Wow, now that was an unintended hiatus — thirty days since my last blog post here at Futility Infielder. Needless to say, I’ve been plenty busy over the past month, even cobbling away at my winter work during a 10-day trip to Mexico in honor of my 40th birthday. After completing my work for the Baseball …
I missed this bit of news while I was gone got wind of it this morning, just hours before getting a note from host Chris Villani. Sadly, the ESPN station which carried my Boston radio hits has gone off the air, with the staff laid off. Villani has already landed some other work at WWZN …
Last week’s Boston hit, talking about the BP Playoff Odds, the “Secret Sauce,” Billy Wagner, the AL Wild Card race, and of course the Red Sox catching situation. Always with the catching…
One of my favorite musicians is the late, great pop genius Lee Hazlewood. As a singer he brought a wry sense of humor, world-weary view and distinctive baritone to both originals and covers. As a writer, he wrote “These Boots Are Made For Walking” and other hits which turned Nancy Sinatra into a superstar. As …
Since we last spoke… • Tuesday’s Todd Helton piece generated enough discussion and had enough leftovers that I took a second look at Helton’s Hall case, this time in the context of his contemporaries at first base — much as I did here. • Along with colleagues Kevin Goldstein, Marc Normandin and John Perrotto, and ESPN Insider’s …
That Kevin Youkilis wound up on the short end of Tuesday night’s brawl may explain why he’s the favorite target for payback among Red Sox hitters. Much fun discussing the incident Wednesday night on my ESPN 890 Boston radio hit. Our discussion even provided a chance to cite a favorite precedent:
Still trying to catch up on my z’s from a fun but draining weekend at SABR where my trade deadline-related work cost me face time with some folks I only get to see once a year, not to mention a handful of missed presentations and a foregone ticket to Camden Yards (when the professional meteorologist …
Whew, am I behind in my blogging. Here’s what’s not-so-new: • A Basseball Prospectus/ESPN Insider piece examining second-half strength of schedule, revisiting an earlier piece but using Hit List Factor instead of a team’s projected winning percentage. Here’s how the teams shake down: Team Season 1st 2ndBlue Jays .514 .497 .536Orioles .522 .510 .536Royals .505 …
Continue reading ‘Clearing the Bases: Post-Rickey, Pre-DC edition’ »
Enough with the first-half navel-gazing. Over the course of the past two days, Baseball Prospectus colleagues Steven Goldman, Christina Kahrl and I have offered second-half prescriptions for each of the thirty teams — one or two suggestions that could improve their outlook in the short or long term, depending upon their chances of making the …
A couple weeks back, on one of my Boston “Young Guns” radio spots, I joked with host Chris Villani about Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury being the new Juan Pierre. Yesterday, Rob Neyer’s got a blog entry ruminating on that prospect, and concluding that while he’s been a disappointment, time is on the 25-year-old Ellsbury’s …