Posts Tagged ‘Baseball’

Can The Arizona Diamondbacks Get Out Of The Cellar In 2010

March 5th, 2010 Heather Maxwell

2009 was a season that the Arizona Diamondbacks would like to forget. The fact of the matter is that they are doing everything that they can to make sure a season like that does not happen again. Fans can once again flock to the ballpark with hope as they have been extremely aggressive and are looking for big results in 2010.

While Eric Byrnes was a major factor in their success in 2007, he seemingly dropped off the face off the earth over the last two seasons and the Arizona Diamondbacks have lost patience and are allowing him to try and get untracked with another team. The fans will not miss his .218 AVG over the last two years, a far cry from the .286 he hit in ‘07.

To fill the void that Byrnes had left since 2007, the Arizona Diamondbacks pilfered Adam LaRoche away from Atlanta. Playing in a much tougher division with great pitching, LaRoche notched 25 home runs and a .270 AVG. He should see better pitches and the ballparks will be a little friendlier to him. Expect a huge year from this ballplayer.  Read more...

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The Atlanta Braves Can Finally Get By Philadelphia In 2010

February 27th, 2010 Heather Maxwell

There are currently two divisions in baseball that are the measuring stick and they are both in the East. Both National and American League fans know that any team coming out of those divisions is an automatic World Series Contender. The good news for the Atlanta Braves is that they are in the National League East. The bad news for the Braves is that they are in the National League East.

The recent signing of Hinske may have gone unnoticed by some, but it should not have. Hinske has the potential to have a huge season as the primary left handed pinch hitter and adds a lot to this club. Someone besides Jones needs to step up and they are going to get that with Hinske. Expect to see him helping the younger players and adding the timely pinch hit.

Braves fans have to be looking forward to another big year from Matt Diaz. After only playing 43 games in 2008, he bounced back huge hitting .313 in 2009. He had his second best season in home runs and will look to have a career best this season. Arguably one of the most talented players on the team, the Atlanta Braves will look for him to continue his offensive progress.  Read more...

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The NL Cy Young Picture

November 26th, 2009 Aaron Scott

In just a few short days, the National League Cy Young winner will have been selected. The race could really go either way, and no one’s quite sure as to who will win it in the end.

While some great pitching was pretty commonplace throughout the entire National League, the race really boils down to two pitchers. Guys like Matt Cain, Adam Wainwright, Jair Jurrjens, Johan Santana, Wandy Rodriguez, and others were absolutely great this season, with many of them having career years.

At the end of the day though, the best pitching was hands down performed by Tim Lincecum, the young hurler with the San Francisco Giants, and Chris Carpenter, the veteran ace pitcher in St. Louis who came back from a two year hiatus that saw him sidelined with injury.

Looking at the stats doesn’t tell the whole story with either of these pitchers. That’s perhaps what makes this race even more difficult to call, as if it wasn’t already hard enough. It’s almost painful to deny either of these incredible pitchers of an award they deserve. Maybe they’ll somehow tie for the award.  Read more...

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Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Hall of Fame Debate

November 17th, 2009 Lance Baker

It’s amazingly been over 90 years since it occurred, but the legendary’19 World Series scandal most definitely lives on with baseball historians and any enthusiasts of the game. With much controversy these days about Pete Rose and his possible place in Cooperstown, another figure with parallels to Rose is Shoeless Joe Jackson, who played for the’19 White Sox (also known as the “Black Sox”) for their role in throwing the’19 World Series against the Reds.

Shoeless Joe has some very impressive stats over his- year career. He is known for playing with the White Sox, but played with a total of 3 other teams, having played with ith the Athletics, Naps, and Indians for half a season. He posted very good standard stats that should alone be hall of fame worthy.

Some of these numbers include a .356 career batting average, 785 RBIs, and 168 career triples. The power was low, but this came in an era where lower home run totals were more commonplace.

The power is low, but this came in an era with much deeper home run fences, and just before Babe Ruth made his impact as the first major power hitter in baseball, revolutionizing the game. Players hit for average, with an emphasis on extra base hits (Jackson averaged- triples per season). A closer look at Jackson’s stats show some very impressive attributes.  Read more...

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Yankees Win 2009 World Series

November 14th, 2009 Andy West

Allow me to be one of the very first to congratulate the New York Yankees on their World Series win.

I live in New York, and while I’m a fan of the Mets, I do happen to root for my city any time my team isn’t in the postseason (and that seems to be quite often).

The Yankees came into the season with big expectations. With some big name signings in CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, the stakes were really high in New York.

A new stadium symbolized the beginning of a new era in Yankee baseball, one that would seek to recapture the glory days of a decade ago that saw the team dominate the second half of the’90s.

With some of the team’s original pieces still in place and near the ends of their careers, this blend of old and new was a beautiful thing to witness. The Yankees played like a team and fought to the very end.

The contributions from the team’s newer players should definitely be noted. Johnny Damon was excellent through and through. CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett were stellar in the playoffs, and Mark Teixeira was arguably the best hitter on the team, as he hit more home runs than anyone else on the Yankees, or in the AL for that matter.  Read more...

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