I’m pleased to present a bonus guest post from Gerry Garte, who recently volunteered to contribute here every other Friday. Gerry sent this post early because it references the World Series, which heads to Game 4 this evening. _________________ Manager Buck Showalter said it before Game 2 of the World Series: Bullpens do not belong [...]
Archive for October, 2010
The World Series 2010 Games One and Two, Or: Can’t Anyone Here Play This Game?
Posted: 31st October 2010 by Doug Bird in by Doug Bird, Giants 2010 postseasonI’m pleased to present the latest guest post by Doug Bird, who began contributing Sunday articles last week. Today, Doug offers a recap of the first two games of the World Series, written before Texas’s 4-2 victory in Game 3 on Saturday. _________________ Game 1: Giants 11, Rangers 7 Yeah, this was the pitcher’s duel [...]
Baseball’s Fortunate Son, Part II: Freddy Sanchez
Posted: 30th October 2010 by Joe Guzzardi in by Joe GuzzardiWith the World Series heading for Game 3 this evening, I’m pleased to present the latest guest post from Joe Guzzardi on a key player for one of the teams. _______________ In my final regular season blog, I identified Minnesota Twins pitcher Matt Capps as baseball’s fortunate son. Capps went from a maligned Pittsburgh Pirates [...]
With Wins Above Replacement being a relatively new stat in baseball, gaining acceptance only in the past decade, it makes sense many awards historically bear loose correlation with the WAR totals from their respective years. In fact, sometimes it’s been off by a wide margin. I bring this up because with the San Francisco Giants [...]
Bonus: Joe Posnanski replies to my Jackie Robinson piece
Posted: 28th October 2010 by Graham Womack in Jackie RobinsonFor anyone who missed it, I posted something this morning imagining Jackie Robinson on the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s. In putting together my piece on Wednesday, I contacted Sports Illustrated writer Joe Posnanski, who I interviewed in September and who wrote a 2009 book on those Reds. Posnanski got back to [...]
Editor’s note: To read Joe Posnanski’s take on this piece, go here. What he did: Robinson is an all-time hero for breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947, though I’ve noticed something talking to people about him. I’ve heard it suggested Robinson wouldn’t have made the Hall of Fame without being baseball’s first black player in [...]
If You Ask Roberto Clemente, Don Hoak Was the Pirates 1960 MVP
Posted: 27th October 2010 by Joe Guzzardi in by Joe GuzzardiHere’s the latest guest post from Joe Guzzardi which looks at one of the more controversial MVP votes in baseball history: 1960, when Dick Groat strangely triumphed over Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays, among others. Joe has another player in mind who could have won. ________________ One of the lingering debates among Pittsburgh [...]
Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Larry Walker
Posted: 26th October 2010 by Graham Womack in Larry WalkerClaim to fame: Walker could be the first Colorado Rockie in the Hall of Fame. In his prime, he offered Triple Crown-caliber batting, Gold Glove fielding, a rifle arm, and even impressive speed– lifetime he stole 230 bases to go with 383 home runs and a .313 career batting average. His career OPS of .965 [...]
Former Oakland Oaks catcher Billy Raimondi dies at 97
Posted: 25th October 2010 by Graham Womack in Billy RaimondiBilly and Francis Raimondi with daughter June, courtesy of Mark Macrae Billy Raimondi didn’t have World Series rings, millions of dollars in career earnings, or a single day of Major League Baseball service. What Raimondi had, when he died on October 18 in Alameda, California at 97, was family: A wife of 72 years, a [...]
The MLB Playoffs: No Day Games Commercials Between Pitches And Four Hour Games, TBS vs. Fox
Posted: 24th October 2010 by Doug Bird in by Doug BirdI’m pleased to present a guest post from Doug Bird, who has offered to write a regular Sunday post here. ________________ TBS hasn’t forgotten that the game is the star and not the announcer, Fox still hasn’t replaced the man with the golden voice with someone who actually cares about and pays attention to the [...]