Archives › Craig Calcaterra

As we sit around waiting to see how Tom Hicks is going to extract himself from his debt problems and finally get the deal done to sell the Ranger, Maury Brown runs down all of the reasons why Hicks has essentially become persona non grata in baseball circles. The upshot: by failing to make his…

A lot of time has been spent trying to figure out who should be the fifth starter in New York, but if it were up to FanGraph’s Marc Hulet, we wouldn’t even be making the effort: Teams spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours crunching data to build a successful five-man rotation, but it’s…

Joe Torre apparently has an open door to come back to the Dodgers after this year, and he and the team have been negotiating about it, but now Torre has put a halt to the talks, saying he has “more important things to worry about” like getting the team ready for the season. This really…

The New York Times reports that A-Rod is going to meet with federal investigators in Buffalo on Friday in connection with the Dr. Galea investigation. As has been widely reported, The feds are seeking to establish whether Galea has distributed performance-enhancing drugs in the U.S., and all indications that, like Jose Reyes, Rodriguez is merely…

I get the shakes if I don’t write something about the Rangers sale for more than 48 hours or so and right now I’m jonesin’ hard, so I’ll even settle for linking to Heyman: The snag in the Texas Rangers’ sale talks appears fairly serious. Two sources say they believe the banks are looking for…

Well, to the Indians bottom line at least.  Rob Neyer reminds us of the vesting option: The front office would never admit it, but Kerry Wood’s injury is just about the best thing that could have happened to the Indians, because it means he won’t finish 55 games this season, which in turn means his…

Red Sox Nation, Yankees Universe, Rays Republic . . . the Nats are content to go with something more modest. Eh. What about an “Army?”  Worked for Kiss, so you think it would work for a baseball team. Sorry to be sticking with this subject today, but I don’t have to report for Death Panel…

Headline: “Did the Twins just lock up the next Jason Kendall?” The answer, ultimately, is “probably not,” but the article is worth reading if for no other reason than to be reminded that there was a time when Jason Kendall was pretty close to awesome. I like headlines that make people freak out for a…

It ain’t Kenny Lofton for David Justice and Marquis Grissom, but a spring training trade is always fun.  Today’s version: the Rangers trade infielder Ray Olmedo to the Brewers for catcher Matt Treanor. Matt Treanor is a backup catcher who can’t hit, and his presence in Texas is significant only insofar as (a) he’s, like,…

I’ve always known that players can’t hold equity stakes in their teams due to the Basic Agreement (see paragraph 4(c) on p. 213 of this massive document), but I never knew why. Today, however, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus explains. Once upon a time Rogers Hornsby got a cut of the Cardinals, was traded to…

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times reports that the Mariners are considering making Casey Kotchman their number three hitter behind Ichiro and Figgins. What’s more, Milton Bradley is probably going to bat cleanup. I haven’t been paying all that much attention to the Mariners’ spring, so my first thought was “that makes no sense!”  Upon…

Who says you gotta move the Rays out of the AL East? They’re fitting in just fine. WEEI’s Alex Speier just passed along this quote from Joe Madden: “The Red Sox have got the Nation. The Yankees have the universe. We’ve created The Rays Republic.” I like it! But why stop there? How about the…

The all-time pinch-hit leader and current Dodgers’ coach was rushed to a hospital on Friday. They found severe blockage in four arteries and performed a quadruple bypass. Harris was said to be resting comfortably as of yesterday.  Word is, however, that he could see some action today if the Dodgers fall behind late and the…

John Fay writes about Aroldis Chapman’s efforts to learn the language and get used to life in the U.S.  A couple of interesting passages: The Reds are in uncharted territory. Players from the Dominican and Venezuela get assimilated before they get near the big leagues. Johnny Cueto was in the Reds’ system for four years…

Remember how the Pirates signed those two Indian reality-show winners?  Well, they’re back in camp this year, and unlike last spring, which was basically a publicity tour masquerading as baseball, this year they’re pitching and working out just like any other ballplayers. And they’re improving: The progress between last spring and now is remarkable, Pirates…

Buster uses the Mauer signing as a jumping off point for thoughts on the A’s and Rays.  For the A’s: Bud needs to make San Jose happen.  No argument there. My view is that the commish should offer the Giants some concessions, deem the move to be OK, and make the Giants sue if they…

FanHouse’s Ed Price reports that Jim Edmonds is surprisingly lukewarm about being a backup outfielder for the Brewers this year. Edmonds says “some days, driving in, I think [WTF?]” and questions whether the backup job is enough to keep him playing. He rebuffs the suggestion that he’s playing the game because he loves it, saying…

Last night Jon Heyman tweeted “Joba is out of the Yanks rotation debry.”  The basis for this?  The news that Chamberlain will pitch an intra-squad game today while Phil Hughes will pitch against the Phillies in Clearwater.  Left out of this is the fact that the intra-squad game and the need to get both pitchers…

Howard Megdal thinks so, arguing that Greenberg experienced an uncharacteristic spike in walk rates towards the end of his 1938 season.  Megdal says “the American League didn’t seem exactly thrilled with Greenberg’s pursuit,” and concludes that “the statistical record stands as evidence that Greenberg’s religion might have been an additional barrier” to him in surpassing…

Last week the Dodgers sent Eric Gagne to the minors.  Last night they said, eh, forget it, and just released him. He allowed six runs and eight hits in 2.2 innings. Late innings in spring training games, so it’s not like he’d be facing a less-talented brand of competition in the minors. I would assume…

As the foremost Twins dude on the Internets I defer to Aaron’s take on the Mauer deal. But others have weighed in too. Let’s take a look-see: Rob Neyer (on Twitter): “I say there’s at least a 50/50 chance that Twins are regretting the Mauer contract by 2016.” [Rob's longer take is here] J.C. Bradbury:…

Maury Brown reports that the 2010 Home Run Derby will be televised in 3D: “We are always looking for ways to augment the viewing experience for fans watching MLB telecasts,” said Chris Tully, Major League Baseball Senior Vice President, Broadcasting.  “The State Farm Home Run Derby is a unique event for a 3D telecast since…

Jon Heyman and I don’t always disagree on stuff. For example, his observation about the Twins reflects the vibe I got when I was in their clubhouse last week (though I obviously can’t compare them to as many other teams as Heyman can): I nominate the Twins as nicest team in baseball, with stars like…

Jason Heyward made a big impression during the first week of Braves camp when he broke a team executive’s sunroof. He’s at it again. The AJC’s Dave O’Brien: Heyward batting-practice homer just shattered rearview mirror of Braves PR director’s rental car. My Braves’ fandom and Jason Heyward man-crush notwithstanding, I’m starting to think that these…

Vin Scully’s statement upon being released from the hospital today: Thank you to everyone for their thoughts and prayers and I apologize for any concern that I caused. Most importantly, I’m looking forward to Sunday’s game, my first of the Spring. Thank you and see you at the Stadium! Vin Scully falls and hurts himself…