Former MLB pitcher Curtis Leskanic was pulled over recently with an astounding blood alcohol level of .331.
.331!
How drunk was former MLB pitcher Curtis Leskanic? His BAL was equal to Albert Pujols’ career batting average
September 14, 2011 By 5 Comments
MSF Quickcast #4: “All In” Chicago White Sox Can (and Should) Improve Their Hand
July 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In the fourth MSF QuickCast, Jerod Morris discusses his beloved Chicago White Sox and how they can still improve their hand internally as we enter the final two months of this “all in” season that has, thus far, been terribly disappointing.
Video: Enjoy this crazy shot by the luckiest bowler alive
July 21, 2011 By 1 Comment
All-Star Break Update on MLB’s Most Over and Underrated Players
July 12, 2011 By 5 Comments
Way back in February, USA Today’s 2011 MLB Preview Magazine published a lengthy piece by yours truly, whereupon I rendered my thoughts on who the most over and underrated players in the game were as we approached the new campaign.
I figured I might as well do occasional updates — especially here at midseason — on these “predictions,” so as to capriciously praise or condemn myself.
The Black Swan Theory
July 5, 2011 By 1 Comment
My friend’s father once spent an afternoon explaining to me the Black Swan theory, and how it relates to sports. Surprisingly, it has little to do with Natalie Portman and much more to do with Roger Maris.
Maris was a decent hitter, he explained, but never a great one and certainly not the person you would peg for an all-time power-hitting season. His 61 homers in 1961 was an aberration in the same way Brady Anderson hit 50 homers in 1996 or even Barry Bonds hit 73 in 2001. Those home run totals were so out of whack that they have almost nothing to do with the player’s past or future performance.
Think of it this way: if you see a black swan swimming amidst a flock of white swans, does that mean that there are more black swans on the way? Or is he the only one of his kind?
Deep stuff.
With that brain buster in mind, I wanted to take a look at some MLB players who are having black swan seasons either heading into free agency or right after earning a big contract.
Should MLB executives pay the guys who are about to hit the open market based on how they have done in the past, or how they will do in the future, or a blend of both? And which guys are rewarding or punishing the GMs who paid them the big bucks last winter?
[Read more...]
Helping Big Papi and Prince Pick the 2011 Home Run Derby Teams
July 1, 2011 By 15 Comments
The powers that be in Major League Baseball have determined that the Home Run Derby needed to be tweaked to explicitly pit one league against the other, in addition to the traditional individual format. I can see it being a good concept, with the sluggers from each league pulling for each other to win the team contest, but that pretty much was going on anyway. It’s a good idea, but I don’t see why it is really necessary.
One very cool new aspect of this year’s derby though is that for the first time, the participants in the contest will be selected by a captain from each league. The 2009 winner, Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers will pick the NL squad while 2010 champion David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox will pick for the American League.
Fantasy Baseball Stock Market Report: Moustakas, Hardy, Dunn, and more
June 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Whose stock is up and whose stock is down? Here are some players you need to check your waiver wire for…or consider reevaluating if they are on your roster.
Update on Baseball’s Most Over and Underrated Players
June 8, 2011 By 1 Comment
Back in February, USA Today’s 2011 MLB Preview Magazine published a lengthy piece by yours truly, whereupon I rendered my thoughts on who the most over and underrated players in the game were as we approached the new campaign.
I figured I might as well do occasional updates on these “predictions,” so as to capriciously praise or condemn myself.
Update on Baseball’s Over/Underrated players
April 29, 2011 By 3 Comments
Back in February, USA Today’s 2011 MLB Preview Magazine published a lengthy piece by yours truly, whereupon I rendered my thoughts on who the most over and underrated players in the game were as we approached the new campaign.
I figured I might as well do a monthly update on these “predictions,” so as to capriciously praise or condemn myself.
Some baseball players are overrated and some are underrated…and MSF’s own Ari Kaufman named names in the USA Today Baseball Preview Magazine
March 2, 2011 By 5 Comments
On Super Bowl Sunday, we had the highest single-day traffic total that we have ever had here at Midwest Sports Fans. Needless to say, I was excited.
However, my pride in the mammoth visitor numbers we put up during the Big Game cannot compete with the pride I feel in seeing a member of the MSF team featured in one of the preeminent baseball preview magazines hitting newsstands everywhere as we zoom closer to pitchers and catchers reporting.
So, on behalf of the entire MSF team, I’d like to congratulate MSF’s own co-editor Ari Kaufman for earning the well-deserved honor of having his writing featured in the USA Today Baseball Preview Magazine. The article is entitled “Some players are overrated and others are underrated. We name names.” As usual, Ari provides strong opinions…and backs them up with numbers.
And for those of you familiar with Ari’s writing, it will not surprise you which side of the argument Ryan Howard is on.
The Most Overrated & Underrated Position Players in Baseball
February 10, 2011 By 8 Comments
[Editor's note: The article below originally appeared in the 2011 USA Today Baseball Preview Magazine, currently available at newsstands everywhere.]
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Baseball fans are a unique lot. They’re often obsessed with statistics, and they love lists. One particular interest, especially in the era of fantasy sports, is ranking current players either versus each other or those of the past.
With this in mind, as we steamroll toward the 2011 campaign, let’s take a look at the five most overrated and underrated position players in the game today, sticking with guys who have at least three seasons in the big leagues.
Fantasy Baseball: The Offseason Effect on Adam Dunn, Zack Greinke, Victor Martinez and more
January 31, 2011 By
This offseason, many big names moved around the major leagues. Obviously many of them will play critical roles for their new teams, and their movement will impact the fantasy baseball landscape as well.
In this post, we’ll look at some of the biggest names who will be playing in new AL & NL Central cities and assess their outlook for 2011. Then you can hop over to MSF Fantasy Sports for a more complete look at the fantasy impact of this year’s offseason movement.
Ryan Howard vs Adam Dunn (Part 2 of Howard Contract Analysis)
April 29, 2010 By 15 Comments
Continuing from the close of Wednesday’s article on Ryan Howard’s enormous new contract, let’s compare him to another slugger: Adam Dunn.
Mr. Howard had an MVP caliber and historic 2006. Adam Dunn has never had a year which has come close to that. That being said, 2006 was a while ago. Back in 2006, for instance, Travis Hafner hit 42 bombs, and he’s only hit 47 total since.
Dunn has better career stats (130 more RBIs and close to 100 more HRs), though that’s a result of his time in the majors commencing earlier than Howard’s. Consequently, career stats isn’t a fair way to gauge the better “current” player.
Therefore, the best and perhaps only way one can compare the two is to take their last three seasons and look at what I believe to be the two most important offensive statistics: On Base Percentage (OBP) and On Base Plus Slugging (OPS).
To the Chagrin of Indians Fans, Eric Wedge Has Support of Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro
July 5, 2009 By 3 Comments
Apparently, Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro is no admirer of President Harry S. Truman. That is, when it comes to results and accountability, the “buck (does not) stop here,” as in, with the man at the top.
It was reported Sunday that, despite a team that was a pennant contender in April having the AL’s worst record most of May, June and July, manager Eric Wedge will serve out his term the rest of 2009, and perhaps beyond.
“As I’ve said all along, the responsibility for the disappointments of this season don’t rest on one person,†Shapiro said. “The responsibility is spread equally throughout the players, the front office, Eric and his staff.”
Really? In most jobs, or in politics, the man at the top is rewarded or punished for the company’s or his administration’s successes or failures. In sports, it is often the same, especially in baseball. But apparently, not on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Who knew?
On the surface, sure, the team has been doomed since mid-April after they lost eight of their first nine games, so why bring in an interim skipper at mid-season?
On the other hand, why not? It might spark the team, help them avoid an embarrassing 100 loss season, and maybe that interim manager might stick, as they occasionally do?
In fact, many Indians’ fans believe Joel Skinner, who took over for Charlie Manuel when the current Philly manager was fired seven years ago this week, deserved the job over Wedge, who took over at the outset of the 2003 season.
It’s easy to argue that Wedge’s hire was a mistake at this point. He had a great team built for him to contend for years after the bad 2002-2004 stretch, and has just a .500 record to show for it, one playoff appearance (2007) and three very disappointing seasons (2006, 2008 & 2009.)
Shapiro, disagrees, and has cashed in 2009:
“I thought it was important for the second half to remove a potential distraction that exists from that speculation,” he said.
He then spoke in clichés:
“This is not a vote of confidence, nothing has changed,” said Shapiro. “I have the ability to be decisive about this right now. I want to eliminate distractions and make sure there is accountability.”
Sure, Mark.
Actions speak louder the words.
And what a shame for a city desperate for a winner.
**********
In other non-Indians news…
I should add that, while we all know all-star selections are silly, if Ryan Howard made the NL reserves, so should Adam Dunn or Mark Reynolds, who have better statistics with about 10% of the talent around them.
This is not opinion, but fact. It’s laughable only because it was predictable.
ESPN was so confident and biased toward Ryan that earlier this week they were talking to him about how many ticket requests he had, not about whether or not he deserved to be chosen.
* – Mark Shapiro / Eric Wedge photo credit: AP via MLB.com
