Author: metbaseball

An update on the Thomason interview

Posted on by metbaseball

After re-reading my interview with Mac Thomason, I realized I hadn’t asked him about his comment that “It’s very disturbing when the General Manager of your favorite ball club makes fun of you in his book, even if you made fun of him first.”

Here’s Thomason’s reply:

It goes back to the Kevin Millwood for Johnny Estrada trade, which caused me to write the following, rather overheated, entry:

http://www.bravesjournal.com/?p=349

 

Fire John Schuerholz

That incredible idiot just traded Kevin Millwood. To the Phillies! A division rival! For Johnny Estrada, a 26-year old AAA catcher! That’s grounds for commitment, not just dismissal.
I still think that they could have gotten more for Millwood, though Estrada did have a good year in 2005. Anyway, in his book Built To Win , Schuerholz, or rather his ghostwriter, quoted this statement (and some comments from the entry) on page 70-71. It surprised the heck out of me when I saw it.

If you haven’t read the interview yet, you can read it here.

It’s old, but it’s still good

Posted on by metbaseball

One of the oldest blogs devoted to an MLB team is Mac Thomason’s Braves Journal. But though it’s one of the oldest baseball blogs around, it’s continues to keep its readers informed about what’s new with the Braves. It’s a blog worth reading no matter what team you follow.

In my latest baseball blogger interview, learn how Thomason has succeeded in making Braves Journal a success.

And for those of you who’ve missed it, last week’s interview was with Pirates blogger Charlie Wilmouth, a musician whose words sing.

Eagles lose their wings

Posted on by metbaseball

It was a tough night to be a Philadelphia Eagles fan. In a nationally-television game, the Dallas Cowboys demolished the Eagles 38-17.

Dononvan McNabb couldn’t compare, performance-wise, to Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Romo showed the mobility that McNabb once had. But then, McNabb wasn’t the only Eagle whose performance was subpar. The team as a whole was so outplayed by the Cowboys that it was as if a minor league team had been pitted against a major league one.

In the game’s most embarrassing play for the Eagles, Romo threw a pass to a wide-open Terrell Owens, who ran it in for a 45-yard touchdown. The play covered yards. Owens finished the games with 10 catches for 174 yards.

The Eagles didn’t play to win. With 36 seconds left in the first half, they ran one play and then let the clock run out. The play was a short pass that gained three yards. The Eagles had all three of their timeouts available, yet called none.

Andy Reid has consistently denied that his sons’ off-field problems — both have been sentenced to prison — have affected his job performance. However, something affected it yesterday. And it affected his players’ performance too.

The New Ballgame reviewed

Posted on by metbaseball

If you like to read baseball books, a recently published book, The New Ballgame: Understanding Baseball Statistics for the Casual Fan, endeavors to update readers on the latest baseball stats.

Read my review.

… and a bit more:

Donald Farrell’s athletic ability — he played both lacrosse and baseball in high school — couldn’t protect the Rowan University sophomore against the vicious attack this past Saturday night that killed him. Continue reading “The New Ballgame reviewed” →