Hairy-chested Guys and Deadbeat Dads

The Washington Nationals ship of state was supposed to be sailing for glory. Instead, at the All-Star break it limped into Washington Harbor, their sails in tatters after a trip to Philadelphia and Miami that saw them lose three of four to the Phillies and two of three to the Marlins. The Nats scored 19 […]

Ese tipo de héroe. (That kind of hero)

Hay temporadas que son consideradas como el tope de una carrera. En ellas un pelotero lo hace todo por su equipo, desde animar a los compañeros en el dugout hasta discutir con los árbitros. El jugador pareciera estar dotado de una fuerza excepcional que le hace alcanzar logros paralizantes.

AL East Positional Analysis And Ranking: Right Field

I am in the midst of a series examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis. The players at each position are being ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison […]

The Berkman Actuality

Regular reader(s) will remember that, last week, I wrote about the possibility that Lance Berkman would become a Cardinal.  My conclusion was that it wouldn’t happen and it didn’t work for the Cardinals. Yeah, this is why I don’t bet actual money on anything. As you know by now, the Cards came to terms with Berkman over […]

Late Summer Concerns of a Yankee Fan

This summer, I’ve finished up a master’s degree and changed my relationship status to “married.”  I haven’t had a ton of time to watch my beloved Yankees, but I have observed as they’ve compiled the best record in the majors, along with the best run-differential in the league.  They’re in first place in the AL […]

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.)

The Kaline: Establishing a Mendoza Line For Hall of Famers

Introduction The purpose of this study is to establish a Mendoza Line for Hall of Fame hitters. After looking at the lifetime statistics of current Hall of Famers, Al Kaline began to stand out from the crowd. His .297 batting average, 3,007 hits, and 399 home runs seemed to be benchmarks for elite hitters. This […]

Where Is the Offense?

The Houston Astros have started slowly for several years (9-13 in April, 2009 and 13-16 in 2008).  However, the month of April, 2010 (8-14) was even worse.  After the Club started 0-8, there was a brief ray of hope when the team went 8-2 in the next 10 games including a 3 game sweep of […]

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. […]