Sports Views

WHIP is, in my opinion, the best barometer of how well a pitcher is actually pitching. Wins can mask errors and ERA takes more into account than merely the successes and failures of a pitcher. If you see a pitcher with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP, you can almost be assured that his ERA will soon plummet. Let me explain why...

That is what brings us to Major League Baseball, which on Monday announced that a scheduling change could have the World Series stretching out all the way to November 1st. Mind you that the "Fall Classic," a tradition that has passed down through the years, now should be renamed the "Series Chill," as games that late in the season are almost for sure going to be played in cold temps if you are anywhere east of say St.Louis.

Baseball players adjusting 947 different things after each pitch - This one goes out especially to former Cub, now MVP candidate Nomar Garciaparra. Did your gloves really become totally messed up after you watched that ball go by? I mean, Nomar doesn’t even swing and all of a sudden he’s an absolute obsessive compulsive mess. What happened to the rule that batter’s couldn’t leave the batters box during an at-bat? Why is that rule not in place?

Last time I went to a Cub game before Harry Cary died, the game (a night game) went 17 innings (we got home after 1 A.M. the buses from the train were no longer running that night so we took a cab) Harry sang "Take me out to the ballgame" in the middle of the 14th. I remember arguing with guy next to me. I felt he SHOULD have sung in the 16th, b/c that is the 7th inning of what would have been a new game started after the 9th. My friend thought the stretch is a 7 inning practice and must be done EVERY 7 innings.

This decision would be absolutely a no-brainer for a good MLB franchise: the 20-year-old who mashes AAA, goes into your lineup the next year. But for the Mariners, the decision is gut-wrenching, even a year on. As we write, the Mariners don’t KNOW whether Jose Lopez will start at 2B. C’mon now! You have the ridiculously-talented young hotshot … against the utility infielder who plays the game right.

Remember Contraction? The prospect that baseball may simply contract and eliminate two teams as a solution to those teams' stadium and financial problems has reared its ugly head once again. There is a significant difference this time. The issue was not raised by Bud Selig in threatening a city during negotiations for a new stadium. Oh no, this time it was raised by the Governor of Minnesota as a threat in a battle over a stadium for the Twins.

Just last week I had a ‘feeling’ while going over one of my Fantasy Baseball leagues that I should make a move to deal one of my best players and one of the top pitchers in all of baseball, Roy Halladay. Where this ‘notion’ came from I do not know, but nevertheless I pursued the idea. Now normally, for a starting pitcher of Halladay’s caliber (top 2 or 3 in the ML in Wins, Ks, ERA and WHIP at the time) I could announce my intentions to the other owners and see what big fish I could hook in return. Well, not so on this occasion…you see, the voice in my head was quite specific…it lead me to two players, both average (statistically) at best and both of whom were on the DL at the time…but the voice was right: I did indeed want those two players. I fought the urge to even make the lopsided proposal but after much thought I just said ‘fuckit’ I am going to go with this and see where it leads me. The final deal, which of course was accepted, was: ROY HALLADAY & SAMMY SOSA for JOSE VIDRO & RYAN FREEL.

It will be a surprise if Justin Upton does not hit 35 or more homers per season. He’s simply the ideal prospect – the same thing at 18 that Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez were at 18.

I would like to take issue with A's Fan charge of eastern media bias. He uses as an example of this Miguel Tejada. He neglects to mention that plenty of attention was paid to Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, who plied their early years in even more obsure Seattle. The reason Miguel didn't get the press is that he wasn't as good as the other three shortstops; he didn't have a good OBA until 2002. I know Oakland fans loved him, and he's certainly an excellent player, but until 2002 he was the 4th best shortstop in the AL offensively.

A good friend of mine refers to the type of conversation we are having about character blogs as "inside baseball." It's the kind of conversation where those inside it are very engaged and those outside of it can't follow it, don't want to follow it, and if they do manage to figure it out, think it is pretty silly. That said, I just can't seem to let it go, so "batter up."

www.businessofbaseball.com/

I'm not the biggest baseball fan in the world, by any means, but I do get caught up in things (I still have Red Sox-inspired pinch marks from last fall). Business of Baseball is a must for die-hard fans, who juggle statistics, history and other lore in their minds.

The 2005 Major League Baseball season is underway! It's only been a few days and we have the first suspension from the new, tougher steroid policy. This policy gives a 10 day suspension without pay for the 1st offense, and this is exactly what Alex Sanchez recieved.

If you want similar pages for other minor league teams ranging from A to AAA, visit the Baseball America link on the right side of this page and then click “Stats” on Baseball America's links menu.

Babe Ruth: The icon, the biggest name in baseball history, has a figure that is very historic. His slimmer body type is interesting, and the fact that he has no jersey number proves that this is a young �Bambino.� All MLB teams started to wear numbers in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The old Louisville Slugger that Ruth is holding has his full name on the bat. His eyes are trained on the upper deck as you can see that he just blasted one based on his body language. He did all of this without a batting helmet!