CHICAGO WHITE SOX (1998: 861 runs, .269 Equivalent Average) Starters (with projected Equivalent Average) C Mark Johnson .262 or Josh Paul .222 1B Paul Konerko .287 2B Ray Durham .272 3B Greg Norton .251 or Carlos Lee .255 SS Mike Caruso .244 LF Jeff Abbott .269 CF Brian Simmons .245 or McKay Christensen .252 or…
Recently, a reader sent the following to me: Keith — I enjoy your articles, and thought that I would ask you a question that I have never seen answered in all of the mags, books and websites: How does valuation change if you have 11 or 10 (or less) teams instead of the standard 12?…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Optioned INF Nelson Castro to Erie (AA); assigned Ps Mark Harriger and Ramon Ortiz and C Bret Hemphill to extended spring training; assigned Ps Mike Bovee, Mike Butcher, Brian Cooper, Seth Etherton, Lou Pote and Keith Troutman, and C Fausto Tejero to their minor-league camp. [3/10] Optioned CF Norm Hutchins and P Geoff…
The Jim Leyland managing today managed very differently from the pre-1997 models. Working for the Pirates, Leyland was comparable to Felipe Alou in his careful handling of starting pitchers, but in 1997 things changed. The first victim was Alex Fernandez, who went down with a torn rotator cuff after being repeatedly overworked late in the…
Recently, Rany Jazayerli had the opportunity to conduct a brief interview with Kansas City Royals General Manager Herk Robinson. Here is the complete transcript: RJ: Let’s start with the obvious: the trade situation with Kevin Appier. HR: There’s nothing specific with Appier yet; we haven’t discussed any particular players with any of the teams that…
BALTIMORE ORIOLES (1998: 817 runs, .276 Equivalent Average) Starters (with projected Equivalent Average) C Charles Johnson .256 1B Will Clark .281 2B Delino DeShields .266 3B Cal Ripken Jr. .234 SS Mike Bordick .226 LF B.J. Surhoff .265 CF Brady Anderson .276 RF Albert Belle .308 DH Harold Baines .267 Bench/Alternatives: DH Chris Hoiles .278,…
The American League West, where like the children of Lake Wobegon, all the offenses are above average… ANAHEIM ANGELS (1998: 787 runs, .263 Equivalent Average) Lineup (with projected Equivalent Average) LF Darin Erstad .288 2B Randy Velarde .265 1B Mo Vaughn .316 RF Tim Salmon .308 CF Jim Edmonds .300 DH Garret Anderson .257 /…
ATLANTA BRAVES (1998: 826 runs, .275 Equivalent Average) Starters (with projected Equivalent Average) C Javy Lopez .296 1B Ryan Klesko .293 2B Bret Boone .245 3B Chipper Jones .318 SS Walt Weiss .258 LF Otis Nixon .232 / Gerald Williams .242 CF Andruw Jones .300 RF Brian Jordan .294 Bench/Alternatives: OF George Lombard .266, INF…
JOE DIMAGGIO “I feel fortunate and lucky that I had the opportunity to talk baseball with him. I’m a baseball fan, and his accomplishments speak for themselves. There were a lot of misconceptions about Joe because of his need for privacy.” — Cal Ripken Jr., Orioles infielder “He really lived up to his billing. He…
CHICAGO CUBS (1998: 831 runs, .267 Equivalent Average) Starters (with projected Equivalent Average) C Benito Santiago .247 1B Mark Grace .292 2B Mickey Morandini .264 3B Gary Gaetti .243 SS Jose Hernandez .271 LF Henry Rodriguez .277 / Glenallen Hill .277 CF Lance Johnson .265 RF Sammy Sosa .307 Bench/Alternatives: SS Jeff Blauser .268, C/UT…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (1998: 665 runs, .245 Equivalent Average) Lineup (with projected Equivalent Average) LF Tony Womack .251 CF Steve Finley .267 1B Travis Lee .307 3B Matt Williams .268 RF Luis Gonzalez .269 2B Jay Bell .276 SS Tony Batista .273 C Kelly Stinnett .273 There’s nothing rosy about this team’s future offensively; they’ll be…
Full 1998 Numbers o Glossary of Statistical Terms Back in my college days, when I was spending too much of my time at the Astrodome instead of studying for finals, my friends and I used to cringe whenever Astros reliever Dave Smith was brought into a game with runners on base. Our experience (admittedly, probably…
The way I see it, the husband must have come home about 30 minutes into the LABR-NL draft on Saturday. The only logical explanation for what happened is this: My strategy was apparently sleeping with another man’s wife. While they were together, she heard the door open and realized her husband was home. At that…
Joe DiMaggio died Monday morning. His place in history went beyond baseball, as he became one of those players whose myth grew so large that it often obscured any rational evaluation of his play. Especially now, it is hard to discuss DiMaggio with many fans because he, like Sandy Koufax and only a few others,…
CHICAGO WHITE SOX The rebuilding process of a team that should have been more competitive than it was continues, as the departures of Belle and Ventura open up even more jobs. The departure of Mike Cameron leaves the centerfield job open for Brian Simmons, a tools-laden late-blooming hitter with a diverse range of skills, but…
CHICAGO CUBS On a team that might be the oldest team in National League, it shouldn’t surprise people to hear that there won’t be much space for rookies. However, at least one has been initially guaranteed first crack at a roster spot: OF Robin Jennings. Jennings will be the fifth outfielder, but doubts about his…