Posted by Michael Seff on Thursday, May 3, 2012,
I love reading articles on teams well
before a season begins, talking about whether they have done enough
to finally get to the Super Bowl or the World Series or what have
you.
Pundits and those alike talk about a
team having the talent to win a title. They question whether the
pieces of the puzzle are in place, whether the drive is there,
whether they can finally beat that hated rival that has kept them
from glory so many times.
But then comes the element(s) that no
one can predict. In a n... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Monday, April 23, 2012,
Rainout May Aid Yankees and Red Sox
After two
emotionally draining games – more specifically, Saturday's epic
comeback by the Yankees and epic meltdown by the Red Sox – Sunday's
rainout may have been the best possible result for both teams.
For the Yankees,
it allows them to push back CC Sabathia to start the opener of a key
three-game series in Texas, for which the Rangers will be without the
services of Adrian Beltre. The rain has been nothing but bad news for
Texas lately.
A year ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Monday, February 6, 2012,
I saw a Facebook post yesterday that
had a picture of Eli Manning paying homage to the well-known Dos
Equis ad for The Most Interesting Man in the World.
As the commercial's star says “I
don't always drink beer, but when I do I prefer Dos Equis,” this
photo said “I don't always get to the Super Bowl, but when I do, I
beat the Patriots.”
Clever, indeed. And fitting, both for
the New York Giants and their new baseball counterparts, the St.
Louis Cardinals.
Last year's baseball darlin... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Sunday, January 22, 2012,
I was fortunate enough to get a couple minutes in a mini-scrum -- actually, just me and an LA Times writer -- with Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig at the World Children's Baseball Fair awards luncheon at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Selig touched on the potential purchase of the Dodgers and the Angels' Hot Stove moves this offseason: (On Frank McCourt buying the team in 2004) "Well it's interesting. The sport was
never happy about it. It's manifested itself in so many w... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Thursday, November 10, 2011,
It's always tricky to examine
“overrated” and “underrated”, but I will give it a try. Here
is a list of the five most underrated and overrated starting pitchers
in baseball, as based on public perception vs. recent performance:
UNDERRATED
No. 5
Justin Masterson, RHP, Cleveland
Indians
Masterson was somewhat of an
afterthought by fans when the Victor Martinez trade went down in July
2009. But he had been a valuable starter and reliever for the Red
Sox, and flourished as a starter i... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Tuesday, October 18, 2011,
Posted by Michael Seff on Tuesday, October 18, 2011,
Throw conventional wisdom out the window. With starting pitchers posting porous ERA numbers, no team is ever supposed to have success in the postseason. But don’t tell that to this year’s World Series participants. The St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers are here on the strength of their potent lineups, strong bullpens, and savvy managers. Not to mention they are pretty hot. St. Louis has come from beyond the great beyond to get to the Fall C... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Sunday, October 16, 2011,
It seemed innocent enough at the time.
Having just jumped ship to hop of the Philadelphia Phillies'
bandwagon, Cliff Lee sent his old teammate Ian Kinsler a text message
that simply said, “See you in the World Series.”
Who knew Lee was a prophet?
Now, Lee likely was insinuating he
thought his team would be there to match up with the Rangers.
Instead, the LeBron James of baseball will get to watch Kinsler and
the rest of the Rangers from the comfort of his own couch.
C.J. Wilson, Colby ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Saturday, August 13, 2011,
It's been a horrible year for umpires, especially in Atlanta. But at Turner Field Friday night, Tim Timmons made reprimands for many of his colleagues with a saving effort. Carlos Zambrano threw way too far inside to Chipper Jones trailing 9-1 after having allowed five home runs and was immediately tossed by Timmons (for the record, Zambrano walked off instantly to kill any suspense as to whether it was an accident or not). The Braves began to emerge from the dugout in anticipation of a benche... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Monday, August 8, 2011,
First it
was MLB Network. Then Fox got in on the action. And finally, ESPN
polished off "The Weekend Part 2" by showcasing its two
local favorites and, quite frankly, the only two teams that exist in
professional baseball (they'll recognize the Phillies come October,
however). The Red Sox and Yankees split the first two games of their
fourth series of 2011 before ESPN (for the record, this is the
official ESPN equation: NESN + YES = ESPN) got to air the rubber
match.
With the
Yankees lead...
Posted by Michael Seff on Saturday, July 30, 2011,
20 years ago, the Houston Astros ripped off the Baltimore Orioles for one of the greatest (or worst, depending on your perspective) trades in Major League history when they dealt aging first baseman Glenn Davis for future stars Curt Schilling, Pete Harnisch, and Steve Finley. Today, they evened out karma when they once again allowed the future National League champs to rip them off by dealing face-of-the-franchise Hunter Pence to the Philadelphia Phillies for three single-A players and, even b... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Saturday, July 2, 2011,
It is a generally accepted principle that baseball players tend to do some foolish things. Take San Francisco Giants' closer Brian Wilson, who took out the frustrations of a second straight blown save on the team's water coolers and dugout walls and came out lucky to avoid any injury. But the Cincinnati Reds' Brandon Phillips did something on May 25 that allowed the Philadelphia Phillies - and more specifically utility infielder Wilson Valdez - to re-write the record books. You may remember th... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Thursday, June 30, 2011,
Though much of the first half of the
2011 Major League Baseball campaign has been predictable (see
Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies), as usual there have been a few enjoyable
stories that have kept fans' interest until the inevitable sets in
come October.
Raise your hand if knew that Kevin
Correia was tied for the National League lead in wins? Maybe Kevin's
parents didn't even know, but his Pirates teammates sure do, as
Pittsburgh shockingly finds itself over .500 in June for the first
time since... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Saturday, June 11, 2011,
Passion runs deep in the roots of
Detroit fans, and the Tigers are a blue-collar, hard-working team
reflective of their city. So it goes without saying that there is
excitement surrounding the baseball team in the Motor City this year,
as they have surged to just one game back of the Cleveland Indians
after trailing by as many as eight at the beginning of May.
But it has to be a little bit
disheartening to Tigers supporters that a bevvy of former players are
making splashes with other squad... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Sunday, June 5, 2011,
If you really wanted to watch Gerrit Cole, the potential No. 1 overall pick in this year's 2011 MLB Draft, you might do something as drastic as hike two miles through the backwoods to get to Jackie Robinson Stadium. You might, but I did. Cole was called upon to start the opening round game of the NCAA Regionals against Fresno State in front of a packed house. The game created so much buzz that even Luke Wilson dropped by to check out Cole pitch (he kept a low profiles sitting in the cheap seat... Continue reading ...
Posted by Michael Seff on Wednesday, June 1, 2011,
The Tampa Bay Rays are proving that,
in spite of the notion that they are “baseball's farm team”,
their recent run of success in the rugged AL East is no fluke.
GM Andrew Friedman has been criticized
(even by yours truly) for failing to pull off a big midseason trade
during the team's 2008 and 2010 division-championship seasons.
Instead, he and manager Joe Maddon felt confident in the young core
they had in place. The result? 97 and 96 win seasons.
But it appeared this offseason would
b... Continue reading ...
| |
