Baseball Historians

While all three might not make the opening day roster, the trio of young pitchers that the Reds have waiting in the wings may be an indication of brighter times for the Reds. Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto are both bonafide studs and then you have Edinson Volquez, who the Reds picked up their […]

Just a few odds and ends from over the weekend.  Dontrelle Willis made a solid first impression in camp this weekend.  With some pinpoint accuracy, the story yesterday was how Willis picked apart his Marlins teammate Miguel Cabrera.  Also impressive is one of the guys who I think could make a solid contribution to the […]

The Red Sox have been busy in the big office this past week. After finding out Curt Schilling would be out indefinitely, the Red Sox were looking to Lester and Bucholtz to pick of the slack of the starting rotation. However, ESPN.com reports that the Red Sox are close to signing former AL […]

Brad Lidge felt a twinge in his right knee Saturday while pitching batting practice.  He and the team decided to go ahead and have surgery to repair the small meniscus tears rather than wait and see if the injury fixes itself.  He is expected to miss 3-6 weeks.  He is hopeful that he can still […]

As Spring Training game begin this week more and more focus will fall onto baseball.  One of the main topics amongst baseball fans is that of escalating payrolls and salaries.  The Rays are unfortunate enough to belong to the same division as the two biggest spenders in all of American sports.  The Yankees and Red […]

The one question being asked by most at spring training is where will Teahen play this year.  Notice that they are not asking IF he will play, instead WHERE?  Mark Teahen is one of the more versatile players you are going to find in the league.  Last year he was switched from third base to […]

The White Sox get one final week to get back into the swing of things before spring leagues begin.  Enjoying the warmth of Tucson, the Sox are facing 30 games in 28 days throughout the month of March.  Given the several new faces on the team, spring training becomes vital for the club to gel […]

Trot Nixon Signed
Last week, the Diamondbacks signed longtime Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indian outfielder Trot Nixon to a minor league contract. Nixon was signed as an insurance policy if Chad Tracy is not ready for Opening Day after surgery on his right knee in the offseason. The plan means that despite no previous experience […]

Ryan Howard won his arbitration case with the Phillies on Thursday.  His win set a record for first year arbitration eligible players.  Howard received a record setting $10 million when the Phillies were offering him $7 million.  The good thing is that now Howard will not enter free agency until after 2011.  The bad thing […]

Ryan Howard won his arbitration case with the Phillies on Thursday.  His win set a record for first year arbitration eligible players.  Howard received a record setting $10 million when the Phillies were offering him $7 million.  The good thing is that now Howard will not enter free agency until after 2011.  The bad thing […]

With spring games rapidly approaching and Orlando Cabrera taking the reins at short stop, what is going to happen with Juan Uribe?   While most of the major league egos would shine through in a situation like Uribe’s,  the  7-year pro is ready for whatever the Sox need from him.  Still in a fierce competition for […]

It was great to hear Jose Guillen strolled into camp with nothing but smiles on his face.  I would be smiling too if I got to start another major league baseball season after being given $500,000 by my formal club…for nothing.  Where I come from that is called “winning the lottery.”  If your beef with baseball stems […]

Shortstop: The Cardinals let fan-favorite David Eckstein walk this off-season and brought in Cesar Izturis via free agency. Izturis does not bring much to the plate offensively but is a defensive whiz who will help make up for the drop-off in range the Cardinals will suffer in the third base transition from Scott Rolen to […]

How the Giants will start the season defensively is a mystery, however there are several certainties. Bengie Molinais expected to be the Giants’ starting catcher, with either Eliezer Alfonzo or Guillermo Rodriguezbacking him up. The thirty-three year old veteran, Molina is an excellent defensive catcher with a .994 career fielding percentage, however he does struggle […]

Yet again, another injury occurs for the beleaguered Texas Rangers pitching staff. According to the Dallas News, John Rheinecker will undergo shoulder surgery that will be to alleviate symptoms of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, in which a rib bone is pinching a nerve and creates swelling and pain. Although last season the 28 year old lefty […]

Now that an entire week of spring training is complete the Braves are looking to reclaim the NL East Division.  This  may be a tough task considering the power of the Mets and Phillies. After completing the first full squad workout on Wednesday Jeff Francoeur stated that he believes that Braves can win this division.  This […]

It’s not a done deal yet, but the Reds appear close to signing Josh Fogg to deal that would him put him at the back of the Reds rotation. It’s not a bad deal if we can get him on the cheap for just a one year contract. Fogg had a decent season […]

It looks like Brandon Inge worked on his swing this offseason.  In an interesting look, Jason Beck breaks down what he did to refine things.  What’s interesting is, way back in 2003, Brandon Inge had a horrible first half and was eventually sent to the minors.  When brought back up, his attitude was to swing away […]

With the exception of possibly only Jay Bruce, no rookie will be expected to star more than Evan Longoria.  The Rays former first round pick is apparently ready for the big leagues and will have a chance to win the third base job during spring training.  During his two years in the Rays minor league […]

The past two years have been very up and down for Rich Harden. He has shown that he is a quality pitcher in the big leauges and can be a solid starter in the MLB, but he has been unable to avoid the injury bug. In the past two season Harden has started only 13 games and pitched a total of 72 1/3 innings. For a pitcher with the talent Harden has, 13 starts is clearly not enough. That is all in the past now and both Harden and the Athletics have high hopes for the 2008 season.
In the beginning weeks of spring […]

There’s no shortage of content on the Big Red Machine teams on this site but it’s interesting that I’ve never mentioned Bob Howsam, who was at the helm of the team during those golden years. Unfortunately, the former GM passed away yesterday and The Enquirer has some great retrospectives on him. The initial […]

I’ve mentioned Tigers Corner 2008a number of times on this site so I just wanted to pass on a glitch with that book and Amazon.com.  Apparently, the publication was initially listed as a book on Amazon and it has since been changed to a magazine (it’s sort of a hybrid but that’s another story) in […]

The Texas Rangers finally got Ian Kinsler the deal he wanted. On Tuesday, they locked up the promising second baseman to a five-year, $22 million contract extension. The deal also includes a sixth-year club option worth $10 million. If the Rangers decline the option, Kinsler would get a $500,000 buyout. The 25 year old noted […]

Oh boy!  That stain is not coming out.  And on my new pair of writing pants.
 As I was enjoying my annual Ball Park Frank hot dog and ice cold Budweiser at home to celebrate the beginning of another spring training and baseball season, reading up on this mornings arrivals to camp, and the smell in […]

There’s no doubt that Homer Bailey is the Reds top pitching prospect. After a nice 2007 season though, Johnny Cueto has made himself the number 1b pitching prospect and he’s one of the guys vying for a spot in the Reds rotation. While Jay Bruce might get the press, who ends up in […]

Growing up, Tigers second baseman Lou Whitaker was my favorite player.  I thought it was cool how he was a right handed fielder yet hit left handed and he was as smooth as anyone out in the field.
In a flashback column, Mitch Albom goes back to August 5, 1985 to look at what he wrote […]

With only nine days left before the first spring training game, position players have begun to report to camp. As pitchers and catchers continue to get into shape, the rotation is nearly set in stone with Kevin Correia, and southpaws Jonathan Sanchez and Pat Misch fighting for the fifth spot. Correia appears to be the frontrunner for the […]

The Indians have been trying to negotiate a contract with Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia. Talks have been hualted and according to Mark Shapiro are not expected to continue until after the 2008 season. This means that the Indians will have Sabathia this year, but after that is still undecided.

Good for your Mark Sheldon. The Reds beat writer for MLB.com talks about how he’s surprised there’s even a discussion about sending some of the Reds top flight prospects to the A’s for Joe Blanton and it’s tough to argue with his logic. Yeah, Joey Votto could be an odd man out if […]

First off, I’m going to pose a question.  Is this the most anticipated Tigers season ever?  There was a lot of buildup in 1968 after the Tigers near pennant in 1967 and 1984 had it’s share of hype after what was then the biggest free agent signing by the Tigers in Darrell Evans.  Here we […]