Players to Watch for in 2018
Jose Martinez, Michael Wacha, and Tim Lincecum headline my players to watch in 2018.
Read more "Players to Watch for in 2018"American League
A Deeper Look at the Slow Offseason
This offseason has been one of the slowest in history. The top five free agents? Unsigned. We are now less than two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting.
Read more "A Deeper Look at the Slow Offseason"A Look at Eric Hosmer’s Free Agency Case
Hosmer had a below-average HH% in 2017 and his average exit velo was not good (72nd out of 436 hitters with at least 70 batted balls in play). The reason he posted a career-high .351 BABIP was probably luck. His career-high in AVG is best explained by his spike in BABIP. Hosmer’s future investors beware.
Read more "A Look at Eric Hosmer’s Free Agency Case"2017 Recap: AL West
During the season, the Astros got some high-quality production out of their regulars, and though young phenom SS Carlos Correa missed around two months with a torn ligament, Swiss Army knife Marwin Gonzalez was able to fill in admirably for Correa. Shockingly, Marwin’s .303 BA was only the fourth-best on the team out of any regulars, which is not actually all that shocking when you consider that the team’s batting line as a whole improved from .247/.319/.417 in 2016 to .282/.346/.478 in 2017, a 21% increase in productivity.
Read more "2017 Recap: AL West"The Case for the Hall: Edgar Martinez
This is a comprehensive list of all players who have compiled a better career triple-slash than that of Edgar Martinez:
Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Jimmie Foxx, Dan Brouthers, Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Those guys, save for Joe Jackson (who is banned from baseball), are all HOFers.
Read more "The Case for the Hall: Edgar Martinez"2017 Recap: AL Central
The Indians regular season was best remembered by their insane second half, but their 47-40 first half record was pretty good, too. The second half, however, was even better: 53-28 including a .776 winning percentage from August 1st forward.
Read more "2017 Recap: AL Central"2017 Recap: AL East
This is the second installment in a six-part series in which I will go division by division and recap the biggest storylines of each team’s season. To find the recaps for other divisions, follow the links below. NL East NL Central AL Central NL West AL West All WAR metrics are fWAR unless otherwise stated. […]
Read more "2017 Recap: AL East"Mike Trout is my AL MVP
Mike Trout is seriously that good. Seriously.
Read more "Mike Trout is my AL MVP"My 2017 American League All-Star Team
No Mike Trout? Well, maybe if he makes it back in time he can play. If he doesn’t, the AL won’t be much worse off with a J.D.-Betts-Judge OF from left to right.
Read more "My 2017 American League All-Star Team"If It’s Not Written Down, It’s Not a Rule
I understand that there are “unwritten rules” about baseball, and that if you go hard into second base, you leave yourself open to getting beaned, but the fact of the matter is that throwing at a guy doesn’t solve the issue. It won’t un-injure the player on your team that got hurt. This isn’t a tit-for-tat deal.
Read more "If It’s Not Written Down, It’s Not a Rule"