Gopher Balls

With The 1st Pick in 2009 Draft the Nationals Select...

Published on 2009-06-10 11:23:00

Mike Moore?I know, Stephen Strasburg is supposed to be head and shoulders above Moore. Heck, from what I can gather from hearing all these scouts talk he's more like Randy Johnson PLUS Greg Maddux. But historically speaking, the Nats should be satisfied if he's the next Moore, or maybe the next Andy Benes.Since the MLB Draft began in 1965 no pitcher selected with the first pick finished his career with more victories than Moore (161).The recent history of pitchers going No. 1 is even worse than

Adrian Gonzalez's Impressive HR Pace

Published on 2009-06-09 22:41:00

Adrian Gonzalez is quietly putting together one heck of an early MVP case. With an OBP of .412, 22 HR and 43 RBI, he's well on his way to surpassing his impressive 2008 numbers.The most impressive part of Gonzalez's season, however, is his home run total. No one playing in Petco Park should be leading the majors in home runs. That's the equivalent of Ubaldo Jimenez leading the the majors in ERA despite playing in Coors. Yet that's exactly what Gonzalez is doing so far with his 22 jacks.Though we

Teixera's With Another 3-RBI Game

Published on 2009-06-06 20:23:00

Mark Teixeira drove in 3 runs for the second consecutive game today against the Rays. It was his 6th 3-RBI game of the season.While six 3-RBI games at this point in the season is becoming common place for the Yankees' juiced-up lineup, historically, its still an impressive feat. Over the past 50 seasons, just eight different Yankees (A-Rod twice) have driven in three runs in a game six times through their first 55 games of the year. It just so happens that its happened five times this decade alo

All Over for the Blue Jays

Published on 2009-06-05 20:05:00

It was a nice run while it lasted, but the Blue Jays are not this year's Rays. Despite getting off to the fastest start since the 1992 and 1993 World Series teams, the Jays have come crashing down to earth and are now in a familiar position looking up at the Red Sox and Yankees.So what went wrong?While the Jays pitching has been solid, there's only so much you can expect from a staff filled with rookies. Of the seven pitchers to start at least 4 games so far this season, five of them are in thei

Most Overrated Closer in Baseball

Published on 2009-04-13 21:14:00

As I watched the Mets home opener tonight, I couldn't help but chuckle as the announcers (who shall remain nameless) talked about how much Mets fans are going to enjoy Francisco Rodriguez because he is just so dominant and he goes out there every night and gets the job done. Now there is no question that K-Rod will be an upgrade over the disaster that was the Mets bullpen in 2008. However, only a casual, uneducated baseball fan would ever classify Rodriguez as "dominant". Fortunately, Gopher Bal

Mark Fidrych Passes Away

Published on 2009-04-13 17:12:00

It is with great sadness that we report Mark "The Bird" Fidrych passed away this afternoon.The Bird was a truly unique pitcher, who's antics on the mound were good for the game. His rapid decline due to injuries deprived baseball fans of potentially one of the greatest pitchers of all, and one of the game's most popular figures.In this sad time, its only fitting to take a look back a Fidrych's magical season of 1976. In his first season in the majors, Fidrych won 19 games and won the American Le

Johan Dominant in Loss to Marlins

Published on 2009-04-12 20:41:00

Johan Santana was his usual dominant self on Sunday. And the Mets hitters were their usual not-so-clutch selves.Santana struck out 13 in the Mets 2-1 loss to the red-hot Florida Marlins. It was the 9th time in Mets history that a pitcher struck out at least 13 batters but took the loss, and the first time since Sid Fernandez in 1989. In fact, each of the last two hard-luck losses were by Fernandez.But Santana also did something that no Mets pitcher had EVER done in a loss. In addition to his 13

Emilio Bonifacio Off to a Hot Start

Published on 2009-04-10 22:13:00

Who is this Emilio Bonifacio?!Four games into the season and he's already collected four multi-hit games! He's first Marlin to start the season with such a streak since Jeff Conine in Florida's inaugural 1993 season.Despite the hot start, he's got a ways to go before topping this list. Since 1980 four players have collected at least two hits in each of their first six games of the season. Bonifacio will need to double his current streak to catch Barry Larkin's impressive start to the 1990 campai

Consecutive Games With a HR to Start the Season

Published on 2009-04-08 11:01:00

Marlins' third baseman Jorge Cantu picked up right where he left off in 2008, homering in each of his first two games this season. He's the first Marlin to homer in each of the first two games since Derek Lee homered in three straight in 2002.Joining Cantu with a two-game streak home run hitting streak are Alfonso Soriano (first Cub since Glenallen Hill in 2000), Brandon Inge (first Tiger since Marcus Thames and Carlos Guillen in 2006) and Troy Tulowitzki (first Rockie since Clint Barmes in 200

Three Reasons Why: Joe Smith is The Most Underrated Offseason Acquisition

Published on 2009-02-20 11:41:00

Joe Smith isn't even the most anticipated offseason addition to his own bullpen (that honor goes to Kerry Wood) but Smith may have just as much impact on the back end of the Tribe's pen.So... here are three reasons why Joe Smith is this year's most underrated offseason acqusition:1) Smith locks down righthanded hitters. He held righties to a .192 BA in 2009, more than 100 points lower than the Indians primary set up man, Rafael Betancourt, was able to do in '08 (.295). Both of the Indians top se