Clik here to view.
The Six Two Great Teams in the American League
Prior to the 2012 baseball season, a few things were clear. The Astros were terrible, the NL East was loaded, and there were six great teams contending for five spots in the American League. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
True Season Score Leaderboard
Most starting pitchers have made six starts at this point in the season, with a few aces having made seven. While that’s not enough of a sample to draw meaningful conclusions from many statistics, one...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Best Last-Place Team Ever
When the Red Sox left Philadelphia this afternoon, having taken two of three from the Phillies, both teams were right where they were prior to and throughout the series- in last place. The Phillies,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2012 Quarter Season All-Stars
Most teams have played 42 or 43 games at this point in the season, enough to at least begin to evaluate player seasons. We know that Josh Hamilton’s excellence is more than a streak. Albert Pujols’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ten Quick Thoughts About the 2012 Baseball Season
Most teams have played, or are currently playing, their 80th game of the season, which means 2012 is almost half in the books, baseballwise. The All-Star rosters are set. Most of the teams we expected...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Divisions May Make a Mockery of Second Wild Card
I’d be remiss not to record today’s AL Wild Card standings for posterity, as I’m not sure we’ll ever see anything like them again: Angels 49-41 Tigers 47-43 Indians 46-43, 1/2 game back Orioles 46-43,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What If Lester and Beckett Were Still Good?
When the Red Sox lost three of four to the Twins this weekend, including two in a row as a result of late-inning blow-ups, any playoff hopes fans had clung to all spring probably evaporated. One could...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Last Bad Red Sox Team
Here’s a piece I wrote for The Forecaster. With every passing day, it looks more and more likely that this year’s Red Sox will finish with a losing record. While the doom and gloom that surrounded the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thwarted by Yet Another Stadium
This will be a very personal post, so I might as well start with a few personal notes. First, I’ve finally broken down and joined Twitter. Follow @replevel for links to new posts, other observations,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2013 Red Sox preview
Here’s one I wrote for The Forecaster: Sun shines cordially on the brim of your cap, a welcome respite from the biting cold in the nearby shade. Meticulously manicured grass sparkles proudly, unaware...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An Early All-Star Ballot
In the past, I’ve used this space to name my quarter-season All-Star team. With the actual All-Star ballot now out, I’m tempted to post both a novelty piece about the players enjoying unexpected...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Recreating the Recent Past for the Red Sox
This one was published in The Forecaster last week. The 2011 Boston Red Sox, on paper, were one of the strongest teams in recent memory, loaded with dominant starting pitching, relentless offensive...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Which Papi is the Best DH Ever?
Another one for the Forecaster: On a rainy July night in Boston with first place on the line, the Red Sox trail the Rays by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Two outs, runner on first, up...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What To Do With Jake Peavy
Here’s another one I wrote for the Forecaster, with an addendum based on subsequent events: If the Boston Red Sox make the playoffs, manager John Farrell will be faced with an unenviable decision. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Remaining Award Picks
I’ve heard tell that the Baseball Bloggers Alliance may come out of hibernation to vote on our annual awards. Having already covered my MVP (or “Stan Musial”) and Cy Young (“Walter Johnson”) picks, I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Playoff Preview, Week Two
I’m not in love with the new playoff format, but I’ll admit that three consecutive nights of winner-take-all games makes for an exciting week of baseball. My early picks went 1-2. Let’s see if I can...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Playoff Preview, Week Three
My Division Series picks- Red Sox in 5, Tigers in 4, Dodgers in 3, and Pirates in 5- were all off by exactly one game. Let’s see if I can do better in the Championship Series, despite not having gotten...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Playoff Preview, Week 4
When the Red Sox and Cardinals met in the World Series in 2004, neither had advanced that far in the postseason since the 1980s. They’d met twice in two distant-memory World Series, St. Louis winning...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hot Stove Parenting
When I started this blog, one objective was to write as a fan of baseball, not as a fan of a baseball team. Aside from the more provincial work I’ve done for the Forecaster and copied here, I’d like to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2014 Season Preview
There are very few signs of spring in the air here in Maine, but my Twitter feed tells me baseball season is on its way back. Much like I did last year, I’m going to eschew the full projected...
View Article
