Damons triple helps Indians beat Rangers 6-3
(Yahoo! Sports)

CLEVELAND (AP) Johnny Damon hit a two-run triple and Jeanmar Gomez pitched seven strong innings to lead the Cleveland Indians over the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Friday night.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/05/05/damons-triple-helps-indians-beat-rangers-6-
3-yahoo-sports/

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Braun out of lineup for opener with Giants
(Yahoo! Sports)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Ryan Braun was held out of the Milwaukee Brewers starting lineup for Friday night’s series opener with San Francisco, two days after the reigning NL MVP left the game at San Diego in the sixth inning with a sore right Achilles tendon.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/05/05/braun-out-of-lineup-for-opener-with-giants-
yahoo-sports/

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It's A Myth That Home Runs Come In Bunches But
Don't Tell Pujols

Interesting article by Baseball Prospectus' Ben Lindbergh in ESPN's Insider (paywall) section about how the widely accepted belief that "home runs come in bunches" is actually false:

Using a statistical concept called binomial distribution, we determined the theoretical rates of zero-, one-, two-, three- and four-homer games for the average major league batter. By comparing those predicted rates to how often those games actually occurred, we could see whether there was anything to the idea that home runs are hit in bunches. If players actually alternate between home run hot streaks and dry spells, their long balls would be bunched together, and we would see higher rates of two- and zero-homer games and lower rates of one-homer games than predicted.

Cutting to the chase, the net result of this is that for prolific home run hitters (we don't worry about guys hitting in single digits annually), there may be a "slight tendency to be 'bunched'" (as for Vladimir Guerrero), "but even in his case, it's likely that the difference was due to chance."

So why do Pujols and so many other players mistakenly believe that they're hitting home runs in bunches? A cognitive bias called the "availability heuristic" might be to blame. According to Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, the psychologists who coined the term, the availability heuristic is our "tendency to make a judgment about the frequency of an event based on how easy it is to recall similar instances."

But, Lindbergh concludes, it's probably best not to tell Pujols about this. "One of the most important qualities for a hitter to have is confidence, and the "bunches" belief provides a confidence boost for any occasion." And at this point, having changed leagues and in the first weeks of a very, very long-term contract, it's certain that Pujols needs all the confidence he can muster.

Related: Interesting post about how Pujols' drought mirrors Dave Winfield's in the Bronx. Arte Moreno isn't a jerk, which should at least make the whole process easier.

Read The Full Article:
http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2012/05/its-myth-that-home-runs-come-in-bunches.html

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April Winners of Dodger Pride Awards

Read The Full Article:
http://www.ladodgertalk.com/2012/05/april-winners-of-dodger-pride-awards/

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St. Louis Cardinals at Houston Astros, May 4,
2012 7:05 PM CDT

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Current Series

3 game series vs Cardinals @ Minute Maid Park

St. Louis Cardinals Viva El Birdos
@ Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes

Friday, May 4, 2012, 7:05 PM CDT
Minute Maid Park

Kyle Lohse vs Lucas Harrell

Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to left field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 85.

Complete Coverage >

Sat 05/05 6:05 PM CDTSun 05/06 1:05 PM CDT

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/5/4/2999635/st-louis-cardinals-at-houston-astro
s-may-4-2012-7-05-pm-cdt

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Open Thread: Atlanta Braves at Colorado Rockies
(5/4/12 8:40 PM ET)

Tim Hudson vs. Guillermo Moscoso

Braves Lineup:

1. Michael Bourn - CF
2. Chipper Jones - 3B
3. Freddie Freeman - 1B
4. Brian McCann - C
5. Dan Uggla - 2B
6. Jason Heyward - RF
7. Eric Hinske - LF
8. Jack Wilson - SS
9. Tim Hudson - P

What should jump out at you here is that Chipper is hitting in the 2-hole. This is the first time all year that he has been in that spot in the lineup. The last time Chipper hit second was during eight starts over nine games from September 8th to September 16th of last year. While the month in general was catastrophic for the ball club, their record during those nine games was just 4-5, so not absolutely abysmal. Chipper went 10-for-35 with five runs, five RBI, and 2 home runs during the nine game stretch. Those games last year account for more than half of his total games played in this particular spot in the lineup. I personally don't like it but, believe it or not, no one within the organization is asking for my approval on these decisions.
Martin Prado also gets his first night off since April 17th. He has played in 25 games so far this season, right behind Michael Bourn and Dan Uggla, who lead the team with 26 games played. Let's hope Huddy builds on his good first outing of the season and the Braves pull out a win.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2012/5/4/2999980/open-thread-atlanta-braves-at-colorad
o-rockies-5-4-12-8-40-pm-et

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White Sox moving Sale to closer spot (Yahoo!
Sports)

DETROIT (AP) The Chicago White Sox are moving Chris Sale back to the bullpen to be the team’s closer.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/05/05/white-sox-moving-sale-to-closer-spot-yahoo-
sports/

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Mariners remove slumping Chone Figgins from
lineup (Yahoo! Sports)

SEATTLE (AP) The Mariners benched leadoff hitter Chone Figgins on Friday after the veteran’s batting average plummeted to .189 after a recent slump, continuing two-plus subpar seasons since signing with Seattle.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/05/05/mariners-remove-slumping-chone-figgins-from
-lineup-yahoo-sports/

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Yankees closer Rivera says he will pitch in 2013
(Yahoo! Sports)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Mariano Rivera sat on a chair in the corner of the visitor’s clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, his right knee tightly wrapped Friday night and crutches resting against a nearby locker.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/05/05/yankees-closer-rivera-says-he-will-pitch-in
-2013-yahoo-sports/

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Game 25 Open Thread - New York Yankees (13-12)
vs. Kansas City Royals (8-16)

Both teams send out their high-priced free agent pitcher that they were able to retain this past winter.

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CC Sabathia

#52 / Pitcher / New York Yankees

Height: 6-7

Weight: 290

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jul 21, 1980

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W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - CC Sabathia3-055000035.131181859384.581.13

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Bruce Chen

#52 / Pitcher / Kansas City Royals

Height: 6-2

Weight: 215

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jun 19, 1977

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W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Bruce Chen0-355000027.225141336184.231.12

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If we are embarking on OUR TIME, we gotta start being competitive with the Yankees. The Royals haven't won a season series from the Yankees since 1999, and have gone 25-64 against the Bronx Bombers since then. In fairness, things have gotten better the past few seasons, with the two teams splitting six games last year.

But if the Royals ever want to be truly competitive, they have to whip the Yanks so hard, we don't see anymore fans driving in from Nebraska dressed in Yankees gear. Seriously, those people are the worst.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.royalsreview.com/2012/5/4/2999240/game-25-open-thread-new-york-yankees
-13-12-vs-kansas-city-royals-8-16

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