Gonfalon Cubs: Five minute Los Angeles Dodgers Preview

First, let’s start by reminiscing. 

Wonderful.

OK, on to this year.  As everyone knows, for the majority of the season, the Dodgers were far and away the best team in baseball, just like the were Cubs last year.  There were comparisons and accolades, and then the Dodgers really stumbled down the stretch.  They still finished with the best record in baseball, but only fourth in run differential. 

There are some big differences between this year and last year’s team.  The biggest is Cody ...

Sox Therapy: In Praise of John

As you almost certainly know by now the Red Sox have parted ways with John Farrell after five seasons as Red Sox managers.  The Sox reached tremendous highs with Farrell at the helm and also some fairly substantial lows.  I think it is fair to say that the general opinion of Farrell is mixed.  I have been a fairly vocal supporter of Farrell and while I recognize some of his shortcomings I think the ledger tilts to the positive rather than the negative on his tenure with the Sox.  As we bid him ...

Sox Therapy: UnZiPSing the Hitters

OK, let’s start with the important thing here.  I don’t know about the title of this piece.  Should I have just done “Unzipping” or maybe “Unzipsing” without trying to follow Dan’s ZiPS formatting style?  I don’t know, I feel like this post is already up against it.  Anyway, let’s get on with it.

The 2017 came to an end on Monday with a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros.  In a way the 2017 Red Sox had something for everyone.  Do you want to be positive?  Hey, we got some of that.  ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 2009 Discussion

Most Meritorious Player: 2009 Discussion

The Yankees beat the Phillies 4 games to 2 in the World Series. Vote for 15.

Player Name		SH WS		rWAR
Albert Pujols		39.7		9.7
Ben Zobrist		26.6		8.6
Joe Mauer		34.5		7.8
Chase Utley		32.2		8.2
Chone Figgins		26.5		7.7
Hanley Ramirez		34.9		7.3
Ryan Zimmerman		23.5		7.3
Evan Longoria		25.8		7.0
Troy Tulowitzki		25.9		6.5
Derek Jeter		26.9		6.5
Franklin Gutierrez	18.8		6.6
Adrian Gonzalez		33.6		6.9
Kevin Youkilis		25.6		6.6
Jason Bartlett		23.0		6.2
Ian ...

Sox Therapy: Random Thoughts A Few Hours Out

With game one just about five hours away as I start whacking my keyboard I figured I’d throw together a few random thoughts heading into what is sure to be a challenging series;

Chris Sale, First Time Out - 0, 2, 1, 0, 3, 2, 4, 2, 4, 6, 3, 0, 0, 7…those are the runs allowed by Sale facing his opponents for the first time this year.  Obviously that is skewed heavily towards the early part of the year but the idea that a great pitcher might keep an opponent in knots is not that outrageous.  ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 2008 Results

Congratulations to Albert Pujols on winning the 2008 MMP award. This is Pujols’ second award.

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Albert Pujols	132	9	6
Chase Utley	106	9	1
Chipper Jones	93	8	0
Mark Teixeira	79	9	0
Tim Lincecum	75	8	0
Hanley Ramirez	72	8	1
Lance Berkman	63	8	0
Manny Ramirez	55	8	1
David Wright	45	8	0
Cliff Lee	43	5	0
Carlos Beltran	39	6	0
Joe Mauer	37	4	0
CC Sabathia	34	7	0
Johan Santana	30	3	0
Dustin Pedroia	26	5	0
Alex Rodriguez	25	9	0
Brian McCann	20	2	0
Grady Sizemore	16	3	0
Roy ...

Gonfalon Cubs: Five minute Washington National Preview

You’ll definitely find better previews elsewhere (and feel free to link them here), but as is now tradition I will type up a quick preview based solely on my limited exposure to the Nats this year and their bb-ref page.

Starting with the lineup, what jumps out at you is how balanced it is.  They have a great offense - 3rd in NL in BA, 5th in OBP, and 1st in SLG - led by a couple of huge bats.  The middle of the lineup - Harper, Rendon, Murphy, Zimmerman - in whatever order is about as ...

Sox Therapy: Lining Up The Minors

A combination of time and a farm system that is not nearly as interesting as it has been in recent years has kept me from talking much about the minors this year.  With the regular season over I thought I’d take a quick gander at the system with a look at a few interesting players;

1B - Josh Ockimey - Salem/Portland - The 21 year old (22 in two weeks) had a strong season with 43 extra base hits.  He also maintained gains in plate discipline that he showed in Greenville last year.  Ockimey has ...

Sox Therapy: ALDS by CFBPS on PEDs

The ALDS begins Thursday for the Red Sox. After a season of renoobulation and a secret workout that makes Tom Brady look like Tom Arnold, the Crazy Fan-Boy Projection System is in the best shape of its life. What better test of its fitness than to have it project the ALDS? Let’s see what it says.

Sox Therapy: Win, Dance, REPEAT

For the first time in club history the Sox have notched consecutive division titles.  It was not easy but they got it wrapped up in game 161 in style with Craig Kimbrel sealing the deal for Drew Pomeranz and Co.  These are the kinds of years that remind me how tough winning a division title is.  The Sox went into the season as solid favorites; the Jays were going to regress, the Rays weren’t that good, the Orioles didn’t have the pitching and the Yankees were a year away.  The Sox then went out ...