Just the facts tonight.

@Phillies 1, Braves 0 —  Revenge is a dish best served cold, so the brisk chill in Philly was perfect for A.J. Burnett to return serve. After Julio Teheran stoned them in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss, the Phils had no better luck with Alex Wood through seven. But Burnett, who came in 5-12 lifetime against Atlanta, held the Braves to 3 singles in that span, letting just one man past first base. And with two gone in the 8th, Ben Revere capped his up-and-down day by waiting on Wood’s hook and chipping an RBI hit into center.

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This post is for voting and discussion in the 55th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This round adds to the ballot those players born in 1926.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

For the fourth round in a row, an infielder has edged out Juan Marichal and Sandy Koufax.  This time Ernie Banks, who played more games for the Cubs franchise than anyone else, earned induction into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats, as our 54th inductee.  More on Banks and the voting after the jump. Continue reading →

Athletics 10, @Angels 9 (11 inn.) — Oakland blew a late 3-run lead even without Jim Johnson’s involvement, but they still came out smiling. Josh Donaldson yanked a tie-breaking double inside third base, and the deposed $10-million closer made that enough for the win. Mike Trout had tied the game in the 9th, then got himself halfway home in the 11th with his first stolen base. Johnson used the open sack to pass the lately-potent Pujols and pursue a personal demon named Raul Ibanez; this time, the pitcher prevailed.

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What career feat distinguishes these sluggers from among all players to play their entire careers since 1901?

Congratulations to David P and Insert Name Here! They teamed up to identify that only these quiz players have had 5 consecutive seasons since 1901 (excluding seasons lost entirely to military service, in the case of Ted Williams) with 25 home runs, 30 doubles and 100 RBI, while playing at the same primary position (at least 50% of games) in each of those seasons.

More on these most consistent sluggers after the jump.

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Going free-form this time, starting with Sunday:

Miami’s 7-game skid is the first more than four this year. Chase Utley’s game-winning homer raised his BA to .500, with a hit in all 10 games played. He had a 35-gamer back in 2006; the longest in one season since 1987 is 36 by his DP mate Jimmy Rollins, whose HR won the game Saturday.

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Great teams require great players. Sounds simple. But, how do you get those great players?

Historically, with teams essentially owning their players for life (if the team chose to) the answer was to find and develop the star talent you would need to win a championship. But, has that formula changed with the advent (and now maturity) of free agency?

More after the jump.

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Bidding “adieu” to the early season’s day-heavy slates; all 15 Friday games are under the lights.

@White Sox 7, Cleveland 3 — In his 12th big-league game, Danny Salazar set a peculiar and thoroughly modern record: 10 strikeouts in 3.2 innings, the shortest 10-K stint in searchable history. Yet it was still a disaster start, as he surrendered 5 runs on 6 hits, including home runs by Jose Abreu and Alexei Ramirez. Abreu stroked another off Josh Outman; the big-ticket Cuban rookie has 4 HRs, 13 RBI in 10 games.

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Bad habits are hard to break, while ligaments are easily torn. There’s a mood of change in the game right now; why not just ban sliding into first base? Meanwhile, a night of heroic home runs and unsung long relief. But first … “Enough of your borax, Poindexter; we need action!“

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Happy 40th to #715 by #44. More on that later.

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Brewers 10, @Phillies 4 — Ryan Braun quit his all-singles diet and snapped a career-long 25-game tater famine, ripping three HRs for 7 RBI in the Phils’ first game at home. The cheers must have been deafening.

• Braun brought to The Bank a .392/1.189 mark, and now has 10 HRs in 20 games there.

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