Quick note: I’ll be chatting today at Baseball Prospectus at 3 PM Eastern. Stop by and drop off a question if you’ve got one. Injuries are an inevitable part of baseball. Last Friday’s Hit List noted the absences of the likes of big-name players like Alfonso Soriano, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, John Smoltz, Rafael Furcal …
Friday’s Hit List featured my two teams personifying mediocrity, ranked at the middle of the pack at #15 (Yankees) and #16 (Dodgers). Neither has been a whole lot of fun to watch lately. The Dodgers have been minus Rafael Furcal for about a month now. They were 18-14 with him, as he got off to …
I was pretty excited when over the weekend I learned that I’d have to bypass seeing one of my favorite bands, the Waco Brothers, because I held tickets to Tuesday night’s Yankees game, a matchup between the Blue Jays and Yanks that would pit Joba Chamberlain in his long-awaited first major-league start, against Toronto ace …
Things are suddenly looking a bit more sunny for the Yankees. In this week’s Hit List, I had this to say: A dismal week for the Yankees ends on a high note with the return of Alex Rodriguez (4-for-11 with two doubles and two homers after a 17-game absence) and strong performances from Darrell Rasner …
I’ve got a piece today in the New York Sun, writing about the Chicago Cubs’ recent tear and their chances of winning the NL Central. The piece was held for a day — in the interim the Cubs lost their last two games to narrow their lead to one game — and it also received …
Continue reading ‘Cubs’ Chances and Chamberlain’s Change of Pace’ »
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!) …
The great sportswriter Leo Tolstoy once observed that all unhappy teams are unhappy in their own way, and so it was with New York’s two baseball teams as this weekend’s Subway Series arrived. The series always generates a lot of hype in NYC, but with the two teams dealing with inner turmoil while playing mediocre …
Continue reading ‘The Subpar Subway Series and Its Sub Rosa Subplots’ »
Through thick and thin over the past few years, even as their pitching and middle relief has gotten shakier, the one thing you could always rely upon was the Yankee offense. During the Joe Torre era, the team averaged 896 runs per year, 5.53 per game, with last year’s 968 (5.98 per game) topping them …
• God, what a wretched week for the Yankees. As summarized in this week’s Hit List. Big Hurts: the Yankees lose Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, Brian Bruney and Philip Hughes to injuries in the same week. Both Posada and A-Rod are gone after wavering between the bench and the lineup, likely prolonging their absence, and …
Continue reading ‘Clearing the Bases — Late Friday Dead Horse Flog Edition’ »
Sat through another chilly night at Yankee Stadium last night, watching the Yankees fall to the Tigers 6-4 in a game they should have won. Even with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada on the sidelines, they had more than their share of opportunities against a team that has thus far fallen every bit as short …