The Steve Garvey Interview
Image via Wikipedia I recently had the privilege of asking Dodger great, Steve Garvey (1B) a few questions. I was put in contact with Mr. Garvey by Athlete Promotions. AthletePromotions manages the website, corporate appearances, speaking engagements and endorsement deals for 10 time All-Star, Steve Garvey. To see who else Athlete Promotions represents please […]
Can the Florida Marlins Win the NL East
With seven weeks left in the baseball season, the young Florida Marlins seem to be poised to stay in the hunt down to the wire in the National League East. However, the question is whether the Marlins have the experience needed to catapult pass the Phillies and claim the title. At the start of the […]
Helton Reaches Career Milestone
Amidst the ups and downs of playing for a small-medium market club for your career Todd Helton has been about the only constant in a Colorado Rockies uniform. Todd’s 13 year MLB career in my opinion has been Cooperstown worthy. He is a career .320 hitter, 300 plus home-runs and 500 doubles and counting. Image […]
The “Mess” Which Transpired in Queens
Do we ever hear enough “Meet the Mess,” jokes? The line does become overplayed like the latest Lady GaGa track and unfortunately for the Mets, they have not done much to have us believe otherwise. I mean, let’s face it. It has been more than a disappointing season for the team with the second highest […]
The Pittsburgh Pirates: After the Dust Has Settled
Of the 25 Pittsburgh Pirates who took the field on Opening Day 2008, 7 remain with the organization today. General manager Neal Huntington has turned over his depth chart methodically and added a number of talented prospects to his farm system. Doing so was not easy. Huntington sent away All-Stars in Jason Bay, Nate McLouth, […]
As the Cubs Roll Into August…
July turns to August and finds the Chicago Cubs still in the NL Central hunt. Nevertheless, they didn’t look like a contending team as the trading deadline neared, making a nominal move for minimal help which may actually hurt the team this season. Image by Getty Images via Daylife In a month in which Roy […]
A Starry July in St. Louis
A lot of All-Stars came to St. Louis this month for a visit. Then the Cards made sure some came to stay. The early part of the month was dominated, in Cardinal talk, by the MLB All-Star Game, which was held in Busch Stadium on July 14. All the hype, all the hoopla, all the […]
Reflections on the Brewers at the Trade Deadline
The Milwaukee Brewers are in a precarious situation. A team that was built from the inside with three-fourths of an infield (Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy), a pair of slugging corner outfielders (Ryan Braun, Corey Hart) and an ace in the making (Yovani Gallardo), is now being looked at as thin when it comes […]
How Good Is Dan Haren?
When the Arizona Diamondbacks traded six of their best prospects for Dan Haren in December of 2007, I was vehemently opposed to the deal from the Diamondbacks’ perspective. Not only was I extremely high on the prospects involved – Outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Aaron Cunningham, Southpaws Brett Anderson, Greg Smith, and Dana Eveland, and first […]
Cubs Reflections on Being in First Place
Despite all my nay-saying and doom-daying, the Chicago Cubs woke up on July 27th and found themselves in first place in the NL Central. Outside of any performance by the Cubs, here are five reasons which this has happened: 5. The St. Louis Cardinals have no hitting. A month into the season, the Cardinals looked […]
Schmidt’s long road back ends with victory, tentative hope for future
In a Dodgers season full of compelling stories, add one more that is perhaps the most unlikely: The return of Jason Schmidt. Image by Getty Images via Daylife The veteran right-hander signed a three-year $47 million contract before the 2007 season and, before the other night, had given the Dodgers just six starts in return. […]
Boston Adds a Bat
The Red Sox have aquired a new left handed bat and insurance if 3B Mike Lowell needs to miss any time in the second half. This will be an upgrade over Jeff Bailey, Adam Bates and even Mark Kotsay (who can still play in the OF). Here is what Boston’s sports talk radio station WEEI, […]
Astros Attendance By the Numbers
Image via Wikipedia So we briefly touched on this a while back at Astros County, but I thought…off day and all, we can revisit it a little more closely (editor’s note: this was written during the All Star Break). This is the issue of attendance among MLB teams, specifically the Astros, from 2008 to 2009. […]
Can the Rockies stay hot after the break?
Coming off a June record of 21-7 and finishing with a 10 game home–stand before the break, but there are still many questions to be answered in Colorado regarding the second half of the season. The Colorado Rockies began the season as many fans would have anticipated, slowly. But after the firing of Clint Hurdle […]
Why the Braves will (not) make the playoffs
The Braves have made some good moves recently that we all know about. The starting pitching is above average, the relief pitching adequate, the offense is also adequate and the defense is excellent. It appears to a Braves fan that the Braves are in the best position to take first in the East. Under the […]
Nats Fans HAD High Hopes for 2009 Season
The Washington National fans entered this season with high hopes. Not with the typical hopes of baseball fans, that their team may be winning the pennant or even the World Series. No, Nationals fans were finally hopeful that their team had turned the corner and would be in the beginning of an upswing that would […]
The case of Pablo Sandoval and the NL All-Star team
Image by acordova via Flickr The starting National League third baseman in this month’s mid summer classic will be the Mets’ David Wright. His numbers, even beyond his inflated New York aided vote total warrant the selection, especially when compared to the other top two vote getters; Chipper Jones and Ryan Zimmerman. Not to mention […]
Manny Returns to the Dodger Lineup
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Manny Ramirez returns to the Dodgers’ lineup tomorrow not as a pariah, but as a prodigal son. All has been foriven after his 50-game exile for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs when he takes the field for the Dodgers in San Diego. Mannywood, otherwise known as the left-field bleachers, […]
The Cardinals, On The Run and the Number 6
In Cardinal Nation, we know that six is a serious number. The local On The Run Mobile gas stations have had a promotion the past few years that, if the Cardinals scored six runs or more in a game, the next day fountain drinks, coffee, etc. was only a quarter at their stores. This year, […]
The Pendulum Continues To Swing in St. Louis
Joe Morgan would have put the Cardinals on his bad list in June, because they’ve been pretty inconsistent during the month. A pitching staff that is lit up against the Rockies early in the month settles down to some better pitched games, with hiccups along the way. An offense maligned as inept is able to […]
Ryan Hanigan: From Rollins College to the Cincinnati Reds
When the Rollins College baseball team hosted the Cincinnati Reds for a spring training exhibition in 2001, no one could have anticipated that one of the Tars would some day be living the big-league dream as a key member of the Reds. But fast-forward ahead eight years and sure enough in 2009 former Rollins standout […]
Dodgers Looking Great with 2/3 of the Season to Go
Editor’s Note: Due to my being on vacation, Jim’s article that he wrote on June 5th below has been posted just now. According to Chris at Dodgerfan.net, the Dodgers are the favorite in Las Vegas to win the World Series, with odds at Mandalay Bay at 7-2. But now, with one-third of the season under […]
Pirates will remain sellers as deadline approaches
After suffering through 16 consecutive losing seasons, many Pirate fans wonder how any team’s management could be more inept; how any team’s ownership could be more stingy. And who could blame them? The streak of sub-.500 finishes will soon be historic. Image by Matt Bandi, MVN via Flickr The sudden and unexpected trade of All-Star […]
Despite Ailments, Streaking Mets Keep NL East Tight
Really? Come on. If this is a surprise then the last few years must be a bit fuzzy to the memory. What has become an annual drama-filled, slug-fest between the New York Mets and bitter rival Philadelphia Phillies has come to fruition once again this season as the two teams remain inseparable atop the National […]
Reds at 50 (well, 48)
The Reds sit at 26-22 on the last day of May, just 2.5 games out of first place. This should be a familiar record for the Reds this season. With their brand of strong starting pitching, team speed, and improved defense, this team will be between three and seven games over .500 for most of […]
The Cubs Are Slumping and on the DL
Over the course of a 162 game season, even the best teams have slumps. Particularly in this era of relatively balanced competition even the perennial division winners – teams like the Red Sox, Cardinals, and Angels – run into rough stretches. But the 2009 Chicago Cubs are currently enduring a slump that even the worst […]
Hanley Ramirez: Is He the Best Shortstop in Baseball?
Playing for the Florida Marlins is about as close as Major League Baseball can come to having a site in the witness protection program, but even toiling away in anonymity, shortstop Hanley Ramirez is turning heads and creating a name for himself as one of the best young players in the game. A year after […]
The Cardinals Flip Flop in May
I don’t watch horror or suspense movies. I’m not big on being scared or losing control of bodily functions. So I can’t say that this season for St. Louis has been like one of those movies from personal experience, but knowing the general formula for a movie of that type, the analogy seems to fit. […]
Interleague Play Q&A
Back on December 8, 2008 I posted a 10 question interview session that I conducted with 6 other baseball bloggers about their thoughts concerning Interleague play. With the first Interleague series of the year going this weekend I thought it would be a good time to post this link to it for your amusement! Enjoy! […]
Phillies Fans It Is Not Time To Panic
If you have been watching the Phillies lately you may be wondering just where exactly DID the offense go? Or you may be wondering how it is possible that Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were a combined 0-22 with 12 strikeouts in their series with the Dodgers this past week. This is a very tough […]