Most Deserving All-Star Candidate From Each American League Team

Most Deserving All-Star Candidate From Each Team: AL Edition   Baltimore: Manny Machado While Mark Trumbo is enjoying a bounce back season and currently leading the American League in homers, Manny Machado has been one of the best players in the MLB this season. He’s hitting .325, good for fourth in the American League, and […]

Josh Hamilton Situation Provides No Winners

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfielder Josh Hamilton will not be suspended for his admission of illicit drug use. The case, settled by an independent arbitrator, is a win for the Major League Baseball’s Players Association and a loss of new MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and the Angels. The reality, however, is more complex. Hamilton, […]

With Scherzer Leading the Way, Independent Hurlers Already Have Topped 2012 Major League Win Total With Lofty 69

One statistic regarding the pre-All-Star Game portion of the major league season may blow a few minds, including those in high powered front offices. To set the stage, I went back to last October when in this space I wrote that 17 pitchers with Independent Baseball experience combined for 67 regular-season wins, even without the […]

Astros Show Some Improvement in June

The Astros entered the final weekend of the month of June with a 12-12 record and a chance to have their first winning month in years.  However, they were swept at home by the Los Angeles Angels and finished 12-15 for the month. The month started on a positive note as the Astros won their […]

Fair Trade?

March 17, 2013 something bizarre occurred in major league baseball.  Mike Cisco, the grand son of Galen Cisco, former MLB pitcher, and pitching coach , was traded to the Los Angeles Angels.  So, what was so unusual about that?  The Angels acquired the Philadelphia pitching prospect for nothing! Mike Cisco, a prospect, pitched at Reading […]

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 […]

Clearing The Bases

With the season being a little less than 50% over we’ve decided to take a look at players who have played above expectations so far this season.  Now I’m looking at players who have the best value.  I know Joey Votto is having an MVP like season, but he was selected in the 1st or […]

Early Thoughts on the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year Race

While still early, the 2012 major league baseball season is now more than a third over, and many rookies have made intentions about being up to stay clear through their play. It’s never too early to start speculating about the Rookie of the Year race, and the American League has a number of impressive candidates. […]

The Glory Days: Stocking the Angels and Senators

On December 14, 1960, an expansion draft was held to stock the Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators. The eight American League teams were required to pull seven players apiece from active rosters (as of August 31, 1960) and eight additional players from their 40-man rosters and make them available for the draft. The Senators […]

Remembering An Angel

  May 4, 2012 Fifty years ago a skinny left-hander with a sneaky smile made history.  And started a party. On May 5, 1962 Robert “Bo” Belinsky threw a no-hitter for the Los Angeles Angels in a 2-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles and became Hollywood’s star attraction for a summer and one of baseball’s […]

Jerome Williams (Three-Hit Shutout), Jered Weaver (No-Hitter) Strut Their Stuff With More Than 100 Others at MLB Doorstep

My intention this week was to talk up the fact more than 100 Independent Baseball players now populate the rosters of the top two levels of major league-affiliated minor league teams, and while I will get back to that point it is impossible to overlook the masterful shutout turned in by Jerome Williams, who still […]

Clearing The Bases

What is our next top 9 list you ask?  Well it will be about some of the best players taken in the first couple rounds of most fantasy drafts that have gotten off to slow starts in one way or another and what should be done with them.  General rule of thumb is that most […]

It Is Nail-Biting Time for Several Independent Players Although ’11 Standout Jerome Williams Is ‘On Track’

It appears 2011 Lancaster (PA) Barnstormers (Atlantic League) starter Jerome Williams could win that fifth starting job with the Los Angeles Angels after all even though his hamstring strain forced him to miss some 24 days of spring training. The 30-year-old, who also at one time hurled for Long Beach, CA in the Golden League, […]

Angels Shock Baseball

The identity of the dastardly “anonymous team” that had reportedly been throwing major monkey wrenches into baseball’s free agency period has finally been unveiled. Today the Los Angeles Angels shocked baseball by not only signing first baseman Albert Pujols (10 year, 252 million dollars), but also picking up starting pitcher C.J. Wilson (5 years, 77.5 […]

Albert Pujols is a Bargain

In order to understand why the Los Angeles Angels are getting a bargain by signing Albert Pujols for $250 million over 10 years, it is important to stop thinking like a fan or a sabermetrician or even a general manager. In order to understand a contract like this, you have to think like an accountant. […]

Why Albert Pujols Will Stay In St. Louis

We heard it a lot. At the end of September and during every playoff series, we heard “this could be the last time Albert Pujols has an at-bat in a Cardinal uniform,” sometimes tweaked with the last home appearance. So much so that someone made a chart out of how he did in those situations. […]

Kimbrel, Hosmer, Hellickson Selected Top Rookies By BBA‏

Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves easily won the Baseball Bloggers Alliance‘s Willie Mays Award for top rookie in the National League.  The American League award, though, was a much different story. Kansas City first baseman Eric Hosmer and Tampa Bay pitcher Jeremy Hellickson both received 67 points in American League voting, creating the first […]

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 […]

Boston Sweeps Yanks but Playoff Hopes Remain Dim

Boston has finally reached .500 this season but now midway through May it’s a likely bet the Red Sox playoff hopes in this overly-hyped season remain iffy at best. Their position in the standings is certainly not bleak, however, for the Red Sox to have any chance of reaching the playoffs, the team would have […]

REO Speedwagon to Open Rays Summer Concert Series

Iconic classic rockers REO Speedwagon are kicking off the Tampa Bay Rays summer concert series this year on April 30th immediately after the game against the Los Angeles Angels. This is the fourth year Tampa Bay has had post-game concerts and considering the Rays are under .500 it couldn’t come at a better time since […]

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 – 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 […]

Fantasy Baseball Outlook: Top Five Catching 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; therefore, a guy like Devin Mesoraco – who saw action in […]

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 […]

Indies Have Banner Day With Five Taken In Draft

While Boston’s apparent signing of Carl Crawford seemed certain to steal the spotlight on the last day of the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Thursday also was a banner day for Independent Baseball. No fewer than five former Indy players, including three who signed during or after the season, were taken by new organizations during the […]

Return of Brian Adams May Help Patriots

Somerset’s last place standing in the Freedom Division with a 6-12 record may look bleak, but it is far too early to count the two-time defending champions out since they only trail division-leading Lancaster by four games (five in the loss column).  The Patriots, who have already tried 22 pitchers this season, have bolstered their […]

Pitching Helps Optimism for Both Early Second-Half Leaders

A head-to-head series between Lancaster and Bridgeport presented an ideal opportunity to check the pulse of these second-half division leaders.     Both managers, Tom Herr of the Barnstormers and Willie Upshaw of the host Bluefish, believe their starting pitching has gotten better as the 140-game season has progressed, and that fact alone could keep them […]

Michael Ryan Had ‘A Blast’ With Angels; Could Aldridge, Mastny Be on Deck?

This has to be a frustrating day for Michael Ryan, one of the bright alumni lights for the Atlantic League, since the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim designated him for assignment Thursday. Ryan, who turns 33 in a few days (July 6), had battled his way through four other major league organizations and a 65-game […]

With 38 Players Used Already, Bears ‘Continuing to Build’; Perkins May Help

It is highly advisable for anyone going to a Newark Bears game to pick up a program.  This goes for regulars at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium as well as the casual fan or someone watching the Bears on the road. Thirty-six games into the campaign or just past midway in the first half of […]

Bo Belinsky-Livin’ the Life

Perhaps no one got more mileage from a mediocre career than Bo Belinsky. Winning 28 games while losing 51 over an eight-year period (1962-1970) hardly qualifies one for baseball notoriety, even with a no-hitter. It was in his fourth big league appearance that the legend of Robert Belinsky of New York, New York began. On […]