Tampa Bay Rays news and links: A blown save, a blown off media

The Rays lost yesterday, after closer Alex Colome blew the ninth-inning save. In the beat reporter recap comparison, Marc Topkin is upset that Colome left without talking to reporters, saying that it “probably can’t be excused.” Bill Chastain simply said Colome was “not available for comment.”

Also in Chastain’s recap is Daniel Robertson’s explanation of what he was thinking throwing to first (rather than second) on the last play of the ninth inning.

In Topkin’s notes, more about Vasiline.

The big Rays star from yesterday was rookie pitcher Yonny Chirinos, who pitched five scoreless innings. I had talked about his stuff after his first appearance, but this was a more effective outing. Here’s the Brooks Baseball data on his pitches from yesterday

One thing I’d immediately note is that I was wrong to discount the four-seam fastballs he threw in his debut—that doesn’t seem to be a pitch he throws often, but it does seem to be a pitch he throws on purpose. I wasn’t able to watch yesterday, so any observations on how Chirinos worked would be welcome and appreciated in the comments.

Other Links

• It sounds like Gabe Kapler is taking after his former manager Joe Maddon (h/t @Steve_Kinsella1).

• Speaking of Gabe Kapler, he’s gotten rather a lot of attention recently. Zach Crizer approached some of the media uproar of what he’s done in Philly, and is very clever, and somewhat wicked about it. Props.
• James Paxton, above average starting pitcher, has succesfully pivoted his brand to “guy who is calm when approached by an eagle.”
• David Kagan looked at the physics of the home run boom.
• Anthony Castrovince told the story of the long-term friendship of Billy Bean, MLB’s “ambassador for inclusion” and a gay former player who left the game because he couldn’t live openly within it, and Torey Lovullo, the Diamondbacks manager. Worth your time to read.
• Shakeia Taylor started off her FanGraphs residency with an article on Little League in Chicago, exploring how the price, availablity, and accessibility of baseball at the lowest level in America shape the demographics of participation at the highest level. If we want greater racial and ethnic diversity in baseball generally, and greater African American representation in particular, we need to look at the whole system of producing baseball players.
• Since we’re on a roll here, jump to Mary Craig’s Short Relief, Triangling the Circle.