The Greatest Home Run Derby Ever: Information

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Created: Tuesday, 15 May 2012 06:53

Written by Joe

As we've said on the podcast, we have secured an exclusive VIP section in the outfield for what will be the greatest sporting event of the summer: The Baseball Town All-Star Home Run Derby on July 10, 2012. Read all about it here (video that started the whole thing is in the link).

Check out the flyer below for more information. If you're interested in joining us, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

HUNDREDS OF POINTS

Woman struck by 2 foul balls. Both hit by same guy, at same at bat.

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Created: Wednesday, 18 April 2012 06:30

Written by Joe

Back on August 17, 1957, Alice Roth decided to go to a baseball game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies. All was well and it is assumed she was having a smashing time until Richie Ashburn of the Phillies stepped up to the plate. He hit a foul ball directly off of Alice's face, breaking her nose. She was quickly attended to and, for whatever reason, they loaded her onto a stretcher. She was then carried her out of the stands.

As she was being carried off on the stretcher, Richie hit another foul ball which amazingly struck her again. She was hit by 2 foul balls during the same at bat. That's the definition of unlucky. 

But I want to take a step back and commend the stadium for their impressive response to Alice's broken nose. You can only assume it would have taken them several minutes to tend to Alice, find a stretcher, load her onto it, and then carry her away. They did this with such efficiency that Richie was still at the plate, allowing him to take aim at her again.

[via 1957 Time Capsule via Reddit]

The State of the Buccos

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Created: Saturday, 03 March 2012 14:16

Written by Brandon

March is here, and with March comes one of my favorite times of the year - MLB Spring Training.  A time where baseball teams round up the troops and head to Florida for a glorious month under the sun.  During spring training, teams get a chance to work out position battles, take a look at prospects, and generally prepare for the upcoming season.  So then, with every season comes another losing season for the hapless Pirates, correct?  

Last year, The Battling Buccos gave us a glimpse of what it is like to, once again, have a competitive baseball team in Pittsburgh - actually hovering around the .500 mark through July.  Though, as August and September came and went, so did the Pirates chances of changing their usual losing ways. On August 2nd, the Pirates were a respectable 54-54, but they would never be close again. They ended the season on a 18-36 skid, finishing with a  Piratesque 72-90 record.  Now, that's the Pirates team that we are all used to.   Consequently, we are left hanging with numerous questions to be asked. Can this team improve, or was 2011 just a fluke?  Will budding stars like Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker  continue to grow? Will Pedro Alvarez finally come around this season and live up to the hype of being selected him 2nd overall in the 2008 draft? Can the pitching staff, with a few new additions, withstand the rigors of a 162 game season? With the newly expanded MLB playoffs, can the Pirates compete for a wild card spot?  Will the departure of Albert Pujols from the Cardinals and Prince Fielder from the Brewers, allow the Pirates to legitimately compete for the NL Central Division crown? 

Unlike the Pirate's teams of the past 19 losing campaigns, I believe that the 2012 Pirates can actually grow and learn from last years experience.  The current team has assembled a young nucleus and has managed to keep them together for an entire season.  Andrew McCutchen is coming off of a season where he posted stats of 20+ home runs, 80+ RBIs, 20 stolen bases and a mediocre .259 batting average.  I can see McCutchen improving on all these statistical categories, and possibly joining the 30-30 club for the first time in his young career. Neil Walker showed promise as a hitter early in the 2011 season, as he was one of the league leaders in batting average through eighty games.  Walker finished the season with a modest .273 batting average, but I think that, he too, can improve his numbers for the 2012 season.  That being said, and with the leadership of these two core players and the expected growth of the other components, an improvement of more than a couple of games in the standings should not be a surprise. 

Now on to the elephant in the room.  To say that Pedro Alvarez has been a disappointment thus far would be an understatement.  After showing some signs of power, 16 home runs in 96 games in 2010, Pedro's 2011 season was definitely one to forget.  It went something like this: 4 home runs, 19 RBIs, and a .191. batting average.  Are you kidding me?  The good news - it probably cannot get much worse.  The bad news is that the Pirates may have invested a significant chunk of the future in a bust.  Pedro does get a fresh start this season and the Pirates have acquired Casey McGehee from Milwaukee to relieve some of the pressure of the hot corner.  McGehee will split time at third base and lend some strength to the first base platoon on the other side of the diamond.  McGehee, who had a phenomenal 2010 campaign, struggled a bit through the 2011 season.  Even so, he should be a nice addition to a Pirate's lineup that should feature him prominently.  The hope is that with McGehee's presence, Pedro can relax and not feel the weight of the franchise on his shoulders for the 2012 campaign.

Read more: The State of the Buccos

Smell of Primanti's in the air?

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Created: Thursday, 29 March 2012 11:19

Written by Behe

The Boys of Summer are back. The grass needs mowing, mens softball leagues are beginning, and cookouts every weekend have commenced. It's baseball season, folks. The 2012 season has lofty expectations to live up to after last years monumental collapse by both the Braves and BoSOx in the waining weeks of the season (including 2 walk off homers on the last night of the season that determined the Wild Card). Then the Cardinals collectively ripped the heart out of all Rangers fans. (Don't worry Rangers fans this year will be the year). To the crazy off season that sent a tidal wave sized shift in power to the AL. But, good news Bucco fans: no more Pujols (48 career HR) or Prince (27 career HR) who rank No. 1 and No. 4 respectively in career HRs given up by the Buccos pitchers.

Now, though, we are in the last days of spring training, rosters are being widdled down to 25, and the Mariners and A's are playing a few irrelevant regular season games in Japan. Yes you just read that correctly fantasy baseball has started and hopefully you realized that and didn't bench Dustin Ackley or Yoenis Cespedes, cause the baseball gods know that I did. 2012 will be a season to remember, because they are all special in their own way. Milestones will be reached and players will decline or improve just as last year did and those in years past. Baseball is both predictable and unpredictable at the same time. This year will be both exciting and boring at the same time, as well.

But enough with the contradicting talk, let's move onto some actual predictions. Feel free to send me YOUR picks. If we get enough people I'm sure we can find something to give away. Here are the rules: pick the winner of each division, the wild card teams, the AL and NL MVPs, the Cy Young winners for each leage, the ROYs for each league (rookie of the year, lest anyone be confused), and then pick the playoff winners.  Here are my picks:

AL East New York Yankees  AL Central Detroit Tigers  AL West Texas Rangers AL Wild Cards Toronto Blue Jays and LA Angels AL MVP Miguel Cabera Detroit Tigers AL Cy Young Justin Verlander Detroit Tigers AL ROY Yoenis Cespedes OF Oakland Athletics 

NL East Washington Nationals  NL Central Milwaukee Brewers  NL West SF Giants NL Wild Cards Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds NL MVP Ryan Zimmerman  Washington Nationals NL Cy Young Matt Cain SF Giants NL ROY Bryce Harper OF Washington Nationals 

AL Pennant Winner Texas Rangers v NL Pennant Winner Milwaukee Brewers 

World Series Champions TEXAS RANGERS 

There you go Texas Ranger fans! The Rangers will make it over the hump this year and finally bring home the title. 

Follow me on twitter @behe2810....feel free to ask me fantasy baseball questions or anything else you might have.

Fantasy Buzz No. 1

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Created: Friday, 30 March 2012 12:31

Written by Mike

Today I was offered a sucker's trade in my fantasty baseball league. It was Troy Tulowitzki, Yoenis Cespedes, and David Ortiz for Ryan Braun, Jimmy Rollins, and Desmond Jennings. Don't worry, I was never going to accept this deal because A:) it fails the eye test and B) the numbers don't add up.

Let's take a look at the numbers first. I'll break this trade down to 3 parts: Braun for Tulo, Cespedes for Jennings, Ortiz for Rollins. The reason I broke it up that way is simple. Braun and Tulo are top 10 players, Cespedes and Jennings are unproven, and Ortiz and Rollins are elder statesman in their decline.

Braun for Tulo is not a bad one on one trade. Depending on your need for a SS and your outfield depth, this trade makes complete sense for just about everyone. Ryan Braun is a career .312 hitter and averages 200 H, 36 HR, 118 RBI, 112 Runs, and 20 SB every year. That's a pretty good line. He is also the reigning MVP and one of the best in the league. Braun is also 28 years old which means his numbers are more likely to get even better. (scary). Tulo's number are slightly less, but still impressive. .293 Avg, 179H, 28HR, 103RBI, 102Runs, and 12 SB. This is also a very good line. Being a SS also adds value. For me,  Tulo for Braun is a trade I would take. 

Now on to Cespedes and Jennings. This one is easy for me. Let's play the eye test game. Cespedes comes from Cuba where he had very impressive numbers, but this rarely translates to MLB success. He also plays his home games at cavernous Oakland-Almedia Coliseoum which will bring his power number down. On top of that, he plays for the A's (who won't score many runs) and they are going to lose close to 90 games this year. So put all of that on top of the fact that Desmond Jennings is one of the top young OF prospects in the game and this trade becomes a quick no deal. So far this trade looks like this: 1 deal - 1 no-deal. 

The deal breaker: Ortiz for Rollins. David Ortiz will be 36 this year, well past his prime and due to start rapidly declining. Big Papi is still going to get his 25 HR and 90 RBI but his K numbers have been steadily rising while his BB numbers are going the other direction. He doesn't steal any bases and his Run totals are also dwindling. But worst of all is his Position value. The fact he only qualifies as UTL in my league does not make him very appealing. J-Roll has had some injury concerns throughout his career but he is 3 yrs younger than Ortiz and is coming off a healthy, productive year. Rollins will steal 30 bags, score close to 100 Runs and hit 15-20 home runs. For a SS, those numbers are above average. So that coupled with the fact Big Papi is 36 and stuck in the UTL slot all year makes this trade a no-go. 

2 NO + 1 YES = No Trade

Deals like this often look even at first, but once you start to take a few minutes and look them over, you realize they are clearly no brainers. 5 minutes of research a week can lead to a championship at the end of the year. 

Follow me on twitter @behe2810 for all your sports advice and doings