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Around the Bases

BASEBALL PROSPECTUS Author Page

BP Hit List

BP Hit and Run

NY SUN: Texas Holds Fire Sale

NY SUN: Cardinal Demise Opens Door for Brewer Dominance

BP: JAWS Returns

NY SUN: Torrid April Doesn't Guarantee Hot Summer

BP: Grumpy Old Men: JAWS Tackles the VC Ballot

BP: Hall of Fame Class of 2007 Infielders, Outfielders, Pitchers

 

 
All contents of this web site © Jay Jaffe, 2001-2007 except where indicated. Please contact me for any questions or comments regarding this site.

    H O M E

AUGUST 15, 2007
 

Welcome to the Futility Infielder, the website from south of the Mendoza Line, or as the San Jose Mercury News called it, "The scrappiest place on earth." This site celebrated its sixth anniversary in April and is currently averaging over 2,500 page views per day.

Now in a bookstore near you is It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over: the Baseball Prospectus Pennant Race Book, a fresh analytical look at some of the great races in baseball history and the players who made them so interesting. I contributed six chapters to the book, including the first two narratives covering the 1967 AL race (the Red Sox's "Impossible Dream" as they outlasted the Twins, Tigers, and White Sox) and the 1959 NL (the Dodgers' first win in L.A., beating the Braves in a playoff after shaking free of the Giants), as well as chapters on the impact of superstars on a pennant race, outstanding rookies, replacement-level killers, and more. Read more about the book here, and don't forget to pick up Baseball Prospectus 2007, the annual sabermetric bible containing in-depth analysis of all 30 major-league organizations and over 1,600 players.

On March 16, 2005, I made my national TV debut on MSNBC's Connected Coast to Coast with Ron Reagan and Monica Crowley, representing the blogosphere on the topic of baseball and steroids. You can read about my experience here and here, and watch a clip here.

RECENT MEDIA HITS
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
ESPN Page 2
Boston Globe

AROUND THE BASES
A more-or-less daily dose of the Futility Infielder via my blog. Recent entries include:

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BASEBALL PROSPECTUS: Prospectus Hit and Run: Debut
Spinning off from the Prospectus Hit List, my new weekly column at BP, where I examine some of the tools and trends that are shaping the Hit List rankings and what's happening around the majors.

NEW YORK SUN: Texas Holds a Fire Sale to Salvage Future
A look at the job Rangers GM Jon Daniels did in trading Mark Teixeira, Eric Gagne, and Kenny Lofton in the days leading up to the trading deadline.

NEW YORK SUN: Cardinal Demise Opens Door for Brewer Dominance
Taking stock of the fall of the defending World Champions and the rise of the Brew Crew.

BASEBALL PROSPECTUS: JAWS Returns: Cooperstown Musings
Dipping into the mailbag to answer reader questions about my Hall of Fame evaluation system and to annouce its entry into the BP Glossary.

NEW YORK SUN: Front and Central: New Home for the AL Wild Card
With an AL East beast struggling, the Indians, Tigers and Twins once again stand poised to seize the extra playoff spot.

NEW YORK SUN: Torrid April Doesn't Guarantee Hot Summer
Placing Alex Rodriguez's 18-game, 14-homer binge in historical context.

BASEBALL PROSPECTUS: Grumpy Old Men: JAWS Tackles the Veterans Committee Ballot and Chat
Turning the target of my Hall of Fame system to the VC ballot and a very stubborn electorate.

BASEBALL PROSPECTUS: Hall of Fame Class of 2007:
Infielders,
Outfielders, Pitchers, and Chat
My three-part annual roundup of the Hall of Fame ballot, using the Jaffe WARP Score (JAWS) system, featuring eight players on the ballot worthy of enshrinement, a few more who were simply fun to write about, and the bleak dawn of the steroid era's impact on the voting.

BASEBALL PROSPECTUS: Playoff Prospectus: NLCS Preview, Being Tony La Russa, and The I [Heart] New York Matchup
Even with my two teams making early exits, I had plenty to say about the rest of October baseball, at least for awhile.

NEW YORK SUN: The Unraveling of the World Champions
A look at the Chicago White Sox collapse amid a fantastic three-team AL Central race. And yes, the Sun articles are now free.

MERCHANDISE
I'm pleased to offer a brand-new line of products for sale via CafePress.com. You can't go wrong with T-shirts, mugs, and stickers from
south of the Mendoza Line.

Baseball-Reference.com

New in Spring 2007 from Maple Street Press is Bombers Broadside 2007, a book of thought-provoking essays on the New York Yankees both past and present. Edited by Cecilia Tan and featuring yours truly with two articles, one on Chien-Ming Wang's ascendancy and the other on Brian Cashman bold power play. Plus lots more by some of the web's best Yankee-centric writers. Get your copy via Amazon today!

Now on newsstands and available online is Fantasy Baseball Index 2007, your essential guide to winning in Rotisserie Baseball -- and featuring over 300 player capsules written by yours truly. Whether it's 4x4 or 5x5, draft or auction, the Index offers essential guidance and projections to help you prepare for the 2007 season.

Mind Game: How the Boston Red Sox
Got Smart, Won a World Series, and
Created a New Blueprint for Winning

Now in a bookstore near you is Will Carroll's
The Juice: The Real Story of Baseball's Drug Problems
, a book that delves into the heart of a controversial subject without drowning in the hype. I've contributed a lengthy chapter to the book analyzing the possibility that steroids have contributed to the offensive explosion of the past two decades. Don't miss it!