Joe Kennedy is a left-handed starter in the Devil Rays system. He has been incredibly successful throughout his minor-league career, and was recently promoted to Triple-A Durham from Double-A Orlando. At Orlando, Kennedy posted a ridiculous 0.19 ERA, with 52 strikeouts, three walks, and 29 hits in 47 innings over seven starts. Joe was kind…
TUESDAYS WITH RICKEY "I accept it as respect. You’re trying to boo Rickey to get his attention. You’re paying attention to me. You’re talking to me." —Rickey Henderson, Padres outfielder, on hearing boos from Mets fans in his return to New York "I didn’t know what to expect, but a lot of the fans were…
Completing the extended tour of performances to date, here’s a glance at Double-A and below. The Erie SeaWolves are giving Tigers fans a lot of reasons for hope. They’re tearing apart the Eastern League, leading it in runs, BA, walks, and OBP, and are in middle of the pack in ERA. Shortstop prospect Omar Infante,…
Yesterday, Joe Sheehan wrote about the talents of Ichiro Suzuki. Today, I want to talk about how those talents have translated into some truly historic performances. Let’s start with one of Jayson Stark’s favorite facts, that Ichiro has already had a 15-game hitting streak and now has an active 21-game hitting streak, both in the…
I’m not a particularly great baseball analyst. I’m constantly fascinated and amazed by how little we really know about the game, and the limitations inherent in any analysis of the game, be it evaluation of performance data or by observation. I tend to get caught up in the problems with our tools, and the poor…
Here’s a look around the minor leagues, similar to what I did for the AL and NL last week. I’ll focus mainly on Triple-A today, then the rest of the minors tomorrow. (Honest.) Alfonso Soriano has gotten a lot of attention for his play, and Tino Martinez has managed to be adequate so far, but…
This week’s question comes from Chuck Hildebrandt, who writes: Being a lifelong Detroit Tiger fan, I was studying the 1984 season in Total Baseball when I was startled by something I saw in the National League. I noticed that the New York Mets, managed by Davey Johnson, were outscored by their competition, 652-676, yet finished…
I’ve gone about a week without a functioning e-mail address, but I think I’m handling it well. My last offer to get it fixed was my left arm, but I think the powers that be are holding out for the right one and a kidney to be named later. I figure we’ll have a deal…
When trying to come up with inspiration for the first Doctoring the Numbers segment of the new season, there is no better place to be than at the ballpark. I discovered this when I took in a matinee at Comerica Park last Thursday on a muggy Detroit afternoon. The Tigers had just deflated their crowd…
Not long ago, with offensive levels rising and some of the greatest players in the game’s long history performing at their peak, speculation was rampant that the game’s most hallowed records–most notably Hank Aaron‘s 755 career home runs–were in severe jeopardy. Maybe not. Mark McGwire, whose 135 home runs in 1998 and 1999 made him…
HE’S JUST A FRIEND "I think I kissed Omar once before, maybe in ’98 or ’99. He just smiled. I think he was as happy as I was." —Dave Burba, Indians pitcher, after kissing infielder Omar Vizquel, who helped Burba win his 100th game "I think that’s the second teammate I’ve kissed in my career."…
About 10 days ago, Yankee second baseman/left fielder/Sergeant York impersonator Chuck Knoblauch was greeted rudely by Twins fans sitting in the left-field bleachers. Knoblauch was showered with currency, pork products, and words normally used to summon cabs in New York City by Twins fans, apparently distraught over Knoblauch’s request for a trade after the 1997…