Writing about steroids in a way that challenges people’s assumptions isn’t much different from taping a “kick me” sign to your own ass. You can expect to mix it up with a certain percentage of passers-by who are just spoiling for a fight. Some of them are articulate, some laughably not; responding is usually fun, …
Johnny Podres, who won arguably the single biggest game in the Dodger history, passed away on Sunday. Just 23 at the time, Podres will forever be remembered for pitching a complete-game shutout against the Yankees in Game Seven of the 1955 World Series, giving the Dodger franchise their first World Championship after seven World Series …
With Joe Torre now officially in as Dodger manager, many have asked me what I think about Torre and Alex Rodriguez vis-à-vis the Dodgers. Here are a few selected snippets and parting thoughts for the week: • On the impact of Torre to the Dodgers: Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts put together an in-depth look …
Just clearing my clipboard: • This week’s installment of Prospectus Hit and Run just went up. In it, I note that the 2007 Red Sox are in very fine company in terms of post division-play teams that went on to win the World Series after conclusively proving themselves as the best teams of the majors …
When one door closes, another opens, goes the old saying. Today’s news not only finds Joe Girardi accepting the Yankees’ offer to manage, but the man he replaced and the man he beat out headed to the dugout of the Dodgers. Reports out of LA have the Dodgers firing Grady Little and hiring Joe Torre, …
First things first: I’m chatting today at 1 PM Eastern over at Baseball Prospectus, and I’ll have a Division Series preview of the Yankees-Indians matchup there tomorrow. The regular season finale of the Hit List will follow later this week. Yes, I’m back from my European sojourn, though you’d barely know it around these parts. …
Continue reading ‘Clearing the Bases — Down from the Mountain Edition’ »
In the Hit List a couple weeks back, I suggested that the Padres’ release of David Wells may have been premature, and that given their rotation woes, a couple teams were likely to target the big man: Lowering the Boomer: a 5-1 run snaps the Pads out of their post-break funk, but the return of …
Continue reading ‘For a Fat Man, He Didn’t Sweat Much (Redux)’ »
Tuesday’s Replacement Level Killers piece was still on my mind when I sat down to write this week’s Hit List. Here’s what I had to say about the Dodgers: For those who thought Juan Pierre deserved a spot on the Replacement Level Killers, he was left off due to his surprisingly robust VORP (on the …
The post-trade deadline Hit List is up at Baseball Prospectus, with a look at which teams improved themselves, which ones dropped the ball, and which ones merely treaded water. The Yankees, thanks to their recent offensive onslaught, climb all the way to #2 behind the Red Sox, with the Mets third. The Dodgers come in …
Dear Alex, Oy, it feels like ages since you responded to my first volley, which gets at one of the drawbacks of a set as massive as this — particularly during baseball season, finding the time for a three-hour dig through the archives takes some doing. Anyway, you did a great job of bringing the …
Continue reading ‘Spirit of ’77, Part III: The Dandy Dons’ »