There is simply no perfect spring day that Bud Selig can’t ruin. Yesterday, Selig announced that he was going to begin enforcing a 27-year-old rule that had been ignored for, well, most of the last 27 years. According to the so-called "60-40" clause, teams cannot have debt higher than 40 percent of their asset value….
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six As noted in my last column, operating losses account for only $232 million of the $519 million Major League Baseball claims to have lost in 2001. Another $112,491,000 represents net interest expenses. Here’s how the interest was distributed: Team Interest Chicago Cubs $4,665,000…
If the Royals are in a good frame of mind, it must be spring. If they’re still in first place, it must be spring. If Tony Muser has a smile on his face, it definitely must be spring. Last season, spring training got off to an inauspicious debut when intriguing NRI Steve Rain put his…
A few weeks ago at the BP Pizza Feed in Los Angeles, one of the attendees–sorry, I don’t remember who–asked me what we could
expect from Jeff Torborg in Florida. The Marlins, as you know, have a large stable of young starting pitchers, including perhaps
the game’s top prospect, 22-year-old right-hander Josh Beckett. The questioner wanted to know if there was anything we
could glean from Torborg’s history that would indicate how he might handle the pitching talent on hand.
I spent my weekend watching college hoops and delving into Jeff Torborg’s managerial career, so today’s column is everyone’s favorite: Short-Attention-Span Theatre!
A few weeks ago at the BP Pizza Feed in Los Angeles, one of the attendees–sorry, I don’t remember who–asked me what we could expect from Jeff Torborg in Florida. The Marlins, as you know, have a large stable of young starting pitchers, including perhaps the game’s top prospect, 22-year-old right-hander Josh Beckett. The questioner…
I spent my weekend watching college hoops and delving into Jeff Torborg’s managerial career, so today’s column is everyone’s favorite: Short-Attention-Span Theatre! I really like the Ramon Hernandez signing. Hernandez hasn’t been a great hitter yet, but he did improve in 2001, is a pretty good defensive backstop, and is just 26. The A’s have…
It was an innocent enough question. When I did my column comparing Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel as regards their Hall of Fame resumes (or lack thereof), out of the blue the query came: is Larry Walker a Hall of Famer?
I spent a few hours this morning on the air with Mike Rosen of KOA Radio in Denver. Looking back on the segment–which included Rockies president Kelly McGregor and owner Jerry McMorris–I realize that I probably didn’t articulate just how optimistic I am about this team this year. In an NL West with no great team, the Rockies are a good one, and perfectly capable of winning the division.
It was an innocent enough question. When I did my column comparing Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel as regards their Hall of Fame resumes (or lack thereof), out of the blue the query came: is Larry Walker a Hall of Famer? My first instinct is "no." Not because of Coors Field, but because of his…
I spent a few hours this morning on the air with Mike Rosen of KOA Radio in Denver. Looking back on the segment–which included Rockies president Kelly McGregor and owner Jerry McMorris–I realize that I probably didn’t articulate just how optimistic I am about this team this year. In an NL West with no great…
Signed LHP Buddy Groom to a two-year contract extension with a club option for 2005. [2/25]
In the last installment of DTN, we examined the topic of whether left-handed pitchers take longer to have a breakout season than right-handers do. In the process, we had to define exactly what a “breakout” season is. I used a series of qualifiers to define the term, and it worked pretty well. But there is a much simpler definition:
A breakout season is what Roy Halladay had in 2001.
Many of the arguments for changing baseball’s economic structure refer to the NFL as the model for a new one. The NFL has a payroll cap and appears to lack the revenue disparities of MLB, and is quite successful and popular, so why shouldn’t MLB implement the tools that they use?
In the last installment of DTN, we examined the topic of whether left-handed pitchers take longer to have a breakout season than right-handers do. In the process, we had to define exactly what a "breakout" season is. I used a series of qualifiers to define the term, and it worked pretty well. But there is…