Will Carroll delivers the latest injury news on Nomar, Sheff, Halladay and more in this edition of Under The Knife.
The Red Sox look towards the playoffs, the Reds look at the positives from 2004, and the Padres look to stay alive despite long odds and poor fortune.
CINCINNATI REDS
It’s not getting much attention, but Adam Dunn’s unwilling quest to shatter Bobby Bonds’ single-season record for batter strikeouts of 189 (1970) is going to be close enough that Dave Miley is going to have to think about whether he joins the wussy Jeff Torborgs and Al Pedriques of the world and actively interferes with pursuit of a milestone for no good reason. With 12 games to go, Dunn trails Bonds by 14. It will be tight, but four of the Reds’ remaining games come against Cubs flamethrowers. Prior, Wood, do your stuff, lads! GRADE: C-
A former major league pitcher who gained a boost of fame by catching Hank Aaron’s 715th home run ball, Tom House is now a performance analyst and co-owner of the National Pitching Association in San Diego. Under House’s stewardship, NPA has produced graduates such as Barry Zito, Mark Prior and Cole Hamels. Its advisory board includes such luminaries as Randy Johnson and Nolan Ryan, as well as medical experts such as Dr. Lewis Yocum and Dr. James Andrews. NPA counts about 125 graduates currently pitching in professional baseball, about three times that number in major U.S. colleges. House recently chatted with Baseball Prospectus about the huge advances in sports medicine and technology in the last two decades, the best pitching coaches in the game today, and more.
For the first time since 2001, the A’s have more than two hitters providing high-caliber production.
You either love the wild card or you hate it. But has anyone ever really looked at it?
Teams with big division leads–or who have nothing left to shoot for–can manage their injuries in a way that teams fighting for a playoff spot cannot. See how pitchers in a variety of situations are being handled in today’s UTK.
The Red Sox and Angels took body blows this weekend, but at least they’re not the Brewers.
The Bay Area sparked conversation this week, from greatness on one side to ugliness on the other.
When Bonds passes Aaron, if not before, there will be a rush to anoint him as the greatest something. Greatest home run hitter. Greatest actor in a non-singing part in a musical. Greatest beer and cheese combination. Greatest baseball player. This would be extremely short-sighted. To displace Ruth as the greatest ballplayer of all time, the aspirant must meet a higher standard. If the greatest baseball player is measured not just in muscles and eye-hand coordination but in his impact on sports and society as a whole, then Babe Ruth owns the title and has never lost it, never wavered in his possession of it, and never will.
The Oakland A’s usually own the second half thanks to their pitching. That’s not the case this year, and it’s putting their season at risk.
Chris Kahrl has all the roster expansion and early-September movings and shakings in this supersized edition of Transaction Analysis.
Jim Baker breaks down the weekend’s featured tilts, including a mismatchup of historic proportions.
The Devil Rays appear ready to move B.J. Upton off of shortstop for good, most likely to third base. It won’t hurt his value as much as you might think.
News on Bill Mueller, Roy Halladay and Ivan Rodriguez pales in comparison to some interesting information about Matt Morris’ performance.
HOUSTON ASTROS
Played an old-school eight games and went 5-3, though it could have been a bigger week; Pittsburgh gave them more trouble than they should have. In the three losses in Steeltown, the offense couldn’t get started, though most of the principles did well on the week. The restaurant scene in Pittsburgh is said to be lacking, that could bring a team down… In a reversal of the usual order of things, Brad Ausmus batted .368/.400/.421, but opponents were safe in five of six stolen base attempts. Happy new year, Brad! Life is (a) a bowl of cherries, (b) a beach, (c) none of the above, (d) a mixed bag at the best of times, (e) all of the above. GRADE: B-