People complain that it’s unfair to some teams chasing the wild card. Perhaps, but with “natural rivalries” and bizarre interleague schedules, fairness has already been tossed out the window.
For the third straight year, the two best players in the American League–and the two best candidates for AL MVP–are the same guys: Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. They lead the league in RARP and VORP, and it’s not all that close.
Off the top of my head, I can’t remember a three-year period in which the MVP argument–the real one, not the media-looking-for-the-best-story one–came down to the same two players each time. I’m leaning toward Rodriguez, the best player in the league, right now, but I don’t think it’s a lock just yet. The respective positions of the Yankees and Rangers are not a factor in my decision-making.
The unbalanced schedule rules. People complain that it’s unfair to some teams chasing the wild card. Perhaps, but with "natural rivalries" and bizarre interleague schedules, fairness has already been tossed out the window. At least divisional play can make for great matchups, unlike, say, the thrilling mid-week sweep of the Brewers by the A’s in…
Before the Chuck Finley deal, the Cardinals had only one hitting prospect. Now they have none.
In 1994, I never did believe there was going to be a strike. I was wrong, of course, and in the process of being wrong learned a lot about labor relations, economics, and how those things apply to baseball.
Before the Chuck Finley deal, the Cardinals had only one hitting prospect. Now they have none. They tried to trade their only pitching prospect, but he had the bad manners to hit the DL at the All-Star Break. They managed to complete the Scott Rolen deal by trading two major leaguers (Bud Smith‘s 132 2/3…
In 1994, I never did believe there was going to be a strike. It was inconceivable to me that such an amazing season could be interrupted, or that the World Series could go unplayed. That was the kind of thing that happened in the formative days of baseball, certainly not something to worry about in…
This could be fun. As of Tuesday morning, eight National League teams are separated by 6 1/2 games, and fighting for two playoff spots.
This could be fun. As of Tuesday morning, eight National League teams are separated by 6 1/2 games, and fighting for two playoff spots. Dodgers 62-50 .554 — Giants 61-50 .550 .5 Cardinals* 59-49 .546 1.0 Reds 58-52 .527 3.0 Astros 57-53 .518 4.0 Marlins 55-56 .495 6.5 Mets 55-56 .495 6.5 Expos 55-56 .495…
“Geez, what are you guys all doing here? I thought I traded all of you guys.” — Allard Baird, Royals GM, joking while walking through the clubhouse just after the trading deadline
Mark Prior threw 135 pitches yesterday. It was worth it, though, because it pulled the Cubs to within 12 1/2 games of first place in the NL Central and to within 14 games of the Dodgers in the wild-card race.
Look, I’ve made this argument before, so I’m not going to waste a column on it again today. Letting your nominal franchise pitcher throw 135 pitches in a meaningless game is inconsistent with any kind of plan for success. Letting him bat in the bottom of the eighth having thrown 119 pitches is grounds for firing.
I got BP rolling many years ago in large part because of a forecasting system I had created called Vladimir. Vlad was basically a two-step system. The first step was categorization: What type of player is this? What is the shape of his performance? Is he a slow masher? A waterbug? A power-and-speed guy? How…
ANAHEIM ANGELS
Acquired OF-R Alex Ochoa and C-R Sal Fasano from the Brewers for C-L Jorge Fabregas and two PTBNLs. [7/31]
This was an elegant, if low-key, solution to the Angels’ need for some hitting help, depending of course on the likelihood that neither of the PTBNLs are significant prospects. Those odds are pretty low, since the Angels don’t have that many significant prospects in the first place, and they did only get a couple of journeymen. To purge Jorge Fabregas from the roster is a happy development in itself, and beyond that, they get the fourth outfielder they need and a third catcher who makes for a viable option to either of the Molina brothers.