Don Zimmer was the ultimate futility infielder, though it wasn’t supposed to happen that way. He was a star in the making until a 1953 beaning put him in a coma for nearly two weeks — he was even administered last rites – and left him with four holes in his head, later filled by …
Continue reading ‘Don Zimmer (1931-2014) and the secret of futility infielders’ »
True story: on Sunday afternoon I sat down to write about Manny Ramirez’s apparently imminent departure from the Dodgers and was overtaken by an overwhelming anger that was so close to physically manifesting itself that I had to stop and go to the gym before I started breaking things. One of my Twitter followers suggested …
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 …
Quick radio note: in addition to my usual gig on Toledo’s WLQR 1470 AM at 4:10 PM Eastern today, I’ll be this week’s Baseball Prospectus representative on Boston’s WWZN 1510 on “The Young Guns Show” at 3:05 PM Eastern. The Toledo gig doesn’t have a means of listening via Internet (hey Norm, get on it!) …
Bleary-eyed but satisfied, I’ve got a two-fer today in the form of my first New York Sun piece of the year, and the first regular-season Hit List (both of which are free as opposed to subscriber-only). The Sun piece is about the absurd glut of young talent in the NL West, which figures to be …
Clearing out some notes as I breathe a heavy sigh of relief at the passing of my final Fantasy Baseball Index update deadline and sit down to watch the Yankees’ second game of the year — my first chance to see the on my big new TV… • As eager as I always am for …
Continue reading ‘Clearing the Bases: The Clipboard Edition’ »
Happy 2008, everyone! Just a few quick notes this morning, the first of which is time-sensitive: • I’ve been invited to appear on XM 175, Hot Stove with Chuck Wilson today (Thursday) at 12:25 PM Eastern to discuss JAWS and the 2008 Hall of Fame ballot. I’m told I’ll be doing a second segment at …
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, …