Closer by Committee

The ninth inning has historically been the domain of one dominant reliever, sent in to shut down whichever poor souls were scheduled to step into the batter’s box. Relatively new research shows that the shutdown closer is less important than previously thought;...

Adam Jones and Hitting Behind in the Count

The other day while watching the game I heard Jim Palmer make a somewhat strange assertion. He said that Adam Jones hit better when behind in the count. Now, this could be a little bit of hyperbole, but it made me wonder if Jones is a better than average hitter when...

Series Preview: Orioles at New York Yankees

The schedule makers didn’t do the Orioles any great favors as the Orioles had an opening week that began with the defending champion Red Sox and concluded with a trip to reigning AL Central champion Detroit Tigers. On Sunday, Chris Tillman outdueled Justin Verlander...

AL East Beat: 5 (Early) Things

The first week of the Major League Baseball season is exciting. While it tends to lend itself to hyperbole in terms of reactions to the first couple of games, there is nothing better than watching teams play in the early going. Everyone is in the race. Everyone could...
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