Joe Posnanski

Start No. 4: Vs. Oakland A’s Innings: 5 Earned runs allowed: 5. Strikeouts: 1 Walks: 1 Decision: Loss (3-1) Number of pitches: 85 Number of strikes: 54 BABIP: .391 (9 for 23) Season BABIP: .238 (19 for 80) Well, it was inevitable, I suppose, that despite projections, Brian Bannister would not really go 32-0 with an 0.86 ERA. It can be tough to maintain that sort of performance. I wonder if Bob Gibson cracked open the champagne bottle last night, sort of the way the 1972 Miami ... Read More

I can only warn you once here ... the following has LOTS of swearing. It’s rated R. Not PG-13. If you are offended by such things, I don’t blame you, and I promise we’ll have a lovely G-rated post soon on Brian Bannister. One last time SKIP THIS IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY SWEARING. Thank you. * * * People often ask why I do this blog. I’ve never really had a good answer for that. The original reason was, of course, to sell ... Read More

American League playoff teams: Yankees or Boston (one game playoff, bring back Bucky!) Chicago Angels or Oakland (one game playoff) Wild card: Royals! MVP: A.J. Pierzynski. Love him or hate him, probably the latter, you can’t deny a catcher hitting .405/.468/.690 and carrying a team to a surprising American League Central title. Pierzynski projects to hit 29 homers, drive in 130 RBIs, and -- perhaps unrealistically -- hit 87 doubles. Joe Crede’s 185 RBIs makes him a good candidate as well, and the RBI candidate often gets ... Read More

“I would like to create myself, but I'd put myself in as the second baseman for the Big Red Machine. Take Morgan out and put me in. I had to play in Ohio the years that the Big Red Machine were kings and the Indians were like the Double-A team in Ohio. So I want to go right into the Big Red Machine and take over second.“ -- Duane Kuiper in 2003 on putting himself in the EA Sports video game. * * * I ... Read More

Some people can swear. And some people cannot. It’s important in life, I think, to know where you stand. For instance, I cannot swear. It’s isn’t a choice. It isn’t because I’m in any way offended by curses or troubled by foul language or any of that -- quite the opposite. I’m more than willing to play my role in the David Mamet play of life. It’s just that whenever I swear I feel a little bit like Willis from The Jeffersons ... Read More