Archive for November, 2009
Baseball Reflections Mailbag
Image by rutibegga via Flickr I’ve seen this done on other blogs and I hope this works here, too! This is the reader interaction section where you, the reader, makes suggestions on topics you would like us to cover in the month of December (2009). Just add your ideas in the comments below and I’ll [...]
DRSEA INFORMER
Volume II, Issue 21 A Publication For Your Reading Enjoyment by Charles Farrell Acto Dignificado (Class Act) – Albert Pujols may have had a better year, and Alex Rodriguez capped off his season with a World Series Championship, but the face – as well as the heart and soul – of Dominican baseball belongs to [...]
Friday Night Links
Baseball Bats Image via Wikipedia Continuing on our quest to assist our loyal readers with holiday shopping ideas we provide you with the previous link to baseball bats that you can choose from for the baseball player(s) in your life. There you will find both aluminum and wood bats, baseball as well as softball bats [...]
Top 8 Free Agent Relief Pitchers This Hot Stove Season
Image via Wikipedia For many teams, especially teams that are successful in the postseason, success is predicated on a solid bullpen. However, while stalwarts like Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman grab headlines and notoriety, as a whole, bullpen arms are significantly more volatile than the two legendary closers. Bullpen arms, especially middle relievers, tend to [...]
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!! And for those of you who are into the “classics” here is the final part of a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!! Help support Baseball Reflections and buy me a coffee with PayPal!
Can Giant’s GM Brian Sabean Become an Iron Chef?
Brian Sabean’s off-season shopping list: First baseman (with power) Short-stop (who’s name is not an anagram for aged-rental) Left fielder Right fielder Catcher Oh, and pick up some milk, bread and maybe some of those frosted holiday cookies. And, one more thing. Could you take Aaron Rowand back? I left the receipt on the firdge, [...]
Wins and Loses: A Decline in Value?
Image via Wikipedia Congratulations to Tim Lincecum for winning the 2009 NL Cy Young award, just a couple short days after Zack Greinke‘s victory for the AL counterpart. But an even bigger congratulations is in order. A congratulations to the BBWAA voters. Just what am I getting at, you ask? As we’re all aware of, [...]
Adding More Instant Replay in Baseball
Image by Scott Ableman via Flickr Rumors and anecdotes have persisted regarding the declining quality of umpiring at the Major League level. The 2009 playoffs brought that discussion into sharp focus. Starting with the one-game playoff between Minnesota and Detroit and continuing through the World Series, umpires missed a variety of calls that affected the [...]
Phillies 2009 Year in Review And a Sneak Peak at 2010
The Philadelphia Phillies accomplished quite a bit in 2009, despite falling just short of the coveted World Series Championship repeat. In fact, just getting back to the Fall Classic showed quite a bit of determination, and, to make it more impressive, they did it with a team that was inferior to their 2009 Championship squad. [...]
Friday Night Links
As per our recent trend on Friday nights leading up to the holidays this year we bring you some gift ideas for the baseball fan(s) in your life… This week we bring you some baseball apparel gift ideas… Hats and Caps Whether you want a Baseball Reflections hat or cap to show your support for [...]
Bob Gibson/Reggie Jackson: Sixty Feet, Six Inches
I just finished reading a great baseball book, ‘Sixty Feet, Six Inches‘, by Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson with Ronnie Wheeler. This book is a running conversation by two of baseball’s greatest players about the mind games and strategies that go on between the pitcher and batter. One almost pictures himself eating dinner with these [...]
Playing Good Idea/Bad Idea with the Cubs Offseason
It’s really hard for me in the midst of a brutal Chicago Bears season to take a step back and relive a brutal Cubs season. What a disappointment 2009 was for the Chicago Cubs. So much anticipation, so few results. I posted my thoughts on Derek Lee and his contributions to the Cubs season in [...]
Top 10 Free Agent Outfielders
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Outfielders, as in many years, offer the most diverse market. The reason outfielders tend to end up as free agents more often, is that typically it is hard to find a combination of average to above-average offense and good defense, and vice versa. For example, Jason Bay is an [...]
The Truth About Yankees Fans
What better time to talk about the New York Yankees fan base, than two weeks after the 27th World Series Championship in team history. Yes, the Bronx Bombers are the most successful franchise in the history of professional sports. Yankees “faithful” have been filling “The Stadium” to root on their heroes for decades…or have they? [...]
2009/2010 Free Agents at SS
It’s been quite some time since the the first wave of Cal Ripken deciples made up a trio of the league’s elite shortstops. Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter now play together, with Rodriguez moving to third base (though a swap would probably improve the Yankees left side). Nomar Garciaparra has battled wrist injuries and become [...]
Friday Night Links
For the next month or so we will be highlighting some products, companies or sites in an attempt to supply you, the loyal Baseball Reflections readers, with some holiday gift ideas for the baseball player(s) in your life. Meyvn Baseball Company If you’re like me, you’ll want to know why co-founders Richie Benes and Merrell [...]
Tigers Considering Major Changes
They are not calling it a fire sale. Let’s get that out of the way first. Dave Dombrowski has conducted fire sales before, most notably following the 1997 championship season with the Florida Marlins. This, he says, is not a fire sale. The GM meetings don’t usually bring much noise, and there were no major [...]
Put Me In Coach…
Everynight I put my 2 year old Jack to bed, we close out the day with the two songs I’ve been singing to him since he was a baby. “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, and the slightly less popular “Meet the Mets” are staples in my toddler’s winding down portion of the bedtime process. [...]
Yankees’ Ten Most Pivotal Postseason Performers
As the New York Yankees bask in the afterglow of their unprecedented 27th World Championship, let’s take a look back at the ten biggest contributors to that title. Without these men, the Yankees’ postseason might have ended a lot earlier: 1. Alex Rodriguez: After the Yankees won the World Series, A-Rod looked to be the [...]
Is Jorge Posada Hall of Fame Bound?
Image via Wikipedia Jorge Posada has played for the Yankees since 1995, and started since 1998. He is a popular player, and as he approaches the end of his career, some noise is being made about electing him to the Hall of Fame. But does he deserve it? Is Jorge Posada a future Hall of [...]
The Unceremonious End of the J.J Hardy Era
Friday was an interesting day for Brewers fans as they traded J.J Hardy to the Twins for Carlos Gomez. As a Brewer fan, a J.J Hardy trade was something that I saw coming from a couple time zones away. Still, it isn’t something I’m too thrilled about. On a personal note, J.J Hardy was one [...]
The Secret of Mariano Rivera’s Success
Image via Wikipedia He’s A Christian! But he wasn’t always a Christian, people never are…not from birth anyway. Furhtermore, there is a moment in every Christian’s life where they have made a choice to follow the path God has planned for them. For some, it’s as clear as day, but for others, it’s a gradual [...]
Yankees Manager Girardi Risks Life After 27th Championship
Image by Keith Allison via Flickr So, when interviewers asked Yankees manager Joe Girardi where he was going after managing the NY Yankees to their 27th World Series Championship, did he say he would be going to Disneyland? Maybe he did, I don’t know because being a Red Sox fan I didn’t keep the TV [...]
Congratulations to the 2009 World Series Champion NY Yankees
Although my prediction was the Phillies in 6 or 7 games, it was still a good series to watch and I’m so glad that it wasn’t another sweep!Here are some Yankees links to help you Yankee fans to celebrate your impressive 27th title!From the Subway Squawkers: Yankees win No. 27 – time to stand up [...]
Baseball Reflections Site Update
Sometime on Saturday, Baseball Reflections will be an official member of the Most Valuable Network (MVN). The only change you should see is the header and footer of MVN with a few of their ads and links to their other baseball sites via their MLB link as well as their other sports coverage (NBA, NHL, [...]
Rounding Third
Image by john curley via Flickr As the 2009 Major League Baseball season comes to a close, it’s difficult to avoid drifting back to past seasons that have come and gone. Some of our most vivid childhood and adolescent memories are tied to the game that we cherish. Growing up in the outer boroughs of [...]
Don’t Stop BeLEEvin’
Image via Wikipedia As the popular 1981 Journey song from their hit recording Escape reminds us to “Don’t Stop Believin’” I also found out that the song was adopted by the 2005 Chicago White Sox when they were in that year’s Fall Classic. Wikipedia also has the following story regarding the song’s connection to baseball. [...]
The Biggest WAR Bargains of 2009: Part 2
Image by Keith Allison via Flickr Last week I covered the top 5 position player bargains of the year – and despite the fact that they were great talents, had for cheap, they were still, mainly, pretty big names. This week, for part two, I’ll try to dive into 5 of the lesser known bargains. [...]
<--under the tag-->