According to the Associated Press, Oakland second baseman “Mark Ellis will miss six to eight weeks after dislocating his right shoulder in a collision with shortstop Bobby Crosby.” Losing an everyday player before the season starts is never particularly good news and Ellis’ defense is a big part of Oakland’s outstanding run-prevention, but he was […]

The Chicago Cubs have had in their employ an intriguing yet inconsistent young pitcher named Juan Cruz. Cruz has yet to turn his dominant stuff into any kind of sustained major-league success, and the Cubs’ brass has seemed to give up on him. Cubs fans have turned their attention from dreaming about Cruz’s future to […]

The Devil Rays gave some bad news to a group of veterans today. Four recognizable names – Mike Williams, Todd Jones, Fernando Tatis, and Deivi Cruz – were given their walking papers by the worst team in the AL East. Williams had his fill of humiliation last year, when he was named to the NL […]

It looks as if the race for the title of Worst Opening Day Starter will come down to the Reds and the Rockies. According to an AP report, the Rox are going to send Shawn Estes out to face the Diamondbacks at the BOB on April 6. Meanwhile, Reds fans will see Cory Lidle face […]

Over at ESPN.com, Alan Schwarz has begun a series of articles on the greatest defensive plays at each position. Today he’s looking at the corners – first and third base. It’s easy to remember great plays by outfielders, third basemen, and shortstops, but try guessing even one of the great first-sacker plays that made Schwarz’s […]

Over at All-Baseball, myself and the other guys on the site are having an interesting discussion on the ESPN cover boy, Miguel Cabrera. The kid came from the depths of the minors last year, and now he’s become a top 100 pick in fantasy drafts. Do yourself a favor and stop to read our analysis […]

Following is a link to a PDF article by MGL, in which he presents an outstanding analysis of Questec, and its impact on the strike zone. In it, MGL concludes that the presence of Questec, that robotic supervisor of umpires, does indeed shrink the strike zone. His conclusion is based on an analysis of balls […]

A little while ago, I commented here about Mariano Rivera’s Hall of Fame worthiness. Looking at Win Shares, Rivera doesn’t seem to make the cut. Then I got an email from a reader named Chris, who said (among other things): I think, when looking at closers as Hall Of Fame prospects, one must go beyond […]

The New York Times is reporting that Yanks closer Mariano Rivera is about to sign a two-year, $21 million contract extension with the club, with a vesting option for a third year. This could be Rivera’s last contract, which means he’ll be one of very few modern players to spend his whole career with one […]

The Vet collapsed yesterday, always a sad thing for baseball fans. Progress gives and progress takes away. I still remember visiting the new Comiskey in its first year and watching them take down the old Comiskey across the street. It was just plain eerie. Sort of how Rocky Balboa must feel, based on these pictures.