Kuzul

On Friday night, Fenway Park turned into the Wild West. Scores were settled, barbs were thrown and threats of future retaliation echoed through the night.

In the David Price vs. David Ortiz drama—stemming from Ortiz’s reaction to a home run off Price in the 2013 ALDS—both players are at fault for letting emotions overtake the game.

When Price plunked Ortiz last night, it was a clear directive toward last season’s postseason blast at Fenway Park, regardless of Price’s justification after the game, per Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. 

“I’ve got to establish my fastball in,” Price said. “I’ve got six lefties in that lineup. It’s my favorite side of the plate to go to.”

Despite an offseason phone call between the two players to bury the hatchet and move forward, the first Ortiz vs. Price at-bat of 2014 ended in a painful jog down to first base for Boston’s designated hitter and a short night for Red Sox manager John Farrell. 

The intent was clear and direct, bringing fans back to Price’s emotional quote after Ortiz launched an eighth-inning home run in Game 2 of last October’s ALCS, per Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.

“He knows how I’ve pitched him the last year and a half, probably two years. He steps in the bucket and he hits a homer, and he stares at it to see if it’s fair or foul,” Price said. “I’m sure that’s what he’d say. But as soon as he hit it and I saw it, I knew it was fair. Run.”

Ortiz didn’t run that night, allowing Price the freedom to retaliate eight months later. The reaction of Tampa’s dugout last evening conveyed a feeling of purpose, something the umpire crew clearly agreed with when issuing warnings. 

At that point, the story could have ended. In Boston, Price would have been known as a sore loser and enforcer of old, archaic unwritten rules surrounding batter-pitcher etiquette. 

Although every team is peeved when on the receiving end of the slow, dramatic home run gaze and trot, almost every 25-man roster in baseball has a player or two that does the exact same thing.

Price let emotion and personal vendetta start a feud, but Ortiz’s actions later took the fracas to a ridiculous level. 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, a Price fastball sailed up and in on left-handed hitter Mike Carp, marking the second Red Sox batter plunked in the game. Unlike the Ortiz moment from earlier, there was no motive or logical reason for Price to hit Carp in that situation. 

Tampa entered the game on a three-game losing streak and risked falling behind the lowly Houston Astros for the American League’s worst record if a win didn’t commence on Friday in Boston. With a runner already on second base and Tampa clinging to a slim one-run margin, the idea of Price willingly putting the go-ahead run on base is absurd.

Yet, due to the vitriol from the Ortiz exchange earlier, the Red Sox took it as a pitch meant with more intent and hatred.

The benches clearing incident that followed—spearheaded by Ortiz’s show of emotion on the field—made the situation bigger than it had to be. 

After initially issuing a warning when Price hit Ortiz, the umpires correctly didn’t deem intent on the pitch to Carp. Thousands of Red Sox fans may disagree, but two separate situations suddenly became one thanks to Ortiz and press conference words that will likely live in Fenway infamy, per CSN New England.

“You can’t be acting like a little girl out there,” Ortiz said. “You’re not going to win every time. When you give it up, that’s an experience for the next time. If you’re going act like a little [expletive] when you give it up, bounce back and put your teammates in jeopardy, that’s going to cost you.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Ortiz landed one last barb to the assembled media:

With that, a baseball situation became something more. It’s uncomfortable when athletes use the term “war” to describe anything on a diamond, field, court or rink because of the real-world that exists outside of the multi-billion dollar bubble of professional sports.

Furthermore, the idea that Ortiz wants to continue this nonsense is disconcerting and embarrassing for the game.

Price didn’t have to hit Ortiz, but Ortiz didn’t have to continue the dialogue and banter in the aftermath of a meaningful back-and-forth AL East tilt. 

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria summed up the night best, giving credence to Ortiz’s emotion but putting it in the perspective of baseball wins and losses, not war, per Smith’s Tampa Bay Times report.

“I’m right there with Papi in saying, “It’s game on, whenever we go out there,” Longoria said. “We’re all fierce competitors. But at the end of the day it doesn’t come down to who’s more macho or who has more guts when it comes to going out and clearing the benches. We’re out there fighting to get out of the cellar.”

On Friday night, both Price and Ortiz lost track of what was most important, driving an inane personal vendetta to the breaking point and altering the course of an important game along the way. 

Agree? Disagree?

Comment, follow me on Twitter or “like” my Facebook page to talk about all things baseball.

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Lost in the ugliness of the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ 4-14 start to the season and the team’s marquee hiring of Tony La Russa has been the gradual growth and development of the D-backs’ young core position players.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is a known quantity in the desert but still struggles for recognition on the national level. It’s too bad because there may not be a better pure hitter in the National League. Once the D-backs can identify a cleanup hitter to protect Goldschmidt long-term, his numbers could actually improve as he moves into his prime with more protection.

The 26-year-old Goldschmidt has followed up his 2013 season, where he finished second in the National League MVP voting to the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ Andrew McCutchen, by having another quality start to this season. While Goldschmidt‘s walks and OBP are down, the rest of his numbers look like they will be very much in line with what he did last season. It is reasonable to suspect that Goldschmidt has pressed to provide offense during Arizona’s terrible start to the season, causing the drop in walks and expanding his strike zone.

Where Arizona can be cautiously optimistic right now is in the development of center fielder A.J. Pollock and shortstop Chris Owings. Given the D-backs’ rough start to the season, the fact that both young players have thrived is a really good sign of their ability to deal with the grind of the regular-season MLB schedule.

Pollock is already one of the better defensive outfielders in the National League, but the surprising part of his game has been the continued growth of his offensive abilities. After 49 games, his batting average is solid at .301, and he has an improved OBP of .352. Both are really good signs, but the biggest improvement is in Pollock’s power. His slugging percentage this season is .518, well over his .409 number from 2013.

If there is an area of the 26-year-old Pollock’s game that the D-backs would like to see improve, it would be his walk rate and his ability to cut down on strikeouts. Pollock currently strikes out at a 3-1 ratio over his walks. If he can make that ratio closer to 2-to-1, Pollock will be an extremely effective and cost-controlled player for the D-backs through 2018.

If Pollock continues to have this type of season, I would expect the D-backs to take a long look at creating a contract extension that would take Pollock through his arbitration years and buy out a year or two of his free agency. With the television revenue that continues to come into the sport, MLB teams are making a concerted effort to lock up their young talent early.

As good as the start of the season has been for Pollock, the only player that has had a better start is Owings. The 22-year-old has been a revelation so far for the D-backs, making the deal last season for Didi Gregorius even more questionable. While Owings has slowed down from the hot start that earned him National League Rookie of the Month honors for April, he has still managed to have good at-bats.

Much like Pollock, Owings needs to work on cutting down on his strikeouts while improving his walks and on-base ability to move to the top of the lineup.  

Watching Owings play defensively has been the biggest surprise. Before the season, I believed the D-backs would have been better served to deal veteran Aaron Hill, slide Owings over to second base and insert Gregorius at short. Owings has played shortstop so well that the D-backs are moving Gregorius around the infield at the Triple-A level to increase his versatility.

When the D-backs start making deals at the deadline, Owings should be safely entrenched as the team’s shortstop this season and a potential building block for the future. If Owings can improve his offensive numbers during the season, I have to think the D-backs will eventually look at moving him into the leadoff spot or No. 2 hole based on his minor league numbers and solid speed.

If Hill is eventually dealt this season, Arizona can look at having Gregorius at second base, Owings at short and Pollock in center field, letting the D-backs build up through the middle with young players, a key for long-term contention in the NL West.

Now, it will be up to La Russa and the D-backs to determine if 30-year-old catcher Miguel Montero is the right fit for the team behind the plate. Montero is ranked No. 16 overall among regular catchers in baseball defensively and also struggles throwing out base stealers. The D-backs might be in the market for a defensive upgrade behind the plate.

While it is unlikely that the D-backs will turn the season around and get back into playoff contention, there are still many reasons to watch this team during the summer.

And three of those reasons will be to watch the continued growth and development of Goldschmidt, Pollock and Owings.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs.

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MLB award season talk won’t really heat up until after the All-Star break, but it’s never too early to check in on the top candidates to take home MVP and Cy Young honors here in 2014.

What follows is a look at the top five candidates for both honors in the National League and American League as things stand today and whether or not they are legitimate contenders or pretenders to actually take home the award at season’s end.

An awful lot will change between now and the actual voting, but there are undoubtedly some players who have separated themselves from the pack entering June.

*All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference unless otherwise noted. All injury information courtesy of MLBDepthCharts team pages. League ranks reflect players’ ranks among qualified hitters/pitchers through May 30.

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In baseball, the season can be broken down into three stages that form the backbone of each campaign, setting the stage for present and future success.

April and May serve as a tentative, conservative stage in which big moves rarely happen, managers don’t sit on hot seats and executives spend countless hours preparing for the June draft. By the time August and September arrive, the work is done and the best teams rise to the top.

During June and July on a yearly basis, however, championships are won or lost. After assessing the strengths and weaknesses of respective 25-man rosters, conducting an entire draft and racking up cellphone minutes with general managers around the league, business commences as the summer kicks into high gear.

With June approaching and every division race up for grabs, the following is a look at projecting which teams will emerge as buyers and sellers over the next few weeks. While more will surely join as performance fluctuates, four teams stand out as examples right now.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted and are accurate through the start of play on May 31. All contract figures courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Roster projections via MLB Depth Charts.

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Over the course of this weekend, almost every team in baseball will have played 54 games of the 2014 schedule. With one-third of the season nearly complete, it’s a perfect time to assess the season thus far.

Since a season-opening tilt between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in Australia, baseball has been back, offering new narratives and breakout performances on a weekly basis. Since the second week of play, Bleacher Report has been providing weekly analysis, with a combination of short-term reaction and long-term perspective. 

When this column series began seven weeks ago, rises from the Milwaukee Brewers, Masahiro Tanaka and Jose Abreu dominated the early-season takeaways. Before long, pitching dominance in Atlanta and Albert Pujols’ return to form headlined the week.

One month ago, Pujols’ 500th homer, Troy Tulowitzki’s special talent and Cliff Lee’s path to Cooperstown took center stage. Four weeks ago, it was time for an appreciation of Oakland’s AL West dominance, Francisco Rodriguez’s revival and Jayson Werth’s value.

Finally, the last few weeks highlighted Detroit’s road to October, the red-hot Giants, Jose Bautista’s talent, the parity evident around the sport and Edwin Encarnacion’s power surge.

Now, with roughly 66 percent of the season to go, it’s time to dissect and chew on two full months of the 2014 season.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the first two months of the 2014 MLB season.

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The working title for this column was simply “Oscar Taveras: ‘Bout Damn Time.”

That’s because, at long last, the St. Louis Cardinals are calling up Taveras, a 21-year-old outfielder who is the crown jewel of their formidable farm system and one of the best prospects in Major League Baseball.

Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2008, Taveras has risen through the ranks primarily on the strength of his bat and pure hitting ability, which is considered among the very best in the minors, if not the best. He is ready—and has been for some time now—and the next-great-hitter hype is for real.

Taveras, who swings from the left side, sports a career slash line of .321/.377/.519. He was batting .325/.373/.524 for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds this year and was particularly hot over his past 10 games, going 18-for-39 (.462).

News of the promotion first came late Friday from Rob Rains of StL Sports Page, who points out that Taveras initially was penciled into the lineup for Memphis, only to be scratched during a rain delay so he could head to St. Louis.

Taveras is expected to be with the Cardinals in time for Saturday’s contest and in the lineup as they take on the San Francisco Giants, who have won the first two of the four-game set.

Incidentally, Rains also notes that on the very same date last year—May 30—the Cardinals brought up Michael Wacha for his big league debut. The right-hander, who has since become the team’s second-best pitcher behind ace Adam Wainwright, is slated to start Saturday.

The corresponding move to get Taveras on the Cardinals’ 25-man roster is placing first baseman Matt Adams, who leads the team with a .325 average, on the disabled list due to a calf injury that has bothered him since earlier in the week, according to Alex Halsted of MLB.com.

With Adams on the shelf, Allen Craig will shift from right field to first base, opening up a spot for Taveras. And starting Wednesday, the Cardinals play in American League parks for seven straight games, which allows them to expand their lineup via the designated hitter.

Given his immense potential, Taveras wasn’t called up not to play every day. With his hitting ability, the hope—if not expectation—is that he can make an immediate impact for a Cardinals club that has struggled offensively so far. St. Louis ranks in the bottom half of baseball in runs scored, primarily due to having hit only 29 home runs (second-fewest) and slugging .369 as a team (seventh-worst).

Taveras can help with that. Prior to the season, Baseball America (subscription required) rated him as the Cardinals’ top prospect—and No. 3 overall in baseball:

Taveras has a preternatural gift for hitting, one honed by trying to hit the caps of water jugs spun fast to veer like a Frisbee, and thousands of swings against a tire lashed to a fence. He has electron-quick bat speed. He barrels pitches in the zone, and he can drive any pitch he can reach, sometimes going outside the zone to do so. He’s a bad-ball hitter who doesn’t strike out often. 

Here’s Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) dishing on Taveras:

The bat is very special, with electric hands, ferocious bat speed, and contact so easy and natural that it’s conceivable that Taveras shares a genetic relationship with the bat in his hand. He’s ready to hit at the major-league level…so whenever he gets to promotion, be prepared to watch a future batting champion and perennial All-Star.

But enough with the words. Let’s get to some footage of Taveras‘ so-violent-it’s-sweet swing, which has earned comparisons to former MVP Vladimir Guerrero for his outstanding plate coverage and ability to barrel up just about any pitch in any location.

Here’s a double from this past spring training against Daisuke Matsuzaka of the New York Mets:

At the very beginning of the clip, you can hear announcer Ron Darling mention that Taveras has won multiple batting titles in the minors. He hit .386 in 2011 to lead the Midwest League, and while his average dipped to “only” .321 in 2012, that was good enough to finish atop the Texas League. Plus, Taveras nearly tripled his homer output from eight to 23 that year.

For a closer look at what makes Taveras such a gifted hitter, here’s video from his four-hit game against the Minnesota Twins back in spring training of March 2013:

It’s worth pointing out that Taveras collected those knocks against four different pitchers, with two coming against right-handers and two against left-handers.

That second hit shows Taveras keeping his bat in the hitting zone while generating crazy bat speed at the point of impact and into his high finish. The third hit, meanwhile, displays his uncanny ability to make an adjustment to a breaking ball from a southpaw literally while the pitch is in flight. (Pay particular attention to the slow-motion replay shown from the side angle.)

Is Taveras the perfect prospect? No. He’s battled injuries over the past year, including a hamstring strain this past spring that cost him any chance to make the club out of camp. He also suffered an ankle injury last season that limited him to only 47 games (188 plate appearances) and ultimately required surgery.

His defense remains a work in progress too, and his effort and focus have been called into question in the past. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Derrick Goold wrote for Baseball America (subscription required): “The other elements of his game, including attention to detail and constant effort, are catching up to his hitting. Taveras’ zest is at the plate, and his game can wander away from it.”

While Taveras has been getting time in center field of late, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak recently told CBS Sports Radio 920 in St. Louis, “He’s a nice corner outfielder. He’s got some improving to do if you really want to put him in center field. I think it would be a tough place to play day in and day out at the Major League level.”

Whether Taveras sees any action in center once he’s up, though, will be key. If he proves he can handle the position, that will be the best-case scenario for both him and the Cardinals, as it’s his easiest path to stick around once Adams returns. At that point, Craig would have to shift back to right field, and veteran Matt Holliday is set in left.

In center, though, Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos aren’t exactly roadblocks, given the former’s defensive struggles and the latter’s lack of production with the bat.

Given the situation—the Cardinals offense is in need of a spark, especially after losing Adams, and there’s a potential opening in center field—the timing of Taveras‘ promotion makes a lot of sense. Now, it’s about damn time to see what he can do.

Statistics are accurate through May 30 and come from Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs, except where otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11

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David Ortiz says he has lost respect for David Price.

In the process, a lot of people have lost respect for Ortiz.

The Boston Red Sox‘s outspoken designated hitter routinely says what’s on his mind and rarely fails to bring out the emotions of his audience. He has inspired teammates, fans and even an entire city through his intensity. It is probably one of the reasons he has gained so many fans over his career.

His passionate postgame comments about Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price brought out some emotions and opinions of another nature. 

Price plunked Ortiz with a 94-miles-per-hour fastball in the first inning of Friday night’s game. If you read between the lines of Price’s postgame comments, it would appear the pitch was in retaliation for Ortiz’s slow trot after a home run in last season’s American League Division Series.

Benches cleared in the fourth inning after Price hit Mike Carp with a pitch.

During the game, Red Sox starting pitcher Brandon Workman, third base coach Brian Butterfield, manager John Farrell and bench coach Torey Lovullo were ejected.

After the game, Ortiz went off on a rant to reporters, including Rob Bradford from WEEI.com.

I have a lot of respect of the guy, man, but it’s over. I have no more respect for him. Last year we kick his ass in the playoffs, he went off, talking s–t about everybody, Tom Verducci and everybody. Players. We kind of got to talk on the phone. We kind of straightened things out. He was kind of upset. Me as a veteran I kind of let him know how things go in this game. Later on he called me and apologized because he knows he was wrong. He apologized in public. He apologized to myself. Everything was cool. So first at-bat of the season against him he threw at me. I mean, it’s a war. It’s on. Next time he hits me he better bring the gloves. I have no respect for him no more.

Less than a week removed from Memorial Day, a moment of honoring fallen soldiers, is a little too soon to take a baseball beef and compare it to an armed conflict. As can be expected, fans did not react kindly to the comments.

It’s a game, not a war. Win or lose everyone lives to see tomorrow.

The poor timing of that comment would be overshadowed by the addition of a very misogynistic tone to his rant.

I was surprised for a minute until I watched the video. I thought everything was cool. You can’t be acting like a little girl out there. You aren’t going to win every time. When you give it up, that’s an experience for the next time. But when you’re to be acting like a little b—h every time you give it up, bounce back like that and put your teammates in jeopardy, that’s going to cost you.

When you infer that there is something wrong or inferior with being a female and include a hateful term toward women, people usually get upset. 

One good indicator of a poor statement is when a player upsets a fan of their team.

There were, of course, some fans of the Red Sox that were completely fine with what Ortiz said.

The rivalry between the Red Sox and Rays has become the most heated in the AL East. With two more games in this series and more games this season, it is safe to say the final words of this feud have not been said.

Hopefully, we have heard the final comparison to war and words rooted in disrespect to women. 

Stay classy.

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After the two teams got in a scuffle last week, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays cleared the benches once again on Friday.

UPDATE: Saturday, May 31 at 1:55 p.m. ET

David Ortiz was not happy with Price’s pitch, and he had some choice words to say to the Rays pitcher, according to CSNNE.com:

You can’t be acting like a little girl out there. You’re not going to win every time. When you give it up, that’s an experience for the next time. If you’re going act like a little [expletive] when you give it up, bounce back and put your teammates in jeopardy, that’s going to cost you.

He knew he screwed up. He did that on his own. No manager sent him. No player was comfortable with the situation. He did that on his own. Which is (expletive). He can get somebody else hurt. You can’t be doing that (stuff).

It’s on. Next time [Price] better bring the gloves. I have no respect for him no more.

—End of update—

Rays pitcher David Price hit Mike Carp with a pitch in the fourth inning, bringing both teams out of their respective dugouts. Ortiz, who was also hit by a pitch in the first inning of the game, was especially upset and started shouting loudly at Price and in the direction of James Loney.

According to Gordon Edes from ESPNBoston.com, four members of the Red Sox were ejected during the game. Starting pitcher Brandon Workman, third base coach Brian Butterfield, manager John Farrell and bench coach Torey Lovullo were all sent to the showers early.

Despite all of the ejections, Boston still won, 3-2, in 10 innings.

[MLB.com]

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Since getting swept by Joe Torre and the New York Yankees in the 1998 World Series, the San Diego Padres have only played playoff ball twice.

Even on those two occasions that they managed to take an underpaid club and over-perform enough to swing the bats in October, they’ve only been victorious once.

Not since Khalil Greene was making acrobatic plays at shortstop before making the throw to Adrian Gonzalez at first base has this team hung an NL West banner. Eight years later, Greene is five years into his retirement, while Gonzalez finds himself playing baseball up the I-5 with Magic Johnson. Meanwhile, the Friars are still trying to figure this whole baseball thing out and turn things around.

It may take some collective prayers.

It may take a complete overhaul of the League’s hatred for parity by implementing a salary cap 

Either way, read on to find out what this club can do to improve.

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Many of the top-ranked prospects in the Seattle Mariners organization have already reached the major leagues, but a few more could be on the way shorty.

The Mariners have already had James Jones, Dominic Leone and Roenis Elias make their major league debuts in 2014, and each has experienced some success. It should be only a matter of a few weeks before Chris Taylor and Carson Smith join them to fill a couple of holes on the roster.   

Nine of these prospects stand out and should be able to reach the majors either later this season or in 2015. Prospects are not necessarily ranked by talent or upside, but rather by their expected date of arrival, major league readiness and how they can improve weaknesses on the big league roster.

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