Peter Abraham examines why the hot stove is so cold. Unlike last year, we don’t have the drama of the A-Rod opt-out upstaging the World Series to keep us entertained until the winter meetings start.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:08 am | Transactions | Permalink | No Comments
November 29, 2008
Yankees vs. the City
A fight between the Yankees and the mayors office led to a free suite but also a loss of revenue.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:59 pm | Stadiums | Permalink | 1 Comment
November 29, 2008
PR for Kennedy
Peter Abraham lists Ian Kennedy’s stats in the Puerto Rican Winter League. They’re mostly good, but the nine walks in 19 2/3 innings bothers me. He’s wild and tough to hit, something that doesn’t work for most major league pitchers.
Correction: Fixed the title.
Posted by David Pinto at 5:22 pm | Pitchers | Permalink | 3 Comments
November 29, 2008
Foot Fixed
The Nationals’ leader in wins, Tim Redding, underwent foot surgery on Friday and should be ready for spring training. Redding is a low strikeout pitcher who does okay in years he keeps his walks low.
Posted by David Pinto at 1:38 pm | Injuries | Permalink | No Comments
November 29, 2008
Crisis Clinic
I don’t usually blog about football players, but having read this story, I think this picture pretty much explains
Plaxico Burress’s season.
Posted by David Pinto at 1:24 pm | Other | Permalink | No Comments
November 29, 2008
Finding the Holes
Billfer tries to explain the poor defense behind Nate Robertson and decides that batters were just very good at hitting balls in holes against the Tigers pitcher.
Posted by David Pinto at 1:15 pm | Probabilistic Model of Range | Permalink | 1 Comment
November 29, 2008
Rembering Ellis
Bruce Markusen explores John Ellis’s 1972 In Action card. Ellis shares the card with Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. The card looked familar, and 1972 was one of the few years I bought cards. I looked through the pile, and sure enough there’s not only the In Action card, but John Ellis’s regular [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:31 am | Players | Permalink | No Comments
November 28, 2008
Pettitte and the Dodgers
River Ave. Blues notes that Andy Pettitte talking to the Dodgers complicated the Yankees decision to offer the left-hander arbitration:
Monday, you see, is MLB’s arbitration deadline. By the end of the day, the Yanks must decide whether or not to offer arbitration to Andy Pettitte. This is a rather complicated decision, and it could play [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 1:15 pm | Free Agents | Permalink | 4 Comments
November 28, 2008
Pirates Philosophy
Neal Huntington speaks on the way the Pirates are approaching the off-season:
“We are not throwing 2009 to the wind and saying, ‘Well, we’ll win again sometime in the future.’ We know we need to win, and sooner rather than later, and we’re going to show up, work hard, prepare, teach and go out to win [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:05 am | Management | Permalink | 2 Comments
November 28, 2008
Combeback Speedbump
Freddy Garcia suffered an injury in the Venezuelan Winter League.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:42 am | Injuries | Permalink | No Comments
November 28, 2008
First Timers
Baseball will reveal the number of players who tested positive for amphetamines for the first time in 2008. I suspect the number will be low. Players who tested positive in 2007 won’t be included, and are likely not to be using with the threat of suspension hanging over them. It would [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:13 am | Cheating | Permalink | No Comments
November 27, 2008
No Jake
Bleed Cubbie Blue does not believe Jake Peavy will land with the Cubs, because Lou Piniella is happy with his starting pitching.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:44 am | Trades | Permalink | No Comments
November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you to all the readers of Baseball Musings. The site is seven seasons old, and would not have last this long without your support. Thanks for your donations, your comments and your emails. Best wishes for a wonderful day with your family and friends!
Posted by David Pinto at 8:52 am | Other | Permalink | 5 Comments
November 26, 2008
The Athletics Getting Nicked?
The Oakland Athletics appear to have an interest in Nick Johnson. Do they reall want both corner infielders constantly on the disabled list?
Posted by David Pinto at 4:09 pm | Trades | Permalink | No Comments
November 26, 2008
Why Morneau?
Nick and Nick wonder why Justin Morneau gets so much more MVP respect than Joe Mauer.
Posted by David Pinto at 12:53 pm | Players | Permalink | No Comments
November 26, 2008
Cornering the Market
It looks like Boston won the Junichi Tazawa sweepstakes.
Boston already has veteran Japanese pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima on its roster, and Tazawa reportedly has expressed a desire to be a teammate of Matsuzaka. The two attended different high schools in Yokohama.
Will this open the floodgates? If Tazawa becomes a successful major league [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:07 am | International | Permalink | 5 Comments
November 26, 2008
Keep Safe!
I hope everyone traveling on this busy holiday has a safe trip and spends many wonderful hours with family and friends! I brought my daughter home yesterday, and the drive took only twice as long as usual.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:03 am | Other | Permalink | No Comments
November 26, 2008
Yale Band Eats Moose
Yale suspends the YPMB over obscenities written on a prop during the halftime show at Harvard:
Adding insult to the injury of Harvard’s 10-0 defeat Saturday in The Game, which was held in Boston, Yale University’s director of bands, Thomas C. Duffy, suspended the marching band Monday because of a “completely inappropriate and highly offensive” prop [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:10 am | Other | Permalink | 2 Comments
November 26, 2008
No Charity
A charity dumps Roger Clemens:
Although Clemens helped raise millions of dollars for charities associated with the event, the Giff Nielsen Day of Golf for Kids was held Nov. 11 at Houston’s Shadow Hawk Golf Club without him.
“Roger Clemens is no longer affiliated with the tournament,” said Nielsen, a Houston broadcaster. “We decided we would go [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:02 am | Charity | Permalink | 4 Comments
November 25, 2008
Park Delayed
The lawsuit against the Marlins new park delayed the opening one year. It’s now slated to open in 2012. It’s also possible that the delay saved money, however. Fuel costs are now lower, and interest rates for qualified borrowers are lower, also. Yes, the Marlins lose a year of revenue, but [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:57 pm | Stadiums | Permalink | No Comments
November 25, 2008
Talking Stats
Squawking Baseball posts an interview with Manny Acta, who is not afraid to talk sabermetrics:
SB: You’re obviously a very statistically-inclined manager. How do you think that gives you an advantage over managers that aren’t as progressive?
MA: I want to win. More than being statistically-inclined, I’m very open minded. If someone can show me things that [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:47 pm | Management | Permalink | 1 Comment
November 25, 2008
Short Names
Once again, we should have shorted Citi Bank when they bought the naming rights to the Mets Stadium.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:48 am | Stadiums | Permalink | 2 Comments
November 25, 2008
Blog Survey
The Blog Reader Project is conducting surveys. I would appreciate you taking the time to fill it out, since it will help direct advertising to this site. Thanks very much!
Please take my Blog Reader Project survey.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:41 am | Blogs | Permalink | 1 Comment
November 25, 2008
Peterson on the Way?
Dan Wakamatsu let go two of the Mariners coaches, including pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre. That appears to pave the way for Seattle to hire former Atheltics and Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:30 am | Management | Permalink | 1 Comment
November 25, 2008
The O’s Money
The Baltimore Orioles are in the mix for A.J. Burnett:
“There is sincere and mutual interest (with the Orioles),” Braunecker is quoted as saying. “We’re not here to waste people’s time or our time. We don’t need to create a false market for A.J. Burnett.”
With Burnett’s injury history, he may be perceived to be a cheaper [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:24 am | Free Agents | Permalink | No Comments
November 25, 2008
More Brushes, More Greatness
I had the pleasure of meeting Mike DiGiovanna at a social gathering at Jim Storer’s house last night. Mike is the Angels beat writer for the Los Angeles Times. Like the rest of us there, he’s a native Connecticutian. We had a good time talking about growing up in Connecticut, and of [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:32 am | News Media | Permalink | No Comments
November 25, 2008
Creative Acquisition
The Pirates signed the two Indian pitchers who won a reality show:
“The Pirates are committed to creatively adding talent to our organization,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Monday. “By adding these two young men, the Pirates are pleased to not only add two prospects to our system but also hope to open a pathway [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:15 am | Transactions | Permalink | 4 Comments
November 25, 2008
Brush with Greatness
John Perricone ran into Tim Lincecum the other night:
First impression, he has that look, that glow, that the preternaturally gifted all seem to have. His handshake was impressive, to say the least. He did seem normal sized, not huge, but his hands were large, solid, and seemed very strong.
He was genuinely friendly, and I felt [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:10 am | Pitchers | Permalink | 3 Comments
November 24, 2008
Small Victory
The judge in the Barry Bonds perjury case dropped three charges and merged another, dropping the total from 15 to 11. I guess that makes the odds of winning a little better for Barry, but the prosecution needs only to get one to stick to walk away with a win. Not even baseball [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 3:15 pm | Crime | Permalink | 3 Comments
November 24, 2008
Texas Interest?
There are conflicting reports about the Rangers interest in Junichi Tazawa.
Posted by David Pinto at 12:46 pm | International | Permalink | 1 Comment
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