Foul Territory Baseball
This Week in Baseball – Divisional Playoffs, Orioles Clean House, ‘Unwritten Rules,’ FBI, Ellsbury’s Parking
Joy Division Playoffs With the Yankees and Rockies winning the Wild Card playoff games, the Division Series have begun. This round has already been very tough on the visiting teams with the home teams already 7-1 in this round. The …
State of Pitching (Part III): The Rise of the ‘Opener’
Part III of a three-part series (see Part I, Part II) What Are They Waiting For? Strategic pitching decisions by managers can change the tenor of a game. Shut down the opposition before they get going. Give their team a …
State of Pitching (Part II): The Rise of the ‘Opener’
Part II of a three-part series (see Part I) What Happened to Innovation in Baseball? As we saw in the first part of this essay, the pitcher role has been evolving in the past five years. We saw that, in …
State of Pitching (Part I): The Rise of the ‘Opener’
The Art of Pitching—A Brief History When the National League opened for business in 1876, teams began with small rosters of perhaps 11 or 12 players on the entire team. And those who were starting pitchers pitched when they were …
Baseball’s Best of the Worst Awards 2018
What an incredible season for Major League Baseball! There were so many great moments throughout the year and if I could remember any one of them specifically I might not be secretly terrified that I have early-onset dementia. Okay, so, …
This Week In Baseball – NL Playoffs, Red Sox Record, Giants GM, Ohtani Surgery, Tigers Spitter
Down the Stretch They Come… With only two days left in the regular season, the American League is set and ready to begin, but the National League still has some maneuvering. The Cubs, Brewers, Cardinals, Rockies and Dodgers are all fighting …
He Gone! A Cubs Fan Says Goodbye to Hawk Harrelson
Several years ago, I wrote a list of 101 reasons why Chicago is the best baseball town in America; but I can boil all the reasons down to one statement: Chicago is divided into two warring factions, the Cubs and …
Roto Pope Podcast, Ep 14: Special Guest X, NFL W1 Betting Triumphs, W2 “Locks”
Sean Burch (@seanb44) and Aaron Sauceda (@RotoPope) are joined by special guest and friend of the pod, Zach/Boppas, as they engage in various topics for the latest episode of the Roto Pope Podcast, including: Introducing friend of the RP pod …
Ferocious Uppercuts (Part III): Baseball Needs Many MORE Carlos Santanas
Part III of a three-part series (See Part I, Part II) Today, teams rely on analytical information to make player decisions so they can avoid chasing home-run hitters they shouldn’t. Like Albert Pujols or Chris Davis. The effects of age on …
Ferocious Uppercuts (Part II): Swinging for the Fences and Big Money
Part II of a three-part series (See Part I) Even though free-agency technically began in 1969 when Curt Flood was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies and refused to report, his defiance eventually led to a Supreme …
