Friday Filberts
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...third-best team in the best division. * Through the back door, here's an interesting bit about college statistics, via Bill James. * Wezen-Ball does the sort of thing that he does so well, and...
Blog | December 11, 2009Can Pedroia play shortstop?
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...can play shortstop and help get the Red Sox back where they belong." Pedroia played shortstop in college, and I'm sure the Red Sox got a decent read on his defense there. He also...
Blog | December 01, 2009Latest defector is an umpire
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...s system makes sense. Because aspiring professional umpires haven't worked above high-school or perhaps the college level, they're not accustomed to the speed and the skills of the pro game. Working their...
Blog | November 30, 2009Was Beckham snubbed?
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...who were struggling to survive in a tight AL Central race. He was a star shortstop in college, but switched to third base to plug a glaring hole for the big-league club. Beckham had...
Blog | November 17, 2009Coghlan vs. McCutchen misses point
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...outfield, because before this year he'd spent his entire career as an infielder: third base in college, second base in the minors. Knowing that, this would have been an awful choice if McCutchen had...
Blog | November 16, 2009Red Sox will never 'rebuild'
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...the playoffs in 2008, but that was an outlier; otherwise they've been there since today's college sophomores were in kindergarten. The Red Sox failed to reach the playoffs in 2006, but that was...
Blog | November 13, 2009Complaining about November baseball
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...them ... Playoff baseball in October increasingly has had to compete for the sports fan's attention with college and pro football. Now, with the league's showcase beginning four days before November, Major League Baseball...
Blog | October 22, 2009Chewing on Cuzzi's call
Rob Neyer, SweetSpotOf course it's history now, but umpire Phil Cuzzi's bizarrely blown call in Game 2 of the Twins-Yankees series will be remembered by Twins fan...
Blog | October 12, 2009Friday Filberts
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...s a hard one to figure. But the Dugout Central staff sure gives it the ol' college try. Just three days later, it's almost easy to forget just how good this game...
Blog | October 09, 2009Chris Coghlan's big second half
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...OK, now for the sniping ... From Baseball America's preseason report: Predominantly a third baseman in college, he has made himself into a solid second baseman. His baseball smarts and work ethic bode well...
Blog | October 05, 2009Fielder's finish irked Giants
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...the field. It's a game and fans buy tickets to be entertained. Every time a college football player gets flagged for the tiniest bit of exuberance, I shake my head. Let the kid...
Blog | September 08, 2009Where are the lefty catchers?
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...utter lack of a lefty catcher in professional baseball -- and are there any playing with a good college program? -- has anything to do with specific concerns. I think it's become a matter of...
Blog | August 20, 2009The Strike, 15 years later
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...up, as if it just happened. It was 15 years ago. There are millions of kids starting college this fall who literally do not remember a baseball strike. Jonah Keri? You and your fellow Quebecois...
Blog | August 12, 2009Khalil Greene gets versatile
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...was an accomplished third baseman at Clemson, where he won the Golden Spikes Award in 2002. His college experience is "worth a lot of points," La Russa said. "He has some timing...
Blog | June 16, 2009Projecting Strasburg
Rob Neyer, SweetSpot...the point of the piece -- it's not easy to figure out, statistically speaking, what a college pitcher will do in the major leagues. However, it can certainly be attempted: To overcome these obstacles...
Blog | June 15, 2009EXPLORE RELATED TOPICS
TOP SEARCHES IN NOVEMBER
Bowl Projections tops ESPN.com searches in November. Did "ncaa" make the list?