As the Yankees season came to a close on Thursday night, there was a lot of uncertainty in the air. Would CC Sabathia opt out? Was Ivan Nova’s injury serious? And what’s up with Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez? But probably the most interesting thing to watch this offseason in Yankee Land will be the […]

After Milwaukee’s 9-6 win over archrival St. Louis in Sunday’s Game One of the NLCS, Zack Greinke claimed another win at home for the Brewers. In fact, when Greinke has started at home, the Brewers are a remarkable 17-0. Greinke, including the postseason, is 12-0 with a 3.68 ERA in his 17 starts (43 earned […]

I’d like to start with the fair and obvious warning: this is a very small sample size. Then again, it’s a small sample size being compared to a history of other small sample sizes. The story After Zack Greinke faltered in Game One of the NLCS (six earned in six valiant innings, with eight hits […]

Fifty years marked a big day for the National League. The league, which hadn’t let any new teams join in 70 years, staged its first expansion draft for its newest franchises, the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s. As you may very well know, the day went better for Houston than for the […]

Now that the Division Series are over—with each of the two NL series ending in dramatic fashion Friday—let’s review how the Hardball Times’ staff did and compare their picks to those of our readers contest entries. Among our staff, Ben Pritchett—who was our winner for best predictions of which teams would make the playoffs—picked three […]

In the midst of all the banter about team composition and the nature of the regular season and postseason, a major truth has been lost. If the regular season is a marathon and the postseason is a sprint, is the archetype for success a marathoner who is able to adapt to the sprint, or a […]

Many Detroit players were key contributors in the team’s ALDS upset of the Yankees, but two players acquired during the season by GM Dave Dombrowski, Doug Fister and Delmon Young, played key roles throughout the series, especially in the decisive game five. Delmon Young PA Slash Line HR RBI R XBH With Twins 325 .266/.305/.357 […]

Ten years ago today, the greatest Rickey of them all, Rickey Henderson, added to his legend by getting his 3,000th hit. He did it in his final plate appearance of the season, which was mighty appropriate given that he previously got his 2,000th hit in his last at bat of the 1992 season. Nice symmetry […]

It appears that some things hold true no matter the sample size. During the regular season, the Arizona Diamondbacks scored 400 runs at home, the second-highest total in the National League behind only Colorado. Away from the Chase Field aircraft carrier, Arizona scored just 331 runs, ninth in the Senior Circuit. Through four games of […]

By now, every fan of the game knows about Terry Francona’s departure from the Red Sox. But do fans outside of Red Sox Nation know much about his father, who was a pretty fair ballplayer in his day? The younger Francona, whose given name is Terry Jon Francona, is often referred to as “Tito.” That’s […]