Baseball

The Royals were in dire need of a utility infielder.  They did not have to look far to find one.

Yuniesky Betancourt and the Royals agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with incentives.  If Betancourt can become a full-time player, he could be paid $2.5 million next season.

Continue reading "Betancourt Returns to Royals"

The Minnesota Twins are looking to improve their dismal starting rotation numbers in 2012.

Last season, the Twins starters combined to post the third-worst ERA (4.64), while also striking out just 617 batters in 961 innings-pitched.

Continue reading "Twins Sign Jason Marquis to 1-Year Deal"

In the National League, the elongated double switch shows again why pitching statistics are quite poorly attributed.  A traditional double switch involves the manager inserting a position player into the game  for the current pitcher and a new pitcher for a position player--typically one who just made an out, so that the new pitcher won't be batting for nearly a full trip through the lineup.

Continue reading "More Thoughts on MLB Pitching Statistics"

Here'e another quirky entry into the "Win" category:  http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4318608.  If we used Team pitching statistics, that win would simply go to the Nationals pitching staff, which clearly it should have.

Continue reading "Another Reason Why MLB Needs Team ..."

As the Brewers wrap up a series against the Cardinals and Tony LaRussa's peculiar lineup strategy, I thought it might be worth thinking about what would make certain lineups advantageous.  LaRussa has been hitting the pitcher in the 8th spot, with a position player hitting behind him in the 9th slot, for several years now.  Why?

Continue reading "The Merits of the Pitcher Hitting 8th"

I got into a discussion with Sean yesterday about the post I made a couple of weeks ago concerning when a runner has officially taken possession of a base.  We consulted the rule book (online at baseball-almanac.com, a great site) and found no specific details about the situation.  (Though, admittedly, I did not carefully pore over every bit of it research-style, since we were simply having an entertaining discussion.)  While shifting through various alternative scenarios to try to tease out the answer, this fun one came up:

Continue reading "More Baseball Rules Discussion"

I thought it would be fitting for my first post to discuss a rules question I've thought about for baseball for quite a long time. Here's the situation: Runner on first, less than 2 outs.  The pitcher accidentally goes into the windup, and the runner takes off for second.  (Or the runner takes off, then the pitcher goes into the windup.)  There is a strange combination of blazing speed in the runner and very slow motion in the pitcher's windup.  The runner reaches second base before the pitch reaches the plate.  The batter hits a lazy fly to the outfield.

Continue reading "Rules of the game (MLB)"

     Happy Holidays!!!!!

     To you and yours I hope that you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  

      As the NFL reaches the last quarter of the season, fantasy owners are positioning themselves for the playoffs. As the fantasy playoffs continue, quality free agent pick-ups could be the boost that your team needs to climb to the top of the mountain. So, as we do each week, we are providing fantasy football players with the best information in the most interesting format possible. So, enjoy your viewing of this video that is sure to bring you what you need and remind you of things that you want.

Continue reading "Fantasy Sportsgirl Video - Your Fantasy ..."

  

Last night, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 to win the World Series in five games (4-1).  This is the second World Championship for the Phils…they previously won in 1980…28 years ago.  This will be remembered as one of the weirdest finishes in a Series with an unprecedented suspension of a game due to inclement weather.  The game was concluded 48 hours later…in hindsight…it was worth the wait! 

Continue reading "Finally"

NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers, it got me thinking whether Philadelphia is a Football town or a Baseball town?  On Thursday evening on Fox, the Phillies will host the L.A. Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS.  I’m not a big fan of baseball, but I do like the Phillies (Mets, and Yankees as well).  I watch about a handful of games a year including the playoffs.  I was never really into baseball…I just don’t get the fascination?  I find it slow, dull, and extremely boring…unless you’re at the ballpark…then it’s a whole different story!  When you’re actually at the game, it’s exciting and much more “family friendly” than football. 

Continue reading "Philly Is Still A Football Town"

Well it seems as though the "Devil" in Devil Rays has officially been exorcised.  The Rays win their first playoff game in franchise history on the shoulders of rookie Evan Longoria.

Continue reading "A Little Bit Of H-Evan"

I really enjoy reading good copy whether it be on the Chicago Cubs or just on baseball.   On this site, I highly recommend Street Reporter's work   http://www.chicagocubsnews.com/streetreport/

Continue reading "Outstanding blogs to read"