Category: Player Analysis Through 2006

I’d like to write about this at greater length, but for now I’ll just note that Mark DeRosa has retired. I always liked him, from the time he came up. He had a 16-year career, which is pretty astonishing considering...

The Daryle Ward Story… Ward is the son of former major leaguer Gary Ward, an outfielder who had a 12-year career in which he had one really good season (1982) and a whole lot of mediocre ones. Daryle, who hits and throws...

I never got around to a player analysis, and I know you’ve all been waiting… Prado (or “Pardo”, as he’s referred to by the TBS graphics staff) is similar sort of player to Nick Green or Pete Orr, a...

Danys Baez is, probably, better than his 4.35 ERA this season. He’s not as good as his 2.86 ERA of last year, though. He’s probably something in-between — like his career 3.76 career ERA. Mind you, that’s...

I know a lot of people are disappointed that Wilson Betemit was traded, and so am I, but I’m excited that the Braves got Willy Aybar in exchange. Aybar — like Betemit, a switch-hitting infielder — was...

Bob Wickman Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com Sort of a cross between Jeff Reardon, ca. 1992, and Danny Kolb, ca. whenever. He’s a great big fat guy who used to be a top closer. Wickman was one of the many, many...

Shiell, a 29-year-old righthander, is expected to start the Wednesday game against the Cardinals. Shiell was a Braves minor leaguer way back when, picked in the 48th round of the 1995 draft out of a Georgia high school....

Yates is a Hawaiian and pitched at Hawaii-Hilo, and a career reliever.  Drafted by the A’s, like so many college pitchers, he slowly meandered up the chain, doing most of his best pitching in his second year at a level. ...

Pena’s back for now as insurance in case Todd Pratt has to leave the game and McCann isn’t able to go.  There are lots of flaws in Pena’s game; he doesn’t walk a whole lot, he doesn’t hit homers,...

The latest in a long line of fat righthanded relievers who allow far too many baserunners. Lots of hits, pedestrian strikeout numbers in the minors. Home run rate is pretty good. He’s essentially Gryboski with better...

Sometimes you make fun of a hitter by saying he hits like a pitcher. But Tony Pena Jr. really does hit like a pitcher. His career minor league stats are significantly worse than Mike Hampton’s career major league stats. I...

Signed by the Braves after a low-rent bidding war, Baker is on the 40-man and will probably get a good chance to make the roster; there’s a lot of competition, but very little of it is established. Baker is 25 and has...

If I had to lay a bet, I’d say that he will open the season as the closer. Now, the odds are probably 4:1 against that, but there are so many candidates. In fact, place your bets on “The Field”. Anyway,...

There are worse pitchers, but I don’t think Foster is the sort of guy who pushes a team forward. He was actually okay last year, a 4.15 ERA, picked up a save. Bobby used him as a LOOGY and McBride to pitch whole innings...

Cormier, once ace of the Alabama Crimson Tide and your blogger’s neighbor, has terrible Major League stats. I mean, they’re just awful. His ERA is 6.21, he walks nearly five men per nine innings, his strikeout rate...