Yesterday, I went down to San Diego to take in the Padres/Rockies game. As I’ve mentioned many times, I love day baseball, and really enjoy taking the opportunity to catch a game on a weekday afternoon. As as been the case with each game I’ve attended this year, this one didn’t have much going for…
I’m the new owner of the Angels.
Disney kept the team from leaving Anaheim, but their tax break was mostly expended, and running the team took energy the company wanted to spend persecuting peer-to-peer file sharing. The franchise didn’t come cheap, mind you, but I think it will be worth the money. Now, I’m Bud Selig’s worst nightmare, because I’m going to derive millions of dollars through his proposed revenue-sharing plan and field a team that’s going to thrash his precious Brewers for the foreseeable future.
(Ed. note: Derek Zumsteg and the voices in his head will be occupying this space every Thursday.–JSS) I’m the new owner of the Angels. Disney kept the team from leaving Anaheim, but their tax break was mostly expended, and running the team took energy the company wanted to spend persecuting peer-to-peer file sharing. The franchise…
Two weeks ago, newly-retired Jose Canseco claimed that 85% of major-league baseball players were steroid users.
During a May 14 chat session on ESPN.com, Bill James referred to my research on catcher’s game-calling and pitcher-handling, and his criticism of it. The research he refers to consists primarily of an article from Baseball Prospectus 1999 entitled "Field General or Backstop?" and a followup posted here on the BP Web site called "Catching…
Let the piling on begin. Two weeks ago, newly-retired Jose Canseco claimed that 85% of major-league baseball players were steroid users. Now, newly-retired Ken Caminiti admits that he was using steroids during his 1996 MVP season and estimates that half of the game’s players are juiced. Newly-retired Chad Curtis also chimes in with a guess…
I’ve been going to baseball games for 26 years. In that time, the closest I’ve come to a ball was losing a scrum for one during batting practice at Yankee Stadium.
TRADE OF THE WEEK "This will improve us defensively. We were concerned we were too one-dimensional. If we’re going to struggle to score runs, we’re probably going to have to do as much as we can to prevent them." —Billy Beane, Athletics GM, on trading outfielder Jeremy Giambi for utility player John Mabry "The message…
Nevertheless, in the wake of the most bizarre deal we’ve seen in a very long time, I couldn’t help myself; I peeked around. Now, I have a lot of respect for Rob Neyer, and for Rob’s work. As a fellow product of the analysis revolution of the ’80s, I suspect we share a basic philosophy of trying to inject some element of quantitative analysis to provide better qualitative commentary. That said, I think any attempt to quantitatively assess the trade of Jeremy Giambi–regardless of your opinion of Win Shares and their utility–ignores two basic problems.
Ok, so Mike Piazza says he’s not gay. Bobby Valentine says that MLB’s ready to deal with an openly gay player. Mike Timlin says he’s already knowingly played with a gay player. Steve Phillips says that statistically, you’d expect a gay player in every clubhouse. He also encapsulates a lot of good thinking on the subject by saying “Who cares?”
I wouldn’t say I’m going through the motions on this one, but I know that half the country is already gone for the weekend, and the other half is just waiting for the boss to give the signal. I’m headed to Fresno myself, in part to see my friends and their new baby, in part to catch the Grizzlies in their new park on Saturday. I’m writing this as packing activity goes on around me.
I wouldn’t say I’m going through the motions on this one, but I know that half the country is already gone for the weekend, and the other half is just waiting for the boss to give the signal. I’m headed to Fresno myself, in part to see my friends and their new baby, in part…
Hard as it may be to believe, I’m going to spend less time than usual on this column, despite the large number of interesting things to talk about. Sexual Orientation Ok, so Mike Piazza says he’s not gay. Bobby Valentine says that MLB’s ready to deal with an openly gay player. Mike Timlin says he’s…