I was on a radio show yesterday morning, and the host started asking me questions about the Mets. I got to talking about Jose Reyes and blurted out, without necessarily thinking a lot about it, “he’s the MVP of the NL in my mind right now”. Reyes is having an excellent season thusfar, but is […]

The last game Wily Mo Pena played in was July 12th, 2008 as his Nationals took on the Astros. Pena went 0/4 in the game to lower his OPS to .510. He wouldn’t play in another game for the Nationals. He spent 2009 with the Buffalo Bison of the AAA International League, an affilate of […]

Cubs and White Sox yesterday. Bottom of the sixth inning, Alexei Ramirez at bat. Ramirez chops one off the plate, and it rolls behind the plate…foul ball, right? Well, Cubs catcher Geovany Soto picked the ball up and tagged Ramirez, and umpire James Hoye called Ramirez out. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was…none too pleased. […]

On Sunday, Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez resigned. The team was in the midst of a nine game losing streak, and has only won one game all June. That losing streak is now at ten games, and the Marlins are turning to a familiar face to help right the ship: former two-time Manager of the Year, […]

On Thursday, the Phillies designated reliever JC Romero for assignment. Advanced metrics despise Romero: he’s a guy who has walked at least five batters per nine innings over his last seven seasons, while striking out less than eight batters per nine in each of those seven seasons as well. But despite his horrible peripherals, Romero […]

The Washington Nationals received a huge boost earlier this week, when star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was activated off the DL. This is a huge shot in the arm for the Nationals on both offense and defense. Without Zimmerman in the lineup, the Nationals offense has been one of the worst in baseball, and adding […]

Today is June 16th, 2011. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who have not had a winning season since 1992 (which I’m sure you all know), are currently 34-33 and only four games out in the NL Central. What the hell is going on here? The Pirates have been lambasted over the years for being a small market […]

Rumors were flying around the water cooler this morning that Angels pitcher Scott Kazmir was looking awful in rehab, and that the team was going to release him and eat the approximately $8 million left on his contract this season, and the $2.5 million buyout on his deal for next year. The Angels acquired Kazmir […]

This is nothing new. Verlander threw a perfect game earlier this year against the Blue Jays. On Tuesday, he went 7 1/3 without allowing a hit, before finishing with two hits allowed, one walk, one hit batter, and 12 strikeouts in a complete game shutout. In the month of June, Verlander’s stats are just insane. […]

On Sunday, White Sox manager was quoted as saying about his first baseman, Paul Konerko that “Paul Konerko will be in the Hall of Fame”. That got me to thinking. Is Konerko really a Hall of Fame-type player? He’s been flying under the radar for years as a solid hand at first base, and I’ve […]

During his career with the Padres, Jake Peavy was actually a pretty durable pitcher. Starting with his first full season in 2003, up to his trade to the White Sox in 2009, Peavy had made at least 30 starts in all but two seasons, when he logged 27 in both 2004 and 2008. When the […]

David Price has always been highly touted, since being drafted out of Vanderbilt. But it wasn’t until this season before he became truly elite. “What?” you ask. “His ERA is 3.52, and that’s a hell of a lot higher than the 2.72 it was last year!” You’re correct, his ERA is higher. But Price is […]

At the 2001 trading deadline, the San Francisco Giants needed a starting pitcher. The Pittsburgh Pirates had one available, Jason Schmidt. The two teams struck up a conversation, and a deal was reached, sending outfielder Armando Rios and pitcher Ryan Vogelsong to the Pirates in exchange for Schmidt. Vogelsong was drafted out of a eastern […]

It’s May 31, 2011. Quick, who’s in first place in the NL West? Is it the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants? Is it the Colorado Rockies, who have two of the top ten best players in the National League? No, it’s neither of those teams. The first place team in the NL West finished […]

After a career high fifth blown save on Monday, the Kansas City Royals announced that once-dominant closer Joakim Soria had been stripped of his role, and the new closer would be rookie Aaron Crow. My initial reaction was “…really?”. Relievers are a notoriously volatile commodity, and to demote a guy who had been one of […]