AGRI Biz

What with Jason Heyward’s, Wilson Ramos’ and Starlin Castro’s hot starts (to name only a few), there is perhaps even more hype than usual about the next top minor league prospects to get the call up.  One player I’ve been hearing a lot about is the Florida Marlins’ Mike Stanton. About the only bad thing I’ve heard about Stanton is that a clear majority of major league executives think Jason Heyward ...

BUSINESS AS USUAL After taking two of three from both the Atlanta Braves and the Florida Marlins, the Washington Nationals (17-14) head north to face the New York Mets (17-14) for the second time this season. The two squads are tied for second in the NL East, two games behind the two-time defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals got the better of the Mets the first time around. Willy Taveras ...

What a tremendous week it was in fantasy baseball. We saw Jody Gerut hit for the cycle, Rod Barajas hit two home runs in a game, Josh Beckett get bombed again, and of course, Dallas Braden throw the 19th perfect game in major league history. Here are all the fantasy studs, players who have me concerned, and the potential pickups from the fantasy week that was.   Fantasy Studs Vladimir Guerrero: .360/4/13 Vlad has ...

During Friday night's New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game, starting pitcher Josh Beckett hit Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter in the big eight run Yankee fifth inning. He also came close to Mark Teixeira and Francisco Cervelli in that same inning. After Jeter's plunking, I texted the guys from the Shore Sports Report , where I do a baseball analyst radio spot every Friday, saying that "Pedroia needs to get ...

My cousin Jaime (left) and I at Citizens Bank Park. Being born and raised just outside the Philadelphia area, I make it a tradition to see at least one Braves-Phillies series a season. This year, I made my first trip to see the 2010 Braves in a weekend set against the Phillies on May 7-9. The results weren’t pretty. On Friday night, Derek Lowe was on the mound for the Bravos. He was opposed ...

As noted by Sebek this morning, Sunday afternoon, Oakland A’s pitcher, Dallas Braden faced 27 Tampa Bay Rays and promptly got all 27 to record outs, otherwise known as a “perfect” game.    The perfect game remains one of the most elusive accomplishments in baseball, with Braden becoming just the 19th pitcher in MLB history to throw one. Perhaps as elusive but not quite as prestigious is Braden’s other accomplishment—being a Major Leaguer ...

My wife is not a baseball fan. Calling her even a casual fan would be a fierce overstatement. When she opts to grace me with her presence as I’m watching a game, statements of “that pitch was awful” or “what the heck was he doing” are commonplace, despite her lack of knowledge of the game. Her favorite phrase, however, is: “Perez sucks, boot him forever” The Perez she is referring to is the Mets’ ...

Last Week: 1-4 This Week: NYY (5/10-13); BOS (5/14-16)   So what happened? Minnesota—that’s what happened. The Tigers’ sweep by the Twins at Target Field, after years of being tormented in the Metrodome, reminded me of a quip from long ago Tampa Bay Bucs coach John McKay. McKay was explaining away yet another loss in his team’s infancy—when the Bucs were in the throes of their 0-26 start to their NFL career. The loss in ...

The Yankees had their six-game winning streak snapped in Boston on Sunday, but the Bombers still stand just a half-game back of Tampa Bay and the best record in baseball as they visit the Tigers and two familiar faces. Johnny Damon landed in Detroit this past offseason after the Yanks opted not to re-sign him, and he's off to a great start, batting .294 with a .409 on-base percentage and 14 ...

WhatIfSports.com utilizes its award-winning baseball simulation engine to present the most comprehensive and unbiased ranking possible of all 30 teams in baseball each Monday during the regular season. To come up with the rankings, using only their statistical performance to date this season, each team is simulated against every other team 100 times (50 at home and 50 away) so that all five pitchers in the current rotation start ten ...