The 2011 All-Star Futures Game
On Tuesday night, the 2011 All Star game will take place. Of course, it’s supposed to be a battle of the biggest stars of the sport, and for the most part, it is. I’ll leave my reservations about the voting process for another day. MLB has done a great job advertising the Home Run Derby, […]
A’s Trade Ellis to Rockies
Midday Thursday, just about 12 hours before the calendar turned to July, we finally witnessed the first significant trade since the start of the 2011 season. The Colorado Rockies acquired second baseman Mark Ellis from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for pitcher Bruce Billings and a player to be named later. Colorado will also receive […]
Dodgers Fans Show No Love For Their Team
I’m finally back from my trip to Los Angeles for a Muscular Dystrophy study. Sorry for the lag in articles, but no laptop and no home = no articles. But all was not lost, my friends. My trip to sunny California gave me a chance to compare Phillies fans and Dodgers fans. I […]
Mets’ Pitching Looks Bright
Many have said that the immediate future of the Mets appears bleak. While the team has many critical decisions to make this summer, the future is not as dark as it seems to be. The reason for such optimism? The starting pitching, the most critical part of any any major league team, has given Mets […]
One Fan’s Take on Posey & the Giants
Injuries are just part of baseball. They are part of what makes it so difficult for a good team to repeat the success of their prior year. I do think that most ballplayers expect to either play hurt or be injured at some point in their professional career. I do think that this is an […]
The 2011 Mets Have Contracted the Injury Bug; Quick, Call an Exterminator!
At some point this summer, if the Mets ever get everyone on the field, they would actually field a pretty formidable team. A lineup of Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Ike Davis, Jason Bay, Josh Thole and Justin Turner, with Daniel Murphy in reserve, would excite many Mets […]
Harper Changes Hagerstown on His Way to Washington
Superstars change everything, no matter where they go. This is true in business, personal life and, of course, sports and is on display, at least for the time being, in Hagerstown, MD. Hagerstown is the home of the Hagerstown Suns, the Class A Affiliate of the Washington Nationals and is home to […]
Pirates Enter June Respectably
What has only happened a handful of times in the past 20 years seems to be breathing again. It is now June and the Pittsburgh Pirates are flirting with .500. The Pirates have one of the worst streaks in all of sports, in fact it is the worst. Eighteen consecutive seasons with […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
2011 Fantasy Baseball Projections: What’s Wrong With Chicago Cubs’ Ryan Dempster?
Chicago Cubs’ pitcher Ryan Dempster allowed seven earned runs for the second consecutive start on Thursday, recording just one out before being yanked. Along the way he walked four, hit a batter and yielded four hits, including a grand slam to Stephen Drew. Through six starts, the usually reliable Dempster now sports an unsightly 9.58 ERA […]
Should The NY Mets Trade SS Jose Reyes By the Trade Deadline?
Photo taken from Google Images There has been a lot of talk about the future of Jose Reyes, with the shortstop in the final year of his contract. The Mets should trade him before the deadline, many people are saying. “Reyes will be too expensive too keep, they say. “He does […]
2011 Phillies Predictions
It’s here: our final 2011 Phillies predictions! With our Phillies predictions blogs complete for the infield, outfield, and starters, we naturally finish with the overall 2011 Phillies predictions blog. To make this year’s Phillies prediction more official, I tried to use as many statistics as possible. I therefore went position by position with […]
Opening Day 2011 at A T & T Park for the World Champion San Francisco Giants
Ah, Opening Day. To me, there is nothing more special than Opening Day. I just love the smells of the ball park: the freshly cut grass, the hot dogs and the fraternity of fans who are banded by their love of baseball now coming together for another new season. It is, like seeing friends that […]
2011 Fantasy Baseball Projections: Is Milwaukee Brewers’ Chris Narveson Worth a Waiver Wire Flier?
Milwaukee Brewers’ pitcher Chris Narveson tossed seven shutout innings against the Cubs Saturday night, allowing just six hits and one walk while striking out nine. Through two starts (13 innings) thus far, Narveson has yet to allow a run, and boasts a 1.00 WHIP and 14/4 K/BB ratio. The 29-year-old journeyman is currently owned in just […]
Mediocre Better Than Bad in Pittsburgh for the Pirates
Pittsburgh got rolling into 2011 with a 4-3 first week. Think about it, they can finish 25 games over .500 if they keep this up. So far, there have been a few surprises as well as a few disappointments. Since this is the Pirates, let’s start with the disappointments. Evan Meek […]
2011 Atlanta Braves Season Preview
At the time of this writing, on the eve of the 2011 season, the season is beginning to come into focus for the Atlanta Braves. A strong lineup and the best starting rotation outside of Philadelphia seems to point to a return to the playoffs, but will it be enough to overcome the vaunted rotation […]
2011 Fantasy Baseball Projections: How Good Is Chicago Cubs’ Starlin Castro?
Chicago Cubs’ shortstop Starlin Castro is 8-for-13 (.615) with four runs and one RBI through three games this season, and already has the fantasy baseball community buzzing over the his stud potential. Castro’s 2011 spring totals turned some heads last month, as he displayed surprising power: 66 at-bats, 14 runs, nine XBH (four HRs), 15 RBI, 2 steals, .348/.386/.621. Fresh off […]
Of the NY Mets and the Knees of Carlos Beltran
At the risk of seeming dramatic, the Mets’ fortunes this year likely rest with Carlos Beltran’s knees. Beltran, who has missed a huge chunk of the last two years with knee injuries, appears poised to play Opening Night against the Marlins. And it would be great if he does play in the opener. […]
A Winning Hiatus in Pittsburgh
People know Pittsburgh as one of the “City of Champions”. While the Steelers and Penguins have had recent success, the Pirates have been cellar dwellers and have has loosing seasons for 18 consecutive years. This is definitely not the team they were in the 1970s. Like the Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies, […]
2011 Fantasy Projections, No. 96: What’s Standing Between St. Louis Cardinals’ Colby Rasmus and the Elite Ranks?
Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings. Colby Rasmus soared through the St. Louis Cardinals’ system after being selected in the first round of the 2005 draft, touted as a toolsy […]
The San Francisco Giants in Winter
So, what did I do in the winter aftermath of the 2010 Giants winning the World Series? I enjoyed the victory parade down Market Street. I got to see the World Series Trophy at City Hall in San Francisco. I went to the Giants Fanfest, which was packed with an enormous turnout. And […]
Remembering Chuck Tanner and Winning Championships
Chuck Tanner sadly passed away on February 11th. One thing you will never hear me criticize when writing about Pittsburgh is the loyalty that fans have shown to those who have given their best. Sometimes, one’s best isn’t enough to win a championship. Fortunately for Chuck Tanner, his best was good enough to claim a […]
