Joe Maddon to win NL Manager of the year
The NL Manager of the Year Award is a tribute given yearly since 1983 to the best managers. A number of managers have won the award in a season when they guided their team outstandingly well to more wins. In this year, managers such as Joe Maddon of the Cubs, Terry Collins of the Mets, […]
What Dave Dombroski Needs to do to Fix the Boston Red Sox
Ben Cherington had a heck of a ride as GM of the Boston Red Sox. He came into an organization that was in shambles in 2011, acquiesced when ownership insisted on hiring Bobby Valentine to replace fired manager Terry Francona, booted Valentine after a horrific 2012 season, set out to rebuild the team in 2013, […]
Can Anyone Stop the Surprising Houston Astros?
It’s been a strange season in baseball. The aging Yankees are actually pretty good. The Nationals are, for some reason, pretty mediocre. The Mets are good. The stacked Padres roster can’t get it done on the field. The Tigers are lousy. And, most unbelievably of all, the Houston Astros are finally good. Yes, those […]
Texas Rangers: The Cole Hamels Deal
The Texas Rangers certainly aren’t strangers to making splash deals for top of the line starting pitching. Back in the summer of 2010, Cliff Lee, among the best pitchers in the MLB at the time, was dealt to the Texas Rangers in exchange for a number of prospects. While Lee performed well for the Rangers […]
Baltimore Orioles – Home Sweet Home
The defending American League East Champion Baltimore Orioles certainly didn’t get off to the start they wanted in 2015, but thanks to a May to June surge, the team finds themselves right in the thick of the playoff race. As of July 6, the Orioles currently sit second in the division, just one game […]
A Look at the American League East
By the start of this month, the race for the American League East title was moving along at a snail’s pace. At one point, the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees shared the division lead with each treading water at 26-25. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that’s the worst record by an […]
Red Hot Orioles and Their All-Star Contenders
If you glance at the standings in the AL East, you may overlook the Orioles due to their third place position. What you may not know, is that Baltimore has been red hot in the month of June, taking 13 of their last 17 games. Last week they took 3 of 4 from Philadelphia, putting […]
Pitchers and Catchers Report: AL East Rotations
The East Division has been a powerhouse in the American League for a majority of the 21st century. Whether it’s Boston and New York hoarding top free agents or Tampa Bay and Baltimore developing their extremely fruitful farm systems, the AL East has consistently produced one if not two of baseball’s top teams year-in and […]
2014 ALCS Ticket Prices & How They Compare with Past Years
Wow, who would have thought that the 2014 ALCS would come down to the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals as both teams swept their opponents three games to none! It’s surprising that teams with Mike Trout, Albert Pujols & Josh Hamilton (Angels) and Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler & Victor Martinez (Tigers) could be […]
The Big Hurt’s Great Career
Four former members of the Atlanta Braves‘ organization were inducted into the Hall of Fame last weekend. However, there were also two representatives of the White Sox franchise who were enshrined in Cooperstown: Tony La Russa and Frank Thomas. Considering La Russa was more famous on his A’s and Cardinals teams, today I want to talk about the […]
ANGELS – Entering the Break as the Hottest Team
One would think Angels showed up when wonders never ceased. Angels won its game as the hottest team beating one of baseball’s best pitchers, wearing out two hottest teams of its kind 4-2 again. Although it did not appear hottest, the player of the day wore jersey number 7. Player number 7 was a star […]
The Twins Nearing the All Star Break
It has been a while since my last write up on the Twins, their play, organization, moves, and outlook. No excuse except that they have not been fun to watch or write about. For the 4th year in a row now the Twins will be rolling into the All Star break effectively out of the […]
For the Twins: A New Year, but the Same Outlook
The Minnesota Twins made some acquisitions but little has really changed in the organization. Terry Ryan decided to go buy some pitching and bring back some long lost teammates. Since when do we go out and buy pitchers, the thought has always been, we have better stuff in our prospects than we can get on […]
What Will Ma-Kun Mean for New York?
New York Yankees pitchers and catchers report to spring training on February 14, and among the new faces will be Masahiro Tanaka, a 25-year-old phenom from Japan who signed a seven-year, $155 million deal in late January. Ma-kun, as Tanaka is affectionately known (“kun” is an informal Japanese suffix generally used to address young boys […]
The Jason Bay roller coaster has finally idled to a complete stop
It looks as if the career of OF Jason Bay is finally coming to an end. As many would say (particularly fans of the New York Mets), it will probably be three years too late. It is self explanatory to describe the drop in Bay’s production; which saw a six year run with the Pittsburgh […]
Reds send Hanigan to the Rays in another three team trade
For a second offseason in a row the Reds are involved in a three team trade. Remember last year the Reds got Sin-Soo Choo in a three team trade with the Indians and Diamondbacks. This week’s news was released that the Reds, D-Backs, and Rays completed a three team trade. The trade was reported by […]
How the Ranger and Tigers Trade is a Win-Win
Last week blockbuster trade was a surprise to most people I’ve spoken to, but it makes sense for both teams. The Detroit Tigers traded 1B Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers in exchange for 2B Ian Kinsler and cash considerations. As reported by MLB Trade Rumors, Detroit will be sending $30MM to Texas, tweets Jeff Passan of […]
Expect more from 2014 White Sox
At this point of the season, the Chicago White Sox were supposed to have their eyes fixed on catching the Detroit Tigers, not the Minnesota Twins. But the 2013 season has been anything but according to the book for the White Sox. As well as the pieces fell together for the Sox in 2012, things […]
August Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
Indians fans are currently partying like its 1995! As of this writing, the team has just won eight straight games and is heading to Miami to face the Marlins after a convincing sweep of the Chicago White Sox. While in past years, the team has tailed off after the All Star Break, this team certainly […]
Twins’ Time to Call Somebody
Call someone in to fix this mess. Call a few people and let them know that they need to start looking for new employers at the end of the season. Call in some grief counselors for the fans of this “team”. The Twins are beyond just being in trouble, this is another season that is […]
In the Dugout with Mickey Mantle
Written by Lisa Porter Today’s baseball is a world of agents, corporate sponsorship, and athletes on strictly designed diets that include odd green liquids and bottles of protein powder. But the unique relationship that America has with baseball remains rooted in the glory days of the New York Yankees and its stars. Shining brightly among the dazzling panoply […]
July Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
What makes this year’s version of the Cleveland Indians different from those the past few years? They seem to have more staying power. Well, that remains to be seen, but at least they have the power to come back after getting knocked down. During the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the Indians shot out of the […]
Time to sell for White Sox
After last year’s surprisingly strong performance, the Chicago White Sox gave fans every reason to believe they would compete this year. They have been a huge disappointment offensively and defensively – and are just painful to watch at this point. And it is only July! The only thing that kept the Chicago spotlight off […]
Get Me Off This Twins Roller Coaster
I am starting to feel sick again. The Twins constantly make me feel like I am riding on one hell of a roller coaster. We are now officially 1/3 of the way through the season and the beginning of June adds another year to my brother’s age, it is also about the time that teams […]
My Top Five Red Sox Hall of Famers of All Time
Hey baseball fans! In case you don’t know, I’m a huge Yankees fan. That means that I am literally forced to hate the Red Sox. However, I don’t hate some of the Sox’s past players. In fact, by the end of this post, you will know my top five favorite Red Sox Hall of […]
The Twins: Better than before…
Well the baseball season is a month old and it is time to take a moment and start evaluating. As the title says the Twins are in a better position than they were this time last year. Last year on May 2nd, they were 6-18 and the desperation in the fans was already apparent. This […]
Jose Reyes Was Key to Blue Jays Success
When the Toronto Blue Jays lost Jose Reyes until at least the All-Star break this weekend, a lot of other things were lost as well. The Jays were attempting to recreate what the Miami Marlins started last offseason when they signed every available free agent. Most, if not everyone believed it would work and we all […]
Outlook on the Twins after Opening Day 2013
As Opening Day 2013 is wrapping up, I am going to give my impressions on the Twins. First off, they did lose to the Tigers to start the season on the wrong foot, but it wasn’t all bad. I am going to look through the lineup and the pitching to give my impressions. Opening Day Lineup Hicks […]
ML”what would”B: What if Tex was a Red Sox Part Two
Hey baseball fans! I just put up another ML”what would”B post on More Than a Fan. In every ML”what would”B alternative history post, I discuss what would have happened if a famous event in baseball history had gone differently than it did in reality. For my latest post, I continued the discussion I started back in February when I […]
March Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
One thing is for sure, the Indians are keeping fans and reporters busy this off season with all of their transactions. Not only has the Tribe done what they usually do, which is bring in some young talent to Spring Training and sign some players past their prime to see if they have one more […]
