American League

Apropos of yesterday's blog, about the possibility--really at this point a good probability--of instant replay being used in MLB, this weekend's round of interleague play got me thinking about how the game's already been tweaked. And how the purists protested, to no avail, when interleague was first introduced in 1997, but how it's now become an unqualified success.

Continue reading "Interleague Play"

Well.

What a run!  The White Sox went 7-0 in their last homestand.  You know, the seven games after the famous tirade Ozzie went on.  Everyone says he lit a fire under them, it was a calculated move by a shrewd manager, and he gave them just the kick in the pants they needed to start producing some runs.

Continue reading "Thanks, Margie!"

So we've had a couple days to think about this madness, what with the White Sox having had yesterday off.  And they needed a day off to rest and recuperate.  And so did we.  I've had time to consider this, and my time has taught me that if my actions indeed have any bearing on how the Sox play, then I need to be more positive.  And so the last bad thing I'll say is this: we did drop three of four to Tampa, but the Rays are a good team this year.  That's all I'll say.

Continue reading "A New Hope"

e scored 253 runs (fourth in the National League), while the Sox have scored just 218 (ninth in the American League).  

Ok, ok.  So these stats aren't the best for real sabermetric analysis.  I confess I'm only listing these because of their shock value-- but this is a blog, and I think I'm entitled to be excited about not letting up runs, and upset about not scoring them.

Continue reading "Consistently Inconsistent"

of the 1959 White Sox team of a similar nickname that ran and played small ball all the way to the American League Pennant, but compared to what we are accustomed to with the slugging Red Sox, this year’s team is practically making games look like track meets. Boston has always built its teams around lumbering sluggers, and aside from the fact that perhaps the most famous play in team history IS a stolen base, one would be hard pressed to name any prolific basestealer in the 100 plus years the franchise has been in existence. In fact, since Theo Epstein has had control of the general manager reins, he has built the team around the "Moneyball" philosophy of high on base percentage and not giving away outs. The team has not only ignored stolen bases, but has pretty much discouraged them not wanting to risk giving away outs.

Continue reading "The Go Go . . . Red Sox?"

Baseball purists--and my brother in particular--may have freaked out when I suggested in my post of May 7 that all leagues adopt the DH. This is one of the Great Debates of the Modern Game, and I enter it whenever possible. Nobody seems on the fence on this issue; everyone either loves it or hates it. Me, I love it.

Continue reading "Defending the Designated Hitter"

players will deliever for them.  Below I have picked the top players at each position for the American League, who will lead at what category, who will win the awards, and who are the flops.  Enjoy!1B Justin Morneau2B Robinson Cano3B Alex Rodriguez or Miguel CaberaSS Carlos GuillenC Joe MauerOF Tori HunterOF Grady SizemoreOF Magglio OrdonezUTIL David OrtizSP Josh BeckettSP John LackeySP Justin VerlanderCLOSER Jonathon Papelbon

Continue reading "2008 Major League Baseball Preview: ..."