2011 Fantasy Baseball Preview: Top Ten Sleepers (Part IV)

Different editors/writers have differing definitions of the term, “sleeper”. The concept has been watered down in the current fantasy baseball lexicon, probably because there are writers who can’t be bothered to do the analysis required to uncover real “sleepers”. In my opinion, rookies have no place on a sleeper list. They aren’t sleepers. They are […]

2011 Fantasy Baseball Preview: Top Ten Sleepers (Part III)

Different editors/writers have differing definitions of the term, “sleeper”. The concept has been watered down in the current fantasy baseball lexicon, probably because there are writers who can’t be bothered to do the analysis required to uncover real “sleepers”. In my opinion, rookies have no place on a sleeper list. They aren’t sleepers. They are […]

2011 Fantasy Baseball Preview: Top Ten Sleepers (Part II)

Different editors/writers have differing definitions of the term, “sleeper”. The concept has been watered down in the current fantasy baseball lexicon, probably because there are writers who can’t be bothered to do the analysis required to uncover real “sleepers”. In my opinion, rookies have no place on a sleeper list. They aren’t sleepers. They are […]

2011 Fantasy Baseball Preview: Top Ten Sleepers (Part I)

Different editors/writers have differing definitions of the term, “sleeper”. The concept has been watered down in the current fantasy baseball lexicon, probably because there are writers who can’t be bothered to do the analysis required to uncover real “sleepers”. In my opinion, rookies have no place on a sleeper list. They aren’t sleepers. They are […]

Fantasy Baseball Outlook: Top Five SS Prospects For 2011

In articles such as this, many websites give readers a list of the best overall prospects at a given position, but the intention here is to focus on those prospects who are most likely to provide a significant fantasy impact during the 2011 season; thus, a guy like Red Sox SS prospect Jose Iglesias – […]

Fantasy Baseball Outlook: Top Five 3B Prospects For 2011

In articles like this, many websites give readers a list of the best overall prospects at any given position, but the intention here is to focus on those prospects that are most likely to provide a significant fantasy impact in the 2011 season; thus, a guy like White Sox prospect Dayan Viciedo – who should […]

Speaker Spoke Plenty Loud

Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle. All four men bring to mind ideals you want in an outfielder. How about Tris Speaker? Speaker joined Cobb and Ruth on the membership roll when the Hall of Fame opened in 1939, yet not much is said or written about him. Speaker didn’t have Ruth’s power […]

2011 MLB Power Rankings, The Ides of January Edition (Part III, #1 – #10)

With most of the top free agents now signed and teams starting to take shape as we approach spring training, I thought I would share my pre-pre-season perspective on the relative strengths (and weaknesses) of all 30 major league teams. I have broken the article down into three installments, and will publish one of the […]

2011 MLB Power Rankings, The Ides of January Edition (Part II, #11-#20)

  With most of the top free agents now signed and teams starting to take shape as we approach spring training, I thought I would share my pre-pre-season perspective on the relative strengths (and weaknesses) of all 30 major league teams. I have broken the article down into three installments, and will publish one of […]

2011 MLB Power Rankings, The Ides of January Edition (Part I, #21-#30)

  With most of the top free agents now signed and teams starting to take shape as we approach spring training, I thought I would share my pre-pre-season pespective on the relative strengths (and weaknesses) of all 30 major league teams. I have broken the article down into three installments, and will publish one of […]

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 […]

The Sweet Swing of a Slugger

Nowadays, it’s difficult to think of baseball players without talk of steroids, performance enhancers, or at least strength training. More than a century ago, however, raw skill and equipment formed a power-packed duo that dictated a player’s success. “Sweet Spot: 125 Years of Baseball and the Louisville Slugger” by David Magee and Philip Shirley is […]

First Year at the New Ballpark

In 2010, the Minnesota Twins were the only team in the Major Leagues to play in a new stadium. In front of 3.2 million fans at Target Field, the Twins went 53-28, the third-best home record in the major leagues and a 4.5-game improvement over 2009, the last season at the Metrodome. This raises the […]

Jim Lonborg: Coming Close

On Wednesday, Don Larsen was joined by Roy Halladay as the only two pitchers ever to throw a no-hitter during the postseason in MLB history. Back in 1967, Larsen almost had company in that group. Jim Lonborg was having a fantastic season for the Boston Red Sox. The third-year pitcher lead the American League in […]

A Trip To Last a Lifetime

In a little less than a year and a half, January 2012, to be exact, I’ll be 50 years old. Sometime around then, too, Fenway Park will turn 100. It’s strange that with all our accumulated years we’d never before had the chance to meet- until last week, that is.    While living my whole life […]

Story Lines Terrific for First No-Hitter in 6 Years

While major league baseball has been basking in perfect games and no-hitters this season, it had been nearly six years since the Atlantic League enjoyed such a feat before Southern Maryland’s Joe Newby and Jim Ed Warden combined to hold Newark hitless in a 3-1 victory at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium Wednesday night.  The […]

B(oston) Is For Bandwagon

While attending a Red Sox/Mariners game recently I saw a shirt that said, B is for Bandwagon. After laughing, I couldn’t disagree with that statement as probably 50 percent of the fans at a game 3000 miles away from Fenway Park were there for the Red Sox. And I was one of those fans. But […]

A Father’s Day Salute

I suppose this is the perfect time to thank my father for turning me on to baseball, for taking me to Fenway Park when I was a kid, and for not only teaching me how to play the game, but also how to appreciate the game.  I remember the time when I was younger when […]

Rare Home Run Feats by Nava and Guerrero Make It Tough for Others to Take Spotlight

Two extraordinary feats, both a few days old now, continue to take much of the thunder away from everything else that is happening in Independent Baseball.  They deserve the attention because the accomplishments were not predictable, will not likely happen again any time soon, and they sent everyone scrambling to baseball’s treasurer record books. The […]

Chasing Down Dutch (Hub) Leonard

What do Ubaldo Jimenez and Dutch (Hub) Leonard have in common?  Nothing and everything. Jimenez is a big, strong, “black”, right-handed power pitcher who features a 95-97 MPH fastball that sometimes reaches triple digits and has sick movement, a slider, curveball, and change-up, the last of which tops out at 88, faster than some hurlers’ […]

Meet the New Park Factors – Part I

“It’s a park that could make you a hero or a bum.” – Stan Musial on the Polo Grounds, 1957 Stan Musial was truly one of the most consistently great hitters baseball has ever seen. With a lifetime average of .331, his slumps were like comets—showing up every few years, then disappearing in a flash. […]

Musings from the Manager’s Office

Where to go on a rainy day in spring training? The manager of the Atlanta Braves, always a congenial host, held court with a half-dozen journalists before the rained-out exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Now that he’s a self-proclaimed lame duck, Bobby Cox has answered everything two, three, […]

Book Review: Joe Cronin, A Life In Baseball

One of the perks of being a baseball bloggers is, at times, you get a chance to get a free baseball book on the off-chance that you’ll write about it to an audience that may care what you have to say.  I’ve had four or five of these opportunities come directly to me, but this […]

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