 indicates Baseball Prospectus Premium content, and  indicates Baseball Prospectus Fantasy content.
You can also view archives
or browse research articles in the Baseball Prospectus Library
June 3, 2003
by Joe Sheehan
(Ed. note: The following is a reprint of an article that ran one year ago, on the day of the 2001 draft.]
Right now, 30 major-league organizations are making decisions that will impact the success of their franchise over the next few years, and in some cases, for a decade or more. Unlike the football and basketball versions, though, the annual draft of young talent doesn't receive national television coverage or make men with good hair and strong opinions famous and wealthy.
January 15, 2003
by Jonah Keri
Today's Expos trade of Bartolo Colon and Quadruple-A infielder Jorge Nunez for Orlando Hernandez, Jeff Liefer, Rocky Biddle and an undisclosed amount of cash in a three-way deal with the White Sox and Yankees caps a two-month circus that's left fans of the Expos and plenty of other teams nauseous. The Yankees dealt Hernandez and $2 million cash to get righty set-up man Antonio Osuna and Triple-A pitcher Delvis Lantigua.
January 7, 2003
by Derek Zumsteg
Of the many, many dumb things in the United States tax code, there's a provision that allows teams to write off the salaries of players when they acquire the team on a limited schedule as depreciation. It's an easy, fun way for them to show massive losses while they make tons and tons of delicious cash money. The write-off lasts five years, and then you sell the team for its increased value and find something else to do, like buy an arena football team, or make a nuisance of yourself in another sport.
January 2, 2003
by Derek Zumsteg
When we got our new collective bargaining agreement this season, I figured the results would be predictable: dumb teams would remain dumb and squander their new money, smart teams without money would do better, smart teams with lots of money would do a bit worse.
I figured the Yankees might do one of two things. They could tone things down a little. With the free agent winter, they could easily spend much less on the supporting cast and save a lot by not exceeding the salary cap as greatly. It looked like they were headed this way, throwing little fits over hours of elevator operations, making big deals out of little cuts.
December 4, 2002
by Ryan Wilkins
Among the numerous feats Bill James accomplished as an analyst in the 1980s, his greatest achievement was the way in which he legitimized the importance of minor-league batting statistics. Where once the remark "Yeah, but just because he hits in the minors doesn't mean that he'll hit in the majors" was an accepted, unchallenged claim, James' work on the subject proved decidedly otherwise--eventually spawning an industry of minor-league analysis that still flourishes to this day.
December 3, 2002
by Derek Zumsteg
The price of loyalty is $22 million and an extra year. The two contracts Jim Thome agonized over between turkey and potatoes were Cleveland's five-year, $60 million deal, plus a vesting option year, and the contract he took, which started with six years for $82 million plus a vesting option year.
November 22, 2002
by Keith Woolner
Soon after yesterday's installment of "Aim For The Head" appeared on the web site, my e-mail starting getting reader comments.
November 18, 2002
by Dave Pease
The 17th installment of Joe Sheehan's excellent newsletter appeared in my inbox last night, and it featured analysis of the big, weird Rockies-Marlins-Braves deal that was hinted at last week and finally agreed upon--pending approval from the commissioner's office--this weekend. In analyzing the deal, Joe puts the Rockies in the winner's column and gives the Marlins a goose egg.
November 15, 2002
by Dave Pease
Let's say you're a pitcher of some repute, and you're making mad cash at the front end of a long-term contract. You signed with a mediocre team that plays in a hostile environment as part of Revision 12 of that team's ongoing quest to solve the riddle of their home field.
November 14, 2002
by Derek Zumsteg
Like me, you may find yourself adrift after the World Series. In my case, I fell asleep on my kayak in McCovey Cove at some point during game 5 and are now stranded on a small island in the Pacific, filing stories on the last of your laptop power and sending them into the home office via coconut satellite. For most fans, though, the feeling comes from this boring period before spring training, when we're supposed to speculate endlessly on whether or not Tony Clark will get a minor-league invite or not, and twiddle our thumbs waiting for Baseball Prospectus 2003 to come out.
November 6, 2002
by Jonah Keri
Mark Teixeira's for real. OK, you probably didn't me to tell you that. The Rangers' superstar third base prospect has terrorized pitchers every step of his amateur and pro careers.
But did you know Adam Morrissey has one of the quickest swings you'll ever see? That Kevin Cash's defense may be even better than you've heard? That Luke Hudson could help push the Reds to the top of the NL Central in 2003? You would if you headed out to Phoenix for the Arizona Fall League season.
October 30, 2002
by Jonah Keri
When I was little, I thought sportswriters had the coolest job in the world. I couldn't wait to grow up to become a baseball beat writer, or the next great writer for Sports Illustrated, or an author who could talk about cool stuff like the 1927 Yankees. I wanted to be them.
I hate myself now for thinking that way.
October 28, 2002
by Dave Pease
As you've probably seen, the Player Cards are back. We'll be working with this feature as time permits during book-writing season to make it more useful and user-friendly, and we'll gladly consider any thoughts you have on the matter. Please see Clay's article for more details and contact information.
October 15, 2002
by Derek Zumsteg
To better serve our readers and enhance shareholder value, we've compiled a list of who you should be cheering for, and why.
October 7, 2002
by Jonah Keri
The scene outside Edison Field Saturday following the Angels' first playoff series win in its 42 years of existence was unlike any I'd ever seen.
October 4, 2002
by Derek Zumsteg
During the regular season, I can see where MLB might fail to get the national deal they'd like. But what's happening this post-season is a disaster.
October 3, 2002
by Jonah Keri
Recently, BP's authors got into a heated debate over the merits of Shea Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand, you may remember, started the 2002 season on fire, setting Red Sox Nation hearts aflutter and confounding statheads everywhere.
September 27, 2002
by Dave Pease
Having resolved that pesky AL West issue, one of the most interesting races left is in Milwaukee. Brewers shortstop Jose Hernandez is fighting inconsistent playing time and a fickle manager to set the all-time strikeout record; as of today, he's stuck on 188, just one shy of Bobby Bonds' major-league season record.
September 20, 2002
by Gary Huckabay
Baseball as a whole grossly underestimates the kind of serious threat that unhinged nutbags like this represent. Something needs to be done to prevent this sort of horrible incident from happening in the future. It isn't possible to stop any and all potential acts of the truly determined and unbalanced. The occasional deranged crank is always going to be able to slip through any mechanism or process designed to keep them out. Still, all possible and feasible efforts should be made to ensure the safety of the innocent and unsuspecting.
I speak, of course, of the extension of Jeff Torborg's managerial contract.
September 18, 2002
by Gary Huckabay
Bud and Carl: Visionaries?
<< More
|
