Early last week, ESPN.com published a column by Jayson Stark that proposed 20 rules changes for MLB, ranging from the cosmetic (“Toughen up the save rule”) to the crazed (“But add the designated fielder”). Now, I’m not going to talk in particular about Stark’s column today, except to say that I think many of his suggestions sound good until you give serious consideration to how they would affect the way the game is played.
Team Health Report: Philadelphia Phillies February 2003
Transaction analysis, January 24-February 9, 2003.
Team Health Report: Milwaukee Brewers February 2003
Team Health Report: Florida Marlins February 2003
As pitchers and catchers report to sunny climes this week–soon to be joined by hitters, beer vendors, and spring breakers–much will be made of the battle for the five slots in the New York Yankees’ starting rotation.
No regular season at all. Instead, a round-robin tournament.
Team Health Report: Oakland Athletics February 2003
Team Health Report: Cleveland Indians February 2003
Team Health Report: Seattle Mariners February 2003
Yes, we’ve missed a lot of stuff over the past eight years, and we’ll miss a lot of stuff in the future. That’s a large part of what makes the game so addictive and entertaining. You can make well-educated and reasoned assessments of a circumstance, and things can still end up completely surprising. It’s more fun to be wrong about forecasting a player’s collapse than it is to be right about it. Doesn’t change the fact that we may have missed that one, but it is more fun.
Minding my own business while doing research the other day, I came upon one of the weirdest, coolest pitchers ever. Looking into Tom Glavine and his 242 career wins–which puts him at No. 50 all-time–I found a guy named Jack Quinn, at No. 44 with 247. I love these kinds of random findings; you could be talking to someone you know about Gaylord Perry, and he might in passing mention the last legal spitballers, Quinn being among the best of ’em. I had no idea Quinn was so interesting. He wasn’t a star, and he pitched from 1909-1933, pre-dating my baseball consciousness by about five decades.