His “natural” position is 2B. The Red Sox put him at 2B when he first started A ball, but may have had thought he’d have a quicker route to the show if he played 3B, what with Pedroia locked in at 2nd.
And Sandoval not. Bogaerts also played 3B initially to make way for Stephen Drew.
Sorry if it was said earlier but the Astros’ Correa is also out until September it would seem. Injuries always factor into the mix, especially once late July and August roll around.
If Correa is back and healthy in September it’ll rob him of an outside shot at an MVP Award but will have basically no impact on anything else; the Astros are two and a half weeks ahead. They’re going to win the division and Correa will be up to speed when the playoff start.
When a team says a guy might be back for the end of the season, I always think they’re just trying to give him some encouragement going into a long rehab, not that they really expect it.
The Cubs have just finished sweeping Atlanta, after sweeping Baltimore, both sweeps on the road. Watched the first game in Atlanta in person (btw, that’s a great new stadium Atlanta has!), and we tried to give it away at the end, but hung on for the W. So, are the Cubs finally shaking off the lethargy of being champs and getting down to business???
I was shocked at the game Monday to note that not a single player in the lineup was hitting over .275, and there were a few who’s average was in the lower .200s. Atlanta, by comparison, had three hitters with averages in the .300s. Both teams were at about .500 in the standings at the time. That didn’t sound like the Cubs of last year!
The Cubs have had one Hell of a World Series hangover. The schedule turns in their favor over the next month, with a lot of home games and the shortest possible road trips with the intercity White Sox matchups and a trip to Milwaukee.
Well, the streak had to end sometime. Frakking Braves.
Just wonderful, now Kris Bryant isn’t going to stop sliding headfirst.
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So is Sonny Gray really much of a prize in a trade?
He is having a good season and is a good pitcher, but benefits from pitching in Oakland. His road record is significiantly worse this year. But lifetime it is not so bad. He has bad lifetime numbers vs the Red Sox, Os and Yanks. I’m sure Oakland is looking for an oversized package of prospects.
It was 108 years in the making.
His road record this year is comprised of all of 5 games for under 30 IP - highlighted by getting clobbered in one early May game. What meaningful information do you see 30 IP giving you to project out a half season of performance?
What a player is “worth” in trade at the deadline depends on who’s the most desperate for something that looks like pitching help. Gray only has to look like he’s going to be better than somebody currently in your rotation, and he’ll be “worth” a couple of A-ball “prospects” and some cash.
Is Gray better than the Yankees’ (or almost anyone’s) current #5 starter, Good Ol’ Whatsisface, based on any criteria you like? Then he’s “worth” trading for. Baseball has a silly season like any sport, and this is it.
The Cubs have choked away a 3-2 lead and are now losing 11-3 in the top of the 8th. The announcer was just wondering if a team has ever gone from a lead at the start of an inning to considering having a position player coming in to pitch. It’s hot as fuck in Chicago this weekend and the Cubs have yet another day game tomorrow followed by the Sunday night game on Sunday. I’d punt this game and bring in a position player to pitch, might need the bullpen if there’s extra innings tomorrow or Sunday night.
So Aaron Judge has gone almost 2 weeks without a home run (and with hardly any hits) and re-opened the MVP race that it looked like he was running away with. ESPN’s version of WAR now actually has Altuve slightly ahead with Mookie Betts not far behind.
Uh, I think Mr. Judge has just put questions about his ability to dominate the long ball to bed. Breaking Statcast is pretty amazing. 
If it was just a couple of A-ball prospects, I think the Yanks would do it in a heartbeat. But to get Gray, they would have to give up either Clint Frazier or Gleyber Torres, and a couple more to boot.
Gray has two more years on his contract. For a rental-only, it looks like Yu Darvish is going to be available.
Yeah, I knew that as soon as I posted that he’d hit another.
Well I don’t think anyone believed he would never hit another home run.