TSN: Pinto: A’s, Marlins beat expectations in different ways

All that...and why Burke Badenhop never starred in a 50’s jalopy flick and much, much more!

These two organizations demonstrate two extreme ways to build a team. Oakland ranks fourth in the American League in OBP, tied for 12th in slugging percentage. Florida ranks first in the majors in slugging percentage, eighth in the National League in OBP. Bill James’s Runs Created formula boils down to (Times on Base) * (Total Bases) / (Plate Appearances), which explains why both of these offenses work. To maintain the same run level with fewer times on base, the team needs to generate extra base hits (the Marlins). Likewise, teams can balance a decrease in total bases by putting more men on base with walks (the Athletics).

Both these teams face a problem as the season progresses. With one-dimensional offenses, these squads can be shut down by attacking that one strength. A pitching staff that keeps the ball in the park should give the Marlins trouble. The Dodgers held the Marlins to two home runs in their three games, and Florida only managed 10 runs. A pitcher who throws strikes removes walks from the A’s times on base, reducing them to a team with a poor batting average. Paul Byrd pitched 7-1/3 scoreless innings against the Athletics Tuesday night, allowing no walks and just five hits.

The Baseball Analysts: Dial: Just How Good Is Chipper Jones?

Now DH’ing...our own Chris Dial.

Chipper Jones is a great third baseman. He’s always been a top tier hitter and a solid fielder. While Chipper’s prowess with the bat is never questioned, his rank among great third basemen has. The problem is traditional metrics have shown Chipper to be a poor fielder. His Range Factor (Assists plus putouts per game) has routinely been below league norms. In the face of a significant groundball pitching staff with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, and lots of left-handed pitcher innings, Chipper “should” have seen many more chances than league average. To be converting fewer outs than league average could only mean he is a poor defensive third baseman. Chipper being moved off third base in 2002 to a weak fielder position in left field demonstrated that even the Braves recognized Chipper’s shortcomings.

Traditional metrics are wrong. Chipper’s defensive play is one of the most misunderstood performances in baseball. Chipper’s defense has been below average exactly twice in his thirteen-year career. He’s averaged about +4 defensive runs per season. For his career, he’s about 50 runs above average defensively.

What does this have to do with Ken Griffey? Griffey is going to be considered one of the greatest centerfielders ever to play. He’s going to be mentioned alongside Mantle, Mays, Cobb, Speaker. Chipper may or may not end up being mentioned alongside Schmidt, Mathews and Brett. He could end up being mentioned with Brooks Robinson and Pie Traynor, or worse, Ron Santo.

SF Gate: Sabean thinks Giants have chance in 2008

Sure… and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” is going to come back and have a ten-season run.

“As long as we’ve got a chance to stay in and around third place, why not?” Sabean said as he stood along the dugout rail and watched his players take batting practice. “Why wouldn’t you want to think that way? These guys think that way.”

Braun to sign 7 year deal with Brewers

By giving Braun a seven-year extension beyond this year, the Brewers would buy out Braun’s first year of free agency. Team owner Mark Attanasio said earlier this year it would make no sense to do long-term deals with any of the club’s younger stars without buying out at least a year of free agency.

Wonder what Prince’s reaction to this will be?

THT: Studeman: Ten things I didn’t know last week

Lotsa good stuff from Studes...including the Michael Schell Database.

So, how do Rice and Belle compare? Here is a reprint of the results you’ll find in our database; the stats represent a “seasonal line” for each batter, based on playing in a neutral park between 1977 and 1992 (the most stable era in baseball history, according to Schell). The stats also reflect each player’s longevity.

Player       POS  Runs   HR  RBI   SB   BA  OBP  SLG  CBR Rank
Albert Belle OF     74   27   94   12 .286 .356 .522 23.5  126
Jim    Rice  OF     73   22   83    9 .288 .345 .475 20.9  216

“CBR” stands for “Career Batter Rating,” and it represents the number of runs above average that a player would have generated—similar to Linear Weights and Batting Runs. The player’s rank is based on CBR, adjusted for position.

Belle has the better ranking, and by a decent margin. The two have similar batting averages, but Belle is 10 points better in OBP and almost 50 points better in SLG. On Schell’s list, Belle is sandwiched between Wally Berger and Ken Singleton. Rice is lower, between Sammy Sosa and second baseman/outfielder Danny Murphy.

SNY: Head to Head: Subway Series debate

Oh, shiit, stay out of all NY bars!...The bogus “SUBWAY SERIES© ® ™ £” is back!  Steve Lombardi & Matthew Cerrone take it on.

Lombardi: Actually, the Mets other starters will present problems for the Yankees as well. Lefties have only batted .103 against (Saturday’s starter) Oliver Perez and the Yankees line-up is heavily weighted with them. (Also, while Perez’ ERA this season is almost five, it’s 3.86 on the road.) Lastly, some guy named Johan Santana will be pitching the other game for the Mets (on Friday).

When you see the significant stats for the Mets pitchers slated to start this series, and factor in the Yankees’ offensive woes, it becomes very clear that the Yankees will need Rasner, Pettitte and Wang to be on their game to win these games.

Coming into the games of May 14th, the Mets bullpen had allowed an OPS of .700 - which is just about league average for this split. On the flipside, the Yankees bullpen had allowed an OPS of .654 - which is better than league average.

If the Yankees starters can keep these games close, then I like the chances of their bullpen holding the line, and them winning against the Mets.

Miklasz: Edmonds in a Cubs uniform? The thought is mind-boggling

Bernie, Miklasz, Saddam Hussein, Jim Edmonds and Will Leitch...it’s a damn qualudfecta!

And if this tryout lasts, we’ll see Edmonds at Busch Stadium on July 4, when the Cubs open a three-game series in St. Louis. What will Cardinals fans do?

I asked my pal Will Leitch, the editor of deadspin.com and a passionate but reasonable lifelong Cardinals fan.

“I don’t think Jim understands what this means,” Leitch said. “By signing with the Cubs, he may be thinking he’s getting back at Cardinals management. But the fans who loved him — we’re the ones who will feel this. The fan base is forever.”

So let’s move ahead to July 4 ...

“Can we really give Edmonds a standing ovation when he’s wearing a Cubs uniform? Can we do really do that? I’m not sure we can,” Leitch said. “Any other uniform, sure. It’s easy. But that uniform?

“And if we do give him a standing ovation, he’d better strike out and sit down.”

Politico: Utley has the president’s vote

For Ottley and all those little dudes out there!

Q Mr. President, I know you’re going to hate this, but I’m hoping that we may twist your arm and talk about baseball for just a moment. (Laughter.) Mr. President, you’re a Major League Baseball team owner again. Everyone is a free agent. You have a Yankees-like wallet. Who is your first position player? Who’s your pitcher?

THE PRESIDENT: That’s a great question. I like Ottley from the Philadelphia Phillies. He’s a middle infielder, which is always—you know, they say you have strength up the middle—there’s nothing better than having a good person up the middle that can hit. And Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays is a great pitcher. He’s a steady guy, he burns up innings. And I’m sure I’m leaving some other good ones out, but those—

Q We thought you were going to go A-Rod, Josh Beckett.

THE PRESIDENT: Josh Beckett is good, yes, he’s real good, too. I mean, look, that’s a tough question to answer on the fly like this, Michael.

Q Now, Mr. President, I wonder if you think that Major League Baseball is doing enough to combat steroids use, and specifically, would you favor a blood test to check for human growth hormone. As you know the players union says it’s an unwarranted—

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, look, I think what they need to do is to come to an agreement and to assure fans like me that the sport is clean. I mean, I—

Q But what would that take?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I haven’t studied all the particulars and all the testing. But I do know they need to get this era behind them quickly. Baseball is a fabulous sport. I used to say it’s a sport played by normal-sized people. It turns out some of these normal-sized people are obviously very strong and very quick, but nevertheless, normal-size—you don’t have to be a huge guy to play baseball. And it’s a great family sport, and it needs to be cleaned up.

Q And there haven’t been enough normal-sized people.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, there’s—yes, there are a lot of normal-sized people. I mean, there’s a lot of little dudes who can play the game and play it well.

Dugout Central: Silva: Mets and MLB Missing the Boat on Wally Backman

Swingin’ Steve Foucault’s Pendulum!...It’s a conspiracy!

The real question to me is why haven’t we heard more about the attributes of Wally Backman? Here in New York the Mets television affiliate (SNY) ran the debut of the show hours after a game with the Cincinnati Reds. There was no mention of this show before, during or after the game. Matt Cerrone’s Metsblog which is described as a “grand central station of Mets news and information” failed to acknowledge this show exists.

This kind of treatment of a player that meant so much to the Mets franchise during his tenure can only mean one of the following: SNY is completely clueless on how to promote a great product, or they are under gag order to not embrace a controversial figure. I will let the reader decide which scenario they believe. My feeling is the latter might have a slight edge.

Those that are conspiracy theorists may note that current Mets manager Willie Randolph has been taken a beating by the media and fans since the start of the season. Displaying Backman’s prowess as a manager might put Willie in an even more negative light. The last thing Mets management needs now is to give their fan base more fodder.

I am positive that the anti-Willie crowd will be pining even harder for Wally each week as the episodes unfold. I have said this numerous times on Gotham Baseball Live since the end of last season: Wally Backman would be a perfect fit for this ballclub.

Seattle Times: Baker: Cultural differences don’t hurt unity of M’s clubhouse, team insists

Or as diplomat turned flamethrower, Octavio Dotel-Paz, once said..."Every view of the clubhouse that becomes extinct, every culture that disappears, diminishes a possibility of true baseball life.”

But with this early season Mariners collapse, there have been increased questions about the togetherness in their clubhouse. And as the Mariners drift toward irrelevance, owners of the worst record in the American League after a 12-inning 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, it’s fair to ask whether some of the linguistic and cultural barriers are making it more of a challenge to mold this unit into a team.

Those who put the team together and play on it say that’s not the case.

“There are always unique circumstances on every roster, international or not,” Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said. “These are all human beings. They have different perceptions of reality. They’ve got different approaches to life. So, any club that is not as international, or doesn’t have as much diversity as we do, that thinks they’re off the hook, they’re nuts.

“For us to think we have more than another club, that’s not really true either. It’s different in that we have different cultures. But generally speaking, when they walk through the door to play, those go away.”

Rosenthal: Reality may set in for certain teams

More cool hi-resolution lynxmotioning jive from Robothal…

A’s

One general manager dismisses the A’s as the “luckiest team in baseball,” saying that the team ranks third in the league in scoring only because it is second with a .309 batting average with runners in scoring position — a trend that will be difficult to sustain. Another GM disagrees, saying that the A’s will pitch well enough to offset any offensive regression.

The A’s are so deep in pitching, they made room for Rich Harden by sending Chad Gaudin to the bullpen — even though Gaudin had a 3.75 ERA in six starts. The team is first in the league in ERA, including first in bullpen ERA by a wide margin. Relievers Santiago Casilla and Joey Devine have combined to allow three runs in 34 1/3 innings, striking out 39 and walking seven. Phew.

The offense figures to remain below-average, and the roster is something of a mish-mash — “not the most aesthetically pleasing,” in the words of GM Billy Beane. Still, Travis Buck and Carlos Gonzalez are available as potential outfield reinforcements at Class AAA, and the A’s also have Chris Denorfia, who is currently on the disabled list. Third baseman Eric Chavez, recovering from off-season back surgery, will begin a rehabilitation assignment Thursday. Jack Hannahan has played well at third, but a healthy Chavez ... all right, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Pretender or contender: Contender, just because of the pitching.

Madden: Steaming Hank Steinbrenner lights fire while threatening to burn some bridges

Taking a break from disecting Sylvia Froos records for The Vitaphone Project...Madden talks to Hank Steinbrenner.

This is what the new “Hammerin’ Hank” had to say to me Wednesday when I reached him in Tampa with the greeting: “How ‘bout those Rays!”:

“They’re a great story down here right now,” he said, “although it’s terrible that they’re only drawing only 16,000 a game. They’re playing a lot better than us, that’s for sure. I know we’re gonna come on at some point in this season, but right now, other than (Chien-Ming) Wang, (Mariano) Rivera, (Derek) Jeter, (Hideki) Matsui, (Johnny) Damon and (Mike) Mussina, after I got on him a little, we’re not doing jack (bleep).

“What bothers me is that these guys are all working for me and my brother and they’re all making more money than we are. That’s what makes me mad. But while I’m confident they’ll come around, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens this year. And if they don’t come around then changes will have to be made. I’ve just got to clean up the mistakes of the last five years and make us what we should be.”

The Daily Bruin: Statistics shed light on baseball’s performance

Well...glad to see UCLA teaches more than just Fundamentals of Ho-Dadaism: Nu-Wave Art 101.

A deeper look at the team’s statistics can provide insight and identify the root of the Bruins’ subpar performance this season.

The team’s overall batting average on balls in play, which is a statistic that measures a player’s batting average based on the number of balls put in play without counting strikeouts, sacrifice flies or home runs, is .333. This means that, compared to the team’s overall batting average of .272, the number of balls put into play that are falling for hits is high for the Bruins.

A high average of this kind is usually an indicator of luck and porous opposing team defense. The Bruins’ figure of .333 is actually lower than the average .348 of all the other Pac-10 teams, suggesting that perhaps the Bruins are running into a bit of tough luck when facing opposing defenses.

However, the difference between UCLA’s balls in play average and batting average, .061, which is higher than the .045 difference among the conference, could also mean that the Bruins just aren’t making contact with the ball as well as other teams.

Vegas Watch: What Are The Odds: 30 Wins

I remember back in ‘73 when Wilbur Wood had 18 wins a week or so before the All-Star (which he didn’t make) break...and ended up a ditzy 24-20.

Brandon Webb is off to another great start- 8-0, with a 2.41 ERA. His insane ground ball rate (63.2%) has allowed him to give up only 2 homers over 56 innings.

On the surface, this is very similar to 2006, when he started off 8-0 with a 2.18 ERA. In terms of his chances of winning some ridiculous number of games though, two things are different this year.

The first is that this year he’s gone 8-0 in 8 starts, while two years ago it took him 11 to reach that mark. This means, assuming he makes 34 starts, he’s “on pace” to go 34-0, rather than 25-0. More relevantly, he has 8 wins with 26 starts left, rather than with 23.

...An 89% chance to win 20 games is pretty nuts. Before the season started, he had about a 45% chance of winning 20 games, so the 8-0 start really helped.

25 games is also a realistic possibility, which should come as no surprise. 30 is noticeably less so. If he gets decisions in 85% of his starts, we’d expect him to get 22 more decisions- to get 22 more wins would be pretty incredible. It is possible, though.

Jazz. com: Kurtz: Kerouac, Jazz, and Baseball

What in the name of Maynard Ferguson G. Krebs brought this on?

On those rare occasions when he spelled a musician’s name right and matched him with the correct instrument, Kerouac still managed to make a fool of himself. Jazz fans have no doubt heard, for example, “the sudden squeak uninhibited that screams muffled at any moment from Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet.” Say what? An uninhibited squeak that screams muffled! Oh, yeah, far out. Not only does the squeak scream, it’s so uninhibited it’s muffled. Hey, pass those bennies over here, man.

All of which brings our roundabout safari to “Congo Blues.” In his magnum opus On the Road (1957), Kerouac cites this track as an early Dizzy Gillespie record with Max West on drums. Who?  For working stiffs without the benefit of bennies, Max West was a baseball player, not a drummer. For that matter, “Congo Blues” was not a Dizzy Gillespie record. It was by Red Norvo & His Selected Sextet. What’s especially galling, though, is Kerouac’s reference to this “valued” record. Sure, so valued Jack can’t recall the bandleader, and thinks the drummer had a .254 lifetime batting average and made the 1940 National League All-Star Team.

This is a sad fate to befall an important Swing-to-Bop transitional track. Recorded on the first anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion during World War II that signaled the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, “Congo Blues” signaled the beginning of the end for the Swing Era. But besides its historical importance, this track is more fun than a barrel of beatniks washing over Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls, slowly iTunes...Giant Steps by Giant Steps.

WSJ: Fantasy Sports Adds Baseball HQ To Web Holdings

Fantasy Sports Ventures Inc., a fast-growing fantasy sports company, acquired Baseball HQ, a leading Web site for statistical analysis, the companies said.

Valued in the “low seven figures,” according to a person familiar with the situation, the deal is the latest step by the New York Internet media company toward its goal of becoming a one-stop shopping center for marketers looking to connect to the estimated 15 million fantasy-sports players in the U.S.

I’ve long been curious about just how valuable some of these types of sites are or could be.  Mark down on data point.

Kornheiser Among ‘Wash Post’ Buyout Takers

The Seinfeld Curse continues…

Kornheiser, the Post sports columnist who gained national fame on Monday Night Football and other ESPN network programs, announced on his radio show Wednesday afternoon that he was taking a buyout after 29 years with the newspaper.

“It just feels odd,” Kornheiser said on his radio show, according to a transcript posted on the “D.C. Sports Bog” by Post sportswriter Dan Steinberg. “It feels odd and it feels bad. It doesn’t feel sad, there’s no sadness to it, it just feels wrong.”

Kornheiser said “all I ever wanted to be was a newspaper writer.” “In my mind that’s what it says on the headstone, it says ‘newspaper guy,’ “ he added.

Kornheiser hasn’t written a regular column for the paper recently, but provides video for its Web site, with some items excerpted on the second page of the sports section. Kornheiser said on the radio that he might continue to contribute to the Web. He said he signed the buyout papers Tuesday night.

In addition to commenting on Monday Night Football, Kornheiser co-hosts a daily sports talk show “Pardon the Interruption” with fellow Post sportswriter Michael Wilbon.

Thanks to Can’t Stop the Bleeding.

AP: Sabathia powers Cleveland past Oakland 2-0

C.C. Sabathia pitched a five-hitter and struck out 11 in the Cleveland Indians’ major league-leading seventh shutout, a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night.

Sabathia (3-5) extended the scoreless streak of Indians starters to 43 1-3 innings since Friday. He tied his season high for strikeouts, walked two and won consecutive starts for the first time this season. He has a 1.49 ERA over his past five starts.

Dugout Central: Willie Fraser: Baseball Goings-on

Just because Willie Fraser pitched like wiggly ampulla logs during his second season...doesn’t mean the “Sophomore Slump” actually exists.

The Sophomore Slump is a Real Thing

Even though I wouldn’t say Braun is going through a sophomore slump, I do believe such a phenomenon exists. Why? First, after a full season the league is now aware of what a player can and can’t do. They’re then able to exploit the player’s weaknesses more often. Second, a player having a good rookie season can tend to put too much pressure on himself to meet or exceed his first year results. Teams don’t generally expect much from rookies. But after a good rookie season, they’ll start to count on them, and the players then feel the weight of this expectation. Third, baseball has its own special way of keeping players in check. Once a player thinks he has things figured out, baseball comes up with a new way to beat him.

I personally experienced the sophomore slump. I had a solid first season and then proceeded to go out and get my ass kicked the first half of my second season. I was able to come out of it somewhat in the second half, finishing with a 12-13 record. But at one point I was 7-12 and my ERA was over 6.00. I lead the AL in home runs allowed, with 33.

Chicago Tribune blog: Hollywood Edmonds en route to Chicago

Jim Edmonds is expected to be in a Cubs uniform Thursday afternoon, playing centerfield and batting ninth in the lineup. Ninth?

“He’s going to hit ninth,” manager Lou Piniella said. “I’m going to move the pitcher to eighth, and hit him ninth.”

Piniella was joking, of course, and spent most of Wednesday’s press conference trying to avoid talking about the new Cubs outfielder. The Edmonds’ signing won’t be official until he passes a physical tonight, so Piniella was wary of discussing the subject.
...
The Cubs general manager said he’d have an announcement on Edmonds after tonight’s game, and that he’d be activated on Thursday if he passes the physical.

“Obviously if it wasn’t something we felt could possibly help us, we wouldn’t have looked into it,” Hendry said.

Hendry said Edmonds does not need any at-bats in the minors, and should be ready to go on Thursday.

AP: Rays’ Kazmir agrees to $28.5M, 3-year extension

Tampa Bay left-hander Scott Kazmir has agreed to a $28.5 million, three-year extension through 2011, a deal with a club option that could raise the contract’s value to $39.5 million over four seasons.
...
The 24-year-old, 13-9 with a 3.48 ERA last season, was an All-Star in 2006. He is Tampa Bay’s career leader in wins, strikeouts, starts and innings pitched.

Kazmir is earning $3,785,000 this season, and would have been eligible for free agency after the 2010 season.

Ask 14: Jim Rice: My Stolen Hat

Oh, that crafty Celizic…

Jim, could you take us through the day in Yankee Stadium when you attempted a diving catch in foul territory, only to have someone grab your hat from the stands. I remember you jumping into the crowd and Don Baylor making the run out there too. What was the fans reaction when you jumped in the stands? How was Don Baylor as a teammate?

There’s not much to take you through.  It was a September game against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium, 1986.  I went for the foul ball and the guy took my hat.

It wasn’t Don Baylor that ran out there, it was Roger Clemens who was the first one on the scene.  Roger pretty much parted the sea.  Even though it was Yankee Country, we had a lot of Red Sox Fans at that game, and the Yankee fans who were sitting in that area were mostly reasonable people (save for the one who was trying to steal my cap).  The fans pointed out which person had my hat and as he was trying to stuff it down his pants.

SNY: Salfino: First base, DH home to many not-so-fearsome hitters

Or...why the hell is Billy Butler still on my team? No enchanter, he.

This year, there are more homers in the National League than the American League for the second year in a row. The average AL team is on pace for 138 homers compared to 154 in the NL. Both figures would represent declines near enough to 10 percent from 2007.

I quarrel less with those who assume steroids work than with those who assume steroid testing works. If the former is true, as it appears to be, players can make so much more money figuring out ways to keep using. And they have manufacturers and dealers helping them. There’s no economic incentive for the testers to adapt since they get paid regardless of the test result. And do you believe baseball really wants the rash of positive tests that an evolving testing program might produce?

Another factor may be the cold spring across much of the country. Hot air is less dense than cold air and thus offers less resistance to the ball in flight. And since water vapor is lighter than air, humidity has no detrimental effect. So a change for these sluggers may come with the weather.

N.Y. Daily News: Lo Duca calls WFAN

Meh...I just found out that Rays honcho, Stuart Sternberg...used to call into John Sterling’s crapantheon sports radio show back in the early 70’s!

On Monday’s cheers in the dugout: “I wasn’t there. The last few games - I’m on the DL. They have a policy here, the Nationals, when you’re on the DL you stay home. But they let me come on this trip because I live here.

“I don’t know. I’m not a big fan of it to be honest with you. I’ll be honest with you. You know, we’re struggling. Guys are just trying to have a little fun. I think they saw Figueroa getting a little upset, so they amped it up a couple of notches. I do think it’s a little bush league. At first it started off as a little fun, until he got mad. I don’t agree with it. But, also, Nelson Figueroa has nine wins in the big leagues and he needs to keep his mouth shut.”

On being named in the Mitchell Report: “I apologized. It’s something I did a long time ago. The perception, and people think that, hey, he did it last year. No. I did it a long time ago. And it was a mistake I did. I wish it would have never happened. It’s something I’ll have to deal with. But, you know, I’m sort of glad. I think it was a monkey that’s been on my back for a long time that finally flew off. It was something that I’m not proud of, obviously.

“I don’t view myself as a cheater. Obviously it’s something I did. And obviously it’s something that helped me. But, you know, a lot of people don’t realize I got into a bad collision and got run over at home plate one year, in ’95 in Double-A. And I got it prescribed to me by a doctor. A lot of guys did it. There’s a lot of guys in front of me that did it. Like I said, I’m not making excuses. It was part of survival. You want to be at home or you want to be playing? That’s the way it was. I apologized for what I did, but that’s plenty true.”

NYT: Terrible/Hilarious Baseball TV Spots (RR)

Last week for a post about Rick Ankiel, we linked to this commercial for the Cardinals’ website, and then this morning we saw this goofy commercial for the Twins featuring the Minnesota pitching staff singing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy with terrible pitching-centric lyrics.

This leads us to believe that there is a treasure trove of good and bad local baseball commercials out there over the years. Here are some for this year’s Blue Jays and a classic Yankees one (for Adidas) featuring Orlando Hernandez, David Cone and an inquisitive Luis Sojo.

The Biz of Baseball: Brown: Keith Olbermann to Pen 5-Part Series on Topps Cards

And Maury adds..."Oh, how he must have longed for a George W. Bush card to have been created:”

It was announced today that MSNBC anchor, SABR member, and all-around baseball fanatic, Keith Olbermann tells the inside story of three decades’ worth of Topps proof cards in a five-part, serialized feature to debut with the May 30 issue of Sports Collectors Digest on newsstands May 15. Readers will be treated to a narrative of nearly 30 years of baseball card lore told by Olbermann, an avid card collector. Reportedly, “each segment is illustrated with dozens of cards from private collections not seen publicly for generations. The magazine will also host an online sweepstakes to coincide with the series; top prizes include items from the famed Topps Vault and a unique, one-of-a-kind plaque depicting ‘The Rarest Reggie,’ a 1977 proof card of Reggie Jackson.”

“Baby Boomers remember their baseball cards fondly, the colorful little pasteboards that brought the likes of Mickey Mantle, Henry Aaron, and Willie Mays to life for a generation of fans before the dawn of free agency, cable television, and stadiums awkwardly named after pharmaceutical conglomerates,” said Sports Collectors Digest Editor T.S. O’Connell. “Keith is perhaps the most famous baseball card collector around. He owned virtually all of those iconic cards at one time or another, but he also has some vintage cards that only a handful of hobbyists have ever seen, much less owned. We are thrilled to be able to share this collection with our readers.” Olbermann’s collection includes ‘goofs’ that the famed Topps proofreaders caught, but, despite their best efforts, eventually found their way into print and the hobby.

FBG: Joura: Aaron Cook, Tim Lincecum and Edinson Volquez Take Aim at Steve Carlton’s 1972 Season

And a very nice touch by the Generals in having that charming Carltonian fatigue color scheme as a backdrop!

While Cook and the Rockies are both a surprise, Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants are both more in line with what fans expected coming into the season.  The Giants lost 91 games last year and then subtracted Barry Bonds from the lineup.  If anything, the Giants are performing a bit better than expected in 2008.  Lincecum went 7-5 as a rookie last year.  Everyone expected he would be a good pitcher; his hot start just pushed forward the time when fans thought he would challenge for 20 wins.

Unlike Cook, Lincecum has a realistic .323 BABIP mark this season.  He also has 53 strikeouts in 50.1 innings.  Where Lincecum has really excelled this season is on the road, where he is 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA in four starts.  After a relatively hot start, the Giants are 3-6 in their last nine games.  San Francisco has found its expected talent level.  The question is: has Lincecum?