Archive for May, 2011
L.P. Frans Stadium – Home of the Hickory Crawdads
Built in 1993, L.P. Frans Stadium is home to the Hickory Crawdads, the high A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The stadium seats just over 5,000 people and overall probably has a bit more to offer than most stadiums that host a team on that level. One of the most unique facets of the [...]
2011 Fantasy Baseball Projections: What’s Wrong With Florida Marlins’ Hanley Ramirez?
The consensus No. 2 pick before the season started, Hanley Ramirez has done little to justify his draft position. Through 181 at-bats this season, Ramirez is flirting with the Mendoza Line (.210) and sports a Jason Bartlett-like OPS (.618). To make matters worse, Ramirez was removed from Sunday’s game after the first inning with lower back stiffness. He [...]
The Way of Baseball – Finding Stillness at 95 MPH : A Book Review
Stillness is not something most people think of when they picture a fastball being thrown in their direction. However, in his new book, former MLB All Star Shawn Green attempts to explain to readers the how they can find meaning in all parts of life, whether they are flipping burgers or stepping in the batter’s [...]
Closers: The Trouble with Non-Save Situations
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…. “Baseball is a funny game”. Baseball is great for so many reasons, but one of my favorite aspects of the game is its inherent quirks. Speaking of quirks, nothing is quite as quirky as closing pitchers. It takes a special breed to trot out in the [...]
Bourn Free: Getting That Green Light
It is a generally held principal in baseball that the stolen base is only considered to be an effective offensive weapon when the success rate breaks 70%. Therefore, when we are looking around the Major Leagues to determine stolen base potential from players, it may be worthwhile to take into consideration individual players’ success rates. [...]
Keeping It Simple – 4 Keys to Hitting and Pitching Success
I have been teaching baseball for a long time and feel like I could spend hours and hours discussing the fundamentals of the game. Along the same lines, I believe I could list well over 100 baseball drills. In addition, I wrote a two hundred-page book on all aspects of hitting and [...]
Fenway Park’s 100th Anniversary: There’s Nothing Like Being at the Game
I’ve never considered myself religious by any means. Yet, I’m a believer that everyone has some place where they just feel – home, or safe. A sanctuary, of sorts. To some of the more religious types, a church. Baseball stadiums are my church. There is just something about passing through the gates and walking into [...]
BBA Baseball Talk with Special Guest “The Injury Expert” Will Carroll
Join me (Peter Schiller) next Tuesday, May 31st at 9pm EST along with the site’s new editor Aaron Somers (from Blogging From the Bleachers), and fellow BBA member, as we host our special guest, “The Injury Expert” Will Carroll. I host the BBA Baseball Talk podcast every time there is a fifth Tuesday in a [...]
Mets Not Giving Up Just Yet
The Mets lost two out of three to the Yankees in the Subway Series, but it wasn’t a complete lost weekend for Terry Collins’ club. True, the Mets were nine outs from taking the series from the Bombers, and several breaks didn’t go the Mets way during the disastrous 8-run seventh inning. But on Friday [...]
Hit or Myth? Big Names Who Don’t Live Up to Their Reputation
When it comes to scanning potential draft lists before the season or watching the waiver wire looking for help, we can’t help but be tempted by a big name. We’ve all seen them… a player whose name alone carries with it the promise of great things. Usually due to past success, these [...]
The 70/30 Split
One of the best parts of fantasy baseball is analyzing who is over-performing and who is under-performing. After all, determining who can help your team directly contributes to your chances of winning your league which is of course the second most important thing in fantasy baseball (the first being to have fun, right?). There are [...]
Ryo Shinkawa: Interpreting the MLB
Sapporo, a city in the Japanese archipelago‘s northernmost island of Hokkaido, is more than five thousand miles from Minneapolis, but to Ryo Shinkawa the two places will be forever entwined. An internship in the former eventually led to his current position in the latter, as the interpreter for Minnesota Twins second baseman and 10-time [...]
State of the Mets: After the First 40
The Subway Series is coming up over the weekend, and believe it or not, the Yankees appear to be in more disarray than the Mets. The Mets just had a solid week, winning road series against the Rockies and the Astros and moving over .500 on the road for the season – no small feat. [...]
A Good Stance Begins with Your Feet
Throughout my career, and even since the conclusion of my playing days, people always took notice of my unique batting stance. My stance actually came about because of Nolan Ryan, the great Hall of Fame pitcher known for, among many other highlights, his seven career no-hitters. Nolan struck me out 29 times, with most of [...]
The Power of Plate Discipline
It’s always entertaining when old ideas and new ideas collide. Ask any fan from a bygone era and they will lament the inability of modern hitters to protect the plate with two strikes. They wax poetic about the power hitters of yore and their ability to hit for power and avoid the strikeout. So, preach [...]
Phillies review: April 2011
Not a bad start to the 2011 season for the Phillies. Amid “World Series or bust” talk after acquiring Cliff Lee, the 2011 Phillies lived up to their lofty expectations. The Phillies finished April with an MLB best 18-8 record, setting a club record for April wins in the process. As [...]
Top of Phillies Lineup vs. Bottom of Phillies Lineup
We all knew that losing Utley and Werth would hurt the Phillies offense, and losing Ruiz just exacerbated the issue. Their injuries have created a gaping hole in the bottom of the Phillies lineup. But there is a silver lining to the ineptitude of the last four hitters: the 2011 Phillies team [...]
Power Outage? Connect to the Waiver Wire
At one point or another, almost every fantasy team suffers through a power outage. Regardless of the power your sluggers continue to tease you with, they just do not deliver the Home Runs and RBI that your team so badly needs. If it is just a matter of power and power alone, [...]
Reds Monthly Review: April
Overview You can tell there is a different perception of the Reds in Cincinnati when fans seem to be getting impatient and worried after a 14-13 start in April. The Reds had a very easy schedule, facing the Astros, Pirates, Padres and Diamondbacks twice, but were unable to capitalize because of injuries and all around [...]
Odds on Seattle’s Side
Even the most casual of Mariners fans have probably picked up on the alternating nature of expectations over the past few years. The 2007 and 2009 seasons saw the Mariners achieve unexpected success which lead to big off season acquisitions (Bedard post 2007, Lee post 2009), and high expectations heading into 2008 and 2010. Both [...]
The Tampa Bay Rays After 5 and a Half Weeks
The Rays are one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball with 22 wins. They have won 7 of their last 10 games and are sitting in first place with the Yankees now in second by 1 game, the Rays are now 22-15 on the season. Pitching and hitting have equalized [...]
Reminder: Join Us to a 1-Day Fantasy Baseball FreeRoll
Hosted by DraftStreet.com As a reminder, we have teamed up with DraftStreet.com to offer an exclusive free contest to BaseballReflections.com readers. The freeroll will have $100 in cash prizes, the top 4 get paid, and it is totally free to sign up. How can you not get in on this? Pit yourself against me (Peter Schiller, owner, writer [...]
Daniel Murphy: The Savior at Second Base
The Mets have found a second baseman, and his name is Daniel Murphy. Historically, the Mets have had trouble finding second basemen. With the exception of guys like Edgardo Alfonzo, Wally Backman and Felix “The Cat” Millan, there has not been much stability to the position. Recently, it’s been comical. [...]
Batting Practice using Pitching Machines – Good or Bad?
Frequently, I receive this question from my student’s parents, “Should I take him/her to the batting cages.” You would think my response is, “Sure, practice is good.” However, it is not that simple an answer for a number of reasons. First, and this is often my response, “Let’s wait awhile, because they [...]
Fish or Cut Bait? Which Players to Keep and Who to Throw Back
We’ve all experienced it. Poor early season performance out of top players or early round draft picks. It is a fantasy owner’s worst nightmare. There also comes a point when you must decide to either hold onto the player and hope he turns it around or cut him loose (either by trade [...]
Try Our Free 1-Day Fantasy Baseball FreeRoll Hosted by DraftStreet.com
Baseball season has arrived and it’s time for fantasy baseball. But not the average, full-season, six-month type that seems to never end. I’m talking about a one-night showdown on Friday, May 13th. Yes, Friday the 13th! We have teamed up with DraftStreet.com to offer an exclusive free contest to BaseballReflections.com readers. The freeroll will [...]
A Giant April
Well, the month of April is over for the Giants. I do not feel the same hopeful optimism that I felt last year. However, I do also recognize that it is early in the year. I find the Giants’ lack of offense of great concern, but this was the same situation they were in last [...]
DRSEA Informer
Volume IV, Issue 4: A Publication For Your Reading Enjoyment Show Me The Money The baseball industry is spending more money in the Dominican Republic than I previously believed, according to the latest economic impact study by Major League Baseball. At an astounding $126,326,008, the annual expenditures are over $25 million more than I [...]
Ozzie Guillen Joins GameSlam As New “Slambassador”
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE Guillen to Compete with Fans in the Hot New Sports Prediction Game, Offer Strategy Tips and More HIGHLAND PARK, Illinois, – Game Time Live announced a new fan for the company’s exciting real-time social sports prediction game, GameSlam (www.gameslam.com). Ozzie Guillen, the candid World Series-winning manager for the Chicago White Sox, has [...]
Home Cookin’: Surprising Pitching Splits
Split stats. They can often be the saviour of your fantasy baseball team. When it comes to line up changes, it is beneficial to know which players have more success in one situation versus another. It can often help pad your stats and better yet, avoid negative hits to your ERA or WHIP. Making [...]
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