The Biggest WAR Bargains of 2009: Part 2
Image by Keith Allison via Flickr Last week I covered the top 5 position player bargains of the year – and despite the fact that they were great talents, had for cheap, they were still, mainly, pretty big names. This week, for part two, I’ll try to dive into 5 of the lesser known bargains. […]
Three Harry Kalas Video Tributes
With the Philadelphia Phillies heading to their second consecutive trip to the World Series, here are a few tributes to the late, Great Harry Kalas: A Phillies Legend! This first one is presented to you by Comcast… This one is the Harry Kalas tribute video 4/17/09 Citizens Bank Park… This one is slower with snap […]
Get Over It!
Image via Wikipedia For those of us that are not Yankees or Phillies fans, perhaps we should simply put our disappointments and jealousies aside and enjoy what should truly be a Fall Classic. Believe me, as a lifetime Mets fan, I am as unhappy as anyone that I have to sit through another World Series […]
Free Agent Tracker: 2B
The market for second baseman in the offseason is one of the few that have significantly more supply than demand. Last season, players like Orlando Hudson entered the offseason expecting a major pay raise, and didn’t get it because the economy caused several free agents to remain unsigned for most of the offseason. Hudson is […]
BBA 2009 AL MVP Ballot
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Warning: most of this ballot is going to surprise you. How do I know, because it surprised me! You see, I didn’t just use my eyes or even the traditional method/statistics to make up this ballot. I used 11 statistical categories including defensive metrics & added some objective weight […]
The Biggest WAR Bargains of 2009: Part 1
Image by Keith Allison via Flickr Currently in the MLB, the average player value, per win, is about $4.5 million. So, if a player’s WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in a season was 2.0, that player would have been worth about $9 million. Naturally, there are going to be a lot of players getting paid much […]
Product Review: Akadema’s ProSoft 1B Mitt: AJJ 254
When my contact at Akadema asked me if I would do another review if sent another glove I jumped at the chance! This time I asked for a first baseman‘s glove as I have always been fascinated with them for reasons unknown to even myself. Maybe it’s because when I was growing up, my dad […]
Has It Really Been 30 Years?
Image via Wikipedia As sports fanatics, we all use the events around our favorite teams and players to reflect back to our youth. When I think of growing up in Queens, NY in the seventies, I recall the lean years of the Mets and the resurgence of the once dynastic Yankees. The NFL and NBA […]
Raul Ibanez on CNN’s Latino in America
Image via Wikipedia Please check out CNN‘s Latinos in America Series to be aired on October 21 and October 22 at 9pm (EST). This clip is part of the interview with Phillies‘ LF Raul Ibanez as he sits down with Soledad O’Brien for CNN Latino in America. Please watch CNN on these days to watch […]
The Most Valuable Player in Baseball Might Surprise You
When you think of the best, most valuable players in baseball, what names come to mind? Albert Pujols, probably. Or maybe Chase Utley, Derek Jeter, Evan Longoria? There are plenty of big names out there that the average fans look at as the best players. This year, though, it wasn’t any of those guys. In […]
2009/2010 Free Agent Tracker: Catchers
Like last year, this year’s most fruitful market for catchers is the trade market, rather than the free agent market. The Texas Rangers, who traded Gerald Laird to the Tigers last season still have two worthy trade candidates in Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden, while Ronny Paulino could be on the move again. Especially in […]
2009/2010 Free Agent Tracker: DH
The designated hitter only applies to the American League, sorry National League fans. Love the position or hate it, it exists, and warrants its own free agent category. I hate it. I grew up with Edgar Martinez, perhaps the best designated hitter in the history of the position (is it really a position?) and I […]
2009 League Championship Series Predictions
OK, I admit I was 2 for 4 with my LDS predictions, but I thought I’d try it out again. ALCS Angels -vs- Yankees Angels ALDS recap: So who would have thought that the Angels pitching would both out pitch Boston’s starters AND completely shut down Boston’s offense for most of that series? Also, almost […]
BBA Ballot: 2009 AL Rookie of the Year Award
This is the BBA ballot for the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year vote from Baseball Reflections. Honorable mentions include Tigers SP Rick Porcello who might have gotten a top 3 vote if he was better supported by the Tigers, likewise with Rays SP Jeff Niemann. Last but not least, Rangers SS Elvis Andrus who […]
Mariners Griffey Present, Hernandez the Future
If this was the end, what an end it was. Two eras could end in Seattle very soon as both Felix Hernandez and Ken Griffey Jr. may have set foot on the grass at Safeco Field for the last time. The two players are on very opposite ends of the proverbial candle that represents their […]
Sabermetrics and the Cy Young Award
I think we’re all aware of which stats voters use to determine Cy Young winners. For the most part, it’s stats like ERA, wins, K’s, losses, and WHIP. There are a number of reasons why using only those stats doesn’t come close to telling the whole story – each of them is seriously flawed. Let’s […]
2009 AL Manager of the Year BBA Vote
In our first anniversary vote, the members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) have asked it’s members to vote for the major awards (Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award and MVP). To find out more about the Alliance please read our About the BBA page. Please help us to promote […]
Who Really Created And Made Baseball “America’s Game”
If someone asked you who was the founder of the game of baseball? Well, if you are not a baseball historian or purist, you may just say Abner Doubleday. After all, the field at the Baseball Hall of Fame, Doubleday Field, is named after him. But the new book, “Live All You Can: Alexander Joy […]
The Tommy John Interview: Part 3
Tommy John and His Thoughts on the Game Today I started off the conversation in part 1 talking about how he became affiliated with the increasingly popular children’s book, “A Glove of Their Own”. Part 2 was a conversation on Tommy’s great career (in my humble opinion, he should be inducted into the Baseball Hall […]
Tigers Drop Finale, Division to Twins
Detroit 5, Minnesota 6 (box) Final Record 86-77 (second place) Devastation. That’s what I felt Tuesday night as the Twins celebrated following their 12th inning walk off, that’s what I’m feeling Wednesday morning as I write this. The back and forth nature of this game made it a classic. The stakes made it one of […]
AL and NL Divisional Series Predictions
As an aside, I had the privilege of reading a recent post by our Yankees writer Lisa Swan over at The Faster Times concerning Hot teams going into the playoffs and this is what she had to say after looking at the September/October records of the 72 playoff teams from 2000-2008… Of the ten teams […]
The Tommy John Interview: Part 2
Tommy John and His Coaching and Playing Career I started off the conversation in part 1 talking about how he became affiliated with the increasingly popular children’s book, “A Glove of Their Own”. Part two of this interview with Tommy John will highlight his career both pitching and coaching. At the end of the interview […]
The Tommy John Interview: Part 1
Tommy John and A Glove of Their Own I recently interviewed former MLB pitcher Tommy John, for those of you who have been under a rock for the past 30 years, Tommy had played 26 seasons, accumulating 288 wins with a 3.34 ERA and over 2200 strikeouts. He played for 6 Major League Teams, including […]
Baltimore Orioles Announce Return of Dave Trembley For 2010
At first reaction, the announcement on Friday that the Baltimore Orioles have retained the services of manager Dave Trembley for the 2010 season seems like a head-scratcher. After all, typically in professional sports the fate of a manger is judged by wins and losses and in that area Trembley has failed miserably. Since Trembley became […]
A last look at the Brewers ’09: A first look at what’s next
September General Overview: September Record 13-15 Season Record 77-81 (with 4 games to go) The Brewers came into September clearly outside of playoff contention. However, they did have a couple opportunities to impact the Wild Card chase as they had a couple of the front-runners on the schedule in September. In their first chance, they […]
The Close of A New Season At New Stadiums
By Reed Terry For sports enthusiasts visiting New York in October, it is definitely the best time to attend a Mets or Yankees game, especially because both these teams have moved out into brand new, high tech stadiums. As the Major League Baseball season gets ready for the post-season, the Yankkees will kick off their […]
Nick Kappel’s Fantasy Focus: Top Spot Starters For Week 26
The final week of the fantasy baseball season is upon us. If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve got a lot to gain (or lose) in the next seven days. It’s important to note that all Yahoo leagues use ERA as it’s first tiebreaker. If you finish the week tied five-to-five, the championship goes to […]
The Gold Glove Award Selection Process Needs Impoving
Image via Wikipedia It’s fairly unclear as to what voters take into consideration when choosing winners of the gold glove award – the one stat that has consistently been used to determine a players fielding ability, has been fielding percentage. Fielding percentage basically takes the player’s total number of chances converted into outs (assists/put outs), […]
SPBA: If You Blinked, You Missed It!
Senior Professional Baseball Association Back in the winter of 1989, former minor leaguer and Colorado real estate guru Jim Morley founded the Senior Professional Baseball Association after seeing the success of the Senior Golf Tour. After all, baseball is America’s favorite pastime, so why not play winter ball in the states with former major leaguers […]
A Collection of Baseball Reflections Book Reviews
A Glove of Their Own by Debbie Moldovan, Keri Conkling and Lisa Funari-Willever A great children’s book written in poetic rhyme with wonderful illustrations. A must read for people with children in their life. Fair Ball by Bob Costas A look into the world of baseball through the eyes of world renown broadcaster and sports […]
