All Entries Tagged With: "MLB"

Manny Returns to the Dodger Lineup

Manny Ramirez returns to the Dodgers’ lineup tomorrow not as a pariah, but as a prodigal son. All has been foriven after his 50-game exile for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs when he takes the field for the Dodgers in San Diego.

Mannywood, otherwise known as the left-field bleachers, will be back and open for business as a Dodger marketing tool — as National Sports Examiner Paula Duffy notes.

Dodger owner…

INTERVIEW: Craig Calcaterra of Shysterball

Here’s an interview done by Russ Smith of SpliceToday entitled, “Interview: Craig Calcaterra of Shysterball“. Russ was kind enough to allow up to repost this on Baseball Reflections today.

As the MLB season reaches its halfway mark, Splice has once again consulted Shysterball’s Craig Calcaterra, our favorite baseball blogger. Calcaterra, a lawyer by day, is passionate and opinionated about the sport, as his answers from a weekend interview reflect.…

The Rangers Struggled in June

“The Rangers have lost the lead in the AL West with the Angels taking the spot that they have been so familiar with over the last four years.  Texas has lost steam, but ironically, the pitching has kept them afloat and the offense has let them down.  The Rangers have finished the past two seasons atop the AL in offense and now they find themselves in the middle of the pack.

1B/DH Justin Smoak

“Chris…

The Cardinals, On The Run and the Number 6

In Cardinal Nation, we know that six is a serious number.  The local On The Run Mobile gas stations have had a promotion the past few years that, if the Cardinals scored six runs or more in a game, the next day fountain drinks, coffee, etc. was only a quarter at their stores.  This year, they’ve taken it to new heights with a commercial that, for better or for worse, has been…

Big Papi Comes Up Big in June

Nick Kappel’s Fantasy Focus: Three Prospects to Keep an Eye on

Last week’s Fantasy Focus centered around three prime sell-high targets.

This week, we’ll turn our attention to the minor leagues to find out which prospects are most likely to make a fantasy impact this season.

Jhoulys Chacin

Chacin’s value has skyrocketed since the beginning of the 2008 season, when Baseball America ranked him as the No. 18 prospect in Colorado’s system.

After an 18-3 record with a 2.03 ERA in 177 2/3 innings between…

Baltimore Orioles Midseason Report: Seeing Past the Ugliness

From the very beginning, the goal of the 2009 season for the Baltimore Orioles has been to be respectable on the field while continuing behind the scenes to develop the pieces needed to eventually lead the Orioles back to contention in the American League East.

With the season now three months old and nearing the mid-point, it’s time to see just how the Orioles have been doing in meeting their objectives.

It is probably…

Effective Communication Is Important For Coaches

Effective communication is important for coaches

to make baseball rewarding and fun for young players

Jack Perconte Hitting Instructor & former MLB Player

Chicago – It was the chance I had waited for since I was a 16th round draft pick drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1976. As a second baseman, I had cups of coffee with the Dodgers in 1980 and 1981, but the organization decided to replace Davey Lopes with Steve Sax and dealt me to the Cleveland…

June Reflections on the Blue Jays

When my partner in crime, Tom, penned his last epistle about our beloved azure corvidae, things were just going great in the Queen City.  He mentioned how much he was enjoying the season thus far, and confided that he wasn’t sure how long the Jays could keep it up.  The answer – not long.  Almost immediately after his missive, the Jays went into a tailspin in which they were swept in…

The Pendulum Continues To Swing in St. Louis

Joe Morgan would have put the Cardinals on his bad list in June, because they’ve been pretty inconsistent during the month.  A pitching staff that is lit up against the Rockies early in the month settles down to some better pitched games, with hiccups along the way.  An offense maligned as inept is able to put up four double digit scores in 10 games.  What, exactly, are the Cardinals, besides…

Interview With Former MLB Catcher Brent Mayne

Former MLB Catcher Brent Mayne

Whenever you get the chance to talk to someone that has been there, it’s always special to see it through their eyes.

On June the 19th, 2009, I was given the pleasure of an audience with Brent Mayne, a 15 year Major League Veteran. My connection with Brent was made through a gentleman named Bob Salomon, one of the driving forces behind the new book “A Glove of…

Nick Kappel’s Fantasy Focus: Three Players To Sell High On

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In my last Fantasy Focus, I outlined three pitchers whose slow starts made them prime buy-low candidates.

This week I’m going to nominate three players whose hot starts make them excellent sell-high targets.

Keep in mind that obvious choices, such as Kevin Millwood, will be left off the list. I would like to think that my readers are smart enough to turn a profit on the 34-year-old’s incredible start, without…

Royals Showcase Textbook Bad Baseball

When I last reported on the Royals, the team was sitting just one game out of first place in the American League Central with a respectable 20-18 record.   Sure, Kansas City had dropped seven of their last nine games to get to that mark, but all was still well in the land of blue.   My, my, my, what a difference a month makes.

Over the last twenty-seven games, the Royals have lost…

Friday Night Links

It is out of regret that we have to use this section to once again announce the departure of 2 more writers, but we do have 2 additional writing coming on board, but he will not (as of yet) be covering a specific team.

The two gentlemen who will be leaving us are Tony DeMarco who has been writing our Reflections on the Rockies reports just couldn’t keep up writing for his paid…

Miller-McCune on Baseball

In a March 16^th article in Miller-McCune online, Tom Jacobs wrote about the possible bias in baseball, pop-ups and economics. The article was titled, “Race Ball: Our National Pastime?“.

I found the first section on race to be inconclusive as the dates they researched were from three different date ranges 1954-1968, early 70’s to early 80’s and All Star voting from 1990 to 2000. In my opinion, since the author starts out…

Why The Trade Deadline May Be Disappointing For Tigers Fans

With just about six weeks remaining until the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline the Detroit Tigers find themselves in first place in the AL Central, albeit with some gaping holes in their roster. Through ineffectiveness or injury the Tigers are struggling to fill the bottom two spots in the starting rotation, are platooning various youngsters in the outfield with mixed results and have little flexibility in the bullpen.

Quality left-handed pitching seems to be lacking, to…

Ryan Hanigan: From Rollins College to the Cincinnati Reds

When the Rollins College baseball team hosted the Cincinnati Reds for a spring training exhibition in 2001, no one could have anticipated that one of the Tars would some day be living the big-league dream as a key member of the Reds. But fast-forward ahead eight years and sure enough in 2009 former Rollins standout Ryan Hanigan is making a huge impact behind the plate for the resurgent Reds.

Hanigan’s road to the majors…

Nick Kappel’s Fantasy Focus: Three Pitchers To Buy Low On

Many starting pitchers who are usually reliable such as Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy, John Lackey and Roy Oswalt have been wildly unpredictable and/or injured through the first ten weeks of the season. If you are one of the unlucky ones who have been become frustrated with your staff’s inconsistency, you might want to look into these buy-low candidates:

Ricky Nolasco

After a breakout campaign in 2008 which saw him go 15-8…

Dodgers Looking Great with 2/3 of the Season to Go

Editor’s Note: Due to my being on vacation, Jim’s article that he wrote on June 5th below has been posted just now.

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According to Chris at Dodgerfan.net, the Dodgers are the favorite in Las Vegas to win the World Series, with odds at Mandalay Bay at 7-2.

But now, with one-third of the season under the belt, it’s a good time to examine just where the Dodgers stand. As of the…

Chasing the Aces and the Pennants

It’s officially trade rumor season in the MLB and teams are now just beginning to assess their needs and see what is available on the market. This season marks a special one in the starting pitching department as we have four key names playing for underperforming teams looking to slash payroll and stock their farm system with top young talent. As always, the question must be asked if the…

Pirates will remain sellers as deadline approaches

After suffering through 16 consecutive losing seasons, many Pirate fans wonder how any team’s management could be more inept; how any team’s ownership could be more stingy.  And who could blame them?  The streak of sub-.500 finishes will soon be historic.

The sudden and unexpected trade of All-Star outfielder Nate McLouth on June 3 was viewed by many as a microcosm of the past decade and…

May’s Hottest Hitters By Position

Sorry about this, but due to the fact that I gave Nick the week off from his weekly Fantasy Focus and my vacation that I am currently on, this will be a little short.

Here are the top hitters by position for the month of May. I will also provide my personal opinion as to each player’s ability to maintain this numbers for the months to come.

C…

Oakland Still Sitting In Last Place

Although they were originally looked at as the number one contender to knock off the two time reigning American League West champions, the Oakland Athletics find themselves ten games under .500 and in last place in the division.

General Manager Billy Beane deviated from his usual plan this past offseason by adding aging veterans and trading some of his young players in hopes of winning big in 2009.

The…

Detroit Tigers June Splits

Every season is a different season, however there are trends in baseball. So today we’ll take a look at the career split stats for the current group of Detroit Tigers for the month of June and see at least on some level, what we might expect.

Let’s start with the hitters. As you would expect Magglio Ordonez and Placido Polanco lead the pack in most categories, as they have the most at-bats…