The date was May 17th. Shelby Miller of the Atlanta Braves was starting in Miami against the Marlins. Miller made it into the ninth inning without allowing a hit. He retired Adeiny Hechavarria and Jhonatan Solano to start the frame. Miller was one out away from a no-hitter…and Justin Bour ruined everything by bouncing one […]

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney wants you to buy into his performance, literally. The rookie has become the first player in Major League Baseball history to enter a brand contract with Fantex, which means you can invest in Heaney on the stock market. Here’s more details from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Under the […]

Another week, another Statcast controversy. On September 6th, Kris Bryant obliterated a home run off of Rubby de la Rosa (which you’ll see in a bit today). Despite all of the underlying data being identical, Statcast measured the homer at 495 feet. ESPN’s Home Run Tracker, which we use here at TOC, measured the homer […]

The 2015 Atlanta Braves were supposed to be a more fun team, focusing less on strikeouts and more on making contact at the plate. And while the team did strike out much less and did make more contact than in 2014, the offense was just as bad. The team’s pitching staff was also a trainwreck, […]

If any division-leading team was primed for a September collapse, it was the Mets. They had a bunch of things working against them: the drama surrounding Matt Harvey and his innings limit, a young pitching staff that could tire down the stretch, and a history of gut-punching September finishes (like 2007 and 2008) that seemed […]

The Philadelphia Phillies are moving on from Ruben Amaro. The team announced on Thursday that they wouldn’t be extending their current GM’s contract, and that Scott Proferock would be taking over on an interim basis while the search for a new GM immediately commenced. The Phillies released a statement about Amaro’s departure, with the team’s […]

Our first team has been eliminated from the 2015 playoff race – Philadelphia Phillies, c’mon down! You’re the first subject of this year’s TOC post-mortem series! Preseason Prediction: I’m weary on Lee’s elbow, Amaro’s ability to get rid of Howard for good and Hamels getting the return Amaro wants right now. The last one could […]

In 2012, the Washington Nationals were not shy about their intention of shutting down their star ace, Stephen Strasburg, once he hit roughly 160 innings pitched. In his first year following Tommy John surgery, the Nationals decided the long-term future was more important than that year’s result.  Sure enough, his final start came on September […]

Something you never want to read about a manager is that he’s lost the clubhouse. It’s generally the death rattle of his tenure with the organization. But what if that manager and his coaching staff is less than two months removed from receiving contract extensions – are they still in danger? Well, we’re about to […]

The Toronto Blue Jays have been on fire since the trade deadline when the club significantly beefed up its roster, adding stars Troy Tulowitzki and David Price among a handful of moves. It may seem hard to believe now, but the club was teetering around .500 before the trades, and thanks to an August where they reeled […]

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brandon Finnegan has had a crazy year. After getting a September call up in 2014, he became the first pitcher to pitch in both the College World Series and MLB World Series in the same year. In 2015, he was up and down with the Royals, being used as a reliever with […]

Melvin Upton Jr (the artist formerly known as Bossman Junior) was a punching bag for Braves fans during his two years with the team. As a Brave, Upton played in just 267 games, hitting .198/.279/.314 with 21 homers and 32 stolen bases, collecting a cool $25.9 million and contributing -0.3 fWAR to the team. So […]

There were some majestic dingers this week, but they didn’t involve the players at the top of the list. It’s a shame that no one is going to end up challenging Giancarlo by the end of the season, but here we are. 1. Brett Lawrie vs David Hernandez, 476 feet (August 28th) A second decker […]