AGRI Biz

The Cleveland Indians' best chance at a World Series ring in recent times was when they were leading 3-1 in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox in 2007. Given the Red Sox's 4-0 slaughter of the redoubtable, but overmatched, Colorado Rockies, does anyone doubt that the Indians would have won in at most seven, if they had advanced? The Indians had a formidable lineup that year: Victor Martinez, Ryan Garko, ...

No, the Cleveland Indians' team is not in the 2009 World Series. But two individual former Indians are. They're C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee. Such are the trials of low budget outfits like the Indians. They can't pay enough keep their best players after the team-controlled six years, and are forced to trade them, or lose them in free agency. The beneficiaries of such a system are high budget teams like the ...

Playing at home is a bit like having the serve in tennis: It confers a distinct advantage. As between two evenly matched contestants, the one with the home field/serve will win most of the time. The Yankees "held serve" for two games at home, and then "broke the serve" of the Angels in the middle of three games played in Anaheim. It is this fact, and not the 3-2 tally, that ...

What happens to a team when its strongest attribute goes south? Although the Dodgers' hitting was nothing to write home about, what really ruined them was their pitching. A 5.30 ERA in the postseason. A 7.30 ERA in the NLCS.á Starters like Kershaw, Wolf, and Kuroda fell apart against the Phillies. Who would have thought it? Would the Dodgers have won their division if their pitchers had pitched like this in the ...

First, the price would be right. Yeah, Sheets is probably injured, but he's good. Meaning that he'd probably be worth more as a cut-priced injured player than many a full-priced healthy player. According to Brewers' Featured Columnist, Jesse Motiff, "The best Sheets could hope for after missing an entire season would be a one-year, incentive-laden deal with a base salary likely between $2-3 million." That would not be more than ...

Given his druthers, Joe Girardi would like to start C.C. Sabathia in Games One, Four, and Seven for the pennant. This would allow him to use a three-man rotation, with the others consisting of A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettite. That's possible, because of one day breaks after Game Two and Game Five. But early indications of heavy showers, hence a rainout on Friday, could nix this plan. Then the first two ...

It could be a "Freeway Series," between Los Angeles and Anaheim for two southern California teams. Or it could be a (New Jersey) "Turnpike Series" for two teams in major cities in different Mid-Atlantic states, just off the one turnpike. Or the two league rivalries of one Los Angeles-based team and one east coaster could reduce to a final contest featuring one of each. What are absent from the pennant races this ...

Two days ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates won two consecutive games. On the road. Against the Chicago Cubs, who usually dominate them. With the last game cancelled due to rain, the Pirates actually won a road series. That's awesome. Counting their win in the opener of the season series, that's the third Pirate victory this year in Wrigley Field. Now, if they could only win more than one game against the Cubs at ...

A series against the cellar-dwelling Pittsburgh Pirates was supposed to be the "last stop" for the Los Angeles Dodges in clinching their division, right? Not so fast, when it is in Pittsburghùas the New York Mets found out in 2006. Having beaten the division-leading Mets 3-0 at home in mid-September three years ago, the Pirates won their final homestand 3-1 against the Dodgers in 2009. In the first game of the series, ...

Jeremy Sowers didn't really belong on a rotation with C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, Cliff Lee, and Jake Westbrook, who took the Cleveland Indians to the playoffs in 2007. In fact, he was used mostly as a "replacement" pitcher, in the two years prior to the current one, meaning that he was called up when someone was injured and a rotation spot needed to be filled. He was one of five who competed ...