For the first time in a few years, the pack begins to move away from the Atlanta Braves, as the New York Mets make a series of poor decisions. The Philadelphia Phillies, once again, think they’re closer than they actually are, while the Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins take more baby steps toward respectability. Atlanta…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS Signed RHP Matt Mantei to a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration; signed RHP Mike Morgan to a minor-league contract, with a spring-training NRI. [1/14] Is anyone amused that the D’backs seriously underestimated Mantei’s salary expectations, crippling the effort to get him signed to a multi-year deal? Given his spotty health record, this may actually…
Unless you’re the Anaheim Angels–who seem to be taking the term "offseason" literally–the winter has been a busy one for the American League West. New GM Pat Gillick hasn’t been shy about spending the Mariners’ increased budget, the Rangers have revamped their team via a blockbuster trade and free agency and, surprisingly, the Athletics have…
Part two of our ongoing review of our Top 40 Prospects from Baseball Prospectus 1999: 32. Rob Bell, RHP, Cincinnati (BBA: #35, Sickels: HM) What we said last year: "Bell had the best curveball in the Carolina League and led the circuit with 197 K’s last year…between Bell and Scott Williamson, and the addition of…
Superficially, it appears there’s been a lot of fireworks and retooling in the AL East, but what have the teams in the division really accomplished? This is the division that hosts the World Champs, which you would think would be incentive for the others to improve. Yet when you revisit this winter’s activity, you see…
One of the principles we’d most like to see baseball embrace is accountability. All too often organizations make excuses for managers who let promising young players rot on the bench while some 33-year-old hits .240 but leads the league in intangibles. They employ GMs who give a good outfielder coming off one great year $14…
Tuesday, the Baseball Hall of fame announced its newest inductees, catcher Carlton Fisk and first baseman Tony Perez. Here’s a brief Baseball Prospectus look at each player. Carlton Fisk NAME AGE YR TEAM AB H DB TP HR BB+ SB CS OUT RUN RBI BA OBA SA UEQR EQA EQR RAR WAR CARLTON FISK 21…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Signed LHP Greg Cadaret to a minor-league contract. [1/5] Signed 2B/3B Scott Spiezio to a one-year contract, and IFs Pat Kelly and Jason Bates to minor-league contracts. [1/7] Unless Keith Luuloa convinces a Disney exec that Sneezy was the Hawaiian-American dwarf, Spiezio has a lock on the Angel second-base job. There are a…
Many thanks to the record 518 participants in this ninth edition of the STATLG-L Hall of Fame voting. The results are in the book … and nobody won. None of the 30 players on this year’s Baseball Writers Association of America ballot were named on the requisite 75% of the submitted votes. Fact is, no…
Since the original appearance of " Field General or Backstop?" in last year’s Baseball Prospectus, we’re received a great deal of praise and compliments on the article, for which we’re grateful. We’ve also received some thoughtful criticism that is worth responding to (there’s also been some not so thoughtful criticism, but that’s what the Delete…
TRADES “Fernando [Vina] is the type of player we have been seeking for some time. He’s a proven leadoff hitter who runs well, plays solid defense, and will serve as a catalyst for our offense.” — Walt Jocketty, Cardinals GM “San Diego is where I would love to play. And I think Bret [Boone] and…
What do we know about catching?