Tell me again about hope and faith. Before the season–heck, before every season–the irresponsible among the baseball media like to tell us that half to three-quarters of the teams in baseball have no hope of contending or reaching the playoffs. Most readers of Baseball Prospectus know that this isn’t true, regardless of their opinions on…
2001 NL MVP "Guys work out all year round now. We have personal trainers–we all do. Guys don’t want to go on breaks. The game has changed…. When we came in the game, a second baseman was a 4-foot-2 slap-hitter. Now you have second basemen that hit 40 home runs. I don’t know what they’re…
Let me admit up front that this week’s article is a little short on the analysis. I’m heading off to Atlanta for a family reunion this weekend, but didn’t want to leave our readers without any kind of AFTH fix to get them through the holiday weekend. So accept my apologies if this doesn’t meet…
I have shamefully little credibility on the following topic, less so than I do on Paul Wilson or on speaking French or on dunk techniques. So read the following with a salt shaker by your side, and for some history, check out this piece from last year, or this one from earlier in 2001. (Dear…
The Twins are falling, and therefore, so is the sky, according to those who drink heavily at the fountain of MLB swill. It’s no surprise that one of the first cries showed up on MLB’s own site. Mike Bauman, apparently just purchased from Jim Henson Productions, issued a typically opinion-laden, fact-free piece last week stating…
I got a great question from reader Keith Blue over the weekend: Albert Pujols is the obvious frontrunner for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. But who would you rather have in the long run: Pujols or Adam Dunn? I’ll admit, this stood out because it was a rare missive that didn’t include the…
Through the beneficence of an anonymous, nonexistent informant, Baseball Prospectus has obtained tapes of an actual conversation from the night of July 31. "Hello?" "Carl?" "Yes. Who’s this?" "What do you mean who’s this? It’s Bud!" "Bud…oh, yes, Bud. What can I do for you?" "It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?" "What…
COACHING "Sometimes, they learn better from their peers than us genius coaches." —Bob Boone, Reds manager, on pitcher Jose Rijo‘s tutelage of Jose Acevedo "I think he’s going to be a good big league player. He’s very disciplined for a young hitter. He takes a walk. He hits the ball to the other way well….
We at Baseball Prospectus have a feature where we respond to selected e-mails from our readers. You can find this "From the Mailbag" feature on a recurring basis under the Features section of the BP main page. But today, I want to take this opportunity to respond to a few of the e-mails I’ve received…
I’ve spent some time on the road this week, which is why this is just the second DP since the weekend. I’m going to be bouncing around the East Coast, seeing friends and family, for most of the next few weeks, so the column’s schedule may be even more erratic than usual. As an aside,…
The Great Imbalancer went away, conducting some major business transactions of his own, but he’s back because he’s needed. The lies and filth of MLB ownership are starting to build like dot-com resumes in a recruiter’s inbox. The latest is a real classic: John Henry, new owner of the Florida Marlins and perhaps holder of…
The American League Rookie of the Year Award has been considered a foregone conclusion since about early May, thanks to the hot starts of the Mariners and their first-year sensation, Ichiro Suzuki. Should it be, though? Here are the performances of Ichiro and the Indians’ C.C. Sabathia: AVG OBP SLG PA SB/CS EqA RARP Rank…
YES, SARGE "Early in his career, Sammy [Sosa] was very similar. He wanted to hit the ball out of the ballpark, but he wouldn’t get a good pitch. That’s just a matter of not waiting long enough. But he was aggressive. That was his mind-set. If you look at Sammy now, he’s a much more…
"I have this strange feeling of…deja-vu…" "I have this strange feeling of…deja-vu…" "I have this strange feeling of…deja-vu…" Only on "Monty Python’s Flying Circus" could this happen. Or maybe at Wrigley Field, where the worries about Kerry Wood‘s health are constant. Two weeks ago, ominous creaking sounds began to emanate from Wood’s right shoulder. At…