Posts Tagged Baseball
Best GMs In Baseball
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Off-season on November 12, 2009
The Man On The Left Is a Big Reason That The Man On The Right Ranked So Highly
With the annual MLB GM meetings taking place this week, we here at Foul Pole decided to compile our own list of the top 10 GMs in Major League Baseball. Each of us had our own opinions on who deserved those 10 spots. While some of us tilted towards GMs with experience, some of us put our faith in some of the younger guys. Without further ado, here are our picks for the best GMs in the MLB.
Phillies Advance To World Series
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, MLB Postseason on October 22, 2009
While Monty has done a fine job recapping each game of the ALCS, I have not lived up to my end of the bargain. Consider this my apology for slacking the past few days.
The Phillies Advance Again
The last National League team to win the World Series in two consecutive years is the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds. In 2009, the Phillies could be the next NL team to repeat. After outscoring the Los Angeles Dodgers 35-16, the Phillies have advanced to the World Series once again. Despite the Dodgers having the highest run differential entering the playoffs, the Phillies pulled off the upset. While the Phillies did have a solid run differential heading into the playoffs, only one of our bloggers picked them to advance to the World Series. Many expected the Phillies to win the NL East this season (I did not, thank you Mets…), however few expected them to have this type of season. Let’s take a look back at how the Phillies have advanced to the World Series.
MLB Playoff Analysis: Minnesota Twins
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, MLB Postseason on October 7, 2009
Will The Twins Continue Their Improbable Run?
One of the most successful small market franchises in baseball, the Minnesota Twins continued to surprise analysts by remaining in the race throughout the entire 2009 season. In a great game last night, the Twins managed to defeat the Detroit Tigers and advance to the playoffs once again. Led by one of the best catchers, hell, one of the best players, in baseball, Joe Mauer, the Twins went 17-4 down the stretch and are the hottest team in baseball right now. Unfortunately, there is very little time to rest for the Twins. The Twins will travel to New York and play the Yankees less than 24 hours after they clinched a playoff berth. With one of the most successful small market teams taking on baseball’s biggest juggernaut, can the Twins continue their surprising run in the post-season?
MLB Playoff Analysis: New York Yankees
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, MLB Postseason on October 7, 2009
The Yanks Haven't Won It All Since 2000
For years now, the Yankees have been baseball’s most loved and most hated franchise. While fans of the team will point to the number of championships and playoff appearances, those playoffs appearances have not amounted to a World Series victory since 2000. For most fans, this would be acceptable. For Yankees fans, this is a travesty. Rival fans, however, take issue with the ways in which the Yankees build their teams. Owner, George Steinbrenner (assisted now his sons Hank and Hal), has never been afraid to spend money on free agents. For years now, the Yankees have led MLB with the highest payroll. During the 2008-2009 off-season, Steinbrenner once again spent money on three of the premiere talents on the free agent market. While the high payrolls have not led to a Championship in quite some time, this could be the year the Yankees start a new dynasty.
MLB Playoff Analysis: Los Angeles Angels
Posted by Jules in Baseball, MLB Postseason on October 4, 2009
Any way we look at it, the Halos have something that no other team has. The motivation that will give them the type of drive that no manager, no amount of money, or no superstition would be able to do. Two words: Nick Adenhart. Nick Adenhart was a 22 year old pitcher for the Angels who had a promising career. During his first major league baseball game, he pitched six shutout innings against the A’s. That night, he was killed in a car accident. This horrific incident has changed the way the Angels look at the game of baseball. With their first 13 games after the accident, the Angels lost 9 of them. Around mid-April is when the entire organization turned around. They held a memorial service for Nick Adenhart one morning which seemed to be a spark for their success. They are playing for more than a ring, a trophy, or bragging rights . . . they’re playing for their teammate Adenhart.
White Sox Spoiler In AL Central?
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jake Peavy delivers during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers
The White Sox are mathematically eliminated from this year’s postseason, but it may not stop them from playing spoiler. The Sox could be the key factor in determining the AL Central winner as they play the Tigers five more times before the season ends.
In Friday night’s game the Tigers bats struggled against recently activated starter Jake Peavy. Peavy threw seven scoreless innings, striking out eight. That game could be a taste for the White Sox future. Alex Rios scored on a Gordon Beckham home run, leading the offense, Jake Peavy had a great start, and Matt Thornton closed out the game.
Examining Mike Fontenot
Posted by mradenkovich in Baseball on September 23, 2009
Will the real Mike Fontenot please stand up?
This article can be found at my blog: marcoradenkovich.com
Continuing the examinations, I wanted to check out what happened to Mike Fontenot this season.
The one position the Cubs could improve for 2010 is 2B. Do they have to go outside of the organization? Or, can Mike Fontenot be counted on for 350 at-bats?
Giant Trouble
The Rockies won 4-3 and there was a runner on third base when Schierholtz struck out.
The Giants lost to the Rockies by one run in what turned out to be quite a dramatic game Wednesday night. Rockies led 4-0 heading into the bottom of the 9th, behind a great start by Jorge De La Rosa, and were all set to walk out of San Francisco with a 3 ½ game lead in the Wild Card, and snap their 4 game losing streak.
Well the Giants had other ideas. They cut the lead to 4-3 including a defensive gaffe and some poor pitching by Franklin Morales, before Nate Schierholtz struck out to end the game.
Thanks Fangraphs for the game log, according to win probability, for last night’s game.
Does Mark Buehrle Deserve A Pass?
Buehrle is 1-4 with a 4.92 ERA and a .880 OPS against him since the perfect game.
Mark Buehrle picked up his first win yesterday since his perfect game on July 23rd. That’s 8 starts! Was he unlucky? Somewhat, he had three quality starts since the perfecto, including a shutout through 8 innings in Seattle. That leaves 5 starts of non-quality start baseball, including getting beaten up by Kansas City, Baltimore and Cleveland.
A Cubs-Sox Game For The Ages
Today the Cubs and the Sox are making up a game that was rained out. So last night as I went to bed praying that the Cubs could put a run together I remember a Cubs-Sox game I went to a few years ago.
People always talk about Boston and New York being the biggest rivalry in all of sports, but I refuse to believe that after this Cubs-Sox game. The Cubs went up early on a two-run homer in the bottom of the second and I was thrilled. The Sox fans not so much, as they started lambasting their own pitcher. Not much excitement after that until about the 6th inning.
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