Horsehide Chronicles

  1. The Evolution of the Scouting Process in Major League Baseball

    Things would be a lot easier for Major League Baseball teams if they had crystal balls instead of scouts. They could gaze into the futures of every young player on their radar and determine right then and there which ones were worth pursuing...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 19 days ago 3,890 reads 5 comments

  2. Is Noted Surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum Worthy of MLB Hall of Fame Enshrinement?

    The baseball world lost a gem on Tuesday, as the Los Angeles Angels announced that team physician and renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum had passed away over the weekend at the age of 65...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 19 days ago 25,379 reads 5 comments

  3. Major League Baseball's 10 Most Brilliantly Run Franchises

    The best major league organizations are defined by wins, division titles and championships. But there’s also a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that enables a franchise ...

    Jason Martinez Written by Jason Martinez about 20 days ago 35,429 reads 169 comments

  4. MLB Teams That Are One Pickup Away from Seriously Contending

    By this point, teams are probably well-aware that they might not have enough talent on their roster to contend for very much longer. In some cases, there isn't a thing they can do about it...

    Jason Martinez Written by Jason Martinez about 20 days ago 11,688 reads 39 comments

  5. Comparing the 2013 Yankees to the 1996 Championship Team

    Back in 1996, the New York Yankees were on the verge of something big. The club, of course, would go on to win the World Series that year and then three of the next four...

    Jason Catania Written by Jason Catania about 20 days ago 4,481 reads 4 comments

  6. The Luckiest Hitters in Baseball in 2013

    Not even Miguel Cabrera can will every ground ball he hits past the fielders, and even Justin Upton needs to hope for a long fly ball to sneak over the fence now and again. What do they have in common? Not much aside from the fact that they're hitters.

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 20 days ago 4,811 reads 18 comments

  7. Jhonny Peralta and 6 Others Providing Huge Seasons in Walk Year of Contract

    Teams in need of a shortstop in 2014—the A's, Cardinals, Mariners, Pirates, Tigers, Twins and Yankees are my early picks—will have slim pickings on the free-agent market ...

    Jason Martinez Written by Jason Martinez about 20 days ago 815 reads 3 comments

  8. Which Is Baseball's Superior Overall League, the AL or the NL?

    Like Democrat or Republican or Star Trek or Star Wars , American League or National League is one of those furious debates. Ask it out loud in a room full of people, and there will be raised voices...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 20 days ago 3,492 reads 57 comments

  9. 4 Teams Who Could Pull off Jose Bautista Blockbuster If Star Becomes Available

    After an offseason in which they traded away several of their top prospects —catcher Travis d'Arnaud , center fielder Jake Marisnick and pitchers Justin Nicolino and Noah ...

    Jason Martinez Written by Jason Martinez about 24 days ago 26,222 reads 23 comments

  10. Anibal Sanchez Further Cements Ace Status with 1-Hitter vs. Twins

    Anibal Sanchez came this close . The Detroit Tigers right-hander was staring his second career no-hitter right in the face at Comerica Park on Friday night, making it through 8...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 24 days ago 246 reads 39 comments

  11. Exposing the Luckiest Pitchers in Major League Baseball in 2013

    Ah, to be lucky. They say it's preferable to being good. When it comes to Major League Baseball pitchers, it's best to be both...

    Jason Catania Written by Jason Catania about 24 days ago 282 reads 49 comments

  12. 2013 MLB Rookie of the Year Stock Watch, Week 8

    With the one-quarter mark of the 2013 season in the rear-view mirror and June just on the horizon, we have a pretty good idea of which youngsters are Rookie of the Year contenders...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 24 days ago 3,959 reads 5 comments

  13. At What Point Should MLB Lower the Mound Again to Curb Pitcher Dominance?

    We're just about two months into the 2013 Major League Baseball season, and so far, pitchers are doing their world-domination thing again. It was a shocker when the league's ERA dropped to 4...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 24 days ago 115 reads 18 comments

  14. 8 MLB-Ready Prospects Turning Veterans into Trade Bait

    It's getting close to that time where MLB teams start discussing internal moves within the organization that could make their big league roster better...

    Jason Martinez Written by Jason Martinez about 25 days ago 29,586 reads 48 comments

  15. Predicting the Next MLB Prospects Who Will Impact Their Teams in 2013

    It's been a busy week on the border between Major League Baseball and the wild land beyond where top prospects roam free, waiting for their chance to break through...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 25 days ago 967 reads 1 comments

  16. How It All Went Horribly Wrong for Don Mattingly and the Los Angeles Dodgers

    For the Los Angeles Dodgers , the disappointing start to their 2013 season isn't a question of when it all went so wrong so quickly—it's a question of how. The short answer? There's plenty of blame to go around...

    Jason Catania Written by Jason Catania about 25 days ago 146 reads 21 comments

  17. Why This Is No Ordinary Era of Dominating Young Arms

    "Youth! Youth! There is absolutely nothing in the world but youth!" Oscar Wilde wrote that in "The Picture of Dorian Gray...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 25 days ago 121 reads 48 comments

  18. 2013 MLB Draft Prospects: 5 Best First Basemen in the 2013 Draft Class

    In the realm of Major League Baseball's first-year player draft, first base is hardly the sexiest position. The guys who make scouts drool the most are the guys who have either eye-popping fastball velocity or all five tools...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 26 days ago 5,617 reads 1 comments

  19. Proof That the Steroid-Era Power Surge in Major League Baseball Has Been Stopped

    The Steroid Era isn't that far in the rear-view mirror. Major League Baseball hasn't even been testing for PEDs for a decade yet, and it was only a dozen years ago that Barry Bonds broke the single-season home run record...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 26 days ago 22,095 reads 68 comments

  20. Can Mariano Rivera Win the AL Cy Young in His Farewell Campaign?

    Mariano Rivera has many awards in his collection, but he doesn't have an American League Cy Young Award yet. Maybe you missed it tacked onto the end there, but the key word in that lead-in would be "yet...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 27 days ago 378 reads 31 comments

  21. 2014 MLB Free Agency: 8 Players Who Need Major Turnarounds to Boost Their Value

    In Major League Baseball, how a free agent-to-be finishes the season is much more important than how he starts...

    Jason Martinez Written by Jason Martinez about 27 days ago 148 reads 0 comments

  22. Do Injuries Like Ryan Vogelsong's Show the National League Needs the DH?

    The designated hitter has been in the American League since 1973, and it probably won't be much longer before it's in the National League, too...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 27 days ago 89 reads 62 comments

  23. Are Early-Season Offensive WAR Leaders Breakout Stars or Just Lucky?

    Last week, the case was made for WAR as baseball's best statistic . Now it's time to dig a little deeper to find out if some of the early-season leaders in Wins Above Replacement are for real...

    Jason Catania Written by Jason Catania about 28 days ago 12,735 reads 2 comments

  24. How Seriously Should the Cleveland Indians Be Taken as a Contender?

    Do the Cleveland Indians have your attention? If not, they should. After concluding a four-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners with a walk-off win on Monday afternoon, the Tribe ...

    Zachary D. Rymer Written by Zachary D. Rymer about 28 days ago 7,034 reads 31 comments

  25. 5 MLB Teams Watching Jurickson Profar's Performance for Summer Trades

    Now that Jurickson Profar will be a semi-regular in the Texas lineup for at least the next couple of weeks as Ian Kinsler recovers from a strained intercostal , per Todd Wills of ESPNDallas ...

    Jason Martinez Written by Jason Martinez about 28 days ago 10,538 reads 1 comments