Baseball Historians

Great, another weak hitting infielder.   While I wasn’t surprised to see Maddux go, I would have thought he’d be worth a little more then, well, nothing.  Heck, the Devil Rays got Joel Guzman for Julio Lugo.

Man, this better pay off.  The Dodgers shipped Joel Guzman and Sergio Pedrozza for Julio Lugo.  Guzman was definitely a keeper so that’s what makes this trade very risky.  And with Rafael Furcal, it’s hard to say exactly how Lugo is going to fit in.
While I’m not really happy with that trade, Cesar Izturis for [...]

Jorge Sosa hasn’t had a stellar season, but the price was low and it gives Tony LaRussa another option from the pen.  Nobody else in the NL Central did much, so it’s not like the Cardinals were forced to react to, say, a major deal by the Reds.

Like the Abreu and Lidle trade, I like this deal.  It gets Jason Giambi off of first base and it gives the Yankees another bona fide hitter in the lineup.  Chacon became expendable because he has pitched like garbage and we traded for Lidle.
This will also give us some insurance in the event all doesn’t [...]

Way to make an impact.  Wayne Krivsky has been on the prowl for relief pitching.  Maybe someone should tell him to stay out of the dumpsters.  One deal got us Kyle Lohse, who was so good he got demoted by the Twins not that long ago.  In exchange, the Reds gave up Zach Ward.  We [...]

This is one of the low risk, low return type of trades that at the end of the day, probably won’t have much of an impact one way or the other on how the team does down the stretch.  Sean Casey is a a career .304 hitter, and he will take a walk (.377 OBP [...]

The way this series ended is kind of typical of how the Phillies’ season has gone.  While the Phillies got the job done over the weekend, one of the guys who’s supposed to be one of our better pitchers had a flat out collapse.  In the meantime, the team is being sold from underneath us [...]

July 31, 1976 at Riverfront Stadium 
Reds 12, Padres 1  (66-38)
The Reds won their fourth straight game in a blowout win over the Padres.  The Reds racked up twelve runs on nineteen hits.
Eddie Armbrister had a career day.  He went four for six with two homeruns (his first two of the season), three RBIs and [...]

More on this tonight.  I’m not overwhelmed and think it was unneccesary, but the price wasn’t very high.

At one point this weekend, the Angels were in sole possession of first place.  Since then, the Angels dropped to only a half game out but the A’s roll into town for a huge three game series.  It’ll also be interesting to see what happens here at the trading deadline so it should be a [...]

I’m glad that horrible stretch is over.  And with rumors of the Dodgers possibly trading for Miguel Tejada, we could have some help on the way.  Even with the three wins this weekend, the Dodgers have an up hill battle though.
Friday was a beatdown.  The Dodgers had their 13 runs by the sixth inning and [...]

The Cubs season may be done, but this was nice.  Taking four more against the Cardinals, who we’ve actually owned this season, is sort of a consolation prize on a horrible season.
On Thursday, the Cardinals took a 4-2 lead in the third inning.  That lead stood until the Cubs rallied for three runs in the sixth inning.  [...]

It’s been a weird year for the Orioles. Last year, they got off to that good start and equally bad collapse.  This year, they’ve been pretty mediocre.  They’re ten games below .500 and that’s in one of the toughest divisions in baseball.  They have flashes of looking like a solid team at times, but they [...]

With the Bobby Abreu deal still in limbo, the Yankees did their job and took two of three against the hapless Devil Rays.  The Red Sox play tonight but at this moment in time, we trail the Red Sox by a single game.
Chien Ming Wang was unhittable on Friday.  He threw a two hit shutout [...]

Well, it looks like we’re sellers.  While I’m glad the Phillies have finally realized they’re going to have a really hard time competing for the Wild Card, I hate the fact that we’re basically giving up with two months left, but you had to see it coming.
This was a salary dump, so it will set [...]

The rich always get richer.  The Yankees solved two of their problems assuming this trade goes through.  The Yankees get All Star outfielder Bobby Abreau and starting pitcher Cory Lidle for the Yankees first round draft pick in 2005 (C.J. Henry), reliever Matt Smith and a player to be named later.  This was a classic [...]

I like this trade.  Danys Baez hasn’t throw well in quite some time, and while I like Willy Aybar’s patience, Wilson Betemit will give the Dodgers one more solid option in the infield.  Betemit has nine homeruns in 199 RBIs.

Whenever an Orioles’ fan hears the name, a smile comes to their face because it reminds them of better times.  Welcome to my Baltimore Orioles blog, aptly named after one of the greatest managers to ever, well, manage.  Way ahead of his time, Earl Weaver applied principles that are just now being recognized by the [...]

With only two teams really out of contention for the Wild Card in the National League, every series is big.  The Phillies had been struggling, but they got the job done against the Diamondbacks.  They almost swept them, which is encouraging as we head into the final two months of the season.
Other then the Phillies [...]

It is inevitable.  The Yankees will be in the playoff mix every year forever.  Even in the years where it looks like they have no chance.  It doesn’t matter because it’s the Yankees and Yankees equal playoffs.
Their sweep of the Yankees put them in first place for the Wild Card, al beit by a half [...]

Eight straight losses.  What a horrible collapse by the Dodgers.  While they might have been playing above their heads to move into the top spot in the Wild Card prior to the break, this stretch has really done them in.  They now trail nine teams and are 6 1/2 back in the Wild Card, and [...]

Good teams take care of business and the Angels are playing like a good team right now.  The Angels went on the road and took two of three against the last place Tampa Devil Rays.  The end result is the Angels are tied for first with the A’s and with a Rangers loss yesterday, the [...]

It’s hard to believe the Cubs almost swept anyone, much less the 2006 version of the New York Mets.  That’s exactly what happened this week.  Not sure if the Mets are feeling comfortable with that lead or whether the Cubs are turning a corner, but this was definitely a good sign.
Greg Maddux picked up his [...]

It didn’t seem possible even a month ago, but the Angels have clawed their up the standings and after Monday’s win, they now stand in first place with the A’s.  Things are still wide open because even the last place Mariners are only three games back.  So a bad week can send the Angels all the [...]

As if things couldn’t get worse, Derek Lee’s injured wrist has flared up and he’s now back on the 15 day DL.  Not that it matters to much, and with the Cubs where they are, I wouldn’t be taking any chances at this point.
Greg Maddux finally won another game.  Woo Hoo.

Charlie Manual strikes again.  We could have passed the Braves last night but Manual left Bret Myers in there an inning to long.  Even worse, the Marlins finally caught up to us.  And now the Phillies are down 7-4 in the sixth in the makeup game.  What’s even worse is the team’s caught in limbo.  [...]

Rich Hill is one those guys where you’re pretty sure he’s not going to be a great big league pitcher, but he has flashes of brilliance.  Last year, he was shelled in ten big league games and didn’t fare much better in four starts this year.  He’s been downright ugly at AAA though.  And he’s the [...]

While the writeup isn’t completely flattering, Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus talks about Phillies prospect J.A. Happ.  I like the end where he mentions Happ as a possible number four starter.  It’s nice to have guys like this in the system.

Hopefully we won’t look back at this as a blown opportunity.  One of the worst teams in the league made us look bad and the Angels had to win two close games in a row just to salvage a split.  Fortunately, the A’s dropped two of three so the Angels are only a game out [...]

It was a battle of two of the bottom feeders, and the Nationals came out on top.  If you’re a Nationals’ fan, your lucky number is seven because that’s how many runs the Nats scored in each of the three games.
Friday’s game was the closest.  The Cubs took a 6-4 lead into the bottom of [...]