In doing research for the 2011 Annual’s trivia section, I came across this gem of a team: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=32072 One of the many unaffiliated teams that the low minors had in this era, the 1987 San Jose Bees had names but only scattered talent. It was a part Japanese farm team, part independent league, and part…well, […]

Would you like to vote for the best defenders in the league? Want to add your expert baseball opinion to a group that is having a real impact on things? Then head on over—right now—to Tango’s 2010 Scouting Report. Here’s the deal: Tango collects as much input as possible from as many baseball fans as […]

According to the BIS scouting data, San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell has the highest total run value for a fastball during the past three calendar years out of all qualified relievers in the majors. He’s ahead of the likes of Matt Thornton and Jonathan Papelbon. So naturally, having access to the PITCHf/x data, I […]

My apologies for posting this so late in the day. It’s Dave Studemans’ fault. Reds 12, Giants 11: The Reds blew a 10-1 lead because Joey Votto gathered his teammates and told them he needed a few extra frames to drive in more runs. He delivered in the 12th. Quite a comeback for the Giants, […]

What would you say about a fine-fielding, switch-hitting center fielder who put up the following stat line: AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS+ 566 103 160 46 13 19 78 68 145 29 8 .283 .363 .511 127 If you’d be inclined to consider such a […]

While Craig Calcaterra is on vacation, pinch hitter James Clarkin Breslin is filling in for our daily game recaps: Mets 6, Marlins 5: Luis Castillo plates the game-winning run with a walkoff bloop to right. Mike Stanton has a strong arm, but unfortunately he was trying to throw it to his buddy sitting behind the […]

Detroit Tigers starter Rick Porcello took the express route to the big leagues. The New Jersey prep product, given a $7 million major league contract as the 27th pick in the 2007 draft, tossed all of 125 innings in the High-A Florida State League in 2008 before reaching Detroit the following year. Porcello was impressive […]

In 1985, Laura Joffe Numeroff wrote a wonderful children’s book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. The simple act of giving a mouse a cookie took a young boy on many adventures, which have entertained millions of children. Had she known about Roger Clemens in 1985, her now classic tale might have gone like […]

Happy Friday. Here’s something new that I’ve been working on. It’s called Bat Slicer and the idea is to visually represent a hitters’ bat. I’m hoping the visuals are fairly self explanatory, but just in case: We start with strikeouts (represented by a hole in the bat, and then show walks, singles, doubles & triples, […]

White Sox 11, Twins 0: Paul Konerko was a triple short of a cycle. (Oh crap; now I’m in trouble!). Angels 7, Red Sox 2: Anaheim finally wins one against Boston. A three-run homer from Hideki Matsui in the 6th opened things up for the Angels. Know what ain’t lookin’ good right now? Josh Beckett’s […]