Michael Baumann
@baumann.bsky.social
FanGraphs Writer, Piney, Gamecock, Condiment Enthusiast, Connoisseur of Vehicles Subscribe to Wheelysports.kit.com (or medium.com/@wheelysports) @michaelbaumann on Twitter baumannwrites at gmail dot com
Apparently my most conservative take is that crashing shit into the moon kicks ass. It's a big dumb rock in space with no air or water or life and it's already covered with craters. Are people worried about broken windows lowering galactic property values or something?
lauren@lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 5h agothis one's funny bc i think it's rooted in a similar impulse to the data center backlash, but unlike that one (we do need SOME data centers, not for AI but for lots of stuff everyone likes) it's purely arrogance and hubris to crash stuff into the moon. we don't need to be doing that ever
I'm sympathetic to the argument that posters here can get up their own butts a little, but I just went over and checked X, and I saw someone comparing the Dodgers to the IDF
They're doing some serious bike racing at the Tour de France Femmes today. I didn't know Marlen Reusser had this in her
Happy to see the end of Haley Stevens. She was giving the rest of us off-puttingly weird people a bad name.
Too many short, fast outfielders in that system for years. From now on it's 6-foot-6 or GTFO
Matt Winkelman@mattwinkelman.bsky.social · 23h agoWill Gasparino walks (and steals a base) and then Caden Bogenpohl follows up with a home run. Just how they drew it up in the draft room
this is what I call the "Hello, sir. I--" (briefcase full of baseball players falls open) approach to writing a lineup card
Philadelphia Phillies@notphillies.bsky.social · yesterdayNew faces and new places #RingTheBell
The deadline is past but the content continues to ooze on
Marlins Cap Off Deadline Day by Ordering Vodnik on the Rockies
Vodnik is a hard-throwing righty. How does he get away with not missing bats while simultaneously running a double-digit walk rate?
blogs.fangraphs.com
I wore my Lenny Dykstra shirsey until it was threadbare when I was in first grade so take this for what it's worth: I think no. 4 is one of the best-looking numbers in the Phillies' jersey font
Pat Gallen, CBS Sports Philadelphia@patgallen.bsky.social · yesterdayLuis Arraez will wear No. 4 for the Phillies.
I don't talk to my wife about work much. She only learned this weekend that the A's don't play in Oakland anymore. But she does speak Czech, and I'm writing about Victor Vodnik, so I asked her what Vodnik means. I was not prepared for the answer. prettymarginal.com/vodnik-the-w...
When I moved to Houston one of the first things I did was find the highway exit where they parked the tank to watch the nuke go off
Greg Stoll 🌈@gregstoll.com · yesterdayMan, I remember watching that in a theater in Houston and everyone cheered 😛
Clearly because if the Rangers get a hold of alien tech before they do they're fucked
gwen howerton@kissphoria.bsky.social · yesterdaywhy did the astros have this guy throw out the first pitch yesterday www.chron.com/sports/astro...
Last article of mine for the day. If you haven't been paying attention to how dire the left side of the defensive spectrum has been for the Diamondbacks, get a load of this.
Diamondbacks Pay Dearly for Nootbaar, and Not a Moment Too Soon
Nootbaar could bring an oboe to the plate and just draw walks and probably do better than what the Diamondbacks had before.
blogs.fangraphs.com
I don't remember how many trades I wrote up today but this is one of them. I'm very fond of Jeff Hoffman and I hope he does well in Minnesota. Plus I got to make a joke about the stereotypical Dallas Baptist pitcher
End of Jays: Toronto Gets Joshes From Texas, Sends Hoffman to Minnesota
Wrapping up a surprisingly frenetic deadline in Toronto.
blogs.fangraphs.com
I have a legitimate request. Are you a Baltimorean and did you name your child or pet Adley? Please email me: Andy.kostka@thebanner.com
I tried to give the Rutschman trade its due, which was not easy in under 2,000 words. I think the Orioles got a lot back for a guy who's been hurt on and off for two years and is a free agent after 2027...but it can't feel great to trade Rustchman under any circumstances.
Red Sox Give Rutschman a New Birth in New England
The Red Sox have a new lease on life, but even with this deluge of talent, the Orioles’ direction of travel is a little murkier.
blogs.fangraphs.com
If Aaron Nola gets so angry pitching in front of this defense that he throws a blood clot and has a stroke, they still have to pay out his contract
Matt Gelb@mattgelb.bsky.social · 2d agoDon Mattingly said the plan is for Bryce Harper to play RF, Alec Bohm to play 1B and Bryson Stott to be at 3B. Luis Arraez will be here Tuesday. Mattingly said the Phillies will have to “ease” Harper into right field, and it’s unclear how they will do that.
Three hours until the trade deadline and there is a gnat at large in my office that is going to drive me nuts long before close of business.
Wrote up the Soriano-for-Nimmala et al trade. I like Soriano and I get what the Blue Jays are doing but maaaaaaaaaaaaaan giving up Nimmala for this guy is a big risk
Blue Jays Snag Soriano, but Pay a Heavy Price
Any pitching coach with a pulse is going to look at Soriano and mutter an epithet beyond “I can fix him.” Namely, “I can turn him into Paul Skenes.”…
blogs.fangraphs.com
If you live in Philadelphia, I'm teaching a free class (with free stickers!!) on how to score a baseball game at Val's Lesbian bar next tuesday! Please come!
No baseball pun I've ever made has produced a higher ratio of joy for myself and total no-sale from my audience
Insane that democrats keep trying to cave on this issue rather than amplifying the fact that it’s being spearheaded by bigots and freaks
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
Arraez is an offensive upgrade on what they had in right before, and I can buy that he's relearned how to play second base, but this is (sound of a transmission seizing up on the highway)
Matt Winkelman@mattwinkelman.bsky.social · 2d agoMoving Bryce to OF, Bohm to 1B, Stott to 3B, and Arraez to 2B is somehow making yourself worse defensively at 4 different positions
In the span of minutes, an "I thought it was Tate Southisene" trade and an "I thought it was Alfred Molina" trade