Posts Tagged ‘Ron Shandler’
Foraging for Florida Fandom, Part 6
Sunday, May 21 Clearwater Threshers at Lakeland Flying Tigers (Phillies at Tigers) The final stop on my tour was the opposite end of the home-and-home series from the previous night’s game. Driving up I-4, I made good time, arriving just 97 minutes after the first pitch. My goal was to catch the last three or…
Read MoreForaging for Florida Fandom, Part 5
Sunday, May 21 This was my most challenging travel day as I was going to try to catch two games, both with 1:00pm start times and 40 miles apart. I figured I could see the first few innings in Tampa, leave around the fourth inning, then catch the last few innings in Lakeland. Daytona Tortugas…
Read MoreForaging for Florida Fandom, Part 4
Saturday, May 20 Lakeland Flying Tigers at Clearwater Threshers (Tigers at Phillies) The 90-minute drive to Clearwater was mostly uneventful, though I always do enjoy the magnificent views crossing over Tampa Bay on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. As I turned onto the street that the ballpark was on, I was immediately redirected into an overflow…
Read MoreForaging for Florida Fandom, Part 3
Saturday, May 20 My two stops this day took me to Port Charlotte and Clearwater. These parks were 97 miles apart, but I benefited from a 3:05pm start time for the early game. I figured I could stay for most of that contest before heading north for the 6:15pm game in Clearwater. Jupiter Hammerheads at…
Read MoreForaging for Florida Fandom, Part 2
Friday, May 19 Bradenton Marauders at Fort Myers Miracle (Pirates at Twins) After dropping my wife off at Fort Lauderdale airport at 4:30pm, I zoomed across Alligator Alley to try to make a 6:30pm start time in Fort Myers, on the other side of the state. Exiting I-75, I passed a string of fast food…
Read MoreForaging for Florida Fandom, Part 1
About 10 years ago, I took a tour of the Appalachian League and wrote about it for BaseballHQ.com. Since I had grown up around major league baseball all my life, I always wondered what the spectator experience was like in the minors, and especially in the lowest levels. I envisioned “50-year-old dilapidated ballparks with splintered…
Read MoreMid-Season Rotisserie All Stars
This is my final ESPN contribution for the 2017 season. Paul Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper, Jose Altuve and Max Scherzer are players most fantasy leaguers drafted in the first round. Through mid-season, they are earning back their owners’ investments – congratulations! But as much as it’s nice to have players like these on your roster, they…
Read MoreSearching for asset group values
For the most part, BABS has done well so far this year. It has not been an easy road. The skyrocketing disabled list visits have skewed performance metrics and laid waste to playing time expectations. For instance, Max Scherzer, Noah Syndergaard and Yu Darvish all came into the season in the (ER,K+) asset group, but…
Read MorePitcher attrition and bullpen fallout
Here is my ESPN piece for this week. As of today, 41 percent of the pre-season Top 300 have been disabled, demoted or designated for assignment. That’s only about 10 players away from the 44 percent attrition accumulated over a full season in 2010. We are on pace for about 70 percent turnover of our…
Read MoreThe dwindling 200-IP pitcher
This week’s BABS-enhanced ESPN piece. Here is the stat for today: In 2016, there were 61 pitchers from among the ADP Top 300 who spent some time on the disabled list. Just 11 weeks into this season, there are already 52 pitchers from the Top 300 who’ve spent some time on the shelf. That stat…
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