Baseball lifer Bobby Bragan died last week at the age of 92. The man did just about everything in his career, arriving in the majors as an infielder with the Phillies in 1940, learning to catch and becoming the backup backstop of the Brooklyn Dodgers a few years later, transitioning to managing first at the …
In today’s Prospectus Hit and Run, I examine the fates of Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf after the Dodgers failed to offer them arbitration, thus surrendering the right to first round draft picks and supplemental first round compensation picks in each case, hardly chump change. The decision wasn’t out of step with the industry trend; …
In my latest piece for Baseball Prospectus, I examine the Dodgers’ offseason in light of the news that they avoided arbitration with Chad Billingsley and Matt Kemp, signing the latter to a two-year deal. Both were among the core of eight players who are arbitration eligible this winter: Last week, a scrap of good news …
Tuesday marked baseball’s arbitration deadline about which I had much to say in the Twitscape regarding both the Yankees and Dodgers. Neither team offered any of their free agents arbitration, decreasing the likelihood that they’ll return, but the landscapes surrounding those decisions are quite different. The Yankees’ only Type A free agent is Johnny Damon, …
All week long, I had an assignment hanging over my head that I hoped I wouldn’t have to write, at least for another couple of weeks: the Dodgers’ edition of the Baseball Prospectus/ESPN Insider “Kiss ‘Em Goodbye” series. Alas, with their Game Four meltdown and Game Five beatdown, their number was up. Here’s a bit …
After the Dodgers’ heartbreaking NLCS Game Four loss, I went into last night’s game braced for their inevitable elimination at the hands of the Phillies. So braced, in fact, that I chose to (i)phone in an appearance on Baseball Prospectus’ roundtable and instead view the game from an undisclosed Upper West Side bunker in the …
It was a glum day for baseball chez Jaffe on Monday. Fresh off Friday’s highs, I was dealt double-barreled disappointment in the form of walk-off losses by both the Yankees and the Dodgers. While I can navigate the line between fan and analyst under most circumstances, the sheer weight of all that made it hard …
Friday was a rare treat. For the first time since October 9, 2004, the Dodgers and Yankees — the two teams at the root of my Bicoastal Disorder — both won playoff games. Oh, what a day. Back up a bit. On Thursday night, the Dodgers lost the opener of their National League Championship Series to the …
My epic-length preview of the Dodgers-Phillies National League Championship Series matchup is up at Baseball Prospectus. Whatever its merits or flaws, I’m reasonably certain it’s the LONGEST preview of its kind. Getting the chance to do a Playoff Prospectus is an honor, and I always try to pour myself into the project, word count be …
Continue reading ‘NLCS Preview: War, Peace, Crime, Punishment, and Bullpen Management’ »
Everything’s coming up Milhouse thus far in the playoffs, at least from my standpoint. The Dodgers swept the Cardinals, the Yankees swept the Twins, and the Angels swept the Red Sox, with each of the series more or less turning on a ninth-inning flub by the eventual losers — a harsh reminder that there’s almost no …