Last evening on The Baseball Show, co-host Clint Evans from Diamond Hoggers and I welcomed Derwood Morris from Off Base Percentage & The Bobby Classifieds onto the show for the first time. This came along with a return visit from our good friend MTD, also over at Off-Base Percentage.

We talked Jose Canseco, Manny Ramirez, Yankees, Reds, Dusty Baker, Vernon Wells, Phil Hughes, Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves, Buster Posey, Off-Base Percentage, Bobby Classifieds, Fantasy Baseball, Joe Mauer heading to the DL, and much more!

If you had some laughs with us, give Derwood or MTD a follow on Twitter. Thanks to the crew from Off-Base Percentage for coming on the show!

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Mike Leake did his best to contribute in the Reds’ 15-2 loss to the Brewers on Monday afternoon, surrendering five runs on nine hits in his three innings of work.  After becoming the first player since Xavier Nady (2000) to bypass the minor leagues entirely, Leake began his career at the back of the Reds’ starting rotation.  His rookie campaign looked to be exceptionally promising when he won four of his first ten decisions over April and May, logging 66 innings in the process.

And then Leake got tired – really tired.  By June his effectiveness had waned considerably – evidenced by his 5.22 ERA and 1.77 WHIP – and he was in the midst of pitching himself out of the rotation.  The subsequent months resulted in more of the same as he posted a 4.56 ERA in July, and 8.83 ERA in August

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Connie Mack Award (Manager of the Year)

National League:
First Place Vote – Dusty Baker (Cincinnati)
Second Place Vote- Bud Black (San Diego)
Third Place Vote – Bobby Cox (Atlanta)

American League:
First Place Vote – Ron Washington (Texas)
Second Place Vote – Ron Gardenhire (Minnesota)
Third Place Vote – Joe Maddon (Tampa Bay)Ron Gardenhire (Minnesota)

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I have always considered the stealing of home to be one the most exciting plays in baseball.  Maybe it’s because I grew up watching “The Sandlot,” and had Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez embedded into my memory at an impressionable age, but there’s just something about the accomplishment that makes you rise out of your seat on the couch with anticipation, just as if you were in a seat at the park.  It’s one of those plays that happens so unpredictably fast, that it’s over before anyone knew it even began.

Yet, when Colorado Rockies rookie Chris Nelson stole home in the eighth inning of Thursday’s victory against the Cincinnati Reds, I found myself seated, and more than anything, confused about what had just happened.  A rookie, stealing home—the 1^st of his career, nonetheless—in a tie game, in the heart of a pennant race.  Excweese me? Bacon Powder?

But now, days later and after watching far too many replays, I can’t help but believe that Nick Masset set himself up failure.

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Did Aroldis Chapman really hit 105 mph on the radar gun last Friday? Does it matter?  In his major league debut on Tuesday night, Chapman challenged all of his skeptics with a perfect, 1-2-3, 8th inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The first hitter that the 22 year-old Chapman faced was Jonathon LuCroy, whom he retired on 3 straight pitches: 98mph fastball, a filthy 86mph slider, 102 mph fastball, and then another untouchable 87 mph slider.

He then retired the next two hitters, Craig Counsell and Carlos Gomez, on weak groundouts that more than likely have their hands hurting today.

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