tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62504762012-04-26T14:38:55.968-04:00Talking BaseballYour weekday baseball fix. Some days.Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09617306899427763094noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1109126353170917982005-02-22T21:38:00.000-05:002005-02-22T21:40:20.746-05:00The Class of 2006: Top Ten Free Agents to Watch During 2005This column is posted at 360 The Pitch. You can read it all here, but I'd prefer if you clicked here to check out the new site.The free agent class of 2004-2005 did well for itself. Big signings — some of the biggest since the early 2000s — dominated the headlines, and players from Pedro Martinez to Carlos Beltran to Carlos Delgado ended Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1108717456598722062005-02-18T04:01:00.000-05:002005-02-18T18:18:55.636-05:00Breaking Records, Not RulesBaseball’s 2004 seasons was one for the ages. The impossible was possible, and ‘dramatic’ hardly begins to describe the October magic witnessed by fans. But before anybody even realized that the World Series baseball was in a safe in Florida, the buzz had returned to steroids. The recent off-season was filled with important developments and player transactions, which Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09617306899427763094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1108626493910657622005-02-17T02:46:00.000-05:002005-02-17T02:48:13.916-05:00Steroid Scandal Shows Major League DisconnectThis column is posted at 360 The Pitch. You can read it all here, but I'd prefer if you clicked here to check out the new site.I really care about baseball’s steroid issue. I’ve found, however, that I am among the minority and that disturbs me.Most passionate fans care about the steroid issue because it affects the integrity of the game and it sullies Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1108258531043262362005-02-12T20:34:00.000-05:002005-02-13T00:30:33.636-05:00"We like our players hurt."I don't think you're going to find a team in baseball that shares that sentiment. In fact, most teams do their best to prevent injuries from occurring in the first place. It's good business. A team just isn't going to win as many games as it should if its best players are missing significant amounts of playing time.This brings me to the Baseball World Cup that could Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08771028377645393895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1108023489998407852005-02-10T02:32:00.000-05:002005-02-11T11:43:39.356-05:00First Impressions Mean EverythingPedro Martinez has had little trouble making headlines this obsession and once again he's made the news by surprising us all. He showed up, get this, early for Spring Training. Red Sox fans, management, and players have spent the last few years collectively going insane because Pedro supplied a seemingly limitless supply of excuses as to why he couldn't show up Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08771028377645393895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1107799588541037672005-02-07T13:04:00.000-05:002005-02-07T13:06:28.543-05:00Canseco's Steroid Revelations Put MLB in a Tough Spot
This column is posted at 360 The Pitch. You can read it all here, but I'd prefer if you clicked here to check out the new site.
The story no one in baseball wants to hear — rumors about steroid use — reared its ugly head once again this weekend.
With little more than a week left before pitchers and catchers report to training camps in warm Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1107234336997795772005-02-01T01:03:00.000-05:002005-02-01T00:07:43.003-05:00Twins Show Santana a Lack of Faith, Committment
What would you do with the opportunity to lock up the best young pitchers in baseball to a long-term deal? Would you throw as much money as you could at him or would you do almost everything possible to make sure he leaves to free agency?
If you were the Minnesota Twins, the second option sounds surprisingly appealing, and it's exactly how they’veBen K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1106722872384637352005-01-26T01:55:00.000-05:002005-01-26T02:01:12.386-05:00Arbitrary Arbitration
But first: Recently, this blog passed it's one-year anniversary with very little fanfare. Those of you who are our loyal readers have probably caught on to the fact that we're not posting with any sort of regularity anymore. Yet, you may also have noticed that over the past few weeks, I've thrown up some new columns on a somewhat regular basis. That's because these columsn Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1106208076807300332005-01-20T03:00:00.000-05:002005-01-20T03:01:16.806-05:00Future History: The Unique Arbitration Case of Roger Clemens
As pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in 25 days and the Carlos Delgado free agent chase draws to a close, the last remaining loose threads of the off-season are the arbitration cases scheduled for the next few weeks. While these are usually mundane hearings that determine how much of a raise a player will get, this year,Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1105752754400904362005-01-14T20:30:00.000-05:002005-01-14T20:32:34.400-05:00The Hidden Impact of the Steroid Policy
By now, it’s no secret that Major League Baseball and the Players Association has beefed up baseball’s drug-testing program. On the heels of the BALCO scandal and calls from prominent politicians, baseball’s new policy is a major step in the right direction. While some people still believe that the policy is lacking in regards to the issue of amphetamine Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1105752600791566952005-01-09T20:29:00.000-05:002005-01-14T20:30:00.790-05:00The Beltran Blues
When Carlos Beltran traded in his red Astros pinstripes for a set of blue Mets pinstripes on Monday, he did more than just break the hearts of Houston fans. Rather, he set back the Astros by at least a spot or two in the division. He also sent the team spiraling into a rebuilding mode with only 35 days left until Spring Training camps open and with precious few free agents Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1103874095947950062004-12-24T01:13:00.000-05:002004-12-24T02:41:35.946-05:00A Tale of Two Sluggers
Something is rotten in the state of baseball.
Something is wrong with the economics of the off-season.
Last year, the word on the street was collusion. When Rondell White, Reggie Sanders, Jose Guillen, and Jose Cruz, Jr., all signed two-year, $6 million contracts, the c word spread through the baseball commentary community like wildfire. But now, in an effort seemingly Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1102056964545718752004-12-03T01:44:00.000-05:002004-12-03T03:03:48.443-05:00Baseball Morals
Does this surprise you? Giambi admitted taking steroids. No, me neither.
How about this one? Bonds Testimony. I can't say I wasn't expected that one either.
What happens from here with this scandal is all up in there, and I'm not going to talk about it now. But as I was watching this story break on the 1 a.m. (Eastern Time) edition of SportsCenter did surprise me. In Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1098866425598817482004-10-27T04:38:00.000-04:002004-10-27T04:40:25.596-04:00Saddling Up
They're coming. Somehow.
If this actually happens, I'll write about what this New Yorker thinks this victory means for Red Sox Nation. That is, if the world doesn't end first.Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1098350768514477732004-10-21T04:32:00.000-04:002004-10-21T05:27:34.866-04:00Bringing Down the House that Ruth Built
I'll never forget it.
On Sunday, everybody in Fenway Park knows he's stealing second. Then Dave Roberts scores the tying run on a Bill Mueller single with Mariano Rivera on the mound. Roberts slides feet-first into homeplate, pops up, and in one motion jumps, spins, lets out a triumphant scream, and pumps his fist.
It was the beginning of the end for theJonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09617306899427763094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1098171859136817902004-10-19T03:43:00.000-04:002004-10-19T03:44:19.136-04:00Sixteen-Million Dollar Man
Is anybody else getting sick of being constantly reminded of the seemingly minimal sum of money that prevented Theo Epstein from bringing A-Rod to Boston? Yes, it was a huge disappointment for Boston fans, but lest we forget the Red Sox would have lost the best hitter in the American League and the best right-handed hitter in baseball if A-Rod had joined the Beantown Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09617306899427763094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1098171779770236712004-10-19T03:42:00.000-04:002004-10-19T03:42:59.770-04:00"Drive Him In" David Ortiz
Quick, answer these two questions:
1) Who's the best hitter on the Red Sox?
2) Who do you want at the plate in a clutch situation?
The answer for these two questions should be the same, right? Don't you always want your best hitter at the plate in a clutch situation?
Yet, my suspicion is that many Red Sox fans would answer Manny Ramirez for question one and David Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09617306899427763094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1098132414973951492004-10-18T16:40:00.000-04:002004-10-18T16:46:54.973-04:00More Delusions
Rarely does this sabermetric-oriented fan find himself itching to see the Sox try to steal a base. But something came over me with Roberts pinch running and Rivera on the mound.
Honestly, Francona would be kidding himself if he expected two hits against Rivera. My thinking was that at most, he'd allow one more baserunner. To score, the Red Sox needed all the help they could get.
Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09617306899427763094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1098094178838304332004-10-18T06:01:00.000-04:002004-10-18T06:09:38.840-04:00Back and Forth
My life as a Red Sox fan can be described with two emotions: unadulterated elation and resigned helplessness. Sox fans move from one extreme to the other at a moment's notice. The team never fails to leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the citizens of the Nation. But there is always hope. And tonight was no exception.
Elation and helplessness plagued my evening. Lowe looked Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09617306899427763094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1096582215889380832004-10-02T13:15:00.000-04:002004-10-02T21:30:56.096-04:00The Washington Bureaucrats?
It's official! Almost. After a few years of playing split-season games in both Montreal and Puerto Rice the Montreal Expos has finally escaped their own personal purgatory and will be moving to Washington D.C. for the 2005 season. Major League Baseball has announced that pending a vote by the major league owners the Expos will be playing their 2005 home games in Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08771028377645393895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1096611789746923292004-10-01T01:40:00.000-04:002004-10-01T02:32:33.573-04:00A Monumental Move
For all of the sadness I feel for Montreal and its fans, there's one thing I love about a new team in Washington: coming up with it's name.
Now, I'm sure we'll hear a lot of people calling for the reinstatement of the Senators, but frankly, that's too bland for me. No, instead D.C. needs something new. I just have one rule: no "cool" animal names!
We had the Florida Marlins, Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09617306899427763094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1096528479609682202004-09-30T01:33:00.000-04:002004-09-30T03:27:59.323-04:00A Sad End to the Saga of the Expos
After years and years of speculation, it hasn't taken long to soak in: Major League Baseball in Montreal is no more. The Expos, a childhood favorite ever since a family trip brought me to Le Stade Olympic, will soon cease to exist. I'm not tearing up, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for the mighty Montreal Expos. Their accomplishments may seem Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09617306899427763094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1090817396764261702004-07-26T00:32:00.000-04:002004-07-26T01:00:54.383-04:00A Little Bit of Everything
I was wrapped up in the emotions of this weekend's Yankees-Red Sox series (and a nice weekend-long visit from my girlfriend) that I did not have time to come up with a long post on one topic. So I figured that I would take a quick look at a few short topics and end with a few thoughts on tonight's ESPN telecast of the game between the Red Sox and the Yankees.
Where Ben K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1090442561712110852004-07-21T16:33:00.000-04:002004-07-21T16:48:40.930-04:00The Hunt for Value - Part I: The Story of a Few Undervalued, Underutilized, and Underappreciated Relievers
At this time of year, everyone wants them and everyone's talking about them: Middle relievers. With the deadline fast approaching, the best of the best are trying to shore up weaknesses in preparation for a stretch run. Chances are, if you're a division leader, your starting pitching and Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087131258541261541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250476.post-1090217378765043162004-07-19T02:04:00.000-04:002004-07-19T02:09:38.766-04:00A Published Writer
As part of my summer this year, I'm interning one day a week at a weekly neighborhood paper in New York called the Resident. The paper has a circulation of about 200,000 to various parts of Manhattan. This week, I asked them if I could write the sports article on the allure and popularity of fantasy baseball.
Well, they said yes, and I got to write about 800 words on fantasyBen K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11938851241067496400noreply@blogger.com