A Conversation with Dan Duqeutte

It’s completely fine with the Baltimore Orioles if national pundits and soothsayers again pick them to finish close to the bottom of the always competitive American League East. They believed this time last season they were much better than the 100-loss aggregation most predicted, and they took that quiet confidence into a season that eventuated […]

Ben Cherington Needs To Pick It Up

It has barely been two months since Ben Cherington took over as Red Sox GM, but to date his work has been extremely underwhelming. This impression has been in place ever since the prolonged and possibly botched managerial search, which ultimately netted Bobby Valentine. Although Cherington and the team professed that Bobby V. was their […]

The Lighting of the Hot Stove

Perhaps the Hot Stove season does not commence until after the World Series. Or maybe it adds fuel to the fire. Either way there are instructive failures from last year to consider. There were Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth–just two of the biggest disappointments among the 2011 free agent class. Then at the summit is […]

Yakima Bears Hope to Fill Void Left by Beavers

Baseball fans in the Portland, OR area saw their beloved Beavers head south last year for warmer pastures, but the metro-area may not go very long without a professional baseball team. As has been reported, the Yakima Bears (Single A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks) are hopeful a planned and expected move to Vancouver, WA […]

Should the Twins Move Mauer from Behind the Plate?

Late this past week the Minnesota Twins were forced to place their starting catcher, Joe Mauer, on the 15-day disabled list. Mauer injured his left knee late in the 2010 season, resulting in offseason arthroscopic surgery. According to multiple reports he has yet to regain full muscle strength in the area, despite playing in limited […]

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 […]

Deadline Day for Draftees is Quickly Approaching

With a mere 11 days to go until the deadline for 2010 draftees to reach agreement with their respective teams there are a number of interesting stories worth monitoring. As of this morning, 25 of the first 50 picks have yet to sign a contract – including 7 of the first 10. The surprising part […]

Opportunity Costs Will Dictate Modest Harper Bonus

Nationals fans, management and players are all seeing just what a great and phenomenal talent can do to transform a team.  Strasburg left everyone breathless for more, but although some see Bryce Harper as Strasburg, Part Deux, few believe Harper will get as big a bonus for signing in Washington.  Opportunity cost analysis says the […]

It Ain’t Easy Raising the Dead: The Labors of Pirates’ GM Neal Huntington

In the 1980s, Pirate general manager Syd Thrift, an old Southern gentleman with a dry wit, looked at the rebuilding task in front of him and moaned, “It ain’t easy raising the dead.” Relatively speaking, Thrift’s task was a breeze.  He took over a team that had a winning record two seasons earlier, and was […]

Front Office Changes in Newark and Bridgeport Steal Some Attention Away From Early Camp Days

It is on the diamond where all of the outward attention is being focused these days around the Atlantic League, especially with all eight teams in action and shaping their rosters toward Opening Night just nine days from now.  Yes, the April 22 openers are that close.

Starting the Routine

Things are starting to get established down in Jupiter. Yesterday, it was Tony LaRussa’s time in front of the media.  You can hear some of his remarks here.  A lot of what you’d expect out of TLR, a lot of working hard, have a chance to compete, etc.  Tony’s not likely to tip his hand […]