Category Archives: Baseball

Baseball for Sugar Land?

Is there baseball in Sugar Land’s future? Maybe. “That was one of the ones that was really at the top of the list of things our community would like to see,” said Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace. Wallace says it’s … Continue reading Continue reading

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Tommy John surgery

This does not strike me as being a good thing. While rates on UCL surgery are not tracked nationally, some of the area’s and country’s top surgeons said they’ve seen a significant increase in the number of high-school-aged players having … Continue reading Continue reading

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The Curse of Big Papi?

This is actually pretty funny. A construction worker’s bid to curse the New York Yankees by planting a Boston Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled Sunday when the home team removed the offending shirt from its burial … Continue reading Continue reading

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Bill James speaks

Nice little Q&A with baseball stats legend Bill James. Here’s a question he could have written a book about: Q: Who are ten players in the Hall Of Fame that do not deserve to be there? A: Fred Lindstrom, Jesse … Continue reading Continue reading

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A new leader for the Hall of Fame

David Pinto brings the news. Dale Petroskey stepped down as president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame after the museum’s executive committee found his financial and business decisions weren’t in the best interests of the organization. Petroskey had been … Continue reading Continue reading

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Bill James speaks

Always good to hear from the granddaddy of modern sabermetrics. Possibly the most interesting thing he has to say is here: If you were to be named commissioner of baseball tomorrow, what would be first change you make? Well, the … Continue reading Continue reading

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Vorpies!

I may never fully understand why exactly it is that some professional sportswriters have such a deep-seated, almost pathological revulsion towards their more statistically-inclined brethren and sistren. But I do enjoy it when someone in the latter group uses that … Continue reading Continue reading

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Polling the stuff that really matters

Forget the Presidential race and the state of Harris County’s partisan mix. This is the kind of polling people want. As the question of whether Roger Clemens or Brian McNamee is telling the truth about Clemens’ alleged use of performance-enhancing … Continue reading Continue reading

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Donnie Baseball’s tribulations

As a lifelong Yankees fan, it breaks my heart to read this. Four months ago, [Don] Mattingly was the presumed heir to one of the most prestigious jobs in sports – manager of the Yankees. Today, after a stunning fall … Continue reading Continue reading

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So did Pettite sink Clemens?

I guess it depends on who you ask. Steve Campbell: Clemens and his defenders can attack McNamee’s credibility and motives all they want. But how can they explain away the damaging testimony of Pettitte? Clearly, Pettitte had no desire to … Continue reading Continue reading

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Will Pettite nail Clemens?

When Roger Clemens goes before Congress today, he may be faced with eivdence that his buddy Andy Pettite has testified that Clemens has used HGH. According to last week’s sworn affidavit from Pettitte, Clemens told Pettitte in either 1999 or … Continue reading Continue reading

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Et tu, Debbie?

This was weird. This is truly bizarre. Brian McNamee took aim at another member of Roger Clemens’ family Friday, reportedly telling congressional investigators he injected the pitcher’s wife with human growth hormone for a photo session five years ago. The … Continue reading Continue reading

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CSI: MLB

The Roger Clemens/Brian McNamee saga has taken another weird turn. The lawyers for trainer Brian McNamee dropped a bombshell Wednesday, claiming they gave federal prosecutors physical evidence that proves Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs. The New York Daily News, citing … Continue reading Continue reading

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Will Clemens take the fifth?

Roger Clemens’ situation in a nutshell: Damned if he talks, and damned if he doesn’t. Roger Clemens might be known for answering the call when it’s his turn to pitch, but several legal experts believe he should invoke the Fifth … Continue reading Continue reading

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Pettite and Clemens

This ought to provide some grist for a lot of mills. A lawyer for Andy Pettitte’s former personal trainer said Tuesday he believes the pitcher will tell Congress he discussed human growth hormone with Roger Clemens between the 2001 and … Continue reading Continue reading

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Oh, those performance enhancers

I see that Chuck Knoblauch has been invited to talk to Congress. Knoblauch, who played at Bellaire High School and Texas A&M, was asked to appear Thursday for the first of five depositions scheduled by the House Oversight and Government … Continue reading Continue reading

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Roger and Miguel

I think it’s fair to say that the Astros franchise, and GM Ed Wade, have had better days than yesterday. Disappointed baseball couldn’t solve its steroids problem earlier, Drayton McLane and several Astros withheld judgment after the House Oversight Committee … Continue reading Continue reading

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Goooooooooooose!

Hot damn! Rich “Goose” Gossage became only the fifth relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame, earning baseball’s highest honor Tuesday on his ninth try on the ballot. Known for his overpowering fastball, fiery temperament and bushy mustache, the … Continue reading Continue reading

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Now how about a Mitchell Report for every other sport?

I’m still catching up on some of my websurfing from the holidays, so it’s just now that I’ve seen this article from Will Carroll, who says that MLB’s drug testing program is the best one out there, though you’d never … Continue reading Continue reading

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Clemens and the coaches

I’m glad to see this. Roger Clemens, whose legacy as one of the major leagues’ all-time greatest pitchers has come under recent scrutiny, has an invitation to speak at the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Convention on Jan. 12, … Continue reading Continue reading

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Clemens and Bonds

Richard Justice makes a point that, on its surface at least, is eminently sensible. Here’s the thing. If you had one view of [Barry] Bonds, you ought to have the same view of [Roger] Clemens because they’re accused of doing … Continue reading Continue reading

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The Mitchell Report

Much like the impending arrival of the Iowa Caucuses, I’m kind of glad that the Mitchell Report is finally being released, on the grounds that with it no longer looming over us, we can begin to get past the hysteria … Continue reading Continue reading

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Bowie Kuhn?

The Veterans Committee has enshrined a half dozen executives and managers, and their list contains a surprise. At last, Bowie Kuhn beat Marvin Miller at something. The late commissioner was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday while … Continue reading Continue reading

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The Hall of Fame ballot for 2008

Here are your Hall of Fame hopefuls for 2008. Tim Raines and David Justice head 11 first-time candidates on the baseball writers’ 2008 Hall of Fame ballot, joining Mark McGwire, Rich Gossage, Jim Rice and 11 other holdovers. McGwire, his … Continue reading Continue reading

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More baseball pandering from Rudy

So imagine there’s a guy who played right field for a total of 12 seasons, only seven of which saw him appear in as many as 120 games, and who was out of baseball by the time he was 34. … Continue reading Continue reading

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Bonds indicted

Bummer. Barry Bonds was indicted Thursday for perjury and obstruction of justice, charged with lying when he told a federal grand jury that he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs. If convicted on all five counts, baseball’s home run king … Continue reading Continue reading

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Instant replay for baseball?

David Pinto reports the following: The general managers voted 25-5 to use instant replays to decide boundary calls: The recommendation, by a 25-5 vote, was limited to boundary calls – whether potential home runs are fair or foul, whether balls … Continue reading Continue reading

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No more Wahoo

Allow me to take a moment to wholeheartedly endorse what Joe Posnanski says about the terribly offensive mascot of the Cleveland Indians, Chief Wahoo: [I]t is not just time to get rid of Wahoo, it is way, way past time. … Continue reading Continue reading

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Astros retain Cooper

Cecil Cooper will be back as manager of the Astros next year. Astros owner Drayton McLane has been so impressed with the leadership abilities displayed by Cecil Cooper during his monthlong stint as interim manager that he decided to make … Continue reading Continue reading

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The ghosts of Flatbush

Fifty years ago today, the Dodgers played their last game in Brooklyn. When former Dodgers pitcher Danny McDevitt threw a ceremonial first pitch to ex-batterymate Joe Pignatano at a Brooklyn Cyclones minor league game in June, more than 7,900 fans … Continue reading Continue reading

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Wading in

So let me welcome (or really, welcome back) Ed Wade to Houston as the Astros’ new GM. My very fuzzy recollection of his tenure in Philadelphia was that he was reasonably solid, and did do a good job of finding … Continue reading Continue reading

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Win now, rest later

I don’t actually disagree with anything Joe Sheehan says here about the Yankees’ sudden proximity to the Red Sox in the standings and how basically meaningless it is given their now almost assured spot in the playoffs as a wild … Continue reading Continue reading

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Potato!

I agree with Fred: This is the greatest hidden ball trick ever, and is now on my short list for best baseball stories ever. On Aug. 31, 1987, Dave Bresnahan was the Michelangelo of potato sculpting. He sacrificed five fine … Continue reading Continue reading

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Sheehan on Purpura

Since the general consensus around Houston seems to be that the Tim Purpura firing was justified, I thought it might be a good idea to present an alternate view, that of Joe Sheehan from the Baseball Prospectus. Firing Purpura, as … Continue reading Continue reading

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