The following is a belated and revised version of my annual December 25 piece. December 25 marks a holiday for most of this country and probably, for most of my readership — if so, my sincere wishes for a happy holiday to you. For me the day is somewhat more paradoxical: I’m Jewish and thus …
Blogging’s been light here lately because I’ve been hard at work on various projects for Baseball Prospectus. The second half of my Hall of Fame JAWS piece, covering the pitchers, went up on Monday; I found three pitchers worthy of a spot on the 2005 ballot. Also, my second Prospectus Triple Play, covering the Dodgers, …
In a seething-rage-driven and impulsive move whose repercussions were felt far earlier than I had expected, I switched webhosts for The Futility Infielder last night with all the grace and foresight of a man jamming a knife into an electrical socket. I had long been threatening to switch, and one last “not found” message for …
Like my Remaking the Yankees series, the Hall of Fame ballot has become an annual staple of my winter diet. For the second time this calendar year, I’ve tackled the most recent slate of candidates for Baseball Prospectus. The hitters’ segment, an epic unto itself, went up on Thursday and is free to all readers. …
Continue reading ‘Hall Call and Other Hot Stove Happenings’ »
The following post was written Monday morning but could not be published until my return to New York City. As I sit here at LAX, mooching wireless and recharging my gadget batteries even while my own are considerably run down, there isn’t a hell of a lot to add to the coda of my last …
It would be inaccurate to say that I spent 14 hours in the lobby of the Anaheim Marriott on Saturday. After all, I hit for the cycle at the hotel’s Starbucks (coffee, soda, juice and water) and spent a good deal of time in the 100-yard-long hallway connecting the two rooms. Plus the walk from …
Last year, at the encouragement of Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll, Alex Belth and I headed to New Orleans for baseball’s Winter Meetings. We were unlikely prospects to crash Major League Baseball’s December soiree, but three days of schmoozing and networking with other writers in the hotel lobby ultimately led the two of us to conclude …
Continue reading ‘The Winter Meetings: Notes from a Hotel Room in the Magic Kingdom’ »
Thanks in part to Buster Olney, it’s fashionable among the mainstream media to compare the character and talent (in that order) of the current crop of New York Yankees to that of the dynasty which won five four World Series in a six-year span from 1996-2001 and find them lacking. By this reasoning, players such …
Continue reading ‘Remaking the Yankees for 2005, Part IV: The Bullpen’ »
Last night’s late news about the Yankees’ impending signings of Jaret Wright and Tony Womack set off a flurry of emails amongst a contingent of pinstripe-inclined bloggers and Baseball Prospectus-affiliated writers — the usual smart-guy suspects. The subject line of mine was “come back, Kenny Lofton! we love you! all is forgiven!” It’s fair to …
One of the recurring themes in the baseball blogosphere is the difference between what we bloggers do and what a traditional newspaper reporter does when it comes to covering a team. The key issue is access; we bloggers are unlikely to get a chance to ask a player, manager or executive for their perspective on …