San Diego Padres

Chipper Jones is out for the year with a torn ACL, but let’s hope this isn’t it for the man who has played his entire major league career for manager Bobby Cox.  Chipper has made it known since last season that retirement could be around the corner, but like Baseball Tonight’s Eduardo Perez, I don’t see Chipper calling it quits now that his season has ended unexpectedly.  He wants to go out on his own terms, and these aren’t them.  At 38, his career is nearing the end, but I find it hard to believe that he will be able to say good-bye after watching from the bench as his team battles for the National League crown.

Continue reading "Will Chipper hang 'em up?"

Julio Franco may be the oldest player in Major League history to hit a home run (he also holds a number of other oldest player records), but Jamie Moyer has established himself as the game’s new Ageless Wonder.  In throwing a two-hitter against the Braves on May 7th, the 47-year-old became the oldest player to throw a complete game shutout.

Continue reading "Jamie Moyer: baseball's new Ageless Wonder"

ounced that he has Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  Currently serving as a special assistant for the San Diego Padres, Roberts is widely remembered for stealing second base in the bottom of the

Continue reading "Farewell to a pair of the game's greats"

In my life I have attended many more major league games than minor league ones, but 2010 will be a chance for me to experience the minors like never before.  I will be working in media relations for the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League.  The Mud Hens are the Triple-A affiliate of the Tigers and play at Fifth Third Field, just an hour from Detroit, which means that Tigers on rehab assignments will likely make cameo appearances throughout the season.

Continue reading "Next stop in my baseball career – ..."

While researching ballplayers of the nineties, I discovered that in 1993, Jeff King of the Pirates drove in 98 runs while hitting only nine home runs and slugging just .406.  I then wondered if any player has ever driven in 100 runs with fewer than 10 homers or with a slugging percentage under .400.  Upon further investigation, I found that in 1996 – the year he turned 40 during the Dog Days of August – Paul Molitor hit just nine homers but accumulated 113 RBI’s while playing for the Twins.  Thanks to his American League-leading 225 hits and batting two hitters behind leadoff man Chuck Knoblauch in the midst of his best season (.448 OBP), Molitor led the Twins in both hitting (.341) and Runs Batted In.  I have yet to find a player with a season of 100+ RBI’s despite a slugging percentage under .400 (Molitor’s was a healthy .468), but I will continue searching.

Continue reading "Run production and slugging: not ..."

Someone at MLB must have read my blog post from 5/9/08 and decided that All-Star voting needed to start even earlier this season just to see my reaction.  Keep in mind that the 2009 season began later than the 2008 season.

Continue reading "All-Star balloting reminds me of the Iowa Caucus"

With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of the MLB Playoffs"

Been a while since I posted, in part because I was out of town last week at a trade show in San Diego. Not a bad place to go for a working vacation, and a week ago we got to take in a game between the Padres and the D-backs. My dad's a rabid D-backs fan, beside which my fandom (or fanhood, as the ESPN ads call it) seems rather small. He brought his own logo-coordinated Arizona hat and shirt, having overcome his anger at their change in colors and logo, which seemed to him (correctly) to be an effort to boost merchandising sales.

Continue reading "A Night at PETCO"

It’s the annual midpoint of the baseball season, and for the brief span that is the All-Star break, all eyes are upon the Bronx. As everyone is well aware of, this campaign is the last go around for the world’s most famous, largest, and most prominent ballpark, Yankee Stadium. It seems hard to believe, and even more sacrilegious that this living legend’s days are numbered. Built in 1923 and christened by the greatest ballplayer to ever live, Babe Ruth, the cathedral of baseball will never truly be replaced. Although the Bombers will move a block to Yankee Stadium’s heir, the Mecca of America’s Pastime will still live on in our hearts. Whether you’re a diehard Yankee fan, or Yankee-hater, you still can respect the history and awe that the stadium brings. So when the All-Stars take the field Tuesday night, sit back on your couch, crack open a cold one and soak up the history of Yankee Stadium, as its final chapter is unveiled to all of us.

Continue reading "National League Looks to End Rut"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

Continue reading "Second Half Predictions"

All right. Are you ready for this? As the All-Star break approaches, the Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in baseball. That’s right. At 49-32, they’re a half-game ahead of Boston, the Cubs, and Anaheim. Whoa. Is this one of the signs of the apocalypse?

Continue reading "Hold On To Your Hats"

will likely have to rely more heavily on Kemp, Loney and Laroche then they might otherwise like.

San Diego Padres

Will Kevin Kouzmanoff preform at his pre or post All Star levels?

Kouzmanoff was added last year in a trade with the Cleveland Indians in hopes of providing some badly needed offense. Coming over as one of the more highly touted offensive prospects in the game, the thirdbaseman put up respectable numbers as a rookie hitting .275 with 74 RBI and 18 home runs in the cavernous Petco Park. Prior to the All-Star break, Kouzmanoff was hitting only .228 and was in danger of losing his job. He finally settled in and hit .317 along with 11 of his 18 home runs after the break.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Preview Part One: National League West"