A very long day’s journey, indeed.

@Blue Jays 4, Rangers 3 (18): Just eighteen innings? Bunch o’ pikers!

Rajai Davis ended the longest game in Rogers Centre history with a 2-out single, after Emilio Bonifacio had gone 1st-to-3rd on a pickoff error by Ross Wolf, in his 7th inning of work. Davis entered for defense in the 8th, when the Jays had a lead, and wound up with 2 hits in 5 ABs, and his 4th game-ending RBI. Brad Lincoln, a former starter, went 4 scoreless innings (14th-17th) in his best relief effort. Aaron Loup, who’s been lights-out for almost a month, earned the win by working around a leadoff double in the 18th.

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This post is for voting and discussion in the twenty-first round of balloting for the Circle of Greats.  This round adds those players born in 1951.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →

Paul Molitor (Molly) very nearly won the 14th round of the Circle of Greats voting but a late trend in the balloting left him second by a single vote.   He’s had solid support each round since then but not quite enough to win induction.   Until now, that is, as he becomes our 20th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats.   His manner of election seems to echo his profile in the sport: never the dominant superstar, but consistently successful for a long, long time and multi-talented at a very high level, with a history of rising to the special occasion of the post-season.  More on Paul and the voting after the jump. Continue reading →

So, I’m forcing myself to use MLB’s play-by-play, even though I’ve never liked their look, plus their pitch-by-pitch requires individual clicks. But that’s where the videos are, so maybe I can get used to it.*

Pirates 2, @Cubs 0: Chicago left 2 aboard in the 2nd, 4th and 5th (5 of the 6 men via walk). So in the 6th, Russell Martin’s 2-out double on a Travis Wood hanger brought the game’s first run, and Darwin Barney’s tardy arrival at 2nd in the 9th spoiled a sure DP and let another run in. Despite the walks, Francisco Liriano went 7 scoreless for the 2nd time this year; he had no such games for 2 full years after his no-hitter on 2011-05-03, a span of 56 starts. Melancon/Grilli allowed 3 hits between them, but fanned 5, recording their 19th hold and 23rd save, respectively.

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Some players start hot, others warm up with the weather, while still others charge to the finish. And, a very select few play at another level, besting their contemporaries most all the time.

This series looks at the players at each position having the best calendar months in a season.

Take a look and see how your favorites fared.

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Game Notes is out sick from his day job, so we’re going for full coverage. Don’t miss the “sub-busted no-no’s” at the bottom.

@Red Sox 6, Rangers 3: It can’t be easy for a manager when the assuredly right move means you choose to face the man with the most game-winning hits this century. The pass to Pedroia was logical, but David Ortiz sent the next pitch to the bullpen, his 11th game-ending HR and 19th walk-off RBI. Both are tops in the bigs since 2000, but the first for Papi since 2009 and ’10, respectively.

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When Alex Cobb was a prospect coming up through the ranks in the Tampa Bay minor league system he was never considered all that highly. Noted prospect hound John Sickels ranked Cobb 17th in the Tampa Bay system, behind luminaries like Aneury Rodriguez, Kyle Lobstein, Wilking Rodriguez, and Alexander Colome. Sure, there was some potential back-of-the-rotation starter sheen there, but nobody was touting the righty as a future staff ace. Even when Cobb arrived in the big leagues he was still somewhat of an afterthought struggling to stay in the rotation before grabbing the 5th spot in the rotation this past spring.

Well, here we are in June and it’s Cobb who’s having the last laugh. After toying with a potent Tigers lineup on Wednesday, Cobb’s ERA now sits at 2.39, good for 3rd best in the American League. Cobb’s striking out a career best 8.24 hitters per 9, and his walk rate is down to a career low as well. More importantly, Tampa Bay is now 8-3 in games started by the 25-year-old righty, which has allowed the Rays to remain competitive despite the struggles of 2012 Cy Young winner David Price and the departure of longtime staff leader James Shields. So how has Cobb been able to go from seldom-discussed 5th starter to one of the most dominant pitchers in the American League?

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Note: This is a follow-up to a recent post and discussion about which box-score counting stat best predicts the winner of a game. I’m sure the following research has been done more thoroughly by others, but I had the data and wanted to stretch my Excel skills, so here it is.

This might not surprise you, but: In this year’s games through June 4, team winning percentage improves steadily with each walk drawn in a game, even when you take out all intentional walks. (IBBs are more often issued by teams that are already trailing, so they would tend to distort these records. All further mention of “walks” means unintentional walks.)

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Belated notes on Tuesday games with Eastern clubs: Bless Dusty and Charlie … what would a nerd like me do without ’em?

@Phillies 7, Marlins 3: This year’s first 2-HR game by a substitute was a little short of a “Shamsky,” but a better result for his team …

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Our West division report runs a day late, as usual:

Athletics 10, @Brewers 2: No matter the weather, Oakland loves hot Coco. The leadoff man never known as Covelli watched the first pitch as a courtesy, then crunched the next over the right-field wall, providing Milwaukee their customary early deficit. Oakland scored 6 more in the 5th, starting with 5 straight hits and adorned with the first of Tommy Milone‘s two bingles, and the rout was on. Crisp had 4 hits and a walk, raising his slashes to that happy land, .300/.401/.513.

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