With the end of March — and the end of spring training — arriving soon, optimism is not running as high as it was a month ago. In a matter of weeks, the excitement surrounding Johan Santana has been dulled by the breakdowns of key cogs Moises Alou, Orlando Hernandez, Carlos Delgado, Brian Schneider, and … Read more
According to the Dallas Morning News: “DH/1B Jason Botts may have ensured his spot on the roster by going 2-for-5 with three two-out RBIs in the Rangers’ first win in six games against Seattle or Los Angeles. Botts had a two-run double in the fifth and a run-scoring single in the seventh. With Seattle lefty … Read more
A quick stat pointed out by Gary Cohen during the Mets broadcast yesterday had to do with batters and 2-0 counts. In 2007, Barry Bonds led the NL in 2-0 counts with 146. Albert Pujols was second. In sixth place, surprisingly enough, was Jose Reyes — a testament to his increased patience and improved strike … Read more
The Chicago Cubs are the preseason favorites to take the NL Central, but they have a number of roster spots up in the air. First, they still haven’t acquired Brian Roberts, though a deal seems imminent — and Mark DeRosa’s status hangs in the balance. They’ve also been in the hunt for an extra outfielder … Read more
As spring training winds down, more and more players will become available. A few somewhat interesting players have already hit the waiver wire, and can be had for a song. First, Javy Lopez has retired, rather than take a demotion to AAA. He looked OK, not great, when I saw him, and one must question … Read more
The boxscore lies, so don’t worry too much about the 5 runs and 4 homers that Oliver Perez gave up in 5 innings of work. The key was that Ollie’s mechanics were extremely consistent — perhaps more consistent than I’ve ever seen him (I watched the game on MLB.com). The homeruns were given up on … Read more
A few days ago we wondered what Omar Minaya and Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro might have been talking about in their face-to-face meeting. Would Shapiro trade Cliff Lee? Jason Michaels? Jeremy Sowers? At least one Indians blogger suggests that Andy Marte was probably not part of the discussions. According to Ryan Richards of Lets … Read more
We’re not going to concern ourselves with the Mets’ Opening Day starter, who we presume will be Johan Santana. Rather, let’s take a look at the two teams in the Baltimore / DC area. There is a very good chance that the Orioles’ Opening Day starter will be Steve Trachsel. Ouch. According to the Baltimore … Read more
