by bcowett | Jan 22, 2014 | 2013 World Series, 2014 Red Sox offseason, Andrew Miller, Boston Red Sox, Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, Masahiro Tanaka, Stephen Drew
The market is moving again! We aren’t stagnating! Things could happen and we might see reports on them! Rejoice, baseball fans, rejoice! Stuff could happen! Seems like the Red Sox’s interest in Stephen Drew was overblown. It’s looking more and more...
by bcowett | Jan 21, 2014 | Boston Red Sox, Trivia
Red Sox Trivia! Starting off strong! Question: Of the five Red Sox outfielders with over 100 PA in the first half, who had the highest wOBA? No search engines or keyword searches. Previous Question Answer: Napoli annihilated that ball out of Rogers Centre, home of the...
by bcowett | Jan 20, 2014 | Blake Swihart, Boston Red Sox, Clayton Kershaw, Garin Cecchini, Giancarlo Stanton, Henry Owens, Miami Marlins, Xander Bogaerts
About a month until pitchers and catchers report, which means I have a full month of just crying to myself while baseball still isn’t happening. Sigh. Phenom Xander Bogaerts‘ fame isn’t limited to just the States. When he went back home to Aruba,...
by dpoarch | Jan 18, 2014 | Boston Red Sox, Daniel Nava, Edward Mujica, Ryan Dempster, Will Middlebrooks
I’m a particularly big fan of Fire Brand’s own end-of-season award, Fire Brand of the Year. There’s a subtle difference between the Fire Brand award and others in that it’s not a simple MVP award, but something meant to highlight those whose contributions might have...
by bcowett | Jan 17, 2014 | 2014 Red Sox offseason, A.J. Pierzynski, Bob Tewksbury, Boston Red Sox, Burke Badenhop, Clayton Kershaw, Jon Lester, Mike Carp, Stephen Drew
All arbitration and no play makes me a dull boy. At least it’s giving the offseason some fire to rekindle that hot stove that froze over with that polar vortex. Despite Clayton Kershaw cashing in, it shouldn’t affect a Jon Lester extension in the...
by bcowett | Jan 15, 2014 | 2014 Red Sox offseason, Alex Rodriguez, Boston Red Sox, Bud Selig, David Ortiz, Will Middlebrooks
As we inch ever closer to Spring Training 2014, one must remember that it’s totally fine and acceptable to experience baseball withdrawal symptoms. Really, it’s okay. It’s time for arbitration, guys! There’s gonna be tons of one-year deals...
by bcowett | Jan 14, 2014 | Boston Red Sox, Trivia
Red Sox Trivia! They’re not gonna catch this one! Question: Mike Napoli hit the longest homer for the Red Sox this year – a staggering 472-foot blast. What park did he hit out of? No search engines or keyword searches. Previous Question Answer: The...
by bcarsley | Jan 13, 2014 | 2014 Red Sox offseason, Ben Cherington, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, Xander Bogaerts
I’ve spent a lot of time in recent weeks tearing down some Red Sox prospects and starters in order to try and give some perspective on deep and comparatively weak areas within Boston’s organization. I know I’ve put myself at risk at becoming somewhat...
by bcowett | Jan 13, 2014 | 2014 Red Sox offseason, Andrew Miller, Blake Swihart, Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz, Rubby de la Rosa
Despite it being Patriots season right now, baseball trudges along through the winter. Is there a Venezuelan Winter League dot TV thing I can sign up for? The Hall of Fame class is deserving, despite the general smallness of it. You only wish that more guys were...
by akhatchaturian | Jan 11, 2014 | A.J. Pierzynski, Boston Red Sox, Daniel Nava, Detroit Tigers, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Minnesota Twins, Shane Victorino
After some extensive research in April 2013, I found that one of the reasons why pitchers are starting to dominate baseball is because first pitch strikes are up and first pitch swing rate are down league wide. These graphs from fangraphs.com showed how first pitch...
