Clearing The Bases

Injuries are probably playing a big part in how your fantasy team is performing this season.  It seems every week we are seeing three to four players land on the DL, and I’m not talking about a long reliever or backup middle infielder that no one cares about, I’m talking about top of the line […]

The Kid from the Old School

Whether or not the Philadelphia Phillies rebound from their slow start to the 2012 season, remains to be seen. But if we are watching the changing of the guard in the NL East, then the May 6 evening that Cole Hamels plunked Bryce Harper, claiming it was “Old School,” will certainly be seen as a […]

Clearing The Bases

Pretty big night in the world of sports this Thursday.  We have the NFL draft, which I will be following closely along with two Game 7s in the NHL not to mention a smattering of games in MLB, doesn’t really get much better.  As for fantasy owners I have another Top 9 list for you, […]

Fun With Retrosheet: Nelson Cruz Made Me Do It

Normally, I try to find someone else to blame for suggesting one of these posts, but this silly one is all mine. After noticing that Nelson Cruz had seven RBIs in the eleventh innings of Texas’ playoff series with the Tigers, I wondered what player had the most extra-inning HRs and RBIs in a season […]

Termina Agosto, entramos en la recta final (August ends, we enter the final straight)

Tradicionalmente, el mes de agosto ha servido siempre para separar “la paja del grano” o lo que es lo mismo, separar a los equipos que van a pos-temporada y a los que no “van para abajo” como se dice en términos hípicos. Con el fin de Agosto podemos afirmar oficialmente que entramos en la recta […]

All Phillies…All the Time — Who’s on First?

The Phillies have had several outstanding first basemen over the years… it’s just that very few of them, for various reasons, bothered to hang around for very long. Most notable among this group are Jim Thome (three years), Dolph Camilli (four years), Dick Allen (three years at first), Von Hayes (ditto, three years primarily at […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL East – Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies 1B Ryan Howard Philadelphia Phillies (2010 record: 97-65) The Phillies entered the new year as one of the handful of teams with a legitimate claim to the designation as the best team in baseball. They entered the free agent fray towards the end of the process and lured southpaw Cliff Lee away from both […]

Evaluating the Mets’ Internal Rotation Options, Mejia/Perez in Mix to Replace Santana

The date was Friday, September 10, 2010. The New York Mets had just dropped an afternoon game against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies by an 8-4 score. Philadelphia’s ace Roy Halladay had outpitched rookie Jenrry Mejia to pick up his 18th win of the season. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley each homered. As did Carlos Beltran. The loss dropped the Mets to 69-72, three games […]

Sorry Albert, It’s Votto’s Time

Ranking the 2010 NL MVP Candidates [Author’s note: Irony can be pretty ironic, I suppose. It’s not the first time that an MVP favorite tanked in the post-season, but Joey Votto did just that, going 1-for-10 against the Phillies as his Cincinnati Reds went three and out. It’s worthy to mention that the ballots from […]

The Philly Phan’s Guide to the Playoffs

October baseball is now a rite of passage in Philadelphia. No longer are Phillies fans left to wonder about “next year” or suppose “what if” or try to convince themselves that they had better appreciate fall baseball because they may not see it again for awhile. No, not for the foreseeable future in this town. […]

Mighty Casey Has Struck Out (Again)

Less than two weeks ago, on Monday, July 12th, Matt Holliday, he of the $120 million, seven-year contract, participated in the Home Run Derby exhibition as part of the annual All-Star Game festivities at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. That same evening, some 1600 miles away from Anaheim, in Sutter, Illinois, 64-year-old Jimmy Qualls came […]

All-Star Game Showcases Eastern League’s Best and Harrisburg’s New Digs

The last time that I was in Harrisburg, home of the Eastern League AA Senators, was in 2004 to watch them play the Reading Phillies. Two things from that game still stand out to me; watching a kid by the name of Ryan Howard crush the ball all over the field and, to be frank […]

A Capps-i-tal Idea

The Washington Nationals have a negative run differential of minus fourteen, yet a winning record at 12-10.  When they have been bad they have been horrid, but give their bullpen a lead into the late innings and they have been extra-ordinary. Tyler Clippard and Matt Capps have done it by allowing a scant three runs–two […]

NL East Preview

Who can beat the Phillies?  The Braves have some of the best young talent in the game, but no one will catch them.  The arrival in 2010 of young phenoms Stephen Strasburg and Jason Heyward will be highlights in the NL East.  The ultimate story will be Roy Halladay as he carries the Phillies back […]

Dealing With the “Rumor”

I guess not surprisingly, the biggest thing coming out of Cardinals camp yesterday was a Seinfeldian discussion about nothing. Look, no one took that “trade rumor” involving Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard the least bit seriously.  No one thought that it might happen, that the teams really had talked about it, etc.  I think most […]

Fun at the Old Ballpark

The Cardinals seem to have righted the ship and are moving in a positive direction, winning both games of the weekend.  Before we talk about that, though, let’s discuss the topic making the rounds: Buster Olney’s report of a Albert Pujols/Ryan Howard trade. First off, the Olney report is probably accurate, because when you read […]

News and Notes from the Grapefruit League

Like the Army, baseball is filled with Hurry Up & Wait situations. That’s especially true for writers, who arrive hours before gametime in an often-frustrating effort to pin down players or managers for interviews. There’s competition for each player, with the biggest stars commanding the most attention from media types, and a pecking order that […]