That was then Ten years ago today the Boston Red Sox won their second straight game against the Toronto Blue Jays. They didn’t know it at the time, but the winning streak would last five games. Well before The Trade, things were going well enough. That game was started by Pedro Martinez, won by Anastacio …
Category Archives: MLB
How Will Jacoby Ellsbury Fare as a Free Agent?
Jacoby Ellsbury made his major league debut on June 30, 2007 to give Terry Francona and the Red Sox some flexibility in center field with a banged up Coco Crisp trying to avoid the disabled list. The rookie would eventually overtake the veteran, even getting playing time in the Red Sox World Series run. Ellsbury …
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Did the Baltimore Orioles Have a Successful Season?
The Baltimore Orioles won just 69 games in 2011. Thanks in part to a strong bullpen and a breakout season by Adam Jones, the Birds upped their win total to 93 in 2012 and lost the American League Division Series to the New York Yankees in five games. Coming off the heels of their first …
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Yankee Offseason: Is A $300 Million Payroll Possible?
The number 300 has a special meaning in baseball. 300 wins is the traditional Hall of Fame measure for a starting pitcher. Striking out 300 batters in a season hasn’t been done since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2002. The other men on that list include Pedro Martinez, Nolan Ryan, and Sandy Kofax. A …
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San Francisco Giants: Rotation Questions
When the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2010 they did so with a rotation comprised of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and Madison Bumgarner. Barry Zito, their free agent acquisition from a few years earlier, didn’t even make the postseason roster. By 2012, Sanchez had been traded and Lincecum spent most …
Happy Birthday Nomar!
Since Nomar Garciaparra and I share a birthday, I always imagine that he hit those three home runs on this date in 2002 for all the important people born on the 23rd of July. According to @highheatstats, this is a unique feat: Happy 40th birthday to @Nomar5, the only MLB player with a 3-homer game …
Did the Phillies Learn the Wrong Lesson from Boston?
From 2006 to 2011 the Philadelphia Phillies won more games each season than the season previous, raising their win total from a modest 85 to an outstanding 102. Their front office built a starting rotation headed by a trio of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels that teams and fans around the sport would drool over. …
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Baseball Confession Time
It’s become something of a punching bag for the media, analysts, fantasy sports folks, and more recently but I like the All-Star Game. Is it perfect? No. Is it the game my dad watched as a kid (well, one of two ASGs back in the day apparently), no. But it’s still fun to see a …
San Diego Padres: A Team on Friar
On May 1, the San Diego Padres were 10-17, good enough for last place in the National League West. They had allowed a NL worst 129 runs while scoring just 103. The team’s run differential of -26 was the second worst in the National League, ahead of only the Miami Marlins. Since losing that night to …
Today In “Greek” History: Kevin Youkilis
Per @HighHeatStats on Twitter, the Kevin Youkilis era of the Boston Red Sox concluded one year ago today. It’s strange to look back and think about how much Youkilis was around for and how quickly he became irrelevant. The Red Sox traded Kevin Youkilis 1 year ago today. Since then, with CHW & NYY: 108 …