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…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Activated RHP Ken Hill from the DL; recalled RHP Mike Fyhrie from Edmonton; purchased the contract of LHP Juan Alvarez from Edmonton. [9/1] Announced the resignation of manager Terry Collins; named Joe Maddon interim manager; activated OF Matt Luke from the DL; released RHP Mike James. [9/3] Recalled RHP Brian Cooper from Edmonton….
A Bad Trend in Philadelphia In late May, there were several stories in the national media about Curt Schilling‘s desire to pitch complete games, and how he was only the third pitcher in the 1990s to throw five straight complete games. Notably absent from those stories was any discussion of the wisdom of Schilling’s workload….
Anaheim Angels Last Friday’s "mutually agreed upon resignation" of Terry Collins certainly won’t be the final act in the calamitous drama unfolding thirty minutes southeast of Hollywood. General Manager Bill Bavasi and President Tony Tavares will also likely be exiting stage right after the season. Even the parent Disney Corporation is seeking to bail out,…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Released OF Reggie Williams outright. [8/31] There are some teams for which Williams would be perfect, as a right-handed-hitting outfielder with a broad, if not deep, set of skills. For a few months, the Angels were even that team, but with everyone getting healthy, there’s not even enough playing time for Todd Greene,…
BEN CHRISTENSEN BRAVO!! Thank you for having the guts not to soft-peddle the behavior of this lout. If he wasn’t an athlete, he’d be in prison right now… which is exactly where he belongs. Yet another case of preferential treatment for an athlete who might be able to make someone else a few bucks. A…
YOUNG PITCHERS… “I think I’m just happy to get that first one out of the way. I just want to come in and help the team win as much as I can.” — Rick Ankiel, Cardinals pitcher, on his ML debut “I can’t worry about whether I’m going to be here next time or the…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Placed LHP Mike Holtz on the 15-day DL (strained hamstring). [8/25] It’s been a bad year for Holtz all season long, so this is merely the latest piece of bad news for him. Check in next year. BALTIMORE ORIOLES Acquired RHP Juan Aracena and a PTBNL from the Indians for DH Harold Baines;…
ATLANTA BRAVES Placed RHP Rudy Seanez on the 15-day DL, retroactive to 8/21 (stress fracture/elbow); recalled RHP Dave Cortes from Richmond. [8/23] Losing Seanez is an extremely hard blow to the Braves at this late date, especially since he may not return. While his infamous back isn’t the source of his troubles this time, "Traction…
BREWERS FIRE GARNER AND REASSIGN BANDO “Change is not always easy, but there are times when you need to make changes to move forward.” — Wendy Selig-Prieb, Brewers president “I suggested that it was time to make a change with Phil and myself. It’s something she obviously had been thinking about, because she understood how…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Recalled RHP Ramon Ortiz from Edmonton; optioned RHP Mike Fyhrie to Edmonton. [8/19] Ortiz’ highly-touted debut has come and gone, and he managed to mow down the White Sox. Comparisons to Pedro Martinez abound, but unlike Martinez, he isn’t going to get to cut his teeth in middle relief, and unlike Martinez, he…
Special thanks to Retrosheet Injuries to pitchers are not a new phenomenon. They date as far back as the rule change that allowed pitchers to throw overhand, and so do the attempts to restrict the workload of pitchers to a safe level. When Old Hoss Radbourne reminisced about winning 60 games (now reported as 59)…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Placed RHP Ken Hill on the 15-day DL (strained groin, strained abdominal muscle, tendinitis/knee, plain old broken-downedness). [8/15] Recalled LHP Jarrod Washburn from Edmonton. [8/16] The Angels’ rotation has been exactly the debacle it was supposed to be all season. Now that they’ve mercifully put Ken Hill on the shelf and Black Jack…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Gave RHP Jack McDowell his unconditional release; purchased the contract of LHP Lou Pote from Edmonton. [8/9] Placed 1B/OF Darin Erstad on the 15-day DL, retroactive to 8/11 (strained knee ligament); recalled INF Andy Sheets from Edmonton. [8/13] After going 0-4 in four starts, it looks like Black Jack has forgotten how to…