The Ryan Braun Debacle

As a lifetime Brewer fan and—until recently—a defender of Ryan Braun’s (yes, I was taken in by the ferocity of his public statement in February of 2012 .  Call me an idiot, or, in the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, “What a gull-a-bull.  What a nin-com-poop.”)  I feel compelled to comment on the unfortunate situation […]

Monday Night in Chicago

Nearly 100 years ago the South Side of Chicago was home to one of the greatest shames in baseball history when eight members of the 1919 White Sox were accused of taking money from gamblers and handing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Shame and controversy – and a battalion of reporters – returned […]

Clearing The Bases

Welcome to the first day of spring and if you live in the Northeast well then you know it’s about 30 degrees and snowing, not exactly good news for MLB, when the season will begin in about 10 days.  Today we will complete our rankings with the outfielders.  I’m not going to rank designated hitters […]

Tracking Triple Milestones – 2012

With the season nearing the halfway point, it’s a good time to check  on hitters that are on target for the triple milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs and which pitchers are on a pace for 20 wins, 200 strikeouts and an ERA under 3.00. Since pitchers have recorded […]

OOTP 13: Perhaps The Best Sports Simulation Game Ever

To paraphrase the words of the portly Simpsons character Comic Book Man, Out of the Park 13 is perhaps the “Best Game Ever” when it comes to sports simulations. Proclaiming OOTP13 as such doesn’t give the game enough justice. As awe-inspiring as last year’s edition was, producer Markus Heinson and his band of creative baseball […]

The Impact of Prince Fielder in Washington

Prince Fielder was always one of the impact players in this year’s free agent class, but he is still out there and according to the “industry analysts” the table continues to tilt increasingly toward Washington as his landing spot. This morning Adam Kilgore in the Washington Post summarized the case, saying he is “Washington’s to […]

Kemp Unanimous Pick For NL Stan Musial Award

Bautista holds off Ellsbury in American League There were some outstanding performances this year in Major League Baseball.  However, one clearly stood out from the pack. Los Angeles Dodger outfielder Matt Kemp was named the National League Stan Musial Award winner for 2011 in voting held by the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.  Kemp received all 15 […]

Hot Baseball Cards: The Postseason Edition

It is often said that art imitates life. That is especially true when it comes to baseball cards. Baseball’s annual Fall Classic provides an opportunity for fans to stock-up on their cardboard heroes, connecting them closer to the player, the game and the memories of October. The playoff run thus far has already seen dramatic […]

Triple Milestones–Final 2011

Seven players reached the milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBI this year. Four American Leaguers and three National Leaguers made it.  The only repeaters are Miguel Cabrera and Paul Konerko. The three National Leaguers who made it last year, Albert Pujols, Joey Votto and Carlos Gonzalez fell short but Pujols […]

Termina Agosto, entramos en la recta final (August ends, we enter the final straight)

Tradicionalmente, el mes de agosto ha servido siempre para separar “la paja del grano” o lo que es lo mismo, separar a los equipos que van a pos-temporada y a los que no “van para abajo” como se dice en términos hípicos. Con el fin de Agosto podemos afirmar oficialmente que entramos en la recta […]

Clearing The Bases: Outfielders

Outfield seems to be a jumbled mess of players once you get thru the first dozen or so.  This position is nowhere near as deep as it once was, and even most of the top ten players come with question marks, whether it be their injury history or resume.  This list assumes you are playing […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central – Milwaukee Brewers

Brewers all-star 1B Prince Fielder  Milwaukee Brewers (2010 record: 77-85) The Milwaukee Brewers front office entered the off-season with one primary task: improve the pitching staff. The club finished last season with the third-worst ERA in the National League – the primary reason the club finished with a sub-.500 record. General Manager Mark Attanasio immersed […]

Sorry Albert, It’s Votto’s Time

Ranking the 2010 NL MVP Candidates [Author’s note: Irony can be pretty ironic, I suppose. It’s not the first time that an MVP favorite tanked in the post-season, but Joey Votto did just that, going 1-for-10 against the Phillies as his Cincinnati Reds went three and out. It’s worthy to mention that the ballots from […]