NL Central Players To Watch

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Daniel Marino

BillyH

Dan Marino continues his trek through each division in the major leagues and giving you one player he thinks is the: Rookie to Watch, Breakthrough Player, The Party’s Over, Non-Roster Invitee Most Likely to Stick, and Just Not Seeing it.

Now, in part four of six, he brings you the National League Central:

Part 1: AL East Players to Watch.

Part 2: NL East Players to Watch.

Part 3: AL Central Players to Watch.

Chicago Cubs (more…)

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An Interview with Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Josh Poytress

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Andrew Martin

Poytress

You would be hard-pressed to find any young professional baseball players who’d say their path to the major leagues is easy. However, the road can be a lot bumpier for some players than others, and Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Josh Poytress had to overcome a major obstacle to even get to the point where he could be drafted. (more…)

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Baseball Notes for December 31, 2012

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Andrew Martin

Hanley

The holiday season slowed down the hectic MLB offseason, which had operated on full blast for more than a month. Although many free agents have signed with new teams, there is still a lot going on around baseball as 2012 comes to an end.

***It may be the week after Christmas, but it’s never too late to share stories of baseball and good will. Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times wrote about a young fan’s actions and experience of a lifetime while attending a Los Angeles Dodgers’ game earlier this year.

11-year-old Jack Baur (no, not the guy from 24) was sitting in the stands during an August game when he was struck by a bat that slipped from the grasp of Los Angeles third baseman Hanley Ramirez and ricocheted off another child. Fortunately, both youngsters were okay. Security immediately retrieved the bat to return to Ramirez, but new team owner Magic Johnson saw everything transpire and brought autographed balls to the two boys and made sure they weren’t hurt. It turned out that wasn’t the end of the situation. (more…)

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Baseball Notes for November 12, 2012

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Andrew Martin

*** To say I loved the Red Sox signing catcher David Ross to a two year, $6.2 million free agent would be an understatement. He brings the kind of leadership, experience and defensive presence the Sox have lacked behind the plate for years. Although he won’t be a full-time starter he could play a significant role in changing the culture of managing the pitching staff and calling games.

*** The free-spending ways of the Los Angeles Dodgers seems to know no bounds. It was confirmed last week that they successfully bid $25.7 million for the chance to negotiate a contract with Korean left-handed pitcher Ryu Hyun-Jin. (more…)

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Only Qualified Applicants Need Apply

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Daniel Marino

In 1983, this former major league player had seven at-bats with the Oakland A’s.  He had one hit, and finished with a .143 batting average.  It was his only season in the major leagues.  The former player’s name is Dave Hudgens…the current New York Mets hitting coach. (more…)

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Hasn’t Clint Hurdle’s Time Expired?

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Daniel Marino

Were you one of the many who thought the Pittsburgh Pirates might actually have a winning season in 2012 for the first time in twenty years? If you realized that their manager was Clint Hurdle, you knew that an epic collapse was in the offing once again. Will someone please tell me why this man is still a Major League manager? (more…)

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Catching Up With Danny Sheaffer

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Andrew Martin

Danny Sheaffer’s baseball career began with great promise. The right-handed hitting Clemson University catcher was taken with the 20th overall selection in the first round of the 1981 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. Despite his status as a top prospect, his journey to the major leagues proved to be a long one, but he never gave up and played in the big leagues in 7 of his 18 professional seasons, a testament to his hard work and determination. (more…)

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Fantasy Elite: Andrew McCutchen or Mike Trout

Posted on August 13, 2012 by David Kerr


When the 2012 Major League Baseball season began, the usual names came up in predicting the MVP’s of the American and National Leagues. Braun, Kemp, Pujols, Cabrera. Fast forward four months and there are two names on top that practically no one predicted. Andrew McCutchen and Mike Trout. Both players, you could say, have single-handedly turned their respective teams around this year. They’re both putting up absolutely gaudy numbers and there is no real sign of either slowing down. So, from a fantasy perspective, who is more valuable, this year and into the future? To find that out, let’s take a look at each player. (more…)

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Honus Wagner Once Had to Really Prove Himself

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Andrew Martin

For most fans of baseball history, Honus Wagner represents one of the most respected and mythic figures the game has ever known. The “Flying Dutchman” spent all but three seasons of his 21 year major league career playing shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates before being an inaugural inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. Because of his accomplishments and notoriety it’s hard to believe that he was once ordered by a court to provide evidence of the existence of his baseball career. (more…)

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Rollie Hemsley: How a Hard Drinking Catcher Helped Make AA an International Phenomenon

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Andrew Martin

Particularly in the earlier days of the game, baseball had a well-earned reputation for hard drinking and living players. Because the players often socially mingled with the press, and because the writers depended on access to teams to sell their papers, the vast majority of the more salacious happenings failed to make it to the public. Even so, catcher Rollie Hemsley, whose drunken exploits while a major leaguer in the 1930’s were so ridiculous and legendary, that everyone knew about his reputation. His story has a happy ending however, as Hemsley was able to persevere and beating his drinking problem, and along the way became a major reason for the international explosion of Alcoholics Anonymous. (more…)

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