That the Atlanta Braves were desperate to escape Turner Field should not have surprised anyone. The Braves are one of baseball’s stodgiest, stingiest franchises, operating under strict budgets thanks to relatively uninterested corporate ownership. They… Read more »
I mention this every trade deadline and at the start of every Hot Stove season, but if you don’t talk to or read me, and haven’t noticed yet, Ken Rosenthal has the best connections for… Read more »
It’s stupid, but now that MLB’s Hot Stove season is heating up, this is the kind of junk we all have to read about: @JonHeymanCBS: could marlins/cubs execute a rare big-time prospect for big-time prospect… Read more »
With trade rumors surrounding Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (rumors which seem to lack much foundation, but rumors nonetheless), I thought you might be interested to know that 2014 marks the true beginning of the… Read more »
Baseball fans, and baseball teams, for that matter, overrate pitching. There’s no point in my leading this piece with any other thesis. I think the details of what is to come make for an interesting,… Read more »
The Minnesota Twins annoounced on Monday that long-time catcher and franchise player Joe Mauer will be their full-time first baseman beginning next season. The move has been proposed and debated for years, now, as a… Read more »
The offseason hasn’t really even begun yet, for most MLB teams, but the Cincinnati Reds are already having a weird offseason. It started when, seemingly the day after giving manager Dusty Baker a vote of… Read more »
The best free agent in baseball this winter is neither a first baseman nor a starting pitcher. That’s becoming a rare phenomenon. Robinson Cano, heretofore a New York Yankee, and the best second baseman in… Read more »
Sandy Alderson became general manager of the New York Mets in October 2010. The team had just completed a 79-83 season, and the shine was very much off their 2006 team’s apple. Whispers of financial trouble… Read more »
I have a theory about baseball right now: Every team is getting better. The league is making leaps and bounds forward in terms of total talent, and the level of play is rising faster than at… Read more »
Curtis Granderson received a qualifying offer (a one-year deal worth $14.1 million) from the New York Yankees Monday, ensuring that New York will receive a draft pick after the first round of the 2014 MLB… Read more »
Every team in baseball is the subject of at least one book that, if one is to call oneself a fan of that team, rates as a must-read. The Oakland Athletics have Moneyball. The St…. Read more »
The offseason is a sad time. Baseball games make being a baseball fan truly joyous. Even as a borderline addict of the game, I find the Hot Stove a bit stuffy at times. The nice… Read more »
Vin Scully does a straight-shot commercial during Los Angeles Dodgers games, promoting the team’s official partnership with 76, the gas-station chain, It’s a long-standing relationship, but if the people who run that company really want… Read more »
The 2013 Boston Red Sox put the lie to every weary narrative the mainstream baseball media has tried to shove down the throats of baseball fans over the past few years. They won without an… Read more »
It’s dark in the hole in which the Chicago White Sox find themselves, and the hardest thing about climbing out might be this: They’ve never really been down here before. The Sox last won fewer… Read more »
Updated: See the bottom of the piece. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series on Wednesday, and on Thursday afternoon, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that they were planning to make qualifying offers… Read more »
“A Balanced Schedule” is my daily feature, sort of an around-the-league-in-30-days thing. I think it’s fun and enlightening to keep tabs on all 30 MLB clubs, but it’s too tough for most fans to do… Read more »
I love watching Stephen Drew play defense. God help me, but I love it. He charges even fairly well-struck grounders aggressively, making his own hops and bounces by timing his attack of the ball, and… Read more »
Sorry for going silent at just the wrong moment, as it seems. I’ve been sick; my kids have been sick; my wife just got sick; and I still don’t have home Internet service. Beginning tomorrow,… Read more »
By the time a World Series makes its first scene change, the easy stories have been told, and the stock characters have been introduced. Each teams’ ace or aces have had their days, and even… Read more »
The St. Louis Cardinals stole fewer bases than every other big-league team this season. Contrary to what Tim McCarver told you, they’re a poor base-running team. The only virtue of their running game is that… Read more »
One of the most interesting things about the 2013 St. Louis Cardinals, and there are plenty, is the fact that so many fans and analysts so badly misunderstand how they work. It’s especially true of… Read more »
A series of unfortunate events decided Game One of the 2013 World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals made several mistakes, the Boston Red Sox took full advantage, and it was 5-0 after two innings. Adam… Read more »
It’s not that Game One of the 2013 World Series completely defies analysis. It’s just that, all things considered, it probably engenders more bad analysis than good. Hopefully this Series gives us more competitive and… Read more »
St. Louis Cardinals ace starter Adam Wainwright has a small platoon split, at least flying over it at 10,000 feet, and that might have led Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell into a mistake when… Read more »
I’m doing an end-of-season rollout bonanza, with some new features and types of posts that will become a regular part of Arm Side Run going forward. This one is called “Teach Him a Cutter!” but… Read more »
This is just a quick post to introduce a new feature, here at Arm Side Run. I’m calling it “Weaver’s Ghost,” in honor of Earl Weaver, the best tactical manager in MLB history. Weaver literally wrote the… Read more »
I’m over the moon here. I’m pumped. The 2013 World Series is upon us, and for baseball fans who really enjoy the game played at its highest level, this is Heaven. The Boston Red Sox… Read more »
I’m a baseball nerd. I treasure the nuance of the tactical value carried by the fifth guy on the bench. I love parsing platoon splits to find out whether two players might fill a given… Read more »
