Baseball Analysis

Success has been hard to come by for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in their brief history, as they hit their low point last season with 67-95 record and the removal of manager Lou Pinella. Now, the Devil Rays are looking to go back to square one and reshape a franchise that has struggled to even leave the ground. Read more »

The Mets had four catchers available. To me, Lo Duca was the worst option of the four. Though he is still considerably younger than Piazza, the difference in salary and years makes Piazza?s current contract status much more favorable to any team. He?s a ridiculously overrated hitter, still living off of his spectacular 2001 season. Read more »

This year?s free agent pool was full of excitement, more so for the fans waiting eagerly by their TV sets or computers trying to figure out the status of a marquee player with aspirations the team they cheered for would sign him. Read more »

If the season were to begin tomorrow, general manager Ned Colletti would probably be confident enough in the starting pitching staff he assembled this off-season. He signed right-hander Brett Tomko, and traded for Mets? Jae Seo in what will most likely be the 4 and 5 pitchers in the rotation. Odalis Perez figures to be commanding the third spot in the rotation since he is the only left-handed starter, mixing the right to left handed pitcher ratio. Read more »

Bengie Molina is one of baseball?s finest two-way catchers. He has the ability to alter the thinking of baserunners with his strong and accurate throwing arm. Molina also possesses good power and calls a good game. The veteran catcher is known for his reliability behind the plate. Read more »

They may be political rivals, however Baseball sees no borders and President Bush and Cuba?s Fidel Castro ?El Presidente? have placed a little wager on which team will go further in the tournament. At stake: the return of Elian Gonzalez. Read more »

New York Mets General Manager Omar Minaya is in the middle of a tempest. For some reason, a right-wing faction of Oliver Stone conspiracy theorists seem to believe that Minaya, who is of Latin decent has somehow brainwashed the Wilpon's and in doing so enabled his plan ?Latinizing? the New York Mets to be set into motion. Read more »

Signing Alex Gonzalez looks like a desperation move by the Red Sox. After dealing Edgar Renteria to the Braves and prospect Hanley Ramirez to Florida, Boston was left to pick from a weak free agent market of shortstops. Read more »

Piazza brings a nice veteran presence to the Padres clubhouse and is able to instill fear into the minds of opposing pitchers. The switch to pitcher-friendly Petco Park will definitely hurt the future Hall of Famer?s numbers next season. Read more »

Going into the off-season, the biggest rumor in San Diego was the return of David Wells. Wells, a local to the San Diego area, spent the 2004 season with the Padres and had a very good season, posting a 3.73 ERA, 12-8 record, over 195.2 innings. He was a great guy for the team, for the clubhouse, and even for the city. But why did he want to leave after just one year? Read more »

Wade Miller possesses a strong sinking fastball that can touch the mid-90s. He also throws a deceptive curveball and hard slider. Pitching at Wrigley Field will definitely benefit Miller, who is historically able to keep the ball inside the park. Read more »

Moving to Baltimore will be a nice change of pace for Kris Benson. He still features a low-90s fastball along with a good slider and changeup. While switching to the American League has traditionally hurt NL pitchers, pitching at Camden Yards will help Benson. Read more »

Ever since the Padres lost Game 3 of the NLDS to the Cardinals, many of the players walking off the field with expressions punctuated by dismay. Kevin Towers and Sandy Alderson have attempted to improve the roster, through numerous trades and signings. However, were these trades actually intended to improve the roster, or were they for the sole purpose of taking a couple bucks off the payroll? Read more »

Primarily a groundball pitcher, the 32-year-old Tavarez should not have much trouble pitching in Fenway. The only downsides to Tavarez are his well-documented temper tantrums and mood swings that can affect his command and cause him to relinquish leads. Read more »

To help preserve the Giants? two most important sluggers, they brought in a Peter Brady named Steve Finley to allow Felipe Alou to sit Greg and Bobby once or twice a week. Danys Baez, J.T. Snow, Octavio Dotel and Scott Eyre are four other acquisitions that weren't too flashy but will be pivotal for these five teams. Read more »

Danys Baez features a hard fastball and nasty slider. He is absolute murder on right-handed hitters and has a knack for shutting down opponents. Lance Carter is a crafty reliever that uses a sinking changeup as his out pitch. Read more »

Baez will most likely be used as the setup man for Eric Gagne rather than Yhency Brazoban. The bullpen situation should look something like Brazoban pitching around the 6th or 7th inning, then Baez would command the 8th leaving Gagne ready to close it out. This trade will also spark rumors of whether Gagne will re-sign with the club after this year as he is in the final year of his contract. If he decides not to return following the 2006 season, this trade for Baez would become an even more key deal. Read more »

Once again, the voters had their day in the sun and once again, they left most baseball fans scratching their heads. The Hall of Fame is for the best players who have ever played and it is the job of the voters to act as caretakers for the great history of this game. However, with the election of relief pitcher Bruce Sutter, the floodgates have been open for many others and left more qualified players on the outside looking in. Read more »

This was the year that Rich ?Goose? Gossage was supposed to join his contemporary Bruce Sutter as newly christened Hall of Fame ballplayers. The day when they both could write HOF as they signed their names to the various pieces of memorabilia that was sure to be thrust their way. Read more »

It isn?t as if the Dodgers were not prepared for Weaver to leave them as they traded for Jae Seo and signed Brett Tomko. Weaver lead the team in wins last season with 14 and just ate up innings for the Dodgers Read more »