Five pitches that cover the happenings around the game… 1. Lawrie’s Tantrum Worthy of Suspension By now, everyone has seen Toronto Blue Jays’ third baseman Brett Lawrie’s temper tantrum after being called out on strikes. Major League Baseball announced that it would suspend Lawrie for four games. Of course, he immediately appealed it and was [...]
The projection systems that seem to be all encompassing in every preseason all got the Baltimore Orioles wrong. Even the traditional analysts got them wrong. In fact, it would be difficult to find anyone outside of the most ardent Orioles’ supporter who actually believed the Orioles would lose less than 100 games this season. After [...]
The romanticism of Baseball is definitely still alive. The sport can produce events that no other sport can match. More importantly, it can produce a feeling that a football or basketball game cannot. That feeling is what links today’s game to the past. It links players and it links generations together. Last night we saw [...]
Watching Mariano Rivera writhe in pain after having his knee essentially shatter while chasing a flyball during batting practice will be one of the sadder images that Yankees fans will have. Rivera is not only a Yankees legend and one of the most important Yankees ever, he is the greatest closer in Baseball history. No [...]
Managers tend to get far too much of the credit and far too much of the blame for the play of their team. Leadership is often difficult to quantify and there is a general feeling that a Manager can only get in the way. Analysts forever dissect each decision, each pitching change, each offensive strategy [...]
Sample Size. It is the most used phrase by even the manifest of mainstream analysts. It is the caveat that almost everyone gives before offering an opinion about the early going of the Baseball season. It is great that everyone acknowledges the idea, but that phrase is being used far too often. Any good baseball [...]
Five pitches that cover the happenings around the game… 1. Lawrie’s Tantrum Worthy of Suspension By now, everyone has seen Toronto Blue Jays’ third baseman Brett Lawrie’s temper tantrum after being called out on strikes. Major League Baseball announced that it would suspend Lawrie for four games. Of course, he immediately appealed it and was [...]
The projection systems that seem to be all encompassing in every preseason all got the Baltimore Orioles wrong. Even the traditional analysts got them wrong. In fact, it would be difficult to find anyone outside of the most ardent Orioles’ supporter who actually believed the Orioles would lose less than 100 games this season. After [...]
The romanticism of Baseball is definitely still alive. The sport can produce events that no other sport can match. More importantly, it can produce a feeling that a football or basketball game cannot. That feeling is what links today’s game to the past. It links players and it links generations together. Last night we saw [...]
Watching Mariano Rivera writhe in pain after having his knee essentially shatter while chasing a flyball during batting practice will be one of the sadder images that Yankees fans will have. Rivera is not only a Yankees legend and one of the most important Yankees ever, he is the greatest closer in Baseball history. No [...]
Managers tend to get far too much of the credit and far too much of the blame for the play of their team. Leadership is often difficult to quantify and there is a general feeling that a Manager can only get in the way. Analysts forever dissect each decision, each pitching change, each offensive strategy [...]
Texas Leaguers The FCP Baseball Report Blog I don’t have the answers to everything, But, I do have questions… Wins are essentially a meaningless statistic for evaluating pitchers. It’s been discussed before and there is really no argument. Felix Hernandez is one of the best pitchers of this generation. Yet, in his 8 seasons, he [...]
Texas Leaguers The FCP Baseball Report Blog Just to be clear about this … the issue isn’t *where* Captain Groundout bats in the lineup, but that he’s in the lineup at all. -Rob Neyer on Twitter (@robneyer) May 4, 2011 I respect Rob Neyer quite a bit. Rob Neyer is a very good baseball analyst. [...]
Texas Leaguers The FCP Baseball Report Blog The Texas Rangers are one of the smartest organizations in Major League Baseball. They have developed their own pitching talent, made some wise trades, have played the free agent market well, and have some progressive philosophies. There is a reason why they are the two-time American League champions [...]
Texas Leaguers The FCP Baseball Report Blog Like any baseball fan, I love Opening Day. Game one is just one of those special days when everyone is in first place, the ballparks are extra shiny, and there is a type of hope in every fan that this could be the year. Although too much can [...]
Texas Leaguers The FCP Baseball Report Blog Brandon Belt has the misfortune of playing for Bruce Bochy who seems to not see what the rest of the world sees in the soon to be 24 year old left handed hitter. Last year, Belt did make the Opening Day roster and he did get off to [...]
By now, the news of Michael Pineda has made it across the world and has Yankees fans everywhere screaming to get Jesus Montero back. There are zero refunds when it comes to trades, especially when a player is given a complete physical before the trade is finalized. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman will definitely be [...]
For all of the research and specialization in Major League Baseball, player development is still an inexact science. Some players just develop more quickly than others. Some have a different path. Some take a little more time. Actually, most take time to get acquainted with the rigors of being a Major League Baseball player. The [...]
The start could not be any worse. The Boston Red Sox needed to rid themselves of that terrible September collapse from last season. Instead, they are 4-10, sitting in last place in the American League East. Even that doesn’t tell the whole story about the Red Sox woes. Red Sox starters are just 2-7 and [...]
For most of Baseball’s great history, the catcher position has been the one position in the lineup that has been entirely about defense. The Yogi Berra’s and Johnny Bench’s of the world were the rare ones. And, players like Bench were even more rare in that their elite offensive skills were matched by elite defensive [...]
The beginning to any season always leads to conclusions, guesses, and even some misguided beliefs. But, that is the exciting part about the early Baseball season. There are still possibilities. There are still the hopes that a hot start can lead to a big, surprising season. There are still hopes that a slow start can [...]
Last week, three players–Jon Niese, Alex Gordon, and Asdrubal Cabrera–agreed to extensions with their clubs. Baseball’s latest fashion trend continues with another trio of young players agreeing to extensions with their respective teams. This week, the Indians locked up their catcher Carlos Santana for five seasons. Then, in seemingly successive hours, the Reds agreed to [...]
Connect with Gary Armida and/or The Baseball Report
