For a small market team like the Tampa Bay Rays, there really was no option but to embrace sabermetrics. Just like the Oakland Athletics‘ ”Moneyball” situation, the Rays have the disadvantage of being a small market team that has to compete with organizations with greater finances to spend on top-name players. And also, like the A’s, [...]
It wasn’t that long ago that the Texas Rangers were at the top of the AL. Behind Ron Washington, they won back-to-back pennants in 2010 and 2011 and reached the World Series both years as well. And while the opposing NL teams differed, the results were the same. The Rangers lost both series in heartbreaking [...]
When it comes to the NL Rookie of the Year for 2013, the options are really down to two candidates. The first is Yasiel Puig, the polarizing star that almost single-handedly brought the Los Angeles Dodgers to the playoffs, and Jose Fernandez, the phenom pitcher for the Miami Marlins that is already one of the [...]
One of the more intriguing rumors that has been surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies as of late is regarding who will and who won’t be on the coaching staff in 2014. And now that the interim tag has officially been removed from Ryne Sandberg, decisions on that very staff can begin. One name that has been [...]
The Philadelphia Phillies had the option to trade Cliff Lee this year but they didn’t. And while the “sell high” mentality could have taken over, the Phillies chose to keep Lee. Considering the role he looks to play on the 2014 pitching staff and the team as a whole, keeping Lee was easily the best [...]
On the same day that the Philadelphia Phillies announced that Ryne Sandberg would be returning on a full-time basis next year, the Washington Nationals bid goodbye to Davey Johnson in an appropriate, fitting and really beautiful tribute. In short, what the Nationals did for Johnson was everything that the Phillies should have done for Charlie [...]
When the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds met for a three-game series near the end of September, it certainly did not disappoint and proved to be must-watch television. And when they do it again in a series that will end the regular season for both teams, it is once again going to be must-watch television. [...]
Make no mistake; if numbers were the only important factor in deciding the 2013 NL MVP, Paul Goldschmidt would be the hands-down, odds-on favorite to take home the trophy. As it is though, Goldschmidt is of the very real disadvantage that his team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, will not be making the postseason. The MVP is supposed to be awarded based [...]
Without Freddie Freeman, the Atlanta Braves never would have won the NL East and they may not have even made the postseason either. While his resume is no doubt impressive, no other player has made as big an impact on his team than Freeman. And that right there is exactly what it means to be [...]
