Author Archive

Mark Cuban for Dodgers Owner

This article originally appeared on June 23rd. With news that McCourt is going to sell the team, and Cuban’s statements that he’d be interested if the price was right, we felt like it was worth reading again.

TMZ recently asked Mark Cuban if he’d be interested in buying the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“If the deal’s right and they’re fixable, then, yeah, I’m very interested,” he said.

Seriously, Cubes?

When you took control of the Dallas Mavericks in January 2000, the team was on its way to a 10th straight losing season. Some of your starters and key rotation players included Cedric Ceballos, Erick Strickland, and Shawn Bradley — in baseball terms, Late-Career Garret Anderson, Matt Treanor, and Esix Snead.

And that was the best Mavs team in a decade.

So don’t talk to me about fixable. Not when Koufax Jr.’s taking the mound every five days, and the center fielder’s a pending 40/40 machine who has flings with Rihanna, because why the hell not.

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Jonah Keri FanGraphs Chat – 8/8/11


Jonah Keri FanGraphs Chat – 8/1/11


Jonah Keri FanGraphs Chat – 7/25/11


The Phillies’ Other Guys

Let’s get this out of the way first: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels are pitching like Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz in their prime. They’re Spahn and Sain and a whole lot of pain.

They’re also not that far above, say, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner. Yet the Phillies sit well above the Giants, and ahead of every other team in baseball, with a 61-36 record.

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Jonah Keri FanGraphs Chat – 7/18/11


To Meekly Go Where Few Teams Have Gone Before

Even after last night’s drubbing, the New York Yankees own the best run differential in baseball, an impressive +112. They’re in second place.

The Detroit Tigers have limped their way to their All-Star break, allowing more runs than they’ve scored. They’re tied for first place.

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Jonah Keri FanGraphs Chat – 7/11/11


Jair Jurrjens: Lucky SOB, the New Matt Cain, or Both?

First, he was an unknown commodity, the kid with the funny name from the same little country as Andruw Jones.

Then he was the guy who got traded, after a sluggish cup of coffee in the big leagues, for Edgar Renteria.

Then he was the so-so peripherals guy, a pitcher who flashed low ERAs but seemed destined for a reckoning, given his lack of swing-and-miss stuff.

Then he was the injuries guy, suffering hamstring and knee injuries and eventually requiring surgery to fix the problem.

Even today, mlbdepthcharts.com lists him as the number-four starter on a second-place team.

Yet recently — in just the past few days, in fact — he’s gone from afterthought in the minds of most, to borderline superstar. Today, the narrative is, “That Halladay guy stinks, let’s start Jair Jurrjens in the All-Star Game instead.”

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Jonah Keri FanGraphs Chat – 7/5/11