Big Hurt Hurt… But Not As Bad As You Think One of the great pleasures of baseball in the 1990s has been watching Frank Thomas hit. A lethal package of bat speed, raw power, and plate discipline, "The Big Hurt" has put up a string of seasons that have let us talk about him in…
Decline at the Deuce? In 1996, second basemen Roberto Alomar and Chuck Knoblauch were two of the six best players in the American League. Each was right in their prime, putting up a .900 OPS season and, rightly or no, hailed as defensive wizards. Alomar 1996: .328/.411/.527, .318 EQA Knoblauch 1996: .341/.448/.517, .316 EQA, 45/14…
TOP TEN TEAMS Yankees Braves Astros Padres Red Sox Mets Indians Cubs Rangers Angels No real surprises. Cleveland is where you’d expect them, but that’s by default. They haven’t played good baseball since May. The Oriole run is a nice story, but it’s over. I still think Seattle’s got one big push left in them,…
In the wake of Randy Johnson‘s three-game suspension for throwing at Kenny Lofton‘s head (and did anyone else think of Crocodile Dundee? “That’s not wild, mate. That’s wild.”), the other professional sports have announced they will follow the AL President Gene Budig‘s example of sitting players down for similiarly significant lengths of time. Today, the…
Lineupectomies attempt to construct the best possible usage of players within an organization. They will occasionally recommend that a player who is a regular be benched, or that a bit player be given a starting job. Please note that the articles deal with what we believe should happen, not what will happen. CHICAGO WHITE SOX…
With very few significant free agents unsigned, and the trade market at a bit of a standstill, we thought it would be a good time to look at what your favorite team should look like in three months. Here’s the first in the midwinter Lineupectomy series. BALTIMORE ORIOLES An aging, overrated team whose offense should…
Welcome to our six-part series on the upcoming expansion draft, and who the established teams should be protecting. We’ll be looking at every major league team and making our picks on who they should be protecting. Please note this isn’t a prediction on who they *will* be protecting. We’re sure the Angels will be protecting…