Hmmm…now what other team can I say nice things about, sending them into an ugly tailspin? OK, so maybe there were some good reasons to ignore the Padres, who have scored two runs since Sunday in losing a pair of games to the Braves. The last two nights’ starters–Jay Witasick and Woody Williams–have shown both…
Catching The Damn Ball Where are Vizquel and Ordonez on your list of top shortstops? And 20-30 runs possible difference from one position is high, isn’t it? Can the range be that large? –ZR Well, you can figure out the possible range of effects within a reasonable bound pretty quickly. Range Factor (RF) is a…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS Placed RHP Johnny Ruffin on the 15-day DL (groin); recalled OF-L David Dellucci from Tucson. [8/13] David Dellucci still doesn’t appear to have recovered from his wrist problems, so while it’s a good move for the Snakes to get back down to 11 pitchers, I’m not happy with either rationale that’s been offered….
RETURN TRIP "It’s value for value. Their tools are very similar. The guy we got in return is a little older. But he’s got less left on his contract. So it’s a good tradeoff." — Ed Wade, Phillies GM, on Rob Ducey, traded away before the end of one homestand and traded for in time…
Maybe it’s an Adam Eaton effect, maybe it’s my unnatural affection for Ruben Rivera or maybe it’s just that I’ll be in the city next weekend, but I would really like to know why no one, anywhere, considers the San Diego Padres a contender. The Padres are 57-61, in last place in the National League…
It’s in the nature of a project like Baseball Prospectus to have some extremely good insights and some yakkers that we’d rather forget. One of my esteemed co-authors once came up with a great argument that Bryce Florie could be the best pitcher in the American League in the near future, and I thought that…
Beginning today, Transaction Analysis moves to a three-day-a-week schedule. Look for Chris Kahrl’s wit and wisdom Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Baseball Prospectus. ANAHEIM ANGELS Activated LHP Kent Mercker from the DL; optioned OF/1B-R Chris Hatcher to Edmonton; placed RHP Mike Fyhrie on the 15-day DL (elbow inflammation). [8/11] Purchased the contract of RHP Eric…
Wednesday’s column on the Pedro Martinez/Ramon Ortiz duel speculated on the game’s possible place on a list of 2000’s top combined Game Scores, since the two pitchers had combined to post a 160. Game Scores are a simple measure of the quality of a start, first published in the 1988 Baseball Abstract and calculated as…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Released RHP Ken Hill; activated LHP Jarrod Washburn from the DL; optioned RHP Brian Cooper to Edmonton; recalled RHP Ramon Ortiz from Edmonton; outrighted OF-R Edgard Clemente to Edmonton; purchased the contract of IF-R Keith Johnson from Edmonton. [8/7] Purchased the contract of 1B/OF-R Chris Hatcher from Edmonton; returned LHP Jarrod Washburn to…
Everybody’s favorite whipping-boy/wonder-agent, Scott Boras, found himself in the news a few times in the past week. Boras is a lightning rod for criticism for no reason other than that he’s damn good at what he does. An agent is supposed to represent the interests of his client; that’s all. The real or threatened consequences…
Rick Ankiel is living up to the hype. With his performance Monday night, he lowered his ERA to an impressive 4.01 and, more impressively, has now struck out 130 batters in just 119 innings pitched. To put that in perspective, 78 pitchers in history have struck out at least a man an inning while qualifying…
When I was heading to Edison Field for last night’s Angels/Red Sox game, I fully expected to end up on my feet cheering for a great performance by a Dominican right-hander. I just didn’t expect to do it twice. Anaheim’s Ramon Ortiz outpitched Boston’s Pedro Martinez in what has to be one of the season’s…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Placed RHP Troy Percival on the 15-day DL (shoulder pain). [8/4] Placed RHP Seth Etherton on the 15-day DL (shoulder tendinitis); recalled LHP Juan Alvarez and RHP Lou Pote from Edmonton. [8/5] Despite Percival’s struggles, from the well-publicized nine blown saves or the control problems or the taters or the ERA creeping towards…
Hey, maybe they are America’s team, because I ended up getting a lot of thoughtful and articulate email from Braves fans defending the acquisition of B.J. Surhoff. Several of them tackled the subject of whether or not I gave the Braves a fair shake as far as what B.J. Surhoff gives them, especially in comparison…
In this era of digital cable and lightning-fast Internet connections, it’s quite easy to stay in touch no matter where you are. But a couple of times a year, I make a concerted effort to get away for a few days and pay as little attention to baseball as I can. I find that the…