Hope Springs Eternal as Spring Training Approaches
Hope, optimism and positive energy are in the air as baseball fans count down the days until Opening Day. It all starts with spring training, which means fans break out the Bermuda shorts and players...
View Article10 Championship Rings Should Help Jon Weber Get Over His Jitters in the World...
For a player who earned 10 championship rings during the decade just ended and has a world of confidence in his ability it would not seem that reporting to spring training would be any big deal. On the...
View ArticleGreat What-If Matchups
One of most baseball historians’ favorite things to speculate about is how certain players would have done if their careers had happened in different times and places and against different opponents....
View ArticleBluefish Lose All-Star Jesse Hoorelbeke, But Replacement Josh Phelps Has...
It could not have been two weeks ago when we heard all-star first baseman Jesse Hoorelbeke and Bridgeport were in negotiation for the 32-year-old slugger to return for a fourth season with the...
View ArticleGranderson, 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,...
View ArticleWhere 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...
View ArticleMuoio In Familiar Territory
Steve Muoio may be over 900 miles from home, but the Webster resident finds himself in familiar territory. His Georgia College and State University Bobcats claimed first place and the number one seed...
View ArticleTouring the Bases (Again) With…Jack Perconte
After batting .334, .322 and .326 in three of his first five minor league seasons, second baseman Jack Perconte made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 13, 1980. He was...
View ArticlePitching 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...
View ArticleAndre Dawson and the Hall, A Perspective
So, Andre Dawson is in the Hall of Fame as a member of the Montreal Expos. He’s the third former Expos player to be inducted, following Gary Carter and Tony Perez. Manager Dick Williams and coach...
View ArticleDunn can be a big difference maker
What would you say if I told you that your team has just acquired Adam Dunn? You would probably sigh and say something like, “we better prepare ourselves for a lot of strikeouts,” or “another classic...
View ArticleBreak Up the Astros
The Houston Astros finished the month of July with 4 straight wins, outscoring the opposition 25-2. It was the first winning month for the Club with a record of 13-11. Most of the credit goes to...
View ArticleThe 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...
View ArticleThose Who Dominated the Mexican League in Offense Now Back in Indy Leagues...
It is not uncommon early in an Independent Baseball season to see a number of quality players opt to play in Mexico or an Asian league where they can make more money. But the Mexican League ends...
View ArticleWhich Closer Will Be Key to Winning It All? Julio, Williamson, Warden in the Mix
It has been a few years now since Jorge Julio and Scott Williamson were prominent major league closers, and it is total conjecture whether either can get back to that level in a major way since they...
View ArticleAstros Come to Life in August
In the final month of the Astros forgettable 2009 season, the Astros inexplicably swept the National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies in a 4 game series in Houston. The 2010 schedule also...
View ArticleTim Raines – Some Stars Get No Respect
Tim Raines appeared on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot for the third time in 2010. In 2008, he got 24.3% of the votes, and in 2009, he got only 22.6% of the vote. In 2010, he increased to 30.4%. This...
View ArticleWho Were the Most Productive Offensive Players in 2010?
Numerous methods have been devised to measure offensive performance. The most common are batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average. Since none of these averages provides a complete...
View ArticleSpeaker Spoke Plenty Loud
Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle. All four men bring to mind ideals you want in an outfielder. How about Tris Speaker? Speaker joined Cobb and Ruth on the membership roll when the Hall...
View ArticleAL East Positional Analysis And Ranking: Center 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...
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