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Juan Pierre: The new face of the Phillies?
If the face of the Phillies has an infielder's glove against its cheek. Dig this:
The evolution was summed up nicely in a show Pierre recently watched on the MLB Network that focused on advanced statistics. The premise of one segment, he remembers, was that sacrifice bunts don’t make sense. Pierre led the major sin sacrifice hits three times in his career. "I’ve always grown up playing the game, if you get the guy in scoring position, you get a better chance," he says. "With those kinds of shows, and now the GM and baseball people are more computerized, they look at straight numbers. A lot of what I do doesn’t show up on the box score or on the computer screen."
Inside the Phillies: Jim Thome struggling as pinch-hitter
The case of the aging Three True Outcomes guy who's having a hard time with two out of three of the outcomes. C'mon big Jim! Taterz!
Around the League, Around the League, Around the League
MLB mulls altering interleague rivalry series including Mets-Yankees, sources say - ESPN New York
In the new format, all of baseball will take September off to watch the Red Sox and the Yankees.
Beasts of the NL Easts
War of Stupid Attrition Won By Terry Collins; Mets Fall to Houston - Amazin' Avenue
The Mets' batters went quietly in the ninth against Enormous Piece of Human Garbage Brett Myers, and that's all she wrote.
Pirates' Bats Break Out to Clobber Braves 9-3 - Talking Chop
Clobber: 1941, British air force slang, probably related to bombing; possibly echoic. Related: Clobbered; clobbering. In late 19c. British slang the word principally had to do with clothing, e.g. clobber (n.) "clothes," (v.) "to dress smartly;" clobber up "to patch old clothes for reuse."
Diamondbacks 9, Marlins 5: Corbin Sole-id, Marlins Flounder - AZ Snake Pit
Don't think it will last, but I'm mildly surprised at the poor start by the Marlins.
Minor Leagues
Bus is driving through Sonic! Who wants what, you bushers? After the jump.
Domonic Brown confident, having fun as Lehigh Valley IronPigs everyday left fielder | lehighvalleylive.com
"I tell my parents to keep all the articles, good or bad, and I’ll read them after my career is done," he said. How does one keep a hyper-link'd poem in a scrapbook? Today's TGP koan.
Phillies Farm Update - The Good Phight
Dom Brown: a thick slab of meat that takes forever to grill.
Domonic Brown: 5 Reasons It's Time to Call Up Phillies Young Slugger | Bleacher Report
I come to bury Dom Brown praise Dom Brown. Memo to GMs: whatever the columnists at Bleacher Report say, do anything other than that.
The Mercury - EASTERN LEAGUE: R-Phils edge New Hampshire
Gillies strikes again! And bottle April 2012 for your own brand of sexy cologne, Tyler Cloyd.
Exeter senior pitch-perfect on R-Phils' mound
Eat your heart out, Jamie Moyer.
Prospect Rosterbation: Clearwater 10, Brevard County 3 - The Good Phight
If you didn't catch TheDark's weekend scouting report of the Clearwater Threshers, take a few minutes. Similar efforts welcomed if you happen to be at minor league games.
Clearwater 5, Brevard County 1
Brody Colvin kinda all over the place, but winz!
Fenster's lessons paying off | The Asbury Park Press NJ | APP.com
"Write a profile of the batting coach," the editor says. "Then let the readers judge for themselves what to make of it after the team gets whupped 7-0." The joys of minor league reporting.