Baseball Reflections
Stealth Mode: With Mike Ilitch’s Money Dave Dombrowski Snatches Prince Fielder
The Detroit Tigers were silent long enough. An offseason that had so far peaked with the weak uneventful signing of reliever Octavio Dotel and plummeted with the news of Victor Martinez tearing his ACL just got a lot more exciting. Prince Fielder joins Miguel Cabrera to form the best middle of the lineup in baseball [...]
BBA Baseball Talk Podcast: The New CBA
Join us next Tuesday, January 31st at 9pm EST over on BBA Baseball Talk, a podcast that I host every 5th Tuesday of the month (once every quarter). You can listen to the show online by following this link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ivieleagueproductions/2012/02/01/bba-baseball-talk-the-cba or feel free to be part of the excitement by calling into the number above! [...]
Cleveland Indians 2011-2012 Off Season So Far…
At this point, the Indians off season can unfortunately be described by three words: Roberto Hernandez Heredia. Before mid-January, those three words didn’t mean anything to anyone in baseball circles perhaps except for the man who was calling himself Fausto Carmona. As it turns out, when Carmona tried to get his new visa to come [...]
If The Mets Number 8 is NOT Being Issued, Retire It!
We should all say a prayer today for Gary Carter, who is fighting a terrible battle with cancerous tumors reemerging in his brain. First and foremost, hopes are that the kid can fight this terrible disease. After that point is made, there has been a lot of talk amongst Mets fans about whether or not [...]
Will the Real San Diego Padres Fans Please Stand Up
Will the real San Diego Padres fans please come forward? In my opinion, this question is usually answered after the second game of the teams opening season series home stand. Those who show up, besides those who are employed by the team, are the fans that didn’t score opening day tickets or just wanted to [...]
Are the Mets Considering the Post 2012 Free Agent Market?
A lot is still to be determined with all the free agents still on the board. With players like Prince Fielder, Francisco Cordero, Edwin Jackson, Roy Oswalt, Johnny Damon, Vladimir Guerrero, and Raul Ibanez still available this late in the offseason, rosters could look quite different going into the 2012 season. One team that is [...]
AL East
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A Retrospective on the Career of Jorge Posada
With the impending retirement announcement of Yankee veteran Jorge Posada, baseball fans are wondering, what will his legacy be? For the diehard fans of New York, Posada will go down among the greats. For those who analyze statistics, Jorge Posada was a quality player on both sides of the plate, but his lack of production [...]
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A-Rod and Kobe Healthy and Hungry After New Knee Treatment In Germany
Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez have a few things in common. Both are professional athletes who play for two of the most popular teams in their sport (Lakers and Yankees) and in the biggest markets in the country (LA and NY). They are two athletes people love to hate, but they seem to use the [...]
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Baltimore Orioles December Reflections: The Dan Duquette Era
The Dan Duquette era in Baltimore has started with a collective yawn among the orange and black clad faithful. Duquette said all the right things in his introductory press conference about building the farm system, increasing the team’s International scouting presence, and generally upgrading the talent level across the organization. Perhaps it’s unfair to judge [...]
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AL Central
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Stealth Mode: With Mike Ilitch’s Money Dave Dombrowski Snatches Prince Fielder
The Detroit Tigers were silent long enough. An offseason that had so far peaked with the weak uneventful signing of reliever Octavio Dotel and plummeted with the news of Victor Martinez tearing his ACL just got a lot more exciting. Prince Fielder joins Miguel Cabrera to form the best middle of the lineup in baseball [...]
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Cleveland Indians 2011-2012 Off Season So Far…
At this point, the Indians off season can unfortunately be described by three words: Roberto Hernandez Heredia. Before mid-January, those three words didn’t mean anything to anyone in baseball circles perhaps except for the man who was calling himself Fausto Carmona. As it turns out, when Carmona tried to get his new visa to come [...]
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Sox Can’t Afford to Give More Pitching than They Receive
The Chicago White Sox have announced they are offering Holiday Packs, giving ticket buyers discounts on four packs of Upper Reserved or Lower Reserved tickets. And in one of the first 500 orders, fans receive a White Sox holiday ornament. It appears that the ornament is Paul Konerko and the White Sox image. Too [...]
- More from AL Central
AL West
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Texas Rangers News Round-up
The Texas Rangers have been very busy in the last couple of weeks. Right now the Rangers are still trying to negotiate a deal with Yu Darvish but there is a limited amount of information and insight on the negotiations. Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports reported earlier this week that The Texas Rangers are [...]
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Pujols Talks About His New Team: Angels
Albert Pujols opens up about his decision to sign with the Angels, noting that he brings experience to a young club. Help support Baseball Reflections and buy me a coffee with PayPal!
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What’s the Best Player in Baseball Worth?
In a twist reminiscent of last year’s Cliff Lee negotiations, what appeared to be a two-team race for the services of Albert Pujols between the Cardinals and Marlins was upset by the entrance of a third “Mystery Team”. Though many believed the Mystery Team was simply a tactic Pujols’ agent, Dan Lozano, was using [...]
- More from AL West
Breaking News
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A Retrospective on the Career of Jorge Posada
With the impending retirement announcement of Yankee veteran Jorge Posada, baseball fans are wondering, what will his legacy be? For the diehard fans of New York, Posada will go down among the greats. For those who analyze statistics, Jorge Posada was a quality player on both sides of the plate, but his lack of production [...]
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A Case for Larry Walker’s Induction into the Hall of Fame
This is the time of year when the Baseball Writers of America (BBWA) submit their final ballots for the players they think are deserving of induction into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Among the eligible nominees this year, Barry Larkin and Jeff Bagwell may have the best chance of being elected. But an equally [...]
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Sabermetrics and the Hall of Fame: How Choosing the Elite has Evolved
The standards by which the elite are chosen for election into Cooperstown are evolving. This transition can mostly be attributed to the growing popularity and acceptance of Sabermetrics. The decision to vote Ron Santo into the sacred Hall is a prime example of the shift from traditional thinking. While greatness on the diamond has [...]
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Interviews
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BBA Baseball Talk Podcast: The New CBA
Join us next Tuesday, January 31st at 9pm EST over on BBA Baseball Talk, a podcast that I host every 5th Tuesday of the month (once every quarter). You can listen to the show online by following this link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ivieleagueproductions/2012/02/01/bba-baseball-talk-the-cba or feel free to be part of the excitement by calling into the number above! [...]
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One Umpire’s Perspective on a Batter’s Approach at the Plate
When I was younger I had a great eye for pitches thrown for balls & strikes. I almost never got called out on strikes, but over the last 2 seasons (and over 20 years later) in my over 30 baseball league I have been called out on pitches thrown on the outside corner (some teammates [...]
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Florida Man Shows Off His Priceless Baseball Collection
Dennis Schrader has a vault in his Florida home, dedicating to protecting his world record collection of autographed baseballs. Schrader has collected more than 4,000 signed balls. Help support Baseball Reflections and buy me a coffee with PayPal!
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Reviews
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Baseball Pitching Velocity Analysis
This video will show you the proper way (mechanically speaking) to optimize a pitcher’s velocity on the mound. They claim to be able top get the user to add 5 – 10 mph on their fastball in 16 weeks or less! Visit http://topvelocity.net for a FREE Pitching velocity analysis NOW! Help support Baseball Reflections and [...]
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The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, A Book Review
A mention of Mickey Mantle seems to start more arguments about where his rightful place is on the all-time list of greatest baseball players. The Mick has a following unlike almost any player, which is evidenced by fans’ willingness not only to pay top dollar for his baseball memorabilia, but for aspects of his life [...]
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The Big Show: Charles M Conlon’s Golden Age Baseball Photographs, A Book Review
While there are strong debates raging today as to what sport should not be considered America’s pastime with football, basketball and baseball all making their sound arguments, there was a time when this was not in doubt. During the first half of the 20th Century, there was really only one choice for the sport that [...]
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International
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A Labour of Love – Meet the Team Behind the Bandits
A love of baseball can make you do crazy things. Like the players, the majority of the volunteers have day jobs and work for the Brisbane Bandits up to five times a week. Few have even crossed continents, hailing as a far as Canada, to share their love of the game on their own time [...]
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Andrew ‘Soupy’ Campbell, Just What the Bandits Ordered
During the summer, your typical 19-year-old Australian male is doing everything but hard work. Luckily for the Brisbane Bandits, Andrew ‘Soupy’ Campbell isn’t your stock-standard teenager, who has been busy slugging away, laying the foundations for a career in baseball. Just a few months older than catcher Ryan Battaglia and pitcher Josh Warner, Campbell [...]
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Not Goofing Around in the ABL: Bandits 1B David Sutherland
Towering over the plate at 6’6, the opposition are duly intimidated. His name causes an eruption from what seems like his own personal cheer squad who attend every one of his games. Puzzled looks are exchanged in the crowd; there is nothing ‘Goofy’ about this player’s presence. Dubbed “one of the quietest players in the [...]
- More from International
NL East
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If The Mets Number 8 is NOT Being Issued, Retire It!
We should all say a prayer today for Gary Carter, who is fighting a terrible battle with cancerous tumors reemerging in his brain. First and foremost, hopes are that the kid can fight this terrible disease. After that point is made, there has been a lot of talk amongst Mets fans about whether or not [...]
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Are the Mets Considering the Post 2012 Free Agent Market?
A lot is still to be determined with all the free agents still on the board. With players like Prince Fielder, Francisco Cordero, Edwin Jackson, Roy Oswalt, Johnny Damon, Vladimir Guerrero, and Raul Ibanez still available this late in the offseason, rosters could look quite different going into the 2012 season. One team that is [...]
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How Fernando Martinez is a Fit in San Diego
The New York Mets finally gave up on a prospect that never materialized. Yesterday, they waived Fernando Martinez (maybe somebody can tell me why he and Daniel Herrera were classified as waived when every other 40 man roster move says the player has been designated for assignment) who has an arthritic knee condition that is [...]
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NL Central
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Mr. Baseball Inducted into Broadcasting Hall of Fame
It’s only right that a man known simply as “Mr. Baseball” be entered into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Bob “Mr. Baseball” Uecker will officially be inducted next year so that leaves you with some time to get his books and memorabilia from Tanga because they will become collector’s items soon. [...]
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Ron Santo Elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee
Ron Santo spent 14 of his 15-year career as a professional baseball player with the Chicago Cubs before he joined their broadcasting team. He was the self-described “single biggest Cubs fan of all time.” He was vocal on and off the field too, especially when it came to his desire to be voted into the [...]
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Why Albert Pujols Will Stay In St. Louis
We heard it a lot. At the end of September and during every playoff series, we heard “this could be the last time Albert Pujols has an at-bat in a Cardinal uniform,” sometimes tweaked with the last home appearance. So much so that someone made a chart out of how he did in those situations. (Spoiler, not all [...]
- More from NL Central
NL West
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Will the Real San Diego Padres Fans Please Stand Up
Will the real San Diego Padres fans please come forward? In my opinion, this question is usually answered after the second game of the teams opening season series home stand. Those who show up, besides those who are employed by the team, are the fans that didn’t score opening day tickets or just wanted to [...]
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A New Twist in the Dodgers Ownership Sale
While the Bankruptcy Court ordered sale of the Dodgers proceeds, a very interesting development occurred Wednesday when Joe Torre suddenly resigned his position with MLB as Vice President of Operations overseeing such things as discipline and umpiring. Late word is that Torre who managed the Dodgers to back to back NLCS appearances in 2008-2009 is [...]
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What Can Padre Fans Be Thankful For This Holiday Season
This (past) Thanksgiving (2011) there is plenty to be thankful for. Here at Baseball Reflections we talk about baseball and usually the world baseball fans live in is a bit different from what else is going on in the world or in our lives. Yet for some of us, baseball is our lives… it’s our [...]
- More from NL West
Columns
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Cleveland Indians 2011-2012 Off Season So Far…
At this point, the Indians off season can unfortunately be described by three words: Roberto Hernandez Heredia. Before mid-January, those three words didn’t mean anything to anyone in baseball circles perhaps except for the man who was calling himself Fausto Carmona. As it turns out, when Carmona tried to get his new visa to come [...]
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Good Coaches Take Nothing for Granted – Valuable Base Running Tips
“Baseball is a game of inches,” is an often-used phrase and nowhere is that more evident than with base running. Saving an inch or two when running the bases makes all the difference whether players are out or safe and makes a difference in the win/loss column. A couple inches here and there mean a [...]
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Baseball Pitching Tips: How You Communicate With Your Teammates Is Critical!
I can write forever about the necessity of good communication for a pitcher with all his teammates. It’s not something that’s taught very often but it can affect the outcome of the baseball game. What can be more frustrating than losing a game because a catcher got crossed up and missed a pitch because he [...]
- More from Columns
Fantasy Baseball
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Keystone Keepers: Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Second Basemen in 2012
Second base is an interesting position for fantasy baseball owners to be sure. There are very few elite players at the position (Robinson Cano andDustin Pedroia), so it is often a position that is left until the later rounds to be filled on most fantasy squads. As a result, finding a fantasy sleeper pick at second base can go a long way to [...]
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Catching Some Z’s: Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Catchers in 2012
The position of catcher is often a tricky one for fantasy baseball owners. Often, the position is left until the later rounds in the fantasy draft and owners hope to simply pick up a catcher who will not hurt their fantasy roster too badly. One thing that can easily make or break your team is [...]
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Fantasy Baseball Sleepers for Every Position in 2012
Fantasy baseball owners are no different than anyone else. Whether you are looking to buy a car, invest in a stock, pick up a CD of your favorite band or draft a player for your fantasy roster, everyone is searching for a deal. In fantasy sports, deals come in the form of players who are under-valued [...]
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