There’s a big weekend in the NL Central, where the top four teams will square off in a two battles of surprises vs. favorites. The Reds travel to St. Louis, while the Astros and Pirates continue a four-game series at Enron Memorial Field (the Astros won the opener, 3-1, behind Roy Oswalt).
There’s a big weekend in the NL Central, where the top four teams will square off in a two battles of surprises vs. favorites. The Reds travel to St. Louis, while the Astros and Pirates continue a four-game series at Enron Memorial Field (the Astros won the opener, 3-1, behind Roy Oswalt). I’m probably giving…
The middle of May is a good time to take a look at the park factors around the league. Granted, its waaayyy too early to draw firm conclusions about these; most teams still haven’t finished home-and-homes with their opponents to date, and the overall sample size is still small enough that chance has a lot…
There’s a state people kind of ease into when things around them are collapsing. It could be that their company is in the midst of a death spiral, or perhaps their group of college friends is gradually drifting apart. Or, in a strictly hypothetical example, an activity that’s a core part of their enjoyment of…
It’s difficult enough to move any sports franchise. Fighting greedy owners trying to steal a local treasure is an easy political cause. It’s not so hard to find sympathetic judges to grant restraining orders, to fight a long delaying battle to force a sale, and it’s expensive for a team to buy its way out.
In Minnesota, there’s been some concern expressed that even if a new stadium bill is passed, the team may still be obliterated. While Commissioner Bud Selig has made some typically wavering comments on the matter, something has become quite clear: while Selig and the owners have lied, evaded, cheated, and acted in a matter that…
If you look at the standings, the Montreal Expos and the Florida Marlins are having pretty good years. The Marlins lead the NL East, and the Expos are tied for second place, just two games behind. Both teams have a raft of young talent on the roster, and should be good for years to come.
Then you look at the attendance figures. The two rank last and next-to-last in average attendance. The Expos are actually averaging a few more people than they did last year (although that may just be the greater impact Opening Night has on a quarter-season of numbers), while attendance at Marlins’ games is down over 25%, more than 4,000 people per game.
I’m getting a bad feeling. If you look at the standings, the Montreal Expos and the Florida Marlins are having pretty good years. The Marlins lead the NL East, and the Expos are tied for second place, just two games behind. Both teams have a raft of young talent on the roster, and should be…
When a team exceeds expectations to the degree that the Expos has, it’s usually quite difficult to credit this phenomenon on a single aspect of the team’s play. In this particular instance, however, it’s dead simple. As Rob Neyer has waxed eloquent on two separate occasions, it’s all about the walks.
Apparently unwilling to continue being away from his family for the greater glory of the Charlotte Knights, Jose Canseco has announced his retirement from baseball. It certainly didn’t help that he was hitting .172/.280/.422 for the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate, and Canseco may have realized that he had no chance to be called up to a team already filled to the rafters with right-handed power hitters.
Apparently unwilling to continue being away from his family for the greater glory of the Charlotte Knights, Jose Canseco has announced his retirement from baseball. It certainly didn’t help that he was hitting .172/.280/.422 for the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate, and Canseco may have realized that he had no chance to be called up to…
Last week, the Montreal Expos lost six games in a row. Before the season began, such an event would not have been at all surprising. What would have been surprising is that, despite the losing streak, the Expos are still over .500 and just a game out of first place. When a team exceeds expectations…
“They taught me how to play baseball here in Oakland. They taught me how to have fun. I don’t miss playing in Kansas City. I miss Oakland.”
–Johnny Damon, Red Sox outfielder, on returning to Oakland
Losing David Justice isn’t good news, considering I’m not a big Scott Hatteberg guy, but I am a believer when it comes to Eric Byrnes, so I guess I’m happy. Outfield defense is always going to be an issue for a unit that has Terrence Long in center field and either Justice or Jeremy Giambi in a corner. While I’m not arguing for Byrnes to play every day, he does give the A’s a hitter who puts hard-hit balls into play, who can cover an outfield corner well, and basically give the bottom of the lineup someone who can help score some of the other more walk-inclined hitters batting higher up.
After a rough start to the season, the Anaheim Angels have taken to beating up the teams outside their division. Granted, they’ve gotten a healthy dose of the Blue Jays, but with a sweep of the White Sox over the weekend, the Angels are now 20-16, a mark that breaks down as 6-12 within their division, and 14-4 against everyone else. They’ve jumped into second place, 5 1/2 games behind the Mariners.