. And really, who would be dumb enough to play a prank on the team’s ace when he’s pitching? That would seem like a fast ticket to Class-A Hagerstown. Or maybe China. 

So maybe this was just an accident by Strasburg? Have you ever been cutting jalapenos or some other hot pepper in the kitchen and then absentmindedly rubbed your eye afterwards? (I haven’t, but I hear it stings badly.)

Maybe this is the kind of thing we’re talking about. Something went where it shouldn’t have gone in, er, the heat of the moment. Chalk it up to a bad rub.

Whatever the case was, Strasburg wasn’t revealing anything, with reporters surmising that he wasn’t too pleased with his manager mentioning the apparent blunder to the press. 

He’s probably not thrilled that people are blogging about it, either. 

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Phillip Humber is now the 21st pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw a perfect game and the seventh ex-New York Met to throw either a perfect game or a no hitter with a different team.

The Mets have never thrown a no-hitter in the history of their franchise.

Now, the occurrence of just a few instances could be seen as coincidence. But the fact that we’re now up to seven different former Mets etching their names into baseball history is simply too much to ignore.

Let’s count them, shall we? Thanks to NoNoHitters.com for this one.

Nolan Ryan pitched seven no-hitters during his Hall of Fame career, but they all came after he was traded by the New York Mets. And Tom Seaver finally got his sole no-hitter as a Cincinnati Red during his first season away from the Mets. In fact, seven former Mets pitched no-hitters after leaving New York. Mike Scott (Houston Astros), Dwight Gooden (New York Yankees) David Cone (Yankees), Hideo Nomo (Boston Red Sox) and Philip Humber (Chicago White Sox) round out the list. Alejandro Pena (Atlanta Braves) participated in a three-pitcher no-hitter in 1991 less than a month after being traded by the Mets to the Braves.

So, bottom line: if you’re a major league pitcher who wants to accomplish a no-hitter or perfect game at some time in you’re career, or hell, even right away, play for the New York Mets and leave.

The curse continues, 49 years and counting. There’s a good chance it’ll be half a century by the time the 2012 season ends.

Hey, at least it isn’t a World Series drought that started in 1908.

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Wednesday night is the regular season debut for Marlins Park, the new home of the Miami Marlins. (The Marlins and New York Yankees played exhibition games there on Sunday and Monday.)

Plenty of attention (and snark) has been given to some of the ballpark’s more notable features, such as the home run feature in left-center field and aquariums behind home plate. 

But the Marlins players will also enjoy several new features that are vast upgrades from what they had at Sun Life Stadium. Some of the new home benefits, as reported by the Sun-Sentinel’s Mike Berardino, include a batting cage directly behind the Marlins dugout. Previously, Marlins batters had to clomp out to a cage in right field, walking with spikes on concrete. 

Other features touted by the players were a bigger weight room and swimming pool, an underwater treadmill (man, I could use one of those) and a new video room that includes a coaching area with floor-to-ceiling mirrors that allow batters (and eventually, pitchers too) to get a look at what they’re doing from virtually every angle. 

But the simple things shouldn’t be overlooked, either. For outfielder Logan Morrison, having bathroom stalls with doors that close is the improvement he appreciates most.

“Couldn’t shut it all the way, couldn’t lock it,” Morrison told Berardino. “It’s not like you have any privacy anyway in a clubhouse, but still, it wasn’t a perk.”

The importance of this really cannot be overstated. Some athletes are able to focus on the task at hand, regardless of the environment. Others can’t perform at their best with distractions and conditions that are less than ideal. And so many of us, whether we’re professional athletes or not, just want a little privacy.

Kudos to Jeffrey Loria for providing his players a little bit of privacy for less than dignified moments. 

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As you probably know, there’s plenty of down time for major leaguers during spring training.

When ballplayers aren’t working out or playing a few innings in exhibition games, they might be playing golf. Or fishing. Or in the case of Florida Marlins reliever Edward Mujica, they’re making t-shirts for teammates.

As described by MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, Mujica had orange t-shirts designed with the words “Sup Girl” on the front. The phrase is above a drawing of the top half of a baseball.

In what could probably be classified as a team-building exercise, Mujica printed up seven shirts for his teammates, each with the individual’s nickname and jersey number on the back.

Is there any chance Mujica will have a t-shirt made for the former Leo Nunez, Juan Carlos Oviedo? Oviedo is still in the Dominican Republic, waiting for a work visa after immigration officials discovered he was in the United States using a fake name. Joking aside, he and Mujica are good friends, so maybe Oviedo does have a t-shirt waiting for him.

Maybe this was Mujica’s way of celebrating his new role as the Marlins’ eighth-inning reliever, setting up closer Heath Bell. More than anything else, the t-shirt is a personal statement for Mujica, as he told Frisaro.

“That’s my favorite phrase ever,” said Mujica, one of the fun-loving players in the clubhouse. ”Sup, how you doin’? The shirt is like baseball, and my favorite [saying]. I want to get everybody’s nickname, and make 18 more t-shirts.”

I suppose we can all be grateful Mujica’s favorite phrase isn’t “WAASSSUP???“

Mujica will make 18 more t-shirts for the rest of his teammates, but is waiting until the team’s regular season roster is set.

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The 2012 Major League Baseball season is set to kick off at the crack of dawn on Wednesday morning as the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics take part in a two-game series in Japan.

While the feel-good story of the inconvenient season opener surrounds Ichiro Suzuki’s return home, the story I’m most interested in is that of outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who has already been named the A’s Opening Day centerfielder.

After defecting from Cuba to the Dominican Republic in January, Cespedes and the Oakland Athletics agreed to a four-year, $36 million contract nearly a month later.

His blinding bat speed and superhero-like physical strength produces 70-grade power to all fields.  Although he occasionally gets too pull-happy, Cespedes’ swing is consistently balanced with a powerful weight transfer; he knows how to drive pitches throughout the strike zone.

But before he even steps foot in a batter’s box, Cespedes—who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as himself in the stunning short-film The Showcase—must know about the reputation that precedes him.

He’s the guy who once leg-pressed three vagrant friends out of sheer boredom.

He’s the guy who takes more pride in his dismount following a home run than the actual home run itself.

He’s the guy who runs track meets against himself.

He’s the guy who let his friends talk him into using a Star Wars-esque introduction.

He’s the guy with more explosiveness than Joey Gathright.

He’s the guy who roasted a pig in the final scene of his baseball highlight reel (if you choose to call it that)

He’s the guy with enough core power to make even his closest friends a bit skittish…

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San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval had a resurgent 2011 season, batting .315/.357/.552 with 25 home runs and 70 RBI, and earning his first All-Star appearance. 

But Sandoval also flashed a great glove at the hot corner last season, according to the defensive metrics on Fangraphs. His performance on the field may have earned him what looks to be the coolest bobblehead we’ll see this season.

Through their official Twitter account, the Giants posted a picture of what the first 25,000 fans who attend the team’s Aug. 26 game against the Atlanta Braves will receive.

Check this baby out.

How slick is that? Kung Fu Panda looks so very Joe Cool, sporting shades and chewing bubble gum while diving for a baseball.

I’ll bet the bubble doesn’t even pop while Sandoval makes the play. 

Oh, and he doesn’t appear to be looking the ball into his glove, giving the certain “web gem” of the year even more flair. Perhaps he’s blowing that bubble to a kid in the stands who will remember that moment forever.

Say it’s so, Panda!

Sandoval’s action figure adds to what looks to be a great year for bobbleheads, including the Stephen Strasburg figurine that 15,000 Washington Nationals fans will receive on April 14 (via Washington Post), the Hello Kitty edition that the Los Angeles Dodgers will give to 50,000 of their presumed fans on July 1 (via MLB.com) and the great moments in Houston Astros history bobbleheads that fans will get throughout the season (via Chron).

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