Neil deMause returns with the latest on the Expos-to-D.C. saga. Special guest stars include Ahmed Chalabi, Marion Barry and Terrmel Sledge.
Mr. 300, Mr. 3000, Mr. Pujols and Mr. Why The Heck Does He Have A Major League Job all get screen tests in the latest installment of Jim Baker’s Prospectus Matchups.
With the AL and NL West divisions up for grabs, Joe Sheehan breaks down the action from three key games last night.
Scott Rolen and Shannon Stewart come back, and Kevin Brown fights for a roster spot. This and more in today’s Under the Knife.
Baseball, like every other field of athletics, is better today than it was in the past. Derek Zumsteg explains why.
Teams which have locked up playoff spots are using the last week of the season to get players healthy for the postseason.
Randy Johnson wants more attention, Lloyd McClendon wants less, and Lee Mazzilli wants something really, really strange.
What can be learned from a weekend’s action? More than you might think. Plus, Joe’s outlook for the last week of the season.
If not for Frank Catalanotto messing things up, this would be all-moundsmen edition of TA. Chris comments on the returns of Byung-Hyun Kim, Kyle Farnsworth and Ian Snell, among others.
Feverish and clogged, Steven plays the role of Roy Hobbs, climbing off the deck for a late-season contribution.
Baseball Prospectus: You’ve worked with some interesting characters over the years. What lessons did you learn from Bobby Valentine when you worked with him in Texas?
Tom House: He’s a perfectionist. He helped me create a preparation base as a pitching coach. One time I’d planned the rotation out to a certain day. He’d say that’s not enough, tell me out to this day; five presentations later he finally gave it his stamp of approval. It was never enough, he was never just satisfied with what he had. His search for perfection and a better way to do things are second to none. He made me a better pitching coach.
The health and availability of players like Kevin Brown, Chris Carpenter and Mike Hampton will have a big impact on their teams’ playoff rotations.
The biggest weekend of the season is highlighted by two huge matchups on the West Coast.
While not as prolific a hitter as Barry Bonds is, Ichiro Suzuki is productive, exciting, and as big an outlier in his own way. Nate Silver explains.
If Red Sox and Yankee partisans are bored with the “fait accompli” AL East and AL Wild Card races, then here’s something for you to pay attention to. It’s how the seeding plays out. More to the point, Yankee fans have a vested interest in seeing the Twins wind up with a better record than the A’s. Sox fans, however, would do well to summon their karmic resolve for the opposite outcome. This is because the idea of facing two doses of Johan Santana and, if necessary, two doses of Brad Radke in a five-game series is mighty unpalatable.
The Diamondbacks are going the way of old teams, just faster than most, while the Tigers and Royals can find silver linings in their under-.500 seasons.