AGRI Biz

  Here’s a look at the unheralded players who played well yesterday.   Fred Lewis, Toronto Blue Jays Lewis is on fire. He went 3 for 5 with a run to raise his average to .273. He’s 13 for 42 (.310) with 9 runs in his last ten games.   Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers Avila went 2 for 3 with a pair of HRs. He’s hitting .200, but has been better of late.   Angel ...

For a man considered by many to be very talented, Milton Bradley has called eight cities "home" in 11 seasons in MLB. I realize there have been other players who have become "shop worn" over the years. Kenny Lofton pops into my mind first. He played for 11 different squads in his very good 17-year career. With Lofton 10 of those teams came in his final seven seasons after spending ...

One year ago today, we at JoeSportsFan.com posted the infamous picture of a St. Louis Cardinals fan wearing a “Zambrano Mows My Lawn” t-shirt. Although we did not create and/or endorse the product (legal/death threats implications mediated), the photo inspired a plethora of angry comments on JoeSportsFan.com and upset quite a few people in The Windy City. Nevertheless, with Mr. Zambrano sentenced to the Cubs bullpen and hinging on ultimately irrelevancy, we ...

Belligerence makes the world go ‘round. New York Yankees fans and Boston Red Sox fans are militant competitors. They’re also mutual complements. When the Yanks and Sox square off at Fenway Park this weekend, soldiers on both sides of the front will fire the latest shots in a long-standing conflict—which would be more distressing news if long-standing conflict weren’t such an important part of human identity. Harmony means getting along with your ...

Milton Bradley has asked the Seattle Mariners management for help in dealing with personal issues.  Rather unsurprisingly, that was the breaking news out of Seattle tonight. Bradley met with manager Don Wakamatsu and GM Jack Zduriencik on Wednesday morning and told the pair "I need your help." Zduriencik says the team will do whatever it can to help Bradley. Bradley told the Mariners management that his issues have ...

After last night’s rally and dramatic bottom of the ninth victory, the Padres (17-10) assured themselves of having another successful homestand.  Winners of six of their last eight games and 11-4 at home, the Padres continue to roll. On the offensive side, the Padres are showing an ability to hit with runners in scoring position—they are second in the National League with a .293 team average.  After collecting their third walk-off ...

Relief pitching in the first half of the 20th century was much different than the relief pitching of today. Back then, it was still the general ideology of managers that the good arms were in the starting rotation and the duds were in the bullpen. In a way it was true. However, that ideology was starting to shift by the 1960s and the relief pitchers on this list broke that rule. They could flat ...

"Throw 'til you blow" used to be many major league teams' motto. Now, they are teaching the complete opposite. Pitch counts are used in every single game, for every single pitcher. The days of the four-man rotation are over. Some teams go to a six-man rotation as the long season progresses. Complete games have fallen by the wayside, and an "innings-eater" is now the exception, not the rule. Teams were not always ...

The following players shouldn’t necessarily be moved or picked up, but are mentioned because they are performing above or below their career norms. Each player is owned in at least 50 percent of ESPN leagues.      Buy Low Carlos Lee , OF, Astros: Lee has averaged a home run for every 20 at-bats in his career. He has zero home runs, fewer than burly bashers Dexter Fowler, John Bowker, and Angel ...

How great is this story? Colby Lewis struggles with several Major League teams, the Rangers, Athletics, Tigers, and the Nationals, in the U.S. Then in 2008 and 2009, he plays for the Hiroshima Toyo Carps in Japan.  He thrives there, leading the league in strikeouts both seasons. Then he comes back and dominates for the Rangers in the States. Pretty good, huh? When rumors surfaced about the Texas Rangers bringing back their former ...