Baseball Historians

In a recent prospect smackdown, John Sickels compares Tigers outfield prospect Cameron Maybin and Reds outfield prospect Jay Bruce.  They were drafted two spots apart in 2005 and both look like potential stars for their respective teams and they were also born a day apart.  This is some really good stuff and if you don’t […]

This Baseball America story talks about how the Indians have a pair of pitchers who share the same last name and both will be starting at Double A in 2007.  Jensen Lewis got some time at Akron last year and he struck out 44 in 39 1/3 innings.  Scott Lewis is actually a year older […]

This story talks about the major dillema the Dodgers have because they have two “fast” players and nobody knows who should lead off.  With Furcal’s .369 OBP and Juan Pierre’s .330, I say it’s no contest and that Furcal should get the top spot.  In fact, even though Juan Pierre had 204 hits last year, […]

This isn’t a huge surprise, but Bartolo Colon won’t be ready for opening day.  The right hander is looking at a May return after his shoulder surgery last year.  I’d rather have a better Colon for four months then what we got last year so it’s imperative that the Angels hold Colon back until he’s fully […]

I recently took part in the Pirates roundtable over at Pittsburgh Lumber Co.  The two topics being discussed were the Pirates’ chances in 2007 and Neil Walker.  Be sure to check it out as you get a wide variety of opinions on the Pirates all in one spot.

It may be snowing outside today, but an actual, live baseball game is within reach.  The Tigers play their annual exhibition spring opener against Florida Southern and then on Wednesday, the spring schedule actually begins against the Mets.  WXYT isn’t picking it up but if the Mets radio station is, I’ll be picking it up […]

By Thaq Diesel
Yes, the Mercker who had Tommy John surgery two days after Guardado.  I hate to sound catty, but these kinds of innuendos / deals make me feel like my favorite baseball team is a junk dealer - finding things in the pile that others have discarded and seeing if there is any use […]

In what could be one of the more interesting non-position battles, Mike Maroth will most likely be battling himself for the fifth spot in the rotation. It’s his job to lose, but it’ll be interesting to see how a rough spring by Maroth combined with a good spring by someone like Wil Ledezma will start […]

Last year, Fabio Castro got a season at the big league level because he was a Rule 5 pickup by the Rangers who was then traded to the Phillies.  Now that he’s not subject to the roster limitations any longer, the Phillies can keep up with the major league team or send him down to […]

Scott Podsednik admits that he rushed back too soon to play on opening day and by not being fully ready, he may have caused more problems.  This year he’s coming off of another injury (hernia surgery) and he’s now said he’s not going to rush back just to play on opening day.  For the time […]

Freddy Sanchez was a second baseman for most of his minor league career but his big break came when third base opened up for the Pirates.  Now Sanchez is sandwiched between his primary position and the spot he filled in for in 2006 and as spring training starts, nobody is really sure how Sanchez is […]

Jeff Passan profiles Cubs pitching prospect and football holdout Jeff Samardzija.  Good stuff during the week when he would have been at the football combines.

With the logjam of players at shortstop, the Angels are giving top prospect Brandon Wood some time at third base this spring to see if he man the hot corner.  This is one of the positions the Angels are weak at and if Wood can put together a ROY type season that he’s capable of, […]

Beyond the Boxscore recently took a look at Red Sox infield prospect Jed Lowrie.  Lowrie made the jump to Wilmington and his power vanished to where he only hit 3 homeruns in 374 at bats.  He does have a good eye though (88 walks vs. 95 strikeouts in two minor league seasons).  Lowrie is a […]

This is a great story on Craig Biggio and how he’s coming up on the 3,000 hit mark.  The gist of the story is that Biggio is a grinder.  Good stuff.

I’ve heard rumors to the effect that Marcus Thames would attempt a conversion to first base and it looks like it’s becoming reality.  Contrary to a lot of people I’ve heard talking about this, moving to first base isn’t an “easy” transition.  It’s a unique position and in addition, you have a guy going from […]

John Sickels recently posted his stab at what he thinks Adam Wainwright’s career will look like in a crystal ball column.  No major surprises here as he projects a rough transition into the rotation in 2007 but then three very good years after that.  i could live with this, although Wainwright does kind of flame […]

Here’s an interesting profile on Mariners prospect Chris Minaker.   The shortstop was taken in the tenth round of last years draft and he’s progressed nicely.  He could return to Low A or the Mariners might see how he can do at High A in 2007.

Apparantly the Tigers front office had been keeping their eyes out on Yorman Bazardo well before the trade that brought him to Detroit.  In this story, it talks about how Tigers assistant general manager Al Avila was the scouting director for the Marlins when Bazardo was signed out of Venezuela.  So as soon as Bazardo […]

The Rockies signed outfielder Steve Finley to a minor league deal.  If Finley makes the team, it’ll be the eighth team that Finley has played for.   I think he’s a long shot to make the team and I’m not quite sure what the Rockies are thinking but maybe he’ll provide some incentive and leadership for […]

This isn’t good although it’s not completely unexpected.  Josh Johnson is still feeling soreness in his throwing forearm and he hasn’t thrown off a mound at full speed this spring.  The net result is, Johnson probably won’t be ready for the start of the season and he could see time on the DL.  That’s definitely […]

While the Gary Sheffield trade should go down as a good one, the Neifi Perez trade probably won’t  I know the Tigers didn’t give up much for him, but having him around and potentially taking away at bats from a guy like Omar Infante is a bad thing.  Now Neifi Perez is looking to prove […]

Jeff Sackman at the Hardball Times recently took on the task of trying to determine who the Marlins closer will be in 2007.  He throws out five names but he also hedges himself by saying it’s pretty wide open at this point and just because someone starts the season as the closer doesn’t mean he’ll […]

Jeff Sackman at the Hardball Times recently penned a great column about bullpens that are in a flux and topping the list are the Arizona Diamondbacks.  You’ve got three guys in Jose Valvarde, Tony Pena and Jorge Julio who could all see time as the Dbacks closer in 2007.  It’s a great read so be […]

This is a nice profile on A’s reliever Chad Gaudin.  While PECOTA expects Gaudin to take a step back in 2007, having a solid Gaudin in there as another option coming out of the pen will go along way towards a repeat of the AL West title in 2007.

Former Tiger lefthander Jamie Walker took a comebacker to the head today at spring camp.  Fortunately, it looks like he’s okay and while he suffered a minor concussion, I guess it could have been a lot worse.  Walker will make his return to Comerica Park on April 30, 2007 when the Orioles play their only […]

Jamie Walker had to make a trip to the hospital today when he took a comebacker to the back of the head off of the bat of Nick Markakis.  He’s got a minor concussion and it’s unclear as to when he’ll be back.

I got an email from the folks at Time Warner and they wanted me to pass on a message to you about a service called Dodgers on Demand.  If you’re a Dodgers fan, this is worth looking into.  Unfortunately, I don’t have digital cable (yes, I’m behind the times), but here’s a copy of the […]

Beyond the Boxscore recently took a sabermetric look at the Boston Red Sox.  There’s no doubt that the Red Sox made some big moves in the offseason and like most of the past five years (2006 excluded), the Red Sox should be right there with the Yankees up until the end.  If they have one […]

Sometimes it’s tough being a blogger and when you write about the Yankees, there’s not much of an off season.  Then the season rolls around and you have all of the games and the minor leagues and the drama surrounding the Yankees.  You even have the Yankees History to contend with.
Well, I have some help.  […]