Buddy Bell wins his first game as manager of the Kansas City Royals. Zach Greinke got his first win of the season as well, pitching five three-run innings. The bullpen was excellent, pitching four 2-hit innings and allowing no runs. Mike MacDougal got this side in the 9th on eleven pitches to [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:20 pm | Games | Permalink | 2 Comments
May 31, 2005
Start Spreading the News
Brad Halsey showed New York fans what they are missing. He threw seven scoreless innings vs. the Mets, striking out six and walking only one. He even picked up his first hit of the season, going one for three and driving in a run. I’ll throw this out to the Yankees fans: [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:06 pm | Pitchers | Permalink | 6 Comments
May 31, 2005
Closer and Closer
The Nationals beat the other NL East first place team, topping the Atlanta Braves 5-4. It was a harrowing ninth inning for Chad Cordero, who gave up three hits, including a homer to Julio Franco. He induced the last two outs with men on 1st and 3rd.
With the Phillies getting a good start [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:58 pm | Division Races | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2005
Better Control
The Pirates defeated the Marlins 5-4 tonight. Oliver Perez improved part of his game, walking no one. He did allow three more home runs to bring his total to 15. He only gave up 22 in all of 2004. But the lack of walks helped; all three homers were solo shots. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:40 pm | Games | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Short Start
Mike Hampton pitched well in his return from the DL, he just didn’t pitch very long. He left after four scoreless innings and 58 pitches. It’s not clear from the play-by-play if he was injured again.
The Atlanta bullpen has not picked it up for the lefty, however. Bernero, Colon and Gryboski combined to [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:27 pm | Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Texas’ Teix
Mark Teixeira is three quarters of the way to the cycle as the Rangers are pounding the Tigers 8-1. He’s 3 for 4, and needs the homer to complete the feat.
Kenny Rogers is pitching well again, allowing just one run through six innings so far.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:06 pm | Sluggers | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2005
Godzilla Goes Deep
Hideki Matsui breaks a long home run slump with a 2-run shot in the second off Zack Greinke. His last home run was April 8th. He went 46 games without a long ball.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:42 pm | Sluggers | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Talkin’ Giants
I was a guest on Lance Williams’ show 1954 and Counting today. Follow the link to hear the interview and/or subscribe to Lance’s podcast feed.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:38 pm | Broadcasts | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2005
Brown Down
In the strikezone, that is. Kevin Brown struck out two Royals on pitches in the dirt that ended up going past the catcher. Looks like he has good movement on his pitches tonight.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:28 pm | Pitchers | Permalink | 2 Comments
May 31, 2005
On the Beane
Billy Beane on the Athletics losing streak:
“Temporary irrationality aside, I think this is the kind of situation where I need to be very rational,” Beane said, subduing the impression left by his flushed cheeks.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:25 pm | Management | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Good Start
David DeJesus starts off Buddy Bell’s tenure by stealing an extra-base hit from Derek Jeter. Jeter hit a ball to the wall in deep left center, but DeJesus ran it down.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:10 pm | Defense | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Damon Crash
Damon went after a fly ball triple into the triangle at Fenway, and hit his head on the rail of the bullpen. He finished the inning in the field, but did not come out to lead off the bottom of the third. The Red Sox should be careful with Damon after this.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:56 pm | Injuries | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Going to Bell
The Kansas City Royals hired Buddy Bell as their new manager today.
The 53-year-old Bell managed at Detroit from 1996-98 and Colorado in 2000-2002, compiling a record of 345-462. He is the first Royals manager in about two decades with previous experience as a major league skipper – something owner David Glass insisted upon after Tony [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 5:21 pm | Management | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2005
Musical Interlude
What would Branch Rickey do?
Posted by David Pinto at 4:56 pm | Management | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Fishy Deal
FishStripes wonders why the Marlins would turn down a deal to have a casino finance a Florida stadium, but then talk about moving to Las Vegas.
Posted by David Pinto at 4:44 pm | Stadiums | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
When To Bunt
Inspired by this Bill James interview, Dan Agonistes examines the outcomes of bunts in more detail to see when a sacrifice is worth it.
Posted by David Pinto at 4:35 pm | Strategy | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Changing the Draft
In the wake of the last minute signings of Jered Weaver and Stephen Drew, Baseball Analysts looks at way the draft might be changed.
1. Adopt an NBA/NFL-style pay scale for first round draft slots.
2. Allow teams the right to trade draft picks.
3. Open up the negotiations to more than one team (perhaps an American and [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 2:50 pm | Draft | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2005
New Partner
It case you’ve been away and missed the announcement, Baseball Musings has a new partner, eFantasy Software. Using their engine, I’m now able to offer fantasy games on this site in all four major sports. If you like fantasy games and want to help support this site, this is a great way to contribute. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 12:09 pm | Fantasy Baseball | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 31, 2005
Games of the Day
Brad Halsey returns to New York this evening as the Diamondbacks visit the Mets at Shea Stadium. Both teams are within three games of first place in their respective divisions. With Brad’s ERA at 3.34, he’s put up a better mark than any regular Yankees starter this season. Halsey has cut back on [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:44 am | Matchups | Permalink | 2 Comments
May 31, 2005
Got $300 Million
The Washington Nationals are officially up for bids. If you have a spare $300-$400 million dollars, it’s MLB has a team for you. Sounds like the current MLB owners are going to make a tidy profit. The Expos were sold to MLB for $120 million dollars. If they go for $400 [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:19 am | Team Movements | Permalink | 3 Comments
May 31, 2005
VORP Speed Ahead
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch uses VORP to look at the best pitchers age 25 and under.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:16 am | Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Baseball Heritage
Sean Kirst speaks with Buddy Kerr, a former New York Giant who would like to see a reunion of the NYC Giants and Dodger teams as we approach the 50th anniversary of their departure for California. The Mets, the child of that move, don’t seem interested.
Yet as we move toward the summer of 2005, [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:34 am | All-Time Greats | Permalink | 2 Comments
May 31, 2005
Express Ideas
The Dallas Morning News gets Nolan Ryan’s opinion of the Rangers.
But here’s what Ryan likes best about the Rangers’ pitching: The lineup around it.
“That’d be a good ballclub to pitch for,” he said, smiling. “Being in that lineup, a pitcher may not feel much pressure.”
Unlike, say, Houston, where Roger Clemens is putting up Kenny Rogers [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:29 am | Team Evaluation | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Big Hurt Hurt
That didn’t take long.
Update: Batgirl has the real story behind Frank Thomas’ hip injury.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:22 am | Injuries | Permalink | No Comments
May 31, 2005
Staying Close
The Padres and the White Sox continued their domination in one-run games yesterday. The White Sox went into the 9th with a 3-2 lead, but allowed two runs. In the bottom of the 9th, the White Sox played the type of little ball I like. They got the first two men on [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:56 am | Games | Permalink | 3 Comments
May 31, 2005
Back to Work Day Update
The Day by Day Database is up to date.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:46 am | Statistics | Permalink | No Comments
May 30, 2005
Aaron It Out
Aaron Harang today joined the list of starters to outpitch Roger Clemems. Harang went seven shutout innings, striking out 10. Clemens, once again, pitched well enough to win allowing just four hits through eight innings and striking out 7. His one mistake was giving up a 2-run homer to Joe Randa. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:51 pm | Pitchers | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 30, 2005
Games of the Day
The Washington Nationals are going through a rough stretch right now, but at .500 they’re hanging in the division race. Three and a half games behind the Braves and Marlins, they host Atlanta this afternoon in the nation’s capital. Kyle Davies takes the mound for the Braves, and the rookie has not allowed a [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:59 am | Matchups | Permalink | 3 Comments
May 30, 2005
Bear of a Trip
Extrawack describes a trip to see the Newark Bears. It seems the ballpark isn’t in the best part of town, and the fans are staying away.
I’ve seen the Bears play in Bridgeport. Bridgeport replaced a bad neighborhood with a nice new ballpark, and set it up so you don’t need to go through [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:05 am | Independent Leagues | Permalink | 1 Comment
May 30, 2005
Memorial Day
On this Memorial Day I’d like to say thank you to my military readers for their brave service. I hope you all come home safe and sound.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:31 am | Other | Permalink | 2 Comments
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