Category: MLB (Page 324 of 448)

      Top 10 Active Pitching Win Percentage

      August 30, 2008 /

      Show me a pitcher who wins games at a two to one ratio, and I’ll show you a guy I want at the front of my rotation. That, along with a low ERA and a high strikeout to walk ratio, are good indicators of excellence in pitching. It also helps if you have a guy who isn’t afraid to brush a hitter off the plate, like, ahem, the first guy on this list of all-time Top 10 in winning percentage for active pitchers…..

      1. Pedro Martinez, New York Mets (.689)—Like I said, Pedro isn’t afraid to throw inside. He also is one of the baddest badasses ever to take the mound, and for about a decade he had the nastiest stuff in the game. In 1999, his best season, Pedro went 23-4 for Boston, with a 2.07 ERA (in the American League!) and 313 strikeouts. That’s just sick.

      2. Johan Santana, New York Mets (.673)—Santana does not have overpowering stuff, but he throws all of his pitches for strikes and just knows how to get hitters out. His percentage would be even higher if it weren’t for the Mets bullpen blowing five or six games for him this season.

      3. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays (.665)—With 127 wins against 64 losses for a mostly mediocre Toronto team, you could say Roy Halladay is awesome and you’d be telling the truth.

      4. Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros (.663)—Oswalt has 124 wins in less than eight seasons. I say this guy is one of the few young pitchers who have a shot to win 300.

      5. Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians (.658)—Everyone wants to know where Cliff Lee came from, but did go 18-5 in 2005. Still, at 19-2 on a team that has 65 wins, that’s almost 30% of his team’s wins. Let’s hope the Tribe can hold on to Mr. Lee.

      6. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (.655)—When he’s not battling injury, Tim Hudson is a pretty dominant pitcher. I know I always cringe when he faces my Mets.

      7. Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks (.649)—When you strike out 4,764 batters over your career, you’re going to win many more games than you lose. The Big Unit is 294-159, and is inching closer to that magic number of 300.

      8. Mike Mussina, New York Yankees (.638)—He won a lot of games in Baltimore and he’s won a lot in New York. This guy doesn’t blow hitters away, but he has great stuff and a nose for winning.

      9. Andy Pettite, New York Yankees (.635)—When you’re always in the 15-20 win range, you’re going to wind up on this list. Andy Petitte has been winning since he broke into the league in 1995.

      10. Mark Mulder, St. Louis Cardinals (.632)—Wait, this guy is still pitching? Sadly, he only lasted 1.7 innings this season and may be done for his career, but Mulder’s 103-60 record is still pretty impressive.

      Source: Baseball Reference

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Boss says Yankees to target Sabathia, Burnett in the offseason

      August 29, 2008 /

      With his club fading fast, Hank Steinbrenner decided to turn his attention to offseason spending. Steinbrenner recently told Newsday that the Yankees will target pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett in the offseason.

      CC Sabathia“Everybody’s looking at Sabathia and Burnett, not just us,” Steinbrenner said during Thursday’s game against the Red Sox. “We’ll see. The main concern is, are their arms going to be OK after this season?”

      Once again, Steinbrenner predicted a flurry of offseason activity to make improvements to a Yankees team that may miss the postseason for the first time in other than strike years since 1993.

      “It’s very frustrating. We haven’t given up on this year, but we’re definitely going to be better next year,” Steinbrenner said. “That I can promise.”

      I doubt Sabathia will return to the AL. He’s mopping up in the NL and has already stated that he likes to hit. But money talks, so it’ll be interesting to see how much the Yanks throw at the Brewers’ ace.

      It’s funny how teams would have rather burned their stadiums down than trade for Burnett at the deadline, but now (according to Steinbrenner at least) everybody is interested.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Jay Mariotti quits Chicago Sun-Times

      August 27, 2008 /

      Columnist and resident I-love-to-hear-myself-talk sports personality Jay Mariotti has abruptly decided to quit the Chicago Sun-Times.

      Mariotti told the Chicago Tribune he decided to quit after covering the Olympics in Beijing because newspapers are in serious trouble, and he did not want to go down with the ship.

      “I’m a competitor and I get the sense this marketplace doesn’t compete,” he said in the Tribune story. “Everyone is hanging on for dear life at both papers.

      “To see what has happened in this business. … I don’t want to go down with it.”

      His comments sparked a pointed response from his former employer.

      Sun-Times Editor Michael Cooke said in an e-mail to CBS 2: “That’s Jay’s opinion. He has plenty of them. But the facts, of course, say something different. I’m going with the facts. Well, it’s turning nasty … and that’s typical of Jay to throw a bomb on the way out of a place that cared for him, nurtured him, paid him well for 17 years.

      “The reason Mariotti showed up the Sun-Times 17 years ago was because the paper had the best sports pages in town. That was true then, and it’s true now.

      “And as in all sports, when the star leaves, some other young star-to-be skates on to the ice. The Sun-Times has a deep bench of talent, and we’ll be using that depth.

      “I am not hearing from grief-stricken fans,” Cooke said.

      Cooke pointed to e-mails that he received from readers, including this one: “I wish to inform you that due to recent developments on the Jay Mariotti front, I will now read your newspaper. In fact, I picked one up on the way to work this morning. Not a half-bad rag, I must say. Bully on you.”

      Mariotti said he plans to pursue opportunities on the Web, and continue his regular appearances as a panelist on ESPN’s “Around the Horn.”

      You have to love this comment by Cooke: “That’s Jay’s opinion. He has plenty of them.” The Sun-Times is going to do just fine without him. People read his stuff because they liked to disagree with him and anyone who watches “Around the Horn” knows that he just likes to stoke the fire.

      I will say this about Mariotti, however – the guy doesn’t back down from players, coaches or GMs. (In his columns at least. Apparently he never goes into the White Sox clubhouse because he fears for his safety.) Sometimes he hits the nail on the head when he’s criticizing (i.e. Bears’ GM Jerry Angelo).

      College Football, General Sports, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL

      Instant replay coming to MLB by end of week?

      August 26, 2008 /

      The Associated Press is reporting that Major League Baseball might implement the use of instant replay as early as Thursday.

      Major League Baseball reversed its long-standing opposition to instant replay and will allow umpires to check video on home run calls in series that start Thursday, a person familiar with the announcement told The Associated Press.

      The start date comes nearly 10 months after general managers voted 25-5 to use the technology, and following MLB agreements with the unions for umpires and for players.

      For now, video will be used only on so-called “boundary calls,” such as determining whether fly balls went over the fence or whether potential home runs were fair or foul.

      Video will be collected at the office of Major League Baseball Advanced Media in New York. If the crew chief at a game decides replay needs to be checked, umpires will leave the field, technicians at MLBAM will show umpires the video and the crew chief will make the call.

      Hopefully this is an immediate success and MLB brings instant replay back for a full season next year. Getting the calls right should be baseball’s highest priority – not whether or not the games will be dragged out longer.

      MLB

      Couch Potato Alert: 8/25

      August 25, 2008 /

      With the 2008 Summer Olympics coming to an end, the sports lineup is looking somewhat bleak this week until Thursday, when college football returns!

      – Week 3 of the NFL preseason concludes Monday night in San Diego when the Seahawks come to town. The game can be seen on ESPN at 8:00 PM Eastern. I know it’s just preseason, but at least the starters will play for a while, and it’s going to be the most NFL football we’ll see until September 4th when the Giants and Redskins open up the regular season.

      – “Hard Knocks” with the Dallas Cowboys continues on HBO this Wednesday at 10:00 PM Eastern. It’s the fourth episode of six.

      – It’s crunch time in the MLB. Check out the Dodgers vs Phillies Monday night on ESPN2 at 7:00 PM Eastern. The Dodgers are three games back of the Diamondbacks and need to get things back on track. It won’t be easy against a Phillies team that’s just half a game back of the Mets in the NL East.

      – Although the Red Sox and Yankees aren’t at the top of the AL East for the first time in about a thousand years, it’s still the biggest rivalry in baseball. Watch the two teams clash this Wednesday at 7:00 PM Eastern on ESPN.

      – Thankfully, college football is back! There’ll be a few games airing this Thursday. ESPN will televise NC State @ South Carolina, ESPN2 will air Oregon State @ Stanford. Be sure to check out your local Fox Sports Net channels to see what else might be on.

      College Football, Couch Potato Alert, MLB

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