Archive for March, 2009
Indians Continue Making Moves
Starting pitcher Aaron Laffey became the most recent Cleveland Indians to be given the news that he wasn’t going to start the season with the big league club when he was optioned to the Columbus Clippers of the International League. At the beginning of camp, many thought that Laffey would be on the roster when [...]
NY Mets: A Look Back at 2008 & What to Expect in 2009
Coming off yet another regular season collapse in 2008 the New York Mets are looking to bounce back in 2009. Trying to shake the monkey that is Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard off their backs and finally live up to their potential and hype. Following their most recent regular season collapse the Mets took action [...]
Nick’s Fantasy Focus
As fantasy baseball managers, our job is not to assemble a team based on last year’s statistics, though many make the mistake of doing that. Instead, it is our duty to predict what’s going to happen next. Not many people realize this, but if you consistently make personnel decisions based on what happened last year, [...]
Hello Goodbye: A Site Update
It’s been a while since I’ve introduced a few of our writers and in the past I have done so before they actually posted on the site. But, I guess I’m just a little rusty, it IS spring training after all. So, without further adieu, here are the latest to have agreed to write on [...]
A Case for Sabermetrics
Image via Wikipedia In the past few months I have been gathering monthly author for Baseball Reflections so that I could write on a more relaxed basis and produce more detailed work. This article is the first postto that effect. A version of it was previously posted over at RBI Magazine back on March 12th. [...]
D-Backs Fantasy Impact
The Arizona Diamondbacks have won more games than any other National League team over the past two seasons. Considering that, you would figure that they would have a myriad of impact Fantasy Baseball players from which to select, but that really isn’t the case. General manager Josh Bynes and company have created a team for [...]
Indians Send Some Big Names to Columbus
It’s that time of the year again, when fringe players are told whether they are going to be sent down or they get to stay with the team. On Tuesday, the Cleveland Indians optioned pitcher Jeremy Sowers and catcher Wyatt Toregas to the Columbus Clippers of the International League. The Tribe also assigned many players [...]
Stadium Review: PNC Park Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Even though the Pittsburgh Pirates carry a history that goes back to 1887, they are often forgotten in historical conversations about baseball these days, perhaps because they haven’t really done anything of consequence in decades. This may be the reason, then that their immaculately built stadium seems to be overlooked when discussions about the great [...]
Rays Reflections
David Price and Andy Sonnanstine are exhibits A and B in a lesson about how valuable experience can be when making a major league roster or, more importantly, a starting rotation. Though I am a big fan of Andy’s, anyone can see that Price is likely a far more talented pitcher in every aspect of [...]
WBC Key Second Round Moments
According to the IBAF, a poll was recently posted on espndeportes.com which asked if baseball should return to the Olympics. Just 24 hours into the voting, over 7,000 voters from 30 countries have logged on and the results are resounding as 95% have voted yes. Many reports have noted that WBC officials have been pleased [...]
Stadium Review: Progressive Field Home of the Cleveland Indians
The Indians home ballpark was renamed Progressive Field before the 2008 season after being named Jacobs Field for the length of its existence. This did not make Tribe fans happy, and many still refuse to call the ballpark by its new name. Even though the stadium has only been around for about 15 years, it [...]
What to Expect From The Cubs in 2009
To say that this is probably the beginning of the end for Derrek Lee would miss the point – we have likely reached the end of the beginning of the end. The beginning of the end came in 2006, when he broke his wrist in a collision with Rafael Furcal. Lee has had two good [...]
IBAF Announces Partnership with PIFB
Image via Wikipedia A partnership has been made in the international baseball community. The International Baseball Federation (IBAF), which is the head of all international baseball events including the World Baseball Classic, has teemed with Pitch In For Baseball (PIFB) in order to provide equipment for youth groups in the baseball community around the world. [...]
Stadium Reflections: My Experience at Fenway Park
Image via Wikipedia Baseball Reflections reader may have noticed the stadium reviews that have been featured on the site recently. While it might be a good idea to review Fenway Park, it’s so well known that we considered it would just be better if there were a few personal perspectives on the stadium. My first, [...]
Who Will Be The Tigers’ 5th Starter?
Image via Wikipedia Is Rick Porcello ready to be in a major league rotation? That is the big question right now at the Tigers’ spring headquarters in Lakeland, Fla., bigger than worries about the health of Jeremy Bonderman and Joel Zumaya, bigger than the hole in the lineup left when four of the Tigers’ top [...]
WBC Sees Increase in Ratings
Image via Wikipedia …and Other Thoughts on the Classic From the IBAF According to the International Baseball Federation, both attendance and television ratings are up for the current World Baseball Classic from what they were in 2006. Here are what the stadiums have averaged in the first round: Tokyo Dome: 28,352 Foro Sol Stadium in [...]
Stadium Review: Rogers Centre Home of the Toronto Blue Jays
The Rogers Centre, formerly known and still frequently called the Sky Dome, is a staple of downtown Toronto. Even if one doesn’t make a trip to the stadium itself, it is very hard to miss the structure, especially since most visitors of downtown Toronto usually stop at the CN Tower, which looks straight down on [...]
Baseball Reflections on the Cardinals
The 2008 offseason promised to be an exciting one for Cardinal fans. There was quite a bit of salary coming off the payroll, there were surpluses to trade from, and GM John Mozeliak promised to be “aggressive,” taking care of the “low-hanging fruit” first and moving on to other things. That was before the worst [...]
IBAF Cites Baseball Happenings as Socially Positive
With the 2009 World Baseball Classic underway, the IBAF shard some of their recent successes with BaseballReflections.com . As many readers may remember, the IBAF is the governing body of international baseball and is in charge of all international tournaments involving the sport of baseball, including the WBC. The IBAF is proud that they were [...]
Stadium Review: Cooper Stadium the Former Home of the Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers have had an interesting affiliation status over the last few years. They were the long standing AAA club for the New York Yankees and saw players such as Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada come through their doors, but just a few years ago, the Yankees ended their more than 30 year relationship [...]
Indians Make Roster Moves; Send Rundles, Ohka and Edell Down
The Indians made their first moves of the spring on Sunday as they made some cuts to their roster. Three players will be changing locations after the decisions made by manager Eric Wedge and general manager Mark Shapiro. First, pitcher Rich Rundles was optioned to the Columbus Clippers of the International League. Then, pitchers Tomo [...]
Baseball Reflections on the Brewers
Any preview of the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers will invariably contain the names CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets early and often. The two combined for 24 wins in 2008 and the run CC went on after his trade from Cleveland has been well documented. With the “workhorse” Sabathia now in New York, and the oft-injured Sheets [...]
IBAF Lays Out Company Statistics
As stated earlier in a post on BaseballReflections.com, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is making a serious run at attempting to get baseball in the Olympics once again. They have compiled some research over the past months and shared it with Baseball Reflections. Their organization is a non-profit, volunteer based company, and is considered to [...]
Stadium Review: The other Fifth Third Field, this one of the Dayton Dragons
Astute readers of BaseballReflections.com may recall that there has already been a stadium review posted on this site for a Fifth Third Field. The interesting part is not only that there are two fields with the same name, but that there are two fields with the same name for minor league ball clubs on the [...]
Baseball Reflections on the Rangers
The Texas Rangers finished the 2008 season with a 79-83 record, finishing second in the AL West behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. During the season, the Rangers finished first in all offensive categories, while finishing last in all but one category in pitching. It is no secret the Rangers need to focus on [...]
Stadium Review: Classic Park of the Lake County Captains
The Lake County Captains have only been around since 2003, but the Indians A club made sure they had a nice stadium before they took the field. The stadium is located in East Lake, Ohio, which is about half an hour outside of Cleveland. Having a team in such close proximity to the major league [...]
Reflections on the Blue Jays
Greetings from the Great White North and man is it ever white this year. I’m sure this is the worst winter in the last several years. I’m Rincewind and a great guy named Hugo and I run a blog called Bluebird Banter where we blather on and on about the Toronto Blue Jays. It is [...]
Stadium Review: Coca-Cola Field of the Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons’ stadium may not be new, but it does have a new name. After toting around the name of Dunn Tire Park for some time, this off season, those with the team accepted a deal from soda giant Coca-Cola to rename the ballpark Coca-Cola Field. The Bisons have also switched which team they [...]
The Giants pitching needs to be perfect in 2009
Pitching is the strength of the 2009 San Francisco Giants. It’s the one hope they have for being competitive this season. Well, that’s at least what’s been bought and sold thus far by the organization and the media. Truth is the staff could be pretty good. But the Giants may be in for a surprise [...]
Welcome to Mannywood 2009
Image by Getty Images via Daylife The frustrating courtship between Manny Ramirez and the LA Dodgers is finally over. Manny’s a Dodger again, signing a contract on Wednesday. The slugger with Predator hair is expected to be in uniform and on the field by Friday (editor’s note: this was written on Thursday). Frank McCourt flew [...]
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