Brewers Solid Through 32 Games
At 18-14, and having won 16 of their last 21 games, the Milwaukee Brewers are quickly making their fans forget about their 3-8 start and have them thinking more about a return trip to the post-season. While it shouldn’t be overlooked that this team is 11-12 against teams above .500 and is 5-0 against Pittsburgh, […]
New Bullpen, New Ballpark, New York Mets
The boys who used to play in Shea finally figured it out it seems. Fix the back-end of your bullpen, shorten the games to accommodate an under-performing starting rotation and find yourself leading a mildly competitive National League East. Mix all of these factors, shaken, not stirred, in a margarita shaker, along with the Mets […]
The Giants Road Struggles
The Giants road struggles have little to do with the road. The Giants are struggling on the road this year, just 2-8 entering Tuesday’s game in Chicago. So the easy excuse is to blame the ivy on the brick walls of Wrigley field for being out of bloom, or the cavernous alleyways of Petco Park. […]
Diamondbacks Fire Manager Bob Melvin
Bob Melvin has been fired as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and replaced by A.J. Hinch, the club’s director of player development since 2006. Melvin was a good guy and a great interview. What he did with the 2007 Diamondbacks was incredible, leading that team to the best record in the National League despite fielding […]
Arizona Wants Ex-Diamondbacks Back
On Sunday, Randy Johnson no-hit his old team through six innings, finishing with seven strikeouts and just three baserunners allowed through seven frames. Adding to the insult, the Big Unit erased both of the runners he let on base via free passes, picking off Chris Young and inducing pinch-hitter Mark Reynolds into an inning-ending double […]
The Cardinals: Two Weeks in April
While it’s not been the Dickensonian “best of times, worst of times” for the St. Louis Cardinals so far this season, 2009 has already had plenty of high points and low points in the first two weeks. The Cardinals sit in a virtual tie for first with the hated Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, […]
Reds Looking for Results in 2009
After spending the last few years rebuilding their minor league system, the Cincinnati Reds are ready to reap some of the rewards for their efforts in 2009. Though Cincinnati has not posted a winning record since the 2000 season, there is a renewed sense of optimism in 2009 that the decade of disappointment may finally […]
Atlanta Braves Looking for Rebound Season in 2009
Following their worst season since Bobby Cox became the manager in 1990, all signs point to the Atlanta Braves returning to their typical spot near the top of the National League East in 2009. Rather than signing high profile free agents, the Braves have made strategic additions designed to solidify the weaknesses exposed during their […]
Marlins Must Prove That Talent Trumps Experience
Considering that only the Red Sox and Yankees have won as many World Series titles in the last 12 years, you might think the young and talented Florida Marlins would be considered a trendy sleeper pick for a playoff run this season. After all, the squad did win 84 games last year and were in […]
World Champions Reload, Reorganize, for Repeat
The start of this offseason brought about a bevy of unwelcomed, albeit unsurprising news to the 2008 World Champions. Left-handed reliever J.C. Romero, who had a 0.00 ERA in four World Series appearances, finally learned the fate of his appeal for violating the league’s steroid-abuse policy. Romero was sentenced to a 50-game suspension to begin […]
2009 Season Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers
Last year: 84-78 Projected 2009 record: 91-71 Projected finish: First Place, National League West Key additions: Manny Ramirez, Orlando Hudson, Randy Wolf Key subtractions: Jeff Kent, Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Takashi, Saito, Greg Maddux, Andruw Jones Quick-hit synopsis: Joe Torre will have an almost embarrassing level of riches in his 25-man roster — a hard-hitting […]
Reflections on the Rockies Past, Present & Future
Looking at the 2009 Rockies is a lot like looking at the 2008 Rockies. Only with a bit more urgency attached. Urgency in that if these Rockies don’t get off to a solid start, Clint Hurdle may not be in charge for long. This is Hurdle’s eighth season, and for the first time, he is […]
NY Mets: A Look Back at 2008 & What to Expect in 2009
Coming off yet another regular season collapse in 2008 the New York Mets are looking to bounce back in 2009. Trying to shake the monkey that is Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard off their backs and finally live up to their potential and hype. Following their most recent regular season collapse the Mets took action […]
D-Backs Fantasy Impact
The Arizona Diamondbacks have won more games than any other National League team over the past two seasons. Considering that, you would figure that they would have a myriad of impact Fantasy Baseball players from which to select, but that really isn’t the case. General manager Josh Bynes and company have created a team for […]
What to Expect From The Cubs in 2009
To say that this is probably the beginning of the end for Derrek Lee would miss the point – we have likely reached the end of the beginning of the end. The beginning of the end came in 2006, when he broke his wrist in a collision with Rafael Furcal. Lee has had two good […]
Baseball Reflections on the Cardinals
The 2008 offseason promised to be an exciting one for Cardinal fans. There was quite a bit of salary coming off the payroll, there were surpluses to trade from, and GM John Mozeliak promised to be “aggressive,” taking care of the “low-hanging fruit” first and moving on to other things. That was before the worst […]
Baseball Reflections on the Brewers
Any preview of the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers will invariably contain the names CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets early and often. The two combined for 24 wins in 2008 and the run CC went on after his trade from Cleveland has been well documented. With the “workhorse” Sabathia now in New York, and the oft-injured Sheets […]
The Giants pitching needs to be perfect in 2009
Pitching is the strength of the 2009 San Francisco Giants. It’s the one hope they have for being competitive this season. Well, that’s at least what’s been bought and sold thus far by the organization and the media. Truth is the staff could be pretty good. But the Giants may be in for a surprise […]
Welcome to Mannywood 2009
Image by Getty Images via Daylife The frustrating courtship between Manny Ramirez and the LA Dodgers is finally over. Manny’s a Dodger again, signing a contract on Wednesday. The slugger with Predator hair is expected to be in uniform and on the field by Friday (editor’s note: this was written on Thursday). Frank McCourt flew […]
Reflections on the Cub’s Off Season
The Chicago Cubs and their fans can congratulate themselves on a page-turning 2008 season. In what was the centennial year of World Series drought for the lovable losers, the Cubs managed to convince their fans that this was “The Year” before being summarily dismissed from the post-season by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the process, […]
February Diamondbacks Reflections
Image via Wikipedia Generally speaking, when a team enjoys a productive offseason, you should predict good things for that team in the following season. Conversely, a team’s poor offseason will lead to pessimism for the upcoming campaign. Seemingly simple enough, it doesn’t always work that way. Last winter, the Detroit Tigers acquired Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle […]
SF Giants Offseason Report Card
Image via Wikipedia This is why I’m not a teacher; I’m sort of a pass or fail guy. So since the Giants seem destined to have Bengie Molina bat cleanup for the second year in a row, I suppose they have failed (or at least come close) in their off season mission to improve the […]
San Francisco Giants Off Season Report
Season Wrap Up 2008 saw the Bond-less Giants tied for the 6th worst record in baseball at 72-90, but I actually thought they had a chance of reaching 100 losses so they did better than I thought they would. They went into the year without a solid closer, which effects the rest of the bullpen, […]
Colorado Rockies Off Season Report
Season Wrap Up Like most of the NL West, the Rockies had a disappointing 2008 season going 74 and 88 after being in the World Series the previous October. On top of that, they lost second year SS Troy Tulowitzki to injury for a big part of the year, missing 61 games and 1B Todd […]
Arizona Diamondbacks Off Season Report
Season Wrap Up After a red hot start to the 2008 season, the team in the desert cooled off come June and never really struck fear into anyone in the NL West from that point forward, but theacquisition of LF Adam Dunn must have turned a few heads though. April did show a look into […]
Los Angeles Dodgers Off Season Report
Season Wrap Up Although the Dodgers had the worst record in the 2008 playoffs it was mainly a byproduct of their poor first half. The acquisition of Manny Ramirez from Boston in a three way deal at the deadline rejuvenated this young team, giving them the experience and the potent bat they were missing up […]
Washington Nationals Off Season Report
Season Wrap Up One word describes the 2008 Washington Nationals record: abysmal. They lost 102 games! Granted, they had injuries to both first basemen (Johnson and Young) and most if not all of their outfielders (Wily Mo Pena, Lastings Milledge, Austin Kearns and Elijah Dukes) at one time or another and 3B Zimmerman. Then they […]
Florida Marlins Off Season Report
Season Wrap Up Although the Marlins finished 7.5 games out in the NL East in 2008, they didn’t have a bad season. After trading away Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers last off season, no one expected a lot from them in 2008. For starters, second baseman Dan Uggla had a monster first […]
Atlanta Braves Off Season Report
Season Wrap Up Another year without postseason play after all of those consecutive years in it makes for unhappy Braves fans. But this time, I would have to say that a lot of the problem was caused by the myriad of injuries sustained, but especially those to their pitching staff, both starters and relievers alike. […]
New York Mets Off Season Report
Season Wrap Up For the second straight year, the Mets had the right tools to make the playoffs, but in the end, failed to reach that goal. 2008 saw the firing of manager Willie Randolph and the tired arm of aging closer Billy Wagner. It also saw a renewed spark from 1B Carlos Delgado, who […]
