January 27, 2009 – 5:30 am
Couple things. First off, I’m pleased to announce that The Hardball Times Season Preview 2009 is now available (details from David Gassko, our editor). I contributed the chapter on the Padres. Buy the book. It rocks. And it’ll give you something to read while you’re waiting for my book.
Second, the Seamheads Historical League [...]
By Geoff Young
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Posted in Baseball, Books
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Tagged andy benes, bruce hurst, hardball times, jake peavy, jonah keri, patrick ryan, randy-jones, roberto alomar, sam mellinger, scott linebrink, season preview, steve finley, trevor hoffman
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January 26, 2009 – 5:45 am
When reality stops making sense, perhaps it is time to check our assumptions. Here are two I’ve made about the goals of a baseball franchise:
A baseball franchise’s primary goal is to attract and retain paying customers
The best way to attract and retain paying customers is by routinely fielding a team that wins more than it [...]
By Geoff Young
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Posted in Baseball
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Tagged assumptions, baseball franchise, casual fans, excitement, failure, good marketing, hype, kobayashi maru, marquee players, message of hope, money, pocketbooks, ridiculous odds, world series
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January 23, 2009 – 7:44 am
First off, thanks for the excellent discussion on fan disillusionment. You’ve helped me see the problem in new ways, and I’ve got additional thoughts that I’ll share as soon as they make sense. It’ll probably come in the form of a thought exercise — sort of along the lines of Kobayashi Maru.
Until then, we’ve got [...]
By Geoff Young
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Posted in Notes and Links
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Tagged baseball prospectus, bbtf, bruce hurst, chris cannizzaro, disillusionment, games community, gene tenace, impact players, khalil greene, kobayashi maru, lake elsinore storm, madfriars, ozzie smith, ryan klesko, sean burroughs, shane victorino, sterling hitchcock
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January 21, 2009 – 5:28 am
You know the old saw: When the going gets tough, the weak flee screaming like frightened little schoolchildren. Seems one former Padres “fan” has had enough and jumped on the Red Sox bandwagon (I’m flattered that someone actually took my advice). That must have been a difficult decision, but I’m sure now he feels like [...]
January 16, 2009 – 5:47 am
So, I’ve been thinking about my problem with letting Jim Rice into the Hall of Fame. And I’ve been thinking about my book. The two have nothing to do with each other, which sounds like a good excuse for a contest.
Here’s the deal. Listed below are 21 outfielders who are or were at one point [...]
January 15, 2009 – 7:09 am
While the Padres prepare to celebrate their 40th anniversary in MLB, two members of that original team have died within the span of a week. First, left-hander Dave Roberts died of lung cancer [h/t Baseball Musings via Didi] at age 64 on January 8; then skipper Preston Gomez died at age 85 on January 13.
Roberts [...]
January 14, 2009 – 5:08 am
I watched a replay of the ‘98 NL West clincher Tuesday night on Channel 4. Mel Proctor and Rick Sutcliffe called the game (with Mark Grant handling the John Weisbarth “roving reporter” role), which made me realize how very dearly I will miss Matt Vasgersian this year.
The fun part of that game, of course, was [...]
By Geoff Young
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Posted in History, Roster Notes
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Tagged first baseman, glenn hoffman, home plate umpire, jim leyritz, ken caminiti, mark grant, mark langston, mark mcgwire, matt luke, matt vasgersian, nl west, rick sutcliffe, sammy sosa, tino martinez, wally joyner, wrigley field
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January 12, 2009 – 5:49 am
Trevor Hoffman has signed a 1-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for $6 million with incentives that could kick it up to $7.5 million. Like football’s Brett Favre, Hoffman now has the pleasure of being almost universally associated with one team despite neither starting nor finishing his career with that team.
We’ve got lots to cover [...]
With Fans Like These, Who Needs Air Conditioning?
You know the old saw: When the going gets tough, the weak flee screaming like frightened little schoolchildren. Seems one former Padres “fan” has had enough and jumped on the Red Sox bandwagon (I’m flattered that someone actually took my advice). That must have been a difficult decision, but I’m sure now he feels like [...]