The thousand-run team against the man who has put up possibly the best single-season pitching performance ever, and a bunch of his friends. Is it a lopsided matchup? Lineups The Indians have offense in spades, which made life considerably easier for them over the course of 162 games. Now that we’re into a short season,…
A rematch of the 1997 pairing that turned out to be no match, with the Braves handily beating the Astros in three straight. The Braves come into this series as heavy favorites, due both to their strong September and the Astros’ struggles in the last two weeks. Lineups The Astrodome masks the fact that the…
The Arizona Diamondbacks are the new kids on the block: the quickest to 100 wins–and the playoffs–of any team in history. The New York Mets were the popular choice for the wild card, but it took a playoff with the upstart Cincinnati Reds to get them to the postseason. The D’Backs owned the Mets in…
Episode Three in their ongoing saga. The Yankees bounced the Rangers in the Division Series in 1996 and 1998 on their way to World Series titles. The Rangers, in fact, are the only team the Yankees have beaten in the first round, losing to Seattle in 1995 and Cleveland in 1997. Lineups These are the…
THE RACES “We’re building a lot of character right now. Let’s hope it’s character we can use in the playoffs.” — Orel Hershiser, Mets pitcher “We just didn’t need the added frustration of playing a game like this with these umpires. The season is over within a week, so we don’t have to deal with…
Just one week ago, the New York Mets seemed in firm possession of the National League wild-card spot, a position they had held for several months. There was even a solid chance at a National League East title, with six games against Atlanta looming. Despite the formidable schedule, it seemed like they had little to…
DOWN TO THE WIRE "We don’t have a big lead, but we have enough of a lead." — Larry Dierker, Astros manager, after the Astros lead dropped to 2.5 games over Cincinnati "We still have the Giants right where we want them. We still control our own destiny." — Luis Gonzalez, Diamondbacks outfielder, after cutting…
"So, I was sitting at my desk today, putting the final touches on the latest Transaction Analysis by Chris Kahrl, when out of the blue, I felt someone jump on my back. I was able to shake him off, and I’m OK except for a few cuts and bruises. Just another day at the office,…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS Purchased the contract of C Rod Barajas from El Paso (Double-A); placed LHP Bryan Shouse on the 60-day DL. [9/18] Claimed LHP Jeff Kubenka off of waivers from the Dodgers. [9/20] It’s a bit surprising that the Snakes didn’t have a third catcher up sooner. Greg Colbrunn really isn’t much more than an…
September Showdown Six games, ten days, two cities. Three inner-circle Hall of Famers. A division title hanging in the balance. OK, the safety net of the wild card takes away some of the drama, but these are still some of the biggest regular-season series we’ve seen in some time. The New York Mets and Atlanta…
HERE WE GO AGAIN "I was getting a bit anxious up there, a little out of control, swinging at everything because everybody was waiting for this moment." —Sammy Sosa, Cubs outfielder, after belting #60 "What I’ve done so far isn’t too shabby, but it really doesn’t mean much when your team’s not in the race."…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Activated LHP Mike Holtz from the DL. [9/10] As is the theme for the Halos, this has been a wasted year for Holtz. He entered the year with a golden opportunity to clinch a spot as a situational lefty, and he hasn’t done it. He could still be useful to somebody. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS…
Okay, so the Indians have clinched the division title, and nobody was surprised by this since it was a foregone conclusion that they’d win it this year since, what, 1997? The question is we need to keep in mind is whether or not the other teams in the AL Central have spent their time wisely–in…
The Yankees’ other fat toad As the Yankees coast to their third division title in four years, Joe Torre and company must begin to examine candidates for the probable playoff roster, including choosing his postseason rotation. The subject hasn’t received much press, but Torre should consider leaving Roger Clemens out of that rotation entirely. Clemens…
UMPIRES “The resignations will stand and the new umpires are permanent employees. We are proud to have them on board.” — Bud Selig, MLB commissioner “I have no idea what I’m going to do now. There aren’t a lot of opportunities out there for a 48-year old ex-major league umpire that I know of.” —…
Slithering Along The NL West has become a tale of two teams, and including the Giants at this point is admittedly something of a stretch. At the All-Star break, the BP staff posted its collective choices for the best in the majors, and also analyzed the divisional races and tried to anticipate the rest of…