CATCHERS "I would have to think that if you put a risk-factor on a position, pitchers would be the highest risk and catchers would be the next highest risk." — Bob Melvin, Rangers GM "I think Peter Gammons said one knee was bone on bone. That’s the most ridiculous statement I’ve ever heard." — Mike…
ATLANTA BRAVES Placed Lucky Charm Rafael Belliard on the 60-day DL (torn left quad); purchased the contract of INF Ray Holbert from Richmond. [4/10] Is there any potential downside with replacing arguably the worst major league player with a living, breathing utility infielder? Only in the sense that Cox may feel less comfortable with his…
I spent the last few days looking at tapes. Primarily boring tapes. Tapes of people playing defense. I really believe that the average baseball fan can get a lot more enjoyment out of watching the game if they understand the actual ‘fundamentals’ that we’ve all been told since the age of 5 (for me at…
UPS … "This is going to be a good club, but I don’t know to what extent yet. It will be an exciting year. We’ve got a pretty good ballclub. We’ve still got to see how things go, see how things fall into place." — Tony Gwynn, Padres outfielder "The crowd reaction today was great…
CHICAGO CUBS If any Cub prospect has an impact in the majors this year, it’ll be Kerry Wood, the wunderkind pitching prospect with the blazing fastball and nonexistent control. Cub fans are already clamoring for his immediate promotion, but that’s a bad idea for two reasons: he won’t pitch well in the majors, and he…
ATLANTA BRAVES As far as hitters, the cupboard’s getting bare for the Braves. Andruw Jones will be their last dynamite property to reach the majors for a while, and he’s here to stay. Tony Graffanino has no real competitors for the second base job with the departure of Mark Lemke. He’s been better than Lemke…
PITCHING "It has to be tough for a kid pitcher these days just to watch ESPN. All they show are guys hitting balls where no one has hit them before. They show them bouncing into fountains and stuff. This is not a good time to be a bad pitcher." — Chuck Finley, Angels pitcher "I…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Purchased the contracts of OF Damon Mashore and 3B Frank Bolick; placed 1B Chris Pritchett on the 15-day DL (inflamed right elbow). [3/31] Mashore weeded through Pat Lennon, Gary Thurman, and Orlando Palmeiro to win a spot as a backup outfielder, while Bolick apparently caught on as a backup to both Hollins at…
NL East | NL Central | NL West Welcome to Baseball Prospectus’ predictions for 1998. We’ll go division by division and each of our staff members will tell you what they think about the races. Remember, there’s a reason we don’t print this stuff in the book; there is no good way we know of…
AL East | AL Central | AL West Welcome to Baseball Prospectus’ predictions for 1998. We’ll go division by division and each of our staff members will tell you what they think about the races. Remember, there’s a reason we don’t print this stuff in the book; there is no good way we know of…
As some of you know, the ToutWars experts’ rotisserie league held its NL auction on Saturday at New York’s All-Star Cafe. The 14-team league completed its entire auction in a mere six hours, thanks to some speedy auctioneering by Mike Bikales, and by ignoring basic biological necessities for most of the proceedings. The auction produced…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Signed INF Carlos Garcia; optioned OF Orlando Palmeiro to Vancouver; returned C Eric Helfand, INF Steve Scarsone and CF Gary Thurman to Vancouver; outrighted RHP William VanLandingham to Vancouver; acquired INF Craig Shipley from St. Louis for 2B Chip Hale. [3/30] Ick. Adding Garcia and Shipley give them "options" to Paco Martin at…
CHICAGO WHITE SOX Bolstered by last season’s trade with the Giants, the Sox can expect contributions from a number of young players. Several rookies will be with the team on Opening Day, and how much the team sticks to those commitments will help determine how well the team does, both now and into the future….
SPRING TRAINING "The main thing you want to do here is to keep from getting hurt, and we did that." — Joe Carter, Orioles DH "I thought I was coming in to get ready for April 1st. But I guess they still consider me a 19-year-old rookie and I’ve got to win a job." —…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Outside of non-rookie Todd Greene and spring training monster Troy Glaus, the Angels aren’t going to be the beneficiaries of significant help from their farm system. Glaus is a defensive whiz with legitimate bat speed and the potential to develop a ton of power. He won’t be developing it in Anaheim, where half…
Recently, newly appointed Phillies General Manager Ed Wade was kind enough to speak to our own Keith Law to discuss issues around player evaluation, player development, and poor Calvin Maduro. BP: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. One issue of interest to us and our readers is how you evaluate players. How…