With about 17 things on my plate this week, I didn’t get a chance to weigh in on the latest round of debates regarding Jorge Posada’s building candidacy for the Hall of Fame. Rob Neyer fired the opening salvo suggesting that while he’s probably the top catcher of the current decade, Posada isn’t worthy. Jonah …
Continue reading ‘You Discussed Posada’s Hall of Fame Candidacy and Didn’t Invite Me?’ »
Chicago blues icon Koko Taylor passed away on Wednesday at age 80. In my rather expansive music collection, I’m ashamed to say I’ve got precious little of her work, a compilation cut or two. But I do have a story. In late September 1999, the aforementioned Nick Stone and I took a trip to the …
Today I’ve got a piece on a topic that’s been kicking around the Yankeesphere for the past 18 months, and one that’s been the subject of heated internal debate practically since the dawn of the Baseball Prospectus/ESPN partnership: should Joba Chamberlain be moved to the bullpen. Two pieces, in fact, since the ESPN version differs …
There are futility infielders, and there are Futility Infielders. Today’s New York Times features a Tyler Kepner article on Yankee first base and infield coach Mick Kelleher, an exemplar of the good-field/no-hit players whose baseball cards clogged my collection in the late ’70s. Joe Posnanski has his Duane Kuiper, owner of one major league home …
Last week’s WWZN Young Guns radio hit, discussing Russ Ortiz’s short-lived lead over namesake David in the 2009 home run rankings, the possibility of the Blue Jays remaining factors in the AL East, the sudden power outbursts of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, and other fun stuff. The segment was recorded via iPhone while I …
Greetings from Minneapolis, where I’m spending about a week centered around my wife’s cousin Julie’s wedding. Our trip kicked off in fine fashion on Friday, as within an hour of arriving at the airport, we were kicking back at a St. Paul Saints game, drinking beer and eating bratwursts. Awww yeah! The Saints, an independent …
For my money, last year’s biggest story in baseball was the way the Tampa Bay Rays’ turnaround was triggered by a record-setting improvement in their Defensive Efficiency. Of course, it certainly helped to have a stockpile of young talent, a shrewd GM and an innovative manager, but none of them would have likely gotten such …
For today’s installment of “Pair Up in Threes,” I examine a trio of American League contenders whose bullpens have been extraordinarily awful thus far, the Yankees, the Indians and the Angels. For each team, I ran down their stats and rankings in two key BP metrics, Reliever Expected Wins Added (WXRL) and Fair Run Average …
And now for a welcome break from the steroids hubbub, I’ve got a couple books which recently landed in my in-box to plug this week. The first, which has actually been sitting on my desk for a few weeks, is Jon Weisman’s 100 Things Dodger Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, a 300-page …
Baseball Musings’ David Pinto picks up the link from my last post and wonders if teams will stand pat in the face of the Dodgers losing Manny Ramirez for 50 games: The Diamondbacks fired their manager, so does a change of field leadership improve the team? Do the Giants try to trade for a bat …