Selig to retire after 2012

Sweet Happy Day!

World Baseball Classic provisional rosters announced

I plagiarised that title, but that is it!

So anyway, I think Canada'a team looks good, as Canada has had more and more players in the bigs the past few years. Obviously it won't be easy.

A few names:

Jeff Francis LHP
Eric Gagné RHP
Rich Harden RHP
Scott Richmond RHP

Russell Martin Catcher
Justin Morneau 1B
Pete Orr 2B/Inf
Mark Teahen Inf.
Joey Votto 1B

See all the provisional rosters here (PDF). And all WBC news here.

Update:

Better viewing options for the provisional rosters:

All players

Sorted by MLB club

Team rosters

Tim Wallach named Albuquerque Isotopes new manager

Montreal Expos veteran, Tim Wallach has been named the new manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes. This is the first year the Isotopes are the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, as they had the Las Vegas 51s prior (as I mentioned in a previous post). The Isotopes were the Marlins Triple-A team from 2003 to 2008.

Wallach spent 13 seasons with the Expos, before moving onto the Dodgers, California Angels, and ending his career with the Dodgers. He was a three time gold glover at third, and a two time silver slugger.

After retiring in 1996, he was named hitting instructor for the then Class A (high level) Dodgers affiliate, San Bernardino Stampede, in 1997 (They are once again a Dodgers affiliate, now called the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino since 2003. They were a Mariners affiliate from 2001 to 2006.). He then stepped in as manager for the second half of the 1998 season. In 2000 he coached at Cal State-Fullerton. In 2001 he took over as manager for the Class A advanced Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. They have been an Angels affiliate since then.

2008, Former Expos with the Nationals

Last year I never got around to write about the former Expos still with, or with the Nationals. So, no time like the present.

Starting with the pitching staff, Chad Cordero is the most notable. He only played in 6 games though, all in April, no thanks to (right) shoulder tendinitis starting at the end of March. Shoulder issues persisted, and landed him on the DL May 2nd, with a tear of the right latissimus dorsi muscle. That is what caused him to miss the remainder of the season. On October 30th, he refused his assignment to Triple-A Syracuse (now the Nationals Triple-A team, not the Blue Jays. The Jays get the Dodgers former Triple-A squad, the Las Vegas 51s, only 2000 (3218 KM) or so miles away as the crow flies or 3600 (5793 KM) driving! More on affiliations in a future post.) and became a free agent. He won't be returning to the Nationals as Jim Bowden said Cordero would be non tendered after the season in July. Cordero was upset that the announcement was made so early. Bowden gave the news out first to a sports talk radio station (Sports Talk 980), and apologised acknowledging he should have told Cordero and his agent first.

Luis Ayala played in 62 games with the Nationals before being sent to the Mets August 17 for a player to be named later (INF Anderson Hernandez August 20). He then played 19 games as a Met. Ayala started with the Expos in 2003 making his MLB debut March 31, 2003. He played in 65 and 81 games for the Expos in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

Canadian Shawn Hill was with the Nationals in 2008, and still is. He played a whopping 3 games with the Expos, all in 2004. His MLB debut came June 29, 2004. He was drafted by the Expos in the sixth round in 2000. He made his way up the Expos affiliation ladder starting with the GCL Expos in 2000. Last year he played in 12 games for Washington. His MLB most being 2007 with 16 GP and GS. Injury has caused him to miss a lot of games. He missed all of 2005 with Tommy John surgery.

Jon Rauch was traded to Arizona for 2B Emilio Bonifacio July 22, 2008. He played in 48 games for the Nationals last year, and 26 for Arizona. As an Expo he played in 9, and started 2 (which probably goes to show how 2004 went for the Expos, that is, starting a relief pitcher).

And finally...

Is the injury prone Nick Johnson. 2005 and 2006 were fairly good years for him, only missing a few games due to injury. In 2005 he played in 131 games, starting 126. 2006 he played in 147 games, starting 143. This compared with 73 games played, and 70 games started in 2004 for the Expos. 2005 and 2006 were the two seasons he played the most games since he started him MLB career (MLB debut August 21, 2001). He missed all of 2007 after he fractured his right femur September 23, 2006, after colliding with Austin Kearns on what would be a David Wright bloop triple. So in 2008 he played in 38 games, starting 34. All this in April and May, before landing on the DL for the rest of the season with a torn ligament sheath in his right wrist. He is still on the roster. On a side note, it is worth noting he has been showing good patience at the plate, drawing 110 base on balls in 2006, which tied him for fifth overall in the MLB.

I think that is it. Only Shawn Hill, and Nick Johnson remain with the team.

Baseball Blog of the Moment feature

For a while now I have had the baseball blog of the moment feature to the right. Anyway, thought I'd write a few sentences about it now. Basically it is a link to a good (or noteworthy) baseball blog I came upon. Also, I add the link to blog links below, working on my 'blogroll'.

So I just featured a couple 'Hot Stove' blogs, as this is the time for free agent wheeling and dealing. Now they can be found below. Now I am featuring Uni Watch. It is not solely a baseball blog, but features everything you can imagine about uniforms, logos, and so on. Click on MLB, or Minor League Baseball under categories to get to those specific posts.

Former Expo Michael Barrett signs Minor League Contract with Jays

As the title suggests, Michael Barrett, the former Expo (Cub and Padre), has been signed by the Toronto Blue Jays to a minor league contract, which includes an invite to Blue Jays Spring Training.

The last two seasons, especially last year he has missed many games due to being on the disabled list.

He had five complete seasons with the Expos, 1999 - 2003. His MLB debut came September 19, 1998. He then had three full seasons with the Cubs 2004 - 2006. He played in 57 games, starting 52, in 2007 with the Cubs before being traded to San Diego along with cash considerations for Rob Bowen and Kyler Burke. He then played in 44 games with the Padres, starting 31 to finish 2007.

Last year he managed to play in only 30 games, due to an elbow injury (missed 42 games), and broken nose (missed the last 76 games).

He is a fairly respectable catcher, I preferred him over Brian Schneider, when they were together as Expos teammates, not based on stats, just generally. He can put up respectable numbers as a catcher too, both offensively and defensively. MLB doesn't seem to have a percentage for runners he caught stealing (just the SB and CS), but I believe he is alright in that category. The scouting report says he is typically slow for a catcher. He put up some good RBI numbers with the Cubs, as it states in the same scouting report he is a proven run producer. The most games he started as a catcher came in 2001 with the Expos starting 129, then 119 in 2004, and 114 in 2005 both with the Cubs.

I believe if he has a good spring he'll definitely be competing with Rod Barajas for the number one catching position for the Jays. Rod Barajas had a really good year after taking over the number one job from Gregg Zaun who missed 55 games due to injury (fractured right thumb, 39, and right elbow inflammation 16). Zaun was unhappy how he wasn't even told he lost the number one catcher job, and the Blue Jays have no intention of resigning him, as he is a free agent.

Meanwhile, Brad Wilkerson remains a free agent.

I have probably mentioned this before, but Gregg Zaun was a Montreal Expo during Spring Training 2004. (January 13, 2004, Expos signed him to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. April 4, Montreal reassigned him to minor league camp. On April 8 he declined and opted for free agency. April 9 the Blue Jays signed him to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Syracuse. April 27 the Blue Jays purchased his contract from Triple-A Syracuse. During that time with Syracuse he played in 7 games, and had 23 ABs (he went 7 for 23 with 2BB).)

Yankee$

A.J. Burnett five years worth a reported $82.5 million.

Mark Teixeira eight years worth a reported $180 million.

I think I should just go pay all my attention to minor league baseball. That, and await a Selig free MLB. The Blue Jays seemed like they had a chance last year, with the Yankees not signing Johan Santana, and they probably would have done much better if they had more consistent offense. Anyway, not that they don't now, but it won't exactly be easy.

Read more: Yankee Signings of Teixeira, Sabathia, and Burnett Move Salary Figures to Cartoonish Levels, and The Anatomy of a Yankees Spending Spree.

Winter Classic 2009 at Wrigley Field

There is plenty going on this baseball offseason, but the baseball news I am most looking forward to at this moment is the second NHL Winter Classic, taking place New Year's Day at Wrigley Field!

It is the second regular season NHL game to be played outside in the US, and third overall. The first was Montreal at Edmonton in 2003, it was dubbed the Heritage Classic. It will face the Detroit Red Wings against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Both teams are part of the Original Six. (From Wikipedia: The Original Six is a well-known term for the group of six teams that composed the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 25 seasons between the 1942-43 season and the 1967 NHL Expansion.) And as Wikipedia states, there were other teams prior, and during that time, however those are the ones still around. The Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks were both founded in 1926. The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) folded, and the Portland Rosebuds became the Chicago Black Hawks (They were known as the Black Hawks from 1926 until 1986), and the Victoria Cougars became the Detroit Red Wings. The Portland Rosebuds, of Portland Oregon were originally the Regina Capitals for the short time the WCHL existed, but moved to Oregon for what would end up being their final season. The Victoria Cougars were from Victoria, British Columbia.

As last years Winter Classic (Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres), they'll be wearing vintage jerseys. Chicago's dates back to 1937 (till 1955), and Detroit's dates back to 1926, as an alternate logo. They were know as the Detroit Cougars from 1926 to 1930, and the Detroit Falcons from 1930 to 1932. Thus being the Red Wings from 1932 to the present.

I wouldn't normally post videos in this blog but this is worth it. The sweet commercial for the Winter Classic, using "Take Me Out to the Ball" Game as background music. See the game on NBC in the US, CBC or RDS in Canada January 1st at 1PM EST. (NHL Send me a Winter Classic jersey for the plug!)

Yankees and Mets continue spending spree

New York Yankees, CC Sabathia 7 year $161 million = $23 million per year.

New York Mets, Francisco Rodriguez 3 year $37 million = $12.33 million per year.

2008 payroll:

New York Yankees, $209,081,579
New York Mets, $138,293,378

2007 payroll:

New York Yankees, $195,229,045
New York Mets, $117,915,819

2006 payroll:

New York Yankees, $198,662,180
New York Mets, $100,901,085

2005 payroll:

New York Yankees, $208,306,817
New York Mets, $101,305,821

2004 payroll:

New York Yankees, $182,835,513
New York Mets, $100,629,303

2003 payroll:

New York Yankees, $180,322,403
New York Mets, $116,253,927

2002 payroll:

New York Yankees, $138,423,649
New York Mets, $102,863,303

2001 payroll:

New York Yankees, $114,457,768
New York Mets, $93,125,240

2000 payroll:

New York Yankees, $95,285,187
New York Mets, $82,246,383

I think Phil Rizzuto sums it up well, holy cow!

Atlanta Braves Acquire Javier Vazquez

Javier Vazquez has returned to the NL East after five seasons outside the NL East. He played six full seasons with the Montreal Expos. Then 2004 with the Yankees, 2005 with the Diamondbacks, and 2006 to 2008 with the White Sox. He has still played more games with the Expos (192) than outside the NL East (163).

Bobby Cox gained an appreciation for him while being the manager of the All-Star team that toured Japan in 2000. Read the full article here. Not surprisingly, the article has no mention of the Montreal Expos. They do make reference to another former Expo though:

Since the start of the 2000 season, Livan Hernandez is the only Major League pitcher to have thrown more innings than Vazquez, whose 208 1/3 innings this past season were 20 more than any Braves pitcher completed.

The Braves also acquired LHP Boone Logan (sounds like his name should be reversed as Logan Boone!).

Here is the official transaction from the Braves perspective:

Acquired RHP Javier Vazquez and LHP Boone Logan from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for C Tyler Flowers, INFs Jonathan Gilmore and Brent Lillibridge and LHP Santos Rodriguez.

Based solely on his win loss record, looks like 2007 was his best year to date. Then looking at his ERA, it would look like it would be 2003 then 2001 and 2007. I recall he was pitching well in 2003, surely much better than his record would show. And of course if the Expos didn't have to travel to San Juan for 22 games... well, that is another story.

Looks like he'll be in the middle of the Braves rotation.

In other Braves news, Braves make offer to Burnett.

Also I'll try to post more with the 2008 Baseball Winter Meetings coming up December 8th through to the 11th.

Free Agents on First Day Eligible

I am not a professional athlete, but find it interesting to see who has filed for free agency on the first day eligible. I suppose the main reason would be to test the market, see what offers come up. Which I suppose is true, however reasons you will not hear from players, at least the vast majority (read everyone save for Manny Ramirez!), would be that they are no longer happy where they are, do not like their current team, or are looking for more money.

65 players filed for free agency on the first day possible, the day after the World Series ended.

Topping the list is Manny Ramirez. Jason Varitek is on the list too. Ryan Dempster and Jim Edmonds from the Cubs are on the list. They obviously want a chance at a championship! Some more Red Sox and former Red Sox are on the list including Alex Cora, David Ross, Kevin Millar, and Eric Gagne.

Former Montreal Expo Brad Wilkerson is on the list as a Blue Jay.

My source is here. Numerous players have become free agents since the first day. See more here and here.

World Series game 5 Tampa Bay Rays at Philadelphia Phillies parts 1 and 2

The official delay was 30 minutes, which is true, as that was the length of the rain delay until it was officially suspended.

All of that happened after Tampa Bay tied it at 2, once the visiting half of the 6th ended. That only amounted to Evan Longoria getting an AB, and flying out to CF Shane Victorino.

Who knows what exactly would have happened if TB did not tie the game. Surely they would have had to suspend and continue later, as that would have been worse than the ASG that ended up as a tie! Anyway, the tie was the obvious reason to suspend with good reason. Not to forget there were lakes out there! With the conditions in mind, numerouse things could have gone wrong for both clubs, especially Upton's stolen base.

Regardless of the delay and the suspended and two days later resumed game, it made for an exciting finish.

Dioner Navarro singling with one out off of Brad Lidge and then Fernando Perez pinch running for Navarro felt like Dave Roberts in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Both bases were stolen successfully, but unfortunately Perez was not able to plate the tying run.

As I stated in my previous entry, I could go either way, rooting for either team. The main reason, actually the reason I wanted Philadelphia to win was because Matt Stairs is with them. He of course is Canadian! And I don't know how much hockey he plays or played, but he still coaches some youth hockey. Also he seems quite down to earth. He was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, but raised in nearby Fredericton, NB.

So hats off to Matt Stairs (and the Phillies I suppose!), the game four hero in Los Angeles, hitting the game winning 2 run home run, on Canadian Thanksgiving no less!
The Curse of Billy Penn has ended, while a certain Curse of the Billy Goat remains! (Mind the Wikipedia links, I am too lazy to look for other sources!)

World Series game 3 Tampa Bay Rays at Philadelphia Phillies

Well, turned out to be a good ending to game 3.

As everyone who watched it knows, Eric Bruntlett, LF in for Pat Burrell in the top of the 7th, was HBP, then advanced to third on a wild pitch by Grant Balfour, and a throwing error by Dioner Navarro. This was with Shane Victorino trying to bunt Bruntlett to second. With the count 1-1, no outs, and Bruntlett on third, the obvious move is to intentionally walk Victorino, and the next batter too, as the only runner that counts is at third, allowing the force at any base. Maddon did so. The latter being Greg Dobbs who was pinch hitting for Pedro Feliz.

Maddon then brought Ben Zobrist in for the 5 man infield. Zobrist who has played most of his games at SS, played just behind second. 2-2 count, and Carlos Ruiz just got a piece of it, sending it down the third base line. Longoria over tossed to home, and the Phillies are ahead 2 games to 1.

Having played some baseball, and making some bad errors, you kinda feel bad for him, solely based on that play. Until you realise how much money they rake in. Anyway, I can go either way, so in the end, I hope for a good series, that comes down to something like that in a game 7. Would be nice to see the Rays, a small market club win it. They have plenty of fair weather fans, but that is the case I suppose for many teams. Whereas Matt Stairs, the Canadian and former Expo/Blue Jay is with the Phillies, so would be nice to see him get the World Series. Speaking of former Expos, Cliff Floyd is with the Rays, but that was before I was really following baseball.

One final play of note was the steal and pick off of Jayson Werth. It did not come back to haunt them, but instead of being 1 out and a runner at second, it was 2 out, and no one on base. This was with Chase Utley batting, so there was a shift on for him, and it was Evan Longoria who fielded the throw from Navarro. Longoria being the 3B. Jason Bartlett, the Rays shortstop fielded the throw from pitcher J.P. Howell to pick off Werth.

Local coverage.

Rays beat Red Sox to reach World Series - St. Petersburg Times

Rays Chase Demons, And Red Sox, To Claim First Pennant - The Tampa Tribune (Tampa Bay Online)

Rays stop Red Sox’ bid to repeat - BostonHerald.com

Onto the World Series!

Tampa Bay got it done, albeit eventually, in seven games. It definitely made for a good baseball game. I thought Tampa would win it in game 6 after the huge Boston comeback, I was wrong. I sort of have the feeling the Rays wanted it more, as Lester was pitching very well to start the game, a perfect first three innings, until Akinori Iwamura singled to leadoff the fourth inning. They then went on to tie the game at 1. Garza settled in to the game, only allowing the Dustin Pedroia solo home run, and only allowing two hits while striking out nine over his 7 IP.

Like my sister said, the Red Sox have had their time, so the Rays deserve it. Deserve it after being a losing team for so long, not to mention being a small market team with the second smallest payroll in the league this year.

Payroll wise, the Phillies are in 13th place, with just over 98 million.

On with the LCS

The League Championship Series have already started.

Not much to say about the League Division Series. The Cubs are out again, the Brewers went down quickly, the Angels are out again unfortunately, and so on.

My most interesting game was the Angels finally beating the Red Sox in game 3 in 12 innings. Not to mention having the chance to tie the series in game four in the top of the ninth, when a suicide squeeze went wrong with one out. I was thinking with one out to try and get the run in on a base hit, or even wild pitch, etc., but apparently not what Mike Scosia was thinking.

My highlight play, or moment was from game 3 of Tampa at Chicago when someone bunted, or hit a single down the line, it was fielded by the pitcher, who held on to the ball as the runner mowed into the pitcher. The out was made, but when they got up, or one them, the Tampa player gave the clenched fist touch thingy with the pitcher. So it was nice to see good sportsmanship. They obviously compete, and want to win and all, but do not want to hurt eachother.

More rain woes?

Keeping with the rain theme from two mid September posts, looks like rain may play havoc yet again. The major threat is with the NL races. Rain is a possibility for New York, where the Mets host the Marlins. Rain may also affect the Boston New York games, however Boston have already clinched a playoff berth, so all that would matter is the division, and as soon as Tampa Bay win, it is theirs.

I'll keep this entry short, and let the MLB article do a better job. Rain threatens key NL matchups.

Walk off (to the postseason?)

Three interesting walk offs tonight with postseason implications. Starting with the most interesting.

That creepy guy in Milwaukee would have gone done that slide, as Ryan Braun hit a walk off grand slam to beat the Pirates 5-1 in the bottom of the tenth. Luckily people would have had something better to do, cheer as the Brewers remain tied for the NL Wildcard.

Next, possibly equal, or better, as far as importance goes, in that it moved them into the lead in the AL Central, the Twins topped a five run (down 6-1 at the end of the visiting half of the 4th) comeback with Alexi Casilla hitting a walk off single in the bottom of the 10th to take a 0.5 game lead. I was basing my decision on walk off hit, grand slam beating a single. Come to think of it, I should have chose this over Milwaukee, as I prefer the Twins, but oh well.

Finally, the Mets did it in the bottom of the 9th. Carlos Beltran singled on a line drive to right field, but not before being deflected by Micah Hoffpauir. So the Mets still have a chance at the division.

The Astros still have the slimmest of chance. At 3.5 games behind Milwaukee and New York, they'd have to win all four remaining games, while the Brewers and Mets would have to lose all three. The Astros have a rain delayed game on hand to play, if necessary (see my previous post).

So really all the teams are set save for either Minnesota and Chicago. And of course the match ups.

Kansas City visit the Twins for the final three games, while Cleveland visits the White Sox. The White Sox also have one game on hand, as they had one rain delayed game moved to the 29th as well (hosting Detroit).

So looks like the Los Angeles Angels will host Boston while the Rays will host either the White Sox or Twins. The Cubs will host the Brewers, Mets, or Phillies, and the Phillies or Mets could host the Dodgers.

So much for a brief post (as usual).

The havoc of rain

Rain, the very rain as described in my last blog post played havoc once again for the White Sox. Their Saturday doubleheader will be today (Sunday) instead. That will leave one game unplayed between the White Sox and Tigers. They will make up the final game once the regular season is over, if necessary. Former Expo (Yankee and Diamondback) was set to start the first game of the doubleheader Saturday, but will instead do so today on four days rest, as opposed to three. He'll be up against Justin Verlander. Game 2 of the split doubleheader will be John Danks (10-8, 3.44) versus Kenny Rogers (9-13, 5.49). Both lefties.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs are in a similar situation, however this is thanks to Hurricane Ike. The two (really three) postponed games will be played Sunday night and Monday afternoon in Milwaukee!

So the Astros will have travelled to Milwaukee from Houston. While it seems the Cubs never were in Houston. So they'll have had to travel from Chicago to Milwaukee. Which driving is only an hour and forty five minutes. The Cubs played in St. Louis Thursday, while Hosuton was at home hosting the Pirates.

Monday the Cubs go back to Chicago to host the Brewers and the Astros have to travel to Miami Gardens to play the Marlins.

The third makeup game of the series will be in Houston, Monday the 29th. The Astros will already be in town after six home games (three Cincinnati, three Atlanta), and the Cubs will travel from Milwaukee to Houston to end the regular season there.

This neutral site scenario reminds me of something similar that happened to the Expos in 2004. With the threat of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, the Marlins hosted the Expos for two games at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. These games happened September 13 and 14. I remember it as the Cubs fans would have been rooting for the Expos, to keep the Marlins away from the wildcard, and the White Sox fans would have been rooting for the Marlins, for obvious reasons, so the Cubs wouldn't win. Thus it made for an interesting game, as it would have been populated by Chicagoan's, rooting for alternating teams that were not their main team. The White Sox fans Marlins prevailed, as they won both games, 6-3 and 8-6 respectively.

For the Milwaukee residents that decide to go see either or both games, it should be interesting in who they root for, as they are sandwiched between the Astros and Cubs.

Currently it looks like this:


NL Central

               W-L      %     GB
Chicago        88-58   .603
Milwaukee      83-65   .561   6.0
Houston        80-67   .544   8.5

NL Wildcard

               W-L      %     GB
Milwaukee      83-65   .561   
Philadelphia   81-67   .547   2.0
Houston        80-67   .544   2.5
St. Louis      78-70   .527   5.0



Since Milwaukee has the wildcard, they'll more than likely be rooting for the Cubs to keep the Astros away from the wildcard. Milwaukee plays the Cubs three more times, in Chicago, so they could still win the division. Therefore if they want to win the division, they'll root for the Astros.

The Brewers have 14 games remaining, the Cubs have 16, and the Astros have 15. While the Phillies still have a chance at the division or wildcard have 14 remaining.

Five rain delays (Two postponed)

Was watching a bit of the start of the Nationals at Marlins, as the Jays Red Sox game is rain delayed, and the announcer brought up all the rain delays. So I thought I'd write a brief post about it.

Minnesota at Baltimore (7:05)
St. Louis at Pittsburgh (7:05)
Tampa Bay at New York (7:05)
Toronto at Boston (7:05)
Atlanta at New York (7:10)

All of the above are rain delayed games, and below are the postponed games.

Milwaukee at Philadelphia (7:05) has been postponed
Chicago at Houston Friday and Saturday (7:05 CDT and 6:05 CDT) both postponed due to Ike.

Edit 2:25 AM EDT:

Of the five rain delayed games above, they were all postponed save for the Toronto at Boston game. It was delayed 41 minutes, and in said game rain came down steadily until the seventh or so. Toronto and Boston already has a doubleheader slated for Saturday, a makeup for an August 15 rain postponed game. The Tigers at White Sox (7:11 CDT) ended up being postponed as well.

Turns out it isn't quite a record:

It was the most major league postponements in one day since six games were wiped out on April 15, 2007. Prior to that, there hadn't been that many since April 12, 1997, when eight games were postponed, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

From tsn.ca.

Also:

It also set up an unusually full slate of games for Saturday. If the schedule holds, there will be 12 games in the American League for the first time since Aug. 8, 1985, and 20 games in the majors for the first time since Aug. 4, 1974, according to Elias.

And:

In New York, both the Mets and Yankees were postponed, setting up two doubleheaders Saturday. According to Elias, only twice before have Mets and Yankees both played two games at home on same day - on Sept. 21, 1982, and April 13, 1997.

More for the baseball mind at said tsn link above.

Official MLB news pieces:

Rain drops fallin', onto doubleheaders
Six games postponed Friday; six twin bills set for Saturday (here)
and
Baseball reigns with 20-game day
Fifteen of the games will have postseason implications (here)