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Matt Kemp donating $1000 in OKC relief for every HR

Written by Jaymes Langrehr on .

It's still too early to tell just how much damage was done by the massive tornado that hit the Oklahoma City area Monday, but it's clear the rebuilding costs are going to be astronomical.

The Dodgers' Matt Kemp is from the OKC suburb of Midwest City, just a few miles from the city of Moore, the suburb devastated by the tornado. After homering in LA's win over Milwaukee last night, Kemp tweeted that he was donating $1000 to victims of the tornado for that homer and every one he hits until the All-Star break.

Kemp has been mired in a season-long power slump at the plate following offseason shoulder surgery. He didn't hit his first home run of the season until the 20th game of the season, and his blast off Yovani Gallardo last night snapped a 97-plate appearance homerless streak. The Dodgers as a whole have struggled to hit for much power this season -- Carl Crawford leads the team with 5 home runs, with two coming in the same game almost a month ago.

However many home runs Kemp ends up hitting between now and July, it's still a generous gesture -- something that's not unusual for him. Kemp is not the only Oklahoman in baseball looking to raise money, either -- Arizona prospect Archie Bradley tweeted he will be auctioning off game-used items on eBay.

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Here are the Lennay Kekua bobblehead dolls

Written by Joe Lucia on .

Back in January, we brought you the story of the independent league Florence Freedom, who would be giving away Lennay Kekua bobblehead dolls for a game in May. Well, that day has arrived, and courtesy of our friends at Larry Brown Sports via Darren Rovell, we've now seen what the doll looks like.

Well...we've seen what the box looks like. Since Kekua didn't exist outside of Te'o's imagination, the box is empty, though it still advertises it as a Kekua bobblehead doll. It'll be free to the first 1000 fans attending the Freedom's game on Thursday.

[Larry Brown Sports]

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Dugout Digest - rock bottom

Written by Joe Lucia on .

If this isn't rock bottom for the new and improved Washington Nationals, it has to be close. Washington got pounded 8-0 on Monday in a game started by Zach Duke, thanks to the shockingly effective Ross Detwiler missing his start thanks to an oblique injury. Washington is now just a game above .500, 3.5 games out in the NL East, and they also have a -25 run differential, which is worse than more than half of the teams in the National League. The Nationals' schedule won't be getting any easier either, as after they leave San Francisco on Wednesday, they face the Phillies for three (who always play the Nationals tough), the Orioles for four, and the Braves for three in Atlanta. The Braves really have a chance to put some distance between the two teams over the next two weeks.

PIC OF THE DAY

Coco Crisp welcomes Jurickson Profar to the majors...hopefully for good, this time. (Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)

Game of the Day: Indians 10, Mariners 8 (ten innings). It doesn't get much better than this, unless you're a self-loathing Mariners fan. Trailing 6-5 going into the eighth inning, Kyle Seager tied the game at six with a solo homer off of Vinnie Pestano. In the ninth, Seattle took a 7-6 lead when Endy Chavez (yes, THAT Endy Chavez) hit a solo homer of his own off of Chris Perez. Cleveland proceeded to tie the game in the ninth when Tom Wilhelmsen mishandled a throw from Justin Smoak on what would have been the final out of the game. In the tenth, Seattle once again jumped out to a lead after Smoak homered. But in the bottom of the inning, Michael Brantley singled, Drew Stubbs attempted to bunt him over and reached safely on a Smoak error, and Yan Gomes hit a walkoff, three-run homer to left to end the game, and break the Mariners' hearts once again. But it's OK Mariners fans, Root Sports proclaimed you the winners.

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Apparently, Aroldis Chapman blew a save because of Cuban pastries

Written by Joe Lucia on .

The Phillies beat the Reds 3-2 on Sunday in walkoff fashion after Erik Kratz and Freddy Galvis hit solo homers off of Cincinnati flamethrowing closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning. The Cuban lefty's fastball velocity was slightly down (but not enough for people to get worried about an injury) during the 14-pitch outing and Phililes Spanish broadcaster Rickie Ricardo thinks he knows why...Cuban pastries. Seriously. This anecdote from CBS Philly has blown my mind.

“Aroldis Chapman, since he arrived in the U.S. and on a major league team, he has become a friend of mine, and as I do for many Cuban players they always ask me—there is a little Cuban bakery up near where I live in the Cuban strong hold of Union City, New Jersey,” Ricardo told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on Monday. “They cook this little Cuban pastry, which is a flaky-crust pasty with cream cheese and guava and it’s baked, and it’s absolutely delicious. Now, if you eat more than two of these you’re clogging up your arteries—you’re a stroke waiting to happen! Well, Chapman asked me on Friday night after the game to stop by the bakery and pick up a box of 50. For example, Livan Hernandez, guys like that—even Chooch, guys on our team, they’ll put 10-15 of these things away with a couple of glasses of milk. It’s equivalent of the Krispy Kreme donuts when they come right out of the oven, it’s that kind of a thing.”

“Could you imagine cream cheese and guava on a baked pastry? Well Chapman asked me for a box of 100, two boxes of 50. When I saw him on Sunday morning before the game, he was in the club house, he had just eaten about 18 of them. He couldn’t breathe! I looked at my partner, I said, ‘he’s ripe for the taking today.”

Moral of the story: don't binge eat before games. The outing on Sunday was the lone appearance for Chapman in the series, but he also blew the save (and eventually got the win) on Thursday in Miami during a game the Reds would later win 5-3. I just have to question the choice by Chapman to indulge himself on pastries (as good as they may be) before a Sunday day game.

[CBS Philly]

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Times are changing for Atlanta's bullpen

Written by Joe Lucia on .

The long-powerful bullpen of the Atlanta Braves is undergoing a huge overhaul six weeks into the 2013 season.

First, Jonny Venters had Tommy John surgery, ending his season.

Next, newly-acquired Jordan Walden was placed on the DL with an inflamed shoulder.

Finally, this weekend, Eric O'Flaherty was placed on the DL with a torn UCL, and will more than likely need Tommy John surgery as well.

When you put everything in a nice little package with a bow on it, the Braves are missing four of their top five relievers (in terms of innings pitched) from a year ago. Along with Venters and O'Flaherty, Chad Durbin joined the Phillies as a free agent this winter (though that is more an addition by subtraction move), and Cristhian Martinez was placed on the DL during the season's first week with a strained shoulder. Throw in Kris Medlen's transition to the rotation last year after 54 1/3 relief innings in 2012, and the only current Atlanta relievers with at least 20 innings last season are Kimbrel, Luis Avilan, and Cory Gearrin.

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Jean Segura has set a precedent

Written by Scott Allen on .

When Jean Segura was traded as part of a package to land Zack Greinke last season, fans of both sides seemed to be pleased with the deal.  Angels fans were excited over the prospect of having Weaver and Greinke in the same rotation and Brewers fans liked the idea that they had found a possible long-term solution at shortstop.  That’s when everything went right for the Brewers, and everything seemingly went wrong for the Angels.

The Angels had just recently signed Erick Aybar to an extension and were unwilling to gamble on Segura as their future shortstop.  They had however gambled on Greinke’s willingness to sign a long-term deal with the Angels, which never came to fruition and culminated in him signing with their cross-town rivals the Dodgers.  Meanwhile, Segura continued to grow as a player in his stint in the major leagues last season and during winter ball.  Now, Segura is proving to be one of the most dynamic players in the game. 

I recently spoke with a representative of the Dodgers organization who explained the folly in trading Jean Segura and how it will serve as notice to other teams with high profile shortstop prospects.  This story actually begins with another shortstop named Alcides Escobar, currently with the Kansas City Royals.  Escobar came up as a shortstop in the Brewers organization, and much like Segura, was part of a package to bring in Zack Greinke.  The Brewers didn’t necessarily regret this decision, however, they were not able to envision Escobar making the adjustments he’s made and becoming a potential .300 hitting, Gold Glove caliber shortstop that swipes 30 bases as he’s done with the Royals.  In the same respect, the Angels failed to properly evaluate Jean Segura.

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Dugout Digest - the wrong ace

Written by Joe Lucia on .

Felix Hernandez vs Justin Masterson. Man, when you heard about that pitching matchup yesterday, I'm sure you all figured that while both pitchers would do well, Hernandez would stand head and shoulders above Masterson...right? Well, not so much. Masterson shut out the Mariners in Cleveland's 6-0 win, and Hernandez's day was done after just five innings and six runs (five earned). Masterson didn't just have the best game of anyone in Cleveland yesterday, he had the best pitching performance out of *anyone* in the game...but we'll get to that a bit later.

PIC OF THE DAY

Mets center fielder Juan Lagares tries (and fails) to make a diving catch at Wrigley. (David Banks-USA TODAY Sports)

Game of the Day: Phillies 3, Reds 2. The ending of this game wa bizarre. The Phillies picked up a run in the eighth off of Jonathan Broxton (who absolutely, postiively cannot pitch in Philadelphia anymore), and Aroldis Chapman came in to close the game out in the ninth. Chapman walked pinch hitter Delmon Young to lead the inning off, and Charlie Manuel pinch ran with Cliff Lee. Of course, Chapman managed to pick Lee off, much to the chagrin of Phillies fans. After taking a pitch, Erik Kratz blasted a game-tying homer to left field (which would have been a game-winner had Lee not been picked off). But Lee's baserunning blunder was wiped out when Freddy Galvis followed Kratz's homer with one of his own off of Chapman, giving the Phillies a big series win over Cincinnati.

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Dugout Digest - finally in the win column

Written by Joe Lucia on .

Diamondbacks starter Brandon McCarthy was having a hard luck year, to put it mildly. While his 5.63 ERA coming into Saturday night's tilt with the Marlins wasn't pretty, McCarthy was the victim of some bad luck, and still hadn't put a notch in the win column. In his last start against the Phillies, McCarthy threw eight shutout innings and was in line for the win...until Heath Bell blew the save. Two starts ago, McCarthy registered a quality start, allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Dodgers...but got a no decision, as the Diamondbacks could only muster three runs of their own until the ninth inning. Three starts ago, he left the game after six with a two run lead...only to see the Giants score five runs in the eighth and ninth innings off of David Hernandez and Bell. Last night, McCarthy took matters into his own hands. The 29-year old threw a complete game shutout for Arizona against the Marlins, and the Diamondbacks needed every inch of that complete game since they couldn't put a run on the board after Gerardo Parra led off the game with a solo homer. The win was McCarthy's first decision in a month, and I guess the fourth time was a charm for him this year.

PIC OF THE DAY

Astros athletic trainer Rex Jones, awesome mustache and all, looks over Houston shortstop Marwin Gonzalez. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Game of the Day: Indians 5, Mariners 4. The Indians are now all alone in first place, and this dramatic win was a huge reason why. Cleveland led 4-0 going into the eighth when starter Zach McAllister allowed a two-run homer to light-hitting shortstop Brendan Ryan to cut the lead in half. Ruh roh. Rich Hill got out of the inning for the Tribe, and Chris Perez came in to save the game for McAllister, but promptly allowed back to back homers to Raul Ibanez and Justin Smoak to tie the game at four and drive Indians fans up the wall. That rage subsided quickly, as in their end of the ninth, the Indians wasted no time. Jason Kipnis led off the inning with a single, and an Asdrubal Cabrera double put the team in prime position to get the winning run across. Nick Swisher was intentionally walked to bring up Mark Reynolds, and he hit a soft grounder that Ryan smothered at short and fired home, a fraction of a second too late to get Kipnis. Talk about close calls.

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Dugout Digest - all hail Harvey

Written by Joe Lucia on .

Matt Harvey just cannot be stopped. The Mets rookie improved to 5-0 on the season in New York's 3-2 win over the Cubs on Friday night, giving up just two runs in 7 1/3 and striking out six without a walk. His fastball averaged 96 over the 106 total pitches he threw over the evening, topped out at 99, and he *still* broke 96 in the seventh inning. With Harvey, Shelby Miller, and Pat Corbin (who admittedly isn't a rookie, but is still a young pup) in the top five in the NL in ERA, the young pitchers are completely dominating the league this year.

PIC OF THE DAY

Justin Upton with a five star pimpjob following his sixth inning grand slam against the Dodgers. (Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)

Game of the Night: Pirates 5, Astros 4. Houston led 4-1 after five, and things were looking up. Then...they apparently realized they're the Astros. A Garrett Jones RBI double cut the lead to two runs in the sixth. In the eighth, Pedro Alvarez hit a monstrous two-run homer to tie the game. The Pirates loaded the bases in the ninth with two outs, but Russell Martin hit a popup to shallow right field...only this happened, and the Pirates won the game. I have to wonder if that would have happened if Jose Altuve was in the lineup...probably not.

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MLB Watchability Rankings - 5/17/13

Written by Garrett Wilson on .

RANK TEAM CHANGE SCHEDULE COMMENT
1 +1 vs. DET
vs. OAK
The Darvish-Verlander duel was a bust, but we still get to see the two best teams in the AL face off and that is more than OK with us.
2 -1

@ LAD
vs. MIN

We take back what we said about McCann ruining the Gattis fun. How soon we forget how good McCann can be.
3 +2 @ TEX
@ CLE
The aforementioned Texas series plus a key early season battle for AL Central supremacy against Cleveland makes Detroit our pick for Schedule of the Week.
4 +2 vs. MIL
@ SD
The Cardinals are just stupid good. Their opponents this week aren't though.
5 -3 @ MIN
@ CWS
Please stop sullying our TV/computer screens with Felix Doubront.
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