Trevor Hoffman isn't getting a lot of save chances these days, but the Brewers didn't give him $7.5 million to pitch in middle relief. They wanted him to notch historic save number 600 in a Brew Crew uniform. He's had a rough season, especially the first part where, to put it mildly, he was miserable. So for most of the...
Wilson Betemit wasn't always a back up. For many years he was considered a can't miss player. In 2000 he was labeled the Atlanta Braves future at shortstop, as well as their No. 1 prospect by Baseball America. In 2001 he was the Braves minor league player of the year, the Florida State League All-Star shortstop and the Baseball America...
Barring an improbable collapse the Rangers have already won the American League West and will be the lone playoff contender from that division. But running away with the west doesn't make you a feared team and certainly doesn't automatically bestow the aura of danger that the Angels earned over their last few seasons as division winner. The Rangers will miss...
Break up the Rays. Actually there is no need for anyone to make that call and say that the Rays are too good, even though they are and they are challenging the Yankees and their $200 million payroll for the title of best team in all of baseball. After all these Rays will be disbanded after the 2010 season, maybe...
A-Rod got number 600. So what? Unless you are a Yankees fan, it's hard to get excited about Alex Rodriguez's managing to hit number 600. After all, he's already been outed as a user of performance enhancing drugs, and the odds of him ever upsetting the applecart and becoming the all-time home run leader and taking that shameful crown from...
Now that I've got you thinking a little bit about your team, analyzing the standings and how the points are distributed, not to mention pondering the trade market, it's time to take a look at some other factors which could make a big difference in how your team improves in the standings. Even if you are in first place the...
Before the first pitch of the season was thrown, the Phillies were prohibitive favorites to win not just the NL East but to be the only elite team in the entire National League. Barring a playoff upset, the team which acquired Roy Halladay to be their ace during the offseason was already being written in for another World Series appearance....
If your team didn't do too well in the first half, don't give up. There is still probably some hope. That's not to say that you are going to make a last to first turn about or erase a 40-point deficit in standard leagues, but the chance to improve is definitely there. For those not that deep in the hole...
Just about a month ago I thought the White Sox were on the verge of throwing in the towel and becoming sellers before the non waiver trading deadline at the end of the month. What a difference a month makes as the White sox come into the second half as the first place team in the AL Central. Barring a...
Several years back I wrote George Steinbrenner's obituary. It was what they call in the business a "canned" piece that would need only minor revisions in the event of the Boss's demise and ready to go almost instantly. That's not what I'm putting in this place; I've thrown that file in the virtual trash can. Steinbrenner was many things. A...
I have to admit I was one of the proponents who thought that the All-Star Game might actually be a bit better because home field advantage in the World Series would go to the winning league. I was wrong. It didn't help the All-Star game or make it any more interesting for the fans. All it's done since the inception...
I'm trying hard to find something to like about the All-Star Game. Great baseball? Nah, that's a dubious proposition -- far too many one dimensional players and players who aren't even the best at their position but have been voted in by fans. Maybe the fact that they've tried to give an exhibition game a little meaning by allowing the...
The rumors are flying and trades are in the air. Admittedly this is still the foreplay to what looks to be an intriguing July. Only a couple of minor deals, such as Bengie Molina to an already offensively potent Texas Rangers and Russell Branyan to the Mariners have actually been consummated. That doesn't mean that the phones of General Managers...
Good riddance to interleague play. Sure there were some entertaining games this past week as interleague play wrapped up for 2010. But there are plenty of teams who'll be happy to tell you how much they didn't enjoy interleague play. That includes the LA Dodgers who managed to go 4-11 in 15 games against teams on the right side of...
This won't be the year of the Nationals, but it might well be the start of something good. Long suffering Washingtonians have dealt with naught but losing baseball since 1934 when a plucky Senators team made it, but lost in the World Series to the New York Giants. The decade spawned a phrase summing up the city's baseball plight: "First...
Trevor Hoffman isn't getting a lot of save chances these days, but the Brewers didn't give him $7.5 million to pitch in middle relief. They wanted him to notch historic save number 600 in a Brew Crew uniform. He's had a rough season, especially the first part where, to put it mildly, he was miserable. So for most of the...
Wilson Betemit wasn't always a back up. For many years he was considered a can't miss player. In 2000 he was labeled the Atlanta Braves future at shortstop, as well as their No. 1 prospect by Baseball America. In 2001 he was the Braves minor league player of the year, the Florida State League All-Star shortstop and the Baseball America...
Barring an improbable collapse the Rangers have already won the American League West and will be the lone playoff contender from that division. But running away with the west doesn't make you a feared team and certainly doesn't automatically bestow the aura of danger that the Angels earned over their last few seasons as division winner. The Rangers will miss...
Break up the Rays. Actually there is no need for anyone to make that call and say that the Rays are too good, even though they are and they are challenging the Yankees and their $200 million payroll for the title of best team in all of baseball. After all these Rays will be disbanded after the 2010 season, maybe...
A-Rod got number 600. So what? Unless you are a Yankees fan, it's hard to get excited about Alex Rodriguez's managing to hit number 600. After all, he's already been outed as a user of performance enhancing drugs, and the odds of him ever upsetting the applecart and becoming the all-time home run leader and taking that shameful crown from...
Before the first pitch of the season was thrown, the Phillies were prohibitive favorites to win not just the NL East but to be the only elite team in the entire National League. Barring a playoff upset, the team which acquired Roy Halladay to be their ace during the offseason was already being written in for another World Series appearance....
Just about a month ago I thought the White Sox were on the verge of throwing in the towel and becoming sellers before the non waiver trading deadline at the end of the month. What a difference a month makes as the White sox come into the second half as the first place team in the AL Central. Barring a...
Several years back I wrote George Steinbrenner's obituary. It was what they call in the business a "canned" piece that would need only minor revisions in the event of the Boss's demise and ready to go almost instantly. That's not what I'm putting in this place; I've thrown that file in the virtual trash can. Steinbrenner was many things. A...
I have to admit I was one of the proponents who thought that the All-Star Game might actually be a bit better because home field advantage in the World Series would go to the winning league. I was wrong. It didn't help the All-Star game or make it any more interesting for the fans. All it's done since the inception...
I'm trying hard to find something to like about the All-Star Game. Great baseball? Nah, that's a dubious proposition -- far too many one dimensional players and players who aren't even the best at their position but have been voted in by fans. Maybe the fact that they've tried to give an exhibition game a little meaning by allowing the...
The rumors are flying and trades are in the air. Admittedly this is still the foreplay to what looks to be an intriguing July. Only a couple of minor deals, such as Bengie Molina to an already offensively potent Texas Rangers and Russell Branyan to the Mariners have actually been consummated. That doesn't mean that the phones of General Managers...
Good riddance to interleague play. Sure there were some entertaining games this past week as interleague play wrapped up for 2010. But there are plenty of teams who'll be happy to tell you how much they didn't enjoy interleague play. That includes the LA Dodgers who managed to go 4-11 in 15 games against teams on the right side of...
This won't be the year of the Nationals, but it might well be the start of something good. Long suffering Washingtonians have dealt with naught but losing baseball since 1934 when a plucky Senators team made it, but lost in the World Series to the New York Giants. The decade spawned a phrase summing up the city's baseball plight: "First...
In just over six weeks Austin Jackson has seen 69 points shaved off his batting average (knocking him down to a mere .308). That's not his fault, but it's something that often happens to high flying rookies who light it up in the early months of their careers. It doesn't mean that Jackson has lost anything, or that suddenly he's...
When the Tampa Bay Rays offered free agent Pat Burrell a two-year contract worth $16 million dollars back in 2009, they thought they were getting a deal. Instead Pat "The Bat" Burrell turned out to be a total disaster in the DH role, managing just a paltry .221 average with 14 home runs in 122 games for the Rays in...
Now that I've got you thinking a little bit about your team, analyzing the standings and how the points are distributed, not to mention pondering the trade market, it's time to take a look at some other factors which could make a big difference in how your team improves in the standings. Even if you are in first place the...
If your team didn't do too well in the first half, don't give up. There is still probably some hope. That's not to say that you are going to make a last to first turn about or erase a 40-point deficit in standard leagues, but the chance to improve is definitely there. For those not that deep in the hole...
Author's Note: Ok, I admit it. It's been a few weeks since my last Bottom Fishing column but I have to admit I wasn't sure just how many of you actually cared. But thanks to an outpouring (by which I mean some 20 odd) of e-mails from fans and supporters, you've motivated me to get back to doing this as...
In the bottom fishing column I'll be looking for players with upside who can usually be found either for nothing amidst the free agent pool, or who might acquired cheaply via trade. Players selected will either have above average upside, or have value that has been overlooked by many players. I'll throw in some stinkers too, not to mention a...
In this column I'll be looking for players with upside who can usually be found either for nothing amidst the free agent pool, or who might acquired cheaply via trade. Players selected will either have above average upside, or have value that has been overlooked by many players. I'll throw in some stinkers too, not to mention a few players...
In the bottom fishing column, I'll be looking for players with upside who can usually be found either for nothing amidst the free agent pool, or who might acquired cheaply via trade. Players selected will either have above average upside, or have value that has been overlooked by many players. I'll throw in some stinkers too, not to mention a...
In the bottom fishing column I'll be looking for players with upside who can usually be found either for nothing amidst the free agent pool or who might acquired cheaply via trade. Players selected will either have above average upside or have value that has been overlooked by many players. I'll throw in some stinkers too, not to mention a...
Don't Panic. Yes, those were the words on the cover of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and they'll stand you in just as good stead in fantasy baseball during the early part of the season as they did for Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent in the book. Simply put, the first few weeks, even the first six or...
In the bottom fishing column, I'll be looking for players with upside who can usually be found either for nothing amidst the free agent pool or who might acquired cheaply via trade. Players selected will either have above average upside, or have value that has been overlooked by many players, such as the two older players at the end of...
The waiver wires are already buzzing. In both deep and shallow leagues owners are panicking just days into the season. Some probably have good reason to panic -- a poor draft often is tough to recover from, others are just jumping at the sound of quick starts or rather slow ones. Brad Hawpe has not hit much yet, but most...
Back in April, I wrote a column about the dangers of getting too comfortable too soon with the early season success of your fantasy team and the individuals comprising it. I also advised all of you Evan Longoria owners to test the trade waters to determine how big a bite you could get for the Tampa third baseman, who, at...
The MLB trade deadline may have passed on July 31, but the fantasy trade deadline -- if your league has one -- likely either just happened or is about to happen. In my league, the deadline came and went Aug. 16. Saddled in seventh place (out of 12 teams), I knew I had to act. Despite early and mid-season acquisitions...
It's no longer a marathon but a race. In fantasy ball most of us tend to start the season with a long view. We can wait while slumping sluggers attempt to find their normal places in the fantasy rankings, but as the season wears along the time for patience begins to pass. Now with barely two months left in the...
In the first of our new Four Bagger columns, we'll take a look at four players who all have one thing in common: They are at the very least perceived as having a sub-par season. All of these hitters -- Jimmy Rollins, Magglio Ordonez, Alfonso Soriano and Matt Holliday -- ranked among the top options at their position but have...
Not to sound like Jim Rome (whom I actually admire and find entertaining), but here's what I'm burnin' on: I don't care what anybody says about Hanley Ramirez or A-Rod or anyone else -- Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball, and he should be the consensus No. 1 pick in every draft next year. I don't care about...
George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees from CBS in 1973; the franchise today is now worth more than a billion dollars. He also helped build the team to a...
Will Leitch's Are We Winning? isn't easy to describe. Like many memoirs, it uses a framing device, in this case baseball, to tell a more complex story. And like many...
Full disclosure: This reviewer has the essential advantage of having seen Willie play at the old Polo Grounds in Harlem. (For the record, it was on the "D" line at...
I have to admit that before being given a copy of this book to review that I hadn't given a lot of thought to the relationship of Jews and baseball. ...
If you don't know the answer to the question, What Major League pitcher won the most games in a single season and the story behind it then this book is...
There has been plenty of hype over the past couple of years regarding this book, as Jay McGwire promised a tell-all about his famous slugging brother. It's not quite that. ...
So much of Hank Greenberg's life was prescient of America's future: the battle for human rights, the growth of America during the fabulous fifties and Roger Maris' challenge of Babe...
"Pie Traynor" is a mellow, pleasant biography of the erstwhile Pittsburgh Pirates third sacker. PT was with the club from 1920-1939 as player, player-manager and manager. The story faithfully follows...
With the precision of an ace runner on the base paths, Society for America Baseball Research member Roy Kerr uncovers the life and times of a forgotten superstar through the...
With a rich tradition in amateur baseball, it seemed like a natural for the entrepreneurial spirit to take hold in Connecticut at the birth of the professional game. And a...
Before slick software and statistical analysts who crunch numbers to determine the next five-tool star, the science of discovering talented baseball players was solely based on reports from eyewitness accounts...
It wasn't supposed to end this way. In 1999, the baseball diamond was swept away at Providence College, ending 80 seasons that may have not made a huge impact in...
The Hot Stove League gets smoking with a twin bill of recent releases from ACTA Sports which dig into the heart -- and controversies -- of the game; statistical consultant...
Leave it to southpaw star Jerry "The Kooz" Koosman to deliver a perfect pitch for the spectacular The Miracle Has Landed: The Amazin' Story of How the 1969 Mets Shocked...
Chien-Ming Wang gave up eight runs, but recorded only three outs and the second tier bullpen arms added seven more runs over the next six innings. With the score 15-5 in favor of the Tampa Bay Rays after seven innings, Yankees manager Joe Giradi send first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher to the mound, probably in order to save the quality arms left in the pen. Swisher gave up a hit and a walk, but also recorded a strike-out and did not give up any runs.
The Angels lead the Red Sox 4-3 in the eight inning. Angels Reliever Scott Shields comes in and clearly struggles to find the strike zone. He walks Ortiz and Youkilis to start the frame. Then after J.D. Drew fouls out, Jason Bay walks on five pitches. With the bases loaded, Shields falls behind 2-0 to Mike Lowell, but the third baseman swing after the next pitch and pops out. The next batter Jason Varitek swings after the first pitch and lines out to center. This is usually how the Angels get themselves out of an inning, not the Red Sox.
Update: Vlad hits his first home runs of the season to lead off the next inning and give the Angels closer a bit more breathing room.
Tyler Kepner of Bats looks at how Nick Swisher came to the Yankees. If you think "the White Sox wanted to get rid of the contract", you are partly right, but it actually goes back to 1990:
1990 – Yankees sign Rivera from Panama.
1997 – Yankees trade Rivera to Padres in Hideki Irabu deal.
1999 – Yankees trade Irabu to Expos for Jake Westbrook (and others)
2000 – Yankees trade Westbrook to Indians for David Justice
2001 – Yankees trade Justice to Mets for Robin Ventura
2003 – Yankees trade Ventura to Dodgers for Scott Proctor
2007 – Yankees trade Proctor to Dodgers for Wilson Betemit
2008 – Yankees trade Betemit to White Sox in Swisher deal
Pretty cool in my opinion. I wonder if anyone has ever checked how many years the longest "trade streak" has lasted. I would guess you can get very, very far back. You can probably also collect interesting lists of names where superstar meet obscure utility guys.
Albert Pujols hit two home runs against Houston today, one grand slam and a three run shot. He now has 9 RBI, which leads the National League and is batting .429 so far.
If pitchers continue to pitch to him, he has a good chance of becoming the first triple crown winner in the NL since 1937.
Angels' catcher Mike Napoli hits his second home run of the day to give the Angels the 3-2 lead just after the Red Sox' Mike Lowell tied the game with a two-run bomb of his own.
Boston's pitcher Brad Penny started a bit wild, but most Angels are swinging away anyway. For example, Penny walked Chone Figgins on five pitches, but Howie Kendrick took a ball and then grounded out on a pitch on the corner. Why not wait until Penny shows he can throw two strikes in one at-bat?
The Angels really need to learn to be more patient at the plate if they don't want to rely on their pitching in every game.
Update: The Red Sox take the lead again on another two-run home run. Later Jason Bay (predictably) hits one off Justin Speier to make it 5-3 Red Sox. Papelbon will try to close it out.
Update: The Angels get another solo homer, this time by Torii Hunter and then load the bases on a double and two walks. But he gets Howie Kendrick to fly out to end the game after a ten pitch at bat on a 0-2 count (respect!).
The difference in this game is timing. Both teams had eight hits and three home runs and the Angels actually out-walked the Red Sox 4-3, but the Red Sox had a man on twice when they hit the ball out of the park.
Detroit's Justin Verlanders was ruffed up badly in his opening day start, but today, he pitched five innings, allowing three runs, but only one was earned. More encouraging, he allowed just two hits and struck out eight while walking four. The Tigers bullpen did not allow another baserunner and they beat the Rangers 4-3.
It's important that Verlander gets back to his pre-2008 form if the Tigers want to contend in the AL Central. Compared to last year when they went 0-7 to begin the season, their 3-3 start is looking pretty good.
Tragic news in the baseball world today: Nick Adenhart of the Los Angeles Angels died in a car wreck. He pitched Wednesday, allowing no runs over six innings. Adenhart was 22.
The Angels postponed their Thursday game against the Oakland Athletics.
For more information on Adenhart, ESPN.com provided a nice tribute to him.
Adenhart was a highly touted pitcher coming out of high school in Maryland. He tore a ligament in his elbow in his final start in high school and required Tommy John surgery. Adenhart planned to attend the University of North Carolina but decided to sign with the Angels.
I remember reading, but have not verified, that Adenhart revealed his elbow injury to major league teams interested in drafting him when he didn't have to. This move likely cost him money in his signing bonus but was the honest decision to make.
The prayers and condolences of everyone here with AtHomePlate.com go to the Adenhart family and the Angels in this tragic even. Baseball has lost a bright star and an even better person.
Cops say someone driving a minivan blew through a red light, causing the Mitsubishi that Adenhart was riding in to hit a light pole. Three people were killed in the crash, including Nick.
Cops say the person driving the van fled the scene -- but was later caught and charged with felony hit-and-run. The suspect is currently being treated for injuries in a local hospital.
We're told one of the other men killed in the crash was also affiliated with the Angels organization.
Nick was 22 years old.
What a tragic event. This really puts all baseball things into perspective. Angels fans (including me) were whining over the bullpen blowing Nick's great start and now that is the most irrelevant thing in the world. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
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