About a month into the season, the Oakland A’s were 8-18, and the New York Yankees were primarily worried about the Boston Red Sox. As late as June, speculation was that the A’s would ship first baseman Jason Giambi to the Yankees at the deadline, as they were hopelessly behind the Emerald City Juggernaut. Well,…
One criticism levied against the A’s this year is that they are somehow too dependent on home runs. There are two reasons to scorn this pointless argument. One is that it’s essentially a last-gasp defense of batting average: The A’s have a poor team batting average, and we all know that’s bad, like pollution and…
My opinions about the Indians/Mariners series can be found here. As far as the other three Division Series are concerned: Braves/Astros There’s no question in my mind that when everyone is healthy, the Astros have a superior team to the Braves. Their pitching isn’t that far behind Atlanta’s, and their lineup is probably the best…
[Ed. note. Clay Davenport isn’t a doctor, nor does he play one on TV. He does, however, have some interesting observations on the greatness of Barry Bonds’s 2001 season. Rany Jazayerli yields the floor to him this week.] I’m having trouble deciding which of Barry Bonds‘s new records is the most astounding. I’m pretty sure…
Has a dynasty started to crumble? The Braves couldn’t win 90 games this year, although their Pythagorean projections and their 19-24 record in one-run games pretty much say that they should have. Even so, the Braves did win their seventh straight division title. The Astros made a full rebound from last year’s collapse, but the…
The Baseball Prospectus staff discussed this week’s playoffs. Mariners/Indians Joe Sheehan: Indians in five. Derek Zumsteg: Okay, I’ll bite–you’re mad. The Mariners have a slightly better offense, a bullpen an order of magnitude better (with Cleveland’s stats including their pre-John Rocker goodness), and a better rotation. The Indians are talking about using a three-man rotation,…
The general consensus is that this is a mismatch, with the greatest regular-season team in AL history taking on a fading dynasty on its last legs. The thing to remember is this: in a short series, anything can happen. Anything. Lineups (AVG/OBP/SLG/Equivalent Average) Seattle Mariners RF Ichiro Suzuki (.350/.381/.457/.311) SS Mark McLemore (.286/.384/.406/.306) DH Edgar…
My ballot for the Internet Baseball Awards, sponsored by Baseball Prospectus and coming to a browser near you this week. I’ve written about most of these at length elsewhere, so commentary will be brief. American League MVP 1. Jason Giambi, Athletics 2. Alex Rodriguez, Rangers 3. Bret Boone, Mariners 4. Roberto Alomar, Indians 5. Jim…
Two months ago, the Cardinals were thought to have given up the 2001 season, having made just one minor deal–giving away the established player–at the trade deadline. They made a mad run at the NL Central title, and ended up as the league’s wild card. They’ll face the Diamondbacks, who had three of the league’s…
MR. BONDS "You know, it’s tough being this patient." –to coach Robby Thompson, who was frustrated with the Astros pitching around Bonds "I can’t even express my feelings. I think some of them got some cheap shots in on my rib cage. So many years of frustration, I guess. That kind of got to me."…
I get a lot of e-mail that reads, "I liked reading your article until it turned into another stupid A’s love-fest." It’s a valid criticism: while I talk a lot about the A’s and their player-development philosophy, their success, their control of the strike zone, and their amazing trade acumen, the Mariners have nearly as…
Superlatives are beginning to lose their meaning. Memories are being made nearly every single moment by some of the greatest players in history. Teams are battling desperately to become a great story, or to avoid becoming one. Is it possible that we’re seeing the greatest week in baseball history? Consider: From a team perspective: no…
Lots of stuff… Barry Bonds choked again last night, failing to hit a home run on any of the three strikes he saw in five plate appearances. At the rate he’s going, 180 walks is within reach, as is a .520 OBP. Anyone looking to criticize Bonds for his plate discipline should note that he…
Tuesday’s column over on ESPN.com on the Favorite Toy produced quite a reader response about omitted players, such as this note: I enjoyed your ESPN column today–it is fun to speculate about these things. One thing I noticed was the absence of the player who, prior to 2000, usually led all of these discussions–Ken Griffey….
The Braves did it again last night, wasting a good start by Greg Maddux and losing 2-1 to the Phillies, shortening their lead in the NL East to one game. This team’s inability to score against anyone not named Armando Benitez has gotten ridiculous, and may cost them a spot in the postseason, their first…