Clik here to view.
Ten Quick Thoughts About the 2012 Baseball Season
Most teams have played, or are currently playing, their 80th game of the season, which means 2012 is almost half in the books, baseballwise. The All-Star rosters are set. Most of the teams we expected...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Divisions May Make a Mockery of Second Wild Card
I’d be remiss not to record today’s AL Wild Card standings for posterity, as I’m not sure we’ll ever see anything like them again: Angels 49-41 Tigers 47-43 Indians 46-43, 1/2 game back Orioles 46-43,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On Liking the Texas Rangers
I caught the first half of the Red Sox-Rangers game at a bar last night, a rare treat for a guy with two kids. I briefly chatted up a fellow Red Sox fan who, unsurprisingly, had less-than-wonderful...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are the New Superpowers Playing Out West?
From 2003 through 2007, the Yankees and Red Sox were the two best teams in Major League Baseball. They averaged 96 wins apiece in the regular season, won all five division titles, three AL pennants,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are the Playoff Races Over?
As of this morning, teams have 11 to 14 games left to play before the first-ever one-game Wild Card showdowns. At this point, I think we know who’s going to the playoffs. The Reds and Nationals became...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Postseason Predictions- An Exercise in Futility
Every year, predicting the winners of several short postseason series is a fool’s errand. The team that gets hot at the right time and catches a few lucky breaks is more likely to win the title than...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Willie Mays Award, 2012 Edition
The second in my series of Baseball Bloggers Alliance-required postseason award ballots is the Willie Mays Award, for each league’s top rookie. One of these awards is worth some discussion. I’ll save...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Walter Johnson Award Ballot, 2012 Edition
We’ve dismissed with the easy awards. Let’s get down to the good stuff. The Baseball Bloggers Alliance’s version of the Cy Young Award is the Walter Johnson, and both leagues are worthy of some debate....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stan Musial Award Ballot, 2012 Edition
This is it. Night five of my five-night series of Baseball Bloggers Alliance-demanded postseason award ballots. I’ve covered managers, rookies, relievers, and pitchers. Now let’s take a look at the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Where Have All the Good Teams Gone?
In case you missed it, here’s one I posted at High Heat Stats. Read the comments there for fascinating insights regarding luck, mathematicians, and the Tour de France. Even before the addition of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rangers, Tigers Look Similar
A year ago, the ALCS matchup between Texas and Detroit was something of a study in contrasts. The Tigers were front-loaded with superstar talent, but carried a lot of dead weight at other positions,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An Early All-Star Ballot
In the past, I’ve used this space to name my quarter-season All-Star team. With the actual All-Star ballot now out, I’m tempted to post both a novelty piece about the players enjoying unexpected...
View ArticleClik here to view.
wOBA Primer, With a Bonus
Here’s one I wrote for USA Today Sports Weekly, which is partnering with High Heat Stats for a column focusing on a different advanced statistic every week: In 2012, Ben Zobrist batted .270, but was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Franchise Player Mock Draft
I understand ESPN presented its annual franchise player mock draft today. I’d link to it, but I want to make my picks in a similar draft before I see who their experts picked. When I’m done, I’ll check...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2013 Cy Young Picks
This year’s Cy Young races are about as unpredictable as the end of an epidose of Full House. The voters will reward Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw for their exemplary work this year, and at first...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Playoff Preview, Week One
The last day of the regular season gave us what so many of us wanted- another day of the regular season. I have a hard time accepting that tomorrow’s one-game playoff is a regular season game, while...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Remaining Award Picks
I’ve heard tell that the Baseball Bloggers Alliance may come out of hibernation to vote on our annual awards. Having already covered my MVP (or “Stan Musial”) and Cy Young (“Walter Johnson”) picks, I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Whatever Happened to the Great AL Shortstop?
It looks like the Golden Era for shortstops is over. From 1984 to 1996, there was little debate about who should start the All-Star Game at shortstop for the American League. Cal Ripken, Jr. was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What if the Playoffs Made Sense?: A Postseason Preview
If you’ve paid any attention to baseball over the past decade or so, you know that playoff results are governed by something other than logic. There is no formula that can identify a great playoff...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Awards Preview
So, August is almost over, and unless you’re a loyal reader of The Forecaster or USA Today Sports Weekly, you haven’t read anything I’ve written about baseball in most of a baseball season. Rather...
View Article
