I have no love lost for J.D. Drew, to say nothing of the antipathy I hold for the Red Sox. But I absolutely respect the job that Sox GM Theo Epstein has done; how can you not, when the team has two rings on his watch, including the one that broke the 86-year Curse of …
As noted last week, I spend a lot of my time at BP exploring the margin between teams’ expected performance (as based upon variants of Bill James’ Pythagorean formula) and their actual performance, looking for reasons why it happens and cues as to what it portends. Having taken on the Pythagorean overachievers in last week’s …
Having spent his summer besmirching the character of Derek Jeter, Jim Rice continues to demonstrate why he’s as horseshit with a mic in his hand as he was as a Hall of Fame candidate. After watching leading AL Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke shut out the Red Sox while allowing two hits, Rice declares that …
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…
I’m not somebody who believes ballplayers either past or present should be held up as role models, but Derek Jeter has long stood as one of the few exceptions in that category. He plays hard, he stays out of trouble, he handles himself with class at all times, and never embarrasses himself or the game. …
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 …
Has it been that long since I posted here? Shame on me once again, but I’ve had my reasons… • Back on Wednesday I examined the potential Hall of Fame fates of Vlad Guerrero and other contemporary right fielders, including Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield, Bobby Abreu, Ichiro Suzuki, Sammy Sosa and Larry Walker. There’s not a …
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 …
Having a blast at the SABR Convention in Washington, DC, despite a few snafus on the navigation front (a city where the subway closes? WTF?) and a good chunk of both Thursday or Friday holed up in my hotel room working on this week’s Hit List and the BP Hot Sheet. Given the travel and …