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Sure, Tim Lincecum was terrible yesterday, but at least one Giants pitcher got some good news yesterday. I mean, other than Kontos winning Sports Illustrated's award for "Butt Of The Year."
Giants' Bumgarner is NL pitcher of the month
It's become almost a cliche to say that Bumgarner is FFFFFin' and snot-rocketin' his way to greatness, but I'm not good enough at this to not use the cliches, so here we are. I think my favorite part of his May was how people were still wondering what was wrong with him a good three or four starts into it. Overly reactionary panic is, without a doubt, the best part of being a sports fan.
New rules to protect catchers are working
When the new rules regarding catcher collisions were implemented, a lot of Inside Baseball people immediately started complaining about them. But they seem to be working perfectly -- this year has seen less violent collisions and more crazy slides, both of which would seem to be good things. Of course, I'm sure the baseball establishment will think of a way that these newfangled safety changes are actually awful. And good for them! That's the entire point of HAVING an establishment.
The Marlins Live Down to Their Reputation
The Marlins recently traded a competitive balance pick in the draft (the 39th overall selection) to the Pirates for an essentially replacement-level reliever. Why? So they could save the money they would have paid that pick to sign Kevin Gregg, a reliever who is also essentially replacement level. It's not hard to imagine a Marlinsier move, but you'd have to get into pretty implausible territory. Maybe trading Giancarlo Stanton to the Giants in exchange for Larry Baer paying for the production of all Marlins hats? Think it over, Loria. Think of the SAVINGS.
Homegrown Bounty: The Best Picks To Star With All 30 Drafting Teams
Baseball America ranked teams by the top five players they'd drafted in terms of WAR earned with that team. The Giants, obviously, did not rank highly, though Matt Cain is on the list, and both Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner have a good chance to eventually surpass Jack Clark, which they'd BETTER do. We've gotta beat San Diego, people. The Padres being ranked ahead of the Giants in anything is simply unconscionable.
The Baseball Draft: A 50-Year Retrospective, Part One
And while we're going over the history of the draft, Baseball Prospectus takes a look at some of its biggest moments from the last fifty years. If you're looking for anecdotes about Bo Jackson, Jim Abbott, or JD Drew, you're in luck. If instead you want to hear about David Clyde, Steve Chilcott, or Kevin Brandt, you must usually be very disappointed in the day's news.
Jacket Jerseys by fittedsweats
Back in the '70s, a disturbing number of baseball players wore jackets under their uniforms. It's important to reflect on the history of baseball fashion, and this scholarly paper helps us all do that.