April’s Top 9 Hitters By Position
Here’s a look at the top players per position for the month of April. We have included the top 3 outfielders rather than list them by LF, CF & RF. Admittedly this is a little late and next month I’ll try to get this to you quicker, but for now, I hope you enjoy this […]
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 […]
Nick Kappel’s Fantasy Focus: Buy Or Sell? Part 2
In last week’s fantasy focus, I outlined several players whose hot starts you should buy and sell. This week, I’ll profile a few players whose slow starts you should buy, and others who you should sell. BUY Scott Kazmir Kazmir has struggled through his first six starts of the 2009 season, posting a 6.00 ERA […]
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. […]
More on hCG and Manny Ramirez
For those of you that read about Manny obtaining hCg from a doctor for a “personal issue”, here’s a thorough article from ESPN on hCG that should be an eye opener. Here’s an update on Manny’s suspension from the ESPN article: ESPN.com reported later Thursday that baseball‘s drug testing revealed that Ramirez had an elevated […]
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 […]
Trouble in Mannywood
Both the LA Times and ESPN have reported today that the biggest name player to be suspended to date in Major League Baseball is now Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez. MLB made the announcement shortly after 12 noon and here is the official press release. Here are some details on the monetary affect this will have […]
Red Sox Reflections After 25 games
After 25 games, the Red Sox found themselves with an 11 game winning streak and neck and neck for first place, with the Blue Jays who have 2 more games in hand than the Sox (both are wins). During the first few weeks of the season, we have seen the injury bug hit SS Jed […]
O’s CF Jones Living Up to Potential
We all know that one month of success does not make a season, but early returns indicate that Baltimore Orioles centerfielder Adam Jones is indeed the real deal. When the Orioles traded ace starting pitcher Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for a cast of players highlighted by Jones, there were many skeptics questioning whether […]
Nick Kappel’s Fantasy Focus: Buy Or Sell?
Nearly a month has passed since the 2009 fantasy baseball season began, and now’s the time to start making important moves. Turning a profit on a hot start can be vital to your team’s future success. With that in mind, I’ve highlighted several players who’s hot starts you should buy, and others you should sell […]
The Making of a Hitter
by Jeff Louderback, PR for Write Perceptions After 12 seasons of professional baseball, including seven in the major leagues, Jack Perconte gave 60,000 hitting lessons to young players at his academy in Illinois. His first book instructs coaches and parents how to teach the art of hitting and make baseball more enjoyable for children from […]
CD Review: Baseball Songs Sports Heroes
While there are movies and books available for dedicated sports fans, most aren’t familiar with Joe Pickering Jr. and Phil Coley’s collection of CDs on baseball songs. The first in this series is entitled Baseball Songs Sports Heroes: People Who Have Made a Difference. On this album there are everything from songs about individual players […]
Rangers Reflections: The First 3 Weeks
One month into the season and we know two things about the Rangers: their offense is picking up where it left off last season and their pitching has drastically improved from last season’s horrendous output. Though both facets of the team are virtually the same as last season’s mark, the team has managed to stay […]
Touch: A Woman’s Point of View
My Touch Obsession by guest writer Lori Thompson It started in June 2007. My once yearly trip to a Mariner’s game was going to happen in a couple of months and just didn’t want to wear the same gray/blue men’s baseball shirt that I’d worn the last four years. I was looking for something new. […]
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 […]
Why I’m high on this Tigers team
Before the season, I wrote that these Tigers would be a bit of a mystery. We didn’t know what to expect. Unlike the “experts,” I didn’t expect the worst. But other than that, I had no idea what we’d see out of the 2009 Detroit Tigers. Well — and knowing full well the dangers in […]
The White Sox at Week 2
We are 2 weeks into the season and I find the White Sox right where I expected them: hanging around and in the mix. Power bats are getting them their runs, and their pitching staff has done a good job. In the AL, only Seattle has allowed less runs than the Sox. For the Sox […]
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 […]
Reflections on the Blue Jays
So spring training is over, the season is underway, and the Jays have gotten off to a decent start – not that it has changed any of the seemingly unanimous consensus around the baseball world and T-dot media that the Jays are going absolutely nowhere. I traveled from my home in Washington DC to Toronto […]
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 […]
MLB Predictions By the Numbers
The Miller-McCune article by Tom Jacobs that I am referencing today is a mathematical copyrighted model created to predict divisional outcomes in Major League Baseball. The article is entitled, “Baseball’s Best Teams Are…2009 Edition” which you can read in it’s entirety by following the previously provided link. This model was created by associate professor of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
