DARRYL STRAWBERRY… “He asked several times if there was anything that we could do to change this situation, because this was going to ruin his career.” — Marc Hamlin, arresting officer “I’m just devastated. It’s just awful news for him and his family. I just hope it’s not as bad as it seems.” — David…
NL East | NL Central | NL West Welcome to Baseball Prospectus’ predictions for 1999. We’ll go division by division and each of our staff members will tell you what they think about the races. Remember, there’s a reason we don’t print this stuff in the book; there is no good way we know of…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Claimed RHP Al Levine off waivers from the Rangers. [4/2] Purchased the contracts of 2B Jeff Huson and 1B Tim Unroe; recalled LHP Scott Schoeneweis from Edmonton; optioned 1B Chris Pritchett to Edmonton; assigned RHPs Toby Borland and Mike Fyhrie, C Steve Decker, and 2B Keith Luuloa to their minor-league camp; placed RHP…
Just over a week into the season and the division has already morphed into its anticipated form, with all the teams bunched within a couple games of .500. Good performances by starting pitchers are as rare as coherent thoughts on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. And the injury bug is biting hard. ANAHEIM ANGELS In Anaheim,…
I made my 1999 Comiskey Park debut by showing up to watch the White Sox try to avoid getting swept by the Royals, in a game featuring each team’s ace (Chicago’s James Baldwin vs. Kansas City’s Kevin Appier). My focus was on the three "stories" already being spun about the Sox and Royals: How would…
AL East | AL Central | AL West Welcome to Baseball Prospectus’ predictions for 1999. We’ll go division by division and each of our staff members will tell you what they think about the races. Remember, there’s a reason we don’t print this stuff in the book; there is no good way we know of…
OPENING DAY “A fabulous day. It’s big for the organization.” — John Boles, Marlins manager, on beating the Mets “You can’t judge us on one game. We’re going to be back. Everyone likes to get a good start, but just because we lost doesn’t mean it’s over.” — Rafael Palmeiro, Rangers infielder, on losing to…
I have to admit, this year’s ToutWars-AL edition marks my first foray into the world of the Sweeney plan, a popular strategy where you punt the two power categories (HR/RBI) and try to win the remaining six. You buy a few speedsters who’ll hit for good averages and pretty much blow the rest on buying…
CHICAGO WHITE SOX (1998: 931 runs allowed, last in the AL) Rotation James Baldwin, R Mike Sirotka, L Jim Parque, L John Snyder, R Jaime Navarro, R Bullpen Bobby Howry, R Bill Simas, R Keith Foulke, R Sean Lowe, R David Lundquist, R Bryan Ward, L Alternatives Chad Bradford, R Carlos Castillo, R Kevin Beirne,…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (1998: 812 runs allowed, T-13th in NL) Rotation Randy Johnson, L Todd Stottlemyre, R Andy Benes, R Omar Daal, L Armando Reynoso, R Bullpen Gregg Olson, R Amaury Telemaco, R (DL) John Frascatore, R Brian Anderson, L Greg Swindell, L Darren Holmes, R Alternatives Vlad Nunez, R Here’s where all the money went…
As a Royals fan, these days I am quite interested in whether Royals GM Herk Robinson can turn aging and expensive players like Kevin Appier and Jeff King into high quality young talent useful to the team as it rebuilds. That’s why I was particularly intrigued by the questions Rany Jazayerli asked Robinson about the…
When Gord Ash let Brian Cashman do Very Bad Things to the Blue Jays, giving up a Hall of Fame pitcher on top of his game in exchange for a tumescent starter in a vintage cap, a middle reliever, and a pinch runner, most of the media coverage focused on the nature of the deal…