Something that keeps coming up in the mainstream reporting surrounding Manny Ramirez’s return, and something I’ve been asked about in radio spots — it came up in today’s Toledo hit — and in the BP piece‘s comment thread, is the idea that his rehab stint is a) unique to his case and b) a violation of …
In today’s Prosepctus Hit and Run, I examine how the Dodgers have stayed afloat since during Manny Ramirez’s suspension, an analysis that took a close look at Juan Pierre: …Ramirez is eligible to return to the Dodgers’ lineup on July 3, and barring a major collapse over their next nine games, which come against three …
Stuff from my latest three pieces at Baseball Prospectus: • In “Conquering the Cubs,” the latest edition of my “Pair Up in Threes” series, I examine the Brewers, Cardinals and Reds, all of whom are atop the Cubs in the NL Central race, a major surprise given that our PECOTA projection had the Cubs at an …
Choice cuts from this week’s Hit List, including about as much as I have to say about the Yankees’ recent sweep by the Red Sox: [#1 Dodgers] Riding high in April (.306/.423/.553) but shot down in May (.211/.306/.295), Andre Ethier has picked himself up and gotten back in the race. Collecting walk-off hits on back-to-back …
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 …
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 …
I didn’t have much time for surprise yesterday when the news hit that Manny Ramirez had drawn a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy. Before I could untangle my own emotions, catch my breath, dig into this week’s Hit List or get the full breadth of the rapidly evolving story, I’d been …
I’m riding a hitting streak — four straight days of publishing at Baseball Prospectus, a first for me: • Tuesday’s Hit and Run explored April home run rates and found they were nothing remarkable within the context of the past decade and a half: Excluding the strike-affected 1994-1995 years, the 2009 season ranks seventh out of 14 …
Friday’s Baseball Prospectus chat was one of the most enjoyable ones I’ve done in recent memory, the happy coincidence of a fun time of year, a good batch of questions, and a lack of the technical gremlins which have created a distraction in every one of my chats in recent memory. A few anwers covering …