From the monthly archives:

May 2009

Injury Update

by Hans on May 27, 2009

Stephania Bell of ESPN recently posted an updated injury blog entry.
Couple points on Jose Reyes, Carlos Quentin, and more.  Fantastic work.

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Big Mac Attacked

by Hans on May 22, 2009

As if we needed another sign, excuse the pun, that the Pujols era in St. Louis had firmly supplanted the steroid-tainted McGwire era, it came dramatically last night.

2285714140094479341hbbbal_fsIn the first inning of the Cardinals - Cubs game, Pujols lined a screamer over the left field wall knocking off the “I” in the Big Mac Land sign just under the upper deck.

We all know that Pujols was the first player in baseball history to hit 30 HR’s, 100 RBI, 100 Runs, and have a .300 average his first 3 seasons in the majors.  We all know that he also became the first player to do it his first 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 seasons.  Given that he’s on pace for a 55 HR, 150 RBI, 142 Run, .326 average year, we can probably all but put the 9th in the books.  But how does he stack up to the Big Mac?

McGwire put up 583 HR’s in 16 seasons, aided by his record breaking 70 in 1998 and 65 in 1999.  Pujols has 333 in less than 9 seasons.  McGwire put up 1414 RBI and 1167 Runs in 16 years.  Pujols already has 1015 RBI and 983 Runs in 9 years.  McGwire’s career average closed at .263 while Pujols is standing at .334.  

Honors lean in Prince Albert’s favor - 2 well deserved MVP’s to none.  And most importantly, every Cardinals fan is in his corner.  It would only be good business for McDonalds to honor him by creating a new Pujols sandwich.  When the 2009 All Star Game comes to St. Louis on July 14th, it will be clear who truly represents the spirit of St. Louis.

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Justin Time

May 20, 2009

What a difference a year makes.  
In The Little Things, we discussed the HUGE offseason move the Tigers made this year - hiring pitching coach Rick Knapp from Minnesota’s minor league system.  Knapp came into the program with Minnesota’s simple ideology - throw strikes - and it has started to pay off.

Detroit’s ace, Justin Verlander, was [...]

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Baseball - The Sequel

May 14, 2009

Not every movie deserves a sequel.  Final Destination 2?  Really?  But one of the greatest productions on the topic of baseball is poised to see a follow-up.  And we will all be better fans for it.
According to the Indiana Gazette, Ken Burns is working on a sequel to his Emmy-Award winning series, Baseball.  Burns intends [...]

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Zimmerman’s Streak Ends

May 13, 2009

Everything that has a beginning must have an end.  Ryan Zimmerman went 30 games without posting an 0-fer.  But in today’s game against Barry Zito and the Giants, he would ground out three times and walk twice.
Earlier this year, we predicted a breakout season from Zimmerman.  Thanks to this 30 game streak, he’s currently hitting [...]

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Cinderella Redux

May 10, 2009

Earlier this week, we discussed how Brandon Inge will likely see his carriage turn back into a pumpkin before too long.  In keeping with the fairy tale, despite the slow start of Florida Marlin Ricky Nolasco, his story may have a happy ever after.
Acquired in return for Juan Pierre as part of the most recent Florida firesale, [...]

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Cinderella Story

May 9, 2009

It’s mid-May and we’re starting to get a better picture of how the season is going to turn out.  But some things just still don’t compute.
Brandon Inge is performing far better this season than he ever has.  And fantasy baseball fans love combining that with his dual position elibility, catcher and third base.
The underlying numbers [...]

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Manny Being Mannita

May 7, 2009

For those of you living under a baseball rock, go to ESPN’s story on Manny Ramirez testing positive and being suspended 50 games for use of Performance Enhancing Drugs.
According to ESPN, “Ramirez was identified as using the female fertility drug human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG.”
Manny, of course, claims that some doctor prescribed him medication for an [...]

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Mack’s White Elephant

May 4, 2009

Risk & Reward 3 discussed the curious case of the Florida Marlins - how financial difficulties led to the dismantling of 2 World Series Champions in less than a decade.  But their story is far from unique.
Cornelius McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, was an intelligent man who matched smarts with an impeccable work ethic to [...]

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Strategy & Execution

May 4, 2009

February in the nation’s capital is a cold month.  Temperatures have just barely started to climb above freezing and the promise of a spring breeze is not yet more than a promise.  But dream we do.
Baseball, the proxy for life it often is, carries with it the same dream of better times.  And this February [...]

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