This morning, I’d like to comment a little on two stories from the weekend, neither of them Mets related because, well, they haven’t done anything. The first is Stan Musial’s funeral and the second Frank Thomas’ comments from the White Sox’s annual fan convention. In different ways, both speak to baseball’s history in a profound light. Both return us to a cleaner, simpler time. Let’s look at Musial first. Here was a three-time MVP and [...]

I once heard an interview where a player gave his estimation of how many players were on some sort of performance enhancing drug when he played in the early 2000s. He said it was ninety percent of the players—in other words, nine out of ten guys. Let that marinate for a second. I don’t remember who the player was, but I certainly believe that stat to be fairly accurate. It always made me wonder why [...]

Update from Perseus 10:15 AM Well, it looks like the Upton Brothers will be united in Atlanta after all. According to MLBTR, the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed, in principle, to a deal that would send Justin Upton to the Braves. Mark Bowman of MLB.com provided the terms of the trade: The Braves get Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson while the D-Backs get third baseman Martin Prado, right-hander Randall Delgado, shortstop prospect [...]

Sports Illustrated released a list on Tuesday about a baseball phenomenon called the “Year-After Effect.” It’s been also referred to by the more widely known “Verducci Effect”, named after the SI journalist. But it was actually based on principles and protocols established by Rick Peterson, the former pitching coach, who was at Oakland at the time along with GM Sandy Alderson. Peterson believed pitchers 25 and under should not exceed an innings increase of more [...]

A Japanese pitcher, a catcher and a pitching coach walk into a bar.  Think you understand where this joke is going?  No?  Well, the protagonists of the joke didn’t understand it either.  But come Opening Day, they’ll have a better chance of getting it. According to Jayson Stark of espn.com, baseball owners have approved a new rule that would allow interpreters to join managers and pitching coaches on trips to the mound.  The new rule [...]

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos indicated yesterday that recently acquired Josh Thole will begin the season with Triple-A Buffalo while another former Met, Henry Blanco, will serve as J.P. Arencibia‘s backup. Blanco, 41, was recently signed to a non-guaranteed, one-year deal, “Blanco has not been guaranteed the job at all,” Anthopoulos explained. “That’s why he’s on a non-guaranteed contract. But again, if it works out that Blanco’s the backup and Thole ends up being optioned down here, organizationally [...]

The smell of fresh cut grass on a summer day is still one of my favorite smells in the world. That smell has the ability to draw memories that are buried deep in my subconscious mind, like a super powered magnet draws a needle from a haystack. Anyone who’s played this great game of baseball knows exactly what I mean. People will tell you similar stories about any memories they have. Certain sights and sounds [...]

Two notable rule changes will take place this season. One will be that translators are now allowed to come with coaches during mound visits. The other will be the banishment of the fake-to-first, throw-to-third move. I want to analyze both, but before I do it’s important to be cognizant of the sensitivity surrounding the former. I write this with a complete understanding that many fans will be a part of the just-learn-English crowd. Albeit, that’s [...]

The Seattle Mariners have acquired Michael Morse from the Washington Nationals in a three-team deal that included the Oakland Athletics. The breakdown of the deal is as follows… Mariners receive: Michael Morse, 1B/OF Athletics receive: John Jaso, C Nationals receive: AJ Cole, RHP / Blake Treinen, RHP / PTBNL from Oakland Something to point out, and rather interestingly, is that the trade represents a bit of a homecoming for two of these players, as MLBTR [...]