Last month ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer wrote about Bill James’s comments during an interview with Dugout Central.  Asked if he was concerned about “the steady decline of the American-born Black player in the big leagues over the last decade,” James replied that as long as they were being given an equal opportunity as everyone else to play ball, that it didn’t matter one bit.  To his credit, James said, “I don't see what difference it makes what color the players are.”  But I’m going to have to disagree.

Borrowing only Josh Gibson from the Negro Leagues, I can easily put together an All-Star team of active players who are African American:

P          CC Sabathia

Continue reading "My beef with Bill James"

Koji Uehara may not be the answer to Orioles fans’ prayers, but he’s certainly a start.  Though it is hard to judge stats from Japanese baseball (because of the perceived lower level of competition and other factors), Uehara holds a 112-62 record with a 3.01 E.R.A. in his 10-year career in Japan.  In 1998, he won 15 consecutive starts and 20 overall on his way to being named Rookie of the Year.

Before Uehara’s signing, Jeremy Guthrie was the only sure thing in the Baltimore rotation.  I’m not about to declare the Orioles the front-runners in the A.L. East, but  hopefully this signing will help them get out of the cellar – though that will still be a challenge.

It is curious that Uehara is the first Japanese player the team has ever had on its roster.  One might have thought that after Ichiro Suzuki became an instant star with the Seattle Mariners in 2001, teams that had ample room for improvement would follows suit by tapping into the Japanese market.  But since Ichiro, only a handful of Japanese players (Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima, and Kenji Johjima come to mind) have come to this part of the world to play ball.  Why is it that more of the best Japanese players are not in the major leagues?

Continue reading "Orioles finally tap into Japan’s talent"

New York Yankee signings and trades over the last eight years (Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, etc.) have not yet led to a single World Championship.  That’s right – these “impact” players, as they are commonly called, have not been able to bring even one trophy to the city of New York.  Sure, the Yankees have been perennial contenders this entire decade, but they haven’t been able to seal the deal for The Boss, who expects everything and more from his high-priced talent.  So while it is inevitable that all Yankee haters worry about what the 2009 season will bring now that the Bronx Bombers have signed CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and A.J. Burnett, there’s no reason to suddenly assume that the team has what it takes to go all the way.

Continue reading "Yankee moves don’t guarantee championship"