Baseball Analysis

With 100-year symmetry and the most talented team in the NL, 2008 was supposed to be a banner year for the Cubs. Read more »

Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez believes that his relationship with Madonna will allow him to bring a championship to the Bronx in 2009. Read more »

The Phillies did more than just win the World Series when they downed the Rays in Game 5 last Wednesday night. Read more »

Every year a number of young players make a name for themselves in the postseason, and this October was no different. Read more »

Most agree that Game 5 of the World Series shouldn't have been called early, but is Major League Baseball handling the situation properly? Read more »

The Dodgers became relevant for the first time since 1988 largely due Boston's eager dumping of Manny Ramirez, which cost the Dodgers a couple of prospects they had largely already given up on. Read more »

Manny Ramirez has proved that he deserves to make a ton of money next season, but is it possible that teams could offer him an incentive-laden contract? Read more »

The Yankees' streak of consecutive playoff appearances ended in 2008 at 13 consecutive seasons. It was an impressive run that included four World Series championships and two additional AL Championships. Read more »

Because of the lack of confidence the Phillies have in Blaton and Moyer, it will be tempting to squeeze three starts out of Cole Hamels. Read more »

It took back-to-back division titles and a World Series appearance, but the Phillies have forced the city of Philadelphia to rethink their priorities this fall. Read more »

The Hands on Runs statistic determines how much weight an individual player carries in his line-up. Which players were most valuable to their team now that the 2008 season is over? Read more »

There will definitely be no A-Rod World Series opt out announcement and it is unlikely that a near $100M deal will be hashed out at a fast food restaurant, but the free agent class for 2009 contains a whole host of current All-Stars, former All-Stars, salvage cases and at least one future Hall of Famer. Read more »

By comparing the contracts and relative production of other top earners, Manny certainly deserves more than $20M per year. Read more »

Six different teams have won the seven World Series since the Yankees won it three years in a row. The 2008 World Series will now make seven winners in eight years. Read more »

Nearly all in their 20s, the Rays' players out-pitched, out-hit, and out-maneuvered the powerful $133-million-dollar Red Sox. Read more »

The Twins dealt away a future Hall of Fame starting pitcher in Johan Santana and an up and comer in Matt Garza and weren't expected to compete in a division with the Tigers and Tribe, but they needed 163 games to be eliminated. Read more »

The Red Sox didn't have the best regular season record in 2008, but using our metrics for overall quality, they were the best team in baseball, followed by the Cubs. How did the other 28 teams do? Read more »

Jake Peavy is one of the best starting pitchers in the game but is not a transcendent ace like Johan Santana and is at least in part a product of Petco Park and a weak NL West. Read more »

Boston fans who unfairly jeered Daisuke Matsuzaka and David Ortiz during Game 5 of the ALCS need a lesson in loyalty and true fandom and need to rid themselves of their sense of entitlement. Read more »

With an MLB-worst 31 blown saves, the Cardinals missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons for the first time since 1999. Read more »