A weblog of baseball news and analysis
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Smoltz for Alexander. A great trade for the Braves and...a great trade for the Tigers. (The Hardball Times)
The Williams-Santo Cubs: 1970-1973. "If the Cubs were frustrated following 1969, they had to have been devastated following 1970. One would think they would be more motivated than ever to get it right this time. Yet their sequence of off-season transactions was bizarre, almost insane." (The Hardball Times)
Jays Roundtable - Getting Bang for the Bucks. "The Blue Jays announced that they'll have $210 million to spend on player salaries from 2005-2007...Where should the Jays try to improve with the extra money?" (Batter's Box Baseball Blog)
A spelling guide from Blue Cats and Red Sox. "Jason VARITEK. I can't believe I forgot this one, I see it all the time and it drives me bat**** insane (thanks Commentor Cathryn for the heads up. I'll even forgive the fact that she uses livejournal). People. It is is not spelled Veritek. Verily he is a good catcher, but verily his name is spelled with a frigging A. VARItek, like his manly charms are many and VARIED. So many bloggers screw this one up. Aaargh. I'm going to go break something."
Peavy has Padres believing he has the stuff of legends. "Peavy is one of baseball's scarcest commodities – a young pitcher whose performance matches his potential. He led the major leagues last season with a 2.27 earned-run average, winning 15 games despite seven missed starts. He is, consequently, a person of singular importance to the Padres." (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Father, May I? "The reason the Padres are so intimidating is they don't have many candidates for decline. Maybe Mark Loretta, sure. One or two of the bullpen heads could stumble. However, the rest of the team looks to perform as well or better than last year. The team won 87 games last year, even with the injury problems they had. They didn't lose a Beltre-sized talent, and are probably going to be a better team than what they fielded last year." (The McCovey Chronicles)
Division Title, Neat. "For all of the talk about the Dodgers being the Hated Dodgers, they are absolutely necessary. They are the counterpoint, the villian, the Snidely Whiplash tying our heroines to railroad tracks...Erase the Rockies, though, and no one would notice. Stetson-bedecked wordsmith Tracy Ringolsby would wake as if from some horrible dream, and start to cover the Royals. Coors Field would take on this sort of enigmatic monument quality, as scholars would argue what it was previously used for. The 'celestial calendar'-faction would have a sizable advantage." (The McCovey Chronicles)
Big Spenders. "The Diamondbacks were broke. Real broke. Then they put a coat on they haven't worn in years, and found millions and millions of dollars. They bought Troy Glaus and Russ Ortiz, and traded for high-ticket items like Shawn Green and Javier Vazquez. But is it art? Or, rather, a good team?" (The McCovey Chronicles)
Yankees notebook: Womack assumes he'll bat leadoff. Red Sox fans cross their fingers and hope he's right. (Newark Star-Ledger)
The Williams-Santo Cubs: 1970-1973. "If the Cubs were frustrated following 1969, they had to have been devastated following 1970. One would think they would be more motivated than ever to get it right this time. Yet their sequence of off-season transactions was bizarre, almost insane." (The Hardball Times)
Jays Roundtable - Getting Bang for the Bucks. "The Blue Jays announced that they'll have $210 million to spend on player salaries from 2005-2007...Where should the Jays try to improve with the extra money?" (Batter's Box Baseball Blog)
A spelling guide from Blue Cats and Red Sox. "Jason VARITEK. I can't believe I forgot this one, I see it all the time and it drives me bat**** insane (thanks Commentor Cathryn for the heads up. I'll even forgive the fact that she uses livejournal). People. It is is not spelled Veritek. Verily he is a good catcher, but verily his name is spelled with a frigging A. VARItek, like his manly charms are many and VARIED. So many bloggers screw this one up. Aaargh. I'm going to go break something."
Peavy has Padres believing he has the stuff of legends. "Peavy is one of baseball's scarcest commodities – a young pitcher whose performance matches his potential. He led the major leagues last season with a 2.27 earned-run average, winning 15 games despite seven missed starts. He is, consequently, a person of singular importance to the Padres." (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Father, May I? "The reason the Padres are so intimidating is they don't have many candidates for decline. Maybe Mark Loretta, sure. One or two of the bullpen heads could stumble. However, the rest of the team looks to perform as well or better than last year. The team won 87 games last year, even with the injury problems they had. They didn't lose a Beltre-sized talent, and are probably going to be a better team than what they fielded last year." (The McCovey Chronicles)
Division Title, Neat. "For all of the talk about the Dodgers being the Hated Dodgers, they are absolutely necessary. They are the counterpoint, the villian, the Snidely Whiplash tying our heroines to railroad tracks...Erase the Rockies, though, and no one would notice. Stetson-bedecked wordsmith Tracy Ringolsby would wake as if from some horrible dream, and start to cover the Royals. Coors Field would take on this sort of enigmatic monument quality, as scholars would argue what it was previously used for. The 'celestial calendar'-faction would have a sizable advantage." (The McCovey Chronicles)
Big Spenders. "The Diamondbacks were broke. Real broke. Then they put a coat on they haven't worn in years, and found millions and millions of dollars. They bought Troy Glaus and Russ Ortiz, and traded for high-ticket items like Shawn Green and Javier Vazquez. But is it art? Or, rather, a good team?" (The McCovey Chronicles)
Yankees notebook: Womack assumes he'll bat leadoff. Red Sox fans cross their fingers and hope he's right. (Newark Star-Ledger)