Sports Agents Blog is celebrating their one-year anniversary. Congratulations!
Posted by David Pinto at 2:28 pm | Blogs | Permalink | No Comments
December 31, 2006
A Yes for McGwire
A few days ago Jon Heyman explained why he voted no for McGwire on his Hall of Fame ballot. Now Mike Lefkow explains why he is voting yes.
Not that it matters when choosing whom to vote for, but McGwire is a decent man whose image has taken a much tougher beating than he deserves. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:18 am | All-Time Greats | Permalink | 11 Comments
December 31, 2006
The Right Huff?
Aubrey Huff reached an agreement with the Orioles.
The Orioles tried unsuccessfully to lure free-agent slugger Carlos Lee to Baltimore and also were unable to complete a deal for Atlanta Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche.
Their offseason search for an impact hitter produced little but frustration for the past month and a half, but that changed early [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:28 am | Free Agents | Permalink | 6 Comments
December 31, 2006
Snagging Johnson
The Randy Johnson deal keeps running into snags.
The Yankees’ possible trade of Randy Johnson to the Diamondbacks, a deal that appeared to be gaining steam toward the end of last week, has slowed over the structuring of a potential contract extension for Johnson, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
As part of an [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:17 am | Trades | Permalink | 1 Comment
December 31, 2006
Honoring a Trio
The Twins superstar trio wins the Pioneer Press Sports Figures of 2006.
Usually, we name only one figure. But how do you separate these three? All had a larger-than-life impact on the Twins’ entertaining season.
It’s interesting how all three wound up where they are today. There was no grand plan. Instead, circumstances brought them together at [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:06 am | Awards | Permalink | No Comments
December 31, 2006
Golden Tickets
Michael Klitzing compares the Padres to Charlie Bucket.
The Padres haven’t been as active (read: insane) as others teams this offseason, and I understand why that might not sit well with their fans.
But building a winning franchise has rarely involved throwing superstar money at average players. The Padres are instead using a model that helped the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:54 am | Team Evaluation | Permalink | 5 Comments
December 30, 2006
The Impossible Day Dream
The Day by Day Database now contains game logs back to 1967. Check out the Red Sox of that season. You can click on Tony C’s name to see when his injury occurred and the ominous HBP.
Posted by David Pinto at 5:25 pm | Statistics | Permalink | No Comments
December 30, 2006
This Redistribution of Fans is Trickier Than I Thought
The Star-Tribune details the planning going on to move people in and out of the Twins new stadium:
The new Ballpark Implementation Committee, which was created to oversee infrastructure issues at the stadium, has met twice, but officials from Hines Interests, the Texas company that has plans to develop much of the area around the ballpark, [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 2:08 pm | Stadiums | Permalink | 1 Comment
December 30, 2006
Lining Up the Tigers
Billfer at the Detroit Tigers Weblog notes that the Tigers lineup is so balanced, the difference between the best and worst lineups in negligible.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:04 am | Strategy | Permalink | No Comments
December 30, 2006
Another Reynolds Fired
Ryan Howard fired his agent, Larry Reynolds. Larry is the brother of Harold Reynolds. It’s not unusual for players to fire their agents once they turn out to be stars and are looking for a big pay day. Agents go after this type of players, saying that so and so never got a [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:33 am | Players | Permalink | 2 Comments
December 30, 2006
Pitching for the Red Sox
Daisuke Matsuzaka is already using his Red Sox fame to pitch products:
The Japanese baseball star, also known as “Dice-K,” who the Sox paid $103 million to acquire has recorded a Japanese commercial hawking Asahi Super Dry beer, fully dressed in Red Sox regalia, showing that his star power in the Far East has already lent [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:05 am | Advertising | Permalink | 3 Comments
December 29, 2006
Back to 1968
The Day by Day Database now goes back to the turbulent year of 1968. Even though batting averages were low that year, OBAs were pretty good. And ERAs were very good. Be sure to click on Bob Gibson’s name to see all the zeros in the runs column.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:15 pm | Statistics | Permalink | 1 Comment
December 29, 2006
Contract Examination
The Daily Lancer looks at the Gil Meche contract in terms of the Zito deal.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:55 pm | Free Agents | Permalink | No Comments
December 29, 2006
The Division Era Complete
The Day by Day Database now is complete from 1969 on. This means the entire division era is available for research. Here’s the list of leaders in home runs in that time. No real surprises there. Here’s the leaders in ERA. Jim Palmer just beats out Pedro Martinez among starters.
In [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:15 pm | Statistics | Permalink | 1 Comment
December 29, 2006
Shoulder Trouble
NL Rookie of the Year Hanley Ramirez is out of the winter league with a sore shoulder:
Hanley Ramirez, this year’s top rookie in the National League, will miss the rest of the Dominican winter league season because of a left shoulder strain, but the Florida Marlins shortstop is expected to be ready for the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:22 pm | Injuries | Permalink | 3 Comments
December 29, 2006
Heyman on McGwire
Jon Heyman publishes his Hall of Fame ballot, and his reasons for leaving McGwire off:
Some will claim steroids were not disallowed at the time, and that, of course, is 100 percent false. There was no testing for them during McGwire’s career, and no spelled-out punishment. But they were neither permitted in baseball nor legal in [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:18 pm | All-Time Greats | Permalink | 6 Comments
December 29, 2006
The Mets on Zito
MetsBlog.com quotes Omar Minaya on the Barry Zito deal. Minaya was not willing to go longer than five years for a pitcher, sound thinking.
Posted by David Pinto at 12:51 pm | Free Agents | Permalink | 6 Comments
December 29, 2006
Yankees News
Alex Belth rounds up news about Bobby Murcer and the Randy Johnson trade.
Posted by David Pinto at 12:19 pm | Illnesses, Trades | Permalink | No Comments
December 29, 2006
Strikeout Wars
Steve Lombardi writes:
I have a question that I hope you can help me with – it’s been mentioned recently that hitters, for the most part, control the ride on batted ball types over pitchers and their tendencies.
However, how does it work for contact hitters and strikeout pitchers? Who wins that battle – in [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:21 am | Statistics | Permalink | 12 Comments
December 28, 2006
1970 On-Line
The Day by Day Database now goes back to 1970. Here’s a list of the doubles leaders from that year. Thirty-five doubles isn’t bad for a catcher. Combine that with 45 homers (and even four triples) and it’s no wonder Bench won the MVP that season.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:17 pm | Statistics | Permalink | 1 Comment
December 28, 2006
Zito Crosses the Bay
Although not yet officially announced, Barry Zito agreed to an $18 million a year deal with the Giants. The total contract of $126 million is the highest paid to a pitcher:
Zito’s agreement, reached late Wednesday night, includes an $18 million option for 2014 with a $7 million buyout that could increase the value to [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:11 pm | Free Agents | Permalink | 11 Comments
December 28, 2006
Mercy for Murcer
Doctors found a brain tumor in Bobby Murcer. He’ll undergo surgery today.
I started watching baseball in 1969. In Bridgeport, we received the Yankees and Mets telecasts. Murcer was one of my early favorites. Here’s best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:59 am | Illnesses | Permalink | 1 Comment
December 28, 2006
Chris Brown Passes
Chirs Brown died under mysterious circumstances:
Firefighters arrived about 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 30 at the home Brown owned in Sugar Land and found it “fully engulfed” in flames, Adolph said. Firefighters found no people or furniture inside, he said, and neighbors told authorities no one had lived there for some time.
Adolph said officials at Memorial [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:43 am | Deaths | Permalink | 6 Comments
December 27, 2006
Writing for Fun and Profit
The View from the Bleachers is holding a writing contest this January.
This month’s topic will be a fun one. In 500 to 750 words, make three predictions for the upcoming Cub’s season and explain your reasoning for each one.
The prize is a copy of The 2007 Bill James Baseball Handbook.
Correction: It’s the 2007 version of [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:04 pm | Blogs | Permalink | 4 Comments
December 27, 2006
Baseball Musings Radio Show
If you missed tonight’s show, you can hear the recorded version here. It’s also available on demand at TPSRadio.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:19 pm | Podcasts | Permalink | No Comments
December 27, 2006
Baseball Musings Radio Show
The Baseball Musings Radio Show is coming up in a little while at 8 PM EST. You can leave questions during the show in the TPSRadio Chat Room. I’m going to give the video feed a try tonight as well.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:43 pm | Broadcasts | Permalink | No Comments
December 27, 2006
Naming the 100
It looks like we’ll all soon be learning the names of those who tested positive for steroids in 2003:
The names and urine samples of about 100 Major League Baseball players who tested positive three years ago can be used by federal investigators, a court ruled Wednesday – a decision that could have implications for Barry [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:24 pm | Cheating | Permalink | 20 Comments
December 27, 2006
Top 50 Mets
Amazin’ Avenue amazes me by starting off his top 50 Mets with Rey Ordonez at #50. While he makes his case for Ordonez’s contributions with his glove, I’m wondering if this is really possible. I mean, without even getting into hitters, I’m pretty sure the following will be in the top 50:
Tom Seaver
Jerry [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 1:36 pm | Players | Permalink | 9 Comments
December 27, 2006
Baseball Musings Radio Show
The Baseball Musings radio show will be on TPSRadio tonight at 8 PM EST. Check out TPSRadio’s other sports programming as well.
You can stop by the chat room at TPSRadio during the broadcast and leave a comment. Also, feel free to leave a question in the comments to this post and I’ll be happy [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 1:08 pm | Broadcasts | Permalink | No Comments
December 27, 2006
1971 Online
The Day by Day Database now goes back to 1971. Here’s the leaders in slugging percentage that year. I wonder if there was a big stink about Torre winning the MVP over Aaron or Stargell? It’s almost the opposite of this year’s AL voting. Instead of going for a great offensive [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:46 am | Statistics | Permalink | 3 Comments
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