Baseball

1993 TOPPS GOLD #22 JIM EISENREICH - Beckett Value: $.25 Photo: 10/10 Holy crap, this may be the greatest photo in Royals baseball card history. Ladies and gentlemen, on this day in 1992, Jim Eisenreich became the first player in Royals history to get to Second Base... with second base. No, Jim isn't sliding, he's lounging. In fact, he hit a standing double two outs ago. At that point he sat down next to the bag, reached over, and copped a feel. As he got a nice handful he looked over his left shoulder and said "Hey baby, I guess this gives a whole new meaning to dirtbag." Thankfully the Royals quickly got the 3rd out before Jim could go for third base. Design: 6/10 I know what you're thinking. "OHEMGEE IS THAT CARD MADE OUT OF RAEL GOLD!?!?!?!" No, no it's not. Someone at Topps found a secret stash of foil and baseball cards have never been the same. Card Back: 5/10 Damn this card is busy. The photo is a nice touch but everything else is overkill. Nothing really of note in the text other than... woah... Jim Eisenreich had two triples in one game? How could he DO THAT to second base! That three-timing bastard! Overall Score: 7/10 Jim Eisenreich's 1993 Season: On a more serious note, I have a lot of respect for Jim. As you may remember, Jim has Tourette Syndrome (which I'm not going to joke about) and spent the 1985 and 1986 season out of baseball. In 1987 he signed with the Royals and put in a few good seasons against all odds. From what I understand about Tourettes, it involves a lot of involuntary tics, which would make everyday life extremely hard, not to mention trying to stay cool at the plate. Jim's 1993 season was played with the Philadelphia Phillies after signing there as a free agent. Jim batted .318/.363/.445 across 394 PA for a 2.5 WAR. Today Jim runs the Jim Eisenreich Foundation for Children with Tourette Syndrome out of Kansas City. 1993 TOPPS GOLD #22 JIM EISENREICH - Beckett Value: $.25 Photo: 10/10 Holy crap, this may be the greatest photo in Royals baseball card history. Ladies and gentlemen, on this day in 1992, Jim Eisenreich became the first player in Royals history to get to Second Base... with second base. No, Jim isn't sliding, he's lounging. In fact, he hit a standing double two outs ago. At that point he sat down next to the bag, reached over, and copped a feel. As he got a nice handful he looked over his left shoulder and said "Hey baby, I guess this gives a whole new meaning to dirtbag." Thankfully the Royals quickly got the 3rd out before Jim could go for third base. Design: 6/10 I know what you're thinking. "OHEMGEE IS THAT CARD MADE OUT OF RAEL GOLD!?!?!?!" No, no it's not. Someone at Topps found a secret stash of foil and baseball cards have never been the same. Card Back: 5/10 Damn this card is busy. The photo is a nice touch but everything else is overkill. Nothing really of note in the text other than... woah... Jim Eisenreich had two triples in one game? How could he DO THAT to second base! That three-timing bastard! Overall Score: 7/10 Jim Eisenreich's 1993 Season: On a more serious note, I have a lot of respect for Jim. As you may remember, Jim has Tourette Syndrome (which I'm not going to joke about) and spent the 1985 and 1986 season out of baseball. In 1987 he signed with the Royals and put in a few good seasons against all odds. From what I understand about Tourettes, it involves a lot of involuntary tics, which would make everyday life extremely hard, not to mention trying to stay cool at the plate. Jim's 1993 season was played with the Philadelphia Phillies after signing there as a free agent. Jim batted .318/.363/.445 across 394 PA for a 2.5 WAR. Today Jim runs the Jim Eisenreich Foundation for Children with Tourette Syndrome out of Kansas City.

ROGER MOONEY TORONTO Matt Joyce said he doesn’t believe his right hamstring is “too serious” and he hopes to be able to pinch-hit later today against the Blue Jays if needed. Joyce left Tuesday’s win in the seventh inning because of tightness in the hamstring. He thinks that might…

The Cardinals have lost Jamie Garcia for the season. They're in the process of losing Jake Westbrook for way longer than the '2 starts' that we were told. And Shelby Miller can't be trusted to work out of his own jams. None of this was going on 2 weeks ago. So what the...? Wait, what's that? Sports Illustrated sent someone to cover the Cardinals historically good starters starts? Well that explains it. Our friends over at SI Classic Cover sent this week's SI cover over and it it's very nice. And by nice I mean the ONLY reason the Cardinals rotation is falling apart. I kid. I think.

While the growing list of Seahawks to be popped for taking banned substances is concerning, its not indicative of a team thats trying to illegally gain a chemical edge.

Washington Nationals' leadoff man Denard Span singled to start last night's game with the San Francisco Giants. When Bryce Harper stepped up in the two-hole against right-hander Matt Cain, he bunted Span over, setting Ryan Zimmerman up with a runner in scoring position Zim drove in for an early 1-0 lead. "Bryce is still learning a lot about the game," Ryan Zimmerman said, "He's trying to do what he can to get us in a position to score runs, which you can't fault him for that." - Ryan Zimmerman on 106.7 the FAN in D.C. With the Nats up 2-1, Span doubled to start the eighth, and Harper once again sacrificed himself to move the leadoff man over to third. The Giants walked Ryan Zimmerman in the next at bat for a favorable lefty on lefty matchup between Javier Lopez and Adam LaRoche, and LaRoche, who entered the game 0 for 6 with 6 Ks vs Lopez in his career was 0 for 7 with 7 after he struck out looking. A groundout by Ian Desmond ended the inning and the threat, and left the Nationals with a one-run lead they ended up blowing. "So was Harper bunting on his own?" Nationals' manager Davey Johnson was asked after the game. "He was," Johnson said, "He looked over there [to the dugout] and I said, 'Just pull the ball,' but he's not seeing the ball, I guess, that good either, so he's just trying to help." Asked if there were any linering physical issues that might be causing the Nats' biggest offensive threat to take the approach he took, Johnson said, "No. I think he's all right." "The second [bunt] is, if you think a few batters down the line, it probably wasn't the best idea, because with the lefty up, they're obviously going to walk me and then use the lefty to pitch to [LaRoche]..." - Ryan Zimmerman on 106.7 the FAN in D.C. on Harper bunting in 8th Ryan Zimmerman said much the same when asked about watching from the on-deck circle as Harper bunted twice in last night's loss. "Bryce is still learning a lot about the game," Harper's 28-year-old teammate told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.'s Holden Kushner and Danny Rouhier this afternoon. "He's trying to do what he can to get us in a position to score runs, which you can't fault him for. The second [bunt] is, if you think a few batters down the line, it probably wasn't the best idea, because with the lefty up, they're obviously going to walk me and then use the lefty to pitch to [LaRoche], but [Harper's] just doing all he can to help us score runs. And I think sometimes people forget that Bryce is 20 years old and still learning how to play the game." "But, like you said," Zimmerman continued, "when your team is struggling a little bit and trying to score runs and doing anything we can for a win, sometimes you do things that are out of character, or I guess, dire circumstances call for things that don't usually get done, but the most important thing is everyone on our team and everyone just needs to take a deep breath. Importantly us. I think, last year, we've seen this in the past couple years, it's not the team that's best in April or May that usually ends up winning the World Series. I mean, the last couple years, the Cardinals, the Giants last year and last year the Tigers were under .500 at the All-Star Break and ended up playing for the World Series." "Do we want to do that?" Zimmerman asked rhetorically. "No. But sometimes during the season you go through some hardships and you have to play through those and we will. We have four months left and we're going to play it out and I think we still have a really, really, really good team that has a really good chance to do something special this year." • Harper's back in the two-hole today. Here's the lineup for the Nationals' series finale in AT&T: Today's lineup at SFG: Span CF, Harper RF, Zimmerman 3B, Desmond SS, LaRoche 1B, Moore LF, Espinosa 2B, Suzuki C, Gonzalez P — Nationals PR (@NationalsPR) May 22, 2013

And not clicking on Verducci is quickly becoming another one! 1. Hitting in the major leagues is fundamentally broken What will it take for teams to start admitting that this passive-aggressive, run-up-the-pi philosophy isn’t working? Apparently almost a decade of declining results isn’t enough. Entering this week: • The number of hits per game is down for the seventh straight year. • On base percentage has been stagnant or down for the seventh straight year. • Strikeouts are up for an eighth straight year. • Batting average has sunk to an all-time low (.253) since the DH was instituted 40 years ago. • Runs per game is tied with the rate from 2011 for the lowest rate since 1992. When you go to a baseball game today you will see fewer hits on average than at any time since 1972—and yet the game is taking more than 20 minutes longer to play. That’s more than 20 minutes of added dead time without the ball put in play. And yet you see hitter after hitter giving pitchers strike one and taking 2-0 and 3-1 fastballs. It’s like a major corporation with seven straight years of operating at a financial loss insisting that nothing is wrong.

How many Votto triads of numbers have not yet been drawn?! Several years ago, Votto was standing in the on-deck circle at Great American Ball Park while Pete Rose was watching from a box seat. The two men struck up a conversation, and the Hit King passed along a few pearls of wisdom that resonated. Among other things, he told Votto that it’s no sin to reach for the last cookie in the jar. Rose would never have amassed 4,256 hits if he didn’t have a touch of the greed-monger in him. “Early in my career, Pete kept an eye on me,” Votto said, “and the one piece of advice he gave me was, ‘When you get the second hit, get the third hit. And when you get the third hit, get the fourth hit. And when you get the fourth hit, get the fifth hit.’ That really stuck with me, because it’s a genuine challenge when you’re tired, or you’re sick, or the score is mismatched, or you’re facing a tough pitcher, or you’re not in a good mood that day. Whatever it is. “What I took away from Pete’s advice is, ‘You’re playing for yourself. You’re competing for your team. You’re doing the best you can every day to get the most out of your abilities.’ So when I have that at-bat when the score is 10-0, yeah, I usually check in with myself and make sure I’m in a prime place to hit and I’m ready to go and I’m not about to give away this at-bat. I’ll take my time before the at-bat or call timeout so there’s no excuses and nothing I can look back and regret.” ...Now along comes Votto, who pays zero attention to conventional stats like runs scored and RBIs and focuses strictly on having the most productive at-bats possible in his quest to make life hell on pitchers. Votto doesn’t step in the box looking to draw walks, but he does adhere to a standard that many new-school bloggers and statistical types hold dear. In an insightful ESPN the Magazine piece by Buster Olney in March, Votto explained his philosophy and talked about “reframing the challenge.”

Guys, the Orioles have pitching prospects not named Dylan Bundy! The Baltimore Orioles hope this year’s high-profile midseason call-up is as good as last year’s high-profile midseason call-up. The Orioles will promote right-hander Kevin Gausman from Class-AA Bowie to make his major league debut Thursday against Toronto, major league sources told FOXSports.com. Gausman is reaching the majors less than one year after the Orioles selected him in the first round of the 2012 draft. He is 2-4 with a 3.11 ERA in eight starts for Bowie. Sources say the Orioles are comfortable with the move because of Gausman’s ability to throw three pitches for strikes, as evidenced by his otherworldly ratio of 49 strikeouts to five walks.

Last night was the pitching duel that everyone expected with Matt Cain (after his rocky 1st inning) on the mound against Stephen Strasburg. Both guys did their job to give their team a chance to win, and the San Francisco Giants needed some ninth inning magic to tie the game. Blanco Payback Outfielder Gregor Blanco and the Giants were down to the last strike when Blanco hit a triple to score Andres Torres to tie the game 2-2. Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com says (via Twitter) Blanco admitted he was fired up to face the Nationals because they never called him up from Triple-A in 2011. I’m sure last night’s game had to feel good for Blanco, and he got some payback. Big Panda Power Pablo Sandoval is the man that sent Giants fans home happy. The Kung Fu Panda hit a ball that probably hasn’t landed yet. It was a 2-run bomb in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Giants a walk-off win! Baggarly pointed out (via Twitter) that Sandoval had an IV treatment prior to the game. He’s still battling flu symptoms. You sure couldn’t tell by watching him play 10 innings, and seeing him hit a game winning homer. Follow Cain’s Lead In another Baggarly tweet, he says Cain is the first Giants starting pitcher since May 12 to toss 7 innings and allowing 2 or less earned runs. Let’s hope the rest of the starters follow Cain’s lead. Hitting Streak Another game, and another hit for Marco Scutaro. Scutaro extended his hitting streak to 19 games, and had another multi-hit game! He’s now hitting .337, and prior to his hit streak, Scutaro was hitting .215. Don’t forget to go to the SF Giants Rumors Facebook page to share your thoughts on all the latest Giants News/Rumors! ~Steven Robles ———-——–—-——-——––———————-—————————————————- Want an email alert when there’s a new post? Click the “Contact Us” tab and request to be added to the email list. You can also follow on Twitter @SFGiants_Rumors, Google+ and SportStreet! // // Technorati Tags: Andres Torres, Giants Hot Stove, Giants Trade Rumors, Gregor Blanco, Marco Scutaro, Matt Cain, MLB Rumors Giants, Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants News, SF Giants Rumors, SFG Rumors, Stephen Strasburg

Series finale at Coors Field, with the rubber game of the set against Colorado. Trevor Cahill faces Jorge de la Rosa for the third time this season. table.oldschool { border-width: 1px; border-spacing: 2px; border-style: outset; border-color: gray; border-collapse: separate; background-color: white; } table.oldschool th { border-width: 1px; padding: 3px; border-style: inset; border-color: gray; background-color: white; -moz-border-radius: ; } table.oldschool td { border-width: 1px; padding: 3px; border-style: inset; border-color: gray; background-color: white; -moz-border-radius: ; } table.newschool { border-width: 0px; border-spacing: 2px; border-style: outset; border-color: gray; border-collapse: separate; background-color: white; } table.newschool th { border-width: 0px; padding: 3px; border-style: inset; border-color: gray; background-color: white; -moz-border-radius: ; } table.newschool td { border-width: 0px; padding: 3px; border-style: inset; border-color: gray; background-color: white; -moz-border-radius: ; } Trevor CahillRHP, 3-4, 2.48 Jorge de la RosaLHP, 5-3, 3.58 Diamondbacks Line-up A.J. Pollock, CF Didi Gregorius, SS Paul Goldschmidt, 1B Cody Ross, LF Gerardo Parra, RF Martin Prado, 3B Josh Wilson, 2B Wil Nieves, C Trevor Cahill, P Admittedly, I did spend some of last night watching Meek's Cutoff, which has got to be one of the most over-rated films of the past few years. However, even watching 19th-century pioneers stagger around the wilderness for two hours (and it seemed a lot longer - more like the first depiction of the Oregon Trail to be filmed in real time) was likely more satisfying than watching Arizona claw their way back from a four-run deficit, only to be lose. In the end, looks like a combination of another meh Kennedy start, bad umpiring, lack of hitting (five hits - teams doing that in Denver are now 4-71) and Matt Reynolds retiring one of four batters faced. Yep, glad to have missed that one, though the game and Meek's Cutoff did exhibit some similarities. Both depicted the struggles of travelers, in a hostile land populated by unfriendly natives. And both were poorly executed, only sporadically interesting and possessed thoroughly unsatisfactory endings. I think it's safe to say we won't be revisiting either of them any time soon. Still, we go into the series finale at Coors with a chance to win the road series, which is pretty much all I was wanting for this one. And with Cahill on the mound, I feel relatively optimistic that we'll have a chance. Patrick Corbin has been putting up stellar numbers, but after a shaky first couple of outings, Cahill has been just about matching him, to much less attention - probably because, due to the wobbly beginning, his ERA still begins with a two. But over his last seven starts, Cahill has a 1.71 ERA. He's only won three, which likely also feeds into the lack of publicity, but that's because in the other four contests, Arizona scored a total of six runs. A typical example would be in the previous series at Coors Field, which gave Cahill one of the defeats. Not that Trevor pitched badly, throwing seven innings and allowing three earned runs. But the offense didn't bother to show up, managing two hits and no runs during the time he was on the mound. The bad news is, the starter for the Rockies that day was the same one they send out this afternoon, so we'll have to do a better job of solving De La Rosa than we did there. This will actually be the third time this pair have met each other in 2013, as they also faced off at Chase on April 25. Cahill got the win there, though required 105 pitches to get through five innings. This game is not being televised in the Arizona area. In fact, it doesn't app