The best-played game of the series so far went to the Mets, 4-2. Unlike the first two games, this one lacked the controversial baserunning and managerial decisions that gave us so much to talk about over the weekend. The primary thing to take from Game Three is an object lesson in what "bad defense" really…
As I’ve often mentioned, Baseball Prospectus is very lucky to have a readership that, on a daily basis, makes us smarter. One of our readers dropped a note to me last week in the wake of some recent pieces he’d seen here and on the Web: I’m excited about the Series and a little concerned…
Yankee fans are only now beginning to breathe normally again, after last night’s ninth-inning rally by the Mets fell one run short. For eight innings, Game Two was completely dominated by Roger Clemens and the Yankees, but once Clemens left–after just 112 pitches–the Mets scored five runs off of Jeff Nelson and Mariano Rivera before…
Timoniel Perez looked like he was going to get off the hook, thanks in part to Bubba Trammell. Trammell’s bases-loaded single in the seventh inning tied World Series Game One and set up the go-ahead infield single by Edgardo Alfonzo. Unfortunately for Perez, the Mets bullpen couldn’t hold the lead and he goes down as…
Rany Jazayerli: Civilization is ending as we know it, a plague of locusts has hit the Midwest and the sun rose in the west this morning. What bothers me most about watching everyone on TV pat themselves on their back for a job well done, is that everyone acts like the Mets and Yankees deserve…
(The time right after the regular season is a slow one on the transaction wires. Chris Kahrl sums up three weeks of inaction here, and returns next week with biweekly TAs.) Anaheim Angels Baltimore Orioles Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Indians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Florida Marlins Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Dodgers…
A series that presents a beguiling question: what, exactly, is the point of the travel days? Lineups (AVG/OBP/SLG/Equivalent Average) (Ed. Note: For players who played for multiple teams, their EqA only reflects their performance with their current team.) New York DH Chuck Knoblauch (.283/.366/.385/.257) SS Derek Jeter (.339/.416/.481/.304) LF David Justice (.286/.377/.584/.312*) CF Bernie Williams…
I guess I’m supposed to be more excited. As many of you know, I was born and raised in New York City, and while I have lived in Southern California for more than ten years–picking up a degree, a wife and an aversion to wind-chill factors along the way–I’ve never let go of my affection…
A few random notes from the LCSs: Tony LaRussa’s decision to use Darryl Kile on three days’ rest has opened him to some criticism. I don’t think this was LaRussa’s best performance, but I can’t argue with that decision. Kile threw fewer than 90 pitches in Game One and LaRussa’s pitching was a mess with…
Over at ESPN.com there’s a piece on the greatest World Series games since 1975, as chosen by the BP staff. The piece has generated a lot of e-mail, and I want to address some of the issues raised. As a general rule, a game is the sum of its parts. In the same way that…
One of the longest-lived cliches about sports coverage is the second-guess. The longer I do this, the more I dislike sitting in front of my computer and criticizing the moves of people who are very accomplished in their chosen field. Not because the criticism is undeserved, but because I feel like it doesn’t add anything…
The Red Sox, a symbol of frustration, ineptitude and the cynicism of New England’s finest, are for sale. The Jean R. Yawkey Trust has controlled 53% of the team since Jean Yawkey died in 1992, and the team has been in the Yawkey family since 1933. John Harrington, a Yawkey family advisor and the closest…
Every year at around this time, the staff of Baseball Prospectus likes to engage in a complete exercise in futility. I’m not talking about Somersizing, resolving to balance the checkbook for the rest of the year or attempting to teach Derek Zumsteg the wonders of laying off the curve ball. What we end up doing…