And we’re not talking about cigars: An agent for baseball players illegally smuggled Cuban players into the United States, eventually shipping them to California in hopes that they would be signed by major league teams, federal immigration officials said Tuesday. … Prosecutors say Rodrigues and Dominguez traveled by boat to Cuba on July 28, 2004, […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:30 pm | Crime | Permalink | 7 Comments
October 31, 2006
Si Simmons Passes
The oldest living professional player, Si Simmons, passed away: Si Simmons, the former Negro leagues baseball player who was believed to be the longest-living professional ballplayer in history, died Sunday in at a retirement home in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was 111. Simmons was just discovered this summer. The discovery of Simmons made him a […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:03 pm | Uncategorized | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 31, 2006
Silva Renewed
The Minnesota Twins exercised their option on Carlos Silva today, hoping 2006 was an outlier for the pitcher: Silva had a down year, going 11-15 with a 5.94 ERA last season and taking himself out of three games. But the free agent pitching market is thin, and the Twins need starters. They couldn’t afford to […]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:54 pm | Transactions | Permalink | 4 Comments
October 31, 2006
Defectors Week
The Brewers match the Pirates and sign a Cuban defector who’s been out of baseball for two years.
Posted by David Pinto at 4:52 pm | Free Agents | Permalink | No Comments
October 31, 2006
Show Stopper
George Steinbrenner’s grand daughter gave a knock-out performance in Cabaret on Sunday. Pauper Players’ Sunday afternoon performance of “Cabaret” was cut short when Department of Public Safety officials responded to a call that a man was suffering from chest pains, DPS spokesman Randy Young said. Sophomore Emily Riehl, who was in the audience, said the […]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:16 am | Management | Permalink | No Comments
October 31, 2006
Schmidt’s Worth
Lookout Landing makes a case for not paying Jason Schmidt more than $10 million a year. Any contract talk should operate under the assumption that, as an aging pitcher, Schmidt is unlikely to exceed his 2006 performance. Have him repeat his season in Safeco and he probably puts up an ERA around 3.80-4.00. Over 200+ […]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:58 am | Free Agents | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 30, 2006
Pirating a Cuban
It looks like the Pirates signed a Cuban defector.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:22 pm | Transactions | Permalink | No Comments
October 30, 2006
One Year at a Time
The Red Sox exercised the option on Tim Wakefield’s contract: Early in the 2005 season, Wakefield agreed to a $4 million, one-year contract extension through 2006 that gave the Red Sox the ability to keep their longest-tenured player for the rest of his career. The team can keep renewing his contract annually at the same […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:26 pm | Transactions | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 30, 2006
Reynolds vs. ESPN
Harold Reynolds is going after ESPN: “I have tried everything possible to handle this situation quietly behind closed doors. After numerous conversations and multiple mediation discussions with ESPN executives, it is clear that ESPN had no intention of solving this problem amicably,” Reynolds said in a statement. “For 11 years, I served ESPN with enthusiasm […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:10 pm | News Media | Permalink | 9 Comments
October 30, 2006
Free Agents
For those looking for a list of free agents, FoxSports.com posted one. ESPN has a link, but it doesn’t work yet.
Posted by David Pinto at 5:49 pm | Free Agents | Permalink | 3 Comments
October 30, 2006
Getting Some Exercise
The Chicago White Sox exercised their options on three players today: Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye and Tadahito Iguchi all were instrumental in helping the Chicago White Sox win the World Series in 2005. Nearly 12 months later, the White Sox decided to retain their services. It’s clear to see why. With Buehrle making $9.5 million, […]
Posted by David Pinto at 5:19 pm | Transactions | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 30, 2006
Thanks
I just wanted to say thank you to the person who donated money via the Amazon Honor System. Most of those donations are anonymous, so I don’t know about them until Amazon transfers the funds. Thanks for your support!
Posted by David Pinto at 3:59 pm | Blogs | Permalink | No Comments
October 30, 2006
Collusion or No Collusion?
Maury Brown now believes the collusion agreement in the CBA is not a big deal: Fast-forward to the new CBA. What appears to have been negotiated is a number of these outstanding grievances that have been sitting in limbo waiting to be addressed. In the case of the grievances regarding collusion, it appears what has […]
Posted by David Pinto at 12:54 pm | Union | Permalink | 3 Comments
October 30, 2006
Blue Jays Ways
Allan Ryan takes a comprehensive look at the needs of the Blue Jays in the off season. Here’s one: A 3-4-5 type of starter, maybe two, if they can’t re-sign free agent Ted Lilly; a No. 4-5 type if they do. In general, I don’t want a rotation that actually has a 3-4-5 starter. I’d […]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:06 am | Team Evaluation | Permalink | 10 Comments
October 30, 2006
Burrell for Soriano?
Marcus Hayes writes on how the Phillies might eat some of Pat Burrell’s salary to bring Alfonso Soriano on board. It’s an interesting switch; Soriano is a year older. Burrell’s career OBA is about 30 points higher than Soriano’s, but Alfonso beats him in slugging percentage by 30 points. Soriano brings speed and an excellent […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:45 am | Free Agents | Permalink | 13 Comments
October 30, 2006
Rising and Falling in the Fall League
The Hardball Times notes some good and bad performances by top prospects in the Arizona Fall League. Note that the sample sizes are very small.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:26 am | Players | Permalink | No Comments
October 29, 2006
Confident Tigers
Some members of the Detroit Tigers are talking about a dynasty: “Hopefully, we look back in just a few years and see that this was a building block for our organization,” 23-year-old pitcher Justin Verlander said, in the aftermath of the Tigers’ 4-2 Game 5 World Series loss to St. Louis. “Maybe it becomes a […]
Posted by David Pinto at 3:25 pm | Team Evaluation | Permalink | 11 Comments
October 29, 2006
MVP Poll
John Sickels took an MVP poll and the results are interesting. I agree with the NL winner, but like John I’m surprised that the vote was so lopsided.
Posted by David Pinto at 2:37 pm | Awards | Permalink | 6 Comments
October 29, 2006
Mariners Bind
John Hickey writes on the Mariners needs and shows the problem with signing too many free agents: Seattle has had three consecutive last-place finishes, and if things are going to change, general manager Bill Bavasi and his crew see the need for an influx of starting pitching. Whether by trade, by free agent signings or […]
Posted by David Pinto at 2:24 pm | Team Evaluation | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 29, 2006
Hope for Ohio
The Beane Count for 2006 gives some hope to fans of the Indians and the Reds, as both Ohio teams finished first in their leagues in the Rob Neyer stat that uses home runs and walks collected and allowed. No team dominated every category this season, but the Indians were good in all of them. […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:00 am | Team Evaluation | Permalink | 1 Comment
October 29, 2006
Saving Outs
It’s nice to see Bruce Bochy has a little Earl Weaver in him: While not considered a “Moneyball” manager — he was accused of relying too heavily on veterans in San Diego — Bochy subscribes to some of its stat-based tenets. Over the past five seasons, the Padres had the fewest sacrifice hits of any […]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:46 am | Management | Permalink | No Comments
October 29, 2006
I Must Have ESPN
This is just too weird. For some reason, I was thinking about how I don’t watch the NBA anymore, and really haven’t followed it since the Larry Bird/Magic Johnson era. I was wondering what’s going on with Red Auerbach, and I couldn’t remember if he was still alive. So today, I open up the ESPN […]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:12 am | Deaths | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 28, 2006
Joe Niekro Passes
Joe Niekro died on Friday: Niekro died Friday in Florida from a brain aneurysm at age 61. Astros president Tal Smith, the general manager for part of Niekro’s stint in Houston, saw Niekro last season and said he still had the sense of humor Smith remembered when Niekro was an Astro. “You always knew Joe […]
Posted by David Pinto at 6:40 pm | Deaths | Permalink | 2 Comments
October 28, 2006
Taking Turns
Devon Young points out that the last six World Series champions came from each of the six divisions: NL West (D’backs) AL West (Angels) NL East (Marlins) AL East (Red Sox) AL Central (White Sox) NL Central (Cardinals)
Posted by David Pinto at 3:45 pm | World Series | Permalink | 5 Comments
October 28, 2006
Boring Post Season
This certainly wasn’t the most inspiring of post seasons. Only one series was truly competitive. Only the Mets and Padres won a game facing elimination. Of a possible 41 games, 30 were played. There was a distinct lack of drama. There were no huge managerial goofs. The biggest one I thought was not starting Bonderman […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:49 am | Post Season | Permalink | 8 Comments
October 28, 2006
Everyone In
I’ve been wondering if the new CBA eliminated deadlines for a team to sign one of its players who file for free agency. The answer is yes: Under baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement, a five-year deal reached Tuesday night, there is less of a time constraint on the Giants and Bonds to get something done […]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:43 am | Union | Permalink | 4 Comments
October 27, 2006
Cardinals World Champions
The St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series on the strength of their pitching. They end the series allowing just 10 earned runs in five games, an ERA of 2.05. They struck out 37 Tigers while walking just 8 in 44 innings. The Tigers managed to hit just .199 against the Cardinals. This staff handled […]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:32 pm | World Series | Permalink | 8 Comments
October 27, 2006
Top of the Ninth
Zumaya retires the Cardinals in order in the eighth. The Tigers are down to their last three outs, and need two runs to keep the game and their season going. Update: Wainwright starts the ninth with two balls to Ordonez. Update: Ordonez hits a 3-2 pitch off the glove of Wainwright, but Belliard is able […]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:08 pm | World Series | Permalink | 12 Comments
October 27, 2006
Dusty La Russa
Tony La Russa sends Weaver out for the 8th inning, but the broadcast notes that no one was warming up in the St. Louis bullpen. That’s how Dusty got in trouble in game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. After an out, Flores starts warming. Update: Weaver still going strong, strikes out Monroe. Update: Jeff strikes […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:57 pm | Management, World Series | Permalink | No Comments
October 27, 2006
Verlander Done
Rodney starts the seventh for the Tigers. Verlander throws just 58 of 101 pitches for strikes, but only allowed one earned run. The Tigers make another mistake as Eckstein reaches on an infield hit as Guillen double clutches on a grounder. I don’t know why Guillen wasn’t charged with an error. Update: Rodney walks Wilson […]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:34 pm | World Series | Permalink | No Comments