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 »
When the Hot Stove season began, rumors hit the baseball world that Kyle Lohse was going to angle for the same kind of money C.J. Wilson got as the top free-agent pitcher of the 2011-12 offseason…. Read more »
On Saturday, separate rumors popped up that linked the San Diego Padres to (on the one hand) Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks and (on the other hand) Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins. One… Read more »
I prefer organized, flowing pieces, with fully-fledged ideas that lead naturally into one another. I also prefer not having a head cold. You can’t always get what you want. These are the baseball things I’m… Read more »
Giancarlo Stanton remains under the thumb of Jeffrey Loria and the Miami Marlins for four more MLB seasons, if they choose to keep him. He has 93 home runs in two and a half big-league… Read more »
No heavy baseball content today. Back with that tomorrow. For now, enjoy, and delight in the fact that baseball (unlike the other major pro sports) is both unpredictable enough to allow any team to have… Read more »
The Kansas City Royals traded Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard to the Tampa Bay Rays for James Shields and Wade Davis in mid-December. It was a bold stroke and a tipping… Read more »
All baseball players age differently. Some of the most important research sabermetric thinkers have churned out over the past 25 years have been about which skills age most and least gracefully; which peak at which… Read more »
The Milwaukee Brewers have stolen all the Washington Nationals’ left-handed relievers. After the Nationals non-tendered Tom Gorzelanny last month, Milwaukee signed him to a two-year deal. On Friday, after weeks during which Washington seemed the… Read more »
Last season, the Detroit Tigers reached the World Series despite deep flaws and probably the sixth- or seventh-best roster in the American League. They used Delmon Young for part of the season in left field… Read more »
J.J. Hardy played 158 games for the 2012 Baltimore Orioles, who won 93 games. He played sparkling defense, as usual, and clubbed 22 home runs. His on-base percentage, though, was .282. Gross, right? That sound… Read more »
It took Odysseus 10 years to get home from Troy, and by the time he did, even his relentlessly faithful wife had nearly given up on him. His house was in ruin, his fortune was… Read more »
