It’s been a busy week so far, and it’s only getting busier. Here’s what I’m selling: • A quick follow-up to my recent Phil Hughes take, re-examining some of my earlier assumptions in the wake of more data. It turns out I was wrong about which pitches of his are leading to more groundballs, and …
I’m pleased to announce that I’ve once again been invited to appear on the Fox 5 Sports Extra with Duke Castiglione. It’s the second time this season I’ve done so; I joined him back in March, where I got to show off the latest copy of the Baseball Prospectus annual. The spot airs Sunday at …
Continue reading ‘Friday’s Child: Headshots and Coups de Grâce’ »
Having watched Monday night’s wacky back-and-forth Yanks-Red Sox game, I couldn’t help but notice not only the fact that David Ortiz homered, but that he did so with nobody on base and the score 6-1. In fact, all but one of Ortiz’s seven homers this year have come with the bases empty, and six of …
Back after a few days on the disabled list for… well, you don’t want to know, trust me. Missed the chance to post links to last week’s Hit Lists, so here they are, the National and American League editions. It’s a few days old, but here’s what I had to say about the AL East’s …
So this past Sunday I got up to Yankee Stadium for my first game of the season, where my friend Julie and I watched Dandy Andy Pettitte and the Yankees subdue the Rangers, 5-2. Given last year’s ugly ticket drama, I’m pleased to report that we’ve moved up in the world. Last year, we were …
At Baseball Prospectus, I’ve got a lengthy take on Nomar Garciaparra’s retirement, placing him in the context of the “Holy Trinity” of shortstops: Back in the mid-1990s, a trio of young shortstops burst onto the American League scene. Soon dubbed the “Holy Trinity,” Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra were part of an elite …
… For one of the most memorable moments I’ve experienced in over 30 years as a Dodger fan. I speak, of course, of Garciparra’s 10th-inning walk-off homer off the Padres’ Rudy Seanez on September 18, 2006, capping a miraculous comeback in which four Dodgers — Jeff Kent, J.D. Drew, Russell Martin and Marlon Anderson — hit consecutive …
Still buried in winter work, and will be for the next few weeks, limiting much of my current writing to 140-character missives via Twitter. Rounding up some of my stray BP links in case you haven’t been following along: • A few weeks back I looked at 2009 home run rates, overall, by league, and by …
Continue reading ‘Clearing the Bases—Post-Turkey Lurkey Edition’ »
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 …
The second installment of the series shot Monday with Bronx Banter’s Alex Belth, Cliff Corcoran and myself is now up at the SNY.tv video channel. This one previews the Red Sox-Angels series, and finds me in motormouth form trying to squeeze in all my points about the Angels’ offense and the Red Sox shoddy defense. …
Continue reading ‘I’ll Show You the Bronx Banter Breakdown II’ »