News and Notes from
Around the League
July 31 - Keith - New Alliteration -
You remember the Killer B's of the Houston Astros: Biggio, Bagwell, Berkman, and sometimes Bogar. Their time has passed. Enter the Hellish H's of the Colorado Rockies! Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, and Matt Holliday have combined to hit .306 with 46 homers and 167 RBI so far this year. Hawpe, however, went homerless in July.
Baseball Evolution Nicknames
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July 22 - Tony - Tamin' the Tigers -
Tony takes a closer look at the Tigers, and wonders whether they are as dominant as they appear. He also concedes that there is
a new team to worry about in the AL East.
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July 8 - Keith - PNC vs. Wrigley -
With the All Star game set to take place in Pittsburgh, it's time to highlight one of the best ballparks around all of baseball. Before you see it on Tuesday in all of its glory, Keith compares PNC park to Wrigley Field and provides the
top ten reasons that PNC is better.
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July 4 - Elliot Kalb Interview -
With less than a week until Scott, Keith, and Asher debut their Top 200 lists, Keith took time to sit down with Elliott "Mr. Stats" Kalb and discuss the Top 100 list he published in
Who's Better, Who's Best in Baseball? In
the interview, Elliott discusses his methodology and defends some of his more controversial picks.
The Book
The List
Asher's Top Ten Reactions
Asher/Kalb Dialogue
The Full Audio Interview
Selected Audio: Boggs and Bagwell |
Christy Matthewson Relievers |
Jeter |
Rose |
"Second Bananas" |
Bonds vs. Ruth
Questions or Comments for Elliott?
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July 3 - Tony - Yankee Chronicles -
In the last 4 days A-Rod has gone 7-17 with four HR and 12 RBI. Rodriguez definitely looks like he will have a MUCH better July than June. Find out what Alex's surge meant to the Yankees last week in Tony's
Yankee Chronicles.
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June 28 - Keith - Win Twins! -
The Twinkies have won 20 of their last 22 games and currently possess the best home record in baseball. Although they are still 7.5 games in back of the Wild Card leading White Sox, and therefore a longshot to make the playoffs, GM Terry Ryan would currently be the
best choice for AL Executive of the Year. No other team has made more beneficial moves than Minnesota this early in the season.
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June 25 - Keith - Amazing Albert & Behemoth Berkman -
Despite missing nearly three weeks with a strained oblique muscle, Albert Pujols had remained baseball's RBI leader until Sunday night, when Lance Berkman drove in three to give him 68 total. Pujols still leads all of MLB with 26 homers, however, and looks to gain more ground A) because he's playing again and B) because Jim Thome begins a stretch of six consecutive NL games.
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June 22 - Tony - What About Smilin' Stan? -
Both are longtime Cubs third basemen, both deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, neither are in. But while Ron Santo has thousands of supporters across the country who lobby for his eventual entry into Cooperstown, the average fan has never even heard of Stan Hack. Tony rights this wrong, educating the world in his comparison of
Ron Santo and Stan Hack.
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June 20 - Keith - Grin and Barrett -
Michael Barrett finally began his 10-game suspension Monday night for sucker punching AJ Pierzynski. The Cubs had gone just 9-17 in between the punch and the suspension, and you have to wonder how bad they would have been had Barrett been suspended earlier. During that 26-game span, Barrett has led the Cubs in batting average (.337), on base percentage (.387) and been third on the team in runs scored and RBI.
Backup Henry Blanco, however, has been even hotter. He has gotten just 25 at bats since the punch, but he's amassed 13 hits, three homers, and 11 RBI, raising his slugging average from .053 to .413. His hot bat has influenced the Cubs not to call up defensive standout Geovanny Soto (5-for-15 this spring) for the duration of the suspension. Phil Nevin, who had caught in only three games between 2000 and 2005, serves as Blanco's emergency backup.
Obvious Quote of the Week Award - Indians' manager Eric Wedge, on demoting Jason Johnson after JJ allowed a three-run homer to Henry Blanco on Monday: "
It's important for our starting pitchers to keep us in the game and give us a chance to win."
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June 18 - Asher - Commitment to Winning? -
 | |
| See ya Kid. | |
Apparently, winning games, developing young talent, or keeping the best players available on the active roster are things the Los Angeles Angels are no longer interested in as a franchise. Already slowed by age and ineffectiveness, the Angels on Saturday activated Bartolo Colon from the 15 day disabled list, and optioned Jered Weaver to Triple A Salt Lake City.
The move had been discussed/anticipated for over a week, and perhaps even since Weaver was brought up to replace Colon in the first place, but the reality of the move did not set in until it actually happened. All the Angels are doing is sending down their best pitcher over the last month. In four starts, Weaver was 4-0 with 22 Ks and 4 walks, while posting a 1.37 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and a .170 opponents batting average.
Compare this with other pitchers in the rotation.
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June 16 - Misery Repeats Itself -
The Cincinnati Reds are determined to return to their rightful place in the cellar of the NL Central. Wayne Krivsky, their GM, acted as an assistant GM with the Twins before becoming the decision maker in Cincinnati. Yet oddly, he's recently brought back two of the worst Twins of all time to play for the Reds.
Juan Castro is a useful middle infielder defensively, but his career averages on offense are .230/.270/.336. His presence means even fewer at-bats for young cornerstones Ryan Freel, Brandon Phillips, and Edwin Encarnacion.
Joe Mays is quite simply the worst pitcher in Minnesota history. His ERA over the past five years is 5.99, and he's making the same switch in ballparks that allowed Eric Milton to post the highest ERA for a lefty since 1900 last season (min 180 IP). The Reds will use Mays in their rotation while Branden Claussen remains on the DL.
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June 14 - Bronx Boos -
Success versus Boston precedes trouble against Oakland, and
A-Rod is getting booed no matter what he does. Get an insider's look at the Yankees' past week with Tony Aubry's latest
Yankee Chronicles.
Did you know that there are still people out there who don't believe that Jason Giambi has regained his hitting stroke? Keith
breaks out the evidence against his naysayers.
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June 9 - Asher - You Might Be One of Us!-
If you have ever been hanging out with your buddies, and you get involved in a conversation about ballplayers, and Minnie Minoso comes up, and you talk about him for a few moments before your wife says, "Minnie Minoso - why have I heard of him?," and after wondering for a few more moments, she realizes that it is because she has seen his name on the spreadsheet of players and stats you have taped to the wall in your shower for constant reference . . . .
You Might Be One of Us!
The Top 200 Players of All Time: Revealed at the All Star Break!
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June - Asher - 300/300 coverage -
Double Milestone Approaches - For the first time in baseball history,
two players stand one homerun away from the
300-300 club. With the possibility to rival the Dave Stewart-Fernando Valenzuela same day no-hitters, the consecutive day unassisted triple plays of 1927, and the Wade Boggs-Tony Gwynn weekend of
3,000 hits, Steve Finley and Reggie Sanders could each hit their 300th homeruns, to go with their over 300 stolen bases, on the same day or within days of each other. Once Finley and Sanders hit their historic 300 dingers, they will join Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, and Andre Dawson as the only members of the illustrious club.
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"I started thinking about where I came from, Florence, South Carolina, and where I am today," Sanders said. "It shows the perseverance through the good and the bad. The home runs are tougher than the stolen bases. If you've got speed, you've got speed. Home runs are mistakes. I've been able to hit 300 mistakes."
Congratulations to Reggie Sanders, the newest member of the 300-300 club.
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Finley said the magnitude of his accomplishment probably won't hit him until he retires, and he has no plans to do that soon.
"It means I've had a good, long consistent career," Finley said. "It's something I can be proud about whenever I'm done playing. There's not too many guys who have done that."
Congratulations to Steve Finley, the sixth member of the
300-300 club.
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June 1 - Keith - Splitsville: The First Two Months -
You always hear that you shouldn’t take April stats too seriously. Fortunately, we now have May statistics with which to compliment them. For the players with vastly disparate April and May stats, Keith decides which month more accurately reflects each player’s abilities.
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Baseball Evolution Features