Triple Milestone Targets 2013

With four weeks to go, only two players are on target for triple milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs but six others are close.  Only one pitcher is on target for the milestones of 20 wins, 200 strikeouts and an ERA less than 3.00.  No other pitchers are close. […]

Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals Rock Star

You will not find his picture on the cover of Sports Illustrated nor even Rolling Stone. You will barely find him in the Washington Post sports pages, but Ian Desmond is a rock star. He is a rock, one of the most solid players on the Washington Nationals roster and he is emerging as a […]

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 […]

Bookends of Hell

As much as I had grown to like Terry Francona, the 2011 Red Sox were severely unprepared to start the season, and ill-equipped to finish it, and it’s a manager’s job to prevent things like that from happening. Yes, there were some devastating injuries to Clay Buchholz, Dice-K, and in the stretch run, Kevin Youkilis, […]

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 […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL East – Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox prospects for the 2011 season are so bright, Adrian Gonzalez has got to wear shades Boston Red Sox (2010 record: 89-73) The 2010 edition of the Boston Red Sox was a very good ballclub. Entering the season, it appeared they would have an extraordinary pitching staff but a questionable offense. As it […]

Fearless forecast for 2011 flag chases

The first rule in making baseball predictions is to expect the unexpected. Don’t go with last year’s winners, popular favorites, or big-money ballclubs. Unless they deserve it, of course. Now that we’ve gotten past the obvious rules, there are the string of unknowns that can pop up anywhere during the course of a 162-game schedule, […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL East – Toronto Blue Jays

Blue Jays 3B Jose Bautista Toronto Blue Jays (2010 record: 85-77) The Blue Jays had the busiest off-season of any team in Major League Baseball. GM Alex Anthopoulos continued the re-structuring of the club – and its salary structure – in earnest… and, in the process, managed to rid his organization of the most untradeable […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL West – Texas Rangers

  Rangers LF Josh Hamilton Texas Rangers (2010 record: 90-72) The Texas Rangers won their first American League pennant, but eventually lost the World Series to the San Francisco Giants. Their drive to the Fall Classic was spurred by an MVP season from LF Josh Hamilton, a Rookie-of-the-Year campaign from closer Neftali Feliz, and all-star […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL West – Los Angeles Angels

LA Angels right fielder Torii Hunter Los Angeles Angels (2010 record: 80-82) The Angels had a rough off-season. It pales in comparison to the one suffered by the NY Mets (the Madoff effects, a lawsuit, a loan from MLB, cleaning house in the front office, etc), but it was bad nonetheless. The team failed to […]

Beltre Signs With The Rangers… And The Red Sox Keep Getting Richer

I posted this article about Adrian Beltre’s new contract with Texas on my website a few days ago… I am re-publishing a portion of that article here today: As the 2010 season unfolded, the Red Sox front office declared it was interested in re-signing soon-to-be-free-agents Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez. And as the off-season began GM […]

Boston Finally Gets Their Man

The Boston Red Sox held a press conference early Monday morning to make an announcement that has been in the works for over two years. Joined at Fenway Park by principal owner John Henry and General Manager Theo Epstein, newly acquired first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was introduced to the Boston media for the first time. To his […]

Josh Hamilton, Joey Votto Take Home Stan Musial Award

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance concluded their award season today by naming the best player in each league for 2010. When all the votes were tallied, two men were comfortably ahead. Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton, who hit 32 home runs and fashioned an OPS of 1.044 while leading the Rangers into the playoffs, won the award […]

Never count out the Red Sox

Here is the lineup the Red Sox used on Wednesday: Ellsbury CF, Scutaro SS, Ortiz DH, Martinez C, Drew RF, Beltre 3B, Lowell 1B, Kalish LF, Hall 2B If that lineup seems a little bit out of the ordinary, you are right. However, abnormal batting orders have not been out of the ordinary for the […]

Four Calls for the 2010 Season That You Heard Here First

Over the next five weeks or so the average baseball fan is going to come across numerous predictions via TV, sports talk radio, newspapers, magazines and the web. Let’s face it, the majority of experts are going to play it safe and you are going to hear and read the same things ad nauseam – […]