Just in case you think all ballplayers are jerks, check out this story about Harmon Killebrew.
Posted by David Pinto at 12:07 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 29, 2002
I-Rod:
Phil Rogers of ESPN.com writes about how Pudge Rodriguez has become an afterthought in the thinking of Texas management:
Ivan Rodriguez’s impending free agency evoked a widespread passion back in 1997. But now that Rodriguez has finally reached the marketplace, after three consecutive last-place seasons, the deification of Alex Rodriguez and the rise of the NBA’s [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:03 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 28, 2002
Japan Opener:
John McGrath of KnoxNews.com doesn’t like this idea:
Opening Day is a distinctly American ritual that celebrates the concept that all teams are created equal – well, in the standings, anyway. Opening Day is when the celebrities in the stands might be a mayor or congressman, not some yawning star of a Fox Network sitcom.
I tend [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:14 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 28, 2002
Colon A Yankee?
This article on ESPN.com has Omar Minaya denying it. I can’t find the original NY Post article on-line.
All-in-all, I think it’s a bad trade for the Yankees. If they want to do the Colorado trade, they would be short outfielders, and wouldn’t want to trade Juan Rivera. And of course, I like [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:58 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 27, 2002
Happy Thanksgiving:
Just wanted to wish all my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your time with your family and friends.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:10 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 26, 2002
New Blog:
Bronx Banter has musings mostly on the New York teams, but also on baseball in general. Check it out.
Posted by David Pinto at 4:14 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 25, 2002
Great Players:
The previous post (scroll down) prompted this question from Shawn Bernard:
So what’s your definition of ‘great’? Is it subjective, or do you have some statistical definition for it? It would be interesting to see a list of all the teams with the numbers (and names) of all the great players per [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:31 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 25, 2002
Sox Choose GM:
After having breakfast this morning, I came upstairs and my wife said, “I heard something on the radio that the Sox had hired a new GM, and he’s 12 years old!” All reports look like the Red Sox will choose Theo Epstein as their GM today. Bambino’s Curse has one Sox fan’s perspective, [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:47 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 24, 2002
Gammons Column:
Peter Gammons has a list of 25 things wrong with baseball. Well worth reading. Here are my comments on the 25 items:
No brainer agree.
Aboslutely agree.
I think they work with someone like Cal Ripken, who you want to keep forever. But those players are rare.
I’d say the same apply to NL teams. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 3:37 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 24, 2002
Liberty Bell:
David Bell has signed a four year, $17 million dollar deal with the Phillies. Bell’s a decent player. He put up 19 win shares last year for the Giants, the third best among position players on the Giants. He’s no Rolen (28 win shares between the Phillies and Cardinals in 2002), but [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 3:14 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 23, 2002
Blog Conference:
I attended a conference on blogs yesterday at the Yale Law School. A newly renovated building, it’s simply beautiful (as a Harvard man, it pains me to write that, especially on the day of THE GAME). Some images from the conference can be seen here. In the first picture, I’m at the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:37 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 23, 2002
New 3-Way Trade:
In what has to be one of the strangest deals I’ve ever seen proposed, the Yankees, Mets and Rockies are working a deal that would bring Neagle to the Mets, Mondesi, White and Burnitz or Ordonez to the Rockies and reduce the Yankees payroll so they can acquire Hideki Matsui. As part of the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:22 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 23, 2002
Alou:
Felipe, that is. John Perricone has a long article about Alou over at Only Baseball Matters. I found these paragraphs interesting:
I don’t know what type of manger he was, in terms of strategy or philosophy or whatever. I’d say that the way the Expos were run during his tenure would suggest that maybe [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:27 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 23, 2002
Hidalgo Wounded:
The AP reports (via ESPN.com) that Richard Hidalgo was shot during a carjacking in Venezuela. It doesn’t appear to be too serious according to this report.
Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle has more, including what ballplayers think of the political situation in Venezuela. It appears that many of them are afraid [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:48 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 22, 2002
Roger Angell:
Roger has his World Series wrap-up in this week’s New Yorker Magazine. Unfortunately, it’s not online. However, it’s worth the trip to the library for the read. I especially like his take on Bonds’ mental toughness, his comparison of Bonds, Soriano and Eckstein, his comparison of the way Eckstein approaches a plate [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:31 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 20, 2002
The Diamond Angle:
Reader James Townsend send this link to an online baseball magazine, The Diamond Angle. Lots of articles, photos and interviews. Check it out.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:50 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 20, 2002
Expos Exported:
The Montreal Expos will play 22 games (two home stands) in San Juan, PR this year.
Expos president Tony Tavares said that with the guaranteed income from the games in San Juan, his team will not have to conduct a “fire sale” of players such as Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon. Still, he did not reveal [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:45 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 20, 2002
Hampton Deal:
Tim Kurkjian has the wrap-up here. He points out something important about Charles Johnson:
The Wilson and Johnson contracts aren’t good — together they are owed $52 million — and neither player is particularly good. But Johnson can handle a pitching staff and has good character, and Wilson should hit some home runs at Coors, [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:45 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 20, 2002
Blog Conference:
Yale Law School is holding a blog conference this Friday. You can see the details here. I will be attending, and if any of you are also planning on being there, let me know. It’s free, you just have to register. Glenn Reynolds, the keynote speaker, writes Instapundit, my favorite blog.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:37 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 17, 2002
Gammons on the GM Meeting:
This is the type of piece I love to read by Gammons, as opposed to his trade rumor articles. This gives you a clear idea of what is going on behind the scenes; how GM’s are strapped for cash, and no one but the Phillies seem to be moving on free agents. Here’s [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 12:53 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 17, 2002
Hampton Trade:
I’ve been keeping my eye on this, but it always seemed to fluid to get a real feel for. Now, it appears to be done.
Hampton was a failure in Colorado. That’s not so surprising, since Coors is a tough place to pitch. What is surprising is Hampton’s home-road record as a Rockie: [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:57 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 16, 2002
What About Bob?
Bob Melvin has been hired to manage the Mariners. I’m disappointed once again that Willie Randolph didn’t get a shot. But the Mariners seemed to have gone with a strategist this time:
Kidding aside, Melvin organized Arizona’s spring training over the past two seasons, and he is credited as a major contributor to Brenly’s [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:11 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 16, 2002
Baker a Cub:
Here’s the AP story via ESPN.com:
But Baker is well aware of what he faces. Asked about baseball’s lovable losers, he’s said the manager who got the Cubs to win would be ”the mighty man of Chicago.”
And if anyone can get the Cubs winning on a regular basis, it could be Baker. He went 840-715 in [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:45 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 13, 2002
Alou to Giants:
That’s Felipe, as manager. A good choice given the Giants team makeup. Alou is a tough man who commands the respect of all his players. Those of you who remember the BBTN Online chats from last year know that I don’t think he’s as great a manager as people make him out [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 2:12 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 12, 2002
Tejada MVP:
The AP article is on ESPN.com here.
I’m not surprised Tejada won the MVP, but I am surprised he won it by such a wide margin. I thought it would be fairly close between Tejada and A-Rod. Tejada is a very deserving candidate, and I’m not going to criticize the votes for him.
What I am [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 3:15 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 12, 2002
Dan Lewis:
Dan Lewis has added discussion/forum boards to his blog. Go check them out. And also check out a couple of posts on Cuba and baseball here and here.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:58 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 11, 2002
MVP:
Barry Bonds has won his 5th NL MVP award, extending his record for MVP’s. He won unanimously, the 14th player to do so. The results of the voting can be seen here.
He’s had an amazing career. If he were a nice guy, they’d probably rename the NL MVP after him when he [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:19 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 11, 2002
GM Meetings:
Dave Van Dyck has a roundup of the GM meetings. Given that the Expos don’t have a budget, you wonder if Minaya is still happy about staying with the Expos.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:13 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 11, 2002
Beaned:
Billy Beane is staying with the Oakland A’s.
”As corny as it sounds, Billy just took a good, hard look inside,” said A’s spokesman Jim Young. ”He decided that, even with a very attractive offer on the table, his heart really belonged in Oakland.”
The development rocked the Sox’ search for a permanent GM, robbing team [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:53 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
November 7, 2002
Very Barry:
Zito, that is. Barry wins the 2002 Cy Young Award. It was decently close, as Zito beat out Pedro Martinez 114 to 96, and nearly universal support for Derek Lowe being third. No one put Lowe first instead of Martinez, but I wonder how many voters put Pedro third and Lowe 2nd? [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 2:34 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
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