Posts by Matthew Trueblood

Not On Target Target Field, while extremely pleasing in terms of architectural aesthetics, is not my favorite place to take in a game. I’m finding, with each new visit, some unpleasant downsides. The contrivances and… Read more »

A few thoughts on just another imperfect day: The Indians and Blue Jays played Opening Day in Toronto yesterday, and although Cleveland won, I came away wondering what Terry Francona is up to with that… Read more »

I was glued to my phone as the At-Bat Lite app (don’t judge me) slowly brought me news of Yu Darvish last night. It was a marvel to watch, even if I wasn’t actually watching…. Read more »

Now that teams outside of Texas have kicked off, more quick notes: Long plate appearances should be a statistic. I might be found embarrassingly incorrect, but it seems to me that certain batters, while able… Read more »

The narrative history of Kevin Towers’ first three years as GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks is going to be fascinating, one way or another. Since the moment he arrived in the desert, he has put… Read more »

A few scattered thoughts now that baseball is back: What a tour de force by Bo Porter. In his debut as an MLB manager, he did two good things that maybe three or four other… Read more »

Sometimes, I really want to float an idle thought or 12 about baseball as they occur to me, but don’t want to hack the idea into pieces for Twitter consumption. So I’m just going to… Read more »

I’m so sick and tired of PEDs, Alex Rodriguez, national baseball columnists and Twitter snark, I’m ready to kill a cat, stuff it in a box and nail the damn thing shut. Or stab my… Read more »

Justin Upton has some of baseball’s most dramatic home/away splits over the past several seasons, so when the Arizona Diamondbacks dealt him to the Atlanta Braves last week, some analysts raised concerns about how Upton… Read more »

The following is from p. 449-450 of The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract: Lee May had a younger brother, Carlos, who also played in the majors. Carlos got 80% of the talent in the family;… Read more »

Michael Bourn is STILL a free agent, which has been a source of some annoyance for me of late, but which today I am counting as a small victory. The intrigue surrounding his predicament is… Read more »

Baseball America podcast, 1/24/13: J.J. Cooper: To me, if you’re the Diamondbacks, you want Delgado, not Teheran, would you agree with that? Matt Eddy: Absolutely. You could find scouts a year ago who preferred Delgado… Read more »

When Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer assumed control of the Chicago Cubs front office in November 2011, and fired incumbent manager Mike Quad almost on the spot, you knew they were going to find their kind… Read more »

We’re basically two weeks from seeing pitchers and catchers in uniforms. Baseball season still feels cruelly distant (for non-believers in the World Baseball Classic), but it’s not much longer that we can truly call this… Read more »

Gordon Beckham ran pretty hot in the summer of 2009. He debuted with the Chicago White Sox in June that year, less than 10 months after signing his first pro contract as the Sox’s first-round… Read more »

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim made the biggest single splash on the free-agent position-player market for the second straight offseason this winter, adding Josh Hamilton on a five-year, $125-million contract. Hamilton hit 43 home… Read more »

It’s another long night, and if I even finish writing this without slip-sliding into incoherence, it will be a minor miracle. No long and well-organized thoughts tonight. Just some thoughts: -The Philadelphia Phillies signed Delmon… Read more »

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been as busy as any team in baseball this winter, and with the Atlanta Braves’ help, they put an exclamation point on that statement this week. They traded Justin Upton, he… Read more »

The Arizona Diamondbacks sent Justin Upton to the Atlanta Braves Thursday, ending a long saga of which everyone was so tired, it hardly matters who won the trade. (The Braves did.) Justin becomes the second… Read more »

Every year, my wife’s siblings and siblings-in-law (it’s a family of 13, so this means 21 people so far) exchange names and give one gift to one other, randomly chosen member of the family. Every… Read more »

I’m a Chicago Cubs fan, and turned 16 just prior to Opening Day, 2005. That was the day Jerry Hairston, Jr. made his Cubs debut, and also the first Cubs game called by brand-new broadcast… Read more »

The Chicago Cubs disengaged recently from trade talks that would have brought Justin Upton to Chicago from the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to ESPN Chicago. Arizona reportedly wanted Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro in return for Upton…. Read more »

I’m not going to do a rehash. If you don’t know what has unfolded over the past few days involving Notre Dame linebacker and 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist Manti Te’o, go Google it. Come back… Read more »

When the offseason began, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs led a passel of stat-savvy analysts who said Michael Bourn had a chance to be one of the winter’s biggest mistakes for someone. I only just barely… Read more »

The Oakland Athletics made a savvy move Wednesday, trading three prospects as part of a three-team deal and receiving Seattle Mariners catcher John Jaso. With a .359 career OBP, Jaso is an offensive force for… Read more »

The Washington Nationals reportedly have interest in Javier Vazquez, one of the underrated workhorses of his era and a great strikeout hurler. Some people find this mildly confusing, despite glowing scouting reports on Vazquez in… Read more »

Game 4 of the 2012 NLDS was a taut, tied affair headed into the bottom of the ninth inning. Each team had managed only a single run. The Washington Nationals had the home-field advantage, ever… Read more »

The Washington Nationals re-signed first baseman Adam LaRoche to a two-year, $24-million contract Tuesday, solidifying the only fluid positional situation they had left headed into 2013. Barring injuries, their Opening Day lineup will feature Denard… Read more »

Because aren’t most of the ones submitted by the BBWAA just like that? Barry Bonds Roger Clemens Sammy Sosa Mike Piazza Tim Raines Craig Biggio Curt Schilling Larry Walker Jeff Bagwell Edgar Martinez Yes, I… Read more »

Matt Garza, Phil Hughes and Tim Lincecum are not, strictly speaking, similar pitchers. One is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, but has bizarre mechanics and struggled mightily in 2012. One has drifted between the… Read more »