Archive for June, 2010
Texas Rangers OF Josh Hamilton, His Story in His Own Words
In this I Am Second narrative by Baseball star Josh Hamilton from the I’m A Witness program. All you get is a dark room, a white chair, a spotlight and Josh talking about his past. Help support Baseball Reflections and buy me a coffee with PayPal!
Haarlem Baseball Week Update
by Brendan Bisschop New and old familiar faces in Haarlem Baseball Week selection The selection of the Dutch national team for the 25th Haarlem Baseball Week from 9 to July 18 in the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem is held, has two new faces. The catchers are Jason Halman (Corendon Kinheim) and Bas Nooij (L [...]
Why a Low BABIP Doesn’t Necessarily Signal a Good Buy-Low Candidate
The term Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) has become one of the most popular stats among fantasy managers in recent years. To put it simply, BABIP measures the number of batted balls that fall safely for a hit (excluding home runs). According to The Hardball Times Glossary, the exact formula for BABIP is: (H-HR)/(AB-K-HR+SF). The major league average for [...]
In Baseball, Younger Siblings Steal More Bases
By Tom Jacobs Evolutionary theory suggests younger siblings take more risks. New research finds that is true — at least on the baseball diamond. Younger siblings are more prone to taking risks. That is a long-standing theory of University of California, Berkeley, evolutionary psychologist Frank Sulloway, who argues this behavior is a reaction to their [...]
Does Anyone Want To Manage The Orioles?
In the three weeks since Dave Trembley was dismissed as manager of the Baltimore Orioles there has been no shortage of familiar names battered around as potential managerial candidates. However, with the withdrawal of former Mets and Rangers manager Bobby Valentine from the list and the seeming reluctance to pull the trigger on former Diamondbacks [...]
What Did I Miss?
OK. It’s been over a month since I last posted. I’ll blame it on computer issues (including the fact that I erased everything on my hard drive). Now that I’ve recovered, what did I miss? Phillies Caught Cheating In the best tradition of the ’51 Giants, the Mets claimed that Phillies bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer [...]
How to Hit a Knuckleball (Video at the bottom)
We saw the Phillies get completely embarrassed by two knuckleball pitchers last month. We see the terrible swings guys have at the ball. We see even the best of catchers look foolish trying to simply catch a knuckleball (see Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek). We know it’s coming very slow and it doesn’t look like [...]
New York Yankees…Just buying another Championship
THE YANKEES BUY CHAMPIONSHIPS. It is JUST THAT SIMPLE. The New York Yankees’ payroll is $206 million. That number may not mean much to you, but chew on this: the Yankees’ payroll is $44 million more than the next highest team (Red Sox). That DIFFERENCE between the Yankees and the second highest payroll is higher [...]
Closer’s Corner, June 21: Brian Fuentes, Huston Street, Alfredo Simon & More
If you read this article posted back in March, you know why it’s important to keep an eye on your league’s waiver wire as save opportunities get shuffled around major league bullpens. • Just last week, Diamondbacks’ closer Chad Qualls (who saved 24 games in 2009) was relieved of his duties after converting just 12 of his 16 save [...]
Future Baseball Studs And A Fantasy Round Up
Throughout the course of the year, there are several different dates/events that receive plenty of hype and that fans look forward to. Opening Day, Week 1, the All-Star Break, the Trade Deadline and Free Agency are just a handful. Another event that generates plenty of hype and optimism is the Amateur Draft. Each sport has [...]
Haarlem Baseball Week: The Upcoming Tournament in Amsterdam
By Brendan Bisschop AMSTERDAM – As of Friday, July 9 Haarlem is ten days in the sign of the silver jubilee of the Haarlem Baseball Week. This summer Haarlem still writes a piece of history in sport. From July the 9th to the 18th, the 25th edition will take place. It all started in 1961, [...]
Can Brad Bergesen Be The Next Jim Palmer?
Considering that he has just been demoted to the minors, it might seem strange to now be comparing struggling Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brad Bergesen with Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. However, it is often forgotten that like Bergesen, after early success Palmer also struggled before eventually becoming the best pitcher in Orioles history. In 1966, [...]
The Mascots of Japanese Baseball
The Phillies have their Phanatic, San Diego has a famous chicken, and the Mets have a guy with a giant baseball for a head. But in Japan, each team has a family of mascots. A lot of them are birds; most of them are . . . just . . . strange. The dragons of [...]
How Did We (St. Louis Cardinals) Get Here?
If you had told me before the season began that, come the beginning of June, the Cardinals would be trailing the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central standings, I’d have smiled and shaken my head. If you’d told me that in mid-April, when the Cardinals had roared out to a five-game lead in the [...]
2010 MLB Draft: When Will Nationals’ Bryce Harper Become Fantasy-Relevant?
The first round of Major League Baseball’s 2010 first-year player draft featured many unexpected surprises, including the position at which Bryce Harper was drafted. As expected, the Washington Nationals made the 17-year-old Junior College standout the No. 1 overall pick last Monday night. Unexpectedly, they selected the switch hitter as an outfielder instead of a catcher, the position [...]
It’s Been A Giant Roller Coaster Of A Season So Far In San Fran
Ugh!! What can I say?! I know that baseball is a marathon not a sprint. What this means is that one needs to roll with the highs and lows of their respective team over the course of a long season. I just didn’t expect the highs and lows to come in the same week. Being [...]
What Was Brewing in Milwaukee Baseball in May
Well, we’ve made it to about the one-third mark of the season. Now, let’s take a look at how things progressed during the month of May. What Went Right: May was only 31 days long and it has (finally) come to an end. In all seriousness, I would put the first week of May in [...]
Mizuno World Win Series P/3B Glove Review
GWW1203 The Basics from Mizuno The Mizuno GWW1203 is a baseball glove with a Tartan web design (closed back) and ProFlex finger inserts in a pro style pattern. It comes specially tanned in a retro leather for a soft, supple feel for durability allowing for a quicker breaking in period. In fact, it comes nearly [...]
Passing the Fantasy Baseball Torch
Last week we saw the retirement of one of the truly elite talents in baseball history and one of the most dominant players that played in my (and every other ~23 year old’s) generation. Ken Griffey Jr. was my first favorite baseball player, the first guy that I would wait to watch on Sports Center [...]
With Trembley Gone, What’s Next For The Orioles?
The Baltimore Orioles did the right thing to relieve Dave Trembley of his duties as manager, but being outscored 19-2 by the Boston Red Sox in their first two games after his departure is a reminder that the troubles for this once proud franchise run much deeper than just one person. It is difficult to [...]
Fantasy Baseball Insiders Buy Or Sell: Troy Glaus
After nine weeks of play, Braves’ first basemen Troy Glaus is tied with Albert Pujols and Evan Longoria for fifth on the major’s RBI leader board with 44. Given his age and supposed injury propensity, most fantasy managers are looking to turn a profit on Glaus’ hot start. Instead, they should be seeking his [...]
Former MLB Player Delino DeShields Surprises Kaleb Cowart with HS Baseball Award
Posted on behalf of Gatorade… 13-year MLB veteran (most recently of the Chicago Cubs) Delino DeShields helped surprise Kaleb Cowart of Abel, Georgia with the 2009-10 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award. The Gatorade Player of the Year program is celebrating its 25th year in recognizing elite high school athletes throughout the nation. [...]
Now Should Be The Time For the Orioles To Remove Trembley
Given our tough economic situation, I am not generally in favor of seeing anyone lose their job. However, given the outrageous salaries in professional sports, I don’t have the same sympathy for anyone in that field. So, I have a clear conscious when I say that it is time for the Baltimore Orioles to finally [...]
Baseball News, Tweets & More
Image by mikeleeorg via Flickr Thursday Edition @ SI_JonHeyman: selig will have his say today. RT @KeithOlbermann MLB Commissioner‘s Office meeting to discuss “Imperfect Game” @ espn_durrett: Is it time for more replay in baseball now?: ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark thinks so and I have to agree. Part of Stark’… http://bit.ly/cSy7pp @ robneyer: Galarraga’s been classy. [...]
What Gives The Angels Their Edge? Manager Mike Scioscia
The longest name in sports franchise history has suffered a large share of personnel misfortunes due to a variety of causes on and off the diamond, yet they are still consistently expected not only to contend, but to win the American League West. Why? Two words: Mike Scioscia. Owning two World Series rings as [...]
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