Will the Royals Win in 2013?
The Kansas City Royals’ 2012 season began with high hopes. After a 26-year playoff drought and eight consecutive seasons without a winning record, the Royals expected an emerging core of young players in their first full seasons–Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain–to join established stars Alex Gordon and Billy Butler in pushing […]
Moneyball extremes: Dodgers and Astros salaries
Baseball needs to figure out a way to split up the money they bring in from MLBAM and have each team spend a portion of that profit on player salaries. The words salary cap and baseball have been a striking issue in the past, but maybe those that control the game, that being the players and the […]
The King of Closers
This guest post was written by Chris from Blogging from the Bleachers, an online magazine about baseball. Mariano Rivera says he is “Rusty, but will be ready by opening day.” Even though he is coming off an ACL reconstruction that kept him out all of last season, he will get the benefit of the […]
February Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
Perhaps the most exciting thing that happened to the Cleveland Indians over the last month was a transaction that didn’t even involve the Indians. It may have been a signing by the dreaded New York Yankees that gave Tribe fans the most to smile about in the last 30 days. Don’t get me wrong, Indians […]
The Evolution Of Baseball—The Mariners, & King Felix
I was listening to Sports Radio on 710 AM in Seattle today. My dad likes the show. They were talking about the Mariners—specifically, our ace pitcher, Felix Hernandez. What does everyone think? Does he like it here? Is he happy about the changes that have been made to the team structure? He did pitch a […]
MLB: Pedro Martinez back with Red Sox as assistant to GM / Other News and Notes
Pedro Martinez was a key cog in the 2004 team that brought a World Series title to Boston for the first time since 1918. (Elise Amendola/Associated Press) (PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Pedro Martinez has returned to the Boston Red Sox. On Thursday, Martinez, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star, who spent […]
January Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
What has happened in the past month has been astounding to those who have followed the Tribe’s recent history. Not only did they make a few trades, which were detailed in last month’s edition of reflections, but the Indians signed one of the most highly sought after players on the market, Nick Swisher. The Indians […]
Pryor Commitment: Educate People about Nutrition
Having witnessed both Disco Demolition and the George Brett pine tar game firsthand, former Major Leaguer Greg Pryor has seen his share of chaos. But what he sees today with the madness surrounding nutrition makes him want to scream. “Parents cave in. Kids whine and they get a cookie. That is the way it is,” […]
Twins’ Rotation Filling Up
Alright Minnesota Twins fans, general manager Terry Ryan has been doing some work over the last couple of weeks and here are his results: two starting pitchers who had a combined three starts last year. Mike Pelfrey is the pitcher who I still believe should have been the cornerstone of the Johan Santana deal, but […]
December Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
Tribe fans saw almost no action from their team in November and almost thought they were in for a very inactive off-season. In December, things changed, but before we get to that, here’s a rundown of transactions the Tribe completed during the ho-hum month of November: Activated right-handed pitcher Carlos Carrasco off of the 60-day […]
Span Finally Dealt
Some may read the headline with the idea that I am happy about getting Alex Meyer for Denard Span. I am not happy whatsoever. I appreciate everything that Span has done for the Twins, but we all knew that this day was coming at some point. I hope for nothing but the best in DC for […]
As Kuroda Returns, Yankees Await Big Decision from Pettitte
Guest post by Dan Benton via FeedCrossing… With Hiroki Kuroda returning for the 2013 season, the New York Yankees will hope to get a key component for their starting rotation as they await the decision of Andy Pettitte. The importance of Pettitte’s decision might be even greater now that Kuroda is back, and it would be […]
November Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
All of the news last month was regarding new Indians manager Terry Francona. Now that Francona has arrived, the local media has turned their focus to the other person who was in the running to be the skipper of the Tribe, Sandy Alomar Jr. Those of us from Northeast Ohio have a certain level […]
Reflections on the 2012 Baltimore Orioles
The true impact of the 2012 Baltimore Orioles won’t be known for several years. What felt like the return of Major League Baseball to Charm City could turn out to be a remarkable run of good fortune. Whether the Orioles simply got lucky, as suggested by Bobby Valentine and Keith Law, or have evolved into […]
Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s
The Society for American Baseball Research (aka SABR) are happy to announce the release of our book “Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s” in ebook and paperback! The Red Sox of the 1950s did not win many games, yet they won over the hearts of […]
October Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
My, how the mighty have fallen. After high hopes early in the season, the Indians fell apart completely after the All Star Break and ended up finishing with a record of 68-94 (just two games ahead of the last place Minnesota Twins in the American League Central Division). As one would assume after a debacle […]
11th Annual Wheelchair Softball Tournament Championship Game
The U.S. Open has just ended, and the New York Mets do not having a winning season. Yet on September 15, 2012 in the parking lot of Citi Field, home field of the Mets, every year around this time there’s the Annual Wheelchair Softball Tournament! This year marks the 11th year of the tournament […]
Before the Monster Seats…
Celebrating 100 Years of Fenway Park From One Fan’s Perspective: A Retrospective Look Editor’s note: This was a college paper written by the author (aka “Pete’s Rose”…aka my wife) during either her junior or senior year in college (either 1996 or 1997). It was transcribed by our 2nd oldest daughter, Alicia Rose, who is now […]
Art Gallery Salutes Fenway Park
A multi-media salute to Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox and baseball is on display at the Bunker Hill Community College Art Gallery in Boston. More than 30 artists and collectors, most from New England, provided oilpaintings, quilts, watercolors, drawings and cartoons for “Take Me Out To The Ballgame: Celebrating Fenway@100.” The exhibit features black-and-white […]
Wild Card Dogfights
The Yankees and Orioles are in a dogfight for the AL East crown, with everything on the line. And yes, the division title actually means something this year. Last year, such a race would have been meaningless. There was little or no advantage in winning the division as long as you qualified for the postseason. […]
September Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
August of 2012 will not be remembered fondly by those who follow the Indians organization. The team finished the month with a record of 5-24, somehow finding a way to go from contending for a playoff spot around the All Star Break to contending for the league’s worst record just over a month later. There […]
Book Review: Yankee Miracles
The New York Yankees are arguably the most successful and popular professional franchise, not just in Major League Baseball, but in all of sports. In the new book, Yankee Miracles: Life with the Boss and the Bronx Bombers, authors Ray Negron and Sally Cook regale readers with lesser-known stories from within the Yankees. Negron has worked […]
Biking for Baseball to Camden Yards
Biking for Baseball [www.bikingforbaseball.org] is a youth mentoring organization that is currently cycling 11,000 miles to each MLB stadium this summer to raise funds and awareness for youth mentoring programs across the country. One of the riders, Chase Higgins @chaser_racer32, blogs about baseball games they’ve been to and general MLB throughout the trip. Oriole […]
What the Kevin Youkilis Trade Means to the White Sox
It is hard to imagine who would be playing third base for the Chicago White Sox right now had general manager Kenny Williams not gone out and gotten proven veteran Kevin Youkilis. Would Omar Vizquel be back in black by now? The Sox started out the season ready to give Brent Morel time to grow […]
The Royals’ Pitching Woes
The Kansas City Royals’ 2012 season started with higher expectations than would normally be appropriate for a team that lost 91 games the previous year and had suffered eight consecutive losing seasons. There were good reasons for the optimism. A number of young everyday players had graduated from what was being called MLB’s best minor […]
The Big Apple Bomb Squad: How the Yankees Can Escape the AL East Dogfight
July 18 This is the date that we will point to if the Yankees collapse down the stretch. “What?” you exclaim. “The Yankees? Collapse? Please.” However, New Yorkers cannot sweep the Bombers’ recent mediocrity under the rug. On the 18th, the Yankees rolled into Oakland with a 57-34 record(or .626 winning percentage); four […]
Theo Epstein Admits Mistakes
In the wake of the recent 9 player blockbuster waiver wire trade between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers, we bring you proof that former Boston GM Theo Epstein made some mistakes at the end of his time in Boston… This deal between Boston & LA removes at two of those mistakes…take […]
The Toronto Blue Jays will win the World Series in 2015
Yes, I said it. The Toronto Blue Jays, who are more affectionately known as the AL East‘s younger brother who always gets picked on will win the World Series in 2015. Why not? They could do it, right? Anything is possible! Thing is, this prediction doesn’t come at JUST the regression of the Red Sox […]
Mid-August Cleveland Indians Reflections
So are the Indians a contender, or aren’t they? That seems to be the question that everyone who follows the team has been asking since the first day of the season. They have seen more ups and downs this season than someone driving through the Rocky Mountains and it doesn’t look like the journey […]
Floundering Beckett and Lester Lead Red Sox in Season-Long Mediocrity
Let’s be frank; the Red Sox have been the ugliest story in baseball over the past 12 months. Maybe ownership and the fans didn’t make it clear enough. After a historic September meltdown in 2011, it was crucial for the Sox to come out of the gates quickly in 2012, but such a hot […]
