BBA Hall of Fame Ballot

Here are our picks to be enshrined in Cooperstown.  It took a good bit of discussion between the two of us, each having to make a case to the other about certain eligible players.  There is a lot to consider when bestowing the greatest of baseball honors, but all of these players come out on top.  They are deserving of the Hall of Fame.  My guess is that only two players will actually be elected this year: Barry Larkin and Jack Morris.  Our Hall Hopefuls for 2012:

1. Jeff Bagwell 
2. Barry Larkin
3. Edgar Martinez
4. Tim Raines
5. Larry Walker

In the days to come, there will be posts on each of our choices, as well as some explanation regarding the players we feel come up just a bit short (or who should wait just a bit longer).

Knuckleball Catcher

In this installment of Aural Pleasures, we switch from songs performed by baseball players to a song about a baseball player.  An unreleased track from Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, titled "Knuckleball Catcher." 

33 Things Learned or Verified in 2011

1. Pre-season predictions are fun and impossible to resist but complete bollacks

2. The St. Louis Cardinals are a scourge to the NL Central and the rest of MLB.  Once again they won the World Series with the worst record among postseason qualifiers (see also 2006).

3. The St. Louis Cardinals helped provide one of most exciting Octobers of recent memory, not to mention the stretch September run

4. Tony LaRussa carries magic beans in his pocket instead of sunflower seeds

5. Ron Washington is a fine motivational manager but a dim tactical manager.  If he only trusted his gut half the time, the Rangers would have won 100 games and likely the World Series

Welcome to Cincinnati

  

Christmas came early in Redsland, as Uncle Walt left a shiny new pitcher under the tree.  I have to admit I'm rather giddy right now, and I could fill this page with OMG's and .gifs of Ron Swanson dancing to illustrate my reaction to this move.  Instead, I'll try to give an objective breakdown of this deal, piece by piece.

Pud Gannon Memoirs #2

It's time for another look into Pud Gannon's scribblings while we wait out the winter.  If you missed or have forgotten the previous entry, you can find it here. I haven't quite figured out the timelines or Pud's actual age yet.  He isn't thoughtful enough to provide dates, though the anecdote towards the end of this entry must be around 1917, and the ruminations in the first part must pre-date WWII, my guess is the late '30s to 1940.  But you can draw your own conclusions.  Enjoy.

Getting Moore Than You Bargained For

Big news out of Tampa Bay yesterday, as the Rays continue to do what the Rays do.  Matt Moore signed an extremely team friendly 5 year $14 million dollar deal with three affordable club options that could bring the total value of the contract up to 8 years and $40 million.  Yes, TNSTAAPP and all, but Matt Moore looks every bit the future ace that Steve Slowinski of FanGraphs has been calling him since before his September call-up.  We got a small taste of what Moore could do when he ended up starting Game 1 of the divisional round in the hitters paradise that is the Ballpark in Arlington, and shut down the mighty Rangers offense, yielding two hits and no earned runs in seven innings.

The BBWAA and BS in 1947

It has never been much of a secret that the Baseball Writers Association of America's voting procedures are fatally flawed.  I suppose that's what makes the seasonal awards so much fun:  never-ending debate between those that don't get to vote.  Each year the two important awards, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player yield plenty of discussion fodder.  And often the ultimate winner raises more eyebrows than agreeing head-nods.  But some years the outcome is downright baffling, calling into question just how flawed the voting process is.

Winter Tweetings

The Hot Stove season doesn't get any hotter than the Winter Meetings.  This practice (if you trust Wikipedia) started back in 1876, yet it is being touted as the 110th anniversary of the event by other sources.  I'm not great at math, but that doesn't really seem to check out.  

These days, we are able to get up to the minute news and analysis on the Winter Meetings thanks to Twitter.  Twitter is a wonderful place to find out what Harry Potter and Justin Beiber fans are up to get a whole lot of unfounded rumors and snarky breakdowns of baseball moves in real time. 

On to the tweets!

The Ghosts of Flushing

Upon news breaking of Jose Reyes signing his six-year $106 million contract with the (Miami) Marlins, a beleaguered Mets fan whose face I can almost picture in my mind, wailed something like this: "it is a dark day.  Perhaps the most exciting player in Mets history gone, without the Wilpons ever really trying to sign him long-term."  This I could sort of roll along with, though you can read my thoughts on Jose Reyes and his long-term benefits here.  But then he added, with not insufficient poutiness, "I think I'm following Bobby V to the BoSox.  The Mets have nothing for me."  Boston fans should take note, that despite the Red Sox epic 2011 collapse and the ensuing circus of sandbox foolishness, there remain baseball fans who lust for your lot.  Surely this Mets fan was indulging in histrionics; he is, after all, a Mets fan.  But to help ease the pain of waving goodbye to "the most exciting player in Mets history", I will offer a helping hand in the art of patience.  And as a Cubs fan, I know a bit about it.  After all, the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs are in eerily similar positions.

Arthur Lee Maye and the Crowns

"I feel like I am the best singing athlete that ever lived.  I'm not bragging, it's just a fact." - Lee Maye