Knuckle Curve » mike_piazza http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve Major League Baseball News from Spring Training to the World Series Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:16:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 It Came from CHONE! http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/it-came-from-chone/ http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/it-came-from-chone/#comments Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:22:03 +0000 Geoff Young http://www.knucklecurve.com/it-came-from-chone/ Post from: Knuckle Curve

]]> The 2008 CHONE projections for hitters are available. Here are a few key free agents lines:

  • Barry Bonds: .272/.446/.558
  • Alex Rodriguez: .303/.420/.588
  • Kosuke Fukudome: .283/.373/.465
  • Torii Hunter: .282/.345/.491
  • Andruw Jones: .246/.339/.472
  • Mike Lowell: .283/.346/.455
  • Aaron Rowand: .277/.343/.443
  • Mike Cameron: .246/.331/.435
  • Mike Piazza: .260/.321/.430
  • Sammy Sosa: .234/.303/.418
  • Julio Franco: .231/.307/.324

I hope Franco keeps playing till he’s 50. Anyway, download the whole dealio and entertain yourself for hours…

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Knuckle Curve and you’ll never miss another article…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

]]> http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/it-came-from-chone/feed/ 4 Posada Gets Whole Enchilada http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/posada-gets-whole-enchilada/ http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/posada-gets-whole-enchilada/#comments Tue, 13 Nov 2007 05:42:49 +0000 Geoff Young http://www.knucklecurve.com/posada-gets-whole-enchilada/ Post from: Knuckle Curve

]]> The New York Yankees have re-signed veteran catcher Jorge Posada to a 4-year, $52 million deal. Hey, they’re the Yankees; they can afford to do that sort of thing.

The 36-year-old Posada is coming off a career year in which he hit .338/.426/.543. Perhaps more impressively, he has caught at least 130 games in each of the past eight seasons. Put those two together, and the chances of Posada’s coming anywhere near his 2007 levels again fall somewhere between slim and none.

Here’s your list of catchers since 1961 who logged at least 300 plate appearances in their age 36 season and had an OPS+ of 100 or better:

  • Sherm Lollar ‘61
  • Carlton Fisk ‘84
  • Ernie Whitt ‘88
  • Mike Piazza ‘05

Here’s that same list for 37-year-old catchers:

  • Fisk ‘85
  • Whitt ‘89
  • Benito Santiago ‘02
  • Greg Myers ‘03
  • Piazza ‘06

No 38-year-old catcher has met these criteria in the Expansion Era (the last was Gabby Hartnett in 1939), and only Fisk (’87) has done it among 39-year-old catchers since 1961.

History tells us that shelling out top dollar for the age 36-39 years of a catcher is not the best investment, but it also tells us that the Yankees can pay to make their mistakes go away when the time comes.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Knuckle Curve and you’ll never miss another article…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

]]> http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/posada-gets-whole-enchilada/feed/ 0 Five Unforgettable Roger Clemens Moments http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/five-unforgettable-roger-clemens-moments/ http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/five-unforgettable-roger-clemens-moments/#comments Wed, 09 May 2007 16:20:44 +0000 Geoff Young http://www.knucklecurve.com/five-unforgettable-roger-clemens-moments/ Post from: Knuckle Curve

]]> As part of Darren Rowse’s latest group writing project, and because Roger Clemens is in the news again, here are five Clemens moments that we’ll never forget:

  • April 29, 1986: At age 23, Clemens strikes out 20 Seattle Mariners in a game at Fenway Park. The Boston Red Sox win the game, 3-1, and Clemens enters the history books. [More at Baseball Almanac]
  • October 10, 1990: Clemens is ejected in the second inning of ALCS Game 4 against the Oakland A’s, who complete the sweep of Boston en route to their third straight World Series. [More at ESPN.]
  • September 18, 1996: Ten years after he did it the first time, Clemens ties his own record by striking out 20 Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium. [More at MLB.com]
  • July 8, 2000: Now pitching for the New York Yankees, Clemens drills the Mets’ Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball. Piazza suffers a concussion. [More at Find Articles]
  • October 22, 2000: In a bizarre on-field confrontation, Clemens throws a piece of shattered bat at Piazza. [More at SI.com]

Love him or hate him, the man known as “The Rocket” is one of the greatest pitchers ever to play the game.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

]]> http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/five-unforgettable-roger-clemens-moments/feed/ 30