The Milwaukee Brewers will make an effort to keep CC Sabathia:
“We’re prepared to do something with him here very shortly. He’ll probably be getting ready to file for free agency but I don’t expect an answer real soon,” general manager Doug Melvin said Thursday.
Good. I bet CC really likes pitching in the National League. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:35 pm | Free Agents | Permalink | No Comments
October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!
David Ortiz. Click for a larger image.Photo: David Pinto
Posted by David Pinto at 5:47 pm | Other | Permalink | No Comments
October 31, 2008
Delgado Remains a Met
The Mets exercised their option on Carlos Delgado. He’ll cost them $12 million this year since the option didn’t vest. He’ll be 37 in 2009. He bounced back from a sub-par 2007 season, but it took him until Randolph’s firing to get going in 2008. If he plays well in 2009, it’s [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 12:40 pm | Transactions | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 31, 2008
A Dash of Bitters
The Soxaholix is just a little bit bitter about the Red Sox losing to the Rays.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:34 am | Team Evaluation | Permalink | No Comments
October 31, 2008
Two Seasons a Year
It’s not that the season is too long, it takes too long to crown a champion!
There’s no such thing as too much baseball. The “problem” is that it seems to take forever to crown a winner. In Golf and Tennis, they play around nine months as well, but they crown four champions each [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:03 am | Baseball | Permalink | 6 Comments
October 31, 2008
Why Varitek Probably Comes Back
Jason Varitek filed for free agency on Thursday. The Red Sox don’t appear to have many options for replacing Jason:
Catching is the Sox’ biggest question mark. No minor leaguer are ready and there is little help in the free agent market.The Sox could try to sign Varitek to a short-term deal or trade for [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:17 am | Free Agents | Permalink | 10 Comments
October 30, 2008
Macha, Macha, Man(ager)
The Brewers hired Ken Macha as manager today:
The 58-year-old Macha, who managed Oakland to a pair of American League West titles, agreed to a two-year contract. He replaces Sveum, who became interim manager when Ned Yost was fired with 12 games left in the regular season.
“It means a tremendous amount to me,” Macha said. “The [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:11 pm | Management | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 30, 2008
Low Ratings
The World Series set a record low for ratings. Fox, however, mostly cares about winning prime time:
“This World Series got off to a solid start last week and was poised to build momentum as we expected it to,” Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. “The rain delay on Saturday and suspended game on Monday, [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 6:36 pm | World Series | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 30, 2008
The Trading Begins
The Marlins and Royals make a deal:
The Marlins made their first trade of the offseason Thursday, sending first baseman Mike Jacobs to Kansas City for right-handed reliever Leo Nuñez.
Jacobs is a one-dimensional power hitter. As one dimensions go, power is a good one. Nunez has seen his ERA come down each of the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 1:04 pm | Trades | Permalink | 8 Comments
October 30, 2008
Free Pitcher
I found this interesting:
Junichi Tazawa, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher who wants to play in the major leagues, was passed over by Japan’s 12 professional teams in Thursday’s amateur draft.
Tazawa, whose fastball reaches 97 mph, had asked Japanese teams not to select him so that he could pursue a career in the United States.
“I’m very relieved,” [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:33 am | International | Permalink | 6 Comments
October 30, 2008
Tell’em, Tellem
Arn Tellem speaks about Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi.
Tellem said the story that Mussina was planning to make a decision by the end of the week is untrue. Tellem is going to visit Mussina in Montoursville on Friday so they can talk. But he doesn’t necessarily expect Moose to give him a decision at that [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:06 am | Free Agents | Permalink | 5 Comments
October 30, 2008
Pitching Coaches
It looks like Mike Maddux and Rick Peterson will be pitching coaches in Texas and Milwaukee, we just don’t know which will be where.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:04 am | Management | Permalink | No Comments
October 30, 2008
Why the Phillies Won
Jamie Moyer pitches in game three of the 2008 World Series.Photo: Icon SMI
The ability of Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton to handle the Rays surprised me the most in this World Series. I expected the Phillies to win Hamels’s starts. Shields gave Tampa Bay a good chance to defeat Myers, and that [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:58 am | World Series | Permalink | 9 Comments
October 29, 2008
Hamels MVP
Cole Hamels takes home the award for the World Series Most Valuable Player. Cole probably deserves it for the entire playoffs. Only a Baldelli home run prevented him from going 5-0. He thanks the fans for coming out in the rain and supporting him, helping through that game. That will endear [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:15 pm | World Series | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 29, 2008
Phillies World Champions
Congratulations to the Phillies on winning the 2008 World Series. Despite all the runners left on base, despite all the outs with runners in scoring position, the Phillies kept putting men on base. They came into these last three innings with a .370 OBA, the kind of number that should mean lots of [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:01 pm | World Series | Permalink | 9 Comments
October 29, 2008
Top of the Ninth
Brad Lidge comes in to face Longoria, Navarro and Baldelli with the score 4-3 in favor of Philadelphia. Lidge needs to get three outs before the Rays score a run.
Update: Lidge gets ahead of Longoria 0-2. He works the count even but pops out on the infield for the first out.
Update: Navarro falls [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:47 pm | World Series | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 29, 2008
Will Price be Right?
David Price comes on to pitch the bottom of the eighth for the Rays. Can he keep the Phillies off the board?
Update: Rollins flies out to left.
Update: Werth strikes out looking.
Update: Price walks Utley on a 3-2 count.
Update: Utley steals second, and the count on Howard is now 3-1.
Update: Howard strikes out swinging. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:36 pm | World Series | Permalink | No Comments
October 29, 2008
Crawford Liner
Charlie Manuel does the same thing, letting Romero bat so he can pitch the next inning. Crawford lines a single up the middle on a 3-2 pitch. Upton, however, hits the first pitch for a GDP and there are two out in the inning.
Update: Pena flies out to left, and the Phillies are [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:28 pm | World Series | Permalink | No Comments
October 29, 2008
Pat Bats
The Burrell-Howell matchup wasn’t a good one as Pat Burrell just misses a home run, doubling off the wall in center. For the second inning in a row, the Phillies lead off with a double. I’ll have to go back and check at some point how many times the Phillies put the leadoff [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:11 pm | World Series | Permalink | No Comments
October 29, 2008
Madson in the Seventh
Ryan Madson comes in and strikes out Navarro looking on a pretty pitch, dropping into the strike zone on the inside corner.
Rocco Baldelli comes up, however, and hits the first pitch into the leftfield stands to tie the game! The resilient Rays strike again.
Update: Bartlett follows with a single, and I don’t understand why [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:59 pm | World Series | Permalink | 3 Comments
October 29, 2008
Baseball Musings Radio Show
If you missed tonight’s show, you can hear the recorded version here. It’s also available at TPSRadio.net.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:57 pm | Podcasts | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 29, 2008
The Resumption
Geoff Jenkins pinch hits for Cole Hamels to start the bottom of the sixth inning, two days after the game was suspended. Grant Balfour is on the mound and throws ball one.
Update: Jenkins works the count to 3-2, then launches a double to the wall in right-center. The Phillies have the go-ahead run [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:40 pm | World Series | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 29, 2008
Beer Here!
Here’s the story on beer sales tonight. They won’t stop after the seventh inning.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:24 pm | World Series | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 29, 2008
Baseball Musings Radio Show
The Baseball Musings Radio Show is coming up tonight at 8 PM EDT on TPS Radio. You can watch, listen and chat here. If you want to leave a question, feel free to do so in the comments to this post.
TPS Radio is on channel 100. At the bottom of the player [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 6:17 pm | Broadcasts | Permalink | No Comments
October 29, 2008
Maddon’s Game Plan
Joe Maddon worked out a plan for tonight’s game:
Rays manager Joe Maddon said he is mulling 7-10 different matchup scenarios as the teams get ready to resume play in the World Series, and will have a plan “scripted” when the game starts at 8:37.
RHP Grant Balfour will be the Rays pitcher when the game resumes [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 5:59 pm | World Series | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 29, 2008
Day Games
You have to love the relationship between Fox and MLB.
Commissioner Bud Selig calls himself a traditionalist. He would love to play one World Series game during the afternoon, he says, but television says no.
Of, course, that’s not what Fox paid for. If Selig wants a day game, he should write that into the next [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:09 pm | World Series | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 29, 2008
The Game’s Afoot
The game is on for tonight, the start scheduled for 8:37 PM EDT. It’s going to be cold, however, so wear your long underwear!
Posted by David Pinto at 3:40 pm | World Series | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 29, 2008
Simulation
Baseball Boss invites you to simulate the 2008 World Series at their web site.
Posted by David Pinto at 2:29 pm | Fantasy Baseball | Permalink | No Comments
October 29, 2008
Park to Avoid
Brett Myers doesn’t want to pitch at Fenway Park again. I’m sure the feeling is mutual.
Posted by David Pinto at 12:50 pm | Baseball Jerks | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 29, 2008
Lineup Advantage
The Good Phight notes the Phillies not only hold an advantage in having an extra-half inning to bat tonight, but they have a lineup advantage as well:
For the Rays, they will bat 6-7-8-9-1-2-3-4-5 (and so on if they get any runners on base). Thus, they will start the seventh with the bottom half of [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:31 am | World Series | Permalink | 6 Comments
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