Baltimore Orioles Finally Hire Buck Showalter as Manager
After two months under the guidance of interim manager Juan Samuel, the Baltimore Orioles finally have a permanent captain for their floundering ship with the hiring of Buck Showalter to take over the team beginning on August 3rd. After hiring the interim manager to eventually be the permanent manager after each of the last two […]
With Trembley Gone, What’s Next For The Orioles?
The Baltimore Orioles did the right thing to relieve Dave Trembley of his duties as manager, but being outscored 19-2 by the Boston Red Sox in their first two games after his departure is a reminder that the troubles for this once proud franchise run much deeper than just one person. It is difficult to […]
Top 5 Fantasy Surprises So Far in 2010: Hitters
*These stats are as of 5/20/2010. The stats next to their names are R/HR/RBI/SB/BA. These players are the biggest offensive surprises of the season so far… 5. Paul Konerko 1B of the Chicago White Sox is hitting 21/14/30/0/.262 Image by Getty Images via @daylife Konerko is leading the all of baseball with his 14 HRs […]
For The Toronto Blue Jays, The Future is Looking Good
APRIL is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. _ -T.S. Eliot, the Wasteland _It’s been an interesting April here in Blue Jay land. It’s been something of purgatory for the Jays, so far, with many key players from better-than-you-thought late aughts […]
The 411 on Baseball Prospectus’ Top 20 Prospects: #’s 11-20
The following list of players are from Baseball Prospectus’ top 101 prospects that have already joined the MLB club: ranked # 34 – Wade Davis SP with the Rays, # 49 – Austin Jackson OF with the Tigers, # 57 – Scott Sizemore 2B with the Tigers, # 58 – Josh Reddick OF recently called […]
Reflections on the Dodgers and Latin American Players
The Cincinnati Reds signed Aroldis Chapman. The Toronto Blue Jays signed Adeiny Hechevarria and the Twins signed Miguel Angel Sano. All three of those clubs have payrolls, and markets, that are exponentially smaller than that of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sure, the Dodgers were very recently hamstrung by financial constrictions due to the very public […]
Top 10 Fantasy LF of 2009
These weekly posts of mine have been based on a rotisserie format using a traditional 5×5 scoring system to keep things simple. Personally I prefer more statistics in my leagues (which is why I was the commissioner in one of my leagues), but in order to reach the most readers we will just stick with […]
The Top 10 Fantasy DH of 2009
These weekly posts of mine have been based on a rotisserie format using a traditional 5×5 scoring system to keep things simple. Personally I prefer more statistics in my leagues (which is why I was the commissioner in one of my leagues), but in order to reach the most readers we will just stick with […]
The Top 10 Fantasy SS of 2009
Image by Sportech via Flickr These weekly posts of mine have been based on a rotisserie format using a traditional 5×5 scoring system to keep things simple. Personally I prefer more statistics in my leagues (which is why I was the commissioner in one of my leagues), but in order to reach the most readers […]
The Top 10 Fantasy 2B of 2009
Image via Wikipedia These weekly posts of mine will be based on a rotisserie format using a traditional 5×5 scoring system to keep things simple. Personally I prefer more statistics in my leagues (which is why I was the commissioner in one of my leagues), but in order to reach the most readers we will […]
Pedroia Might Play SS in 2010
Image via Wikipedia The Sox second half SS, Alex Gonzalez recently signed with the rival Toronto Blue Jays. Also, the organization is uncertain about the ability of Jed Lowrie to play everyday in 2010 after his injury woes. That leaves the Red Sox brass with a choice to make! Do they sign a free agent […]
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. […]
A Royal Thirty Days of Stink
There were once high hopes for the Kansas City Royals, but no longer. While the problems plaguing the Royals began even as they raced out of the 2009 starting gate to an 18-11 record and three game Central Division lead, the last thirty days provide a perfect illustration of the state of this franchise. Since […]
June Reflections on the Blue Jays
When my partner in crime, Tom, penned his last epistle about our beloved azure corvidae, things were just going great in the Queen City. He mentioned how much he was enjoying the season thus far, and confided that he wasn’t sure how long the Jays could keep it up. The answer – not long. Almost […]
Chasing the Aces and the Pennants
Image via Wikipedia It’s officially trade rumor season in the MLB and teams are now just beginning to assess their needs and see what is available on the market. This season marks a special one in the starting pitching department as we have four key names playing for underperforming teams looking to slash payroll and […]
Matt Wieters Scheduled to Join the Baltimore Orioles on Friday
Image by Getty Images via Daylife The wait is over. In an interview with Gary Thorne and Buck Martinez during Tuesday night’s game between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays, Orioles President Andy MacPhail announced that top prospect Matt Wieters will be making his major league debut on Friday, May 29, when the Detroit […]
Tracking the Top Prospects: Players 1-10
Image via Wikipedia Back on Jan. 22, Keith Law of Scouts, Inc. wrote a column for ESPN.com that ranked the top 100 prospects in the major leagues for the 2009 regular season. Well, since the most of us do not pay whatever fee that is charged to get ESPNinsider, we only have access to the […]
The Blue Jays Are On Fire!
Hi from us at Bluebird Banter where, I can quite honestly say, I have never enjoyed baseball as much in my life. And I was there for the Jay’s World Series seasons. The great part of it this time is that we weren’t expected to be anywhere near this good. It really is good to […]
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 […]
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 […]
Stadium Review: Rogers Centre Home of the Toronto Blue Jays
The Rogers Centre, formerly known and still frequently called the Sky Dome, is a staple of downtown Toronto. Even if one doesn’t make a trip to the stadium itself, it is very hard to miss the structure, especially since most visitors of downtown Toronto usually stop at the CN Tower, which looks straight down on […]
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 […]
Reflections on the Blue Jays
Greetings from the Great White North and man is it ever white this year. I’m sure this is the worst winter in the last several years. I’m Rincewind and a great guy named Hugo and I run a blog called Bluebird Banter where we blather on and on about the Toronto Blue Jays. It is […]
Another Writers Update
I wanted to send out an official site update announcing our newest writers. From the site Baseball Evolution , we have Asher who participated in my post/interview on InterLeague Play and Keith . Asher will write monthly reflections on both the Rays and the Cubs. Keith will reflect upon the Diamondbacks. We are now just […]
Indians Sign Chulk to Minor League Deal
On Tuesday the Indians signed pitcher Vinnie Chulk to a minor league contract. The right hander was originally a 12th round draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000. The reliever made his major league debut on September 8, 2003 as an end of the season call up to the Jays. He has spent […]
How MLB Expansion Has Affected Hall of Fame Voting
Image by Getty Images via Daylife By way of comparison, lets look at the careers of newly elected Hall of Famer Jim Rice and current Free Agent who is being touted as a first ballot Hall of Famer himself, Manny Ramirez. As luck would have it, they have both played 16 seasons, making the timing […]
New Writers Have Been Gathered
Over the past few days, we have reached agreements with 3 new writers for 2 more MLB teams; the Toronto Blue Jays and The Chicago White Sox. First up are Daniel “Hugo” Fruchter and Tom Dakers, aka “Rincewind” from BlueBird Banter. To become more familiar with their work, please check out an article from each […]
Indians Sell Pitcher Mastny’s Contract to Japanese Team
Tom Mastny is no longer a Cleveland Indian, but his new team isn’t even in America. The reliever’s contract was sold on Tuesday to the Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japanese Central League. Mastny burst onto the scene at the end of the regular season in 2006 when he was featured in 15 games after […]
Toronto Blue Jays Off Season Report
Season Wrap Up The 2008 season found the Jays in 4th place behind the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees, but was not without its highlights. The pitching staff, despite injuries toJanssen and Halladay (to begin the year) and McGowan for good parts of the year, were still the best in the MLB with a 3.49 […]