View to a Thrill

Of the thousands who watched the Home Run Derby this past Monday, no one in Citi Field had a better view than George Carroll, who was directly behind home plate. And I mean directly behind home plate: Carroll was one of two catchers who most people saw all night long and probably never noticed. Carroll […]

What Irony If Chris Colabello and Curt Smith End Up Competing for Same Job With Twins

It was only a week ago in this space that I found myself praising the WBC performances of Chris Colabello and Curt Smith.  I hope that cruel irony does not step in for this pair. Minnesota gave Colabello, the longtime Can-Am League standout (Worcester, MA and Nashua, NH) only two at-bats after Team Italy was […]

Clearing The Bases

The baseball season is more than 1/3 completed, the weather is warming up, and pennant races are starting to shape up.  We are in mid-June; no longer can any player state that they are in a slump. Slumps don’t last two plus months.  With that in mind we are going to take a look at […]

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 […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL Central – Minnesota Twins

Twins slugger Justin Morneau The Minnesota Twins are coming off back-to-back AL Central division championships. They are looking to become the first club to win the division title in three consecutive years since they pulled off the feat in the 2002-04 seasons. If they are able to do so, it would tie for the second-longest […]

Clearing The Bases

It’s that time of year again where all of us fantasy players are gearing up for our fantasy draft.  Some of us may have already had a draft or two as some leagues like to get it out of the way early.  Personally I prefer drafting as late in spring training as possible so that […]

Change We Can Believe In

Turn back your clocks a little over a year to the 2009 American League Divisional Series between the Yankees and the Twins. The Yankees had home field advantage, and were heavily favored. They swept the series three games to none, but largely thanks to a disturbing phenomenon down the left field line at Yankee Stadium. […]

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 […]

Breaking Down The MVP Candidates

While the Cy Young debate in the American League is getting a lot of attention, the Most Valuable Player award is not. Although it is discussed occasionally, people are not giving it the attention that it deserves. The front-runner(s) at this point are Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Hamilton. All have had incredible seasons, but […]

Say Yes To Instant Replay

If there were ever a climax for the instant replay debate in baseball, it came on the night of September 15, 2010, when Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter pulled a “Tom Cruise” when batting in the top of the seventh inning. With one out, and the Yankees down a run, Jeter squared to bunt on the […]

Player of the Fortnight vol. 3

It’s been a few weeks since we handed out any hardware, so we’re excited to present our third edition of Players of the Fortnight. (All stats courtesy of the inestimably valuable Fangraphs.)

Goldstein Sounds Alarm in Harper’s House of Charm

Kevin Goldstein took aim at Bryce Harper’s imposing rep this week in an article at Baseball Prospectus.com about his “makeup.”   The amateur draft is counting down and Harper is more and more the only viable first choice. Will the alarm bells spook the Nationals?  Is character as defining a factor for the rebuilding Washington […]

Granderson, Happ and Mauer to Receive Prestigious 2009 Players Choice Awards

From MLBPA news releases: Joe Mauer to be Presented Players Choice Award as 2009 AL Outstanding Player In Joe’s honor, the Players Trust contributes $5,000 each to the Catholic Athletic Association, Friends of St. Paul Baseball, Gillette Children’s Foundation and Highland Friendship Club New York, NY, Friday, April 16, 2010 … In a pre-game ceremony […]

Dan’s daring predictions for diamond action

Predicting the future — in any venue — is difficult even for Alison DuBois or others blessed with psychic powers. That is especially true when it comes to baseball, where teams play nearly 200 games and face each one without knowing who will get hot, who will get hurt, or who will perform above or […]