Jarrod Saltalamacchia uttered the dreaded “L” word when discussing Francisco Cervelli‘s antics last night. Cervelli, who admitted earlier this year he needed to cut back on his emotional theatrics, irked John Lackey and the Red Sox with his clap at home plate after a fifth inning home run. Lackey would bean Cervelli later in the game, which […]

Shortstop Billy Hamilton is one of the Reds top prospects. This year he’s starred at the Low-A Dayton affiliate. The offensive numbers don’t jump out at you as he’s struck out 117 times, rarely walks, and has a rather pedestrian .670 OPS. There is, however, one number that is rather impressive. After two stolen bases […]

R.A. Dickey was holding court before Friday night’s Mets- Brewers games at Citi Field. He was talking about why he recently joined Twitter, his upcoming climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the manuscript for his memoir that is due out next April, and how throwing the knuckleball is about relationship and perfection. I asked Dickey if he could […]

A.J. Burnett is now 9-10 with a 4.91 ERA. Although he wasn’t having a great season, he was showing improvement over the disaster of 2010. That all has gone out the window since August, which has seen Burnett produce a 10.70 ERA in 17.2 innings. The GM defends Burnett, still citing the electric arm and […]

Newsday’s Ken Davidoff listed the five worst baseball markets in a recent column: Tampa Bay, Arizona, Oakland, Miami, and Washington. It made me think of the Montreal Expos and whether MLB really did their best to save baseball in the Province of Quebec. I am not sure any of those cities mentioned by Davidoff are worse than […]

Matt Imbrogno of The Yankee Analysts broke down the December 2009 deal that brought Javier Vazquez Part Two (along with Boone Logan) back to the Bronx for Melky Cabrera and Arodys Vizcaino. Now that Vizcaino has been called up by Atlanta to pitch out of their bullpen, we probably will hear plenty of “Monday Morning Quarterbacking” of Brian Cashman’s decision to make that trade. Looking […]

That’s the real tragedy of Barry Zito. It’s not that he was reduced to a mathematical proof in the winter of 2006. It’s that in the summer of 2011, he has become one: Sometimes the sum of faith and belief and love still isn’t nearly enough. -Chris Jones, Grantland.  Chris Jones piece about Barry Zito at […]

You could argue that Angel Pagan has been the biggest disappointment on the 2011 Mets. Since staying healthy and playing full time in 2009, Pagan produced a .296 batting average, with an average of 8 homers, 50 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. He appeared to have the potential to be a mini version of Johnny Damon with a blend […]

Jesus Montero has been a heated debate here (sort of like Joba Chamberlain in his heyday), because results on the field haven’t matched the fan hype. On Sunday, Tim Bontemps of the NY Post told us on the radio show how he hasn’t talked to a scout that believes Montero can catch. Jeff Passan of […]

Bartolo Colon has been the big story for the Yankees starting rotation. Who would have thought he could emerge as the Yankees #2 starter when they signed him this winter on the advice of Tony Pena? The other big surprise, to a lesser extent, is Freddy Garcia. It’s Garcia that gets talked about far less […]

 Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen, Bill Pulsipher. For now, that is the order in which their lockers are situated in the clubhouse at the Mets’ spring training complex. Someday soon that could be the order of the team’s starting rotation, perhaps as early as this season if Wilson can live up to all the hype surrounding his arrival. […]

Back in 1999, John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonzo, Rey Ordonez, and Robin Ventura donned the cover of Sports Illustrated as “The Best Infield Ever.” Although they were, with the exception for Ordonez, a solid offensive group, they are better known for setting the Major League record for fewest errors with 33 total that season. At this time next year, will we […]

Now that Ubaldo Jimenez is officially a member of the Cleveland Indians let’s take a look at the haul Dan O’ Dowd received for his ace. Is it the “Herschel Walker type deal” he demanded just a few weeks ago? As first reported by The Denver Post, the Rockies will receive a package of four players: left-handed pitcher Drew […]

Very sad news out of Rancho Palos Verdes, California as former Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu committed suicide. TMZ is reporting he hanged himself to death. Irabu was certainly a disappointment with the Yankees when you consider the hype he came with to the States. He never lived up to the “Japanese Nolan Ryan” billing that was given to him […]

Although it’s not official the Mets should be acquiring San Francisco’s top pitching prospect, Zack Wheeler, for Carlos Beltran and approximately $4 million dollars in cash. You can’t criticize the deal from either side as both Sandy Alderson and Brian Sabean did what is necessary to better their organizations. Alderson had the best available bat in the marketplace […]