A quick look at the achievements we’ll be tracking over the next 3 1/2 weeks: Barry Bonds: Bonds needs 12 home runs to break the single-season record of 70. The Giants have 22 team games left, and it’s safe to assume that Bonds will be playing in every one until the Giants’ fate is determined,…
Last night’s performance by Bud Smith really illustrated for me one of the difficulties of being a major-league manager. Smith, as you probably know, no-hit the Padres last night in just his tenth major-league start, becoming the second Cardinal rookie in three years to throw a no-hitter (Jose Jimenez in 1999). The hard part for…
I have shamefully little credibility on the following topic, less so than I do on Paul Wilson or on speaking French or on dunk techniques. So read the following with a salt shaker by your side, and for some history, check out this piece from last year, or this one from earlier in 2001. (Dear…
I got a great question from reader Keith Blue over the weekend: Albert Pujols is the obvious frontrunner for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. But who would you rather have in the long run: Pujols or Adam Dunn? I’ll admit, this stood out because it was a rare missive that didn’t include the…
I’ve spent some time on the road this week, which is why this is just the second DP since the weekend. I’m going to be bouncing around the East Coast, seeing friends and family, for most of the next few weeks, so the column’s schedule may be even more erratic than usual. As an aside,…
The American League Rookie of the Year Award has been considered a foregone conclusion since about early May, thanks to the hot starts of the Mariners and their first-year sensation, Ichiro Suzuki. Should it be, though? Here are the performances of Ichiro and the Indians’ C.C. Sabathia: AVG OBP SLG PA SB/CS EqA RARP Rank…
There’s a segment of informed, intelligent baseball fans who would prefer that performance analysts spend less time criticizing the management of MLB teams. The notion that "they may know things we don’t" is popular in some circles, and is used as a defense for decisions that we, as informed outsiders, find bizarre or even infuriating….
I wrote something similar to what follows a year ago, but I think it’s a concept worth repeating. Over the last week or so, I’ve managed to up the flow into my inbox by about 50%. I did this by, in no particular order, making a lousy choice of lead in a column with political…
Yesterday’s article on Wrigley Field, in which I pointed out that Wrigley has not been a great hitters’ park for the past two seasons, generated some e-mail questions about park effects. I get a handful of these whenever I mention that this park or that park is good or bad for run scoring, but I’ve…
Last week, I wrote an article for ESPN.com about the Cy Young race in the National League. The article focused on the three popular contenders, and concluded that Randy Johnson was the favorite, ahead of Curt Schilling and Greg Maddux. The only other pitcher mentioned was the Cardinals’ Darryl Kile. The mail I’ve received on…
Taking their cue from the compassionate conservative currently occupying the White House, a group of Congressmen have taken it upon themselves to personally intervene in an individual’s job action. The catch? The person in question is Eric Gregg, one of the major-league umpires who resigned as part of an end run around a perfectly legal…
Last week, I pointed out that Eric Karros has been pretty bad against right-handed pitchers this year. Earlier this season, I mentioned Brian Jordan‘s problem with righties in making the case that he should be platooned. I got to wondering about how many players there are like this, guys who have regular jobs, but who…
Dear Davey, Please accept, as my gift to you, this videocassette. On it, you’ll find the Indians/Mariners game from August 5. I’ve cued it to the top of the seventh inning. Love, Rickey Any small shred of credibility left to the unwritten rule about when a team should stop trying its hardest to score went…
It appears we’re supposed to take the Dodgers seriously as contenders, since they lead the division in early August, have played excellent baseball since the All-Star break, and are doing all this with $427 billion worth of pitchers on the disabled list. Watching their game last night, though, one thing nagged at me, a sign…
…that Derek Jeter‘s "off year" has him ninth in the AL in Runs Above Position? For some perspective, note that he’s 11 spots above Ichiro, with essentially the same EqA. …that Lou Piniella has done a great job managing the running game? The Mariners have stolen 111 bases and been caught just 24 times, an…
All of the coverage over the past 48 hours has focused on the teams that made moves, either to win this year or in years to come. What I find interesting is the teams that stood pat. Of the 30 major-league teams, just five sat idle over the past week. Of those, one is the…