A Tribute to Harry Kalas
Here are some stories/memories people have submitted to me of Phillies announcer Harry Kalas after his death on Tuesday at the age of 73. Please feel free to add to this list at any time this summer either by e-mail or in the comments of this post…I hope you enjoy this… Daniel from C70 at […]
Japan Ranks No. 3 in New IBAF Ranking After WBC Win
Winning the WBC does not translate into a move up to the number one team in the world according to the IBAF. After taking the crown in the WBC for the second time in a row, the Japanese moved up to number three in the IBAF World Rankings. Despite a not so convincing showing in […]
Goodbye Harry Kalas
When Harry Kalas passed from this life earlier today, he took a piece of me with him. I have never met Harry or spoken to him personally, but he has spoken to me for hours at a time, over the course of my baseball-listening life. I grew up in the South Jersey area, and Harry […]
Reflections on the Mariners
So what’s been happening in Mariner land over Spring Training? Not a lot of good. With frontline pitchers John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Kelvim Escobar and Justin Durocher out for significant amounts of playing time for the Angels and Athletics, the Mariners had an increased opportunity to steal the AL West out from the baseball world’s […]
Cincinnati Reds Acquire ProBatter PX2 Pitching Simulators
On March 3, the Cincinnati Reds became the sixth major league club to agree to use what are being called “Flight Simulators” for hitters. The Reds purchased two of ProBatter Sports’ flagship model PX2 pitching simulators. The model is considered to be the most complex baseball training tool ever invented and does by far the […]
Did Manny Ramirez Use PED’s in 2004?
According to the Yankee‘s blog Sliding Into Home in their post earlier today; former major league ballplayer and steroid expert, Jose Canseco says Manny (Ramirez) cheated and he said he was 90% sure that Manny is on that 2004 PED-user list that leaked A-Rod’s name this spring. Manny Ramirez,PED’s,2004, In the article, Canseco alludes to […]
Nick’s Fantasy Focus: 2009 All-Breakout Team
With the start of the fantasy baseball season upon us, let’s highlight a few players at each position who are primed for a breakout season in 2009. C – Matt Wieters – Orioles Surprise! After posting a .355/.454/.600 line with 27 HR between High A and AA last season, Wieters is the popular pick for […]
Ahhh, the Astros
Coming off a year in which almost the entire team was overhauled and still were one big hurricane away from carrying a playoff chase into the final days of the season, the Astros were the first team this off-season to plead economic downturn, and it showed. GM Ed Wade, under orders from legendarily hands-on owner […]
The Comings and Goings in Cleveland
Indians Place Dellucci on DL; Recall Crowe from Columbus With just one week until they open up against the Rangers in Texas, the Cleveland Indians tweaked their opening day roster once again to make sure that it is just right. Their basic moves are that they placed outfielder David Dellucci on the 15-day disabled list […]
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 […]
Nick’s Fantasy Focus
As fantasy baseball managers, our job is not to assemble a team based on last year’s statistics, though many make the mistake of doing that. Instead, it is our duty to predict what’s going to happen next. Not many people realize this, but if you consistently make personnel decisions based on what happened last year, […]
A Case for Sabermetrics
Image via Wikipedia In the past few months I have been gathering monthly author for Baseball Reflections so that I could write on a more relaxed basis and produce more detailed work. This article is the first postto that effect. A version of it was previously posted over at RBI Magazine back on March 12th. […]
Indians Send Some Big Names to Columbus
It’s that time of the year again, when fringe players are told whether they are going to be sent down or they get to stay with the team. On Tuesday, the Cleveland Indians optioned pitcher Jeremy Sowers and catcher Wyatt Toregas to the Columbus Clippers of the International League. The Tribe also assigned many players […]
WBC Key Second Round Moments
According to the IBAF, a poll was recently posted on espndeportes.com which asked if baseball should return to the Olympics. Just 24 hours into the voting, over 7,000 voters from 30 countries have logged on and the results are resounding as 95% have voted yes. Many reports have noted that WBC officials have been pleased […]
IBAF Announces Partnership with PIFB
Image via Wikipedia A partnership has been made in the international baseball community. The International Baseball Federation (IBAF), which is the head of all international baseball events including the World Baseball Classic, has teemed with Pitch In For Baseball (PIFB) in order to provide equipment for youth groups in the baseball community around the world. […]
Stadium Reflections: My Experience at Fenway Park
Image via Wikipedia Baseball Reflections reader may have noticed the stadium reviews that have been featured on the site recently. While it might be a good idea to review Fenway Park, it’s so well known that we considered it would just be better if there were a few personal perspectives on the stadium. My first, […]
IBAF Cites Baseball Happenings as Socially Positive
With the 2009 World Baseball Classic underway, the IBAF shard some of their recent successes with BaseballReflections.com . As many readers may remember, the IBAF is the governing body of international baseball and is in charge of all international tournaments involving the sport of baseball, including the WBC. The IBAF is proud that they were […]
Stadium Review: Cooper Stadium the Former Home of the Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers have had an interesting affiliation status over the last few years. They were the long standing AAA club for the New York Yankees and saw players such as Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada come through their doors, but just a few years ago, the Yankees ended their more than 30 year relationship […]
Indians Make Roster Moves; Send Rundles, Ohka and Edell Down
The Indians made their first moves of the spring on Sunday as they made some cuts to their roster. Three players will be changing locations after the decisions made by manager Eric Wedge and general manager Mark Shapiro. First, pitcher Rich Rundles was optioned to the Columbus Clippers of the International League. Then, pitchers Tomo […]
IBAF Lays Out Company Statistics
As stated earlier in a post on BaseballReflections.com, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is making a serious run at attempting to get baseball in the Olympics once again. They have compiled some research over the past months and shared it with Baseball Reflections. Their organization is a non-profit, volunteer based company, and is considered to […]
Stadium Review: Coca-Cola Field of the Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons’ stadium may not be new, but it does have a new name. After toting around the name of Dunn Tire Park for some time, this off season, those with the team accepted a deal from soda giant Coca-Cola to rename the ballpark Coca-Cola Field. The Bisons have also switched which team they […]
Stadium Review: Canal Park of the Akron Aeros
Canal Park can already be considered a rare ballpark these days simply because of its name. It is named Canal Park because it is right next to the canal in downtown Akron, Ohio, not because a company named Canal bought the rights to the park. Since 1997, Canal Park has been a staple of downtown […]
WBC: To Be or Not To Be?
That is the question! I can understand the financial benefit of MLB’s marketing the WBC to the overseas market. From a marketing standpoint, it’s a brilliant move (especially in Asia), but domestically it has major issues to contend with. Position players aren’t, in my opinion, affected much by the extra work because they’d be playing […]
Reflections on the Mariners Part 2: Pitching
Starting rotation 2008: Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard, Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, R.A. Dickey, Ryan Feierabend, Ryan-Rowland Smith 2009: Hernandez, Bedard, Silva, Washburn, Brandon Morrow, Rowland-Smith This time last year people were talking about the M’s rotation being one of the best in baseball until everything went haywire. Felix stagnated, Bedard gave a career-low […]
Reflections on the Mariners
Last October, Jack Zduriencik was anointed Seattle’s next GM after a ton of success in Milwaukee as Special Assistant to the GM for Player Personnel and Director of Amateur Scouting (and you thought his name was a mouthful, whew!). He may come in with a scouting background to bolster Seattle’s already-strong scouting department, but his […]
IBAF Submits Proposal Backing Baseball in Olympics
Image via Wikipedia The International Baseball Federation recently sent out a press release of an update of their efforts to get baseball back into the Olympics. In February, the federation submitted a 150 document to the International Olympic Committee with facts, figures and statistics as to why baseball should be included in the Olympics in […]
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, […]
Odds Listed for Possible Steroid Users
While BaseballReflections.com does not in anyway promote gambling, this story is an interesting one. If someone thought that betting on football and basketball had overtaken the game in the baseball arena, they just have to look at the current odds on BookMaker.com to see where society is today. Due to the fact that the recent […]
Nick’s Fantasy Focus
If you are new to fantasy baseball, or are just unsure where to play or what to look for in a league, you’ve come to the right place! As a 10 year veteran of fantasy baseball, I’ve endured several different types of leagues. Some bad, and others good, but over the years I’ve learned what […]
Indians Sign The MLB’s First European Player
Indians Sign European Catcher Cervenka to Minor League Deal The Indians announced on February 21 that they had come to terms with Martin Cervenka to a minor league deal. The deal was originally done on January 24 and the team was just waiting for the right time to make this news public. To most, this […]
