I’ve always wondered why MLB doesn’t focus more attention on the result of pinch hitters. These guys get paid big money to deliver in important situations, always the end of games, but they don’t get much ink or recognition. I track pinch hitting results in my replays, simply out of…
The Cubs and Pirates meet again as the Pirates look to continue their winning ways after yesterday’s solid victory. Tonight’s game sees Jay Happ against Kyle Hendricks. The Pirates jump on young Kyle instantly. Gregory Polanco, who has feasted on Chicago pitching so far this year gets a single and…
My friend Don Smith has been conducting a little Illowa APBA League “spring training” for his Molly Putts Marauders before our regular season starts. I’ve seen some of his writeups on Facebook. Quite enjoyable. Don told me that in his quest in finding teams to play Molly, he ran across…
It is getting close to April 1st and that means Prairieland 2 tourney time! More to the point, in less than two weeks, tourney participants will be selecting their teams and fantasy players in a two-round snake style draft. The draft will begin on February 18 and Eric Berg is…
When Pastor Rich Zawadzki sent me this Zach Britton card for last season and said “Monster card”, I first thought he was referring to Zach’s hitting skills. I’m a little behind the times though. It was in 2011 when Britton was a C starter but had double 1s and a…
Wrigley Field Chicago, IL April 27, 2015 The Cubs return home after a terrific home stand and face the Pirates in the opening game of the series. Tonight’s game features a solid matchup between Gerrit Cole (2-1) who lost to Chicago last time out on an Anthony Rizzo homer late…
I received some good feedback on my video tour of my Excel stats setup of my 1966 National League replay so I thought I’d put together a series of videos on how I got to the point where I’m at now. Here is the first one. The best place to…
Here’s quick primer on what you will find in the Fielding Range Chart. 1) Numerical breaks that quickly define Fielding One, Two, and Three Each position is listed, accompanied by the numbers that define Fielding Two. For example, for catchers and 2b rated 5, anything between 14-21 is Fielding…
Great American Ballpark Cincinnati, OH April 26, 2015 The Cubs conclude their eastern road trip today as Jake Arrieta (3-1) faces Jason Marquis (1-3). The Reds bats have been extremely quiet this season, and while Chicago has a great start going, but despite their excellent defensive ratings across the board…
No dashes for 1968 Minnesota Twin Cesar Tovar’s APBA card. There is no room with every position listed on his card. All told, Tovar is rated as a 3B-4, OF-2, SS-6, 2B-6, C-5, 1B-2, and a Grade DXW P-1. Whew! While Tovar is quite the versatile player (I count at…