Breakdown of Pitching Staff Contenders

There are just about 40 games to go in the 2011 season, and a playoff picture is starting to take shape. Currently, there are only three tightly contested divisions in baseball - the NL West, The AL East, and the AL Central. In all liklihood, 2nd place in the AL East is taking the Wild Card. All other division leaders hold at least 6 game lead at this point, although nothing is a given just ask my Mets. Given the state of the pennant races, we focus on pitching staffs in this breakdown, and we couldn't agree on everything. These are my picks, and I'll tell you the places my colleagues and I agreed upon. Starting with the American League.

5. Cleveland Indians

Standouts - Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin
Inconsistent - Ubaldo Jimenez, Fausto Carmona, Carlos Carrasco

The Tribe are in the thick of a pennant race in the Central, and NOBODY would have picked that at the start of the season. They've benefited from solid play from hitters and better than average pitching. They also have benefited from a relatively weak division (they'd be 5th in AL East and 3rd in AL West). We were in agreement that the Indians staff is weakest among playoff contenders. They made a great trade to grab Jimenez. The fire-balling righty can look like the greatest pitcher of his generation on some days, and look terrible on others. The Indians staff is largley untested in a stretch run situation, let alone playoffs. Inexperience could be a detriment to their run.

HOF Debate - Curt Schilling

Time for another HOF Debate battle with Curt Schilling our subject. Apart from being somewhat controversial with opinions and statements, Schilling is best known for being a gutty, power pitcher that showed flashes of dominance. This is especially true when looking at his post season numbers.

Ted Williams: Wins Triple Crown...Loses MVP

One of the more difficult feats to achieve in baseball is the batting Triple Crown. Leading the league in home runs, runs batted in, and batting average in the same season serves as a testament of what it means to be a truly great hitter. In recent years, a few players, including Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, and Manny Ramirez have led these categories in different seasons. Not since Carl Yazstrzemski, back in 1967, has anyone accomplished it during the same season.

Ted Williams won the Triple Crown twice in 1942 and 1947 joining only Rogers Hornsby as the only other two time winner. Apart from the rarity of these feats, what is more remarkable is the fact that Williams didn't win the MVP in either campaign. That sounds almost too incredible to believe. It wasn't unprecedented for a Triple Crown winner to not win the MVP the same season. Prior to 1942, it had happened twice. In 1922, Hornsby won the Triple Crown, however no MVP award was given that year. Also in 1933, Lou Gehrig lost the MVP to pitcher Carl Hubbell despite his Triple Crown nod. Williams stands out as having won Triple Crowns and losing the MVP to other hitters. Here are the split stats of Ted Williams compared to the MVP award winners in 1942 and 1947 (Joe Gordon and Joe Dimaggio respectively).

All-Time Red Sox Team

The Boston Red Sox have a rich tradition.  They also have a very vibrant and proud fan base so it's only fitting that this All-Time team reflects its team and fan base with many players up and down this lineup that spent their careers in Boston.  Without further adieu, here is the Red Sox All-Time team. 

C - Carlton Fisk
1B - Jimmie Foxx
2B - Bobby Doerr
SS - Joe Cronin
3B - Wade Boggs
OF - Ted Williams
OF - Carl Yastrzemski
OF - Dwight Evans
DH - Jim Rice
SP - Pedro Martinez
SP - Roger Clemens*
RP - Jonathan Papelbon

Thanks for reading... let the debate begin.

Feller & Williams: Baseball Greats and War Heroes

The recent passing of "Rapid Robert" (Bob) Feller is truly a sad day for baseball. At 92, he was a fixture in baseball for 75 years, pitching his first game at age 17. Armed with "The Heater from Van Meter," Feller compiled 266 wins, 2,581 strikeouts, and a career ERA of 3.25. He pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1936-1956. The Cy Young Award did not come into existence until 1956 or he certainly would have won multiple times. Perhaps more amazing than his on-field dominance, however, is the patriotism and sacrifice that Feller showed for our great nation. As we recently honored the 59th anniversay of the "day that will live in infamy," the sacrifices of Bob Feller, and indeed Ted Williams, should be better understood by baseball enthusiasts. Most casual baseball fans know the names of Feller and Williams, and more in-tune fans may also know some of their statistics and place in history. Many don't realize what they gave up, from a histrocial perspective, to serve thier country.