1. 2011 MLB Playoffs: A Sneak Peek at Brewers/D-Backs Pitching Match Ups

    We continue our series of looking at pitching matchups by looking at the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks . Tonight's game is a rematch of the Ian Kennedy and Yovani Gallardo match up from Game 1...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 156 reads 0 comments

  2. 2011 MLB Playoffs: A Sneak Peak at Cardinals/Phillies Pitching/Hitting Matchups

    Most of you probably didn't see my preview of the Tigers and Yankees pitching matchup. I wanted to plug the Bill James Pitching Match-ups app again. I got it for the iPhone and now have every possible pitcher versus every possible hitter...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 150 reads 1 comments

  3. 2011 MLB Playoffs: A Sneak Peak at Tonight's Pitcher/Hitter Matchups

    There is one game in the docket tonight. The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers are battling it out to see who gets to play the Texas Rangers in the ALCS...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 208 reads 0 comments

  4. 2011 MLB Playoffs: Should the Cardinals Re-Sign Albert Pujols?

    The St. Louis Cardinals evened the series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night. The series will return to Philadelphia on Friday night...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 386 reads 0 comments

  5. 2011 MLB Playoffs: How ROV demonstrates the Rangers dominance

    Some of you may be familiar with "real offensive value" (ROV) from some of my earlier pieces. However, in order to catch everyone up to speed, we'll discuss it some first. ROV is a statistic that measures everything a hitter does offensively...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 256 reads 1 comments

  6. Jose Reyes: 5 Reasons Why Signing the Star Shortstop Is a Bad Idea

    Every year when the winter meetings approach, there is a new "it" free agent. In general, general managers have recovered from the hangover of huge contracts from the early 2000s...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 1,260 reads 4 comments

  7. Houston Astros: It's Finally Time to Give Ed Wade the Axe

    In a past life, I used to cover the Astros for the now defunct Fanball Network. I allowed a colleague to write a piece completely ripping Ed Wade...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 842 reads 8 comments

  8. Houston Astros: How Moneyball Concepts Can Help Them Get Back in Contention

    If you are a baseball fan, you have probably seen Moneyball by now. If you haven't read the book you should. In a past life, I taught English literature at the high school level...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 396 reads 0 comments

  9. 2011 MLB Playoffs: How the Rays Were Built

    Win, lose, or draw, the Tampa Bay Rays are playing on house money. They weren't supposed to be in the playoffs from the get go and they have the lowest payroll of all the teams in the playoffs...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 852 reads 0 comments

  10. Houston Astros: Grading the Second Half Position by Position

    It would be difficult to paint the 2011 season as anything other than a disaster. The club finished with a franchise record 106 losses, and most of the season was played under the cloud of a problematic ownership situation...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 439 reads 0 comments

  11. Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox: A Tale of Two Cities

    It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Well, for the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox it has been the worst of times. Both teams held commanding leads in September and wound up with an early vacation...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 193 reads 0 comments

  12. MLB Playoffs 2011: The Commandments of MLB Playoffs

    You've heard it all before. Good pitching beats good hitting. The cream always rises to the top. The early bird gets the worm. Don't step on a crack or you'll break your mama's back...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 69 reads 0 comments

  13. MLB Playoffs 2011: How Matt Moore Personifies Tampa Bay Rays Superior Management

    Is Matt Moore going to be the second coming of Bob Gibson or the second coming of Bret Saberhagen? Only time knows for sure—he may not even be the equal of Saberhagen...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 97 reads 0 comments

  14. MLB Playoffs 2011: Scouting the Milwaukee Brewers

    As a Houston Astros fan, I have seen enough of the Brewers . That lineup brought nightmares to the pitchers and to fans alike. However, they had a stronger pitching staff than most people give them credit for...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 126 reads 0 comments

  15. MLB Playoffs 2011: Ranking the Offenses

    Offense is not the only thing that will determine who will advance to the World Series. In fact, when you ask most experts, it isn't even the biggest factor. However, it can't be ignored...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 147 reads 2 comments

  16. MLB Playoffs 2011: Scouting the St. Louis Cardinals

    I'm normally an Astros fan, but after watching the St. Louis Cardinals come from the abyss to win the Wild Card, I am a NL Central fan. That means I'm rooting for the Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers ...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 507 reads 2 comments

  17. Wandy Rodriguez: 10 Possible Destinations in 2012

    The Astros wanted to deal Wandy Rodriguez at the deadline, but they had few takers. Teams wanted them to chip in some cash to make the deal worth their while...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 1,562 reads 6 comments

  18. Top 10 September Collapses in MLB History

    The St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays are living the high life these days. Of course, when teams enjoy a September comeback there is always the flip side...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 845 reads 10 comments

  19. Fantasy Baseball: The Top 20 Catchers for 2012

    Yes, we looked at both the National League and American League lists, but I thought I would look at an overall list for those people that play in typical leagues...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 749 reads 8 comments

  20. Ichiro Suzuki: Has He Done Enough To Be a Hall of Famer?

    Ichiro Suzuki was unique the moment he stepped onto Safeco Field. Even though he was technically a rookie, he entered with more fanfare than most veteran free agents. He won the Rookie of the Year and the MVP Award in 2001...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 1,235 reads 14 comments

  21. Randy Johnson: Where Does He Rank Among Left-Handers All-Time?

    Finally, the beatwriters are coming around on how to grade pitchers. For the last several seasons, they have not given the Cy Young award to the pitcher who led the league in wins...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 719 reads 0 comments

  22. Ken Griffey Jr: Where Does He Rank Among All-Time Center Fielders?

    There can be little doubt as to where Ken Griffey Jr. belongs in the Hall of Fame. He surpassed 600 home runs and practically invented web gems on ESPN...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 1,782 reads 4 comments

  23. Edgar Martinez: Should He Be a Hall of Famer or Not?

    Edgar Martinez was the anonymous member of the great Seattle Mariners in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson got all the press, but Martinez was as steady as all of them...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 202 reads 2 comments

  24. Houston Astros: 8 Ways They Can Stay Relevant in Houston

    You know the story by now. The team is in last place and hasn't played a relevant game since 2008. They haven't been to the playoffs since 2005 and haven't seriously competed since 2006...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 583 reads 3 comments

  25. Prime Nine: Top 9 MLB National League Catchers

    We continue our prime nine series with the top National League catchers. The American League list caused some controversy because of the omission of Mike Napoli...

    Scott Barzilla Written by Scott Barzilla about over 1 year ago 561 reads 2 comments