December, 2005 | The Baseball Zealot

A Case for Blyleven

With the voting for the Hall of Fame class of ’06 coming up, Bob Klapisch from Baseball Analysts makes a good case for Bert Blyleven.

My favorite quote from the article that sums it all up:

Finally, it dawned on me: Blyleven was a Hall of Famer not just because of his 3701 strikeouts or 287 wins or a 2.47 ERA in the post-season. It was the uniqueness of his best weapon, the curveball, that set him apart.

I don’t need convincing. I’ve been a Blyleven believer since he retired. He’s got the stats. He’s got the post-season heroics (Ok, maybe heroics isn’t the right word. But he performed well.)

An interesting web site is bertbelongs.com. Somebody out there is pushing for Bert.

Ozzie a hero back home

Ozzie Guillen is quite the celebrity in Venezuela. Hehe, Oof in Spanish slang means Wow. Go figure.

Ozzie Guillen is quite the celebrity in Venezuela.

Hehe, Oof in Spanish slang means Wow. Go figure.

Tejada- misunderstood or whiny crybaby?

This AP photo on the front page of USA Today’s web page made me laugh. The headline was Tejada Still Upset With Orioles. Obviously, the media is taking some liberties with the photo. It make one think that the media is becoming less objective, painting Tejada as a whiny crybaby because the Orioles won’t trade … Continue reading “Tejada- misunderstood or whiny crybaby?”

This AP photo on the front page of USA Today’s web page made me laugh. The headline was Tejada Still Upset With Orioles. Obviously, the media is taking some liberties with the photo.

It make one think that the media is becoming less objective, painting Tejada as a whiny crybaby because the Orioles won’t trade him.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying they are wrong. But maybe the photo was a bit much.

For the record, I’d be happy if the Orioles traded Miggy to the Cubs. Even if Mark Prior was the asking price. I know all Cubs fans don’t feel this way though.

Everything’s Relative

I’m back from a short hiatus. I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. We went to my mom’s for a few days to celebrate. Which brings me to my story. We were sitting around the table after eating our Christmas dinner and we got on topic on of relatives and our family tree. Mom happened … Continue reading “Everything’s Relative”

I’m back from a short hiatus. I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. We went to my mom’s for a few days to celebrate. Which brings me to my story.

We were sitting around the table after eating our Christmas dinner and we got on topic on of relatives and our family tree. Mom happened to mention that Dad (who had passed away a couple years ago) was related to Baby Doll Jacobson.

For those not familiar with early baseball history, William Chester (Baby Doll) Jacobson was an outfileder between the years of 1915-1927 and posted a .311 batting average. He held numerous fielding records (since broken). He also had the distinction of being the biggest player in the league at the time at 6’3″ and 215 lbs.

Unfortunately, Mom didn’t have much more information like how exactly Baby Doll was related to us. I do know he was born in Cable, Illinois not too far my hometown.

Maybe someday I’ll take the time to find out more.

Corey Returning?? Cub Hordes Reel

In Thursday’s Chicago Tribune, GM Jim Hendry hinted that with the acquisition of Juan Pierre, Corey Patterson may just be next year’s Cub right fielder. After Pierre’s introductory news conference Wednesday at Wrigley Field, general manager Jim Hendry disclosed he would offer Patterson arbitration next week and might give him the right-field job in 2006. Hmm. After … Continue reading “Corey Returning?? Cub Hordes Reel”

In Thursday’s Chicago Tribune, GM Jim Hendry hinted that with the acquisition of Juan Pierre, Corey Patterson may just be next year’s Cub right fielder.

After Pierre’s introductory news conference Wednesday at Wrigley Field, general manager Jim Hendry disclosed he would offer Patterson arbitration next week and might give him the right-field job in 2006.

Hmm. After a season of slicing and dicing Patterson, The Cub fans will have no problem with that, I’m sure.

Let’s think long term here. I was on the anti-Corey bandwagon myself for a while but he may not be a lost cause. In 2004, he batted a respectable .266 (.320 OBP) with 24 homers. The year before, .298 (.329 OBP, .511 slg). Maybe let’s not give up on Corey just yet.

Do the Cubs give up their search for a rightfielder? Well no but the field is getting smaller and smaller with the obvious choices getting snatched up (Milton Bradley just got traded to the A’s). Hendry may just be hedging his bets.

At this point, that might be the smartest move.

Softball- Iranian style

From Baseball Musings comes an affirming article which might change some people’s views of a nation we know very little about. Softball and baseball are being played in Iran. Thanks to David Pinto for passing this on via his site.

From Baseball Musings comes an affirming article which might change some people’s views of a nation we know very little about.

Softball and baseball are being played in Iran. Thanks to David Pinto for passing this on via his site.

Mueller- Leaving a Soft, Warm Fuzzy Feeling

Former players on any given team are rarely referred to in a positive manner by the fans. Sammy Sosa, Nomar Garciaparra, Roger Clemens. You don’t see too many well-wishers from the fans on their former team. Sometimes the players bring it on themselves. Usually, it’s just a case of fan mentality taking over. Thirdbaseman Bill … Continue reading “Mueller- Leaving a Soft, Warm Fuzzy Feeling”

Thirdbaseman Bill Mueller signed with the Dodgers today to a two-year contract. Rumor has it the contract was less than what the Pirates had offered him.

Mueller is often described as a “solid” player and a “steady” hitter. A “gap” hitter. But let’s not kid ourselves. He’s no Alex Rodriguez… or even Mike Lowell.

That said, the commenters over at Baseball Musings, have nothing but good things to say about Bill. Glowing phrases from Sox fans like “a true professional” and “a joy to watch”.

Those are pretty strong words, IMO.

Blogfare for Cards

The Cardinals Diaspora is a St Louis Cardinals blog with a unique bent. It bills itself as a “refuge for Cards fans disenfranchised by geography.” Most of my Cardinal friends are the downstate Illinois types (the ones that aren’t rooting for the Cubs). Regardless, the site is worth a looksee.

Regardless, the site is worth a looksee.

Soriano-Wilkerson trade… Unbalanced trade?

I admit it. When I heard about the Soriano-Wilkerson trade (Termell Sledge and Armando Galarraga were also sent to the Rangers) , I thought the Nats had gotten the better of the deal. I mean Soriano had 36 homers and 43 doubles and 104 rbis. Compared to Wilkerson who barely broke the double-digit mark with 11 … Continue reading “Soriano-Wilkerson trade… Unbalanced trade?”

Well, every review of the trade I’ve seen has seen it the other way around and they make some pretty convincing arguements.

First, let get one thing out of the way. Never let total stats fool you. Yes, Soriano had 81 extra-base hits. But it took some 677 plate appearances to do it. That translated to a .512 slugging percentage for Alfonso for the year. Not bad. Actually very good. But still in the “human” category.

More importantly are Soriano’s home/away splits. He has been playing in a good hitter’s park. Check out the stats:

Home Away
Avg. .315 .224
OBP .355 .265
SLUG .656 .374
OPS 1.011 .639

I grabbed these from National Interest who evaluates the trade from a Nat’s fan point of view. Given Soriano’s splits, Wilkerson’s much higher OBP (.351 last year, .365 career) and the fact that Wilkerson is a year younger, this deal isn’t as open and shut as it seems.

Add to that the loss of Sledge and Galarraga for whatever they are worth plus the contract baggage that comes with Soriano (eligible for arbitration after making $7.5m), I can see why Nats fans might be hesitant to celebrate.

From another perspective, Roto Authority Fantasy Baseball projects ’06 Soriano to 24 homers, 80 rbis, and a .252 batting average. Check out the article for their full analysis.

Rare Baseball Volumes Found

Well, case closed. The rare volumes of baseball publication Collyer’s Eye, which were discovered stolen earlier this week, were found Tuesday. The periodicals were found the day after the story of the loss hit the press. Apparently, they were “found on a table”. A guilty thief? I guess. ”I was really pumped up,” said Schmidt, the … Continue reading “Rare Baseball Volumes Found”

Well, case closed. The rare volumes of baseball publication Collyer’s Eye, which were discovered stolen earlier this week, were found Tuesday.

The periodicals were found the day after the story of the loss hit the press. Apparently, they were “found on a table”. A guilty thief? I guess.

”I was really pumped up,” said Schmidt, the UI associate university librarian for collections.

I’ll bet she was. You don’t always get so lucky. The library is already discussing digitizing the volumes so “that anyone can view the works without further damaging them”.

The story made all the way to ESPN. Hat tip to the Little Blog on the Prairie for the link. LBOTP is a local blog covering the gamut of issues. Anyway, she questions “Why is it that the UI Library is always making news for losing things?”. I have to admit that was my first thought too. They said they don’t want to dust for fingerprints for fear of damaging the volumes. Whatever.

Finally, just so we know what we’re talking about, here’s what Collyer’s Eye looks like: