ANAHEIM ANGELS Purchased the contract of 2B Trent Durrington from Erie (Double-A); optioned INF Andy Sheets to Edmonton; released C Charlie O’Brien outright. [8/6] Activated RHP Tim Belcher from the DL; optioned C Steve Decker to Edmonton. [8/7] Well, hand it to the Angels. They aren’t going to just give the fans a warmed-over Jeff…
MILESTONES “I’ve exceeded everything I expected of myself.” — Mark McGwire, Cardinals infielder, on hitting his 500th home run “The way he’s hitting home runs, he could break the record next year.” — Hank Aaron, on the possibility of Mark McGwire breaking his home run record “To get 3,000 on my mom’s birthday is a…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Activated CF Jim Edmonds from the DL; designated OF Reggie Williams for assignment. [8/2] Designated C Charlie O’Brien for assignment; purchased contract of C Ben Molina from Edmonton. [8/3] Well, the cavalry’s riding in, just in time to find that the natives have already wiped out the settlers, paved over the range and…
Twenty-six years after the American League anointed the Designated Hitter rule as its savior from ten years of low offensive totals and dwindling fan interest, the debate rages: is it a necessarily evil, or just evil? Baseball’s braintrust seem intent on resolving the disparity between the two leagues, but they’ve been promising that for about…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Recalled INF Andy Sheets and C/OF Todd Greene from Edmonton. [7/30] Just when you thought a team couldn’t get less offensive production out of a position than the Angels already get out of Gary DiSarcina at shortstop or Matt Walbeck at catcher, the Angels one-up themselves and go with Jeff Huson (.288 OBP)…
TRADING DEADLINE, EARLY “This is a little different because it’s the National League and I’ve never been a National League pitcher before. But when I’m healthy I’ve proven that I’m a pretty good pitcher…. one of the best in baseball.” — Kenny Rogers, Mets pitcher “[Javy] Lopez is definitely a big loss for the Braves,…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Acquired RHP Elvin Nina and OFs Jeff DaVanon and Nathan Haynes from the Athletics for RHP Omar Olivares and 2B Randy Velarde. [7/29] It’s hard to say what’s more important about this deal from the Angels’ perspective. Is it the $3 million or so that they save in salary? Is it creating rotation…
As teams close in on the 100-game mark, enough pitches have been thrown and enough starts have been made that we can begin to draw significant conclusions from the Pitcher Abuse Points data. But before we get to that, here’s a demonstration of how PAP differs from looking at average pitch count totals: 1- 91-…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Activated RHP Jack McDowell and C Charlie O’Brien from the DL; recalled LHP Mike Holtz from Edmonton; optioned C Bret Hemphill and LHPs Scott Schoeneweis and Jarrod Washburn to Edmonton; released UT Tim Unroe. [7/23] It’s still fashionable to talk about how the Angels maybe, kinda, sorta could just almost get back into…
THE HALL OF FAME “It’s special this year that George Brett, Robin Yount and Nolan Ryan can enjoy the moment in their first year of eligibility. They are three guys I greatly admire. I think they earned the right to go in the first year.” — Don Sutton, announcer “I think this is the final…
BALTIMORE ORIOLES Optioned 3B Ryan Minor to Rochester. [7/20] Acquired RHP Al Reyes from the Brewers to complete the Coppinger trade. [7/21] Activated 2B Delino DeShields from the DL; optioned 2B Jerry Hairston to Rochester. [7/22] If you’re a veteran second baseman, you more than most should be singing the praises of a Combined Bargaining…
I went to the game at Safeco Field Sunday afternoon. It was a good one, as the Mariners came back from a 7-1 sixth-inning deficit to win in extra innings, netting their second win at the new park. The Building The ballpark is spectacular, though not without problems. Aesthetically speaking, it’s very pretty; it’s assymetrical,…
I’m not one that worries about a lot of the fluff that goes on around baseball in specific, or sports in general. Organizations like ESPN are so desperate for broadcast material that they have no choice but to spend a lot of time and effort blowing things out of proportion. Minor fluctuations in performance become…
Second-Half Prospectus San Francisco Giants (50-38, division leader) With the return of both Bill Mueller and Barry Bonds from long injury-related layoffs, everything is falling into place for the division-leading Giants. As with most of Dusty Baker’s squads, the offense is paving the way for success–the team’s 495 runs scored are good for third in…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Activated RF Tim Salmon from the DL; designated UT Tim Unroe for assignment. [7/17] Activated RHP Ken Hill from the DL; optioned INF Andy Sheets to Edmonton. [7/19] Salmon’s back but restricted to DH for the near future, which means the Halos will have to continue getting by with Orlando Palmeiro in right…
Second-Half Prospectus It’s not the runaway we saw last year, but the order of the teams is the same. By the end of the year, it’s likely the Blue Jays will have caught and passed the Red Sox, snagging the wild card slot. New York Yankees (52-34, division leader) It’s not easy to play .600…