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…
Death of a Race Although the Texas Rangers were up by five games in the AL West entering the All-Star break, there was only a 6 1/2-game spread from top to bottom in the division. All three teams entertained dreams of catching the Rangers, but Texas came out of the break hotter than the Astroturf…
A Couple Days Off Last month’s All-Star break was a high point for baseball, peaking with the pre-game ceremony that honored, among others, Red Sox legend Ted Williams. And while 64 players were appointed to the teams in Boston that night, for many others, the break was a chance to rest, see family and friends,…
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…