Posts Tagged Joe Torre
Top 10 Baseball Non-Steriod Controversies Of Past Decade
Posted by Monty in Baseball, Miscellaneous on November 28, 2009
The World Baseball Classic is my #1 non-steriod controversy.
Several media outlets are releasing their “Best Of’s” lists for the past year and decade. Yahoo! Sports has released a couple already, but one I wanted to comment on was their “Top 10 Baseball Non-Steroid Controversies”.
Here is my list
1. World Baseball Classic
2. Bartman
3. ASG Tie
4. Grady Leaving Pedro In
5. Umpiring Meltdowns/Instant Replay
6. Torre Leaves Yankees
7. Schilling’s Bloody Sock
8. Contraction Threats
9. Sosa Corked Bat
10. Pierzynski Reaches
Here is my reasoning…
1. WBC. This has driven owners, agents and everyone in baseball except Bud Selig nuts. The premise to make the game more “global” is a myth, and the WBC is something that Selig cites as an “accomplishment” during his time as Commissioner. The issue nearly everyone has with it is the injury risk for players that are away from their teams during spring training. MLB teams are spending more money than ever on players and the last thing they want to see is an injury or ineffectiveness from their multimillion dollar asset. Finally, the best players from each respective county haven’t played in these games, so the WBC hasn’t really proven anything, except a giant waste.
MLB Playoff Analysis: Colorado Rockies
Are the Rockies a serious postseason threat?
Before the 2009 season, the Colorado Rockies traded their best player, Matt Holliday, to Oakland for Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Huston Street. Each of the four baseball writers for CBSSports.com picked the Rockies to finish 4th this season. They weren’t the only ones to think that. It is safe to say the Rockies are the biggest positive surprise this season in baseball.
The Rockies fought with the Giants, Braves and Marlins for the NL Wild Card. Also, with the Dodgers’ recent ineptness, the Rockies had a shot to win NL West. Colorado plays in a hitter-friendly Coors Field, park factor of 105 this year, and the Rockies know how to play there. They are 51-30 at home, the second best home record in the NL, and they boast the best home record among NL playoff teams. Finally, they have a +91 run differential entering the final game of the year.
Season Recap: Colorado got off to a rocky start. They finished May at 20-29. As a frame of reference, the Dodgers were 35-17 at the end of May. On May 29th, the Rockies fired then-manager Clint Hurdle and promoted bench coach Jim Tracy to take over the reigns. Six days later, the Rockies went on an 11-game winning streak. Under Jim Tracy this year, the Rockies are 74-41, compared to 18-28 under Clint Hurdle. Jim Tracy can’t be the lone reason for the Rockies success. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s re-emergence has significantly improved the Rockies. Tulo leads Rockies hitters with a 5.5 WAR, followed by Todd Helton and Seth Smith! Seth Smith? All I remember about him was that he made the final out in the 2007 World Series. Also, the emergence of Ubaldo Jimenez has anchored a rotation that has surprised and impressed the rest of baseball. Colorado is finishing the season strong, going 20-10 since the start of September.
MLB Playoff Analysis: Los Angeles Dodgers
Which Dodgers team will we see in the playoffs? The first half team, second half team or a whole new team?
How many of you would have guessed that the Dodgers have the best run differential in baseball? I can’t imagine too many. As of today, the Dodgers lead MLB with a +163 run differential, 8 runs better than the 102-win New York Yankees. LA also leads the league in fewest runs allowed at 604. Yet, the Dodgers seem to be the trendy pick to get knocked out of the playoffs early.
2009 Season Recap: Looking back on the Dodgers 2009 season, a couple things stood out. First, they got out to a huge lead in the NL West and didn’t look back for a while. They finished the first half of the season at 56-32 despite missing Manny Ramirez from the beginning of May until July. Starters Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley were unhittable.
The second half was more of cruise control than anything else for the Dodgers. As of today, they are 2 games over .500 in the 2nd half. Chad Billingsley has struggled and LA has acquired Jon Garland and George Sherrill to boost their bullpen for the playoffs. LA making the playoffs has been a forgone conclusion since the end of May, but I don’t think anyone thought they would take this long to clinch the NL West. The Rockies are nipping at LA’s heels, and are within 1 game to tie the division lead. LA has clinched a spot, but have two more games with the Rockies to determine the NL West winner.
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