For all of the criticism that they seem to get, video games really can do some good. I mess around quite a bit in baseball video games, and it helps me learn about players that I never would have heard about otherwise. While no one should use it to learn about a player’s skill (Jermaine [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Filed under Main Page, Major League News, Zach Sanders · Tagged Babip, Baseball, Batters, Bb Rate, Box Scores, Game, Good Question, Jermaine Dye, Major League, Month Of June, Peripherals, Pitch, Pitches, Ryan Webb, S Box, S System, San Diego Padres, Scott Hairston, Strand, Top Notch, Video Games
When the Cubs acquired the services of Kosuke Fukudome in 2008 to play right field, there were some high expectations. Even though he’s made an All-Star game, he has not played as well as anyone had hoped. Fukudome seems to bring hope to Cubs fans at the begininning of every year, only to fall off [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Filed under Main Page, Zach Sanders · Tagged All Star Game, Cubs, Fans, High Expectations, High Note, Major League, Majors, Minor League, Nine Years, Ops, Outfielder, Plate Appearances, Promise, Right Fielder, Rounder, Success, Tyler Colvin, Woba, Wrc
Desperate for relief help, the Cubs have signed Bob Howry. Howry, who played for the Cubs from 2006-2008, was released by the Diamondbacks earlier this week.
Howry struggled with the D’Backs, striking out as many as he walked in a little over 14 innings. He had an ERA over 10, and an xFIP of 6.11. Always [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 11:47 am
Filed under Authors M-Z, Zach Sanders · Tagged 37 Years, Angel Guzman, Batters, Bob Howry, Bullpen, Caridad, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants, Ground Balls, Homers, Last Time, Leaving Chicago, Nine Innings, Setup Man, Short Time, Strikeout Rate, Time Frame, Time In Arizona, Windy City
ESPN The Magazine recently surveyed 100 MLB players, and asked them a series of questions about the game and the players that surround them. I enjoy reading these player surveys, because understanding what the players are thinking is a fun exercise. However, it seems like some of the answers are either sad or idiotic, and [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 10:50 am
Filed under Authors M-Z, Zach Sanders · Tagged Base Percentage, Batting Average, Biggest Loser, Clubhouse, Defensive Shortstop, Derek Jeter, Espn, Espn Magazine, Espn The Magazine, Fantasy Owner, Hater, Jeff Francoeur, Mlb Players, Nerds, Obp, Ops, Outfielder, Score One, Statistic, True Impact
When thinking about baseball stats, I am often reminded of a classic Seinfeld scene from the episode “Little Jerry.” For those of you who don’t remember that show or never watched it to begin with, here is a transcript of the scene I am talking about.
JERRY: Hey, guess what! Little Jerry [a chicken] ran from [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Filed under Authors M-Z, Zach Sanders · Tagged Albert Pujols, Baseball Fans, Baseball Stats, Basic Knowledge, Carlos Pena, First Game, Good Year, Grade School Math, Home Runs, Homers, Last Games, Pace, Parents, Peaks And Valleys, Plateau, Power Standpoint, Robot, Stat, Teenage Years, Thirty Seconds
Before the season started, Jack Cust passed through waivers and was sent to Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento. One would think that Cust, an above-average hitter in the big leagues, would be tearing up the minors and hammering sub-par pitching, but he’s not.
Through 72 plate appearances in Sacramento, Cust is batting .241, with 13 [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Filed under Main Page, Zach Sanders · Tagged Babip, Bad Luck, Balls, Big Time, Chris Carter, Dh, Eric Chavez, Jack Cust, Las Vegas, League Numbers, Major League, MLB, Oakland A's, Obp, Outfield, Plate Appearances, Slg, Strikeout Rate, Three Games, Three Homers, Waivers, Walks
I’ve sat around the last couple of days trying to think of an idea for a post. I thought of plenty, none of which were worthy of more than 100 words. This is the problem with the first week, and even month, of the baseball season.
Once the season starts, you can no longer write about [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Friday, April 9, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Filed under Authors M-Z, Zach Sanders · Tagged Baseball Season, Cop, Couple Of Days, Easy As Pie, Fan Base, Free Preview, Free Trials, Game Analysis, Gameday, MLB, Mlb Extra Innings, Option Analysis, Option One, Options, Rebound, Sat, Two Games
I have never been impressed by Joe Saunders. Never.
When he won 7 of his first 13 starts, I didn’t care. When he won 17 games in 2008, I shrugged him off and pushed his season aside. Even when he 16 games last season, I was indifferent. Why? Because other than playing on a good team, [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Filed under Authors M-Z, Zach Sanders · Tagged Batters, Bb Rate, Bigs, Career Innings, Death Sentence, Fastball, Games, Homers, Ig, Joe Saunders, LA Angels, Major League, Majors, Mark Buehrle, Nine Innings, Pitchers, Recipe For Success, Starting Pitcher, Tosser, Walks, Wins, Wins Really Suck
After an off-season filled with moves many deemed excellent, the sun is figuratively shining in Seattle. Optimism hasn’t been this high for a Mariners team since 2008. As ‘08 proved, in Seattle optimism and 75 cents will get you a cup of coffee (is 75 cents enough for a cup of coffee these days?). While [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Friday, March 19, 2010 at 2:11 am
Filed under 2010 Team Previews, Main Page, Zach Sanders · Tagged 100 Million, Adam Moore, American League West, Attrition, Baseman Casey, Casey Kotchman, Continued Development, Cup Of Coffee, Defen, First Baseman, Gap, Gm, Grabs, Home Park, Jack Wilson, Josh Bard, Mariners Seattle, Offseason, Optimism, Part Time, Position Breakdowns, Pythagorean, Seattle Mariners, Shortstop, Spring Training, Surgeries, Swit, Switch Hitter, Team Previews, Trade Deadline, Veteran
Don’t hate the messenger Rays’ fans: While there was a lot of whining about being stuck in baseball’s toughest division, Tampa Bay played down to the rest of the weaker American League, posting a 31-41 record against the AL Central and AL West. In the elite division in baseball, that’s just not going to get [...]
Posted by Zach Sanders on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 3:24 am
Filed under 2010 Team Previews, Main Page, Zach Sanders · Tagged Babip, Ben Zobrist, Breakout Season, Carlos Pena, Cinderella, Cleveland Indians, David Price, Elite Division, Evan Longoria, Jeff Niemann, Kelly Shoppach, Maturity, Most Sequels, Mvp, Patience, Playing Time, Playoff Contender, Position Breakdowns, Pythagorean, Rafael Soriano, Realignment, Tampa Bay Rays, Team Previews, Wade Davis, World Series