BaseballGuru.com's Braintrust Newsletter, October 2003
Friends and Braintrust Subscribers,
Game Players: Introducing the latest card set for the Guru's Game: All-Time Franchise All-Stars based on their four-year prime! Find out more - click here.
MLB
At the All-Star break (the July newsletter) we reported that Yankee wins (57) had not kept pace with Tigers losses (67). Detroit was on pace for 118 losses, so the Yankees would have to "bust a move" to catch them. Well, the Tigers kept pace losing 119 games, narrowly avoiding the dreaded 120-loss mark made famous by the 1962 Mets. And, as predicted by many, the Yankees finished with the best record in baseball (tied with the Braves), winning 101 games, but they did not keep up with the Tigers. This was about the only "competition" the Tigers won this year.
Now that the playoffs are upon us, everyone seems to have forgotten about Sosa's corked bat. His Cubs had the worst record of all of the playoff teams and only edged out Houston by one game for the division title. Would they be in without the cork? We'll give them the benefit of the doubt, because of their outstanding young pitching, but Sosa will have to play like he's got cork for them to take it all the way. Coming into this years playoffs, he has never driven in a post season run. I'm routing for them. I like underdogs. Let's pull for the Twins too.
Déjà vu - last October, we reported that the Yankees and Braves repeated as division champs and were favorites to meet in the World Series. We also reported that the Mets and Mariners, both missed the playoffs despite high expectations. The Mets finished in last place in 2002.
Fantasy Baseball
This year, The Baseball Guru turned over the team's managerial reins to Bart Ewing, our Fantasy Baseball expert. Bart's team surged into first place in the twelve team FRSU expert league during the final week of the season. But, like last year, we were caught from behind in the final days. Second place is very respectable against expert competition and Bart deserves kudos for his effort. Hopefully, we continue to demonstrate our baseball intelligence and the value of the draft preparation materials we provide for free in the fantasy insider section of the site. Congratulations go out to Jeff Hobbs of Addict Fantasy Sports for winning the league in dramatic fashion.
How did you do in your fantasy league? If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently? How can we help you prepare next year? Email the Guru your wish list.
Minor Leagues
Every month, Mike McCann reports on the Minor Leagues and we hope you enjoy his column. His recent report was on the bloated batting stats created by playing games in the high desert of California. Like The Colorado Rockies experience in the Majors, location affects scoring. Here's the link to the article: http://baseballguru.com/bunko/analysisbunko21.html
Pro Yakyu
Mid summer, Gary Garland resumed reporting on Japanese Baseball. Look for his coverage of the playoffs. Will the surprising Hanshin Tigers take it all?
There is a poll on the Baseball Guru's Hanshin Tigers page, which asks people whether they will win the Japan Series, make the series, fall short or stink. At mid season, 43% voted that they will win the Japan Series. That is up to 55% as of October 1st. Confidence is building.
Here's the link to the daily game summaries: http://baseballguru.com/archives
Herb Rogoff's famous ONEMOREINNING monthly magazine!
Read Herb's feature this month about the Mets called Mystery of the M's
Here's the link: http://baseballguru.com/omi/MYSTERYOFTHEMs.htm
How Do I Subscribe to One More Inning?
It's $18.00 for a yearly subscription (12 issues) including postage. Email Us with "BaseballGuruOMI" as the subject. Include your name, email address and mailing address.
Past issues are available for $3.00 per issue plus 50 cents for postage (no matter how many issues you select as long as they are shipped together). Here's the link to see list of past issues: http://baseballguru.com/omi/OMIpastissues.htm
Baseball Analysis - Some Highlights
Michael Hoban, Ph.D. submitted two articles of note, which were recently posted to the analysis section of the site. The first was "The Best Hitters of the Past Decade." Here's the link: http://baseballguru.com/articles/mikehonananalysis01.html
The second was adapted from his book "Fielder's Choice: Baseball's Best Shortstops" entitled, "Will Arod Catch Honus?" Here's the link: http://baseballguru.com/articles/mikehonananalysis02.html
Article Submissions
Please submit material for online publication by emailing me. You don't have to be a Guru to make a valuable and interesting contribution, but you do have to present something original to be included in the analysis section of the site.
Visit the analysis section of the site to read submitted materials and for submission guidelines. Here's the link: http://baseballguru.com/bbads.html
The Guru's Famous Game
A new special edition card set is available now!
Prime Time Franchise All-Stars (http://baseballguru.com/ptades.html)
This unique set is based on players in their prime. This is not their best single season, but their best four consecutive (injury-free) seasons. Now you will really know what it was like to have these players on your team and be able to compare which players were the best over a four-year span.
To kick it up a notch, we assembled the all-time best players for each of the original 16 franchises since 1901. Some franchises actually date back to 1893, so a few players from that era were included to give each team its best possible lineup. All retired players were eligible as well as some active players whose prime is safely past.
See sample cards of Steve Carlton and Ty Cobb
If you've never played the game before, you can print out the instructions from the Free Cards Archive. If you want to learn more about the game, here's the link to the main page: http://baseballguru.com/bbboardgame.html
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Sincerely Yours,
Craig Tomarkin (the Guru, webmaster and editor)
BaseballGuru.com
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